Tonasket is a city in Okanogan County, Washington, United States. The population was 1,103 at the 2020 census.

History

Tonasket was officially incorporated on December 16, 1927. It is named after Chief Tonasket of the Okanogan people, a local leader from this area who assumed the status of grand chief of the American Okanogan after the drawing of the

Canada–United States border The international border between Canada and the United States is the longest in the world by total length. The boundary (including boundaries in the Great Lakes, Atlantic, and Pacific coasts) is long. The land border has two sections: Canada' ...

by the

Oregon Treaty The Oregon Treaty was a treaty between the United Kingdom and the United States that was signed on June 15, 1846, in Washington, D.C. The treaty brought an end to the Oregon boundary dispute by settling competing American and British claims to ...

of 1846, assuming a leadership role in Okanogan territory formerly held by Chief Nicola who lived north of the border. Tonasket is a city located along the eastern bank of the Okanogan River in north-central Okanogan County, Washington. U.S. Highway 97, the main north–south highway through central Washington, bisects the city on its way north to the Canada–US border approximately twenty miles away. Washington State Route 20 turns east of 97 at 6th St, and continues running across the state. The city is bordered on the north by Siwash Creek, on the south by Bonaparte Creek, and on the west by the

Okanogan River The Okanogan River (known as the Okanagan River in Canada) is a tributary of the Columbia River, approximately 115 mi (185 km) long, in southern British Columbia and north central Washington. It drains a scenic plateau region called t ...

. Tonasket, which has been the site of a U.S. post office since 1901, was

plat In the United States, a plat ( or ) (plan) is a cadastral map, drawn to scale, showing the divisions of a piece of land. United States General Land Office surveyors drafted township plats of Public Lands Survey System, Public Lands Surveys to ...

ted in 1910 and incorporated in 1927. It serves as a hub for agricultural and forestry industries in north central Okanogan County. It is the location of three major fruit storage and processing facilities and the offices of the Tonasket Ranger District of the Colville National Forest. Many descendants of pioneer families still reside in Tonasket and the surrounding areas and are interested in preserving and sharing the history of their heritage. A son of one of those pioneer families, Walter H. Brattain, grew up on a cattle ranch near Tonasket, attended Tonasket schools and shared the 1956

Nobel Prize The Nobel Prizes ( ; ; ) are awards administered by the Nobel Foundation and granted in accordance with the principle of "for the greatest benefit to humankind". The prizes were first awarded in 1901, marking the fifth anniversary of Alfred N ...

for Physics (with

William Shockley William Bradford Shockley ( ; February 13, 1910 – August 12, 1989) was an American solid-state physicist, electrical engineer, and inventor. He was the manager of a research group at Bell Labs that included John Bardeen and Walter Houser Brat ...

and

John Bardeen John Bardeen (; May 23, 1908 – January 30, 1991) was an American solid-state physicist. He is the only person to be awarded the Nobel Prize in Physics twice: first in 1956 with William Shockley and Walter Houser Brattain for their inventio ...

) for the invention of the

transistor A transistor is a semiconductor device used to Electronic amplifier, amplify or electronic switch, switch electrical signals and electric power, power. It is one of the basic building blocks of modern electronics. It is composed of semicondu ...

. In 1973, Michael Pilarski of the Friends of the Trees Society organized a faire in Tonasket that sought to help community members provision and sell excess produce and goods before the winter months. This faire has become known as the Okanogan Family Barter Faire and attendees buy, sell, and trade art and handicrafts, vintage clothing, and homegrown produce and can learn about sustainable farming techniques and herbal remedies while enjoying live music and entertainment. The annual event draws in thousands of visitors from around the region and has been described as a celebration of sustainable living and communal ties.

Geography

Tonasket is located along the

at an altitude of . According to the

United States Census Bureau The United States Census Bureau, officially the Bureau of the Census, is a principal agency of the Federal statistical system, U.S. federal statistical system, responsible for producing data about the American people and American economy, econ ...

