The small towns of Eastern Washington were vital and active centers of commerce and social life. From the 1890s to the 1920s, many of these small towns faded out of existence, but Latah, about 20 miles southeast of Spokane, was an exception. Once a busy town south of Fairfield, a post office was established here as Hangman’s Creek on March 19, 1873, which became Alpha post office on April 25, 1881, and Latah on December 11, 1883. The population peaked population at 350 in 1910; in 1986 there were 150 people.