Editing Kennewick, Washington (section)

==History==
{{main|Timeline of the Tri-Cities, Washington}}

===Native peoples===
Native Americans populated the area around modern-day Kennewick for millennia before being discovered and settled by European descendants. These inhabitants consisted of people from the [[Umatilla people|Umatilla]], [[Wanapum]], [[Nez Perce people|Nez Perce]], and [[Yakama]] tribes. Kennewick's low elevation helped to moderate winter temperatures. On top of this, the riverside location made salmon and other river fish easily accessible. By the 19th century, people lived in and between two major camps in the area. These were located near present-day [[Sacajawea State Park]] in Pasco and Columbia Point in Richland. [[Lewis and Clark Expedition|Lewis and Clark]] noted that there were many people living in the area when they passed through in 1805 and 1806.<ref name=HistoryLink>{{cite web |url=https://www.historylink.org/File/8499 |title=Kennewick — Thumbnail History |first=Jim |last=Kershner |date=March 2, 2008 |work=[[HistoryLink]] |access-date=December 28, 2019 |archive-date=December 17, 2019 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20191217213321/https://www.historylink.org/File/8499 |url-status=live }}</ref> The map produced following their journey marks two significant villages in the area - Wollawollah and Selloatpallah. These had approximate populations of 2,600 and 3,000 respectively.<ref>{{cite map |author1=Lewis, Samuel |author2=Clark, William |title=A map of Lewis and Clark's track across the western portion of North America, from the Mississippi to the Pacific Ocean : by order of the executive of the United States in 1804, 5 & 6 |url=https://www.loc.gov/resource/g4126s.ct000763/?r=0.133,0.121,0.215,0.133,0 |year=1814 |scale=1:4,400,000 |publisher=Longman, Hurst, Rees, Orme & Brown |access-date=April 21, 2020 |archive-date=March 16, 2021 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210316133708/https://www.loc.gov/resource/g4126s.ct000763/?r=0.133%2C0.121%2C0.215%2C0.133%2C0 |url-status=live }}</ref>

There are conflicting stories on how Kennewick gained its name, but these narratives attribute it to the Native Americans living in the area. Some reports claim that the name comes from a native word meaning "grassy place".<ref name=majors>{{Cite book |last=Majors |first=Harry M. |title=Exploring Washington |publisher=Van Winkle Publishing Co |year=1975 |page=134 |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=CoWrPQAACAAJ |isbn=978-0-918664-00-6 |access-date=October 15, 2016 |archive-date=January 2, 2020 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200102082345/https://books.google.com/books?id=CoWrPQAACAAJ |url-status=live }}</ref> It has also been called "winter paradise", mostly because of the mild winters in the area. In the past, Kennewick has also been known by other names. The area was known as Tehe from 1886 to 1891, and this name appears on early letters sent to the area with the city listed as Tehe, Washington.<ref>{{cite news |last=Hagey |first=Jason |date=January 12, 1997 |title=Tehe And Yakitat All But Lost In History Of Benton County |url=https://archive.seattletimes.com/archive/?date=19970112&slug=2518395 |work=[[The Seattle Times]] |access-date=April 21, 2020 |archive-date=March 16, 2021 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210316151823/https://archive.seattletimes.com/archive/?date=19970112&slug=2518395 |url-status=live }}</ref> Other reports claim that the city's name is derived from how locals pronounced the name Chenoythe, who was a member of the [[Hudson's Bay Company]].<ref name=TCH>{{cite news |url=https://www.tri-cityherald.com/news/special-reports/article32047965.html |title=Brief history of Kennewick up to 1909 |first=R. E. |last=Read |work=Tri-City Herald |date=February 19, 1950 |access-date=December 28, 2019 |archive-date=December 30, 2019 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20191230131442/https://www.tri-cityherald.com/news/special-reports/article32047965.html |url-status=live }}</ref>

