Oakville, Washington

History

Oakville was officially incorporated on December 18, 1905.

"Clear Blobs" incident

On August 7, 1994 during a rainstorm, blobs of a translucent gelatinous substance, half the size of grains of rice each, fell at the farm home of Sunny Barclift. Shortly afterwards, Barclift's mother, Dotty Hearn, had to go to the hospital suffering from dizziness and nausea, and Barclift and a friend also suffered minor bouts of fatigue and nausea after handling the blobs. However, Dr. David Litle, who treated Hearn, expressed doubt that Hearn's symptoms were due to the blobs, and appeared instead to have been caused by an inner ear condition. Hearn herself also acknowledged that the appearance the blobs could have been a mere coincidence unconnected with their maladies. It was also reported that Sunny's kitten had died after contact with the blobs, following a battle with severe intestinal problems prior to the incident. The blobs were confirmed to have fallen a second time at the Barclift farm, but no one was reported to have fallen ill the second time.

Several attempts were made to identify the blobs, with Barclift initially asking her mother's doctor to run tests on the substance at the hospital. Litle obliged, and reported that it contained human white blood cells. Barclift also managed to persuade Mike Osweiler, of the Washington State Department of Ecology's hazardous materials spill response unit, to examine the substance. While white blood cells contain nuclei, further examination by Osweiler's staff reported that the blobs contained cells that lacked this cellular structure.

Several theories cropped up at the time to explain the appearance of the blobs, though none have been proven correct. A popular theory with the townsfolk at the time was the "jellyfish theory", which postulated that the blobs were the result of bombing runs by the military in the ocean 50 miles (80 km) away from the farm causing explosion within a smack of jellyfish, which were then dispersed into a rain cloud. Although neither Barclift nor Osweiler favoured the idea, the theory was so popular with the townsfolk that there was discussion of holding a jellyfish festival, and that the local tavern even concocted a new drink in honor of the incident, "The Jellyfish", composed of vodka, gelatin, and juice.

Another theory, propagated by David Litle, who handled the original analysis of the blobs, was that the blobs were drops of concentrated fluid waste from an airplane toilet, though when Barclift contacted the FAA about this later, this idea was rebuffed, as she was told that all commercial plane toilet fluids are dyed blue, a property the blobs did not possess.

Geography

Oakville is located at 46°50′22″N 123°14′1″W (46.839312, -123.233599).

According to the United States Census Bureau, the city has a total area of 0.50 square miles (1.29 km²), all of it land.

Climate

According to the Köppen Climate Classification system, Oakville has a warm-summer Mediterranean climate, abbreviated "Csb" on climate maps.

2010 census

As of the census of 2010, there were 684 people, 260 households, and 176 families residing in the city. The population density was 1,368.0 inhabitants per square mile (528.2/km²). There were 291 housing units at an average density of 582.0 per square mile (224.7/km²). The racial makeup of the city was 86.5% White, 0.6% African American, 5.1% Native American, 0.9% Asian, 0.1% Pacific Islander, 4.1% from other races, and 2.6% from two or more races. Hispanic or Latino of any race were 6.6% of the population.

There were 260 households of which 36.9% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 46.2% were married couples living together, 13.5% had a female householder with no husband present, 8.1% had a male householder with no wife present, and 32.3% were non-families. 22.3% of all households were made up of individuals and 7.7% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.63 and the average family size was 3.08.

The median age in the city was 37.1 years. 26% of residents were under the age of 18; 7.2% were between the ages of 18 and 24; 27% were from 25 to 44; 25.7% were from 45 to 64; and 14% were 65 years of age or older. The gender makeup of the city was 49.1% male and 50.9% female.

2000 census

As of the census of 2000, there were 675 people, 233 households, and 170 families residing in the city. The population density was 1,407.3 people per square mile (543.0/km²). There were 260 housing units at an average density of 542.1 per square mile (209.1/km²). The racial makeup of the city was 81.04% White, 1.19% African American, 7.11% Native American, 0.59% Asian, 0.15% Pacific Islander, 3.41% from other races, and 6.52% from two or more races. Hispanic or Latino of any race were 7.41% of the population. 18.6% were of German, 6.8% American, 6.6% Norwegian, 5.6% Irish and 5.1% European ancestry.

There were 233 households out of which 42.9% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 50.6% were married couples living together, 14.6% had a female householder with no husband present, and 27.0% were non-families. 21.9% of all households were made up of individuals and 9.0% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.90 and the average family size was 3.35.

In the city, the population was spread out with 34.4% under the age of 18, 6.8% from 18 to 24, 27.4% from 25 to 44, 20.9% from 45 to 64, and 10.5% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 32 years. For every 100 females there were 96.8 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 92.6 males.

The median income for a household in the city was $30,357, and the median income for a family was $32,500. Males had a median income of $32,431 versus $23,214 for females. The per capita income for the city was $13,428. About 17.5% of families and 18.6% of the population were below the poverty line, including 25.7% of those under age 18 and 23.1% of those age 65 or over.

Flooding

Oakville is on the northern shore of the Chehalis River, just downstream from the convergence of the Chehalis and Black Rivers. This is an area subject to annual flooding with major floods occurring most recently in 2007 and 1996. Each of these floods was a federally declared disaster due to the extensive damage to human life, livestock, and property in the region.