The Democratic advocate. [volume] (Westminster, Md.) 1865-1972, 1900-03-24
Some Big Farms In Indiana
indianapolis Letter in Chicago Record

largest of these farms is the B. F. Clifford
tract, which, by recent additions. now con
sists of 32 000 acres Ii is doubtless the
largest body of land ever held by one indi-
vidual in Indiana There have been larger
farms, but they have been held by firms
or men representing the centralized inter
ests of others From the view point of
the West the Clifford farm Is not 50 notably
large. But in Indiana where farmer
that has from so to 100 acres is consider
ell in good circumstances, the size of this
large holding is enormous
In one respect the Clifford farm Is a
notable one compared to any tract 1t is
the larges; cultivated swamp farm in the
world. 1t was only ten years ago that the
section which Mr.. Clifford is now convert
ing into pastures and vegetable and grain
/ producing land, was a series Of marshes.
pools and hkes-a part Of the kankakee
swamps Mr. Clifford had previously de
yelopcd a great tract similar to this near
Champaign. III When Mr. Clifford first
conceived the idea Of converting portion
[ of the Eankakee lands in Indiana to agri-
cultural purposes he acquired at a nominal
price about ten thousand acres He then
/ bought two dredges. similar to those used
/ by the government in it, river dredging.
( The dred-eS were put tn cutting large
ditches, almost the size of small rivers.
I This work has been going on night and
/ day for years, and now there are 5000
! acres in high state Of cultivation The
I last year the talIest corn, and probably the
/ best in Indiana, was raised on this tract.
I Instead of fences Mr. Clifford has water
ways between pastures He has seventy
/ five miles Of large bitches through the
| farm, and has thousands Of miles Of small
+ cr bitches In addition to this he Is now
+ putting in drain tile The soil taken from
( the ditch beds has been shoveled back over
T the fields, aud thus the fields. have been
I raised little by little a. the ditching went
on. The work is still gnin. on, but it viii
I take wears to put ali the tract into cultiva
+ tiau
Mr. Clifford has between 800 aud 400
. tenement houses on the farm and the pop
ula,ion Is probably , 600 people He has
a spur a. thr farm from the nearest rail
way. aud ships hi, products direct to the
7 markets The land. when in state OF
cultivation, is a- productive as any in In
E diana, and Is worth trom $50 10 SO an
acre. Il cet Mr. clifford from 81 Ia
[ 81 80 an scre Nr Clifford lives at
kaakakeo
Leroy TcmPlcton. a few years aso the
I ropulis,. candidate tor governor, owns
farm of ) 0On acres IN Newton county,
and Is said O. raise more csru and cattle
{ every year thau auy other man Ia she state.
l..-s, than ten yctrs ago the state sald the
land ior seventeen cents an agrr The
only crop then was bullfrogs aud malaria
4 drain thirty feet wide aud eight feet
deep was constructed and the Land $500
became productive Mr Templeton paid
Sl6 and acrc for it, aud would not take
lcss than $50 an acre new Year before
la., Mr. Templeton raised eco, 600 bushels
Of alTu on hls farm He cleared SD, 0Du
on the years crop Daring the year just
ended he raised 50, 900 bushels of coTu
tie has more than a thousand cattle on his
farm lie employs AMY mcn TO look after
the work
The Allen Grcgury farm, which Is now
being divided among the heirs, includes
600 acres The William X kcnt farm.
+ southwest or Fair Oaks, consists Of : SEQ
aerss- The Otis farm comprises nearly
10. o00 acr,p, aud li,- parallel along the
Moon Railway from Fair oaks to Rose
Lawn The farm Of II W Cooley, who
rrerntly teIl dead Ia hi, ofhoe in Chicago,
has almost 1000 acr,-, aud last year 10
produced nearly / 90. 600 bu-hel, Of corn
Br,wan Brothers, or Crown Point have q
farm of 900 acres The Hamlet Hay
Company has about 10 uOn acres near
Hamlet Nelson Morris has lU, 600
acres, aud W l.. Shelby, Of Grand Rap
IDS. has nearly -. 900 acres Portions If
these farms are in state of cultivation
The tenants are largely Polandrrs Swcd,as
GcFmans and lIollauders
Oue Of these large farms /, owned and
managed hy a woman She is Mrs len
ME Conrad, and owns !, 900 acres IN New
ton county She farms every acre Of it,
conducts big cattle business, breeds
horses for the Chicago market aud Is max
ing a great deal of money She i a
woman Of about forty five and has all the
graces of her sex But she looks after
her farm aud ysss business personally. not
trusting any one TO attend to it for her
The land Is worth from $40 to $50 per
acre.
Many year. ago Adam Earl and Moses
Fowler owned the largest farm there ever
was IN Indiana Before the war they ac-
quired a stretch of II 600 acres in Jasper
aud Benton counties The farm took in
almost all the vast prairie lying from the
north Of Boswell to the Sumner holdings
Fowler held about p. 600 acres in his own
name, aud Earl had the remainder, which
ceutered in aud around Earl Park They
iarmei together During the war they
grazed and stocked il with tens of thou
sands of cattle. and filled large govern !
ment contracts Their Benton county
interests caused them to push the Indian
apolis and Lafayette Line through their
lands Fowler caused the county seat to |
be moved, and built the present town of |
Fowler, on the eastern border OF his farm,
by making land donations and giving $40, |
600 toward the erection of a courthouse !
After a while Fowler and Earl dissolved /
partnership, and the former began to sell |
off his land Fowler had in view the per
petuation of his great estate, and in his |
will made provision that it should not be |
cut up for twenty years The will was /
broken and the farm divided, and large |
parts of it sold Fowler and Earl got |
some of this land by government entry,
but most of it was bought at So, 81 and |
So an acre 1t is today the best corn
producing section of the state, and is worth !
from $50 to $40 an acre. Fowler died a |
millionaire, and Earl was worth about |
$500, 900, when he died, two years ago.
The Summer farm, north of the Earl |
holdings, was even larger than the Fowler
tract 1t comprised about p, 600 acres.
The land has been divided since Sumner
death He was reputel to be as wealthy
as Fowler, and died leaving his estate to |