===Settlement and early 20th century===
[[File:Businessmen at the Kennewick train station, September 1908 (WASTATE 1471).jpeg|thumb|left|Businessmen from the [[Seattle Metropolitan Chamber of Commerce|Seattle Chamber of Commerce]] visiting Kennewick in 1908.]]
The [[Umatilla people|Umatilla]] and [[Yakama]] tribes ceded the land Kennewick sits on at the [[Walla Walla Council (1855)|Walla Walla Council]] in 1855.<ref name=Study>{{cite book |title=Hanford Reach of the Columbia River |publisher=[[National Park Service]] |date=1992}}</ref> Ranchers began working with cattle and horses in the area as early as the 1860s, but in general settlement was slow due to the arid climate. [[Ainsworth, Washington|Ainsworth]] became the first non-Native settlement in the area—where [[U.S. Route 12 in Washington|U.S. Route 12]] now crosses the [[Snake River]] between Pasco and [[Burbank, Washington|Burbank]]. Some Ainsworth residents would commute to what is now Kennewick via small boats for work. All that remains of Ainsworth is a marker placed by the [[Washington State Department of Transportation]] near the site.<ref>{{cite web |url=https://explore-wa.com/roadside-markers-of-washington/ |title=Roadside Markers of Washington |date=October 4, 2018 |publisher=Explore Washington |access-date=December 30, 2019 |archive-date=December 30, 2019 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20191230192822/https://explore-wa.com/roadside-markers-of-washington/ |url-status=live }}</ref>

During the 1880s, [[steamboat]]s and railroads connected what would become known as Kennewick to the other settlements along the Columbia River.<ref name=HistoryLink /> Until the construction of a railroad bridge, rail freight from [[Minneapolis]] to [[Tacoma, Washington|Tacoma]] had to cross the Columbia River via ferry.<ref>[http://historylink.org/index.cfm?DisplayPage=output.cfm&file_id=5365 "First trains cross the Northern Pacific Railroad bridge spanning the Columbia River between Pasco and Kennewick on December 3, 1887."] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20081202112509/http://www.historylink.org/index.cfm?displaypage=output.cfm&file_id=5365 |date=December 2, 2008 }}, History Link; Retrieved November 16, 2009.</ref> In 1887, a temporary railroad bridge was constructed by the [[Northern Pacific Railroad]] connecting Kennewick and Pasco. That bridge could not endure the winter ice on the Columbia and was partially swept away in the first winter. A new, more permanent bridge was built in its place in 1888. It was around this time that a town plan was first laid out, centered around the needs of the railroad. A school was constructed using donated funds, but this burned soon after it was finished. This initial boom only lasted briefly, as most of the people who came to Kennewick left after the bridge was finished.<ref name=TCH />

In the 1890s, the Northern Pacific Irrigation Company installed pumps and ditches to bring [[Irrigation|water for agriculture]] into the Kennewick Highlands. Once there was a reliable water source, orchards and vineyards were planted all over the Kennewick area. Strawberries were another successful crop.<ref>Gibson, Elizabeth. [http://historylink.org/index.cfm?DisplayPage=output.cfm&file_id=5671 "Benton County&nbsp;– Thumbnail History"] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20100615153333/http://historylink.org/index.cfm?DisplayPage=output.cfm&file_id=5671 |date=June 15, 2010 }}. ''HistoryLink.org''. March 29, 2004. Retrieved February 28, 2010.</ref> The turn of the century saw the creation of the city's first newspaper, the ''Columbia Courier''. Kennewick was officially incorporated on February 5, 1904. and the name of the newspaper changed to the ''Kennewick Courier'' in 1905 to reflect this change.<ref name=KennCourier>{{cite web |url=https://chroniclingamerica.loc.gov/lccn/sn87093029/ |title=About The Kennewick Courier. (Kennewick, Wash.) 1905-1914 |publisher=[[Library of Congress]] |access-date=December 30, 2019 |archive-date=October 19, 2020 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20201019014745/https://chroniclingamerica.loc.gov/lccn/sn87093029/ |url-status=live }}</ref> In the following decade, an unsuccessful bid attempted to move the seat of Benton County from [[Prosser, Washington|Prosser]] to Kennewick. There have been other unsuccessful attempts to make this move throughout the city's history, most recently in 2010.<ref>Gibson, Elizabeth. [http://historylink.org/index.cfm?DisplayPage=output.cfm&file_id=7744 "Voters fail to move Benton County seat from Prosser following rivalry with Benton City and Kennewick on November 5, 1912."] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20100615213452/http://historylink.org/index.cfm?DisplayPage=output.cfm&file_id=7744 |date=June 15, 2010 }} ''HistoryLink.org''. May 29, 2006. Retrieved February 28, 2010.</ref><ref>{{cite news |title=Benton County seat move debated with editors |last=Trumbo |first=John |url=https://www.tri-cityherald.com/news/local/article31789836.html |work=Tri-City Herald |date=September 22, 2010 |access-date=December 30, 2019 |archive-date=December 30, 2019 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20191230203121/https://www.tri-cityherald.com/news/local/article31789836.html |url-status=live }}</ref>

