Thorp ( ) is an

unincorporated community An unincorporated area is a region that is not governed by a local municipal corporation. Widespread unincorporated communities and areas are a distinguishing feature of the United States and Canada. Most other countries of the world either have ...

and

census-designated place A census-designated place (CDP) is a Place (United States Census Bureau), concentration of population defined by the United States Census Bureau for statistical purposes only. CDPs have been used in each decennial census since 1980 as the count ...

(CDP) in

Kittitas County, Washington 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 Co ...

, United States. In 2015, the population was 317 according to statistics compiled by Data USA. The town of Thorp is east of

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 ...

, northwest of

Ellensburg 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. The population was 18,666 at the 2020 census. and was ...

, and southeast of Cle Elum. It is located at the narrow west end of 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 ...

, where high elevation forests of the Cascade Range give way to cattle ranches surrounded by farmlands noted for

timothy hay Timothy (''Phleum pratense'') is an abundant perennial grass native to most of Europe except for the Mediterranean region. It is also known as timothy-grass, meadow cat's-tail or common cat's tail. It is a member of the genus ''Phleum'', consis ...

, alfalfa, vegetables, and fruit production. Thorp is named for Fielden Mortimer Thorp, recognized as the first permanent white settler in the Kittitas Valley. He established a homestead at the approach to Taneum Canyon (, ) near the present-day town in 1868. ''Klála'', an ancient Native American village and the largest indigenous settlement in the Kittitas Valley at the arrival of the first white settlers, was located about one mile above the current town site. Thorp Collective building in Thorp Washington

Thorp Collective building in Thorp Washington

Geography

Thorp is located in central Kittitas County at (47.068006, -120.672687). According to the

United States Census Bureau The United States Census Bureau (USCB), officially the Bureau of the Census, is a principal agency of the U.S. Federal Statistical System, responsible for producing data about the American people and economy. The Census Bureau is part of t ...

, the CDP has a total area of , all of it land. The town site of Thorp is above the flood plain of the upper

Yakima River The Yakima River is a tributary of the Columbia River in south central and eastern Washington state, named for the indigenous Yakama people. Lewis and Clark mention in their journals that the Chin-nâm pam (or the Lower Snake River Chamnapam ...

at an elevation of . It is situated near the river's west bank directly opposite the Hayward Hill slide area and Clark Flats, near the southeastern approach to the Yakima River canyon at the foot of Thorp Prairie. To the west of the town is Taneum Canyon, and to the northwest are Elk Heights, Morrison Canyon and the Sunlight Waters private residential subdivision. Ellensburg, the

county seat A county seat is an administrative center, seat of government, or capital city of a county or civil parish. The term is in use in Canada, China, Hungary, Romania, Taiwan, and the United States. The equivalent term shire town is used in the US st ...

, is southeast of Thorp. Northwest of Thorp at the junction of SR 10 and Thorp Highway, the Yakima River emerges from a canyon parallel to a

basalt Basalt (; ) is an aphanitic (fine-grained) extrusive igneous rock formed from the rapid cooling of low-viscosity lava rich in magnesium and iron (mafic lava) exposed at or very near the surface of a rocky planet or moon. More than 90 ...

flow, the uppermost layers of which have been dated to 10.5 million years. The Thorp Prairie sits atop the basalt flows and ends at a deep canyon of

Miocene The Miocene ( ) is the first epoch (geology), geological epoch of the Neogene Period and extends from about (Ma). The Miocene was named by Scottish geologist Charles Lyell; the name comes from the Greek words (', "less") and (', "new") and mea ...

columnar basalt Basalt (; ) is an aphanitic (fine-grained) extrusive igneous rock formed from the rapid cooling of low-viscosity lava rich in magnesium and iron (mafic lava) exposed at or very near the surface of a rocky planet or moon. More than 90% o ...

structures carved by Swauk Creek whose headwaters are at Blewett Pass along

US 97 The United States of America (U.S.A. or USA), commonly known as the United States (U.S. or US) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It consists of 50 states, a federal district, five major unincorporated territori ...

to the north. The Thorp Prairie deposits were also delivered by the Thorp Glacial episode.

Topography

North and northeast of the town of Thorp along the Yakima River channel is the gradual upward lift of the Thorp Drift, marked by an elevation change due to the incline onto the terminal moraine that marks the furthest advance of the Thorp

Glacial A glacial period (alternatively glacial or glaciation) is an interval of time (thousands of years) within an ice age that is marked by colder temperatures and glacier advances. Interglacials, on the other hand, are periods of warmer climate betwe ...

stage. Here the Thorp Gravels, which are named for the town of Thorp and the Thorp Glacial episode, are exposed along the ancient river channel in what is known as the "Slide Area". The gravels were formed at the terminus of the Thorp Glacial advance approximately 600,000 years ago.Richard B. Waitt, Jr., ''Late Cenozoic Deposits, Landforms, Stratigraphy, and Techtonism in the Kittitas Valley, Washington'', U.S. Geological Survey, Professional Paper 1127, Washington DC: Government Printing Office (1979) pp. 9. The Thorp Gravels themselves are believed to be between 3 and 4 million years old. The whole structure is composed of individually layered belts of gravel and

sand Sand is a granular material composed of finely divided mineral particles. Sand has various compositions but is defined by its grain size. Sand grains are smaller than gravel and coarser than silt. Sand can also refer to a textural class o ...

which are not well consolidated, continually weather, and are prone to continuing

erosion Erosion is the action of surface processes (such as water flow or wind) that removes soil, rock, or dissolved material from one location on the Earth's crust, and then transports it to another location where it is deposited. Erosion is dis ...

and

landslides Landslides, also known as landslips, are several forms of mass wasting that may include a wide range of ground movements, such as rockfalls, deep-seated slope failures, mudflows, and debris flows. Landslides occur in a variety of environments, ...

averaging 30 degrees. The area is rich with wildlife, including bald eagles and

osprey The osprey (''Pandion haliaetus''), , also called sea hawk, river hawk, and fish hawk, is a diurnal, fish-eating bird of prey with a cosmopolitan range. It is a large raptor reaching more than in length and across the wings. It is brown o ...

who hunt for prey along the river. It is also a crossing point for

deer Deer or true deer are hoofed ruminant mammals forming the family Cervidae. The two main groups of deer are the Cervinae, including the muntjac, the elk (wapiti), the red deer, and the fallow deer; and the Capreolinae, including the re ...

and elk who often can be seen at dawn and dusk heading to the river for water.Jana Jones Mabry, ''Field Trip Guidebook to the Natural History of Kittitas County'', Ellensburg, Washington: Central Washington University, pp. 44. About west of Thorp, the first glimpses of the Columbia River Plateau are seen where the Yakima River has cut into the westernmost edge of the basalt

plateau In geology and physical geography, a plateau (; ; ), also called a high plain or a tableland, is an area of a highland consisting of flat terrain that is raised sharply above the surrounding area on at least one side. Often one or more sides ...

. The

Columbia Plateau The Columbia Plateau is a geologic and geographic region that lies across parts of the U.S. states of Washington, Oregon, and Idaho. It is a wide flood basalt plateau between the Cascade Range and the Rocky Mountains, cut through by the Col ...

basalt formed when

lava Lava is molten or partially molten rock (magma) that has been expelled from the interior of a terrestrial planet (such as Earth) or a moon onto its surface. Lava may be erupted at a volcano or through a fracture in the crust, on land or un ...

poured out of

fissures A fissure is a long, narrow crack opening along the surface of Earth. The term is derived from the Latin word , which means 'cleft' or 'crack'. Fissures emerge in Earth's crust, on ice sheets and glaciers, and on volcanoes. Ground fissure ...

in the ground across

eastern Washington Eastern Washington is the region of the U.S. state of Washington located east of the Cascade Range. It contains the city of Spokane (the second largest city in the state), the Tri-Cities, the Columbia River and the Grand Coulee Dam, the Hanf ...

during the Miocene era, 17 to 20 million years ago, erupting intermittently for over 10 million years. Many layers of basalt successively flowed over one another, back when the area was still flat. Subsequent to the Miocene lava flows, the

volcanoes A volcano is a rupture in the crust of a planetary-mass object, such as Earth, that allows hot lava, volcanic ash, and gases to escape from a magma chamber below the surface. On Earth, volcanoes are most often found where tectonic plates a ...

