Latah Valley saw its first wave of settlers about 1872, which included Richard and Lydia Wimpy family, Hosea and Harriette Harvey family, and Henry and Julia Coplan family. In those days, the settlement took the name of the nearby stream, Hangman's Creek. The stream received its name from the tragic events of 1858, when Col. George Wright hanged several members of the local native tribes in retaliation for the defeat of Lt. Col. Edward J. Steptoe at the Battle of Pine Creek. The exact jurisdiction seems to have been of question in the beginning, as the first postmaster of "Hangman's Creek" was Richard H Wimpy, appointed 19 Mar 1873, in Nez Perce County, Idaho. The post office was transferred to Stevens County, Washington Territory, on 5 May 1873, with R. H. Wimpy still the postmaster. That section of Stevens County became Whitman County, and finally Spokane County. Meanwhile, Hangman's Creek changed to "Alpha" in 25 Apr 1881, under postmaster Emery H. Averill, so named because it was the first settlement in the area. Alpha changed to "Latah", on 11 Dec 1883, under postmaster David T. Ham, again naming it after the nearby stream, Latah Creek. The Legislature had decided to rename the stream Latah, from the native word "lahtoo," which means "stream where little fish are caught."