Editing Lincoln County, Washington (section)

==History==
In 1883, Lincoln County was created from a portion of Spokane County, and four days later a portion of its area was split to create [[Douglas County, Washington|Douglas County]]. There have been no further alterations to its boundary since that time.<ref name=LICO/> The name Sprague County was originally proposed, in honor of General [[John W. Sprague]], until objections from legislators resulted in the name Lincoln County being used in the final bill.<ref name="Smith-Counties">{{cite journal |last=Smith |first=Charles W. |date=July 1909 |title=The Naming of Counties in the State of Washington |page=83 |work=The Magazine of History With Notes and Queries |volume=X |issue=1 |publisher=William Abbatt |location=New York |url=https://babel.hathitrust.org/cgi/pt?id=hvd.32044090112079 |via=HathiTrust |accessdate=October 23, 2024}}</ref> Its 2,317 square miles make it the eighth-largest by area in the state.

Centuries ago, the area now covered by Lincoln County contained an east–west passageway used by indigenous peoples. A [[Spring (hydrology)|spring]] near the present-day [[Davenport, Washington|Davenport]] created a large overnight camping place.

The early [[Lewis and Clark Expedition|exploration of the Northwest Territory by Lewis and Clark]] did not reach as far north as the Lincoln County expanses. The first recorded entry by European explorers was of [[David Thompson (explorer)|David Thompson]], a scout for the [[North West Company]], who traversed the area in 1811. He noted physical locations in present-day Lincoln County. He described Hell Gate Rapid (calling it 'Strong Rapid'). That stretch of the [[Columbia River]] is now tame, because of the presence of [[Grand Coulee Dam]].<ref name =LICO/> After this, there was considerable exploration by fur trappers and others, including famed Scottish botanist [[David Douglas (botanist)|David Douglas]] in 1826.<ref name=LICO/>

Possibly the first permanent non-indigenous resident of the area was R.M. Bacon, originally from [[Boston]], who began raising cattle around Crab Creek in 1871. When the first post office was established in the county, Bacon was its postmaster.<ref name=LICO/>

Emigration into the area accelerated in the late 1870s. Completion of the [[Northern Pacific Railway]] in 1883, and construction of [[Fort Spokane]] (1880-1882) hastened settlement.