Cle Elum, Washington facts for kids
Quick facts for kids
Cle Elum, Washington
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| Motto(s):
"Heart of The Cascades"
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Location of Cle Elum in Washington State
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| Country | United States |
| State | Washington |
| County | Kittitas |
| Founded | February 12, 1902 |
| Area | |
| • City | 4.50 sq mi (11.65 km2) |
| • Land | 4.49 sq mi (11.63 km2) |
| • Water | 0.01 sq mi (0.01 km2) |
| Elevation | 1,909 ft (582 m) |
| Population
(2020)
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| • City | 2,157 |
| • Density | 479.3/sq mi (185.15/km2) |
| • Metro | 41,765 |
| Time zone | UTC-8 (PST) |
| • Summer (DST) | UTC-7 (PDT) |
| ZIP code |
98922
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| Area code(s) | 509 |
| FIPS code | 53-12945 |
| GNIS feature ID | 1517819 |
| Website | City of Cle Elum |
Cle Elum (pronounced klee EL-əm) is a small city in Kittitas County, Washington. In 2020, about 2,157 people lived there. It's about 84 miles (135 km) by car from Seattle.
Cle Elum is a popular spot for camping and outdoor fun. Many people think of it as the start of Eastern Washington when driving east from Seattle. The town gets its name from the Cle Elum River. This river joins the Yakima River nearby.
The Kittitas band of the Yakama tribe used to live here. They fished in the Yakima River. In the 1800s, settlers passed through on their way to Puget Sound. The Kittitas people later moved to a reservation. Cle Elum became a town with a large sawmill and a train station. It officially became a city in 1902.
Contents
History of Cle Elum
Early People and Their Land
The Kittitas band of the Yakama tribe first lived in the Cle Elum area. They caught salmon, steelhead, and trout from the Yakima River. The Kittitas people created trails like the Salmon la Sac trails. These trails helped them travel into the high Cascade Range mountains.
In 1855, settlers and coal miners began arriving. A treaty was signed, and the Yakama tribe gave up most of their land. They moved to a reservation in the lower Yakima Valley. But the treaty promised them they could still fish in their traditional areas, including what is now Cle Elum. By 1859, the Kittitas people had moved to the Yakama Indian Reservation.
How Cle Elum Got Its Name
In 1886, railroad surveyors Virgil Bogue and Herbert Huson explored the area. They planned to build a train station. They named the station Clealum. This name came from the Kittitas word Tle-el-Lum, which means "swift water." This referred to the Cle Elum River.
Early maps sometimes showed it as one word, Clealum. In 1908, the name was changed to Cle Elum. This name was given to the river, the city, and Cle Elum Lake.
Starting a Town and Industries
Walter Reed and Thomas Johnson started the town site on July 26, 1886. Johnson moved his sawmill to the new town. It became the biggest mill in central or Eastern Washington at that time. It could cut 40,000 feet of lumber every day. Another mill also moved nearby. They cut much of the wood for the Stampede Tunnel, a big railroad tunnel.
The Early 1900s in Cle Elum
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Cle Elum officially became a city on February 12, 1902.
A big explosion happened on July 16, 1908. Two train cars of blasting powder exploded. This killed at least nine people, including miners and a family. The explosion was about three-quarters of a mile from downtown. It shattered windows across town and felt like an earthquake.
In December 1910, loggers went on strike. Their company, Cascade Lumber, had cut their pay. They also started charging for food and lodging.
By 1913, people wanted to make it easier to drive across the Cascade Mountains. A large amount of money was approved to improve state highways. A big project was the Sunset Highway between Spokane and Seattle. This highway went right through Cle Elum's downtown. This helped the city grow because it was one of the first towns drivers reached after crossing the mountains.
By 1914, Cle Elum's population had grown to 3,000 people. It had been only about 100 people at the start of the 1900s.
The Great Fire of 1918
Cle Elum faced a huge disaster on June 25, 1918. A massive fire destroyed over 70 acres of the city. This included 29 city blocks. The fire caused over $500,000 in damages. It was likely started by a cigarette butt thrown into trash.
Thirty businesses and 205 homes were destroyed. More than 1,800 people lost their homes. Help quickly came from all over the state. The Red Cross sent tents for people to live in. Soldiers came to guard businesses. Luckily, no one died in the fire.
Many buildings in Cle Elum were made of wood. High insurance costs meant many people didn't have coverage. The Cle Elum State Bank Building, built in 1906, was one of the few downtown buildings to survive. After the fire, the downtown area was quickly rebuilt with brick. Many of these brick buildings still stand today.
Geography and Climate
Cle Elum is located about 71 miles (114 km) southeast of Seattle. It's also about 45 miles (73 km) north of Yakima. The city covers about 3.83 square miles (9.92 km²). Most of this area is land, with a small amount of water. Cle Elum is next to South Cle Elum and Roslyn.
Weather in Cle Elum
Cle Elum has a humid continental climate. This means it has warm summers and cold winters. The city is at an elevation of about 1,909 feet (582 meters). This makes temperatures cooler than areas further east. December is usually the coldest month.
