The Irrigation Boom and the Search for Water
Investors in North Yakima report successful artesian well drilling, fueling a real estate rush and regional transformation.
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. H. B. Scudder, of North Yakima, who is largely interested in the company now engaged in sinking artesian wells in the Yakima county, is in the city. Our first well is still flowing uninterruptedly at the rate of about 600,000 gallons in 24 hours. The water is now running to waste down the valley. Our second well is down 300 feet. The irrigation of so much land around North Yakima means a great deal for that city. She will become the banner inland city of the state. Already considerable excitement prevails there over the situation, and real estate values are advancing. Since we struck water, settlers have poured in very fast to secure government claims, and there is hardly one left between Yakima and Priest Rapids.
“Water, however, transforms them into gardens green and fruitful fields.”
The transition of arid land into irrigated farmland was the foundation of the Yakima Valley's modern agricultural economy. This report highlights the 'booster' mentality that characterized the era, where speculative investment and resource control promised a golden future.
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