Leavenworth, Washington
Location of Leavenworth, Washington
Coordinates: 47°35′47″N 120°39′55″W / 47.59639, -120.66528
Country	United States
State	Washington
County	Chelan
Area
- Total	1.3 sq mi (3.2 km²)
- Land	1.2 sq mi (3.2 km²)
- Water	0.0 sq mi (0.0 km²)
Elevation	1,171 ft (357 m)
Population (2000)
- Total	2,074
- Density	1,675.6/sq mi (647.0/km²)
Time zone	Pacific (PST) (UTC-8)
- Summer (DST)	PDT (UTC-7)
ZIP code	98826
Area code(s)	509
FIPS code	53-38845[1]
GNIS feature ID	1521981[2]

Leavenworth's main street reflects its modelling on a Bavarian village

Leavenworth is a city in Chelan County, Washington, United States. It is part of the Wenatchee, Washington Metropolitan Statistical Area. The population was 2,074 at the 2000 census.

History

The first route across Stevens Pass was built by the Great Northern Railway in 1892. The townsite was across the river from Icicle and was named Leavenworth the same year the rail construction began. Captain Charles Leavenworth, president of the Okanogan Investment Company, purchased the land in the present-day downtown and laid the streets parallel to the new railroad tracks.

The railroad construction was completed during the winter of 1893. Lafayette Lamb and his brother, Chauncery Lamb arrived in 1903 from Iowa to build the second largest sawmill in Washington state.

Leavenworth was officially incorporated on September 5, 1906. A small timber community, it became the headquarters of the Great North Railroad in the early 1900s. The railroad relocated to Wenatchee in the 1920s, greatly affecting Leavenworth's economy.

The city struggled until 1962, when the Project LIFE (Leavenworth Improvement For Everyone) Committee was formed to transform the city into a mock Bavarian village to revitalize its economy.^[3] In this same vein, Leavenworth is home to the Leavenworth Nutcracker Museum, which opened in 1995 and contains more than 5,000 nutcrackers dating from prehistoric to modern.^[4] Leavenworth's annual Oktoberfest celebration is claimed to be one of the most attended in the world outside Munich, Germany.^[5] or the Kitchener-Waterloo Oktoberfest held in Ontario, Canada where attendance last year (2006) was expected to top 700,000.

In November 2007 Good Morning America went to Leavenworth for Holiday Gifts for the Globe where GMA helped light up the town for the Christmas Holiday. Leavenworth was also named the Ultimate HolidayTown USA by A&E.^[6]

Geography

Leavenworth is located at 47°35′47″N, 120°39′55″W (47.596341, -120.665224)^[7].

According to the United States Census Bureau, the city has a total area of 1.2 square miles (3.2 km²), of which, 1.2 square miles (3.2 km²) of it is land and 0.80% is water.

Demographics

As of the census^[1] of 2000, there are 2,074 people, 899 households, and 543 families residing in the city. The population density is 1,675.6 people per square mile (645.8/km²). There are 1,107 housing units at an average density of 894.4/sq mi (344.7/km²). The racial makeup of the city is 93.64% White, 0.10% African American, 1.45% Native American, 0.34% Asian, 0.10% Pacific Islander, 3.04% from other races, and 1.35% from two or more races. 6.17% of the population are Hispanic or Latino of any race.

There are 899 households out of which 28.7% have children under the age of 18 living with them, 46.4% are married couples living together, 10.9% have a female householder with no husband present, and 39.5% are non-families. 32.9% of all households are made up of individuals and 16.7% have someone living alone who is 65 years of age or older. The average household size is 2.31 and the average family size is 2.93.

In the city the population is spread out with 24.8% under the age of 18, 6.5% from 18 to 24, 25.0% from 25 to 44, 25.0% from 45 to 64, and 18.6% who are 65 years of age or older. The median age is 41 years. For every 100 females there are 88.2 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there are 83.2 males.

The median income for a household in the city is $35,692, and the median income for a family is $48,347. Males have a median income of $35,165 versus $23,854 for females. The per capita income for the city is $18,709. 8.3% of the population and 5.2% of families are below the poverty line. Out of the total population, 9.5% of those under the age of 18 and 12.6% of those 65 and older are living below the poverty line.

External links

• City of Leavenworth website
• Leavenworth Chamber of Commerce
• Oktoberfest in Leavenworth
• Live web cam image
• Daily time-lapse animation of the downtown Leavenworth web cam
• Leavenworth Washington.mobi Mobile guide to Leavenworth Washington
• The Leavenworth Echo Leavenworth's weekly newspaper

• Leavenworth, Washington is at coordinates 47°35′47″N 120°39′55″W / 47.596341, -120.665224 (Leavenworth, Washington)Coordinates: 47°35′47″N 120°39′55″W / 47.596341, -120.665224 (Leavenworth, Washington)
• Leavenworth on the Cascade Loop

Notes

v â€¢ d â€¢ e Municipalities and communities of Chelan County, Washington County seat: Wenatchee Cities Cashmere | Chelan | Entiat | Leavenworth | Wenatchee CDPs South Wenatchee | Sunnyslope | West Wenatchee Unincorporated communities Appleyard | Ardenvoir | Blewett | Chelan Falls | Chiwaukum | Chumstick | Dryden | Grant Road Addition | Holden Village | Kenroy | Lakeside | Lucerne | Malaga | Manson | Merritt | Mission Square | Monitor | Pearcot | Peshastin | Plain | Stehekin | Telma | Wenatchee Heights | Winton