USA > Iowa > Henry County > The history of Henry county, Iowa, containing a history of the county, its cities, towns, &c. > Part 60
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The Twenty-fifth Infantry occupied the camp some time after the Fourth left. Shortly after the latter regiment vacated, the camp was destroyed by fire, presumably through the criminal act of an incendiary.
POPULATION OF HENRY COUNTY, AS SHOWN BY THE STATE CENSUS OF 1875.
WHITE POPULATION.
COLORED POPULATION.
NAMES OF TOWNSHIPS, TOWNS AND CITIES.
Number of Families.
Male.
Female.
Total.
Male.
Female.
Total.
Total Population.
Baltimore
223
575
562
1137
19
16
35
1172
Canaan
163
485
443
928
928
Center, exclusive of Mount Pleasant.
263
1020
950
1970
10
9
19
1989
Jackson
207
566
548
1114
21
14
35
2149
Jefferson
259
660
605
1265
2
2
1267
Marion.
223
609
642
1251
5
8
13
1264
New London, exclusive of town.
236
633
608
1241
7
6
13
1254
New London, town of.
129
268
282
550
1
2
3
553
Salem, exclusive of town
239
659
593
1252
5
5
10
1262
Salem, town of
112
233
246
479
479
Scott
205
569
553
1122
1122
Tippecanoe, exclusive of Rome.
264
708
659
1367
20
20
40
1407
Trenton
296
735
689
1424
20
13
33
1457
Wayne
263
740
624
1364
1364
Total
3174
8636
8192
16828
110
93
203
17031
Mount Pleasant, city of, C. H.
Mount Pleasant, First Ward
350
754
794
1548
87
80
167
1715
Mount Pleasant, Second Ward
24
526
566
1092
45
43
88
1180
Mount Pleasant, Third Ward ..
175
423
405
828
3
5
8
836
Mount Pleasant, Fourth Ward
175
398
429
827
1
4
5
832
Total of city
945
2101
2194
4295
136
132
268
4563
Total of county
4119
10737
10386
21128
246
225
471
21594
Rome, town of.
92
176
188
364
364
495
HISTORY OF HENRY COUNTY.
A GLANCE AT MATERIAL STATISTICS.
The county of Henry is pre-eminently an agricultural one. Lying far enough away from the Mississippi River to partake of the prairie character, and yet watered by streams of ample dimensions to afford superior drainage ; covered with timber in certain localities-in the neighborhood of water-courses -but free from that hindrance to the better purposes of agriculture in the major part of the county, it is a grand one in all respects, healthy in climate, fertile in soil and capable of high development.
In a State which might be made the granary of the nation, and which has the capacity of producing breadstuffs sufficient to feed the people of the United States, if a system of cultivation equivalent to that of many of the countries of Europe were to be inaugurated, one unconsciously falls into the habit of accepting marvels in the form of development with a sang froid which none but Americans can exhibit. An invention which is destined to revolutionize methods and expand capabilities in almost an infinite degree, produces a momentary ripple on the surface of society, and then is accepted with a practical estimate of its applicability to the machinery already em- ployed.
In no quarter of the inhabited globe is this spirit of progressiveness more manifest than here in Iowa. We are willing to go even further than that, and honestly affirm, after a careful investigation into the character- istics of the people of this State, which the work of preparing a detailed history peculiarly enables us to prosecute, that no section of Iowa evinces a more marked air of intelligent industry than does the rich county of Henry.
At the close of the second decade in the history of Henry County, there were but five counties in the State which surpassed it in population, viz .: Lee, 27,273; Dubuque, 25,871 ; Scott, 25,521; Des Moines, 20,198, and Van Buren, 15,921. Then came Henry, with 15,395 inhabitants. The steps by which this number was reached were as follows :
1838 (one year after organization) ..
3,058
1840.
3,784
1844.
6,017
1846.
6,875
1847.
6,759
1849
7,229
1850.
8,707
1851
8,915
1852
9,633
1854.
10,159
1856
15,395
There were 64,640 acres of improved land, 10,459 of which were devoted to wheat, from which 129,102 bushels were harvested in 1856. The same year, there were gathered 295,835 bushels of oats; 1,133,667 bushels of corn ; 48,796 bushels of potatoes, and 45,740 bushels of winter wheat.
The live-stock product for 1856 was as follows: 15,629 hogs, valued at $132,597 ; 2,847 neat cattle, valued at $77,252.
The dairy product for that year was 184,864 pounds of butter, and 13,618 pounds of cheese.
