Benge (Washington)
Benge is an unincorporated town in Adams County , Washington ( USA ). Because the location is not part of the US census, no population estimate is available. Benge has the postal code 99105. The place is managed by the Benge School District, and in the center of Benge is the Benge Elementary School. At the census in 2000, the place had 57 inhabitants with 33 residential units. The median household income was $ 37,500.
history
The Mullan Military Road, founded in 1859 by Lieutenant John Mullan, connected the upper navigable Missouri River with the Columbia River . This 624 mile long road, which ran through what would later become Benge, was completed in 1862 for $ 280,000. The road section from Benge was completed on May 22, 1861. The wagon tracks were still visible in 2008 in the northeast of the village on the grounds of the First Benge School. Although the road was built as a military road, it was used by civilians for both travelers and freight until the Northern Pacific Railroad was completed in 1883. The place is named after Frank H. Benge, who represented Adams County in the state legislature in 1904. Benge and his wife donated the land where the foundation stone for the town was laid on May 13, 1907. Frank and Mary Crouch Benge and their daughters came to Adams County in 1892. They lived at their current location in Benge for 15 years until the Spokane, Portland and Seattle Railway ( SPS ) was to be built at their ranch site . They got $ 5,000 for the move. The Benge's built an 11-room house, with the rock of a nearby track cut had to be excavated. The house became a guesthouse and served as a community center for several years.
Coordinates: 46 ° 55 ′ N , 118 ° 6 ′ W