1904 Death on the Tracks in Bordeaux, Washington
It was an early spring morning in the rural Thurston County logging town of Bordeaux, Washington. Located in the Mima Creek valley, it is likely that the little town was abuzz with the sounds of the mills and logging trucks delivering their loads of timber from the Black Hills.
Young mother of two, Blanche Philby who was expecting her third child very soon, set off for the company store to buy some new clothes for the baby. Her house, like many others in the town was perched on the hillside and so she was obligated to come down a flight of steps in order to cross the railroad tracks so she could get some money from her husband Charles who was working in the mill.
Blanche got as far as the tracks when a friend hailed her from one of the houses above, and she was distracted for just a moment. It was in that moment that a lone engine blasted around the bend behind her. Glen Whipple picked up what was left of Charles Philby’s wife and unborn child. Two little tots were left without a mother, and tragedy had again visited the town of Bordeaux.
Photo credits and background information:
The town of Bordeaux is a copy from the Mason County Historical Museum, Shelton, WA.
Mason County Historical Museum
Shelton, Downtown
427 Railroad Avenue
360-426-1020
Historic photos, displays, books, diaries, logging tools, pioneer clothing, wood carvings, World War I era memorabilia, military uniforms, official documents
~~~~~
The photo of the store is part of my own personal collection. My grandfather Elvin Moline is in the far right of the photo, one row back near the window.
The photo of the Mumby Lumber Company Trucks is also in my personal collection. This was a promotional photo for the company. My grandfather Moline was a lumber salesman for Mumby; my grandfather Will Yates worked in the mill from around 1926 to 1941 when it closed.
Please, do not copy the photos without permission.
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Filed under: Genealogy, History, Old Bordeaux Washington, Photos
Oh, that’s just an awful story.
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I know it is awful. The reason I post this kind of stuff is that I have access to the information that someone else might not have, and if anyone from the Philby family was ever trying to piece together what happened to Blanche, it would be available if someone did a search. At least I hope so.
Hi there,
Thanks for dropping by my site.
You have a very interesting blog, thanks for sharing all these articles
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hi looking for a old railroad map of capital forest..trying to find old towns,cabins..etc
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Darrell, you might want to try the Dept. of Natural Resources in Olympia for maps, etc.
http://www.dnr.wa.gov
1111 Washington St SE
Olympia, WA 98504-0001
(360) 902-1004
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It seems odd that someone could be “surprised” by a train. It’s not like they were stealthy back in 1904. I know it’s definitely an extremely sad story, but something just doesn’t seem right. It’s not like trains can come around corners, since the tracks don’t curve that sharply.
This may be a stupid question, but is it possible that the engine was drifting on the tracks, and not under power?
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I only know about train-people accidents that have happened here in western WA, but we have had deaths even recently by people on the tracks who just weren’t paying attention. Those people weren’t in a busy mill town that ran 24/7. I wasn’t alive in 1904, so this is just speculation. There had to be a lot of noise from the buildings that housed the saws as well as the everyday noises other people make. Bordeaux and the mill were situated so that noise might have been concentrated in the “bowl” where the town sat. Either way, it happened and I doubt it was any kind of suicide or anything. She may just not have been paying attention.
Twitter: webduck
You asked if the engine could have been drifting and not under power…The article didn’t say that, but the engines used in Bordeaux were not huge. My article “A Personal History With Trains” shows my uncle with one of the engines that used to run in the town. http://ipentimento.com/a-personal-history-with-trains/