Aberdeen is a city in Grays Harbor County, Washington, United States, and the most populous city in the county, with a population of 17,013 at the 2020 census. It sits at the confluence of the Chehalis and Wishkah rivers, where Grays Harbor narrows before opening to the Pacific Ocean, and borders the cities of Hoquiam and Cosmopolis. It is located at the junction of US-12 and US-101 and is sometimes called the "Gateway to the Olympic Peninsula."
The city was founded in 1884 by pioneer Samuel Benn and incorporated on May 12, 1890. It was named for a local salmon cannery, which in turn reflected the fishing port of Aberdeen, Scotland. Its early economy rested on timber and commercial fishing; the first sawmill was built in 1894, and a rail spur linking Aberdeen to the Northern Pacific tracks was completed in 1895. By 1900 Aberdeen was considered one of the grittiest towns on the West Coast, and it was hit hard by the Great Depression, when major sawmills dropped from 37 to 9. Most mills closed in the 1970s and 1980s as timber was logged out.
Tourism now plays an important role, with Aberdeen and Hoquiam serving as a gateway to the Pacific Coast and Olympic National Park. The city is home port to the Grays Harbor Historical Seaport and the Lady Washington, a full-scale reproduction of the first American vessel to visit the West Coast. It also draws visitors honoring Kurt Cobain, who with fellow Aberdeen resident Krist Novoselic formed the band Nirvana.