There were 31,040 pounds of wool clipped, and the manufactures were val- ued at $47,155 for general, and $20,271 for domestic products.
496
HISTORY OF HENRY COUNTY.
Ten years later, the census shows that the county had increased in popula- tion thus :
1859 16,299
1860. 18,701
1863 (during the war). 16,780
1865.
.17,816
1866
20,110
In 1866, the farm products were : Spring wheat, 102,980; winter wheat, 44,802; oats, 263,768; corn, 1,622,322; rye, 20,946; barley, 4,920; pota- toes, 49,209 ; sorghum sirup, 66,687 gallons; tame hay, 22,260 tons ; grass- seed, 6,014 bushels, and a proportionate amount of miscellaneous small crops.
There were 82,181 fruit-trees in bearing; 14,934 pounds of tobacco secured; 17,624 pounds of honey taken, and 31,460 pounds of grapes raised ; besides which there were many minor products.
The last census taken, 1875, is the latest reliable authority for the compila- tion of present statistics. Owing to unfavorable but most extraordinary meteor- ological disturbances during the past few years, no just statement can be made of the real products of this region. All of Southeastern Iowa was included in the storm-belt, and suffered immensely from too much rain. However, an approx- imate estimate of the development of the county can be reached by an exam- ination of the census report of 1875. Therein we find a completion of the table of population, which runs thus :
1869.
20,971
1870 .21,463
1875. .21,594
The agricultural reports read as follows: Number of acres improved in 1875, 182,080 ; spring wheat harvested, 180,229 bushels; winter wheat, 113,- 203 bushels ; corn, 2,415,670 bushels ; rye, 13,735 bushels ; oats, 358,221 bushels ; barley, 4,528 bushels ; buckwheat, 3,664 bushels ; sorghum sirup, 33,969 gallons ; sugar, 8,057 pounds ; tame hay, 25,315 tons ; grass-seed, 10,325 bushels ; tobacco, 3,283; potatoes, 110,974; sweet potatoes, 6,708 bushels; onions, 1,074 bushels, and many thousand bushels of turnips, beets, etc.
There were 131,873 fruit-trees in bearing, from which were taken 99,150 bushels of apples, 1,673 bushels of pears, 4,500 bushels of peaches, 538 bushels of plums, and 13,654 bushels of cherries. There were 100,119 pounds of grapes gathered.
The average productiveness of the county rates high, compared with the entire State.
There was consumed in manufactures the following crude material : Iron, 26,500 tons ; wood, 242,300 cubic feet ; wool, 85,000 pounds ; leather, 116,- 200 pounds ; wheat, 237,400 bushels ; corn, 95,850 bushels ; barley, 3,000 bushels. The total value of goods manufactured in 1874 was $508,490. There was over $16,200 worth of mine products lifted.
DAIRY BUSINESS.
This chapter will be far more suggestive and prophetic than historic, and might be introduced into some current publication with more propriety. perhaps, than into the pages of a work of permanent value. But we give place to this article for the sake of the prediction implied or expressed.
497
HISTORY OF HENRY COUNTY.
At the present time, one of the greatest industries within the reach of the people is almost untouched. The region is designed by nature for a dairy country. There is an abundance of everything needed in a crude state to in- troduce and conduct this important business. But in spite of all the advantages of soil, water and climate, there have been but two or three attempts to carry on dairying here, and those, for obvious reasons, proved only moderately suc- cessful.
In the first place, let us consider the question in a practical manner, and judge by the prosperity of other localities whether Henry County can safely invest in the manufacture of butter and cheese.
What are the primary requisites in the case ? First, a fertile soil, which will produce a perennial sod, from which hay can be cut for winter use, and also which will furnish proper green pasturage during the outdoor feeding season. Second, a soil and climate which will produce corn and small grains, artichokes, pease, etc. Third, good water, and a cheap and abundant ice crop.
These may be regarded as the fundamental conditions necessary to the eco- nomical manufacture of dairy products. There are others which may be sug- gested to the minds of practical dairymen, but surely these are the first and most important points to be considered. Has Henry County these advantages ? Yes. There is no longer a doubt as to the quality and durability of her sod ; the abundance and richness of her grasses, of her hay crop. She has a climate between that of Minnesota and Kansas-an intermediate grade which enables her to raise luxuriant corn, and at the same time reap rich harvests of small grains. It may be said that no country surpasses this for diversity and quantity of yield of crops. Others are better exclusive corn regions or wheat regions, but none combine wheat, oats, corn and the small grains in the same degree. Therefore, we say that this county is adapted by natural productiveness for dairying.
