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 54

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 54
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 54

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Among the principal farms on the marsh were those of Messrs. Drew, who had the finest dwelling in that part of the county, John Stecher, S. O. Woods, F. Fletcher, B. Walthers. A. Davis, W. W. Larrimer, W. J. Watkins, G. W. Stevenson, H. Gray and Peter Hovardson. The first complete threshing machine ever brought into the Snohomish valley was brought from Seattle in September, 1885, by W. J. Watkins, who owned one of the best farms on the marsh. This machine, which was a horse-power, was at once put at work on the farms of its owner and his neighbors.

In the governor's report for the year he gave an estimate of the products and we note a rise over the previous year in every particular. They were given as follows : Wheat, 5,000 bushels; oats, 80,000; barley, 10,000; potatoes, 20.000; hay, 9,000 tons ; hops, 20 tons; live stock, horses and miles, 400 : neat cattle. 6,000; swine, 2,000; shecp. 4,000. The estimated output of logs was 20,000,000 feet. We also learn that there was one steam saw mill, one water saw mill. and one sash and door factory, the value of whose products was $95,000. The population of Snohomish City was :00, that of

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the county, 2.175. The assessed valuation of real estate was $101,962; of improvements, $116,802, and of personal property, $160,982, making a total of $649,146. This was an increase over the pre- vious year of $15,384.

The middle eighties all over the sound were ren- dered lively by anti-Chinese agitations, As there were but few Chinamen in Snohomish county, the agitation against them was less bitter than else- where on the sound. September 19. 1885, however. a mass meeting of citizens was called, at which a number of speeches against the Chinamen and some few in their favor were made, but nothing definite was attempted. The next morning another meeting was held, even more informal and unsystematic than the first. At this it was voted unanimously that the Chinese must go and that a committee of three be appointed by the chairman so to inform the China- men of Snohomish. Those called upon to serve on the committee refused to act, however, and nothing was accomplished but discussion.

Early the next year matters were brought to a successful conclusion. On February 9th a commit- tee of citizens visited the Chinese and requested them to make preparations for an early departure. The Chinamen made no resistance, most of them be- ing willing to go. The following morning about twenty of them went on board the steamer Cascade and were seen no more in the vicinity of Snohomish. A few of the bosses remained a day or two longer to sell out their stock and settle their affairs.

An incident occurred on the 16th which indi- cated the rabid antipathy which had arisen against the Chinese on a part of a few of the more violent citizens. A quantity of gunpowder was set off under a corner of a wash house, in which three Chinamen still remained. Fortunately no damage was done except to scare the Celestials and arouse the indignation of the sober-minded citizens. The Chinese exodus from Snohomish was one of the most quiet and peaceful in the Northwest, they being too few in number to make any serious resistance, even had they been so disposed. Nearly every one in the county was glad when they were gone.

One of the first important things that attracts our attention in 1886 was the opening of the new road across the marsh and south to the King county line where it intersected the Seattle road. This afforded direct communication between Seattle and Snohomish. The road had first been petitioned for some two years before and had been under the con- sideration of the county commissioners for that length of time, hanging fire for a variety of reasons, most of them very poor ones. The cost to the petitioners, who bore nearly the whole expense, was over two thousand dollars in money and labor.

One of the most prosperous regions on the sound in 1886 was the Stillagnamish valley, which was being rapidly occupied. Settlements were scattered along the river for thirty miles or more. Wages in

the logging camps were nearly one-fourth better than in Snohomish, ranging from forty to one hun- dred dollars per month. Hard times were almost unknown. The two principal settlements in the valley were at Stanwood, at the month of the Stilla- guamish, and at Florence, three miles above. The latter town, though nearly twenty years younger than its rival, was already pushing hard for the supremacy. It contained a large general merchan- dise store, which was run by Frank Norton, who was also the postmaster of the place ; a good-sized hotel, managed by Frank Carrin, a large public hall. and about half a dozen other buildings, including residences.

There was a very different state of affairs at Granite Creek, concerning which an article appears in the Eye of April 24th. There were two thousand men there and two hundred houses, but half the houses were for sale at less than cost and half the men had mining claims for sale. The best claims did not average more than two dollars per day to the man and snow prevented prospecting. Pro- visions were very high, flour being $5.00 a sack, bacon 30 cents a pound, beans 12 cents, tea $1.00, beef 10 cents, tobacco $1.00, and syrup $3.00 a gallon. In short the report which the Eye gave was very discouraging.

