Towns of Lincoln County, Washington
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Submitted by Rella Gleaton
Origins, establishments, platting and naming.
ALMIRA, west of
Davenport in west central Lincoln County, was founded in 1889, and named
Davisine, for Charles C. Davis. Mr.
Davis owned the site and was the first merchant in the area. Later he sold part
of his interest to Mr. Rodgers and Mr. Reed, who wanted to establish a town
site. When signing the deed, Rodgers and Reed noticed that
Almira was Mrs Davis’ first name and thus named the new town. Another
story says the name of Mrs. Davis was chosen for the town by the chief engineer
of the Northern Pacific Railway when Mr. Davis sold him a right-of-way across
the property.
BLUESTEM, south of
Harrington in east Lincoln County, was platted in the early 1890s by Ulysses
Sheridan Long who named it Moscow. The settlers later changed its name for the
main wheat species raised in the area.
BRENTS, south of the Columbia River north of Creston in north central Lincoln County had a post office established in 1882, which was closed when a post office was established at Creston in 1890. Named for Judge Thomas H. Brents, a local land owner who was a territorial delegate to Congress in 1884 through 1887. A former name was Brent's Country.
CHAMOKANE creek begins southwest of Springdale in south central Stevens County, flowing east and southeast to the Spokane River between Long Lake and Little Falls. The eastern boundary of the Spokane Indian Reservation is defined by its southern course. The present name and an earlier name, Tshimakain, means "plain of the springs" in the Spokane Indian language. There was a post office at Chamokane from 1907 to 1911.
CRESTON, west of
Spokane and south of the Columbia River in north central Lincoln County, was
named by railroad personnel in 1889. Its elevation of 2,462 ft. was the highest point or the crest
on the route of the Central Washington Railroad. Before the railroad was built,
the town name was Benson. The plat for the town was filed June 19, 1890, with
incorporation on April 20, 1903.
DAVENPORT, in the Big
Bend Country west of Spokane in north central Lincoln County is the county seat.
Founded by a settler named Harry Harker, in 1880, he called it Cottonwood
Springs. Other names were Harker's Place, Cottonwood, and Cottonwood Creek.
In 1881 John and Emma Nichols established the first building on Harker Street,
which housed the post office, hotel , store and their residence. J .
C. Davenport of Cheney started a store on the hill above in 1881, calling it Davenport.
In 1882, when the settlement was destroyed by fire, the people moved to
Cottonwood Springs and changed the name to Davenport where they incorporated
June 9, 1890.
DOWNS, southwest of
Harrington in south central Lincoln County, was platted by Howard S. Amon on
January 14, 1902 and named for P. I. Downs, assistant general superintendent of
the Great Northern Railway Company. Downs was killed in a train wreck in 1901.
EARL, northwest of
Harrington in central Lincoln County, was named for the first white settler,
Robert Earl who arrived there in 1882. In 1884 a post office was established and
given Mr. Earl's name. An orphan born in Illinois in 1835, he immigrated in 1846
to Linn County, Oregon. Farming in both Oregon and California before coming to
Lincoln County, he raised wheat and was post master for many years.
EDWALL, in the Big
Bend country east of Harrington in east central Lincoln County, was named for
Peter Edwall, an 1881 pioneer. The town was platted by him on May 19, 1892 and a
post office established then which is still used.
EGYPT, a region west of the Spokane River north of Davenport in northeast Lincoln County, is still known for miles around as Egypt country.. It was named by John Inkster, a seafaring man and world traveler, who thought it resembled portions of Egypt. A post office was established in 1892 and discontinued in 1910.
FAIRWEATHER, a
community east of Davenport in northeast Lincoln County, was platted by John W.
Still and William F. Hooker on September 23, 1882. When the Northern Pacific Railway’s Pend Oreille division
was in operation, H. W. Fairweather was associated with the company.
Fairweather as a town did not succeed and the town of Reardan was platted
on the site In June of 1889.
FISHTRAP, a 3-mile-long lake is northeast of Sprague in southeast Lincoln and southwest Spokane counties, was named for fish traps that Indians operated there in the early days. Other names are Fish Lake and Deep Lake. At Fishtrap a post office was established in 1906 continuing for 30 years until 1936.
