, 1889-10-24
WATERVILLE'S BOOM.
Bright Prospects for the Thriving
County Seat of Douglas
County.
Progress of Work on the North
ern Pacific Extension-Per-
sonal and General.

WATERvILLE DOUGLAS COUNTY,
Wash, Oct. "a shower of 500 gold
pieces could not have been much more
acceptable to the farmers of Dou glas
county than the rain that started in at
1 o'clock, October s. 1t poured down in
steams, saturating the ground for six
inches. Everyone is happy. An i'm
mense acreage of prairie will now be
turned up before cold weather sets in.
1t will enable the farmers to get in their
fall grain in great shape. Next year
Douglas county will come to the front
with rush.
Other things besides rain will effect II
rush, however. The Washington Central
IN. 4. X. RI have let another contract
from Almira to Grand Coulee, which
joins with the twenty -four miles of rock
grade executed last. season, which will
bring the road up between Grand and
over the most magnificent bunch grass
prairie in Washington. From Grand
Coulee till the road gets within fifteen
miles of Watervillc there are thousands
of acres of government land, as fine as
has been taken up. Water is very easily
DTOtuTtC III tlltl TtElOI. w llN
ton still rtishes to the Sound and clears
its ranches of timber at enormous ex-
pcnse when quarter sections by the hum
dreds lie here open to settlement, every
acre OF which can be titled and broken
easily with one good team, is a mystery
we cannot understand. The Big Bend
is the Palouse country over again, ex-
cept IL is not rough, and land instead of
being $50 per acre is 81 25 from the gov
ernment.
Horse racing is quite the rage.
The election passed off quietly. Tho
county showed up strongly republican,
The whole ticket was elected except
member to tho lower house. j. NJ.
Snow is elected to the senate as joint
senator for Yakima and Douglas county.
Though bitterly opposed by parties
jealous of his influence and ability, he
came out ut the head of the ticket. J.
NJ. Snow is Il gentleman, every inch of
him, and so genial and kind hearted
that, as 4 prominent democrat here
said, that if he gave to every man in
the county who had not been helped in
some personal way by the judge, he
would not be out much" lie has
worked faithfully for this county for
five years, and constantly stood in his
own light to help others. Just as We
are penning this, word has been brought
in that in jumping out OF the stage from
Ellensburg he slipped and broke his leg.
An ambulance has gone after him.
We are sorry to lose your old citizen,
w. A. Helm. He came here from your
beautiful city some six months ago.
However, his wife, who has been sick
for years got no better here and pined
for her old friends at Spokane, so Mon
day he started back for the Falls, with
his wife in very precarious condition.
We all hope she arrived in safety
Though times are not as lively in real
estate as they will be in a month, still
Mr.. Helm sold readily most of his prop
erty at good round advance over
what 1t cost him. He still retains his
ground on which it rests.
Next week the Waterville school trus-
tees will commence the erection of u
$1,000 wing of what will be 5000 school
house.
Auditor Steiner is just finishing a gem
OF a cottage which would be noticeable
even in Spokane.
James Melvin has moved into his ele-
CANT two-story Gothic residence. 1t is
the most pretentious in Waterville.
Greene and Walters additions are fast
becoming covered with most tasty resi-
dences, and Central avenue, which runs
through Greene's first addition, is loom
ing up as the principal business street in
Waterville. There will undoubtedly be
a great boom here in real estate this win
ter and spring. The railroad will be
within thirty-five miles of here by the
middle of November and we shall have
a daily stage to the end of the track
Considering the size of Waterville and
the fact that it has attained this growth
within year and a half, and had no
railroad mothing but her wonderful sit
uation and resources to depend on), and
property at one-third the price that it is
held at even in the smallest towns on
the Central Washington railroad 1T
seems strange that so few of your big
Spokane land speculators have visited
us.
The reason the returns of Douglas
county have not been declared is that
the probate judge must be on hand. AS
Judge Howe went on a two weeks trip
the day following election, the impatient
outside world will have to wait few
days more.