452 
WISCONSIN STATE AGRICULTURAL SOCIETY. 
4,000 lumber wagons in 1870, and employ 165 hands; Fish Brothers in the 
same line, employ 125 hands, also made 4000 wagons in 1870; L. S. Blake 
& Co.’s woolen factory, engaged largely in the manufacture of shawls, flan¬ 
nels and lady’s cloth; A. P. Dickey, manufacturer of fanning mills and 
other agricultural implements, employs 50 men; Elliot & Wetlierell, manu¬ 
facturers of baskets, employ 180 hands, making $100,000 worth of bas¬ 
kets per year. Besides those mentioned above, there are a large number of 
factories doing a large business, and adding much to the prosperity of the 
city, but space will not permit to mention them in detail. 
The city is 25 miles south of Milwaukee, 62 miles north of Chicago, and 
commands a large local trade from the surrounding country. Her industrial 
pursuits are all on a solid foundation. Not a single failure has occurred 
among her business men the past year, and at this time may be regarded 
one of the most prosperous cities in the west, in proportion to her popula¬ 
tion. Her public debt arranged and being funded in new bonds at a sum 
of less than $300,000, running ten and twenty years, she anticipates for 
herself a brilliant future. Large wealth has already been acquired by many 
of her citizens, and is increasing year by year. Her harbor admits with 
ease and safety the largest vessels which float on the lakes, and commands 
as favorable position for trade and commerce as any on the lake. 
RICHLAND COUNTY. 
BY J. WALWORTH, RICHLAND CENTER. 
Richland county contains sixteen townships of land, government survey. 
The first permanent settlements were made herein 1848, and the county 
seat was located at Richland Center in 1851. The population of the county 
at that time was about 1,000. The census of 1870 gives us a population 
of 15,736, a gain of 6,004 within the last ten years. 
Our agricultural products are very encouraging to those engaged in farm¬ 
ing. Winter wheat uniformly yields well and is of an excellent quality, 
and is regarded as a surer crop than the spring. Corn, buckwheat and po¬ 
tatoes all do well, and appear to be the natural products of the valleys. The 
grasses flourish on nearly all of our lands, but the timbered lands especially 
are peculiarly adapted to the production of clover and timothy. Nearly 
tliree-fourths of the county is heavily timbered with black and white wal¬ 
nut, the several kinds of oak, and hard or sugar maple. From these, in fa¬ 
vorable seasons, a large quantity of excellent sugar is made. The soil of 
the timbered land is a rich, dark, sandy loam, easy of cultivation, produc¬ 
ing a rapid growth of vegetation. The adaptation of the soil to the pro¬ 
duction of grasses has induced considerable investment in stock raising, 
and much care has been taken to improve the breeds of horses, cattle, 
