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Old newspapers, pinned to the places they wrote about — the streets you can still walk today.
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In a chilling display of domestic violence in 1914 Prosser, Harry Favor shot his divorced wife Lucile Schultz dead, then calmly helped her into a buggy and begged bystanders to kill him before fleeing.
A landmark federal court ruling questions whether departmental regulations can be enforced as criminal law.
“The testimony was to the effect that one of the cabins appeared never to have been occupied, and that the other had been occupied by a dead horse a large part of the time.”
Two county commissioners bypassed legal procedure and public objection to rush through a massive $125,000 bond issue, triggering an immediate lawsuit and a firestorm of local outrage.
“The reader is asked to contrast this method of procedure with the manner in which 'white men' authorize and sell bonds.”
Commissioners Clements and McNeill authorized $125,000 in bonds for a Prosser courthouse after a closed-door plan their own lawyer admitted was designed to keep taxpayers in the dark. A Kennewick lawsuit put the deal before Judge Grady.
“We admit that—all our plans were laid so that the public might know nothing of it until the bonds had been sold, because we realized that because of Kennewick’s hostility it would be impossible to put it thru in any other way.”
Taxpayers mount a legal challenge to halt a $125,000 bond issue, alleging backroom deals and corrupt influence by county commissioners.
“Had either one of them fallen for the Clements-McNeill scheme, that looked so good but smelled so bad, the chances of the taxpayers heading it off would have been pretty slim.”
A laborer kills a bartender in a sudden act of violence.
“Brickey had been drinking but had no previous quarrel with the bartender.”
Horse Heaven growers demand transparency as power company refuses to disclose critical water rights data for the $15 million project.
“Farmers whose land with an area of 800,000 acres would be watered by the prospective canal, expressed the view that promoters of the power company are trying to take advantage of them.”
A newly elected commissioner is kept waiting, a courthouse contract is let in defiance of a court order, and $125,000 in bonds leave just $1,362 for furnishings.
“Of course the wishes of the people of the county or the manner in which they voted at the November election aren’t to be taken into consideration. The voters are merely the public and as such are expected to pay the bills and look pleasant.”
The State Supreme Court strikes down a $125,000 bond issue, citing 'reeking' bad faith by county commissioners.
“The record is reeking with bad faith.”
A shifting, unstable hill beneath the tracks forces the Northern Pacific to build an expensive eight-mile detour, threatening to bypass the town of Prosser.
“The whole hill seems to be sliding slowly but surely toward the Yakima river.”
Chairman J. B. Clements and Commissioner Alex. McNeill face an injunction after allegedly pushing through a $125,000 bond issue for a new courthouse without public consent.
“Who will get this side money is a question that is being asked in a good many quarters today.”
Two Benton County commissioners pushed ahead with a massive construction contract despite a judicial injunction, sparking a direct challenge to the court's authority.
“For this action these two commissioners are cited to appear before the superior court in Prosser on January 17th and show cause why they were not in contempt of court.”
A collapse in Prosser reveals the fragility of an agricultural economy reeling from repeated crop failures and frost.
“The loss of the wheat crop... for lack of sufficient moisture, the small returns received for the fruit crop last year and the almost total loss of the crop this year by frost... are the chief causes attributed for the bank's failure.”
A conductor and engineer face manslaughter charges following a fatal train accident in Prosser.
“He recommends the swinging style of crossing signal for Sixth and Seventh streets.”
In a swift Prosser court session, Brickley was tried and sentenced for the June killing of Charles Rasmussen, while other defendants pleaded or were acquitted.
“Monday Peter Brickley, who murdered Charles Rasmussen June 23, was arraigned, tried and convicted of first-degree murder and sentenced to life in the state penitentiary all within a few hours.”
Commissioners Clements and McNeill let a courthouse contract and issued a warrant without advertising for bids. A judge said they were within the law; the Courier-Reporter said the taxpayers would remember.
“While in the eyes of the court the commissioners on December 4 were acting within their legal rights, in the eyes of the taxpayer those acts were culpable, arbitrary, high-handed, dishonorable and conceived in bad faith.”
An open switch sends a passenger train into a ditch, leaving the fireman trapped beneath a mountain of coal.
“The fireman stayed at his post and fell under a mass of coal, from which he did not believe he could extract himself until the steam from the wrecked engine struck his body.”
A man claiming to be the first postmaster of Prosser passes away in a rural shack, leaving behind only questions about his past and his family.
“Nothing could be found in his possessions that would enable the authorities to get into communication with his relatives.”
A robbery suspect awaiting trial in Kennewick makes a brazen roof-top escape from the Prosser jail while ostensibly doing his laundry.
“During the noon hour while things were quiet around the jail and courthouse, he broke a hole through the roof and escaped.”
