Brownsville herald. [volume] (Brownsville, Tex.) 1910-current, 1924-12-21
new RAILVAYN
TO BRING BOON
Gulf Coast Branch L,;ac
Edinburg to Ray
mondville to Be Built
! in Near Future

Va o1Nh 1NtlOOHlChl do III u
has been dreamed of by the mos. IN
gulne booster, according to W. A. Hard
ing, one of the chief movers in the ,vo
Ject of securing the railroad.
Permission for the building OF this
line was granted several months ago bv
the Interstate inc commis5 o.
and actual construction is expected t.
be underway not later than Feb nary. j..
1925, Mr.. Harding said. The ITarting
Gill Co., Of which Mr.. Harding ard y
L.. Gill are partners, has secured cor
troll of a $4,000 acre tract of land T. i /:
on both sides of the proposed IA li0ai
and as soon as construction OF the i c
is started an intensive campaign WI b.
launched to bring new settlers i q,
the Valley as purchasers of that Land
More han half of TIE right-of way h. 5
been secured for the railroad IN al
of it has been donated to the railroad
free of cost.
Willacy county, cut from Keac1y.
Hidalgo and Cameron counties. was
created by an act of the 9th Legislature
and was organized Aug. II, 1921 with IT,
following officers: S. L.. Gill, county
judge; w. A. Harding, T. St. Clair
Thompson, T. c. Richards, S. S. CALDWELL
commissioners; Joe Turner, sheriff and
tax collector; r. w. Huff, county and
district clerk, G. r. Johnson. assessor
and o. G. Schlecht, treasurer. At that
time the population of TIE county was
approximately 1900 but it has grown
until at present it is estimated that
there are 5000 people living within the
borders. Assessed valuations are $5,-
OAQ nAn 80 $1,000 %Lo-
100000 over the assessments of 1928.
10000 Acres Cultivated
At present there are 10000 acres of
land in cultivation, all of it dry-farm-
ed. "While our process here usually is
called dry-farming, in the true sense of
the term, it is nathing of the kind" Mr..
Harding said. "Here none of the me-
thods of moisture conservation are
practised as they are in the arid farm
ing sections. All that is necessary to
make a success of farming in this sec
tion is the common-sense use of the
methods practiced by the good farmer
of the northern sections of Texas or of
any other non-irrigated good farming
section"
In 1913 there were not more than $50
aCICS II idid III Al III
what now is Willacy county, according
to Mr.. Harding. 1t them was believed
that irrigation was necessary to sue
cessful farming and more than a dozen
!, artesian wells attest the efforts of the
citizens to do this. These wells were dug
during the period from 1908 to 1912.
The section where this test was made
was sold largely to city people, Mr..
~ - 4lo-o mona no -a1l
farmers in the section until they were
brought in colonization during 1915.
But the idea of irrigating Wlllacy
county land with artesian wells or by
any other method has been abandoned
long ago. The Harding-Gill Co. believed
so strongly that it was unnecessary that
they planted so acres of their best land
in the town of Raymondville in citrus
trees six years ago and today as a re-
ward for their belief in the possibill-
ties of that section they have a beau
tiful bearing orchard, which, according
to Mr.. Harding, never has been watered
except when the trees were set, and
never has been protected with smudge
pots during freezes. The orchard has re-
ceived intensive cultivation but it is one
Oh L0e DeSI lOOhluS III u amy = 80
part Of It has been sold by the company
but they still own several acres OF
trees.
Plant Big Orchard
The same men now are planting a
string 200 yards wide on both sides OF
a road for two and a half miles on their
holdings in citrus trees, 50 arranged
that five and ten acre blocks OF iand
can be sold with one or two acres OF
citrus orchard on each block. This pro-
iect when completed will make a 20 acre
orchard, There are about so acres OF or
chard in the county not'owned by these
men, ali OF it successful.
The first actual development in the
territory now included in Wlilacy
county came in 1915 when 1000 acres OF
land were cleared and sold to farmers
from the northern states, About the
time this project was completed the
limited States entered the war and Mr..
Gill. one Of the men who had been res
nonsible for the development entered
the first officers training school. he
served until the close of the conflict
being a CAPTAIN in the intelligence de-
partment, and there was prac'lcail!
nothing COne OuIlHS Nhat
At the present time the H~ardlng,1il
company has sold 10000 acres OF lana
bringing in hundreds of families from
Minnesota, Texas, Arkansas, tennessee
Kentucky, Mississippi and Alabama:
They ut present nave $4,000 acres Oh
land ursold. Ill.
The principle staple crop grown IN
willacy county is cotton and
onions form the the main winter crop
Resides this the farmers are planting
c;trusborchards, raising fine hogs, chich,
ems end dairy cattle. "The experimental
stare hal been passed in Wliiaey coun-
tyr a , .osperous farmer SAID. we
know WI at we can raise and know tha'
the.e crops will be successful. Our cot
ton pro luces better than the average
ron-;rrieated land, our onions yle'd
4,om si5o to $500 to the acre and we
,1fAhas . some fine stock"
Many Onions Grown ;,
rhe onions are sewn in the grounu
here they are to be harvested IN VII
lsev tounty, very little TRANSFORMING BE-
3ro bne, and the expense OF CROWNS
- 4 in this materially lessened- IL Is