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HomeMy WebLinkAboutHPC Packet 2015-09-09 HISTORIC PRESERVATION COMMISSION - AGENDA REGULAR MEETING 5:15 P.M. September 9, 2015 I. 5:15—CALL TO ORDER: II. 5:15—ROLL CALL: Declaration of Quorum III. APPROVAL OF MINUTES: August 12, 2015 IV. 5:15—OLD BUSINESS: A. None V. PUBLIC HEARINGS: A. None VI. WORKSHOP: A. Discuss converting "Historic Pasco' Presentation into discrete 10-15 minute segments a) Discuss narration for Ainsworth/Railroad segment b) Discuss Photos to match narrative c) Suggest music/sound effects for background d) Suggest narrators B. "Railroad Plaza" Concept (if time allows) II. 5:55—OTHER BUSINESS: A. Next Meeting to be held at Bergstrom Aircraft located at 4102 Stearman Ave., Pasco, WA 99301 on October14, 2015, with a tour of the NAS Pasco air traffic control tower scheduled for after the meeting. III. 6:00—ADJOURNMENT HISTORIC PRESERVATION COMMISSION - Minutes REGULAR MEETING 5:15 P.M. August 12, 2015 I. 5:15—CALL TO ORDER: II. 5:15—ROLL CALL: Present: Marilynn Baker, Malin Bergstrom, Devi Tate, Dan Stafford; Absent: Tom Brandon, III. APPROVAL OF MINUTES: July 8, 2015—Approved with revisions IV. 5:15—OLD BUSINESS: A. None V. PUBLIC HEARINGS: A. None VI. WORKSHOP: A. Commissioners discussed the narration for Ainsworth/Railroad segment of the Historic Pasco film series. II. 5:55—OTHER BUSINESS: A. Next Meeting: September 9, 2015 III. 7:30—ADJOURNMENT HPC Slide Show Comments Early Eastern Washington History and the Railroad Town of Ainsworth When living in the shrub steppe desert of eastern Washington, it is easy to assume that what you see is what you get. NOT SO. Underneath the sagebrush,bunch grass, rivers and sand are stories waiting to be told! The famously untold story of Ainsworth is essential to understanding the history of Pasco. Lava flows estimated to have occurred 14 million years ago cooled quickly in what is now referred to as southeastern Washington,forming basalt columns that exist today. Between 8.5 and 4 million years later lava flows redesigned the flows of existing rivers. Ice Age floods resulting from glacial melting began. Approximately 14,000 years ago, the last of a series of Ice Age floods began when the ice dam containing ancient Lake Missoula broke with water flowing toward Spokane and then Wallula Gap. The flood backed up at Wallula creating a lake that covered the entire Pasco Basin and beyond. Months later the back-up at Wallula broke loose creating the beginnings of the shrub steppe landscape we know today. Bjornsted, Bretz, Pardee, and other geologists substantiate the impact of the Ice Age Floods on our Columbia Plateau region. #2 Bjornstad, Geologist and Author at BruceBjornstad.com; #10 Railroads, Reclamation and the River:A History of Pasco, by Walter Oberst; and#11 See South Central Washington, by Jean Carol Davis. The West Bank of the Palouse River in Franklin County, 1 1/2 miles from the Snake River, has yielded human bones that are radiocarbon dated to be around 11,000 to 13,000 years old. Early inhabitants of our region were blessed with an abundance of fish, and other bounty from the rivers and streams left by the glacial melting. III. Jeff Adams, Planner at the City of Pasco. (Insert picture from Sherel with sketching of Native American campsite) Local Native Americans depended on fish from the Columbia and Snake Rivers for their diet and camped on the river shores for centuries."II. Source Franklin County Historical Society Flyer, by Sherel Webb, Administrator. On October 16, 1805, members of the Lewis and Clark Expedition were the first white men to set foot at the mouth of the Snake River on their westward journey. There they camped for approximately 2 days, trading with the local Indians for salmon and dogs; Sacagawea State Park commemorates that campsite and the significant and peaceful interchange between the explorers and their interpreter, Sacajawea, and the local Native Americans. IV. Mary Warring 200 hundred Indians camped at the confluence of the Snake and Columbia Rivers along with the members of Lewis and Clark's party. Clark writes in his journal that"the number of... salmon is incredible to say and at this season they have only to collect the fish Split them open and dry them on their Scaffolds on which they have great numbers, how far they have to raft their timber on which they make their Scaffolds I could not lern; but there is no timber of any Sort...in Sight...in any direction"#3 Cayuse, Umatilla, and Walla Walla ...Map, at tamastslikt.com Lewis and Clark's visit and claim to the territory preceded Britain's claim to establish the boundary between British and U.S territories at the confluence of the Columbia and Snake Rivers. After years of