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Skagit River Journal

of History & Folklore
Subscribers Edition
The most in-depth, comprehensive site about the Skagit
Covers from British Columbia to Puget Sound. Counties covered: Skagit, Whatcom, Island, San Juan, Snohomish & BC. An evolving history dedicated to committing random acts of historical kindness

Noel V. Bourasaw, editor

810 Central Ave., Sedro-Woolley, Washington, 98284
Home of the Tarheel Stomp

Mortimer Cook slept here & named the town Bug

Archive links for Skagit River Journal
Counties outside of Skagit county
Dating from Jan. 1, 2001, Subscribers Issues 1-40

Due to continued popular demand, in the interest of furthering our "open source" policy, we have assembled a collection of CDs that will include MS Word files of our pioneer profiles and town profiles from years 1-5, so that you can print them individually at your convenience. They are organized by region: Sedro-Woolley & surrounding area; Upper Skagit River from Utopia to Cascades; western Skagit County. CD 1 is completed and the other two will be finished in time for Christmas season of 2009. Inquire for details today via email or see our site about the planned CDs offering and you will qualify for a pre-publication discount

Reorganized archives
We are now half way through with our ninth year of the Journal Subscribers-Paid Magazine Online. Two years ago, we changed the nature of our archives. With more than 400 articles that originated in the Subscribers Editions, the old method of listing them by Issue Number required readers to sort through all issues. With this system, the links are to all stories in all our past issues, sorted by geographical area and/or subject, rather than by issue.
These links are only for our subscribers edition articles only, so if you do not find the story you want in the articles links in the pages below and you are looking for more links about a person or area or town that interests you, we have two options for you. We suggest, first off, go back to our Free Home Page and peruse the links to Portal Pages we present for more than a dozen categories. If you do not find the story you want at those Portals, then use our search box below.
Because there are so many Subscriber Story links, we have separated them into six groups, as indicated below. Click the link for the area that most interests you. Please keep in mind that some of these links are from our old domain. On some of those pages, the links will not work. In that case, return to the ree Home Page to use the Portals or the Search Box. Please note: some of the stories linked from these archives pages have been extensively updated and moved from the old Stumpranchonline domain to our new domain. Most will automatically direct you. If you are not redirected, please email us and we will connect you with the page.

Counties outside of Skagit county

1850s early Whatcom village pioneers and 1858 Fraser River gold rush
Whatcom County, Bellingham and Fairhaven
Snohomish County
San Juan County and islands
Island County, Utsalady, Whidbey and Camano islands

1850s early Whatcom village pioneers and 1858 Fraser River gold rush

June Burn's 1931 column series about the 1858 Fraser river gold rush in British Columbia. And her review of the new village of Whatcom where the rush was launched, along with the earliest pioneers there.
Endnotes to June Burn's 1858 gold rush column and capsule biographies of the pioneers and businesses of Whatcom county in the 1850s, A-L.
Endnotes to June Burn's 1858 gold rush column and capsule biographies of the pioneers and businesses of Whatcom county in the 1850s, M-Z.
A biography of Capt. Henry Roeder, the "father" of Whatcom who settled there in 1853, and his wife, Elizabeth Austin Roeder, and their respective journeys from Vermilion, Ohio. Issue 29

Whatcom County, Bellingham and Fairhaven The Mount Baker series

Part one of the story about the first successful ascent of Mount Baker by Edmund T. Coleman and others in 1868. Issue 27
Major eruptions of Mount Baker. The late Allen R. Moore researched the 1846 eruption, Professor Plummer discussed the threat in 1893, and the Journal editor researched the little known eruption of 1792 and its result in the famous Mount Vernon logjams. Issue 27
Statistics and geologic history of Mount Baker. Issue 27
An Indian oral history legend about Mount Baker, Mount Rainier, the Nooksack river and Puget sound. Issue 27

Fairhaven features
In order to understand the impact of the upper Skagit river and especially Sedro-Woolley, you need to learn about Fairhaven, where the whole booming process started in the fall of 1888. Without men like James F. Wardner and Nelson Bennett, Mortimer Cook's little village of Bug/Sedro might never have become the railroad center that it was. In this story, you will also learn about the humble beginnings of Bloedel and Donovan, the partners who worked for Wardner and would eventually become logging giants. Although he may have looked like Casper Milquetoast, Wardner was a heavyweight who loved making money and he had one saving grace for sure: he never became a politician.
James F. Wardner features