of the

Cascade Mountains The Cascade Range or Cascades is a major mountain range of western North America, extending from southern British Columbia through Washington and Oregon to Northern California. It includes both non-volcanic mountains, such as the North Cascades, a ...

actively erupted, depositing ash, cinders,

pumice Pumice (), called pumicite in its powdered or dust form, is a volcanic rock that consists of highly vesicular rough-textured volcanic glass, which may or may not contain crystals. It is typically light-colored. Scoria is another vesicular v ...

and mudflows that eventually inter-fingered with the alternating basalt layers throughout the region. Interstate 90 drops through the Thorp Drift, which marks the oldest and furthest reaching known glacial moraine in the Kittitas Valley. Changes in the types of

vegetation Vegetation is an assemblage of plant species and the ground cover they provide. It is a general term, without specific reference to particular taxa, life forms, structure, spatial extent, or any other specific botanical or geographic characte ...

become more evident in this area. The changes are the result of a drop in elevation of about 1,400 feet from the summit of

Snoqualmie Pass Snoqualmie Pass is a mountain pass that carries Interstate 90 (I-90) through the Cascade Range in the U.S. state of Washington. The pass summit is at an elevation of , on the county line between Kittitas County and King County. Snoqualmie ...

to Thorp, and a significant drop in

precipitation In meteorology, precipitation is any product of the condensation of atmospheric water vapor that falls under gravitational pull from clouds. The main forms of precipitation include drizzle, rain, sleet, snow, ice pellets, graupel and hail. ...

of about 107 inches average a year at the summit of Snoqualmie Pass, to 42.94 inches average a year at Thorp. At the bottom of the Thorp Drift moraine the view opens up into the Kittitas Valley which is deeply buried in river gravel deposited by the

ancient Ancient history is a time period from the beginning of writing and recorded human history to as far as late antiquity. The span of recorded history is roughly 5,000 years, beginning with the Sumerian cuneiform script. Ancient history cov ...

Yakima River. This valley is a syncline that creates the Ellensburg Basin located between Mission Ridge to the north and Manastash Ridge to the south. The Ellensburg Basin, more formally called the Ellensburg

Formation Formation may refer to: Linguistics * Back-formation, the process of creating a new lexeme by removing or affixes * Word formation, the creation of a new word by adding affixes Mathematics and science * Cave formation or speleothem, a secondar ...

, holds nearly 4,000 feet of rock, sand, and gravel that accumulated over a period of 2 to 10 million years during the Miocene and lower

Pliocene The Pliocene ( ; also Pleiocene) is the epoch in the geologic time scale that extends from 5.333 million to 2.58

Climate

The

climate Climate is the long-term weather pattern in an area, typically averaged over 30 years. More rigorously, it is the mean and variability of meteorological variables over a time spanning from months to millions of years. Some of the meteorologi ...

at Thorp is hot during summer when

temperature Temperature is a physical quantity that expresses quantitatively the perceptions of hotness and coldness. Temperature is measurement, measured with a thermometer. Thermometers are calibrated in various Conversion of units of temperature, temp ...

s tend to be in the 80s, and very cold during

winter Winter is the coldest season of the year in polar and temperate climates. It occurs after autumn and before spring. The tilt of Earth's axis causes seasons; winter occurs when a hemisphere is oriented away from the Sun. Different cultur ...

when temperatures tend to be in the 20s. The warmest month of the year at Thorp is July, with an average high of 77.2 °F and an average low of 51.8 °F. The coldest month of the year is January, with an average low of 16.5 °F and an average high of 34.3 °F. Temperature variations between

night Night (also described as night time, unconventionally spelled as "nite") is the period of ambient darkness from sunset to sunrise during each 24-hour day, when the Sun is below the horizon. The exact time when night begins and ends depends ...

and day tend to be relatively large during summer with a difference that can reach 30 °F, and fairly limited during winter with temperatures hovering at or below

freezing Freezing is a phase transition where a liquid turns into a solid when its temperature is lowered below its freezing point. In accordance with the internationally established definition, freezing means the solidification phase change of a liquid ...

for most of the day, and often dipping below zero at night. Temperatures generally drop significantly in October, while

rain Rain is water droplets that have condensed from atmospheric water vapor and then fall under gravity. Rain is a major component of the water cycle and is responsible for depositing most of the fresh water on the Earth. It provides water ...

fall rises from less than half an inch to nearly 5 inches average per month. This trend continues through late autumn and

, with a marked drop in

beginning in April which coincides with a gradual rise in temperature into late

spring Spring(s) may refer to: Common uses * Spring (season) Spring, also known as springtime, is one of the four temperate seasons, succeeding winter and preceding summer. There are various technical definitions of spring, but local usage of ...

and summer. There is significant variation in rainfall throughout the year, with December and January receiving a mix of rainfall and

snow Snow comprises individual ice crystals that grow while suspended in the atmosphere—usually within clouds—and then fall, accumulating on the ground where they undergo further changes. It consists of frozen crystalline water throughout ...

, averaging 9.06 and 7.94 inches respectively. Rainfall during summer is, on average, less than half an inch each month with July receiving the lowest monthly average precipitation of the year at .07 inches.

Surrounding area

Demographics

As of the

census A census is the procedure of systematically acquiring, recording and calculating information about the members of a given population. This term is used mostly in connection with national population and housing censuses; other common censuses in ...

of 2000, there were 273 people, 103 households, and 74 families residing in the CDP. The

population density Population density (in agriculture: Stock (disambiguation), standing stock or plant density) is a measurement of population per unit land area. It is mostly applied to humans, but sometimes to other living organisms too. It is a key geographical ...

was 221.2 people per square mile (85.7/km²). There were 107 housing units at an average density of 86.7/sq mi (33.6/km²). The racial makeup of the CDP was 93.41%

White White is the lightest color and is achromatic (having no hue). It is the color of objects such as snow, chalk, and milk, and is the opposite of black. White objects fully reflect and scatter all the visible wavelengths of light. White o ...

, 1.10% Native American, 1.83% from

other races Other often refers to: * Other (philosophy), a concept in psychology and philosophy Other or The Other may also refer to: Film and television * ''The Other'' (1913 film), a German silent film directed by Max Mack * ''The Other'' (1930 film), a ...

, and 3.66% from two or more races.

Hispanic The term ''Hispanic'' ( es, hispano) refers to people, cultures, or countries related to Spain, the Spanish language, or Hispanidad. The term commonly applies to countries with a cultural and historical link to Spain and to viceroyalties forme ...

Latino Latino or Latinos most often refers to: * Latino (demonym), a term used in the United States for people with cultural ties to Latin America * Hispanic and Latino Americans in the United States * The people or cultures of Latin America; ** Latin A ...

of any race were 2.20% of the population. There were 103 households, out of which 44.7% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 56.3% were married couples living together, 14.6% had a female householder with no husband present, and 27.2% were non-families. 24.3% of all households were made up of individuals, and 6.8% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.65 and the average family size was 3.17. In the CDP, the population was spread out, with 33.0% under the age of 18, 4.8% from 18 to 24, 27.1% from 25 to 44, 26.0% from 45 to 64, and 9.2% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 36 years. For every 100 females, there were 113.3 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 96.8 males. The median income for a household in the CDP was $33,125, and the median income for a family was $45,625. Males had a median income of $31,250 versus $22,500 for females. The

per capita income Per capita income (PCI) or total income measures the average income earned per person in a given area (city, region, country, etc.) in a specified year. It is calculated by dividing the area's total income by its total population. Per capita i ...

for the CDP was $17,772. About 5.6% of families and 5.9% of the population were below the

poverty line The poverty threshold, poverty limit, poverty line or breadline is the minimum level of income deemed adequate in a particular country. The poverty line is usually calculated by estimating the total cost of one year's worth of necessities for t ...

, including 5.2% of those under the age of eighteen and 19.2% of those 65 or over.

