Cle Elum

History

Cle Elum was originally inhabited by the Kittitas band of the Yakama tribe. The tribe fished salmon, steelhead, and trout from the Yakima River. The Salmon la Sac trails in the northern area of the region were created by the Kittitas people and were used as layovers for journeys into the higher altitudes of the Cascade Range. In 1855, after the arrival of Catholic missionaries, and the passing through of settlers and coal miners on their way to the Puget Sound, a treaty resulted in the Yakamas ceding most of their land for a reservation in the lower Yakima Valley and guaranteed access to fish, including what would later be incorporated as Cle Elum. By 1859, the Kittitas had been forced to relocate to the Yakama Indian Reservation. In 1908, Clealum was altered to Cle Elum. The name was given to the river, the city, and Cle Elum Lake. Walter Reed entered into a partnership with Thomas Johnson of Ellensburg and laid out as a town site which was legally dedicated on July 26, 1886. Johnson had owned a sawmill on Wilson Creek, in Grant County and he moved the mill to the new location in the vicinity of the new town. The partners Reed and Johnson established what was undoubtedly the largest mill up to that time in central or Eastern Washington, cutting of board lumber per day. At the same time, Frederick Leonhard, who, with his brother-in-law, Gerrit d'Ablaing, had been carrying on a mill on Cooke Creek and later on the Naneum, moved to the vicinity of Cle Elum. They cut a large part of the lumber for the Stampede Tunnel. Cle Elum was officially incorporated on February 12, 1902. Tragedy struck the area when on July 16, 1908, two carloads of blasting powder being unloaded by the Northwest Improvement Company exploded, killing at least nine people including miners, NIC…

Geography

Cle Elum is located ESE of Seattle, NNW of Yakima, and WSW of Wenatchee. According to the United States Census Bureau, the city has a total area of , of which is land and is water. It borders South Cle Elum and Roslyn. Cle Elum has a humid continental climate, Köppen subtype Dsb. The elevation is and temperatures are cooler than areas to the east. The coldest month is December, a trait common in the Pacific Northwest. But hot temperatures still occur, and not only in summer: on March 18, 1968, the temperature reached . Cle Elum, lying on the less extreme part of the Cascade Range rain shadow, also sees more precipitation than more arid regions to the east but also less than the areas to the west. The climate has warmed in tandem with surrounding areas; climate data further back shows that winters were once colder, and that January was historically the coldest month.

Race & ethnicity

Most-observed species

• American Robin

  Turdus migratorius Linnaeus, 1766 · Aves
  2,589
• Common Raven

  Corvus corax Linnaeus, 1758 · Aves
  2,329
• Turkey Vulture

  Cathartes aura (Linnaeus, 1758) · Aves
  1,762
• Yellow Warbler

  Setophaga petechia (Linnaeus, 1766) · Aves
  1,683
• Song Sparrow

  Melospiza melodia (A.Wilson, 1810) · Aves
  1,666
• Red-breasted Nuthatch

  Sitta canadensis Linnaeus, 1766 · Aves
  1,612
• Spotted Towhee

  Pipilo maculatus Swainson, 1827 · Aves
  1,610
• Red-winged Blackbird

  Agelaius phoeniceus (Linnaeus, 1766) · Aves
  1,547

Largest nearby schools

• Cle Elum Roslyn Elementary
  Elementary · Cle Elum · 458 students · 17:1 ratio
• Cle Elum Roslyn High School
  High · Cle Eum · 256 students · 18.3:1 ratio
• Walter Strom Middle School
  Middle · Cle Elum · 236 students · 18.2:1 ratio
• Swiftwater Alternative High School
  High · Cle Elum · 22 students · 22:1 ratio

Most recent

• M 3.09 — 2026-08-11
  5 km WSW of Harrah, Washington
• M 2.62 — 2026-07-09
  17 km SW of Nile, Washington
• M 2.5 — 2026-06-26
  11 km E of Carnation, Washington
• M 2.82 — 2026-06-26
  1 km SSE of Easton, Washington
• M 2.75 — 2026-04-11
  13 km NW of Cliffdell, Washington
• M 3.0100000000000002 — 2026-01-22
  2 km NNW of Ames Lake, Washington