Kennewick Snags New Agricultural Station
Local representative outmaneuvers Yakima rival to secure critical state college facility for Benton County.
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If the bill providing for the location of an agricultural experiment station of the State College passes the legislature, it will likely land in the Kennewick-Richland valley. Representative Gordon C. Moores secured a last-minute amendment to the bill—previously slated for Yakima—mandating the station be located within twenty miles of Kennewick. Mrs. Ina P. Williams, the bill's author, was outmaneuvered in the House after Moores presented data showing the local valley's superior crop production, including record yields of 17 tons of potatoes per acre. Moores earned laughs from the House floor by goading committee members into admitting the Kennewick district's unique ability to grow fruits and grapes impossible to cultivate in Yakima.
“Representative Gordon Moores... proved himself a combination Daniel Webster and Sherlock Holmes.”
This reflects a century-old battle for agricultural resources that mirrors modern struggles for state investment in local infrastructure. Today, Kennewick's status as a top-tier agricultural hub continues to influence regional economic policy, though the competition between Tri-Cities and Yakima has evolved into a more collaborative relationship.
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