Disautel, Washington — Company Town Outlived the Company

Disautel was established in 1919 in the forested highlands of the Colville Reservation as logging and a sawmill created a company-centered settlement east of Omak.

Workers lived close to the timber economy that employed them, an arrangement made practical when roads were slow and commuting was not. Improved transportation gradually weakened that logic, and the settlement began thinning even before the mill closed during the early Great Depression.

That history gave Disautel a near-ghost-town reputation, but the label becomes misleading when taken literally. The 2020 census still counted residents there.

The industrial reason for Disautel disappeared decades ago. The community did not.