Nagrom, Washington facts for kids
Quick facts for kids
Nagrom, Washington
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Sawmill at Nagrom, circa 1912
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 Nagrom, Washington
Location in Washington (state)
Nagrom, Washington
Location in the United States
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| Country | United States |
| State | Washington |
| County | King |
| Time zone | UTC-8 (Pacific (PST)) |
| • Summer (DST) | UTC-7 (PDT) |
Nagrom is a ghost town located in King County, Washington, United States. A ghost town is a place where most people have left, leaving behind empty buildings and a quiet history.
History of Nagrom
Nagrom was once a busy company town built for logging. This means a company created the town for its workers. It was located near the Green River, between the towns of Kanaskat and Lester.
The town was founded by the Morgan Lumber Company. Its name, "Nagrom," is simply "Morgan" spelled backward. The founder, Elmer G. Morgan, chose this spot because it had lots of trees. It was also a good place to build a sawmill and a mill pond (a pond used to store logs).
In 1910, Morgan asked the Northern Pacific Railway to build a special train track, called a "spur," into Nagrom. This railway line went from Puget Sound over Stampede Pass. At first, the railway said no, but Morgan kept asking. Finally, they agreed. The train spur was finished in 1911. That same year, Nagrom got its own post office, along with telephone and telegraph services.
Between 1914 and 1918, heavy rains caused rivers and streams to flood. This happened in the area around Nagrom, which was part of the city of Tacoma's water supply. Water from the company town, including waste, flowed into Tacoma's drinking water.
People worried about getting sick from typhoid, a serious illness common back then. Health officials told people living downstream from towns like Nagrom to boil their drinking water. This helped to keep them safe from typhoid.
The Morgan Lumber Company continued to cut timber and run the sawmill in Nagrom from 1911 to 1924. The town's population was largest around 1921-1922, with about 450 people living there. However, in 1924, the company closed down. This was probably because the price of lumber dropped after World War I.
Logging still happened in the area, but it slowed down. Trucks started to be used more for moving logs instead of trains. In the 1930s, the U.S. Forest Service began looking after the forests. The Civilian Conservation Corps, a group that helped people find work during the Great Depression, also helped manage the land.
Why Nagrom Became a Ghost Town
Around 1910, the city of Tacoma bought the rights to use the water from the Green River. In the early 1950s, Tacoma's utility company, now called Tacoma Public Utilities, started buying private land along the riverbanks. This land was between their water intake point (called Headworks) and the town of Lester.
When the Howard Hanson Dam was built, Tacoma began to limit who could enter the Green River watershed. They put up gates at different entry points. Around 1967, the city bought the entire townsite of Lester from the Northern Pacific Railway.
By 1984, most people had moved out of Nagrom and other nearby communities. The train line was no longer used by the Burlington Northern Railroad, which was the new name for the Northern Pacific. All the old towns along the railway line became ghost towns. Today, no one lives in Nagrom.
