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Alder, Washington

Alder, named after the alder trees that grew abundantly in the area, was founded in the 1880s and platted by local landowner Martin Hotes in 1905. Until it was displaced by Alder Dam in the 1940s, the village functioned as a trading center for homesteaders who lived on outlying mountain ranches, including descendants of settlers from Appalachia and the US South. Most residents made their living from logging, and grew vegetable gardens to supplement groceries from the town’s only store. Area children were educated in Alder’s three-story schoolhouse.