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Houses in Banks Lake ??

Posted: Wed Jun 20, 2007 6:13 am
by tmusky1
Last time we were fishing there, we were told that there used to be a town there that they flooded and you can still see chimneys and rooftops under the water. We didn't see jack except for the old roadbeds. Anyone else hear this or know for sure where they are if they do indeed exist?

RE:Houses in Banks Lake ??

Posted: Wed Jun 20, 2007 9:03 am
by Bodofish
I don't know about Banks but there is one in Entiat a couple mile up from the dam on the west side.

RE:Houses in Banks Lake ??

Posted: Wed Jun 20, 2007 9:04 am
by jmay
No flooded town that I know of on Banks. However on the old town of Kettle Falls was flooded when Roosevelt was made.

RE:Houses in Banks Lake ??

Posted: Wed Jun 20, 2007 11:02 am
by gpc
I dont know about banks but rattlesnake in king county is like that, or so I heard

RE:Houses in Banks Lake ??

Posted: Wed Jun 20, 2007 12:56 pm
by Bodofish
Come on GPC you're kidding? Right? The only thing I've ever seen is stumps. I've flown over it many times and the water is so clear you can see everything. Maybe a logging camp or mine office from the late 1800s, early 1900s. I've never seen any structures.

RE:Houses in Banks Lake ??

Posted: Wed Jun 20, 2007 1:20 pm
by trout magnet

RE:Houses in Banks Lake ??

Posted: Wed Jun 20, 2007 1:48 pm
by Bodofish
Now that you mention it.... I have seen a bunch of old cement foundations while riding my bike (no motor) up around the lake, I know your not suposed too but, I was riding trails and didn't see the sign till on the way out :-" . I've flown my paraglider over the lake many times and never seen anything but stumps.
If you look at the dates in the article I wouldn't expect much to be left especialy after lowering the level and burning it to the ground.

RE:Houses in Banks Lake ??

Posted: Thu Jun 21, 2007 7:36 am
by tcb
Youre correct about the roadbeds. The original location of coulee city was where the lake is currently located.

I believe they would have flooded it with buildings in place, but I doubt any structures would have survived the 75 years underwater -- save for maybe sturdy stone structures (chimneys, etc).

I'll ask around about the structures as I will be there this weekend. Gordon (owner of Big Wally's) is a good guy to ask about that. We'll see what he has to say.

more info on the NRA Columbia Basin project: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Grand_Coulee_Dam