, the city has a total area of , all of it land. Tonasket Municipal Airport (W01) opened to the public in July 1990 with one paved runway of in length, situated northwest of town on of land.skyvector.com
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Climate

Tonasket experiences a dry-summer

continental climate Continental climates often have a significant annual variation in temperature (warm to hot summers and cold winters). They tend to occur in central and eastern parts of the three northern-tier continents (North America, Europe, and Asia), typi ...

(

Köppen Köppen is a German surname. Notable people with the surname include: * Bernd Köppen (1951–2014), German pianist and composer * Carl Köppen (1833-1907), German military advisor in Meiji era Japan * Edlef Köppen (1893–1939), German author ...

''Dsa'').

Demographics

2010 census

As of the 2010 census, there were 1,032 people, 453 households, and 234 families living in the city. The

population density Population density (in agriculture: Standing 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 geog ...

was . There were 511 housing units at an average density of . The racial makeup of the city was 81.9%

White White is the lightest color and is achromatic (having no chroma). It is the color of objects such as snow, chalk, and milk, and is the opposite of black. White objects fully (or almost fully) reflect and scatter all the visible wa ...

, 0.6%

African American African Americans, also known as Black Americans and formerly also called Afro-Americans, are an Race and ethnicity in the United States, American racial and ethnic group that consists of Americans who have total or partial ancestry from an ...

, 2.0% Native American, 1.0% Asian, 11.2% from other races, and 3.3% from two or more races.

Hispanic The term Hispanic () are people, Spanish culture, cultures, or countries related to Spain, the Spanish language, or broadly. In some contexts, Hispanic and Latino Americans, especially within the United States, "Hispanic" is used as an Ethnici ...

or Latino of any race were 16.5% of the population. There were 453 households, of which 24.3% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 33.6% were

married couples Marriage, also called matrimony or wedlock, is a culturally and often legally recognised union between people called spouses. It establishes rights and obligations between them, as well as between them and their children (if any), and b ...

living together, 12.4% had a female householder with no husband present, 5.7% had a male householder with no wife present, and 48.3% were non-families. 42.6% of all households were made up of individuals, and 25% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.13 and the average family size was 2.90. The median age in the city was 47.5 years. 19.3% of residents were under the age of 18; 9.8% were between the ages of 18 and 24; 17.7% were from 25 to 44; 27% were from 45 to 64; and 26.3% were 65 years of age or older. The gender makeup of the city was 47.9% male and 52.1% female.

2000 census

As of the 2000 census, there were 994 people, 420 households, and 223 families living in the city. The

was 1,544.7 people per square mile (599.7/km²). There were 482 housing units at an average density of 749.0 per square mile (290.8/km²). The racial makeup of the city was 88.03%

, 0.40%

, 1.41% Native American, 0.70% Asian, 0.10%

Pacific Islander Pacific Islanders, Pasifika, Pasefika, Pacificans, or rarely Pacificers are the peoples of the list of islands in the Pacific Ocean, Pacific Islands. As an ethnic group, ethnic/race (human categorization), racial term, it is used to describe th ...

, 7.75% from other races, and 1.61% from two or more races.

or Latino of any race were 10.16% of the population. There were 420 households, out of which 26.9% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 37.6% were

living together, 11.4% had a female householder with no husband present, and 46.7% were non-families. 40.2% of all households were made up of individuals, and 21.9% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.14 and the average family size was 2.89. In the city, the population was spread out, with 22.7% under the age of 18, 6.4% from 18 to 24, 20.8% from 25 to 44, 23.0% from 45 to 64, and 27.0% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 45 years. For every 100 females, there were 80.4 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 78.6 males. The median income for a household in the city was $23,523, and the median income for a family was $28,393. Males had a median income of $28,542 versus $22,250 for females. The

per capita income Per capita income (PCI) or average income measures the average income earned per person in a given area (city, region, country, etc.) in a specified year. In many countries, per capita income is determined using regular population surveys, such ...

for the city was $13,293. About 22.0% of families and 23.1% 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 ...

, including 26.7% of those under age 18 and 9.5% of those age 65 or over.

References

External links

Tonasket City homepage
{{Authority control Cities in Okanogan County, Washington Cities in Washington (state) Populated places established in 1927 Washington (state) populated places on the Okanogan River Populated places in the Okanagan Country Washington (state) placenames of Native American origin