This is the focal story about James F. Wardner, who boomed towns in Idaho, British Columbia and Washington territory and state. Issue 15, all these features updated Issue 38
1982 Idaho Miner magazine article from the University of Idaho's school of mining that profiles both Wardner the man and the discovery of the claim plus the mine and mill that he helped finance. Issue 15
Frank Wilkeson, our famous New York Times columnist who lived in Skagit and Whatcom counties off and on from 1885-1900, wrote two columns about Wardner's haunts in Idaho. This column about Murrayville dates from July 28, 1884, when the town was brand new. You will learn about mining and gambling, the favorite vice than went with it, along with details about building the crude camps of the 1880s. Issue 15
And this column about the actual town of Wardner, Idaho, dates from Sept. 11, 1887, about a year before James F. Wardner sold out his claims and moved to Fairhaven. Issue 15
Also read about Wardner, Idaho.
Our own research about the probably mythical Consolidated Black Cat Co. Ltd., the most famous antics of Mr. Wardner while he lived in Fairhaven. Issue 15
By the way, Charles W. Waldron was a Michigan native who became the largest Fairhaven landholder during the boom, and he built the first classy hotel in Woolley, the St. Clair, besides having a street named for him. Issue 1, updated issues 6 and 15
And look for the story of Bert Huntoon, who surveyed the Cascades in 1895 and was a manager for the Pacific American Fisheries cannery, which stood where the ferry terminal is today. Huntoon's relatives also boomed old Hamilton on the Skagit river and Anacortes. Issue 7, updated issue 15
Newspaper stories and web sites about Bert Huntoon, the Huntoon brothers, Bert's photography, Cascade Pass and Mount Baker. Issue 15
Bobby Burns, "Mayor of Fairhaven" and general cut-up, the "Bunnies Man," obituary from 1980.

William Lightfoot Visscher: poet, troubadour, editor in Fairhaven and Tacoma; nationwide performer & author

Introduction to Visscher. All stories Issue 37
Biography Part 1 Kentucky to Tacoma
Part 2 Fairhaven, Tacoma, Chicago
Lewis O. Saum profiles
Visscher, Part One
Lewis O. Saum:
Part Two
Humorous Visscher profiles by Bill Nye

Daniel Jefferson Harris, the very colorful founder of Fairhaven. We researched the legends about him, confirm some, debunk others, and we found the Dr. Shorb who relieved Dan of his fortune in Los Angeles just before Dan's death.

Introduction to Dan and his timeline
Dr. Andrew S. Shorb, Part 1: 18th-century immigration
Dr. Shorb, Part 2: Homeopathy Los Angeles History Criminal record
Frank Teck's series about Harris in Fairhaven Herald, 1903: April 4, 1903: Dan's beginnings in Whatcom Fairhaven founded 1883
Teck: April 11, 1903
Teck: April 25, 1903
Teck: Schedule for Dirty Dan Days in Fairhaven April 28-29, 2007

Features about Edward Eldridge (Alex Munro) and family

Three-part biography of Whatcom pioneer Edward Eldridge Part one and his wife, Teresa Lapin Eldridge, the "mother" of Whatcom. Includes the heretofore unpublished story of Edward's real name and his leadership of the women suffrage movement in Washington Territory. Includes several biographies and obituaries of the parents and children and extensive annotations from Journal research. Issue 36, Updated in Issue 42
Whatcom pioneer Edward Eldridge, part two and his wife, Theresa Lapin Eldridge, biographies and obituary. Issue 36
Whatcom pioneer Edward Eldridge, part three and his wife, Theresa Lapin Eldridge, and children, biographies and obituary. Issue 36
Whatcom pioneer Hugh Eldridge, part four and his memories of very early Whatcom, including many names of original children of the village, plus a profile from 1951. Issue 36, Updated in Issue 42

Snohomish County

Frank Wilkeson wrote an article for the New York Times issue of Feb. 27, 1893, about the mines and railroad at Monte Cristo in Snohomish county. This continues our extensive section on frontier mining. Issue 28

