Plain, Washington — Name Is Plainer Than the Landscape

Plain sits in the upper Wenatchee River country near the road toward Lake Wenatchee.

Local tradition says early residents debated more elaborate names before settling on “Plain,” a choice whose lack of decoration became more memorable than any fancy alternative probably would have been.

The surrounding landscape is anything but plain. Forested mountains rise around the valley, winter snow supports cross-country skiing and recreation, and farms and homes occupy the more open ground below.

The community also inherited a piece of a neighbor's history. After the old Winton school closed, the schoolhouse was moved to Plain and preserved near the modern elementary school.

That is a fitting arrangement for a place whose own name suggests simplicity: Plain kept growing quietly while a building from a fading lumber town followed the children.