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History · Washtucna

Washtucna’s post office opened in 1882, and 55% of its homes were built before 1940

Its Register listings are the Spokane, Portland and Seattle Railway Company Bridge 291.4-O.W.R.&N. Crossing-Washtucna and the Bassett Hardware Co. Store. Its Register listings are the Spokane, Portland and Seattle Railway Company Bridge 291.4-O.W.R.&N. Crossing-Washtucna and the Bassett Hardware Co. Store. Below: 3 old photos and papers, maps from 1909 on, and the census since 1910.

1882first post office
2on the National Register
55%homes built before 1940
3old photos & papers
Add an old photoShare a memory
From Washtucna’s archive · credits on each photo
Quick answers

How Washtucna began

When was Washtucna founded?

1882

The Washtucna post office opened in 1882, the earliest record of the town by name.

First census: 300 in 19102020 census: 211144 years
Founding year: the first Washtucna post office (Blevins & Helbock, CC0).The full story ↓

What stands out about Washtucna’s past

Read from the archive, the National Register and the record. The page puts what stands out first.

A history waiting to be writtenOnly 3 old photos are in the public archives. The rest are in attics and albums.Old housesHalf of Washtucna’s homes were built before 1938.Boom and bustPeaked at 359 in 1920; 211 people lived here in 2020.
★ What stands out · Help out

Start Washtucna’s collection

The first neighbors to add old photos shape how Washtucna’s history is told.

Decades since 1900 with photos
00s10s20s30s40s50s60s70s80s90s
1 of 10 decades. The empty ones are waiting for someone’s album.
Retake an old viewBig Falls: Palouse River: 198-ft. fall:…: stand where they stood+15Share a family photoSign in to add one+10
The story

How Washtucna came to be

From Wikipedia’s history of Washtucna.

Read it all →

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 town was named after a leader of the Palouse people who was purportedly called "Washtucna."

Text from Wikipedia, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0.

People over time

Washtucna, census by census

0100200300400192019401960198020002020Peak: 359

Peaked at 359 in 1920; 211 people lived here in 2020.

12 censuses, 1910–2020.

U.S. Census Bureau decennial counts, from the census table on Washtucna’s Wikipedia page.

Timeline

Washtucna, 1882 to 1972

Woven from the archive, old maps, post office records, the National Register and the people born here.

  1. 19th century
  2. 1882Post officeThe Washtucna post office opens
  3. 20th century
  4. 1911In the archiveBig Falls: Palouse River: 198-ft. fall: Washtucna, Wash
  5. 1920CensusPopulation peaks at 359
  6. 1972On the mapFirst mapped by the U.S. Geological Survey
By decade

Washtucna, decade by decade

One decade in the archive so far: the 1910s. Scroll each row; tap a photo for its story.

1910s3 items
Big Falls: Palouse River: 198-ft. fall: Washtucna, Wash1911Big Falls: Palouse River: 198-ft. fall: Washtucna, Wa…Washtucna, Wn1912Washtucna, WnWashtucna, Wn1912Washtucna, Wn
1920s–1990snothing yet
Nothing in the archives for these yearsWeddings on Main Street, storms, parades, school pictures, the old store. If it’s in your family album, it belongs here.
Add from your album
Today15 recent
Palouse Canyon Near Big Falls -Palouse Falls-, circa 19152018Palouse Canyon Near Big Falls -Palouse Falls-, circa …Main Street, 19122017Main Street, 1912Frozen Waterfall (Unsplash)2017Frozen Waterfall (Unsplash)Kelly Harvesting Outfit, September 7, 1914 -closeup2016Kelly Harvesting Outfit, September 7, 1914 -closeupKelly Harvesting Outfit, September 7, 19142016Kelly Harvesting Outfit, September 7, 1914Christian Church, circa 19102015Christian Church, circa 1910Wheat, circa 19102014Wheat, circa 1910Generic Postcard, circa 1910 - Washtuchna, Washington2014Generic Postcard, circa 1910 - Washtuchna, WashingtonPostcardWashtucna2013WashtucnaNo longer in business, The Waggon Wheel Cafe in2013No longer in business, The Waggon Wheel Cafe inMK02887 Silos in2013MK02887 Silos inA pile of doors from the Washtucna Motel2013A pile of doors from the Washtucna MotelWashtucna Washington Main Street IMG 12462008Washtucna Washington Main Street IMG 1246Washtucna Washington Bassett Park IMG 12472008Washtucna Washington Bassett Park IMG 1247WAMap-doton-Washtucna2004WAMap-doton-Washtucna
On the map

Washtucna on the map, 1972 to 1983

Every edition of the U.S. Geological Survey’s map of Washtucna. Tap a year, or press play to watch the town change.

