Chapter I: M. Howell (3)

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.

PASCO is the county seat, in the extreme southern portion of the county, near the Columbia river, and is more noted as a railroad center than as a shipping point, on account of the fact that the surrounding lands are as yet unirrigated. It has a population of about 1,800, and is just now enjoying new vigor and much building in anticipation of its future usefulness as a commercial center for distribution of both merchandise and agricultural products.

CONNELL, in the northern part of the county, is a shipping point of importance, and has two railroad lines and a third one coming. In addition to the cereals, many sheep and horses are being raised and shipped out of the county from this vicinity.

GARFIELD COUNTY

Garfield county is the second from the southeast corner of the state, and extends from the Snake river on the north to the state boundary on the south. It has 627 square miles of territory and a population of about 7,000.

The southern portion is included in the Wenaha forest reserve, and is quite heavily timbered. The northern portion is an extremely prolific farming region, made up of undulating lands with deep rich soil, composed of clays and volcanic ash. No irrigation is necessary, and very heavy crops of grain are annually matured.

RESOURCES.

As already intimated, the chief source of income for the county comes from the tillage of the soil. Of the crops raised, barley is in the lead, having furnished 1,800,000 bushels in 1907, which places this county second of all counties in the state in the production of this cereal. Wheat and oats are also largely produced. Stock-raising in the southern ranges of the county is very profitable, and much fruit is of late years being produced. Indeed, Garfield county is well up to the front in the per capita wealth of its citizens.

PRINCIPAL TOWNS.

POMEROY is the county seat and chief distributing center of the county. It is situated in the north central part of the county, on the Pataha river and the Oregon Railroad & Navigation railway. It has a population of nearly 2,000.

It is lighted with electricity, has a gravity water system, and all the machinery for doing all the business naturally coming to a town [Page 59] of its size. It has a fine high school and graded schools, churches, newspapers, banks, warehouses, big stocks of goods, fire department, cet.

GRANT COUNTY

Grant county occupies about 2,700 square miles of what was formerly Douglas county, comprising the lands southeast of the Grand and Moses coulees, bordering on the southwest on the Columbia river, with Adams and Lincoln counties on its eastern border.

Ephrata is the county seat, on the Great Northern railway. The northern part of the county is traversed by the Great Northern railroad, and has developed into a vast region of grain production without irrigation, although originally supposed to be valueless for cereal-raising.

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, furnishing considerable stock water.

LANDS.

The lands tributary to the Great Northern railway already produce great quantities 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-shipping 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, butter, eggs, etc., are now shipped 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 fishing industry.

PRINCIPAL 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, shingle 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.

[Page 61] 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 canal, 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.

Fishing 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, assisted by the decomposition of vegetable matter accumulated 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.

PRINCIPAL 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 institutions, 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 shipyard, sash and door factory, lumber mills, and shingle 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 CHIMACUM are small villages scattered about the county and are centers of agricultural activity.

KING COUNTY

King county is distinguished by having Seattle for its county seat. The county is an empire in itself, stretching from the shores of Puget sound to the peaks of the Cascade mountains, and containing more than 2,000 square miles of territory. It also includes Vashon, one of the large islands of the sound.

RESOURCES.

King county's sources of revenue are varied and extensive. Its lumber industry, growing out of the vast forests within its borders not only, but from the cutting of logs brought in from other sections of the state, is immense.

Its agricultural lands are not surpassed in fertility by any, and include not only the alluvial deposits in its river bottoms, but great areas of shot clay and other soils splendidly adapted to fruit culture.

Its mining industries include not only very great acreage of coal measures, which have been producing coal for commercial purposes for local and foreign trade for thirty years and are scarcely scratched as yet, but also fissure veins of the precious metals--gold, silver, lead, [Page 63] copper, antimony, arsenic, and also iron, asbestos, fire clays, kaolin, granite, sandstones, lime ledges, and others.

Its fishing industries in its own waters and from the ocean give employment to a large number of men and its fish are shipped even as far east as Boston, Massachusetts.

Its power capacity, in addition to its wood and coal, includes great falls and rapids and many large streams which are already harnessed, but only in part, and driving vast quantities of machinery in this and adjoining counties.

