Thorp ( ) is an

unincorporated community An unincorporated area is a parcel of land that is not governed by a local general-purpose municipal corporation. (At p. 178.) They may be governed or serviced by an encompassing unit (such as a county) or another branch of the state (such as th ...

and

census-designated place A census-designated place (CDP) is a Place (United States Census Bureau), concentration of population defined by the United States Census Bureau for statistical purposes only. CDPs have been used in each decennial census since 1980 as the counte ...

(CDP) in

Kittitas County, Washington Kittitas County () is a county located in the U.S. state of Washington. At the 2020 census, its population was 44,337. Its county seat and largest city is Ellensburg. The county was created in November 1883 when it was carved out of Yakima ...

, United States. In

2020 The year 2020 was heavily defined by the COVID-19 pandemic, which led to global Social impact of the COVID-19 pandemic, social and Economic impact of the COVID-19 pandemic, economic disruption, mass cancellations and postponements of even ...

, the population was 232. The town of Thorp is east of

Seattle Seattle ( ) is the most populous city in the U.S. state of Washington and in the Pacific Northwest region of North America. With a population of 780,995 in 2024, it is the 18th-most populous city in the United States. The city is the cou ...

, northwest of

Ellensburg Ellensburg is a city in and the county seat of Kittitas County, Washington, United States. It is located just east of the Cascade Range near the junction of Interstate 90 and Interstate 82. The population was 18,666 at the 2020 census. and was ...

, and southeast of

Cle Elum Cle Elum ( ) is a city in Kittitas County, Washington, United States. The population was 2,157 at the 2020 census. About by car from Seattle, Cle Elum is a popular area for camping and outdoor activities. It is also unofficially considered ...

. It is located at the narrow west end of the Kittitas Valley, where high elevation forests of the

Cascade Range The Cascade Range or Cascades is a major mountain range of western North America, extending from southern British Columbia through Washington (state), Washington and Oregon to Northern California. It includes both non-volcanic mountains, such as m ...

give way to cattle ranches surrounded by farmlands noted for

timothy hay Timothy (''Phleum pratense'') is an abundant perennial grass native to most of Europe except for the Mediterranean region. It is also known as timothy-grass, meadow cat's-tail or common cat's tail. It is a member of the genus ''Phleum'', consi ...

, alfalfa, vegetables, and fruit production. Thorp is named for Fielden Mortimer Thorp, recognized as the first permanent white settler in the Kittitas Valley. He established a homestead at the approach to Taneum Canyon (, ) near the present-day town in 1868. ''Klála'', an ancient Native American village and the largest indigenous settlement in the Kittitas Valley at the arrival of the first white settlers, was located about one mile above the current town site. Thorp Collective building in Thorp Washington

Thorp Collective building in Thorp Washington

Geography

Thorp is located in central Kittitas County at (47.068006, -120.672687). According to the

United States Census Bureau The United States Census Bureau, officially the Bureau of the Census, is a principal agency of the Federal statistical system, U.S. federal statistical system, responsible for producing data about the American people and American economy, econ ...

, the CDP has a total area of , all of it land. The town site of Thorp is above the

flood plain A floodplain or flood plain or bottomlands is an area of land adjacent to a river. Floodplains stretch from the banks of a river channel to the base of the enclosing valley, and experience flooding during periods of high Discharge (hydrolog ...

of the upper

Yakima River The Yakima River is a tributary of the Columbia River in south central and eastern Washington state, named for the indigenous Yakama people. Lewis and Clark mention in their journals that the Chin-nâm pam (or the Lower Snake River Chamnapam N ...

at an elevation of . It is situated near the river's west bank directly opposite the Hayward Hill slide area and Clark Flats, near the southeastern approach to the Yakima River canyon at the foot of Thorp Prairie. To the west of the town is Taneum Canyon, and to the northwest are Elk Heights, Morrison Canyon and the Sunlight Waters private residential

subdivision Subdivision may refer to: Arts and entertainment * Subdivision (metre), in music * ''Subdivision'' (film), 2009 * "Subdivision", an episode of ''Prison Break'' (season 2) * ''Subdivisions'' (EP), by Sinch, 2005 * "Subdivisions" (song), by Rush ...

. Ellensburg, the

county seat A county seat is an administrative center, seat of government, or capital city of a county or parish (administrative division), civil parish. The term is in use in five countries: Canada, China, Hungary, Romania, and the United States. An equiva ...

, is southeast of Thorp. Northwest of Thorp at the junction of SR 10 and Thorp Highway, the Yakima River emerges from a

canyon A canyon (; archaic British English spelling: ''cañon''), gorge or chasm, is a deep cleft between escarpments or cliffs resulting from weathering and the erosive activity of a river over geologic time scales. Rivers have a natural tendency t ...

parallel to a

basalt Basalt (; ) is an aphanite, aphanitic (fine-grained) extrusive igneous rock formed from the rapid cooling of low-viscosity lava rich in magnesium and iron (mafic lava) exposed at or very near the planetary surface, surface of a terrestrial ...

flow, the uppermost layers of which have been dated to 10.5 million years. The Thorp Prairie sits atop the basalt flows and ends at a deep canyon of

Miocene The Miocene ( ) is the first epoch (geology), geological epoch of the Neogene Period and extends from about (Ma). The Miocene was named by Scottish geologist Charles Lyell; the name comes from the Greek words (', "less") and (', "new") and mea ...

columnar basalt Basalt (; ) is an aphanitic (fine-grained) extrusive igneous rock formed from the rapid cooling of low-viscosity lava rich in magnesium and iron (mafic lava) exposed at or very near the surface of a rocky planet or moon. More than 90% of a ...

structures carved by Swauk Creek whose headwaters are at Blewett Pass along

US 97 U.S. Route 97 (US 97) is a major north–south route of the United States Numbered Highway System in the Pacific Northwest The Pacific Northwest (PNW; ) is a geographic region in Western North America bounded by its coastal wate ...

to the north. The Thorp Prairie deposits were also delivered by the Thorp Glacial episode.

