USA > Iowa > Lyon County > Historical sketch of Lyon County, Iowa : and a description of the country and its resources; giving information with regard to the inducements which it offers to immigrants and others desiring to settle in the Northwest > Part 3
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CORN.
There is an impression prevailing to a considerable ex- tent that this cereal cannot be raised with success in North- western lowa, owing to coldness of the climate. This opinion has no foundation, as will be shown in our article on climate. Actual experience and statistics show that the mean summer heat of this region of the Missouri slope is equal to that required for the successful growth of corn. With a congenial climate and a warm soil, rich in nitrogen, it is one of our most certain and valuable productions. Mr. L. F. Knight has cultivated corn on his farin at the forks of Rock River since 1869, and has never failed to secure a cood crop, and it has never been cut off by drought, frost or blight. yielding, in some years, as high as eighty bushels of shelled corn to the acre.
With good management, the yield is from fifty to eighty bushels per acre. This crop, as well as all others, is raised with less than half the labor usually required on the worn- out soils, or among the stumps and stones, with which the Eastern farmer has to contend. A man and a boy can tend
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SOIL AND PRODUCTIONS.
forty acres, besides devoting a portion of their time to other crops, the hoe hardly ever being used. This, with a yield of from forty to sixty bushels to the acre, would give all the way from 1,600 to 2,400 bushels of grain, which will give some idea of our facilities for stock and pork raising. If one-fourth of the area of Lyon County was planted to corn, producing forty bushels to the acre, the yield of one crop would be 3,680,000 bushels.
OTHER GRAINS.
Oats flourish remarkably, the yield having, in several instances, been as high as ninety bushels per acre, but from forty to sixty bushels is the common yield. Barley, rye and buckwheat have, as yet, received but little attention, but, where cultivated, have equalled the highest expecta- tions, and will, no doubt, become favorite productions.
SORGHUM.
Our warm, rich soil is well adapted to the growth of sorghum and imphee, and our dry and sunny autumns are most favorable to its ripening and manufacture. The citi- zens of Lyon County have already given considerable atten- tion to the cultivation of these plants, with excellent suc- cess, and their growth will no doubt become a permanent branch of our agriculture.
POTATOES.
This esenlent, without which the table of the king or the peasant is incomplete, here flourishes in its highest per- fection. It is nothing uncommon, with careful cultivation, especially on our alluvial bottom lands, to raise as high as three hundred bushels per acre. They are of superior size and flavor, and the crop is becoming one of great importance.
OTHER PLANTS.
This region seems peculiarly adapted, especially the alluvial soil of the valleys of the streams, to the raising of melons, squashes, tomatoes, beans, peas, cabbage, turnips, beets, and all the bulbous and salad plaats. If the exact weight and measurement of cabbage, turnips, onions, etc., grown in Lyon County the present season, were given, not one in ten in many portions of the country would believe it to be true. In short, it may be said that nowhere is the soil more easily cultivated, or more certain to yield an ample reward for the labor bestowed upon it, than in Northwest Iowa and Lycu County.
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HISTORY OF LYON COUNTY.
CLIMATE AND HEALTH.
Our great altitude-1400 feet above the sea level-and perfect drainago system, give a dry, pure and invigorating atmosphere, and forever settle all question regarding the healthfulness of our climate. Every person who contem- plates immigration to the West, should give this subject his first and most earnest consideration.
Here they will be spared the malarious diseases which have attended the settlement of many of the western States, and which are still the scourge of the finest regions in the Southwest. A case of fever and ague was never known in Lyon County, and the whole country is absolutely free from diseases of a miasmatic origin. This rarity of atmosphere has also a highly beneficial effect upon those suffering from pul- monary complaints, and it is confidently believed that these diseases, incident to the more damp atmosphere of the New England States can never arise in this country.
Dr. J. W. Foster, in his great work, "The Mississippi Valley," says: "As we traee the isotherms of spring and summer, say from New York as a geographical point, they are found to pursue a pretty uniform direction westerly un- til they reach the western shore of Lake Michigan, when they abruptly curve to the northwest." Without entering upon a discussion of the laws of climatology to account for this phenomena, we will state that the truth of these obser- vations is unanimously attested by the inhabitants of the great Valley of the Missouri. While our latitude is that of Central New York, we have a far more salubrious climate. The summers are warm, but are not hot and sultry, owing to the pleasant breezes which invariably spring up on the prai- ries in the forenoon, and continue through the day.
