This is a scanned version of the text of the original Soil Survey report of Mason County, Washington issued September 1960. Original tables and maps were deleted. There may be references in the text that refer to a table that is not in this document. Updated tables were generated from the NRCS National Soil Information System (NASIS). The soil map data has been digitized and may include some updated information. These are available from http://soildatamart.nrcs.usda.gov. Please contact the State Soil Scientist, Natural Resources Conservation Service (formerly Soil Conservation Service) for additional information. SOIL SURVEY OF MASON COUNTY, WASHINGTON Report by A. 0. Ness, Soil Conservation Service, United States Department of Agriculture, and R. H. Fowler, Washington Agricultural Experiment Stations Soil Survey by R. H. Fowler and R. G. Parvin, Washington Agricultural Experiment Stations Correlation by Ray C. Roberts, Soil Conservation Service United States Department of Agriculture, Soil Conservation Service, in Cooperation with the Washington Agricultural Experiment Stations Thurston County. It included the western part of Thurston General Description of the County County to the Hood Canal. The county seat was first established where Shelton is now located. Shortly MASON COUNTY is in the southeastern part of the thereafter, it was moved to Oakland and remained Olympic Peninsula in northwestern Washington. there for 34 years. In 1864 the name was changed to Shelton, the counts seat, and the only incorporated town Mason County, in honor of the first secretary of the in the county, is northwest of Olympia, the State capital, Territory of Washington. In 1888 the county seat was and southwest of Bremerton. Distances by air from Shel- reestablished in Shelton and has remained there. ton to principal cities in the State are shown in figure 1. The first inhabitants were Indians of the Twana and Skokomish tribes. With them, the United States Gov- ernment concluded treaties that resulted in the estab- lishment of the Skokomish Indian Reservation (4). In 1903 Mason County had a population of about 4,471. By 1950 the population was 15,022, according to the United States Census. One-third is urban, mainly in and around Shelton. The rest is rural. The growth in population has been related to the expansion of the lumbering and other wood-using industries (15). Agriculture has only a minor place in the economy of Mason County because the soils are not suitable for farming or the terrain is too rugged. Only about 7.6 percent of the county was in farms in 1954. The main farming communities are around Shelton, Matlock, Day- ton, Kamilche, Grapeview, Belfair, along the Pickering Passage, and in the Skokomish River Valley. Much of the land on the average farm is covered by second- growth forest or is in stump pastures. Dairying is the Figure 1.-Location of Mason County in Washington. most important type of agriculture; poultry raising is second. Hay is the predominant crop, but grapes (8) Mason County has a land area of approximately 618,880 are produced in large quantities. Growing of berries acres, or 967 square miles. Puget Sound and the Hood and fruits and raising of beef cattle are of lesser im- Canal account for considerable areas of water in the portance. county. This soil survey does not cover 273 square miles Mason County is noted for its beautiful scenery and of Mason County that are within the boundaries of the recreational facilities. On the shores of Hood Canal are Olympic National Park and the Olympic National Forest. many of the most beautiful vacation resorts and summer homes in Washington (fig. 2). Part of the Olympic History and Population National Park, nationally known for its wildness and rugged beauty, is in the county and easily accessible by Mason County was established in March 1854 and good roads. The county offers excellent hunting; deer, named Sawamish County after a tribe of Indians in elk, and bear are plentiful. The many streams, rivers, and lakes abound with game fish. Salmon fishing mersley Inlet transport a large volume of forest prod- is excellent in Puget Sound and Hood Canal. ucts to shipping centers in Olympia, Tacoma, and Seattle. Excellent highways connect all important areas of the county with the large nearby cities. United States Highway No. 101, traverses the county from north to south. Hard-surfaced or well-graded gravel county roads lead to all rural areas. Shelton is served by an airport having a hangar and two paved runways more than 5,000 feet long. Agricultural development of the county is limited be- cause of long distances to markets or to processing plants in Olympia, Tacoma, or more distant points. Farming areas nearer these markets have a considerable advantage over those more distant. Community Facilities Schools are maintained in all parts of Mason County. Shelton has modern grade schools, a junior high school, and a senior high school. Schoolbus service to a large area surrounding the town is furnished. The south- western part of the county is served by a combination grade school and high school located near Matlock. Numerous other modern grade schools are located in dif- ferent parts of the county. Schoolbus service is avail- able in the remotest parts of the county. An excellent hospital and two clinics are in Shelton. In addition the town has a public library. The densely populated areas have good telephone service, and the rural districts are Figure 2.