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Elk River Historic Context <br />Agriculture,1850-1950 <br />While the development of this county has been retarded, by reason of a large amount of <br />land held by speculators, yet, the fertility of the soil has attracted an honest and <br />industrious class of farmers .. . <br />Sherburne County, in History of the Upper Mississippi Valley,1880' <br />Development of the waterpower on the Elk River was a notable early accomplishment, <br />but flour and sawmill construction took place against the backdrop of agricultural <br />settlement. Early farmers, like millers, were part of an economy that also included fur <br />traders and those prospecting for suitable millsites and townsites. Within fifteen years <br />after the first farmers settled in Elk River, the railroad provided a wide market for <br />agricultural products. This context encompasses the creation of the first Elk River farm <br />in 1850 through the post -World War 11 period when the rural population continued an <br />exodus to urban centers. <br />Pioneer Settlement <br />- - • ry ..tip <br />Farm near Elk River in 1919. Photo: MHS. <br />An estimated twenty farms were established in Benton County in 1850, which then <br />included present day Sherburne County.10 The first migration of Euro-American <br />settlers, many of them potential farmers, was encouraged by treaties that opened lands <br />west of the Mississippi. Many early farmers in the Minnesota Territory sought lands <br />along the Root, Zumbro and Cannon rivers, and along the tributaries of the Upper <br />Mississippi. Early farms were subsistence operations, with farmers supporting their own <br />families with little to trade at markets. Improved transportation and new agricultural <br />machinery and techniques expanded the market for farm products. Agricultural journals <br />and societies assisted farmers in finding the best crops suited to their land. The Benton <br />Elk River Historic Contexts Study Draft 412002 <br />7 <br />