McLeod
County, MN
Landscape,
Settlement and Agriculture: 1850-1890
Environmental Studies Senior Seminar (ES 399)
May 2002
Jennifer Throne, Andrew Cole, Kristen Soderlund & Shane Vatland
Lulworth
Lake, McLeod County
Image
taken from the Minnesota Historical Society Visual Resource Database.
"About
one-half the surface of the county is covered with a heavy growth of timber.
The other half is prairie. The soil of the timber land is rich and
productive, the same may be said of the prairie land. Persons can
select such land as suits them best, either prairie, or timber, or both.
Another advantage we have, is, that we are blessed with a copious quantity
of water, either in the shape of lakes, springs, or brooks. Then
again, we have such hay meadows. Four ton to the acre, is not considered
a large yield. It is wild hay...but stock thrive on it...Another
inducement we have to offer, is the excellent assortment of people...which
should not be overlooked. Most of us are from New England and Middle
States. We are all honest,...pay our just debts, support schools,
go to meeting and work hard. Should there be any that would like
to settle with us...let them come on."
--Glencoe
Register, Dec. 10, 1857
McLeod County, Minnesota was founded in 1856. Initially, the
county was divided into a southwestern prairie region and a northeastern
forest region, with the division roughly following the South Fork Crow
River. The forested region was part of the Big Woods, characterized
by hardwoods such as Sugar Maple, Basswood, and Elm (Grimm, 1984).
The southwestern portion of the prairie region was dominated by prairie
wetlands. McLeod County is composed of loam and clay loam soils deposited
by glacial till. Settlement patterns were influenced by availability
of resources and by the distribution of Native American populations in
the region. Since the time of settlement, the land has been continually
impacted by Western settlement patterns and the agricultural practices
of those who came to live there. With homestead and agricultural
development, the county's landscape was quickly and drastically altered
by the impact of increasing numbers of settlers from foreign countries
and eastern states. Diverse cultural attitudes and land values were
reflected in settlement patterns and in agricultural development and practices
throughout the county.
As the county matured, economic and technological influences helped
to promote the advancement of modern agricultural developments. Increasing
demand, growth of the railroad industry, and mechanical improvements provided
the impetus for surplus crop production, especially wheat, for shipment
to outside markets, which caused changes in the land of McLeod County.
Specifically, as wheat farming tended to be an endeavor in which one crop
dominated the agriculture of the region, increasing wheat production had
profound implications on environmental integrity. Growing internal
and external communication between McLeod County farmers and residents
of cities also unveiled to the farmers a growing demand for dairy products
in the cities, affecting the environmental integrity of the region because
as cattle numbers rose, so did grazing and manure production.
|
|
|
|
|
