Poulsbo, Washington facts for kids

Quick facts for kids Poulsbo, Washington
City
Front Street Northeast
Nickname(s):  Viking City, Little Norway
Location of Poulsbo, Washington
Country	United States
State	Washington
County	Kitsap
Government
• Type	Mayor–council
Area
• Total	5.37 sq mi (13.91 km2)
• Land	4.74 sq mi (12.27 km2)
• Water	0.63 sq mi (1.64 km2)
Elevation	30 ft (9 m)
Population  (2010)
• Total	9,200
• Estimate  (2019)	11,168
• Density	2,357.61/sq mi (910.20/km2)
Time zone	UTC-8 (Pacific (PST))
• Summer (DST)	UTC-7 (PDT)
ZIP code	98370
Area code(s)	360
FIPS code	53-55995
GNIS feature ID	1507605

Poulsbo ( PAWLZ-boh) is a city on Liberty Bay in Kitsap County, Washington, United States. It is the smallest of the four cities in Kitsap County. The population was 9,200 at the 2010 census and an estimated 10,927 in 2018.

The area was historically inhabited by the Suquamish people, many of whom moved to the Port Madison Indian Reservation after the signing of the Treaty of Point Elliott in 1855. Poulsbo was founded in the 1880s by Norwegian immigrant Jørgen Eliason, who was joined by other Scandinavians who relocated from the Midwestern states. They were drawn here by the availability of land, by the area's rich resources, and by a landscape similar to their native home. The settlement was connected by boats to other areas of the region, including the Puget Sound mosquito fleet, which was eventually usurped by highways built in the early 20th century.

Modern-day downtown Poulsbo maintains a Scandinavian theme to honor its early immigrant history and is a popular regional tourist destination. One of its local products, Poulsbo Bread, is made locally at Sluys Bakery and used to be sold internationally. Many visitors arrive by boat; there are three marinas near the town, and the town's harbor is an excellent anchorage.

History

First Lutheran Church of Poulsbo

Founded by Norwegian immigrant Jorgen Eliason in the 1880s, Poulsbo was settled in its early years by a large number of Norwegian and other Scandinavian immigrants because of its similarities to their native countries. In 1886, I.B. Moe, one of the early Norwegian settlers, suggested that the community should have a post office. Moe suggested the town be named Paulsbo (which translates as "Paul's place"), after the Norwegian village where Moe spent his early years. The community's petition for a post office was granted, and Moe became the first postmaster, but the authorities in Washington D.C. misspelled the town's name, probably because of illegible handwriting, and the community became known as Poulsbo thereafter. Poulsbo was officially incorporated on December 18, 1907.

Until World War II, many Poulsbo residents retained Norwegian as a primary language. However, during World War II, the military constructed about 300 residential units to provide housing for workers at the nearby Puget Sound Naval Shipyard, located in Bremerton, Washington. The population of Poulsbo almost tripled over three years, and the diversification of the population led to the dominance of English as the primary language.

On October 22, 1975, King Olav V of Norway visited Poulsbo as part of the celebration of 150 years of Norwegian settlement in the United States.

Geography

Topography

Poulsbo is located on Liberty Bay, a sheltered arm of Puget Sound, at 47°44′21″N 122°38′21″W / 47.739137°N 122.639278°W / 47.739137; -122.639278 (47.739137, -122.639278).

According to the United States Census Bureau, the city has a total area of 5.27 square miles (13.65 km²), of which, 4.67 square miles (12.10 km²) is land and 0.60 square miles (1.55 km²) is water.

Surrounding Municipalities

	Hood Canal	Lofall, Port Gamble	Kingston
	Bangor		Suquamish, Indianola
		Poulsbo
	Bangor, Silverdale	Liberty Bay, Keyport	Bainbridge Island, Winslow

Climate

Culture

Media

The North Kitsap Herald has been published in print continuously since 1901, providing local news for Poulsbo as well as the greater Kitsap County area. The Herald was founded by Peter Iverson, who served as mayor of Poulsbo and state legislator. Today, the Herald is owned by Sound Publishing. Other Sound newspapers in Kitsap are the Bainbridge Island Review, Bremerton Patriot, Central Kitsap Reporter, Port Orchard Independent; and two monthlies, Kingston Community News and Kitsap Military Times.

Landmarks

The Norseman Statue a 12-foot statue by artist Mark Gale of Tacoma stands at Viking Avenue and Lindvig Way.

The Norseman is 12-foot tall Viking statue by artist Mark Gale of Tacoma made of steel and concrete that sits at the southeast corner of the Viking Avenue-Lindvig Way.

Sister Cities

Poulsbo has the following sister city relationships:

• Namsos, Norway
• Halden, Norway

Demographics

Sons of Norway Hall, Poulsbo

2010 census

As of the census of 2010, there were 9,200 people, 3,883 households, and 2,310 families residing in the city. The population density was 1,970.0 inhabitants per square mile (760.6/km²). There were 4,115 housing units at an average density of 881.2 per square mile (340.2/km²). The racial makeup of the city was 82.9% White, 9.2% Hispanic or Latino, 5.7% Asian, 1.1% African American, 0.9% Native American, 0.3% Pacific Islander, 3.6% from other races, and 5.4% from two or more races.

There were 3,883 households, of which 30.8% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 61% were married couples living together, 11.4% had a female householder with no husband present, 3.2% had a male householder with no wife present, and 40.5% were non-families. 34.7% of all households were made up of individuals, and 17.4% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.30 and the average family size was 2.97.

The median age in the city was 40.2 years. 23.8% of residents were under the age of 18; 7.8% were between the ages of 18 and 24; 24.7% were from 25 to 44; 24.5% were from 45 to 64; and 19.4% were 65 years of age or older. The gender makeup of the city was 45.3% male and 54.7% female.

Notable residents

• Margaret Olofsson Bergman, weaver
• James W. Douglass, author, peace activist, and Gandhian nonviolent Christian theologian
• Jason Everman, former member of Nirvana, U.S. Army Special Forces
• Richard F. Gordon Jr., Apollo 12 astronaut
• Aaron Sele, Major League Baseball pitcher
• Scott Shipley, Olympic canoeing medalist
• Harland Svare, former NFL player and coach
• Ryan Villopoto, pro motocross rider

Education

Poulsbo is home to many different public schools in the North Kitsap School District. North Kitsap High School, Poulsbo Middle School, Poulsbo Elementary School and Vinland Elementary School are located within the city limits, while Pearson Elementary School lies south of town. Private schools include Gateway Christian School and West Sound Academy. Post-secondary undergraduate education includes Olympic College Poulsbo.

Chief Kitsap Academy in Suquamish is outside of the Poulsbo city limits and has a Poulsbo postal address.

Northwest College of Art & Design was formerly in the Poulsbo area. The school, established in 1982 as the Northwest College of Art, was initially in Lemolo in Poulsbo. In 1991 the institution began leasing the former Mains Manor in Suquamish, which was purchased in 2000. The Squamish tribe had purchased the former college building for $5.03 million on November 28, 2017 and made it into the current Chief Kitsap Building. The college, at that time, moved to Tacoma, having purchased a building there.

Images for kids

• 

  First Lutheran Church of Poulsbo

• 

  Oyster farming in Poulsbo, 1920

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  Velkommen til Poulsbo

• 

  Entrance to Poulsbo's Fish Park

See also

In Spanish: Poulsbo (Washington) para niños