MasonCounty is a county located in the U.S. state of Washington. As of the 2020 census, the population was 65,726.[1] The county seat and only incorporated city is Shelton.[2] The county was formed out of Thurston County on March 13, 1854.[3] Originally named Sawamish County, it took its present name in 1864 in honor of Charles H. Mason, the first Secretary of Washington Territory.[3][4]
Your loved ones deserve the best, and our Community Care Program offers in-home and community based care to at-risk seniors. For over twenty years, we have been providing quality homecare for our seniors.
The Mason County Health Department Illinois works tirelessly to serve the working families and friends of the county. In addition, there are those in dire need of advice, various medical services, mental health services, or simply helping with aging family members. First of all, you can explore our website for all the information one may require in such circumstances.
At the Mason County Health Department Illinois, everyone living within the region can expect a certain level of professionalism and service when the need strikes. We handle all types of health-related aspects of the community, including:
Senior Home Care is a concept that is gaining new popularity with seniors and family caregivers. New senior home care agencies are springing up all over the nation, offering a wide variety of healthcare and personal care service agencies.
Here at Mason County Health Department Illinois we have been providing quality homecare to our clients for over twenty years . By Choosing Mason County Health Department Illinois to provide your homecare aide, you will have the reassurance that your loved one is being cared for by a dedicated, local agency. We value the concept of Aging in Place.
Our Nursing Program offers Mason County Illinois prenatal care, immunizations, health screenings, free classes and counseling, and more. Click on the photos below to learn more about each of our services.
The county now known as Mason was first established as Sawamish County in 1854. Carved out of Thurston County, it extended to the Pacific Ocean. In 1864, it was renamed Mason County. It encompasses the southern part of Hood Canal and many bays and inlets of south Puget Sound. The indigenous peoples include the Coast Salish. European contact in the 1700s brought disease that decimated the native populations. In the 1840s, American settlers arrived and began farming.
The prison in Shelton added hundreds of beds during this period, helping to offset job losses in the forest industry. Recreation as well as oyster and seafood production and processing also have increased in importance. Mason County also has become an important community for commuters to Thurston and Pierce counties. In 2020, 55.9 percent of earned income came from residents working outside the county.
Mason County had reduced its unemployment rate levels to those last seen in 2007. However, the return to pre-recession employment totals in some industries had been slow and job creation had become a challenge. Then along came March 2020 and things became a lot more challenging for everyone. Not just Mason County. The county continues to return from the beginning of the pandemic with unemployment rates and nonfarm employment starting to bounce back.
Since 2010 when the unemployment rate touched 11.9 percent, the county had seen a rate drop every year. The COVID-19 outbreak put a pin in that balloon as April 2020 saw the rate jump. While the remainder of the year saw the rate moderate, the damage led to an average annual unemployment rate of 9.8 percent in 2020. Up from the 2019 average of 6.4 percent. The 2021 numbers were a more reasonable 7.0 percent
Nonfarm industry employment in Mason County has been consistent over the last several years, with most industries remaining steady. However, nonfarm employment totals continue to trail the pre-recession figure of 14,860 in 2007.
The Local Employment Dynamics (LED) database, a joint project of state employment departments and the U.S. Census Bureau, matches state employment data with federal administrative data. Among the products is industry employment by age and gender. All workers covered by state unemployment insurance data are included; federal workers and non-covered workers, such as the self-employed, are not. Data are presented by place of work, not place of residence.
In 2020, the largest job holder age group in Mason County was the 55 and older age category, making up 26.5 percent of employment across all industries. The next largest share was among people aged 35 to 44 with 21.8 percent of employment.
Personal income includes earned income, investment income and government payments such as Social Security and Veterans Benefits. Investment income includes income imputed from pension funds and from owning a home. Per capita personal income equals total personal income divided by the resident population.
Mason County is somewhat older than the statewide average, with fewer individuals under the age of 18 and more 65 and older. The county is less diverse than the state in terms of race and ethnicity, with 87.5 percent white and 1.5 percent black. The American Indian and Alaska Natives make up 4.8 percent of the population.
Our mission at Mason County Public Health and Human Services is to protect the quality of life by working to create and maintain a safe, vibrant, and healthy community.
