Waaddah Island ~ Wynoochee River Origin Washington Geographical Names

Waaddah Island, forming the eastern side of Neah Bay, in the northwestern part of Clallam County, was first named Neah Island by the Wilkes Expedition, 1841. (Hydrography, Volume XXIII, Atlas, chart 80.) Captain Henry Kellett gave the island a different Indian name in 1847, spelling it "Wyadda." (British Admiralty Chart 1911.) The United States Coast Survey retained that name with its present spelling. (Report for 1858, page 416.)

Waatch, a native name now applied to a point on the coast three and one-half miles south of Cape Flattery, a tidal slough heading near Neah Bay and flowing southwesterly into the ocean and an Indian village, all in the northwestern part of Clallam County. The first use of the name was evidently for the village which is mentioned in the treaty made by Governor Isaac I. Stevens with the Makahs on January 31, 1855. The slough has been charted at times as a river. -

Wahkiacus a mountain in Grant County, six miles north of Wahluke, is the highest point in the Saddle Mountains, 2,696 feet elevation, its name, according to Indian authority, meaning "Lookout Place." (F. C. Koppen, of Wahluke, in Names MSS., Letter 110.)

Wahkiacus, a railroad station in the west central part of Klickitat County, was named for Sallie Wahkiacus, an old Indian woman who had an allotment of land there and who was quite a local character. (L. C. Gilman in Names MSS. Letter 590.)

Wahkiakum, a county in the southwestern part of the State near the mouth of the Columbia River, derives its name from a tribe of Indians. "Their territory adjoined that of the Chinook and extended upstream toward Oak Point. According to Stuart (1821) they were an offshoot of the Chinook who had separated from the main body about two generations before under Chief Wahkiakum and were afterwards known by his name. In 1805, Lewis and Clark estimated their number at 200. They have been lost sight of as a tribe since about 1850, when Gibbs referred to their chief as almost the last survivor of the tribe. Their principal village seems to have been near Pillar Rock, a short distance above Grays Bay. According to Boas, they had two villages near Pillar Rock, Tealegak, a little below the rock, and Chakwayalham, farther down the river." (Bureau of American Ethnology, Handbook of American Indians, Volume II., page 890.) There have been many spellings of the word. The county was organized by act of the Territorial Legislature dated April 25, 1854. In that original law the name was spelled "Wakiacum."

Wahluk, a town on the Columbia River in the southern part of Grant County, has an Indian name. "The name of Wahluke was found here when the white men first came. The present day Indians say it was here always. It seems to mean a watering place. It is just at the beginning of White Bluffs and is the last place where the herds can get down to the water for several miles.'' (F. C. Koppen, in Names MSS. Letter 110.)

Wahnoowisha River, see Big Creek.

Wah-wuk-chic River, see Klickitat River.

Waiilatpu, site of the famous Whitman Mission near the present city of Walla Walla, was named for the Indian word meaning "place of rye grass." (H. H. Bancroft, Works, Volume XXIX., page 118, note 14.)

Wainape, see Wenatchee River.

Waitsburg, a town in the east central part of Walla Walla County, was named in honor of Sylvester M. Wait who built a mill there in 1864. The place was known as "Wait's Mill." A post office was secured in 1866 and, at the suggestion of the school teacher, William N. Smith, it was called "Delta." In 1868, the people voted to change it to Waitsburg and the Post office Department accepted the change. (Illustrated History of Southeastern Washington, pages 154-156.)

Waldron Island, in the north central part of San Juan County, was named by the Wilkes Expedition, 1841. (Hydrography, Volume XXIII., Atlas chart 77.) The honor was probably intended for Thomas W. Waldron, Captain's clerk of the brig Porpoise of the Expedition. However, it is possible that two men were honored in the one name as R. R. Waldron was Purser of the Vincennes, another vessel of the Expedition. A post office on the southwest shore of the island has the same name.

Wales, see Monroe.

Walker Lake, a small body of water southeast of Cumberland, in the south central part of King County, was named for David Walker in 1890, (Joseph T. Paschich, in Names MSS. Letter 31.)

Walker's Prairie, in the south central part of Stevens County, was named for Rev. Elkanah Walker. In 1838, three missionaries arrived in Oregon to expand the work begun two years before by Dr. Marcus Whitman and Rev. H. ' H. Spalding, under the auspices of the American Board of Commissioners for Foreign Missions. The three new arrivals were Rev. Cushing Eells, Rev. place. It is just at the beginning of White Bluffs and is the last place where the herds can get down to the water for several miles.'' (F. C. Koppen, in Names MSS. Letter 110.)

Wahnoowisha River, see Big Creek.

Wah-wuk-chic River, see Klickitat River.

Waiilatpu, site of the famous Whitman Mission near the present city of Walla Walla, was named for the Indian word meaning "place of rye grass." (H. H. Bancroft, Works, Volume XXIX., page 118, note 14.)

Wainape, see Wenatchee River.

Waitsburg, a town in the east central part of Walla Walla County, was named in honor of Sylvester M. Wait who built a mill there in 1864. The place was known as "Wait's Mill." A post office was secured in 1866 and, at the suggestion of the school teacher, William N. Smith, it was called "Delta." In 1868, the people voted to change it to Waitsburg and the Post office Department accepted the change. (Illustrated History of Southeastern Washington, pages 154-156.)

Waldron Island, in the north central part of San Juan County, was named by the Wilkes Expedition, 1841. (Hydrography, Volume XXIII., Atlas chart 77.) The honor was probably intended for Thomas W. Waldron, Captain's clerk of the brig Porpoise of the Expedition. However, it is possible that two men were honored in the one name as R. R. Waldron was Purser of the Vincennes, another vessel of the Expedition. A post office on the southwest shore of the island has the same name.

Wales, see Monroe.

Walker Lake, a small body of water southeast of Cumberland, in the south central part of King County, was named for David Walker in 1890, (Joseph T. Paschich, in Names MSS. Letter 31.)

Walker's Prairie, in the south central part of Stevens County, was named for Rev. Elkanah Walker. In 1838, three missionaries arrived in Oregon to expand the work begun two years before by Dr. Marcus Whitman and Rev. H. H. Spalding, under the auspices of the American Board of Commissioners for Foreign Missions. The three new arrivals were Rev. Cushing Eells, Rev. Elkanah Walker and Rev. A. B. Smith. Mr. Smith began a mission at Kamiah, now in Idaho. Mr. Walker and Mr. Eells began a mission on the prairie. The site had been visited by John Work, of the Hudson's Bay Company, on September 21, 1825, who then recorded: "Proceeded on our journey at 6 o'clock and arrived at Spokane before 11. Mr. Kittson and I crossed the point from the (Buffon de Chaudin), in 50 minutes. ("Journal" in the Washington Historical Quarterly, Volume V., page 167, where Mr. T. C. Elliott adds the footnote: "Probably Walker's Prairie, where the Walker-Eells Mission was located in 1838.") Lieutenant R. E. Johnson, of the Wilkes Expedition, 1841, visited the mission during his overland journey to Fort Colville. As to the name of the mission, it is recorded: "After leaving the fort, they pursued a southerly direction for the missionary station of Chimikaine. This is called after the name of the plain in which it is situated, which is translated 'The Plain of Springs,' from the fact that, a few miles above the mission station, in the valley, the streams lose themselves in the earth, and after passing underground for about five miles, burst out again in springs." (Wilkes, Narrative, Volume IV., page 455, see also pages 438-439.) The many spellings included such forms as "Tshimakain." The form now established seems to be Chamokane. (Henry Landes, A Geographic Dictionary of Washington, page 95.) The name of Walker's Prairie is well established.

