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Description
Close up view of the very sandy soil that caused this region of the Central Valley to be called the "sandy plains". Once irrigation water was available beginning in 1900, this type of soil was conducive to a variety of crops such as: sweet potatoes, grapes, peaches and apricots. Weeds are all that appear to be growing in this field. Farm houses and other buildings are visible. It is thought that this was the place owned by John W. Mitchell but farmed by his stepbrother Henry A. Osborn and his wife Minerva, in the 1880's. Next to one farmhouse is a large round water tank that sits on a platform that is elevated nearly as high as the house. The height provided water pressure. Behind the water tank is a windmill used to power the pump in the well. Water pumped up from a well was the only reliable source of household water.
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