AGRICULTURE.
RAPID ADVANCEMENT MADE-THE BASE OF SUCCESSFUL FARMING FOUND
IN THE ELEMENTS OF SOIL-THE EAST IN CONTRAST WITH THE WEST - FARM STATISTICS-ASSESSED VALUATION-STOCK RAISING-THE AGRICULTURAL SOCIETY.

AGRICULTURE has in all ages been considered the foundation upon which all other interests of the civilized world must rest. Its advancement has been the key to all other advancement. Progress in it must precede progress in the other branches of human industry, for upon it most others depend. No one can even question its paramount importance.
The ambition we all feel for excellence in whatever we undertake, is increased when rivalry obtains. The inventor sees a patent; the author a copyright; the soldier a promotion, and the farmer a premium, as the result of excellence in their .various vocations.

But, first of all, the agriculturist must needs secure suitable lands; and the fertility of the soil he possesses, and the nearness to good markets, point out the path to his success, while the want of these leads to failure. That portion of America where rocks, ridges, stone piles, and shallow, barren soil abound can not be classed, at this day, a good farming section. In many of the eastern and middle states one-half the value of the crop harvested must be expended for some sort of fertilizer for the production of another crop. But not so in the great west, and the broad valleys of the Mississippi and Missouri rivers,

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for here one finds an inexhaustible fertility of virgin soil. The climax, however, is reached along the latter stream. A section extending fifty miles or more, on either side of the Missouri river, is not equaled in all the earth for richness and depth of soil. In many parts of Woodbury and Plymouth counties the soil is twelve feet deep, and the lowest foot as productive as that above it.

It can not be wondered at, that so many farmers, coming from the broken and rocky surface in New England and Pennsylvania, look with astonishment upon the soil found here. The absence of stones, the dark richness of the mold, and the mile-long furrows, without a single obstruction, make them discontented with the home of their boyhood, and they go back, sell out to those less posted, and come to the beautiful prairie wonderland of the west, where in a single decade they make for themselves better homes and more profitable farms than it was possible for their fathers to make in a whole lifetime.

The following table of products grown in Woodbury county, in 1885, shows a condition of things which is indeed remarkable when one comes to consider and carefully compare the figures, which tell no idle tale, but each means just what it says; this array of facts for a county so recently developed, is a record of which it may well be proud:

The acreage of Indian corn alone, planted in 1885, covered one eighth of the entire county, and had the hundreds of cornfields been thrown together in one tract, they would have measured six miles wide by eighteen miles long. Think of it!--74,OOO acres of corn--three

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full congressional townships and a little more! You who came from New England and Pennsylvania--from the rock-bound coast, and the hills and dales of the "Keystone State"--and you from the stump country of Ohio, where years and generations of men were required to subdue the forest lands--indeed did wisely, did well, when you came to Woodbury county, where the plow point never strikes a stone, or a stump puller is never seen!

Property here is assessed at about one-third of its actual value, and the following table, made up on this basis, shows the assessed valuation of Woodbury county in 1890:

Stock-raising.-Early in the history of this county, farmers nearly all engaged in grain growing, making wheat the leader, but as American wheat lowered in price, and facilities increased for successful stock-raising, the better class of farmers went into stock-growing and feeding, and this industry is Woodbury county's real farm wealth to-day.

In fact, a revolution in this respect has swept an over Iowa since the Civil war, and to-day Iowa, in many respects, ranks second to no commonwealth in the happy union of states, as a producer ot live stock. All parts of the state are well calculated for the growth of stock, but especially is this true in western Iowa, where pure water, cheap land and a luxuriant growth of both wild and cultivated grass abounds. Other lands and other dimes can produce wheat cheaper than Iowa, but none can equal or compete successfully with her on corn and stock.

Agricultural Society.—Any effort made by several persons in the same direction, is always more effective if organized, so that such persons may all act together. By this means energy, which might otherwise be wasted in foolish competition, is exerted for the common benefit. Organized effort is as necessary where the object is the furtherance of agriculture, as in anything else. For this purpose societies are instituted, whose object is to stimulate the efforts of all the farmers within their districts, by holding out the inducements that

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the one who is successful shall receive a premium to which others shall contribute. Such an organization was the Woodbury County Agricultural Society, formed November 7, 1870, by William B. Tredway, R. W. Cole, Henry Ford, John Currier, William R. Smith, C. E. Hedges, Luther Woodford and S. W. Haviland.

