In 1928, Camp One was established southwest of here to house workers who spent their days skidding logs, laying track, or building Seneca's first homes, and with boxcars for homes, a commissary, a store, electricity, and running water, it was a substantial logging camp. Gradually logs became lumber and lumber became buildings, and by 1931 Camp One had disappeared as the town of Seneca rose from the valley floor. The hard times of the 1930's later gave way to increased demand for lumber from World War II onward. A new steam-heated, wood-paneled hotel housed loggers, who nicknamed it the "Waldorf-Astoria," children swam in a pool heated by the nearby locomotive shop, and Labor Day picnics for Hines Company employees became customary. In July 1951, the company newspaper celebrated the sound of the locomotive whistle at the highway crossing into town and the steady stream of log cars headed for the mill in Hines. Over time, Seneca became a quieter place again, but with a richer history.