Mabton, Washington

History

The Mabton area's original inhabitants were the Yakama people, who were forced onto a reservation in 1855. Mabton's existence as a town is due to the Northern Pacific Railway, which arrived in the area around 1884 and built a water tower and section house on the site. Nothing else existed at Mabton until 1892 when Sam P. Flower built a store and a warehouse. He soon became the town's first postmaster. Mabton was named by Charlie Sandburg, a Swedish railworker, who proposed the name "Mabletown" for the wife (or daughter) of a railroad official who had spoken kind words to track workers during an inspection. By 1895, Mabton had several stores, a hotel, a railroad depot and a schoolhouse. The Mabton Townsite Company, formed by Sam P. Flower and J.A. Humphrey, made the first plat in 1902, and by 1904, it had more than a dozen businesses and a newspaper. The town of Mabton officially incorporated on November 7, 1905.

Today, residents primarily are employed in occupations related to agriculture, especially hop growing and grape growing.

The Mabton School District has been the repeated beneficiary of grants from the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation:

$558,000 over five years (from 2000 to 2005) to enhance student access to technology;

From the History section of Mabton, Washington on Wikipedia, under CC BY-SA 4.0.