Aberdeen herald. [volume] (Aberdeen, Chehalis County, W.T.) 1886-1917, 1911-10-19
How Aberdeen Secured First
Railroad by Building
Four Mile of Road
PIONEERS LIVE BOOSTERS LAY HAVE BASEBALL
The Early Builders Of the City
Proved Their Faith By
Their Works.
written by request for the Herald

written by request for the Herald
by c. F. Corkl)
traveller who has reached the
summit of ragged hill looks back
over the toilsome ascent and finds
that distance has merged into the
gentle slope all OF the difficulties he
has encountered. In the events of
life, time also eliminates the prob
lematcal by bringing forth solutions,
and one. considering past events,
wonders wherein We're the difficulties
in the paths of achievement.
Today it would be small matter
for the citizens of Aberdeen to build
three Or four miles of railroad A
subscription for an amount necessary
to do the work would be more than
filled in an hours time. considering
that some of Grays Harbor's logging
concerns are building more than that
amount or railroad every year. But
what would present no difficulties to
the Aberdeen of TO day required most
strenuous eXertion to the Aberdeen
of the nineties, and one finds it al
most impossible to fully comprehend
the obstacles which confronted the
pioneers of the city when they decid
ed to build for themselves a railroad
from Junction city to the east bank
ofaffe Wishkah river
II ie Of b,t IN,
the days of Aberdeen's infancy the
Northern Pacific Railroad company
extended to it none of the genial
felcities of which the city is now
the recipient, and the city's struggle
to secure recognition from this great
corporation brought forth display
of loyalty and pluck which ultimately
became victorious through sheer
strength of merit.
In the early spring of 1890, G. W.
Hunt, successful railroad contrac
tor, and one of the first promoters
to realize the Importance of this
point, came here to secure right-Of-
way for railroad from Aberdeen to
Centralia, to make juncture with
the Northern Pacific at that city. He
succeeded in securing the necessary
options and then went east to finance
the proposition, where he failed to
float his bonds.
In the meantime the Northern Paci
fic Railroad company had built a line
to Montesano, and had made an ef
fort to reach Aberdeen, offering to
build the extension if the residents
of the city would donate the right-of
way and make other gifts of land The
local property owners, being in ag-
reement with Hunt. and expecting his
line to be built refused to listen to
the overtures of the Northern Pacific,
and the company then extended line
down the south bank of the Chehalis
river, ignoring the greater import
ance of the north side.
In 1894 the Northern Pacific Rail-
road company went into the hand of
receivers. Mr.. McHenry, one Of the
receivers, and chief engineer of the
company, had made a thorough in
vestigation of the HarbOr and fully
appreciated the value of Aberdeen to
railroad. Joseph McCabe, superin-
tendent of the western division and
most practical railroad man was
also friendly to the city, and ultimate
ly the influence of these gentlemen
was of inestimable value to Aber-
deem.
1t was in the spring of the year
1894 that the citizens of the city,
realizing at last that the Hunt line
was a tasco, began to cast about for
ways and means of securing rail ia
cilities. The receivership of the North.
ern Pacific made it impossible for the
road to make further extensions to
its line, and the matter was of so
great a deadlock that Col. Huestis,
one of the company's contractors, ad-
vised the people of the city to build
a wagon road to the Y, as this would
be the only way Aberdeen would ever
get railroad connection.