History

Native Americans

The

was occupied by the Kittitas ( Yakama Ichishkíin Sínwit: ''Ki-tatash'') or Upper

Yakama The Yakama are a Native American tribe with nearly 10,851 members, based primarily in eastern Washington state. Yakama people today are enrolled in the federally recognized tribe, the Confederated Tribes and Bands of the Yakama Nation. Their ...

tribe, as well as hunting and food gathering parties of Cayuse and

Nez Perce The Nez Percé (; autonym in Nez Perce language: , meaning "we, the people") are an Indigenous people of the Plateau who are presumed to have lived on the Columbia River Plateau in the Pacific Northwest region for at least 11,500 years.Ames, K ...

. The area was rich in wild berries, fish and game, and neighboring tribes annually converged on the valley in April or May to harvest Indian onions ( ''Allium spp.''), Indian potatoes ('' Claytonia lanceolata''), and breadroot (''

Lomatium canbyi ''Lomatium canbyi'' is a species of flowering plant in the carrot family known by the common name Canby's biscuitroot (lúukš in the Sahaptin language and qeqíit in the Nez Perce language). It is native to the Pacific Northwest of the United ...

'').Deward E. Walker, William C. Sturtevant and Deward E. Walker, Jr., ''Handbook of North American Indians, Plateau, Vol. 12.'', Washington DC: Government Printing Office (1998) pp. 333. The various tribes engaged in

horse trading Horse trading, in its literal sense, is the buying and selling of horses, also called "horse dealing". Due to the difficulties in evaluating the merits of a horse offered for sale, the sale of horses offered great opportunities for dishonesty, l ...

with early

British British may refer to: Peoples, culture, and language * British people, nationals or natives of the United Kingdom, British Overseas Territories, and Crown Dependencies. ** Britishness, the British identity and common culture * British English, ...

and American

fur Fur is a thick growth of hair that covers the skin of mammals. It consists of a combination of oily guard hair on top and thick underfur beneath. The guard hair keeps moisture from reaching the skin; the underfur acts as an insulating blanket t ...

traders, and had peaceful relations with Jesuit

Catholic The Catholic Church, also known as the Roman Catholic Church, is the largest Christian church, with 1.3 billion baptized Catholics worldwide . It is among the world's oldest and largest international institutions, and has played a ...

missionaries who preceded them.Carol Welch, Ph.D. and Roger Miller, Kittitas County Profile, 2010-01.
Retrieved 2011-09-19. In the 1840s,

white White is the lightest color and is achromatic (having no hue). It is the color of objects such as snow, chalk, and milk, and is the opposite of black. White objects fully reflect and scatter all the visible wavelengths of light. White o ...

settlers began to pour into the

Oregon Territory The Territory of Oregon was an organized incorporated territory of the United States that existed from August 14, 1848, until February 14, 1859, when the southwestern portion of the territory was admitted to the Union as the State of Oregon. O ...

(and later

Washington Territory The Territory of Washington was an organized incorporated territory of the United States that existed from March 2, 1853, until November 11, 1889, when the territory was admitted to the Union as the State of Washington. It was created from the ...

), bringing with them a measles epidemic and other diseases deadly to the indigenous population. That, coupled with cultural differences such as plowing the ground, which was seen as desecrating the

spirit Spirit or spirits may refer to: Liquor and other volatile liquids * Spirits, a.k.a. liquor, distilled alcoholic drinks * Spirit or tincture, an extract of plant or animal material dissolved in ethanol * Volatile (especially flammable) liquids, ...

of the earth, led to confrontation between Native Americans and white settlers. The largest

indigenous Indigenous may refer to: *Indigenous peoples *Indigenous (ecology), presence in a region as the result of only natural processes, with no human intervention *Indigenous (band), an American blues-rock band *Indigenous (horse), a Hong Kong racehorse ...

settlement in the Kittitas Valley at the arrival of the white settlers was ''Klála'', a village of around 500 people located about one mile above the present town of Thorp along the

opposite the mouth of Taneum Creek. Further up the river, about six miles northwest of present-day Thorp was the

village A village is a clustered human settlement or community, larger than a hamlet but smaller than a town (although the word is often used to describe both hamlets and smaller towns), with a population typically ranging from a few hundred ...

of ''Tátxanixsha'', and four miles below Thorp was a village of around 400 people called ''Yumi'sh''.Deward E. Walker, William C. Sturtevant and Deward E. Walker, Jr., ''Handbook of North American Indians, Plateau, Vol. 12.'', Washington DC: Government Printing Office (1998) p. 327. Among the earliest records of Native American interaction with frontiersmen in the Kittitas Valley took place in 1858, the summer of the

Yakima War The Yakima War (1855–1858), also referred to as the Yakima Native American War of 1855 or the Plateau War, was a conflict between the United States and the Yakama, a Sahaptian-speaking people of the Northwest Plateau, then part of Washington T ...

, when a large contingency of

Wanapum The Wanapum tribe of Native Americans formerly lived along the Columbia River from above Priest Rapids down to the mouth of the Snake River in what is now the US state of Washington. About 60 Wanapum still live near the present day site of Pri ...

from Priest Rapids camped at the head of Taneum Canyon very close to where the town of Thorp is now located.''Daily Record'' (Ellensburg, Washington), "Links traced in Thorp family chain," 1968-04-30, pp. 3. They were led by

Smohalla Smohalla (Dreamer) (circa 1815 - 1895) was a ''Wanapum'' dreamer-prophet associated with the Dreamers movement among Native American people in the Pacific Northwest’s Columbia Plateau region. Biography Born between 1815 and 1820 in the Wallula ...

,George W. Kennedy, ''The Pioneer Campfire ... Anecdotes, Adventures and Reminiscences'', Portland: Clarke-Kundret Printing Co. (1914), pp. 300. the legendary dreamer-prophet associated with the Washani or "Dreamer Movement" among the native peoples of the

Pacific Northwest The Pacific Northwest (sometimes Cascadia, or simply abbreviated as PNW) is a geographic region in western North America bounded by its coastal waters of the Pacific Ocean to the west and, loosely, by the Rocky Mountains to the east. Tho ...

. Smohalla claimed that visions came to him through

dream A dream is a succession of images, ideas, emotions, and sensations that usually occur involuntarily in the mind during certain stages of sleep. Humans spend about two hours dreaming per night, and each dream lasts around 5 to 20 minutes, althou ...

s, and he preached a return to the original way of life before white influences which included

ritual A ritual is a sequence of activities involving gestures, words, actions, or objects, performed according to a set sequence. Rituals may be prescribed by the traditions of a community, including a religious community. Rituals are characterized ...

music and

dancing Dance is a performing art form consisting of sequences of movement, either improvised or purposefully selected. This movement has aesthetic and often symbolic value. Dance can be categorized and described by its choreography, by its reperto ...

. His speaking was called ''Yuyunipitqana'' for “Shouting Mountain". Rumors floated that Smohalla was preparing for

battle A battle is an occurrence of combat in warfare between opposing military units of any number or size. A war usually consists of multiple battles. In general, a battle is a military engagement that is well defined in duration, area, and force ...

. An exchange took place in which Rev. George W. Kennedy, a frontier

Methodist Methodism, also called the Methodist movement, is a group of historically related denominations of Protestant Christianity whose origins, doctrine and practice derive from the life and teachings of John Wesley. George Whitefield and John's ...

preacher A preacher is a person who delivers sermons or homilies on religious topics to an assembly of people. Less common are preachers who preach on the street, or those whose message is not necessarily religious, but who preach components such as ...

, traveled to the location of the camp in an attempt to make

peace Peace is a concept of societal friendship and harmony in the absence of hostility and violence. In a social sense, peace is commonly used to mean a lack of conflict (such as war) and freedom from fear of violence between individuals or groups. ...

as he had become alarmed that such a large assembly meant hostility. By all accounts, Smohalla was not easily intimidated. "He looked like a

king King is the title given to a male monarch in a variety of contexts. The female equivalent is queen, which title is also given to the consort of a king. *In the context of prehistory, antiquity and contemporary indigenous peoples, the tit ...

. Stolid as a statue," Kennedy said of meeting him. The preacher exhorted, "God had made us all brothers and not enemies" and "the Great Father want us all to live together in peace on earth." If that is

true True most commonly refers to truth, the state of being in congruence with fact or reality. True may also refer to: Places * True, West Virginia, an unincorporated community in the United States * True, Wisconsin, a town in the United States * ...

