Longview, Washington

Longview is a city in Cowlitz County, Washington, United States. It is the principal city of the "Longview, Washington Metropolitan Statistical Area", which encompasses all of Cowlitz County. The population was 36,648 at the time of the 2010 census. Longview is located in southwestern Washington, at the junction of the Cowlitz and Columbia rivers. Longview shares a border with Kelso to the east.

The Long-Bell Lumber Company, led by Robert A. Long, made the decision in 1918 to buy a great expanse of timberland in Cowlitz County. A total of 14,000 workers were needed to run the two large mills as well as lumber camps that were planned. The number of workers needed was more than a lumber town, or the nearest town, could provide. Long planned and built a complete city in 1921 that could support a population of up to 50,000 and provide labor for the mills as well as attracting other industries. Several buildings in the city were built from Long's private funds.

History
Longview was the location of Mount Coffin, a native ancestral burial ground for the local indigenous people.

The Longview area was first settled by European-Americans, led by pioneers Harry and Rebecca Jane Huntington, in 1849. The area was named Monticello in honor of Thomas Jefferson's home in Virginia. In 1852 a group assembled in what would be called the "Monticello Convention" to petition Congress for statehood to be called "Columbia". Congress agreed to statehood but as Washington, after President Washington, to avoid confusion with the District of Columbia. A monument to the convention is located near the Longview Civic Center.



The area remained sparsely populated for nearly 60 years, consisting mostly of farmland and wilderness. In 1918, Missouri timber baron Robert A. Long (1850–1934) decided to move his operation out to the west coast, owing to the Long-Bell Lumber Company's dwindling supplies in the south. By 1921, the decision had been made by Wesley Vandercook to build a mill near the small town of Kelso, Washington. It was apparent that Kelso, with a population of barely 2,000 would not be able to support the approximately 14,000 men that would be required to run the mill.

The Long-Bell company contracted with George Kessler, a city planner based in St. Louis, to build the city that would support the two mills that were now planned. Longview was officially incorporated on February 14, 1924. At the time of its conception, Longview was the only planned city of its magnitude to have ever been conceived of and built entirely with private funds. A number of prominent buildings in Longview were purchased with R. A. Long's personal funds, including R. A. Long High School, the Longview Public Library, the YMCA building and the Monticello Hotel.

National Register of Historic Places
A park, a bridge, and many buildings are listed on the National Register of Historic Places, along with the Civic Center, that is a National Register Historic District.

Government
The city has 7 council members and a mayor as well as a city manager.

Geography
According to the United States Census Bureau, the city has a total area of 14.1 square miles (36.5 km²), of which, 13.7 square miles (35.5 km²) of it is land and 0.4 square miles (1.0 km²) of it (2.84%) is water.

The Lewis and Clark Bridge spans the Columbia River, linking Longview to Rainier, Oregon. It is the only bridge spanning the river between Portland and Astoria, Oregon.

Climate
Being situated in something of a mini-gorge, Longview's climate varies from its close neighbor, Portland. Longview is generally about 7 degrees cooler than Portland. Located about 80 mi inland across a stretch of relatively flat ground, the Longview skies can be overcast due to moisture from the Pacific Coast marine layer. The Columbia River gorge permits an exchange of air between eastern and western Washington. The direction and speed of air movement through the gorge is determined primarily by the pressure gradient between the eastern and western slopes of the mountains. Due to the gorge-like effect, marine pushes on summer evenings can frequently reach gusts up to 30-40 mph. There have been gusts of up to 90-100 mph, and over 100 mph at higher elevations.

Fall is usually cooler but foggy; on some days the fog never clears. By early-to-mid November, rainfall begins in typical Northwest fashion. Winter tends to be chilly and rainy, with occasional violent windstorms or spates of unusually-warm (65-70 degree) temperatures. This is due to extremely warm air coming from the Pineapple Express which can drop 3-6 inches of rain in a matter of days. One or two snowfalls (typically less than six inches&mdash;but up to a meter in the surrounding foothills) happen each year. Spring is warmer, but still a little wet; this is the most common time for the occasional thunderstorms.

Demographics
As of the census of 2000, there were 34,660 people, 14,066 households, and 8,931 families residing in the city. The population density was 2,530.0 people per square mile (976.8/km²). There were 15,225 housing units at an average density of 1,111.4 per square mile (429.1/km²). The racial makeup of the city was 89.35% White, 0.72% African American, 1.76% Native American, 2.17% Asian, 0.13% Pacific Islander, 2.96% from other races, and 2.92% from two or more races. Hispanic or Latino of any race were 5.82% of the population. 17.3% were of German, 11.2% English, 10.3% United States or American, 8.5% Irish and 7.3% Norwegian ancestry according to Census 2000. 92.4% spoke English and 4.9% Spanish as their first language.

There were 14,066 households out of which 30.9% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 46.5% were married couples living together, 12.3% had a female householder with no husband present, and 36.5% were non-families. 30.1% of all households were made up of individuals and 12.4% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.40 and the average family size was 2.96.

In the city the population was spread out with 26.0% under the age of 18, 8.9% from 18 to 24, 27.1% from 25 to 44, 22.6% from 45 to 64, and 15.4% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 37 years. For every 100 females there were 93.2 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 90.0 males.

The median income for a household in the city was $35,171, and the median income for a family was $43,869. Males had a median income of $38,972 versus $26,625 for females. The per capita income for the city was $18,559. About 12.3% of families and 16.7% of the population were below the poverty line, including 25.0% of those under age 18 and 6.8% of those age 65 or over.