negotiations, the boundary line between the British and the U.S. Oregon Territories was agreed upon by both parties to instead be at the 49th parallel of north latitude. The Oregon Boundary Treaty Agreement of 1846 "secured Puget Sound and the present state of Washington west and north of the Columbia River" for the United States instead of the British. #10 Railroads, Reclamation, and the River, A Histoty of Pasco, by Walter Oberst P. 13. Paralleling in some manner the competition and negotiations of railroad companies in the 1800's was the competition between British and U.S. fur trading companies. "During the heyday of the fur trade the Columbia River was one of the main arteries of trade between the coast and the interior. "#10 Railroads, Reclamation and the River, A History o Pasco, P.13. The Hudson Bay Company abandoned its property(Fort Walla Walla, a fur trading company) at the confluence of the Walla Walla and Columbia Rivers (Wallula Gap) in the mid 1850's. Shortly thereafter, the U.S. Army built a military fort in Walla Walla also known as Fort Walla Walla. In 1862, Dorsey Syng Baker from Walla Walla, doctor, entrepreneur, and banker/merchant organized a steamboat company on the Columbia and Snake Rivers which a year later was sold to the Oregon Steam&Navigation company. Ten years later,he had established the Walla Walla& Columbia River Railroad. #5 Dr. Baker's Railroad, edited by Alford McVay and Iris Meyers. This narrow-gauge line did not prevail in the rush to the Pacific Coast but was home to 6 Porter steam engines one of which, the Blue Mountain, is in current restoration by the Washington State Railroads Historical Society and Museum at the Port of Pasco. VI. Tom Gronewald, President WA State Railroads Historical Society. In 1872 a survey was conducted by engineer T.B. Morris of possible Northern Pacific Railroad routes between Pend Oreille Lake and the Snake River. Seven years later in 1979,bridge construction over the Snake River began. Franklin County was created in 1883,breaking off from Whitman County, and Ainsworth became Franklin County's first County seat. #1 Ainsworth:A Railroad Town, by Bette E Meyer. Prior to completion of the Snake and Columbia River Railroad Bridges (1884 and 1888, respectively), the only means of transporting people,wheat, cattle, sheep, and supplies for laying railroad track across the Snake and Columbia River were sternwheelers, ferries, and other vessels. The Frederick K. Billings Sternwheeler, named after the Frederick K. Billings, President of the Northern Pacific Railroad froml879 to 1881, was rebuilt to double its weight capacity thereby enabling it to transport railroad cars across the Columbia River during the construction of the Snake and Columbia River Railroad Bridges. Both railroad bridges started out as Swing Span bridges and were later retrofitted as Lift Spans.L Dan Stafford Collection As the construction of the Snake River Railroad Bridge neared completion, discussion and debate thrived regarding where to lay the tracks to complete the railroad lines to Tacoma and the Pacific Coast_These discussions involved both the Northern Pacific Railroad and the Oregon Railway&Navigation Company. Questions such as, cost, distance, ease of construction, and agreements between Railroad companies allowing another company to use their line and at what cost became paramount. The original intention of the Northern Pacific was to run the mainline through the Yakima Valley and over the Cascade Mountains to Tacoma in spite of its more challenging topography. Henry Villard(NP President 1879-1884)preferred the longer route following the southern bank of the Columbia River to Portland and then preceding north to Tacoma even though Northern Pacific Railroad had to travel part of that trip on Oregon Railway and Navigation Company lines. The cost of establishing lines over the Cascades including digging a tunnel and the population being significantly greater in Portland/Willamette Valley at around 100,000 versus Tacoma with only 4,000, and Seattle with just 7,000 at the time,reinforced Villard's preference for a route following the southern bank of the Columbia River to Portland. # 8. Northern Pacific: Main street Of the Northwest, by Charles R. Wood P. 71. However,rapidly growing commerce in the Puget Sound area and easy access to timber facilitated the final decision in 1884 to construct the Northern Pacific line over the Cascade Mountains. Regardless of the choice, the Snake River and Columbia River Railroad Bridges were essential to the railroad tracks connecting east to west. The town of Ainsworth played a vital role in the construction of the Nation's first Northwestern Transcontinental Railroad and in the growth and economic development