Part 5

[Page 49] PRINCIPAL CITIES AND TOWNS.

PROSSER, its chief town and county seat, is on the Yakima river and Northern Pacific railway in the western central part of the county, and has about 2,000 population. It is the chief distributing center of the county. It has three weekly newspapers, six churches, good water supply, banks, stores, warehouses, lumber yards, etc.

KENNEWICK, at the easterly center of the county, on the Northern Pacific and Portland & Seattle railroads and on the Columbia river, is a town of much importance, having about 1,500 people. It is noted for the remarkable earliness of its fruits and vegetables. It has the usual business, church and school establishments, including an ice and cold storage plant.

KIONA, on the Yakima river, midway between Prosser and Kennewick, CARLEY AND PETERSON, in the southern portion of the county, on the Columbia river, are all growing and prospering smaller towns.

CHEHALIS COUNTY

Chehalis county is central among the counties bordering on the Pacific, the towns about Grays Harbor being its seaports. It has an area of 2,600 square miles and a population of 35,000.

RESOURCES.

Its industries arise out of its vast timber belts, its fertile low lands, and its fisheries. It is said to have 800,000 acres of magnificent timber lands, the great bulk of it unmarketed. Logging and the manufacture of wood products make up its chief occupation, though general farming and fruit-raising is rapidly gaining. The lands of the county when reclaimed from the forests are fertile and respond generously to the labor of the husbandman. In 1906, 15,000 apple trees were planted in the county. The fishing industry, including the canning of salmon, sardines, clams and oysters, is a thriving industry and destined to develop into much larger proportions.

TRANSPORTATION.

Grays Harbor is open to the ocean, but is splendidly protected and has safe anchorage. It is the largest lumber shipping port in the state. The Humptulips and Chehalis rivers empty their waters into the bay, and are both navigable for some distance.

In addition, the Northern Pacific railroad skirts both sides of the bay and a logging railroad from Shelton, in Mason county, has nearly reached the ocean, going through the county from east to west. Other railroads have surveying parties in the field, and a conflict is on to share the vast lumber-carrying trade of the county with the Northern Pacific, which has till now monopolized it.

Chehalis county is one of the most important counties in the state, and offers an abundant opportunity for Yankee energy to exercise itself [Page 50] in almost every avenue of business. Its opportunities and resources are numerous and vast. The newcomer may look long and find no better place for his talents.

PRINCIPAL CITIES AND TOWNS.

MONTESANO is the county seat, located at the head of navigation on the Chehalis river, and on the Northern Pacific railway. It has a population of about 3,500. It has sawmills, sash and door factories, and is surrounded by a prosperous farming community, dairying being very remunerative.

ABERDEEN is the commercial metropolis of the county. Nearly $15,000 is daily paid out to wage-earners. Much commerce from the ocean is centering here, 736 vessels clearing from Grays Harbor in 1907. Seven hundred and seventy-seven thousand dollars has been appropriated by congress for the improvement of the harbor. The city has terminal rail rates, and the Northern Pacific and Chicago, Milwaukee & St. Paul railroads are hustling after its trade. The business portion of the city is built of stone, brick or cement. It has eleven large sawmills, many shingle mills and various other factories for utilizing the products of its timber, besides fish and clam canneries and other factories. Its population, now about 15,000, is rapidly growing.

HOQUIAM, Aberdeen's nearby neighbor, has a population crowding 11,000, and is a hustling manufacturing and commercial center, not different in its general business from Aberdeen.

ELMA, twelve miles east of Montesano, is a town of 2,700.

COSMOPOLIS, south of the river from Aberdeen, has about 1,200, and is a sawmill town.

OAKVILLE, MAKRHAM and SATSOP are small growing towns on the Northern Pacific railway. Many other embryo towns will in time grow into prosperous business centers.

