Kanaskat, Washington is an

unincorporated community An unincorporated area is a parcel of land that is not governed by a local general-purpose municipal corporation. (At p. 178.) They may be governed or serviced by an encompassing unit (such as a county) or another branch of the state (such as th ...

in King County,

Washington Washington most commonly refers to: * George Washington (1732–1799), the first president of the United States * Washington (state), a state in the Pacific Northwest of the United States * Washington, D.C., the capital of the United States ** A ...

United States The United States of America (USA), also known as the United States (U.S.) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It is a federal republic of 50 U.S. state, states and a federal capital district, Washington, D.C. The 48 ...

History

Kanaskat was a small facility on the

Northern Pacific Railway The Northern Pacific Railway was an important American transcontinental railroad that operated across the northern tier of the Western United States, from Minnesota to the Pacific Northwest between 1864 and 1970. It was approved and chartered b ...

, today's

BNSF Railway BNSF Railway is the largest freight railroad in the United States. One of six North American Class I railroads, BNSF has 36,000 employees, of track in 28 states, and over 8,000 locomotives. It has three Transcontinental railroad, transcontine ...

, created by the opening of a cut-off between Palmer, Washington and

Auburn, Washington Auburn is a city in King County, Washington, King County, Washington (state), Washington, United States (with a small portion crossing into neighboring Pierce County, Washington, Pierce County). The population was 87,256 at the 2020 United States ...

, built 1899-1900 by the Northern Pacific's contractors Horace C. Henry and his partner

Nelson Bennett Nelson Bennett (October 14, 1843 – July 20, 1913) was a Canadian-American railroad magnate who contributed to the growth of Fairhaven and Tacoma, Washington in the late 19th-century. Bennett was president of the Fairhaven and Southern Railroa ...

. Kanaskat served as a water-stop for steam-powered trains out of Auburn, as well as a small yard and scale for the NP's Green River Branch northward to Kangley, Washington, Selleck, Washington, and Kerriston, Washington, as well as the large mills located just to the south in

Enumclaw, Washington Enumclaw ( ) is a city in King County, Washington, United States. The population was 12,543 at the 2020 census. The Enumclaw Plateau, on which the city resides, was formed by a volcanic mudflow (lahar) from Mount Rainier approximately 5,700 ...

and

Buckley, Washington Buckley is a city in Pierce County, Washington, United States, founded in 1882. The population was 5,114 at the 2020 census. Buckley sits below Mount Rainier and is well known for hosting the annual Log Show. Geography Buckley is located near ...

. In 1900, the NP built a 2,850-foot passing track, a 1,200-foot house track, a wye connection with the Green River Branch to Kangley, Selleck, Barneston and Kerriston, a fourth class combination station, a second class section house, a 24-man bunkhouse, a double tool house, and a box water tank and standpipe. The ornate Victorian station at this site was destroyed by fire in 1944 when a wood stove pipe through the roof overheated. It was replaced by an innovative temporary station -– a round-roof box car. After World War Two the Northern Pacific replaced the box car with a solid brick station. This lasted until 1959, when the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers were forced to build the Northern Pacific yet another station directly northwest of its postwar structure (due to the line change caused by the Corps of Engineer's Howard A. Hanson Dam at Eagle Gorge). Thus, Kanaskat had the dubious honor of being home to four stations in 90 years. The Chicago, Milwaukee, St. Paul and Pacific Railroad also crossed through the area, moving north-south from its main line station at Cedar Falls, Washington, south to the large mill at

. Track connections between the two roads were made to the north and south of town. The town was named after Kanasket (alternately spelled Kanaskat), a chief of the Klickitat people, who was killed by the U.S. Army ca. 1855-56. Kanaskat-Palmer State Park is around one mile south of the settlement.

References

External links

* * {{authority control Unincorporated communities in King County, Washington Unincorporated communities in Washington (state)