In commercial possibilities King county is unrivaled. Its combination of lakes, rivers and salt water harbors have no superior on the globe, and the fact of its supremacy is demonstrated by the tabulated statistics of state officers, which show that King county possesses one-fifth of the population of the state and has more than one-quarter in value of taxable property of the state, and pays one-fourth of taxes collected within the state borders.

In scenery, which is no mean asset of the county, it is also unsurpassed. Vast ranges of mountains, sheets of fresh and salt water, rivers, hills and plains, forests, and grassy fields combine and interlace in a thousand directions to entrance and delight the artistic eye.

In game, including bear, deer, mountain goats, cougar, grouse, pheasants, quail, mountain trout, salmon and other fishes, make many a paradise for the sportsman.

TRANSPORTATION.

In addition to its salt waterways, with 75 miles of shore lands, and its navigable fresh water lakes, there are centering in the county coming in from all directions seven transcontinental lines of railroads, making King county and its metropolis a great distributing center for the commerce between the American continent and the continents of Asia and the islands of the Pacific. Besides these steam roads, electric trolley lines are making a network of inter-communication between all parts of King county not only, but reaching out into the adjoining counties.

CITIES AND TOWNS.

SEATTLE is the county seat and great metropolis of King county and the state, with a population crowding, if not exceeding, 275,000 people. It covers the hills and lowlands surrounding Elliot bay, an indentation of Puget sound, and a part of the land between the sound and Lake Washington, a freshwater lake of great beauty paralleling the sound for 23 miles and from one to three miles wide. It also includes two smaller lakes, whose sloping shores are covered with the homes of its citizens. From its hills the snow-capped mountains of the Cascade and Olympic ranges and Mount Rainier's towering peak are visions of surpassing beauty. A constant stream of coming and going water craft from all quarters of the globe frequent its harbor. Its business buildings of brick, stone, iron and concrete tower heavenward over four avenues, and many cross streets and miles of its low lands are [Page 64] covered with railroad tracks, warehouses and manufacturing plants.

Its grammar schools, high schools, and State University are equipped with magnificent buildings and grounds. Its streets and homes are brilliantly lighted with electricity from its own power plants, while the purest water, sufficient for a million people, flows through its water mains, all owned and controlled by the city.

A multitude of factories are providing a small part of the merchandise and composes the groundwork of her commerce.

The shores of Elliot bay are lined with wharves accommodating the largest sea-going ships. Its last assessed valuation of property was $203,168,680, and its tax to be raised $975,210.

More than 150 miles of street-car tracks are within her borders and a nickel pays for a 15-mile ride.

GEORGETOWN, in the southern part of Seattle, but not a part of it as yet, has a population of about 5,000, and is an important manufacturing center. Here are the car shops of Seattle Electric Company, gas works, foundries, breweries, machine shops, brick and tile works and many other industries.

RENTON, ISSAQUAH, RAVENSDALE, BLACK DIAMOND, and NEW CASTLE are coal mining towns.

KENT, AUBURN, KIRKLAND, VASHON, NORTH BEND, TOLT, FALL CITY, and MAPLE VALLEY are agricultural towns of importance.

KITSAP COUNTY

Kitsap county is nearly surrounded by the waters of Puget sound and Hood's canal, forming the larger part of the great peninsula which these waters would make an island were a six-mile ridge in Mason county opened up to them. It has extensive and numerous bays and inlets, with magnificent anchorage, and contains in its center the great Port Orchard navy yard, destined to become one of the largest seats in the United States for Uncle Sam's naval activities.

RESOURCES AND INDUSTRIES.

The chief resource of the county is in the lumber. Some of the largest mills of the state are located within its borders.

It is estimated that there are yet 200,000 acres of uncut timber in its borders, and its mills are turning out 600,000 feet of lumber daily, besides vast quantities of shingles.

The fishing industry now includes oyster culture, which is rapidly becoming very important. About the county are located many villages supported by the tillage of the soil from its reclaimed forest lands.

TRANSPORTATION.

Kitsap county has no railroads, but its waterways are so vast and intricate that all its corners are reached by steamers, and travel is cheap and freight conveniently handled in all parts of the county.

[Page 65] PRINCIPAL TOWNS.

