Wikipedia:WikiProject Washington/GNIS cleanup/State

Likely to be deletable --- to +++". The ones with scores were only briefly looked at and rated based on editor experience. They should be thoroughly examined before further action.

=Columbia County= Covello, Washington Store and a postoffice, sattelite shows no more there now. +++ Grange City, Washington Examine for deletion. Meany says "a town in Columbia County;. During the Granger movement of 1875, Colonel George Hunter canvassed among the Grangers, and with the money raised he built a warehouse in the spring of 1876" Huntsville, Washington Try to expand, before deletion Marengo Meany said this planned town was never built Richland, Washington Mentioned by Meany as town, not on WP. I guess GNIS spammers couldn't diambiguate? Turner Meany says a plat was filed. Satellite show that the guy who platted it wasn't very creative. I think it should be deleted because platting doesn't equal legal recognition

City
Dayton (county seat)

Town
Starbuck

Prod / AFD
Alto, Washington AFD Dec 2021:Articles for deletion/Alto, Washington

=Douglas County= Baird, Washington Never PRODed/AFDd, not created by Gilliam, but Gilliam added to it. Meany could just be talking about a post office ++ Bonita, Washington Never PRODed/AFDd, This is Bonita Flats in GNIS, Meany calls it a town, the satellite is a barren location +++

=Ferry County, Washington= Covada, Washington Never PRODed/AFDd, Meany seems to describe mining camps, not expanded on since creation +++

=Grays Harbor County= Axford, Washington Meany describes this as a post office and prairie, it should be top priority +++ Bay City, Washington Never PRODed/AFDd, Is probably an unincorporated community, not expanded since creation --

=Jefferson County= Coyle, Washington Meany says it was a town but mentions that it's named changed when the post office arrived, so I'm suspicious of that, Currently it is a neighborhood in Quilcene WA. +

=King County= Barneston, Washington Company Town has sources -- Edgewick, Washington Never PRODed/AFDd, needs investigation -/+ Vashon, Washington Needs help, as to how to handle the island, the CDP, and the City. Google maps is also confused. ?

=Kitsap County= Crosby, Washington Never PRODed/AFDd, Is probably an unincorporated community, not expanded since creation -- Lofall, Washington Is a name of a Census designated place. Meany said it was just a postoffice. There does appear to be an unincorporated community there now --
 * Probably notable, this book: supposedly talks about the place, but I don't have access to it. WeirdNAnnoyed (talk) 14:13, 17 April 2024 (UTC)

=Kittitas County=

Geo features
Cougar Gulch PROD May 2024: Notability not established with substantive sources, fails WP:NGEO

Unsorted
Boylestown, Washington Meany Says "a town in Kittitas; County. It was named by H. R. Williams, vice-president of the Chicago, Milwaukee & St. Paul Railway Company after the town of that name in Massachusetts" Not found in Deletion log. Doris, Washington removed from county page, was train station MEAGHERVILLE, washington Meany says village, not in deletion log Rocklyn, Washington removed from county page, doesn't seem to exist Teanaway Meany doesn't mention it, and it seems to really be Teanaway River Valley, Likely needs deletion or a move. Thrall Meany says town, but his description sounds like a rail siding+++ Virden, WashingtonTown according to Meany, nod in deletion log
 * there is both a doylestown and boylestown PA, so I don't even know if Meany spelled it right. Can't find anythingJames.folsom (talk) 22:35, 20 April 2024 (UTC)

Cities
Cle Elum Ellensburg (county seat) Kittitas Roslyn

Town
South Cle Elum

Unincorporated areas
Suncadia

Ghost Towns
Liberty

Census-designated places
Easton Ronald Snoqualmie Pass (including Hyak) Thorp Vantage

