The county was created by the 1879 territorial legislature and named for James Emmons (1845-1919), a steamboat operator and early Bismarck merchant and entrepreneur.

Much of the problem was ignorance by steamboat operators.

Captain Anderson was a prominent boatbuilder and steamboat operator on Lake Washington, and the Issaquah was the most elaborate vessel he had ever built.

He attacked steamboat operators for using oversized chimneys, speculated on future commercial interests, and surmised on the importance of spanning western rivers.

Whitcomb was a steamboat operator who founded the community of Milwaukie.

Reynolds was a successful steamboat operator from Chicago, Illinois.

For the next several years, Haraszthy was active as a trader, hunter, steamboat operator, and viticulturist, and his business activities attracted attention to the area.

His father, Capt. William Hobson, was a steamboat operator and merchant.

Thirteen steamboat operators were still extant.

Joseph "Diamond Jo" Reynolds was a successful steamboat operator from Chicago, Illinois.