The Miracle at Moxee: Water Strikes the High Ground
A homemade rotary drill finds artesian water where experts feared it was impossible, turning arid desert into potential farmland.
Mr. W. T. Clark arrived in town on Tuesday from the Moxee with the welcome news that flowing water had just been struck in the rotary well at a depth of 650 feet. The rotary machine, dubbed the 'whirligig' by locals, was the invention of one of the company operators. Despite skepticism from government geologists and fears that the machine was not heavy enough to reach depth, the drill hit a bubbling stream at 650 feet with a 10,000 gallon-per-day capacity. The water is notably warm, and the success of the well provides evidence that the artesian basin extends throughout the Yakima country, potentially taking irrigation out of the speculative province.
“It is with great satisfaction that The Herald is enabled to chronicle the success of this well, as it takes the irrigation of the arid lands out of the speculative province.”
Yakima’s history is defined by the relentless struggle to bring water to arid land, a battle that remains a central pillar of the region's agricultural economy and its modern political identity today.
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