An illustrated history of Skagit and Snohomish Counties; their people, their commerce and their resources, with an outline of the early history of the state of Washington, Part 47

Author: Inter-state Publishing Company (Chicago, Ill.)
Publication date: 1906
Publisher: [Chicago] Interstate Publishing Company
Number of Pages: 1172

USA > Washington > Skagit County > An illustrated history of Skagit and Snohomish Counties; their people, their commerce and their resources, with an outline of the early history of the state of Washington > Part 47
USA > Washington > Snohomish County > An illustrated history of Skagit and Snohomish Counties; their people, their commerce and their resources, with an outline of the early history of the state of Washington > Part 47

Note: The text from this book was generated using artificial intelligence so there may be some errors. The full pages can be found on Archive.org (link on the Part 1 page).

The Bellingham Bay Mail of April 27, 1828, contains a mention of the prospective immediate establishment of the town and postoffice at Edison. In the Skagit News of February 9. 1886, we find mention of the place as a "lively little town. beauti- fully situated on Edison slough." It is there stated that William Gilmore had become the leading mer- chant and was doing at that time an immense gen- eral merchandise business with the entire region thereabouts. We learn from other sources that Mr. Gilmore, with his three sons, William N .. John A. and Hugh J., had come to Edison from Seattle in the summer of 1882. He bought out the pioneer

store of A. J. Edwards, which was situated ahost behind the present Gilmore store. Mr. Gilmore con- ducted this business until 1900, when his death occurred and the business passed into the hands of his two oldest sons, who continue it to the pres- ent. In 1881 Thomas Cain's saloon and Boyce & Churchill's store were erected. . \ year later Boyce sold out his interest to Churchill, who was suc- ceeded in turn by John Doser. This business seems to have undergone many changes, W. H. Peters, W. E. Gilkey and George Zimmerman conducting it by turns ; and in 1891, having in the meantime fallen again into the hands of Mr. Doser, the store was burned but rebuilt by Doser two years later, still again becoming the property of Wheeler Brothers of Blaine. Among other early business men of the place was Howard J. Lee, who sold out subse- quently to Iddins & Company, who still conduct the business. Charles Taggart and W. E. Gilkey were in partnership in the mercantile business from 1891 to 1896, when Taggart retired and Gilkey conducted the business until 1903, when he was succeeded by E. E. Rodgers, who still conducts the business. Among the other early business enter- prises may be mentioned that of Dave Webble, who became the first blacksmith in 1885. The next ho- tels to be started after that of Dingwall were the Edison hotel of 1884 or 1885 and the Union hotel in 1887. The former was conducted by Michael Glenden until its destruction by fire in 1891. The proprietor of the Union hotel was Thomas Cain and he is still in business at the old stand.

We learn that in 1886 D. P. Thomas was acting as justice of the peace and also as postmaster. There were at that time also four mails a week, three from Samish and one from Prairie. The mail from Prairie was carried on horseback and that from Samish by row-boat across the bay, a dis- tance of five miles.

The year 1888 was marked by the coming to Edison of the first physician of the place, Dr. J. L. Jackson. In March, 1891, the first druggist ap- peared in the person of O. A. Loomis. His store was burned in 1893, but was rebuilt in 1895 and George Halloran purchased the business.

On January 23. 1893, Edison was visited by a disastrous fire. This fire originated in the ware- house of Colonel Haller and quickly spread to ware- houses belonging to Orrin Smith and John Doser, together with the general merchandise store of the latter, including all its contents. Thomas Cain's saloon, Loomis's drug store and J. A. Jonak's har- ness shop were destroyed also, with all their con- tents. This was the only serious fire which ever visited the town and it entailed a loss of about twenty thousand dollars. The burned buildings were, however, soon replaced and the prosperity of the place was not affected.

