Bickleton is an

unincorporated community An unincorporated area is a parcel of land that is not governed by a local general-purpose municipal corporation. (At p. 178.) They may be governed or serviced by an encompassing unit (such as a county) or another branch of the state (such as th ...

and

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 ...

Klickitat County Klickitat County is a county located in the U.S. state of Washington. As of the 2020 census, its population was 22,735. The county seat and largest city is Goldendale. The county is named after the Klickitat tribe and contains part of the Y ...

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. Bickleton was first settled by Charles N. Bickle and established in 1879. The population was 92 at the 2020 census, up from 88 at the 2010 census.

History

Bickleton was first settled by Charles N. Bickle, who established a

trading post A trading post, trading station, or trading house, also known as a factory in European and colonial contexts, is an establishment or settlement where goods and services could be traded. Typically a trading post allows people from one geogr ...

and

livery stable A livery yard, livery stable or boarding stable, is a stable where horse owners pay a weekly or monthly fee to keep their horses. A livery or boarding yard is not usually a riding school and the horses are not normally for hire (unless on wor ...

at the site. He also served as the area's first

postmaster A postmaster is the head of an individual post office, responsible for all postal activities in a specific post office. When a postmaster is responsible for an entire mail distribution organization (usually sponsored by a national government), ...

. In 1879, the town was named after Bickle. The town's economy was initially based largely on cattle

ranch A ranch (from /Mexican Spanish) is an area of landscape, land, including various structures, given primarily to ranching, the practice of raising grazing livestock such as cattle and sheep. It is a subtype of farm. These terms are most often ap ...

ing and

wheat Wheat is a group of wild and crop domestication, domesticated Poaceae, grasses of the genus ''Triticum'' (). They are Agriculture, cultivated for their cereal grains, which are staple foods around the world. Well-known Taxonomy of wheat, whe ...

farming. A series of fires in 1937 and 1947 destroyed many of the town's original buildings. The oldest surviving building in Bickleton is the Bluebird Inn, a

tavern A tavern is a type of business where people gather to drink alcoholic beverages and be served food such as different types of roast meats and cheese, and (mostly historically) where travelers would receive lodging. An inn is a tavern that ...

which first opened in 1882. It is billed as the oldest functioning tavern in the state, although it has changed ownership numerous times and operated under different names throughout its history.The Brick Tavern in Roslyn claims the title of the oldest continuously operating tavern in the state of Washington, opening in 1889 and operating under a single name since 1898. The Bluebird Inn, according to its owners, is the state's oldest functioning tavern, having first opened in 1882; however, it has operated under numerous names and has not been continuously licensed to operate since its founding. The tavern includes a 1903 Brunswick pool table, which is still used by regulars. The town has held an annual picnic and

rodeo Rodeo () is a competitive equestrian sport that arose out of the working practices of cattle herding in Spain and Mexico, expanding throughout the Americas and to other nations. It was originally based on the skills required of the working vaqu ...

continuously since 1910. The festival also features a 1905

Herschell-Spillman The Allan Herschell Company was a company that specialized in the creation of amusement rides, particularly carousels and roller coasters. The company manufactured portable machines that could be used by traveling carnival operators. It was star ...

carousel A carousel or carrousel (mainly North American English), merry-go-round (International English), or galloper (British English) is a type of amusement ride consisting of a rotating circular platform with seats for riders. The seats are tradit ...

, which the town purchased from Oaks Amusement Park in

Portland, Oregon Portland ( ) is the List of cities in Oregon, most populous city in the U.S. state of Oregon, located in the Pacific Northwest region. Situated close to northwest Oregon at the confluence of the Willamette River, Willamette and Columbia River, ...

, in 1928.