During the winter, rainfall is almost unknown, and, al- though the winters are cold, the air is so dry and bracing that their severity is not felt as in the humid regions of the East, or changeable climate of a more southern latitude.
But the crowning beauty of our climate is autumn. The delightful season known as " Indian summer " is here often prolonged into December, and is peculiarly charming. A calm, soft, hazy atmosphere fills the sky, through which, day after day, the sun, shorn of bis heams, rises and sets like a globe of fire. By night the heavens are lighted by the burning prairies, the forests are tinged with the most gor- geous hues, and all Nature seems to wear the enchantments
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RIVERS.
of fairy land. Almost imperceptibly these golden days merge into winter; and so the seasons pass, year after year.
RIVERS.
We have not claimed a better soil than that of adjoining counties, but in the number and character of its streams, and facilities for water power, Lyon County surpasses any por- tion of Northwestern Jowa.
The county is drained by the Rock and Big Sioux rivers and their tributarics.
THE ROCK RIVER
And its numerous affluents drain the central and eastern portions of the county. This stream takes its name from a bold outerop of the red quartzite rock, called the "Blue Blounds," near the town of Luverne, Minnesota, from which the Yanktons gave it the name of " River of the Red Rock." It rises in Minnesota, about seventy-five miles north of the State line, and flows southward, passing nearly through the center of Lyon County, and unites with the Big Sioux about fifteen miles below its southern boundary. Its length is about one hundred miles, and it drains over a million acres of farming lands.
It is a clear, rapid and powerful stream, with a rocky or gravel bed, and an average width of from eighty to one hun- dred feet, and a depth of from three to six feet. It flows through a beautiful valley from one to three miles wide, the sides of which blend gracefully with the prairie beyond. Between the line of highest overflow and the prairie there stretches a continued level plane, which will serve the ex- cellent purpose of a bed for a railroad-which must follow the development of this rich valley.
Aside from the many other advantages of this river, are the facilities which it affords for milling and manufacturing purposes, in its magnificent water powers. Those in Lyon County are among the finest in the Northwest, and are the source of great future wealth, and deserve the early atten- tion of capitalists.
The scenery on this stream, especially in the summer, is most delightful. The beholder, at each sweeping bend of the river, is startled by a prospect of groves, parks, water- falls and green slopes. The view in the distance is lost in the dim outline of the winding forest, or in other places is arrested by the cultivated field, the farm-house, or the thriv- ing village.
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HISTORY OF LYON COUNTY
The principal tributaries of the Rock are the Little Rock, Otter Creek, West Branch, Kanaranzi and Tom Creek. These are swift and sparkling streams, fed by springs. They rise in Minnesota, and in winding their way to a junction with the Rock, completely water all parts of the county.
THE BIG SIOUX RIVER
Received its name from Lewis and Clark, who passed its mouth on the 21st of August, 1804, on their great exploring expedition to the Northwest. These explorers reported it as a navigable stream, but this has not proved to be true, though steamboats have at times ascended the river some distance. This stream is somewhat larger than the Rock, and partakes of the same general description. It rises near Big Stone Lake, Dakota, and flows southward, dividing Lyon County from Dakota Territory, and emptying into the Missouri a short distance above Sioux City.
The valley of the Sioux is very extensive and fertile, be- ing from three to six miles wide. On the Iowa side this valley is guarded by a line of bluffs from one hundred to two hundred and fifty feet high, which render the scenery pio- turesque and beautiful.
The facilities for manufacturing on this stream are ex- cellent.
Good judges estimate that a fine water power may be found as often as once every two miles throughout its en- tire length, from the northwest corner of the State to the mouth of Rock River. With these advantages, the build- ing of a railroad up this valley-already begun-and our fine field for sheep raising, the development of woolen man- ufaeture promises mach for the future of this country.
The streams in Lyon County all abound with many ex- cellent varieties of fish, which are taken at all seasons of the year. Their valleys are inhabited by elk, deer, beaver, ot- ter and other game, and by flocks of wild geese, ducks, peli- cans, swans and other wild fowl, furnishing a fine opportu- nity for sporting.