Topography

North and northeast of the town of Thorp along the Yakima River channel is the gradual upward lift of the Thorp Drift, marked by an elevation change due to the incline onto the terminal

moraine A moraine is any accumulation of unconsolidated debris (regolith and Rock (geology), rock), sometimes referred to as glacial till, that occurs in both currently and formerly glaciated regions, and that has been previously carried along by a gla ...

that marks the furthest advance of the Thorp

Glacial A glacier (; or ) is a persistent body of dense ice, a form of rock, that is constantly moving downhill under its own weight. A glacier forms where the accumulation of snow exceeds its ablation over many years, often centuries. It acquires ...

stage. Here the Thorp

Gravel Gravel () is a loose aggregation of rock fragments. Gravel occurs naturally on Earth as a result of sedimentation, sedimentary and erosion, erosive geological processes; it is also produced in large quantities commercially as crushed stone. Gr ...

s, which are named for the town of Thorp and the Thorp Glacial episode, are exposed along the ancient river channel in what is known as the "Slide Area". The gravels were formed at the terminus of the Thorp Glacial advance approximately 600,000 years ago.Richard B. Waitt, Jr., ''Late Cenozoic Deposits, Landforms, Stratigraphy, and Techtonism in the Kittitas Valley, Washington'', U.S. Geological Survey, Professional Paper 1127, Washington DC: Government Printing Office (1979) pp. 9. The Thorp Gravels themselves are believed to be between 3 and 4 million years old. The whole structure is composed of individually layered belts of gravel and

sand Sand is a granular material composed of finely divided mineral particles. Sand has various compositions but is usually defined by its grain size. Sand grains are smaller than gravel and coarser than silt. Sand can also refer to a textural ...

which are not well consolidated, continually weather, and are prone to continuing

erosion Erosion is the action of surface processes (such as Surface runoff, water flow or wind) that removes soil, Rock (geology), rock, or dissolved material from one location on the Earth's crust#Crust, Earth's crust and then sediment transport, tran ...

and

landslides Landslides, also known as landslips, rockslips or rockslides, are several forms of mass wasting that may include a wide range of ground movements, such as rockfalls, mudflows, shallow or deep-seated slope failures and debris flows. Landslide ...

averaging 30 degrees. The area is rich with wildlife, including

bald eagle The bald eagle (''Haliaeetus leucocephalus'') is a bird of prey found in North America. A sea eagle, it has two known subspecies and forms a species pair with the white-tailed eagle (''Haliaeetus albicilla''), which occupies the same niche ...

s and

osprey The osprey (; ''Pandion haliaetus''), historically known as sea hawk, river hawk, and fish hawk, is a diurnal, fish-eating bird of prey with a cosmopolitan range. It is a large raptor, reaching more than in length and a wingspan of . It ...

who hunt for prey along the river. It is also a crossing point for

deer A deer (: deer) or true deer is a hoofed ruminant ungulate of the family Cervidae (informally the deer family). Cervidae is divided into subfamilies Cervinae (which includes, among others, muntjac, elk (wapiti), red deer, and fallow deer) ...

and

elk The elk (: ''elk'' or ''elks''; ''Cervus canadensis'') or wapiti, is the second largest species within the deer family, Cervidae, and one of the largest terrestrial mammals in its native range of North America and Central and East Asia. ...

who often can be seen at dawn and dusk heading to the river for water.Jana Jones Mabry, ''Field Trip Guidebook to the Natural History of Kittitas County'', Ellensburg, Washington: Central Washington University, pp. 44. About west of Thorp, the first glimpses of the

Columbia River The Columbia River (Upper Chinook language, Upper Chinook: ' or '; Sahaptin language, Sahaptin: ''Nch’i-Wàna'' or ''Nchi wana''; Sinixt dialect'' '') is the largest river in the Pacific Northwest region of North America. The river headwater ...

Plateau are seen where the Yakima River has cut into the westernmost edge of the basalt

plateau In geology and physical geography, a plateau (; ; : plateaus or plateaux), also called a high plain or a tableland, is an area of a highland consisting of flat terrain that is raised sharply above the surrounding area on at least one side. ...

. The

Columbia Plateau The Columbia Plateau is an important geology, geologic and geography, geographic region that lies across parts of the U.S. states of Washington (state), Washington, Oregon, and Idaho. It is a wide flood basalt plateau between the Cascade Range a ...

basalt formed when

lava Lava is molten or partially molten rock (magma) that has been expelled from the interior of a terrestrial planet (such as Earth) or a Natural satellite, moon onto its surface. Lava may be erupted at a volcano or through a Fissure vent, fractu ...

poured out of

fissures A fissure is a long, narrow crack opening along the surface of Earth. The term is derived from the Latin word , which means 'cleft' or 'crack'. Fissures emerge in Earth's crust, on ice sheets and glaciers, and on volcanoes. Ground fissure A ...

in the ground across

eastern Washington Eastern Washington is the region of the U.S. state of Washington located east of the Cascade Range. It contains the city of Spokane (the second largest city in the state), the Tri-Cities, the Columbia River and the Grand Coulee Dam, the H ...

during the Miocene era, 17 to 20 million years ago, erupting intermittently for over 10 million years. Many layers of basalt successively flowed over one another, back when the area was still flat. Subsequent to the Miocene lava flows, the

volcanoes A volcano is commonly defined as a vent or fissure in the crust of a planetary-mass object, such as Earth, that allows hot lava, volcanic ash, and gases to escape from a magma chamber below the surface. On Earth, volcanoes are most often fo ...

of the

Cascade Mountains The Cascade Range or Cascades is a major mountain range of western North America, extending from southern British Columbia through Washington and Oregon to Northern California. It includes both non-volcanic mountains, such as many of those in the ...

actively erupted, depositing ash, cinders,

pumice Pumice (), called pumicite in its powdered or dust form, is a volcanic rock that consists of extremely vesicular rough-textured volcanic glass, which may or may not contain crystals. It is typically light-colored. Scoria is another vesicula ...

and

mudflows A mudflow, also known as mudslide or mud flow, is a form of mass wasting involving fast-moving flow of debris and dirt that has become liquified by the addition of water. Such flows can move at speeds ranging from 3 meters/minute to 5 meters/se ...

that eventually inter-fingered with the alternating basalt layers throughout the region. Interstate 90 drops through the Thorp Drift, which marks the oldest and furthest reaching known glacial moraine in the Kittitas Valley. Changes in the types of

vegetation Vegetation is an assemblage of plants and the ground cover they provide. It is a general term, without specific reference to particular Taxon, taxa, life forms, structure, Spatial ecology, spatial extent, or any other specific Botany, botanic ...

become more evident in this area. The changes are the result of a drop in elevation of about 1,400 feet from the summit of

Snoqualmie Pass Snoqualmie Pass is a mountain pass that carries Interstate 90 (I-90) through the Cascade Range in the U.S. state of Washington. The pass summit is at an elevation of , on the county line between Kittitas County and King County. Snoqualmie Pas ...

to Thorp, and a significant drop in

precipitation In meteorology, precipitation is any product of the condensation of atmospheric water vapor that falls from clouds due to gravitational pull. The main forms of precipitation include drizzle, rain, rain and snow mixed ("sleet" in Commonwe ...

of about 107 inches average a year at the

summit A summit is a point on a surface that is higher in elevation than all points immediately adjacent to it. The topographic terms acme, apex, peak (mountain peak), and zenith are synonymous. The term (mountain top) is generally used only for ...

of Snoqualmie Pass, to 42.94 inches average a year at Thorp. At the bottom of the Thorp Drift moraine the view opens up into the Kittitas Valley which is deeply buried in river gravel deposited by the

ancient Ancient history is a time period from the beginning of writing and recorded human history through late antiquity. The span of recorded history is roughly 5,000 years, beginning with the development of Sumerian cuneiform script. Ancient h ...

