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CHAPTER II.
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MATERIAL PROGRESS FROM 1871 TO 1903.
From the original Stevens county there have been sliced the important political divisions of Spokane, Whitman, Adams, Franklin, Lincoln, Douglas, Ferry, Okanogan and a portion of Chelan counties. Yet in 1871 in all that vast territory, under the jurisdiction of Colville, as the county seat, there was a voting population of less than three hundred, and a total population, exclusive of Indians, of less than one thousand. The most populous portion of the district, at the period named, was the Colville valley. A list of the various farms, ranches, "sites" or residences of the white inhabitants, prepared for the information of the
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government shows them to have been ninety-one in number. From a copy of this list we are enabled to give the names of eighty-eight of these pioneers of Stevens county. Many of them are still residents, even within its present boundaries; some have removed to other localities, or been set off by county subdivision; a large number have passed to the Great Beyond. The names are: Harry Young, L. D. Ferguson, Joseph Gangraw, —— Hilburn, I. R. Kingsley, —— Bergean, George Waitt, Francis Hubert, George Frazer, Henry Brown, John Inkster, Andrew Mowatt, —— Kemp, Peter Abramson, George Flett, Joseph Morrell, Reid Montgomery, John Garrack, Patrick McKenzie, Thomas Brown, Fred Keiling, George McRea, Donald McCloud, Louis Morrigean, Nobra Dupuis, —— Mechan, Magnes Flett, —— Mechel, John Stranger, H. Wellington, Joseph Roberts, John Hauser, Con Rickart, Mrs. Fratzer, Narcise Finley, Louis Perras, M.
L'Fleur, Francis Wolff. James Kitt, Louis Matthews. Jacob Buske. Alex. Gendron, Solomon Pelton. Mrs. McDougall, Frank Johann, John Wynne, Pierre, Moses Dupee, Antoine Paradis, W. Hall, L. W. Meyers, Peter Grupee, John Probell, John Jarvir, Fred Sherwood, Jacob Gillett, Robert Bruce, Thomas Stranger, Thomas Stranger, Jr., George Heron. Mrs. G. W. Jacobs, M. Oppenheimer, R. H. Douglas, Thomas Haller, Mrs. Champagne, Robert McKay. Joseph Lapray, Matthew Hayden, Joseph Laurient, John Lezott, Leopold DeRudder, Andrew Hughson, F. Boesch, John U. Hofstetter, Joseph Martin, Louis Peone, —— Charette, I. Merchant, C. H. Montgomery, Ambrose Tindall, Donald McDonald, Marcus Oppenheimer, John Rickey, George Reimer, John Cluxton, Albert Dunlap, George W. Harvey.
At this period Pinkney City was the metropolis of northeastern Washington. Here the board of county commissioners administered the affairs of a territory larger than that of any other similar body on the Northwest Coast. They established election precincts containing hundreds of square miles; large sums were appropriated, necessarily, to reimburse those who brought in the election returns, and they were sometimes weeks on the road, while results remained in doubt; some of the school districts embraced territory from which counties were subsequently carved; the city of Spokane was yet to develop from the shadows of the future.
The range of Indian superintendence was on a scale equally extensive. Over eight different tribes, prior to April 9, 1872, the Colville Indian Agency had nominal control. These tribes, including the Colville, Spokane, Okanogan, San Poil, Kalispell, Methow, Nespelim, and Lake Chelan bands, numbered over three thousand persons. We say nominal control, for although some of these Indians declined to recognize the authority of the United States, they were in the main peaceably disposed. By executive order a reservation was set apart for them April 9, 1872. This included the Colville valley, and the act met with the warm approval of the Indians. Not so with the white settlers and pioneers. Sixty of the latter filed an immediate protest. July 2 an order was issued by President Grant confining the reservation to the country bounded on the east and south by the Columbia, west by the Okanogan and north by British Columbia. This order was ratified by the first session of the forty-third congress and was followed by a counter protest by Indians and agents. This, however, was without effect, as the order was not "changed, but the Colville Indians entered upon a sort of joint-occupancy with the whites in the valley, and here the Jesuits assumed charge of their spiritual welfare, bestowing upon them the same care and attention which they had exhibited in other localities since 1842. This reservation was extended in April, 1879, by a grant on the west side of the Okanogan to the Cascade range. The reservation then included all the country in eastern Washington
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west of the Columbia and north of 48 degrees 30 minutes, comprising some four thousand square miles.
