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 72

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 72
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 72

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INDEX

There are few more picturesquely situated vil- lages in the sound country than Index. It lies along the overland route of the Great Northern immedi- ately above the junction of the north and south forks of the Skykomish rivers, at the very base of the Cascades. Here the Skykomish valley is quite narrow and, shut in by the gradually rising hills, and with its heavy timber, dense foliage and dashing mountain stream, is alike attractive to the home- builder and the sportsman. During the summer season this region is frequented by hosts of recrea- tion seekers.

But scenery and climate are not Index's only assets. Besides being the home of two large mills engaged in cutting lumber and shingles, it is the headquarters of the Index and Silver creek mining districts, which contribute not a little to the support of the town. At the present time a Seattle syndi- cate. the Mineral City Power and Transportation Company, is planning to tap the latter district and the immense body of timber lying on the north fork of the Skykomisli and its branches with an electric railway. Engineers are now in the field under the direct supervision of the president, O. O. Rowland. who expects to begin construction work before the

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year 1905 comes to a close. The opening of this rich mining district will undoubtedly cause a healthy business revival.

Amos D. Gunn, the founder of Index, came to the site in April, 1890, and upon the ground where his residence now stands opened a little way sta- tion for the benefit of travelers, miners and claim seekers. The following spring he filed on seven placer claims lying at the forks of the river, upon which the town of Index was platted, April 24, 1893, by Amos D. and Persis E. Gunn, after patents had been issued to Mr. Gunn. He also secured a postoffice in the spring of 1891. becoming the first postmaster. After the line of the Great Northern had been definitely determined, considerable activ- ity began to manifest itself at Index, which shortly became a construction depot and the home of a small mill engaged in sawing ties and bridge timbers. The railroad reached Index from the west in Oc- tober, 1892, and the following February through connection with Spokane was established by a junc- tion of the rails at Madison hot springs, just west of the summit. After platting the town, Mr. Gunn sold a half interest to the Everett Terminal Land and Milling Company, whose successors still retain what is left of that portion. That corporation be- came involved in litigation as a result of the finan- cial panic of 1893 and for many years its affairs were sadly entangled, but they have now been ad- justed.

The original Gunn hotel was burned July 22, 1893, together with every building in the town ex- cept the depot. Mr. Gunn then built the Hotel In- dex, in which he also maintained a small store. During the next four years this combination busi- ness constituted the commercial portion of the town, but in 1897 Andrew I. Indredson put in a general store, and shortly afterward came a saloon. Fol- lowing the opening in 1898 of the well known Cop- per Bell and Sunset copper mines in the immediate vicinity of Index came a decided boom period for that section. It is estimated that fully a thousand prospectors and miners made Index headquarters that summer, the town becoming a vast field of tents and shacks-a typical frontier mining camp. That year witnessed the establishment of John A. Soderberg's general store, now owned by Baitinger & Ulrichs, Isaac Korn's drug store, the building of the Bush and Grand Pacific hotels and the erection of a saw-mill by a man named Haybrook.

In November, 1902, the town received a seriotis setback. About half past three o'clock one Satur- day morning, a fire broke out in the Sunset lodging house, conducted by Harry lloback above his sa- loon. Six men were sleeping in the hotel, all of whom managed to escape except James Kelly, whose body was found among the ruins. As near as the facts could be ascertained by the coroner, Kelly had retired late on the previous evening. thoroughly tired out by a walk from the mines at

Galena. He had evidently started for the stairway upon being awakened, but was suffocated before effecting his escape. Besides the Sunset lodging house, E. Saindon's barber shop, the Korn drug store, C. R. Redding's assay office and a restaurant building owned by L. H. Foster, of Mukilteo, were destroyed.

At the present time Index has a population of between two and three hundred, though during the summer season there is a large floating population also. The past two years have witnessed an in- crease of at least fifty per cent. in the growth of the town with excellent prospects of this rapid growth continuing. A small but complete water works sys- tem was installed by John E. Soderberg two years ago, water being obtained from a spring north of town and carried in eight inch mains. Incorpora- tion will probably be the next move of importance.