Wallace, see Startup.
Wallace Island, see Anderson Island.

Wallace Lakes and River, are both located in the south central part of Snohomish County. "The first settler on Wallace River was an Indian called Wallace Jo. If the river was named after him or he after the river, I do not know." (J. F. Stretch, of Snohomish, in Names MSS. Letter 497.)

Wallacut River, flowing into the Columbia River near Ilwaco in the southwestern part of Pacific County, derives its name from the Indian word "Walihut" meaning "place of stones." The north shore of the little river, where it flows into Baker Bay, is banked with small, smoothly worn boulders. (Mrs. L. D. Williams, daughter of Isaac Whealdon, in Names MSS. Letter 173.) The present form of spelling was recorded by George Gibbs on March 1, 1854. (Pacific Railroad Reports, Volume I., page 465.)

Wallapah River, see Willapa River.

Walla Walla is one of the most beautiful and best established Indian names in the geography of Washington. It is applied to a county, city and river in the southeastern part of the State. The origin of the name is easily ascertained as it was recorded by the first white men who visited that region. Elliott Coues, the scholarly editor of the Lewis and Clark Journals, commenting on their entry for April 26, 1806, discusses the word as follows: "Here Lewis K 82 has Wollah Wollah; Clark Q 112 has Wallow Wallows; map has Wollaw Wollah; Clark elsewhere Woller Woller. As earlier observed in this work, the codices vary greatly in this slippery word, more than 20 forms of which are also found in print. Accepted forms are now [1893] Walla Walla, or Walla-walla, or Wallawalla. In several languages walla means running water, and reduplication of word diminutives it; so Wallawalla is the small rapid river." (Volume III, page 969, note 22.) The word thus first recorded as the name of a tribe of Indians was soon naturally applied to the region occupied by them. In fact the name was taken by the Indians because it described the land where they lived. Rev. Myron Eells, who was born on Walker's Prairie, at the mission home of his father, Rev. Gushing Eells, and who died at the Twana Indian Mission, Hood Canal, in 1907, having devoted his life to work among Indians, wrote: "Walla Walla is a Nez Perce and Cayuse word, the root of which is walatsa, which means 'running'; hence 'running water'. Two meanings of it are given, one being 'a small stream running into a large one,' that is, the Walla Walla River emptying into the Columbia; another is 'ripple after ripple', 'fall after fair. These meanings were given the writer by Mr. P. M. Whitman and Dr. W. C. McKay, who have lived among the Indians most of the time for over forty-five years, and speak the Walla Walla language as fluently as they do the English." (American Anthropologist Volume V., January, 1892, page 34.) A later student says the Walla Walla Indians are known to the Nez Perces as Walawalapu, "Little River People." (E. S. Curtis, The North American Indian, Volume VIII, page 163.) The geographic name was thus first established for the valley and the river. Near the mouth of the river the North West Company of Montreal built their Fort Nez Perces in 1818, which has been known as "Old Fort Walla Walla." See Fort Walla Walla. The Territorial Legislature passed an act, approved on April 25, 1854, to organize Walla Walla County. On June 9, 1855, Isaac I. Stevens, Governor and Superintendent of Indian Affairs for Washington Territory, and Joel Palmer, Superintendent of Indian Affairs for Oregon Territory, concluded a treaty with the "Walla-Walla, Cayuses, and Umatilla Tribes and Bands of Indians in Washington and Oregon Territories." In that treaty the place of negotiation is given as "the treaty ground, Camp Stevens, in the Walla Walla valley." That site was within the present City of Walla Walla. Immediately following this and other treaties the Indian war broke out, during which Lieftenant Colonel Edward Jevnor Steptoe established Fort Walla Walla. On October 27, 1856, he wrote to his sister: "Do you know where this place is? Look up the Columbia River on the map till you see its tributary, the Walla Walla, and on this latter 'The Mission'. About five miles above the last place I am erecting a Post." (B. F. Manring, The Conquest of the Coeur D'Alenes, Spokanes and Palouses, pages 270-271.) Near that fort grew the City of Walla Walla, affectionately known as the "Garden City." Changes of name are well documented in the following quotation: "There was no town of Walla Walla in 1858; there was in 1859, and it came into existence through the ex parte rules of the first board of county commissioners. The first two meetings of the board were held March 15th and 26th, 1859. In their official record the place was referred to as Walla-Walla. And then, without further notice, we find that at their subsequent meetings January 6th and July 2nd, it was called 'Steptoeville', in the record of the last named date appearing the following: *On motion the name of the town of Steptoeville was changed to Wieletpu. Despite this official action we find that at the meeting held September 5th, the county seat town is still referred to as Steptoeville. But at the next meeting, November 7th, the town is spoken of as Walla-Walla, and the following proceeding is recorded as regards the name: On motion the town of Wieletpu was changed to Walla-Walla.' (History of Southeastern Washington, page 115.) By act of the Territorial Legislature, approved January 11, 1862, Walla Walla City was regularly incorporated.

Wallula, a town at the mouth of the Walla Walla River, in the southwestern part of Walla Walla County, occupies the site of the first or "old" Fort Walla Walla. The name means the same as the Nez Perce word Walla Walla but is in the Walla Walla language. (Rev. Myron Eells, in American Anthropologist for January, 1892.)

Walmough Head, see Watmough Head.

Walville, a town in the southwestern part of Lewis County, received its name in 1903 by using the first syllable from one and the last of another of the names of a firm, Walworth and Neville Company, in business there. Prior to 1903, the name had been Rock Creek. (In Names MSS. Letter 19.)

Wanicut, a town and lake in the north central part of Okanogan County, are supposed to have been named in honor of a government surveyor named George Wanicut. The name has been spelled many ways. (Eugene F. Wehe, of Oroville, in Names MSS. Letter 582.)

Wapato, a town in the central part of Yakima County, was named October 24, 1902. (Postmaster at Wapato, in Names MSS. Letter 549.) The word in the Chinook Jargon means "potato."