The reader will have noticed that in these early days, and prior to 1880, the names of the putative capital of Stevens county appear to have been interchangeable. Sometimes the proceedings of the county commissioners are dated Colville, Fort Colville, and again, Pinkney City. April 26, 1876, the county seat question was brought up at a meeting on that day of the commissioners, and a majority of the board concurred in the following:
"That it is the opinion of a majority of the board of county commissioners that the act of 1875, being an amendment to the act of 1863, an act repealed by the act of 1864, 'permanently locating the county seat at Colville,' and consequently null and void, that the amendment of 1875 must be of necessity also null and void, and in consequence the act of 1864 still remains in full force and effect, Meyers and Lamona concurring; Mr. Percival protesting against the action of the majority of the board."In 1876 the Okanogan Election Precinct was formed by the commissioners, and one year later the Hangman's Creek Precinct, in the southeast corner of the county, was established. August 10, 1877, the commissioners in settling with the sheriff were informed that he had been unable to collect the taxes due for the year 1876 owing to unsettled conditions resulting from recent Indian outbreaks. The sheriff was therefore given until the succeeding November meeting of the board to collect the taxes. Two new election precincts were organized in 1878; one, the Spring Valley Precinct, and another, the Moses Precinct, which appears to have included the greater part of Lincoln and Douglas counties, as now organized. It is described on the commissioners' record as follows:
"In the southwest corner of Stevens county, with the following boundaries: Commencing on the Whitman county line, at the Columbia river: thence up said river to Spokane river; thence in a southerly direction by way of Mineral Springs, near Crab Creek, to Whitman county line; thence west on said line to place of beginning."Reference to a map of Washington will conclusively show that it cost time, as well as money, to exercise the elective franchise in those days. In 1884 the Columbia, Sequaha, Spring Valley Election Precincts, and Okanogan District were organized, thus considerably reducing the size, not only of Moses, but other election precincts.
August 10, 1878, an order was made by the commissioners providing that the receiving officers of Stevens county be instructed to not receive gold dust in payment of any indebtedness to the county at a value greater than the following rates: Amalgam dust, Rock Creek, Salmon River, $14;' "49" Creek, Pend d'
Oreille, $16, and Kootenai, $17 per ounce.
The amputation from Stevens of the territory comprising Whitman county did not create any undue excitement in the vicinity of Colville. This, however, was not the case in the subsequent segregation of Spokane county. There was most emphatic protest from nearly all the citizens in the remaining portion of Stevens county, particularly from those residing in the northeastern district. At a meeting of the board of commissioners, November 6, 1879, the following resolution was concurred in unanimously:
"Whereas, Our representative, D. F. Percival, has introduced and caused to be passed a bill for the division of Stevens county, without the approval of a large majority of his constituents;Of this action Mr. John Rickey, one of the oldest and most influential pioneers says:
"Resolved, That we consider his act sectional and in opposition to the wishes of the citizens of this county and very unjust."
