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Dust in the Wind -

A Guide to American Ghost Towns

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ALTOONA

Wahkiakum Co.

This class D fishing town along the Columbia River had 30 people in 1990.  It is across from and northeast of Astoria OR.  The fish canneries here were established in the 1870s, and by World War II the town began to fade.

BLEWETT

Chelan Co.

This 1860s gold mining town is located on US 97, 21 miles north of Liberty in Blewett Pass.  In this area there were a large number of gold mines and old mining camps.  Most of the buildings were wiped out when the highway was built.

BODIE

(AKA – New Toroda)

Okanogan Co.

An early 1900s gold milling town along Toroda Creek, 15 miles north of Wauconda. It was founded in 1900, and lasted until at least 1962.

BRADY

Gray’s Harbor Co.

This late 1800s gold mining center is located on SH 101, 14 miles east of Aberdeen and on the Satsop River across from the town of Satsop.

BURNETT

Pierce Co.

An early 1900s era coal mining town three miles south of Buckley off   SH 5.  The town was abandoned after World War II ended.

CHESAW

Okanogan Co.

This class D, 1890s gold camp along Meyers Creek, is ten miles east of Molson Junction in the northeast corner of the county.  It had 80 people remaining in 1990.

CONCONULLY

Okanogan Co.

This class D gold mining town is located seventeen miles northwest of Okanogan.  It was the county seat and was plagued by fire, flood and other natural disasters.

DISAUTEL

Okanogan Co.

A class D logging camp on Omak Creek, about 15 miles east of Omak.  In 1990 there were still 30 folks here.

FRANKFORT

Pacific Co.

Fishing town located along the Columbia River west of the Astoria Bridge.  It dates to 1890 when the town plat was filed.

GOLD HILL

Okanogan Co.

Near Loomis, which is 13 miles west of Ellisford.  Ellisford is on US 97, 11 miles south of Oroville.  The overgrown site is located on a four-wheel-drive trail.

HAVILLAH

Okanogan Co.

Founded in 1903, this gristmilling town was about 13 miles southwest of Chesaw, in the northeast part of the county.  A church and a school were also built, and remained as late as 1970.

HOME

Pierce Co.

On east side of the peninsula on west side of Henderson Bay, 13 miles southwest of SH 16 at Purdy, which is 19 miles northwest of Tacoma. 

Several miles north of Lake Bay, and a half-mile from the "modern"

community of Home.

KNAPPTON

Pacific Co.

On the Columbia River and SH 401, several miles east of the Astoria

Bridge.  Cement manufacturing and logging supported the town from 1871 until 1943 when the post office closed.  The site was heavily damaged in 1960 when the state highway was built through it.

LIBERTY

Kittitas Co.

This old town is located 15 miles northeast of Cle Elum, two miles east of the main road along Boulder Creek.  A fascinating gold mining town with 30 folks remaining in 1990.

MARYHILL

Klickitat Co.

On north side of Columbia River, just west of the US 97 bridge that

crosses over the river at Biggs, Oregon, 18 miles east of The Dalles (OR).  There is a replica of Stonehenge and a well-known museum.

MEAGHERSVILLE

Kittitas Co.

Gold mining camp along Williams Creek, two miles south of Liberty.  It was the original camp and the people moved to Liberty as it was in a better location.

MILAN

Spokane Co.

In 1990, 70 people still lived in this tiny lumbering town on the Little Spokane River/SH 2, 24 miles north of Spokane, in the northern point of the county.

MOLSON

Okanogan Co.

This 1890s gold mining town has three locations, and is located two miles south of the Canadian border and northeast of Oroville.  Old Molson was established in 1900, and lasted until about 1905 when land title problems made the town relocate a half-mile to the north, and New Molson was founded.  In 1914 a school was plopped down between the two locations, and Center Molson was born.  In 1990 30 people remained in the Molsons.

NIGHTHAWK

Okanogan Co.

Along the Silkameen River, 12 miles northwest of Oroville, and five miles south of the Canadian border. This late 1890s-1950s era gold milling center is quiet now, with only 30 people here in 1990.

OLD TORODA

Okanogan Co.

Established in 1896, this gold mining town is at the confluence of Toroda Creek and Cougar Creek, northeast of Wauconda, four miles south of Bodie.

PORT BLAKELY

Kitsap Co.

A class B lumber mill and shipping center located on the southeast end of Bainbridge Island, directly west of downtown Seattle.  Was in operation from 1863-1920s.  PHOTO!

SILCOTT

Garfield/

Whitman Co.

This one time river port is on the Snake River nine miles west of Clarkston burned in 1885.

SKAMAKOWA

Wahkiakum Co.

This class D-fishing town is along SH 4, eight miles northwest of Cathlamet in a shallow backwater along the north shore of the Columbia River.  It was a salmon fishing, canning and logging center, and was founded in the mid 1800s when access was only via riverboat.  In 1910 500 folks lived here.  Only 220 remained in 1990.Was

This was our Ghost Town of the Month for September 2004

Historians estimate that there may be as many

as 50,000 ghost towns scattered across the United States of America. During the next five years, Gary B. Speck Publications will be publishing unique state, regional, and county guides called

The Ghost Town Guru's Guide

to the Ghost Towns of *** ™

These original guides are designed for anybody interested in

ghost towns. Whether you are a casual tourist looking for a new and different place to visit, or a hard-core ghost town researcher, these guides will be just right for you. With over 30 years of research behind them, they will be a welcome addition to any

ghost towner's library.

Thank you, and we'll see you out on the Ghost Town Trail!

For more information on the ghost towns of WASHINGTON,

contact us at

Ghost Town USA.

E-mailers, PLEASE NOTE:

Due to the tremendous amount of viruses, worms and “spam,” out there, I no longer open any e-mails with unsolicited attachments, OR messages on the subject lines with “Hey”, “Hi”, “Need help”, “Help Please”, “???”, or blank subject lines, etc.  If you do send E-mail asking for information, or sharing information, PLEASE indicate the appropriate location AND state name, or other topic on the “subject” line.  THANK YOU!  :o)

IMPORTANT

These listings and historical vignettes of ghost towns, near-ghost towns and other historical sites in WASHINGTON above are for informational purposes only, and should NOT be construed to grant permission to trespass, metal detect, relic or treasure hunt at any of the listed sites.

If the reader of this guide is a metal detector user and plans to use this guide to locate sites for metal detecting or relic hunting, it is the READER'S responsibility to obtain written permission from the legal property owners. Please be advised, that any state or nationally owned sites will probably be off-limits to metal detector use. Also be aware of any federal, state or local laws restricting the same.

When you are exploring the ghost towns of WASHINGTON, please abide by the

Ghost Towner's Code of Ethics.