Chapter 8

ORTING is a town with 800 people, chiefly engaged in gardening and farming. The State Soldiers' Home is located near, and adds considerable trade to the town.

SUMNER has a population of 1,000, is located in the Puyallup valley, and its people form a part of the farmers' association, engaged in fruit-growing, dairying and gardening.

STEILACOOM is one of the most beautiful little summer resort towns on Puget sound and is connected with Tacoma by two electric lines.

SYLVAN, GIG HARBOR, ROSEDALE, ELGIN, LONG BRANCH, BLANCHARD, and BEE are very prosperous villages of Pierce county, and are located on the shores of Puget sound.

SPANAWAY, EATONVILLE, ALDERTON, ELBE, MERIDIAN, KAPOWSIN, and MCMILLAN are villages in the interior, on the railroads.

WILKESON, SOUTH PRARIE, CARBONADO, FAIRFAX, PITTSBURG, and MELMONT are coal-mining towns of importance.

SAN JUAN COUNTY.

San Juan county is a group of islands lying between the waters of the Straits of Fuca and the Gulf of Georgia, off the southeast shore of Vancouver island. It has about 200 square miles of territory and about 4,500 people.

There are three large islands and several smaller ones. The islands are covered with soil and timber not different from the main land adjoining. Heavy timber in the forests, fine clay loams in the bottom lands, shot clay on the hillsides, big ledges of lime rock and other minerals and great shoals of fish in the waters are the foundations for prosperity for the citizens of the county.

RESOURCES.

The soils of the islands yield generously to good tillage, and wheat, oats, barley, potatoes and hay yield large crops. Dairying is profitable. Poultry-raising and fruit-growing, are especially attractive. Sheep and [Page 77] cattle find splendid pasture. Great quantities of salmon and other fish are taken in the waters, and game-deer and wild fowl--are abundant.

TRANSPORTATION.

There is no transportation save by water, but the islands are in the way of traffic from so many different directions that all parts are well served by steamboats.

ISLANDS AND TOWNS.

SAN JUAN ISLAND is the largest of the group, and its chief industries are farming, raising stock, salmon-fishing, and manufacturing lime.

FRIDAY HARBOR, on this island, is the county seat and largest town, with about 500 people. A telephone system is in operation throughout the island.

ROCHE HARBOR is the home of great lime kilns.

ORCAS ISLAND is the leading fruit-growing district of the county.

EAST SOUND, near the center of the island, at the foot of Mount Constitution, is a picturesque and charming fruit-growing section and summer resort.

ORCAS is an important center of the fruit and sheep raising industries.

LOPEZ ISLAND is a beautiful stretch of fertile agricultural land, much of it under tillage, and is the home of a prosperous community of farmers and stock-growers.

LOPEZ is the chief commercial center, with a cannery and creamery.

SKAGIT COUNTY.

Skagit county is the next county to the northwest corner of the state, stretching from Rosario straits to the peaks of the Cascades--about 100 miles east and west and 24 miles north and south. Its area is 1,800 square miles, with a population of about 35,000.

It is a county of great diversities in climate, topography and resources. The Skagit river and its branches drain nearly the entire county from the mountains to the saltwater. Its deltas are great flat fields of wonderful fertility. Its valleys also, where cleared of forests, are very rich alluvial lands. Its upper lands carry a great burden of forests and are full of hidden treasures.

RESOURCES.

The resources of the county are its forests and minerals, its agricultural products, and fishes. Its great cereal crop is of oats; hops, fruits, hay and barley follow in the order named in importance, while the products of the dairy are rapidly multiplying. Its minerals include the precious metals, iron, lead, coal, marble, limestone, granite, sandstone, etc.

[Page 78] TRANSPORTATION.

Aside from its water transportation, the Great Northern and the Northern Pacific railways cross its westerly end and send a branch line through the valley of the Skagit river well up towards the mountains and to the salt water at Anacortes. And other roads are building, while there are 168 miles of modern graveled wagon roads. The facilities for getting about are excellent.

PRINCIPAL CITIES AND TOWNS.

MT. VERNON is the county seat, with about 4,000 people. It is on the Great Northern railway, on the navigable Skagit river, and is a city of much commercial importance to the agricultural district around it. The soil in the vicinity is renowned for its great fertility and astonishing crops of oats, hay and grass. Creameries and a milk-condensing plant are supported profitably to all concerned.

ANACORTES is the chief town of the county, on the salt water. It has about 6,000 people, and is a center of lumbering and fishing. Factories for drying, salting, and canning salmon, halibut, and cod are increasing industries. There is also a fertilizing plant and a plant producing charcoal and the by-products of combustion, wood alcohol, turpentine, etc.

SEDRO-WOOLLEY, on both the Northern Pacific and Great Northern railways, has a population of 4,000, engaged in lumber industries, fruit, and vegetables, canning, dairying and gardening. It has a monthly payroll of $125,000.

