A Night of Intimidation on the Columbia
A makeshift burning cross appeared near the railroad tracks, signaling the arrival of the Ku Klux Klan in the valley.
Two-by-fours nailed together with a cross arm near the top, all wrapped with old tires, tubes, and burlap sacks, heavily soaked with kerosene, were set up and lighted near the railroad crossing above town about 10 o'clock last Saturday night. It is believed that the blaze was intended to represent the 'flaming cross,' as notice that the Ku Klux Klan exists in this valley.
“It is believed that the blaze was intended to represent the 'flaming cross,' as notice that the Ku Klux Klan exists in this valley.”
The presence of the Klan in rural Washington during the 1920s was a calculated effort to exert social control through terror. Today, this incident serves as a stark reminder that even isolated valley towns were not immune to the organized hate movements that swept the nation during that decade.
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