The society was incorporated under the laws of Iowa, and by the terms of the charter was to continue for twenty years. The amount of stock was fixed at $10,000, of which $5,000 was soon taken, each share being $25. It purchased twenty-seven acres of land from D. Hartnett and Patrick Gossen on section twenty-up Perry creek, a short distance from the center of Sioux City, and for this it paid $2,800. This plat was fenced and improved, a race track provided, and the first annual exhibition was held in September, 1870. The first officers of the society were R. W. Cole, president; L. B. Atwood, vice-president; C. E. Hedges, treasurer; C. L. Wright, secretary; John Currier, W. B. Tredway and C. J. Holman, directors. The society stood for several years, but finally, through a united interest and effort, disbanded, and to-day Woodbury county has no agricultural society or annual fair.

An informal county fair was held in 1858, with O. Foote, as president, William Bigelow as secretary, and S. P. Yeomans as treasurer. While the exhibit was not large, much merriment was had.

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CHAPTER. IX.

RAILROADS OF THE COUNTY.
THE FIRST RAILWAY TO SIOUX CITV IN 1868-THE LAND GRANTS-THE ILLINOIS CENTRAL LINE-THE CHICAGO, ST. PAUL, MINNEAPOLIS &, OMAHA ROAD-THE MILWAUKEE SYSTEM-THE NORTIIWESTERN SYSTEM-CONNECTION WITH THE UNION PACIFIC-SIOUX CITY & NORTHERN-PACIFIC SHORT LINE -LINES NOW PROJECTED.

SIOUX CITY was platted before Iowa had a mile of railroad within her fair domain. Railroading was in its infancy then-especially in the western states. But the very early settlers commenced planning for the great civilizer-the iron highway, equipped with the steaming monster-and to-day Sioux City is one of the leading railway centers of Iowa. Part of this has come about by reason of her geographical location, and partly through the enterprise and tact of her business men, who have ever been on the alert regarding railroad matters.

A history, in brief, of the great government land grants by congress in May, 1856, will be found in the beginning of the railroad chapter of the Plymouth county portion of this volume, making it unnecessary to more than refer to it in this connection.

Sioux City &- Pacific (C. & N. W.).—The first road to enter Woodbury county and Sioux City, was the Sioux City & Pacific line, which was constructed by means of a munificent grant of land. It was completed from Missouri Valley, the point of juncture with the Chicago & Northwestern system, in April, 1868, at which time Sioux City entered upon a new era, and has ever since made wondrous strides in the matter of railway building as well as general commercial prosperity. The road above mentioned is now operated by, and in conjunction with, the Chicago & Northwestern system. The stations on this road, within Woodbury county, are Sergeant's Bluff, Salix and Sloan,

This line was originally intended to run westwardly from Sioux City, but a change was made in the charter, and the road was built to

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Missouri Valley, and thence by the way of Blair, Neb., to connect with the Union Pacific at Fremont. While it would have been far better for Sioux City to have insisted upon the line taking its original survey to the southwest, and bided its time for an eastern outlet, yet no more welcome road ever entered Woodbury county. The line between Sioux City and Missouri Valley is seventy-five miles long, and the distance from Missouri Valley to Fremont, via Blair bridge, is thirty-seven miles. Several years later the road, under the name of the Fremont, Elkhorn & Missouri Valley, was extended up the Elkhorn valley to West Point, and a year or so later on to Wisner, where it remained until 1879. By 1886 it had been extended 500 miles westward, to the vicinity of the Black Hills.

Woodbury county, but not Sioux City, was benefited by the construction of the Kingsley branch of the Northwestern system, built southwest from Kingsley, in Plymouth county, to Moville, in 1887. At present there remains a gap of twenty-four miles between Sioux City and Moville, the object, upon the part of the company, being to gain all the long haul freight east, instead of the short haul to Sioux City; yet the road is of benefit to the eastern part of the county.

The Illinois Central.—The second railway into the county was the Iowa Falls & Sioux City (now the Illinois Central) road, which was built from both termini and completed in July, 1870. This gave all the great western Iowa country a fine outlet for Chicago and the seaboard, and also provided an ample supply of coal from the Des Moines river coal fields near Ft. Dodge. This road was built by a land grant, calling for ten sections of land to the mile of road, without any direct taxation expense upon the people. Along this line much of the east bound freight, as well as the vast amounts of lumber, fuel and builders' material, which went toward building up this county, was transported to and from the east. The line starts from Sioux City and runs northeast into and through Plymouth county, and its track is used from Sioux City to Le Mars by the Omaha line.

In 1887 the Illinois Central constructed a branch feeder, called the Onawa & Sioux Falls line, running north and south from Cherokee. This line passes through the extreme east end of Woodbury county, with stations at Correctionville, Smithland, Oto and Annetta.

