This is a series of Geocache
hides at Ghost Towns in Cache-Cadia.
Ghost Towns are abundant in
North Central Washington. They have become ghost towns
because of financial reasons, population changes, mines closing,
and a lot of them are covered by backwater from the dams in the
area. Some of the towns were relocated due to the building of
the dams but the smaller ones were just abandoned. As the
railroads came and went in the Central Washington
area a lot of the
smaller towns on the rail lines were lost when the railroad would
stop only in the bigger towns. Mining has always been an
influence in this area and towns have grown and been abandoned as
the mines have been worked out. This series on Ghost Towns
will bring you to areas where at one time a town was
located. Enjoy the areas and learning some history on
this land we call Cache-Cadia.
Winesap was a community on
the west bank of the Columbia River
six miles north
of Entiat and 11 miles southwest of Lakeside
in
Chelan
County
. In 1909, a post office was established, and the name suggested
was Coles View, to honor Postmistress Elizabeth Cole. Postal
authorities objected to two words, and from a submitted list picked
the present name. The name Winesap is that of a famous apple which
is grown in this valley and the little village was a shipping
and warehousing point. The post office was for many years in
a store but the site during the tenure of Mrs. Elizabeth Cole as
postmaster was not the same site as it was when the post
office was closed in 1944. Mail service to Winesap was
provided by river steamboats putting in at Dick’s Landing which was
located about a mile north of the mouth of Navarre Coulee.
After 1914 the post office was served by the Great Northern.
The town site is now covered by the backwater of Rocky Reach Dam.
Looking south west from the cache site -towards Ribbon cliff
on the land between the highway and river is where the town
was. There are now houses going in the area. The only
reminders of Winesap is the power substation and a marker on the
rail lines.