Ferry County is a county located on the northern border of the U.S. state of Washington. As of the 2020 census, the population was 7,178, making it the fourth-least populous county in Washington. The county seat and largest city is Republic. The county was created out of Stevens County in February 1899 and is named for Elisha P. Ferry, the state's first governor.
Etymology
The county was first slated by the state government to be named "Eureka County", but was revised while the bill was in discussion to "Ferry County" in recognition of the Territory's last governor and the State's first governor, Elisha P. Ferry. The change is suggested to have happened as a bookend to the naming of Stevens County, named for the first governor of Washington Territory.
History
The Territorial Legislature of Washington Territory first carved Stevens County from Walla Walla County in 1863 to encompass all the land from the Columbia River west to the Cascades and north of the Wenatchee River. On January 20, 1864, the original territorial Spokane County was dissolved and merged with the unorganized Stevens County. On February 2, 1888 the western expanse of territorial Stevens County was sectioned off by dividing the county in half along the Okanogan Highlands crest. Eleven years later, on February 18, 1899, the western section of Stevens County was again sectioned off, this time along the Columbia, to form Ferry County. Following the 1922 primary elections, a group of citizens called for an investigation into possible election irregularities. The group claimed that two of that years voting precincts had been formed unlawfully in conjunction with misconduct in six precincts by election officers and the canvassing board. As a result of the actions, the validity of two candidates were called in question. Demands were made that Thomas F. Barker, seeking re-election as sheriff, and John W. McCool, seeking the County Treasurer seat, be barred from the ballot. Barker was notably facing charges at the federal level at that time from allegations of conspiring and abetting bootleggers.
During the Great Depression several Civilian Conservation Corps camps were opened in the County, with Camp Growden on Sherman Creek, between Sherman Pass and Kettle Falls being the largest and longest running. The Camp was open between 1934 and 1941, while smaller and "spike" camps were seasonally staffed on Boulder Pass, in Republic, near Quartz Mountain, and around Mount Bonaparte to the west.
The original county courthouse, made of wood, burned in 1934. Its replacement, made of concrete and stucco, was under consideration beginning in 2018 for historical preservation. Among them was the Mount Leona Fire which burned for several weeks and encompassed over 6,000 acres in the central Kettle River range northeast of Curlew Lake.
Geography
thumb|right|The Sanpoil River flows south to the Columbia
Ferry County is bordered on the north by the Kootenay Boundary Regional District, British Columbia, Canada, along the 49th parallel; to the west by Okanogan County along the boundary between ranges 31 and 32 east; to the south by Lincoln County in the midline of the Columbia River; and on the east by Stevens County, again along the Columbia River and then Kettle River midlines. According to the United States Census Bureau, the county has a total area of , of which is land and (2.4%) is water. Most of Ferry County is covered by the rugged Kettle River Range, which extends from the Canada–US border to its southernmost perimeter bounded by the Columbia River and Roosevelt Lake. Only a narrow north–south strip running the length of the county on the west between the Sanpoil River and the Okanogan County line encompasses part of the Okanogan Highland. Except for the town of Republic, the county is sparsely populated.
The county has three major river systems, with the impounded Columbia Rivers Franklin D. Roosevelt Lake forming the southern and most of the eastern county boundary. Along the northern border, the Kettle River drops south into the county near the Midway, British Columbia border crossing, before turning north again at Curlew to cross into Canada at the Danville border crossing. It swings south again on the eastern side of the Kettle River Range and passes into the US just east of the Lauier border crossing and is the northern section of the Ferry-Stevens county Border before joining with the Columbia River north of Barney's Junction. The southern and south central part of the county from just south of Curlew Lake is all drained by the south flowing Sanpoil River, which joins Franklin D. Roosevelt Lake at the southern tip of the county south of Keller. Southwest of Republic in the eastern edge of the Okanogan highlands is a group of four recreational lakes, Swan Lake, Ferry Lake, Fish Lake, and Long Lake in Colville National Forest land, while the Lake Roosevelt National Recreation Area is accessible on the eastern edges of the county.
Kettle River Peaks
The highest peaks in the county are located along the crest of the Kettle River Range and are part of either the Colville National Forest or the Colville Indian Reservation. Washington State Route 20 crosses over the Kettle River Range along the southern shoulder of Sherman Peak at Sherman Pass, which at is highest mountain pass open all year in the state. Boulder-Deer Creek Pass is a paved two-lane county road and one of several critical secondary roads that provide access into and out of Ferry County. Its eastern terminus is with U.S. Route 395 south of Orient, while the western end forms a junction with State Route 21 at Curlew, and the western continuation of the road is labeled as the West Kettle River Road. Boulder Creek Road is one of three passes crossing the Kettle River Range, and the northern most. In the southern Kettle River Range is Bridge Creek Pass between Highway 21 and Inchelium. Anderson's Grocery is the main grocery of northern Ferry County, having been in operation since 1900, and never burning down.