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 41
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 41
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 41
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 41
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"Sec II. This act shall take effect and be in force from and after its approval.
"Approved November. 28, 1883."
December 9, 1883, the county of Adams came into official existence. On that eventful
date James G. Bennett, George Sinclair, Sr., and John L. Johnson, the gentlemen named in the legislative act as commissioner for the new county, assembled at Ritzville and formally or- ganized as a board. Their first official act, after having taken the oaths of office, was to name the chairman of the board. On motion of Com- missioner. Johnson, seconded by Commissioner Bennett, Mr. Sinclair was chosen to preside as chairman of the first board of commissioners of Adams county. The choice of a name for this new county appears to have been right in line with a number of Big Bend counties, such as Lincoln, Douglas and Franklin. To the east lay a county named for the martyred Dr. Marcus Whitman, while farther north, extend- ing to the Canadian boundary, were Ferry and Stevens, named respectively for the first gov- ernor of the state of Washington, and the first Territorial governor, Stevens.
The only other official act of this initial meeting was the naming of Samuel A. Wells as county auditor. An adjournment was then taken until Saturday, December 22.
There was considerable business transacted at this adjourned meeting. A full list of county officials was selected and duly appointed, the names of whom will be found in the chapter devoted to the political history of Adams coun- ty. The county was also divided into election and road precincts, and such was the condition of the county at that period that the commis- sioners were unanimous in the opinion that two road districts only were sufficient for their present requirements. All that portion of the county lying north of the north boundary line of township 17 was designated as Road Dis- trict No. 1; and the same territory was thrown into Election Precinct No. I. The polling place was located at the town of Ritzville. All that part of Adams county south of the boun- dary line (north) of township 17, was desig- nated as Road District No. 2, and Election Precinct No. 2. Of this precinct the home of G. W. Bassett, where the town of Washtucna
764
HISTORY OF THE BIG BEND COUNTRY.
now stands, was designated as the polling place. For Precinct No. I Darwin Keller was named justice of the peace and James S. Edwards, constable. John Kanzler was made road super- visor of District No. I. George W. Bassett was chosen supervisor for District No. 2. At a meeting held May 5, 1884, Precinct No. 3 was formed, consisting of townships 18, 19 and 20, in ranges 37 and 38, and the house of Robert Downs was named as the voting place.
At the meeting of December 22, arrange- ments were made for renting a room for court house purposes, and for the purchase of neces- sary books and county records.
The first settlement with the new county treasurer was made by the commissioners at their meeting of May 5, 1884. The following is from the commissioners' journel of the pro- ceedings of that day :
"The commissioners and auditor, on exam- ining the funds in the hands of the treasurer find that there ought to be in his hands the sum of one hundred and two dollars and eighty cents, and further find that he has that sum in gold and silver coin of the United States."
June 16, 1884, the proceedings are contin- ued :
"Upon examination it was found that the taxable property of the county of Adams is about one hundred and sixty-seven thousand dollars ($167,000), and upon due calculation it is estimated and determined that it will be necessary to raise the sum of eleven hundred and sixty-nine dollars ($1,169.00) for county purposes. five hundred and one dollars ($501) for road purposes, four hundred and seventeen dollars and fifty cents ($417.50) for territorial purposes, and three hundred and thirty-four dollars ($334) for school purposes. Upon mo- tion duly seconded and carried by the unani- mous vote of the board, it is ordered and de- clared that there shall be levied upon all the taxable property in Adams county for the as- sessment of the year 1884-for ordinary coun- ty revenue the sum of seven mills on the dollar ;
for territorial revenue the sum of two and one- half mills on the dollar; for road fund the sum of three mills on the dollar; for support of schools the sum of two mills on the dollar; and the same is hereby declared levied and assessed by the board, and the county auditor is ordered to extend the same at the proper time upon the assessment roll."
