Writer of 1892 Called Johnson, Washington
"Most Promising" Town of This Area
(The following is taken from the September 1892
edition
of The Northwest Magazine by courtesy of Northern
Pacific Railroad)
Eleven miles south of Pullman on the Genesee branch of tile Northern Pacific,
nestled in a green valley, with swelling hills, covered with grain fields
on three sides and a big bulging butte cultivated almost to the top on the
other, is the new town of Johnson.
When I went over this line two years-ago on my way to the Potlatch Country
the place was called Johnson's siding and consisted of a grain warehouse
and a side track. About a year ago the owner of the land, Jonathan Johnson,
made up his mind that the rapid growth of the surrounding country in population
warranted something in the way of a town at this point. He laid out a few
lots, talked the matter over with his neighbors and secured the publication
of a few notices in the Spokane papers.
The result was remarkable, even in this land of quick development. In
a few months' time a thriving village sprang into life. Merchants and mechanics
came in, a schoolhouse and two churches were built, a bank was opened and
a newspaper established,for without printer's ink nothing is expected to
flourish in this country of intelligent enterprise.
There are now in Johnson the following business concerns: Two
general merchandise stores, a hotel, a lumber yard, two grain warehouses,
a drug store, a furniture store, a livery stable, two blacksmiths, a chop
mill, a harness shop, a hardware store, a grocery, a printing office, a
tinner, a barber and a meat market. Here, the reader will note, is a well-equipped
village standing on what was farm land a few months ago. The interesting
feature of this rapid growth is the fact that it did not arise from railroad
con- struction. The railroad was built through the place five years ago
and went on to its terminus at Genesee, 18 miles distant. Six miles away
is the town of Colton and three miles further is Uniontown.
TRADING POINTS
Both these places had an existence as country trading points before advent
of the railroad; In fact, Johnson may be said to be the creation of Mr. Johnson
himself. He was a busy, successful farmer and his mind and his time were
fully occupied with his avocation when the railroad was built across his
land, so that he was satisfied for the time with a side track at which he
could conveniently ship his wheat and barley. As he prospered year by year,
however, he began to have more leisure and be asked him- self the question,
"Why should there not be a smart little town here as well as at these other
places? Many farmers are shipping their grain here now because it is the nearest
station to their farms. Why should they not buy their goods and supplies
here if we had stores to sell them what they want?" Mr. Johnson is an
energetic man and it did not take him long to put his idea into action after
he had once got it formulated.
A word in conclusion about Mr . Jonathan Johnson, the banker and
townsite proprietor. He was born in Cadiz, Ohio, and lived there until he
was 20, when he went to Missouri and afterwards to Kansas. He did not prosper
in those states, and in 1877 he migrated to Eastern Washington and took up
land in the Palouse Country. Here he struck his vein of good luck. He had
a hard struggle at first for there were no railroads and no market for wheat,
but when the railroads came prosperity dawned on him as well as for the entire
region. He insists that this particular part of the Palouse Country is the
finest spot on earth for farmers.
.
IN ISSUE OF MAY OF 1892
Of all the new towns in the agricultural districts of the new Northwest,
Johnson is one of the most promising, The peculiar conditions which called
the town into existence insure its future prosperity. Situated in the heart
of the famous Palouse Country, the finest wheat growing region in the Northwest,
where crops have never failed, where fruits and vegetables give enormous
yields, and are of excellent flavor, where the climate is mild, cost of living
moderate, and rewards of labor sure, and with a large scope of fertile territory
tributary, her citizens have good reason to be encouraged. It was near this
place that Mr . E. J. Northcutt gained a national reputation by harvesting
the largest yield of wheat from a single acre that has ever been reported
in the United States.
