"Twenty years previous, the region of country then-in 1853— known as Mason county was one unbroken wilderness. Here and there, near the point of some timber, near the bank of some creek or stream, the log cabin of the pioneer, with a few acres of land beginning to be cultivated, was the only indication of civilization. The government owned the land, and $1 25 per acre was no inducement to settlers so long as any quantity of what was considered vastly better soil could be purchased at the same price. Emigrants avoided these plains and sandridges as unworthy their notice. The productive qualities of the soil had not been tested, and very few were willing to run the risk and make the experiment. It was not until land was growing scarce, in what were considered more favored localities, that purchases began to be made here. The settler very soon found, however, that his prejudices were unfounded— that the forbidding appearance of the surface was a false indication that an exuberance of productive power was here disguised under ah exterior show of poverty. The facts becoming known, the settlers flocked in, and have continued to come, until now—1853 -there is scarcely any unentered lands to be found anywhere in the county. Thousands of acres have been taken up by speculators, in the confident expectation of realizing a fortune by selling again. Men who were conversant with this state of things, sixteen, or even ten years ago, are astonished to behold the changes even ten years have wrought; any amount of land that then could have been purchased at government price, is now held at from 10 to 25 dollars per acre, and no anxiety to sell at that price. There has been a steady, uniform and onward progress. Many a farmer who came here a few years ago, with barely sufficient means to enter a small tract, forty or eighty acres, or perhaps a quarter section, is now in comfortable circumstances; some of them rich-became so by agriculture. Mason county may safely challenge the State, and if the State, the world, to raise better crops, with the same amount of cultivation. Indeed, the very fertility of the soil induces a system of farming, that in a soil of less strength would be less than useless. Scientific agriculture has as yet received very little attention from our farmers, and though we are happy to be able to record the fact that a movement has recently been made by a few, which, if carried out, will tend greatly to improve the modes of operation in this, the most beneficial of all the branches of human industry. Under the best system of management that science has yet discovered, the farmers of the older States are not able to compete with ours who have taken very little trouble in reference to the matter. How vastly more productive our virgin soil might be made by a practical application of all the knowledge that is attainable on this subject." STATEMENT OF THE FINANCIAL AFFAIRS OF MASON COUNTY, JUNE 30, 1857. By amount of cash in hands of the Treasurer of lector, as part of revenue for 1856..$4,350 78 County orders unredeemed... 1,952 21 The progress of agriculture in this county and in the State has more than exceeded the expectations of the most sanguine. In the year 1867, we compiled from statistical reports the following, as to THE CROPS IN ILLINOIS. Our people have but little conception of the amount of produce raised in our State. They know the soil is prolific, and that in their immediate vicinity there is a great yield. Further than this, they have no idea of the aggregate of the crops of the State. It would astonish most of them to be told that last year there were in Illinois 4,931,783 acres of corn planted, and that the product from these acres amounts to 155,844,350 bushels; 2,195,263 acres were cropped with wheat, yielding 28,551,421 bushels; rye spread over 43,721, giving 666,455 bushels, enough to make whisky sufficient to demoralize the whole State. In oats there were 883,952 acres, producing 30,054,370 bushels. Barley occupied 41,510 acres, giving 1,037,753 bushels. Buckwheat, 16,250 acres, raising 273,010 bushels. Potatoes took up 58,982 acres, and yielded 4,102,035 bushels. The hay crop covered 1,591,880 acres, and turned off 2,340,063 tons, and 25,578 acres were in tobacco, yielding 17,546,981 pounds. The crops above enumerated occupied 9,788,920 acres, valued at $160,148,704. In this statement there is no account taken of the various fruit crops for which our State is so famous. With these counted in, the value of our products would be considerably swollen, and we should show a wealth of agricultural products which cannot be rivaled by any State in the Union. It must be remembered that not more than one-sixth of our land is under cultivation, if there is more than one acre in seven. Truly, our State is a giant, rich in soil, and teeming with muscle and intellect. Running through five degrees of latitude, we present a climate and variety of soils which are truly the admiration of our sister States. From Galena to Cairo we present the various fruits and products raised in the temperate climates. Our grazing fields are not to be surpassed by any in the world. Our cotton grows luxuriantly, and our hemp, flax and tobacco are fast becoming staple articles. In this showing no mention has been made of our sorghum crop. The number of acres in this article has not been ascertained; yet, from all we can gather, a large surface must have been put in, and the yield highly flattering and remunerative. The root crops, too, have not been considered, and yet there can be no doubt but thous➡ ands of acres were devoted to them last year, and that the value of their products reached millions of dollars. In Who can say that the dwellers in our State should not be proud of her? Her broad and beautiful prairies, and our groves of luxuriant timber, are objects over which we can feel a just pride. all that goes to make up a great State, we can be excelled in but few, if any particulars. Our soil, our railroads, and other facilities, besides bordering on a great inland sea, peculiarly fit Illinois for the title of the Empire State of the great Northwest. From the Mason county Herald, December, 1854, we extract the following statement of the exports of Havana for the year .... ..6,000 lbs. .7,000 lbs. 300 bbls. .. 5,300 pieces. ... Articles manufactured in Havana and sold in the year 1854: 3. Lumber sold-1,500,000 feet; worth $33,000. $2,000 5,000 5,000 6,000 10,000 4,000 .$31,000 Exports of Bath for 1854. Reported by G. H. Campbell: Corn Wheat. Rye... Pork slaughtered, over two thousand head. flouring mill and two steam saw mills. The population of Mason county in 1845 was 3,135; in 1850 in was 5,921; in 1854 it was estimated at 8,000. In 1848 Havana contained 151 population. In 1850 Havana contained 462 population. In 1854 Havana contained Soo population. (Estimated.) |