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A Gazetteer for the United States and Canada
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Welcome to Nespelem ...

The town of Nespelem is located in Okanogan County<1>.

The pronunciation of Nespelem: nes-PEE-luhm<2>

While we don't have a date for the founding of Nespelem, you might consider that their post office opened in 1899.

From the  Census Estimates for 2019, Nespelem has a population of 245 people<3> (see below for details).

Nespelem is 1,850 feet [564 m] above sea level.<4>.

Time Zone: Nespelem lies in the Pacific Time Zone (PST/PDT) and observes daylight saving time

Area Code for Nespelem: 509

The ZIP code for Nespelem: 99155<5>

Population Details ...

Taken from the 2019 Census Estimates, Nespelem had an population of 245 people. This is an increase of 3.81% since the 2010 Census (or an increase of 15.57% since the 2000 Census).

At the time of the 2010 Census, Nespelem had a population of 236 people. This makes Nespelem the county's 11th most populous community.

With a 2010 count of 236 people, the population of Nespelem increased 11.32% from the 2000 Census (which had a count of 212 people).

More information can be found on the Census Page for Nespelem.

Communities near Nespelem ...

We have created a list of 10 communities that are near Nespelem.

  • Coulee Dam
    (13 miles [20.9 km] to the south)
  • Grand Coulee
    (15 miles [24.1 km] to the south)
  • Electric City
    (16 miles [25.7 km] to the south)
  • Elmer City
    (11 miles [17.7 km] to the south)
  • Keller
    (14 miles [22.5 km] to the southeast)
  • Mason City ‑ Historic
    (14 miles [22.5 km] to the south)
    • Mason City is located in Okanogan County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Mason City
  • Osborne Corner
    (14 miles [22.5 km] to the southwest)
    • Osborne Corner is located in Douglas County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Osborne Corner
  • Hesseltine ‑ Historic
    (21 miles [33.8 km] to the south)
    • Hesseltine is located in Lincoln County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Hesseltine
  • North Omak
    (28 miles [45.1 km] to the northwest)
    • North Omak is located in Okanogan County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for North Omak
  • Synarep
    (29 miles [46.7 km] to the northwest)
    • Synarep is located in Okanogan County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Synarep

To Help With Your Genealogy Research ...

We have a couple of sections for those tracing their genealogy.

We're compiling a list of cemeteries that are in the area around Nespelem. Our list includes the location of those cemeteries and we provide an overhead view. See our Cemetery List for Nespelem.

Using the information from an 1895 Atlas, we've created a list of communities that were in the area of Nespelem. Our list includes information such as whether the 1895 community had a post office or railroad service. See our List of 1890's Communities around Nespelem.

We also have a detailed list of newspapers that have been published in the area around Nespelem. See our Newspapers Page for Nespelem.

TripAdvisor Tourism Pages for Nespelem ...

Looking for more information about Nespelem? A wonderful source is the TripAdvisor website. We always start with the TripAdvisor Tourism page, where you can read an overview with links that will help you find lodging, restaurants and attractions.

While we are unaware of a Tourism page that is specific to Nespelem, there are neighboring communities that do have Tourism pages. A map of those communities can be found with our TripAdvisor Page for Nespelem.

Adding Nespelem to Our Gazetteer ...

We originally found mention of Nespelem in both the FIPS-55 and the GNIS. For more information, see the FIPS and GNIS Codes sections on our Miscellaneous Page.

From our notes, the earliest published mention we've found (so far) for Nespelem was in the document titled List of Post Offices from Cameron Blevins and Richard Helbock.<7>

From that list, the Nespelem post office opened in 1899.

For more details, see References and Mentions for Nespelem.

Footnotes ...

<1>If you're interested in how the shape of Washington's counties, including Okanogan, have changed over time, we recommend the Atlas of Historical County Boundaries.
<2>The pronunciation we've provided is our attempt to give a phonetic pronunciation for Nespelem. While it might not be exactly right, hopefully it will be close. If we have it wrong or there's a better way to pronounce the name, please contact us through our Feedback Page.
<3>Population counts have been provided by the U.S. Census Bureau. For more detail, please visit our Census Page for Nespelem.
<4>The elevation is an estimate for the area around Nespelem - it will be higher in some places and lower in others.
<5>ZIP Codes have been created by the United States Postal Service (USPS) as a way of grouping addresses to make delivery more efficient. The boundaries of the ZIP Code can be changed, re-assigned, eliminated or overlapped with other ZIP Codes. So keep in mind that any given ZIP Code is only 'loosely' associated with a town (such as Nespelem). When looking for a ZIP Code, whether Nespelem or elsewhere, it's always best to check the website of the United States Postal Service (USPS).
<6>While we're fans and frequent users of TripAdvisor, you should know that we're also members of the TripAdvisor affiliate program.
<7>A copy of the Blevins & Helbock Post Office list with background information can be found at:

      https://cblevins.github.io/us-post-offices/data-biography/