Woodinville, Washington

History

The area along the Sammamish River, including modern-day Woodinville, is the historic territory of the indigenous Sammamish people. Other Coast Salish peoples also occupied and used the lands in the area, including a Duwamish subgroup known as the "willow people".

In 1871, Ira Woodin and his wife Susan moved from Seattle and traveled up the Sammamish River where they built a cabin. They planned to log timber and farm cattle.{{cite book |author=Clara Woodin Ernst|title=Pioneers Now and Then|publisher=Metropolitan Press

Like other nearby towns, Woodinville began as a logging community and became a farming center in the early decades of the 20th century. After World War II, it developed as a suburb of Seattle. In 1969, rock bands including Led Zeppelin and The Guess Who performed at the Seattle Pop Festival at Woodinville's Gold Creek Park.

The community sought either incorporation as a city or annexation by neighboring Bothell in the 1970s to improve services. A later attempt by Bothell to annex portions of Woodinville in 1985 was halted but inspired an incorporation campaign. The residents of Woodinville voted for incorporation on May 19, 1992, the third attempt at becoming a city; a previous attempt had been rejected by a margin of 14 votes. Woodinville was officially incorporated on March 27, 1993.

In the late 1990s, Woodinville attempted to annex the adjacent community of Grace in Snohomish County. The county's government and the State Boundary Review Board rejected the proposal, citing the loss of tax revenue and legal issues with providing policing due to Woodinville's contracts with the King County Sheriff's Office. The area was also considered for a branch campus of the University of Washington that was ultimately built in Bothell.

Geography

Woodinville is located east of Bothell and northeast of Kirkland in northern King County. According to the United States Census Bureau, the city has a total area of 5.62 sqmi, of which, 5.60 sqmi is land and 0.02 sqmi is water.

Neighborhoods

The city government has defined eleven geographic neighborhoods within the Woodinville city limits:

• East Wellington
• Lower West Ridge
• North Industrial – a mix of light industry and commercial developments east of Highway 522, extending towards the former community of Grace
• Reinwood Leota
• Tourist District
• Town Center
• Upper West Ridge
• Valley Industrial
• Wedge
• West Wellington
• Woodinville Heights

Demographics

|align-fn=center 2020 Census

2020 census

As of the 2020 census, there were 13,069 people in the city.

2010 census

As of the 2010 census, there were 10,938 people, 4,478 households, and 2,827 families residing in the city. The population density was 1953.2 PD/sqmi. There were 4,996 housing units at an average density of 892.1 /sqmi. The racial makeup of the city was 80.2% White, 1.4% African American, 0.4% Native American, 11.2% Asian, 0.2% Pacific Islander, 2.6% from other races, and 4.0% from two or more races. Hispanic or Latino of any race were 7.3% of the population.

There were 4,478 households, of which 32.2% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 51.9% were married couples living together, 8.2% had a female householder with no husband present, 3.0% had a male householder with no wife present, and 36.9% were non-families. 30.2% of all households were made up of individuals, and 10.4% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.43 and the average family size was 3.07.

The median age in the city was 38.9 years. 23.7% of residents were under the age of 18; 7.1% were between the ages of 18 and 24; 29.4% were from 25 to 44; 28.7% were from 45 to 64; and 11.1% were 65 years of age or older. The gender makeup of the city was 48.7% male and 51.3% female.

2000 census

The median income for a household in the city in 2000 was $68,114, and the median income for a family was $81,251. Males had a median income of $53,214 versus $35,404 for females. The per capita income for the city was $31,458. 4.4% of the population and 2.7% of families were below the poverty line. 4.7% of those under the age of 18 and 1.9% of those 65 and older were living below the poverty line.

Based on per capita income, one of the more reliable measures of affluence, Woodinville ranked 34th of 522 areas in the state of Washington to be ranked by the 2000 Census.

Economy

Woodinville's economy is a mix of light industrial, retail, and tourism. The city and the surrounding area has approximately 130 wineries and tasting rooms that showcase wines from grapes grown in Eastern Washington. The wineries in the "Woodinville wine country" include Chateau Ste. Michelle, which also hosts a summer concert series, DeLille Cellars, and Matthews Winery.

