Garrett, Washington — Space Between Two Cities Filled In

Garrett occupies the developed ground between Walla Walla and College Place.

Once, agricultural land created clearer separation between the two cities. As homes, businesses and streets spread outward, much of that open space disappeared without every parcel being annexed into either municipality.

Garrett is the consequence: suburban-looking neighborhoods in county jurisdiction, physically woven into the same urban area as their incorporated neighbors.

From the road, the boundary can be almost impossible to detect. A street does not change personality simply because one side answers to a different government.

Garrett is what happens when two cities grow toward each other faster than their legal boundaries do. The empty space filled in; the lines on the map stayed complicated.