The Birth of a County
Proponents of the new Benton County prepare to prove population requirements to Judge Rigg in a final legal hurdle before state recognition.
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.
Judge H. B. B. Rigg of the superior court of this district is set to hear testimony in North Yakima regarding the official formation of Benton County. Following the presentation of petitions to Governor Mead by F. H. Gloyd, the process has moved to the courtroom to verify that the proposed county meets the mandatory population threshold of 2,000 residents while ensuring Yakima and Klickitat counties retain at least 4,000 people each. A delegation including F. H. Gloyd, Dr. D. M. Angus, A. G. McNeill, P. E. Harris, E. B. Williamson, E. L. Boardman, County Attorney-elect Anderson, and M. W. Smith are traveling to North Yakima to provide necessary evidence. If the testimony satisfies the judge, he will issue a decree allowing Governor Mead to issue a proclamation officially creating Benton County.
“This is the last and final proceeding for county division and if no complications arise, and none are anticipated, the superior court will place the seal of approval on the work of legislature.”
The creation of Benton County in 1905 was a hard-fought administrative battle centered on local control and resource management. Today, those same boundaries define the region's identity, reflecting a time when residents were actively carving new civic institutions out of the territory.
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