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The Present & Future of Missouri

Debow's Review

August 1858

A correspondent of the Missouri Republican furnishes the following very flattering picture of Missouri, as contrasted with others of the Northwestern States: "Northern Missouri, or that part embraced between the Mississippi on the eastern side and the Missouri on the western and southern side, is, from the richness of its soil, the admirable mixture of prairie and woodland, the facilities of getting to a market, the comparative cheapness of the land, and the mildness of climate, by far the best country in the West for emigrants to settle in. In Illinois, the broad flat prairies give few facilities for drainage, and lack the necessary timber in many cases for building and fencing. The southern part, called Egypt, is decidedly unhealthy, although the soil is wonderfully rich. Land, too, now, even after the late commercial crash, rates very high along the lines of the railroads from $10 to $40 per acre and is proportionally valuable at a distance from them. "In Iowa, the northern part is, to a great extent, cold, rather wet prairie, with very little timber; and the southern part, although better, is far from equal in natural advantages to much of north Missouri. This has been evidenced by the heavy emigration from Iowa, across the line into Missouri, amounting in the last two years to probably over twenty thousand. The different railroads, projected into Iowa, have progressed but thirty or forty miles into the interior, and cannot be depended upon to carry off the surplus produce of the country, for several years to come. A fictitious value has been hitherto given to lands in Iowa, from the tremendous immigration and the passage of emigrants to Kansas, both of which created an excellent home market in the interior, and enabled farmers to sell what produce could be spared at very high prices. The falling off of both these sources of revenue has been severely felt, and lands have fallen in value considerably, but not so much as to put them on a par with the lands of Missouri, even though surrounded as these later acre by navigable streams and cut through centrally by the Hannibal and St. Joseph Railroad, now approaching completion. "Kansas is a much overrated country. The land in the Indian reservations, a narrow strip on the western side of Missouri, is good, though scantily supplied with timber; but on going farther west, the good lands are found only in the bottoms of the streams and for a short distance out on either side, and the timber is scattered and poor. The broad plains set in, covered with sedge grass, dry and baked in the sun destitute of wood and water. The absence of railroad facilities, which that part of Kansas, bordering on the Kansas river, now the basin of trade can hardly expect for five years to come, and the greater distance from a market have, together with the superiority of the land in Missouri, caused a heavy reflux from the Kansas emigration into this State. "Wisconsin and Minnesota can hardly be compared at all with the countries I have described, or Missouri; the intense cold and the shortness of the summer season, preventing many of the fruits and some of agricultural products from arriving at full maturity. The land in Wisconsin is more costly; in those parts of Minnesota which are settled and likely to have a market soon fully as high as in Missouri. There are parts of Minnesota, where land is lower than in Missouri; but the climate and the prospects of speedy improvement are both unfavorable. "The southern part of Missouri is not so well fitted for farming land as the northern. From a line running centrally through the State, north and south, eastward on the southern side of the Missouri river, the soil is gravelly and shingly, and the country very broken, with the exception of the extreme southeastern portion, bordering on Arkansas, which is rich but low and swampy. This country is, however, valuable from its immense mineral resources. The Iron mountain and Pilot Knob, are evidences of its richness in iron, and lead is found in many places. There is pine timber on the headwaters of the Gasconade, and the vine is cultivated with much success in this portion of Missouri. "West of the above-mentioned line, on the southern side of the river, you find excellent land on the northern border of this track, along the Missouri river. On going farther south, you find the same defects as in Iowa, in regard to the mixture of prairie and timber, prairie greatly predominating; and still farther to the south and southwest, the country is more broken than in northern Missouri, and the soil more gravelly. There is, however, one advantage in southwestern Missouri, which will always strike an eastern eye favorably. The streams are clear, running,, and of pure water, which is not the case in isolated instances in any other part of the West, except Wisconsin and Minnesota. "' Northern Missouri is a country in which prairie and timber are mixed in almost as perfect proportion, as if the land had once been all under cultivation, and afterwards the fences and houses had been removed and the cultivated land had be come prairie. It is remarkably healthy, more so than any region in the West which I have seen, unless it be so far to the North that the coldness of the climate forms a serious objection. The soil is from one foot and a half to four feet deep, and is excellent. The timber is of good character, white and other oaks, black walnut, hickory, elm, and cotton-wood forming the larger portion of the forest. The eastern part is gently rolling, sufficiently so as to ensure thorough draining, and not too much so as to make it unfit for cultivation. The western part is flatter, but well drained, and the soil is richer and deeper. Both produce hemp and tobacco well, two staples which generally find a ready market. A more beautiful farming country does not exist in the United States, unless it be the famous Blue-grass region of Kentucky. "Farming lands are held at prices ranging from $3 to $25; the higher prices being asked for land lying near the Mississippi and Missouri rivers. The best land along the Hannibal and St. Joseph Railroad, properly improved, is worth $15 per acre, but good lands, partially improved, can be bought from $5 to $10 per acre. A large portion of the lands of the Hannibal and St. Joseph Railroad will be offered for sale soon, and from a somewhat complete examination of these, I can truly say, that better lands were never offered in the Western country. The terms are very liberal, with a heavy deduction for cash. Better opportunities have never been offered."