Nyssa, Oregon
title: "Nyssa, Oregon" type: doc version: 1 created: 2026-02-28 author: "Wikipedia contributors" status: active scope: public tags: ["nyssa,-oregon", "ontario,-oregon-micropolitan-area", "1903-establishments-in-oregon", "populated-places-established-in-1903", "cities-in-oregon", "cities-in-malheur-county,-oregon"] topic_path: "geography" source: "https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Nyssa,_Oregon" license: "CC BY-SA 4.0" wikipedia_page_id: 0 wikipedia_revision_id: 0
::data[format=table title="Infobox settlement"]
| Field | Value |
|---|---|
| official_name | Nyssa, Oregon |
| settlement_type | City |
| nickname | Thunderegg Capital of the World |
| motto | Gateway to the Oregon Trail |
| image_skyline | Oregon Trail Agriculture Museum - Nyssa Oregon.jpg |
| imagesize | 260px |
| image_caption | Oregon Trail Agriculture Museum in Nyssa |
| image_map | Malheur_County_Oregon_Incorporated_and_Unincorporated_areas_Nyssa_Highlighted.svg |
| mapsize | 250px |
| map_caption | Location in Oregon |
| subdivision_type | Country |
| subdivision_name | United States |
| subdivision_type1 | State |
| subdivision_name1 | Oregon |
| subdivision_type2 | County |
| subdivision_name2 | Malheur |
| leader_title | Mayor |
| established_title | Incorporated |
| established_date | 1903 |
| unit_pref | Imperial |
| area_footnotes | |
| area_total_sq_mi | 1.55 |
| area_land_sq_mi | 1.55 |
| area_water_sq_mi | 0.00 |
| area_total_km2 | 4.01 |
| area_land_km2 | 4.01 |
| area_water_km2 | 0.00 |
| population_as_of | 2020 |
| population_footnotes | |
| population_total | 3198 |
| population_density_km2 | 796.84 |
| population_density_sq_mi | 2063.23 |
| timezone | Mountain |
| utc_offset | -7 |
| timezone_DST | Mountain |
| utc_offset_DST | -6 |
| coordinates | |
| elevation_m | 668 |
| elevation_ft | 2192 |
| postal_code_type | ZIP Code |
| postal_code | 97913 |
| area_code | 541 |
| blank_name | FIPS code |
| blank_info | 41-53750 |
| blank1_name | GNIS feature ID |
| blank1_info | 2411286 |
| website | |
| :: |
|official_name = Nyssa, Oregon |settlement_type = City |nickname = Thunderegg Capital of the World |motto = Gateway to the Oregon Trail |image_skyline = Oregon Trail Agriculture Museum - Nyssa Oregon.jpg |imagesize = 260px |image_caption = Oregon Trail Agriculture Museum in Nyssa |image_map = Malheur_County_Oregon_Incorporated_and_Unincorporated_areas_Nyssa_Highlighted.svg |mapsize = 250px |map_caption = Location in Oregon |subdivision_type = Country |subdivision_name = United States |subdivision_type1 = State |subdivision_name1 = Oregon |subdivision_type2 = County |subdivision_name2 = Malheur |government_footnotes = |government_type = |leader_title = Mayor |leader_name = |established_title = Incorporated |established_date = 1903 |unit_pref = Imperial |area_footnotes = |area_total_sq_mi = 1.55 |area_land_sq_mi = 1.55 |area_water_sq_mi = 0.00 |area_total_km2 = 4.01 |area_land_km2 = 4.01 |area_water_km2 = 0.00 |population_as_of = 2020 |population_footnotes = |population_total = 3198 |population_density_km2 = 796.84 |population_density_sq_mi = 2063.23 |timezone = Mountain |utc_offset = -7 |timezone_DST = Mountain |utc_offset_DST = -6 |coordinates = |elevation_m = 668 |elevation_ft = 2192 |postal_code_type = ZIP Code |postal_code = 97913 |area_code = 541 |blank_name = FIPS code |blank_info = 41-53750 |blank1_name = GNIS feature ID |blank1_info = 2411286 |website = |footnotes = Nyssa ( ) is a city in Malheur County, Oregon, United States. The population was 3,198 at the 2020 census. The city is located along the Snake River on the Idaho border, in the region of far eastern Oregon known as the "Treasure Valley". It is part of the Ontario, OR–ID Micropolitan Statistical Area.
The primary industry in the region is agriculture, including the cultivation of Russet potatoes, sugar beets, onions, corn, flower seed, mint, and wheat. The city's economy relies on the surrounding agricultural area with its several large onion and potato packaging plants.
