Miscellaneous newspaper articles about Yakima County Washington
February 7, 1873
Morning Oregonian, Portland Oregon
Surveyors have gone to Yakima county with the intention of laying out a town in Kittitas valley, Yakima county. It is thought that the most suitable place will be at a place known as "The Roost." This place is situated in a central place, and is surrounded by the beautiful Kititas valley, which is rapidly filling up. In so fine a valley there must of necessity be a lively little town spring up.
Yakima County, W.T., is flourishing. We hear that she does not owe a dollar, and that here scrip is worth its face. This is a good starter, and we hope to see out neighboring county always in as good circumstances.
February 10, 1873
Morning Oregonian, Portland Oregon
J.A. Balch has been appointed Probate Judge of Yakima county, W.T.
The new town in Kittitas Valley, Yakima County, W.T., is to be called the "The Roost."
February 24, 1873
Morning Oregonian, Portland Oregon
The Dalles paper is informed that everything in Yakima Valley,
Washington Territory, is progressing finely. The winter has been quite mild and
live stock of all kinds has passed through it excellently. There are now about
20,000 head of cattle in Yakima county. Hay is selling at from $2.50 to $7 per
ton. Butter brings 50 cents, and cheese there is none made. Wheat, $1 per
bushel; oats, 75 cents, and flour from $6 to $8 per barrel. Mr. Schanno
undertook to come over the Yakima mountain, but finding the snow from four to
eight feet deep he retraced his steps and came through the Canyon, on the divide
of which the snow was about eight inches deep. Owing to the fact that the Canyon
road is in a bad condition in some places, a great number of people of the
Yakima Valley go to Wallula and Umatilla for trading. It is Mr. Schanno's
opinion -------------------------------------------------------
February 26, 1876
Morning Oregonian, Portland Oregon
On Saturday, the 12th inst., Mr. Whitson found the safe of Yakima county (a trunk) in the rear of the county jail-in which is also the treasurer's office-minus about $2,000, currency and coin. The robbery is supposed to have been committed on the night of the 8th but the money was never missed until the trunk was found outside. It is supposed the robbers effected an entrance by reaching through the grating of the hall door and turning the key, which was left in the lock, and then breaking the padlock on the cell door where the money was kept. A reward of $1,000 and 25 per cent of the money that may be recovered is offered for the apprehension and conviction of the thief.
March 12, 1878
Morning Oregonian, Portland Oregon
Notes From Yakima
Yakima City, W.T., Feb. 28, 1878
To the Editor of the Oregonian:
Oldest inhabitants say, they have never had a winter like this. It has been a
mixture of rain and snow and alternate freezing and thawing. The thermometer has
not indicated colder weather than twenty degrees above zero. Stock has done well
on the range without feed. To be sure animals are not fat enough for beef, but
are considered by stock men in good condition. Some eastern cattle men have been
in this part of the country buying this winter. They have succeeded in buying
15,000 head, mostly from Yakima county. We understand they want 5,000 more.
Parties through this part of the country having sold them, have received notice
to deliver their cattle at White Bluffs on or before April 1st. They want also
400 head of riding horses and over 100 men to help drive. They offer $40 a month
and furnish everything. These parties will leave near a quarter of a million
dollars among the stock men of the northwest territories.
A mass meeting of the citizens of this county was held
in Yakima City last Saturday to express their opinions and pass resolutions
relative to the Seattle & Walla Walla and Northern Pacific railroads; Wm.
Masters in the chair, H.M. Benton, Secretary. Several speeches were made on the
subject, but the opinions were all on one side, namely; that of the Northern
Pacific. Resolutions were passed expressing their confidence in, and their
preference for, the branch line of the N.P.R.R. Great interest is manifested in
this matter in Yakima county.
Yakima City was thrown in a tremor of excitement last week,
when some of the "early birds" made the discovery that the safe of S. Barker,
one of Yakima's permanent merchants, have been burglarized. The parties had
effected an entrance at one of the back windows by taking out a pane of glass,
thus enabling them to remove the catches on the inside. They made their way
through the window. The safe, which was a small sized Tilden & McFarland, they
rolled to the back door, dumped it on a pair of hand trucks, and then took it
through the middle of the street to the suburbs about a quarter of a mile from
the store. There they proceeded to demolish it by chopping through the door.
They succeeded in obtaining about $800 in cash, but they were doubtless
disappointed, as they expected a much larger haul. Only the day before, Mr.
Barker had sent away again entered and a quantity of goods taken; no clue to the
robbers.
The bunch grass is springing up and the hills look perfectly
green. "K---O."
August 24, 1878
Morning Oregonian, Portland Oregon
James H. Imbrie, Esq., from Yakima county is in the city on business, and will remain here some days before returning. James looks very rugged, from which it can safely be inferred that the bracing air of that region agrees with him. He is engaged in the stock business and is, we are pleased to learn, doing very well.
November 6, 1879
Morning Oregonian, Portland Oregon
It is proposed to dig an irrigating ditch through Parker bottom in Yakima county.
June 2, 1880
Morning Oregonian, Portland Oregon
Kittitas valley, Yakima county, is 35 miles long and 15 miles wide, and is one of the most beautiful and fertile of the many valleys of Eastern Washington.
