Jonesville
Roslyn Fuel Company opened their No. 1 Mine about a half-mile northwest of Ronald in 1907. To accommodate their miners, they built a company town near the mine and the branch line of the Northern Pacific that ran between Cle Elum, Roslyn, Ronald and Lakedale (at the southern end of Lake Cle Elum). The town was originally named Beekman, but came to be known as Jonesville after the mine's manager - Charley Jones. At its peak, Jonesville population reached 300 before the town was dismantled and many homes moved to Roslyn and Ronald in the late 1920s.
Miners, mostly of Scottish descent, moved to Jonesville after the mine opened,
One of those miners was Bob Bell, who was the fire boss in the No. 2 Mine opened in 1911. A fire boss was responsible for the safety of the miners underground and checked the shafts before each shift for gas or cave-ins. The job included free rent, free coal for heating fuel and free electricity and water.
And worked here in the Jonesville Mines.
An early view of the Jonesville Mines about a half-mile northwest of Ronald off SR903. According to Bell, Jonesville lost up to 25 percent of their tonnage during the coal washing process. This along with water and silt build-up eroded their profit margin and led to closure of the mines.
Photo courtesy of CWU's Fred Krueger Digital Collection
Photo courtesy of CWU's Fred Krueger Digital Collection
Jonesville had two rows of company houses,
Jonesville had a tavern, candy store, 61 homes and a couple of boarding houses for single men, according to Bell. An agent from the Northwest Improvement Company store in Ronald came daily to take grocery orders from Jonesville families. Dr. Heston also had an office in town before he was appointed Chief Surgeon for the community hospital in Cle Elum.
That were moved to Ronald and Roslyn in the late 1920s.
This pyramidal hip roofed home began life in Jonesville 100 years ago and was moved to Ronald in 1927. An Ellensburg company charged $150 to move houses the mile or so from Jonesville to Ronald on trucks, according to Bob Bell. Somewhere during the move, the toilet from the above house was stolen and the owners used an outhouse for several months until it was replaced. The original house did not have insulation or outlets, but came with felt paper on the walls covered by wall paper. The covered porch, window upgrades and aluminum siding was added later as well as an addition on the back.
Julia Wallgren and her son in 1944 outside their Ronald home that was moved from Jonesville in 1927. Photo courtesy of Julia Wallgren.
Much of Jonesville became part of Ronald,
The faded exterior and unpainted stairs were typical in a coal mining town as the mining industry continued its decline. Note the single pane window to the left that leaked cold air and fluttered the curtains inside when the wind blew. Photos courtesy of Julia Wallgren
But Roslyn had close ties to Jonesville as well.
Mules like the ones shown above pulled cars through the mines in the early days and were stabled underground. These mules, muleskinners and coal cars were part of an April 1, 1909 parade in Roslyn celebrating the passage of the eight-hour work day in the mines. Note the old Roslyn High School in the background on the corner of Second Street and Idaho Ave. A handful of Jonesville students walked the railroad tracks from Jonesville to Roslyn to attend high school, a round trip of about six miles.
The same view in Roslyn today.
The Roslyn High School used to sit in the above parking lot that now serves the Harold Weis Memorial Building (to the far left). Coincidentally, the high school and Jonesville had about the same life span. Jonesvilles' No. 1 mine opened in 1907 and No. 2 in 1911, but by 1928 most of Jonesvilled was gone. Roslyn's brand new high school was finished in 1910, but the district's heavy indebtedness forced them to close the school in 1931 and bus students to Cle Elum High School.
Sources
Saunders, Edwin J. The Coal Fields of Kittitas County (Olympia, WA: Washington Geological Survey, Bulletin No. 9, 1914). (Available at the Roslyn Museum).
Spawn of Coal Dust: History of Roslyn 1886-1955 (Roslyn, WA: 1955).
Bell, Robert, Sr. 1975. "Fifty-two years in the Roslyn Coal Mines." Washington State Oral/Aural History Program, State Archives. Accession NO. Kit 75. (Copy available at the Roslyn Museum).
Spawn of Coal Dust: History of Roslyn 1886-1955 (Roslyn, WA: 1955).
Bell, Robert, Sr. 1975. "Fifty-two years in the Roslyn Coal Mines." Washington State Oral/Aural History Program, State Archives. Accession NO. Kit 75. (Copy available at the Roslyn Museum).