Map of Halfway city, Oregon

Halfway is a city in Baker County, Oregon, United States. The city took its name from the location of its post office, on the Alexander Stalker ranch, halfway between Pine and Jim Town. The population was 288 at the 2010 census.

During the dot-com bubble, Halfway agreed to rename itself Half.com for a year as a publicity stunt for the e-commerce company of the same name.

Halfway city overview:
Name:	Halfway city
LSAD Code:	25
LSAD Description:	city (suffix)
State:	Oregon
County:	Baker County
Incorporated:	1909
Elevation:	2,651 ft (808 m)
Total Area:	0.37 sq mi (0.96 km²)
Land Area:	0.37 sq mi (0.96 km²)
Water Area:	0.00 sq mi (0.00 km²)
Total Population:	351
Population Density:	943.55/sq mi (363.89/km²)
ZIP code:	97834
Area code:	458 and 541
FIPS code:	4131650
GNISfeature ID:	1143208

Online Interactive Map

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Halfway online map. Source: Basemap layers from Google Map, Open Street Map (OSM), Arcgisonline, Wmflabs. Boundary Data from Database of Global Administrative Areas.

Halfway location map. Where is Halfway city?

Halfway location on the U.S. Map. Where is Halfway city. — Halfway location on the U.S. Map.

Halfway location on the Oregon map. Where is Halfway city. — Location of Halfway in Oregon.

History

The community was named for the fact it is roughly halfway between Pine and Cornucopia. While a post office was established in 1887, the town was platted in another location in 1907, the post office moved there in 1908, and it incorporated in 1909.

Half.com name change

Halfway earned a place in the history of the dot-com era in December 1999, when it received and accepted an offer to rename itself as Half.com, after the e-commerce start-up, for one year in exchange for $110,000; 20 computers for the school; and other financial subsidies. It became the first city in the world to rename itself as a dot com. Among the less obvious reasons the town was chosen were its small population size (and thus its likelihood to accept such an offer) and the city’s location, which fit perfectly into Half.com’s marketing scheme. “They’re within four miles of the 45th parallel which makes it halfway between the equator and the North Pole”. The proclamation did not legally change its name. The city created and posted two signs at its borders that greeted visitors with “America’s First Dot-com City”. The city auctioned one of these off in September 2007 for $1000; the winner was Half.com’s founder Josh Kopelman.

Half.com was bought by eBay in February 2001.

The original financial hardships that led to the city accepting Half.com’s offer returned in 2004 when a company owning a promissory note, secured by its fairgrounds and improvements, demanded payment of over $530,000.

Halfway Road Map

Halfway city Satellite Map

Geography

Halfway is located 54 miles (87 km) east of Baker City, along Oregon Route 86, halfway between Pine and Cornucopia, which gave the town its name. The city’s geographic coordinates of 44°52′42″N 117°6′38″W (making it close to the midpoint between the equator and the North Pole) were part of the reason for Half.com to choose the town for its advertising gimmick.

According to the United States Census Bureau, the city has a total area of 0.37 square miles (0.96 km), all of it land.