Donates 1910 plat book to library

The maps include designated “Indian Land” next to “McGregor” parcels, and plotted streets for places called “Revere,” “Palisades,” “Pandora” and “Rock Lake City.”

The Whitman County Library now has a second copy of a 1910 bound county and world atlas as a result of a donation from Bob Earnest of Spokane, who dropped it by the library Sept. 24. Earnest, a Colfax High 1954 graduate, is the grandson of James Bitner, who is listed as a contributor to the book, and James and Mary Lynch, who began farming north of Colfax in 1908. Earnest said the 1910 book was around on the Lynch farm for as long as he can remember.

“The Plat Book of Whitman County” was published by the Anderson Map Co. of Seattle.

“It’s really nice to have two copies now,” said Patti Cammack, the Rural Heritage Project Manager for the Whitman County Library. “Now we can lend one out to another of our libraries.”

The map books are for reference only. Cammack said that she would eventually like to digitize the maps, and with two copies of the plat book one could be sent for digitization while the other remains available. The library also has a plat book from 1895.

In addition to detailed Whitman County maps, the publication includes 1910 maps of the United States and the world, which included places such as “Austria-Hungary,” “British East Africa” and “German East Africa.” Among the many charts is one for “Telegraph Mileage of the World.”