Part 1 (1/2)
A Review of the Resources and Industries of the State of Was.h.i.+ngton, 1909.
by Ithamar Howell.
INTRODUCTION
OFFICE OF THE BUREAU OF STATISTICS, AGRICULTURE AND IMMIGRATION, OLYMPIA, WAs.h.i.+NGTON, JUNE 1, 1909.
This publication represents an effort to place before the general public, and particularly the visitors at the Alaska-Yukon-Pacific Exposition, a brief description of the princ.i.p.al resources and industries of the State of Was.h.i.+ngton.
Its imperfections may be accounted for largely by reason of the fact that funds for the purpose did not become available until the first day of April of the current year. This necessitated unusual haste in securing and preparing the material upon which the pamphlet is based. However, we have endeavored to deal conservatively and fairly with the various subjects under consideration, and to present all the information possible within the limits of the s.p.a.ce at our disposal.
Our purpose has been to supply the reader with an outline of the salient facts which account for the marvelous growth and development which the commonwealth is enjoying. To go largely into detail within the scope of a pamphlet of this size would be, manifestly, an impossibility. We might readily exhaust our available s.p.a.ce in dealing with one industry or in describing a single county. Details, therefore, have been necessarily and purposely avoided.
We have sought to bring the entire state within the perspective of the reader, leaving him to secure additional facts through personal investigation. Along this line, attention is called to the list of commercial organizations and local officials presented [Page 4]
in the statistical portion of this report. Nearly all the larger communities of the state maintain organizations, equipped to supply detailed facts relating to their particular locality. Much valuable information may be obtained on application to these organizations or to local officials.
An expression of appreciation is due those who have a.s.sisted us by supplying information and collecting photographs for use in this publication. Without such aid the completion of the pamphlet would have been materially delayed.
[Ill.u.s.tration: Plate No. 1.--Fruit Farm Adjoining Town of Asotin, Asotin County.]
[Ill.u.s.tration: Plate No. 2--Asotin County Views.]
GENERAL OUTLINE OF THE RESOURCES AND INDUSTRIES OF WAs.h.i.+NGTON.
The State of Was.h.i.+ngton as now const.i.tuted, was, prior to 1853, a portion of the Territory of Oregon. During the year mentioned, a new territory was carved from the old Oregon boundaries, which the statesmen of that day evidently believed was marked by destiny for the achievement of great things, for they conferred upon it the name of Was.h.i.+ngton.
That our state, thus highly distinguished, has already demonstrated itself worthy of the exalted name, so happily bestowed upon it, the most carping critic must admit. With a population now reaching up toward a million and a half, and with all the forces that make for industrial, commercial and agricultural supremacy in full swing, and gathering new momentum yearly, Was.h.i.+ngton is moving onward and upward toward a position among the very elect of our great sisterhood of states.
As briefly as the story may be told, the fundamental facts which underlie the marvelous advancement made by the state during recent years will be set forth in the pages of this pamphlet.
NATURAL DIVISIONS OF THE STATE.
By virtue of its varied topography, Was.h.i.+ngton is naturally divided into a number of districts or sections, each possessing its own particular characteristics.
Olympic Peninsula.
The first of these districts may be described as consisting of that section of the state including the Olympic mountains and extending westward from them to the Pacific ocean. Within the limits of this Olympic peninsula, as it is ordinarily termed, there is standing one of the largest and most valuable tracts of virgin timber yet remaining in the United States.
Puget Sound Basin.
The second district includes the territory lying between the Olympic and Cascade mountains, the chief physical feature of which is the great inland sea known as Puget Sound. The sh.o.r.e front of this important waterway exceeds 2,000 miles, and its length is broken by numerous bays and harbors, upon which are located Seattle, the state's metropolis, and the growing cities of Tacoma, Everett, Bellingham and Olympia. The climate of this section is mild in winter and cool in summer, extremes in either season being practically unknown. Deep sea s.h.i.+pping enters the port of Puget Sound from every maritime country on the globe, and the industrial and commercial interests of this section are expanding with extraordinary rapidity.
The Cascade Mountains.
The Cascade mountains const.i.tute the third of these natural divisions.
This range extends in a broken line across the width of the state, at a distance of about 120 miles from the Pacific ocean. These mountains, their rugged peaks capped with a mantle of eternal snow, their sides covered with a heavy timber growth, and their valleys carrying numerous sparkling mountain streams, with illimitable possibilities for the development of power, are one of the important a.s.sets of the state, the value of which has not as yet even been estimated.
The mineral wealth of the Cascades, only a slight knowledge of which has as yet been secured, will ere long contribute largely to the prosperity of the state, while the more moderate slopes of the mountains serve a valuable purpose for the pasturage of numerous flocks and herds.