The Mason County Health Coalition, Mason Matters, is working to bring together members of the community to help improve the health and wellbeing of our county. The coalition workgroups will be designing a series of projects to help achieve these improvements.
Learn about the civilian workforce behind the U.S. Army's Texas frontier operations in the 19th century with Col. (Ret.) "Ty" Smith's, Under the Double Eagle. Now available at a reduced price.
Mason County is located in Central Texas, just south of the geographic center of the state. The county's center lies at approximately 3045' north latitude and 9911' west longitude, just over ninety-five miles northwest of Austin. The county covers an area of 935 square miles in the region commonly called the Hill Country; its elevation ranges from 1,300 to 2,200 feet. The western part of the county lies on the edge of the Edwards Plateau and is characterized by generally flat terrain surfaced by shallow, stony clays and loams. The eastern part of the county, in the Llano basin, is characterized by rolling to steep terrain surfaced by deeper sandy and clayey loams. The primary natural resources are derived from the limestone and granite formations underlying these areas and include quarried stone, crushed rock and gravel, sand, and lime. Mineral resources include granitic quartz, feldspar, iron, lead, manganese, and topaz, but none appears in significant amounts. The county flora comprises an assortment of grasses, scrub brush, creosote bush, and cacti, with open stands of various hardwoods, primarily live oak, mesquite, and Ashe juniper. Native pecan trees can be found along the banks of creeks and rivers. The county's abundant wildlife, particularly deer, wild turkey, dove, and quail, has made it a popular hunting and fishing area. The Llano River, which flows west to east through the center of the county, drains the majority of Mason County. Other rivers include the James River, which enters the Llano from the south, and the San Saba River, which crosses the extreme northwestern corner of the county. There are also a number of spring-fed creeks. The western edge of the county overlies the Edwards-Trinity (Plateau) aquifer, and portions of the county overlie the Hickory Sandstone and Ellenburger-San Saba aquifers. Rainfall averages approximately 25 inches a year, temperatures range from an average high of 97 F in July to an average low of 37 in January, and the growing season lasts approximately 217 days.
For centuries the countryside surrounding the Llano River served as summer hunting grounds for a number of roving Indian peoples, primarily the Lipan Apaches. The Comanches moved down from the Panhandle during the eighteenth century and drove the Apaches south. The Spanish made some grants during the late 1700s for land along the Llano River, but no permanent settlements were established in Spanish or Mexican Texas.
In the mid-1840s the overflow of German colonists from Fredericksburg and New Braunfels, under the direction of John O. Meusebach, began to move into what became Mason County, risking the dangers of the wilderness for the opportunity to own larger tracts of land. The establishment of Fort Mason in 1851 and the resulting greater protection against Indian attacks encouraged more rapid settlement of the county by Germans, Irish, and English. Mason County was originally part of the Bexar District. When Gillespie County was marked off in 1848, most of the future Mason County was included within its boundaries. On January 22, 1858, Mason County, named for Fort Mason, was established by an act of the state legislature. George W. Todd organized the county on August 2 of that year. The act required that a county seat be established within two miles of the fort, and on May 20, 1861, voters chose the town of Mason for this purpose. The original boundaries of the county have remained virtually unchanged over the years. Mason County grew slowly at first due to the danger of Indian attacks (despite the presence of Fort Mason), and also because of the onset of the Civil War shortly after the county was organized. Most early settlers were farmers, and agriculture centered around providing basic necessities. In 1860 the chief crops were Indian corn and sweet potatoes. Cattle raising was the most profitable business in Mason County from an early date, and ranchers began to stock the open ranges before the Civil War.
In February 1861 the county voted almost solidly against secession-2 for, 75 against. A large proportion of the population was made up of German immigrants who were for the most part against slavery and did not wish to secede from a country they had only recently come to, or to be drawn into another war. The county had few slaveowners-the 1860 census reports only eighteen slaves out of a population of 630. German sentiments against secession caused a certain amount of tension between German and American settlers. In March 1861 Fort Mason was surrendered to the Confederate authorities, but it remained virtually unmanned throughout the war, and Indian attacks were consequently particularly severe during this period. During the war many county men were away in the army, and the herds ran wild, easy prey for rustlers and Indians. Beef prices dropped so low that many cattle were killed for their hides.
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