Cle Elum, Washington

History

Native history

Cle Elum was originally inhabited by the Kittitas band of the Yakama tribe. The tribe fished salmon, steelhead, and trout from the Yakima River. The Salmon la Sac trails in the northern area of the region were created by the Kittitas people and were used as layovers for journeys into the higher altitudes of the Cascade Range. In 1855, after the arrival of Catholic missionaries, and the passing through of settlers and coal miners on their way to the Puget Sound, a treaty resulted in the Yakamas ceding most of their land for a reservation in the lower Yakima Valley and guaranteed access to fish, including what would later be incorporated as Cle Elum. By 1859, the Kittitas had been forced to relocate to the Yakama Indian Reservation.

Early years and industries

In the spring of 1886, Northern Pacific Railway surveyors Virgil Bogue and Herbert Huson were making their way through the region with the intent of establishing a station. At the site of the future city, a depot was named Clealum after the Kittitas name Tle-el-Lum (tlielləm), meaning "swift water", referring to the Cle Elum River. Maps of the United States Postal Guide used two words while other early maps show it as one word: Clealum. In 1908, Clealum was altered to Cle Elum. The name was given to the river, the city, and Cle Elum Lake.

Walter Reed entered into a partnership with Thomas Johnson of Ellensburg and laid out 65 acre as a town site which was legally dedicated on July 26, 1886. Johnson had owned a sawmill on Wilson Creek, in Grant County and he moved the mill to the new location in the vicinity of the new town. The partners Reed and Johnson established what was undoubtedly the largest mill up to that time in central or Eastern Washington, cutting 40,000 ft of board lumber per day. At the same time, Frederick Leonhard, who, with his brother-in-law, Gerrit d'Ablaing, had been carrying on a mill on Cooke Creek and later on the Naneum, moved to the vicinity of Cle Elum. They cut a large part of the lumber for the Stampede Tunnel.

The early 20th century

Cle Elum was officially incorporated on February 12, 1902.

Tragedy struck the area when on July 16, 1908, two carloads of blasting powder being unloaded by the Northwest Improvement Company exploded, killing at least nine people including miners, NIC store employees and a family with children living in a tent near the building. The explosion, located about three-quarters of a mile from Cle Elum's downtown, scattered debris and human remains and shattered windows across town. Accounts from residents equated the explosion to an earthquake.

In December 1910, loggers working for the Cascade Lumber Company near Cle Elum went on strike after the company reduced pay and began charging $5 per week for board. ()

In 1913, steps were taken to improve automobile access across the Cascade Mountains via Snoqualmie Pass. A $1,500,000 levy () was approved in 1913 to improve and expand the state's highways. The largest project award from the levy ($590,743) went to construction of the Sunset Highway between Spokane and Seattle. This major cross-state highway would pass directly through Cle Elum's business district, and as it was one of the first towns reached after traveling east across the pass, would greatly benefit from its construction. That same year, reflecting on the prosperity of the coal mines, the city's second bank was chartered. By 1914, Cle Elum's population had risen to 3,000 from about 100 at the turn of the 20th century.

Great fire of 1918

Cle Elum's greatest disaster occurred on June 25, 1918, when a huge fire wiped out over seventy acres of the city (29 city blocks) causing over $500,000 (about $ today) in damages. The cause was later determined to most likely to be a cigarette butt thrown into a pile of garbage behind a theater. Thirty businesses and 205 houses were destroyed, leaving more than 1,800 people homeless. Following the incident, aid from across the state began pouring in. The Red Cross brought tents from Camp Lewis to house displaced citizens while soldiers were sent from Ellensburg to guard businesses. Yakima and Portland also sent aid to the city. No people died in the incident.

High insurance rates on Cle Elum's many wooden structures inhibited many people from purchasing them. One of the few buildings in downtown Cle Elum to survive the fire was the Cle Elum State Bank Building, built in 1906; it still stands today. The rest of downtown was quickly rebuilt with brick and many of these buildings still stand.

Bankruptcy

In 2011, the city government approved a development agreement with City Heights, who sought to create a planned community with 962 homes on 358 acre in the Cle Elum area. City Heights announced in 2019 that it would begin construction of the development, named "Ederra", under the existing agreement, while the City of Cle Elum proposed new conditions to address various concerns. City Heights filed a lawsuit against the city government for a breach of the original agreement. An arbitrator ruled in November 2024 that the city government owed $22.2 million to City Heights for violating the agreement along with reimbursement of legal fees and other expenses. A 20-year payment plan with 6% monthly interest was proposed to cover the debt, which the city government could not pay with its existing revenue sources. As a result, the city council voted to seek Chapter 9 bankruptcy protection on January 28, 2025, ultimately filing for bankruptcy in June 2025. Cle Elum became the second city in Washington to file for bankruptcy after North Bonneville in 1991.

Geography

Cle Elum is located 114 km ESE of Seattle, 73 km NNW of Yakima, and 56 km WSW of Wenatchee.

