Sequim, Washington
Encyclopedia
Sequim is a city in Clallam County, Washington, United States. The 2010 US Census counted a population of 6,606. Sequim is located along the Dungeness River
near the base of the Olympic Mountains
. The city has been increasing in population dramatically in recent years due to the influx of retirees from the Puget Sound region and California.
Sequim lies within the rainshadow of the Olympic Mountains and receives on average less than 15 inches (381 mm) of rain per year—about the same at Los Angeles, California. Yet the city is fairly close to some of the wettest temperate rainforests of the contiguous United States
. This climate anomaly is sometimes called the blue hole of Sequim. Fogs and cool breezes from the Juan de Fuca Strait make Sequim's environment more humid than would be expected from the low average annual precipitation. Some places have surprisingly luxuriant forests dominated by Douglas-fir
and western red cedar. Black cottonwood, red alder
, bigleaf maple
, Pacific madrone
, lodgepole pine
and Garry oak
can also be large. Historically, much of the area was an open oak-studded prairie supported by somewhat excessively drained gravelly sandy loam soil, though agriculture and development of the Dungeness valley have changed this ecosystem. Most soils under Sequim have been placed in a series which is named after the city.http://websoilsurvey.nrcs.usda.gov/app/WebSoilSurvey.aspx This "Sequim series" is one of the few Mollisols in western Washington and its high base saturation, a characteristic of the Mollisol order, is attributed to the minimal leaching of bases caused by low annual rainfall.http://www2.ftw.nrcs.usda.gov/osd/dat/S/SEQUIM.html
The city and the surrounding area are particularly known for the commercial growth of lavender
, supported by the unique climate: it makes Sequim the "Lavender Capital of North America", rivaled only in France. The area is also known for its Dungeness crab
.
Sequim is pronounced as one syllable, with the e elided: "skwim". The word comes from the Klallam
language. It can be broken down into multiple sounds, that mean "reason, thing or place for", "shoot" and "go to" which translates to "place for going to shoot" referring to the numerous elk and fowl resources in the area.
, Japan. Sequim and Shiso have an exchange student program set up through Sequim High School and Sequim Middle School.
included a mastodon
bone with an embedded bone point, evidencing the presence of hunters in the area about 14,000 years ago. According to Michael R. Waters, an archaeologist at Texas A&M University
, this discovery is the first hunting weapon found that dates to the pre-Clovis
period.
The S'Klallam
tribe had inhabited the region prior to the arrival of the first Europeans. The tribal name, meaning "place for going to shoot" of the village at Washington Harbor, located just to the east of the present-day city, later evolved into the name Sequim. Both Manuel Quimper
and George Vancouver
explored the region's coast in the 1790s.
. While the lands along the river became fertile farmlands, the remainder of the area remained arid prairie, known as "the desert". Irrigation canals first brought water to the prairie in the 1890s, allowing the expansion of farmlands.
.
The Sequim Lavender Festival has been held every July since 1996. It includes three days of lavender farm tours and a street fair.
Sequim is home to a herd of Roosevelt elk
, one attraction to the area.
Sequim holds a Lavender Festival during the summer of every year, usually around July, which attracts tens of thousands of people.
The Museum and Arts Center
features both natural and cultural exhibits including a mastodon mural mounted with the remaining mastodons bones, artifacts, and a video on the excavation. The Olympic Game Farm allows visitors to get a close look at many large game animals.
The Dungeness National Wildlife Refuge
is located just north of the city, near the mouth of the Dungeness River
. It includes Dungeness Spit
and a five mile hike to the New Dungeness Lighthouse at the end of the spit.
To the east along Highway 101 is Sequim Bay, a 4-mile long inlet from the Straits of Juan de Fuca. Along the western stretch is the Sequim Bay State Park and the John Wayne Marina. The land for the latter was bequeathed by the movie actor John Wayne
. The inlet is a popular bird watching area.
According to the United States Census Bureau
, the city has a total area of 5.3 square miles (13.7 km²), all of it land.
(Köppen climate classification
Csb), sometimes classified as an oceanic climate owing to the relatively cool temperatures. Despite its low rainfall, extreme summer temperatures are marginally more moderate than nearby extremely wet towns like Forks, owing to the coastal fog. Winters are mostly mild with very little snowfall. Many years there is no snow at all. The highest temperature recorded in Sequim was 99 °F (37.2 °C) on 16 July 1941, and the lowest -3 F on 19 January 1935.
More detailed information from the 2000 census indicated that the racial makeup of the city was 93.91% White, 0.30% African American, 1.15% Native American, 1.75% Asian, 0.09% Pacific Islander, 0.92% from other races
, and 1.87% from two or more races. Hispanic or Latino of any race were 2.86% of the population.
