Faces of the Century
People who made news in the 1900s
Cattle baron: George W. Ninemire
There have been thousands of news stories that have appeared in The Vidette over the past 100 years. So, as we celebrate the year 2000, we have decided to run a weekly feature on influential people of Montesano and Grays Harbor County who made a name for themselves during the past 100 years.
This week's feature is on a man who was a member of a pioneer family that traveled the Oregon Trail to Washington in 1864, who later became a partner in one of the most recognized business ventures in its day: George Ninemire.
George W. Ninemire was born in Weston, Mo. on Oct. 25, 1860. When he was 3 years old, his parents decided to go to the storied Oregon country to- try their - fortunes in the frontier land.
Their wagon train followed the Oregon Trail to the Columbia River and then they came downstream to Cathlamet. During the very first night they spent in what is now Washington, his mother gave birth to a daughter, truly a pioneer mother and child.
The Ninemire family settled on Hood Canal near Seabeck in 1864. George, himself, first
_-came to the Grays Harbor area in 1877 to drive cattle from here to Seabeck. He moved to the county in 1885.
He married Mary Elizabeth Watkins on Jan. 1, 1887. The couple had one son, Virgil.
Mr. Ninemire made a strong impression on this and other communities where he lived and worked. For he was a worker and many phases of business and industry knew him well. He came here first in the cattle business and later the packing and meat distributing firm of Ninemire and Morgan, a partnership with Thomas Morgan, made early history in this locality. A slaughterhouse in Aberdeen on Myrtle Street was long a landmark.
The firm of Ninemire and Morgan became one of the largest business enterprises in the entire county. It consisted largely of wholesaling meat to logging
camps and also operated a retail store in Aberdeen and a summer store at Westport. When finally sold, it was reputed to have been a half million dollar concern.
In the early years, the name of Ninemire was associated with many of the county's leading developments, in land, railroads,
on prospecting and construction. At one time, he was one of the largest land owners in this area. The meat concern held large areas, among them the old Blockhouse ranch and several thousand acres of range which took in virtually all of Westport, running South to North Cove.

They drilled the artesian well on the Westport tidelands which was still supplying water at the time of Mr. Ninemire's death in 1941.
After the great Aberdeen fire, Mr. Ninemire and Mr. Morgan engaged in real estate and construction. Various buildings were built by them in Aberdeen.
One of the buildings they constructed in Aberdeen was the Crescent Hotel, now the Lafayette, probably the first concrete building in that city.
Mr. Ninemire was later associated with Ed Finch in the formation of the Aberdeen and Hoquiam street railway system and in other activities.
In Montesano, he operated the Montesano Lumber Company long before the establishment of the Schafer mill here. In public life, he served this city as a councilman and mayor and was active in various civic and fraternal organizations.
After retiring from the meat business, he engaged in logging and lumber. He operated a mill at Rochester, which burned in 1924. Then he operated mills at Port Angeles and Eugene, Ore.
Mr. Ninemire also farmed in Montesano. He was among the first to grow peas on a commercial scale here. Despite his age and failing health, he continued to farm in Montesano up until a year before his death.
On Sept. 9, 1941, Mr. Ninemire died in an Aberdeen hospital after suffering a lengthy illness. He was 80 years old.

His house in Montesano, recently renovated, stands overlooking Pioneer Ave. on the NW corner of Third and Marcy Sts.