The Oroville weekly gazette. [volume] (Oroville, Wash.) 1905-19??, 1919-08-08
BONDS PLACED.

mas oeeh received that Harper
~ sons of Seattle bond buying firm
mas taken the bond issue necessary
LOT the construction Of the big White
s'ohe Fiat irrigation project. the price
paid being So cents, with the states
guarantee behind the bonds. Also a
lcohstructlon firm has made an accent
aDie DID Tor the construction of the
system. With these important features
settled the irrigation system Is an as
sured TACT and by the season of 1921.
or possibly sooner, that vast acreage
known as Whitestone Flat, and a por-
lon at least of Horse Spring coulee,
VIII De under a distributing system
that Will make of that section of the
county one of the most productive in
the state.
| Whitestone Flat lays in a wide val
ley between Loomis and Ellisforde,
designating that station on the rail-
road as the nearest point on a rail-
road. This valley narrows down until
only a few hundred feet wide at the
Iwest end OF Spectacle lake, spreading
out in the shape of a wide basin to
the eastward and narrowing down
again at the brakes above the Okla
hogan river. Much of this land could
hardly lay better for irrigation, and
under water it can be made as pro-
ductive as any land In the state, as
mas been demonstrated by the effects
~
the land reached by the Chase irri-
eating system. Ever since the county
has been settled this large expanse Of
land has been unoccupied. True, here
and there hOmesteaders have taken
up land and attempted to wrest liv-
ing from the soil, but all such efforts
have failed. Once in number of years
residents of Horse Springs coulee
have managed to harvest a crop, but
as rule failure has discouraged eff
forts in that line. Without water the
land is of no value except for the
scanty herbage in the spring over
which sheep can be pastured for a
time. Thus this large tract has lain
for years, wide expanse Of open
country without house to break the
monotonous scenery. 1t has always
been felt that If water could be placed
upon this land it would become very
valuable and supply homes for large
the flat have been considered time and
again, and few years ago Marvin
Chase, one of the leading engineers
of the state, started in on an irrigat-
ion system that had for its object the
carrying of water to all parts of the
flat A large sum of money was ex-
pended and a flume and pipe line
across the Sinlahekin valley carried
water to a point a short distance east
!of Spectacle lake. The work of con-
lstruction ended at that point, we pre-
lsume for the want of funds to carry
|out the original idea. So far as the
system has been constructed the work
has been well done, and is one of the
most substantial in use In any irrigat-
led district. Under the new organiza-
Ition by which the land owners take up
the work of completing the project,
)or at least bond the land to command
1.-THE funds necessary for completing
THE system, the Chase project Is taken
lover as part of the proposed system.
Water is to be taken from Toats Coula
Icreek, and Chopaka lake, high up on
ithe mountain is to be used as res
ervoir from which to draw supply
lof water at the time of the lower
Istages of the creek.
Now that the bonds have been plac-
led and the contract almost certain to
|be let at favorable terms the White
|stone Flat project can be said to be
lassured. Only those who have seen
lwhat water has already accomplished
lon very small fraction OF the land
THAT comes under this system, and
Iwhat water has done for this valley,
lean realize the change that will take
place in that locality during the next
flew years. Fully 10000 acres or more
will be reclaimed under this project.
There is room enough to furnish
homes for hundreds of families. and
1.-THE land is so fertile, by the addition
lof water. that those families cannot
Ifail to prosper as they could prosper
nowhere else in the state. Land that
TODAY is hardly worth paying taxes
lon will speedily become of great value,
Iadding very materially to the wealth
lof the county. Whitestone Flat is sure
TO become one of the big, profitable
attractive irrigation districts OF the
state. and that within marvelously
lshort time.