/. HI !P?s: ¦ Sfe'*fe< ; " ; Harold Bell "Wrights Studio in the Imperial Valley in. which he wrote The Winning* of Barbara Worlli" m3 .; ¦ - ~%e*iSffiyi&-fi all into your mind your conception of the desert! A place of interminable sand, silent save for the howl of the coyote, devoid of all things growing except gnarled mesquite and scrubby grease- wood, a land of heat, thirst and death! Such was Im perial Valley fourteen years ago. At that time the only sign of human life on the desert was a mere handful of brave pioneers living in a single camp, who had faith in the visions of the Seer, who fore saw that this barren waste would become a vast Empire, the home of a prosperous and happy people. At this time not a seed had been sown, all effort being directed to the one thought — the leading of the waters of the great Colorado to the thirsty soil. This was accomplished in the latter part of June, 1901, when a small temporary ditch was completed and water for domestic purposes gladdened the hearts of all. Thus was launched the greatest irrigation scheme of any age. Now step forward fourteen years. As if by magic, water has spread over the land. Picture the present scene : Three hundred thousand acres made green under the cultivator's hand; the sky-line pierced by mighty trees which have virtually shot up, and by buildings man has as rapidly constructed. In the fields herds are lowing, l^^H .M-JMU.+Jim mmmmmnU*M^Ml&Ml*iU4U*~.,...s.i„, J^JO.1." IMPERIAL VALLEY - 1915 feeding with the contentment of ages ; in the towns men and women are at their work with the custom of a city that always was. Imperial is a county apart ; distinctive in its geography, distinctive in its history, distinctive in its progress, prod ucts, profits. The mineral properties of its soil are naturally re newed by fertilizing sediments from half a dozen states, transported as silt by the Colorado River, whose waters irrigate the Valley. While the North and East are still snowbound, Imperial Valley products are harvested and shipped, and the premium of high-market prices real ized. Yields considered large elsewhere are small in this valley. Much is expected of the land, and the land fulfills expectations. Records are fragile things here. From the first cotton ginned last year the seeds were extracted. They were sown, leaped into life, flourished, and when October rolled around this cotton was picked, ginned and shipped, just as its parent-product had been within the same season. Of course, it was a world's record. Fourteen years ago the Valley's census could be taken on the fingers of one hand; in 1910 there were 13,910 people in the Valley. Today this has been increased to 50,000. With 300,000 acres under canals and in a high state of cultivation, 165,000 more acres are being pre pared for crops, and it is expected that 150,000 more acres soon will be brought under the canal system. An other measure of Imperial Valley's growth is the county assessment roll. In 1 9 1 0 the assessed property valuation was $9,000,000.00. In four years this has been quad rupled, the valuation at present being $36,596,632.00. The county tax rate is steadily decreasing. The rate for 1914 was $1.90, as against a $4.00 rate a few years past. Moreover, the county has no bonded or other indebtedness. Location. IMPERiAL County lies in the extreme southeast corner of California, bounded on the south by Mexico, on the east by Arizona, on the north by Riverside County, and on the west by San Diego County. The Ocean-to-Ocean Highway and the State Highway from San Diego to Yuma, Arizona, now being constructed, traverse the county, and the scenery from San Diego to the Valley is a revelation to lovers of travel. The San Diego &• Arizona Railroad, now almost completed, will be in operation by July, 1915, covering the journey from the Valley to San Diego in three hours, affording excellent water connections with all the world. Climate The climate is warm as in any semi-tropical coun try, with this difference : Here the air is dry and healthful, as compared to the high humidity and malaria-laden air of most semi-tropical regions. The temperature in Summer has been known to reach 117 degrees, and to fall to 24 degrees in Winter. Both of these extremes are exceptionally rare and of short duration. A more ideal Winter climate cannot be found, as the days are warmed with constant sunshine, while the nights are cool and bracing. All this insures a perpetual growing season. Although some find our Summers disagreeable, we would not change them if we could, for it is the warm dry summers, with an abundance of water, that give us our varied and wonderful agricultural