Port Orchard, Washington
| Port Orchard, Washington | |
|---|---|
| City | |
Corner of Bay St. and Sidney Ave.
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 Location of Port Orchard, Washington |
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| Coordinates: 47°31′54″N 122°38′18″W / 47.53167°N 122.63833°WCoordinates: 47°31′54″N 122°38′18″W / 47.53167°N 122.63833°W | |
| Country | United States |
| State | Washington |
| County | Kitsap |
| Area | |
| • Total | 8.52 sq mi (22.07 km2) |
| • Land | 7.24 sq mi (18.75 km2) |
| • Water | 1.28 sq mi (3.32 km2) |
| Elevation | 72 ft (22 m) |
| Population (2010) | |
| • Total | 11,144 |
| • Estimate (2015) | 13,607 |
| • Density | 1,539.2/sq mi (594.3/km2) |
| Time zone | Pacific (PST) (UTC-8) |
| • Summer (DST) | PDT (UTC-7) |
| ZIP codes | 98366-98367 |
| Area code(s) | 360 |
| FIPS code | 53-55785 |
| GNIS feature ID | 1512580 |
| Website | City of Port Orchard |
Port Orchard is a city in and the county seat of Kitsap County, Washington, United States. It is located 13 miles due west of West Seattle and connected to Seattle and Vashon Island via the Washington State Ferries run to Southworth. It is named after Port Orchard, the strait that separates Bainbridge Island from the Kitsap Peninsula.
The population was 11,144 at the 2010 census. The Washington State Office of Financial Management's 2015 estimate placed the population at 13,607.
The Port Orchard area was first settled in 1854 by Wiliam Renton and Daniel Howard, who set up a saw mill there. The town that was to become Port Orchard was originally platted in 1886 by Frederick Stevens, who named the new location after his father, Sidney. The town of Sidney was incorporated September 15, 1890, and was the first in Kitsap County to be both platted and incorporated. Shortly thereafter, the U.S. Navy sought a suitable location for another installation on the west coast, and found it with the assistance of Sidney's residents in Orchard Bay (this installation would later become the Puget Sound Naval Shipyard).
The county seat was originally in Port Madison, but moved after a popular vote to Sidney in 1892. In December of that same year, the residents of Sidney petitioned both the state legislature and the Post Office Department to rename the city to "Port Orchard." The legislature refused, as Charleston (now West Bremerton) had also requested that name. The Post Office Department, however, went through with the name change, and as a result the Port Orchard post office ended up in Sidney, and the Charleston post office ended up in Port Orchard. It wasn't until 1903 that local politician Will Thompson convinced the state legislature to correct this confusing situation, and relocated the Charleston post office to Charleston, at the same time renaming Sidney to "Port Orchard," as it is known today.
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