Told by the Pioneers, Volume II

Works Progress Administration oral histories of Washington Territory families

Washington Pioneer Project Interviews (1936-1938)

Told by the Pioneers, Volume II preserves first-hand memories of life in Washington Territory and the state’s early years. Compiled for the Washington Pioneer Project, a Works Progress Administration initiative, the volume features contributions from Secretary of State Ernest N. Hutchinson, historian William P. Bonney, and a team of editors and interviewers who traveled across the state to record settlers’ voices.

  • Sponsored Federal Project No. 5841 (W.P.A.), February 1936 – January 1938.
  • Editorial team led by F. I. Trotter, F. H. Loutzenhiser, and J. R. Loutzenhiser.
  • Advisory committee included Governor Clarence D. Martin and William P. Bonney.
  • Covers pioneer experiences from every Washington county, including Pierce County’s Bonney family.
Cover of Told by the Pioneers, Volume II

Cover of Told by the Pioneers, Volume II, published under Works Progress Administration Sponsored Federal Project No. 5841.

About the Washington Pioneer Project

The Washington Pioneer Project operated as part of the Works Progress Administration’s cultural initiatives during the Great Depression. Interviewers crisscrossed the state to document the oral histories of settlers, tribal members, and descendants who could still recall the territorial period. Their work ensured that memories of the Naches Trail, the Puget Sound Indian War, and everyday frontier life were preserved before the storytellers passed on.

Historian William P. Bonney helped guide the project’s research priorities and contributed his own family narrative. The resulting anthology offers an expansive view of Washington’s settlement, from Hudson’s Bay Company trails to the development of towns such as Bonney Lake.

Illustration from Told by the Pioneers, Volume II showing Fort Walla Walla and Old Mission House

Interior illustration from Told by the Pioneers, Volume II showing Fort Walla Walla and Old Mission House.

Preface and Publication Details

Volume II extends the work begun in Volume I by reaching farther back into the era of pioneer camps, military roads, and county organization. Editors noted that they occasionally adjusted sentences for clarity while preserving the storytellers’ original expressions. The finished book offers a tour of Washington’s counties, beginning with Pierce County’s William P. Bonney and continuing through a roster of voices that spans the state.

Publication Transcript

Tales of Frontier Life as told by those who remember the days of Washington Territory and the early years of statehood.

Washington Pioneer Project

Advisory Committee

  • Governor Clarence D. Martin, Honorary Chairman
  • Dr. Ernest N. Hutchinson
  • Charles F. Ernst
  • W. P. Bonney
  • Mrs. Bruce Blake
  • George Blankenship
  • Mrs. Alta Grim
  • Erma M. Cull, Secretary

Editors

  • F. I. Trotter (February 1936 – August 1936)
  • F. H. Loutzenhiser (August 1936 – January 1938)
  • J. R. Loutzenhiser (August 1936 – January 1938)

Interviewers

  • Adele Parker
  • Augusta Eastland
  • Jessie Crouch
  • Gilbert Pilcher
  • Dan Chabraya
  • Hazel Dwinell
  • S. L. Peterson
  • R. W. Campbell
  • Rev. J. D. Bird
  • Mrs. Alice Newland
  • Nora Guilland

Printed under W.P.A. Sponsored Federal Project No. 5841, directed by Secretary of State Ernest N. Hutchinson.

Frontispiece: W. P. Bonney, pioneer of Pierce County. Now Secretary of the Washington State Historical Society and Curator of the Ferry Museum, he is seated at the desk used by Governor E. P. Ferry, first governor of the State of Washington, and in the chair made for and used by Governor Isaac Stevens, first governor of Washington Territory.

Foreword

The contents of this book come to the reader through the development, by the editor and publisher, of stories related mainly by pioneers of the second generation. Being Volume II, it reaches farther back into the realm of pioneer lore than Volume I. While it has been the editor's aim to continue the story intact as given by the relator, it has sometimes seemed expedient to modify sentences and paragraphs to render each story complete in itself.

The utmost care has been taken, however, to preserve each story in the original style and mode of expression, thus giving a clear insight into the pioneer history of this great West — the Old Oregon Country.

Signed: W. P. Bonney

Table of Contents

  • Frontispiece — W. P. Bonney, Pierce County
  • Mrs. Emma Warnecke, Benton County
  • Joseph Smith Fea, Pend Oreille County
  • Robert A. Farr, Ferry County
  • Jim Hunter, Clallam County
  • Alexander Brender, Chelan County
  • Sam J. Sargent, Asotin County
  • Otto Strom, Grays Harbor County
  • Mrs. Horatio M. Wilcox (Eva Brown), Douglas County
  • Sue Clayton Byrne, Kitsap County
  • Mrs. Geo. Biereis (Nettie Koontz), Lewis County
  • J. B. LaDu, Wahkiakum County
  • A Walla Walla Pioneer, Walla Walla County
  • Interview with Sarah Catherine Koontz, Franklin County
  • Kelsey Congor, Cowlitz County
  • Family History of Maude Burr Basse, Thurston County
  • Chas. H. Ross, Pierce County
  • Autobiography of John Roger James, Thurston County
  • Autobiography of P. H. Roundtree, Lewis County
  • The Murder of Colonel Ebey, Island County
  • Pioneer Privations & Pleasures, Island County
  • Old Fort Townsend, Jefferson County
  • Loren Bingham Hastings, Jefferson County
  • Capt. James Henry Swift and Family, Island County
  • Hugh Eldridge, Whatcom County
  • History of the Touchet Valley, Columbia County

Table of Contents (continued)

  • A Pioneer Letter, Island County
  • A Pioneer Pedestrian, Pacific County
  • Edson Savage, Franklin County
  • May Squires, Whitman County
  • C. O. Rhodes, Pacific County
  • Mrs. W. C. Gray, Spokane County
  • Olive Blanche (Benson) Munks, Skagit County
  • Interview with Louisa Sinclair, Snohomish County
  • Mrs. W. D. Bruton, Klickitat County
  • W. R. Griffin Reminiscences, San Juan County
  • Ed C. King, San Juan County
  • Mrs. P. H. Schnebley (Eliza Frances Cook), Kittitas County
  • Mrs. J. B. Davidson (Jeane C. Schnebley), Kittitas County
  • Wallace Wiley, Yakima County
  • Interview with Ed Snipes, Yakima County
  • The Hutchinson Brothers, Stockmen, Adams County
  • Hiram (Okanogan) Smith, Okanogan County
  • Winfield Madison Dooley, Okanogan County
  • Oscar Osborne, Grant County
  • William Willford, Lincoln County
  • Mrs. John Robertson, Lincoln County
  • Daniel Williams, Garfield County
  • Barney Owsley, Garfield County
  • Early Days in Mason County, by Frank Mossman
  • Index

Read More: W. P. Bonney | History of Bonney Lake, Washington | Family History Timeline | All Articles

Last updated: November 10, 2025

Author: Works Progress Administration transcript prepared for the Bonney family archive