Voters choose Asotin as county seat of Asotin County in 1883.

HistoryLink.org Essay 5228 : Printer-Friendly Format

In 1883, voters choose Asotin as county seat of Asotin County. Asotin wins the honor and economic advantage over its rival town, Asotin City. Both towns are located on the Snake River in Washington's most southeastern county.

Asotin worked hard to win the election. The town offered voters free rent, free fuel, free office equipment, and the free services of a treasurer and an auditor. Shortly after the election the rival towns merged.

Asotin became an important stop for steamboats on the Snake River to load on grain harvested from farms on the plateau directly to the north.

Sources:
Ruth Kirk and Carmela Alexander, Exploring Washington's Past: A Road Guide to History (Seattle: University of Washington Press, 1990), 176-177.

By Priscilla Long, February 17, 2003

Travel through time (chronological order):
< Browse to Previous Essay | Browse to Next Essay >

Related Topics: Government & Politics | Counties |

Licensing: This essay is licensed under a Creative Commons license that encourages reproduction with attribution. Credit should be given to both HistoryLink.org and to the author, and sources must be included with any reproduction. Click the icon for more info. Please note that this Creative Commons license applies to text only, and not to images. For more information regarding individual photos or images, please contact the source noted in the image credit.

Cleveland Avenue, Asotin, 1900s
Postcard

Asotin, 1900s
Postcard

Snake River at Asotin, ca. 1900
Courtesy Phil Dougherty