Archive Record
Images
Metadata
Catalog Number |
2015.25.7o |
Object Name |
Cecil H. Wheatley Sr. Interview |
Scope & Content |
Robert A. Wheatley I am in receipt of your form seeking some information for you files in connection with my grandfather, Cecil H. Wheatley, Sr. Cecil Wheatley was born in India in 1872, the son of a Major in the British Army, where he served as Regt. Medical Doctor. Cecil was educated both in England and abroad, studying at Bonn university in Germany. He spoke several European languages as well as some Hindi which he learned as a child in India. Cecil arrived in the United States in the 1890's and with his brother headed West. He virtually lived off of the land for at least three years trapping, hunting, and prospecting. Mainly in Western Montana, Northern Idaho and British Columbia. During the course of his travels he chanced upon upper Priest Lake where he homesteaded 160 acres, bordered by Trapper Creek. His plan was to establish a townsite "Wheatley, Idaho" with a plan to sell lots for second home construction directed to those living in Spokane. He constructed a 60' boat with the view to assisting passengers and freight to Upper Priest Lake. It is understood that he maintained a cabin in Coolin, Idaho where he lived with his wife and three children. This is in fact where he met his wife, Edwardina Grant, a Spokane schoolteacher visiting Priest Lake on holiday. The time frame would be about 1902. He would row a boat from Coolin to his townsite. He initially developed a couple of tent cabins, but some early photographs also show a simple wood lean-to. There was a cabin on his property occupied by his friend Edward Moulton. A photograph of this cabin still exists, however the cabin was lost to a fire. The 60' boat apparently struck a submerged rock en-route from Coolin and was eventually abandoned. With the responsibility of a growing family, Cecil moved to Spokane where he worked as a master machinist for the Great Northern Railroad until his retirement. He then moved to a remote area near Oroville, California where he continued to engage in placer mining until his death in 1950. He was an active photographer and writer, and left numerous photos of his years at Priest Lake and surrounding areas, as well as numerous artifacts associated with the period. |
Collection |
PLM |