During the years following the foundation period of which we have spoken Edison has gone

235

CITIES AND TOWNS

on with steady improvement corresponding to the growth of the country immediately tributary to it until it has become one of the most substantial and well built of the small villages of the county. The different lines of enterprise which have been dem- onstrated to be singularly successful in the region round about are farming, gardening, dairying, log- ging and milling. The Samish flats produce the most prolific crops of hay, oats, fruit and vegetables. Among the last it has been shown that sugar beets of the finest quality can be produced and there has been much talk of starting a beet-sugar factory in the town. The farmers live in elegant homes and have all the surroundings to make life attractive and prosperous.

The dairy ranchers are equally prosperous with the general farmers, since the rich, succulent grasses and clovers of the land redeemed from the swamps and forests will maintain cattle throughout the year so generously that cows have been known to pro- duce milk to the value of six dollars per month for the whole twelve months.

Within three miles of Edison are located four large mills, the Winner mill at Bow, the Sound shingle mill above Bow, the Blanchard shingle and saw-mill a short distance north of Edison, and the Edison mill company's establishment in Edison it- self. In addition to the great business opportuni- ties of the land are equally remunerative ones upon and under the water. Great quantities of salmon, besides herring and smelt, are found in the waters of the sound and the sloughs connected with them. One special industry which is in process of in- auguration at Edison is the oyster business. The shallow waters adjoining Samish island furnish the natural home for the very finest of these luscious bivalves and it is only a question of time when this business will rival that of Olympia or Toke Point.

Turning to the special business directory of Edison, we find one of the most important to be the steamboat business. The steamers Clara Brown and Edison make regular trips, besides which other boats call as business justifies, while a continual stream of sloops, scows and small boats may be seen in the sloughs and bay. The business enter- prises of the town proper are as follows: General merchandise : John Berentson, Gilmore Brothers & Company, Iddins Brothers & Company ; hardware, Unger & Loop; blacksmith shops : Klesper & New- land, A. Lindquist ; hotels : the Edison, Mrs. A. J. Whittle: the Central. Mrs. Thomas Toner; drug store, George Halloran; confectionery, Oscar A. Loomis ; livery. Lamaster & Englebretson ; doctors : Dr. Josiah Jones: J. L. Jackson ; contractors : John A. White; Patrick Callopy ; Silas Daniels ; harness shop, J. A. Jonak ; real estate and insurance, James A. Halloran; barber, Edward Watkinson; meat market. Kosack & Triebess; Edison creamery, F. MI. Kaupish, manager, expending four hundred dollars a week for cream ; Edison Lumber Company,

Lockhart & Roberts, proprietors ; the Samish Water and Supply Company, consisting of Thomas Cain, G. O. Haller, Robert P. Carter, Patrick Smith and John Doser, organized in 1890, reorganized in 1901 and providing an excellent water supply from Whitehill creek on Chuckanut mountain three and a half miles north of the town.

The social and mental life of Edison, as repre- sented by its schools, churches and fraternal orders, is such as to be highly gratifying to the fortunate inhabitants of the place.

The first school district was organized in 1874. The first school building is still standing in front of the Hall place directly east of town. The land upon which it was built was donated by John Mor- gan and the materials for the building were con- tributed by William Dean, Edward McTaggart and Daniel Dingwall. The first teacher was Charles Setzer, who came there from Orcus island. The old building was used until the erection of the present structure in 1892, when it was turned into a ware- house, which use it still fulfills. The present at- tractive and well-located building, standing upon the bank of the river and surrounded with beautiful trees, was erected at a cost of four thousand dollars and located upon land given for the purpose by Colonel Haller. The district has now maintained for a year a union high school. The school board at present consists of John Gilmore, John Dale and Nicholas Shumaker. The present principal is Pro- fessor A. Knapp and the assistants W. A. Robinson and Mrs. W. A. Robinson. The enrollment of scholars for the past year was sixty-one.