, Smohalla demanded, "Why has the white man taken our lands from us? Has the white man any

rights Rights are legal, social, or ethical principles of freedom or entitlement; that is, rights are the fundamental normative rules about what is allowed of people or owed to people according to some legal system, social convention, or ethical theory ...

here in heKittitas that the Indian has any right to respect? The Indian came first." It was, Kennedy conceded, "an unanswerable speech ... And I promised utmost

friendship Friendship is a relationship of mutual affection between people. It is a stronger form of interpersonal bond than an "acquaintance" or an "association", such as a classmate, neighbor, coworker, or colleague. In some cultures, the concept o ...

on the part of the white brothers. We gave them our hand shake and pronounced

benediction A benediction ( Latin: ''bene'', well + ''dicere'', to speak) is a short invocation for divine help, blessing and guidance, usually at the end of worship service. It can also refer to a specific Christian religious service including the exposit ...

God In monotheistic thought, God is usually viewed as the supreme being, creator, and principal object of faith. Swinburne, R.G. "God" in Honderich, Ted. (ed)''The Oxford Companion to Philosophy'', Oxford University Press, 1995. God is typically ...

on them, and Chief Smohalla agreed to accept that as the Pipe of Peace."William Denison Lyman, ''History of the Yakima Valley, Washington, Comprising Yakima, Kittitas and Benton Counties'', The S.J. Clarke Publishing Co. (1917), pp. 762–777. ThorpFMThorp1822-1894

Thorp pioneers

Until the mid-1850s, the Kittitas Valley saw little encroachment by

pioneer Pioneer commonly refers to a settler who migrates to previously uninhabited or sparsely inhabited land. In the United States pioneer commonly refers to an American pioneer, a person in American history who migrated west to join in settling and de ...

settlers. But in 1853, the first immigrant wagon trains passed through the area led by David Longmore. During that same year,

George B. McClellan George Brinton McClellan (December 3, 1826 – October 29, 1885) was an American soldier, Civil War Union general, civil engineer, railroad executive, and politician who served as the 24th governor of New Jersey. A graduate of West Point, McCl ...

conducted a survey of the valley on behalf of the

Northern Pacific Railroad The Northern Pacific Railway was a transcontinental railroad that operated across the northern tier of the western United States, from Minnesota to the Pacific Northwest. It was approved by Congress in 1864 and given nearly of land grants, whi ...

, and two years later Charles Splawn briefly passed through the area.''Daily Record'' (Ellensburg, Washington), "First train into the valley dates 1853," 1970-09-03, pp. D-3. Andrew Jackson Splawn, who traversed the

valley A valley is an elongated low area often running between hills or mountains, which will typically contain a river or stream running from one end to the other. Most valleys are formed by erosion of the land surface by rivers or streams ove ...

in 1861 on his way to the nearby mines with his cattle, wrote of his experience:

"It was on the fourth day out that we came to the beautiful Kittitas valley. This valley, as it looked that day to me, a boy of 16, was the lovliest spot I had ever seen. To the west stood the great Cascade range; to the north rose the snow-capped peaks of the Peshastin to guard the beautiful valley below where the Yakima River wound its way full-length, while from the mountains on the north flowed numerous small streams and the whole
plain In geography, a plain is a flat expanse of land that generally does not change much in elevation, and is primarily treeless. Plains occur as lowlands along valleys or at the base of mountains, as coastal plains, and as plateaus or uplands ...
was covered with a thick coat of
grass Poaceae () or Gramineae () is a large and nearly ubiquitous family of monocotyledonous flowering plants commonly known as grasses. It includes the cereal grasses, bamboos and the grasses of natural grassland and species cultivated in lawns a ...
."A. J. Splawn, ''Ka-mi-akin, The Last Hero of the Yakimas'' (1917).

Fielden Mortimer (F. M.) Thorp is recognized as the first white settler in the Yakima Valley, prior to his subsequent move to the pleasant surroundings of the present-day town of Thorp. Rudimentary county government was formed in

Yakima County Yakima County is a county in the U.S. state of Washington. As of the 2020 census, its population was 256,728. The county seat and largest city is Yakima. The county was formed out of Ferguson County in January 1865 and is named for the Yakam ...

in 1865, and business was transacted at the home of F. M. Thorp near Moxee until another suitable location could be found.''Daily Record'' (Ellensburg, Washington), "County's political history to be explored," 1981-10-27, pp. 9. Settlers began to trickle into the Kittitas Valley with the opening of the Snoqualmie Wagon Road in 1867, which approximated the modern-day route of Interstate 90 past Thorp, from Seattle to Ellensburg. Among these first adventurous individuals were F. M. Thorp and Charles Splawn, whose families had united with the marriage of Charles Splawn, a brother of Senator Andrew Jackson Splawn of Yakima, to Thorp's daughter Dulcena in 1863.Thorp Mill Town Historical Preservation Society, History of Thorp.
Retrieved 2011-09-20. In 1868, they became the first permanent white settlers in the Kittitas Valley, building the Thorp and Splawn homesteads at the head of Taneum Canyon on the banks of Taneum Creek.A. J. Splawn, ''Ka-mi-akin, The Last Hero of the Yakimas'' (1917).pp. 254-256. This location, not more than a mile from the present town of Thorp, provided ideal shelter for their wintering

cattle Cattle (''Bos taurus'') are large, domesticated, cloven-hooved, herbivores. They are a prominent modern member of the subfamily Bovinae and the most widespread species of the genus ''Bos''. Adult females are referred to as cows and adult ma ...

, as well as offering

water Water (chemical formula ) is an Inorganic compound, inorganic, transparent, tasteless, odorless, and Color of water, nearly colorless chemical substance, which is the main constituent of Earth's hydrosphere and the fluids of all known living ...

and fertile

soil Soil, also commonly referred to as earth or dirt Dirt is an unclean matter, especially when in contact with a person's clothes, skin, or possessions. In such cases, they are said to become dirty. Common types of dirt include: * Debri ...

s for

agriculture Agriculture or farming is the practice of cultivating plants and livestock. Agriculture was the key development in the rise of sedentary human civilization, whereby farming of domesticated species created food surpluses that enabled people t ...

. Charles Splawn operated a tavern, or roadhouse, at this location which served as an overnight stop for travelers crossing the Snoqualmie Trail. Shortly thereafter, the F. M. Thorp and Charles Splawn families were joined by their friend Walter J. Reed, the second settler in the Kittitas Valley, who later established the community of Cle Elum.Kittitas County Genealogical Society, Kittitas County Places.
Retrieved 2011-09-22. Tillman Houser, another early settler who brought his family over

to settle on Coleman Creek, entered the valley on June 16 of that same year, and was later joined by Martin Dervan and his wife. The first

post office A post office is a public facility and a retailer that provides mail services, such as accepting letters and parcels, providing post office boxes, and selling postage stamps, packaging, and stationery. Post offices may offer additional ser ...

in the Kittitas Valley was established as Taneum Station at the home of F. M. Thorp in 1869. Antoine Bertram was a Yakama Indian who moved to the Thorp area with the Charles Splawn and the F. M. Thorp families. He farmed the area with his first wife Emma Pahofta, the daughter of Indian John (for whom Indian John Hill, and the Indian John Hill

Rest Area A rest area is a public facility located next to a large thoroughfare such as a motorway, expressway, or highway, at which drivers and passengers can rest, eat, or refuel without exiting onto secondary roads. Other names include motorway serv ...

on Interstate 90 between Cle Elum and Thorp are named). Later in life he married Emma's sister Lucy Pahofta. Antoine helped Thorp and Splawn tend their cattle. Keneho, another friendly Indian of Yakama descent, was paid ten

dollar Dollar is the name of more than 20 currencies. They include the Australian dollar, Brunei dollar, Canadian dollar, Hong Kong dollar, Jamaican dollar, Liberian dollar, Namibian dollar, New Taiwan dollar, New Zealand dollar, Singapore dollar, ...

s by Charles Splawn for each trip to carry the mail over the Snoqualmie Trail to and from the Taneum Station post office. Among the mysterious landmarks in the Thorp area is stone slab marking a

grave A grave is a location where a dead body (typically that of a human, although sometimes that of an animal) is buried or interred after a funeral. Graves are usually located in special areas set aside for the purpose of burial, such as grav ...

at Tamarack Springs in the Taneum Canyon, which reads, "A

Woman's Grave." This grave belongs to the wife of Al Williams, whose wife was killed at the

s in 1870. Williams and his

wife A wife (plural, : wives) is a female in a marital relationship. A woman who has separated from her partner continues to be a wife until the marriage is legally Dissolution (law), dissolved with a divorce judgement. On the death of her partner, ...

were traveling through the area and became

lost Lost may refer to getting lost, or to: Geography *Lost, Aberdeenshire, a hamlet in Scotland * Lake Okeechobee Scenic Trail, or LOST, a hiking and cycling trail in Florida, US History *Abbreviation of lost work, any work which is known to have bee ...

