Palisades, Washington | A Forgotten Town in Moses Coulee #PalisadesWashington #MosesCoulee #4k

 

 

Take a drive through Palisades, Washington, a tiny community tucked beneath the towering basalt cliffs of Moses Coulee in Douglas County.

Today, Palisades is a quiet place, but its history includes homesteaders, fruit orchards, a general store, a Great Northern Railway depot, and the Mansfield Branch railroad.

The community began developing in the early 1900s, and the arrival of the Great Northern Railway in 1909 helped shift Palisades toward the railroad. At the same time, investors believed Moses Coulee could become an important fruit-growing region, and hundreds of acres were planned for orchards.

The orchard dream eventually faded, and decades later the railroad followed. The last Burlington Northern train traveled through the area in 1985, bringing an end to approximately 76 years of railroad service.

In this video, we'll drive through Palisades and Moses Coulee while looking back at the history of this fascinating little corner of Eastern Washington.

If you enjoy exploring the small towns, forgotten places, railroads and history of Washington State, please consider subscribing. 

#PalisadesWashington #MosesCoulee #WashingtonHistory #4k

Exploring Okanogan’s Old West Museum #Okanogan #WashingtonHistory #LocalHistory #4k

 

 

Step inside the Okanogan County Historical Museum, where the history of north-central Washington fills indoor galleries, an early fire hall and an entire outdoor pioneer village. 

Located in Okanogan, Washington, the museum preserves historic fire engines, horse-drawn equipment, cabins, storefronts, wagons, tools, agricultural artifacts and reminders of everyday life in Okanogan County. 

Okanogan before entering the replica fire hall. From there, we explore the museum’s outdoor Old West town, where weathered buildings and furnished rooms recreate life during the county’s early years. Finally, we head indoors to see photographs, models and displays connected to Indigenous history, river transportation, orchards, mining, timber, ranching and local commerce. 

The Okanogan County Historical Society was organized in 1963, and the main museum opened in 1975. Its collections continue to preserve the stories, objects and ordinary details that connect modern Okanogan County with its past. 

Museum information: https://www.ochsociety.org/museums

If you enjoy exploring Washington’s small towns, museums and forgotten places, please consider subscribing to LookSeeTravel.com for more local history from across the Pacific Northwest. 

 #Okanogan #WashingtonHistory #LocalHistory #4k #easternwashington 

The Donner Party: Crossing the Great Salt Lake Desert #DonnerParty #AmericanHistory #OldWest

 

 

In 1846, the Donner Party crossed the Great Salt Lake Desert on a shortcut they believed would save them valuable time. Instead, the crossing would cost them wagons, cattle, supplies—and precious weeks as winter approached. 

In this video, we travel west across Utah on Interstate 80 through the landscape once crossed by the Donner-Reed Party as they followed the controversial Hastings Cutoff toward California. 

Promoted by Lansford Hastings as a shorter route west, the Hastings Cutoff led the emigrants through the Wasatch Mountains and onto the vast, waterless Great Salt Lake Desert, known today for the Bonneville Salt Flats. 

The crossing proved far more difficult than expected. Cattle weakened and disappeared, wagons became bogged down, possessions were abandoned, and exhausted families struggled toward water near Pilot Peak. 

Today, Interstate 80 crosses this landscape in little more than an hour. In 1846, crossing it took days. 

The Donner Party survived the Great Salt Lake Desert, but the shortcut that was supposed to save them time had instead helped make them dangerously late. 

And ahead of them stood the Sierra Nevada—and the approaching winter of 1846. 

This video combines modern footage of the Great Salt Lake Desert with historical recreations showing how this remarkable landscape may have appeared to the emigrants traveling west nearly 180 years ago. 

▶ Watch my video about the Van Ornum Wagon Train Massacre: https://youtu.be/C7H99StxjTU 

 If you enjoy forgotten history, historic trails, small towns, and stories from the American West, please like, share and subscribe. 

Until next time, keep your wheels rolling. 

#DonnerParty #AmericanHistory #OldWest 

OMAK, Washington | Walking & Driving Tour Through History #Omak #WashingtonState #OkanoganCounty #4k

 

Explore Omak, Washington, on a walking and driving tour through the largest city in Okanogan County. 

Located along the Okanogan River in north-central Washington, Omak has grown into an important commercial center for the surrounding Okanogan Valley. But just over a century ago, much of what we see here today was farmland. 

In this video, we'll walk through Omak's commercial district while exploring the story of how the town began in 1907, when Ben Ross divided 20 acres of his alfalfa field into town lots. 

We'll look at Omak's connection to neighboring Okanogan, the Okanogan Irrigation Project, the arrival of irrigation water, the growth of the region's orchards, Omak's incorporation in 1911, and the arrival of the Great Northern Railway in 1914. 

Then we'll finish with a drive through modern-day Omak. 

There's much more to Omak's story than we can cover in a single video. The Omak Stampede, lumber industry, Colville Indian Reservation, historic businesses, buildings, and the people who shaped this community all deserve stories of their own—and we'll explore more of them in future videos. 

If you enjoy the history of Washington's small towns, forgotten places, historic buildings, and backroads, subscribe and come along as we continue exploring the communities and stories of the Pacific Northwest. 

