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About The west shore. (Portland, Or.) 1875-1891 | View Entire Issue (Oct. 1, 1887)
710 THE WEST SHORE. even more than that of the present Uusiness men, recognizing the advan tages the townsito possessed, invested their means and settled down with the intention of making this their future homo and field of activity. This spirit haa wrought wonders, and is still work ing toward greater achievements. Alad din's cahtle waa created in a night, but the power which brought it into being removed it with equal celerity. Not so with this magical city. Its growth was almost as phenomenal, but even its cre ators have not the power to undo the work of their hands, and Yakima will bo numbered among the leading cities of the West when the name of every man who gavo it birth shall have been forgotten. In the center of the great system of rivers and valleys which constitute the Yakima country, lies the city which will Iw the metropolis of the surrounding hills, valleys and mountains when they shall havo become the homes of many thousands of people. Nature has open ed tho mountains that the waters of a vaht region may unito their volumes here, anil has provided passes through tho mountains, by easy grades, for rail roads to beat from this point to the sea tho products of a great and rapidly de veloping region. When tho Northern Pacific decided to begin actual construction upon the Cascades division, tho officials of tho land dejwirtment inado a careful examin ation of tho Yakima country. It waa plainly evident that in this region there would spring up a largo inland city, tho center of trado for tho great agricultur al, mineral and timber district through which tho road would run. Being also tho geographical center of tho territory, and, when the road was completed, the point most accessible from all portions of it, there seemed little doubt that a city, tuiUbly located and properly laid out, would receive the general preference for the state capital, when, in the wis dom of congress, the time should arrive for tho admission of Washington into the sisterhood of states. Their examin ation resulted in tho decision that the site described above was the natural commercial center of the country. In this valley they found the town of Yaki ma City, containing about five hundred people, and transacting the business for a large portion of this new and sparsely settled region. In several respects the town did not meet the requirements for a great inland metropolis, and the offi cials were compelled to decide between adopting it, with its imperfections, or founding a new one. The latter course was decided upon, as being the wisest one to pursue, and a site, in every way eligible, was selected, three and one-half miles north of the old town. This was surveyed and laid out in blocks, lots, streets and alleys, with plots reserved for public uses, state capitol and other buildings of a public and educational character. To compensate the people of the old town as much as possible, the company offered to donate to such of them as would remove their buildings to North Yakima, the name chosen for the town, or wou'd erect new ones there, business and residence property equiva lent in value to that occupied by them in tho old town. As soon as this decision was an nounced, there was a great rush of en terprising business men to tho new town site. The company immediately began the construction of depot, side tracks, etc, and tho work was commenced on two score of buildings almost in a day. Several business men of the old town, clearly appreciating the situation, im mediately began the removal of their buildings, or tho construction of new ones, upon lots accepted on the compa ny's proposition. Others held back and