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Republic is a city in
Ferry County, Washington Ferry County is a county located on the northern border of the U.S. state of Washington. As of the 2020 census, the population was 7,178, making it the fourth-least populous county in Washington. The county seat and largest city is Republic. ...
, United States. The population was 992 at the 2020 census. It is the
county seat A county seat is an administrative center, seat of government, or capital city of a county or parish (administrative division), civil parish. The term is in use in five countries: Canada, China, Hungary, Romania, and the United States. An equiva ...
of Ferry County. It was the largest mining camp in the Republic Mining District, and home to the "Hot Air Line" railway.


History


Republic Mining District

Republic was founded by gold prospectors in the late 19th century. Mining claims were first made along Eureka Creek on March 1, 1896, after the northern half of the
Colville Indian Reservation The Colville Indian Reservation is an Indian reservation located in Washington (state), Washington state, U.S. It is inhabited and managed by the Confederated Tribes of the Colville Reservation, which are List of federally recognized tribes in ...
was vacated on February 21. On March 5, 1896, the Republic claim was staked by Thomas Ryan and Philip Creasor along Granite Creek, another branch of the
Sanpoil River The Sanpoil River (also spelled San Poil) is a tributary of the Columbia River, in the U.S. state of Washington. The river is named for the Sanpoil, the Interior Salish people who live along the river course. The name is from the Okanagan ...
. The resulting Republic Mine eventually became the highest producer of gold in the county. On April 18, 1896, the Republic Mining District, originally called the Eureka Mining District, was established. The first ore mill for processing low grade ore in the district was constructed in May, 1898, while highest grade ores were hauled east to
Marcus, Washington Marcus is a town in Stevens County, Washington, Stevens County, Washington (state), Washington, United States. The population was 216 at the 2020 United States census, 2020 census. History Marcus was named for Marcus Oppenheimer who settled in ...
partway by cart and then via the Spokane Falls & Northern
branch line A branch line is a secondary railway line which branches off a more important through route, usually a main line. A very short branch line may be called a spur line. Branch lines may serve one or more industries, or a city or town not located ...
for the remaining distance. Between 1899 and 1900, stamp mills were constructed at the Mountain Lion mine in the northwest part of camp and the Republic Mine in the south resulting in a brief period where all of the district's ore was milled in the camp. The Mountain Lion Gold Mining company 100-ton mill used a combination of mercury plate amalgamation followed by MacArthur-Forrest cyanide leaching. However, because of much lower gold and silver recovery rates, combined with the soon to arrive rail lines, the mill was soon shut down. The 200-ton Republic mill processed the ore by first
roasting Roasting is a cooking method that uses dry heat where hot air covers the food, cooking it evenly on all sides with temperatures of at least from an open flame, oven, or other heat source. Roasting can enhance the flavor through caramelizat ...
the finely crushed ore, followed by cyanide leaching, with the first loads of ore being processed in October 1900. In July 1901, the Republic mine and mill both shut down because of the milling cost, and a lack of enough profitable ore being recovered. Ores in the Republic District were noted to have increasing percentages of silver concentration in the lower portions of the ore bodies, and the Republic mill did not provide more than a 50% return on assayed ore value, dooming the mill. The Republic mine remained inactive until 1902 when the arrival of railroads in the town made mining profitable again. From 1902 to 1909, ore was freighted north to
British Columbia British Columbia is the westernmost Provinces and territories of Canada, province of Canada. Situated in the Pacific Northwest between the Pacific Ocean and the Rocky Mountains, the province has a diverse geography, with rugged landscapes that ...
and then west to
smelter Smelting is a process of applying heat and a chemical reducing agent to an ore to extract a desired base metal product. It is a form of extractive metallurgy that is used to obtain many metals such as iron, copper, silver, tin, lead and zin ...
s on the coast for processing, with periods where shipments up to of ore a week were regular. The Republic mining District encompassing Republic and the surrounding areas, had no defined borders as of 1909 when the geologist Joseph B. Umpleby visited, but included six townships with a center "a little west of the south end of Curlew Lake". At the time of the visit Republic was the most important mining camp in the county and the largest with a population of around 1,500.


