Hatton, Washington — Town That Started With Two Wells

Hatton began because steam locomotives were thirsty.

The Northern Pacific drilled wells in dry Adams County and established a station and pump house beside them. The place was sensibly called Twin Wells.

A store and post office appeared around 1890, and the station became Hatton. The commonly repeated explanation combines the surnames of postmistress Belle Sutton and railroad agent John Hackett.

By the early twentieth century, Hatton had become an important grain point with warehouses, stores, hotels, a bank, school and newspaper.

One practical advantage helped: farmers considered the roads into Hatton good. Before paved highways, that could redirect commerce as effectively as advertising.

The railroad economy later contracted and farms consolidated, leaving a much smaller town.

The wells came first because locomotives needed water. A community gathered around the pump.