Aberdeen's Bold Rail Gamble
Citizens rally to secure the Northern Pacific connection by donating land, lumber, and labor to bypass rail delays.
The story, cleaned up
A cleaned-up reading of the newspaper page: spelling and layout repaired, one story lifted off a crowded page. It follows the original closely but it is not a transcription. The original page is below; read it if a detail matters.
How is this for enterprise! The people of Aberdeen have made up their minds to secure the Northern Pacific without much more delay. The rails have been donated by Messrs. Weatherwax and Hook, being those taken from the wrecked Abercorn. The Weatherwax mill gives one-half the ties, and the other mills of the town furnish the other half. Samuel Benn has set apart one hundred lots, to be given to as many men in exchange for a month's work. Others also give time or money in lesser amounts. Such public spirit as this is commendable and will be overcome.
“Samuel Benn has set apart one hundred lots, to be given to as many men in exchange for a month's work.”
This grassroots mobilization highlights the fierce early competition among Grays Harbor towns to secure rail infrastructure. Today, while the trains still rumble through Aberdeen, the focus has shifted from securing the tracks to revitalizing the post-industrial waterfront corridors that these mills once defined.
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