This picturesque little city built from
the cactus and mesquite and desert soil into one of the most beautiful of
the lovely towns fringing the Western Valley of the Nile, is one of the most
prosperous and attractive of Imperial Valley, and very properly entitled to
its cognomen, "The Gem City."
Holtville was given its charter in 1903,
and since that time the growth has been steady, and the residents who have
come to this especially rich and fertile section of the great desert country
are now more than reaping the results that always follow the arduous
workings and efforts of the pioneer. Only fifteen years old, this beautiful
town is forging ahead, and paved, well lighted streets will be the
culmination of the Commercial Club's dream and efforts in the very near
future. It is generally conceded that Holtville is the prettiest town of the
many that have made the great Imperial Valley famous throughout the United
States and the world. This great beauty is due to the many trees that border
the streets, giant palms, peppers, and cottonwood trees making most grateful
shade and relief from the glare of the summer sun.
Situated at the eastern boundary of the
Valley, with a population now reaching considerably over the fifteen hundred
mark, Holtville is now among the foremost dairying sections in the world.
Alfalfa ranches are everywhere testifying to the great fertility and
productiveness of the hundred thousand acres or more, which are tributary to
the town. Not only have cattle and dairying industries formed an important
factor in the growth of this particular locality and the calling in of many
of the most expert ranchers of the east and middle west, but hog raising,
which is one of the most profitable industries in the world today, and at
this writing one of the most timely, has reached the pinnacle of its
development here. And in this connection it is only fitting that mention
should be made of the wonderful work that is being accomplished by the
pupils of the high school and the grammar schools of Holtville under the
careful guidance of their teachers in the building up of Pig Clubs. These
clubs have stimulated lavishly the interest in raising of pigs and hogs by
the sons and daughters of the ranchers, and some exceptional results have
been obtained by these embryo farmers and farm-women.
In the cattle raising industry, one of
the great commercial features that has placed this city in the front ranks
is the production of butter. A large percentage of the most successful
farmers of this section can trace their rise to the first string of cows
with which has been added to and improved as conditions warranted, is
pointed to with pride by every person showing the prospective resident about
the country. Hundreds of thousands of pounds of butter are shipped monthly
from this district, and the average daily output of butter alone from the
Holtville Co-operative Creamery is over three thousand pounds. Scientific
cattle raising, which implies the raising of the best stocks, and the
culling of all unprofitable "boarders from among the strings," has resulted
in dairying and cattle raising reaching a marvelous point of success here.
The agricultural survey is developed to a
point quite as successful as are the other branches of the farming industry
in the Imperial Valley. Wonderful crops of asparagus, okra, lettuce,
spinach, and all sorts of garden truck are grown here, and one of the local
men claims to have made a thousand dollars an acre from the growing of
cucumbers sent out to meet the demand of an early and epicurean eastern
market. These cucumbers are also sent to the northern part of the state, and
tomatoes are another delicacy that delights the palate of the epicurean sent
out from this vicinity as early as the first of February.
At the present time Holtville is
experiencing an unusual boom, owing, probably, to the likelihood of the
opening at a near distant date of the wonder lands on the east side mesa,
which are regarded as the most favored, naturally, of any lands in the whole
Imperial Valley. The opening of this vast and fertile section will mean the
ingress of hundreds of wide-awake, progressive ranchers from all parts of
the United States, and will result in a phenomenal growth of the city
itself, which is the logical shopping district for the entire east side.
The growing of cotton has been marvelously successful during the past three
years. It is now past the experimental stage entirely, and great profits
have been attained by those who have taken a chance on this industry. There
are several cotton gins here, and the building of a co-operative gin this
year is one of the projects that is already financed by some of the most
substantial farmers here. The wonderful fertility of the soil permits of
crops more varied than in any other section of the world, and among the
other profitable crops grown must be placed the different grains, and corn.
Great quantities of corn are raised here, and are always sure of a ready
market, on account of the hog industry particularly. The day of the large
land holder has steadily been on the wane, and today Holtville owes much of
the steady growth of its prosperity to the fact that land holders are now
possessors usually of less than two hundred acres at the most, which results
in better business for the town's tradespeople, and in better results to the
rancher who is no longer burdoned with more land than he can successfully
cultivate.
Holtville itself is one of the most
progressive cities to be found in an agricultural district anywhere. The
churches and the schools are a credit to her enterprise. The schools are
looked upon with amazement by the new-comers and visitors, who express
surprise that schools are established here that rank favorably with schools
anywhere else in the state, under the most capable supervision and
instruction, and that they are accredited to all of the universities.