The growth of the county, however, cannot be judged by one over-boomed, under-developed min- ing district. A good way to judge of growth is to study the land entries, and in this respect the section of country of which Snohomish was a part surpassed any other on the Pacific coast. The amount of land entered in the Puget sound districts from July. 1882, to June. 1886, was one million one hundred and forty thousand three hundred and sixty-four acres.

In July and Angust of this year there were a great many forest fires throughout the county. The weather had been dry for so long that a fire was a very dangerous thing. More than one logging camp and even farm was threatened and many crews had to stop work and fight the flames. The fires were finally checked, however, withont much damage having been done.

An unfortunate accident occurred in January. 1887, on the Stillagnamish, between Stanwood and Florence. Robert Heney was living some distance back from the river on a plateau which had been formed by a landslide some years before. It was just at the foot of a large bluff. During the night a huge mass of earth and rock broke loose and started down the bluff. It would not have struck the house but for three immense stumps which turned the slide so that it caught the house and ground it to pieces, crushing the unfortunate man within and burying him beneath the debris. The body was recovered and buried at Stanwood by the Odd Fellows and Knights of Labor, of which organ- izations Heney had been a member.

In 1887 railroad matters again came to the

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front and assumed much more definite shape. On the 13th of April the Seattle & West Coast Rail- way was incorporated, with a capital stock of one million dollars. The officers of the company were Henry Crawford, Jr., president ; Henry Crawford, Sr., vice-president; W. J. Jennings, secretary and treasurer. The principal offices were at Seattle. The object of the company was to construct and operate a railroad and telegraph line from Seattle to the most convenient point on the Canadian border for a junction with the Canadian Pacific. The junction with the Seattle, Lake Shore & Eastern was to be at the mouth of Bear creek near Woodenville. The route as laid out entered the Snohomish valley just below Fiddler's bluff, crossing the river to Snohomish City and from there proceeding north past Lake Beecher to the Canadian boundary, which was eighty-five miles from Snohomish. Several hundred men were immediately put to work at various points along the line and work was carried on as rapidly as possible. Operations were con- tinued all summer especially on the sections between Seattle and Snohomish and Snohomish and Lake Beecher.

In December the contract for completing the entire road was let to Sinclair & Company, of New York, contractors who built three hundred miles of the Canadian Pacific. By the terms of the agree- ment the unfinished portion was to be completed and the rest constructed as soon as possible. The northern terminus of the road, where connection would be made with the Canadian Pacific, was not yet determined more definitely than that it would be either New Westminster or Hope, both of which places were about twelve miles from the boundary. The contractors took hold of the work with an energy and zeal that promised its speedy completion. A cargo of rails was on its way from England and every preparation was being made to lay them as soon as they arrived. People of a sanguine dis- position were confident that Snohomish would be connected with the east by a through train in the course of a year.

Another railroad enterprise had been started a short time before this one known as the Belling- hamn Bay Railroad. It was headed by Senator Can- field, D. B. Jackson and a number of San Francisco capitalists. A franchise was secured and other pre- parations made for the construction of the road, but it failed to materialize.

The year 1887 was a very profitable one for the lumber industry. That year marked the beginning of the immense trade with all parts of the world which has since grown to such huge proportions. Not only was the local demand for lumber greater than ever before but foreign contracts were made faster than they could be filled. The price of logs advanced to seven dollars per thousand and rough humber to twelve. The wages of woodmen in the

camps were from forty to one hundred and twenty- five dollars per month with board.

Blackman Brothers' mill produced that year about ten million shingles, most of which were shipped east, and four million feet of lumber. Their success in shipping their products east induced others to follow their example and in a short time the eastern demand was greater than the supply.

The greatness of the demand for logs may be shown by the following incident. In 1829. E. Mc- Taggart had been appointed government scaler for the Puget sound district. The mill inen, however, would not accept his measurements, which, though their accuracy was not questioned, averaged about five per cent. higher than their own. The mill men had the logging men under their thumb so that the latter were compelled to submit, but in 1882 the demand for logs became so great that the loggers could dictate their terms, and one of their terms was that McTaggart's measurements be accepted. The Puget Mill Company was the first to accept them and was then followed perforce by the rest of the mills in the country.