Wappalooche River, see Chinook River.
Wap-pa-too Valley, see Columbia Valley.

Warbassport. "On July 19, 1850, Edward D. Warbass settled at the old Cowlitz landing, laid off a town called Warbassport, opened a store and engaged in the forwarding and commission business." (Elwood Evans, in History of the Pacific Northwest: Oregon and Washington, Volume I., page 313.) The name is no longer in use. The town of Toledo is practically on the same site.

Ward, a post office for the St. Regis Mission School and Sacred Heart Academy in the west central part of Stevens County. The original name of the post office was Goodwin. (J. A. Meyers, of Meyers Falls, in Names MSS. Letter 519.) It was named in 1904 for Thomas Ward, who died in that year. (R. Tarragno, in Names MSS. Letter 608.)

Warden, a town in the southeastern part of Grant County, was named for a heavy stockholder in the Chicago, Milwaukee & St. Paul Railway Company. (H. R. Williams, Vice President of the Company, in Names MSS. Letter 530.)

Warner, a railroad station in the northeastern part of Whitman County, was named for William Warner, a merchant of Oakesdale, who was instrumental in getting the siding built and who erected the first grain warehouse at the siding in 1898. (E. J. Tramill, of Oakesdale, in Names MSS. letter 179.)

Warnick, a railroad station in the north central part of Whatcom County, was named for the engineer who surveyed the Sumas extension of the Bellingham Bay & British Columbia Railway about 1903. (Lucy S. Drake, of Glacier, in Names MSS. Letter 142.)

Warwick, a town in the southwestern part of Klickitat County, was named for W. S. Warwick, a former sheriff of the county, who owned a ranch at that place. (L. C. Oilman, in Names MSS. Letter 590.)

Washington Colony, incorporated on January 9, 1883, acquired a mill site at the mouth of Whatcom Creek. It was not financially successful, nor of long life. For many years afterwards there was an echo of its existence in the name of Colony Wharf, Bellingham. (Edmond S. Meany, History of the State of Washington, page 320.)

Washington Harbor, a bay opening on the Strait of Juan de Fuca, in the northeastern part of Clallam County, was known to the Indians as Squim, which name was also used by early settlers. Surveyor General James Tilton mapped it as "Squim Bay" in 1859. (United States Public Documents, Serial Number 1026.) The Spanish Captain Eliza, in 1791, mapped at as "Ensenado de Bertodano." (United States Public Documents, Serial Number 1557, chart K.) The Wilkes Expedition, 1841, named it Budd's Harbor. (Hydrography Volume XXIII., Atlas, charts 77 and 78.) See also Budd Inlet. Captain Henry Kellett, in 1847, mapped part of the harbor as Bertodano Cove but did not chart a name for the large harbor. (British Admiralty Charts 1911 and 1917.) However, Captain George Davidson, of the United States Coast Survey, says they rejected the Wilkes Expedition name of "Budd's Harbor" on account of the naming of Budd Inlet and adds "we have adopted Kellett's appellation of Washington Harbor." Pacific Coast Pilot, page 532 and Annual Report of the Superintendent of the United States Coast Survey for 1858, pages 421-422.) It does not appear where Captain Davidson got his information about Captain Kellett's choice of the name. Washington Harbor appears on all recent maps and charts.

Washington Lake, see Lake Washington.
Washington River, a name once used for Lewis River.

Washington Sound, a name given to San Juan Archipelago, embraces the present San Juan County. "The Canal de Haro and Rosario Strait were surveyed by the United States Coast Survey in 1853 and 1854, when the name of Washington Sound was applied to the whole archipelago between the mainland and Vancouver Island." (Captain George Davidson, in the Pacific Coast Pilot, page 556.) It is not a sound but a large group of islands and should receive back its original name of San Juan Archipelago. See San Juan Island.

Washington, State of. In 1535 and 1539, the Spaniards applied to the west coast of North America the beautiful name of California. Captain George Davidson, of the United States Coast Survey, has traced the origin of that name. (Pacific Coast Pilot, page 15, and The Origin and Meaning of the Name California, reprinted from the publications of the Geographical Society of the Pacific in 1910.) In those beginning years the name extended along the coast indefinitely to the northward. The next name for the coast was Nova Albion applied by the English captain, in June, 1578, who, after completing his remarkable voyage around the world was knighted by Queen Elizabeth and became a world figure under the name of Sir Francis Drake. The record says: "Our Generall called this country Nova Albion, and that for two causes: the one in respect of the white bankes and cliffs, which ly towards the sea, and the other, because it might have some affinity with our Countrey in name, which sometime was so called." (Hakluyt's Voyages, Glasgow, 1906, Volume IX., page 325.) The name of Oregon, like that of California, has been much discussed as to origin and meaning. It is usually claimed that the name was first applied to the "River of the West" by Jonathan Carver in his Three Years Travels Through the Interior Parts of North America, who began those travels in 1766. The latest and most definitive discussion of this subject appeared in years 1920-1922, when Mr. T. C. Elliott published three studies: "The Strange Case of Jonathan Carver and the Name Oregon," "The Origin of the Name Oregon," "Jonathan Carver's Source of the Name Oregon," (Quarterly of the Oregon Historical Society, Volumes XXI, No. 4; XXII., No. 2; XXIII., No. 1.) On June 4, 1792, Captain George Vancouver velebrated the anniversary of the birth of George III., by taking possession of the regions he had been exploring and by conferring some geographic names. The ceremony took place where the present City of Everett stands and the harbor there he called Possession Sound. The great interior waterway, now known as Puget Sound, he called "Gulf of Georgia" and the mainland "binding the said gulf, and extending southward to the 45th degree of north latitude", he call "New Georgia, in honor of His present Majesty." He recognized Drake's name, changed slightly, by referring to the coast under the general name of "New Albion." (Voyage Round the World, second edition. Volume H., pages 169-170.) The purchase of Louisiana, 1803, was by many thought to include the lands in the Pacific Northwest. As evidence of that error's long life, see the United States General Land Office Map of the United States and Territories, 1896. On June 20, 1803, President Jefferson signed his famous instructions for the Lewis and Clark expedition in which he twice refers to the "Oregon or Columbia." The explorers contented themselves with charting but one general name for the country, and that in the interior, "Columbia Valley." (Elliott Coues, History of the Lewis and Clark Expedition, Volume I., pages xxvi, xxxi, and map.) Oregon, as a name for the great river before it was actually discovered by Captain Robert Gray in 1792 and by him named Columbia, was made to apply in an indefinite way to the country west of the "Shining" or Rocky Mountains. The area thus named was first restricted by the Florida Purchase Treaty, 1819, in which the 42nd parallel of north latitude was made to mark the northern extent of Spanish claims. Treaties by Russia, with the United States, and Great Britain, 1824-1825, marked the southern extent of Russian claims at 54°40'. By the Treaty of Washington, 1846, joint occupancy of the country with Great Britain was ended by dividing the area at the 49th parallel of north latitude. The Provisional Government in 1841 acted for "the inhabitants of the Willamette Valley", but on July 5, 1843, it was enacted that Oregon Territory should be the name. On the last named date it was also enacted that within the vast area four Districts should be created. Two of these applied to lands now in Washington. Twality District took in all the land west of the Willamette River and the meridian prolonging that line to the northward. The southern boundary was the Yamhill River and the northern boundary was at 54°40'. The lands eastward to the Rocky Mountains and north of the Anchiyoke River were placed in Clackamas District. These two Districts embraced all of the present State of Washington and much more to the north, south and east. (La Fayette Grover, The Oregon Archives pages 5, 25.) As further subdivisions were made the word "district" was supplanted by "county." On August 14, 1848, an act of Congress was approved by which a Federal organization of Oregon Territory would take the place of Provisional Government. The Oregon settlers north of the Columbia River became ambitious for a separate government. These ambitions were voiced at the Fourth of July celebrations in Olympia in 1851 and 1852, resulting in the Cowlitz and Monticello Conventions where memorials to Congress were adopted. (Edmond S. Meany, ''The Cowlitz Convention: Inception of Washington Territory", in the Washington Historical Quarterly, Volume XIII., pages 3-19.) General Joseph Lane, Delegate to Congress from Oregon Territory, acting on the memorial from the Cowlitz Convention, secured the passage of a resolution on December 6, 1852, asking that the Committee on Territories bring in a bill to divide Oregon by forming a new Territory of the lands north of the Columbia by the name of Columbia Territory. On February 8, 1853, during a debate on the bill. Representative Richard H. Stanton, of Kentucky, moved to amend by striking out the word "Columbia" and inserting in its place "Washington," as an honor for the "Father of His Country." The amendment was adopted, the bill was passed and was signed by President Millard Fillmore on March 2, 1853. It is interesting to recall that Vancouver's honor for George III., was thus changed to an honor for the opposing leader in the American Revolution who also bore the name of George. The new Territory extended from the Pacific Ocean to the Rocky Mountains, the northern boundary being the 49th parallel, and the southern boundary the Columbia River and the 46th parallel of north latitude. Oregon was admitted to statehood on February 14, 1859, with boundaries as at present. The eastern lands between the 42nd and 46th parallels of north latitude were at that time attached to Washington Territory. Idaho Territory was created by act of Congress dated March 3, 1863, cutting Washington Territory down to the present boundaries. The Territories of Montana and Wyoming were created on May 26, 1864, and July 25, 1868, respectively. Each of these took a part of Idaho land, which had formerly been within Washington Territory. The Enabling Act for the admission of Washington to statehood was approved by President Cleveland on February 22, 1889. A constitution was framed and approved by the people and on November 11, 1889, President Benjamin Harrison issued his proclamation that Washington was admitted as the forty-second State of the Union.

