Ditch Dispute Leads to Violence in Naches Valley
A simmering property conflict between two farming families erupted into a violent armed confrontation.
A cutting and shooting affray that may end in the death of one of the participants occurred today in Naches valley between Peter McCallum, his two sons and a hired man and John W. Foster, a son and a hired man. The trouble arose over a ditch that ran through the Foster farm to the farm of the McCallums.
“The trouble arose over a ditch that ran through the Foster farm to the farm of the McCallums.”
Water rights and access remain a foundational, often litigious issue in Yakima Valley agriculture. This 1905 brawl over a ditch serves as a reminder that competition for irrigation infrastructure has been a source of community conflict for over a century.
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