The Holly chieftain., 1923-08-09
IN BIG DACA COUNTY
COLORADO

Ed L. Nowells, editor of The Two
Buttes Sentinel, writing for recent
booster edition of the Elkhart
Kansas. Tri-State News. To those
who are familiar with the develop
ment of Baca County during the
past decade the terms are synony.
nous.
When Don Felipe Baca And his
followers crossed the Ration Pass
In 1853 with their OK carts and their
flocks and herds. seeking new pas
lures, little did the old Don dream
that he would bA the first white
man to Craze his kline on the broad
plains which in later years were to
become an empire Of modern agri-
culture. The early explorers from
the East saw thE great plains of
the West, called them the Great
American Desert and said no man
could subsist on them.
Then the cattle man came He
proved the succulent grasses of the
plains would keep his herds and
afford him pioneer home. But he
too. claimed it was not a land for
agriculture.
Then. in the late 'sOs and early
'9Cs came an influx of homeseekers
looking for new homes in the West.
They held on for time, built up a
flourishing civilization. Then came
period of dry years, and discour-
aged by long hauls to and from the
railroad fifty to hundred miles
away, they gave the land back to
the cattle man. But the past ten
years in Baca County have written
upon the pages of western history,
different story. Since 1910 only
Cne other county n the United Sta
tes Ia county in the citrus sections
of Florida) has made greater gains
In population and wealth than has
Baca County. Today, Baca County
despite her isolation through lack
of railroads and public utilities, Isl
one of the principal livestock and
agricultural counties OF Colorado
In 1910 the population OF Baca
County only was . little more than
2,506 people. In 1920 the population
was 1921, and it has grown during
the past three years. In 1910 there
xxara ny,11y sdn 20 r,,,o Il, pooo Cnrptu.
today there are approximately 1000
farms. In 1910 the area Of land in
farms was 257,344 square acres;
today there are more than 100000
acres in farms, or approximately 20
per cent of the area of the county.
In 1910 the total value OF farm prop
erty was less than two and half
million dollars; today the taxable
valuation of the county is better
than $l0OOO,OO0 The latest available
statistics show that about 80 per
cent of Baca County farmers own
their farms,
"Baca County raises more than
fifty per cent of Colorado's broom
corn crop. Baca County is Colo
radios leading county in the acreage
of grain sorghums, and 1928 pro
misses to be banner year.
"Diversification is becoming the
farm policy of Baca county. Follow
ing the cid range days Baca county
was for several years almost entire
ly wheat field A large acearage
of whet still is planted but the at
tention of the country is turning to-
live stock and feed crops
Large acreages of feed and hay
crops are supplanted by dairy herds
hogs and poultry. On many farms a
few ordinary cows, furnishing a.
weekly can of cream, flock ofhens
and few hogs have moe than paid
he farm expenses for several years,
In 1910 Baca county was largely
public domain. Today there Is no
land open for public settlement.
and less than 100 hOmesteads re-
main to be patented. The standard
of living in Baca County is an In
land county with no large towns
and no elaborate school facilities.
the county is one of the highest.
ranking in the state in education.
Its percentage of illiteracy Is only
O.6 per cent. 9S per cent OF the
population OF the county in native
born white.
'The statistics are not exception
al: they are only typical OF the de-
velopment OF the Great Southwest
during the past decade. And the
day of opportunity for the home
seeker in Baca County and other
ro.+{or, NJ tho Southwest has inst