These maps show neighborhoods where racial restrictive covenants were imposed in the decades when they were legal. Most restrictions in Bremerton and Kitsap County date from 1926 to 1948 and covered a large percentage of subdivisions developed in that period. We have documented more than 2,000 restricted properties in 39 subdivisions. Do not assume that areas without circles were unrestricted. Neighborhoods without covenants often practiced racial exclusion by other means. And the practice extended throughout the county. In 1940, Kisap's population of 44,387 included only 118 Black people and 935 Asian and Indigenous Americans. The county's population surged during World War II and after, doubling to 84,176 by 1960, with the number of non-white residents growing to 3,020, still less than 4% of the total.
The map below is still in progress. For a searchable map of individual properties go to our Kitsap parcels map. Or trace the changing racial demography by census tracts 1980-2020.
These are preliminary findings and subject to revision. We are still adding and confirming data. Research and data entry by Sophia Dowling, Erin Miller, and Samantha Cutts. Maps by James Gregory.
Data caveat: On the map above, do not assume that areas without circles were not restricted. Restrictive covenants were only one of the mechanisms of segregation. Neighborhoods without covenants often practiced racial exclusion by other means.
There is a logic to the geography. Areas platted (subdivided) between 1925 and 1948 were most likely to be restricted. Realtors and developers wrote racial exclusions into the initial documents subdividing a future neighborhood. All properties in the subdivision were thus legally restricted. It was more complicated to restrict older areas. Neighborhood associations sometimes organized petition drives and convinced white homeowners to add racial restriction clauses to their properties.
Look at the language of restriction in these deeds. Some specify that neighborhoods are reserved for "Whites," while others enumerate the prohibited racial groups. And the wording is curious. In the terminology of the 1920s-1940s "Hebrews" meant Jews; "Ethiopians" meant African ancestry; "Malays" meant Filipinos; "Mongolians" meant all east Asians; "Hindus" meant all south Asians.
