Grays Harbor County Overview

Size and Location:

Grays Harbor County and Grays Harbor Bay are located on the south side of the Olympic Peninsula on the Pacific coast of Washington. The County is 1,917 sq. mi. (15th largest in Washington) with about 10 sq. mi. in urban land. Grays Harbor communities are in near-perfect urban proximity: a comfortable drive to major league sports, top-notch cultural events, and specialty shopping districts. Grays Harbor County's borders are 15 miles west of Olympia, 75 miles southwest of Seattle, and 75 miles northwest of Portland, Oregon. The County's topography is naturally varied from rolling tree-covered hills to sandy ocean beaches. Interior river valleys give way to rugged mountains in the county's northern part.

Environment:

Grays Harbor County residents are within or near the spectacular scenery of the northern Cascades and Olympic mountains, Pacific beaches, awe-inspiring rain forests, and pristine lakes streams and rivers. The Olympic National Park on the north side of Grays Harbor is listed as both a World heritage Site and an International Biospheric Reserve. Olympic National Park hosts the only temperate rain forest in the Northern Hemisphere and one of only three in the world (the others are in Chile and New Zealand). Grays Harbor and its largest city, Aberdeen, were singled out in 1990 from among 219 small U.S. cities as being one of the 10 best micropolitan areas in which to live. The cities were evaluated on their environment, climate, diversion, economics, education, sophistication, health care, transportation, urban proximity, housing and public safety. Grays Harbor scored well on all counts, topping the list in seven out of ten categories.

Communities:

There are 9 incorporated cities and towns containing 43,030 of the County's 70,900 residents. On the north side of the entrance to Grays Harbor Bay from the Pacific Ocean is Ocean Shores. Ocean Shores has been voted Washington's top family vacation spot for the last 5 years. It has a resident population of 4,805, but receives over 4 million visitors each year. On the Bay entrance's south side is Westport, which harbors much of the County's fishing fleet. Twenty miles inland at the confluence of the Chehalis and Grays Harbor Bay, lie the contiguous cities of Aberdeen, Hoquiam and Cosmopolis. This triad of cities forms the commercial and industrial core of the county and almost half of Grays Harbor residents live in the triad. The three cities are 50 miles west of Olympia and I-5, 100 miles southwest of Seattle, and 140 miles northwest of Portland. Ten miles farther east is Montesano, the county seat. Montesano, Elma, McCleary and a number of small farming communities, sit on excellent agricultural land and are near the 400 acre Satsop Development Park.

(View population by City.)

Climate:

Grays Harbor enjoys a moderate marine climate that is among the most pleasant in the world. The county's climate has been ranked third most pleasant in the U.S. Warm, dry summers compliment mild, wet winters. The growing season is over 200 days.

• Temperature: Temperatures in August average a very comfortable daytime high of 70 Degrees (F) and nighttime low of 50 (F); January temperatures average a mild nighttime low of 36 (F) and daytime high of 48 (F). While the rest of the nation is alternatively overheating or freezing, Grays Harbor residents live in a mild, comfortable, energy saving environment year-round.

• Precipitation: It does rain in Grays Harbor County, but unlike most other parts of the country, gray skies are almost always productive. And when the sun shines, which is often, the sunlight in the crystal skies can be dazzling. Grays Harbor rainfall averages about 70 inches per year with 78% of it occurring between October and March. Summer precipitation in July and August averages about 1.3 inches per month. Total winter snow fall averages less than 5 inches and rarely remains on the ground through the day.

For more information on Grays Harbor weather, click weather.

History:

The Quinault Indians inhabited Grays Harbor prior to 1775 when the first Spaniards arrived. A disagreement quickly arose and 7 Spaniards and 6 Indians were killed. Relations improved by 1790, when Robert Gray, a Boston sea captain and trader, sailed into Grays Harbor after failing to negotiate the entrance two years earlier. Gray gained a solid reputation with the Quinault’s, who called him "a very good Boston man." Thirty years later, the wife of a Russian trader became the first white female to arrive in Grays Harbor. She was soon captured by the Quinault and when her husband attempted to ransom her, she refused to return to him preferring the Indians' hospitality to his own. The Lewis and Clark's 1805 expedition brought attention to the area, but mainly for the lucrative fur trade, which caused both the U.S. and British governments to lay claim to the area. In order to bolster its claim, the U.S. actively encouraged settlement of the region through the Donation Land Act of 1850. By giving 320 acres of land to single settlers and 640 acres to married ones, the first farmers arrived in Grays Harbor County. In the 1880's, the first large lumber mill went on-line and by the 1920's, the area was rich in lumber, manufacturing, pulp & paper, fishing and people. It remained an important tall-ship building center into the 1940's because of the difficulty of getting engines to drive steam cargo ships. Timber continued to drive the County's economy well into the 1980's and, although it has declined, timber remains an important economic resource today.