of Southeastern Washington. Today, sand and water may have buried any physical memory of Ainsworth,but its unique and fascinating history beginning more than 136 years ago is worth re-telling. In the 1880's Ainsworth's average population was 400 to 500 citizens including Chinese laborers, Irish laborers, and families. #6 Early Pasco, by Susan Davis Faulkner p.7. A church, a school, and needed stores were constructed to serve the community. Ainsworth was home to butcher shops, dairy,barbers, millinery, general merchandise stores, shoemakers, a dressmaking store, a notion&variety store, and a Chinese laundry. IV. Mary Warring Currently, there is a commemorative sign regarding Ainsworth just before you cross the Snake River into Burbank on the Pasco side of the car bridge on the right hand side of Highway 12. The following descriptions of which these are just a few,portray a variety of perspectives of the town of Ainsworth. "Indians from a nearby camp often raced through town, as did visiting cowboys, stirring up the dust and scattering debris in their wake. "#1, by Bette E. Meyer P. 15. "The only lively town on the River above Portland. " Walla Walla Union Bulletin. #1 Ainsworth: A Railroad town by Bette E. Meyer P. 7 "A wild-and-wicked spot of sin."#1 Ainsworth:A Railroad Town. P. 7 "Yet in spite ofAinsworth's reputation, a respectable and responsible populace called the humble town "home. "#1 Ainsworth:A Railroad Town, P. 7. Captain John Ainsworth who later became President of the Oregon Steam and Navigation Company was quoted as saying that he "...did not find much complimented to have such a place carry his name"Rumor has it that he never had the "opportunity"to personally visit Ainsworth. #1 Ainsworth:A Railroad Town, P. 8. In 1880, the Walla Walla Union states that there were about 400 men working there (at Ainsworth) at that time, about equally divided between whites and Chinese." #10 Railroads, Reclamation, and the River, by Walter Oberst p.1 S. The Chinese not only supplied labor for the back breaking work of cutting timber and laying tracks, but they also provided goods and services through merchandise stores,barber shops, restaurants, and laundries for residents of Ainsworth and later Pasco. #1 Ainsworth:A Railroad Town, P. 13. With the Snake River Railroad Bridge completed in 1884, Ainsworth was relocated a few miles to the west close to the construction site of the soon to be Columbia River Railroad Bridge and the newly created town of Pasco. For a time, Ainsworth, sometimes referred to as the "Town of Hades"had a little sister across the Snake River named"Little Hades" or South Ainsworth.Neither survived. L Dan Stafford, Historian for the WA State Railroads Historical Society and President for the Historic Preservation Commission. Wong How, father of the famous cinematographer Jimmy Howe, was known as "Boss Chinee." He supervised the Chinese laborers for the Northern Pacific Railroad. After moving to Pasco, Wong How opened Pasco's first general store on Clark Street. Many of the Chinese people lived around Wong How's General Store because he imported Chinese wares. Many other Chinese opened their own businesses on Clark Street as well. Consequently, Clark Street became known as Pasco's Chinatown. V.Rachael Rodney, Pasco's Chinatown Reach Stories 2015 (Insert Pic of Chief Wolf from Sherel Webb/FCHS) Chief Wolf, one of Franklin County's most prominent residents in the 1890's, is second from the right in the back row of this undated photograph from the Lee Morehouse collection at the University of Oregon. Morehouse, is wearing the top hat next to Wolf. Chief Homily(or Homile) at center in front row, was well known in the Wallula area."III.Picture and text provided by the Franklin County Historical Society Administrator, Sherel Webb. (Add Second Picture of Chief Wolj) "Chief Wolf(Necklace) owned and sold horses. At one time his herd numbered 3500. He wanted to become a U.S. citizen but was refused. He then sold his herd and hid the money in different places around Kahlotus and Franklin County. Some of it is still believed to be hidden there today! Chief Wolf was a Spokesman for the Palus tribe during the meeting with the commissioner of Indian Affairs in Washington D.C. The Kasispa village, of the Palus tribe was situated at the junction of the Snake and Columbia Rivers at Ainsworth. (Courtesy of the National Archives), #4 Palouse Chief.http://www.nativeamericanimages.net/2013/02/wolf- necklaceharlish-washshomake-aka.h tml) (Add two pics of house and also of school being moved.) There are a multitude of reasons why Ainsworth was abandoned and Pasco thrived. Some have indicated that the Ainsworth was essentially deserted by 1889. Others point out that Ainsworth