NEWCASTLE- RED TOWN
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NEWCASTLE- RED TOWN |
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NAME: Newcastle- Red Town COUNTY: King ROADS: 2WD GRID: 1 CLIMATE: Moderate BEST TIME TO VISIT: Year-round |
COMMENTS:
There is a great park of historical interest that the site is located on with trails leading to other points of interest, including a Nike Missle site from the Cold War. The area has many residents. Newcastle Days, held in September at Lake Boren Park often features a booth by the Newcastle Historical Society. REMAINS: Hotel ruins, Coal mining relics, the Baima House (built in the early twentieth century), railroad grade, site of school,and cemetary. |
| The original city of Newcastle was founded in the late 1800's as a coal mining town. It had been claimed that its population rivaled Seattle at one time, but that claim is most likely not true. Parts of the town had separate names such as Red Town, Finn Town, and Rainbow Town, mostly based off the color of the houses. A railroad ran from Newcastle to Lake Washington where coal was loaded onto barges. Today, Newcastle is a mostly residential city of about 8,000 at a site at the base of the hill below the original town. Nearby lake Boren is home to a cemetary from the original town. One interesting story is of a locomotive that fell off the tracks into the lake, and it is claimed that the engine is still at the bottom. Most mining at Newcastle seized in the thirties, with minor gathing continuing for another thirty years. The original site can be acessed by heading east on Newcastle- Golf Course Road to the Red Town trailhead. Submitted by: K. Stubbs |
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