Shelton is a city in and the county seat of Mason County, Washington, United States. Shelton is the westernmost city on Puget Sound. The population was 10,371 at the 2020 census. Shelton has a council–manager form of government and was the last city in Washington to use a mayor–commission form of government.

History Shelton was officially incorporated in 1890. The city was named after David Shelton, a delegate to the territorial legislature. The land was previously called "Cota" and was inhabited and managed by the Squaxin Island Tribe, or "People of the Waters", who had inhabited the land for centuries before contact with white settlers. The land was ceded, along with 4,000 sq. miles of Indigenous land, on December 26, 1854, with the passage of the Treaty of Medicine Creek. After the passage of the treaty, David Shelton and his wife, Frances Shelton, each took a claim of land enabled by the Donation Land Claim Act totaling 640 acres in what would eventually be incorporated as Shelton.

Shelton was once served by a small fleet of steamboats which was part of the Puget Sound Mosquito Fleet. These boats included the Old Settler, Irene, Willie, City of Shelton, Marian, Clara Brown, and S.G. Simpson.Newell, Gordon R., Ships of the Inland Sea, at 165–66, Binford and Mort, Portland, OR (2nd Ed. 1960) The economy was built around logging, farming, dairying and ranching as well as oyster cultivation. The Simpson Timber Company mill on Puget Sound's Oakland Bay dominated the landscape of the downtown area; the mill was sold to Sierra Pacific Industries in 2015, who are currently building a new mill. Shelton also identified itself as "Christmastown, USA" due to the area's cultivation of Christmas trees; the name was later revived for an annual festival.

The Ridge Motorsports Park opened in 2012, and has hosted MotoAmerica and Trans-Am Series races.

Geography

According to the United States Census Bureau, the city has a total area of , of which is land and is water.

Climate With extremely precipitous rainfall in winter and dry summer of less than 33 mm in the driest month (less than 1/3 of the rainy season), Shelton has a warm summer Mediterranean climate (Köppen: Csb) with cold winters, similar to the larger cities of the Pacific Northwest.

Demographics

Racial and ethnic composition + Racial composition as of the 2020 census Race Number Percent White 6,897 66.5% Black or African American 90 0.9% American Indian and Alaska Native 521 5.0% Asian 127 1.2% Native Hawaiian and Other Pacific Islander 47 0.5% Some other race 1,441 13.9% Two or more races 1,248 12.0% Hispanic or Latino (of any race) 2,609 25.2%

2020 census As of the 2020 census, Shelton had a population of 10,371 people, 3,696 households, and 2,055 families residing in the city. The median age was 35.6 years, with 25.8% of residents under the age of 18 and 16.6% 65 years of age or older. For every 100 females there were 96.3 males, and for every 100 females age 18 and over there were 93.1 males age 18 and over.

There were 3,696 households in Shelton, of which 36.7% had children under the age of 18 living in them. Of all households, 40.3% were married-couple households, 18.6% were households with a male householder and no spouse or partner present, and 31.4% were households with a female householder and no spouse or partner present. About 29.1% of all households were made up of individuals and 14.7% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.95 and the average family size was 3.73.

There were 3,887 housing units, of which 4.9% were vacant. The homeowner vacancy rate was 1.2% and the rental vacancy rate was 5.0%.

99.5% of residents lived in urban areas, while 0.5% lived in rural areas.

2010 census As of the 2010 census, there were 9,834 people, 3,574 households, and 2,166 families residing in the city. The population density was . There were 3,847 housing units at an average density of . The racial makeup of the city was 78.9% White, 0.8% African American, 3.7% Native American, 1.1% Asian, 0.8% Pacific Islander, 9.9% from other races, and 4.9% from two or more races. Hispanic or Latino of any race were 19.2% of the population.

There were 3,574 households, of which 35.3% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 38.1% were married couples living together, 15.5% had a female householder with no husband present, 6.9% had a male householder with no wife present, and 39.4% were non-families. 31.2% of all households were made up of individuals, and 15.6% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.63 and the average family size was 3.23.

The median age in the city was 33.1 years. 26.4% of residents were under the age of 18; 10.8% were between the ages of 18 and 24; 26.5% were from 25 to 44; 21.9% were from 45 to 64; and 14.3% were 65 years of age or older. The gender makeup of the city was 49.1% male and 50.9% female.

Government

Shelton was the last city in Washington to use a mayor–commission form of government. In November 2017, the voters of Shelton adopted a council-manager form of municipal governance.

Education The Shelton School District is composed of eight schools: Evergreen, Mountain View, and Bordeaux Elementary Schools, kindergarten through fourth grade Olympic Middle School, fifth and sixth grades Oakland Bay Junior High, seventh and eighth grades Shelton High School, ninth through twelfth grades CHOICE Alternative School, seventh through twelfth grade Cedar High School, a New Tech Network Project-Based Learning high school for grades ninth through twelfth

Notable people

Raul Allegre - former NFL kicker Justin Ena – former NFL linebacker Brian Fairbrother - soccer coach who founded soccer program at Shelton High School Richard Fiske - actor, killed in action in France in World War 2 Karol Kennedy – 5-time national champion and 1952 Winter Olympics silver medalistKarol Kennedy at Sports Reference Mary Miranda Knight – pioneer and educator Desmond "Des" Dalworth Koch – 1956 Olympic bronze medalist, discus Jerry Lambert – film and television actorIMDb: Jerry Lambert Retrieved on December 7, 2010 Arthur Needham – member of the first city council and the first haberdasher in the county Lawson H. M. Sanderson – Marine Corps aviation pioneer with the rank of major general Caleb Schlauderaff – NFL offensive lineman Paul Stamets – Mushroom enthusiast

References

External links

City website City of Shelton circa 1925 (University of Washington collection)