Harvest Tales - Trego County
Harvest stories submitted by Kansans for the online exhibit, Wheat People.
Submit your own at kshs.kansasmuseum@ks.gov.
Western Kansas World
A Few Minutes With Our Wheat Growers
Ramon Powers found the following item in the Western Kansas World for January 14, 1893:
Trego county is as certain for the growing of wheat as any county perhaps in the United States and, when we take into consideration the number of acres that can be sown and taken care of by one man, we unhesitatingly affirm that in no other state can a farmer raise so many bushels, take it one year with another, and with so little expense. We wish to emphasize this statement and challenge comparison with any country or community in the world. . . .A few minutes conversation with A.V. Hixson, a former resident of Illinois, elicited the following facts. . . .
Mr. Hixson came here in 1886. The first two years he made no effort to raise wheat but it is now his principal crop. He and his son have sown 235 acres of wheat for this year's crop and did not pay a dollar for help. He owns 320 acres of choice land, well improved for the country and has considerable stock of all kinds. He is one of our very best citizens, works hard, keeps out of debt and is satisfied that he cast his lot in Trego County. A few hundred more farmers like him would make this country blossom like the rose. As it is it is the wheat growers paradise, a fact that we will endeavor to fully demonstrate as we journey along.
