List of counties in Washington
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
There are 39 counties in the U.S. state of Washington. Washington came from the western part of Washington Territory. It was admitted to the Union as the 42nd state in 1889.[1] The first counties were created from unorganized territory in 1845.[2]
The Federal Information Processing Standard (FIPS) code, used by the United States government to uniquely identify counties, is provided with each entry. The FIPS code links in the table point to U. S. Census "quick facts" pages for each county.
Contents |
List [change]
| County |
FIPS Code [3] |
County seat [4] |
Established [4] |
Origin [2] |
Meaning of name [2] |
Population [4] |
Area [4] |
Map |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Adams County | 001 | Ritzville | 1883 | Whitman County | John Adams (1735–1826), 2nd U.S. President | 18,728 | 1,925 sq mi (4,986 km²) |
 |
| Asotin County | 003 | Asotin | 1883 | Garfield County | The Nez Percé name for Eel Creek | 21,623 | 636 sq mi (1,647 km²) |
 |
| Benton County | 005 | Prosser | 1905 | Yakima and Klickitat Counties | Thomas Hart Benton (1782–1858), a Missouri U.S. Senator | 175,177 | 1,703 sq mi (4,411 km²) |
 |
| Chelan County | 007 | Wenatchee | 1899 | Okanogan and Kittitas Counties | A Native American word meaning "deep water", likely referring to Lake Chelan | 72,453 | 2,922 sq mi (7,568 km²) |
 |
| Clallam County | 009 | Port Angeles | 1854 | Jefferson County | A Klallam word meaning "the strong people" | 71,404 | 1,745 sq mi (4,520 km²) |
 |
| Clark County | 011 | Vancouver | 1845 | Original county | William Clark (1770–1838), the co-captain of the Lewis and Clark Expedition | 425,363 | 628 sq mi (1,627 km²) |
 |
| Columbia County | 013 | Dayton | 1875 | Walla Walla County | The Columbia River | 4,078 | 869 sq mi (2,251 km²) |
 |
| Cowlitz County | 015 | Kelso | 1854 | Original county | Cowlitz, an Indian tribe | 102,410 | 1,139 sq mi (2,950 km²) |
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| Douglas County | 017 | Waterville | 1883 | Lincoln County | Stephen A. Douglas (1813–1861), U.S. Senator from Illinois | 38,431 | 1,821 sq mi (4,716 km²) |
 |
| Ferry County | 019 | Republic | 1899 | Stevens County | Elisha P. Ferry (1825–1895), 1st Governor of Washington State | 7,551 | 2,204 sq mi (5,708 km²) |
 |
| Franklin County | 021 | Pasco | 1883 | Whitman County | Benjamin Franklin (1706–1790), writer, orator, inventor, and U.S. Founding Father | 78,163 | 1,242 sq mi (3,217 km²) |
 |
| Garfield County | 023 | Pomeroy | 1881 | Columbia County | James A. Garfield (1831–1881), 20th U.S. President | 2,266 | 710 sq mi (1,839 km²) |
 |
| Grant County | 025 | Ephrata | 1909 | Douglas County | Ulysses S. Grant (1822–1885), 18th U.S. President | 89,120 | 2,681 sq mi (6,944 km²) |
 |
| Grays Harbor County | 027 | Montesano | 1854 | Thurston County | Grays Harbor, a body of water named after explorer and merchant Robert Gray (1755–1806) | 72,797 | 1,917 sq mi (4,965 km²) |
 |
| Island County | 029 | Coupeville | 1853 | Thurston County | Whidbey and Camano Islands | 78,506 | 209 sq mi (541 km²) |
 |
| Jefferson County | 031 | Port Townsend | 1852 | Thurston County | Thomas Jefferson (1743–1826), 3rd U.S. President and principal author of the Declaration of Independence | 29,872 | 1,809 sq mi (4,685 km²) |
 |
| King County | 033 | Seattle | 1852 | Thurston County | William R. King (1786–1853), U.S. Vice President under Franklin Pierce; officially renamed in 1986 after Martin Luther King, Jr. (1929–1968) | 1,931,249 | 2,126 sq mi (5,506 km²) |
 |
| Kitsap County | 035 | Port Orchard | 1857 | King and Jefferson Counties | Chief Kitsap (d. 1860), leader of the Suquamish tribe | 251,133 | 396 sq mi (1,026 km²) |
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| Kittitas County | 037 | Ellensburg | 1883 | Yakima County | Kittitas tribe word of uncertain meaning, with popular translations ranging from "white chalk" to "land of the plenty" | 40,915 | 2,297 sq mi (5,949 km²) |
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| Klickitat County | 039 | Goldendale | 1859 | Walla Walla County | Klickitat Tribe | 20,318 | 1,872 sq mi (4,848 km²) |
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| Lewis County | 041 | Chehalis | 1845 | Original county | Meriwether Lewis (1774–1809), the co-captain of the Lewis and Clark Expedition | 75,455 | 2,408 sq mi (6,237 km²) |
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| Lincoln County | 043 | Davenport | 1883 | Whitman County | Abraham Lincoln (1809–1865), 16th U.S. President | 10,570 | 2,311 sq mi (5,985 km²) |
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| Mason County | 045 | Shelton | 1854 | King County | Charles H. Mason (1830–1859), 1st Secretary of Washington Territory | 60,699 | 961 sq mi (2,489 km²) |
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| Okanogan County | 047 | Okanogan | 1888 | Stevens County | A Salish Native American word meaning "rendezvous" | 41,120 | 5,268 sq mi (13,644 km²) |