continued supplying construction materials and supplies for the Headquarter of the Spokane, Portland and Seattle Railroad Company(SP&S)between 1901 and 1910, and some sources extend that date into the 1930's. Other sources declare that the only way to control the wild and crazy ways of Ainsworth was to start all over with a new town. Other perspectives gave credit to the completion of the Snake River Railroad Bridge for creating the need to move the town closer to the Columbia River Railroad Bridge under construction. And indeed, numerous building were put on sliders and pulled by horseback from Ainsworth to Pasco. #1 Ainsworth:A Railroad Town, by Bette Meyer; #6 Early Pasco, by Susan Davis Faulkner; and#10 Railroads, Reclamation, and the River:A History of Pasco, by Walter Oberst. Regardless, from a local historical perspective as well as railroad history, Ainsworth provided the structure, supplies, labor, and location that enabled the Northern Pacific Railroad Company to lay the necessary tracks and build both the Snake River Railroad Bridge completed on April 20, 1884 for$1,135,700, and the Columbia River Railroad Bridge completed in 1888 which created the path to the final phase of the Northwestern Transcontinental Railroad. #1 Ainsworth: A Railroad Town, P.23. In 1895, the US Government granted 1.5 million acres to the Northern Pacific Railroad. What the Northern Pacific Railroad did not want or couldn't use, they sold to farmers, potential farmers or interested buyers. Thus, another major door opened that not only expanded exponentially with the future Pasco Reclamation Company irrigation project in 1906, but also provided a monumental boost to agriculture in our region. #I. Dan Stafford Collection. Resources for Ainsworth Slideshow Presentation 1. Ainsworth:A Railroad Town, by Bette E. Meyer 2. Bruce Bjornstad, Geologist and author at BruceBjornstad.com 3. Cayuse, Umatilla and Walla Walla Homeland Heritage Corridor Map, Tamastslikt Cultural Institute @ Pendleton, Oregon. www.tamastslikt.com 4. Chief Wolf, http://www.nativeamericanimages.net/2013/02/wolf-necklaceharlish- washshomake-aka.html) 5. Doctor Baker's Railroad: The Walla Walla & Columbia River RR, edited by Alfred McVay and Iris Meyers 6. Early Pasco, by Susan Davis Faulkner 7. Ice Flood Institute @icefloodinstitue.org 8. Northern Pacific: Main Street of the Northwest, Charles R. Wood 9. Railroaded: The Transcontinentals and the Making of Modern America, by Richard White 10. Railroads, Reclamation and the River:A History of Pasco, by Walter Oberst 11. See South Central Washington, by Jean Carol Davis 12.The White Stallion, by Sandra Stredwick 13. Where the Great River Bends, Edited by Robert J. Carson Consultation, Flyers, Photos, and Advice I. Dan Stafford, Historian for the Washington State Railroads'Historical Society and President of the Historic Preservation Commission including his Private Collection of Historical Photos. 11. Sherel Webb,Administrator for Franklin County Historical Society and Museum 111. Jeff Adams, Planner for the City of Pasco IV. Mary Warring,former President of the Ferry County Historical Society V. Rachel Rodney, "Pasco's Chinatown"Reach Stories2015 @reachstories.org VI. Tom Gronewald, President WA State Railroads Historical Society A Railroad History of Pasco Pasco's story begins in Ainsworth, Washington Territory, the railroad construction town that came to life on the North shore of the Snake River in 1879. The Northern Pacific Railroad began construction of a bridge across the Snake River in 1879 and finished in 1884. Upon completion of the bridge Ainsworth's population started to dwindle as workers moved on to the next project. A new county called Franklin had been created in 1883 by carving off a large chunk of Whitman County, with Ainsworth becoming the county seat. The railroad's next big project was the building of a bridge across the Columbia River several miles upstream from the mouth of the Snake River. To support the new bridge-building effort, Pasco was built, and all the railroad's construction equipment as well as the transfer steamer Frederick K. Billings was moved to the new railroad town site. Pasco was officially designated as a Northern Pacific Railroad station in Nov 1884. As business at Ainsworth slowly wound down, the old county courthouse at Ainsworth was moved overland to Pasco which became the new county seat in 1887. Construction on the Columbia River Bridge from Pasco to Kennewick lasted from July 1884 to September 1888 but was closed through the winter of 1888 as ice had damaged some of the wooden support structure. Pasco's rail facilities started with a temporary single-stall roundhouse in 1884 which was replaced by a permanent 4-stall roundhouse in 1888 