Waterville is a town in Douglas County, Washington, serving as the county seat. It lies on the high Waterville Plateau east of the Columbia River, at the foot of Badger Mountain, and forms part of the Wenatchee–East Wenatchee metropolitan area. Its 2020 population was 1,134. The town's origins date to the 1880s, when the site was settled on land owned by Albert T. Greene. Known at first as Okanogan City and then Jumper's Flat, it was renamed Waterville when a dependable water supply was found on the land. Waterville was incorporated around 1890 and soon became the seat of Douglas County, anchoring government and commerce for the surrounding plateau. Agriculture has always defined Waterville. The community began as a cattle-ranching settlement, but wheat farming became the dominant industry as dryland farming spread across the plateau. The surrounding landscape — vast wheat fields, rimrock, and open sky — is among Washington's most distinctive agricultural country, and the town has long served as the commercial and civic hub for that farming region. Waterville holds a notable distinction: at an elevation of roughly 2,622 feet, it is recognized as the highest incorporated town in the state of Washington. Its historic downtown, with its turn-of-the-century commercial buildings and tree-shaded streets, is listed on the National Register of Historic Places. Today Waterville remains a quiet, working seat of government, with the county courthouse, schools, and local businesses anchoring a small but durable community. Residents reach the larger Wenatchee area across the river for retail, medical care, and services, while the town itself preserves the character of the wheat country that surrounds it, and the annual rhythms of planting and harvest still shape the community's calendar.