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Spokane: There was once a hollow tree.
When an Indian beat upon it, a serpent living inside made a noise which
sounded like Spukcane, a phonetic sound without meaning in the
tribe's language. One day, as the tribe's chief pondered the sound,
vibrations radiated from his head. Eventually, the word Spukcane
came to have the vague meaning, "Power from the brain".
When white men first found this tribe,
the Spokanes called themselves Spukanee, which is translated as
"Sun People," or "Children of the Sun." They called their chief
Illim-Spukanee, or "Chief Sun." No one knows exactly how, why, or
when Spukcane (power from the brain) came to be replaced by
Spukanee (Children of the Sun) which was rendered in English as
Spokane. Some maintain that the word Spokane was originally the
name of the head chief and of nothing else. Source: mainly, The Spokane
Indians, By Robert H. Ruby and John A. Brown, plus other studies.
Kennewick: The Wanapum Indian name
was Anhwash which was just a place name in other words with no other meaning. It
was named Kennewick by H. S. Huson of the Northern Pacific Irrigation
Company who said the word was from the Indian language (Kin-i-wach) and
meant "Grassy Place with water around it." The last Wanapums have no
knowledge of the word. Kennewick had the earlier name of Tee-He, at
which one old-time visitor remarked: "I don't wonder." It was also
called Bluelight and Headlight. At the willow forest near the famous
railroad bridge, there was a gunfight between the Sheriff and a Bandit
who had escaped from jail. Source: Drummers and Dreamers, by Click
Relander.
Richland: Was named in 1904 for
Nelson Rich, a Prosser settler of 1883, store owner, and extensive
landholder who died in 1932 when he was eighty-eight. Source: Drummers
and Dreamers, by Click Relander.
Pasco: The name Pasco is probably
an abbreviation for the name "Pacific Steamship Company." This was an
organization owned by the wealthy Mr. Ainsworth. About 1883, before a
railroad abridge was built across the Columbia (connecting Pasco with
railroad tracks leading over the Cascade Range to Puget Sound), large
steel barges were used to transport the Northern Pacific's railroad cars
across the water here. Since the barges were operated by the Pacific
Steamship Company, the bills of lading pasted on the outside of each
freight car were stamped "VIA PASCO" in huge, conspicuous letters. From
this beginning, use of the word "Pasco" spread. The departure of
passenger trains from the budding town's depot were announced by the
train master's loud voice: "All aboard, all aboard, passengers now
departing for points west via Pasco;" thus the town gradually gained its
present name. Source: Washington State Place Names, by Doug Brokenshire.
Eltopia: Twenty-one miles out of
Ainsworth was a water tank known as Twin Wells. It is now Eltopia but it
was not always called that. A survey party, camping in the barren
waste of sand where there was neither wood nor water, named it, in
typical western style, "Hell-to-Pay." The railroad later modestly
changed the name to Eltopay and subsequently to Eltopia. Source:
Drummers and Dreamers, by Click Relander.
Kahlotus and Washtucna:
Kahlotus is in the foothills of northeastern Franklin County and started
around 1880 when a store was opened in a sidetracked boxcar. At one time
when the railway came and a tunnel was constructed in 1904-8, there were
seventeen saloons at Kahlotus and two hundred dance-hall girls. The old
timers say that at the bottom of Kahlotus Lake, near by, are seventeen
saloon keys. They were thrown into the lake when the railroad came and
the saloons were kept open day and night.
Washtucna was the name of a Palouse
Indian chief. The village is in Adams County, twelve miles east of
Kahlotus.
Kahlotus used to be named Washtucna and vice verci. The
railway left some horseshoes for a blacksmith shop that were have gone
to Kahlotus and, rather than admit the mistake, the railroad changed the
names of the two towns since it had it in its power to do so. Source:
Drummers and Dreamers, by Click Relander.
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