The Story behind Stevens County When established in 1858, Stevens County represented an area covering what are now 13 counties in eastern Washington, all of northern Idaho, and much of western Montana. It was named after Isaac I. Stevens, the first governor of Washington Territory, who stopped at Fort Colville in 1853 before continuing on his way to Olympia to assume administration of the new territory. Before the advent of white settlement, Kettle Falls on the Columbia River was a gathering place for 14 tribes that fished there for salmon. In 1811, white explorers embarked downriver of Kettle Falls to what would become the site of the Fort Colville trading post. Established in 1825, it was the principal outpost for Hudson’s Bay Company operations stretching from the Mississippi River to the Cascade Mountains. The early trappers were aware that gold and silver existed. However, fearing that such news would start a migratory invasion destructive to the fur trade, the kept it secret. Thus, gold and silver were not “officially” discovered in Stevens County until 1854 and 1883, respectively. What began as placer or surface mining quickly evolved into more advanced, as well as expensive, lode or hardrock mining. Precious metals such as magnesite were also discovered, making Stevens County one of the finest mineral producing areas in the state and the nation. With the development of the mining industry came the advent of rail systems to ship the ores. By the turn of the century, the Spokane Falls and Northern railroads had reached the town of Marcus (just outside of Kettle Falls). It would later expand to include mining towns such as Northport in Stevens County and Nelson and Rossland in British Columbia. |
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Current Poll |
Stevens County |