Shelton is a city in, and the
county seat
A county seat is an administrative center, seat of government, or capital city of a county or civil parish. The term is in use in Canada, China, Hungary, Romania, Taiwan, and the United States. The equivalent term shire town is used in the US ...
of,
Mason County,
Washington, United States.
Shelton is the westernmost city on Puget Sound. The population was 10,371 at the
2020 census. Shelton has a
council–manager form of government and was the last city in Washington to use a
mayor–commission form of government.
History
Shelton was officially incorporated in 1890. The city was named after David Shelton, a delegate to the territorial legislature.
The land was previously called "Cota" and was inhabited and managed by the
Squaxin Island Tribe, or "People of the Waters", who had inhabited the land for centuries before contact with white settlers. The land was ceded, along with 4,000 sq. miles of Indigenous land, on December 26, 1854, with the passage of the
Treaty of Medicine Creek
The Treaty of Medicine Creek was an 1854 treaty between the United States, and nine tribes and bands of Indians, occupying the lands lying around the head of Puget Sound, Washington, and the adjacent inlets. The tribes listed on the Treaty of Medic ...
. After the passage of the treaty, David Shelton and his wife, Frances Shelton, each took a claim of land enabled by the
Donation Land Claim Act
The Donation Land Claim Act of 1850, sometimes known as the Donation Land Act, was a statute enacted by the United States Congress in late 1850, intended to promote homestead settlements in the Oregon Territory. It followed the Distribution-Pre ...
totaling 640 acres in what would eventually be incorporated as Shelton.
Shelton was once served by a small fleet of steamboats which was part of the
Puget Sound Mosquito Fleet. These boats included the
''Old Settler'',
''Irene'', ''Willie'',
''City of Shelton'', ''Marian'',
''Clara Brown'', and
''S.G. Simpson''. The economy was built around logging, farming, dairying and ranching as well as oyster cultivation.
[ The Simpson Timber Company mill on ]Puget Sound
Puget Sound ( ) is a sound of the Pacific Northwest, an inlet of the Pacific Ocean, and part of the Salish Sea. It is located along the northwestern coast of the U.S. state of Washington. It is a complex estuarine system of interconnected m ...
's Oakland Bay dominated the landscape of the downtown area; the mill was sold to Sierra Pacific Industries in 2015, who are currently building a new mill. Shelton also identifies itself as the "Christmas Tree Capital".
Shelton was incorporated in the 1890s. It was the last city in Washington to use a mayor/commission form of government. In November 2017, the voters of Shelton adopted a manager/council form of municipal governance.
File:Shelton davidshelton 1890.jpg, David Shelton, 1812–1897
File:Shelton WA sawmills.JPG, Shelton sawmills
File:Simpson lumber-Shelton Washington.jpg, Simpson Timber Company mill in Shelton, on the Oakland Bay, viewed from the southeast.
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
An economy is an area of th ...
, the city has a total area of , of which is land and is water.
Climate
With extremely precipitous rainfall in winter and dry summer of less than 33 mm in the driest month (less than 1/3 of the rainy season), Shelton has a warm summer Mediterranean climate
A Mediterranean climate (also called a dry summer temperate climate ''Cs'') is a temperate climate sub-type, generally characterized by warm, dry summers and mild, fairly wet winters; these weather conditions are typically experienced in the ...
( Köppen: ''Csb'') with cold winters, similar to the larger cities of the Pacific Northwest
The Pacific Northwest (sometimes Cascadia, or simply abbreviated as PNW) is a geographic region in western North America bounded by its coastal waters of the Pacific Ocean to the west and, loosely, by the Rocky Mountains to the east. Though ...
.
Demographics
2020 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 in ...
[ of 2020, there were 10,371 people, 3,416 households, and 2,055 families residing in the city. The ]population density
Population density (in agriculture: Stock (disambiguation), 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 ...
was . There were 3,887 housing units at an average density of . The racial makeup of the city was 75.6% White
White is the lightness, 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 diffuse reflection, reflect and scattering, scatter all the ...