. They were directed by an Indian to follow the Tamarack Trail, since it was the closest route to a

settlement Settlement may refer to: *Human settlement, a community where people live *Settlement (structural), the distortion or disruption of parts of a building * Closing (real estate), the final step in executing a real estate transaction *Settlement (fin ...

. In hurrying to their destination, the woman's

horse The horse (''Equus ferus caballus'') is a domesticated, one-toed, hoofed mammal. It belongs to the taxonomic family Equidae and is one of two extant subspecies of ''Equus ferus''. The horse has evolved over the past 45 to 55 million yea ...

stumbled over a log and fell. A letter written by Charles Splawn explains the tragic events:

"Because his wife was expecting a
baby An infant or baby is the very young offspring of human beings. ''Infant'' (from the Latin word ''infans'', meaning 'unable to speak' or 'speechless') is a formal or specialised synonym for the common term ''baby''. The terms may also be used to ...
, they started to go to a settlement. The
horse The horse (''Equus ferus caballus'') is a domesticated, one-toed, hoofed mammal. It belongs to the taxonomic family Equidae and is one of two extant subspecies of ''Equus ferus''. The horse has evolved over the past 45 to 55 million yea ...
Mrs. Williams was riding fell while jumping a log. The child was born prematurely and the mother and
baby An infant or baby is the very young offspring of human beings. ''Infant'' (from the Latin word ''infans'', meaning 'unable to speak' or 'speechless') is a formal or specialised synonym for the common term ''baby''. The terms may also be used to ...
died. Williams buried his wife and child as best he could. And rode down into the valley. He afterwards came back to remove the bodies. Thorp, Splawn and Rego advised him not to. They told him she was a pioneer's daughter and a pioneer's wife and she should rest in a pioneer grave."''Daily Record'' (Ellensburg, Washington), "Tamarack Springs tragedy recalled," 1973-06-01, pp. 4.

Years later, according to the late Mrs. W. D. Bruton of Thorp, a marker was placed over the grave by Matt Pointer, who rode the area with his cattle, to mark it as a white woman's grave so it would not be vandalized. Eventually, a fence was built around it and rocks placed over it to protect it from

livestock Livestock are the domesticated animals raised in an agricultural setting to provide labor and produce diversified products for consumption such as meat, eggs, milk, fur, leather, and wool. The term is sometimes used to refer solely to animal ...

. After the death of his wife, Williams went to the

Puget Sound Puget Sound ( ) is a sound of the Pacific Northwest, an inlet of the Pacific Ocean, and part of the Salish Sea. It is located along the northwestern coast of the U.S. state of Washington. It is a complex estuarine system of interconnected ma ...

area and operated a ferry at

Nisqually River The Nisqually River is a river in west central Washington in the United States, approximately long. It drains part of the Cascade Range southeast of Tacoma, including the southern slope of Mount Rainier, and empties into the southern end of Pu ...

and eventually moved to

California California is a state in the Western United States, located along the Pacific Coast. With nearly 39.2million residents across a total area of approximately , it is the most populous U.S. state and the 3rd largest by area. It is also the m ...

where his brother owned a

stage Stage or stages may refer to: Acting * Stage (theatre), a space for the performance of theatrical productions * Theatre, a branch of the performing arts, often referred to as "the stage" * ''The Stage'', a weekly British theatre newspaper * Sta ...

line. Today, the grave is located off Road 3120 on land owned by the

Washington Department of Natural Resources The Washington State Department of Natural Resources (DNR) manages over of forest, range, agricultural, and commercial lands in the U.S. state of Washington. The DNR also manages of aquatic areas which include shorelines, tidelands, lands un ...

in a small fenced area across a

meadow A meadow ( ) is an open habitat, or field, vegetated by grasses, herbs, and other non- woody plants. Trees or shrubs may sparsely populate meadows, as long as these areas maintain an open character. Meadows may be naturally occurring or arti ...

from the springs. The Thorp-Splawn Pioneer Cemetery is located about a mile southwest of the town of Thorp on the north side of Interstate 90 in a field that is visible from the

freeway A controlled-access highway is a type of highway that has been designed for high-speed vehicular traffic, with all traffic flow—ingress and egress—regulated. Common English terms are freeway, motorway and expressway. Other similar terms ...

. The Thorp-Splawn Cemetery was neglected until 1964, when the Terra Firma Garden Club of Thorp restored the plot. However, putting the markers over the right graves was impossible due to years of decay and it is uncertain whether the markers correctly correspond with the individuals buried there. Other early settlers in the Thorp area were Herman Page, J. H. Stevens, W. D. Killmore, A. T. Mason, George O’Hare, George and Jacob Forgey, John Newman, and John C. Goodwin. Goodwin was later appointed the first sheriff of Kittitas County upon the first meeting of the

county commissioners A county commission (or a board of county commissioners) is a group of elected officials (county commissioners) collectively charged with administering the county government in some states of the United States; such commissions usually comprise ...

in Ellensburg on December 17, 1883. John Ellison and Amy Childs of Thorp were both members of early settler families in the area, and at the time of their marriage in 1884, received the first

marriage license A marriage license (or marriage licence in Commonwealth spelling) is a document issued, either by a religious organization or state authority, authorizing a couple to marry. The procedure for obtaining a license varies between jurisdictio ...

granted in Kittitas County. In the 1870s, the area that would become Thorp was known as Pleasant Grove and was part of

. On July 6, 1872, the Pleasant Grove post office on the west side of the

was established at the

ranch A ranch (from es, rancho/Mexican Spanish) is an area of land, including various structures, given primarily to ranching, the practice of raising grazing livestock such as cattle and sheep. It is a subtype of a farm. These terms are most ofte ...

of John S. Vaughn, and the Taneum post office was discontinued the following year on April 7 due to an unnecessary overlap in service.''Daily Record'' (Ellensburg, Washington), "Gives history of postoffice in the Kittitas," 1953-07-06, pp. 7. Despite being one of the earliest locations in Kittitas County to be settled, Pleasant Grove would remain sparsely populated for the next

decade A decade () is a period of ten years. Decades may describe any ten-year period, such as those of a person's life, or refer to specific groupings of calendar years. Usage Any period of ten years is a "decade". For example, the statement that "du ...

, with cattle ranching as the primary

occupation Occupation commonly refers to: *Occupation (human activity), or job, one's role in society, often a regular activity performed for payment *Occupation (protest), political demonstration by holding public or symbolic spaces *Military occupation, th ...

.Richard Fields, "History of Thorp Kittitas County State of Washington to 1901" (master's thesis, Central Washington University) pp. 47.National Register of Historic Places Registration Form, Thorp Grade School, KT-3052 (Prepared by Tanner Dotzauer, Thorp Mill Town Historical Preservation Society) 2009-06-03.
Retrieved 2011-10-15. By the early 1880s, farming was beginning to take hold in the area around Thorp, and the

open range In the Western United States and Canada, open range is rangeland where cattle roam freely regardless of land ownership. Where there are "open range" laws, those wanting to keep animals off their property must erect a fence to keep animals out; th ...

began to shrink. In 1880, the Pleasant Grove post office was moved close to where the small

commercial center Commercial may refer to: * a dose of advertising conveyed through media (such as - for example - radio or television) ** Radio advertisement ** Television advertisement * (adjective for:) commerce, a system of voluntary exchange of products and s ...

was beginning to form with the establishment of a

sawmill A sawmill (saw mill, saw-mill) or lumber mill is a facility where logs are cut into lumber. Modern sawmills use a motorized saw to cut logs lengthwise to make long pieces, and crosswise to length depending on standard or custom sizes (dimensi ...

and, three years later, a

gristmill A gristmill (also: grist mill, corn mill, flour mill, feed mill or feedmill) grinds cereal grain into flour and middlings. The term can refer to either the grinding mechanism or the building that holds it. Grist is grain that has been separat ...

