USA > Washington > Walla Walla County > An illustrated history of Walla Walla County, state of Washington > Part 17
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HISTORY OF WALLA WALLA COUNTY.
and S. L. King. The last named commis- sioner resigned his position on the 4th of May, 1874, W. T. Barnes being appointed to fill the vacancy.
TIIE YEARS 1873 AND 1874 IN WALLA WALLA COUNTY.
The vote on the question of building the court house and jail had been taken for the express purpose of securing a definite expres- sion of the opinion of the tax-payers rela- tive to the much-needed improvement. Though the minority vote on the proposition was large, the commissioners felt justified in obeying the will of the majority, in harmony with which they caused plans and specifica- tions to be prepared and presented, finally adopting those of F. P. Allen, in February, 1873, which provided for a brick court house on a stone foundation. Concerning this im- portant matter another historical compilation speaks as follows: "The design was for a main building, with an ell that would give ample accommodations to all the county offi- cers, court and jury rooms, and in the base- ment a jail with twelve cells. There were two stories above the basement, and the whole was surmounted by a dome, making a struc- ture of considerable beauty. . Although the county now had a clear title to the court- house square, on Main street, there were sev- eral parties who desired to enhance the value of their property in the outskirts of the city, and therefore offered to donate land to the county upon which to erect the new building. These offers were considered and rejected, and the court-house square was selected as the buildling site. Two weeks later the commis- sioners saw fit to rescind their former action and accept the offer of four blocks of land
between Second and Fourth streets, and one- fourth mile north of Main street, much to the displeasure of the citizens who desired the building erected on the court-house square, where it would not take a Sabbath day's jour- ney to reach it. The next step by the board was to alter the plans and reduce the size of the building, take off the dome, and prune the structure of all its ornamental features, leav- ing it the appearance of a huge barn. The last act, and under the circumstances the most judicious one, was a conclusion not to erect the building at all."
POLITICAL.
Within the year 1874 there was much dis- cussion in regard to the annexation of a por- tion of Idaho to Washington and the admis- sion of the entire territory into the Union. Mass meetings were held in Walla Walla county and in Idaho, this section favoring the project with unmistakable tenacity, and me- morials were presented to congress. The question of a constitutional convention was again defeated when submitted to popular vote. In Walla Walla county the total num- ber of votes cast on this proposition was only two hundred and sixty, and of these only twenty-four were in favor of the convention. Two candidates for delegate to congress were nominated. one being a resident east and the other west of the Cascades, which mountains had long represented the line separating and individualizing the interests of the two sec- tions of the territory. The nominee of the Republicans was Orange Jacobs, and the Den- ocrats presented as their candidate B. L. Sharpstein, of Walla Walla. Judge Jacobs was elected by a majority of twelve hundred and sixty. This was the era of the independ-
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ent or "Grange" movement, which had an unmistakable effect upon national politics, its influence being felt in this section of the Union. In the local election of Walla Walla county, held November 3. 1874, there were three tickets in the field, and three candidates were in line for nearly every office. The re- sult gave the Democrats the victory in offices purely local in character, while the Republi- cans elected their candidate for prosecuting attorney and a few members of the legisla- ture. The officers elected were as follows : Prosecuting attorney, T. J. Anders; council- man, E. Ping; joint councilman, W. W. Boon; representatives, R. G. Newland, J. B. Shrum, P. M. Lynch, John Scott, H. M.
Hodgis and A. G. Lloyd; probate judge, R. Guichard; sheriff. George F. Thomas; audi- tor. R. Jacobs; treasurer, R. R. Rees ; assessor, Samuel Jacobs; surveyor, A. L. Knowlton (who resigned în November, being succeeded by P. Zahmer ) ; schools superintendent, .1. W. Sweeney; coroner, A. J. Thibodo; county commissioners, Charles White, C. S. Brush and C. C. Cram. The coroner resigned in November, being succeeded by O. P. Lacy, who in turn resigned the office, in Novem- ber, 1875, V. D. Lambert being appointed to fill the vacancy. Commissioner Charles White resigned in November, 1875. his suc- cessor being Frank Louden.
CHAPTER X.
ANNALS OF THE YEARS 1875 TO 1881.