STOCK RAISING.
The foregoing description of the water system of Lyon County cannot fail to show that this is preeminently an in- viting field for stock raising. The wild blue-joint grass of our valleys forms the finest meadows in the world. It grows from three to six feet high, yielding from two to three
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TIMBER-FOREST AND FRUIT CULTURE.
tons of hay per acre equal in value to that of the tame grasses. This is secured with machinery at small expense to the stock raiser. The grasses of the prairies are nutritious, and the range of pasturage is unlimited.
We cannot represent that "stock flourishes the year around upon the natural grasses without shelter, hay or other feed," for this is not true. Stock is turned into the uncut stalks of the corn fields in the fall, where they subsist until winter. The feeding season generally lasts about six- teen weeks, and stock is brought ont in good condition with shelter and hay only .
It is a mistaken idea that stock raising may be carried on successfully without feed anywhere in the West. This is not attempted in but limited portions of the United States cast of the Rocky mountains, and is attended with difficulty and frequently with great loss. Statistics, or reflection alone, will convince any person that the principal and most profitable stock raising is carried on in the northern States where winter feeding is necessary.
The raising of cattle, horses and sheep is here a safe and profitable business, and we advise immigrants, when conve- nient, to bring stock, the more the better.
TIMBER-FOREST AND FRUIT CULTURE.
Most of us were born in a wooded country. In child- hood we were accustomed to look out upon a landscape di- versified by forest, mountain and valley. Transported to a region whose features are so different, with a surface stretch- ing out in vast plains covered with a rich growth of vegeta- ble green, either level or undulating like the waves of the sea, where the only timber to be seen is a long line of trees hordering a stream; transferred to such'a seene, we are ut- terly confounded, so foreign is it to all our early associa- tions. But the rapid development of the western prairies prove that the prejudice against this scarcity of timber is withont foundation. To subdue a heavily timbered country and bring it under cultivation is a herculean undertaking, and requires the labor of a generation. A far greater area has been subdued upon the prairies of the West, producing ampler supplies of human food, and sustaining a larger population, within the memory of men yet living, than on the Atlantic slope in over two centuries.
We are connected by rail with the extensive pine for- ests of Minnesota, and the price of lumber or expense of
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HISTORY OF LYON COUNTY
building and fencing here is not greater than in Northern Il- linois, Indiana or Ohio. For the present, feneing is almost entirely dispensed with, as stock is herded upon the vast tracts of vacant land.
The Rock and Sioux Rivers are bordered by fine groves of timber. The principal varieties are white maple, cotton- wood, white ash, willow, elm and black walnut, and the sup- ply is sufficient to last, for fuel and other purposes, until in- creased by the growth of artificial timber. Our farmers find that the time required in preparing and hauling wood may be more profitably employed in other labor; that our Iowa coal, which is delivered at the railroad stations at five to six dollars per ton, is a far better and cheaper fuel than wood.
The rapid growth of artificial timber on our prairie soil is astonishing. A grove of cottonwood or white maple of three or four years' growth is large enough for a shade or a wind-break. At six years it may be thinned out for fuel, and from that time on the tree grower may have an abund- ant supply of fuel and fencing material. The citizens of Lyon County are giving much attention to forest culture. During the past season they have planted millions of cot- tonwood, white maple, black walnut, ash, larch and box el- der trees In this manner a supply of timber is rendered certain for the future, the fierce blasts of winter are stayed, farins are rendered more valuable, and the country is adorned and beautified.
Fruit culture has not yet been sufficiently tested in Lyon County to enable us to give many results; but there is no doubt that all varieties usual to this latitude may be success- fully cultivated. Such hardy varieties of apples as the Duchess of Oldenburg, Utter's Large, Tetofski, Red Astra - chau, Fameuse, Northern Spy, Golden Russett, Siberian and all the small fruits, have been grown with perfect suc- cess for two years.
The wild fruit of our valleys, among which are many va- rieties of grapes, plums and strawberries, are delicious and abundant.
The immigrant from the East need not fear that he ig bidding good-bye forever to those fruits that have been a comfort and a luxury in his former home.
STONE.
