| La Conner, Washington | |
|---|---|
| — Town — | |
| Location of La Conner, Washington | |
| Coordinates: | |
| Country | United States |
| State | Washington |
| County | Skagit |
| Area | |
| • Total | 0.5 sq mi (1.3 km2) |
| • Land | 0.4 sq mi (1.1 km2) |
| • Water | 0.1 sq mi (0.2 km2) |
| Elevation | 56 ft (17 m) |
| Population (2010) | |
| • Total | 891 |
| • Density | 1,746.7/sq mi (674.4/km2) |
| Time zone | Pacific (PST) (UTC-8) |
| • Summer (DST) | PDT (UTC-7) |
| ZIP code | 98257 |
| Area code | 360 |
| FIPS code | 53-36780[1] |
| GNIS feature ID | 1534592[2] |
La Conner is a town in Skagit County, Washington, United States with a population of 891 at the 2010 census. It is included in the Mount Vernon–Anacortes, Washington Metropolitan Statistical Area. In the month of April, the town annually hosts the majority of the Skagit Valley Tulip Festival events. The center of town, roughly bounded by Second, Morris and Commercial Streets and the Swinomish Channel, is a historic district and is listed on the National Register of Historic Places.
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La Conner was first settled in May 1867 by Alonzo Low and was then known by its post office name, Swinomish. In 1869, J.S. Conner bought the settlement's trading post and in 1870 had the name changed to honor his wife, Louisa Ann Conner. The French-appearing "La" representing her first- and middle-initials. La Conner was once the county seat of Skagit County.[3]
La Conner is located at the coordinates (48.390495, -122.495646).[4]
According to the United States Census Bureau, the town has a total area of 0.5 square miles (1.3 km²), of which, 0.4 square miles (1.1 km²) of it is land and 0.1 square miles (0.2 km²) of it (15.69%) is water.
As of the census[1] of 2006, there were 839 people, 372 households, and 196 families residing in the town. The population density was 1,746.7 people per square mile (667.8/km²). There were 434 housing units at an average density of 996.1 per square mile (380.8/km²). The racial makeup of the town was 90.80% White, 0.79% African American, 1.71% Native American, 0.26% Asian, 3.81% from other races, and 2.63% from two or more races. Hispanic or Latino of any race were 6.18% of the population.
There were 372 households in which 21.8% had children under the age of 12 living with them, 43.8% were married couples living together, 6.7% had a female householder with no husband present, 41.7% of all households were made up of individuals and 22.0% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.05 and the average family size was 2.79.
In the town the age distribution of the population shows 20.1% under the age of 18, 6.2% from 18 to 24, 22.9% from 25 to 44, 29.4% from 45 to 64, and 21.4% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 46 years. For every 100 females there were 82.5 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 81.0 males.
The median income for a household in the town was $42,344, and the median income for a family was $52,083. Males had a median income of $40,074 versus $26,875 for females. The per capita income for the town was $24,308. About 8.8% of families and 11.8% of the population were below the poverty line, including 20.3% of those under age 18 and 8.1% of those age 65 or over.
La Conner's Rainbow bridge connects La Conner to Fidalgo Island which includes, the gated Shelter Bay Community, the Swinomish reservation, and the city of Anacortes. The center of town—roughly bounded by 2nd, Morris and Commercial Sts., and Swinomish Channel—is a historic district, listed on the National Register of Historic Places (NRHP). Also on the NRHP is the Bethsaida Swedish Evangelical Lutheran Church Parsonage east of town.
Author Tom Robbins is a long-time resident of La Conner. Many of his books, most notably Another Roadside Attraction, have chapters set in the vicinity.
Pacific Northwest photographer Art Hupy (1924–2003) settled in La Conner in 1977 and founded the Museum of Northwest Art in 1981. Many influential Northwest artists including Guy Anderson, Clayton James, and Barbara Straker James have close ties to La Conner.
Joe Shell (born in La Conner in 1918) is a former member and floor leader of the California State Assembly and was the intraparty opponent of Richard M. Nixon for the California Republican gubernatorial nomination in 1962. His father was an Indian agent at the time on the Swinomish reservation.
Each spring, La Conner attracts tens of thousands of visitors to view a wide array of tulips. Also, it hosts the Arts Alive! show during the first weekend of November, where local artists display and sell their artwork.
The town is also famous for its many wild turkeys. In 2005, the town named the wild turkey as their "Official Town Bird."[5] On August 8, 2006, however, a debate was heard in town council about whether the birds should be removed because of nuisance complaints about noise, fecal matter, and ingestion of garden materials.[6] As of October 2010, the town council declared the turkeys to be a nuisance and have since taken action to have them removed from the town limits.
La Conner has the following sister cities.[7]
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