Arizona weekly citizen., 1896-05-30
SOLOnOlVILLE. The Queen City of the Gila
 Valley. A VERITABLE PARADISE. A Favored Section of Arizona Abounding With Future
 Possibilities.

Instead of 30.mile stage ride, oc-
 cupying ths greater portion O! & day,
 Solomonville is now reached from Bowie
 Station in little more than an hour, oD
 the Gila Valley rsilrt ad, and the trans
 iiion from desert to oasis Is rapid
 though none the less pleasing.
 Solomonville itself IS much the same
 ss it was a year axe, but the signs of
 public improvements crop out an al-
 most every corner and the handwriting of stability and confidence in the future 1 Is to be seen in the ever changing from the old to the new. The tc VII is delight fully situated on the left bank of the Gila river aud in the center of one oi the most prosperous farming comuuni- ties to be found in the west. This state nent IS based upon the fact that the valley is practically without mortgage, which the writer took pains to verify at the office of the county recorder. The land IS rich and productive beyond measure and offers unparalleled induce ments for the homeseeker.
 In the immediate vicinity of Solomon vIlle, or rather the lands tributary there. to, are between 75O0 and 5000 acres now uader cultivation ard from which two crops are ennusl.y produced-that is one of wheat or barley, and the other of beans or corn. These latter are planted as soon ss the former are harvested Much of the land, however, IS devoted to alfalfa for which there is always market. Five cuttings of alfalfa per year Is the record here and the acreage product per cutting, is on the average, one and one.h half to two tons. Instances are of record where this yield has been nearly doubled. A troct of eight acres adj ,iDing the town produced twenty three tons ct the last cutting; but safe average may be taken in the foregoing figures. An average crop of grain, that IS barley or wheat, IS said to be from thirty five to forty bushels per acre. Much of this land Is cultivated by Mex jeans, who, taken as whole, are thrifty and weli-to-dO, but efforts. are being made to induce American farmers to come ID, and Mir. l. E.. Solomon, for whom the town IS named, offers special inducements to the rig ht parties to come in and make their hoDes ID the valley. He is the owner probably one thousand or mUre acres which he Is anxious 10 sell to responsible persons in amounts to suit. His price IS from S35 10 $40 per acre with water rights included. This leud is improved and cultivated and is offered at this low figure With vIew to inducing the fright parties" to come ID and settle.
 Among the wants oe the town Is a flour mill. At Stafford, six miles below, there gre three, but at SolomonvIlle there are none. ln order to snow his faith in the enterprise, Mir. Solomon and sorne of his friends are wiling to take three fourths of the stock and supply three fouIths of the cash necessary 10 the establishment of the business. IL is, however, essential that the other party to the enterprise sha.l be prsc- ticol miller. The amount that he will be required to put in Is merely for the purpose of tyiDs him to the pro jsct by mopeyed interest; otherwise hIs capi- tci would 5e of small consideration. For the right kind of a man a splendid Oppor- tuni.y Is offered AOOu; two miles up the rger ample water power IS available. but if placed in toTa s steam plant would be necessary. The site of loca- tion, however, IS secondary considera- tiou and can be deteTnlned later.
 Solomonvi!le is the county seat e Graham county, bas an excellent little court house, lot Ci A public officers Sheriff Wight and Under Sheriff Smith head the liss of officials. Manuel Leon, en ex-Tucsou boy, is county recorder. Frank Dysert, the sspu biican war horse, is treasurer, and another good republi- can, George Cuff, is probate judge.
 Hon. Wiley JOnss, wbo largely directs ths destinies of the Graham county democracy, is district attorney. All are pleasant-spoken. popular and courteous gertlem men.
 Ia thIs catalogue O, officials the clerk of the court, MT. B. B. Adams, one of the most obliging and compsnionable Of men, must not be overlooked,
 The town has two hotels. Tbs prin- cipsl one, however, IS that kept by Mr. I. E.. Solomon, the father of the place, where all the comforts of home can be had. Mrs. Solomon Is most gracious lady, and her two young daughters, Misses Lilly and Blsuche, are general fevorites. Mss Lilly, better known among her GssocIates as Billy" is bright, vlvacious, and pretty. Sns gives some attention to her fathers office Tn the big store, presided over by Mir. Chss. Solomon, the eldest son of Mr. and Mrs Solomon. This is one of the largest mercantile establishments in the valley, end carries iGil line of general mer- cbandise.
 Judge T. T. Fitzgerald, we'll and iav- urabiy knoVn in Tucson, where he lss many old time friends, is also 0 heavy weight merchant and gets his share of the large and extensive trade with which this portion of the valley is bless ed. Ills son "Jack," who was for a while student at the university, Is his right bower, and favorise with old and young alike.
 The Graham County Bulletin, under the active management of Geo. H. Kel- ley, one of the best newspaper men in the territory, is good paper, and has done much to help build up the valley, and make it what it is today-one of the beauty spots of the southwest.
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