Yakima River. This valley is a

syncline In structural geology, a syncline is a fold with younger layers closer to the center of the structure, whereas an anticline is the inverse of a syncline. A synclinorium (plural synclinoriums or synclinoria) is a large syncline with superimposed ...

that creates the Ellensburg Basin located between Mission Ridge to the north and

Manastash Ridge Manastash Ridge is a long anticline mountain ridge located in central Washington state in the United States. Manastash Ridge runs mostly west-to-east in Kittitas and Yakima counties, for approximately 50 miles. The ridge is part of the Yakima Fol ...

to the south. The Ellensburg Basin, more formally called the Ellensburg

Formation Formation may refer to: Linguistics * Back-formation, the process of creating a new lexeme by removing or affixes * Word formation, the creation of a new word by adding affixes Mathematics and science * Cave formation or speleothem, a secondary ...

, holds nearly 4,000 feet of rock, sand, and gravel that accumulated over a period of 2 to 10 million years during the Miocene and lower

Pliocene The Pliocene ( ; also Pleiocene) is the epoch (geology), epoch in the geologic time scale that extends from 5.33 to 2.58

Climate

The

climate Climate is the long-term weather pattern in a region, typically averaged over 30 years. More rigorously, it is the mean and variability of meteorological variables over a time spanning from months to millions of years. Some of the meteoro ...

at Thorp is hot during

summer Summer or summertime is the hottest and brightest of the four temperate seasons, occurring after spring and before autumn. At or centred on the summer solstice, daylight hours are the longest and darkness hours are the shortest, with day ...

when

temperature Temperature is a physical quantity that quantitatively expresses the attribute of hotness or coldness. Temperature is measurement, measured with a thermometer. It reflects the average kinetic energy of the vibrating and colliding atoms making ...

s tend to be in the 80s, and very cold during

winter Winter is the coldest and darkest season of the year in temperate and polar climates. It occurs after autumn and before spring. The tilt of Earth's axis causes seasons; winter occurs when a hemisphere is oriented away from the Sun. Dif ...

when temperatures tend to be in the 20s. The warmest month of the year at Thorp is July, with an average high of 77.2 °F and an average low of 51.8 °F. The coldest month of the year is January, with an average low of 16.5 °F and an average high of 34.3 °F. Temperature variations between

night Night, or nighttime, is the period of darkness when the Sun is below the horizon. Sunlight illuminates one side of the Earth, leaving the other in darkness. The opposite of nighttime is daytime. Earth's rotation causes the appearance of ...

and

day A day is the time rotation period, period of a full Earth's rotation, rotation of the Earth with respect to the Sun. On average, this is 24 hours (86,400 seconds). As a day passes at a given location it experiences morning, afternoon, evening, ...

tend to be relatively large during summer with a difference that can reach 30 °F, and fairly limited during winter with temperatures hovering at or below

freezing Freezing is a phase transition in which a liquid turns into a solid when its temperature is lowered below its freezing point. For most substances, the melting and freezing points are the same temperature; however, certain substances possess dif ...

for most of the day, and often dipping below zero at night. Temperatures generally drop significantly in October, while

rain Rain is a form of precipitation where water drop (liquid), droplets that have condensation, condensed from Water vapor#In Earth's atmosphere, atmospheric water vapor fall under gravity. Rain is a major component of the water cycle and is res ...

fall rises from less than half an

inch The inch (symbol: in or prime (symbol), ) is a Units of measurement, unit of length in the imperial units, British Imperial and the United States customary units, United States customary System of measurement, systems of measurement. It is eq ...

to nearly 5 inches average per month. This trend continues through late

autumn Autumn, also known as fall (especially in US & Canada), is one of the four temperate seasons on Earth. Outside the tropics, autumn marks the transition from summer to winter, in September (Northern Hemisphere) or March ( Southern Hemisphe ...

and

, with a marked drop in

beginning in April which coincides with a gradual rise in temperature into late

spring Spring(s) may refer to: Common uses * Spring (season), a season of the year * Spring (device), a mechanical device that stores energy * Spring (hydrology), a natural source of water * Spring (mathematics), a geometric surface in the shape of a he ...

and summer. There is significant variation in rainfall throughout the year, with December and January receiving a mix of rainfall and

snow Snow consists of individual ice crystals that grow while suspended in the atmosphere—usually within clouds—and then fall, accumulating on the ground where they undergo further changes. It consists of frozen crystalline water througho ...

, averaging 9.06 and 7.94 inches respectively. Rainfall during summer is, on average, less than half an inch each month with July receiving the lowest monthly average precipitation of the year at .07 inches.

Surrounding area

Demographics

As of the

census A census (from Latin ''censere'', 'to assess') is the procedure of systematically acquiring, recording, and calculating population information about the members of a given Statistical population, population, usually displayed in the form of stati ...

of 2000, there were 273 people, 103 households, and 74 families residing in the CDP. The

population density Population density (in agriculture: Standing stock (disambiguation), standing stock or plant density) is a measurement of population per unit land area. It is mostly applied to humans, but sometimes to other living organisms too. It is a key geog ...

was 221.2 people per square mile (85.7/km²). There were 107 housing units at an average density of 86.7/sq mi (33.6/km²). The racial makeup of the CDP was 93.41%

White White is the lightest color and is achromatic (having no chroma). It is the color of objects such as snow, chalk, and milk, and is the opposite of black. White objects fully (or almost fully) reflect and scatter all the visible wa ...

, 1.10% Native American, 1.83% from other races, and 3.66% from two or more races.

Hispanic The term Hispanic () are people, Spanish culture, cultures, or countries related to Spain, the Spanish language, or broadly. In some contexts, Hispanic and Latino Americans, especially within the United States, "Hispanic" is used as an Ethnici ...

or Latino of any race were 2.20% of the population. There were 103 households, out of which 44.7% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 56.3% were

married couples Marriage, also called matrimony or wedlock, is a culturally and often legally recognised union between people called spouses. It establishes rights and obligations between them, as well as between them and their children (if any), and b ...

living together, 14.6% had a female householder with no husband present, and 27.2% were non-families. 24.3% of all households were made up of individuals, and 6.8% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.65 and the average family size was 3.17. In the CDP, the population was spread out, with 33.0% under the age of 18, 4.8% from 18 to 24, 27.1% from 25 to 44, 26.0% from 45 to 64, and 9.2% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 36 years. For every 100 females, there were 113.3 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 96.8 males. The median income for a household in the CDP was $33,125, and the median income for a family was $45,625. Males had a median income of $31,250 versus $22,500 for females. The

per capita income Per capita income (PCI) or average income measures the average income earned per person in a given area (city, region, country, etc.) in a specified year. In many countries, per capita income is determined using regular population surveys, such ...

for the CDP was $17,772. About 5.6% of families and 5.9% of the population were below the

poverty line The poverty threshold, poverty limit, poverty line, or breadline is the minimum level of income deemed adequate in a particular country. The poverty line is usually calculated by estimating the total cost of one year's worth of necessities for ...

, including 5.2% of those under the age of eighteen and 19.2% of those 65 or over.

