Franklin

Overview

Coal town on the Green River

Franklin sat on the Green River about a mile east of Black Diamond, near the Green River Gorge. It was a company town, started in the 1880s around coal mines run by the Oregon Improvement Company. Its miners were mostly Welsh, English, Irish, Italian and Scottish. The railroad arrived from Black Diamond in 1885, and Franklin coal went to San Francisco.

Two events marked the town. In May 1891, when white miners were on strike, recruiters brought in Black miners from Missouri, Illinois, Kentucky and Tennessee. A month and a half of tension ended in a riot in early July that left two dead, and the governor sent in the National Guard. Then on August 24, 1894, fire broke out in the Oregon Improvement Company mine and 37 miners suffocated. A jury found the fire had been set on purpose. Wikipedia says whoever set it died in the mine; the Black Diamond Historical Society quotes the cause as "unknown party or parties." The society calls it the second-worst mining disaster in Washington's history.

Mining went on after the fire, but demand for coal fell and the work got harder. The post office closed in 1916, and by 1919 nearly everyone had gone. Palmer Coking Coal Company mined here again from the late 1940s until 1971. Don Mason, who leads tours of the site, told KUOW in 2017 that the town peaked at about 1,000 people.

Timeline

Forty years of coal

1. 1880sFranklin is founded as a company town for coal mines beside the Green River. The Oregon Improvement Company runs the main mine.
2. 1885The Seattle and Walla Walla Railroad is extended from Black Diamond to Franklin, and coal ships out to San Francisco.
3. 1886Franklin has a post office by this year.
4. May–Jul 1891Labor recruiters bring Black miners from Missouri, Illinois, Kentucky and Tennessee to replace striking white miners. In early July a riot leaves two dead, and the governor calls out the National Guard.
5. Aug 24, 1894Fire in the Oregon Improvement Company mine kills 37 miners. A jury finds it was set on purpose. The Black Diamond Historical Society gives the finding as "willfully and maliciously caused by unknown party or parties"; Wikipedia says the person responsible died in the fire.
6. 1916The post office closes.
7. 1919Nearly all mining has stopped and most residents have left. A few families, including the Moores, stay on.
8. Late 1940s–1971Palmer Coking Coal Company mines coal here again, at the surface and underground. In late March 1971 a coal-car bridge over the Green River is blown up in a ceremony that ends mining.
9. 1984–1985Green River Community College's archaeology department excavates the townsite.

What's left

Foundations, a shaft and a cemetery

The walk from Green River Gorge Road follows an old railroad grade with little climbing. WTA lists it at 2.5 miles round trip with 200 feet of gain. A large coal cart lettered with the town's name marks a junction. From there, by a 2025 account, the left fork leads to the mine and the cemetery and the right fork to the ruins.

The main mine shaft is sealed with a grate. WTA puts the drop at over 1,000 feet, so keep your distance. A narrow path continues to the powerhouse foundation and the cemetery, where only a few gravestones remain among alders and ivy. In February 2026 a hiker found blackberries and fallen trees across the narrow path up to the cemetery, and in May another described the hillside beyond it as overgrown with vines.

The 1913 USGS sheet below shows Franklin on a bend of the Green River, with mine symbols around it and a railroad, marked C. and P.S. R.R., running west toward Lawson. Lawson, Kummer, Palmer, Bayne and Cumberland, other coal camps of the time, sit around it. On the 1975 sheet Franklin's name is gone. Only Green River Gorge is marked.

• Coal cart with the town's name
• Grated mine shaft
• Powerhouse foundation
• Other concrete foundations
• Cemetery with a few gravestones

Historic maps

Franklin on USGS maps, 1913–1975

Crops from the USGS Historical Topographic Map Collection, centered on the townsite. Each sheet shows what surveyors mapped that year; compare them with today's topo and aerial on this page.

19131:125,00019751:100,000

Map & directions

Getting there

Black Diamond is the nearest town. Both routes end at the field on Green River Gorge Road just before the Green River Gorge bridge, where WTA says hikers park. The townsite is about 1.25 miles' walk west of there, past the gate at the far side of the field. WTA warns that phone apps can give poor directions here, so save these before you go.

Base map: USGS The National Map (public domain). Routes: OSRM on © OpenStreetMap contributors data (ODbL), computed October 2026. Times assume dry roads.

Photos

Franklin in photos

New houses under construction, about 1915The Cannon Mine trestle over the Green River, about 1915The coal company store beside the tracks, about 1915 to 1920Men at the picking table in the Cannon Mine bunker, about 1915National Guardsmen at the Franklin mines during the 1891 strikeA train at the Franklin depot, about 1890

Visitor reports

Been to Franklin?

Been there lately? Tell the next visitor what you found: whether you could get in, the state of the road and what's still standing. Photos are welcome. We read every report before it appears here.

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Nearby

Other sites near Franklin

Straight-line distance from the townsite to other mapped sites in our Washington index.

• Krain4.3 mi S · King
• Bayne4.9 mi SE · King
• Barneston7.8 mi NE · King
• Osceola8.1 mi SW · King
• Taylor8.6 mi N · King
• Page9.6 mi E · King
• Kerriston11.7 mi NE · King
• Thomas12.6 mi W · King

Sources

Sources and credits

1. ghosttowns.com, "Franklin": fact sheet fields (roads, climate, best time).
2. Wikipedia, "Franklin, Washington", retrieved October 2026: founding, railroad, post office dates, the 1891 strikebreakers and riot, the 1894 fire, decline, Palmer Coking Coal mining to 1971, the 1984–85 excavation, coordinates.
3. Black Diamond Historical Society, "Franklin": the miners' origins, the 1885 railroad, the finding on the fire's cause, the fire's rank in state history, foundations and tombstones, the request to stay on the trails.
4. KUOW, "This ghost town used to be home to 1,000" (March 2017): Don Mason's peak population figure, the cemetery among alders and ivy.
5. Washington Trails Association, "Franklin Ghost Town", read October 2026: length, gain, high point, the $5 private parking field, directions, the State Parks listing, coal cart, grated shaft, powerhouse foundation, cemetery; and its trip reports of February, May, July and August 2026: the $5 reminder, the overgrown path to the cemetery and beyond, the July closure of the field, room to park in August.
6. Islands, "Hidden near waterfalls in Washington's woodlands" (August 2025): railroad-grade trail, the forks at the coal cart, few remaining gravestones.
7. Elevation: USGS 3D Elevation Program point query. Routes: OSRM on OpenStreetMap data, October 2026, ending at WTA's trailhead coordinates.

Photo and map credits

• New houses under construction, about 1915: Unknown author, Wikimedia Commons, Public domain
• The Cannon Mine trestle over the Green River, about 1915: Unknown author, Wikimedia Commons, Public domain
• The coal company store beside the tracks, about 1915 to 1920: Unknown author, Wikimedia Commons, Public domain
• Men at the picking table in the Cannon Mine bunker, about 1915: Unknown author, Wikimedia Commons, Public domain
• National Guardsmen at the Franklin mines during the 1891 strike: Faber, Wikimedia Commons, Public domain
• A train at the Franklin depot, about 1890: Unknown author, Wikimedia Commons, Public domain
• Topo map, area base map and aerial imagery: USGS The National Map (public domain).
• Historic maps: USGS Historical Topographic Map Collection (public domain): Cedar Lake 1913, 1:125,000; Snoqualmie Pass 1975, 1:100,000.