Mr. Lamb homesteaded eighty acres of land on his arrival in Walla Walla county and afterward added to his holdings by purchase from time to time until his farm comprised two hundred and eighty acres. This he brought under a high state of cultivation, carefully and persistently developing his fields, so that annually he gathered abundant harvests. It is said that he was the first man to demonstrate the possibility of growing wheat on the hills. He continually sought to improve his farm, was always ready to take up new methods and his sound judgment demonstrated to him the worth of any new idea that was advanced.
In politics Mr. Lamb was a democrat and one of the active workers of the party. He became a leader in molding public thought and opinion and exerted much influence over the affairs of the community. His aid was always given on the side of improvement and upbuilding. His fellow townsmen, recognizing his ability, called upon him to serve in several public offices. He was elected justice of the peace and filled that position for many years, his decisions being strictly fair and impartial, so that he won golden opinions from all sorts of people. In 1867 he was elected to the territorial legislature, where he served with honor and distinction, carefully aiding in the solution of many intricate and involved problems in connection with shaping the early legislation of the state. He also assisted in surveying Walla Walla county in pioneer times and there were many phases of public improvement with which he was closely identified. In 1885 he removed to Walla Walla, where he made his home until his death, although he passed away in Lodi, California, on the 5th of March, 1898, having gone to that place for the benefit of his health. His widow still survives and resides at the old home in Walla Walla with her son, Daniel W.
To Mr. and Mrs. Lamb were born six children: John D., a resident of Walla Walla; Georgia A., the wife of George Howard, of Berkeley, California; Martha E., who married A. H. Johnson, of Tacoma, Washington; Cora A., the widow of J. L. Cation and a resident of Walla Walla; William T., of this township; and Daniel W. The two sons, William T. and Daniel W. Lamb, conduct the old home farm and are representative agriculturists of this section of the state.
James M. Lamb was a most consistent Christian gentleman and an active worker in the church. He became one of the organizers of the First Christian church, services being held on the 4th of July, 1874, in an old log cabin at Dixie. The charter members were John R. Ware, Margaret Ware, Philip and Clarinda Beal, Elizabeth Neland, J. M. and Jane Lamb, W. T. Barnes, Sarah Barnes, Mr. Barnes becoming deacon and clerk, with J. R. Ware as elder. The life of James M. Lamb was ever guided by the highest and most honorable principles and he left to his family the priceless heritage of an untarnished name. For almost forty years he was a resident of Walla Walla and was one of its most valued citizens and honored pioneers. He contributed much to its early development as well as to its later progress and at all times he enjoyed the confidence and respect of those with whom he was brought in contact. His two sons are members of Mountain Gem Lodge, No. 136, K. P., of Dixie. Both have passed through all of the chairs and are members of the grand lodge and they are also identified with El Kindi Temple, No. 193, of the Knights of Khorassan. In business affairs they are progressive and enterprising, wisely managing their important farming interests, which are bringing to them a substantial annual return.
HON. HENRY PERRY ISAACS.
Hon. Henry Perry Isaacs, deceased, was one of the historic figures who have been dominant factors in the development of southeastern Washington and northeastern Oregon. His activities were of such a nature that he might be termed one of the empire builders of this section of the country. He saw the possibilities here and utilized the opportunities offered, his labors at all times contributed to public progress and prosperity as well as to individual success. He thus left his impress for good upon the history of Walla Walla and of the state and his memory is yet revered and honored by all who knew him.
Mr. Isaacs was a native of Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, where his birth occurred on the 17th of March, 1822. He came of Scotch-English ancestry and while spending his youthful days in the Keystone state acquired a common school education. He had no other opportunities for educational advancement save those which were self-acquired. He possessed, however, an observing eye and retentive memory and was continually storing his mind with facts that proved a basis for his success in later years. At an early age he entered the employ of one of Philadelphia's foremost mercantile houses and his training there constituted an important element in his later progress along commercial lines. When twenty-one years of age he removed to Indiana with a view of seeing something of the outside world and after reaching that state he engaged in merchandising on his own account. Subsequently he joined the rush for the California gold fields, but was not especially successful in his mining venture. However, he was a man of broad vision and saw wonderful opportunities in the new western country. This land of perpetual sunshine seemed to promise great things for the future and in 1858 he proved his faith in the country by erecting at Fort Colville, Washington, his first flour mill, demonstrating to the farmers of this section that wheat could be raised profitably upon the hills and uplands, which in those early days were given over to stock raising. This was the initial step in the development of his important milling interests. In 1862 he built the North Pacific Mills at Walla Walla and in 1864 he erected the War Eagle Mills at Boise City, Idaho. Wherever opportunity offered he eagerly grasped it and extended his efforts into various fields, his labors at all times proving profitable by reason of the intelligent direction of his efforts. In 1865 the Middleton mills at Middleton, Idaho, were built and in 1883 he still further extended his efforts by the building of the North Pacific Mills at Prescott, known as Mill B. In 1898 he built the North Pacific Mills at Wasco, Oregon. His wide experience in this line made him the foremost miller of the Pacific coast. His operations exceeded in volume and importance those of any other man engaged in the milling business. His knowledge concerning the best methods of manufacturing and handling flour became a matter of general comment and he was recognized as authority upon all matters pertaining to milling in any of its branches. The output of his mills was not only sold extensively in this section of the country but the production above what was needed in Washington and the northwest found a ready market in the orient and much of the product was exported to China. Mr. Isaacs was the first miller on the Pacific coast to adopt the roller system in the manufacture of flour, his first rolls being of porcelain and imported from Switzerland. He at all times kept his business in touch with the most modern processes and introduced the latest improved machinery into his plant.
Outside of milling circles Mr. Isaacs was perhaps best known by reason of his public spirit and his progressiveness. After demonstrating the possibilities of wheat growing and the development of kindred interests arising therefrom he did some pioneering in horticulture, planting in 1864 one of the first orchards in the vicinity of Walla Walla. Not long afterward he planted a vineyard and from this point he experimented successfully with almost every variety of fruit and vegetables grown in the north temperate zone. He was an enthusiast in all that pertained to progress and evolution in plants and tree life and he gave liberally of his time and means to further the cause. He was a leader in public affairs and he represented the county in the territorial council of 1885 and 1886, at which session he introduced the bill establishing the state penitentiary at Walla Walla. He was constantly watchful of opportunities pointing not only to his individual success but to the general development of this part of the country, and he ever looked beyond the exigencies of the moment to the possibilities and opportunities of the future. He was the first to attempt to induce G. W. Hunt to build the Washington & Columbia River Line from Dayton to Wallula and thence to Pendleton. The line was successfully built and operated and the completed project was a monument to his enterprise and farsightedness. He was also president of the Commercial Club at the time and used every effort to secure the early construction of the road. But few men in all Washington became so thoroughly conversant with the state, its varied interests and its possibilities or were so deeply interested in the success of its enterprises as Mr. Isaacs, and but few men have arisen to take so active a part in the development of this section of the country. With his death on the 14th of July, 1900, the state of Washington and in fact the entire Pacific northwest lost one of its most conspicuous figures, most esteemed citizens and most honored men.