The bill was signed by Territorial Governor William Newell in December of that same year.
Early commerce is believed to have been limited to foraging.
It is known that Indians collected duck eggs around Moses Lake before moving on to their favorite fishing grounds along the Snake and Palouse rivers. Early white settlers passed through the county only as a means of traveling between outposts in Spokane and Okanogan. In 1855, a military road was built between Fort Walla Walla on the Columbia River and Fort Benton on the Missouri River. Eventually, a branch road was built to Fort Colville. The branch fell in southeast Adams County, along Cow Creek.