Yelm, Washington

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

Yelm is a city in Thurston County, Washington, United States. The population was 3,289 at the 2000 census. The current Mayor is Ron Harding.

According to the Washington State Office of Financial Management[1], Yelm ranked 10th of 279 eligible incorporated communities in population growth between 2000 and 2005.

1 History
2 Geography
3 Demographics
4 Athletics
5 External links

[edit] History

The word “Yelm” comes from the Coastal Salish word “shelm” which means “shimmering heat waves from the sun.”

The Yelm Prairie was originally inhabited by members of the Nisqually Indian Tribe. The first permanent American settlers came in 1853 to join the Hudson’s Bay Company sheep farmers who were already in the area.

With the coming of the Northern Pacific Railway in 1873, Yelm began to prosper having found an outlet for its agricultural and forestry products. Its economic base was further enhanced in the early 1900s when an irrigation company was formed in 1916, making Yelm a center for commercial production of beans, cucumbers, and berries.

Yelm was officially incorporated on December 10, 1924.

During the Great Depression, the Yelm Irrigation Company was bankrupted by high maintenance costs and an unstructured water distribution plan.

Ironically, Yelm is now home to the first Class A Water Reclamation Facility and distribution system in Washington state. This system reclaims all of its waste water to irrigate landscaping at churches, parks, a football field and one residence. The water also is added to streams and is used to recharge water underground at a city wetland park that includes a catch-and-release fish pond for rainbow trout.

Yelm is also the home of the controversial organization known as the Ramtha School of Enlightenment. The school has been criticized by certain religious and media groups as being common with similar cults. The locals believe its a cult. However Ramtha provides some economic value to the community.

[edit] Geography

Yelm is located at 46°56′29″N, 122°36′23″W (46.941515, -122.606305)^GR1.

According to the United States Census Bureau, the city has a total area of 14.6 km² (5.6 mi²), all land.

[edit] Demographics

As of the census^GR2 of 2000, there were 3,289 people, 1,216 households, and 807 families residing in the city. The Estimated population as of 2004 was 4,409.The population density was 225.6/km² (584.4/mi²). There were 1,323 housing units at an average density of 90.7/km² (235.1/mi²). The racial makeup of the city was 86.17% White, 1.79% African American, 2.22% Native American, 1.73% Asian, 1.16% Pacific Islander, 1.58% from other races, and 5.35% from two or more races. Hispanic or Latino of any race were 5.35% of the population.

There were 1,216 households out of which 41.5% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 48.2% were married couples living together, 14.4% had a female householder with no husband present, and 33.6% were non-families. 27.1% of all households were made up of individuals and 11.6% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.67 and the average family size was 3.26.

In the city the population was spread out with 32.0% under the age of 18, 9.3% from 18 to 24, 31.4% from 25 to 44, 16.6% from 45 to 64, and 10.8% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 31 years. For every 100 females there were 88.5 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 82.7 males.

The median income for a household in the city was $39,453, and the median income for a family was $45,475. Males had a median income of $32,037 versus $24,474 for females. The per capita income for the city was $15,865. About 7.9% of families and 10.1% of the population were below the poverty line, including 11.3% of those under age 18 and 6.8% of those age 65 or over.

[edit] Athletics

The Yelm Tornado boys basketball team led by Coach Bill Ward finished 20-5 and first in the Boys State B tourney defeating Brewster 48-41 on March 8, 1958.