The larger of the two mills is that owned by Syl- vester Smith and located in the town limits. It is a combination saw and shingle plant of forty thousand feet lumber capacity, and perhaps sixty thousand shingles daily, erected in 1904. Mr. Smith is now preparing to install a lighting plant to supply his mill and the town. The other mill saws lumber only, its capacity being about 25,000 feet a day. It, too, was crected in 1904. H. J. Miller, of Chehalis, is owner and manager. In addition to these indus- tries, John O. Soderberg operates a granite quarry along the Great Northern, three-quarters of a mile below town, in which seventy men are employed most of the time. This quarry is now engaged in supplying material for the construction of the new federal building in Seattle. The remaining business institutions are as follows: General store, Baitin- ger & Ulrich; grocery and meats, C. E. Lewis; drugs and assay office. C. R. Redding; hotels, the Bush, C. N. Bush proprietor, Index, HI. E. Johnson proprietor, and Grand Pacific. Mrs. Julia Russell, proprietress ; confectionery. Ross Phillips; station agent, T. A. Skalley; postoffice. Miss P. E. Gunn, postmistress. The Index Miner, published by C. W. Gorham, of Snohomish, is a valuable little paper, now in its seventh volume.

In 1892 the Index school district, road district and voting precinct were established, but not until the spring of 1891 do we find record of the holding of a term of school. At that time Miss Lena (1 commenced teaching in a portion of the dwelling now occupied by R. C. Van Vechtan, and taught two successive terms. The present school-house was erected in 1899 at a cost of $100, and in it forty pupils are now registered, the teachers being Mrs. Belle Dermady and Miss Clara Beach. The Con- gregationalists, who are now engaged in building a chapel, have held regular services in Index for the past year and a halt. The town's public hall. erected by the Red Men three years ago at a cost of $2,000. is a handsome, substantial structure that is a credit both to the order and to the community.

SNOHOMISHI COUNTY

MACHLIAS

Charles Niemeyer, Sr., one of the earliest pio- neers of the Pilchuck valley, is the man who secured from the United States government title to the land upon which the town of Machias has been built. Mr. Niemeyer was one of a number of men who in 1817 surveyed the township in which it it located, namely, Township 29 north, Range 6. He filed upon this land the following year. At this date there was not a road up Pilchuck worthy the name, much less ; a railroad, and the time when the conveniences of civilization would be enjoyed by the Pilchuck pio- neers seemed indeed remote. Before locating his family upon their new home, Mr. Niemeyer assisted his neighbors, Horace Andrus and W. A. Clark, in cutting out a possible road up the valley, and over this he brought his household goods and small chil- dren in a sleigh drawn by oxen. The white popula- tion of the valley at this time consisted of Messrs Niemeyer. Clark and Andrus, already mentioned, the two Dubuques, Gregory and Fred Foss, but there were many Indians, especially just across the Pilchuck from Mr. Clark's, where there was a large camp. A little later the country began settling quite rapidly, among those who came being the Granite Falls pioneers and a German settlement near Hart- ford, and long afterward, when the building of the railroad became a certainty, every available acre was speedily appropriated.

The contract by which Mr. and Mrs. Niemeyer granted the right of way to the railroad company was executed October 4, 1888. The road was built soon after that date and early in 1890 the town was started by L. W. Getchell and others, who bought for the purpose eighty acres of land from Mr. Nie- meyer.

Before this time, a postoffice named Rudd had been established in: the vicinity and a store was maintained by C. B. Miller, but the first business house opened in the town proper was the grocery and supply store of A. Sapp, who, for a number of years, enjoyed a monopoly of the trade of the sur- rounding country. The writer was in his place of business in 1896, and distinctly remembers that though the country was then just emerging from a four-year period of great financial depression, Mr. Sapp and his assistants were rushed with work fill- ing orders that were pouring in upon them.

Of course, one of the first essentials of an am- bitious new town in a timber country is a saloon, and Machias was not long without its vendor of grog. A blacksmith shop, another prime requisite, was early started by Samuel Cox. The main sup- port of the town was the logging and shingle manu- facturing industries, both of which received a mighty impetus from the building of the railroad, but the dull times which followed so hard upon the starting of Machias prevented it from securing the splendid early development which it might otherwise

have had. Mr. Sapp's first competitor in the mer- cantile business, aside from a very small candy store, was A. H. Boyd, who, after a few years, was succeeded by W. H. Moore. The third general store was started by one Frank Smith, who went out of business after trying it for a year or more. George C. Thomas succeeded him, but he also re- tired after a brief experience, leaving the field open for Frank King, who is in the grocery business in Machias at this datc.

