The Place:
Actually, the precursor to
Mule Days,
Mule Shows began sometime in the 1800s and continued until 1915. Today Mule Days is a four day extravaganza with many
activities and events, plus the largest parade in Lincoln County. Reardan's agricultural heritage is also evident in the presence of its three large wood, concrete and steel elevators. They, along with the tall water tower south of town, are the landmarks which make Reardan easy to spot from a distance.
Founded in 1882, Reardan was initially named Capp’s Place but, when the Central Washington Railroad arrived, the town was renamed in honour of engineer C.F. Reardan. Reardan was incorporated on April 14, 1903. Today Reardan remains a sleepy little agricultural service centre straddling Highway 2 about 20 miles west of Spokane. The most interesting place we found while whizzing through was Fist A Cup Java, a cool little coffee shop on the north side of the highway near the centre of town. "This coffee shop is worth seeing, as they have packed the place with memorabilia and collectibles and have even plastered the outside with old road signs and license plates. Coffee, BTW, can be had for 50 cents a cup. When's the last time you saw that? And the coffee is superb".
On the northeast corner of town is Audubon Lake, a protected area of grasslands and marshlands which has been developed into an excellent bird watching location. This is a stop on the Great Washington State Birding Trail.
We don't know if it remains the case but Reardan was once one of Washington's most notorious speed traps. At least we didn't get a ticket while there.
The Person:
We know precious little about C.F. Reardan beyond the fact that he was not an engineer who drove the trains but the engineer responsible for building the section of track that brought the railroad to the town of Reardan in about 1889, employed by the Central Washington Railway.
The construction of the Central Washington railway was conducted with no grand flourish of trumpets or noisy demonstration. The company had decided to build into the Big Bend, and proceeded to carry out the plan without ostentation. No subsidy was voted, nor was the progress of the line advertised abroad. It was a business proposition, pure and simple, and as such it was carried out to a successful conclusion. The steady progress of the road was only anxiously watched by that section of the country ready to reap the benefits of such a line. The construction was done under direct supervision of
Engineer C.F. Reardan, and in every respect the work was first-class. Inclemency of the weather occasionally checked work for a day or two, but the means employed for laying track were the most perfect that the ingenuity of man had, so far, produced, and with it
Mr. Reardan pushed forward to his objective point.
From the Big Bend Railroad History![]()