Bordeaux, Washington

Hidden in the dense woods of Washington state are the remains of a once-booming logging town that have since deteriorated to moss-covered ruins. Located between the mysterious Mima Mounds and the Cedar Creek Correctional Center, all that’s left of the former logging town of Bordeaux are a few crumbling concrete foundations, a smokestack, and a vault—and these remaining ruins are located on private property, which the public can no longer visit.  

Once upon a time, the site was home to multiple buildings and services, seeming like the foundation of a town that could never simply disappear. In its prime, Bordeaux was a thriving town that shipped cedar and fir trees from the Capital Forest to the East Coast for ship masts, and north to Seattle and Tacoma for home construction. It survived for about 60 years, and died when the saw mill shut down in the mid-20th century, as the cedar that had sustained the town dried up. Residents packed up their things and hit the road for greener pastures (so to speak). 

The railroad tracks that kept the town alive were covered in pavement soon after, and became what is now Bordeaux Road.