BURLINGTON, on the Great Northern railway, has 1,800 people, and factories for making various wood products, concrete blocks, lumber, shingles and condensed milk.

LA CONNER is a great oat and hay shipping point. It is at the mouth of the Skagit river and on tide water, and has 800 people.

HAMILTON, at the head of navigation on the Skagit river, is a mining and lumbering town of 300 people.

BAY VIEW, SAMMISH, MINKLER, PRAIRIE, FIR, and BIRDSVIEW are other shipping points.

BAKER, on a branch of the Great Northern railway, has 400 people, and is a center of cement factories.

[Page 79] SKAMANIA COUNTY.

Skamania county, in the south central part of the state, has its southern boundary on the Columbia river, with Lewis county to the north. It is chiefly within the forest reserve, and includes Mount St. Helens on the west and Mount Adams on its eastern border. Altogether it has an area of 1,636 square miles, chiefly mountainous, and about 3,000 people.

The north fork of the Lewis river drains the most of the mountainous region, while a lot of small streams drain the southern part, emptying into the Columbia river.

The climate is a mean between that of eastern and western Washington, and is very mild and salubrious. The soil of the valleys in the region of the Columbia river is very fertile.

RESOURCES.

The chief resource of the county is in its timber and lumber, yet its mineral and agricultural wealth is becoming better known and appreciated yearly. The fruit raised in its valleys is of excellent flavor, early in season, and the soil is generous in its yield. Splendid pasturage in the foothills encourages stock-raising, and fishing in the Columbia river is profitably followed by some of the citizens.

TRANSPORTATION.

Boats on the Columbia river and a railroad on each side of it are the means of transportation, and ample for the residents of the county in its southern portion. The coming of the North Bank railroad has given a decided stimulus to the growth of the county.

DEVELOPMENT.

Skamania county has developed slowly and the bulk of its natural wealth is still practically untouched. Its minerals, well known to be valuable, are attracting the attention of prospectors, while the forests, fisheries and farming lands will furnish a competence to hundreds of additional familles. The scenery, combined with the fishing and hunting afforded, are additional attractions that will prove alluring to many newcomers.

PRINCIPAL TOWNS.

STEVENSON, a small town on the Columbia river and railroad, is the county seat and has a population of about 450.

Tributary to Stevenson is considerable improved land, and the people are engaged in stock-raising, fruit-growing and farming.

BUTLER is a town of about 300 people on the railroad and river.

CARSON, CAPE HORN, MT. PLEASANT and BEAR PRAIRIE are smaller villages, destined to become centers of commercial distribution.

[Page 80] SNOHOMISH COUNTY.

Snohomish county extends 36 miles in width from the Sound to the peaks of the Cascade mountains, adjoining King county on the north. It has an area of some 2,500 square miles of territory, a population of about 63,000 people, and a great storehouse of wealth in its natural resources. It is one of the largest and richest counties in the state, with a mild and healthful climate, magnificent scenery, great diversity of landscape, innumerable water falls and plenty of game.

RESOURCES.

The forests of Snohomish are very extensive and but little depleted. Fir, cedar, hemlock and spruce are its chief trees. Nearly one-half of the area of the county is heavily mineralized with veins of gold, silver, copper, lead, nickel, iron, and other ores. There are also vast ledges of marble, granite and other building stones.

In diversified agricultural possibilities, few counties can excel Snohomish. Its general soils in its valleys are alluvial, and produce astonishing crops; about the deltas of its rivers, the riches of the salt water and the mountains have combined to make a soil that will endure for ages and annually astonish the husbandman with its generosity. Upon its uplands, its clay and decaying herbage have combined for ages to create a soil wonderfully adapted to produce grass and fruits, and the industrious are luxuriating in nature's prodigality.

Rainfall is abundant, but not excessive, and crops of the cereals and fruits are never failures.

TRANSPORTATION.

This county is splendidly provided with transportation facilities; many steamboats ply its salt waters and part way up the three great rivers that flow into the Sound. Two transcontinental railroads cut the western part of the county in two. The trunk line of the Great Northern follows the valley of one river from the southeast to the coast, while two branch lines run up the other two great valleys, past the center of the state, toward the mountains, while a dozen spurs and short logging and coal roads act as feeders to the main lines, thus giving all the towns of the county access to all the Sound markets, and those of the east and the ports of the Pacific ocean.

PRINCIPAL CITIES AND TOWNS.

EVERETT, situated upon a fine harbor on the shores of Puget Sound near the mouth of the Snohomish river, is the county seat and metropolis of the county. It has a population of 35,000, and is fast developing into a commercial and manufacturing center of importance.

