Audubon County journal. (Exira, Iowa) 1884-1993, 1909-11-11
LOCATION AND PRESENT SIZE.

LOCATION AND PRESENT SIZE.
Harlan is the metropolis and county
seat of Shelby county, Iowa, located
forty-five miles northeast of, Council
Bluffs. It is the leading station on
the Chicago Great Western railway
between Fort Dodge and Council
Bluffs, and is also reached by
branches of the Chicago & North
western and Chicago, Rock Island &
Pacific railways. An interurban rail-
way from Des Moines to Harlan is
also in course of promotion, with
every prospect of Undertaking. with
in the coming year.
The city has a population of $500,
in round numbers, and is in fair
way to reach 5000 or more within the
next two years. Enterprises have
been established within the past
several months which, added to the
city's original resources, can conf
IDENTIFY be expected to result in the
growth above mentioned.
HISTORY.
The town was laid out about 1858,
and became the county seat in 1859.
1t was named in honor of James
Harlan, an early statesman and U.
S. senator of the state. 1t kept pace
with the growth of the surrounding
country until the railroad came, in
1878, but at that time it was viii
lage of only a few hundred. With
the arrival of the railroad the sur
rounding prairies were settled, and
within few years it became city
of 1900 population. Since 1885 it's
growth has been moderate but con-
tinuous. 1t was organized as city
of the second class after the census
of 1895 showed it had population suf-
| ficient.
DEsIRABILITY OF SITE.
40 city in the state is more de-
lightfully located than Harlan. 1t
lies Upon the gently rising slopes of
the low hills which form the western
rim Of the Nishnabotna valley. By
the way, this valley is one of the
most beautiful in all the world. Our
authority for saying so is none other
than the late Bayard Taylor, traveller
and author. In one of his books,
wherein he describes tramp afoot
across the middle west, you will find
his tribute to the beauty and fer
tility of the Nishnabotna.
Harlan lies right in the very pref
tiest part of this celebrated valley,
or. rather, right above the prettiest
part; and the view to the north, east
and south is of q character to make
poets sing with rapture and painters
weep for grief at their inability to
portray its beauties on canvas.
Not only has the location great
natural beauty, but it has practical
advantages as we'll. The ground upon
which 1t sits slopes gently in three
directions-north, east, and south
which fact provides natural drain
age not excelled anywhere. There is
no standing water in the vicinity of
Harlan, hence very little of the sick
ness due to bad drainage, few mo-
squitos, and few of the other pests
which exist where water lies about,
sloppy and unconfined Cases of ty-
phoid fever and malaria are rare and
the average of health is above many
localities.
AGRICULTURAL RESOURCES.
In the way of resources the city
has no appreciable advantage over
its neighbors of the valley. 1t may
not be known, however, to those who
live either east or west, that the
soil of the Missouri slope is the best
in the world. 1t is composed of loess
pronounced less-and is identical in
character with the soils of the Rhine
valley in Germany and the Yang-tse-
kiang in China. This loess is drift
brought here either by wind or
water-you can guess along with the
geologists-and it has wonderful pos.
sibilities for agriculture. 1t lies to a
depth of from 80 to 1870 feet-the clay
stratas lie level under the hills
and this great depth of drift holds
water like sponge. When there is
an excess of rainfall, the water goes
down; when there is shortage, cap
Hilary attraction draws it up. This
soil will double-discount any locality
in productivity where the subsoil is
hard-pan or heavy clay. Like the other
valleys named, the Missouri valley
will be as pro- ,tive thousands OF
years hence as no,
It goes without saying, therefore