North Bend, Washington
North Bend is a city in King County, Washington, United States, on the outskirts of the Seattle metropolitan area. The population was 7,461 at the 2020 census. The city is east of Seattle on Interstate 90 and lies in the foothills of the Cascade Range near Snoqualmie Pass.
Since the closure of Weyerhaeuser's Snoqualmie sawmill, North Bend has become a prosperous bedroom community for Seattle and Bellevue. The city was made famous by David Lynch's television series Twin Peaks, which was partially filmed in North Bend. The community is also home to Nintendo North Bend, the main North American production facility and distribution center for the video game console manufacturer Nintendo.
History
The Snoqualmie Indian Tribe has resided in the Snoqualmie Prairie, including the area now known as North Bend, for thousands of years. This prairie southeast of Snoqualmie Falls was the ancestral home, hunting and forage grounds for the Snoqualmie people and was located in the upper Snoqualmie Valley near the Snoqualmie River fork confluence, Mount Si, and the western foothills of the Cascade Range.One of the first American explorers to the upper Snoqualmie Valley was Samuel Hancock, who arrived in 1851. Hancock traveled upriver with his Snoqualmie guides, fording canoes around the falls to reach Snoqualmie Prairie, searching for coal deposits. He was taken to a "very extensive and fertile prairie" about two miles above Snoqualmie Falls. The beautiful open grassland came to be known as the Snoqualmie Prairie, the heart of which is now known as Tollgate and Meadowbrook farms. The Snoqualmies, led by Chief Patkanim, later sided with early settlers in the 1850s Indian Wars and were one of the signatory tribes of the Treaty of Point Elliott in 1855, which failed to designate an Indian reservation for the Snoqualmies. Some of the soldiers in those wars, such as the Kellogg brothers, established cabins near abandoned U.S. Army blockhouses; however, the most well known American resident in the valley was Jeremiah Borst, who arrived in 1858.
After the Homestead Act of 1862, more settlers ventured to the Snoqualmie Valley, with the first families settling near Borst on the easterly end of Snoqualmie Prairie. In 1865, Matts Peterson homesteaded the site that ultimately became North Bend. In 1879, Peterson sold the property to Borst and moved east of the Cascades. Borst wrote to Will Taylor, who had left the Pacific Northwest to pursue mining in California, and offered him the Peterson homestead in exchange for labor. Taylor returned and became the driving force in developing the city while expanding his property to include a thriving trading post and boarding house for travelers over Snoqualmie Pass. On February 16, 1889, with the upcoming railroad boom, Taylor formally platted a city including his farm, upcoming street plans and building lots, giving it the name "Snoqualmie Prairie". Later that summer, competing Seattle land speculators subsequently platted nearby "Snoqualmie Falls", choosing a similar name. Pressured by demands of the Seattle, Lake Shore and Eastern Railway to avoid confusion, Taylor reluctantly renamed his city "Mountain View". However, the U.S. Post Office Department objected to "Mountain View", as a city with that name already existed in northern Whatcom County. To conclude the matter Taylor agreed to permanently rename the community "North Bend", after its prime location near the large northward bend of the South and Middle Fork of the Snoqualmie River. Taylor was proud of his new, thriving city, but by historical accounts, "He never got over having his city name taken away." North Bend was officially incorporated on March 12, 1909, and grew throughout the 20th century, with an early economic focus on logging, sawmill production, agricultural and dairy farming.
The city government issued a moratorium on new construction in April 1999 after it exceeded the limits on its existing water rights to pump groundwater. It was lifted in 2009 after North Bend secured an agreement with Seattle Public Utilities to provide water and construction of a new pipeline from the Cedar River watershed. North Bend, which had transitioned into a bedroom community by the late 20th century, began attracting recreation and outdoors businesses in the 2010s. The city also developed tourist activities centered around the 1990s television series Twin Peaks, which was partially filmed in North Bend, Snoqualmie, and Fall City.
