Strap Iron Corral

The Strap Iron Corral was built in the late 1870's by "Uncle Jim" Kennedy, an early Adams County rancher in the Cow Creek area of the lower Palouse Valley. Kennedy came west from Missouri during the gold rush in 1849. He brought with him his father's farewell gifts -- two yolk of oxen, a wagon, clothing and enough provisions to sustain him for two years. After prospecting from California to British Columbia, packing provision to miners in Idaho and driving sheep and cattle from Washington and Oregon to Montana, Kennedy settled on Cow Creek in 1877. For his ranch he chose a location a short distance from the Mullan Road. This was once a military road constructed between 1855 and 1862 -- before and during the Civil War. It was intended to connect Fort Walla Walla with Fort Benton providing a passable road between the headwaters of the Columbia and Missouri Rivers. The Mullan Road became a major supply route from Walla Walla to the mines in northeastern Washington and northern Idaho. In the 1870's it provided the principal access to that territory for a growing number of farmers and stockmen who would return along the same route to bring their crops and livestock to market in Walla Walla.

The first railroad in Washington Territory used for purposes other than portage was the Walla Walla and Columbia River Railroad, built between 1872 and 1875. This was the enterprise of a private corporation formed by Dr. Dorsey S. Baker and seventeen others. It was financed by an issue of capital stock totaling $700,000. The railroad was to run about thirty miles from Wallula on the Columbia River to Walla Walla -- at that time the largest city in the territory. To economize on the trackage, Baker attempted to use four-by-six inch wooden rails instead of iron. Discovering that these wore out faster than new track could be laid, he ordered strap iron three-eighths of an inch thick and two inches wide to cap the wooden tracks. This worked well enough except that occasionally the iron would work loose and poke through the floor of a railroad car, endangering passengers and nearly stopping the train.

A small seven-and-one-half ton locomotive pulled the trains at a speed little faster than a brisk walk. Because the route passed through open range country, cattle were often encountered lying or standing on the tracks in the path of the oncoming train. The engine was never provided with a "Cow catcher", so Baker trained a bull-terrier to ride the locomotive and watch for livestock. Upon spotting a cow the dog would run ahead of the train and snap and bark until the animal moved from the roadbed. He would then jump back on board and continue to ride until the next obstruction.