Editing Winthrop, Washington (section)

==History==

[[Indigenous peoples of the Americas|Native Americans]], including the [[Methow people]], were the first inhabitants of Winthrop, with evidence of human habitation at least 8,000 to 10,000 [[years before present]].<ref name="HistoryLink">{{cite web |last=Arksey |first=Laura |date=November 11, 2008 |title=Winthrop — Thumbnail History |url=https://www.historylink.org/file/8796 |work=[[HistoryLink]] |accessdate=November 24, 2024}}</ref> They lived along the banks of the [[Methow River|Methow]] and [[Chewuch River|Chewuch]] rivers, where they harvested [[Camassia|camas]] root and berries, fished, and hunted. The Methow had seasonal camps and returned annually to the upper valley in the summer once they acquired had horses in the 18th century.<ref name="HistoryLink"/> The Columbia Plateau peoples, including the Methow and [[Syilx]], established routes over [[Cascade Pass]] to trade with [[Coast Salish]] tribes in modern-day [[Skagit Valley]].<ref name="Roe21">{{cite book |last=Roe |first=Joann |year=1997 |title=North Cascades Highway: Washington's Popular and Scenic Pass |pages=20–21 |publisher=[[The Mountaineers Books]] |location=Seattle |isbn=9780898865172 |oclc=37157555}}</ref> The population of the Methow people and other Columbia Plateau tribes were devastated by [[smallpox]] epidemics by the 19th century. The tribes under the leadership of [[Chief Moses]] were assigned by the federal government to the [[Columbia Reservation]] in 1879, which included the Methow Valley.<ref name="Roe78">{{harvp|Roe|1997|pp=78–79}}</ref>

The Columbia Reservation was dissolved by the federal government in 1883 to allow for white settlement of the Methow Valley, which was opened on May 1, 1886. The Methow people were then moved further east to the [[Colville Indian Reservation]].<ref name="HistoryLink"/> The first white residents of the valley were brothers Tom and Jim Robinson, who had a hunting camp at the confluence but later left. A homestead near the modern-day town was claimed in 1887 by James Sullivan and Louisa Sullivan, who built the first hotel in the area; they were followed in 1888 by Walter Frisbee, who established a trading post and blacksmith shop.<ref name="HistoryLink"/><ref name="Roe78"/> The Chiliwist Trail between the Okanogan and Methow valleys was the main transportation corridor for the area but was unsuited to wagon travel; it was replaced in 1891 by a pair of new roads funded by settlers in the area that allowed for stagecoach service connecting to [[Brewster, Washington|Brewster]] on the [[Columbia River]].<ref name="HistoryLink"/>

The town of Winthrop was founded in 1890 by local settlers. The namesake, according to U.S. Congressman [[John L. Wilson]], is author and explorer [[Theodore Winthrop]], who had published the memoir ''[[The Canoe and the Saddle]]'' in 1862 after a visit to [[Washington Territory]].<ref>{{cite book |last=Meany |first=Edmond S. |author-link=Edmond S. Meany |year=1923 |title=Origin of Washington Geographic Names |page=352 |publisher=[[University of Washington Press]] |location=Seattle |oclc=1963675 |url=https://babel.hathitrust.org/cgi/pt?id=mdp.39015027074981 |via=[[HathiTrust]] |accessdate=February 16, 2025}}</ref><ref>{{cite news |last=Wilcox Howell |first=Ida |date=September 4, 1955 |title=Winthrop Recalls Fame Of Early Writer On NW |page=14 |work=[[Seattle Post-Intelligencer]]}}</ref> The town's first [[trading post]] and general store was opened in January 1892 by Guy Waring of [[Boston]], who moved with his family to the confluence of the Chewuch and Methow rivers a year before. He took over the Winthrop [[post office]], which had been established on June 18, 1891, and unsuccessfully attempted to rename the town "Waring" despite local backlash.<ref name="HistoryLink"/><ref name="Roe78"/> Waring left the Methow Valley for several years during the [[Panic of 1893|economic depression]] to raise $15,000 in funds for a new venture, the Methow Trading Company. His company acquired almost all of the buildings in the town and opened various businesses, including a [[sawmill]], [[gristmill]], and a hotel. Waring built a spacious new home, named the "Castle" by local residents, on a hillside overlooking Winthrop; it now serves as the home of the Shafer Museum.<ref name="HistoryLink"/><ref name="Roe80">{{harvp|Roe|1997|pp=80–81}}</ref>

