A Review of the Resources and Industries of the State of Washington, 1909

PRINCIPAL CITIES AND TOWNS.

Prosser, its chief town and county seat, is on the Yakima river and Northern Pacific railway in the western central part of the county, and has about 2,000 population. It is the chief distributing center of the county. It has three weekly newspapers, six churches, good water supply, banks, stores, warehouses, lumber yards, etc.

Kennewick, at the easterly center of the county, on the Northern Pacific and Portland & Seattle railroads and on the Columbia river, is a town of much importance, having about 1,500 people. It is noted for the remarkable earliness of its fruits and vegetables. It has the usual business, church and school establishments, including an ice and cold storage plant.

Kiona, on the Yakima river, midway between Prosser and Kennewick, Carley and Peterson, in the southern portion of the county, on the Columbia river, are all growing and prospering smaller towns.

CHEHALIS COUNTY

Chehalis county is central among the counties bordering on the Pacific, the towns about Grays Harbor being its seaports. It has an area of 2,600 square miles and a population of 35,000.

RESOURCES.

Its industries arise out of its vast timber belts, its fertile low lands, and its fisheries. It is said to have 800,000 acres of magnificent timber lands, the great bulk of it unmarketed. Logging and the manufacture of wood products make up its chief occupation, though general farming and fruit-raising is rapidly gaining. The lands of the county when reclaimed from the forests are fertile and respond generously to the labor of the husbandman. In 1906, 15,000 apple trees were planted in the county. The fishing industry, including the canning of salmon, sardines, clams and oysters, is a thriving industry and destined to develop into much larger proportions.

TRANSPORTATION.

Grays Harbor is open to the ocean, but is splendidly protected and has safe anchorage. It is the largest lumber shipping port in the state. The Humptulips and Chehalis rivers empty their waters into the bay, and are both navigable for some distance.

In addition, the Northern Pacific railroad skirts both sides of the bay and a logging railroad from Shelton, in Mason county, has nearly reached the ocean, going through the county from east to west. Other railroads have surveying parties in the field, and a conflict is on to share the vast lumber-carrying trade of the county with the Northern Pacific, which has till now monopolized it.

Chehalis county is one of the most important counties in the state, and offers an abundant opportunity for Yankee energy to exercise itself in almost every avenue of business. Its opportunities and resources are numerous and vast. The newcomer may look long and find no better place for his talents.

PRINCIPAL CITIES AND TOWNS.

Montesano is the county seat, located at the head of navigation on the Chehalis river, and on the Northern Pacific railway. It has a population of about 3,500. It has sawmills, sash and door factories, and is surrounded by a prosperous farming community, dairying being very remunerative.

Aberdeen is the commercial metropolis of the county. Nearly $15,000 is daily paid out to wage-earners. Much commerce from the ocean is centering here, 736 vessels clearing from Grays Harbor in 1907. Seven hundred and seventy-seven thousand dollars has been appropriated by congress for the improvement of the harbor. The city has terminal rail rates, and the Northern Pacific and Chicago, Milwaukee & St. Paul railroads are hustling after its trade. The business portion of the city is built of stone, brick or cement. It has eleven large sawmills, many shingle mills and various other factories for utilizing the products of its timber, besides fish and clam canneries and other factories. Its population, now about 15,000, is rapidly growing.

Hoquiam, Aberdeen's nearby neighbor, has a population crowding 11,000, and is a hustling manufacturing and commercial center, not different in its general business from Aberdeen.

Elma, twelve miles east of Montesano, is a town of 2,700.

Cosmopolis, south of the river from Aberdeen, has about 1,200, and is a sawmill town.

Oakville, Markham and Satsop are small growing towns on the Northern Pacific railway. Many other embryo towns will in time grow into prosperous business centers.

CHELAN COUNTY

Chelan county is one of picturesque beauty and abundance of both developed and undeveloped wealth. It faces the Columbia river eastward, while its back rests against the peaks of the Cascades, 5,000 to 6,000 feet above the sea. Lake Chelan is the largest fresh water body in the state, fifty miles long and one to four wide, and lies 400 feet higher than the Columbia river.

Chelan county has 2,000 square miles, much of it mountainous and full of minerals. Its population is at present about 14,000.

