River Falls journal. [volume] (River Falls, Pierce County, Wis.) 1872-2019, 1888-05-03
SAN JOAQUIN VALLEY.
Garden Spot Designed by Nature for
the Occupation of Man.

tAS occupation OF MAN.
Especial Cosresp oadenee.t
SrOCKTos, Cal. April q, 1855.
nave been engaged several months
roaming in the Golden State without en-
countering a "l0ve feastn / suppose ]
might have found one 81 the orthodox kind
BY making Sabbath-tlay investigation, but
here IN Stockton / find q genuine business
love least " u progress, which / can not
escape II would, for 1t embraces the whole
city ana the surrounding country. Stock
ton - the county seat Of San joaquin,
pronounced as though spelled Wa-keen)
county,, lying on the Southern Pa
chic railroad between San Francisco aad
Sacramento, ninety-two miles from the for
MGR and forty-cight from the latter. IL has
lbOVu inhabitants; is the great wheat mar
ket for the San Joaquin valley; manu-
features ., sec barrels of flour daily, besides
making enormous shipments of grain, and
IN every way strikes the stranger as enter
prlslng and prosperous. Still, for reasons
not now necessaryto be recounted, there has
been for years an "irrepressible conflict y
between the city and the railroad, resulting
probably tOthe detriment of both. 1t was
my good luck to land here at the close of the
hostilties, and find the largest hall in the
city packed with people to witness ahd eel
citrate the burial o. the Ratchet The work
was handsomely done. w. II. Mills, Land
Commissioner Of the Southern Pacific road,
was present as the authorized representa-
tive Of that great corporation, and pledged
most loyal support in developing Stockton
and the county. Among other things he
said:
stockton Is a city Of homes; city OF flowers; a
fair city desiring a fair proportion OF population
Observation-Disclosures, in proportion to her size
o. any city IN the state; say 70 your credit that
and paper mills, your manufactures OF agricultural
more to the value u raw material By the xii You
put upon Il than any other people Of California
dnoing more wealth from raw material than any
other city IN the State II is entirely practicable 70
double the population of the city Of stockton the
next i've years. / make that statement because
You county Possessing over 80 90 valuable acres Srs
and water enough to make every acre of 1t tFibu-
[ find, on investigation, that Mr.. Mills
statements relative 10 the manufactures in
Stockton are much within bounds. There
arc two Touring mills, which produce 400
barrels of flour each per day, much of which
finds its way across the Pacific ocean. All
over the Pacific Coast the fame of Stockton
flour Is known, tesufying 10 the superior
quality of the wheat of San Joaquin county.
Immense manufactures for agricultural
implements, large foundries, planning mills,
carriage works, paper and wooden mills,
tanneries, wheel factories, etc, all attest
the enterprise and advantages of this city.
NATURE TOOK A HAND.
After all / think nature had good deal
TO do with settling the difficulty. The San
Joaquin river traVcrseS the county connect
ing with San Francisco BAY, an arm of this
river extending 10 Stockton, and daily lines
of steamers ply between that city and San
Francisco The tide GIBBS and flows at Stock
ton, so that there is never lack OF water for
navigation as in rivers depending on mount
aims or feeding streams. Consequently,
railroad or no railroad, the county has for
all time a means of reaching the world at
large with her products, which no business
war can cut off. As from one 20 two hun
dred thousand tons Of wheat reach the mar
ket annually from this county by water car
riage, it shows that the advantage OF the
river is duly embraced and appreciated. In
fact over 100000 tons of freight go from
Stockton annually, by water to San Fran
cisco or beyond.
