Ephrata Alumni Association

Nat Washington

Class of 1932

Nat Washington was student body president and captain of the football and basketball teams of Ephrata High School. He went on to attend the University of Washington and the University’s law school where he was elected to govern the student body as president. Ever political, his next elected office was as Grant County Prosecuting Attorney.

In 1947 Nat and his law partner Jim Wickwire became attorneys for the Grant County Public Utility District. By the early 1950s he had assumed a principal role in finding a way to finance the Wanapum and Priest Rapids Dams on the Columbia River. He helped develop a strategy by which the district could use the financial strength and credit worthiness of the big utilities that would contract to purchase power from the district. This enabled the district to sell bonds at a favorable rate, making construction of two dams not only feasible, but also financially sound.

In 1952 the Public Utility Commissioners passed a resolution to construct Priest Rapids Dam and applied to the Federal Power Commission for the appropriate permit. In 1954 the State Power Commission filed a competing application for the same project. They scoffed at Grant County’s ability to construct major dams. The fight went all the way to the State Supreme Court where Nat successfully argued the case. Six years later Grant County PUD was supplying power throughout the west. In recognition of his many contributions to public power, Nat received the 2001 Henwood Award from the National Hydropower Association, the industry’s most prestigious award.

During this time, in 1948, Nat was elected to the Washington State Legislature where he served one term. This was followed by election as a State Senator. He was re-elected six times. Nat worked across party lines to win funds for farm-to-market roads in his central Washington district; retiring in 1979.

Nat enjoyed hiking and searching for ancient Indian campsites. As an amateur archeologist, he learned how to catalog sites for the professionals. He later guided scouting trips to identify which sites should be scientifically excavated. The results added significantly to his understanding of Native American lore; enabling him to maintain friendships with tribal leaders from the Wanapum and other tribes for more than 45 years. He was considered an expert on Grant County History. He had an enormous impact on the successes of Ephrata and Grant County. He passed away in 2007. Expanded information regarding Washington can be found on the internet.

Nat is shown in picture to the right with Indian interpreters of the Salish and Sohaptin languages Harry Nanamki and Cleveland Kamiakin. Billy Curlew, a Sinkiuse Indian, was born in the 1860s or early 1870s at a location near Ephrata and here he is pointing out the place where he was born.

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