There are three churches in Edison, the Cath- olic, the Lutheran and the Congregational. The Congregational was the pioneer in time, being founded in 1889 by Rev. George Baker, but the church building was not erected until 1892. The Catholic church was both organized and established in the present church building in 1890. This church is now conducted in connection with the La Conner church in charge of Rev. Father Woods. The Lutheran church is located at a point two miles south of Edison, but ministers to the members of that denomination in and around the town. The present pastor of the Congregational church is Rev. W. A. Hughes, who succeeded Mr. Baker May 1, 1905.

The fraternities of Edison are the Edison lodge, No. 45. I. O. O. F., and the Fraternal Union, No. 154. The former was organized February 21, 1887. with five charter members, Jacob Harden, Edward Ames, W. E. Gilkey, D. P. Thomas and W. H. Ewen. In 1890 this lodge erected the Odd Fellows' hall, which is also employed as a place of public gatherings. The present officers are : C. N. Iddins, P. G .: J. A. Jonak, N. G .; Dr. Josiah Jones, V. G .; J. E. Bland, secretary, and A. S. Lockhart, treas- urer. There are now twenty-nine members. The Fraternal Union consists of forty members, and its

236

SKAGIT COUNTY

officers are : George Halloran, fraternal master ; J. R. Cowell, justice, and J. E. Bland, secretary.

BOW

The site of Bow, a thriving young village on the Great Northern, seven miles north of Burlington and on the eastern edge of the Samish region, was homesteaded by Will- iam J. Brown in 1869. In 1899 the Great Northern railway placed a corps of surveyors in this region, who ultimately ran a line from Belle- ville via Brown's place to the extreme western point of Chuckanut mountain, thence up the shore to Bellingham. This survey was later adopted and in 1901 the railway company began buikling this "cut-off," finishing it the following year, and soon thereafter abandoning the old route over the moun- tain further east. To furnish the Samish district, recognized as one of the richest sections of the county, with a new station in place of the one abandoned, the company established Bow. It erected a station building in the fall of 1902, and appointed Henry Christianson resident agent. From the es- tablishment of this station the real existence of the village dates.

However, before the building of the railroad there had been a small settlement near Bow, known locally as Brownsville. It resulted from the build- ing of a saw-mill on the Brown place in 1892 by the Howard-Butler Company, and the erection the same year of a school-house nearby. Several log- ging camps in the surrounding region contributed to the stability of the settlement, and gradually the number of ranchmen in the district increased. The postoffice did not come until July, 1901, or until after the railroad had been assured, and the service did not commence until just one year later, when E. E. Heusted assumed the duties of postmaster. The postoffice and station were named Bow, at the suggestion of Mr. Brown, after the great Bow railroad station of London, England.

The same year the postoffice was opened Ben Gardner built the Bow hotel, first known as the Gardner house. The next spring, McDougall & Brown built a saloon and that summer W. Nelson Crenshaw established the Bow department store in a shake house. At that time, also, the Winner Shin- gle Company built a shingle mill on the Brown farm, thus giving the town proper its first industry.

By 1904 Mr. Brown concluded that the time was ripe for the formal institution of a town, so platted twelve acres of his ranch into the town site of Bow. E. E. Heusted opened a grocery store, a saloon was built, George McMillan erected a blacksmith shop and Shadel & Smith placed their meat market in service, all before the close of the year 1904.

Since the first of the present year Bow has added to its business establishments another general

store, a public hall, a restaurant and a bicycle shop, besides securing two rural free delivery routes at- tached to the postoffice. As it is the only railroad station between Burlington and Whatcom county, naturally its shipping and traffic are of considerable magnitude. The town has connection by stage twice a day with Edison, which lies three miles west, al- most on the bay.

A summary of the business houses of Bow would include the following: General stores, W. N. Crenshaw, W. H. Benson ; grocery and postoffice, E. E. Heusted ; hotel and livery stables, John Peter- son ; restaurant, Mrs. T. D. Welch ; blacksmith shop, George McMillan; meat market, Shadel & Smith ; barber shop, bicycle store, Christianson ; two saloons, also the shingle mill of the Winner Shingle Company, capacity eighty thousand a day, Alexander MeGaskill, manager. Patrick McCoy's large logging camp lies only a mile south.

