North Bank Nut & Fruit Land Co. Inc. [Goodnoe Hills, Oregon]

You’d be NUTS to pass up on this land!

This scarce brochure advertises profitable parcels of newly cleared land in Washington’s Klickitat Valley, around the small and newly-established communities of Cliffs and Goodnoe Hills. The north bank of the Columbia River offered fertile soil, ample precipitation (no irrigation necessary!), and the proper climate for a host of foodstuffs, including peaches, grapes, walnuts, watermelons, and almonds, which are described as ‘NO CROP IS SURER, SAFER, OR REQUIRES LESS CARE.’

A panoramic image (apparently part of a larger view) shows an aerial perspective of the region, made accessible via the Great Northern Railway. Numerous parcels are marked as SOLD, adding a sense of urgency for the audience. “Your opportunity lies IN BUYING NOW BEFORE THIS PRICE IS ADVANCED.” The verso provides a small strip map of the railway connections with Portland, which lies about 120 miles west.

The ephemeral pamphlet was issued around 1909 (statistics given for 1907, the ‘new’ town of Cliffs was est. in 1908) by the North Bank Nut & Fruit Land Co. Inc. Printed in Portland by the Portland Printing House Company.

Source: Washington Rural Heritage