The Texas Almanac for 1867 with Statistics, Descriptive and Biographical Sketches, etc., Relating to Texas. Page: 81
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DESCRIPTION OF COUNTIES. 81
valleys. The production of syrup from sorghum is about sufficient for home
consumption. The number of negroes in this county does not exceed 250.
Our climate and productions are suited to white labor, and our people have
set themselves to work with an earnest determination, and the result is the
largest crop ever raised in the county; but we have had a very favorable sea-
son to assist us. This section is "a white man's country." The Brazos and
Bosque and some smaller streams furnish a large amount of excellent water-
power for driving machinery; and the time is not far in the future when this
will become a manufacturing county. We are now in great want of mills to
convert our wheat into flour, and I know of no better investment than a flour-
ing mill in this county.
BowIE CouNTY.- 'By W. E. Estes, Rep.)
COUNTY-SEAT, BOSTON-at which there is a good male and female acad-
emy; also, there are other good schools throughout the county. There
are also Baptist and Methodist churches. Iron ore and mineral water
are found in abundance in many portions of the county, also extensive
beds of lignite or brown coal. Dalby Springs, in the western portion of
the county, afford abundance and great variety of water. The curative
properties of these waters are well attested; the principal spring affording
water of dark brandy color, 600 temperature, which is not only pala-
table but a sovereign remedy for dyspepsia and diseases of the urinary
organs. The agricultural products are cotton, corn, wheat, potatoes, etc. The
climate is mild. The soil of Red river and Sulphur bottoms is very rich, while
upland is apparently poor, but it is very productive. The seasons generally
are sufficient to insure good crops. There is an abundance of timber of every
kind, also extensive pineries. The rivers are Red river in the north and Sul-
phur in the south, both navigable during the spring. The Memphis, El
Paso, and Pacific Railroad (graded fifty miles) runs through the entire
length of this county. In consequence of the change in the system of labor,
and the repeated overflows of Red river during the past spring, the yield of
corn and cotton, especially the latter, will scarcely- be as large by half as
usual. Wood for fuel and fencing is abundant in every portion of the county.
The best building material is pine. Butter, eggs, etc., are very cheap. The
oak mast is frequently sufficient to fatten hogs, and it is a good hog country.
Bacon can be saved in various ways. The natural increase in population
since the termination of the war has been larger than for any corresponding
period for the last five years. Both life and property are secure. The chief
markets are Jefferson (Marion county) and New-Orleans, the former fifty
miles from our county-seat, with wagon transportation; expense small.
Many of the large planters ship their produce direct to New-Orleans dwn
Red river. Freight last season from Spanish Bluff, (currency,) cotton, per
bale, $15; passage to New-Orleans, $40. The price of uplands (unimproved)
is $1 to $3 per acre; river bottoms, $5 to $25 per acre. Product per acre, (bot-
tom-land,) about 1 bale of cotton per acre and fifty bushels of corn. Slaves used
to cultivate twenty acres--with free labor our farmers now cultivate 10, 12, and
15 acres per hand. Negroes work well in some instances. Our farmers expect
to hire freedmen next year, and keep up their farms, if enactments are made
compelling them to comply with their contracts. Freedmen receive good
wages, are punctually paid and well treated. The usual varieties of garden
vegetables are grown in this countyin abundance, also, fruits, apples, peaches,
pears, etc. The following are the customary prices in specie : corn, 50c. per
bushel; potatoes, 75c. per bushel; wheat, $1 per bushel; beef, 3 c. per
pound; butter, 15c. per pound; pork, 5c. per pound; oxen, $50 per yoke;
bacon, 150. per pound; cows, $10 each; sheep, $2 50 each.
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The Glaveston News. The Texas Almanac for 1867 with Statistics, Descriptive and Biographical Sketches, etc., Relating to Texas., book, December 1866; Galveston, Texas. (https://texashistory.unt.edu/ark:/67531/metapth123772/m1/83/: accessed April 27, 2024), University of North Texas Libraries, The Portal to Texas History, https://texashistory.unt.edu; crediting Texas State Historical Association.