The Dickinson press., 1915-11-20

SCTaC1Ou Clc COulCy 1S ueVclOp11lS
rapidly in various ways. Road work
is an important feature and the
thoroughfares are being improved
by grading, cutting down hills and
putting in bridges and culverts.
The county is in splendid shape fl
nancially, the assessed valuation, in
Guiding the cities of Belfeld and
Dickinson, is $6,390,345, not including
the $50 legal exemption for each
voter. There is no bonded indebted
ness and the floating Indebtedness is
being rapidly paid off and the COM
missioners expect to see it entirely
wiped out in another year or two.
This will leave the county in shape
to bond if deemed best or able to
lay by an amount each year toward
a court house fund. $4,000 or
$4,000 so placed yearly would hardly
be felt and the fund would soon
reach the amount required for a
fine county building.
Besides the county commissioners
mentioned above the present corps of
officers includes: J. L. Hughes, audi
tor; John Reuter-, Jr., treasurer; H.
A. Burgeson, states attorney; Geo.
]. Brown, sheriff; John Leask, regis
ter of deeds; Valentine Koch, clerk of
court; Fred Maser, county Judge; C.
E. Ward, superintendent of schools;
H. o. Pippin, field deputy superin-
tendent, appointed in 1915; A. D.
Davis, coroner; W. R. Veigel, survey
or and superintendent of highways.
Stark county is especially fortu-
nate in having large coal and clay
deposits. Ignite coal is mined COM
mercially at Lehigh, Pittsburg and
Zenith and for local farm trade at
many other points in the county: The
clay is manufactured at Dickinson
into fine facing brick, hollow build
ing tile, mantels, shape work, COM
mon brick, etc. The finer clays
which are Of the quality required for
making beautiful china are as yet an
undeveloped asset of the county.
Another condition favorable to the
development of Stark county is the
fact that all parts are easily access
sible, which solves the problem of
marketing farm crops.
The county is traversed centrally
east and west by the Northern Pa
cifc railroad and it's larger cities and
villages are naturally railroad towns.
These have all made a wonderful
showing in the past few years, not
only in increased population but in
civic improvement, better streets and
sidewalks, lighting, water supply,
sewage systems, schools, churches,
and the thousand and one things that
go to make a clean, modern, thriving
town.
The county towns include: Ante
lope on the eastern border, the large
villages of Richardton, Taylor and
Gladstone, the coal mining town of
Lehigh, all east of the county seat;
on the west, the thriving villages of
South Heart and Zenith and the
pretty and rapidly growing city of
Belfield. There are several busy
places off the railroad: Lefor, two
miles south of Gladstone, from which
place the mail goes out twice a
week; Daglum, some IL miles due
south of South Heart, getting mail
three times a week; and Sheffield,
south of the Antelope with star route
mail twice a week from Dickinson.
Gaylord, a %postoffice south of Bel
1lC1uS OupP1lSo ~ 1dlSC 1dI1ll1IlA
country. The county seat, Dickinson,
is centrally located and a commercial
and educational as well as an official
center for the county. :
The fourteen banks are all doing
a good business and their record of
deposits tell a story of success. The
banks are located, two at Richardton,
two at Taylor, one at Gladstone, four
at Dickinson, including the one just
getting ready for business, one. at
Lefor, one at South Heart and three
at Belfeld.
The schools are progressive and the
consolidation idea is taking a strong
hold Of the people, which means the
passing of the one-room rural school
and the coming of a better era for
the country pupils. High schools in
the larger towns and cities give OPP
portunity for college preparation and
many country pupils avail themselves
of these advantages.
The following figures are a con-
sentative estimate of the amount and
value Of Stark county's principal
crops in 1915:
Blu.
Crop Acreage Yield
Wheat 118,O24 2,36O,48O
Oats 1896 998,3O0
Flax 4,514 67,71O
Barley 8,527 298,445
Rye 858 34,320
Total 1889 3,759,215
There were 1901 acres of corr in
the county the past season. The
total value of all these products at