Oak Harbor, Washington
Encyclopedia
Oak Harbor is a city located on Whidbey Island
in Island County
, Washington. The population was 22,075 at the 2010 census.
Oak Harbor was incorporated on May 14, 1915.
's largest incorporated city. Named for the Garry Oak
trees which grace its skyline, the city's growth coincided with two major events: the building of Deception Pass Bridge
on July 31, 1935, and the completion of Naval Air Station Whidbey Island
on September 21, 1942.
Oak Harbor's history goes back to the early 1850s, when three settlers staked claims where the city now stands — Zakarias Martin Taftezon, a shoemaker from Norway
; C.W. Sumner from New England
, and Ulrich Freund, a Swiss Army
officer. Freund retained part of his claim, which today is home to his descendants
. Houses and businesses sprouted up along the shores of Oak Harbor as the pioneers
relied entirely on water transportation until the 1900s. For the next thirty years, steamers
and freighters
carried passengers and freight from the Island
to the mainland and back as well as Fidalgo Island to the north.
The Irish came in the late 1850s, making Oak Harbor grow and prosper as they fished and farmed the area. The city's Dutch
heritage
arrived in the 1890s when Hollanders became disillusioned with the northern Midwest region of the United States and came to Whidbey Island
. Churches, schools, and more businesses followed the arrival of the Hollanders. A high school
was built in 1906. Oak Harbor flourished as a small country town until Deception Pass Bridge
and the U.S. Navy
Base connected the city to the rest of the region and the world.
Deception Pass Bridge
, a National Historic Monument since 1982, is actually two spans that link Whidbey Island
to Fidalgo Island
over Canoe Pass and Deception Pass
. The bridge, one of the scenic wonders and destinations of the Pacific Northwest
, was a Public Works Administration
project built by the Civilian Conservation Corps
. Deception Pass State Park, Washington's second most popular state park
http://www.ofm.wa.gov/databook/environment/vt02.asp, has over 4100 acres (17 km²) of forest, campsites, trails, and scenic vistas of the San Juan Islands
, Victoria
(British Columbia
, Canada
), Mount Baker
, and Fidalgo Island
.
According to the United States Census Bureau
, the city has a total area of 9.15 mi2, of which, 9.1 mi2 of it is land and 0.4 mi2 is water.
of 2000, there were 19,795 people, 7,333 households, and 5,265 families residing in the city. The population density
was 2,175.0 people per square mile (839.9/km²). There were 7,772 housing units at an average density of 854.0 per square mile (329.8/km²). The racial makeup of the city was 74.93% White, 5.45% African American, 9.62% Asian, 1.22% Native American, 0.77% Pacific Islander, 2.42% from other races
, and 5.58% from two or more races. Hispanic or Latino of any race were 6.61% of the population.
There were 7,333 households out of which 43.4% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 59.0% were married couples
living together, 9.7% had a female householder with no husband present, and 28.2% were non-families. 22.2% of all households were made up of individuals and 7.2% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.68 and the average family size was 3.18.
In the city the population was spread out with 31.6% under the age of 18, 11.6% from 18 to 24, 34.4% from 25 to 44, 13.4% from 45 to 64, and 9.0% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 28 years. For every 100 females there were 98.7 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 95.2 males.
The median income for a household in the city was $36,641, and the median income for a family was $41,579. Males had a median income of $29,498 versus $21,633 for females. The per capita income
for the city was $16,830. About 8.1% of families and 9.3% of the population were below the poverty line, including 11.2% of those under age 18 and 5.4% of those age 65 or over.
. Its influence on the area has established Oak Harbor as a stronghold for American conservatism
and the Republican Party
. Jim Slowik was sworn in as mayor on January 2, 2008. He oversees city government with a 7-person City Council and a city administrator.
Whidbey Island
Whidbey Island is one of nine islands located in Island County, Washington, in the United States. Whidbey is located about north of Seattle, and lies between the Olympic Peninsula and the I-5 corridor of western Washington...
in Island County
Island County, Washington
Island County is a county located in the U.S. state of Washington. In 2010 census, its population was 78,506. Its county seat is Coupeville, while its largest city is Oak Harbor....
, Washington. The population was 22,075 at the 2010 census.
Oak Harbor was incorporated on May 14, 1915.
