Auburn, Washington


Auburn is a city in King County, with a small portion in Pierce County, Washington, United States. The population was 70,180 at the 2010 United States Census. Auburn is a suburb in the Seattle metropolitan area, currently ranked the fifteenth largest city in the state of Washington.
Auburn is bordered by the cities of Federal Way, Pacific, and Algona to the west, Sumner to the south, Kent to the north, and unincorporated King County to the east. The Muckleshoot Indian Reservation is in or near the southern city limits.

History

The first non-indigenous settlers in the Green River Valley arrived in the 1850s, but were temporarily driven out by Indian wars later that decade. Several settler families returned in the 1860s, including Levi Ballard, who set up a homestead between the Green and White rivers. Ballard filed for a plat to establish a town in February 1886, naming it Slaughter for an officer slain during the Indian wars in 1855.
Slaughter was incorporated on June 13, 1891, but its name was changed two years later to Auburn on February 21, 1893, by an action of the state legislature. Newer residents had disliked the name and its connection to the word "", especially after the town's hotel was named the Slaughter House. The name Auburn was chosen in honor of Auburn, New York, for the area's shared reliance on hops farming.
The White and Green Rivers have been a major part of the history and culture of Auburn since the area was settled with multiple locations in the city being named after either of the two rivers. Frequent flooding from the rivers caused numerous problems for the people living in the community with one outcome being the creation of Mountain View Cemetery over on one of the hills overlooking the valley. It was not until the completion of the Mud Mountain Dam and the Howard A. Hanson Dam, along the White River and Green River respectively, that the flooding would cease and allow the city to grow without the aforementioned hurdle impeding the growth.
In 1917 the city, in response to the growing of the Japanese community, donated some of the land in Pioneer Cemetery to the White River Buddhist Church. A little over ten years later, Rev. Giryo Takemura, minister of the church at the time, and his future son-in-law, Chiyokichi Natsuhara, raised money to replace the old wooden sticks and columns that had been in use as gravestones at the Cemetery with more durable concrete markers. The interwar period saw several Japanese-American baseball teams from the area compete in the courier league with the White River All-Stars enjoying particularly large success winning four of the July 4th tournaments.
In 1930 a Japanese bath house was constructed outside of Neely Mansion by the then current tenants.
The onset of the Second World War saw the Japanese-American community of Auburn become seen with largely unwarranted distrust by many of the white residents of Auburn. This, combined with a larger countrywide Japanese focused xenophobia, led to the city's Japanese-American population being relocated to internment camps. After the war, of about 300 Japanese families living in Auburn only around twenty five returned.
In 2008, Auburn annexed the West Hill and Lea Hill neighborhoods of unincorporated King County, adding 15,000 residents and expanding its land area by 26 percent.

Geography and climate

Auburn is located at .
According to the United States Census Bureau, the city has a total area of, of which, is land and is water.
Two rivers, the White River and, to a greater extent, the Green River flow through Auburn.
Historically, the Stuck River ran through the settlement of Stuck, which is now a small pocket of unincorporated King County within southern Auburn. In 1906, the flow of the White River was diverted into the Stuck's channel near today's Game Farm Park. References to the Stuck River still appear in some property legal descriptions and place names, e.g. Stuck River Drive, within Auburn, but today it is essentially indistinguishable from the southern White River.

Parks

Auburn has an extensive system of parks, open space and urban trails consisting of 28 developed parks, over of trails, and almost of open space for passive and active recreation.

Transportation

Auburn has many large roads nearby and within city limits, including State Route 167 and State Route 18. Auburn also has its own transit center, Auburn station in downtown, that serves as a major hub for southern King County. Sound Transit buses connect the Auburn Transit Center directly to the Federal Way, Sumner, and Kent, while King County Metro buses connect the Transit Center to Green River Community College, the Super Mall, and Auburn Way.
Sounder commuter trains travel from Auburn to Downtown Seattle in approximately 30 minutes, and to Lakewood station in less than 35 minutes.
Until 1987 Auburn was also the home for a steam locomotive roundhouse and diesel engine house of the Northern Pacific Railway, the BNSF Railway of today. BNSF maintains a rail yard and small car repair facility, along with maintenance-of-way facilities at the former NP yard. The Auburn Municipal Airport serves the general aviation community.

Demographics

2010 census

As of the census of 2010, there were 70,180 people, 26,058 households, and 17,114 families residing in the city. The population density was. There were 27,834 housing units at an average density of. The racial makeup of the city was 70.5% White, 4.9% African American, 2.3% Native American, 8.9% Asian, 1.6% Pacific Islander, 6.3% from other races, and 5.4% from two or more races. Hispanic or Latino people of any race were 12.9% of the population.
There were 26,058 households of which 36.2% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 46.7% were married couples living together, 13.0% had a female householder with no husband present, 5.9% had a male householder with no wife present, and 34.3% were non-families. 25.6% of all households were made up of individuals and 7.9% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.67 and the average family size was 3.22.
The median age in the city was 34.4 years. 25.9% of residents were under the age of 18; 10.5% were between the ages of 18 and 24; 27.9% were from 25 to 44; 25.5% were from 45 to 64; and 10.2% were 65 years of age or older. The gender makeup of the city was 49.4% male and 50.6% female.

