, 1888-06-14
Settlements On PUGET Sound.

The flI-t settlement cG PGget
SQUAD -raF ngI- IN 1875. IT what Is
arw Ta1I.Tatrv Ly Colonel Michael
!. SimuaU-. with Lis own aud sever
IA other iau,E-s Colonel simmons
had originally intended TO settle in
Southern Oregon. but the evident re-
!Hc;aLcn Of the agents of the Hudson
Bay Company 70 have settlers enter
the country north If the Columbia
river aronsed his curiosity and he
det-ra1iued - explore the country al
all events. This exploration ended
in the scttl emeGJ II 'tumWataT and
gained for Colonel Sin MONS the dis
t:ucsIou o.. being the first permanent
American settler IN Washington
Territory Speaking Of this and
other settlements which Immediately
followed. Hon. H q. sSturve. in the
address before referred TO, says:
In the fall Of lS45. Colonel Simmons
started with George Wanch and
few others Tor this terra iHcoGadC,
aud procuring the services Of oil
Peter D-rcier. an old French yoya-
ger, and the servant of the Hudson
Bay Company. rs guide, the party
was engaged for period of fifteen
days in cutting their waE from Cow
li'z landing 10 Iumwater, a distance
u fifty eight miles. Whero theF ar
rived late ia October. 1915. and whore
the Co,ourl took the claim OF Hum-
water, calling ii NsT-naEket, and the
balance OF his party settled in the
sane ueighborh0oi, or what is now
known as bush prairie Damei after
George Bush. Il C0lored man. who
settled there the same year and whose
generous hospitality 10 suffering en-
! igrautS earned for him tife gratitude
and respect OF all people aud INDUCED
/ congress 10 donate to him the $40
acres Of land upon which ne had set
! t!eH, and which, under existing laws
! discriminating against colored paU
! pie, he could not otherwise acquire.
In lS45 Sidney ). Fore, ST., and
| Joseph BOrst settled at the contiu-
/ ence Of Skookuinchuck and Ghehalls
rIyeTa, and the same year Edmund
Sylvester, Levi Smith. y c. Robbesou
aud i. IL Poe arrived, and all made
PERMANENT SETTLEMENT.
Mr.. Smith mad. his residence up
Oh what afterwarI became the town
site OF Olympia, AMI which be Gfter-
wards called Smithfeld, while Mr
Sylvester, his partner, took his claim
on the edge of Chambers prairie
until the sad death Of Mr.. Smith by
drowning shortEy $ aftorward, when by
| right of suTviv0rsmD be took thf
Gmi;bfall claim and established auo
founded the site of the present capi
tai IF this Territory. the name OF
Olympia being suggested by The
beautiful snOw-capped range consti
! tuting the glorious scenery in ful
view OF that point. At this time tn,
| provisional 6 yerument OF Oregon
exercised jurisdiction. the whole OF
| oar Territory constituted the single
county or district OF Vancouver, ot
which james Douglas. afterwarC
governor Of British Columbia, Col,
oncl II. 7. Simmons and Jas. Forrest
were the first county commissioners
| Shortly afterwards the county wa:
d vided by the organization of Levi.
county. embracing all the territory
north Of the Columbia and west ot
the Cowlitz river, and Of Clarke coun
comprizing the balance OF the Terri
tory, with the crest of ths Rocky
Mountains constituting its eastern
boundary. In August, 1913. con,
gress passed the long delayed act or
ganlzIng
THE TERRITORY OF OREGON,
BY which the national government
| fer the first time eXteud ded its protec
ton over these isolated shores, anG
shortly afterward the territrrial gov,
ernment, with Gen. Lane at lis head
was successfully inaugerated. l.
the meantime quite large numbel
of emigrauts had sought and founC
homes on the praiIies aud fertile
| spots on water courses ana different
parts OF our territory. The discov'
cry of gold in California in 1S4!
caused, however, general rush fol
the mines. Many abandoned then
farms and neglected to sow or har
vest crops. While money was plenty
enough, all improvements were sus-
pended and all industrial pursuit.
stagnated and the price of labor and
produce advanced to exorbtant rates
In 1850 Daniel T. bradford ant
L. y Chenowith, afterwards jus,
tice of cur supreme conrt, located al
the Cascades of the Columbia, anC
established there town of thai
name. In the same year Edward d
Warbass settled upon the claim al
The old CowlitZ landing, near the
present town of Toledo, laid off !
town cslled Warbassport, opened q
store and engaged IN the forwarding
and commission business.
Colonel Isaac n Ebey, afterwards
q collector of customs, setteled on :
claim on WILDLY Island, nearly op-
posite Port Townsend. where he re,
sided until his tragic death at the
hands of the northern Indians in Au-
gust, 1856.
"In January, 1851, Capt Lafay-
ette Balch established the towesite
of Port Sleilacoom. taking the name
from the creek Just north, now
known as Chambers creek, and ct
the mouth Of which the Touring mill
was afterwards erected by Thomas
Chambers, In August, 1851. Alfred
A. Plummer took up claim includ-
ing Port Hudson and the present
Port Townsend beach. and the next
year was joined by L. Il. Hastings
and f. w. Pettigroye. who also tool
claims, and each contributed a por-
ton of their claims and dedicated as
a town the site of the present -four
ishing CITY of Port Townsend.
I'm February of the same year,
congress created
THE COLLECTION DISTRICT OF PUGET
! SOUND,
With Olympia as the Port of entry.
La May President Fillmore appoints
ed as collector of customs for the
npW district S,,,,nnnr, ID N =