, 0.9% African American
African Americans (also referred to as Black Americans and Afro-Americans) are an Race and ethnicity in the United States, ethnic group consisting of Americans with partial or total ancestry from sub-Saharan Africa. The term "African American ...
, 5% Native American, 1.2% Asian, 0.4% 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 Ocea ...
, 13.9% from other races, and 12% from two or more races. Hispanic
The term ''Hispanic'' ( es, hispano) refers to people, 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 viceroyalties for ...
or Latino of any race were 25.1% of the population.
There were 3,416 households, of which 28.4% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 32.8% were married couples
Marriage, also called matrimony or wedlock, is a culturally and often legally recognized union between people called spouses. It establishes rights and obligations between them, as well as between them and their children, and between t ...
living together, 18.8% had a female householder with no husband present, 8.6% had a male householder with no wife present, and 39.8% were non-families. 29.2% of all households were made up of individuals, and 16.2% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.95 and the average family size was 3.73.
The median age in the city was 32.4 years. 28.4% of residents were under the age of 18; 11.4% were between the ages of 18 and 24; 27.1% were from 25 to 44; 18.6% were from 45 to 64; and 14.5% were 65 years of age or older. The gender makeup of the city was 49.5% male and 50.5% female.
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 in ...
of 2010, there were 9,834 people, 3,574 households, and 2,166 families residing in the city. The population density
Population density (in agriculture: Stock (disambiguation), 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 ...
was . There were 3,847 housing units at an average density of . The racial makeup of the city was 78.9% White
White is the lightness, 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 diffuse reflection, reflect and scattering, scatter all the ...
, 0.8% African American
African Americans (also referred to as Black Americans and Afro-Americans) are an Race and ethnicity in the United States, ethnic group consisting of Americans with partial or total ancestry from sub-Saharan Africa. The term "African American ...
, 3.7% Native American, 1.1% Asian, 0.8% 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 Ocea ...
, 9.9% from other races, and 4.9% from two or more races. Hispanic
The term ''Hispanic'' ( es, hispano) refers to people, 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 viceroyalties for ...
or Latino of any race were 19.2% of the population.
There were 3,574 households, of which 35.3% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 38.1% were married couples
Marriage, also called matrimony or wedlock, is a culturally and often legally recognized union between people called spouses. It establishes rights and obligations between them, as well as between them and their children, and between t ...
living together, 15.5% had a female householder with no husband present, 6.9% had a male householder with no wife present, and 39.4% were non-families. 31.2% of all households were made up of individuals, and 15.6% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.63 and the average family size was 3.23.
The median age in the city was 33.1 years. 26.4% of residents were under the age of 18; 10.8% were between the ages of 18 and 24; 26.5% were from 25 to 44; 21.9% were from 45 to 64; and 14.3% were 65 years of age or older. The gender makeup of the city was 49.1% male and 50.9% female.
2000 census
As of the 2000 census, there were 8,442 people, 3,191 households, and 2,035 families residing in the city. The population density was 1,519.4 people per square mile (586.2/km2). There were 3,403 housing units at an average density of 612.5 per square mile (236.3/km2). The racial makeup of the city was 85.83% White
White is the lightness, 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 diffuse reflection, reflect and scattering, scatter all the ...
, 0.36% African American
African Americans (also referred to as Black Americans and Afro-Americans) are an Race and ethnicity in the United States, ethnic group consisting of Americans with partial or total ancestry from sub-Saharan Africa. The term "African American ...
, 2.72% Native American, 1.17% Asian, 0.73% 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 Ocea ...
, 5.77% from other races, and 3.41% from two or more races. Hispanic
The term ''Hispanic'' ( es, hispano) refers to people, 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 viceroyalties for ...
or Latino of any race were 10.87% of the population.
There were 3,191 households, out of which 32.3% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 44.8% were married couples living together, 13.0% had a female householder with no husband present, and 36.2% were non-families. 29.5% of all households were made up of individuals, and 15.5% 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 3.08.