Eureka to Republic

In July 1897, Philip Creasor built a two-story hotel at the townsite, originally called Eureka. This town site was
platted In the United States, a plat ( or ) (plan) is a cadastral map, drawn to scale, showing the divisions of a piece of land. United States General Land Office surveyors drafted township plats of Public Lands Surveys to show the distance and bear ...
on April 29, 1898, and the post office name changed to Republic, since there was already a post office named Eureka in the state of Washington. On May 8, 1900, a special election was held which approved incorporation of Republic, and J.J. Sullivan was elected mayor. The town was then officially incorporated on May 22, 1900, and had a population of about 1800. Two separate rail lines granted access to the area, Great Northern Railways Spokane Falls & Northern branch line and the locally owned Republic and Kettle Valley Railway, commonly called the "Hot air line" from
Grand Forks, British Columbia Grand Forks is a city in the Boundary Country of the Kootenays, West Kootenay region of British Columbia, Canada. It is located at the confluence of the Granby River, Granby and Kettle River (Columbia River tributary), Kettle Rivers, the latter ...
. During the summer of 1900, Swedish immigrant Charles E. Anderson first opened Anderson's Grocery.


Hot Air Line

The Spokane and British Columbia Railway, originally the Republic and Kettle Valley Railway, was a short lived
standard-gauge A standard-gauge railway is a railway with a track gauge of . The standard gauge is also called Stephenson gauge (after George Stephenson), international gauge, UIC gauge, uniform gauge, normal gauge in Europe, and SGR in East Africa. It is the ...
private rail company based out of Republic operating between Republic, Grand Forks and Lynch Creek British Columbia. The line was locally known as the "Hot Air line". The line began operation in 1902 as the Republic and Kettle Valley Railway, before being bought out in 1916. The company was initially incorporated in 1901 with J. Stratton as president, with construction of the line between Republic and Danville, Washington at the United States-Canadian border being contracted to the Republic and Grand Forks Construction Company, itself owned by Stratton. The rail line paralleled the Great Northern spur line from Republic through Malo and Curlew, Washington to Danville. The northern line was initially surveyed by the Republic and Kettle River company, but they were forced to build on higher ground beyond the Great Northern land boundaries. On January 2, 1902, the railroad was also approved by the Secretary of the Interior to conduct surveying for a southern line though the Colville Indian Reservation along the
Sanpoil River The Sanpoil River (also spelled San Poil) is a tributary of the Columbia River, in the U.S. state of Washington. The river is named for the Sanpoil, the Interior Salish people who live along the river course. The name is from the Okanagan ...
.


Early entertainment

During the early 1900's, Republic was home to a regional
Baseball Baseball is a bat-and-ball games, bat-and-ball sport played between two team sport, teams of nine players each, taking turns batting (baseball), batting and Fielding (baseball), fielding. The game occurs over the course of several Pitch ...
team which traveled the northeast region playing other city teams such as those from Colville and Orient, Washington, plus
Grand Forks, British Columbia Grand Forks is a city in the Boundary Country of the Kootenays, West Kootenay region of British Columbia, Canada. It is located at the confluence of the Granby River, Granby and Kettle River (Columbia River tributary), Kettle Rivers, the latter ...
. The city also had a
brass band A brass band is a musical ensemble generally consisting primarily of brass instruments, most often with a percussion section. Ensembles that include brass and woodwind instruments can in certain traditions also be termed brass bands (particularl ...
which would play at events such as
Fourth of July Independence Day, known colloquially as the Fourth of July, is a federal holiday in the United States which commemorates the ratification of the Declaration of Independence by the Second Continental Congress on July 4, 1776, establishing th ...
celebrations which it would host with the baseball club. The Kettle River Journal of Orient reported August 1913 that the Republic Theater had been purchased by a new owner who renovated and remodeled it.


1983 Republic hotel fire

On December 4, 1983, around 6pm, fire broke out on north Clarke Ave and raged for over 2 hours before being extinguished. The starting point was thought to have been an upper back room in the Republic Hotel and cafe. It spread for half a block consuming the hotel, the state liquor store, ''The Republic News-Miner'' newspaper offices, and an unoccupied building. A radio shop at the south end of the block and a hardware store at the north end were smoke-damaged but spared. Fire crews from Curlew, Malo, Keller, and Tonasket all responded to the blaze.


Modern era

Republic's prominence, initially brought on by the gold rush, started to fade as prospectors and those who supported the mining industry moved away. During the years between 1900 and 1910, the town lost over half its population. Despite this, mining has continued to be an important part of life in Republic, as gold is still mined for in the mountains surrounding the town. As of 2022, an estimated of gold had been recovered from northern Ferry County, with active gold exploration being conducted by Adamera Minerals Corporation who acquired property on Buckhorn Mountain near the Canadian border from Kinross Gold Corporation. As of the 2020s, the town of 1,100 is sustained mainly by those people in surrounding farms and ranches, miners who work at the local mine, and tourists looking for a quieter, slower pace of life.


