USA > Washington > Douglas County > An illustrated history of the Big Bend country, embracing Lincoln, Douglas, Adams, and Franklin counties, state of Washington, pt 2 > Part 39
USA > Washington > Adams County > An illustrated history of the Big Bend country, embracing Lincoln, Douglas, Adams, and Franklin counties, state of Washington, pt 2 > Part 39
USA > Washington > Franklin County > An illustrated history of the Big Bend country, embracing Lincoln, Douglas, Adams, and Franklin counties, state of Washington, pt 2 > Part 39
USA > Washington > Lincoln County > An illustrated history of the Big Bend country, embracing Lincoln, Douglas, Adams, and Franklin counties, state of Washington, pt 2 > Part 39
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year and a half. It was in 1884, that he acconi- panied his father to Douglas county and at that time he located on a quarter section of land where he now lives and which he has brought to a very high state of cultivation. Mr. Cor- baley also raises and handles stock. He has the following brothers and sisters, John A., Will- iam G., Frank R., Platt M., and Marie C. Oppenheimer. William G. is a prominent financier of California, but has recently on ac- count of his health, retired from more active duties. He lives in Berkeley and began life as an engine wiper. He rose steadily through every department to be superintendent of the road, which position he held for many years. He was also a superintendent of the San Fran- cisco Harbor Improvement Company and also of the San Francisco Terra Cotta Company.
At Waterville, on July 22, 1888, Mr. Cor- baley married Miss Annie M., daughter of George W. and Jane (Hand) Gard, natives of Ohio and Tennessee, respectively. Mrs. Cor- baley was born in Lake county, California, on June 6, 1871 and has the following brothers, Isaac, Rees, James A., and Arthur. She also has two sisters, Martha Kelsey and Estella Pierpoint. To Mr. and Mrs. Corbaley five chil- dren have been born, named as follows: Paul W., on September 7, 1890; George R., on Jan- uary 19, 1893; Glenn A., on September 16, 1897; Annie R., on June 5, 1899; and John, on June 3, 1903 ; all born in this county.
Mr. and Mrs. Corbaley are both members and active workers in the Church of God and have a large circle of friends throughout the country.
ALBERT E. SWAN, who is now engaged in general farming and poultry raising, just north of Riverview, in Douglas county, has heretofore been engaged in the pottery busi- ness. He was born in Oil Springs, Ontario, Canada on September 5, 1863, the son of Will- iam E. and Teresa (Stacy) Swan, natives of England. The parents now live in South Dakota, where the father is engaged in pro- specting for oil. Our subject completed a high school course in Janesville, Wisconsin, then studied in the commercial college, for some time. After this, he moved to South Dakota, settling in Day county, where he contracted for boring wells. He was in that county for
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eighteen years. It was in 1901, that he moved to Douglas county and bought eighty acres, where he now lives and upon which he has put very valuable improvements. He has put the land under cultivation and made it very pro- ductive. In addition to this, Mr. Swan is rais- ing poultry and has some very fine Plymouth Rocks and other breeds. His market is Seattle.
Mr. Swan is a man of considerable ability and in addition to his farming and poultry rais- ing for commercial benefits, he is conducting an experiment station to ascertain which are the best varieties of grasses and grains for this section of the country and also what kinds of poultry are adapted to the climate. He has become skilled in this line and is known as one of the leading men of the section. Mr. Swan has two brothers and three sisters, William W., Harry L., Mrs. Bessie Raynes, Mrs. Charlotte Hogg and Mrs. Nellie Bingham. ?
The marriage of our subject and Mrs. Susan J. Mills occurred at Andover, South Dakota, February 5, 1889. Mrs. Swan is the daughter of William and Sarah (Spring) Mills, natives of Canada and Michigan, respectively and now living in Wenatchee, where the father conducts a mercantile establishment. Mrs. Swan was born near Grant Park, Illinois on February 7, 1867, and has two brothers and two sisters, Arthur J., William H., Mrs. Carrie L. Stewart and Mrs. Lizzie Collins.
In South Dakota on June 10, 1897, one child was born to Mr. and Mrs. Swan, Vera Terreasa. Mr. Swan is a member of the A. O. U. W and he and his wife are adherents of the Methodist church.
GILBERT S. ASBURY. Waterville has shown to the world that a class of very pro- gressive and wide awake business men are pushing her to the front; and not least among these is the gentleman mentioned above. Mr. Asbury is known throughout Douglas county as one of the most progressive and practical men that we have. He is an untiring worker and is always guided by upright principles and sagacity.
