Mead, Washington - An Illustrated History of Spokane County, State of Washington

An Illustrated History of Spokane County, State of Washington

It is the second station north of the S. F. & N. Railroad. The west end of Peone prairie reaches almost to the town, making it the supplymg point of an extensive and fertile agricultural country. Gushing & Bryan conduct a large mercantile store and are doing a profitable business. There is also a blacksmith shop in the place, and a school house with about sixty scholars. The Methodist Episcopal church has regular preaching in the school house, and also a Sunday school. A Modern Woodmen organization has been in existence for several years and is in a flourishing condition. The postoffice is in the Gushing & Bryan store.

This town of two hundred and fifty people is about twenty-two miles northeast of Spokane. It is two miles east of Dragoon station on the S. F. & N. Railway. The

History Of Spokane Couxty

Great Xortheni Railroad runs nearer, but has no station. Dragoon creek flows through the town and its waters are utiUzed in running a saw mill. There are two general merchandise establishments. Barker's Hotel has accommodated the public for a decade and a half. Dr. Smith conducts a drug store in connection with his professional work. - The blacksmith shop and feed stable are well patronized. The pul> 1-ic school has an enrollment of sixty scholars. A Congregational church, ministered to by Rev. F. McConaughy. of Deer Park, and a Sunday school endeavor to meet the religious needs of the place. The IMotlern Woodmen meet in tlieir own hall and are constantly increasing in membership and influence.

This IS an important shipping point about twenty-eight miles northeast from Spokane on the Great Northern Railway. There are two saw mills in the place and two others within a few miles and a large quantity of lumber, cord wood and granite is shipped to Spokane and other places. James Conalton is the storekeeper and postmaster.

There is a postotiice eight miles north of C hattaroy at "West Branch'" on the Little Spokane. J. F. Palmer is postmaster. It is near Blake's lake, a body of water about three miles by one-half mile.

Elk postofhce is about si.x miles east of West Branch, near the Idaho line. In this region are found fertile meadows, abundance of spring water and fine timber, pine, fir and cedar.

Halfway and Wildrose are from sixteen to twenty miles north of Spokane on the main traveled road to Deer Park. At Wayside there is a store and postoffice. a Methodist Episcopal church, and a large Odd Fellows' hall. The lodge of I. O. O. F. has a strong membership and is in good condition financially. A G. A. R. post is located here and the old veterans are quite numerous in this region. At

This is an old landmark on the Little Spokane river, nine miles north of Spokane. Twenty years ago ]Mr. H. Dart built a saw mill here, making a splendid water power. A few years ago Mr. Dart erected a grist mill and he continues to turn out good flour. For the ci mvenience of the region round about a postoffice has been recently established with the euphonious name of Dartford. H. W. Dart runs the store and grist mill and is the postmaster, and L. S. Dart manages the saw mill.

Trent

Situated nine miles east of Spokan.e, on ilic Northern Pacific Railway where it crosses the Spokane river. The land in this section was settled upon nearly twenty years ago, the first settler being a Mr. Edwards. Mr. G. P. Dart, now of this city, resided here for some years and was the owner of the town site until about two years ago. About ten years ago Mr. J. .\. Stegner opened a general merchandise store. After his death the business wa.-, conducted and continues to be controlled by his widow, now Mrs. J. Narup. There is a good district school house with an enrollment of about forty scholars. East of Trent a few miles are some of the oldest settlers in the county, Messrs. Esch, Goodner. Myers and others.

William H. Marshall came from California to Washington Territory in 1878. He was a lumberman and was drawn to the locality of the town that l:)ears his name by the possiliility of a water power. His homestead was the west quarter of section 22, on which is a meadow and a strong spring, whereof flows a stream. ]Mr. Marshall made a dam and put in an overshoot wheel or up and down saw, and established the first sawmill in that locality, which operated on a small scale for several years. In 1886 he sold all his interests to \< . E. Pierce and Geo. A. Davis, experienced mill men and originally from the state of Maine. During this year the Spokane & Palouse Railroad was built, leaving the main Northern Pacific line at this place, making it a junction known as Marshall Junction. Pierce and Davis platted the town of Marshall in 1887. It is eight miles from Spokane, in many respects a pleasant locality and favorable town site. The new mill owners greatlv improved the plant by making a circular mill antl also building a flour mill. In 1888 i\Ir. Davis became sole owner of the mill and town site, Mr. Pierce going to Hauser Junction, where he operated a sawmill for several years. Mr. Davis built a new sawmill Avitli steam power and capacity to saw sixty thousand feet of lumlier a da}'. Logs were bi ought on the railroad from Idaho. The town had quite a boom for a while, several families conning from ]\Iaine and making their homes there. Se\eral houses were built and a twostory school hou.se, 35x50. lUit the enterprise did not prove profitable, and the town and all interested suffered accordingly. The grist mill, with water power and land adjacent thereto, came into the possession of Nelson Martin, of Spokane, and he being associated with ex- Ma\'or Fotheringham, put in machinery and it operated under the name of Spokane and Marshall Milling Company for about a year. After being idle for several years the gristmill and water power was purchased in September. 1898, by W. H. W'iscombe and \\'. E. Pierce, both of Spokane. Since that time it has been operated under the name of the Suburb Rolling Mill. Some important improvements have been made under the present management. The capacity of the mill is one hundred barrels a dav. In the fall a considerable amount of wheat is received from the farmers directly, but the greater part comes from the Palouse country by rail. Mr. Pierce is the manager of the mill and em- ])loys four men. and Mr. W'iscombe is the general salesman at Spokane, where the flour finds a market. W'iscombe and Pierce sold their interest to an eastern com'pany recently.

.\mong the earliest settlers of Marshall was D. Deacon, who took up a large portion of the meadow that joins the town. The Jarretts and Rothrocks settled south of town early ill the 'eighties. County Commissioner \V. R. Parks settled in Marshall eleven years ago. He conducted a hotel for several j'ears; also a general merchandise store and was postmaster. There is but one store in the place at this time. George Montgomery is the proprietor and also the postmaster. But one of the rooms in the school building is used and the enrollment of scholars is thirty. The meadow of two hundred and fifty acres, sometimes called Marshall lake, has been owned by Mr. A. 'R. Mc- Kensie since 1S91. It was purchased with some adjacent land for eight thousand dollars. Mr. has greatly improved the land, making it to produce as much as three hundred tons of timothy and red-top hay.

There has been a Sunday school sustained until recently and superintended by Mrs. W. E. Pierce. It has been suspended during the winter, but will probably be resumed in the spring if Mrs. Pierce returns to Marshall.