From the desk of Jeff Martin

A Pioneer’s Search for an Ideal Home

Written by: Phoebe Goodell Judson

Union Printing, Binding and Stationary Co., Bellingham, Washington

Publication date: 1925

Phoebe Goodell Judson who crossed the Plains in 1853 and became a resident on Puget Sound before the organization of Washington Territory.

A Book of Personal Memoirs (Published in the author’s 95^th year)
CHAPTER I

It is the oft repeated inquiry of my friends as to what induced me to bury myself more than fifty years ago in this far-off corner of the world, that has determined me to take my pen in hand at this late day.

Did I come around the Horn, cross the Isthmus, or come across the plains? Was I not afraid of the Indians, and much more they ask. So I have decided to answer them all and singly by writing a short history of our pioneer life, and to affectionately dedicate my book to the memory of the late Holden A. Judson, my dear husband, who journeyed with me for half a century in the wilderness.

This will be but a condensed narrative of events which I shall endeavor to recall out of the mists of the past, written with no attempt at literary display, containing no fiction, but simply a record of the homely, everyday incidents of a plain woman, who has now exceeded her three score years and ten, and who has roughed it in the early fifties on the extreme northwestern frontier.

Time has passed so rapidly I can scarcely realize that I have already attained the number of years allotted to mortals on earth.

The romance of frontier life beyond the confines of civilization with its varied, exciting and interesting experiences among the children of nature both human and brute-has caused the years to fly swiftly, as on the wings of the wind.

Excerpt by Phoebe Goodell Judson

From the desk of Judy Pitchford

Digital Collections has added 3 more titles to our Classics in Washington History.

Under Native Americans –

Indian myths of the Northwest by William Lyman.

This book attempts to cite original sources for Indian Myths. It also identifies the scholars and investigators of the myths that Mr. Lyman felt were reliable.

Under Natural History –

Some hydroids from Puget Sound by Gary Calkins

A paper from the Proceedings of the Boston society of natural history that examines approximately 30 species of hydroids found in Puget Sound around Port Townsend and Bremerton.

Under Exploration and Early travel / Pioneer Life –

Two studies in the history of the Pacific Northwest by Edmond Meany

A reprint originally published in the Annual report of the American Historical Association of 1909 containing :

1. The towns of the Pacific Northwest were not founded on the fur trade — 2. Morton Matthew McCarver, frontier city builder

Classics in Washington History is a digital collection of full-text books, bringing together rare, out of print titles for easy access by students, teachers, genealogists and historians. Visit Washington’s early years through the lives of the men and women who lived and worked in Washington Territory and State. All items are available in DjVu (Plugin required) and Pdf formats.

From the desk of Steve Willis, Central Library Services Program Manager of the Washington State Library:

A few decades ago, back when my family still had a farm out in northwestern Thurston County, my father noticed a small glass object that had surfaced after he plowed the field. The farm had once been home to an inn called “The Hicklin Halfway House” on the stage road between Olympia and Montesano in Territory days. We were used to plowing up small pieces of china and glass. But this was different.

Except for some chips on the opening, this small glass bottle is intact, about 3 inches high, and has the raised label: C.B. Mann, Apothecary, Olympia, W.T.

As it turns out, Champion Bramwell Mann ran a drugstore on the southeast corner of 4th and Washington in Olympia, site of the present Security Building. He was a prominent figure in the local history of the city, even serving as Mayor from 1894-1895. And, believe it or not, he had a short stint as the Territorial Librarian in 1870.

And so did his father, Sylvester Hill Mann. You can read about them and the other colorful characters who kept the flame alive in Washington’s oldest public institution on WSL’s biographical page: The Territorial Librarians.

From the desk of Judy Pitchford

The Washington State Library has added an early Snohomish newspaper to its online offerings.  The Northern Star, from 1876-1879, is the library’s latest addition to the Historical Newspapers Online Project.

Classics in Washington History

Under Exploration and Early Travel, Military History, and Natural History

Report on the construction of a military road from Fort Walla-Walla to Fort Benton by John Mullan

This volume contains Captain John Mullan’s report on his survey and construction of the military road from Fort Walla Walla on the Columbia River to Fort Benton on the Missouri. The narrative consists of Mullan’s report as well as letters and reports from his subordinates. It also includes plates of early missions and camps, detailed maps of the routes, and extensive charts of meteorological and astronomical observations.

Under Pioneer Life and Wagon Trains and the Oregon Trail

Reminiscences of an old-timer

George Hunter came west at the age of sixteen, and narrates a life full of adventure and hardship.  He experiences life in the mining camps of northern California and British Columbia, fights in several Indian wars, hunts grizzlies, harvests oysters, and engages in politics; all the while encountering a vast array of western characters.

Under Territorial and State Government

Laws of Washington, 1889-90

Contains the laws and resolutions of the years 1889-90.

Under Exploration and Early Travel

The North West Company  by Gordon Charles Davidson

A history of the North West Company, its role in the fur trade and its relations with the Hudson’s Bay Company.

Under County and Regional History and Pioneer Life

Church and community survey of Pend Oreille County, Washington

This brief pamphlet reports the results of a community and church survey of Pend Oreille County undertaken by the Interchurch World Movement.

Glimpses of pioneer life. A series of biographies, experiences and events intimately concerned with the settlement of Okanogan County, Washington.

In the early 1920’s, the local newspaper wrote and compiled stories of early pioneers in Okanogan County.