History and Comprehensive Description of Loudoun County, Virginia Part 10

During the Civil War agriculture received a serious set-back, as the County was devastated by the contending armies, but by hard work and intelligent management of the people the section has again been put upon a prosperous footing.

The agricultural methods in use throughout the County are very uniform, notwithstanding the fact that there are a comparatively large number of soil types in the area.

A system of general farming, with few variations, is practiced, although some of the soils are much better adapted to the purpose than are other soils of the area. The system of rotation practiced consists of drilling in wheat and timothy seed together on the corn stubble in the fall, and sowing clover in the following spring. The wheat is harvested in the early summer, leaving the timothy and clover, which, after obtaining a good growth, is grazed or cut the next year for hay.

This land is then plowed, and the following spring corn is planted, to be followed by wheat again the next fall, thus completing the rotation.

Loudoun's gently sweeping hills and broad valleys support great herds of cattle and flocks of sheep, and yield immense crops of corn, wheat, oats, and other cereals. More corn is produced and probably more live stock marketed by Loudoun than by any other of the 100 counties of Virginia.

The wheat is either sold for s.h.i.+pment or ground into flour by the many mills of the County, which mainly supply the home demand. The surplus is s.h.i.+pped chiefly to Was.h.i.+ngton and Baltimore. The major portion of the corn is used locally for feeding beef cattle, dairy stock, and work animals. Hay is s.h.i.+pped in large quant.i.ties and the rye, oats, and buckwheat are mostly consumed at home. Considerable pork is fattened in the County and many hundred head of cattle are annually grazed to supply the Was.h.i.+ngton and Baltimore markets.

A Government statistician was responsible for the following statement, based, no doubt, on the creditable showing made by Loudoun in the census of 1880: "Taken as a whole, probably the best farming in the State is now done in this (Loudoun) County." Of Virginia counties, it stood, at that time, first in the production of corn, b.u.t.ter, eggs, and wool, and in numbers of milch cows and sheep, and second only to Fauquier in the number of its stock cattle.

The breeding of superior stock and horses is an important branch of the County's agricultural activities. A contributor to _Country Life in America_, in an article ent.i.tled "Country Life in Loudoun County,"

says of it: "And the raising of animals is here not the fad of men of wealth who would play at country life. It is a serious business, productive of actual profit and a deep-seated satisfaction as continuous and well grounded as I have ever seen taken by men in their vocation."

The wealthier cla.s.s of citizens of course specialize, each according to his personal choice. One, with 1,500 acres, all told, does a large dairying business and raises registered Dorset horn sheep, large white Yorks.h.i.+re swine, registered Guernsey cattle, and Percheron horses.

Another, with a like acreage, specializes in hackneys. A third, on his 300 or more acres, raises thoroughbreds and Irish hunters. A fourth, with 1,000 acres, fattens cattle for market and breeds Percheron horses, thoroughbreds, hackneys, and cattle. A fifth, owning several thousand acres, fattens cattle for export. A half dozen others, on farms ranging from 200 to 1,000 acres, raise thoroughbreds or draft animals. These are the specialties; on all the farms mentioned the owners have their secondary interests.

Some of the farmers whose capital will not permit the purchasing of high-priced breeding stock, have long been engaged in the business of finis.h.i.+ng cattle for the market, animals being s.h.i.+pped from Tennessee, West Virginia, and elsewhere to be fattened on the wonderful gra.s.ses of Loudoun County. These steers are pastured from several months to two years, or according to their condition and the rapidity with which they fatten.

Sheep are to be found on most every large farm and are kept for both wool and mutton. Buyers visit these farms early in the winter and contract to take the lambs at a certain time in the spring, paying a price based on their live weight. When far enough advanced they are collected and s.h.i.+pped to eastern markets.

The rapid growth of near-by cities and the development of transportation facilities have exerted a great influence in the progress of the dairy industry in Loudoun County, increasing the demand for dairy produce, making possible the delivery of such produce in said cities at a profit to the farmer, and thereby inducing many to adopt dairy farming as a specialty instead of following it as incidental to general agriculture.