Later an additional assessment of one-quar- ter mill was levied for the territorial peniten- tiary fund. The following is taken from the tax roll for the year 1884, it having been com- piled by the assessor July 31, 1884; number of acres assessed, 24,540; number of acres im- proved, 106; full cash value of all land as- sessed, $62,965; full value of improvements, $3.350; full value of personal property, $97,- 35I ; total valuation of all property assessed, $175.444; total amount of taxes, $4.746.70.
Following were the taxpayers and amounts of their taxes as appears on the assessment roll for 1884:
Name
Amount.
Levi Ankeney $ 39 60
Henry Bower 32 52
Henry L. Brill 9 90
James G. Bennett
50 75
Theodore R. Brakefield 12 69
Albert Baily II 58
B. W. Bunnefield 9 90
Frank DeCasta 23 22
Edwin Carrico 12 70
Robert McClellan 9 90
Frank A. Compton II 13
H. M. Cass IO 95
John A. Churchill II 44
William Despain
217 80
Dooley & Kirkman
191 67
D. M. Drumheller
9 90
Edward McDonnell 19 80
W. G. Ferguson
4 81
Edwin B. Fletcher IO 81
Cyrus French 9 80
Henry Gehlken 12 68
Charles H. Gardner I 48
F. W. Hauschild
5 80
J. J. Hughes 27 48
Allen Hilton 7 48
Hooper Brothers & Preston. 49 50
Mrs. Agusta Harris 3 23
J. T. Despain 81 67
765
HISTORY OF THE BIG BEND COUNTRY.
Name
Amount.
Name
Amount.
Heart & Groves 38 48
Samuel Hutchinson
35 71
J. L. Johnson 158 51
N. P. Hall 9 90
Miss Tina Johnson
4 95
Frank K. Johnson 6 68
William McKay
24 3I
Emma J. Johnson 39 60
George H. Kanzler 16 05
James M. Kennedy
31 68
Miss N. Kennedy 286 60
Henry Kihn 8 62
Jacob Keefer 6 74
Joseph Kissler
8 65
John B. Keefer
19 80
Darwin Keller
46 67
James R. Kennedy
81 67
William H. Kennedy
29 70
George Lucas 35 67
Clark Long
95 63
Adam Link
10 08
Alexander McLeod
II 94
T. W. Martin
5 19
George A. Miller
36
Henry Morrison
II 19
R. J. Neergaard
2 97
Frank W. Nessley
29 70
29 70
S. Peterson
75 29
P. J. Olson 7 73
Franz C. Pibstein
74
M. W. Feekheimer
99 00
Malcom Reed
35 50
Charles O. Richardson II 19
Hugh Rankin
24 81
James Worrell
7 48
John Schaffer 6 63
Alexander Stewart
148 80
Emil Scholl 99
B. L. Sharpstein
9 90
G. H. Tiel
6 30
Jacob Tiel 8 98
Samuel A. Wells 19 09
George H. Atkinson
I 48
Cynthia Bennett
3 96
George W. Bassett
50 13
E. H. Boyer
34 65
Joseph Brown
15 90
Alfred Babcock
12 37
J. F. Boyer 74 25
Dennis H. Carrico I7 60
J. F. Collier
13 04
Frank A. Colwell 12 37
J. F. Coss, Sr. 147 07
John A. Campbell 10 32
Robert Downs 138 66
J. E. Despain, Jr. 79 20
Thomas Durry 171 75
Steven Devenishell 79 20
Mrs. S. A. McDonell 9 90
George Delany 138 60
H. W. Fairweather
19 80
Louis Fannef
49
Joseph W. Foote
9 90
F. M. Greene
57 59
Gage L. Gritman 38 99
Albert J. Hooper 31 85
Augusta Hiln 7 84
Hooper Brothers 84 92
J. M. Harris 8 91
John Wagner 2 78
John Wallace 24
Cornelius G. White 9 90
David Wilson 39 60
Martin Weller 72 20
W. H. Reed 5 90
Edward Brewster 20 75
Ansel Baldwin 5 90
Conrad Wolsburn 4 24
J. B. Whittlesey 34 97
Jacob Weber 4 74
Caroline M. Wingard 9 90
D. S. Baker
77 77
George W. Harris II 80
Henry Fowler
7 26
According to the legislative act creating Adams county Ritzville was named as the tem- porary county seat, and it was provided that the permanent seat of government should be selected at the general election of 1884. But as Ritzville was the only place in the new coun- ty resembling a town there was no candidate for the honor except Ritzville. Following is
Lewis Reed
13 61
Philip Ritz 276 95
John F. Rosenoff II 33
George Sinclair 23 83
Earl Stanley 10 90
Frederick Schultz 12 79
Mrs. Elizabeth Scholl 15 34
John Tiel 12 30
Henry Tiel 8 98
Frank R. Upham 9 90
W. U. Tel. Co. 60 27
9 96
William Mar 28 57
G. H. Morgan II 94
Louis Neace
57 88
Charles W. Nessley
Andrew McQueen
127 00
E. Quackenbush
Miss Clara A. Ritz 9 90
John Link
766
HISTORY OF THE BIG BEND COUNTRY.
