History of the Yakima Valley, Washington; comprising Yakima, Kittitas, and Benton Counties, Vol. I, Part 97

Author: Lyman, William Denison, 1852-1920
Publication date: 1919
Publisher: [Chicago] S.J. Clarke
Number of Pages: 1134

USA > Washington > Benton County > History of the Yakima Valley, Washington; comprising Yakima, Kittitas, and Benton Counties, Vol. I > Part 97
USA > Washington > Kittitas County > History of the Yakima Valley, Washington; comprising Yakima, Kittitas, and Benton Counties, Vol. I > Part 97
USA > Washington > Yakima County > History of the Yakima Valley, Washington; comprising Yakima, Kittitas, and Benton Counties, Vol. I > Part 97

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Also all the right, title and interest of the Prosser Falls Irrigation Com- pany in Sec. 1, Twp. 8, N. R. 24 E. W. M. Also all water rights in the waters of the Yakima River now owned, held or controlled by said Prosser Falls Irri-

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gation Company by appropriation, contract, deed or otherwise (and all other lands).

Together with all and singular the tenements, hereditaments and appur- tenances thereunto belonging or in any wise appertaining, and the reversion and reversions, remainder and remainders, rents, issues and profits thereof (and other personal property).

INSTRUMENT No. 48. LEVI ANKENY AND JENNIE NESMITH ANKENY, his wife, to

PROSSER FALLS IRRIGATION COMPANY.

QUIT CLAIM DEED. Dated the 13th day of June, 1899. Filed for record the 27th day of June, 1899, at 12 m. Recorded in Book "I" of Deeds, page 270. Amount, $1.00. Granting words: G. B. R. S. C. and C. and forever Q. C. (Signed)

JENNIE NESMITH ANKENY, LEVI ANKENY.

Witnesses-A. R. Burford, J. E. Thompson.

Acknowledged the 26th day of June, 1899, by Levi Ankeny and Jennie Nesmith Ankeny.

(Seal)

Before A. R. BURFORD. N. P., Residing at Walla Walla, Wash.

Description-All rights of way now owned, claimed or held by the Prosser Falls Irrigation Company and used by it for the purpose of maintaining and operating any of its canals, or pipe lines used for the conveyance of water in said irrigation system, whether held by deed, contract or otherwise.

Also all the right, title and interest heretofore owned by the Prosser Falls Irrigation Company in Sec. I, Twp. 8, N. R. E. W. M. Also all water rights in the waters of the Yakima River heretofore owned, held or controlled by said Prosser Falls Irrigation Company by appropriation, contract, deed or other- wise (and other lands).

KNOW ALL MEN BY THESE PRESENTS, That the undersigned, Levi Ankeny, E. F. Benson and Edward Whitson, all citizens of the United States, and residents of the State of Washington, have associated themselves together for the purpose of forming a corporation under the laws of said state, and do hereby adopt and certify the following articles of incorporation :

ARTICLE I.

The name of this corporation is the Prosser Falls Land & Irrigation Company.

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ARTICLE II.

The objects for which this corporation is formed are as follows:

1. To purchase, acquire, maintain and operate that certain pumping plant located at Prosser, in Yakima County, Washington, heretofore known as the Prosser Falls Pumping Plant, together with the pumps, pumping station, pipe lines, canals, laterals, water rights, ditches, appropriations, and everything be- longing or in anywise appertaining thereto.

2. To buy, sell and deal in lands and water rights in the County of Yakima, and to acquire among other lands, those certain lands heretofore pur- chased by Levi Ankeny at receiver's sale of the property of the Prosser Falls Irrigation Company, and to issue bonds to pay the purchase price thereof, or borrow money to pay for said lands, and to mortgage all or any of the property of said Company to secure the payment of said bonds, and to own, sell, improve, irrigate and cultivate said lands.

3. To furnish and supply water for irrigation and domestic purposes upon the lands owned by said corporation, and to charge and receive tolls and rentals for the use of water upon such of said lands as said corporation may dispose of.

4. To sell and convey water rights for the irrigation of such lands as this company may convey to purchasers, and thereafter to charge and receive rental for supplying said lands with water.

5. To develop the water power of Prosser Falls, to sell or lease water rights, water privileges and power for manufacturing purposes, and for that purpose to take, appropriate and use the water of the Yakima River at or near the town of Prosser, to make appropriations and diversions of water, and to acquire water rights and water privileges in the waters of said river.

6. To build, maintain and operate water works for the purpose of supply- ing the town of Prosser and its inhabitants with water for fire, irrigation and domestic purposes, and to build, maintain and operate an electric light plant for the purpose of supplying the town of Prosser and its inhabitants with electric lights, and take and receive from said town franchises, privileges and agreements for those purposes.

