Potlatch was founded 113 years ago in 1905 as a company town by the Potlatch Corporation.[4] The townsite was chosen because of proximity to the company’s large holdings of Western White Pine on the Palouse River. Potlatch was chosen as the mill site; at the time, it was one of the largest sawmills in the U.S. and was the largest white pine sawmill in the world.

Most of Potlatch was built in 1906 and 1907. A total of 143 houses were built in 1906, with 58 more built the following year; other building constructed during that period include boarding houses, an ice house, a Catholic church, hotel, school, and general store.

The company developed and ran Potlatch on a model mostly patterned after that used by Pullman Company for its company town in Illinois.[5] It provide police and fire protection, a school, churches, a hospital, an inexpensive company store, and recreational amenities. It banned prostitution, prohibited alcohol, and encouraged its workers to marry by allowing only married couples to rent the houses it owned.[5] The paternalism was profitable, even though rents were low: during 1943 the company showed a profit of $59,000 for its “townsite” services.[5] Less than a decade later, with labor costs significantly reducing its townsite profit, the mill sold most of the homes and other buildings it owned, and Potlatch was incorporated

Population: 1,902

From 2018 population increased by 53 over the last 5 years and is projected to grow by 55 over the next 5 years.

Jobs: 5.7%

From 2013 to 2018, jobs increased by 5.7% and is expected to grow 1.97% over the next 5 years

Average Earnings: $49.8K

In 2018 the average earnings per job was $42.3K.

Millennials: 341

Potlatch has 341 Millennials. The national average for an area this size is 390.

Retiring Soon: 648

Retirement is high in Potlatch. The national average for an area this size is 537 people 55 or older.

Commuters: 218

218 workers commute to other towns for work.

source: Emsi Reports