McCleary, Washington
city in Grays Harbor County, Washington, United States
McCleary () is a city in Grays Harbor County, Washington, United States. The population was 1,997 at the 2020 census.
History
Henry McCleary came to the land in 1897, building two sawmills and a door manufacturing company. He sold the land and the companies to Simpson Logging Company, December 31, 1941. On January 9, 1943 the land became an incorporated city named after its founder. The Henry McCleary House, designed by Joseph Wohleb, still stands in Olympia, Washington and is listed on the National Register of Historic Places.
Since 1959, McCleary has held the annual Bear Festival with live performances and a parade. It originally began as a celebration of the spring bear hunt to control the local population, which endangered timber harvests, and included a serving of bear stew to the community.
Geography
According to the United States Census Bureau, the city has a total area of 2.07 square miles (5.36 km2), of which, 2.05 square miles (5.31 km2) is land and 0.02 square miles (0.05 km2) is water.
Demographics
2020 census
As of the 2020 census, McCleary had a population of 1,997.
Begin with the source’s own compact description: “McCleary, Washington” is city in Grays Harbor County, Washington, United States. The dossier treats that line as a proposition to test through McCleary, Washington and city, not as a finished interpretation.
Why this record matters
The phrase “city in Grays Harbor County, Washington, United States” supplies a clear boundary for inquiry. It also exposes the unanswered questions: who defined that boundary, when it became stable and which sources sit outside it.
Place names and jurisdictional language are key evidence: both can reveal earlier catalogue descriptions and overlooked record series. The source revision retrieved here is dated Sep 12, 2026. The linked authority identifier is Q771582. VIAF identifies the subject as 130246372. The Library of Congress control number is n85064374. Authority coordinates are 47.055, -123.269. 2 of 4 selected statements include explicit references; 1 carry qualifiers and 0 use preferred rank. The first chronological checks are 2020, 1897, 1941 and 1943.
A single description cannot reconcile every naming convention, rebuilding phase or administrative transfer associated with a place. The lead is largely declarative, so disagreement and counter-evidence require a deliberate search beyond the opening account. Authority statements aid reconciliation but still require their own references, qualifiers and ranks to be checked.
How to read it
Treat names, boundaries and functions as historically changeable. Maps, plans, inventories and administrative records can clarify what the place meant at different dates.
- Historic place names
- Jurisdictional context
- Routes into maps and plans
Contemporary maps, plans, listed-building records, estate papers and the responsible local or national archive.
Three-step research path
- Establish the record: confirm the title “McCleary, Washington”, its source revision and the description used here.
- Expand the search: follow McCleary, Washington primary sources, McCleary, Washington archive and McCleary research across catalogues and specialist indexes.
- Test the account: compare the strongest cited source with the responsible institution’s current record and note any disagreement.
Questions for further research
- Which source most directly establishes the central claim about “McCleary, Washington”?
- What physical evidence or contemporary plan supports the description?
- Which authority defined the place, boundary or structure at the relevant date?
Search terms from this dossier
This entry incorporates text from “McCleary, Washington” on English Wikipedia. Contributors are listed in the page history. Text is available under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 License. Selected authority identifiers and statements are retrieved from Wikidata under CC0; their references and qualifiers remain part of the verification path.