Nine miles southwest of Okanogan, a meadow at the mouth of Loup Loup Creek had been inhabited by whites since 1886 when Leonard C. and Mary Malott settled there with three Hedges brothers, George, Albert and Ed as neighbors. Almost from the start, the Malott place served as a stopover point for travelers. The Malott’s huge barn could shelter 28 horses.
Malott church from the pioneer days
As early as 1890, L.C.Malott had a post office in his home. But no town took shape until 1909 when the Helensdal Investment Co. of Seattle purchased land from the Malott’s. Hedges and James C. Burdett laid out the town of Malott. In 1910 John and Annie Hilderbrand, Ruby and Chiliwhist pioneers, opened a hotel in Malott. Transients, drummers (traveling salesman), orchard developers, railroad workers, and others kept the hotel and companion establishments busy.
Click here to read about the Malott flood of 1938.
