Jasper Gates, born April 9, 1840, in Adair County, Missouri, grew up on his family farm, married Clarinda Kimble in 1860, served in the Union Army during the Civil War, and then moved with his family to the Pacific Northwest. Traveling by railway to California and then by ship to Whidbey Island with members of the Kimble family, they stayed at Ebey's Landing while the men explored the mainland and the Skagit River in 1869. Most chose homestead claims near a massive log jam that blocked the river, but Gates followed an Indian portage trail beyond it and selected land between two jams at the site that would become Mount Vernon. Families came in 1870, beginning community development. Gates built friendly relations with local Indians by planting potatoes to share for other goods, while Clarinda brought sheep for wool, shared wool with Native women who had a weaving tradition, learned the local Indian language, and helped build mutually helpful relationships. The Gates homestead, centered at what is now First and Gates Street, welcomed newcomers and helped them get started. Gates sold ten acres of his land to Clothier and English at a nominal cost to help clear the lower jam so mail could get through. Clarinda stitched together the American flag that flew over Mount Vernon in 1877. Jasper and Clarinda Gates and their family supported the town's growth by encouraging settlement and helping establish services, schools, churches, medical facilities, hotels, restaurants, parks, public facilities, and riverfront space for the Skagit Sawmill and Manufacturing Company. After Mount Vernon became the county seat in 1884, Gates took over a newspaper begun that year for his son-in-law G.E. Hartson, moved it into its own building on Main Street, and equipped it as a major force in the development of Mount Vernon and Skagit County. He is honored as the Father of Mount Vernon.