Fire Destroys Historic Oakville Landmark

Above: Close up of the Oakville Hardware Store sign on July 3, 2017. The store and other buildings burned to the ground in a fire on July 4.

By Janine Gates

Little Hollywood

http://www.janineslittlehollywood.blogspot.com

Little Hollywood may have captured the last images of the historic Oakville hardware store, established in 1890, and other buildings before they burned to the ground on the evening of July 4.  

Oakville is a city in eastern Grays Harbor County, Washington. Incorporated in 1905, it has a population of about 700.

Oakville is perhaps best known for being the location of Washington’s last bank heist on horseback.

The town’s bank was robbed several times in the 1920s and 1930s. The robbers were almost always apprehended, except for the last time. The robbers took to the hills on horseback and were never captured.

Above: The Oakville Hardware Store on July 3, 2017

These photos, taken on the afternoon of July 3, show a nearby building that was most recently a thrift store, the hardware store, and other buildings, including the Oakville bank. The vacant house on the other side of hardware store was also destroyed, according to news sources.

Above: Oakville’s Main Street on July 3, 2017