St. Helens mist., September 17, 1915, COLUMBIA COUNTY FIFTH ANNUAL FAIR NUMBER, Image 1

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COLUMBIA COUNTYFIFTH ANNUAL FAIR NUMBER
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OFFICIAL PAPER OF COLUMBIA COUNTY.
PIONEER PAPER OF COLUMBIA COUNTY.
VOLUME XXXIV. ct iiptTmo 'ZT
al. HhLENS. OREGOM KPTnAV cpdtpmdl'd imr
- i uiiiuuiv 1 1 , NU. 39
WHY COLUMBIA COUNTY HOLDS A
COUNTY FAIR.
climate, (ii;ility of soil and other natural
favorable conditions existed tin's splendid
n-Miii com. i not be realized
IT is one of the most natural things that
Columbia county should hold a county
fair, at a time of year, too, when nature
has almost completed her work of a sea
son of abundant productiveness. And, in
this only vieing with the other gifts of
nature which has so lavishly endowed this
fair county with a -variety of resources ex
tending over a broad range. The salubri
nusiiess of climate adds further charm
and wealth to '.'less and provide her peo
ple with nature's bounteous stores.
Did not man do fitting homage to all
these blessings it would be a sad com
mentary upon him and the laud which
spreads about him in such profusion all
its glories.
Natural wealth abounds here without
limit, and man's ingenuity has caused
many of the resources to respond in sur
prising splendor. Hut, as yet, only the
faintest inroads and impressions have
been made, yet, year after year, as the
annual county fair is held, each succeed
ing one eclipsing the previous effort, a
more keen appreciation of the unlocked
wealth is realized. A county fair? Of
course.
The county fair is the exposition
place, and from an unpretentious, yet
successful beginning made five years ago
at Yankton, through untiring efforts of
leading members of the Grange, next
week will reveal the resources and pro
ductiveness of this county in surprising
splendor, when the exhibits of dairy, or
chard, farm and school are spread to the
inspection of an eager ami enthusiastic
public a grander, bigger and more cer
tain and permanent institution than ever.
Timber Causes Slow Development.
When it is taken into consideration
that to gain a start in home-making in
this county the first crop God's crop
the fir trees had to be removed, the un
dertaking, no doubt, was fraught with
many discouragements and the pathway
of the pioneer beset with many obstacles.
Columbia county has a frontage on
the Columbia river of approximately
sixty miles. Down to the very edge of
the placid waters of
that mighty stream
stood the monarch
of the forest in count
less numbers. I )ver
practically the entire
area of the county
this same condition
existed. The outlook
for the prospective
home-maker certainly
could have been little
short of utter despair.
Progress Ensues.
Year after year,
however, inroads
were made upon the ,
mighty forests in re
sponse to the demand
for the product of the
trees. From these
limited areas denuded
of the forest, primitive homes were estab
lished, small tracts cleared of stumps and
debris and the soil began to yield to the
efforts of man for the production of ma
terial things to sustain life.
Slowly this process has continued until
today there are in this county vast areas
of cultivated lands, and next week at the
Countv Fair ptouinIs will be exhibited
r
all m.-mnnr nf nrodltctS that C
found nnv nlnce where man's effort has
tl
producer, and during more recent years,
save and except, perhaps, the last two or
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i . - - j " im'vii mi, iiniiiyi iiiiiumi y lias
way into the heart of the county has been struggling for existence, had yielded
woik of the woodsman irone. The ni.mv -nu'llir.ne rJ .wm., :.,
entire distance along his pathway the The most extensive logging works in the
home has been established. Settlements Pacific Northwest are located along the
far in the interior even preceded the rav- Columbia river in Columbia county. Trees
nger of the forest. Today not only beau- removed from Columbia county soil have
THESE ENTERPRISING GENTLEMEN HAVE MADE THIS YEAR'S COUNTY FAIR POSSIBLE.
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I'rrsitlcnl
H. J. SOUTHARD
Serretary
J. W. ALLEN
Supt. Children's Work
tiful and comfortable homes are made,
but broad expanses of well cleared, pro
ductive lands smile their bounteous yields
back upon their owners.
Variety of Resources.
The great variety of resources made it
possible for people of varying trades and
pursuits to not only exist, but grow rich
as a result of their efforts.
Dairying a Profitable Business.
No doubt the pursuit of dairying has
been the greatest means of revenue pro
duction aside from lumbering and fishing.
