Richmond times-dispatch. [volume] (Richmond, Va.) 1914-current, 1917-09-30
GOOD THINGS TOL0Ok At
IN ROCKINGHAM COUNTY
Prosperity General in Shenandoah
Valley, Of Which This County May
Be Called the Leader.
LAND OF GRASSES AND CATTLE
Leader in Grain Production-Big
wheat Average Every Year.
Grows Half the Barley in State.
Biggest Horse Market South.

i
toned In any connection. ones
thoughts Immediately revert to extern
sive folds Of waving wheat. vast acres
of corn, immense areas Of grass. acres
Of orchards. dIovca Of colts growing
into magnificent work horses. herds
OF frst-class cattle and large nocks Of
sheep. to say nothing of hogs. poultry
and some other things worth having.
There arc $40 square miles Of fertile
land in Rockingham County. and nearly
all of 1t is in cultivation; and as a
grain-producing county 1t has no peer
| in Virginia or anywhere else. In tho
production of wheat it claims, to stand
| at the head of the list. Its best farms
| have produced as high as fifty bushels
| per acre, and twenty-five TO thirty
bushels to tho acre is considered a
| fair average all over the county. It's
| yield Of corn, oats, rye and barley are
| in like proportinn-in the latter 1t pro-
duces nearly half of all that Is grown
| in the State.
FINE GRASS LANDS AND
MUCH STOCK RAISING
Not only is Rockingham the boss
grain-producins county, but it Is Pc
culiarly a grass and stock section. and
this is one OF the leading sources OF
its great prosperity. Hay is grown
in great abundance. and. having a
natural bluegrass soil. large numbers
OF horses. cattle. sheep and hogs are
raised and annually shipped from al,
parts OF the county to the Northern
markets. Some OF the finest draft
horses known in the markets are
reared in Rockingham. and 1t is con-
sdered enc of the best If not the best,
horse market in the State. There are
regular horse sales at Harrisonburg.
at which the sales OF a day have been
known to aggregate from $4,000 to
$4,000. and An average OF $3.50, and
even more. per head has been obtained.
These sales are made Largely t. North
ern buyers. In anothr article In this
paper the coming big demand for horses
OF just the kind that Rockingham
County produces is set forth in extenso,
and when the war closes this county
Is going to ship many fine draft horses
to tho now devastated sections OF
Europe.
Fruits of all kinds, especially ap-
pies grow to perfection in Rocking
ham, and in recent years apple or
chardinE has become great industry.
Nearly all of the original growth tim
Der has been culled out, but there still
remains n considerable quantity in the
mountain region Of the northwest part
Of the county. These timbers are
mainly oak, pine, chestnut, poplar and
cedar.
CLIMATIC, INDUSTRIAL AND
SOCIAL ADVANTAGES GREAT
The county has running through 1t
a number Of rivers and creeks. OF
the former the principal streams are
the Shenandoah. North and South
Rivers. and 1t is thus we'll watered
and supplied with power for milling
and manufacturing purposes Manu-
factories are numerous and important.
embracing more than thirty roller
mills with a capacity of fifty to 200
barrels of -four each per day. A large
number of sawmills. several large tan
EerIes. wooden mills, fertilizer plants,
furniture factory. agricultural imple-
mcnt factories, plaster mills. foundries
and furnaces. canning establishments.
and creamery and cheese plants arc
operated along the streams.
The climate is exceedingly healthful
and invigoratinC-coole in summer
and winter than the eastern section
OF the State, and warmer than the
mountains. Malarial diseases are en-
tirely unknown. Water excellent and
principally limestone. Churches arc
numerous and convenient all Pro-
testant denominations having houses
Of worship throughout the county. The
public schools Of the county rank very
high, having been pronounced by the
United States Commissioner of Educa-
ton the best in the State. Telephone
service Is cheap and efficient, extend
ing over this and adjoining counties.
and 1t is claimed that Rockingham has
moro rural telephones than any county
In the United States. Mail facilities
are OF the best, rural free delivery
routes having been established In this
county. reaching every section Of it
and making it the banner county of
the State in this respect.
MAGNIFICENT HIGHWAYS AND
TRANSPORTATION FACILITIES
Rockingham has always been one of
the most progressive OF Virginia coun-
ties in the matter of the Improvement
OF Its highways. Its good roads, It's
magnificent scenery. the general APP
pearance OF thrift on every hand. and
other things worth going miles to
see and enjoy. have combined to at
tract thousands upon thousands OF
tourists in these days Of automobiles,
ana they can be seen every day in
the year flying along the splendid
highways. going and coming in every
part OF the county. II there was not
mile OF railway in the county 1t could
rot be said that the TRANSPORTATION
facilities are bad, for with their good
highways and with plenty of money
10 invest in automobiles and auto
trucks. the people would have no
trouble getting to markets. but trans
portation by rail is ample. The Bal
timore and Ohio Railway and the
shenandoah Valley division of the
norfolk and Western traverse the
county from north to south. while the
chesapeake Western and the Southern
railways come from east to west and
branch lines Of all OF these touch yari-
GUS parts of the county. There is no
| trouble III any part OF the county about