Prod / AFD
Lavender, Washington Prod April 20 2024:No information found about this location. The only mentions were entries in tables of shipping points: [1], [2]. The name "Lavender" doesn't appear on any USGS map that I could find at the coordinates given; early maps (circa 1900) show the area as "Big Creek" but there's nothing there today except a few scattered farms. Without information this is a failure of both WP:GEOLAND and WP:GNG. GNIS is insufficient for notability. Martin, Washington AFD April 20 2024: Articles for deletion/Martin, Washington, Redirected. Horlick, Washington AFD Dec 2021 Articles_for_deletion/Horlick,_Washington Roza, Washington AFD Dec 2021 Articles for deletion/Roza, Washington Rye, Washington AFD Dec 2021 Articles for deletion/Rye, Washington

=Klickitat County=

Unsorted
Blockhouse, Washington Never PRODed/AFDd, was a fort, not expanded on since creation ?
 * This is a hard one, because there was a Blockhouse Fort and a Blockhouse post office, and it's not clear they were even related. This article:  suggests they were different places, talking about the fort one mile north of the "Blockhouse store".  I would argue the fort is borderline notable, the "community" not.  The article should be rewritten from scratch but I don't have the time. WeirdNAnnoyed (talk) 15:19, 1 April 2024 (UTC)

Notable in the past
Gilmer, Washington WNA made improvements, work needed
 * I found a couple of articles talking about this place, which seems to have been notable in the late nineteenth century, though never a "town". Article expanded 1 Apr 2024. WeirdNAnnoyed (talk) 15:12, 1 April 2024 (UTC)

=Pacific County= Bruceport, Washington reads like an interesting area, but doesn't exist today, maybe notable though. ---

CDA area
Bay Center, Washington Census designated place and small unincorporated community --

Declined Prods
Seahaven, Washington Prod declined April 2024: Non-notable location. I can find several passing mentions of this town in the western Washington press from the early 1890's, confirming it existed. However, it seems to have been very short-lived. Nothing at all post-1900, other than Meany (which is unreliable). Satellite view of the coordinates just shows empty tidal flats along the Willapa River, with no human structures of any kind. Without sources this is a failure of WP:GNG and WP:GEOLAND.
 * I don't think it's notable but with the new source, it may be hard to AFD?James.folsom (talk) 22:15, 19 April 2024 (UTC)

=Pend Oreille County= Blueslide, Washington Never PRODed/AFDd, Meany doesn't mention the post office, not expanded on since creation + Dalkena, Washington Nothing there now, just rural population, was probably just a mill town, since Meany says it started with a mill. +++

=Pierce County= Cromwell, Washington Never PRODed/AFDd, is based on Post office, not expanded on since creation +++ Glencove, Washington Never PRODed/AFDd, Meany's source says town, Satelite might indicate commnunity, the hotel in the 4th ref is in Gig Harbor -/+

=Mason County, Washington= Amelia, Washington PROD April 2024: Zero information found other than the sources cited, which are insufficient for notability and/or unreliable. Not a single reference to an Amelia, Washington could be found in the Mason County Arcadia Publishing book: [1], and the name Amelia doesn't appear on any USGS topo map until 2011: [2]. Meany's book (reference 4) says this was "formerly a postoffice" without any indication of its location. This place fails WP:V in addition to WP:GNG and WP:GEOLAND. Likely was just a rural post office; current coordinates are for an intersection in the forest Arcadia, Washington Not mentioned in county article. Meany says town, no source. Detroit, Washington Meany says company town, not in county article Oakland, Washington Extinct city? Meany says was former county seat of Mason county, nothing there now

Deleted
Grant, Washington PROD April 2024 Non-notable location; a post office does not make a place a "community". There is a historic Grant School: [1], and early topos show a Grant Ferry, but there is no "community" of Grant until the 1953 topo map: [2], long after the school and post office were closed. From the Grant School website the area appears to be called Pickering today; the nondescript name makes it hard to search for more information. Without further information this site fails WP:GEOLAND. I wouldn't be opposed to an article about the school, but there doesn't seem to be a community.

City
Shelton (county seat)

Census-designated places
Allyn-Grapeview mentioned by Meany in passing Belfair Hoodsport Meany says Town Kamilche Meany says Town Skokomish Union Union was the name of the post office for Union City.

