Daviess County, Indiana - Chapter 8: Agriculture and Statistics, 1915

Chapter 8: Agriculture and Statistics

In tile \arious lines uf industrial ijursuits there is nune that has claimed the altentiiin of the larger portinn uf the people tu a greater degree than has that of agriculture. Ujjon this line of industry every other industrial activity is dependent. 'Ihe success of the fanner coiitrihutes to the success (jf the merchant, the manufacturer, the mechanic, the capitalist, and the man without caiiital, depending upon his daily lahor for a living. The race could e.xist for hut a brief period, were it not for that which the soil brings forth, and this must he largely produced liy the diligent and industrious husbandman. S(.)iiie sections of the slate n[ Indiana, as well as of niaii_\' other states, have other resources which furnish wealth in abundance, but the great wealth comes from the soil and the abundant harvests which the soil ijroduces. Of the many e-\cellent farming ciimmunities in this state there are few, if any^ that can produce lietter croj:)s, one year with another, than does the county of Daviess.

Ri'Xlaiming Waste Lands

, Nearly all the land in Daviess county is tillalile and capable of producing abundant crops. W'ith the exception of a section in the southeastern part of the county, the land is generally level. J'\/r the most part, this comparatively level land was originally covered with a heavy growth of fine timberr with an interspersion of ]irairie land. .\11 this has been brotight into a high .state of cultiwiliou b\' the induslrx of the land owners aiicl ihe application of motlern farm methods.

Until a few years ago there were sections of land in the western and southwestern part of the county that were covered with swamps and considered of little value. No attempts were made by the (jwners to improve this land and it jwas not salable at anv ])rice. The land was covered with water the greater part of the year, the water standing from one to five or six feet deep, the habitation of frogs, turtles, and amphibious creatures of various sorts. Tiiere were als(j large sections in the western part of the county of deep sandy land, with a growth of small shrubbery and wild weeds, which was a favorite resort for rabbits and other small game. This land was also considered of little value. .\s an illustration of the estimated value ui this land, only a few years a.^ii, a t;entlenian related to the writer his experience in a real estate deal within the last live years. He said lie held a_ mortgage for se\en hundred and lifty dollars on one hundred and sixty acres of this sandy land and the mortgagor urged him to take the land and release the mortgage, lie declnied t(j do this, preferring the seven hundred and fifty dollars, which was linally ])aid. lie says this same tract of land can not he houghl now fnr less than (;ne hundred dollars per acre. Auotlier real estate experience related hy this same gentleman: .\t an auction held on the street, in Washington, this cimnty, one Inisy Saturday aftern(jon{ a few years ago, he hid off twd i|uarler sections of this apparently worthless land, paying five dollars an acre fur the same. He fore the deeds were executed, and before the purchase price ha<l been actually paid, the purchaser was offered an advance of one dollar an acre for his bargain and he accepted the offer, realizing something like three hundred dollar^ prolit on the afternoon ti-ansaction. This looked like "easy money" and he congratulated himself on his lucky deal. Eut looking at the matter from the present standpoint, he is confirmed in the opinion that the man wIk.) jiaid him <ine ilollar per acre for his bargain is the one to whom congratulations are due. That same land is now worth from forty thouhan.l lo fifty thousand dollars.

All this increase in the value of the.se lands has been due to the application of modern metlu)ds of farming, and the science, skill and industry of the educated farmer. The swamp lands have been dredged and drained and brought into a high state of cultivation, producing from fifty to one hundred bushels of corn per acre. The sandy lands lia\'e been cleared of the useless growth of wild wced> and brush, and, figuratively, made to "blossom as the rose." This is not allogclher a figurative ex])ression, either, for on these sand lands are iiroduced some of the choicest cantaloupes and the juciest watermelons to be found. The development of the melon industry within the last few years has been a boon to the owners of sandy lands in Daviess county, as well as in other counties in this section of the state. Some have sold their land at what would have been considered a fabulous price, a few years ago, others have engaged in the melon industry with profit, where intelligence and business principles were employed in the industry.

