The community, located around Packwood Creek and near Kopiah, Washington, was built after the creation of the Centralia Eastern rail line, which terminated at the site. The town was first known as Packwood, after William Packwood, who built a homestead and farm in the area in 1883.[2] The community was formed by 1907[3] and a post office called Mendota was established in 1909, which remained in operation until 1923.[4] The community took its name from the Mendota Coal and Coke Company.[5]
Mendota peaked with a total of approximately 60 homes in the town and 200 employees of the coal company. A large fire in 1926 shut down the plant[3] and by the 1950s, Mendota was considered a former community, and the area supported a lone sheep ranch.[2] Despite renewed hope of reviving Mendota after findings of additional coal beds in 1951, the community became a ghost town and was a site for the placement of a Pacific Power & Light steam-powered plant in 1969.[3]
