Steilacoom, Washington

Steilacoom, Washington
—  Town  —
Location of Steilacoom, Washington
Coordinates:
Country United States
State Washington
County Pierce
Area
 • Total 2.1 sq mi (5.4 km2)
 • Land 2.1 sq mi (5.4 km2)
 • Water 0.0 sq mi (0.1 km2)
Elevation 75 ft (23 m)
Population (2010)
 • Total 5,985
 • Density 2,916.9/sq mi (1,126.2/km2)
Time zone Pacific (PST) (UTC-8)
 • Summer (DST) PDT (UTC-7)
ZIP code 98388
Area code 253
FIPS code 53-67770[1]
GNIS feature ID 1508718[2]

Steilacoom is a town in Pierce County, Washington, United States. The population was 5,985 at the 2010 census. Steilacoom is on the coast of Puget Sound, on a branch not visible on the map to the right. Steilacoom incorporated in 1854 and became the first incorporated town in what is now Washington State.

Based on per capita income, one of the more reliable measures of affluence, Steilacoom ranks 61st of 522 areas in the state of Washington to be ranked. The Steilacoom School District #1[3] consists of Cherrydale Primary School, Saltar's Point Elementary School, Harriet Taylor Elementary School, Anderson Island School, Chloe Clark Elementary School, Pioneer Middle School, and Steilacoom High School.

Contents

History

The origin of the name "Steilacoom" is unclear. One story is that it comes from fur traders with the Hudson's Bay Company (HBC) and is an adaptation of "Tail-a-Koom", the name of an Indian chief. In 1824 HBC chief factor John Work called it "Chilacoom". Another early spelling was "Chelakom".[4][5] The Town of Steilacoom says it comes from the name of the Steilacoom tribe, especially their main village in the Tacoma area, located on Chambers Bay. This village was called Scht’ləqʷəm, later anglicized as Steilacoom.[6] William Bright says the name comes from the Southern Coast Salish subgroup /č'tílqʷəbš/, anglicized as "Steilacoom".[7]

Steilacoom was founded by Lafayette Balch, a sea captain from Maine, and officially incorporated in 1854. It is the oldest incorporated town in Washington and has 4 individual buildings and sites listed on the National Register of Historic Places, including the oldest Catholic Church in the state and the first Protestant Church north of the Columbia River, as well as the Steilacoom Historic District, with 68 contributing properties.

Steilacoom's main source of early prosperity was the manufacture and export of lumber to San Francisco. When the United States Congress established the Washington Territory on March 2, 1853, Governor Isaac Stevens chose Steilacoom to be the seat of Pierce County.

Steilacoom was once the leading candidate to become the territorial capital and the one-time county seat, but lost its chance for dominance in the south Puget Sound region when the Northern Pacific Railroad picked rival city, Tacoma for its west coast terminus in 1873. Steilacoom has since settled into its role of suburban bedroom community.

Steilacoom had the first jail in Washington and the first sawmill. Steilacoom is located next to the City of Lakewood which is home to one of two major state run mental health facilities, Western State Hospital, on the site of what was once Fort Steilacoom. Clara Antoinette McCarty Wilt, the University of Washington's first graduate (1876), was born in Steilacoom.

Geography

Steilacoom is located at (47.170019, -122.594349).[8]

According to the United States Census Bureau, the town has a total area of 2.1 square miles (5.4 km²), of which, 2.1 square miles (5.4 km²) of it is land and 0.04 square miles (0.1 km²) of it (1.43%) is water.

Transportation

Pierce County maintains a Steilacoom-Anderson Island Ferry which departs from Steilacoom and serves Anderson and Ketron islands.

Demographics

As of the census[1] of 2000, there were 6,049 people, 2,570 households, and 1,721 families residing in the town. The population density was 2,916.9 people per square mile (1,128.3/km²). There were 2,674 housing units at an average density of 1,289.4 per square mile (498.8/km²). The racial makeup of the town was 78.46% White, 6.70% African American, 0.84% Native American, 5.87% Asian, 0.61% Pacific Islander, 1.65% from other races, and 5.87% from two or more races. Hispanic or Latino of any race were 5.41% of the population.

There are 2,570 households out of which 27.8% have children under the age of 18 living with them, 53.8% are married couples living together, 9.8% have a female householder with no husband present, and 33.0% are non-families. 26.5% of all households are made up of individuals and 7.2% have someone living alone who is 65 years of age or older. The average household size is 2.35 and the average family size is 2.83.

In the town the age distribution of the population shows 22.8% under the age of 18, 9.2% from 18 to 24, 28.6% from 25 to 44, 26.0% from 45 to 64, and 13.3% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 38 years. For every 100 females there were 96.5 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 93.4 males.

The median income for a household in the town was $46,113, and the median income for a family was $54,725. Males had a median income of $40,505 versus $34,136 for females. The per capita income for the town was $27,124. About 6.9% of families and 8.1% of the population were below the poverty line, including 15.0% of those under age 18 and 3.7% of those age 65 or over.

References

  1. ^ a b "American FactFinder". United States Census Bureau. http://factfinder.census.gov. Retrieved 2008-01-31. 
  2. ^ "US Board on Geographic Names". United States Geological Survey. 2007-10-25. http://geonames.usgs.gov. Retrieved 2008-01-31. 
  3. ^ http://www.steilacoom.k12.wa.us/do/index.asp
  4. ^ Middleton, Lynn (1969). Place Names of the Pacific Northwest Coast. Victoria: Elldee Publishing. pp. 197–198. OCLC 16729415. 
  5. ^ History: Place Names, Town of Steilacoom
  6. ^ History: Origins, Town of Steilacoom
  7. ^ Bright, William (2004). Native American placenames of the United States. University of Oklahoma Press. p. 461. ISBN 9780806135984. http://books.google.com/books?id=5XfxzCm1qa4C&pg=PA461. Retrieved 11 April 2011. 
  8. ^ "US Gazetteer files: 2010, 2000, and 1990". United States Census Bureau. 2011-02-12. http://www.census.gov/geo/www/gazetteer/gazette.html. Retrieved 2011-04-23. 

External links