PORT ORCHARD, the county seat, is on the bay of the same name and opposite the navy yard. It is the chief distributing point for a larger part of the cultivated lands of the county, and exports not only agricultural products, but also shingles. The surrounding lands are well suited for dairying, fruit-growing and poultry-raising, which is also true of the entire county.

BREMERTON, adjoining the navy yard, is the largest town in the county, having about 4,000 people and rapidly growing. It has a fire department, electric light and water systems, newspapers, banks, about 1,000 or more wage-earners and is a hustling town.

CHARLESTON is another smaller town adjoining the navy yard on the west and rapidly growing.

PORT BLAKELEY is an important milling and shipbuilding town of nearly 2,000 people, opposite Seattle. Its lumber goes to all parts of the world.

PORT GAMBLE is a sawmill town of importance contributing to swell the large output of lumber shipped out of the county.

CHICO, TRACYTON, KEYPORT, PAULSBO, SEABECK, CRYSTAL SPRINGS, COLBY, BANGOR, BURLEY, PORT MADISON, and OLALLA are all small villages, making progress as agricultural centers and as furnishing summer homes for business men.

KITTITAS COUNTY

Kittitas county is located about in the center of the state, and takes in the upper reaches and most of the watershed of the Yakima river. It has a population of about 20,000 in an area of 2,400 square miles. On its northwestern side it is bordered by two ranges of the Cascade mountains, while its southwestern side lies on the Columbia river.

Among the sources of the Yakima river are three large lakes, Keechelus, Kachess and Cle-Elum, most beautiful bodies of mountain water and the sources of the great irrigation systems now fathered by the national government and making the Yakima valley a veritable garden pot of orchards and vegetables, grasses and flowers.

RESOURCES.

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.

PRINCIPAL 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 quantities and shipped 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 principal 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 furnishing [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.

WHITE SALMON, located in the splendid fruit section, is a thriving town. It is an important railroad point on the North Bank and is the outlet for the products of an extensive fruit, timber and dairying region.

CLIFFS, the division point of the Spokane, Portland & Seattle railway, is the trading center of many square miles of territory. The best nut land in the county is located near here.

BICKLETON, the trading point of an extensive wheat section, is in the eastern part of the county. An electric road has been surveyed, which will, when completed, give this town railway connection.

LYLE, ROOSEVELT, COLUMBUS, BINGEN, and CENTERVILLE are growing trading points.

LEWIS COUNTY

Lewis county is one of the largest counties in western Washington, having an area of 2,593 square miles of territory and about 40,000 people. It occupies a large part of the drainage basins of two large rivers, the Cowlitz and Chehalis--one emptying its waters into the Columbia river and the other into Grays harbor. It reaches from the peaks of the Cascades 100 miles toward the ocean, but is cut off 30 miles from the coast, and is about 30 miles wide. Mount Rainier is just north of its extreme eastern portion and about one-fourth of the county is within the Rainier forest reserve.

RESOURCES.

At present the chief industry of the county consists of manufacturing its forests into the various forms of lumber and its products, the lumber cut aggregating four hundred million feet and two hundred million shingles.

Next in importance probably are the precious metal and coal deposits of the county, which have, however, been but little developed. The coal measures include bituminous, lignite and anthracite, and are of great extent in the foothills of the eastern part of the county. Two systems of railroads have been projected into these fields, and the nearest, carrying lignite and bituminous coals, are being commercially developed. [Page 68]

Agriculture, including especially dairying and fruit culture, takes the place of the forests as they are removed and bids fair to reach in importance, in time, the lumber and coal resources. To this end, the soil fertility, the mild climate and cool mountain waters conspire.

TRANSPORTATION.

Lewis county is in the path of all railroads coming in from the south or through the Columbia gap in the Cascades. Already the Northern Pacific railway and the Union Pacific railway cross the county, and the North Coast contemplates traversing the entire Cowlitz valley, while the Tacoma Eastern is already into the northwestern part of the county on its way toward the same goal. The county cannot be too well supplied, for its vast treasures when developed will furnish immense products for transportation.

CITIES AND TOWNS.

CHEHALIS and CENTRALIA are the two twin cities of the county--less than five miles apart and of about equal importance. From Chehalis the Northern Pacific railway branches off, following the upper reaches of Chehalis river and ending on Willapa bay, while from Centralia the same road branches, following the lower Chehalis river, to Grays harbor.

