City of Kettle Falls, Stevens County, Washington

City of Kettle Falls Stevens County, Washington

Mapped Location

City of Kettle Falls: The mapped location is an approximation and should not be used for navigation or wayfinding.

Information

General information on City of Kettle Falls

Feature Type: Incorporated

Official, historical, colloquial and alternative toponyms for City of Kettle Falls

A brief list of names that this geographic feature has been named

Name	Description
City of Kettle Falls	Official
Kettle Falls	Official

Origin Notes and History of City of Kettle Falls

References to City of Kettle Falls that document the origin of its place name

KETTLE FALLS, in the Columbia River two miles below the mouth of the Kettle River, in Ferry and Stevens Counties. They were named by David Thompson "Ilthkoyape Falls" in 1811. T. C Elliott says the word is Salish from Ilth-kape, meaning "kettle" (basket tightly woven), and Hoy-ape, meaning "net." With such kettle-nets the Salishan Indians caught fabulous quantities of fish at those falls. (David Thompson's Narrative, page 466, note.) Gabriel Franchere and other early travelers called the falls La Chaudiere because the water boiled up not unlike the water in a huge cauldron or kettle. (Franchere's Narrative in Early Western Travels, Volume VI., page 398.) Both names were early translated into Kettle Falls. John Work, of the Hudson's Bay Company service, used that name on August 31, 1825. (Washington Historical Quarterly, Volume V., page 113.) Another Indian name for the falls was reported in 1853 as Soinetkwu or Schwan-ate-koo (Pacific Railroad Reports, Volume I., pages 215 and 299.) A nearby town now bears the name of Kettle Falls.

Edmond S. Meany in Origin of Washington Geographic Names

Meany, Edmond S., Origin of Washington Geographic Names, 1923 University of Washington, pp 130 | Origin of Washington Geographic Names

Stevens County

Political Boundaries

Last updated: 2024-06-04