Eastern Washington State Historical Society (Northwest
Museum of Arts & Culture), Joel E. Ferris Research Library and Archives
2316 W. First Avenue
Spokane, WA 99201
Phone: (509) 363-5342
Email: archives@northwestmuseum.org
MsSC 192
Gray, William P., Captain,
1845-1929
Captain William P. Gray Letter
1884
4 p.
Steamboat operator and settler in early Kennewick and Pasco.
The collection consists of one letter from Gray to Paul Schulze (Western Land Agent for the
Northern Pacific Railroad) regarding land in Kennewick.
English
Biographical Note
William P. Gray was born in Oregon City, OR in 1845. He began steamboating on the upper
Columbia River with his father on the steamer
Cascadilla in 1862. He settled
in Ainsworth around 1883 and operated the Northern Pacific Railroad Snake River transfer
boat Frederick Billings. Although he continued to operate boats on the river,
Gray purchased property in Kennewick in 1884 and built a hotel. By 1888 Pasco held greater
promise of becoming a metropolis and Gray, having purchased substantial acreage in the
vicinity of Pasco, became a partner in the Pasco Land Company.
The letter, dated 19 November 1884, addressed to Paul Schulze (Western Land Agent for the
Northern Pacific Railroad), requests the reservation of town lots in the newly platted
townsite of Kennewick on which Gray had desired to build a hotel and several residences.
Collection is not restricted.
Publication Rights
Copyright has not been assigned to the Eastern Washington State Historical Society. All
requests for permission to publish or quote from manuscripts must be submitted in writing to
the Museum Archivist. Permission for publication is given on behalf of the Eastern
Washington State Historical Society as the owner of the physical items and is not intended
to include or imply permission of the copyright holder, which must also be obtained by the
researcher
Captain William P. Gray Letter (MsSC 192), Eastern Washington State Historical
Society/Northwest Museum of Arts & Culture, Spokane, WA.
Donated by Edward W. Nolan.
Nolan, Edward W.
A Guide to the Manuscript Collections in the
Eastern Washington State Historical Society (Spokane, WA: Eastern Washington State
Historical Society, 1987).
This collection is indexed under the following headings in the Online Computer Library
Center (OCLC) WorldCat database. Researchers desiring materials about related topics,
persons, or places should search WorldCat using these headings.
Gray, William P., Captain,
1845-1929--Archives
Schulze,
Paul--Correspondence
Northern Pacific Railroad
Company--Correspondence
Kennewick (Wash.)--Land
records
Letters
Small manuscript collections
Washington
(State)