CHEHALIS is the county seat, with a population of 5,000 and rapidly growing, and has electric lights, sanitary sewerage system, paved streets, fine business blocks, and a large and growing trade. Near the city is located the State Training School.

CENTRALIA has a population of about 7,000 people, chiefly engaged in running sawmills, shingle mills, sash and door factories, and other woodworking plants. It has a large city hall, ten churches, fine schools, banks, business houses, water systems, fire department, and is a hustling, thriving town.

WINLOCK is a town of 1,200 people on the railroad in the southern part of the county, and a distributing point of much importance.

PE ELL is a town of 1,000 people on the South Bend branch of the Northern Pacific railway, chiefly engaged in milling and agricultural pursuits.

MCCORMICK, LITTELL, KOSMOS, LITTLE FALLS, ADNA, DRYAD, DOTY, and KOPIAH, are all centers of industry in various parts of the county.

Lewis county as a whole offers wonderful opportunities for newcomers in all pursuits--commercial, agricultural, and mining.

[Page 69] LINCOLN COUNTY

Lincoln county, adjoining Spokane county on the west, is one of eastern Washington's great granaries. Its northern boundary is defined by the Columbia and Spokane rivers. The bulk of its lands are rolling prairies of great fertility. It has about 2,300 square miles of territory and about 25,000 people.

TOPOGRAPHY.

The bulk of the county consists of the rolling prairie land characteristic of the great wheat belt of the state. There are some mineral lands in the northern part of the county and here and there will be found considerable stretches of timber. In its northern portion the county is well watered by the Columbia and Spokane rivers, while in the southwestern section and elsewhere numerous small creeks and lakes occur.

RESOURCES.

The great resource of Lincoln county is its wheat fields, which in 1907 produced to exceed 8,000,000 bushels. Other cereals and hay are important crops. Along its northern part, particularly on the bottom lands of the rivers, much fruit is grown, including peaches and all the small fruits. Diversified farming is growing in favor among the farmers. Compared with other counties of the state, Lincoln county ranks as follows in the number of its stock: Horses, second place; hogs, second place; cattle, sixth place. The county also stands fourth in the number of its school houses and spends annually $100,000 for school support.

In wealth per capita, Lincoln county leads the state, showing for assessment purposes an average holding of real estate of $1,163 and $226 in personalty.

TRANSPORTATION.

The county is traversed from west to east its entire length by the Great Northern and the central Washington branch of the Northern Pacific railroads, some distance from its side lines, so that very little of the county is more than 12 miles from a railroad shipping point. There are 170 miles of railroad tracks in the county.

CITIES AND TOWNS.

DAVENPORT, the county seat and largest town in the county, is situated on the central Washington branch of the Northern Pacific railway near the middle eastern portion of the county, and has a population of about 2,800 people. Its business blocks are chiefly built of brick. It owns its own water system, is lighted with electricity, has fine school buildings and churches. Its court house cost about $80,000. It is surrounded by splendid farms and annually ships out about 1,250,000 bushels of wheat.

[Page 70] WILBUR, a town of 1,500 people, on the Northern Pacific railway, is a very important shipping and distributing center. It has large flour mills, warehouses, five churches, and schools, electric lights, and water system, bank, newspaper, parks, and important commercial institutions.

ALMIRA, in the western part of the county, on the Northern Pacific railway, is another prosperous and growing grain center with about 600 people.

HARRINGTON, on the Great Northern railway, is a town of some 1,200 people. It has a beautiful location, commands the trade of a large farming county, ships grain and livestock, and is a prosperous and growing town.

CRESTON, EGYPT, and BLUESTEM are smaller growing commercial centers.

MASON COUNTY

Mason county lies on the upper reaches of Puget sound, having the Olympic mountains at its north, where about one-fourth of the county is in the Olympic forest reserve. Its total area is about 900 square miles, and it has a population of about 6,000. Hood's canal penetrates well into the center of the county in its great bend, giving it a very long salt-water shore line. From the Olympic mountains numerous streams flow into the Puget sound, while others empty their waters into Gray's harbor.

