East Wenatchee, Washington
East Wenatchee is a city in Douglas County, Washington, United States. The population at the 2010 census was 13,190, a 129.1% increase on the 2000 census, having annexed much of the East Wenatchee Bench CDP. As of 2019, the Office of Financial Management estimates that the current population was 14,219. East Wenatchee lies on the east shore of the Columbia River, opposite Wenatchee on the west shore. On November 10, 2002, East Wenatchee was designated a principal city of the Wenatchee – East Wenatchee Metropolitan Statistical Area by the Office of Management and Budget. History At the turn of the 20th Century irrigation projects, including the Columbia Basin Project east of the region, fostered the development of intensive agriculture in the shrub-steppe native to the region. Fruit orchards become one of the area's leading industries. In 1908, the first highway bridge to span the Columbia River opened. The privately owned bridge carried people, horses, wagons, and automobiles; it also supported two large water pipelines along its sides. It connected Chelan County on the west (Wenatchee) shore with Douglas County on the East Wenatchee shore. The bridge opened East Wenatchee and the rest of Douglas County to apple orchard development. Still