The year 1875 was an important one in the annals of the city of Walla Walla, since it marked the completion of the line of the Walla Walla & Columbia River Railroad from Wallula to Walla Walla, the work of the energetic and far-seeing Dr. D. S. Baker, thus affording to the county-seat its first rail- way connection with the outside world, and also affording shipping facilities far ahead of the primitive methods heretofore employed. The road had been slowly advanced toward completion by the intervention of private capital, the citizens generously coming to the resene of the enterprise and subscribing near- ly twenty-seven thousand dollars. In October of this year were made the first shipments of grain by railroad out of Walla Walla, and it may well be imagined that the completion of
the road was the cause of marked satisfaction to the merchants and farmers of this locality. Other railroad projects were brought up and thoroughly discussed, Dayton and Waitsburg having held mass meetings to consider the matter of securing railway connection with the county-seat, while other and more preten- tious projects were agitated. In the fall of the year 1875 Walla Walla was connected with Baker City, Oregon, by telegraph line.
DIVISION OF THE COUNTY.
Reference has already been made to the attempt of Waitsburg to effect a division of the county in 1869, the effort being unsuccess- ful. But the increase in settlement, the rapid development in agricultural and other indus-
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HISTORY OF WALLA WALLA COUNTY.
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trial lines, made the proposition to form a new county not an unreasonable one in 1875. From a previously published history of Co- lumbia county we make the following ex- tracts, which will show clearly how the di- vision of the county, by the erection of Co- lumbia county, was effected :
The springing up of Dayton and great increase in wealth and population of the country surrounding it, led the minds of people to the idea that a new county should be created. They were a portion of Walla Walla coun- ty, but were so far from the county-seat that it was a matter of great inconvenience and expense to transact official business. Especially were the citizens of Dayton in favor of a new county, and the location of a seat of justice in their midst, as such a step would help the town. Dayton was the only town in the proposed new county, yet, as it was near the western verge, those who could see into the future recognized the fact that settle- ment of the Pataha, Alpowa and Asotin country would result in taking the county-seat away from Dayton in time, or in creating another county to accommodate the people of that region. This served only to spur them on in their effort to secure the prize for Dayton, hoping to retain it when the conflict came in the future, by creal- ing a new county, thus leaving Dayton in permanent possession of what it had gained. The Democrats had elected Elisha Ping to the territorial council in 1874, and as this gentleman was a resident and property-holder of Dayton his services were assured in securing the desired legislation. A petition was circulated and largely signed, in 1875, asking the legislature to divide Walla Walla county by a line running directly south from the Palouse ferry, on Snake river, to the Oregon line, thus leaving Waits- burg just within the limits of the new county. The peo- ple of Waitsburg objected. If they had to be the tail to any kite, they preferred Walla Walla to Dayton. They delegated Mr. Preston to visit Walla Walla and consult with the people there on this subject. He addressed a large meeting in that city in September, and a remon- strance was prepared, which received many signatures, and was forwarded to the legislature. Representatives Hodgis, Lloyd, Lynch and Scott, of Walla Walla coun- ty, opposed a division with earnestness. The cause of Dayton was in the hands of A. J. Camn, who managed it in Olympia, with the assistance of Mr. Ping. The remonstrance sent in by the people of Walla Walla and Waitsburg called the attention of the legislature to the fact that the proposed line of division cut off two-thirds of the county, including the bulk of the agricultural land and all the timber, and suggested that if it was necessary to create a new county at all, that a line run- ning from Snake river to the Touchet on the line between ranges 38 and 39, thence up the south fork of the Touchet to the Oregon line, be selected. This was twelve miles east
of the other proposed line, and would leave Waitsburg in Walla Walla county, as well as a large belt of agricultural and timber land that otherwise would be set off to the new county. Walla Walla found herself helpless in the matter in the legislature. The members from the west- ern side of the mountains were in the majority, and they were in favor of a division as desired by the people of Dayton. A bill to create Ping county was introduced and passed both branches, only to meet with a veto at the hands of Governor Ferry, who objected to certain features of it. Another bill was prepared, in accordance with his objections, to create the county of Columbia, and was hurried through the legislature in the last days of the session, receiving the governor's signature on the 11th of November, 1875. The line was a compromise between the two proposed, and struck the Touchet two miles above Waitsburg, then went south six miles, east six miles, and then south to the Oregon line.