The county is a great forest of splendid timber, which has been only to a limited degree cut out. The soil of the foothills and valleys Is composed chiefly of shot clays and alluvial deposits, making good farming, stock-raising and fruit-growing lands.

RESOURCES.

Logging and its allied industries constitute the main industries of the county, Much of the logs are shipped out of the county to feed sawmills in other parts of the Sound.

Raising and marketing oysters is an important source of wealth to the county.

There is already considerable acreage for farming and stock-raising, stock finding pasturage the year round. This industry will grow as the land is cleared.

The county affords splendid hunting and fishing in season.

TRANSPORTATION.

The county is so cut into by the inlets and bays of the sound that it has splendid transportation facilities by steamer to all the sound ports. The Northern Pacific railway reaches its southern boundary. No other railroads traverse the county but its logging railroads, which can give only a limited service.

[Page 71] PRINCIPAL TOWNS.

SHELTON is the county seat, situated on an arm of the sound at the terminus of the logging railroad, and has about 1,200 inhabitants. Steamers from its wharves reach all the parts of the sound directly or by connection with others.

The logging industry, manufacturing lumber, cultivating oysters, fishing and farming are the chief industries of its people. It has four churches, good schools, a newspaper, good stocks of goods, volunteer fire department, electric lights, gravity water system.

The logging industry, which centers here, employs 2,000 men and pays out $120,000 a month.

LAKE CUSHMAN is a summer resort in the mountains famous for its big trout catches.

ALLYN, on an arm of the sound, is central to much oyster lands, logging camps and fruit orchards.

ARCADIA, also on the sound, is central to considerable stock-raising and lumbering.

DETROIT is a prosperous village, proud of the grapes grown on some of its logged-off lands.

MATLOCK is a town on the logging railroad and central to large logging operations.

OKANOGAN COUNTY.

Okanogan, the largest county in the state, lies on the northern boundary just east of the Cascade peaks. It has an area of 4,500 square miles and a population estimated at 13,000.

About one-fourth of the county, a district of great latent resources, is still within the Colville Indian reservation, but is soon to be thrown open to settlement.

RESOURCES.

This county is endowed with great natural resources and a delightful climate, and is destined to become thickly populated.

The mountains and their foothills have large and numerous veins of metals and are covered also with extensive forests. The rolling hills of the south and center are rich in agricultural possibilities, suitable for stock, and great crops of cereals and fruits. The Okanogan river and its branches drain the greater portion of the county, rising in British Columbia and flowing south through the center of the county and joining the Columbia river on the south boundary. The Methow river drains a large portion of the western part and makes a paradise for the frontiersman along its sloping sides.

TRANSPORTATION.

Until now the rivers and wagon roads are the only paths of commerce. But into this blossoming empire the railroads are looking with longing eyes. The Great Northern, however, has already tapped the [Page 72] northern boundary and projected a line down the Okanogan and Columbia rivers to Wenatchee. Other railroads will follow, as the prize is too great not to be divided.

PRINCIPAL TOWNS.

CONCONULLY, the county seat, is situated among the foothills and mines west of the Okanogan river. In addition to the mining industry, the raising of sheep and cattle is followed by the citizens. The town has a population of about 500 people.

OROVILLE is the chief town on the railroad, near the northern border, and is the terminus of the road. It has about 500 people and is growing. It is an important ore-shipping point, surrounded also by good fruit-raising and agricultural lands, yet unirrigated.

BREWSTER, at the junction of the Columbia and Okanogan rivers, has a population of about 200, and is an important grain and fruit-shipping point.

OKANOGAN is on the river of the same name, about midway between Brewster and Conconully, and to this point the steamers ply in the higher waters of the river.

TWISP is a growing village in the Methow valley, devoted chiefly to fruit-growing and mining. It is an important distributing center.

PATEROS has steamer connection with Wenatchee, and is an importing, growing center.

BECK, BONAPARTE, ANGLIN and BODIE are other new and growing commercial centers.

CHESAW, in the northern part, and NESPELIM, in the southeastern part, are important locations.

PACIFIC COUNTY.

