Mount Hope is an

unincorporated community An unincorporated area is a parcel of land that is not governed by a local general-purpose municipal corporation. (At p. 178.) They may be governed or serviced by an encompassing unit (such as a county) or another branch of the state (such as th ...

in the

Palouse The Palouse ( ) is a geographic region of the northwestern United States, encompassing parts of North Central Idaho, north central Idaho, southeastern Washington (part of eastern Washington), and by some definitions, parts of northeast Oregon. ...

region of southern Spokane County,

Washington Washington most commonly refers to: * George Washington (1732–1799), the first president of the United States * Washington (state), a state in the Pacific Northwest of the United States * Washington, D.C., the capital of the United States ** A ...

. The community is officially named "Mount Hope" but road signage in and leading to the community uses the abbreviated "Mt. Hope" spelling, as do the church and cemetery in the community.

History

The community of Mount Hope dates to the 1877. The Mount Hope Cemetery is home to graves from as early as 1882 and the adjacent Mount Hope Community Church was established in 1887. In the early decades of the 20th century Mount Hope was a stop on the

Spokane and Inland Empire Railroad The Spokane and Inland Empire Railroad Company (S.&I.E.R.R.Co.) was an Interurban, electrified interurban railway operating in Spokane, Washington and vicinity, extending into northern and central Idaho. The system originated in several predecess ...

. The railroad passed over a 1,360 foot long curved wooden trestle, the longest in the world at the time, as it crossed nearby Rock Creek north of Mount Hope. Passenger service on the railroad served Mount Hope until the late 1930s. The tracks were subsequently removed and the depot demolished, though as of 2006 the building housing transformers to power the railroad was still standing.

Geography

Mount Hope is located in southeastern Spokane County in the rolling hills of the

agricultural region. It sits on a relatively flat plateau between the valleys of

Latah Creek Latah Creek ( ), also known as Hangman Creek, is a large stream in eastern Washington and north central Idaho in the United States. The creek flows northwest from the Rocky Mountains to Spokane, where it empties into the Spokane River. It dr ...

to the west and Rock Creek to the north at an elevation of 2,444 above sea level. The ephemeral Fisher Creek drains the community into Rock Creek. Valley Chapel Road runs through the community connecting it with the Spokane Urban Area approximately 15 miles to the north and the town of Rockford five miles to the east. There is a fire station located in the community.

Gallery

Mt. Hope Graveyard.jpg, Mt. Hope Cemetery Mt. Hope Church.jpg, Mt. Hope Community Church

References

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