The soil of the county is varied, consist
ing Of deep, sandy loan, adobe, or black,
clayey soil and tule. TINS latter son IS
especially rich, comprising as 1t does re
claimed swamp lands IL will produce two
crops of barley or alfalfa in year, and forty
bushels of wheat to the acre Is o common
crop on tule land, while it sometimes runs
seyenty-fve bushels of wheat and one hun
dred and five bushels of barley. In fact,
there seems scarcely any limit to the wealth
of the soil of this county. By aid OF the
wonderful invention which cuts the heads
from the straw, and threshes 1t at the sans
time, delivering the wheat IN a sack upon
one end OF the machine, farming has been
conducted on an immense scale, single par
ties owning and working from ten to fifty
thousand acres Of land
1t can readily be seen that a few men
could control a county, even SO large as TO
have 10000 acres. Fortunately there has
come an awakening, and it is dawning on
the great wheat farmers, that even with
the best Of labor saving appliances, there IS
more money in diversified Industry, and as
fruits, vines, vegetables, etc, grow Ia pro
fusion in the San joaquin Valley they are
now diversifying
One man can handle an immense tract m
wheat, barley or pasture when II comes TO
fruit and vines, his profits are much greater
per acre and he does not need or desire such
large holdings. Il is a pure question Of
business. He can make more money by
using less land ia d productive manner, and
hence he docs so. For twenty years or more
grapes and fruits have been raised IN thus
county, yielding handsomely. Some Of the
most famous wines in the State are here
prOdroed. But the mammoth ranches pre-
vented fruit or vine raising becoming gen
eral. How much this keeps a country back
IS shown by the fact that out of 10000 peo-
pie IN the county, Stockton has over one
half. Lodi, an enterprising town fourteen
miles north Of Stockton, has l,200, and other
towns have, combined, at least 1000 more,
SO that IA this great county less than 1900
are tilllug the soil.
With this change, and the cutting up of
these enormous tracts into small holdings,
there is room here for q vast population. A
man can make u good living in San Joaquin
County on ten acres devoted to vines and
lFUll, ana one uuuATEu dCfCS - EcdllJ a
larger tract than any one man needs. Land
in the county ranges from $50 TO $50 per
acre, and probably for $50 as good virgin
soil as the county or State contains, can be
secured. 1t is not always economy to buy
the cheapest land.
Mr.. Hatch, the President of the State
Board of Trade, and the greatest almond
grower in the country, and perhaps IN tne
world, has just paid 500 per acre for land
in this county 10 put into almonds. These
1F
dred dollars per acre, and Hatch has hun
dreds o. acres already bearing, but eYl-
IDENTIFY he could not forego having a slice OF
San Joaquin County, though he might nave
found cheaper, though less productive, land
elsewhere. 1t would have, however, proven
more expensive in the end if he had.
Profits on nuts, fruits and vines brought
to maturity range from slO0 to $500 per acre
in this section. This is not guess work. but
actual demonstration by old residents here.
Intelligent handling OF the land makes the
profit enormous
Wonderfully flowing artesian wells are
secured in all sections, and the farmer or
fruit-grovcr can be independent on the
water question il he desires. In fact very
little irrigation is required in this county
Wheat and barley require no irrigation,
and, in any ordinary year nothing else does
in this locality. Still the enterprising citi-
zens do not propose to be caught mapping
when exceptional years come, and they nave
III lIEAEdttJu NotAApdtA9 cAAh oAS IN
structing canal system capable OF supply
ing oyer 100000 acres with water If desired.
In boring for water both Oil and natural
gas have been found near Stockton. The
Impetus this viii give to manufactures IN
the city can hardly be predicted.
With q tax roll of less than five mills on
the dollar, with a death rate of only ten to
the thousand, with a mean average temper
AZURE of sixty degrees, and no day too hot
or too cold to work in the open air, there
seems to be no reason why residents OF this
valley should not have all the comfort pros
perity and happiness which pertains to this
life.
The people of Stockton are fully alive TO
the situation. They have an active Board OF
Trade which supplies all applicants with
full information about the county, have Or
ganized a club to entertain visitors, ana IN
various ways are wide awake and enter
prising The new era has dawned and they
propose to welcome those who wish TO JON
In securing health, wealth and comfort IN
this favored locality.
POINTED PARAGRAPHS.
A MULE, like lightning, never strikes
frvire in tho caruN r1iasa-if 10NeVff bnera n