Toppenish is a city in
Yakima CountyYakima County is the second largest county in the U.S. state of Washington. It is named after the Yakama tribe of Native Americans. In 2007, its population was 281,631. The county seat is Yakima, which is also its largest city....
,
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...
, in the
United StatesThe United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
. As of the
2000 censusThe Twenty-Second United States Census, known as Census 2000 and conducted by the Census Bureau, determined the resident population of the United States on April 1, 2000, to be 281,421,906, an increase of 13.2% over the 248,709,873 persons enumerated during the 1990 Census...
, the city population was 8,946.
The
General Allotment Act of 1887The Dawes Act was enacted on February 8, 1887 regarding the distribution of land to Native Americans in Oklahoma. Named after its sponsor, U.S. Senator Henry L. Dawes of Massachusetts, the act was amended in 1891 and again in 1906 by the Burke Act...
granted an allotment of land to a woman of half Indian ancestry, Josephine Bowser Lillie, known as “The Mother of Toppenish”. Lillie platted the north of her land and these tracts became the first deeded land to be sold on the Yakama Indian Reservation.
Prior to the act’s implementation, all territory set aside by the Treaty of 1855 was in the name of the tribe.
Toppenish is a city in
Yakima CountyYakima County is the second largest county in the U.S. state of Washington. It is named after the Yakama tribe of Native Americans. In 2007, its population was 281,631. The county seat is Yakima, which is also its largest city....
,
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...
, in the
United StatesThe United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
. As of the
2000 censusThe Twenty-Second United States Census, known as Census 2000 and conducted by the Census Bureau, determined the resident population of the United States on April 1, 2000, to be 281,421,906, an increase of 13.2% over the 248,709,873 persons enumerated during the 1990 Census...
, the city population was 8,946.
History
The
General Allotment Act of 1887The Dawes Act was enacted on February 8, 1887 regarding the distribution of land to Native Americans in Oklahoma. Named after its sponsor, U.S. Senator Henry L. Dawes of Massachusetts, the act was amended in 1891 and again in 1906 by the Burke Act...
granted an allotment of land to a woman of half Indian ancestry, Josephine Bowser Lillie, known as “The Mother of Toppenish”. Lillie platted the north of her land and these tracts became the first deeded land to be sold on the Yakama Indian Reservation.
Prior to the act’s implementation, all territory set aside by the Treaty of 1855 was in the name of the tribe. None of the land was individually owned. The treaty of 1855 between the United States government, representatives from thirteen other bands, tribes, and Chief Kamiakin resulted in the Yakama Nation relinquishing of their homeland. Prior to ceding their land, the area was inhabited solely by Native Americans. The only white pioneers before the coming of the railroad in 1883 were ranchers from older settlements bordering the Columbia River.
Some sources cite the city’s name of Toppenish as deriving from an Indian word “Xuupinish”, meaning sloping and spreading, while another source contends it is a derivative of the word “Thappahnish”, which translates to “People of the trail that comes from the foot of the hills.”
Ensconced in the heart of the Yakima Valley in Washington State, the city lies inside the boundaries of the Yakima Nation’s Reservation. Toppenish was officially incorporated on April 29, 1907, and founded by Johnny Barnes.
Geography
Toppenish is located at (46.378880, -120.311823).
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 1.9 square miles (4.9 km²), all of it land.
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 2000, there were 8,946 people, 2,275 households, and 1,874 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 4,762.7 people per square mile (1,837.3/km²). There were 2,440 housing units at an average density of 1,299.0/sq mi (501.1/km²). The racial makeup of the city was 31.48% White, 0.56% Black or
African AmericanRace 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...
, 7.90% Native American, 0.37% Asian, 0.02% Pacific Islander, 55.95% 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 3.72% from two or more races. 75.72% of the population were Hispanic or Latino. There were 2,275 households out of which 52.1% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 59.1% 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, 16.3% had a female householder with no husband present, and 17.6% were non-families. 14.4% of all households were made up of individuals and 7.1% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 3.88 and the average family size was 4.26.
In the city the population was spread out with 38.8% under the age of 18, 11.7% from 18 to 24, 27.5% from 25 to 44, 14.2% from 45 to 64, and 7.9% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 25 years. For every 100 females there were 106.7 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 103.5 males.
The median income for a household in the city was $26,950, and the median income for a family was $28,228. Males had a median income of $22,264 versus $19,704 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 $9,101. About 29.2% of families and 32.0% of the population were below the poverty line, including 38.1% of those under age 18 and 14.8% of those age 65 or over.
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