EARLY HISTORY OF ALBION,WASHINGTON AS REMEMBERED BY FREDERICK P. PETERSON AND WRITTEN IN 1970

The Peter Peterson and Peter Swinson families arrived in Colfax, Washington, in a covered wagon, on June 15, 1877. The Nez Perce Indians were on the war path. So my parents and grandparents decided to go on farther and see what Guy, Washington looked like. When they came to Guy all they found was a Post Office located in the dwelling of Jasper and Ella Whetsel. The Whetsels had two sons, Rennie and Bert. They had a small orchard planted. I understand that some of the fruit trees are still there. I do not know when the Post Office was established as it was already there and Mrs. Whetsel was the Postmistress. The Post Office was called "GUY". The Whetsel dwelling was located where the Pacific Coast Elevator now stands. Mrs. Whetsel continued to be the Postmistress until the O.W.R.&N. Railroad was built and came through Guy.
After meeting the Whetsels my folks forded the creek, called Brush Hollow Creek, and camped on the east bank. They camped there about four months while my father and grand­father staked out land to homestead. The area where they camped later became the Guy Picnic Grounds. A few years after we arrived in Guy Mr. Whetsel decided to have a town built. He had the flat surveyed into town lots and in a short time the town of Guy was started.

The first building was built by J. W. Conway for a general merchandise store. The next was a one room school building, which was built across the street from the Conway Store. Orve Loving built a dwelling west of the county road towards Pullman, about a block south of Comway’s Store. Len Downs (a rancher) and Orve Loving built a butcher shop west of the Pullman road and south of the street that goes by Conway's Store. Len Downs worked and kept the butcher shop, Orve Loving did the buying and killing the cattle for the meat. Orve Loving used his hack to deliver meat to the farmers during harvest time. They also put up their own ice.

I overlooked Grandpa Kenoyer, or Dr. Kenoyer. He believed he was the first one to reside in Guy. He was a minister of the United Brethren Church for a good many years. He drove all over the country in his buggy doctoring the sick. He lived in the eastern part of town.

Our second doctor was Dr. J. F. Hall. It was Dr. Hall that got the name of Guy changed to Albion. He did not like to be called a "Guyite". The next doctor was Dr. C. Brandon. He also had a drug store just east of the present Post Office. This building later burned down. The fourth drug store was in the old Conway Store and was run by Nat Ripley. It also burned down sometime later.

When Downs and Loving quit the butcher business a blacksmith shop was built in its place. It was run by Ed Simonds. He stayed about a year. He was just learning the trade. When Dan Cloud came he built a dwelling across the street south of Dr. Kenoyer.

Dan Cloud was the first drayman, and the first to carry the mail from the O.W.R.&N. Depot to the Post Office. After Don Cloud then came Larry Dennis who drayed and carried the mail to the Post Office. I believe Hanley Warner was the last drayman and mail carrier until the train no longer brought the mail to Albion.

I do not know who built the building across the street from the Downs & Loving Butcher Shop and to the north. It was intended for a hotel but was never occupied as such. When the railroad came the Whetsels moved into the hotel. It was called the "Whetsel House",

It was not long after the railroad came that the Pacific Coast Elevator was built where the Whetsel dwelling stood. Doug Henry was the first elevator agent for a year. Sam Armstrong was the next agent for a few years; then C. E. Tenewick, for a year; then De Crawford until it was torn down.

A short time after Sam Armstrong's brother, Jim, came they built a large building about a half block east of the Conway Store. It was used as a hardware and implement store. Jim was manager of the store. George Frederick built a small house close to the hardware store, and used it as a barber shop. So George was the first barber in Guy.

Jim Armstrong stayed a few years then sold to Nelson C. Bissel & Pitwood (I forget Pitwood's first name). They handled some merchandise as well as hardware. When the railroad came through Guy the Post Office was moved to this building and Nelson C. Bissel became the Postmaster. It was later moved to Farnsworth's Merchandise Store.

After the railroad came through Guy some high officials came looking for a location for the Agricultural College. Mr. Whetsel did not want them to locate in Guy. (What a mistake). So the officials went to Pullman who donated them a half section of land if they would locate in their town.

When Dan Downs came he built several dwellings and helped build several others. He was quite a sport. Mat Hough came and put a saloon in the old school house, with Dan Downs as bar tender. Hough stayed a couple of years, then opened a saloon in Pullman. Downs stayed in Albion until prohibition carne.

John Kenoyer built a dwelling east of the Conway dwelling. He put in a small drug store. This was quite handy for us. J. W. Rice built a blacksmith shop. Sam Ellis built a small dwelling west of the blacksmith shop. Ike Shears put in a harness shop. It burned down after a couple of years. His wife was burning a lot papers when it caught fire and burned the shop down. Peter Hendrickson sold his farm and moved into a dwelling across the road east of the Loving place. He did some harness repairing.

