Alder Lake was created in September 1944 as a reservoir on the Nisqually River in Eatonville . The lake is where the small town of Alder had been. Alder was a lumber town and the mill in National had closed and the population of National that numbered around 25,000 at its peek had long since moved. The church in Alder was moved but many of the buildings, the road, and the bridge over the Nisqually rever were left in place when the lake was created. In a normal yeat water covers the bridge, the road and the few foundations of the old town. 2018 was an exceptional year and the ghost of the old town showed its-self with a strange sense of past life.