Davenport was first settled in 1880, and was named in 1882 for resident J.C. Davenport. The city was made the county seat of Lincoln County on December 15, 1896, after an election that had chosen Davenport over then-seat Sprague, which had been destroyed in a fire, and Harrington. Davenport was officially incorporated on June 9, 1890. Davenport gained early prominence in the north central part of the Columbia Basin of eastern Washington, with its citizens successfully lobbying to receive the Seattle Lake Shore & Eastern Railway in 1889 in place of rival Wheatdale. The transcontinental Northern Pacific Railway established a subsidiary, the Central Washington Railroad, to build a competing railroad line that reached Davenport in February 1889. A branch line of the Great Northern Railway was built to Davenport from Bluestem in the 1920s. Davenport is centrally located in the northern wheat belt of the Columbia Basin, where dryland wheat farming on the hills not washed away in the great Missoula Floods some 14,000 years ago, is critical to the agricultural economy of the region. Davenport Union Warehouse and Odessa Union Warehouse operate multiple elevators of varying age and design on the southern part of the city. A few of these structures date to the early days of the city. Davenport still serves as a central collection point for wheat, with most of it shipped out by truck or railcar. While most of the wheat goes to export, some of it does find its way to the ADMflour mills in Spokane and Cheney. Locally grown barley also finds its way to various west coastbreweries and other users. Primary State Highway #2 closely followed the CW railroad from Coulee City through Davenport to Spokane. The route is now known as U.S. Route 2, but does not follow the original Sunset Highway in many places. Primary State Highway #7 also intersected with PSH #2 in Davenport, and is now part of State Route 28. PSH #22 ran north from Davenport to the Canada–US border near Northport. This is State Route 25 now.
Geography
Davenport is located at . According to the United States Census Bureau, the city has a total area of, all of it land.
As of the census of 2010, there were 1,734 people, 694 households, and 445 families residing in the city. The population density was. There were 750 housing units at an average density of. The racial makeup of the city was 95.3% White, 0.1% African American, 1.2% Native American, 0.1% Asian, 0.1% Pacific Islander, 0.6% from other races, and 2.6% from two or more races. Hispanic or Latino of any race were 2.7% of the population. There were 694 households, of which 31.1% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 46.8% were married couplesliving together, 13.5% had a female householder with no husband present, 3.7% had a male householder with no wife present, and 35.9% were non-families. 31.6% of all households were made up of individuals, and 13.9% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.43 and the average family size was 3.03. The median age in the city was 40 years. 25.5% of residents were under the age of 18; 8.7% were between the ages of 18 and 24; 20.9% were from 25 to 44; 25.9% were from 45 to 64; and 19% were 65 years of age or older. The gender makeup of the city was 47.6% male and 52.4% female.
2000 census
As of the census of 2000, there were 1,730 people, 707 households, and 436 families residing in the city. The population density was 1,143.3 people per square mile. There were 763 housing units at an average density of 504.3 per square mile. The racial makeup of the city was 97.17% White, 0.29% African American, 0.98% Native American, 0.29% from other races, and 1.27% from two or more races. Hispanic or Latino of any race were 2.25% of the population. 30.0% were of German, 12.1% American, 10.6% English and 6.2% Irish ancestry according to Census 2000. 98.4% spoke English and 1.6% Spanish as their first language. There were 707 households, out of which 30.8% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 50.1% were married couples living together, 9.2% had a female householder with no husband present, and 38.3% were non-families. 33.8% of all households were made up of individuals, and 18.0% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.34 and the average family size was 3.01. In the city, the population was spread out, with 25.7% under the age of 18, 5.8% from 18 to 24, 24.7% from 25 to 44, 21.7% from 45 to 64, and 22.0% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 41 years. For every 100 females, there were 85.2 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 79.7 males. The median income for a household in the city was $37,900, and the median income for a family was $47,708. Males had a median income of $34,531 versus $21,875 for females. The per capita income for the city was $20,090. About 8.5% of families and 11.2% of the population were below the poverty line, including 12.9% of those under age 18 and 9.9% of those age 65 or over.
Community
The Includes Davenport Elementary, Davenport Middle School, and Davenport Senior High School. The mascot is the Davenport Gorilla.