RESOURCES.

Horticulture, agriculture, lumbering, stock-raising, mining and dairying all flourish on the bountiful natural fitness of the county for these occupations. The climate is attractive. It is a sunshiny county.

TRANSPORTATION.

Steamers ply up and down the Columbia river. The Great Northern railway crosses the county through the valley of the Wenatchee river and the Washington & Great Northern railway is projected along the western boundary of the Columbia river.

PRODUCTS.

All kinds of temperate zone fruits mature here in wonderful perfection and abundance. The valleys run with water from the mountains to irrigate the lands, and furnish vast power, much of it undeveloped. Hills in the western part of the county are timbered and all the vacant lands are grass covered. Over 1,000,000 fruit trees have been planted in the last three years in the county.

The mountain foothills are full of mineral veins of copper, gold, silver, lead and molybdonite. Some have been producing for twenty years. Trout in the streams and game on the hills add to its attractiveness.

PRINCIPAL CITIES AND TOWNS.

Wenatchee is the county seat and largest town, having about 3,500 people. It is located on the Columbia river near where the Great Northern railway crosses it. It is the chief distributing center for the county and much other territory, chiefly north of it.

Leavenworth, westward of Wenatchee, and also on the railroad, has a population of 1,200 and is a division point.

Chelan, at the foot of Lake Chelan, has about 700 people.

Cashmere, on the railroad, is of about equal size.

Lakeside, Peshastin and Entiat are smaller towns, all thriving and growing.

CLALLAM COUNTY

Clallam county occupies 2,000 square miles of the northwestern part of the Olympic peninsula, having 35 miles of shore land on the Pacific and 90 miles on the straits. The Olympic mountains and foothills cover the southern half mostly, while the northern half is made up of lower hills and valleys. Several large lakes nestle among the mountains; one of them, Lake Crescent, is a famous summer resort. Lake Crescent is known as the home of the celebrated Beardslee trout. The eastern and southern parts have a rainfall sometimes nearing 100 inches annually, while in the eastern northerly part it is about 20 to 25 inches only.

An important section of the county is that known as Sequim Prairie This is a level district of about 5,000 acres, located three miles back from Port Williams. Most of it is under irrigation, and the soil thus treated produces marvelous crops.

RESOURCES.

Lumber, fish, agricultural products and coal comprise its chief resources. The timber of the county is very vast and very little exploited. Its proximity to the ocean makes it very advantageous for all fishing industries. Its valleys are noted for the fertility of their soils, and many a farmer has grown wealthy from their cultivation.

TRANSPORTATION.

Facilities for getting about are limited to boats and wagons. A splendid boat service is maintained with Seattle and other Sound ports, and a system of public roads is now in process of construction that will be unexcelled in the state. Several surveying parties are now in the woods and it is believed that Grays Harbor and the Straits of Juan de Fuca will be soon united with railroad iron and Clallam county will come to its own.

PRINCIPAL TOWNS AND VILLAGES.

Port Angeles, located about 60 miles from the ocean on the Straits of Fuca, is the largest town and county seat. It has a splendid harbor, with fine anchorage, furnishing a safe refuge for ships when the storms rage outside.

Dungeness and Sequim, three miles from Port Williams, are important farming centers, both noted for their dairy products, and contribute largely to make Clallam the second county in the state in the value of its dairy products.

Quillayute, Forks, Beaver, Blyn and Gettysburg are other small settlements waiting for the railroads to open up the country and render their natural resources available for the good of the world.

CLARKE COUNTY

Clarke county lies on the north shore of the Columbia river, opposite Portland, Oregon. It has 600 square miles of territory. It was one of the earliest settled parts of the state, and its timber as yet uncut is large. It is extremely well watered. The Columbia and Lewis rivers border it on three sides with navigable waters. It has a mild climate, very fertile soil, and splendid markets at its doors, abundant rainfall, and agriculture is successfully carried on without irrigation.

TRANSPORTATION.

The Northern Pacific railway connects its various towns with both Portland and Seattle, and the North Bank and Oregon & Washington railroad, paralleling the Northern Pacific, will add greatly to the facility and cheapness of its transportation. From Vancouver northeasterly a road is in operation nearly across the county, headed for North Yakima and the East.