the official act of the commissioners in announc- ing the result of the vote:
"The auditor, reporting to the board that at the general election held as follows :
"November 4, 1884, for the permanent lo- cation of the county seat, Ritzville received a majority of the votes cast, as is shown by the report of the board of commissioners. Upon motion of Commissioner Bennett, which was duly recorded and carried by the unanimous vote of the board, it is declared and ordered that Ritzville is, and shall be the permanent county seat of Adams county."
The court house building and lot was pur- chased from N. H. Greene in 1885, the price paid being $500. This property was sold in 1901, purchased for $1,650 by Henry A. Bier.
The following from the Territorial session laws of 1885-6 relates to a subject of consid- erable importance to the people of Ritzville, and, in fact to entire Adams county at that time. It is a history of an attempt to secure water by means of an artesian well system :
"An act to provide for the sinking of arte- sian wells in the counties of Adams and Frank- lin, Washington Territory, and appropriating money therefor :
"Be it enacted by the legislative assembly of the Territory of Washington :
"Sec. I. That the sum of six thousand dollars ($6,000) be and is hereby appropriated out of the general fund of the Territory for the purpose of sinking artesian wells in Adams and Franklin counties, in order to ascertain if arte- sian water can be obtained in the desert land district of Eastern Washington.
"Sec 2. That H. N. Greene, T. W. Mar- tin, of Adams county, and J. W. O'Keefe, of Franklin county, shall constitute a board of commissioners to act without salary or other compensation. It shall be the duty of such commissioners, on or before April 1, 1886, to locate the place for sinking such well or wells and they are hereby authorized to accept a do- nation to the county in which said well is to be
bored, of at least one acre of land bordering on the highway, and shall notify the govern- or as soon as said place has been selected and said land obtained, and shall forward to him the deed of said land with a plat thereof show- ing its location.
"Sec. 3. Should any of the commission- ers herein named fail to qualify, the governor shall fill the vacancy by the appointment of some citizen of the same county of which the commissioner failing to qualify was a resident.
"Sec. 4. Within ten ( 10) days after notice from said commissioners that the land has been obtained and the place located, it shall be the duty of the governor to advertise for bids to sink such well, by the foot, and he shall let the contract to the lowest bidder."
The money provided for in this bill was ex- pended, but was barren of result. The con- tractors failed to secure water, and the project was subsequently abandoned.
An interesting article, describing Adams county and the conditions prevailing at that early day, was printed in the Adams County Record on February 16, 1886. The sketch was written by W. F. Newland, who had cast his lot with the county some years previous, and was in answer to numerous inquiries he had received, from the east, concerning the then little known Big Bend country. Mr. Newland estimated the population of Adams county at 500, and of Ritzville at 150. The following are extracts taken from this letter :
"We have two schools in the county, both public schools; the school term in Ritzville was six months this season; next year we propose to have a nine-months' session. We also have a good Union Sunday School, and regular preaching twice a month by a talented Congre- gational preacher, and Methodist service in German every four weeks. Several denomina- tions are represented here who dwell in unity as brethren in Christ and worship in the one church.