Can cattle thrive here ? Yes. A grade of common stock crossed with blood of pure strain, are hearty, strong in flesh and rich milkers. We doubt if pure bloods do as well as coarser textures; but mixed stock is suited to the climate in admirable degree.
Is the water and ice supply ample ? Yes. In quality and quantity there is sufficient water to warrant the erection of many creameries in the county.
If these statements are true, why is it that so few good butter-makers are found in the county? We are not speaking of private dairying, but of the introduction of skilled men and approved machinery. Private butter-making has no more comparison to creamery business than hand-spinning has to the power loom.
In 1866, this county produced 386,047 pounds of butter and 13,050 pounds of cheese; and in 1874, 546,518 pounds of butter and 5,581 pounds of cheese. This exhibit shows that no systematic attention is paid to the work, but that the natural increase forces people into a greater production. At the same time, the quality ranks only as "grease " in the Eastern market, except in the few rare cases of choice butter-makers among the farmers' wives. This is not intended as a reflection upon the women of the county, for it is true that the fault lies fully as much at the men's door as theirs. The men have not pre- pared suitable places in which to make and preserve the butter that is made, and, consequently, the most careful products deteriorate because of lack of ice and dairy-rooms. We do not blame the women for not working with better heart under such circumstances. Dairying is laborious in the extreme and
498
HISTORY OF HENRY COUNTY.
scarcely worth the time expended on it, if the butter so made is salable only at third rate or as grease.
This article is designed to benefit both men and women. It is intended to point out a way by which the men can effect a revenue 365 days in the year, instead of having two seasons of hurry and distraction and then an idle time, so far as production goes ; and it is also intended to indicate this desirable im- provement in a way to relieve the hard-worked women of a portion of their task.
As we have said, the present system of farming furnishes a time of bustle and expense at seeding season, and another when harvest approaches. The profit rests almost entirely upon the result of one crop. If wheat runs light, the net result of all that year's labor is most discouraging. Between harvest and harvest there is work enough to do, but it does not bring in money. The farmer feels depressed over the hazard of his main crop, and loses half the com- fort of living.
Suppose the system is slightly changed. The farmer increases his pasturage and meadow lands, and puts more stock on his farm. He hires men to milk his cows, and twice a day places 300 to 500 pounds of milk on the platform near his barus. The teamster employed in the neighborhood drives by and carries the milk to the creamery, a mile or two distant. When he returns he deposits the cans filled with buttermilk on the platform, and the men care for them.
Thus, day after day, an income is derived from the herd. The labor on the farm is not increased, for men perform the work that once so dragged upon the mothers and daughters.
The milk is not the only product of the herd. There is the increase of the stock. In Linn County, one man who milked a herd of sixty crossed breeds, told the writer that those cows netted him $48 per head, the year before, in milk and calves, without counting the original herd. They more than paid for themselves in one year. This is not an isolated case. All over Linn County the farmers are going into dairying. They milk from ten to seventy-five cows each. Many of them still cling to the common stock, but the more careful find that the value of calves is greater with better grades, and that the weight and quality of blooded milk is more profitable, while the cost of keeping is but little increased.
Linn County has been in the creamery business but four years, and most of the factories have been going but one year; but already there are 6,000 cows milked for them, or about three-quarters as many as are milked in this entire county. We predict that Linn County will use the milk of 50,000 cows before another century begins. .
But Linn is cited merely incidentally. Delaware County holds the prize. From the history of Delaware, prepared by the Western Historical Company, we make the following selection, which explains itself and our motive in using it :
"About twenty years ago, the farmers 'of Delaware began to turn their attention to the dairy, and gradually the industries of the county have changed, until now (1878), it has become one of the leading dairy counties in the State, and the manufacture of butter, cheese and raising pork have been its leading agricultural interests.
"Delaware butter commands the highest price in Eastern markets. Man- chester has become the great butter market of Iowa, rivaling that of any other State in the Northwest, and immense quantities of the dairy products of the county are shipped every week.
499
HISTORY OF HENRY COUNTY.
" In 1858 or 1859, George Acres and Watson Childs, of Delaware Town- ship, began the manfacture of cheese, and, in 1862, Mr. Acres was working up the milk of about thirty cows.