Washougal, a river and town in the southeastern part of Clarke County, was formerly known as Parker's Landing. ("Reminiscences of Captain W. P. Gray," in Washington Historical Quarterly, Volume XIV., page 330.) The Lewis and Clark Expedition called the Washougal River "Seal River" from the abundance of seals noticed at its mouth. (Elliott Coues, History of the Lewis and Clark Expedition, Volume III., page 918.) E. S. Curtis says the Indian word means ''rushing water." (The North American Indian, Volume VIII, page 181.)

Wasp Islands, southwest of Orcas Island, in the central part of San Juan County, were named by the Wilkes Expedition, 1841. (Hydrography, Volume XXIII., Atlas, chart 77.) Just north of these islets, lies Jones Island. Captain Wilkes thus honored Master Commandant Jacob Jones who in the United State sloop of-war Wasp captured the British brig Frolic on October 18, 1812. A nearby waterway was named "Frolic Straits" but the name has been changed to Upright Channel. Captain Richards in 1858-1860 retained the name of Wasp Island and gave the separate islands their names: Bird Rock, Brown, Cliff, Nob, Reef and Yellow. (British Admiralty Chart 2840.)

Washtucna, a town in the southeastern part of Adams County, was named for the lake in a coulee in the east central part of Franklin County. The lake was named for a Palouse Indian chief. For a time the railroad station sign-boards for Kahlotus and Washtucna were interchanged. Kahlotus is located near the lake, twelve miles west of Washtucna. (The Washtucna Enterprise, in Names MSS. Letter 386.)

Watering River, a name once used for Sequalitchew Creek. Waterman, a post office opposite Bremerton in the east central part of Kitsap County, was named about 1904, when the post office was secured, in honor of Delos Waterman, who had homesteaded there. (W. H. Pumphrey and E. K. Medley, in Names MSS. Letter 102.)

Watertown, see Pataha.

Watmough Head, at the southeast end of Lopez Island, in the southeastern part of San Juan County, was named by the Wilkes Expedition, 1841. (Hydrography, Volume XXIII., Atlas, chart 77.) This was probably an honor for Lieutenant John Goddard Watmough, of the United States Army, who was wounded at Fort Erie, in the Niagara campaign of 1814. Captain Wilkes honored others who fought in the navy during that same campaign. Lieutenant Watmough had two sons who entered the navy while the Wilkes Expedition was making explorations. For a time the name was charted as "Walmough." The Indian name for the place was Noo-chaad-kwun. (Captain George Davidson, in the Pacific Coast Pilot, page 560.)

Watsak Point, the south cape of Penn Cove, east shore of Whidbey Island, in Island County, was named by .the Wilkes Expedition, 1841. (Hydrography, Volume XXIII., Atlas, chart 90.) It is sometimes locally known as Snakeland Point. This, in turn, comes from the name of two Skagit Indian chiefs. Mrs. Isaac N. Ebey wrote in her diary on December 27, 1852 : ''George Sneightlen came back from Port Townsend this evening and I had to let him and his Indians camp in the smokehouse all night." (Washington Historical Quarterly, Volume VIII., page 58.) The Point Elliott treaty, signed on January 22, 1856, with the "Dwamish, Suquamish and other allied tribes" bears 82 Indian signatures, including: "Kwuss-ka-nam, or George Snatelum, Sen., Skagit tribe, and Hel-mits, or George Snatelum, Skagit sub-chief." (Charles J. Kappler, Indian Affairs, Volume II., page 672.)

Wauconda, a town in the east central part of Okanogan County, was named for a town in Oregon. (Merrill & Rowe, in Names MSS. Letter 313.)

Waukee, a railroad station in the east central part of Adams County, was named from the last syllables of Milwaukee. (E. C. Gilman, in Names MSS. Letter 590.)

