A Review of the Resources and Industries of the State of Washington, 1909 Part 13

The central portion of the county is a valley comprising 250,000 acres, about one-fourth of which is under irrigation, and has long been noted for its prolific crops of hay and many herds of dairy cows.

The foothills of the mountains have precious metals, coal and iron.

The streams abound in trout and much game is in the mountains.

TRANSPORTATION.

The Northern Pacific and Chicago, Milwaukee & St. Paul railroads, coming into the county from the south and west, cross at Ellensburg [Page 66]

and then follow the valley of the Yakima to the crest of the Cascades giving abundant facilities for making markets east and west to all parts of the country.

PRINc.i.p.aL TOWNS.

ELLENSBURG, the county seat, is situated on a level bench in the Yakima valley and on the railroads. It is a town of upwards of 5,500 people, and is substantially built, chiefly of brick. There are creameries, flourmills, sawmills, and warehouses, banks, breweries newspapers, electric lights, and gravity water system, churches, schools, among which is one of the state normal schools. It is also a division point on the Northern Pacific railway, and is the chief distributing point in the county for farm products and merchandise.

ROSLYN is the chief coal-mining town, situated on the railroad well up in the foothills of the mountains. It has about 4,500 people.

It has gravity water and electric lights, and is a substantial, thriving and growing town. From the coal mines in the vicinity the best coals of the state are mined in large quant.i.ties and s.h.i.+pped all over the state.

CLE_ELUM is another coal mining town, on the Northern Pacific railway, with a population of about 2,500. Tributary to Cle-Elum is a wide mining territory, for which it is the chief distributing point.

THORPE is a smaller village likely to develop into an important trading point.

KLICKTAT COUNTY

Klickitat county is central among the southern tier of counties of the state, bordering 80 miles on the Columbia river, with an average width of 20 miles. It has a population of about 14,000 and an area of 1,800 square miles.

There is a great variety in its climate, the elevation varying from 100 to 3,500 feet above the sea level.

The soil is chiefly volcanic ash, disintegrated basalt and alluvium.

It is deep and much of it sub-irrigated. The princ.i.p.al crops are wheat, barley, rye, oats, and corn.

The wheat lands yield from 15 to 40 bushels per acre.

Among the fruits raised are apples, peaches, pears, cherries, English walnuts, almonds, plums, prunes, grapes, apricots, and all the small fruits.

Wheat lands vary in price from $10 to $50 per acre. It is estimated that 7,000 acres will be planted to fruit and nut trees this current year, while last year 75,385 apple trees, 14,675 peach trees, and 17,345 grape vines were planted.

RESOURCES.

As already indicated, the strength of the county is in its soil and agriculture is its great source of wealth. Stock-raising is a chief industry, the slopes of the mountains on its northern boundary furnis.h.i.+ng [Page 67]

abundant pasturage. The southeastern part is fast developing into a fruit-growing region, while agriculture and grain-growing is more general in the central and southern portion.

TRANSPORTATION.

The Columbia river, with a railroad on each side of it and numerous ferries, makes ample provision for transportation, while the Goldendale branch reaches well up into the center of the county.

CITIES AND TOWNS.

GOLDENDALE, the county seat and metropolis, is located in the center of the county, 120 miles east of Portland. It is the terminus of the Goldendale branch of the Spokane, Portland & Seattle railway, making connection with the main line at Lyle. It is located in the heart of a splendid agricultural section and at the edge of the great timber belt.

WHITE SALMON, located in the splendid fruit section, is a thriving town. It is an important railroad point on the North Bank and is the outlet for the products of an extensive fruit, timber and dairying region.

CLIFFS, the division point of the Spokane, Portland & Seattle railway, is the trading center of many square miles of territory. The best nut land in the county is located near here.

BICKLETON, the trading point of an extensive wheat section, is in the eastern part of the county. An electric road has been surveyed, which will, when completed, give this town railway connection.

LYLE, ROOSEVELT, COLUMBUS, BINGEN, and CENTERVILLE are growing trading points.

LEWIS COUNTY

Lewis county is one of the largest counties in western Was.h.i.+ngton, having an area of 2,593 square miles of territory and about 40,000 people. It occupies a large part of the drainage basins of two large rivers, the Cowlitz and Chehalis--one emptying its waters into the Columbia river and the other into Grays harbor. It reaches from the peaks of the Cascades 100 miles toward the ocean, but is cut off 30 miles from the coast, and is about 30 miles wide.

Mount Rainier is just north of its extreme eastern portion and about one-fourth of the county is within the Rainier forest reserve.

RESOURCES.

At present the chief industry of the county consists of manufacturing its forests into the various forms of lumber and its products, the lumber cut aggregating four hundred million feet and two hundred million s.h.i.+ngles.

Next in importance probably are the precious metal and coal deposits of the county, which have, however, been but little developed.

The coal measures include bituminous, lignite and anthracite, and are of great extent in the foothills of the eastern part of the county. Two systems of railroads have been projected into these fields, and the nearest, carrying lignite and bituminous coals, are being commercially developed.

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Agriculture, including especially dairying and fruit culture, takes the place of the forests as they are removed and bids fair to reach in importance, in time, the lumber and coal resources. To this end, the soil fertility, the mild climate and cool mountain waters conspire.

TRANSPORTATION.

Lewis county is in the path of all railroads coming in from the south or through the Columbia gap in the Cascades. Already the Northern Pacific railway and the Union Pacific railway cross the county, and the North Coast contemplates traversing the entire Cowlitz valley, while the Tacoma Eastern is already into the northwestern part of the county on its way toward the same goal.

The county cannot be too well supplied, for its vast treasures when developed will furnish immense products for transportation.

CITIES AND TOWNS.

CHEHALIS and CENTRALIA are the two twin cities of the county--less than five miles apart and of about equal importance. From Chehalis the Northern Pacific railway branches off, following the upper reaches of Chehalis river and ending on Willapa bay, while from Centralia the same road branches, following the lower Chehalis river, to Grays harbor.

CHEHALIS is the county seat, with a population of 5,000 and rapidly growing, and has electric lights, sanitary sewerage system, paved streets, fine business blocks, and a large and growing trade. Near the city is located the State Training School.

CENTRALIA has a population of about 7,000 people, chiefly engaged in running sawmills, s.h.i.+ngle mills, sash and door factories, and other woodworking plants. It has a large city hall, ten churches, fine schools, banks, business houses, water systems, fire department, and is a hustling, thriving town.

WINLOCK is a town of 1,200 people on the railroad in the southern part of the county, and a distributing point of much importance.

PE ELL is a town of 1,000 people on the South Bend branch of the Northern Pacific railway, chiefly engaged in milling and agricultural pursuits.

MCCORMICK, LITTELL, KOSMOS, LITTLE FALLS, ADNA, DRYAD, DOTY, and KOPIAH, are all centers of industry in various parts of the county.

Lewis county as a whole offers wonderful opportunities for newcomers in all pursuits--commercial, agricultural, and mining.

[Ill.u.s.tration: Plate No. 61.--Tacoma High School and Stadium. Rose Arbor in Point Defiance Park, Tacoma.]

[Ill.u.s.tration: Plate No. 62.--A Red Raspberry Field in the Puyallup Valley, Pierce County.]