One Acre on the Columbia River - Tri-Cities, Washington：一英亩的哥伦比亚河三城，华盛顿

One Acre on the Columbia River - Tri-Cities, Washington：一英亩的哥伦比亚河三城，华盛顿 Research Report The Story of Sacajawea State Park “ The wife of Shabono our interpetr we find reconciles all the Indians, as to our friendly intentions a woman with a party of men is a token of peace.” Capt . William Clark/October 13, 1805 0 This report made possible by a generous contribution from Battelle “ . . . a very pleasant situated place”: The Story of Sacajawea State Park By Barbara J. Kubik ?Tri-Cities Visitor and Convention Bureau 1 Acknowledgements On 28 July 1805, Captain Meriwether Lewis and Captain William Clark placed their own names on the Three Forks of the Missouri River. They named the Middle Fork for James Madison, the Southeast Fork for Albert Gallatin, and the Southwest Fork for President Thomas Jefferson. The two men described Jefferson as “that illustrious personage” and the “author of our enterprise.” I have no rivers to name for the three illustrious personages that helped to author this enterprise, so I will simply say, “thank you” to three men: As the Chief of Interpretive Services in 1978, Ralph Rudeen hired me as the first Interpretive Assistant for the newly remodeled Sacajawea Interpretive Center. Then, he gave me the same autonomy Superintendent Weigle gave the park caretakers in the mid-1930?s. Steve Unruh was the ranger at Sacajawea State Park in 1978. He taught me how to be a good interpretive assistant, how to ferret out all of the obscure histories of “the forks” and, more importantly, how to share that history with the visitors. Steve Wang is now the Chief of Interpretive Services. He generously opened the 85-year old records for me, answered my questions, and shared the history of all the state?s parks? with me. 2 “ . . . a very pleasant situated place”: The Story of Sacajawea State Park The Daughters of the Pioneers of Washington chose a very popular and historic gathering place for the little, one-acre park they founded at the confluence of the Snake and the Columbia rivers in the spring of 1927. For hundreds of years, Native Americans, explorers, fur trappers and traders, railroad personnel and settlers from China, Europe and other parts of the United States had come to this particular site to work and to play, and to share food, games and stories. Today, the confluence of the Snake and the Columbia rivers is the site of Sacajawea State Park. Qosispah The first people to enjoy the site were the Sahaptian-speaking people of the Columbia Basin Plateau. The Yakama, Wanapum, Walla Walla, Umatilla and Palouse were fishers-gatherers-hunters who followed a seasonal round of food collecting from early spring through late fall. Women dug root vegetables on the hillsides and in the meadows, and picked berries in the mountains while the men hunted. 3 Several times during the year, the Snake and the Columbia rivers were filled with salmon migrating upriver to their spawning grounds. People gathered at village sites and at popular fishing grounds along the shores to catch and dry these seasonal runs of salmon. These were also times to trade, to 1socialize and to exchange news of other tribes. The large Palouse village of Qosispah, located near present-day Sacajawea State Park at the confluence of the Snake and the Columbia rivers, was one such village. Each fall, Sahaptian-speaking Nez Perce, Yakama, Walla Walla, Wanapum and Umatilla joined the Palouse at Qosispah to catch and dry a rich 2harvest of salmon. It was a time to work and to play. 1Gary E. Moulton, ed., THE JOURNALS OF THE LEWIS AND CLARK EXPEDITION, VOLUME 5, JULY 28-NOVEMBER 1, 1805 [Lincoln: University of Nebraska Press, 1988], 284. Click Relander, DRUMMERS AND DREAMERS [Seattle: Pacific Northwest National Parks & Forests Association, 1986(1953)], 88, 296. Clifford E. Trafzer and Richard D. Scheuerman, RENEGADE TRIBE: THE PALOUSE INDIANS AND THE INVASION OF THE INLAND PACIFIC NORTHWEST [Pullman: WSU Press, 1986], 4. DRUMMERS AND DREAMERS and RENEGADE TRIBE provide some of the best overviews of the people living at the confluence of the Snake and the Columbia rivers. Another good resource is: Walker, Deward E., Jr. HANDBOOK OF NORTH AMERICAN INDIANS: VOLUME 12~THE PLATEAU. Washington DC: Smithsonian Institution, 1998. 2Moulton spells the village name, k’u’sis; Relander spells it Kosith, and Trafzer and Scheuerman spell it Qosispah. 4 The Suyapos It was at this time, in the fall of 1805, that the people at Qosispah met their 3first suyapos. The word, “suyapo,” is a Sahaptian one meaning “stranger.” On October 16, 1805, the 33-member Corps of Volunteers for Northwest Discovery proceeded on down the Snake River towards the Columbia River. The Corps had spent the night of October 15 camped near a large round basin at the head of Fishhook Rapids on the Snake River. Led by Captains Meriwether Lewis and William Clark, the party canoed through “a bad dificuelt and dangerous rapid” 4on the Snake River that Clark called “bason Rapids.” The Corps of Discovery and paused for dinner. portaged around another difficult rapid, “Discharge rapid,” Later residents called the rapid, Five-Mile Rapids, for the rapid?s distance above the mouth of the Snake River. 3Trafzer and Scheuerman, 1-2. Relander uses the word suyapo in the same sense in DRUMMERS AND DREAMERS. 4Gary Moulton, ed., THE JOURNALS OF THE LEWIS AND CLARK EXPEDITION: VOLUMES 1-13 [Lincoln: University of Nebraska Press, 1983-2001]. VOLUME 1: ATLAS [1999], 74. VOLUME 5: 275. VOLUME 6: NOVEMBER 2, 1805-MARCH 22, 1806 [1990], 454. 5 Clark wrote: “after getting Safely over the rapid and having taken Diner Set out and proceeded on Seven miles to the junction of this river and the Columbia which joins from the 5 N. W.” Sergeant Patrick Gass also knew where the Corps of Discovery was on October 16: “Having gone 21 miles we arrived at the great Columbia river, which comes in 6from the northwest.” Other members of the Corps of Discovery gave the site at the confluence of the two rivers another name. Sergeant John Ordway wrote “towards evening, we arrived at the big forks.” Private Joseph Whitehouse said the same thing, 7“Towards evening we arived at the forks of the river . . .” In the years to come, “The Forks” was a name other suyapos would call the confluence of the two rivers. 5Moulton, VOLUME 5, 277. 6Carol Lynn MacGregor, ed. THE JOURNALS OF PATRICK GASS: MEMBER OF THE LEWIS AND CLARK EXPEDITION [Missoula: Mountain Press, 1997], 139. 7Gary E. Moulton, ed., THE JOURNALS OF THE LEWIS & CLARK EXPEDITION [Lincoln: University of Nebraska Press]: ATLAS, 74 VOLUME 9: THE JOURNALS OF JOHN ORDWAY, MAY 14, 1804-SEPTEMBER 23, 1806 and CHARLES FLOYD, MAY 14-AUGUST 18, 1804 [1995], 239. VOLUME 11: THE JOURNALS OF JOSEPH WHITEHOUSE, MAY 14, 1804-APRIL 1, 1806 [1997], 355. 6 The Corps of Discovery had arrived at present-day Sacajawea State Park. Wrote Clark: “ We halted above the point . . . to Smoke with the Indians who had collected there in great numbers to view us . . . after Smokeing with the Indians who had collected to view us we formed a camp at the point near which place I saw a fiew pieces of 8 Driftwood.” Sgt. Whitehouse described the scene: “We found upwards of 200 Indians, that were encamped on a point of land, that lay between these two Rivers, in a very pleasant situated place. We Encamped near those 9Indians on the same point of land.” Gass also found the site pleasant: “We encamped on the point between the two rivers. The country all round is 10level, rich and beautiful, but without timber.” Once camp was made, the Corps welcomed two hundred Sahaptian- speaking men and boys from Qosispah. There was singing, dancing, and speechmaking. The two captains exchanged gifts of medals of peace and 8Moulton, VOLUME 5, 278. 9Moulton, VOLUME 11, 356. 10MacGregor, 140. 7 friendship, clothing and handkerchiefs for Sahaptian gifts of fuel and food, 11including fish and “about 20 lb. Of verry fat Dried horse meat.” The Corps of Discovery camped at the confluence of the Snake and the Columbia rivers for three days. Captain Clark and a small party explored the Columbia River and Captain Lewis compiled several vocabularies of the Sahaptian-speaking people he called “So-kulk” and “Chim nâ pum.” The Corps of Discovery traded with the people, repaired their equipment and mended their 12clothing. On October 18, they “proceeded on down the great Columbia River.” Other explorers, traders, and fur trappers from the United States and British Canada would pass by the sagebrush-covered point of land between the two rivers. Many of them paused to meet with the people at Qosispah. On July 3, 1811, David Thompson set out from Ilthkoyape [Kettle] Falls on the Columbia River in a large canoe. With Thompson were five French-Canadians, two Iroquois and a Sanpoil interpreter and his wife. Thompson was an explorer, navigator, mapmaker and fur trader working for the North West Company of Canada, who: 11Moulton, VOLUME 5, 278. 12Moulton, VOLUME 5, 287, 298. For a detailed description of the Corps of Discovery?s three-day stay at present-day Sacajawea State Park, see: Kubik, Barbara J. LEWIS & CLARK: VOYAGE OF DISCOVERY IN THE MID- COLUMBIA REGION. Tri-Cities: Tri-Cities Visitor and Convention Bureau, 1999. 