Eugene, city, seat (1853) of Lane county, western Oregon, U.S., on the Willamette River, adjoining Springfield to the east. The area around what became Eugene was inhabited for several centuries by Kalapuya Indians. Settled by Eugene Skinner in 1846, the city was laid out on Willamette bottomland in 1852. The town site was relocated and named Eugene City in 1853. The arrival of the Oregon and California (now Southern Pacific) Railroad in 1871 stimulated Eugene’s growth as an agricultural and lumber centre. The University of Oregon was founded there in 1872, followed by Northwest Christian College in 1895 and Lane Community College in 1965.
A lumber-plywood economy that relies heavily on the city’s educational institutions prevails and is augmented by food processing and light manufacturing. Eugene is a tourist centre for the MacKenzie River recreational area and Willamette National Forest, headquartered in the city. The Oregon Bach Festival has been held annually in the city since 1970. A bohemian district of bookstores, cafés, and art galleries surrounding the University of Oregon campus attracts many visitors. Tie-dyed clothing and alternative lifestyles are not uncommon in the city. A unique combination of county fair, renaissance fair, outdoor music festival, and environmental school, the annual Oregon Country Fair, established 1969, is held in Veneta, 13 miles (21 km) east of Eugene. Inc. 1862. Pop. (2010) 156,185; Eugene-Springfield Metro Area, 351,715; (2020) 176,564; Eugene-Springfield Metro Area, 382,971.