Walville is an

extinct town A ghost town, deserted city, extinct town, or abandoned city is an abandoned settlement, usually one that contains substantial visible remaining buildings and infrastructure such as roads. A town often becomes a ghost town because the economi ...

in Lewis County, in the

U.S. state In the United States, a state is a constituent political entity, of which there are 50. Bound together in a political union, each state holds governmental jurisdiction over a separate and defined geographic territory where it shares its so ...

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 ...

. The

GNIS The Geographic Names Information System (GNIS) is a database of name and location information about more than two million physical and cultural features, encompassing the United States and its territories; the associated states of the Marshal ...

classifies it as a populated place.

History

A community began in the late 19th and early 20th century around a sawmill site under operations by the Rock Creek Lumber Company. Ownership changed several times over the course of a few years, including oversight of the McCormick Lumber Compamny, namesake of

McCormick, Washington McCormick is an unincorporated community off Washington State Route 6 in Lewis County, in the U.S. state of Washington. The town is west of Pe Ell and 1.8 miles east of the extinct town of Walville, Washington and the Pacific County line. The ...

. A post office called Walville was established in 1903, and remained in operation until 1936. The community's name is an amalgamation of Walworth and Neville Company. The community rested on the county line separating Lewis County and Pacific County, splitting the town in half, including the Walworth and Neville sawmill. By approximately 1930, the sawmill, due to financial hardships seen around the region, closed and the town began to wane. By the early 1950s, only six homes were occupied.

Education

Both Lewis and Pacific counties required a school in the community and the county dividing line issue caused several problems. A myth exists mentioning that one house, split by the county line, required one student to attend classes at a Pacific County schoolhouse while their sibling was enrolled at a school in Lewis. The situation was resolved by the creation of an early Pe Ell school district that overlapped the county line.

References

Ghost towns in Lewis County, Washington Ghost towns in Washington (state) {{Ghost-town-stub