The Price of an Orchard
A lucrative land sale signals the high value of developed fruit ranches in the Klondyke neighborhood north of White Bluffs.
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.
That good orchard land has a staple value in this valley was evidenced this week when H. W. Lemcke sold his tract north of town to E. T. Peterson of Portland for $27,500 or just exactly $1,000 per acre. The ranch is located in the Klondyke neighborhood about two miles north of town and is a picturesque spot, commanding an excellent view of the Columbia. Mr. Lemcke bought it three years ago, paying $25,000 and has given it splendid care. It is set to winter apples and European grapes. Water for irrigation is pumped from the Columbia. The buildings on the ranch are only ordinary, the value of the place being based on the land itself.
“That good orchard land has a staple value in this valley was evidenced this week.”
The transition of White Bluffs from a boom-town fruit basket to a land largely abandoned after the Manhattan Project demonstrates the volatility of land value in the desert Northwest.
From readers
No comments yet. If you know something about this story — a correction, a family memory, a source — it belongs here.