History
Oak Harbor is Whidbey IslandWhidbey Island
Whidbey Island is one of nine islands located in Island County, Washington, in the United States. Whidbey is located about north of Seattle, and lies between the Olympic Peninsula and the I-5 corridor of western Washington...
's largest incorporated city. Named for the Garry Oak
Garry Oak
Quercus garryana, the Garry Oak, Oregon White Oak or Oregon Oak, has a range from southern California to extreme southwestern British Columbia, particularly southeastern Vancouver Island and the adjacent Gulf Islands. It grows from sea level to 210 m altitude in the northern part of its range, and...
trees which grace its skyline, the city's growth coincided with two major events: the building of Deception Pass Bridge
Deception Pass Bridge
The Deception Pass Bridge is a two-lane bridge connecting Whidbey Island to Fidalgo Island in the U.S. state of Washington. It was a Washington State Highways project, and included project elements built by young workers from the Civilian Conservation Corps...
on July 31, 1935, and the completion of Naval Air Station Whidbey Island
Naval Air Station Whidbey Island
Naval Air Station Whidbey Island is a naval air station located in two sections around Oak Harbor, Washington, USA. It was commissioned as an active U.S. Navy installation on 21 September 1942....
on September 21, 1942.
Oak Harbor's history goes back to the early 1850s, when three settlers staked claims where the city now stands — Zakarias Martin Taftezon, a shoemaker from Norway
Norway
Norway , officially the Kingdom of Norway, is a Nordic unitary constitutional monarchy whose territory comprises the western portion of the Scandinavian Peninsula, Jan Mayen, and the Arctic archipelago of Svalbard and Bouvet Island. Norway has a total area of and a population of about 4.9 million...
; C.W. Sumner from New England
New England
New England is a region in the northeastern corner of the United States consisting of the six states of Maine, New Hampshire, Vermont, Massachusetts, Rhode Island, and Connecticut...
, and Ulrich Freund, a Swiss Army
Military of Switzerland
The Swiss Armed Forces perform the roles of Switzerland's militia and regular army. Under the country's militia system, professional soldiers constitute about 5 percent of military personnel; the rest are male citizen conscripts 19 to 34 years old...
officer. Freund retained part of his claim, which today is home to his descendants
Kinship
Kinship is a relationship between any entities that share a genealogical origin, through either biological, cultural, or historical descent. And descent groups, lineages, etc. are treated in their own subsections....
. Houses and businesses sprouted up along the shores of Oak Harbor as the pioneers
Settler
A settler is a person who has migrated to an area and established permanent residence there, often to colonize the area. Settlers are generally people who take up residence on land and cultivate it, as opposed to nomads...
relied entirely on water transportation until the 1900s. For the next thirty years, steamers
Steamboat
A steamboat or steamship, sometimes called a steamer, is a ship in which the primary method of propulsion is steam power, typically driving propellers or paddlewheels...
and freighters
Cargo ship
A cargo ship or freighter is any sort of ship or vessel that carries cargo, goods, and materials from one port to another. Thousands of cargo carriers ply the world's seas and oceans each year; they handle the bulk of international trade...
carried passengers and freight from the Island
Whidbey Island
Whidbey Island is one of nine islands located in Island County, Washington, in the United States. Whidbey is located about north of Seattle, and lies between the Olympic Peninsula and the I-5 corridor of western Washington...
to the mainland and back as well as Fidalgo Island to the north.
The Irish came in the late 1850s, making Oak Harbor grow and prosper as they fished and farmed the area. The city's Dutch
Dutch people
The Dutch people are an ethnic group native to the Netherlands. They share a common culture and speak the Dutch language. Dutch people and their descendants are found in migrant communities worldwide, notably in Suriname, Chile, Brazil, Canada, Australia, South Africa, New Zealand, and the United...
heritage
Cultural heritage
Cultural heritage is the legacy of physical artifacts and intangible attributes of a group or society that are inherited from past generations, maintained in the present and bestowed for the benefit of future generations...
arrived in the 1890s when Hollanders became disillusioned with the northern Midwest region of the United States and came to Whidbey Island
Whidbey Island
Whidbey Island is one of nine islands located in Island County, Washington, in the United States. Whidbey is located about north of Seattle, and lies between the Olympic Peninsula and the I-5 corridor of western Washington...