From 1992 to 2007, the Spirit of Washington Dinner Train traveled from Renton to the Columbia Winery in Woodinville. The service was moved to Tacoma and later ceased operations. At the time of the shutdown, the operator had proposed extending the dinner train service north from Woodinville to Snohomish.

Arts and culture

Civic events include Celebrate Woodinville Summer Concerts and Festival, and Celebrate Woodinville Winterfest.

City landmarks

The City of Woodinville has designated the following landmarks:

Government

Police

Woodinville contracts with the King County Sheriff's Office for law enforcement services. Deputies assigned to Woodinville wear city uniforms and drive patrol cars marked with the city logo. There are currently nine patrol officers, one school resource officer, one sergeant and one chief assigned full-time to the city.

Education

Most of Woodinville is served by the Northshore School District; however, the extreme southwestern portions of the city lie within the Lake Washington School District. To serve the city, Northshore School District has one high school (Woodinville High School), two middle schools, and six elementary schools. Lake Washington School District has two elementary schools that serve some Woodinville neighborhoods.

In addition to public schools, the city has several private schools and alternative education options, including a Montessori school, a branch of the Bellevue Christian School, and the Chrysalis School.

Infrastructure

Transportation

The Woodinville Subdivision, a spur railroad operated by BNSF Railway, was used for freight and occasional passenger use until it was decommissioned in 2008. The Spirit of Washington Dinner Train, serving the Columbia Winery, ran until July 31, 2007. The railroad was acquired by the Port of Seattle in 2009 and sold to various local governments for use as a regional pedestrian and cyclist trail, known as the Eastside Rail Corridor or Eastrail. The corridor was also proposed for use by a commuter rail service to connect Woodinville to Bellevue and other Eastside destinations, but was determined to be too costly.

Woodinville is served by King County Metro and Sound Transit Express buses with a hub at a park-and-ride lot in downtown.

Notable people

• Alicia Barker, soccer player
• Ethan Bartlow, soccer player
• Bruce Bochte, former first baseman and left fielder for the Seattle Mariners and Oakland Athletics.
• Brooke Butler, film and television actress
• Paul Christensen, soccer player
• Michael Conforto, professional baseball player
• J.P. Crawford, shortstop for the Seattle Mariners
• Andre Dillard, professional American football player
• Bud Ericksen, American football player and former Bothell mayor
• Anu Garg, author and speaker
• Caleb Hamilton, professional baseball player
• Alma Mana'o, soccer player who represented the American Samoa women's national team
• Peg Phillips, actress (most well-known for Northern Exposure) and founder of the Woodinville Repertory Theatre
• Richard Sanders, actor and writer best known for playing news director Les Nessman on WKRP in Cincinnati.
• Kelly Tanner, racing driver
• Marques Tuiasosopo, former NFL quarterback and assistant college football coach
• Marah Wagner, professional hockey player
• Marc Wilson, former NFL quarterback previously lived in Woodinville
• Nancy Wilson, musician and guitarist of the band Heart