In the fall another broken log boom was chron- icled. It occurred on the Stillaguamish river, which rose suddenly on account of warm rains and brought down a drive of ten million feet of logs. The pressure against the boom at the mouth of the river caused it to give way and about two million feet went out to sea, though most of them fortunately. were picked up by the steamers Daisy, Susie and Seattle and a crew of drivers.

About the same time an important enterprise in connection with mining was undertaken, namely. the building of a road along the upper Skykomish and the north fork of the same river to Silver creek, about fifteen miles above the forks. The road was built by the Snohomish and Similkameen Trail and Wagon Company, of which Henry Stephens was president. It opened up a large section of good mining country and was for that reason very valuable.

Indians attract our atttention again at this time. A bartender at Park Place named Oscar Drew was in the habit of selling whisky to some of the Indians near Tualco. During a drunken spree two of these Indians, Sam Patch and Harriman's Bill, murdered a squaw. The indignation of the law- abiding people was aroused and they secured the arrest of Oscar Drew as well as of the two mnur- derers. Drew pleaded guilty and was given a stiff sentence while the Indians also received their deserts.

The population of Snohomish county in 188: was 3,138, being nearly double what it was two years before. The agricultural productions were oats. 112,000 bushels ; barley, 11,000 ; potatoes, 281- 000; hay, 13,000 tons; hop, 42 tons; apples and small fruits, 280,000 bushels.

The value of all taxable property was $1.052,323,

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having increased $316,762 since the year before. We give below a list of property holders who paid taxes on $5,000 and over, and the amount of taxes which they paid. J. B. Ault, $52.00; Edwin G. Ames, $231.99; Blackman Bros., $6:1.46; S. J. Burns, $10.48; John A. Brawley, $83.28; A. A. Brockway, $15801; John Bryggar, $89.94; Isaac Cathcart, $404.19; W. S. Clay, $69.36; J. P. Come- ford. $105.20: Comegys & Vestal, $109.24; Che- nook Boom Company, $16.88; William Douglass, $110.80; L. G. Ferguson, $101.88; Yates Ferguson, $218.2%; R. M. Folsom. $51.10; A. W. Fove, $58.80; Henry Gable, $50.00: John Gilchrist. $51.40; Andrew Hagerty, $162.80; Henrietta M. Haller, $81.40; Edward N. Hamlin, $54,90; F. H. Hancock, $85.68: Chas. Harriman, $54.00; John Harvey estate, $52.99; J. B. Ilaynes, $96.00; John Hilton. $59.60; Augustus Hines, $59.19; Mary L. Hughs, $58.23; J. H. Irvine, $180.00; C. F. Jack- son, $63.08: 11. T. Jackson, $66.00; Andrew John- son. $18.00; John Krischel, $65.88; Lake Superior & Puget Sound Land Company, $113.50 ; James Long. $82.90; Charles H. Low estate, $335.20 ; William McGee, $69.68; T. D. Merrill, $158.71; M. McCauley. $60.12: William McPhee, $56.88; Nicholson & Hanson, $54.43 ; Henry Oliver, $123.89 ; C. M. Ovenell, $52.49; F. N. Ovenell, $52.19; Mary L. Packard, $81.28; Harriette Parkhurst, $61.88 : D. O. Pearson, $95.30 ; F. E. Phelps, $63.59; J. H. Plaskett, $55.56; Port Blakely Mill Company, $2.196.06 ; Puget Mill Company, $3,306.10 ; Pacific Postal Telegraph Company, $50.00; Sinclair estate, $52.88; Jasper Sill, $81.32; E. D. Smith, $396.12 ; M. B. Smith, $61.80 : U. Stinson, $143.40; William Tester, $19.19; Cyrus Walker. $109.04; William Whitfield. $16.68: Henry S. Wilson, $66.00; C. F. Yeaton, $94.59.

