The Passing of South Bend’s Founder
Captain F.W. Swett, a pioneer of Pacific County and the visionary behind South Bend, dies in Portland after a struggle with heart failure.
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.
Captain F.W. Swett, a prominent citizen of Pacific County, Washington, and the founder of South Bend, died at St. Vincent's Hospital in Portland on Friday of heart failure. He had arrived in the city on December 12 for medical treatment. By direction of his friends in South Bend, the coroner will prepare his remains for shipment to Auburn, Maine, where his sister and brother reside. William G. Steel has been directed to handle the arrangements. Captain Swett was recognized as one of the oldest settlers in the Pacific County region.
“Capt. Swett was one of the oldest settlers of Pacific county and was highly respected.”
The growth of small town hubs like South Bend was often tied to singular visionary figures in the 19th century. Today, South Bend remains a vital, albeit changed, community defined by its coastal geography, distinct from its early days as a pioneer project.
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