Railroads impact on

Washington
And the Northwest
Andrew Cesal – Period 3
[Pick the Date]
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 Social Affect of Railroads

The Northern Pacific Railroad and the Great Northern railroads help to create small

towns called “railroad camps”. These camps made social life boom. Thomas Burke was an

attorney for the Great Northern Railroad in the 1890’s and one of the first lawyers to establish

railroads, harbors and utilities for the Puget Sound area. The first proposal of a national

transcontinental railroad was thought of in 1845. With the development of the transcontinental

railroad new workers were imported from China to lay track and mine coal. After years of

respect towards the Chinese (workers), Americans started to resent them because of economic

downfalls and eventually rioted in the 1880’s across the cities of Tacoma and Seattle. After these

riots several laws were created across the West coast to keep control over immigration.

Initially, Washington was a state that welcomed freed men and runaway slaves. Alongside

the Chinese, African Americans also helped to build railroads and mine. The state would later

begin to ban African Americans due to new labor movements.

With the recent creation of the Northern Pacific Railroad and the Great Northern

Railroads, more and more small towns began construction in Washington. With these small

towns brought more people, like the Chinese and African American worker. During

Washington’s 1889 constitutional convention, the new railroads were a serious discussion:

delegates worried about the monopoly power they had. The delegates forbid their government

from subsidizing railroads.

With the help of woman voters, Teddy Roosevelt would become President, which in turn

would lead to regulations on railroads.

Railroads Affect History

 The affects the railroad had on Washington alone were great. Whole towns were created

due in part to the railroads. Spokane, for example, was a central hub for Railroads on their way

farther West. The city of Shoreline boomed with the introduction of railroads. The Great

Northern Railroad, running from Seattle to Minnesota, opened up a direct link from Shoreline to

Seattle after the portion through shoreline was created in 1891. The Interurban, a small electric

railway between Everett and Tacoma created in 1910, was the prime mode of transportation for

Shoreline residents. Some areas depended on the railroads: their location, creation, and fate were

solely based on railroads, one these areas are Adams County.

Cities like Twin Well, Providence, Lind, Paha, Ritzville, Keystone, Washtucna, Hooper,

Benge, and Lantz were all created to occupy railroad workers. Businesses like

churches, schools, hotels, post offices, etc. were created along with the

towns. In 1907 the town of Othello was created as a railway division for the

Chicago, Milwaukee, St. Paul, and Pacific Railroads. Trains would later come

through Othello to re-ice their cars.

Many cities in the state of Washington were created just to occupy railroad travelers,

workers, and trains themselves. Without the creation of railroads such as the Great Northern and

Northern Pacific, Washington would cease to exist today, this State depended on them that much

for social growth.

Affect of Railroads on Politics

The Political aspects that the railroads brought about were often dramatic.
 The name of Gilman (Squak) Issaquah had to undergo a name change because the USPS

didn’t want to get it confused with Gilmer, so the state legislature tried to change the town name

to Olney, but the Gilman Town Council petitioned the legislature, keeping the name. In 1889

(before the name change) they named the town Gilman, after Daniel Hunt Gilman a promoter of

the railroads.

George F. Cotterill (1865-1958), Seattle’s mayor between 1912-1914, was brought to the

northwest to work on the Northern Pacific Railroad at the age of 18.

The town of Slaughter had a population of 25 in 1886 and mail was delivered twice a

week. The next year, there was a population over 300 due to railroads. The name was changed to

“Auburn” after a petition in 1893.

John J. McGilvra, a friend of Abraham Lincoln, was appointed U.S. Attorney for the

Washington Territory. One of his main jobs was to secure rail services for the city of Seattle.

James J. Hill (completed great northern railway) had his trusts broken up by National

Reformers in 1904. September 5, 1911, voters create the port of Seattle and put the harbor under

public management and ownership.

After hearing news that the terminus for the NP railroad would be in Tacoma, Seattleites

responded by attempting to make their own railroad, the SWW. SWW would eventually fail and

was taken over by the NP railroad.

