52- History of Robber's Roost & the Fire of 1889

The History Of The Evergreen State

The young city of Ellensburg caught fire around 10:30 p.m. on July 4th, 1889, and by the time the flames were put out four hours later, ten downtown blocks and the residences of 200 people had been destroyed.
While the location of the fire, what happened, and how the community rebuilt the city in four months are all known, the cause has never been established.
Ellensburg, the county seat of Kittitas County, is three miles from the Yakima River and Wilson Creek confluence, at Washington's geographic center. The Kittitas band of Yakama Indians, as well as other Columbia plateau tribes, gathered at the site. The town was created in 1871 by John Shoudy and Mary Ellen Stewart Shoudy, and the first streets were laid out in 1875. Ellensburg became a city in 1884. The Northern Pacific Railroad came in 1886, and the town grew, becoming a banking and commercial center as well as a social focus for the Kittitas Valley's farming and ranching communities. Ellensburg was able to quickly rebuild following the fire on July 4, 1889, because to its prosperity.
The Washington State Normal School (now Central Washington University) was founded in 1891 and quickly grew into a major employer. The downtown district was designated as a National Historic District on July 1st, 1977, and it is an excellent example of Western pioneer architecture. The annual Kittitas County Fair and Ellensburg Rodeo attracts world-class rodeo competitors and guests from all across the region every Labor Day weekend.
Listen now to learn more about this central Washington town and the fire that left it devastated in July of 1889!
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