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Our Town: origins of Mid-Columbia community names
Pasco
Railroad surveyors, suffering from the summer heat, contrasted the area
with Cerro de Pasco, a mining town in Peru, which at 15,000 feet, was significantly
cooler in comparison.
Kennewick
Derived from "kin-i-wack," an Indian name for "grassy place."
Given in 1883 by H.S. Huson of the Northern Pacific Irrigation Co.
Richland
Said to be named in honor of Nelson Rich in 1905. He helped locate township
and was a partner in land holdings and an irrigation company here. As a
state legislator, he introduced bill creating Benton County.
West Richland
Separate community immediately to the west of Richland.
Prosser
Named for Col. William Prosser who had established a trading post.
Kiona
From an Indian word meaning "brown hills."
Benton City
Name's origin is vague. One version is it was bestowed by railroad executives.
Another that it was for Benton C. Grosscup, who actively participated in
separation of Benton County from Yakima County.
Mesa
Pronounced MEE-suh, origin is the Spanish word "Mesa" (pronounced
MAY-suh."
Connell
Named for employee of Northern Pacific Railroad.
Kahlotus
Given the name from an Indian word meaning "hole-in-the-ground."
Othello
Named by H.R. Williams after Shakespeare's play.
Walla Walla
Tribal name of Indians. Community incorporated under the name on Jan. 11,
1862.
Burbank
So named as site of the Burbank Power House operated by Burbank Power and
Water Co.
Finley
Honors George Finley, an early settler.
Wallula
The town's name means the same in the Walla Walla Indian Tribe language
as the town of Walla Walla means in the Nez Perce tongue, "many waters."
Touchet
Bears adaption of Indian word, "Tousa" which means "curing
salmon by fire."
Lowden
Named for early pioneer settler Francis M. Lowden, Sr. in 1899.
Prescott
Named in 1881 in honor of C.H. Prescott, general superintendent of the Oregon
Railway and Navigation Co. who selected the community for the railways division
shops.
College Place
Named in 1882 for the community that grew up around the Seventh Day Adventist
Church's Walla Walla College.
Starbuck
Honors General Starbuck, an official and stockholder of the Oregon Railway
and Navigation Company, who gve the town its first church bell.
Waitsburg
Chosen by ballot in 1868 for Sylvester M. Wait, who had constructed a flower
mill there four years previously.
Dayton
Named for Jesse N. Day, a former West Virginian who came to Oregon Territory
in 1848.
Grandview
Founded in 1906. Named for its panoramic view of Mount Adams and Mount Rainier.
Sunnyside
Laid out and named in 1893 by Walter N. Granger, president of the Sunnyside
Canal Company.
Granger
Established in 1902 and named for Walter N. Granger, president of the Sunnyside
Canal Company, one of the first irrigation projects in the state.
Mabton
Said to be named for Mabel Baker, daughter of an early Eastern Washington
railroad builder from Walla Walla.
Plymouth
Basalt rock formations jutting into Columbia River give rise to its name,
based on the pilgrims' landing spot in Massachusetts.
Paterson
Named in 1901 for pioneer settler and first postmaster, Henry Paterson.
Washtucna
Has the name of a lake a few miles away that was named for a Palouse Indian
chief.
Source: "Washington State Place Names" by James W. Phillips