8 “. . . set off on a voyage down the Columbia River to explore this river in order to 13open out a passage for the interior trade with the Pacific Ocean.” Seven days later, on July 9, Thompson landed at the confluence of the Snake and the Columbia rivers, where he “erected a small pole, with a half sheet of paper well tied about it, with these words on it: `Know hereby that this country is claimed by Great Britain as part of its Territories, and that the Northwest Company of Merchants from Canada finding the Factory for this people inconvenient for them, do hereby intend to erect a factory in this 14place for the Commerce of the Country around.’” Like the Corps of Discovery, Thompson left a detailed record of the “Skaemena” and “Shawpatin” people, their village sites, and the “very fine and even” climate at the confluence of the two rivers. In Thompson?s mind, the site 15of today?s park was an ideal one for a factory, or fur trading post. The North West Company was not the only fur trading company interested in “the forks.” In the spring of 1811, the Pacific Fur Company had established a fur trading post on the south side of the mouth of the Columbia River. The company was founded by a wealthy German immigrant, John Jacob 13J. B. Tyrell, ed., DAVID THOMPSON?S NARRATIVE OF HIS EXPLORATIONS IN WESTERN AMERICA, 1784-1812 [Toronto: The Champlain Society, 1916(1848)], 473. 14T. C. Elliott, ed., “Journal of David Thompson,” OREGON HISTORICAL QUARTERLY 15:1 [March 1914]. Tyrell, 472, 487-9. 15 Tyrell, 487, 490-1. 9 Astor, for whom the fort, Fort Astoria, was named. The company?s employees were frequently called Astorians for the same reason. On July 22, 1811, David Stuart led a small party of Astorians up the Columbia River from Fort Astoria. The Astorians were bound for the upper Columbia River, where they planned to establish a fur trading post near the confluence of the Columbia and the Okanogan rivers. One of the members of Stuart?s party was the company clerk, Alexander Ross, who kept a journal of the Astorians? trip. On August 13, the Stuart-Ross party arrived at the site of present-day Sacajawea State Park. Ross wrote “ . . . we arrived at the forks late in the evening, and there encamped for the night.” The next morning, Ross described “the forks” as: “ . . . open and very pleasant, and seems to be a great resort, or general rendezvous, for the Indians on all important occasions. The south-east branch is known Clarke’s, in honour of the first by the name of Lewis’s River, the north by that of adventurers. They are both large rivers . . . Lewis’s river has a muddy or milk-and-water appearance, and is warm; while Clarke’s River is bluish, clear, and very cold. The difference of colour, like a dividing line between the two waters, continues for miles below their junction.” Even today, there are days when the Snake River appears “muddy” and the Columbia, “bluish,” when the Snake River is much colder than the Columbia 10 River. In the spring, the “difference of colour” that Ross observed still marks the confluence of the two rivers. The salmon at the forks were “very fine and large, weighing from fifteen to forty pounds each . . . of a better quality and larger size.” The Astorians traded and talked with the “Shaw Hapten” people and their leader Tummatapam for three days before they departed from the forks, 16and proceeded on, up the Columbia River towards the Yakima River. In 1855, Isaac Ingalls Stevens, superintendent for Indian Affairs for Washington Territory, negotiated a series of treaties between the new territorial government and the tribes in the Columbia Basin. As a result of the treaties, most of the Sahaptian-speaking people were forced from their homelands and 17relocated to reservations in Idaho, Oregon and Washington. The “great resort” of people who lived and fished at Qosispah was gone. 16Alexander Ross, ADVENTURES OF THE FIRST SETTLERS ON THE OREGON OR COLUMBIA RIVER: BEING A NARRATIVE OF THE EXPEDITION FITTED OUT BY JOHN JACOB ASTOR TO ESTABLISH THE “PACIFIC FUR COMPANY” [London: Smith, Elder and Co., 1849(1966)], 129-131. 17Kent D. Richards, ISAAC I. STEVENS: YOUNG MAN IN A HURRY [Pullman: WSU Press, 1993], 215-226. Trafzer and Scheuerman, 46-59. 11 The Northern Pacific Railroad In 1879, the Northern Pacific Railroad Company located the western terminus of its transcontinental railroad at the confluence of the Snake and the Columbia rivers. Northern Pacific was attracted to “the forks” for several reasons. The company believed steam-powered sternwheelers could haul construction materials and rail cars up the Columbia River from Portland to the site. Logs for rail ties, wharfs and buildings could be rafted down the Yakima, Columbia, Clearwater and Snake Rivers to the sawmill Cy Smith had erected at the forks in 1878. Northern Pacific laid a half a mile of narrow-gauge rail line from Smith?s sawmill on the point up the Snake River to Ainsworth. The town of Ainsworth boomed, first with railroad engineers, Chinese and Irish laborers, and the ubiquitous “camp followers” of gamblers, saloon and opium den keepers and prostitutes. Later, shop keepers, business people and families helped swell the town?s population to 1500, and to make Ainsworth, 18Franklin County?s first county seat. The boom and noise of railroad construction from the Northern Pacific [1878-1885] and from the Spokane, Portland and Seattle [SP&S] in 1905, soon stilled and the area around “the forks” became quiet. There was a small ferry 18For the story of Ainsworth, see: Meyer, Bette E. and Barbara Kubik. AINSWORTH: A RAILROAD TOWN. Fairfield: Ye Galleon Press, 1983. 12 across the Snake River at Ainsworth, and a few stockmen and farmers near the confluence of the two rivers. A Site of Historical Importance On May 25, 1926, Congressman John W. Summers, a Walla Walla Republican serving in the US House of Representatives, introduced a bill in Congress to build a memorial to the Lewis and Clark Expedition. Summers? bill stipulated the Washington State Historical Society would select the site for the memorial, and requested a $50,000-appropriation for the memorial. Summers believed a suitable memorial „would be a building to house area Indian relics and the papers and documents of the expedition and early settlement.? Summers? bill came to naught, but the members of the Daughters of the Pioneers of Washington—Pasco Chapter #3 took up Summers? proposal with an idea of their own, a park that would memorialize both the Corps of Discovery and 19explorer David Thompson. The Daughters of the Pioneers of Washington In 1911, sixty women came together in Seattle to organize an all-women pioneer historical society, the Native Daughters of Washington Pioneers. The 19th Jean Carol Davis, “Sacajawea State Park to Celebrate its 70 Anniversary,” FRANKLIN FLYER 30:3 [September 1997] : 3. 13 Native Daughters was open to all “native born daughters and granddaughters of white parents who were residents on the Pacific Coast prior to 1870.” The Native Daughters incorporated in 1918, and in 1922, the organization renamed itself, “The Daughters of the Pioneers of Washington.” The Pasco Chapter was founded on December 3, 1926, the third such chapter in the state. Membership in the Daughters of the Pioneers of Washington was, and is, open to “a female adopted or lineal descendant of a pioneer who established his or her residence in Washington Territory during the year 1870 and/or prior thereto.” Women may also trace their pioneer heritage to Oregon Territory [prior to 1853], Idaho Territory 20 [1863] or Montana Territory [1863]. The early 1900?s saw the founding of an increasing number of historical and pioneer societies such as the Native Daughters of Washington and the Washington State Historical Society [1891]. By 1920, there were at least 20 such 21organizations in the state of Washington. These new historical societies were moving beyond the goals and objectives of earlier historical societies. Prior to 20Victor J. Farrar, “Pioneer and Historical Societies of the State of Washington,” WASHINGTON HISTORICAL QUARTERLY XI [January 1920] : 38. Elaine [Mrs. L. I.] Hatfield, “Pasco Chapter, Daughters of the Pioneers Reviewed,” FRANKLIN FLYER 6:1 [April 1973] : 1. THE STATE ASSOCIATON OF THE DAUGHTERS OF THE PIONEERS OF WASHINGTON [Membership brochure/application, May 1989]. 