Wait… How Many U.S. Presidents Have Actually Visited the Tri-Cities?

I've always been fascinated by the Presidents of the USA. I share my birthday with John F. Kennedy, so I always did my book reports on him as a kid.

It got me thinking, how many presidents have actually been in the Tri-Cities?

Air Force One in Our Backyard? Presidents Who Came to the Tri-Cities

Most rallies for Presidential candidates usually happen in Seattle or Portland, but on a rare occasion, Tri-Cities, Washington, has hosted a few sitting Presidents.

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You'd think of the 47 presidents that we've had, a few might've shown up in the Tri-Cities, but that number is shockingly low.

As of this writing, only 3 sitting Presidents have visited the Tri-Cities.

The most famous visit was from John F. Kennedy, and he came to town at the Hanford Site for the groundbreaking/dedication of the N-Reactor in 1963.

From JFK to Dubya: Presidents Who’ve Made a Pit Stop in Tri-Cities

Richard Nixon also visited the site in September 1971, where he dedicated the Battelle-Northwest building in Richland

Our most recent President to visit was George W. Bush. Bush was at the Ice Harbor Dam near Pasco in 2003 (while president) to discuss salmon recovery.

Only three sitting Presidents have been to the Columbia Basin, but Lyndon Johnson gets an honorable mention, because before he was president, while Vice President, he dedicated Ice Harbor Dam in May 1962.

You'd think those numbers would be larger. I think we need to tell the Presidents that we've got great fishing here, maybe that'll bring more of them our way in the future.

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