Curlew is an unincorporated community and census-designated place located in northwestern Ferry County, Washington, United States, between Malo and Danville on State Route 21. The BNSF Railway ran through the town. The historic Ansorge Hotel is located in Curlew. As of the 2010 census, the population of the community was 118.Curlew is located at the confluence of Long Alec Creek and the Kettle River. Its elevation is 1,800 feet above sea level. Via State Route 21, it is 21 miles south to Republic, the Ferry County seat, and 10 miles north to the Canadian border.One of the most popular sites on the Kettle River in summer is "the Old Swimming Hole" near the center of town. Curlew was a pick-up point for moonshine that was dropped in the Kettle River. The tradition is still celebrated on the first Sunday in June each year during the Curlew Barrel Derby Days. A barrel is set adrift in the Kettle River at the Job Corps Bridge, and local citizens bet on when it will reach town.In 1896 two traders, Guy S. Helphry an