ejoslyn.html

The West Klickitat News, Bingen, WA., June 26, 1946, page 1

Mr. and Mrs. Erasmus Joslyn First in County

On the last day of March, 1852, a flat-boat came sailing up from the Cascades, at that time the only way of transportation on the Mid-Columbia, was becalmed at what is now known as Bingen. On this boat were a couple of newlyweds, Erasmus S. Joslyn and his wife, May W. Joslyn coming all the way from Boston by the Cape Horn route on their way to The Dallas. Though late they made a visit to the shore and they saw a beautiful valley before them. The next morning, April 1, 1852, they went ashore again. The sun was rising and clear sky overhead the eastern mountains, before which was a meadow of tall grass and flowers, heavy with dew, glittering in all the colors of the rainbow. Beyond the meadow a placid lake, and about a mile from the river the mountains rose, covered with brunch grass, flowers and scattering oaks, and crowned with the fir forest. The scene was so inspiring and so beautiful as they had never seen anything like it before. After some investigation, and noticing the rich soil producing such abundance of grass and other plants, they concluded to make this their future home. They took their things ashore and started to build a home. Thus came the first settlers, Mr. and Mrs. Erasmus S. Joslyn to the north bank of the Columbia, on the first day of April 1852. Not only that, there were no other white settlers on this side of the Columbia above the cascades. They built their first house a log house just this side of Bingen landing, but within two years they moved to where John Dickey is now living.
They went into the stock and dairy business, for the products of the dairy they had a good market at The Dalles, but had to deliver it themselves in a sailboat. Wm. Joslyn was a great friend to the Indians and there where plenty of them, but he never had any trouble, besides he could use their help. For many years there were no neighbors, the nearest was the Hood River settlement. They had no troubles. Only once a man by the name of Thompson came and claimed the place on which the Joslyns lived at the time. Mrs. Joslyn was alone at the time. She knew that if she could get rid of him before Mr. Joslyn should return there would be trouble. Somehow she induced him to leave, and they never saw him again. So passed the first four years in peace and prosperity in the earliest history of Klickitat County.