Grays Harbor County, Washington
Encyclopedia : G : GR : GRA : Grays Harbor County, Washington
Grays Harbor County is a county located in the U.S. state of Washington. As of 2000, the population was 67,194. The county seat is at Montesano, and its largest city is Aberdeen. It is named after Captain Robert Gray, who first entered the harbor that bears his name in 1792.
Grays Harbor County was formed out of Thurston County on April 14, 1854. Originally named Chehalis County, it took its present name in 1915.[link][link]
Geography
According to the U.S. Census Bureau, the county has a total area of 5,761 km² (2,224 mi²). 4,965 km² (1,917 mi²) of it is land and 797 km² (308 mi²) of it (13.83%) is water.Geographic features
- Pacific Ocean
- Grays Harbor
- Lake Quinault
- Chehalis River
- Quinault River
- Olympic Mountains
- Olympic Peninsula
- Satsop River
- Wynoochee River
Adjacent and/or overlapping
- Chehalis Indian Reservation
- Colonel Bob Wilderness
- Olympic National Park
- Olympic National Forest
- Quinault Indian Reservation
State parks
- Griffiths-Priday State Park
- Lake Sylvia State Park
- Ocean City State Park
- Pacific Beach State Park
- Twin Harbors State Park
- Westhaven State Park
- Westport Light State Park
Major highways
Adjacent counties
- Jefferson County, Washington - north
- Mason County, Washington - northeast
- Thurston County, Washington - east/southeast
- Lewis County, Washington - south/southeast
- Pacific County, Washington - south
Demographics
As of the census² of 2000, there were 67,194 people, 26,808 households, and 17,907 families residing in the county. The population density was 14/km² (35/mi²). There were 32,489 housing units at an average density of 7/km² (17/mi²). The racial makeup of the county was 88.30% White, 0.34% Black or African American, 4.66% Native American, 1.22% Asian, 0.11% Pacific Islander, 2.27% from other races, and 3.10% from two or more races. 4.85% of the population were Hispanic or Latino of any race.There were 26,808 households out of which 30.50% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 50.70% were married couples living together, 11.10% had a female householder with no husband present, and 33.20% were non-families. 26.70% of all households were made up of individuals and 11.60% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.48 and the average family size was 2.98.
In the county, the population was spread out with 25.70% under the age of 18, 7.90% from 18 to 24, 26.00% from 25 to 44, 25.00% from 45 to 64, and 15.40% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 39 years. For every 100 females there were 98.80 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 96.20 males.
The median income for a household in the county was $34,160, and the median income for a family was $39,709. Males had a median income of $35,947 versus $24,262 for females. The per capita income for the county was $16,799. 16.10% of the population and 11.90% of families were below the poverty line. 21.60% of those under the age of 18 and 9. 40% of those 65 and older were living below the poverty line.
Famous Harborites
Kurt Cobain - MusicianKrist Novoselic - Musician
John Elway - NFL player
Mark Bruener- NFL player
Gail Brown - Author
Buzz Osborne - Musician
Dale Crover - Musician
Robert Motherwell - Artist
Douglas Osheroff - Nobel-winning physicist
Elton Bennett - Artist
Bob Bush - Congressional Medal of Honor recipient
Peter Norton - Software developer (Norton Utilities)
Census-recognized communities
- Aberdeen
- Aberdeen Gardens
- Brady
- Central Park
- Chehalis Village
- Cohassett Beach
- Copalis Beach
- Cosmopolis
- Elma
- Grayland
- Hoquiam
- Humptulips
- Junction City
- Malone-Porter
- Markham
- McCleary
- Moclips
- Montesano
- Neilton
- Oakville
- Ocean City
- Ocean Shores
- Oyehut-Hogans Corner
- Satsop
- Taholah
- Westport
Other communities
- Alder Grove
- Aloha
- Amanda Park
- Bay City
- Bench Drive
- Carlisle
- Cedarville
- Chenois Creek
- Copalis Crossing
- Deckerville
- Garden City
- Gray Gables
- Grays Harbor City
- Grisdale
- Heather
- Hillgrove
- Melbourne
- New London
- Newton
- Nisson
- Ocosta
- Oysterville
- Pacific Beach
- Preachers Slough
- Quinault
- Saginaw
- South Aberdeen
- South Elma
- South Montesano
- Whites
- Wishkah
- Woodlawn
External links
- [Maritime Heritage Network], an online directory of maritime history resources in the Pacific Northwest, including the Grays Harbor cities of Aberdeen and Hoquiam.
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