Ryderwood, Washington

Ryderwood is located at 46°22′30″N 123°2′39″W (46.374868, −123.044179).[1]

According to the United States Census Bureau, the CDP has a total area of 0.16 square miles (0.42 km²), of which all of it (100.0%) is land and none of it (0.0%) is water.

As of the census of 2010,[3] there were 395 people, 221 households, and 134 families residing in the CDP. The population density was 2,453.4 people per square mile (948.9/km²). There were 266 housing units at an average density of 1,652.2/sq mi (639.0/km²). The racial makeup of the CDP was 97.5% White, 0.3% African American, 1.3% Native American, 0.0% Asian, 0.0% Pacific Islander, 0.3% from other races, and 0.8% from two or more races. Hispanic or Latino of any race were 0.8% of the population.

There were 221 households, out of which 5.2% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 57.9% were married couples living together, 2.7% had a female householder with no husband present, and 39.4% were non-families. 33.0% of all households were made up of individuals, and 26.2% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 1.79 and the average family size was 2.15.

In the CDP, the age distribution of the population shows 2.5% under the age of 18, 0.8% from 18 to 24, 2.5% from 25 to 44, 24.3% from 45 to 64, and 69.9% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 68.7 years. For every 100 females, there were 82.9 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 84.2 males.

Ryderwood was established as a logging camp by Long-Bell Lumber Company in 1923. Simultaneously, the town of Longview, WA was created to mill and ship the lumber coming out of Ryderwood. Ryderwood was named for W. F. (“Uncle Bill”) Ryder, logging operations manager for Long-Bell, who came to the northwest to locate a timber source. The town was envisioned as being a different sort of town. It was envisioned as being a permanent center rather than a temporary logging camp and contained a school, a church, and a theater. Billed as a place for families to live rather than bachelor workers, Ryderwood was considered a "modern logging town," as an article from "The Log of Long-Bell"[4] proclaimed.[5]

By 1953, due to advances in timber harvesting technology, the old growth was gone and Long-Bell chose to sell the town. It was purchased by Senior Estates, Inc. for $96,000 with the goal of creating a retirement community for pensioners.[6] As of 2019, Ryderwood remains a retirement community managed by the Ryderwood Improvement and Service Association, a non-profit 501(c)4 organization staffed by resident volunteers.[7]