Railroads Affect Washington Economy

Railroads were the base of Washington’s economy before the invention of cars. Railroads

made a supply route for fish, lumber, and coal out of Washington to be sold around the U.S. Any

town that had a railroad through it had its economy based on the railroad itself. With the railroad,

towns were built, then saloons, hotels, restaurants and other facilities.
 The economy of Washington was mostly because of railroads and partly due to trading

with Asia. The town of starbuck was created because of the railroad. Spokane’s whole economy

was based around the railroads, for instance, the davenport hotel was built to accommodate

railroaders.

Thanks to railroads, lumber and fish from Washington could be transported throughout

the U.S for money. Washington’s economy, like the rest of the nation, boomed with railroad

creation. The railroads had to buy all their tracks, spikes and supplies like shovels, picks and

other items. With several railroads being built across the country, the U.S. economy jumped.

1879- Travelers start to settle near Pasco, WA. Pasco was a leader in Agricultural products and

with the introduction of railroads; they could export more to the rest of the country. Snohomish’s

economy was dominated by logging, lumbering, and agriculture in the 1920’s, but, trains helped

to create that town and give people to help flourish the economy.

In the small town of Metaline Falls, cement was a big to the economy. The Leigh

Portland cement company would haul 12-15 cars of cement every day. Metaline relied on the

railroad to transport its cement, for cement was its central economy.

The Northwest’s main job for the Nation was to produce and export raw materials,

leaving the northwest subservient. Since the Northwest was colonial by political standards in the

late 1800’s to early 1900’s, it wasn’t considered as much as other states in the national capital.

Because of its colonial state, the northwest didn’t get much help from the government. Between

1890-1945, the northwest tried to relieve itself from its subservience.

To do this, the Northwest would have to colonize as an extractive hinterland. The

Northwest would see great economic improvements with the completion of the Transcontinental

Railroad, for instance, the northwest could get trade generated by Alaskan gold rushes. Dams
offered another means of improving the northwest’s economy; railroads would bring the

necessary materials for the construction of these dams. In Washington’s constitution it clearly

expresses the concerns farmers had towards the power of railroads, although railroads did help to

boost the Northwest’s economy. The main economy of Oregon was based around lumber, with

the introduction of a railroad, the lumber could be shipped faster, with more on each load. Short

railroads were built specifically for getting lumber and bringing it back, a short line railroad.

Like Washington, many Oregon cities were formed as a result of the railroad and their

economy increased.

As for the social aspect of railroads, it brought about new employers, employees and

communities. Across the northwest whole towns and cities were created, bringing new business,

increasing old business, and a rise in population.

A negative effect the railroads had on the northwest’s social status was the fact that it

many men were lost in the creation of it. The job of working on railroads was very dangerous.

The Portland & Seattle Railway was finished in 1906 and never actually went to Seattle.

The Transcontinental would bring in many political leaders of the northwest. Railroads

brought the value of land up in the Northwest and across the Nation.

RAILROADS IN OPERATION BEFORE JAN. 1, 1848

OHIO
Sandusky, Mansfield, and Newark, Sandusky to Mansfield 56
Mad River and Lake Erie, Sandusky to Bellefontaine 102
Little Miami, Cincinnati to Springfield 84
Erie and Kalamazoo, Toledo to Adrian 33
INDIANA
 Madison and Indianapolis, Madison to Indianapolis 86
ILLINOIS
Northern Cross, Meredosia to Springfield 55
MICHIGAN
Michigan Southern, Monroe to Hillsdale 66
Michigan Southern, Junction to Tecumseh 10
Michigan Central, Detroit to Kalamazoo 143
Detroit and Milwaukee, Detroit to Pontiac 25
Total mileage, Jan 1, 1848 660

This table shows how much the northwest was dependent on railroads, in total, there was 660

miles of railroads winding through northwest. With the railroads brought many people to the

northwest, having been too rural, the northwest depended on fur for most of its economic needs.

With all of the people, towns with hotels and diners and other many producing buildings came

along.
 Work

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•