Southeast on Highway 195 and Others - Part III


Dayton Depot
Southeast on Highway 195 and Others- Part III. Now we're on Highway 12 south. We end up in Walla Walla.

We're actually west of Highway 195 since we took 26 to the west and now Highway 261 to Starbuck where I last left you. Eating that great hamburger, remember?

Well, all good things come to an end. So we head east and hit Highway 12 south. We see more purple wildflowers, sheep, cattle and brown and green hills - also lush lentil fields. This is lentil country.

The next stop is Dayton. What a cool town. I discover it was on the Lewis and Clark trail; they ventured here in May of 1806. There's an interpretive area seven miles from town on the Touchet River at the Lewis and Clark State Park.

There are about 25 campsites in an area thick with uncut underbrush. My imagination makes me think it's a great hideout if you're looking to be away from the madding crowd!

We didn't have a lot of time but found our way to the Dayton Train Depot, the oldest existing depot in the state, built in 1881. Wouldn't you know it, it was Monday and the Depot museum inside was closed? Our loss; bad timing. I did take this photo and we both decided this is a place we need to return to in the future.

Dayton is a railroad town, as are others in the area, and also has the last remaining asparagus canning plant in Washington, the Seneca Green Giant Asparagus Cannery. A local told us it's soon to be shut down. It currently supplies 37 percent of the world's canned asparagus. Now that's an interesting but sad statistic. Thirty-seven percent to zero.

Dayton's the county seat of Columbia County with a population of 2715; the population of nearby Starbuck is 259.

Be sure to take time to check out the reference below and see photos and read about all the community has to offer. It's a gold mine for history buffs. The town was named for Jesse N. Day, a West Virginian who settled in the area in 1848. Folks are real friendly and I wish we'd had more time to visit.

Next we passed through Waitsburg and Dixie.

Waitsburg is a sleepy little town with a White Stallion Restaurant and Lounge and an espresso stand. Lots of antique buildings downtown, beautiful old historic homes in the mix.

Views of the rolling, green hills take turns with deciduous trees along the road. The town was originally named Delta but was changed in honor of Sylvestor M. Wait; he built a flour mill there in 1864.

The copyright of the article Southeast on Highway 195 and Others - Part III in Washington State is owned by Jerri Brooker. Permission to republish Southeast on Highway 195 and Others - Part III in print or online must be granted by the author in writing.

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