Aberdeen herald. [volume] (Aberdeen, Chehalis County, W.T.) 1886-1917, 1898-06-30
Chehalis County.

The following succint description OF the
development and resources, from the pen
OF Geo. II. Emerson, appeared in the
special edition Of the Seattle Post Intelli-
gencer and is we'll worthy of reproduc-
ton:
Chehalis county lies central between
the Columbia and the Straits, with Grays
llmhor as its outlet to the sea. Its posi-
ton indicates commercial possibilities.
amt the large watershed tributary to the
harbor, with its closely woven network Of
streams, bears ont that conc,usion. The
impression gained from the map is st,s-
tanned 10y better knowledge; the country
is iairly level, with rich bottoms on its
many streams, covered with heavy tim
Der, but giving promise Of the growth of
agriculture as the forests recede.
Inmwater and Olympia were among
the first settlements in the state AS the
| pioneers followed the elk they perhaps
discovered the Black river, only six miles
IRON their homes, and as that stream
must have been we'll supplied with beaver
it is not strange that they should have
begun its exploration. The rest follows
Black river led them to the Chehalis, with
wide river bottoms, and the Chehalis to
Grays Harbor, with its 81 100 acres of
open "tide prairie" covered with nutri-
tious grass. Then they cut trails. drove
in cattle and established an Arcadia"
where spinning wheels, tallow dips,
knitting needles and milkmaids could be
found as late as 1882.
With the spring Of that year the brig
Orient sailed into the harbor with the
machinery and lumber for the first steam
saw mil! then came the awakening, and
wants, like weeds, grew fast.
At Cosmopols there was u water mill
with one saw, a 46-inch circular, operated
by turbine; after each cut the mill was
stopped to allow water to accumulate in
the flume, and tie crew lit their pipes
and discussed the next cut. The logs
were cedar, split into bolts, then the hearts
split out. This was the one industry in
the county in 1887, land of recent origin.
The mail came from Astoria by way Of
Oysterville and Peterson's point to Ho.
GUAM in three days, and went out via
Elma and Oakville to Olympia in three
more. Indian canoes were the convey
ances used ON the harbor; sail, ON Shoal-
water bay.
The arcadia" dissolved with the ad.
vent OF saw mills and vessels, and soon
towns grew where cattle had ranged, and
the "Evangelines," "Maud Mullers"
and "Milkmaids" disappeared.
Hoquiam sprang,up, and was soon fol-
lowed by Aberdeen, Cosmopolis and
Montesano, in each of which mills were
built. and later by several boom towns,
sometimes with and sometimes without
industries.
Then call the land was full Of people,
struggling, toiling, striving and Con-
tentment 'foded it's tents like the Arabs,
and as silently stole away"
Today the county is reached by rail
from Centralia in two hours to Aberdeen,
and within few weeks Hoquiam will be
a railroad station.
Chehalis county has an area OF q ,OO4
square miles and population at the last
census OF 8, 797 estimated at 1900 at the
present time.
Delaware has $50 square miles less area
and population OF 10000. Rhode Is
land has only one-half the area and
population of $4,000. Cheh alis county
has greater resources, better elm ate, more
fertile soil and nearly as good harbol
as either OF these states. 1t has, also, tai
greater tributary country and is on coas
where harbors are much more rare
What. then, may not its future be?
To the east, in Lewis county, are vas
deposits Of coal and iron; to the NORTH
the Olympic peninsula, with its untouched
forest, of cedar, spruce, fir and hemlock
also its unknown mineral wealth, all o
which must find egress to the sea a
Grays IIarbor.
rhe rapid advancement OF the count.
is shown by the shipping OF lumber II
build its first steam mill at lloqulam II
1882. and the shipping out OF S3,0oo,o o
feet OF lumber by water and lI,O0o,o
feet by rail in 1897; by the increase OF 1t
assessed valuation from 1916 900 IN 1873
to $6, S27 900 in 1897; by the increase Z
population from $50 in 1882 to about ~
600 in 1898. TO these shipments OF lum
. her must be added 2)9, 900, 900 shingles
rs 800 cases OF salmon, and also Z9o'oo
hounds OF fresh salmon shipped ont i
1897.
The total shipments OF Lumber from lSS
to 1898. also oil lumber aud shingles 10
1897. are shown in the following table
To January /, lS9s-
, Lumber Lumber ShinSlt
Evan bv water by rail. by rail
,hordner 24.41i0O0 100000 2ls,O00,OC
Uoouiam 3S2,600,000 l4,3Oo,ooo ..'..''
t Cosmopolis .162,9o7 600 3OHo'oUo l'l'ooo'o'
,,~,,tosoro %. s2s. 600 100000 100000
l,hut t .'.''' 100000 100000 100000
tRA M IN