Aberdeen, Washington, United States of America

Aberdeen is a city located in Grays Harbor County, Washington State, USA. Aberdeen was founded by early settler Samuel Benn when he had a plat filed in 1884. As of the 2000 census, the city had a total population of 16,461. The city is the economic center of Grays Harbor County, bordering the cities of Hoquiam and Cosmopolis. Aberdeen is sometimes called the "Gateway to the Olympic Peninsula" or the "Birthplace of Grunge," likely because of the most famous Aberdonian Kurt Cobain. Other notable musicians from Aberdeen include The Melvins.

Aberdeen is the homeport of the tall ship Lady Washington, a reproduction of a smaller vessel used by the explorer Captain Robert Gray.

Aberdeen History

The early settlers who came to the eastern edge of Grays Harbor in the 1880s called the place Wishkah, after the nearby river. But some objected, and the city was eventually renamed for a local salmon cannery. Like its Scottish namesake, Aberdeen, it was situated at the mouth of a river. The neighboring settlement of Wishkah had its plat filed in 1883.

Though the largest and best known of the three cities on Grays Harbor, Aberdeen lagged behind neighbors Hoquiam and Cosmopolis in the early years. When A.J. West built the town's first sawmill in 1884, the other two municipalities had already been in business for several years.

Aberdeen was officially incorporated on May 12, 1890. On October 16, 1903, a massive fire swept through the city's commercial district, destroying 140 buildings and killing four people. The number of people living here grew by eleven-fold in fifty years, going from from 1,638 in 1890 to 18,846 in 1940.

For a time Aberdeen had the distinction of being "the roughest town west of the Mississippi," due to its gambling, prostitution, extreme drug use, and violence. The city was off-limits to military personnel as late as the early 1980's, and with its currently high poverty and unemployment, police and judicial corruption, and drug use has had little luck altering its public image.

Education

The city's school district includes one high school, J.M. Weatherwax High. Weatherwax High School, or Aberdeen High School as it’s called by most, has a rich history that is a point of pride for many in the community. Some of its traditions include the longest high school sports rivalry west of the Mississippi River, with its neighbor Hoquiam High School. The rivalry is known amongst all the townsfolk and every year when this game occurs you can be assured most of the population is in attendance. A tradition known widely as "Johnny Hoquiam Night" takes place a week prior to the announced reunion between the schools and involves youths from Aberdeen driving around Hoqiuam, egging every vehicle and residence in sight. The 100th football game was played on September 17, 2005, with thousands of community members in attendance.Aberdeen won 24 to 7.

In 2002, the Weatherwax building of Aberdeen High School, one of Aberdeen's most historical buildings (built in 1909), was burned to the ground by two of its own students just after midnight. Students have since been spread out over the remaining campus, even using remains of an old church for classroom space until the new school is built. Construction of the new building has begun and should be ready in the coming years.

Other schools in the district include Miller Junior High, Central Park Elementary, McDermoth Elementary, Stevens Elementary, Alexander Young Elementary, AJ West Elementary, and Robert Gray Elementary. There is also one alternative school, Harbor High.

Aberdeen is also home to Grays Harbor College.

Famous People

Famous Aberdonians include grunge rockers Kurt Cobain (born in Aberdeen at Grays Harbor Community Hospital), Buzz Osborne and Matt Lukin, painter Robert Motherwell, Nobel-winning physicist Douglas Osheroff, photographer Lee Friedlander, choreographer Trisha Brown, artist Elton Bennett, Pittsburgh Steelers player Mark Bruner, pollster Jack Elway (father of John Elway, the football hero) and novelist Robert Cantwell.

Some say Kurt Cobain blamed the city of Aberdeen for much of his depression, and his up-bringing. Nirvana bassist Krist Novoselic refutes this claim.

Quotes

• "In Aberdeen, I hated my friends with a passion, because they were idiots." —- Kurt Cobain

Industry

Despite attempts to diversify the local economy that stretch back decades, Aberdeen and the rest of Grays Harbor remain dependent on the timber industry.

On October 21, 2005, Weyerhaeuser announced that it will close the Aberdeen large-log sawmill on December 19th and also close the Cosmopolis pulp mill in early 2006. This will result in the loss of at least 342 jobs. Many employees were not told by Weyerhaueser management, but learned about the closures on the radio station KDUX, when the DJ announced that the sawmill had closed.

Top employers on the Harbor include locally owned Grays Harbor Paper L.P., The Westport Shipyard, Sierra Pacific, The Simpson Door Co. and Hoquiam Plywood, the Stafford Creek Corrections Center, a state prison which opened in 2000, and Safe Harbor Technology, a technical support center.

Other major employers include cranberry-growing collective Ocean Spray, Wal-Mart and Washington Crab Products.

Aberdeen Geography

Aberdeen is located at the confluence of the Chehalis and Wishkah rivers, which form Grays Harbor, and at the intersection of U.S. Highway 101 (also called the Pacific Coast Highway) and U.S. Highway 12.

The city is located at 46°58'33" North, 123°49'7" West (46.975833, -123.818669).

According to the United States Census Bureau, the city has a total area of 31.5 km² (12.2 mi²). 27.5 km² (10.6 mi²) of it is land and 4.0 km² (1.5 mi²) of it is water. The total area is 12.73% water.

Aberdeen Demographics

As of the census of 2000, there are 16,461 people, 6,517 households, and 4,112 families residing in the city. The population density is 597.9/km² (1,548.8/mi²). There are 7,536 housing units at an average density of 273.7/km² (709.1/mi²). The racial makeup of the city is 84.87% White, 0.47% African American, 3.70% Native American, 2.10% Asian, 0.14% Pacific Islander, 5.15% from other races, and 3.57% from two or more races. 9.22% of the population are Hispanic or Latino of any race.

There are 6,517 households out of which 31.8% have children under the age of 18 living with them, 43.9% are married couples living together, 13.7% have a female householder with no husband present, and 36.9% are non-families. 29.5% of all households are made up of individuals and 12.0% have someone living alone who is 65 years of age or older. The average household size is 2.49 and the average family size is 3.05.

In the city the population is spread out with 26.8% under the age of 18, 10.3% from 18 to 24, 27.1% from 25 to 44, 21.9% from 45 to 64, and 14.0% who are 65 years of age or older. The median age is 35 years. For every 100 females there are 98.0 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there are 96.0 males.

The median income for a household in the city is $30,683, and the median income for a family is $37,966. Males have a median income of $32,710 versus $20,446 for females. The per capita income for the city is $16,092. 22.2% of the population and 16.1% of families are below the poverty line. Out of the total population, 29.7% of those under the age of 18 and 9.6% of those 65 and older are living below the poverty line.

Reference

• Ed Van Syckle, "The River Pioneers," Pacific Search Press, 1982.

• Ed Van Syckle, "They Tried to Cut It All," Pacific Search Press, 1980.

• Murray Morgan, "The Last Wilderness," Viking Press, 1955.

• Anne Cotton, "The History of Aberdeen," Grays Harbor Regional Planning Commission, 1982.

External links

This article is licensed under the GNU Free Documentation License. It uses material from the Wikipedia article "Aberdeen,_Washington".