Aside from its strategic location as a business and shipping point, Bow has a rich tributary farm- ing country, which, however, is not very extensively improved at the present time.

AVON

Avon has never known a railroad boom, some- thing rather unusual for a town on the western frontier and in the Puget sound country. It is the result of a demand on the part of a prosperous farming community for a central point where sup- plies may be obtained and where the products of the rich fields may be marketed. Without the advan- tage of the railroad, it has become a thriving town, being the shipping point for such of the produce of the fecund Olympia marsh as does not demand shipment by rail, and the supply point for a con- siderable area of rich country.

In its early days Avon permitted no saloons. Some stormed at this, but the men with power looked about them to the rich agricultural prospect and held firmly the conviction that a town could be made without the drawing forces of the bar and the bottle. Their faith has been justified and the people may now pride themselves on the fact that Avon is what it is without artificial forcing of any kind.

The first settler on Avon's site, W. H. Miller, came and took up land about 1882. The town builder, however, was A. H. Skaling, who, a little later, bought a part of Miller's land. Settlers poured into the Olympia marsh ; they needed sup- plies ; there was no transportation save by the river, and Mr. Skaling opened his pioneer store October 27. 1883. The new trading point was thus noticed by the Northwest Enterprise :

"Avon is the name of the new town which has been platted by A. M. White of Anacortes on the great bend of the Skagit river, three miles above Mount Vernon, on the property of A. H. Skaling,

237

CITIES AND TOWNS

and a new store and postoffice have been opened there. A hotel has also been erected, kept by W. A. Pitts. The steamer Quiney brings the mails to the place twice a week from Seattle. A. M. Flagg is constructing a residence at this place and will en- gage in boat building. The nearest approach of the Olympia marsh to the Skagit is at Avon, and the place is destined to become the shipping point of that productive region."

A little later the Skagit News of April 8. 1884, contained an advertisement which read :

"A TEMPERANCE TOWN "The new Town of Avon

"is situated on the great bend. of the Skagit and on the west side of the river. It is at the intersec- tion of the La Conner. Bayview and Olympia marsh roads with the river roads : all of which roads lead to rich agricultural distriets. * *

* This town has been started on temperance principles. A clause in the deeds prohibits the sale of liquor on the premises. A lodge of Good Templars, hav- ing over fifty members, has just been established.

"Apply to Arthur H. Skaling."

Naturally one of the first things demanded by the people of a temperance town would be a church, and the first movement for such an institution was thus chronieled in the Skagit News of March 11, 1884 :

"At the meeting of the Avon conference of the Methodist Episcopal church three hundred and thirty dollars were subscribed for the erection of a church at that place. A. H. Skaling has donated a lot."

At the time the above was written a "eity direc- tory" of Avon would have read something like this : A. M. Flagg, boat builder : William A. Pitts, pro- prietor of the Avon hotel : A. H. Skaling. proprietor general store. But the earnestness of the early Avonites is indicated by the fact that in August of 1884 the foundations of the church edifice had been laid and Rev. W. McMillan was at work as pastor actively in the field. Though the clause in the deeds relating to absence of liquor license has been revoked by the owners of the town site, the fact remains that there is not a saloon in the town.

