Edwall, Washington

Edwall
unincorporated community
Edwall Location within the state of Washington
Coordinates:
Country	United States
State	Washington
County	Lincoln
Time zone	Pacific (PST) (UTC-8)
• Summer (DST)	PDT (UTC-7)
GNIS feature ID	1512181

Edwall is a small unincorporated community located about 35 miles from the city of Spokane in Lincoln County, Washington, United States. Edwall is part of the Reardan-Edwall School District. The school district was closed for a record amount of days due to a big snow storm in the inland area in January 2008. The former Edwall School is now owned by the Parks and Recreation District and leased to Christian Heritage School, a private non-denominational school. Edwall also has a post office, an active United Methodist Church congregation, Men's Service Club, Women in Action Committee, volunteer fire/emergency medical crew, and a volunteer run library located in the original one room wood frame schoolhouse.

History

Peter Edwall was the first to settle in the area in 1881 where he began a ranch. He was followed by William Spence, from Medical Lake, who homesteaded on the site of the future town. Mr. Edwall bought Spence's land in 1887. When the Great Northern Railway laid its main line across his land in 1892, Edwall platted a town site and named it after himself.

Edwall's first buildings were constructed by the railroad and included a depot, water tank and other small storage buildings. These were soon followed by a church and a general store in 1893. Growth between The Panic of 1893 and 1897 was slow. In 1897, following a bountiful wheat harvest that boosted Lincoln County's economy, Edwall experienced a boom. A newspaper and bank were soon established as well as a large hotel and the population by 1903 had reached 275.

Education

Reardan-Edwall School District serves Edwall.

References

• An Illustrated History of The Big Bend Country, Embracing Lincoln, Douglas, Adams and Franklin Counties. Spokane, WA: Western Historical Publishing Company, 1904. Print.