INDUSTRIES.

Much of the southern part of the county is devoted to fruit-raising, prunes being a very prominent factor in the county's output. General agriculture, with dairying, are very profitable, and to these are to be added fishing, lumbering and mining.

PRINCIPAL CITIES AND TOWNS.

Vancouver has a population of about 8,000, and is rapidly growing. It is the county seat, and is connected with Portland, Oregon, by a trolley line. The Northern Pacific, Union Pacific, Oregon Railroad & Navigation and North Bank railroads all compete for its traffic. It is the central distributing point of the county, and is the United States military headquarters for Washington, Oregon and Alaska. It is well represented in business establishments, including barrel factory, fruit cannery, ship yard, iron foundry, shoe factory, and others.

La Center, Etna, Nacolt, Amboy and Brush Prairie are smaller towns, all holding out an inviting hand to the newcomer, and offering desirable opportunities for new business in both merchandising and agriculture, as well as in lumbering and its kindred industries. Clarke county is one well worth investigating by intending settlers, both on account of its latent possibilities and because of its peculiarly desirable climatic conditions, and its abundant competing transportation facilities, both by rail and water.

COLUMBIA COUNTY

Columbia county is one of the four counties in southeastern Washington, lying on the Oregon state line and south of the Snake river. A forest reserve in the Blue mountains covers much of the southern portion of the county, which is heavily timbered. The Northern part of the county is made up of rolling prairie lands, of great fertility on account of the large proportion of clay added to the volcanic ash, which composes most of the soils of eastern Washington. Irrigation is here unnecessary, and abundant crops reward the agriculturist. The climate is mild, healthful and vigorous, inclining to much outdoor life the year around.

PRODUCTS.

Columbia county is essentially an agricultural county, but of late years is branching out into fruit-raising and dairying with marked success. Apples and pears predominate among the fruits, though all others do well. Wheat is, however, still its great product, and both the Northern Pacific and Oregon Railroad & Navigation railroads are in operation through the northern part of the county to carry away its rich grain harvests.

The citizens of Columbia county are among the most prosperous of the state, its average of per capita wealth being exceeded by only three other counties.

PRINCIPAL TOWNS.

Dayton, the county seat, has a population of about 3,500 people, is situated about in the center of the county, and is the chief town for the county's exports, as well as the distributor of its merchandise. It is a substantially built city, with flour and feed mills, and general mercantile establishments of importance. All the public interests, including schools and churches, are generously provided for. Its chief exports are grain, fruit, livestock and wool.

Starbuck, in the northern part of the county, is a shipping point of no mean importance on the Oregon Railroad & Navigation railway.

COWLITZ COUNTY

Cowlitz county lies immediately north of Clarke county, bordering about 40 miles on the Columbia river. It has about 1,100 square miles of territory, and about 13,000 people. The southwestern portion is largely composed of level valley lands, while its northeastern part is occupied by the foothills of Mount St. Helens. The drainage is all westerly and southerly into the Columbia river. Cowlitz river is navigable as far as Castle Rock, and is an important factor in the transportation problem.

RESOURCES.

Timber is the great source of industry at present, the county having about two-thirds of its area heavily covered and unexploited. About 40 saw and shingle mills are engaged in disposing of its logs. Agriculture follows close on the heels of the lumberman everywhere in western Washington, and nowhere are better results in general farming and dairying obtained than in Cowlitz county.

Cowlitz coal fields have not yet been largely utilized, but will be extensively developed in time.

TRANSPORTATION.

Aside from the river navigation, this county is well supplied with transportation facilities by rail. The valley of the Cowlitz river affords the natural highway for roads between the Columbia river and Puget sound, and is already traversed by the Northern Pacific, while the Union Pacific systems and the North Coast road are projected over practically parallel lines through the county. From Kalama all three systems extend south to Portland and Vancouver.

PRINCIPAL CITIES AND TOWNS.

Kalama, on the bank of the Columbia river at the ferry crossing of the Northern Pacific railway, is the chief town and county seat. There are here extensive electric power plants and a gravity water system. The chief industries grow out of the lumbering and fishing interests. It has about 1,250 people, but is just now rapidly growing, owing to its superb transportation facilities by both rail and water.

