USA > Illinois > Union County > History of Union County > Part 9
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These figures indicate that the population increased steadily until 1900 since which time it has gradually decreased. In the first ten years of this century it decreased as much as it had grown the the preceding ten years.
Many factors caused this change in population. After the building of the Illinois Central railroad the government was not the only agency promoting land settlement because, since the rail- road had been granted large tracts of land by the government, the railroads also maintained land offices and paid horticulturists to study the soil and help the settlers decide what crops would be the most profitable and the most suitable for the soil. These horti- culturists were probably the forerunners of our farm bureaus of today that have developed. Settlers from many parts of the United States were attracted by the reports of their horticulturists.
Another reason for the increase in the population was the availability of markets by means of more rapid transportation. Transportation facilities have been related to the growth in agricul- ture and also in the more recent developments in manufacturing.
The St. Louis and Cairo Railroad was built through the county passing through Jonesboro. When the city of Jonesboro was asked to aid in the development, it responded by buying bonds amounting to $100,000 but later cancelled $57,000 worth of the bonds because the road was not completed at the agreed time. It seems that the person, or president of the company who sold the rails to the railroad died and because his estate was tied up by litigation, the rails were not delivered at the agreed time.
The building of the two railroads, the Illinois Central and the St. Louis to Cairo roads furnished not only work for the per- sons constructing the roads but also subsidiary industries appeared.
At first almost all the farmers sold most of their surplus lumber they acquired from clearing their fields to the railroads for making ties, rails and also for stove wood because for many years the trains were heated and driven by wood for fuel.
Several years after the first line of the Illinois Central was built through Union County, the "Mud Line" of this company was built through the county passing thru Wolf Lake and Ware.
Until the 1920's the railroads provided most of the means of transportation in the county. Then as hard roads began to be com- pleted all over the state, truck lines developed.
Union county has not been affected much by the introduc- tion of air transportation.
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It is interesting to study population figures in the census showing that population decreased in the rural areas and increased in the towns after 1900 when population began to decline. Accord- ing to the census report Alto Pass Precinct decreased from 1522 in 1910 to 1304 in 1920 and 1298 in 1930. Alto Pass village de- creased from 551 in 1910 to 500 in 1920 and 485 in 1930. Anna Precinct increased from 5,979 in 1910 to 5,986 in 1920 and 6,561 in 1930. The city of Anna increased from 2,809 in 1910 to 3,019 in 1920 and 3,436 in 1930. Balcom Precinct deceased from 523 in 1920 to 514 in 1930. Cobden Precinct decreased from 3,200 in 1910 to 2,560 in 1920 and increased to 2,712 in 1930. The village of Cobden had 988 population in 1910, 944 in 1920 and 1036 in 1930. Dongola Precinct decreased from 2,545 in 1910 to 2,106 in 1920 and 1,910 in 1930. The village of Dongola decreased from 702 in 1910 to 660 in 1920 and 635 in 1930. Jonesboro Precinct decreased from 2,561 in 1910 to 2,278 in 1920 and increased to 2,356 in 1930. The village of Jonesboro decreased from 1,169 in 1910 to 1,090 in 1920 and increased to 1,241 in 1920. Lick Creek Precinct decreased from 797 in 1910 to 694 in 1920 and 514 in 1930. Mill Creek Precinct decreased from 627 in 1910 to 583 in 1820 and 508 in 1930. The village of Mill Creek decreased from 221 in 1910 to 209 in 1920 and 173 in 1930. Meisenheimer de- creased from 403 in 1910 to 353 in 1920 and 296 in 1930. Preston increased from 341 in 1910 to 352 in 1920 and 375 in 1930. Rey- nolds Precinct increased from 601 in 1910 to 678 in 1920 and de- creased to 503 in 1930. Rich Precinct was decreased from 591 in 1910 to 414 in 1920 and 292 in 1930. Saratoga Precinct de- creased from 902 in 1910 to 749 in 1920 and 657 in 1930. Stokes Precinct decreased from 896 in 1910 to 748 in 1920 and 512 in 1930. Union Precinct increased from 911 in 1910 to 941 in 1920 and decreased to 875 in 1930.