History
The area surrounding the city was originally inhabited by Native Americans. Northern Paiute and Cayuse frequented the area but had difficulty living in the relatively harsh climate. The original Fort Boise, established in the 1830s, is nearby to the southeast. The city was originally a shipping center for sheep and stock on the Union Pacific's main trunk line.
Experiments with growing sugar beets were begun in 1935 by R. H. Tallman, the Idaho district manager of the Amalgamated Sugar Company. Successful yields led to the first Amalgamated-designed and built factory, which began operation on October 9, 1938. The factory was located at , on both the Union Pacific Railroad lines and along U.S. Route 20.
::figure[src="https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/2/25/Amalgamated_Sugar_Co._plant,_Nyssa,_OR.jpg" caption="Sugar beet plant of the Amalgamated Sugar Company in Nyssa"] ::
In 1942, during World War II, Japanese Americans who had been removed from their West Coast homes worked in a farm labor camp outside Nyssa. Most of these internees came from the Portland Assembly Center and had volunteered to work in the Farm Security Administration camp to avoid incarceration. The camp consisted of approximately 100 canvas tents, each containing a wood stove and a bare light bulb, as well as laundry and bathroom facilities and one public tent used for meetings, dances and church services. Although the facilities were not fenced in and the laborers were trucked into Nyssa once a week for recreation and shopping, Japanese Americans were subject to a curfew and were not permitted to leave the camp without an escort. A total of some 400 men, women and children worked in the Nyssa camp, with a peak population of about 350. In November 1942, the tents being insufficient to keep out the winter cold, the camp was closed and most of the laborers moved to other FSA camps or private farms, or found employment and remained in Eastern Oregon (outside of the "exclusion zone" from which Japanese Americans were denied entry).
Near the end of the war, a branch camp for German and Italian prisoners of war from Camp Rupert, near Buhl, Idaho, was established. Those POWs helped with the sugar beet industry, typically through thinning and harvesting.
From 1936 until 2005, the Amalgamated Sugar Company (White Satin brand) owned and operated a sugar-processing plant that served as the city's main source of commerce. The closing of the plant resulted in the loss of 600 seasonal jobs. The Nyssa plant just a few years previously had produced more sugar than anywhere else for Amalgamated Sugar. To date the plant has been stripped of everything except the brown sugar line. The mechanic shop is still running. Beets are shipped to Nampa, Idaho. Nyssa also had a greenhouse and testing facilities which were later moved to Twin Falls.
::figure[src="https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/3/30/Nyssa_Aerial.jpg" caption="Nyssa looking east with the Snake River and Idaho visible in the background"] ::
Geography
Nyssa is in eastern Oregon, on the west bank of the Snake River, which forms the border with Idaho. It is 12 mi south of Ontario, Oregon, and 24 mi northwest of Caldwell, Idaho.
Combined U.S. Routes 20 and 26 pass through Nyssa, leading southeast to Parma and Caldwell in Idaho, and northeast 20 mi to Vale. Oregon Route 201 leads south from Nyssa 12 mi to Adrian and north to Ontario.
According to the U.S. Census Bureau, Nyssa has a total area of 2.08 sqmi, all of it land.
Climate
According to the Köppen Climate Classification system, Nyssa has a semi-arid climate, abbreviated "BSk" on climate maps.
|location = Nyssa, Oregon, 1991–2020 normals, extremes 1937–2020 |single line = Yes |collapsed = Y |Jan record high F = 64 |Feb record high F = 68 |Mar record high F = 82 |Apr record high F = 92 |May record high F = 100 |Jun record high F = 108 |Jul record high F = 109 |Aug record high F = 106 |Sep record high F = 100 |Oct record high F = 92 |Nov record high F = 78 |Dec record high F = 67