Kelso and Castle Rock are both important towns on the railroads and Cowlitz river, each having about 1,500 people. At Kelso, which is near the Columbia river, considerable fish are caught and packed, yet the timber furnishes the chief industry. Fruit and dairying and general agriculture provide a large part of the support for the town merchants.

Ostrander, Carrolton, Catlin, Ariel and Lexington are smaller towns, all prospering and being built up into substantial business centers by the steadily increasing development of the latent resources of the county.

This county offers many opportunities for business to the newcomer in either merchandising, manufacturing or farming.

DOUGLAS COUNTY

Douglas county occupies the big bend of the Columbia river, having about 1,800 square miles of territory. Formerly there were 4,500 square miles. The last legislature carved the county in two, giving Grant county the southeastern part, about 2,700 square miles of territory, and leaving 1,800 to the northeastern part, with the old name. The bend of the Columbia on the northeast and Grant county on the southeast, compose its boundary. This division boundary follows the northeastern bank of the Grand coulee, and following its general direction meets the Columbia river where the Great Northern railroad touches its valley, thus putting all of that railroad in this new county, excepting only a few miles of the railroad along the banks of the river in the southeastern corner of Douglas county. Douglas county is essentially a high plateau, some of it 1,500 feet above the main bank. Waterville is the county seat, and considerable land along the valley of the Columbia is being irrigated and proving to be of great value for fruit and grain growing.

In the southeastern part of the county are some lands covered with black basaltic rocks, but the great bulk of the lands are rich in a volcanic ash soil, and produce large crops of grain without irrigation. A wrong view of the county can easily be impressed upon the traveler by rail; he will see so many of the basaltic rocks from the car windows but once up out of the canyon which the railroad follows, he will find himself in view of an expanse of wheat fields so vast and rich as to astonish him.

RESOURCES.

As already indicated, this county is essentially a grain producer. Wheat and oats are marketed in large quantities. Fruit-growing and stock-raising are important adjuncts to the county's wealth. It is comparatively new, and lands can be had at very reasonable prices.

TRANSPORTATION.

As now constituted, Douglas county will rely wholly upon the steamboat crafts on the river to get its grain to market. Its trade, however, is too vast to be passed by, and already two lines of railroad, the Washington & Great Northern and North Coast, are projecting into the very center of its vast wheat fields. With these roads completed as projected, Douglas county will have easy access to both water and rail transportation, and renewed importance will be given to its farming industries.

CITIES AND TOWNS.

Waterville is its chief town and county seat. It is among the wheat fields, in a broad plain, about seven miles east of the Columbia river, to which it is connected by good roads for stages and freight wagons. It has one of the U. S. general land offices. It has good schools and churches, water and electric lighting systems, both owned by the city. It has a population of about 1,200 people, and is well supplied with business houses, flour and feed mills, a brick yard, bank, etc.

Bridgeport, a town of some 400 people, is situated in the northern part of the county on the Columbia river east of its junction with the Okanogan river, and is an important wheat-shipping point, having a regular steamboat service. A bank, flour mill, warehouses and general stores are serving the community, but other industries await the newcomer.

Douglas, Farmer, Jameson, Mansfield and Hollister are growing agricultural centers.

FERRY COUNTY

Ferry county is about in the center of the northern part of eastern Washington, stretching from the northern boundary of the state to the Columbia river, which marks its southern and southwestern boundary. The southern half of the county is within the Colville Indian reservation, and is therefore wholly undeveloped. The lands, however, have in fact been allotted and the remainder will be thrown open for settlement in the near future.

Altogether it has an area of 2,200 square miles, and a population of 5,000. It is principally composed of low mountains, well timbered, with valleys furnishing fine grazing.

CLIMATE.

The climate of the county is such as prevails generally in northeastern Washington—a couple of months of snow in winter, affording plenty of sleighing, skating, etc. Summers are very pleasant, and spring and fall delightful.

RESOURCES.

The bulk of the resources of this county are yet dormant. The mountains are full of minerals; timber is abundant; grassy hillsides are tempting to the sheep and cattle, while the soil is rich, and when tilled will be found to produce excellent crops. The county has a fine future for wealth from all these sources, and, while the mines are first to be made productive, without doubt the fruits and cereals will come into their own in time and furnish much of its wealth.

