Explore Okanogan, Washington, a historic small town along the Okanogan River and the county seat of Washington State's largest county by area.
In this video, we'll travel through downtown Okanogan and discover how this small community grew from a frontier settlement known as Alma into an important center of government, agriculture and commerce.
One of the biggest turning points came in 1914, when Okanogan won a hard-fought election to become the Okanogan County seat. Soon afterward, construction began on the impressive Okanogan County Courthouse, whose distinctive clock tower still overlooks the community today.
We'll also explore historic Second Avenue, once lined with hotels, mercantile stores, banks, saloons and other businesses serving the surrounding agricultural country.
Along the way, we'll look at the arrival of irrigation and the Great Northern Railway, the importance of apples, cattle and lumber, and how neighboring Omak eventually became the larger commercial center while Okanogan retained the county government.
We'll also visit several Okanogan landmarks, including the historic Post Office and the 1922 Masonic Temple, which once housed the Paramount Theatre and later the Avalon Theatre.
And we'll discover one amusing detail from Okanogan's earliest city government: apparently one of the new city council's priorities was making sure the Big Dan Saloon had its liquor license!
Today, Okanogan remains a small community with a surprisingly rich history—one that can easily be missed if you're simply passing through.
Join me as we explore Okanogan, Washington, and discover another piece of small-town Pacific Northwest history.
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