In July, 1889, the business establishments at Avon consisted of the general stores of A. H. Skal- ing, the pioneer merchant. and of the Graham Brothers, H. W. and Fred S., who had just come in: the meat market of T. N. Ovenell : the imple- ment store of J. W. Dicks, and the Pitts hotel. Two years later the Skagit News described the situation in and around Avon as follows :

"Surrounded by highly productive farms and magnificent forests of fir and cedar. \von reaps golden harvests from these sources. The land is with little exception level and covered with a deep, rich, black soil, and the land settled upon by the early pioneers is a blooming and productive garden.

and is a rich reward to the settlers who were will- ing to come into the wilderness a few years ago and endure privations and hardships. Until re- cently there has been a lack of saw-mills at Avon, and consequently lumber had to be shipped in on the river from other points. Some of the early settlers built their houses out of hand-made boards, or 'shakes,' and many lived in the primitive log cabin. This period is passed now, however, as two saw-mills with a cutting capacity of thirty thon- sand feet each day, and a shingle mill with a cut- ting capacity of forty thousand per day are run- ning.'

The mills mentioned, the first ventures in their respective lines in Avon, were those since well known as the establishments of M. B. Jacobs. The town hall, now known as Liberty hall, was erected in 1886 and was then considered an ornament to the town, of which few of its contemporaries of equal size could boast. In 1891 the Avon Record was published and was rated as an excellent paper for a town of its size, but its editor. W. E. Boyton. saw fit to discontinue after a time and go elsewhere. In those days A. H. Skaling had a full line of goods for a general merchandise store. Blumberg, Miller & Company kept a full line of groceries, crockery. glass and queensware. The mills were giving em- ployment to about fifty men. A. M. Flagg had a drug store, with confectionery and cigars. Dr. A. C. Lewis, who had come to Avon from Ketchum, Idaho, was the only physician in the town. W. L. Duncan was proprietor of a billiard hall and store for the sale of tobacco and cigars, as well as soft drinks. Miss M. F. Graham had opened a mil- linery store which was credited with having "the largest stock of goods of any establishment of the kind on the Skagit river." Graham Brothers had a general merchandise establishment in town. one of the largest warehouses on the river, a two-story building in which the Independent Order of Odd Fellows met, and another furnishing a home for the Avon Cornet band. The firm was also owner of the North Avon addition, where Avon business touches the Anacortes branch of the railroad. Mar- tin & Co. was operating the Avon Soda and Bot- tling works, which were furnishing all kinds of soft drinks to the northwestern part of the state. Fred Wills and William Pitts owned and operated a stage line to Mount Vernon and in connection conducted a livery stable. W. A. Ferrell was the town blacksmith. J. 11. Reylea had recently come from San Francisco and commenced the wagon- making business. The furniture trade was repre- sented by G. Antenen & Company. William Girth was proprietor of a restaurant. Such was Avon in 1891, and such she was for a period of years.

More than a decade passed and in 1905 the Argus published a story of the revivification of Avon, saying that "the sleepiness of the old town has vanished and in its place one sees the energy

238

SKAGIT COUNTY

and enthusiasm that go hand in hand with pro- gress." An examination of the roster of business houses is one means of determining the difference between the town of the present time and the town as it was in 1891, yet one finds the names now which were prominent in the days of the earlier period. W. A. Pitts still runs the Avon hotel, and has com- petition in the establishment of Charles Kinsey. The general stores are those of J. W. Hall, 11. W. Graham & Company and W. A. Ferrell, who has left his forge and anvil for the counter and count- ing room. A. M. Fairley has a butcher shop, con- fectionery store and barber shop. C. S. Alvord has succeeded Mr. Ferrell as leading blacksmith. Charles DuVall is engaged in the business of mak- ing shoes to order and repairing old footwear.

Formerly the chief business street of Avon lay along the top of the dike; now the main business thoroughfare of the town is on the street next back from the old dike and running parallel with it. The change commenced with the removal of the old Liberty hall to the new street, and gradually the street has become lined on both sides with stores and business houses. A big warehouse is in pro- cess of construction where Brunswick street leads down to the river, next to the branch of Lily & Bogardus. The Avon Mill Company, originally composed of H. W. Graham, H. M. Gibson and John and Robert Wiley, who erected the mill in 1903, is one of the big establishments of the present Avon. The proprietor is J. W. Hall, who turns out sixty thousand shingles a day and furnishes employment to fifty men.