It is believed that the first hotel was kept by Samuel Long in connection with a saloon, but very early in the history of Machias came Mrs. Frances Miller, who opened a hotel in a building belonging to Mr. Sapp. This hotel is still maintained, though it is now in the hands of another proprietress.

At the present writing there is within the limits of Machias the business houses of W. H. Moore, dealer in dry goods and notions; of A. Sapp, dealer in groceries, hardware, boots and shoes, etc. ; of F. King, grocer; the restaurant of Mrs. Ed. Rogers; the Hotel Machias, Mrs. Flora Curry, proprietress ; the blacksmith shop of James Haze ; the meat mar- ket of Nathan Carpenter ; the Machias athletic hall ; a Congregational church, R. H. Parker, pastor; a two-room school-house, in which last year R. H. Britton and John St. John presided as teachers ; two. saloons and a barber shop recently established.

There is a very considerable population in tlie immediate vicinity of Machias, employed in the mills and camps. The main reliance of the town is lum- bering. John Anderson & Sons have a shingle milf near; the Bolcom Bartlett Mill Company has three mills not far from town, and about a mile away is the Hulbert Lumber Company's logging camp, which employs some thirty men. Saturday even- ings, after the work of the week is done, the shingle weavers and lumber men flock into Machias, making it a very lively place for the time being.

STARTUP

This thrifty little industrial center, along the main line of the Great Northern four miles above Sultan City, is one of the rapidly growing towns of the Skykomish valley. It is the home of the Wallace Lumber and Manufacturing Company, which is operating one of the most complete milling plants. in the county and has a monthly payroll of approxi- mately nine thousand dollars, and employs in all departments an average of one hundred and sixty men. With this extensive industry as its main sup- port and the commerce drawn from a steadily in- creasing agricultural community, Startup, or Wal- lace, as it is also named, has gained the reputation of being a substantial and prosperous place.

For ten years prior to 1899 Startup consisted of merely a trading hamlet. Along in the middle eighties F. M. Sparlin homesteaded the site, erect- ing a dwelling large enough to serve as a way sta-

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tion for travelers up and down the valley. In 1889 Jolin F. Stretch arrived and established a store with hotel in connection ; with his wife and William Wait he dedicated the town-site March 21, 1890; a little later A. C. Reeves put up another store and hotel and these establishments constituted the prin- cipal business part of Wallace when the Great Northern came through in 1892. The succeeding financial stringency set the village back to one store and Sparlin's place, the former being conducted by H. J. Langfit, successor to Mr. Stretch. The build- ing of the saw-inill at Wallace in 1899 inaugurated a new era in the town's history, and as that enter- prise has expanded from time to time the town has enjoyed a proportionate expansion.

The business of the town is done by the follow- ing establishments : The plant of the Wallace Lum- ber and Manufacturing Company, including a saw- mill with sixty thousand feet capacity, shingle milf with one hundred and thirty thousand capacity, plan- ing and lath mills, all but the first named occupying yards within the town limits; two general stores, those of T. E. Lewis and Armstrong & Burkhold, the former being the older; two hotels, the Forty- five, conducted by F. M. Sparlin, the original owner of the town-site, and the Wallace, built three years ago by J. R. Giddings; W. J. Webster's meat mar- ket, established in 1904; a livery stable, owned by J. R. Giddings also; L. L. Ramala's jewelry store ; C. D. Shaw's blacksmith shop; two confectioneries owned by Combs & Lewis and H. G. Cinnamon re- spectively ; and a barber shop, conducted by the lat- ter gentleman. Mr. Lewis, a pioneer of 1891, is also postmaster.

Two churches and a good school promote the moral, educational and social welfare of Startup. Of the churches, the Methodist is the older, having been erected in 1898; its present pastor is Rev. H. C. Wilson. The Baptist house of worship was crected in 1904 and is presided over by Rev. Adolph Guenther. In 1892 the main portion of the present neat school-house was erected, superseding a small shack. Two additions have since been added, the last in 1904, giving the building four rooms.

