Alderton is a

census-designated place A census-designated place (CDP) is a Place (United States Census Bureau), concentration of population defined by the United States Census Bureau for statistical purposes only. CDPs have been used in each decennial census since 1980 as the counte ...

(CDP) in Pierce County,

Washington Washington most commonly refers to: * George Washington (1732–1799), the first president of the United States * Washington (state), a state in the Pacific Northwest of the United States * Washington, D.C., the capital of the United States ** A ...

United States The United States of America (USA), also known as the United States (U.S.) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It is a federal republic of 50 U.S. state, states and a federal capital district, Washington, D.C. The 48 ...

. The population was 2,893 at the 2010 census. The community is located in the Puyallup River Valley between the cities of

Sumner Sumner may refer to: Places Antarctica * Mount Sumner, a mountain in the Rare Range, Antarctica * Sumner Glacier, southern Graham Land, Antarctica Australia * Sumner, Queensland, a suburb of Brisbane New Zealand * Sumner, New Zealand, a seasi ...

and Orting.

Geography

Mount Rainier

The city sits in a fertile valley by the

Puyallup Puyallup may refer to: * Puyallup people, a Coast Salish people * Puyallup Tribe of Indians, a federally-recognized tribe * Puyallup, Washington, a city ** Puyallup High School ** Puyallup School District ** Puyallup station, a Sounder commuter ...

. It is built entirely on several layers of

lahar A lahar (, from ) is a violent type of mudflow or debris flow composed of a slurry of Pyroclastic rock, pyroclastic material, rocky debris and water. The material flows down from a volcano, typically along a valley, river valley. Lahars are o ...

deposits. Alderton is located about from

Mount Rainier Mount Rainier ( ), also known as Tahoma, is a large active stratovolcano in the Cascade Range of the Pacific Northwest in the United States. The mountain is located in Mount Rainier National Park about south-southeast of Seattle. With an off ...

. Based on studies of past lahar flow and the mountain's structure, the Orting plains of the Puyallup River is designated an at-risk community from Mount Rainier's lahar activity; scientists predict that lahar could reach Orting in 30 minutes and Alderton in an hour. The

Mount Rainier Volcano Lahar Warning System The Mount Rainier Volcano Lahar Warning System consists of two separate components, operating in tandem: Acoustic Flow Monitors (AFM) and the All Hazard Alert Broadcast (AHAB) sirens. The AFM system was developed by the United States Geological Su ...

has installed sirens throughout the area, activated by sensors on Mount Rainier.

History

The valley where Alderton is located is within the traditional lands of the

Puyallup Tribe The Puyallup Tribe of Indians ( ; ; commonly known as the Puyallup Tribe) is a federally-recognized tribe of Puyallup people from western Washington state, United States. The tribe is primarily located on the Puyallup Indian Reservation, altho ...

and the

Muckleshoot The Muckleshoot Indian Tribe ( ; ), also known as the Muckleshoot Tribe, is a federally-recognized tribe located in Auburn, Washington. The tribe governs the Muckleshoot Reservation and is composed of descendants of the Duwamish, Stkamish, ...

Tribes. The Puyallup people are one of the Salish people who inhabited the

Puget Sound Puget Sound ( ; ) is a complex estuary, estuarine system of interconnected Marine habitat, marine waterways and basins located on the northwest coast of the U.S. state of Washington (state), Washington. As a part of the Salish Sea, the sound ...

lowlands. They lived by fishing, hunting, and gathering. Salmon are the most significant food source and are held in reverence and incorporated into the traditional ceremony. Permanent villages were located along the riverbank. The Puyallup River valley was an important trading center for many tribes.Comprehensive Plan, Pierce County, Washington, Honor the past -> Look ahead; Ordinance Number: 2015-40; Tacoma, Washington; October 1, 2021 The first emigrant wagons arrived in Pierce County in

1853 Events January–March * January 6 – ** Florida Governor Thomas Brown signs legislation that provides public support for the new East Florida Seminary, leading to the establishment of the University of Florida. **U.S. President-elect ...

. Some came by way of the

Naches Pass Naches Pass (elevation ) is a mountain pass in the Cascade Range in the state of Washington. It is located about east of Tacoma and about northwest of Yakima, near the headwaters of tributary streams of the Naches River on the east and the ...

trail, a short-cut of the

Oregon Trail The Oregon Trail was a east–west, large-wheeled wagon route and Westward Expansion Trails, emigrant trail in North America that connected the Missouri River to valleys in Oregon Territory. The eastern part of the Oregon Trail crossed what ...

. Many settled in the

Puyallup River The Puyallup River ( ) is a river in the U.S. state of Washington. About long, it is formed by glaciers on the west side of Mount Rainier. It flows generally northwest, emptying into Commencement Bay, part of Puget Sound. The river and its t ...

valley area including the Woolery and Lane families. The

Naches Trail Naches Trail (also spelled Nachess) is a historic trail in the U.S. state of Washington. It extends from the Naches River in Eastern Washington in the area inhabited by across Naches Pass in the Cascade Mountains to the Greenwater River in present ...

, which led many early emigrants to Pierce County, passed through Alderton and McMillin along the Military Road. It split at Alderton, heading west towards Olympia or north towards

Seattle Seattle ( ) is the most populous city in the U.S. state of Washington and in the Pacific Northwest region of North America. With a population of 780,995 in 2024, it is the 18th-most populous city in the United States. The city is the cou ...

. Homesteaders cleared the land and created subsistence farms which typically included fields where oats, rye, and barley, potatoes, peas, or other vegetables were planted, and pasture for livestock, and orchards with a variety of fruit trees were established. Orson M. Annis (1828-1900) settled in Alderton in 1969. The post office was established at Alderton on April 12, 1878 and closed on October 9, 1964.Revisiting Washington; Washington Trust for Historic Preservation; Revisiting Washington — Alderton (revisitwa.org); https://revisitwa.org/waypoint/alderton/; September 17, 2022. The vacant brick gymnasium and school building were built in 1915, visible along Military Road (Washington Route 162 at its junction with North 96th Street East. The old General Store stands across N 96th E, south of the school. Two historic farms continue to operate, the Spooner Farm since 1930 and the Cavelti Farm since 1938. 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 CDP has a total area of 5.46 square miles (8.4 km), of which, 5.32 square miles (8.3 km) of it is land and 0.14 square miles (0.08 km) of it (2.55%) is water. In February 2015, the ''Tacoma News Tribune'' reported two families, Sidhu and Alderton LLC, purchased 116 acres of Alderton farmland located near the Puyallup River and Ball Creek. While Alderton LLC grows mostly Christmas trees, Sidhu grows fruits and vegetables.

References

{{authority control Census-designated places in Pierce County, Washington Census-designated places in Washington (state) Populated places in Pierce County, Washington