Ellensburg, Washington
18 topographic sheets cover this place, the earliest surveyed in 1899 and the latest in 1961. It stands in the Ellensburg census division. It lies in ZIP code area 98926. It stands on Mercer Creek. The Survey maps it on the Ellensburg South quadrangle. 18,666 people lived here at the 2020 count. It stands 1,542 feet above sea level.
Research this city
On record in Ellensburg
Buildings and businesses the archive holds for this place. Each opens its own page, with the source record it came from.
On the National Register 11 records
Dr. Paschal and Agnes Gray Houselisted 1997
Albert Nelson Farmsteadlisted 1982
Northern Pacific Railway Passenger Depotlisted 1991
Olmstead Place State Parklisted 1971
Ramsay Houselisted 1986
Shoudy Houselisted 1992
Washington State Normal School Buildinglisted 1976- Downtown Ellensburg Historic Districtlisted 1977
- First Railroad Addition Historic Districtlisted 1987
- Kittitas County Fairgroundslisted 1999
- Springfield Farmlisted 1977
Population over time
2 figuresEllensburg grew from 18,174 to 18,666 between 2010 and 2020. These are the recorded population figures Wikidata holds for this place, reached through the Geographic Names Information System number this page is keyed on rather than by name, so they belong to this place and not to another of the same name. Most are census counts, but not all are: an early figure may be a founding or settlement estimate, and an estimate published within five years of a census is left out. The change column is computed, and is left blank where more than 20 years separate a figure from the one before it, because a gap that long is not a change between two counts.
| Year | People | Change |
|---|---|---|
| 2010 | 18,174 | |
| 2020 | 18,666 | +492 (+3%) |
Topographic sheets covering this place
7 surveys from 18 printed sheetsMatched by testing this settlement's coordinate against the published boundary of every sheet in the United States Geological Survey's historical collection. Each opens the scanned sheet at the Survey.
- 1899 USGS Ellensburg quadrangle1:125000
- 1901 USGS Ellensburg quadrangle1:125000, 6 printings
- 1950 USGS Yakima quadrangle1:250000
- 1958 USGS Ellensburg quadrangle1:62500, 2 printings
- 1958 USGS Ellensburg South quadrangle1:24000, 4 printings
- 1958 USGS Yakima quadrangle1:250000, 3 printings
- 1961 USGS Yakima quadrangle1:250000
Fires near this place
12 since 1996Regional context, not property-specific evidence. The federal wildfire occurrence database lists 12 fires within 5 miles of Ellensburg between 1996 and 2020, burning about 431 acres in total. 1 started naturally. 1 was recorded as arson. Distance is straight-line from the map coordinates, so a fire counted here may appear on a neighbouring settlement's page as well.
| Reported cause | Fires |
|---|---|
| Missing data/not specified/undetermined | 7 |
| Recreation and ceremony | 2 |
| Debris and open burning | 1 |
| Arson/incendiarism | 1 |
| Natural | 1 |
The most recent of them, most recent first, with the day each was reported and the service that recorded it.
| Date | Cause | Size | Reported by | Name on the report |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 11 September 2020 | Arson/incendiarism | under an acre | Washington State Department of Natural Resources Headquarters | HOME STEAD |
| 30 July 2020 | Missing data/not specified/undetermined | under an acre | Washington State Department of Natural Resources Headquarters | THRALL ROAD |
| 30 July 2019 | Missing data/not specified/undetermined | under an acre | Washington State Department of Natural Resources Headquarters | IREEN RINEHART |
| 26 July 2014 | Missing data/not specified/undetermined | under an acre | Washington State Department of Natural Resources Headquarters | STONE QUARRY |
| 26 July 2004 | Recreation and ceremony | under an acre | Mt. Baker-Snoqualmie National Forest | WRONG CREEK |
| 16 July 2014 | Natural | under an acre | Okanogan-Wenatchee National Forest | DUNCAN HILL 2 |
| 10 July 1996 | Missing data/not specified/undetermined | 320 acres | Spokane District | MANASTASH |
| 10 July 1996 | Debris and open burning | 100 acres | Washington State Department of Natural Resources Headquarters | not named |
Settlements close enough to share some of these fires:
Mines and quarries near this place
10 of 21 shownRegional context, not property-specific evidence. The federal mineral resources record lists 21 workings within 5 miles of Ellensburg: 20 past producers, 1 producer. 1 still produces. What was taken out: Sand and Gravel, Construction, Clay, Stone, Crushed/Broken, Gemstone. Distance is straight-line from the map coordinates, so a quarry counted here may appear on a neighbouring settlement's page as well.