21Farrar, 37-43. Glen Lindeman, “State Agencies and the Marking and Preservation of Historic Sites and Structures in Washington” [Masters Thesis, Washington State University, 1973], 29. Farrar lists 20 active historical organizations; Lindeman says there are 22, but does not list them. 14 this time, most nineteenth century historical societies poured their time, energy and money into scholarship and libraries. History was a serious subject for 22 academicians, authors and librarians. Now, organizations like the Daughters of the Pioneers and the state?s historical societies turned their energies to public education, the development of roadside markers and museums, and the preservation of historic homes. The objectives of the Daughters of the Pioneers included the maintenance of a reference library and the identification and preservation of historic sites. Like many women?s civic organizations of the early twentieth century, the Daughters of the Pioneers used their interest in history to promote community improvements such as parks, fountains and gardens honoring the state?s early 23pioneers. As we shall see, Sacajawea State Park would be the culmination of the goals and objectives the Daughters of the Pioneers valued most. Led by the chapter?s president, Clara [Mrs. William F.] Chute, the Daughters of the Pioneers—Pasco Chapter #3 planned to establish a small park at the confluence of the Snake and the Columbia rivers. The park was to honor both the Corps of Volunteers for Northwest Discovery, led by Captains Meriwether Lewis and William Clark [1805], and the North West Company?s 22Lindeman, 8. 23Mildred Tanner Andrews, WASHINGTON WOMEN AS PATH BREAKERS [Dubuque: Kendall/Hunt Publishing Company, 1989], 125, 127-130. Lindeman, 9-10. Daughters of the Pioneers Membership Brochure 15 explorations of the Columbia River, led by David Thompson [1811]. In Washington DC, Representative Summers continued to lend his support to the 24 proposed project. One Acre of Land In the summer of 1927, Thomas Carstens and his wife, Stacie C. KcKeown Carstens, donated an acre of land at the confluence of the Snake and the Columbia rivers to the Pasco Chapter of the Daughters of the Pioneers of Washington. The donation was a rectangular-shaped piece of land that encompassed the point of sagebrush-covered land and the beaches at the confluence of the Snake and the Columbia rivers. The property ran 100 feet up 25the Columbia and 425 feet up the Snake River. It was a small portion of a large 26stock ranch Carstens owned in the area. Thomas Carstens was a German-born immigrant who came to the United States as a skilled butcher. After a number of years as a butcher and the owner of retail meat markets in the west, Carstens purchased the Pacific Meat Company in Tacoma, and renamed the company, Carstens Packing Company. 24Davis, 3. 25Davis, 3. Deed Record No. 46; 29 June 1927. 26Program, “Lewis and Clark Monument Dedicated October 16, 1927.” “Carstens Give Historic Site to Daughters of Pioneers,” PASCO HERALD, 14 July 1927. 16 By the time Carstens and his wife donated that acre of land to the Daughters of the Pioneers, he was a successful and wealthy Tacoma businessman with meat packing plants, stockyards, and retail services throughout the Pacific 27 Northwest. Locating the Site During the spring of 1927, Captain W. P. [William Polk] Gray and Pasco Mayor A. P. [Alvin Parker] Gray worked together to locate the exact site of the October 16-18, 1805 campsite of the Corps of Discovery. The two men?s work was aided by a new, eight-volume series, THE ORIGINAL JOURNALS OF CAPTAINS MERIWETHER LEWIS AND WILLIAM CLARK, 1804-1806. This publication of the originals journals of the two captains, as well as the journals of Sergeant Charles Floyd and Private Joseph Whitehouse, was a cooperative effort between the American Philosophical Society, the publishing company of Dodd, Mead and Company, and the State Historical Society of Wisconsin. The editor was the respected author, historian and editor Reuben Gold Thwaites. Thwaites was also the director of the historical society. The eight-volume work was published in 1904, as a part of the one-hundredth anniversary of the Corps of Discovery. 27Herbert Hunt, TACOMA, ITS HISTORY AND ITS BUILDERS: A HALF CENTURY OF ACTIVITY [Chicago: S. J. Clarke Co., 1916], 274-278. 17 Volume Eight of the ORIGINAL JOURNALS was an atlas, containing 53 maps, drawn before, during and after the Expedition. It is very likely the two Grays used Map #31-2 to pinpoint the Expedition?s campsite of October 16-18 at the point of land at the confluence of the two rivers. Clark was careful to mark 28each night?s camp with a distinctive symbol. Captain W. P. Gary was a respected riverboat captain and a direct descendant of William H. Gray, a missionary with Marcus Whitman. The mayor, A. P. Gray, had come to Ainsworth during the construction of the Northern Pacific Railroad, where he worked as a logger. The two men were not related. By 1927, both men were respected businessmen and community promoters in 29Pasco. Captain W. P. Gray located the site, and the mayor provided the wooden marker and a suitable text. The dedication of that site and marker occurred on March 9, 1927. A photograph in the PASCO HERALD shows Captain Gray with a US flag and Mrs. A. P. Gray with a shovel beside the small, wooden marker. Also there that day was Pasco Mayor A. P. Gray, Clara Chute, the president of 28Paul Russell Cutright, A HISTORY OF THE LEWIS AND CLARK JOURNALS [Norman: University of Oklahoma, 1976], 104-105. Reuben G. Thwaites, ed., ORIGINAL JOURNALS OF THE LEWIS AND CLARK EXPEDITION, 1804-1806: VOLUME 8 [New York: Arno Press, 1964(1905)], Map #31-2. Moulton, ATLAS, 74. 29 For biographical sketches of Mayor A. P. Gray and Captain W. P. Gray, see: Oberst, Walter O. RAILROADS, RECLAMATION AND THE RIVER: A HISTORY OF PASCO. Pasco: Franklin County Historical Society, 1978. 18 the Daughters of the Pioneers—Pasco Chapter #3 and little Gloria Glen, the granddaughter of the A. P. Grays. Hill Williams, the editor of the weekly 30 Williams? article and photograph PASCO HERALD, covered the ceremony. appeared in a number of newspapers in the northwest, including the SEATTLE DAILY TIMES. During the summer, W. P. Bonney, secretary for the Washington State Historical Society, visited the site and drafted a design for the proposed marker, which the historical society planned to fund. The society also provided the two granite tablets for the marker. M. C. Merritt of Pasco did the concrete work for the monument for $314, and the Daughters of the Pioneers selected and gathered 31the river rocks that decorated the monument. On October 16, 1927, the Daughters of the Pioneers and a large group of scholars, dignitaries and local citizens gathered at the new Columbia and Snake River Park to dedicate the monument of river rock and polished granite. The nddate was the 122 anniversary of the arrival of the Corps of Discovery at the park?s location. Those who spoke during the dedication ceremonies that day included W. G. Bonney and L. C. Babcock of the Washington State Historical Society, T. C. 30Daughters of the Pioneers Scrapbook, 1905-1954 [Franklin County Historical Society]. Many of the contemporary newspaper articles in the scrapbook are not identified by city, newspaper and/or date. 31Davis, 3. 19 Elliott of Walla Walla, Dr. F. F. Nadler of Washington State College in Pullman and Mark Moulton, a Kennewick attorney. Bonney spoke eloquently of the history of the Oregon Territory and of the early explorers. T. C. Elliott had established himself as a scholar of the explorations and journals of David Thompson and he spoke at length of Thompson?s exploration of “the forks” in 1811. Elliott supported the Daughters of the Pioneers decision to honor both the Corps of Discovery and David Thompson. Mayor A. P. Gray presided over the ceremonies. Mayor Gray, his granddaughter, Gloria Glen, and her friend Catherine Cooney, unveiled the flag- draped monument. Josephine Gray Glen, the mayor?s daughter, led the musical 32 numbers. In the early years, the Daughters of the Pioneers worked hard to maintain their little, one-acre park. Pasco business owners and area civic organizations donated a large number of trees to the Daughters of the Pioneers for the park. Once the trees were planted, the women visited the park daily during warm weather to water the trees. In 1927, the park did not have an irrigation system, 33so the women carried buckets of water from the two rivers to each sapling. 32Davis, 3-4. Walter Oberst, “Sacajawea Park Owes It?s Existence to Daughters of the Pioneers,” FRANKLIN FLYER 10:3 [October 1977] : 7. 33Davis, 4. Oberst, 7. 20 On July 29, 1929, the Daughters of the Pioneers gave Representative Summers and several visiting Congressmen and government officials a tour of the Columbia and Snake River Park. While he was there, Summers dedicated a 34new flagpole erected near the monument. An early photograph of the Daughters of the Pioneers seated around the monument shows the flagpole to the right of the monument, on the Columbia River side of the monument. Summers continued to promote the park as a historic site, and to advocate funding for a “suitable memorial.” For four years, the park was known by several names, including Carstens? Park, in honor of the original donor of the land. The Daughters of the Pioneers called the park the Columbia and Snake River Park. One newspaper article referred to the park as Lewis and Clark Park; another called it Lewis and Clark 35Memorial Park. 34“Congressmen Assist in Flag Raising,” PASCO HERALD, 1 August 1929. Oberst, “Sacajawea Park,” 7. 