Place:Whatcom, Washington, United States

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Whatcom County is a county located in the northwestern corner of the U.S. state of Washington, bordered by the Canadian Lower Mainland (the Metro Vancouver and Fraser Valley Regional Districts of British Columbia) to the north, the Okanogan County to the east, the Skagit County and San Juan County to the south and southwest, and the Salish Sea to the west. Its county seat and largest population center is the coastal city of Bellingham, comprising the Bellingham, WA Metropolitan Statistical Area, and as of the 2020 census, the county's population was 226,847.

The county was created from Island County by the Washington Territorial Legislature in March 1854. It originally included the territory of present-day San Juan and Skagit Counties, which were later independently organized after additional settlement. Its name derives from the Lummi word Xwotʼqom, meaning "noisy water." Whatcom County has a diversified economy with a significant agricultural base, including approximately 60% of the nation's annual production of raspberries.

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Population History

source: Source:Population of States and Counties of the United States: 1790-1990

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Washington and Oregon have been subdivided into townships and sections in accordance with the 1785 Continental Congress Public Land Survey. Both Washington and Oregon use the Willamette Meridian and Base Line for determining baseline and range. The entirety of Whatcom County is divided into land survey townships. In the late nineteenth and early twentieth century a number of the populated townships were given names. Place pages have been specified for those townships. Unincorporated communities in these named townships are defined in terms of Whatcom County, but get "also located" listings in the township. Cemeteries located in these named townships and not in incorporated cities and towns will be defined in terms of these townships. Cemeteries in parts of the county not included in named townships will be defined in terms of the county.