Editing Thorp, Washington (section)

===Thorp pioneers===
Until the mid-1850s, the Kittitas Valley saw little encroachment by [[Settler|pioneer]] settlers. But in 1853, the first immigrant [[wagon trains]] passed through the area led by David Longmore. During that same year, [[George B. McClellan]] conducted a survey of the valley on behalf of the [[Northern Pacific Railroad]], and two years later Charles Splawn briefly passed through the area.<ref name="daily19700903">''Daily Record'' (Ellensburg, Washington), "First train into the valley dates 1853," 1970-09-03, pp. D-3.</ref>

Andrew Jackson Splawn, who traversed the [[valley]] in 1861 on his way to the nearby [[Mining|mines]] with his cattle, wrote of his experience:

<blockquote>"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 {{sic}} spot I had ever seen. To the west stood the great Cascade range; to the north rose the snow-capped peaks of the [[Stuart Range|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]] was covered with a thick coat of [[Grassland|grass]]."<ref name="splawn">A. J. Splawn, ''Ka-mi-akin, The Last Hero of the Yakimas'' (1917).</ref></blockquote>

Fielden Mortimer (F. M.) Thorp is recognized as the first white settler in the [[Yakima River|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]] in 1865, and business was transacted at the home of F. M. Thorp near [[Moxee, Washington|Moxee]] until another suitable location could be found.<ref name="daily19811027">''Daily Record'' (Ellensburg, Washington), "County's political history to be explored," 1981-10-27, pp. 9.</ref>

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.<ref>''Inventory of Heritage Corridors'', Old Sunset Highway Heritage Corridor, Seattle: King County Historic and Scenic Corridors Project (2009), pp. 85-6.</ref> 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,<ref>''Spokesman-Review'' (Spokane, Washington), "Pacific Northwest pioneers," 1908-04-14, pp. 7.</ref> to Thorp's daughter Dulcena in 1863.<ref name="preservation1">[http://www.thorp.org/history%20of%20thorp.htm Thorp Mill Town Historical Preservation Society, History of Thorp.] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20111006214555/http://www.thorp.org/history%20of%20thorp.htm |date=2011-10-06 }} Retrieved 2011-09-20.</ref>

In 1868, they became the first permanent white settlers in the Kittitas Valley, building the Thorp and Splawn [[homestead (buildings)|homesteads]] at the head of Taneum Canyon on the banks of Taneum Creek.<ref name="splawn b">A. J. Splawn, ''Ka-mi-akin, The Last Hero of the Yakimas'' (1917).pp. 254-256.</ref> This location, not more than a mile from the present town of Thorp, provided ideal shelter for their wintering [[cattle]], as well as offering [[water]] and fertile [[soil]]s for [[agriculture]].<ref name="preservation1"/> Charles Splawn operated a tavern, or [[Roadhouse (facility)|roadhouse]], at this location which served as an overnight stop for travelers crossing the [[Snoqualmie Pass|Snoqualmie Trail]].<ref name="daily19680430"/>

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, Washington|Cle Elum]].<ref name="kcplaces">[http://www.rootsweb.ancestry.com/~wakcgs/KC_Places.htm Kittitas County Genealogical Society, Kittitas County Places.] Retrieved 2011-09-22.</ref>  Tillman Houser, another early settler who brought his family over [[Snoqualmie Pass]] to settle on Coleman Creek, entered the valley on June 16 of that same year,<ref name="daily19700903"/> and was later joined by Martin Dervan and his wife.<ref name="preservation1"/> The first [[post office]] in the Kittitas Valley was established as Taneum Station at the home of F. M. Thorp in 1869.<ref name="daily19811027"/>

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|Rest Area]] 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.<ref name="daily19680430"/><ref>[http://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:ThorpWA-6Antoine.jpg#.7B.7Bint:license-header.7D.7D Washington State Library, Washington Rural Heritage] Source Identifier IND-075, Ellensburg Heritage - Kittitas Valley Crossroads Collection. Retrieved 2011-10-15.</ref> Keneho,<ref>[http://pw1.netcom.com/~carpentg/aj.html Andrew J. Splawn, From Cowboy to Politician] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120401150545/http://pw1.netcom.com/~carpentg/aj.html |date=2012-04-01 }}. Retrieved 2011-10-12.</ref> another friendly Indian of Yakama descent, was paid ten [[United States dollar|dollar]]s by Charles Splawn for each trip to carry the mail over the Snoqualmie Trail to and from the Taneum Station post office.<ref name="daily19680430"/>

