(Transcribed
from the book History
Of Delaware County Indiana Published 1924)
GEOLOGY, TOPOGRAPHY
AND SOIL SURVEY
In co-operation
with the Indiana
State Department of Geology, Edward Barrett then state geologist, the
bureau of soils of the United States Department of Agriculture in 1913
extended its field operations in Indiana to take in a comprehensive
soil survey of Delaware county and to compile definite and official
data in that relation. This compilation, prepared by Lewis A. Hurst, of
the United States Department of Agriculture, and E. J. Grimes, of the
Indiana Department of Geology, was issued as a government document in
the spring of 1915 under the title “Soil Survey of Delaware County,
Indiana.” So comprehensive is this survey and so fully informative
along the line it covers that it is deemed fitting to carry forward in
this definite history of the county the essential details there set
out. This survey opens with a description of the area thus comprehended
and points out, initially, that Delaware county, comprising an area of
392 square miles, or 250,880 acres, is situated in the east central
part of Indiana, in the second tier of counties from the Ohio state
line. Grant and Blackford counties bound it on the north, Jay and
Randolph counties on the east, Henry county on the south, and Madison
county on the west.
The surface
is
level to gently undulating, except near stream courses, where erosion
has rendered it more rolling and in places even hilly, or where
moraines exist. The descent to the stream courses is often abrupt or
precipitous. The banks along the larger streams generally rise in two
distinct terraces to the broken country, which merges rapidly into the
broad level upland. Numerous old filled-in valleys in the county
indicate that the pre glacial topography was much more irregular than
that of the present time. The two most prominent of such valleys are
the one lying east of New Burlington, crossing Perry township near the
center and connecting with the
west fork of White river, and the one lying parallel to the Granville
pike northeast of Muncie, known as Muncie prairie. The greatest surface
relief is found in the northeast and southeast portions, particularly
near Prairie and Stony creeks in Perry township and Easleys creek in
Niles township. Scattered throughout the county are numerous moronic
knolls and ridges, many of which rise to an elevation of several feet
above the general level of the surface. A number of kames or rounded
hills of gravel and sand are to be seen in the county, the most
important ones being found between Muncie and Granville and between
Muncie and Smithfield. There are several in and about Muncie, but much
of the gravel has been removed from them. A prominent chain of kames,
or long, narrow ridges of sand and gravel, extends from a point 2 miles
east of Granville to a short distance northeast of Muncie. Its
elevation is about 30 feet above the general surface level. The
watershed between the west fork of White river and the Mississinewa
river presents the largest expanse of level till plain. The watershed
between Buck and Bell creeks is also rather level, with but little
relief, except as the stream is approached. The average altitude is
between 900 and 1,000 feet above sea level. The general slope of the
surface is from east to west.
The Mississinewa
and west fork of White river, with their tributaries, drain the county.
The Mississinewa, having as its chief tributaries Easleys, Halfway,
Pike and Campbell creeks, receives the drainage of the northern third
of the county. The west fork of White river drains the remaining two
thirds, Prairie, Buck, Maid and Bell creeks being the largest
tributaries. A noticeable feature of several of the tributaries of
these two rivers, including Pike, Mud, Buck, and Kilbuck creeks, is
that they flow parallel with and close to the rivers for a number of
miles. There are indications that Mud creek was an original channel, or
at least a fork of the west fork of White river, for in times of high
water a portion of the overflow from the river floods this valley. Most
of Buck Creek valley is drained to the west into west fork of White
river near Yorktown, but less than a mile of the valley drains to the
east into this river near Muncie. A similar condition exists in a more
or less distinct valley tributary to Kilbuck creek, which discharges
most of its drainage west into the west fork of White river through
Kilbuck creek, but is also drained for a mile or more into the
Mississinewa. However, there is no evidence in this case that flood
waters have passed through the valley from one river to the other.
The first
permanent settlement in Delaware county was made in 1820. The earliest
settlers came chiefly from the states to the east and from Kentucky and
located along the west fork of White River near the present towns of
Smithfield, Muncie and New Burlington. County government was granted in
1827. Muncie, the county seat and largest town in the county, is
situated on the west fork of White river in Center township, a little
south of the center of the county and 55 miles northeast of
Indianapolis. It is the center of a rich agricultural region, and the
site of a number of important manufactories. Eaton, Albany, Gaston,
Selma, and Yorktown are other important towns in the county. They are
shipping and trading centers for the rich agricultural territory
surrounding them and also have some manufacturing interests. The
greatest impetus to the growth of these towns came in 1886, upon the
discovery of natural gas. At the present time the supply of gas is very
much depleted and is used by the farmers chiefly for domestic purposes.
