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WORK OF A RAILROAD.Development of the Crab Creek Valley a Rich and Onte Isolated Farming District.William Goggins, manager of tio Milwaukee Packet company, which operates the steamer vSt. Paul on the Columbia river between Vulcan and the mouth of Crab Creek, is in the city on business. Mr. Goggins is in close touch with the construction work done by the Chicago, Milwaukee St. Paul railway east of the in nintains, and he prophesies a vey prosperous future for the tot illy raw and undeveloped country through which the road is building. Crab Creek valley, with the country adjacent to it, was formerly a cattle range, Until the Milwaukee began to build, this region was almost unsettled on account of its remoteness, the nearest railroad being from twenty to sixty miles distant. With the cominglt; f the Milwaukee, settlers have flocked into the country, and in the last fifteen months every homestead has been settled upon and land is held at a fancy price.Speaking of the railroad building east of the mountains, Mr. Goggins said last evening: ' TheMilwaukee road has a force of 1, 500 men grading the main line from Lind through the Crab Creekvalley via Rock Lake. The work * . . !is being rushed with all possiblespeed. Ivvery man that can be hadis put to work, and the contractors expect to complete the section between Lind and the Columbia river some time this winter.“The Columbia river narrows and is shallow at the mouth of Crab creek, where the new road will cross. All but four of the sixteen piers of the 2,500-foot railroad bridge have been completed. Until a short time ago 250 men were at work building the bridge. The four piers that remain tc be built xire to be located in the river and work has been stopped until the high water recedes and allows building to continue. The bridge has 1,000-foot approaches at each end and work is in progress on them at present. Steel construction will not begin till next winter. Then the railroad company will have laid its tracks from Lind to the bridge and can haul the structural steel to the site. At the present time it is almost impossible to get the heavy beams to the bridge.“I believe that somewhere in the neighborhood of the Milwaukee bridge a large town will be built. The village now springing up there is situated on a flat, 2,000 acres of which can be watered from Moses lake. The Hanford irrigation project is within twelve miles of the bridge and across the river 5,000 acres of Kittitas county laud are soon to be put under water.i “There are thousands of acres of [excellent farming land near by.A townsite has already been laid out near the bridge and lots will be sold in n short time. The town, nameless now, contains a general store, a livery stable, a hotel, and restaurant. Several other business men have declared their in tentions of beginning business in the new town.“Crab creek and its neighborhood, once the greatest range n the state, is lost to the horseman and cattle owner now. The great round up of the spring of 1906 swept most of the wild horses from 1 the range, and the cattle were sold in the fall. Last winter was a[ hard one; snow remained on the ground four months, and many cattle and horses died of starvation. The cowboy’s day is past and the I dawn of the farmer has begun.tlHAS RESIGNEDMrs. Cedarholm Has Decided to Reeign as County Manager.In the resignation of Mrs. Man Cedarholm as manager of the telephone service of this city, we arc sorry that she has taken this step, though we admit she is surely an overworked lady. She lias been local manager here for the past four years and has given as good satisfaction as any one acquainted with the operation and working of
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Ellensburg Dawn
Ellensburg, Washington, US
Fri, May 24, 1907
Page 2
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USA 16 Feb 2024
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