The day was warm enough for spring. We drove down Main Street (US 12) and pulled into a parking space across from an old hotel. We agreed “What the hell,” and crossed the street to check it out.

The Weinhard Hotel was built in 1890 by Jacob Weinhard, nephew of the Portland, Oregon beer tycoon, Henry Weinhard. Jacob arrived in Dayton in 1880 and bought into an existing brewery. Three years later, he had become the sole owner and was already enlarging the brewery. He built the Hotel building to house a Saloon and a Lodge, both carrying the name Weinhard. The newspaper gushed that the Weinhard Saloon was “…perhaps the finest in the State of Washington, and we doubt if there is anything of the kind to surpass it on the Pacific Coast.”

The hotel has had its ups and downs as Dayton’s fortunes rose and fell. Its latest incarnation recalls its history in  the early 1900s.

Our room sported a beautiful canopy bed with classic art and family photos adorning the walls. Nearly all the hotel furnishings are antique. After settling in, we climbed the stairs to the upper floor roof top garden and its conversation areas and an off-for-the winter gas fire table. A Crow was obviously peeved at our presence and was letting the whole town know. We stayed a while, enjoying the view of Dayton and especially the historic train station just below and to the northeast.

We left the hotel and walked west toward the setting sun, turning south along the dike trail of the Touchet River. A pedestrian bridge was our turn-around, only a short distance down the trail. There, we were shyly greeted by several white tail deer and other walkers.

Good. The trail is used by locals. We returned to the trail as a major part of the city volkswalk the next day. The walk meanders through the near downtown area before reaching the Touchet River trail. We walked on the trail to the southeast corner where the Touchet wandered off to the south and we were transferred onto 4th to return to the downtown.

Dayton is a city of about 2400 people. Some of them live in magnificent and beautifully kept older homes built between 1880 and the 1920s. A few were run down, nearing a state of collapse, but they were not the norm. Old houses and churches, the beautiful old Columbia County Courthouse, and the restored train station behind our hotel show the results of a community that has taken preservation to heart.

At the restored depot, I met a woman—sorry, I don’t remember your name; I didn’t even
surreptitiously snap a photo of you—who talked about the efforts of her and others in the community to hold onto their historical homes and buildings.

The Dayton Historic Depot is the oldest surviving train station in Washington. In addition to a variety of train-related memorabilia, the station had a fine  show of recent and historical quilts. Given the displays and artifacts, it was easy to get a feel for travel in the late 1800s—the station was built in 1881’

We found a home at the Chief Springs Fire and Irons Brew Pub, stopping by  several times for a beer and meal. Mike Springs, the owner (in partnership with his wife) and brewmaster, brews up surprisingly mild but tasty ales. Several years ago the Springs bought the pizza restaurant next door. Now wait staff shuttle pizzas and sandwiches through the back door.

We were in Dayton to visit the old train depot and make the 36 mile drive to Palouse Falls. Chief Springs pub was an unanticipated bonus.