The Delta independent., 1910-01-21
The Surface Creek and
Cedaredge Fruit Country.
BY E. S. CoRBIN.


Getting off the main line of the Den
yer & Rio Grande Railroad at Delta and
looking north and east one will first see
long. high mountain of crescent or
horseshoe shape This is Uncle Sans
National Forest Reserve and is locally
known as Grand mesa.
Lying at the foot of this mountain
horshoe one sees the famous Surface
Creek fruit country in which the towns
of Cedaredge, Eckert, Cory. Austin
and Coalby are located, comprising in
all some 3, 500 population and an area
of 60. 600 acres.
This great fruit section commences
some six miles from Delta and is five
miles in width by seventeen miles in
length. varying in altitude from 5.100
to 6. 500 feet 1t has within its bor-
ders fourteen schools, six postofiices.
three churches, telephones and rural
mail delivery; in fact, all the convent
ences of a suburban country.
Protected as this section is by the
Grand mesa mountains towering eleven
hundred feet on the north, west and
east, it has backward springs caused by
the heavy snowfall on its summit For
this reason fruit failures have with but
one exception never been known in the
history of the twenty three years of
apple, peach. apricot and prune grow
ing in this valley.
Limited in acreage as the valley is,
il has some two hundred lakes and
reservoirs on the summit of this fiat
topped mountain, supplying water
system sufficient for double the acreage
of the valley. The water is owned en-
tirely by the farmers and measures
over two billion feet. The supply is
ample now, and with the system yet
uncompleted there is little prospect of a
shortage of water in the future-es-
pecially when one considers that here
water can be had at from $50 to $50 per
acre
In this little fruit valley there are
now full one half million fruit trees,
one-fourth of which are now in bearing
and the rest coming into bearing. There
have been shipped from this area this
year some 600 cars, yielding to the
grower an average of 81. 600 per car.
Within the valley borders there are
one thousand acres of the best COM
mercial bituminus coal, the veins total
ing in thickness twenty-seven feet.
This coal is owned by the farmers and
sells at the mines at Sl.75 per ton.
Though an old stock country and with
grasses knee deep on the mountain sides
and top. the absence of fruit failures
together with the wonderful water sup
ply and the delightful climatic condi-
tions have caused these lands to ad
vance rapidly in the past two years.
The home seeker now has to pay for
raw lands with good water rights from
$500 to $3.50 90 per acre, while or
chards yielding from $500. 90 to $3.50. 90
will cost $500. 90 to 81. 900 an acre.
Cedaredge, the largest town in the
Surface Creek Valley. lies ten miles
from the shipping points of Austin and
Saxton on the broad gauge of the d. &
X. G. X. r. This little city is incor-
porated, has several churches, a high
school, bank. newspaper and some
twenty business places.
Eckert lies midway between Austin
and Cedaredge and is the heart of the
valley. A store. one church and four
business places comprise this little vii
lage.
Austin and Cory. thriving orchard
sections of the valley. have two and
one half miles of solid orchard and are
situated on the railroad. At Austin
are canning factories and packing
houses and the larger of the shipping
points. Saxton, new shipping station.
has recently installed packing houses.
At the recent National Horticultural
Congress held in November at Council
Bluffs. Iowa, the Surface Creek Valley
led all other sections in the winning of
prizes, securing first prizes on the best
plate Rome Beauties, best plates w.
w. Pearmine, Mann. Lauvier, Winesap,
Gano, Grimes Golden. Spitzenburg,
King, Yellow Bellheur, Ben Davis,
Huntsman. Smiths Cider, Senator and
Champion.
Fifteen second prizes on winter ap-
pies were won. and two third prizes.
DIR. A. E. Miller, of Austin, who owns
one Of the most up to date and scien-
tifically managed orchards in the West,
shipped this fall from 81 acres Of apples,