Keyword(s): Elizabeth Gibson
Benton County is located in the southeastern portion of Washington state at the confluence of the Columbia, Snake, and Yakima rivers. The land, part of the semi-arid Columbia Basin, lies in the rain s...
Franklin County is situated in south-central Washington state. The Columbia River forms its western border and the Snake River forms the southern and eastern borders. The shrub-steppe terrain is comp...
Washington State College (later WSU) established the Irrigation Experiment Station at Prosser in 1919. The Washington Irrigation Institute recommended such a program to study problems faced by farmers...
From the 1890s to 1910, when he retired, Maxwell Levy was the "king of the crimpers" in the booming port of Port Townsend. A crimp or crimper is one who forces or entraps sailors into service against ...
Prosser, the county seat of Benton County, is a town of about 5,000 people located in the far western part of the Eastern Washington county. The economy is based on agriculture including orchards, whe...
On October 23, 1875, Dr. Dorsey Syng Baker (1823-1888) completes the Walla Walla & Columbia River Railroad from Wallula, on the Columbia River, to Walla Walla. Work on the railroad began in 1871, and...
On June 11, 1878, Washington Territory legislators meet in Walla Walla to craft a state constitution. Walla Walla is the largest city in the territory in 1878 and the most logical place for politician...
On June 30, 1911, after many months of waiting, Pasco city officials host a dedication ceremony to open the new Carnegie library. The library is made possible by a generous donation from philanthropis...
On November 5, 1912, Benton County voters fail to overthrow Prosser as county seat following an intense rivalry and war of words between Benton City, Kennewick, and Prosser. Though a larger portion of...
On July 3, 1920, Kennewick's new Liberty Theatre opens for business at 101 W Kennewick Avenue. The venue, which seats 600, is operated by W. A. Baker, former owner of the Empress Theater in Chewelah....
On October 21, 1922, the Pasco-Kennewick or Benton-Franklin Inter-County Bridge (the "green bridge") is dedicated. The structure spans the Columbia River between Pasco, in Franklin County, and Kennewi...
On April 6, 1926, Pasco celebrates the first Air Mail Delivery in the Columbia Basin when Varney Airlines Chief Pilot Leon Cuddeback takes off from Pasco Airport bound for Elko, Nevada. On board the p...
On February 12, 1934, inmates kill one guard and guards kill seven inmates during an escape attempt from the Washington State Penitentiary at Walla Walla. Another inmate will die of wounds later. The...
On July 23, 1944, hundreds gather at the Hanford Airport to witness the christening of a special airplane. Every employee at the Hanford Engineer Works donated one day's pay to purchase the airplane, ...
On May 15, 1948, a Pasco farm receives the first water pumped from the Columbia Basin Irrigation Project. At about 11:15 a.m., Pasco Judge B. B. Horrigan gives the signal to open the canal gate. The w...
On May 31, 1948, the Columbia River inundates Kennewick and Richland in the worst flood in the history of those two cities. The heaviest damage is in Kennewick where much of the business district lies...
On the night of September 9, 1949, the Snake River Bridge near Burbank, which crosses the Snake near its confluence with the Columbia and connects Franklin and Walla Walla counties, catches fire. The...
On September 22, 1949, about 200 pickers for the Church Grape Juice Company, Vineyard No. 6, in Kennewick, strike for higher wages. J. G. Kelly, publisher of the Walla Walla Union-Bulletin, owns the ...
Beginning on May 22, 1952, Grant, Adams, and Franklin counties celebrate the Columbia Basin Water Festival. The event celebrates the first irrigation water sent from the Grand Coulee Dam through canal...