The Desert Land Rush of 1903
Speculators and settlers stake claims in the arid sagebrush near Pasco, betting that irrigation will transform the wasteland into a garden.
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.
Dr. Y. C. Blalock of Walla Walla, U.S. land agent, reports a flurry of activity in the Pasco region. Within three weeks, nearly two townships of desert land have been taken up, primarily by men from Seattle. The land is sandy and considered useless without irrigation, yet claims are being filed at a rapid rate. Captain Cray, a man known for his 'Keep your eye on Pasco' advertising, is spearheading a $750,000 irrigation project. While Dr. Blalock is skeptical about the engineering feasibility of pumping water high enough for the land, the rush continues, and registration fees are pouring into the government office.
“From the amount of money being spent, you may take it for granted that there is 'a hen on.'”
This early 20th-century speculative rush to 'reclaim' desert land near Pasco mirrors the ongoing tension in Eastern Washington between industrial agriculture, land development, and the water rights that sustain both. The struggle to turn arid sagebrush into a garden of Eden remains a defining, and often contentious, narrative of the Columbia Basin.
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