The History of the Yakima Valley, Washington, Comprising Yakima, Kittitas and
Benton Counties, The S.J. Clarke Publishing Co., 1919, Volume II, page 527

WILLIAM HENRY HARRISON WEATHERWAX.

William Henry Harrison Weatherwax, an architect of Yakima who has done important
professional work in various sections of the country, especially in connection
with the great expositions held in different parts of the United States, has in
this way become known throughout the length and breadth of the land. Since 1910
he has maintained a private office in Yakima. He was born in Saratoga Springs,
New York, May 7, 1856, a son of David N. and Lovina (Weatherly) Weatherwax, both
of whom were natives of the Empire state. The father was a representative of one
of the old colonial families that was founded in America during the early part
of the seventeenth century by three brothers who came from Holland. David N.
Weatherwax was a carpenter by trade but at the time of tile Civil war, feeling
that his first duty was to his country, he put aside business interests and
became a sergeant with the Union troops at the front. Both he and his wife have
now passed away.

After his public school education was completed William H. H. Weatherwax turned
his attention to the study of architecture. About 1873 he left the east and
removed to Marshalltown, Iowa, where he spent six years. In 1879 he became a
resident of Chicago and followed his profession in that city until after the
World's Columbian Exposition, in connection with which he became foreman of the
drafting room and served in that capacity for three and a half years. When his
work along that line was ended he went to Omaha to take charge of the
architectural department in connection with the construction of the exposition
buildings in that city and was so engaged for twenty months. While in Chicago he
was also foreman of the architectural department of the school board. From Omaha
he went to Buffalo for further work in connection with exposition buildings,
important duties and responsibilities devolving upon him there. He afterward
took charge of the same work in St. Louis for the Louisiana Purchase Exposition
and continued in that city for three years. He was next called to Jamestown,
Virginia, in connection with the exposition there held and not only was chief
draftsman of the architectural department but also assistant director of works.
Called to Seattle, Washington, he there designed three-fourths of all the
concession buildings on the grounds of the Seattle-Alaska-Yukon Exposition. At
length he came to Yakima in 1910 and opened an office for the private practice
of his profession. Here he has since remained save that he went to San
Francisco, where he was the head of the architectural department for the
Pan-American Exposition of that city. His has certainly been an unusual career,
for he has been identified with every exposition of importance as the head of
the architectural department since 1893 save the exposition at Portland and that
was because his services were engaged in connection with the St. Louis
exposition. Since his removal to Yakima he has designed the Taft building, the
Coffin-Rundstrom building, the Y. W. C. A. building, the fire engine house, the
Yakima Trust Company building, the Mowery service station, the Bell-Wyman
building, the Cascade Creamery Company building and the residences of George
Harris, E. W. Brackett and V. M. Persons. He was also the architect of the Earl
warehouse, the ice plant, the Holsinger warehouse, the Jefferson school
building, the school near Moxee, the grade school at Prosser, the high school at
Zillah, several warehouses at Selah, two warehouses at Grandview, a warehouse at
Wapato, the Liberty theatre at Yakima and many other notable buildings and
residences. In a word he stands as one of the foremost architects not only of
the northwest but of the entire country, with a reputation that has made him
known from coast to coast.

In 1889 Mr. Weatherwax was united in marriage to Miss Flora F. Toomer, a native
of Iowa. They have a son, Lee A., twenty-seven years of age, who married Miss
Alice Smith, of New Bedford, Connecticut, and has two children, Robert and
Harry. Lee A. Weatherwax was graduated from the Boston School of Technology and
worked with his father for many years, during which time they designed the
Armory at Yakima. He is now secretary of the Hendrickson Construction Company of
Seattle.

Mr. Weatherwax votes with the republican party, which he has supported since age
conferred upon him the right of franchise. His fraternal relations are with the
Benevolent Protective Order of Elks. He is a member of the Commercial Club and
is thoroughly alive to the opportunities and advantages of the west, becoming an
active factor in its upbuilding and improvement, while in the utilization of his
professional skill and expert knowledge he has added much to its beauty.

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Submitted to the Washington Bios Project in December 2007 by Jeffrey L. Elmer.
Submitter has no additional information about the subject of this article.