A portion of it is also used in the smaller towns and villages, as well
as in Muncie, but the greater part of the gas now consumed in Muncie is
piped from West Virginia fields. Since the depletion of the gas supply
a few of the towns have lost a part of their manufacturing interests
and the population has declined to some extent. In the vicinity of
Selma a rather extensive oil field has been developed and is gradually
being enlarged.
The first
railroad
in the county was the Cleveland, Cincinnati, Chicago & St. Louis
(Big Four), 1852-53, from Indianapolis through Muncie. At the present
time the county possesses a most excellent railroad system. Six steam
roads and five trolley lines make transportation and shipping
facilities adequate for all needs. Every town in the county and all but
four villages are situated on either a steam railroad or a trolley line
and many of them on both.
The first
improved
roads were constructed under the toll pike system, which connected the
principal towns usually by the shortest route and centered at the
county seat. Such were the Centennial, Granville, Center, Wheeling,
Bethel, Jackson Street, Yorktown, Middletown, Newcastle, Macedonia, New
Burlington, Smithfield, and Selma pikes. Within the last 25 years these
toll roads have been opened by the county to the public and
supplemented by an excellent sectionalized public road system, so that
now every farmer has easy access to market. There are very few miles of
unimproved roads, most of them being surfaced with gravel and in
excellent condition. Unlimited quantities of gravel are available for
constructing and repairing the
roads. In recent years many macadamized roads have been built. Several
of the main highways leading out of Muncie have been paved with
vitrified brick for a distance of 1 to 3 miles into the county. Modern
steel bridges span the various streams of the county. Telephone lines
and rural mail routes connect all parts of the county.
CLIMATE
No official
weather records for the county are available, but records of. the
Weather Bureau station at Farmland, in the adjoining county of
Randolph, and which may be taken as fairly representative of Delaware
county, show that the mean annual temperature of the county is 50.8
degrees F. The highest recorded temperature is 102 degrees F. in July
and the lowest -24 F. in January, but such extremes are ordinarily of
short duration. High temperatures are not uncommon in July, August, and
September, but seldom continue long unless accompanied by extremely dry
weather. The average annual snowfall is 29.3 inches. In severe winters
snow may remain upon the ground several weeks, or even months.
Ordinarily the ground remains frozen only a few weeks and a thaw is
expected in February or March.
The average
annual
rainfall is 39 inches. This. is rather uniformly distributed throughout
the year, and the county rarely suffers from extreme drought or
excessive moisture. The greatest rainfall occurs during May and June.
The length of the growing season is about 5½ months, the average
date of the first killing frost in autumn and the last in the spring
being October 10 and April 25, respectively. The earliest recorded date
of a killing frost in autumn is September 6 and the latest in the
spring May 21.
AGRICULTURE
The early
settlers of this section found it a dense forest of hardwood broken
only by an occasional open, swampy prairie. Natural advantages caused
them to stake their claims along the larger stream courses. The streams
afforded access to outside markets by raft or flatboat and furnished
power for mills, including those designed for sawing lumber, while the
bottom lands, enriched annually by stream overflows, offered easy and
profitable farming. Because of its adaptability to bottom land soils,
corn became the main crop. Large yields were also obtained when the
uplands in the vicinity of the rivers were first cleared, these having
in general better natural drainage than the more remote uplands.
A
considerable
section of the county was in its natural condition poorly drained and
unfit for agriculture. A relatively large proportion of the land was,
however, well suited for farming. The cost of installing artificial
drainage in the west areas, the so-called “black lands,” and in many
cases the lack of adequate drain outlets prevented the use of these
soils by the early settlers, but they have since been made the richest
and most valuable lands of the county. Many thousands of dollars have
been expended by private and community enterprises to reclaim the black
lands and bottom lands along the more shallow streams. The first method
employed in artificial drainage was the construction of open ditches,
but in recent years these have been supplanted by tile drains.
The
channels of
almost all the smaller streams have been straightened and deepened by
dredging throughout their entire length, and recently the question of
straightening and deepening the channels of the west fork of White and
Mississinewa rivers has been agitated.
The county's greatest wealth
has
always consisted of its fertile Is. The native forest was cut off when
the revenue obtained from sale of the lumber was a trifle compared with
what its present value would be. The construction of steam and electric
railroad lines, giving ready access to the larger markets, has been an
important factor in the development of the agricultural resources of
the county.