There are approximately ten thousand
dairy cows in Columbia county. The
proximity of the county to the markets of
a metropolis has been the means of en
couraging effort in that pursuit. The re
sults have been manifold. Employment
has been given to a great army of people;
revenue has been brought into the county
with which to develop other resources.
Dairy herds have been enlarged and im
proved until today Columbia county is the
home of some of the best herds of pure'
produced lumber which has entered into
every manner of 'construction for which
wood is used, not alone on our own con
tinent but has supplied such demand from
every quarter of the universe.
Science in Logging.
- For many years the acme of perfection
in scientific log raft construction for ocean
voyage has been achieved and pursued in
Columjiia county at Clatskanie, from
where ocean-going log rafts, approximat
ing twelve to eighteen million feet, are
annually constructed and sent to Califor
nia markets.
Prior to the establishment of the Mc
Cormick interests at St. Helens, lumber
ing was not very extensively engaged in
on a large scale in Columbia county, how
ever, one of the first mills in the Colum
bia watershed was located at St. Helens,
and to some extent lumbering has been
pursued here for half a century. And the
financial returns have been enormous.
Timber Investments.
As a place for investment in timber
L . i
BIRD'S EYE VIEW OF ST. HELENS AND ADJACENT COUNTRY, THE HOME OF THE COLUMBIA COUNTY FAIR.
could be
Had not
bred and grade cows to be found in the
Pacific Northwest.
It perhaps, is not far out of the way to
state that the annual receipts in cash to
the operators of dairies in Columbia coun
ty, from milk and its products alone, will
approximate a half a million dollars. Rev
enue received from other sources incident
to the dairy herd is perhaps equally as
large.
Wealth of Timber.
Timber has always been a revenue
Columbia county has always been a fav
orite. Large areas of Columbia county
timber lands are held by Eastern capital
ists, and when lumber "comes back"
great commercial activity will ensue, with
its attendant financial benefit to the en
tire county. There are approximately
twenty billion feet of virgin timber re
maining in this county, and as labor re
ceives about 75 per cent of all returns
from lumber production, the benefit to
the laboring class can be estimated with
out any wonderful rapid fire mental gym
nasts. These are two of the pursuits which
people have been following in Columbia
county with abundant success. There
are others.
Fishing Industry.
The Columbia river, which laps the
shore for nearly sixty miles of this coun
ty's territory, has afforded untold revenue
through the pursuit of the salmon fishing
industry. There was but one salmon
cannery established in Columbia county
at Rainier, and it was destroyed by fire
years ago. However, the taking and
selling of salmon has been a popular and
profitable business.
Other Industries.
On a small scale other industries, the
result of closer attention to the products
of the soil, are being developed. The
canning and preserving of fruits and veg
etables is being accomplished with a re
markable degree of success. This prom
ises to develop into one of the greatest
industries of the county.
The plant of the Columbia River Can
ning & Produce Company, located at St.
Helens, has this year proven beyond
doubrthe wisdom of the men who estab
lished the institution. It is not only sure
of financial gain for its promoters, but it
has opened the way for many small farm
ers to gain a certain and satisfactory
market and price for their produce. For
this' unpretentious undertaking there are
great possibilities.
The county fair will be the place to in
spect the products of that .institution.
Transportation Facilities.
One of the natural blessings to this
county has been the convenient and in
expensive means of transportation. The
waterways have been foremost in this
respect, but more rapid means soon
ensued. In 1883, when Henry Villard
built the main line of the Northern Pa
cific out of Portland through Columbia
County as far northward as Goble, there
was little hope of immediate revenue pro
duction so far as this county was con
cerned. There were not more than 1500
people living along the entire distance.
In 1896, when Mr. A.
B. Hammond built
the Astoria & Colum
bia River railroad
from Goble westward
to the sea, there was
no particular demand
for such a transporta
tion line. Throngh
the medium of these
provisions for rapid
transit the country
gradually developed.
Perhaps at the
present time the rail
line from Portland to
Seaside is almost self
sustaining. Subse
quent years may bring
some financial gain to
the owners. But it
has served its purpose
so far as Columbia county is concerned.
It was a means to develop the county,
and that is all the concern the average
citizen has in the matter.
The logging railroads have helped
slightly as developers, but theirs was an
other mission.
Wagon and Other Roads.
If there were any 'means by which
it could be definitely ascertained, we
(Continued on page 11).
III
In
been conscien'ious and honest