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Walla Walla, Walla Walla Co., Washington

A couple of the early Volga German groups to arrive in the Pacific Northwest traveled through Walla Walla in 1882 enroute to their settlement areas in Adams and Whitman Counties in the Palouse Country of Eastern Washington.

Those who stayed in Walla Walla came primarily from Walter, Walter Khutor, and Hussenbach. Around the turn of the century, settlers from Kautz began arriving in large numbers.

Today, the descendants of many Volga German families live in and around Walla Walla.

Ritzville, Adams Co., Washington

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.

Odessa, Lincoln Co., Washington

The Great Northern Railroad came through the valley in 1892. The town of Odessa was platted in 1899 by George W. Finney who donated the land. It was officially incorporated on 25 September 1902. It was named Odessa after the German-Russian wheat farmers in the area, many of whom had immigrated from the area around the city of Odessa in Russia. Approximately 80% of the town's residents trace their ancestory to the Black Sea and/or Volga Germans of Russia.