and again in 1889 with a 6-stall version. In 1889 the 10-stall roundhouse at Ainsworth was torn down and the rail inclines for the transfer steamers were removed at Ainsworth and Kennewick. In 1906 Pasco became a Division Point for both the Northern Pacific and the Spokane, Portland &Seattle Railways. Pasco's population had grown to almost 1,200 persons, and a huge building boom commenced as a result of the Division Point news. However the construction was almost entirely commercial, resulting in an acute housing shortage; people were sleeping in tents and on the ground, and fights and bribery broke out as people tried to secure lodging. One newspaper likened Pasco's housing situation to that of"a wild mining camp." Supposedly 5 "tenements" were built by the railroad but there is confusion about when and where they were located. Finally in late summer 1906 contractor C.W. Herrick started work on the original 16 railroad houses on what is now "A" Street. These consisted of 10- 11/2 story houses and 6 -13/4 story houses By the end of Sept 1906 the first four houses were completed and were painted "Indian Red", the color of boxcars with "Forest Green" trim. By mid -August, 12 more houses were under construction and by years end a total of 28 houses had been constructed at a cost of$47,000 dollars. In spring 1908 carpenters completed the porches and trim on the last 16 houses. The 6 larger houses on the West end away from the tracks had indoor plumbing and were assigned to railroad employees in upper management. In 1941 a local developer named Warden Fann purchased all the houses from the railroad and sold them to private parties. Meanwhile contractor C.W. Herrick working under Northwestern Improvement Company (a subdivision of the Northern Pacific Railroad) started work on the new Division Headquarters complex consisting of a two story office building and a new Depot and platform which surrounded both buildings, costing a total of $8,000. This was Pasco's second depot and was located South and East of the 4th and "A" street intersection. By late summer 1908 the Northern Pacific Railroad Lunch Building, also known as the Northern Pacific Club, and nicknamed "The Beanery," was completed. A large two story building, it had a restaurant, recreational area, and sleeping rooms for single railroad employees upstairs. It was later sold to the American Legion and subsequently burned down not long after. Another railroad building boom ensued in the years 1910-1912 when the railroad built a brick 38-stall roundhouse as part of as a complex of yard, office, and maintenance buildings and a complete private power plant for a total investment of$300,000. Pasco's third Depot was constructed in 1937,very close to the location of Pasco's little-known first depot on Tacoma Avenue just north of Lewis Street. It was subsequently demolished in 20OX A large part of the Northern Pacific's construction projects were its ice houses which were used for storage and transfer of fruit and vegetables in refrigerated railcars. Pasco's first ice house was built by the Northern Pacific Railroad in the early 1890's and was big enough that it hid Pasco's shabby business district from travelers arriving at the depot. A larger new ice house was built in 1898 adjacent to the old ice house with a capacity of 1640 tons. By 1900 workers were loading 35 tons of ice a night to refrigerate fruit in the box cars. At that time men and boys were paid $1.50 a day for a 10-hour shift and worked all summer long loading ice into the boxcars. In 1911 another new ice house was built next to the old one but on the opposite side of the tracks. This ice house was 900 feet long and at the time was the largest ice house between St. Paul Minnesota and the Pacific coast. By 1912's capacity was 30,000 tons of ice. In August 1912 fire destroyed both ice houses and the twenty loaded railcars that were parked between the two buildings. In early 1913 construction was started on a huge new fireproof concrete ice house 480 feet long and 94 feet wide with a capacity of 40,000 tons of ice.Then in the fall of 1924 The Addison Miller Company took over the operation of the ice house after signing a long term lease with the Northern Pacific Railroad as they were already operating the ice houses in Hilliard,Yardley and Laurel, Montana. The original 38-stall roundhouse built in 1910-1912 was reduced to 18 stalls in 1963 with advent of diesel locomotives which didn't require as much maintenance and upkeep as the steam locomotives. The railroad's hump yard complex north of Pasco was completed in 1955—a state of the art electronically controlled freight car complex which allows trains to be made up with a minimum of the old-fashioned switching process.