10
THE MORXIXG. OtlEGOXlANV SATURDAY, FEBRUARY 4, 1D11.
NORTHEASTERN COUNTIES SHARE IN STATE'S PROSPERITY
CITIES OF BAKER. UMATILLA, UNION AND WALLOWA ADVANCE STEADILY, WHILE RURAL DISTRICTS KEEP PACE WITH THEM IN DEVELOPMENT
r 0 1 I :
Mining Is Not Baker s Only I '
Wealth Prodccer 1 . ' " 7 ' j
AllkMtk 4lsrl Prrrtl Are E
Vtluklp, Irrlastlsa la Brala I J ' 3 , .
Airlnllirt lal Pranla. -I " i... - 2 ' ' ' ' .
I n Kr.M l ot .TY. I : -' ' f ( 1 - . v. . . . , . ;.
, 4 n - .. . ,
, mrj rr C" ......1 -"a
.1 ' :
f ju-aflAn.NnrlhMltrrn OffCOB.
bordrrlnc on Snikt l;!vr. anl
fiilrro boundrv of Iat. ,
Art-l.5.Mir'M.
I'npuUllon 15.07.
BAKER COfNTV. In Northatrrn
Cron. U bvlns trn.fnrm4 from
a mlntnc an. ilnckralninc counir
lotn an arl.-ulturml dlntrl.-l. Hy thl.
hor. It mmt rot t lnfrrra that
mlnlne and tokrl!nc are dlappear
In. 4jlt th rvm. rprlally aa to
mints, aa tha mlnrral proprtlr ara
bIn d!r4 as nrvr bfor. Hut
ra!drnta of Euk'r County are puttlnc
rnphi! on tho extrnnlun of agriculture.
UenermI farming Irrtcation. fniltralln
and kindred toplca are fam flven much
attention and the productive area Is con
siderably tncreaied each year.
Ooloclcallv. lUkrr founty preiients
crrat rlety. There are giant moun
tains, roltlnc pUlna and many - frrtlla
Talleys. There la aboundant water for
Irrigation and power purposes, to say
nothing of a ptrntlful supply for the
cities. The Winter climate Is not mild,
compared with Western Oregon, but the
air Is bracing and healthy. The altitude
varies from J.'w to Id.ftvO feet, making
the county a desirable place of resi
dence for those who need a bracing at
mosphere. 9unhine one of the coun
tv s great aeeet.. ar.d there are few
cloudy days.
A diversity of resources a.!le greatly
to the value of farm lurid, and there Is
a steady an.) rUjll,- nuirket for farm
produi t. The tardy development of the
county's agricultural wealth can only be
a.xounted for by the fact that the min
ing Industry formerly predominated un
til the opinion b ame gVneral t ii.il mln
trg and t a raiding Wrre about the only
dependence.
The story of the rt.oe and growth of
Baker t'ounty's agricultural reeources
during the past five years Is almost un
believable. As If by magic the sage
brush plains that In than five years
ago aermed destined to remain untitled
Indefinitely have been transformed Into
one of the mt productive districts In
the Northwest.
This change has been due In rrt lo
Irrigation, and at least one large recla
mation project Is now under sray. This
la the Carey act project of the
Powder Valley Irrigation Company
by which It Is epe.-tel to make
fertile more than TO.ooo acres of
land now unproductive. The water
of the Powder Klvrr will be used ffr this
purpose, a darn scross the narrow canyon
to Impound ',iho-acre feet of water be
ing one of Its feature The main canal
will be concrete lined, ten miles long
and with a rapacity of 0:0 cubic feet a
second. Another system of dams will
bs ue in store In Halm Creek : 4.0X0 -acre
feet of water. The canals and later
als will serve considerable bench laml
besides soil on the lower levels. The
border of the land to be Irrigated Is
only tea miles from lUkrr, the county
aeet.
Within ra!ua of 75 miles are many
beautiful n.l fertile valley. Among
these are Iac!e Valley. line Valley, the
lower JVw.ler VaMey and the John Par
Valley, which rivals' In le and produc
tiveness the famous Fowder River Val
ley Itself. To the south and east are
located the Burnt Itlver district and
many other smaller but productive val
ley e.
All of the vallev are egreedlrgfy fer
tile, bat they d'i not Include all of the
agricultural land. Steadily but surely
even the adjacent hills are being
e'rlpred of their sagebrush covering and
in Its place are appearing Melds of
grain and orchards. Iry farming, whlcti
tw being widely Introduced, la so sue
ressftl that It la proving the salvation
of the semi-arid land. Irrigation la now
general In Taker Valley.
