Wilkeson Historical District

10/03/2026

We’re so thankful you chose WHD Basecamp + CLINK coffee co. for your meeting! We loved having you here and appreciate all you do for our local trails and community. 💚

Looking for a space for your next meeting, gathering, or private event? Basecamp is available to rent.

Send us a message—we’d love to help you plan!

10/02/2026

09/24/2026

✨Basecamp was built from determination.

A decision to continue investing in Wilkeson, even during a time when our town has been asked to endure so much.

Bringing Basecamp to life became a true partnership between the Wilkeson Historical District and Clink Coffee Co. Behind that partnership are two families united by a deep love for the communities we call home and a shared belief that small towns are worth investing in—and showing up for.

Thank you for walking through our doors, sharing your memories, and supporting our vision. Your trust and encouragement mean more than we can put into words.

Wilkeson has always been the Gateway to Mount Rainier, and Basecamp is proud to be part of what comes next. 🤎

09/17/2026

WHD Basecamp is celebrating its Grand Opening! ☕️⛰️

Wilkeson Historical District and Clink Coffee Co. teamed up to create more than just a coffee shop. Basecamp is a cozy place in the heart of historic downtown Wilkeson to grab a great cup of coffee, catch up with friends, find local treasures, and get ready for your next adventure.

After the Fairfax Bridge closed, reinvesting in our community became more important than ever. The closure created real challenges for Wilkeson, but it also strengthened our commitment to keep moving forward, support our downtown, and create new reasons for people to gather, visit, and believe in our town’s future.

Basecamp means so much to us because it brings together everything we love about Wilkeson—its history, its character, its community, and its potential. Honoring the town’s past while creating new opportunities for the people who live here and the generations to come is exactly what the Wilkeson Historical District was created to do.

Come celebrate with us at our Grand Opening this Friday through Sunday. We can’t wait to see you, share a cup of coffee, and welcome you to Basecamp!

The “basecamp” opened near part of the Foothills Trail that is getting revamped next month.

09/04/2026

BIG NEWS IS COMING NEXT WEEK! 🎉

We’re adding the finishing touches and are so excited to serve you!

Once we open, our regular hours will be:
Monday–Sunday | 6:00 AM–2:00 PM

Interested in hosting an event or renting our space? Reach out—we’d love to help you plan something special!

Stay tuned… we can’t wait to share more! ☕️

08/27/2026

My love for Wilkeson, history, community, and design has evolved into what has truly been a labor of love.

I’ve been fortunate to pour my heart into these spaces with the help of family, friends, and some incredible coffee Clink Coffee Co and community partners.

As we get closer to opening these doors, I keep thinking about my dad, my grandparents, and my great-grandparents. I wonder what they would say if they could walk through these doors one more time and see people gathering here again. I think they would understand exactly why preserving these places matters.

We are so excited to open this space to our community, near and far, and invite people to experience just how special Wilkeson is.

And lately, I’ve been thinking about the bigger story we’re living in.

More than 100 years ago, people recognized that a bridge needed to be built at Fairfax to connect communities and create access to the places beyond it. 104 years later, we find ourselves advocating for that connection all over again.

We believe that bridge needs to be rebuilt. And while we wait, we also believe our community deserves places to gather, connect, learn our history, drink a great cup of coffee, welcome visitors, stay and relax and continue building something worth coming home to.

History has a funny way of repeating itself.

Maybe our job is to make sure we learn from it, and keep building the bridges that connect us.

This is our little piece of that story. Welcome to WHD Basecamp + WHD Downtown Stay 🤍

08/19/2026

Today, Wilkeson Historical District participated as a consulting party in WSDOT’s Section 106 cultural resources consultation for the SR-165 Fairfax Bridge project.

This particular phase of consultation focuses on the Area of Potential Effects (APE), cultural and historic resources, and the potential effects of the bridge replacement on the historic Fairfax Bridge, which is listed on both the National Register of Historic Places and the Washington Heritage Register.

Here are the key updates from today:

🏗️ PREFERRED BRIDGE CONCEPT
WSDOT is currently evaluating a concrete spandrel arch bridge as the preferred replacement concept. The bridge is still at the conceptual level and the final design has not been completed.

💰 PRELIMINARY COST: $30M–$40M
WSDOT shared a preliminary replacement estimate of approximately $30 million to $40 million. That estimate is still being reviewed and refined.

📅 JANUARY 1, 2027
The work that we completed during the 2026 legislative session, followed by continued coordination with legislators regarding the Fairfax Bridge, resulted in an important reporting requirement.

WSDOT is required to provide updated project information to the Legislature by January 1, 2027, including an updated cost estimate.

Today’s presentation provided some of the first information being developed as part of that larger effort.

🌲 ENVIRONMENTAL TIMELINE: 1+ YEAR
WSDOT shared that Endangered Species Act consultation is expected to take approximately one year or more and is currently one of the primary factors affecting the overall project schedule.

🌉 EXPECTED NEW BRIDGE LIFESPAN: 75–100 YEARS
The replacement bridge would be designed for a minimum service life of approximately 75 to 100 years. Concrete is being considered in part because of its durability and lower long term maintenance requirements in this remote location.

🏛️ HISTORIC PRESERVATION
The Fairfax Bridge is listed on the National Register of Historic Places and the Washington Heritage Register.

Its removal is expected to result in an adverse effect under the Section 106 historic preservation process, requiring continued consultation and development of mitigation measures.

📄 NEXT UPDATE: 3–4 WEEKS
WSDOT expects the cultural resources report to be provided to consulting parties within approximately three to four weeks. We will have an opportunity to review and comment before additional consultation meetings are held.

📍 PRESERVING THE STORY OF FAIRFAX
Wilkeson Historical District asked about opportunities to preserve the historic character and story of the Fairfax Bridge.

Because the replacement bridge is still conceptual, there will be future opportunities to discuss architectural elements, railings, viewpoints, interpretive features, preservation or reuse of portions of the existing bridge, and other ways to recognize the history of the bridge and Carbon River corridor.

***

There is still a significant process ahead, but today provided important new information about the replacement concept, preliminary cost, environmental timeline, historic preservation process, and upcoming legislative milestone.

We will continue participating as a consulting party, working with our legislative partners, and sharing information with the community as it becomes available.

In service,
Jayme Peloli

Photo courtesy of Jeff Wolff Photography