Hatton

History

When the Northern Pacific Railway built its line through Adams County, they established a station where Hatton is and built a section and pump house. Prior to 1890, the station was named Twin Wells after the two wells that were drilled to water the railroad employees. In 1890, James Bronson established the first store and at the same time the post office was established with the name "Hatton". The name for the town was derived from the last names of the first postmistress, Belle Sutton, daughter of a local settler, and her new husband John Hackett, a Northern Pacific Railway agent from Twin Falls, Idaho. Bronson's store was purchased by Otis Algoe in 1897 who subsequently became postmaster. Hatton finally began to grow after 1901 and was platted on April 30, 1901 by James Bronson. By that time the town had four large warehouses, five stores, two hotels, a bank and a school. A newspaper, The Hatton Hustler was established during that time. Hatton was officially incorporated on July 31, 1907.

Geography

According to the United States Census Bureau, the town has a total area of , all of it land. Hatton is located within the region of Washington known as the Channeled Scablands and is situated on the west slope of the Providence Coulee with the Paradise Flats to the west and the Michigan Prairie to the east. The coulee was utilized by the Northern Pacific Railway for the construction of their main line from Portland, Oregon to Spokane. U.S. Route 395 passes just to the east of the town site, connecting the town with Interstate 90 at Ritzville in the northeast and Interstate 82 at the Tri-Cities to the southwest. The highway follows Hatton Coulee, which joins Providence Coulee immediately to the south of town. State Route 26 passes about a mile north of Hatton, connecting the town with Othello, Adams County's largest city, to the west. At the junction of Route 395 and State Route 26, about two miles east of Hatton, is the Hatton Coulee rest area operated by the Washington State Department of Transportation. There are limited services available at the junction and rest area. According to the Köppen Climate Classification system, Hatton has a semi-arid climate, abbreviated "BSk" on climate maps.

Race & ethnicity