Homes Made on Logged off Land
Goble Pointed as Example of What may be done by Preserving Energy
Soil Yields Bountifully
Addison Bennett Sees Great Future for Oregon in Reclamation of Deforested Acres and Finds Good Roads Are Great Aid

The Morning Oregonian
August 9, 1914
By Addison Bennett

To see the most extensive and also the most successful efforts to turn our logged off lands into homes, you must come to Goble and go back two or three miles toward the timberlands to the west. There you will find about 40 small tracts occupied by settlers, who have gone on their lands during the last three years. Goble for many years was the western terminus of the Northern Pacific Railway in Oregon. 

Back of here, to the west, southwest and southeast, lies one of the largest bodies of good agricultural lands in Oregon. This land was heavily timbered, but the most of the merchantable product has been cut off and now there is something like 50,000 acres of as fine land as can be found in the state awaiting purchasers at nominal prices. Goble will be one of the principal points on the new Columbia Highway, now being constructed through the town. 

Automobilists will soon find, after the completion of this road, that one of the finest 100 mile trips in Oregon is from Portland to Goble, thence across the fine ferry maintained here by Captain Hoven to Kalama, thence up the Columbia to Vancouver and across to Portland. Another beautiful trip for the pleasure seekers will be down the Columbia Highway to Goble and thence to the west to the Nehalem country to Gearhart. Indeed, this will be the favorite route to that celebrated beach resort, and by another year the most of the road will be in first class condition. About three miles of this road leads through the tract I am going to tell you about, and all of this will be in perfect condition next year.

Three Years' Work Shown

Something like three years ago two Portland real estate firms started selling these lands, and they made a deal with the Clark-Wilson company for 2,800 acres lying near here. A good system of roads was built and proved of material assistance. In the Fall of 1911 the tract was placed upon the market and sales at once began. If I should say there are 35 families on the tract at present it would be true only in a measure as counting a bachelor as a "family," and to say merely 35 families would sound more like a guess than a fact, so I am going to give the names of those who are making what I consider the best efforts toward home-making on logged-off lands that have ever been made in Oregon. 

Here are the names: E. J. Perkins, Andrew Johnson, Samuel White, W. H. Norcross, Michael Jennings, Howard Gue, F. Stockdale, Morgan Doyle, Henry F. Joslin, Joseph E. Evans, J. J. Codd, G. Anliker, James Ranes, F. B. Holbrook, H. P. Barrack, D. C. Chapman, D. C. Smith, J. M. Holbrook, Fred Woodhouse, Joseph Campbell, Sylvia Archibald, Andrew Anderson, W. A. Frazier, J. E. Buskirk, S. A. Bachman, J. H. Goist, Stanley Hager, Thomas D. McDonald, Louise R. Morris, Nelson St. Onge, J. C. Welsh, E. E. Mallaber, John Callahan, H. A. Miller and W. Hill. 

These people own from 5 to 20 acres each, with an average of, perhaps, 15 acres. They have cleared, plowed and have in crop practically 160 acres, and have partially cleared perhaps almost half as much. In other words, these settlers have cleared 9% of the 1,800 acres sold by the company.

All Live on Land.

Now remember every one of the persons mentioned is on the land, living there and improving it every day. Nearly every one of them had but little money when he made his first payment and moved on the land; nearly everyone has had to make his living as he went along. Many of them have done this, have kept up their payments regularly, kept clearing and improving, and saved up a little besides. Many of them have had to get out and work for wages a portion of the time, but every one of them is a bona fide developer.

Almost to a man they are hard-working, honest, reliable and intelligent citizens. They have built up a community that any person might be glad to live in, a community where there is little bickering, where good feeling one for another is practically the universal rule. It is said there are still 2,000,000 acres of logged-off lands in Oregon. The major portion of this land is as fine soil as can be found anywhere; mostly it lies where the climate is fine for agricultural pursuits and animal husbandry. 

Much of this land is for sale. I would just like to ask the owners how they could get their money out of it any quicker or any surer than to sell it at a reasonable price on small payments down and nothing but the interest for the next five years; then 20% for five years? What better security could a landowner ask than a family on the land burning, clearing, plowing and planting turning $20 land into $100 land. 

I would like to suggest that it might pay some of our Portland people to take a trip down and see what this community is doing. There is a pretty good road down to Goble. By turning off about a mile west of Goble a good road will be found through the tract, out past Redtown. Go down and see about the liveliest community in Oregon.