History
Walhachin’s pioneer heritage began with an extraordinary idea. In 1907, an American land surveyor named Charles Barnes declared that Walhachin’s beautiful but arid landscape could be tamed with an extravagant irrigation system. Barnes planned to start a settlement surrounded by thousands of acres of crops and orchards. In 1908 the town site was laid out, plots sold, 35,000 seedling fruit trees planted, and 200 people settled in the new community. The upper-class immigrants lived a life of leisure and luxury, enjoying cricket, hunting, and tennis. A flume, many miles long, was constructed to carry water to the orchards. When war broke out in 1914, ninety-seven of Walhachin’s one hundred and seven men enlisted with the Canadian or British forces. The few men and women that remained could not maintain the orchards and flume. Many of the men were killed during the war, and those who returned found the colony in hopeless disrepair. By 1922 the dream of Walhachin had been abandoned. Today, Walhachin is a small and picturesque Gold Country community. A few apple trees still grow and bear fruit. Surrounded by ranches and hobby farms, some of the original homes remain on the town site.