The Boomtown Strategy
North Yakima’s rapid expansion is fueled by massive infrastructure projects, including new irrigation canals and railroad connections.
The story, cleaned up
A cleaned-up reading of the newspaper page: spelling and layout repaired, one story lifted off a crowded page. It follows the original closely but it is not a transcription. The original page is below; read it if a detail matters.
This city, which has achieved so much in the past five years—the period of its existence—expects that the coming season will be the most prosperous that it has ever witnessed. The building of the railroad that will connect it with Portland will be commenced, toward which the citizens subscribed a subsidy to the amount of $100,000 about two months ago. A large force of men will be employed in construction, and several large canals are either to be built or extended this season, including the Sunnyside ditch, which is to tap the Naches river to reclaim about 160,000 acres. Many additional improvements are to be inaugurated in the city this season: a bountiful supply of water, an electric light plant, a $12,000 brick school house, and a proposed $50,000 courthouse.
“This city which has achieved so much the past five years—the period of its existence—expects that the coming season will be the most prosperous that it has ever witnessed.”
Yakima's transformation from a desert outpost to an agricultural hub was driven by massive, state-sponsored irrigation projects. Today, the city still grapples with the legacy of those water allocations and the constant cycle of growth versus sustainable development.
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