Two defeated commissioners pushed a $125,000 courthouse bond through in thirty minutes, and Kennewick's editor saw a county-seat conspiracy — and a raid on the taxpayers' treasury.
“It is a question of right or wrong; a question of integrity or betrayal; a question of fairness or trickery; a question of honesty or dishonesty; a question of candor or conspiracy; a question of business or scandal; a question of honor or disgrace.”
Benton County commissioners quietly sold $125,000 in bonds for a new courthouse. Farmers from Finley to Prosser cried foul over up to $40,000 in extra interest—and demanded to know why it had to be secret.
“If the proceedings were entirely regular, why could not the county attorney defend the suit?”
Two commissioners secretly arranged a courthouse bond sale, and a courtroom fight over lost premiums exposed how far they went to keep the third commissioner—and the public—in the dark.
“There is not one single line nor sentence in this record to show that the question of issuing these bonds was even so much as suggested at a meeting of the board of county commissioners until December 4.”
Benton County's outgoing commissioners rammed through a courthouse contract and a $9,500 payment in their final hours — and the next morning the state Supreme Court's restraining order landed on the table.
“After midnight Saturday of this week Clements and McNeill will cease to be commissioners, and just what will happen when the new board takes charge nobody knows, but new complications will probably be written into the case.”
Prosser commissioners rule that landowners cannot dodge the irrigation district while holding onto private water rights.
“If a land owner considers a water right of any value to him, he admits the case is a benefit to his land and should stand his pro-rata share.”
Prosser Falls Irrigation Company threatens litigation against upper-valley users, claiming their senior water rights are being drained by newcomers.
“The water users in the upper valley, whose rights depend upon claims initiated since those of the Prosser company, are certainly resting upon a very precarious foundation.”
High winds leveled buildings and tore heavy equipment from foundations in a storm that locals described as a true tornado.
“Mr. Rich’s wind mill had iron flukes to it weighing 700 lbs., yet it was blown over Mr. Rich’s house into the street, a distance of more than 100 feet.”
A suspected thief eludes arrest by plunging into the Yakima River, choosing death over the looming reach of the law.
“Throwing his coat back from his breast told them to go ahead with the shooting.”
Prosser voters went 'dry,' but local saloonkeepers are refusing to close their doors.
“watching the Old Year out and the New Year in will be merely incidental to watching whether or not the doors of Prosser’s two saloons go shut with a bang.”
A high-stakes legal drama unfolds in Prosser as relatives contest the will of a prominent local orchardist, alleging undue influence by his primary beneficiary.
“The case is of more widespread interest locally than any that has ever been brought to trial in the superior court of this county.”
Prosecuting Attorney C. W. Fristoe filed four complaints against Auditor J. C. Syfford, alleging he served liquor to county commissioners and others in the commissioners' room. Syfford says he is ready for court.
“The incident doesn't seem to be worrying Mr. Syfford much. He says he has engaged attorneys and is ready to meet the charges in court.”
A sprawling court fight over the construction contract has pulled in an army of attorneys, stalling the project and complicating the county's civic future.
“As the case now stands the roll call is as follows: Moulton, Jeffrey and Judge Gose represent H. A. Bier; Zent, Powell and E. A. Davis represent two of the old commissioners and one of the new; Donworth, Todd assisted by Scott Henderson represent two of the present commissioners; Linn Boyle represent Nelson Rich; Andrew Brown represents Auditor Syfford, and Prosecuting Attorney C. W. Fristoe represents somebody. He may know whom, this paper doesn't.”
As outgoing commissioners race to lock in a controversial courthouse contract, taxpayers secure a last-minute injunction to halt the scheme.
“After acquiring the habit, another resolution or two comes easy to these two old codgers.”
With food scarcity looming in 1917, local authorities propose closing schools early and conscripting the unemployed to save the harvest.
“The committee also recommends that all unemployed, able-bodied men be CONSCRIPTED and put to work where they will be made to produce a share of the nation’s needs.”
Through diligent use of bonding companies and collateral, Benton County recovered every cent lost in the 1924 Citizens State Bank collapse.
“The liquidation of the accounts was made without litigation and at very small expense to the county.”
As high costs of living plague local farmers, the Courier-Reporter calls on the fisheries commission to restore public fishing rights on the lower Yakima River.
“In many instances the annual meat bill could be materially reduced if the farmer were permitted to use the spear or the sein to catch the fish that swim past his doors.”
Mike Driscoll was hired to watch the Benton County courthouse after a suspiciously overheated stove. Prosser’s night policeman took his gun, and the prosecuting attorney had him fined for carrying a concealed weapon.
“Mike, however, had no such identification save his honest Irish face and his word.”
