Editing Elbe, Washington (section)

==History==
[[File:Elbe, Washington 01.jpg|thumb|left|Downtown Elbe, early 20th century]]
In 1888 the first settlers came to the forests on the Nisqually River. Some of them were the German emigrants Karl Lütkens and Adam Sachs. Karl Lütkens, who was only 19 at the time, was so enthusiastic about his new home that he persuaded his parents Heinrich and Christina Lütkens to come to America as well. These left their previous home in [[Todendorf]] in the district [[Kreis Stormarn|Stormarn]] in [[Schleswig-Holstein]] and arrived in America in 1891. The first settlers in this area also included Ferdinand Selle, Christian Fritz, Louis Schuffenhauer, Christian Kruse, Max Ogans, Hans Bartels, Fred Duke, W. Lawrence, Levi Engel, Vincent Rotter, R. Schmidt, Frank Salzer, Gus Stoll and Christian Weilandt. The small town grew, and on June 4, 1892, a post office was already established here.

The economic development of the place in the following years was good. Nearby Mount Rainier was the destination of many tourists who took a break on their way to Elbe. In 1894 Heinrich Lütkens and his son Karl built a tourist hotel with 48 rooms. Ferdinand Selle had previously built a hotel, but it burned down after a short time. At that time, the village blacksmith Levi Engel was temporarily the editor of a newspaper called "Elbe Union". With his [[plate camera]], Engel accompanied village life for many years. In 1894 a town hall was also built, in which various events, including dance events, took place.

In 1895 Heinrich Lütkens and his family had a special reunion. From [[Hamfelde (Lauenburg)|Hamfelde]] in the district [[Herzogtum Lauenburg]] in Schleswig-Holstein was Carl Böttcher, the brother-in-law of Lütkens, emigrated with his family and settled in a neighboring town of Elbe.

The town began to experience an increase in tourism after Elbe was connected to the Tacoma Eastern Railroad rail network in 1904 and the Road to Paradise, which became [[Washington State Route 706]], was completed in 1911.<ref name="EMCSG"/> Another large hotel and several restaurants were built. The local co-founder Adam Sachs opened a department store during this time. Two years later, the villagers built a church. The building material and the plot of land were donated by Heinrich Lütkens. Until the opening of the church, the residents of Elbe had celebrated their services in private houses or in the town hall. In 1909 Elbe already had 250 inhabitants and in the course of the 20th century the population rose to 437.<ref>{{cite news|title=Elbe has namesake in America|newspaper= Salzgitter-Zeitung |date=July 25, 1988 |page=11}}</ref>