The year 1888 opened up very brightly. A con- stant stream of immigrants and homeseekers came in on every boat. Everywhere could be seen men looking over the land and looking for suitable places to settle and bring their families and friends. We observe the following in the Eye of May 19th : "The rush of immigration to Snohomish county is unprecedented, and the woods along the proposed line of the West Coast railroad north from Snoho- mish are full of homeseekers. Eighteen claims be- tween Pillchuck and the Stillaguamish are said to have been filed on in two days." These homeseck- ers scattered in all directions throughout the county, settling especially in the northern parts along the Stillaguamish river and its forks and on the Pillchuck and new lands east of the Pillchuck.

On the first of February Snohomish experi- enced an earthquake, which, while not at all serious, was violent enough to shake the windows and break a few ornaments in the houses. Even this was very unusual.

A sad accident occurred on the north fork of the Stillaguamish near the mouth of the upper Pill-

chuck on April 15th. O. B. Vancel was crossing the river in a canoe with three young ladies, Lillie Wheeler, Ella Aldridge and Annie Thompson. On the way over Mr. Vancel's hat was lost overboard and while he was trying to recover it, the canoc was drawn into a riffle and capsized, throwing the occupants into the water. There were a number of their friends on the shore but it was impossible to render them any assistance as there was no boat at hand. The struggling people were unable to reach the shore in the swift water and were carried down for some distance until they were drawn into an eddy and disappeared. Mr. Vancel had come from Kansas about a year before and was quite prominent in the community. The accident cast a gloom over the whole valley.

The lumber business had by this time arrived at that stage of development when combinations and trusts are formed. The mill men were the first to adopt this measure, hoping thereby to raise the price of lumber and lower the price of logs. They made an arrangement among themselves by which a log- ger could sell his logs only to one mill. This of course enabled the mill to fix the price. It was a scheme which did not altogether meet with the en- thusiastic support of the loggers, who formed an organization of their own for mutual protection and to baffle the schemes of the mill men. Among the prominent loggers who met at Seattle for this pur- pose were S. Coulter of North Bay, J. R. McDon- ald of Satsop. Dudley Blanchard of Samish, Day Brothers of Skagit, I. C. Ellis of Olympia, T. O'Brien of Stuck, A. Currie of Lake Washington, E. D. Smith of Lowell, Blackman Brothers, I. Cath- cart. U. Stinson, George Ladd and William Illman of Snohomish. The whole Puget sound region was well represented. The organization was perfected on March 29th. when the following officers were elected : Dudley Blanchard, of Samish, president ; J. R. McDonald, of Satsop, vice-president ; H. Clothier, of Skagit. secretary ; Terrence O'Brien, of Stuck, treasurer. The executive board, which was to have charge of affairs for the first six months, was composed of the above officers and Isaac Cath- cart, of Snohomish. It was not the purpose of the organization to fix the price of logs or to do any- thing to make a breach between themselves and the lumber manufacturers. They wished the relations between them to be of the most friendly nature, but they desired to retain the privilege of selling where and when they pleased. They also estab- lished in Seattle a loggers' headquarters, which they' placed in charge of Mat. J. McElroy. It was his duty to collect information and statistics concern- ing the logging industry and present these in the form of a report at monthly meetings of the loggers. In this way everything of interest to them could be readily ascertained and they could regulate their business by it. This organization was not only of

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great benefit to the loggers themselves but to the entire population as well.

The shingle industry was increasing rapidly. During the spring two new mills, each with a cap- acity of about thirty thousand a day, were built, one at Edmonds and the other near Stanwood.

In November the largest log drive ever seen on the Snohomish river up to that time was made. It contained over twenty-two million fect.

During the year 1888 great activity in railroad building was manifested. The Seattle & West Coast Company continued the construction of their line. The people of Snohomish put up twenty-seven hundred and thirty dollars for the right of way for this road in order to insure its construction through their city. On March 29th a deal was transacted by which the Seattle & West Coast road passed into the hands of the Seattle, Lake Shore & Eastern, and under the new management work was carried on as fast as possible. The big cut at Fiddler's Bluff was finished on April 29th. This was the heaviest piece of work on the entire line, containing thirty-five thousand yards, mostly of solid rock. With the completion of this cut the grading was practically completed between Seattle and Snohomish and ready for the laying of the track. Eighteen hun- dred tons of steel rails had already been ordered from the east, which would be enough to extend several miles beyond Snohomish. The bridge across the marsh was finished in May and the one across Snohomish river begun about the same time, the contractors for the latter being the San Fran- cisco Bridge Company. It was to be three hundred and eighty feet long, including a draw of one hun- dred and sixty feet. This bridge was completed during the summer and trains were running from Seattle to Snohomish by October, but in the latter part of that month a misfortune occurred which de- laved traffic for the rest of that year. It was the old tale of a rise in the river, the Pillchuck boom giving way and about three million feet of logs pressing down against the bridge, which, unable to withstand the strain, toppled over and was carried down the river in three sections, which were later recovered and taken back. The bridge was rebuilt as soon as possible, but was not finished until near the end of December.