TRANSPORTATION.

Two railroads reach the center of the northern half of the county, terminating at Republic, the county seat. These railroads have pushed in here after the precious metals mined in the vicinity.

The Columbia river is navigable most of its course on the county boundary, barring some obstructions which the national government will remove and thus open up to river navigation to the ocean the fruits of toil in Ferry county.

CITIES AND TOWNS.

Republic, the county seat, is the only large town in the county, and has a population of about 1,250 people.

It is the distributing point for supplies for the mines and ships out much ore for the smelters.

Ferry county altogether offers exceptional opportunities for the homeseeker in a variety of occupations, as already indicated.

FRANKLIN COUNTY

Franklin county occupies the basin formed by the junction of the Columbia and Snake rivers, being bounded east, south and west by them. The southern portion of the county is scarcely 300 feet above sea level, and the soil is fine and sandy. The northern part of the county is somewhat higher and composed of successive benches till they reach an altitude of 1,000 feet. It is only a few years since these lands were all considered barren and useless. Yet in 1906 these bench lands in this county added 1,500,000 bushels of wheat to the world's supply and in the following season nearly doubled that output.

There are no forests, the land being covered with bunchgrass and sagebrush.

IRRIGATION.

Along the rivers some farmers have irrigated small parcels of land by pumping water, but the bulk of the irrigable lands are awaiting the action of the U. S. Reclamation Service, which it is thought will ultimately be engaged in an extensive irrigation problem to reclaim thousands of acres now arid and barren. The warm climate of these low Bandy lands has already been proven to be immensely advantageous to the gardener and fruit-grower, and the lands wonderfully productive when the magic influence of plenty of water renders the sources of plant life soluble.

The wheat crops now being produced come from the bench lands without irrigation.

TRANSPORTATION.

The Northern Pacific railway passes diagonally through the county and crosses the Columbia river near Pasco. The Oregon Railroad & Navigation railway taps the wheat belt in the northern part of the county and the North Coast is projected through it, while the Portland & Seattle follows the north bank of the Snake river along its southwestern boundary, thus giving the county four systems of railroad, besides the Columbia river steamboats.

PRINCIPAL CITIES AND TOWNS.

Pasco is the county seat, in the extreme southern portion of the county, near the Columbia river, and is more noted as a railroad center than as a shipping point, on account of the fact that the surrounding lands are as yet unirrigated. It has a population of about 1,800, and is just now enjoying new vigor and much building in anticipation of its future usefulness as a commercial center for distribution of both merchandise and agricultural products.

Connell, in the northern part of the county, is a shipping point of importance, and has two railroad lines and a third one coming. In addition to the cereals, many sheep and horses are being raised and shipped out of the county from this vicinity.

GARFIELD COUNTY

Garfield county is the second from the southeast corner of the state, and extends from the Snake river on the north to the state boundary on the south. It has 627 square miles of territory and a population of about 7,000.

The southern portion is included in the Wenaha forest reserve, and is quite heavily timbered. The northern portion is an extremely prolific farming region, made up of undulating lands with deep rich soil, composed of clays and volcanic ash. No irrigation is necessary, and very heavy crops of grain are annually matured.

RESOURCES.

As already intimated, the chief source of income for the county comes from the tillage of the soil. Of the crops raised, barley is in the lead, having furnished 1,800,000 bushels in 1907, which places this county second of all counties in the state in the production of this cereal. Wheat and oats are also largely produced. Stock-raising in the southern ranges of the county is very profitable, and much fruit is of late years being produced. Indeed, Garfield county is well up to the front in the per capita wealth of its citizens.

PRINCIPAL TOWNS.

Pomeroy is the county seat and chief distributing center of the county. It is situated in the north central part of the county, on the Pataha river and the Oregon Railroad & Navigation railway. It has a population of nearly 2,000.

It is lighted with electricity, has a gravity water system, and all the machinery for doing all the business naturally coming to a town of its size. It has a fine high school and graded schools, churches, newspapers, banks, warehouses, big stocks of goods, fire department, cet.

