Deep Creek is an unincorporated community in

Spokane County Spokane County is a county located in the U.S. state of Washington. As of the 2020 census, its population was 539,339, making it the fourth-most populous county in Washington. The largest city and county seat is Spokane, the second largest ci ...

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 ...

. A creek of the same name flows through the community. Deep Creek is located along

U.S. Route 2 U.S. Route 2 or U.S. Highway 2 (US 2) is an east–west U.S. Highway spanning across the northern continental United States. US 2 consists of two segments connected by various roadways in southern Canada. Unlike some routes, wh ...

in a rural area near the Lincoln County line.

Geography

Deep Creek is located 14 miles west of

Downtown Spokane Downtown Spokane or Riverside is the central business district of Spokane, Washington. The Riverside neighborhood is roughly bounded by I-90 to the south, Division Street to the east, Monroe Street to the west and Boone Avenue to the north. The t ...

along U.S. Route 2 and two miles northwest of

Fairchild Air Force Base Fairchild Air Force Base (AFB) is a United States Air Force base, located in the northwest United States in eastern Washington, approximately southwest of Spokane. The host unit at Fairchild is the 92nd Air Refueling Wing (92 ARW) assigne ...

. The city of

Airway Heights Airway Heights is a city in Spokane County, Washington, United States, just west of Spokane. The population was 10,757 at the 2020 census. The city's name was taken from its close proximity to the runways at Fairchild Air Force Base and Spokane ...

, which forms the westernmost suburb of the Spokane

urban area An urban area, built-up area or urban agglomeration is a human settlement with a high population density and infrastructure of built environment. Urban areas are created through urbanization and are categorized by urban morphology as cities, ...

, is located five miles to the east along U.S. 2. The rural community of Espanola is located four miles to the south. Immediately to the east of the community is a hill that rises 180 feet above Deep Creek. The creek of the same name follows the hillside through the community in a northeasterly direction towards

Riverside State Park Riverside State Park is a Washington state park located northwest of Spokane in the community of Nine Mile Falls. The park protects of Okanagan dry forest along the Spokane and Little Spokane rivers. It is the second largest state park in ...

where it empties into the

Spokane River The Spokane River is a tributary of the Columbia River, approximately long, in northern Idaho and eastern Washington in the United States. It drains a low mountainous area east of the Columbia, passing through the Spokane Valley and the city ...

near the community of Nine Mile Falls.

History

The community of Deep Creek was founded in 1883 and originally known as Deep Creek Falls. In 1894 the name was shortened to Deep Creek. The agricultural potential of the area was promoted to attract settlers. The community, which was incorporated as a town, saw its heyday during the first decades of its existence. At its peak, Deep Creek was home to multiple churches, businesses, a mill and a school which served more than 100 students. The historic Deep Creek school was constructed in 1905. The community faded through the 1910s and 1920s before ultimately facing disincorporation in 1939. The school continued operations for five more years before being shuttered in 1944. In 1960, a

Hutterite Hutterites (german: link=no, Hutterer), also called Hutterian Brethren (German: ), are a communal ethnoreligious branch of Anabaptists, who, like the Amish and Mennonites, trace their roots to the Radical Reformation of the early 16th century a ...

community was established in the Deep Creek area. Led by Paul S. Gross, who brought his family from

Alberta Alberta ( ) is one of the thirteen provinces and territories of Canada. It is part of Western Canada and is one of the three prairie provinces. Alberta is bordered by British Columbia to the west, Saskatchewan to the east, the Northwest Ter ...

, the Hutterites purchased and leased more than 3,000 acres of farmland immediately north of the community. It was the first Hutterite community west of the

Rocky Mountains The Rocky Mountains, also known as the Rockies, are a major mountain range and the largest mountain system in North America. The Rocky Mountains stretch in straight-line distance from the northernmost part of western Canada, to New Mexico in ...

. The community remains active into the 21st century. In 2006, Deep Creek area wells were found to be tainted with three toxic chemicals which investigators suspected entered the groundwater supply from a nearby

Nike missile site The following is a list of Nike missile sites operated by the United States Army. This article lists sites in the United States, most responsible to Army Air Defense Command; however, the Army also deployed Nike missiles to Europe as part of th ...

. The

Environmental Protection Agency A biophysical environment is a biotic and abiotic surrounding of an organism or population, and consequently includes the factors that have an influence in their survival, development, and evolution. A biophysical environment can vary in scale f ...

found

trichloroethylene The chemical compound trichloroethylene is a halocarbon commonly used as an industrial solvent. It is a clear, colourless non-flammable liquid with a chloroform-like sweet smell. It should not be confused with the similar 1,1,1-trichloroethane, ...

perchlorate A perchlorate is a chemical compound containing the perchlorate ion, . The majority of perchlorates are commercially produced salts. They are mainly used as oxidizers for pyrotechnic devices and to control static electricity in food packaging. ...

and N-nitrosodimethylamine in area wells. Concentrations of trichloroethylene were found to be 210 parts per billion, well above the maximum concentration level for human consumption of 5 parts per billion. Levels of N-nitrosodimethylamine were twice the maximum concentration level.

References

{{authority control Unincorporated communities in Spokane County, Washington Unincorporated communities in Washington (state)