Harrington news

Harrington Historic

Preservation Commission

Saturday, February 6, the commission met at the Miller residence with Celeste Miller, Aileen Sweet, Anita Harman and Lindsey Hutsell present. Suggestions had been made to invite specific citizens to ascertain their potential interest in serving on the commission, since there is a need to increase membership. However, no one had been contacted in the interim.

A motion passed to have Hutsell create a time-line of the group’s accomplishments from its inception to the present. Information has been gathered on available grants from US Bank and NW Farm Credit Services. Continued discussion was also held on generating ideas for a brochure to be placed at city hall with information on Harrington’s historic buildings.

The commission has determined that the old pillars on Crop Production Services property need repair. Hutsell will contact an employee to ascertain whether they will permit repair. The pillars were built in 1930 to mark the north and south entrances to Harrington. The next meeting, during which elections will take place, is scheduled for March 1, at 6:30 p.m. at Harrington’s city hall.

Christian Heritage Auction

The Harrington Chamber of Commerce received a flyer notifying the community of Christian Heritage School’s 26th Annual Benefit Auction on March 12. According to the flyer being circulated, the silent auction will begin at 8 a.m. and the live auction begins at 1 p.m. The school is located at 48009 Ida Ave. E. in Edwall. Breakfast and lunch concessions will be available, and babysitting will be provided from 9 a.m. to 1:30 p.m.

Moscow/Bluestem

Harrington librarian Marge Womach received a request for information on James and Caroline (Mecklenberg) Robinson, John Theodore Robinson and the village of Moscow, Washington. As early as 1894, regular Moscow news items appeared in the Lincoln County Times, with a notice in August for sealed bids for the construction of a schoolhouse for Moscow, Lincoln County District No. 29, which at that time had J.A. Talkington as its clerk. The initial establishment of a post office at Moscow was June 1894, and the first post master was Thomas Denson. Helpful to the Robinson descendant, Arthur J. Robinson was post master from 1895 to 1897.

Early business directories for Moscow state: “A village in Lincoln County first settled in 1894, on the Great Northern Railway, 44 miles west of Spokane and 10 south of Davenport.” Christmas 1894 was celebrated at Moscow with the Christmas Tree with 300 people present. Exercises and music were well conducted and an address by Prof. Carpenter, which was followed by the appearance of Santa Claus “in his usual gala attire, burdened with toys, to the great delight of the many children present.”

Moscow Grain Company held a business meeting in January 1895, which was reported the same week that Thos. Mockler was gaining strength after an eight-week hospitalization with typhoid fever. “Grandpa Denson has a large job for small pay, waiting sometimes for hours at the station with mail sack for delayed trains not knowing when they will come as there is no operator here.” This was also the era in which literaries were being formed and enjoyed: “There was a large attendance at the literary here last Friday night considering how badly the snow was drifted. At least one load tipped over and rolled in the snow, but twas fun.” Religious services were held by Rev. O’Kelley of the Evangelical Church. In May 1895, the Moscow Grain Co. was ordering lumber to make a platform and a large warehouse about 40 x 160, and the village was looking for someone to put in a general merchandise store saying, “We need it.” By October, “Our enterprising merchant, Mr. Robinson, is building a new store up near the depot.

In January 1896, “Our war veterans attend the GAR meetings at Harrington every Saturday.” This same month “a petition has been sent to Uncle Sam requesting a change of the name of this post office to Sheridan. A change made necessary by the continual mixing of our mail and that of Moscow, Idaho.” No change was made until 1906, when Moscow was renamed Sonora for six weeks, and finally settled on Bluestem in March 1906.

In the summer of 1898, hired help was hard to find, “Farmers are looking for help already for Klondyke and the Spanish War has taken a large number of the laboring men out of the country.” Writing in 1898 to their audience, leaves a few questions to our minds when we read: “The Moscow merchant has erected a large livery, feed and sale stable on Front Street and will be open for business in a few days. Call and see the proprietor.” In December of 1898, “Mr. Phillips is building a large hotel here, but is not getting along very fast on account of the cold weather.” Notice of “Final Proof” was given by Calaway R. Petree with his named witnesses being John McCoy, John McClellan, Abram W. Shaw and Albert J. Talkington. The price of wheat in December 1898 was quoted at 50 cents. Gust Noreen replaced Denson at the Moscow Grain Co.’s warehouse. Mr. Steel was running an express business at Moscow. In the winter of 1899, the measles were making rounds and raging in some homes and school was canceled.

“Moscow, Wash. A trip to Moscow, Thursday of last week by one of the Citizen force, showed that our neighboring town, though small, was healthy and doing a fair business. This was attested by the well stocked and lately enlarged house of Sharpe & Bucknell, who do a general merchandise business and will furnish you with anything you want, from Christmas toys to harvesting machinery, except in the dry goods line, which is looked after by Ole Mangis, the pioneer merchant, who also serves as postmaster. Aside from the mercantile business Moscow also has three large warehouses, the Moscow Grain Co., managed by F.E. Denson, the J.Q. Adams Co., managed by Alan Harris and the Orondo Grain Co., with the affable Mr. Hammock as manager. All the warehouses were ‘full up’ at the close of the grain hauling season, but a ride around among the farmers showed that most of the grain is still held by them awaiting the coming rise in price. Could they realize 50 cents per bushel out of it, the Moscow farmers would be an independent and happy lot.” (Citizen: 12-15-1899)

In 1901, the population of Moscow was said to be 100, and during the years 1903-1906 it was 200. In the 1908-13 census, it was said to be only 75. In 1901, they had a Baptist and a Methodist church, but by 1909 only the Baptist remained. From 1902 to 1908, Moscow had four grain warehouses, a hotel, a lumber yard, a saloon or confection and billiard establishment, hardware store, blacksmith, meat market, general store and grocery store. The feed mill was added in 1903, and no barber was advertised until 1908. Over the years, the town dwindled, until the present site of Bluestem shows little evidence of the people who once called it their home town. It has been said that there are visible remains of the cement vault once used by the post office. There is no evidence that Bluestem ever had a bank or a cemetery.

Some of the structures that once represented the flourishing village were quickly swept away by fire. “Six Bluestem Buildings Burn. Origin of the Fire Not Known. A fire, starting in the front of the dance hall at 3 o’clock last Sunday morning ate a big hole in the buildings at Bluestem. The dance hall, the butcher shop, livery barn and several other smaller buildings, all of them wooden and as dry as tinder, burned furiously as the flames clung to them until the last bit of inflammable matter was consumed. By heroic work on the part of the townspeople, who formed a bucket brigade and carried water, the store and ware house was saved. A piano and a horse belonging to W.F. Long were consumed. In all six buildings were destroyed. The loss, although not learned, was considerable.” (Citizen: 11-12-1915)

James and Caroline Robinson resided in the Bluestem area following their marriage in 1889 until they retired to Davenport in 1916. The 1911 atlas showed his ownership of 160 acres each in the SE ¼ in Sec. 18 and the SW ¼ in Sec 17 in Twp 24 Range 37 and another 320 acres in the N ½ of Sec. 32-24-37, where their residence was located. The village of Bluestem was in 34-24-37, about two miles from their home. James died in 1924, and Caroline died in 1940; she had given birth to nine children. Photographs of Moscow/Bluestem are available for viewing in the Lincoln County Museum at Davenport.