Tiny Town

We may have found a true ghost town in Govan, Washington just off highway 2, not far from the Tiny Town that we explored earlier, Wilbur. Although ask the gentleman who actually lives in Govan (pronounced go-van), he has never seen any supernatural phenomenon. More on him later.

With each tiny town, I’d discover interesting history that makes these small hard to see dots on the map so unique. So while looking for another tiny town to explore with just a few people living there, I stumbled upon a town named, Marlin with a population of 52-ish. But when I went to look it up on the map, to my confusion it kept pointing me to Krupp, Washington. “No, you stupid Google Map! I want Marlin, Washington!” Once again I was directed to Krupp in Grant County.

The name "Neah" refers to the Makah Chief Dee-ah, pronounced Neah in the Klallam language (which is fascinating itself, and deserves it’s own article) The town is named of body of water Neah Bay, which acquired its name in the early 19th century. The town was called by several different names since the 1700’s, but by 1847, the bay was first called Neah by Captain Henry Kelley during his “reorganization of the British Admiralty charts”. Although at the time, Kellett spelled it, "Neeah Bay”. Perhaps since the name refers to Chief Deeah, with a similar spelling.

Anatone didn’t always have a really low count. Anatone was first settled in 1878 by Daniel McIvor and Charles Isecke. It was named after a woman who was part of the Nez Peace (Nimíipuu) Tribe that lived in the area. It was a slow growth. In 2000, they counted about 221 residents.

Really small towns fascinate me. And the people who live in these small towns likewise interest me. Especially since I’m a big city beach boy from Torrance, California (a suburb of Los Angeles), with a population of 143,000+, within a population of 3.8 million+, where it’s non-stop city for over 160 miles with 172 IN-N-OUT restaurants. So when I stumble upon a tiny town with a population of 400 like Winthrop, Washington, I need to know the history and why are people living there.