My trip to Okanogan on the same trip: https://youtu.be/c64NgdFUaI8 

My visit to Molson, Washington: https://youtu.be/PSeNseDsPUo 

My inspection of Tonasket, Washington: https://youtu.be/M7VGYkEUkqo 

Thanks for watching, and until the next one—Cheers! 

 #Omak #WashingtonState #OkanoganCounty #4k

Exploring Okanogan, Washington | Courthouse, Downtown & Local History #Okanogan #WashingtonState #4k

 

Explore Okanogan, Washington, a historic small town along the Okanogan River and the county seat of Washington State's largest county by area. 

In this video, we'll travel through downtown Okanogan and discover how this small community grew from a frontier settlement known as Alma into an important center of government, agriculture and commerce. 

One of the biggest turning points came in 1914, when Okanogan won a hard-fought election to become the Okanogan County seat. Soon afterward, construction began on the impressive Okanogan County Courthouse, whose distinctive clock tower still overlooks the community today. 

We'll also explore historic Second Avenue, once lined with hotels, mercantile stores, banks, saloons and other businesses serving the surrounding agricultural country. 

Along the way, we'll look at the arrival of irrigation and the Great Northern Railway, the importance of apples, cattle and lumber, and how neighboring Omak eventually became the larger commercial center while Okanogan retained the county government. 

We'll also visit several Okanogan landmarks, including the historic Post Office and the 1922 Masonic Temple, which once housed the Paramount Theatre and later the Avalon Theatre. 

And we'll discover one amusing detail from Okanogan's earliest city government: apparently one of the new city council's priorities was making sure the Big Dan Saloon had its liquor license! 

Today, Okanogan remains a small community with a surprisingly rich history—one that can easily be missed if you're simply passing through. 

Join me as we explore Okanogan, Washington, and discover another piece of small-town Pacific Northwest history. 

If you enjoy exploring small towns, historic places and forgotten stories throughout Washington and the Pacific Northwest, consider subscribing. There are plenty more towns—and plenty more stories—waiting just down the road. 

#Okanogan #WashingtonState #SmallTownHistory #4k #OkanoganCounty #walkingtour 

Pilot Rock, Oregon | A Small Town at the Base of the Blues #PilotRockOregon #EasternOregon

 

 

Welcome to Pilot Rock, Oregon, a small community located about fifteen miles south of Pendleton at the base of the Blue Mountains. 

Pilot Rock was named for a prominent basalt formation that early travelers used as a navigational landmark. Long before road signs and GPS, the rock helped guide people traveling through this part of northeastern Oregon. 

In this video, we explore Pilot Rock’s streets and learn about the town’s history. Established during the 1860s, the community developed as a trading and supply center for the surrounding farms and ranches. Its post office opened in 1868, and Pilot Rock incorporated in 1902. 

The arrival of the Umatilla Central Railroad in 1907 connected the town with regional markets and helped transport grain, livestock, lumber, supplies and passengers. During the twentieth century, timber and the Pilot Rock Lumber Company became important parts of the local economy. 

Today, Pilot Rock has approximately 1,300 residents. Agriculture, ranching and wood products remain closely connected to this working Eastern Oregon community. 

Join me as we visit Pilot Rock, Oregon—a small town with a name inspired by one of the region’s natural landmarks. 

 If you enjoyed the video, please give it a like and subscribe for more tours of small towns, historic communities and overlooked places throughout Oregon, Washington and the Pacific Northwest. 

Do you live in Pilot Rock, or have memories of visiting the town? Please share your stories in the comments. 

 #PilotRockOregon #EasternOregon #SmallTownAmerica #OregonHistory #UmatillaCounty #BlueMountains #HistoricOregon #OregonTravel #SmallTownHistory #PacificNorthwest 

Molson Washington: The Ghost Town That Moved #MolsonWashington #WashingtonState #OkanoganCounty

 

 

Explore Molson, Washington, one of the most fascinating ghost towns in the Pacific Northwest. 

Located high in the Okanogan Highlands near the Canadian border, Molson was once a booming gold-mining community of roughly 300 people. But within little more than a year, its population reportedly collapsed to only about 12. 

That wasn't the end of Molson. 

The arrival of the Great Northern Railway brought the community back to life, only for a dispute over ownership of the original townsite to divide Molson again. Residents and businesses relocated, creating what became known as Old Molson and New Molson.

In this video, we'll explore Old Molson, visit the historic Molson Schoolhouse Museum, and continue into New Molson while following the remarkable history of this remote Washington community.

We'll look at Molson's gold-mining boom, the Poland China Mine, the arrival and eventual abandonment of the railroad, the dispute that divided the town, the Molson State Bank, the hotels destroyed by fire, the old schoolhouse, and the people who kept this community alive long after its boom years had ended.

Today, Old Molson has been preserved as an open-air museum filled with historic buildings, machinery, mining equipment, wagons, tools, and other reminders of life in northern Okanogan County more than a century ago. 

00:00 Old Molson 

05:39 Molson Schoolhouse Museum 

10:18 Molson Grange Hall 

10:54 New Molson 

12:43 Chesaw Road Drive 

Molson may be called a ghost town, but its story is much more complicated than that. 

If you enjoy Washington State history, ghost towns, forgotten communities, historic buildings, and exploring the small towns of the Pacific Northwest, I hope you'll enjoy this visit to Molson. 

#MolsonWashington #GhostTowns #WashingtonState #OkanoganCounty #PacificNorthwest