Waukon, a railroad station in the east central part of Lincoln County, was named by the railroad men when the Spokane, Portland & Seattle Railway was built. (In Names MSS. Letter 164.)

Wauna, a post office in the northwestern part of Pierce County, was named by Mary F. White, former postmistress, on May 17, 1906. The Indian word is said to mean "mighty," or "strong." (Mary J. Golman, in Names MSS. Letter 257.)

Waverly, a town in the southeastern part of Spokane County, was named in May, 1879, by Saville Farnsworth and Fred Buckmaster after their former home town in Iowa. (Postmaster at Waverly, in Names MSS. Letter 475.)

Wa-Wak-Che, see Klickitat River.

Wawawai, a town in the south central part of Whitman County, gets its name from an Indian word said to mean "council ground." (John Knight, in Names MSS. Letter 225.)

Way-lu-wa, said to be an Indian name for Grande Ronde River.

Weber, a town in the northwestern part of Adams County, was named on July 31, 1902, in honor of Jacob Weber, first resident in that locality. (Jacob Weber, Postmaster, in Names MSS. Letter 537.)

Wee Ly-Let-Sarz Lake, see Guetes Lake.

Wehesville, an old mining camp in the north central part of Okanogan County, was named for Colonel A. M. W. Wehe, owner of mining property there. (Postmaster at Loomis, in Names MSS. Letter 264.)

Welcome, a post office in the southeastern part of Whatcom County, was named for John Welcome Riddle, first postmaster. (Frank B. Garrie, in Names MSS. Letter 145.)

Wenas, a creek, valley and village, in the north central part of Yakima County, derived the Indian name from that first charted for the creek by Captain George B. McClellan in August, 1853. (Pacific Railroad Reports, Volume I., pages 377-389.) The spelling there is "Wenass."

Wenatchee, the flourishing county seat of Chelan County, a lake, river, mountains and a National Forest, all wear this name from the Indian language of that vicinity. As early as 1805-1806, when Lewis and Clark were exploring and naming the "Columbia Valley", they heard of the Wenatchee River and the Indians living along its banks. They recorded both under the name of "Wahnaachee." (Elliott Coues, History of the Lewis and Clark Expedition, Volume III., pages 973, 1255.) Another early use of the name geographically is in the treaty concluded on June 9, 1855, by Isaac I. Stevens, Governor and Superintendent of Indian Affairs in Washington Territory, with the "Yakima Nation of Indians." Article X. of that treaty provides: . . . "there is also reserved and set apart from the lands ceded by this treaty, for the use and benefit of the aforesaid confederated tribes and bands, a tract of land not exceeding in quantity one township of six miles square, situated at the forks of the Pisquouse or

Wenatshapam River, and known as the 'Wenatshapam fishery'." (Charles J. Kappler, Indian Affairs, Volume II., page 701.) The tribes and bands participating in that treaty included the "Pisquouse and Wenatshapam." The Bureau of American Ethnology says that Wenatchi is from a Yakima Indian word meaning "river issuing from a canyon," referring to a band of Pisquouse who lived on the river now known as Wenatchee. (Handbook of American Indians, Volume II., page 932.) The river was often charted as "Pisquouse" or "Pischous", which, 'as shown, was the name of another band confederated with the Yakimas when the treaty was signed.

Wepusac Inlet, a small arm of Budd Inlet, five miles north of Olympia, in the north central part of Thurston County, was named by the Wilkes Expedition, 1841. (Hydrography, Volume XXIII., Atlas, chart 79.) It is now mapped as Wepusec Inlet. (United States Coast and Geodetic Survey Chart 6462, corrected to June 25, 1921.)

West Bank, a bank of three and a half fathoms about a mile off the southwest point of Sucia Island, in the northern part of San Juan County, was discovered and named in 1858 by the United States Coast Survey. (Pacific Coast Pilot, page 559.) Captain Richards named it "Plumper's Reef" in 1858-1859, after the steam sloop he commanded in surveying. (British Admiralty Chart 2689.)

West Point, at the north entrance to Elliott Bay, or Seattle Harbor, in the northwestern part of King County, has long been well known on account of the well-equipped lighthouse maintained there. It was named by the Wilkes Expedition, 1841, evidently for the direction in which it lies. (Hydrography, Volume XXIII., Atlas, chart 78.) In the Duwamish Indian language the name was, according to J. A. Costello, in The Siwash, "Per-co-dus-chule." T. T. Waterman records the name as "Pka-dzEltcu" with the meaning "thrust far out." (In the Geographical Review, for April, 1922, page 187.)

West Sound, on the southwest shore of Orcas Island, in the central part of San Juan Comity, was evidently named by Captain Richards, in 1858-1860. (British Admiralty Chart 2840.) In conferring that name he helped to destroy the historical scheme of names given by the Wilkes Expedition, 1841, in which the island was called "Hull's Island" in honor of Commodore Isaac Hull who commanded the United States frigate Constitution and on August 19, 1812, captured the British frigate Guerriere. Captain Wilkes named the highest peak on the island Mount Constitution. What is now known as East Sound, he named "Ironsides Inlet", after the pet name of the frigate Constitution and what is now West Sound he named "Guerriere Bay" after the captured frigate. (Hydrography, Volume XXIII, Atlas, chart 77.) The only name that has survived from that scheme is that of the mountain. See East Sound, Mount Constitution, and Orcas Island.

Westcott Creek, a tidal stream south of Roche Harbor in the west central part of San Juan County, was named by Captain Richards in 1858-60. (British Admiralty Chart 2840.) This was an honor for George Blagdon Wescott, Royal Navy. He was Paymaster on the Bacchante, flagship of Rear Admiral Sir Thomas Maitland, commander in chief on this station, 1860-1862. (Captain John T. Walbran, British Columbia Coast Names, page 526.) The tidal nature of the stream is reflected by the charts of the United States Coast and Geodetic Survey. On chart number 6380," corrected to January, 1912, it is called Westcott Creek while on chart number 6381, corrected to June 25, 1921, it is shown as Westcott Bay.

Weston, a station at the entrance to the Northern Pacific Railway tunnel in the eastern part of King County. See Easton.

Whale Rocks, off the southwest coast of Lopez Island in San Juan County, was named by Captain Richards in 1858-1860. (British Admiralty Chart 2840.) It was included in Geese Islets by the Wilkes Expedition, 1841. (Hydrography, Volume XXIII, Atlas, chart 77.) See Geese Islets, Buck Island, Long Island and Mummy Rocks.

Wharhoots, see Bruceport.

