George is a city in

Grant County Grant County may refer to: Places ;Australia * County of Grant, Victoria ;United States *Grant County, Arkansas *Grant County, Indiana * Grant County, Kansas *Grant County, Kentucky *Grant County, Minnesota *Grant County, Nebraska *Grant C ...

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 ...

, United States. The population was 809 at the 2020 census. The "humorous homage" to President

George Washington George Washington (February 22, 1732, 1799) was an American military officer, statesman, and Founding Father who served as the first president of the United States from 1789 to 1797. Appointed by the Continental Congress as commander of th ...

has landed George, Washington on lists of unusual place names. The city is known for being near the

Gorge Amphitheatre The Gorge Amphitheatre, originally known as Champs de Brionne Music Theatre, is an outdoor concert venue in Grant County, Washington, United States. It is situated near Columbia River in Central Washington, west of George. The venue is managed ...

, sometimes called "The Gorge at George". The Gorge Amphitheatre was the location of the annual

Sasquatch! Music Festival Sasquatch! Music Festival was an annual music festival held at The Gorge Amphitheatre in George, Washington, United States. It took place on Memorial Day weekend, running for three to four days. In 2018, it was announced that the festival was ...

. The city also celebrates national holidays such as the Fourth of July, and

Washington's Birthday Presidents' Day, also called Washington's Birthday at the federal governmental level, is a holiday in the United States celebrated on the third Monday of February to honor all persons who served as presidents of the United States and, since 1879 ...

, with cherry pies. The world's largest cherry pie is also baked every year on July 4, and served to a crowd.

History

George began as a large

irrigation Irrigation (also referred to as watering) is the practice of applying controlled amounts of water to land to help grow Crop, crops, Landscape plant, landscape plants, and Lawn, lawns. Irrigation has been a key aspect of agriculture for over 5,00 ...

district between Quincy and

Moses Lake Moses Lake is a lake and reservoir along the course of Crab Creek, in Washington state, USA. Moses Lake is part of the Columbia River basin, as Crab Creek is a tributary of the Columbia River. Although originally a shallow natural lake, Moses L ...

. In the early 1950s, the need for a town to support the local agriculture business was evident, and the

Bureau of Land Management The Bureau of Land Management (BLM) is an agency within the United States Department of the Interior responsible for administering federal lands. Headquartered in Washington DC, and with oversight over , it governs one eighth of the country's la ...

agreed to for this purpose. The sole bid was that of a local pharmacist, Charlie Brown, who invested his own money into the venture and solicited planning help from a

University of Washington The University of Washington (UW, simply Washington, or informally U-Dub) is a public research university in Seattle, Washington. Founded in 1861, Washington is one of the oldest universities on the West Coast; it was established in Seattle a ...

instructor. The plan included streets, utilities, etc. When filing the papers for the town with the BLM, Brown decided that the town should be named after the first President of the United States,

. The citizens of the town have named their streets after varieties of

cherries A cherry is the fruit of many plants of the genus ''Prunus'', and is a fleshy drupe (stone fruit). Commercial cherries are obtained from cultivars of several species, such as the sweet ''Prunus avium'' and the sour ''Prunus cerasus''. The nam ...

grown in the area, such as

Bing Bing most often refers to: * Bing Crosby (1903–1977), American singer * Microsoft Bing, a web search engine Bing may also refer to: Food and drink * Bing (bread), a Chinese flatbread * Bing (soft drink), a UK brand * Bing cherry, a varie ...

and Royal Anne. The town was officially incorporated on July 4, 1957, at a ceremony including Governor

Albert Rosellini Albert Dean Rosellini (January 21, 1910 – October 10, 2011) was an American politician who served as the 15th governor of Washington from 1957 to 1965 and was both the first Italian-American and Roman Catholic governor elected west of the ...

and a cherry pie.

Geography

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, George has a

cold desert climate The desert climate or arid climate (in the Köppen climate classification ''BWh'' and ''BWk''), is a dry climate sub-type in which there is a severe excess of evaporation over precipitation. The typically bald, rocky, or sandy surfaces in desert ...

, abbreviated "BWk" on climate maps.

Demographics

2010 census

At the 2010 census there were 501 people, 131 households, and 109 families living in the city. The population density was . There were 168 housing units at an average density of . The

racial makeup A race is a categorization of humans based on shared physical or social qualities into groups generally viewed as distinct within a given society. The term came into common usage during the 1500s, when it was used to refer to groups of variou ...

of the city was 38.1% White, 1.4% Native American, 59.9% from other races, and 0.6% from two or more races. Hispanic or Latino of any race were 75.0%. Of the 131 households 60.3% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 61.8% were married couples living together, 9.9% had a female householder with no husband present, 11.5% had a male householder with no wife present, and 16.8% were non-families. 8.4% of households were one person and 2.3% were one person aged 65 or older. The average household size was 3.82 and the average family size was 4.14. The median age was 24.8 years. 35.9% of residents were under the age of 18; 14.9% were between the ages of 18 and 24; 28% were from 25 to 44; 15% were from 45 to 64; and 6.4% were 65 or older. The gender makeup of the city was 54.1% male and 45.9% female.

2000 census

At the 2000 census, there were 528 people, 141 households, and 106 families living in the city. The population density was 879.2 people per square mile (339.8/km). There were 162 housing units at an average density of 269.8 per square mile (104.2/km). The

of the city was 80.11% White, 0.57% Native American, 0.38% Asian, 16.10% from other races, and 2.84% from two or more races. Hispanic or Latino of any race were 60.23% of the population. Of the 141 households 49.6% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 58.2% were married couples living together, 6.4% had a female householder with no husband present, and 24.8% were non-families. 18.4% of households were one person and 5.7% were one person aged 65 or older. The average household size was 3.74, and the average family size was 4.39. The age distribution was 37.7% under the age of 18, 16.5% from 18 to 24, 26.9% from 25 to 44, 14.0% from 45 to 64, and 4.9% 65 or older. The median age was 23 years. For every 100 females, there were 118.2 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 140.1 males. The median household income was $21,181 and the median family income was $23,571. Males had a median income of $21,667 versus $13,875 for females. The per capita income for the city was $7,779. About 33.0% of families and 36.2% 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 46.8% of those under age 18 and 14.0% of those age 65 or over.

References

External links

City of George