Cedar Falls gazette. [volume] (Cedar Falls, Iowa) 1860-1895, 1865-10-27

From the Dixon ullinoisl Republican and Tel
eSraph.
Letter from Iowa.
CEDAR FANS Iowa, Oct. 10th 1895.
EDITOR REP. AND TEL: Having
lately made a trip through portions Of
Central Iowa, n brief statement of what
we have seen and learned may be inter-
esting to some. ..
Although we had expected to find the
country rapidlyimproving, vet we found
its progress to far exceed our expecta-
tions. Along the railroad running west
from Clinton we found little towns of
from three to four hundred inhabitants,
in which we counted from twelve to
twenty buildings in each place in pro-
cess of erection, and everywhere we met
a general complaint of scarcity of me-
chanics-carpenters in particular.
The crops We're invariably good, es.
pecially that of wheat, which is yield
ing mt the rate of from 20 to SO bushels
of fine plump wheat per acre. Wher-
ever we stopped we found men looking
up land, and on the main roads one was
seldom out OF sight of movers seeking
homes further west. In portions Of
Black Hawk, Butler, Floyd and ada
cent counties, we were told that land
had gone up in price one hundred per
cent. since one year ago last june
Numbers of the settlers are buying lands
adjoining them, and almost every man
we met either wanted to buy or had
some to sell. Everything is alive. and
little towns OF one thousand Inhabitants
are actually doing more business than
Dixon. This may not be thecase when
immigration ceases. -..
Improved lands are selling at the rate
of from twelve to forty dollars per acre,
and raw prairie from three to ten dol
lars, according to location. The price
is controlled almost entirely by the
numb Der of settlers who may fancy cor-
! tain localities. Men who bought raw
prairie ut three and four dollars per acre
have just taken from the same land 2B
bushels per acre ofsplendid wheat worth
20 per bushel. .....
y finer grazing country we have noy-
er seen than IL to be found in Iowa. We
saw thousands of acres Of good grazing
lands, adjacent TO settlements, on which
only small droves of cattle could be seen.
One man had made SAT, 600 out of stock
raising while he was not the owner of a
farm, and did not intend to buy one SO
long AZ vacant land was 80 plenty. Not
a discontented family was met during
our trip.
The towns are improving equally as
fast as the country, especially those on
the lines of railroad. Waverly, Iowa
Falls, Charles City, Waterloo and many
other places will double in population
during the present year.
We spent n day at Cedar Falls, which
is situated In Black Hawk county OH
on the Cedar river, and were very agree
ably entertained by J. Nj. Overman
who, with his brothers, settled at this
point and laid out tho town somo ten
years since. They commenced hy dam.
ming the river and building Il saw mill
and subsequently two Touring mills
and now find themselves in town oi
nearly 5000 Inhabitants, which is al
ready doing itbusiness that would sus-
tain population of two or three times
that numbcr. Their dam, unlike ours
at Dixon, has mover needed rebuilding
or repairing, which proves the builders
to be the men who arc needed to give q
town the right kind of n start; men
who do nothing by halves and have nc
Use for temporary fixtures.
There are now at this pla9a several
saw mills, three large Touring mills and
a large woolen factory nearly completed
Besides these, we We're told that n firm
, from the East bad selacied this point fol
the location of large fa tory, and Mr.
!, Nanny contemplatcs erecting shol
here for the manufacture Of his ma
chimes. The water power Is equal I,
any in the West.
, The railway facilities Of the p,ac,
, must soon be equal to those of any towr
) in the State. Besides having tho Du
bupue and Sioux City road passinl
through it from East to West, 1t Is to bt
the Northern tcrminous of the low,
Central running directly South to th,
State line, where il will connect will
the North Missouri, and IL also tn.
southern tcrminous of the Cedar Fall.
and Minnesota road, which runs direct
ly North, and will meet with the Min.
neapolis and Minnesota road leading t.
st. Paul, thus forming u direct line o
railroads from st. Louis to st. Paul wes
. Of the Mississippi
The Cedar and Shell Rock rivers, Tho
West Fork of the Cedar and Beaver
Creek, flow together near Cedar Falls
, and the heavy settlements along thesr
streams must make 1T an important cen
. ter of trade.
There arc already five commodiou
, churches at this place; but the mos
important feature we noticed was til.
public school building which il nearl,
completed, at cost Of over $40, 900. /
is certainly superior in size and appear
ancc to any public school building ".
have seen East or West.
Iowa undoubtedly has more public
school buildings to the number OF it,
inhabitants than any State in the West
and the rate at which it is now increas
ing in wealth and numbers must soor
rank il among tho first States i'm tn,
Union. ..... s
We We're told that coal i'm abundanc,
is being found in Boone, Hardin, Grun
dy and other counties.