results. Soil The soil of this Valley is a rich sediment hundreds of feet deep. Add to this the fact that the waters of the Colorado carry a fertile silt which is spread over the land in irrigating, and you will readily realize that the soil is inexhaustible. Water ^T *s ^rom trie Colorado River that we get our ample supply of water for irrigation and domestic purposes. Without a diverting dam, it is taken from the river about twelve miles below Yuma, Arizona, through a concrete head-gate and conducted to the land by gravity through the canals. A deal has been made for the entire irrigation system by which the people own and control the canals and water supply, the only expense being the maintenance of the system. Apriculture The products of the North, South, East and 'fe '" West flourish here. The leading products are alfalfa, barley, oats, wheat, corn, melons, grapes, dates, apricots, pomegranates, olives, cotton, citrus fruits, and all kinds of vegetables. Alfalfa produces eight tons per acre in eight i.'-"_ -¦..¦ ¦- ¦¦ -• ¦'¦•¦ ¦ " : ¦¦' iqo^-'^-ts^^t^^^ I . ¦- >»..„«MII.N.M.V^ , .„. I ..... ,4V months, besides giving pasturage the other four months of the year. Barley yields fifty to sixty bushels per acre, wheat thirty to forty bushels, corn from sixty to eighty bushels, and oats from fifty to seventy-five bushels. FruitS and The farmers, from necessity, had to give their t j ii first attention to crops which would bring quick V egetaDieS returns- Moreover, as this was government land, with no title upon which to secure a loan, it had to be self- supporting and be developed from its own resources. There fore, there could be but little experimenting in anything where time was the essence of success. Nevertheless, the farmers cautiously planted a few grapes and fruit trees in order to supply their own tables. The results were so wonderful that, in 1905, grapes had been planted in sufficient quantities to be of commer cial importance. Today the citrus industry is assured, as the trees bear abun dantly and regularly, being free from disease or scale. The grape fruit is exceptionally fine and is unsurpassed in quality by any grown in the world. In 1914, five-year-old trees produced $750.00 per acre. In 1915 there will be planted more than 50,000 grapefruit trees. Our grapefruit ripens in October and high prices prevail at that time. From a commercial standpoint, dates will probably surpass any fruit in the Valley, as results from our experimental orchards have proven. The fruit is of such excellent quality that no im ported dates can compete with it in the markets, and as, at pres ent, the yearly importation of dates amounts to $2,500,000.00, the enterprise will yield a handsome profit. The cantaloupe industry has become so enormous that our melons are now shipped to all leading cities in the United States, not by the carload, but by trainloads. Daily shipments have fre quently exceeded one hundred cars. No known lands produce a greater yield of melons, or of a finer quality, and the profits have j been such that it has become one of our leading industries. Asparagus, on account of its adaptability to our soil and cli mate, and the fact that it is ready for the market in February, is one of the most profitable crops. The daily shipments during the season are in carload lots, and it sells at prices which net the growers from $200.00 to $400.00 per acre. Asparagus, to be tender, must be picked when still young, and growing vigorously. It is then packed in wet moss, with a two-inch space left in the top of the crate for growth in ship ment. This growth in transit will often more than offset the entire cost in freight. j^lQOX-.^BiyiXE^ - 1915 Cotton The cotton industry is but five years old, the first bale being ginned in 1909. In 1913 there were 20,000 acres producing 22,000 bales, a little better than a bale to the acre. In 1914 the acreage was 50,000, with an estimated yield of 68,000 bales, which under normal conditions would be worth $5,500,000.00. We have sixteen modern cotton gins, three oil mills and two cotton compressors. The growth of this enterprise has been so rapid that the period of its transition from an experimental stage to one of ex treme commercial importance has passed almost without notice, and we stand before the world today holding two of its highest awards, one for the earliest cotton ever ginned, and the other for the finest quality. The cotton winning for us the premium for earliest production was of the 1914 crop. Every variety known to any other cotton-growing district in the world flourishes here, to say nothing of a special long staple variety known as