Pe Ell, Washington
Location of Pe Ell, Washington
Coordinates: 46°34′17″N 123°17′49″W / 46.57139, -123.29694
Country	United States
State	Washington
County	Lewis
Area
- Total	0.6 sq mi (1.5 km²)
- Land	0.6 sq mi (1.5 km²)
- Water	0.0 sq mi (0.0 km²)
Elevation	420 ft (128 m)
Population (2000)
- Total	657
- Density	1,099.7/sq mi (424.6/km²)
Time zone	Pacific (PST) (UTC-8)
- Summer (DST)	PDT (UTC-7)
ZIP code	98572
Area code(s)	360
FIPS code	53-53930[1]
GNIS feature ID	1507338[2]

Pe Ell is a town in Lewis County, Washington, USA. The population was 657 at the 2000 census.

History

Pe Ell was officially incorporated on March 9, 1906. There have long been several versions of how Pe Ell was named, none of which can be authenticated. One of those versions, and the more accepted one, is that the name comes from the attempts of the local Indians to pronounce the first name of an early French-Canadian settler, Pierre Charles who was an ex-Hudson Bay employee. This version has it that the Indians could not pronounce Pierre and their attempts turned it into Pe Ell. Another version is that P and L were the first initials for Pierre Charles and his Indian wife so made two words from them, thus “Pe Ell”. Another distinct version is that Charlie Pershell, a Frenchman, settled in the area and married and Indian maiden. The Indians found it difficult to sound out the “sh” in Pershell so it became Pe Ell.^[3]

Pe Ell was incorporated March 5, 1906, though the earliest settlers date back to the mid-1800s. In 1855, a homesteader named Peter P. Ells lived near the current underpass on Highway 6, near the present location of the New Harvest Church on Maurerman RD. He is believed to the one of the first, if not the first, homesteaders in the area. On the census map was listed as Peter P. Ells [P. Ells].It was fitting that the taxman (census takers) would say they were going to P. Ells. His ethnicity was listed as neither white nor black. In 1897, the North Pacific Railway built a railroad depot in the town. In 1907, Pe Ell's population was around 1,000 --larger than it is today. The rich agricultural and timber resources of the region attracted farmers, millworkers, and loggers. By 1909, the town had a bank, three dry goods stores, two general stores, three grocery stores, two barber shops, five saloons, four hotels, a newspaper, a blacksmith, and even an opera house.

Geography

Pe Ell is located at 46°34′17″N, 123°17′49″W (46.571415, -123.296842)^[4].

According to the United States Census Bureau, the town has a total area of 0.6 square miles (1.6 km²), all of it land.

Demographics

As of the census^[1] of 2000, there were 657 people, 248 households, and 174 families residing in the town. The population density was 1,099.7 people per square mile (422.8/km²). There were 289 housing units at an average density of 483.7/sq mi (186.0/km²). The racial makeup of the town was 93.15% White, 0.30% African American, 2.28% Native American, 0.91% Asian, 0.61% Pacific Islander, 1.07% from other races, and 1.67% from two or more races. Hispanic or Latino of any race were 2.28% of the population. 23.5% were of American, 15.1% English, 12.8% German, 9.9% Irish and 8.5% Polish ancestry according to Census 2000.

There were 248 households out of which 33.9% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 54.8% were married couples living together, 8.9% had a female householder with no husband present, and 29.8% were non-families. 23.8% of all households were made up of individuals and 12.1% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.65 and the average family size was 3.17.

In the town the population was spread out with 30.6% under the age of 18, 7.3% from 18 to 24, 25.9% from 25 to 44, 22.2% from 45 to 64, and 14.0% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 34 years. For every 100 females there were 107.3 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 103.6 males.

The median income for a household in the town was $27,321, and the median income for a family was $30,625. Males had a median income of $36,875 versus $18,125 for females. The per capita income for the town was $12,481. About 20.0% of families and 22.4% of the population were below the poverty line, including 32.7% of those under age 18 and 10.8% of those age 65 or over.

Politics

Pe Ell is a very Republican area, although less so than Lewis County as a whole. The results for the 2004 U.S. Presidential Election were as follows:

• George W. Bush (Republican) - 165 (60.00%)
• John F. Kerry (Democrat) - 106 (38.55%)
• Ralph Nader (Independent) - 3 (1.09%)
• Michael Badnarik (Libertarian) - 1 (0.36%)

References

1. ^ ^{a b} American FactFinder. United States Census Bureau. Retrieved on 2008-01-31.
2. ^ US Board on Geographic Names. United States Geological Survey (2007-10-25). Retrieved on 2008-01-31.
3. ^ A History of Pe Ell, Washington and the Upper Chehalis River Valley, Chapter 4 by Ray Graves
4. ^ US Gazetteer files: 2000 and 1990. United States Census Bureau (2005-05-03). Retrieved on 2008-01-31.

External links

• Pe Ell, Washington is at coordinates 46°34′17″N 123°17′49″W / 46.571415, -123.296842 (Pe Ell, Washington)Coordinates: 46°34′17″N 123°17′49″W / 46.571415, -123.296842 (Pe Ell, Washington)

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