- Lester, Washington's last living resident died in in 2002 at the age of 99
- The town was once a fuel stop for trains but lost its usefulness when they stopped using coal
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The town of Lester in central Washington State was once a service stop for trains running from Seattle to Minneapolis on the Great Northern railway line, but it is now a ghost town.
The last surviving resident of the town, which was founded in the 1892 in the picturesque Cascade Mountains, a woman by the name of Gertrude Murphy, died in 2002 at the age of 99.
Now, the town stands as a testament to the changing face of America in the post industrial age.
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Ghost town: Lester, Washington is one of the few true ghost towns in the state. Founded in 1892, it had all but disappeared back into nature by the 2000s
The way it was: An guard house in Lester is one of the few remaining buildings in the ghost town.The town along the picturesque Green River in central Washington, Lester once provided coal to steam trains
Haunting: Pictured is the inside of one of the two remaining houses in Lester. The ghost town saw its last resident die in 2002
Just two houses remain standing in the town, which began its decline when trains in the region switched from steam to diesel.
Lester was no longer needed as a 'helper station' for refueling trains with coal.
By the 1980s, the city of Tacoma, Washington passed legislation aimed at dissolving the town of Lester, which stood in Tacoma's watershed.
Breathtaking: The remnants of a warehouse decay ever further in Lester, an old railroad town situated in Cascade range in Central Washington
Preserved: Inside one of Lester's two standing houses, an empty kitchen gathers dust and dirt but retains its bright red trim
Reclaimed: An old telegraph pole rots away like much of Lester. Few buildings remain in the town, and the ones that still stand are surrounded by such overgrowth
Lonely: A lone chair sits in a shower stall in the back of a guard house in Lester. No one has lived in the town, much less sat in a chair there, since 2002
The residents were asked to leave and the town was nearly abandoned.
That is, except for Gertrude Murphy.
Murphy, a school teacher who once taught the children of Lester, refused to sell off her property and stayed in her home until it burned.
After that, she moved into a cabin outside the town.
Train town: Lester was founded as the railroad industry began to boom in the Northwest. Trains went silent in the town for decades and have only recently begin passing through once again
No more: Lester's last resident Gertrude Murphy died in 2002 at the age of 99. She'd tried and failed to preserve her town as an historical site
An inside view of an abandoned warehouse. Lester once served as a helper town for the Northwest railroad. Trains would stop in the town and refuel
This angle shows the only two houses left in Lester. Gertrude Murphy's house burned down in the years before her death, forcing her to stay in a cabin just outside the town, but she refused to ever leave for good
Murphy tried and failed to turn her town's remaining buildings into historical relics. She died at 99 in October of 2002.
With all its residents gone, what was left of Lester when Murphy died has decayed ever further.
Only two houses remain in the town, which has now been fenced off from automobile traffic, according to the
Seattle Post-Intelligencer.
Seattle Post-Intelligencer.
While trains have begun chugging through once again, the only way to actually reach the town is on foot.
The odd traveler now happens by now and again to catch a glimpse of one of America's few true ghost towns before it inevitably vanishes.
Forgotten: An abandoned Chevrolet melts into the dense forests of the Cascades. Soon, there will be nothing left of Lester but memories and even those will fade
Pictured is the attic in the guard house. Lester's only road has been shut down and the town fenced off. It is now only accessible on foot
Inaccessible: Dust and scattered trash covers the kitchen of a guard house in Lester. The town is completely silent save for the occasional passing train now and no longer accessible by car or even bike
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