FORT SPOKANE, at the
mouth of the Spokane Rifer and situated on the Columbia River, was established
in 1880 as Camp Spokane. In 1882 it became a permanent post, growing with
over 45 structures and was renamed Fort Spokane. It was officially
abandoned in 1899 when the troops were called to fight in the
Spanish-American War.
GOVAN, a farming
community west of Spokane in northwest Lincoln County, was established as a
railroad station in 1889 and on June 24, 1899, tens years
later, it was platted by
Carrie Hesseltine as a town site. It was named for R. B. Govan, a construction
engineer employed by Washington Central Railroad.
GRAVELLE, southeast
of Davenport in east central Lincoln County, was named for Alfred Gravelle who
was born in 1854 in Montreal, Canada and came to the U. S. with his parents in
1865. He arrived in Lincoln county in the late 1870s where he
farmed. On the former Seattle and Lake Shore Railway, this was sometimes
known as Gravelle Station.
HARRINGTON, still is
a prosperous wheat growing town in the Big Bend country southwest of Davenport
in southeast Lincoln County. In 1879 this site was claimed as a homestead by
Adam Luby. Named for W. P.
Harrington of Colusa County, California, a banker and land speculator who purchased 1,500 acres of land in 1883, with a Seattle banker Jacob Furth.
Platted by Horace and Emily Cutter. The town was incorporated April 17
1902.
HELLGATE, was situated near the Columbia River, 40 miles northwest of Davenport, 12 miles north of Wilbur, the water rushed through a rock gorge, making a spectacular scene. A post office was established in 1898, lasting until 1914. Hellgate is one of the small towns now covered by the back waters of Grand Coulee Dam creating the Franklin D. Roosevelt Lake.
HESSELTINE, six miles north of Wilbur in Lincoln county, was named for homesteader E. A. Hesseltine who raised wheat. Hesseltine, became Wilbur's city attorney and police judge for many years, establishing the Wilbur Library in 1901.
IRBY is located on
Crab Creek west of Odessa in southwest Lincoln County. Established as a ranch by
John Irby in 1878, it was first called Irby's Ranch. The Irby family first
immigrated from Tennessee in 1852 to the Vancouver area.
Ira Irby, a stock raiser and stock buyer, once served in the territorial
legislature. (See our Ira Irby biography) When the property sold later to a
company that set up a warehouse, the name
of the original owner was maintained
LAMONA, east of
Odessa in south central Lincoln County, was established in 1890-91 by J. M.
Newland when he opened a store there . When J. H. Lamona bought Newland's store
in 1892 the name was changed.
LINCOLN, was originally
located on the south bank of the Columbia River near the confluence of the
Spokane River. Established
in 1912, in 1939 the post office was terminated when this
small town was flooded out by the placement of Grand Coulee dam. The
lumber mill near the original town relocated to the present site above the flooded site and it flourishes
today with a new housing development.
It was named for Lincoln County.
LITTLE FALLS, a tribal fishing area located on the Spokane River in Lincoln County, which were covered by water after the construction of Little Falls Dam in 1910 by a power company for crucial utilities.
LOTT, previously located on the Spokane River near the old DeTillion Bridge in north central Lincoln County, had a post office from 1902 through 1910. It was primarily a stage station with a road house on the route between Davenport and Hunters, in Stephens county. It was named for a well-known, local Indian resident.
MILES is located on
the Spokane River two miles from its confluence with the Columbia River in north
central Lincoln County. In
1939, when the nearby town of Lincoln was flooded by Grand Coulee Dam,
most of its population moved to Miles, where a post office was
established. Named for Gen. Nelson A. Miles,
U.S. army officer and Spanish-American war hero who commanded the military
Department of the Columbia, Gen Miles was noted for accepting the surrender of
Chief Joseph, leader of the Nez Perce, at Bear Paw, Montana, October 4, 1877,
ending the Nez Perce War.
MOHLER, southwest of
Harrington in southern Lincoln County, was named for Morgan Mohler, an early-day
stage driver before the many railroads came into the region.
MONDOVI, a small
community east of Davenport in northeast Lincoln County, was named by Elihu B.
Gifford in 1881 when a post office was established. Moving from Mondovi,
Wisconsin in May of 1878, Gifford came by wagon train to Spokane with about 40
others, later moving to this new settlement in Lincoln County. Gifford was also
instrumental in naming Mondovi, Wisconsin for a town in northwest Italy, where
in 1796, the French general Napoleon defeated Sardinian forces.
