Rock Island

History

Rock Island was officially incorporated on November 3, 1930. The area of Rock Island was used by Native American tribes for fishing and crossing of the Columbia River due to the nearby Rock Island Rapids prior to settlement of the Washington Territory. The site had been previously settled in the late 19th century and was known as Hammond; early maps sometimes show the city as Hammond P.O. (Post Office) or Power City. In the teacup valley in which Rock Island is currently located, two men, Ingraham and McBride, opened a trading post in the early 1860s. Their patrons were local Native Americans, who often fished that stretch of the Columbia when the fish were running. The two pioneering men would later move their post to the mouth of the Wenatchee River, leaving little trace of their stay. The most notable figure in Rock Island's founding is James E. Keane. As the first permanent settler to the Rock Island area, James Keane arrived with a crew of men in 1887. Keane planned to build a home and improve the land that he had acquired through the Homestead, Pre-emption, and Desert Acts. Four years later, the Great Northern Railroad made its first survey of the area and began construction toward the valley from the east. One half mile upriver from the well-known Rock Island Rapids, Mr. Keane platted a townsite he named Hammond. Hammond was located nearly 2.5 miles south of the present site of the City of Rock Island due to changes in planning by the Great Northern Railway. Keane moved his townsite to this new area and named it Rock Island, named aptly for the rock islands in the Columbia River near the site. Between 1891 and 1893, Rock Island became a town of considerable importance for the railroad. The mammoth steel bridge that was built across the Columbia drew…

Geography

According to the United States Census Bureau, the city has a total area of , of which, is land and is water. This region experiences warm (but not hot) and dry summers, with no average monthly temperatures above 71.6 °F. According to the Köppen Climate Classification system, Rock Island has a warm-summer Mediterranean climate, abbreviated "Csb" on climate maps.

Largest nearby schools

• Eastmont Senior High
  High · East Wenatchee · 1,454 students · 22:1 ratio
• Sterling Junior High School
  Middle · East Wenatchee · 751 students · 17.9:1 ratio
• Eastmont Junior High
  Middle · East Wenatchee · 711 students · 16.5:1 ratio
• Cascade Elementary
  Elementary · East Wenatchee · 615 students · 16.6:1 ratio
• Kenroy Elementary
  Elementary · East Wenatchee · 542 students · 15.5:1 ratio
• Lee Elementary
  Elementary · East Wenatchee · 541 students · 16.9:1 ratio
• Grant Elementary School
  Elementary · East Wenatchee · 494 students · 16.5:1 ratio
• Clovis Point Elementary School
  Elementary · East Wenatchee · 472 students · 15.7:1 ratio