USA > Washington > Benton County > History of the Yakima Valley, Washington; comprising Yakima, Kittitas, and Benton Counties, Vol. I > Part 74
USA > Washington > Kittitas County > History of the Yakima Valley, Washington; comprising Yakima, Kittitas, and Benton Counties, Vol. I > Part 74
USA > Washington > Yakima County > History of the Yakima Valley, Washington; comprising Yakima, Kittitas, and Benton Counties, Vol. I > Part 74
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This petition is accompanied by a bond of three hundred dollars ($300.00) with sureties and conditions as provided by law.
Dated December 18, 1912.
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CASCADE IRRIGATION CANAL.
In the matter of the petition to the county commissioners of Kittitas County, state of Washington, for the organization of an irrigation district to be known as Cascade Irrigation district.
Now on this fourteenth day of January, 1913, at the hour of ten o'clock in the forenoon, the petition of T. T. Wilson, and others, praying for the or- ganization of an irrigation district to be designated as the Cascade Irrigation district ( came regularly on for hearing, said hearing having been regularly ad- journed from January 6, 1913, to January 13, 1913, and from January 13th to this date, and the board having carefully considered said petition and having heard proof and having heard all parties interested in the matter of such peti- tion, and being fully advised in the premises, finds as follows:
1. That said petition is duly signed by more than fifty holders of title and evidence of title to land in said proposed district, and that said land is suscep- tible of one mode of irrigation from a common source and by the same system of works, and that said petition is regular in form, and sufficient to confer jur- isdiction upon said board of commissioners.
2. That said petition, together with a notice stating the time of the meet- ing of the board at which it would be presented, was published in the "Ellens- burg Capital," a weekly newspaper printed and published in the city of Ellens- burg, in the county of Kittitas, state of Washington, for the period of more than two weeks immediately preceding the time designated in said notice for the hearing of said petition by the board.
3. That said petition sets forth and particularly describes the proposed boundaries of said district, and that all the land included in said description and in the boundaries hereinafter mentioned are situated in the county of Kittitas, state of Washington.
4. That said petition was duly presented to said board by the petitioners at the time and place mentioned in said notice ; and the petitioners accompanied the petition with a good and sufficient bond in double the amount of the prob- able cost of organizing such district, to-wit, in the penal sum of three hundred dollars ($300.00), conditioned that the bondsmen will pay all costs of organ- izing such district in case such organization shall not be affected, and which said bond was duly approved by the board of county commissioners.
5. That certain lands (hereinafter described) which were included in the boundaries as proposed by the petition were excluded by said board for the reason that in the judgment of said board, they would not be benefitted by irri- gation by said system, and that they have a sufficoent water supply for irrigation from other sources.
6. Said board further finds that on January 8, 1913, the board of directors of Middle Kittitas Irrigation district, which embraces a portion of the lands sought to be included in this irrigation district, consented to the inclusion with- in the proposed Cascade Irrigation district all of the lands situate within the boundaries of the said Middle Kittitas Irrigation district, which this board may see fit to include therein.
7. That the said proposed district shall be known and designated as the ""Cascade Irrigation District" and that the petitioners have requested and pray
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that the three (3) directors of said district be elected at large, and that their request in that behalf be granted and said three directors shall be elected by the district at large.
8. That for the purpose of the election for the organization of said dis- trict and for the election of said directors, there shall be established two elec- tion precincts as hereinafter described, and that inspectors and judges of elec- tion shall be appointed by the board, and that an election shall be held and notice thereof given, for the purpose of determining whether or not said district shall be organized, and for the purpose of electing three directors at large.
Now THEREFORE, The premises being considered it is now and here ordered that the prayer contained in said petition be and the same is hereby granted and that said proposed irrigation district shall be known and designated as the CASCADE IRRIGATION DISTRICT.
(Then follows the same description as that given in the petition, with the additional exceptions contained in the petition for confirmation hereinafter set out.)
