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Skagit River Journal

of History & Folklore
600 of 700 total Free Home Page Stories & Photos
(Also see our Subscribers Magazine Sample)
The most in-depth, comprehensive site about the Skagit
Covers from British Columbia to Puget Sound. Counties covered: Skagit, Whatcom, Island, San Juan, Snohomish & BC. An evolving history dedicated to committing random acts of historical kindness

Noel V. Bourasaw, editor

810 Central Ave., Sedro-Woolley, Washington, 98284
Home of the Tarheel Stomp

Mortimer Cook slept here & named the town Bug

Links to all 36 Ray Jordan stories

The late Ray Jordan was arguably the best historian of Sedro-Woolley. His book, Yarns of the Skagit Country (Ray's Writin's) (Sedro-Woolley: Self-published, 1974), was the most thorough collection of stories about the merged towns and their pioneers and the surrounding area. Ray came to Sedro-Woolley as a child in 1902 with his family. His first years were spent sleeping on a bed laid over boxes of dynamite for clearing stumps on the old Mortimer Cook ranch on the Olympia Marsh. He then spent part of his school years in Belfast while his father, Lafe, logged the area surrounding the old railbed for the Fairhaven & Southern Railroad. Over 70 years time he talked with almost every pioneer here and their descendants. In the 1960s and 1970s he wrote a history column for the Sedro-Woolley Courier-Times. Larry Spurling, whose family lived in the Sauk Prairie area and later in Sedro-Woolley, has spent the past few years transcribing many history stories about the area, including more than three dozen chapters from Ray's book. He generously supplied the transcriptions for us.

As we enter 2011, we have shared with our subscribers the first five chapters of Ray Jordan's terrific history of the Sedro-Woolley and Skagit area, Yarns of the Skagit Country. We have spent months researching more than 100 names of pioneers and businesses and we fully annotated each chapter with endnotes that will supply mini-profiles and research about each one. This is only published in our Subscribers Edition, Number 53 (now in our 11th year), and will be shared with the free site later this year. See a preview of the Subscribers Edition and how to subscribe here

We have combined those with our own research of Ray and his stories. In addition, Ray gave the late Fred Slipper a handful of his unpublished stories, which Fred then graciously passed on to the Journal, and we are adding those to the mix. Many of the stories we link below are fully annotated so that the modern reader can identify the pioneers he named. We were surprised when we formed this Jordan portal section in July 2008 that the Journal now includes 29 stories from Ray, organized below by area and subject manner. This is by far the largest section, even larger than the von Pressentin family section. Is there a Jordan story you would like us to add? We plan at least a dozen more in the future and we have offered our annotated transcriptions to anyone who wants to publish a second printing to supplement the limited printing of Ray's book. Surviving copies are quite rare and can sometimes be found at used-book stores that specialize in Northwest history, including Easton's Books in Mount Vernon and Michael's Books in Bellingham. We want to flesh out this profile of Ray. Do you have any genealogical information about him, his two wives and his family, or do you have his obituary? Please share copies if you do; we do not need your originals.

Sedro-Woolley

The Opera House in Sedro-Woolley, from the late 1890s to the early 1970s. A Ray Jordan story.
Darius Kinsey, ace of the picture men, who lived in Sedro-Woolley from 1896-1806. A Ray Jordan story.
How the Territorial Daughters of Washington began in Sedro-Woolley in 1936. A Ray Jordan story.
The famous Dollar Way, west of Sedro-Woolley, the first paved highway in Skagit County. In a six-part series about the Interurban. A Ray Jordan story.

Area surrounding Sedro-Woolley in all four directions

Any time, any amount, please help build our travel and research fund for what promises to be a very busy 2011, traveling to mine resources from California to Washington and maybe beyond. Depth of research determined by the level of aid from readers. Because of our recent illness, our research fund is completely bare. See many examples of how you can aid our project and help us continue for another ten years. And subscriptions to our optional Subscribers Online Magazine (launched 2000) by donation too. Thank you.

The Mortimer Cook Ranch, four miles west of Sedro-Woolley, close to where the Cook Road exit of I-5 is today. A Ray Jordan story.
John Cully, whose family came west from Indiana to Sedro-Woolley by covered wagon in 1900. In A Ray Jordan story.
Bottomless Lake, the almost mystical spot on Duke's Hill, which was once his home and the spot where old-timers learned to swim. In a three-part series about the lake and the Duke. A Ray Jordan story.
John Warner, namesake of Warner's Prairie, north of Sedro-Woolley. A Ray Jordan story.
The Van Fleets float down the Skagit River for Christmas 1880, the year they homesteaded in the Skiyou district. A Ray Jordan story.
The Legend of Big Rock, and the nearby pioneer who owned Calamity Jane's rifle. A Ray Jordan story.