"We will have an election in June under
767
HISTORY OF THE BIG BEND COUNTRY.
the local option law, to do away with saloons in this county, which we believe we will carry. In this connection I will say that we have as order- ly and quiet a class of citizens as I ever saw in any of the eastern states. Ritzville is sur- rounded by a very extensive agricultural and grazing country. Cow Creek and Crab Creek, besides a good number of springs, afford water for many horses, cattle and sheep. West of town are ten thousands of acres covered with bunch grass, and not a head of stock on it. By the way, this bunch grass is as rich and nutri- tious as Kentucky's celebrated blue grass, and standing uncut all winter does not seem to in- jure it. The bunch grass does not get tall enough to make hay fast, but we make fine hay from wheat, rye and oats. This, certainly, is a fine stock country, where stock can graze eleven and twelve months in the year. There are fine hogs in the territory, but few in this county. I understand they are exempt from cholera here.
"Crab Creek is about 15 miles north of Ritzville and Cow Creek ten miles east-both flowing a large body of water the year around, and both stocked with trout. There are some springs in the county, but most of us have to dig wells from 10 to 105 feet deep. An appro- priation of $6,000 was made by our legislature, which just adjourned, to sink an artesian well in this county. There is no danger what- ever from Indians. There is not a Chinaman or a negro in the county; no wild animals ex- cept the harmless coyote. I have seen only one snake since I have been in the county. We have but little game ; ducks and geese on the creeks ; jack rabbits on the prairie. Have no rats to trouble us. We have no flies to torment stock, but have a few house flies. We have little mud -about two inches when frost comes out of the ground. It is very dry now, except for the melting of the little snow that fell this morn- ing, which was all gone today before noon. We live in box houses, unplastered. A large num- ber of settlers only have their cook stoves for warming their houses; yet all keep comfort-
able. On account of our short, mild winters we do not use much fuel. We have no coal or building stone; have a herd law against sheep and hogs, hence two or three barbed wires, with posts 30 feet apart is our fence.
"The country is too new to afford to hire much labor, but the old settled counties east of us give us plenty of work at good wages, $25 to $30 per month for hands. Good work horses can be bought for $200 per pair; cows with young calf about $50. Grain and pota- toes one cent per pound; extra C sugar ten pounds to the dollar; green coffee, Rio, six pounds ; flour $4.00 per barrel ; bacon 12 cents; beef six to eight cents; dry goods about five per cent higher than in the east. Pine lumber is worth in Ritzville, rough, $18; dressed $25 and $30 ; shingles, $4 per thousand ; cedar fence posts ten cents each; Number 8 cook stove, complete, $32; fourteen-inch stubble plow, $20; Concord tug harness, $35 per pair ; chain har- ness, $18; 314 broad track, mountain brake, standard make wagons, $125.
"About the nearest vacant government land to Ritzville is five to six miles. Of course you understand the railroad company owns all odd numbered sections, and sells on ten years time, 7 per cent interest ; price $2 to $4. From six miles out in any direction is plenty of as pretty land as you wish. North and west of town the land is only gently rolling.
"Down the railroad, twelve miles below Ritzville, is a station called Paha. The land is vacant on both sides of the road, square up to the station. The land there is more rolling than around Ritzville, but is splendid soil. This would be a fine place to establish a Christian colony and build a church. The government gives 160 acres homestead to the settler after he has lived on it five years; gives 160 acres under the timber culture law by raising ten acres of timber ; pre-emption of 160 acres, you pay $2.50 an acre at the time of proving up, and as stated above most all the railroad land is unsold.
768
HISTORY OF THE BIG BEND COUNTRY.
