Moses Lake is incorporated on September 15, 1938.

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On September 15, 1938, Grant County commissioners make official the incorporation of Moses Lake. The citizens of the village of Neppel had voted 70 to 41 to incorporate under the new name of Moses Lake.

Neppel, named after the German home town of one of the early settlers, had been in existence since 1910, but never incorporated. By 1938 the little settlement had grown big enough to spawn a drive toward incorporation under the name Moses Lake. The town was, after all, nestled in a peninsula on this long, winding lake in Central Washington.

The measure was passed by a vote of 70 to 41 on September 9, 1938. The Grant County commissioners declared incorporation official on September 15, 1938 and incorporation papers were filed with the state on September 19, 1938. The little town had only 302 residents that first year.

After several population booms, the city of Moses Lake now has more than 16,000 residents.

Sources:
"Incorporation Papers for the Town of Moses Lake," Center for Columbia River History website accessed October 26, 2007 (www.ccrh.org/comm/moses/primary/incorp.html).

By Jim Kershner, November 02, 2007

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Moses Lake, 1950s
Postcard