75- Ritzville

The History Of The Evergreen State

Ritzville, located in eastern Washington, is the hub of a significant wheat-growing region. When the Northern Pacific railroad made it a station stop, it came into being in 1881. It was given the name Ritzville to honor Philip Ritz, an early resident who won the bid to grade 10 miles of the railroad bed. At first, the town was primarily populated by railroad workers, but soon wheat growers began to move in—first from South Dakota, then from Russia via Germany. The Volga Germans, a sizable colony of Germans who had arrived in Russia for centuries, liked the dry-land wheat producing conditions. Ritzville was the only town of any size in the newly constituted county, therefore it was chosen to serve as the county seat of Adams County in 1883.
Listen now to learn more about this fascinating Evergreen State town!
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