Upriver Skagit

Interviews and profiles with Otto von Pressentin, Birdsview pioneer, and the story of Otto's teaching days, when he saved the books and the bell at the Marblemount school, during the raging flood of 1897. Ray Jordan stories.
Old Sauk City and new (north-shore) Sauk memories of the Wainright and Gay families by Diane Marie Wainright McMurdie, and a transcription of a Ray Jordan story about old Sauk City.
The Sauk Prairie Weeden Massacre of March 30, 1911. A Ray Jordan story.

Skagit countywide

Dr. Hiram E. Cleveland, a Burlington legend. A Ray Jordan story.
Equality Colony on Bow Hill. A Ray Jordan story.
The disappeared town of Belfast, where Ray Jordan lived as a child. A Ray Jordan story.
The birth and death of Bow. A Ray Jordan story.
Blanket Bill Jarman, in a three-part series about the first settler of Whatcom and Skagit counties. A Ray Jordan story.
The town of Edison, in a five-part series. A Ray Jordan story.
Euphroneous E. "Frone" Watkinson, pioneer of Edison and Allen, whose dry goods store is now Dana and Toni Rust's Edison Eye Gallery. A Ray Jordan story.

Northwest

Profiles of Lyman Cutler, who killed the Pig that ignited the Pig War of San Juan Island, and the gun he used..In a five-part series. Ray Jordan stories.
The Big Snow of 1916, the most-sustained blizzard since 1880. A Ray Jordan story.
Alonzo Low, who opened the first trading post on Swinomish county and future Skagit county. The son of the family that joined the first settlers at Alki Point (West Seattle) in 1851. A Ray Jordan story.

Miscellaneous

The Stanley Steamer, and Pat Farrell's unique Sedro-Woolley collection of them. A Ray Jordan story.

Railroad

The Fairhaven & Southern Railroad delivers a Christmas present to Sedro-Woolley in 1889. A Ray Jordan story.
The Two-Spot: A history of Sedro-Woolley's iron horse, with annotated endnotes about trains and Chinook Jargon and the Journal history of Puget Sound & Baker River Railroad A Ray Jordan story.

Story posted on July 27, 2008 . . . Please report any broken links so we can update them

Getting lost trying to navigate or find stories on our site? Read how to sort through our 700-plus stories.
Return to the new-domain home page	Links for portals to subjects and towns	Newest photo features	Search entire site
Our new weekly column, Puget Sound Mail (but don't call it a blog) debuted on Aug. 9, 2009. Check it out.

See this Journal Timeline website of local, state, national, international events for years of the pioneer period.

Did you enjoy this story? Remember, as with all our features, this story is a draft and will evolve as we discover more information and photos. This process continues until we eventually compile a book about Northwest history. Can you help?

Remember; we welcome correction & criticism.

Please report any broken links or files that do not open and we will send you the correct link. With more than 700 features, we depend on your report. Thank you.

Read about how you can order CDs that include our photo features from the first five years of our Subscribers Edition. Perfect for gifts.

You can click the donation button to contribute to the rising costs of this site. See many examples of how you can aid our project and help us continue for another ten years. You can also subscribe to our optional Subscribers-Paid Journal magazine online, which celebrated its tenth anniversary in September 2010, with exclusive stories, in-depth research and photos that are shared with our subscribers first. You can go here to read the preview edition to see examples of our in-depth research or read how and why to subscribe.

You can read the history websites about our prime sponsors
Would you like information about how to join them in advertising?

Our newest 2011 sponsor: Plumeria Bay, based in Birdsview, your source for the finest down comforters, pillows, featherbeds & duvet covers and bed linens. Order directly from their website and learn more.

Our newest sponsor: Gallery Cygnus, 109 Commercial St., half-block uphill from Main Street, LaConner. Open Fridays, Saturdays and Sundays from 11 am to 5 p.m., featuring new monthly shows with many artists, many local. Across the street from Maple Hall, 1886 Bank Building and Marcus Anderson's 1969 historic cabin. Their new website.

Oliver-Hammer Clothes Shop at 817 Metcalf Street in downtown Sedro-Woolley, 89 years.

Peace and quiet at the Alpine RV Park, just north of Marblemount on Hwy 20, day, week or month, perfect for hunting or fishing
Park your RV or pitch a tent by the Skagit River, just a short drive from Winthrop or Sedro-Woolley

Joy's Sedro-Woolley Bakery-Cafe at 823 Metcalf Street in downtown Sedro-Woolley.

Check out Sedro-Woolley First section for links to all stories and reasons to shop here first
or make this your destination on your visit or vacation.

Are you looking to buy or sell a historic property, business or residence?
We may be able to assist. Email us for details.

Did you find what you were seeking? We have helped many people find individual names or places, so email if you have any difficulty.

Tip: Put quotation marks around a specific name or item of two words or more, and then experiment with different combinations of the words without quote marks. We are currently researching some of the names most recently searched for — check the list here. Maybe you have searched for one of them?

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Email us at: skagitriverjournal@gmail.com

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