Editing Waitsburg, Washington (section)

==History==
Prior to settlement by European American pioneers, the area that is now Waitsburg was home to the [[Palouse people]]. The juncture of the Touchet River and Coppei Creek, where Waitsburg would eventually develop, was recorded in the journals of the [[Lewis and Clark Expedition]] during their return trip in 1806.<ref name="HistoryLink">{{cite web |last1=Paulus Jr. |first1=Michael J. |title=Waitsburg — Thumbnail History |url=https://www.historylink.org/file/9862 |work=[[HistoryLink]] |access-date=September 27, 2024 |date=August 12, 2011}}</ref> 

Waitsburg was first settled in 1859 by Robert Kennedy. Another early settler, Albert Gallatin Lloyd, helped settle persistent confrontations with the Palouse people by negotiating a treaty allowing the native population to camp on the land that he claimed. The arrangement established by that treaty, though not backed up by law, continued informally into the 1940s.<ref name="HistoryLink"/> William Perry Bruce and his wife, Caroline, moved to Waitsburg in 1861, some two decades before Waitsburg was officially incorporated on November 25, 1881. In 1882, they built a large home in the town, which today functions as a museum.{{cn|date=March 2025}}

Early settlers raised cattle and horses and grew grain along the banks of the Touchet River and the creeks which feed into it. During the 1860s, dryland farming of the adjacent hills led to expansion of wheat production around Waitsburg. That development, along with the discovery of gold in the valley of the [[Clearwater River (Idaho)|Clearwater River]] to the east, brought an influx of population to the area. Due to the mining boom in the Clearwater region, a stagecoach line was established connecting [[Walla Walla, Washington|Walla Walla]] in the west with [[Lewiston, Idaho]], at the juncture of the Clearwater and [[Snake River|Snake Rivers]], to the east, passed through what would become Waitsburg, bringing travelers heading to and from the mines. This connection between the nascent Waitsburg community and the mining district led to a meeting between Dennis Willard, a landowner in the Waitsburg area, and Sylvester M. Wait, in Lewiston in 1864. Willard convinced Wait of the potential to ship wheat flour down the Touchet valley and allowed him to establish a mill on his land that same year.<ref name="HistoryLink"/> The city of Waitsburg would later be named for Sylvester M. Wait.<ref name=majors>{{Cite book|last=Majors|first=Harry M.|title=Exploring Washington|publisher=Van Winkle Publishing Co|year=1975|page=138|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=CoWrPQAACAAJ|isbn=978-0-918664-00-6}}</ref><ref>{{cite book|last=Meany|first=Edmond S.|title=Origin of Washington geographic names|url=https://babel.hathitrust.org/cgi/pt?id=mdp.39015027074981;view=1up;seq=346|year=1923|publisher=University of Washington Press|location=Seattle|page=330}}</ref>

[[File:Public school, Waitsburg, Washington, ca 1893 (WASTATE 117).jpeg|thumb|left|Waitsburg School circa 1893]]
With the establishment of the mill, a community began to coalesce around Wait's mill which included a school, saloon, store, hotel and post office.<ref name="HistoryLink"/> The town was platted in 1869 and named Waitsburg.<ref name="Revisit"/> By 1870, the town was home to over 100 residents in 35 dwellings and an assortment of businesses. N. J. A. Smith, an early settler and schoolmaster, called Waitsburg the only place of note between Walla Walla and Lewiston. Waitsburg's notability continued to expand throughout the 1870s, during which it would be connected by telegraph line to [[Portland, Oregon]] and with the establishment of a newspaper, the [[Waitsburg Times|''Waitsburg Times'']].<ref name="HistoryLink"/>

