Aloha, Washington

Aloha is an unincorporated community in Grays Harbor County, in the U.S. state of Washington.[1] It is located two miles east of the Pacific Ocean at Beaver Creek in west central Grays Harbor County.

Railroad trestle of Aloha Mill & Lumber Company under construction, ca 1921
Logging crew of Aloha Mill & Lumber Company loading logs onto railroad cars, ca 1921

History

The community was named after the Hawaiian-language word aloha.[2] The name may have been inspired by the song "Aloha ʻOe".[3]

Aloha was once home to Aloha Mill & Lumber Company. It was founded by R. D. Emerson and W. H. Dole in 1905. The name, a Hawaiian greeting, was chosen by members of the Dole family, who were landowners and business people in Hawaii. In 1920, Aloha Mill & Lumber Co. successfully bid on a unit of timber near Moclips, six miles away from its mill. For the next two years the company toiled at constructing a railroad to the sale site. Heavy rains during the winter months, 25 to 30 inches a month, delayed the start of logging until the summer of 1922.

References
  1. U.S. Geological Survey Geographic Names Information System: Aloha, Washington
  2. Meany, Edmond S. (1923). Origin of Washington geographic names. Seattle: University of Washington Press. p. 6.
  3. Hook, J. N. (10 June 2014). All Those Wonderful Names. Open Road Media. p. 234. ISBN 978-1-4976-1186-3.


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