History

Native Americans

The Kittitas Valley was occupied by the Kittitas ( Yakama Ichishkíin Sínwit: ''Ki-tatash'') or Upper

Yakama The Yakama are a Native Americans in the United State, Native American tribe with nearly 10,851 members, based primarily in Eastern Washington, eastern Washington (state), Washington state. Yakama people today are enrolled in the federally rec ...

tribe, as well as hunting and food gathering parties of Cayuse and

Nez Perce The Nez Perce (; autonym in Nez Perce language: , meaning 'we, the people') are an Indigenous people of the Plateau who still live on a fraction of the lands on the southeastern Columbia River Plateau in the Pacific Northwest. This region h ...

. The area was rich in wild berries, fish and game, and neighboring tribes annually converged on the valley in April or May to harvest Indian onions ( ''Allium spp.''), Indian potatoes (''

Claytonia lanceolata ''Claytonia lanceolata'' is a species of wildflower in the family Montiaceae, known by the common names lanceleaf springbeauty and western springbeauty. Description This somewhat rare plant is native to western North America, growing in the sa ...

''), and breadroot (''

Lomatium canbyi ''Lomatium canbyi'' is a species of flowering plant in the carrot family known by the common name Canby's biscuitroot (lúukš in the Sahaptin language and qeqíit in the Nez Perce language). It is native to the Pacific Northwest of the United S ...

'').Deward E. Walker, William C. Sturtevant and Deward E. Walker, Jr., ''Handbook of North American Indians, Plateau, Vol. 12.'', Washington DC: Government Printing Office (1998) pp. 333. The various tribes engaged in

horse trading Horse trading, in its literal sense, is the buying and selling of horses, also called "horse dealing". Due to the difficulties in evaluating the merits of a horse offered for sale, the sale of horses offered great opportunities for dishonesty, l ...

with early

British British may refer to: Peoples, culture, and language * British people, nationals or natives of the United Kingdom, British Overseas Territories and Crown Dependencies. * British national identity, the characteristics of British people and culture ...

and

American American(s) may refer to: * American, something of, from, or related to the United States of America, commonly known as the "United States" or "America" ** Americans, citizens and nationals of the United States of America ** American ancestry, p ...

fur A fur is a soft, thick growth of hair that covers the skin of almost all mammals. It consists of a combination of oily guard hair on top and thick underfur beneath. The guard hair keeps moisture from reaching the skin; the underfur acts as an ...

traders, and had peaceful relations with

Jesuit The Society of Jesus (; abbreviation: S.J. or SJ), also known as the Jesuit Order or the Jesuits ( ; ), is a religious order (Catholic), religious order of clerics regular of pontifical right for men in the Catholic Church headquartered in Rom ...

Catholic The Catholic Church (), also known as the Roman Catholic Church, is the List of Christian denominations by number of members, largest Christian church, with 1.27 to 1.41 billion baptized Catholics Catholic Church by country, worldwid ...

missionaries A missionary is a member of a religious group who is sent into an area in order to promote its faith or provide services to people, such as education, literacy, social justice, health care, and economic development.Thomas Hale 'On Being a Miss ...

who preceded them.Carol Welch, Ph.D. and Roger Miller, Kittitas County Profile, 2010-01.
Retrieved 2011-09-19. In the 1840s,

white White is the lightest color and is achromatic (having no chroma). It is the color of objects such as snow, chalk, and milk, and is the opposite of black. White objects fully (or almost fully) reflect and scatter all the visible wa ...

settlers began to pour into the

Oregon Territory The Territory of Oregon was an organized incorporated territory of the United States that existed from August 14, 1848, until February 14, 1859, when the southwestern portion of the territory was admitted to the United States, Union as the Oreg ...

(and later

Washington Territory The Washington Territory was an organized incorporated territory of the United States that existed from March 2, 1853, until November 11, 1889, when the territory was admitted to the Union as the State of Washington. It was created from the ...

), bringing with them a

measles Measles (probably from Middle Dutch or Middle High German ''masel(e)'', meaning "blemish, blood blister") is a highly contagious, Vaccine-preventable diseases, vaccine-preventable infectious disease caused by Measles morbillivirus, measles v ...

epidemic and other diseases deadly to the indigenous population. That, coupled with cultural differences such as

plow A plough or (Differences between American and British spellings, US) plow (both pronounced ) is a farm tool for loosening or turning the soil before sowing seed or planting. Ploughs were traditionally drawn by oxen and horses but modern ploughs ...

ing the

ground Ground may refer to: Geology * Land, the solid terrestrial surface of the Earth * Soil, a mixture of clay, sand and organic matter present on the surface of the Earth Electricity * Ground (electricity), the reference point in an electrical circ ...

, which was seen as desecrating the spirit of the earth, led to confrontation between Native Americans and white settlers. The largest

indigenous Indigenous may refer to: *Indigenous peoples *Indigenous (ecology) In biogeography, a native species is indigenous to a given region or ecosystem if its presence in that region is the result of only local natural evolution (though often populari ...

settlement in the Kittitas Valley at the arrival of the white settlers was ''Klála'', a village of around 500 people located about one mile above the present town of Thorp along the

opposite the

mouth A mouth also referred to as the oral is the body orifice through which many animals ingest food and animal communication#Auditory, vocalize. The body cavity immediately behind the mouth opening, known as the oral cavity (or in Latin), is also t ...

of Taneum Creek. Further up the river, about six miles northwest of present-day Thorp was the

village A village is a human settlement or community, larger than a hamlet but smaller than a town with a population typically ranging from a few hundred to a few thousand. Although villages are often located in rural areas, the term urban v ...

of ''Tátxanixsha'', and four miles below Thorp was a village of around 400 people called ''Yumi'sh''.Deward E. Walker, William C. Sturtevant and Deward E. Walker, Jr., ''Handbook of North American Indians, Plateau, Vol. 12.'', Washington DC: Government Printing Office (1998) p. 327. Among the earliest records of Native American interaction with

frontier A frontier is a political and geographical term referring to areas near or beyond a boundary. Australia The term "frontier" was frequently used in colonial Australia in the meaning of country that borders the unknown or uncivilised, th ...

smen in the Kittitas Valley took place in 1858, the summer of the

Yakima War The Yakima War (1855–1858), also referred to as the Plateau War or Yakima Indian War, was a conflict between the United States and the Yakama, a Sahaptian-speaking people of the Northwest Plateau, then part of Washington Territory, and the tr ...

, when a large contingency of

Wanapum The Wanapum (also Wanapam) tribe of Native Americans in the United States, Native Americans formerly lived along the Columbia River from above Priest Rapids down to the mouth of the Snake River in what is now the US state of Washington (state), Was ...

from

Priest Rapids Priest Rapids was a narrow, fast-flowing stretch of the Columbia River, located in the central region of the U.S. state of Washington. It was flooded by the construction of the Priest Rapids Dam in the 1950s. Before the dam's construction, the ...

camped at the head of Taneum Canyon very close to where the town of Thorp is now located.''Daily Record'' (Ellensburg, Washington), "Links traced in Thorp family chain," 1968-04-30, pp. 3. They were led by

Smohalla Smohalla (Dreamer) (circa 1815 - 1895) was a ''Wanapum'' dreamer-prophet associated with the Dreamers movement among Native American people in the Pacific Northwest’s Columbia Plateau region. Biography Born between 1815 and 1820 in the Wallul ...