Geography

According to the
United States Census Bureau The United States Census Bureau, officially the Bureau of the Census, is a principal agency of the Federal statistical system, U.S. federal statistical system, responsible for producing data about the American people and American economy, econ ...
, the city has a total area of , all of it land. Republic is located on a low shoulder of Klondike Mountain northwest of the
Sanpoil River The Sanpoil River (also spelled San Poil) is a tributary of the Columbia River, in the U.S. state of Washington. The river is named for the Sanpoil, the Interior Salish people who live along the river course. The name is from the Okanagan ...
in a long graben valley. The valley is bordered by the
Okanagan Highland The Okanagan Highland is an elevated hilly plateau area in British Columbia, Canada, and the U.S. state of Washington (where it is spelled Okanogan Highlands). Rounded mountains with elevations up to above sea level and deep, narrow valleys ar ...
s to the west and the Kettle River Range to the east.


Climate

Republic experiences a
humid continental climate A humid continental climate is a climatic region defined by Russo-German climatologist Wladimir Köppen in 1900, typified by four distinct seasons and large seasonal temperature differences, with warm to hot (and often humid) summers, and cold ...
(
Köppen Köppen is a German surname. Notable people with the surname include: * Bernd Köppen (1951–2014), German pianist and composer * Carl Köppen (1833-1907), German military advisor in Meiji era Japan * Edlef Köppen (1893–1939), German author ...
''Dfb'') with cold winters, warm summers and fairly even precipitation year-round, with a drying trend in summer, though there is a secondary uptick in rainfall from April through June, unlike in much of the rest of the state. The hot dry summers and valley airflow can result in wildfire smoke and haze shrouding the town and greater Sanpoil valley when large fires are burning in the region. A number of wildfires in the past 50 years have burned close to Republic in both the Okanogan Highlands and the Kettle River Range, including the 1988 White Mountain Fire, 2001 Mount Leona Fire, and the 2015 North Star fire.


Demographics


2020 census

As of the 2020 census, there were 992 people and 478 households living in the city, a decrease from the 2010 census. There were 531 housing units in 2020, down from 536 in 2010. The racial makeup of the city was 80.2%
White White is the lightest color and is achromatic (having no chroma). It is the color of objects such as snow, chalk, and milk, and is the opposite of black. White objects fully (or almost fully) reflect and scatter all the visible wa ...
, 0.3%
African American African Americans, also known as Black Americans and formerly also called Afro-Americans, are an Race and ethnicity in the United States, American racial and ethnic group that consists of Americans who have total or partial ancestry from an ...
, 2.8% Native American, 1.1% Asian, 0.01%
Pacific Islander Pacific Islanders, Pasifika, Pasefika, Pacificans, 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 th ...
, 3.7% from other races, and 1.7% from two or more races.
Hispanic The term Hispanic () are people, Spanish culture, cultures, or countries related to Spain, the Spanish language, or broadly. In some contexts, Hispanic and Latino Americans, especially within the United States, "Hispanic" is used as an Ethnici ...
or Latino of any race were 2.7% of the population.


2010 census

As of the 2010 census, there were 1,073 people, 493 households, and 263 families living in the city, a 12.5% increase over the 2000 census. The
population density Population density (in agriculture: Standing stock (disambiguation), 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 geog ...
was . There were 536 housing units at an average density of . The racial makeup of the city was 89.6%
White White is the lightest color and is achromatic (having no chroma). It is the color of objects such as snow, chalk, and milk, and is the opposite of black. White objects fully (or almost fully) reflect and scatter all the visible wa ...
, 0.1%
African American African Americans, also known as Black Americans and formerly also called Afro-Americans, are an Race and ethnicity in the United States, American racial and ethnic group that consists of Americans who have total or partial ancestry from an ...
, 2.7% Native American, 1.9% Asian, 0.1%
Pacific Islander Pacific Islanders, Pasifika, Pasefika, Pacificans, 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 th ...
, 1.4% from other races, and 4.3% from two or more races.
Hispanic The term Hispanic () are people, Spanish culture, cultures, or countries related to Spain, the Spanish language, or broadly. In some contexts, Hispanic and Latino Americans, especially within the United States, "Hispanic" is used as an Ethnici ...
or Latino of any race were 2.7% of the population. There were 493 households, of which 23.7% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 33.7% were
married couples Marriage, also called matrimony or wedlock, is a culturally and often legally recognised union between people called spouses. It establishes rights and obligations between them, as well as between them and their children (if any), and b ...
living together, 13.6% had a female householder with no husband present, 6.1% had a male householder with no wife present, and 46.7% were non-families. 37.7% of all households were made up of individuals, and 14.6% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.05 and the average family size was 2.68. The median age in the city was 45.3 years. 19.7% of residents were under the age of 18; 7.6% were between the ages of 18 and 24; 22.1% were from 25 to 44; 29.9% were from 45 to 64; and 20.7% were 65 years of age or older. The gender makeup of the city was 46.1% male and 53.9% female.


