Will Taylor

Who was Will Taylor?

Will Taylor, was a land speculator and the founder of North Bend, Washington in February 1889.

William H. Taylor was born in Iowa on February 12, 1853 to a large family. In 1872 his family moved to the Snoqualmie Valley. William Taylor took a job peeling potatoes and washing dishes in the cookhouse at the Newcastle coal mines, near Issaquah. After that, he went to Fall City to help clear land. Later he worked as logger near the mouth of the Skykomish River.

He returned to the upper Snoqualmie Valley to work for Lucinda Fares. Later, he worked for Lucinda's uncle, Jerimiah Borst, the father of the Snoqualmie Valley. He built several cabins and worked odd jobs.

In 1876, he moved to California to work a short stint in a mine. He married Molly Beard and he and his new wife traveled north to work on Borst's farm for six years. Later, they built their own home, a boarding house and a trading post for travelers passing over the Snoqualmie Pass. They raised six children. In the 1890s, the Taylors separated. Will Taylor then re-married Ella Hyman, who was a widow with one daughter.

From 1888 to 1891, Taylor served as a county commissioner.

When the Seattle, Lakeshore & Eastern Railroad arrived in 1889, the railroad required a railroad town near the Snoqualmie Pass. He platted his town as 'Snoqualmie'. Another nearby town was platted 'Snoqualmie Falls' while Taylor was out of town. To avoid confusion, railroad officials had rules against nearby towns sharing similar names. They forced what is now North Bend to change its name and made Snoqualmie Falls drop Falls from the town's name to become Snoqualmie. Taylors plat was named Mountain View, but the Post Office Department objected to the name Mountain View and the town was named 'North Bend' after the Northward turn of the South Fork of the Snoqualmie River.