Nighthawk, Washington

File:Similkameen River near Nighthawk WA.jpg a few miles from Nighthawk]]

Nighthawk is an unincorporated community on the Similkameen River in Okanogan County, Washington, United States.{{GNIS|1523657}} It was named for a nearby (and now-closed) mine.{{Cite book| last = Majors | first = Harry M. | title = Exploring Washington | publisher = Van Winkle Publishing Co | year = 1975 | page = 51 |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=CoWrPQAACAAJ| isbn = 978-0-918664-00-6}} Another source says that it was named after the nighthawks common to the area.{{Cite book |last=Speck |first=Gary B. |url=https://www.worldcat.org/oclc/1282171548 |title=Ghost Towns |others=Research done by Marty Strasen |year=2020 |isbn=978-1-64030-466-6 |location=Morton Grove, IL |pages=130 |oclc=1282171548}}

History

Despite European settlers being in the area as far back as in the 1860s, the town was officially platted in 1903 by the Nighthawk Reality Co.{{Cite web |title=Scenic WA {{!}} Best Places to Visit in Washington State {{!}} Nighthawk Ghost Town |url=https://www.scenicwa.com/poi/nighthawk-ghost-town#:~:text=The%20town%20was%20officially%20platted,Nighthawk%20today%20date%20to%201903. |access-date=2025-05-27 |website=www.scenicwa.com}}

By 1950 with the end of mining in the area ending, the community lost its prominence and thus started to decline.{{Cite web |title=Revisiting Washington — Nighthawk |url=https://revisitwa.org/waypoint/nighthawk/ |access-date=2025-05-27 |website=revisitwa.org |language=en}}

Description

Nighthawk is a (mostly former) logging area along Loomis–Oroville Highway west-northwest of Oroville, Washington. Just north of Nighthawk is the Nighthawk–Chopaka Border Crossing, a 9 am – 5 pm Canada–US border crossing. Nighthawk is located along the former Great Northern Railroad (now BNSF). The town of Nighthawk used to be a booming mine town at the turn of the 20th century with hotels and a burlesque house, but now only has a population of about five people.

The border crossing is usually known as "the Nighthawk crossing" on the Canadian side, though the official name of the Canadian-side locality is Chopaka.

Climate

class="wikitable" align="center"

colspan="14"|Climate data for Osoyoos West, BC 1981–2010 (metric units)
about 14 km NE of Nighthawk

| Jan

| Feb

| Mar

| Apr

| May

| Jun

| Jul

| Aug

| Sep

| Oct

| Nov

| Dec

| Year

Average high °C

| 2.0

| 5.9

| 12.5

| 17.9

| 22.1

| 25.7

| 29.4

| 29.1

| 23.8

| 15.8

| 7.1

| 1.6

| 16.1

Average mean °C

| −0.7

| 1.6

| 6.6

| 11.1

| 15.2

| 18.7

| 21.9

| 21.4

| 16.5

| 10.0

| 3.7

| −0.9

| 10.4

Average low °C

| −3.4

| −2.7

| 0.5

| 4.2

| 8.2

| 11.7

| 14.2

| 13.6

| 9.0

| 4.2

| 0.3

| −3.4

| 4.7

Precipitation (cm)

| 2.88

| 2.23

| 2.40

| 2.42

| 3.71

| 4.17

| 2.46

| 1.73

| 1.49

| 1.86

| 3.38

| 3.58

| 32.32

Snowfall (cm)

| 14.6

| 4.6

| 1.7

| 0.1

| 0.0

| 0.1

| 5.7

| 17.0

| 43.8

colspan="14"|Source: Environment Canada http://climate.weather.gc.ca/climate_normals/results_1981_2010_e.html?stnID=1043&autofwd=1

class="wikitable" align="center"

colspan="14"|Climate data for Osoyoos West, BC 1981–2010 (English units)
about 9 miles NE of Nighthawk

| Jan

| Feb

| Mar

| Apr

| May

| Jun

| Jul

| Aug

| Sep

| Oct

| Nov

| Dec

| Year

Average high °F

| 35.6

| 42.6

| 54.5

| 64.2

| 71.8

| 78.3

| 84.9

| 84.4

| 74.8

| 60.4

| 44.8

| 34.9

| 61.0

Average mean °F

| 30.7

| 34.9

| 43.9

| 52.0

| 59.4

| 65.7

| 71.4

| 70.5

| 61.7

| 50.0

| 38.7

| 30.4

| 50.7

Average low °F

| 25.9

| 27.1

| 32.9

| 39.6

| 46.8

| 53.1

| 57.6

| 56.5

| 48.2

| 39.6

| 32.5

| 25.9

| 40.5

Precipitation (in)

| 1.13

| 0.88

| 0.94

| 0.95

| 1.46

| 1.64

| 0.97

| 0.68

| 0.59

| 0.73

| 1.33

| 1.41

| 12.72

Snowfall (in)

| 5.7

| 1.8

| 0.7

| 0.0

| 2.2

| 6.7

| 17.2

colspan="14"|Source: Environment Canada http://climate.weather.gc.ca/climate_normals/results_1981_2010_e.html?stnID=1043&autofwd=1

References

{{gnis|1523657}}
{{gnis|1528816|Nighthawk Customs}}

{{coord|48|58|00|N|119|38|31|W|type:city_region:US-WA|display=title}}

Category:Unincorporated communities in Washington (state)

Category:Unincorporated communities in Okanogan County, Washington

Category:Ghost towns in Washington (state)

Category:Populated places in the Okanagan Country