CHELAN COUNTY

Chelan county is one of picturesque beauty and abundance of both developed and undeveloped wealth. It faces the Columbia river eastward, while its back rests against the peaks of the Cascades, 5,000 to 6,000 feet above the sea. Lake Chelan is the largest fresh water body in the state, fifty miles long and one to four wide, and lies 400 feet higher than the Columbia river.

Chelan county has 2,000 square miles, much of it mountainous and full of minerals. Its population is at present about 14,000.

RESOURCES.

Horticulture, agriculture, lumbering, stock-raising, mining and dairying all flourish on the bountiful natural fitness of the county for these occupations. The climate is attractive. It is a sunshiny county.

[Page 51] TRANSPORTATION.

Steamers ply up and down the Columbia river. The Great Northern railway crosses the county through the valley of the Wenatchee river and the Washington & Great Northern railway is projected along the western boundary of the Columbia river.

PRODUCTS.

All kinds of temperate zone fruits mature here in wonderful perfection and abundance. The valleys run with water from the mountains to irrigate the lands, and furnish vast power, much of it undeveloped. Hills in the western part of the county are timbered and all the vacant lands are grass covered. Over 1,000,000 fruit trees have been planted in the last three years in the county.

The mountain foothills are full of mineral veins of copper, gold, silver, lead and molybdonite. Some have been producing for twenty years. Trout in the streams and game on the hills add to its attractiveness.

PRINCIPAL CITIES AND TOWNS.

WENATCHEE is the county seat and largest town, having about 3,500 people. It is located on the Columbia river near where the Great Northern railway crosses it. It is the chief distributing center for the county and much other territory, chiefly north of it.

LEAVENWORTH, westward of Wenatchee, and also on the railroad, has a population of 1,200 and is a division point.

CHELAN, at the foot of Lake Chelan, has about 700 people.

CASHMERE, on the railroad, is of about equal size.

LAKESIDE, PESHASTIN and ENTIAT are smaller towns, all thriving and growing.

CLALLAM COUNTY

Clallam county occupies 2,000 square miles of the northwestern part of the Olympic peninsula, having 35 miles of shore land on the Pacific and 90 miles on the straits. The Olympic mountains and foothills cover the southern half mostly, while the northern half is made up of lower hills and valleys. Several large lakes nestle among the mountains; one of them, Lake Crescent, is a famous summer resort. Lake Crescent is known as the home of the celebrated Beardslee trout. The eastern and southern parts have a rainfall sometimes nearing 100 inches annually, while in the eastern northerly part it is about 20 to 25 inches only.

An important section of the county is that known as Sequim Prairie This is a level district of about 5,000 acres, located three miles back from Port Williams. Most of it is under irrigation, and the soil thus treated produces marvelous crops.

[Page 52] RESOURCES.

Lumber, fish, agricultural products and coal comprise its chief resources. The timber of the county is very vast and very little exploited. Its proximity to the ocean makes it very advantageous for all fishing industries. Its valleys are noted for the fertility of their soils, and many a farmer has grown wealthy from their cultivation.

TRANSPORTATION.

Facilities for getting about are limited to boats and wagons. A splendid boat service is maintained with Seattle and other Sound ports, and a system of public roads is now in process of construction that will be unexcelled in the state. Several surveying parties are now in the woods and it is believed that Grays Harbor and the Straits of Juan de Fuca will be soon united with railroad iron and Clallam county will come to its own.

PRINCIPAL TOWNS AND VILLAGES.

PORT ANGELES, located about 60 miles from the ocean on the Straits of Fuca, is the largest town and county seat. It has a splendid harbor, with fine anchorage, furnishing a safe refuge for ships when the storms rage outside.

DUNGENESS and SEQUIM, three miles from PORT WILLIAMS, are important farming centers, both noted for their dairy products, and contribute largely to make Clallam the second county in the state in the value of its dairy products.

QUILLAYUTE, FORKS, BEAVER, BLYN and GETTYSBURG are other small settlements waiting for the railroads to open up the country and render their natural resources available for the good of the world.