. Churches, schools, and more businesses followed the arrival of the Hollanders. A high school
Oak Harbor High School
For the high school in Ohio, see Oak Harbor High School .Oak Harbor High School is a public grade 9–12 high school that is located in Oak Harbor, Washington on Whidbey Island. The school is in the Oak Harbor School District #201...
was built in 1906. Oak Harbor flourished as a small country town until Deception Pass Bridge
Deception Pass Bridge
The Deception Pass Bridge is a two-lane bridge connecting Whidbey Island to Fidalgo Island in the U.S. state of Washington. It was a Washington State Highways project, and included project elements built by young workers from the Civilian Conservation Corps...
and the U.S. Navy
United States Navy
The United States Navy is the naval warfare service branch of the United States Armed Forces and one of the seven uniformed services of the United States. The U.S. Navy is the largest in the world; its battle fleet tonnage is greater than that of the next 13 largest navies combined. The U.S...
Base connected the city to the rest of the region and the world.
Deception Pass Bridge
Deception Pass Bridge
The Deception Pass Bridge is a two-lane bridge connecting Whidbey Island to Fidalgo Island in the U.S. state of Washington. It was a Washington State Highways project, and included project elements built by young workers from the Civilian Conservation Corps...
, a National Historic Monument since 1982, is actually two spans that link Whidbey Island
Whidbey Island
Whidbey Island is one of nine islands located in Island County, Washington, in the United States. Whidbey is located about north of Seattle, and lies between the Olympic Peninsula and the I-5 corridor of western Washington...
to Fidalgo Island
Fidalgo Island
Fidalgo Island is an island in Skagit County, Washington, located about north of Seattle. To the east, it is separated from the mainland by the Swinomish Channel, and from Whidbey Island to the south by Deception Pass...
over Canoe Pass and Deception Pass
Deception Pass
Deception Pass is a strait separating Whidbey Island from Fidalgo Island, in the northwest part of the U.S. state of Washington. It connects Skagit Bay, part of Puget Sound, with the Strait of Juan de Fuca.-History:...
. The bridge, one of the scenic wonders and destinations of the Pacific Northwest
Pacific Northwest
The Pacific Northwest is a region in northwestern North America, bounded by the Pacific Ocean to the west and, loosely, by the Rocky Mountains on the east. Definitions of the region vary and there is no commonly agreed upon boundary, even among Pacific Northwesterners. A common concept of the...
, was a Public Works Administration
Public Works Administration
The Public Works Administration , part of the New Deal of 1933, was a large-scale public works construction agency in the United States headed by Secretary of the Interior Harold L. Ickes. It was created by the National Industrial Recovery Act in June 1933 in response to the Great Depression...
project built by the Civilian Conservation Corps
Civilian Conservation Corps
The Civilian Conservation Corps was a public work relief program that operated from 1933 to 1942 in the United States for unemployed, unmarried men from relief families, ages 18–25. A part of the New Deal of President Franklin D...
. Deception Pass State Park, Washington's second most popular state park
State park
State parks are parks or other protected areas managed at the federated state level within those nations which use "state" as a political subdivision. State parks are typically established by a state to preserve a location on account of its natural beauty, historic interest, or recreational...
http://www.ofm.wa.gov/databook/environment/vt02.asp, has over 4100 acres (17 km²) of forest, campsites, trails, and scenic vistas of the San Juan Islands
San Juan Islands
The San Juan Islands are an archipelago in the northwest corner of the contiguous United States between the US mainland and Vancouver Island, British Columbia, Canada. The San Juan Islands are part of the U.S...
, Victoria
Victoria, British Columbia
Victoria is the capital city of British Columbia, Canada and is located on the southern tip of Vancouver Island off Canada's Pacific coast. The city has a population of about 78,000 within the metropolitan area of Greater Victoria, which has a population of 360,063, the 15th most populous Canadian...
(British Columbia
British Columbia
British Columbia is the westernmost of Canada's provinces and is known for its natural beauty, as reflected in its Latin motto, Splendor sine occasu . Its name was chosen by Queen Victoria in 1858...
, Canada
Canada
Canada is a North American country consisting of ten provinces and three territories. Located in the northern part of the continent, it extends from the Atlantic Ocean in the east to the Pacific Ocean in the west, and northward into the Arctic Ocean...
), Mount Baker
Mount Baker
Mount Baker , also known as Koma Kulshan or simply Kulshan, is an active glaciated andesitic stratovolcano in the Cascade Volcanic Arc and the North Cascades of Washington State in the United States. It is the second-most active volcano in the range after Mount Saint Helens...
