The Dickinson press. (Dickinson, Stark County, D.T. [i.e. N.D.]) 1883-1927, 1906-09-29

Few people realize the development
that has been made in Hettinger county
in the past two years, and more partic-
ularly during the last year.
A trip from Dickinson to New England
reveals something of the growth that has
been going on in the country south. In
making the trip to the Cannon Ball river,
distance of "a miles by air line and II
by road, it is no uncommon thing to
meet thirty or forty teams.
Hettinger county is one of the three
remaining unorganized counties in North
Dakota and is about 48 miles north and
south, extending down to the South Da-
kota line; and is about the same distance
east and west. The soil is rich and is
watered by springs, the Cannon Ball
river, Cedar and Chanta Peta creeks and
their numerous tributaries.
1t has inexhaustible beds of Ignite
coal, enough to supply the entire state of
North Dakota for the next thousand
years; and it has fine clay beds for the
manufacture of brick and all kinds of
pottery.
New England is located on the pic
turesque banks of the Cannon Ball river,
in the northwestern part of the county.
1t was established in the spring of 1887,
and for many years was the only post
office and trading point in all this great
stretch of country. The village has a
history.
During the winter of 1867 a COM
pany of eastern people, mostly from Ver-
mont and Massachusetts, formed the
New England Colony association with
the view of planting western city and
populating it with people from New Eng
land. 1t was thought that schools and
colleges could be founded and a nucleus
formed for prosperous community.
The people of small means were to have
a chance to get fine homes in Uncle
Sans domain, and have at hand all
the advantages of eastern culture. The
rapid advancement in the price of lands
would add greatly to their worldly pos
sessions, and thus an ideal settlement
was to- be founded, Greeley like, perhaps.
The organizers of the association had
high ideas and did not 60 into the pro-
ject with any mercenary motives. They
gave bonus of $500 for the founding of
the Rainy Buttes Sentinel, which made
its appearance June n, 1887. They
plated town site, alloting one lot to
each member of the association; erected
company buildings; were instrumental in
getting the Union Congregational church
edifce erected, and did many other
things intended for the general good of
the settlers.
But these association directors from
the far east did not know the practical
side of planting western town. In the
first place they were many years in ad-
vance of the development of the country.
At that time almost no wealth had been
created within any of the vast stretch of
country west of the Missouri river in
North Dakota, and the railroads were
not constructing new lines.
At the time New England was
founded there were but two men residing
in Hettinger county, George Muzzy, an
old buffalo hunter, four miles up the
river, and cattleman by the name of
Shepheard, forty miles down the river.
1t was not even guessed then that this
was splendid sheep country.
The advance guard of the New Eng
land settlement left Dickinson on April
~, 1887, and with the aid of Capt. J. G.
Saunders reached the banks of the Can
non Ball late at night after weary day S
travel.
Some of the names associated with the
early history of New England are:
Thomas Bicknell, Capt. Bruce, Col.
Dodge and his steed, Puncher, Ned Par
fridge, Aaron Keene, Rosco, Eugene and
Harrison Fisher, Fred Spaulding, D. T.
Hinckley, H. c. Philbrick, Capt. and
Mrs. Perry, Geo. Armstrong, F. I. Ches-
ter, Frank Gibbs, Charles Sweet, Charles
Pond, w. J. Kirby, E. E. Cheney, c. R.
Pendergast. Later the following, among
others, were associated with the pioneer
settlement: E. E. Cook, A. P. Folsom,
Joe Gaunt, James Sullivan, the man who
lost his lite late in the first fall by falling
into a we'll, and L. M. P. Griswold.
Capt. Perry erected the hotel building
now owned by w. C..tMcKenzie, but he
hankered for salt air and remained but a
short time, and one by one many others
drifted away to other fields. A few,
however, engaged in the stock business
and, as most of our readers know, have
done we'll.
The church was sold to Mr.. Smith for
store and little remained of the colony
settlement.
However, few years later, new
class of settlers came to Hettinger and
soon the county was dotted here and
there along the streams with prosperous
Succp, CdttlC dllu 4AOI sc 6IO"VAS !oLSuCS
Ranching has been very profitable in
this county and nowhere in the country
has there been better grazing than in the
Cedar creek section. In 1902 the Geo
Harkins 3-year-old native steers sold al
s7.4o per hundred, live weight, in Chi
cago, weighing an average Of 1924
pounds. This is the highest price evel
paid for grass-fed cattle in any market in
the world. The steers never ate any
grain but grazed summer and winter or
the nutritious grasses of this fertile coun
try. :.
Three and four years ago a sturd,
class of farmers from the Middle Wes
came in and today there are large grair
d stacks in the Black butte and Mott. set
Elements. Settlers during the last twt
years have taken up the free government
lands all along the northern portion Q
Hettinger county and are farming quit,
\ extensively, as a result Of which ther,
will be q great deal Of fine oats. wheat