In 1965, construction of Wells Dam on the Columbia River, six miles downstream, destroyed the entire downtown area of Pateros. The town's business district was leveled along Methow Street, a long, tree-lined road paralleling the Columbia River that had more than forty businesses. A handful of buildings were moved across the railroad tracks into the residential section of town, but most were completely demolished, and the large shade trees along Methow Street, including maple, blue spruce, cottonwood, birch, and elm, were also lost. The area was then filled with six to seventeen feet of dirt and rock, raising the ground to its present level. No businesses could rebuild for more than a year on the newly filled site, and although some eventually returned, many ceased to exist during this traumatic period or relocated elsewhere. The pedestrian mall now lies over what was once Methow Street.