Identity elements
Reference code
Name and location of repository
Level of description
Title
Pixler Family Papers
Date(s)
Extent
2 boxes
(1.0 cubic feet)
Name of creator
Biographical history
Alice Pixler and Milton Moriarty got married in Iowa in 1881 and moved to Washington Territory in 1883 [1]. The family became involved in the lumber industry. Alice’s nephew and his wife, King Pixler and Dorothy Gardner, moved to Kosmos, Washington in 1947. King Pixler worked for the Kosmos Timber Company. The creation of the Mossyrock Dam for the Tacoma City Light Cowlitz River Hydropower Project caused the (around 500) residents of Kosmos to sell their land and receive settlements from the City of Tacoma. With the approval of the 605 foot dam in 1964, the small town, located 16 miles upstream from the dam, would become inundated by water. [2] The Pixlers were one of the land owners that sold their property. Residents of Kosmos had to move out by June 1967, and the town was then demolished. [3] The location of Kosmos is now the Riffe Lake Reservoir, which is utilized for recreation and described by Lewis Talk as, “offer[ing] a chance to float above the once-proud lumber towns. As we fish, swim and boat around the waters, few of us take the time to remember what use[d] to be located along the now flooded riverbed below” [4]
Content and structure elements
Scope and content
Includes genealogical information about the Pixler and Moriarty families, along with information and accounts of life in Kosmos, Washington including photographs taken before the creation of the Mossyrock Dam, and activities at the site since 1968 up to 2014. The residents of Kosmos were displaced in 1967 to make way for the dam project.
System of arrangement
The Pixler Family Papers were curated and arranged by Rebecca Pixler. Included with the papers are Pixler's finding guide and additional description.