DuPont is a city in Pierce County, Washington, United States. The population was 2,452 at the 2000 census.
History
The Nisqually tribe arrived in the area at least 5700 years ago, subsisting on shellfish from the beaches and salmon from Sequalitchew Creek. Captain George Vancouver mapped the area in 1792, and in 1833, the Hudson's Bay Company established a fur trading post at Fort Nisqually. The fort was relocated upstream in 1843.[3]
The first school was established in 1852, and in 1869, the federal government auctioned the site off to settlers. In 1906, the DuPont company purchased a 5-square-mile (13 km2) area for construction of an explosives plant. By 1909, the company town had more than 100 houses.[3]
DuPont was officially incorporated on March 26, 1912, and was re-incorporated in 1951.[3] DuPont has recently undergone a modern transformation as the planned annexed community of Northwest Landing, Washington has been realized. The city is expected to have a built out population of 12,000.
Today, DuPont is still a growing community. The elementary school in DuPont (Chloe Clark Elementary) reached 700 students from kindergarten through fifth grade in the 2007-2008 school year, and, since DuPont is still growing, the school does not have enough classrooms for more than 700 students in grades K-5 for the 2008-2009 school year. Therefore, in the 2008-2009 school year, Chloe Clark Elementary School will only have students in grades K-3.[4] A middle school is also being constructed, and it is planned to be opened in time for the 2008-2009 school year. The new middle school is being built to replace the old Pioneer Middle School in Steilacoom, and hence the new school will also be called Pioneer Middle School.
Wilmington Street and McNeil Street are the two main roads that pass through the downtown area of DuPont. Several businesses in DuPont have opened in the last five years. Historic Village, a residential area, is the only part of DuPont that is not part of Northwest Landing.
Geography
DuPont is located at 47°05′57″N 122°38′15″W / 47.099070°N 122.637544°W / 47.099070; -122.637544 (47.099070, -122.637544).[5]
According to the United States Census Bureau, the city has a total area of 5.7 square miles (15 km2), of which 5.7 square miles (15 km2) is land and 0.04 square miles (0.10 km2) (0.35%) is water.
Demographics
As of the census[1] of 2000, there were 2,452 people, 936 households, and 670 families residing in the city. The population density was 430.6 inhabitants per square mile (166.3 /km2). There were 977 housing units at an average density of 171.6 inhabitants per square mile (66.3 /km2). The racial makeup of the city was 74.63% White, 8.20% African American, 0.82% Native American, 7.34% Asian, 0.69% Pacific Islander, 2.24% from other races, and 6.08% from two or more races. Hispanic or Latino of any race were 6.36% of the population.
There were 936 households out of which 40.1% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 63.8% were married couples living together, 6.0% had a female householder with no husband present, and 28.4% were non-families. 23.2% of all households were made up of individuals and 3.7% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.61 and the average family size was 3.12.
In the city the population was spread out with 29.9% under the age of 18, 5.0% from 18 to 24, 40.8% from 25 to 44, 17.8% from 45 to 64, and 6.5% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 32 years. For every 100 females there were 93.7 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 94.2 males.
The median income for a household in the city was $52,969, and the median income for a family was $57,202. Males had a median income of $42,946 versus $36,741 for females. The per capita income for the city was $22,742. About 2.2% of families and 4.6% of the population were below the poverty line, including 3.5% of those under age 18 and 2.5% of those age 65 or over.
References
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