,George W. Kennedy, ''The Pioneer Campfire ... Anecdotes, Adventures and Reminiscences'', Portland: Clarke-Kundret Printing Co. (1914), pp. 300. the legendary dreamer-prophet associated with the Washani or "Dreamer Movement" among the native peoples of the

Pacific Northwest The Pacific Northwest (PNW; ) is a geographic region in Western North America bounded by its coastal waters of the Pacific Ocean to the west and, loosely, by the Rocky Mountains to the east. Though no official boundary exists, the most common ...

. Smohalla claimed that visions came to him through

dream A dream is a succession of images, ideas, emotions, and sensation (psychology), sensations that usually occur involuntarily in the mind during certain stages of sleep. Humans spend about two hours dreaming per night, and each dream lasts around ...

s, and he preached a return to the original way of life before white influences which included

ritual A ritual is a repeated, structured sequence of actions or behaviors that alters the internal or external state of an individual, group, or environment, regardless of conscious understanding, emotional context, or symbolic meaning. Traditionally ...

music and

dancing Dance is an art form, consisting of sequences of body movements with aesthetic and often symbolic value, either improvised or purposefully selected. Dance can be categorized and described by its choreography, by its repertoire of movements or ...

. His speaking was called ''Yuyunipitqana'' for “Shouting Mountain". Rumors floated that Smohalla was preparing for

battle A battle is an occurrence of combat in warfare between opposing military units of any number or size. A war usually consists of multiple battles. In general, a battle is a military engagement that is well defined in duration, area, and force co ...

. An exchange took place in which Rev. George W. Kennedy, a frontier

Methodist Methodism, also called the Methodist movement, is a Protestant Christianity, Christian Christian tradition, tradition whose origins, doctrine and practice derive from the life and teachings of John Wesley. George Whitefield and John's brother ...

preacher A preacher is a person who delivers sermons or homilies on religious topics to an assembly of people. Less common are preachers who Open-air preaching, preach on the street, or those whose message is not necessarily religious, but who preach com ...

, traveled to the location of the camp in an attempt to make

peace Peace is a state of harmony in the absence of hostility and violence, and everything that discusses achieving human welfare through justice and peaceful conditions. In a societal sense, peace is commonly used to mean a lack of conflict (suc ...

as he had become alarmed that such a large assembly meant hostility. By all accounts, Smohalla was not easily intimidated. "He looked like a

king King is a royal title given to a male monarch. A king is an Absolute monarchy, absolute monarch if he holds unrestricted Government, governmental power or exercises full sovereignty over a nation. Conversely, he is a Constitutional monarchy, ...

. Stolid as a

statue A statue is a free-standing sculpture in which the realistic, full-length figures of persons or animals are carved or Casting (metalworking), cast in a durable material such as wood, metal or stone. Typical statues are life-sized or close to ...

," Kennedy said of meeting him. The preacher exhorted, "God had made us all brothers and not enemies" and "the Great Father want us all to live together in peace on earth." If that is

true True most commonly refers to truth, the state of being in congruence with fact or reality. True may also refer to: Places * True, West Virginia, an unincorporated community in the United States * True, Wisconsin, a town in the United States * ...

, Smohalla demanded, "Why has the white man taken our lands from us? Has the white man any

rights Rights are law, legal, social, or ethics, ethical principles of freedom or Entitlement (fair division), entitlement; that is, rights are the fundamental normative rules about what is allowed of people or owed to people according to some legal sy ...

here in heKittitas that the Indian has any right to respect? The Indian came first." It was, Kennedy conceded, "an unanswerable

speech Speech is the use of the human voice as a medium for language. Spoken language combines vowel and consonant sounds to form units of meaning like words, which belong to a language's lexicon. There are many different intentional speech acts, suc ...

... And I promised utmost

friendship Friendship is a Interpersonal relationship, relationship of mutual affection between people. It is a stronger form of interpersonal bond than an "acquaintance" or an "association", such as a classmate, neighbor, coworker, or colleague. Althoug ...

on the part of the white brothers. We gave them our hand shake and pronounced

benediction A benediction (, 'well' + , 'to speak') is a short invocation for divine help, blessing and guidance, usually at the end of worship service. It can also refer to a specific Christian religious service including the exposition of the eucharisti ...

God In monotheistic belief systems, God is usually viewed as the supreme being, creator, and principal object of faith. In polytheistic belief systems, a god is "a spirit or being believed to have created, or for controlling some part of the un ...

on them, and Chief Smohalla agreed to accept that as the Pipe of Peace."William Denison Lyman, ''History of the Yakima Valley, Washington, Comprising Yakima, Kittitas and Benton Counties'', The S.J. Clarke Publishing Co. (1917), pp. 762–777. ThorpFMThorp1822-1894

Thorp pioneers

Until the mid-1850s, the Kittitas Valley saw little encroachment by

pioneer Pioneer commonly refers to a person who is among the first at something that is new to a community. A pioneer as a settler is among the first settling at a place that is new to the settler community. A historic example are American pioneers, perso ...

settlers. But in 1853, the first immigrant

wagon trains ''Wagon Train'' is an American Westerns on television, Western television series that aired for eight seasons, first on the NBC television network (1957–1962) and then on American Broadcasting Company, ABC (1962–1965). ''Wagon Train'' debute ...

passed through the area led by David Longmore. During that same year,

George B. McClellan George Brinton McClellan (December 3, 1826 – October 29, 1885) was an American military officer and politician who served as the 24th governor of New Jersey and as Commanding General of the United States Army from November 1861 to March 186 ...

conducted a survey of the valley on behalf of the

Northern Pacific Railroad The Northern Pacific Railway was an important American transcontinental railroad that operated across the northern tier of the Western United States, from Minnesota to the Pacific Northwest between 1864 and 1970. It was approved and chartered b ...

, and two years later Charles Splawn briefly passed through the area.''Daily Record'' (Ellensburg, Washington), "First train into the valley dates 1853," 1970-09-03, pp. D-3. Andrew Jackson Splawn, who traversed the

valley A valley is an elongated low area often running between hills or mountains and typically containing a river or stream running from one end to the other. Most valleys are formed by erosion of the land surface by rivers or streams over ...

in 1861 on his way to the nearby

mines Mine, mines, miners or mining may refer to: Extraction or digging *Miner, a person engaged in mining or digging *Mining, extraction of mineral resources from the ground through a mine Grammar *Mine, a first-person English possessive pronoun Mi ...

with his cattle, wrote of his experience:

"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 spot I had ever seen. To the west stood the great Cascade range; to the north rose the snow-capped peaks of the 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 In geography, a plain, commonly known as flatland, is a flat expanse of land that generally does not change much in elevation, and is primarily treeless. Plains occur as lowlands along valleys or at the base of mountains, as coastal plains, and ...
was covered with a thick coat of
grass Poaceae ( ), also called Gramineae ( ), is a large and nearly ubiquitous family (biology), family of monocotyledonous flowering plants commonly known as grasses. It includes the cereal grasses, bamboos, the grasses of natural grassland and spe ...
."A. J. Splawn, ''Ka-mi-akin, The Last Hero of the Yakimas'' (1917).