There were 2,163 households out of which 15.5% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 40.1% were married couples living together, 9.1% had a female householder with no husband present, and 48.6% were non-families. 44.0% of all households were made up of individuals and 30.5% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 1.90 and the average family size was 2.55.
In the city the age distribution of the population shows 15.3% under the age of 18, 5.4% from 18 to 24, 15.2% from 25 to 44, 19.5% from 45 to 64, and 44.5% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 59 years. For every 100 females there were 73.2 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 68.9 males.
The median income for a household in the city was $27,880, and the median income for a family was $35,652. Males had a median income of $35,160 versus $20,347 for females. The per capita income
for the city was $19,253. About 9.8% of families and 13.9% of the population were below the poverty line, including 19.9% of those under age 18 and 10.7% of those age 65 or over.
Dungeness River
The Dungeness River is a long river located in the Olympic Peninsula in the U.S. state of Washington. It rises near Mount Constance in the Olympic Mountains within the Olympic National Park, flows through the Buckhorn Wilderness, passes by the town of Sequim, and empties into the Strait of Juan de...
near the base of the Olympic Mountains
Olympic Mountains
The Olympic Mountains is a mountain range on the Olympic Peninsula of western Washington in the United States. The mountains, part of the Pacific Coast Ranges, are not especially high - Mount Olympus is the highest at - but the western slopes of the Olympics rise directly out of the Pacific...
. The city has been increasing in population dramatically in recent years due to the influx of retirees from the Puget Sound region and California.
Sequim lies within the rainshadow of the Olympic Mountains and receives on average less than 15 inches (381 mm) of rain per year—about the same at Los Angeles, California. Yet the city is fairly close to some of the wettest temperate rainforests of the contiguous United States
Contiguous United States
The contiguous United States are the 48 U.S. states on the continent of North America that are south of Canada and north of Mexico, plus the District of Columbia....
. This climate anomaly is sometimes called the blue hole of Sequim. Fogs and cool breezes from the Juan de Fuca Strait make Sequim's environment more humid than would be expected from the low average annual precipitation. Some places have surprisingly luxuriant forests dominated by Douglas-fir
Douglas-fir
Douglas-fir is one of the English common names for evergreen coniferous trees of the genus Pseudotsuga in the family Pinaceae. Other common names include Douglas tree, and Oregon pine. There are five species, two in western North America, one in Mexico, and two in eastern Asia...
and western red cedar. Black cottonwood, red alder
Red Alder
Alnus rubra, the Red alder, is a deciduous broadleaf tree native to western North America.-Description:It is the largest species of alder in North America and one of the largest in the world, reaching heights of 20–35 m. The official tallest red alder stands 32 meters tall in Clatsop County, Oregon...
, bigleaf maple
Bigleaf Maple
Acer macrophyllum is a large deciduous tree in the genus Acer.It can grow to be up to 35 m tall, but more commonly grows 15 m to 20 m tall. It is native to western North America, mostly near the Pacific coast, from southernmost Alaska to southern California...
, Pacific madrone
Pacific Madrone
Arbutus menziesii, commonly known as the Pacific Madrone, is a species of Arbutus found on the west coast of North America, from British Columbia to California...
, lodgepole pine
Lodgepole Pine
Lodgepole Pine, Pinus contorta, also known as Shore Pine, is a common tree in western North America. Like all pines, it is evergreen.-Subspecies:...
and 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...
can also be large. Historically, much of the area was an open oak-studded prairie supported by somewhat excessively drained gravelly sandy loam soil, though agriculture and development of the Dungeness valley have changed this ecosystem. Most soils under Sequim have been placed in a series which is named after the city.http://websoilsurvey.nrcs.usda.gov/app/WebSoilSurvey.aspx This "Sequim series" is one of the few Mollisols in western Washington and its high base saturation, a characteristic of the Mollisol order, is attributed to the minimal leaching of bases caused by low annual rainfall.http://www2.ftw.nrcs.usda.gov/osd/dat/S/SEQUIM.html
The city and the surrounding area are particularly known for the commercial growth of lavender
Lavender
The lavenders are a genus of 39 species of flowering plants in the mint family, Lamiaceae. An Old World genus, distributed from Macaronesia across Africa, the Mediterranean, South-West Asia, Arabia, Western Iran and South-East India...
, supported by the unique climate: it makes Sequim the "Lavender Capital of North America", rivaled only in France. The area is also known for its Dungeness crab
Dungeness crab
The Dungeness crab, Metacarcinus magister , is a species of crab that inhabits eelgrass beds and water bottoms on the west coast of North America. It typically grows to across the carapace and is a popular seafood...
.