Unincorporated communities
Eldon The article itself claims it was a town in ~1900, but none of the reliable sources list it. It has no reliable sources on the article. nothing there now Potlatch Meany says Town
 * Harstine Island
 * Lake Cushman
 * Lilliwaup
 * Matlock
 * Tahuya

=San Juan County= Argyle, Washington Meany didn't seem to have much more than a map for this, probably a post office town +++ Beach Haven Not in Meany, nothing there Buckhorn Not in Meany, housing development rural area Camp Orkila Not in Meany Decatur Not in Meany, housing development? Deer Harbor Not in Meany, Washington State place names lists as village, Rural area Doe Bay Not in Meany, Washington State place names lists as community, rural area IslandaleNot in Meany LakedaleNot in Meany Orcas VillageNot in Meany, borderline Port Stanley Not in Meany, Rural area PrevostNot in Meany, nothing there now Pump StationNot in Meany RichardsonNot in Meany RocklandNot in Meany RosarioNot in Meany, Probably "Postal town", now housing development Sea AcreNot in Meany, housing development or compound ThatcherNot in Meany, nothing there now The TeeNot in Meany WaldronNot in Meany, rural area on waldron island West BeachNot in Meany, A resort West SoundNot in Meany, rural area Yacht HavenNot in Meany, nothing there now
 * Non existent articles below seem to never have existed, but are links on the county page.

Town
Friday Harbor, Washington (county seat) Roche Harbor Is a notable (extinct?) town, but the article is about the harbor, not the town. Not in Meany

Unincorporated communities
Eastsound Olga, Washington

Deleted
Dolphin, Washington PROD April 2024 Non-notable location. Name (and the fact that it's located on Orcas Island) make it very hard to find information, but the cited sources are insufficient for notability and/or questionable. Likely this was just a rural post office, and now it's nothing but a couple of vacation cabins on Dolphin Bay. The article doesn't even mention it's on Orcas Island, suggesting the creator didn't know anything about this place and was just transcribing Meany's place-names guide onto Wikipedia. That's not how articles should be written. Fails WP:GEOLAND.

=Skamania County= Carson, Washington Town apparently. ---

=Spokane County= Rodna, Washington Meany says it is a train station, satellite show faint marks on the ground of something. I doubt it was a town ++ Buckeye, Washington This is second location of the Buckeye lumber company, this company renamed the Hochspur postoffice. Has secondary sources. -- Denison, Washington This is the former site of the Buckeye lumber company, briefly known as Pratt maybe merge with Buckeye? +++ Why would it merge with Buckeye? The two communities existed simultaneously, Denison still exists to this day, and they're nearly 6 miles apart. Both articles have sources beyond the one source of over 100 years ago that the person behind this project is overly reliant on. The idea of merging the two is completely out of touch, not just with the reality on the ground but the reality that can and has been sourced and cited. SpokaneWilly (talk) 19:25, 4 June 2024 (UTC) Hockspur, Washington This article need not exist as it's mentioned in the Buckeye article.


 * Apologies this is out of date. Somebody else started this, and nobody else wanted to do it. So I'm not used to having other feedback. These were rough notes for triage purposes. On closer inspection, I came to same conclusion that you did, and did a minimal fix so that somebody in the future can expand the articles based on actual evidence instead of the BS mess that was. I strongly suspect though that Denison may someday be deleted if no good sources are found. But I left it because I didn't want to the leg work on it yet. I Think somebody ought to at least try to create the Hochspur article just be sure what it is. However, I'm a better researcher than writer. James.folsom (talk) 01:16, 5 June 2024 (UTC)

=Skagit County=

Deleted
Minkler, Washington PROD No information found; sources cited insufficient for notability. The Minkler family was clearly significant in Skagit County, but no "community" of Minkler was mentioned in any source I found other than references 2 and 3 (post office doesn't establish notability). Coordinates today show an isolated farm with a Minkler Lake nearby. Prairie, Washington PROD No information found. Generic name makes searching hopeless. Doesn't appear to be a recognized place, and the sources cited are insufficient for notability. Fails WP:GEOLAND.

