Editing Omak, Washington (section)

==History==

===Origin===
The Okanogan Valley was the traditional homeland of the [[Syilx]] (also called Okanogan) Native Americans, whose territory extended north into what is now [[British Columbia]]. The Syilx acquired horses in the mid-18th century, which helped them expand northward. They first met non-native traders and missionaries in the early 19th century. The Syilx participated in trade fairs held at [[Kettle Falls]] and at the mouth of the [[Fraser River]]. Trading networks strengthened after the acquisition of horses in the mid-18th century.<ref name="Pritzker2000">{{cite book|last=Pritzker|first=Barry|title=A Native American Encyclopedia: History, Culture, and Peoples|url=https://archive.org/details/nativeamericanen0000prit|url-access=registration|year=2000|publisher=Oxford University Press|isbn=978-0-19-513877-1|pages=[https://archive.org/details/nativeamericanen0000prit/page/270 270]–272}}</ref>

In 1811, [[Fort Okanogan]] was built by the [[Pacific Fur Company]] at the confluence of the Okanogan and Columbia Rivers. The fort's ownership passed to the [[North West Company]], then the [[Hudson's Bay Company]]. [[Fort Colvile]], near Kettle Falls, was another important fur trading outpost. The Okanogan River was used by fur brigades traveling between Fort Okanogan and [[Kamloops]]. In the late 1850s this route became known as the [[Okanagan Trail]] and was widely used as an inland route to the [[Fraser Canyon Gold Rush]].

In the 1850s, European-Americans settled in the area that is now Omak and built houses and inaugurated mining, logging and agricultural activities. As more white settlers arrived, a dispute about land ownership arose between them and the Native Americans.<ref name="sifce" />

[[File:Ben Ross cabin.jpg|thumb|left|Ben Ross' cabin]]

In response, a treaty stating that an [[Indian reservation]] would be formed on some of the disputed land while the European-Americans would own the remaining land was signed. The Indian land was later reduced to about {{convert|5,000,000|acre}}. [[Colville Indian Reservation]] was developed around 1872 during the [[Presidency of Ulysses S. Grant]]. In 1887, the [[Confederated Tribes of the Colville Reservation]], a [[federally recognized tribe]], was formed by executive order from 12 individual bands as per the [[General Allotment Act|General Allotment Act of 1887]]. The [[federal government of the United States|federal government]] decided to move Colville Indian Reservation's location west of [[Columbia River]], reducing its area to {{convert|2,800,000|acre}}. It would continue to be reduced for the next 60 years.<ref name="sifce">{{cite web |first=Lisa |last=Tobe |url=http://www.sierrainstitute.us/neai/WA_case_studies/Omak_WA.pdf |title=Omak, Okanogan County, Washington |publisher=Sierra Institute for Community and Environment |access-date=March 19, 2013 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120917020917/http://sierrainstitute.us/neai/WA_case_studies/Omak_WA.pdf |archive-date=September 17, 2012 |df=mdy-all }}</ref>

Nearby Alma was [[plat]]ted as an [[unincorporated area|unincorporated community]] around 1886. Alma was renamed Pogue in honor of orchardist J.I. Pogue, and was later renamed [[Okanogan, Washington|Okanogan]]{{mdash}}the present name. J.I. Pogue was upset that his name was replaced, and requested that surveyor, civil engineer and settler Ben Ross establish another town {{convert|4|mi}} to the north.<ref name="stampedetown">{{cite news|first=Rick |last=Steigmeyer |url=http://www.wenatcheeworld.com/news/2008/mar/20/omak-stampede-town/ |title=Omak{{mdash}}Stampede town |work=[[The Wenatchee World]] |date=March 20, 2008 |access-date=April 30, 2013}}</ref> Born in [[Bureau County, Illinois]], Ross worked for the Great Northern Railroad shortly before moving to Okanogan County.<ref name="thirdaddition" /> He decided to found a new community at Pogue's proposed location during 1907.<ref name="stampedetown" /> It was named Omak, supposedly for the Salishan word ''Omache''{{mdash}}said to mean "good medicine" or "plenty"{{mdash}}and referring to the town's favorable climate;<ref name="sifce" /> although according to [[William Bright]] the name comes from the [[Okanagan language|Okanagan]] placename [umák].<ref name="Bright2004"/> Ross sold various items on the present townsite, trying to have his town recognized,<ref name="stampedetown" /> and built a cabin in 1907 to provide shelter for his daughter, son and grandchildren{{mdash}}becoming one of the first white men to settle the area.<ref>{{cite web |url=http://content.lib.washington.edu/cdm4/item_viewer.php?CISOROOT=/wastate&CISOPTR=499 |archive-url=https://archive.today/20130407004949/http://content.lib.washington.edu/cdm4/item_viewer.php?CISOROOT=/wastate&CISOPTR=499 |url-status=dead |archive-date=April 7, 2013 |title=Ben Ross cabin, Omak, Washington |publisher=[[University of Washington]] |access-date=April 30, 2013 }}</ref>

===Growth===
[[File:Omak Schoolhouse.jpg|thumb|right|Omak Schoolhouse, 1910]]