| Where | Site | Commodity | Status | Recorded |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Craige Hill | Silica | Past Producer | ||
| Ellensburg Deposit | Clay | Past Producer | ||
| Traprock Quarry | Stone, Crushed/Broken | Past Producer | ||
| Unnamed Pit | Gemstone | Past Producer | ||
| Boyd Pit | Sand and Gravel, Construction | Past Producer | ||
| Desmond Pit | Sand and Gravel, Construction | Past Producer | ||
| Donahue Pit | Sand and Gravel, Construction | Past Producer | ||
| Goebel Pit | Sand and Gravel, Construction | Past Producer | ||
| Lester Pit | Sand and Gravel, Construction | Past Producer | ||
| Lym Pit | Sand and Gravel, Construction | Past Producer |
Storms near this place
8 since 1998Regional context, not property-specific evidence. The National Weather Service names Ellensburg in 8 storm reports between 1998 and 2017: 2 heavy rain, 1 flash flood, 1 dust devil, 1 funnel cloud. No death or injury is recorded in these reports. Each account below is quoted exactly as the forecast office filed it, from the NOAA Storm Events Database, and each date opens the federal record of that event.
| When | Event | Place named | Harm | What the report says |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| September 2010 | Lightning | Ellensburg | $60,000 | Lightning struck an 80 foot fir tree and started a house fire. The lightning split the tree and the energy was transferred into the cast iron sewer pipe and into the home catching the house on fire. A large piece of the split tree hit a car that was parked across the street. |
| March 2017 | Flood | Ellensburg | - | Small Stream Flooding was reported along numerous creeks draining into the western sections of Ellensburg. Several roads were closed due to water including Railroad, Dolarway, Enterprise and West Thrall Roads. Most of the flooding was along Reecer and Dry Creek with water surrounding several businesses and homes. |
| July 2012 | Heavy Rain | Ellensburg | - | One inch of rainfall observed in 1 hour. |
| June 2009 | Heavy Rain | Ellensburg | - | Rainfall of 0.79 inch occurred in 10 minutes accompanied by 1/4 inch hail. |
| July 2008 | Hail | Ellensburg | - | Hail started as penny size and grew to nickel size. |
| May 1999 | Dust Devil | Ellensburg | - | A dust devil peeled off the roof of a mobile home near Ellensburg. |
| April 2005 | Funnel Cloud | Ellensburg | - | no account filed |
| July 1998 | Flash Flood | Ellensburg | - | no account filed |
Nearest settlements
The eight closest, with where each one stands in the county. Distances are straight-line, computed from the Geographic Names Information System coordinates.
Elsewhere
Matched on this settlement's Geographic Names Information System number rather than its name, so it cannot be a different place of the same name in another state.
| Wikipedia article on Ellensburg | An encyclopaedic summary. Its text is share-alike, so it is linked here rather than copied. |
| Wikidata item Q868684 | The structured record the population and elevation above come from. Public domain (CC0). |
Provenance
This settlement is recorded in the Geographic Names Information System as feature 1519305. The sheet list is computed by point-in-boundary test against the United States Geological Survey's historical topographic inventory. Both are works of the United States government and carry no copyright under 17 U.S.C. 105.
Wildfire. Short, Karen C. 2022. Spatial wildfire occurrence data for the United States, 1992-2020 [FPA_FOD_20221014]. 6th Edition. Fort Collins, CO: Forest Service Research Data Archive. https://doi.org/10.2737/RDS-2013-0009.6 Collected with United States Government funding and usable without additional permissions or fees.
Mines and quarries. USGS Mineral Resources Data System (MRDS) https://mrdata.usgs.gov/mrds/ A work of the United States government, no copyright under 17 U.S.C. 105.
Storms. NOAA National Centers for Environmental Information, Storm Events Database https://www.ncei.noaa.gov/stormevents/ A work of the United States government, no copyright under 17 U.S.C. 105. Narratives are quoted verbatim from the National Weather Service report and are not edited or summarised.






