HistoryLink.org

On September 15, 1938, Grant County commissioners make official the incorporation of Moses Lake. The citizens of the village of Neppel had voted 70 to 41 to incorporate under the new name of Moses Lake.

Neppel, named after the German home town of one of the early settlers, had been in existence since 1910, but never incorporated. By 1938 the little settlement had grown big enough to spawn a drive toward incorporation under the name Moses Lake. The town was, after all, nestled in a peninsula  on this long, winding lake in Central Washington.

The measure was passed by a vote of 70 to 41 on September 9, 1938. The Grant County commissioners declared incorporation official on September 15, 1938 and incorporation papers were filed with the state on September 19, 1938. The little town had only 302 residents that first year.

After several population booms, the city of Moses Lake now has more than 16,000 residents. 

Sources: "Incorporation Papers for the Town of Moses Lake," Center for Columbia River History website accessed October 26, 2007 (www.ccrh.org/comm/moses/primary/incorp.html).

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