In the city, the population was spread out, with 26.7% under the age of 18, 10.0% from 18 to 24, 26.2% from 25 to 44, 19.4% from 45 to 64, and 17.7% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 36 years. For every 100 females, there were 94.4 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 89.5 males.
The median income for a household in the city was $32,500, and the median income for a family was $40,392. Males had a median income of $33,867 versus $23,617 for females. The per capita income for the city was $16,303. About 15.3% of families and 18.9% of the population were below the poverty line, including 28.1% of those under age 18 and 6.9% of those age 65 or over.
Education
The Shelton School District is composed of eight schools:
* Evergreen, Mountain View, and Bordeaux Elementary Schools, kindergarten through fourth grade
* Olympic Middle School, fifth and sixth grades
* Oakland Bay Junior High, seventh and eighth grades
* Shelton High School, ninth through twelfth grades
* CHOICE Alternative School, seventh through twelfth grade
* Cedar High School, a New Tech Network Project-Based Learning high school for grades ninth through twelfth
Notable people
* Raul Allegre - former NFL
The National Football League (NFL) is a professional American football league that consists of 32 teams, divided equally between the American Football Conference (AFC) and the National Football Conference (NFC). The NFL is one of the major ...
kicker
* Justin Ena – former NFL linebacker
* Karol Kennedy – 5-time national champion and 1952 Winter Olympics
The 1952 Winter Olympics, officially known as the VI Olympic Winter Games ( no, De 6. olympiske vinterleker; nn, Dei 6. olympiske vinterleikane) and commonly known as Oslo 1952, was a winter multi-sport event held from 14 to 25 February 195 ...
silver medalist who competed in the 1948 and 1952 Olympics in pairs figure skating
Figure skating is a sport in which individuals, pairs, or groups perform on figure skates on ice. It was the first winter sport to be included in the Olympic Games, when contested at the Figure skating at the 1908 Summer Olympics, 1908 Olympics ...
* Desmond "Des" Dalworth Koch – 1956 Olympic bronze medalist, discus
*Mary Miranda Knight
Mary Miranda Knight ( Dunbar; September 2, 1854 – February 2, 1940) was a pioneer educator in Washington state. She dedicated her life to teaching, and over the years worked in three different states: Michigan, Dakota and Washington.
Knight ...
– pioneer and educator
* Jerry Lambert – film and television actor[IMDb]
Jerry Lambert
Retrieved on December 7, 2010
* Arthur Needham – member of the first city council and the first haberdasher
In British English, a haberdasher is a business or person who sells small articles for sewing, dressmaking and knitting, such as buttons, ribbons, and zippers; in the United States, the term refers instead to a retailer who sells men's clot ...
in the county
* Lawson H. M. Sanderson – Marine Corps
Marines, or naval infantry, are typically a military force trained to operate in littoral zones in support of naval operations. Historically, tasks undertaken by marines have included helping maintain discipline and order aboard the ship (refle ...
aviation pioneer with the rank of major general
Major general (abbreviated MG, maj. gen. and similar) is a military rank used in many countries. It is derived from the older rank of sergeant major general. The disappearance of the "sergeant" in the title explains the apparent confusion of a ...
*Caleb Schlauderaff
Caleb Hunter Schlauderaff (born November 7, 1987) is a former American football guard and center. He was drafted by the Green Bay Packers in the sixth round of the 2011 NFL Draft. He played college football at Utah.
Professional career
Green ...
– NFL offensive lineman
* Paul Stamets – Mushroom
A mushroom or toadstool is the fleshy, spore-bearing fruiting body of a fungus, typically produced above ground, on soil, or on its food source. ''Toadstool'' generally denotes one poisonous to humans.
The standard for the name "mushroom" is ...
enthusiast
References
External links
City website
City of Shelton circa 1925 (University of Washington collection)
{{Authority control
Cities in Washington (state)
Cities in Mason County, Washington
County seats in Washington (state)
Populated places established in 1889
Micropolitan areas of Washington (state)