The state rights democrat. [volume] (Albany, Linn County, Oregon) 1865-1900, 1869-06-12
[From the Willamette Farmcr.1
LINN COUNTY.
DY A. j. puFuR.

| OF Tic willamette river, IN the heart oil
the great Willamette Valley. when com.
pared with ether locnlliics Of the same
extent Of territory, il not surpassed for
fertility Of soil, aud capacity Of ngricul
tural and manufacturing resources, BY
any other county in the Stale of Oregon.
or even on the Paciic coast. Her ni.
uensc shipments of -four and wheat arc
n sure proof of her capacity to produce
that great staple Of Orcgon's wealth and
pride, while outs, barley, beef, bacon
wool, butter horses. mud, in fact almost
all The agricultural productions of indus
try aud wealth, give unmistakabIc cyi
dcnce Of the energy Of her people and
the fertility Of her soil Bounded north
hy Marion county, cast by tic Cascade
mountains, south by Lane county. nnd
west by The Willamette river, this l1cali
ty possesses Advantages for exporting by
water its vast agricultural productions
equal To any Il the interior couDtics oi
the State.
From information furnished hy Hon
j II. Dou'hit. an old and rcli.blc citizen
of Linn county, We CLEAN the foil.wng
facts: Tile navigablc waters Of the
Willamette form the river line of the
western boundary Of this county, i lis-
tancc "f about th:riy.Fevcn milcs. The
western portion is level or gently uniu.
laiing prairie, about inriS Que miles from
north 10 south. aud an average breadth
OF fifteen miles Ircm cast tn west. Tie
prgiric lands are frcqn"n'y in;crsccicd
hy snail rivcrs and creek If rurc run.
ming water. wish ,ccasiDnul belts If tim
ber. and comprises The most ihictly por-
u'l'ed portion ol The county. The lurc
of the country then gradually risc. into
hills, a. van approach the eastern bouu.
dary, ill YOU reach the summit of ihc
| Cascade mountains. covered with dense
forests Of Gr. cedar and pine The h:i
! lands arc settled distance Df nbou. ten
mics eastward und Utmost the entire
length ui the county fr"m north IL south
giving an area 10 the tctalcd portion ol
rtis county Of over elk h IudrcI thousand
acres
This county has three natural divisions
The ig.t If which IL that portion, Iy,na
between the North and South Sanriau
rivers, aud known rs 'hc Forks of the
Santia,n." ] his portion of tie count,
i again almost equally divided by llie
Thomas and Crabircc frls.
The following information. furnished
the Committee hy J e. Dirkcy. Eso
relative to the natural resources an1 in
dusirial wesith Of Ih.- portion of Linn
county, tuay be considered ~ cntircls
correct. a. comsin: itoHi gentleman wcs
qnal,ded TO give facts regnrliu. that por
,i"n 81 country f"r which hc speaks:
The average price Of lanl improved
and un'mpr0yed. in ibis portion Of Liur
county. IS Si.7j per acre; improved
Iani. $40 Tcr acre 'noimrrnved So; an
improved pasture lands. ei.2j Tht
general naturc or tic soil i rich ant
fruitful. For arajn..rowiu.. il Is be'iel
adapted 10 the production of whca
aud oats than any other kinds As I,
Istoek.raisin2, Oregon cannot produce
better locality; while vegetables nnt
fruit 9roir jnsf an iarge as yoU ,eani Men
to. The different varieties Of timber ar,
fir. cedar. pine oak. ash. maple and alder
conveniently located. welt adapted t,
farming. numbering aud general buillin:
purposes. The quality Of tho water j
good, VLRY GOOD, perhaps no, surras. G,
in the world, aud abundantly supplied l.,
creeks lrviu three 10 -four miles apart nn
| ly, with any amount Of springs W,
have but oue Touring mill in this locality
where there should be eight or ten
There are plenty Of mill sites here unim
proved. The general health Of this par
at the county is good, aud favorable in
duccmeuts are held out 10 teachers, fur
mers, aud mechanics, 10 settle in ihi
place. The immigrant can easily Obiair
seeds, eraiu, farming implements anc
general supplies of all kinds here, Will
good conYenlenres for schools aad meet
ing :or religious worship. There ar
lplcu;y Of saw mills here, hut other man
ufactories are scarce. This portion q
the country is also believed to be rich il
mineral wealth. Government land !
plenty yci--thcrc are hundreds Of acre
better adapted 10 farming purposes thar
much Of that now settled, aud for lum
bering resources the world cannot beat il
In conclusion will say, believe tn
forks Of the Santam" is better divide,
with timber and wafer TO the amount q
prairie land than any other portion Of Or
cgon.
i Scio, the commercial town Of the Forks
is an Incorporated city and Il lively busi
ness place, but lubors under he disadvan
tagc Of want Of river transportation. TIL
citizens. however, arc canvassing the pro
priety Of building Il branch road iron
the proposed Oregon Central Railroad, u
Jefferson, to connect with this place.
This town has three or four dry good
stores. saddle, tin wagon, paint. cooper
blacksmith. aud boot and shops; on,
flour mill one church, one large sclool
house, one town hail, and two hotels =
The Forks contain about one third Of th'
entire population of the county; is most
Iy fenced and improved, with good houses
barns aud orchards. and is abundant,
supplied with apples, pears, cherries
plums, and the different varieties of small
fruit peculiar to the climate of this coast
The second division Of this county i
lembraced between the Santiam river anc
Calipoola creek, astream that rises in th,
Cascade mountains and runs west ant
northwest and empties into the VILLAIN
ette river ut Albany. This division is
perhaps, one of the finest farming region
Ion the Pacific coast is rich; productiv,
and almost level plain, from the river OF
tho west to tho hills on the east, an aver
Ingc distance Of about fifteen miles; is al
- u..t;roi,, canood and ;n,nrovaJ an.