35Daughters of the Pioneers Scrapbook, 1905-1954. Program, “Unveiling Monument Ceremony,” 16 October 1927. The name, Columbia and Snake River Park is correct; it was not known as Columbia and Snake Rivers Park. 21 Sacajawea State Park On July 30, 1931, the PASCO HERALD carried the news that Washington State Parks had accepted the deed to the park from the Daughters of the Pioneers—Pasco Chapter #3. The park was to be called “Sacajawea State Park” in honor of the 16-year old Shoshoni woman who was a member of the Corps of Discovery. The State of Washington established its first State Board of Park Commissioners in 1913. Within five years, the Commissioners established several important policies that would affect the state?s acquisition of present-day Sacajawea State Park: --the state would work to secure park properties by donation --the state would work closely with communities to secure park lands near towns --the state would work with the state highway department to acquire lands along the highways --in cooperation with the state?s historical societies, the state would accept 36parks for “historical purposes.” 36Minutes, State Parks Committee, VOLUME 1: November 1915-March 1937, 1- 4. Lindeman, 40-1. 22 By 1921, the newly reorganized State Parks Committee was actively pursuing these four goals. The new Committee was made up of three elected state officials—the Secretary of State, the State Treasurer and the Commissioner of Public Lands. By 1922, the number of acres held for state parks had grown from about 25 to well over 5,500 acres. At this time, the parks? sole source of revenue was 25% of the fines collected from traffic violations outside of 37incorporated areas of the state. As early as 1922, the State Parks Committee was interested in establishing parks in eastern Washington. In the summer of 1927, the three-member Parks Committee traveled to Pasco, where they met with Carl Bird and with the Pasco Chamber of Commerce. Subsequent correspondence between the Committee, Bird and Bonney, who was still the secretary for the Washington State Historical 38Society, reflected everyone?s interest in the park. State Senator Charles Stinson of Pasco encouraged the Daughters of the Pioneers to donate their little park to the state. During his two-year term in the state House of Representatives [1927-1929], and his first four-year term in the state Senate, Stinson worked closely with the park?s founders and the state of Washington to facilitate the transfer of 39land. 37Lindeman, 41-2. 38Minutes, VOLUME 1, 126-33, 139. 23 On June 29, 1931, the Committee examined and accepted the deed to the “area at the Junction of the Columbia and Snake Rivers.” The deed was sent to 40 Senator Stinson for presentation to the state auditor. Today, there is a great deal of speculation about the name of the park. It was a policy of the State Parks Committee to encourage residents to select the names of the parks nearest them. Many people presumed the park would be named for the Corps of Discovery, for Captain Meriwether Lewis and Captain William Clark, or for David Thompson. But, in 1922, the Committee had accepted land for a park near Chehalis, called “Lewis and Clark State Park.” With 520 acres of virgin forest, Lewis and Clark State Park was viewed as a 41“timber museum.” It is possible the name “Sacajawea State Park” was chosen to honor a woman who was important to the history of the region. In this case, that woman was the sole woman in the Corps of Discovery, “Sah-kah-gar we â.” The name may have also been chosen to honor the women?s historic and civic organization that founded the park, the Daughters of the Pioneers of Washington—Pasco 39S. R. Holcomb, comp., STATE OF WASHINGTON: MEMBERS OF THE STATE LEGISLATURE, 1889-1987 [Olympia: State of Washington, 1987], 34, 40, 44. Oberst, RAILROADS, 203. 40Minutes, VOLUME 1. 41Minutes, VOLUME 1, 23, 30. Lindeman, 43. 24 Chapter #3. In 1931, the most commonly accepted spelling of the young Shoshoni woman?s name was “Sacajawea.” The name may also have been chosen to reflect the new role Sacagawea found herself playing as the Corps of Discovery proceeded on down the Snake and the Columbia rivers in the fall of 1805. Captain Clark eloquently described Sacagawea?s new role as a symbol of peace and friendship. On October 13, as the Corps of Discovery passed the mouth of the Palouse River, Clark wrote: “The wife of Shabono our interpetr we find reconciles all the Indians, as to our friendly intentions a woman with a party of men is a token of peace” And again on October 19, near present-day Umatilla, he wrote: “the sight of This Indian woman, wife to one of our interprs. Confirmed those people of our friendly intentions, as no woman ever accompanies a war party of Indians 42 in this quarter---“ 42Moulton, VOLUME 5, 268, 306. Sacagawea?s role with the Corps of Discovery may be found throughout the explorers? journals, as well as in countless biographies and biographical sketches. Some of the more accurate are: Anderson, Irving W. A CHARBONNEAU FAMILY PORTRAIT. Astoria: Fort Clatsop Historical Association, 1988. Clark, Ella E. and Margot Edmonds. SACAGAWEA OF THE LEWIS AND CLARK EXPEDITION. Berkeley: University of California Press, 1979. Howard, Harold. SACAJAWEA. Norman: University of Oklahoma Press, 1972. 25 On August 7, 1942, the State Parks Committee confirmed the official 43names of 59 state parks, including Sacajawea State Park. At that time, the park was the only state-owned park in Franklin County. Hard Times In 1929, Governor Roland Hartley vetoed the budget for the state?s parks for the 1929-31 biennium. The governor vetoed the same budget the following biennium [1931-1933]. As a result, for four long years, there was no money in the budget for any of the state?s parks, including the new park, Sacajawea State Park. Caretakers in the state?s parks survived by taking odd jobs, selling snacks and firewood, and renting boats and campsites. Simple maintenance work was 44non-existent. With the election of Clarence Martin as governor in 1932, and the promise of funding, the State Parks Committee submitted a budget of $40,000. When the budget was approved, the Committee hired a new superintendent of Washington Sate Parks, W. G. Weigle. The Parks Committee directed Weigle to build up the parks, to provide comfort stations and picnic tables, and to hire 43Minutes, VOLUME 1, 393-4. 44Lindeman, 43. 26 “efficient caretakers.” Today, it is difficult to imagine a more dedicated and 45efficient caretaker than the woman at Sacajawea State Park, Clara Chute. During the 1933-1935 biennium, the Committee allocated $5,000 to Sacajawea State Park for improvements. The improvements included a comfort station, an irrigation system, lawn around the monument, a large kitchen shelter called Tyee Illahee and a vista house. Other improvements during this, and the subsequent, biennium included a new well, additional trails, a swimming barge and a bathhouse, and a guard rail to prevent automobiles from rolling out of the parking lots and into the two rivers. The guard rail was built to match the monument, with a concrete base topped with river rocks. The work proceeded 46quickly under the direction of W. J. Diehm, the park?s new caretaker. On February 27, 1935, the WALLA WALLA DAILY BULLETIN provided their readers with a year?s end review of the work in all of Pasco?s parks, including Sacajawea State Park. According to the BULLETIN, improvements at the park in 1934 included a cement pump house, additional lawn and trees and a swimming beach on the Snake River. A new “rockery” of petrified wood surrounded the Vista House to protect the structure from blowing sand. 45Minutes, VOLUME 1, 216, 223, 237, 240. “Work Started on Park,” PASCO HERALD, 4 May 1933. 46Daughters of the Pioneers Scrapbook. 27 A new irrigation system, using a gas-powered Wasco pump, sprinklers and 2,700 feet of underground lines, was installed. A reliable irrigation system was essential for the trees planted by the Daughters of the Pioneers, and for the lawn, shrubs and trees added in the mid-1930?s. The most intriguing work, reported the BULLETIN, was a beautification project on the upper bank of the Snake River. Here, the words “Lewis and Clark Exposition 1805” were spelled out in large letters made of river rocks. The letters 47 were surrounded by ample plantings of red, white and blue flowers. Today, visitors to the park call the vista house a “gazebo.” The gazebo still stands along the Snake River side of Sacajawea State Park, and is popular spot for weddings, family reunions and birthday parties. Parts of the guard rail may be seen along the old road that runs through most of the park. If the water level is low enough on the Snake River side of the park, curious visitors may still see the roof of concrete pump house, now filled in with sand and silt from the river. One of the first two comfort stations, built side-by-side in 1934, is still in use, near the present-day swimming beach on the Columbia River side of the park. Present-day visitors call those “comfort stations” restrooms. The bath house built during the 1935-1937 biennium was located right on the point near 47“Pasco Parks. . .,” WALLA WALLA DAILY BULLETIN, 27 February 1935, 42. 