Historic Black Diamond, Washington

In the early 1880's, The Black Diamond Coal Company (BDCC) of Nortonville, CA was facing a monumental task.











As the coal supply they
were mining was beginning
to deplete, they faced moving
their entire operation -- miners,
their families, equipment and
all -- 1,000 miles north to a
remote area in Washington
Territory where a rich and
plentiful seam of high grade
coal promised to keep miners
busy for the next hundred years.
The area also provide all the timber
they needed to brace mine tunnels and build a town.

By 1885, the Company had completely
settled in the new town they named "Black Diamond."

The pictures here show the train station, which also housed a doctor's office, one of the old cars, the city jail and the what served as the fire department -- a great length of hose, wound on onto a wheeled cart that could be easily drug to the location of a fire.

The Black Diamond Bakery is not shown here, it was just down the street and has been operating since the late 1890s -- and food is delicious, great list of choices, each one more than you can eat in one meal.

It was a fun trip back in history in a hilly, heavily forested, beautiful area. I've been so fortunate to be able to take these free day trips sponsored by the Greenwood Senior Center. One member, when she died, left a substantial fund to provide free trips to members of the Center and they are great!

Next month I'll be going to Snoqualmie Falls and a Halloween train trip! I'm sure to get some good pictures there.

So, there are some advantages to growing old and these trips are certainly one of those.