2000 census

As of the 2000 census, there were 954 people, 411 households, and 244 families living in the city. The population density was 602.9 people per square mile (233.1/km2). There were 500 housing units at an average density of 316.0 per square mile (122.2/km2). The racial makeup of the city was 92.56%
White White is the lightest color and is achromatic (having no chroma). It is the color of objects such as snow, chalk, and milk, and is the opposite of black. White objects fully (or almost fully) reflect and scatter all the visible wa ...
, 0.84%
African American African Americans, also known as Black Americans and formerly also called Afro-Americans, are an Race and ethnicity in the United States, American racial and ethnic group that consists of Americans who have total or partial ancestry from an ...
, 2.73% Native American, 0.21% Asian, 0.10%
Pacific Islander Pacific Islanders, Pasifika, Pasefika, Pacificans, 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 th ...
, 0.73% from other races, and 2.83% from two or more races.
Hispanic The term Hispanic () are people, Spanish culture, cultures, or countries related to Spain, the Spanish language, or broadly. In some contexts, Hispanic and Latino Americans, especially within the United States, "Hispanic" is used as an Ethnici ...
or Latino of any race were 1.99% of the population. There were 411 households, out of which 31.4% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 44.0% were married couples living together, 11.7% had a female householder with no husband present, and 40.4% were non-families. 36.5% of all households were made up of individuals, and 15.6% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.25 and the average family size was 2.96. In the city, the population age distribution is spread out, with 26.0% under the age of 18, 7.3% from 18 to 24, 24.4% from 25 to 44, 27.9% from 45 to 64, and 14.4% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 40 years. For every 100 females, there were 93.9 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 88.8 males. The median income for a household in the city was $25,284, and the median income for a family was $30,357. Males had a median income of $28,750 versus $24,286 for females. The
per capita income Per capita income (PCI) or average income measures the average income earned per person in a given area (city, region, country, etc.) in a specified year. In many countries, per capita income is determined using regular population surveys, such ...
for the city was $14,427. About 20.2% of families and 24.0% 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 31.5% of those under age 18 and 17.6% of those age 65 or over.


Economy

Republic has a number of businesses that line Clark Avenue, the main street of town, including Anderson's Grocery, first established in 1900, the Republic Drug Store, established two years later in 1902, and the Stonerose Interpretive Center. The Ferry County Memorial Hospital is the largest employer in the county. The town is the
county seat A county seat is an administrative center, seat of government, or capital city of a county or parish (administrative division), civil parish. The term is in use in five countries: Canada, China, Hungary, Romania, and the United States. An equiva ...
of Ferry County, and a number of city county and state jobs are located in Republic as a result. Curlew Lake, long, lies northeast of Republic and has summertime fishing and boating. Swan Lake is small mountain lake to the south of Republic and also serves to be a popular lake for local residents and tourists to visit. Republic is surrounded by the
Colville National Forest The Colville National Forest is a U.S. National Forest located in northeastern Washington state. It is bordered on the west by the Okanogan–Wenatchee National Forest and the Kaniksu National Forest to the east. The forest also borders Litt ...
and 13 miles to the south is the
Colville Indian Reservation The Colville Indian Reservation is an Indian reservation located in Washington (state), Washington state, U.S. It is inhabited and managed by the Confederated Tribes of the Colville Reservation, which are List of federally recognized tribes in ...
boundary. The oldest operating business in Republic is Anderson's Grocery, founded in the summer of 1900. The Republic Drug Store founded in 1904, was reported to be the oldest continually family run drugstore in the state of Washington as of 2003.