7. Generally, to buy, sell, own and improve real estate within the County of Yakima, and to own and acquire by purchase or otherwise water rights, and water power; to construct, maintain and own irrigating ditches, canals and reservoirs, or to acquire the same by purchase or otherwise.

ARTICLE III.

The amount of the capital stock of this corporation is hereby fixed at fifty thousand.

ARTICLE V.

The number of trustees of this corporation is hereby fixed at three, and the names of those who shall manage the concerns of said company until the first Monday in September, 1899, are Levi Ankeny, E. F. Benson and Edward Whitson.

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ARTICLE VI.

The principal place of business of said corporation shall be at North Yakima, in Yakima County, State of Washington.

IN WITNESS WHEREOF, they have hereunto subscribed their names in triplicate this 4th day of April, 1899.

Executed in the presence of :

B. L. SHARPSTEIN, FRED PARKER.

LEVI ANKENY, E. F. BENSON, EDWARD. WHITSON.

STATE OF WASHINGTON, COUNTY OF YAKIMA, ss:

On the 4th day of April, 1899, personally appeared before me, the under- signed, a Notary Public in and for said county and state, E. F. Benson and Edward Whitson, to me known to be the identical persons described in and who executed the foregoing articles of incorporation, who severally acknow]- edged to me that they executed the same freely and voluntarily, for the uses and purposes therein mentioned.

WITNESS my hand and official seal the day and year in this certificate first above written.

(Seal.)

FRED PARKER, Notary Public, Residing at North Yakima, Wash.

Upon the operation of these companies much of the development of the town depended. Nelson Rich established a mercantile business in 1883. The usual little cluster of dwellings and shops and saloons followed. There was slow growth, however, till the Prosser Falls Irrigation Company undertook a series of improvements, consisting of the installation of a pumping system with a view of irrigating the land on the south side of the river and to providing an electric lighting system. The completion of these improvements was marked by a celebration on April 16, 1894. That was one of the big days in the early history of the town. A number of distinguished men were present, including Colonel Prosser, W. L. Jones, W. D. Tyler, G. L. Homes, D. E. Lesh, E. F. Benson, Dr. N. F. Essig, and others, both resident and non-resident.

The town took a leap forward as a result of these improvements. The first newspaper, the "Prosser Falls American", came into existence at that time. The first bank, First National, was organized, and several new stores followed. Mr. E. W. R. Taylor, a genuine product of Yakima, the son of George S. Taylor, first settler in the Selah district on the east side of the river, came to Prosser in 1889. Within a few years the Prosser Falls Land & Power Company, of which he was head, put in the dam at the falls and constructed the flouring-mill, one of the most important features of the community.

In spite of the hopeful outlook at that time for the town and adjoining country, the hard times seriously hampered operations. As seen in the legal records given, the Prosser Falls Irrigation Company became involved in diffi- culties as the sequence, and finally went into the hands of a receiver, D. D. Calkins, Ira P. Englehart being afterwards appointed to that post in 1897 by the

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Superior Court, John B. Davidson, judge. On April 4, 1899, a new corporation, known as the Prosser Falls Land & Irrigation Company, composed of Levi Ankeny, E. F. Benson and Edward Whitson, acquired the property of the irriga- tion company.

With this organization Mr. Benson became a leading figure for a number of years in all the business enterprises of Prosser. It was but one among many enterprises to which Mr. Benson, now commissioner of agriculture of the state, applied his great business ability and energy. Mr. Benson continued the man- agement of the system till 1911, when the city of Prosser acquired water rights from the Sunnyside Canal, conveying the water by a pipe line ten miles long, carried across the river under pressure by an aqueduct. At the time of inaugura- tion of the pipe line the irrigation company sold its pumping plant to the Pacific Power & Light Company and retired from the field.

MUNICIPAL GOVERNMENT IN PROSSER.

