Deer Park is a city in

Spokane County Spokane County is a county located in the U.S. state of Washington. As of the 2020 census, its population was 539,339, making it the fourth-most populous county in Washington. The largest city and county seat is Spokane, the second largest cit ...

Washington Washington commonly refers to: * Washington (state), United States * Washington, D.C., the capital of the United States ** A metonym for the federal government of the United States ** Washington metropolitan area, the metropolitan area centered o ...

. The population was 3,652 at the time of the 2010 census, up from 3,017 in 2000.

History

North of

Spokane Spokane ( ) is the largest city and county seat of Spokane County, Washington, United States. It is in eastern Washington, along the Spokane River, adjacent to the Selkirk Mountains, and west of the Rocky Mountain foothills, south of the Ca ...

, the city of Deer Park was officially incorporated on June 24, 1908. Deer Park got its name when railroad surveyors saw deer grazing in the area. It was settled in 1889 when a

railroad siding A siding, in rail terminology, is a low-speed track section distinct from a running line or through route such as a main line, branch line, or spur. It may connect to through track or to other sidings at either end. Sidings often have lighte ...

was built for the

Spokane Falls & Northern Railway The Spokane Falls & Northern (SF&N) is a historic railroad that operated in northeast Washington state. The SF&N initially connected the city of Spokane (then called Spokane Falls) with the Canada–United States border at Waneta, British Columbi ...

. Soon the Standard Lumber Company sawmill was established by William Short and George Crawford to provide the lumber needed to rebuild the nearby city of Spokane Falls (later renamed

) following the great fire of 1889. By 1900 the population of Deer Park was approximately 300 residents. In addition to the sawmill, the community consisted of three general stores (owned separately by P. Kelly, Dan Weis, and A. Baldwin), a blacksmith and harness shop, a livery and feed stable, Jeff Moore's hotel, Dr. Prince's drug store, a public school with approximately 75 students, and a Congregational church led by Rev. F. McConaughy. By this time there were as many as eight sawmills within ten miles of Deer Park, all of which got their supplies in, and employed residents of, the town. Arcadia Apple Orchards Company was established around 1906, and orchards of apple trees were planted on the land surrounding Deer Park which had been cleared by the logging activity. The municipal airport east of the city was built during

World War II World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great powers—forming two opposin ...

and dedicated in August 1944 with three paved runways, all at in length. During the early 1960s, an

Atlas An atlas is a collection of maps; it is typically a bundle of maps of Earth or of a region of Earth. Atlases have traditionally been bound into book form, but today many atlases are in multimedia formats. In addition to presenting geograp ...

missile site (567-1) near the airport was operated by the

567th Strategic Missile Squadron The 567th Strategic Missile Squadron is an inactive United States Air Force unit. It was last assigned to the 92d Strategic Aerospace Wing at Fairchild Air Force Base, Washington, where it was inactivated as part of the phaseout of the Atlas ...

Fairchild AFB Fairchild Air Force Base (AFB) is a United States Air Force base, located in the northwest United States in eastern Washington, approximately southwest of Spokane. The host unit at Fairchild is the 92nd Air Refueling Wing (92 ARW) assigned t ...

. Soon obsolete, the site was decommissioned in 1965 and sold for salvage in 1967.

Community events

Deer Park has a number of annual events throughout the year sponsored by local businesses and the city. These include: Settlers Days, an annual fair and parade, takes place on the 4th weekend in July. The city hosts a Summer Concert Series in Mix Park Saturday nights through the summer, with the exception of Settler's Day or if it July 4 is on a Saturday. The annual Kiwanis Pet Parade, a parade with local people's pets, is held in July. An annual citywide yard sale on the first weekend of August. Roundabout 5k, a 5k footrace in September. Winterfest, an annual winter celebration takes place in January, along with the Frostbite 5k. Pumpkin Lane, a trick or treating event hosted by local businesses is held the Saturday Before Halloween.

Geography

Deer Park is located at (47.956922, -117.470230), at an

elevation The elevation of a geographic location is its height above or below a fixed reference point, most commonly a reference geoid, a mathematical model of the Earth's sea level as an equipotential gravitational surface (see Geodetic datum § Vert ...

of above sea level. According to the

United States Census Bureau The United States Census Bureau (USCB), officially the Bureau of the Census, is a principal agency of the U.S. Federal Statistical System, responsible for producing data about the American people and economy. The Census Bureau is part of the ...

, the city has a total area of , all of it land.

Climate

According to the

Köppen Climate Classification The Köppen climate classification is one of the most widely used climate classification systems. It was first published by German-Russian climatologist Wladimir Köppen (1846–1940) in 1884, with several later modifications by Köppen, notabl ...

system, Deer Park has a Dry-summer continental climate, abbreviated "Dsb" on climate maps.

Demographics

2010 census

As of the

census A census is the procedure of systematically acquiring, recording and calculating information about the members of a given population. This term is used mostly in connection with national population and housing censuses; other common censuses incl ...

of 2010, there were 3,652 people, 1,394 households, and 948 families living in the city. The

population density Population density (in agriculture: standing stock or plant density) is a measurement of population per unit land area. It is mostly applied to humans, but sometimes to other living organisms too. It is a key geographical term.Matt RosenberPopul ...

was . There were 1,532 housing units at an average density of . The racial makeup of the city was 92.6%

White White is the lightest color and is achromatic (having no hue). It is the color of objects such as snow, chalk, and milk, and is the opposite of black. White objects fully reflect and scatter all the visible wavelengths of light. White o ...

