PORT MISSION AND HISTORY

Mission Statement:

"The Port of Whitman County is dedicated to improving the quality of life for all citizens of Whitman County through industrial real estate development, preservation of multi-modal transportation, facilitation of economic development and provision of on-water recreational opportunities."

History

Long before the Port District was organized, steamboats carried orchard and grain products on the Snake and Columbia Rivers to coastal markets in the west as early as the 1880s.

On November 4, 1958, an election was held in conjunction with the General Election, to establish a Port District in Whitman County to be known as the Port of Whitman County.  There were 6,653 votes cast in favor of the district and 2,503 votes against.  On November 20, 1958, the County Commissioners established a Port District in Whitman County.

The people of Whitman County formed the Port to do three specific things:

1. Provide access to slack water navigation on the Columbia/Snake River system;
2. Promote industrial development; and,
3. Provide recreation opportunities on the Snake River.

The first meeting of the Port was held on January 15, 1959, in the County Commissioners’ room in the Courthouse at approximately 2:30 p.m.  At that time the Port Commission (having been duly elected to the position the previous year) elected D. I. Hopkins as President, Walter N. Nelson as Vice President, and Lawrence Hickman as Secretary.

The actual development and improvement of the on-water sites started in 1969 at the Port of Almota.  Since then, the Ports of Central Ferry and Wilma, Boyer Park & Marina, the Pullman Industrial Park and the Colfax Industrial Park have been established and constructed. The Port is now primarily an industrial real estate developer, measuring part of its success in terms of new jobs created and new tax base developed rather than maximum return on investment.  Although integral to the Port, the recreation provider aspect of the Port’s mission has become secondary to the industrial and economic development aspects.