The city is also sometimes referred to as the "Buckle of the Power Belt of the Great Northwest" which is a metaphor for the series of hydroelectric dams on the Columbia River.

In 1811, North West Company surveyor David Thompson encountered a group of Native American horsemen at Wenatchee and was invited into a village with huts, the largest measuring 209 feet long.

Fur traders document friendly relations through the mid 19th century, even during the smallpox epidemic of 1817 and food shortages in 1841.

He was followed some 20 years later by Father De Grassi, who built a log cabin on the Wenatchee River near the present town of Cashmere.

The tree fruit industry provided the economic backbone for the region for a century and still is an important source of revenue.

On May 22, 1910, the Wenatchee free speech fight occurred when members of the Industrial Workers of the World (IWW) were arrested for speaking in the street in front of the local hall of the Socialist Party of America.

[17][18][19] In 1922, a Ku Klux Klan chapter of nearly 100 men demanded that black residents leave on threat of violence.

By 1923 they hosted meetings of up to 400 members and burned a large cross above Fancher airfield in East Wenatchee.

The Wenatchee chapter hosted the 1926 state Klan convention and marched in the Apple Blossom Parade.

[21][22] On October 5, 1931, Clyde Pangborn and his copilot Hugh Herndon landed their airplane, named the Miss Veedol, in the hills of East Wenatchee, and thus became the first aviators to fly nonstop across the Pacific Ocean.

The reservoirs thus generated also made it possible to irrigate hundreds of thousands of acres of farmland in the Columbia Basin.

[27] According to CNN's Money Magazine, Wenatchee had the second fastest forecast real estate value growth in the country for June 2006–June 2007.

On July 29, 2013, a large wildfire spreading over 31 miles (50 km) south of Wenatchee occurred, affecting over 40 nearby homes.

[31] The Riverfront Park Ice Arena closed its doors in July 2008,[32] and Awaken Church was later opened at the site.

[33] The Wenatchee Valley also boasts one of only two aluminum smelters remaining in the Northwestern United States, at the Alcoa plant in Malaga.

Irrigation from the Columbia River and its tributaries allows for the large amount of agriculture in Wenatchee and the surrounding areas.

[36] Wenatchee experiences a semi-arid climate (Köppen BSk) with cold winters and hot, dry summers.

The WPA was the largest and most ambitious American New Deal agency, employing individuals to carry out public works projects.

Mariachi Sol De Mexico gives clinics to high school musicians and gives an evening concert sometimes featuring famous musical artists.

A project to extend the eastern segment of the trail 5 miles (8.0 km) north to Lincoln Rock State Park was completed on July 9, 2015.

An additional 3.2-mile (5.1 km) extension on the east side runs south to Kirby Billingsley Hydro Park.

A short extension slated for completion in Fall 2017 is planned from the west end of the Odabashian bridge to the corner of Easy Street and the highway.

Much of the hillside areas surrounding the city of Wenatchee have been purchased by or have their rights held by the Chelan-Douglas Land Trust which protects them as a natural resource and as a site for hiking in the foothills.

[59][60] Public safety in Wenatchee is provided by three law enforcement agencies (Wenatchee Police Department, Chelan County Sheriff's Office, and the Washington State Patrol), one fire department (Chelan County Fire District No.

2 (East Wenatchee) also assist with police and fire protection services within the city through mutual aid agreements.

Link Transit also runs commuter bus service from Wenatchee to many outlying communities in the region, including Leavenworth and Chelan.

The agency adopted its first electric buses with batteries in 2014, running on three trolley routes in Wenatchee branded as "The Current".

The city is served by Pangborn Memorial Airport which is located about 5-mile (8.0 km) to the east, and supports commercial flights from Wenatchee to and from Seattle on Alaska Air.

Wenatchee was once the eastern terminus of the Great Northern electric-driven train service (1928/1929–1956) on its New Cascade Tunnel route via the Chumstick Valley, which went all the way to Skykomish.

On August 6, 1974, a tank car belonging to Burlington Northern (now BNSF) exploded in the Appleyard Terminal in south Wenatchee, killing 2 people.