Holtville is likely prouder of its school system which is regarded as one of
the most perfect in the southern part of the state than of any other feature
if its civic life.
Of the churches it may be said that there
are six, of as many denominations, all seemingly prosperous and flourishing.
There are a number of clubs and fraternal
organizations in the city, and a woman's club, which is distinguished for
its public-spiritedness and its interest in every project of civic
betterment. A woman's club house will likely be considered before a great
while, and when completed will fill an important need.
The City Hall is an institution of which
Holtville is inordinately proud. It stands on record as being the only
building of its kind erected solely by public subscription in the United
States. It is a handsome structure of mission style, and reflects the
greatest possible credit on the liberality of the citizens who made such a
building possible. In this work the woman's club took a prominent part in
the securing of funds and much of the credit for the work belongs to their
enterprise and perseverance.
The latest step along the lines of
progress has been the voting of bonds for sewer outputs and paving. The
latter means one of the most necessary and important movements that the
citizens have ever taken up; it will result in increased prosperity and
immeasurable satisfaction.
There are two flourishing banks in
Holtville - the First National and the Holtville Bank, of which the
latter is the newer, and which is gaining steadily in public favor.
The shopping district of Holtville,
while small, is comprehensive, and the new resident on nearby ranches and
farms finds himself unusually
favored in the matter of purchasing supplies and equipment
of all kinds. Within the last year a decided impetus has been given
shopping of all kinds, and among the most important enterprises in the town
are its hardware stores where farm equipment and specialties of all kinds
may be procured as easily and satisfactorily as in metropolitan cities. The
housewife finds all her needs to have been anticipated at the stores which
are exceptional and which are constantly improving and going ahead.
An artesian water belt running through
the eastern part of the Valley makes it possible for farmers to sink wells
and find plenty of good water for drinking and household purposes at a depth
of only a few hundred feet, which is likely to vary in different localities.
This is the only belt of artesian water in the whole Valley, and is an added
point in which Nature has smiled upon this particular section of the
country. In this connection one thinks of the Natatorium, which is the only
thing of the kind in the whole Valley, and the place where hundreds of
bathers gather all during the summer from points all over the Valley for
cooling dips and frolics in the cooling waters. Last year the Natatorium had
the most successful run in its history, and this year will likely double its
popularity, as it is to be again under the same management.
In many respects Holtville is in a class
entirely by itself. It is slightly
below sea level, but when sleeping in a second story chamber
one rests entirely above sea level. The city is particularly and peculiarly
healthful, and but very little illness is ever manifested here. In fact much
of its population can be directly traced to the reputation it bears for
healthfulness which is a fine thing for the town, but a poor field for
members of the medical fraternity.
When the great southern National Highway
is completed Holtville will be the first point of entry to the tourists and
homeseekers who will be lured hither. Combine this project with the opening
of the great east side mesa, and it would appear to the most skeptical that
Holtville's future was doubly assured. Its progressiveness has only started.
Beautiful with thousands and thousands of trees that make for comfort and
coolness, with an incomparable reputation for healthfulness, with
exceptional school facilities, with crop prospects that can- not be
discounted in any corner of the globe, with shipping facilities, and
commercial equipments of the best, the "GEM" city bids fair to become in a
few short years the most important, as well as the most prosperous of all
the towns in the Valley.
As is true of every town of the Valley,
society has not developed to any appreciable degree of exclusion. As in all
new countries, persons are accepted for their character, and not for their
other attainments. Ability to pioneer marks the stepping stone of those who
occupy prominent places in the happy social atmosphere of a community that
is not circumscribed and hedged with social conventions that must of
necessity exist in larger and older localities.
Summed up, we find that Holtville's claim
to popularity and distinction is gained from the enterprise of its farmers
and ranchers, from its schools, from the great fertility of the soil of the
surrounding thousands and thousands of acres, from which crops may be
derived more easily than from any other land in the world. It is derived
from a spirit of co-operation among its citizens and townspeople that is not
only commendable but tremendously unusual. Its activities are as varied as
could be in any community with its creameries, cotton gins, its cattle and
hog shipping, and its marvelous crops. Besides the municipal attainments
that have been accomplished from time to time, with a reputation for health
that is unparalleled, Holtville must, by virtue of its remarkable natural
possessions, be destined to become one of the largest and most prosperous
cities of the great Imperial Valley. Its citizens alive to the future and
the possibilities that future will offer are working in a harmony of purpose
and largeness of motive that presages a wonderful prosperity for Holtville
in the future as in the past.