Whitman County Gazette 

'Rock Houses' receives $131,000 grant

 

August 26, 2021

Washington trust for historic preservation

Local businessman Clint Dobson is credited with building the rock houses and station between 1934 and 1936.

LaCROSSE - Money to finish the LaCrosse "Rock Houses" was provided by the state.

LaCrosse Community Pride was chosen to receive $131,000 through the Washington State Heritage Capital Project Grant program.

The grant funds construction costs for converting the historic basalt buildings into a Heritage Museum and Ice Age Floods Center, and places for visitors to stay.

Collectively known as the Rock Houses, the structures were built during the Great Depression and are a part of the rural heritage for the town.

Bunkhouses 2, 3 and 4 still need interiors, insulation, sheetrock, and furnishings, according to preservation officials.

The Rock Houses are listed as one of the 10 "most endangered" historic places by the Washington Trust for Historic Preservation.

The preservation group is working with Whitman County Library and the Ice Age Floods Institute Palouse Falls Chapter to protect the structures.

Additionally, as a community along the National Park Service's Ice Age Floods National Geological Trail, there are plans to incorporate this location as a learning center along the route that traverses four states.

 

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