Union County courier. [volume] (Elk Point, Union County, D.T. [S.D.]) 187?-1913, 1892-01-01

and Slapped to s'ola CITY aNi st. Paai. The
hay industry Is hec0taisg ~ important one.
since III" hay grGWn Di some III III" best hay
lands WIll DAy Tor the land IN couple nj years
without any labor except to harvest the hay. !
Land lSyat comparatively chca. which is caused
BY the in;aTea reputation that our state has
sustained fratr failure of crops IN some OF the
western Counties, aud ovcrdrawH reports that
hayc gone out. T!tl@ couiiY. however. has never
lost Il crop from any cause siucc The rayaGgS %
The g~raSsiApnfrs ceased 4 dozen wears ago. but
it must share the reputation of other counties
because ii is itNatcd IN the same state. We
are therefore OH the verge ofEn era VIXEN Lands
VIII double in valnc Ia "a very short time.
Tic water supply Is abundant. rs must al
already be eitar to the reader from til" facts
already given. Wells are from dtteer to thirty
feet deep as II rule, although places have been
tound on t,e higher lands where 1t Was neccs-
snrg 10 go much deeper. Wells stand for dec
AIDES by being cnrbed or bricked olily above
the htXh water mark, and the water Is good and
heaithfuI. The rainfall has always been sat
l~icicutiy abundant to produce fair crops even
when surrounding states have suffered from
droltii.
Ii Is OF Il county of such bonntiful resources,
abundant wealth and progressive population
that
ELK POINT
Is the county seat. Yes; in a county whose
area Is about 800 square miles, and whose pop
ulat!on numbers l0.0oo. ELK point l. located In
the south central part IL the midst Of the fer
tility and prosperity OF the Missouri bottom.
| surrounded by all The natural advantages that
nature is in the habit Of furnishing to cities In
any state or lt;tion; rleIty Of wood. close to
the wholesale houses, pork and beef packing
houses of Sioux city. ard on Il direct line to
Chicago. Tile city is located at the Junction Of
the two main lines Of the Milwaukee road. the
one branching off towards the north. aud run
ming through Canton. Sioux Falls aud Egan,
the other extending west aud passing through
Nermillion. Y~anlitou, Scotland, Mitchell and
Aberdeen. People entering or leaving the
southern part Of the state pass through here,
and The bulk Of merchandise imported into that
part Of the state, ur leaving it, also passes
through here. The city cnuld Therefore be very
properly liciGamed the Gate CRY. Asa ship
ping point for the shipping Of cattle, hogs, pout-
Try, dairy products, eggs. corn, hay aud other
grains. ii has no superior for its size III this or
adjoining state. and it has but few equals. II
Was hrst settled if 1sG2, ani was ti.eI II camp
ing place GA the Sioux CITY aia TT. Randall
government wagon road. Among the early set
tiers were JOAN Il. Wood. Il. Il. WixSou, Il. X.
Green and others. Tle Dakota Southern rail
road. extending FROM Sioux city to Yanktou
was built ia ISIS. and Il few years later became
the property Of the Milwaukee system, The
S(ouH Falls line WAS b,t.lt ~onn after, and from
that tiMly tne own which then consisted Of bat
a landiul OF people has grawn To 4 city OF about
1859 iuh,hitant, of the best blood, ~calture and
4.It....r ,t,,i, n,,t "a, n a {Iaet Ihn pttS,
contains a good deal pE wca'th as well, some of
the firms doing Business IN II Icing worth from
S20,200 0, Q : h.p9h
Tic y Official Of this harry community are
II. Murphy. mayor; John 1IcC'ra;li, Thomas
Wilson and joan Coyerlalc, members Of the
council; G. A. Wilson. treasurer; Chas. Eover.
CLERK; William E,ii il justice OF the peace, and
Ole II. Olson, constable.
