Ritzville, Washington

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

Ritzville, Washington
Gritman Building, downtown Ritzville
Gritman Building, downtown Ritzville
Location of Ritzville in Washington
Location of Ritzville in Washington
Coordinates: 47°7′35″N 118°22′38″W / 47.12639, -118.37722
Country United States
State Washington
County Adams
Area
 - Total 1.3 sq mi (3.3 km²)
 - Land 1.3 sq mi (3.3 km²)
 - Water 0.0 sq mi (0.0 km²)
Elevation 1,818 ft (554 m)
Population (2000)
 - Total 1,736
 - Density 1,347.8/sq mi (520.4/km²)
Time zone Pacific (PST) (UTC-8)
 - Summer (DST) PDT (UTC-7)
ZIP code 99169
Area code(s) 509
FIPS code 53-58725[1]
GNIS feature ID 1512607[2]

Ritzville is a city in Adams County, Washington, United States. The population was 1,736 at the 2000 census. It is the county seat of Adams County[3].

Contents

[edit] History

Ritzville was officially incorporated on July 17, 1890. It was founded by Philip Ritz, for whom it is named. It has the biggest annual rodeo in eastern Washington.[4]

[edit] Geography

Ritzville is 57 miles (92 km) southwest of Spokane on Interstate 90 and U.S. Route 395. According to the United States Census Bureau, the city has a total area of 1.3 square miles (3.4 km²), all land.

[edit] Demographics

As of the census[1] of 2000, there were 1,736 people, 777 households, and 470 families residing in the city. The population density was 1,347.8 people per square mile (519.6/km²). There were 873 housing units at an average density of 677.8/sq mi (261.3/km²). The racial makeup of the city was 95.79% White, 0.35% African American, 0.58% Native American, 0.58% Asian, 0.86% from other races, and 1.84% from two or more races. Hispanic or Latino of any race were 2.36% of the population.

There were 777 households out of which 24.1% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 48.5% were married couples living together, 8.9% had a female householder with no husband present, and 39.4% were non-families. 36.4% of all households were made up of individuals and 17.6% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.15 and the average family size was 2.75.

In the city the population was spread out with 21.7% under the age of 18, 5.1% from 18 to 24, 21.8% from 25 to 44, 26.3% from 45 to 64, and 25.1% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 46 years. For every 100 females there were 93.5 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 86.3 males.

The median income for a household in the city was $32,560, and the median income for a family was $40,240. Males had a median income of $32,500 versus $21,083 for females. The per capita income for the city was $18,308. About 8.4% of families and 14.3% of the population were below the poverty line, including 20.1% of those under age 18 and 8.6% of those age 65 or over.

[edit] Climate

The average temperature in January is 27 °F (−3 °C), and in July it is 69 °F (21 °C). Annual snowfall averages 20 inches (51 cm).[5]


Weather averages for Ritzville, Washington
Month Jan Feb Mar Apr May Jun Jul Aug Sep Oct Nov Dec Year
Average high °F (°C) 34 (1) 42 (6) 51 (11) 61 (16) 69 (21) 78 (26) 87 (31) 86 (30) 77 (25) 62 (17) 45 (7) 36 (2) 61 (16)
Average low °F (°C) 21 (-6) 26 (-3) 30 (-1) 34 (1) 40 (4) 47 (8) 52 (11) 52 (11) 45 (7) 36 (2) 28 (-2) 23 (-5) 36 (2)
Precipitation inches (mm) 1.4 (35.6) 1.1 (27.9) 1.1 (27.9) 0.9 (22.9) 0.9 (22.9) 0.8 (20.3) 0.5 (12.7) 0.4 (10.2) 0.6 (15.2) 1.0 (25.4) 1.6 (40.6) 1.7 (43.2) 11.9 (302.3)
Source: [5] December 2007

[edit] Points of interest

Four individual structures in Ritzville are on the National Register of Historic Places. They are the Burroughs (Dr. Frank R.) House on Main Street, the Greene (Nelson H.) House on South Adams Street, the Ritzville Carnegie Library on West Main Street, and the Ritzville High School, also known as Old Ritzville High School, on Seventh Avenue. In addition, the Ritzville Historic District, bounded roughly by Broadway, Division Street, Railroad Avenue, and Washington Street, is on the register.[6]

[edit] See also

[edit] Notes

  1. ^ a b American FactFinder. United States Census Bureau. Retrieved on 2008-01-31.
  2. ^ US Board on Geographic Names. United States Geological Survey (2007-10-25). Retrieved on 2008-01-31.
  3. ^ Find a County. National Association of Counties. Retrieved on 2008-01-31.
  4. ^ Kirk, pg. 98
  5. ^ a b Weatherbase: Weather for Ritzville, Washington, United States of America (English). Weatherbase (2007). Retrieved on 2007-12-01.
  6. ^ National Register of Historic Places: Washington, Adams County. National Park Service. Retrieved on 2007-12-05.

[edit] References

  • Kirk, Ruth and Carmela Alexander (1990, revised 1995) Exploring Washington's Past: a road guide to history (Revised Edition), University of Washington Press, Seattle. ISBN 0-295-97443-5

[edit] External links