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Welcome to Garfield
County Washington Genealogy Research
Andy Hert sawmill 1886
My name is Bob
Jenkins and I created this
website to provide genealogy
information and links to genealogy
information to assist people in
researching
their Garfield County Washington
ancestors.
I would appreciate any
contribution that you would like to
make to this site:
biographies, obituaries, birth,
marriage, death info, grave info,
photographs....etc
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Use the box below to
search
for Garfield
County Data
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Brief
History:
The area delineated by the
future Washington state boundary began to
be colonized at the start of the
nineteenth
century, both by Americans and
British. However, the majority of British
exploration and interest in the land was
due to the fur trade, whereas
American settlers were principally seeking
land for agriculture and cattle raising.
The
Treaty of 1818 provided for the
creation of a British and American
condominium over the region. During this
period, the future Washington
Territory was divided into two
administrative zones: Clark County and
Lewis County
(made official in 1845). However,
the condominium arrangement was unwieldy,
leading to continuous disputes and
occasional conflict; it was
abolished by an 1846 treaty that
established a boundary between British and
American
possessions that survives as today's
Canada–United States border.
In 1854, Skamania County was split
from the original Clark County. Also in
1854, Walla Walla County was split
from the new Skamania County. In
1875, Columbia County was split from Walla
Walla County, and on November
29, 1881, a portion of Columbia
County was set off to form Garfield
County. The original Garfield County was
reduced in size in 1883 when its
southeastern area was partitioned off to
form Asotin County. It was named for the
late U.S. President James A.
Garfield, who had been assassinated a few
weeks prior.
The county seat and only city is
Pomeroy.
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