Editing Oakville, Washington (section)

==History==
In 1818, the United States and Great Britain agreed to a treaty of joint occupancy in the [[Oregon Country]], which included the land that would eventually become Oakville, Washington.<ref name="U.S. Historian">{{cite web|title=The Oregon Territory, 1846|url=https://history.state.gov/milestones/1830-1860/oregon-territory|website=Department of State, United States of America: Office of the Historian|access-date=July 10, 2018}}</ref> Over the next several decades, citizens of the United States began to settle in the area. As traveling by boat was easier than moving through the dense forests, many used the river system, entering from the port of [[Grays Harbor]] and canoeing inland via the [[Chehalis River (Washington)|Chehalis River]].<ref name="Davis">{{cite book|last1=Davis|first1=Kelle A.|title=From Lower Fords Prairie to Poverty Flats: Stories of Some of the White Settlers of the Oakville Area, 1850 to 1900|date=1990|publisher=Davis Creek Farm}}</ref> The British government [[Oregon Treaty|gave full ownership of the area]] to the United States in 1846.<ref name="U.S. Historian" />

In 1850, the land in the area was mainly open [[prairie]], maintained by yearly fires started deliberately by local tribes, which kept the forest from encroaching and which encouraged the bloom of [[Camassia|camas]], a staple food, and other plants.<ref name="Davis" /> The prairie lands were attractive to settlers arriving in the area, helped by the indigenous people, and towns began to be platted up and down the [[Chehalis River (Washington)|Chehalis River]].<ref name="Davis" />

In the 1870s, a party of several families relocated to the area from [[Crawford County, Illinois]].<ref name="Davis" /> The leader of the party, James Reed Harris, had purchased the [[Donation Land Claim Act|donation claim]] for the area from John Hole for $1200.<ref name="Davis" /> He applied for a post office, and after some discussion, it was decided to use the name "Oakville," inspired by the [[Quercus garryana|Garry oak trees]] in the area.<ref name="Davis" /><ref name="City Homepage" /> The post office opened on December 31, 1873.<ref name="Curtiss" />

Logging and railroad construction soon brought other settlers to the area; the [[plat]] of the city site was filed on September 27, 1887.<ref name="Curtiss">{{cite book|last1=Curtiss|first1=Paul D.|title=Northern Pacific, Tacoma Division: Grays Harbor Line|date=2006}}</ref> Around 1890, [[Northern Pacific Railway]] was laying tracks through the city.<ref name="Davis" /> By the turn of the century, a Northern Pacific train station had been established in the city, and the area had several general stores, a new school, and a couple of hotels.<ref name="Davis" /><ref name="Train 1">{{cite book|title=The Official Railway Guide: North American Freight Service Edition|date=1900|publisher=National Railway Publication Company|page=1004 |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=GbMsAQAAMAAJ&q=train+station+%22oakville,+wa%22&pg=RA1-PA1004|access-date=July 9, 2018}}</ref> Oakville was officially incorporated on December 18, 1905.<ref name="City Homepage">{{cite web|title=Welcome to the City of Oakville|url=http://www.oakvillecityhall.com/|website=City of Oakville|access-date=July 9, 2018}}</ref>

In 1909, a report by the Railroad Commission of Washington described Oakville:
<blockquote>"Oakville is a town of about 400 inhabitants, located on the line of the Northern Pacific trailer in the center of an important lumbering and taking district. The timber resources of this section are of immense value and the bottom lands are well adapted to general farming. Oakville is a growing town and will develop more rapidly as the resources of the surrounding district are more thoroughly exploited."<ref name="Railroad Commission 1909" /></blockquote>

[[Lumber]] was a major industry in the early days of the city; in 1916, Oakville Lumber Company, Big Fir Lumber Company, Vance Lumber Company, and others were in operation, along with the Callow Mill.<ref name="Lumber - Timberman">{{cite journal|journal=The Timberman|date=1916|volume=18|title=Timberman|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=ovcwAQAAMAAJ|access-date=July 9, 2018|publisher=M. Freeman Publications}}</ref> The city was "noted for large shipments of [[Rhamnus purshiana|cascara]] bark."<ref name="Beauty">{{cite book|last1=Giles|first1=Harry F.|title=The Beauties of the State of Washington: A Book for Tourists|date=1915|publisher=Frank M. Lamborn|location=Olympia|page=44|url=https://www.gutenberg.org/files/30139/30139-h/30139-h.htm|access-date=July 9, 2018}}</ref> Factories were also part of the city's economy, with the E.H. Hilton & Co. Oiled Clothes Factory in operation by 1915,<ref name="Oiled Clothes">{{cite web|title=E.H. Hilton & Co. Oiled Clothes Factory, Oakville, WA|url=http://www.washingtonhistory.org/collections/item.aspx?irn=119145&record=5|website=[[Washington State Historical Society]]|access-date=July 9, 2018}}</ref> and the Oakville Co-Operative Cheese Company incorporating a few years later.<ref name="Lister" />

