Ellensburg is a city in, and the county seat of, Kittitas County, Washington, United States.

Ellensburg is located just east of the Cascade Range on Interstate 90 and is known as the most centrally located city in the state.

Ellensburg is the home of Central Washington University ( CWU ).

* The Kittitas County Farmers Market is held every Saturday from May to October in the heart of downtown Ellensburg.

The Ellensburg Rodeo has been a town tradition since 1923, and is the largest rodeo in Washington state.

On the state legislative level, Ellensburg is in the 13th district.

On the congressional level, Ellensburg is located in Washington's 4th congressional district and is represented by Republican Doc Hastings, but it is expected to be moved into Washington's 8th congressional district for the 2012 general election and beyond.

The Lewiston Round Up is a member of the Big 4 or Big Money 4 ( along with Pendleton Round-up, Walla Walla Fair and Rodeo and Ellensburg Rodeo ) and a top 50 PRCA rodeo.

The Yakima River is used for rafting and kayaking, especially around the Ellensburg area during the summer months.

Central Washington University, or CWU, is a publicly assisted university in Ellensburg, Washington in the United States.

Its county seat is Ellensburg, which is also the county's largest city.

The town of Thorp is 99. 36 miles east of Seattle, Washington, 9. 29 miles northwest of Ellensburg, and 15. 21 miles southeast of Cle Elum (, ).

Ellensburg, the county seat, is southeast of Thorp.

This valley is a syncline that creates the Ellensburg Basin located between Mission Ridge to the north and Manastash Ridge to the south.

Note: This automobile is now on display at the Kittitas County Historical Museum in Ellensburg, WA.

KYVE is rebroadcast on K17IL Channel 17 Ellensburg, owned by the Kittitas County TV Improvement District.

Mel's Hole is a supposed geographic anomaly discovered by Mel Waters on his land near Ellensburg, Washington.

The Chimpanzee and Human Communication Institute ( CHCI ) is located on the campus of Central Washington University in Ellensburg, Washington.

She is a professor of English and Creative Writing at Central Washington University in Ellensburg, Washington.

KAPP is rebroadcast on K20JL-D Channel 20, a low-powered digital translator in Ellensburg, Washington, which is owned and operated by the Kittitas County TV Improvement District.

Ellensburg was officially incorporated on November 26, 1883.

Concerns over the state of Ellensburg's historic downtown led to the formation of the Ellensburg Downtown Association to work on revitalizing the area.

* Every June, Ellensburg hosts Dachshunds on Parade, an event that draws Dachshund dog owners from all over the Northwest.

* Ellensburg hosts the annual Jazz in the Valley music festival on the last weekend in July.

In 1890, the state Legislature established the Washington State Normal School ( WSNS ) in Ellensburg for “ the training and education of teachers in the art of instructing and governing in the public schools of this state .” WSNS originally opened on September 6, 1891, with classes held at the Washington Public School in Ellensburg.

Goodwin was later appointed the first sheriff of Kittitas County upon the first meeting of the county commissioners in Ellensburg on December 17, 1883.

In April, Susan Elaine Rancourt disappeared while on her way to a movie after an evening advisors ' meeting at Central Washington State College ( now Central Washington University ) in Ellensburg, southeast of Seattle.

Washoe ( c. September 1965 Ellensburg – October 30, 2007 ) was a female chimpanzee who was the first non-human to learn to communicate using American Sign Language, as part of a research experiment on animal language acquisition.

Major fires like this were common in Washington that summer: the center of Ellensburg was destroyed by fire on July 4 and downtown Spokane burned on August 4.

Major cities that lie on U. S. Highway 97 include Klamath Falls, Oregon ; Bend, Oregon ; Yakima, Washington ; Ellensburg, Washington ; and Wenatchee, Washington.

The last paying passenger on that run was Niel G. " Peter " Peterson, who boarded around 6 am in Ellensburg, Washington, arriving a few hours later at the King Street Station ( now Amtrak ) in downtown Seattle.

KIMA-TV is rebroadcast on K50KK-D Channel 50 in Ellensburg, Washington, which is owned and operated by the Kittitas County TV Improvement District.

KNDO is rebroadcast on K32IG-D ( channel 32 ), a low-powered digital translator in Ellensburg, Washington, owned and operated by the Kittitas County TV Improvement District.

This route saves over going through Ellensburg on I-90 and US 97.

Other Seattle-area bands of note include Pearl Jam, Sunn O ))), Acceptance, Aiden, Alien Crime Syndicate, Antlers, The Beautiful Mothers, Betty X, the Blakes, The Blood Brothers, Blue Scholars, The Catheters, Charlie Drown, Common Heroes, Dangermart, Daphne Loves Derby ( Kent ), Death Cab for Cutie ( Bellingham ), Daylight Basement, The Divorce, Dog Bone Sanctuary, Dolour, Drop Six, Drown Mary, Harvey Danger, Fleet Foxes, Foo Fighters, Gatsby's American Dream, Maktub, Metal Church, Minus the Bear, Macklemore, Modest Mouse ( Issaquah ), Mudhoney, The Murder City Devils, MxPx ( Bremerton ), The Myriad, Pedro the Lion, Point One, Ruby Doe, Schoolyard Heroes, Screaming Trees ( originally from Ellensburg ), Second Coming, Sky Cries Mary, Sleater-Kinney ( Olympia ), Slicing Grandpa, Smoosh, Soundgarden, Sunny Day Real Estate, Super Deluxe, Supersuckers, Sweet 75, Turn to Fall, United State of Electronica, Utterance, Vendetta Red, Vexed, Vindaloo, Visqueen, Zeke and The Zero Points.

Downtown Ellensburg has many historic buildings, many of which were constructed in the late 19th century.

The state legislature selected Ellensburg as the location for the then Normal School as a consolation prize.

There were several early newspapers in Ellensburg.

* Ellensburg hosts the annual Winterhop Brewfest in January.

The City of Ellensburg uses the Manager / Council form of government with a City Manager hired by the City Council.

Ellensburg leans toward supporting Democrats, giving then-Senator Barack Obama of Illinois 56. 3 percent of its total vote in the 2008 presidential election to 41. 5 percent for his Republican rival, Senator John McCain of Arizona.

In both 2008 and 2010, Ellensburg was just slightly more Republican than the statewide average, making it one of the most Democratic cities in Eastern Washington.

Public schools are operated by Ellensburg School District 401.

The district includes one high school ( Ellensburg High School ), one middle school, and three elementary schools.

" Images of America: Ellensburg ," Arcadia Press, San Francisco, 2009.

The river flows through that town, skirts Ellensburg, passes the city of Yakima, and continues southeast to Richland, where it flows into the Columbia River at an elevation of.