Govan  

The town of Govan began in 1889 as a railroad depot on the new Central Washington Railroad line. The post office was also established that year and was inside the depot. Govan was named for a Northern Pacific civil engineer. 

In 1890, a large sand bank was discovered and the railroad contractor, The Wood, Larson & Company, made Govan their headquarters. There was a large force of men employed, who were moving sand for the railroad. There was a steam shovel and 4 gravel trains that were used. Chief Dispatcher Stitson had parked a railroad car there, and handled all the movements of the trains.

Govan was booming and by 1898, there were several stores serving the 80 people who lived in the area. Govan became a point on the railroad for loading grain and fruit grown in region onto trains bound for Spokane. 

By 1909, Govan had 2 general stores, a drugstore, 2 hardware stores, 2 churches, a hotel, a bank, a saloon and a school. The town had over a hundred residents and was served by the Pacific Telephone & Telegraph Company.  

Govan was the place of several unsolved murders. In 1902 Judge J. A. Lewis and his wife were brutally murdered. Judge Lewis was killed by an axe and his wife was drug around by the barn and beaten to death. The judge was known for keeping large sums of cash in his home. 

In the spring of 1903, a masked gunman burst into the Govan Saloon and killed C. S. Thennes. The murderer was caught but was never convicted. The last murder in Govan was in 1941 when Lillie Lesneww was murdered at her farm and her son Wes Murray had disappeared. In 1948 a skeleton was discovered by a horseback rider that was identified as Wes Murray. The case was never solved.

Today, Govan is a ghost town, though it still has a modern grain elevator that is in operation during the harvest. The main attraction of the town is the old abandoned schoolhouse. This building has a unique architecture that attracts photographers who want to take photos the crumbling historic building.