Water Discovered in the Horse Heaven Hills
A successful well-drilling operation in the arid hills promises a new era for dry-land farmers in the Horse Heaven country.
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In the Horse Heaven hills, 20 miles southwest of Kennewick, water is being pumped from a well at 100 gallons a minute, with an inexhaustible supply expected. The well, located in Section 16-6-28 on Commercial Orchards Lands Company property, was drilled by George Rowe to a depth of 251 feet. It is the first successful strike of its kind that makes pumping practical for the area. The company has contracted Rowe for further drilling, and he has secured new equipment capable of running on crude oil. The successful well currently provides water for 800 head of cattle and 25 head of horses, sparking optimism that more of the land can be brought under irrigation.
“Those who have watched and studied the development of the Horse Heaven country... look upon this well as the forerunner of a new era of development in the hills.”
The quest for water in the semi-arid Horse Heaven Hills has been the defining factor of agricultural development in Benton County for over a century. This 1915 strike represents the early technological optimism that eventually led to modern large-scale irrigation and deep-well reliance, shaping the region's current farming economy.
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