Gold was discovered northwest of the Methow Valley near {{ill|Harts Pass|qid=Q132654293|short=yes}} in 1892 and caused a [[gold rush]] that brought 1,000 people to the small settlement of Barron.<ref name="HistoryLink"/> Winthrop remained the main hub of the upper valley with an industry centered around cattle ranching, logging, and supplying nearby mines. Waring opened the Duck Brand Saloon in 1891 and instituted unusually strict rules that required drunk patrons to leave and prohibited bartenders from talking to patrons.<ref name="Roe80"/> The saloon was among the only structures to survive a major fire in 1893 that destroyed the town but closed in 1910; it was later converted into the town hall.<ref name="HistoryLink"/><ref name="PI-2001">{{cite news |last=Hatcher |first=Candy |date=February 9, 2001 |title=Just about everybody is some sort of activist in this 'Old West with a new age feel' |page=A1 |work=[[Seattle Post-Intelligencer]]}}</ref> [[Owen Wister]], Waring's former roommate at [[Harvard University]], wrote ''[[The Virginian (novel)|The Virginian]]'', considered the first American western novel, after honeymooning in Winthrop in 1892 and 1898.<ref name="PI-2001"/> Waring continued to expand his business with branch stores in several mining towns as well as [[Pateros, Washington|Pateros]] and [[Twisp, Washington|Twisp]].<ref name="HistoryLink"/>

Most of the Methow Valley was incorporated into the [[Washington Forest Reserve]] by an executive order signed by President [[Grover Cleveland]] on February 22, 1897. The order prevented further settlement and development of the area around Winthrop, but residents protested due to the area's existing use for agriculture; it was modified in 1901 to remove the valley from the protected area.<ref name="HistoryLink"/> The townsite of Winthrop was formally [[plat]]ted by the Methow Trading Company in 1897 and approved by the county government in 1901.<ref name="Roe82">{{harvp|Roe|1997|pp=82–84}}</ref> A rival town to the south named Heckendorn was platted in 1904 and had several businesses that eroded Waring's monopoly on the upper Methow Valley.<ref name="Roe80"/> A new road along the Methow River from [[Pateros, Washington|Pateros]] to the town and upper valley was completed by the state government in 1909 using [[convict labor]] and modern construction methods.<ref name="HistoryLink"/> In the 1910s, Winthrop gained [[telephone]] service, a newspaper named the ''Winthrop Eagle'', a school, and a bank.<ref name="Roe82"/> Waring left the area in 1917 after losing control of the Methow Trading Company and a failed attempt at ranching. He sold his "Castle", which was used by a local [[Episcopal Church (United States)|Episcopal Church]] and later as a private residence.<ref name="Roe82"/> The [[United States Forest Service|U.S. Forest Service]] opened a [[ranger station]] in the town that same year.<ref name="Roe82"/>

Winthrop was [[municipal incorporation|incorporated]] on March 12, 1924, and included the downriver settlement of Heckendorn and a plot of land across the Methow River.<ref name="MVN-Centennial">{{cite news |last=Nelson |first=Don |date=September 14, 2023 |title=Winthrop begins planning for its official centennial |url=https://methowvalleynews.com/2023/09/14/winthrop-begins-planning-for-its-official-centennial/ |work=[[Methow Valley News]] |accessdate=November 24, 2024}}</ref> The town was threatened by major floods of the river in 1916, 1933, and 1948 that destroyed homes and bridges.<ref name="Roe82"/> The [[United States Fish and Wildlife Service|U.S. Fish & Wildlife Service]] opened the Winthrop National Fish Hatchery on the Methow River in 1942, which produced salmon and trout to be stocked at local lakes and released into the river.<ref>{{cite web |title=Winthrop National Fish Hatchery: Our History |url=https://www.fws.gov/fish-hatchery/winthrop/history-winthrop-national-fish-hatchery |publisher=[[United States Fish and Wildlife Service]] |accessdate=February 17, 2025}}</ref> The area around Winthrop developed into a destination for outdoor recreation in the middle of the 20th century with the opening of several [[dude ranch]]es and resorts.<ref name="Roe82"/> The Sunny M Ranch was established in the 1930s west of the town and expanded under various owners into the Sun Mountain Lodge, which opened in 1968 and encompasses {{convert|3,000|acre|ha}} and a luxury hotel.<ref name="Roe85">{{harvp|Roe|1997|pp=85–86}}</ref><ref name="Times-SunMtn">{{cite news |last=Cantwell |first=Brian J. |date=February 8, 2007 |title=Close-up: Sun Mountain Lodge |url=https://www.seattletimes.com/life/outdoors/close-up-sun-mountain-lodge/ |work=The Seattle Times |accessdate=February 17, 2025}}</ref>

