About Ephrata, WA

Although Ephrata was known for times of rigorous government activity, it has a history of slow steady growth.

Ephrata didn't have any settlers until after the territorial legislature redistricted the area in the early 1880's, Native Indians enjoyed digging camas root in the area. The first residents of the region lived close to the location of the current high school and were stockmen. The small community was known as Indian Graves by the first white settlers, but to the Native Indians it was known as Tuktahyospum. However, the longest living name was Beezley Springs because the spring between the two hills took on the name of different landowners.

In 1892, the Great Northern Railroad recorded the first formal name to the community as Station 11. This name was for a water stop was close to Beezley Springs and was rather unglamorous. The name Ephrata was a translation in Hebrew meant fruitful, and was an older name for Bethlehem, as the result of a worker on the railroad who found that the landscape and the orchards were much the same as those in the Holy Land and gave the community its permanent name, according to local legend.

For the wagons and trains of travelers that were traveling between the northern Okanogan area and Walla Walla, Ephrata was a convenient stopover. In 1901, the community was first platted when an increased number of settlers relocated to Washington State, and the community starting building newspapers, stores, and schools.

The year 1909 saw the incorporation of the town and it soon became the county seat for the recently created Grant County. Allegedly, immediately prior to making competing presentations to the state legislature, Ephrata won the county seat by intentionally intoxicating the representative from a rival community.

In 1918, the residents of the community pushed for a new dam on the Columbia River as a result of the need for irrigation. Up until then, the community had lived in quiet prosperity. Between 1933 and 1944, the community was transformed into a government town as a result of the Grand Coulee Dam project. In 1942, the US Army Air Corps build a large training base in the area and the theme of government industry continued.

In 1951, following WW2, water was delivered from the Grand Coulee Dam to more than 600,000 acres of dry but fertile farmland by the Columbia Basin Project. The residents of Grant County started building two large hydroelectric dams on the Columbia River after forming a utility district during this time. These two hydroelectric dams continue to provide all of Grant County with reliable, clean, and inexpensive electric power at affordable rates. Ephrata has enjoyed steady but slow growth as a result of the low cost of living, the local public schools, and the high quality of life ever since the completion of the project and the dams.

All of these four very large government projects brought talented people, their families, prosperity, and growth to the community of Ephrata. This has also resulted in the creation of a community that has very high standards for a local government and is also better educated and stable. Each period of time has enriched the community and enlivened the history of Ephrata.

Ephrata, WA Community Resources