Steptoe Whitman County, Washington

Mapped Location

Steptoe: The mapped location is an approximation and should not be used for navigation or wayfinding.

 

Information

General information on Steptoe

  • Feature Type: Place

 

Official, historical, colloquial and alternative toponyms for Steptoe

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

Name Description
Steptoe Official

 

Origin Notes and History of Steptoe

References to Steptoe that document the origin of its place name

Title Cover Image: Origin of Washington geographic names

STEPTOE, a name applied to a town in the central part of Whitman County, a creek in the south central part of that county, rapids in Snake River eleven and a half miles below Clarkston, and more especially a mountain known as Steptoe Butte, in the northeastern part of Whitman County. All the names are in honor of Colonel Edward J. Steptoe, who suffered defeat at the hands of the Indians in a battle where the town of Rosalia now stands. At the time of the battle the great landmark of the region, rising 3613 feet above sea-level was known as Pyramid Peak. Later the name was changed to Steptoe Butte. B. F. Manring has published an interesting book on the campaigns in that vicinity, one chapter of which is devoted to the mountain. (Conquest of the Coeu,r d'Alene, Spokane and Palouse lndians, pages 18-25.) On March 15, 1919, the writer learned from Louis James, a Nez Perce Indian, that the Nez Perce name for Steptoe Butte is Yu-mos-tos. Walla Walla was in early days called '' Steptoe City" and "Steptoeville".

Edmond S. Meany in Origin of Washington Geographic Names
Meany, Edmond S., Origin of Washington Geographic Names, 1923 University of Washington, pp 289  |  Origin of Washington Geographic Names

 

Whitman County

Political Boundaries

Last updated: 2024-06-03