USA > Illinois > Jefferson County > History of Jefferson County, Illinois > Part 29
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The people of Southern Illinois generally have not fully comprehended the natural ad- vantages of their soil, and its agricultural advantages. Hence, they have worked in the dark, so to speak, for many years, and the development of the country, as a conse- quence, has fallen behind what was its just due. The farmer will take his place among the best and noblest of the earth, only when he forces his way there by the superior in- telligence, culture and elegance, with which such a mode of life is capable of surrounding itself. Each branch of the science of prop- erly cultivating the earth is dignified and ennobling, if the farmer himself will exert his abilities to make it so. It is worthy of the devotion of the greatest intellects, and offers a field for the finest powers of the best endowed of mankind. A great need of the times is to make rural life so attractive, and pecuniary profit in it so possible, as to hold the boys and young men on the farm, that, not by mistaken ideas of gentility, of ease of life and opportunities for winning fame, so large a percentage of them may be drawn into the so-called learned professions or into trade. With proper surroundings, education and administration of the econ- omies of the farm, with a sufficient under- standing of the opportunities for a high order of intellectual and social accomplish- ment in the rural life of the country, this need not and would not be so. A bright,
* By W. H Perrin.
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HISTORY OF JEFFERSON COUNTY.
high-spirted boy is not afraid of labor, but he despises drudgery. He will work hard to accomplish a fine end, when the mind and heart both work together with the muscles; but he will escape from dull, plodding toil. Let the boys learn that rural life is drudgery only when the mind is dull; that the spade and the plow are the apparatus with which he manipulates the wonderful forces of the earth and sky, and the boy will begin to rank himself with the professor in the laboratory or the master at the easel. The farmer should be educated to feel that there is no oc- enpation in life that leads the educated man to more fruitful fields of contemplation and inquiry. The scientific mind finds every day, in the fields and orchards, new material to work upon, and the cultivated taste end. less opportunities for its exercise.
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Agriculture, then, should rank first among the sciences, for without it life itself would soon cease. All important interests, all thriv- ing industries and all trades and professions receive their means of support, either directly or indirectly, from it, and, therefore, are but secondary to it in actual importance.
It is too often the case that farmers do not pay the attention to their lands necessary to keep them in a highly productive state, but through excessive cultivation exhaust their vitality while yet they should only be in their prime. Johnston, in his " Chemistry of Common Life," gives the following des- cription of the system of farming commonly adopted by the first settlers on this continent, and the truths uttered apply with as much force to a single county or community as to the country at large. He says:
" Man exercises an influence on the soil which is worthy of attentive study. He lands in a new country, and fertility everywhere surrounds him. The herbage waves thick and high, and the massive trees sway their proud
stems loftily toward the sky. He clears a farm in the wilderness, and ample returns of corn repay him for his simple labor. He plows, he sows, he reaps, and the seemingly exhaustless bosom of the earth gives back abundant harvests. But at length a change appears, creeping slowly over and gradually dimming the smiling landscape. The corn is first less beautiful, then less abundant, and at last it appears to die altogether beneath the scourge of an unknown insect or a para- sitic fungus. He forsakes, therefore, his long- cultivated farm, and hews out another from the native forest. But the same early plenty is followed by the same vexatious disasters. His neighbors partake of the same experi- ence. They advance, like a devouring tide, against the verdant woods; they trample them beneath their advancing culture; the ax levels its yearly prey, and generation after generation proceeds in the same direction- a wall of green forest on the horizon before them, a half desert and naked region behind them. Such is the history of colonial cult- ure in our own epoch; such is the history of the march of European cultivation over the entire continent of America. No matter what the geological origin of the soil may be, or what the chemical composition; no matter how warmth and moisture may favor it, or what the staple crop it has partially yielded from year to year; the some inevitable fate overtakes it. The influence of long-continued human action overcomes the tendencies of all natural causes. But. the influences of man upon the productions of the soil are exhibited in other and more satisfactory results. The improver takes the place of the exhauster and follows his footsteps on these same altered lands. Over the sandy and forsaken tracts of Virginia and the Carolinas he ¿spreads large applications of shaly marl, and the herbage soon covers it again with profitable
238
HISTORY OF JEFFERSON COUNTY.