Pacific county is the extreme southern county, which borders on the ocean at the mouth of the Columbia river. Although a small county with only 900 square miles, it has about 100 miles of salt-water frontage. Willapa harbor, at the northwest, is capable of being made accessible to all ocean ships, while Shoalwater bay, a body of water 20 miles long and separated from the ocean by a long slim peninsula, furnishes probably the best breeding ground In the state for oyster culture. The county at large is an immense forest, in the center of which is a range of hills dividing the watershed so that some of the streams flow into the Columbia river at the south, some west into Willapa harbor, and others, through the Chehalis river, reach Grays harbor.

RESOURCES.

As already indicated, its timber and its fisheries are the great sources of wealth for the county, although stock-raising, dairying, fruit-growing and general farming are constantly growing in importance. [Page 73] The county probably has eleven billion feet of standing timber, and daily cuts with its 64 sawmills about 775,000 feet of lumber and one million shingles.

Both native and cultivated oysters are largely marketed, as are also clams, crabs, shrimp and fish. A splendid market for all farm products is afforded by the mills and lumber camps and summer campers on the beach.

TRANSPORTATION.

The Northern Pacific railway reaches Willapa harbor, cutting the county centrally east and west. On the long ocean beach from the mouth of the Columbia river northward is a railroad about 20 miles long, made profitable by the extensive patronage of the summer campers. Added to these are the water crafts which frequent the harbor and the Columbia river, and altogether make access to all parts of the county easy.

CITIES AND TOWNS.

SOUTH BEND, the county seat, situated near the mouth of the Willapa river, is a rapidly growing town of 3,000 people and destined to become an important ocean port. The harbor is capacious, well protected, has fine anchorage, and is handicapped only by a few feet of mud at the bottom, which Uncle Sam will soon remove. At low tide there is now from 20 to 30 feet of water in the channel of the river and at South Bend it is 1,000 feet wide. South Bend is the terminus of the Northern Pacific railway. It has electric lights, water works, good schools, fine churches, bank, sawmills, planing-mills, sash and door factories, fish canneries, newspapers, etc., and is about to build a $50,000 courthouse.

RAYMOND, a new manufacturing town on the harbor and railroad, a few miles from South Bend, has 2,500 people and is rapidly growing in importance. Raymond is not yet five years old; has a monthly payroll of $100,000; sawmills and factories representing an invested capital of $4,900,000, employing 1,200 men; an electric light plant; a city telephone system, owned by local capital; a salt-water fire protection system; is about to build two bridges, costing $30,000 each, and is adding new manufacturing plants at the rate of one a month. The city gives free factory sites, and has both rail and ocean transportation from factory locations to the markets of the world.

ILWACO is a fishing post of importance near the southwest shore of the county, with 900 population.

CHINOOK, FRANKFORT and KNABTON are other fishing points on the Columbia river of importance. NAHCOTTA is an ocean summer resort.

[Page 74] PIERCE COUNTY.

Pierce county, though not the largest, is one of the most important counties in the state. Its area of 1,800 square miles occupies much of the upper reaches of Puget sound on both sides and extends southeasterly, taking in the Rainier National Park of 2,225,000 acres, and Mount Rainier (Tacoma) 14,526 feet above sea level and less than 60 miles from salt water, covered with eternal snow, an endless scene of majestic grandeur, giving the county a greater variety of elevations and more beautiful and startling scenery than any other county in the United States. Its northeastern boundary is the White river, its southwestern boundary the Nisqually river. It has about 125 miles of salt-water shore lands, with innumerable bays and inlets and several important islands. Originally one vast forest, much of it now is covered with fruitful fields of grain, grass and orchards.

Its climate is mild and salubrious, its soils of great variety and fertility, and its mountains and foothills full of coal and precious metals.

RESOURCES.

The resources of Pierce county are varied and of great value. Its central part is one great coal field, covered with forests, producing annually about 1,000,000 tons of coal. Gold, silver and copper are among its precious metals, but not extensively mined as yet.

Its rivers possess almost immeasurable water power. One plant on the Puyallup river at Electron has an ultimate capacity of 40,000 horse-power, 20,000 horse-power of which is now in use. The city of Tacoma is engaged in the construction of a plant on the Nisqually for municipal use, the capacity of which will be 20,000 horse-power. The 12,000 horse-power plant at Snoqualmie Falls also furnishes current for city lighting, street railway and manufacturing purposes in Tacoma.