Probably the most Important agrtcul
tnrat product of taker County la alfalfa.
This la an trfesl stork feed and It thrives
In all the valleys of the county. luirytng
on a commercial basis Is not general but
nearly a'l the farmers keep one or mora
rows. There are opportunities for dairy
ing on a much larger scale.
Alfalfa Is being used even more aa a
Ko feed than as a dairy feed In Faker
County. Isrge shipments of hogs are
now mads frequently and there la an
attractive opening f.r tr-e man who de
sires ti buy land and raise hog port
land offers a never-falling market, and
the parkera of the metropolis are dinc
much to encourage the livestock Indus
try In Eastern Oregon.
Practically all grains and grasses
thrive In Haker Co-intv. There are
large fields of wheat and oats, white
rye and barley are also cultivated.
Harden gteffa are raised extensively
near the towns. The stand of her Is
very heavy, while tbe average grain
yield aa acre Is hlgll Vegetable gard
ening Is carried os evtenetveiy on the
bottom lands, Paker offering a market
for all garden stuff that are raised.
rrult-ratslng Is receiving more at
tention la Baker County now than In
the past. Just a It Is In other part
of Oregon. Considerable acreage la
being set out to apple and other fruits,
the older orcharda having demonstrated
that condition In the valley are favor
able to horticulture. Berries of all
sort yield abundantly, especially on
the Irrigated land.
The tlrr Is yet to com when suffl
r'ent chickens axd egg will be pro
duced In raker County to meet the
lovgl demand. Pries are always high
"t i fA'iK. i
T e. ,nV.. .Veiaaf--'A
s-X-
.e-Wa),v' j
kCaW-.Tii.,
'-
Vu.
e A w-W -v
e 7 .-ri'
' i ' .'
1 r
..Jee;,)
BKUlAra
A -
H-a'rJ m I till
'11
.ft
a"'
ill- -mi$ i
ii.
5i
1$
?! I 8 "
?tW?v't
'"'-. 'St
kfPA
.V V
JSss: IP I1!
r
sm f
'4 i
4
I "II
In piBe-sa
If -i '"H
Pa; ,
3 iHl.
1 .V" '':.-.-'-'- I
sBBsrawasss-- -v
lit, " A3 ',7'
' ' -
J-a.ier,
fi ssBsasssswsssassssssa) r tfaoLw,
nd condition are favorable for poul
try husbandry. Mains are comparative
ly Infrequent and chickens can b kept
In the open during most of the year.
In no matter what line of agriculture
one engages, the farmer will find It
profitable to keep chickens.
Ilakrr County has Its shsre of Ore
gon' great timber wealth. The lum
ber Industry I already Important, but
the vast amount of standing forest
means a large Increase In the lumber
output at no distant date, while the
supply will last Indefinitely. There
are more than a dorm sawmills in
the county, with a combined output of
over tO. 000.000 feet annually. Most of
tbe lumber la shipped Kast although
part of It comes to Portland, where It
la shipped by water. M't of the wood
rut is white pine, which Is made Into
sash, doors, window frames, etc. There
Is very little timber land open to entry
In the county, a lareo part of It hav
ing been set aside In Government re
serves. The cenery of Paker County I very
fin and It Is a great land for ramping
and recreation. The stream abound In
trout, angler as jet not having dlmln
leled the supply of tliesegsmey fish.
Itaker Is. besides, one of the beat hunt
ing countlea In Oregon. The hunter
w no I after serse and duik will fln.l
them plentiful, while he who prefer
big game may be assured of good sport.
Inter and bears are to be found In all
of the mountainous district of tlie
county.
Mining ha enjoyed a moat prosper
ous year In llaker County. Propertie
that bad remained- Idle for several
year were worked and operation on
all of the old producer were main
tained. The Suir.pter smelter was kept
busy with an abundant ore supply. Sev
eral large mining enterprises were fi
nanced with foreign capital and these
were not m lld-cal" schemes but th
opening of properties of known value,
one property, tlie Italnbow mine, wa
bonded to one of the largest mining
companies In the country for ll.oo.ooo.
It Is owned by a group of Oregon men
and no stock was ever offered for sale.
Almost every part of llaker County
l.as Its mining district. In the north
eastern part of the county are the
Cornucopia. Snake Itlver. Sparta and
Sanger districts. One of the ri liest
mining regions In Oreco.i Is tributary
to Sumpter. It lies west of tinker and
I th supply point for the Cracker.
