Westport, Washington facts for kids

Quick facts for kids Westport, Washington
City
The marina district of Westport, looking east from the Westport Viewing Tower
Nickname(s):  Salmon Capital of the World
Location of Westport, Washington
Country	United States
State	Washington
County	Grays Harbor
Founded	1857
Incorporated	June 26, 1914
Government
• Type	Mayor–council
Area
• Total	5.94 sq mi (15.38 km2)
• Land	3.69 sq mi (9.56 km2)
• Water	2.25 sq mi (5.83 km2)
Elevation	23 ft (7 m)
Population  (2020)
• Total	2,213
• Density	569.11/sq mi (219.76/km2)
Demonym(s)	Westportarican
Time zone	UTC-8 (Pacific (PST))
• Summer (DST)	UTC-7 (PDT)
ZIP code	98595
Area code(s)	360
FIPS code	53-77630
GNIS feature ID	1531536

Westport is a city in Grays Harbor County, Washington, United States. It had a population of 2,213 at the 2020 census. Westport is located on a peninsula on the south side of the entrance to Grays Harbor from the Pacific Ocean.

The public Westport Marina is the largest marina on the outer coast of the United States's Pacific Northwest. The marina is home to a large commercial fishing fleet and several recreational charter fishing vessels. A summer-only passenger ferry, discontinued in 2008, previously connected the town to Ocean Shores, across the mouth of the harbor to the north. It is home to the Washington Tuna Classic, which happens each August.

History

Westport was officially incorporated on June 26, 1914. Names for the area in the past include Peterson's Point, Chehalis City, and Fort Chehalis. The latter name is for a U.S. Army fort established in 1860 before the town was founded, "ts-a-lis" is the Lower Chehalis word for Westport, meaning "place of sand". Early explorers pronounced the word "Chehalis" and gave this name to the river and the people living up river who later became the Chehalis people or "People of the Sands". The area was used regularly during the summer by local Native American tribes (most likely the Shoalwater Bay Tribe, comprising Willapa Chinook and Lower Chehalis people) before Thomas Barker Speake and his family arrived early in the summer of 1857. Westport is also the home to a station for the US Coast Guard.

Tsunami shelters

In 2016, the Ocosta School District became the first in North America to build a publicly funded vertical tsunami shelter, located at Ocosta Elementary School. Measuring 53 feet (16.2 m), the structure is joined with the school, can hold 1,000 people, and is built to withstand a Cascadia subduction zone earthquake. The $13.8 million project was funded by a local bond.

A $15.2 million grant, with a 10% match by Westport, was awarded from the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) to the city in 2023 for the construction of a community tsunami evacuation tower that is scheduled to be ready in 2026. Capable of also holding 1,000 people, the tower is planned to be part of a larger park complex near the town's marina and will stand around 50 feet (15.2 m) tall. With plans to add an additional three towers in the future, Westport also received a $2.0 million grant to complete a communications network that would continue to operate during a catastrophic event.

Geography

Westport is the westernmost "Westport" in the world, the nearest competitor being in California, less than a degree east.

According to the United States Census Bureau, the city has a total area of 4.50 square miles (11.65 km²), of which, 3.70 square miles (9.58 km²) is land and 0.80 square miles (2.07 km²) is water.

A weather station in Grayland, a community just south of Westport, has recorded conditions in the area going back to 1948. The area is generally mild and wet, with November through January having especially high levels of rainfall (averaging over 10 inches or 250 millimetres for each of those months) and little or no snow. (See Grayland, Washington for climate data.)

Demographics

2010 census

At the 2010 census there were 2,099 people, 999 households, and 527 families living in the city. The population density was 567.3 inhabitants per square mile (219.0/km²). There were 1,561 housing units at an average density of 421.9 per square mile (162.9/km²). The racial makeup of the city was 87.0% White, 0.9% African American, 2.9% Native American, 1.1% Asian, 4.5% from other races, and 3.6% from two or more races. Hispanic or Latino of any race were 7.3%.

Of the 999 households 21.6% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 37.4% were married couples living together, 9.9% had a female householder with no husband present, 5.4% had a male householder with no wife present, and 47.2% were non-families. 38.2% of households were one person and 16.2% were one person aged 65 or older. The average household size was 2.10 and the average family size was 2.72.

The median age was 48.4 years. 18.8% of residents were under the age of 18; 7.2% were between the ages of 18 and 24; 19.8% were from 25 to 44; 32.9% were from 45 to 64; and 21.3% were 65 or older. The gender makeup of the city was 50.7% male and 49.3% female.

Economy

The Westport Marina is annually ranked as one the top commercial ports for fishing in the United States. Westport once was home to a thriving logging community but cranberry farming has been a long-term, dependable component of the area's economy. Due in part to the Covid-19 pandemic, the city has created more business opportunities for tourism, including surfing and a focus on the local availability of seafood.

Gallery

• 

  Marina at Westport, Washington

• 

  A typical fishing boat returning to the Westport Marina

• 

  The observation tower at Westport

The marina district and downtown of Westport at daytime, viewed from the observation tower. Mount Rainier is visible near the centre (to the right of the utility pole).

Panorama of Westport looking toward the south beach, south jetty and the state park.

See also

In Spanish: Westport (Washington) para niños