Almota, Washington

Almota (/ælˈmoʊtə/)^[1] is a ghost town in Whitman County, in the U.S. state of Washington. The GNIS classifies it as a populated place.^[2]

Almota, Washington
Ghost town
Looking north towards Almota, c.1880
Almota Show map of Washington (state) Almota Show map of the United States
Coordinates: 46°42′11″N 117°28′10″W
Country	United States
State	Washington
County	Whitman
Established	1878
Time zone	UTC-8 (Pacific (PST))
• Summer (DST)	UTC-7 (PDT)

Native American settlement

The Almota area had been historically occupied by the Almotipu band of the Nez Perce peoples who lived in several villages on the south shore of the Snake River, one of which was known as Alamotin (Nez Perce for "The Soaring Flame"). The Lewis and Clark Expedition passed through the area on their return journey from the Pacific Coast, camping in the area below Almota creek on October 11, 1805, although the exact site has not been found.^[3]

History of Almota

Almota was first surveyed for a townsite in the late 1870s following the removal of rapids from the Snake River that would finally allow uninterrupted boat traffic to directly reach the wheat growers of the Palouse. The community took its name from Almota creek, which enters the Snake River at the site.^[4] Almota became an important wheat shipping port for the region as well as a ferry crossing.^[5]

A post office was established in 1878, and remained in operation until 1961.^[6] In 1917 it was reported as on the line of the Oregon–Washington Railroad and Navigation Company, which is currently part of the Riparian subdivision of the Great Northwest Railroad that connects the Tri-Cities to Lewiston, Idaho.^[7] The construction of the Little Goose Dam from 1963 to 1970 subsequently flooded what was left of the original village. The only buildings at Almota today comprise a large grain shipping terminal operated by the Almota Elevator Co., which is built on fill over the original townsite.

References

1. Phillips, James W. (1971). Washington State Place Names. Seattle and London: University of Washington Press. p. 8. ISBN 0-295-95498-1.
2. U.S. Geological Survey Geographic Names Information System: Almota, Washington
3. "October 11, 1805". Journals of the Lewis & Clark Expedition. Retrieved November 20, 2020.
4. Meany, Edmond S. (1923). Origin of Washington geographic names. Seattle: University of Washington Press. p. 5.
5. "The removal of obstructions to the upper Columbia and Snake rivers..." The Daily Intelligencer. Library of Congress. November 23, 1877. Retrieved July 23, 2020.
6. "Post Offices". Jim Forte Postal History. Retrieved July 12, 2016.
7. Landes, Henry (1917). A Geographic Dictionary of Washington (PDF). Washington Geological Survey, Bulletin No. 17. Olympia: Frank M. Lamborn Public printer. p. 63.