The city of Anna had the largest increased in population and Rich Precinct had the largest decrease in population.
As time went on the mode of living of the people became less and less difficult. Houses were more comfortable, furniture fur- nishings of the home grew from the bare necessities to the comforts and beauty of many of our present homes.
One thing that made life easier for the farmer was the establishment of rural free delivery.
Mr. "Dick" Grear who is still living was our first mail carrier. He began his work in 1900 for $365 per year. He says that he could live comfortably on that amount of money in those davs because it cost him very little to feed his horse and maintain his carriage. At the time he became the carrier of route on there were only 1200 rural mail routes established in the United States. At that time he was allowed also to deliver groceries and other packages to the farmer as well as the mail.
As time went on life became more comfortable in this county with the introduction of modern conveniences, electricity, water- works, paving, etc.
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CHAPTER XXIII THE HISTORY OF AGRICULTURE
When Union County was first settled the ground was covered with a heavy forest. Gradually the settlers cleared the more level acres and began to till the soil. Agriculture had not developed far until after the Illinois Central Railroad was built.
The fact that Union County is situated just south of the only true mountain range in Illinois, the spur crossing the state from the Ozark Mountains and traceable to Kentucky, makes it more suitable for agriculture than counties north of here. This range of hills of mountains protects it from the severest part of the blizzards that visit every portion of the west each winter and gives warmth to the soil that enables fruit, potatoes and garden vegetables to be grown early in the year.
A few facts gathered from various scientific sources will further describe and classify the soil and agricultural resources of Union County. This county belongs to the southern or fruit and vegetable area of Illinois. In 1930, forty-eight and six-tenths of its population lived on farms. In 1930, seventy-seven and cight-tenths percent of the area of this county was farm land with farms one hundred fourteen and five-tenth acres per farm and one thousand seven hundred and fifty-two farms in county. In 1935 these figures had changed to eighty and seven-tenths percent of the land area in farms with one thousand nine hundred eighty-three farms averag- ing one hundred five acres per farmi.
The following table shows:
Total acres in County 357,920.
1934 acres 1929 acres
1924 acres
1919 acres
Total land in farms 208,184
200,672
206,741
217,765
Crop land total
108,386
105,293
111,283
Crop land harvested .. 82,610
68,374
84,384
Pasture land total
52,895
44,321
43,948
Pasture land plowable 17,141
20,826
26,320
Pasture land, woods .. 18,165
16,390
10,171
Pasture land, other ....
17,589
7,105
7,457
Woodland, not past'd
28,850
28,896
28,954
Other land on farms 10,053
22,162
22,556
Farming is the leading industry of the county in spite of the poor soil. In grading the most productive soil, type No. 1 and the poorest type No. 10, Union County soil grades, type No. 6, 16% ; type No. 7, 4%; type No. 8, 20.77% ; type No. 10, 50.6% ; and the type containing water and gravel pits 2.7%. A study of the soil showed that 308,862 tons of limestone are needed to correct the original acidity of this area. Limestone depletion was not cal- culated. Between 1923 and 1934, 58,071 tons were applied. In 1953, 250,791 tons were still needed.
It is estimated that there are 122,880 acres or 47.6% of the soil which suffers from destructive erosion; 67,200 acres or 26.1% from serious erosion; 10,240 acres or 4.0% from harm^
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erosion; 57,600 acres or 22.2% from negligible erosion.
The term destructive erosion means that the land is suited only to timber. This group includes the rough, broken hilly land with slopes of such a nature that the land is not well adapted for cultivation or pasture. These slopes would produce but little pas- ture and if the land were cultivated would erode badly even with the best of care.
