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PREFACE
| THE GREAT DIVIDE |
DIVIDE COUNTY |
THE PAST |
CHARACTER AND SOURCE OF POPULATION
| TOPOGRAPHY
This booklet is published by the enterprising business men of Ambrose, North Dakota, (who comprise “THE DIVIDE COUNTY DEVELOPMENT ASSOCIATION”) for the purpose of telling you in a plain truthful manner of the opportunities to be found in the country “OVER THE GREAT DIVIDE". Copyrighted 1915 by Edwin Bonde. The country which we call “THE GREAT DIVIDE” is a low range of grassed hills, which form the watershed between the Hudson Bay and Missouri River drainage system in the southern part of Divide County, North Dakota.
Divide County has a population of about eight thousand in the northwestern part of North Dakota, with Saskatchewan on the north and Montana on its west, and has an area of over twelve thousand square miles, with approximately seven hundred and fifty thousand acres of land, seventy-five percent of which is good agricultural land, susceptible to the highest state of cultivation, about thirty-three and one-third per cent of which is now under cultivation. The remaining twenty-five per cent cannot be classed as waste land, for most of it can be cultivated, and the remainder can be used for grazing. The first settlers came into this country in the year nineteen hundred and two, and on account of its remoteness from transportation, the settlers came slowly up to the coming of the railroad, in nineteen hundred and six, from that time to the present, this country has had steady growth, until this county now has over eight thousand population, and an assessed valuation of over three million seven hundred and fifty thousand dollars, and combined individual bank deposits at over one million two hundred and fifty thousand dollars, or over one hundred and fifty-six dollars for every man, woman and child in the county.
Without a doubt, the first white man in this section was a missionary or a trapper. Then came the rancher, who let his herd range over these prairie plains, covered with their nutritious grasses, who soon became wealthy on account of being able to graze his herd on Government lands, on which he had no taxes to pay. While it is to the rancher that this country owes its early settlement, the development of the ranching industry resulted in the building of only a few isolated houses. The rancher like the trapper took all he possibly could from the country, and was of no especial benefit to it. But to the homesteader this country owes the beginning of the present era of development; who came with his family, began to till the fertile soil and build a home for himself and family in the rich lands “OVER THE GREAT DIVIDE”.
CHARACTER AND SOURCE OF POPULATION The population of the country “OVER THE GREAT DIVIDE” considered as a whole is cosmopolitan, nearly every state in the Union, and many of the European countries being represented. Most of the native born citizens have come from Minnesota, Wisconsin, Michigan, Indiana, Iowa, South Dakota, Illinois and the eastern districts of North Dakota. The population is, however, to a large extent, composed of foreign born and their descendants, those of Scandinavian and German origin predominating.
“OVER THE GREAT DIVIDE” the land is of glacial origin, in some places it is strewn with heaps and ridges of rounded glacial bowlders, usually of granite or other hard rocks, but in the greater part of this section, the land is free from stone, and the surface is from undulating to gently rolling.
The soil in this section is best described in the words of Mr. Macy H. Lapham in the U. S. Department of Agriculture Soil Survey of Western North Dakota: "The Williams loam is a dark brown or chocolate colored loam or silk-loam from eight to twenty four inches in depth, under laid by a light gray or ash colored calcareous subsoil The immediate surface carries a relatively large proportion of organic matter, sufficient in places to impart a nearly black color to the soil which gradually becomes less with increasing depth until the light colored subsoil is reached. While of moderately heavy texture and compact structure, the Williams loams are friable, easily cultivated and maintained in a good condition of tilth; they are sufficiently open to absorb readily the water from rains and snows, and have subsoils retentive of moisture. An analysis of the soil of this section shows that it contains a large amount of phosphoric acid, nitrogen, potash, and lime content; the essential elements for the successful growth of; wheat, oats, flax, corn, barley, alfalfa, timothy, clover, potatoes, vegetables, and small fruits of the highest commercial qualities.”
The climate of this section is the climate of the North Temperate Zone, with each of the four seasons of the year distinctly marked by climatic changes. It is true we have some cold weather in the winter, but rarely ever is the weather uncomfortable for a man working out-of-doors; and this section is favored with more bright sunny days than almost any other section of the United States. Our summers are delightful; early dawns, prolonged twilights, and cool nights make this an ideal spot for a home. That this is a healthy climate can be demonstrated by the rugged, robust, rosy-cheeked children who have been born in the home of this country; rheumatism, malaria, tuberculosis, typhoid and other dread diseases are practically unknown here. There is no Weather Bureau in this section, on that account it is impossible for us to give you the average temperature or annual precipitation. As to the temperature; we are living here and are entirely satisfied; regarding the precipitation we cannot say how many inches of rain falls annually, but we can say we have sufficient precipitation to insure the production of a good crop every year, for we have never had a crop failure in this section. Most of our rainfall coming at the right time of the year, in the growing season in the months of April, May, June and July.
