Inchelium, Washington — First Town Is Under Lake Roosevelt

Old Inchelium stood along the Columbia on the Colville Reservation.

Grand Coulee Dam put it underwater.

As Lake Roosevelt rose, residents relocated to higher ground.

The inundation was part of a much larger disruption for the Confederated Tribes of the Colville Reservation, flooding homes, fishing places, archaeological sites and transportation routes while eliminating salmon runs above the dam.

Modern Inchelium became an important tribal community on the eastern side of the reservation.

The reservoir still shapes access.

A ferry provides a crucial connection across Lake Roosevelt to northeastern Washington's road network.

The lake that drowned the first town remains part of the transportation system of the second.