City of Kennewick history

29, Shaughnessy started a miniature daily newspaper publication of which continued until late in 1906,

The Port of Kennewick immediately began to operate docks, approach and landing facilities, leasing these facilities from the Kennewick Improvement Corporation (a private entity that had organized in 1909 to develop the facilities) for $1 per year.

Creation of the Port of Kennewick was initiated by the Kennewick Commercial Club, which wanted to capitalize on the Celilo Falls navigation canal (Celilo Canal) opening in May of 1915.

Kennewick staged a short-lived attempt to wrest the Benton County seat away from Prosser, upstream on the Yakima River, and even obtained an injunction in 1916 forbidding Prosser to build a permanent courthouse.

In 1917, the Port purchased the previously leased land and assets from the Kennewick Improvement Corporation for $1,200.

In a memoir written in 1918 for the book History of the Yakima Valley, Daisy Beach Emigh remembered that her father would take her family across the Columbia River from Ainsworth, where he worked, to picnic at present-day Kennewick.

Meanwhile, a new automobile bridge in 1922 connected Kennewick with Pasco, which was the larger of the two cities at the time.

By 1940, Kennewick's population had recovered to 1,918, yet still less than half that of big brother Pasco.

In 1941, the Port acquired a portion of Clover Island and leased property to Columbia Marine Shipyards for a barge-building site on the island.

The Port had plans to develop additional rail spurs in the industrial areas of downtown Kennewick, but in 1942, the Port, in response to a request from the Navy, supported the war effort by donating steel and railroad ties.

A remote desert spot called Hanford, north of Kennewick and Richland on the Columbia River, was chosen in 1943 as the site of a new, super-secret engineering project called the Hanford Engineering Works.

In 1944, the Winquatt, once known as the most powerful tugboat in the world, was also built at Clover Island.

The Spokesman-Review in Spokane reported in 1947 that Kennewick, perhaps more than any other place in the nation, was experiencing "no return to pre-war conditions" (Clark). Hanford, the paper reported, was "taxing the facilities of Kennewick to and beyond their limits" (Clark).

Another large flood occurred in 1948 that caused significant damage to Port barge and boat loading facilities, and this ended the Port’s involvement in these type of facilities in the vicinity of Clover Island.

By 1950, Kennewick had quintupled in size in a decade, to 10,106 -- although Richland was now more than twice as big as either Kennewick or Pasco.

The first system was a filter bed in the “notch” area of the island, with pump stations just upstream, which were installed in 1952.

In November 1954, 75 percent of voters approved the expansion of the Kennewick Port District to include an area constituting 485 square miles and comprising the eastern half of Benton County.

Richland, however, was split when after Hanford came onto the scene, disgruntled residents separated from the town and formed West Richland, which incorporated in 1955.

In 1956, after McNary Dam was constructed, the Port leased 314 acres of Columbia River waterfront land for development from the United States Army Corps of Engineers.

A good example of this development occurred in 1957 when the Phillips Pacific Chemical Company built a $15-million plant to produce anhydrous ammonia.

1960 Cal-Spray Chemical (now Agrium)

In 1967, the Port sold the Hedges land and presumably the associated water facilities to the Collier Carbon Chemical or other industrial businesses in the area, ending the Ports involvement in dock and barge loading facilities.

In the 1970’s, Kennewick took over the role of having the largest population in the Tri-Cities area and still holds the title today.

Bridge 182 HistoryIn the 1980’s, the Interstate 182 bridge was completed, making Pasco more accessible and in turn, helped the Tri-Cities to grow.

Another plan was revived in 1988 for a Bi-Cities merger -- Pasco, the city lowest on the socio-economic scale, was left out.

The city’s name, probably of Indian origin, is believed to mean “grassy place.” Kennewick’s Columbia Park was the site of the discovery, in July 1996, of human remains that have been determined to be about 9,400 years old.

As of 2007, Kennewick had an estimated population of about 62,250, making it the 12th largest city in the state.