According to the United States Census Bureau, the city has a total area of 3.83 sqmi, of which 3.82 sqmi is land and 0.01 sqmi is water. It borders South Cle Elum and Roslyn.

Climate

Cle Elum has a humid continental climate, Köppen subtype Dsb. The elevation is 1,909 ft and temperatures are cooler than areas to the east. The coldest month is December, a trait common in the Pacific Northwest. But hot temperatures still occur, and not only in summer: on March 18, 1968, the temperature reached 95 F. Cle Elum, lying on the less extreme part of the Cascade Range rain shadow, also sees more precipitation than more arid regions to the east but also less than the areas to the west.

The climate has warmed in tandem with surrounding areas; climate data further back shows that winters were once colder, and that January was historically the coldest month.

| Jan record high F = 57 | Feb record high F = 69 | Mar record high F = 79 | Apr record high F = 96 | May record high F = 99 | Jun record high F = 108 | Jul record high F = 105 | Aug record high F = 105 | Sep record high F = 99 | Oct record high F = 88 | Nov record high F = 72 | Dec record high F = 62 | year record high F = 108

|Jan avg record high F = 47.8 |Feb avg record high F = 51.5 |Mar avg record high F = 63.5 |Apr avg record high F = 73.7 |May avg record high F = 84.1 |Jun avg record high F = 88.5 |Jul avg record high F = 95.3 |Aug avg record high F = 95.7 |Sep avg record high F = 88.4 |Oct avg record high F = 73.2 |Nov avg record high F = 56.1 |Dec avg record high F = 46.9 |year avg record high F = 97.7

|Jan avg record low F = 5.1 |Feb avg record low F = 8.0 |Mar avg record low F = 17.6 |Apr avg record low F = 24.4 |May avg record low F = 29.0 |Jun avg record low F = 36.8 |Jul avg record low F = 43.0 |Aug avg record low F = 40.3 |Sep avg record low F = 30.7 |Oct avg record low F = 21.4 |Nov avg record low F = 13.5 |Dec avg record low F = 8.3 |year avg record low F = -0.7

| Jan record low F = -33 | Feb record low F = -30 | Mar record low F = -3 | Apr record low F = 12 | May record low F = 19 | Jun record low F = 25 | Jul record low F = 30 | Aug record low F = 23 | Sep record low F = 12 | Oct record low F = 10 | Nov record low F = -13 | Dec record low F = -31 | year record low F = -33

|access-date = April 19, 2024}}{{cite web |access-date = April 19, 2024}}

Demographics

U.S. Decennial Census

Since the 1980s, the Cle Elum area has become a satellite bedroom community for "super commuters" who work 85 mi away in Seattle and other cities in the Puget Sound region.

2010 census

As of the 2010 census, there were 1,872 people, 857 households, and 500 families residing in the city. The population density was 490.1 PD/sqmi. There were 1,105 housing units at an average density of 289.3 /sqmi. The racial makeup of the city was 92.1% White, 0.4% African American, 0.7% Native American, 1.0% Asian, 0.1% Pacific Islander, 1.7% from other races, and 4.0% from two or more races. Hispanic or Latino of any race were 5.8% of the population.

There were 857 households, of which 27.9% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 39.6% were married couples living together, 12.4% had a female householder with no husband present, 6.4% had a male householder with no wife present, and 41.7% were non-families. 34.2% of all households were made up of individuals, and 13.7% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.18 and the average family size was 2.76.

The median age in the city was 41 years. 22% of residents were under the age of 18; 7.7% were between the ages of 18 and 24; 25.3% were from 25 to 44; 27.6% were from 45 to 64; and 17.4% were 65 years of age or older. The gender makeup of the city was 50.2% male and 49.8% female.

2000 census

As of the 2000 census, there were 1,755 people, 792 households, and 1448 families residing in the city. The population density was 1,182.8 people per square mile (457.8/km2). There were 956 housing units at an average density of 644.3 per square mile (249.4/km2). The racial makeup of the city was 95.16% White, 0.51% African American, 1.03% Native American, 0.57% Asian, 0.85% from other races, and 1.88% from two or more races. Hispanic or Latino of any race were 3.36% of the population.

There were 792 households, out of which 67.4% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 63.1% were married couples living together, 10.9% had a female householder with no husband present, and 43.4% were non-families. 35.4% of all households were made up of individuals, and 16.2% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.22 and the average family size was 2.87.

In the city, the population was spread out, with 23.2% under the age of 18, 7.6% from 18 to 24, 26.7% from 25 to 44, 24.6% from 45 to 64, and 17.9% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 40 years. For every 100 females, there were 93.1 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 92.3 males.

The median income for a household in the city was $28,144, and the median income for a family was $39,000. Males had a median income of $32,750 versus $26,645 for females. The per capita income for the city was $16,620. About 17.4% of families and 20.8% of the population were below the poverty line, including 22.3% of those under age 18 and 18.5% of those age 65 or over.