There is no stone on the prairies in Lyon County. A
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RAILROADS AND MARKETS.
farm of a thousand acres may be cultivated without so much as once touching a stone with the plow or the hoe. Plenty of boulders suitable for the walling of wells, cellars and eis- terus are found along the banks of the Rock, Little Rock, and Big Rioux rivers. Lime stone is found on the Sioux, and is there converted into excellent lime in large quantities.
But in our great quarries of quartzite rock, lies buried our principal wealth in stone. These are situated at the ex- treme northwest corner of the State, and erop out at a num- ber of places, over an arca of about two square miles. The largest exposure occupies a space of about two acres, and extends into the Sioux river at the State corner, causing a fine fall and water power at that point. This is a hard, stratified rock of a beautiful reddish color. The State Ge- ologist, who visited these quarries in 18GS, gives it the name of " Sioux Quartzite," and ascribes its formation to the Azoic age. He states that it is the only out-crop of this roek in the State, and pronounces it "absolutely inde- structible."
This rock at present is rendered practically useless, owing to want of transportation, but we look forward to tho time when it will enter into the construction of works of art, and enduring homes for the people of Lyon County.
RAILROADS AND MARKETS.
No railroads are now in operation within the limits of Lyon County, but we are deriving all their substantial bene- fits from the Sioux City and St. Paul Road, which runs along our eastern boundary. Other lines are also being pushed rapidly forward, and will cross the county both north and south, east and west.
The Sioux City and St. Paul Railroad is one of the most important lines now being operated in Iowa. It connects us directly with the pineries of Minnesota and Wisconsin, the coal fields of Iowa, and with Duluth and Chicago.
The MeGregor and Missouri River Railroad, now com- pleted to Algona, is being rapidly extended westward to Dakota Territory, and is expected to run entirely across the county from east to west. By this road the great advan- tages of the Milwaukee wheat market, and a direct connec. tion with the Eist, will be secured to our people.
The Iowa and Dikota Railroad, also, will probably piss through a portion ofthe county in a westerly direction. A tax to aid in its construction has been voted im Lyon and
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HISTORY OF LYON COUNTY
other counties, and we are informed that its building will be commeneed early in the coming season. This road will con- nect us directly with the lowa coal mines, and will be of the greatest benefit to Northwestern lowa.
The Sioux City and Pembina Railroad has its southern terminus at Sioux City. It follows up the valley of the Big Sioux along our western border, crosses the great continen- tal water shed to the Red River of the North, and connects with the Northern Pacific Railroad at Brainard. The build- ing of this road has been commenced, and when completed it will open up one of the finest valleys in the West, am! se- eure us the advantages of the now important markets of the western mining regions.
The projected Rock River Railway will follow up the valley of the Rock through Lyon and Sioux Counties, Iowa, and Rock County, Minnesota. The route for this road is one of the most feasible ever proposed, and its construction as certain as the development of this extensive valley.
These roads are not imaginary ; one has been completed, two are under construction, and the others are questions of time only.
Important as is production, the progress of an inland country will be measured by its railroad facilities.
The railroad is the power that is transforming the wilds of the great West into the most productive portion of the earth, and is revolutionizing the commerce of the world. The intelligent pioncer now asks of a locality, "How far is it from the railroad?" with even more interest than " What is its soil?" We invite attention to our railway prospects. POPULATION AND EDUCATIONAL ADVANTAGES.
The present population of Lyon County numbers about 1,500. the greater portion of whom are former residents of Illinois and Wisconsin, with a share from the eastern States. A colony of Norwegians are located on the Sioux, who find our sunny slopes and fertile valleys far more congenial than the gloomy pines and lofty mountsus of Norway. A num- ber of Germans have settled in different portions of the county, and are among our most prosperous farmers.
The society of Friends have a fine settlement in the southeast corner of the county. They hold out, we believe, more pleasing and substantial inducements to their breth- "'n who may desire to settle in a rew country, than are offered elsewhere in the West.
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POPULATION AND EDUCATIONAL ADVANTAGES.
As a whole, our citizens are intelligent, generous and en- terprising, and we doubt if a happier people may be any - where found. The early settlers of Indiana, Illinois and Wisconsin now look back upon the day when they were pi- oneers as the happiest period in their lives. So it is here. Gladly do we journey a dozen miles to raise the log cabin of a settler, or to join in a social gathering.
