Yakima Office Space Rentals

History records note the first white men to view the Yakima Valley were members of the Lewis and Clark Expedition of 1805. During that period, a century and a half ago, this vast area, lying at the foot of towering Mt. Rainier and it's neighbors in the Cascade Range, served as hunting, fishing and agricultural land for the Yakama Indian Tribe.

The early day stories of the Lewis and Clark Expedition enticed trappers, traders and mineral seekers to the area throughout the first half of the 19th century. As early as 1847, a Catholic mission was established in the Ahtanum area a few miles southwest of the present site of the city of Yakima.

A dozen years later, in the late 1850's and early 1860's, a permanent party of settlers began to arrive. Some came from the Columbia River while others moved from Lewis and Clark headquarters near Walla Walla. Military units arrived in the area in 1856 to quell Indian hostilities, and an army garrison was established at Fort Simcoe, 38 miles southwest of Yakima. This historic fort, abandoned and neglected many years ago, has been restored to allow the public to see it in it's original state.

During this settling down period, many Indian skirmishes were recorded, but in a comparatively short time, permanent and honored treaties were signed with the Yakama Nation, and in 1865 Yakima County was officially established. A census in 1870 accounted for 432 pioneers in the county. These hardy transplanted easterners and midwesterners were people of vision and quickly realized the tremendous potential of the rich volcanic soil covering the Yakima Valley floor. Although rainfall was not great, the Cascade watershed, with it's heavy snows, provided an abundance of moisture.

By 1880, nearly 3,000 people were reported in the county. With agriculture becoming firmly established, the railroads naturally followed. In 1884, Northern Pacific extended it's iron horse service to the valley. Some of the townspeople of the growing community of Yakima City refused to make certain concessions asked by the railroad. Northern Pacific then routed it's track 4 miles north of the original Yakima City and named it's terminal point, North Yakima. The railroad then offered to move any of the Yakima City buildings to it's newly established community, and one of the strangest and most colorful periods in Yakima's history was the actual movement of some 50 to 60 buildings from "Old Yakima" to "North Yakima" to surround the railroad terminal. The courthouse, banks, general store, blacksmith shops, saloons and some homes were moved on log rollers over the 4 mile trail. Some reported that business never ceased as the buildings were strung out along the route.

On January 27th, 1886, North Yakima was incorporated and was named the county seat. It was not until 1918 that the prefix "north" was dropped from the name. At that time, the original Yakima City, four miles to the south, and commonly referred to then as "Old Town" by some and "Union Gap" by others, officially adopted the latter as it's name. Old timers in the area still refer to Union Gap as "Old Town."

On September 27, 1889 a franchise was given to A. G. McIntyre of Helena, Montana, to lay water mains, place fire plugs and hydrants, and sell water to the city and its inhabitants. Charges for water were based on the size of the house served. A four room home paid $1.00 per month, over four rooms $1.20, while use of one bathtub was an additional 33 cents.

For the first time on September 4, 1890, electric lights were turned on. On June 11, 1891 the electric light and water works companies consolidated under the name of Yakima Water, Light and Power Company. In 1910 the properties of the Yakima Water and Light system were sold to Mr. A. Welch of Portland who operated the Northwestern Corporation. Subsequently the corporation was taken over by a predecessor of the Pacific Power & Light Company and in 1913 the water and power system were segregated.

The very earliest utility, however, was the telephone system which was named The Sunset Telephone Company. Operation started on December 15, 1889 organized by Mr. John Lawrence who came to Yakima for that purpose. The company would give services to forty different subscribers between the hours 8:00 a.m. and 9:00 p.m. Later the Sunset Telephone Company was taken over by the Pacific States Telephone and Telegraph Company.

The organization for the first street car system was started in 1907 and was first known as the Yakima Intervalley Traction Company. In 1908 it was reorganized and named the Yakima Valley Transportation Company. In 1909 it was sold to the North Coast Railroad Company because of the effect of the depression in 1907. At the turn of the century, nearly 15,000 residents were counted in the area, and the growth continued rapidly as man-made irrigation systems transformed the vast acreage into prosperous farms. Those seeking crop diversification visualized fruit trees on part of the field crop and pasture lands. The success of this venture has established Yakima as one of the most important fruit producing and diversified farm areas in the world.