Port Ludlow, Washington
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Port Ludlow is a census-designated place (CDP) in Jefferson County, Washington, United States. The population was 1,968 at the 2000 census. Originally a logging and sawmill community, its economy declined during the first half of the 20th century. Following the completion of the nearby Hood Canal Bridge in 1960, Port Ludlow became the site of resorts and planned communities, attracting more affluent residents who were retired, buying vacation homes, or were making the then more convenient commute to the business centers on the east side of Puget Sound. Based on per capita income, one of the more reliable measures of affluence, Port Ludlow ranks 16th of 522 areas in the state of Washington to be ranked. It is also the highest rank achieved in Jefferson County. Port Ludlow's location and marina facilities make it a convenient and popular port for leisure craft sailing between the Puget Sound and the San Juan Islands.
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[edit] History
United States Navy Commander Charles Wilkes led an expedition to Puget Sound in 1842 and named Port Ludlow after Navy Lieutenant Augustus C. Ludlow. English-speaking explorers commonly named sheltered inlets they identified in the Pacific Northwest with names beginning with "Port" and the communities which subsequently developed there would adopt the name of that inlet, with the name for the inlet eventually changed to distinquish it from that of the community. Thus the original "Port Ludlow" is now called "Port Ludlow Bay" and the name of the community is "Port Ludlow."
The first shipments of timber from the Puget Sound to San Francisco, California in 1851 stimulated interest in the business potential of building sawmills on Puget Sound. John R. Thorndike and W. P. Sayward sailed to Puget Sound in 1852 and found the environs of Port Ludlow promising. Thorndike filed a timber claim of 318 acres and they started building a mill there. The initial mill housed two sash saws capable of producing 3,000 feet of lumber daily. The trees along the banks of the bay were logged first and then oxen and horses were used to bring more distant logs to the mill. The mill was leased in 1858 to the Amos & Phinney Company, of which A. Phinney became the resident manager.
The U.S. Federal Census of 1860 designated Port Ludlow as one of the three enumeration districts in Jefferson County, Washington Territory. The census tally portrays the make-up of a young logging and sawmill community: Of the 124 people counted, 117 (94%) were adults between the ages of 20 and 50, and the remaining 7 were children. Of the adult population 112 (96%) were men and only 5 women, of which 3 were residing with husbands. 53 (47%) of the men were listed as lumbermen and 14 (13%) as sawyers. Of the total population, 94 (76%) were born in the United States, and of those all were born in the eastern half of the nation but two — a two-year-old born in California and a one-year-old born in Washington Territory. Of the 30 (24%) who were foreign-born, 8 were born in England, 8 in Ireland, 6 in Canada, 4 in Germany, 2 in Norway, and one each in Australia and Denmark. The indigenous peoples were not counted in the 1860 census.
[edit] Geography
Port Ludlow is located at (47.922861, -122.690914)GR1.
According to the United States Census Bureau, the CDP has a total area of 36.4 km² (14.1 mi²). 29.6 km² (11.4 mi²) of it is land and 6.8 km² (2.6 mi²) of it (18.71%) is water.
[edit] Demographics
As of the censusGR2 of 2000, there were 1,968 people, 954 households, and 742 families residing in the CDP. The population density was 66.5/km² (172.2/mi²). There were 1,186 housing units at an average density of 40.1/km² (103.8/mi²). The racial makeup of the CDP was 96.39% White, 0.10% African American, 0.20% Native American, 1.42% Asian, 0.15% Pacific Islander, 0.76% from other races, and 0.97% from two or more races. Hispanic or Latino of any race were 1.52% of the population.
There were 954 households out of which 10.4% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 74.2% were married couples living together, 2.4% had a female householder with no husband present, and 22.2% were non-families. 18.0% of all households were made up of individuals and 10.5% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.06 and the average family size was 2.29.
In the CDP the population was spread out with 9.5% under the age of 18, 2.0% from 18 to 24, 11.9% from 25 to 44, 36.2% from 45 to 64, and 40.3% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 61 years. For every 100 females there were 94.9 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 96.0 males.
The median income for a household in the CDP was $56,938, and the median income for a family was $62,298. Males had a median income of $50,265 versus $24,531 for females. The per capita income for the CDP was $36,625. None of the families and 1.2% of the population were living below the poverty line, including no under eighteens and none of those over 64.
[edit] References
- Jefferson County Historical Society, With Pride in Heritage: History of Jefferson County, Portland, Oregon, Professional Publishing Printing, Inc., 1966.
- United States Federal Census of 1860, Heritage Quest Online, ProQuest Online Databases.
[edit] External links
- Maps and aerial photos
- Street map from Google Maps, or Yahoo! Maps, or Windows Live Local
- Satellite image from Google Maps, Windows Live Local, WikiMapia
- Topographic map from TopoZone
- Aerial image or topographic map from TerraServer-USA