GRANT COUNTY

Grant county occupies about 2,700 square miles of what was formerly Douglas county, comprising the lands southeast of the Grand and Moses coulees, bordering on the southwest on the Columbia river, with Adams and Lincoln counties on its eastern border.

Ephrata is the county seat, on the Great Northern railway. The northern part of the county is traversed by the Great Northern railroad, and has developed into a vast region of grain production without irrigation, although originally supposed to be valueless for cereal-raising.

The southern part is new and comparatively undeveloped, but is crossed by the Chicago, Milwaukee & St. Paul railway, just now giving this new county great impetus. The southern portion of the county has long been a grazing ground for herds of cattle and horses, but it is thought now it will be turned into a prosperous region of small farms.

While the county is cut by several coulees, it is chiefly composed of large areas of bench lands, comparatively level, barring a range of hills in its southwestern corner called Saddle mountains. There is considerable water in the county, Moses lake being quite a large body of water with bordering swampy lands, about in the center, and Wilson creek, in the northern and Crab creek, in the southern part, furnishing considerable stock water.

LANDS.

The lands tributary to the Great Northern railway already produce great quantities of grain and livestock, and these will continue to be its staple crops until irrigation may come in and stimulate fruit production, for which it is thought much of the lands will be suitable.

TRANSPORTATION.

Both the Great Northern and Northern Pacific railway systems are in the grain fields of the northern part of the county. The Milwaukee road crosses the southern part, the N. & S. is projected along its western border, paralleling the Columbia river, which is navigable, thus affording all the county, excepting the central portion, good facilities for marketing its products. As the county develops, beyond question branch lines will penetrate this portion, and Grant county will become as well supplied as any other portion of the state with facilities for commerce.

CITIES AND TOWNS.

Ephrata, the county seat, is a small village on the Great Northern railway about midway of the county and the center of a large wheat-growing section. Its transformation into an important town is rapidly going on, the new county government calling for a variety of new occupations to center here.

Wilson Creek, near the eastern border of the county, is a larger town whose chief industry is marketing grain. It is an important distributing point, with prospects of larger growth.

Quincy is a station on the Great Northern and is also an important wheat-shipping point.

Soap Lake, on a lake of the same name, is noted as a resort for the rheumatic.

Bacon, Coulee City, and Hartline are stations on the Northern Pacific railway in the northeastern part of the county.

Grant county is new, but has large undeveloped resources, and is awaiting the newcomer with abundant offerings for his energy and labor.

ISLAND COUNTY

Island county is entirely composed of a group of islands in Puget sound, the largest two being Whidby and Camano. It has a land area of 227 square miles and a population of about 5,000.

RESOURCES.

Lumber, agricultural products and fish make up the county's resources. Considerable of the timber, particularly from Whidby island, has been removed, and wheat, oats, hay, potatoes, fruits, poultry, butter, eggs, etc., are now shipped out to the splendid nearby markets at the chief seaport towns on Puget Sound.

The soils in the northern part of Whidby island are of remarkable fertility, some of them producing as much as 100 bushels of wheat per acre and immense crops of potatoes.

In season the waters of the county abound in salmon and other salt water fish, and many of the citizens of the county find profitable employment in connection with the fishing industry.

PRINCIPAL TOWNS.

Coupeville is a town of some 400 people and the county seat, situated on a beautiful bay in the northern part of Whidby island. It is chief distributing point for the county, has a sawmill, shingle mill, fruit-drying establishment, stores, churches, schools, a newspaper, etc.

Oak Harbor, further north, is the center of a large farming and logging district. Two canneries are in successful operation.

Utsalady, San de Fuca, Camano, Clinton, and Langley are smaller villages gradually becoming summer resorts for people from the large cities of the sound. Steamboats furnish good transportation from all parts of the county.

JEFFERSON COUNTY

Jefferson county is the second county south of the entrance of Puget sound, stretching from the Pacific ocean eastward over the peaks of the Olympic mountains to Hood's canal, and turning north gets a long waterfront also on Puget sound, and taps the Straits of Fuca. It has a population of 11,000 people and 2,000 square miles of territory.

RESOURCES.