Unsorted
Allen, Washington Meany Mentions Allan island Avon, Washington/North Avon, Washington Meany says towns Bancroft, Washington Failed venture according to Meany Bessemer, Washington Failed venture says Meany Birdsview, Washington Never PRODed/AFDd, Meany talks about Post office mentions another source, not expanded on since creation + Blanchard Meany Says Town from 1918 Bow Meany says town, but I think what he said is more consistent with Post office "town", area also known as Brownsville. Branham, Washington Meany says "obsolete town" Cement city, Washington Meany says platted, fate unknown Cedardale, Washington no mention by Meany Day Creek, Washington Creek sporting a lumber camp+++ Dewey final name of several towns platted, Meany Equality, Washington Meany: "Social Colony" notable? Fidalgo Island according to Meany Fishtown no mention by Meany Gibraltar no mention by Meany Guemes Island no mention by Meany Hoogdal no mention by Meany Milltown no mention by Meany Monteborne, Washington Meany said town Padilla, Washingtion Meany said Town Rexville No Mention by Meany Samish Island, Washington Meany said Town Similk BeachNo Mention by Meany Sterling Meany Says town Thornwood, Washington PROD Non-notable location. The only significant coverage I could find was this 1905 column talking about a man who ran a cranberry farm at the "village" of Thornwood: [1]. Otherwise only trivial mentions found. This place existed, but without any real information about it, it's not worth an article (post office does not establish notability). Fails WP:GEOLAND. Satellite view today shows a rural area with a few farms, though there is a Thornwood Place and an A. Birss Road, named for the proprietor of the cranberry farm Seconded No sources support the existence of this place. Urban, Washington PROD Reference 3 plainly states this was a post office, not a "community". Nothing at the site today. Without further information this is a failure of WP:GNG and WP:GEOLAND; post offices are not notable Van Horn Meany doesn't mention

Ehrlich Meany says town Skagit City Meany doesn't mention it Whitney Meany says town

Cities
Anacortes Burlington Mount Vernon (county seat) Sedro-Woolley

Towns
Atlanta, Washingtion Failed town according to meany, never on WP? Concrete Hamilton La Conner Lyman

Census-designated places
Alger Bayview, Washington Platted probably failed. says Meany Big Lake Clear Lake, Skagit County, Washington Meany lists this as a lake Conway Meany says town Edison Meany says this is post office Lake Cavanaugh Lake McMurray Marblemount Rockport

Ghost Towns
=Stevens County= Hunters, Washington Small unincorporated populated place, article is expanded know. --

Deleted
Godfrey, Washington PROD Deleted March 2024, Meany doesn't mention the post office, not expanded on since creation ++

=Snohomish County= Getchell, Washington Meany said this was platted out, but this is clearly not at the coords given in the article, somebody will need to dig into this one ?

=Wahkiakum County, Washington= Eden, Washington PROD April 2024 Non-notable location; GNIS and existence of a post office are insufficient for notability. Apart from the sources cited, and a couple of tables of post offices, the only source that could be found is [1], which mentions Eden Valley but never any "community" of Eden. There was an Eden Valley School and Eden Valley Cemetery, suggesting this was just a valley or a "region" but never a community. With only passing mentions this place fails WP:GEOLAND.

=Whatcom County= Beach, Washington Never PRODed/AFDd, Meany doesn't mention the post office, not expanded on since creation ++ Blue Canyon, Washington Never PRODed/AFDd, Meany says someone declared their intent to build a town, but I suspect just mining operation, not expanded on since creation ++ Clipper, Washington Never PRODed/AFDd, Meany doesn't mention the post office, but it's named for a company which isn't promising, not expanded on since creation +++ Bishop, Washington Meany is probably describing something railroad releated, nothing there now, not expanded. +++