"At the time Spokane was cut off from Stevens county, Mr. Percival, of Cheney, was our representative in the Washington Territorial legislature. The people of the present
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county of Stevens did not desire a division of the county at this time, but it was generally understood that when the division was made the northern boundary of Spokane county was to be the Spokane river. Mr. Percival was elected by votes from this part of the county with this understanding, but when he reached Olympia he immediately introduced, and secured the passage of a bill creating the county of Spokane with its present boundaries."Mr. Rickey adds the following reminiscence of this eventful year:
"I remember one very exciting incident in the history of the 'Old Town.' It was in the year 1879 that the old log jail burned, and for a short time there was as much excitement as would be occasioned by an Indian outbreak. In fact the fire was caused by an Indian outbreak — an Indian breaking out of the old jail. 'Apache Joe" was the Indian's name, and he was serving a sentence for arson, having set fire to some hay. The Indian dug his way out of the jail, but before taking his liberty he set fire to the building. I was attending court at the time and was sleeping that night in the court house, when I was awakened by the most unearthly cries I ever heard, apparently coming from the jail. When I got my clothes on and rushed out the jail building was a mass of flames and the cries were coming from a prisoner named Thomas, who was serving a thirty days' sentence for petit larceny, and who was now locked up in one of the cells of the burning building. Several persons had arrived on the scene by this time, and by using the trunk of a tree which was handy, for a battering ram, we burst open the door of the jail and rescued the terrified prisoner. Thomas' clothes had caught fire, but after extinguishing the flames he was found to be not much the worse for his experience."The Territorial legislature of 1883 had enacted a law making the "town of Colville the county seat of Stevens county." At this period the records of the commissioners showed no town of Colville in existence, that is no legally filed plat of such a town and, accordingly, May 20, 1883, there was filed for record by J. W. Still a plat of the present capital of Stevens county, February 28, 1883, the town had been dedicated by W. F. Hooker and Mary J. Hooker, his wife, from land owned by John U. Hofstetter and John Wynne. May 2, 1881, at Pinkney City, bids for the erection of a new jail had been submitted by the commissioners, the contract being awarded to R. H. Douglas on his, lowest, bid of $1,200. For the purpose of providing this structure a tax of ten mills on the dollar was levied, and the same year the new jail was completed at Pinkney City.
Thus there was a new county seat, named Colville, but the county business was transacted at Pinkney City; there the jail was located and there the county records were kept until 1883. December 28, of that year the commissioners convened in special session to consider the proposition of removing the records to the legalized county seat. The full board, comprising George Waitte, Adam Boyd and John U. Hofstetter were present, together with Fred Keiling, sheriff, and H. H. Oliver, clerk. In the matter of removing the county records it was ordered that, in compliance with the law of 1883, they be taken to Colville by January 1, 1884. The privilege of removing the jail to the new town free of cost to the taxpayers of the county, was extended to the proprietors of the new town of Colville, with a proviso that they donate a block of land for the purposes of county buildings. At Colville an office for the transaction of the business of the county auditor was furnished by John U. Hofstetter at a monthly rental of $9, and one room for the joint occupancy of court and sheriff at the same rental. Until the succeeding February meeting Mr. Hofstetter undertook to furnish the county treasurer an office free of charge. At the commissioners meeting of February 26, 1884, the question of the location of the jail in the new town was considered. It was finally
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agreed among the commissioners that if Mr. John Wynne would donate five lots in Block No. l0, town of Colville, the jail and other county buildings should be located thereon; otherwise the buildings to be placed on lots belonging to Mr. Hofstetter in Block No. 14. It appears that satisfactory arrangements could not be concluded with Mr. Wynne, for on December 31, 1884, we find that a deed was presented to the county of Stevens by W. F. Hooker, and Mary J. Hooker, of Spokane county, for "Block No. 14, in the town of Colville." No county buildings were completed, however, at the time of the commissioners' meeting of February 2, 1885, for the board met on that date in various private residences. John U. Hofstetter moved the jail from Pinkney City free of charge to the county.
January 3, 1885, the report of a committee appointed to examine the financial condition of the county was submitted to the commissioners showing the total indebtedness to have been reduced to $1,471.60. This committee consisted of S. Douglas and William Moore. Measures were then taken to dispose of the old court house at Pinkney City. At the commissioners' meeting of February 3, 1885, it was ordered that "the sheriff, after taking what lumber he needs for offices in the jail, post notice and sell at public auction to the highest bidder, on four or six months' time, on good endorsed notes, the court house in the old town of Colville." This sale was approved by the commissioners May 8, 1885.
March 6, 1886, a special meeting of the commissioners of Stevens county was held at the request of Jacob Stitzel, chairman of a committee appointed to promote the erection of a new court house. Nothing appears to have "been done at this meeting, but on August 12, the commissioners decided to submit at the next general election, a proposition to vote to levy a special tax for the purpose of building a suitable court house at an estimated cost of $3,500. But at a subsequent meeting held November 11, the board decided to purchase an edifice known as the "Oppenheimer building," for court house purposes and it was deeded to the county by E. Oppenheimer and H. K. Hansen for the sum of $1,900. including two lots. D. J. Yeargain also secured the contract for making improvements to the value of $243 on the building, and here the county records were moved in February, 1887.