In the meantime engineers were busy through- out the summer in laying out routes for the division north of Snohomish and hundreds of men were engaged in clearing and grading the routes that had already been chosen. A hundred men were em- ployed on the four-mile section just north of Snoho- mish, and large numbers on other sections. It was decided to cross the Canadian line at Lander's Land- ing, to which point the Canadian Pacific would run an extension from Vancouver to connect with the West Coast line.

In August the Seattle, Lake Shore & Eastern Company experienced some difficulty at the hands

of ex-Senator Canfield, president of the Bellingham Bay Railroad and Navigation Company, which had projected a railroad to run parallel with the Seattle & West Coast line and several miles west of it. Senator Canfield secured an injunction against the West Coast road forbidding the construction of bridges across any of the rivers, claiming that this would be an infringement of his own rights and franchises. The West Coast road, however, held a territorial charter in accordance with the regular laws of the United States, and moreover their bridge plans had been approved by the secretary of war, so they were secure in their position and the injunction of Senator Canfield was not followed by any serious results.

The Seattle, Lake Shore & Eastern had also under process of survey at this time a route from Spokane by way of Cady pass. Extensive plans were made, but they failed to develop into anything more substantial. The actual railroad never ap- peared.

During 1889 the construction of the line between Snohomish and Canada was carried on vigorously at both ends. The cost of clearing and construction was about twenty-one thousand dollars a mile and the entire cost of the road and equipment was estimated at two million dollars. By October the track had arrived opposite Marysville and bids for ties to continue it to the Stillaguamish were adver- tised for. At the northern end the work was pro- gressing equally well. In December contracts for clearing and grading thirty miles north of the Skagit river and fifteen south of it were awarded in five sections to Smith Brothers, A. W. Moore, Clem- ents & Bradford, M. J. Heeney and McLeod & Earle. This work was to be done by July of the next year, and it was expected that connection with the Canadian Pacific would be made as early as the first of September, 1890.

We have had but few crimes to chronicle in these pages, because few were committed. How- ever, there was one lapse in this year which may be mentioned. On the night of March 29th three men broke into the store of M. W. Packard & Son and blew open the safe with a charge of powder. They took from it about three hundred and sixty- five dollars in cash, as well as notes, deeds and other papers. They did not have long to enjoy their gains however, as they were promptly captured and put in a safe place.

The Stillaguamish valley was making itself pro- minent in several ways during 1889. It was grow- ing rapidly. The town of Stanwood had about two hundred and fifty inhabitants, and Florence and other smaller villages along the river were in a flourishing condition. The valley of the north fork also, though not yet surveyed, was quite thickly set- tled. Six years before there had not been a settler in the valley. Now there were two postoffices, Glen- dale and Allen, and two school districts. Fruit

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raising was one of the principal industries, being one for which the region was specially suited. Excellent specimens of iron ore were found in this valley. On the south fork also valuable mineral deposits were discovered, including silver and iron and an excellent grade of granite. A company was formed known as the Stillaguamish Mining Company to operate these mines. Considerable quantities of coal were also found. In speaking of the Stillagua- mish valley W. J. Watkins, of Franklin, a gentle- man of large experience, declared it to be the richest section in agricultural lands and timber in the county.

All this growing wealth Snohomish county was in danger of losing. There was a movement on foot in the fall and winter of that year, originating at Stanwood, to withdraw a strip of country across the entire northern end of the county and attach it to Skagit county. The reason for the disaffec- tion among the Stillaguamish people was their dis- tance from the county seat and the difficulty of reaching it. They had long been asking for a good county road but the commissioners had delayed so long to provide them with one that they lost pa- tience and expressed their feelings by the secession movement. Matters were finally arranged in an amicable manner, however, and the valley of the

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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 54

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