" In a public address, delivered last winter, before the Dairymen's Associa- tion, Mr. Childs stated that he was obliged to peddle out his cheese for two or three years, when he first commenced, and used to realize eight or ten cents a pound, mainly in trade.
" Asa C. Bowen, who began cheese-making in 1858, just south of the county line, says that while in the mercantile business in Hopkinton, in 1856, he brought butter to the town from Albany, selling it for 333 cents a pound, and A. R. Loomis brought butter to Manchester from Marengo, Ill., about the same time. The introduction of the cheese-vat, Mr. Bowen says, made the handling of large quantities of milk comparatively easy, and he was among the first to bring the improved plan into use in Iowa.
" In June, 1866, the Delaware Cheese Company was organized at Delaware; William H. Hefner, President, and K. W. Kingsley, Secretary. A building was erected there 24x40, two and a half stories, and an experienced cheese- maker from Madison County, N. Y., engaged to take charge of the factory, which commenced operations during the month of June. It continued in opera- tion until about 18.72, when it suspended, and the building was converted into a stable.
" A cheese-factory was established at Almoral in 1870, which had a remu- nerative run until 1875, when cheese-making was given up and butter only manufactured, which was kept open but two seasons, but with indifferent suc- cess. Soon after, R. L. and O. E. Taylor built a cheese-factory in Milo Town- ship, which was very skillfully managed, but in 1877, cheese-making was given up and butter made instead. It was found that making butter was more profitable than making cheese, and now comparatively little cheese is manu- factured.
" The first stimulus to the butter industry was given by L. A. Loomis, of Manchester, who made a contract in 1862 with the Northwestern Packet Com- pany to supply its boats with butter. Buying for cash only, although at the low rate of eight or nine cents a pound, he became master of the situation, and would take only the best offered. Mr. Loomis bought butter without opposi- tion until 1864, when W. G. Kenyon began to buy, followed, in 1867, by Per- cival & Ayers, which made competition quite sharp.
"The manufacture of butter increased steadily until 1872, when the cream- ery system was introduced by Mr. John Stewart, and gave the dairy business of the county a powerful impetus. Mr. Stewart had been dealing in dairy products for several years, when, in 1872, he built the first creamery or butter-factory in the county, and, it is thought, the first in the State, on Spring Branch, near E. Packer's, three or four miles east of Manchester. Here he commenced buy- ing milk of the surrounding farmers, and making the cream into butter, according to the most approved method practiced by Eastern dairymen. His business increased, and the following year he established similar ' creameries ' at Yankee Settlement, Forestville, Ward's Corners and other places.
" A. C. Clark & Company started a creamery at Manchester in 1874, and at Masonville in 1875.
" Having obtained the first premium for butter for several years at St. Louis, in 1876, Mr. Stewart determined to compete for the golden prize offered at the International Centennial Exposition, at Philadelphia, and received the gold medal for the best butter in the world. His success removed the prejudice
500
HISTORY OF HENRY COUNTY.
existing in New York and other Eastern markets against Western, and especially Iowa, butter, and placed Delaware butter very high in the estimation of dealers and consumers, and the best grades soon commanded a higher price than the best New York creamery butter.
"The award of this medal to Delaware and Iowa was of almost incalculable benefit to the county and State, and is worth to the farmers of the State many hundred thousand dollars annually. Mr. Stewart is of the opinion that this region possesses certain peculiarities of climate and soil that give it superiority over other dairy districts.
" An association of the dairymen was formed at Manchester, in February, 1877, under the name of 'Northwestern Dairymen's Association.' The meet- ing continued two days, and much instruction was given and received. John Stewart was elected President, and Col. R. M. Littler, of Davenport, was chosen Secretary. The Association met at Manchester in February, 1878, with added numbers and increased interest.
"From abroad came Messrs. Folsom, J. N. Reall and Francis D. Moulton, of New York ; Mr. McGlincey, Secretary of the Dairy Board of Trade, Elgin, Ill .; and A. Ondesleys, Baltimore. The subjects discussed covered the whole business of dairying, from raising grass to shipping butter and cheese to market.