Manufacturing
With access to the Columbia River, Interstate 5 and the west coast railways, Longview supports a manufacturing base. The abundance of timber around Longview provides the city's former two largest employers, Weyerhaeuser and Longview Fibre Paper & Packaging, Inc. with timber products. Other major manufacturers in Longview include NORPAC (newsprint), Pacific Lamination (liquid packaging), Solvay Chemicals (Hydrogen Peroxide), Equa-Chlor, Safeway, PNE Corporation, Kaiser Permanent, and Walmart. Smaller operations include Epson Toyocom, Northwest Hardwoods, Caffall Brothers, Peterson Manufacturing, JM Huber, Specialty Minerals and the Simpson Timber Company.

Rank in state size
The city of Longview ranks 28 out of 281 in size.

Marine transportation
The Port of Longview, established in 1921, has eight marine terminals handling a wide range of cargo from windmills, pencil pitch, calcined coke, pulp bales, lumber, logs and steel. The Port is 66 mi from the Pacific Ocean.

Sports
The Cowlitz Black Bears baseball team call Longview and Kelso home. The Black Bears play in the West Coast League, an independent summer baseball league with teams from Washington, Oregon, and British Columbia. The team plays at David Story Field on the Lower Columbia College campus.

Parks and recreation
Longview has a variety of parks and recreation facilities. Longview Parks and Recreation maintains the local parks, including the popular, Lake Sacajawea. Dozens of other parks exist within city limits with walking trails, sport fields, dog-friendly areas, children's play areas, and other features. Both Longview and its neighbor city, Kelso, are home to skateparks. Two athletic clubs exist, including the YMCA and Mint Valley Racquet and Fitness. Golf is also a popular sport in the local area, with the Longview Country Club, Mint Valley, among others.

Education
Longview is served by eight public elementary schools (Columbia Heights, Columbia Valley Gardens, Kessler, Mint Valley, Northlake, Olympic, Robert Gray, and Saint Helens), three public middle schools (Cascade, Monticello, and Mount Solo), and two public high schools (Robert Alexander Long aka R. A. Long and Mark Morris).

Longview is also served by two religious based schools. The Saint Rose Catholic school serves kindergarten through eighth grade. Three Rivers Christian School currently operates under two campuses. The Longview Christian campus, serving preschool through sixth grade, and Cornerstone campus (located in neighboring Kelso) which serves seventh through twelfth grades.

An intense rivalry exists not only between R. A. Long High School and crosstown Mark Morris High School, but also between Kelso High School across the Cowlitz River in Kelso. The R. A. Long/Mark Morris rivalry culminates every year in so-called "Civil War" basketball games, the first held at R. A. Long's gymnasium (known locally as the "Lumberdome"), and the second on Mark Morris' Ted M. Natt court.

Lower Columbia College (LCC), based in Longview, was established in 1934.

Radio

 * KBAM AM 1270 (Classic Country)
 * KEDO AM 1400 (Talk Radio)
 * KLOG AM 1490 (Classic Hits)
 * KJVH FM 89.5 (Christian radio)
 * KLWO FM 90.3 (Contemporary Christian)
 * KLYK FM 94.5 (Hot Adult Contemporary)
 * KPPK FM 98.3 "The Peak" (Adult hits)
 * KRQT FM 107.1 "Rocket 107" (Classic rock)
 * KUKN FM 105.5 (Country)
 * K268BN FM 101.5 "The Wave" (Classic rock)
 * (Simulcast as KUKN-HD2 FM 105.5)

Newsprint

 * The Daily News - Longview's primary newspaper, won a 1981 Pulitzer Prize for its coverage of the Mount St. Helens eruption.
 * Columbia River Reader - A monthly community newspaper.
 * Valley Bugler - A monthly "good news" and community events paper that grew out of the now defunct Castle Rock Advocate in 1998.

Television

 * KLTV - Local public-access television cable TV channel, which has its headquarters in downtown Longview, at the corner of 12th Avenue and Washington Way.

Tourism
Longview is a gateway to the Mount St. Helens National Volcanic Monument, and tourism is playing an increasingly important role in the area's economy.

Nutty Narrows Bridge
Longview is home to the famous Nutty Narrows Bridge built in 1963 by Amos Peters. It is the only bridge in the world designed and built strictly for squirrels. The bridge was built in 1963 and its purpose was to avoid squirrel casualties on the busy streets beneath.

Notable residents

 * Bud Black, manager of the San Diego Padres
 * James Phillip Fleming, recipient of the Medal of Honor for heroic action as a United States Air Force helicopter pilot during the Vietnam War, 1968
 * David Korten, author of When Corporations Rule the World
 * Arthur "Spud" Melin, co-inventor of the Hula Hoop, and co-founder of Wham-O.
 * Hal Riney, American advertising executive inducted into the Advertising Hall of Fame in 2001
 * Jason Schmidt, pitcher for the Los Angeles Dodgers, born in Lewiston, Idaho but was raised in Kelso and graduated from Kelso High School
 * Rick Sweet, Louisville Bats Minor League Baseball Manager
 * Moulton Taylor, inventor of the Aerocar, the first practical flying automobile.

Sister cities
Longview has two sister cities:
 * 🇵🇭 Mandaue City, Philippines
 * 🇯🇵 Wakō, Saitama, Japan