All Roads Lead To Tonasket

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Okanogan Valley Gazette-Tribune • July 15, 2010

All Roads Lead to Tonasket

Early events in Tonasket’s 100 years of history

By Emily Hanson Staff Writer By 1910, the present site of Tonasket was platted and began growing and now, in 2010, the City of Tonasket is still thriving.

With the help of the book “All Roads Lead to Tonasket�, here is a brief timeline of events from the early years of Tonasket’s 100 years of history.

Within the book, Margaret George said “that previous to 1909, when she came to the area, there was ‘nothing between the creeks (Bonaparte and Siwash), but an Indian cemetery on the knoll, about where the Red Delicious Motel is now located.’ The formation of the Bonaparte Land Company around 1910, when Watkins. W. Parry got in ďŹ nancial trouble and lost his Molson and Tonasket holdings, changed the landscape of Tonasket from an area with nothing in it, to a town and eventually into a thriving city.

The Articles of Incorporation for the Bonaparte Land Company were ďŹ led on March 23, 1907 with

the incorporators being Arthur Lund, a banker, Theo C. Dodge, a merchant, C. E. Blackwell, a merchant, W. H. Henderson, F. P. Farsnworth and Clay Fruit, all three ranchers. “All Roads Lead to Tonasket� states that in an Oct. 15, 1958 Wenatchee World Article, Lund said he came across a group of men ready to buy the tract of land Tonasket is now located on at the sale of the land at the Courthouse in Conconully. “After talking it over with them I bought the land and we formed a corporation, the Bonaparte Land Company,� Lund said. “We platted the land in 1910 and Tonasket’s townsite development started.�

Though the townsite of Tonasket wasn’t platted until 1910, “All Roads Lead to Tonasketâ€? states that “the ďŹ rst permanent Post OfďŹ ce to bear the name of Tonasket was established on the homestead of Parry on June 15, 1903. The location was about a mile south of present day Tonasket, on the west side of the Okanogan River.â€?

Shortly after the platting of Tonasket, Frank Putnam “moved his printing business from Conconully to

Tonasket and started his newspaper, the Tonasket Times� in 1913, “All Roads Lead to Tonasket� states.

The ďŹ rst Tonasket Public School was built in 1912 and the leveling for the new Tonasket School began in 1915. The new school, a brick threestory building located near where today’s tennis courts are, was ďŹ nished in 1916. The addition to the building was built in 1929 on the east side of the building. The ďŹ rst graduating class of Tonasket left school in 1918.

The entire graduating class, including the teachers for the Tonasket High School, totaled 11 people.

In 1917, “All Roads Lead to Tonasketâ€? states “someone got the idea that the businessmen should get together, instead of each one striving to trample on their competitors, and work together toward promoting the town and area, to beneďŹ t all. In March 1917 the Tonasket Commercial Club was organized, with R. J. Stone, a merchant, as its ďŹ rst president, their aim was to work together to encourage new businesses and to encourage the residents to do business with local

businessmen, even though they might be their competitors.� This, of course, was the founding of what is now the Tonasket Chamber of Commerce.

According to the City of Tonasket’s Web site, the City was incorporated in 1927. “All Roads Lead to Tonasketâ€? states that the decision to become incorporated was made after an election was held in the fall of 1927, which had 89 votes for incorporation and 84 votes against. The ďŹ rst meeting of the Tonasket Town Council was held on Jan. 10, 1928 with Mayor John R. Kelley overseeing the council of J.E. Drew, J. W. Hill, E. M. Bevis, R. A. Nixon and A. J. Kendrick. The ďŹ rst town marshal, John Maage, was appointed two weeks later, on Jan. 24, 1928. From 1928 to 1933, the council met at what is now the Senior Center and on Dec. 19, 1933, the ďŹ rst meeting in the Town Hall was held. The ďŹ rst meeting in what is presently the City Hall building was held on Nov. 1, 1981.

In 1932, the book states, the bridge leading from Fourth Street in Tonasket across the Okanogan Riv-

er was built and the highway from Tonasket North was re-routed to the east side of the river in 1957 when the Janis Bridge was completed, a move which put the Highway 97 route right through the City of Tonasket.

The earliest information the authors of “All Roads Lead to Tonasketâ€? could ďŹ nd about the Tonasket Rodeo is that the ďŹ rst one was thought to be held in May 1933. With the Tonasket Comancheros gearing up for their 75th Founders Day Rodeo next year, the ďŹ rst ofďŹ cial rodeo was probably held in 1936 while the ďŹ rst ofďŹ cial Founders Day Parade is known to have been held in 1935 now that the Chamber of Commerce hosted the 75th Annual Parade this past June.

August 25, 1938 saw a large event for the people of Tonasket: the dedication of St. Martin’s Hospital, which is still up and running, though now under the name of North Valley Hospital District. “All Roads Lead to Tonasket� included an article from the Tonasket Times on Aug. 26, 1938, about the dedication. The article, titled “Dedication St. Martin’s Hos-

pital Brings People From Northwest Statesâ€? included this description of the event: “A perfect day - warm but not oppressive - great occasion and a huge crowd of visitors and townsfolks conspired to make Thursday, Aug. 25 a memorable milestone in the history of this community. It was truly St. Martin’s Hospital Day, for it was in celebration of the completion and formal opening of this magniďŹ cent institution - a veritable moment to the faith and vision of its sponsors - that the people assembled here from three Northwestern states and Canada.â€? The annex of the hospital was completed just a few short years after, with the dedication on Wednesday, Jan. 24, 1940.

Now that Tonasket has reached its 100th year since the ofďŹ cial platting, the City is still going strong thanks to the efforts of the residents of the city and surrounding areas to shop local and to support their neighbors.

With the fairly constant economic climate of Tonasket, the City seems as though it should reach the 200 year mark. Only time will tell.

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July 15, 2010 • Okanogan Valley Gazette-Tribune

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Tonasket is a vigorous town with people that like to work hard, as well as play hard. Many of the community’s events reflect this relationship between labor and leisure, including the annual Founder’s Day Rodeo and Grand Parade, as well as newer events such as the Garlic Festival.

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Tonasket is located centrally, with the Many Lakes area to the west, and the Okanogan Highlands to the East.

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