Pataha, WA

Pataha is a small, unincorporated community and census designated place in Garfield County, Washington, United States. The 2020 census counted 106 residents. Pataha is home to the historic Houser Mill, a working water-powered flour mill originally built in 1879. The town is located on the Pataha Creek along the Nez Perce trail, a path used by the indigenous Nez Perce tribe for crossing the Rocky Mountains. A newcomer can read Pataha through the overlap of its older landmarks, surrounding geography, and current places. For a newcomer, Pataha comes into focus through those concrete links among its past, landscape, and current routines. The name Pataha is from the Nez Perce word for 'brush', signifying the dense brush along both sides of the creek. Pataha is located along Pataha Creek, about four miles east of Pomeroy, the Garfield County seat. U.S. Route 12 passes from Pomeroy through Pataha as it follows the valley cut by Pataha Creek.