Poulsbo, Washington

This article is about a town in Washington. For the Intel Poulsbo chipset, see System Controller Hub.

Poulsbo, Washington
City
Front Street Northeast
Nickname:  Little Norway
Location of Poulsbo, Washington
Country	United States
State	Washington
County	Kitsap
Area
• Total	3.8 sq mi (9.8 km2)
• Land	3.2 sq mi (8.3 km2)
• Water	0.6 sq mi (1.5 km2)
Elevation	30 ft (9 m)
Population  (2010)
• Total	9,200
• Density	2,121.5/sq mi (819.1/km2)
Time zone	UTC-8 (Pacific (PST))
• Summer (DST)	UTC-7 (PDT)
ZIP code	98370
Area code	360
FIPS code	53-55995Template:GR
GNIS feature ID	1507605Template:GR

Poulsbo (/ˈpɔːlzboʊ/ Template:USdict) is a city on Liberty Bay in Kitsap County, Washington, United States. It is the fourth largest city in Kitsap County and one of the main suburbs of Seattle in the Kitsap area. The population was 9,200 at the 2010 census.

Poulsbo has a long history as a destination for immigrants from Scandinavia, particularly Norway and Finland. Downtown Poulsbo maintains a Scandinavian theme in its shops and restaurants, and is a popular regional tourist destination. One of its local products is now available worldwide, Poulsbo Bread, originally made in the local bakery. 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 Poulsbo 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.

Schools

Poulsbo is home to many different public schools in the North Kitsap School District. North Kitsap High School, Poulsbo Middle School, and Poulsbo Elementary are at the heart of town, while Vinland Elementary, Breidablik Elementary and Pearson Elementary schools lie in the surrounding areas. Private schools include West Sound Academy and Christ the King Academy. Post-secondary undergraduate education includes Olympic College Poulsbo.

Geography

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

According to the United States Census Bureau, the city has a total area of 3.8 square miles (9.8 km²), of which, 3.2 square miles (8.3 km²) of it is land and 0.6 square miles (1.5 km²) of it (15.53%) is water.

Demographics

Sons of Norway Hall, Poulsbo

Historical population

Census	Pop.	Note	%±
1910	364		—
1920	546		50.0%
1930	584		7.0%
1940	639		9.4%
1950	1,014		58.7%
1960	1,505		48.4%
1970	1,856		23.3%
1980	3,453		86.0%
1990	4,848		40.4%
2000	6,813		40.5%
2010	9,200		35.0%
U.S. Decennial Census

As of the censusTemplate:GR of 2000, there were 6,813 people, 2,845 households, and 1,772 families residing in the city. The population density was 2,121.5 people per square mile (819.5/km²). There were 2,992 housing units at an average density of 931.7 per square mile (359.9/km²). The racial makeup of the city was 88.10% White, 1.01% African American, 0.97% Native American, 2.99% Asian, 0.43% Pacific Islander, 1.92% from other races, and 4.58% from two or more races. Hispanic or Latino of any race were 4.84% of the population. 14.6% were of German, 10.6% Irish, 10.0% English and 9.5% Norwegian ancestry according to Census 2000. 95.3% spoke English and 2.6% Spanish as their first language.

There were 2,845 households out of which 30.9% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 48.6% were married couples living together, 10.9% had a female householder with no husband present, and 37.7% were non-families. 32.1% of all households were made up of individuals and 15.8% 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 2.92.

In the city the population was spread out with 24.2% under the age of 18, 7.5% from 18 to 24, 26.8% from 25 to 44, 22.1% from 45 to 64, and 19.5% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 39 years. For every 100 females there were 86.7 males. For every 100 females age 18 and under, there are 78.7 males.

The median income for a household in the city was $38,875 and the median income for a family was $51,353. Males had a median income of $40,482 versus $27,899 for females. The per capita income for the city was $20,649. 9.1% of the population and 8.2% of families were below the poverty line. Out of the total population, 14.1% of those under the age of 18 and 6.0% of those 65 and older were living below the poverty line. A large number of employed individuals work on the east side of Puget Sound, in Seattle or other King County cities, and commute to work by ferry.

Notable Poulsbo natives

• Richard F. Gordon, Jr., Apollo 12 astronaut
• Aaron Sele, Major League Baseball pitcher
• Ryan Villopoto, Pro Motocross rider
• Margaret Olofsson Bergman, weaver
• Joseph Kony, rapist

External links

• City of Poulsbo
• Greater Poulsbo Chamber of Commerce
• Kitsap Peninsula Visitor & Convention Bureau
• Annual Viking Fest