The Hood River glacier. (Hood River, Or.) 1889-1933, 1911-05-04
LOCAL MEN DEVELOP
JOHN DAY REGION

Addison Bennett, special staff
correspondent of the Oregonan, who is
writing a series of articles on the de-
velopment in different parts of the
state, visited the John Day region last
week. The following excerpt from
Fridays Oregonian tells of the big
operations of Hood River men in thai
section:
But | am on the John Day, at Spray,
in what | have often chosen to call the
wonderful John Day Valley, a valley
with a climate ali it's own. And l
have, strictly speaking, seen but little
of this famous valley-but | have seen
it in all seasons Of the year. Two
years ago / went over the mountains
through six feet of snow from Austin
to find the green fields on the John
Day. see it now several degrees
warmer than the country roundabout.
| see, on April Is, at an altitude of
1920 feet, the fruit trees all in bios
som, the alfalfa seven or eight inches
high, the wheat covering the ground.
| have crossed it three times on this
trip, and from here | will drive a
dozen miles or more close along it.
And yet will know but little about
it, for it is a long stream, over 100
miles from the Columbia to its forks a
dozen miles above here, and then
another 100 to the heads of those forks
in the extreme eastern part of Grant
county. So how can tell much about
it?
Spray is another clean, whitley
painted town. 1t has an admirable
location on the banks of the river and
yet far out of the reach of flood and
freshet and cloud-bu 1t is not a
large place perhaps couple of
hundred, but it has a splendid tributary
country. And it is the logical point
for the extension of a railway, possibly
down through the Maysville district,
through Fossil and then here.
The distance to Heppner is 81 miles,
to Condor 81 miles. There are two
stage routes leading to the north. one
to Heppner and one to Fossil. 1t is six
miles from here to the Grant county
line to the east
For a year or 50, much has been
written and printed about Spray, for
several men from Hood River became
interested in the country. | will give
their names: l.. E. Morse, T. H.
Wilcox, f Z. Jackson ard c. A. Cass.
With these is associated James Nunne-
maker, formerly of Hood River, but
now, | believe, a resident of Heppner.
These gentlemen are Incorporated
under the name of the John Day
Development Company, and they own
some $500 acres of land, 400 acres of it
being on the bottom adjacent to Spray,
but on the opposite side of the river.
They have a large number of sheep
and few head of cattle and also will
breed horses.
The land of this company across the
river, the 400 acres, is to be set to
pears, and some 10000 trees will be
put out this Spring. They would set
out more if they could get the variety
they want-Duke de Anjou.
There are on the place 1000 3-year
old trees of the same variety, and they
look fine. When the entire acreage IS
set to trees and in bearing this orchard
ought to be one of the show places of
Oregon.
The men putting their money into
this project ought to know fruit land
when they see it and examine the
various points going to make fruit
land. They are good business men,
sagaclous and conservative. So when
mention the John Day Valley and its
possibilities it will be seen that others
think as do about it's future.
Just above town the adjacent land
owners have put in a ditch, the build
ers being Incorporated as the Spray
Dam Company. They have spent about
500, ,000sin building dam and putting
in the bitches and laterals to irrigate
about 1000 acres. Twenty dollars an
acre for one of the best water systems
in the state! 1t makes some of the
Government projects, at $50 to $l0O an
acre, look rather high!