Whatcom, a county, lake, creek and former city, were all named for an Indian chief. While a portion of the present City of Bellingham still bore the name of Whatcom, H. H. Bancroft wrote: "It was named after a chief of the Nooksacks, whose grave is a mile above the Bellingham Bay Coal mine." (Works, Volume XXXI., page 367.) Henry Gannett, of the United States Geological Survey, wrote of Whatcom: "An Indian word said lo mean "noisy water.'" (Origin of Certain Place Names in the United States, page 392.) George Gibbs, on March 1, 1854, wrote: "A considerable stream, the outlet of a lake, falls into Bellingham Bay. This which is called Whatcom Lake, is said by Mr. Kelly, a citizen who explored it, to be from twelve to fifteen miles in length, lying northeast and southwest, and is very deep. Its mouth affords a very fine waterpower, on which a saw-mill has been erected." (Pacific Railroad Reports, Volume L, page 471.) The act of the Territorial Legislature creating Whatcom County was approved on March 9, 1854. For a time during the Fraser River gold excitement of 1858, the town of Whatcom had 10,000 inhabitants. It soon declined but in later years rose again and was finally merged into the present prosperous county seat of Whatcom County. See Bellingham.

Wheeler, a town in the central part of Grant County, got its name from an older town four miles southeast of the present town. A. M. Westjuld, in Names MSS. Letter 50'.)

Whelan, a town in the east central part of Whitman County, was first known as Branam. As that name was duplicated in the State, it was changed to honor one of the Northern Pacific Railroad engineers. (Lou E. Wenham, of Pullman, in Names MSS. Letter 115.)

Whidby Harbor, see Grays Harbor.

Whidbey Island, a large island forming the western portion of Island County, was named by Captain George Vancouver on June 10, 1792, when he wrote: "in consequence of Mr. Whidbey's circumnavigation, I distinguished it by the name of Whidbey's Island," (Voyage Round the World, second edition. Volume IL, page 180.) Master Joseph Whidbey in a small boat expedition from the anchorage at Strawberry Bay, Cypress Island, had discovered Deception Pass and thus proved the existence of the island that has since borne his name. The name has been erroneously spelled as "Whitbey" and "Whidby". See also Deception Pass.

Whilipah River, see Willapa River.

Whill Wetz, an Indian village on Oak Point in 1810-1813. (Alexander Ross, Oregon Settlers, in "Early Western Travels,' Volume VII., page 117.)

Whiskey Creek, a tributary of the Touchet River at Huntsville, Columbia County. The origin of the name may be inferred from the following: "At the crossing of Whiskey Creek lived William Bunter and with him were George Ives and 'Clubfoot' George, engaged in trading whiskey for Indian cayuses. These three sold out and went to Montana in the early sixties, where they were shortly after hung by the vigilantes." (Illustrated History of Southeastern Washington, page 284.)

Whitbey, see Whidbey.

Whitcomb, a town in the southwestern part of Benton County, was formerly known as Luzon. The change of name was suggested by James A. Moore and G. Henry Whitcomb, owners of land at that point. (L. C. Gilman, in Names MSS. Letter 590.)

White, a village in the northwestern part of King County, was named in honor of William H. White, a former United States District Attorney and later a Justice of the State Supreme Court. He practiced law in Seattle for more than forty years and was an ardent Democrat, being familiarly known as "War Horse Bill." (H. S. Reed, of Redmond, in Names MSS. Letter 222.)

White Beach Bay, an arm of West Sound, Orcas Island, San Juan County, was first mapped on the British Admiralty Chart 2689, Richards 1858-1859. The name is descriptive.

White Bluffs, a town in the northeastern part of Benton County, was named for the conspicuous bluffs nearby. An old building: of logs and driftwood is still standing, in which the Hudson's Bay Company conducted a trading post in the early days, (E. J. O'Larry, in Names MSS. Letter 215.)

White Cliffs, on the west shore of Lopez Island, San Juan County, were first mapped on the British Admiralty Chart 2()89, Richards 1858-1859. The name is descriptive.

White Horse Mountain, in the central part of Snohomish County, was named by W. C. Hiles. (Charles E. Moore of Darrington, in Names MSS. Letter 193.)

White River, rising, with its east and west forks, from the glaciers on the north and northeastern shoulders of Mount Rainier, it flows west wardly forming part of the boundary between Pierce and King Counties. At the Muckleshoot Indian Reservation the river bends toward the north and flows northwardly through King County. At Black River Junction it is joined by the outlet of Lake Washington, known as Black River. From that junction the stream takes the name of Duwamish River, which flows into Seattle Harbor, formerly known as Elliott Bay. In the upper part of White River the most considerable tributary is Greenwater River. Both these streams were given the Indian name "Smalocho" by the Wilkes Expedition, 1841. (Narrative, Volume IV., page 422.) The name of White River came from the glacial "milk" in its stream. This was noted in 1853 by Theodore Winthrop. (The Canoe and the Saddle, J. H. Williams edition, page 284.) The river was formerly charted as "Stkamish." (Preston's Map of Oregon and Washington West of the Cascade Mountains, 1856.) This was from the Sekamish Indians who lived on the banks of the river. (Bureau of American Ethnology, Handbook of American Indians, Volume II, page 498.) See also Duwamish River and Greenwater River. There is another White River, a tributary of the Wenatchee River in the central part of Chelan County.

White Rock, east of Blakely Island, San Juan County was named by the United States Coast Survey in 1854. (Pacific Coast Pilot, page 565.) See Black Rock. These two rocks were named "The Pointers" by the Wilkes Expedition, 1841. (Hydrography, Volume XXIII., Atlas, chart 77.)

White Salomon River, a tributary of the Columbia River in the southeastern part of Klickitat County. The stream has many small tributaries, one of which flows from a glacier on Mount Adams, known as White Salmon Glacier. Lewis and Clark, in 1805, called the stream "Canoe Creek," on account of the number of Indians in canoes fishing in the stream. (Elliott Coues, History of the Lewis and Clark Expedition, Volume II., page 677.) The Lewis and Clark journals frequently mention white salmon trout as one of the food fishes in the Columbia River. But Theodore Suksdorf, after a residence of forty years in that vicinity, gives a less attractive origin of the name as follows: "In early days in the fall, September and October, immense droves of sick salmon came into White Salmon River. Their meat had turned white and they had more or less sores over their bodies. These sores turned perfectly white, probably on account of a fungus and they died by the hundred. On account of these fish the river was called White Salmon and in 1872, or thereabouts, a post office was established near Bingen and called after the river. White Salmon. About 1886, that office was moved to the present town of White Salmon." (In Names MSS. Letter 101.) Another pioneer has given an attractive account of the White Salmon settlement. (Albert J. Thompson, ''Memories of White Salmon and Its Pioneers," in Washington Historical Quarterly, Volume XIV., pages 108-126.)

White: Sheep River, see Big Sheep Creek.
White; Stallion River, see Touchet River.