The dairy cows in Loudoun, June 1, 1900, numbered 8,563, of which 7,882, or 92 per cent were on farms, and 681, or 8 per cent, were in barns and enclosures elsewhere.

If the number of dairy cows, June 1, 1900, be taken as a basis, the five most important Virginia counties arranged in order of rank are as follows: _Loudoun_, 8,563; Augusta, 7,898; Rockingham, 7,312; Bedford, 6,951; and Was.h.i.+ngton, 6,792.

If prime consideration be given to the gallons of milk produced on farms only in 1899, the counties rank in the following order: _Loudoun_, 3,736,382; Fairfax, 3,310,990; Bedford, 3,244,800; Rockingham, 3,141,906; and Augusta, 2,993,928.

If greatest weight be given to the farm value of dairy produce, the order is as follows: Fairfax, $301,007; Henrico, $247,428; _Loudoun_, $242,221; Pittsylvania, $200,174, and Bedford, $194,560.

From every point of view but the last, Loudoun ranked as the leading dairy county of Virginia. The relative rank of other near compet.i.tors varied according to the basis of arrangement. The value of dairy produce is materially influenced by nearness to markets and also by the average production per farm, and these factors a.s.sisted in modifying the rank of Loudoun with reference to farm values of dairy produce.

The good prices obtained for apples during recent years have led some to plant this fruit on a larger scale than heretofore, and the result is so far quite gratifying. Apples do well on most of the soils of Loudoun. The best are sold to buyers who s.h.i.+p to large markets. The poorer qualities are kept for home consumption, used for cider and fed to hogs. Pears are grown in small quant.i.ties throughout the County.

Peaches do well on most of the soils, but yield irregularly on account of frosts. All indigenous vegetables succeed well, but are mostly grown for home consumption, market gardens being conspicuously scarce.

Hosts of summer boarders give to Loudoun a large transient population requiring for its accommodation numerous hotels and countless boarding houses. This trade brings considerable money into the County and is a factor in its prosperity not to be ignored.

Scattered over Loudoun may be found great numbers of small industries, many of them employing steam, water, or motor power. These comprise grist mills, grain elevators, quarries, canneries, packing houses, saw mills, an artificial ice plant, and miscellaneous enterprises. Though comparatively insignificant taken singly, viewed collectively they show an aggregate of energy and thrift wholly commendable.

Several of Loudoun's more important enterprises were launched subsequent to the last general census and this circ.u.mstance renders its reports of manufactures, at no time complete or entirely reliable, of uncertain value as a symposium of the County's manufacturing interests at the present time. However, they are the latest reports obtainable and const.i.tute the only official statistical exhibit of this subordinate source of wealth. They afford at least a partial insight into the present status of the manufacturing interests of Loudoun and, to this end, are reprinted below:

Number of establishments 164 Number of proprietors and firm members 197

Capital: Expenses: Land $25,957 Fuel and rent of power Buildings 79,350 and heat $8,811 Machinery, etc 104,402 Miscellaneous 12,935 Cash and sundries 141,548 Cost of materials used 424,538 -------- -------- Total $351,257 Total $446,284

Value of products $638,136

FARM VALUES.

The tables appearing under this and the two succeeding kindred headings were constructed from the latest general census reports, and are a most complete and trustworthy statistical exhibit of the agricultural resources and products of Loudoun County. TABLE I.--_Value of all farm property, including implements and machinery and live stock, with increase and decrease, and per cent of increase and decrease, by decades: Summary 1850 to 1900._

--------+----------------+-----------------+------------+------------ Census | Value of | Increase in | Per cent | Average year. | all farm | decade. | of | value per | property. | | increase. | farm.

