The Emporia news. [volume] (Emporia, Kan.) 1859-1881, 1868-02-14
GREENWOOD COUNTY.
Cheap Lands, Towns, Railroad
Prospects, Stock Raising
and Inducements to
Immigrants.
Topeka, Kan, Jan. 23d, 1868.

on Greenwood county, for your Immi-
grafton paper. / suppose that the writ
or may be considered an cold inhabi-
having lived ten years in Greenwood.
The first settlements were made on
the Vcrdigris late i'll the year 1856, or
| early in 1857; the first settlements on
Fall river were made in July, 1857, but
we date the commencement of our sub
| stantial growth only so far back as 1865,
or the close oftlIc war; for the drought
of 1860 and the succeeding four years of
war partially depopulated, instead of
settling up ourcOunty, Greenwood at
that time being Il border county where
life and property were considered very
insecurc.) Since the close of the war,
however, u large number of immigrants
I have settled among us from Illinois,
Indiana, Iowa, Wisconsin, and from
States farther east.
! School districts have been organized,
school houses built, and schools and
meetings are now common i'll every
| township in the county. The main
streams are the Fall river and Ncrdigris
the latter running through the north
ern and eastern portions OF the county,
and the former running from the west
crn or northwestern part to the south
| eastern portions; while between them
| there are four or five smaller streams or
creeks, affording an ample supply of
good water, and timber enough to sup
ply the demand, If economically used.
| South of Fall river we have Spring
creek, Honey creek, Otter creek and
| other small streams, capable of sustain
| ing II considerable settlement. The soil
generally is good, although Il portion
is only fit for grazing purposes, while
| our valleys are as fertile as any in the
world; and the upland generally would
be considered very desirable i'll any of
the older States. So far, farming has
been confined almost exclusively to the
valleys or bottoms, which produce cx-
| ccllcnt crops of wheat, oats, rye, barley,
pumpkins, corn, potatoes, sorghum,
melons, Ne The uplands, as L said,
have not been cultivated to any extent
as yet, but they produce a luXuriant
growth of grass, and would undOubted-
| ~ yield good crops of the cereals, cSpcc-
| tally small grain. The climate and soil
seem particularly adapted to the growth
of wheat and rye. But that which our
county most cXcels in, perhaps, is stock
| growing, both in regard to quality and
|
prairies, covered with the freshest and
most nutritious grasses, afford ample
range for the largest herds of cattle,
horses and sheep. The feeding season
| is short, Gn fact never commences with
some farmcrs,) and the grazing season
correspondent long, SO that the cost OF
raising any kind of stock is merely
nominal, compared with the cost OF
raising the same in the older States
10
and late falls, give growing season tOl
stock twice rs long rs they have in most
of the Northern and Eastern States
hence their carly maturity and large
size i'll fact our steers, at two years Old
are acknowledged by droycrs to be a
large as the three year ODDS of Missouri
and Northern Kansas. In our latitude
farmer may keep fifty head of cattl,
, without scarcely feeling the expense Il
, all-his straw, corn stalks, &c, togcthc
with the winter range OF the Irairics
r which is no inconsiderable item. suffice
:, TO keep fair stock without scarccl,
: any hay or grain.
Fruit growing has proved a decided
success i'll our county. so far as tried
Large crops of peaches have been raisc'
i'll the Fail river valley every year 10
the last four years, and considcrabl
quantities have been grown all over til
county. With good care peach tree
invariably como into bearing the tlrir
year from the seed. But few appl
e. trees have come into bearing, as YET
Those have fruited remarkably wei
Most Of the smaller fruits have prove
q success; while for grape culture
- think there is no better climate or sol
e Wild grapes, plums, gOoSeberries, paw
V paws, &c. grow i'll the greatest abun
5 dance
Timber i'll some portions of the couu
ty, is scarcc-in other parts there is
plentiful supply; blackberry, walnut an
oak predominant, although we find con
~ siderable quantities of sycamore, elm
; ash, hickory, mulberry, &c, in on
IF groves. The supply of lime and sand
1t stone is almost ineXhaustible. and make
: excellent building and fencing materia
Coal deposits exist in large quantities
- no doubt, although no veins have We
been discovered more than seven @
eight inches in thickness. Such vein
r crop out, however, in numberless places
and the coal from them isused for black
smithing in all the shops of the count,
. so that Notwithstanding the apparcI
Z scarcity of timber, with our coal depo.
its, stone quarries, and the facility wit
which fences can be made of Usage Oh
al ange, and timber grown upon our pra
I'd ries, we need feel no apprehension of
ne future scarcity of building and fencin
~ material, or fuel.
III RAI. RoADS.-Our immediate pro
pect for railroad facilities is not :
promising as in some others of the cou
- ties of Kansas. The projected line ,
the Scdalia. Fort Scott Il Santa Fe II. ]
passes through the county from east
ON west. Work has already been con
on menccd on the road from SedaIia t,
ward Fort Scott, and company h
- been organized to build the road fro
'n nf Fort Scott west. Col. Vliet. engine
of the company, made an exnminatiC
- of the proposed route for the road M
7 declared 1t to be the most feasible ron
for railroad that he had ever surycye
This road, if built, as it doubtless W
be, puts large part of Southern IA
is sas IN more direct communication WI
1t. Louis and the East. than any 9th
road promises to do, and we look II
ward TO the time rs not very far distal
us When III common with other counties
,tlv the State, we shall have our railroad.
be No towns ofany size have as vet be
ing oulit up III the county. Eureka. t
'de' equity seat. is on Fall river. in the CO
ire OF line agricultural and grail
country, about three miles from the orc
and graphical center of the county. II h
n k~wUN