White Swan, a town on the Yakima Indian Reservation, Yakima County, was named for White Swan who was a famous chief of the Yakima tribe for sixty years. The town is on the site of his home. Mr. A. C. Coburn started the first store there about a year after the chief's death, August 21, 1907. (Postmaster at White Swan in Names MSS. Letter 544.) A special dispatch to the Seattle Post-Intelligencer dated at North Yakima January 13, 1910, tells about the driving of stakes and laying out the townsite of White Swan.

Whitehorn Point, on the south shore of Birch Bay in the northwestern part of Whatcom County, was named by the Wilkes Expedition, 1841, in honor of Daniel Whitehorn, Quarter-Gunner on one of the ships of the squadron. (Hydrography, Volume XXIII., Atlas, chart 77.) In 1791, the Spanish explorer, Lieutenant Francisco Eliza, named it "Punta del Garzon." (United States Public Documents, Serial No. 1557, chart K.)

Whiteman's Cove, on the east shore of Case Inlet, in the northwestern part of Pierce County, was named in early days for a man named Reed, who married an Indian woman and settled there. He was the only white man in that vicinity at the time. (E. Shellgun, Postmaster at Longbranch, in Names MSS. Letter 103.)

Whites, a town in the southeastern part of Grays Harbor County, was named by Northern Pacific Railway officials in honor of Allen White who started a sawmill there about 1890. (O. M, McPherson, in Names MSS. Letter 492.)

Whitlow, a town in the southeastern part of Whitman County, was named for M. W. Whitlow who built the warehouse and whose farm was nearby. (Lou E. Wenham, of Pullman, in Names MSS. Letter 115.)

Whitman, a small settlement and railroad station near the scene of the Indian massacre of Dr. Marcus Whitman and his missionary colony, in the south central part of Walla Walla County. The station was named for the missionary. (Postmaster, in Names MSS. Letter 182.)

Whitman County was organized by act of the Territorial Legislature approved November 29, 1871, and named in honor of the missionary. Dr. Marcus Whitman.

Whitney, a town in the west central part of Skagit County, was named in honor of Rienzie E. Whitney, a pioneer who in 1882 founded the town of Padilla. When the railroad came in 1890 the town was moved and its name was changed to Whitney. (History of Skagit and Snohomish Counties, page 245.)

Whittier, a station in the west central part of Kittitas County, was named for the poet, John Greenleaf Whittier. (H. R. Williams, Vice President of the Chicago, Milwaukee and St. Paul Railway Company, in Names MSS. Letter 589.)

Whollochet Bay, on the north side of Hale Passage, in the northwestern part of Pierce County, was named by the Wilkes Expedition, 1841, "Vanderford's Harbor," in honor of Benjamin Vanderford, Pilot of the Vincennes in the squadron. (Hydrography Volume XXIII, Atlas, chart 78.) Vanderford was promoted to the rank of Master's Mate before his death at sea on March 23, 1842. Captain Wilkes speaks highly of his services and adds: "As sometimes happens, he had a presentiment of his own death, and had long been impressed with the opinion that he would not survive to return to his own country." (Narrative. Volume v., page 418.) The origin of the name Whollochet has not been ascertained.

Whulge, see Puget Sound.
Wieletpu, see Waiilatpu.

Wilbur, a town in the northwestern part of Lincoln County, was named for its founder, Samuel Wilbur Condit, in 1887. The town was incorporated in 1889. While out hunting, Mr. Condit mistook a settler's poultry and shot a fat gander. Ever after he was known as "Wild Goose Bill." He owned much land and livestock and traded with Indians and miners. Before he platted and named Wilbur, his trading place was known as "Goosetown." (R. J. Reeves, in Names MSS. Letter 251.)

Wilcox, a town in the southern part of Whitman County, was named for Robert Wilcox, the first postmaster about 1886. (C. M. Williams, in Names MSS. Letter 87.)

Wild Horse Creek, see Mud Creek.

Wild Rose, a settlement in the northern part of Spokane County, was named by a pioneer named Hazard because of the abundance of wild roses there. (L. C. Owen, of Denison, in Names MSS. Letter 190.)

Wilder Creek, in the central part of Okanogan County, was named for H. A. Wilder who had a prospect there in 1890-1892. (C. H. Lovejoy to Frank Putnam, of Tonasket. in Names MSS. Letter 345.)

Wildwood, a town in the southeastern part of Lewis County, was named by Thomas C. Naylor, the first postmaster on August 24, 1889, because it was appropriate to the locality. (Mrs. Ella Hildesheim, in Names MSS. Letter 488.)

Wiley, a town in the central part of Yakima County, was named by Wallace Wiley on July 6, 1910, in honor of his father, Hugh Wiley, the pioneer, on part of whose homestead the town is located. (John H. Lynch, of Yakima, in Names MSS. Letter 302.)

Wilke's Portage, see Kellum's Lake Isthmus.

Willapa, a bay, river and town in Pacific County, all bear this Indian name. The name was first applied to the Indians and the river, on the banks of which they lived. Writing in 1853, James G. Swan recorded: "The Indians of Shoalwater Bay had no distinct language of their own, but used the Chinook or Chehalis promiscuously, with the exception of the tribe on the Whila-pah River, who spoke a language somewhat resembling the Cowlitz. There are two or three of the Whil-a-pah Indians still living at Shoalwater Bay, but the rest of the tribe is all extinct," (The Northwest Coast, page 211.) Captain George Davidson wrote: "The Whil-a-pah Indians are extinct. The true name is Ah-whil-a-pah, or Ah-whil-lapsh." (Pacific Coast Pilot, page 475.) The Bureau of American Ethnology calls these Indians a Cinookan tribe and says a single survivor who understood the language was known in 1910. (Handbook of American Indians, Volume II., pages 955-956.) George Gibbs mentioned the stream as "Willopah" on March 1, 1854. (Pacific Railroad Reports, Volume I., page 465.) From that time on some variation of the name was used on maps and charts. The bay was discovered "by Lieutenant John Meares, retired officer of the British Navy, on July 5, 1788. He was then in the fur trade. He called it Shoalwater Bay. (Voyages Made in the Years 1788 and 1789, Volume I., page 263.) Meares on the next day named Deception Bay and Cape Disappointment. He was looking for the "River San Roque" reported by the Spaniards. After the discovery of the Columbia River by Captain Robert Gray, the chart by Meares was deemed wholly inaccurate. "It was thrown aside altogether, and his account of Shoal-water Bay considered fabulous." (James G. Swan, The Northwest Coast, page 24.) The bay was explored and the name Shoalwater Bay was restored to the charts by Lieutenant James Alden, United States Navy, while working for the United States Coast Survey in 1853. (United States Public Documents, Serial No. 704, chart 50.) The neglect of the bay between the dates mentioned, 1792 and 1853, was not complete. The Wilkes Expedition, 1841, shows an exploration of the bay by Midshipman Eld. (Narrative, Volume V., page 133.) The Bureau of American Ethnology says the Chehalis Indian name for Shoalwater Bay is "Atsmitl." (Handbook of American Indians, Volume I., page 113.) The name of Shoalwater Bay proved a commercial handicap and was changed by extending the name of the river to the bay. On September 13, 1921, the Seattle Times published a special dispatch saying a new thirty-foot channel had been discovered at the entrance to the bay. The town of Willapa is three miles southeast of Raymond.