The term serious erosion means that this type of land is suitable for special types of agriculture. This group includes the rolling hilly land which is well adapted for pasture, orchard and some vegetable crops but which has slopes too steep to permit con- tinued cultivation, except in some instances where terracing might permit some cultivatiotn.
The term harmful erosion includes the undulating or rolling crop land which under conditions of average good farming is sub- ject to harmful sheet washing or gulleying, destroying the natural fertility of the soil. Erosion in this group can be controlled well enough by special rotation or terraces to permit a more or less permanent type of agriculture.
The term negligible erosion includes the land which is gently undulating or level which does not erode under conditions of aver- age good farming. Some types in this group may show some ero- sion or continued cultivation with poor rotation.
The above facts show that only 26.4% of the land in Union 'County is suitable for general farming in spite of the fact that in 1934, 80.7% of the land was used for this purpose and in 1929 77.8% of the area was farmland.
There are no statistics available to show how much the land has depreciated since its early settlement and cultivation but it is significant that an early historian said that our earliest settlers look- 'ed over the land and decided that the soil was so thin they would be able to stay only one or two seasons then move on to more fertile soil. These settlers found, however, that by crop rotation the soil was restored to its original fertility.
After the building of the Iilinois Central Railroad land agents and horticulturists experimented to find the type of crop best suited to the type of soil in the county. It was soon determined that strawberries, blackberries, and raspberries and apples, peaches and pears were the best crops to raise. Vegetables such as beans, tomatoes, peas, cucumbers, etc., were found suitable and melons, especially cantaloupes were especially adapted. The horticulturists went further in their experiments to learn which type of apple, peach, etc. afforded the best crop.
Statistics of 1870 show that there were then 75,832 acres of improved land; 83,606 acres of woodland and 5,300 acres of other land in the county. The total value of farmland was $3,383,201 and of farm implements and machinery was $183,457. The total amount of farm wages paid that year including value of board was $133,472.
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There were 1,986 farms in the county, 3 under three acres; 237 over 3 and under 10 acres; 494 over 10 and under 20 acres; 804 over 20 and under 50 acres; 318 over 50 and under 100 acres; and 130 over 100 and under 500 acres.
The 1870 census shows that in Union County there were 7,778 acres of improved land in Anna precinct; 9,938 in Casper; 11,731 in Dongola; 9,719 in Rich; 7,466 in Ridge; 11,995 în Stokes an 5,170 in Union.
The values of farms and farm implements in 1870 was $407,303 in Anna Precinct; $558,200 in Casper Precinct; $723,460 in Dongola Precinct; $457,920 in Rich Precinct; $408,928 in Ridge Precinct; $327,042 in Stokes Precinct, and $123,381 in Union Pre- cinct .. From these figures it seems that Dongola Precinct had the most valuable farms and Union the least.
Live stock was valued at $68,719 in Anna Precinct; $80,015 in Casper Precinct; $92,004 in Dongola Precinct; $81,005 in Rich Precinct; $56,732 in Ridge Precinct; $84,063 in Stokes Pre- cinct, and $80,340 in Union Precinct.
The value on all productions in Union County in 1870 was $116,425 in Anna Precinct; $215,080 in Casper Precinct; $158,618 in Dongola Precinct; $223,911 in Rich Precinct; 133,040 in Ridge Precinct; $168,000 in Stokes Precinct; and $100,505 in Union Pre- cinct. It is interesting to note that while Rich Precinct was settled later than any other section of the county, the value of its products surpassed all other parts of the county. It was during the period of 1875 to 1910 that the Rich family accumulated the wealth that made them at one time one of the wealthiest families in the county. Much lumber was sold from this section of the county.
Of the 164,738 acres of farmland in Union County in 1870, 75,832 acres was improved, 83,606 acres was woodland and 5,300 acres was unimproved. These figures do not include the land which still belonged to the government.
The farms had a total cash value of $3,383,201, with $183,- 457 worth of farm implements and machinery. Total farm labor wages paid in 1870 was $133,472 including value of board.
