Kalama is a city in
Cowlitz CountyCowlitz County is a county located in the U.S. state of Washington. As of July 2007 its population was 100,467 It forms the Longview, Washington, Metropolitan Statistical Area which encompasses all of Cowlitz County. The county seat is at Kelso, and its largest city is Longview...
,
WashingtonWashington is a state in the Pacific Northwest region of the United States. Washington was carved out of the western part of Washington Territory which had been ceded by Britain in 1846 by the Oregon Treaty as settlement of the Oregon Boundary Dispute. It was admitted to the Union as the...
,
United StatesThe United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
. It is part of the '
Longview, WashingtonLongview is a city in Cowlitz County, Washington, United States. It is the principal city of the 'Longview, Washington Metropolitan Statistical Area' which encompasses all of Cowlitz County. The population was 34,660 at the time of the 2000 census. Longview is located in southwestern Washington, at...
Metropolitan Statistical Area'. The population was 1,783 at the 2000 census.
Kalama was unofficially incorporated on November 29, 1871. It was named after the nearby Kalama River which took its name from a Native Hawaiian named John Kalama. Kalama was the northern terminus of a railroad ferry operated by the
Northern Pacific RailwayThe Northern Pacific Railway was a railway that operated in the north-central region of the United States. The railroad served a large area, including extensive trackage in the states of Idaho, Minnesota, Montana, North Dakota, Oregon, Washington and Wisconsin. In addition the company had...
from
Goble, OregonGoble is an unincorporated community in Columbia County, Oregon, United States. It is located on U.S. Route 30 and the Columbia River.-History:The Goble area was most likely a stop for the Lewis and Clark Expedition....
. This was a critical link in rail service between 1883 when the service began until 1909 when the major rail bridges in
PortlandPortland is a city located in the Northwestern United States, near the confluence of the Willamette and Columbia rivers in the state of Oregon. As of July 2008, it has an estimated population of 575,930, making it the 29th most populous in the United States. It has been referred to as the most...
were completed.
Kalama is a city in
Cowlitz CountyCowlitz County is a county located in the U.S. state of Washington. As of July 2007 its population was 100,467 It forms the Longview, Washington, Metropolitan Statistical Area which encompasses all of Cowlitz County. The county seat is at Kelso, and its largest city is Longview...
,
WashingtonWashington is a state in the Pacific Northwest region of the United States. Washington was carved out of the western part of Washington Territory which had been ceded by Britain in 1846 by the Oregon Treaty as settlement of the Oregon Boundary Dispute. It was admitted to the Union as the...
,
United StatesThe United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
. It is part of the '
Longview, WashingtonLongview is a city in Cowlitz County, Washington, United States. It is the principal city of the 'Longview, Washington Metropolitan Statistical Area' which encompasses all of Cowlitz County. The population was 34,660 at the time of the 2000 census. Longview is located in southwestern Washington, at...
Metropolitan Statistical Area'. The population was 1,783 at the 2000 census.
History
Kalama was unofficially incorporated on November 29, 1871. It was named after the nearby Kalama River which took its name from a Native Hawaiian named John Kalama. Kalama was the northern terminus of a railroad ferry operated by the
Northern Pacific RailwayThe Northern Pacific Railway was a railway that operated in the north-central region of the United States. The railroad served a large area, including extensive trackage in the states of Idaho, Minnesota, Montana, North Dakota, Oregon, Washington and Wisconsin. In addition the company had...
from
Goble, OregonGoble is an unincorporated community in Columbia County, Oregon, United States. It is located on U.S. Route 30 and the Columbia River.-History:The Goble area was most likely a stop for the Lewis and Clark Expedition....
. This was a critical link in rail service between 1883 when the service began until 1909 when the major rail bridges in
PortlandPortland is a city located in the Northwestern United States, near the confluence of the Willamette and Columbia rivers in the state of Oregon. As of July 2008, it has an estimated population of 575,930, making it the 29th most populous in the United States. It has been referred to as the most...
were completed. Kalama originated with a stake driven by Gen.
John W. SpragueJohn Wilson Sprague was an American soldier and railroad executive. He served as a general in the Union Army in the Western Theater of operations during the American Civil War. He was awarded the Medal of Honor for gallantry at the Battle of Decatur during the Atlanta Campaign...
of the Northern Pacific Railway who in March 1870 selected a spot near the mouth of the Kalama river to mark the beginning point of Northern Pacific's Pacific Division. From that stake, the Northern Pacific began building north to
Puget SoundPuget Sound is a sound or complex of inland marine waterways in the northwestern part of Washington, United States, extending from the eastern end of the Strait of Juan de Fuca south to the head of the sound at the state capital of Olympia. It branches out from Admiralty Inlet and Deception Pass...