The resources of this county are largely undeveloped, and yet it is one of the oldest settled counties in the state. Originally its entire area, barring a few small patches, was heavily timbered, and it is estimated that the county still has twenty billion feet of standing timber. Its soil is remarkably fertile, and the products of its farms have long been famous.

The Olympic mountains contain veins of precious metals, iron and manganese, none of which have as yet been thoroughly developed.

Fishing for salmon, sardines, shrimps, clams and crabs is a very important industry.

SOILS, CLIMATE AND PRODUCTS.

The soils of the county are largely sedimentary, having been washed down from the mountains for ages, assisted by the decomposition of vegetable matter accumulated through centuries. In the valleys, where most of the farming is being done, these soils produce remarkable crops under the influence of the charming climate the county affords.

The rainfall in the eastern part of the county is moderate, but ample for all purposes; the average rainfall is about 20 inches. The temperature rarely exceeds 80 degrees in summer, while the winter months average about 45 degrees.

Such soils and such climatic conditions combine to force wealth upon every industrious tiller of the soil. Clover yields from four to six tons per acre.

Oats and vetches for ensilage purposes yield five to seven tons per acre. Fifty to seventy-five tons of cabbage or mangles per acre are not uncommon, and onions and potatoes produce from six to ten tons. The fruit trees, particularly cherries, apples, and pears, produce wonderful crops. Cattle can graze ten months in the year or more, and the products of the dairies of Jefferson county cannot be excelled.

Because of the light rainfall and moderate weather, this county is admirably suited to poultry-raising. Green food can be had twelve months in the year. Runs can always be open, and with proper care hens can be made to pay $3.00 per year each.

PRINCIPAL CITIES AND TOWNS.

Port Townsend, at the entrance of Puget sound, is the county seat and chief commercial center of the county. It has a population of about 6,000. It is the headquarters for many government institutions, including the U. S. customs service, U. S. revenue cutter service, marine hospital service, hydrographic service, quarantine service, and U. S. artillery for the Puget sound district.

Three great forts; Worden, Flagler, and Casey, are located here, forming the chief defense to Puget sound. Fort Worden joins the city limits. The present garrison force is 2,000. The scenery from the city is grand and beyond compare.

Its business interests are varied and extensive. Two canneries for salmon and sardines are here located, boiler works, a machine shop for building electric and gasoline engines, a shipyard, sash and door factory, lumber mills, and shingle mills, a by-product plant producing wood alcohol, turpentine, etc.

The city is substantially built and its homes are artistically created.

The harbor has twenty-five miles of waterfront and fine anchorage of from nine to eighteen fathoms, and is an ideal refuge for all seagoing craft.

The city has gas and electric lights, paid fire department, fine churches, splendid schools, and a magnificent gravity water system furnishes the town of Irondale, Hadlock and Forts Worden and Flagler, having plenty of water to spare for thousands mote.

Irondale is practically a suburb of Port Townsend, having the only pig iron plant in the state. It is an extensive and growing concern, using bog iron from the vicinity and other ores from different sources.

Port Ludlow, Duckabush, Bogachiel, Port Discovery, Quilcene, and Chimacum are small villages scattered about the county and are centers of agricultural activity.

KING COUNTY

King county is distinguished by having Seattle for its county seat. The county is an empire in itself, stretching from the shores of Puget sound to the peaks of the Cascade mountains, and containing more than 2,000 square miles of territory. It also includes Vashon, one of the large islands of the sound.

RESOURCES.

King county's sources of revenue are varied and extensive. Its lumber industry, growing out of the vast forests within its borders not only, but from the cutting of logs brought in from other sections of the state, is immense.

Its agricultural lands are not surpassed in fertility by any, and include not only the alluvial deposits in its river bottoms, but great areas of shot clay and other soils splendidly adapted to fruit culture.

Its mining industries include not only very great acreage of coal measures, which have been producing coal for commercial purposes for local and foreign trade for thirty years and are scarcely scratched as yet, but also fissure veins of the precious metals—gold, silver, lead, copper, antimony, arsenic, and also iron, asbestos, fire clays, kaolin, granite, sandstones, lime ledges, and others.

Its fishing industries in its own waters and from the ocean give employment to a large number of men and its fish are shipped even as far east as Boston, Massachusetts.

