The Stark County Democrat. [volume] (Canton, Ohio) 1833-1912, 1877-05-24
[For the Democrat.
SOUTHWEST MISSOURI.
Cheap and Fertile Lands Valuable Min
erals-Mild and Healthy Climate
Easily Accessible by Rail-The Region
for EmigTants West.
sPRMoFIELD, Mo-, May u, 1877.

SPRINGFIELD Mo-, May n, 1877.
| Editor Democrat
supposing the many readers Of your paper
would like to read sho IT description Of this coun.
| try l write you this letter.
| This city stands on what is termed the Ozark
| Mountains 697 feet above the level Of st. Louis
Instead ofits being on a mountain II is an eeVat.
| ed plain, and around the city streatches out large
and beautiful farms, yielding to their occupants
large crops OF wheat corn ioats rye, &C.. &c. Land
is hi gh around this city and through the county.
Wheat looks very fine here but the corn Is back.
ward owing to wet weather, The elevation Of the
city and country gives pure and cool at
mosphere, The climate is moderate and heal.
thy.
have taken trip from this city by rail to
Pierce City and thence by rail to Carthage the
county seat Of Jasper The rail road from Spring.
field to Pierce city passes along a dividing ridge
part Of the way and part Of the way down the
valley Of Spring rlverand Clear creek The coun-
Try on each side looked poor and rough but no.
ticed some very fine tobacco land From Pierce
city TO Carthage the road passes through sarCoxie
and Haskins prairies and across the valley of Cen.
ter creek. The two prairies just mentioned look
ed very fine and there is very rich tract Of coun-
try ar ound the village Ofsarcoxie.
From Carthage travelled in a two horse buggy
to Avilia 10 miles north east Of Carthage, thence
| to Chambersville miles thence to Golden City in
Barton county, miles, thence Il miles,to Lamar
the county seat OF Barton county, thence Is miles
north to Bakers Grove, thence south west % miles
TO Nashville thence 10 miles crossing the Jasper
county line to Medoc and thence 10 miles south
east to Carthage, have Travelled over Ohio. Illi-
nois and Indiana, but have never seen country
that equalled the one | travelled over in my route
| as above described
The north half of Jasper and the whole of Bar
ton county is hardly eQualled certainly not sur
passed by any portion of the Mississippi valley
1t is but little known, and is fast settling up by
very industrious and NOR '1pulation.
Just here let me remark nat emigrants are of
ten imposed on and purchase too soon and with.
out seeing enough Of the country. The Atlantic
& Pacific Railroad Company has land for sale and
its agents often sell to the emigrant before he
takes the trouble to see enough of the country l
zee emigrans who have purchased from the A. &
p R, R. Co. land at Sc and IS per acre, who had
they gone into Barton county could have purchas-
ed for Sc per acre land worth double as muth as
that they purchased from the railroad company.
Should any of your readers wish to come west my
advice is to him TO listen to all the land agents.
get all the information they can and after doing
sonOt buy home in hurry and by no means
not to buy until they lock at the country in sever
al counties. They can then select the best.
The north half Of Jasper and all of Barton coun-
ty, is gently rolling, rich prairie, traveHed by
streams, which are lined with groves of timber
The north east part of Jasper county is all prairie
and nearly all of 1t is under fence. 1t is beauti
full country. The houses are good, the farms look
neat and the roads are fine, being kept in the best
of order The land not improved in this part Of
he county is prairie and is worth about IS per
acre. tits fine land, produces fine crops Of wheat
corn oats, rye and grass. The northwest part of
| Jasper / county is about one-iouTth timber. The
land is rich and about one half not occupied,
which can be purchased at from Sc 10 IS per acre.
Barton is a beautiful county, about one fourth
ii mber and the balance rich rolling prairie It
has population of about 1900 people A white
frame school house in every district but one which
| has fine stone school house. The county has a
school fund of S75OCO, and in addition onefourth
of the State revenue is appropriated to thesupport
of public schools. Meeting houses are scarce, but
there are church oIganizationsin every neighbor.
hood. The people use the school houses for pub
lie worship. The denominations consist of Bap-
tists Mehodists, Congregahonalists Christians or
Campbellites and at Lamar there is a small Catho.
lie congregation. There are also a few organiza-
| tions of Prebbyterians, old school, and Cumber-
land. At Lamar the Catholics, Congregationalists
Methodists and Baptists have good and roomy
! church buildings
There earenorailroadsin Barton county and will
not be until this coming fall, and for that reason
| the county has not settled up very fast. l see in
this county great deal Of nice, rich, rolling
prairie that can be purchased for five and six dol
lars Upon inquiry / find the average yield Of
wheat per acre in the north half of Jasper and In
Barton county is II bushels per acre. There are
| however q very considerable number of good far
mes, that make the yield % bushels per acre.
Much larger crops are very common. The aver
age yield of corn is 40 bushels per acre. met in
Barton young mechanic who told me he had
sold his life policy and purchased 100 acres of
land In that county. He said it was better in.
yesment than the life policy That the land cost
him IS per acre or $500 and would in few years
be worth ten to fifteen dollars per acre.
The country is healthy for both man and beast
The raising of cattle, horses, mules and sheep is
very profitable. see few short horn Durham
steers three years old that weighed 1900 pounds.
They command good price. There will be o
| good many such cattle raised in south west Mis-
souri, The people are just commencing to raise
| them. The climate is well adapted to the busi-
| ness.
There are few men ofsmall means who have
| bought so acres of land in Barton county, turned
over the prairie In June and in the fall put 1t in
wheat and the following season harvested 1,2OO
bnshels which paid for the land and putting 1t in
cultivation. All, however, do not meet with as
good luck. There can be no doubt however but
that land will ray for itself and breaking and
fencing in two years.
Golden City is located the south east cornerof
| Barton county. 1t is surrounded by beautiful
| country. One and half mile west is half sec
ton 800 acres of land, nearly level It rolls just
enough to drain itself well. Near the center Of
| the tract is mound, the base Of which covers
| about ten acres This mound is about so feet high
and slopes gradually from the base to the top. I
drove up on it's top and had aspendid view Of the
| country for ten miles round did not learn who.
owns it. 1t will make splendid home for soro
one The railroad will run jIstnoTth Of this trecs
| Of land
Golden Grove, from which the city takes its
| name is q strip of timber two miles wide by five
miles long II Is an interesting strip OF country.
| Long previous to any white man inhabiting the
country ii was dug up by miners. For what pur-
nose no one knows The shafts have caved inand
out of some of them grow trees that must be, udg-
ing from their size, rs years old. Thewhites have
never found any minerals there, butthey have not
examined or searched for tito any satisfactory
extent Those who dug that ground upmusthave
| found mineral Of some description.
If you think this letter will be Of interest to-
| your readers publishi It. TRAVELLER
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