Laurier, Washington

Laurier is a census-designated place in Ferry County, Washington that neighbors the Canada–United States border.^[3] The nearest school district is Orient School District.^[4] According to the 2020 census, Laurier had a population of four permanent residents, up from a population of 1 in the 2010 Census.^[5]

Laurier, Washington
Census-designated place
Laurier Show map of Washington (state) Laurier Show map of the United States
Coordinates: 48°59′56″N 118°13′27″W
Country	United States
State	Washington
County	Ferry
Area
• Total	0.06 sq mi (0.16 km2)
• Land	0.06 sq mi (0.16 km2)
• Water	0 sq mi (0 km2)
Elevation [1]	1,654 ft (504 m)
Population  (2020)
• Total	4
• Density	60/sq mi (25/km2)
Time zone	UTC-8 (Pacific (PST))
• Summer (DST)	UTC-7 (PDT)
ZIP code	99146
Area code	509
FIPS code	53-38705[2]
GNIS feature ID	2631350[1]

Name origin

The initial name of the community was Russel but the origin of the namesake was uncertain at the time. When seeking to establish a post office, Russel was discovered to have been an ex-convict, prompting a search for a new name. The Great Northern Railway, which arrived in 1902, chose Boawell from a combination of two settlers named Boath and Kidwell respectively. Kidwell preferred Laurier, after Sir Wilfrid Laurier who was prime minister of Canada from 1896 to 1911,^[6] and that name prevailed as did the post office opened that year.^[7]

Infrastructure

The General Services Administration lists three buildings in Laurier, a border station and two border station residences, built in 1936.^[8] U.S. Route 395 runs through the community north to the Canada–U.S. border, where it becomes British Columbia Highway 395. The Avey Field State Airport is in Laurier and its runway crosses the border into British Columbia.

Climate

This climatic region is typified by large seasonal temperature differences, with warm to hot (and often humid) summers and cold (sometimes severely cold) winters. According to the Köppen Climate Classification system, Laurier has a humid continental climate, abbreviated "Dfb" on climate maps.^[9]

Climate data for Laurier
Month	Jan	Feb	Mar	Apr	May	Jun	Jul	Aug	Sep	Oct	Nov	Dec	Year
Record high °F (°C)	57 (14)	58 (14)	73 (23)	92 (33)	102 (39)	103 (39)	109 (43)	106 (41)	105 (41)	85 (29)	61 (16)	56 (13)	109 (43)
Mean daily maximum °F (°C)	29.8 (−1.2)	37.9 (3.3)	49.3 (9.6)	62.2 (16.8)	71.7 (22.1)	78.1 (25.6)	87.3 (30.7)	86.2 (30.1)	74.8 (23.8)	58.3 (14.6)	40.5 (4.7)	31.8 (−0.1)	59 (15)
Mean daily minimum °F (°C)	15.1 (−9.4)	18.9 (−7.3)	25.2 (−3.8)	32.1 (0.1)	39.8 (4.3)	46.5 (8.1)	50 (10)	48.8 (9.3)	41.3 (5.2)	33.4 (0.8)	26.6 (−3.0)	19.4 (−7.0)	33.1 (0.6)
Record low °F (°C)	−32 (−36)	−30 (−34)	−13 (−25)	11 (−12)	16 (−9)	28 (−2)	30 (−1)	31 (−1)	18 (−8)	6 (−14)	−14 (−26)	−32 (−36)	−32 (−36)
Average precipitation inches (mm)	2.08 (53)	1.39 (35)	1.27 (32)	1.34 (34)	1.8 (46)	2.05 (52)	1.07 (27)	1.09 (28)	1.23 (31)	1.57 (40)	2.1 (53)	2.21 (56)	19.19 (487)
Average snowfall inches (cm)	18.4 (47)	8.5 (22)	3.1 (7.9)	0.1 (0.25)	0 (0)	0 (0)	0 (0)	0 (0)	0 (0)	0.7 (1.8)	5.6 (14)	16 (41)	52.5 (133)
Average precipitation days	14	10	10	9	11	11	6	6	7	10	14	14	122
Source: [10]