The Bavarian Village

The town of Leavenworth, Washington, also known as "The Bavarian Village" is the closest incorporated municipality to the Owl Farm. Located in the upper part of the Wenatchee Valley on the eastern slopes of the Cascades, Leavenworth was established in the late 19th Century by pioneers in search of gold, furs and fertile farmland. The town soon blossomed with the arrival of the Great Northern Railway.

But by the middle part of the 20th Century, the town was dying. The Great Northern Railway re-routed the line and the local sawmill and a healthy logging industry eventually fell apart. What was once a bustling, thriving hub of commerce was reduced to a hollow, empty community -- a town living on the edge of extinction.

But in the 1960s, everything changed thanks to a band of visionaries, who worked with the University of Washington School of Architecture to revamp the town's appearance with hopes of attracting tourism to the area. Using the beautiful backdrop of the surrounding Alpine-like hills and mountains to its advantage, Leavenworth citizens agreed to remodel their hamlet in the form of a Bavarian village. Creating more than a mere facelift, the entire community rallied to create the illusion of Bavaria in the middle of Washington State.

Today, Leavenworth is one of the most successful theme towns in the West, attracting more than a million tourists to community events like the Autumn Leaf Festival, Maifest and the popular Christmas lighting ceremony (below).

With only about 2,500 residents, Leavenworth's population can swell exponentially during special events (these are the times we locals refer to Leavenworth as "The Barbarian Village"). But, kidding aside, Leavenworth is a wonderful community where we have many friends, not to mention groceries stores, gas stations, hardware outlets and more that we need to survive at Owl Farm.