Browsing by Author "Kuhler, Joyce Benjamin"
Now showing 1 - 7 of 7
Results Per Page
Sort Options
Item A History of Agriculture in the Yakima Valley Washington from 1880 to 1900 (part 2).(UNKNOWN, 1940) Kuhler, Joyce Benjamin"When the first settlers came into the Yakima Valley they were not interested in farming for it seemed evident to them that the region was unfit for anything but grazing. Besides, the means of transportation were very meager and the population of the whole Northwest was small. Certainly there could be little incentive to engage in farming as an industry when there were no nearby important markets and no cheap means of transporting surplus products to those which were so remote. Moreover, cattle raising had proved itself to be a profitable industry and the cattlemen did not welcome the encroachments of the small farmer who fenced the lands which were particularly valuable as sources of pasturage, hay, and water."Item A History of Agriculture in the Yakima Valley Washington from 1880 to 1900 (part 3).(UNKNOWN, 1940) Kuhler, Joyce Benjamin"In 1870 Judge John Wilson Beck set out fifty apple trees and the same number of peach trees on his homestead near Yakima City. It is doubtful, however, that these men thought much of the possible lucrative benefits of the fruit industry, as one finds the emphasis placed upon the general improvement which trees would give to the appearance of the valley, thus serving as a further inducement to settlement. Such a perishable product could not be very profitable unless there was an easily accessible market. The condition of agriculture just described was generally true in 1880, and it can be safely stated that for the greater part of the next two decades farming in the Yakima Valley was on an experimental basis."Item A History of Agriculture in the Yakima Valley Washington from 1880 to 1900 (part 4).(UNKNOWN, 1940) Kuhler, Joyce Benjamin"It has been generally conceded that the first irrigation ditch in the valley was constructed about 1853 by the Indian, Chief Kamiakin, to whom the idea probably was suggested by Catholic missionaries with whom he was a close friend. That ditch was dug from a branch of the Ahtanum Creek, was about a quarter of a mile in length, and was used by Kamiakin to water his garden. The first irrigation enterprise to be undertaken by white men was probably that of N. T. Goodwin, who in about 1867, dug a small ditch from the Yakima River to irrigate a small wheat field. The results of watering that five-acre field were so encouraging that a group of farmers, Messrs. Goodwin, Stoolcop, Vaughn, Mayberry, and Simmons began work on the first cooperative enterprise in irrigation in the valley."Item A History of Agriculture in the Yakima Valley Washington from 1880 to 1900 (part 5).(UNKNOWN, 1940) Kuhler, Joyce Benjamin"In his report for 1887 the Governor of the Territory stated 'that the general tenor of all letters received from stockmen is to the effect that the ranges are being rapidly curtailed by homestead pre-emption, and other entries of the public land, and by purchase of railroad land.' In his report of 1889 he stated that 'Stockraising, though still a profitable industry is relatively diminishing in importance. Large areas of what was formerly stock range have been converted into grain fields. The stock grower with his herds is constantly being forced back for range to localities remote from the railroads where farming cannot yet be profitably carried on.' The permanence of the cattle industry seemed assured, however, because above the levels of irrigation there was so much land which could be utilized for grazing purposes only."Item A History of Agriculture in the Yakima Valley Washington from 1880 to 1900 (part 6).(UNKNOWN, 1940) Kuhler, Joyce Benjamin"As early as 1889 C. M. Barton had written that small farms were a feature of the valley and that a ten-acre tract would give a good living to the farmer who attended it. The idea of the intensive cultivation of the soil had remained predominant and was promoted by irrigation companies and by the state when the latter became interested in developing the arid lands which it had received from the federal government. In 1900 the Washington Irrigation Company reported that land was 'being sold in tracts of 20 acres or more, the company encouraging small holdings.' Census reports show that 45.6% of the whole number of farms in Yakima County were less than one hundred acres in size. (in 1934, 87.8% came under the same classification, and more than 70% were less than fifty acres in extent.)"Item A History of Agriculture in the Yakima Valley Washington from 1880 to 1900 (part 7).(UNKNOWN, 1940) Kuhler, Joyce Benjamin"Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representative Sec. 9. ... That the lands herein granted to the States ...shall not be disposed of at a price less than one dollar and twenty-five cents per acre, until otherwise authorized by a law of the United States; and the net proceeds of the sales of said lands shall be faithfully applied to objects of internal improvement within the states...."Item A History of Agriculture in the Yakima Valley Washington from 1880 to 1900.(UNKNOWN, 1940) Kuhler, Joyce Benjamin"One problem which has particularly puzzled the writer concerns the disposal of the public lands during the period 1880-1890 in the Yakima Valley. The Northern Pacific Railroad had a land grant which extended throughout the main body of the valley, and any person or corporation could purchase as much of such land as the railroad company would sell. Within the grant, however, the government retained every other section as a part of the public domain."