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This Week Then
2/23/2023
Starting Up
Several Washington communities got their start this week in history, beginning on February 23, 1869, when Waitsburg in Walla Walla County was platted around a gristmill built by Sylvester M. Wait. On February 24, 1893, plats were filed for Monte Cristo (shown above) in Snohomish County. The town enjoyed a brief mining boom, but flooding soon compromised access and it eventually turned into a ghost town.
Other Washington towns and cities that celebrate anniversaries this week include Winlock, which incorporated on February 28, 1883; Cle Elum, which incorporated on February 24, 1902; Langley, which officially became a town on February 26, 1913; and East Wenatchee, whose voters approved incorporation on February 28, 1935. In King County, SeaTac and Federal Way both got their start on the same day, February 28, 1990. And nearby Burien celebrates its 30th anniversary this week, having been incorporated on February 28, 1993.
And finally, two Washington counties also have birthdays this week. On February 24, 1909, Grant County was created when Douglas County was split in half by the state legislature. Ephrata – which incorporated a few months later – was chosen as the county seat. And on March 1, 1911, Governor Marion Hay signed a bill creating Pend Oreille County, with Newport as the county seat.
Crashing Down
This week in 1910, incessant snowfall prevented two trains bound from Spokane to Seattle from proceeding past the town of Wellington, close to Stevens Pass. On February 28 the snow turned to rain, and at 1:42 a.m. on March 1, thunderstorms dislodged a half-mile-wide snow shelf high above. Wet snow and ice roared down the hillside, gathering boulders, trees, and stumps, along its deadly path. The avalanche barely missed Wellington, but slammed into the two trains. Locomotives, carriages, and 125 passengers and crew members were swept down the mountainside in what remains the deadliest avalanche disaster in U.S. history.
The gruesome task of retrieving the mangled bodies – 96 in all – from the wreckage was directed by Great Northern Railroad Superintendent James H. O'Neill, who days earlier had led an unsuccessful effort to clear the tracks and free the trains from their alpine prison. Meanwhile, Great Northern boss and "Empire Builder" James J. Hill monitored events from his offices in St. Paul, Minnesota.
Later that year, Wellington was renamed Tye, to disassociate it from the horrific disaster. The depot closed after a new tunnel was built in the Cascades in 1929, and the town eventually faded away into memory. The disaster site and old railroad grade were reclaimed by the forest, but thanks to the efforts of Ruth Ittner and her hardy band of volunteers, you can explore the area by hiking the Iron Goat Trail, which opened in 1993.