--------+----------------+-----------------+------------+------------ 1900 | $11,056,109 00 | $971,459 00 | 9.6 | $5,675 62 1890 | 10,084,650 00 | [#]729,731 00 | [#]6.7 | 5,547 11 1880 | 10,814,381 00 | [#]1,437,636 00 | [#]11.7 | 5,874 19 1870[##]| 12,252,017 00 | 323,187 00 | 2.7 | 9,896 62 1860 | 11,928,830 00 | 2,446,073 00 | 25.7 | 9,883 04 1850 | 9,482,757 00 | | | 7,549 97 --------+----------------+-----------------+------------+------------

[##: Values in gold.]

[#: Decrease.]

An especially great increase in the total value of farm property will be noted in the decade from 1850 to 1860. Then followed the Civil War with its great destruction of farm property, and from this disaster the County did not fully recover before 1890.

The average value per acre of all farm property in Loudoun increased from $32.18 in 1850 to $35.22 in 1890.

TABLE II.--_Value of farms with improvements, including buildings, with increase and per cent of increase, by decades: Summary 1850 to 1900._

--------+----------------+-----------------+------------+------------+--------- Census | Value of | Increase in | Per cent | Average | Average year. | farms. | decade. | of | value per | value | | | increase. | farm. |per Acre.

--------+----------------+-----------------+------------+------------+--------- 1900 | $9,138,560 00 | $518,830 00 | 6.0 | $4,691 25 | $29 11 1890 | 8,619,730 00 | [#]911,524 00 | [#]9.6 | 4,741 33 | 29 23 1880 | 9,531,254 00 | [#]1,345,752 00 | [#]12.4 | 5,177 22 | 31 89 1870[##]| 10,877,006 00 | 368,795 00 | 3.5 | 8,785 95 | 39 37 1860 | 10,508,211 00 | 2,158,840 00 | 25.9 | 8,706 06 | 35 48 1850 | 8,349,371 00 | | | 6,647 59 | 28 33 --------+----------------+-----------------+------------+------------+----------

[##: Values in gold.]

[#: Decrease.]

In 1900 there were only two counties of Virginia with higher farm values than Loudoun. They were Rockingham, with $11,984,440, and Augusta, with $11,464,120.

TABLE III.--_Value of land and buildings, with the per cent of the total represented by the value of buildings, June 1, 1900._

Land and improvements (except buildings) $6,649,690 00 Buildings 2,488,870 00 ------------- Total $9,138,560 00 Per cent in buildings 37.4

TABLE IV.--_Number of farms and number and per cent of those with buildings, June 1, 1900, with average values of land and buildings._

Number of farms: Total 1,948 With buildings 1,933 Per cent with buildings 99.2 Average value of-- Land, per farm $3,414 00 Land, per acre 21 18 Buildings, per farm 1,278 00 Buildings, per farm with buildings 1,288 00

TABLE V.--_Total and average value per farm of farm implements and machinery, with increase and decrease and per cent of increase and decrease in the total value, by decades: Summary 1850 to 1900._

--------+---------------+--------------+-------------+----------- | Value of farm | | | | implements | Increase | Per cent | Average Census | and | by | of | value per year. | machinery. | decade. | increase. | farm.

--------+---------------+--------------+-------------+----------- 1900 | $295,910 00 | $103,000 00 | 53.4 | $151 90 1890 | 192,910 00 | 9,683 00 | 5.3 | 106 11 1880 | 183,227 00 | [#]23,473 00 | [#]11.4 | 99 53 1870[##]| 206,700 00 | [#]31,564 00 | [#]13.2 | 166 96 1860 | 238,264 00 | 42,470 00 | 21.7 | 197 40 1850 | 195,794 00 | | | 155 89 --------+---------------+--------------+-------------+-----------

[##: Values in gold.]

[#: Decrease.]

The percentage of increase was least for the decade 1880 to 1890.

After 1870 the farmers did not, until 1900, report as large investments in machinery as they did prior to the war.

Only two other Virginia counties reported higher values of farming implements and machinery in 1900. They were Augusta, with $439,090, and Rockingham, with $436,340.