Kent
The first European settlers to come to the Kent valley in the mid 1800's found a rich, arable land filled with glacial silt supplied by the White River. It was perfect for farming. As the European farms grew in number and supplanted the native population, the White River Indians, not wanting to give up their ancestral lands, began to fight. The Seattle Indian Wars ended with the signing of a treaty which established the Muckleshoot reservation, the only Indian reservation in King County.
In the mid 20th century dams were constructed to control the flooding of the valley's rivers. Developers highly valued the now dry, flat land of the broad valley and soon they began to build an industrial complex nudging the farms aside. The first major industry to move to Kent was the Boeing Aerospace Center in 1965 and others soon followed. In just a few short years, Kent had transformed from an agricultural community to the third largest industrial center in the United States.
Today, Kent has over 113,000 residents, more than double from 10 years ago. It governs over 30 square miles of geography and is the heart of South King County. It is located 18 miles north of Tacoma, 18 miles south of Seattle and seven miles from Sea-Tac International Airport. The city's beautiful scenery features views of the Cascade and Olympic Mountains. With its central location, it connects to the greater Puget Sound and the world via an expansive transportation infrastructure.
The city was name to Money Magazine's Top 10 Places to Live in Washington for 2006 and the active lifestyle is important. It has a national award winning park system with 68 parks making it one of the largest in the county. Kent Station offers shops, restaurants and a movie theater. Old historic downtown, Kent Commons, the ShoWare Center, the Greater Historical Society Museum and the Hydroplane and Raceboat Museum all make Kent a welcoming city.
