Lester was founded in 1891 as the logging camp of "Deans", named after the owner of Dean's Lumber Company. In 1886, the
Northern Pacific Railway constructed a large depot, roundhouse, coal dock and other
steam locomotive support facilities for the
Stampede Pass railway; the town was at the foot of the railroad's maximum
grade. It was later renamed "Lester" in honor of Northern Pacific
telegraph operator Lester Hansaker. In 1902, a series of forest fires devastated the local logging industry, but Lester continued to thrive as a
company town for
Northern Pacific Railway. In the 1920s, the town's population peaked at approximately 1,000, and most of the modern structures in Lester were built during the decade. During the 1940s and 1950s, the town transitioned away from railroading and towards logging, with new camps established at Lester by Soundview Pulp Company, later acquired by
Scott Paper Company. The city of
Tacoma began purchasing property in Lester in 1963, seeking to protect the
Green River watershed where the city sources its drinking water. King County sued the city of Tacoma over blocking access to Lester, arguing that the road was owned by the county. In July 1962, the
King County Superior Court ruled in Tacoma's favor to temporarily keep locks on its Lester gates. In 1965, the court determined that the county's failure to include other landowners in the suit hampered the court's abilities to adjudicate the case. In April 1978, the Scott camp at Lester, one of the last in King County, was closed; by March 1979, the population of the town had dropped to 22. The mothballing of the Stampede Pass rail line by
Burlington Northern in 1984 led to further abandonment of Lester, with the city of Tacoma and
United States Forest Service restricting access to residents and their guests. Lester residents and railroad buffs attempted to designate the town's railroad depot as a historic landmark in 1983, when it was threatened with possible demolition, The depot was eventually destroyed by an
arson fire. In 1985, the
Washington State Legislature passed a law that dissolved
school districts with fewer than five students, leading to the disbandment of the Lester school district. A mock funeral was held for the town by residents in response to the closure of the school. Lester's last resident, Gertrude Murphy, died in September 2002 at the age of 99. Telephone numbers in the town began with the prefix 657. The switch that served the town, a
North Electric CX-100, is preserved at the
Museum of Communications in Seattle. A small switching building, with (now defunct)
US West painted on its door, still exists in Lester. For public safety and watershed security, the remaining buildings in Lester (consisting of the guard house, gas and oil shack, and warehouse) were demolished by Tacoma Water in 2017. Some smaller traces of the town still exist. Tacoma water continues to block access to state trust lands within the Green river watershed. ==Geography==