The largest steamers afloat can find wharfage at her docks and safe anchorage in her waters. It has upwards of 3,000 men employed in its factories and mills, with a monthly payroll aggregating $230,000.

[Page 81] They are engaged in the manufacture of lumber, shingles, sash and doors; in railroad shops, pulp and paper mills, and smelters; in running tug boats, driving piles, making iron castings, and tanning hides; packing meats and fish; making turpentine, charcoal, flour, butter, and many other commodities. Its banks have $4,000,000 on deposit. Its paper mills produce 26 tons of paper daily. Its smelter is a constant producer of the precious metals and their by-products.

The city is substantially built, having all the conveniences of a modern city, with wide streets and wide sidewalks; has both gas and electricity for lights, and a good water system. Some of its streets are paved with preserved wooden blocks and some with asphalt.

Everett is a sub-port of entry of the Puget sound country. The United States has spent half a million dollars improving the mouth of the Snohomish river for a fresh-water harbor.

SNOHOMISH is a city of 4,000 people, on the Snohomish river, which is navigable, and is connected with Everett by a street car line. It is also on the Northern Pacific and Great Northern railways, and is the distributing center for a large agricultural district. It has a number of shingle and sawmills, and is headquarters for a good deal of the mining industry of the county.

STANWOOD is a town of about 800 people, on the Sound and railway, in the northwestern part of the county. It is a center of farming interests and lumber industries.

ARLINGTON is a mining and lumbering town on the Northern Pacific railway, well up toward the mountains. It has a population of 2,000 and is growing.

MONROE is a town of 2,400 people, on the line of the Great Northern railway, in the center of a large farming and milling industry.

EDMONDS, a town of 2,000 people, is on the Sound and Great Northern railway, near the King county line; chiefly engaged in sawing lumber and making shingles.

SULTAN, GRANITE FALLS, GOLD BAR, DARRINGTON, and MONTE CRISTO are all centers of mining and other industries.

MARYSVILLE, MUKILTEO, SILVANA, GETCHELL, and PILCHUCK are centers of lumbering and farming.

SPOKANE COUNTY

Spokane county lies in the extreme eastern section of the state. The area of the county is 1,680 square miles.

TRANSPORTATION.

The transportation facilities are the best of the Inland Pacific Northwest. Three transcontinental railroads--the Northern Pacific, Chicago, Milwaukee & St. Paul, and Great Northern--traverse the County from east to west; a fourth transcontinental line, the Oregon Railway & Navigation company, enters from the southwest, and a fifth transcontinental road, the Spokane International (C. P. R.), enters [Page 82] the county from the northeast and terminates at Spokane. The Spokane Falls & Northern extends north into British Columbia and to Republic and Oroville, Wash. Electric trolley lines connect Spokane with the outlying towns in every direction. The total railway mileage in the county is approximately 429 miles.

TOPOGRAPHY AND INDUSTRIES.

The northern portion of the county is somewhat mountainous, and is covered with a fine growth of pine and tamarack timber; much of this section is suitable for agriculture, while all is adapted to grazing. The central part of the county is rolling and is traversed by the Spokane river; the central section to the west of the city of Spokane is fine agricultural land, while to the east of Spokane is the Spokane valley, which is rapidly being brought into a high state of cultivation by means of irrigation. There are about 40,000 acres in this valley capable of irrigation; 3,000 acres are now irrigated and under cultivation. The southern portion of the county is rolling, and comprises some of the finest agricultural land in the state. Large areas of this section are utilized for wheat-raising, while here are grown the finest sugar beets in the world.

Lumbering is a considerable industry, while stock-raising and dairying are also extensively engaged in. Over 1,000,000 bushels of wheat are grown annually. The flour mills of the county have a combined capacity of 3,600 barrels daily.

In fruit-growing Spokane is one of the leading counties of the state. The value of the fruit produced in the county amounts to nearly $3,000,000 annually. The following table shows the distribution of the five important fruits.

_Trees planted_ 1908-- _Total._ [*]Apples, 253,630 713,567 Pears, 15,470 39,232 Peaches, 59,323 94,769 Cherries, 56,405 106,909 Plums and Prunes, 11,815 29,128 Miscellaneous 2,910 10,000 ------- --------- 399,553 Total planted 1,003,615

[Footnote *: Is 25 percent. of the total number of apple trees planted in the state in 1908.]

SCHOOLS.

There are 165 school districts in the county and eighteen towns where graded schools are maintained. The total valuation of assessed property with improvements (1908) is $77,120,360; personal property, $10,527,030.

PRINCIPAL CITIES AND TOWNS.