Bluebirds

Bickleton is known as the

bluebird The bluebirds are a North American group of medium-sized, mostly insectivorous or omnivorous passerine birds in the genus ''Sialia'' of the thrush family (Turdidae). Bluebirds are one of the few thrush genera in the Americas. Bluebirds lay an ...

capital of the world. In the 1960s, Jess and Elva Brinkerhoff were picnicking in this small town after coming from nearby Richland and put a can in a tree for some birds. It became a local fad, and now there are thousands of birdhouses purposely built to house bluebirds. Both the

mountain bluebird The mountain bluebird (''Sialia currucoides'') is a migratory small thrush that is found in mountainous districts of western North America. It has a light underbelly and black eyes. Adult males have thin bills and are bright turquoise-blue and s ...

and the

western bluebird The western bluebird (''Sialia mexicana'') is a small North American thrush. Taxonomy The western bluebird was formally described by the English naturalist William Swainson in 1832 and given the binomial name ''Sialia mexicana''. Six subspec ...

nest in Bickleton. Maintaining the houses by cleaning old nests is a major task for the local residents. It is funded by profits from bluebird souvenirs sold to tourists at Whitmore's Whoop-n-Holler Ranch Museum.

Geography

Bickleton is in northeastern Klickitat County, south of the Horse Heaven Hills and the

Yakama Indian Reservation The Yakama Indian Reservation (spelled Yakima until 1994) is a Native American reservation in Washington state of the federally recognized tribe known as the Confederated Tribes and Bands of the Yakama Nation. The tribe is made up of Klikitat ...

. It is west of

Kennewick Kennewick () is a city in Benton County, Washington, Benton County in the U.S. state of Washington (state), Washington. It is located along the southwest bank of the Columbia River, just southeast of the confluence of the Columbia and Yakima ...

and north of the

Columbia River The Columbia River (Upper Chinook language, Upper Chinook: ' or '; Sahaptin language, Sahaptin: ''Nch’i-Wàna'' or ''Nchi wana''; Sinixt dialect'' '') is the largest river in the Pacific Northwest region of North America. The river headwater ...

at Roosevelt. 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 Bickleton CDP has a total area of , all of it land.

Climate

According to the

Köppen Climate Classification The Köppen climate classification divides Earth climates into five main climate groups, with each group being divided based on patterns of seasonal precipitation and temperature. The five main groups are ''A'' (tropical), ''B'' (arid), ''C'' (te ...

system, Bickleton has a

warm-summer Mediterranean climate A Mediterranean climate ( ), also called a dry summer climate, described by Köppen and Trewartha as ''Cs'', is a temperate climate type that occurs in the lower mid-latitudes (normally 30 to 44 north and south latitude). Such climates typic ...

, abbreviated "Csb" on climate maps.Climate Summary for Bickleton, Washington
/ref>

Demographics

As of the

census A census (from Latin ''censere'', 'to assess') is the procedure of systematically acquiring, recording, and calculating population information about the members of a given Statistical population, population, usually displayed in the form of stati ...

of 2000, there were 113 people, 49 households, and 31 families residing in the CDP. 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 8.8 people per square mile (3.4/km²). There were 65 housing units at an average density of 5.0/sq mi (1.9/km²). The racial makeup of the CDP was 92.92%

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 ...

, 2.65% Native American, 2.65%

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 ...

, 1.77% from other 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 6.19% of the population. There were 49 households, out of which 26.5% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 55.1% 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, 6.1% had a female householder with no husband present, and 36.7% were non-families. 28.6% of all households were made up of individuals, and 12.2% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.31 and the average family size was 2.87. In the CDP, the population was spread out, with 25.7% under the age of 18, 3.5% from 18 to 24, 26.5% from 25 to 44, 29.2% from 45 to 64, and 15.0% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 42 years. For every 100 females, there were 91.5 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 90.9 males. The median income for a household in the CDP was $34,500, and the median income for a family was $48,125. Males had a median income of $42,500 versus $0 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 CDP was $17,580. There were 20.0% of families and 20.2% of the population living 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 36.1% of under eighteens and none of those over 64.

Notes

References

External links

Community website
{{authority control Horse Heaven Hills Census-designated places in Klickitat County, Washington Census-designated places in Washington (state)