|Jan avg record high F = 50.7 |Feb avg record high F = 59.2 |Mar avg record high F = 70.5 |Apr avg record high F = 79.9 |May avg record high F = 89.7 |Jun avg record high F = 97.0 |Jul avg record high F = 102.6 |Aug avg record high F = 100.7 |Sep avg record high F = 93.7 |Oct avg record high F = 82.2 |Nov avg record high F = 64.3 |Dec avg record high F = 54.4 |year avg record high F = 103.2
|Jan high F = 35.4 |Feb high F = 44.2 |Mar high F = 54.9 |Apr high F = 62.7 |May high F = 71.9 |Jun high F = 80.5 |Jul high F = 90.9 |Aug high F = 89.2 |Sep high F = 78.7 |Oct high F = 64.2 |Nov high F = 46.6 |Dec high F = 36.3 |year high F =
|Jan mean F = 29.8 |Feb mean F = 35.8 |Mar mean F = 44.3 |Apr mean F = 50.7 |May mean F = 59.9 |Jun mean F = 67.5 |Jul mean F = 76.6 |Aug mean F = 74.1 |Sep mean F = 64.0 |Oct mean F = 50.9 |Nov mean F = 38.1 |Dec mean F = 30.2 |year mean F =
|Jan low F = 24.2 |Feb low F = 27.4 |Mar low F = 33.7 |Apr low F = 38.6 |May low F = 47.9 |Jun low F = 54.5 |Jul low F = 62.3 |Aug low F = 59.1 |Sep low F = 49.4 |Oct low F = 37.7 |Nov low F = 29.5 |Dec low F = 24.1 |year low F =
|Jan avg record low F = 8.5 |Feb avg record low F = 16.0 |Mar avg record low F = 22.1 |Apr avg record low F = 27.9 |May avg record low F = 34.6 |Jun avg record low F = 41.3 |Jul avg record low F = 50.0 |Aug avg record low F = 47.0 |Sep avg record low F = 37.7 |Oct avg record low F = 26.2 |Nov avg record low F = 15.2 |Dec avg record low F = 9.5 |year avg record low F = 3.1
|Jan record low F = -19 |Feb record low F = -18 |Mar record low F = 10 |Apr record low F = 20 |May record low F = 24 |Jun record low F = 29 |Jul record low F = 35 |Aug record low F = 37 |Sep record low F = 28 |Oct record low F = 13 |Nov record low F = -1 |Dec record low F = -18
|precipitation colour = green |Jan precipitation inch = 1.38 |Feb precipitation inch = 0.79 |Mar precipitation inch = 0.92 |Apr precipitation inch = 0.99 |May precipitation inch = 1.15 |Jun precipitation inch = 0.72 |Jul precipitation inch = 0.25 |Aug precipitation inch = 0.16 |Sep precipitation inch = 0.54 |Oct precipitation inch = 0.81 |Nov precipitation inch = 1.02 |Dec precipitation inch = 1.42 |year precipitation inch =
|unit precipitation days = 0.01 in |Jan precipitation days = 8.0 |Feb precipitation days = 6.1 |Mar precipitation days = 8.1 |Apr precipitation days = 7.0 |May precipitation days = 6.9 |Jun precipitation days = 4.8 |Jul precipitation days = 1.7 |Aug precipitation days = 1.3 |Sep precipitation days = 2.7 |Oct precipitation days = 5.0 |Nov precipitation days = 7.5 |Dec precipitation days = 8.9 |year precipitation days = 68.0
|Jan snow inch = 3.3 |Feb snow inch = 1.2 |Mar snow inch = 0.2 |Apr snow inch = 0.0 |May snow inch = 0.0 |Jun snow inch = 0.0 |Jul snow inch = 0.0 |Aug snow inch = 0.0 |Sep snow inch = 0.0 |Oct snow inch = 0.0 |Nov snow inch = 0.8 |Dec snow inch = 2.8 |year snow inch =
|unit snow days = 0.1 in |Jan snow days = 3.2 |Feb snow days = 1.1 |Mar snow days = 0.3 |Apr snow days = 0.0 |May snow days = 0.0 |Jun snow days = 0.0 |Jul snow days = 0.0 |Aug snow days = 0.0 |Sep snow days = 0.0 |Oct snow days = 0.0 |Nov snow days = 0.5 |Dec snow days = 2.6
|source 1 = NOAA |url = https://www.ncei.noaa.gov/access/services/data/v1?dataset=normals-monthly-1991-2020&stations=USC00356179&format=pdf&dataTypes=MLY-TMAX-NORMAL,MLY-TMIN-NORMAL,MLY-TAVG-NORMAL,MLY-PRCP-NORMAL,MLY-SNOW-NORMAL |publisher = National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration |title = U.S. Climate Normals Quick Access – Station: Nyssa, OR |access-date = June 16, 2023 |source 2 = National Weather Service |url = https://www.weather.gov/wrh/climate?wfo=boi |publisher = National Weather Service |title = NOAA Online Weather Data – NWS Boise |access-date = June 16, 2023
Demographics
|1910= 449 |1920= 563 |1930= 821 |1940= 1855 |1950= 2525 |1960= 2611 |1970= 2620 |1980= 2862 |1990= 2629 |2000= 3163 |2010= 3267 |2020= 3198 |footnote=U.S. Decennial Census | align = right | align-fn = center
2020 census
As of the 2020 census, Nyssa had a population of 3,198. The median age was 31.0 years. 31.5% of residents were under the age of 18 and 14.0% of residents were 65 years of age or older. For every 100 females there were 97.4 males, and for every 100 females age 18 and over there were 94.6 males age 18 and over.
