Metaline Falls is a town in
Pend Oreille County, Washington, United States. The population was 272 at the
2020 census.
History
Evidence of
early indigenous peoples in the area dates to some 12,000 years ago. By 1810,
European fur traders were crossing the area. The settlement of Metaline Falls was founded in 1900, with most of its residents then employed by the Mammoth and Morning lead-zinc mines.
Metaline Falls was officially incorporated on May 3, 1911.
The name Metaline comes from the abundance of
lead ore,
galena
Galena, also called lead glance, is the natural mineral form of lead(II) sulfide (PbS). It is the most important ore of lead and an important source of silver.
Galena is one of the most abundant and widely distributed sulfide minerals. It cryst ...
, found in the region. Though these lead deposits were known since 1869, mining did not commence until 1886. Then in 1910, Metaline Falls was connected with the
Idaho and Washington Northern Railroad. The Lehigh Portland Cement Co. plant was soon built, taking advantage of the region's
limestone deposits. The Pend Oreille Mine was developed in 1929 by Lewis P. Larsen, and combined with production from the Grandview Mine and the
Metaline Mine, the area became the state's largest producer of lead and
zinc.
In 1942,
Executive Order 9066
Executive Order 9066 was a United States presidential executive order signed and issued during World War II by United States president Franklin D. Roosevelt on February 19, 1942. This order authorized the secretary of war to prescribe certain ...
was issued, resulting in the forced internment of
120,000 Japanese-Americans. George Kubota, Sr., the patriarch of a Japanese-American family who ran a hardware store in town, was arrested and imprisoned by the
FBI in
Spokane. The editors of the Metaline Falls newspaper and the majority of residents in town protested the arrest, vouching for the Kubota family's loyalty. The FBI eventually released Kubota from custody and did not send the family to an internment camp.
The train sequences of the 1993 film ''
Benny & Joon
''Benny & Joon'' is a 1993 American romantic comedy-drama film released by Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer about how two eccentric individuals, Sam (Johnny Depp) and Juniper "Joon" (Mary Stuart Masterson), find each other and fall in love. Aidan Quinn also st ...
'' were filmed in the Metaline Falls area; the 1997 film
''The Postman'' was filmed in part in the area. The town's geographic location is similar to that of the fictitious town of
Twin Peaks from the TV series of the same name ("Five miles south of the Canadian border, twelve miles west of the state line").
Metaline Falls is home to four of Pend Oreille County's six locations on the
National Register of Historic Places. The Lewis P. Larson House, built in 1910 and designed by
Kirtland Cutter
Kirtland Kelsey Cutter (August 20, 1860 – September 26, 1939) was a 20th-century architect in the Pacific Northwest and California. He was born in East Rockport, Ohio, the great-grandson of Jared Potter Kirtland. He studied painting and illus ...
is an English cottage style home. The Pend Oreille Mines and Metals Building, now known as the Lewis Larson Apartments, is the last remaining structure in town that was part of Larson's mining empire. The Washington Hotel, built in 1910 by Larson. The Metaline Falls School, also designed by Cutter, was built in 1912 in the classical revival style. The school was abandoned in 1972 and sat unmaintained until 1990 when local residents came together to take care of the historic building, which is now known as the Cutter Theater and serves as a community center.
Geography
According to the
United States Census Bureau, the town has a total area of , all of it land.
Metaline Falls is located on the east bank of the
Pend Oreille River as it flows north towards Canada. The town of
etaline Falls, Washingtonlies directly upstream from Metaline on the opposite bank of the river. The river makes a zig zag at Metaline Falls, turning briefly to the east to get around Washington Rock, which towers over Metaline Falls immediately to the north of the town and the
Metaline Falls Bridge
The Metaline Falls Bridge carries Washington State Route 31 over the Pend Oreille River in the extreme northeast corner of the state. Officially named the Pend Oreille Bridge, it provides access from the south to the town of Metaline Falls and the ...
. Sullivan Creek, which drains nearby Sullivan Lake, enters the river at Metaline Falls. The river is the site of the lowest lying terrain in the Metaline Falls area, as it cuts its way through the peaks of the
Selkirk Mountains
The Selkirk Mountains are a mountain range spanning the northern portion of the Idaho Panhandle, eastern Washington, and southeastern British Columbia which are part of a larger grouping of mountains, the Columbia Mountains. They begin at Mica Pe ...
which rise over 1,000 feet above the river within just a mile of the town.
The town is surrounded by the
Colville National Forest, with the rugged and isolated
Salmo-Priest Wilderness
Salmo-Priest Wilderness is a 41,335 acre (167.28 km2) wilderness area located in the Selkirk Mountains in the northeast corner of Washington state, within the Colville National Forest and the Kaniksu National Forest.
Topography
The high-cou ...
coming within just a few miles to the east.
The Sullivan Lake Ranger District is headquartered in Metaline Falls.
State Route 31 passes through Metaline Falls, connecting the town to the rest of the state highway system at
Tiger in the south and with Canada at
Nelway, British Columbia.
