The ranch., December 01, 1907, Page 12, Image 12

About The ranch. (Seattle, Wash.) 1902-1914

Image provided by: Washington State Library; Olympia, WA

                
12
Remarkable Success of the Recent Benton County Fair
ONE of the most successful county
fairs which has ever been held
in any section of the United
States was the splendid show given
by Benton County under the auspices
of the Benton County Fair Association
at Prosser.^ Washington, from Sep
tember 18th to 21st. This exposition
was successful not only from an ex
ploitation standpoint but was one of
those rare expositions which have
been conducted to successful financial
consummation. Most communities in
holding a fair of this sort, consider
that the exploitation advantages are
such they can afford to have it cost
them something because it is a good
PANORAMA OF THE CITY OF PROSSER, BENTON COUNTY, WASHINGTON.
investment. So many hundreds or
county fairs and expositions with
larger scope have been held that have
proved actual financial losses that the
average fair is not expected to be a
business success but is reckoned sat
isfactory if it merely attracts the peo
ple and accomplishes the advertising
which is its chiefest purpose.
But this was not so with the Ben
ton County Fair. The Benton County
people are of the energetic and typi
cally western class who do things,
and they decided this year to hold an
exposition that would not only ad
vertise the wonderful products and the
fertile lands of that section far and
A BENTON COUNTY FRUIT DISPLAY AT THE FAIR.
THE RANCH
wide, but would also be a good busi
ness venture. They went about it
with this purpose in view and spared
no effort to accomplish it. The man
agement of the fair was in practical
business hands and the affairs were
administered according to business
methods with the result that the
stockholders found after the exposi
tion was ended that they were con
siderably ahead of the game.
One of the principal reasons for the
success of the Benton County Fair
was that it was given in a wonderfully
fertile and productive country, where
products of farms and orchards are
among the finest and most abundant
in the United States, and the people
are all prosperous and well-to-do;
and this in spite of the fact that Ben
ton County is the youngest county in
the state, ft was only in July, 1905,
that it was proclaimed a body politic,
but even at that time it had under
gone a sufficient development to de
monstrate its wonderful future. It is
in a very rich belt of agricultural and
fruit lands, bounded on three sides
by the Columbia river, and contains
in addition to rich irrigated sections,
the famous Horse Heaven and Rattle
snake regions, which are among the
finest wheat producing section in the
West, comprising about 500,000 acres
of land which do not need irrigation
and produce very heavy crops to the
acre. These districts which in 1904
produced scarcely 50,000 bushels of
wheat, will this year produce over
1,500,000 bushels. When the present
plans of the reclamation service of
the United States government are
completed, Benton County will have
about 350,000 acres of the richest fruit
lands in the West under irrigation.
In 1902, under the extension of the
Sunnyside ditch, less than 3,000 acres
were irrigated. Benton County is in
the southern portion of the state and
consequently has a climate especially
adapted to fruit growing. The heat
in the summer is such that any fruit
growing in California with the ex
ception of citrus fruits, can be raised
in abundance. Apples, pears, prunes,
grapes, apricots, olives, English wal
nuts and melons of every description
thrive in this climate and soil and the
seasons are such that this produce
can be marketed earlier than in most
other sections of the state. Large
crops of alfalfa, red clover, timothy,
corn, oats and other grain can be
grown abundantly and no betfer soil
can be found in any state for roots
and vegetables.
With these magnificent resources to
draw upon, the Benton County Fair
was one of the best opportunities for
an agricultural exposition that the
West could offer, and the various ex
hibits which were on display were
certainly typical of and did credit to
the wealth and fertility of the coun
try. The grounds were in fine con
dition and the buildings erected by
the association for the various ex
hibits of fruit, grain and live stock
were attractive, substantial and com
fortable. Even those who know
the wonderful agricultural wealth of
Benton County were surprised at the
great array of exhibits within the
main building. There have possibly