Newcastle
In the late 1800s, Newcastle was a coal-mining center and became one of the region’s first “company towns”. The city didn’t incorporate until 1994, but the history of the community runs much deeper. In the late 1800s, between 75-100 tons of coal was produced each day in Newcastle. When the mine closed for good in 1963, more than13 million tons of coal had been extracted.
Like Kirkland, Newcastle is another Eastside city that has moved beyond its working class roots. One of the Eastside’s premier golf facilities is located in Newcastle. The Golf Club at Newcastle sits upon the same land that was once the Newcastle dump and landfill. Located between Bellevue and Renton, Newcastle offers the comfort and community of a small town but retains the choice and convenience of being part of a larger urban region.
The city is just 4.5 square miles and is home to around 8,000 residents. Newcastle is located between Bellevue and Renton, sandwiched between Lake Washington to the west and Cougar Mountain to the east. While real estate values are not as high as those in Bellevue or Kirkland, they continue to rise and the city’s median home price is well over $300,000.