Jeremiah Borst

Jeremiah Borst (1830–1890)

Jeremiah Borst (1830–1890)[1] was the first permanent white settler in the upper Snoqualmie Valley region.[2]

Born in 1830 and raised in Tioga County, New York, Borst traveled to California in 1850 during the California Gold Rush. He used the proceeds to rent a farm near Sacramento. He moved to Seattle around 1858.[3]

In the spring of 1858, Borst was on his way to Eastern Washington over the Cedar River trail, decided that the Valley was too good to pass up. He moved into an abandoned building at Fort Alden. He raised hogs and apples and carried the goods for sale back to Seattle. He owned land in what is now Snoqualmie and North Bend.[4]

In 1865, Borst accompanied Seattle pioneer Arthur Denny, William Perkins and a Snoqualmie native guide visited Snoqualmie Pass to make a plan to widen the trail to a wagon road. He oversaw construction of the first road through the pass in 1868.[5]

Borst died of typhoid fever on August 10, 1890 at Green River Hot Springs, Washington. Friend and fellow Snoqualmie Valley pioneer Will Taylor described him in his obituary: "Jerry Borst was a kindly, gentle, honest man, always helping those who needed help. I do not know what the early settlers would have done without him. They all looked to Jerry for everything."[3]

See also

References

  1. ↑ "Borst, Jeremiah (1830-1890)".
  2. ↑ "A brief history of Snoqualmie Falls". Seattle Post Intelligencer. February 6, 2003.
  3. 1 2 "Borst, Jeremiah (1830-1890)".
  4. ↑ "A Short History of the Upper Snoqualmie Valley".
  5. ↑ "History of the Snoqualmie Pass area".
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