All the cereals are successfully raised; dairying is one of the most important industries; fruit-growing, particularly in small fruits, such as strawberries, raspberries, blackberries, cherries, etc., is very profitable and is engaging a great deal of attention. Fish are caught in quantities and shipped to eastern markets, but Pierce county's greatest natural wealth is in its vast forests. An idea of the value can be had when it is said that $6,000,000 worth of lumber was cut in 1908 in Tacoma alone. In addition to these great natural resources, Pierce county's commercial industries are so great as to place it in the front rank of counties of the Northwest. The great sawmills, woodworking plants and factories of various kinds in the city of Tacoma alone employ 11,800 people, and the value of their output last year amounted to over $43,000,000.00.

TRANSPORTATION.

Pierce county is fast becoming a network of transcontinental railroads centering in Tacoma, which, coupled with the steamboat traffic on the Sound, gives the county splendid traffic facilities. Pierce county [Page 75] for years was a non-competitive railroad point, the Northern Pacific being the only road to enter its vast fields of wealth. Within the last two years, however, the Chicago, Milwaukee & St. Paul, the Union Pacific system, and the Great Northern, realizing the wealth of the county and the importance of Tacoma as a manufacturing center, the value of her perfect harbor for shipping, the vastness of her great stretch of level tidelands for factory sites and terminal yards, and the low cost at which freight can be transferred from the rails to the sails or _vice versa_, have entered the field and are now spending $11,000,000 on construction and terminal work in the city of Tacoma. The addition of these new roads means a wonderful impetus to the trade of Tacoma. The Tacoma Eastern railroad, a beautiful scenic route, beginning at Tacoma, runs in a southeasterly direction through a wonderfully fertile country and vast forests of splendid timber, to Rainier National Park and Mount Rainier (Mt. Tacoma). Several trolley lines are in operation, reaching all the near-by towns and connecting Tacoma and Seattle.

In addition to these lines, many steamboats and crafts of all kinds, plying the waters of Puget Sound and the Pacific ocean, find abundant wharfage and anchorage in the harbor of Tacoma. The products of the world in large quantities pass through Tacoma in process of distribution. A constant stream of small crafts, running about the waters of the county, accommodate the local traffic.

CITIES AND TOWNS.

TACOMA, with a population of about 125,000, is the county seat of Pierce county, and situated on Commencement bay. Its harbor, one of the finest in the world, and its railroad terminals, unexcelled on the Pacific Coast, as already indicated, are the center of a vast commerce by rail and water. At its door is an immense amount of water power, already developed, driving her street cars and the machinery in many of her factories. Coal and coke are in abundance within a few miles of the city, the coal being used extensively for steam and conveyed from the trains to the boats by immense electric bunkers. The coke is largely utilized in the largest lead and copper reduction plant on the coast. The great Guggenheim smelter at Tacoma reduces and turns out annually lead, copper, gold and silver worth about $10,000,000. Along her wharves are immense elevators, grain warehouses and flouring mills. Tacoma yearly ships out more grain than any other city on Puget sound. In and around the city are large saw and shingle mills, which last year cut 527,604,000 feet of lumber and 434,000,000 Shingles. Her factories and shops have $24,000,000 invested and employ 11,800 wage-earners, and her large flour mills ship their products to all parts of the world. Her packing-house products amounted to $5,000,000 in 1908. The largest car shops west of the Mississippi are located here. Her downtown streets are lined by large business blocks; she has 185 miles of street and suburban railway, and over 75 miles of paved streets.

[Page 76] There are four daily newspapers, 8 banks, 1,120 acres in parks, and many beautiful and expensive public buildings. The city hall cost $200,000; the court house, $500,000; her high school building, the most beautiful on the coast, cost a half million dollars, and the United States government is completing a $500,000 federal building.

PUYALLUP is one of Pierce county's prosperous towns, having about 7,000 population, in the wealthy Puyallup valley. This is the center or a great fruit-growing district, in which the farmers have combined and market their crops through an association, sending their berries in patent refrigerator cars into far-away markets. It is also quite a large manufacturing center, with a payroll of $45,000 per month.

BUCKLEY, with a population of 1,500, is the center of large sawmilling, farming and mining industries.

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.