On February 11, 1899, an election was held to determine the question of incorporation. The population was small, but ambitious, and by a vote of forty to eighteen, incorporation was adopted. Result of election of councilmen was the choice of J. W. Whiting, G. W. Anderson, Joseph Ponti, Fred Brandt, and C. H. Denley. E. W. R. Taylor became mayor and C. A. Jenson became treas- urer. J. W. Whiting was appointed clerk pro tem. The first ordinance of the city was passed by the council on March 20, 1899. On May 1, John A. Viles became clerk for the term. From that time on the mayors and clerks have been the following: 1901, mayor, H. W. Creason ; clerk, C. M. Powell; 1902, mayor, E. W. R. Taylor; clerk, H. M. Powell; 1904, mayor, E. W. R. Taylor ; clerk, B. E. McGregor ; 1905, the same, though Mr. Taylor resigned and was succeeded by A. G. McNeill; 1906, mayor, E. W. R. Taylor; clerk, J. W. Callicotte ; 1908, mayor, Albert Smith; clerk, Lon Boyle (that year of 1908 was marked by the passage of an ordinance granting a franchise for the Benton Independent Tele- phone Company, of which Harry Miles was president) ; 1909, mayor, Albert Smith ; clerk, Lon Boyle ; 1910, mayor, E. W. R. Taylor; clerk, E. A. Coffman, followed by E. A. Wise: 1911, mayor, William Guernsey ; clerk, E. A. Wise; 1912, the same; 1913, mayor, C. G. Baker; clerk, E. A. Wise; 1914, the same; 1916, mayor, Dr. A. de Y. Green ; clerk, James G. Boyle ; 1917, mayor, Ivan Macy ; clerk, James G. Boyle ; at the last election, held December 3, 1918, the complete list of city officials was as follows: Mayor, A. G. McNeill : treasurer, W. S. Jenkins ; clerk, B. F. Rupert ; attorney, B. E. McGregor ; councilmen, B. E. Lawrence, E. W. Fry, J. W. Whiting, R. W. Moore, B. P. Sampson, and Robert Weber. Guy H. Pearl is the hold-over councilman.

COMMERCIAL CLUB OF PROSSER

This vital necessity of a live town has been realized at Prosser in full measure. The moving factor in its first organization was E. F. Benson in about 1905. Gen. Thomas H. Cavanaugh was the first president. L. L. Lynn, now secretary of the Commercial Club of Walla Walla, was secretary of the Prosser Club for some time.

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HISTORY OF YAKIMA VALLEY

During a considerable time in the years from about 1906 to 1914 the club maintained a weekly luncheon, at which addresses were usually given by visitors or by some one of the home members upon some specialty with which he was familiar. That period, varying somewhat according to local conditions, was a peculiar one in the history of commercial organizations in Washington and Oregon, and indeed all over the Pacific Coast. It was a period of systematic publicity and regular organized effort to secure the attention of prospective set- tlers from the older states and to promote local improvements and intelligent cooperation in all lines of enterprise. That was the period in which Tom Richardson and C. C. Chapman, of Portland, organized and conducted the most enthusiastic campaigns ever known in that city. The waves of interest spread to the other large cities of the Northwest. The smaller towns felt the impulse. Thousands of dollars were expended in publicity campaigns and in promoting all forms of inviting incoming capitalists to invest in newly launched under- takings. While in the nature of the case mistakes were made and some disap- pointments were occasioned, that era of commercial evangelism was a truly great time. Far more good than injury was accomplished.

It was not possible to maintain a movement of that kind at high pitch all the time. Commercial revivifying, like religious, finds its equilibrium, and a period of crusading is bound to subside into a more commonplace type of life. Thus it proved with that period of publicity and awakening headed by the commercial clubs during nearly a decade beginning in 1905 or 1906.

The small towns, like Prosser, followed the same general course as the large ones. The wave of enthusiasm had begun to subside to a degree before the Great War. That stupendous event so engrossed the attention of all minds that, throughout the four appalling years of its continuance, little heed was given to ordinary interests. Hence it is not surprising to find that the Commercial Club of Prosser, like the clubs of other towns, went somewhat under a cloud. It has been revived and reorganized during the year past, and now appears under the name of the Prosser Community Club. The officers of the new club are these : President, E. W. F. Taylor; first vice-president, E. R. Wells; second vice- president, T. J. Stockdale ; treasurer, A. S. Douglass ; secretary, W. E. Tyler.

During the period of special activity, the Commercial Club of Prosser fostered many of the enterprises upon which the material life of the community depended. It was the active agent in securing the municipal ownership of the pipe line from the Sunnyside Canal, an improvement which has well nigh recreated the town. It maintained an annual corn and hog show, which has attracted favorable attention from many directions. Through its efforts the raising of corn has been made a specialty in the farming region tributary, and no doubt more prizes for corn raising have been taken by Prosser people at the corn shows than by any other section in the Northwest.

