Pullman, Washington | |
---|---|
City | |
Bryan Tower on the Pullman WSU campus at twilight
|
|
Nickname(s): The Lentil Capital | |
Motto: - | |
The location of Pullman in Washington |
|
Coordinates: 46°44′N 117°10′W / 46.733°N 117.167°WCoordinates: 46°44′N 117°10′W / 46.733°N 117.167°W | |
Country | United States |
State | Washington |
County | Whitman |
Government | |
• Mayor | Glenn Johnson |
Area | |
• Total | 9.88 sq mi (25.59 km2) |
• Land | 9.88 sq mi (25.59 km2) |
• Water | 0 sq mi (0 km2) |
Elevation | 2,352 ft (717 m) |
Population (2010) | |
• Total | 29,799 |
• Estimate (2015) | 32,816 |
• Density | 3,016.1/sq mi (1,164.5/km2) |
Time zone | Pacific (PST) (UTC-8) |
• Summer (DST) | PDT (UTC-7) |
ZIP codes | 99163-99165 |
Area code | 509 |
FIPS code | 53-56625 |
GNIS feature ID | 1531905 |
Website | pullman-wa.gov |
Pullman is the largest city in Whitman County, located in southeastern Washington state within the Palouse region of the Pacific Northwest. The population was 29,799 at the 2010 census, estimated to have reached 31,682 in 2014. Originally incorporated as Three Forks, the city was later renamed after industrialist George Pullman.
Pullman is noted as a vastly fertile agricultural area known for its many miles of rolling hills and the production of wheat and legumes. It is best known as the home to Washington State University, a public research land-grant university, as well as the international headquarters of Schweitzer Engineering Laboratories. Pullman is located eight miles (13 km) from Moscow, Idaho, home to the University of Idaho, and is served by the Pullman-Moscow Regional Airport.
In 2011 Bloomberg Businessweek selected Pullman as the "Best Place to Raise Kids" in Washington. Factors included affordability, safety, a family-friendly lifestyle, the quality of Pullman High School, the presence of Washington State University, and the natural beauty of the area.
About five years after European-American settlers established Whitman County on November 29, 1871, Bolin Farr arrived here, camping in 1876 at the confluence of Dry Flat Creek and Missouri Flat Creek, on the bank of the Palouse River. Within the year, Dan McKenzie and William Ellsworth arrived to stake claims for adjoining land. They named the first post office located here as Three Forks. In the spring of 1881, Orville Stewart opened a general store and Bolin Farr platted about 10 acres (40,000 m2) of his land for a town.
Pullman was incorporated 131 years ago in 1886 with a population of about 200 people. It was originally named Three Forks, after the three small rivers that converge there: Missouri Flat Creek, Dry Fork, and the South Fork of the Palouse River. In 1884, Dan McKenzie and Charles Moore (of Moscow) replatted the site and named it for American industrialist George Pullman.