Kelso, Washington

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Coordinates: 46°8′31″N 122°54′22″W / 46.14194, -122.90611
Kelso, Washington
Motto: "City of Friendly People"
Location of Kelso, Washington
Country	United States
State	Washington
County	Cowlitz
Platted	1884
Government
- Type	Council/Manager
- City manager	Paul Brachvogel
- Mayor	David Futcher
Area
- Total	8.4 sq mi (21.7 km²)
- Land	8.1 sq mi (20.9 km²)
- Water	0.3 sq mi (0.7 km²)
Elevation	75 ft (23 m)
Population
- Total	11,895
- Density	1,471.6/sq mi (568.2/km²)
Time zone	Pacific (PST) (UTC-8)
- Summer (DST)	PDT (UTC-7)
ZIP code	98626
Area code(s)	360
FIPS code	53-35065^[1]
GNIS feature ID	1512343^[2]
Website: [1]

Kelso is a city in Cowlitz County, Washington, United States. The population was 11,895 at the 2000 census. It is part of the 'Longview, Washington Metropolitan Statistical Area'. It is the county seat of Cowlitz County^[3]. Kelso shares a long border with Longview, Washington, and is near Mount St. Helens.

1 History
2 Geography
3 Government
4 Demographics
5 Education
6 Intercity Rail Transportation
7 Famous Residents
8 Trivia
9 Media
10 Sister Cities
11 References
12 External links

[edit] History

The original inhabitants of Kelso were Native Americans from the Cowlitz tribe. The Cowlitz people were separated into the Upper (or Taidnapam) and Lower (or Mountain) Cowlitz tribes, who were members of the Sahaptin and Salish language families respectively. In 1855, European explorers noted that there numbered over 6000 individuals of the Cowlitz Tribe.

The present city of Kelso was founded by Peter Crawford, of Kelso, Scotland, in 1884. It was known as "little Chicago" early in its history because of the large number of taverns and whorehouses that catered to local loggers. The economy continues to be based largely on wood products.

On May 18, 1980, Kelso residents had front row seats for the eruption of Mt St Helens. Many areas of the city - most notably the Three Rivers Shopping Mall - are built on volcanic ash that was dredged from the Cowlitz River from the mudflow caused by the volcano's eruption.

In March, 1998, 64 houses in the Aldercrest development began to shift their location; eventually 129 houses were destroyed by this landslide. Investigation showed that these houses had been built on top of an active landslide area, and heavy rains had set the earth into motion. This disaster at Aldercrest led to stricter city zoning ordinances and oversight over geological surveys.[2].

[edit] Geography

Kelso is located at 46°8′31″N, 122°54′22″W (46.142033, -122.906027)^[4].

According to the United States Census Bureau, the city has a total area of 8.4 square miles (21.7 km²), of which, 8.1 square miles (20.9 km²) of it is land and 0.3 square miles (0.8 km²) of it (3.46%) is water.

Kelso is located on Interstate 5 at Exits 39 and 40, and is 48 miles north of Portland, OR, 125 miles south of Seattle, WA, and an 80 miles to the Pacific Ocean beaches.

Kelso and Longview comprise the "Twin Cities" of southwest Washington

Kelso is also known as Three Rivers, because the Columbia, the Cowlitz, and the Coweeman run through it.

[edit] Government

Kelso operates under both a city charter and Washington state code governing municipalities. As such, it is the only Charter Code city in the state of Washington. The city is governed under the Council/Manager form of government. Kelso's charter specifies that seven councilmembers are elected by the residents, with the council choosing a mayor from within itself every two years.

The current city council consists of Mayor David Futcher, Alan Slater, Todd McDaniel, Dan Myers, John Karnofski and Rick Roberson. Council position #5 is currently vacant. In 2007, the council appointed then-city attorney Paul Brachvogel to fill the position of City Manager.

A charter amendment approved by citizens in 2006 requires that four of these council positions be filled by individuals living in specified wards of the city, while the remaining three positions are filled on an at-large basis. Council positions are held for four years, with council elections being held to fill either three or four positions in odd-numbered years.

[edit] Demographics

As of the census^[1] of 2000, there were 11,895 people, 4,616 households, and 2,991 families residing in the city. The population density was 1,471.6 people per square mile (568.4/km²). There were 5,067 housing units at an average density of 626.9/sq mi (242.1/km²). The racial makeup of the city was 90.14% White, 0.82% African American, 2.05% Native American, 0.94% Asian, 0.21% Pacific Islander, 3.12% from other races, and 2.72% from two or more races. Hispanic or Latino of any race were 6.93% of the population. 18.1% were of German, 9.3% Irish, 9.0% English, 7.7% American and 6.4% Norwegian ancestry according to Census 2000.

There were 4,616 households out of which 33.6% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 43.0% were married couples living together, 15.9% had a female householder with no husband present, and 35.2% were non-families. 28.3% 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 2.52 and the average family size was 3.05.

In the city the population was spread out with 28.3% under the age of 18, 10.5% from 18 to 24, 29.0% from 25 to 44, 19.8% from 45 to 64, and 12.3% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 33 years. For every 100 females there were 99.6 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 98.8 males.

The median income for a household in the city was $29,722, and the median income for a family was $36,784. Males had a median income of $36,271 versus $23,750 for females. The per capita income for the city was $15,162. About 16.4% of families and 19.8% of the population were below the poverty line, including 25.1% of those under age 18 and 11.2% of those age 65 or over.

[edit] Education

The Kelso School District is composed of 7 elementary schools, 2 middle schools, including Huntington Middle School (Home of the Huskies) and Coweeman Middle School (Home of the Cougars) and a high school. The Kelso High School building was extensively renovated and expanded in 2003.

Kelso High School's football team is called the Hilanders, after the town's Scottish heritage. The boys teams are often referred to as the "Scotties," while the girls teams are called the "Lassies."

[edit] Intercity Rail Transportation

Amtrak, the national passenger rail system, provides service to the twin cities of Kelso-Longview. The Amtrak station is located in the Kelso Multimodal Transportation Center along the Cowlitz River. Amtrak train 11, the southbound Coast Starlight, is scheduled to depart Kelso at 12:29pm with service to Vancouver, Washington, Portland, Oregon, Sacramento, California, Emeryville, California (with bus connection to San Francisco), and Los Angeles. Amtrak train 14, the northbound Coast Starlight, is scheduled to depart Kelso at 5:14pm daily with service to Centralia, Olympia-Lacey, Tacoma and Seattle. Amtrak Cascades trains, operating as far north as Vancouver, British Columbia and as far south as Eugene, Oregon, serve Kelso-Longview several times daily in both directions.

[edit] Famous Residents

Jason Schmidt - Pitcher for the Los Angeles Dodgers.
Brent W. Carmack, M.D. - Ophthalmic Surgeon and inventor of multiple surgical techniques for removing cataracts in what is known now as micro-coaxial phacoemulsification.
^{[citation needed]}
David Richie - Former NFL player with the Denver Broncos, San Francisco 49ers, Jacksonville Jaguars and the Green Bay Packers. Also played in the XFL with the Los Angeles Xtreme.
Ryan Chilton - Former professional European basketball player. All-time leading shot blocker at Colorado State University.
Joel Lambert - Actor
Connor Trinneer - Actor (Star Trek)

[edit] Trivia

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The article could be improved by integrating relevant items and removing inappropriate ones.