SOAP LAKE — There’s a little piece of history in the mini-farm for sale east of Soap Lake. 

“It’s been with the same owner since the 1930s,” said Anna Van Diest of Moses Lake Realty Group, who is listing the 25.19-acre property at 20226 NE Adrian Road, just south of SR 28. The well, still in use, was dug in 1931, she added, more than two decades before the Columbia Basin Project brought irrigation water to the Basin. 

There’s not much left now of the town of Adrian, but if things had gone a little differently in 1910, the Grant County Courthouse might have been located where the farm now stands. When Grant County was formed out of the eastern part of Douglas County in 1909, the city of Ephrata, then just over 300 people, was named the county seat. The people of Adrian got up a petition the following year to grab the county seat away, according to the Washington history site historylink.org, but were defeated in a 945-802 vote. A few remnants of the town and the railroad cutoff nearby are still visible from the road or in aerial photos. 

The 1,939-square-foot residence is a two-story, three-bedroom house, and there are two outbuildings with electricity and heat that are almost like auxiliary dwelling units, Van Diest said. There’s also a 1,500-square-foot shop.  

But the big draw, Van Diest said, is the land. There’s a domestic well and an irrigation well, and the property comes with the water rights, she said, which isn’t common these days. There are productive cherry and apple trees for a homeowner who would like to make their own pies, she said. And there are more than 21 acres of land with pivot irrigation that can grow just about anything that thrives in the Basin’s climate, including livestock. 

“With the future economics, having the ability to raise your own beef and eggs – we know how expensive eggs are – and using that land as a resource, maybe it could help offset some of the economic challenges,” she said. 

The property has been on the market for most of a year, with several price reductions, according to the listing on Realtor.com. It was originally listed at $719,889 and is now listed for $585,000. 

“A hobby farm has a small audience,” Van Diest said. “It’s so unique that it’s tough to obtain a loan. And not a lot of people realize the amount of work that goes into hobby farms.” 

To offset that, Van Diest said, the seller is offering a $15,000 credit at closing that can be used for upgrades or toward loan costs. 

The appeal of the property is also in its location, Van Diest said, nestled in a little space between two ridges. 

“It’s got some breathtaking views,” Van Diest said. “I love the Adrian Valley. (It’s) just unique topography. There are some plateaus and rock formations, and little canyons and coulees. It’s one of my favorite landscapes in Grant County.” 

    The house on the mini-farm on the site of the former town of Adrian was built in the 1930s and has been with the same family ever since.
  

    The mini-farm for sale where the town of Adrian used to be comes with its own wells, one for domestic use and one for irrigation.