The Enterprise, White Salmon, WA., September 19, 1968, page 9

EARLY HISTORY OF THE TROUT LAKE VALLEY
Story Recounted by the late Wallace Peterson

    Until 1879 the Trout Lake Valley, located on the banks of the White Salmon River, 24 miles north of White Salmon, was a summer home for Indians, with Indian men hunting and fishing while the squaws harvested a portion of the huckleberry crop. Most all of the valley under cultivation now was covered with timber, scrub pine trees, and underbrush. The upper section as far as the Ice Caves and Peterson Prairie was a vast prairie which produced a native grass in abundance. In order to preserve this natural forage crop, the Indians or sheepherders set fire at regular intervals which swept wildly over the prairie sections. The native grass was a boon to the early settlers. They not only used it for summer pasture but harvested it for hay to feed their stock in winter. During the first few years they mowed it by means of the hand scythe. When machinery was finally brought into the valley, the grass was cut with a mowing machine. Most of this section is now covered with timber. In 1879, Peter Stoller, who came to this country from Switzerland, settled first in Iowa and then in Gilmer, entered the valley for the purpose of investigating a homesite. He remained in the valley about a week at which time he began making a clearing. In the spring of 1880, Mr. Stoller migrated with his family from Gilmer to establish a permanent home. They arrived in the valley by way of Gilmer over the rugged poorly broken trail that led them over hills into the Rattlesnake Canyon which was dangerously steep. They brought with them very few possessions to this new unbroken country with no fuel gathered, no soil prepared for planting and only a limited supply of food. The household goods were transported on packhorses and the family either rode or walked. They drove before them a herd of twenty cattle. They took up a homestead of 160 acres just south and east of Trout Lake itself, which is now known as the hotel property and owned by H.D. Hollenbeck. Upon arrival they pitched a tent which served them as a summer home. They then set out to build a home in less than a year's time. Nature provided the means, manpower the method. Trees were cut down and logs hewn for buildings, and by the end of the first summer a small log cabin and a large barn had been erected. Wild hay was harvested and wood was cut for winter fuel. The tools they had for harvesting were very limited. Lack of roads made hauling from more distant prairies too laborious and slow. As a result an insufficient amount of hay was harvested to winter the stock. A most difficult winter followed with an early snowfall in the middle of October. The early snowfall was not anticipated and the Stollers did not have the necessary food supplies which they intended to get from Gilmer. Mr. Stoller and family were compelled to make a hazardous journey to Gilmer thru deep snow to get the necessary provisions.By the first of March, they found their hay supply was nearly exhausted so they gathered moss from the rocks and year-old willow twigs each day. At the end of March they had only seven head of cattle alive. These they managed to keep alive thru the month of April. By the first of May there was a little pasture and more green twigs and the food supply gradually increased. Before spring food for the family was scarce and it was necessary to ration what was left. The flour supply was exhausted and for a short period of time, the family lived upon broth made from dried beef. As soon as the trail could be broken, supplies were secured from Gilmer. After the trail was broken, other courageous folks tracked into the valley determined to establish homes in spite of the many obstacles confronting them. At that time every other section of land was owned by the railroad; this was secured by some of the settlers. Later this land reverted to the U.S. Government and residents secured permanent rights by filing under the National Homestead Act. In the fall of 1880 and during the next summer, a wagon road was built from White Salmon to the valley following along the White Salmon River. Travel was exceedingly slow and uncomfortable as the road was poorly broken, and dangerously steep in some places. Some sections were almost impassable and the trip at that time required two days. In 1883 arrived the next group of settlers, who consisted of William Stadelman and his family from Iowa; Fred Bentz, who originally came to this country from Switzerland, but had been around Cascade Locks for several years previous; Charles Kittenburg, originally from Germany, but also around the Northwest for several years; Joseph Aerni; and Charles Pearson, who originally came from Sweden, settled in Iowa, and thence to Trout Lake Valley. In 1884, Mr. John Peterson arrived with his family. They stayed the first year with C.A. Pearson in the latter's cabin. Mr. Peterson's son, Wallace, born in February of 1886, was the first white child to be born in the Valley. Other settlers who arrived in 1885 were John Eckhart, Chas. G. Byrkett and his son Harvey J. and Noah Etter. These last three were the first American-born settlers in the valley. Rufus A. Byrkett with his mother arrived in 1886. Claus H. Pearson came from Sweden in 1886. During the spring of 1887, William and Frank M. Coate, brothers, arrived from Ohio. They came West by rail to The Dalles, then by boat down the Columbia River to White Salmon at the Bingen landing. They stayed at Bingen for