Pullman () is the largest city in Whitman County, located in southeastern Washington within the

Palouse The Palouse ( ) is a distinct geographic region of the northwestern United States, encompassing parts of north central Idaho, southeastern Washington, and, by some definitions, parts of northeast Oregon. It is a major agricultural area, primar ...

region of the

Pacific Northwest The Pacific Northwest (sometimes Cascadia, or simply abbreviated as PNW) is a geographic region in western North America bounded by its coastal waters of the Pacific Ocean to the west and, loosely, by the Rocky Mountains to the east. Thou ...

. The population was 29,799 at the 2010 census, and estimated to be 34,506 in 2019. Originally founded as Three Forks, the city was renamed after industrialist George Pullman in 1884. Pullman is noted as a fertile agricultural area known for its many miles of rolling hills and the production of

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 ...

and

legumes A legume () is a plant in the family Fabaceae (or Leguminosae), or the fruit or seed of such a plant. When used as a dry grain, the seed is also called a pulse. Legumes are grown agriculturally, primarily for human consumption, for livestock for ...

. It is home to

Washington State University Washington State University (Washington State, WSU, or informally Wazzu) is a public land-grant research university with its flagship, and oldest, campus in Pullman, Washington. Founded in 1890, WSU is also one of the oldest land-grant uni ...

, a public research

land-grant university A land-grant university (also called land-grant college or land-grant institution) is an institution of higher education in the United States designated by a state to receive the benefits of the Morrill Acts of 1862 and 1890. Signed by Abraha ...

, and the international headquarters of Schweitzer Engineering Laboratories. Pullman is from Moscow, Idaho, home to the

University of Idaho The University of Idaho (U of I, or UIdaho) is a public land-grant research university in Moscow, Idaho. It is the state's land-grant and primary research university,, and the lead university in the Idaho Space Grant Consortium. The Universit ...

, and is served by the Pullman–Moscow Regional Airport.

History

In 1876, about five years after European-American settlers established Whitman County on November 29, 1871, Bolin Farr arrived in Pullman. He camped at the confluence of Dry Flat Creek and Missouri Flat Creek on the bank of the Palouse River. Within the year, Dan McKenzie and William Ellsworth arrived to stake claims for adjoining land. They named the first post office here as Three Forks. In the spring of 1881, Orville Stewart opened a general store and Bolin Farr platted about of his land for a town. Pullman was incorporated on April 11, 1888, with a population of about 250–300 people. It was originally named Three Forks, after the three small rivers that converge there: Missouri Flat Creek, Dry Fork, and the South Fork of the Palouse River. In 1884, Dan McKenzie and Charles Moore (of Moscow) replatted the site and named it for American industrialist George Pullman. On March 28, 1890, the Washington State Legislature established the state's land grant college, but did not designate a location. Pullman leaders were determined to secure the new college and offered of land for its campus.

Idaho Territory The Territory of Idaho was an organized incorporated territory of the United States that existed from March 3, 1863, until July 3, 1890, when the final extent of the territory was admitted to the Union as Idaho. History 1860s The territory ...

had established its land grant college in 1889; the University of Idaho was to be in neighboring Moscow. On April 18, 1891, the site selection commission appointed by Washington's governor chose Pullman. On January 13, 1892, the institution opened with 59 students under the name Washington Agricultural College and School of Science. It was renamed the State College of Washington in 1905, more commonly known as "Washington State College," and became

in 1959. In 1961, Pullman became a non-chartered code city under the mayor–council form of government. The city has an elected mayor with an elected seven-member council and an appointed administrative officer, the city administrator.

Geography

According to the United States Census Bureau, the city of Pullman has a total area of , all of it land. The city is in the eastern part of Whitman County in southeastern Washington, approximately south of Spokane and north of

Lewiston, Idaho Lewiston is a city and the county seat of Nez Perce County, Idaho, United States, in the state's north central region. It is the second-largest city in the northern Idaho region, behind Coeur d'Alene, and ninth-largest in the state. Lewiston is ...

