Edwall History
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Town of Edwall History
Edwall Washington the home of Christian Heritage School The town of Edwall was established on May 19, 1892 by Peter Edwall, a Swedish immigrant . Peter and his brother Eric worked for a cattle company based near Medical Lake. They rode through the area called Walker's Gulch and were impressed by the abundance of water and grass. They decided to homestead here and purchased additional quarters that joined corner-wise. Peter later purchased additional land from his former employer, part of which is the 40 acres that he platted Edwall on, establishing the town. The Edwalls being men of foresight, gave the Great Northern Railroad free passage through their land. In return the railway built the first school in Edwall. Part of the original school stands today as the public library. By the turn of the century Edwall was a thriving community with 37 businesses. In 1904 the District 84 - Grammer School had 2 teachers and 45 students. Artesian water was discovered sometime between 1910 and 1915. In the 1920's an arsonist set three major fires in the town w ithin two weeks time, gutting most of the downtown area. Many of the businesses were unable to recover from the loss.
The younger women of the community formed the SEFELO club (service, fellowship, and Loyalty) in 1948 meeting in various homes. The town even boasted a baseball team in the Big Bend League. In 1957 the Edwall Lions Club was chartered with 48 members. They installed the towns water system in the late 1950's and hosted many events. In May of 1957, Edwall High School closed. There was disagreement whether to remodel or tear the high school down. Insurance liability was a problem with SEFELO (womens’ group), Lions Club, Scouts and 4-H all using the building. It was finally torn down by the Lions Club in the summer of 1965.
The Edwall Water district was formed in 1959. In the 1960's the infamous pig farm operated north of town, at one time housing 4,000 pigs! Cub scout and 4-H groups operated for many years.
SEFELO was succeeded by Women in Action (WIA) in 1982 to help revitalize the community following the closure of the Edwall Grade School in 1979. The loss of the school was very difficult for the town. In 1982 Christian Heritage School was founded in the old elementary school.