My mother found a commissioned work at the library that was apparently generated to justify the creation of the Central Oregon irrigation district. Seems the Yakima district dismissed Central Oregon as viable farm land and therefore should not get any water rights for farming. This work refutes this assumption and goes around the region documenting the work and yields of farmers around the area. One such farmer, Mrs. Williams, was certainly a force in the local egg industry. The book also builds up the national reputation of the region’s poultry….hard to tell if this was really the case or was just talked up to persuade the powers that be to allow the canal. Hopefully, some Powell Butte locals will know a bit more history regarding Mrs. E.B. Williams.
What ever the reasons for the book….based on this picture- I am sure glad we have working irrigation today!
Chicken farm in Powell Butte, OR
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