The Ghosting of Yakima City
When the Northern Pacific Railroad bypassed the original town of Yakima City, they didn't just move the station—they forced the entire town to uproot itself.
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.
Yakima City, for all practical purposes, has been killed by the Northern Pacific Company as dead as a door nail. It was a cruel blow, but one, now that it has been administered and has accomplished its work, that may be looked upon more dispassionately. There is not room for two towns, and it would be 'kicking against the pricks,' chiefly to their own hurt, for the old town folks to prolong the contest. They have recognized this fact, and have given in their submission. Two of the three papers published there have already moved to the new town, and the third will soon follow; the bank has gone, the hotels, the churches are on the way, and business houses and residences are taking their respective turns as rapidly as the teams and men can be obtained. Indeed, the old town will be bodily removed, as well as depopulated. It must be heartbreaking to many of them to leave their gardens in mid-spring and go to new and barren locations, but it is a matter almost of life and death with them, and they are compelled to go.
“It must be heartbreaking to many of them to leave their gardens in mid-spring and go to new and barren locations, but it is a matter almost of life and death with them.”
This 1885 account describes the forced displacement of an entire community caused by corporate land-use decisions. Much like the modern debates over transit-oriented development and the economic power of major employers in Seattle, the 'death' of Yakima City highlights how the trajectory of a city's life is often dictated by those who hold the keys to transit infrastructure.
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