16,800 population in Sunnyside
36,000 within 10 miles
87% Hispanic or Latino
92% Hispanic in Sunnyside Schools
74% speak language
other than English at home
64% of those speak English
with native fluency
Ben Snipes was the first European to cash in on the nutritious bunch grasses that use to cover the Yakima Valley. Snipes centered his cattle empire near Sunnyside where he grazed his massive herds and drove them north to feed hungry gold miners working in British Columbia.
Water engineer Walter Granger formulated plans for the town as early as 1889. His dreams came to life in 1893 when Granger's Sunnyside Canal brought precious water to the arid lands.
In less than 10 years, Sunnyside's population had exploded to 314 residents, fourteen more than was required to legally incorporate in Washington State. Town druggist, James Henderson, becomes the city's first mayor.
Irrigation raised water tables to the point where Sunnyside's dirt streets had become impassable rivers of mud. Mayor William Bright "Billy" Cloud made good on election promises to pave the streets of Sunnyside's central business district.
Canadian immigrant W.B. Bridgman plants the first European wine grapes near Sunnyside in 1917. Following the repeal of Prohibition, Bridgman opened Upland Winery on Snipes Mountain, now considered the birth place of Washington Wine.
The Port of Sunnyside becomes Yakima County's first public port district. Their goal is to leverage the area's inexpensive power and abundant land by building the necessary industrial infrastructure that frequently requires greater investment than private industry can undertake by themselves.
Another generation of immigrants is working to revivify the city with the dreams, aspirations, and energy necessary to meet the challenges of a changing world.