Lamoine, Washington facts for kids
Quick facts for kids
Lamoine, Washington
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2016 aerial photo of Lamoine. White square in bottom right corner represents original town site of Arup. Lamoine schoolhouse is visible in upper right corner of square.
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Lamoine, Washington
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| Country | United States |
| State | Washington |
| County | Douglas |
| Elevation | 2,665 ft (812 m) |
| Population | |
| • Estimate
(2016)
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8 |
| Time zone | Pacific (PST) |
| ZIP code |
98858
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| Area code(s) | 509 |
Lamoine is a very small, quiet community located in Douglas County, Washington. It's known as an unincorporated community, which means it doesn't have its own local government like a city or town. Lamoine is about 13 miles (21 km) northeast of Waterville. Today, it's mostly made up of a few farms that grow wheat without irrigation, and only about eight people live there.
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A Look at Lamoine's Past
Before it was called Lamoine, this area was home to a planned town named Arup.
The Town of Arup
The town of Arup, Washington, was officially created on November 20, 1905. It was started by an immigrant farmer named Nels P. Nelson. He named the town after his birthplace, Aarup, a town in Denmark. Nelson hoped that a railroad would eventually pass through Arup, which would help the town grow and become important.
However, things didn't go as planned. In 1909, the Great Northern Railway decided to build its tracks through Withrow instead of Arup. This decision was a big blow to Arup's future. Like many small towns that started around the early 1900s, Arup never had the chance to truly develop. The name Arup stopped appearing in records sometime between 1906 and 1909, and that's when the name Lamoine began to be used. It's not clear why the original name Arup was dropped.
How Lamoine Got Its Name
The interesting story of how Lamoine got its name was shared in the Withrow Banner newspaper by its publisher, W. H. Murray:
It was originally called "Arup." When a postoffice was being secured, a permanent name was under discussion in a small store. A man named Bragg [Leonard Nathan Bragg, who ran the store at the time] reached to the shelf and took down a can of sardines labelled "Lamoine," asking: "What is the matter with that as a name for the town?" The suggestion was approved.
So, the town was named after a brand of sardines!
What Lamoine Used to Have
Even though it's very small today, Lamoine once had many important buildings and services. It had a school, a church, a post office, and even a dance hall where people could gather. There was also a hardware store, a blacksmith shop for metalwork, and a feed store for farm animals. Lamoine even had its own baseball team! The Lamoine post office opened in 1906 but closed just a few years later in 1910.
Original Families of Lamoine
Some of the first families who settled in this area during the late 1800s included the Lanphere, Jensen, Cunningham, Preugschat, Nelson, Schmidt, Fletcher, and Moore families. These families played a big part in the early days of Lamoine.