, and Fidalgo Island
Fidalgo Island
Fidalgo Island is an island in Skagit County, Washington, located about north of Seattle. To the east, it is separated from the mainland by the Swinomish Channel, and from Whidbey Island to the south by Deception Pass...
.
Geography
Oak Harbor is located at 48°17′42"N 122°39′31"W (48.295136, -122.658553).According to the United States Census Bureau
United States Census Bureau
The United States Census Bureau is the government agency that is responsible for the United States Census. It also gathers other national demographic and economic data...
, the city has a total area of 9.15 mi2, of which, 9.1 mi2 of it is land and 0.4 mi2 is water.
Demographics
As of the censusCensus
A census is the procedure of systematically acquiring and recording information about the members of a given population. It is a regularly occurring and official count of a particular population. The term is used mostly in connection with national population and housing censuses; other common...
of 2000, there were 19,795 people, 7,333 households, and 5,265 families residing in the city. The population density
Population density
Population density is a measurement of population per unit area or unit volume. It is frequently applied to living organisms, and particularly to humans...
was 2,175.0 people per square mile (839.9/km²). There were 7,772 housing units at an average density of 854.0 per square mile (329.8/km²). The racial makeup of the city was 74.93% White, 5.45% African American, 9.62% Asian, 1.22% Native American, 0.77% Pacific Islander, 2.42% from other races
Race (United States Census)
Race and ethnicity in the United States Census, as defined by the Federal Office of Management and Budget and the United States Census Bureau, are self-identification data items in which residents choose the race or races with which they most closely identify, and indicate whether or not they are...
, and 5.58% from two or more races. Hispanic or Latino of any race were 6.61% of the population.
There were 7,333 households out of which 43.4% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 59.0% were married couples
Marriage
Marriage is a social union or legal contract between people that creates kinship. It is an institution in which interpersonal relationships, usually intimate and sexual, are acknowledged in a variety of ways, depending on the culture or subculture in which it is found...
living together, 9.7% had a female householder with no husband present, and 28.2% were non-families. 22.2% of all households were made up of individuals and 7.2% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.68 and the average family size was 3.18.
In the city the population was spread out with 31.6% under the age of 18, 11.6% from 18 to 24, 34.4% from 25 to 44, 13.4% from 45 to 64, and 9.0% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 28 years. For every 100 females there were 98.7 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 95.2 males.
The median income for a household in the city was $36,641, and the median income for a family was $41,579. Males had a median income of $29,498 versus $21,633 for females. The per capita income
Per capita income
Per capita income or income per person is a measure of mean income within an economic aggregate, such as a country or city. It is calculated by taking a measure of all sources of income in the aggregate and dividing it by the total population...
for the city was $16,830. About 8.1% of families and 9.3% of the population were below the poverty line, including 11.2% of those under age 18 and 5.4% of those age 65 or over.
Politics
Oak Harbor is the nearest city to Naval Air Station Whidbey IslandNaval Air Station Whidbey Island
Naval Air Station Whidbey Island is a naval air station located in two sections around Oak Harbor, Washington, USA. It was commissioned as an active U.S. Navy installation on 21 September 1942....
. Its influence on the area has established Oak Harbor as a stronghold for American conservatism
American conservatism
Conservatism in the United States has played an important role in American politics since the 1950s. Historian Gregory Schneider identifies several constants in American conservatism: respect for tradition, support of republicanism, preservation of "the rule of law and the Christian religion", and...
and the Republican Party
Republican Party (United States)
The Republican Party is one of the two major contemporary political parties in the United States, along with the Democratic Party. Founded by anti-slavery expansion activists in 1854, it is often called the GOP . The party's platform generally reflects American conservatism in the U.S...
. Jim Slowik was sworn in as mayor on January 2, 2008. He oversees city government with a 7-person City Council and a city administrator.
External links
- Oak Harbor Tourism and Visitor Service
- Whidbey News Times- Closest Major Newspaper
- City of Oak Harbor official website
- Deception Pass Park Foundation
- About Oak Harbor from the city's chamber of commerceChamber of commerceA chamber of commerce is a form of business network, e.g., a local organization of businesses whose goal is to further the interests of businesses. Business owners in towns and cities form these local societies to advocate on behalf of the business community...