Gilbert S. Asbury was born in Vernon county, Wisconsin, on July 29, 1867. His father, Thomas H. Asbury, was a farmer in that state, having come thither in the early days
from his native state, Virginia. He enlisted in the Forty-third Wisconsin Volunteer Infantry, under General Banks, in 1863 and served for fourteen months, being honorably discharged at the close of the war in 1865. He married Miss Emma Roberts and this worthy and faith- ful couple are still living at the home place in Wisconsin. The public schools of Wisconsin supplied the educational training of our subject and he remained at home until fifteen then began work on an adjoining farm, where he continued until 1889, when he journeyed on to Iowa. For two years he was engaged in various employments there, after which he went to Nebraska, settling in Dickinson county. Eight years were spent there in farming. It was 1900 when he moved to Douglas county and bought one-half section of land, two miles northwest from Waterville, which he improved well and then sold. At the present time Mr. Asbury is associated with L. G. Wright in the construction of a fine flourmill in Waterville. The plant is to be equipped with the finest ma- chinery and processes known for the manufac- ture of first-class flour, in this enlightened age. It will have an output capacity of seventy-five barrels each twenty-four hours and will be operated entirely by electricity and the process used in this is known as the pansifter. The knowledge that Waterville is becoming the cen- ter for the manufacture of flour is very gratify- ing, since it is well known that the broad prairies of Douglas county produce some of the finest wheat in the world. It is commendable also that this enterprise is in the hands of a man of knowledge and real business ability and much is expected from our subject and it is certain that he will not disappoint the expecta- tions of the people.
Mr. Asbury has the following brothers and sisters, Edward, Irvin L., Reuben T., Mrs. J. E. Chamber, Mrs. Rilla A. Pittenger, Mrs. Delila E. Manning and Mrs. Lavina Clark.
The wedding of Mr. Asbury and Miss Anna E. Wright occurred in Dickson county, Ne- braska, on February 15, 1889. Her parents were Lyman G. and Ella (Quimby) Wright, natives of Michigan and Wisconsin, respect- ively. Mrs. Asbury was born in Waukon, Iowa, on June 30, 1875 and has one sister, Ella Q., living in Waterville. Mr. and Mrs. Asbury are the parents of the following named children : Earl W., born in Nebraska, on De-
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cember 21, 1900; Agnes Fern, born near Water- ville, August 5, 1901; Ella Fay, born near Waterville, on December 1, 1902. Mr. Asbury is a member of the A. F. & A. M. and was raised under the influence of the Seventh Day Adventist church.
ANTON GRITSCH. There is no doubt, but that the United States owes much of her prosperity and worth to the efforts and indus- try of those German people who have found liomes within her borders since the early days of Colonial times. No more industrious and capable citizens are beneath the stars and stripes to-day than this class of people. On every hand, we find evidence of their thrift, their ability, their knowledge, their good substantial qualities and real worth. Not least among this class of people is the gentleman whose name initiates this paragraph and it is with pleasure that we can grant space for the epitome of his career.
The estate of Anton Gritsch which consists of four hundred and forty acres, lies three miles north from Waterville, and is one of the most valuable and fertile farms in Douglas county. The whole estate is brought under tribute to produce crops, while an excellent orchard, good fences, large barns and a becoming residence and other improvements are in evidence. In addition to general farming, Mr. Gritsch de- votes considerable attention to raising stock.
Anton Gritsch was born in Tyrol, Austria, on October 16, 1858. His parents Gabriel and Elizabeth (Schmide) Gritsch, are both natives of the same place. There also our subject re- ceived his education and at the age of twenty
years joined the Austrian army where he served for two years and nine months. In 1882, he came to the United States and settled in Cincinnati, Ohio, where he operated for a stove foundry and also did farm work, adjacent to the city. Thence, he removed to Minne- apolis, Minnesota for the benefit of his health and for four years he wrought as a stonemason. In 1886, he came west and worked on the Northern Pacific railroad tunnel on their line through the Cascade mountains. The next year found him in Douglas county, where he took a pre-emption, the nucleus of his present fine estate. Here for nearly sixteen years, Mr. Gritsch has been laboring faithfully, earn- estly, with wisdom and ability, all of which have been rewarded by increasing his holdings of property.
