Tokio, Washington
Unincorporated community, Ghost town
Tokio is located in Washington (state)
Tokio
Tokio
Tokio is located in the United States
Tokio
Tokio
Coordinates: 47°12′35″N 118°16′11″W / 47.20972°N 118.26972°W / 47.20972; -118.26972
CountryUnited States
StateWashington
CountyAdams
Elevation
[1]
1,946 ft (593 m)
Time zoneUTC-8 (Pacific (PST))
 • Summer (DST)UTC-7 (PDT)
ZIP code
99169
Area code509
GNIS feature ID1511567

Tokio is a rural location and former rural community in Adams County, in the Palouse region of eastern Washington. It is located along Interstate 90 northeast of Ritzville.[2][3]

History

In 1888, Northern Pacific Railway railway officials named the railroad stop at this location "Iona." It was changed to Tracy in 1905, and then Tokio in 1906.[4]

In the early 20th century the community had a rural school; its enrollment in 1917-18 was 10 pupils.[5][6] Essentially the small community of that period has since dissipated.[7]

Several wheat fields in Tokio and neighboring areas were destroyed by a 20,000-acre (8,100 ha) fire on July 31, 1998, which killed one farmer. His wheat crop was harvested by neighbors in a community celebration of life.[8]

The freeway exit is adjacent to a weigh station, which inspired the name of a Spokane band.[9] The weigh station has a truck stop and restaurant, along with a recreational cannabis store that opened in 2016.[10] The truck stop was also used as a filming location for The Promise, an independent movie released in 2004.[11]

References

  1. ^ "US Board on Geographic Names". United States Geological Survey. October 25, 2007. Retrieved July 25, 2018.
  2. ^ "Tokio, Washington". Geographic Names Information System. United States Geological Survey, United States Department of the Interior. Retrieved July 11, 2018.
  3. ^ Japanese Vignettes, p. 16 (1939) ("There is a Tokio in the northeastern corner of Adams County in eastern Washington")
  4. ^ Washington Place Names, Tacoma Public Library
  5. ^ Washington High School Directory 1917-18, p. 171
  6. ^ Tokio school, two photos, circa 1907-08, WashingtonRuralHeritage.org
  7. ^ Turner, Steve Amber Waves and Undertow, p. 29 (2009) ("the freeways charting this new age can't leave all history behind: they have to acknowledge significant crossroads, routes names for municipal destinations, even though those towns have withered or vanished. Accordingly, they are intersections on the Adams stretch of Interstate 90 marked for Schrag and Tokio, sites now only of grain elevators.")
  8. ^ Mapes, Lynda V. (August 6, 1998). "Sharing the burden: Neighbors harvest crop of farmer killed in fire". The Seattle Times. p. A1.
  9. ^ Jordan, Isamu (November 24, 2006). "Tokio Weigh Station falls into place". Spokesman-Review. p. 4W.
  10. ^ Vestal, Shawn (January 7, 2018). "Tokio Weigh Station's cannabis shop a literal sign of the times". Spokesman-Review. Retrieved July 11, 2018.
  11. ^ Courtney, Ross A. (September 4, 2003). "Eight-year-old Prosser girl gets a starring role". Yakima Herald-Republic. p. V1. Archived from the original on July 12, 2018. Retrieved July 11, 2018.


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