page_title: Pe Ell, Washington
section_title: History
hierarchical_section_title: Pe Ell, Washington / History
caption_attribution_description: English: Written on page: 61 .PH Coll 16.16 Photographs document the construction of the Yakima and Pacific Coast Railroad from Chehalis to South Bend, Washington sometime between 1890 and 1892.
context_page_description: Pe Ell is a town in Lewis County, Washington, United States. The population was 632 at the 2010 census.
context_section_description: Pe Ell was officially incorporated on March 9, 1906.
  There have long been several versions of how Pe Ell was named, none of which can be authenticated.
  The more accepted version is that the name comes from the attempts of the local Indians to pronounce the first name of an early French-Canadian settler, Pierre Charles, who was an ex-Hudson's Bay employee. This version has it that the Indians could not pronounce Pierre, and their attempts turned it into Pe Ell.
  Another version is that P and L were the first initials for Pierre Charles and his Indian wife. Two words were made from the initials: "Pe Ell".
  Another distinct version is that Charlie Pershell, a Frenchman, settled in the area and married an Indian woman. The Indians found it difficult to sound out the "sh" in Pershell so it became Pe Ell.
  Another story is the railroad map designated the spot as PL, and that became the name.
  In 1897, the North Pacific Railway built a railroad depot in the town. In 1907, Pe Ell's population was around 1,000—larger than it is today. The rich agricultural and timber resources of the region attracted farmers, millworkers, and loggers. By 1909, the town had a bank, three dry goods stores, two general stores, three grocery stores, two barber shops, five saloons, four hotels, a newspaper, a blacksmith, and even an opera house.
caption: Trains at Pe Ell station along the construction route of Yakima and Pacific Coast Railroad, Washington, circa 1890-1892
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