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The Klickitat County Agriculturist, Goldendale, WA., June 5, 1931, page 5

EARLY DAYS IN THE PLEASANT VALLEY SECTION

At a recent meeting of the Klickitat Valley Pioneers' association, held in the Goldendale Grange hall an interesting historical article prepared by Mr. Cowles was read, in which he described the first settlement of the Pleasant Valley -- east of Goldendale, some 18 miles.
Fifty-two years ago, with his father, mother, and a sister, all went out there. They left Goldendale on March 6, 1876, going by way of the present Ralph W. Fenton and George Saxton places, past the famous Luney Butte, and then on to the Pleasant Valley country. It was absolute wilderness, inhabited only by Indians. There were no wheel tracks on the road after leaving the Fenton ranch.
Looking down on this section from the Luney Butte it was truly a beautiful sight -- the waving bunch grass, dotted with the golden and purple flowers of the early spring. An ideal sportsman's paradise, as the early settlers called it. But these ideals were later shattered, for other homeseekers heard of this section and Pleasant Valley was all too soon taken up.
Mr. Cowles hauled lumber for their buildings from Klickitat's first sawmill, run by Nelson Whitney and located one mile west of the Blockhouse. Later a sawmill was started in the Pleasant Valley by a man named Schafer, on the place where Ed Hatley now lives. The first child born in that new section was Frank Radcliff, and the first death was a small daughter of Dr. and Mrs. Hewitt. The child died during an epidemic of diptheria, which raged over a considerable part of Klickitat at that time.
The first wedding with a double one. The contracting parties were Nelson LaCourse and Miss Emma Beeks, and James Beeks and Miss Nellie Hearn. A few weeks later Mr. Cowles and Miss Mary Beeks were married.
The first permanent settlers in Pleasant Valley were J. Cowles, N. Cowles, Wm. Martin, Ellis Beeks, Jacob Beeks, Samuel Beeks, William Radcliff, Charles Newell, John Stump and sons, William and Oliver, A.M. Wylie, S. H. Smith, and John Anderson.
Judge J.R. Putman of Goldendale, the only living G.A.R. man in this city, told of his locating on High Prairie, off toward the Lyle country. This was in 1883 when he bought the Fay Fenton ranch of 80 acres. It had buildings on it, and was quite an imposing place in those days. He had cattle, sheep and hogs, and had expected the High Prairie country would prove a fine stock region. But Mr. Putman was doomed to disappointment, for the new country here settled up so fast that the range was soon gone. So he went into wheat farming, and hogs.
While on High Prairie he had a disastrous fire, but the good people helped him to rebuild and get on his feet. Mr. Putman said that Wm. R. Dunbar, who had recently come to Goldendale, gave him 1000 feet of lumber, as did Levi Clanton, who had just arrived at Centerville. Some years later he sold out and came to this county seat to live. He is still active and on the streets daily.