In 1883, voters choose Asotin as county seat of Asotin County. Asotin wins the honor and economic advantage over its rival town, Assotin City. Both towns are located on the Snake River in Washington's most southeastern county.
Asotin worked hard to win the election. The town offered voters free rent, free fuel, free office equipment, and the free services of a treasurer and an auditor. Shortly after the election the rival towns merged.
Asotin became an important stop for steamboats on the Snake River to load on grain harvested from farms on the plateau directly to the north.
Sources:
Ruth Kirk and Carmela Alexander, Exploring Washington's Past: A Road Guide to History (Seattle: University of Washington Press, 1990), 176-177.
Licensing: This essay is licensed under a Creative Commons license that
encourages reproduction with attribution. Credit should be given to both
HistoryLink.org and to the author, and sources must be included with any
reproduction. Click the icon for more info. Please note that this
Creative Commons license applies to text only, and not to images. For
more information regarding individual photos or images, please contact
the source noted in the image credit.
Major Support for HistoryLink.org Provided
By:
The State of Washington | Patsy Bullitt Collins
| Paul G. Allen Family Foundation | Museum Of History & Industry
| 4Culture (King County Lodging Tax Revenue) | City of Seattle
| City of Bellevue | City of Tacoma | King County | The Peach
Foundation | Microsoft Corporation, Other Public and Private
Sponsors and Visitors Like You