Phone photo 1499

Elma, Washington

Phone photo 1498

The headstone for William O'Leary in St. Joseph's Catholic Cemetery, Elma, Washington

From HistoryLink's thumbnail history of Grays Harbor County:

"The county’s first permanent white settler was Irishman William O’Leary (1821-1901), a recluse who supplied several stories as to his origins. He paddled and trekked overland from Oregon to the Chehalis River, then by canoe down to the future site of Cosmopolis, just above the river’s outlet into Grays Harbor. O’Leary planted potatoes and a vegetable garden, and built a split-cedar cabin in the style of the local tribal peoples. While others built farms, businesses, industries, and towns, O’Leary was content to grow and gather his own food and cut his own hair. He remained fiercely independent and was regarded by his fellow citizens as an 'odd character' (Van Syckle, River Pioneers, 81)."