Govan, Washington
Unincorporated community and Ghost town
Govan Schoolhouse
Govan Schoolhouse
Govan, Washington is located in Washington (state)
Govan, Washington
Govan, Washington
Coordinates: 47°44′20″N 118°49′23″W / 47.73889°N 118.82306°W / 47.73889; -118.82306
CountryUnited States
StateWashington
CountyLincoln
Elevation
2,100 ft (600 m)
Time zoneUTC-8 (Pacific (PST))
 • Summer (DST)UTC-7 (PDT)
ZIP code
99185
Area code509
GNIS feature ID1511003[1]

Govan is an unincorporated community in Lincoln County, in US state of Washington. An abandoned school house, post office and grain elevator, along with a few houses both deserted and occupied, are all that remains of the town. It is considered to be a ghost town.[2]

History

The school house in Govan was built in 1905 and shut down in the 1940s. The steeple on the building toppled over in 2019. Two fires came through Govan, the most recent in 1974, that ultimately led to the town's abandonment. As of 2019 the population of the area totaled three people.[3]

Multiple unsolved murders took place in Govan before it was abandoned. In December of 1902, Judge J.A. Lewis and his wife were murdered with an axe at their home in Govan. As the couple were quite wealthy, robbery was considered to be the motive. It was referred to at the time as "one of the most atrocious murders in the history of the state".[4] In 1941 a woman was found murdered on her farm in Govan around the same time that her son went missing. The son's body was found in nearby fields eight years later.[3]

References

  1. ↑ U.S. Geological Survey Geographic Names Information System: Govan, Washington
  2. ↑ "Ghosttown.com". ghosttown.com. Retrieved July 26, 2016.
  3. 1 2 Erickson, Anne (November 1, 2019). "Govan Schoolhouse tells stories of Washington ghost town". KING 5. Retrieved October 26, 2021.
  4. ↑ "A Horrible Murder". The Washington Standard. December 26, 1902. Retrieved October 26, 2021.
This article is issued from Wikipedia. The text is licensed under Creative Commons - Attribution - Sharealike. Additional terms may apply for the media files.