Indigenous and white residents alike flock to the Prosser dam to harvest salmon as the fish struggle to leap the obstruction.
“The salmon have begun running in the Yakima river on the way to their spawning grounds, and the Indians, both red and palefaced, have begun their annual fish harvest.”
A consulting engineer told the irrigation district it could transform 300,000 dry acres with a vast Klickitat River storage and canal system—if voters backed an enormous bond issue and bought out private water-right claims.
“It is believed that the lands under the Horse Heaven district project when supplied with a good water right are good security for bonds up to the extent of $100 per acre.”
Commissioners Bash and Pratt fire legal counsel and challenge the legitimacy of the previous board's construction contracts.
“The commissioners are there for the purpose of representing Benton county and not any one end or section of it.”
A tragic, overlooked bite from a family dog results in a fatal case of hydrophobia for a local rancher.
“So violent did the man become in his last ravings that physicians and friends who attended him were forced to remove him from the hospital to a cell in the county jail where he died.”
When a $12,000 road project near Prosser had to be torn up and rebuilt after only four years, Kennewick residents questioned the real cost of 'education' for county road planners.
“The sugar coating has worn off of these $12,000 doses and they are getting hard to swallow.”
After years of consolidation, fierce competition, and economic struggle, the local Independent-Record falls to the bank.
“With two papers already in the field the venture simply meant an elimination as the town was not large enough to support three papers.”
Prosser-based citizens group demands cuts to health and horticultural budgets, targeting local officials over alleged waste.
“Whereas the taxes are almost beyond the ability of the producer to pay... if the office of horticultural inspector is to be perpetuated in Benton county, the expense thereof must not be increased.”
Dr. B. M. Angus outlines an eight-point plan to eliminate bureaucratic waste and restrict the use of county vehicles.
“The county money shall not lie idle in the county banks.”
A heated debate between commissioners reveals deep-seated regional rivalries between Kennewick and Prosser.
“I was elected as one of Benton county’s business agents and I am here on the job to represent the interests of Benton county and not of Kennewick or any other section or district.”
A critical look at why Benton County’s courthouse bond issue failed to provide the value achieved by neighboring Walla Walla County.
“The outstanding feature of difference between the two sales is that the Walla Walla commissioners advertised for bids and the Benton commissioners attempted to shove the deal thru in secret.”
A dedicated local conservationist secures a protected refuge for migratory birds along the Yakima River.
“Mrs. Davies, a friend and protector of bird life, has counted 46 varieties of birds, out of the 376 varieties in the state, at her home.”
A card game dispute between a gambler and a bartender escalated into a nine-shot exchange on a Prosser street.
“Hayes and Wilson, it is understood, had trouble over a card game, which led to the shooting.”
A dispute over an appointed county commissioner’s term creates a legal stalemate between state law and the constitution.
“After citing this apparent conflict between the constitution and the state law the attorney general refused to give a definite opinion.”
A procedural error by the bench keeps former county commissioners out of jail while the county's infrastructure project remains deadlocked.
“It has been recognized by both sides that their chances for victory or defeat rest upon the decision of the supreme court.”
Benton County taxpayers say commissioners tried to sell courthouse bonds without advertising for bids — and that the prosecuting attorney helped fight the very people he was elected to represent.
“When the taxpayers whom he represents attempted to stop the raid on the public funds, he advised the raiders to get additional counsel to help him fight the taxpayers.”
The college regents accept 80 acres from E. F. Benson and the Northern Pacific — but only if the town's businessmen can raise the cash to break ground first.
“The board voted to accept the site offered contingent upon the citizens of Prosser raising $3,000 to begin the development of the site.”
As Benton County organizes, commissioners lease the Riverside Hotel in Prosser for courtrooms, offices, and a temporary jail—because there are no houses to rent.
“The rooms upstairs will be rented to the county officials as living rooms, there being no houses to rent in the city.”
After legal hurdles and a formal decree from the superior court, Governor Albert E. Mead signed the proclamation establishing Benton County, signaling a new era for the region.
“I, Albert E. Mead, governor of the state of Washington... do hereby proclaim and declare the county of Benton... fully and completely created and established.”
A legal dispute over grazing rights in Sunnyside escalates into a dramatic courtroom spectacle involving out-of-town lawyers.
“Poetry mixed with Blackstone was fired and countered until the scintillations of wit, humor and pathos, as they clashed with the more ponderous lore of the law, actually dazzled the townspeople.”
Local church committees organize a proactive campaign for local option prohibition in the event statewide measures fail.
“As to the exact powers of the committee, the motion carried that it have full power to put Prosser dry.”
Kennewick orchardists travel to Prosser to learn how to save their trees from the ravages of fire blight and mildew.
“Those who think because they have no pears, they have no interest in fire blight should have been at the demonstration.”
