The Fargo forum and daily republican. [volume] (Fargo, N.D.) 1894-1957, 1911-07-01
The Remarkable Development
Of Northwestern North Dakota
Early History and Settlement, the Fight to Get Possibilities
Known and Appreciated and the Present Splendid
Opportunities as Related by diversion

grass was Of the peculiar variety thai
cures standing and that made the bes
possible feed for the immense herds OF
cattle and hores which pastured on il
all the year round. You did not know
that land which got enough rain Il
produce good crop of prairie hay
would produce a good crop OF grain
Experience, however, has proved this
to be true. Where is the great Ameri-
can desert now7 Certainly not ir
northwestern North Dakota. as a trir
through there by team or automobile
will convince you when you see the
immense crops of wheat, flax, oats
barley. alfalfa and even corn that a
few years ago you would have said ii
was impossible to raise there.
Land Values.
As am more familiar with the land
and land values in Williams county
than In other counties in my section OF
the state. will take the land there as
basis for my statements. Williams
county has grown more in population
in percentage during the past ten years
than any other county in the state.
L y AS@A JO0 OOAASAhCA lAl6 lLlu0GIlHE TALG
of growth of the whole state and figure
that Williams county made the biggest
growth of any county in the state in
percentage you will find that 1t means
something.
Examination Of our lands will show
you that there is a reason. We have
good land and great number of very
valuable natural resources. During
the past ten years practically all of
the land has been homesteaded and
most of it has gone to patent.
Land values are lower now in Will
liams county than in any other coun-
~ In the state, due TO the fact that the
country has settled so rapidly and
further due TO the lack OF money with
which to properly improve and Guilt
vate the land. The fact that many of
the people near Williston who took UP
land were not farmers. but simply
complied with the homestead law long
enough to prove up on the land and
later have not farmed it, is also a
reason for its low price.
You can buy good quarter sections
OF land in Williams county that will
raise as good crops as any land In the
Red river valley for from $12 to $40
an acre.
Land Values Not Settled.
Land values. However, are not set
tied. You may take certain section
of land, every quarter of which is
equally good, and when you wish to
purchase q quarter of 1t you will ind
that one man may want $4,000 for his
quarter section. He knows something
Of its crop reproducing qualities.
The second man may want $4,000
thethird man $4,000 and the fourth man
II he wants the money badly, will sell
his 100 acres for 81 800.
For this reason Williams county is
a good place to invest In good lands
cheap and If a person viii cultivate
and improve it. 1t will make him just
as much money as land the price of
which is many times greater. Our
principal crop is of course wheat
though a great deal Of fax is raised.
! think that ! was the first one to
raise flax in Williams county. This was
about ten years ago. hired all Of the
word done on my homestead and paid
good prices for 1t and found after
had threshed and sold my flax in the
fall that / had made a net profit of
SO an acre on my crop. Since that
time flax has become one of the prin-
cipal crops on new breaking in our
part Of the state. One OF the farmers
whom I induced to settled near will
lisfon told me two years ago that ne
threshed twenty four bushels OF fax
TO the acre on his land and sold his
fax at s1.75 per bushel. There are
hundreds of instances where people
have paid for their entire farm from
the proceeds of a single crop.
Natural Resources.
What has northwestern North Dako-
Ia in the way of natural resources to
make 1t the very best part of the state?
First, I viii say the large amount of
flne agricultural land capable of pro-
ducing as good crops as any land in
the state. Second. the almost unlimit-
ed supply of native Ignite coal. The
coal In our part OF the state is the
very best Ignite coal to be found in
the state and As now hauled by team
four or five miles to WilIiston and de-
hvered In the city at retail at $3.50
a ton.
Professor Snyder I'm his Interesting
talk yesterday told you that power
could be manufactured from this lig-
mite coal in the form OF producer gas
at smaller cost than the interest on
the water power sites in the east. Both
under and above these veins of coal
there are inexhaustible supplies of
clay which is capable OF making the
very finest kinds Of brick and pottery.
there are great possibilities for brick
and pottery factories in our part Of the
state. A deep water way transporta-
ton system for the Missouri river is
sure to come and when we get 1t we
VIII be able to deliver wheat at New
York or at New Orleans cheaper than
the farmers near Fargo can deliver the
same grain at Minneapolis. For the
past few years steamers have made
trips up and down the Missouri river
and up and down the Yellowstone river.
which empties into the Missouri river |
In Williams county, gathering the
grain and hauling lumber to points |
along those rivers. Along those rivers |
there Is an abundance OF wood for fuel |
wood now being delivered in Wiiliston |
at from SO to SIS per cord.
The irrigation Projects.
What has given WiIliston more ad-
vertising in the past two or three years
than any other one thing perhaps is
the government irrigation projects in
and around the city. consisting of the
the Buford Trenton and the
lower Yellowstone projects. The land
susceptible or Irrigation under these
projects is considerably over 5000
acres
A few words concerning the history, /