In 1915, the opening of the [[Celilo Canal]] connected Kennewick to the Pacific Ocean via the Columbia River. City residents hoped to capitalize on this new infrastructure by forming the Port of Kennewick, making the city an [[inland port|inland seaport]]. Freight and passenger ship traffic began that same year. The port also developed rail facilities in the area.<ref name=PortHistory>{{cite web |url=https://www.portofkennewick.org/history/ |title=History |publisher=Port of Kennewick |access-date=December 30, 2019 |archive-date=September 29, 2020 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200929180410/https://www.portofkennewick.org/history/ |url-status=live }}</ref> Transportation in the region further improved with the construction of the [[Pasco-Kennewick Bridge (1922)|Pasco-Kennewick Bridge]] in 1922, which is locally known as the Green Bridge. This bridge connected the two cities by vehicle traffic for the first time.<ref>{{cite book |title=Washington Then & Now |first=Paul |last=Dorpat |author2=Sherrard, Jean |page=106 |year=2007 |publisher=Big Earth Publishing |isbn=978-1-56579-547-1}}</ref><ref name=HLPasco>{{cite web |url=https://www.historylink.org/File/8604 |title=Pasco — Thumbnail History |first=Jim |last=Kershner |work=HistoryLink |date=May 1, 2008 |access-date=December 30, 2019 |archive-date=December 30, 2019 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20191230192829/https://www.historylink.org/File/8604 |url-status=live }}</ref> Kennewick and Pasco both experienced decent growth and became informally known as the Twin Cities throughout the Columbia Basin because of their juxtaposition across the river from each other.

Like many other agricultural communities, the [[Great Depression]] had an impact in Kennewick. Despite lowered prices for crops grown in the region, the city continued to experience growth, gaining another 400 people during the 1930s. Growth was aided by federal projects that improved the Columbia River. Downstream, [[Bonneville Dam]] at [[Cascade Locks, Oregon]] allowed larger barges to reach Kennewick. [[Grand Coulee Dam]], located upstream of Kennewick, fostered irrigation across the Columbia Basin north of Pasco, sending more raw material through Kennewick.<ref name=HistoryLink />

