Elk is an unincorporated rural community in northern

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 cit ...

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. There is also a VFW, Volunteer Fire Station, and other amenities. During the summer Elk holds Elk Days, when it celebrates Fathers' Day and the community's history. The community gathers, usually at Elk Park, to celebrate with various vendors and festivities often including a car show and parade.

Geography

Elk is located on the upper reaches of the

Little Spokane River The Little Spokane River is a major tributary of the Spokane River, approximately long, in eastern Washington in the United States. It drains a rural area of forested foothills and a farming valley north of the city of Spokane along the Idaho– ...

. The surrounding area consists of forests and farmland with the foothills of the

Selkirk Mountains The Selkirk Mountains are a mountain range spanning the northern portion of the Idaho Panhandle, eastern Washington, and southeastern British Columbia which are part of a larger grouping of mountains, the Columbia Mountains. They begin at Mica Pe ...

rising a few miles from town in almost all directions. The town is located 3.5 miles east of

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 ...

, a major highway and thoroughfare in the region connecting the Elk area to larger nearby cities with more services like

Newport, Washington Newport is a city in and the county seat of Pend Oreille County, Washington, United States. The population was 2,126 at the 2010 census. History Newport was given its name in 1890 because it was selected as a landing site for the first steam ...

to the north and

Spokane, Washington 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 Canada ...

to the south. Elk is located roughly two miles south of the Spokane- Pend Oreille county line.

History

The community was originally named Peddit's Township of Elk. A post office in Elk has been in operation since 1892. The current post office sits on the site of the Elk Hotel, which was destroyed by fire in the early 1970s. A one room schoolhouse was built in 1902. The town is now served by the Riverside School District, which covers most of rural northern Spokane County.

References

Unincorporated communities in Spokane County, Washington Unincorporated communities in Washington (state) {{SpokaneCountyWA-geo-stub