A New Town on the Frontier
Settlers between Wenatchee and Chelan petition for a post office to secure the future of a new settlement.
A very interesting petition has just been filed with the postmaster general for the establishment of a post office at a place to be called Ives, about halfway on the postal route between Wenatchee and Chelan, in the state of Washington, where it is said about 50 people have already begun to make their homes. This petition contains the names of a great many business men of Seattle, who are said to be directly and indirectly interested in the new town of Ives. These people are said to be desirous of securing the future trade from that section, and to that end have already contributed for the construction of a road that will give the citizens of Ives access to the railway. Senator Squire is interesting himself in these affairs of the settlers, and has been promised by the postmaster general that the matter will be taken in hand, and that as soon as the answer shall be received to the official letter of inquiry which has already been sent out, provided that it shall be favorable, the post office shall be established.
“These people are said to be desirous of securing the future trade from that section.”
The town of Ives, like many speculative settlements of the 1890s, was a fleeting ambition that never quite reached the permanence of its neighbors. Today, the stretch between Wenatchee and Chelan remains a vital corridor, though the 'frontier' town-building of the 19th century has been replaced by modern agricultural and tourism development.
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