Its power capacity, in addition to its wood and coal, includes great falls and rapids and many large streams which are already harnessed, but only in part, and driving vast quantities of machinery in this and adjoining counties.

In commercial possibilities King county is unrivaled. Its combination of lakes, rivers and salt water harbors have no superior on the globe, and the fact of its supremacy is demonstrated by the tabulated statistics of state officers, which show that King county possesses one-fifth of the population of the state and has more than one-quarter in value of taxable property of the state, and pays one-fourth of taxes collected within the state borders.

In scenery, which is no mean asset of the county, it is also unsurpassed. Vast ranges of mountains, sheets of fresh and salt water, rivers, hills and plains, forests, and grassy fields combine and interlace in a thousand directions to entrance and delight the artistic eye.

In game, including bear, deer, mountain goats, cougar, grouse, pheasants, quail, mountain trout, salmon and other fishes, make many a paradise for the sportsman.

TRANSPORTATION.

In addition to its salt waterways, with 75 miles of shore lands, and its navigable fresh water lakes, there are centering in the county coming in from all directions seven transcontinental lines of railroads, making King county and its metropolis a great distributing center for the commerce between the American continent and the continents of Asia and the islands of the Pacific. Besides these steam roads, electric trolley lines are making a network of inter-communication between all parts of King county not only, but reaching out into the adjoining counties.

CITIES AND TOWNS.

Seattle is the county seat and great metropolis of King county and the state, with a population crowding, if not exceeding, 275,000 people. It covers the hills and lowlands surrounding Elliot bay, an indentation of Puget sound, and a part of the land between the sound and Lake Washington, a freshwater lake of great beauty paralleling the sound for 23 miles and from one to three miles wide. It also includes two smaller lakes, whose sloping shores are covered with the homes of its citizens. From its hills the snow-capped mountains of the Cascade and Olympic ranges and Mount Rainier's towering peak are visions of surpassing beauty. A constant stream of coming and going water craft from all quarters of the globe frequent its harbor. Its business buildings of brick, stone, iron and concrete tower heavenward over four avenues, and many cross streets and miles of its low lands are covered with railroad tracks, warehouses and manufacturing plants.

Its grammar schools, high schools, and State University are equipped with magnificent buildings and grounds. Its streets and homes are brilliantly lighted with electricity from its own power plants, while the purest water, sufficient for a million people, flows through its water mains, all owned and controlled by the city.

A multitude of factories are providing a small part of the merchandise and composes the groundwork of her commerce.

The shores of Elliot bay are lined with wharves accommodating the largest sea-going ships. Its last assessed valuation of property was $203,168,680, and its tax to be raised $975,210.

More than 150 miles of street-car tracks are within her borders and a nickel pays for a 15-mile ride.

Georgetown, in the southern part of Seattle, but not a part of it as yet, has a population of about 5,000, and is an important manufacturing center. Here are the car shops of Seattle Electric Company, gas works, foundries, breweries, machine shops, brick and tile works and many other industries.

Renton, Issaquah, Ravensdale, Black Diamond, and New Castle are coal mining towns.

Kent, Auburn, Kirkland, Vashon, North Bend, Tolt, Fall City, and Maple Valley are agricultural towns of importance.

KITSAP COUNTY

Kitsap county is nearly surrounded by the waters of Puget sound and Hood's canal, forming the larger part of the great peninsula which these waters would make an island were a six-mile ridge in Mason county opened up to them. It has extensive and numerous bays and inlets, with magnificent anchorage, and contains in its center the great Port Orchard navy yard, destined to become one of the largest seats in the United States for Uncle Sam's naval activities.

RESOURCES AND INDUSTRIES.

The chief resource of the county is in the lumber. Some of the largest mills of the state are located within its borders.

It is estimated that there are yet 200,000 acres of uncut timber in its borders, and its mills are turning out 600,000 feet of lumber daily, besides vast quantities of shingles.

The fishing industry now includes oyster culture, which is rapidly becoming very important. About the county are located many villages supported by the tillage of the soil from its reclaimed forest lands.

TRANSPORTATION.

Kitsap county has no railroads, but its waterways are so vast and intricate that all its corners are reached by steamers, and travel is cheap and freight conveniently handled in all parts of the county.