===Post-war development===
[[File:Blue Bridge from Columbia Park.jpg|thumb|The [[Blue Bridge (Washington)|Blue Bridge]] as seen from [[Columbia Park (Tri-Cities)|Columbia Park]].]]
Kennewick and the greater Tri-Cities area experienced significant changes during [[World War II]]. In 1943, the United States opened the [[Hanford Site|Hanford nuclear site]] in and north of Richland. Its purpose originally was to help produce nuclear weaponry, which the US was trying to develop. People came from across the United States to work at Hanford, who were unaware of what they were actually producing. They were only told that their work would help the war effort.<ref name=HanfordHistory>{{cite web |url=https://www.hanford.gov/page.cfm/HanfordHistory |title=Hanford History |publisher=[[United States Department of Energy]] |access-date=December 30, 2019 |archive-date=September 2, 2021 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210902190024/https://www.hanford.gov/page.cfm/HanfordHistory |url-status=live }}</ref> The federal government constructed housing in Richland, but many employees of that site then [[commuting|commuted]] from Kennewick. The [[plutonium]] refined at the Hanford Site was used in the [[Fat Man]] bomb, which was dropped in [[Nagasaki]] in 1945. As the Hanford Site's purpose has evolved, there has continually been a tremendous influence from the site on the workforce and economy of Kennewick.<ref>{{cite news |title=Early Hanford Workers Remember Dust, Security |last=Cary |first=Annette |url=https://www.tri-cityherald.com/news/local/hanford/article32146359.html |work=Tri-City Herald |date=October 6, 2013 |access-date=December 30, 2019 |archive-date=December 31, 2019 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20191231175151/https://www.tri-cityherald.com/news/local/hanford/article32146359.html |url-status=live }}</ref><ref name=PI/> Due to activity at the Hanford Site, the [[1950 United States census|1950 census]] recorded major population growth in the Tri-Cities, with Richland overtaking to become the largest city in the region. From 1940 to 1950, the population of Richland grew from 247 residents to 21,793 residents, while Pasco gained from 3,913 to 10,114, and Kennewick increased from 1,918 to 10,085.<ref>{{cite news |last=Fussell |first=E. B. |date=July 23, 1950 |title=King, Pierce Account for More Than Half of State's Census Gain |page=38 |work=[[The Seattle Times]]}}</ref>

An effort to build a new bridge began in 1949 and was funded in 1951 because of increasing traffic between Kennewick and Pasco, largely due to commuters heading to and from the Hanford Site in Richland and [[McNary Dam]], which was under construction near [[Umatilla, Oregon]]. The two-lane Green Bridge was the only one for automobiles across the Columbia River in the Tri-Cities at the time, and the 10,000 cars crossing it daily had created traffic problems. A new four-lane divided highway bridge, dubbed the [[Blue Bridge (Washington)|Blue Bridge]], opened in 1954 less than {{convert|2|mi|km}} upstream from the Green Bridge.<ref>{{cite news |last=Miller |first=Roland |date=July 30, 1954 |title=New Columbia River Bridge Linking Tri-Cities Opened |page=1 |work=[[Walla Walla Union-Bulletin]]}}</ref> The [[Cable Bridge]] opened between Kennewick and Pasco in 1978 and was built to replace the Green Bridge. However, demolishing the Green Bridge proved to be controversial. Those seeking to preserve the bridge for historical reasons were able to stall the demolition, but it was eventually torn down in 1990.<ref>{{cite book |title=Great American Bridges and Dams |first=Donald C. |last=Jackson |author2=McCullough, David G. |year=1988 |publisher=[[John Wiley & Sons]] |isbn=0-471-14385-5 |pages=68–70 |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=v3WWvdOUcFEC&q=Pasco-Kennewick+Bridge+1922&pg=PA314 |access-date=November 28, 2020 |archive-date=March 16, 2021 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210316152012/https://books.google.com/books?id=v3WWvdOUcFEC&q=Pasco-Kennewick+Bridge+1922&pg=PA314 |url-status=live |via=[[Google Books]]}}</ref>

