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Elk River Historic Context <br />Agriculture, 1850-1950 <br /> <br />While the development of this county has been retarded, by <br />reason oj: a large amount of land held by speculators, yet, the <br />fertility of the soil has attracted an honest and industrious <br />class of farmers ... <br /> <br />Sherburne County, in History of the Upper <br />Mississippi Valley (1880)7 <br /> <br />Development of the waterpower on the Elk River was a notable <br />early accomplishment, but flour and sawmill construction took <br />place against the backdrop of agricultural settlement. Early <br />farmers, like millers, were part of an economy that also <br />included fur traders and those prospecting for suitable mill <br />sites and townsites. Within fifteen years after the first farmers <br />settled in Elk River, the railroad provided a wide market for <br />agricultural products. This historic context encompasses the <br />settlement of the first Elk River farm in 1850 through the post- <br />World War II period when the rural population continued its <br />gradual exodus to urban centers. <br /> <br />Threshing on the Specht family farm, 1924. Photo MHS. <br />Pioneer Settlement <br /> <br />An estimated twenty farms were established in Benton County <br />in 1850, which then included present day Sherburne County? <br />The first migration of Euro-American settlers, many of them <br />potential farmers, was encouraged by treaties that opened <br />lands west of the Mississippi. Many farmers in the Minnesota <br />Territory sought lands along the Root, Zumbro and <br /> <br />Elk Rivet' Historic Contexts and Phase [[ Downtown Commercial Area Study <br /> 11 <br /> <br /> <br />