Bellingham is the county seat of Whatcom County, Washington. It is situated
on Bellingham Bay, which is protected by Lummi Island, Portage Island, and
the Lummi Peninsula, and opens onto the Strait of Georgia. It lies west of
Mount Baker and Lake Whatcom (from which it gets its drinking water), north
of the Chuckanut Mountains and Skagit Valley, and Whatcom Creek runs through
the center of the city. As of the 2000 census, the city had a total
population of 67,171.
The tongue in cheek nickname of Bellingham is the "City of Subdued
Excitement." A local politician called Bellingham this in seriousness, and
the local alternative press and alternative culture has been using this
nickname ever since.
The current boundaries of the city have grown to add the former cities of
Fairhaven (now home to the southern terminus of the Alaska Marine Highway
System), New Whatcom, and several others. Bellingham is also home to Western
Washington University.
History
Bellingham was officially incorporated on November 4, 1903.
The foothills around Bellingham were clearcut after the great San Francisco
earthquake to provide the lumber for the rebuilding of San Francisco. In the
past, coal mining was commonplace near town. A fictionalized account of the
history of Bellingham is "The Living" by Annie Dillard.
On June 10, 1999, the Olympic Pipeline, which carries gasoline, diesel and
jet fuel from refineries near Ferndale to locations down the I-5 corridor as
far south as Portland (including all the jet fuel for Seattle-Tacoma
International Airport), ruptured in Bellingham in the Whatcom Falls Park
near Whatcom Creek, leaking 237,000 gallons of gasoline into the creek. The
vapor layer from this overcame an 18 year old man who was fishing in the
creek, and two younger boys who were playing with fireworks ignited the
vapor, setting off an explosion that burned over a mile of the creek bed and
sent a black smoke cloud over 30,000 feet into the air. Due to road closures
and evacuations around the creek, although some buildings were destroyed,
there were no further fatalities than these three (the younger boys died the
next day from extensive burns over most of their bodies). The explosion
resulted in over $45 million in property damage. At this writing, both
criminal and civil cases are pending on this matter.
Geography
Bellingham is located at 48°45'1" North, 122°28'30" West (48.750178,
-122.474975).
According to the United States Census Bureau, the city has a total area of
82.2 km˛ (31.7 mi˛). 66.4 km˛ (25.6 mi˛) of it is land and 15.8 km˛ (6.1 mi˛)
of it is water. The total area is 19.19% water.
Demographics
As of the census1 of 2000, there are 67,171 people, 27,999 households, and
13,999 families residing in the city. The population density is 1,011.5/km˛
(2,619.3/mi˛). There are 29,474 housing units at an average density of
443.8/km˛ (1,149.3/mi˛). The racial makeup of the city is 87.88% White,
0.98% African American, 1.48% Native American, 4.25% Asian, 0.17% Pacific
Islander, 2.16% from other races, and 3.08% from two or more races. 4.63% of
the population are Hispanic or Latino of any race.
There are 27,999 households out of which 23.1% have children under the age
of 18 living with them, 37.5% are married couples living together, 9.2% have
a female householder with no husband present, and 50.0% are non-families.
33.0% of all households are made up of individuals and 10.3% have someone
living alone who is 65 years of age or older. The average household size is
2.24 and the average family size is 2.83.
In the city the population is spread out with 17.7% under the age of 18,
23.8% from 18 to 24, 26.5% from 25 to 44, 19.6% from 45 to 64, and 12.4% who
are 65 years of age or older. The median age is 30 years. For every 100
females there are 92.6 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there
are 90.6 males.
The median income for a household in the city is $32,530, and the median
income for a family is $47,196. Males have a median income of $35,288 versus
$25,971 for females. The per capita income for the city is $19,483. 20.6% of
the population and 9.4% of families are below the poverty line. Out of the
total people living in poverty, 17.2% are under the age of 18 and 9.0% are
65 or older.