The town began to develop after the completion of the Okanogan Irrigation Project, which was designed to facilitate farming. At this time, many farmers came to Omak looking for homes.<ref>{{cite web |author=[[Frank S. Matsura|Matsura, Frank]] |url=http://kaga.wsulibs.wsu.edu/cdm4/item_viewer.php?CISOROOT=/matsura&CISOPTR=790&CISOBOX=1&REC=8 |title=Streets of Omak, Washington in 1910 |publisher=Washington State University |access-date=February 26, 2013 |archive-date=June 27, 2017 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170627222515/http://kaga.wsulibs.wsu.edu/cdm4/item_viewer.php?CISOROOT=%2Fmatsura&CISOPTR=790&CISOBOX=1&REC=8 |url-status=dead }}</ref><ref>{{cite web |author=[[Frank S. Matsura|Matsura, Frank]] |url=http://kaga.wsulibs.wsu.edu/cdm4/item_viewer.php?CISOROOT=/matsura&CISOPTR=1567&CISOBOX=1&REC=2 |title=Concrete Lined Canal of the Okanogan Irrigation Project, ca. 1912 |publisher=Washington State University |access-date=March 20, 2013 |archive-date=June 27, 2017 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170627215357/http://kaga.wsulibs.wsu.edu/cdm4/item_viewer.php?CISOROOT=%2Fmatsura&CISOPTR=1567&CISOBOX=1&REC=2 |url-status=dead }}</ref> Fruits including apples, berries, peaches, plums and watermelons were cultivated after 1910.<ref>{{cite web |author=[[Frank S. Matsura|Matsura, Frank]] |url=http://kaga.wsulibs.wsu.edu/cdm4/item_viewer.php?CISOROOT=/matsura&CISOPTR=1173&CISOBOX=1&REC=12 |title=Watermelon Picnic Near Omak, Washington, ca. 1910 |publisher=Washington State University |access-date=February 26, 2013 |archive-date=June 27, 2017 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170627203400/http://kaga.wsulibs.wsu.edu/cdm4/item_viewer.php?CISOROOT=%2Fmatsura&CISOPTR=1173&CISOBOX=1&REC=12 |url-status=dead }}</ref> Omak served as a [[census-designated place]] (CDP) in 1910,<ref name="greaterplan" /> and incorporated as a city on February 11, 1911.<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.mrsc.org/library/inctable.aspx |title=Cities and Towns, State of Washington Dates of Incorporation, Disincorporation, and Changes of Classification |publisher=[[Municipal Research and Services Center]] |year=1979 |access-date=February 24, 2013 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20131126032207/http://www.mrsc.org/library/inctable.aspx |archive-date=November 26, 2013 |df=mdy-all }}</ref> Omak and Okanogan have shared a rivalry in [[High school (North America)|high school sport]]s. During the [[Great Depression of 1933]], several residents of Omak were forced to work in nearby communities. As a result, the [[United States Bureau of Reclamation]] promoted work which was available as part of an improvement project at [[Grand Coulee Dam]] in nearby [[Coulee Dam, Washington|Coulee Dam]], which employed approximately 5,000 people between 1933 and 1951 when the [[megaproject]] ended.<ref name="sifce" /> By 1950, the city was home to various buildings and structures including the St. Mary Mission church, which satisfied residential needs.<ref name="sifce" /><ref>{{cite web |url=http://content.lib.washington.edu/cdm4/item_viewer.php?CISOROOT=/loc&CISOPTR=502&CISOBOX=1&REC=2 |archive-url=https://archive.today/20130403112404/http://content.lib.washington.edu/cdm4/item_viewer.php?CISOROOT=/loc&CISOPTR=502&CISOBOX=1&REC=2 |url-status=dead |archive-date=April 3, 2013 |title=Colville mission and school, St. Mary's Mission, Omak, Washington |publisher=[[Northwest Museum of Arts and Culture]] |access-date=February 24, 2013 }}</ref><ref>{{cite web |author=[[Frank S. Matsura|Matsura, Frank]] |url=http://kaga.wsulibs.wsu.edu/cdm4/item_viewer.php?CISOROOT=/matsura&CISOPTR=793&CISOBOX=1&REC=9 |title=Omak, 1910 |publisher=Washington State University |access-date=February 26, 2013 |archive-date=July 12, 2014 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140712135536/http://kaga.wsulibs.wsu.edu/cdm4/item_viewer.php?CISOROOT=%2Fmatsura&CISOPTR=793&CISOBOX=1&REC=9 |url-status=dead }}</ref>

[[File:Omak skyline 1909.jpg|thumb|left|View of Omak, 1909]]

In the 1910s, Omak was chosen as the location for a sawmill to expand [[economic growth]]. Omak Fruit Growers controlled the mill and a nearby orchard processing factory. The Biles-Coleman Lumber Company bought out the organization and built a sawmill outside municipal boundaries on the nearby Omak Mountain in 1924. A secondary sawmill was constructed in the Omak area. The company and their mills were purchased in 1975 by [[Crown Zellerbach]] and thus an associated organization{{mdash}}Cavenham Forest Industries{{mdash}}acquired the mills. The company ultimately went bankrupt, and in response, employees purchased the mill for 45&nbsp;million dollars and renamed it Omak Wood Products in an attempt to save their jobs.<ref name="sifce" /> Omak Woods Products' payroll decreased to 480 in the early 1990s and later went bankrupt themselves, along with Quality Veneer, who later owned the property for 19&nbsp;million dollars until 2000.<ref name="sifce" /> The Confederated Tribes of the Colville Reservation later purchased the mill for 6.6&nbsp;million dollars, having closed in 2009 because of low demand, ending over 130 jobs.<ref>{{cite news |url=http://seattletimes.com/html/localnews/2010219091_apwaomakmillclosing.html |title=Omak lumber mill closing in December |work=[[The Seattle Times]] |date=November 6, 2009 |access-date=March 30, 2013}}</ref> As of 2013, there are proposals to reopen the mills during the summer season.<ref>{{cite news |first=K.C. |last=Mehaffey |url=http://www.wenatcheeworld.com/news/2013/mar/30/omak-plywood-mill-to-reopen-after-four-year/ |title=Omak plywood mill to reopen after four-year shutdown |work=The Wenatchee World |date=March 30, 2013 |access-date=April 14, 2013}}</ref> The mill has since partially burned down in the Cold Springs Fire on September 8, 2020.