It is located in the heart of the Columbia Basin Project, approximately 100 miles (160 km) southwest of Spokane.

The first white settlers in the area were two brothers, Ben and Sam Hutchinson, who built a cabin along the Crab Creek in 1884.

An influx of homesteaders began after the start of the 20th century, and a post office was established in 1904.

[1][5] The Chicago, Milwaukee, & St. Paul Railroad ran a track through Adams County in 1907.

The railroad officially platted the town as a stop, with water to feed the boilers of steam trains.

[6] At the time the railroad was the eastern terminus of the second electrified district of the Milwaukee Road's "Pacific Extension" route, which extended up to Tacoma, Washington.

In the early 1950s, the Columbia Basin Project brought irrigation to the Othello area, increasing both agriculture and commerce.

The water arrived via the Potholes East Canal between Billy Clapp Lake and Scootenay Reservoir in Franklin County.

[6][8] In 1958, an ice plant was opened in town to service railroad cars moving produce.

[10] According to the United States Census Bureau, the city has a total area of 3.81 square miles (9.87 km2), all of it land.

[12] In addition to agricultural output, Othello has several food processing and cold storage companies, especially for potatoes.

More than 700 jobs in Othello are tied to potato processing, including at McCain Foods and J. R. Simplot facilities.

[14] Since the 1980s, Othello has become a destination for immigrants from Latin America who arrive as migrant workers or for seasonal farm jobs.

[17][18] The ancestry of the city was 5.9% German, 4.0% English, 3.4% Irish, 2.3% Italian, 0.9% Norwegian, 0.4% Dutch, and 0.4% Ukrainian.