ten days while awaiting their household goods and livestock. It required three days travel from White Salmon before they reached the Valley. While at Bingen landing they met C.A. Pearson, who had gone to White Salmon to be married to one of Mr. Stoller's daughters. The brothers each staked out a homestead claim and settled thereon. Their children still live upon their original homesteads. When the Coate brothers arrived in the Valley there were only seven cabins with small clearings around them to be found. Many open meadows were scattered throughout the yellowpine timber and willow brush where they obtained practically all of their food for their livestock. Christian Guler and A.G. Winegartner came to the valley in 1887 or 1888 and settled in Lower Bear Valley near Trout Lake Valley. This comprised the settlement of Trout Lake Valley until about 1890. Farms were cleared out of the timber and a few head of cattle were kept. Supplies were brought to the settlers by boat on the Columbia River from Portland and The Dalles, to White Salmon. William Stadelman experimented with irrigation in 1887 and found that he could raise much better crops with the use of water. Other farmers soon tried it and were successful. In 1889 the Trout Lake Irrigation Co. was formed by William and Frank Coate and Rufus Byrkett. The Coate Ditch was built that same year originating from the White Salmon River. Among other experiments tried by these settlers was the seeding of red clover. This too, proved a success and large crops of this were grown with the aid of irrigation. The news of these experiments soon reached out to the neighboring settlements and after 1890 many settlers arrived in the Valley. Among those arriving in 1890 was Charles W. Moore, who first settled in Glenwood in 1885 then moved to Trout Lake in 1890. As the settlers increased, more land was cleared and more cattle were brought into the valley. Rye, red clover, and Lincoln grass were the main crops raised for hay. Wheat and oats were also grown. In the fall and winter of 1889-90 the deepest snowfall ever recorded in the valley fell to a depth of six feet after it had settled after a hard rain. In the summer many Indians were camped in the Valley, most of them moving westward to the huckleberry fields at Twin Buttes and the Indian Race Tracks, and very few staying in the valley during the summer. None of them stayed in the Valley during the winter. Another early settler worthy of noting was Iver C. Wang, who arrived in the valley in 1901 with his family and took up homestead in the upper end of the valley. Chas. A. Pearson was instrumental in securing a voting precinct in the Valley. This was established in 1886 and the first general election was held in the fall of the same year in Pearson's cabin. Mr. Pearson also worked for, and finally secured a post office in the Valley in 1887. This was also established in his cabin as he was the first postmaster. Prior to the establishment of the post office the settlers paid 25 cents per week to compensate for the voluntary trips they made each week for their mail to and from Gilmer. After the post office was established, Mr. Stadelman carried the mail from Gilmer to Trout Lake on horseback. In 1895 Stadelman succeeded Pearson as postmaster and moved the office down to his place where he maintained also a small grocery store. C.W. Moore took over the duties of postmaster in 1905 and moved it to his place. Moore stayed with this job until he died in 1927 when Miss Alford took over the job and held it until she passed away in 1934. Mr. Cutting was acting postmaster until 1936 when Mrs. Patrick, a granddaughter of Moore was named postmaster, which position she held for several years. After World War II, John V. Aldahl took over the position. Others to hold this position have been; Calvin Langfield, Alberta D. Ball, Merle Robert Johnson and Nettie Brown. In 1901 or 1902 the Valley was so thickly settled that another post office was established in the upper end of the Valley. Chris Guler maintained a hotel on the Stoller place and the post office carried the name so the post office was known as the Guler Post Office, and Chris Guler was the first postmaster. Herman Thode, who settled in the Valley in 1904 from The Dalles, was second postmaster from 1905 to 1906. Guler again took the post office until 1903. Mr. J.E. Reynolds bought the Guler Hotel in 1903 and also secured the post office and was postmaster until 1926, when Mrs. J.A. Jermann took it over and held it until 1936 when the post office was closed by the government. The first school house in the Valley was started in 1887 in a one room log cabin which was located just east of the present Ranger Station site. Miss Sarah Stevens was the first teacher, having three or four pupils for a three month term. She received $30.00 per month without board for her services. In 1888 or 1889 the school was moved to the Cutting Place. Mr. Jasper Flannery from Goldendale was the first teacher here. In 1892 the school was moved to the Billing's Corner and remained here until 1896 when a large tree fell across the building. The building was then torn down, moved and rebuilt on the present school site which was soon too small and later two rooms were added behind. Fire destroyed all this building in 1918 and the new building was erected the same year. It was destroyed by fire in 1944 and the present modern building was erected. The first stage made its appearance in the Valley in 1893 when Chris Guler and A.G. Winegartner started the business with a team