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About The west shore. (Portland, Or.) 1875-1891 | View Entire Issue (Sept. 1, 1883)
212 THE WEST SHORE. September, 1883. government engineer!. A railroad ii being con structed from the bay to the valley, connecting with the Oregon A California road at Cnrvallis. lly this road the upper end of Willamette valley will have an outlet to the coast direct, where iti product! can 1 loaded upon vessels for shipment, and where lupplies can be received. The timber interests alxiul Yaquina bay and the mouth of the Alsea river are very great and vast foresti cover the mountains for miles, Corvallii it the chief town and county teat, and is a thriving business place. There are splendid opportunities In Ken ton county to acquire good timber land, foothill land for farming, improved farms at reasonable rates, to go into business, to embark in fruit cul ture or dairying, to Institute needed manufactur ing enterprises or engage in converting the end less forests into lumlier. The desirable land open to settlement lies In the foothills, which in their natural state are cov ered wllli oak trees and shrubs, licnealh which there is fine pasturage where sheep, cattle and hogs can be maintained at little expense. The soil produces splendid grain, wheal often averag ing forty bushels and oats seventy bushels per acre. Improved land is worth fiom $5 to $2$ per acre, according to situation. Between the summit of the mountains and the coast ii much land especially adapted to stock-raising, where cattle seldom require feeding in winter. The valleys there are generally beaver-dam land and are extremely fertile. Timothy, oats and all kinds of vegetables grow splendidly, and as a dniiy region it oilers great advantages. Hut com paratively little of these hills is under actual cul tivation and there li room for clasi of people who will clear and cultivate the land, Clackamas County. Lying between Multnomah and Marion, and extending Iron) the Willamette river to the sum mit of the Cascade mountains, is the county of Clackamas, containing an area of about 1,450 square miles, With the western end lying in the Willamette valley, it reaches back Into the mountains to such an extent that the greater por tion of its area Is hilly and mountainous. In the fix thills and the many small valleys, some of which lie far up towards the summit ridges, are many acres ol land open to settlement, while thousands of acics near the Willamette, and in the higher land back from the river, have !een cultivated for many years. Grain, hay and vege tables are the chief crops, and fruit liees are very pioduclire. The fact that green grass can be had by rallle the year round renders this region, and artirulaily the little well-watered valley, especially adapted for dairying. There are yet thousand of acres of good government or rail road lands open for settlement, or purchase at reasonable figures. Hundreds of sections of such lands are in close proximity to schools, churches, post offices and stores, and are within one day's drive of either Oregon City or Portland. By living on such places the settler would have an almost unlimited stock range and hii fencing might altogether be confined to the land he wished to cultivate. The toil in the foothills b of the richest kind, well watered and no lack of timber, and no healthier climate exists in the United Stales. The western end of the county is traversed by two lines of the Oregon Railway & Navigation Co'a, system, affording splendid ship. ping facilities. The county seat and largest town is Oregon City, the oldest town in the Willamette valley. It is situated at the famous Willamette falls whose beauty hai won admiration from all travelers since the pioneers first beheld them more than half a century ago. The amount of power running to waste there is sufficient to build up a large manufacturing city. In the almost unlimi ted quantity of its water power, its splendid ship ping lacilities by rail and river, its fine location in the edge of the great valley, Oregon City offers greater advantages to manufacturing enterprises than any other place in Oregon. Mr. Villard has given the citizens assurance that he Jully realizes the value of the great falls and will inaugurate at no distant day large manufacturing enterprises to utilize them. When this is done Oregon City will grow rapidly. This should be taken into consideration by those looking for homes or for safe investments for their capital. Clatsop County. This county occupies the extreme northwest corner of Oregon, its northern border being the waters of the mighty Columbia and its western the rolling breakers of the Pacific ; east of it lies Columbia county and south Tillamook. The county at present, so far as population and prop erty are concerned, consists chiefly ol the city of Astoria, a thriving business place of 8,000 people, lying on the south bank of the Columbia about ten miles above the bar at the river's mouth. Here was made the first settlement in the whole region tributary to the Columbia river. In 181 1 the Pacific Fur Co. established a trading post and general headquarters for the immense business they expected to