Township no. 40 north, range no. 30 east, Willamette meridian<br>Okanogan County, (Dec. 11, 1906 and June 14, 1907)

Township no. 40 north, range no. 30 east, Willamette meridian<br>Okanogan County, (Dec. 11, 1906 and June 14, 1907)

Okanogan County--Maps<br>Colville Indian Reservation--Maps<br>Colville Forest Reserve<br>Colville National Forest

1 map: blueprint, 40 x 36 cm. "Copied from Land Office Plat by Waterville Blue-Print Co. Corrected to June 14, 1907. This Township (north half withdrawn from entry by "E" Dec. 11, 1906 for adjustment of Indian allotments." Some sections withdrawn for Colville Forest Reserve. The Colville Indian Reservation was set up in 1872 in northeast Washington. Just a few months later, following the discovery of gold in the area and upon settler's insistence, President Grant signed an Executive Order that reduced the boundaries of the reservation in half. The Indians received the "south half" while the settlers kept the coveted "north half". This map shows a section of the "north half" of the reservation lands. The federal government then opened the north half for mining entry in 1896. In reality, however, a number of settlers laid claim to the land, plowing fields and setting irrigation ditches--to the extent that in a very short time residents of the south half contended with water shortages. This intense migration continued and then surged in 1900, when the government officially opened the area to homesteads. With growth came serious concern over the welfare of the streams and forests of the region. While President Benjamin Harrison had signed in the Forest Service Act in 1891 to create forest reserves, only the Priest River Reserve (1897) in northeast Washington and northern Idaho had been established. By the presidential term of conservation-minded Theodore Roosevelt, pressure groups from around the country were against setting aside any more lands. A much needed agriculture appropriations bill even stipulated that no more lands could be reserved for this purpose. However, Roosevelt authorized the Colville Forest Reserve on March 1st, 1907--just before signing the ag bill.<br>The Colville Forest Reserve originally held over 700,000 acres, but wording found within the 1906 Forest Homestead Act gave settlers previously living on land claims within the proposed forest acreage the right to remain on their property and the reserve was reduced consequently. Perhaps this map was drawn to locate such land claims. For more information on the development of the US Forest Service in general and the Colville National Forest in Particular, consult Craig E. Holstine's "Forgotten Corner: A History of the Colville National Forest, Washington".

Waterville Blue Print Co

Manuscripts, Archives, and Special Collections, WSU Libraries

Waterville (Wash.) : Waterville Blue Print Co.

1906

Manuscripts, Archives, and Special Collections

Contact Manuscripts, Archives, and Special Collections, for copyright information 509 335-6691

image/jpeg

English

Maps<br>Blueprints

WSU 152

United States--Washington (State)--Okanogan County