From the Forks Website, Town History section…

As related by Elizabeth "Betty" Whitlock Masen in the months preceding her death in 1938

The town of Forks, Washington is located on the Olympic Peninsula in the Pacific Northwest.

Forks has a long and proud tradition of being a part of Small Town America. The exclusive schools and upscale style of living has ensured a level of expectancy and excellence that is maintained through the contributions of its citizens, most notably amongst the older families who have called Forks home for generations.

The most esteemed of the families are descendants of Forks' founder, Horatio Masen. The Masen family continues to be at the forefront of all benevolent activity that occurs in most of the Peninsula, contributing much time and effort to various charities in the area and making appearances whenever an air of sophistication and glamour is needed. The much-lauded Masen family is known for their generosity, their selflessness, and their willingness to participate in anything that will better their fellow man.

This tradition of philanthropy and class started back in the era of the settling of the west; the time of Gold Rush and Manifest Destiny. Horatio Masen was the youngest son of the well-to-do Masens of Virginia; coming from a tobacco plantation that was dabbling in various forms of flavor experiments with the crop, Horatio Masen was known as a maverick son who wanted to expand family operations to include distilleries for an emerging type of "hooch" he had been experimenting with. His father indulged everything that he did, so he allowed his son to burn down a portion of their unused rice fields in order to sow the necessary crop to create this beverage he was crazy for; Horatio gambled extensively to earn the scratch needed to set up shop. He was known as a gambler in those parts, and many traveled far and wide to challenge the great Horatio Masen and his poker skills; Yankees especially attempted to hustle the Southern Gentleman for his money, but he never lost a single game. He was fond of creating side bets and it is said that he once played the great Jasper Newton "Jack" Daniel, winning Jack Daniel's recipe for the famous No. 7 Whiskey that is famous the world over today.

Unfortunately for Horatio and his family, one night while he was inspecting his barrels and entertaining a group of Ladies visiting from England, Horatio made an error in judgment and an incident ensued that is not in the books but has been passed down orally as "the straw that broke the camel's back" (please click here to read "Horatio Masen: Never met a woman he didn't adore"). Horatio was sent packing and his father, the great tobacconist and future investor in Phillip-Morris, Nathaniel Masen, politely requested of his youngest son and "greatest disappointment" to please seek his fortune elsewhere.

It was with this regretted invective that our hero Horatio Masen set out to make his fortune on the Oregon Trail, armed with not much more than his smile that would "gain him entrée to the best establishments in all of Christendom" and a Winchester he had won off of a traveling cowboy. He brought along his ambition and ideas for growing tobacco in the Pacific Northwest; he was incredibly excited at the prospect of making his way in the world and looked forward to the moment when he could return to the bosom of his family with his newfound riches and status as a Great Man.

Little did he expect the hardships that awaited him in the wild, wild west. Not only did he nearly die from dysentery while on the long, arduous journey from Promontory Point, but he had several incidents with some natives (please click here to read "Horatio Masen: Buffalo Wrangler and Indian Peacekeeper") that would influence his future dealings once he arrived in the area that would come to be known as Washington.

He decided to head to California and make his fortune in San Francisco once word of the great Gold Rush hit the would-be settlers; making several gambles that he knew would yield positive results, Horatio earned enough cash to continue his dream of seeing the Oregon Country. He was not satisfied, however, to settle somewhere that was already on its way to prosperity, so he continued north from Oregon to the wild beauty of the Future Olympic Peninsula.

He reached the area that is now Forks with money in his pocket, broken-hearted women trailing in his wake, and a dream of recreating the gentle fields and sprawling plantations of his woebegone youth. He wrote often to his family of his adventures, but he never received any response; whether this was due to the stubborn refusal of his father to recognize the accomplishments of his disappointing son or the unreliable Pony Express will forever remain a mystery; all that is known is that Horatio Masen knew he was home once he reached the beautiful and gentle woods of Forks.

There was a native American contingent in place that was resistant to the Pale Faces that were beginning to invade their area (please click here to read "Horatio Masen: the North Natives aren't so different from the Midwestern Natives"), and Horatio once again found himself as Peacekeeper between a burgeoning white infestation and the harsh, unrefined native population.

Now, it is a little-known fact that Forks derives its name not from the crossroads between civilization and the untamed wild like is assumed, but from the story of Horatio and the Family Silver.

One thing Horatio was not was completely trustworthy, and he had managed to escape with a significant portion of his Great Grandmother Eugenie's Silver Service. He lugged it across the American Plains along with some other valuable family heirlooms (of his and other unsuspecting, enterprising yet poor-at-Poker youngest sons also attempting to earn their fortunes on the Oregon Trail), and it was these valuable-to-East-Coasters pieces of shiny worth that would get Horatio all that he desired- a town of his own. When things were looking bad, in desperation, Horatio offered the Chief of the Quileute tribe a handful of silverware in desperation. There he was, standing in a circle of fierce-faced warriors, thrusting a handful of forks at Hackles Raised, the tall and unamused tribal Chieftain. It is said that the Chief cracked his first smile of his life as he readily accepted the silverware and several assorted pieces of silver; the natives were so amused by the eating utensils of the white people that they could not stop laughing at the ridiculous lengths the Pale Faces would go to maintain their "civility". Chuckling and clutching their forks, they whooped off into the night, allowing Horatio and his small band of ruffians to set up camp in the damp woods that is the current site of Forks Academy.

Breathing a huge sigh of relief, Horatio declared that their salvation lied with the forks, and thusly the town was named.

Today, several monuments to the great founder of Forks remain as reminders to the stalwart efforts of Horatio and his gambling nature. Most notable is the statue that stands in front of the Horatio, a hotel that was created in the style of his Virginian home that he learned was burned down during the Civil War several years after he left to seek his fortune.

Horatio was never "able to return home", but he was able to travel back shortly before his untimely death (please click here to read "Horatio Masen: the Tragic Duel") in 1874 and relate his adventures to the survivors of the family. Every single one of his brothers had died fighting for the Glorious South in the war, but the Masen family of Virginia continues to live through to this day through his nephews from his sister.

The Masen family of Forks is survived by Esme Masen-Cullen, philanthropist and Rhodes Scholar, and her son Edward Masen Cullen, who currently attends Forks Academy. Both the Masen and the Cullen wing of Forks Academy were created several years ago, ensuring that the legacy of Horatio Masen will live on.