Pataha, Washington
{{Use mdy dates|date=July 2023}}
{{Infobox settlement
|official_name = Pataha
|settlement_type = Unincorporated community
|image_skyline = Pataha, Washington (45525816425).jpg
|imagesize =
|image_caption =
|pushpin_map = Washington#USA#North America
|subdivision_type = Country
|subdivision_name = United States
|subdivision_type1 = State
|subdivision_name1 = Washington
|subdivision_type2 = County
|subdivision_name2 = Garfield
|government_footnotes =
|government_type =
|leader_title =
|leader_name =
|established_title =
|established_date =
|timezone = Pacific (PST)
|utc_offset = -8
|timezone_DST = PDT
|utc_offset_DST = -7
|elevation_ft = 2011
|coordinates = {{coord|46|28|22|N|117|32|39|W|region:US-WA_type:city|display=inline,title}}
|postal_code_type = ZIP code
|postal_code = 99347
|area_code = 509
|area_code_type = Area code
|blank_name =
|blank_info =
|blank1_name = GNIS feature ID
|blank1_info = 2807176{{GNIS|2807176}}
|footnotes =
}}
Pataha is a small, unincorporated community in Garfield County, Washington, United States. It is located about {{convert|4|mi}} east of Pomeroy, the Garfield County seat. Pataha is home to the historic Houser Mill, a working water-powered flour mill originally built in 1879.{{Cite web |url=https://www.patahaflourmills.com/about |title=Patahaflourmills |access-date=2018-01-03 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180104132415/https://www.patahaflourmills.com/about |archive-date=2018-01-04 |url-status=dead }}
Geography
Pataha is located along Pataha Creek, about four miles east of Pomeroy, the Garfield County seat. U.S. Route 12 passes from Pomeroy through Pataha as it follows the valley cut by Pataha Creek. The valley is quite steep, only about a mile wide at Pataha and rising more than {{convert|300|ft|m}} above the valley floor within a mile on the north side of the community. The valley reaches heights over {{convert|500|ft|m}} above the floor immediately to the south of Pataha.{{cite web |title=Pomeroy Quadrangle |url=https://ngmdb.usgs.gov/ht-bin/tv_browse.pl?id=7f2351a0966fc4016f121a421bb4fb6c |website=usgs.gov |publisher=U.S. Geological Survey |access-date=10 October 2023}}
History
The town is located on the Pataha Creek along the Nez Perce trail, a path used by the indigenous Nez Perce tribe for crossing the Rocky Mountains.{{cite web |last1=Dougherty |first1=Phil |title=Garfield County — Thumbnail History |url=https://www.historylink.org/File/7728 |publisher=HistoryLink.org |access-date=December 21, 2024 |date=May 3, 2006}} The name Pataha is from the Nez Perce word for 'brush', signifying the dense brush along both sides of the creek.{{cite web |title=Garfield County Geography |url=http://wagenweb.org/garfield/geog.htm |publisher=WAGenWeb |access-date=December 21, 2024}}
In May 1806, Lewis and Clark passed through and spent the night on their return journey from the Pacific coast. In 1834, Captain B. L. E. Bonneville passed through the area doing survey work for the US Government.
The community that became Pataha began when James Bowers settled on the site in 1861. The next year a stagecoach line was established between Walla Walla and Lewiston which passed through the area, bringing more settlers.{{cite web |last1=Kuykendall |first1=Judge Elgin Victor |title=An Economic History of Garfield County |url=http://historicpomeroy.com/history/garfieldcountyeconomic.htm |publisher=HistoricPomeroy.com |access-date=December 21, 2024}} The first settlers were mainly engaged in farming vegetables and cattle ranching, eventually leading to a focus on wheat farming in the 1870s. The area began to grow as a town in 1878 and was officially platted in 1882 by Angevine Titus and Company Favor. The town was briefly known as both 'Favorsburg' and 'Watertown', but the original native placename Pataha prevailed.
Pataha grew into a successful town, rivalling nearby Pomeroy for some time. Pataha was briefly the county seat when Garfield County was created in 1881.{{cite news | url=https://news.google.com/newspapers?id=u5pYAAAAIBAJ&pg=5344%2C3173329 | title=Venerable courthouse still in use | work=Spokane Daily Chronicle | date=Nov 10, 1971 | accessdate=2 November 2015 | author=Pierce, Virginia | pages=4B}} The Pataha Spirit newspaper was also established this same year. When the Oregon Railroad and Navigation Company brought a rail line to Pomeroy in 1885, the line was not extended to Pataha. Soon the town lost its competitive edge over its neighbor and began to decline. The flour mill continued to run until 1940.
References
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{{Garfield County, Washington}}
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Category:Unincorporated communities in Garfield County, Washington
Category:Unincorporated communities in Washington (state)
{{GarfieldCountyWA-geo-stub}}