The Oakes times. [volume] (Oakes, N.D.) 1906-current, 1911-08-10
So Says Commissioner of Agri'
culture in His Writeup
of the County.
Some Statistics as Shown by
Records for 19O7-19O8---
More Corn Acreage.

IteS, just midway UeIWeeH CHe Reu
river and the Missouri river, it is we'll
watered by small streams and rivers,
across the eastern portion; flowing
south, is the James river, known as the
ttJim;" through the northeast corner
Bear Creek is fed by hundreds of living
springs of pure, clear water; the Maple
river, stream of size with its winding
course crosses the center of the county,
and the Elm river with its several
branches crosses the western portion.
From varying distances of ten to
thirty miles back on either side of
these streams the undulating prairie
gently slopes to its natural drain,
which is neither rapid nor sluggish
stream, but has just enough drop to
carry off the surplus waters of the val
ley, in no place rough enough to cause
waste, and in but few spots depressed
enough to cause wet land.
The surface of the eastern and GEN.
tral portion of the county stretches in
succeeding swells and slopes, there are
no hills, but an occasional knoll re-
lieves the monotony. The western
edge of the county is generally rolling.
The soil is black alluvial loan under
laid with a yellow clay subsoil. The
black loan varies in thickness from one
to three feet, the clay from twelve to
fifty feet, and underneath the clay
there is vein of gravel through which
runs an underground sheet of water of
crystal clearness and absolute purity,
of which the supply is inexhaustible.
The refreshing purity and clearness of
its water has made Dickey county
famous. s
During the autumn of 1886 the Chi
cago and Northwestern Railway ex-
tended its line from the south into the
eastern portion and at the confluence
of the James River and Bear Creek the
City Of Oakes was established. In 1882
the Chicago, Milwaukee & St. Paul
railway had pushed its line across the
center to Ellendale, which became the
county seat.
During the year of 1886 and the
spring of 1887, the Northern Pacific
railway Joined its rails to the North
western railway from two directions
into Cakes; one line from jamestown,
N. D., and one line from Fargo, N. D.,
and later on one from Minneapolis,
Mimi; then the Minneapolis & Sault
Ste. Marie railway crossed the county
from east to west extending on to Bis
marck; the Great Northern railway,
quick to recognize the productivity Of
Dickey county soil, extended branch
line across the southern portion to
Forbes, thus giving the county the dis
tinction Of being traversed by the
greatest railroads in America.
There are /, ,l52 square miles in the
county Of which ninety-five per cent is
tillable.
Land values vary according to dis
tance from towns, raw prairie land
from $40 to $40 per acre, improved
higher according to the improvements.
The population at present is about
10000, Of which q large majority is
native born, having come here from
Illinois, Wisconsin, Iowa, Minnesota,
Nebraska and South Dakota and some
from states farther east and south.
There are one hundred and twenty
district schools in the county, in most
townships there is q school house every
two miles. At Glendale, the county
seat, there is the State Normal Indus
trial and Manual Training School and
a state high school and at Oakes there
is a state high school, q German .Luth-
eran school, and the Baldwin Mem
oriap' st. Charles Catholic school, thus
placing the county in the front rank
for educational facilities.
There are thirty-two churches in the
county Of various denominations con-
sisting Of the Lutheran. Presbyterian,
Methodist, Episcopal, Catholic, Bap-
tist, etc. 5i.s 81;
There are six newspapers published
in the county, all Of them enterprising.
The total bank deposits according to
the last published statements in April,
1909. are about 81, 4oO, 900, being de-
posted in the three national and six
state banks in the county.
The eastern and central portions Of
the county have . complete system Of
rural telephone and mail routes. The
western part Is nearly covered BY
them, and all cities and towns have
& local and long distance telephones con-
.nected with their exchanges.
The chief industry Of the county Is
diversified farming, the chief grain
crops being wheat, oats, barley, rye,
spells, hax and corn.
The aereage planted to corn i In