Finding Bordeaux

Bordeaux was established in 1900 as a logging town in the Capitol Forest. You know those massive open beams in warehouses around Seattle and Tacoma? (now often repurposed as trendy restaurants...) Good chance those fir and cedar beams came through towns like these. Bordeaux offered jobs through WWI and was dismantled in 1941 when the area ran out of trees.

After 70 years of being abandoned, all that is left of the old timber town are some eerie crumbling brick walls of the saw mill, the bank vault, a smoke stack (seen in the photo above!), the foundation (or ceiling?) of an out building, bridge footings and a single house. Notably Courtney Love bought the Bordeaux superintendent house in the late 90s... sadly the Cobain family tore down the original school house on the property during their ownership...

70 years. that's all it takes for nature to have it's revenge on a logging town. This is the second time I've ventured out to this sight. The first time we totally missed the BIG ruins, so this visit was epic in comparison. I was so busy looking up and snapping photos that I walked through nettles twice. Twice!



can you see it yet?


If you're interested in finding this place for yourself, i recommend the this website.