James Fitzgerald, a former White Bluffs resident who earned fame by consuming knives, nails, and gold coins, has died at age 69.
“He had a double set of teeth and could chew glass as easily as most people chew gum.”
A delegation of farmers attempts to defund the local county agent and club leader, sparking a debate over the value of agricultural services.
“They contended that the farmers are receiving no benefits from either of these offices and that they believe the money spent for their maintenance is being wasted.”
After an election victory and months of legal maneuvering, C. E. DeBow prepares to take his seat as County Commissioner despite an appeal.
“Although DeBow received an overwhelming majority of the votes over McNeill in the election last November, the latter refused to give up his seat.”
Public dances face strict age enforcement under state law, citing moral concerns.
“I am convinced that the environment and influence of public dances are injurious to the morals of young children.”
Landowners and irrigation developers meet in Prosser to resolve conflicting claims to the Klickitat River, highlighting the ongoing struggle for water rights in the region.
“Although the project may be feasible from an engineering standpoint, its practicability could not be established until data had been furnished to show what quantity of water could be delivered on the land.”
A political defense of County Auditor L. L. Lynn, whose opponents attack his 'pomposity' and musical hobbies rather than his administrative record.
“He is not seeking the nomination on his musical or oratorical talents but upon his qualifications for the office.”
A candidate for County Clerk promises to slash the department's budget, sparking a debate over the ethics of 'auctioning' government services.
“The advisability of putting the county offices up for auction is considered by many to be a bad precedent.”
A high-stakes manhunt for a horse thief ends in North Yakima after a Pinkerton operative goes undercover to secure a suspect.
“Olson made Pamburn’s acquaintance and, pretending to stand in with him, induced him to come to North Yakima.”
Benton County leaders head to the state capital to defend tax valuations against railroad corporations seeking lower assessments.
“If they are successful it will mean the saving of a great many thousand dollars to the resident taxpayers in the county.”
Local official E.C. Houston faces a political crisis after hesitating to take his seat, leaving his tenure in doubt.
“He does not know whether he is commissioner-elect, or commissioner-retired.”
A shady order claiming to be an insurance society dupes citizens of Prosser before being unmasked as a total fraud.
“It has been discovered that the whole thing is a fraud.”
Prosser's first annual Hog and Corn Show drew Kennewick crowds on the morning trains — and a warning that exclusive fruit raising would not carry the county forever.
“It is becoming apparent that the farmers of this county must turn their attention to agricultural pursuits other than exclusive fruit raising.”
Life on the frontier requires more than just endurance; it demands a resilient, if sometimes wavering, belief in the future of the arid landscape.
“Among those who remain there is still an abiding faith in the future of the country; but even that arc of faith has to wink sometimes.”
Agricultural experts test a hearty, drought-resistant forage grass that could transform local ranching.
“In the irrigated sections the grass makes an exceptionally vigorous growth and requires much less irrigation than corn.”
A government agriculturalist steps into a chaotic market to turn local dairy production around.
“It is purely a matter of presenting to the public the work that the county, state college and government is doing to improve agricultural conditions in the county.”
While Kennewick escaped the worst of the wind and rain, neighboring Prosser saw a church burn to the ground after a lightning strike.
“The flames had gained such headway, however, that it was impossible to save the building.”
A skeptical look at a proposed recall election in Benton County that threatens to drain public coffers.
“From a standpoint of dollars and cents, from a standpoint of harmony, from a standpoint of common sense the recall movement of the Prosser politicians carries nothing that should commend itself to the taxpayers of the county.”
A local rancher tracked his stolen firearm all the way to Ephrata after a brazen daytime theft from his cabin.
“Mr. Moore refused to see the joke and immediately asked the authorities to assist him in running down the culprit.”
Tacoma high school team loses state title arguing for closed-shop unionism against Prosser's open-shop stance.
“Tacoma's school debating team, arguing for the closed shop principle of union labor, went down to defeat.”
Investors eye the Yakima Valley for a massive industrial plant, expecting to import a colony of beet farmers to transform the regional economy.
“Those interested in the industry state that full 2,000 new citizens will be added to the population.”
Prosser's Sheriff C.E. Duffy had a string of bad luck involving a broken axle, a horse-drawn rescue, and a smashed finger.
“It looks as though the sheriff had troubles of his own enough to last him a while without the necessity of looking up any criminals.”
A local dispute over a galvanized iron tank leads to a courtroom showdown in Prosser.
“The cases were the outcome of a difficulty between O. B. Gwin and the two Zerwekhs over the mutilating of a large galvanized iron pressure tank.”
State College of Washington researchers reveal new findings on feed efficiency for regional sheep ranchers.
“Corn proved a superior and cheaper feed.”
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