The Oroville weekly gazette. [volume] (Oroville, Wash.) 1905-19??, 1913-10-31
BUILDING A NEW TOWN
What a Live Bunch of Hus-
tiers Have Accomplished
In This Valley
PUTTING T0NAsKET ON THE MAP
Fortunately Located the Place l.
Making Steady Growth and
Has Bright Future

Saturday while out beating the cover
along the river for game birds the
excitement of sport led us far beyond
the border of the territory in which
we intended the shooting to be con-
lined, and about the time the inner
man was craving fuel to fill a vacancy
we were in hailing distance of To-
nasket. To Tonasket the hunters
headed their car, where that pioneer
caterer, of the high forehead and the
genial smile. Charlie Gerhard, speed
lily supplied the material to dull the
the edge of appetite.
For the first time since Tonasket,
the present Tonasket, has borne the
name we had an opportunity to spend
few minutes in the place. 1t was
not a propitious time to pay visit,
for the bulk of the population, moved
by the spirit of eterprise that has
made it possible even to start town
where the town is started-and given
good start-were out working upon
one of the several roads that radiate
out from the town into the surround
ing country like the spokes of wheel
They have Good Roads club at To-
nasket. and it's existence is not con-
fined simply to a name. 1t is not
crippled as to usefulness by somno-
lency. 1t Is a live, wide awake or
ganization in which membership is
not considered simply ornamental, and
they let their light SO shine in the
way of good deeds in the matter of
actual accomplishment in the way of
road mending that they are creating
a reputation for Tonasket as live
center on the outside, and securing
the blessings of the farmers who use
the roads, on the inside, at least inside
of the radius Of the circle the outer
circumference of which is some miles
beyond the town limits.
Tonasket in it's present location is
very new town, as everything about
it would indicate. The name Tomas
ket is as old as the county itself, be-
ing the cognoman of an Indian chief
Moreover, the name as applied to the
present town was pilfered from the
old Tonasket postoffice, for there has
been station on the Okanogan river
known as Tonasket as far back as
the memory of the white settler run
meth. In the days of yOre w. w
Parry had store, lodging house
where the wayfarer was given rest and
feed, livery stable. blacksmith
shop, and that almost inseperable ad'
junct to all villages in earlier days
a saloon. He was postmaster, genera
boss and monarch of all he surveyed
He also owned and operated cable
ferry, an important income producer
overlooked in the enumeration of the
possessions, the only ferry on the rivel
for miles north and south. Parry:
or Tonasket as it was more generally
known, as that was the pOstOffice, wa.
a popular crossing and great rendez
vous for freighters and travellers
There we're a sufficient number o
structures, such as they were, to giv'
Tonasket the appearance of village
Parry prospered, and he could hardl.
help himself, as business steadil.
flowed his way and there was pros
pect of Tonasket becoming quite
commercial center. But Parry wen
fluey, which is a story this item ha
nothing to do with, the railroad fol
lowed the east bank of the river in
stead of the west, as was at one tim
hoped for, and old TOnasket Is nov
but a memory. In all probability ha
the railroad built along the west ban
of the river the present Tonaske
would never have come into existence
Such are the freaks of chance.
But this is a wide digressiOn
was only referred to as a means G
pointing out the derivation OF tn
name attached to the present town G
Tonasket. When the Oroville-Wenat
chez branch was decided upon mum
ber of the live residents of the mort
mart of the county decided that tn
wide vacant stretch of country be
tween Oroville and Riverside left a
opening for a town, and as bridg
had been thrown over the Okanoga
river very providentially at the mos
unapproachable point on the west SID
land at the east side approach to tn
bridge was selected as townsite. Ou
memory is a trifle faded, and 1t ma
be Just possible that the site OF tn
bridge was selected after the re;
estate was purchased for town pul