New collection: North Pend Oreille Heritage
Washington Rural Heritage is excited to introduce North Pend Oreille Heritage, coinciding with the town of Metaline Falls’ centennial. This brand new collection from the Metalines Community Library contains stunning images of one of the most picturesque parts of the state and tells the story of the adventurous settlers that made this rugged land their home.
The library houses several albums that were collected and organized decades ago in order to preserve the community’s history. The albums contain over a thousand early images of the area’s waterfalls, canyons and river views – many scenes have eroded or dammed and are no longer there – and photos depicting daily activities of everyone from the town barber to the founder of the town’s cement plant.
When locals weren’t playing, they were working hard. Many came to the area for jobs in the mining industry, a huge part of this mineral and metal-rich area’s economy. The Pend Oreille Mines and Metals album contains 81 images, dating from the 1920s up to the 1970s, depicting the company’s longstanding presence in the area. It also holds a few photos of Diamond Match employees – during the 1920s, eighty percent of the county’s timber was used in match production.
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January 13th, 2011 at 10:19 am
This is such a great resource. Pend Oreille County is also celebrating its 100th anniversary this year, so what a great time to have this available to the county. Some of the pictures will be added to a pamphlet featuring all the books the library system has on the history of our county.
January 23rd, 2011 at 9:16 am
This collection looks fascinating. As a fairly new transplant to my own rural area, I appreciate the time and effort historians put into projects like this. There is such a rich heritage in our state’s history and it is valuable to preserve the memories in stories and photos.
January 24th, 2011 at 11:49 am
Thanks for your comment, Marie, and glad you like the collection!