. The city is situated across several

loess Loess (, ; from german: Löss ) is a clastic, predominantly silt-sized sediment that is formed by the accumulation of wind-blown dust. Ten percent of Earth's land area is covered by loess or similar deposits. Loess is a periglacial or aeoli ...

hills which characterize the Palouse Prairie, formed from windblown sediment over an estimated period of over one million years.Busacca, A.J., 1989
''Long Quaternary record in eastern Washington, U.S.A., interpreted from multiple buried paleosols in loess.''
Geoderma. 45:105-122. This prairie region, the

, is noteworthy for its fertile rolling hills where winter and spring wheat,

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 p ...

lentil The lentil (''Lens culinaris'' or ''Lens esculenta'') is an edible legume. It is an annual plant known for its lens-shaped seeds. It is about tall, and the seeds grow in pods, usually with two seeds in each. As a food crop, the largest p ...

s, and peas are grown. These hills provide a variety of elevations across the city, from 2342 to 2575 ft (714 to 785 m) above sea level. Downtown Pullman is situated in a valley between these hills. Within the Pullman city limits, the Missouri Flat Creek and Paradise Creek both join the South Fork of the Palouse River. Pullman sits in the watersheds of the

Snake River The Snake River is a major river of the greater Pacific Northwest region in the United States. At long, it is the largest tributary of the Columbia River, in turn, the largest North American river that empties into the Pacific Ocean. The Snake ...

and 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 ...

. Pullman is situated across four major hills which divide the city into nearly equal quarters. These are: * Military Hill, north of the Palouse River and west of North Grand Avenue * Pioneer Hill, south of Main Street and the downtown area, and east of South Grand Avenue * Sunnyside Hill, south of Davis Way and west of South Grand Avenue * College Hill, north of Main Street and east of North Grand Avenue Military Hill is named for the Pullman Military College that opened its doors in 1891 and burned down in 1893.

Climate

Pullman's climate is classified as dry-summer humid continental ( Köppen ''Dsb''), using the 0° threshold for mean coldest winter month; it nearly qualifies as having a warm-summer Mediterranean climate ( Köppen ''Csb''). This climate is typified by hot, dry summers followed by cold, snowy winters with short transitional seasons in between. Due to the rain shadow effect of the

Cascade Range The Cascade Range or Cascades is a major mountain range of western North America, extending from southern British Columbia through Washington and Oregon to Northern California. It includes both non-volcanic mountains, such as the North Cascades, ...

to its west, clear skies occur regularly throughout the year and rainfall is drastically less frequent in comparison to cities west of the mountains. Clouds of any variety are especially scant between June and September, which contributes to a diurnal temperature variation that is much higher during the summer compared to winter. Pullman has an annual average of of precipitation. The normal monthly mean temperature ranges from in December to in August. The lowest temperature recorded in Pullman is on December 30, 1968, while the highest is on August 4, 1961.

Demographics

In 2011, ''

Bloomberg Businessweek ''Bloomberg Businessweek'', previously known as ''BusinessWeek'', is an American weekly business magazine published fifty times a year. Since 2009, the magazine is owned by New York City-based Bloomberg L.P. The magazine debuted in New York City ...

'' selected Pullman as the "Best Place to Raise Kids" in Washington. Factors included affordability, safety, a family-friendly lifestyle, the quality of Pullman High School, the presence of Washington State University, and the natural environment of the area.''Bloomberg Businessweek,'' December 14, 2010

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 inc ...

of 2010, there were 29,799 people, 11,029 households, and 3,898 families living 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 RosenberPopu ...

was . There were 11,966 housing units at an average density of . The racial makeup of the city was 79.3%

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 ...

, 2.3%

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 ...

, 0.7% Native American, 11.2% Asian, 0.3%

Pacific Islander Pacific Islanders, Pasifika, Pasefika, or rarely Pacificers are the peoples of the Pacific Islands. As an ethnic/ racial term, it is used to describe the original peoples—inhabitants and diasporas—of any of the three major subregions of O ...

, 1.9% from other races, and 4.4% from two or more races.