28 Tyee Illahee. By the early 1950?s, this bathhouse was no longer in use, and was removed. The kitchen shelter, with its large stone fireplace, was located just up the Columbia River from the monument and the flagpole. The shelter?s name, “Tyee Illahee,” is a Chinook Jargon word that translates roughly to mean a “grand 48 On June 25, 1933, the daughters of the Pioneers hosted an open meeting place.” 49house at Tyee Illahee to observe the park?s many early improvements. Tyee Illahee became a popular place for group picnics. During the bicentennial of George Washington?s birthday on February 22, 1932, the park?s founders gathered to dedicate two previously-planted trees. A tree planted by Mayor A. P. Gray was dedicated to George Washington. Another tree, one of the first planted in the park in 1927, was dedicated to the late Mayor Gray. The small bronze marker attached to the tree read “Mayor A. P. Gray landed here in 1882.” Josephine Gray Glen, the late mayor?s daughter provided the music for the dedication, and her daughter, Gloria Glen, unveiled the trees. The marker honoring the mayor may still be seen, now embedded in a large rock 48Edward Harper Thomas, CHINOOK: A HISTORY AND DICTIONARY [Portland: Binfords & Mort, 1935], 68, 101. Il?-la-hee: country, land, earth home Ty-ee?: a chief, a gentleman, an officer; by 1935, anything superior. 49Daughters of the Pioneers Scrapbook, unknown newspaper, 28 June 1933. Davis, 4. 29 near the gazebo. It was the second time the mayor?s daughter and granddaughter helped dedicate structures and plantings in the park. On April 6, 1933, the weekly PASCO HERALD reported Carstens Packing Company, in cooperation with the estate of Thomas Carstens, had donated nine 50acres to the park. Sacajawea State Park was now a 10-acre park. Today, Sacajawea State Park comprises approximately 280 acres. Twenty acres make up the groomed day-use park. The rest of the park is a mix of wetlands, sand dunes and desert steppe, and the old townsite of Ainsworth. The majority of the land is in a long-term lease with the Army Corps of Engineers, and much of the land is part of a national historic district that stretches from the mouth of the Snake 51River to the mouth of the Palouse River. By 1934, the state had come to rely on federal funds and federal work programs to make modest improvements in the state?s parks. For about 10 years, the Civilian Conservation Corps [CCC], the Works Progress Administration [WPA] and the Public Works Administration [PWA] provided manpower, 52materials and money for 28 state parks. Sacajawea State Park benefited most from the WPA. 50PASCO HERALD, 6 April, 29 June 1933. 51Reade Obern, Park Manager—Sacajawea State Park, Telephone Interview by Barb Kubik, 30 May 2000. 52Lindeman, 45. 30 The WPA was first called the Works Progress Administration, then the Works Projects Administration. The WPA was a federal administrative relief program designed to employ white-collar workers, artisans, scholars, and 53manual laborers in state and local projects. As a state park, with recreational facilities and a historical site, Sacajawea State Park was ideally suited for WPA projects. During the 1930?s, the minutes of the State Parks Committee are filled with references to the WPA. Most of the minutes are quite cryptic, with only a brief reference to the funding of, or the continuance of, a WPA project. Rarely is the specific project identified by a project name or number. On November 11, 1936, the minutes noted that a “WPA project at Sacajawea State Park was to be continued, with the Committee providing the necessary outlay.” In March of 1940, another “WPA project was approved;” the work began immediately under the guidance of Riley Exline, a state park carpenter working at Sacajawea State Park. Later that year, the Committee submitted an application for funding for yet 54another WPA project at the park. Early WPA-funded and -directed projects in the park included additional lawn and irrigation lines, cinder-covered trails, 2000 shrubs and 500 trees. New 53Marguerite Bloxom, comp., PICKAXE AND PENCIL: REFERENCES FOR THE STUDY OF THE WPA [Washington DC: Library of Congress, 1982], 1. “WPA Puts Projects on View,” SPOKESMAN REVIEW [Spokane], December 15, 1940. 54Minutes, VOLUME 1, 437-8; VOLUME 2, 63, 79. 31 swimming facilities, including a bathhouse and a swimming barge, were 55 constructed; the beach was cleared of boulders, leveled and filled with sand. Sacajawea Museum Perhaps the single most important WPA-funded project in the park was the construction of Sacajawea Museum. Funding for the job was symbolic of what the WPA stood for—employment for local laborers and craftsmen, preservation of the arts and history, and opportunities for the public to view art, history and culture. On April 4, 1938, the State Parks Committee approved WPA funds of 56$7,858 for the construction of a museum at Sacajawea State Park. Kennewick resident Jay Perry had campaigned long and hard for funds for a museum to exhibit stone and bone tools once used by the area?s Sahaptian-speaking people. Perry was one of many area residents with extensive collections of stone and bone weapons, tools, jewelry, art and household implements anxious to develop a museum to house and exhibit their collections. Jay Perry, Jack France, the 55“Plan Beauty Course for State Park,” PASCO HERALD, 18 March 1937, 1, 6. “Sacajawea To Get Many New Things,” PASCO HERALD, 13 March 1941. 56Minutes, VOLUME 2, 23. 32 Birch and the Wiehl families, Sorren Maas, Fred Harris, Guy Gilbert and others 57generously loaned their private collections to the new museum. On June 2, 1938, the Committee directed Weigle, and his assistant, Ralph 58Dunker, to meet with Jay Perry to select the site for the museum. Construction began as soon as the men selected a site near the monument. Earl E. MacCannell, an architect employed by Washington State Parks, volunteered to paint a series of murals for the new museum. The murals, depicting the history of the area from the time of the Native Americans to the early settlement of Franklin county, hung in the museum?s lobby. MacCannell was an engineer, an architect and an artist who worked in many mediums, including oils. It has been said his work is an excellent example of depression- 59era art. Over 1,000 people celebrated the dedication of the museum on June 29, 1941. There was a bar-b-que, fiddlers, square dancing and singing. Local markets donated hams and coffee and area businesses provided prizes for the competitions. “Old timers” with more than 25 years of residency formed the area?s first pioneer society. 57Jay Perry, Interview by Stephen Unruh, 1978, original tape/transcript, Washington State Parks and Recreation Commission, Olympia, WA. Accession Records, Sacajawea State Park/Sacajawea Interpretive Center 58Minutes, VOLUME 2, 27. 59 Nancy MacCannell Caling, Interview by Barbara J. Kubik, 28 August 1980, interview transcript, Sacajawea Interpretive Center, Pasco, WA. 33 Belle Culp Reeves welcomed visitors, and dedicated the new museum. Reeves was a former state representative from the Wenatchee-area. In 1938, after six terms in the House of Representatives, she was appointed the state?s first [and only] woman Secretary of State. As such, she also served on the State Park?s Committee, and at this time was the Committee?s chair [1941-1947]. Reeves interest in parks, education, and the state?s history were reflected in her remarks 60that day. There were many familiar faces in the crowd that day. Clara Chute and other members of the Daughters of the Pioneers had coordinated the day?s events. One guest of honor was W. P. Bonney, who in 1927, had helped to dedicate the park and the monument. Once again, Josephine Gray Glen provided the music. Gloria Glen appeared as “Miss Sacajawea.” The crowd convinced the park caretaker, Jack McDaniels, to sing two songs. McDaniels was well-liked in the community, and that evening, hosted a reception for the community and the three-member Park Committee, Belle Reeves, Jack Taylor 61and Otto Case. 60Andrews, 17-18. Kathryn Hinsch, POLITICAL PIONEERS: THE WOMEN LAWMAKERS [Olympia, 1983], 54. Holcomb, 36, 115. 61“Plans Are Completed for Sunday,” PASCO HERALD, 26 June 1941. “Dame Nature Helped Make Pioneer Picnic A Success,” PASCO HERALD, 3 July 1941. 34 For three months that fall, Perry worked as the museum?s curator for $50.00 per month. For insurance purposes, Weigle ordered the estimated 10,000- 62 piece collection inventoried and evaluated. In 1942, Perry arranged for the loan of a large and valuable collection of artifacts from Australia, New Zealand, Tahiti, the Hawaiian Islands, Samoa, and other Pacific Rim island-nations. The collections came from the Thomas Burke Museum at the University of Washington in Seattle. The collection was housed in the north wing of the museum, which until 1942, was empty. The loan included outrigger canoes, tapa cloth, household implements, weapons and 63jewelry. Visitors to the park still recall that exhibit. Caretakers, Superintendents and Park Managers The life of a caretaker in any one of the state parks was not easy. Weigle was the first superintendent to grant the caretakers a measure of autonomy in running and maintaining their individual parks. By the mid-1930?s, federal funds allowed caretakers to initiate badly needed repairs and improvements, including comfort stations [restrooms] and picnic tables, and to build up their parks and maintenance equipment. 