Wellington Ghost Town marks the remains of a town with an unsettling history founded in 1893 in Washington state along the Great Northern Railway.
Washington Trails Association gives this description of the town’s history:
The town included a train depot that was unfortunately destined to become the site of the deadliest avalanche in US history.
On March 1, 1910, a passenger train and a mail train were stuck at the Wellington Depot waiting out a blizzard that had been raging for nine days. During the night, while most people were sleeping, an avalanche hit the trains and the station quickly sweeping everything about 150 feet downhill into the Tye River valley. 96 people were killed in the event. Only 23 survived. In October of 1910 Wellington was quietly renamed Tye to ease the fears of travelers who would forever associate the name Wellington with this tragic event.
In the same month that the town was renamed work began on the snowsheds designed to protect the rails and passing trains from future avalanches. Some of these sheds are still standing today. Tye was abandoned in 1929 when the second Cascade Tunnel, which is still in use today, was completed negating the need for trains to pass through the town.
Now, visitors can wander through the site of the original town of Wellington within a 2-hour drive of Seattle.
Explorers will find themselves exploring several miles of snow sheds and tunnels that shored up the railway before the Cascade Tunnel rerouted traffic. Although Wellington is a well-kept site, there is a ghostly stillness to the region that has settled into the architecture itself.
On the day that we visited there was a rain storm overhead, and the incessant sound of running, dripping water accompanied our walk.
Growing up in rural Eastern Oregon, I often explored mountains full of abandoned mining encampments or small settlements. There is something about walking the footsteps of those who have come before you, that gives you a strange awareness of your own mortality.
While some might say it’s mumbo jumbo, I have always believed that there is extra energy built up in abandoned spaces.
If you happen to live in, or near Washington, here’s a fun resource to guide your explorations: Ghost Towns of Washington. This website has listed every known ghost town in Washington, often with pictures and directions to get you there! I have my eye on a few of these, and as summer approaches and the snow melts, you may be seeing some new pics.
And finally, I’ll leave you with a picture of my personal “light at the end of the tunnel”. <3
If you follow my blog, you’re starting to know that writing about hiking and outdoors adventures is one of my favorite topics! I’d love to know your hiking recommendations, tips, and favorite resources!
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