Sprague, Washington
N 47° 18.040 W 117° 58.239
11T E 426621 N 5239033
Sprague is a small town in Lincoln County, Washington. There are 2 identical rockwork arches on either side of the road in the town.
Waymark Code: WMF9K3
Location: Washington, United States
Date Posted: 09/15/2012
Views: 7
The tiny town of Sprague is located in Lincoln County, Washington, and was briefly the county seat, in a story that relives a wild-west spirit. It seems that the towns of Davenport and Sprague both endeavored to be the county seat, and upon vote of the subject, the actual vote-count by the towns exceeded the number of residents therein, which lead to the accusation of voter fraud. It appears that children, those who were deceased and those on railcars passing by all voted in the election over which town would be county seat. Eventually, Davenport won in 1896, and that is were the courthouse was moved.
POPULATION: just under 500 in 2010.
INCORPORATED: Nov 28, 1883 (originally called Hoodooville, in honor of a local personality called Hoodoo Billy, and later renamed to honor railroad executive and General, John W. Sprague).
BURNED DOWN: Aug 3, 1895 (and rebuilt)
INCOME: Sprague and the surrounding area has abundant wheat and livestock farming (beef, dairy, poultry).
CLIMATE: The county is semi-arid which is hot and dry in the summer and cold and moderately humid in the winter. Precipitation ranges from 8 inches on the western side of the county to over 20 inches in the northeastern corner.
TOPOGRAPHY: Lincoln county is part of the Big Bend Plateau, considered by geologists to be the channelled Scablands, being a plateau situated between 1,500 to 2,500 feet in elevation, with numerous channels eroded into the bedrock (sometimes called coulees) from historic glacial rivers and streams and the most recent ice age.
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