Appraisers Put a $50,000 Price on a Richland Ranch — and a Pumping Plant to Match
The Costellos' spread three miles north of Richland, once the McAlpin homestead, is judged the foundation of one of the finest stock farms in the irrigated country — if the water can be lifted onto it.
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.
Mr. and Mrs. Patrick Costello, who own one of the largest ranches in the Richland district, formerly known as the McAlpin homestead, about three miles north of town, are very much encouraged in their farming venture by the opinion of several expert land appraisers, who went over their property about a week ago. These men have spent years in appraising land values in the Columbia and Yakima river valleys, and after a careful examination of the Costello ranch they expressed it as their opinion that here was the foundation of one of the finest stock farms in the irrigated section, and that when properly developed it would, in their estimation, be worth close to $50,000.
Mr. Costello is planning extensive improvements on his property, including the installation of a pumping plant whereby the land which has heretofore been used only as natural pasture can be irrigated and planted to crops which will be suitable for winter feed for a large herd of cattle when fed from a silo. C. D. Mitchell has spent considerable time lately going over the land with a view to making plans for the pumping plant, and if nothing unforeseen happens work will be commenced on it within a short time.
To show what abundant natural pasturage abounds on the place, Mr. Costello realized $192 clear profit from the renting of his pasture to a sheep man who put 1,700 head of sheep in for 32 days. This is abundant proof that the place is primarily adapted for stock raising, and when a large area is put under a pumping plant and can be irrigated to advantage there are few ranches anywhere which can be classed with this one.
“Here was the foundation of one of the finest stock farms in the irrigated section and when properly developed would, in their estimation, be worth close to $50,000.”
In 1915 the Columbia Basin's future was still argued one ranch at a time: lift the water and the sagebrush becomes winter feed. A century later that same country south of the Tri-Cities is watered by the Columbia Basin Project and Richland is a city of tens of thousands — the pumping plant the appraisers recommended became a federal reclamation system. The booster arithmetic of land + water = value is exactly the math still driving growth in the Tri-Cities.
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