crops; or he strews on it a thinner sowing of gypsum, and, as if by magic, the yield of previous years is doubled and quadrupled; or he gathers the droppings of his cattle, and the fermented produce of his farmyard, and lays it upon his fields, when lo! the wheat comes up luxuriantly again, and the midge. and the rust and the yellows all disappear from his wheat, his cotton and his peach trees. But the renovator marches much slower than the exhauster. His materials are collected at the expense of both time and money, and barrenness ensues from the early labors of the one far more rapidly than green herbage can be made to cover it again by the most skillful, zealous and assiduous labors of the other."
There is a great deal of truth in the above extract, and we see it illustrated in every portion of the country. The farmer, as long as his land produces at all plentifully, seems indifferent to any effort to improve its failing qualities. And hence, the land, like one who has wasted his life and exhausted his ener- gies by early dissipation, becomes prema- turely old and worn out; when, by proper care and timely improvement, it might have retained its rich, productive qualities thrice the period.
The agricultural history of Jefferson Coun- ty is but little more than a repetition of the history of almost every county in Southern Illinois. The area of the county is 576 square miles, and the greater portion of it is suscep- tible of cultivation. But little of this is prairie-perhaps about one-fifth. These prairies occupy the more or less elevated lands between the creeks and water-courses, and are generally very productive. The white under-clay, which is such an unwel- come feature of some of the prairies farther north, hardly anywhere extends into Jeffer- son County. The land outside of the prairies,
is mostly well adapted to the cultivation of grain and all sorts of fruit.
For the first twenty to forty years of settle. ment in the county, there could be little incentive to grow crops there was no market for. Each settler raised corn and potatoes and " garden sass" enough for his own use and no more. The implements of agricult- ure consisted of a small bull-tongue plow, an old "Cary " plow and a hoe made by the blacksmith. The main [point in farming, in those days, was to have a herd of wild hogs in the woods, corn enough for bread and to feed the pony-when the settler was so fort- unate as to have one-and a few ears to toll the hogs home to mark them.
When spring came, the crop time was rather a hard life to live. About all the revenue that could be counted on was hens' eggs-after these domestic fowls 'had been introduced-to buy the small luxuries, such as coffee, sugar, salt or anything in that line; and if the hens failed to come to time on the " lay," the old man and the children would strike out to the woods to dig " ginseng." This was after game began to get a little scarce. A large sack of the then staple article of ginseng could be dug in a few days, and, when dried, would bring $3 or $4 -a sum that would help out the family finances in good shape. There was but little provision made for the cattle, as they could almost live through the winter in the woods. But very little wheat was grown here then, as there were no mills to grind it, and no market for the surplus. Indeed, the early settlers were at great inconvenience to get their corn ground; there were but few mills, mostly run by horse power. But all this is changed now. The coming of railroads has produced a wonderful revolution in the mode of farming. Saw mills have cut the timber off, to a great extent, and much of the land
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HISTORY OF JEFFERSON COUNTY.
has been brought under cultivation. From the sickle and old-fashioned scythe and cradle, the wheat is now mostly harvested with self-binders. The hay crops are of great value. Timothy, red top and clover flourish as finely here as in any part of the State
In the early history of the county, the pioneers were favored by the mildness of the climate, the abundance of wild game and the fertility of the land when brought into cultivation. Step by step, the hardy settlers made their inroads into the heavy forests, en- larged their farms and increased their flocks and herds until they found a surplus beyond their own wants and the wants of their families. There was then but little outlet for the products of the farms, and far less of the spirit of speculation than at the present day. The result was that after a few years the farmers had plenty at home; they handled less money, it is true, but they lived easier. They did not recklessly plunge into debt; they lived more at home with their families, and were far happier. There was, too, much more sociability. neighborly feel- ing and good cheer generally among them. There was not such a rush after great wealth, and hence fewer failures among farmers. The accumulated wealth of farm products di- rected attention to the question of markets, which had hitherto been confined to a kind of neighborhood traffic among the farmers them- selves. Until the opening of railroads, markets were mostly reached by hanling on wagons to St. Louis, Vincennes, Shawneetown and Cairo. Much of the surplus produce was hauled to Shawneetown and Cairo, and shipped from those places to New Orleans. But the opening of railroads changed all this, and the best markets of the country are now easily accessible.