The Sioux City &: St. Paul.-This was the next road constructed into the county, and is now generally known as the Chicago, St. Paul,

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Minneapolis & Omaha line, as it is operated by them, and is really a part of the great Chicago & Northwestern system. It runs from Omaha to St. Paul, and from that point to Chicago. It is a royal route over which to travel. It was built by aid of a land grant of ten sections of wild land to the mile of road constructed, and was completed to Sioux City in the summer of 1872. This gave Sioux City an outlet to the great lake, region of the north, via St, Paul and Duluth; also connection with the Northern Pacific railroad and the Red river section of Minnesota and Dakota, From Sioux City this line uses the road-bed of the Illinois Central as far as Le Mars. The chief advantage given by this road, was the item of cheaper lumber and a more diversified passenger outlet from western Iowa, It also gave direct connection with the Omaha system and the southwestern system of railway, which were built ,at about that time, making a rail thoroughfare from Lake Superior, at Duluth, to Galveston, on the Gulf of Mexico in Texas.

The Chicago, Milwaukee & St. Paul.—One of the land grants of congress, in 1856, was the "McGregor & Sioux City" grant of ten sections to the mile, terminating at a point near Sanborn, O'Brien county. Had it not been for the Civil war coming on, with subsequent financial stagnation, this road would have been constructed long years before it was.

After some changes in ownership, on account of the old company failing to construct the road within the limits of the land grant contract, it finally became the property of the Chicago, Milwaukee & St. Paul company, which corporation now operates it. While the main line of the road runs west from Sheldon, via Canton and Rock Rapids, a branch was built south to Elk Point, Dak., where it intersects the old Dakota Southern road, which had been built, by the management of Sioux City men, from their city to Yankton. The first spike was driven on the last-named road August 12, 1872, and the track was completed to Yankton the following January. Chicago parties obtained a charter for the Sioux City & Pembina rail way, and it was on this charter that the Dakota Southern was finally built to the Sioux bridge. The road secured the tax voted to the Pembina road by Sioux City township, and also $200,000 bonds from Yankton county, Dak., and a small sum from Elk Point.

In 1875 the reorganized Sioux City & Pembina company began

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building at Davis Junction, and that year completed sixteen miles of the line, as far as Portlandville, Plymouth county, Iowa. This branch was leased to the Dakota Southern. After resting in Portlandville three years, work was resumed, and the road was completed to Beloit on the last day of 1878. The next year work was pushed on, and the road completed to Sioux Falls. In the early summer of 1879, the Chicago, Milwaukee & St. Paul system became a contestant for the possession of the Dakota Southern property. John I. Blair, who had become largely interested, sought to control it in the interests of the Northwestern system. This company had succeeded to the interests of the old McGregor & Sioux City, which had failed at Algona, Iowa. The Milwaukee, gaining an extension of the land grant, from the state, pushed the line into Sioux county in 1878, and the following year crossed the track of the Pembina road at Canton, and the same fall completed the road to Mitchell, S. Dak. As it now stands, the Milwaukee system embraces what was the Dakota Southern and the Pembina route. Trains run from Sioux City northwest to Elk Point, Dak., where a junction is made, one line going to Yankton, while another runs northeast through the corner of Plymouth county, with Akron and Westfield as stations, thence on north, finally intersecting the main line running from Mitchell, S. Dak., to McGregor, and so on into Chicago.

In 1886 the Chicago, Milwaukee & St. Paul road (stimulated by the Sioux City & Des Moines company, then formed to. connect the state capital with Sioux City), began to construct a road from Sioux City to a small town on its Council Bluffs line, known as Manilla, a distance of seventy-eight miles. This link of connection was completed early in 1887, making thus for the Milwaukee, a short line to Chicago. The Milwaukee has ever been friendly toward Sioux City, which they realize is the gateway city of the Missouri river.

The Union Pacific.-It was originally designed by Gen. Jones, of Iowa, then in congress (1856), that the great trans-continental railway, then talked of, should cross the Missouri river at or near Sioux City, but subsequent legislation marked its course via Omaha. But after all these years, the Union Pacific has been compelled (in 1889) to run a branch into Sioux City, and now leases the track for such purpose from Sioux City to Norfolk, Neb., of the Chicago, St. Paul, Minneapolis & Omaha line. So it is to-day, that Sioux City has a direct outlet over the Union Pacific system.

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HISTORY OF WOODBURY AND PLYMOUTH COUNTIES.

The Pacific Short Line.-By far the most important new Sioux City connection, and indeed the most important railway enterprise in the United States to-day, is the so-called" Pacific Short Line," occupying a route from Sioux City to Ogden, Utah. This route lies far north of the Union Pacific, and occupies the most convenient passage that exists through the Rocky mountains; it is 120 miles shorter than any road between the Atlantic and Pacific oceans, and can be built for a fraction of what the Union Pacific cost.