Government

Cle Elum is classified as a Code city and has a non-partisan mayor–council form of government, with the mayor and seven council members elected at-large for staggered four-year terms. , the city government has 29 employees and a general fund of $5 million. It includes a fire department and police department among other municipal services.

In June 2025, the City of Cle Elum filed for bankruptcy, citing insolvency due to an outstanding $26 million debt from a development dispute, after garnishments to seize bank accounts were initiated.

Newspaper

• Northern Kittitas County Tribune

Notable people

• Chuck Allen, American football player
• Champ Butler, singer
• Allen Larsen, ultramarathon cyclist
• Douglas Albert Munro, the first and only member of the U.S. Coast Guard to receive the Medal of Honor
• Dick Scobee, astronaut killed in the Space Shuttle Challenger disaster
• George Strugar, American football player
• Don Watts, American entrepreneur and founder of Swiftwater Cellars in Suncadia Resort

References

Bibliography

References

1. https://cleelum.gov/mayors-office
2. "2019 U.S. Gazetteer Files". United States Census Bureau.
3. {{GNIS. 2409476
4. (May 2023). "Census Bureau profile: Cle Elum, Washington". [[United States Census Bureau]].
5. Kershner, Jim. (October 11, 2013). "Cle Elum -- Thumbnail History".
6. Kershner, Jim. (October 5, 2013). "South Cle Elum -- Thumbnail History".
7. Pittman, Justin. (July 24, 2012). "Salmon la Sac area has a long and storied history".
8. Stecker, Tiffany. (2016-09-28). "Deal could end bitter Wash. battle, but not everyone's happy".
9. (2009). "Indian Treaty Fishing Rights and Habitat Protection: The Martinez Decision Supplies a Resounding Judicial Reaffirmation". Natural Resources Journal.
10. Meany, Edmond S.. (1923). "Origin of Washington Geographic Names". University of Washington Press.
11. "Cle Elum". Tacoma Public Library.
12. "Powder Blows Bodies to Bits; Magazine explodes near Cle Elum Wash. ''[[The Oregonian]]'' 17 July 1908.
13. Upton, Austin. "IWW Yearbook 1910". [[University of Washington]].
14. Robertson. (6 December 1910). "Strike On: Help Out the Loggers". [[Industrial Worker]].
15. "Good Roads O. K.' D. in Record Time. Washington Legislature Brings Fight to Peaceable Termination" ''The Oregonian'' 04 Mar. 1913.
16. "Cle Elum Bank Charter Approved" ''The Oregonian'' 22 Nov. 1913.
17. "From Town of 100 Cle Elum Has 3000. Progressive Little Mining and Lumber City in Washington Grows Fast" ''The Oregonian'' 6 Aug. 1914.
18. "City Of Tents Is Rising American Red Cross Sends Shelters From Camp Lewis", ''The Oregonian'', June 28, 1918.
19. (January 30, 2025). "Cle Elum council votes to seek Chapter 9 bankruptcy". [[Yakima Herald-Republic]].
20. Brunner, Jim. (January 8, 2025). "Cle Elum considers bankruptcy amid $22M debt in development dispute". The Seattle Times.
21. Everman, Hannah. (2025-06-25). "Cle Elum files for bankruptcy over $26M debt to developer over delayed housing project".
22. Hoang, Mai. (2025-06-26). "Cle Elum files for bankruptcy to settle $22 million judgment".
23. Braun, Martin Z.. (June 25, 2025). "Small City in Washington State Files Rare Bankruptcy Over Developer Dispute". [[Bloomberg News]].
24. "US Gazetteer files 2010". [[United States Census Bureau]].
25. "Cle Elum, Washington Period of Record General Climate Summary - Temperature". [[Western Regional Climate Center]], Desert Research Institute.
26. "Cle Elum, Washington - Climate Summary". [[Western Regional Climate Center]], Desert Research Institute.
27. (May 2020). "Annual Estimates of the Resident Population for Incorporated Places in Washington: April 1, 2010 to July 1, 2019". United States Census Bureau.
28. Moffatt, Riley. ''Population History of Western U.S. Cities & Towns, 1850-1990''. [[Lanham, Maryland. Lanham]]: Scarecrow, 1996, 316.
29. United States Census Bureau. "Census of Population and Housing".
30. Clutter, Stephen. (February 16, 1998). "85 miles: That's a commute". The Seattle Times.
31. "U.S. Census website". [[United States Census Bureau]].
32. (June 2016). "City of Cle Elum Council & Commission Operating Policies & Procedures Manual". City of Cle Elum.
33. Young, Marcus. (June 24, 2025). "City of Cle Elum Files for Chapter 9 Bankruptcy to Protect Residents and City Services".
34. Reporter, Chris Daniels, KOMO News Senior. (2025-06-26). "Cle Elum declares bankruptcy over $26M debt, leaving residents in uncertainty".
35. (2025-06-25). "Cle Elum declares bankruptcy over $26M debt".
36. O'Brien, Joan. (May 10, 1981). "Butler Wants To Be Champ Again". [[The Los Angeles Times]].