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No More Sod Houses
About ten years ago every quarter section of land in Rock County
was occupied by a settler and sod houses were nearly as numerous as the section
lines.
Not a sod house is to be seen and in many instances the only
evidence of these early settlers is to be found in the numerous groves of
timber which mark the location of the homes of these hardy pioneers.
These were the people who tried to farm the land which is
fit for little but stock growing. When
reversers came they were not prepared to meet them and left the country in
large numbers.
Many of them came back and have adapted themselves to the
conditions of the country and are prospering.
The dwellings of the ranch owners are all substantial frame
houses and an air of prosperity pervades the surroundings giving silent
evidence of the substantial character of the stock growing industry.
This county has not been invaded by the big companies which
have virtually taken possession as some of the western counties to the
detriment of the small stock owner.
The ranchman of Rock
County are of the class
which may be designated “small owners,” although their herds, when reduced to a
money basis, represent thousands of dollars.
They are in business for themselves and the conditions governing the
country are different from those obtaining where huge tracks are front rolled
by big companies.
Morning World - Herald
- June 24, 1900
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