There were 1,986 farms, 3 under 3 acres; 237 over 3 and under 10; 494 over 10 and under 20; 804 over 20 and under 50; 318 over 50 and under 100, and 130 over 100 and under 500 acres. The average size of farms was 100 acres.
In 1880 the picture had changed a little. There were 1673 farms, 19 under 10 acres of which 12 were cultivated by the owner, two rented for a fixed money rental and five used by share croppers. Of the 40 farms of over 10 acres and less than 40, 22 were culti- vated by the owner, two by renters and 16 by share croppers. Of the 528 farms of over 20 acres and less than 50, 370 were cultivat- ed by the owner, 23 by renters and 155 by share croppers. Of the 487 of over 50 acres and less than 100 acres, 370 were cultivated by the owners, 12 by renters and 105 by share croppers. Of the 586 farms over 100 acres and less than 500, 446 were cultivated
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by the owners, seven by renters, and 113 by share croppers. Of the eight farms of over 500 acres and less than 1000 acres, six were cultivated by the owner and two by share croppers and of the five over 1000 acres, three were cultivated by owners and two by share croppers.
By 1919 when all the land had been settled the picture of farming changed somewhat. In 1919, 217,765 acres were farmland; in 1924, 206,741 acres were farmland; in 1929, 200,672 acres were farmland, and in 1934, 208,184 acres were farmland. In 1924, 111,283 acres of the land was cropland, of which 84,384 was har- vested leaving 26,899 acres idle. In 1929 of the 105,283 acres of cropland, 68,374 was harvested leaving 36,919 acres idle, and in 1934, of the 108,386 acres of cropland, 82,610 acres were harvested, leaving 26,776 acres idle. It has always been necessary to rotate crops and leave part of the crop land idle each year to build up the fertility of the soil.
43,948 acres of land was in pasture in 1924, 68,374 in 1929 and 82,610 in 1934. In 1924, 26,320 acres of the 43,948 was plow- able, 10,171 acres was woodland and 7,457 acres was ordinary pas- tureland. That same year there was 28,954 acres of woodland and 22,556 acres of other land not suitable for pasture or cultiva- tion.
In 1929, of the 68, 374 acres of pasture land, 20,826 was plowable, 16,390 was woodland, and 7,105 acres, ordinary pasture- land and 22,162 acres of other land which was neither usable for pasture nor cultivation.
In 1934 of the 52,895 acres of pastureland, 17,141 acres were plowable, 10,141 were woodland and 17,589 acres ordinary pasture- land. There was also 28,850 acres of woodland and 18,053 of other land not suitable for pasture nor cultivation.
Of the 208,184 acres of farms in Union County in 1930, 58.2% were cultivated by the owner, 3.5% by a paid manager, 3.7% by a renter and 34.6% by a share cropper. On 22% of the farms the renter or share cropper was related to the owner. The average value of a Union County farm in 1930 was $5,063: $3,308 land value, $1,755 value of buildings and $1,000 value of dwelling. These values are higher than those in the surrounding counties with the exception of Jackson and Alexander counties.
In 1930, 35.1% of the farmland in Union County was mort- gaged. The average debt was $1,693 or about one-fourth the value of the farm. The mortgages averaged $15 per acre. An average interest rate of 6.9% was paid and an average of 75 cents per acre tax was paid in 1929.
In 1930 there were 1,222 farmers owning automobiles, 286 owning motor trucks and 337 owning tractors.
In 1929, 14.2% of the land in Union County produced corn, 4.8% produced winter wheat, 1.3% produced spring grains, 12.3% produced hay, and 13.1% produced other crops. 29.6% of the farmland was pastureland and 24.7% was idle, fallow or failed to
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produce. The percentage of failure was higher than usual in 1929 because of weather conditions.
