Meaning "swift water" in the Kittitas Indian tongue, Cle Elum aptly describes the Cle Elum River, which tumbles down from Lake Cle Elum, 8 miles to the northeast.
In the 1880s, coal was discovered in the area and Cle Elum gained a sawmill, a school and a stop on the Northern Pacific Railroad. Coal mining in Cle Elum ended in 1963, when the last coal mine closed and the area's most important industry became logging.
The town is known as the entrance to both theWenatchee National Forest and Mount Baker-Snoqualmie National Forest.