Turning the Desert Into an Empire
A massive engineering project is underway to irrigate 125,000 acres of Yakima bench land, fueling the local boosterism of the 1890s.
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.
C. H. Leadbetter, of North Yakima, president of the company now building irrigation canals in Yakima county, gave an interesting account of the progress of the enterprise. The canal starts at Prosser falls, on the Yakima, and runs to a point 19 miles below, where it is divided into branches. One branch crosses the Northern Pacific at Relief and follows the foothills until opposite Wallula, where it empties into the Columbia river. This branch will irrigate 25,000 acres of bench land. The other branch passes around the south foot of Rattlesnake mountain to the foot of Priest rapids, covering 100,000 acres. The system includes extensive natural reservoirs, and the main canal is 40 feet wide and six feet deep. Currently, 100 teams and 200 men are engaged in the construction. Mr. Leadbetter predicted that within a few years Yakima would be the most prosperous county in the state.
“Mr. Leadbetter predicted that within a few years Yakima would be the most prosperous county in the state.”
The irrigation projects of the 1890s are the direct reason Yakima County remains an agricultural powerhouse today. The 'bench land' developments described here transformed the high desert into the fruit-growing region that defines the local economy and identity in the 21st century.
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