The following statistics, compiled from
the last report of the State Board of Agri- culture, show something of the products of Jefferson County, and will, doubtless, be of interest to many of our readers:
No. of acres of corn cultivated. 37,221
No of bushels produced. 577,016
No. of acres of wheat 63,456
No. of bushels produced. 678,633
No. of acres of oats 8,852
No. of bushels produced. 123,244
No. of acres of Timothy 8.601
No. of tons produced . 7,353
No. of acres of clover
245
No. of tons produced
161
No. of acres of prairie
1,534
No. of tons produced 1,293
No. of acres of Hungarian and millet. 114
No. of tons produced .
123
No. of acres of sorghum
109
No. of gallons of sirup
8,677
No. of acres of pastures
18,075
No. of acres of woodland.
93,825
No. of acres of uncultivated
12,341
No. of acres of city and town real estate .. 383
No. of acres not included elsewhere ..
10,273
Total number of acres reported for the county 258,574
No. of fat sheep sold 1,766
Gross weight of same-pounds. 159,140
No. of sheep killed by dogs*
490
Value of same.
$1.170
No. of pounds of wool shorn 32,736
No. of fat cattle sold 1,713
Gross weight of same-pounds 1,418,364
No. of cows kept. 3,661
No. of pounds of butter sold. 53,539
No. of pounds of cheese sold. 200
No. of gallons cream sold. 100
No. of gallons milk sold 370
No. of fat hogs sold 6,985
Gross weight of same-pouuds 1,320,165
In 1860, an agricultural association was organized, which, with some changes, is still in, existence. Its first officers were J R. Allen, President; Jeremiah Taylor, Vice President; J. S. Bogan, Recording Secre- tary; Dr. E. E. Welborn, Corresponding Secretary, and Joel Pace, Treasurer. Direc-
* From these statistics, it will be seen that one-fourth as many sheep were killed by dogs as were sold, and yet farmers still persist in keeping worthless dogs.
240
HISTORY OF JEFFERSON COUNTY.
tors, F. S. Casey, William Woods, Jesse A. Dees, John Dodds, James J. Fitzgerell, John Wilbanks, Dr. W. Adams, Benjamin T. Wood, S. W. Carpenter, Joseph Baldridge, Charles McClure and S. K. Allen. Forty acres of land, the site of the present fair grounds, were bought on a credit from A. M. Grant. The sum agreed on was $800, with 10 per cent interest until paid. On motion of Judge Tanner, a Committee to solicit sub- scriptions for the association was selected, as follows:
1
Jordan's Prairie Precinct-Samuel Cum- mins, J. F. Caldwell and Hiram Williams.
Grand Prairie Precinct-J. C. Baldridge, Lemon Fonts and Henry Breeze.
Blissville Precinct-H. Creet, Thomas Bagby and Andrew Welch.
West Long Prairie Precinct-James Smith, J. Q. A. Bay and Isaac Hicks.
Knob Prairie Precinct-John Hagel, Sidney Place and Joseph Laur.
Horse Prairie Precinct-William Clampitt, J. B. Wood and Joseph Hartley.
Elk Prairie Precinct .- William Wells, Elisha Wilson and W. B. Anderson.
Gun Prairie Precinct-C. G. Vaughn, Henry W. Williams and Solomon Goddard.
Jackson Precinct -F. , Hicks, John Ham and H. W. Goodrich.
Moore's Prairie Precinct -David Kiffin, David Rotramel and John Lowry, Sr.
Lynchburg Precinct-Curran Jones, S. V. Bruce and Jesse Laird.
