MALDEN, Wash — Most of the small town of Malden was destroyed as the Babb Fire ripped through Whitman County.
A century after the city saw a population boom, the town is now reduced to almost nothing. Most of the buildings were destroyed in the fire.
The Babb/Malden Fire has grown to 17,781 acres since it sparked at about noon on Labor Day. It is 0% contained as of Thursday.
The town was once one of the largest and fastest growing communities in the region. It was the headquarters for a major national railway, the Chicago, Milwaukee and St. Paul Railway, known as CM & St. P.
Before the railway came through, there were just a handful of farmers and ranchers in the area. In 1909, CM & St. P built its depot which would serve as the divisional headquarters.
The town was named Malden after a railroad executive’s hometown in Massachusetts. By 1920, more than 1,000 people moved into the area.
The Malden Hotel and Empire Hotels were built, a newspaper was started and there were multiple grocery stores, restaurants and saloons.
Malden’s boom was short lived. In the 1920’s, the railroad moved its operations out of the city and the population plummeted. By 1930, there were only 375 people living in Malden. By 2010, there were only 203.
The stores and hotels are now closed and all that remained was the post office. It was destroyed in the fire.
The fire station housed the town’s only fire truck. The building was also lost in the fire but its flag pole survived.
Malden City Hall, which locals call Town Hall, was also destroyed. The building housed the town library and community center.