Cle Elum gets more rain and snow than drier areas to the east. But it gets less than the very wet areas to the west of the Cascade Mountains. The climate here has been getting warmer, just like in nearby areas.
| Climate data for Cle Elum, Washington (1991–2020 normals, extremes 1899–present) | |||||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Month | Jan | Feb | Mar | Apr | May | Jun | Jul | Aug | Sep | Oct | Nov | Dec | Year |
| Record high °F (°C) | 57 (14) |
69 (21) |
79 (26) |
96 (36) |
99 (37) |
108 (42) |
105 (41) |
105 (41) |
98 (37) |
88 (31) |
72 (22) |
62 (17) |
108 (42) |
| Mean maximum °F (°C) | 47.8 (8.8) |
51.5 (10.8) |
63.5 (17.5) |
73.7 (23.2) |
84.1 (28.9) |
88.5 (31.4) |
95.3 (35.2) |
95.7 (35.4) |
88.4 (31.3) |
73.2 (22.9) |
56.1 (13.4) |
46.9 (8.3) |
97.7 (36.5) |
| Mean daily maximum °F (°C) | 35.0 (1.7) |
40.7 (4.8) |
48.9 (9.4) |
57.3 (14.1) |
66.1 (18.9) |
71.9 (22.2) |
81.1 (27.3) |
81.4 (27.4) |
72.9 (22.7) |
57.8 (14.3) |
43.2 (6.2) |
34.3 (1.3) |
57.5 (14.2) |
| Daily mean °F (°C) | 28.6 (−1.9) |
32.2 (0.1) |
38.3 (3.5) |
45.1 (7.3) |
53.3 (11.8) |
59.4 (15.2) |
66.9 (19.4) |
66.3 (19.1) |
57.8 (14.3) |
45.9 (7.7) |
35.4 (1.9) |
28.3 (−2.1) |
46.5 (8.0) |
| Mean daily minimum °F (°C) | 22.2 (−5.4) |
23.6 (−4.7) |
27.8 (−2.3) |
32.9 (0.5) |
40.4 (4.7) |
46.8 (8.2) |
52.7 (11.5) |
51.1 (10.6) |
42.7 (5.9) |
33.9 (1.1) |
27.7 (−2.4) |
22.3 (−5.4) |
35.3 (1.9) |
| Mean minimum °F (°C) | 5.1 (−14.9) |
8.0 (−13.3) |
17.6 (−8.0) |
24.4 (−4.2) |
29.0 (−1.7) |
36.8 (2.7) |
43.0 (6.1) |
40.3 (4.6) |
30.7 (−0.7) |
21.4 (−5.9) |
13.5 (−10.3) |
8.3 (−13.2) |
−0.7 (−18.2) |
| Record low °F (°C) | −33 (−36) |
−30 (−34) |
−3 (−19) |
12 (−11) |
19 (−7) |
25 (−4) |
30 (−1) |
23 (−5) |
12 (−11) |
10 (−12) |
−13 (−25) |
−31 (−35) |
−33 (−36) |
| Average precipitation inches (mm) | 3.40 (86) |
2.49 (63) |
2.73 (69) |
1.41 (36) |
1.64 (42) |
1.10 (28) |
0.54 (14) |
0.47 (12) |
0.90 (23) |
2.44 (62) |
4.07 (103) |
3.50 (89) |
24.69 (627) |
| Average snowfall inches (cm) | 23.2 (59) |
14.0 (36) |
6.3 (16) |
0.7 (1.8) |
0.0 (0.0) |
0.0 (0.0) |
0.0 (0.0) |
0.0 (0.0) |
0.0 (0.0) |
0.3 (0.76) |
9.0 (23) |
21.8 (55) |
75.3 (191.56) |
| Average precipitation days (≥ 0.01 in) | 14.0 | 12.2 | 11.3 | 9.0 | 6.8 | 5.6 | 2.8 | 3.0 | 6.0 | 9.9 | 15.3 | 15.0 | 110.9 |
| Average snowy days (≥ 0.1 in) | 8.0 | 4.5 | 2.7 | 0.6 | 0.0 | 0.0 | 0.0 | 0.0 | 0.0 | 0.2 | 3.5 | 9.0 | 28.5 |
| Source: NOAA | |||||||||||||
Population of Cle Elum
| Historical population | |||
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| Census | Pop. | %± | |
| 1870 | 4 | — | |
| 1880 | 543 | 13,475.0% | |
| 1890 | 243 | −55.2% | |
| 1900 | 296 | 21.8% | |
| 1910 | 2,749 | 828.7% | |
| 1920 | 2,661 | −3.2% | |
| 1930 | 2,508 | −5.7% | |
| 1940 | 2,230 | −11.1% | |
| 1950 | 2,206 | −1.1% | |
| 1960 | 1,816 | −17.7% | |
| 1970 | 1,725 | −5.0% | |
| 1980 | 1,773 | 2.8% | |
| 1990 | 1,778 | 0.3% | |
| 2000 | 1,755 | −1.3% | |
| 2010 | 1,872 | 6.7% | |
| 2020 | 2,157 | 15.2% | |
| Source: U.S. Decennial Census |
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Since the 1980s, many people who work in Seattle or other cities in the Puget Sound region have moved to Cle Elum. They often travel long distances for work.
Cle Elum in 2010
In 2010, Cle Elum had 1,872 people living in 857 households. Most residents (92.1%) were White. About 5.8% of the population was Hispanic or Latino.
About 22% of the residents were under 18 years old. The average age in the city was 41 years. The population was almost evenly split between males (50.2%) and females (49.8%).
Famous People From Cle Elum
- Chuck Allen, an American football player
- Champ Butler, a singer
- Allen Larsen, an ultramarathon cyclist
- Douglas Albert Munro, the only member of the U.S. Coast Guard to receive the Medal of Honor
- Dick Scobee, an astronaut who died in the Space Shuttle Challenger disaster
- George Strugar, an American football player
- Don Watts, a businessman who started Swiftwater Cellars
See also
In Spanish: Cle Elum (Washington) para niños
