Davenport is the
county seat
A county seat is an administrative center, seat of government, or capital city of a county or civil parish. The term is in use in Canada, China, Hungary, Romania, Taiwan, and the United States. The equivalent term shire town is used in the US st ...
of and largest city in
Lincoln 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 o ...
, United States. The population was 1,703 at the
2020 census.
As the seat of government for the county and its largest population center, Davenport serves as an important hub for business, medical and educational services in Lincoln County.
History
Prior to European settlement, the area around what would become Davenport was home to the Lower Band of the
Spokane
Spokane ( ) is the largest city and county seat of Spokane County, Washington, United States. It is in eastern Washington, along the Spokane River, adjacent to the Selkirk Mountains, and west of the Rocky Mountain foothills, south of the Ca ...
.
The location was also along a popular east-west trade route, and the spring at present day Davenport was seen as an oasis and place for rest and camping along the journey.
That trail would eventually bring white settlers to the area, with prospectors passing through on their way to goldfields in
Montana
Montana () is a state in the Mountain West division of the Western United States. It is bordered by Idaho to the west, North Dakota and South Dakota to the east, Wyoming to the south, and the Canadian provinces of Alberta, British Columbi ...
. Like the Spokane before them, these settlers used the springs at the present site of Davenport to collect water, rest and camp. The setting of the springs in the otherwise semi-arid region attracted some of these new arrivals to settle at the location, and in 1880 Aloysius Harry Harker became the first non-native permanent settler at the location, with John and Emma Eads Nicholls arriving soon after. The settlement was located at the springs and known as Cottonwood Springs. John C. Davenport founded a separate settlement on higher ground nearby in 1883, which was destroyed by fire the following year. Davenport's settlement relocated to Cottonwood Springs, taking Davenport's name with it.
The city was made the
county seat
A county seat is an administrative center, seat of government, or capital city of a county or civil parish. The term is in use in Canada, China, Hungary, Romania, Taiwan, and the United States. The equivalent term shire town is used in the US st ...
of Lincoln County on December 15, 1896, after an election that had chosen Davenport over then-seat
Sprague
Sprague may refer to:
Places
;Canada
* Sprague, Manitoba, a small town near the Minnesota/Manitoba border
;United States
* Sprague, Alabama, Montgomery County, Alabama
* Sprague, Connecticut
* Sprague, Missouri
* Sprague, Nebraska
* Sprague ...
, which had been destroyed in a fire, and Harrington.
![Grain elevators, Davenport (36248378303)](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/4/49/Grain_elevators%2C_Davenport_%2836248378303%29.jpg)
Davenport gained early prominence in the north central part of the
Columbia Basin of eastern Washington with the arrival of the Washington Central branch of the transcontinental
Northern Pacific Railway
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 Congress in 1864 and given nearly of land grants, whic ...
(NP) railroad line, which reached Davenport in February 1889. The
Seattle Lake Shore & Eastern Railway (SLS&E) arrived later that year. A branch line of the
Great Northern Railway (GN) was built to Davenport from Bluestem in the 1920s. Davenport's train depot, built in 1889 with the arrival of the railroads, lasted almost 100 years before being demolished in 1988.
Primary State Highway #2 (a.k.a. "Sunset Highway") closely followed the CW railroad from
Coulee City
Coulee City is a town in Grant County, Washington. The population was 549 at the 2020 census.
History
The town was named after nearby Grand Coulee. Coulee City was officially incorporated on May 10, 1907.
Geography
Coulee City is located at ...
through Davenport to Spokane. The route is now known as
U.S. Route 2
U.S. Route 2 or U.S. Highway 2 (US 2) is an east–west United States Numbered Highways, U.S. Highway spanning across the northern continental United States. US 2 consists of two segments connected by various roadways in southern ...
, but does not follow the original Sunset Highway in many places.
Primary State Highway #7 also intersected with
PSH #2 in Davenport, and is now part of
State Route 28.
PSH #22 ran north from Davenport to the Canada–US border near Northport. This is
State Route 25 now.
Geography
![West of Davenport, WA](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/8/88/West_of_Davenport%2C_WA._%2837055922905%29.jpg)
Davenport is located at (47.651157, -118.151627).
Davenport itself is largely flat, lying in the shallow valley of Cottonwood Creek, but the surrounding region is characterized by the
Channeled Scablands
The Channeled Scablands are a relatively barren and soil-free region of interconnected relict and dry flood channels, coulees and cataracts eroded into Palouse loess and the typically flat-lying basalt flows that remain after cataclysmic floods ...
scoured by the Missoula Floods during the last ice age. Davenport lies on the northern edge of the scablands, with more familiar drainage patterns taking over the terrain a few miles to the north of the city. Cottonwood Creek is an example of those more typical drainage patterns, as it flows northwest into 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 ...
at Hawk Creek Bay. Crystal Spring, which helps feed the creek, is located near the center of town.
