Well house restoration project begins in Ralston

Ralston once was a whistle stop on the mainline of the Chicago, Milwaukee, St. Paul and Pacific Railroad, commonly known as the Milwaukee Road.

Today, not only is the railroad and its tracks gone, pulled up when the Pacific Extension of the railroad was abandoned in 1980, but most of the reminders of the railroads in Ralston’s presence have disappeared.

The depot, section house, water tank and auxiliary buildings are all history. The one remaining building is the well house.

The well, which once serviced the water tank used to keep the steam engines supplied, is still operational.

The building is scheduled to be restored as close as possible to how it looked when it was built in 1908.

Heading the project is the John Wayne Pioneer Wagons and Riders Association.

This group was organized to help establish the John Wayne Pioneer Trail.

They have spent over $20,000 on seed, equipment rental and donations, materials, and hauling away garbage and old broken ties.

They have donated 1200 hours of labor grubbing rocks, garbage and wire, as well as welding and running equipment.

With the approval of the Washington State Parks, the group has three Group Camping Sites, at Lind, Ralston and Revere.

At Ralston, the four-acre site includes hitching rails, mounting blocks, a fire pit, and a graded, grass seeded camping area.

The Trail riders sponsor a ride each year around Memorial weekend. This year 125 riders took part.

Their next project is to restore the well house at Ralston. A workweek is planned beginning on Monday, Oct. 26.

The group will square up the building, install new double doors, replace windows and door trim, corner boards and soffit material, reroof the building and paint it the original 1950’s era Milwaukee-gray.

All labor is donated and the group is providing funding for about $3,000 of the project expenses.

The Ralston Grange has started a fund to raise additional money to complete the project and add the catenary to the building, do landscaping and install an informational kiosk telling the history of the railroad, homesteaders, Native Americans, geology, and life today, part of the Trail Riders “Old West Adventure” series of kiosks they plan on installing along the length of the trail.

At the Grange’s last meeting held in September, the Grange donated $100 to the fund, which was followed by member donations bringing the total that evening to $400.

The Grange hopes to raise at least $2000 for this project.

Anyone wanting to donate to the fund can do so by mailing a check to “Well House Project” c/o Ralston Grange, P.O. Box 332, Lind, WA 99341.