Pullman is the largest city in Whitman County, Washington, United States. The population was 24,675 at the 2000 census, and 29,799 in 2010 according to the U.S. Census Bureau. Originally incorporated as Three Forks, the city was later renamed after George Pullman.
Pullman, Washington | |
|---|---|
 Bryan Tower on the Pullman WSU campus at twilight | |
 The location of Pullman in Washington | |
| Country | United States |
| State | Washington |
| County | Whitman |
| Government | |
| • Mayor | Glenn Johnson |
| Area | |
| • Total | 9.0 sq mi (23.3 km2) |
| • Land | 9.0 sq mi (23.3 km2) |
| • Water | 0.0 sq mi (0.0 km2) |
| Elevation | 2,352 ft (717 m) |
| Population (2010) | |
| • Total | 29,799 |
| • Density | 2,740.8/sq mi (1,058.2/km2) |
| Time zone | UTC-8 (Pacific (PST)) |
| • Summer (DST) | UTC-7 (PDT) |
| ZIP codes | 99163-99165 |
| Area code | 509 |
| FIPS code | 53-56625Template:GR |
| GNIS feature ID | 1531905Template:GR |
| Website | http://www.pullman-wa.gov/ |
Pullman is best known as the home of Washington State University, a four-campus land-grant university, and of Schweitzer Engineering Laboratories, an international firm in the power industry. Eight miles east of Pullman is Moscow, Idaho, home of the University of Idaho.
History
About five years after the establishment of Whitman County on November 29, 1871, Bolin Farr arrived, camping in 1876 at the confluence of Dry Flat Creek and Missouri Flat Creek, on the bank of the Palouse River. Within the year, Dan McKenzie and William Ellsworth arrived to stake claims for adjoining land. The first post office located there was named Three Forks. In the spring of 1881, Orville Stewart opened a general store and Bolin Farr platted about 10 acres (40,000 m2) of his land for a town. Pullman was incorporated in 1886 with a population of about 200 people. It was originally named Three Forks, after the three small rivers that converge there: Missouri Flat Creek, Dry Fork, and the South Fork of the Palouse River. Within the decade, Dan McKenzie and Charles Moore (of Moscow) replatted the site and named it for George Pullman of the Pullman Car Company.
On March 28, 1890, the Washington State Legislature established the state's land grant college, but did not designate a location. Pullman leaders were determined to secure the new college and offered 160 acres of land for its campus. On April 18, 1891, the commission appointed by Washington's governor to select a site for the new agricultural college chose Pullman.[1] On January 13, 1892, the institution opened with 59 students under the name Washington Agricultural College and School of Science. In 1905 it was renamed the State College of Washington, becoming Washington State University in 1959.[2]
In 1961, Pullman became a non-chartered code city under the Mayor-Council form of government. The city has an elected mayor with an elected seven-member council and an appointed administrative officer, the city supervisor. The current mayor is Glenn A. Johnson, who doubles as a professor at WSU's Edward R. Murrow College of Communication; he is the long-time WSU Cougars football announcer in Martin Stadium and the basketball announcer at Beasley Coliseum. The long-time city supervisor is John Sherman.
Neighborhoods
Pullman sits on four major hills that divide the city into nearly equal quarters. The four hills are Military Hill, found north of the Palouse River and west of North Grand Avenue; Pioneer Hill, located south of Main Street and the downtown area and east of South Grand Avenue; Sunnyside Hill, sitting south of Davis Way and west of South Grand Avenue; and College Hill, found north of Main Street and east of North Grand Avenue. Washington State University is located on College Hill. [3]
An expanding high-tech industry is located on the north end of the city, anchored by Schweitzer Engineering Laboratories (SEL), founded by Edmund Schweitzer, a Ph.D. graduate of WSU. SEL and other firms are located within the 107-acre (0.43 km2) Pullman Industrial Park, run by the Port of Whitman County.
Schools
The Pullman School District consists of the following:[4]
- Franklin primary school
- Jefferson primary school
- Sunnyside primary school
- Lincoln Middle School
- Pullman High School
Pullman High School (PHS) is attended by about 700 students, and is the city's only public high school. It is located on Military Hill, and the mascot for its athletic teams is the Greyhound. PHS offers honors and advanced placement courses, along with Running Start course work through WSU and area community colleges.
Washington State University
Pullman is the site of the largest and original campus of Washington State University (WSU), an NCAA Division I school, and member of the Pac-10 Conference. WSU is well known for its veterinary medicine, business, architecture, engineering, agriculture, pharmacy, and communications schools.