Davenport is served by
U.S. Route 2
U.S. Route 2 or U.S. Highway 2 (US 2) is an east–west United States Numbered Highways, U.S. Highway spanning across the northern continental United States. US 2 consists of two segments connected by various roadways in southern ...
, which runs through the heart of the city. U.S. Route 2 connects Davenport with the region's primary city,
Spokane
Spokane ( ) is the largest city and county seat of Spokane County, Washington, United States. It is in eastern Washington, along the Spokane River, adjacent to the Selkirk Mountains, and west of the Rocky Mountain foothills, south of the Ca ...
, which is located 35 miles to the east. Two state highways also serve Davenport.
State Route 28 has its eastern terminus in Davenport, connecting the city the rural areas to its southwest.
State Route 25 has its southern terminus in Davenport, from which it stretches north to the Canadian border.
![Vintage Harvest Festival, Davenport, WA](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/9/97/Vintage_Harvest_Festival%2C_Davenport%2C_WA._%2837083756202%29.jpg)
Davenport is centrally located in the northern wheat belt of the Columbia Basin, where
dryland wheat farming on the hills not washed away in the great
Missoula Floods
The Missoula floods (also known as the Spokane floods or the Bretz floods or Bretz's floods) were cataclysmic glacial lake outburst floods that swept periodically across eastern Washington and down the Columbia River Gorge at the end of the last ...
some 14,000 years ago, is critical to the agricultural economy of the region. Davenport Union Warehouse and Odessa Union Warehouse operate multiple
elevators
An elevator or lift is a cable-assisted, hydraulic cylinder-assisted, or roller-track assisted machine that vertically transports people or freight between floors, levels, or decks of a building, vessel, or other structure. They are ...
of varying age and design on the southern part of the city. A few of these structures date to the early days of the city.
Davenport still serves as a central collection point for
wheat
Wheat is a grass widely cultivated for its seed, a cereal grain that is a worldwide staple food. The many species of wheat together make up the genus ''Triticum'' ; the most widely grown is common wheat (''T. aestivum''). The archaeologi ...
, with most of it shipped out by truck or railcar. While most of the wheat goes to
export
An export in international trade is a good produced in one country that is sold into another country or a service provided in one country for a national or resident of another country. The seller of such goods or the service provider is an ...
, some of it does find its way to the
ADM flour mills
A gristmill (also: grist mill, corn mill, flour mill, feed mill or feedmill) grinds cereal grain into flour and middlings. The term can refer to either the grinding mechanism or the building that holds it. Grist is grain that has been separat ...
in Spokane and
Cheney. Locally grown
barley
Barley (''Hordeum vulgare''), a member of the grass family, is a major cereal grain grown in temperate climates globally. It was one of the first cultivated grains, particularly in Eurasia as early as 10,000 years ago. Globally 70% of barley pr ...
also finds its way to various west coast
breweries and other users.
According to the
United States Census Bureau
The United States Census Bureau (USCB), officially the Bureau of the Census, is a principal agency of the U.S. Federal Statistical System, responsible for producing data about the American people and economy. The Census Bureau is part of the ...
, the city has a total area of , all of it land.
Climate
Davenport experiences a
dry-summer continental climate (
Köppen Köppen is a German surname. Notable people with the surname include:
* Bernd Köppen (born 1951), German pianist and composer
* Carl Köppen (1833-1907), German military advisor in Meiji era Japan
* Edlef Köppen (1893–1939), German author and ...
''Dsb'').
Demographics
2010 census
As of the
census
A census is the procedure of systematically acquiring, recording and calculating information about the members of a given population. This term is used mostly in connection with national population and housing censuses; other common censuses incl ...
of 2010, there were 1,734 people, 694 households, and 445 families residing in the city. The
population density
Population density (in agriculture: standing stock or plant density) is a measurement of population per unit land area. It is mostly applied to humans, but sometimes to other living organisms too. It is a key geographical term.Matt RosenberPopul ...
was . There were 750 housing units at an average density of . The racial makeup of the city was 95.3%
White
White is the lightest color and is achromatic (having no hue). It is the color of objects such as snow, chalk, and milk, and is the opposite of black. White objects fully reflect and scatter all the visible wavelengths of light. White on ...