0% of residents lived in urban areas, while 100.0% lived in rural areas.
There were 1,024 households in Nyssa, of which 40.8% had children under the age of 18 living in them. Of all households, 46.0% were married-couple households, 19.2% were households with a male householder and no spouse or partner present, and 27.8% were households with a female householder and no spouse or partner present. About 23.9% of all households were made up of individuals and 11.5% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older.
There were 1,134 housing units, of which 9.7% were vacant. Among occupied housing units, 64.1% were owner-occupied and 35.9% were renter-occupied. The homeowner vacancy rate was 2.7% and the rental vacancy rate was 6.8%.
::data[format=table title="Racial composition as of the 2020 census{{cite web|title=2020 Decennial Census Redistricting Data (Public Law 94-171)|url=https://api.census.gov/data/2020/dec/pl?get=NAME%2CP1_001N%2CP1_003N%2CP1_004N%2CP1_005N%2CP1_006N%2CP1_007N%2CP1_008N%2CP1_009N%2CP2_001N%2CP2_002N%2CH1_001N%2CH1_002N&for=place%3A53750&in=state%3A41|website=United States Census Bureau|year=2021|access-date=January 29, 2026|df=mdy}}"]
| Race | Number | Percent |
|---|---|---|
| White | 1,561 | 48.8% |
| Black or African American | 7 | 0.2% |
| American Indian and Alaska Native | 51 | 1.6% |
| Asian | 13 | 0.4% |
| Native Hawaiian and Other Pacific Islander | 5 | 0.2% |
| Some other race | 904 | 28.3% |
| Two or more races | 657 | 20.5% |
| Hispanic or Latino (of any race) | 2,024 | 63.3% |
| :: |
2010 census
As of the census of 2010, there were 3,267 people, 1,051 households, and 758 families residing in the city. The population density was 2107.7 PD/sqmi. There were 1,153 housing units at an average density of 743.9 /sqmi. The racial makeup of the city was 63.1% White, 0.3% African American, 0.7% Native American, 1.3% Asian, 30.9% from other races, and 3.8% from two or more races. Hispanic or Latino of any race were 60.5% of the population.
There were 1,051 households, of which 45.1% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 50.0% were married couples living together, 14.2% had a female householder with no husband present, 7.9% had a male householder with no wife present, and 27.9% were non-families. 24.5% of all households were made up of individuals, and 13% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 3.08 and the average family size was 3.71.
The median age in the city was 30.1 years. 34.5% of residents were under the age of 18; 9.3% were between the ages of 18 and 24; 23.7% were from 25 to 44; 19.3% were from 45 to 64; and 13.1% were 65 years of age or older. The gender makeup of the city was 50.1% male and 49.9% female.
Education
The community is in Nyssa School District 26.
Notable people
- John Bates, football player
- Eva Castellanoz, artist, activist, educator
- Leo Long, athlete
References
References
- "2024 U.S. Gazetteer Files: Oregon". United States Census Bureau.
- "P1. Race – Nyssa city, Oregon: 2020 DEC Redistricting Data (PL 94-171)". U.S. Census Bureau.
- {{GNIS. 2411286
- Bachman, J. R.. (1962). "Story of the Amalgamated Sugar Company, 1897-1961". [[Caxton Printers]].
- Young, Morgen. [http://encyclopedia.densho.org/Nyssa,%20Oregon%20%28detention%20facility%29/ "Nyssa, Oregon (detention facility)"] ''Densho Encyclopedia'' (accessed June 17, 2014).
- Jaehn, Tomas. (August 2000). "Unlikely Harvesters: German Prisoners of War as Agricultural Workers in the Northwest". [[Montana Historical Society]].
- Cockle, Richard. (October 30, 2005). "Nyssa feels bare without bustle of beets". [[The Oregonian]].
- Cockle, Richard. (January 25, 2001). "SWEET ON SUGAR BEETS". [[The Oregonian]].
- [http://www.weatherbase.com/weather/weather-summary.php3?s=971653&cityname=Nyssa%2C+Oregon%2C+United+States+of+America&units= Climate Summary for Nyssa, Oregon]
- "Census of Population and Housing". Census.gov.
- (2021). "2020 Decennial Census Demographic Profile (DP1)".
- (2023). "2020 Decennial Census Demographic and Housing Characteristics (DHC)".
- (2021). "2020 Decennial Census Redistricting Data (Public Law 94-171)".
- "U.S. Census website". [[United States Census Bureau]].
- "2020 CENSUS - SCHOOL DISTRICT REFERENCE MAP: Malheur County, OR". [[U.S. Census Bureau]].
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