The Orchard and Vineyard of the West: A Description of Jefferson County, State of Missouri, Its Productions, Resources, and Advantages for Emigrants

The Orchard and Vineyard of the West: A Description of Jefferson County, State of Missouri, Its Productions, Resources, and Advantages for Emigrants

Compiled by the Jefferson County Emigration Society, 1867

8 pages

This informative booklet gives a glimpse of Jefferson County Missouri agricultural life in the year 1867. The book mentions the Iron Mountain Railroad that runs through the length of the county. Plus, Jefferson County is an easy day’s ride to St.  Louis, whose markets were always in need of supplies. Jefferson County had fine bridges at Le May Ferry and Fenton.

The hills were covered with useful timber, and three-fifths of the county is composed of high lands. These high lands were not first rate agricultural lands, but they have been proven to be adapted to the growth of all kinds of fruit including peach, apple, grape, strawberry, gooseberry, and blackberry.

The valleys produced about 60 bushels of corn or two tons of hay per acre. The booklet states, “Let an intelligent, educated farmer settle here, introduce better teams, better implements, more thorough cultivation, and combine stock raising with general farming, and we have no fears of the result.”

Lead mines were highlighted along with stock raising of cattle and sheep. The average winter temperature was 20 degrees. The average temperature in the Summer was eighty degrees. The extreme heat was 100 degrees.

In conclusion the booklet states, “Jefferson County has caught the spirit of the times, and is on the high road to progress. Her proximity to St. Louis, the great center of the Mississippi, her facilities for marketing her productions, her organized horticultural and agricultural societies, will not permit her fine lands to lie idle much longer… we invite all to come to our county and see for themselves, assuring every new-comer of kind, neighborly treatment, and a cordial welcome.”