Our people take an active interest in the advancement of agriculture, manufactures, education, the growth of our towns and villages, and above all the settlement of the country. Those who come among us to find homes or en- gage in business pursuits will be greeted with a hearty wel- come, aid and encouragement.
A county agricultural society has been organized which will hold its first fair during the present fall.
Several christian societies have been organized, and measures are being taken for the erection of churches.
The orders of Free Masons and Odd Fellows are repre- sented among our citizens, and their early organization is proposed.
Our early settlers forcsaw danger in the neglect of edu- cation. To guard against the evils of materiality they have adopted the common school system which has so long vitalized the eastern states, and which has followed the pioneer as inseparably as his shadow.
Seventeen school buildings, costing from one to three thousand dollars each, and provided with all the modern conveniences, have already been built in Lyon county. Not only are the common branches taught, but, wherever num- bers will admit, graded schools may be established. Our public school system is closely connected with the State University and the many colleges in Iowa, and our educa- tional advantages are not surpassed in the older states.
The revenue for the support of these schools is ample. First, there is scetion sixteen in every township granted by the general government for school purposes. This grant in Lyon county amounts to 11.520 acres of choice lands which will be sold to actual settlers, for the support of schools. To this may be added the interest annually received from the permanent State School Fund-now amounting to over four millions of dollars-and revenue from taxation. The large quantities of non-resident and railroad lands in the county may be taxed for school purposes and internal im-
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HISTORY OF LYON COUNTY.
provements. The latter gives an advantage over localities where the lands are largely in the hands of government and are non-taxable.
TOWNS AND MANUFACTURING FACILITIES.
Considering the fact that all our towns are less than two years old, we evidently can give but a description of those resources and conditions which promise future municipal growth and prosperity. In so doing we follow the order in . which improvements began on the sites of our several towns.
BELOIT
is situated in the extreme southwest corner of the county, on a smooth plain which rises gradually from the east bank of the Sioux river. The town has a charming location-on the south, the river bends abruptly to the east, and the high bluff's on either side loom up in a thousand weird and fantastic forms; to the north and west the view takes in beautiful groves of maple and elm, the wide valley of the Sioux and the rolling prairies of Dakota.
In natural resources, advantages of location, present im- prorements and future prospects, Beloit surpasses any town in the extensive and fertile valley of the Sioux. It is the commercial and manufacturing center of a large and produc- tive region, and now does a flourishing business.
The town is connected by daily and tri-weekly mail and stage lines with Doon, Sheldon, Lemars, and Sioux City, Iowa, and Yankton, Vermillion, Canton and Sioux Falls, Dakota. The Sioux City and Pembina and Iowa and Da- kota railroads are both expected to strike Beloit. The for- mer is now under construction and the company has secured grounds near the town plat for a depot. There are also ex- cellent water privileges near by which are beginning to be mproved.
Beloit now contains one flouring mill, a fine structure, 34 x44, four stories high, with a grinding capacity of forty bushels per hour. It has also a grain elevator, saw mills, several real estate offices, stores, shops, an hotel, public hall fine school building, and some twenty residences.
The following are the leading business firms :
J. A. Carpenter & Sons, proprietors of the Beloit saw and flouring mills, and dealers in lands and town property.
Goetz & Thorson, real estate and tax paying agents and examiners of titles.
Keep & Carpenter, dealers in general merchandise.
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TOWNS AND MANUFACTURING FACILITIES
H. T. Helgerson, dealer in agricultural implements, lands and town property, and proprietor of the Lyon county nur- sery.
M. Nelson, dealer in hardware, stoves and tinware.
K. Gesley, saddlery and harness making.
The Lyon county nurseries contain 20,000 apple trees hardy varieties selected especially for this climate; 5,000 evergreen and ornamental trees, over 200,000 silver maple, larch and other varieties, adapted to forest culture; also a full stock of small fruils.
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The farm of J. A. Carpenter & Sons, near town, is worthy of' mention as showing how farming may be carried on in the west. It contains over 5,000 acres, 1,600 of which are now under cultivation, and 2,000 acres more will be put under the plow the coming season.
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