A Summary of the History of Cusick and Usk · By Charles I. Barker
Cusick was named by Joe Cusick who homesteaded the land on which the town is now located. Cusick became an incorporated town in middle 1890’s. At one time Mr. Cusick owned and operated steamboats on the Pend Oreille River and was a licensed pilot. He was the owner of the steamboat, “Volunteer” which was later nicknamed “Old Booze” by reason of it having a saloon on board. He also owned and operated the little stern wheeler, “Red Cloud”, and later built and operated the “New Volunteer”. He sold out to “The Pend Oreille River Navigation Co.” in the year 1906.
Around the turn of the century the Inland Empire Lumber Co. of Spokane owned and operated a small saw mill on the banks of the river at Cusick. They later sold out to the “Fidelity Lumber Co.” This mill had a capacity of around 20,000 board feet per day. Lumber was loaded on barges and towed to Newport where the Fidelity Lumber Co. had a planing mill which dressed the lumber ready for shipment to various points east.
Before the Calispel Valley was diked to keep the over-flow waters of the Pend Oreille River from flooding the valley, Cusick used to be surrounded by water from one to three and four feet in depth during high-water years. Fortunately the main townsite of approximately two blocks in length and less than two blocks in width is on higher ground than the surrounding area. These dikes were put in about 1912 or 1913. In the year 1948 the dikes broke and the lowlands of the Calispel Valley were four feet under water and Cusick again was flooded with water coming into the stores to a depth of two and three feet. At that time the town was entirely evacuated with the exception of three merchants who remained to put their goods on counters and slept a few nights on the counters. The dikes have since been re-inforced and built higher especially near Tacoma Creek.
The first road leading into Cusick from Usk was along the banks of the river and was later used as a highway and eventually as a dike to keep the water out of the valley. During the 1948 flood, numerous residents stored their belongings in the upper part of the school house before they left for higher ground and safety.
My first recollection of Cusick was in the year 1907. At this time the business houses consisted of a store and post office in the same building across the corner from the present Post Office. There was a hotel on the site of the present hotel building and another store operated by a Mr. Chandler was across the street from the present hotel. Adam Wike and his brother, Lou, built the store building now operated by Mr. Green. Prior to that time in 1902, they operated a store in the old building diagonally across from the present Post Office. The Wike brothers built a hall on the corner next to the Town Hall and dances used to be held upstairs; later a picture show was held there. In 1907 a saloon was built on the river bank near the present water tank and it was operated by Joe Cusick. Another saloon was in the building now the Legion Hall. Prior to the remodelling and putting in a new ceiling one could see more than one bullet hole where some drunk had shot up at the ceiling. These were horse and buggy days and there was always some rivalry between the town of Usk and Cusick and of their promoters. Various people have asked this writer as to why Usk and Cusick are only a short distance apart which is approximately one mile. In this respect I must advise that while both town and Post Offices were established and stores built to accommodate the homesteaders and cattlemen.
George H. Jones built a store at the old part of Usk where the Catholic Church is now located. This store began to operate about 1888 and at Cusick was established on March 21st, 1903. The founders of both Cusick and Usk owned and operated steamboats on the Pend Oreille River. George H. Jones at one time owned and operated the “Red Cloud”. Later Mr. Jones had an interest in the “Steamer Spokane”, and then built and operated the steamboat, “The Columbia”. Each of the founders of Usk and Cusick had a baseball team, namely; the Cusick Indians and Usk Reds. During the summer hotly contested baseball games were played at either Cusick or Usk. Often times an excursion by steamboat was run from Newport to the ball games. Sometimes these excursions were accompanied by the Newport Town Band. Between the baseball rivalry and accommodating rivalry, residents of each town became in the habit of pulling for their home town.
The new townsite of Usk was platted by the Fred B. Grinnell Land Company and they offered each business house at Cusick free lots to move their stores. They would also move their buildings free of charge but the people of Cusick secured the new sawmill and also built new school buildings so school at Usk was discontinued. Each town still has a Post Office and two rural routes lead out of Usk.
Later the Diamond Match Company closed its large sawmill at Cusick so now the population consists chiefly of merchants and retired people. It is a nice place for retired people to live. The Cusick School District covers a lot of territory and busses are operated out of Cusick to the north and south of the town.
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