With the coming of the railroad, cities and towns began to spring up along the line, until the country “OVER THE GREAT DIVIDE” is now well supplied with convenient transportation, markets, rural deliveries, and telephone communication is had between the farms and towns in most of this section.
AMBROSE, NORTH DAKOTA (Elev. 2,040 ft.) Ambrose is a progressive, growing, enterprising city of about seven hundred population, in the central part of the “OVER THE GREAT DIVIDE” country, ten miles west of the county seat, on the Minneapolis St. Paul & Sault Ste. Marie Railway, five hundred and ninety-four miles west of Minneapolis; and is surrounded by one of the most fertile and productive farming sections in the Northwest. Ambrose is well equipped with public service utilities, having: --- electric lights and power, a fire department, cement walks and curbing, a hospital, two banks, three hotels, four elevators, two feed mills, telephone, two rural routes, and a weekly newspaper. In religious, educational and social advantages, Ambrose ranks second to no city of its size in the Great Northwest, having; --- Norwegian Lutheran and Presbyterian churches, a twenty thousand dollar grade and high school, and all the prominent fraternal societies. In the business section you will find every line of business well represented with up-to-date stocks in substantial buildings with plate glass fronts, the residence section shows every evidence of thrift and prosperity in the well kept and neatly arranged homes.
The principal products of this section, and the general averages per acre since its first settlement are: --- Wheat eighteen bushels, oats thirty-six bushels, barley thirty-five bushels, rye twenty-two bushels, flax ten bushels, timothy two tons, clover two and one-half tons, alfalfa four tons, potatoes one hundred and eighty bushels. The raising of corn has been tried with fair success during the past three years, and this year a great many acres were planted. The grand prize at the County Corn Show was awarded to a man who raised sixty-five bushels per acre. All kinds of vegetables and root crops have a remarkably large and rapid growth and are of the finest quality. Wild gooseberries, raspberries, strawberries, June-berries, highbush cranberries and plums are to be found in the valleys, in the hills and along the streams. Most of the farmers in this section are raising a limited quantity of these fruits, for home consumption; and certain varieties of apples and crabs are grown in protected areas. We believe that the raising of these fruits in commercial quantities can be made very profitable. At the present time our farmers are too busy raising grain to take time to bother with fruits, and that is the reason this has never been tried in this section.
As a rule the homesteader is not a permanent settler, some of them stay on their homestead after proving up, but most of them file for a speculative purpose, and place their land on the market as soon as they have received their final proof receipt. There are a great many of the original homesteaders still living in this section, who have gradually increased the size of their farm by buying land from transient or speculative pioneers who wished to sell. In the country "OVER THE GREAT DIVIDE" are the two greatest primary wheat markets in the world; we have no statistics at hand regarding this, but we feel safe in saying that over five million bushels of grain have been annually sold in the market of this section during the past two years. Sixteen train loads of wheat were shipped from Ambrose last year.
The association of business men who comprise the “DIVIDE COUNTY DEVELOPMENT ASSOCIATION” realizing that agriculture is more to be depended upon than any of the other pursuits, have joined together for the purpose of increasing the cultivated area and population of this section. When you realize that less than one-third the area of this fertile and productive section is now under cultivation, you can imagine the opportunities that present themselves here.
WHAT “OVER THE GREAT DIVIDE” OFFERS A good country, good climate, good water, good roads, good transportation facilities, good churches, good schools, good social conditions in a prohibition State, good neighbors, and good lands low in price but high in value, on which a man with good, common sense, can at least net twenty-five percent annually on the amount invested. The average farmer in this section is doing it and you are capable of doing it as well. We would like to have you “show us” a country where you can do better. The price of land in this section is from twenty-five to fifty dollars per acre, according to improvements and distance from market. Good land with ordinary improvements, from five to ten miles to good market, can be bought for thirty dollars per acre.