Hispanic The term ''Hispanic'' ( es, hispano) refers to people, 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 viceroyalties for ...

or Latino residents of any race were 5.4% of the population. There were 11,029 households, of which 17.1% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 28.5% 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 ...

living together, 4.7% had a female householder with no husband present, 2.1% had a male householder with no wife present, and 64.7% were non-families. 34.5% of all households were made up of individuals, and 4.4% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.18 and the average family size was 2.88. The median age in the city was 22.3 years. 11.3% of residents were under the age of 18; 51.8% were between the ages of 18 and 24; 21.7% were from 25 to 44; 10.5% were from 45 to 64; and 4.7% were 65 years of age or older. The gender makeup of the city was 51.3% male and 48.7% female.

2000 census

As of the census of 2000, there were 24,675 people, 8,828 households, and 3,601 families living in the city. The population density was 2,740.8 people per square mile (1,058.6/km²). The racial makeup of the city was: * 83.10%

* 8.48% Asian * 3.40% Mixed race * 2.40%

* 1.58% from other races * 0.67% Native American * 0.38%

or Latino of any race were 3.86% of the population. The 2000 Census found 9,398 housing units at an average density of 1,043.9 per square mile (403.2/km²). There were 8,828 households, out of which: * 59.2% were non-families * 33.0% were married couples living together * 31.1% of all households were made up of individuals * 20.0% had children under the age of 18 living with them * 5.8% had a female householder with no husband present * 3.7% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older (included in the 31.1% of households made up of individuals) The average household size was 2.23 and the average family size was 2.87. In the city, the population was spread out as follows: * 13.1% under the age of 18 * 49.4% from 18 to 24 * 22.8% from 25 to 44 * 10.3% from 45 to 64 * 4.5% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 22 years. For every 100 females, there are 104.6 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 104.7 males. The median income for a household in the city was $20,652, and the median income for a family was $46,165. Males had a median income of $36,743 versus $29,192 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 $13,448. About 15.3% of families and 37.5% 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 ...

, including 20.0% of those under age 18 and 3.6% of those age 65 or over.

Economy

is the largest employer in both Pullman and Whitman County. As part of the Palouse Knowledge Corridor, companies associated with an expanding high-tech industry are at the city's north end, anchored by Schweitzer Engineering Laboratories (SEL), the largest private employer in the region. The lab company was founded by Edmund Schweitzer, a Ph.D. graduate of WSU. SEL and other firms are within the Pullman Industrial Park, run by the Port of Whitman County. Pullman Regional Hospital opened on Bishop Boulevard in late 2004; its predecessor, Pullman Memorial Hospital, was on the WSU campus and shared facilities with the student health center.

Agriculture

* Dumas Seed Company warehouse

Culture

Since 1989, Pullman has been home to the

National Lentil Festival The National Lentil Festival is an annual festival in Pullman, Washington. Activities Each year, the citizens of Pullman, Washington celebrate The National Lentil Festival, a food festival honoring the lentil. The festival takes place every ye ...

, a major community event celebrating the

legume grown in the surrounding

region. The festival includes a lentil cook-off, Friday night street fair, Saturday parade and music in the park, and more. It is held in Reaney Park on the August weekend before fall semester classes start at WSU.

Sports

College sports are popular in Pullman, with most support centered on the

Washington State Cougars The Washington State Cougars (known informally as the Cougs) are the athletic teams that represent Washington State University. Located in Pullman, Washington, WSU is a member of the Pac-12 Conference in NCAA Division I. The athletic program co ...

who compete in the

Pac-12 Conference The Pac-12 Conference is a collegiate athletic conference, that operates in the Western United States, participating in 24 sports at the NCAA Division I level. Its football teams compete in the Football Bowl Subdivision (FBS; formerly Divisi ...

NCAA Division I NCAA Division I (D-I) is the highest level of intercollegiate athletics sanctioned by the National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) in the United States, which accepts players globally. D-I schools include the major collegiate athleti ...

. The football team plays at Martin Stadium, and their in-state rivals are the

Washington Huskies The Washington Huskies are the intercollegiate athletic teams that represent the University of Washington, located in Seattle. The school competes at the National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) Division I level as a member of the Pac ...

