Specialties
Boasting good schools, health care facilities, faith communities, numerous retail/professional opportunities, recreational areas, and predominantly good weather, Pasco is a place where people put down roots and raise families in a safe, forward-thinking, active environment.
History
Established in 1891.
Pasco was incorporated on September 3, 1891, and was named by Virgil Bogue, an engineer for the railroad, after Cerro de Pasco in Peru.
Pasco grew to be a small but important railroad town in the years before World War II. The war brought the Manhattan Project, the United States' development of the atomic bomb, to the nearby Hanford Site. Pasco, along with the rest of the area, played an vital support role in that effort.
Post-war, Hanford played an important role in the area economy, and it continues through today in the cleanup effort. Additionally, the build out of irrigation, such as the Columbia Basin Project, made agriculture an even more critical part of the economy of Pasco and Franklin County.
Pasco's growth is also energized by its location as a transportation hub. In the beginning, the city relied entirely on the river and rail for transportation, but has since matured into a genuine hub including surface, air, water, and rail.