Entiat is a city in
Chelan County,
Washington, United States. It is part of the
Wenatchee−
East Wenatchee Metropolitan Statistical Area. The population was 1,326 at the
2020 census.
The name "Entiat" refers to the indigenous
Entiat people, whose name comes from the
Moses-Columbian Salishan word /nt'yátkʷ/,
t'iátkʷ "place of grassy water", from /na-/, "place", /st'íyaʔ/, "tall grass, hay", and /-atkʷ/, "water".
History
Columbia River Chinook Indians settled the Entiat Valley in the 1800s. Chief Shil-how-Saskt (Silico Saska) selected the congruence of the Columbia and Entiat rivers as the place for his camp.
The Albert Long Museum in Entiat opened in 1980, in one of only two buildings (built 1895) that survived the opening of Rocky Reach Dam. It houses historical items from local logging and fruit industries.
First town
In 1877, Lewis Detwiler, the first white settler, arrived in the Entiat Valley. In 1896, Chief Silico Saska sold the town site of Entiat. He died in 1903.
This first town site was located approx. half a mile west of the Columbia River, on Entiat River's north side.
The first public school was established in Entiat in 1891. In 1895 the first Entiat Post Office was established. The Entiat Power Plant opened for business in 1908. The Keystone Fruit Company opened for business in the valley in 1910. E.P. Murphy began publishing the Entiat Times in 1913, and railroad service began in Entiat in 1914. In 1915 only six businesses survived a fire. The Entiat school opened in 1916 in its current location.
Second town
In 1921 a new fire razed First Town, and the second town site of Entiat was secured.
In 1920, the tradition of Numeral Mountain began as High School seniors painted their graduation class number on the Mountainside across the Entiat River from the school. Entiat was officially incorporated on April 25, 1944.
Third town
In 1960,
Rocky Reach Dam was constructed downriver from Entiat; much of the town had to be relocated to higher ground due to the rising waters behind the dam. Most of the original buildings were razed or moved to a location north of the original town. This third town of Entiat was officially open for business in 1961.
The new Entiat Park re-opened for camping on Friday, May 22, 2015, after being closed for over a year.
Notable people
Charles Glen King
Charles Glen King (October 22, 1896 – January 23, 1988) was an American biochemist who was a pioneer in the field of nutrition research and who isolated vitamin C at the same time as Albert Szent-Györgyi. A biography of King states that m ...
(1896–1988), biochemist, pioneer in the field of nutrition research
Geography
Entiat is located at the confluence of the
Entiat and
Columbia rivers. This section of the Columbia is known as
Lake Entiat. This is the reservoir formed behind
Rocky Reach Dam. The town is situated between the eastern foothills of the
Cascade Mountain range, Lake Entiat and the Entiat River.
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 , of which, is land and is water.
Climate
Demographics
2010 census
As of the
2010 census,
there were 1,112 people, 421 households, and 305 families residing 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 495 housing units at an average density of . The racial makeup of the city was 81.5%
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 ...
, 0.4%
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 ...
, 0.4%
Native American, 0.2%
Asian, 0.4%
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 ...
, 13.8% 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 20.7% of the population.
There were 421 households, of which 33.5% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 54.4% 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, 10.2% had a female householder with no husband present, 7.8% had a male householder with no wife present, and 27.6% were non-families. 20.7% of all households were made up of individuals, and 7.4% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.64 and the average family size was 2.99.
The median age in the city was 40.1 years. 25.3% of residents were under the age of 18; 8.4% were between the ages of 18 and 24; 22.1% were from 25 to 44; 29.7% were from 45 to 64; and 14.4% were 65 years of age or older. The gender makeup of the city was 51.5% male and 48.5% female.
2000 census
As of the
2000 census, there were 957 people, 342 households, and 244 families residing in the city. The population density was 700.6 people per square mile (269.7/km
2). There were 400 housing units at an average density of 292.8 per square mile (112.7/km
2). The racial makeup of the city was 79.31%
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 ...
, 0.52%
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 ...
, 1.67%
Native American, 0.21%
Asian, 16.51% from
other races, and 1.78% 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 22.57% of the population.
There were 342 households, out of which 38.6% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 57.9% were married couples living together, 7.3% had a female householder with no husband present, and 28.4% were non-families. 21.3% of all households were made up of individuals, and 7.9% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.80 and the average family size was 3.27.
In the city, the age distribution of the population shows 32.5% under the age of 18, 8.0% from 18 to 24, 27.6% from 25 to 44, 21.6% from 45 to 64, and 10.2% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 33 years. For every 100 females, there were 96.9 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 97.6 males.
The median income for a household in the city was $33,450, and the median income for a family was $37,083. Males had a median income of $33,487 versus $21,324 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 $13,529. About 9.1% of families and 14.0% 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 14.4% of those under age 18 and 5.7% of those age 65 or over.
References
External links
City of Entiat, WA Facebook pageEntiat School District
{{Authority control
Cities in Chelan County, Washington
Cities in Washington (state)
Washington (state) placenames of Native American origin
Washington (state) populated places on the Columbia River
Wenatchee–East Wenatchee metropolitan area