TURNER COUNTY

Turner county contains 624 square miles, and is drained by the Vermillion river and the smaller streams tributary to it. It consists principally of prairie land, slightly undulating, which affords good drainage. The soil is of the richest alluvium, with clay subsoil. Good water is easily obtained at a depth of from twelve to fifty feet Artesian wells are obtained by boring to a depth of from 100 to 300 feet Pine groves of timber nave been successfully planted in all parts of the county. Dairying and cattle raising are fast becoming the leading industries among the inhabitants. Hogs, horses and sheep are also found profitable.

Flax, wheat, corn, oats and buckwheat are the principal farm products. Vegetables of all kinds grow to perfection. The average yield of flax is fifteen bushels per acre; wheat, 20; corn, 60; oats, 45 bushels per acre. Unimproved land can be bought at from $4 to $10 per acre, according to location, while improved quarter-sections are from $10 upward, according to the value of improvements and location. Coal is now the principal fuel, and sells at the stations in a retail way at the following prices: Soft coal, $5 to $8 per ton, according to quality; hard coal, $11 per ton. Two railroads cross the county. The Iowa and Dakota division of the Chicago, Milwaukee A St. Paul crosses the county from east to west, and a branch of the same line runs from Marion Junction, in Turner county, to Running Water, on the Missouri river.
The Dakota Central Railroad enters the county near the southeast corner and runs diagonally northwest across the county, crossing the Chicago, Milwaukee & St. Paul at Parker.

There are at present four railroad towns in the county, Parker, Marion, Hurley and Centreville, all flourishing towns, having churches and excellent graded schools. There are four good flouring mills in the county, located at Parker, Marion, Centreville and Finlay. The two first named are steam mills, having a capacity for the manufacture of 100 barrels of flour per day. The last named are water-power mills, located on the Vermillion river. A mill for the manufacture of oat meal, the only mill of the kind in Dakota, has just been completed at Parker. It will manufacture into oat meal 150,000 bushels of oats per year.

There are at present seventy good substantial school houses in the county, and 1,700 pupils attend them. About $35,000 was raised for school purposes during the past year. There are fifteen church buildings in the county, and several religious societies are preparing to build. The county offers rare inducement to men of small means desiring a home where church and schools are already established.

Source: "Dakota" history written by O.H. Holt, 1885

 

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