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Forever West <br />No matter how hard it blows, the Central -Washington wind will <br />never pull free Ellensbu4s firm roots in tradition. <br />By Alexis Bennett <br />Each year, the late summer wind seems to blow thousands of visitors into El- <br />lensburg for the labor Day weekend Ellensburg Rodeo. More than just an <br />annual event, the rodeo is a significant part of the local experience, as is the <br />towels Io4-plus years of history. Around every coater, Ellensburg sliows its rich <br />Western heritage is rooted to something deeper than the topsoil at the bottom <br />of travelers' cowboy boots. Between the rolling hills of the Mamstash Ridge <br />that drops into the valley and the Cascade Range that provides a picturesque <br />backdrop, yoti ll find .acres of Farmland, fields of grazing Angus cattle, and a <br />storied downtown with architecture that predates even the 94 -year-old rodeo. <br />Walking down Main Street and through <br />downtown, I am charmed by Ellensburg's <br />Old West appeal. From the three -cent <br />milk advertisement murals painted .on <br />the brick walls to the Mom -and -Pop -size <br />bookstores and the century -old buildings <br />they are housed in, experiencing Ellens- <br />burg is like listening to a;yell-loved West- <br />ern fable. <br />Along the streets, the eclectic sloops, <br />restaurants, salvor!$, museums, and stu- <br />dio apartments are nestled into buildings <br />visibly dated to the early 1900s. During <br />a visit at the Kitdtas County Museum,1 <br />am told that much of the architecture in <br />town is original. A fire in My of 1$89 <br />reduced the .towns initial infrastruc- <br />ture to little more than ash in hours. <br />' COWBOY <br />PRESIDENTS <br />A Photographic <br />A,Journey <br />Motivated by the prospect of earning <br />the ride of Washingtoris capital city in <br />a bidding war, the community rallied <br />to rebuild downtown. Ellensburg made <br />a. strong case for itself, and even built <br />a eaisde, which was to serve as the gov- <br />ernor's mansion. Ultimately, the valley <br />was deemed 'too inaccessible," (and one <br />could jokingly argue, "too wind'} and <br />Olympia won the capital.;cky bid. But <br />visitors can still drive by the original El- <br />lero burg Castle• It sits intact at the base <br />of Craig's Hill on the corner of Chest- <br />nut Street and Third, though it has since <br />been remodeled to accommodate resi- <br />dential housing. <br />As a consolation prize, the town be- <br />came the location for the shies First <br />Normal School. 'The all-womer}s school <br />attracted aspiring teachers from around <br />the northwest. In its time, it was orae Of <br />the most well rceognized reaching schools <br />in the counuy. "the campus is beautifuls" <br />says lCuitas County Museum Assistant <br />Todd Goings. The original building is <br />now the shop front for Central Washing- <br />ton University. "As you walk on to cam- <br />pus, the first building you see is the origi- <br />nal Normal School that started in 1891," <br />AmericanCowboy.comAugust/September2016 31 <br />