Tag: Washtucna
Washtucna is a town in Adams County, Washington, United States. The population was 208 at the 2010 census, a 20% decrease over the previous census. The town was named for a lake 12 miles from the town in Franklin County which was in turn named after a Palouse Indian chief.
George Bassett, an Iowan settler homesteaded the future site of Washtucna in 1878 with his wife Alice Lancaster Bassett. Their goal was to raise horses, and until 1900 their ranch was the site of an annual roundup of wild horses. In 1882, the first Post Office in Adams County was established with Bassett as postmaster. The post office was taken over by T.C. Martin in 1894 who then opened the first store in Washtucna.
The first rail line into the area was completed by the Oregon Improvement Company in 1886, and shipped 30,000 bushels of wheat in its first five years. Several attempts at large-scale irrigation projects were attempted between 1892 and 1917, but all failed. Dry land wheat farming has persisted since…