Geography
North Bend is located in the foothills of the Cascade Range, east of Seattle in the upper valley of the Snoqualmie River. The city is bordered to the northwest by the city of Snoqualmie. Both communities lie near the center of the Mountains to Sound Greenway. North Bend is located near the geographic center of King County.Mount Si, the most prominent geological feature nearby, looms over the town. To the south is Rattlesnake Ridge. Mount Si stands at and towers above the town, itself at around. A trail zigzags up to the summit with a vertical climb of. According to the United States Census Bureau, the city has a total area of, of which are land and are water.
North Bend annexed some neighborhoods near the Tanner and Stilson areas on July 6, 2009.
Climate
North Bend's climate is warm and generally dry during the summer when high temperatures tend to be in the 70s and mild to cold during the winter when high temperatures tend to be in the 30s and 40s. The town's location in the foothills means that it receives significantly higher annual precipitation than other suburbs to the west, and also translates into heavier snowfall in the winter. The all-time record high temperature is set during the 2021 Western North America heat wave. The warmest month of the year is August with an average maximum temperature of, while the coldest month of the year is January with an average minimum temperature of. The annual average precipitation in North Bend is with of snowfall. Winter months tend to be wetter than summer months.Demographics
As of the 2022 American Community Survey, there are 2,797 estimated households in North Bend with an average of 2.67 persons per household. The city has a median household income of $171,078. Approximately 6.1% of the city's population lives at or below the poverty line. North Bend has an estimated 71.0% employment rate, with 56.0% of the population holding a bachelor's degree or higher and 95.8% holding a high school diploma.2020 census
As of the 2020 census, there were 7,461 people, 2,775 households, and 2,031 families residing in the city. The population density was. There were 2,951 housing units. The racial makeup of the city was 81.2% White, 0.8% African American, 0.8% Native American, 4.1% Asian, 0.2% Pacific Islander, 2.9% from some other races and 10.1% from two or more races. Hispanic or Latino people of any race were 8.2% of the population. 22.8% of residents were under the age of 18, 6.5% were under 5 years of age, and 13.0% were 65 and older.2010 census
As of the 2010 census, there were 5,731 people, 2,210 households, and 1,487 families residing in the city. The population density was. There were 2,348 housing units at an average density of. The racial makeup of the city was 90.7% White, 0.5% African American, 0.9% Native American, 1.6% Asian, 0.1% Pacific Islander, 2.5% from other races, and 3.6% from two or more races. Hispanic or Latino people of any race were 6.4% of the population.There were 2,210 households, of which 39.0% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 52.9% were married couples living together, 10.0% had a female householder with no husband present, 4.4% had a male householder with no wife present, and 32.7% were non-families. 24.8% of all households were made up of individuals, and 9% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.57 and the average family size was 3.10.
The median age in the city was 38.7 years. 26.8% of residents were under the age of 18; 6.8% were between the ages of 18 and 24; 27.6% were from 25 to 44; 29.4% were from 45 to 64; and 9.4% were 65 years of age or older. The gender makeup of the city was 49.3% male and 50.7% female.
2000 census
As of the 2000 census, there were 4,746 people, 1,841 households, and 1,286 families residing in the city. The population density was. There were 1,889 housing units at an average density of. The racial makeup of the city was 92.01% White, 0.70% African American, 1.03% Native American, 2.23% Asian, 0.17% Pacific Islander, 1.45% from other races, and 2.40% from two or more races. Hispanic or Latino people of any race were 3.79% of the population.There were 1,841 households, out of which 37.8% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 57.1% were married couples living together, 8.8% had a female householder with no husband present, and 30.1% were non-families. 23.7% of all households were made up of individuals, and 10.8% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.53 and the average family size was 3.01.
In the city the population was 27.3% under the age of 18, 6.7% from 18 to 24, 37.1% from 25 to 44, 18.4% from 45 to 64, and 10.6% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 34 years. For every 100 females, there were 97.5 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 94.0 males.
The median income for a household in the city was $61,534, and the median income for a family was $69,402. Males had a median income of $57,333 versus $38,401 for females. The per capita income for the city was $28,229. About 2.1% of families and 4.7% of the population were below the poverty line, including 5.1% of those under age 18 and 3.0% of those age 65 or over.