Washtucna on the 1972 USGS mapWashtucna on the 1983 USGS map1972Washtucna North sheet · 1:24,000

U.S. Geological Survey historical topographic maps (public domain), via Esri’s collection of the scans. The red ring marks the center of Washtucna.

Every building

Washtucna, building by building, 1909–1930

Fire insurance maps drew every building, what it was made of and what it was used for, so insurers could price the risk of fire. Pick a year, then a sheet.

Washtucna fire insurance map, 1909, sheet 11909Sheet 1 of 1
Edition
Sheets
BrickWoodStone

Sanborn Map Company, via the Library of Congress. Editions published in 1930 or earlier, which are in the public domain.

Then & now

Stand where they stood

No then-and-now pairs yet. Take a photo from the same spot as an old one and they appear here side by side.

Big Falls: Palouse River: 198-ft. fall: Washtucna, Wash
Retake this viewBig Falls: Palouse River: 198-ft. fall: Washtucna, Wash, 1911

Find the spot, match the angle, and add your photo. It becomes the first then-and-now pair on Washtucna’s page.

Retake this view · +15
On the National Register

2 historic places in Washtucna

The country’s official list of buildings and places worth saving.

places listed
2
National Historic Landmarks
0
none yet
historic buildings protected
2
each building in a district counts
first listed
2018
Spokane, Portland and Seattle Railway Company B…
Spokane, Portland and Seattle Railway Company Bridge 291.4-O.W.R.&N. Crossing-WashtucnaBassett Hardware Co. Store
BuildingsStructures
Spokane, Portland and Seattle Railway Company Bridge 291.4-O.W.R.&N. Crossing-WashtucnaStructure
All 2 listings
Bassett Hardware Co. StoreBuilding · listed 2022

National Park Service, National Register of Historic Places. Photos from Wikimedia Commons, credited on each place’s page.

Famous people

Famous people close to Washtucna

Nobody well known was born in Washtucna itself, so here are the best known from just nearby.

See all →
Clint DidierPlayer of American football · b. 1959
Genevieve TaggardAmerican poet · b. 1894
J
James Luther AdamsAmerican theologian · b. 1901
KamiakinYakama tribal leader · b. 1800
Dick KingAmerican politician · b. 1934
Mark SchoeslerAmerican politician · b. 1957

Questions about Washtucna’s history

What year was Washtucna founded?

The Washtucna post office opened in 1882, the earliest record of the town by name (U.S. post office records).

What is on the National Register in Washtucna?

Two places: the Spokane, Portland and Seattle Railway Company Bridge 291.4-O.W.R.&N. Crossing-Washtucna (listed 2018) and the Bassett Hardware Co. Store (2022).

Memory lane

What the archives can’t tell you, neighbors can.

Town Square →
Start a conversation
Sources

Where this page comes from

Founding dates: Wikidata, Wikipedia, the U.S. post office records of Blevins & Helbock (CC0) and the Census. Homes by year built: Census ACS 2020–24. National Register of Historic Places: National Park Service (list of May 22, 2026). Old photos, postcards and papers: Wikimedia Commons, the Library of Congress and other public archives, credited on each item’s page. Maps: U.S. Geological Survey historical topographic maps (via Esri) and Sanborn fire-insurance maps (Library of Congress). History text and census tables: Wikipedia (CC BY-SA 4.0). Places that used to be: USGS Geographic Names Information System (2021). How TownRatings grades history →

From Wikimedia Commons (15), the Library of Congress (3), the National Register of Historic Places (2), Wikipedia, U.S. Geological Survey historical maps, U.S. Census counts (via Wikipedia), the US Post Offices dataset (Blevins & Helbock), the USGS Geographic Names Information System and Sanborn fire insurance maps (Library of Congress). Archive images are copied here with their credits and licenses, shown on each photo’s page. Refreshed monthly.