"Now for the drawbacks. The want of churches and schools, and, I might add, the want of society, because there are very few of us here; these will be overcome in the course of a very few years. You must, also, bear in mind-those of you who are poor in purse- that you cannot go to a new country and com- mence making money the first year off your, land, and it takes money to live on until you can get employment or raise something. You ask me, 'How much is the least money I ought to start with?' That I cannot say. I have given you the cost of your tickets to get here, the price of stock, provisions, etc., and you will have to figure that for yourselves. Water, or rather the lack of it, is our serious drawback. It takes time, money and work to dig a well. Our rainfall in the spring is not always suffi- cient to give us good crops. Yet it takes but very little rain in the spring to make our crops. The ground gets very dry here in the summer. We have good prospects for excellent crops this year, as the ground is wet now to a depth of two feet or more. I will say that any one who is financially able ought to come and look for himself. I am thoroughly satisfied here."
The branch railroad from Moscow, Idaho, to Connell, Franklin county, which passes through the southeastern portion of Adams county, was built in 1886. An organization known as the Oregon Improvement Company planned the construction of this road. The money was furnished by the Oregon Railroad & Navigation Company. This line passed into the hands of the Northern Pacific Railroad Company about the time it was completed, and that company operated it for a year. Then heavy rains caused Washtucna Lake to over- flow and destroyed a section of the track. The Northern Pacific company abandoned the oper- ation of the road and it was taken over by the Oregon Railway & Navigation Company. They built a higher grade where it had overflowed and continued to operate it in a desultory man- ner. The trackage of that portion between
Kahlotus and Connell was, for a period, taken up, but is now relaid through Washtucna Coulee.
With the exception of the last few years, beginning with 1901, when the rush of immi- gration to Adams county was something un- precedented in the history of an agricultural country, the bulk of the county's population came during the years 1888, 1889 and 1890. According to the government census of 1890, the population had reached to 2,098.
By the proceedings of the Adams county board of commissioners, for December 28, 1891, it is learned that they decided to bond the county in the sum of $20,000 for the pur- pose of erecting a court house. This proposi- tion was favored by Commissioners Kretzer and Smith, but opposed by Commissioner El- der. But the bonds were voted and the con- tract for building the edifice was let to Messrs. Burnham & Clapp, of Spokane, for $19,945. The $20,000 in bonds were issued in denomin- ations of $1,000 each, bearing six per cent. in- terest, due in 20 years. It was, also, provided that the county could pay off this indebtedness any time after the expiration of ten years. August 20, 1892, the court house was officially accepted by Adams county.
Another proposition which met with a fate similar to the artesian well was a proposition made by the Swisher. Rain Company to come to. Adams county and make a test. Following is an extract from the proceedings of the board of commissioners for February 24, 1892 :
"In the matter of accepting the Swisher Rain Company's proposition to make it rain :
"The Swisher Rain Company will come to Adams county, Washington, and make a rain test in amount not less than one-half inch at some point within a radius of 25 miles of the point of operation, for the sum of $600, the commissioners to furnish a suitable building for. the operation. Said rain test to be made during the month of May, 1892. The above proposi- tio referred to being filed in this office February
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NOON HOUR FOR THE WHEAT HAULERS
769
HISTORY OF THE BIG BEND COUNTRY.
24, 1892, A. S. Elder moved to accept the prop- osition of the Swisher Rain Company, which was duly seconded by P. L. Kretzer. This motion prevailed.
"The board hereby appoints a committee of five to correspond and make all necessary ar- rangements and see that said proposition is fully carried out. Said committee are as fol- lows: W. E. Blackner, Hiner Dorman, L. L. Sutton, Perry Kaufman and Walter Reeder."
But the "Rainmaking" firm failed to put in an appearance at the stipulated time, and the scheme was abandoned.
As in other counties of the Big Bend the "squirrel" pest gave great annoyance to the Adams county farmers, beginning with 1887 and continuing intermittently until 1894. A portion of this period the commissioners gave bounties for squirrel scalps, and in 1894 re- sorted to strychnine. This they purchased in large quantities, and sold a limited amount to the farmers at cost.