Arts and culture

The areas history of mining and logging is celebrated during the annual Prospector's Days weekend, held during the second weekend in June. Events are staged across Republic, and people attending can try their hand at competing in mining and logging competitions, panning for gold, and watching an old west gun fight. The Stonerose Interpretive Center and Fossil Site, famous for the
Eocene The Eocene ( ) is a geological epoch (geology), epoch that lasted from about 56 to 33.9 million years ago (Ma). It is the second epoch of the Paleogene Period (geology), Period in the modern Cenozoic Era (geology), Era. The name ''Eocene'' comes ...
fossil A fossil (from Classical Latin , ) is any preserved remains, impression, or trace of any once-living thing from a past geological age. Examples include bones, shells, exoskeletons, stone imprints of animals or microbes, objects preserve ...
s found in a 49 mya
Klondike Mountain Formation The Klondike Mountain Formation is an Early Eocene (Ypresian) geological formation located in the northeast central area of Washington (state), Washington state. The formation is composed of volcanic rocks in the upper unit and volcanic plus lacu ...
lake bed at the north end of Republic is housed on the corner of North Clarke Avenue and Highway 20. A number of extinct plants and animals found in the lake bed have been named in honor of Republic, including '' Acer republicense'', a
maple ''Acer'' is a genus of trees and shrubs commonly known as maples. The genus is placed in the soapberry family Sapindaceae.Stevens, P. F. (2001 onwards). Angiosperm Phylogeny Website. Version 9, June 2008 nd more or less continuously updated si ...
, '' Rhus republicensis'', a
sumac Sumac or sumach ( , )—not to be confused with poison sumac—is any of the roughly 35 species of flowering plants in the genus ''Rhus'' (and related genera) of the cashew and mango tree family, Anacardiaceae. However, it is '' Rhus coriaria ...
, and '' Republica hickeyi'' an extinct flowering plant. Insects named for Republic include '' Republica weatbrooki'', a damselfly, '' Republicopteron douseae'', a
katydid Insects in the family Tettigoniidae are commonly called katydids (especially in North America) or bush crickets. They have previously been known as "long-horned grasshoppers". More than 8,000 species are known. Part of the suborder Ensifera, the ...
-relative, and '' Ulteramus republicensis'' a
sawfly Sawflies are wasp-like insects that are in the suborder Symphyta within the order Hymenoptera, alongside ants, bees, and wasps. The common name comes from the saw-like appearance of the ovipositor, which the females use to cut into the plant ...
. At the Ferry County Fairgrounds, located east of town on State Route 20, is the Ferry County Carousel originally built between 1895 and 1900.


Government and politics

Republic is the county seat of Ferry County and the only incorporated municipality in the county. In October 2020, the Republic City Council voted to switch from a city police department to contract with the Ferry County Sheriff who had been responding to emergency calls since early 2020. The vote eliminated the city police department and its only police officer, then gubernatorial candidate Loren Culp, from the city payroll. Ferry county Sheriff Ray Maycumber had offered a position with the sheriff's department to Culp, but the offer was not accepted. The city retained all the physical police property and equipment, should there be a decision to reactivate the city police.


Education

The Republic School District operates four public schools in the town that enrolled 278 students during the 2022–23 school year. It employs 23 teachers and 27 administration and other staff members. The district primarily serves Republic south to the Colville Reservation boundary, as well as north to the northern end of Curlew Lake, with boundaries extending east towards Sherman pass and west towards Wauconda along Highway 20.


Parks and recreation

A
skate park A skatepark, or skate park, is a purpose-built recreational environment made for skateboarding, BMX, scootering, and aggressive inline skating. A skatepark may contain half-pipes, handrails, funboxes, vert ramps, stairsets, quarter pipe ...
built in conjunction with Grindline Skateparks of Seattle, Washington was completed in 2024. The park was built on a lot at the south end of Republic, across from the Republic schools and next to the western terminus of the Golden Tiger Trail. The park was designed and shaped with the main bowl stylized after a '' Florissantia'' blossom. Letters supporting the intuitive were received by the Washington State Recreation and Conservation office from
Jay Inslee Jay Robert Inslee ( ; born February 9, 1951) is an American politician and lawyer who served from 2013 to 2025 as the 23rd governor of Washington. A member of the Democratic Party, he served from 1993 to 1995 and again from 1999 to 2012 as a ...
, then Washington State Governor;
Jeff Ament Jeffrey Allen Ament (born March 10, 1963) is an American musician best known as the bassist of rock band Pearl Jam, which he co-founded alongside Stone Gossard, Mike McCready, and Eddie Vedder. Ament wrote or co-wrote many of Pearl Jam's hits, ...
,
Pearl Jam Pearl Jam is an American Rock music, rock band formed in Seattle, Washington, in 1990. One of the key bands in the grunge, grunge movement of the early 1990s, Pearl Jam has outsold and outlasted many of its contemporaries from the early 1990s, ...
bassist; and a number of local residents and organizations.


References

{{Authority control Cities in Washington (state) Cities in Ferry County, Washington County seats in Washington (state) Mining communities in Washington (state)