Local News

<< Previous   of   Next >> Cathcart Hall built in 1876 by Isaac Cathcart .  (click to enlarge) (click to enlarge) Isaac Cathcart (click to enlarge) Cathcart Hall was built in 1876 by Isaac Cathcart, an early Irish settler in Snohomish County.   ADVERTISEMENT   CONTACT THE HERALD Robert Frank, City Editor frank@heraldnet.com   Published: Monday, March 17, 2008 Irish pioneer Isaac Cathcart found wealth in his new home By David Chircop Herald Writer On this St. Patrick's Day, you may want to raise a glass to one of Snohomish's founding fathers. Isaac Cathcart, Cathcart left County Fermanagh, Ireland, for New York as a teenager in 1864 with $11, a rugged constitution and a determination to succeed. After working in lumber towns in Ontario, Canada, and Michigan for 3 1/2 years, he ventured to the sparsely populated Pacific Northwest. James Hill's Great Northern Railway system wouldn't reach the Pacific Coast for another two decades. Cathcart's journey to Washington included boat travel along the Missouri and Columbia rivers and a storied 640-mile walk across the Cascades from Fort Benton, Mont., to Wallula Junction, Wash. By the time he was in his early 40s, the colorful pioneer had amassed great fortune in lumber and real estate in Snohomish County. He owned one of the largest sawmills in the county, as well as the Cathcart Opera House and the Exchange Hotel in Snohomish. His holdings also included 6,000 acres of prime timber and farmland. "What he has came gradually through those years as the result of correct business calculations and not by chance or the favorable turn of Fortune's wheel," wrote the authors of "History of the Pacific Northwest," published in 1889 by the North Pacific Company of Portland, Ore. A staunch Republican, Cathcart was elected to two terms as county treasurer and also served as a Snohomish city councilman. In 1876, he married Julia Johns of Seattle. The couple had two sons and two daughters, according to "History of Washington," edited by Julian Hawthorne in 1893. Years later, he was accused of firing a shotgun at one of his sons in order to "get even" after an argument over the signing of some legal papers. The shots were fired from about 100 yards, and no one was injured. His son refused to press charges. Some of his wealth was wiped out during an economic depression in the late 1890s. Still, he managed to hold on to much of his farmland and timber holdings. He died in 1909 of blood poisoning. Reporter David Chircop: 425-339-3429 or dchircop@heraldnet.com.

1. Good grief! 2. Swine flu lingers, making traditional flu season unpredictable 3. Two vie to serve as Snohomish County prosecutor 4. Last hurrah for Huskies’ Locker? 5. Koster for Congress? He’s still undecided 6. Here’s how home foreclosure sales really work 7. A store credit card can save you cash, but is it worth it? 8. New site sought for Snohomish pool project 9. Families get an early gift: free Christmas trees 10. Prep Roundup: Lake Stevens wins two wrestling meets 2 - Top 10 Stories Most Talked about 3 - Top 10 Stories Most Emailed

• Wildcats fall to familar foe in semis • ‘Nutcracker' times three • Road warrior • Mavericks reloading • Holiday Lightings & Santa Sightings • Cities prepare for winter blast repeat • Wolfpack duo takes last shot at state tourney • This Weekend in Your Town • Tips for the stormy season • Boeing will build, flight test and deliver 787s in South Carolina to spe ... • Snohomish County EDC promoting job growth in key industry clusters • $4 million grant to advance brain tumor research has Everett links • Providence medical center construction tops off its 12-story steel frame ... • Tulalip affordable housing project to be financed by KeyBank, Raymond Ja ... • Arlington's Lak of Ink has a growing following for Luke Kooyman's creati ... • Bank of the Northwest formed • Cascade Bank earns $1.6 million