During the year 1895 the county appears to have suffered a business depression. April 4, 1896, the Ritzville Times said :
"Beginning with the early days of Our Lord, 1895, and continuing up to date, more old timers have shaken the dust of Adams county off their feet than in the long decade previous, since Ritzville boasted of nothing but a red board depot, two switch targets and a lot of signs reading 'Land Office,' or 'Railroad and Government Lands.' Merchants, farmers, business and professional men-in fact men of all sorts and conditions, rich and poor, have knocked loose their tent stakes and trekked for fields they hoped would prove more fertile and for pastures, mayhap, more green. A very few months more of such rapid changes and it would be a difficult matter to place one's finger upon a citizen of Ritzville who could claim a residence long enough to vote."
Under these conditions there was, neces- sarily, but little history-making of any note. So late as May 14, 1898, an attempt to organ-
ize an Old Settlers' Society proved a failure temporarily. One meeting was held at the court house in Ritzville, that day, of which Mr. Hiner Dorman was chairman and D. N. McDonald secretary. Initiatory steps, toward organiza- tion only were taken. But there were prosper- ous times in 1897 and 1898. Those were the years of the "bumper" crops. Their result is thus told by the Adams County News of Au- gust 24, 1898 :
"Our county is taking a very healthy growth. Hundreds of new settlers are coming in and improving the vacant lands. The coun- ty is dotted all over with fine, well-built houses, good barns and other substantial signs of well filled purses. Our farmers are out of debt, and many of them have a snug sum in the bank which practically insures them against crop failure for a long time to come."
A year subsequently the Ritsville Times estimated the population of Adams county as between 4,000 and 5,000 inhabitants. At a preliminary meeting held in the court house at Ritzville the project of an Old Settler's Asso- ciation was revived, November 17, 1899, and the following officers selected: Francis M. Egbers, president; Andrew S. Newland, secre- tary, and Mrs. Ella Thompson, treasurer. The first regular meeting was held June 7, 1900. Eligibility to membership was based on a per- son being 21 years of age and having come into Adams county not later than 1888.
The population of the county by precincts, according to the United States census of 1900 was: Cow Creek Precinct, 140; Fletcher, 654; Seman, 651; Hatton, 684; Lind, 762; Low, 423; McQueen, 169; Ritzville, No. 1, 596; Ritzville, No. 2, co-extensive with Ritzville town, 761. Total population of county, 4.840.
October 2, 1900, Adams county had been raised to the 21st class. From 1900 to 1903 there was a gain in population of nearly 100 per cent., the figures being as follows : popula- tion in 1900, 4,840; in 1903, 9,646. The 1903 census is estimated from statistics in the office
49
770
HISTORY OF THE BIG BEND COUNTRY.
of the state superintendent of public instruc- tion, and is based on the school reports from the several county superintendents.
The settlement of Adams county during the years 1900 and 1901 was rapid. The records of the Walla Walla land office, which has super- vision over only a part of Adams county, show that during the year ending July 1, 1901, there were homestead entries covering 63,953 acres in that county. The Spokane Spokesman-Re- view in July, 1901, speaking of the surprising growth of the county, said :
"To Adams and Franklin counties most of this year's attention has been directed. The rush to both has been phenomenal, although there is lots of land left yet. Since 1897 there have been no dry seasons, and a bountiful crop has resulted each year. This has induced old timers to prove up, and immigrants, seeing the trend, have rushed in and done the same thing. Every odd section in Adams county belongs to the Northern Pacific, so that no two gov- ernment sections can join. Within the last eighteen months the Northern Pacific has sold sections at prices ranging from 50 cents to $5 per acre. Last October and November came a sudden raise because of the heavy immigra- tion. Then prices advanced all along the line on a sliding scale, not receding with the winter and still remaining up. With the immigration of this fall and next spring there will, doubtless, be a corresponding advance on the prices of last fall. This will continue, it is thought, un- til the lands are all taken up. The demand has
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