On June 2. 1883, at Minneapolis, Minne- sota, Mŕ. Gritsch married Miss Johannah, daughter of Joseph and Cresences (Wolf) Schuler, both natives of Tyrol, Austria. Mrs. Gritsch was born in Tyrol, Austria, on February 5, 1865, and has three brothers, Vincent, Frank and Joseph. To our subject and his wife the following children have been born, John J., born in Minneapolis, on May 6, 1885; Frank M., born in Douglas county, November 16, 1887; Marie, born in Ellensburg on January 20, 1889, and died March 6, 1892; Rudolph H., born on the farm, July 11, 1892; Elizabeth M., born on the farm on November 1, 1896; Joseph A., born June 14, 1899 and Stephen, born Novem- ber 3, 1901, both born on the farm.
Mr. Gritsch and his wife were brought up as adherents of the Roman Catholic church. Mr. Gritsch is a good substantial citizen and' deserves as he receives, the esteem and respect of the entire community.
A CORNER OF THE "BREAD BASKET," ADAMS COUNTY
PART IV HISTORY OF ADAMS COUNTY
CHAPTER I.
EARLY SETTLEMENT-1865 TO 1904.
The first white man to take up his residence upon land now included within the boundaries of Adams county, was George Lucas. The exact date that Mr. Lucas located in the coun- try is not certain, but it was some time in the late 60's, following the close of the Civil war. Mr. J. F. Coss, Jr., who settled on Cow Creek in 1872, states that at that date Lucas was engaged in stock-raising on the same creek, about twelve miles below the Coss home, and that he had been in the country four or five years. But until 1872 Lucas was the sole in- habitant of the territory that was subsequently moulded into the county of Adams, one of the best agricultural districts in the state of Wash- ington. He was the pioneer of pioneers, and it is of this type that Hamlin Garland has writ- ten :
"They rise to mastery of wind and snow; They go like soldiers grimly into strife
To colonize the plains. They plow and sow, Fertilize the sod with their own life, As did the Indian and the buffalo."
Of the pioneers the Ritsville Times wrote in May, 1901 :
"The old settlers' associations represent, and their membership constitutes, the bravest, most courageous and most patriotic body of men that
ever inhabited any of the territory of the Uni- ted States west of the Mississippi river. Their services in the opening up and early develop- ment of the west, performed under circum- stances which today would cause the stoutest heart to quail, entitle them not only to the high- est praise, but to the rank of the benefactors.
"As a nation and as individuals we are proud of the `achievements of our armies and navy. As tokens of our appreciation we com- memorate the heroic deeds performed in battle by soldiers and sailors. We delight to tell the stories of our wars to the young, to instill in their minds the principles of liberty, the value of courage and the duty of patriotism. We im- mortalize in song, in verse, in bronze and gran- ite the men who, in the spheres of statesman- ship and philanthropy, have won renown in the service of their country and bestowed blessings upon their fellowmen; but scant indeed is the praise bestowed upon the great army of pio- neers; few are the statues erected to the mem- ory of the men who led the way in the danger- ous and arduous work in subduing, in less than two centuries, a continent greater in extent than antiquity ever dreamed of.
"In our own state the men who participated in laying the sub-structure on which our social, political and industrial fabric is founded, are
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scarcely known and seldom recalled. Few of us can realize what they and their associates, together with their families, encountered and had to overcome. We should recall the glory of their achievements and thus keep alive that sense of gratitude which every citizen of our state should feel toward the early pioneer who first made possible our present peaceful, pros- perous and happy condition. When they crossed the great Fathers of Waters this state and the whole west was a vast solitude. It was un- occupied save by wild beasts and savages; the rivers flowed unvexed by the fretting wheels of commerce; on the broad prairies the flowers bloomed and died with none to note their frag- rance; luxuriant grasses ripened in the summer air; rotted and enriched a soil on which no har- vest thrived.
"All this has been changed. The early pioneer laid his hand upon the mighty forces of nature, bringing them under his complete control. Things seemingly impossible when he first entered this vast domain of wild prairie have been realized. Harvests now ripen in the fields ; villages nestle in the valleys where blazed the wigwam fires. The rail and flying train have supplanted the ox team as a means of communication. Lightning leaps in response to the touch and voice of man, making far dis- tant peoples near and familiar. But better than all school houses now dot the entire state and on every prairie and in every valley church spires point toward heaven. To the early pio- neer and the old settler, more than any other class of men, are we indebted for the marvel- lous change, for this wonderful development and progress. Never, therefore, should we of the present or. coming generations forget or fail to recall the debt of gratitude we owe to these men for the part, the important part, played by them in blazing the trail along which we are passing with ease and with comparative comfort to that wonderful development of our state and county we now witness and to all
the conditions of a happy and prosperous peo- ple."