Geography and climate
Pullman is located at 46°43′57″N 117°10′18″W / 46.7326°N 117.1718°W (46.7326, -117.1718).Template:GR Elevation 2,552 ft (778 m) above sea level. According to the United States Census Bureau, the city has a total area of 9.0 square miles (23.3 km2), all of it land. The water supply is a natural aquifer. The surrounding region, called the Palouse prairie, or simply the Palouse, is noteworthy for its fertile rolling hills where winter and spring wheat, barley, lentils, and peas are grown.
Climate
The Pullman area is dry and clear for much of the year, with hot, dry summers and cold, wet winters. Based on records kept from 1940 to 2005 by the Western Regional Climate Center, Pullman's average annual rainfall is 21 inches (530 mm) while the average annual snowfall is 28 inches (710 mm). The warmest month is August with 82 degrees the average maximum temperature, while January is the coldest month with 22.7 degrees the average minimum temperature. The average density of air in the Pullman vicinity is approximately 1.15 grams/liter. However, this value constantly changes because of Pullman's dry summers and wet winters. The nearness of the Cascade mountain range also contributes to Pullman's changing air density.
| Climate data for Pullman, WA | |||||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Month | Jan | Feb | Mar | Apr | May | Jun | Jul | Aug | Sep | Oct | Nov | Dec | Year |
| Mean daily maximum °F (°C) | 35 (2) |
41 (5) |
48 (9) |
57 (14) |
65 (18) |
72 (22) |
82 (28) |
83 (28) |
74 (23) |
60 (16) |
43 (6) |
35 (2) |
57.92 (14.40) |
| Mean daily minimum °F (°C) | 24 (−4) |
27 (−3) |
31 (−1) |
36 (2) |
42 (6) |
47 (8) |
50 (10) |
50 (10) |
44 (7) |
37 (3) |
30 (−1) |
24 (−4) |
36.83 (2.68) |
| Average precipitation inches (mm) | 2.46 (62) |
2.1 (53) |
2.01 (51) |
1.72 (44) |
1.77 (45) |
1.3 (33) |
0.79 (20) |
0.89 (23) |
0.88 (22) |
1.48 (38) |
2.83 (72) |
2.78 (71) |
21.01 (534) |
| Source: The Weather Channel[5] | |||||||||||||
Demographics
| Census | Pop. | Note | %± |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1890 | 868 | — | |
| 1900 | 1,308 | 50.7% | |
| 1910 | 2,602 | 98.9% | |
| 1920 | 2,440 | −6.2% | |
| 1930 | 3,322 | 36.1% | |
| 1940 | 4,417 | 33.0% | |
| 1950 | 12,022 | 172.2% | |
| 1960 | 12,957 | 7.8% | |
| 1970 | 20,509 | 58.3% | |
| 1980 | 23,579 | 15.0% | |
| 1990 | 23,478 | −0.4% | |
| 2000 | 24,675 | 5.1% | |
| 2010 (est.) | 27,920 | ||
| source:[6][7] | |||
As of the censusTemplate:GR of 2000, there were 24,675 people, 8,828 households, and 3,601 families residing in the city. The population density was 2,740.8 people per square mile (1,058.6/km2).
The racial makeup of the city was:
- 83.10% White
- 8.48% Asian
- 3.40% from two or more races
- 2.40% African American
- 1.58% from other races
- 0.67% Native American
- 0.38% Pacific Islander
Hispanic or Latino of any race were 3.86% of the population.
The 2000 Census found 9,398 housing units at an average density of 1,043.9 per square mile (403.2/km2). There were 8,828 households out of which:
- 59.2% were non-families
- 33.0% were married couples living together
- 31.1% of all households were made up of individuals
- 20.0% had children under the age of 18 living with them
- 5.8% had a female householder with no husband present
- 3.7% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older (included in the 31.1% of households made up of individuals)
The average household size was 2.23 and the average family size was 2.87.
In the city the population was spread out as follows:
- 13.1% under the age of 18
- 49.4% from 18 to 24
- 22.8% from 25 to 44
- 10.3% from 45 to 64
- 4.5% who were 65 years of age or older.
The median age was 22 years. For every 100 females there are 104.6 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 104.7 males.
The median income for a household in the city was $20,652, and the median income for a family was $46,165. Males had a median income of $36,743 versus $29,192 for females. The per capita income for the city was $13,448. About 15.3% of families and 37.5% of the population were below the poverty line, including 20.0% of those under age 18 and 3.6% of those age 65 or over.
Transportation
Pullman is served by the Pullman-Moscow Regional Airport located 2 miles (3.2 km) east of Pullman and 4 miles (6.4 km) west of Moscow, Idaho. Horizon Air offers four flights daily from Pullman-Moscow to Seattle and four flights daily from Seattle to Pullman-Moscow. Shuttle service to Spokane International Airport is available. Major bus routes, including Greyhound, pass through Pullman. Pullman is also served by Pullman Transit which provides service for many students of the university who do not live on campus and also provides service to the residents of Pullman. Students can get on the bus by showing their student ID card, as all students pay a fee for use of the bus system which is included in their fees when attending WSU.
