Most of the old roadside motels that proliferated in the post-World War II years are long gone, but they once numbered in the thousands all over the country. Occasionally, their old signs can still be found and have taken on landmark status all their own. Washington has two of these signs: the Angus Motel, and this one, the Red Land Motel. Amazingly, the Red Land, while modernized, is still in business.

This annotated history is from their website: …Walton and Joanne Hardin built the Red Land Motel. The amenities in motels were spartan back then, but no expense was spared at the Red Land. [It] boasted of refrigerated air conditioning, private bathrooms in each room-equipped with showers, and each room was carpeted. Opening for business in 1952, the Red Land Motel quickly became a local landmark, and took her place in American history as a roadside motor lodge. Over the next 25 years…two of the original buildings were torn down, so as to make room for a pair of new two-story buildings…

The Red Land Motel borrows her name for famous (or infamous?) Georgia Red Clay. Among the locals there is a love-hate relationship with red clay. However, when one of our own moves away, they always know home is close by when the hills on the roadside have that familiar red hue.