About Wapato, Washington

Wapato is a city of 4,607 people in Yakima County, inside the boundaries of the Yakama Indian Reservation. It began in 1885 as Simcoe, a stop on the Northern Pacific Railroad founded by Alex McCredy, the Indian trading postmaster. The Dawes Severalty Act of 1887 split the reservation into allotments that tribal members could later sell, and those sales drew settlers to the area.

By 1896 water from the Irwin Canal was reaching nearby farms, and from then on the town lived on agriculture. Mail kept getting mixed up with Fort Simcoe, so in 1903 the town became Wapato, a Chinook Jargon word for an edible root, and its townsite was platted that same year. Wapato was incorporated on September 16, 1908, when it had about 300 residents. Two years later, in 1910, the town shipped out more than 1,500 loads of produce, including fruit, potatoes, hops and melons.

  • Japanese Town on West 2ndAs early as 1905 the Northwestern Land Company brought more than 40 Japanese workers from Hawaii to a nursery south of Wapato, and many soon farmed for themselves. Kay Morinaga began in 1910 and later joined Joe Kamihira in the J&K Produce Company, known across the Northwest. From 1916 to 1918 a Japanese Town of shops, churches and businesses rose along today's West 2nd Street, making Wapato the state's center of Japanese life after Seattle.
  • Forced out in 1942Their success stirred resentment among Anglo farmers. After the Alien Land Lease passed in 1921, many Japanese families put their land in the names of their American-born children. Arsonists burned their temple and schools, and after the war began they burned the Japanese language school, which had about 200 students. Under Executive Order 9066, the Japanese had to leave Wapato in April 1942, and many were sent to internment camps.
  • Record crops, too few handsWapato's crops were worth $5,261,233 in 1940, up from a little over $3 million in 1931, and the war raised demand further. On June 25, 1942, The Wapato Independent's front page showed a farmer drowning in a wheat field marked "Record Crop$." A camp between Wapato and Toppenish held more than 600 German prisoners of war, who worked the fields at times until 1946; farmers hired 90 of them in April 1945.
  • Braceros and a new WapatoThe workers who finally filled the gap came through the Bracero Program, which ran from 1942 to 1947, and Chicano migrants from Texas, Colorado and Wyoming. Cheap labor led farmers toward sugar beets, and new cold storage in the 1970s made the work year-round. In the 1980s Mexican immigrants became the main farm workers, and by the 2000 census Wapato's 4,572 people were 76 percent Hispanic.

Find your street

Names on the Wapato map

Every name below is printed on this map. Look for your street, your school, the park where you played, or the pond down the road.

Places and landmarks3

  • Wapato City Hall
  • Lions Park
  • Wapato Sports Park

Streets and roads59

  • Traders Street
  • South Wapato Avenue
  • East Ninth Street
  • South Camas Avenue
  • West First Street
  • West Ninth Street
  • French Lane
  • East Third Street
  • West Seventh Street
  • Mount Adams Drive
  • North Frontage Road
  • West Fourth Street
  • East Seventh Street
  • South Satus Avenue
  • North Camas Avenue
  • North Harding Avenue
  • North Track Road
  • South Wasco Avenue
  • South Ahtanum Avenue
  • South Naches Avenue
  • South Simcoe Avenue
  • West Eighth Street
  • West Fifth Street
  • West Second Street
  • South Yakima Avenue
  • West Third Street
  • West Sixth Street
  • Kateri Lane
  • Dove Lane
  • Donald Wapato Road
Show all 59 streets
  • North Wasco Avenue
  • Donald Road
  • West Elizabeth Street
  • South Sitcum Avenue
  • North Central Avenue
  • North Lincoln Avenue
  • North Wapato Avenue
  • South Southpark Drive
  • Hoffer Road
  • South Frontage Road
  • East Wapato Road
  • Paschke Lane
  • East Elizabeth Street
  • East Sixth Street
  • East Eighth Street
  • East Fifth Street
  • Upper Bank Lane
  • Frontage Road
  • Wenas Avenue
  • North Satus Avenue
  • East Second Street
  • South Tieton Avenue
  • East Fourth Street
  • North Ahtanum Avenue
  • West Tenth Street
  • North Naches Avenue
  • North Simcoe Avenue
  • North Doris Street
  • East First Street

Names are listed as they appear on the printed map. Zoom into the product photos to find them.

The art of mapping a place

How This Map Was Made

Real places. Remarkable detail. Discover the layers that turn geographic data into a map of home.

  1. Aerial imagery of Mendon, Massachusetts, from the USDA NAIP program

    The view from above

    Aerial imagery reveals the character of the land: woodland, open fields, and the patterns of a place.

  2. USGS elevation data rendered as shaded relief of Mendon, Massachusetts

    The shape of the land

    Elevation data brings hills, valleys, and subtle changes in the landscape into view.

  3. Closeup of roads, waterways, and buildings on the Mendon, Massachusetts map

    The details of home

    Roads, waterways, and building footprints come together to make the map feel unmistakably local.

  4. Finished Mendon, Massachusetts map shown in a black frame

    Geography becomes art

    Considered color, shading, and typography bring the layers together in a map made for your wall.

Process illustrated with Mendon, Massachusetts. Aerial imagery: USDA NAIP. Terrain: USGS 3D Elevation Program. Map details and finished artwork: KNOWOL.

The Details

About This Print

Choose an archival matte print, or a black or white Ayous wood frame. The archival matte print is unframed.

Select your size and finish above to see the matching product image and price.

Materials & Craftsmanship

A contemporary map with the character of a classic atlas, printed on archival matte paper. Optional frames are made from Ayous wood.

Your printed map does not include the watermark shown in the full-map preview.

Shipping & Delivery

Free shipping within the United States. Every print is made to order in the USA.

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Prints ship within 2 to 3 business days. Allow 7 to 10 days total from ordering for delivery. Timing may vary during holidays or periods of high order volume.

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Each print is made to order. Change-of-mind refunds are not available after production.

If your print arrives damaged, misprinted or incorrect, contact support@knowol.com within 30 days of receiving it. Include your order number, photos and a description of the issue.

Read our full refund and replacement policy. For questions about your order, email support@knowol.com.

Nearby

Maps of towns near Wapato

Know someone from one of these towns? Their map makes a great gift.

More maps nearby: Harrah, Toppenish, Zillah, Union Gap and Moxee.

See all 787 Washington maps