Horse Creek Precinct-B. E. Wells, Rob- ert French and E. H. Flowers.
Mount Vernon Precinct-Capt. H. B. Newby, John Bagwell and D. Baltzell.
The foregoing Committee was selected by a committee consisting of Dr. Green, Samuel Schenck and William Dodds, which had been appointed on the motion of Prof. B. C. Hillman. The following committee:
Dr. Green, W. B. Anderson, J. R. Allen and J. S. Bogan, was appointed and drafted a constitution and by laws.
The first fair was held on the 23d, 24th and 25th of October, 1860, and was well at- tended and proved successful. The old officers were re-elected, except Charles T. Pace was elected Treasurer in place of Joel Pace. In 1862, no fair was held, on account of the excitement of the civil war then in progress. The Directors elected this year were F. S. Casey, Jesse A. Dees, William Wood, J. J. Fitzgerrell, John Wilbanks, Joseph Baldridge, P. T. Maxey, John Arnold, C. G. Vaughn, S. Place, S. Cum- mins, T. G. Holland and A. Kiffin.
For 1863, the following officers were elected: J. R. Allen, President; S. V. Bruce, Vice President; Charles T. Pace, Treasurer; J. S. Bogan, Recording Secretary, and E. J. Winton, Corresponding Secretary. Directors-S. Cummins, Joseph Baldridge, E. B. Harvey, William Wood, J. A. Dees, Isaac Place, J. J. Fitzgerrell, John Wilbanks, C. G. Vaughn, J. H. Smith, John Arnold, J. C. Jones, R. S. Young and F. S. Casey.
For 1864-J. C. McConnell, President; John Wilbanks, Vice President, Charles T. Pace, Treasurer; T. H. Hobbs, Assistant Treasurer; Dr. Welborn, Corresponding Secretary; J. S. Bogan, Recording Secre- tary. Directors-F. S. Casey, John Arnold, W. Knowles, J. H. Smith, Curran Jones, S. Cummins, J. C. Baldridge, Sr., E. B. Har- vey, William Wood, J. A. Dees, John Dodds, J. J. Fitzgerrell, James Bodine and Mark Hails.
For 1866 *-- G. H. Varnell, President: J. C. Jones, Vice President; A. F. Taylor, Treasurer; W. D. Watson, Assistant Treas- urer; J. S. Bogan, Recording Secretary; J. W. Baugh and A. M. Green, Assistant
*No election of officers for 1865.
.
John. M. Hails
LIBRARY THE UNIVERSITY OF ILLINOIS
243
HISTORY OF JEFFERSON COUNTY.
Secretaries. Directors-F. S. Casey, Will- iam Wood, John Arnold, T. J. Williams, Q. A. Wilbanks, J. Foster, B. E. Wells, J. C. McConnell, Jacob Breeze, E. B. Harvey, J A. Dees, J. Q. A. Bay, J. J. Fitzgerrell and John Wilbanks.
For 1867-G. H. Varnell, President; J. C. Jones, Vice President; A. F. Taylor, Treasurer; Dr. Welborn, Corresponding Sec- retary; J. S. Bogan, Recording Secretary; J. W. Baugh and T. J. Casey, Assistant Sec- retaries. Directors -- F. S. Casey, M. Fitz- gerrell, J. K. Jones, J. C. McConnell, E. B. Harvey, J. A. Dees, J. J Fitzgerrell, J. Arnold, C. H. Judd, B. E. Wells, Jacob Breeze, William Wood, John Dodds and Col. W. B. Anderson. The same officers were re- elected in 1868, with one or two changes in the directory. Mr. Varnell, during the year, resigned as President, and J. C. McConnell was elected, Angust 13, to fill the vacancy. The same officers served through 1869.
For 1870-Jesse A. Dees, President; J. M. Galbraith, Vice President; A. F. Taylor, Treasurer; J. S. Bogan, Recording Secre- tary; R. F. Pace and G. W. Johnson, Assist- ant Secretaries; C. H. Patten, Corresponding Secretary. Directors-F. S. Casey, J. M. Scott, John Gibson, G. L. Cummings, E. B. Harvey, H. Moore, J. R. Knowles, J. Arnold. J. Watters, B. E. Wells, Jacob Breeze, Will- iam Wood, A. J. Norris and John Wilbanks.
