Poulsbo

The Suquamish people inhabited the area at the north end of Liberty Bay for millennia and had several names for modern-day Poulsbo; one of those names, tcu-tcu-lats, means “place of the maples”. The Suquamish occupied villages on the Liberty Bay shoreline — among them, ho-CHEEB — for at least 5,000 years, hunted in local forests and floodplains, fished in bays and streams here, and harvested shellfish along the shoreline.

After the signing of the Treaty of Point Elliott in 1855, most Suquamish people here relocated to the Port Madison Indian Reservation, although the Suquamish Tribe reserved — and to this day exercises — certain cultural and natural resource rights in its historical territory, including Poulsbo.

Founded by Norwegian immigrant Jørgen Eliason in the 1880s, Poulsbo was settled in its early years by a large number of Norwegian and other Scandinavian immigrants because of its similarities to their native countries. In 1886, I.B. Moe, one of the early Norwegian settlers, suggested that the community should have a post office. Moe suggested the town be named “Paulsbo” (which translates as “Paul’s place”), after the village in Halden, Norway, where Moe spent his early years. The community’s petition for a post office was granted and Moe became the first postmaster, but authorities in Washington, D.C. misspelled the town’s name, likely misreading Moe’s handwriting, and the community became known as “Poulsbo” thereafter. Poulsbo was incorporated on December 18, 1907.

Until World War II, many Poulsbo residents retained Norwegian as a primary language. However, during World War II, the military constructed about 300 residential units to provide housing for workers at the nearby Puget Sound Naval Shipyard in Bremerton. The population of Poulsbo almost tripled over three years, and the diversification of the population led to the dominance of English as the primary language.

On October 22, 1975, King Olav V of Norway visited Poulsbo as part of the celebration of 150 years of Norwegian immigration to the United States. His son, Harald, visited 20 years later.

Poulsbo is home to many different public schools in the North Kitsap School District. North Kitsap High School, Poulsbo Middle School, Poulsbo Elementary School and Vinland Elementary School are located within the city limits, while Pearson Elementary School lies south of town. Private schools include Gateway Christian School and West Sound Academy. Post-secondary undergraduate education includes Olympic College Poulsbo.

Media

The North Kitsap Herald has published continuously since 1901, providing local news for Poulsbo as well as the greater Kitsap County area. The Herald was founded by Peter Iverson, who served as mayor of Poulsbo and state legislator. Today, the Herald is owned by Sound Publishing. In Kitsap, Sound also publishes the Bainbridge Island Review, Central Kitsap Reporter, and Port Orchard Independent (Fridays); Kingston Community News (monthly); as well as KitsapDailyNews.com and BainbridgeReview.com (daily online).

Landmarks

First Lutheran Church opened in 1886 atop the hill, overlooking downtown Poulsbo, and was originally Førdefjord Lutheran.

Norseman Statue

The Norseman Statue (47.74719°N 122.65469°W), a 12-foot (3.7 m) statue by artist Mark Gale of Tacoma, stands at Viking Avenue and Lindvig Way.

The statue was commissioned by the city to replace a wooden sign at Viking Avenue and Lindvig Way. The statue was created by Tacoma, Washington based artist Mark Gale. The project was coordinated by local businessman Bill Austin and Poulsbo Mayor Becky Erickson. Privately funded by the Bjorgen Beautification Fund, the statue cost $25,000. The statue was first unveiled November 23, 2012 at a traditional city tree lighting ceremony.

The Norseman statue constitutes 500 pounds of rebar steel and 5,000 pounds of cement. The statue stands on a foundation engraved with the words Velkommen til Poulsbo. It is located on the western edge of town, on the southeast corner of Viking Ave. NW and NW Lindvig Way.

Parks

Poulsbo’s Fish Park (47°44.862′N 122°39.190′W) is a 40-acre (16 ha) park in Poulsbo. The park was started in 2002 by a group of community members and governments including the City of Poulsbo and the Suquamish Tribe.

The park is centered on the Dogfish Creek estuary at the north end of Liberty Bay. As of 2015, the park had 1.5 miles (2.4 km) of trails with the city planning to double that figure.

During the fall salmon run, Washington State University’s extension service conducts salmon tours at locations on Kitsap Peninsula including Fish Park.

Sister cities

Poulsbo has sister city relationships with:

• Norway Namsos, Norway
• Norway Halden, Norway