Cable Cove. Ked Boy, tlreen Horn ar.d
Granite districts. In th southeastern
part of the county are the Mormon,
Burnt River and Connor Creek districts,
while In the western part of the county
are the Hock Creek and Halsley-Ktk-horn
regions. llaker County first Ic
came prominent In the early day
through placer mining. Thi method li
still followed to some extent, althoui,:.
th more dependable quarts mining la
now th mainstay of the industry. Al
though many properties are now be
ing worked, other that promise much
have hardly been touched and the In
dustry will doubtless increase In im
portance. Baker, th countyseat I She largest city
of Haexern Oregon. It Is a healthy city,
well lighted and with attractive dwcIln.gJ
re c-y mr- J f ocvej
nd public ba'.Jdlngs. It water come
from mountain streams and springs Tar
above tlie source of any contamination
and 1 delivered almost within the city
limits at a height of 800 fret above the
reexTYolr This pressure will eventually
be used to operate tlie municipal lighting
plant. The city owns the water system
which wa Installed In 103 at a cost '
of tAO.CM).
There are several mile of paved streets
In Baker. There are also many line
retail stores, ar.d a considerable whole
sale business has been developed with
the surrounding country. Baker lis
quite a large trade anno tributary to It
which Is rapidly gaining in population.
Baker has exceptionally good educa
tional advantages. The public school
buildings cost rji'iww and the private
, school buildings cost more than $1'X."0.
These building. , well as nuwt of the
large structure-i In the clly. aro com
posed of a fine quality of natl
These stone buildings Include
houea-. City liall and one
Catholic CtiimlK In Oregon. Besides
this stone, there la a large supply of
high-grade clay near th clly. A brick,
pipe and tile' factory, costing I3JO.00O and
employing nearly men. will be con
structed to utilise, this clsy. if present
plane) are carried out. llaker now has
several large sawmills, planing mills and
box factories and a flour mill with a
capacity or ?o barrels a day.
There are other growing, prosperous
town In Baker County. Next in im
portance to Baker Is ttumpter, on th
tenmpter Vslley Kallrnad. and at the head
of the valley. Sumpter Is primarily a
mining town, the en-ller being Its chief
nduMrv and lis bu-nes house selling
supplies for mines extending: over wide
area. Bench land near Sumpter Is now
being irrigated and Is proving- valuable
for agricultural purposes.
Haines, on the main line of the O.-W. R-
& N. Co., Is ten miles southeast of Baker.
It le a supply point for a fertile district
and has good school and churches. North
Powder, a somewhat smaller town, Is
also on the main line of the railroad, ten
miles from Haines. It Is a thriving community.
UMATILLA IS OREGON'S
BANNER WHEAT COUNTY
One Per Cent of All Wheat Grown in United States Comes From
Single Division of This State. v
telegraph wires and 230 miles of
railroad. On the open ranges and
fenced pastures there are grazed an
nually more than 20.000 head of cat
tle, 22.000 head of horses and mules,
and 140,000 head of sheep.
Next to wheat, the livestock Indus
try is probably the most Important.
Seattle and Tacoma, as well as Port
land, are accustomed to look to Uma
tilla County for a large part or tneir
beef supply, while thousands of sheep
idly taking its place near the head of
the list. In size, coloring and flavor
.It Is said to be equal to the best.
With the adoption of frost-preventive,
measures and the use of water to
keep the fruit growing while belnu
kissed by more days of sunshine than
even California can boast, the fruit Is
permitted to come to perfection with
out let or hindrance and is made prac
tically as sure a crop as is the wheat
in the other sections. Science lias
are annually shipped to the stockyards come to the aid of the grower and he
t
il MATII.I.A. COl'STr. t
Location Northeastern Ore-
native stone, t
le the Court- I
at the finest J
gun. on coiumnia i:iver.
Area 1.991.000 acres.
Population 20,309.
M ATILLA, the second county !n
Oregon In point of property valu-
,tlon, and the eighth In point of
population, contains more than S0OO
square miles. This nteans that the
states of Rhode Island and Delaware
could both be act down within its
borders and still leave a respectable
margin uncovered, for It Is nearly three
times aa large as Rhode Island and
nearly twice the size of Delaware.
Though this Is the banner wheat
county of Oregon, producing one per
cent of all the wheat grown In the
United States, Its resources are almost
as varied as those of the state Itself.