And it is further ordered that an election shall be held in said proposed irrigation district Saturday the 15th day of February, 1913, for the purpose of permitting the voters to decide whether such district shall be organized or not, under the provisions of the laws of the state of Washington, relating to irriga- tion districts, and for the purpose of the election of three directors at large from said district to serve as such directors until their successors are regularly elected and qualified ; and that for the purpose of the election herein provided for, there is hereby established two election precincts, within the boundaries of said dis- trict, to wit:
All the territory west of the east boundary line of sections three and ten in township seventeen north, range nineteen E., W. M., and north of the south- ern boundary of said section ten shall be known as election precinct No. 1.
All the territory east of said eastern boundary and south of said southern boundary of section ten shall be known as election precinct No. 2.
It is further ordered that the voting places for election precinct No. 1 shall be at the dwelling house of Simon Longmire, in the southwest quarter of the southwest quarter of section thirty-one, township eighteen, range eighteen E., W. M., and that there are hereby appointed Blake Beatty as inspector and W. W. Spurling and A. R. Besgrove as judges of election in said precinct; that the voting place for election precinct No. 2 shall be at the school house of school district No. 12, situate in the southwest quarter of the northeast quarter of sec- tion 25, township 17 north, range 19 E., W. M., and that there are hereby appointed Oliver Robinson as inspector and J. W. Boston and F. E. Lowe as judges of election in said precinct.
And it is further ordered that notice of election aforesaid shall be given in the manner and form and for the length of time required by law.
SPECIAL MEETING OF THE BOARD OF COUNTY COMMISSIONERS, HELD FEBRUARY 24, 1913.
The ballots of the election held for the Cascade Irrigation district, cast at the election held February 15, 1913, were canvassed and the board finds there- from, that in precinct No. 1, thirteen votes were in favor of said district, and
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two votes against the same, and in precinct No. 2, thirty-three votes were in favor of said district, and there were no votes against the same, making a total of forty-six votes for said district and two votes against the same.
The board further finds that for directors of said district, T. T. Wilson received forty-six votes, H. B. Snider forty-three votes, and R. L. Mudd received forty-three votes, and Simon Longmire received nine votes, and the board finds therefrom that T. T. Wilson, H. B. Snider and R. L. Mudd were elected directors of said district ; and it is now declared that the Cascade Irrigation dis- trict is duly organized as an irrigation district and shall be known as the Cascade Irrigation district.
It is further ordered by the board that a copy of this order, duly certified, be immediately filed for record in the office of the county clerk of Kittitas County. STATE OF WASHINGTON,
County of Kittitas,
ss :
I, James Heron, auditor of Kittitas County, state of Washington, do hereby certify that the foregoing papers and proceedings which are said to be on file in my office are filed in said office, and that all copies given are true and correct copies of the instruments which they purport to copy.
(Seal)
JAMES HERON,
Auditor of Kittitas County, State of Washington.
Another of the historic irrigation organizations is the Ellensburg Water Company, often referred to as the "Town Ditch Company." The canal of this company covers about 12,000 acres near Ellensburg. The company has become entirely a joint-stock company, the property owned by share-holders, who are themselves the water-users. The holders own a share to an acre. The cost of maintenance runs from $1 to $2 an inch. C. H. Stewart is the secretary at the present time.
The third of these principal canals is the West Side Irrigating Ditch. The water for this canal is taken from the Yakima River, two miles or more above Thorp, and is conveyed to about 7,000 acres on the west side. This is also a shareholders corporation of water-users and thus owned and managed entirely in the interest of the locality. At this date J. H. Prater is president and A. T. Gregory is secretary of the corporation.
By far the largest irrigation proposition, the largest that ever can exist in the Kittitas Valley, is the "High Line" Canal. This has been in process of consideration for many years. Of the earlier stages we have spoken in the chapter on Irrigation. After many phases this great enterprise assumed definite form as a result of the assumption by the Government of the creation of reser- voir sites at the head of the river and the development of canals throughout the Sunnyside, Tieton, Wapato, and Benton districts. It became plain to the people of Kittitas that the future of their big canal system must lie with the Government reclamation work. As a result, the Kittitas Reclamation district was organized September 14, 1911, under the provisions of the Warren act. By the terms of this act the district becomes a municipal corporation under state law. A regular tax of five cents an acre is levied on the land included and this is collected by the county treasurer. By vote of the district, in which every
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owner of land is included, a bond issue of $5,000,000 has been authorized for raising funds to carry on development. The Government has adopted the policy of investing funds in bonds of this character.