, 0.4%

African American African Americans (also referred to as Black Americans and Afro-Americans) are an ethnic group consisting of Americans with partial or total ancestry from sub-Saharan Africa. The term "African American" generally denotes descendants of ens ...

, 1.5% Native American, 0.2%

Asian Asian may refer to: * Items from or related to the continent of Asia: ** Asian people, people in or descending from Asia ** Asian culture, the culture of the people from Asia ** Asian cuisine, food based on the style of food of the people from Asi ...

, 0.3%

Pacific Islander Pacific Islanders, Pasifika, Pasefika, or rarely Pacificers are the peoples of the Pacific Islands. As an ethnic/racial term, it is used to describe the original peoples—inhabitants and diasporas—of any of the three major subregions of O ...

, 1.2% from

other races Other often refers to: * Other (philosophy), a concept in psychology and philosophy Other or The Other may also refer to: Film and television * ''The Other'' (1913 film), a German silent film directed by Max Mack * ''The Other'' (1930 film), a ...

, and 3.9% from two or more races.

Hispanic The term ''Hispanic'' ( es, hispano) refers to people, Spanish culture, cultures, or countries related to Spain, the Spanish language, or Hispanidad. The term commonly applies to countries with a cultural and historical link to Spain and to Vic ...

Latino Latino or Latinos most often refers to: * Latino (demonym), a term used in the United States for people with cultural ties to Latin America * Hispanic and Latino Americans in the United States * The people or cultures of Latin America; ** Latin A ...

of any race were 3.8% of the population. There were 1,394 households, of which 36.4% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 49.4% were married couples living together, 13.4% had a female householder with no husband present, 5.2% had a male householder with no wife present, and 32.0% were non-families. 27.0% of all households were made up of individuals, and 14.3% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.61 and the average family size was 3.15. The median age in the city was 36.3 years. 28.4% of residents were under the age of 18; 8.8% were between the ages of 18 and 24; 22.5% were from 25 to 44; 24% were from 45 to 64; and 16.2% were 65 years of age or older. The gender makeup of the city was 48.8% male and 51.2% female.

2000 census

As of the census of 2000, there were 3,017 people, 1,105 households, and 756 families living in the city. The population density was 470.4 people per square mile (181.7/km²). There were 1,210 housing units at an average density of 188.7 per square mile (72.9/km²). The racial makeup of the city was 89.90%

, 2.3%

, 1.36% Native American, 0.17%

, 0.07%

, 1.06% from

, and 2.12% from two or more races.

of any race were 3.09% of the population. 22.2% were of German, 13.9% United States or American, 11.1% English, 7.2% Irish, 5.4% Norwegian and 5.2% French ancestry. There were 1,105 households, out of which 38.7% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 50.2% were married couples living together, 13.3% had a female householder with no husband present, and 31.5% were non-families. 26.6% of all households were made up of individuals, and 14.2% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.69 and the average family size was 3.24. In the city, the age distribution of the population shows 32.5% under the age of 18, 7.3% from 18 to 24, 27.5% from 25 to 44, 18.0% from 45 to 64, and 14.7% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 34 years. For every 100 females, there were 91.1 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 83.8 males. The median income for a household in the city was $32,470, and the median income for a family was $37,820. Males had a median income of $36,326 versus $19,825 for females. The

per capita income Per capita income (PCI) or total income measures the average income earned per person in a given area (city, region, country, etc.) in a specified year. It is calculated by dividing the area's total income by its total population. Per capita i ...

for the city was $17,132. About 10.8% of families and 15.1% of the population were below the

poverty line The poverty threshold, poverty limit, poverty line or breadline is the minimum level of income deemed adequate in a particular country. The poverty line is usually calculated by estimating the total cost of one year's worth of necessities for t ...

, including 17.5% of those under age 18 and 21.3% of those age 65 or over.

Education

The Deer Park School District covers approximately which encompasses approximately 10,000 households. The Deer Park School District is in surrounded by the Newport School District,

Mary Walker School District Mary may refer to: People * Mary (name), a feminine given name (includes a list of people with the name) Religious contexts * New Testament people named Mary, overview article linking to many of those below * Mary, mother of Jesus, also calle ...

, Riverside School District and the

Mead School District Mead School District No. 354 is a public School district serving Mead and North Spokane Spokane ( ) is the largest city and county seat of Spokane County, Washington, United States. It is in eastern Washington, along the Spokane River, adj ...

Transportation

Deer Park is served by the

Spokane Transit Authority Spokane Transit Authority, more commonly Spokane Transit or STA, is the public transport authority of central Spokane County, Washington, United States, serving Spokane, Washington, and its surrounding urban areas. In , the system had a ridersh ...

, which operates bus services in Spokane County. Deer Park also has an airport located three nautical miles northeast, Deer Park Airport. This airport was previous known as Deer Park Municipal Airport.

Notable people

* Gail M. Kelly, anthropologist * Bob Lewis, member of the

Washington State Senate The Washington State Senate is the upper house of the Washington State Legislature. The body consists of 49 members, each representing a district with a population of nearly 160,000. The State Senate meets at the Legislative Building in Olympi ...

* Howie Slater, NFL fullback * John Swiderski, video game designer and founder of

Mean Hamster Software Mean Hamster Software, Inc. was a video game developer founded by John Swiderski in 1985. Mean Hamster Software created several games for the Atari 5200 from 1999-2004. They then created ''Myst'' for Windows Mobile in 2005, and after the releas ...

* Judy Warnick, member of the Washington State Senate

References

External links

* {{Authority control Cities in Washington (state) Cities in Spokane County, Washington