King County is a county located in the U.S. state of Washington. As of the 2010 census its population was 1,931,249. King is the most populous county in Washington, and the 13th-most populous in the United States. The county seat is Seattle, which is the state's largest city.

King County is included in the Seattle-Tacoma-Bellevue, WA Metropolitan Statistical Area. About two-thirds of the county's population lives in the city's suburbs. As of 2011, King County was the 86th highest-income county in the United States.

Etymology

The county was originally named after William Rufus King who was Vice-President when the Washington Territory was created. In 1986, a motion was introduced to change the namesake to Martin Luther King, Jr. No public votes or hearings were taken on the change.

On February 24, 1986, the King County Council passed Council Motion 6461 five votes to four setting forth the historical basis for the renaming of King County in honor of Martin Luther King, Jr. Because only the state can charter counties, this change was not made official until April 19, 2005, when the Governor signed Senate Bill 5332 into law.

King County, Washington is a county in Washington State that includes the city of Seattle.

King County may also refer to:

Places

Ships

See also

King County was a steam ferry built in 1900 which served on Lake Washington until 1908.

Career

King County was the first true ferry to operate on Lake Washington. The ferry was built in 1900 at Madison Park The ferry was launched on March 8, 1900. A mishap occurred during the vessel's launching with a number of notable figures on board, the ferry slid down the ways but rather than floating in the water, became stuck in the mud. The steamer Cyrene had to pull the new ferry free.

King County was placed on the route from Madison Park to Kirkland. The county hired George Bartsch to act as the ferry's captain. When his services weren't necessary for the ferry, Bartsch ran a sideline with his own steamboat towing log rafts on the lake. It was said by some that he spent most of his time doing this, as business was too sparse to justify much operation of the ferry.

Poorly built, King County lasted only eight years, and 1908, the vessel was condemned as unfit for further service. The vessel is also reported to have sunk in May 1907.