In educational matters the people of Avon have ever been alert. From the time the first school was opened in this section, the subject of maintaining ade- quate facilities for the training of the minds of the young has been uppermost in the thought of the taxpayers and the public spirit of the people has not lagged. Mrs. Amelia (Watt) Waikle taught the first school in the Avon district in a building stand- ing on the river front, and now occupied as a resi- dence by the Gibson family. This school-house was replaced in 1886 by a neat frame building which did duty for the district until in 1892 the present structure was erected. In 1890 the old building was considered to be inadequate, and the following year a bond issue of six thousand dollars was voted, but another one thousand dollars was required be- fore the present handsome building was completed. The affairs of the school are administered very acceptably by the present board, composed of Frank A. Jewett, president ; H. B. Randall and B. R. Sum- ner. clerk.

Hardly had Avon been settled when church sentiment became felt, which resulted in the erec- tion of a building for the Methodist church, Rev. L. E. Worman being pastor. The edifice was dedi- cated in August, 1887, the auditorium being packed to the doors. The dedicatory sermon was preached

by Rev. Mr. Moore, presiding elder of the Wyom- ing, New York, district. The sum of seven hun- (red and fifty dollars was raised on dedication day alone, the demand for church services being so great that contributions were freely given by those who were not of the same formal faith as the de- nomination named. Architecturally the edifice is a credit to the town, while under the ministrations of the present pastor, Rev. S. S. Gniler, the church work is progressing in a spiritual way. In 1886 persons affiliated with the Episcopal church erected a small house of worship, costing several hundred dollars.

At the present time Avon boasts of a lodge of but one of the larger fraternal organizations. Avon lodge, No. 789, Independent Order of Odd Fellows, was organized in 1884 and has ever since been in a flourishing condition. Its progress has been coextensive with that of the town and its lead- ing members are leading men of Avon. The present roster of officers is: Past grand, H. Il. Allen ; noble grand, George Morris, Jr. : vice grand, F. E. Tucker ; secretary, G. C. Berger ; financial secretary, J. Guy Lowman; treasurer. Paul Singer; trustees, Anton Blair, George Hopper and M. McLean; chaplain, W. C. Singer. There is also a flourishing chapter of the Daughters of Rebekah, Olive Branch lodge, No. 169, organized in 1905, with the following officers : Noble grand, Mrs. M. McLean; vice grand, Mrs. B. R. Sumner ; secretary, Miss Hannah Isaacson ; treasurer, Mrs. W. C. Ferrell; chaplain, Miss May Muman.

Avon has a sister town, which might also be said to be her alter ego, namely, North Avon, the plat of which was filed in 1890 by H. W. and Fred S. Graham, who for the purpose bought land of Thomas Wilkins, which was part of the old Enbark homestead. The Grahams erected the first store at the point where the railroad comes nearest to Avon, in 1891, and very shortly after secured a postoffice, W. T. Flagg becoming the first postmaster. At one time the new town seemed destined perhaps to sur- pass Avon, but the financial depression of the early nineties distracted business from the place, though it still serves as the railway shipping point for Avon. The contiguous territory is rich in timber, which is fast giving way to farms. The main sup- port of the town is the Avon Lumber Company's saw-mill, which, with its accompanying logging camp, gives employment to many men. The com- pany owns and operates a railway between its camp and the mill.

Need help finding more records? Try our genealogical records directory which has more than 1 million sources to help you more easily locate the available records.

An illustrated history of Skagit and Snohomish Counties; their people, their commerce and their resources, with an outline of the early history of the state of Washington, Part 47

Author: Inter-state Publishing Company (Chicago, Ill.) Publication date: 1906 Publisher: [Chicago] Interstate Publishing Company Number of Pages: 1172

Author: Inter-state Publishing Company (Chicago, Ill.)
Publication date: 1906
Publisher: [Chicago] Interstate Publishing Company
Number of Pages: 1172