Taken from the files of the http://www.cityofbuckley.com/ City of Buckley and Buckley Library *1856 Decisive battle of Indian War fought at Connell’s Prairie, 6 miles west of Buckley. *1875 **Coal discovered at Wilkeson **Jerry Stilley, first permanent non-Indian resident, settled West of town. *1877 Railroad built from Tacoma to Wilkeson to transport coal. *1882 Town named “Perkin’s Prairie *1884 Northern Pacific built railroad spur track from Cascade Junction (between South Prairie and Buckley) to Perkin’s Prairie. Town given name “White River Siding” by railroad men. *1885 Town’s first store erected by “Dad” Chamberlain. *1887 **Town renamed “Buckley” for J.M. Buckley, Northern Pacific Railway district superintendent. **First school established. *1888 Town site platted by Alexander and Mary Wickersham. Town booming with lumber and shingle mills springing up overnight. *1889 **First post office established. **District Court appointed five men as trustees of the Town of Buckley. **First newspaper printed and published in Buckley. -The Buckley Banner. *1890 **Town incorporated by electorate. *1890 **Buckley Lodge 75, IOOF, chartered. **Western Star Lodge, F&AM, chartered. *1891 Land donated for Buckley cemetery. *1892 **May 5 Business District almost wiped out fire. Started on second story of the Buckley Lumber Store. **June 17 New school built at present site of White River Middle School on A Street. **First church built. **World’s Fair- Buckley Mills sell wood, shingles, and supplies to be used at the World’s FairExhibit Buildings **First organized water system established. *1893 **February 24 Fire Department in Buckley was established. Dr. JH Sheets was selected as a honorary member to act as a surgeon *1894 **October 17 First fire dept. dance. Ladies-free Men-$0.25 Children as spectators for $0.10 *Eola Rebekah Lodge chartered. *1895 **July 6 Discussion of entering first 4th of July parade, uniforms and plans to build station were finalized *1897 Women’s Musical & Literary Club founded. *1898 Business district razed by fire. *1900 Mt. Rainier Chapter, OES, chartered. *1902 **Addition built on schoolhouse. **Degree of Honor chartered. **First library established. *1905 First high school graduation held. *1906 Buckley Aerie 1387, FOE, chartered. *1907 **Gravity water system built; water stored in reservoir still in use by town. **First general use of electricity. *1909 **Marion Grange chartered. **School burned to ground. **Town established fire department to replace Columbia Hose Company, a private fire-fighting group. *1910 New brick school built on A Street. *1911 **White River Power Plant completed. (Headwork, flume, powerhouse.) **Present town hall built. *1912 Plank streets replaced by paving. *1914 Wickersham elementary school built. *1920 Large section of business district leveled by fire. *1923 Vocational unit added to high school building. *1927 FOE Auxiliary 1387 chartered. *1928 Buckley Kiwanis Club chartered. *1929 Town purchased pumper fire truck to replace hand-drawn equipment. *1931 Carbon Glacier Post 1414, VFW, chartered. *1937 Buckley Garden Club organized. *1939 **Rainier School officially opened. **Work commenced on Mud Mountain Dam on White River. *1942 Mud Mountain Dam completed. *1944 Buckley railroad logging ended with closure of Buckley Logging Company mill. *1946 City limits extended to include Rainier School and farms south of town. *1947 **Last company-operated coal mining discontinued. **Additional construction at Rainier School. *1948 Kindergarten class instituted. *1949 **Additional construction at Rainier School. **Buckley and Enumclaw school districts consolidated. *1950 Buckley Business & Professional Women’s Club chartered. *1951 Rural Fire District No. 12 organized. *1952 **New fire station built. **Additional construction at Rainier School. **Sewage disposal plant built. *1953 **Purchase of a 1941 Packard as first aid car by fire dept. for $945 **Wickersham school annex built. **White River School District (Buckley-Enumclaw) de-consolidated. *1955 Buckley Planning Commission created. *1956 **New gymnasium built at high school. **Ida Marge Orthopedic Guild chartered. *1957 **Town established natural gas utility. **Buckley Junior Chamber of Commerce chartered. *1958 New street signs erected. *1959 Northern Pacific railroad depot torn down. *2004 White River High School (Washington)White River High School moved to a new location in a brand new facility. *2007 The first homicide in Buckley since the turn of the century occured on February 1rst. A man was murdered by a woman on highway 410. The man was shot several times in the head in front of a local tavern. Source: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Buckley%2C_Washington