In 1886 the various election precincts of the county, with their voting places, were as follows: Calispel, residence of William Miller; Metaline, residence of Alex. McLean; Little Dalles, store of Peter Ellensohn; Toads Schoolar, residence of Alex. Thorp; Salmon River, residence of D. J. McGilvery; Okanogan, residence of G. Reynolds ; Old Dominion, house known as Old Dominion mining office; Camas Prairie, (the precinct known as Sequaha) was changed to Camas Prairie; Thetis; Walker's Prairie and Clugston Creek.
March 13, 1888, the commissioners leased the building and vault then employed for court house purposes, from T. D. Boyer, for a term of five years at a yearly rental of $1,000. Mr. Boyer in consideration of this contract executed a bond in the sum of $6,000 conditioned that at the expiration of the lease, and upon payment of rent, he would make over to the county a deed of this property.
September 10, 1891, it was shown that the outstanding warrants of Stevens county amounted to $53,785.16, and that there were on hand no available funds with which to redeem them. At the preceding assessment the taxable property in the county, as shown by the rolls, amounted to $2,510,019. It was deemed expedient by the commissioners to issue a call for a special election, October 13, to vote upon a proposition to issue $60,000 in county bonds. Meanwhile the supreme court of the State of Washington, which had been admitted into the union in 1889, had rendered an opinion affecting the validity of the issuance of the bonds proposed by the commissioners at their meeting
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of September l0. In consequence of this adverse decision the following was spread upon the records of the county:
"It is ordered that any and all orders heretofore made relative to the issuance of said bonds, and notice of an election therefor, be and the same are hereby, revoked and vacated."Then the board advertised to sell bonds to the amount of $35,000, or not to exceed one and one-half per cent of the assessed value of the county, and on September 25 they ordered to be issued thirty-five funding bonds of Stevens county for the sum of $1,000 each, dating December 1. 1891, and maturing December 1, 1911, at six per cent, interest. The money realized from the sale of these bonds was to be employed exclusively in liquidating the longest outstanding warrants, these warrants dating back to November 5, 1885, the principal and interest of which aggregated $33,644.47.
Almost synchronal with the admission of Washington into the union began the agitation for a railroad within the present limits of Stevens county. The rapidity with which the project gained headway, and the celerity with which the greatly desired railway development of the county was pushed to completion is energetically described by Mr. Randall H. Kemp, of Spokane, in the Colville Miner of date September 12, 1890:
A year ago last February, when D. C. Corbin, A. A. Newbury and James Monaghan returned (to Spokane) from a trip of nearly three hundred miles, made on runners, whereby they looked out the proposed route of the Spokane Falls & Northern Railway, the foundation was commenced on which one of the most important business enterprises beneficial to Spokane Falls and a vast area of country was reared. A person does not have to be an old timer to remember the alacrity with which the people of this progressive city accepted Mr. Corbin's request for a bonus of $100,000 which should be guaranteed before he commenced the construction of the road.
The board of trade took an active interest in the matter; the banker left his counting room, the editor his chair, and the merchant his ledger; the entire population of the city appeared to consider themselves a committee, and before they scarcely paused to take breath this sum was pledged and D. C. Corbin, the railroad magnate of the northwest, was actively engaged in the construction of this line which is rapidly becoming a great artery of commerce. Like all successful business men possessing that rare faculty called genius, he selected a staff of aides and assistants from the best material to be found, and from its inception up to the present, the carrying out of this collossal scheme has moved with the precision of a well-regulated clock.
It appears almost incredible that such a perfect road as the Spokane Falls & Northern could be equipped in such a short time, and the benefit that it has been to the Colville and upper Columbia country, and this city (Spokane) as well, can scarcely be realized. The days of the lumbering stage coach, the heavy freight wagon and the slow cayuse method of traveling are numbered among the things that were, and another rich section of the great northwest has received the benefits of one of the great equalizers, a modern railway.
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