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Kittitas is a city in Kittitas County, Washington, United States. The population was 1,381 at the 2010 census and an estimated 1,493 in 2018. There are numerous interpretations of the name, which is from the language of the Kittitas American Indian language. According to one source, it "has been said to mean everything from 'white chalk' to 'shale rock' to 'shoal people' to 'land of beauty'. Most anthropologists and historians concede that each interpretation has some validity depending upon the particular dialect spoken." [edit] History
Kittitas was established in 1883 and officially incorporated on December 9, 1931. It was founded as part of the westward expansion of the Chicago, Milwaukee, St. Paul and Pacific Railroad. The Kittitas Yard and Depot became the center of the community of Kittitas, one of the many small, agricultural towns that sprang up along the railroad lines. The railroad linked Kittitas to other small communities and the rest of the country, providing farmers and business people a way to sell their products in other towns and cities. A post office, general merchandise and drug store, a Baptist church, agricultural warehouses, and other small businesses were built around the small depot. Along with the depot, the Kittitas Yard included storage and maintenance buildings, a water tower, and other structures necessary for the maintenance of a major transcontinental railroad. The depot is the only significant structure still intact at the Kittitas Yard. It is an excellent example of turn-of-the-century railroad architecture, and as such was placed on the National Register of Historic Places in 1992. The depot is owned and managed by the Washington State Parks and Recreation Commission.
The Milwaukee Road once served as a vital link, providing economic and social connections between small, scattered communities in Washington. Today, it is once more a link between these communities, for people who hike, bike, or ride horses along the route. Stretching more than from Cedar Falls near North Bend to Tekoa at the Idaho border, the John Wayne Pioneer Trail passes through tunnels, over mountains, along rivers and lakes, and through dry, sagebrush countryside. [edit] Research Tips
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