Thurston County, Washington

Thurston County, Washington
Location in the state of Washington
Washington's location in the U.S.
Founded	January 12, 1852
Seat	Olympia
Area  - Total  - Land  - Water	774 sq mi (2,005 km²) 727 sq mi (1,883 km²) 47 sq mi (122 km²), 6.03%
Population  - (2010)  - Density	252,264 347/sq mi (133.9/km²)
Website	www.co.thurston.wa.us

Thurston County is a county located in the U.S. state of Washington. It is named after Samuel R. Thurston, the Oregon Territory's first delegate to Congress. The population was 252,264 at the 2010 census. The county seat is at Olympia, the state capital and also the county's largest city.

Thurston County was created out of Lewis County by the government of Oregon Territory on January 12, 1852. At that time, it covered all of the Puget Sound region and the Olympic Peninsula. On December 22 of the same year, Pierce, King, Island, and Jefferson Counties were split off from Thurston County.^[1][2]

Geography

According to the U.S. Census Bureau, the county has a total area of 774 square miles (2,000 km²), of which 727 square miles (1,880 km²) is land and 47 square miles (120 km²) (6.03%) is water.

Major watersheds: Black River, Budd/Deschutes, Chehalis River, Eld Inlet, Henderson Inlet, Nisqually River, Skookumchuck River, Totten Inlet and West Capitol Forest.

Geographic features

• Alder Lake
• Bald Hill Lake
• Barnes Lake
• Bass Lake
• Bigelow Lake
• Black Lake
• Black River
• Budd Inlet
• Capitol Lake
• Capitol Peak
• Capitol State Forest
• Chambers Lake
• Chehalis River
• Clear Lake
• Coopers Pothole
• Deep Lake
• Deschutes River
• Elbow Lake
• Eld Inlet
• Fifteen Lake
• Gehrke Lake
• Grass Lake
• Henderson Inlet
• Hewitt Lake
• Hicks Lake
• Lake Lawrence - One of nineteen basins in the Budd/Deschutes Watershed.
• Lois Lake
• Long Lake
• McIntosh Lake
• Mima Mounds
• Munn Lake
• Nisqually River
• Offut Lake
• Patterson Lake
• Puget Sound
• Reichel Lake
• Saint Clair Lake
• Scott Lake
• Simmons Lake
• Skookumchuck River
• Smith Lake
• Southwick Lake
• Springer Lake
• Summit Lake
• Susan Lake
• Totten Inlet
• Trails End Lake
• Trosper Lake
• Ward Lake

Major highways

• Interstate 5
• SR 507
• SR 510
• U.S. 12
• U.S. 101

Adjacent counties

• Pierce County, Washington - northeast
• Lewis County, Washington - south
• Grays Harbor County, Washington - west
• Mason County, Washington - north/northwest

National protected areas

• Nisqually National Wildlife Refuge (part)
• Snoqualmie National Forest (part)

Demographics

Historical populations
Census	Pop.		%±
1860	1,507		—
1870	2,246		49.0%
1880	3,270		45.6%
1890	9,675		195.9%
1900	9,927		2.6%
1910	17,581		77.1%
1920	22,366		27.2%
1930	31,351		40.2%
1940	37,285		18.9%
1950	44,884		20.4%
1960	55,049		22.6%
1970	76,894		39.7%
1980	124,264		61.6%
1990	161,238		29.8%
2000	207,355		28.6%
2010	252,264		21.7%

At the 2000 census,^[3] there were 207,355 people, 81,625 households and 54,933 families residing in the county. The population density was 285 per square mile (110/km²). There were 86,652 housing units at an average density of 119 per square mile (46/km²). The racial makeup of the county was 85.66% White, 2.35% Black or African American, 1.52% Native American, 4.41% Asian, 0.52% Pacific Islander, 1.69% from other races, and 3.85% from two or more races. 4.53% of the population were Hispanic or Latino of any race. 17.1% were of German, 10.2% English, 9.8% Irish, 6.9% United States or American and 5.5% Norwegian ancestry according to Census 2000.

There were 81,625 households of which 33.00% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 53.10% were married couples living together, 10.30% had a female householder with no husband present, and 32.70% were non-families. 25.10% of all households were made up of individuals and 8.00% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.50 and the average family size was 2.99.

Age distribution was 25.30% under the age of 18, 9.30% from 18 to 24, 29.30% from 25 to 44, 24.60% from 45 to 64, and 11.40% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 36 years. For every 100 females there were 96.00 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 92.70 males.

The median household income was $46,975, and the median family income was $55,027. Males had a median income of $40,521 versus $30,368 for females. The per capita income for the county was $22,415. About 5.80% of families and 8.80% of the population were below the poverty line, including 9.80% of those under age 18 and 5.00% of those age 65 or over.

Media

The Weekly Volcano has covered Thurston County entertainment since 2001.

Census-recognized communities

Bucoda Grand Mound Lacey Nisqually Indian Community North Yelm Olympia

Rainier Rochester Tanglewilde-Thompson Place Tenino Tumwater Yelm

Other communities

Boston Harbor Driftwood East Olympia Five Corners Gate Griffin Indian Summer Kellys Corner Lake Lawrence Littlerock Maytown

Mushroom Corner Offutt Lake Saint Clair Schneiders Prairie South Bay South Sound Steamboat Island Union Mills Vail

Ghost Towns

• Tono

School districts

School Districts in Thurston County:

North Thurston Olympia Rainier Rochester

Tenino Tumwater Yelm Griffin

See also

• National Register of Historic Places listings in Thurston County, Washington

References

1. ^ Reinartz, Kay. "History of King County Government 1853–2002" (PDF). http://www.metrokc.gov/kc150/historical%20overview.pdf. Retrieved 2007-12-29. 
2. ^ "Milestones for Washington State History — Part 2: 1851 to 1900". HistoryLink.org. March 6, 2003. http://www.historylink.org/essays/output.cfm?file_id=5380. 
3. ^ "American FactFinder". United States Census Bureau. http://factfinder.census.gov. Retrieved 2008-01-31. 

External links

• Thurston County
• Thurton County Chamber of Commerce
• OlympiaCommunitySchool.org - Independent K-3 Education
• Thurston Conservation District - Local Solutions to Local Problems

Coordinates: 46°56′N 122°50′W / 46.93°N 122.83°W / 46.93; -122.83