The Corvallis gazette. [volume] (Corvallis, Or.) 1862-1899, 1883-04-13
BENTON COUNTY.
Description Of It's Appearance and Present
Condition BY Voting Precincts.
Written Expressly for the Gazette by a
Thirty Years Resident of
the County.
WILLAMETTE PRECINCT

WILLAMETTE PRECINCT
Is s miles in width from north to
south and extends from the VILLAIN
cite river west to the summit Of the
coast range a distance of IL miles.
Long Tom river runs across. the south
east corner and empties into the Will
annette. Muddy creek runs through
a little east of the middle and empties
into Mary's river little north of the
precinct. Beaver creek rises in the
coast hills and flows east and empties
into Muddy creek. Along the Will
annette river is a belt of cottonwood,
fir, ash and maple timber. There is
also narrow strip mostly of ash tim
Der and thick underground of hazle
brush. Along Muddy and Beaver
creeks between the Willamette and
Muddy, is level plain of prairie land,
a small portion of which is wet white
land, but the greater portion is dry
rich prairie, on where is located some
of the choicest farms in the country,
this is devoted almost entirely to
wheat growing. The wet lands were
formerly considered only fit for graz
ing, but more recently it has been
demonstrated that they will produce
black oats almost equal to any lands
we have, and it is altogether probable
that with judicious system of under
draining they may be made to produce
good wheat.
On Beaver creek from where it
emerges from the hills to the mouth is
a series of beaver dams, some of these
lands have been cleared from brush by
Mr.. J. M. Currier and Peter Record,
and the wheat produced on these
lands has shown the good judgement
of these men in making the outlay for
their improvement.
West of Muddy except along Bea-
yer creek as stated the land is rolling
prairie interspersed with timber. A
greater portion of these foothills are
red land, easily cultivated well adapted
to fall wheat and oats; all kinds of
fruit do well except peaches and even
these do better than almost any other
portion of the country. All the pas
ture grasses do remarkably well on this
hilly land. In. many places are large
groves of fir timber that have sprung
up within the past IS or 20 years
many of the trees will now make rails.
Where it is desirable to clear this land,
the trees and brush are slashed in win
rows during the winter and spring, in
the fall it is burned and grass seed
sown amongst the ashes, this springs
up readily and by the next spring
yields good pasture. In few years
these stumps decay and when desira-
Bile can be ploughed. This mode of
starting pastures has been found cheap
err than seeding the ordinary prairie
lands.
Still west of these foothills is the
hills of the coast range. These are
covered with green timber awaiting the
lumber man. Mr.. A. Bridges has the
Newhouse saw mill on the head of
Beaver in the midst of an. extensive
grove of fine timber and is making
preparation to put out a large lot of
lumber during the coming season.
VIM. P. Irwin has repaired the old
mill on the site of the old Foster mill
and will aim to do limited business
in lumber. These mills are some IL
or II miles from Corvallis, but their
facilities for producing cheap lumber
are such that the Corvallis market is
largely supplied from here.a