Freeman, Washington | |
---|---|
Coordinates: 47°31′06″N117°11′45″W / 47.51833°N 117.19583°W | |
Country | United States |
State | Washington |
County | Spokane |
Elevation | 2,620 ft (800 m) |
Time zone | UTC-8 (Pacific (PST)) |
• Summer (DST) | UTC-7 (PDT) |
ZIP code | 99030 |
Area code | 509 |
GNIS feature ID | 1512227 [1] |
Freeman is an unincorporated community in Spokane County, Washington, United States. It is notable as being the location of the public elementary, middle and high schools serving a large area of rural southeast Spokane County.
Washington Brick and Lime, headquartered a few miles to the north in Mica, had a plant in Freeman in the late 1800s. Around the turn of the century, a number of businesses opened in Freeman. None remain in business today, but the site of the C.P. Thomas Mercantile and Post Office is now the location of Freeman Market, a small market and restaurant located at the turnoff from State Route 27. [2]
Freeman named for Freeman W. Freeman, a telegraph operator at the community's railroad station. [2] The Spokane and Inland Empire Railroad ran through the community.
On September 13, 2017, a school shooting at Freeman High School resulted in the death of one student and injuries to three others. [3]
State Route 27 runs through Freeman, connecting it with Spokane Valley, about ten miles to the north, and the rest of the Spokane area. To the south, State Route 27 connects Freeman with numerous other small towns on the Palouse. Freeman itself is located on the northern edge of the Palouse farming region, with its gentle rolling hills giving way to the foothills of the Selkirk Mountains a few miles north and east of Freeman. Mica Peak and its foothills rise immediately to the east and Krell Hill with its TV towers are visible about five miles to the northwest. Little Cottonwood Creek, an ephemeral tributary of Latah Creek, flows from the slopes of Mica Peak and along the southeastern edge of the community.
Farmland surrounds the community on all sides, with homes spaced well apart. The community itself is dominated by three schools: Freeman Elementary School, Freeman Middle School and Freeman High School. There are also grain elevators and a market on State Route 27 at Freeman.
Freeman sits at the junction of three ecoregions as defined by the World Wildlife Fund, giving the area traits from all three. The Okanagan dry forests ecoregion begins at Freeman and stretches northwest through Spokane, the Okanagan, and into the Thompson Plateau of British Columbia. Tall ponderosa pine trees are a remnant of the nature of the ecoregion prior to development of the community and agriculture. In the immediate vicinity of Freeman, the Okanagan dry forests transition into the rolling, grassy hills of Palouse grasslands ecoregion. The Palouse grasslands and Okanagan dry forests transition into the North Central Rockies forests as the land climbs up the slopes of the Selkirk Mountains immediately to the north and east. [4]
Moscow is a city and the county seat of Latah County, Idaho. Located in the North Central region of the state along the border with Washington, it had a population of 25,435 at the 2020 census. Moscow is the home of the University of Idaho, the state's land-grant institution and primary research university.
Spokane County is a county located in the U.S. state of Washington. As of the 2020 census, its population was 539,339, making it the fourth-most populous county in Washington. The largest city and county seat is Spokane, the second largest city in the state after Seattle. The county is named after the Spokane people.
Pullman is the most populous city in Whitman County, located in southeastern Washington within the Palouse region of the Pacific Northwest. The population was 32,901 at the 2020 census, and estimated to be 32,508 in 2022. Originally founded as Three Forks, the city was renamed after industrialist George Pullman in 1884.
The Inland Northwest, historically and alternatively known as the Inland Empire, is a region of the American Northwest centered on the Greater Spokane, Washington Area, encompassing all of Eastern Washington and North Idaho. Under broader definitions, Northeastern Oregon and Western Montana may be included in the Inland Northwest. Alternatively, stricter definitions may exclude Central Washington and Idaho County, Idaho.
The ecology of California can be understood by dividing the state into a number of ecoregions, which contain distinct ecological communities of plants and animals in a contiguous region. The ecoregions of California can be grouped into four major groups: desert ecoregions, Mediterranean ecoregions, forested mountains, and coastal forests.
The Palouse is a distinct geographic region of the northwestern United States, encompassing parts of north central Idaho, southeastern Washington, and, by some definitions, parts of northeast Oregon. It is a major agricultural area, primarily producing wheat and legumes. Situated about 160 miles (260 km) north of the Oregon Trail, the region experienced rapid growth in the late 19th century.
The Spokane Valley is a valley of the Spokane River through the southern Selkirk Mountains in the U.S. state of Washington. The valley is home to the cities of Spokane and its suburbs Spokane Valley, Liberty Lake, and Millwood. The valley is bounded on the north and south by the Selkirk Mountains, on the west by the Columbia River Basalt Group, and on the east by the Rathdrum Prairie at the Idaho state border. Mica Peak, located south of the valley, is the southernmost peak in the Selkirk Range. The mountain, along with surrounding peaks, separates the Spokane Valley from the Palouse. The Valley contains part of the Spokane Valley–Rathdrum Prairie Aquifer.
Milan is an unincorporated community in Spokane County, Washington, United States. It is named after the Italian city of Milan.
Dishman Hills Natural Resources Conservation Area is a 530-acre (210 ha) area protected by a combination of public and non-profit groups, located in Spokane County, Washington. The granite outcroppings, forming the bulk of the area, were originally formed 70 million years ago, by volcanic magma pushing up through the Earth's crust and then cooling. The protected Dishman Hills Natural Resources Conservation Area with its rugged, potholed appearance and deep gullies is a result of the Missoula Floods and represents one of the most ecologically diverse regions in Washington state, where forests, grasslands and shrublands converge and is within two ecoregions, the Okanagan and Northern Rockies ecoregions. The hills consist of small ravines, ponds, and large chunks of granite, that support an eco-system consisting mainly of ponderosa pine, as well as about 300 different flowering plants, and 73 different species of mushrooms. The area also supports wildlife, such as coyotes, marmots, white-tailed deer, pheasants, and dozens of species of butterflies. The Dishman Hills rise immediately south of the Dishman section of The City of Spokane Valley. Continuing south, out of the park, the elevation continues to rise to the Rocks of Sharon and the Iller Creek Conservation Area near the peak of Krell Hill.
The Eastern Cascades Slopes and Foothills ecoregion is a Level III ecoregion designated by the United States Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) in the U.S. states of Oregon, Washington, and California. In the rain shadow of the Cascade Range, the eastern side of the mountains experiences greater temperature extremes and receives less precipitation than the west side. Open forests of ponderosa pine and some lodgepole pine distinguish this region from the Cascades ecoregion, where hemlock and fir forests are more common, and from the lower, drier ecoregions to the east, where shrubs and grasslands are predominant. The vegetation is adapted to the prevailing dry, continental climate and frequent wildfire. Volcanic cones and buttes are common in much of the region.
The Columbia Plateau ecoregion is a Level III ecoregion designated by the United States Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) encompassing approximately 32,100 square miles (83,139 km2) of land within the U.S. states of Washington, Oregon, and Idaho. The ecoregion extends across a wide swath of the Columbia River Basin from The Dalles, Oregon to Lewiston, Idaho to Okanogan, Washington near the Canada–U.S. border. It includes nearly 500 miles (800 km) of the Columbia River, as well as the lower reaches of major tributaries such as the Snake and Yakima rivers and the associated drainage basins. It is named for the Columbia Plateau, a flood basalt plateau formed by the Columbia River Basalt Group during the late Miocene and early Pliocene. The arid sagebrush steppe and grasslands of the region are flanked by moister, predominantly forested, mountainous ecoregions on all sides. The underlying basalt is up to 2 miles (3 km) thick and partially covered by thick loess deposits. Where precipitation amounts are sufficient, the deep loess soils have been extensively cultivated for wheat. Water from the Columbia River is subject to resource allocation debates involving fisheries, navigation, hydropower, recreation, and irrigation, and the Columbia Basin Project has dramatically converted much of the region to agricultural use.
Mica Peak is the name of two separate mountain summits in the United States located approximately 5.49 miles (9 km) apart; one in Spokane County, Washington and the other in Kootenai County, Idaho. The two peaks are located along the same ridge, which separates the Spokane Valley and Rathdrum Prairie from the Palouse. The mountains have an elevation difference of only 31 ft (9.4 m) and are the southernmost peaks of the Selkirk Mountains.
Mica is an unincorporated community in Spokane County, Washington, United States. Mica is located along State Route 27 12 miles (19 km) southeast of downtown Spokane. Mica had a post office with ZIP code 99023.
Valleyford is an unincorporated community in Spokane County, Washington, United States. Valleyford has a post office with ZIP code 99036. Valleyford was listed to have a population of 2,913 according to the 2010 United States census.
Krell Hill, also known as Tower Mountain, is a peak at the southern end of the Selkirk Mountains in Spokane County, Washington. It rises abruptly to the southeast of the relatively flat South Hill area of the city of Spokane. An area of high topographical relief continues to the east of the mountain towards Mica Peak and the Coeur d'Alene Mountains of the Bitterroot Range, in turn part of the Rocky Mountains. To the north the mountain descends slowly along a ridge, and then into the lower Dishman Hills and eventually into Spokane Valley. To the south and west the mountain towers over relatively flat terrain, with the vast farmland of the Palouse and the Columbia Plateau extending as far as the eye can see.
Okanagan dry forests is a temperate coniferous forest ecoregion in the Pacific Northwest of North America, as defined by the World Wildlife Fund (WWF) categorization system. It is closely associated with the Okanagan region of British Columbia and Washington. Only 20% of the ecosystem is still intact, and continues to be under threat for preservation due to land clearing and urban expansion, alongside the increasing threats of fire and extreme weather due to climate change.
Latah/Hangman is a neighborhood in Spokane, Washington.
Grandview/Thorpe is a neighborhood in Spokane, Washington. Located in southwestern Spokane, the neighborhood takes its name from two roads that pass through. Grandview Boulevard, so named because of its location at the top of a ridge from which large swaths of Spokane, the Spokane Valley and surrounding mountains to the north and east such as Mount Spokane, can be seen, is located in the northern part of the neighborhood. Thorpe Road traverses a gully in the central and southern portion of the neighborhood.
West Hills is a neighborhood in Spokane, Washington. As the name suggests, the neighborhood is located on hillsides to the west of downtown Spokane. The neighborhood also extends far to the west along the West Plains to incorporate the Spokane International Airport and surrounding land. As the city has grown over the decades, the West Hills neighborhood has expanded uphill and onto the plains to the west. That history of incremental growth, combined with the hilly topography of the area cut by numerous watercourses, has broken up the neighborhood into multiple, distinct areas with swaths of undeveloped land mixed in between.
Northwest is a neighborhood in Spokane, Washington, located in the northwestern portion of the city. Largely single-family residential, Northwest is also home to Spokane's VA Medical Center, the Dwight Merkel Sports complex, a large public sports facility, and portions of Riverside State Park along the Spokane River. The neighborhood contains developments that span from the post-World War II housing boom in the east to more contemporary, suburban-style developments in the west. It was also home to Joe Albi Stadium from 1950 until 2022, which served as the Spokane region's main high school sports stadium over its seven decades of use.