"Mr. L. O. Stevens furnished a description of the creamery at Almoral, which will answer, in a general way, to describe the system pursued :
" The Almoral Creamery was established in 1876, under the name of ' The Almoral Dairymen's Company.' It is an incorporated company, with a capital stock not exceeding $10,000. Farmers are the stockholders. Farmers not stockholders patronize the institution, receiving for their milk, or rather the butter product-for butter entirely is made at this creamery-their pro-rata share of the net sale in market of the butter, deducting all expenses, viz .: rents, ice, marketing, commissions, brokerage, etc. The butter is shipped weekly, and, in warm weather, in a refrigerator-car, from Manchester to New York. The Company's works are equal to 500 cows. Our building is thoroughly fitted, with flagstones laid in cement as the groundwork, with all needful tanks, ventilation, etc., and with all requisites for sweetness and neatness. We require the manufacturer of the butter to be scrupulously tidy in all branches of the business, and also all packages of butter to be placed on the track free from all stains and carelessness ; the milk to be delivered in first-class condition, as respects neatness in milking and proper care as to cleanliness of cans and cooling of the milk. We propose at this creamery never to make either skim butter or skim cheese; but to ever make the best article possible of cream butter, and to continue to fight it out, steadily and protractedly, 'on that line.'
" We regard the sour milk returned to the patrons of the creamery worth a very large per cent in the raising of calves to replenish the dairy, and young stock hogs. Whey is comparatively valueless, compared with sour milk, and there exists no substitute for sour milk for calves and pigs. As we run our creamery, we find it profitable, and are content to run it in our (the farmers') best interest.
"There are now in successful operation in the county thirty-three creamer- ies. The production for 1877 was largely in excess of any previous year, and the value of butter and cheese shipped was not far from half a million of dollars. Over twelve hundred thousand pounds of butter were sent from Manchester. The product is shipped in refrigerator cars twice a week, and most of it goes to
501
HISTORY OF HENRY COUNTY.
New York. Manufacturers estimate that the dairy product of the county for 1878 will be materially greater than in 1877. Mr. Stewart thinks the ship- ments of butter for Manchester alone, this year, will reach the enormous quan- tity of 1,500,000 pounds."
SWINE CULTURE.
A controlling factor in the question of profitable dairying is the raising of hogs. If the products of a region are not suited to the growth of swine, the scheme might better be abandoned before much money is wasted in experi- ment. Here the advantages of the climate stand out bold and enticing. The cultivation of the cereals necessary to hog culture is one of the established facts. Corn, Brazilian artichokes, pease, and all vegetables-roots or grains --- needed by the hog raiser, here grow in great abundance and with certainty of yield.
There is a feature of this business that has not been sufficiently enlarged upon, as yet, by the agriculturists of Henry County. Attention has not been bestowed upon the breed of hogs raised, nor has the subject been considered in a scientific manner. Farming, hog-raising and dairying are as susceptible of scientific analysis as are any of the several branches of trade and industry. Fixed laws govern them, and these rules cannot be deviated from one iota with- out hazard to the enterprise.
For example, if a farmer insists that coarse stock will breed as well and sell as readily as fine strains ; if he insists that care is not required to fatten pork and place it in marketable condition, he will surely find that his neighbor, who differs from him in theory and practice, wins the prize away from him in every case.
The statistics show that, in 1866, there were 41,381 hogs of all ages returned in the county ; but the grades are not named. In 1874, the total number shown was 56,324, of which but 1,229 were Berkshire and 9,530 were Poland-Chinas. Only 19 per cent of the entire hog crop was blooded; while the long-nosed, thin-flanked animal was pushed upon the market, bringing less in price per pound and a less number of pounds in weight than better animals would have done with the same care and feeding.
There is no animal so exceedingly sensitive to climatic changes as a hog. The best of care should be bestowed upon it. Bushes or low sheds should be furnished for protection against sharp winds or scorching sun, while, stagnant pools are as injurious to a hog as they are to a man. Pens should be kept dry and clean, deodorized and disinfected several times each week by the use of carbolic acid and water. The too prevalent typhoid fever, which infects the air and the wells of so many farm homes, arises from the filthy sty or the uncared- for barn-yard.
Man and animal alike demand cleanliness, or disease will surely follow the violation of natural laws.
SHEEP CULTURE.
Although the culture of sheep does not properly belong to this chapter, we introduce it here in order that it may be comprehensive.
This is a grand region for sheep, when the proper grades are decided upon and necessary preparations made. The flock numbered only 16,806 in 1874, but the farmers are becoming satisfied that there is money in sheep-raising, The best informed men agree with this statement. The wool clip in 1874 amounted to 70,451 pounds.
.
502
HISTORY OF HENRY COUNTY.
FRUIT CULTURE.
The first obstacle in the way of successful fruit-growing here is an ignorance of the varieties which can be grown in this climate. This difficulty can be obviated only by careful and intelligent experiment.
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