Corn,
wheat, oats,
rye, flax, and potatoes were among the early crops grown in the county.
Hay was cut
from the open prairie has always been the leading crop, and it is the
aim of most of farmers to increase the production of this grain. In
some cases led to a depletion of the fertility of the soil, but the
more progress. farmers have avoided this by efficient methods of soil
management. The acreage of
corn has steadily increased from 52,061 acres to 71,706 acres in 1909,
with a corresponding increase in production from 1,528,876 bushels in
1889 to 3,135,530 bushels in The largest yields are obtained from the
Clyde and Genesee which produce approximately twice as much as the
lighter clay soils (Miami). They are rated among the best corn soils in
the state, and yields of 70 to 80
bushels per acre are not uncommon. The yields from the clay or Miami
soils can generally be increased through better cultural methods,
including fertilization and seed selection. Barnyard manure is the
chief fertilizer for corn, little commercial fertilizer being used.
Experiments
have
shown that an application of 2 or more tons to the acre of ground
limestone upon clover sod, before turning it under, especially upon the
lighter colored soils, will increase the subsequent yields of corn. The
effect of such an application will be even more apparent in the wheat
and clover crops which follow the corn. Similar results have been
obtained by subsoiling the clay lands or deepening the soil bed without
turning too much raw material to the surface. A gradual deepening of
the soil is generally recognized as beneficial. Too often the ground is
plowed to the same depth year after year, so that a form of hardpan is
produced which greatly retards the free circulation of air and
moisture. The relative percentage of phosphoric acid and potash
required properly to fertilize the different grades of land varies with
the local conditions, but in general the lighter colored soils will
yield better returns from the use of phosphoric acid, while the darker
colored soils give increased yields with potash. The latter usually
contain sufficient nitrogen but are deficient in the other two elements
of plant food.
An
important
factor in increasing the yields of corn is the selection of the variety
best suited to the soil on which the crop is to be grown. Too often no
attention is given to this matter or to the testing of seed corn. The
seed to produce the best results should be strong in vitality and the
kernels graded to uniform sizes in order to drop from the planter
evenly. The best varieties to grow on the different kinds of soil
should be worked out by the farmers themselves. The seed corn selected
from the clay land should be planted on the clay lands so far as
practicable and that selected from the black lands should also be kept
for the black lands, selecting from experience the varieties best
adapted to each grade of land. Well selected home grown seeds are
generally preferable to any other on any soil. Attention to these
methods should materially increase the yields from these lands. The use of the check drill in
planting corn permits the crop to be cultivated both ways, and hoeing
is not often required. In general three to four cultivations are given
the crop, though a fifth is not infrequent. Riding cultivators are used
almost exclusively. The use of power corn cutters has also reduced the
labor of harvesting this crop. In the last few years a large percentage
of the corn has been cut and stored for ensilage. This practice is
being rapidly extended as the value of silo feeding
becomes better understood. Ensilage is frequently prepared from
corn and peas grown together.
There were
14,766
acres devoted to
wheat in Delaware county in 1909, with a production of 190,963 bushels.
Wheat is not considered a paying crop commercially in the county, but
its value as a nurse crop for clover warrants its continued
cultivation. The lighter colored Miami soils show the greatest
adaptability to this. crop. Too much attention can not be given to the
selection of suitable varieties of wheat for the soil, as well as a
proper grading of the seed. Rotation, fertilization, treatment of
seed for disease, and the combating of insects require careful
attention to insure the largest returns from this crop. The Purdue
Experiment Station recommends the use of 300 pounds per acre of a
fertilizer analyzing 2 per cent nitrogen, 8 per cent available
phosphoric acid, and 2 per cent potash. This can, be applied at the
time of seeding by using a drill with fertilizer attachment. When
clover has been turned under for corn and the latter is followed by
wheat an application of 50 to 100 pounds of nitrate of soda is
generally advisable, which can best be applied as a top dressing in
spring. Where barnyard manure is used the most profitable results are
secured when it is turned under with the clover sod preceding the
planting of corn.
Although oats are
not generally
considered a paying crop, this grain fits in well with the customary
rotation and is especially valued for its straw, which, when fed for
hay in conjunction with ensilage, makes excellent roughage for stock.
In 1909 there were 25,205 acres in oats, with a production of 678,661
bushels. The average, however, is usually 30 to 40 bushels per
acre. Yields of 50 to 60 bushels are not uncommon. Oats are usually
sown with an end-gate attachment at the rate of 2½ to 3
bushels per acre. Cowpeas and soy beans are being tried by many of the
farmers as a substitute for oats.