Though the opening of the centennial year, 1876, found Walla Walla county de- prived of near two-thirds of its original ter- ritory, still prosperity smiled upon the locality, and the prospects for the future were most flattering. That the county had not suffered appreciably in the amount of real valuations by reason of the segregation of the new county of Columbia, is clearly shown by a comparison of the assessed valuations of the years 1875 and 1876. In the former year the property in the county (then undivided) was assessed at $2.792,065. while in 1876 the total was nearly as great, being $2,296,870. Sta- tistics gleaned by the assessor in this year afford the following data : In the county were reported 239 miles. 5.281 horses, 11, 147 cat- tle, 13.233 sheep. 4.000 hogs. 1.774 acres of timothy, 700 of corn, 2,600 of oats, 6,000 of barley, 21,000 of wheat, and 700 of fruit trees. The new railway was handling a large amount of the produce of the county, flour being now manufactured in six mills in full operation in the county. Prosperity was in- dicated in divers ways, and the condition of the county treasury was gratifying. On the Ist of May the treasury had a balance on hand of $5.271.61, and the amount due on out-
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HISTORY OF WALLA WALLA COUNTY.
standing warrants aggregated only $2,816.56. The roof of the court house was raised five feet in this year, and a two-story addition was made to the building, the dimensions of this annex being twenty by twenty-four feet. Another much-needed improvement was ef- fected, in that the commissioners constructed three vaults of brick to be used for the filing and preservation of the county records.
The division of the county much dis- pleased the citizens of Walla Walla county, who felt that their interests were not properly considered by the people of the sound, who seemed to discriminate against the territory east of the mountains and to have no concern about this section save in the matter of deriv- ing therefrom as great a revenue as possible. Thus it came about that the matter of asking once more for annexation of this section of the territory to Oregon was taken up and vig- orously supported by many who had hitherto strongly opposed the measure. James K. Kelly, United States senator from Oregon, introduced in the senate a bill which provided for the submission to the voters of Walla Walla and Columbia counties the question of their annexation to Oregon, the territory thus including all south of the Snake river. The annexation scheme was bitterly opposed by the citizens of the Puget sound district, by the territory of Idaho and particularly by the citizens of Dayton, who could see no reason for the change, maintaining that by reason of the rapid settlement of the country it would soon be possible to secure the admission of Washington to statehood according to the plans originally outlined. Dayton accord- ingly sent to congress a memorial objecting to the bill introduced by Senator Kelly, where- upon Walla Walla took a definite action also, holding a mass meeting and also sending, in
turn, a memorial to congress, favoring the bill in question. The bill failed to pass, as did also the house bill, of similar character, introduced by Representative Lane, of Ore- gon, and providing that the question should be voted on at the November election. Al- though this latter bill was favorably voted upon by the committee on territories, it met the same fate as had the senate bill. The an- nexation idea being thus adversely considered, and realizing that nothing further could be done along the line noted, Walla Walla county finally accepted the situation gracefully and concluded to act in harmony with other sec- tions of the territory in the matter of work- ing to secure the admission of Washington to the sisterhood of states.
COUNTY ELECTION OF 1876. -
The Republican nominee for delegate to congress was Judge Orange Jacobs, who was the incumbent of the office at the time. The Democrats nominated John P. Judson, who was defeated by a small majority, Walla Walla county having given him a majority of one hundred and fifty-two votes. The county election, held November 7th, gave a distinct victory to the Democracy, all its can- didates being elected. The one Republican elected was the county surveyor, whose name appeared on both tickets. The result of the election was as follows: Prosecuting attor- ney, T. J. Anders: councilman, Daniel Stew- art; representatives. W. T. Barnes, William Martin, A. J. Gregory and H. A. Vansyckle; probate judge. R. Guichard: sheriff. George F. Thomas; auditor, Thomas P. Page; treas- urer, William O'Donnell: assessor, Samuel . Jacobs; surveyor. P. Zahner; school superin- tendent, .A. W. Sweeney (who resigned in the
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HISTORY OF WALLA WALLA COUNTY.
following May, being succeeded by L. K. Grim); coroner, L. H. Goodwin; commis- sioners, D). J. Storms, James Braden and Dion Keefe. In the county eighty-five votes were cast in favor of the constitutional convention and two hundred and ninety-two in opposi- tion. The territory gave, however, a very satisfactory majority in favor of the holding of the territorial convention.
