The Railroad’s 160-Acre Bet on Cotton in the Columbia Basin
The O.R.N. set aside land near Wallula to test cotton, sorghum, peanuts, tobacco, and more—with and without irrigation—and invited farmers to copy the results.
Preparations are being made for commencing operations on the experiment farm to be started at Stokes, under the auspices of the O. R. N., between Umatilla and Wallula, where the company has set aside 160 acres. The Barley ditch is accessible for the irrigation of any part of this, so that experiments can be made in growing various plants with or without irrigation. The farm will be in sight of passing trains, and passengers who desire will be allowed to stop there to examine the workings of the scheme. Among the plants which are to be experimented with at first are cotton, sorghum, alfalfa, tobacco, peanuts, sweet potatoes, Austrian brawn grass, red clover, hemp, flax, German millet, Russian grass, rape seed, vetches, etc. The farm at Stokes will be the central experiment station, but seeds and plants will be furnished to farmers in arid and semi-arid sections, who desire to supplement the work of the company and test for themselves the adaptability of the various plants for cultivation in their localities. The farm will be under the charge of Industrial Agent R. C. Judson, assisted by competent help.—Walla Walla Statesman.
“The farm will be in sight of passing trains, and passengers who desire will be allowed to stop there to examine the workings of the scheme.”
The experiment farm was an early railroad attempt to engineer the arid Columbia Basin into a diversified agricultural economy. Irrigation did transform the region, though cotton and tobacco never became Yakima Valley staples. The same questions about water, land, and who profits from both still shape Eastern Washington.
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