The following table shows:
Ten-Year Average Crop Yields (1924-1933) and Crop Yield Index Corn, bushel, per acre 30.0
Oats, bushel, per acre
25.6
Winter Wheat, bushel, per acre 15.2
Spring Wheat, bushel, per acre 15.0
Barley, bushel, per acre
29.0
Rye, bushel, per acre
10.9
Soybeans, bushel, per acre
12.4
Tane hay, bushel, per acre
1.13
Crop yield index 87.0%
The crop yield index means that Union County produced 13% less than the average crop yield for the State of Illinois.
The following table shows: Percentage of Farms of Specified Types in Union County in 1929:
General 41.4; Cash Grain 5.3; Crop Specialty 3.1; Fruit 12.3; Truck 11.0; Dairy 7.1; Animal Specialty 3.7; Poultry .7; Self- sufficing 11.5; part time 3.4; others .5.
Between the years 1924 and 1934 there was an acreage of 25,160 acres of corn raised in Union County; 7,678 acres of winter wheat; 2 acres of spring wheat; 15 acres of barley; 2400 acres of oats; 23,770 acres of tame hay; 454 acres of soybeans; 1,184 of alfalfa and 735 acres of sweet clover seeded.
During the same period there was an average of 10,137 cattle on the farmis of Union County; 4,969 milk cows; 15,715 hogs; 1,601 sheep and 6,173 mules. Livestock production in the County in 1929 were: gallons of milk, 1,903,898 with 117,838 gallons sold, 2,258 gallons of cream sold, and 414,513 pounds of cream sold as butterfat. The total value of dairy products sold was $213,188. Poultry products were 160,113 chickens raised and 76,028 sold; 482,399 dozens of eggs produced and 303,271 dozens of eggs sold. Chickens and eggs produced were valued at $266,365, and $150,300 worth of them were sold. 32,859 baby chicks were bought from hatcheries in 1929. 7,274 pounds of wool and 7,860 pounds of honey were produced the same year.
Commodity prices in 1934 were: apples, per bushel, $1.33; barley, 6612 c per bushel; beef cattle, $5.10 per 100 pounds; butter- fat, 221/2 c per pound; chickens, 111/2 c per pound; red clover seed, $8.57 per bushel; corn, 58c per bushel; eggs, 17.1c per dozen; hay, $11.58 per ton; hogs, $4.38 per 100 pounds; horses, $86.30 per head; lambs, $6.66 per 100 pounds; milk cows, $35,17 per head; oats, 39c per bushel; potatoes, $1.00 per bushel; rye, 65c per bushel; sheep, $2.88 per 100 pounds; soybeans, $1.00 per bushel; veal calves, $5.46 per 100 pounds; wheat, 85c per bushel, and wool, 21c per pound.
The ten year crop yield average for 1924-1933 in Union County was 30 bushels of corn per acre; 25.6 bushels per acre;
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15.2 bushels of winter wheat per acre; 15 bushels of spring wheat per acre; 29 bushels of barley per acre; 10.9 bushels of rye per acre; 12.4 bushels of soybeans per acre, and 1.13 tons of hay per acre.
The following statistics compiled by the State Board of Agri- culture show the following facts to have been true in this county in 1880: 19,941 acres in the county produced 698,256 bushels of corn; 26,081 acres produced 287,999 bushels of wheat; 102 acres pro- duced 643 bushels of spring wheat; 4,056 acres produced 51,927 bushels of oats; 1,825 acres produced 1,214 tons of Timothy hay; 4,046 acres produced 5,265 tons of clover hay; 3,800 acres produced 149,591 bushels of apples; 543 acres produced 48,690 bushels of peaches; 142 acres produced 3,904 bushels of pears; 2,573 acres of other fruits and berries produced $56,040 worth of products.
At that time there were 4,164 acres in the county in pasture, 31,865 acres in woodland and 3,216 acres uncultivated. There were 475 acres in cities and towns.
In 1880 there were 661 fat sheep sold for $342; 182 killed by dogs and 9,643 pounds of wool sold. There were 1,899 cows in the county and 42,169 pounds of butter were sold; 1100 gallons of cream and 5,125 gallons of milk were sold. 951 fat rattle were sold and 2,721 fat hogs sold. 2,187 hogs died of the cholera that year.