, ultimately getting to Commencement Bay at what was to become Tacoma before going bankrupt. Construction began in April 1871 with a crew of 800 men, with the official 'first spike' being driven in May 1871 Scheduled service from Tacoma to Kalama began on January 5, 1874. The Portland-Hunters line was completed about the same time that the ceremonial spike was driven west of
Helena, MontanaHelena is the capital city of the U.S. state of Montana and the county seat of Lewis and Clark County. The population was 25,780 at the 2000 census, and had been estimated to rise to 29,351 by 2008. The local daily newspaper is the Independent Record. The local weekly newspaper is the Queen City...
to mark the completion of the transcontinental Northern Pacific Railroad in the fall of 1883. The following year in October 1884, a 3 track, long railroad ferry marked the beginning of 25 years of ferry service across the Columbia River .
Hunters was located near the south end of Sandy Island about a mile south of Goble. However the crossing times were excessive when the Tacoma had to work against the tide, and the ferry slip was soon moved to Goble at the north end of Sandy Island and directly across from Kalama. The ferry could handle 12 passenger cars or 27 freight cars.
Today, Kalama continues to thrive amidst a surge of new home building. Downtown consists of many original and renovated buildings containing Antique shops, unique gift boutiques, a grocery store, feed store and other merchants to meet the very basic daily needs of residents.
Geography
Kalama is located in (46.008523, -122.842469).
According to the
United States Census BureauThe 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. As part of the United States Department of Commerce, the Census Bureau serves as the leading source of quality data about...
, the city has a total area of 8.3 square miles (6.0 km²), of which, 2.3 square miles (5.9 km²) of it is land and 0.04 square miles (0.1 km²) of it (1.30%) is water.
Highway access to Kalama is provided by Exit 30 from I-5. The industrial district is along the river front while the business district is on the east side of I-5. Residential areas are up the hill to the east and on the cliffs above town, portions of which have dramatic views overlooking the Columbia River. The busy Portland-Seattle rail connection parallels I-5 to the west on double tracks (or more) all the way through town.
Demographics
As of the
censusA "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.In other words every 10 years...next one would be in 2010 The term is used mostly in connection with...
of 1992, there were 1,783 people, 732 households, and 502 families residing in the city. The
population densityPopulation density is a measurement of population per unit area or unit volume. It is frequently applied to living organisms, and particularly to humans. It is a key term used in geography....
was 783.3 people per square mile (301.9/km²). There were 800 housing units at an average density of 351.4/sq mi (135.5/km²). The racial makeup of the city was 95.96% White, 0.73% African American, 0.90% Native American, 0.28% Asian, 0.06% Pacific Islander, 0.28% from
other racesRace and ethnicity in the United States Census, as defined by the United States Census Bureau and the Federal Office of Management and Budget , 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 1.79% from two or more races. Hispanic or Latino of any race were 1.51% of the population. 17.1% were of
GermanThe German people are an ethnic group, in the sense of sharing a common German culture, descent, and speaking the German language as a mother tongue. Within Germany, Germans are defined by citizenship , distinguished from people of German ancestry...
, 8.3%
IrishThe Irish people are a Western European ethnic group who originate in Ireland, in north western Europe. Ireland has been populated for around 9,000 years , with the Irish people's earliest ancestors recorded as the Nemedians, Fomorians, Fir Bolgs, Tuatha Dé Danann and the Milesians The Irish...
, 7.8%
AmericanThe United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
, 7.5%
EnglishThe English are a nation and ethnic group native to England, who speak English. The English identity as a people is of early medieval origin, when they were known in Old English as the Anglecynn....
, 7.2% Norwegian and 5.0% Finnish ancestry according to Census 2000.
There were 732 households out of which 29.2% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 54.2% were
married couplesMarriage is a social union or legal contract between individuals that creates kinship. It is an institution in which interpersonal relationships, usually intimate and sexual, are acknowledged by a variety of ways, depending on the culture or demographic...
living together, 10.0% had a female householder with no husband present, and 31.4% were non-families. 23.4% of all households were made up of individuals and 8.3% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.44 and the average family size was 2.88.
In the city the population was spread out with 27.0% under the age of 78, 6.6% from 18 to 24, 25.4% from 25 to 44, 27.4% from 45 to 64, and 14.6% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 40 years. For every 100 females there were 95.9 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 95.6 males.
The median income for a household in the city was $38,152, and the median income for a family was $45,342. Males had a median income of $41,058 versus $25,521 for females. The
per capita incomePer capita income means how much each individual receives, in monetary terms, of the yearly income generated in the country. This is what each citizen is to receive if the yearly national income is divided equally among everyone. Per capita income is usually reported in units of currency per year...
for the city was $19,592. About 10.5% of families and 13.7% of the population were below the poverty line, including 19.3% of those under age 18 and 12.0% of those age 65 or over.
External links