Down to the year 1901 the postoffice and rail- road station bore the name of Wallace, but trouble caused by confusing it with Wallace, Idaho, at that time led the department to suggest to the citizens the adoption of another name. This they did, choos- ing Startup in recognition of the part their fellow townsman, the manager of the mills, had taken in upbuilding the town.

MONTE CRISTO

The husiness center of the rich mining district in eastern Snohomish from which it takes its name is Monte Cristo, a small, picturesque village buried in the heart of the Cascade range. Notwithstand- ing its isolated location, at an altitude of four thous-

and feet above sea level, a standard gauge railroad connects it with the outside world, the Monte Cristo branch of the Northern Pacific. Three trains ar- rive and depart each week at present.

Monte Cristo's founding was contemporane- ous with the beginnings of active development in the district in 1891. That summer a postoffice was established with Owen McDevitt as postmaster. The Monte Cristo Mercantile Company, A. J. Ag- new manager, opened the pioneer store in the old log cabin still standing just east of the present store, and the Monte Cristo Mining Company built a hotel, the Monte Cristo, which stood back of the Royal hotel. A saw-mill was also installed by the mining company near the hotel and store. The next season Jacob Cohen opened another hotel, the Pride, and a number of other business enterprises were insti- tnted. With the arrival of the railroad in 1893, the building of an immense concentrator and heavy work at the mines, the town attained a population of perhaps four hundred.

February 24, 1893, is the date upon which the town-site was formally dedicated by Joseph L. Colby as president and Charles F. Rand as secretary of the Monte Cristo Mining Company. One hun- dred and thirty-six lots were laid out on portions of Junction Placer claims Nos. one, two and three at the junction of Glacier and Seventy-six creeks. This place is probably the nearest approach to a flat there is in the vicinity of the mines and works, and that is more accurately described as a rolling hillside.

The fortunes of the town have varied in sym- pathy with those of the camp and need not be en- tered into here as they have been fully treated else- where. With the revival of extensive operations now being inaugurated, Monte Cristo's business enter- prises will likewise expand, keeping pace with the prosperity of its only supporting industry.

.At present the Monte Cristo Mercantile Com- pany, of which J. M. Kyes is manager, maintains a large general store; Jacob Cohen and Mrs. Sheedy : are proprietors of a most excellent modern hotel, the Royal; besides which the town has a saloon and a barber shop. A comfortable little school- house is in charge of Miss Francis Moncrief, five pupils being the enrollment.

SILVERTON

Silverton lies on the Monte Cristo branch of the Northern Pacific in the heart of the Silverton min- ing district, which has been described at length in the chapter dealing with the mines. As with Monte Cristo, the history of the town is practically iden- tical with that of the district. At present the busi- ness of the town consists of two general stores, Will McDonough's and O. L. Lee's ; two hotels, the Sil- verton, of which Robert Murray is proprietor, and that of D. N. Price; and three saloons. Robert McDonough is postmaster. There is also a tele-

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graph and express office at Silverton. A thriving school is maintained with Miss Hogg as teacher.

Shortly after the first prospects were opened in 1891, a meeting was held by the miners at whichi the district was christened the Stillaguamish Mining District and the settlement Silverton, the date of this meeting being August 26, 1891. The following win- ter a town-site was established by Charles McKen- zie, Parker Mckenzie, J. B. Carrothers, William Whitten and John F. Birney, and the fortunes of the place since have risen and fallen with those of the mines, upon which the inhabitants depend almost entirely for their support. Several of the more prominent properties, including the Bonanza Queen, the Bornite, and Imperial, have recently undergone extensive development and expect soon to begin shipping. The Bonanza Queen has installed a tran and is already for immediately placing its copper ore upon the market, so that a revival is looked for very soon. Silverton also has a new two hundred and fifty-ton concentrator on the Independence property near the town, but pending an adjustment of business matters, this fine plant is idle.

Silverton is reached thrice a week by train. In the summer season it is considerable of a fishing and health resort. The altitude is only half that of Monte Cristo, fifteen miles further up the line, or about two thousand feet.

