The Colfax gazette. [volume] (Colfax, Wash.) 1893-1932, 1911-07-28
THORNTON MAKES
MANY IMPROVEMENTS
viii Have Electric Lights in a
Few Days.
New Bank Building 10 Complete and
Streets Will BE Graded Soon.-
Grain Crop Increases IS per cent
This Year.

Fully recovered from the big fire of
last September the little city OF Thorn
ton on the Spokane & Inland and O.-W
Il. q N. railroads is rapidly taking on
improvements and becoming a business
center OF Importance 10 the rich farming
community OF which it is the center.
Among the important improvements
noted by Gazette representative, who
visited the town few days ego, is the
change in the location OF Taylor street,
the principal business street of the town
Before the fire the business houses all
laced the southwest giving the duet from
the street and the hot sun the chance 10
make life miserable for the occupants
Now it is all different. The street has
been changed to run through the lots on
which the buildings formerly stood The
new town is built facing the northeast.
away from the dust and heat. The
tired clerk after busy day, can step to
the front and enjoy the cool and refresh.
ing outdoor air in the shade.
The new street has not yet been
graded but that work will be taken I'D
soon. Cement sidewalks are contem-
plated and in fact the contract has al
ready been let for 140 feet across the
bank property. Otto Felt of Rosalia
will do the job. The postoffice and con-
iectionery store, run by G. W. Young,
will be the next place TO be provided
with cement sidewalk. Other business
men along the street are planning to
follow suit. Before the muddy days OF
fall arrive the town people will have a
comfortable and convenient place to
walk.
Electricity will be switched into the
town within two or three weeks from the
Inland. All the leading business houses
have been wired ready for connection.
Early this month Comegys, Hanford
& Miller. bankers, moved into their new
brick building after occupying a leen-to
since the fire. The building is % by 81
Il ct with front Of white repressed brick
making a very attractive appearance
The interior is finished in slash grain fir
and the fixtures are OF oak. A COM
modious and well built vault takes the
place OF the old one which stood through
the fire and was used until the new one
was complete. Artesian well water sup
plies the laVatOry and toilet in the rear
OF the building and a large coal bin
built inside completes the comfortable
appointments OF the place. Manager
Ralph Comegys is ably assisted by bis
brother, Claude Comegys, in handling
che business OF the institution.
Three artesian wells, each less than
100 feet in depth, supply large part OF
the town with pure cold drinking water.
Farmers for miles around make the
store OF Wilmer, Dwyer & Helmer their
headquarters for hardware and imple-
ments. Under the management OF q. s.
Howey the store has built up a large
business. The sales for the month OF
July alone have run up to more than
SIT, 900. A large part OF the harvest
ing will be done with push biDdeIs.
Only one header was sold by the COM
pany this year and that went over into
the Rock Lake country. A few pull
binders were put out but over thirty
farmers in this immf diate vicinity have
invested in new push binders.
L. L. Holt, whose large general store
went up in smoke along with the other
business places, has decided to leave this
fall and he and Seymour Manning of
Colfax will enter the wholesale and retail
feed and grain business in PascO. This
removal will leave an opening for
another large general store.
Harvest is in full blast and plenty of
good laborers are available. In fact
more laborers are coming in than before
in several years. The ruling wage for
shockers is $3.50. More than half the
acreage this year is fall wheat with
forty fold taking the lead. With ordin-
ary weather the late spring wheat will be
ready for harvest about August 10.
With increased acreage and a larger
yield it is consergatiVely estimated that
fully 25 per cent more grain will be
shipped from Thornton this year than
was sold last year. More spring wheat
and less oats were sowed this year than
formerly. About 100000 bushels OF
wheat and $4,000 bushels of oats we're
raised in the country tributary to
Thornton last year. The Farmers
Union Warehouse company leased three
warehouses and are planning to do a
good business.
Potato acreage in the vicinity OF
Thornton is about on an average with
other years. There will be enough po.
tatoes for local use and some for chip