Climate
Metaline Falls has a dry-summer
Humid continental climate (Dsb) according to the
Köppen climate classification system.
National protected areas
*
Pacific Northwest National Scenic Trail
The Pacific Northwest Trail (PNT) is a 1200-mile hiking trail running from the Continental Divide in Montana to the Pacific Ocean on Washington's Olympic Coast. Along the way, the PNT crosses three national parks, seven national forests, and tw ...
(part)
*
Colville National Forest
*
Salmo-Priest Wilderness
Salmo-Priest Wilderness is a 41,335 acre (167.28 km2) wilderness area located in the Selkirk Mountains in the northeast corner of Washington state, within the Colville National Forest and the Kaniksu National Forest.
Topography
The high-cou ...
Demographics
2010 census
As of the
census of 2010, there were 238 people, 124 households, and 54 families residing in the town. The
population density was . There were 206 housing units at an average density of . The racial makeup of the town was 94.5%
White, 0.4%
African American, 2.1%
Native American, 0.8%
Asian
Asian may refer to:
* Items from or related to the continent of Asia:
** Asian people, people in or descending from Asia
** Asian culture, the culture of the people from Asia
** Asian cuisine, food based on the style of food of the people from Asi ...
, and 2.1% from two or more races.
Hispanic or
Latino
Latino or Latinos most often refers to:
* Latino (demonym), a term used in the United States for people with cultural ties to Latin America
* Hispanic and Latino Americans in the United States
* The people or cultures of Latin America;
** Latin A ...
of any race were 1.7% of the population.
There were 124 households, of which 24.2% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 36.3% were
married couples
Marriage, also called matrimony or wedlock, is a culturally and often legally recognized union between people called spouses. It establishes rights and obligations between them, as well as between them and their children, and between t ...
living together, 4.0% had a female householder with no husband present, 3.2% had a male householder with no wife present, and 56.5% were non-families. 49.2% of all households were made up of individuals, and 18.5% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 1.92 and the average family size was 2.91.
The median age in the town was 48.3 years. 20.6% of residents were under the age of 18; 4.6% were between the ages of 18 and 24; 18.9% were from 25 to 44; 37.8% were from 45 to 64; and 18.1% were 65 years of age or older. The gender makeup of the town was 47.9% male and 52.1% female.
2000 census
As of the census of 2000, there were 223 people, 122 households, and 52 families residing in the town. The
population density was 1,076.1 people per square mile (410.0/km
2). There were 192 housing units at an average density of 926.5 per square mile (353.0/km
2). The racial makeup of the town was 96.86%
White, 1.35%
Asian
Asian may refer to:
* Items from or related to the continent of Asia:
** Asian people, people in or descending from Asia
** Asian culture, the culture of the people from Asia
** Asian cuisine, food based on the style of food of the people from Asi ...
, 0.45% from
other races, and 1.35% from two or more races.
Hispanic or
Latino
Latino or Latinos most often refers to:
* Latino (demonym), a term used in the United States for people with cultural ties to Latin America
* Hispanic and Latino Americans in the United States
* The people or cultures of Latin America;
** Latin A ...
of any race were 0.45% of the population.
There were 122 households, out of which 18.0% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 36.1% were
married couples
Marriage, also called matrimony or wedlock, is a culturally and often legally recognized union between people called spouses. It establishes rights and obligations between them, as well as between them and their children, and between t ...
living together, 4.9% had a female householder with no husband present, and 56.6% were non-families. 54.1% of all households were made up of individuals, and 21.3% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 1.83 and the average family size was 2.79.
In the town, the population was spread out, with 19.3% under the age of 18, 3.6% from 18 to 24, 21.1% from 25 to 44, 33.2% from 45 to 64, and 22.9% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 49 years. For every 100 females, there were 95.6 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 85.6 males.
The median income for a household in the town was $17,083, and the median income for a family was $35,250. Males had a median income of $36,250 versus $18,333 for females. The
per capita income for the town was $16,390. About 24.4% of families and 33.2% of the population were below the
poverty line, including 48.1% of those under the age of eighteen and 16.2% of those 65 or over.
Education
Metaline Falls is located in the Selkirk School District, which serves the residents of northern Pend Oreille County. Metaline Falls is home to the Selkirk Elementary School, while the combined middle and high schools are located on State Route 31 near Ione. The schools' mascot is the Rangers.
Gallery
Larson House.jpg, The Lewis P. Larson House, NRHP No. 79002549
Metaline Falls School NRHP 88001518 Pend Oreille County, WA.jpg, Metaline Falls School, NRHP No. 88001518
Washington Hotel, Metaline Falls, WA.jpg, Washington Hotel, NRHP No. 79002550
Metaline Falls (3942364911).jpg, Lewis Larson Apartments, on the NRHP 97001081
References
{{authority control
Towns in Pend Oreille County, Washington
Towns in Washington (state)
Populated places established in 1900