. The new settlement hoped for the eventual establishment of a

railway Rail transport (also known as train transport) is a means of transport that transfers passengers and goods on wheeled vehicles running on rails, which are incorporated in tracks. In contrast to road transport, where the vehicles run on a pre ...

depot Depot ( or ) may refer to: Places * Depot, Poland, a village * Depot Island, Kemp Land, Antarctica * Depot Island, Victoria Land, Antarctica * Depot Island Formation, Greenland Brands and enterprises * Maxwell Street Depot, a restaurant in ...

as the

had made its intentions clear that it would soon come through the valley close to where the

was located. ThorpTrainNo255ca1900

Mill town and railroad era

In 1878, James L. Mills traversed the trail over the

from

by foot, and saw great possibilities in the Kittitas Valley. He built a

west of the current town site in 1879,Eugene J. Brain, "Thorp, Washington," The Coast Magazine, Vol. XV, May 1908 (from ''The Coast,'' Honor L. Wilhelm, pp. 366-67). diverting water from the Yakima River to turn its wheels. The sawmill had a capacity of 7,000 feet daily. Not content with the sawmill, Mills devised a way for the same wheels to power the North Star Mill, a gristmill that Oren Hutchinson had built at the town of Thorp in 1883, to provide feed for

and flour for the local residents. The mill was best known for its leading brand "Tip Top". The Pleasant Grove

was moved in 1880 to a site near the mills and changed its name to Milton post office to reflect the name of the small settlement that had sprung up at that location, which was named for Milton Young. It was housed in several farm houses northwest of the current town site of Thorp until 1884, when it was re-established at the Thorp gristmill through the instrumentality of James L. Mills, who named it "Oren" after Oren Hutchinson. In 1889, the name of the post office was changed to "Thorp" to conform with the name used for the settlement by the Northern Pacific Railroad, and, in 1895, the post office was moved just down the road to the location of the depot that was built there and the town site that had been platted around it. It was the system of water delivery that made the mills at Thorp possible, and the farming lands around Thorp are the oldest

irrigated Irrigation (also referred to as watering) is the practice of applying controlled amounts of water to land to help grow crops, landscape plants, and lawns. Irrigation has been a key aspect of agriculture for over 5,000 years and has been devel ...

section in Kittitas County. The Manastash Canal was completed in 1875, followed later in the same year by the Taneum Ditch Company. The Westside irrigating canal that runs just south of the town of Thorp was begun in June 1889, and water was first used in 1890. Utilizing water diverted from the Yakima River, it is about 14 miles long and averages 12 feet wide. The original cost for building the Westside Canal was $30,000. To a great extent, the town of Thorp owes its existence to the arrival of the

. While some of the initial settlement was undoubtedly influenced by the convergence of wagon trails which would eventually cross Snoqualmie Pass, it was the location of the Cascade

spur A spur is a metal tool designed to be worn in pairs on the heels of riding boots for the purpose of directing a horse or other animal to move forward or laterally while riding. It is usually used to refine the riding aids (commands) and to ba ...

that ultimately determined the location of the town. In 1887, the Northern Pacific Railroad reached the town of Thorp,''Daily Record'' (Ellensburg, Washington), "Thorp settlers watched Indians", 1989-08-18, pp. 14-D. when the railroad’s management built a sidetrack out one mile west of the current town site and named it after the intrepid pioneer F. M. Thorp and his family. It took two years to build the Northern Pacific line from Old Town, now

Union Gap Union Gap is a city in Yakima County, Washington, United States. As of the 2020 census, the city population was 6,568. Union Gap has become the retail hub for the entire Yakima Valley as a result of Valley Mall and other thriving businesses be ...

, to Thorp.

Chinese Chinese can refer to: * Something related to China * Chinese people, people of Chinese nationality, citizenship, and/or ethnicity **''Zhonghua minzu'', the supra-ethnic concept of the Chinese nation ** List of ethnic groups in China, people of ...

laborers or "

coolies A coolie (also spelled koelie, kuli, khuli, khulie, cooli, cooly, or quli) is a term for a low-wage labourer, typically of South Asian or East Asian descent. The word ''coolie'' was first popularized in the 16th century by European traders acros ...

" were brought in first to build the Northern Pacific spur, and again to extend the Milwaukee Road through the Kittitas Valley. A Northern Pacific

section house A section house is a building or house-like structure located near or next to a section of railroad used for housing railroad workers, or for the storing and maintenance of equipment for a section of railroad. Section houses were used mainly from th ...

was located at Thorp where men of the regular crew boarded, while Chinese laborers and other members of the work gang had their own sleeping cars. ThorpHaywagon

In 1895, with the extension of the main line to the site of the current town, the railroad station was moved and the town was laid out. The town of Thorp developed around this

, with the first developments including the construction of maintenance facilities, shipping facilities and warehouses. The current town site was settled by the Newman family in 1878. On July 9, 1895, a three-block town site was

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 bea ...

ted around the site of the Northern Pacific depot by John M. and Sarah Isabel Newman. In May 1900, Milford A. Thorp, a son of F. M. Thorp, added Thorp's Addition, incorporating into the town site the land he had purchased in 1885 from James McMurray. Houses and businesses quickly sprang up, and small farms appeared around the edges. The first store in Thorp was opened by J. E. Veach in about 1895. The first hotel was the Thorp House, established by A. St. John in 1893. The hotel was superseded by the Tanum House in 1903, which was built and operated by J. F. Duncan. The ''Ellensburg Dawn'' newspaper wrote in the spring of 1901 of the promising little town:

"The little village of Thorp, nine miles up the road, is one of the nicest little places in Central Washington. It is quiet, no saloons to mar the pleasure of the inhabitants, has a good church, a good public school building, a sawmill and a good flouring mill, both of which are operated by water power, a manufacturing establishment--land roller and box factory, and in fact you can get about all the accommodations in Thorp you can get in many towns of much larger population. We are glad Thorp is in Kittitas County."

In 1907, the energy from the water wheel at the North Star Mill was utilized to power a

steam generator A Steam generator is a device used to boil water to create steam. More specifically, it may refer to: *Boiler (steam generator), a closed vessel in which water is heated under pressure *Monotube steam generator *Supercritical steam generator or Ben ...

having a 40-

horsepower Horsepower (hp) is a unit of measurement of power, or the rate at which work is done, usually in reference to the output of engines or motors. There are many different standards and types of horsepower. Two common definitions used today are t ...

dynamo "Dynamo Electric Machine" (end view, partly section, ) A dynamo is an electrical generator that creates direct current using a commutator. Dynamos were the first electrical generators capable of delivering power for industry, and the foundati ...

, which furnished

electricity Electricity is the set of physical phenomena associated with the presence and motion of matter that has a property of electric charge. Electricity is related to magnetism, both being part of the phenomenon of electromagnetism, as describ ...

for laundering clothes two mornings each week, and for lighting homes for a few hours each evening. This gave Thorp the distinction of being among the first towns in Washington to have electricity, and the smallest unincorporated town in the Northwest to have

electric lights An electric light, lamp, or light bulb is an electrical component that produces light. It is the most common form of artificial lighting. Lamps usually have a base made of ceramic, metal, glass, or plastic, which secures the lamp in the soc ...