The finances of the county were held in excellent condition during the succeeding two years, the report of the fiscal year ending .April 30, 1877, showing the receipts to have been $46,657.II and the expenditures $43,- 797.99. The cash on hand aggregated $8,- 130.73, while less than eight hundred dollars was due on outstanding county warrants. The advances made in the shipping of the products of the county is distinctly indicated by the following statistics in regard to the amount of freight handled by the Walla WValla & Columbia River Railroad in the year 1877. There were received eight thousand tons, of which thirty-five hundred were agri- cultural implements. There were forwarded 19,884 tons of wheat, 4,653 of flour, 917 of oats and barley, 326 of flaxseed, 81 of wool, 172 of bacon and lard, and 280 of miscella- neous freight,-a gratifying total of 26,313 tons shipped out from the territory tributary to Walla Walla.
TIIE CONSTITUTIONAL CONVENTION.
Judge Jacobs, the territorial delegate to congress, urged upon that body, during the session of 1877-8, the passage of a bill admit- ting Washington to statehood, its territory to include the three northern counties of Ida- ho. Once again the old and dejected annexa- tion scheme raised its weary head, Senator 8
Mitchell, of Oregon, presenting to congress another memorial advocating the annexation. Congress took no action on the memorial. In November, 1877, the legislature of the terri- tory passed a bill providing for a special elec- tion, to be held April 9, 1878, to choose dele- gates to a constitutional convention, which was to be held in Walla Walla the second Tuesday in June. Fifteen delegates were to be chosen from Washington and one from Idaho, the latter to have no vote. The elec- tion called out about one-half the popular vote of the territory. In the meantime the work of framing a constitution had been pushed forward. The delegates to the con- stitutional convention were as follows: \V. A. George, of Walla Walla; Edward Eldridge, Whatcom; S. M. Gilmore, Klickitat; S. M. Wait, Columbia; B. F. Dennison, representing the second judicial district; C. II. Larrabee, third judicial district; C. M. Bradshaw, Jef- ferson; Henry B. Emery, Kitsap; L. B. An- drews, King; D. B. Hannah, Pierce: Frank Henry, Thurston; A. S. Abernethy, Cowlitz; G. H. Steward, Clark; O. P. Lacy, Walla Walla ; G. V. O'Dell, Whitman; and Alonzo Leland, of Nez Perce county, Idaho.
On June 11, 1878, these delegates assem- bled at Science Hall, in the city of Walla Walla, and were called to order by W. A. George. A temporary organization was ef- fected by the election of .A. S. Abernethy as president of the convention. The committee on credentials made its report, after which the convention was permanently organized, with the following officers: A. S. Abernethy, pres- ident ; W. B. Daniels and William Clark, sec- retaries; and Henry D. Cock, sergeant-at- arms. The convention continued in session for a period of forty days, and within this time had framed a constitution to be submit-
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IHISTORY OF WALLA WALLA COUNTY.
ted to the people for ratification or rejection at the next general election, to be held in No- vember. 1878. It is recorded that but little enthusiasm was manifested in the subject of the constitution, the vote on this issue falling fully three thousand short of that cast for ciele- gate to congress. In favor of the adoption of the constitution 6.462 votes were cast, and against the same 3.231. Many were apa- thetic in the matter by reason of the fact that they considered the adoption of the con- stitution somewhat premature and felt that no genuine results could be attained at this time. The Democratic territorial convention of 1878 placed N. T. Cation in nomination for dele- gate to congress, and Thomas H. Brents was the nominee of the Republicans. Both the gentlemen were prominent lawyers of Walla Walla, so it will be seen that the people east of the mountains received due recognition at this time. Judge Brents is at the time of this writing judge of the superior court in Walla Walla county, and a specific sketch of his life appears on another page of this work. The vote cast in the territory was nearly three thousand greater than that of the last elec- tion, two years previous, the total being 12,647. Judge Brents received a majority of 1.301, and in his home county his majority was 140, the fact being particularly flattering to the successful candidate, since this was the first time that the county had ever given a ma- jority to a Republican candidate for delegate to congress. The Republicans captured a share of the county offices at this election, held November 5th, electing the councilman. three representatives in the legislature, the auditor and treasurer, surveyor, school super- intendent and one of the commissioners. The result of the election was as follows: Prose- cuting attorney, R. F. Sturdevant; council-
man. J. H. Day; representatives, John A. Taylor, D. J. Storms, J. M. Dewar and Mark F. Colt; probate judge, R. Guichard; sheriff, J. B. Thompson; auditor. W. C. Painter ; treasurer, J. F. Boyer; assessor, Samuel Ja- cobs; surveyor, P. Zahner (who resigned in February, 1880, F. F. Loeher being appointed to fill the vacancy) ; school superintendent, C. W. Wheeler: coroner. J. M. Boyd; com- missioners. M. B. Ward, Amos Cummings and Samuel H. Erwin. The vote in the county in favor of the adoption of the constitution was eighty-nine, against the proposition eight hundred and forty-seven.