J. C. C. Hoskins
(click image for full size)

The road is now in course of construction, and a magnificent wagon and railroad bridge is now being 'built from the very heart of Sioux City, across the waters of the Missouri river, to the Nebraska side, which will be second to none of the numerous bridges spanning this mighty American river. It is designed to have this entire route completed in 1891; 100 miles from Sioux City, southwest, are already in operation, and large forces of men are at work all along the line to Ogden.

Sioux City and Northern.-This company is purely a Sioux City enterprise. It was organized, in 1886, to build a road that would connect with the upper lake and water route to the seaboard. The line was located from Sioux City to a point near Palisades, Dak., ninety-six miles north of starting point, and at what is now known as Garretson, at which place it connects with the Manitoba system, now styled the "Great Northern Railway." The Sioux City & Northern leaves Sioux City via the Floyd valley, following up the line parallel with that of the Illinois Central as far northeast as Merrill, Plymouth county, at which point it bears to the north. A tax was voted in aid of the line, but never collected, as the company deemed it best to purchase the right-of-way, and build the line unaided. Its final construction in 1889, was a marvel of railway building. On July 1, 1889, it was merely a "paper road," and January 1, 1890, six months later, it was a well-built, finely-constructed road, nearly 100 miles long. All of its officers and stockholders are residents of' Sioux City, and every dollar expended was their money. Its connection with the Manitoba system, a branch of which runs from Wilmar, Minn., to Sioux Falls, S. Dak., gives a northern outlet to the Red river valley country also via St. Paul to the waters of Lake Superior. The building of this line has given Sioux City an opportunity of getting a better freight rate than was heretofore possible anywhere along the

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western slope. Sioux City now dictates ratl3s to Liverpool, England, and is truly the gateway of the west. The officers, January 1, 1890, were T. P. Gere, president; John Pierce, vice-president; F. C. Hills_ secretary and treasurer; C. L. Wright, solicitor; Dr. J. N. Warren, surgeon; A. K. Shurtleff, chief engineer; J. G. Butterfield, master mechanic; James V. Mahoney, traffic manager; F. A. Seaman, claim agent.

Among the lines now projected (and in course of construction) from Sioux City is the Sioux City & Northwestern, designed to run from Sioux City to the Black Hills, thereby entering the heart of the greatest mineral and stock-growing belt of the country.

In conclusion, it may be stated that Sioux City is indebted to two prime causes that have made her one of the most valuable of all railroad centers in Iowa. First the place is by nature located well; it is the only point in Iowa where the Missouri bluffs come right to the water's edge, and singularly enough, too, at the very angle of the great south bend of a river system which has no equal on the continent. At an early day the transportation facilities played an important part in building up Sioux City, bringing as it did its scores of heavily laden steamers from St. Louis, freighted with merchandise, which never broke bulk from Boston to Fort Benton. The effective work of Gen. Jones, of Dubuque, in congress, aided by Gen. Dodge. and others, brought about the land grant act, which was the cornerstone and base of all main line roads across Iowa.

The other prime cause for Sioux City being the railway center she is to-day, is the fact that her pioneer, and indeed present citizenship has been made up of thoroughly wide-awake business men who from the first planned to build a great city at this point. One of these men, whose name should never be forgotten as long as the place has a name among the great commercial marts of America, is one who stands out pre-eminently above all others. Deceased though he is, he still lives in the true spirit of business and prosperity of the city, and all western Iowa as well. We refer to Hon. A. W. Hubbard, who was judge, and for several terms represented this section of Iowa in the United States congress. Improving his opportunity, he was largely instrumental in procuring the legislation which gave a grant of land to the McGregor & Western company, and another from Sioux City to the Minnesota line, making the last named city the objective.

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point of both lines. He had Sioux City named, in the bill in congress, as the starting point for the northern line of the Union Pacific road, which finally took another course and went to the Missouri valley. In order to hasten on the railroad era, the people of this county voted the swamp land fund to bring about the desired end. 'I'he spirit of union has always prevailed here, and the vote on that question stood 273 for and only one vote against it. Indeed, much of Sioux City's success is due to the fact that her people have always worked as a unit, and in no instance has this been more forcibly manifested than in the securing of her many railroads.
The mileage of railroads in Woodbury county in 1890, was as follows: Chicago & Northwestern company, forty -seven miles; Illinois Central company, thirty-one miles; Chicago, St. Paul, Minneapolis & Omaha company, thirty-one miles; Chicago, Milwaukee & St. Paul com pany, six miles; Sioux City & Northern company, six miles ; total
mileage, 121.

Projected Railroads.—Sioux City is the objective point of the following proposed roads: The Winona & Southwestern; Sioux City & Northeastern; the Duluth, Red Wing & Southwestern; the "Soo" line; the St. Louis, Quincy & Sioux City, Missouri Pacific extension from Papillion, Neb.; the Sioux City & Northwestern-Black Hills road; also a link connecting Sioux City with the Rock Island system.