The Leon reporter. (Leon, Iowa) 1887-1930, 1911-07-06
Railroad

1910 1870. .**s,sss 2,224,77,
commencing with 1880, mileage
exclusive of trackagc rights.
**Reported mileage for 1909.
Whom admitted to the union il
Decenbe 1916, Iowa did not have
a single mile of railroad within he:
boundaries. Her population of 100,
600 souls was most thickly settled
in the three southeastern counties o,
the state and in the vicinity of Dubu'
que, Iowa, with thin sprinkling il
others of the two tiers of counties
bounded on the east by the Missis'
sippi river.
A population map of the state oil
Iowa for 1856 would show the south.
eastern corner of it, together with
the three tiers of counties west OF
the Mississippi, to contain fully two.
thirds of the inhabitants. In other
words, settlements had progressed
the more rapidly in territory by the
| water transportation of the great
river and it's Iowa tributaries.
BY 1870, although the greatest
density Of population remained with
the eastern and southeastern por-
lions of the state, the four trunk
lines from the Mississippi to the
Missouri were attracting the settler
In the decade following the railroad
mileage doubled. A line of railroad
starting at Keokuk in the fifties had
reached FIT. Dodge, PSI miles up the
Des Moines river valley. The Bur-
lington, Cedar Rapids & Northern,
the Central of Iowa railroad and the
Minneapolis & St. Louis were con-
structing north and south lines,
while in the northeastern corner of
the state, soon to become the fifth
river-to-river trunk line the C. M. &
st. Paul railroad was providing
transportation facilities for large
section.
The period of 1880 to 1884 was
one of great development. The rail-
road mileage doubled. Interior COM
mercial centers, such as Des Moines,
Cedar Rapids, Marshalltown, Oska-
loosa, FIT. Dodge and Waterloo be-
came more prominent as compared
with the cities on either river, while
branch lines in all directions, espec-
tally over the south half of the state,
afforded transportation facilities bad
ly needed by the increasing popula-
ton.
The development of Iowa is per-
maps the best read in statistics relat-
ing to the farm.
In corn production she is second
only to Illinois. The census of 1870
lists the production of corn for that
year at 6S,935,O65 bushels. In 1908
an acreage of 100000 produced
2S9,SO0,0O0 bushels, Valued at
42,H02,"t0 For 1910, S9,457,-
"loacres yielded 1850 900 bush
els.
The census of 1870 reported
yield of 21,005,142 bushels of oats.
In 1909. 100000 acres produced
100000 bushels, valued at $40
e"5, 1000, and Iowa ranked second as
producer of this crop. With A.
100000 acres Iowa, in 1910, pro-
duced 1S1,44O,000 bushels of oats.
In number and value of farm ami
mails Iowa is in the front rank. The
census returns for 1870 lists 433,642
horses, while in 1909, with 1,447,-
900, Iowa holds second place among
the states Of the union.
Iowa is also second in number of
mich cows, 100000 head in 1909.
as against 369,811 in 1870.
Iowa also holds second place with
1911 900 cattle (other than mich
cows in 1903, as against 636,424
animals reported under this heading
in the census of 1870.
In 1900 Tou,o u,oe 6,,4 T.,
states of the union in number and
value of swine, 6,4S5,00O head, as
against 1,353;90s reported in the
census of 1870.
The value of farm animals in
1909 was s358,37S,OOO. The total
value OF farm animals and farm pro-
ducts for 1909, was $791,797.614.
as against s114,3S5, AL in 1870.
IN mineral resources Iowa has
great coal field, lying along the Des
MONIES river valley and across the
lower portion of the state, and ranks
seventh as producer of bitum!nous
coal and ninth in total output of
coal. The development of this in
dustry is as directly traceable to the
railroad as is the progress of the
VIII Aoa"e dllu along agricultural
pursuits. In 1910 it is noted that
400 tons were mined, in 1851 the
production had increased to $4,000
tons, in 1865 263,4S7 tons were
mined, in 1875 the million mark
was passed with 1,231,547 tons
for the output of that year
while for the year 1910 7,660,O00
tons were mined and marketed.
Another mineral resource develop-
ed solely because of the existence is
the gypsum deposit of Webster
county. In this industry Iowa has
for several years ranked third.
Another great mineral deposit,
clay, has been developed. Iowa holds.
hrst place as producer and user of
drain tile, and is eighth in rank when
total value of clay products is con-
Several hundred thousand
acres of land has been added to the
crop producing area of the state by
the use of hundreds of thousands of
miles of tile drains.
The growing scarcity of lumber
and the desire for permanence in
NSD&s