Fielden Mortimer (F. M.) Thorp is recognized as the first white settler in the 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 Yakima County is a County (United States), county in the U.S. state of Washington (state), Washington. As of the 2020 United States census, 2020 census, its population was 256,728. The county seat and most populous city is Yakima, Washington, Ya ...

in 1865, and business was transacted at the home of F. M. Thorp near Moxee until another suitable location could be found.''Daily Record'' (Ellensburg, Washington), "County's political history to be explored," 1981-10-27, pp. 9. 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. 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, to Thorp's daughter Dulcena in 1863.Thorp Mill Town Historical Preservation Society, History of Thorp.
Retrieved 2011-09-20. In 1868, they became the first permanent white settlers in the Kittitas Valley, building the Thorp and Splawn homesteads at the head of Taneum Canyon on the banks of Taneum Creek.A. J. Splawn, ''Ka-mi-akin, The Last Hero of the Yakimas'' (1917).pp. 254-256. This location, not more than a mile from the present town of Thorp, provided ideal shelter for their wintering

cattle Cattle (''Bos taurus'') are large, domesticated, bovid ungulates widely kept as livestock. They are prominent modern members of the subfamily Bovinae and the most widespread species of the genus '' Bos''. Mature female cattle are calle ...

, as well as offering

water Water is an inorganic compound with the chemical formula . It is a transparent, tasteless, odorless, and Color of water, nearly colorless chemical substance. It is the main constituent of Earth's hydrosphere and the fluids of all known liv ...

and fertile soils for agriculture. 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. 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

.Kittitas County Genealogical Society, Kittitas County Places.
Retrieved 2011-09-22. Tillman Houser, another early settler who brought his family over

to settle on Coleman Creek, entered the valley on June 16 of that same year, and was later joined by Martin Dervan and his wife. The first post office in the Kittitas Valley was established as Taneum Station at the home of F. M. Thorp in 1869. 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. Keneho, another friendly Indian of Yakama descent, was paid ten United States dollar, dollars by Charles Splawn for each trip to carry the mail over the Snoqualmie Trail to and from the Taneum Station post office. Among the mysterious Monument, landmarks 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), springs 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:

"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."''Daily Record'' (Ellensburg, Washington), "Tamarack Springs tragedy recalled," 1973-06-01, pp. 4.

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. 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. 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. 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. 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

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.''Daily Record'' (Ellensburg, Washington), "Gives history of postoffice in the Kittitas," 1953-07-06, pp. 7. 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.Richard Fields, "History of Thorp Kittitas County State of Washington to 1901" (master's thesis, Central Washington University) pp. 47.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.
Retrieved 2011-10-15. 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

had made its intentions clear that it would soon come through the valley close to where the

was located. ThorpTrainNo255ca1900

Mill town and railroad era

In 1878, James L. Mills traversed the trail over the

from Puget Sound by foot, and saw great possibilities in the Kittitas Valley. He built a sawmill west of the current town site in 1879,Eugene J. Brain, "Thorp, Washington," The Coast Magazine, Vol. XV, May 1908 (from ''The Coast,'' Honor L. Wilhelm, pp. 366-67). diverting water from the Yakima River to turn its wheels. The sawmill had a capacity of 7,000 feet daily. Not content with the sawmill, Mills devised a way for the same wheels to power the North Star Mill, a gristmill that Oren Hutchinson had built at the town of Thorp in 1883, to provide feed for livestock and flour for the local residents. The mill was best known for its leading brand "Tip Top". The Pleasant Grove post office was moved in 1880 to a site near the mills and changed its name to Milton post office to reflect the name of the small settlement that had sprung up at that location, which was named for Milton Young. It was housed in several farm houses northwest of the current town site of Thorp until 1884, when it was re-established at the Thorp gristmill through the instrumentality of James L. Mills, who named it "Oren" after Oren Hutchinson. In 1889, the name of the post office was changed to "Thorp" to conform with the name used for the settlement by the Northern Pacific Railroad, and, in 1895, the post office was moved just down the road to the location of the depot that was built there and the town site that had been platted around it. It was the system of water delivery that made the mills at Thorp possible, and the farming lands around Thorp are the oldest irrigation, irrigated section in Kittitas County. The Manastash Canal was completed in 1875, followed later in the same year by the Taneum Ditch Company. The Westside irrigating canal that runs just south of the town of Thorp was begun in June 1889, and water was first used in 1890. Utilizing water diverted from the Yakima River, it is about 14 miles long and averages 12 feet wide. The original cost for building the Westside Canal was $30,000. To a great extent, the town of Thorp owes its existence to the arrival of the

. While some of the initial settlement was undoubtedly influenced by the convergence of wagon train, wagon trails which would eventually cross Snoqualmie Pass, it was the location of the Cascade branch line, spur that ultimately determined the location of the town. In 1887, the Northern Pacific Railroad reached the town of Thorp,''Daily Record'' (Ellensburg, Washington), "Thorp settlers watched Indians", 1989-08-18, pp. 14-D. when the railroad’s management built a sidetrack out one mile west of the current town site and named it after the intrepid pioneer F. M. Thorp and his family. It took two years to build the Northern Pacific line from Old Town, now Union Gap, Washington, Union Gap, to Thorp. Chinese people, Chinese laborers or "coolies" were brought in first to build the Northern Pacific spur, and again to extend the Chicago, Milwaukee, St. Paul & Pacific Railroad, Milwaukee Road through the Kittitas Valley. A Northern Pacific Section house (railway), section house was located at Thorp where men of the regular crew boarded, while Chinese laborers and other members of the work gang had their own sleeping cars. ThorpHaywagon

In 1895, with the extension of the main line to the site of the current town, the railroad station was moved and the town was laid out. The town of Thorp developed around this train station, depot, with the first developments including the construction of maintenance facilities, shipping facilities and warehouses. The current town site was settled by the Newman family in 1878. On July 9, 1895, a three-block town site was platted around the site of the Northern Pacific depot by John M. and Sarah Isabel Newman. In May 1900, Milford A. Thorp, a son of F. M. Thorp, added Thorp's Addition, incorporating into the town site the land he had purchased in 1885 from James McMurray. Houses and businesses quickly sprang up, and small farms appeared around the edges. The first store in Thorp was opened by J. E. Veach in about 1895. The first hotel was the Thorp House, established by A. St. John in 1893. The hotel was superseded by the Tanum House in 1903, which was built and operated by J. F. Duncan. The ''Ellensburg Dawn'' newspaper wrote in the spring of 1901 of the promising little town:

"The little village of Thorp, nine miles up the road, is one of the nicest little places in Central Washington. It is quiet, no saloons to mar the pleasure of the inhabitants, has a good church, a good public school building, a sawmill and a good flouring mill, both of which are operated by water power, a manufacturing establishment--land roller and box factory, and in fact you can get about all the accommodations in Thorp you can get in many towns of much larger population. We are glad Thorp is in Kittitas County."

