Washington State journal and Adams County news. [volume] (Ritzville, Wash.) 1906-1907, 1907-01-30
MAY RAISE PRICE. HAS BRIGHT FUTURE
Douglas County Progresses Under
Adverse Conditions the Past Year
and With New Railroads Her
Future Looks Good.

The year 1907 promises wonderful de-
velopment in Douglas county. The past
year has witnessed progress, notwith-
standing grain crops were not up to the
standard, and residents look forward
with hope and determination to the
future. Within the past year the Chi
cago, Milwaukee and St. Paul railroad
began work on the construction of its
line across the southern part of the
county, while the Great Northern and
Northern Pacific surveyors have been
making preparations for active work
during 1907.
The Graves interests of Spokane have
commenced the preliminary work for
several electric railway projects through
the Big Bend country where the Great
Trunk lines do not touch, and it is
claimed that railway construction in
Douglas county during 1907 will eclipse
that in any other county in the north
west. And this will open to the mar
kets of the world a district of wheat
fields hitherto dependent upon wagon
and steamboat transportation to reach
markets. Eastern capitalists and sett-
lers are beginning to realize Douglas
advantages and they are pouring their
money and energy into the work of de-
velopment.
1t is not alone in railroad building
that Douglas county will see great pro-
gress during the coming year. Irri-
cation projects, magnificent in scope
and number, are under way for the de-
velopment of fruit and alfalfa lands.
Among these is the project at Port Co
lumbia near Bridgeport in the north
western part of the county, where 5000
acres of fruit land will be brought under
ditch. Many thousands of dollars will
be spent at Port Columbia this year and
in few years tens of thousands will
come back to the orchardists from the
products of their ranches. At Orondo,
nine miles from Waterville, another
irrigation project will add many thous-
and acres to those already in cultivation
and producing the finest apples shipped
out of the state. Farther down the
Columbia river Seattle capitalists have
invested $40C, 600 in lands to the extent
of several Thousand acres and are bring
ing water from the adjacent mountains.
Here will be built city to become the
fruit shipping metropolis of the Colum-
bia valley, handling all the products
from the orchards of up-river points
like Orondo, EnJiat, Port Columbia,
Bridgeport, Chelan Falls and the smaller
but none the less important valleys of
the Okanogan and Methow A bridge
is under construction across the Column
bia at this point to allow wagon COM
munication from the west side of the
river, where there are acres of valu-
able orchard lands under cultivation.
Over in Moses coulee, in the central
part of the county, outside capital has
taken hold of several thousand acres on
which they will spend a moderate for
tune in bringing the land under water
and turning it into orchards and alfalfa
land. Altogether, in irrigation projects
Douglas county during 1907 will see
hundreds of thousands of dollars spent.
Where there are now in Central Wash
ington two or three small valleys de-
voted to the fruit industry, in a few
years these projects of Douglas county
will show that there are miles of frnit
land ready for the orchardists as COM
pared with acres now in use.
While there are yet thousands of
range horses and cattle in this county,
stockraising, as it was once carried on,
is practically abandoned. The settlers
are doing it. There is not room for
range stock and wheat ranches. In
1906 it is estimated that 5000 was added
to the population of Douglas county,
and nearly all of these went on ranches.
Spokesman Review.