The Oroville weekly gazette. [volume] (Oroville, Wash.) 1905-19??, 1910-06-24
NEW Town OF TONASKET
A Candidate for Metropolitan Hon.
ors in the Okanogan Valley
That Has a Future.

In company with Manager J. A.
Blackler, of the Orovill Townsite COM
pany, the writer made a trip to Ton
asket Tuesday. Tonasket is the new
est candidate for metropolitan honors
in Okanogan county, and its promoters
are laying plans to build at the mouth
of Siwash creek, on the Okanogan
river, model town. The townsite is
located on a point of land between ST.
wash and Bonaparte creeks, on the east
side of the Okanogan river. The
ground recedes in three directions
from the center of the tOwnsite, and in
the lower part of town, near the river,
is located the station grounds of the
OrOville-Wen branch of the
Great Northern. The streets are wider
than generally found in the smaller
towns, and several thousand dollars
are to be spent in grading them accord
ing to the statements of the promoters.
The owners of the townsite and the
land surrounding it is the Bonaparte
Land company, corporation organ
lied last winter with Clay Fruit, Ar
thur Lund, G.. E. Blackwell, Il. C.
Dodge and County Commissioner r. L.
Picken as the principal stockholders.
The incorporators are we'll known in
dividually as boosters, and with their
collective ability in that line turned in
the direction of town buildi ng at Ton
asket there is little doubt that their
efforts will meet with a large degree
of success. AS yet the town and its
development is mostly on paper, but
foundations are being laid for extern
sive improvements. w. J. Dorwin, of
Conconully, is on the ground with a
brick machine, and will begin work
within few days. AS soon as the
brick is burned Mr.. Lund will erect q
two-story banking builning, and bank
will be organized. Mr.. Dorwin will
also erect substantial brick block.
Street grading will commeuce.in few
days, the work probably being done by
the railroad contractors who will COM
plete their work in that locality in the
next two weeks. M. T. Schweikert,
the Havillah Touring mill man, is max
ing preparations to build mill in the
western part of town, and will move
there as soon as it is completed. M.
E. Peterson conducts general mer-
chandise store, and c. E. Blackwell, of
Riverside, will establish a mercantile
business there in the near future. Ha-
ley brothers have meat market in
operation in a new building, and Chas.
Gerhardt, formerly of this place is run
ming a restaurant in a small shack,
while carpenters are putting up a
22x5O foot building on Main street,
which he will move into during the
next two weeks. Willard Young, form
erly of Loomis, operates drug store,
and Commissioner Picken looks after
the interests of the townsite company.
These at present are all the business
interests represented there, but the
promoters state that many other estab-
lishments will be in operation as soon
as the railroad is completed.
Tonasket is an excellently located
town from a standpoint of business.
The nearest towns are Oroville II miles
north, Riverside II miles south, and
Loomis and Conconully 20 miles west,
either far enough away that their
business interests cannot clash with
those of the new town, and yet near
enough that there is no likelihood of
towns being built nearer. The Antoine
valley country lies to the east, with
Tonasket the natural outlet. On the
west, and across the river, is the Pine
creek country, Whitestone valley and
Horse Spring coulee. A steel bridge
is to be built by the county across the
Okanogan at Tonasket, connecting the
town with all the country west. A
state road crosses the river at that
point, and state money will be used to
defray a share of the cost Of the bridge.
In the near future there will be sever
al good towns along the Okanogan val
ley between Oroville and the mouth of
the river, and just now everything
seems to indicate that one of them will
be at the new townsite at Tonasket.