The city of Osborne sprung up with the Grand Coulee Dam just outside Electric City, where Osborne Bay sits today. The land was owned by Oscar Osborne and his wife Gladys but in the later years of his life he handed it over to his son, Thomas to manage and maintain. It was during this time Thomas plotted the land and created Osborne City. For a while, Osborne actually was in competition with Electric City over both the post office, school and other civic issues.
When it came time to flood Banks Lake and make the reservoir Osborne sat where it would be flooded in a natural basin. Thomas decided to move the city up onto a higher field and off the new highway, SR155. He called the settlement New Osborne but decades later all that existed of the once proud city of Osborne were a few cabins and buildings left abandoned, that were taken out decades later by fire.
“New Osborne” Before the fire, photos by Duane Dormaier
decades later, 2018
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