Town file
Port Angeles, Washington
Port Angeles, Washington (Clallam County, Washington) is the town in one episode of Small Town Murder, the comedy true-crime podcast: episode 399, "Titanic Insanity" (22 June 2023). Port Angeles is a town of 19,888 people on the northern coast of Washington's Olympic Peninsula, in Clallam County, about two and a half hours north-west of Seattle and roughly two hours by water from Victoria, British Columbia.
- Town
- Port Angeles
- County
- Clallam County
- State
- Washington
- Country
- USA
- Episodes
- 399
- Approximate location
- 48.119, -123.448
Episode 399 / 22 June 2023 / 170 min / full
Titanic Insanity
"It's Port Angeles, Washington, which is very near Squim... So this is in Clallum County, on the northern coast of the Olympic peninsula, about two and a half hours northwest of Seattle." about 0:05:44
The case: Death of Connor McInerney (January 11, 1998); Murder of Debbie Rowan (March 1-2, 1998). Read the case file.
The figures, as told in 2023
- Population
- 19,888
- Median age
- about 38 years old
- Median household income
- $41,297
- Median home value
- $415,900
- Two-bedroom rent
- $1,180
- Cost of living
- 97
- Religious
- 29.6%
- Property crime
- ▲ almost double
- Violent crime
- ▲ only slightly high, pretty average
History, in brief
- In the 1800s a small whaling, fishing and shipping village developed on the water, trading heavily with Victoria, British Columbia. about 0:06:22
- The first settlers arrived in 1856 and 1857, and the Chorburg Land Company came in 1859. about 0:06:32
- Victor Smith, a protege of the collector of customs, got approval to move the US Customs Port of Entry for Washington Territory from Port Townsend to Port Angeles. about 0:07:12
- Smith died when the Brother Johnson sank, a boat out there; he died in a shipwreck. about 0:07:23
- The port of entry was returned to Port Townsend and the place sank into obscurity. about 0:07:38
- In 1884 they built a hotel, got a trading post and a general store, and started getting a ferry pier. about 0:07:48
- A large-scale logging operation began in 1914, with a big mill and a rail right of way carrying trees to the shore; it lasted until the 1970s and early 1980s as the mills began to close. about 0:08:10
- The last mill closed in 1997. about 0:08:30
- In August 2003 they began the $275 million graving dock project, intended to construct an area for anchoring pontoons for a bridge; during construction they discovered human remains. about 0:08:37
- The site was called the largest prehistoric Indian village and burial ground found in the United States, with about 300 graves and 785 pieces of human bone, and artefacts going back at least 8,000 years; the project was abandoned in 2004. about 0:09:35
- Many graves held whole families who seemed to have died suddenly, probably from pandemics such as smallpox, which caused mass deaths among the native population between 1780 and 1835. about 0:10:46
- John Elway was born in Port Angeles. about 0:11:01
The reviews read out
5 stars
"A perfect town: some of the most beautiful land in the Pacific northwest, home to Olympic National Park and the Olympic Mountains, and somewhere everyone should visit."about 0:11:37
5 stars
"Beautiful view of the mountains right on the ocean, a short bus commute to find out where things are, cool mom and pop corner stores and restaurants, and interesting shops for tourists; would change access for homeless people to better programmes and resources."about 0:12:08
1 star
"Bad drug problems, poor economics, too remote, a mixed bag of humanity with some nice folks and social derelicts, and not recommended."about 0:13:44
1 star
"Dirty, noisy, corrupt and filled with the rejects of society."about 0:14:24
1 star
"High cost of living, crime, needles in the parks and beaches, trash and human faeces on the sidewalk, constant harassment by the unhoused population, belongings stolen, druggies and rapists roaming the streets."about 0:15:01
1 star
"The reviewer saw someone peeing on their friend and then someone else using drugs, and says it is not the best choice to visit or live no matter what people say."about 0:15:58
Nearest Small Town Murder towns
- Sequim, Washington17 miles
- Lopez Island, Washington36 miles
- Freeland, Washington42 miles
- Clearview, Washington64 miles
- Shelton, Washington64 miles
- Kirkland, Washington65 miles
Everything here is as told in the episode, on the date it went out; figures and places may have changed since. Endings are covered: open an episode and use the spoiler switch to read them.