Wheatridge Washington Ghost Town?
Name: Wheatridge
Class: C2
GPS: 47.612325, -118.721406 ?
Directions: There are three points of interest that seem to be part of Wheatridge. From Wilbur Washington head 7.8 miles south on Highway 21 to Axtel Road to the first point. Visible from Highway 21 is an abandoned farm.
Abandoned Farm outside the Ghost Town of Wheatridge Washington
The next point of interest is a mile south on Highway 21 at the next road crossing. It is the Wheatridge Fairview Cemetery. This is a small cemetery with about ten head stones in it. While it is obviously taken care of, the day I was there it was still over grown. The Internet says that a number of graves have been removed over the years.
The last stop on our trio of points of interest is the Wheatridge school. Simply keep heading south on Highway 21, it can not be missed as it will be on a hill directly in front of the road.
The building is being preserved by being clad in corrugated metal. The grounds are well taken care of, but inside the school building is nothing but debris.
Description:
I know nothing about Wheatridge or Fairview at all. I do not know if they are separate locations that shared a cemetery or if they were the same community with multiple names. I can not even find if there was a post office around. The only information I can find is a number of news articles of crimes committed “in” Wheatfield “near” Wilbur.
If you know anything more about Wheatridge/Fairview, please post below!
Bibliography:
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Fairview was never a town, only an area south of Wilbur that may have wanted to be a town someday. Wheatridge School was actually Plainview School built, I believe, in 1921 and was the most modern country school in Lincoln County — it had indoor plumbing (girls and boys restrooms) and living quarters in the back for the teachers. One of those teachers married a local man and was forever a Wilbur resident. The Plainview school eventually became the Wheatridge Grange Hall. There was never a town of Wheatridge or a post office. The house on Axtell road was built by a Mr. Schroeder and later owned by the O’Briens. For many years the Axtell family leased the farm and lived there. The Fairview (also known as Wheatridge) Cemetery Deed of Trust was dated October 5, 1895 altho some burials occurred before then. In 1919 most of the graves were moved to the cemetery in Wilbur.