62Minutes, VOLUME 2, 201, 207, 241269. 63Accession Records, Sacajawea State Park Mary Jane Lewis, “Sacajawea Park,” TRI-CITY HERALD, 1987. 35 Salaries for many caretakers ranged from $50.00 to $125.00 per month. In 1934, these caretakers received a 10% raise. Some of the parks provided housing for the caretakers, but many of those homes lacked running water, heat and lights. The caretaker?s house at Sacajawea State Park, completed about 1938, was one of the most modern and comfortable for its time. Caretakers came from all walks of life. Some of the jobs were viewed as rewards for political party faithful. Other caretakers, especially during the Depression, were both the park?s groundskeeper and the foreman for the federally-funded projects and work crews. At Sacajawea State Park, both John Yollo and Jack McDaniels may have been caretakers and WPA foremen. In February 1942, the title of caretaker was changed to superintendent to reflect some of the changes in the caretaker?s responsibilities. Eighteen years 64 later, the superintendents and their assistants were called rangers. The War Years Just as the lack of money during the Depression made it difficult for caretakers to maintain the parks, so too did World War II make work in the parks difficult. Construction materials and plumbing fixtures were not available for repairs. Gas and tire rationing kept people close to home, and park visitation 64Minutes, VOLUME 2, 285; VOLUME 4, MARCH 15, 1954-DECEMBER 16, 1962, 139. 36 swelled. There were blackouts, state Defense Council rules and regulations to comply with, and on many occasions, the parks were used by the military for training and bivouacking. Many of the park?s superintendents took jobs in defense plants or were called to military service. Due to shortages of manpower and the inability of the State Parks Committee to replace the men, some of the 65 caretakers? wives remained in the parks to manage them. During the war, funds, materials, and labor were all in short supply. None-the-less, the State Parks Committee allocated funds for a number of improvements at Sacajawea State Park. In 1941, $2,000 was set aside for improvements to the water system, and to build additional display cases, and construct and install screens for the museum?s windows. The roofs on many of the early buildings were replaced. In 1947, the irrigation system was again expanded. When the superintendent, George S. Maynard resigned during the winter of 1942, the Committee moved quickly to promote his assistant, Riley Exline, as 66the new superintendent. Exline earned $140.00 per month. In cooperation with the State Department of Highways, the state parks completed a survey of all internal park roads and park entrances. At Sacajawea State Park, it was recommended the Committee seek funding to grade and gravel 65 Minutes, VOLUME 1, 223, 227, 330-1; VOLUME 2, 1, 27, 43, 141, 349-60. Daughters of the Pioneers Scrapbook 66Minutes, VOLUME 2, 385-6, 401, 419-23. 37 the road from the parking lot to the swimming beach on the Columbia River, as 67well as the loop from Tyee Illahee to the parking area. Park Visitors In their 1934-year end report, the State Parks Committee told Governor 68Martin that 350,000 people visited the state?s parks in 1934. Sacajawea State Park was no exception. The park was a popular spot with local people, who visited the park for a variety of activities. thThe PASCO HERALD reported large crowds for the 4 of July [1933] boat races at the park. Race boats powered by outboard motors ran a quarter-mile course, and on that date, one boat hit a top speed of 50 mph! These races 69continued intermittently for several years. During the war years, the park was very popular. Gas and rubber 70rationing, and the demands of wartime work, kept people close to home. In 1941, civic organizations in Pasco established the Pasco United Services Organization [USO]. The USO provided recreational opportunities for Euro- 67Minutes, VOLUME 2, 435, 463, 469. 68Minutes, VOLUME 1, 301 [24 December 1934]. 69 Daughters of the Pioneers Scrapbook. 70“Sunday Saw Big Crowds at Sacajawea,” PASCO HERALD, 11 June 1942. “Go To Picnics,” WALLA WALLA UNION-BULLETIN, 19 September 1943, 3. Daughters of the Pioneers Scrapbook. 38 American and Afro-American service men and women stationed in the area during World War II. One of the USO?s most popular activities was the bimonthly picnics at Sacajawea State Park. The USO also arranged for recuperating veterans at McGraw Government Hospital in Walla Walla to attend 71picnics at Sacajawea State Park. In 1947, the Pasco Lions Club initiated the Pasco Water Follies. With the help of several other civic clubs, the Lions Club developed a popular, week-long community event that included a parade, Water Follies royalty, sports events, and boat races. From 1947 until 1960, the Pasco Water Follies held the annual limited hydroplane races on a seven-eighths mile course on the Snake River side 72of Sacajawea State Park! The Daughters of the Pioneers continued to meet at Sacajawea State Park. Whenever the state association held their annual convention in Pasco, the local chapter hosted a lawn tea or a picnic at “their park.” In addition, the 1941 sunrise service on Easter Sunday was held in the park. 71R. S. and Grace Brown, “Historical Record of Pasco United Services Organizations Club, Pasco, WA, 1941-1946,” FRANKLIN FLYER 24:4 [March 1992] : 3, 6. 72Walter A. Oberst, “Pasco Lions Club Originated Water Follies,” FRANKLIN FLYER 12:2 [July 1979] : 1-3. 39 Over the years, the pioneer association founded during the dedication of Sacajawea Museum in 1941 met sporadically. Many of their summer meetings 73 were picnics at Sacajawea State Park. Condemnation As early as 1945, it appears the State Parks Committee was aware of the possibility Sacajawea State Park might be inundated when a proposed dam at Umatilla, Oregon was completed. The Corps was concerned that rising backwater from McNary Dam would flood up to 80% of the park, and endanger many of the park?s buildings and groves of trees. The Corps sought to condemn the park, and offered the state several alternatives to the condemnation, each of which meant relocating Sacajawea State Park to another site along the Snake or the Columbia River. The State Parks Committee directed Samuel J. Clarke, the director of Washington State Parks, to investigate each alternative carefully. However, it was the Committee?s consensus that the park was valuable one, and one the Committee was unwilling to lose. Sacajawea State Park was a popular recreational site, it was of historic importance, and it was the site of the annual Pasco Water Follies boat races, which drew hundreds of visitors to the area each 73Daughters of the Pioneers Scrap Book. 40 summer. By 1951, the newly renamed Washington State Parks and Recreation 74Commission had determined to retain Sacajawea State Park. Local residents supported the Commission?s decision. Franklin County residents exploded in anger when they learned the Army Corps of Engineers intended to condemn and to relocate Sacajawea State Park. The 250 residents who met with the Army Corps of Engineers personnel at the Franklin County Courthouse in December 1949 were adamant the Corps would protect the site of 75Sacajawea State Park. The proposal to relocate the park to another site along the Columbia River was simply unacceptable. Throughout the early 1950?s, the debate raged between the Corps, the Commission and the local residents. Like the Commission, residents viewed Sacajawea State Park as “their park,” as a site of recreational value and historic importance. The Corps of Engineers continued to raise concerns about potential flooding for the 31-acre park. However, now the Corps believed the park would lose only 25-30% of its land, or 8-10 acres. Most of this land was undeveloped beachfront property along the point at the confluence of the two rivers. Several of the park?s earliest buildings had been built on the land that would be inundated, including Tyee Illahee and the old bath house, which had 74Minutes, State Parks Committee/Washington State Parks and Recreation Commission, VOLUME 3, October 1944-December 1953, 75, 313-7, 333, 368. 75Daughters of the Pioneers Scrap Book, “Park Site Change is Opposed,” 13 December 1949. 