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Port Orchard is the county seat of Kitsap County, Washington. It is located 13 miles due west of West Seattle and connected to Seattle and Vashon Island via the Washington State Ferries run to Southworth. It is named after Port Orchard, the strait that separates Bainbridge Island from the Kitsap Peninsula.
The population was 7,693 at the 2000 census.
History
The town that was to become Port Orchard was originally platted in 1886 by Frederick Stevens, who named the new location after his father, Sidney. The town of Sidney was incorporated September 15, 1890, and was the first in Kitsap County to be both platted and incorporated. Shortly thereafter, the U.S. Navy sought a suitable location for another installation on the west coast, and found it with the assistance of Sidney's residents in Orchard Bay (this installation would later become the Puget Sound Naval Shipyard).
The county seat was originally in Port Madison, but moved after a popular vote to Sidney in 1892. In December of that same year, the residents of Sidney petitioned both the state legislature and the Post Office Department to rename the city to "Port Orchard". The legislature refused, as Charleston (now West Bremerton) had also requested that name. The Post Office Department, however, went through with the name change, and as a result the Port Orchard post office ended up in Sidney, and the Charleston post office ended up in Port Orchard. It wasn't until 1903 that local politician Will Thompson convinced the state legislature to correct this confusing situation, and relocated the Charleston post office to Charleston, at the same time renaming Sidney to "Port Orchard", as we know it today.
Geography
Port Orchard is located at (47.531563, -122.638405).
According to the United States Census Bureau, the city has a total area of 12.7 km² (4.9 mi²). 10.4 km² (4.0 mi²) of it is land and 2.3 km² (0.9 mi²) of it (17.92%) is water.
Demographics
As of the census of 2000, there were 7,693 people, 2,901 households, and 1,772 families residing in the city. The population density was 738.9/km² (1,912.1/mi²). There were 3,178 housing units at an average density of 305.2/km² (789.9/mi²). The racial makeup of the city was 82.22% White, 4.00% African American, 1.49% Native American, 3.69% Asian, 1.05% Pacific Islander, 1.38% from other races, and 6.16% from two or more races. Hispanic or Latino of any race were 5.13% of the population.
There were 2,901 households out of which 34.5% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 40.5% were married couples living together, 16.0% had a female householder with no husband present, and 38.9% were non-families. 30.6% of all households were made up of individuals and 11.0% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.40 and the average family size was 2.99.
In the city the population was spread out with 25.6% under the age of 18, 13.2% from 18 to 24, 33.3% from 25 to 44, 16.6% from 45 to 64, and 11.3% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 31 years. For every 100 females there were 105.8 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 105.1 males.
The median income for a household in the city was $34,020, and the median income for a family was $41,946. Males had a median income of $33,610 versus $25,739 for females. The per capita income for the city was $16,382. About 10.9% of families and 12.9% of the population were below the poverty line, including 17.2% of those under age 18 and 9.1% of those age 65 or over.
External links
"Port Orchard, Washington"