Govan, Washington

Unincorporated community and ghost town in Washington, United States

Unincorporated community and Ghost town in Washington, United States

Govan, Washington

Unincorporated community and Ghost town

Govan Schoolhouse

Govan, Washington

Coordinates: 47°44′20″N 118°49′23″W﻿ / ﻿47.73889°N 118.82306°W﻿ / 47.73889; -118.82306
Country| United States
State| Washington
County| Lincoln
Elevation

| 2,100 ft (600 m)
Time zone| UTC-8 (Pacific (PST))
• Summer (DST)| UTC-7 (PDT)
ZIP code|

99185

Area code| 509
GNIS feature ID| 1511003[1]

Govan is an unincorporated community in Lincoln County, in US state of Washington. An abandoned school house, post office and grain elevator, along with a few houses both deserted and occupied, are all that remains of the town. It is considered to be a ghost town.[2]

## History[edit]

The school house in Govan was built in 1905 and shut down in the 1940s. The steeple on the building toppled over in 2019. Two fires came through Govan, the most recent in 1974, that ultimately led to the town's abandonment. As of 2019 the population of the area totaled three people.[3]

Multiple unsolved murders took place in Govan before it was abandoned. In December of 1902, Judge J.A. Lewis and his wife were murdered with an axe at their home in Govan. As the couple were quite wealthy, robbery was considered to be the motive. It was referred to at the time as "one of the most atrocious murders in the history of the state".[4] In 1941 a woman was found murdered on her farm in Govan around the same time that her son went missing. The son's body was found in nearby fields eight years later.[3]

## Gallery[edit]

* Side of abandoned 1906 schoolhouse in Govan

* Abandoned 1906 schoolhouse in Govan

## References[edit]

1. ^ U.S. Geological Survey Geographic Names Information System: Govan, Washington
2. ^ "Ghosttown.com". ghosttown.com. Retrieved July 26, 2016.
3. ^ a b Erickson, Anne (November 1, 2019). "Govan Schoolhouse tells stories of Washington ghost town". KING 5. Retrieved October 26, 2021.
4. ^ "A Horrible Murder". The Washington Standard. December 26, 1902. Retrieved October 26, 2021.

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Municipalities and communities of Lincoln County, Washington, United States

County seat: Davenport

Cities|

* Davenport
* Harrington
* Sprague

Map of Washington highlighting Lincoln County

Towns|

* Almira
* Creston
* Odessa
* Reardan
* Wilbur

Unincorporated
communities|

* Clark
* Edwall
* Govan
* Irby
* Lamona
* Lincoln
* Miles
* Mohler
* Telford
* Waukon

Ghost town|

* Fishtrap
* Sherman

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* United States portal

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