Town file
Shelton, Washington
Shelton, Washington (Mason County, Washington) is the town in one episode of Small Town Murder, the comedy true-crime podcast: episode 152, "Taming The Beast" (2 January 2020). Shelton, Washington, sits in Mason County in the western central part of the state, south of Seattle and about an hour and a quarter from the city by road.
- Town
- Shelton
- County
- Mason County
- State
- Washington
- Country
- USA
- Episodes
- 152
- Approximate location
- 47.226, -123.112
Episode 152 / 2 January 2020 / 151 min / full
Taming The Beast
"This is in Mason County... Shelton, Washington, in western central Washington, south of Seattle." about 0:08:07
The case: Murder of Marie Cameron (June 9, 1980). Read the case file.
The figures, as told in 2020
- Population
- 9,882
- Median home value
- $246,900
- Two-bedroom rent
- $1,003
- Cost of living
- 96.6
- Religious
- about 28%
- Property crime
- ▲ three times
- Violent crime
- ▼ just under
History, in brief
- Shelton was incorporated in 1890. about 0:10:34
- It is named after David Shelton, a delegate to the territorial legislature. about 0:10:37
- The town was originally known as Shelton Vill, and the Vill was later dropped. about 0:11:11
- David and Francis Shelton had a farm at Oakland Bay in 1853. about 0:11:50
- In its early days the town was served by a fleet of steamboats bringing in supplies. about 0:11:59
- The economy was built around logging, farming, dairying, ranching and oyster cultivation. about 0:12:23
- The Simpson timber mill was a major employer in the town. about 0:15:43
- Shelton was the last city in Washington to use a mayor-commission form of government, before adopting a different form in November 2017. about 0:16:01
- A 1970 history of Shelton said timber brought in a new proud breed of workers who came looking for work, not land. about 0:16:23
- In 1914 a fire destroyed 17 of the town's 20 stores. about 0:17:33
- The Methodist church caught fire and the bank burned, though the bank vault survived. about 0:17:51
- A hospital was built in 1920; before that patients were taken to Olympia. about 0:17:59
- Walmart opened a 102,000 square foot store in Shelton in 1994, creating 200 jobs. about 0:18:18
- The town has a large number of antique shops and second-hand book stores. about 0:18:33
The reviews read out
1 star
"The reviewer lists crime statistics against the national average and says people can count on increasing crime, homeless people everywhere and rain, though the area is beautiful with outdoor activities and within one to two hours of the cities."about 0:19:46
1 star
"A small town stuck in the mud and stuck in time, with modern-day druggies, run-down homes, nothing downtown but a couple of okay restaurants and a few decent shops, and a dilapidated Safeway; Walmart and Fred Meyer are up on the hill."about 0:20:09
1 star
"A horrible place to live, the least diverse place the reviewer has been in a while, with trash schools and rude, arrogant people."about 0:21:51
Nearest Small Town Murder towns
- Raymond, Washington48 miles
- Kirkland, Washington53 miles
- Sequim, Washington59 miles
- Freeland, Washington61 miles
- Clearview, Washington61 miles
- Port Angeles, Washington64 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.