[[File:Washington Flouring Mills, Waitsburg, Washington, ca 1893 (WASTATE 586).jpeg|thumb|Waitsburg Mill circa 1893]]
Disaster struck on September 13, 1880, when a fire ravaged the town's business district. The area was quickly rebuilt, this time with brick, and a year later, in 1881, the [[Oregon Railroad and Navigation Company]] completed a line through Waitsburg connecting it by rail with Walla Walla and the outside world. On November 25, 1881, the city was officially incorporated as the City of Waitsburg. The original charter was revised five years later, in 1886, and the revised charter has been in place ever since. It was under the revised charter that official city services like police, fire and utilities came to the community. Waitsburg's commercial importance as a mill town continued to grow throughout this decade and the Walt's Mill, no longer owned by Walt and eventually known as Washington Mills was expanded and improved, notably with the introduction of steel machinery. By the end of the decade in 1890, Waitsburg's population exceeded 800 people.<ref name="HistoryLink"/>

The mill continued to be the economic heart of Waitsburg through the late 1800s and into the mid-20th century. In 1936 it was converted from a water-powered mill to electric. It would operate as an electric mill for over two decades until it was closed down in 1957. The abandoned mill stood until a fire destroyed it in 2009.<ref name="HistoryLink"/> Despite the closure of the mill, Waitsburg remained relatively stable economically and in terms of population throughout the second half of the 20th century as a commercial center supporting the surrounding agricultural region. 

Since the turn of the 21st century, Waitsburg's economic fortunes have been bolstered by the growth of the wine industry.<ref name="HistoryLink"/> The community is located in the [[Walla Walla AVA]] and has become a destination for wine tourists. During the first two decades of the 21st century, numerous businesses were established catering to these tourists including specialty restaurants, bars and hotels.<ref name="HistoryLink"/><ref name="Sunset" /> Waitsburg's [[Bar Barcello]] was one of 10 nominees for the 2024 [[James Beard Award]] for Best New Restaurant.<ref>{{cite web |last1=Musho |first1=Lee |date=May 14, 2024 |title=Meet the James Beard Nominees for Best New Restaurant |url=https://www.eater.com/ad/maps/james-beard-nominees-for-best-new-restaurant-map-2024 |website=eater.com |publisher=Vox Media |access-date=September 28, 2024}}</ref>

===Historic places===

Waitsburg has three properties and one designated [[historic district]] that are on the [[National Register of Historic Places]] (NRHP). The oldest is the [[William Perry Bruce House]], a Victorian [[Italianate]] home built in 1883 by town founder [[William Perry Bruce]]; it was later converted into a [[public library]] and now houses the Bruce Memorial Museum, run by the local [[historical society]].<ref>{{cite web|title=National Register of Historic Places Inventory-Nomination: William Perry Bruce House|url={{NRHP url|id=75001878}}|publisher=National Park Service|author=Robert Wayne Hergert|date=March 12, 1975}}</ref> [[Preston Hall (Waitsburg, Washington)|Preston Hall]], a former school building built in 1913, was added to the register in 1993. The modern [[Waitsburg High School]], opened in 1927, is also listed on the NRHP. The [[Waitsburg Historic District]], which encompasses most of Downtown Waitsburg, includes 23 properties that were built between 1880 and 1930.<ref name="Revisit">{{cite web |title=Waitsburg |url=https://revisitwa.org/waypoint/waitsburg/ |work=Revisiting Washington |publisher=[[Washington Trust for Historic Preservation]] |accessdate=March 14, 2025}}</ref>

{{Gallery
|title=NRHP entries in Waitsburg
|width=160 | height=170 |noborder=yes
|align=center
|File:W. P. Bruce House2 NRHP 75001878 Walla Walla County, WA.jpg 
 |[[William Perry Bruce House]]
|File:Preston Hall NRHP 92001590 Walla Walla County, WA.jpg
 |[[Preston Hall (Waitsburg, Washington)|Preston Hall]]
|File:Waitsburg High School2 NRHP 01000431 Walla Walla County, WA.jpg
 |[[Waitsburg High School]]
|File:Waitsburg-Washington.JPG
 |[[Waitsburg Historic District]]
}}