| Bickleton |
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Bickleton is located at 45°59′43″N, 120°19′28″W (45.995414, -120.324344). Bickleton, reached by traversing the broad, beautiful basin east of Goldendale, then crossing Rock Creek Canyon into open country; is nearly as close to the bigger towns of the lower Yakima Valley as to its own county seat. The town's focus is the school and the beautiful Presbyterian Church. The surrounding countryside supports a cattle and wheat ranching economy. The countryside and three season weather allows the Mountain Bluebird a place to nest. The beautiful Bluebird attracts birdwatchers to Bickleton. The town was named for Mr. Bickle. But it owes it's place in everyone's hearts, to Jess and Elva Brinkerhoff of Richland, WA. While visiting the town in 1960 they noticed a Mountain Bluebird flying by, Jess, an avid bird watcher, knew that the bluebird populations were declining so he fashioned a birdhouse from a can and mounted it on a tree - the birds moved right in and have stayed to the delight of all. Bickleton is known as the bluebird capital of the world. In the 1950s Jess and Elva Brinkerhoff were picnicking in this small town after coming from nearby Richland and put a can in a tree for some birds. It became a local fad and now there are thousands of birdhouses purposely built to house bluebirds. Both the Mountain Bluebird and the Western Bluebird nest in Bickleton. Maintaining the houses by cleaning old nests is a major task for the local residents. It is funded by profits from bluebird souvenirs sold to tourists at Whitmore's Whoop-n-Holler Ranch Museum. The town also features a restored 1905 Herschell-Spillman carousel . When Charles N. Bickle arrived on the Bickleton Plateau in May, 1879, he came with the intention of starting a frontier trading post store. He selected land where the wagon road from Goldendale joins a wagon road from the Columbia River to the Yakima country. This spot was about 2 miles south of Alder Creek, where Robert M. Graham made the first settlement. Charles N. Bickle built the first store east of Rock Creek. There was a fire in 1887 that wiped out the town. All buildings except one blacksmith shop were destroyed. Within days Bickle was doing businessa gain from a tent. Buildings were rebuilt .Reference; Early Klickitat Valley Days Robert Ballou. Demographics As of the census[1] of 2000, there were 113 people, 49 households, and 31 families residing in the CDP. The population density was 8.8 people per square mile (3.4/km²). There were 65 housing units at an average density of 5.0/sq mi (1.9/km²). The racial makeup of the CDP was 92.92% White, 2.65% Native American, 2.65% Pacific Islander, 1.77% from other races. Hispanic or Latino of any race were 6.19% of the population. The median income for a household in the CDP was $34,500, and the median income for a family was $48,125. Males had a median income of $42,500 versus $0 for females. The per capita income for the CDP was $17,580. There were 20.0% of families and 20.2% of the population living below the poverty line, including 36.1% of under eighteens and none of those over 64. Community Council Bickleton Community Action Planning Committee 509-896-5121 or 509-896-2134 Click here (http://www.bickleton.org/) to visit Bickleton's website. |