Delaware
county is
not rated as a
potato-growing county, but the
number of acres devoted to this
staple in 1909 was 1,927, with a
yield of 150,162 bushels, or about 78
bushels per acre.
With the
increased
demand for canned
tomatoes the cultivation of this crop is gradually being extended. The
crop fits well into the system of rotation and when properly handled
gives twice the profit per acre derived from a crop of corn. Many
growers are netting a profit of $70 to $100 per acre where proper
cultural methods are employed. More attention should be given to the
breeding of earlier varieties and to methods of maturing the crop
before it is killed by frost. The selection of profitable varieties is
also often overlooked. From the 890 acres planted in 1911 to tomatoes
4,886 tons were harvested.
The growing of English peas offers another source of
revenue to the farmer. A crop of this character is profitable not only
from the sale of the peas but because of its value to the soil as a
nitrogen-storing agent.
The number of acres in clover in 1909 was. 2,885,
with a production of 3,365 tons of hay, or a little more than a ton to
the acre. The small acreage sowed to this crop accounts largely for the
low percentage of humus in the clay lands. Clover is not generally
included in the rotation of crops, or if so it is turned under without
being cut for hay, a practice which was not observed during the course
of the survey. It was observed, however, that both the hay and the seed
crops were removed. Cutting the second crop for seed robs the soil of
much valuable humus. The acreage of timothy is being rapidly reduced.
The growing of alfalfa is receiving more attention
each year, but its value as a feed is evidently not fully realized, or
it would be more extensively cultivated. This crop is especially well
adapted to the second-bottom lands or high terraces, on account of
their porous subsoils, but with proper preparation it can be grown
successfully on almost any soil in the county except muck. Aside from
its value as a money crop its value as a nitrogen-storing agent should
recommend its culture, especially upon the lighter colored Miami soils,
which are low in humus. To succeed with alfalfa it is necessary that
the land be well drained, limed, thoroughly inoculated, well prepared,
and free from ‘weeds.
Fruit growing has been made a profitable industry in
the few cases where proper attention has been given to spraying,
pruning, etc., but in general the orchards are neglected. Many of the
older orchards are infested with disease and insect pests, which spread
to the more recent plantings. The present tendency is to plant too
large orchards, which receive insufficient attention, while smaller
orchards well sprayed and pruned would yield more profitable results.
State inspection and modern methods of control are needed to make fruit
culture a paying industry. The more rolling type of Miami silt loam and
the Miami loam give the most satisfactory results in the growing of
fruit.
The farmers of Delaware county who cultivate their
own farms usually practice some form of crop rotation. A three year
rotation of corn, wheat, and clover is most commonly employed. This
requires sowing wheat in the corn either before it is cut or in the
stubble among the shocks. In either case the seeding is unsatisfactory,
and a good stand is rarely secured.
The county is a stock feeding rather than a stock
raising section. Cattle are imported from the western states, fattened
on the farm produce, and then put upon the market. However, this
practice has not been so profitable in the last few years on account of
the scarcity of range cattle in the West.
The dairying industry is confined to supplying the
local markets, but the excellent shipping facilities warrant its
extension to markets outside the county.
The price of land in Delaware county has kept pace
with the advance in other sections, and but little, if any, of it can
be bought for less than $125 to $150 an acre. Well-improved farm lands
frequently sell for $200 to $225 an acre. The high price of land is due
in part to the fact that the more prosperous. farmers are satisfied
with their holdings and refuse to sell unless offered a price
commensurate with the advantages afforded by a highly developed county
such as this.
The average farm wages range from $20 to $25 per
month, with board, lodging, washing, and feed for driving horse
furnished, or, in the case of a married man, house, feed for horse,
cow, etc. Harvest hands and extra laborers receive from $1.50 to $2.50
per day. The manufacturing and public works in Muncie, offering shorter
working hours and the various attractions of city life, have drawn
heavily upon the labor of the county, and desirable farm labor is
scarce. Those who operate a farm of 160 to 240 acres, seldom employ
more than one regular helper, the work being done largely by the owner
and his family.
According to the census, the average size, of farms
in 1910 was 82.4 acres. There were 240,483 acres in farms, of which
210,349 acres were improved. The value of the land and improvements,
except buildings, was $20,006,223; of buildings, $3,649,276; implements
and machinery, $444,142; and live stock, $2,616,481.
