New book explores Leavenworth's forgotten beginnings

LEAVENWORTH – For local historian Rolland A. Schmitten, preserving history has never been about telling the most colorful story. It has always been about telling the truest one. 

The commitment to accuracy is at the heart of Leavenworth:The Shady Lady: Early History, Schmitten’s newest book, co-authored with researcher Brian Praye. The 20-chapter volume explores Leavenworth’s earliest decades through photographs, maps, government records and perhaps most notably, many pages of the Leavenworth Echo published between 1904 and 1922. 

“So many stories from 120 years ago have been passed down through generations and become embellished,” Schmitten said. “They’re great stories, but they’re not always accurate.”

Instead of relying on local lore, Schmitten and Praye used contemporary newspaper accounts to reconstruct life in early Leavenworth. 

“We decided we would use the Echo,” Schmitten said. “It was my feeling then, and I still believe, it’s probably the most accurate way you could do it.”

Along the way, readers encounter stories both familiar and forgotten: the founding of the fire department, the construction of schools and Front Street Park, early baseball games, the opera house, prohibition, women’s suffrage and even the presence of the Ku Klux Klan and Industrial Workers of the World in the Wenatchee Valley. 

History photographs help bring those stories to life. The book features images of railroad construction, logging camps, train wrecks, river life, panoramic views of early Leavenworth and scenes from everyday life, many sourced from the Greater Leavenworth Museum, the Wenatchee Valley Museum & Cultural Center and private collections. 

Schmitten said many of the images have rarely, if ever, been published or seen by the public eye.

Among the book’s most significant findings is a deeper look at Icicle, the settlement that predated modern Leavenworth.

“We dove into Icicle like it’s never been done before,” Schmitten said. “We found where businesses were, who lived there, who taught school there and how the community functioned before the railroad shifted everything.”

Research also uncovered overlooked chapters of local history, including land disputes stemming from territorial treaties with Native tribes, the railroad’s role in reshaping the valley and the economic hardships that nearly ended Leavenworth long before its Bavarian transformation.

Despite tackling difficult subjects, Schmitten wanted the book to remain engaging.

Each chapter opens with commentary from the book’s fictional narrator, “The Shady Lady,” an imagined longtime resident created to offer observations on the events that follow. 

“I wish I had someone who was 120 years old that I could interview,” Schmitten said. “Obviously that wasn’t possible, so I created The Shady Lady.”

The character reacts to everything from fires and city politics to the arrival of automobiles and the fight for women’s suffrage, adding personality to a work grounded in historical documentation. 

Schmitten credits much of the project’s success to co-author Brian Praye, whose research uncovered original homestead records maps and archival documents that shaped many of the book’s discoveries. 

“He deserves a lot of credit,” Schmitten said. “He could access records and archives that would have taken me much longer to find and navigate, and he was also a good editor.”

For Schmitten, the project is also deeply personal.

Having grown up skiing, logging and later working in Leavenworth, he witnessed the town through prosperous years and economic downturns. Those experiences fueled his desire to preserve the community’s past for future generations.

“I want young people and newcomers to know the history of where they live,” Schmitten said. “People see the Bavarian village today, but they should know what came before it and what it took for the town to survive.”

Although the book focuses on Leavenworth’s earliest decades, Schmitten hopes readers leave with a greater appreciation for the people whose decisions shaped the community that exists today. 

As he writes in the book’s opening pages, “As a historian, I feel it is important to know your past.”

Leavenworth: The Shady Lady: Early History is available at A Book for All Seasons and the Greater Leavenworth Museum. 

Hazel Eschen: 509-731-4392 or hazel@ward.media