In this booklet we have endeavored to give you the truth about the “OVER THE GREAT DIVIDE” country in a plain matter-of-fact way. We have not overdrawn any of our statements, in fact, many of them could be enlarged upon and still be facts. Remember, we have not made any statements which cannot be substantiated or demonstrated any day. We want settlers, but we want them to come here and be satisfied. We do not care for the man with money who comes here and buys large tracts of land, and holds them for speculative purposes; we have him now. This is no place for the idler. We do want the man who knows his soil and loves to work it; who can come to this country, buy a farm, make a payment down, take off his coat and begin building his home in the country “OVER THE GREAT DIVIDE”; to such a man every resident of this country, and the Association extends the cordial hand of welcome. From time immemorial man has been searching for a perfect country; but contrary to his expectations a perfect country has never been found, and never will be. Now it is only fair to you Dear Reader, who has read this booklet so far, to tell you of the drawbacks which exist here, as they do in every country in the world. The great drawback of the country “OVER THE GREAT DIVIDE” is a woeful lack of good farmers; we are sorry to say that taken as a whole we have comparatively few good farmers; the old rancher never would make a good farmer, and as to the average homesteader’s method of farming, the least said about it the better. The greater part of our good farmers, are the men who have come here from the Central West and bought their land from the homesteader. Compare the price of the land, and the net return on the amount invested in the country “OVER THE GREAT DIVIDE” with those of the high priced lands of the Central West, and you will find that comparison unfavorable to those sections. There is no pioneering in this section now, with convenient markets, telephone, rural deliveries, good country schools, and good neighbors to welcome you to the land of health, wealth and prosperity; the country “OVER THE GREAT DIVIDE”.
Ambrose, N. D., Dec. 1, 1914. Gentlemen: By request I am giving my opinion of the “OVER THE GREAT DIVIDE” country. I came to this country from Grant County, Indiana, in nineteen hundred and eleven. Having sold my farm in Grant County, I determined to go to a country where I could realize more profit on the amount of money invested; it is sufficient to say that I am more than satisfied with my investment here. Comparing the climate of this section with that of Central Indiana; I prefer the climate of the country “OVER THE GREAT DIVIDE”. I find it more healthy. Very truly yours, Ambrose, N. D., Nov. 29, 1914. Gentlemen: Replying to your request as to what is my opinion of this section of the state, I will say: I came to this country from Minnesota in July, nineteen hundred and ten, and filed on a Government homestead that year, began to break in the summer on nineteen hundred and eleven; sowed my first oats and wheat in nineteen hundred and twelve. Since that time my wheat has averaged eighteen bushels and my oats thirty six bushels per acre; I now have fifty head of cattle. Since coming here I have done very well, and I find the average man who is willing to work a little will get along finely here. Yours very truly, Ambrose, N. D., Nov. 26, 1914. Gentlemen: I came into this section before the cowboys left, in nineteen hundred and four, and have been farming ever since. When I came here, my worldly possessions totaled: four old horses, some old farm machinery, and two hundred dollars in cash; and that was pretty well gone before the summer was over. Every year since that time I have followed general farming; in nineteen hundred and eightI bought one hundred and sixty acres more land, and paid cash for it. I have no land for sale, but I want to say to the prospective settler, if I wished to sell I could realize at least twenty thousand dollars for my ten years work. Truly yours, Ambrose, N. D., Dec. 7, 1914. Gentlemen: I came to this section in the fall of nineteen hundred and three from Hardin County, Iowa. At that time my son, daughter and myself filed on a homestead and began farming, with our market over fifty miles distant. I can recommend this section to any man who has a desire to better his condition. Yours, Ambrose, N. D., Dec. 8, 1914. Gentlemen: I came here in nineteen hundred and two, and took my homestead and began farming with an ox team, and for three years I hauled my grain and supplies over fifty miles; now I am only one mile from market and ride in my own automobile. I now have a half section of land, having bought one hundred and sixty acres adjoining my land four years ago. This year I had about two hundred and eighty acres into crop, which averaged very well. I have done very well in this section, and can see no reason why any man willing to hustle should not do the same; for the opportunities are here. Yours truly, Ambrose, N. D., Dec. 10, 1914. Gentlemen: Came to this country in nineteen seven and during the past four years I have been engaged in diversified farming, and I find it very profitable. I have been milking eighteen cows, but now I am only milking twelve. I find my average earnings are about twenty dollars per cow, during the past six months. I came here from Butler County, Ia. While I lived there I owned as good a farm as there was in that county, and today I would not trade my quarter section of land here for the farm I owned in Butler County. I can raise as much fodder corn per acre here, and I can raise more barley per acre to feed hogs than I could there. I think there is no country in the world like this for a young man. Yours, Ambrose, N. D., Dec. 15, 1914. Gentlemen: I am farming in this country and have been ever since I came here in nineteen hundred and three from Grant County, Minnesota. I farmed one farm there for seventeen years, and at the end of that time I had a mortgage of one thousand dollars on my land, which I paid off with the money I made on my farm here. I was over fifty years old when I came here and took a homestead with the intention of proving up and returning to my farm in Minnesota, but I liked this country so well I made up my mind to sell my farm in Minnesota and stay here. Yours truly,
There may be places in United States where a home can be more easily found; but there is no section where a home may be as easily acquired and competence assured as in the fertile land of “OVER THE GREAT DIVIDE”. We would be glad to furnish you with further information regarding this section.
Divide County Development Association
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This Ambrose promotional booklet "Over The Great Divide"
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