ELLENSBURG

formerly Robber's Roost city, seat (1883) of Kittitas county, central Washington, U.S., on the Yakima River, 28 miles (45 km) north of Yakima. The first white man settled there in 1867, and three years later the valley's first trading post was opened. In 1875 John Shoudy platted a townsite, naming it for his wife, Ellen. The building of the Northern Pacific Railway through to Puget Sound in 1887 spurred the community's growth. Central Washington University, founded as a teachers college in 1890, is still a major source of employment. Ellensburg cherishes a Wild West tradition and is the site of the state's major rodeo (Labor Day weekend); the area is also known for its dude ranches. Sheep and cattle are raised there, and hay, small grain, and potatoes are grown on land irrigated through the Yakima Reclamation Project. Ginkgo Petrified Forest State Park (with numerous species of agatized wood and, at 7,184 acres [2,907 hectares], one of the world's largest petrified forests) is 28 miles (45 km) east. Inc. town, 1883; city, 1886. Pop. (1990) 12,360; (1998 est.) 14,419.