A Review of the Resources and Industries of the State of Washington, 1909 Part 10

WATERVILLE is its chief town and county seat. It is among the wheat fields, in a broad plain, about seven miles east of the Columbia river, to which it is connected by good roads for stages and freight wagons. It has one of the U. S. general land offices. It has good schools and churches, water and electric lighting systems, both owned by the city. It has a population of about 1,200 people, and is well supplied with business houses, flour and feed mills, a brick yard, bank, etc.

BRIDGEPORT, a town of some 400 people, is situated in the northern part of the county on the Columbia river east of its junction with the Okanogan river, and is an important wheat-s.h.i.+pping point, having a regular steamboat service. A bank, flour mill, warehouses and general stores are serving the community, but other industries await the newcomer.

DOUGLAS, FARMER, JAMESON, MANSFIELD and HOLLISTER are growing agricultural centers.

FERRY COUNTY

Ferry county is about in the center of the northern part of eastern Was.h.i.+ngton, stretching from the northern boundary of the state to the Columbia river, which marks its southern and southwestern boundary. The southern half of the county is within the Colville Indian reservation, and is therefore wholly undeveloped. The lands, however, have in fact been allotted and the remainder will be thrown open for settlement in the near future.

Altogether it has an area of 2,200 square miles, and a population of 5,000. It is princ.i.p.ally composed of low mountains, well timbered, with valleys furnis.h.i.+ng fine grazing.

CLIMATE.

The climate of the county is such as prevails generally in northeastern Was.h.i.+ngton--a couple of months of snow in winter, affording plenty of sleighing, skating, etc. Summers are very pleasant, and spring and fall delightful.

[Ill.u.s.tration: Plate No. 47.--A Ranch Scene in Lincoln County.]

[Ill.u.s.tration: Plate No. 48.--Harvest Time in Lincoln County.]

[Ill.u.s.tration: Plate No. 49.--View of Spokane River in Lincoln County, Showing Possibility of Power Development.]

[Ill.u.s.tration: Plate No. 50.--Mason County Timber.]

[Ill.u.s.tration: Plate No. 51.--Dairy Scene in Mason County.]

[Ill.u.s.tration: Plate No. 52.--Oyster Beds in Mason County.]

RESOURCES.

The bulk of the resources of this county are yet dormant. The mountains are full of minerals; timber is abundant; gra.s.sy hillsides are tempting to the sheep and cattle, while the soil is rich, and when tilled will be found to produce excellent crops. The county has a fine future for wealth from all these sources, and, while the mines are [Page 57]

first to be made productive, without doubt the fruits and cereals will come into their own in time and furnish much of its wealth.

TRANSPORTATION.

Two railroads reach the center of the northern half of the county, terminating at Republic, the county seat. These railroads have pushed in here after the precious metals mined in the vicinity.

The Columbia river is navigable most of its course on the county boundary, barring some obstructions which the national government will remove and thus open up to river navigation to the ocean the fruits of toil in Ferry county.

CITIES AND TOWNS.

REPUBLIC, the county seat, is the only large town in the county, and has a population of about 1,250 people.

It is the distributing point for supplies for the mines and s.h.i.+ps out much ore for the smelters.

Ferry county altogether offers exceptional opportunities for the homeseeker in a variety of occupations, as already indicated.

FRANKLIN COUNTY

Franklin county occupies the basin formed by the junction of the Columbia and Snake rivers, being bounded east, south and west by them. The southern portion of the county is scarcely 300 feet above sea level, and the soil is fine and sandy. The northern part of the county is somewhat higher and composed of successive benches till they reach an alt.i.tude of 1,000 feet. It is only a few years since these lands were all considered barren and useless. Yet in 1906 these bench lands in this county added 1,500,000 bushels of wheat to the world's supply and in the following season nearly doubled that output.

There are no forests, the land being covered with bunchgra.s.s and sagebrush.

IRRIGATION.

Along the rivers some farmers have irrigated small parcels of land by pumping water, but the bulk of the irrigable lands are awaiting the action of the U. S. Reclamation Service, which it is thought will ultimately be engaged in an extensive irrigation problem to reclaim thousands of acres now arid and barren. The warm climate of these low Bandy lands has already been proven to be immensely advantageous to the gardener and fruit-grower, and the lands wonderfully productive when the magic influence of plenty of water renders the sources of plant life soluble.

The wheat crops now being produced come from the bench lands without irrigation.

TRANSPORTATION.

The Northern Pacific railway pa.s.ses diagonally through the county and crosses the Columbia river near Pasco. The Oregon Railroad & [Page 58]

Navigation railway taps the wheat belt in the northern part of the county and the North Coast is projected through it, while the Portland & Seattle follows the north bank of the Snake river along its southwestern boundary, thus giving the county four systems of railroad, besides the Columbia river steamboats.

PRINc.i.p.aL CITIES AND TOWNS.

PASCO is the county seat, in the extreme southern portion of the county, near the Columbia river, and is more noted as a railroad center than as a s.h.i.+pping point, on account of the fact that the surrounding lands are as yet unirrigated. It has a population of about 1,800, and is just now enjoying new vigor and much building in antic.i.p.ation of its future usefulness as a commercial center for distribution of both merchandise and agricultural products.

CONNELL, in the northern part of the county, is a s.h.i.+pping point of importance, and has two railroad lines and a third one coming.

In addition to the cereals, many sheep and horses are being raised and s.h.i.+pped out of the county from this vicinity.

GARFIELD COUNTY

Garfield county is the second from the southeast corner of the state, and extends from the Snake river on the north to the state boundary on the south. It has 627 square miles of territory and a population of about 7,000.

The southern portion is included in the Wenaha forest reserve, and is quite heavily timbered. The northern portion is an extremely prolific farming region, made up of undulating lands with deep rich soil, composed of clays and volcanic ash. No irrigation is necessary, and very heavy crops of grain are annually matured.

RESOURCES.

As already intimated, the chief source of income for the county comes from the tillage of the soil. Of the crops raised, barley is in the lead, having furnished 1,800,000 bushels in 1907, which places this county second of all counties in the state in the production of this cereal. Wheat and oats are also largely produced. Stock-raising in the southern ranges of the county is very profitable, and much fruit is of late years being produced. Indeed, Garfield county is well up to the front in the per capita wealth of its citizens.

PRINc.i.p.aL TOWNS.

POMEROY is the county seat and chief distributing center of the county. It is situated in the north central part of the county, on the Pataha river and the Oregon Railroad & Navigation railway.

It has a population of nearly 2,000.

It is lighted with electricity, has a gravity water system, and all the machinery for doing all the business naturally coming to a town [Page 59]

of its size. It has a fine high school and graded schools, churches, newspapers, banks, warehouses, big stocks of goods, fire department, cet.

GRANT COUNTY

Grant county occupies about 2,700 square miles of what was formerly Douglas county, comprising the lands southeast of the Grand and Moses coulees, bordering on the southwest on the Columbia river, with Adams and Lincoln counties on its eastern border.

Ephrata is the county seat, on the Great Northern railway. The northern part of the county is traversed by the Great Northern railroad, and has developed into a vast region of grain production without irrigation, although originally supposed to be valueless for cereal-raising.