Name: Wilkeson, Washington

Class: E1

GPS: Latitude: 47.1036378, Longitude: -122.04943

Directions:

From Seattle, take I-5 south to Highway 18 towards Auburn. Turn on to 167 South towards and go all the way towards Sumner. In Sumner turn on to Highway 410 and follow it east to Buckley. Just before Buckley, turn right onto Highway 165/South River Road. This will join with Highway 162, stay to the left on Highway 165. Follow this to Wilkeson.

Description:

Wilkeson, Washington was founded in 1876 to exploit high grade coal deposits found in 1874. The Northern Pacific Railway built tracks into the area to ship the coal out, but mining didn’t start until 1879. The town was named for Samuel Wilkeson who was secretary of the Northern Pacific’s board of directors.

Wilkeson became known for it’s sandstone deposits which were used in many buildings around the state of Washington, notably the State Capitol building in Olympia Washington and Wilkeson’s town hall.

The town hall is made of the local sand stone.

More Information:

Ghost Towns of the Pacific Northwest by Philip Varney