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| Pacific County | 049 | South Bend | 1851 | Lewis County | The Pacific Ocean | 20,920 | 975 sq mi (2,525 km²) |
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| Pend Oreille County | 051 | Newport | 1911 | Stevens County | The Pend d'Oreille Native American tribe | 13,001 | 1,400 sq mi (3,626 km²) |
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| Pierce County | 053 | Tacoma | 1852 | Thurston County | Franklin Pierce (1804–1869), 14th U.S. President | 795,225 | 1,676 sq mi (4,341 km²) |
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| San Juan County | 055 | Friday Harbor | 1873 | Whatcom County | San Juan Island | 15,769 | 175 sq mi (453 km²) |
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| Skagit County | 057 | Mount Vernon | 1883 | Whatcom County | The Skagit Native American tribe | 116,901 | 1,735 sq mi (4,494 km²) |
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| Skamania County | 059 | Stevenson | 1854 | Clark County | A Chinookan word meaning "swift water" | 11,066 | 1,656 sq mi (4,289 km²) |
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| Snohomish County | 061 | Everett | 1861 | Island County | The Snohomish tribe | 713,335 | 2,090 sq mi (5,413 km²) |
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| Spokane County | 063 | Spokane | 1879 | Stevens County | The Spokane Native American tribe | 471,221 | 1,764 sq mi (4,569 km²) |
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| Stevens County | 065 | Colville | 1863 | Walla Walla County | Isaac Stevens (1818–1862), 1st Governor of the Washington Territory | 43,531 | 2,478 sq mi (6,418 km²) |
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| Thurston County | 067 | Olympia | 1852 | Lewis County | Samuel Thurston (1815–1851), the Oregon Territory's first delegate to U.S. Congress | 252,264 | 727 sq mi (1,883 km²) |
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| Wahkiakum County | 069 | Cathlamet | 1854 | Cowlitz County | Leader of Wahkiakum ("Tall Timber"), Native American tribe | 3,978 | 264 sq mi (684 km²) |
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| Walla Walla County | 071 | Walla Walla | 1854 | Skamania County | The Walla Walla Native American tribe, and also another name for running water | 58,781 | 1,270 sq mi (3,289 km²) |
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| Whatcom County | 073 | Bellingham | 1854 | Island County | Nooksack word meaning "noisy water" | 201,140 | 2,120 sq mi (5,491 km²) |
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| Whitman County | 075 | Colfax | 1871 | Stevens County | Marcus Whitman (1802–1847), a Presbyterian missionary | 44,776 | 2,159 sq mi (5,592 km²) |
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| Yakima County | 077 | Yakima | 1865 | Ferguson County (defunct) | The Yakama Native American tribe | 243,231 | 4,296 sq mi (11,127 km²) |
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Former county names [change]
- Sawamish County, originally named for the Sahewamish Native American tribe, was renamed Mason County in 1864.[5]
- Slaughter County, originally named for Lieutenant William A. Slaughter who was killed during the Indian Wars, was renamed Kitsap County in 1857.[6]
Former counties [change]
- Ferguson County, named for Washington legislator James L. Ferguson, was formed on January 23, 1863 from Walla Walla County and ended on January 18, 1865. Yakima County was formed in its place.[7][8]
References [change]
- ↑ "Historical Timeline of Events Leading to the formation of Washington State". http://www.wsulibs.wsu.edu/holland/masc/PNWTimeline.htm. Retrieved 2008-08-09.
- ↑ 2.0 2.1 2.2 "Washington Counties". Online Encyclopedia of Washington State History. HistoryLink.org. Archived from the original on 2008-03-28. http://web.archive.org/web/20080328235316/http://www.historylink.org/results.cfm?keyword=countythumbnails. Retrieved 2008-05-06.
- ↑ "EPA County FIPS Code Listing". US Environmental Protection Agency. http://www.epa.gov/enviro/html/codes/wa.html. Retrieved 2008-05-06.
- ↑ 4.0 4.1 4.2 4.3 National Association of Counties. "NACo - Find A County". http://www.naco.org/Counties/Pages/FindACounty.aspx. Retrieved 2011-03-04.
- ↑ Wilma, David (April 19, 2006). "Washington Territorial Legislature creates Sawamish (Mason) County on April 15, 1854". HistoryLink.org. http://www.historylink.org/index.cfm?DisplayPage=output.cfm&file_id=7731. Retrieved 2012-03-05.
- ↑ Wilma, David (July 27, 2006). "Slaughter County is renamed Kitsap County on July 13, 1857". HistoryLink.org. http://www.historylink.org/index.cfm?DisplayPage=output.cfm&file_id=7867. Retrieved 2012-03-16.
- ↑ Becker, Paula (September 20, 2005). "Ferguson County is established on January 23, 1863". HistoryLink.org. http://www.historylink.org/index.cfm?DisplayPage=output.cfm&file_id=7486. Retrieved 2012-03-05.
- ↑ "Milestones for Washington State History -- Part 2: 1851 to 1900". HistoryLink.org. March 6, 2003. http://www.historylink.org/index.cfm?DisplayPage=output.cfm&File_Id=5380. Retrieved 2012-03-05.
