Keller, Washington

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Keller is an unincorporated community in southeastern Ferry County in the northeastern part of the U.S. state of Washington.

[edit] History

The town is located in the San Poil Valley (erroneously called Keller Valley), was founded in 1898^[1] by John c. Keller a local businessman. The town was located in the area now known as the San Poil Bay (or Old Keller to the locals), at its height the town had an estimated population of 35,000 people which with features such as a minor league baseball team and Red Light District. The town was moved several times beginning in 1941 due to back watering from the Grand Coulee Dam which flooded its previous locations and is now located eighteen miles north of the Columbia River which seriously reduced its population over time.

The town is encompassed by the Colville Indian Reservation, and is has an estimated population of roughly 1,200 people mostly of Native American descent primarily members of the Sanpoil Tribe of Indians one of the Tweleve Tribes that make up the Colville Confederated Tribes and one of the few Indian Nations that was never relocated by order of the U.S. Government.

[edit] Mt. Tolemen Mining Proposal

From 2004 to 2006 the town of Keller was the center of attention when the Colville Tribes controversial decision to explore the possibility of opening up a Open Pit Molybdenum Mine on Mt. Toleman in the San Poil Valley. Anti-mining groups rallied around the opposition to the mine when it was soon became evident that the mining project would be too much of a hazard to the population of Washington State given research that the mine had also contained hazardous materials such as uranium and toxic dust that if exposed to an already windy location could spread as 200 miles encompassing most of Washington States economic farming country. The proposal to mine had also have included the use of Acid Leaching to retrieve the metals being mined and given the mountain sort distance to the Columbia River the result would have been disastrous. Other groups also claimed the mountains spiritual connection to the Sanpoil Tribe (the name "Toleman" comes from the Sanpoil dialect, "Tulameen" meaning "Red Paint") being given it being the location of many of the tribes legends and medicines are located on the mountain itself. The group that originally sent in the proposal for the mine mostly focused on the tribes stagnant economy and the monetary value a molybdenum mine would produce due to the high demand of the substance, a claim that the mining opposition rebutted when the evidence showed that the price of molybdenum was unpredictable and the only consistent price range was when it fell between $0.50 to $1.50 between 1955 to 1982. When the issue was brought to vote by the Colville Tribes the proposal was turned down in three legislative districts, winning approval only in the Inchelium district.