Following along this line and in much the same strain, the New's (Adams county), says :
"In these palmy days when the farmer takes his family in the surrey and rides to town in the afternoon to do-his shopping, it makes him strangely forgetful of the days he boiled his own potatoes and drank his coffee straight; when he rose with the dawn, got astride of the cayuse, rode to town and stood off the merchant for a pair of overalls and a sack of flour. These towering windmills spinning so gladly and gaily in the playful breezes is a radical change from the time when he hauled stagnant water fifteen miles in three leaky barrels, and had somebody's cayuses drink it up during the night. And the town merchants watched the passenger trains go through and wondered how soon they could collect enough to get out of town on, and in the meantime tending the flies who so vociferously demanded sustenance from the sorghum barrel and dried prune chest. Pros- perous times have come to stir the tender recol- lections of those days when the stars by night and the walking plow by day guided hands and hearts, and at length destined this smiling ex- panse of gorgeous green to become the fairest and dearest spot to which these hearts are twined."
The Lucas place was on the military road leading from Walla Walla to Fort Colville, the latter place being located at a point about three and one-half miles from the present town of Colville, in Stevens county. In its issue of April 9, 1902, the News said, concerning this pioneer :
"George Lucas, a thirty-year resident of this section, with headquarters on Cow Creek, will soon leave on an extended visit through the attractive portions of the Golden State, re- maining for a time at Sacramento. The old westerner has always followed the stock busi- ness with financial success. His presence in
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HISTORY OF THE BIG BEND COUNTRY.
town last Saturday, clad in blanket breeches, leathern belt, army shirt, canvas coat and wide sombrero, recalled the incidents which will be remembered by some of the pioneers of the '70s, when Lucas and some of his followers donned Indian costume, and with painted faces appeared upon the high hills in a hostile man- ner intended to frighten the scattering emi- grants across the border and out of the coun- try. But the sturdy adventurers were made of sterner stuff, and when their rifles began to crack on the clear morning air the confederate red skins hiked for tall timber."
The above is but one of many such conten- tions between the stockmen and the farmers who desired to devote their time and lands to agricultural purposes. It was most annoying to the cattle breeders to have the range broken into, fenced and improved. Therefore the stockmen banded together to resist, as far as possible, such invasions. Such has been the history of many other western states aside from Washington, and year by year the stock and sheep men have been pushed back into the hills, mountains, canyons and coulees. Yet it is a fact that in the aggregate fully as many cattle are grown and marketed by the farmers as by those who control large bands of animals, ex- clusively range cattle. One reads of the im- mense herds in Texas, Montana and Oklahoma, yet there are figures and records to show that the grain raising and dairying farmers of New York and some of the middle states produce more cattle in the aggregate, and better "meat- ers," than do the range men.
The second person to take up his residence in Adams county territory was William Lam- bie. He settled, too, on Cow Creek, about) twelve miles southeast of the present city of Ritzville, early in 1872. Mr. Lambie pos- sessed a small band of stock which he grazed that summer. But in the autumn of that year he disposed of his interest in these cattle to Thomas Durry, who came into the country, the third actual settler. Mr. Lambie left this
locality soon after, but Mr. Durry remained and lived in the same place until a few years ago.
It was early in November, 1872, that J. F. Coss, wife, two sons and one daughter took up their abode on Cow Creek, twelve miles south- east of the present county seat, Ritzville. This Cow Creek, it seems, was quite popular with the early settlers, and the original settlements of Adams county were made thereon. Mr. Coss' place was on a new government road ex- tending through the county. J. F. Coss, Jr., informs us that there was at that period no hab- itable stopping place between their ranch and the Snake river and none between Snake river and the Touchet. To the north the nearest habitation was on Crab Creek. The Coss fam- ily came from Portland, Oregon. For twenty- seven years they resided on the place where they originally located. For many years their nearest neighbor was twenty miles distant. During these early days, fraught with vicissi- tudes and adventures, the home of Mr. Coss was the principal halting place for travelers going from Fort Walla Walla to Fort Spo- kane, Fort Chelan and other points in the ter- ritory north of Snake river.
