The Palouse River is little more than a creek as it flows through Pullman, fed by three tributaries which explain the original name of the place: "Three Forks."

The founders thought they could get a big donation out of industrial magnate George Pullman who had established a model communityfor his workers near Chicago named after himself. Flattering the inventor of the airbrake and Pullman car by renaming Three Forks seemed like a good idea, but he came into town on the train, thanked them very much, wrote a check for $50 and went home, and the town's been stuck with a pointless name ever since.