Kettle Falls, Washington

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Kettle Falls is a city in Stevens County, Washington, United States. The population was 1,527 at the 2000 census. Salish speakers called it Shonitkwu, meaning roaring or noisy waters [1].

Welcome sign at the northern end of Kettle Falls

1 History
2 Geography
3 Notable Residents
4 Demographics
5 Key geographic points in and near Kettle Falls
6 See also
7 Notes
8 External links

[edit] History

Kettle Falls was officially incorporated on December 17, 1891.

The city is located about eight miles northwest of Colville and roughly 80 miles northwest of Spokane. It is also 30 miles south of the Canadian border crossing at Laurier and adjacent to Lake Roosevelt, the reservoir of the Columbia River. The Kettle River joins the Columbia near Kettle Falls. Indeed the original town of Kettle Falls (and the falls for which it was named) lies flooded underneath the lake; as well as the early Hudson's Bay Company trading post Fort Colville, also located here. With construction of the Grand Coulee Dam in the 1930s, the impounded water rose throughout the basin, forcing Kettle Falls and several other communities to relocate. City planners relocated the town at another community called Meyers Falls, near the railroad lines, helping to ensure its success as a trans-shipment point for the logging, agriculture, and paper industries.

On the Columbia, Kettle Falls had always been an important site to the local Native Americans, who traveled to the falls to fish for salmon in the summer, standing on the rocks of the shore or on Indian Island with spears and baskets. Kettle Falls took its name from the "kettles" worn in the bedrock by rocks swirling in the tremendous currents of the falls. Before the rising waters flooded the falls in 1940, the burial grounds on Indian Island were moved, and the Native Americans in the area came to mourn the loss of their ancient fishing grounds in a final gathering.

Lawney Reyes, in his memoir White Grizzly Bear's Legacy: Learning to be Indian, describes the cultural and economic significance of the former falls for his people, the Sin Aikst. He also comments on their technique for fishing at the falls: "The bands moved to the banks of the river and caught the salmon that were not strong enough to clear the falls. This method of fishing made sure that only the strongest fish went on to spawn."^[1]

[edit] Geography

Kettle Falls is located at 48°36′21″N, 118°3′35″W (48.605908, -118.059667)^GR1.

According to the United States Census Bureau, the city has a total area of 2.4 km² (0.9 mi²), all land.

[edit] Notable Residents

Carolyn Suzanne Sapp, Miss America 1992 and Miss Hawaii 1991.

[edit] Demographics

The City conducts an internal census each Spring, using utility demographic data. The population in Spring 2004 was 1,591 people.

As of the census^GR2 of 2000, there were 1,527 people, 632 households, and 398 families residing in the city. The population density was 627.2/km² (1,631.1/mi²). There were 686 housing units at an average density of 281.8/km² (732.8/mi²). The racial makeup of the city was 91.29% White, 0.07% African American, 3.86% Native American, 0.20% Asian, 0.07% Pacific Islander, 0.65% from other races, and 3.86% from two or more races. Hispanic or Latino of any race were 2.75% of the population.

There were 632 households out of which 33.7% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 47.2% were married couples living together, 11.2% had a female householder with no husband present, and 37.0% were non-families. 31.8% of all households were made up of individuals and 14.4% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.42 and the average family size was 3.05.

In the city the population was spread out with 29.4% under the age of 18, 8.3% from 18 to 24, 25.9% from 25 to 44, 20.5% from 45 to 64, and 15.8% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 34 years. For every 100 females there were 95.8 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 92.2 males.

The median income for a household in the city was $27,031, and the median income for a family was $34,375. Males had a median income of $33,750 versus $23,750 for females. The per capita income for the city was $13,614. About 15.1% of families and 21.1% of the population were below the poverty line, including 26.0% of those under age 18 and 12.9% of those age 65 or over.

[edit] Key geographic points in and near Kettle Falls

Kettle Falls proper is in tan. The pink dot is Kettle Falls Elementary School. At the top in blue is Franklin D. Roosevelt Lake and at the bottom in blue is Colville River

[edit] Reservoirs

Boise Cascade Mill Waste Pond
Blue Gulch Reservoir
Franklin D. Roosevelt Lake

[edit] Dams

Blue Gulch Reservoir Dam

[edit] Schools

Kettle Falls School District
- Kettle Falls Elementary School (Grades K-4, enrollment 279 in October 2003, located at 48°36'27"N, 118°03'05"W)
- Kettle Falls Middle School
- Kettle Falls High School