A Town Named George

Walla^2, Washington

July 27, 2021

I put my destination of "Hanford Site" into Google Maps this morning and off I went. I was about 30 minutes into my drive when I noticed a road sign for George in 11 miles; Google Maps had me turning in nine miles. George is a good name, I thought, and drove passed the turn Google Maps kept wanting me to make.

George ain't much.

But there is only one town named George, Washington!

How old must this sign be? (BTW, there is no longer a building at this site.)

From Wikipedia:

George is a city in Grant County, Washington, United States. The population was 501 at the 2010 census. The "humorous homage" to President George Washington has landed George, Washington on lists of unusual place names.

The city is known for being near the Gorge Amphitheatre, sometimes called "The Gorge at George". The Gorge Amphitheatre was the location of the annual Sasquatch! Music Festival.

The city also celebrates national holidays such as the Fourth of July, and Washington's Birthday, with cherry pies. The world's largest cherry pie is also baked every year on July 4, and served to a crowd.

George began as a large irrigation district between Quincy and Moses Lake. In the early 1950s, the need for a town to support the local agriculture business was evident, and the Bureau of Land Management agreed to 339 acres for this purpose. The sole bid was that of a local pharmacist, Charlie Brown, who invested his own money into the venture and solicited planning help from a University of Washington instructor. The plan included streets, utilities, etc.

When filing the papers for the town with the BLM, Brown decided that the town should be named after the first President of the United States, George Washington.

The citizens of the town have named their streets after varieties of cherries grown in the area, such as Bing and Royal Anne.

The town was officially incorporated on July 4, 1957 at a ceremony including Governor Albert Rosellini and a 1,000-pound cherry pie.