William McLane (Washington state)

William McLane (1819–1906) was an Olympia, Washington pioneer and member of the Washington Territorial Legislature. He was from Butler County, Pennsylvania.[1] He and Martha McLeod McLane pioneered a 307-or-320-acre (124 or 129 ha) homestead on Mud Bay. Place names such as McLane Creek are named for him, as is McLane Elementary School in the Olympia School District, on a hill above and east of Mud Bay, and the McLane Grange in Delphi Valley, to whom he donated land.[2][3]

McLane originally left Pennsylvania in 1852 and made his way to Washington Territory by ox-drawn wagon. He returned east to marry in 1854 then returned to Washington by sea via the Isthmus of Panama. Once there, he homesteaded at Bush Prairie (founded by pioneer George Washington Bush, now in Tumwater), and later moved to the Mud Bay homestead.[4]^:617

McLane died in Thurston County in 1906 after living in his home for over 50 years.[1][3]

Legislative terms

Source: Washington State Legislature[5]

• Ninth session (1861) House — Thurston County
• Eleventh session (1863) House — Thurston County
• Thirteenth session (1865) House — Mason and Chehalis County
• First biennial session (1867) Council — Thurston and Lewis County
• Second biennial session (1869) Council — Thurston and Lewis County
• Fourth biennial session (1873) Council — Thurston and Lewis County

References

1. Austin, Grace (2014), Guide to "William McLane: Early Thurston County Pioneer", Manuscripts, Archives, and Special Collections, Washington State University Libraries, Cage 5067
2. McLane Grange history, Olympia, Washington: McLane Grange, retrieved 2015-08-29
3. McLane School (PDF) (Historical marker text), Thurston County, Washington, retrieved 2015-08-29
4. Hunt & Kaylor 1917.
5. Levesque, Ellen (October 1989), Territorial Assembly 1854-1887 (PDF), Washington State Library, Washington State Legislature

Books

• Hunt, H.; Kaylor, F.C. (1917). Washington, West of the Cascades: Historical and Descriptive; the Explorers, the Indians, the Pioneers, the Modern. Washington, West of the Cascades. Vol. 3. S. J. Clarke publishing Company.

Further reading

• William McLane Collection, 1819-1906 indexed at Orbis Cascade Alliance, held at The Evergreen State College Library