.HistoryLink, "Thorp Mill begins operation in the Kittitas Valley in April 1883," Essay 5073.
Retrieved 2011-09-22. The addition of a Milwaukee Road depot in 1909 meant that Thorp was the first rail stop where the Chicago, Milwaukee, St. Paul & Pacific Railroad and the Northern Pacific Railroad crossed paths, making it an important shipping point at one time. The Chicago, Milwaukee, St. Paul & Pacific Railroad operated its headquarters for building operations in the Lower Kittitas County, including the shipping in of supplies for the area, out of its Thorp depot. The pay office of employees and the

commissary A commissary is a government official charged with oversight or an ecclesiastical official who exercises in special circumstances the jurisdiction of a bishop. In many countries, the term is used as an administrative or police title. It often c ...

were also located at Thorp. The

U.S. Postal Service The United States Postal Service (USPS), also known as the Post Office, U.S. Mail, or Postal Service, is an independent agency of the executive branch of the United States federal government responsible for providing postal service in the U. ...

carried mail to and from Thorp by railroad cars of the Northern Pacific. Rather than stopping and losing precious time, RPO (railway post office) cars featured a large hook that would catch the mailbag in its crook on the way past the station.''Daily Record'' (Ellensburg, Washington), "Thorp post office--family affair," 1973-05-08, pp. 3. A daily passenger train ran east to

and points beyond, stopping in Thorp around 11:30 a.m. and returning around 4 p.m., followed by another westbound train at 11 p.m. ThorpTanumHouse

Boomtown and beyond

Through the first few decades of the 20th century, the town's economy remained steady with the population reaching its peak at around 400 people. Eugene B. Brain wrote of the flourishing town of Thorp, as it was poised to enter into its

boomtown A boomtown is a community that undergoes sudden and rapid population and economic growth, or that is started from scratch. The growth is normally attributed to the nearby discovery of a precious resource such as gold, silver, or oil, although ...

era, in ''The Coast'' magazine:

"The people of Thorp are prosperous and well-to-do. The business interests are represented by two general stores, a fine hotel, drug store, restaurant, livery, meat market, blacksmith shop, saw mill, flouring mill, numerous fruit packers and shippers and other pursuits ..with a bright present, a prosperous and large future lies before the town. Thorp is bound to grow and with its enterprising and progressive residents a magnificent town is assured--a town of wealth and importance for Kittitas County."

Then in the late 1920s and 1930s, Thorp experienced a remarkable economic boost despite the Great Depression that had descended upon the nation. This period of growth and prosperity was led by an influx of

timber Lumber is wood that has been processed into dimensional lumber, including beams and planks or boards, a stage in the process of wood production. Lumber is mainly used for construction framing, as well as finishing (floors, wall panels, w ...

workers from the Taneum Canyon, where the Cascade Logging Company maintained a portable logging camp. In 1928, Thorp became one of the headquarters for the Bureau of Reclamation's Kittitas Division of the Yakima Project which focused on construction of the Highline Canal, an event that brought yet more activity to the town. This coincided with the establishment of Camp Taneum as Company 4771 of the

Civilian Conservation Corps The Civilian Conservation Corps (CCC) was a voluntary government work relief program that ran from 1933 to 1942 in the United States for unemployed, unmarried men ages 18–25 and eventually expanded to ages 17–28. The CCC was a major part of ...

at nearby Taneum Canyon, bringing as many as 189 young men from as far away as New York to work at the camp, many of whom frequented the town of Thorp for shopping and entertainment. Camp Taneum was disbanded in July 1938, and its enrollees transferred to Fort Snelling, Minnesota, Fort Leavenworth, Kansas, and Little Rock, Arkansas for reassignment. The boost in the economy brought workers into the town, spawning the need for social venues which, with the absence of liquor during the Prohibition era, made Ellison's Hall a great attraction. Located at the corner of Railroad Street (Thorp Highway) and First Street, Ellison's offered lively smokers on Saturday nights. It was also the home of many parties hosted by the Ladies' Aid Society, and dances featuring local favorites like "Larry's Harmony Aces" and "Pinky's Roamers". On the morning of May 24, 1938, a serious fire burned several small businesses to the ground, including the Thorp Hotel, and a mercantile along with the clubhouse on the second floor above it which was home to the Thorp Odd Fellows and Rebekahs lodges.''The Ellensburg Capital'' (Ellensburg, Washington), "Blaze at Thorp destroys two buildings," 1938-05-27, pp. 1. The Thorp Hotel had been operated as the "Tanum House" first by J. F. Duncan and then by Frank and Callie Mattox. The name was changed sometime in the 1920s, and subsequently operated by Harrison and Nancy Barrett from 1924 to 1930. At the time of the fire it was operated by Ray Long. None of the businesses destroyed in the 1938 fire were rebuilt, and the business district of the town was again struck by fire on the afternoon of August 16, 1943, when another commercial building was burned. The blaze threatened a serious conflagration, and was extinguished by state forestry crews with the assistance of a pumper from Ellensburg.''Daily Record'' (Ellensburg, Washington), "Blaze destroys Thorp building," 1943-08-17, pp. 1. The realization that the fire might have been more serious, coupled with the previous fires in the town, gave impetus to a movement that had been underway at Thorp for some time regarding the purchase of fire equipment. An emergency meeting of the town residents was held on the evening of August 19, 1943, to discuss the town's response to the problem. Kittitas County Fire District No. 1 was organized in that same year at Thorp, and is the oldest fire protection district in the state. The

volunteer fire department A volunteer fire department (VFD) is a fire department of volunteers who perform fire suppression and other related emergency services for a local jurisdiction. Volunteer and retained (on-call) firefighters are expected to be on call to respond ...

's small fire house was topped with the large bell that originally hung in the belfry of the old Thorp school house. The bell is now an artifact at the current fire station which was recently built adjacent to the old one. The original fire house was subsequently sold and has been converted to an artist's studio and residence. The boomtown days began to subside with the departure of the canal workers and the winding down of nearby logging operations. The local economy greatly suffered with many businesses closing never to reopen, and the boom era had essentially come to a close by the end of World War II. The Northern Pacific Railroad depot at Thorp was officially closed on July 1, 1952. The Northern Pacific cited a steady decline in shipments and competition from trucks as the reason for the closure. The last shipment of freight moved from Thorp via the Northern Pacific line was on May 9, 1952. In 1967, ground was broken at the site of the 1938 fire by the Ellensburg Telephone Company which acquired the land to build a local telephone exchange office for the Thorp area. The building, which cost $25,000 to complete, was cut into service in May 1968, and is still in use. The exchange office was originally equipped to handle 400 subscribers. The construction of a two-lane steel

truss bridge A truss bridge is a bridge whose load-bearing superstructure is composed of a truss, a structure of connected elements, usually forming triangular units. The connected elements (typically straight) may be stressed from tension, compression, or ...

over the Yakima River west of Thorp in 1936, prepared the way for the designation of the Thorp Highway, from State Route 10 ( SR 10) to

, as SSH 3M ( Secondary State Highway 3M) in 1937. In 1953, the highway through Thorp was deleted from the state highway system. The location of U.S. Route 10 (now

State Route 10 Route 10, or Highway 10, can refer to routes in the following countries: International * European route E10 * European route E010 Argentina * La Pampa Provincial Route 10 Australia Queensland * Smith Street Motorway (Queensland) * Scenic H ...

) north of Thorp in 1926, and the eventual opening of Interstate 90 in 1968, all played vital roles in the changing population and economic conditions that shaped the small community. In 1980, Interstate 90 from

to Thorp was designated the ''Mountains to Sound Greenway'' to protect its outstanding scenic and cultural resources. ThorpThorpCemetery

Thorp Cemetery

The Thorp Cemetery is located about a mile south of the town along Thorp Cemetery Road. Herman Page, a farmer who came to Thorp from New York, gave land for the

cemetery A cemetery, burial ground, gravesite or graveyard is a place where the remains of dead people are buried or otherwise interred. The word ''cemetery'' (from Greek , "sleeping place") implies that the land is specifically designated as a buri ...

and he is buried there. Markers denote

graves A grave is a location where a dead body (typically that of a human, although sometimes that of an animal) is buried or interred after a funeral. Graves are usually located in special areas set aside for the purpose of burial, such as grave ...

dated as early as 1890, however Herman Page started Page's Grove, a 10-acre timber culture, and claimed his 160-acre homestead as early as 1875.''Daily Record'' (Ellensburg, Washington), "Cemetery needs tax support," 1970-11-02, pp. 16. The title was transferred to the Thorp

Methodist Episcopal Church The Methodist Episcopal Church (MEC) was the oldest and largest Methodist denomination in the United States from its founding in 1784 until 1939. It was also the first religious denomination in the US to organize itself on a national basis. In ...

in the late 1880s, and it was subsequently operated by the Thorp Odd Fellows Lodge until 1940 when the lodge folded. In 1962, it was placed under the management of Kittitas County Cemetery District No. 1. Local legend holds that the cemetery is

haunted Haunted or The Haunted may refer to: Books * ''Haunted'' (Armstrong novel), by Kelley Armstrong, 2005 * ''Haunted'' (Cabot novel), by Meg Cabot, 2004 * ''Haunted'' (Palahniuk novel), by Chuck Palahniuk, 2005 * ''Haunted'' (Angel novel), a 200 ...

by the ghost of a young Indian woman by the name of Susie, who was tragically

lynched Lynching is an extrajudicial killing by a group. It is most often used to characterize informal public executions by a mob in order to punish an alleged transgressor, punish a convicted transgressor, or intimidate people. It can also be an ex ...

around the year 1890 at Thorp, by persons unknown in the area. Documents held by the Kittitas County Genealogical Society confirm her death as "caused by hanging by unknown person," listing her father as Salmon La Sac. It is reported that she has been seen riding a white

, and weeping sorrowfully among the

tombstones A headstone, tombstone, or gravestone is a stele or marker, usually stone, that is placed over a grave. It is traditional for burials in the Christian, Jewish, and Muslim religions, among others. In most cases, it has the deceased's name, ...

on moonlit nights. The cemetery is often listed among "haunted places" in Washington state. The cemetery is restful and well cared for, and remains an active place of burial for departed loved ones of the Thorp community. Visitors, especially those fascinated by the legend of the Indian girl and her ghost, are encouraged to show respect for those resting there, and for the rights and privacy of visiting families.