, with whom the Cougars play an annual rivalry game, the Apple Cup. The

women's A woman is an adult female human. Prior to adulthood, a female human is referred to as a girl (a female child or adolescent). The plural ''women'' is sometimes used in certain phrases such as "women's rights" to denote female humans regardle ...

and men's basketball teams play at

Beasley Coliseum Beasley Coliseum is a general-purpose indoor arena in the northwest United States, located on the campus of Washington State University in Pullman, Washington. The home venue for both the Cougars men's and women's basketball teams of the Pac-1 ...

, and the

baseball Baseball is a bat-and-ball sport played between two teams of nine players each, taking turns batting and fielding. The game occurs over the course of several plays, with each play generally beginning when a player on the fielding t ...

team at Bailey–Brayton Field. Moobery Track hosts track and field, and historic

Bohler Gymnasium Bohler Gymnasium is a 3,000 seat multi-purpose arena on the campus of Washington State University in Pullman, Washington. Opened in 1928 and located directly northwest of Rogers Field (now the site of Martin Stadium), it was home to the Coug ...

(1928) is the home of women's volleyball. The challenging 18-hole

Palouse Ridge Golf Club Palouse Ridge Golf Club is an 18-hole championship golf course in the northwest United States, located at Washington State University in Pullman, Washington. On the east edge of campus on the Palouse of the Inland Northwest, it opened for play in ...

opened in 2008, an overdue upgrade of the nine-hole WSU course. The

Greyhounds The English Greyhound, or simply the Greyhound, is a breed of dog, a sighthound which has been bred for coursing, greyhound racing and hunting. Since the rise in large-scale adoption of retired racing Greyhounds, the breed has seen a resurgence ...

of Pullman High School compete in WIAA Class 2A in District Seven. Historic rivals are the Clarkston Bantams to the south and the Moscow Bears, in adjacent Idaho.

Theatre

* Regional Theatre of the Palouse

Education

The

Pullman School District Pullman School District #267 is a public school district in Whitman County, Washington, USA and serves the city of Pullman. As of May 2011, the district has an enrollment of 2,430 students and as of October 2010, the district had an enrollm ...

consists of the following schools: * Franklin Elementary School * Jefferson Elementary School * Sunnyside Elementary School * Kamiak Elementary School * Lincoln Middle School *

Pullman High School Pullman High School is a public secondary school in the city of Pullman, Washington, the home of Washington State University. It is the only traditional public high school in the city and in the Pullman School District (#267). A four-year hi ...

The city's only public high school, Pullman High School (PHS) has about 700 students. It is on Military Hill. Its mascot for its athletic teams is the greyhound. PHS offers honors and advanced placement courses, along with

Running Start Running Start is a dual credit enrollment program in Washington, Hawaii, New Hampshire, Montana and Illinois which allows high school juniors and seniors to attend college courses numbered 100 or above, while completing high school. It is si ...

course work through WSU and

Spokane Falls Community College Spokane Falls Community College (SFCC) is a public community college in Spokane, Washington. It was established in 1967 and is part of the Community Colleges of Spokane. History The land upon which SFCC is located was given to the city after ...

Washington State University

Pullman is the site of the flagship campus of Washington State University (WSU), a member of the

(Pac-12) in

. WSU is the second-largest university in the state of Washington, and is well known for its veterinary medicine, business, architecture, engineering, agriculture, pharmacy, and communications schools.

Transportation

Pullman is located near the junction of several major highways.

U.S. Route 195 U.S. Route 195 (US 195) is a north–south United States Highway, of which all but 0.65 miles of its 94.02 miles (1.05 of 151.95 km) are within the state of Washington. The highway starts in rural Idaho north of the city ...

and State Route 27 travel north towards the Spokane area, passing through various towns in the Palouse, while State Route 270 follows the Bill Chipman Palouse Trail to Moscow, Idaho. Pullman is served by the Pullman-Moscow Regional Airport east of Pullman and west of Moscow. Horizon Air offers four flights daily from Pullman-Moscow to

Seattle Seattle ( ) is a seaport city on the West Coast of the United States. It is the seat of King County, Washington. With a 2020 population of 737,015, it is the largest city in both the state of Washington and the Pacific Northwest region o ...

and four flights daily from Seattle to Pullman-Moscow. Shuttle service to Spokane International Airport is available. Major bus routes, including Greyhound, pass through Pullman. The city is also served by Pullman Transit, which provides bus service for residents and WSU students who do not live on campus. WSU students are able to ride without fares by presenting their student ID card, as the university includes a transit fee in tuition.