and wagon. Starting point in the Valley was at the Guler Hotel and they stopped at the Maple Hotel at Bingen Landing. As the round trip necessitated two days, trips were made to and from the Valley three times per week. They also took over the mail route from White Salmon to Trout Lake when they started the stage, thus ending the trips to Gilmer after the mail. These men were the first regular mail carriers on this route to be paid by the Government. They maintained the stage and mail route until 1897 when C.W. Moore took it over and held it until 1901. In July 1894, Teunis Wyers, Jr. of White Salmon started a stage route from White Salmon to Glenwood. While Mr. Wyers called this a stage route it consisted of only carrying the mail until a few years later when he started the stage routes for passengers and freight services. Only eighteen years old, Wyers carried the mail on horseback, making three trips a week from White Salmon to Glenwood. In 1898 Wyers started another mail route to Trout Lake, he and Moore running the same route, although Wyers carried the mail and Moore carried the freight. For four or five years Wyers carried the mail on horseback to Glenwood and a hired hand carried it into Trout Lake Valley for Wyers. Both of these routes were maintained with three trips per week until 1902 when Wyers applied for and received a mail contract for daily trips into the two settlements. It was now necessary for him to expand further as with daily service on the two routes, it was necessary to maintain two sets of riders for each route, as one round trip required two days. After using only a horse and rider for several years, Wyers used a cart for one year then reverted back to a light hack. This was used during the summer but in the winter it was necessary to go on horseback again until spring. Business soon picked up, both in freight and passenger business, and Wyers soon had to give up his hack for several democrat wagons. These he used for the heavy freight he was hauling into the valleys and with several "Rockaway Stagecoaches" he carried the passengers into the two settlements. As before, two sets of freight and passenger carrying wagons were maintained for each route so that daily service into these outlying districts would not be disrupted. Six horse teams were used on the freight wagons while a four horse team sufficed on the coaches. During the summers around 1910 it was not uncommon for from ten to thirty people to go into Trout Lake Valley every day. Several stagecoaches were used each day to carry the passengers to their destinations. Campers and fisherman made up the majority of the fares, some staying all summer and other from two weeks to a month, or longer. According to Wyers, it was a fisherman's paradise in the hills and near Trout Lake. People came from Portland, Hood River, The Dalles and other cities to fish and camp. It was also in the early part of the 1900s that Wyers carried 300 Mazama Club members to Trout Lake from which they made their first ascent of Mt Adams. Headquarters for the stage in the Valley was still maintained at the Guler Hotel, while Wyers maintained his own livery stable in White Salmon. Around 1910-12 the height of the freight and passenger business occurred. At this time Wyers had about 100 head of horses, 80 of which were in the harness every day. Shortly before World War I, Wyers found that improved roads and the increase in freight and mail, required the use of a Ford. This didn't last long either, for it was not long until the business expanded again, requiring heavier trucks and delivery wagons. Around 1927 Wyers operated five regular stages, a half dozen delivery wagons and extras in case of breakdown, and four school buses. While Mr. Stadelman maintained a small grocery store along with the post office, it was far from meeting the needs of the settlers. A general store was started in the Valley in 1895 by Chapman Bros. The next year they sold out to a Mr. Blue, who with E.C. Peets and A.G. Smith, served the settlers until 1910 when C.H. Pearson, a brother of C.A. Pearson, bought the store. Mrs. Homer Spencer, daughter of C.H. Pearson, maintained the store during the 1940s. With settlement increasing as it did within this timbered valley of the Cascades, the logging industry soon found its way into the Valley. In 1902 or 1903 the Menominie Co. set up a camp in Lower Bear Valley, and in 1903 built the Menominie Dam on the White Salmon River at the upper end of the valley. This Company originated from Michigan and their camp was known as the Michigan City. Logging was carried out on in the vicinity of the camp for four or five years. The logs were toted to the White Salmon River and driven to the Columbia where this same company had their mill near Hood River. Jams were frequent on the river due to the many deep gorges, and many other hardships were encountered in the drives on the river. Some old timers think that perhaps this was one reason why the logging industry did not extend farther into the Valley when they established there. A new improved road now leads into the Trout Lake Valley from White Salmon. One can leave from White Salmon and in less than an hour be in the Valley, over practically the same route that formerly required one whole day's time to travel. The Valley supports 600 people, the majority of them being either early settlers, or descendants of the early pioneers. A high school and grade school are located to serve the entire Valley.

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©  Jeffrey L. Elmer