Baca County History

by the Plainsman Herald

Tributary Towns


Advertisements

As a continuation of my look at Southeast Colorado Boom towns (1886-1889) I thought I would toss out an interesting town ad for Lamar. Almost all of the towns which popped up during that era had an advertisement that was placed in newspapers “back east” (usually Kansas) to encourage settlers to come west. This is one of two which I have found for Lamar. The biggest carrots presented to those potential citizens were usually free land and transportation to said free land. The ad presented below was in the March 17, 1888 edition of the Garden City Daily Sentinel. The term “Tributary Town” was used for all of the towns to the north and the south of Lamar. Because of the railroad, many came to Southeast Colorado via Lamar. This is the only time I have seen this term “Tributary Town.” Because of the small ad print I have transcribed the primary ad text for easier reading.

1888 Town Ad for Lamar Colorado

LAMAR ADVANTAGES
Lamar is known far and wide as the most successful new town in the west. It grew into importance in a single day. It has the United States land office and is the center of one of the richest tracts of agricultural lands in the wide world. The town will not be two years old until the 24th of next May. and yet it has first-class public schools, good society, fine churches, a live city government, fine and costly waterworks, a first-class fire department, wholesale houses, and all the appliances of a city of importance.

TRIBUTARY TOWNS.
Lamar is the railroad center for Springfield, Boston, Minneapolis, Vilas, Albany, Wilde, Mulvane, Brookfield, Atlanta, Carrisso and Holmes City, all booming towns on the south. Some of these towns have already a population of from 500 to 800, and are growing rapidly, On the north are the towns of Sheridan Lake, Chivington, Eads, Galatea. Arlington Springs and Cheyenne Wells. These are all good towns and consume a large amount of goods, purchased at Lamar.

STAGE LINES.
Daily stages run from Lamar, both north and south, and these lines are doing a large business, even in the dull season of the year. The stage lines are well stocked and the stages comfortable. Parties who wish to reach any of the points north or south of the Arkansas river, should in all cases buy tickets to Lamar.

GOVERNMENT LANDS.
The Bent land district, the land office of which is at Lamar, is the finest body of government land yet vacant. There is abundance of land yet open for settlement, which is located under the irrigating ditches. This land is already very valuable and can be made to produce large crops the first year. It is safe to say that in no country in the world can a farmer get a productive and paying farm under cultivation at so little expense as right here under the irrigating ditches of Lamar. There is room for thousands of farmers, and those who come first will get the choice lands,

THE IRRIGATING DITCHES.
There are a number of irrigating canals, both on the north and south side of the Arkansas river, and these furnish an abundant supply of water. The Arkansas flows with nearly full banks at this point during the entire growing season, and the irrigating canals are constructed of such capacity as to insure water on all lands under the system. Under this system of cultivation there can be no failure of crops, but on the contrary an acre under the Lamar treating ditches will produce nearly or quite double the crop that can be produced on the best lands of the east. Those who get the government quarter sections in this part of the country now, may consider themselves fortunate. The lands under the ditches will become very valuable within a few years.


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