Juntura, Oregon

Juntura is an unincorporated community in Malheur County, Oregon, United States on U.S. Route 20. The word juntura is Spanish for "juncture", and the community was named for its proximity to the confluence of the Malheur River with the North Fork Malheur River. The name was probably selected by local settler B. L. Milligan, who arrived in the area in the 1880s and who later served as county school superintendent. Juntura post office was established in 1890 and is still operating. The community's development slowed after World War II, and on November 2, 1976, the town voted to disincorporate. Juntura is part of the Ontario micropolitan area.

Climate
According to the Köppen Climate Classification system, Juntura has a semi-arid climate, abbreviated "BSk" on climate maps.

Demographics
As of the 2020 census, there were 39 people, 35 housing units, and 20 families in the CDP. There were 34 White people, 1 Native American, 1 person from some other race, and 3 people from two or more races. 5 people were Hispanic or Latino.

The ancestry of Juntura was 29.6% Irish, 18.5% English, 3.7% German, and 3.7% Scottish.

The median age was 64.5 years old. A total of 44.4% of the population were older than 65, with 22.2% between the ages of 65 and 74, 18.5% between the ages of 75 and 84, and 3.7% over 85.

The median household income was $56,250. A total of 25.9% of the population was in poverty, with 46.2% of people between the ages of 18 and 64, and 8.3% of people over 65 were in poverty.

Transportation
In the 21st century, Juntura is a stop on the Eastern POINT intercity bus line between Bend and Ontario. It makes one stop per day in each direction.

Education
It is in the Juntura School District 12, an elementary school district. It operates Juntura Grade School. In 1975 the school began paying students to do janitorial work after the teacher, who previously worked at the Fields. The janitorial duties each student has were rotated weekly. The students used the money to fund field trips. In 1979 the school had 26 students, with 11 in grades 5-7 and none in the 8th grade. In the 2016-2017 school year, enrollment was initially five and went down to two because the remaining three students moved elsewhere. Kathleen Schram, the principal, stated that she expected that there would be more students later due to demographic patterns. In 2023, all of the board members of the Juntura district left their posts at the same time as they disliked a new ethics rule from the State of Oregon.

area high school students attend various schools, including Crane Union High School in Crane, Harper School in Harper, Ontario High School of the Ontario School District 8C, and Vale High School of the Vale School District. In 1979 students who attended Vale High lived in Vale on weekdays.

The section of Malheur County in which this community is located in is not in any community college district.