The Northern Pacific railway cutting the county diagonally from northeast to southwest and the Oregon Railroad & Navigation railway across its southeast corner and near its south and west borders furnish good facilities for handling its generous wheat crops. To these are soon to be added the Chicago, Milwaukee & St. Paul, the Portland & Seattle, and the North Coast roads, giving the county very superior railroad facilities.
INDUSTRIES.
Wheat is its great staple crop, and the last year out of a crop acreage of 275,000 gave to the world nearly 6,000,000 bushels, an average of upwards of 20 bushels to the acre. When this average is compared with that of the wheat fields of the Mississippi valley, it is no wonder that the value of its realty has increased for the purposes of taxation more than 300 per cent. in the past six years. Horses, cattle, hogs and sheep are to a limited extent raised on the farms, and are important adjuncts to its prosperity.
PRINCIPAL CITIES AND TOWNS.
Ritzville is the county seat, and has a city hall, electric lights and water system, flour and feed mills, and is the chief distributing center of the county.
Lind will be one of the important points on the Chicago, Milwaukee & St. Paul railway, now building across the county.
Washtucna also is to have another outlet for its wheat over the Portland & Seattle railway, projected and building. All these towns have good schools, churches, warehouses, mercantile establishments, and all enjoy an abundance of prosperity from the marketing of the crops.
ASOTIN COUNTY
LOCATION.
Asotin county occupies the extreme southeastern corner of the state, being separated from Idaho on the east by the Snake river and from Oregon on the south by the state boundary. Its population is about 7,500, its area 640 square miles.