Spanaway, Washington
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Spanaway is a
census-designated place A census-designated place (CDP) is a Place (United States Census Bureau), concentration of population defined by the United States Census Bureau for statistical purposes only. CDPs have been used in each decennial census since 1980 as the counte ...
(CDP) in
Pierce County, Washington Pierce County is a County (United States), county in the U.S. state of Washington (state), Washington. As of the 2020 United States census, 2020 census, the population was 921,130, up from 795,225 in 2010, making it the second-most populous ...
, United States. The population was 35,476 at the 2020 census, up from 27,227 in 2010. Spanaway is an
unincorporated area An unincorporated area is a parcel of land that is not governed by a local general-purpose municipal corporation. (At p. 178.) They may be governed or serviced by an encompassing unit (such as a county) or another branch of the state (such as th ...
near
Tacoma Tacoma ( ) is the county seat of Pierce County, Washington, United States. A port city, it is situated along Washington's Puget Sound, southwest of Seattle, southwest of Bellevue, northeast of the state capital, Olympia, northwest of Mount ...
, and is often identified together with the more urban, less wealthy Parkland. Spanaway's main business thoroughfare is Pacific Avenue South, which is a north–south road that coincides with State Route 7 through the Spanaway area.


History

The
Hudson's Bay Company The Hudson's Bay Company (HBC), originally the Governor and Company of Adventurers of England Trading Into Hudson’s Bay, is a Canadian holding company of department stores, and the oldest corporation in North America. It was the owner of the ...
, headquartered at
Fort Nisqually Fort Nisqually was an important fur trade, fur trading and farming post of the Hudson's Bay Company in the Puget Sound area, part of the Hudson's Bay Company's Columbia Department. It was located in what is now DuPont, Washington. Today it is a ...
, had control of this region until 1863. Company maps and journals show the company's subsidiary, the
Pugets Sound Agricultural Company The Puget Sound Agricultural Company (PSAC), with common variations of the name including Puget Sound or Puget's Sound, was a subsidiary joint stock company formed in 1840 by the Hudson's Bay Company (HBC). Its stations operated within the Pacific N ...
, raised cattle, grain, and sheep at "Spanueh Station" on the south and east shores of "Spanueh Lake." Spanueh is the Hudson Bay Company's spelling of the native
Lushootseed Lushootseed ( ), historically known as Puget Salish, Puget Sound Salish, or Skagit-Nisqually, is a Central Coast Salish language of the Salishan language family. Lushootseed is the general name for the dialect continuum composed of two main di ...
''spadue'', which means "dug roots" referring to an area where camas and other edible roots can be found. Lushootseed underwent a loss of nasal consonants in the 1800s, so "Spanueh" simply transcribes an older pronunciation of what is now "Spadue". The first white settler to take a donation claim by the lake, Henry de la Bushalier, tried to rename the lake after himself. That faded away with his death one year later. In 1890 the area was renamed "Lake Park" as a planned community by the Lake Park Land, Railway and Improvement Company, which bought all the nearby land east of the lake and built a rail line to its "recreation mecca" on the shore of "Spanaway Lake." When
Mount Rainier National Park Mount Rainier National Park is a List of national parks of the United States, national park of the United States located in southeast Pierce County, Washington, Pierce County and northeast Lewis County, Washington, Lewis County in Washington (sta ...
was established in 1899, tourists would take the train to its terminus in Lake Park and from there make the two-day journey to Mount Rainier, making Spanaway the original "gateway" to
Mount Rainier Mount Rainier ( ), also known as Tahoma, is a large active stratovolcano in the Cascade Range of the Pacific Northwest in the United States. The mountain is located in Mount Rainier National Park about south-southeast of Seattle. With an off ...
. The journey was made by
stagecoach A stagecoach (also: stage coach, stage, road coach, ) is a four-wheeled public transport coach used to carry paying passengers and light packages on journeys long enough to need a change of horses. It is strongly sprung and generally drawn by ...
, with an overnight stop in Eatonville; the route was in operation as early as 1893. Although the U.S. Board on Geographic Names recognized the community of "Lake Park" in 1897, it had to very belatedly reverse its decision in 1970 to accept common usage: Spanaway (Spanueh). In the 21st century, several attempts were made to incorporate Spanaway and neighboring communities into a city.


Geography

According to the
United States Census Bureau The United States Census Bureau, officially the Bureau of the Census, is a principal agency of the Federal statistical system, U.S. federal statistical system, responsible for producing data about the American people and American economy, econ ...
, the CDP has a total area of 8.7 square miles (22.6 km2), of which, 8.3 square miles (21.6 km2) of it is land and 0.4 square miles (1.0 km2) of it (4.25%) is water.


