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An Illustrated History of Klickitat, Yakima, & Kittitas Counties
Interstate Publishing Co., Chicago, IL., published 1904

Part IV
History Of Klickitat County

Lyle

There are few small towns more favorably located both from a natural and a business standpoint than the little village of Lyle at the terminus of the Columbia River & Northern railroad. Situated as it is, at the point where the Klickitat river adds its waters to the Columbia, it is the natural railroad outlet for the whole Klickitat valley. It is also the only port of any importance in the county, with the one exception of White Salmon, that has unobstructed navigation to Portland. With these points of advantage in its favor, Lyle will naturally develop in a very few years into a city of considerable importance.
At an early date James O. Lyle perceived that this location had advantages which would some day lead to its development into an important trade center, and in May, 1878, he purchased the site of the present town from J.M. Williamson. Two years later he laid off the town and named it Lyle. In 1878 a postoffice had been established at that place, known as Klickitat Landing, but after the town was platted, the postoffice also took the name of Lyle. James O. Lyle built a store on the new townsite, and Joseph Clark also started a store there and ran it about two years. The next store was started upon the hill about two miles northwest of town by Mrs. Hensen. The third store in the town proper was that of Collins Elkins, who built in 1897. He sold out recently. In 1898 John Kure erected the Riverside hotel; two years later another store was built by McInnis McLeod, and shortly afterward another hotel by John Daffron.
As soon as work on the Columbia River & Northern railroad was commenced in 1902, the town received a new impetus, and it has been steadily growing ever since. The chief drawback to its growth has been tile fact that until recently it was impossible to buy a building site, as the town property was withheld from sale by the Balfours, who bought out Mr. Lyle in 1892. These gentlemen sold all the land lying between the river and the railroad to the Columbia River & Northern Railroad Company, a short time ago, however, for twenty-two thousand dollars, and this tract has been placed on the market at from two hundred and fifty to five hundred dollars a lot, so that the greatest obstacle to progress has been removed. The Balfours still own all the land along the north side of the track.
Adjoining the town on the north is the large stock farm of Balfour & Magan, embracing about twelve hundred acres of land, much of which is valuable only as a cattle range. About ten acres are devoted to a prune and pear orchard, and the farm is provided with a drier where the prunes are prepared for shipment. On the place are also about sixty-five acres of alfalfa which yields well, notwithstanding the fact that the ground is not irrigated.
Owing to its location at the mouth of the Klickitat river, the town of Lyle has an abundance of water and unused power, the falls of the Klickitat being only three miles away. Here a large volume of water is forced through a narrow chasm, furnishing an abundance of unharnessed power. It is probable that in past ages the water at this point fell sheer over the face of the rock for some distance, but as years went by the rock was worn away until little more than a rapids remains. With a reasonable outlay this power, now allowed to go to waste, can be utilized either in operating the Columbia River & Northern railroad or for turning the wheels of industry in the town of Lyle, or both.
The canyon of the Klickitat is one of the grandest and most picturesque along the Columbia. On either side the grass-clad hills rise a thousand feet above the bed of the river, along which the railroad winds in graceful curves. At times the scene changes and a magnificent thicket of green scrub oaks crowns the hills with verdure, while below the rushing stream dashes madly down the canyon. This stream, notwithstanding the swift current, is the home of many fine fish, a fact which, combined with many other advantages of the region, may cause Lyle to become in the near future a popular summer resort.
The principal exports from the town of Lyle are grain, cattle, sheep, lumber, fruit, both green and dried, vegetables and dairy products. Since the building of the Columbia River & Northern railroad practically all goods brought into the Klickitat valley and all products taken out of it are shipped through Lyle.
An interesting fact about the town of Lyle is that F. H. Balch, the author of that famous story, based on Indian tradition, "The Bridge of the Gods,'' was born in the immediate vicinity of the town. Many of the people now living in that neighborhood knew him well during his youth and early manhood. They describe him as a man of slight frame and delicate constitution; altogether a very ordinary person, in whom they could detect very few indications of genius. They are inclined to believe that he is very much over-estimated and that the popularity he has received is for the most part due to the local color of the book. It is generally conceded, however, that he was well informed on the traditions and legends of the Indian. Those were his favorite theme in conversation, and he spent much time in reading and studying Indian customs and habits. As most of his life was spent along the Columbia river, he had an excellent opportunity to study the country of which he wrote. The island burial place of the red men lies just beyond Lyle, and only a few miles further down the river is the site of the supposed natural bridge, which was the chief subject of Balch's romance. After his death, F.H. Balch was brought back to Lyle and his remains are buried in the old cemetery near the home of his youth.
Three years ago a school was organized in Lyle, but no building has as yet been erected. Plans are now under consideration, however, for the building of a schoolhouse, and there is also a movement on foot to organize and build a Methodist church, grounds for which the company that owns the townsite has already donated. The only fraternity represented in the town is the Modern Woodmen of America, of which Estes Lodge No. 9,502 was established in April, 1901.
The following is a list of the business houses in Lyle: General merchandise, Collins Elkins and the Lyle Trading Company, McInnis McLeod, proprietor; hotel, the Lyle, John Daffron, proprietor; livery stable, John Daffron; blacksmith shop, Albert B. French. There are few towns on the upper Columbia that have brighter prospects for future growth than this interesting little settlement at the mouth of the Klickitat, and if ever a railroad is built down the north bank of the river, so that Lyle will have direct communication by rail with the outside world, the development of the little town on the banks of the Columbia will surely be great indeed.