Withrow, Washington

We left Glacier National Park in Montana and drove west into Washington. The Rocky Mountains dropped into a low dry valley of farmland. In the middle of this valley we came across the ghost town of Withrow, Washington.

The town of Withrow started as a wheat farm belonging to James J. Withrow. In the early 1900s the railroad began to build across the state of Washington. James allowed the surveyors to stay on his land. When the railroad was finished many of the surveyors decided to stay and sent for their families. The town of Withrow was born. At its height, in the 1920’s, the town was home to over 1200 people, had two grocery stores a bar and a post office.

In the 1930’s a blizzard cut Withrow off from the world for 17 days. Afterwards the people of the town built their own phone system to stay in touch during any future storms.

In 1950 a large meteorite struck near Withrow. It weighed 19.5 pounds and was solid iron.

The town began it’s slow decline from 1960 to 1980. In 1988 the town was dealt it’s fatal blow, the post office and general store closed. The post office in Withrow was a place where everyone in town would get their morning coffee.

Today Withrow has returned to it’s origin as a wheat farm. A handful of people remain to till the land.