Bismarck daily tribune. [volume] (Bismarck, Dakota [N.D.]) 1881-1916, 1912-11-13
TRAVELLER BOOSTS
Mercer COUNTY
Man From Southern Mime
sofa Makes Pleasant Jour-
ney Over the Slope

krem Star: DR.. w. ]. Richardson,
who has land interests in this vicinity
and who Krem people will remember
being here some weeks ago has al
interesting communication in his home
paper. the Fairmont (Minn.) Independ.
ent, from which we extract the part
pertaining to Mercer county and Krem:
my journey west led me from
jamestown to Mandan, just acrcss the
Missouri valley IRON Bismarck. Man.
dan is strictly a railroad town and
nothing else, although it is the county
seat also of Morton county, next to
the largest county, | believe in North
Dakota.
From Mandan | travelled north
or northwest to be eXact-up the Mis-
souri, valley along the west bank of the
river of the same name. The river
is very crooked here and sweeps first
t one side of the valley and then to
the other great curves. At this sea
son Of the year it does not impress one
as being much Of a river although
was told that it increases immensely
with the spring freshets and most al
ways overfiows the valley
| never saw finer hay bottoms than
from Mandan north for perhaps tWen-
ty-fve miles. 1t made one think OF
the Minnesota hay bottoms only they
were larger. Whenever the river ov-
orflows in the spring they told me
it insured a fine crop of hay.
"There are only three trains a week
from Mandan to Stanton, the present
county seat of Mercer county. | should
say there We're at present two hundred
people there, although it will no doubt
grow considerably o that it has a
railroad. Looking west from the Mis-
souri, valley one begins to get glimpses
of the Dakota hills. These are in
strange contrast to the level or rol,
North and South Dakota. As | came
up out OF the valley and looked wesi
across those ups and downs or hills
and valleys, the first thought thai
came to me was that Minnesota was
a mighty good state TO live in.
In looking across country one sees
the thills butt not, the beautiful rich
valleys that lie between them where
most OF the farms are. .H".
From Stanton I went by auto th1r
teen miles northwest to a little inlant
town called Krem.
Here to my great surprise | found
a fine little village laid out ON Il long
,frnnt ,cityntnI in tfhn rn,tnr Df ~, ala
waited plateau called bench ands ]
believe. This plateau extends for sew
eral miles east and west and some
distance north and south. The lands
about Krem seen to the finest and lay
the best of any l yer saw. l suppose
the average price Of these lands with
in a lew miles of Krem is around
twenty to thirty dollars per acre, &C.
cording to improvements.
in this little town | was surprised
to find two banks, three general stores,
a fine flour mill running day and night,
in season; a creamery, good hotel,
lumber yord, two blacksmith shops
and garage, furniture store, and last
but not least a newspaper.
"Of course some of these businesses
+ expecting to move to the new rail-
road towns south when the iron horse
arrives, but there will still be a lively
little inland town at Krem. 1t has the
country around 1t and the location.
while wheat and other small grains
have been the principle crops in this
section, the country is essentially a
stock country. Already in Oliver and
Mercer county there are a number OF
creameries, some Of which have been
running for years. There is mo better
meadow and hay land than that in the
valleys and the hills are covered with
grass to their tops. The sheep in.
dustry ought ito be a very profitable
one here. One of the wealthiest men
in Mercer county made his money on
beginning in a small way some
years ago. He now has large holdings
in land and sheep. /.
ANY young hustling fellow who |
would settle there 0 and go into the
dairy and sheep industry could make
tOltune In ten years.
Il saw some good fields of cut fod-
der corn. AS a rule the settlers have
not tried out the corn question to any
l am satisfied that by select