, 0.1%
African American
African Americans (also referred to as Black Americans and Afro-Americans) are an ethnic group consisting of Americans with partial or total ancestry from sub-Saharan Africa. The term "African American" generally denotes descendants of ens ...
, 1.2%
Native American, 0.1%
Asian
Asian may refer to:
* Items from or related to the continent of Asia:
** Asian people, people in or descending from Asia
** Asian culture, the culture of the people from Asia
** Asian cuisine, food based on the style of food of the people from Asi ...
, 0.1%
Pacific Islander
Pacific Islanders, Pasifika, Pasefika, or rarely Pacificers are the peoples of the list of islands in the Pacific Ocean, Pacific Islands. As an ethnic group, ethnic/race (human categorization), racial term, it is used to describe the original p ...
, 0.6% from
other races
Other often refers to:
* Other (philosophy), a concept in psychology and philosophy
Other or The Other may also refer to:
Film and television
* ''The Other'' (1913 film), a German silent film directed by Max Mack
* ''The Other'' (1930 film), a ...
, and 2.6% from two or more races.
Hispanic
The term ''Hispanic'' ( es, hispano) refers to people, Spanish culture, cultures, or countries related to Spain, the Spanish language, or Hispanidad.
The term commonly applies to countries with a cultural and historical link to Spain and to Vic ...
or
Latino
Latino or Latinos most often refers to:
* Latino (demonym), a term used in the United States for people with cultural ties to Latin America
* Hispanic and Latino Americans in the United States
* The people or cultures of Latin America;
** Latin A ...
of any race were 2.7% of the population.
There were 694 households, of which 31.1% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 46.8% were
married couples
Marriage, also called matrimony or wedlock, is a culturally and often legally recognized union between people called spouses. It establishes rights and obligations between them, as well as between them and their children, and between t ...
living together, 13.5% had a female householder with no husband present, 3.7% had a male householder with no wife present, and 35.9% were non-families. 31.6% of all households were made up of individuals, and 13.9% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.43 and the average family size was 3.03.
The median age in the city was 40 years. 25.5% of residents were under the age of 18; 8.7% were between the ages of 18 and 24; 20.9% were from 25 to 44; 25.9% were from 45 to 64; and 19% were 65 years of age or older. The gender makeup of the city was 47.6% male and 52.4% female.
2000 census
As of the
census
A census is the procedure of systematically acquiring, recording and calculating information about the members of a given population. This term is used mostly in connection with national population and housing censuses; other common censuses incl ...
of 2000, there were 1,730 people, 707 households, and 436 families residing in the city. The
population density
Population density (in agriculture: standing stock or plant density) is a measurement of population per unit land area. It is mostly applied to humans, but sometimes to other living organisms too. It is a key geographical term.Matt RosenberPopul ...
was 1,143.3 people per square mile (442.4/km
2). There were 763 housing units at an average density of 504.3 per square mile (195.1/km
2). The racial makeup of the city was 97.17%
White
White is the lightest color and is achromatic (having no hue). It is the color of objects such as snow, chalk, and milk, and is the opposite of black. White objects fully reflect and scatter all the visible wavelengths of light. White on ...
, 0.29%
African American
African Americans (also referred to as Black Americans and Afro-Americans) are an ethnic group consisting of Americans with partial or total ancestry from sub-Saharan Africa. The term "African American" generally denotes descendants of ens ...
, 0.98%
Native American, 0.29% from
other races
Other often refers to:
* Other (philosophy), a concept in psychology and philosophy
Other or The Other may also refer to:
Film and television
* ''The Other'' (1913 film), a German silent film directed by Max Mack
* ''The Other'' (1930 film), a ...
, and 1.27% from two or more races.
Hispanic
The term ''Hispanic'' ( es, hispano) refers to people, Spanish culture, cultures, or countries related to Spain, the Spanish language, or Hispanidad.
The term commonly applies to countries with a cultural and historical link to Spain and to Vic ...
