Morton is a city in Lewis County, Washington, United States. The population was 1,036 at the 2020 census.
History
19th century
A village of the Upper Cowlitz people, known as Wa-sa, had existed at the present-day site of the city. Morton was first settled in 1871 by James Fletcher. It was later named after Benjamin Harrison's Vice President, Levi P. Morton, in 1889. Morton was officially incorporated on January 7, 1913. Many of Morton's settlers were emigrants from Kentucky.
20th century
left|thumb|200px|Morton, Washington 1910
In July 1924, a large portion of Morton's downtown district was decimated in a fire, affecting 18 blocks. Beginning at the Hilts Hotel, the blaze spread and destroyed 19 commercial buildings, including structures deemed fireproof. A new building collapsed and the Arcade Theater and two general stores were in ruins. With the exception of a housing section for railroad employees, residential areas in Morton were spared; only one minor injury was reported. Another fire engulfed the area several years later, setting fire to the post office.
The White Pass Highway (part of U.S. Route 12) was relocated through Morton in December 1967 due to the creation of Riffe Lake behind Mossyrock Dam, which inundated the old route.
21st century
The city of Morton voted to leave the Timberland Regional Library district by way of proposition in 2022, leaving the city with no library or supporting library system.
As part of a single-evening act of vandalism towards LGBTQ symbols in June 2023 that also affected Chehalis, Washington, a window and a rainbow bench outside of a business in the city were damaged.
A state audit of Morton's government accounts were undertaken into 2024 and revealed a loss of over $937,000. Further investigations produced evidence the loss was misappropriated by the city's clerk-treasurer starting in 2013 and continuing into 2021. The city official, Tamara Clevenger, who during that time had sole oversight of the city's accounts, was suspected of siphoning the money for personal use. The clerk resigned after the city instituted a separation of the combined clerk-treasurer position in 2021. Clevenger was officially charged with wire fraud in federal court in April 2025; she pled guilty the following month. Clevenger was ordered to fully repay the lost funds and sentenced to five years of probation. In October 2025, the city was able to recover $799,000 via an insurance organization, the Association of Washington Cities Risk Management Service Agency.
A stretch of U.S. Route 12 east of Morton was closed during the December 2025 Pacific Northwest floods due to water and debris on the highway.
Geography
thumb|Morton as seen from Dog Mountain
According to the United States Census Bureau, the city has a total area of , of which is land and is water.
Climate
This region experiences warm (but not hot) and dry summers, with no average monthly temperatures above 71.6 °F. According to the Köppen Climate Classification system, Morton has a warm-summer Mediterranean climate, abbreviated "Csb" on climate maps.
Demographics
2020 census
As of the 2020 census, Morton had a population of 1,036 and a median age of 50.8 years. 18.6% of residents were under the age of 18 and 28.3% were 65 years of age or older. For every 100 females there were 97.0 males, and for every 100 females age 18 and over there were 88.2 males age 18 and over.
0.0% of residents lived in urban areas, while 100.0% lived in rural areas.
There were 468 households in Morton, of which 25.0% had children under the age of 18 living in them. Of all households, 40.8% were married-couple households, 21.4% were households with a male householder and no spouse or partner present, and 29.1% were households with a female householder and no spouse or partner present. About 34.0% of households were made up of individuals and 16.9% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older.
! Race !! Number !! Percent
|-
| White || 913 || 88.1%
|-
| Black or African American || 4 || 0.4%
|-
| American Indian and Alaska Native || 14 || 1.4%
|-
| Asian || 6 || 0.6%
|-
| Native Hawaiian and Other Pacific Islander || 1 || 0.1%
|-
| Some other race || 18 || 1.7%
|-
| Two or more races || 80 || 7.7%
|-
| Hispanic or Latino (of any race) || 69 || 6.7%
|}