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The Klickitat County Agriculturist, Goldendale, WA., June 17, 1931, page 1

FOUNDER OF BICKLETON PASSES, AGED 81 YEARS

The founder of the town of Bickleton is dead - Charles N. Bickle. He passed away at his home in Seattle a few days ago, at the age of 81 years.
The editor of the Agri. was well acquainted with the late Mr. Bickle, who during his long sojourn in the town he founded conducted a very profitable general merchandise store.
During his mercantile career he had two partners, the first being Leroy Weaver, then Samuel P. Flower, the latter being in the firm from the year 1889 until 1890, Mr. Flower then moving to Mabton. In conjunction with the store Mr. Bickle conducted a hotel and a livery stable. Then there came a big fire in 1892, when the hotel, stable and store were destroyed by fire later, with a number of other buildings, but with commendable enterprise, the owner, and with all the others, rebuilt them and returned to business.
During the first 12 years of his residence in Bickleton, Mr. Bickle was postmaster. He was also the promoter of the first school and the principal contributor to its organization fund, as he donated land for its site, also land for the site of the Methodist church and parsonage, and otherwise assisted materially in upbuilding the town. For more than a year he carried the mails at his own expense to and from Goldendale.
It might be interesting to state that he came from California to Portland in 1876, then on to Goldendale, where he owned a grocery store. This, however was after he had made a trip to Alder Creek, as eastern Klickitat was then called, and found the Indians too numerous and hostile. Some 15 months later, however, the courageous pioneer decided to fight it out, with the red men, and accordingly returned to the sparsely settled Alder Creek region, and settled upon the quarter section now occupied by the townsite of Bickleton. The same year, 1879, he established a trading post upon his land, soon after securing a postoffice, and thus laid the foundation of Bickleton.
Mr. Bickle and Miss Fannie Bacon were married in 1869, the ceremony taking place in Iowa, the bride's home state. Mr. and Mrs. Bickle are parents of 16 children, 13 of whom are living: Charles, William, Mrs. Phebe Wommack, Mrs. Alice Ransier, Mrs. Eva Lackey, Mrs. Fannie Williams, Fred, Grace, Ida, David, Helen, Harry and Roy. The majority of the children are living in the Yakima valley. Mr. Bickle's first wife died in 1906, and he later married Mrs. Phebe Marks.
Desiring to live near the railroad Mr. Bickle purchased in 1889 a ranch on the Yakima river, about 4 miles below Prosser, and remove there, selling the store to S.P. Flower. Some years later he made another move, going over to Seattle.
The funeral services were held at Prosser, with interment in the city cemetery near that town.
It is estimated by reliable authorities that in 1903 the region within a radius of ten miles of Bickleton raised 500,000 bushels of wheat, besides a large amount of other grains. (It is estimated also that in recent years the crop has fallen off from these figures, running around today to something like 300,000 bushels) This wheat sold in 1903 at an average price of between 65 and seventy cents a bushel, from which it will be seen that the grain product alone brought to the farmers of the Alder Creek country more than $325,000 a year. And they further say that this money went further in those days in buying power.