Aberdeen, Washington
[[Image:sign_after.jpg|thumb|Tribute to {{Kurt Cobain}} in {{Aberdeen, Washington|Aberdeen}}. "{{Come as You Are}}" is a song by {{Nirvana (band)|Nirvana}}.]]
Aberdeen (
IPA: ) is a city in
Grays Harbor County,
Washington State,
USA. Aberdeen was founded by early settler
Samuel Benn when he had a
plat filed in 1884. The population was 16,461 at the 2000 census. The city is the economic center of Grays Harbor County, bordering the cities of
Hoquiam and
Cosmopolis. Aberdeen is sometimes called the "Gateway to the
Olympic Peninsula" or the "Birthplace of
Grunge," likely because of the most famous Aberdonian
Kurt Cobain. Other notable musicians from Aberdeen include
The Melvins.
Aberdeen is the homeport of the tall ship
Lady Washington, a reproduction of a smaller vessel used by the explorer Captain
Robert Gray.
In the
2004 US presidential election, Aberdeen cast 56.47% of its vote for
Democrat John Kerry[
1].
The early settlers who came to the eastern edge of Grays Harbor in the 1880s called the place Wishkah, after the nearby river. But some objected, and the city was eventually renamed for a local salmon cannery, itself a
namesake of the original
Aberdeen,
Scotland, which is situated at the mouth of two rivers. The neighboring settlement of Wishkah had its plat filed in 1883.
Though the largest and best known of the three cities on
Grays Harbor, Aberdeen lagged behind neighbors
Hoquiam and
Cosmopolis in the early years. When A.J. West built the town's first sawmill in 1884, the other two municipalities had already been in business for several years.
Aberdeen was officially incorporated on
May 12,
1890. On
October 16,
1903, a massive fire swept through the city's commercial district, destroying 140 buildings and killing four people. The number of people living here grew by eleven-fold in fifty years, going from 1,638 in
1890 to 18,846 in
1940.
The city's school district includes two high schools,
J.M. Weatherwax High School, or Aberdeen High School as it's called by most and
Harbor High School, an
alternative high school with an enrollment exceeding 200 students. Aberdeen High School has a rich history that is a point of pride for many in the community. Some of its traditions include the longest high school sports rivalry west of the
Mississippi River, with its neighbor Hoquiam High School. The rivalry is known amongst all the townsfolk and every year when this game occurs you can be assured most of the population is in attendance. The 100th football game was played on
September 17,
2005, with thousands of community members in attendance.
|
The Weatherwax building of Aberdeen High School burned down in 2002 |
In
2002, the Weatherwax building of Aberdeen High School, one of Aberdeen's most historical buildings (built in
1909), was burned to the ground by two of its own students just after midnight. Students have since been spread out over the remaining campus, even using remains of an old church for classroom space until the new school is built. Construction of the new building has begun and should be ready to open
September 2007.
Other schools in the district include Harbor High School, an alternative high school, Miller Junior High, Central Park Elementary, McDermoth Elementary, Stevens Elementary, AJ West Elementary,Robert Gray Elementary, and St. Mary School, a private Catholic school from kindergarten to 8th grade.
Aberdeen is also home to Grays Harbor College.
For a town of its size, Aberdeen has produced a surprising number of well-known people. Famous Aberdonians include painter
Robert Motherwell, Nobel-winning physicist
Douglas Osheroff, photographer
Lee Friedlander, choreographer
Trisha Brown, artist Elton Bennett,former
Detroit Lions and
St. Louis Cardinal Defensive End Mike Melinkovich, former
Pittsburgh Steelers and
Houston Texan tight-end Mark Bruener, pollster Jack Elway (father of
John Elway, the
football hero), novelist
Robert Cantwell, professional wrestler "American Dragon"
Bryan Danielson, software engineer
Peter Norton and
Jeff Burlingame, author of
Kurt Cobain: Oh Well, Whatever, Nevermind (Enslow, 2006), former owner of "If You Wouldn't Mind PR" and co-founder of the non-profit Kurt Cobain Memorial Committee.
