Chronological and in subject order divided into sections: General Introduction, Scotland, Pennsylvania, Western Migration-Oregon Trail, Land Claim, Political Life, Legal Matters, Family Genealogy, McLane Cemetery, Obituaries and Burials, McLane Schools and Reunions, McLane Grange, and Miscellaneous.
Born in Butler County, Pennsylvania in 1819, William McLane went west via the Oregon Trail in 1852 arriving in the vicinity of Olympia, Washington where through contacts with W.O. Thompson he acquired a homestead through a Donation Land Claim at the base of Eld Inlet west of Olympia.
After working his claim for the required two years in order to obtain ownership, he returned to Pennsylvania where he married Martha C. McLeod, bringing her back with him to his property by sailing ship (passing overland by the Isthmus of Panama) after a short stay in San Francisco.
During his remaining lifetime, McLane farmed, raised stock, was involved in the lumber trade, built roads, contributed money and labor to a multitude of projects (schools, churches, a cemetery, amongst others), served as an assemblyman in the Territorial Legislature (served twice as Territorial Council President),
and was a respected liaison to the Native American population of the area.
McLane died in 1906 in his 87th year. The district he homesteaded is named after him as a tribute to his enterprise, political and philanthropic contributions and caring spirit.
Collection is open to the public. Use is available only in the Reading Room of the Malcolm Stilson Archives and Special Collections of The Evergreen State College.
The collection provides researchers with the compiler's research into the life and times of her great grandfather William McLane, a pioneer of Thurston County, Washington near the city of Olympia, Washington. The documentation accumulated includes materials on the origins of the McLane family (from Scotland); their stay in Butler County, Pennsylvania where the subject of this collection was born and lived the first 30 years of his life; his subsequent journey to the Pacific Northwest and time spent creating a homestead through the Donation Claim Act for Washington Territory; McLane's political activity and legal matters.
Also included is information on the family's genealogy, and information on the many philanthropic and other projects undertaken by the subject as well as the resultant heritage derived from the activities of this pioneer.
See bibliographies at the beginning of each section in the collection for related materials.
In all cases, publication or display of our materials must carry the credit line: "From The Evergreen State College Archives". Citations of specific materials should include the accession number, provenance and series title, file folder heading (if any) followed by the specific item's identification (title or description).
Citations of this collection should also specifically follow preferred citation characteristics including author/compiler, title and other normal bibliographical citation information (date of publication (2014), place of publication (Kingsville, Ontario, Canada) and publisher (the author/compiler).
Grace Ruby (Swan) Austin of Kingsville, Ontario, Canada.
Originals of the documents found in this collection can be located using the bibliographical information at the beginning of each section.
The donor has provided copies to other institutions. Contact the donor for locations.
Copying other than page 2 (Brief Life Summary) and pages 75-76 (Highlights of His Political Life) is prohibited unless permission to copy is obtained from The Evergreen State College Archives based on the repositories policy and procedure and the donor agreement. The donor maintains the copyright. Full bibliographies for each section of the collection are provided from which users may obtain the information about content available in this collection.