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Zillah: A city by any name
An undated photo of the Civilian Conservation Corps’ Camp Zillah. 74 | YA K I M A — T H E B E G I N N I N G
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f you believe one legend, the city of Zillah was born from a spoiled girl’s tantrum. By 1892, the city was platted by Walter Granger, engineer of what later became the Sunnyside Canal, at the behest of the Northern Pacific Railroad Co. Shortly after that, the town was named after Zillah Oakes, the daughter of the company president, Thomas Oakes. Here’s one theory about why, according to a local history book named “Zillah: Looking Back.” Traveling from the infant town to Toppenish, the Oakes’ family buggy tipped while fording the Yakima River. To pacify his panicky and pouty daughter, the railway president promised to name the town after her. By 1900, shortly after the irrigation water arrived, the city was surrounded by orchards and populated by well-to-do families in cottages with green lawns, large barns and “an occasional veritable mansion,” according to “History of Yakima Valley.” The Washington Irrigation Company,
Annual 2010