Part 13 (1/2)
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.