===20th century racial discrimination===
Racial discrimination against African Americans was common in Kennewick before the [[civil rights movement]]. The city was a [[sundown town]], requiring African Americans to be out of the city after nightfall. The only place they could live in the Tri-Cities at one time was east Pasco. Even during the day, African Americans would experience harassment by the general public and police, with some police officers stopping every person of color they found in the city after dark.<ref name=Unproved>{{cite news|title=Discrimination Held Unproved |url=https://www.newspapers.com/article/spokane-chronicle/97847249/ |date=May 17, 1963 |page=6 |work=[[The Spokesman-Review]] |via=[[Newspapers.com]]}}</ref>  In the 1940s, [[covenant (law)|covenants]] restricted African Americans from owning property in the city. After the [[United States Supreme Court|U.S. Supreme Court]] ruled in ''[[Shelley v. Kraemer]]'' that racially restrictive covenants could not be enforced in state courts, these were replaced by informal agreements between homeowners and realtors to refuse to sell to African Americans.<ref>{{cite journal |last1=Bauman |first1=Robert |date=Summer 2005 |title=Jim Crow in the Tri-Cities, 1943-1950 |url=https://www.jstor.org/stable/40491852 |journal=[[The Pacific Northwest Quarterly]] |volume=96 |issue=3 |pages=124–131 |jstor=40491852 |access-date=27 September 2021 |archive-date=March 8, 2021 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210308105753/https://www.jstor.org/stable/40491852 |url-status=live }}</ref>

Kennewick's racial discrimination problems became a contributing factor behind a community college not being built there in the 1950s.<ref>{{cite news|title=Tri-City Racial Problems Shake Junior College Plans |date=December 10, 1954 |page=14 |work=The Spokesman-Review}}</ref> In 1963, regional [[NAACP]] leaders started pressuring the state government to investigate exclusionary practices and staged demonstrations in front of city hall.<ref>{{cite news|title=State Board Will Hold Meeting at Kennewick |url=https://www.newspapers.com/article/spokane-chronicle/97846838/ |date=May 13, 1963 |page=6 |work=The Spokesman-Review |via=Newspapers.com}}</ref><ref>{{cite news|title=Kennewick Marchers Point to City's Racial Problems |url=https://www.newspapers.com/article/the-spokesman-review-kennewick-marchers/157976492/ |date=May 19, 1968 |page=18 |work=The Spokesman-Review |via=Newspapers.com}}</ref> Initial meetings led the state to determine that while no official policy banning African Americans from the city existed, racial discrimination was a significant barrier to that community living and feeling safe.<ref name=Unproved /> Despite this, the Washington State Board Against Discrimination indicted Kennewick for its sundown town status.<ref>{{cite news|title=Negro March Won't Stress Kennewick |url=https://www.newspapers.com/article/the-spokesman-review/97846498/ |date=May 12, 1963 |page=2 |work=The Spokesman-Review |via=Newspapers.com}}</ref><ref>{{cite news |title=Charge Kennewick As 'Sundown Town' |first=Joe |last=Rigert |agency=[[Associated Press]] |work=[[Port Angeles Evening News]] |location=[[Port Angeles, Washington]] |date=July 9, 1963 |page=1 |url=https://www.newspapers.com/clip/29368072/ |via=Newspapers.com |quote=A state civil rights board indicated Tuesday Kennewick has virtually barred its gates to Negroes and gained a reputation as a 'sundown town' where Negroes must leave after dark. |access-date=March 10, 2019 |archive-date=March 16, 2021 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210316140400/https://www.newspapers.com/clip/29368072/port-angeles-evening-news/ |url-status=live }}</ref><ref name=TCHDiscrimination>{{cite news |title=Black Tri-Citians Reflect on Struggles, Progress |last=Pihl |first=Kristi |url=https://www.tri-cityherald.com/news/local/article31806114.html |work=Tri-City Herald |date=February 14, 2011 |access-date=December 30, 2019 |archive-date=January 4, 2020 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200104043249/https://www.tri-cityherald.com/news/local/article31806114.html |url-status=live }}</ref>

