Editing Omak, Washington (section)

===Growth===
[[File:Omak Schoolhouse.jpg|thumb|right|Omak Schoolhouse, 1910]]

The town began to develop after the completion of the Okanogan Irrigation Project, which was designed to facilitate farming. At this time, many farmers came to Omak looking for homes.<ref>{{cite web |author=[[Frank S. Matsura|Matsura, Frank]] |url=http://kaga.wsulibs.wsu.edu/cdm4/item_viewer.php?CISOROOT=/matsura&CISOPTR=790&CISOBOX=1&REC=8 |title=Streets of Omak, Washington in 1910 |publisher=Washington State University |access-date=February 26, 2013 |archive-date=June 27, 2017 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170627222515/http://kaga.wsulibs.wsu.edu/cdm4/item_viewer.php?CISOROOT=%2Fmatsura&CISOPTR=790&CISOBOX=1&REC=8 |url-status=dead }}</ref><ref>{{cite web |author=[[Frank S. Matsura|Matsura, Frank]] |url=http://kaga.wsulibs.wsu.edu/cdm4/item_viewer.php?CISOROOT=/matsura&CISOPTR=1567&CISOBOX=1&REC=2 |title=Concrete Lined Canal of the Okanogan Irrigation Project, ca. 1912 |publisher=Washington State University |access-date=March 20, 2013 |archive-date=June 27, 2017 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170627215357/http://kaga.wsulibs.wsu.edu/cdm4/item_viewer.php?CISOROOT=%2Fmatsura&CISOPTR=1567&CISOBOX=1&REC=2 |url-status=dead }}</ref> Fruits including apples, berries, peaches, plums and watermelons were cultivated after 1910.<ref>{{cite web |author=[[Frank S. Matsura|Matsura, Frank]] |url=http://kaga.wsulibs.wsu.edu/cdm4/item_viewer.php?CISOROOT=/matsura&CISOPTR=1173&CISOBOX=1&REC=12 |title=Watermelon Picnic Near Omak, Washington, ca. 1910 |publisher=Washington State University |access-date=February 26, 2013 |archive-date=June 27, 2017 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170627203400/http://kaga.wsulibs.wsu.edu/cdm4/item_viewer.php?CISOROOT=%2Fmatsura&CISOPTR=1173&CISOBOX=1&REC=12 |url-status=dead }}</ref> Omak served as a [[census-designated place]] (CDP) in 1910,<ref name="greaterplan" /> and incorporated as a city on February 11, 1911.<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.mrsc.org/library/inctable.aspx |title=Cities and Towns, State of Washington Dates of Incorporation, Disincorporation, and Changes of Classification |publisher=[[Municipal Research and Services Center]] |year=1979 |access-date=February 24, 2013 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20131126032207/http://www.mrsc.org/library/inctable.aspx |archive-date=November 26, 2013 |df=mdy-all }}</ref> Omak and Okanogan have shared a rivalry in [[High school (North America)|high school sport]]s. During the [[Great Depression of 1933]], several residents of Omak were forced to work in nearby communities. As a result, the [[United States Bureau of Reclamation]] promoted work which was available as part of an improvement project at [[Grand Coulee Dam]] in nearby [[Coulee Dam, Washington|Coulee Dam]], which employed approximately 5,000 people between 1933 and 1951 when the [[megaproject]] ended.<ref name="sifce" /> By 1950, the city was home to various buildings and structures including the St. Mary Mission church, which satisfied residential needs.<ref name="sifce" /><ref>{{cite web |url=http://content.lib.washington.edu/cdm4/item_viewer.php?CISOROOT=/loc&CISOPTR=502&CISOBOX=1&REC=2 |archive-url=https://archive.today/20130403112404/http://content.lib.washington.edu/cdm4/item_viewer.php?CISOROOT=/loc&CISOPTR=502&CISOBOX=1&REC=2 |url-status=dead |archive-date=April 3, 2013 |title=Colville mission and school, St. Mary's Mission, Omak, Washington |publisher=[[Northwest Museum of Arts and Culture]] |access-date=February 24, 2013 }}</ref><ref>{{cite web |author=[[Frank S. Matsura|Matsura, Frank]] |url=http://kaga.wsulibs.wsu.edu/cdm4/item_viewer.php?CISOROOT=/matsura&CISOPTR=793&CISOBOX=1&REC=9 |title=Omak, 1910 |publisher=Washington State University |access-date=February 26, 2013 |archive-date=July 12, 2014 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140712135536/http://kaga.wsulibs.wsu.edu/cdm4/item_viewer.php?CISOROOT=%2Fmatsura&CISOPTR=793&CISOBOX=1&REC=9 |url-status=dead }}</ref>

[[File:Omak skyline 1909.jpg|thumb|left|View of Omak, 1909]]

In the 1910s, Omak was chosen as the location for a sawmill to expand [[economic growth]]. Omak Fruit Growers controlled the mill and a nearby orchard processing factory. The Biles-Coleman Lumber Company bought out the organization and built a sawmill outside municipal boundaries on the nearby Omak Mountain in 1924. A secondary sawmill was constructed in the Omak area. The company and their mills were purchased in 1975 by [[Crown Zellerbach]] and thus an associated organization{{mdash}}Cavenham Forest Industries{{mdash}}acquired the mills. The company ultimately went bankrupt, and in response, employees purchased the mill for 45&nbsp;million dollars and renamed it Omak Wood Products in an attempt to save their jobs.<ref name="sifce" /> Omak Woods Products' payroll decreased to 480 in the early 1990s and later went bankrupt themselves, along with Quality Veneer, who later owned the property for 19&nbsp;million dollars until 2000.<ref name="sifce" /> The Confederated Tribes of the Colville Reservation later purchased the mill for 6.6&nbsp;million dollars, having closed in 2009 because of low demand, ending over 130 jobs.<ref>{{cite news |url=http://seattletimes.com/html/localnews/2010219091_apwaomakmillclosing.html |title=Omak lumber mill closing in December |work=[[The Seattle Times]] |date=November 6, 2009 |access-date=March 30, 2013}}</ref> As of 2013, there are proposals to reopen the mills during the summer season.<ref>{{cite news |first=K.C. |last=Mehaffey |url=http://www.wenatcheeworld.com/news/2013/mar/30/omak-plywood-mill-to-reopen-after-four-year/ |title=Omak plywood mill to reopen after four-year shutdown |work=The Wenatchee World |date=March 30, 2013 |access-date=April 14, 2013}}</ref> The mill has since partially burned down in the Cold Springs Fire on September 8, 2020.