William Point, see Point William.

Williamson, a railroad crossing six miles west of Shelton, in Mason County, named for Frank Williamson, a pioneer logger. (Grant C. Angle, in Names MSS. Letter 83.)

Williamson Rocks, off the west shore of Fidalgo Island, in the west central part of Skagit County, were named by the Wilkes Expedition, 1841, in honor of John G. Williamson, Gunner on one of the ships. (Hydrography, Volume XXIII, Atlas, chart 77.)

Willows, a settlement south of Port Townsend in the eastern part of Jefferson County, was named by the Country Club on account of large weeping willow trees near the house where the club met on the donation land claim of a pioneer named Briggs, (Postmaster of Port Townsend in Names MSS. Letter 311.)

Wind River, a tributary of the Columbia River, in the south central part of Skamania County, was named Crusatte's River by the Lewis and Clark Expedition, 1805, after one of the men in the party. (History, edited by Elliott Coues, Volume II., page 079.) The present descriptive name was mentioned by Governor Isaac I. Stevens in 1853. (Pacific Railroad Surveys, Volume XII., Part I., page 138.)

Winesap, a town in the east central part of Chelan County. Mr. W. J. Taylor and the Wenatchee Commercial Club secured a post office for the place in 1909. Mrs. Elizabeth Cole was the first postmistress. Coles View was objected to as a name because it comprised two words. A list of names was submitted and the United States Post office Department selected Winesap. (W. J. Taylor, in Names MSS. Letter 376.)

Winlock, a town in the south central part of Lewis County, was named in honor of General Winlock W. Miller, one of the first Federal officers in the Territory of Washington, an officer in the Indian wars of 1855-1856 and a close personal friend of Governor Isaac I. Stevens. He was a successful business man and owned land where the town now stands. General Miller died in Olympia on January 24, 1876, at the age of 54 years. (H. H. Bancroft, Works, Volume XXXI., page 118.)

Winns, see Overlook.

Winslow, a town on Eagle Harbor, in the east central pan of Kitsap County, was named by H. K. Hall for his brother who was one of the original owners of Hall Brothers Marine Railway & Shipbuilding Company. (Mrs. S. Woodman, in Names MSS. Letter 5.)

Winsor, a town in the northwestern part of King County was named in honor of Judge Richard Winsor who writes about it as follows: "In 1888, in one of my early visits out here I bought a tract of land this side of Bothell and the river, as an investment for Mrs. Winsor. My boys had it platted and called it Winsor, and sold some lots out of it. On my removal here the next spring, I sold the tract to Abram Barker, then Vice President of the Merchants National Bank. He subsequently sold the tract out in lots and a remnant and thus came the name of Winsor, King County." (In Names MSS. Letter 375.)

Winston Creek, a tributary of the Cowlitz River, at Mayfield, in the south central part of Lewis County, was named for William Winston. (Postmaster at Mayfield, in Names MSS. Letter 258.)

Winters Lake, in Snohomish County, was named after an early settler. (J. F. Stretch, of Snohomish, in Names MSS. Letter 497.)

Winthrop, a village in the west central part of Okanogan County, was named by the late Senator John L. Wilson, in 1890, when he was a Representative in Congress. In 1891, Guy Waring took the little post office into his log cabin and often asked Mr. Wilson why he chose the name. He could not remember but thought it was probably in honor of Theodore Winthrop, which is now believed to be the case in that locality. (Guy Waring, in Names MSS. Letter 291.)

Wiser Lake, near Ferndale in the northwestern part of Whatcom County, was named for Jack Wiser the first settler on the shores of the lake. (Phoebe Newton Judson in Names MSS. Letter 187.)

Wishram, an Indian village above The Dalles, on the Columbia River, was said by the Wilkes Expedition, 1841, to have been named for a chief "long since dead." (Narrative Volume IV, page 388.) The name is often mentioned by Washington Irving in Astoria. James Mooney, for the Bureau of American Ethnology, says the name is for a tribe of Chinookan Indians, and the name in another language is Tlaqluit and both words refer to a species of louse or flea "abounding in that neighborhood." (Fourteenth Annual Report, Part II., page 740.)

Wishkah River, in the central part of Grays Harbor County, the name being a corruption of the Chehalis Indian words "hwish-kahl", meaning "stinking water." (Myron Eells, in the American Anthropologist for January, 1892.)

Withrow, a town in. the central part of Douglas County, was named for J. J. Withrow, a rancher of prominence and influence who was growing wheat there before a town was even thought of. (W. H. Murray in Names MSS. Letter 104.)

Wooded Island, see Skipjack Island.

Woodinville, a town in the northwestern part of King County, was named by the early settlers about 1868 in honor of the pioneer Ira Woodin. (Clara Jacobsen Leegarden, in Names MSS. Letter 70.)

Woodlawn, a town on Lake Whatcom, in the southwestern part of Whatcom County, was named on October 1, 1883, by Paul Woodard, on account of the beautiful woods. (Hugh Eldridge, in Names MSS. Letter 136.)

Woodman, a town on Port Discovery, in the northeastern part of Jefferson County, was named for James O. Woodman, a native of Portsmouth, England, who lived near there for more than sixty years. (Postmaster at Port Discovery, in Names MSS. Letter 253.)

Wood's Lake, in the east central part of Thurston County, was named for Isaac Wood, an early settler in that neighborhood. (H. B. McElroy, of Olympia, in Names MSS. Letter 46.)

Woolley, see Sedro-Woolley.

Workman Creek, a tributary of the Chehalis River in the southeastern part of Grays Harbor County, was apparently known as Mason's Creek in early days. (Map of the Surveyor-General of Washington Territory, 1857, in United States Public Documents, Serial No. 877.)

Wo-Wum-Chee River, see Klickitat.

Wrights, a railroad station in the southwestern part of Klickitat County, was named for L. C. Wright, owner of land and a resident at that place. (L. C. Gilman, in Names MSS. Letter 590.)

Wyadda Island, see Waaddah Island.

Wynoochee River, a tributary of the Chehalis River at Montesano, in the east central part of Grays Harbor County, was so named because of its varying course. The name is an Indian word meaning "shifting." (Henry Gannett, Origin of Certain Place Names in the United States, page 331.) George Gibbs referred to the stream by its present name on March 1, 1854. (Pacific Railroad Reports, Volume I., page 468.)

Washington AHGP | Geographic Names

Source: Washington Historical Quarterly, Volume 8 - 14