The Dickinson press., 1906-09-15

OF and intermediate between the Mis-
souri, river and the east line of the state
of Montana.
Stark county is bounded on the north
by Dunn, on the east by Norton on the
south by Hettinger and west by Billings
counties. 1t is comprised of the town.
ships 137 to 14o inclusive, in ranges o1 to
100 inclusive, making forty-nine con-
gressional townships; in round numbers
I,44o square miles (sections) of the
richest land to be found in all the vast
domain of the United States of America.
OF this acreage (921, 1900 at least IS per
cent is tillable and the balance is rich
pasture lands, grassed with the far-famed
gramme and mesquite grasses, which
fatten the stock grazing thereon equal to
the cOrn-fed cattle of the eastern states.
The whole of the county is we'll
watered by numerous never failing
streams and springs of pure, sweet
water. The Heart and Green rivers and
Antelope creek are long streams that
traverse the county its whole length from
"Soe W SdSl' VII SltllCl SluC vi luGSe
streams lie the pasture lands, and back
of this are the farming districts.
The Northern Pacific railway runs
through the central portion of the county
from east to west, striking the valley Of
the Heart river at its confluence with the
Green, one mile west of the village Of
Gladstone, ninety-nine miles west of
Mandan on the Missouri, and follows the
valley west some twenty-five miles.
The history of the settlement and oc-
cuPation of the country by permanent
residents dates from the early part of
April, 1882, when simultaneously from
several OF the eastern states there arrived
at various parts of the county consider
able numbers of immigrants, and immi-
grafton continued for year or two until
considerable settlements were made
where the places selected for church,
school and the various necessary condi-
tons of settlement centered.
The county was organized in the
spring of 1883 with H. L. Dickinson and
James Collister of Dickinson, and J. G..
Campbell of Gladstone as the board of
commissioners. At the same time that
these men were appointed by the terri
torial governor, he also declared Dick
lnson the temporary county seat; some
what later the village was made the per-
manent seat by majority vote: of the
residents of the county. Soon after the
county was bonded and a court house
costing some SIS 900 was built of brick.
Recently substantial additions have been
made, and now the edifce is commodius
enoug h to meet the requirements and the
officials of the county have their offices
all in this building.
The court house occupies an entire
block, centrally situated, which is hand
somely improved by trees, etc., and is
fenced on all sides by heavy boulevard
iron fence.
For year or two farming was the sole
occupation of the settlers, but about this
time the stock raising industry attracted
attention and the people began to under
stand the value of the grasses that grow
so abundant on the prairies, and they
gradually acquired cattle, horses or
sheep, as the case may be, and later, a
great many came to almost wholly give
their attention to this very lucrative in
dustry. At the present time diversified
farming is the vogue because of the tide
of immigration that has come to the
country and has had the effect of re-
stricting the free range, and also to cut
the wild grasses for winter forage.
The county is now in highly pros
porous condition and excites the admira-
ton of the would be investors in real
estate, and capital is becoming curious
to know more about the resources of the
country and is beginning to look into
the various things that are so abundant
as to astonish all who have hitherto been
ignorant of the abundant resources of the
county.
First, we must notice the vast deposits
of coal Qignite) found everywhere, just
below the surface of the land in some
instances, in others just deep enough to
make mining safe and easy. There are
two commercial mines in operation at
present, the Consolidated Coal Mining
company at Lehigh, half way between
Dickinson and Gladstone, and the Zenith
mine near Belfeld.
Next in importance is the manufacture
of brick at Dickinson by the Fire &
Pressed Brick Co. This company has
thoroughly demonstrated the value of all
the clays of this region, which are so
abundant as to be beyond computation.
Next after the clays comes the sand
found at Gladstone in the "Drift." This
deposit underlies more than two sections
only short mile south of the Heart river
at Gladstone, and the Northern Pacific
Railway company has bought quarter
section of this land and run spur track
to it, and is taking hundreds of carloads
annually from the deposit for their con-
struction work and hundreds more fol
engine sand. This huge body of sand is
being utilized all along the line Of the
railway for building purposes, and the
shipping of it forms one Of the industries
of the county of considerable CONNER.
cial importance; and there is growing
demand for it, as cement block will in
the near future be one of the features OF
construction, as wood is becoming scarce
and SO high as to compel the attention Of
builders to other than the present ma.
terial used so largely in building.
Last (but perhaps first in importance
we notice the manufacture of the high
grades of flour made from the famed
"No. Hard" wheat that grows to such
perfection on the rich gypsum clay loans
of this highly favored region.
The value of the various products ol
the county shipped out in carload lots