situated on the railroad well
up in the foothills of the mountains. It has about 4,500 people.
It has gravity water and electric lights, and is a substantial,
thriving and growing town. From the coal mines in the vicinity the
best coals of the state are mined in large quantities and shipped
all over the state.
CLE_ELUM is another coal mining town, on the Northern Pacific railway,
with a population of about 2,500. Tributary to Cle-Elum is a wide
mining territory, for which it is the chief distributing point.
THORPE is a smaller village likely to develop into an important
trading point.
KLICKTAT COUNTY
Klickitat county is central among the southern tier of counties
of the state, bordering 80 miles on the Columbia river, with an
average width of 20 miles. It has a population of about 14,000
and an area of 1,800 square miles.
There is a great variety in its climate, the elevation varying from
100 to 3,500 feet above the sea level.
The soil is chiefly volcanic ash, disintegrated basalt and alluvium.
It is deep and much of it sub-irrigated. The principal crops are
wheat, barley, rye, oats, and corn.
The wheat lands yield from 15 to 40 bushels per acre.
Among the fruits raised are apples, peaches, pears, cherries, English
walnuts, almonds, plums, prunes, grapes, apricots, and all the
small fruits.
Wheat lands vary in price from $10 to $50 per acre. It is estimated
that 7,000 acres will be planted to fruit and nut trees this current
year, while last year 75,385 apple trees, 14,675 peach trees, and
17,345 grape vines were planted.
RESOURCES.
As already indicated, the strength of the county is in its soil
and agriculture is its great source of wealth. Stock-raising is a
chief industry, the slopes of the mountains on its northern boundary
furnishing
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abundant pasturage. The southeastern part is fast developing into
a fruit-growing region, while agriculture and grain-growing is
more general in the central and southern portion.
TRANSPORTATION.
The Columbia river, with a railroad on each side of it and numerous
ferries, makes ample provision for transportation, while the Goldendale
branch reaches well up into the center of the county.
CITIES AND TOWNS.
GOLDENDALE, the county seat and metropolis, is located in the center
of the county, 120 miles east of Portland. It is the terminus of
the Goldendale branch of the Spokane, Portland & Seattle railway,
making connection with the main line
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