In 1907, the energy from the water wheel at the North Star Mill was utilized to power a Boiler (steam generator), steam generator having a 40-horsepower dynamo, which furnished electricity for laundering clothes two mornings each week, and for lighting homes for a few hours each evening. This gave Thorp the distinction of being among the first towns in Washington to have electricity, and the smallest unincorporated town in the Northwest to have light bulb, electric lights.HistoryLink, "Thorp Mill begins operation in the Kittitas Valley in April 1883," Essay 5073.
Retrieved 2011-09-22. The addition of a Milwaukee Road depot in 1909 meant that Thorp was the first rail stop where the Chicago, Milwaukee, St. Paul & Pacific Railroad and the Northern Pacific Railroad crossed paths, making it an important shipping point at one time. The Chicago, Milwaukee, St. Paul & Pacific Railroad operated its headquarters for building operations in the Lower Kittitas County, including the shipping in of supplies for the area, out of its Thorp depot. The pay office of employees and the commissary were also located at Thorp. The U.S. Postal Service carried mail to and from Thorp by railroad cars of the Northern Pacific. Rather than stopping and losing precious time, railway post office, RPO (railway post office) cars featured a large hook that would catch the mailbag in its crook on the way past the station.''Daily Record'' (Ellensburg, Washington), "Thorp post office--family affair," 1973-05-08, pp. 3. A daily passenger train ran east to

and points beyond, stopping in Thorp around 11:30 a.m. and returning around 4 p.m., followed by another westbound train at 11 p.m. ThorpTanumHouse

Boomtown and beyond

Through the first few decades of the 20th century, the town's economy remained steady with the population reaching its peak at around 400 people. Eugene B. Brain wrote of the flourishing town of Thorp, as it was poised to enter into its boomtown era, in ''The Coast'' magazine:

"The people of Thorp are prosperous and well-to-do. The business interests are represented by two general stores, a fine hotel, drug store, restaurant, livery, meat market, blacksmith shop, saw mill, flouring mill, numerous fruit packers and shippers and other pursuits [...] with a bright present, a prosperous and large future lies before the town. Thorp is bound to grow and with its enterprising and progressive residents a magnificent town is assured--a town of wealth and importance for Kittitas County."

Then in the late 1920s and 1930s, Thorp experienced a remarkable economic boost despite the Great Depression that had descended upon the nation. This period of growth and prosperity was led by an influx of lumber, timber workers from the Taneum Canyon, where the Boise Cascade, Cascade Logging Company maintained a portable logging camp. In 1928, Thorp became one of the headquarters for the Bureau of Reclamation's Kittitas Division of the Yakima Project which focused on construction of the Highline Canal, an event that brought yet more activity to the town. This coincided with the establishment of Camp Taneum as Company 4771 of the Civilian Conservation Corps at nearby Taneum Canyon, bringing as many as 189 young men from as far away as New York state, New York to work at the camp, many of whom frequented the town of Thorp for shopping and entertainment. Camp Taneum was disbanded in July 1938, and its enrollees transferred to Fort Snelling, Minnesota, Fort Leavenworth, Kansas, and Little Rock, Arkansas for reassignment. The boost in the economy brought workers into the town, spawning the need for social venues which, with the absence of liquor during the Prohibition era, made Ellison's Hall a great attraction. Located at the corner of Railroad Street (Thorp Highway) and First Street, Ellison's offered lively social club, smokers on Saturday nights. It was also the home of many parties hosted by the Ladies' Aid Society, and dances featuring local favorites like "Larry's Harmony Aces" and "Pinky's Roamers". On the morning of May 24, 1938, a serious fire burned several small businesses to the ground, including the Thorp Hotel, and a mercantile along with the clubhouse on the second floor above it which was home to the Thorp Independent Order of Odd Fellows, Odd Fellows and International Association of Rebekah Assemblies, Rebekahs lodges.''The Ellensburg Capital'' (Ellensburg, Washington), "Blaze at Thorp destroys two buildings," 1938-05-27, pp. 1. The Thorp Hotel had been operated as the "Tanum House" first by J. F. Duncan and then by Frank and Callie Mattox. The name was changed sometime in the 1920s, and subsequently operated by Harrison and Nancy Barrett from 1924 to 1930. At the time of the fire it was operated by Ray Long. None of the businesses destroyed in the 1938 fire were rebuilt, and the business district of the town was again struck by fire on the afternoon of August 16, 1943, when another commercial building was burned. The blaze threatened a serious conflagration, and was extinguished by state forestry crews with the assistance of a pumper from Ellensburg.''Daily Record'' (Ellensburg, Washington), "Blaze destroys Thorp building," 1943-08-17, pp. 1. The realization that the fire might have been more serious, coupled with the previous fires in the town, gave impetus to a movement that had been underway at Thorp for some time regarding the purchase of fire equipment. An emergency meeting of the town residents was held on the evening of August 19, 1943, to discuss the town's response to the problem. Kittitas County Fire District No. 1 was organized in that same year at Thorp, and is the oldest fire protection district in the state. The volunteer fire department's small fire house was topped with the large bell that originally hung in the bell tower, belfry of the old Thorp school house. The bell is now an artifact at the current fire station which was recently built adjacent to the old one. The original fire house was subsequently sold and has been converted to an artist's studio and residence. The boomtown days began to subside with the departure of the canal workers and the winding down of nearby logging operations. The local economy greatly suffered with many businesses closing never to reopen, and the boom era had essentially come to a close by the end of World War II. The Northern Pacific Railroad depot at Thorp was officially closed on July 1, 1952. The Northern Pacific cited a steady decline in shipments and competition from trucks as the reason for the closure. The last shipment of freight moved from Thorp via the Northern Pacific line was on May 9, 1952. In 1967, ground was broken at the site of the 1938 fire by the Ellensburg Telephone Company which acquired the land to build a local telephone exchange office for the Thorp area. The building, which cost $25,000 to complete, was cut into service in May 1968, and is still in use. The exchange office was originally equipped to handle 400 subscribers. The construction of a two-lane steel truss bridge over the Yakima River west of Thorp in 1936, prepared the way for the designation of the Thorp Highway, from State Route 10 ( SR 10) to

, as SSH 3M (List of Primary State Highways in Washington, Secondary State Highway 3M) in 1937. In 1953, the highway through Thorp was deleted from the state highway system. The location of U.S. Route 10 (now State Route 10) north of Thorp in 1926, and the eventual opening of Interstate 90 in 1968, all played vital roles in the changing population and economic conditions that shaped the small community. In 1980, Interstate 90 from

to Thorp was designated the ''Mountains to Sound Greenway'' to protect its outstanding scenic and cultural resources. ThorpThorpCemetery

