Athena is a city in Umatilla County, Oregon, United States. Take a look below for 15 fun and amazing facts about Athena, Oregon, United States.

1. The population was 1,126 at the 2010 census.

2. It is part of the Pendleton–Hermiston Micropolitan Statistical Area.

3. Athena, about halfway between Pendleton, Oregon, and Walla Walla, Washington, was originally called Centerville.

4. However, confusion about the name sometimes arose because Oregon had another Centerville, in Washington County, and the state of Washington had a Centerville, in Klickitat County.

5. In 1889, local government officials asked the Centerville school principal, D. W. Jarvis, to recommend a different name.

6. He chose Athena after the Greek goddess, and they agreed.

7. Centerville got its first post office on October 11, 1878.

8. The first postmaster was William T. Cook. The post office name was changed to Athena on May 16, 1889.

9. Nineteenth-century settlers of Scottish descent brought to Athena an interest in the customs and music of Scotland. Before World War I, Athena had a Caledonian Society that held an annual picnic featuring Scottish dancing and bagpipes. Weston-McEwen High School in Athena revived the tradition in the 1950s when it organized a Scots dance group and a pipe band.

10. The band has since performed at many venues in the United States and has traveled to Scotland and England to play.

11. Athena was also a filming location in the 1930 F.W. Murnau film “City Girl” starring Charles Farrell and Mary Duncan.

12. According to the United States Census Bureau, the city has a total area of 0.57 square miles (1.48 km2), all of it land.

13. According to the Köppen Climate Classification system, Athena has a warm-summer Mediterranean climate, abbreviated “Csa” on climate maps.

14. Athena is served by the Athena Weston School District.

15. Hodaka motorcycles were once designed and assembled in Athena under the aegis of the Pacific Basin Trading Company, with manufacture in Japan. The Hodaka marque is recognized as an American vintage cycle; it was the vintage marque at the 2006 American Motorcyclist Association (AMA) Vintage Motorcycle Days at Mid-Ohio. Reunions of former PABATCO employees, vintage enthusiasts, and present-day Hodaka owners and riders are held in Athena annually, including swap meet, bike show, scrambles, and observed trials.