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Tag: Waterville

Digital Archives map from 1909 shows Washington highways and proposed highways.
From the Digital Archives: 1909 Washington highway map

From the Digital Archives: 1909 Washington highway map

Nowadays, when we look at a highway map of Washington, we see a complex web of gold, red and black lines crisscrossing the state. But it wasn’t always this way. In the early 1900s, highways were a rarity in the Evergreen State. Probably because cars and trucks were rarities as well, considering that the automobile had just been invented. This 1909 map displays Washington’s located and proposed highways, railroads (the dominant form of transportation then) and county seats. The map…

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A snapshot of Douglas County

A snapshot of Douglas County

Douglas County flag (Image courtesy of Washington State Archives) Just east of the Cascade Mountains in roughly the center of Washington lies Douglas County. Douglas, which was founded in 1883 out of land from Lincoln County, is the ninth county in our snapshot series. Douglas was named after Illinois Senator and statesman Stephen A. Douglas, who famously lost to Abraham Lincoln in the 1860 presidential election. He participated in historic debates with Lincoln regarding issues such as slavery and abolitionism….

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Water Witches

Water Witches

From the desk of Steve Willis, Central Library Services Program Manager of the Washington State Library Do you believe in water witchcraft? The following article was found in the October 15, 1891 issue of the Big Bend Empire, from, appropriately enough, Waterville, Washington. A small chunk of the article is missing so I have tried to transcribe this around it. Water Witches “Witches used to be held in fear and abhorrence, in the olden times. People suspected of dealing in the…

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A Rainmaker Meets His Match in Ephrata

A Rainmaker Meets His Match in Ephrata

Hatfield and towers in Hemet, California, 1912 From the desk of Steve Willis, Central Library Services Program Manager of the Washington State Library: The reel grabbed at random this week contained The Big Bend Empire, the first newspaper established in Waterville, Washington. The issue for May 13, 1920 included this intriguing article:  EPHRATA TO TRY OUT RAINMAKER  “The people around the Grant county seat want rain, and in fact they are willing to try any old scheme to get it, even…

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