About
five miles east of Aloha on Ocean Beach Road is the former
mill townsite of Carlisle, Washington. It began in the early
1900's and was completely destroyed by fire in the late 1920's.
Carlisle was a company town that had its own monetary system
by way of tokens in denominations of fifty cents, one dollar
and so on. There was a company store that sold groceries and
other mercantile items. While employed at the mill, you were
required to purchase items from the company store. If you
were caught shopping in Aberdeen or Hoquiam, you were immediately
fired.
The
Copalis Lumber Company operated the mill in Carlisle. There
was also a theater and a bank. At the museum, there are several
company store tokens on display.
As
you drive by the area today, you can still see the remains
of the concrete bank vault.
