Montesano, Washington

Grays Harbor County

53-46895

Montesano is a town in the west of the U.S. state of Washington. The town is the county town ( county seat ) of Grays Harbor County. In 2000 lived in Montesano 3312 inhabitants.

Name of the city

According to legend, the owner of the farm, which served as a post office, a very religious woman who wanted to give the city the name of Mount Zion. The practice in the state of Washington because the place would have to be named after the opening into nearby in the Chehalis River and Wynoochee. Other residents questioned the name and convinced the postmistress that the more exotic -sounding Spanish name Montesano ( " healthy mountain " ) is tantamount. The Spanish language is in the Pacific Northwest as a name for places almost unknown, mostly English, the Salish languages ​​or the Chinook Wawa come. Montesano was suggested because Spanish was the only language that was known to all the inhabitants and the postmistress knew not good enough to notice the deception.

Well-known residents

The original members of The Melvins Heavy-Metal-/Punk-Rock-Gruppe visited here from high school, among them Buzz Osborne.

Geography

Montesano is located on the northern side of the Chehalis, near the confluence of the Rivers Wynoochee. On the northern and western side of the city is bordered by Lake Sylvia and Sylvia Creek.

According to the United States Census Bureau, the city has a total area of 27.0 km ², 26.8 km ² wovom on land and 0.2 km ² omitted ( = 0.86 %) to water.

Demography

At the time of the census of 2000, lived in the town of 3312 people. The population density was 123.7 people per km ². There were 1408 housing units at an average 52.6 per km ². The population consisted of Montesanos 94.99 % White, 0.12% to black or African American, 1.87 % Native American, 0.48 % Asian, 0.06 % Pacific Islander, 0.18 % reported from other races, and 2.29 % from two or more races. 1.84 % of the population to be Hispanic or Latino of any race.

Residents Montesanos distributed to 1326 households out of which 30.9% were living in children under 18 years. 51.4 % married couples living together, 10.5 % had a female householder with no husband present, and 33.7 % were non-families. 28.4 % of households were made ​​up of individuals and someone lived in 13.5 % of all households aged 65 years or older. The average household size was 2.38 and the average family size is 2.92 people.

The city population was spread out with 23.8 % under the, 8.5 % 18 -24- year-old, 28.7 % 25 -44- year-old, 23.6% 45-64 year olds and 15.4 % under the age of 65 years or more. The average age was 39 years. For every 100 females there were 99.4 males. In the over -18s accounted for 100 women 96.2 males.

The median household income in Montesano was 40 204 U.S. dollars, and the median family income reached the level of 42 344 U.S. dollars. The average income of men was 41,500 U.S. dollars, compared to 30,096 U.S. dollars for women. The per capita income in Montesano was 19,467 U.S. dollars. 11.6 % of the population and 9.3% of families had affected an income below the poverty line, including 12.4 % of minors and 10.7 % of those age 65 or over.

Attractions

A well-known landmark Montesanos is the product derived from the 1911 courthouse of the county. It is a three storey building with a tower. The building's interior decorating murals of local history. At the front door there is a hole that was created when the sheriff shot on a fugitive criminal.

The Lake Sylvia State Park adjoins the northern city limits. This is a dense boreal forest, which actually looks more like a temperate rainforest. The park is ideal for swimming, hiking, camping, fishing and boating, and was built on the lake a former sawmill, which had been converted for a short time for the first electricity plant in the city. The park is home to various waterfowl such as mallards and Canada geese or fish eagle. On the banks of the Chehalis some bald eagles and beavers. From Montesano, a road leads north and follows the course of Wynoochee Rivers. This is the access route to the southern quarter of the Olympic National Park.