Victor Grinich, who was born in Aberdeen in 1924 was a pioneer in the semiconductor industry and a member of the
Traitorous Eight that founded
Silicon Valley.
Rock musicians
Aberdeen is best known, however, for producing seminal
grunge and
punk rock bands and musicians such as
Nirvana including
Kurt Cobain (born inAberdeen at Grays Harbor Community Hospital), and
Dale Crover, of
The Melvins. The other early Melvins also had some kind of connection with Aberdeen or nearby
Montesano. When Dillard left the band in 1984 Dale Crover joined and the band's rehearsals moved to a back room of Crover's parents house in Aberdeen, Washington. Likewise, many of the earliest Nirvana rehearsals were held in Aberdeen, and some of Cobain's lyrics, in songs such as "
Something In The Way" and some of the
Bleach album referred to locations within the town. Although grunge was sometimes referred to as the "Seattle Sound", it has been argued that because Nirvana did not come from the city itself, that they had a slight outsider status within the scene, which was actually beneficial.
Krist Novoselic was born in
California, but moved to Aberdeen in his youth, where he met Cobain.
Kurdt Vanderhoof of
heavy metal-band
Metal Church.
Other famous residents
*
Robert Arthur, radio presenter
*
Violet Blue, porn star
*
Colin Cowherd, radio presenter
*
Helena Shipman, actress
*
Clarence E. Vammen, Jr., aviator
Despite attempts to diversify the local economy that stretch back decades, Aberdeen and the rest of Grays Harbor remain dependent on the timber industry.
On October 21, 2005, Weyerhaeuser announced that it would close the Aberdeen large-log sawmill on December 19th and also close the Cosmopolis pulp mill in early 2006. This was expected to result in the loss of at least 342 jobs. Many employees were not told by Weyerhaueser management, but learned about the closures on several local radio stations, who received a press release early in the morning, prior to a schedule press conference.
Top employers on the Harbor include locally owned Grays Harbor Paper L.P., The Westport Shipyard, Sierra Pacific, The Simpson Door Co. and Hoquiam Plywood, the Stafford Creek Corrections Center, a state prison which opened in 2000, and Safe Harbor Technology, a technical support center.
Other major employers include cranberry-growing collective
Ocean Spray,
Wal-Mart and Washington Crab Products.
As of the
census of 2000, there were 16,461 people, 6,517 households, and 4,112 families residing in the city. The
population density was 597.9/km² (1,548.8/mi²). There were 7,536 housing units at an average density of 273.7/km² (709.1/mi²). The racial makeup of the city was 84.87%
White, 0.47%
African American, 3.70%
Native American, 2.10%
Asian, 0.14%
Pacific Islander, 5.15% from
other races, and 3.57% from two or more races.
Hispanic or
Latino of any race were 9.22% of the population.
There were 6,517 households out of which 31.8% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 43.9% were
married couples living together, 13.7% had a female householder with no husband present, and 36.9% were non-families. 29.5% of all households were made up of individuals and 12.0% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.49 and the average family size was 3.05.
In the city the population was spread out with 26.8% under the age of 18, 10.3% from 18 to 24, 27.1% from 25 to 44, 21.9% from 45 to 64, and 14.0% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 35 years. For every 100 females there were 98.0 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 96.0 males.
The median income for a household in the city was $30,683, and the median income for a family was $37,966. Males had a median income of $32,710 versus $20,446 for females. The
per capita income for the city was $16,092. About 16.1% of families and 22.2% of the population were below the
poverty line, including 29.7% of those under age 18 and 9.6% of those age 65 or over.
Aberdeen has the following
sister cities, according to [
2]:
*
Hakui,
Japan*
Kanazawa,
Japan* Ed Van Syckle, "The River Pioneers," Pacific Search Press, 1982.
* Ed Van Syckle, "They Tried to Cut It All," Pacific Search Press, 1980.
* Murray Morgan, "The Last Wilderness," Viking Press, 1955.
* Anne Cotton, "The History of Aberdeen," Grays Harbor Regional Planning Commission, 1982.