The first plans to build an automobile road across the North Cascades from [[Bellingham Bay]] to the [[Columbia River]] were approved by the state legislature in 1893.<ref>{{cite news |date=September 3, 1992 |title=North Cascades Highway marks 20th anniversary |page=F4 |work=The Seattle Times}}</ref> Construction of the final {{convert|30|mi|km}} across the mountains did not begin until 1961 and was opened to traffic on September 2, 1972.<ref name="Times-Highway1997">{{cite news |last=Solomon |first=Chris |date=August 29, 1997 |title=Cascades Highway turns 25 |page=F1 |work=The Seattle Times}}</ref><ref>{{cite web |last=Dougherty |first=Phil |date=March 20, 2015 |title=North Cascades Highway opens on September 2, 1972. |url=https://www.historylink.org/file/11044 |work=HistoryLink |accessdate=November 24, 2024}}</ref> In anticipation of the new highway and the projected tourist traffic through the town, a large-scale remodeling project was approved in 1971 with funding from local businesses organized by sawmill operator Otto Wagner and his wife Kathryn.<ref name="HistoryLink"/><ref>{{cite news |last=Hill |first=Bill |date=June 5, 1971 |title=Winthrop Going Western on Main Street |page=4 |department=Panorama |work=[[The Everett Herald]] |url=https://www.newspapers.com/article/the-daily-herald-winthrop-going-western/159715730/ |via=[[Newspapers.com]] |accessdate=November 24, 2024}}</ref> A two-block section of downtown was rebuilt to use 1890s [[Old West]] architecture, including false fronts and a wooden [[boardwalk]]; by September 1972, 22 buildings had been remodeled.<ref>{{cite news |date=September 2, 1972 |title=Town Regresses Happily |page=20 |work=[[The Spokesman-Review]] |url=https://www.newspapers.com/article/the-spokesman-review-town-regresses-happ/159716011/ |via=Newspapers.com |accessdate=November 24, 2024}}</ref><ref>{{cite news |date=October 8, 1972 |title=As tourism marched eastward Winthrop was preparing |page=4 |work=The Seattle Times}}</ref> The early design work was contracted to Robert Jorgensen, one of the designers of the Bavarian theme town in [[Leavenworth, Washington|Leavenworth]], and the project was estimated to cost over $350,000.<ref name="HistoryLink"/><ref>{{cite news |last=Herrington |first=Gregg |date=August 26, 1973 |title=Over The Cascades |page=11 |work=[[The Olympian]] |agency=[[Associated Press]] |url=https://www.newspapers.com/article/the-olympian-over-the-cascades/159715692/ |via=Newspapers.com |accessdate=November 24, 2024}}</ref> A [[design review]] board was established to maintain the architectural theme, enforced by a "Westernization" ordinance.<ref>{{cite news |last=Nelson |first=Don |date=June 27, 2018 |title=Resignations decimate Winthrop's Westernization Design Review Board |url=https://methowvalleynews.com/2018/06/27/resignations-decimate-winthrops-westernization-design-review-board/ |work=Methow Valley News |accessdate=November 24, 2024}}</ref> The wooden façade of the Winthrop Emporium, a major tourist store, was destroyed in a fire in November 1993 and rebuilt the following year.<ref name="Roe87">{{harvp|Roe|1997|pp=87–88}}</ref> The town's landmark bell was saved from the fire.<ref>{{cite news |date=November 7, 1993 |title=Northwest Briefly: Winthrop |page=5B |work=The Everett Herald |url=https://www.newspapers.com/article/the-daily-herald-winthrop-emporium-fire/166559035/ |via=Newspapers.com |accessdate=February 23, 2025}}</ref>

Plans to build an [[open pit]] mine for [[copper]] as well as a [[ski resort]] near Mazama were announced in the 1970s but never realized. The town later annexed {{convert|75|acre|ha}} southwest of the Methow River that would include new residential areas and an industrial zone.<ref>{{cite web |author=Winthrop Planning Commission |date=December 16, 2015 |title=Town of Winthrop Comprehensive Plan |pages=I{{hyphen}}3, I{{hyphen}}4 |url=https://www.townofwinthrop.com/Comp%20Plan-final.pdf |publisher=Town of Winthrop |accessdate=February 17, 2025}}</ref>