Signs of Pullman

9/28/09

9/27/09

A Brief History of Palouse Lentil Farming

A Brief History of Palouse Lentil FarmingThe name Palouse is generally thought to be derived from the Sehaptin (Indian) word, "palus", meaning something sticking down in the water. Their main village was located at the confluence of the Palouse and Snake Rivers and the something sticking down in the water was a large rock. (The Palouse Indians believed the rock was the solidified heart of Beaver. The Nez Perce believed the rock to be the canoe of Coyote - both were important symbols in their religions.) Another theory is that Palouse may have come from the French word "pelouse" meaning a lawn or green.

Above right is photo of an 8 1/2 x 11 handout provided to those visiting the Whitman County Historical Society tent at the 2009 National Lentil Festival.

For thousands of years, humans have prospered in this bountiful Palouse region. Some of North America's earliest records have been uncovered in the nearby basalt canyons of the Snake River. This seemingly tranquil landscape belies a past of large-scale lava flows, volcanic eruptions, glacial climates and several floods of a magnitude unrivaled on this planet.

The gently rolling, dune-like hills that characterize the Palouse are composed of a silty, wind-blown deposit called loess. The source of the Palouse loess has been traced to both volcanic ash from the Cascades and "glacial flour" from glaciers to the north. Loess forms nearly 10% of the earth's land surface. Many of the world's richest agricultural areas are located in loess deposits including parts of the Mississippi Valley as well as large parts of Asia and central Europe.

Dry peas, lentils and chickpeas (garbanzos), all members of the legume family, were first cultivated over 20,000 years ago. In Thailand, peas have been discovered in caves dating back more than 11,000 years. Egyptian tombs contained lentils to sustain the dead on their journey to the afterlife. Lentils, Lens culinaris, were widely planted and utilized during Biblical times.

Lentils found their way to the fertile Palouse in 1916 when J. J. Wagner obtained seed from Europe, through a local Seventh-Day Adventist pastor, and planted two rows on his land in Farmington, Washington. The 1917 crop was sold at 9 1/4 * per pound netting $130. (Current price is ~ cwt. $16.00 or 16* per pound.) Seventh-Day Adventists are generally vegetarians. Lentils, being high in protein, folate and fiber are an important part of vegetarian diets. In countries where protein sources are scarce, lentils may be used to provide essential amino acids (the building blocks of protein). When eaten together with corn, rice, wheat, barley or oats, lentils help provide the complete protein needed for life.

By 1936, Palouse lentil production was up to 250 acres and the crop was sold to the Washburn-Wilson Company of Moscow, Idaho. By 1937, the first commercial acreage of lentils was established on the Palouse. A major advance in lentil harvest came in 1941 when a combine was first used for threshing and cleaning. Before that, it had all been done by hand. Today, lentils grown in Washington and Idaho account for over 95% of the US production. The Palouse area is also known for its wheat, barley, dry pea and chickpea (garbanzo) production.

*For further information on this subject,, please contact: Whitman County Historical Society, Dry Pea and Lentil Commission, USDA and ARS, Pullman Chamber of Commerce, Neill Public Library.