Kittitas

Formed November 24, 1883 (28^th county)

Kittitas County (44,342), Ellensburg (19,331)                

The Modern concrete and glass building was constructed in 1955.  The courthouse is on Main Street at 5^th Avenue.  Main Street is Interstate Highway 90 Business in the town.  John W. Maloney and John H. Whitney provided the building designs.  There was also an 1887 courthouse in Ellensburg, the only county seat.  Kittitas County was founded on November 24, 1883 from Yakima County as the 28^th county.  It is named for the Native American tribe.  The county seat was named for the Postmaster’s wife Mary Ellen. 

Kittitas County government consists of a sheriff and 3 Commissioners.  Two Superior Court Judges and One District Court Judge serve Kittitas County.  The county is in the central part of the state.  Seattle, Washington is northwest and Spokane, Washington is northeast of the county.  The Columbia River forms its southeast border.  The county center is 18.2 miles Northwest of Ellensburg nearer Teanaway.  The county is surrounded clockwise by Chelan, Grant, Yakima, Pierce, and King counties. 

The area of the county is 2297 square miles.  It is 8 out of 39 in the state.  It ranks 24 out of 39 in population in the state.  It has a density of 19.3 persons per square mile making it 27 out of 39 in the state.  Kittitas County has 55.1% of its population in its incorporated areas.  Interstate Highway 82 enters the county from the southeast, Yakima County, and terminates.  Interstate Highway 90 passes east to west from Grant County to King County.  United States Highway 97 comes from the north, Chelan County, and joins Interstate Highway 82 into Yakima County, south.  The county is shaped like a lazy comma.  Ellensburg is located in the southeast quarter of the county.  Ellensburg is the county seat and the largest city.  It is 43.6% of the county population.  The county is pronounced KIT-I-TAS.  This county is in the Ellensburg Micropolitan Statistical Area.