Dodgeville chronicle. [volume] (Dodgeville, Wis.) 1862-current, 1870-03-25
LETTER FROM IOWA.
A SIP. ENDID COUNTRY.
Good Land Very Cheap.

1
thence by cars to Des Moines city. From
there | went south to Winterset, the coun-
ty seat Of Madison county. 1t is one Of
the finest little towns in the W estern
! States. and supports live newspaper, a
fine district school house of stone, cost
s32, 600, in which graded school is open
nearly the whole year round, and where
youth can receive finished English educa-
ton without leaving home to seek acade
mic privileges The court house in pro
cess of erection, of stone, estimated to
| cost $l30, 900, with many other fine build
| ings This town is in the midst of as line
| farming lands as can be found, and most
of it improved. Land here is worth from
| S15 to $50 for unimproyed prairie, and
49, to $40 per acre, for improved farms.
from here | went on foot, east to lndi-
anola, the county seat of Warren county,
about % miles, through fine country
of prairie, with timber on all the streams.
The timber is principally black walnut,
maple, elm, hickory and cottonwood
This also is a fine town, but land held all
along this route, at about the same price
as in Madison county.
From here went east to Pella, on Des
Moines railroad, about twenty live miles,
over equally fine farming country, the pri-
ces of land being about the same. Near
Winterset, | saw farmer gathering corn,
who told me that as near a, he could cal
culate without taking exact measurement,
he was gathering, on an average, about
eighty bushels to the acre, on a field OF
forty acres. | saw some as fine apple or
chards, in this region, as l ever saw III the
State of New York, and grapes in abun
dance.
For a man that has money to pay for as
high priced land, think no part OF the
great west more inviting, as farming
country, than these counties, Madison,
Warren and Marion.
At Pella, took cars for Des Moines,
and from there went north by stage, seated
with driver, to Boonsborough, and thence
to Fort Dodge, which is on Des Moines
river about eighty miles north of Des
Moines City. Around Boonsborough, the
land seemed to be of clay subsoil and
full of little ponds of water. 1t is a very
rich soil, and farmers raise large crops, but
did not like it so well as farther south.
Back from the Des Moines river, the land
is level, and all the way to Fort Dodge,
and am informed still further north, is
full of these little ponds and sloughs.
This table extends about thirty miles east,
and the same distance west of the Des
Moines river, and all, as thought, too
we'll supplied with ponds aud sloughs.
i Fort Dodge is fine growing city, on
Des Moines river, and on Dubuque and
Sioux City r. r. There is plenty of tim
Der on the river, and large quarries lime
stone and gypsum here. One Of the larg
est coal mines in the State, has just been
opened here, said to be eight feet thick,
and covering seven hundred acres. 1t is
owned and being worked by Hon. John L.
Duncomb and Mr. Richards, President Of
First National Bank, in Fort Dodge, in
company with some other capitalists, who
are driving the business in such way, as
to be able in short time to supply all
northwestern Iowa, with fuel cheaper
than if they had timber growing on their
own farms. The company have built a
side track, from the coal bed to the Du
buque and Sioux City r. r., SO that cars
can be loaded at the mine.
From Fort Dodge [ went west about fif-
ty miles by stage, to Sac City, the county
seat of Sac county After going about
thirty miles, the prairie is more rolling,
and no ponds Very little of the land on
this route under cultivation, as most of it
is owned by spectators, and heretofore
has been so far from market, that settlers
have been kept ont.
From Sac City, went north about TWEEN
ty miles, to Storm Lake, which is beauti-
full sheet of water in Buena Vista county,
about four and one-half miles long, and
two and oneh half wide. The Dubuque and
Sioux City r. R. runs on the north side
of this lake, and will be completed: with
cars running the whole length, by June
LIST, 1870. Here | found large amount
| Of United States land, within railroad
| gra It, at $3.50 per acre, and as fine pra-
irie land as can be found anywhere. 1t is
gently rolling, and rich, with plenty OF
small streams. The first of April last,
most of the land from Storm Lake to
Sioux City within this railroad grant was
vacant and subject to entry, and so great
was the rush Of emigration, that on the
lst of July there was scarcely an eighty
acre piece left.
Thousands of homesteads were entered
and many eastern capitalists bought large
ly, some of them buying as high as one
thousand acres.
\ So it was all along the line of this road
In June | went from Storm Lake to the
north west corner of the State, in compa-
ny with five others, and guided only by
my compass, we travelled for three days,
over the most beautiful prairie, without
seeing house, or any living thing, except
ing couple Of elk. In this route, pass
ed through Cherokee, 0brien, Sioux, and
Lyon counties, and never travelled over
the same extent Of country. of as good
quality in any other State, excepting the
scarcity of timber The northwestern
part of Iowa, including Clay, Obrien, Ly-
on, Sioux, Cherokee, and Buena Vista
counties, can scarcely be equaled. The
McGregor and Sioux City R. r. is now
building, and within eighteen months will
be completed, through Clay, Obrien, and
Sioux counties, which viii open all this
country to eastern markets, and connect
ing at Sioux City, with the Pacific will in
duce emigrants to settle here, and | see 70
reason why this land will not be worth as
much, in = few years, as any lands in Iowa
county, Wisconsin. The whole of it will
compare favorably with the best Of land in
1 that county, and where settlements have
been made, farmers tell me they raise or
an average from forty to sixty bushels Of
corn, from twenty to thirty five of wheat,