Durango, the development of which is due solely to local ingenuity, and which promises to prove a revela tion to the cotton world because of its remarkably long and sturdy fiber. HoneV The bee industry stands alone when compared to that in other counties of the State. From 15,000 colonies 2,700,000 pounds of honey were gathered last year, valued at $135,000.00 — the largest part of this is clear profit, as the bees are free from disease of any description. Stock. There is no country in the world where stock ma- ¦r-f ' • tures more rapidly, as there are no conditions to rvaiSing check the growth, while green feed the year round reduces the cost to the minimum. This Valley is a favored locality for fattening purposes. Today we have 80,000 beef cattle, 32,000 milk cows, 60,000 sheep, and 100,000 hogs. We have thirteen creameries, shipping 6,650,000 pounds of butter within the year, for which dairymen received $2,263,000.00. Poultry This Valley is ideal for poultry raising, as the dry, healthful climate is conducive to the breeding and growing of fowls, and that it is extremely profitable may be gleaned from the following statistics : In 1913 we marketed 70,000 turkeys, for which we received $150,000.00, while other poultry, including eggs,netted $300,000. During the Winter, while eggs are highest, the climate is ideal for our laying-hens. •MMMWiuummmms Ol - I MPJEKLZQ^ VALLEY - 1915 - - ¦'-' ¦¦ ¦-¦ • . ¦ ' -~ Churches While our progress in the more material 1 q_l i agricultural pursuits reads like fiction, it is dllU OLIIOOIS on\y comparable to the marvelous strides taken for our mind's culture," which will be shown by the following comparisons : In 1901 we had one church and a single little brush ramada that served for our only schoolhouse. Today, we have thirty churches, modern in architecture and of leading denominations. We have 187 teachers in the Valley, and in accord with the fact that their salaries range from $90.00 to $300.00 per month, they show the highest efficiency. There are five accredited high schools costing from $65,000.00 to $100,000.00 each, and we are already feeling the need of more room. Our grammar schools seem to have sprung from the hands of Aladdin, himself, for in but thir teen years, in place of our one lone school* we now have forty- six school buildings, modern in every detail and of the most ap proved style of architecture, in city and rural districts. CountV The Imperial County Free Library was established t m on February 6, 1912. The first branch was estab- LlDmry lished April 15) iq12) w;th 175 books. At the pres ent time there are fourteen branches, one in each of the cities and towns of Imperial Valley. There are also twenty-two school districts supplied with branch libraries, and this number will be greatly increased as rapidly as possible. From 175 volumes in 1912, the number of books has increased to 5764 in 1914. The circulation of books in 1912 was 7636 volumes, and in 1913 it had increased to 32,792, while in 1914 it had jumped to 65,000 volumes. Special works on California, with Imperial Valley in particular, are being collected. The County Library now has fourteen paid employes and a training class from which to fill future positions. Principal The five principal towns of the Valley are Braw- rp ley, Imperial, El Centra, Calexico and Holtville. 1 OWIlb ^11 are supplied with gas, electricity and a tele phone service which reaches all parts of the Valley. There are a number of other smaller towns, each of which will, in the near ir future, give a good account of itself. Chamber of ^E nave a County Chamber of Commerce /"i and a local Chamber in each town. Nearly V-jOIIinierce every line of mercantile business is well rep resented. There are miles of paved streets, sidewalks and curb ing. The people in each town are genuine boosters, and while there is no rivalry, an excellent emulative spirit is ever present. ¦ '¦¦-.. ,.¦¦•¦•¦.¦¦• uuuu.' "MMWw; .JM.JUUUW. mr.AUuniwm, [Foremost among the prominent citizens who have contributed largely to tho upbuilding of the Imperial Valley is Harold Bell Wright, the well Known author and writer. Mr. Wright has been a resident of the Valley from its early beginning, spending his winters on a beau tiful ranch near Holtville. It was in the Imperial Valley that he laid the scenes for one of his most successful novels, "The Winning of Barbara Worth," and the mural decorations in the elegant new Barbara Worth Hotel at El Centro, just completed at a cost of $250,000.00, illustrate incidents in the lives of the characters so graphically presented. Mr. Wright's optimistic views of the glowing realities of the "Valley are