-Summer resort and recreational area along shore of the scheduled to have it in the near future. Hood Canal. The escarpment is Hoodsport soil material. The Mason County Public Utility District provides electricity to all but the most isolated areas. Electricity Industries is obtained from power plants on the Skokomish River. This source of current is supplemented by that obtained Lumbering is the leading industry in the county. It from Bonneville Dam. A main transmission line con- is concentrated in and near Shelton. Smaller enterprises nects Shelton and the Bonneville power plant. in Shelton include plywood manufacturing, harvesting The beautiful natural surroundings provide abundant of Christmas trees and of brush and fern for the eastern recreational facilities. Fishing, hunting, boating, camp- flower trade; processing of dairy and poultry products; ing, swimming, picnicking, and touring along the scenic and packing and shipping of oysters. Outside of Shel- drives are enjoyed by all residents and visitors. Many ton the principal industrial plants are the many, small of the small farms are located in resortlike surroundings. mills producing lumber and shingles; the plants packing oysters; and the wineries. Summer resorts and recreational businesses are also important. Physiography, Relief, and Drainage Mason County has a well-assured future economy. Two things contribute to this: (1) The large volume of Most of Mason County lies in the structural downfold timber still available for harvest (3), and (2) the sus- that is common to the Central Valley of California, the tained-yield operations adopted by the wood-using indus- Willamette Valley of Oregon, and the Cowlitz Valley and tries. State and Federal laws have been enacted to Puget Sound Basin of Washington. The mountainous promote sustained-yield forest management and to area in the west is in the Coast Range Province (19). stabilize forest communities, industries, and employment. The dominant topographic features are (1) the high, In 1944 the Simpson Logging Company developed a jagged peaks and precipitous slopes of the Olympic forest management program that allows it to manage its Mountains in the northwestern part of the county; (2) cutover lands on a sustained-yield basis and to purchase the lower and more rounded Black Hills along the southern supplemental standing timber from lands owned by the border; and (3) the lower lying, rolling glacial moraine Federal and State Governments. and the nearly level outwash plain. The Olympic Mountains in Mason County have an elevation of more than 6,000 feet, and the Black Hills, around 1,500 feet. The Transportation and Markets glacial plain ranges from sea level to an elevation of 1,000 feet, but most of it has an elevation of 300 to 400 Mason County is served by a branch line of the North- feet. ern Pacific Railway that runs from the Grays Harbor The glacial plain is cut by numerous stream channels area to Shelton. Barges and rafts that enter Ham and dissected by the inlets of Puget Sound. Chief among the inlets is the Hood Canal, which penetrates cool and the days seldom hot. The winds are moderate; the county from the north for a distance of nearly 20 destructive winds occur infrequently. Tornadoes have never miles, then turns abruptly to the northeast for another occurred. Except in the high mountains, snowfall is 17 miles. The Hood Canal almost separates a large normally under 30 inches, and it stays on the ground section of about 90 square miles from the rest of the for only a short period. county. The Skokomish river has cut a deep gorge in Temperature and precipitation data compiled from the the Skokomish Valley, through which it flows from Lake United States Weather Bureau records are given in Cushman to the Hood Canal. The river channel, origi- table l. nally part of Hood Canal, and the eastern arm of the Hood Canal separate the county into northern and southern halves. The northern half is bisected by the main part of Hood Canal. Skokomsh Valley, the Hood Canal, and the streams and rivers entering them are deeply incised, and the sides are steep and broken. Three principal river systems and numerous small streams drain Mason County. The two largest rivers, the Hamma Hamma and the Skokomish, drain the north- western part.