Back to the Directory

North Bonneville, Washington

North Bonneville cropped up in 1933 to serve the needs of the thousands of workers building Bonneville Dam. Early residents remembered it as a bustling place where, as former Mayor Ernest Skala told The New York Times, “The taverns were full. There was dancing, shuffle board tournaments, the works.” North Bonneville stayed put even after Bonneville Dam was finished, and boasted a grocery store, hotel, and movie theater, among other businesses. When residents of North Bonneville learned that their townsite would be inundated when a second power house was added to the dam, they organized to get the US Army Corps of Engineers to relocate the community and foot the bill. Unfortunately, only 360 of the 758 residents eligible for relocation moved with the town, and the agreement between USACE and North Bonneville—which was interpreted differently by the two entities—led to decades of conflict and controversy.