CLARKE COUNTY

Clarke county lies on the north shore of the Columbia river, opposite Portland, Oregon. It has 600 square miles of territory. It was one of the earliest settled parts of the state, and its timber as yet uncut is large. It is extremely well watered. The Columbia and Lewis rivers border it on three sides with navigable waters. It has a mild climate, very fertile soil, and splendid markets at its doors, abundant rainfall, and agriculture is successfully carried on without irrigation.

TRANSPORTATION.

The Northern Pacific railway connects its various towns with both Portland and Seattle, and the North Bank and Oregon & Washington railroad, paralleling the Northern Pacific, will add greatly to the facility and cheapness of its transportation. From Vancouver northeasterly a road is in operation nearly across the county, headed for North Yakima and the East.

[Page 53] INDUSTRIES.

Much of the southern part of the county is devoted to fruit-raising, prunes being a very prominent factor in the county's output. General agriculture, with dairying, are very profitable, and to these are to be added fishing, lumbering and mining.

PRINCIPAL CITIES AND TOWNS.

VANCOUVER has a population of about 8,000, and is rapidly growing. It is the county seat, and is connected with Portland, Oregon, by a trolley line. The Northern Pacific, Union Pacific, Oregon Railroad & Navigation and North Bank railroads all compete for its traffic. It is the central distributing point of the county, and is the United States military headquarters for Washington, Oregon and Alaska. It is well represented in business establishments, including barrel factory, fruit cannery, ship yard, iron foundry, shoe factory, and others.

LA CENTER, ETNA, NACOLT, AMBOY and BRUSH PRAIRIE are smaller towns, all holding out an inviting hand to the newcomer, and offering desirable opportunities for new business in both merchandising and agriculture, as well as in lumbering and its kindred industries. Clarke county is one well worth investigating by intending settlers, both on account of its latent possibilities and because of its peculiarly desirable climatic conditions, and its abundant competing transportation facilities, both by rail and water.

COLUMBIA COUNTY

Columbia county is one of the four counties in southeastern Washington, lying on the Oregon state line and south of the Snake river. A forest reserve in the Blue mountains covers much of the southern portion of the county, which is heavily timbered. The Northern part of the county is made up of rolling prairie lands, of great fertility on account of the large proportion of clay added to the volcanic ash, which composes most of the soils of eastern Washington. Irrigation is here unnecessary, and abundant crops reward the agriculturist. The climate is mild, healthful and vigorous, inclining to much outdoor life the year around.

PRODUCTS.

Columbia county is essentially an agricultural county, but of late years is branching out into fruit-raising and dairying with marked success. Apples and pears predominate among the fruits, though all others do well. Wheat is, however, still its great product, and both the Northern Pacific and Oregon Railroad & Navigation railroads are in operation through the northern part of the county to carry away its rich grain harvests.

The citizens of Columbia county are among the most prosperous of the state, its average of per capita wealth being exceeded by only three other counties.

[Page 54] PRINCIPAL TOWNS.

DAYTON, the county seat, has a population of about 3,500 people, is situated about in the center of the county, and is the chief town for the county's exports, as well as the distributor of its merchandise. It is a substantially built city, with flour and feed mills, and general mercantile establishments of importance. All the public interests, including schools and churches, are generously provided for. Its chief exports are grain, fruit, livestock and wool.

STARBUCK, in the northern part of the county, is a shipping point of no mean importance on the Oregon Railroad & Navigation railway.

COWLITZ COUNTY

Cowlitz county lies immediately north of Clarke county, bordering about 40 miles on the Columbia river. It has about 1,100 square miles of territory, and about 13,000 people. The southwestern portion is largely composed of level valley lands, while its northeastern part is occupied by the foothills of Mount St. Helens. The drainage is all westerly and southerly into the Columbia river. Cowlitz river is navigable as far as Castle Rock, and is an important factor in the transportation problem.

RESOURCES.

