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Kelso, Washington
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
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Kelso, Washington
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| Motto: "City of Friendly People" | |
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| Coordinates: | |
| Country | United States |
| State | Washington |
| County | Cowlitz |
| Platted | 1884 |
| Government | |
| - Type | Council/Manager |
| - City manager | Paul Brachvogel |
| - Mayor | Don Gregory |
| 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 | 53-35065GR2 |
| GNIS feature ID | 1512343GR3 |
| 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 CountyGR6. Kelso shares a long border with Longview, Washington, and is near Mount St. Helens.
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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].
Kelso is located at (46.142033, -122.906027)GR1.
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 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 Don Gregory, Alan Slater, Joe Wheeler, Todd McDaniel, Mark Chester, David Futcher and John Karnofski. 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.
As of the censusGR2 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.
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.
The Kelso School District is composed of 7 elementary schools, 2 middle schools and a high school. The Kelso High School building was extensively renovated and expanded in 2003.
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.
Jason Schmidt - Pitcher for the Los Angeles Dodgers.
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- Kelso currently is known as the "smelt capital of the world" because of the large smelt run that the Cowlitz River has in the winter months.
- Kelso High School's football team is called the "Hilanders", after the town's Scottish heritage. The team is often referred to as "The Scotties."
- Kelso's primary newspaper is The Daily News, which won a 1981 Pulitzer Prize for its coverage of the St. Helens eruption.
- Kelso and Longview comprise the "Twin Cities" of South West Washington
- Kelso is also known as Three Rivers, because the Columbia, The Cowlitz, and the Coweeman run through it.
Kelso has 3 AM radio stations licensed in the city, and no FM stations with licenses in the city. Kelso is provided with cable television from nearby Longview.
Kelso has the two sister cities, according to [3] and [4]:
- City of Kelso
- The Daily News (Kelso's local newspaper)
- Kelso, Washington is at coordinates Coordinates:
