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Elk is an unincorporated rural community in northern Spokane County,
The community was originally named Peddit's Township of Elk.
A post office in Elk has been in operation since 1892. The current post office sits on the site of the Elk Hotel, which was destroyed by fire in the early 1970s. A one-room schoolhouse was built in 1902. The town is now served by the Riverside School District, which covers most of rural northern Spokane County. In 1906 a train derailed into chain lake after emerging from a tunnel, killing nine people and injuring many others, the Train was raised from the lake a month later. after the wreck another tunnel was bored through the rock to prevent another accident, both lay decommissioned and are now private property.
During the summer Elk holds Elk Days, when it celebrates Fathers' Day and the community's history. The community gathers, usually at Elk Park, to celebrate with various vendors and festivities often including a car show and parade.
In August 2023, the community was placed under evacuation orders due to the
Washington
Washington most commonly refers to:
* George Washington (1732–1799), the first president of the United States
* Washington (state), a state in the Pacific Northwest of the United States
* Washington, D.C., the capital of the United States
** A ...
, United States. The community is located along the Little Spokane River
The Little Spokane River is a major tributary of the Spokane River, approximately long, in eastern Washington in the United States. It drains a rural area of forested foothills and a farming valley north of the city of Spokane along the Idaho– ...
in the foothills of the Selkirk Mountains
The Selkirk Mountains are a mountain range spanning the northern portion of the Idaho Panhandle, eastern Washington, and southeastern British Columbia which are part of a larger grouping of mountains, the Columbia Mountains. They begin at Mic ...
. A post office was established in the community in 1892.
History
The community was originally named Peddit's Township of Elk.
A post office in Elk has been in operation since 1892. The current post office sits on the site of the Elk Hotel, which was destroyed by fire in the early 1970s. A one-room schoolhouse was built in 1902. The town is now served by the Riverside School District, which covers most of rural northern Spokane County. In 1906 a train derailed into chain lake after emerging from a tunnel, killing nine people and injuring many others, the Train was raised from the lake a month later. after the wreck another tunnel was bored through the rock to prevent another accident, both lay decommissioned and are now private property.
During the summer Elk holds Elk Days, when it celebrates Fathers' Day and the community's history. The community gathers, usually at Elk Park, to celebrate with various vendors and festivities often including a car show and parade.
In August 2023, the community was placed under evacuation orders due to the Oregon Road Fire
The Oregon Fire was a wildfire that burned in Spokane County, Washington and Pend Oreille County, Washington, United States. (While known in some social media circles and by some media outlets as the Oregon Road Fire, the official name is the Or ...
which burned more than 10,000 acres near Elk, destroyed 126 residences and led to one fatality. The fire was determined to be human-caused.
Geography
Elk is located on the upper reaches of theLittle Spokane River
The Little Spokane River is a major tributary of the Spokane River, approximately long, in eastern Washington in the United States. It drains a rural area of forested foothills and a farming valley north of the city of Spokane along the Idaho– ...
in northern Spokane County. The community sits in the valley of the Little Spokane, which flows through Elk at approximately 1,840 feet above sea level. The surrounding terrain rises rapidly above the valley floor to elevations of 2,000 feet to the north and west and over 2,200 feet to the east and south within approximately one-fifth of a mile distance from the community. The surrounding area consists of forests and farmland with the foothills of the Selkirk Mountains
The Selkirk Mountains are a mountain range spanning the northern portion of the Idaho Panhandle, eastern Washington, and southeastern British Columbia which are part of a larger grouping of mountains, the Columbia Mountains. They begin at Mic ...
rising a few miles from Elk in almost all directions.
The community is located 3.5 miles east of U.S. Route 2
U.S. Route 2 or U.S. Highway 2 (US 2) is an east–west United States Numbered Highway System, United States Numbered Highway spanning across the northern continental United States. US 2 consists of two segments connected ...
, the major highway and thoroughfare in the region, connecting the Elk area to larger nearby cities with more services like Newport, Washington
Newport is a city in and the county seat of Pend Oreille County, Washington, Pend Oreille County, Washington (state), Washington, United States. The population was 2,114 at the 2020 United States census, 2020 census.
History
Newport was give ...
to the north and Spokane, Washington
Spokane ( ) is the most populous city in eastern Washington and the county seat of Spokane County, Washington, United States. It lies along the Spokane River, adjacent to the Selkirk Mountains, and west of the Rocky Mountain foothills, south o ...
to the south. Smaller roads like Elk– Chattaroy Road, Milan
Milan ( , , ; ) is a city in northern Italy, regional capital of Lombardy, the largest city in Italy by urban area and the List of cities in Italy, second-most-populous city proper in Italy after Rome. The city proper has a population of nea ...
–Elk Road and Elk–Camden Road connect Elk with other small communities in the area. Elk is located roughly two miles south of the Spokane- Pend Oreille county line.
References
Unincorporated communities in Spokane County, Washington Unincorporated communities in Washington (state) {{SpokaneCountyWA-geo-stub