This region seems to be favored with peculiar conditions of soil and climate,
and from the best evidence to be obtained from all old settlers and also
from official statistics, there is no part of the world where the yields
of grain are so certain and so large. The writer was shown one field of wheat
containing one hundred acres, adjoining the town of Johnson. This yielded
last season 43 bushels per acre of good, plump wheat which sold for 74 cents
per bushel. This land was rented and the owner received one-third of the
grain, which netted him above all expense over ten dollars per acre. Just
think of it---common farmland returning an income of ten per cent on one
hundred dolars per acre! And this a very ordinary occurrence as to yield.
HIGH YIELDS
Forty-five and 50 bushels of wheat per acre is common there in good years.
The years which are called poor there show crops which would cause Eastern
farmers to wonder. All Washington is not so highly favored, though the diversities
of soil and climate in
the new state are something remarkable.
The town is located on the Northern Pacific Railroad, 95 miles south of
Spokane; in the center of the richest farming district on the continent.
Business was started in July, 1891 and while nothing is overdone, and all
are prospering, more capital is needed to handle the rapidly growing business
of the country. There is a live, energetic news- paper published there---the
New State News. A solid bank, backed by wealthy capitalists; was opened
in February and is doing a prosperous business. The grain shipping business
is immense, over 250,000 bushels of grain having been shipped from there,
before the town was started, in a single season. Fruit shipments are
just beginning to be made from this point, from the great orchards at Wawawai
on Snake River. Probably 100 cars of fruit, mostly peaches, prunes, pears,
plums and grapes, will be sent from there during the coming season. Those
who wish to settle in a live temperance town in the most fertile portion
of the Great Northwest, where property is still low in price and future prospects
very bright, should correspond with W. E. Bramel, who resides in the new
town and is willing to answer inquiries concerning the country.
(IN ISSUE OF JUNE OF 1892)
In Whitman County, Washington, conditions are found more favorable
to the growth of wheat, rye, oats, barley and flax than can be secured elsewhere
in the United States. The volcanic formation of the soil gives it almost
inexhaustible fertility, and the cool, even temperature causes the grain to
develop with a degree of perfection seldom found elsewhere. A hilly country
which was at first supposed to be worthless, has been proven by repeated experiments
to possess greater elements of agricultural wealth than the average Eastern
farmer ever dreamed of.
Beginning near the town of Spangle, a few miles south of Spokane, following
the course of the Northern Pacific Railroad southward, lies a marvelously
fertile region. Skirting the spur of the Coeur d' Alene Mountains, at a distance
of from five to 15 miles, and extending to the town of Johnson, in Southern
Whitman County. and the center of the famous Palouse country, it is safe
to say that the railroad passes through a region which has no superior, and
few equals in the United States, for certainty of crops, and quantity per
acre produced annually.
CAN'T BE EXCELLED
The record here cannot be excelled. The town of Johnson deserves more
than passing notice, and less than one year since the town began to build,
the growth has been rapid and substantial. Surrounded on every side by fertile
fields extending many miles in every direction, it is easy to see why there
should be a prosperous town located here. At this point the railroad begins
to turn eastward and extends to Genesee, in Idaho, 18 miles beyond.
Land in the vicinity of Johnson sells at from $30 to $40 per acre and
can be rented by the owners readily, so that an income of ten per cent
on investment can be regularly secured, and in good seasons the income is
much larger. Fruit raising is also receiving attention. Apples, plums and
cher- ries and pears do fine, and small fruits, such as straw berries, gooseberries,
currants and raspberries, yield enormously. Grapes and peaches require more
care, as the nights are rather cool, but in the sheltered valley of the Snake
river, 10 or 12 miles away, they are a valuable crop and the business is
beginning to assume large proportions.
Fruit shipments from Johnson on the Northern Pacific are expected to exceed
100 carloads during the coming season, as this is the nearest shipping
point on the railroad to the great orchards already started on Snake lliver.
The town was located as a grain shipping center. It will become a trading
center for a large scope of country. The liberal terms offered to home seekers
make it a desirable place for persons of moderate means, while the capitalist
can find excellent openings for investment.
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