The Colville examiner. [volume] (Colville, Wash.) 1907-1948, 1920-01-03
Colville's First Skyscraper
Moved from Main Street

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he always had with him as a public
repository, accepted the fees and
went on about his carpentry. Kins-
ley died while an incumbent of the
office of county auditor, and for a
time there was great commotion
among people who had filed instru-
ments for record because they were
not to be found. The late Jacob
Stitzel, who was appointed admin
istrator of the Kinsley estate, in
marshalling the effects of the estate
found the old overcoat hanging in
woodshed. A hole in the pocket had
let down the records as they were
deposited into the spacious folds Of
the lining and they were recovered
to the great relief of the public. Mr..
Stitzel spent many months after
wards reducing these instruments
to the records of the county.
This building was we'll constructed,
finished in wide pattern of rustic,
painted drab, cloth and paper with
in, and was the show place of town.
The cost is not definitely known but
estimates place it at $4,000. All the
material was obtained at the local
mills excepting the hardware. There
were jealousies and rivalry then as
we'll as now John L. Hofstetter
noted in his mind that Montgomery
had chosen to boom the north end of
Main street. The next year he
built a very much larger and more
imposing building at the south end
of Main street opposite where Hotel
Colville now stands. He had no
trouble in securing a tenant and
large stock of merchandise was in
stalled by Herman Zwang who was
later joined in the enterprise by
Isaac Baum. Montgomery, who had
held sway as the merchant prince of
the town up to that time, found COM
petition the keenest he had ever ex-
perinced. He had operated at a per-
iod when no change less than a dime
was accounted. Cutting the corners
with nickles came with the new or
der of things. To add to the hard
luck of the first builder, the demo-
cratic party had risen to power in
the election of Grover Cleveland to
the presidency, and a democrat, c. S.
Voorhees,, had been elected to con-
gress. Montgomery was republican
and as such was able to hold the
postoffice. John B. Slater had start
ed the first newspaper in the town.
1t was democratic to the core and
Montgomery, who was county COM
missioner, refused to pay for county
printing done at the request of the
auditor, for the reason, it is said,
that. Slater had not rented a room
for his printing office in the north
end of town. A warm controversy
arose over the affair and Mont
gomery opened the war by starting
a rival newspaper in a field where
there was not room or patronage for
one. Slater retaliated by organizing
a campaign for the postoffice, and
though successful in securing a COM
mission he had to take the postal
records from the building by force
and moved them to a building erect
ed by J. H. Young opposite the
Hickey block.
L. w. Meyers, who had traded a
race horse for quarter section of
land adjoining town on the north,
plated the ground and rapidly &C
cumulated a fortune of considerable
magnitude. He was ambitions, too,
to build a monument to his activities
as a pioneer builder and the Meyers
Opera house was erected on the cor
ner of the same block of the Mont
gomery building. This building was
larger than both the other buildings
mentioned and, at the time, was re-
corded as the largest building north
of Walla Walla in the state of Wash
ington. Montgomery went out of
business about 1886, and moved to
Chewelah. L. w. Meyers purchased
the building which he possessed for
many years and at his death it went
to his heirs.
These three monuments to the en-
terprise of the fathers of Colville,
built with their fortunes drawn from
the resources of a new country, have
been sold for mere pittance to be
replaced by commodious brick and
cement blocks. The Montgomery
building is being removed to Wynne
street to be remodeled for use as
an apartment house. The Meyers
building is just now in process Of
demolition, to give way to the Gates
Garage. The Hofstetter building
was wrecked by Willett Bros. when
they built their new garage. with
the passing of the builders the an
imosities of the early times have
been swept into the discard
C. H. Montgomery, the builder OF