Among the mysterious [[Monument|landmark]]s in the Thorp area is stone slab marking a [[grave]] at Tamarack Springs in the Taneum Canyon, which reads, "A [[White people|White]] Woman's Grave." This grave belongs to the wife of Al Williams, whose wife was killed at the [[Spring (hydrosphere)|spring]]s in 1870. Williams and his [[wife]] were traveling through the area and became [[Orientation (mental)|lost]]. They were directed by an Indian to follow the Tamarack Trail, since it was the closest route to a [[Human settlement|settlement]]. In hurrying to their destination, the woman's [[horse]] stumbled over a log and fell. A letter written by Charles Splawn explains the tragic events:

<blockquote>"Because his wife was expecting a [[Infant|baby]], they started to go to a settlement. The [[horse]] Mrs. Williams was riding fell while jumping a log. The child was born [[Preterm birth|prematurely]] and the mother and [[Infant|baby]] 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."<ref name="daily19730601">''Daily Record'' (Ellensburg, Washington), "Tamarack Springs tragedy recalled," 1973-06-01, pp. 4.</ref></blockquote>

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 [[vandalism|vandalized]]. Eventually, a fence was built around it and rocks placed over it to protect it from [[livestock]]. After the death of his wife, Williams went to the [[Puget Sound]] area and operated a [[ferry]] at [[Nisqually River]] and eventually moved to [[California]] where his brother owned a [[Stagecoach|stage]] line.<ref name="daily19730601"/> Today, the grave is located off Road 3120 on land owned by the [[Washington Department of Natural Resources]] in a small fenced area across a [[meadow]] 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 [[Controlled-access highway|freeway]]. 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.<ref name="daily19680430"/>

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 [[local government|county commissioners]] in Ellensburg on December 17, 1883.<ref>Austin Mires, "Early history of Kittitas County," The Coast Magazine, Vol. XV, May 1908 (from ''The Coast'', Honor L. Wilhelm, pp. 321).</ref> 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]] granted in Kittitas County.<ref>''Daily Record'' (Ellensburg, Washington), “Ellisons received first marriage license issued by county,” 1968-12-11, pp. 3.</ref>

{{Infobox NRHP
| name = Thorp Mill
| nrhp_type = nrhp
| image = Thorp-Mill.jpg
| caption = Historic Thorp Mill
| location = Thorp, Washington
| locmapin = Washington
| area =
| built = 1883
| architect = Oren Hutchinson
| architecture = Banked Grist Mill
| designated_nrhp_type = November 23, 1977
| refnum = 77001343
}}
In the 1870s, the area that would become Thorp was known as Pleasant Grove and was part of [[Yakima County, Washington|Yakima County]]. On July 6, 1872, the Pleasant Grove post office on the west side of the [[Yakima River]] was established at the [[ranch]] of John S. Vaughn, and the Taneum post office was discontinued the following year on April 7 due to an unnecessary overlap in service.<ref name="daily19530706">''Daily Record'' (Ellensburg, Washington), "Gives history of postoffice in the Kittitas," 1953-07-06, pp. 7.</ref> Despite being one of the earliest locations in Kittitas County to be settled, Pleasant Grove would remain sparsely populated for the next [[decade]], with cattle ranching as the primary [[Employment|occupation]].<ref name="dickfields">Richard Fields, "History of Thorp Kittitas County State of Washington to 1901" (master's thesis, Central Washington University) pp. 47.</ref><ref name="registrationform">[https://fortress.wa.gov/dahp/wisaard/documents/RN/0/13/13518.pdf 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.] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120330000021/https://fortress.wa.gov/dahp/wisaard/documents/RN/0/13/13518.pdf |date=2012-03-30 }} Retrieved 2011-10-15.</ref>

By the early 1880s, farming was beginning to take hold in the area around Thorp, and the [[Rangeland|open range]] began to shrink. In 1880, the Pleasant Grove post office was moved close to where the small [[Commercial district|commercial center]] was beginning to form with the establishment of a [[sawmill]] and, three years later, a [[gristmill]]. The new settlement hoped for the eventual establishment of a [[Rail transport|railway]] [[Train station|depot]] as the [[Northern Pacific Railroad]] had made its intentions clear that it would soon come through the valley close to where the [[village]] was located.<ref name="dickfields"/><ref name="registrationform"/>

[[File:ThorpTrainNo255ca1900.jpg|thumb|left|Train No. 255 of the Northern Pacific as it approaches Thorp. (Photo ca. 1900)]]