41 been empty for several years. In addition, the park stood to lose many of its oldest and largest trees, the parking lot in front of the swimming beach, and a number of bar-b-que pits, or fireplaces. In the Spring of 1953, the Corps of Engineers started condemnation proceedings for a “flowage easement” for approximately five acres of land, the improvements on that five acres and the trees. The $75,000 of compensation the Army Corps of Engineers paid to Sacajawea State Park for land lost and damages 76 sustained was used for improvements to the north of the park. The Park purchased 18 acres for additional recreation facilities and a parking lot. This was connected to the new road the Corps of Engineers was building into the park. On the Snake River side of the park, a swimming lagoon and a bathhouse with showers, changing rooms and bathrooms were constructed. The bathhouse still stands, now as a restroom and storage facilities. The swimming lagoon has been converted to a boat launch and mooring facilities. Sump pumps were installed in the basements of the museum and the ranger?s house to control seepage from the rising water. Other improvements followed in the 1950?s and the 1960?s. A house was built near the park entrance for a second ranger, and a restroom was built near the new parking lot. Both the house and the restroom were constructed in the 76Daughters of the Pioneers Scrap Book: “Sacajawea Park Closure is Off,” 11 August 1950; “Sacajawea Park Pact is Reached,” 3 October 1952; “Engineers Start Court Action,” April 1953. Minutes, 389, 393. US District Court, United States of America vs. 31.0 Acres of Land, et. al., 8 April 1953. 42 same style as earlier buildings. A new boat launch was constructed on the Columbia River side of the park. The Columbia River current proved to be too swift to safely launch boats, and the boat launch was relocated to its present location in the old swimming lagoon on the Snake River side of the park. A new swimming beach was located along the Columbia River, in approximately the same place as the original beach. Museum Remodeling Projects In 1953, Albert Culverwell was hired as the first historian for Washington State Parks. Culverwell promptly assessed each of the park?s museums and visitors? centers, and made recommendations for improvements. Culverwell recommended the Commission upgrade the heating and cooling systems, refurbish the exhibits, and in general, modernize many of the museums, including Sacajawea Museum. In 1958, under Culverwell?s direction, Sacajawea Museum was remodeled. The displays of Indian artifacts were improved, as was the building?s lighting. A coal-fired furnace was installed in the basement, and a large fan was added to cool the building in the 100-degree summer weather. The lobby was paneled to cover MacCannell?s rare, WPA-era oil paintings. A map of the route of the Lewis and Clark Expedition was painted on the paneling. Culverwell ran out of money 43 before he could complete the planned archaeological exhibits in the north wing 77of the museum. In January 1956, the Commissioners accepted a gift from a wealthy New York industrialist, Charles Bassett. Early in his life, Bassett had purchased numerous stone points and tools from a collector named “Arrowhead Charlie” Beckman who lived along the Columbia River near Roosevelt, Washington. Bassett donated that particular collection of 4,700 points to Sacajawea Museum. Spurred by Bassett?s gift, park personnel worked with Jay Perry to convert the 78many loaned collections to gifts to the museum. In 1976, Sacajawea Museum underwent a second remodeling. Ralph Rudeen and Dick Clifton, of Washington State Parks Interpretive Services, renovated the museum?s collection and displays of Native American stone and bone tools, and dedicated the room to Jay Perry. The new exhibits focused on tool-making techniques, tool uses and the subsistence culture of the Sahaptian-speaking people. The north wing of the museum, once used to house traveling exhibits and an archaeological exhibit, was reopened to tell the story of the Corps of Discovery. The emphasis in the Lewis and Clark Room was on the role of the 77 Oberst, “Sacajawea Park,” 8-9. 78Interview, Jay Perry. Accession files, Sacajawea Interpretive Center 44 Corp?s 16-year old Agaiduka Shoshoni interpreter, Sacagawea, and the Corp?s three-day stay on the “point of land.” During the remodeling, Dick Clifton removed the paneling Culverwell had installed in the lobby. Underneath the paneling, Clifton and Rudeen found MacCannell?s painting, still intact and vibrant. Today, three of those works, depicting the culture of the Sahaptian-speaking people and the story of the Corps 79of Discovery hang in the Jay Perry Room. It was as Representative John Summers and the Daughters of the Pioneers—Pasco Chapter #3 had envisioned in 1927. The museum?s name was 80changed to Sacajawea Interpretive Center to reflect these changes. During the dedication of Sacajawea Interpretive Center on April 16, 1978, there were many familiar faces in the audience. Descendants of the Thomas Carstens family were invited to the dedication, as were members of the Washington State Historical Society and the Franklin County Historical Society. Thomas and Stacie Carstens had donated the first acre of land to the Daughters of the Pioneers of Washington for the original park. The state historical society had helped erect the monument. In 1941, the forerunner of the county historical society was formed during the dedication of the original museum. Numerous 79Jim Dullently, Sacajawea Museum murals „important discovery,?” TRI-CITY HERALD, 24 April 1977. 80 Dullently. Gary Mozel, “Sacajawea Park Museum Being Renovated,” FRANKLIN FLYER 10:2 [July 1977]: 1-3. 45 members of the Daughters of the Pioneers were also in attendance. President Mary Jane Pruitt spoke of the history of the Daughters of the Pioneers, and of the 81 founding of the little, one-acre park. Remembering the Corps of Discovery In 1955, the nation commemorated the 150th anniversary of the Corps of Volunteers for Northwest Discovery. The 33-member Corps of Discovery returned to the park that year, to join Pasco, Kennewick and Richland residents, the Richland Players, the Yakama Indian Nation, and historians and writers in thcommemorating the 150 anniversary of the Expedition?s arrival. On October 16, the Richland Players presented a historical pageant, reenacting the arrival of the Expedition in 1805. Numerous local residents, including E. L. Beardsley [Captain Meriwether Lewis], A. B. Dunning [Captain William Clark], Leon Smith [York], and Herschel Kidwell [Sergeant Patrick Gass] all had roles in the pageant. Explorer Scouts from the Blue Mountain Council participated in the pageant. Alex Saluskin welcomed visitors on behalf of the 81“Program~Sacajawea Interpretive Center Dedication” 16 April 1978. Files, Sacajawea Interpretive Center 46 Yakama Nation, and translated the story into sign language. Nita Totus 82portrayed “Sacagawea.” The Richland Players? pageant, and the participation of the Explorer Scouts and the Yakama Nation were all in keeping with the plans of the Washington State Lewis and Clark Sesquicentennial Committee. During the year-long planning, the Sesquicentennial Committee sought to develop educational programs and community pageants, the support of the media and the Native Americans, and the involvement of youth in the sesquicentennial. One of the area?s daily newspapers, the COLUMBIA BASIN NEWS, ran feature articles, excerpts from the journals, illustrations and local news stories about the th83Expedition during the 150 anniversary year. “ . . . a very pleasant situated place” On October 16, 1805, Sergeant Joseph Whitehouse called the site of present-day Sacajawea State Park “a very pleasant situated place.” Fiver years later, David Thompson described the climate as “very fine and even.” The Astorian, 82“Historical Pageant on Sunday,” COLUMBIA BASIN NEWS, 15 October 1955, 1. Program, Sunday October 16, 1955. Davis, 5-6. 83Minutes, Washington State Lewis and Clark Sesquicentennial Committee, Fall 1954-Summer 1955. 47 Alexander Ross, described the site as “. . . open and very pleasant . . . a great resort . . .” The Daughters of the Pioneers—Pasco Chapter #3 thought the site was important enough to make it into a park to honor both the Corps of Discovery and the explorations of David Thompson. Representative Summers and Senator Stinson lent their political weight to the plans the Daughters of the Pioneers were making to develop a park at this historic site. During the Depression, the federal government saw the new 10-acre state park as an important recreation and historic site. Using the WPA, government officials channeled money, manpower and materials into the park to promote recreation and to preserve the area?s early history. That the communities around Sacajawea State Park agreed with the Corps of Discovery, with David Thompson and with the Daughters of the Pioneers has been evident since 1927. From the very first year of the park?s existence, area civic and heritage organizations, business owners and school groups have all supported Sacajawea State Park with their own contributions of volunteer hours for beautification and clean-up projects, trees, shrubs and flowers for the grounds, and artifacts and reference materials for the museum/interpretive center. Together, they have made Sacajawea State Park “a very pleasant situated place.” 