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(Image courtesy of Washington State Archives)
Business practices have changed just a little since 1860, and that’s what makes this handwritten ledger in the State Archives such a treasure. The book details the day-to-day transactions of the Crosby Store in Tumwater. The store was located on Reserve Street (now Deschutes Way). It was a general-merchandise emporium and important Tumwater fixture, operated by a settler named Nathaniel Crosby III. Thurston County’s earliest settlers and businesses fill the pages of this ledger, including Clanrick Crosby and the Tumwater Grist Mill. Clanrick Crosby was a pivotal player in Tumwater’s early years. After he took out a Donation Land Claim that included Tumwater's upper, middle and lower falls, he held the key to Tumwater's economic development. The industrial growth in Tumwater can be seen and traced in the pages of the Crosby store ledger. The volume went through careful preservation work in 2005. State Archives staff and volunteers Terri Juillerat, Roger Easton and Bryn Kildow soaked each page and carefully removed pasted-on newspaper articles and postcards to reveal the transactions of the store. The pages were then scanned, encapsulated, and placed in acid-free folders. The ledger is the last of the three March Archives Treasures, which showcases many of the rare and interesting items and collections found in our State Archives.