John Alden Shoudy was an American businessman and politician, known as an early settler and founder of

Ellensburg, Washington Ellensburg is a city in and the county seat of Kittitas County, Washington, United States. It is located just east of the Cascade Range near the junction of Interstate 90 and Interstate 82 Interstate 82 (I-82) is an Interstate Highway in th ...

Early life

Shoudy was born in

Illinois Illinois ( ) is a U.S. state, state in the Midwestern United States, Midwestern United States. Its largest metropolitan areas include the Chicago metropolitan area, and the Metro East section, of Greater St. Louis. Other smaller metropolita ...

in 1841, the son of Israel and Rebecca Hemstreet Shoudy, both originally from the Albany, New York area. He fought in the

American Civil War The American Civil War (April 12, 1861 – May 26, 1865; also known by other names) was a civil war in the United States. It was fought between the Union ("the North") and the Confederacy ("the South"), the latter formed by states th ...

for three years, and after the war he moved to California with his brother-in-law, Dexter Horton.

Career

He married Mary Ellen Stuart and moved to

Seattle Seattle ( ) is a seaport city on the West Coast of the United States. It is the seat of King County, Washington. With a 2020 population of 737,015, it is the largest city in both the state of Washington and the Pacific Northwest regio ...

. He went to the

Kittitas Valley Kittitas County () is a county located in the U.S. state of Washington. At the 2020 census, its population was 44,337. Its county seat and largest city is Ellensburg. The county was created in November 1883 when it was carved out of Yakima Coun ...

in 1871 as businesspeople in Seattle were interested in building a road from Seattle to the

. He purchased a small trading post from Andrew Jackson "A.J." Splawn, called "Robber's Roost", which was the first business in the valley established by Splawn a year earlier to trade with the local Indians. The location of the structure commemorated by a placard and small stone monument. Shoudy decided to stay in Kittitas Valley and built a cabin there. Although Shoudy was not the first settler in the Kittitas Valley, he was responsible for

plat In the United States, a plat ( or ) (plan) is a cadastral map, drawn to scale, showing the divisions of a piece of land. United States General Land Office surveyors drafted township plats of Public Lands Surveys to show the distance and bear ...

ting the city of Ellensburgh and named the streets in what would become the downtown district. He filed an 80-acre plat for the town on July 20, 1875 and named it after his wife Mary Ellen as Ellensburgh (the final H was later dropped). Plots of land were then sold to new settlers and businessmen coming to the area. He was a member of the

Washington Territorial Legislature The Washington State Legislature is the state legislature of the U.S. state of Washington. It is a bicameral body, composed of the lower Washington House of Representatives, composed of 98 Representatives, and the upper Washington State Senat ...

in 1883, and played a role in the formation of

Kittitas County Kittitas County () is a county located in the U.S. state of Washington. At the 2020 census, its population was 44,337. Its county seat and largest city is Ellensburg. The county was created in November 1883 when it was carved out of Yakima Coun ...

Death

Shoudy died on May 25, 1901.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Shoudy, John Alden 1840s births 1901 deaths People from Ellensburg, Washington People from Lee County, Illinois American pioneers Members of the Washington Territorial Legislature