Thorp Cemetery

The Thorp Cemetery is located about a mile south of the town along Thorp Cemetery Road. Herman Page, a farmer who came to Thorp from New York, gave land for the cemetery and he is buried there. Markers denote graves dated as early as 1890, however Herman Page started Page's Grove, a 10-acre timber culture, and claimed his 160-acre homestead as early as 1875.''Daily Record'' (Ellensburg, Washington), "Cemetery needs tax support," 1970-11-02, pp. 16. The title was transferred to the Thorp Methodist Episcopal Church in the late 1880s, and it was subsequently operated by the Thorp Odd Fellows Lodge until 1940 when the lodge folded. In 1962, it was placed under the management of Kittitas County Cemetery District No. 1. Local legend holds that the cemetery is Haunted house, haunted by the ghost of a young Indian woman by the name of Susie, who was tragically lynching, lynched around the year 1890 at Thorp, by persons unknown in the area. Documents held by the Kittitas County Genealogical Society confirm her death as "caused by hanging by unknown person," listing her father as Salmon La Sac. It is reported that she has been seen riding a white horse, and weeping sorrowfully among the headstone, tombstones on moonlight, moonlit nights. The cemetery is often listed among "haunted places" in Washington state. The cemetery is restful and well cared for, and remains an active place of burial for departed loved ones of the Thorp community. Visitors, especially those fascinated by the legend of the Indian girl and her ghost, are encouraged to show respect for those resting there, and for the rights and privacy of visiting families.

Churches

Several Thorp families that came from Polk County, Oregon, had a heritage in the Restoration Movement, Stone-Campbell Movement. Although they had been meeting as a group since 1890, the Thorp Christian churches and churches of Christ, Church of Christ was not formed until 1895. The primary movers in launching the new Church (congregation), congregation were Mary Childs and Sarah Goodwin. Their work was successful, but Sarah Goodwin is not listed on the Charter Roll, charter roll of 1895 because she had already passed to her eternal reward by the time the church was fully established.Pioneer History, Churches of Christ and Christian Churches in the Pacific Northwest, Kittitas County, Washington.
Retrieved 2011-09-21. The first services were held at the Thorp school house, with a permanent church structure being erected in 1897. Early Minister (Christianity), ministers signed one-year contracts to serve the community with most moving on to other congregations after only a short period of time. The town of Thorp was also the home of the Thorp Methodist Episcopal Church for many years, however that congregation was disbanded sometime in the 1930s. The steeple (architecture), steeple on the Methodist Episcopal church was cut off, and it served variously as a The National Grange of the Order of Patrons of Husbandry, Grange hall, clubhouse and the Rodeo Renegades square dance hall. In 1949, Teddy Leavitt formed a short-lived Bible college at Thorp, which was affiliated with the Thorp Church of Christ. The church structure fell victim to fire on April 13, 1950, and as a result the college was relocated to Selah, Washington, where it continued as the Central Washington Bible College until 1977. After the 1950 blaze, the Thorp Church of Christ was quickly rebuilt in the same location. The Thorp Church of Christ became the Thorp Community Church in 1981. It is located near the intersection of Goodwin Road and First Street in Thorp, and continues to minister to the spiritual needs of the townspeople.

Transportation

Reachable via Exit 101 (Thorp, Thorp Highway) on Interstate 90, Thorp can also be accessed from Washington State Route 10, State Route 10 (formerly U.S. Route 10) via the Thorp Highway at milepost 8.98. The main line of the

used to run through the town of Thorp, and it was considered an important shipping point at one time. Currently the BNSF Railway, Burlington Northern-Santa Fe uses the rail line through the town, but the train no longer makes stops.

Education

Public schools are operated by Thorp School District No. 400. The district includes one junior/senior high school (Thorp High School), and one elementary school.

Points of interest

* Thorp Community Day -- Thorp Community Day is an annual celebration taking place in early October, coinciding with the autumn harvest. The event begins with a pancake breakfast at the Thorp Fire Station, and a parade through the town. It culminates with various community-oriented activities including the Fall Market at the Thorp Tractor Company, which generally attracts local vendors featuring anything from handcrafted furniture, clothing, jewelry, art, antiques and fresh local produce. The Harvest Carnival, held at the historic Thorp Grade School building, offers old-fashioned games such as apple bobbing, the ring toss and pumpkin bowling. Proceeds from carnival ticket sales go to support student activities at Thorp High School. An open house at the historic Thorp Mill is also a highlight of the celebration, which also includes live entertainment from local musicians. * Iron Horse State Park - Part of the Washington State Park System, Iron Horse State Park follows the path of the now defunct Milwaukee Road between the Cascade Mountains and Yakima River Valley, between Cedar Falls on the west and the Columbia River on the east. Access is on Thorp Depot Road near Interstate 90 exit 101 at Thorp. * The Thorp Mill - One of Kittitas County's oldest landmarks, the historic grist mill is listed on the National Register of Historic Places and offers a unique perspective on the history of Thorp and the surrounding area. * Thorp Grade School - Listed on the National Register of Historic Places, the building was erected in 1936 and continues to serve the educational needs of the children of the town of Thorp. During hours of operation, visitors can check in at the district administrative offices in the modern building next door. A look inside the old school house reveals finely crafted hardwood floors, intact mouldings and a wood paneled gymnasium. * Northern Pacific Depot - The Northern Pacific train depot was originally located adjacent to the railroad tracks near the corner of Thorp Highway and Second Streets. It was subsequently moved to its current location along Thorp Highway near the east entrance to the town. * Old Thorp Fire Station - Fire District No. 1 was established in 1943, and is the oldest fire protection district in the state. The old fire station is located near the corner of Main Street and Thorp Highway adjacent to the new fire station. The building was recently sold and converted to a residence. * Old Thorp Post Office - Located near the corner of Main Street on the Thorp Highway, closeby the old fire station, the old Thorp Post Office operated until the 1990s when a new structure was built a few blocks away. The old post office is now an artist studio called Thorp Collective. * F. C. Porter Store - A start-of-the-20th century dry goods store on the corner of Thorp Highway and Second Streets, this building now houses a printing business. One of the oldest surviving commercial structures in the area, it originally opened around 1895 as J. E. Veach Dry Goods and was the first store established at Thorp. It was subsequently acquired by the Porter family, who expanded the building around 1912 to include integrated living quarters in the back, which was common in small-town businesses of the era. It is a classic example of late 19th-century false-front commercial wood-frame architecture.

Notable people

* Margaret Leonard, state legislatorWashington State Historical Society, Olympia: Washington State Archives (1983), "Margaret Johnson, Oral Interview," Accession No. WWSLOHPH1-14kh, Women in Washington Legislative Oral History Project, Kathryn Hinsch (interviewer).

References

External links

Thorp Mill Town Historical Preservation Society

Thorp School District No. 400

CWU Brooks Library, Thorp Historical Photograph Collection
A collection of photographs dating from the late 19th century to the early 20th century consisting of various historical images of town of Thorp. {{authority control Census-designated places in Kittitas County, Washington Census-designated places in Washington (state) Populated places on the Yakima River