Fine stock has been made a specialty in the Prosser region through the active efforts of the Commercial Club. One special example of its activity in the vital interests of the community is exhibited by the fact that in 1914, when pear blight threatened to devastate the orchards, the Commercial Club organized a regular army of defense among the men of the town to fight the pest. They got out at 4 A. M .- twenty men or more each morning for some time-armed

CARNEGIE LIBRARY, PROSSER

STEEL BRIDGE AND SYPHON, PROSSER

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HISTORY OF YAKIMA VALLEY

with saws and pruning knives, and made a regular scientific attack upon the foe, resulting in his complete discomfiture.

SOME INTERESTING RECORDS FROM THE NEWSPAPERS OF PROSSER.

Turning to the records of events in the press of the town we find a series of items that cannot fail to entertain and instruct our readers. From the "Bul- letin" of June 22, 1905, we clip two items of importance in the town of that period.

"Prosser Bulletin", June 22, 1905.

A MACHINE SHOP FOR THIS TOWN.

Prosser is to have a first class machine shop, an institution that is badly needed, and one that cannot be equalled between Spokane and Seattle. The machinery for it arrived Monday, along with the new generator of the Prosser Falls Land & Power Company, notice of which is made elsewhere in this issue. The machine shop is to be run by that concern and, in addition to doing its work, will also be at the service of the general public. Heretofore, any person having work of this character to be done had to send to Spokane, Walla Walla or Seattle, which caused long and vexatious delays, to say nothing of the added expense. The machine shop will at once be installed in a room built for it at the power house and will probably be in operation by the first of July.

The machinery consists of a lathe with a 10-foot bed and 21-inch swing, which is twice as large as any lathe in North Yakima; a 16-inch press drill ; a large shaper for planing and shaping iron, emery wheels and everything needed to work iron. The company also expects to secure the services of a practical foundryman and moulder and thus be able to take care of machine work of any character.

This is an industry which the people of Prosser and vicinity should appreci- ate. It is one that could not be supplied at this time by anyone but the com- pany that is putting it in and, while it will probably not pay expenses for some time to come, this city and vicinity will have the full benefit of such an establish- ment.

THE GENERATOR HERE

The big generator for the new electric light and power plant of the Prosser Falls Land & Power Company arrived here Monday and is now being installed by Mr. Hirt of the General Electric Company, sent here for that purpose. It is a 200 kilowatt machine, capable of producing 4,000 electric lights, and is the best generator on the market. It will be in operation, barring any accidents, before the Fourth of July. A 60-inch Sampson Leffel water wheel to run the new generator has been ordered, but will not arrive until about the middle of July. Until it comes the generator will be operated by one of the present wheels of the company.

It will require 350 horse power to run the generator at its full capacity, and with a 50 per cent overload, which it is designed to carry, 500 horse power must be developed. But the company is not going to depend on this wheel alone to run its plant. It is now installing a complete steam plant ; capable of operat-

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HISTORY OF YAKIMA VALLEY

ing the electric light plant, the high pressure water pump, the machine shop and cold storage plant. The new water wheel will do the same and the present wheels have a like capacity, so it will be seen that the entire plant will have three sources of power.

The Fourth of July of that year seems to have been a "big time". The account given in the "Bulletin" of July 6th, 1905, is very entertaining and we give it here.

CELEBRATION A GRAND SUCCESS

The big Fourth of July and Benton County celebration is over and, without any exaggeration whatever, it was the biggest thing of the kind ever attempted in this portion of the state. The weather was perfect although a trifle warm, the several thousand strangers in attendance were all well taken care of, were perfectly satisfied with the entertainment offered and it was a big advertisement 'for Benton County and its seat of government. Great credit is due to Chief J. E. Merwin of the fire department and his various committees for the splendid arrangement of their part of the celebration, and credit is also due to Chairman D. M. Angus of the Benton County committee, to E. B. Williamson, chairman of the Commercial Club committee, to provide quarters for the invited guests, and in fact to everybody who had any work to do in connection with the affair. Al! did their work promptly and well, with the result that there was no hitch anywhere and Prosser "made good" on everything promised the public.

The celebration really began at 10:57 Monday night, when the train arrived from the west bearing Governor Albert E. Mead, Hon. B. S. Grosscup and wife, State Land Commissioner E. W. Ross, a lot of the leading business men of North Yakima and many other visitors.

Several hundred citizens gathered at the station to greet the governor and his party. The Prosser band furnished music, the Grand Army of the Repub- lic was on hand, each member bearing a shotgun to fire a salute in honor of the governor, the streets were ablaze with colored lights and, escorted by the Grand Army and a large delegation of citizens, the governor, in a carriage with Hon. Nelson Rich, was driven to that gentleman's home, where he was entertained during his stay in the city. The other visitors were escorted to the Commercial Club rooms, where a committee assigned them rooms, the citizens generally throwing open their homes to entertain them, and by midnight the guests were provided with quarters.

