Melmont is a ghost town in Pierce County, Washington. The town was founded in 1900 when the Northwest Improvement Company, a subsidiary of Northern Pacific Railroad, started the Melmont coal mine. The town consisted of a schoolhouse, a train depot, a saloon, a hotel (which housed the post office, a butcher shop, and store), and rows of cottages that were used as housing for the miners. Each row accommodated a different nationality, the miners being seemingly self-segregated. The coal was used exclusively for use by Northern Pacific, and when they switched from steam locomotives to diesel and electric models, the economic base of the town was destroyed.

By 1902, the mine was producing coal to be sent 3 miles up the rails to Carbonado, where it was processed. During the sixteen years that the mine was worked, it produced approximately 900,000 tons (750 tons per day) of coal, which accounted for 4% of the total output of Pierce County.

On December 24, 1905, the house of Jack Wilson, then foreman of the mines, was bombed with a load of dynamite placed under the house. The explosion broke all the windows of the house, as well as those in the vicinity. At the time, Wilson and his daughter were sleeping in the house, but were unharmed by the explosion. David Steele, a miner at Melmont, was charged with the explosion, but was acquitted of the charges for lack of evidence.

The remains of the town were destroyed by fire in the early 1920's

Source:
Northwest Journal Online
www.northwestjournalonline.com
Wikipedia: Melmont