Port Hadlock-Irondale, Washington facts for kids

Quick facts for kids Port Hadlock-Irondale, Washington
Census-designated place
Location of Port Hadlock-Irondale, Washington
Country	United States
State	Washington
County	Jefferson
Area
• Total	7.8 sq mi (20.1 km2)
• Land	6.7 sq mi (17.3 km2)
• Water	1.1 sq mi (2.8 km2)
Elevation	120 ft (40 m)
Population  (2020)
• Total	3,983
• Density	535/sq mi (206.7/km2)
Time zone	UTC-8 (Pacific (PST))
• Summer (DST)	UTC-7 (PDT)
ZIP code	98339
Area code(s)	360
FIPS code	53-55620
GNIS feature ID	2409092

Port Hadlock-Irondale is a special kind of community in Jefferson County, Washington, United States. It's called a census-designated place (CDP). This means it's an area that the government counts as a community for population studies, even though it's not officially a city or town. In 2020, about 3,983 people lived there.

History of Irondale

Rolling bars in Irondale

The first machine for making iron, called a blast furnace, was built in Irondale in 1881. It was the first of its kind in the area known as Washington Territory. In its first year, it made about 1,200 tons of pig iron. This iron came from ore found in the nearby Chimacum Valley. The factory closed down in 1889.

People hoped Irondale would become a big center for making iron and steel in the western United States. For a while, it seemed like this dream might come true. After just two years, Irondale had many businesses. It had places for people and horses to stay, and homes for over 200 workers. Before the factory closed in 1889, more than 400 men worked there. The town grew on the hills overlooking the water.

Later, several attempts were made to restart the iron and steel factory, but none worked. Today, Irondale is a quiet community. Many people who live there work in nearby towns like Port Hadlock, Port Townsend, or Silverdale.

History of Port Hadlock

Samuel Hadlock was the person who started Port Hadlock. He moved west in 1846 and settled in the Port Hadlock area around 1870. He made a deal with the Washington Mill Company to build a sawmill. This mill was built on a narrow piece of land at the south end of Port Townsend Bay. The water there was deep enough for large ships to dock.

Hadlock's mill became a big lumber producer. Wood from the mill was sent to places like San Francisco, Australia, and Hawaii. Two buildings from the original Washington Mill Company are still standing today. One is now the Northwest School of Wooden Boat Building. The other was Samuel Hadlock's home and is now known as the Ajax Cafe.

Near the mill, along the waterfront, there were many businesses. These included a general store, a post office, a barber shop, and two hotels. There were also two places where sailors and workers could relax. Life was lively with people from all over the world.

In 1909, construction began on a plant to make alcohol. It was finished in 1910 and started making wood alcohol from sawdust. However, it cost too much to run, so the plant stopped working around 1913. Later, the alcohol plant was turned into a resort. This resort has an inn, a restaurant, a marina, and an art gallery. The resort and restaurant are open for everyone to visit.

The homes in Port Hadlock were mostly in the upper part of town. After the lumber mill burned down, businesses started to move to this upper area. William Sehrs, who owned Sehrs Shipyard, built the Masonic Temple in 1911. Sehrs also built other things, like the Nordland ferry and bridges over Chimacum Creek. The area was a growing and active community.

Over the years, other businesses came to Port Hadlock. These included a boat building yard and a factory that canned clams. In 1946, Melvin Kivley opened the first businesses at the main intersection in Hadlock. These were a secondhand store and a gas station.

Geography of Port Hadlock-Irondale

Port Hadlock-Irondale is located in the northeastern part of Jefferson County. It sits on the Quimper Peninsula, which is a piece of land sticking out from the northeast corner of the Olympic Peninsula. This community includes the areas of Port Hadlock and Irondale. It also includes part of Chimacum. Together, these three areas are often called the "tri-area" by local people.

Irondale is in the northeast corner of the community. Port Hadlock is right next to it, on the east side. Both of these areas are next to Port Townsend Bay. Chimacum is on the southern edge of the community. It's in the Chimacum Valley where Washington State Route 19 meets Chimacum Road. The community stretches west to about half a mile from Discovery Bay.

The community is about 8 miles south of Port Townsend. It is also about 18 miles north of Port Gamble. The total area of Port Hadlock-Irondale is about 20.1 square kilometers (7.8 square miles). Most of this area, about 17.3 square kilometers (6.7 square miles), is land. The rest, about 2.8 square kilometers (1.1 square miles), is water.

Population and People

In 2020, the population of Port Hadlock-Irondale was 3,983 people.

In 2000, there were 3,476 people living in the community. There were 1,407 households, which are groups of people living together in one home. Out of these, 955 were families. The population was spread out in terms of age. About 27.2% of the people were under 18 years old. About 13.7% were 65 years old or older. The average age of people in the community was 38 years.

See also

In Spanish: Port Hadlock-Irondale (Washington) para niños