or
Latino
Latino or Latinos most often refers to:
* Latino (demonym), a term used in the United States for people with cultural ties to Latin America
* Hispanic and Latino Americans in the United States
* The people or cultures of Latin America;
** Latin A ...
of any race were 2.25% of the population. 30.0% were of
German
German(s) may refer to:
* Germany (of or related to)
**Germania (historical use)
* Germans, citizens of Germany, people of German ancestry, or native speakers of the German language
** For citizens of Germany, see also German nationality law
**Ger ...
, 12.1%
American
American(s) may refer to:
* American, something of, from, or related to the United States of America, commonly known as the "United States" or "America"
** Americans, citizens and nationals of the United States of America
** American ancestry, pe ...
, 10.6%
English
English usually refers to:
* English language
* English people
English may also refer to:
Peoples, culture, and language
* ''English'', an adjective for something of, from, or related to England
** English national ide ...
and 6.2%
Irish
Irish may refer to:
Common meanings
* Someone or something of, from, or related to:
** Ireland, an island situated off the north-western coast of continental Europe
***Éire, Irish language name for the isle
** Northern Ireland, a constituent unit ...
ancestry according to
Census 2000
The United States census of 2000, conducted by the Census Bureau, determined the resident population of the United States on April 1, 2000, to be 281,421,906, an increase of 13.2 percent over the 248,709,873 people enumerated during the 1990 cen ...
. 98.4% spoke
English
English usually refers to:
* English language
* English people
English may also refer to:
Peoples, culture, and language
* ''English'', an adjective for something of, from, or related to England
** English national ide ...
and 1.6%
Spanish
Spanish might refer to:
* Items from or related to Spain:
**Spaniards are a nation and ethnic group indigenous to Spain
**Spanish language, spoken in Spain and many Latin American countries
**Spanish cuisine
Other places
* Spanish, Ontario, Cana ...
as their first language.
There were 707 households, out of which 30.8% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 50.1% were
married couples
Marriage, also called matrimony or wedlock, is a culturally and often legally recognized union between people called spouses. It establishes rights and obligations between them, as well as between them and their children, and between t ...
living together, 9.2% had a female householder with no husband present, and 38.3% were non-families. 33.8% of all households were made up of individuals, and 18.0% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.34 and the average family size was 3.01.
In the city, the population was spread out, with 25.7% under the age of 18, 5.8% from 18 to 24, 24.7% from 25 to 44, 21.7% from 45 to 64, and 22.0% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 41 years. For every 100 females, there were 85.2 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 79.7 males.
The median income for a household in the city was $37,900, and the median income for a family was $47,708. Males had a median income of $34,531 versus $21,875 for females. The
per capita income
Per capita income (PCI) or total income measures the average income earned per person in a given area (city, region, country, etc.) in a specified year. It is calculated by dividing the area's total income by its total population.
Per capita i ...
for the city was $20,090. About 8.5% of families and 11.2% of the population were below the
poverty line
The poverty threshold, poverty limit, poverty line or breadline is the minimum level of income deemed adequate in a particular country. The poverty line is usually calculated by estimating the total cost of one year's worth of necessities for t ...
, including 12.9% of those under age 18 and 9.9% of those age 65 or over.
Community
![Water tower (1457013807)](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/e/ea/Water_tower_%281457013807%29.jpg)
Th
Davenport School DistrictIncludes Davenport Elementary, Davenport Middle School, and Davenport Senior High School. The mascot is the Davenport Gorilla.
As of 2010, Davenport was served by 12 different churches and was home to a museum, library and city park with a pool.
Services in the community include a post office, courthouse, fire station and hospital.
The Lincoln County Fairgrounds are located in Davenport, with the annual Lincoln County Fair and Rodeo taking place each summer.
Transportation
Davenport is served by the
Davenport Municipal Airport. Eastern Washington Gateway Railroad,
U.S. Route 2
U.S. Route 2 or U.S. Highway 2 (US 2) is an east–west United States Numbered Highways, U.S. Highway spanning across the northern continental United States. US 2 consists of two segments connected by various roadways in southern ...
,
State Route 28, and
State Route 25.
See also
*
Harker Canyon
*
Creston, Washington
Creston is a town in Lincoln County, Washington, United States. The population was 236 at the 2010 census.
History
Creston sprang up with the arrival of the Central Washington Railroad in 1889. It was so named because of its high altitude; ...
*
Wilbur, Washington
Wilbur is a town in Lincoln County, Washington, United States. The population was 884 at the 2010 census.
History
Just prior to the construction of the Central Washington Railroad line in 1889, no towns existed west of Davenport in Lincoln Coun ...
References
External links
*
History of Davenportat
HistoryLink
HistoryLink is an online encyclopedia of Washington state history. The site has more than 8,100 entries and attracts 5,000 daily visitors. It has 500 biographies and more than 14,000 images.
The non-profit historical organization History Ink prod ...
Lincoln County Heritage- Local history collections from the Lincoln County Museum, created in partnership with the Davenport Public Library
Lincoln County MuseumDavenport Public LibraryDavenport School District
{{Authority control
Cities in Washington (state)
Cities in Lincoln County, Washington
County seats in Washington (state)