Success and Agriculture in the White River Valley
An observer notes the thriving farms and new infrastructure transforming the landscape near Seattle, highlighting the agricultural potential of the region.
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.
The town of Kent is a pretty place, and considering its surroundings, ought to thrive faster than it does. Being on the line of the railroad, they have a daily mail, and being within a mile of White River, which is navigable above that point, they have ample transportation facilities. Close by, on one side, is a sawmill, and on the other side a cheese factory. There are many fine ranches thereabouts; those of I. M. Alvord and T. B. Hewitt being particularly well noticed. The latter has several huge barns and immense quantities of hay. On the farm of Mr. Hewitt I saw some very fine cattle. He has a Durham cow that has given 40 pounds of milk at a single milking and 25 pounds to one day—she has produced 3 1/2 pounds of butter daily. Further up the road, I came to another large settlement around Slaughter, where a young town is just beginning to rise. Within a month a new store, a new hotel, a new dwelling, and a new blacksmith shop will have run up.
“Further up the road, I came to another large settlement around Slaughter, where a young town is just beginning to rise.”
The town mentioned as 'Slaughter' was later renamed Auburn to escape the violent connotations of the name. The transformation of this valley from prime farmland to the industrial and suburban sprawl seen today is one of the most drastic geographic changes in King County history.
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