A River of History

A River of History. . , The mouth of the Yakima River, known in the native language as Táptat, has been an abundant natural resource for thousands of years, providing food, water and shelter for people and animals., Bountiful populations of salmon once sustained the people of the village of Čamná on the north bank of the Yakima at its mouth. The people of Čamná and the surrounding area, known as the Čamnapam, were closely related to the Wanapum and Walla Walla people, who all fished along the shores of the rivers here. The confluence of the Yakima and the Columbia Rivers lies within the traditional homeland of the Confederated Tribes of the Umatilla., Later, as Euro-American settlers came west, the Yakima River provided lush vegetation for their cattle. Steamboats ferried goods up and down the river, and those goods were loaded onto railroads connecting our city to communities across the country. The river’s legacy continues to flow through the city, as seen in the bustling mix of agriculture, industry, and recreation throughout West Richland., A City Blooms in the Desert , The city’s transformation into a major agricultural area followed the construction of the original Horn Rapids dam in 1892., The new dam filled irrigation canals on both banks of the river, which wheat farmers and cattle ranchers put to good use. They used the canals to create an even larger irrigation network and converted the area's arid shrub-steppe landscape into a commodity., Today, the Yakima River continues to be the life source for agriculture in the Columbia Basin and nearby Yakima Valley. Abundant irrigation water combined with lots of subshins provides ideal conditions for a variety of crops. Timothy hay, alfalfa, potatoes, and grapes are all grown here, and our region's farmers lead the nation in the production of apples and premium wines., One City, Two Names , Without a name of its own, early landowners Carl and Vera Heminger made plans for a model city called Heminger City. However, when the vote was cast, residents chose the name of Enterprise. Outraged, the Hemingers founded their city a mile west. Residents of Heminger and Enterprise eventually combined their small towns as West Richland. The city was incorporated June 7, 1955., Row, Row, Row Your Boat… , Crossing the choppy Yakima River in a rickety rowboat was not the best way to get to school, but it was the only way. In 1896, children attending the Van Horn School put up with this rough commute until one mother, Lena Fallon, petitioned to build a bridge. Soon after, the Fallon Bridge was constructed north of present-day Van Giesen Street.