Jamestown weekly alert. [volume] (Jamestown, Stutsman County, D.T. [N.D.]) 1882-1925, 1908-09-10
OLIVER DALRYMPLE
Passing Of a Dakota Pioneer
in Hard Wheat
Farming.

Oliver Dalrymple, one of the best
known farmers in the. world, has re-
Gently died. He has been promi
nent figure in farming and has been
the means of inducing much capital
to invest in North Dakota land. He
was known for many years as the
largest wheat farmer in the United
States, and operated in connection
with his brother a 10000 acre farm
knowneas the largest wheat farm in
the world, under one management.
The name of Dalrymple will be in
separately connected with the history
of North Dakota. Originally Mr..
Dalrymple was farmer in Minneso-
ia, and in 1875 came to the territory
of Dakota. The name of Dalrymple
is known all over the United States
to people interested in grain, and
many passengers for many years have
been anxiously looking for the Dali
rymple farm as trains on the North
ern Pacific line entered or left Fargo,
and passed over the broad prairies of
the Red river valley. The siding;
called Dalrymple and the large tracts
of cultivated fields with an occasional
group of farm buildings, to be seen
from the railroad track, have been
regarded with curiosity by thousands
of visitors from all over the world L
Mr.. Dalrymple was one of the first
men who realized the productiveness
of North Dakota's soil, and he bought
from the Northern Pacific road Is, 600
acres as early as 1875. Other capital
lists in New York, Pennsylvania,
and Massachusetts, also became inter-
ested in the country and bought
lands with script, and railroad stock
at par value, by which means lands
now worth from $25 to $40 and acre
were secured at prices ranging from
40 cents to So an acre. The Dali
rymple farm was known as the, orig
inal Bonanaza, farm. 1t was operated
in tracts Of 2,50O acres, each tract
with special set Of equipment and
men, and each Section. had its own
buildings In the earlier history of
the farm Mr.. Dalrymple broke and
put in crop 5000 acres each year,
which ground was cropped mostly
with wheat. Mr.. Dalrymple owned
three-quarters of this vast tract of
land and was general manager. Mr..
Dalrymple's early estimate of the
value of the land was correct. An
exchange, speaking of the details of
the big farm and its equipment says:
"Althouyh the land in:.this section
1s 50 level as to ..reQuire..much less
machinery and power to operate it
than the ordinary farm, there were
$50 gang plows, 70 gang drills, $50
self-binding harvesters and II extra
large steam threshing outfits. In
the busy season 500 to 600 men were
employed and 600 horses: were owned
on the farm. The u threshers each
turned out 1900 to $500 bushels of
wheat a day, and throughout the
threshing season the farm shipped
two trainloads of wheat day.
ssThe Dalrymple brothers gradually
reduced the magnitude of their oper-
ations and sold portions of their land.
W. f. Dalrymple died several years
ago and since that time his brother
Oliver has still further reduced his
holdings, until last year he had but
1900 acres in the Red river valley.
OF this, 1900 acres is near Cassel-
ton and 5000 acres near Hillsboro.
Not all Of this is sown to wheat now,
as crop rotation is practised to some
extent. As ..ss & III I'd, Il
s.The land In the Red river valley
issall under cultivation now, and it
Is valued at an average Of s25 an
acre: ''s|i I sss,s3s u 3 B: ss3s