Diablo Dam incline railway climbing Sourdough Mountain, 1930. Courtesy Seattle Municipal Archives, 2306.
Children waving to ferry, 1950. Courtesy Museum of History and Industry.
Loggers in the Northwest woods. Courtesy Washington State Digital Archives.
Four Seasons Hotel Seattle • 10.06.2022 @ 11:30 AM
After more than 100 years of dreaming, we will have a new central waterfront park, where people can gather to continue old traditions and create new ones.
Join us on October 6 at the Four Seasons for HistoryLunch as we look at how the stories of Dzidzilalich and Seattle are woven together, and marvel at an immersive experience that will reveal the Waterfront Park to come.
On October 5, 1855, at Toppenish Creek in present-day Yakima County, shots were exchanged between Yakama warriors and U.S. Army troops, marking the start of the Yakama War. Trouble had begun four months earlier when Territorial Governor Isaac Stevens convened the First Walla Walla Council for the express purpose of acquiring tribal lands to open them up for settlement. When it came time to sign the Yakama Treaty, Chief Kamiakin at first refused, but later did so under duress.
Stevens assured tribal leaders that white miners and settlers would not be allowed to trespass on tribal land until the treaty was ratified. Gold-rushing miners ignored this and crossed tribal land, at times stealing Indian horses and mistreating Indian women. In September, three miners were killed after entering the Yakama Reservation, and when U.S. Indian subagent Andrew J. Bolon came to investigate, he too was killed. At this point, the U.S. Army sent troops, who were outnumbered at Toppenish Creek near where Bolon had been slain. They were forced to retreat in this first battle of what would become a three-year war.
In November, at Union Gap, more than 700 soldiers, including U.S. troops and a contingent of Oregon and Washington volunteers, fought with Yakama and other warriors. This time the Indians were forced to flee, but in the spring civilians and soldiers were attacked and ambushed at the Cascades of the Columbia and at Satus Creek. In September, Governor Stevens convened the Second Walla Walla Council in the hope of ending hostilities, but he and his military escort had to fight their way to safety.
In May of 1858 Yakama, Palouse, Spokane, and Coeur d'Alene warriors routed U.S. troops near the eastern border of Washington. This was to be their last major victory. In September, army troops led by Colonel George Wright won decisive battles at Four Lakes and Spokane Plains. Wright then ordered the slaughter of some 800 Palouse horses and the destruction of food supplies used by the tribes. After Wright murdered Yakama and Palouse prisoners, tribal resistance collapsed. The Yakama Treaty was ratified in 1859, and Eastern Washington was opened to non-Native settlement.
River Town
On September, 30, 1907, Okanogan in North Central Washington voted to incorporate as a town. The vote was 74 to 1. Settled in 1888 as Alma, the town was renamed Pogue in 1905 in honor of a prominent citizen. But when it came time to incorporate, the name Okanogan was chosen due to the community's location on the Okanogan River in Okanogan County, and its proximity to the fledgling Okanogan Irrigation Project.
The site of Okanogan was used for thousands of years as a camping ground and fishing area by the Southern Okanogan Tribe, also known as the Sinkaietk or Uknaqinx, as well as by several other tribes of the mid-Columbia region. Non-Native settlers arrived in 1860, but it wasn't until 1888 that a county seat was established. That honor went to the mining town of Ruby City, but voters were so disgusted that a town of "whores, thieves, and drunkards" should represent the county's interests that the seat was moved to Conconully.
In 1893 Conconully was hit hard by the collapse of the silver market, and the following year was wiped out by a flood. In 1914 the Great Northern Railway arrived and Okanogan -- which had also received some prominence thanks to Japanese American photographer Frank Matsura -- succeeded in a spirited campaign to wrest the county seat from Conconully.
News Then,History Now
Produce Collections
From September 30 to October 2, 1885, the first Kittitas County Fair was held near Ellensburg. The first Puyallup Fair began on October 4, 1900, and on October 2, 1906, the first San Juan County Fair opened in Friday Harbor.
Important Elections
On October 1, 1889, voters chose Washington's first state officials, and although Olympia was selected as the state capital, it did not receive a majority of votes. One month later, a second election was held among the top three vote-getters. Ellensburg received 7,722, North Yakima gathered 6,276, and Olympia tallied a whopping 37,413 votes, making it the clear winner and home to the state Capitol Building ever since.
On September 30, 1968, the public got a close-up view of the first 747 Jumbo Jet at its rollout in Everett, and many were impressed with its sheer size. Four months later the 747 took its first flight and flew for more than an hour while a three-man crew performed a series of tests, including sideslips and a simulated loss of hydraulic power.
Mountain Terrain
On October 2, 1968, President Lyndon B. Johnson signed the bill that created North Cascades National Park. Farther south along the mountain chain, the Iron Goat Trail opened on October 2, 1993, thanks to the efforts of volunteers like Ruth Ittner.
Back Here Again
On October 3, 2017, nonagenarian Günter Gräwe, a prisoner of war during World War II, returned to visit his former Fort Lewis prison camp, now part of Joint Base Lewis-McChord (JBLM), in Pierce County. Months earlier, Grawe contacted HistoryLink after finding our Fort Lewis essays online, and we were quite surprised when he later showed up in Seattle on a bicycle wondering if we could facilitate his visit to the base. As Marie McCaffrey explains in this delightful People's History, we were more than happy to help.