Sequim is pronounced as one syllable, with the e elided: "skwim". The word comes from the Klallam
Klallam
Klallam refers to four related indigenous Native American/First Nations communities from the Pacific Northwest of North America. The Klallam culture is classified ethnographically and linguistically in the Coast Salish subgroup...
language. It can be broken down into multiple sounds, that mean "reason, thing or place for", "shoot" and "go to" which translates to "place for going to shoot" referring to the numerous elk and fowl resources in the area.
Media
The local news publications consist of the community news paper Sequim Gazette, the Peninsula Daily News and the weekly Sequim This Week by the Peninsula Daily News.Sister city
Sequim's sister city is Shiso, HyōgoShiso, Hyogo
is a city located in Hyōgo, Japan.The city was founded on April 1, 2005 from the merger of four towns from Shisō District: Chikusa, Haga, Ichinomiya, and Yamasaki.As of 2008 census data, the city has an estimated population of 42,008...
, Japan. Sequim and Shiso have an exchange student program set up through Sequim High School and Sequim Middle School.
History
Aboriginal inhabitants
Fossils discovered in the late 1970s at a dig known as the Manis site, near Sequim, by Carl Gustafson, an archaeologist at Washington State UniversityWashington State University
Washington State University is a public research university based in Pullman, Washington, in the Palouse region of the Pacific Northwest. Founded in 1890, WSU is the state's original and largest land-grant university...
included a mastodon
Mastodon
Mastodons were large tusked mammal species of the extinct genus Mammut which inhabited Asia, Africa, Europe, North America and Central America from the Oligocene through Pleistocene, 33.9 mya to 11,000 years ago. The American mastodon is the most recent and best known species of the group...
bone with an embedded bone point, evidencing the presence of hunters in the area about 14,000 years ago. According to Michael R. Waters, an archaeologist at Texas A&M University
Texas A&M University
Texas A&M University is a coeducational public research university located in College Station, Texas . It is the flagship institution of the Texas A&M University System. The sixth-largest university in the United States, A&M's enrollment for Fall 2011 was over 50,000 for the first time in school...
, this discovery is the first hunting weapon found that dates to the pre-Clovis
Clovis culture
The Clovis culture is a prehistoric Paleo-Indian culture that first appears 11,500 RCYBP , at the end of the last glacial period, characterized by the manufacture of "Clovis points" and distinctive bone and ivory tools...
period.
The S'Klallam
Klallam
Klallam refers to four related indigenous Native American/First Nations communities from the Pacific Northwest of North America. The Klallam culture is classified ethnographically and linguistically in the Coast Salish subgroup...
tribe had inhabited the region prior to the arrival of the first Europeans. The tribal name, meaning "place for going to shoot" of the village at Washington Harbor, located just to the east of the present-day city, later evolved into the name Sequim. Both Manuel Quimper
Manuel Quimper
Manuel Quimper Benítez del Pino was a Spanish Peruvian explorer, cartographer, naval officer, and colonial official. He participated in charting the Strait of Juan de Fuca and the Sandwich Islands in the late 18th century. He was later appointed a colonial governor in his native Peru at the...
and George Vancouver
George Vancouver
Captain George Vancouver RN was an English officer of the British Royal Navy, best known for his 1791-95 expedition, which explored and charted North America's northwestern Pacific Coast regions, including the coasts of contemporary Alaska, British Columbia, Washington and Oregon...
explored the region's coast in the 1790s.
First European settlers
The first European settlers arrived in the Dungeness Valley in the 1850s, settling nearby Dungeness, WashingtonDungeness, Washington
Dungeness is an unincorporated community in Clallam County, Washington, United States, located north of Sequim. Dungeness crab is named after the town of Dungeness, which is located on the Strait of Juan de Fuca...
. While the lands along the river became fertile farmlands, the remainder of the area remained arid prairie, known as "the desert". Irrigation canals first brought water to the prairie in the 1890s, allowing the expansion of farmlands.
Incorporation
Sequim was officially incorporated on October 31, 1913. For many decades small farms, mostly dairy farms, dotted the area around the small town. Near the end of World War I, Sequim became a stop for a railway which passed through from Port Angeles to Port Townsend, built primarily to carry wood products from the forests of the western Olympic PeninsulaOlympic Peninsula
The Olympic Peninsula is the large arm of land in western Washington state of the USA, that lies across Puget Sound from Seattle. It is bounded on the west by the Pacific Ocean, the north by the Strait of Juan de Fuca, and the east by Puget Sound. Cape Alava, the westernmost point in the contiguous...
.
Modern
In recent decades, the family farms that once dotted the valley have been parceled off into home sites as the area's excellent climate has drawn many retired people. Recent years have seen a resurgence of organic farming in the area, with Nash Huber of Nash's Organic Produce leading the way, and a weekly farmer's market is held downtown from May to October. By the late 1990s lavender farming began to be popular and has grown into a major part of the local economy as well as a large tourist attraction, culminating every July in the Sequim Lavender Festival.Commemmoration
Sequim has held its Irrigation Festival every May since 1895. , it is the longest continuously running festival in the state.The Sequim Lavender Festival has been held every July since 1996. It includes three days of lavender farm tours and a street fair.
