
Auburn and Green River Valley to the south of it, seen from Auburn's Centennial Park
'Auburn' is a city of 40,314 (2000) located in the
U.S. state of
Washington, in
King County with some spill-over into
Pierce County. Though founded before either
Seattle or
Tacoma (
Seattle metropolitan area) had
suburbs, Auburn is now often thought of as a suburb of these two cities. Auburn is roughly bordered by the
suburbs of
Federal Way,
Pacific, and
Algona to the west,
Sumner to the south, unincorporated
King County to the east, and
Kent to the north. The
Muckleshoot Indian Reservation is nearby.
Auburn also hosts the third largest Veteran's day parade West of the Mississippi River.
Geography

Location of Auburn, Washington
Auburn is located at (47.302322, -122.214779).
According to the
United States Census Bureau, the city has a total area of 55.1
km² (21.3
mi²). 55.1 km² (21.3 mi²) of it is land and 0.05% is water.
Two rivers, the
White River and, to a greater extent, the
Green River flow through Auburn.
Historically, the Stuck River ran through the settlement of Stuck, which is now a small pocket of unincorporated King County within southern Auburn. In 1906, the flow of the White River was diverted into the Stuck's channel near today's Game Farm Park.
[1] References to the Stuck River still appear in some property legal descriptions
[2] and place names, e.g. Stuck River Drive, within Auburn, but today it is essentially indistinguishable from the southern White River.
Demographics
As of the
census of 2000, there were 40,314 people, 16,108 households, and 10,051 families residing in the city. The
population density was 732.1/km² (1,895.9/mi²). There were 16,767 housing units at an average density of 304.5/km² (788.5/mi²). The racial makeup of the city was 82.80%
White, 2.42%
African American, 2.54%
Native American, 3.50%
Asian, 0.51%
Pacific Islander, 3.66% from
other races, and 4.56% from two or more races.
Hispanic or
Latino of any race were 7.49% of the population.
There were 16,108 households out of which 32.8% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 43.7% were
married couples living together, 13.4% had a female householder with no husband present, and 37.6% were non-families. 29.1% of all households were made up of individuals and 9.1% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.47 and the average family size was 3.05.
In the city the population was spread out with 26.6% under the age of 18, 9.5% from 18 to 24, 31.6% from 25 to 44, 20.7% from 45 to 64, and 11.6% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 34 years. For every 100 females there were 98.5 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 95.5 males.
The median income for a household in the city was $39,208, and the median income for a family was $45,426. Males had a median income of $36,977 versus $27,476 for females. The
per capita income for the city was $19,630. About 10.2% of families and 12.8% of the population were below the
poverty line, including 15.3% of those under age 18 and 8.8% of those age 65 or over.
Government
The city of Auburn is a government mayor-council form, the current Mayor is Pete Lewis.
Mayor Pete Lewis is now serving his second term in office. He is a member of the
Mayors Against Illegal Guns Coalition[1], a
bi-partisan group with a stated goal of "making the public safer by getting illegal guns off the streets." The Coalition is co-chaired by
Boston Mayor
Thomas Menino and
New York City Mayor
Michael Bloomberg.
Auburn's council members include
Nancy Backus, Gene Cerino,
Lynn Norman, Bill Peloza,
Sue Singer, Roger Thordarson, and Rich Wagner.'
People of Interest
Christine Gregoire grew up in Auburn, she attended both Cascade Middle School, and Auburn Senior High School. Gregiore is the current Washington State Governor.
Commander Dick Scobee attended school and briefly lived in Auburn, originally attending North Auburn Elementary. After the
Challenger accident, the school was named in his honor. (Commander Astronaut of the
Space Shuttle Challenger.)
History
Auburn was originally incorporated as "Slaughter," named after William Slaughter, who died in an Indian skirmish in 1855. At the time, the main hotel in town was called the "Slaughter House." In 1893, a large group of settlers from
Auburn, New York moved to Slaughter, and renamed the town to "Auburn."
[3] Due to this history, when Auburn was building its second high school in the mid-1990s, there was a grass-roots effort to name the high school "Slaughter High School," but it was eventually decided that the name would be too politically incorrect, and the High School was named "Auburn Riverside High School," whose mascot is the Raven. There are several locations in Auburn on the National and State Registers of Historic Places, such as the
Neely Mansion.

Neely Mansion, Spring of 2006
The Supermall of The Great Northwest
The Supermall is a mall in Auburn Washington.
Anchor Tenants
★
Old Navy
★
Bed Bath and Beyond
★
Burlington Coat Factory
★
Marshalls
★
Steve and Barry's
Schools
Currently the Auburn school district has 15 elementary schools, 4 middle schools, 4 high schools, and 1 college. The district's newest school is Arthur Jacobsen Elementary. The District is larger than the city itself, serving the neighboring towns of Algona and Pacific as well as some unincorporated areas around Auburn.
Elementary Schools:
★ Alpac Elementary
[4]
★ Chinook Elementary
[5]
★ Dick Scobee Elementary
[6]
★ Evergreen Heights Elementary
[7]
★ Head Start at Evergreen Heights
[8]
★ Gildo Rey Elementary
[9]
★ Hazelwood Elementary
[10]
★ Ilalko Elementary
[11]
★ Lake View Elementary
[12]
★ Lakeland Hills Elementary
[13]
★ Lea Hill Elementary
[14]
★ Pioneer Elementary
[15]
★ Terminal Park Elementary
[16]
★ Washington Elementary
[17]
★ Arthur Jacobsen Elementary School
[18]
Middle Schools:
★ Cascade Middle School
[19]
★ Mt. Baker Middle School
[20]
★ Olympic Middle School
[21]
★ Rainier Middle School
[22]
High Schools:
★
Auburn Senior High School[23]
★ Auburn Mountainview High School
[24]
★ Auburn Riverside High School
[25]
★ West Auburn High School (Secondary)
[26]
Colleges:
★ Green River Community College
[27]
Auburn Citizens for Schools
[28] is a group of volunteer parents and community members who are interested in fostering quality education in the Auburn School District
[29]. Its main objective is to promote and pass school levies and bonds.
Sister City
Auburn has one
sister city, according to
[30] and
[31]:
★
Kasugai,
Japan
References
1. Mayors Against Illegal Guns: Coalition Members
External links
★
City of Auburn Government
★
Radio Stations Received in Auburn
★ Nearby hiking trails on
Hikipedia