SPOKANE, situated on the Spokane river, is the county seat of Spokane county, and is the metropolis of eastern Washington, having a [Page 83] population estimated at 120,000. Spokane is the center of a great wheat-raising section and is the principal mining and commercial center between the Cascades and the Rocky mountains. A conservative estimate of the total value of manufactured products for 1908 is $17,000,000. There are over 12,000 wage-earners, receiving over $10,000,000 annually. The principal industrial establishments are lumber mills, flour mills, machine shops, agricultural machinery, brick plants, iron works, foundries, pottery, cereal food, furniture, etc.

The industrial prosperity of the city is due largely to the mines in the vicinity, the great agricultural resources of the surrounding country, and to the extensive water power which offers special inducements to manufacturers. The Spokane river here has a total fall of 132 feet, which furnishes a minimum of 33,000 horse-power, of which 15,000 horse-power is developed.

There are four national banks, with a combined capital of $3,425,000. The city owns its own water works, from which an annual revenue of more than $325,000 is derived.

The educational facilities are excellent. There are twenty-three public school buildings, constructed of brick and stone, and costing $1,450,000. There are three daily newspapers, having a combined circulation of 45,000. Here is located the U. S. circuit court; the headquarters of the U. S. district court, eastern division; U. S. military post (Fort Wright); the government headquarters of the postal inspector service, known as the Spokane division, which includes the states of Washington, Montana, Idaho, Oregon, and the territory of Alaska, and a U. S. land office. Postoffice receipts for 1908 amounted to $360,504.

CHENEY, 10 miles southwest of Spokane, is a town of 1,500 people. Here is located one of the state normal schools, having about 400 students.

MEDICAL LAKE is an important town, having the Eastern Washington Hospital for the Insane near-by, It is a noted health resort.

ROCKFORD is an important agricultural town of 1,200 people.

HILLYARD is an important place of 1,500 people, having the car shops of the Great Northern railway as its chief business.

STEVENS COUNTY

Stevens county, in the extreme northeastern corner of the state, has an area of 4,500 square miles and a population of about 24,000. It is a county of great and diverse resources, is splendidly watered with large rivers, the Columbia bounding it on the west, and the Spokane on part of its southern line. Three ranges of low mountains extend across the county nearly north and south. Between these the Colville river and the Pend d'Oreille flow generally northerly through grand and beautiful valleys.

[Page 84] RESOURCES AND PRODUCTIONS.

Agriculture in all its branches, lumbering and kindred pursuits, and the mining of precious metals and building stones make up its chief sources of wealth.

AGRICULTURE.

The farms in the Colville valley are noted for their heavy hay crops, producing abundantly all the cereals, including corn, the clovers, timothy and alfalfa.

Dairying and stock-raising are important industries. To these the climate and soils are well adapted. Some lands have been irrigated with great benefit, but the bulk of the farming is successful without irrigation.

Fruit-raising is receiving deep interest of late, and the county bids fair to compete for honors with the very best localities in the state for the hardier fruits.

Lumbering and saw-milling engage the attention of a large number of the people, the product of the mills finding a ready market in the farming region, large cities and mining camps.

Mining of the precious metals is a growing and an attractive industry. The ores include gold, silver, lead, copper, tungsten and iron, while quarries of limestone, marble, onyx, fire-clay, etc., abound.

TRANSPORTATION.

In addition to the navigable waters of the Columbia and Pend d'Oreille rivers, which traverse the outskirts of the county, the Great Northern railway through the Colville valley from the southern to the northern boundary, reaches most of the agricultural and mining centers and renders good service. The western part of the county, comparatively undeveloped, deserves much more attention.

PRINCIPAL CITIES AND TOWNS.

COLVILLE is both the county seat and principal town in the county, having a population of 1,600 people, and is a growing town, a distributing center on the railroad, surrounded by prosperous farming communities.

NORTHPORT is the center of much mining activity and has a large smelter for the reduction of ores of the precious metals. It has a population of 1,200.

CHEWELAH is a center of agriculture, mining and lumbering industries in the center of the county, having about 1,000 people.

NEWPORT, in the southeastern part of the county, is an important agricultural distributing center. A dozen other smaller towns offer great opportunities to the homeseeker.

[Page 85] THURSTON COUNTY

Thurston county is known as having the state capital, Olympia, within its borders, and as including the extreme southern reaches of Puget sound. It is a county of wooded hills and valleys with a few open prairies well watered by mountain streams, chief of which is the Nisqually, which forms its dividing line from Pierce county, and the Des Chutes river, which makes a splendid waterfall of some 85 feet, a few miles south of Olympia. It has an area of about 700 square miles, 100 miles of salt-water shore, a population of about 20,000, and a delightful climate and magnificent scenery of lofty mountains; great expanse of inland salt water, and green-clad islands and fields in every direction.

RESOURCES.

The county is one of the oldest settled portions of the state, and has a great variety of natural resources, among which are its timber areas, its agricultural fields, its coal mines, its fisheries, including clam and oyster beds, gray sandstone quarries, and a great variety of clays.

INDUSTRIES.