===1980 to present===
The [[1980 eruption of Mount St. Helens]] caused [[volcanic ash]] to fall on Kennewick.<ref>{{cite news |last=Dullenty |first=Jim |date=May 19, 1980 |title=Ash chokes Eastern Washington roads |page=1 |work=Tri-City Herald |url=https://www.newspapers.com/clip/118474119/ash-chokes-eastern-washington-roads/ |via=Newspapers.com |accessdate=February 11, 2023}}</ref> Higher accumulations were recorded in surrounding communities, such as [[Ritzville, Washington|Ritzville]], and the ash plume was thick enough to trigger street lamps to turn on at noon. Cars that didn't have external filters stopped functioning during the eruption.<ref>{{cite news |title=6 inches of Mt. St. Helens ash fell on Lind, WA; half as much on closer cities |url=https://www.nbcrightnow.com/archives/inches-of-mt-st-helens-ash-fell-on-lind-wa/article_7298dd4b-8877-50a6-a01c-63aa4f0cf27e.html |publisher=KNDU-TV |date=May 15, 2017 |access-date=December 30, 2019 |archive-date=September 8, 2020 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200908035635/https://www.nbcrightnow.com/archives/inches-of-mt-st-helens-ash-fell-on-lind-wa/article_7298dd4b-8877-50a6-a01c-63aa4f0cf27e.html |url-status=live }}</ref> Kennewick and surrounding areas have been dusted by smaller eruptions of [[Mount St. Helens]] since.<ref>{{cite news |title=Volcano's ash burp dusts Tri-Cities |url=https://www.tri-cityherald.com/latest-news/article31767534.html |work=Tri-City Herald |date=February 15, 1991 |access-date=December 30, 2019 |archive-date=January 4, 2020 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200104043141/https://www.tri-cityherald.com/latest-news/article31767534.html |url-status=live }}</ref>

The area was connected to the [[Interstate Highway System]] in 1986 when construction on [[Interstate 82]] (I-82) between [[Benton City, Washington|Benton City]] and the south end of Kennewick was completed.<ref>{{cite news |last=Woehler |first=Bob |date=February 23, 1986 |title=Final ribbon cut on I82, 182 highway links |page=B1 |work=Tri-City Herald}}</ref> This came after over a decade of fighting between Washington and Oregon regarding the planned route of the freeway. With backing from Tri-Cities and [[Walla Walla, Washington|Walla Walla]] area businesses, Washington had pushed for a route that connected those cities.<ref name="TCH-1984">{{cite news |last=Woehler |first=Bob |date=November 25, 1984 |title=I-82 saga was 25-year freeway tug-of-war |page=C4 |work=Tri-City Herald}}</ref> Oregon eventually opposing proposed routes that didn't cross the [[Umatilla Bridge]], a compromise was reached placing I-82 on its current alignment to the south and southwest of Kennewick while authorizing the construction of [[Interstate 182]] as a spur heading directly into Richland and Pasco.<ref>{{cite news |last=Abeyta |first=Terry |date=August 9, 1973 |title=1-82 county bypass: 'Inevitable' |page=5 |work=Walla Walla Union-Bulletin}}</ref><ref>{{cite news |date=June 8, 1969 |title=Two highway hearings set |page=2 |work=Walla Walla Union-Bulletin}}</ref>

The 1980s also brought the two most serious attempts to merge Kennewick with the other cities in the Tri-Cities, both of which failed. This resulted from an economic down turn in the area caused by the cancellation of two proposed nuclear power plants on the Hanford Site. The first proposal was to consolidate all three cities (Kennewick, Pasco, and Richland) into one, while the second only included Kennewick and Richland. Support for both of these attempts was strong in Richland, but voters in Kennewick and Pasco were not on board.<ref>{{cite news |title=Tri-Cities may become Bi-Cities; Pasco would get boot |last=Geranlos |first=Nicholas |work=[[The Spokesman-Review]] |date=May 23, 1988}}</ref>

