752 BO ART) OF AGRICULTURE. 



THE MILK SHIPPING BUSINESS IN NORTHERN INDIANA. 



SAM B. WOODS, CROWN POINT. 



Seventy yeai's ago nortli^vestern Indiana was a wilderness. "The rank 

 thistle nodded in the wind and the wild fox dug his hole unscared." The 

 deer roamed the woods and prairies and was only hunted by the red men 

 for their flesh for food and their skins for clothing. This countiy was 

 the happy hunting' ground of the Pottawattomies, who held the terri- 

 tory between the Kankakee River and Lake Michigan. Up to 1832 there 

 was no white man in all this region, except fur traders, perchance some 

 hunters and trappers and some soldiers at Fort Dearborn, now Chicago. 

 In 1834 to 1836 white people began to move in and divide the wilderness 

 with the Pottawattomies, and from that tirhe on northwestern Indiana 

 has kept pace with the march of civilization. It is peculiarly situated. 

 Its northwestern corner is within 12 miles of the court house of Chicago, 

 and occu])ies the space south of the head of Lake Michigan— across its 

 ten-itory every railroad must pass which, from the east or southeast, 

 enters the great city. There are twelve trunk lines which pass over Lake 

 County, besides several belt lines, which gives a great portion of the 

 farmers of northwestern Indiana good facilities for shipping milk to 

 Chicago and the outlying towns of South Chicago, Hammond, East Chi- 

 cago, Indiana Harbor, Whiting, and others. My first recollection of the 

 dairy business in this section was in milking outdoors in zero weather, 

 when the cows' teats would freeze, the milk would freeze on the pail, 

 and my fingers so cold it was liable to spoil a good disposition, and with 

 all the suffering a very little milk. From that time to this the dairy 

 interests of northwestern Indiana have gradually improved, until, at the 

 present time, we feel that by comparison we can make as good a showing 

 as any section of Indiana or any territory which ships milk to Chicago. 



Wheeler Station,' situated between Valparaiso and Hobart. on the 

 Pittsburgh & Fort Wayne Railroad. I think has the honor of being the 

 pioneer district in the milk shipping business of northwestern Indiana. 

 The railroad company would place a car on the side track at that point 

 in the evening, and the farmers would (ill it ready to return the next 

 morning. 



About 20 years ago we found a man on Archer avenue, Chicago, who 

 would buy our milk, he furnishing the cans and paying $1..30 per can 

 of eight gallons, ticket costing 15 cents. At that time the Grand Trunk 

 had no milk train, but by seeing the officials we succeeded in getting 

 them to carry it on their express train in the evening. It made good 