In addition to Its broad wheat fields,
there are thousands of acres cf un
fenced range and National forests,
where are grazed sheep, cattle and
hones in great numbers. In the moun
tains are found section after sectii n
of t'mber land with as fine pine, fir
and hemlock aa are to be found east
ct the Cascade Mountains. In the
southern end of the county dilryinij
has proved profitable, while in 'he
northtrn end or the Milton-Frciwater
section, fruit Is shipped out by the
trainlcad.
The assessed value of the property
In Umatilla County Is ,4 2.000.0nr, second
only, t j Multnomah. Its 466.000 acres
of cultivated land are valued at more
than $18,000,000. while Its non-tillable
land Is valued at 14.000.000.
Ithln the oounty there are nearly
a thousand miles of telephone and
In Chicago, to Omaha and Kansas City.
On more than one occasion Umatilla
County mutton sheep have topped the
market in the Chicago yards, demon
strating that conditions are ideal here
for the perfect and complete develop
ment of this animal.
As a wool center Umatilla County
has few superiors in the entire country
and none In the Northwest. In 1908
more wool was shipped from Pendle
ton than from any other point west of
the Mississippi River. The following
year a scouring mill was established
at Echo, and, though Pendleton's su
premacy as a wool-shipping center was
lost thereby, the honor was still re
tained In the county.
As for fruit the Milton and Free
water section refuses to admit the su
periority of even the far-famed Hood
River, Willamette or Rogue River Val
leys. For years strawberries, cherries,
apples, pears and peaches have been
grown to perfection. Unfortunately
there has been no organization of
growers and the inferior, as well as
the superior, grades of fruit have been
permitted to go out and the reputation
has not been gained that the section
deserved. Now with more complete
organization of the growers and with
the adoption of Improved methods of
packing, Umatilla County fruit is rap-
FOUR PROMINENT ATTORNEYS OF LA GRANDE, OR.
W an ii' y J-W S v ri
CSS-r- r,.e,w, .: & CVC i
i. : . :wfr:r'Wifi ',tr V4i
.J) V- 7 V::. $
S S-.C&4lVfroji,
Is no longer dependent upon the freaks
of nature,
But. though the northern end of the
county, designated as the Milton-Free-water
section, has been considered for
the past few years as the premier
fruit section of Eastern Oregon, it i.l
not destined long to make that claim
unchallenged. It has recently been
discovered that the foothill soil in tho
vicinity of Pilot Rock seems peculiar
ly adapted to the production of apples.
Hitherto the Inaccessibility of this re
gion has caused the growing of fruit,
as well as the growing of grain, to be
neglected. The country has been de
voted to the production of livestock,
which could be taken to the railroad
or to market on its own legs. With,
the completion of the Umatilla Cen
with the main line of the O.-W. R. & N.
which connects the town of Pilot Rock
with the main line of the O.-W. R. & N.
in this city, things have changed and
there has been a revival In farm and
orchard.
Old orchards are being pruned, new
ones are being set out, sprays are be
ing used and smudge'-pots are being
purchased. This Is the transformation
which Is being wrought along the
creek bottoms on the older farms.
Back on the hills and plateaus the
trails where once the cowboy was able
to ride unhindered are now being rap
Idly blocked by the ever-hated barb
wire fence, and the range is rapidly
beinT plowed up and devoted to the
growing of wheat and barley, more
profitable products than the famous
bunch gras.s.
But. while the Pilot Rock country
is doubtless destined to become known
for Its apples, it is the west end that '
promises to become a sersous rival to
the east end In the production of
wheat. Up until four or five years'ago
the western half of Umatilla County
was marked on the maps as "desert."
It was said that nothing had been
grown there, or ever would be, except
sage brush, cactus and Jack rabbits.
Today hundreds of acres of waving
alfalfa, thickly dotted with stacks of
hay, give testimony to the productivity
of sage brush sand when water Is
brought in contact with it through tho
engineering ability of man. Young
fruit trees are flourishing, giving .
promise of a great future, while ber
ries of all kinds, melons and vegeta
bles have already been produced In
great quantities and of superior qual
ity. Indeed it is of the western half of
the county that the most is expected
in the way of development. In this
region it is estimated there are ap
proximately 200,000 acres of arid or
semi-arid land which is subject to Ir
rigation and which will undoubtedly be
reclaimed within the next decade.
Already the Government has estab
lished the Umatilla project and is com-
J