Barbour County index. [volume] (Medicine Lodge, Kan.) 1880-current, 1890-04-02
BARBER COUNTY.

prepared for the State Board Of Immigration.]
Located in the center of the southern tier of
counties adjoining the Indian Territory. Con-
tains LISA square miles, sufficient for 4,536
farms of 100 acres each. 1t has population of
$500; taxable wealth, $3,500000. divided into
lands, Co., town lots, 5000 600, personal
property, $40O,000, railroad property, 100000.
Property is assessed at 1915 per cent of its real
value, so the actual wealth OF the county ex-
ceeds Si0,01,G0. The county was settled and
organized in lS;a: it has never had county
seat contestor other internal war. Ithas never
asked for and has never needed one dollar of
outside aid; has never had a crop failure 1t
has Is municipal townships and Incorporated
cities, these heins Medicine Ledge, the county
seat; Kiowa, the gateway to the Cherokee
Strip; Hazelton, in the center of the richest ag-
ricultural belt; Sharon, 10 miles east of the
county seat In the rich Sharon valley. These
towns are all prosperous, with churches
schools, and good society. Other smaller towns
are Lake CITY, Sun City. Aetna Mingona, Deer
head, Hardtner, Elm Mills and Isabel The
county has three lines of railroad: The Santa
Fe, running 10 Hazelton. KioWa, Sharon and
Medicine Lodge; the Missouri Pacific, going TO
HaZelton and Kiowa, and the Mulyane extern
sion of the Santa Fe, running through the nor
thern part of the county. The county is the
best watered of any in Kansas its never-failing
streams being supplied by cool springs of pure
water. Most of the streams are skirted by
timber and from each reaches out broad second
bottoms, rich rs those beside the Nile. The
eastern half of the county is comparatively
level. gently rolling land; the western half is
more broken, forming combination for stock
raising which has made the county wealthy
Most of the soil is what is known as ''mulatto''
soil it is very deep. impregnated with gypsum
and sand; never bakes, is easily TILED, and
responds with wonderful productiyeness, any
grain, grass, vegetable or fruit ever yet planted
| maturing. The rough land Is covered with rich
| buffalo and other native grasses, affording IN
| surpassed grazing for stock. The county is
free-range, the only one in this part of Kansas
that is. This feature permits the farmer to
| handle stock without great outlay on money
for fencing. There was marketed last year, live
stock raised in Barber county amounting to
| more than a half million dollars. The wheat
crop in 1889 averaged, in tue county, AN bush
els to the acre, while many nelds went as high
as 50 bushels; corn averaged 40 bushels. and 15
bushels was frequent crop; oats yield from
| 40 TO 70 bushels; millet from 10 tons. Prai.
RE hay is plentiful everywhere and free as
water. though many farms are being provided
with alfalfa from which three and even five
crops are cut each season. The county has
/ raised good cotton and there is a gin at the
county seat. It's sorghum sugar industry is
now known to the world. The sugarworks al
Medieins Lodge. starred late in 1889, produced
over half a million pounds of sorghum sugar,
and from beets grown on four acres made
10000 pounds of beet sugar. The works are be
ing enlarged, a refinery put in, and this season
they expect to manufacture four million
pounds of beet and sorghum sugar. Farmers
who raised sorghum for the mill realized from
! $40 to $50 per acre for their labor; they will
realize double this on the sugar beets they
plant. The county has about 100 organized
school districts and Is school houses, those al
| Kiowa, Hazelton and Medicine Lodge being
large, brick. modern buildings. heated by
steam. There are churches or church organize
/ tons in every town. city or neighborhood. The
immense gypsum deposits are being utilized
by a cement and plaster mandatory at the
county seat that VIII ship out from three te
five car loads OF manufactured product. daily
| There are deposits OF marble, several colors
| in the western part Of the county that have
been worked. The county has two Successful
creameries, one at HazeltoD and one at Medi
cine Lodge; two large Touring mills, one al
Hazelton, one at Elm Mills; FIVE newspapers
the Index and Cresset, at Medicine lodge
Herald and Journal. ut Kiowa and Express. q
Hazelton- The county has the best natura
roads in Kansas. Land is worth from So to 81
per acre. Stock needs feeding but months il
the year. The farmer can usually pillow witt
! his coat on go days in the year. There ar,
more sunny days than in any country, sunni.
Italy not excepted.