The San Mateo item. (San Mateo City, Putnam County, Fla) 189?-19??, 1909-09-25

That the people of Putnam count.
arc progressive and alive TO their nd
yantagcs Is shown by the recent boni
Issue OF $4,000. all OF which none.
is now In the county treasury read.
to be expended for the purposes 70
which Il was secured The county I
In a lOurishing condition and toda.
could pay of in coin every cent 4
owes and still have enough for run
ming expenses.
This bond money now In the treas
ury will be expended for a new cour
house, two bridges and hard roads
The court house Is TO be erected az 9
cost OF $4,000, being the least, pro
portionately OF the Improvements
Bids have been advertised for and
will be opened at the next meeting
OF the commissioners Perhaps the
most talked-of Improvement is the
new wagon bridge TO span the st
Johns river, connecting Palatka with
East Palatka and the splendid agri
cultural country beyond. This bridge
will cost $4,000 and the work upon
its construction began this week. An.
other $4,000 will be expended TO span
Dunns creek or Deep river, adding
another link to the chain which will
bind the county east OF Palatka firm
ly TO the county seat of Putnam, Both
contracts have been let and work will
begin soon on the smaller bridge.
The remaining $4,000 in this bond
issue Is TO so for hard roads, the main
object being TO build two great com
mercial arteries which will make Pa
latka the hub of trade in this section.
One of these roads will extend
from the eastern side of the big wag.
on bridge through San Mateo and
across the smaller bridge at Dunns
creek and through the peninsula to
the volusia county line. The western
artery will extend from Palatka
through lnterlachen, Keuka, Edgar
Johnson and the smaller villages
along this line TO the Alachua coun-
ty border where IL is expected the
Alachua county commissioners will
JOIN IL Win a ike fOdu.
Besides these two main roads 1t is
expected that the bond money will be
sufficient TO build several short
stretches of hard road TO connect
those already constructed in various
parts of the county, the whole giving
Putnam county one Of the best sys-
TENS of hard roads to be found in
the state The taxable values in the
are now placed at $2,920,523
and IL Is expected that these will be
greatly increased upon the completion
of the system OF hard roads.
Putnam county's natural resources
are not confined TO its fertile soil.
Great tracts of fine timber are stand
ing and thousands of acres are now
yielding turpentine in copious guam
tity. The timber of the county has
been scarcely Clipped by the axe OF
the woodman and this is now and
will continue for years TO yield great
wealth for those who reduce II to
lumber. Some of the largest saw
mills in the state are located in Put
nam county and the county is dotted
with manufacturing plants which use
a great portion of the output of the
mills.
Socially, Putnam vies with any
county In the state. The schools are
kept well up to the standard pre-
5cribed by the state board of educa-
ion and there are 2,Sl1 pupils enroll
ed In the fifty-four schools of the
county requiring the services Of sew
anty-nine teachers. There are eleven
Incorporated towns in the county
each with its churches. schools and
IN many instances lodges. thus insur-
ng a high standard OF citizenship
,ht.h xKya..o.. .oottou. ,,ou, oor,nat i