I do not know who built a hotel across the road and east of the blacksmith shop. The hotel was run by Lew Morrison's father and mother for several years, then they moved to Clarkston, Washington. Neither do I know who built the row of apartments across the street east of the blacksmith shop, next to the hotel. I think it was in the late l890s. The first apartment was occupied by Tom Farnsworth's Merchandise Store; the second was occupied by the Farnsworth family. The third apartment was the Hipe Manning family home. L. E. Baldwin and his wife, and their Drug Store were in the fourth and fifth apartments. The sixth apartment was a butcher shop. John Stover was the first butcher since the Downs & Loving Butcher Shop quit business. There were several other butchers later after John Stover left. Herman Matson ran the butcher shop for one or two seasons. The last building in this row of apartments was the hotel which was run by George Howell,Jr. for awhile after the Morrisons left and moved to Clarkston. The hotel changed proprietors several times during the following years. Tom Dendurant was the last proprietor. It was the last part of February 1910 that the hotel caught fire and burned down, and also all the apartments were burned out.

The Edwards College was built, I think, in 1898 or 1899. It was built by the United Brethren Church. It had every indication of a fine future. But some of the officials

on the Board and in the Church could not agree on how it should operate. The College had four very successful and dedicated instructors for four years. After the College closed Professor Baldwin went to the State College of Oregon at Eugene, Oregon; N. E. Watkins went to Tillamook, Oregon and taught in High School; Kate Metcalf married John Hoskin who was a barber in Albion; I do not know where Mr. Merry went. They were all Number One Instructors. It was a starter of a fine school until the United Brethren could not agree among themselves.

After several years the Albion School Directors rented the Edwards College Building and used it for High School Class Rooms and an Auditorium that was used for Basketball and other entertainments. The Albion High School was located in this building until the new High School Building was built, which I think was in 1927. Mrs. Eva Irwin Kenoyer deeded a strip of lots in front of the high school to the City of Albion for a park, which is kept up real nice.

I think the red brick school was built in the l890s. It was built from bricks made from clay which was just across the road and on the other side of the creek.

In 1906 a party from Palouse, Washington built a store building north and across the creek from the blacksmith shop. C. E. Hoge put in a general merchandise store which he operated for about eight years. It did not prove to be a profitable business so the adjusters sent a man by the name of Fish to close him out and dispose of the stock of merchandise. C. E. Hoge went to Spokane and was employed by the Continental Creamery until he was physically unable to work. M. S. Cannon was the next to put in a General Merchandise Store in this same building. He was there several years before he disposed of the stock and bought a farm west of Shawnee. In a short time Clem Roberts put in a

hardware store in this same building. He was there several year5, until he passed away,

then his wife, Josie and son Jim disposed of the stock. The Grange met in the hall of

the hotel that was run by Tom Dendurant, which burned down. Later the Grange moved into the Masonic Building and stayed there until it was deemed unsafe. Since the building where Clem Roberts had a store was empty, the Grange moved into it. A few years later they pur­chased the building and it is now known as the Grange Hall.

I forgot about the Bank which was across the street from the blacksmith shop.

Aubry McClaskey was the Cashier, and Fred Rodgers Assistant Cashier. After Rodgers quit Wat Jones took his place. After McClaskey left and moved away from Albion Wat Jones was Bank Manager. After Wat Jones, John Miller was Bank Manager. In a year or so a man by the name of Hendly bought a controlling interest in the Bank and became Cashier. His daughter, Jean Hendly, became Assistant Cashier. In a year or so Hendly consolidated with a bank in Pullman and left Albion. This was before the big fire next to the Bank.

After the fire the Post Office moved into the empty Bank Building. Madge Lakin was the Postmistress until she got a better position as Postmistress at the Pullman Post Office. Mrs. Tony Emerson was then appointed Postmistress to replace Madge.

Hipe Manning lived in a house east and across the road from the brick schoolhouse. When Hipe's mother-in-law, Mrs. Loving and daughter, came he built a house on a lot west of his. Mrs. Loving lived there until she passed away. Then the William Parvin family, Henry, Minnie, and Rosie, lived in this house. All of this family have passed away. The next to move into this house was Frank Dodson and his wife. Mrs. Dodson taught school here in Albion and at the Banner School for several years. I think Dallas Hughes and his family moved into this house after the Dodsons left. Later, after Dallas Hughes and his family moved to a farm west of Albion, the house burned down. Sometime later Ed Jones took over the property, and several years later, built a nice house on the property. He lived in this house until he passed away in 1959.