2000 census

As of the census of 2000, there were 40,314 people, 16,108 households, and 10,051 families residing in the city. The population density was 1,895.9 per square mile. There were 16,767 housing units at an average density of 788.5 per square mile. The racial makeup of the city was 82.80 percent White, 2.42 percent African American, 2.54 percent Native American, 3.50 percent Asian, 0.51 percent Pacific Islander, 3.66 percent from other races, and 4.56 percent from two or more races. Hispanic or Latino people of any race were 7.49 percent of the population.
There were 16,108 households out of which 32.8 percent had children under the age of eighteen living with them, 43.7 percent were married couples living together, 13.4 percent had a female householder with no husband present, and 37.6 percent were non-families. 29.1 percent of all households were made up of individuals and 9.1 percent had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.47 and the average family size was 3.05.
In the city the population was spread out with 26.6 percent under the age of eighteen, 9.5 percent from eighteen to 24, 31.6 percent from 25 to 44, 20.7 percent from 45 to 64, and 11.6 percent who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 34 years. For every 100 females, there were 98.5 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 95.5 males.
The median income for a household in the city was $39,208, and the median income for a family was $45,426. Males had a median income of $36,977 versus $27,476 for females. The per capita income for the city was $19,630. About 10.2 percent of families and 12.8 percent of the population were below the poverty line, including 15.3 percent of those under age 18 and 8.8 percent of those age 65 or over.

Neighborhoods

The city of Auburn is a mayor-council form of government meaning the mayor is a full-time, separately elected position. The current Mayor is Nancy Backus, who was first elected to the post in 2013 and re-elected in 2017. She is the first female to serve in the office since Auburn was incorporated in 1891.
Auburn is the site for the Northwest headquarters of United States General Services Administration.
Auburn is designated by the Veterans Day National Committee and the US Department of Veterans Affairs as a Regional Site for celebration of Veterans Day.

Auburn Police Department

See Auburn Police Department

Annexation

Using King County's Annexation Initiative, Auburn annexed Lea Hill and West Hill in 2008. With the annexation, the city grew in population from 40,314 to 68,000 and increased its land area from 21.26 square miles to 29.89 square miles.

Crime

According to the Uniform Crime Report statistics compiled by the Federal Bureau of Investigation in 2017, there were 376 violent crimes and 3,618 property crimes per 100,000 residents. Of these, the violent crimes consisted of three murders, 64 forcible rapes, 117 robberies and 192 aggravated assaults, while 732 burglaries, 2,124 larceny-thefts, 653 motor vehicle thefts and 19 acts of arson defined the property offenses.

Economy

Jobs

As of 2017 there are 60,118 jobs in Auburn and a 4.1% unemployment rate.
The Auburn Boeing Plant, opened in 1966, is the largest airplane parts plant in the world, with and 1.265 million parts being manufactured each year. With over 5,000 employees, the Boeing plant is the third major employer in Auburn.
According to Auburn's 2011 Comprehensive Annual Financial Report, the top employers in the city are:
#Employer# of employees
1Boeing5,993
2The Outlet Collection Seattle3,208
3Auburn School District2,410
4Muckleshoot Tribal Enterprises1,650
5Auburn Medical Center1,580
6Green River Community College1,315
7Emerald Downs1,162
8Safeway870
9Social Security Administration660
10Zones, Inc.644
10Certainteed Corporation–
10City of Auburn–

Recreation and entertainment

Auburn has an extensive system of parks, open space and urban trails: 28 developed parks, over of trails, and almost of open space for passive and active recreation.
The Outlet Collection Seattle, formerly SuperMall of the Great Northwest, is an outlet mall which opened in 1995.
Emerald Downs is a six-level stadium and thoroughbred racetrack. The racetrack is operated on land purchased by the Muckleshoot in 2002.
The White River Valley Museum's exhibits feature Auburn, from Native American history to the 1920s. They focus on the Muckleshoot Indian Tribe, pioneer life, immigration from Europe and Japan, truck farming, railroading and the building of towns throughout the area. Visitors can visit a recreation of a pioneer cabin, climb aboard a Northern Pacific Railway caboose, and investigate a recreation of the shops in 1924 downtown Auburn.
The White River Amphitheater is a 20,000-seat venue, located about east of the city limits.

Notable people

Currently the Auburn School District has 14 elementary schools, four middle schools and three high schools, making 21 schools in all. The district is larger than the city itself, serving the neighboring towns of Algona and Pacific, as well as some unincorporated areas around Auburn and Kent.
Green River College also resides in Auburn, atop Lea Hill.

High schools

ASD has three primary high schools:

Private and alternative high schools

Middle schools 6–8

The City of Auburn has designated the following landmarks:
LandmarkBuiltListedAddressPhoto
Auburn Masonic Temple1923–242002302–310 E. Main Street
Auburn Post Office1937200020 Auburn Avenue NE
Auburn Public Library19141995306 Auburn Avenue NE
Olson Farm1897–19021995, 200028728 Green River Road S

Image gallery

Sister cities

Auburn has four sister cities: Tamba, a city in the Hyōgo prefecture of Japan; Pyeongchang, South Korea; Guanghan, China; Yuhang, China; and Mola di Bari, Italy. The relationship with Tamba is commemorated with an annual student exchange program between the two cities and neighboring Kent.