A Review of the Resources and Industries of the State of Washington, 1909 Part 11

The southern part is new and comparatively undeveloped, but is crossed by the Chicago, Milwaukee & St. Paul railway, just now giving this new county great impetus. The southern portion of the county has long been a grazing ground for herds of cattle and horses, but it is thought now it will be turned into a prosperous region of small farms.

While the county is cut by several coulees, it is chiefly composed of large areas of bench lands, comparatively level, barring a range of hills in its southwestern corner called Saddle mountains. There is considerable water in the county, Moses lake being quite a large body of water with bordering swampy lands, about in the center, and Wilson creek, in the northern and Crab creek, in the southern part, furnis.h.i.+ng considerable stock water.

LANDS.

The lands tributary to the Great Northern railway already produce great quant.i.ties of grain and livestock, and these will continue to be its staple crops until irrigation may come in and stimulate fruit production, for which it is thought much of the lands will be suitable.

TRANSPORTATION.

Both the Great Northern and Northern Pacific railway systems are in the grain fields of the northern part of the county. The Milwaukee road crosses the southern part, the N. & S. is projected along its western border, paralleling the Columbia river, which is navigable, thus affording all the county, excepting the central portion, good facilities for marketing its products. As the county develops, beyond question branch lines will penetrate this portion, and Grant county will become as well supplied as any other portion of the state with facilities for commerce.

CITIES AND TOWNS.

EPHRATA, the county seat, is a small village on the Great Northern railway about midway of the county and the center of a large wheat-growing section. Its transformation into an important town is rapidly [Page 60]

going on, the new county government calling for a variety of new occupations to center here.

WILSON CREEK, near the eastern border of the county, is a larger town whose chief industry is marketing grain. It is an important distributing point, with prospects of larger growth.

QUINCY is a station on the Great Northern and is also an important wheat-s.h.i.+pping point.

SOAP LAKE, on a lake of the same name, is noted as a resort for the rheumatic.

BACON, COULEE CITY, and HARTLINE are stations on the Northern Pacific railway in the northeastern part of the county.

Grant county is new, but has large undeveloped resources, and is awaiting the newcomer with abundant offerings for his energy and labor.

ISLAND COUNTY

Island county is entirely composed of a group of islands in Puget sound, the largest two being Whidby and Camano. It has a land area of 227 square miles and a population of about 5,000.

RESOURCES.

Lumber, agricultural products and fish make up the county's resources.

Considerable of the timber, particularly from Whidby island, has been removed, and wheat, oats, hay, potatoes, fruits, poultry, b.u.t.ter, eggs, etc., are now s.h.i.+pped out to the splendid nearby markets at the chief seaport towns on Puget Sound.

The soils in the northern part of Whidby island are of remarkable fertility, some of them producing as much as 100 bushels of wheat per acre and immense crops of potatoes.

In season the waters of the county abound in salmon and other salt water fish, and many of the citizens of the county find profitable employment in connection with the fis.h.i.+ng industry.

PRINc.i.p.aL TOWNS.

COUPEVILLE is a town of some 400 people and the county seat, situated on a beautiful bay in the northern part of Whidby island. It is chief distributing point for the county, has a sawmill, s.h.i.+ngle mill, fruit-drying establishment, stores, churches, schools, a newspaper, etc.

OAK HARBOR, further north, is the center of a large farming and logging district. Two canneries are in successful operation.

UTSALADY, SAN DE FUCA, CAMANO, CLINTON, and LANGLEY are smaller villages gradually becoming summer resorts for people from the large cities of the sound. Steamboats furnish good transportation from all parts of the county.

[Ill.u.s.tration: Plate No. 53.--An Okanogan County Orchard in Bloom.]

[Ill.u.s.tration: Plate No. 54.--A View of the Country Along the Okanogan River in the Vicinity of the Okanogan Irrigation Project.]

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JEFFERSON COUNTY

Jefferson county is the second county south of the entrance of Puget sound, stretching from the Pacific ocean eastward over the peaks of the Olympic mountains to Hood's ca.n.a.l, and turning north gets a long waterfront also on Puget sound, and taps the Straits of Fuca. It has a population of 11,000 people and 2,000 square miles of territory.

RESOURCES.

The resources of this county are largely undeveloped, and yet it is one of the oldest settled counties in the state. Originally its entire area, barring a few small patches, was heavily timbered, and it is estimated that the county still has twenty billion feet of standing timber. Its soil is remarkably fertile, and the products of its farms have long been famous.

The Olympic mountains contain veins of precious metals, iron and manganese, none of which have as yet been thoroughly developed.

Fis.h.i.+ng for salmon, sardines, shrimps, clams and crabs is a very important industry.

SOILS, CLIMATE AND PRODUCTS.

The soils of the county are largely sedimentary, having been washed down from the mountains for ages, a.s.sisted by the decomposition of vegetable matter acc.u.mulated through centuries. In the valleys, where most of the farming is being done, these soils produce remarkable crops under the influence of the charming climate the county affords.

The rainfall in the eastern part of the county is moderate, but ample for all purposes; the average rainfall is about 20 inches.

The temperature rarely exceeds 80 degrees in summer, while the winter months average about 45 degrees.

Such soils and such climatic conditions combine to force wealth upon every industrious tiller of the soil. Clover yields from four to six tons per acre.

Oats and vetches for ensilage purposes yield five to seven tons per acre. Fifty to seventy-five tons of cabbage or mangles per acre are not uncommon, and onions and potatoes produce from six to ten tons. The fruit trees, particularly cherries, apples, and pears, produce wonderful crops. Cattle can graze ten months in the year or more, and the products of the dairies of Jefferson county cannot be excelled.

Because of the light rainfall and moderate weather, this county is admirably suited to poultry-raising. Green food can be had twelve months in the year. Runs can always be open, and with proper care hens can be made to pay $3.00 per year each.

PRINc.i.p.aL CITIES AND TOWNS.

PORT TOWNSEND, at the entrance of Puget sound, is the county seat and chief commercial center of the county. It has a population of [Page 62]

about 6,000. It is the headquarters for many government inst.i.tutions, including the U. S. customs service, U. S. revenue cutter service, marine hospital service, hydrographic service, quarantine service, and U. S. artillery for the Puget sound district.

Three great forts; Worden, Flagler, and Casey, are located here, forming the chief defense to Puget sound. Fort Worden joins the city limits. The present garrison force is 2,000. The scenery from the city is grand and beyond compare.

Its business interests are varied and extensive. Two canneries for salmon and sardines are here located, boiler works, a machine shop for building electric and gasoline engines, a s.h.i.+pyard, sash and door factory, lumber mills, and s.h.i.+ngle mills, a by-product plant producing wood alcohol, turpentine, etc.

The city is substantially built and its homes are artistically created.

The harbor has twenty-five miles of waterfront and fine anchorage of from nine to eighteen fathoms, and is an ideal refuge for all seagoing craft.

The city has gas and electric lights, paid fire department, fine churches, splendid schools, and a magnificent gravity water system furnishes the town of Irondale, Hadlock and Forts Worden and Flagler, having plenty of water to spare for thousands mote.

IRONDALE is practically a suburb of Port Townsend, having the only pig iron plant in the state. It is an extensive and growing concern, using bog iron from the vicinity and other ores from different sources.

PORT LUDLOW, DUCKABUSH, BOGACHIEL, PORT DISCOVERY, QUILCENE, and CHIMAc.u.m are small villages scattered about the county and are centers of agricultural activity.