The Sauk Centre herald. (Sauk Centre, Stearns County, Minn.) 1886-current, 1908-04-23
STEARNS COUNTY
Statistics Prepared By the Board
of Immigration
GOOD FOR REFERENCE
Fine Region of the State For the
Farmer Who Wants a First
Class Place of Residence

The pamphlet recently issued by
the State Board of Immigration to ad
vertise Minnesota contains the follow
ing valuable information concerning
Stearns county:
This county was organized Febru-
airy 20, 1855, with the county seat at
st. Cloud, and is situated a little
south Of the center of the state on
the west side Of the Mississippi river,
about 20 miles northwest of the cities
of Minneapolis and St. Paul, being
connected Herewith by the Great
Northern, Northern Pacific and 500
railroads which afford excellent trans
portation facilities for the county.
The soil is a rich, dark loan, with a
clay subsoil The surface is gently
rolling prairie, being originally cover
ed with dense growth of timber, the
principal varieties being, oak, maple,
ash, elm, Eastwood, tamarack and
pine.
The county is we'll drained by the
Mississippi, Sank, and north fork of
the Grow rivers. There are within
the limits of the county about 125 of
the beautiful lakes for which Mime
sofa is noted. These lakes TEEN with
all kinds of fish, making it an ideal
spot for the angler.
The area of the county is 133007
square miles, or S51 ,24139 acres, of
which S14,22O.09 acres are land, and
7,O21.27 acres are water. The land
surface is divided into 4,449 farms at
an average value per acre of $3S.6S.
The cereal crop, and average bushel
per acre, according to last statistics,
were as follows: wheat, 1863 bu.;
oats, 34O9 bu.; corn, 3O.07 bu.; barley,
2S.4s bu.; rye, 1852 bu.; flax, 11.2e
bu.; buckwheat, 1884 bu. The hay
crop had an average of 155 tons per
acre, and in vegetables, potatoes
averaged 91S9 bu.; onions, 211.33 bu.,
and miscellaneous vegetables had an
average value per acre of $5575.
Dairying, live stock, poultry and
fruit raising are carried on extensive
ly in this county. In 1906 there were
80 creameiers in this county with an
output of 3,23O,1S1 lbs. of butter. 1t
also had one cheese factory with an
output of $3.50 lbs. of cheese. The
live stock of the county in 1907 was
as follows: horses. 1880, average
value per head, $4755; cattle, 51,4Os,
average value per head, $2O.10; sheep,
1904, average value per head, $2.65;
swine, 1876, average value per head,
1888.
The population of the county in 1909
was 47,120, of which 1888 were ma
tive born, the foreign population be-
ing as follows: Germany, 1876
Sweden, 424; Norway, $40; Great
Britain and Ireland, 821; Denmark,
II; Poland, SO; Bohemia, q; Austria,
462: Russia, 80; other countries, 421.
Their occupations are the various
agricultural pursuits. together with
the county has 241, with an invested
manufacturing industries of which
the county has PAL, with an invested
capital of $1,626,361. The county has
20 banks, the deposits of which are
$2,724, 0S5.33. 1t has $50 rural schools
II graded schools, 3 high schools, and
SO churches with denominations as fol-
lows: Baptist, German Evangelical
Presbyterian, Methodist, Congrega-
tional, Unitarian, German, Swedish
and Norwegian Lutheran, Catholic,
Swedish Baptist, Seven-day Advents,
Zion Evangelical, Swedish Mission,
Church of God, Christian Science and
Salvation Army. 1t also has Is news
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