The morning of the Fourth dawned bright and fair, with no wind, the cele- bration being inaugurated by firing a salute of twenty-one guns at sunrise. By 9 o'clock all the main streets of the city were packed with the large crowd to witness the parade and hear the speaking. Every business house was profusely decorated with bunting and the national colors, while the firemen had decorated the streets with hundreds of yards of bunting in streamers, the whole making a pretty effect. The balloon ascension was the only hitch in the proceedings. The first ascension was to he at 9 a. m., from Finn's park, but Professor Brooks, the aeronaut engaged for the occasion, had sent an incompetent substitute, and he was unable to get the balloon inflated. There was no ascension in the morn- ing in consequence. One was attempted in the evening, but it was a failure.

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HISTORY OF YAKIMA VALLEY

The aerial "artist" got the balloon partly inflated, went up probably a couple of hundred feet and immediately descended, the balloon being unable to sus- tain his weight. When it was freed it ascended almost as high as the crest of the Horse Heaven hill collapsed and dropped to the ground, the grand "ascen- sion" proving to be a fluke. This was no fault, however, of the committee. It had engaged a competent man and it was no fault of the management that they were sent an inexperienced substitute.

The parade, under the direction of Sheriff McNeill, grand marshal of the day, assisted by A. J. Grosscup, Elmer Bernard and E. Campbell, formed on time at the Opera House. It was led by the grand marshal, followed by a car- riage, gaily decorated, containing Governor Mead, Hon. B. S. Grosscup, Auditor F. H. Gloyd and E. L. Boardman. Next came the Kennewick band, followed in order by the fire department and the Liberty car in the first division. On the hook and ladder wagon, sitting on a platform, Miss Effie Rogers, dressed in red, represented the fire fighters, while Miss Mabel Chisholm was the Goddess of Liberty, the car also containing a young lady dressed in white for each state of the union. The next division contained the "Si Plunk Band" being members of the Prosser Band dressed in fantastic costume, the floats of the business men and cariages of citizens, the whole constituting an imposing spectacle. The line of march as published was covered, thousands witnessing the parade, which disbanded in front of the Prosser Hotel to hear the speaking. Among the floats the following are worthy of mention :

M. D. Baker & Co., representation of an elephant with "Nancy", a pet dog, fantastically dressed in the national colors, sitting on its back.

The St. Paul & Tacoma Lumber Company, fine representation of a giraffe. Nessly & Meyer, a representation of a Riverdale ten-acre orchard tract.

WVm. Guernsey, a representation of a bed chamber, completely furnished. A. W. Hinkle, a complete harness and saddlery shop.

The Citizens' State Bank, a handsomely decorated cart containing two little girls. The sign was made of $20 bills, 200 of them being used in its construction. The Prosser Falls Land & Power Company, a representation of the mayor signing an electric franchise.

The Prosser Record, a reproduction of the heading of the paper.

Frank Burgoyne, the plumber, had a neat float representing a bath room.

A FLOW OF ORATORY.

At the speaking, the hotel balcony being used as the stand, Auditor F. H. Gloyd presided and made a most appropriate address of welcome, also briefly reviewing the three fights in the legislature for the county division. He was listened to with close attention and frequently interrupted by hearty applause. At the conclusion of his remarks he introduced the Hon. B. S. Grosscup of Tacoma, at whose suggestion the county was named Benton, for the late Thomas Hart Benton, the great Missouri statesman, who saved this entire Northwest Territory to the Union. Mr. Grosscup spoke as a taxpayer of Benton County in which he owns more property, he said, than anywhere else. As has been before mentioned in these columns, he is heavily interested in a ranch of several

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thousand acres in the Horn precinct on the lower Yakima, which will shortly have more irrigated land under cultivation than any other farm in the state. His speech was partially devoted to a review of the public services of Senator Benton, which proved to be very interesting to the residents of Benton County. Mr. Grosscup was proud, he said, to be interested in this county, which has a magnificent future before it and is destined to become one of the richest counties in the entire northwest. He cautioned economy in the administration of its affairs, made a masterly speech throughout, which "The Bulletin" will endeavor to publish in full next week.

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History of the Yakima Valley, Washington; comprising Yakima, Kittitas, and Benton Counties, Vol. I, Part 97

Author: Lyman, William Denison, 1852-1920 Publication date: 1919 Publisher: [Chicago] S.J. Clarke Number of Pages: 1134

Author: Lyman, William Denison, 1852-1920
Publication date: 1919
Publisher: [Chicago] S.J. Clarke
Number of Pages: 1134