In pursuance of that policy the Government has authorized taking $880,000 of these Kittitas District bonds. Prior to the war all indications pointed to an early and favorable disposition of the remainder of the bonds. The war has stopped further proceedings, but there is no question that as soon as peace returns the financing of the "High Line" will be resumed. It has such possi- bilities that it can not fail to be one of the most successful of the large enter- prises. The area in the district is 93,000 acres, of which 80,000 are irrigable, and 71,000 have been authorized for receiving water. The water supply will come from Lake Keechelus, and the canal will pass in a great semi-circle along the edge of the foothill belt north of Ellensburg to the eastern margin of the valley and thence along the northern edge of the Yakima ridge toward the gap south of Ellensburg. This official organization of the district consists of three trustees, a president and a secretary chosen by the district. The president at this date is Thomas Haley and the secretary is F. A. Kern. The trustees are John Catlin, Thomas Haley, and Henry Richards. The term of Mr. Catlin is to expire on January 1, 1919, and Fred C. Schnebly has been chosen to a trusteeship beginning at that date.
RAILROADS
In the chapter on Transportation we have given a view of railway building through the valley as a whole, from Kennewick to the Stampede Tunnel. We may add more specifically to what has been given there that the first passenger train from Yakima to Ellensburg arrived at the latter place February 26, 1886. Ellensburg had at last attained one of the great objects of her ambitions, rail connection with the world.
Throughout 1886 the line was pushed with great energy up the valley to the Stampede Pass, and there the "Switchback" was in progress, pending the tunnel, which required several years of added work. An extract from the "Yakima Signal" of October 13, 1886, gives a conception of the progress of the work at that period: "The grade is nearly if not quite completed to the east face of the main tunnel, barring the trestles and the minor tunnels, which will he finished in time to allow the track's reaching the switchback by December 1st. Hunt's grade work on the east side will be completed today and between five and six hundred laborers will be let out, some of whom have been secured to push the work on the west side. The grading on the Switchback is approaching the finish and will be delayed only for the trestling. Leonhard's Mill, having exhausted the suitable timber at Tunnel City, has moved to a point two miles west of Cle Elum, where it will be utilized in sawing trestle timbers, which will be fitted at the mill and moved by car to the Switchback, ready to be swung into place and bolted. On the west side the work is not so forward. A reduc- tion of wages on October 6th to two dollars a day lessened the forces consider- ably, but the old wages are to be reinstated and the work hurried forward. Engineer Bogue is desirous of having the connection made by the first of Jan-
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uary, 1887, and is exerting every energy to that end, and should the weather hold good his desires will be fulfilled." It may be added that the engineer's hopes were nearly fulfilled, for construction trains were running early in 1887. Not for some months, however, was there regular passenger service. On July 3, 1887, a huge excursion from all parts of the Inland Empire passed over the line to Tacoma to celebrate the Fourth. The "City of Destiny" was at that time, though "booming" so as to fairly bubble over the top, a pretty raw, crude place and it was fairly swamped by the tide of hay-seeds, cow-boys, wheat farmers, horse men, mining sharps, which flowed in, responsive to the greatness of the occasion of the first railway across the Cascades. There was some inducement, too, in the fact that the fare was $5.00 the round trip from any point in eastern Washington. Hundreds of excursionists had to walk up and down the hills in Tacoma the night of the third, for the supply of rooms was soon exhausted.
In spite of the fact that a "boom" followed the railroad, and Ellensburg had the liveliest times ever known during 1887, 1888, and 1889 (until the big fire of July 4th of the latter year) there were the disappointments usual in sucli a period, and many charges against the railway managers for alleged discrim- inations and injustices arose. The N. P. R. R. had things its own way in Kitti- tas until 1909. In that year occurred the great event of the entrance of the Chicago, Milwaukee & St. Paul Railroad through the valley and by the Snoqualmie Pass to the Sound. Construction work was in progress in Ellens- burg in 1908, but it was not till 1909 that the first train from the east reached Ellensburg. Since the Milwaukee does not touch any part of the Yakima Valley except Kittitas, a great deal was expected from it in the way of stimu- lating enterprise. The general financial cloud that rested on the country, how- ever, at that period, prevented as much jubilation and quickening as had come twenty years earlier from the N. P. R. R., and Kittitas remained quite calm and unexcited, in spite of this great addition to her facilities. We find in "The Coast" of May, 1908, so fine a view of the road and the county just prior to its completion that we incorporate it here.
