Kosmos, Washington

{{Infobox settlement

| name = Kosmos, Washington

| settlement_type = Flooded town

| image_skyline = File:White Pass Scenic Byway - Sign at Riffe Lake Overlook - NARA - 7722839.jpg

| imagesize =

| image_caption = White Pass Scenic Byway - Sign at Riffe Lake Overlook

| pushpin_map = Washington

| pushpin_label = Kosmos

| pushpin_label_position = left

| map_caption =

| established_title = Established

| established_date = 1891

| named_for = Greek term meaning "universe"

| extinct_title = Razed and flooded

| extinct_date = 1968

| elevation_ft =

| coordinates = {{coord|46|29|46|N|122|11|10|W|format=dms|display=inline.title|type:city_region:US-WA}}

}}

Kosmos ({{respell|CAUSE|muss}}) was an unincorporated community in Lewis County, Washington, southwest of Glenoma and is now considered a flooded town.{{cite gnis|id=1521766|name=Kosmos}}{{cite news |last1=Mittge |first1=Brian |title=Underwater Towns of the Cowlitz River: A Look Back at Kosmos, Nesika and Riffe |url=https://www.chronline.com/stories/underwater-towns-of-the-cowlitz-river-a-look-back-at-kosmos-nesika-and-riffe,71982? |access-date=24 December 2021 |work=The Chronicle |date=June 12, 2015}} Kosmos is named from a Greek term meaning "the world or universe as an embodiment of order and harmony".

History

The town officially began in 1891 under the name, Fulton, after Homer Fulton, the first postmaster.{{cite news |last1=Pattison |first1=Cap |title=If Towns Could Talk (March 2002) |url=https://newspaperarchive.com/us/washington/centralia/centralia-chronicle/2002/03-30/page-51/ |access-date=24 December 2021 |work=The Daily Chronicle |date=March 30, 2002 |page=1}} The site would change its moniker to Kosmos{{efn|The reason behind the name remains obscure.}} in 1903, chosen by the wife of B.W. Coiner, a homesteader.{{cite web |title=Lewis County - Kosmos |url=https://jtenlen.drizzlehosting.com/walewis/townsal.html |website=jtenlen.drizzlehosting.com |publisher=Lewis Co. WA GenWeb Project}}{{cite news |title=Changed the Name |url=https://newspaperarchive.com/us/washington/chehalis/chehalis-bee-nugget/1903/08-21/page-17/ |access-date=24 December 2021 |work=The Chehalis Bee-Nugget |volume=21 |issue=8 |page=1}}

The town's primary economy was based on logging and sawmills, with mining for mercury also a principal venture. The community was served by the Fulton Ferry before bridges were built to reach the area. A school district and schoolhouse were begun in 1913.{{cite news |title=Consolidated District Success |url=https://newspaperarchive.com/us/washington/chehalis/chehalis-bee-nugget/1913/03-21/page-19/ |access-date=24 December 2021 |work=The Chehalis Bee-Nugget |date=March 21, 1913 |page=8}} At its most prosperous, Kosmos had a population between 500-600 people, two grocery stores, a post office, and a locomotive shop, among other amenities.

=Flooding=

Residents relocated from Kosmos, along with its neighboring communities of Neskia and Riffe, in advance of the completion of the Mossyrock Dam in 1968. Before the Cowlitz River rose behind the dam and formed Riffe Lake, contractors razed most structures, except for their foundations. Several bridges near the town were demolished, including Steffen Creek Bridge which was destroyed by experimental explosive testing under the direction of the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers. Periods of low water occasionally exposed remains of the town{{cite news |last1=Green |first1=Sara Jean |title=Receding waters allow glimpse of lost logging town |url=https://www.seattletimes.com/seattle-news/receding-waters-allow-glimpse-of-lost-logging-town/ |access-date=24 December 2021 |work=The Seattle Times |date=March 11, 2008}}{{cite web|url=http://www.getlostmagazine.com/mcbee/2001/0103cosmos/cosmos.html|title=Welcome to Kosmos! Enjoy it while you can!|publisher=Get Lost magazine|accessdate=April 7, 2012|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120428063517/http://www.getlostmagazine.com/mcbee/2001/0103cosmos/cosmos.html|archive-date=April 28, 2012}} until 2017 when the lake's water level was dropped 30 feet, exposing the remains of the town since.{{cite news |last1=Rubin |first1=Will |title=Tacoma Power Updates Mossyrock Residents On Riffe Lake Levels |url=https://www.chronline.com/stories/tacoma-power-updates-mossyrock-residents-on-riffe-lake-levels,9592 |access-date=24 December 2021 |work=The Chronicle |date=May 3, 2019}} The remains can be accessed at the Kosmos Wildlife Area Unit, part of the Cowlitz River Wildlife Area,{{cite web |title=Kosmos Wildlife Area Unit |url=https://wdfw.wa.gov/places-to-go/wildlife-areas/kosmos-wildlife-area-unit |website=wdfw.wa.gov |publisher=Washington Department of Fish and Wildlife}} and portions of concrete foundations, areas of logging camps, and remains of mills and timber factories are visible.{{cite news |last1=Schreiber |first1=Dan |title=Legacy of Kosmos Reappears |url=https://www.chronline.com/stories/legacy-of-kosmos-reappears,202564? |access-date=24 December 2021 |work=The Chronicle |date=March 1, 2008}}

Notes

References

Category:Submerged places in the United States

Category:Unincorporated communities in Lewis County, Washington