Tourist attractions
Roosevelt elk
The Roosevelt elk , also known as Olympic elk, is the largest of the four surviving subspecies of elk in North America...
, one attraction to the area.
Sequim holds a Lavender Festival during the summer of every year, usually around July, which attracts tens of thousands of people.
The Museum and Arts Center
Museum and Arts Center, Sequim, Washington
The Museum & Arts Center in the Sequim-Dungeness Valley , located in downtown Sequim, Washington, is a museum of art and regional cultural history...
features both natural and cultural exhibits including a mastodon mural mounted with the remaining mastodons bones, artifacts, and a video on the excavation. The Olympic Game Farm allows visitors to get a close look at many large game animals.
The Dungeness National Wildlife Refuge
Dungeness National Wildlife Refuge
The Dungeness National Wildlife Refuge is located near the town of Sequim in Clallam County in the U.S. state of Washington, on the Strait of Juan de Fuca. The refuge is composed of which include Dungeness Spit, Graveyard Spit, and portions of Dungeness Bay and Harbor. Dungeness Spit is one of...
is located just north of the city, near the mouth of the Dungeness River
Dungeness River
The Dungeness River is a long river located in the Olympic Peninsula in the U.S. state of Washington. It rises near Mount Constance in the Olympic Mountains within the Olympic National Park, flows through the Buckhorn Wilderness, passes by the town of Sequim, and empties into the Strait of Juan de...
. It includes Dungeness Spit
Dungeness Spit
Dungeness Spit is a long sand spit jutting out from the northern edge of the Olympic Peninsula in northeastern Clallam County, Washington, into the Strait of Juan de Fuca. It protects Dungeness Bay. The Dungeness Spit is entirely within the Dungeness National Wildlife Refuge and home of the...
and a five mile hike to the New Dungeness Lighthouse at the end of the spit.
To the east along Highway 101 is Sequim Bay, a 4-mile long inlet from the Straits of Juan de Fuca. Along the western stretch is the Sequim Bay State Park and the John Wayne Marina. The land for the latter was bequeathed by the movie actor John Wayne
John Wayne
Marion Mitchell Morrison , better known by his stage name John Wayne, was an American film actor, director and producer. He epitomized rugged masculinity and became an enduring American icon. He is famous for his distinctive calm voice, walk, and height...
. The inlet is a popular bird watching area.
Geography
Sequim is located at 48°4′41"N 123°6′5"W (48.078002, -123.101427).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 5.3 square miles (13.7 km²), all of it land.
Climate
Sequim experiences a mediterranean climateMediterranean climate
A Mediterranean climate is the climate typical of most of the lands in the Mediterranean Basin, and is a particular variety of subtropical climate...
(Köppen climate classification
Köppen climate classification
The Köppen climate classification is one of the most widely used climate classification systems. It was first published by Crimea German climatologist Wladimir Köppen in 1884, with several later modifications by Köppen himself, notably in 1918 and 1936...
Csb), sometimes classified as an oceanic climate owing to the relatively cool temperatures. Despite its low rainfall, extreme summer temperatures are marginally more moderate than nearby extremely wet towns like Forks, owing to the coastal fog. Winters are mostly mild with very little snowfall. Many years there is no snow at all. The highest temperature recorded in Sequim was 99 °F (37.2 °C) on 16 July 1941, and the lowest -3 F on 19 January 1935.
Demographics
As of the census of 2010, there were 6,606 people residing in the city. The population density was 1246.4 people per square mile (482.2/km²).More detailed information from the 2000 census indicated that the racial makeup of the city was 93.91% White, 0.30% African American, 1.15% Native American, 1.75% Asian, 0.09% Pacific Islander, 0.92% 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 1.87% from two or more races. Hispanic or Latino of any race were 2.86% of the population.
There were 2,163 households out of which 15.5% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 40.1% were married couples living together, 9.1% had a female householder with no husband present, and 48.6% were non-families. 44.0% of all households were made up of individuals and 30.5% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 1.90 and the average family size was 2.55.
In the city the age distribution of the population shows 15.3% under the age of 18, 5.4% from 18 to 24, 15.2% from 25 to 44, 19.5% from 45 to 64, and 44.5% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 59 years. For every 100 females there were 73.2 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 68.9 males.
The median income for a household in the city was $27,880, and the median income for a family was $35,652. Males had a median income of $35,160 versus $20,347 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 $19,253. About 9.8% of families and 13.9% of the population were below the poverty line, including 19.9% of those under age 18 and 10.7% of those age 65 or over.