BUILDING OF THE CHICAGO, MILWAUKEE & ST. PAUL RAILWAY THROUGH KITTITAS COUNTY
BY H. L. W.
A stupendous and marvelous financial and engineering feat is the building of the Chicago, Milwaukee & St. Paul Railroad to the Pacific Coast. This is true because of the nature of the country through which the line runs and the magnificent grades which are maintained and the times through which the building of the line has progressed with clock-work regularity regardless of the financial difficulties which have troubled the industrial and commercial world and thrown other industrial operations into disorder. Not only is the work progressing according to the estimates for time of completion of this large undertaking, but the day for the running of through trains from Chicago to Seattle and Puget Sound direct will arrive before the time specified in the estimates and the roadway over which these magnificent trains will run will
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be one of the very best according to the latest improved engineering methods known to modern minds.
Kittitas County, Washington, is one of the rich and promising regions through which this line will run. From the Columbia River, where the line enters the county, to the Cascade Mountains, where it leaves and enters King County, a variety of scenery and resources is encountered, which will not only make it ideal and beautiful, but a road of promise where productive fields offer opportunity for great wealth and profit.
In the building of this line no expense is spared to give a direct and short means of transit and maintain an even and moderate grade, which means quick and cheap operation. Especially is this demonstrated in Kittitas County, where the total mileage is ninety-six miles, and where there will be fourteen stations, three of which are old towns now existing.
At the Columbia River the road crosses upon a magnificent steel con- structed bridge, built upon concrete and stone piers of the latest type of structure. Rising from the Columbia River the road courses westward on a direct line and cuts through the range of mountains in the eastern part of the county by tunnel and traverses the wide fertile plains of Kittitas County until it reaches and crosses the fertile and productive Kittitas Valley. Then follow - ing the canyon of the Yakima River it rises at an even grade until it reaches Easton, where it veers to the north and passes through the Cascades at a marvelously low grade into the headwaters of the Cedar River and thence on to the great city of Seattle on Puget Sound.
The average grade, or ruling grade, is four-tenths of one per cent, or twenty-one feet and one-quarter to the mile. The maximum grade is two and two-tenths per cent.
The width of the road bed is eighteen feet. The number of fills and bridges are not ascertainable, but they are frequent. In the county there are six tunnels. One, the Johnson Creek summit tunnel, in the eastern part of the county, is 2,000 feet long. The largest tunnel will be about three miles long and be at the summit in the Cascade Mountains. It will not be completed until after the operation of the road. Prior to the completion of the Cascade tunnel the road will be operated through the Cascades without a switchback and over a road built on a low grade.
Trains will be operated through Kittitas County by September or October, 1908.
At the present time over 2,500 men are employed on the work and these men are spenders in every sense of the word and almost every dollar of their earnings finds repose in the tills of the various lines of business now conducted in the county. Some say that the cost of the road through the county will approximate $6,500,000, and of this amount two-thirds at least is paid for labor.
In the construction of the line the heaviest steel rails are utilized and the system of spiral curves is maintained throughout the entire length, which pro- vides for a high rate of speed and maximum safety and comfort to the traveling public and the company in the running of trains.
At the present writing, April 15, 1908, about fifteen miles of the road in Kittitas County is in operation from the point where the road crosses the
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Northern Pacific about four miles west of Ellensburg, running east through Ellensburg to the extreme east side of the Kittitas Valley. The road is used exclusively for the hauling of material.
Lorimer & Gallagher, of Chicago, are the contractors in charge of all the tunnel work west of Ellensburg and twenty miles of construction work. The senior member of the firm is William Lorimer, the well known political boss of Chicago, who for twenty years was a member of Congress from that city. The work is directed by J. L. Gallagher, the other member of the firm. Their tunnel work is done with electric drills.