Notable people

Pat Beach Patrick Jesse Beach (born December 28, 1959) is a former professional American football tight end in the National Football League (NFL) for eleven seasons for the Baltimore/Indianapolis Colts, Philadelphia Eagles, and Phoenix Cardinals. He ...

, NFL tight end for eleven seasons for the Baltimore and Indianapolis Colts, Philadelphia Eagles, and Arizona Cardinals *

John Elway John Albert Elway Jr. (born June 28, 1960) is an American professional football executive and former quarterback who is the president of football operations for the Denver Broncos of the National Football League (NFL). Elway played college fo ...

Hall of Fame A hall, wall, or walk of fame is a list of individuals, achievements, or other entities, usually chosen by a group of electors, to mark their excellence or fame in their field. In some cases, these halls of fame consist of actual halls or muse ...

NFL quarterback for the

Denver Broncos The Denver Broncos are a professional American football franchise based in Denver. The Broncos compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member club of the league's American Football Conference (AFC) West division. The team is headquar ...

, was a resident for four years and attended Pullman High School as a freshman *

John M. Fabian John McCreary Fabian (born January 28, 1939) is a former NASA astronaut and Air Force officer who flew two Space Shuttle missions and worked on the development of the Shuttle's robotic arm. He later led the Air Force's space operations. Personal ...

, former

NASA The National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA ) is an independent agency of the US federal government responsible for the civil space program, aeronautics research, and space research. NASA was established in 1958, succeedin ...

astronaut, graduated from

and WSU * Susan Fagan, Politician. Member of

Washington House of Representatives The Washington House of Representatives is the lower house of the Washington State Legislature, and along with the Washington State Senate makes up the legislature of the U.S. state of Washington. It is composed of 98 Representatives from 49 ...

. *

William La Follette William Leroy La Follette (November 30, 1860 – December 20, 1934) was a four-term member of the United States House of Representatives representing Washington. He represented the 3rd District from 1911 to 1915, and the 4th District from 191 ...

, U.S. Congressman, lived in Pullman * Gary Larson, Cartoonist, graduated from

in Pullman *

Timm Rosenbach Timm Lane Rosenbach (born October 27, 1966) is an American college football coach and former professional gridiron football player. Rosenbach was the head football coach at Adams State University in Alamosa, Colorado, taking the position at th ...

, NFL quarterback for the Arizona Cardinals and

New Orleans Saints The New Orleans Saints are a professional American football team based in New Orleans. The Saints compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member of the league's National Football Conference (NFC) South division. Since 1975, the te ...

; played at Pullman High School and

Washington State Washington (), officially the State of Washington, is a U.S. state, state in the Northwestern United States, Pacific Northwest region of the Western United States. Named for George Washington—the first President of the United States, U.S. p ...

* James Mattis, former USMC general and the 26th Secretary of Defense * Jean Hegland, novelist, born and raised in Pullman * Ron C. Mittelhammer, former director of the School of Economic Sciences and former president of the American Agricultural Economics Association * Jay Swanson, You Tuber, grew up in Pullman * Kirk Triplett, three-time winner on the

PGA Tour The PGA Tour (stylized in all capital letters as PGA TOUR by its officials) is the organizer of professional golf tours in the United States and North America. It organizes most of the events on the flagship annual series of tournaments also ...

and member of the 2000 President's Cup team, 1980 graduate of Pullman High School *

Young Jean Lee Young Jean Lee is an American playwright, director, and filmmaker. She was the Artistic Director of Young Jean Lee's Theater Company, a not-for-profit theater company dedicated to producing her work. She has written and directed ten shows for Yo ...

, playwright, raised in Pullman

Notes

References

External links

* *
Primer: Pullman Washington : home of the State College of Washington
a 1911 publication about the city by Sunset Magazine {{authority control Cities in Washington (state) Cities in Whitman County, Washington Populated places established in 1875 Micropolitan areas of Washington (state)