Ritzville was platted in 1881 along with other towns on that section of the Northern Pacific Line. It was named in honor of Phillip Ritz, a successful farmer and businessman from Walla Walla, who had planted trees along the Northern Pacific Railroad in the area.
The first Volga Germans came to Adams County, Washington, from Nebraska in 1883 when a group of 17 families under the leadership of Johann Friedrich Rosenoff arrived. By the mid-1890s, continuing immigration led to the Volga Germans being the largest ethnic group in the Ritzville area.
The following Volga German families are known to have settled in and around Ritzville:
Achziger from Kolb
Adler
Amen
Arnst
Barth
Bastrom from Frank
Bauer
Becker from Brunnental
Benzel
Bier
Blum
Boos
Borgens from Frank
Braun
Brautigam from Kolb
Christel
Dewald from Hussenbach
Dietz
Eckhar(d)t from Frank
Fink from Hussenbach
Funk
Gerlach
Gettman
Gross
Hardung from Frank
Heimbigner
Hein
Heinemann
Her(r)man(n)
Hill
Hofferber
Hof(f)man(n)
Kammerzell from Frank
Kanzler
Kautz
Kechter from Kolb
Kembel
Kenzel / Kinzel
Kiehn from Frank
Kissler
Kleinknecht
Koch from Kolb
Kramer from Warenburg
Kanzler from Kolb
Legler from Neu-Bauer
Lesser from Frank
Lust from Yagodnaya Polyana
Meier / Meyer
Melcher from Brunnental
Miller / Mueller
Minch from Kolb
Naab from Kamenka
Nagel
Oestreich
Pauley from Norka
Pfenning from Norka
Pflugath
Pister
Quast
Rehn
Rieber
Rodenberger from Hussenbach
Roloff
Rosenoff
Roth from Walter
Sauer
Scha(e)fer from Frank
Schillereff from Frank
Schmidt
Sch(o)es(s)sler from Walter
Schreiner / Schriner from Kolb
Schultz
Sittner
Stehr
Stromberger
Thaut
Thiel
Tiede
U(h)rich from Frank
Wagner
Walker from Norka
Walter
Weber
Wertemberger
Wolsborn from Frank
- Adams County Washington Pioneer Edition (Ritzville: Ritzville Journal-Times, September 15, 1949), p. 5, 29.
- An Illustrated History of the Big Bend Country Embracing Lincoln, Douglas, Adams, and Franklin Counties State of Washington (Spokane: Western Historical Publishers, 1904).
- Becker, Paula, "Volga Germans led by Johann Frederich Rosenoff settle near Ritzville in 1883" (HistoryLink.org).
- Egan, Timothy. The Worst Hard Time (New York: Houghton-Mifflin, 2006), p. 63.
- The History of Adams County, Washington (Ritzville: Adams County Historical Society, 1986), p. 264.
- Kirk, Ruth and Carmela Alexander. Exploring Washington's Past: A Road Guide to History (Seattle: University of Washington Press, 1990), p. 96.
- National Register of Historic Places Inventory - Nomination Form (1979) - Zion German Congregational Church (Online)
- Scheuerman, Richard D. & Clifford E. Trafzer. The Volga Germans: Pioneers of the Northwest (Moscow, ID: University of Idaho Press, 1985): 139.
- 1920 Federal Census of Adams County (Eugene Jenkins)
- Ritzville Memorial Cemetery (A-H) (I-Q) (R-Z)
Ritzville, Washington (Wikipedia)
Map showing the location of Ritzville in Adams County, Washington.
Source: Wikipedia.
Wheat hauling (ca.1910) in Ritzville, Washington.
Source: Wikipedia.