C. J. Johnson has the contract for all the work from the summit of the Cascades to Ellensburg. He is from St. Paul. Jacobson & Lindstrom, of St. Paul, have seven miles of rock work from the Columbia River east.
With this article are presented a number of views along the line of the railroad, presented to show something of the country through which the line passes and the progress of the work. One of the most interesting pieces of work was the building of the piers for the Columbia River bridge, which is one of the most substantial bridges erected across this great waterway.
Not far from the Columbia River is a rock which lies not far from the right of way which has been named by the men working on the road, "Our Patron Saint." It is a fairly faithful representation of the head of John Rocke- feller.
A grand vista is that which shows where the line courses along the banks of the Yakima River. In this picture can be gained some idea of the immense amount of water which is constantly rushing down from the Cascades on its way to the Columbia, providing unlimited supply for irrigation purposes. It can be seen that the engineers in locating the roadbed have gotten above the danger line of floods, which in all places along this river has been done.
The cut at Craig's Hill in the city of Ellensburg is another feat of engin- eering skill which has added to the reputation of the Milwaukee engineers and shows one of the many obstacles which were met and overcome in the building of the road.
The building of the Chicago, Milwaukee & St. Paul Railway means much for the county of Kittitas and the cities within its confines. It opens up avenues for the development and settlement of wide areas now used for grazing lands and offers inducements for the cutting up of large hay ranches and the begin- ning of large things in the way of fruit raising and produce raising. New towns are certain to spring up within a year or so and where now the coyote and the sage brush flourish soon the roar of the limited speeding on its way between Chicago and Seattle will be heard and the screech of the engine's whistle will awaken the spirits of centuries which have been sleeping and will come to new life and activities.
A future of large promise is assured for the people of this country and, with the markets of Puget Sound brought nearer to the producer and cheaper transportation, as well, placed within their grasp, the people of the Kittitas Valley and Kittitas County will flourish and prosper and this region of fair and bright possibilities will grow and increase in wealth and importance as its people grasp the opportunities within their reach. Already men are investing
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in this region and a lively activity is seen, and this is only the beginning.
Another of the great subjects of importance in Kittitas County, and espe- cially Ellensburg, was the location and upbuilding of the Washington Normal . School. We shall give a full account of this institution in the chapter on Schools.
THE COAL MINES
One of the most vital matters connected with the progress of the county during more recent history has been the development of the coal districts of Roslyn and Cle Elum. Of the discoveries and early conditions we have already spoken fully. As matter of historic interest a few words may be included here as to the acquisition by the Northern Pacific Railroad Company of the bulk of the coal lands. It is stated that certain coal prospectors in the period of early discovery were in the mountains with I. A. Navarre, subsequently a leading man in the Chelan country (from whom one of the conspicuous moun- tains there derives its name) in the region where Roslyn was afterwards lo- cated. While there they made a valuable find of coal. Mr. Navarre took up the disposition of the property with Northern Pacific Railroad officials. Per- ceiving at once the tremendous importance of such a discovery at such a place on their line, the company at once entered upon the initiation of mining. This was just at the time of completing their road across the mountains. Most of the discoveries proved to be on railroad land. Some of the claimants were dispossessed, others were forced to sell ont less to their advantage than that of the company, and in general there was much ill-feeling, as there is sure to be when individual aims come into collision with those of a great corporation.
As in other coal mining regions the majority of the miners were and still are foreigners and all the conditions are totally different from those in the agricultural parts of Kittitas. In 1888 and 1894 strikes occurred in the coal mines, bringing violence and loss of work and property. In April, 1899, the Northern Pacific Railroad transferred its holdings at Cle Elum to the Northern Pacific Coal Company. That company already controlled the coal mines at Roslyn. In September of the same year the coal company conveyed its prop- erty to the Northwestern Improvement Company, one of the numerous "New Jersey" companies. The new corporation was said to have a capital of $4,000,- 000. At any rate they made numerous improvements and extensions. The output of the mines reached as high as 4,000 tons per day immediately after the new corporation took possession. In addition to supplying the Northern Pacific Railroad, the Roslyn mines were drawn on for over 100,000 tons in 1899 for the Union Pacific Railroad. The Northwestern Improvement Com- pany practically controls the entire output of the Roslyn and Cle Elum mines to the present date.
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