The Oroville weekly gazette. [volume] (Oroville, Wash.) 1905-19??, 1920-06-18
DOUGLAS COUN-
TY PIONEER

Wednesday We were surprised and
greatly pleased to meet an old friend
in the person of Rash Wilcox, of Wat
erville, who arrived in Oroville Tues
day evening where he met brother
who had been here looking over the
country. From here Mr.. Wilcox and his
brother went to Penticton by stage.
and from that place to Lethbridge.
near which town they will visit and in-
spect mine in which MIR. Rash Wilcox
! is largely interested. The brother Is an
experienced Alaskan miner and Is anx-
| ious to look over this British Columbia
property.
Rash Wilcox was one of the first
settlers to locate at Watervi.le, and
today owns the homestead that he took
up on the edge of that flourishing town
when the whole broad land was open
to filing, and that was 81 years ago this
spring OF course this homestead Is
only fraction of Mr.. Wilcox's land
holdings, as he is a very thrifty gen.
tleman, believing in the stability OF
land as an investment, and during
the long years of residence in one OF
the richest wheat sections OF the state
he has never failed to catch on where
there was any catching Besides his
holdings in the Big Bend Mr.. wilcox
owns some 4S0 acres in Montana.
which he visits two or three times a
year and which is a comfortable and
comforting asset.
Mr.. Wilcox tells us that he landed
IN Spokane Falls early in the spring
of 1883 and the very next day started
out with several others for the Bad
ger mountain country as the Water
Vile district was indifferently known
at that period. There were only very
few scattered houses of very modest
size and appearance on the road, or
rather trail. from Spokane Falls to
the Columbia in those days. Daven-
port was known as Cottonwood
Springs, and there is where they made
their first camp. From Grand cOuleo
the party went across country on
horseback with pack animals, at last
finding themselves on Badger noun
tain. They knew it must be Badger
mountain, because there was no other
elevation in the entire country that
was entitled to the name of noun
tain. From that height the broad, bare,
vacant land spread out below them,
very attractive land to look upon.
They decended into the valley ana
drove their stakes where the town Of
Waterville now stands, water having
been struck by digging we'll at that
point, and from that fact the town
derived it's present name, for water
was scarce article in Douglas coun-
ty, at that time still part Of Spo-
kane county And there MIR. Wilcox
has stuck to this day, and the log
house that he built on his homestead
with timbers hauled in from Badger
mountain still stands as land mark.
Coming early, staying with it and
being fiend for work, frugal, care
full investor, Mr.. Wilcox has become
one of the substantial citizens of
Waterville and Douglas county. The
pioneering days of that locality were
hard ones, and the hard days lasted
long, for it is only of recent years
really that the older settlers of that
part of Central Washington have
come into their own. Under favorable
conditions the land is marvelously
productive for grain, and wheat has
enriched many of those who had a
rocky road to hoe in the earlier
stages of the country's development.
Mr. Wilcox was one of those who
stayed with the land and won out,
and the hardy. genial old pioneer de-
serves all the success that has come
to him. He is looking remarkably we'll
and fleeting years have left little i'm
preston upon his old time vigor. II
our wish would carry any influence
Mr.. Wilcox would live another SO
years to enjoy the prosperity that has
come to him through hard knocks and
sticktoitiveness.