Marcellus, Washington — Town Built Around Steam-Locomotive Thirst

Marcellus belonged to a generation of railroad places spaced according to the needs of steam locomotives.

When the Milwaukee Road crossed Adams County in the early twentieth century, trains required regular water and service points. Track, a well or water tower and grain facilities could be enough to create a settlement.

The surrounding wheat country supplied freight.

Then the technology changed.

Diesel locomotives no longer needed the same network of water stops. Trucks could collect grain farther from rail stations, and better roads made larger towns easier to reach.

Marcellus declined while the fields around it remained productive.

The town's original problem was solved so thoroughly that the solution eventually stopped needing a town.