Woods, Rufus, 1878-1950

Rufus Woods was born in Surprise, Nebraska, to Lebbeus B. and Mary (Morrison) W. Woods on May 17, 1878. His youth was spent on the family farm along with his two older brothers, three younger sisters and his twin brother, Ralph. Rufus attended local public schools and graduated from Ulysses High School in 1898. Soon after graduation he was appointed as a teacher at a school in Brainard, Nebraska. He remained a year at Brainard before enrolling at Grand Island College. In 1900, Rufus and Ralph left Nebraska to seek riches in the Yukon gold fields. The brothers spent the next four summers in Alaska working various jobs. During the fall and winter 1901, Rufus and Ralph attended Vashon College. The next fall, Rufus and Ralph were accepted in to the law school at the University of Nebraska. Both graduated with degrees in law in the spring of 1903.

Rufus and Ralph relocated to the Puget Sound in the fall of 1903, Ralph to Tacoma and Rufus to Seattle. Both entered the law profession but after a short unfulfilling stint as an attorney, Rufus left Seattle and moved to Wenatchee in January of 1904. Within three weeks of arriving, he was hired by the Wenatchee Republic as press editor. The following year Woods purchased the Wenatchee Advance in partnership with Charles Graham. Graham sold the paper in early 1906 without Woods’ knowledge and he was removed as editor. On February 27, 1907, Rufus and Ralph leased the Wenatchee Daily World with an option to buy after one year. Rufus quickly reorganized the paper, modernized equipment and hired new reporters. Circulation quickly expanded and when the lease ended, he chose to purchase the paper, with the assistance of investors. By 1910 the circulation of the Daily World had increased over 600 percent since 1907 and was considered the one of the leading small town newspapers in the state of Washington.

As the paper’s circulation expanded, so did Woods’ activities beyond the small community of Wenatchee. By 1915, two-thirds of the Daily World ’s readership was outside of Wenatchee. In 1916, Rufus Woods' rising popularity put him in contention for office in the United States Congress. Woods turned down the offer, preferring to manage his newspaper and publishing business. During the First World War, he lobbied for government contracts for central and eastern Washington, with limited success.

While on his travels searching for news, Woods met Gale Mathews, an old acquaintance from Ephrata, who informed him of a plan developed by Billy Clapp to dam the Columbia River at the mouth of the Grand Coulee. He met with Clapp and immediately became enthusiastic about dam. On his return to Wenatchee, Woods broadcasted Clapp’s idea in the Daily World on July 18, 1918. From that date forward, Woods promoted the regional and national necessity for the Grand Coulee Dam. Throughout the 1920s he encountered opposition at the local, state, and national levels but optimistically continued to encourage its construction. On October 8, 1932, Woods met with President Herbert Hoover to discuss the dam’s potential, but President Hoover was not impressed and dismissed the plan. The meeting was a great disappointment; however, Woods' relations with the federal government would change with the election of President Franklin D. Roosevelt.

Soon after the election of President Roosevelt, Washington State Governor Clarence D. Martin pushed for a state-funded project to construct the dam. His administration, with guidance from Rufus Woods and fellow promoter James O’Sullivan, established the Columbia Basin Commission in April of 1933. Later that same month on April 17, President Roosevelt remarked to Washington State Senator Clarence Dill that he would support a federal loan to build the Grand Coulee Dam. Problems ensued as local, state and national governments bickered over financing the project. On July 26, 1933, Roosevelt officially approved the Grand Coulee Project and allocated $63 million to construct the dam. By the fall of 1933 construction contracts were being issued to drill and dig test pits. On December 6, 1935, concrete was poured at the dam's base. For the next five years construction progressed steadily and on January 22, 1941, the first of the turbines was made operational.

During the war years, Woods pressed for defense contracts for the region and highlighted the importance of the newly completed dam. He also endorsed the need for more dams to fulfill the war-time power needs of the Columbia Valley. In 1943, Woods campaigned for the construction of the proposed Foster Creek dam. After the war, Congress authorized the construction of the dam, which was renamed the Chief Joseph Dam project, and work was begun in 1949. Woods would not see the dam’s completion, as he died of a heart attack on May 29, 1950, while on a research trip to Toronto, Canada. His remains were returned to Wenatchee, where he is buried.

From the guide to the Rufus Woods Papers, 1896-1980 (bulk 1918-1950), (Central Washington University Archives and Special Collections)