Five Little-Known Interesting Facts About Wenatchee, Washington

Wenatchee, Washington is a fun city to visit with many things to do. Some of the fun things to do there can be found within the city limits, while others can be found in the surrounding area. Here’s a look at five little-known facts about the city of Wenatchee.

# 1 The Rock Island Dam was completed in 1936, just south of Wenatchee. Fourteen dams cross the Columbia River at various points between British Columbia and where it empties into the Pacific Ocean. Of all those important hydroelectric structures, the Rock Island Dam was the first to do so.

# 2 Bud Sagendorf, the writer and artist responsible for the creation of the Popeye comic strip beginning in 1945, was born in Wenatchee in 1915.

# 3 Located just south of Wenatchee is the very popular Mission Ridge Ski Area. On the upper slopes of the mountain there are still visible remnants of a 1944 crash of a B-24 Liberator heavy bomber. A bomber wing was removed from the hillside and is now in the shelter below.

# 4 Wenatchee Valley College began in 1939 as a private university operating on the third floor of the first Wenatchee High School building. It moved to its current location two years later and that’s when it joined the Washington State public education system.

# 5 Although Wenatchee has a population in the 30,000 range, the local Apple Blossom Festival, which is held every year, seriously increases the population by attracting approximately 100,000 people to the city for the two-week celebration.