Ravensdale, WA

Ravensdale is a King County community built around coal, timber, and the Northern Pacific line. The Northwest Improvement Company laid it out as a company town for miners working the Ravensdale seam, and by 1910 the coal boom had brought about 816 residents. On November 16, 1915, an explosion killed 31 miners, one of Washington’s worst mining disasters; the loss also pushed the town into economic hardship and eventual disincorporation. The old mining story remains part of the local map through Ravensdale Park and the Ravensdale History Trail. Ravensdale is a foothill community whose name comes with a hard-earned history.