Tne ONLY public buildings in the city aye the
court house aud the pRbiic shoot buildl ny,
THE COURT HOUSE
Was A good spacious building in its day, but
the county ha grown. while it has not. SO that
now Il new building would he more i'll keeping
with the prog ess OF its surroundings. As 1t is,
however, Il las a good jail In the basement. cnn-
tanning an on ~, tws cells and the ia!l"r's bed
room. On the first il>er are y hi the ts"aS-
urer's aud register Of deeds and auditors OF
fees; ON tllr second H3ar are BE- 9.uty super
ipteulent's and clerk OF the contts' Offices and
the g as room. \ :""& lire ahd burglar
proof vault il built oil from the first iloor Wl.ee"
al! the valuAbIas and records are safely kept.
The haIlalng is i T-sAaped frame stsue;Usc
with Il brick foundation.
Isaac Daily. ". W. Main and w. II. Dodd are
county commissioner of The first, second and
third districts r. p ~c,iynly; Il. Compton, treas
urer; A. L, Ronril. register OF deeds: Henry
Gardner, auditor; G.. ". Dean, she ril; +. ".
Miller. a~.tosney; y, a. Kirk, county judge; j. A.
Miller. clerk efthe courts; T. A. Sheehal, CO.
experimentation; =. II, A.. Flnard, coroner.
THE PUBLIC SCHOOL BUILDING
Is the pride Of the city. and indeed it could
well be The pride OF mora pretGnttons cities. 1t
IS u brick strnutn r., ~esaIed from the best
pressed brick, and lacks nothing IN architect
nral design or appropriate arrangement to make
il wall adapted to serve It's purpose. 1t is two
stories hi2l besides a basement and contains
eEght Wcll-arranged and Wall-ltshted rooms, all
furnished with single desks and seats. and Is
heated with hot air furnaces. 80 basement
also c~outains Il spacious assembly room, far
uishea with hlatkloards aad dJunlt desks. 1t
WAS erected in !HaI II u cost vi ;sbUat S!3,tG9.
The hoard. consisting Of /. n. Gilmore. 4. o..
EIugsr.d and j. VI. Talcott, chairman, secie-
tary aud treasurer, respectively. were well sap
ported 10y t!e good people of the city III lis cree
tiau. The schoo, III present ~ run III SIX de-
nar,ments, managed BY Prof. b. Fink and his
| efficient cerps ol teachers. Misses Dora liawk.
Kate Get,,nss, Hattie Smith and Hester sprck-
man aud Mrs Baker. The school enjoys a rep
utation for taoroughnass. aud scholars are pre-
pared here for entering the Freshman class of
the state University.
THE CHURCHES.
In their race ior the "@oridty manmou. !" the
building uD of empires ana the requirement Of
! fame, men are prone to forget that They live
not by bread alone. bat must also strengthen
themselves Oh the spiritual mamma. Bat such
has not been the case so markedly ~ our city.
| From six puipits are the law and gospel read
and proclaimed every sunday.
THE ROMAN CATHOLIC CHURCH
Has, doubtless the greatest membership and
the largest congregations The house is large
| and well furnished it must be about 100 feet
long and is propnrtionately vide. Father
| Hogan is at the head OF the church and has by
/ ability and manlincss endeared himself to all
his comm t~,icants. Sunday school i, held
every SUNDAY afternoon.
THE METHODIST CHURCH
Was erected in 1889 at "A cost of about $4,000.
and VIII seat in opera chairs about 800 persons.
| The organization, TIE writer understands, is
seI.supporting. For many years the best of
talent has flied lis pulrits, and Rfy. A. Jamie
| son the present pastor, though ne has been
| here only u little over a la0Arh. has Tally estab-
lisled lie fact that he Is not ~ exception to
| this rhse. Mrs. II. MaFpliy has been %snl'erin.
tandeut OF the sunday school for about fGur
| wears this time, aud before thai for RAINY more
| wears. The sriiooi meets at Y every Sunday.
THE CONGREGATIONAL CHURCH
Was also erected In lssa. and is a credit to
the cltg. II is seated with opera chairs, and
will sea. asolt .0l comfortably. Rev. l.. p.
sabin was for ntany years pastor nf the church.
and In many ways strengthened 1t. Since last
April Rev. Ly uan las been pastor and has