Bio
Benjamin Elam Snipes, born in Raleigh, North Carolina, on July 3, 1835, moved with his family to Iowa in 1850. In 1852, at 17, he joined a wagon train to Oregon, where he took on various jobs, including mule packing to California’s gold fields. After selling a mining claim for $500, he worked as a butcher before returning to Oregon as the mining economy dwindled.
Snipes sought land with sufficient forage and water to build a cattle business. Working for a cattleman driving cattle to British Columbia, he found suitable land in the Yakima Valley, Washington. He established a herd and, by 1859, moved his operations to Snipes Mountain. He profited from supplying cattle to Canadian mining camps but faced setbacks due to harsh winters.
In 1861, Snipes borrowed $50,000 to expand his cattle holdings. He quickly repaid the loan and amassed a herd of up to 40,000 cattle. Known as the “Northwest Cattle King,” Snipes diversified into other ventures, including land purchases in Seattle, The Dalles, and Ellensburg.
He married Mary Parrott in 1864, with whom he had a son, Bennie. Snipes died in Seattle on December 12, 1906, and Mary died in 1920. Both are buried in The Dalles, Oregon.