Churches

Several Thorp families that came from

Polk County, Oregon Polk County is one of the 36 counties in the U.S. state of Oregon. As of the 2020 census, the population was 87,433. The county seat is Dallas. The county is named for James Knox Polk, the 11th president of the United States. Polk County ...

, had a heritage in the

Stone-Campbell Movement The Restoration Movement (also known as the American Restoration Movement or the Stone–Campbell Movement, and pejoratively as Campbellism) is a Christian movement that began on the United States frontier during the Second Great Awakening (179 ...

. Although they had been meeting as a group since 1890, the Thorp Church of Christ was not formed until 1895. The primary movers in launching the new

congregation A congregation is a large gathering of people, often for the purpose of worship. Congregation may also refer to: * Church (congregation), a Christian organization meeting in a particular place for worship *Congregation (Roman Curia), an administr ...

were Mary Childs and Sarah Goodwin. Their work was successful, but Sarah Goodwin is not listed on the

charter roll A charter roll is an administrative record created by a medieval chancery that recorded all the charters issued by that office. Origins In medieval England, King John in 1199 established a fixed rate of fees for the sealing of charters and letter ...

of 1895 because she had already passed to her eternal reward by the time the church was fully established.Pioneer History, Churches of Christ and Christian Churches in the Pacific Northwest, Kittitas County, Washington.
Retrieved 2011-09-21. The first services were held at the Thorp school house, with a permanent church structure being erected in 1897. Early

ministers Minister may refer to: * Minister (Christianity), a Christian cleric ** Minister (Catholic Church) * Minister (government), a member of government who heads a ministry (government department) ** Minister without portfolio, a member of governme ...

signed one-year contracts to serve the community with most moving on to other congregations after only a short period of time. The town of Thorp was also the home of the Thorp

for many years, however that congregation was disbanded sometime in the 1930s. The

steeple In architecture, a steeple is a tall tower on a building, topped by a spire and often incorporating a belfry and other components. Steeples are very common on Christian churches and cathedrals and the use of the term generally connotes a religi ...

on the Methodist Episcopal church was cut off, and it served variously as a Grange hall, clubhouse and the Rodeo Renegades square dance hall. In 1949, Teddy Leavitt formed a short-lived

Bible college A Bible college, sometimes referred to as a Bible institute or theological institute, is an evangelical Christian or Restoration Movement Christian institution of higher education which prepares students for Christian ministry with theological ed ...

at Thorp, which was affiliated with the Thorp Church of Christ. The church structure fell victim to fire on April 13, 1950, and as a result the college was relocated to

Selah, Washington Selah is a city in Yakima County, Washington, United States. The population was 8,153 at the 2020 census. History Selah was incorporated on March 17, 1919. The Tree Top apple processor co-operative (established in 1960) has its headquarters and ...

, where it continued as the Central Washington Bible College until 1977. After the 1950 blaze, the Thorp Church of Christ was quickly rebuilt in the same location. The Thorp Church of Christ became the Thorp Community Church in 1981. It is located near the intersection of Goodwin Road and First Street in Thorp, and continues to minister to the spiritual needs of the townspeople.

Transportation

Reachable via Exit 101 (Thorp, Thorp Highway) on Interstate 90, Thorp can also be accessed from

(formerly U.S. Route 10) via the Thorp Highway at milepost 8.98. The main line of the

used to run through the town of Thorp, and it was considered an important shipping point at one time. Currently the Burlington Northern-Santa Fe uses the rail line through the town, but the train no longer makes stops.

Education

Public schools are operated by Thorp School District No. 400. The district includes one junior/senior high school (Thorp High School), and one elementary school.

Points of interest

* Thorp Community Day -- Thorp Community Day is an annual celebration taking place in early October, coinciding with the autumn harvest. The event begins with a pancake breakfast at the Thorp Fire Station, and a parade through the town. It culminates with various community-oriented activities including the Fall Market at the Thorp Tractor Company, which generally attracts local vendors featuring anything from handcrafted furniture, clothing, jewelry, art, antiques and fresh local produce. The Harvest Carnival, held at the historic Thorp Grade School building, offers old-fashioned games such as apple bobbing, the ring toss and pumpkin bowling. Proceeds from carnival ticket sales go to support student activities at Thorp High School. An open house at the historic Thorp Mill is also a highlight of the celebration, which also includes live entertainment from local musicians. * Iron Horse State Park - Part of the Washington State Park System, Iron Horse State Park follows the path of the now defunct Milwaukee Road between the Cascade Mountains and Yakima River Valley, between Cedar Falls on the west and the Columbia River on the east. Access is on Thorp Depot Road near Interstate 90 exit 101 at Thorp. * The Thorp Mill - One of Kittitas County's oldest landmarks, the historic grist mill is listed on the National Register of Historic Places and offers a unique perspective on the history of Thorp and the surrounding area. * Thorp Grade School - Listed on the National Register of Historic Places, the building was erected in 1936 and continues to serve the educational needs of the children of the town of Thorp. During hours of operation, visitors can check in at the district administrative offices in the modern building next door. A look inside the old school house reveals finely crafted hardwood floors, intact mouldings and a wood paneled gymnasium. * Northern Pacific Depot - The Northern Pacific train depot was originally located adjacent to the railroad tracks near the corner of Thorp Highway and Second Streets. It was subsequently moved to its current location along Thorp Highway near the east entrance to the town. * Old Thorp Fire Station - Fire District No. 1 was established in 1943, and is the oldest fire protection district in the state. The old fire station is located near the corner of Main Street and Thorp Highway adjacent to the new fire station. The building was recently sold and converted to a residence. * Old Thorp Post Office - Located near the corner of Main Street on the Thorp Highway, closeby the old fire station, the old Thorp Post Office operated until the 1990s when a new structure was built a few blocks away. The old post office is now an artist studio called Thorp Collective. * F. C. Porter Store - A start-of-the-20th century dry goods store on the corner of Thorp Highway and Second Streets, this building now houses a printing business. One of the oldest surviving commercial structures in the area, it originally opened around 1895 as J. E. Veach Dry Goods and was the first store established at Thorp. It was subsequently acquired by the Porter family, who expanded the building around 1912 to include integrated living quarters in the back, which was common in small-town businesses of the era. It is a classic example of late 19th-century false-front commercial wood-frame architecture.

Notable people

Margaret Leonard Margaret Leonard (May 27, 1916 – March 10, 2004) was an American tax consultant and politician from Washington. Leonard was a former Republican member of Washington House of Representatives for District 3, from 1981 to 1983. Early life On Ma ...

, state legislator * James B. Brain, state legislator''Daily Record'' (Ellensburg, Washington), "Boards of two counties name new legislator," 1950-12-19, pp. 1.

References

External links

Thorp Mill Town Historical Preservation Society

Thorp School District No. 400

CWU Brooks Library, Thorp Historical Photograph Collection
A collection of photographs dating from the late 19th century to the early 20th century consisting of various historical images of town of Thorp. {{authority control Census-designated places in Kittitas County, Washington Census-designated places in Washington (state) Populated places on the Yakima River