Timber is the great source of industry at present, the county having about two-thirds of its area heavily covered and unexploited. About 40 saw and shingle mills are engaged in disposing of its logs. Agriculture follows close on the heels of the lumberman everywhere in western Washington, and nowhere are better results in general farming and dairying obtained than in Cowlitz county.

Cowlitz coal fields have not yet been largely utilized, but will be extensively developed in time.

TRANSPORTATION.

Aside from the river navigation, this county is well supplied with transportation facilities by rail. The valley of the Cowlitz river affords the natural highway for roads between the Columbia river and Puget sound, and is already traversed by the Northern Pacific, while the Union Pacific systems and the North Coast road are projected over practically parallel lines through the county. From Kalama all three systems extend south to Portland and Vancouver.

PRINCIPAL CITIES AND TOWNS.

KALAMA, on the bank of the Columbia river at the ferry crossing of the Northern Pacific railway, is the chief town and county seat. There are here extensive electric power plants and a gravity water system. The chief industries grow out of the lumbering and fishing interests. It has about 1,250 people, but is just now rapidly growing, owing to its superb transportation facilities by both rail and water.

[Page 55] KELSO and CASTLE ROCK are both important towns on the railroads and Cowlitz river, each having about 1,500 people. At Kelso, which is near the Columbia river, considerable fish are caught and packed, yet the timber furnishes the chief industry. Fruit and dairying and general agriculture provide a large part of the support for the town merchants.

OSTRANDER, CARROLTON, CATLIN, ARIEL and LEXINGTON are smaller towns, all prospering and being built up into substantial business centers by the steadily increasing development of the latent resources of the county.

This county offers many opportunities for business to the newcomer in either merchandising, manufacturing or farming.

DOUGLAS COUNTY

Douglas county occupies the big bend of the Columbia river, having about 1,800 square miles of territory. Formerly there were 4,500 square miles. The last legislature carved the county in two, giving Grant county the southeastern part, about 2,700 square miles of territory, and leaving 1,800 to the northeastern part, with the old name. The bend of the Columbia on the northeast and Grant county on the southeast, compose its boundary. This division boundary follows the northeastern bank of the Grand coulee, and following its general direction meets the Columbia river where the Great Northern railroad touches its valley, thus putting all of that railroad in this new county, excepting only a few miles of the railroad along the banks of the river in the southeastern corner of Douglas county. Douglas county is essentially a high plateau, some of it 1,500 feet above the main bank. Waterville is the county seat, and considerable land along the valley of the Columbia is being irrigated and proving to be of great value for fruit and grain growing.

In the southeastern part of the county are some lands covered with black basaltic rocks, but the great bulk of the lands are rich in a volcanic ash soil, and produce large crops of grain without irrigation. A wrong view of the county can easily be impressed upon the traveler by rail; he will see so many of the basaltic rocks from the car windows but once up out of the canyon which the railroad follows, he will find himself in view of an expanse of wheat fields so vast and rich as to astonish him.

RESOURCES.

As already indicated, this county is essentially a grain producer. Wheat and oats are marketed in large quantities. Fruit-growing and stock-raising are important adjuncts to the county's wealth. It is comparatively new, and lands can be had at very reasonable prices.

TRANSPORTATION.

As now constituted, Douglas county will rely wholly upon the steamboat crafts on the river to get its grain to market. Its trade, however, [Page 56] is too vast to be passed by, and already two lines of railroad, the Washington & Great Northern and North Coast, are projecting into the very center of its vast wheat fields. With these roads completed as projected, Douglas county will have easy access to both water and rail transportation, and renewed importance will be given to its farming industries.

CITIES AND TOWNS.

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-shipping 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 Washington, 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 principally composed of low mountains, well timbered, with valleys furnishing fine grazing.

CLIMATE.

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

RESOURCES.

The bulk of the resources of this county are yet dormant. The mountains are full of minerals; timber is abundant; grassy 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 ships 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 altitude 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 bunchgrass 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 passes 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.

PRINCIPAL CITIES AND TOWNS.