DARRINGTON

Nowhere, perhaps, in all Snohomish county is there a more transcendently beautiful spot than that which forms the town-site of Darrington. Though at the very doorstep of the Cascades, and sitting at the feet of that magnificent, towering, snow-capped and glaciated peak known as White Horse, with other grand mountain uplifts in the near prospect, it is itself remarkably level,-a fact which makes the bounding mountain sides seem all the more rugged and grand. A growth of small evergreen trees helps to beautify the landscape, but at the same time hides from view the Sauk river. one of the most magnificent streams in the state, which, coming from its remote sources in the Cas- cades, passes to the right of Darrington, around the base of Gold mountain and away to a junction with the Skagit. The town-site is on the gravelly di- vide between it and the head waters of the north fork, which flow in a very different direction, reaching the sea through a more southerly channel. Its inspiring scenery, its refreshingly cool summer climate, its proximity to the mountains and to rush- ing mountain torrents would seem to indicate future favor and fame for Darrington as a summer resort. It is not without an agricultural basis, and a good one, but its hope of greatness rests upon the valua- ble minerals which lie buried in the depths of the neighboring mountains, outcropping in places to in- cite to effort the prospector and the miner. Most active of these developers are the owners of the

Bornite copper mine, which is situated some twelve miles from Darrington, and connected with it by tramway. They are now running a tunnel three thousand feet long to strike the ledge at a great depth, thus testifying their faith in the merits of their property by spending large sums of money in its development. Should they begin shipping ore in December, as they hope to do, and should they real- ize the returns they have every reason to expect, there will probably be great activity among the other mine owners of the Darrington district, with a con- sequent stimulus to growth in the town itself.

While many prospectors and miners came to the Darrington region in the carly nineties, and later a number of homesteads were taken, among them those of S. B. Emens, George Knudson, Lester K. Alvord and Fred Olds, the town did not begin to be developed until the building of the Darrington branch was assumed. Since then it has been pro- gressing steadily, though somewhat slowly, for no town depending largely upon copper mining can hope to develop rapidly at first, the opening of mines of this character being so very expensive and, where capital is lacking, necessarily attended with such long and discouraging delays.

The business establishments of Darrington at this writing consist of the general stores of the Dar- rington Mercantile Company and Montague and Moore; a hotel; the saloon and lodging house of Joe Chenier ; the Eagle saloon, Kennan Bros., pro- prietors : a saw-mili with a capacity of forty thous- and daily, owned by the Sauk Lumber Company ; a tie mill, owned by Seymour Brothers : a railway de- pot, postoffice and a number of residences.

BRYANT

About three and a half miles north of Arlington, on the line of the Northern Pacific, is the small lum- bering village known as Bryant. The first settlers in the neighborhood were Samuel Erdahl and Carl Berge, who filed on their land and made settlements upon it some time in the latter eighties. In 1892 Charles Verd and Thomas Sanders, under the firm name of the Bryant Lumber and Shingle Company, began operations in the locality, building a shingle mill and inaugurating a logging plant. Recently this company sold its mill and a logging railroad about five miles long, with what land and timber it had, to the Stimson Lumber Company, who are now building a railroad to Marysville, to secure an out- let to the sea for their lumber. The road is de- signed primarily for the conveyance of logs, but under the terms of its charter, the lumber company is required to carry passengers and freight and in all respects comply with the law regulating common carriers.

The building of the road will make Bryant a junction, and will no doubt give quite an impetus to the town. At present it consists of a general mer- chandise store, a pool room and a number of small

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dwelling houses, all belonging to the mill company ; a railway depot ; a postoffice, Miss Mary Sumner, postmistress ; a saloon and a few farm houses.

OSO

About the year 1889 a postoffice was established on the North Fork, to which the name Allen was given in honor of John B. Allen, delegate to con- gress. Soon after a town near Tacoma was named Allyn, and to avoid missending of mails, the name of the North Fork postoffice was changed to Oso. No town was thought of at that time nor for years afterward, but when the Arlington-Darrington rail- road was built, it began to assume greater import- ance. At present there are here the dry goods and grocery store of A. L. Cogswell, who also has the postoffice ; the grocery store of Robert Wheeler ; Schwager & Nettleton's shingle mill, M. G. Con- over's hotel; Aldridge & Prathier's meat market and a public hall, and two saloons, owned respec- tively by F. H. Covey and Dan MeGillivray.

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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 72

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