Fruit growing, while it comprizes only 12.3% of the farm- ing in the county is one of its leading industries. Union County leads the state in the production of peaches saving 312,000 peach trees in 1938 compared to 307,000 in Marion and Jefferson counties combined. Illinois ranks as one of the leading fruit states in the United States.
The first shipment of peaches from this county to the north- ern markets were so superior that they attracted great attention, both to the fruit and to the section where they were produced. As a natural consequence, the hill lands of Union County rapidly rose in public estimation and price. Men of experience and men of in- experience came here and engaged in the raising of fruit. Horti- cultural societies were formed, the mails brought newspapers and' agricultural periodicals, and the greatest interest was manifested in the new enterprise. The small and poor seedling apples were quickly superceded by the improved kinds and every department of fruit culture made rapid progress.
In 1858, the shipments of fruit to Chicago began to assume importance. The earliest fruit grower on the Cobden range was George Snyder who came there in 1857. He purchased land one mile north of the Cobden station and planted apple, pear and peach trees as soon as he had cleared away the forest. Allen Bainbridge, who lived on Bell Hill was another prominent fruit grower from 1850 to 1860. E. N. Clark and G. H. Baker came in 1858 to estab- lish fruit farms. Benjamin Vancil started the first nursery for supplying trees of improved variety and later James Bell, A. M.
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Lawner, J. A. Carpenter & Co. also had nurseries.
In 1866 it became necessary to run special trains daily to carry the fruit to Chicago from this section. About that time and later George Snyder, J. J. Keith, Jacob Rendleman and H. C. Free- man were leading fruit growers.
In 1860 the first strawberries were shipped to Chicago. By 1867 the strawberry crop demanded a fast train each day to get the berries to the market early the next morning in Chicago. Leading strawberry growers in the early day of the strawberry in Union County were Parker Earle, A. D. Finch, E. Babcock, J. W. Fuller, S. D. Casper, Caleb Miller, D. H. Rendleman, J. G. Page, S. Martin and F. A. Childs. Parker Earle later moved to Crystal Springs, Miss., where he established a vegetable area similar to that of Union County.
Parker Earle invented the first refrigeration for shipping ber- ries. It consisted of a large crate with a compartment for ice around the boxes of berries. By 1880 the refrigerator car had been developed. By 1883 cooling houses were built at shipping points. The cooling house in Anna was built by P. Earle and Sons and the one in Cobden by the Refrigerator and Shipping Company.
Early in the history of fruit growing "The Cobden Fruit Grower's Association," also known as "The People's Line" was or- ganized to facilitate the cheap transportation and delivery of fruit. Members of this organization were given the same rate for one case or bushel of fruit that was charged for a carload. Parker Earle, Col. Peebles, James Bell and a Mr. Spaulding organized this ship- per's association which was one of the first organized in the United States. The same organization exists today (1940). It was a co- operative shipping association.
Tomatoes were first raised in the county by David Gow at Cobden in 1858. Later Willis Lamer, E. N. Clark, J. T. Whelpley, J. Metz, Green and Venerable, A. R. Buckingham and A. H. Chap- man became large tomato growers.
Horace Eastman began the production of watermelons and cantaloupes in 1870. I. C. Piersol, E. G. Robinson, J. A. Noyes, Asa Harmon and J. B. Miller became the leading melon farmers at Anna and G. H. Baker at Cobden.
Rhubarb, asparagus, spinach and sweet potatoes soon took their places as important products shipped from Union County. Amos Poole, M. A. Benham, A. Buck and E. Leming and Co. began the asparagus raising and A. Poole was the first rhubarb shipper.
Union County is also a large producer of truck farming pro- ducts, although only 11% of our farmers are engaged in this type of farming.
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CHAPTER XXIV THE DRAINAGE DISTRICT. THE FARM BUREAU
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