Ritzville’s Wheat Legacy
Wheat has been a bumper crop in Eastern Washington–especially the last few years. As I’ve traveled, I’ve seen many miles of the golden crop–almost making it seem I’ve been transported to somewhere in the Midwest US. Record prices have made the crop a topic of conversation in many towns like Ritzville, WA. The large grain elevators in Ritzville “link the town to the surrounding wheat fields, and indicate Ritzville remains an important milling and shipping center for dryland wheat.” Why has wheat been such a legacy in this part of the state? There is evidence that a large part of the wheat legacy of Ritzville can be attributed to a certain group of immigrants.
The image to the left was lent to the Ritzville Public Library last summer by the Webb family to be added to the Ritzville Heritage collection. After scanning it and looking at the image in detail, we realized it was likely a play depicting the immigration of settlers to Ritzville, WA. The poster in the back of the stage shows the North German Lloyd Line–a large transatlantic passenger and shipping line on which many Ritzville immigrants traveled to the United States. This liner’s fleet was known for its speed and boarded many Europeans immigrating to America.
A large number of Ritzville settlers were Russian-Germans (Volga Germans). These settlers were wheat pioneers and made a large contribution to the abundance of the crop in Adams County. They farmed wheat in Russia and successfully planted it in Adams County, later leading to civic leaders in the county claiming it “The Bread Basket of the World.” In letters to the Washington State Library, Herman Felder reported that railroad agents recruited Russian and Volga German settlers to the Eastern Washington, sometimes relocating whole villages, with the promise of cheap transportation and cheap land.
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