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The Goldendale Sentinel, Goldendale, WA., April 4, 1959, page 9

Cattle Barons Followed Red Men in Pioneer Settlement
EARLY DAYS OF BICKLETON COUNTRY RECALLED IN TREATISE READ TO HISTORICAL SOCIETY

Editorial note: The following paper was read by Chloe Walling, Bickleton historian, at the Saturday meeting of the county historical society, held at Bickleton. Mrs. Walling consented to its publication, for the benefit at all who are interested in the county's historical background. The article is written around an enumeration of "first" events.

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By Chloe Walling

The Indians were the first inhabitants of the Bickleton country. Here, they ranged their cayuses on the bunch grass that grew so thrifty all over this area, and here the squaws dug camas in the spring.
The Indian camping grounds were scattered along their trails over which they rode on horse-back as they trotted along, in single file, traveling from the Yakima country to the Columbia river, there to fish and hunt and to spend the winter some-where along the river.
Then came the white man, with herds of horses and cattle to range on the bunch grass. The stockmen had their camps near a creek. In this area it was Snipes and Allen, and their camp was located on Pine Creek, a log cabin with a rock fireplace at one end. This cabin was situated not far from where the highway now goes through Pine Creek on the way from Bickleton to Cleveland.
At the turn of the century, probably in 1902, a man became ill with smallpox, and was quarantined in this lag cabin. After his recovery the Snipes cabin was burned. Thus an old landmark was destroyed.
The pioneers to establish their homes in this area came in the early 70s. Among those were Robert M. Graham in 1872. He filed a homestead and built a log cabin on his claim. His one room cabin was situated in a sheltered place on Alder Creek. Mr. Graham was the second to file a homestead entry, B.D. Butler having made the first.

EARLY SETTLERS NAMED

Other settlers, to name a few, were Martin Holbrook, a Mr. Foster, L.E. Bailey, John Graham, H.A. South, John Skiller, Charles N. Bickle, S.P. Flower, Jasper B. Walling and Tobias Beckner. Homes were one-room log cabins located in sheltered places in canyons, by the creeks along the Simcoes, where there were many springs of water, or near the timber.
Their fences were built of rails of rails (which was called a worm fence) and where rocks were plentiful, a rock fence. They began to plow up this sod, mostly on the bottom lands to plant their crop. Later orchards were planted, and berry patches. The berries were currant and goose berry. Almost every 160-acre homestead had an orchard.
All of these orchards are about a thing of the past, as are the log cabins and the rail fence; however, there are places where of the rock fences, partly tumbled down, may be seen yet.
The one log cabin to remain the longest was built by L.E. Bailey at the site of the walnut grove on the H. Shattuck place. Later Mr. Bailey built a house which was the first house to be built in the Alder Creek country. The log house was then used as a springhouse.
The L.E. Bailey home was well-known as an overnight place between Goldendale and the Yakima country and a central meeting place for the early cowboys. At this house polling booths for the first the voting were opened.

FIRST STORE OPENED

Charles N. Bickle, from whom the town of Bickleton derived its name, built the first store in the country east of Rock Creek in 1879 and Mr. Bickle was the first postmaster. The following year, 1880, another pioneer, Samuel P. Flower, joined Bickle in his enterprise and the firm that was known as Bickle & Flower.
In 1880 a small school house was built by volunteer subscription from the settlers around Bickleton, and Henry Hackley, a young man of 26 years, was the first teacher. The small building was located on the school section, north just across the street, where the Charley VanNosterns now reside. As the attendance increased the building became too small.
About this time the settlers also formed a stock company and built a public hall 20x40 feet in size, across from the Bickle store. In the course of a few years all the stock came in possession of Bickle & Flower, who in 1884 donated the building to the school district. Mr. Bickle also gave an acre of and to the school district. This acre of land lies east of Bickleton and is where our present grade school building is located.
In the spring of 1890 my father, Jacob Piendl, a carpenter, helped move the hall to the donated acre of land and convert the building into a schoolhouse. Here I attended my first school in district No. 28, John Dempsy teacher. This one-room school building was used until after the spring term of school in 1898. The fall of 1898, a two-story school building was constructed. (It has since been torn down.)

FIRST CHURCH ORGANIZED

A Methodist society was organized at Bickleton in 1880 and Rev. J.H. Allyn became the first pastor of this society. According to records the first church services were quarterly meetings held September 18 and 19, 1880 at which Rev. G.C. Roe, presiding elder, officiated. This meeting held in the schoolhouse. However, the first sermon in Klickitat county east of Rock Creek was preached at the Robert M. Graham ranch on Alder Creek in 1876 by Rev. Allyn.
Mr. Bickle donated four lots in Bickleton on which the first church was built, a Methodist church. This building is now a part of the H.0. Wilson Co. hardware store and the ground on which it stood is occupied by the company's machine shed and machinery. Church services in those days were well attended. Folks came to church in wagons and on horseback, while others came on foot. Horses were tied to a hitching rack by the church, and when the racks were filled others tied their horses up town, to their pitching posts in front of the store.

FIRST DOCTOR IN 1885

Dr. H. Blair was the first doctor in this area. In 1885 he came to Bickleton, and while he was practicing medicine here he was elected state representative. Dr. Blair was one of the two men who served Klickitat county in Washington's first legislature in 1889, when on November 11th Washington Territory was admitted to the Union.
Bickleton's first and only newspaper, the Bickleton News, was established by Sid Dorris in 1902. It was circulated for 29 years, when we lost our paper. (Its assets were bought by the Sunnyside Sun.)
The rural route was started in 1904, with Roy E. McMurray as the first driver.
The pioneers were friendly folk. Everyone was made to feel welcome in their homes. When meeting someone on the road, they never failed to bid each other the time of day and inquire if all were well at their house. If there were more news they conversed longer. If a family were in distress by illness or some misfortune, all were willing to help. The store had a large heater in the back with a dozen or more chairs where folk congregated. During the season when there was a lull on the farm, men made a practice of going to town in the evenings; thus they heard the news of the community.