48 Appendix 1: Title to “…a very pleasant situated place” On 3. July 1931, the president of the daughters of the Pioneers, Pasco Chapter #3, Clara E. Chute, signed the “Special Warranty Deed” for the Columbia and Sanke River Park at the confluence of the Snake and the Columbia Rivers. In return for $1.00, the Daughters of the Pioneers of Washington – Pasco Chapter #3 gave the State of Washington the exact same piece of real estate Thomas Carstens and his wife, Stacie McKeown Carstens, gave the Daughters of the Pioneers. “Beginning at the junction point of the Meander Line of the Snake River with the Columbia River Meander Lind; thence northwesterly up the Columbia River parallel with the Columbia River Meander line, a distance of one hundred feet; thence northeasterly in a straight line parallel to the Meander Line of the westerly side of Snake River, a distance of four hundred and twenty-five feet; then in an easterly direction parallel to the Columbia River Meander Line, a distance of one hundred feet to the Meander Line of the Snake River; thence southwesterly in a straight line paralleling the westerly meander line of Snake River, a distance of four hundred twenty-five feet to the point of beginning. The above described property being in Tract Ten (10) in Section Three (3), Township Eight (8) North Range Thirty (30) E.W.M., together with the appurtenances.” In May of 1933, the Thomas Carstens Investment Company [Tacoma] gave the State of Washington additional property near Sacajawea State Park: “Being a of Lots 9 and 10 of Section 3 of Township 8 North Range 30 East of the Willamette Meridian, more particularly described as follows, to-wit: Commencing at a 4” x 4” white post on the line between Lots 9 and 10 of Section 3 of Township 8 North, Range 30 East of the Willamette Meridian at a distance of 272.0 feet south of the pipe monument which marks the northeast corner of the said Lot 9 an running thence, S 89:04’ W a distance of 505.1 feet to a 4” x 4” white post; thence, South 284.8 feet, to a 4” x 4” white post on the Meander line of the Said Columbia River a distance of 753.2 feet to a steel rod, which marks the junction of the Columbia River Meander line with the Snake River Meander line; thence, N 31:00’E along the said Snake River Meander line, a distance of 758.2 feet to a granite stone 26” x 9” x 7” set flush with the surface of the road and marked with an x on top; thence S 89:04’W a distance of 553.7 feet to the white post at the point of beginning. Comprising 4.87 Acres in Lot 9 and 5.13 Acres Lot 10 both of Section 3 of Township 8 North, Range 30 East of the Willamette Meridian, or a total of 10.00 Acres more or less.” On 8 May 1939, in consideration for $1.00, the Thomas Carstens Investment Company gave the State of Washington: “All of lots Nine (9) and Ten (10) in Section Three (3), Township Eight (8), North Range Thirty (30), E.W.M., as an extension to Sacajawea State Park, excepting portions covered by previous instrument …” 49 Bibliography Sacajawea State Park Native Americans Bruan, Carolyn M. and Richard Lewis. The First Oregonians: An Illustrated Collection of Essays on Traditional Lifeways, Federal-Indian Relations And the State’s Native People Today. Portland: Oregon Council for the Humanities, 1991. Relander, Click. Drummers and Dreamers. Seattle: Pacific Northwest National Parks & Forests Association, 1986[1953]. Richards, Kent. Isaac I. Stevens: Young Man in a Hurry. Pullman: WSU Press, 1993. Trafzer, Clifford E. and Richard D. Scheuerman. Renegade Tribe: The Palouse Indians and the Invasion of the Inland Pacific Northwest. Pullman: WSU Press, 1986. Walker, Deward, Jr., ed. Handbook of North American Indians: Volume 12~ Plateau. Washington DC: Smithsonian, 1998. Explorers and the Fur Trade Elliott, T. C., ed. “Journal of David Thompson.” Oregon Historical Quarterly 15:1 [March 1914]; 15:2 [1914]. Kubik, Barbara J. Lewis & Clark: Voyage of Discovery in the Mid-Columbia Region. Tri-Cities: Tri-Cities Visitor and Convention Bureau, 1999. MacGregor, Carolyn Lynn, ed. The Journals of Patrick Gass: Member of the Lewis And Clark Expedition. Missoula: Mountain Press, 1997. Moulton, Dr. Gary E., ed. The Journals of the Lewis and Clark Expedition, Volumes 1-13. Lincoln: University of Nebraska Press. Volume 1: Atlas [1999] Volume 5: July 28-November 1, 1805 [1988] Volume 9: The Journals of John Ordway, May 14, 1804-September 23, 1806 And Charles Floyd, May 14-August 18, 1804 [1995] 50 Volume 10: The Journals of Patrick Gass, May 14, 1804-September 18, 1806 [1996] Volume 11: The Journals of Joseph Whitehouse, May 14, 1804-April 2, 1806 [1997] Ross, Alexander. Adventures of the First Settlers on the Oregon or Columbia River: Being a Narrative of the Expedition Fitted Out by John Jacob Astor to Establish the “Pacific Fur Company.” London: Smith, Elder and Co., 1849[1966]. Tyrell, J. B., ed. David Thompson’s Narrative of His Explorations in Western America, 1784-1812. Toronto: The Champlain Society, 1916[1848]. Regional History Andrews, Mildred Tanner. Washington Women as Path Breakers. Dubuque, IA: Kendall/Hunt Publishing Company, 1989. Bloxom, Marguerite, comp. Pickaxe and Pencil: References for the Study of the WPA. Washington DC, 1982. Farrar, Victor J. “Pioneer and Historical Societies of the State of Washington.” Washington Historical Quarterly XI [January 1920] : 37-43. Hinsch, Kathryn. Political Pioneers: The Women Lawmakers. Olympia, 1983. Holcomb, S. R., comp. State of Washington: Members of the State Legislature, 1889-1987. Olympia: State of Washington, 1987. Hunt, Herbert. Tacoma, Its History and Its Builders: A Half Century of Activity. Chicago: S. J. Clarke Company, 1916 [“Thomas Carstens,” P 274-275]. Meyer, Bette E. and Barbara Kubik. Ainsworth: A Railroad Town. Fairfield: Ye Galleon Press, 1983. Oberst, Walter O. Railroads, Reclamation and the River: A History of Pasco. Pasco: Franklin County Historical Society, 1978. Oberst, Walter and Ralph Smith. Pasco: 100 Years in Pictures. Pasco: Pasco Centennial Corporation, 1984. Thomas, Edward H. Chinook: A History and A Dictionary of the Northwest Coast Jargon. Portland: Binfords & Mort, 1935. 51 Sacajawea State Park Briggs, Wanda. “Kennewick Pioneer Dead at 93.” Tri-City Herald. 10 August 1983. Brown, R. G. and Grace, ed. “Historical Record of Pasco USO Club, 1941-1946.” Franklin Flyer 24:4 [March 1992] : 3-6 and 25:1 [June 1992] : 5-7. Daughters of the Pioneers Scrapbook, 1905-1954 [Franklin County Historical Society] thDavis, Jean Carol. “Sacajawea State Park to Celebrate its 70 Anniversary.” Franklin Flyer 30:3 [September 1997] : 1-6. Dullently, Jim. “Sacajawea Museum Murals ‘Important Discovery.’” Tri-City Herald 24 April 1977. Hatfield, Mrs. L. I. “Pasco Chapter, Daughters of the Pioneers Reviewed.” Franklin Flyer 6:1 [April 1978]. Sacajawea State Park.” Tri-City Herald. June 1987. Lewis, Mary Jane. “ Lindeman, Glen. “State Agencies and the Marking and Preservation of Historic Sites and Structures in Washington.” MA Thesis, Washington State University, 1973. Minutes, [Washington] State Parks Committee/Washington State Parks and Recreation Commission: Volume 1: November 22, 1915-March 9, 1937 Volume 2: March 26, 1937-September 1944 Volume 3: October 1944-December 1953 Volume 4: March 1954-December 1962 Mozel, Gary. “Sacajawea Park Museum Being Renovated.” Franklin Flyer 10:2 [July 1977] : 1-3. Newell, Geneva. “Daughters of the Pioneers Launched Plans for Park at Snake’s Mouth.” Columbia Basin News. 20 October 1955. Nutley, Josephine G. G. “Early History of Pasco.” Franklin Flyer [December 1991] : 3, 5. 52 Oberst, Walter A. “Pasco Lions Club Originated Water Follies.” Franklin Flyer 12:2 [July 1979] : 1-3. “Sacajawea Park Owes its Existence to the Daughters of the Pioneers.” Franklin Flyer 10:3 [October 1977] : 7-9. Pruett, Mary Jane. “History of Sacajawea State Park.” Archives Sacajawea Interpretive Center, Pasco [April 1978]. The State Association of the Daughters of the Pioneers of Washington [Membership Brochure/application, May 1989. Tveten, Jan, ed. A Plan for Celebrating the State Centennial in Washington State Parks. Olympia: Washington State Parks, 1986. “Washington State Parks & Recreation Commission Adds Second Interpretive Center Honoring the Lewis and Clark Expedition: Facility Dedicated April 16, 1978.” We Proceeded On 4:3 [July 1978] : 1, 5. Archives Franklin County Historical Society—Daughters of the Pioneers of Washington—Pasco Chapter #3 Sacajawea State Park/Sacajawea Interpretive Center Washington State Parks and Recreation Commission—Interpretive Services Interviews Nancy MacCannell Caling, Interview by Barbara J. Kubik, 28 August 1980, interview transcript, Sacajawea Interpretive Center, Pasco, WA Reade Obern, Park Manager—Sacajawea State Park, Telephone Interview by Barb Kubik, 30 May 2000. Jay Perry, Interview by Stephen Unruh, 1978, original tape/transcript, Washington State Parks and Recreation Commission, Olympia, WA. Ralph Rudeen, Chief of Interpretive Services, Interview by Barb Kubik, 1978-1980, transcripts, Sacajawea Interpretive Center, Pasco, WA. 53 Newspapers Columbia Basin News [Tri-Cities] Pasco Herald Seattle Times Spokesman Review [Spokane] Tri-City Herald Walla Walla Daily Bulletin Programs Unveiling Monument Ceremony, 16 October 1927 Lewis and Clark Monument Dedicated 16 October 1927 Pioneer Picnic Program, Sacajawea State Park 29 June 1941 Pasco-Kennewick Port Dedication, 29 October 1941 Program/Pageant Cast, 16 October 1955 Sacajawea Interpretive Center Dedication, 16 April 1978 54