Town History

J. W. Adams, whose specific goal was to form a town, was instrumental in the formation of Douglas County in 1883.  Since it was the only "town" in the area, Okanogan (6 miles northeast of Waterville)  was named the county seat.

Being a professional town builder from Kansas, Mr. Adams soon began to promote settlement here and encouraged people to open businesses in Okanogan.  By the spring of 1884, a store and saloon opened and later that year a first class hotel and several houses, but no water had been found in the area.

Two wells had been dug to depths of 60 and 80 feet.  Both provided dry holes.  In a last ditch effort, Adams hired a well driller by the name of Jack Lockwood in the spring of 1885.  Lockwood and crew drilled to the depth of 286 feet, and still no sign of water.  Throughout Okanogan's history, it was not uncommon to see a sign on a settler's door with the message, "Gone for water - back in a week."  All efforts to make Okanogan the hub of activity were doomed to failure because of the lack of water.

In 1886, the town site of Douglas (5 miles east of Waterville) was platted and took up the race for county seat honors.  Following county seat removal from Okanogan, in 1887, Douglas fell heir to the Okanogan post office.  Douglas is situated at the intersection of the Ritzville and Spokane Falls roads, and was the nearest route from Ellensburg to the Salmon River mines of the Okanogan county.  The rush to those mines in 1887-88 made Douglas important as a stopping point.  Fire destroyed much of the town at various times, but the German Lutheran Church, built in 1915, remains a conspicuous landmark today.

The building of a town on the location of Waterville was conceived by A.T. Greene, who is known as the "Father of Waterville."  Mr. Greene relinquished one forty acre tract and he and surveyor J.M. Snow platted the town site.  The town was named Waterville in consideration of the plentiful well in sharp contrast to the dry wells in Okanogan.

Boasting their "barrel of water", Waterville won county seat honors in the election of 1886 by a 56 vote majority.  On May 2, 1887, the county commissioners officially declared Waterville the new county seat.  In December of 1887, a post office was secured for Waterville and A.T. Greene was named postmaster.   By the spring of 1888, eight buildings could be found on the town site.  A.T. Greene built the original Douglas County Courthouse in September 1889 at a total itemized cost of $4,046.70.

The citizens of Waterville petitioned for incorporation under the District Court of Washington Territory, Fourth Judicial District in the fall of 1888.  On March 22, 1889, the petition was granted.  Washington became the 42nd State on November 11, 1889.  On April 4, 1890, a petition was signed by thirty residents asking for a special town election to vote on the proposition of the Town of Waterville being organized and incorporated under the general laws of the state.  The election was held on May 3, 1890 and although the vote was light, there was no opposition.  Waterville was now a legal incorporated town under state law.

It was 1892 before water was turned into the town's mains for the first time.  Waterville had lived up to its name and supplied ample water for its population which at the time was between 350 and 500 people.

For more information on the Town's history visit our Douglas County Museum in Waterville.