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Keller, Washington

Keller was named after merchant J.C. Keller, who built a general store to supply the fortune seekers that poured into the area starting in June 1898, when the Colville Reservation’s southern half opened to mineral claims. A little over a month later, the town of Keller boasted two additional general stores, restaurants, assay offices, a saloon, a barbershop, and a blacksmith, and it soon became the area’s main provisioning hub. Between 1899 and 1900 the population reached 600 residents, although by 1904 it had dipped to approximately 350. Members of the Colville Tribe fished at Keller, and held an annual Salmon Days celebration there each June. This photograph depicts the Salmon Days in 1915.