User:Ecpiandy/List of communities in Okanogan County, Washington

There are 13 municipalities in Okanogan County, which lies in Central Washington and Eastern Washington. Under Washington law, there are two types of incorporated municipalities: cities and towns. Any municipality with more than 1,500 persons can incorporate as a city at the time of reorganization, while any community under that population is able to incorporate as a town at its time of reorganization. Types of communities in Washington can be described primarily by its class. Numerous unincorporated areas and ghost towns are also situated in the Okanogan County.

The 13 incorporated municipalities and census-designated places (CDP) are the subject of the list below, which gives their names, dates incorporated, population, area, elevation, density, and their location in the county, with images at the list's side. Some data that is available for incorporated municipalities may not be for CDPs due to their classification and role in the government. Historical information for municipalities is also offered below in prose about some general information, former county seats, and ghost towns which were formerly incorporated municipalities.

At the 2010 United States Census, the population of Okanogan County was 41,120, thus the 23th most populated county in the state of Washington. A 2011 estimate recorded 41,411 persons, however. The nearest metropolitan area, about 95 mi away from the central area of the Okanogan County, is the Chelan County and is referred to as the Wenatchee – East Wenatchee metropolitan area. While its largest city, Seattle, is located about 230 mi away from central Okanogan, Spokane is based approximately 140 mi.

History


Ruby, its first incorporated town, served as the county seat for a period of 11 months around 1889, but was slowly abandoned after the Panic of 1893 caused silver prices to plummet and now serves as a ghost town. The following year, Conconully was declared the new seat and remained so until 1914. After a battle between Omak and Okanogan around the early-1910s in an attempt to become the new seat after Conconully's position was demoted, Okanogan won the battle by 1914 and began serving the county as its seat. By 1930, Omak overtook Okanogan as the county's largest city by population.

Aside from Ruby, there are numerous other historical ghost towns. Bodie was established as a community in 1900, but the area was slowly abandoned in the 1930s and its well-known mill burned down. After being named Bolster in honor of Spokane financier Herman Bolster, the town was established around 1899. Many businesses around the municipality were opened, but most ultimately closed due to financial difficulties; it has since been abandoned. Disautel also serves as a ghost town. Established around 1919, its population dropped slowly. When the highway to Nespelem was improved, workers in the sawmill began commuting from Omak, and the town population began to dwindle. After the sawmill closed at the beginning of the Great Depression, the town shrank further by population and later became abandoned. Loup Loup was platted in 1988 and is now a ghost town.

Municipalities


, Okanogan County has 13 incorporated municipalities: 6 cities and 7 towns. There are also two census-designed places (CDP). CDPs are geographical areas designated by the United States Census Bureau for the purposes of compiling demographic data; places of this type have not officially been incorporated by the state, however. Coulee Dam lies inside three countries: Douglas, Grant, and Okanogan. The Colville Indian Reservation area of the town lies within the Okanogan County, while the rest takes part in adjacent counties and thus defines the southeastern county border.

At 5,315 sqmi as of the 2010 United States Census, Okanogan County is the largest county by area in Washington. It is also larger than the two smallest states including Rhode Island, the smallest state, which has an area of 1214 sqmi, and Delaware, which has an area of 2,491 sqmi. Its incorporated municipalities range in size from 0.19 sqmi (Nespelem) to 23.1 sqmi (Nespelem Community). Aimed at central Okanogan County, the city of Omak has the highest population of any municipality, with 4,881 or percent of the county total, while the town of Conconully in the western area of the county has the lowest population, with 211 or  percent.