Additionally, there is bus service to Moscow, Idaho called the Wheatland Express. This is free to WSU students; it costs $2 each way for non-students. The service also goes to the airport for a $5 charge.
Additional information
Since 1989, Pullman has been home to the National Lentil Festival, a major community event celebrating the lentil legume grown in the Palouse region. The festival includes a lentil cook-off, Friday night street fair, Saturday parade and music in the park, and more. It is held on the August weekend before fall semester classes start at WSU.[8]
Pullman, Washington is the sister city of Kasai, Hyōgo Japan.[9]
Notable people
- Philip Abelson, physicist and long-time editor of Science, studied at Washington State University.
- Chester La Follette, artist, was born in Pullman.
- William La Follette, U.S. Congressman, lived in Pullman.
- John Elway, NFL quarterback for the Denver Broncos, attended Pullman High School.
- Timm Rosenbach, NFL quarterback for the Phoenix Cardinals and the New Orleans Saints, attended Pullman High School and played football at Washington State University.
- Drew Bledsoe, NFL quarterback for the New England Patriots, Buffalo Bills and Dallas Cowboys played football at Washington State University.
- Turk Edwards, NFL Hall of Famer, player and head coach for the Washington Redskins, played football at Washington State University.
- Gerry Lindgren, Olympic distance runner, set numerous high school and collegiate records. Won NCAA Cross Country Championships an unprecedented three times, 11 total championships while at WSU. Also set 6 mile world record.
- Henry Rono, Kenyan distance runner, broke the world records for the 10,000 meters, 5,000 meters, 3,000 meters and 3,000 meters steeplechase during an 81 day span, ran cross country and track at Washington State University, where he became he third person in history to win 3 NCAA Cross Country Championships.
- Bernard Lagat, Olympic Distance runner, has four World Championship gold medals has well as Olympic silver medal. Second fastest 1,5000 meter in history, American 5,000 meter Record Holder.
- Gary Larson, cartoonist, studied at Washington State University.
- Glenn Johnson, Pullman mayor, Voice of the Cougars, President of the Association of Washington cities
- Monica B. Olson, biologist with numerous patents, was born in Pullman.
- James Mattis, USMC General
- Edward R. Murrow, journalist, studied at Washington State University.
- Sherman Alexie, author, poet, director, studied at Washington State University.
- Keith Jackson, sportscaster for ABC, studied at Washington State University.
- Barry Serafin, news correspondent for ABC, studied at Washington State University.
- Paul Allen, businessman, co-founder of Microsoft, owner of the NFL Seattle Seahawks and the NBA Portland Trail Blazers, studied at Washington State University.
- Lucas Svaren, artist and designer, studied at Washington State University.
- Walt Horan, U.S. Congressman, studied at Washington State University.
- Patty Murray, U.S. Senator, studied at Washington State University.
- Ron C. Mittelhammer, director of the School of Economic Sciences and former president of the American Agricultural Economics Association.
- George Nethercutt, U.S. Congressman, studied at Washington State University.
- Robert A. Roe, U.S. Congressman, studied at Washington State University.
- Timothy Leary, writer and psychedelic drug advocate, studied at Washington State University.
- Mark C. Stratz, businessman, shareholder BRE Commercial, studied at Washington State University.
- Patrick Rothfuss, fantasy writer of The Name Of The Wind, completed his Masters in English at Washington State University.
- Constantine Alexander, who established the Tilos Natural Park (a Greek National Park), served as the Executive Director of the Pullman Chamber of Commerce.
- Kirk Triplett, 3 time PGA Tour champion and member of the 2000 President's Cup team
Further reading
- MacGibbon, Elma (1904). "Columbia River and Pullman". Leaves of knowledge (DJVU). Washington State Library's Classics in Washington History collection. Shaw & Borden.
References
- ^ Early History of Pullman, Washington
- ^ WSU History Highlights by Decade
- ^ http://pullmanwarealestate.com/post/795097/pullman-wa-a-bit-of-paradise-on-the-palouse
- ^ http://www.psd267.org/
- ^ "Monthly Averages for Pullman, WA". Weather.com. 2010. Retrieved 2010-04-16.
- ^ Moffatt, Riley. Population History of Western U.S. Cities & Towns, 1850-1990. Lanham: Scarecrow, 1996, 330.
- ^ "Subcounty population estimates: Washington 2000-2007" (CSV). United States Census Bureau, Population Division. 2009-03-18. Retrieved 2009-04-26.
- ^ >National Lentil Festival, http://www.lentilfest.com/
- ^ http://www.pullman-wa.gov/DrawOnePage.aspx?PageID=767