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==History== {{more citations needed|section|date=March 2024}} ===Founding and early years=== At the turn of the 20th century irrigation projects, including the Columbia Basin Project east of the region, fostered the development of intensive agriculture in the shrub-steppe native to the region. Fruit orchards become one of the area's leading industries. In 1908, the [[Columbia River Bridge (Wenatchee, Washington)|first highway bridge]] to span the [[Columbia River]] opened. The privately owned bridge carried people, horses, wagons, and automobiles; it also supported two large water pipelines along its sides. It connected Chelan County on the west (Wenatchee) shore with Douglas County on the East Wenatchee shore. The bridge opened East Wenatchee and the rest of Douglas County to apple orchard development. Still standing today, the bridge is a {{convert|1060|ft|m|adj=on}} pin-connected steel cantilever bridge and cost $177,000 to build. It once carried the [[Sunset Highway (Washington)|Sunset Highway]] (State Highway 2) across the river. The bridge was the brainchild of W. T. Clark, one of the builders of the Highline Canal, a major irrigation project to water the apple orchards in the valley. It was financed in part by James J. Hill (1838β1916), of the Great Northern Railway (which arrived in Wenatchee in 1892). In its second year of operation the canal firm that owned it decided to start charging tolls. This prompted local leaders to hasten to the state legislature to persuade the state to purchase the bridge as part of the state highway system. The state purchased the bridge despite the state-employed consultant's opinion "that the ugliness of the structure is very apparent" (Dorpat), despite defects in the timber floor and concrete piers, and despite leaks in the waterpipes. The structure remained in full use until 1950 when the [[Senator George Sellar Bridge]] was built. Today, it remains as a footbridge on the [[Apple Capital Recreation Loop Trail]] and still has the old pipeline running across it. ===Incorporation and growth=== On February 28, 1935, citizens voted, 48 in favor and 46 against, to incorporate the town of East Wenatchee.<ref>East Wenatchee Order of Incorporation</ref> When the town was incorporated on March 11, 1935, the original town site was {{convert|50|acre|m2}}. Through subsequent annexations, the town has grown into a city. Today, East Wenatchee's boundaries encompass {{convert|3.67|sqmi|km2}}. From its foundation in agriculture, the region's economy has diversified to include year-round tourism and a variety of other industries. ===Landing of first trans-pacific airplane flight=== On October 5, 1931, East Wenatchee became part of aviation history. Having taken off from Misawa, Japan, pilots [[Clyde Pangborn]] and Hugh Herndon Jr. safely belly-landed their Bellanca airplane, ''[[Miss Veedol]]'', on a nearby airstrip known then as Fancher Field. After take off, the pilots intentionally jettisoned the landing gear to conserve fuel. This flight was the first nonstop flight across the Pacific Ocean. In honor of this pioneering flight, East Wenatchee's airport is called Pangborn Memorial Airport, the [[Pangborn-Herndon Memorial Site]], listed on the [[National Register of Historic Places]], is nearby, and ''Miss Veedol''{{'}}s propeller is displayed in the [[Wenatchee Valley Museum & Cultural Center]]. ===Clovis points discovery=== On May 27, 1987, East Wenatchee became part of archaeological history. On that date, while digging in an orchard just east of the city, farmworkers accidentally discovered a cache of 11,000-year-old [[Clovis point]]s and other artifacts, left there by [[Pleistocene]] hunters. The [[East Wenatchee Clovis Site]], near [[Pangborn Memorial Airport|Pangborn Airport]],<ref>{{cite news |date=May 26, 2007 |title=Clovis site owner not anxious to resume digging |url=https://www.wenatcheeworld.com/news/local/clovis-site-owner-not-anxious-to-resume-digging/article_a3b7f46d-6fa9-540f-9842-b7c59964c3ef.html |work=The Wenatchee World |accessdate=March 4, 2024}}</ref> was explored in two subsequent archaeological digs in 1988 and 1990, was closed to science by the landowner after protests by local Native American tribes. The legal moratorium on new archaeological work at the site ended on June 1, 2007.<ref>{{cite news |year=2007 |title=The Clovis Conflict |url=http://clovis.wenatcheeworld.com/ |work=The Wenatchee World |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://archive.today/20071130120620/http://clovis.wenatcheeworld.com/ |archive-date=November 30, 2007 |accessdate=March 4, 2024}}</ref>
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