The Delta independent., 1910-01-07
iWonderful Facts Of Delta Greatness

lying between the towns of Delta and
Hotchkiss, and through this the water
supply of this community will be great
ly enlarged.
DR.. A. H. Stockham and w. B.
Stockham are putting in a costly irri
CATION system to pump water to what
is known as Antelope hill. While the
territory to be reclaimed is not large,
comprising only about 400 acres, the
land is very rich and it is believed that
it will fully justify the expenditure.
Many other smaller enterprises have
been projected andscompleted and, tax
en- together, they have made possible
the cultivation of very large area of
new land.
Prices for the different grades of
fruit have been high, and the stories of
returns to some of the growers are as
tonishing. The Surface Creek Fruit
Growers association sold its cheapest
variety of apples at an average of s1.25
box, and the better grades of winter
apples went as high as 1925 a box.
DIR. A. E. Miller, who has an orchard
near Austin, is reported to have re-
ceived more than SIS, 900 for the apples
on 40 acres. N. Lambert, of Cedar
edge, got s5, 900 for the apples on eight
acres, and L. w. Sweitzer, who lives
about mile from Delta on one of the
finest orchards in the county, averaged
$500 an acre throughout his large or
chard The North Fork country, which
takes in Paonia and Hotchkiss, reports
returns quite as wonderful, and shipped
a large part of the fruit sent out of
the country.
The towns of the county have kept
pace with the growth of the agricul-
tural districts. In Delta there have
been several new business blocks
erected and there is not today vacant
storeroom in the town. The residence
strict is equally as crowded and there
are practically no houses for rent.
Owing to increased business both the
electric light and telephone companies
have built up their systems in the last
year and extensive improvements and
enlargemen,s have been made in the
water system.
Paonia has also done thriving bust
ness, has erected new business blocks
and made many public improvements
tending to beautify the city. Hotch-
kiss has laid great many new con-
crete sidewalks and also has spent much
time in beautifying its public park, the
prettiest little place of its kind in Delta
country. Cedaredge has been busily at
work trying to secure the construction
of railroad up the productive Surface
Creek valley connecting with the Dem
yer & Rio Grande at Austin, which
would thus furnish convenient transpor-
tation for the large amount of fruit
which is yearly grown in this country.
The greatest work which lies before
the county this year is to complete the
unification of bitches under the Gunni-
son tunnel, putting them all under gov
ernment control. This probably will be
completed this winter so that the water
can be turned in next spring, leaving
the government free to go ahead with
constructing the new canals.
The Delta County Business Mems AS
sociation also is working hard to secure
better railroad facilities. The Denver
& Rio Grande has announced that it
will broad guage its main line over
Marshall Pass, and this means practi-
cally new road for Delta county, as
it will enable it to ship produce by this
route instead of sending it all via Grand
Junction, which was the case when the
narrow guage necessitated reloading at
Montrose and Salida.
Delta county people believe that the
year 1910 will exceed even that of 1909.
as the products of the territory have
been so widely circulated, in such large
quantities that they are attracting gen.
eral attention to the district.