The central portion of the county is a valley comprising 250,000 acres, about one-fourth of which is under irrigation, and has long been noted for its prolific crops of hay and many herds of dairy cows.
The foothills of the mountains have precious metals, coal and iron. The streams abound in trout and much game is in the mountains.
TRANSPORTATION.
The Northern Pacific and Chicago, Milwaukee & St. Paul railroads, coming into the county from the south and west, cross at Ellensburg and then follow the valley of the Yakima to the crest of the Cascades giving abundant facilities for making markets east and west to all parts of the country.
PRINCIPAL TOWNS.
Ellensburg, the county seat, is situated on a level bench in the Yakima valley and on the railroads. It is a town of upwards of 5,500 people, and is substantially built, chiefly of brick. There are creameries, flourmills, sawmills, and warehouses, banks, breweries newspapers, electric lights, and gravity water system, churches, schools, among which is one of the state normal schools. It is also a division point on the Northern Pacific railway, and is the chief distributing point in the county for farm products and merchandise.
Roslyn is the chief coal-mining town, 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.