Maple Valley is a city in King County, Washington, United States. The population was 28,013 at the 2020 census, and was estimated to be 28,553 in 2024.
The town's early history mainly had to do with coal, lumber milling to build homes, and a railroad that ran through town. Coal was brought in from Black Diamond to the south, but the town itself also mined coal from Cedar Mountain. The mine was used as late as 1947.
Rail workers for lines like the Northern Pacific Railroad and the Cedar River Watershed, closed off by the City of Seattle, meant more workers for those things. More residents meant more lumber milling. More lumber milling meant more workers. Suquamish tribe chairperson Martha George was born near Maple Valley in Sheridan in 1892, at a logging camp where her mother and grandmother worked as cooks.
The town grew inward. Blacksmith shops, hotels, saloons and stores took up the town in the 1910s and 1920s. Schools went up as well. Early schools were shacks at best. A two-room school went up in 1910, and a larger high school was built in 1929 as the first school in the Tahoma School District. The school, after extensive renovations, still stands today as an elementary school. Much of this early development actually did not take place in the modern-day city, but rather in Hobart, northeast of incorporated Maple Valley.
More residents meant farming and fishing became staples in the area, with milk, poultry and berry farming becoming the main grown food staples in the area. Fishing out of the Cedar River also became popular. Maple Valley also saw resorts beginning in the 1920s. Lake Wilderness, once the site of a county lumber mill, quickly became a resort lake with the opening of Gaffney's Grove, which opened with a ballroom, restaurant and roller rink. Later, the resort grew to include an airstrip, lodge, rental cabins, a nine-hole golf course and a bowling alley. It remained in operation until 1964.
Increasing automobile use in the area gave rise to new roads being built. In the early 1960s, the construction of State Route 18 between Auburn and North Bend ran through the city, requiring many landmarks to be either demolished or moved.
The south side's Four Corners district is the main commercial area of the city. It is located along Maple Valley Black Diamond Road and is bisected by Kent Kangley Road (SR 516) to create four distinct areas of development. The northwestern corner underwent massive reconstruction in the early 2010s and now features several large retailers, apartments, and a strip mall. The northeastern corner was completely constructed in the 2010s; it formerly was a large lumberyard and is now home to several retailers. The southern corners feature strip malls, retailers, an apartment complex, and a housing development.
Geography
According to the United States Census Bureau, the city has a total area of , of which, is land and (3.0%) is water. |source 2=National Weather Service