Description of the Route

The road to Hartline is flat with nothing much but wheat fields and scrub. The 1915 route from Coulee City heads due east on Rd 36 NE for about five miles. At N Rd NE you turn left and continue north three miles to Rd 39 NE. Then right for four miles to R Rd NE. In 1918 the route was changed and bypassed N Rd NE and Rd 39 NE. The eliminated a couple of turns so it was nine miles east and then five miles north to connect with the current Hwy 2 at the southern edge of Hartline.

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Coulee City

Before the settlers came to Coulee City, this was part of a major Indian Trail across the state. In the 1820's, the Hudson's Bay Company used this crossing to get supplies and furs between Fort Walla Walla and Fort Okanogan. In 1880, Lt. Symon's built a Military Road between Ritzville and Camp Chelan that came through here.

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Coulee City East

Leaving Coulee City, the original route of the Sunset Highway ran on what is now Road 36 NE to Range St. and then the highway turned left on Range St. and continued north to Hartline. this is a classic "elbow joint". The joint was bypassed in the 1920's when the highway was realigned between Coulee City and Hartline.

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Hartline

In 1888, the town of Parnell was located on the railroad survey line of the Seattle, Lake Shore & Eastern railroad about 4.5 miles SE of Hartline. In 1889, D. F. Reeves and E. J. Brower established a store, which was the only business in Parnell.

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Almira

In the early 1880’s, C. C. Davis, arrived in what will become the town of Almira. Davis built a cabin and operated a small store for the few people in the vicinity. The post office was established in 1889 and the settlement became known as Davisine.

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Raber Road, east of Almira

Originally the road running eastward toward Wilber ran north on 3rd St. and after crossing the tracks, turned right onto what is now Raber Rd. This road leading north out of town was also the old road to the Grand Coulee Dam.

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Govan Schoolhouse

In 1903, School District 126 was established in Lincoln County and the Govan Schoolhouse was built in 1905. There were 2 teachers who taught class in the schoolhouse. When the new highway bypassed Govan in 1933, the town began to lose residents and by 1942 the school closed.

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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.