ODESSA, southwest of
Davenport in southwest Lincoln County, was founded
by German immigrants who came from southern Russia in 1886. The name was
given by railroad officials for Odessa on the Black Sea, because of the many
settlers from Russia. Odessa was incorporated September 25, 1902.
OMANS, a railroad siding in Lincoln County south east of Davenport, was constructed in 1900 as a wheat shipping point on land owned by a Mr. G. Oman.
PEACH, located at the mouth of Hawk Creek
on the Columbia River in north
central Lincoln County, it was named for the many prosperous peach, pear, plum,
apricot, apple and cherry orchards in
the vicinity that were irrigated by Hawk Creek.
REARDAN, east of
Davenport in northeast Lincoln County was originally named Capps or Capp's
Place, for J. S. Capps, on whose land the post office was located. The town was
renamed for the construction engineer, C. F. Reardon, of the Central Washington branch of the
North Pacific Railroad, the first railroad through Reardan.
RIVER HOMES, on the Spokane River across from the mouth of Sand Creek in northeast Lincoln County, is not shown on more recent maps. The community had a post office from 1911 to 1928. At one time it consisted of orchards.
ROCKLYN, west of
Davenport in central Lincoln County, is on the edge of a rough, rocky area which
extends fifteen miles northwest to Creston. The name is for the town's location
in the channel scablands of the area.
SEATON'S FERRY, located near the northwest corner of Lincoln County, was established circa 1908 and operated for many years by Sam Seaton. It was propelled by the current pushing against its angled side. Seaton sold the ferry and his lands for the Grand Coulee Dam site. Seaton received mail here from 1915 to 1919.
SEVEN BAYS, north of
Hawk Creek and south of Fort Spokane, is on the Columbia River. A marina,
a public boat launch, golf course and restaurant, make this newly developed area, with a new
housing subdivision, a popular recreation area.
SHERMAN, northeast of
Wilbur on Goose Creek in northwest Lincoln County, was named for the first
postmaster, George W. Sherman, on whose land the town was located. Appointed
postmaster on August 24, 1886, he served for fourteen years. Coming to Lincoln
County in 1881, he had a large farm and was the leading merchant of the
community
SPRAGUE, east of
Colville Lake, now called Sprague Lake, southwest of Spokane in southeast
Lincoln County. The first settler i the area was Patrick K Cumasky in 1869. An earlier name was Hoodooville, for a local character nicknamed
Hoodoo Billy Burrow. Sprague was incorporated November 28, 1883. It was named by
the Northern Pacific railroad for Gen. John W. Sprague, director of the railway,
and general manager of the railroad's western division, who had served as Mayor
of Tacoma. A few weeks after his death in December 1893, General Sprague was
awarded the Medal of Honor on January 1894, for his battle courage and
leadership at Decatur, Georgia, on July 22, 1862 when the 63rd Ohio Infantry of
which he was colonel, defeated the enemy.
SPRAGUE LAKE, between
Sprague in southeast Lincoln County and Keystone in northeast Adams County, is
six miles long from the southwest
to the northeast and is being fed by Cow Creek.
Formerly called Colville Lake and Lake Colville, the Indian name was
Silkatkwu. In 1954, the USBGN approved the present name.
TELFORD, a small
community a north of Davenport in central Lincoln County, was named for M. A.
Telford, a rancher. A post office was established on July 4, 1909. This railroad
station has been known both as Telford and Fellows. G. S. Fellow, of the
Northern Pacific Railroad was an agent at Chelan and the station was called
Fellows from 1890 to September 1916.
WAUKON, south of
Reardan in east central Lincoln County, was named by railroad officials when the
Spokane, Portland and Seattle Railway was built although the name of origin is
unknown. In Aug 1894, W. L. Walker
settled here, establishing a post office and a general merchandise store.
WILBUR, west of
Spokane on Goose Creek in northwest Lincoln County, was founded in 1887 by
Samuel Wilbur Condit. Goosetown,
the first name given, was for Sam Condit's nickname, Wild Goose Bill, and was
the name of his trading post. The story goes that he shot a flock of geese
he thought were wild geese, killing the neighbor's pets. Incorporated on
August 11, 1890, the name was changed to Wilbur for Condit’s middle name.
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Towns of Lincoln county, Washington submitted by
Rella Gleaton, to the WAGenWeb January 05, 2009.
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