The years 1879 and 1880 gave to Walla Walla an improvement in shipping facilities, since the Walla Walla & Columbia River Railroad was sold to the Oregon Railway & Navigation Company, who changed the line to a broad gauge and otherwise so improved the equipment as to give the Walla Walla valley far superior transportation facilities to those hitherto enjoyed. thus tending to vitalize the industrial life of this section in a marked degree.
Delegate Brents introduced in the national house of representatives a bill for the admis- sion of Washington into the Union, and though the matter was pushed forward with as much insistency as possible, yet congress refused to give it consideration, so that the agitation had to be abandoned until the next session of congress. Judge Brents was again nominated for delegate by the Republicans in 1880, the candidate of the Democracy being Thomas Burke. The former was successful at the polls, his majority in Walla Walla county being one hundred and eighteen votes. By the county election of November 2, 1880. the various official positions were again di- vided, the Republicans gaining a majority of
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HISTORY OF WALLA WALLA COUNTY.
the offices. The result was as follows: Mem- ber of the board of equalization, T. C. Frary; councilman, B. L. Sharpstein; joint council- man, Jacob Hoover; representatives, R. R. Rees and W. G. Preston; joint representa- tive, J. M. Cornwell ; probate judge, R. Guich- ard; prosecuting attorney, George T. Thomp- son; sheriff, James B. Thompson; auditor, W. C. Painter ; treasurer, J. F. Boyer ; assessor, Samuel Jacobs; surveyor, Francis F. Loehr; school superintendent, C. W. Wheeler ; coro- ner, Dr. H. G. Mauzey : commissioners, M. B.
Ward, Amos Cummings and S. H. Erwin; sheep commissioner, Asa L. LeGrow.
At this election the question of levying a tax for the purpose of building a suitable court house and jail, compatible with the wealth and dignity of the county, came up for decision, and it is gratifying to know that the voters of the county gave to the proposi- tion an almost unanimous endorsement, 1,468 votes being cast in favor of the levy and only 158 against it. The fence law was also en- dorsed at this election.
CHAPTER XI.
WALLA WALLA COUNTY ELECTIONS-1882-1900.
At the election of 1882 the following offi- cers were elected : Representatives, H. H. Hungate, A. G. Lloyd and Milton Evans; attorney, George Thompson; auditor, William C. Painter; sheriff, J. B. Thompson; treas- urer, J. F. Boyer; assessor, William Hark- less; surveyor, F. H. Loehr; superintendent of public schools, J. W. Brock; judge of pro- bate, R. Guichard; commissioners, Amos Cummings, M. B. Ward and S. H. Erivin : sheep commissioner, .A. S. LeGrow ; coroner, W. B. Wells.
At the election of 1882 Judge Thomas H. Brents, of Walla Walla, was the Republican candidate for delegate to congress, and lie was clected by a flattering majority. Of his serv- ices in this capacity due record is made on other pages of this work, in which connection we are also pleased to direct particular atten- tion to the sketch of his life, appearing on another page. He received in Walla Walla
county at this election eleven hundred and thirty-one votes. It is to be noted that this election showed many "scratched" tickets, the reason assigned by the Walla Walla Daily Statesman being to "give 'bossism' its death blow," and to thus file a definite objection to what was pronounced a "giant evil."
Touching this election the Statesman (Democratic) of November 11, 1882. speaks as follows: "Last Tuesday the tolerant spirit of the people gave out, and it became a fight between right and wrong, between honest government and dishonest government. be- tween bossism and the people. It was a ques- tion whether the people or the bosses were to rule. The watchword was, 'The right thing must come to pass,' and it did come to pass. The people dropped their expressed wishes into the ballot boxes on Tuesday, and when they were counted 'bossism' died, as it should."
The election of 1884 gave the following
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IHISTORY OF WALLA WALLA COUNTY.
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