The [[Toyota Center (Kennewick)|Toyota Center]] was used as a venue for ice hockey and figure skating during the [[1990 Goodwill Games]].<ref>{{cite news |last=Swenson |first=John |title=Tri-Cities welcomes Goodwill Games while Soviets fume |url=https://www.upi.com/Archives/1990/07/25/Tri-Cities-welcomes-Goodwill-Games-while-Soviets-fume/7494648878400/ |publisher=United Press International |date=July 25, 1990 |access-date=December 12, 2018 |archive-date=December 15, 2018 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20181215224827/https://www.upi.com/Archives/1990/07/25/Tri-Cities-welcomes-Goodwill-Games-while-Soviets-fume/7494648878400/ |url-status=live }}</ref> This international sporting competition was similar to the [[Olympic Games]], but significantly smaller in scale. Most of the events were held in the host city, [[Seattle]], but were also staged in other areas of the state, including [[Tacoma, Washington|Tacoma]] and [[Spokane, Washington|Spokane]].<ref>{{cite news |last=Wilma |first=David |title=Ted Turner's Goodwill Games open in Seattle on July 20, 1990 |url=http://historylink.org/File/5658 |work=HistoryLink |date=February 25, 2004 |access-date=December 12, 2018 |archive-date=March 1, 2021 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210301015801/https://www.historylink.org/File/5658 |url-status=live }}</ref>

In 1996, an ancient human skeleton was found on a bank of the Columbia River. Known as [[Kennewick Man]], the remains are notable for their age (some 9,300 years). Ownership of the bones has been a matter of [[Kennewick Man#Ownership controversy|controversy]] with Native American tribes in the Inland Northwest claiming the bones to be from an ancestor of theirs and wanting them to be reburied. After a court litigation, a group of researchers were allowed to study the remains and perform various tests and analyses. They published their results in a book in 2014. A 2015 genetic analysis confirmed the ancient skeleton's ancestry to the Native Americans of the area (some observers contended that the remains were of European origin). The genetic analysis has notably contributed to knowledge about the [[peopling of the Americas]].<ref>{{cite news |url=https://www.bbc.com/news/science-environment-33170655 |title=DNA reignites Kennewick Man debate |last=Morelle |first=Rebecca |author-link=Rebecca Morelle |work=[[BBC News]] |date=June 18, 2015 |access-date=December 30, 2019 |archive-date=February 2, 2020 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200202101119/https://www.bbc.com/news/science-environment-33170655 |url-status=live }}</ref>

Kennewick fared better than most of the state during the [[Great Recession]], primarily due to consistent job growth in the metro area during that time. This was largely driven by the Hanford Site, which only had one significant period of layoffs which briefly caused economic uncertainty. Home sales experienced a small decline from 2007 to 2009, but rebounded in 2010.<ref>{{cite web |url=https://www.huduser.gov/portal/publications/pdf/Kennewick-RichlandWA-CHMA-18.pdf |title=COMPREHENSIVE HOUSING MARKET ANALYSIS - Kennewick-Richland, WA |publisher=[[United States Department of Housing and Urban Development]] |date=October 1, 2018 |access-date=December 30, 2019 |archive-date=October 16, 2020 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20201016191144/https://www.huduser.gov/portal/publications/pdf/Kennewick-RichlandWA-CHMA-18.pdf |url-status=live }}</ref><ref>{{cite news |url=https://www.tricitiesbusinessnews.com/2018/05/experts-say-region-poised-for-continued-growth/ |title=Experts say region poised for continued growth |work=Tri-Cities Business News |date=2018 |access-date=December 30, 2019 |archive-date=December 30, 2019 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20191230220144/https://www.tricitiesbusinessnews.com/2018/05/experts-say-region-poised-for-continued-growth/ |url-status=live }}</ref> Since the recession, Kennewick has expanded greatly. While growth has been experienced throughout the city, new development has been strongest in the Southridge area along [[U.S. Route 395 in Washington|U.S. Route 395]] (US&nbsp;395) and in the west part of the city thanks to their access to major roads and the ample land available in those areas when development started.<ref name=ComprehensivePlan>{{cite web |url=https://www.go2kennewick.com/DocumentCenter/View/9723/Comprehensive-Plan-Together-we-are-One-Kennewick |title=Together we are one Kennewick |publisher=City of Kennewick |date=2017 |access-date=December 30, 2019 |archive-date=October 17, 2020 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20201017000051/https://www.go2kennewick.com/DocumentCenter/View/9723/Comprehensive-Plan-Together-we-are-One-Kennewick |url-status=dead }}</ref>