Economic Development in Kittitas County

Easton was platted by brothers Albert O. Johnson and William W. Johnson on June 24, 1902, and was known for many years as a sawmill point. It was named Easton as the last station of the Northern Pacific Railroad on the east side of the Cascade Mountains before it crossed through Stampede Pass. It also offered a stop for the Chicago, Milwaukee, and St. Paul Railroad before it crossed Snoqualmie Pass to Puget Sound. Early residents of the community were engaged in the lumbering, railroad, or similar businesses. Easton is primarily known for its scenic and recreational opportunities today.

The City of Roslyn was named by Logan M. Bullitt for his hometown in August 1886. Bullitt platted the community in September 1886 on behalf of the Northern Pacific Railway, after the coal fields were discovered earlier that year and opened for commercial operation through the Northern Pacific Coal Company. Immigrants were those who first came to work in the mines, mostly being of Slavic, Italian, and English descendent; but as workers started to strike to improve the working conditions and wages, black workers were brought in from the Eastern and Southern United States to serve as strikebreakers.

When the coal industry ended in the region in 1963, more than 50 million tons of coal had been shipped. In 1975, William Craven was selected to fill the vacant mayoral slot in Roslyn and became the first Black mayor in Washington State history. Roslyn has also been known for the being the setting of the TV show, Northern Exposure, which was filmed from 1990 to 1995. The Roslyn Cemetery was established as 25 separate ethnic or fraternal lodge affiliated cemeteries.

The community of Ronald was established around 1888 as a smaller coal mining town northwest of Roslyn, as it also was at the mouth of Mine No. 3, Roslyn Coal District. It was named in honor of Alexander Ronald, one of the early superintendents of the Roslyn mines. The town had a series of businesses throughout it, but it became most remembered for Falcon Pool and Dance Hall, which was owned and operated by Bert Pellegrini in 1928.

On August 18, 1928, the 250-gallon moonshine still that was located in a hidden room below the Falcon Pool and Dance Hall exploded, spewing burning alcohol across several building and the town itself was in flames within minutes. The fire gutted the business district, with the exception of Modern Bakery, and destroyed 32 homes. The only person to die during the fire was Pellegrini. The town itself was also impacted with the closure of the nearby mines, which removed the town’s support. 

When the Chicago, Milwaukee, St. Paul & Pacific Railway was preparing the rail line, it established the area of Cle Elum as the division point between the Coast and Columbia divisions. South Cle Elum was identified as a community site when it was determined that the rail line would end up running one mile south of Cle Elum.

The Milwaukee Land Company platted the first plat, and offered the community land for sale in November 1908 as the last division town. A post office was opened in July 1910, and other businesses were identified as opening in that time period as well, such as a branch of the Johnson Brothers store from Easton.

The town was officially incorporated on August 28, 1911.

The first known land claims for the land presently known as the City of Cle Elum were in 1883, first by Thomas Gamble and later by Walter J. Reed. The community took its name from the K’ti’tas word meaning “swift water,” a reference to the currents of the Cle Elum River.

When the Northern Pacific Railway entered the region in 1886, Cle Elum became important to the railroad not only a depot location but in utilizing the existing logging industry and sawmills, such as those around Lake Keechelus, Lake Kachess, and Lake Cle Elum. Early timber was logged and turned into railroad ties, necessary for expanding the railroad across the Cascade Mountains. Farms were established throughout the region as well.

In both 1891 and 1918, Cle Elum suffered a fire that destroyed the growing community, but the community persevered and rebounded. The City of Cle Elum was officially incorporated in 1902.

The area known as Liberty began in the Swauk Basin. In 1873 the Swauk Mining District was formed after the discovery of gold in Swauk creek. The few miners who began Liberty named their find Discovery Bar. Despite efforts to keep their find secret, the secret was told, and many people came to seek fortunes. The resulting mining camp on the Swauk developed into one of the earliest communities in Kittitas County. It was complete with a post office, school, stage lines, stores and a community center. It was a place that became famous for its Saturday night dances. Unlike the traditional rough bachelors mining camp this community grew into a welcome place for families.

