Benge () is an

unincorporated community An unincorporated area is a region that is not governed by a local municipal corporation. Widespread unincorporated communities and areas are a distinguishing feature of the United States and Canada. Most other countries of the world either have ...

in Adams County,

Washington Washington commonly refers to: * Washington (state), United States * Washington, D.C., the capital of the United States ** A metonym for the federal government of the United States ** Washington metropolitan area, the metropolitan area centered on ...

. Benge School District serves the community, and downtown Benge contains Benge Elementary School. At the 2000 census, the Benge ZIP code (99105) had a population of 57 people, with 33 housing units. The

median household income The median income is the income amount that divides a population into two equal groups, half having an income above that amount, and half having an income below that amount. It may differ from the mean (or average) income. Both of these are ways of ...

was $37,500.

History

The Mullan Military Road, started in 1859 by Lieutenant John Mullan, connected the upper navigable Missouri River with the

Columbia River The Columbia River (Upper Chinook: ' or '; Sahaptin: ''Nch’i-Wàna'' or ''Nchi wana''; Sinixt dialect'' '') is the largest river in the Pacific Northwest region of North America. The river rises in the Rocky Mountains of British Columbia, C ...

. This 624-mile road, which passed through what was later to become the town of Benge, was completed in 1862 at a cost of $280,000. The Benge section of the road was completed on May 22, 1861; the wagon ruts were still visible in 2008 just northeast of town at the site of the First Benge School. Although built as a military road, it was used by civilians for both travelers and cargo transport until the

Northern Pacific Railroad The Northern Pacific Railway was a transcontinental railroad that operated across the northern tier of the western United States, from Minnesota to the Pacific Northwest. It was approved by 38th United States Congress, Congress in 1864 and given ...

was completed in 1883.The Mullan Road
The town is named after Frank H. Benge, who represented Adams County in the State Legislature in 1904. Benge and his wife donated the land upon which the town site was platted on May 13, 1907. Frank & Mary Crouch Benge and daughters came to Adams County in 1892. They had lived on the current site of Benge for 15 years when the

Spokane, Portland and Seattle Railway The Spokane, Portland & Seattle Railway (SP&S) was a railroad in the northwest United States. Incorporated in 1905, it was a joint venture by the Great Northern Railway and the Northern Pacific Railway to build a railroad along the north bank o ...

surveyed the rail line to pass right through their ranch house. The Benges were paid $5,000 to move their house. They built an 11-room house with the rock excavated from a nearby rail cut. The house became a boarding house and served as a community center for a number of years.The Adams County History Link
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References

Unincorporated communities in Adams County, Washington Unincorporated communities in Washington (state) {{AdamsCountyWA-geo-stub