Evening Republican, Volume 18, Number 1, Rensselaer, Jasper County, 1 January 1914 — MUCH ACTIVITY IN ONION FIELD [ARTICLE]

MUCH ACTIVITY IN ONION FIELD

Ed Oliver Has Sold $200,000 Worth of Beal Estate Near Newland—- < « Many New Houses. The now year is to be an eventful one in the history of Barkley township, the town of Newland- and incidentally for Jasper county. Ed Oliver has sold $200,000 worth of real estate, mainly onion and truck farm land, Within a short distance of Newland, 1 and Attorney S. C. Irwin, who has assisted Mr. Oliver in most of the sales, in the way of making out the legal papers, estimates that there will be in the neighborhood of one hundred families, possibly five hundred or more people, come to Newland to locate about the first of March. To accommodate these it will be necessary to erect many new houses and there has been considerable building going on all fall- while it is believed there will be more than fifty, houses rushed up in the spring. In fact, Mr. Oliver, acting under instructions from many of the purchasers, will start to erect a large number of houses. Other purchasers will arrive soon and look after their own building plana The most of" the land sold has been on the basis of one-third down, one-third in one year and one-third in two years. The purchasers are largely expecting to engagein onion raising and many of the buyers have had experience in that business in other fields. From near Davenport, lowa, will come some of the best onion growers in the country and they are frank to say that onion land near Davenport, no better than the land about Newland, is held at SI,OOO per acre. The investors in the Newland field have been attracted there by some extensive advertising which Mr. Oliver has done in a number of periodicals with wide circulation. The advertising has shown what onion growers have accomplished in that field and has held out a roseate possibility for industrious people. Judged by the experience of recent years there is a fine opportunity and the class of people who have purchased the tracts is a splendid type of ambitious citizenship. They are coming from many states and are coming with the understanding n aiIWAQQ nntrll’l AY) mi A frATTI i’T'lfMY* tlltlv SU.'vCUBS 'Will ulltstw IxtAill VliUll application and intense cultivation. Many of the tracts sold consist of 10 acres and men with families are expecting to depend upon this small patch to support them and to supply the money to complete the payment of the farms. With the average weather conditions abundant crops should be raised. The past season Was far too dry for successful onion growing but even at that Wealth producing crops were produced, many acres having from 250 to 500 bushels. The prices have ranged from 50 and 60 cents just after the harvest to a dollar or more at the present time. There is wealth In prospect If these conditions prevail year after year. There 4s a fine investment it equal conditions prevailed every third year- with much smaller returns the balance of the time. Due to Mr. Oliver’s enterprise something like five hundred people will come to Barkley township this year. If all goes well that many more will come another year and by that time it Is probable that most all of the muck onion land will be sold. With the building of the homes lor the eare of these new citizens and the labor necessary to care for the great acreage of onions they will raise, there will be busy times near Newland the coming year. Mr. Oliver’s sales were reported to The Republican as follows: A farm of 158 acres just west of Newland was divided into 10-acre plots and all sold- He sold 40 acres on the south side of Newland, 600 acres north of Newland, 122 acres off his own home place, 80 acres one-fourth mile west, 20 acres onehalf mile south, 127 acres threefourths of a mile southeast, all but 50 acres of a 255 acre farm south of Gifford, and some land northeast of Gifford. Among the new settlers will be a large colony from Florida, the advance guard of whom have already arrived. Others come from North Carolina, others from' Ohio and lowa and Illinois and Michigan. Several nationalities are represented. Thos. M. Callahan also has considerable land near Newland- as also has Harry Gifford. They sold some of their land, at first offering it at $75 per acre, while Mr. Oliver has maintained a price of $125 per acre, except for the 122 acres of his home farm, which he sold for $l5O per acre. Mr. Callahan and Mr. Gifford decided to Withdraw their land from the market, so it is said, and to wait until next year to offer it flor sale. Mr. Callahan will erect four houses on his land at once and probably rent a considerable part of it tor onion growing. He is a pioneer in the onion fields in that section, having grown some for several years.

H. C. Montay, who came there a year ago, bought 10 acres of Oliver last year on the contract plan. He had a fine crop and this year increased his purchase to 40 acres, buying for cash instead of by contract. He has been an enterprising man in that section- having put in a set of scales and erected a scale house, and also engaging In the hardware and' building material business and also in the sale of coal. Mt. Montay spent a long time in Old Mexico and is a man of wide experience and he is of the opinion that Newland and the surrounding country is going to have a big boom and that it will be permanent and increase in extent ahd stability each year. The coming of all these excellent people to Jasper county will mean a very important forward step in the cultivation of land that had for many years been almost a waste and the success of the enterprise means a very big thing for Rensselaer and the business men of this city. In this matter we should give a hearty welcome to them and plan to interest them in our city as a trading point. Indications are that Newland will be the busiest place in Jasper county the ensuing year.