Daviess county is well adapted to the raising of all the stai)le products Common to other counties in this section of the state. The productions are

SO varied as to warrant the asMTtioii that ilronlli, or (.'xcosiNc rains, or iiverfiowiny of llio lowlaml.s, or other unusual occurrence of any season, or any year, can imi sn seriously alfect concHtioiis that the liushan<hnan will be completely disapiiointed in his expectations of a fair return for his labor. While Daviess county will not rank as high as some of the adjoining counties in the production of wheat, it stands well toward the head of the list in the production of corn, a yield of one Inuulred bushels per acre being not an unusual production for this cereal. There is also a good deal of attention 1)eing gi\en to stock-raising, the eastern part of the county being especially well adapted for that industry. '

Nuniher of miles of gravel and macadam roads in Daviess county, com- ])leted and under re])air, aliout ihree hundred an<l twetity-five miles. Average cost, i)er mile, $3,037. 'i'otal amount of hoiids sold for the construction jo'f gravel roads, $087,176.55. 'I'otal co-t of repair of gravel roads in all the townships for 1914. :i'">i't S;3i, 174.01. The l(.tal amount of mitstanding indehtedness for the construction of free gravel roads in the ct)unty, which is against the townshijis that are con>tructing the roads, was, on the 31st day of Decenihcr, njH- $4-7'3''^'i-4-

As earlv as the vear 1N53, an asricultm-al society was ortjanized in Dav'iess count\-. the lirsl annual fair heini; held in that year. l-"or several years lliercafter annual fair-^ were held an.l were <]nite ^a-nerally patronized li\- the larniers, anmn- w h-ni there was a spirited ri\;dry as to which one ciiuld prdduee the hi,i;-e-;t eurn, the hest wheal, iiat>, piitaloes and the biggest punipkni>. Anu.ng the >l..ek rai-er^ there was an eltiirl to excel in the e>;= hihit of caltle. horves and hoos ; Uio.se wlio e.inld show imported and fancy lireeds n\ st.'ck liein- ni.ist c< .nspiciious in tlie>e ainuial exhibits. 'Idiat was the time when the mamifacture oi wagons, buggie>, plows and other farm implements was strictly a home industry. Tiiese were all .^trictl\ "home made," and the maker took es].ecial i)ride in the exhiliition of his skill and workinan,-,hip at the annual coiiiUy fair. .\nd ihe ladies, who were J^dept m the art of conking, needle work, painting and the domestic arts generally, exhibited that in which each was iiid.-,! prolicieut and interested. The resiilt was that the exhibits and displays, at the animal fairs fc^r several years, were Uttracti\e and in>trncti\e, and the fair was ])i.pnlar and a tiuancial success. I'.xentnally the (.'i\il War came (jii, and (be diversion of the public interest and attention, incident theretM, afferted the Haviess county fair, as it did all other county fairs in the state. The patronage of the fair was not sufficient to meet the expenses of the associatiton. In order to co\er this dericieiicv, the ass(iciation had recourse to means of- raising nioiiev bv the introduction of horse-racing, chea]) shows and the like. Concessions were secured by fakirs, mountebanks and nondescripts, with various gambling devices, all of whom sought the nimble coin of the unwarw reaping rich harvests from the pockets of their dupes. .Ml these things militateil against the annual counlv fair, as such things always do. The attendance became less each vear until, hnally, the fair was disconlinued for want of financial support.

In .\la\, iSS_|, ihc Maviess t ounl\ .\griculiiir;d, .Mineral, Mechanical and ludusinal .\ssoei;iiiou was organized. The obiects (jf ihi> association, as set forth in the articles of the ass( jcialioii, were, "the encouragement, promotion and improvement of the agricullnral, boiiicultural, mechanical, mining, maimf.acluring and industrial interests of l)a\iess county." It might a])pear ili.al the name of this association was rather to|)-heavv. ami somewhat expausiw, but the objects (jf the association were alsr) expansive, worth v .of the name, and of the highest amliilion of the enterprising ])romoters.

I he cajjital stock of the association was fixed at ten thousand dollars, in ten-ilollar shares, and thirty directors constituted the l)oard of control. Tiie first meeting of the stockholders was held, June 14, 1S84, for the purpose of clcctini;' DlTicfrs ui tlic assuciatiim. Zack Jones was c-lecti-il president: llenr)' Waller, viee-presidenl ; I'liarles \V. 'I'linnias, treasurer, and I'ld I'". Aleix'ditli. secretary, ddie lirst lair was held on the i^rcuiiids nl the assnciatiun, west of Washington, from Octoher (1 tn 11, inchisi\'e. The s;r(jnnds consisted of forty acres of laiul, nii whicit was a lieantifiil L;ro\'e, an ahiindance of water and a line half-mile race track. The fair had an ans]>ici(Jiis lieginning and the animal meets continued for se\eral \ears, with gratifving success, lint interest in the exhiliits, after a time, grew less; the racing and other attractions hegan to decline, because of the competition of Larger attractions elsewhere, and the enterprise was fmally abandcjned. The association went out of existence several years ago, and the fair grounds went to another ownership.