George W. Tibbetts (January 22, 1845 – March 8, 1924) was a merchant and

hops Hops are the flowers (also called seed cones or strobiles) of the hop plant ''Humulus lupulus'', a member of the Cannabaceae family of flowering plants. They are used primarily as a bittering, flavouring, and stability agent in beer, to whic ...

farmer in

Washington Washington most commonly refers to: * George Washington (1732–1799), the first president of the United States * Washington (state), a state in the Pacific Northwest of the United States * Washington, D.C., the capital of the United States ** A ...

during the mid-to-late 19th century. He was known as a critic of Chinese labor being used in place of white labor.

Riot in Issaquah

Tibbetts served as Justice of the Peace in Squak, Washington, which is present day

Issaquah Issaquah ( ) is a city in King County, Washington, United States. The population was 40,051 at the 2020 census. Located in a valley and bisected by Interstate 90, the city is bordered by the Sammamish Plateau to the north and the " Issaquah ...

. He gave a firsthand account to early historian of the west

Hubert Howe Bancroft Hubert Howe Bancroft (May 5, 1832 – March 2, 1918) was an American historian and ethnologist who wrote, published, and collected works concerning the Western United States, Texas, California, Alaska, Mexico, Central America, and British Colum ...

of the violence against Chinese hops pickers on the night of September 7, 1885, in Squak. Tibbetts was charged as an accessory in relation to the case because he refused to help the Chinese on their way to the Wold brothers' farm but nothing ever came of the charges.

Tibbetts in the lodges

Before the violence of 1885 Tibbetts helped found multiple lodges around the region. In October 1874 he helped charter one of the King County's earliest

Patrons of Husbandry The National Grange, also known as The Grange and officially named The National Grange of the Order of Patrons of Husbandry, is a social organization in the United States that encourages families to band together to promote the economic and pol ...

lodges. Later, after the violence at Squak, he chartered several other lodges in the Issaquah area. By the time it was called Gilman, no longer Squak, Tibbetts was a charter member of the Gilman

Odd Fellows Odd Fellows (or Oddfellows when referencing the Grand United Order of Oddfellows or some British-based fraternities; also Odd Fellowship or Oddfellowship) is an international fraternity consisting of lodges first documented in 1730 in 18th-cen ...

Lodge. In 1890 he was an original member of the

Knights of Pythias The Knights of Pythias is a Fraternal and service organizations, fraternal organization and secret society founded in Washington, D.C., on . The Knights of Pythias was the first fraternal organization to receive a charter under an Act of Co ...

lodge in Issaquah.

Mercantile work

Tibbetts owned several businesses in Issaquah and was a well known merchant. In 1881 he built a large store and a hotel on his farm. The next year he established a stage coach line from Newcastle to Squak and eventually to North Bend. He operated his coach line in conjunction with the Columbia and Puget Sound Railroad. After the town of Squak/Gilman/Issaquah was platted Tibbetts built a two story building and moved his business into it. This was Issquah's first mercantile house, it would later be occupied by the Issaquah Coal Company. In 1878 Tibbetts took over as town

Postmaster A postmaster is the head of an individual post office, responsible for all postal activities in a specific post office. When a postmaster is responsible for an entire mail distribution organization (usually sponsored by a national government), ...

from William Pickering, who had served since 1870. Tibbetts moved the post office into his store and remained in the position until 1886. In 1888 he, along with

Isaac Cooper Isaac Cooper (born 7 January 2004) is an Australian swimmer. He competed in the men's 100 metre backstroke and in the heats of the 4x100 metre mixed medley relay at the 2020 Summer Olympics. Isaac competed in the 2022 FINA Short Course World Ch ...

, Thomas Rowley and William Moore organized the Issaquah Water Company.

References

White and Indian hop pickers attack Chinese
The Online Encyclopedia of Washington State

By Clarence B. Bagley (1929). Now in Public Domain, Chapter 47: Issaquah, Pages 779-780

By Clarence B. Bagley (1929). Now in Public Domain, Chapter 47: Issaquah, Pages 779-780 {{DEFAULTSORT:Tibbetts, George W. 1845 births 1924 deaths American white supremacists History of racism in Washington (state) People from Issaquah, Washington