References

References

1. "About Woodinville". City of Woodinville.
2. "Woodinville WA Council Members".
3. "2020 U.S. Gazetteer Files". United States Census Bureau.
4. {{GNIS. 2412298
5. "Explore Census Data". [[United States Census Bureau]].
6. Blecha, Peter. (June 23, 2017). "Hollywood Farm (Woodinville)". [[HistoryLink]].
7. Dougherty, Phil. (May 18, 2011). "Woodinville — Thumbnail History". HistoryLink.
8. Pryne, Eric. (December 22, 1976). "Woodinville—'identity' area in search of a city". [[The Seattle Times]].
9. Schulz, Blaine. (May 8, 1985). "Woodinville may get it together". The Seattle Times.
10. Wilma, David. (March 11, 2006). "Woodinville residents celebrate incorporation on March 27, 1993.". [[HistoryLink]].
11. Glover, Darrell. (August 24, 1995). "'Logical' link to Woodinville hits a dead end". Seattle Post-Intelligencer.
12. Kelly, Brian. (September 2, 1999). "Woodinville will try again to gain Grace". The Seattle Times.
13. Harris, Cheryl M.. (December 11, 1997). "County is putting up a fight for Grace". The Seattle Times.
14. Brooks, Diane. (March 9, 1998). "Future arrives for Maltby, Grace". The Seattle Times.
15. "US Gazetteer files 2010". [[United States Census Bureau]].
16. "City of Woodinville Interactive Map". City of Woodinville.
17. Clutter, Stephen. (September 2, 1993). "There, by Grace, go I". The Seattle Times.
18. (September 7, 2023). "City and Town Population Totals: 2020-2022". United States Census Bureau.
19. "Census of Population and Housing". United States Census Bureau.
20. Cornwell, Paige. (June 28, 2022). "Fate of King County wineries, breweries and distilleries once again in County Council's hands". The Seattle Times.
21. Perdue, Andy. (August 5, 2016). "Acclaimed DeLille winemaker Chris Upchurch is growing grapes for his own winery". The Seattle Times.
22. Nohara, Yoshiaki. (June 13, 2007). "Snohomish loses out on dinner train – for now". The Everett Herald.
23. Velush, Lukas. (October 29, 2007). "Spirit of Washington Dinner Train closes". The Everett Herald.
24. "Celebrate Woodinville - Sip, Savor, Celebrate!".
25. [http://your.kingcounty.gov/exec/bred/hpp/assist/T06_landmark-lst.doc King County and Local Landmarks List]{{Dead link. (January 2026)
26. [http://www.kingcounty.gov/depts/elections/elections/past-elections.aspx King County Elections]
27. "Schools & Boundaries". [[Northshore School District]].
28. (November 2021). "Lake Washington School District". [[Lake Washington School District]].
29. Boba, Eleanor. (September 17, 2018). "Spirit of Washington Dinner Train on Lake Washington (King County), 1992-2007". HistoryLink.
30. (September 2024). "Metro Transit System: Northeast Area". [[King County Metro]].
31. "Ethan Bartlow".
32. Pileggi, Sarah. (July 19, 1982). "Seattle: City Life At Its best".
33. Hamilton, Kristen. (October 9, 2018). "A Star is Born…Brooke Butler".
34. (May 4, 2018). "Atlanta United Signs Paul Christensen to Short-Term Agreement".
35. Rubin, Adam. (July 24, 2015). "Mets call up prospect Michael Conforto after placing Michael Cuddyer on DL". ABC News.
36. "J.P. Crawford Stats, Age, Position, Height, Weight, Fantasy & News".
37. (January 30, 2023). "NFL Locals: Four area players, three from Washington State and one from Idaho, will suit up for Super Bowl LVII". [[The Spokesman-Review]].
38. Raley, Dan. (August 2, 2005). "Where Are They Now: Ex-Husky Bud Ericksen". Seattle Post-Intelligencer.
39. Rahner, Mark. (January 6, 2008). "Anu Garg – He's a man of his words". The Seattle Times.
40. "Alma Mana'o".
41. "About Us - Woodinville Repertory Theatre". woodinvillerep.org.
42. "Peg Phillips Theater Arts Scholarship". ns-scholarship.org.
43. (April 27, 2007). "Woodinville's Richard Sanders talks about "WKRP in Cincinnati"". The Seattle Times.
44. Rockne, Dick. (March 31, 1996). "Auto racing: Evans wins race at Monroe". The Seattle Times.
45. "UCLA Bruins".
46. Shefte, Kate. (November 18, 2025). "Torrent could break camp with Seattle native on roster". The Seattle Times.
47. (December 20, 2006). "Where Are They Now? Marc Wilson, former Shorecrest, BYU, NFL quarterback".
48. Macdonald, Moira. (October 13, 2005). "An interview with Cameron Crowe, director of "Elizabethtown"". The Seattle Times.