A Model Railroad Town
Posted by: 
Volcanoguy
N 46° 58.940 W 120° 25.146
10T E 696274 N 5206434
Sign at the Kittitas Trailhead just west of the Kittitas Depot in Kittitas, Washington.
Waymark Code: WM86KW
Location: Washington, United States
Date Posted: 02/07/2010
Views: 5
At the Kittitas Trailhead in the Iron Horse State Park there are two signs with history information. This one is about the town of Kittitas. Text of the Sign:
Local entreprenaurs founded Kittitas in 1884 to attract the Northern Pacific. But the railroad bypassed the town in favor of nearby Ellensburg.
Then the Milwaukee Road came along. It saw agricultural potential in Kittitas, and in 1908 built a right of way through the center of town. Industry developed on one side of the railroad tracks and people settled on the other.
Kittitas became a flourishing distribution center for grains, fruit, vegetables, and livestock - just as the Milwaukee had envisioned. They processed crops in warehouses near the depot and shipped them to market by train.
But the heyday in Kittitas didn’t last. The Panama Canal, improved public highways, and long-distance trucking created intense competition for the Milwaukee Road. Kittitas, once the model railway town, is smaller now.