Eldridge Morse, publisher of The Northern Star

A profile of Eldridge Morse, who settled in old Snohomish City in 1872 and founded the Northern Star newspaper, one of the most important sources about Northwest history. His tours and reports of other Washington counties, including Skagit, provides exquisite details of pioneer life.Issue 18, updated issue 25
Obituaries and documents about Morse, his wives and Northwest pioneers. Issue 25
Eldridge Morse's first tour of the Skagit river settlements from his The Northern Star newspaper in Snohomish, in the April 29, 1876 issue. Issue 26
A subsequent Eldridge Morse tour of the Skagit river settlements from his The Northern Star newspaper in Snohomish, in the April 9, 1877 issue, noting the growth of Skagit City, settlement on the north fork of the Skagit and how Mount Vernon was born that year. Issue 26

San Juan County and islands The almost-Pig War of 1859:

Our introduction to a multi-part section about the almost-Pig War of 1859 on San Juan island between the United States and England, which never happened but is often celebrated and argued. Includes overview from a Pig War book, background and links to many other sources. Issue 26
Mike Vouri presents an excerpt from his 1999 book, The Pig War: Standoff at Griffin Bay. Issue 26
Ray Jordan researched the estate of Lyman Cutlar, the central figure of the Pig War, including his residence at Samish after the San Juans and found many documents to help tell Cutlar's story. Issue 26
Ray Jordan writes about the famous shotgun that Lyman Cutlar used to kill the omnivorous pig. Issue 26

Island County, Utsalady, Whidbey and Camano islands

This section is under construction and will include several features to be posted soon

See this Journal website for a timeline of local, state, national and international events for years of the pioneer period.
Search the entire Journal site.
Due to continued popular demand, in the interest of furthering our "open source" policy, we are assembling a collection of CDs that will include MS Word files of our pioneer profiles and town profiles from years 1-5, so that you can print them individually at your convenience. Inquire for details today via email or see our site about the planned CDs offering and you will qualify for a pre-publication discount.

You can click the donation button to contribute to the upkeep of this site at a time when we may be forced to cut it back for lack of funds. You can also subscribe to our optional Subscribers-Paid Journal magazine online, which is about to enter its sixth year with exclusive stories, in-depth research and photos that are shared with our subscribers first. If you like what you read, thank you in advance for whatever support you can provide. You can go here to read the preview edition to see examples of our in-depth research.

Story redesigned and posted on June 23, 2009
Please report any broken links so we can update them

Return to the new-domain home page Links for portals to subjects and towns Newest photo features Search entire site

See this Journal website for a timeline of local, state, national, international events for years of the pioneer period.
Did you enjoy this story? Remember, as with all our features, this story is a draft and will evolve as we discover more information and photos. This process continues until we eventually compile a book about Northwest history. Can you help?
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Please report any broken links or files that do not open and we will send you the correct link. With more than 550 features, we depend on your report. Thank you.
Read about how you can order CDs that include our photo features from the first five years of our Subscribers Edition. Perfect for gifts.

You can click the donation button to contribute to the rising costs of this site. You can also subscribe to our optional Subscribers-Paid Journal magazine online, which has entered its seventh year with exclusive stories, in-depth research and photos that are shared with our subscribers first. You can go here to read the preview edition to see examples of our in-depth research or read how and why to subscribe.

You can read the history websites about our prime sponsors
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Oliver-Hammer Clothes Shop at 817 Metcalf Street in downtown Sedro-Woolley, 88 years.
Peace and quiet at the Alpine RV Park, just north of Marblemount on Hwy 20, day, week or month, perfect for hunting or fishing
Park your RV or pitch a tent by the Skagit River, just a short drive from Winthrop or Sedro-Woolley
Joy's Sedro-Woolley Bakery-Cafe at 823 Metcalf Street in downtown Sedro-Woolley.
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Skagit River Journal

Archive links for Skagit River Journal Counties outside of Skagit county Dating from Jan. 1, 2001, Subscribers Issues 1-40

Archive links for Skagit River Journal
Counties outside of Skagit county
Dating from Jan. 1, 2001, Subscribers Issues 1-40