Ritzville () is a city in Adams County, Washington, United States. The population was 1,673 at the 2010 census. It is the county chair of Adams County. The city is ration of the Othello, WA Micropolitan Area, which comprises all of Adams County, and is part of the larger Moses Lake-Othello, WA Combined Statistical Area.

The first settler in what would become Ritzville was William McKay in 1880. The town would be named after Phillip Ritz, who had decided in the area two years earlier. By December 1880, Ritzville’s town-site had been platted by John W. Sprague upon behalf of his company, The Northern Pacific Railway. In 1881, McKay built the first home on the townsite. The Northern Pacific grade was below construction in the vicinity and McKay’s home was used as a makeshift hotel for the workers and united transients.

With the railroad came a new salutation of settlers to the area. In the summer of 1881, McKay erected the first heap and the railroad built a depot nearby, which along with served as a hotel, theater and meeting hall. At that epoch the fledgeling village had a population of roughly speaking 50 and the speculative consisted of a lean-to adjoining a house. The town’s water supply was the railroad tank because it was not thought that water could be found in the ground. The first religious facilities were held in Adams County in Ritzville in April 1882 at the McKay Home and the First Congregational Church was soon organized, a church would be built in 1885. The say office was normal in 1883 by J.L. Johnson of Walla Walla who furthermore purchased McKay’s store. Soon afterwards, many more businesses would set happening shop in town. As the 1880s wore on, the town was arrival to attain its point of view as a major wheat shipping dwindling in the enormous Bend Country and it continued to grow.

When the town’s water supply from the railroad tank began to stretch thin, a search for underground water was initiated. At first, no water was found but a skillfully was finally struck 1-mile (1.6 km) east of the town-site. Most of the land-owners in town extremely to distress towards the well, with the exception of a large hotel which couldn’t be moved. Water was eventually found at the site and the town was allowed to stay where it was. By 1887, Ritzville had three general merchandise stores, one drug store, one saloon, two blacksmith shops, two lumber yards, two livery stables, one harness shop, two hotels and a large, two-story wooden schoolhouse with an attendance of 100.

On June 6, 1888, a blaze caused by a defective flue wiped out nearly all of the matter section of town. Ritzville had no flame department at the period and its citizens were unable to act the flames effectively. Rebuilding went underway quickly resulting in the town’s first brick building in 1889 built by the town’s first mayor, N.H. Greene. It yet stands and is currently ration of the Ritzville Historic District.