A new grist mill of first class equipment and proportions is soon to be added to the industries of Yakima City.
February 15, 1881
Morning Oregonian, Portland Oregon
Wm. Lewis writes from Ellensburg, Yakima county during the latter part of January. We are having a hard winter in this region. We have had snow since the 9th of December and it is now 20 inches deep with a heavy crust. Three-fourths of all the cattle will perish. Horses will also suffer severely.
January 11, 1882
Morning Oregonian, Portland Oregon
Yakima Record: All the settlers in this portion of Yakima county are farmers and stockraisers. Some few have gone into hop raising, and the experiments in that line give ample proof that the soil here is well adapted to the growth of hops. We are pleased to note, too, that amber cane, though little grown as yet, has been attended with satisfactory results. We would like to see an enlargement of the field in this kind of industry. A more thorough test is much needed, though the experiments thus far made in these new industries have proved eminently successful.
The following statement shows the increase of schools and school children in Yakima county within the past few years: In 1868 there were but six school districts in the county, only 116 children of school age and not a school house in the county. In 1881 there were 24 school districts, 20 school houses and 1121 children of school age. During the school year ending Aug. 31, 1881, the county treasurer paid out for school purposes $4,610. 22 and there was still in his hands, subject to the orders of the different districts, about $2000. Every school district in the county has had the advantage of at least three months of public school during the past year, and more than half of them have maintained six months terms.
February 23, 1882
Morning Oregonian, Portland Oregon
NEWS NOTES FROM YAKIMA
----- Correspondence of the Oregonian
Yakima City, Feb. 19
W.D. Ogden, who has been confined in his room for the past three weeks is again
on the streets.
Messrs. Lockwood & Cooper, owners of the Schaffer mine in this county, passed through here last week en route to their mine, having with them quite a lot of miners. The propose to commence operations as soon as possible. They expect to work 50 men in the mine all summer.
The calico ball here on the 14th inst. was a grand success. All the ladies and many of the gentlemen were in full calico. Some of the suits were very neat and becoming, others remarkably ridiculous. There were 62 couples who took part in the dancing, and quite a large crowd of spectators.
A young man named Addison Kessling, who, a short time ago, was arrested and placed under bonds to appear at the next term of circuit county for stealing and rebranding a horse belonging to J.B. Huntington, , was again arrested for stealing a saddle from J.P Sharp. He was found guilty and fined $50 and costs in Justice Brooks court a few days since.
October 1, 1884
Morning Oregonian, Portland Oregon
INTERESTING INDIAN RELICS-Mr. W.Z. York of Yakima county, W.T., who has a fine cabinet of curiosities, has just added to it an interesting Indian relic in the shape of a stone, knife or sword. It is made of flinty black stone, high polished and sharpened on both sides. On one side it has sixteen notches, and on the other seventeen, supposed to represent the number of its victims. Another relic is a toy canoe made of stone. They were found on the Wenas river, and are very rare and interesting relics.
January 23, 1885
Morning Oregonian, Portland Oregon
The first settlers in Yakima county were Major -.M. Thorp, Charles and Wm. Splawn. They settled in the Moxee valley as early as 1861. In 1865 Judge Nelson settled on the Natcheez.
October 7, 1886
Morning Oregonian, Portland Oregon
North Yakima has voted a $1200 tax to maintain its graded school.
A county fail will be held at North Yakima about the middle of October.
The county indebtedness, according to the North Yakima Farmer, is $80,000.
There is a revival of flush times at North Yakima, according to the local papers.
The Yakima Stock Growers association started out the annual round-up last week.
The S.R. Geddis Moxee Ranch, including 690 acres, stocked 600 head of cattle, blooded bulls, etc., was sold last week for $42,500.
April 25, 1887
Morning Oregonian, Portland Oregon
Andrew Chambers, of Yakima, met with a very serious accident Tuesday night while riding from the slaughter house to his home in this city. When opposite the Inverarity residence his horse slipped and fell, and Mr. Chambers was thrown, his head striking the ground with such force as to produce concussion of the brain. He was found pinned beneath the horse by Keith W. Dunlap and conveyed to his residence, but did not regain consciousness for a long time.
June 7, 1887
Morning Oregonian, Portland Oregon
MADE HIS ESCAPE
Yakima Signal, June 2.
Byron Chisholm, a U.S. prisoner committed to the Yakima
county jail, charged with counterfeiting, made his escape Wednesday morning.
Deputy Sheriff Wiley had the prisoner out working on the courthouse grounds and
had temporarily left him to attend to some party requesting his presence in the
courthouse. Chisholm finding himself to be at liberty and seeing a saddle horse
at the hitching block jumped on to the animal and took off towards the river
bottom. Near the slaughter house he left the house and entered the brush, since
which time he has not been seen, although Sheriff Lesh and a large force of men
have been vigorously searching for him. The supposition is that Chisholm made
the crossing of the Natchez railroad bridge and into Kittitas county, where he
has two brothers living. The escape is a very unfortunate one, but will serve a
good lesson in making the county officials more careful in keeping a sharp
lookout after their prisoners. Chisholm is about twenty-four years of age, pal
complexion and wears a light boyish moustache. When he escaped he had one a blue
shirt, a small, round, felt hat, dark pants, and was without a coat.
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