Shelton

History

Shelton was officially incorporated in 1890. The city was named after David Shelton, a delegate to the territorial legislature. The land was previously called "Cota" and was inhabited and managed by the Squaxin Island Tribe, or "People of the Waters", who had inhabited the land for centuries before contact with white settlers. The land was ceded, along with 4,000 sq. miles of Indigenous land, on December 26, 1854, with the passage of the Treaty of Medicine Creek. After the passage of the treaty, David Shelton and his wife, Frances Shelton, each took a claim of land enabled by the Donation Land Claim Act totaling 640 acres in what would eventually be incorporated as Shelton.

Shelton was once served by a small fleet of steamboats which was part of the Puget Sound Mosquito Fleet. These boats included the Old Settler, Irene, Willie, City of Shelton, Marian, Clara Brown, and S.G. Simpson. The economy was built around logging, farming, dairying and ranching as well as oyster cultivation. The Simpson Timber Company mill on Puget Sound's Oakland Bay dominated the landscape of the downtown area; the mill was sold to Sierra Pacific Industries in 2015, who are currently building a new mill. Shelton also identified itself as "Christmastown, USA" due to the area's cultivation of Christmas trees; the name was later revived for an annual festival.

The Ridge Motorsports Park opened in 2012, and has hosted MotoAmerica and Trans-Am Series races.

Geography

According to the United States Census Bureau, the city has a total area of 6.09 square miles (15.77 km2), of which 5.76 square miles (14.92 km2) is land and 0.33 square miles (0.85 km2) is water.

Climate

With extremely precipitous rainfall in winter and dry summer of less than 33 mm in the driest month (less than 1/3 of the rainy season), Shelton has a warm summer Mediterranean climate (Köppen: Csb) with cold winters, similar to the larger cities of the Pacific Northwest.

Demographics

2020 census

As of the 2020 census, Shelton had a population of 10,371 people, 3,696 households, and 2,055 families residing in the city. The median age was 35.6 years, with 25.8% of residents under the age of 18 and 16.6% 65 years of age or older. For every 100 females there were 96.3 males, and for every 100 females age 18 and over there were 93.1 males age 18 and over.

There were 3,696 households in Shelton, of which 36.7% had children under the age of 18 living in them. Of all households, 40.3% were married-couple households, 18.6% were households with a male householder and no spouse or partner present, and 31.4% were households with a female householder and no spouse or partner present. About 29.1% of all households were made up of individuals and 14.7% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.95 and the average family size was 3.73.

There were 3,887 housing units, of which 4.9% were vacant. The homeowner vacancy rate was 1.2% and the rental vacancy rate was 5.0%.

99.5% of residents lived in urban areas, while 0.5% lived in rural areas.

2010 census

As of the 2010 census, there were 9,834 people, 3,574 households, and 2,166 families residing in the city. The population density was 1,707.3 inhabitants per square mile (659.2/km2). There were 3,847 housing units at an average density of 667.9 per square mile (257.9/km2). The racial makeup of the city was 78.9% White, 0.8% African American, 3.7% Native American, 1.1% Asian, 0.8% Pacific Islander, 9.9% from other races, and 4.9% from two or more races. Hispanic or Latino of any race were 19.2% of the population.

There were 3,574 households, of which 35.3% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 38.1% were married couples living together, 15.5% had a female householder with no husband present, 6.9% had a male householder with no wife present, and 39.4% were non-families. 31.2% of all households were made up of individuals, and 15.6% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.63 and the average family size was 3.23.

The median age in the city was 33.1 years. 26.4% of residents were under the age of 18; 10.8% were between the ages of 18 and 24; 26.5% were from 25 to 44; 21.9% were from 45 to 64; and 14.3% were 65 years of age or older. The gender makeup of the city was 49.1% male and 50.9% female.

Government

Shelton was the last city in Washington to use a mayor–commission form of government. In November 2017, the voters of Shelton adopted a council-manager form of municipal governance.

Education

The Shelton School District is composed of eight schools:

Evergreen, Mountain View, and Bordeaux Elementary Schools, kindergarten through fourth grade

Olympic Middle School, fifth and sixth grades

Oakland Bay Junior High, seventh and eighth grades

Shelton High School, ninth through twelfth grades

CHOICE Alternative School, seventh through twelfth grade

Cedar High School, a New Tech Network Project-Based Learning high school for grades ninth through twelfth

Notable people

Raul Allegre - former NFL kicker

Justin Ena – former NFL linebacker

Brian Fairbrother - soccer coach who founded soccer program at Shelton High School

Richard Fiske - actor, killed in action in France in World War 2

Karol Kennedy – 5-time national champion and 1952 Winter Olympics silver medalist

Mary Miranda Knight – pioneer and educator

Desmond "Des" Dalworth Koch – 1956 Olympic bronze medalist, discus

Jerry Lambert – film and television actor

Arthur Needham – member of the first city council and the first haberdasher in the county

Lawson H. M. Sanderson – Marine Corps aviation pioneer with the rank of major general

Caleb Schlauderaff – NFL offensive lineman

Paul Stamets – Mushroom enthusiast