Metaline, WA
Posted by: 
T0SHEA
N 48° 50.905 W 117° 23.500
11U E 471265 N 5410679
At the south end of the little town/village/hamlet of Metaline along Highway 31 is their welcome sign, well weathered, claiming the town to be the "Oldest Town in Pend Oreille Co."
Waymark Code: WMKY80
Location: Washington, United States
Date Posted: 06/13/2014
Views: 1
Though they make this claim, they seem not to be forthcoming in divulging the town's actual age. We know that Metaline Falls, across the Pend Oreille River and little more than a mile north, got its start right at the turn of the twentieth century, and by 1900 Newport, about 60 miles to the south, was alive and well. However,
History Link tells us that it was "established in 1859 during the area's gold rush days". This was well before the railroad arrived (about 1882) and well before the establishment of any other communities in Pend Oreille County.
Both the Metalines grew up around large deposits of Zinc and Lead, and so were exclusively mining town for the first decades of their lives. Though there is much low grade ore left to be harvested in the area, no mining activity of note takes place at present. Metaline, with a present population of about 175 souls, never was much larger, for the most part having been overshadowed by its similarly named neighbour to the north.