It was in 1877 that Malcom Reed came to what has developed into Adams county. He, too, engaged in stock raising and continued in the prosecution of that industry until his death, February 25, 1904. During the latter part of the 70's a few other stockmen came to the Cow Creek country. Among these were James Kennedy, Robert Green, Joseph Milam and Delbert Hooper. These located on the creek in the southern portion of the county. These earlier pioneers were. all stockmen. They did not come with the intention of developing and improving the country ; but simply to range their cattle. But between 1878 and 1880 others came in who began to cultivate the soil and raise grain, although it was not until 1880 and 1881 that any headway in this direction was made.
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HISTORY OF THE BIG BEND COUNTRY.
It was in the closing months of 1878 that a few bold spirits pushed out into the wild coun- try to make homes for themselves. Among these was Mr. George W. Bassett, who built for himself and family a home where the town of Washtucna is now located. He hauled the lumber for his house from the Blue Mountains, south of Waitsburg. He was delayed in the erection of this building by the Indian outbreak, but the following spring he completed it and moved his family from Walla Walla. Mr. Bassett had been a clerk in Walla Walla. His removal to what was at that period an unknown country was due to a search for more healthful employment. In its "Book of Adams County" the Ritsville Times furnishes the following concerning Mr. Bassett's early settlement in the Washtucna valley :
"While still holding his position at the then central city of the northwest (Walla Walla), he managed to find time to haul out lumber to his .claim. Mr. Bassett recalls that once when starting out from Walla Walla he was met by a sheep herder named Wells, who gave the re- port that the Indians were on the war path, and that all the settlers were hurrying to the town. He turned back, but the outbreak was soon quieted, and he brought out the rest of the material and built a house, gave up his clerical employment, and went to work in earn- est. Mr. Bassett brought out his family the following year. The hospitality of his house has been at the command of all who might ask from that day to this, and many are the worn travelers who have had occasion to thank Mr. and Mrs. Bassett for a warm welcome."
How Mr. Bassett chanced to locate on the present site of Washtucna was related to the writer by himself. He had been in poor health for a number of years and desired to remove from Walla Walla in the hopes that he could regain his former vitality. He was led to in- vestigate the location at Kahlotus Springs by a gentleman named Downing who, in company with a man named Scranton, staked their claims
where the city of Spokane is now located in 1872. Mr. Downing in passing to and from his home by the falls and Walla Walla, had camped at the Washtucna springs, and upon learning that Mr. Bassett desired to secure a location, told him of the springs, saying it was the only location he would have north of Snake river. On Mr. Downing's next trip to the north country Mr. Bassett went with him, saw the spot, was pleased with it and imme- diately located and began hauling lumber for his future home.
On Mr. Bassett's ranch were three springs of water which, together with his hospitality, in the early days, offered an advantageous camping place for the occasional parties of pioneers who passed through on the way to and from Walla Walla. For many years pre- vious to the first settlement here these springs had been called by the Indians and earliest pioneers "Kahlotus," the occasion for which name is explained by a legend of the Palouse Indians. As the story goes once upon a time an Indian chief was fishing in the waters of the Palouse. He strung his catch upon a wil- low withe and laid it conveniently near on the bank. Now it so chanced that while the red- skin was intent upon his sport, a hungry coyote came prowling by and scampered away with the entire string of fish. The Indian gave chase and, never stopping, followed the fleet denizen of the plains across the hills and caught him at the springs mentioned. In consequence he named them "Kahlotus," or "Coyote Water."
The valley in which these springs are, and where Mr. Bassett settled, bore the Indian name Washtucna, and when the country had become sufficiently populated to require a postoffice the latter name was given it. The name Kahlotus was conferred on another station fourteen miles below Washtucna, and now in Franklin coun- ty. Following Mr. Bassett's settlement in this part of the county others came. Among the first were A. S. Elder and family, T. C. Mar- tin and family, John Huffman, I. B. Laing and
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HISTORY OF THE BIG BEND COUNTRY.
family, W. L. Mustard, C. F. Booth and fam- ily. All of these engaged in farming, but be- ing so far removed from any market operations were conducted on a modified scale. The Kah- lotus springs where Mr. Bassett located were three miles from the old Mullan road, but when he built there the route by way of his house was taken. At first the only points to the north that caused people to travel through the country were Fort Colville and the settlement at Spokane Falls. Later when Camp Chelan and Camp Spokane were established, travel also went to those points.
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