SOILS
Glacial till left upon the recession of the ice
sheet at the close of the late Wisconsin epoch covers the entire county
to a depth of 50 to 200 feet. It is a heterogeneous mass, consisting
chiefly of clay intermingled with sand, gravel, and silt. The material
of the drift varies, with the character of the rocks over which the
glacier passed, granite, gneiss, limestone, sandstone, and shale from
the Lake Superior region being intermixed and ground up with it.
Niagara limestone underlies the glacial deposits throughout the county,
but no rock outcrop occurs, though in a few places, notably in the
vicinity of Muncie and Yorktown, it is near enough to the surface to be
quarried. The first water bearing gravel is reached at depths ranging
from 10 to 60 feet.
The glacial till is the source of the upland soils
of the county. The alluvial soils or bottom lands are stream deposited
material, formed chiefly of wash from the upland soils. On account of
their depth, the underlying rocks have had little part in the formation
of the soils of Delaware county, though they may have contributed to
the ice ground mantle covering the uplands, from which the various
types are derived.
The various agencies of weathering have been at work
upon the glacial drift or debris since deposition and have formed the
present soils. The drift material, to a depth of 10 to 15 feet, is a
very light brown to pale-yellow or grayish mixture of clay, fine sand,
and silt, carrying a large proportion of gravel and small stones. The
latter consist largely of granite, schist, gneiss, and limestone
fragments. The limestone fragments are more conspicuous below 5 to 6
feet. Artificial exposures of the till usually weather to a loose,
friable, silty to fine sandy loam or loam. It is generally calcareous
and efFervesces with hydrochloric acid. In many cases this material is
supplemented with beds of gravel, particularly along the stream
courses. The upper part of the glacial till to an average depth of 22
to 24 inches consists of a uniform silt or silty clay layer, which from
its mechanical composition and general appearance is strongly
suggestive of the loess. It is possible to attribute the regularity in
depth of this silty mantle to the freezing and thawing of the soil, the
depth to which the soil is pulverized by such action being fairly
uniform. The covering is for the most part light colored, owing to a
small content of organic matter, and it quite uniform in texture. The
upland soils are known locally as “clay lands”.
Five series of soils were mapped in the county, the
Miami, Clyde, Rodman, Fox and Genesee. The miscellaneous type muck
(including small areas of peat) was also encountered.
The Miami series is the most extensive and widely
distributed. It consists of two types, the Miami silt loam and Miami
loam, a flat phase of the former also being indicated on the map. The
silt loam with its flat phase is the predominating soil in the county,
covering 67.8 per cent of its area. The Miami loam is more or less
morainic in origin and is confined largely to a single body in the
southwestern corner of Liberty township, though a few isolated areas
are found elsewhere.
The ice sheet left an uneven surface containing many
shallow depressions which existed as ponds, marshes, and small lakes
until they were artificially drained. Before being drained, however,
they had been filled to a greater or less extent by clay, sand, and
vegetable matter. The soils in them are black and have been mapped as
the members of the Clyde series, including the loam and silty clay loam
types. They differ from the Miami in color and in occurrence in poorly
drained areas. The silty clay loam is the most extensive of these dark
colored soils.
The Rodman silt loam is confined largely to a chain
of kames lying northeast of Muncie. This type and the Miami and Clyde
soils constitute the upland soils of the county.
The first bottom lands subject to overflow were
included in two types of the Genesee series, the loam and silty clay
loam. The loam is confined almost entirely to the bottom lands along
the larger streams, which are more sandy owing to the wash from the
silty upland soils and also from exposure of the coarser substratum.
The silty clay loam occurs along the smaller streams, where drainage
has been more sluggish and the bottom lands are silty. The Genesee
silty clay loam grades so imperceptibly into the Clyde silty clay loam
that often no definite boundaries between them can be determined. The
origin of the two is frequently very similar, the Genesee being
developed along the smaller streams, which often occupy old filled-in
valleys, while the Clyde originates in shallow basins or depressions.
The Fox loam represents the second bottoms or
terraces built up by overflow waters when the streams were flowing at
higher levels than at present. Muck, which includes some small areas of
peat, represents the accumulation of organic matter in lakelets and
ponds in various stages of decomposition. Its extent is limited to a
few small areas, the largest of which is Big Prairie in Washington
township. The soils of the Miami series are brown, light brown, or
grayish, and are underlain by yellowish and brown, heavier textured
subsoils. Mottlings of brown and light gray are present in the subsoils
in many places. The surface drainage is usually good, but artificial
drainage is necessary in some of the heavier types. The soils are in
the main derived, through weathering, from glacial till of a generally
calcareous nature.
