Colton, Washington — Wheat Built the Economy; Institutions Built the Community

Colton developed in southeastern Whitman County among the rolling farms of the Palouse.

German Catholic settlers were particularly influential in the community's early social life. Churches, schools and family networks gave farm families a center in country where households could otherwise be separated by miles of wheat.

Agriculture supplied the economic foundation. Grain moved through local elevators and transportation networks toward markets far beyond Whitman County.

As machinery improved and farms grew larger, fewer people were needed on the surrounding acreage. Colton remained small, but its institutions helped preserve an identity that was never reducible to grain storage.

Wheat explains how families made a living here. Church, school and neighbors explain why the place became more than a collection of farms.