City of East Wenatchee history

On May 6, 1892, this plat was filed with Kittitas County (Chelan County had not yet been created), and lots were placed on the open market the same month.

In 1907, W.T. Clark came up with a plan to build a bridge over the Columbia River carrying an irrigation pipeline from the Wenatchee Valley's High Line Canal (now called the Wenatchee Reclamation District Canal) across to the east bank.

The site of East Wenatchee was dry and sandy until 1908 when the new Columbia River Bridge connected it to Wenatchee, bringing both irrigation water and easy access.

In 1923, the East Wenatchee Domestic Water Co. was formed and began piping water throughout the area.

The airfield was established in 1926 on farm field northeast of the small hamlet of East Wenatchee.

In 1928, the airfield still consisted mostly of a few rough, unimproved landing strips.

Clyde Pangborn's landing in East Wenatchee after trans-Pacific crossing, October 5, 1931

Later, the state legislature passed a law allowing a city to own land in another county, and in 1934, the City of Wenatchee took possession of the land.

Douglas County certified the vote on March 4, 1935, and the Washington Secretary of State officially filed the incorporation papers on March 11, 1935.

Preparing for war in 1941, the United States hurriedly established major air bases in Moses Lake and Ephrata.

Northwest Airlines commenced the first commercial flights in 1945.

The official census population was only 383 in 1960, but this was deceptive since so much of the growth was taking place outside the city limits.

In 1978, it was redeveloped into the Wenatchee Valley Mall, which the Wenatchee World now calls "North Central Washington's largest shopping center" (Steigmeyer).

Eastmont moved to a new, larger location in 1979 and serves as an important community hub of East Wenatchee.

In 1987, two orchard workers found a cache of prehistoric Clovis spear points in an East Wenatchee apple orchard.