Penrith, Washington — Where the Railroad Followed the River

Penrith sits in the Pend Oreille valley, where the river and the mountains leave transportation with relatively few sensible choices.

Railroad builders understood that immediately. Tracks followed the valley through northeastern Washington, carrying timber, supplies and people through country where an overland route across the surrounding mountains would have been considerably less cooperative.

Small settlements appeared along that line. Penrith was one of them, useful because rail transportation made even a modest station part of a much larger economic system.

Newport eventually became the stronger regional center, and highways took over much of the everyday movement that once belonged to rail.

Penrith remained. Its geography still explains the old decision: when mountains narrow your options, a river valley can determine where both the railroad and the community go.