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William McREDMOND was the oldest son of Luke
and Catharine "Kate"
(BARRY) McREDMOND.
He was born about 1860 and died on December 04, 1884
in Redmond, WA of "consumption" (tuberculosis.) A
census record states that William McREDMOND was born in California. If this is
the case, it was probably when Luke was a sea captain taking lumber from Kitsap
County to San Francisco. In the 1880 census taken on 21 Jun 1880, Our
Town Redmond states that William McREDMOND was not listed with his family in
Redmond because he was mining in the coal-rich area of Newcastle, south of
Bellevue.
We would appreciate help filling in the
details about the "William McREDMOND" in Lincoln County, WA.
The "pieces to the puzzle" that
make sense are:
- The first settlers to Bald Ridge,
Lincoln County, WA came about 1879. Our "William McREDMOND" would
have been about 19 years old.
- William McREDMOND was "working in
coal mines" before going to Lincoln County.
- Richard Ashton HUTCHINSON's was very
interested and involved in mining, he was also on the RR commission. He
evidently was good friends with William McRedmond, they settled right next
to each other, across the road.
- Luke McREDMOND's obituary stated that
he was a
"founder of the Seattle & International Railroad" and was well
known as a discoverer of "the black diamond coal mines." We
think that Luke might have ownership interests in an earlier railroad, and
since the Seattle & International RR was crossing his property at the time
of his death, that is how this was misprinted. We haven't been able to track
down documentation of the coal mine discoveries yet.
- "William McREDMOND" in
Lincoln County seemed to "disappear" from the area in 1882. This
makes sense as he died of "consumption" in Redmond, WA in Dec
1884. So after he became ill, he moved back to Redmond.
- July 2, 1883, William McRedmond was appointed postmaster of
Redmond.
- William McRedmond died before November 1889.
Jana Johnson, Ridgekids115@juno.com
is working on a history of the Bald Ridge, Lincoln County, WA area.
Her husband is fourth generation and they farm there.
Bald Ridge, Lincoln County, WA encompasses an area maybe 6 miles n&s
and 4e&w in portions of T26N & 27N R38E. It situates between
Reardan and Davenport WA., Lincoln Co., WA. The nearest trade area, and
their P.O. was Mondovi. Mondovi is just a few houses and the grain
elevators now.
Two families that came from western WA were the McClures, and the Hutchinsons.
They worked in the mines together over there. Richard Ashton HUTCHINSON
and his brother William H. HUTCHINSON came to the Seattle area in
1872. Richard is written up in the History of Spokane County and An
Illustrated History of the Big Bend. He went on to become a WA St. Senator.
Richard A. Hutchinson and William McRedmond both filed claims
on June 2, 1879 on the ridge, some of, if not the very first settlers on the
ridge. Together they built the first school house, No.1, in Lincoln
Co.
The reason some of the historical stuff doesn't match on that is because we were
then part of Spokane Co. We were part of Stevens Co. before that. Lincoln
County was established in the fall of 1883.
Richard Ashton HUTCHINSON's was very interested and involved in
mining, he was also on the RR commission. He evidently was good
friends with William McRedmond, they settled right next to each other, across
the road.
Bureau of Land Management RECORDS: S14 T26N R38E
McClure, Robert NE
160
7/30/1880
McClure, Evan J. NW
160
5/25/1886
Stevens, Andrew Jackson SE 160
4/27/1883
McClure, Wm. Green SW
160
12/12/1884
McRedmond, Wm. SW
160
6/3/1879
Rel. 4/3/1882
S22
T26N R38E
Hutchinson, Richard A.
160
6/3/1879
Hutchinson, William H.
160
6/3/1879
NOTE: McRedmond relinquished two years earlier. Wm. McClure filed on McRedmond's
claim 8 days after his death date. (McClures are still in the area in 2001.)
INVENTORY OF THE CO. ARCHIVES OF WA, NO.22, LINCOLN CO. (WPA) p.24
Schools.
-----oldest school dist. of Lincoln Co. School dist. No. 1, located
north of Mondovi. It had held school continuously since its organization,
May 8, 1884. The original school building was an old log cabin built in
the fall of 1879 by William McRedmond as a homestead cabin. William
Hutchinson and Richard Hutchinson assisted him in building the cabin. The
school district in which the cabin was located was then in Spokane Co. A
subscription school was held there in 1883, with Miss Addie Bowers as teacher.
The first directors were Robert McClure, John Hughes, Thomas Brink. The
clerk was R. A. Hutchinson, noted later as a member of the State Senate.
Miss Bowers did not finish the school year, and Miss Emarilla Waterhouse was
chosen as teacher to complete the term. The seats were homemade, and the
desk at the side of the room was a low shelf, split from a log, hewed and
dressed down. (This cabin is now near the museum in Davenport) RR:
Old Mondovi was begun in 1879, and existed for almost 10 years, until the
RR came in, and the town was moved about 2 miles w to be on the line. BR
is situated from there north to the Spokane River.
Time table: About 1879 to present. (The surveys were done in 1872 and
1884.) The first settlers show up in 1879.
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