Back to the Directory

Kosmos, Washington

Kosmos, Washington

Undated photo of Kosmos. Charles W. Hopkinson founded Kosmos in 1904, when he started a post office and sawmill at the site, although the town didn’t hit its prime until the 1940s. Even then, the community remained small, consisting of a store, recreation hall, and tavern. The town’s economy centered on railroad tie mills, logging, and the lumber industry. In the 1950s and 60s, Kosmos Timber Company Mill had a claim to fame: it employed world champion tree climber Kenneth “Kelly” Stanley. The US Army Corps of Engineers displaced residents, and razed Kosmos, before Mossy Rock Dam submerged the townsite in 1968.

About this community

Dam
Mossyrock Dam
River
Cowlitz River
Established
1904
Inundated
1968
Population
550

The community that was displaced

Displacement cost
$23,814,029
Property value
$319,995
Vocations
farmer, fisherman, rancher
Birthplaces
local