From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia.
The Sellar Bridge spans the Columbia
connecting Wenatchee and East Wenatchee.
Wenatchee is located at 47°25'24" North, 120°19'31" West (47.423316, -120.325279)1 at the at the confluence of the Wenatchee River and the Columbia River in the Columbia Basin just east of the foothills of the Cascade Range. Unlike the climate of Western Washington, Wenatchee's climate is arid. Nested in the rain shadow of the Cascade Mountains, there are blue skies 300 days of the year. Technically a desert, irrigation from the Columbia River and her tributaries allows for the large amount of agriculture in Wenatchee and the surrounding areas.
According to the United States Census Bureau, the city has a total area of 19.0 km² (7.3 mi²). 17.8 km² (6.9 mi²) of it is land and 1.2 km² (0.4 mi²) of it is water. The total area is 6.14% water.
Archeological digs have uncovered Clovis artifacts and other ancient artifacts dating back almost 12,000 years that enlightened us to the fact that people migrating during the last ice age settled in Wenatchee. Some believe that the people who remained became the Yakima Indians. The Yakima inhabited this area for ten millenia. The Columbia provided an ample supply of food. They took refuge from the flooding river on the plateau or in high up caves in the coulee walls. In the late 1800s, the white settlers came and and began homesteading the land.
On October 5, 1931, Clyde Pangborn with co-pilot Hugh Herndon landed his plane, the Miss Veedol, in the hills of East Wenatchee and became the first person to fly non-stop across the Pacific Ocean. The 41 hour flight from Sabishiro Beach, Japan won him the Harmon Trophy symbolizing the greatest achievement in flight for the year 1931.
In 1936, with the completion of Rock Island Dam, Wenatchee was protected from the summer flooding of the Columbia River as well as having a nice reservoir from which to irrigate corps. Orchards were planted closer to the river and in no time Wenatchee became the apple capital of the world.
Wenatchee made international headlines in 1994 and 1995 when police and state social workers undertook what was then called the nation's most extensive child sex-abuse investigation. 43 adults were arrested on 29,726 charges of child sex abuse involving 60 children. Parents, Sundayschool teachers and a pastor were charged and many were convicted of abusing their own children or the children of other in the community. A massive conspiracy arose which the press deemed the "Wenatchee Sex Rings". Unfortunately, it was all untrue. Police coerced children into giving false statements, and false testimony in court. Dr. Phillip Esplin, a forensic psychologist the National Institute of Health's Child Witness Project commented that "Wenatchee may be the worst example ever of mental health services being abused by a state...to control and manage children who have been frightened and coerced into falsely accusing their parents and neighbors of the most heinous of crimes."
Wenatchee also has the reputation for being the Prozac capital of the world. In June of 1995, PBS aired a documentary about this called Welcome to Happy Valley, which chronicled Dr. Jim Goodwin a psychologist, proclaimed by the NY Times as the "Pied Piper of Prozac" and the CBS "Eye to Eye" program as the "Pied Piper of Depression." Dr Goodwin was one of the first internationally to recognize and utilize the potential for such medications and the short-term cognitive psychotherapy recognized as essential along with such medications. For the past 15 years he continues as public enemy #1 with those who still believe the earth is flat and the Church of Scientology. Dr Goodwin continues his world famous ground breaking work in his small office on Wenatchee Avenue.
As of the census1 of 2000, there are 27,856 people, 10,741 households, and 6,884 families residing in the city. The population density is 1,563.3/km² (4,049.6/mi²). There are 11,486 housing units at an average density of 644.6/km² (1,669.8/mi²). The racial makeup of the city is 80.93% White, 0.39% African American, 1.13% Native American, 0.95% Asian, 0.13% Pacific Islander, 13.99% from other races, and 2.48% from two or more races. 21.52% of the population are Hispanic or Latino of any race.
There are 10,741 households out of which 33.4% have children under the age of 18 living with them, 49.4% are married couples living together, 10.2% have a female householder with no husband present, and 35.9% are non-families. 30.1% of all households are made up of individuals and 13.4% have someone living alone who is 65 years of age or older. The average household size is 2.53 and the average family size is 3.17.
In the city the population is spread out with 27.4% under the age of 18, 10.0% from 18 to 24, 28.3% from 25 to 44, 19.3% from 45 to 64, and 15.0% who are 65 years of age or older. The median age is 34 years. For every 100 females there are 95.6 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there are 92.8 males.
The median income for a household in the city is $34,897, and the median income for a family is $45,982. Males have a median income of $35,245 versus $26,062 for females. The per capita income for the city is $19,498. 15.3% of the population and 10.6% of families are below the poverty line. Out of the total people living in poverty, 19.7% are under the age of 18 and 5.7% are 65 or older.