The historic Oakville State Bank was incorporated on August 14, 1909 by C.R. Harper and C.C. Scates. The bank changed names and ownership several times over the next century.<ref>{{cite web|title=MsSC 130: Oakville State Bank|url=http://www.washingtonhistory.org/collections/item.aspx?irn=69456&record=14|website=Washington State Historical Society|access-date=July 9, 2018}}</ref><ref name="Robbery 2">{{cite news|last1=Forsyth|first1=Ashley|title=Bank robbed seven times Saturday|url=http://www.chronline.com/news/bank-robbed-seven-times-saturday/article_5cdc2ed3-b880-563f-8b15-33e89c7fce32.html|access-date=July 9, 2018|agency=The Daily Chronicle|date=July 5, 2004}}</ref> It is said to be the last bank in Washington to be robbed by a rider on horseback.<ref name="City Homepage" /> Other businesses in the early days of the city included a jewelry store, a shoe company, and a hardware store.<ref name="Jewelry">{{cite web|title=Jewelry Store, Oakville, WA|url=http://www.washingtonhistory.org/collections/item.aspx?irn=130183&record=8|website=Washington State Historical Society|access-date=July 9, 2018}}</ref><ref name="Hardware Fire">{{cite news|title=Fire burns 127 year old building in Oakville|url=http://www.kxro.com/fire-burns-127-year-old-building-oakville/|access-date=July 9, 2018|agency=[[KXRO|KXRO News]]|date=July 5, 2017}}</ref> 

The city's librarian Clara Trudgeon had been appointed by the State [[Traveling library|Traveling Library]] by 1908, making Oakville eligible to be a recipient of one of the 150 cases of books the state had in rotation.<ref name="Railroad Commission 1909" /> The weekly newspaper was ''The Oakville Cruiser.''<ref name="Gazetteer 13-14">{{cite news|title=Gazetteer|agency=Washington State Gazetteer|date=1913–1914}}</ref> By 1919, the city had an active community center, and the high school had received accreditation as a four-year school.<ref name="Lister">{{cite book|title=Fourth Message of Governor Ernest Lister to the State Legislature|date=1919|publisher=Frank M. Lamborn|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=Iy9KAQAAMAAJ|access-date=July 9, 2018}}</ref>

<gallery class=center mode=packed heights=125px>

Oakville - Lonnborg Family - 1890.jpg|Settlers at their homestead on the west side of Oakville, circa 1890.
Oakville - Laying Track on the Rail Road.jpg|alt=The photo caption reads, "Laying track on the U.P.R.R. near Oakville, WN. Photo by G. Pearson."|Track being laid for the railroad near Oakville, circa 1890.
Oakville - George Pearson - 1906.jpg|Oakville in 1906|alt=A monotone image of a logging town, circa 1906, with a train in the foreground and buildings behind.

</gallery>

===Oakville blobs===

On August 7, 1994, a resident reported that a translucent, gelatinous substance had rained down in the night; she expressed concern that it may have caused her and her mother to become ill, and speculated it may have been the reason her kitten died.<ref name="Weird">{{cite book|last1=Davis|first1=Jeff|last2=Eufrasio|first2=Al|last3=Moran|first3=Mark|title=Weird Washington: Your Travel Guide to Washington's Local Legends and Best Kept Secrets|date=2008|publisher=Sterling Publishing Company, Inc.|pages=94–95|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=yxyulCHkLTwC|isbn=9781402745454}}</ref> When the substance, colloquially known as "Oakville blobs," appeared again, samples were collected and tested by a local doctor, who initially stated that the substance contained human blood cells.<ref name="Weird" /><ref name="Paulson">{{cite news|title=What are these ... blobs|first=Tom|last=Paulson|url=https://news.google.com/newspapers?id=YV8zAAAAIBAJ&dq=oakville%20mystery&pg=1798%2C3705243|newspaper=[[The Free Lance-Star]]|date=August 20, 1994b|access-date= October 21, 2012}}</ref> Further testing by the Department of Ecology refuted these results, as tests showed that there were no nuclei present.<ref name="Weird" />{{Dubious|date=January 2025}} Several theories were given by residents, including wondering whether the substance might have been waste from a commercial plane toilet or whether it may have been particles of deceased jellyfish that had evaporated and been incorporated into a rain cloud.<ref name="NY Times" /> The blobs were also found to contain two species of bacteria.<ref>{{Cite web |title=What were the 'Oakville blobs'? |url=https://www.sciencefocus.com/science/what-were-the-oakville-blobs/ |access-date=2023-01-31 |website=[[BBC Science Focus]] |language=en}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web |last=Miller |first=Nick |date=2022-05-17 |title=What Were the Oakville Blobs and What Caused Them? |url=https://www.discoveryuk.com/mysteries/what-were-the-oakville-blobs-and-what-caused-them/ |access-date=2023-01-31 |website=[[Discovery Channel (British and Irish TV channel)|Discovery UK]] |language=en-US}}</ref> There are no remaining testing samples of the blobs.<ref name="OBPFO">{{cite news |last1=Van De Venter |first1=Karlee |title='Oakville blob' phenomena featured on Netflix show of the unexplained |url=https://www.chronline.com/stories/oakville-blob-phenomena-featured-on-netflix-show-of-the-unexplained,338044 |access-date=April 15, 2024 |work=The Chronicle |publisher=[[Tri-City Herald|Tri-City Herald (Kennewick, Washington)]] |date=April 9, 2024}}</ref>

The incident received coverage in several media outlets, including ''[[The New York Times]]'',<ref name= "NY Times">{{cite news|title=Mystery Blobs were once alive|last=The New York Times|author-link=The New York Times|url=https://news.google.com/newspapers?nid=2519&dat=19940820&id=bZtiAAAAIBAJ&pg=3943,6442421|newspaper=[[Observer-Reporter]]|date=August 20, 1994|access-date=October 21, 2012}}</ref> and a segment was produced about the event for an episode of ''[[Unsolved Mysteries]]'', ''[[Monsters and Mysteries in America]]'',<ref name="Weird"/><ref name="OBPFO"/>