We analyzed research using Saturday Night Science from Virginia Commonwealth University that mapped Klaverns by city from 1915-1940. This report analyzes the locations of historic KKK organizations to see where they were the most prevalent in Washington.
The city in Washington with the most number of Klaverns was Bellingham with 2 Klaverns. The city with the most number of Klaverns per capita was Fall City with 0.0005 Klaverns. There were historically 21 Klaverns in Washington, across 19 places in Washington with at least 1 Klavern during the period of reference.
Hate groups can be hard to measure because, typically, there’s no record of where they exist. But there is data on where there were distinct Klaverns of the Ku Klux Klan in each state. These cities have historically been the most racist in Washington based on the number of KKK Klaverns.
This report does not speak to the current people who live there or the current state of the KKK in the same towns or areas.
1 Klaverns · #1 most historically racist in Washington
1 Klaverns · #2 most historically racist in Washington
1 Klaverns · #3 most historically racist in Washington
Data | Movers
1 Klaverns · #4 most historically racist in Washington
Data | Crime | Cost of living | Movers
1 Klaverns · #5 most historically racist in Washington
Located in
Cowlitz County, Washington
Woodland is a city in Clark and Cowlitz counties in the State of Washington. Most residents live within Cowlitz County, in which the majority of the city lies. It is part of the ‘Longview, Washington Metropolitan Statistical Area’. The population was 5,509 at the 2010 census.
Data | Crime | Cost of living | Movers
1 Klaverns · #6 most historically racist in Washington
Located in
Cowlitz County, Washington
Kelso is a city in southwest Washington State, United States, and is the county seat of Cowlitz County. At the 2010 census, the population was 11,925. Kelso is part of the Longview, Washington Metropolitan Statistical Area, which has a population of 102,410. Kelso shares its long western border with Longview. It is near Mount St. Helens.
Data | Crime | Cost of living | Movers
1 Klaverns · #7 most historically racist in Washington
Located in
Lewis County, Washington
Centralia is a city in Lewis County, Washington, United States. The population was 16,336 at the 2010 census.
Data | Crime | Cost of living | Movers
1 Klaverns · #8 most historically racist in Washington
Located in
Walla Walla County, Washington
Walla Walla is the largest city in and the county seat of Walla Walla County, Washington, United States.
Data | Crime | Cost of living | Movers
1 Klaverns · #9 most historically racist in Washington
Located in
Skagit County, Washington
Mount Vernon is the county seat of Skagit County, Washington, United States. The population was 31,743 at the 2010 census. It is one of two principal cities of and included in the Mount Vernon-Anacortes, Washington Metropolitan Statistical Area. It is the county seat of Skagit County. Downtown Mount Vernon is known for its annual Tulip Festival Street Fair, which is part of the Skagit Valley Tulip Festival. The climate of Skagit County is similar to that of Northern France, with millions of tulips grown in the Skagit Valley. In 1998, Mount Vernon was rated the #1 “Best Small City in America” by the New Rating Guide to Life in America’s Small Cities.
Data | Crime | Cost of living | Movers
2 Klaverns · #10 most historically racist in Washington
Located in
Whatcom County, Washington
Bellingham is the largest city in and the county seat of Whatcom County in the U.S. state of Washington. It is the thirteenth-largest city in the state, with 80,885 residents as of the 2010 US Census, and is part of the sixth-largest metropolitan area in the state. The boundaries of the city encompass the former towns of Fairhaven, Whatcom, Sehome, and Bellingham.
Data | Crime | Cost of living | Movers
The receipts
Compare the top ten
Pick a metric. The bars rescale. The red line is Washington’s statewide median.
On the map
Where Washington’s historic Klaverns were
Saturday Night Science
Methodology: How We Measured The Most Historically Racist Places In The Evergreen State
While there are surveys and public polls on what places might be the most racist, we didn’t want to rely on speculation and opinion. Instead, we looked at the hard numbers from where KKK organizations have existed.
Specifically, we analyzed research out of Virginia Commonwealth University that mapped the Klans in each area and gave a history of their recruitment from 1915-1940.
- Number of historic KKK Klaverns (1915-1940) per current resident
Using Saturday Night Science, we analyzed the locations of historic KKK organizations per capita using current population data.
The full plate
Cities With Historically High KKK Membership In Washington
Click any column to sort. Search by city name.
| Rank | City | Population | Klaverns | Klaverns /100k |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Fall City | 1,958 | 1 | 51 |
| 2 | Colfax | 2,826 | 1 | 35 |
| 3 | Raymond | 2,827 | 1 | 35 |
| 4 | Buckley | 4,430 | 1 | 23 |
| 5 | Woodland | 5,535 | 1 | 18 |
| 6 | Kelso | 11,837 | 1 | 8 |
| 7 | Centralia | 16,664 | 1 | 6 |
| 8 | Walla Walla | 31,895 | 1 | 3 |
| 9 | Mount Vernon | 32,356 | 1 | 3 |
| 10 | Bellingham | 82,080 | 2 | 2 |
| 11 | Pasco | 65,858 | 1 | 2 |
| 12 | Auburn | 73,403 | 1 | 1 |
| 13 | Yakima | 92,806 | 1 | 1 |
| 14 | Everett | 104,708 | 1 | 1 |
| 15 | Kent | 122,620 | 1 | 1 |
| 16 | Vancouver | 165,554 | 1 | 1 |
| 17 | Tacoma | 201,794 | 1 | 0 |
| 18 | Spokane | 210,142 | 1 | 0 |
| 19 | Seattle | 637,850 | 2 | 0 |
Source: VCU Mapping the Klan, 1915-1940; current population data. 19 cities with at least one Klavern.
Summary
There You Have It – The Most Historically Racist Cities In Washington
When you’re looking at the places in Washington with the highest number of historical KKK Klaverns per capita, this is an accurate list.
Below is a chart that lists all cities in Washington with at least one KKK organization from 1915-1940.
The cities with the largest number of KKK Klaverns per capita were Fall City, Colfax, Raymond, Buckley, Woodland, Kelso, Centralia, Walla Walla, Mount Vernon, and Bellingham.