For 1871-S. W. Jones, President; S. H. Allen, Vice President; W. E. Collins, Treas- urer; J. F. Baltzell, Assistant Treasurer; A. F. Taylor, Corresponding Secretary; J. S. Bogan, Recording Secretary; Capt. J. R. Mosy, General Superintendent. Directors- J. C. McConnell, G. L. Cummins, J. W. Johnson, S. V. Bruce, S. K. Casey, B. W. Towner, E. B. Harvey, J. A. Dees, John Wilbanks, John Arnold, J. C. Jones, C. H. Judd, C. M. Brown, D. C. Jones, S. S. Man-
nen and Jacob Breeze. In 1872, there seems to have been no election.
For 1873-Capt. J. R. Moss, President; Edgar Jones, Vice President; A. F. Taylor, Treasurer; C. D. Ham, Corresponding Sec- retary; J. S. Bogan, Recording Secretary; J. C. McConnell, General Superintendent. Directors-John Hawkins, H. N. Maxey. G. S. Cummins, R. Howell, Dr. W. D. Green, T. C. Moss, T. B. Lacy, J. A. Dees, G. W. Evans, John Frizell, J. Foster, M. McPher- sen, C. M. Brown, J. C. Gwinn, J. Willis and H. Breeze.
For 1876 *- J. S. Bogan. President; T. B. Lacy, Vice President; J. W. Baugh, Record. ing Secretary ; G. M. Haynes, Corresponding Secretary; A. F. Taylor, Treasurer and James A. White, General Superintendent. Direct- ors-J. C. McConnell, J. C. Maxey, J. M. Gaston, A. Marlow, W. A. McConnell, J. C. Johnson, W. R. Champ, T. H. Mannen, W. Dodds, G. D. Jones, G. W. Clark, J. A. Glazebrook, G. W. Bodine, Dr. T. F. White and Jacob Breeze.
For 1878-S. Gibson, President; J. R. Moss, Vice President; A. F. Taylor, Treas- urer and J. S. Bogan, Secretary. Directors -S. Moffitt, J. C. Gwinn, J. A. White, J. E. Goodrich, E. Jones, J. C. McConnell, J. S. Bogan, John Wilbanks, W. A. McConnell, J. A. Dees and A. F. Taylor.
For some time, efforts had been made to change the association into a joint-stock com- pany. This was accomplished during the year 1879, when, on the 10th day of May, an agreement was "signed, sealed and de- livered " to the Jefferson County Fair Asso- ciation. The first officers under the new re gime were as follows:
For 1879-Jesse A. Dees, President; John Wilbanks, Vice President; A. F. Taylor, Re-
* This year (1876) seems to have been the next election of of ficers.
9
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HISTORY OF JEFFERSON COUNTY.
cording Secretary; J. S. Bogan, Correspond- ing Secretary; G. W. Evans, Treasurer, and J. C. McConnell, General Superintendent.
For 1880-J. A. Dees. President; John Wilbank, Vice President; J. S. Bogan, Re- cording Secretary; A. F. Taylor, Correspond- ing Secretary; C. D. Ham, Treasurer, and J. C. McConnell, General Superintendent.
For 1881-J. G. Gee, President; Dr. H. F. White, Vice President; G. W. Evans, Treasurer; J. S. Bogan, Secretary, and J. A. Dees, Marshal.
For 1882-J. G. Gee, President; A. Gil- bert, Vice President; J. S. Bogan, Secretary; G. W. Evans, Treasurer, and Dr. H. F. White, General Superintendent.
For 1883-John Wilbanks, President: A. Gilbert, Vice President; J. S. Bogan, Secre- tary; G. W. Evans, Treasurer. and S. H. Watson, General Superintendent. Directors -- S. H. Watson, J. Wilbanks, A. Gilbert, C. D. Ham and E. A. Jones.