set forth In the fol lowing article published in the Los Angeles Tribune, December 15, 1912.] IMPERIAL VALLEY IS BY HAROLD BELL WRIGHT The Imperial Valley is. That time when we were not lies within the memory of the eighth grade. The Colorado des ert was here, but Imperial Valley had place only in the minds of a few optimistic promoters, imaginative engineers and hopeful adventurers. To the dwellers outside, we have been a topic for light con versation. We have, to those who did not know, grown most luxuriantly in the promoters' pamphlets and in the real estate circulars. We have belonged, in the mind of the real world, to that hearsay world where facts and fancies are so blended that the true seems false and the false seems true. But today Imperial Valley is. Our principal crops are not now grown upon the fertile pages of the promoter's literature, but in fields to which the farmers hold their somewhat tardy patents. Alfalfa, corn, cotton, horses, hogs, and cattle are facts. The Imperial Farm is. The non-producing speculator, the poaching land-grabber, the get-rich-quick farmer of the farmers, are going the way of the disappearing coyote, the vanishing fox and the dying rabbit. Against these noxious parasites that seek always to fatten upon new lands, and against all their thieving kin, our fields are being fenced. The Imperial Farmer is. Commercial tramps, financial vagabonds, shifty peddlers of hot air, are fast taking the road that leads out. The gates are being closed. The opportunities now offered to capital are the opportunities of the woodpile. The days of the easy handout are no more. Imperial Business is. No longer does the sweating pioneer, swinging to the Johnson bar of his fresno, keep alive his courage with conjured visions of smooth lawns and well-kept fields, of rose hedges and flowers, of gardens, groves and orchards. No more does the tired settler, when the night has come, dream of substantial houses and barns, of full granaries, of bountiful tables and comfortable beds. The rude tent-house, the arrow-weed ramada, the rough board shack, 5ZSSSSS .1.'. 'JUU. J ,1' . .>..,^in„ . 19 Ol - X]yrT>.F,T?TAT, VALLEY - 1915 ^ - ¦ ... "^ the fire and bed under the mesquite, and the shelterless camp on the desert sands have passed into the keeping of the historian and novelist. The Imperial Home is. The hardy, dust-grimed, mud-caked, sunburned reclaimer of the desert no longer makes his lonely fire and with his own rude hand prepares the bacon, frijoles, flapjacks and coffee for his soli tary meal. No more does his hungry heart know only the com panionship of his team and the fellowship of his dog. He need not now plod those weary miles to the uncertain postoffice, crav ing news from the dear ones who wait somewhere beyond the rim of the barren plain. The Imperial Woman, Wife and Mother is. The folk who have made this land have as truly been made by this land. Into the spirit of those who have wrought this work of reclamation, the spirit of the desert they have conquered has entered deeply. The process of nature that laid bare the bottom of the sea and through the long centuries created the desert was a sifting process that permitted no life to remain save that which it fitted and trained to endure. The process by which this desert has been reclaimed and the Imperial Valley won for the world has been a sifting process that has permitted only the fit to survive. That the Imperial Valley is, evidences to the thinking world the character of the Imperial Valley people. The Imperial Citizen is. To the home-hungry settler Imperial Valley has been a dream, a vision, a hope, a promise, a realization. To the pioneer farmer it has been a work, a fight, a test, a hardship, a victory. To the pioneer business man it has been a venture, a prospect, a risk, an opportunity, an investment. To the people beyond our mountain walls it has been a gamble, a speculation, a chance, a scheme, a romance, an adventure, a joke. But today, Imperial Valley is. This is the justification of every effort, the fulfillment of every promise, the reward of every struggle. This is the answer to every criticism, the reply to every argument, the retort to every jeer, the rebuke to every sneer, the triumphant, unanswer able answer: Imperial Valley IS. X o 53 CO id Imp erial Valley Turkeys . ¦' \ U ID u c> £ 3 $ yz %l I t »¦ «L< 1 §# m •-,4,-y li # iffy. ''$ \0f. ff!f.-i (A, Imperial Valley Grapes y orapf ¦i..,^,,i,,^ Imperial Valley M. elon. Brigade ~.:;V.-,s^-.' >;..-,;/ ±m^m_ || j8Jliil'llit<1lrrl'>t Tl'r"l jW<. ¦«raP» Imperial Valley Cotton Ready for Shipment --¦'•¦4 -H?" -."• a.- r:'1"n"-T. :""'li4 Wm - fa~<. — /fc.