Surrounding communities


Demographics

As of the census of 2000, there were 21,588 people, 7,659 households, and 5,820 families residing in the CDP. The population density was 2,592.0 people per square mile (1,000.6/km2). There were 7,963 housing units at an average density of 956.1/sq mi (369.1/km2). The racial makeup of the CDP was 71.13%
White White is the lightest color and is achromatic (having no chroma). It is the color of objects such as snow, chalk, and milk, and is the opposite of black. White objects fully (or almost fully) reflect and scatter all the visible wa ...
, 9.11%
African American African Americans, also known as Black Americans and formerly also called Afro-Americans, are an Race and ethnicity in the United States, American racial and ethnic group that consists of Americans who have total or partial ancestry from an ...
, 1.61% Native American, 6.34%
Asian American Asian Americans are Americans with ancestry from the continent of Asia (including naturalized Americans who are immigrants from specific regions in Asia and descendants of those immigrants). Although this term had historically been used fo ...
, 2.12%
Pacific Islander Pacific Islanders, Pasifika, Pasefika, Pacificans, or rarely Pacificers are the peoples of the list of islands in the Pacific Ocean, Pacific Islands. As an ethnic group, ethnic/race (human categorization), racial term, it is used to describe th ...
, 2.15% from other races, and 7.55% from two or more races. There were 7,659 households, out of which 40.4% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 57.1% were married couples living together, 13.6% had a female householder with no husband present, and 24.0% were non-families. 18.2% of all households were made up of individuals, and 4.8% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.82 and the average family size was 3.17. In the CDP, the age distribution of the population shows 30.0% under the age of 18, 8.4% from 18 to 24, 32.7% from 25 to 44, 21.5% from 45 to 64, and 7.3% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 33 years. For every 100 females, there were 99.3 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 96.2 males. The median income for a household in the CDP was $46,210, and the median income for a family was $50,076. Males had a median income of $35,525 versus $26,758 for females. The
per capita income Per capita income (PCI) or average income measures the average income earned per person in a given area (city, region, country, etc.) in a specified year. In many countries, per capita income is determined using regular population surveys, such ...
for the CDP was $17,928. About 7.8% of families and 10.8% of the population were below the
poverty line The poverty threshold, poverty limit, poverty line, or breadline is the minimum level of income deemed adequate in a particular country. The poverty line is usually calculated by estimating the total cost of one year's worth of necessities for ...
, including 15.5% of those under age 18 and 7.3% of those age 65 or over.


Notable people

* Mike Blowers,
MLB Major League Baseball (MLB) is a professional baseball league composed of 30 teams, divided equally between the National League (baseball), National League (NL) and the American League (AL), with 29 in the United States and 1 in Canada. MLB i ...
baseball player *
Jerry Cantrell Jerry Fulton Cantrell Jr. (born March 18, 1966) is an American guitarist, singer, and songwriter. He is best known as the founder, lead guitarist, co-lead vocalist, and main songwriter of the rock band Alice in Chains. The band rose to internatio ...
,
Alice In Chains Alice in Chains (often abbreviated as AiC) is an American rock band formed in Seattle in 1987. Since 2006, the band's lineup has comprised vocalist/guitarists Jerry Cantrell and William DuVall, bassist Mike Inez, and drummer Sean Kinney. Voca ...
guitarist * Jacob Castro, soccer player *
Ezra Cleveland Ezra Cleveland (born May 8, 1998) is an American professional football guard for the Jacksonville Jaguars of the National Football League (NFL). He played college football for the Boise State Broncos and was drafted by the Minnesota Vikings in th ...
,
NFL The National Football League (NFL) is a professional American football league in the United States. Composed of 32 teams, it is divided equally between the American Football Conference (AFC) and the National Football Conference (NFC). The N ...
player for the
Jacksonville Jaguars The Jacksonville Jaguars are a professional American football team based in Jacksonville, Florida. The Jaguars compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member of the American Football Conference (AFC) AFC South, South division. The team ...
*
Derrike Cope Derrike Wayne Cope (born November 3, 1958) is an American professional stock car racing driver and team owner. He is best known for his surprise win in the 1990 Daytona 500. He last competed in the NASCAR Cup Series, driving the No. 15 Chevrolet ...
,
NASCAR The National Association for Stock Car Auto Racing, LLC (NASCAR) is an American auto racing sanctioning and operating company that is best known for stock car racing. It is considered to be one of the top ranked motorsports organizations in ...
driver * Jo Koy, stand-up comedian *
Rick Story Rick Story (born August 28, 1984) is a retired American mixed martial artist. A professional from 2007 to 2018, he last competed for the Professional Fighters League, but is better known for his 19-fight tenure with the UFC. Background Story ...
,
Ultimate Fighting Championship The Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC) is an American mixed martial arts (MMA) promoter (entertainment), promotion company based in Las Vegas, Nevada. It is owned and operated by TKO Group Holdings, a majority owned subsidiary of Endeavor ( ...
fighter * Vinnie Chas, bass player for Pretty Boy Floyd


Education

Public schools in Spanaway are part of the Bethel School District:


Elementary schools

* Camas Prairie Elementary School * Centennial Elementary School * Clover Creek Elementary School * Evergreen Elementary School (2018 National Blue Ribbon Award Winning School) * Naches Trail Elementary School * Pioneer Valley Elementary School * Shining Mountain Elementary School * Spanaway Elementary School * Thompson Elementary School


Junior high schools

* Bethel Middle School * Cedarcrest Middle School * Liberty Middle School * Spanaway Middle School * Cougar Mountain Middle School


High schools

* Bethel High School * Challenger Secondary School * Spanaway Lake High School


Private schools

* Bethel Baptist Christian School (grades K4-12) * Elk Plain School of Choice (elementary grades)


Nearby postsecondary schools

*
Pacific Lutheran University Pacific Lutheran University (PLU) is a Private university, private Evangelical Lutheran Church in America, Lutheran university in Parkland, Washington. It was founded by Norwegian Lutheran immigrants in 1890. PLU is sponsored by the 580 congreg ...
(Parkland) * Colleges in Tacoma * Colleges in Lakewood * Colleges in Puyallup * Colleges offering courses at Joint Base Lewis-McChord


References


External links


Pierce County
- Information about the Parkland-Spanaway-Midland Communities Plan
Spanaway Water Company
{{authority control Census-designated places in Pierce County, Washington Census-designated places in Washington (state)