Horticulture .- Gardening, or horticulture in its restricted sense, cannot be regarded as a very prominent or important feature in the history of Crawford County. If, however, we take a broad view of the subject, and in- clude orchards, small fruit culture and kin- dred branches, outside of agriculture, we should find something of more interest and value. The flourishing trade the writer has witnessed in apples alone in the city of Mount Vernon, since he commenced his work of writing this history, is the most convinc- ing proof that horticulture and fruit-grow- ing is a valuable industry, to which the coun- ty is well adapted. The following statistics, We think, will bear us out iu the assertion:
Number of acres in apple orchards 3,801
Number of bushels produced 139,487
Number of acres in peach orchards. 65
Number of bushels produced .. 2,116
Number of acres in pear orchards. 2
Number of bushels produced. 40
Number of acres in vineyard. 6
Number of bushels produced. 240
Number of acres in fruits not included in orchards 2
Value of same. $150 Number of pounds of grapes produced. 11,979
There can be little doubt but that, if the farmers were to devote more of the attention that is given to wheat-a crop that has, of late years, proven to be very uncertain in this latitude-to fruit growing, the experiment would pay, and pay well. The climate of this portion of the State is better adapted to fruit culture than further north, though, as a fruit-growing section, it is, perhaps. not to be compared to some portions of our coun- try.
The apple is the hardiest and most reli - able of all the fruits for this region, and there are more acres in apple orchards than in all fruits combined in the county. The first fruit trees were brought here by the pio- neers, and were sprouts taken from varieties around the old home, about to be forsaken for a new one hundreds of miles away. Lewis Johnson, Sr., brought the first fruit trees here that ever flourished in the county, except the wild fruits found here by the early settlers. Apples are now raised in the county in great quantities, also peaches somewhat, while small fruits are receiving more and more attention every year. Many citizens, too, are engaging, to a greater or less extent, in grape culture.
That the cultivation of fruit is a union of the useful and beautiful is a fact not to be denied. Trees covered in spring with soft foliage, blended with fragrant flowers of white and crimson and gold, that are suc- ceeded by fruit, blushing with bloom and down, rich, melting and grateful through all the fervid heat of summer, is indeed a tempt- ing prospect to every land holder. A people so richly endowed by nature as the people of
245
HISTORY OF JEFFERSON COUNTY.
Southern Illinois should give more attention than they do to an art that supplies so many of the amenities of life, and around which cluster so many memories that appeal to the finer instincts of our nature. With a soil so well adapted to fruits as that of Jefferson County, horticulture should be held in that high esteem which becomes so important a factor in human welfare.
The Forests .-- Our rapidly disappearing forests have awakened apprehensions in the minds of many close observers, and is calling ont much discussion of the subject. A late writer has remarked: "The disappearance of our old forests threatens to fulfill the pre- diction of Frederick Gerstaecker, who pro- phesied that the progress of our reckless civilization would soon make the United States as barren as Western Asia. But be- fore the end of this century. protective legis- lation would not come too late. Our mount- ain ranges at least, have still forests enough to preserve the agricultural regions from any- thing like an Asiatic drought." Forest cult- ure has already attracted the attention of the Legislatures of many of the older States,
and steps are even now being taken to not only protect the forests, but for planting for- ests in the less timbered regions of the coun- try. Indeed, the only measure of relief thus far suggested, with any definite prospect of success, is the planting of new forests. Much has been said, and many plans proposed, for the preservation of those that remain, but the words seem meaningless in view of the fact that private property is beyond the con- trol of the Government, and Congress de- clines even to grant means to prevent the destruction of that which still pertains to the public domain.
No one now living, it is true, can reason- ably expect to see our forests entirely de- stroyed, yet that they are disappearing more rapidly than new forests, of spontaneous growth, attain maturity, it naturally follows that, unless some means are adopted to pro- tect tliem, sooner or later Frederick Ger- staecker's prediction will be fulfilled. No doubt the time will come, and that soon, when the protection and improvement of our forests will receive the attention they un- questionably merit.
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