The Town That Relocated for the Rails
After three years of bitter infighting, the White Bluffs Post Office finally shifts to the railroad depot, signaling the death of the old townsite.
The story, cleaned up
A cleaned-up reading of the newspaper page: spelling and layout repaired, one story lifted off a crowded page. It follows the original closely but it is not a transcription. The original page is below; read it if a detail matters.
The order from the Post Office department in Washington for the removal of the White Bluffs post office from its present location to the railroad arrived Monday. This order is the result of petitions circulated last February. One asked for the removal, another for its retention. The department, having reviewed the business volume and noting that all viable business houses had already moved to the railroad tracks, decided the office should be at the new commercial center. The removal order unintentionally writes the final chapter in a townsite fight that has been seething for three years. The Spokesman regrets that the occasion arose to cause the town to move, but the fate of the old town was sealed when the railroad decided to miss it. It was inevitable that the town would find its way to the railroad, as railroads are the arteries through which the business of the country circulates.
“It was as inevitable as time itself that the town should, sooner or later, find its way to the railroad, for railroads are the arteries through which the business of the country circulate.”
This article highlights the ruthless economic reality of early 20th-century town building in the West, where geographic location was secondary to proximity to rail lines. Today, the entire original White Bluffs townsite is gone, submerged under the water of the Hanford Reach or restricted by the Department of Energy, illustrating how the 'arteries' of commerce can both create and eventually erase a town.
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