An Illustrated History of the State of Washington, by Rev. H.K. Hines, D.D., The Lewis Publishing Co., Chicago, IL., 1893, page 479 JOSEPH NESBITT, manager of the Goldendale Milling Company, is well and favorably known in commercial circles in Klickitat county, and is entitled to representation in a work of this character; the following space has therefore been accorded him, and will be devoted to a brief outline of his career. The building occupied by the Goldendale Milling Company was erected in 1878, and for two years the name of Thomas Johnson was associated with the prosecution of the business, after which it was carried on by S.H. Jones and Joseph Nesbitt until November 1, 1890, when the present corporation was formed. The mill is located on the Little Klickitat river, and is provided with both steam and water power. The main building is 30 x 50 feet, the elevator is 20 x 30 feet, and the engine house fifty-four feet square. The engine is forty-horse power, and the water power is utilized through a turbine. The interior furnishings and mechanical equipment of the mill are of the latest improved patterns. There are ten pairs of rollers, and the capacity of the plant is ninety barrels in a run of twenty-four hours. Four men, besides the manager, are employed. The product of the mill finds a market in Portland, Olympia and San Francisco, and a large and steady local trade has been established. The patrons assert that the flour and meal are not surpassed in quality by any other mill in the Northwest. Joseph Nesbitt, to whose untiring energy the prosperity of this establishment is largely due, was born in the State of Ohio, in Stark county, October 10, 1842. His parents, Peter and Catherine (Baer) Nesbitt, were natives of Pennsylvania, of Scotch and German extraction respectively. The paternal grandfather, William Nesbitt, was a soldier in the war of 1812; the father died in 1861, and the mother passed away in 1890. In a family of eight Joseph was the fifth born. His boyhood was spent upon a farm; in early manhood he was apprenticed to learn the carpenter's trade, and became master of the vocation, which he followed many years. In 1867 he left the State of his nativity, and proceeded toward the setting sun. Hannibal, Missouri, was his residence for a time, and thence he went to Kansas City, where he remained four years; Atchison, Kansas, was his home for a period of three years, and then he came to the Pacific coast, locating in Goldendale, Washington. Here he has since resided, and given his aid to the development of the county and State. He was interested in a sawmill during the first two years of his residence here, but now gives his entire attention to the business interests of the Goldendale Milling Company. Politically, he affiliates with the Republican party, taking a deep interest in questions of a local and national nature; he has served as a member of the School Board for several years, and during two terms represented the people of Klickitat county in the office of Auditor. He has the honor of having been Mayor of Goldendale, which was incorporated in 1879, and has served two terms as a member of the City Council. He is a member of the I.O.O.F., F. & A. M. and the A.O.U.W. Mr. Nesbitt was married in Missouri in 1868, this union being with Miss Eliza Clarkson, of Indiana. Mrs. Nesbitt departed this life in 1875, leaving one daughter, Ada, the wife of W.F. Byers. The second marriage was to Miss Elizabeth Miller, of Oregon, a daughter of S.H. Miller, a well-known pioneer of 1852. There have been born of this union five children: Mary, Minnie, Frederick, Maggie and a son who died in infancy. Submitted to the WA. Bios Project in October 2003 by Jeffrey L. Elmer * * * * Notice: These biographies were transcribed for the Washington Biographies Project. Unless otherwise stated, no further information is available on the individual featured in the biographies.