Liberty became known as Liberty in 1892 with the establishment of the Post Office, the miners requested Swauk as the name of their Office, but it was too close to existing names. The story goes that the postmaster, “Bull” Nelson (Gustaf Nilson), had invited some of the miners into the new post office and told them “You’re at liberty here boys, so set down, lay down or do as you please.” Later, when the postal inspector asked for a name different from Swauk, “Liberty” was suggested; thus Liberty, became the name of their camp.

A second Mining camp developed in the Swauk Basin, first called Williams Creek Camp, later changed to Meaghersville. By 1895 most of the successful mining had moved to this location, and in 1912, the last of the buildings including the post office were disassembled and taken to Meaghersville. At this time the name of Meaghersville officially changed to Liberty.

The modern Historic Liberty site is actually at the location of the original Meaghersville. The name Liberty remains affixed to both locations often causing confusion.

The community of Thorp was named for Fielden Mortimer Thorp, one of the first permanent settlers of Kittitas Valley. While the community has been known as Oren and Milton over time, records identify that the first plat for Thorp was filed on July 9, 1895 by John M. Newman and his wife Sarah Isabel Newman.

The community has been a small, quiet farming town, serviced by the Northern Pacific Railroad. It also had a small manufacturing center, of which the Thorp Flour Mill was established in 1883 and continued operation until 1946. The Northern Pacific Railroad depot closed in the 1950s, and a series of fires affected the industrial areas, causing a decline of the small community.

At the heart of Kittitas Valley and located on the historic homelands of the K’ti’tas and Pshwánapam bands of Indigenous people still steward the lands presently and share the stories of their ancestors, the City of Ellensburg was first platted in 1875 by Mary Ellen Stewart Shoudy and her husband John Alden Shoudy.

As the city grew and expanded, it was incorporated in 1882, and on July 4, 1889, suffered a major fire that destroyed 10 downtown blocks and 200 homes. The Washington State Normal School was established in 1891, and today still provides first class educational opportunities as Central Washington University. In 1894, the “h” was removed from the original spelling of Ellensburgh.

Agricultural bounty has always been part of the Kittitas Valley presence, including Ellensburg, with the first major hay exports occurring right after 1900. In 1885, the Kittitas County Fair was established for the community to share the best products grown and made, and in 1923, the Ellensburg Rodeo was established after a long tradition of Sunday rodeos.

The City of Kittitas was platted originally on April 28, 1908 as “Kittitas City” by the Milwaukee Land Company, a division of the Chicago, Milwaukee, St. Paul & Pacific Railroad. It had been named such for the K’ti’tas band of Indigenous peoples who had lived – and continue – to live in the Kittitas Valley, stewarding the land and sharing the histories passed down from their ancestors. The first businesses established were agriculture warehouses along with a post office, general store, and church around the small depot, which put Kittitas on the map.

Kittitas was officially incorporated as a city in 1931. In June 1932, Kittitas suffered a major fire in which many of the businesses along South Main Street were lost, but many later rebuilt. The railroad ended its service in 1977, and the railroad right-of-way in Washington was acquired by the sate and converted into what is known today as the Palouse to Cascades State Park Trail.

In 1910, Willard Van Slyke set forth the design for a community and in 1914, platted an 80-acre in a community for 120 lots, with a 20-acre central easement, on the edge of the Columbia River. He called this community Vantage, which was a play on his last name. Van Slyke operated a car ferry service for those wanting to cross the Columbia River beginning in 1914, and deeded the right-of-way over to Washington State in September 1917.

The state began operating the ferry in October 1917 until it was replaced with a 1,640-foot cantilever bridge on September 8, 1927. The town moved north around the base of the bridge. This bridge was dismantled in 1962, and re assembled at Lyons Ferry crossing on the Snake River, where it is still in use.

In 1933, the town site of vantage with a reduced population of 5 was sold to entrepreneur TJ Stockdale. He first built a Chevron Gas Station, where his wife sold sandwiches to passing travelers. In all, they added a repair garage, Standard Oil Bulk plant, two motels, two cafés, a Richfield Station with a museum and gift shop, a horse ranch, cherry, peach and apricot orchards and alfalfa fields. The population grew to 100.

In 1959 plans moved forward to create the Wanapum dam, the town was forced to move, as the current location would be inundated with the new reservoir. Residents had until 1963 to move to the present location on higher ground. When the dam gates closed, the reservoir filled in 41 hours and the few remnants of the town were lost to the water.