transact on the Pacific coast, and the place was named Astoria in honor of John Jacob Astor, the founder and financial backer of the enterprise. A few years later it became the property of the Hudson's Bay Co. In 1848 a town began to spring up here and a custom house was established. In 1866 the canning of salmon be gan on the river, and from that time Astoria grew rapidly. Twenty-four of the thirty-eight can neries now on the river are located here and the others are tributary to this city. There were packed, during the season just expired, (30,000 cases, or l.OSo.ooo fish of an average weight of twenty pounds each. In catching the salmon 1,700 boats were employed with two men in each and $1,500,000 were paid out to fibhermen alone. There are between $2,000,000, and $3,000,000 invested in the business, and the value of the sea son's pack at the low rale of $5 per case is $3, 150,000. It can easily be understood how thriv ing must lie a community supported by such an indusly yet this is but one of her advantages. Situated as she is at the mouth of the Columbia, with a good harbor and a custom house, she is the natural gateway of Oregon for all ocean com merce. With a railroad connecting her with the Willamette valley, a road that is now being sur veyed and will no doubt toon be constructed, she will become an important (hipping point for wheat and other valley products, and will no doubt become the stopping place of many vessel that now tail past her docks and go 100 miles inland to receive their cargoei at Portland. Her Yr. cilitiea for ship-building on a large scale are very superior, and as a manufacturing point, especially of flour for foreign shipment and lumber for mar kets at home and abroad, she possesses great advantage. Outside of the city Clatsop county has an area of 1,400 square miles. The surface of the coun try is chiefly mountainous, but many streams flow through, along which are areas of fine agricultur al land. Even back from the streams, almost everywhere, the soil is excellent and well adapted to cultivation when the ground has been cleared of its dense growth of timber. Clatsop plains, a strip of land lying along the sea shore which has been settled for thirty-five years, is the largest body of agricultural land in the county. The soil is light and sandy and produces vegetables, grain and small fruits in abundance. But little wheat is raised, oats and barley being the principal cereals. Hay is the chief crop, and dairying the leading feature of the farming business. The soil is well adapted to hop culture, though that industry is not yet carried on here. The same is generally true of the ranches on the Nehalem, Lewis and Clarke, Young's, Walluski and other rivers in the county. The Nehalem valley is especially a fine grain region. On these streams and in the mountains are large areas of vacant land, covered with timber, still open to settlement. It requires persistent effort and hard work to clear them and reduce the land to cultivation, but hen this is accomplished the settler has a fine and productive home. Work can alwavs be fiund by an indus trious man to aid in the support of himself and family while he is clearing his land and securing a title to his homestead. For vegetables, hay and small fruits there is a sure market at high prices. From end to end the county is covered with a dense growth of magnificent timber, and hundreds of men make money by logging into the streams from the claims of settlers and selling the logs to mill men at Astoria. Much charcoal and cord wood are also taken from the claims. In the Nehalem valley is the largest body of the most desirable timber, and here ore offered great In ducements for settlers to locate and enjoy the ben efits of the railroad soon to be built through that section of the county. Coal of a superior quality has been discovered in the southern portion of the county, and it is probable that this whole region is underlaid with seams of that valuable material. In case no desirable coal is discovered near the line of the road, a branch will undoubtedly be constructed to tap the beds in this locality. Iron ore has been found in several places to the east, and it probably exists in Clatsop county as well. Columbia County. Columbia county has an area of 680 square miles and a population of 2,500. It has a water front ol ten miles on Willamette slough and fifty on the Columbia. Its chief resources arc coal, iron and timber, though there is much good agri cultural land untitled. The bottom lands along the river are subject to overflow in June, and when the water recedes a luxurious growth of grass springs up, making splendid pasturage and hay The dairy business is quite extensively carried on in these favored localitie. Comparatively Utile farming it done along the river, the lumbering businesa absorbing the attention of the pcP,e Every stream of any lice has been cleared of ob structions, 10 that logs can be run down them in high water season. Logs are also hauled to the bottom lands and when they are floated by the freshets are made up into rafU and towed to the milli on the river, to Portland and even to Aston On Scappooae creek l the Richland mill, "ho