Peshastin, Washington — First Dig the Ditch, Then Grow the Orchard

Peshastin's fruit warehouses make sense only after you notice the irrigation story underneath them.

Settlers began digging the Peshastin irrigation system in 1889, moving water onto dry benches above the Wenatchee River. The Great Northern Railway arrived a few years later.

Those two pieces of infrastructure changed the valley. Irrigation made commercial orchards practical; rail transportation made their fruit marketable far beyond Chelan County.

Apples, pears and other crops spread across the district, while packing facilities gathered near the tracks. Nearby pine forests even supplied wood for fruit boxes.

Mature orchards can make this country look naturally destined to grow fruit. It wasn't.

Peshastin's agricultural landscape had an order of operations: first the ditch, then the trees, then the train.