Agricultural history in Effingham County

Effingham County is a place where agriculture has always played a major role.

The first white settlers in Effingham County were primarily from the southern states. They utilized trails made by Native American tribes. These pioneers lived in log houses near creeks, springs, or rivers. They survived by hunting and subsistence farming, growing only a few rows of crops to sustain their families.

Effingham County was once mostly a vast prairie with patches of woodlands surrounding creeks. Pioneers found the landscape to be especially challenging. The tall prairie grasses were so thick they were impossible to clear or traverse. Meanwhile, those same grasses concealed pools of water, which were breeding grounds for hordes of mosquitoes and other insects. Diseases such as cholera, contracted from drinking water, were common, resulting in a high mortality rate.

Prairie grass at Ballard Nature Center near Altamont, IL. This is reminiscent of the prairie grass seen by pioneers.

But by the mid-19th century, John Deere invented the steel plow. The Midwestern landscape would never be the same. The steel plow led to the clearing of forests and thick prairies. It also led to a shift from subsistence to more extensive farming.

During this time, farms had oxen to pull crude implements, hand tools like a scythe, possibly a wagon, and several hogs for meat and cows for milk. Wheat was the main crop grown in the area.

A Land Grant College was founded in Urbana Illinois, called Illinois Industrial University after the Civil War. This university later became the University of Illinois. Soon, soil scientists at its new College of Agriculture, analyzed the soil in Southern Illinois. Compared to the black dirt of Central Illinois, most of them believed the local soil was only good for hay and pastures. 

Later on, an influential scientist named Dr. Cyril G. Hopkins, started the first off-campus research field near Edgewood. Hopkins was interested in the potential of Effingham County’s soil. He lectured at local Farmers Institute meetings and consulted local farmers. He called for building up nutrients in the soil and created a system in which elements removed by crops were returned to the land. He also advocated for the use of limestone to correct soil acidity, the growth of leguminous crops to add nitrogen to the soil, and the addition of rock phosphate for building a phosphorus reserve.

One of my Wendling ancestors farming near the Blue Point area. c. 1920s.

By the latter half of the 19th century, the classic two-story frame farmhouses started popping up on farms that were about 50 to 200 acres big. They had around 20 cows and a few pigs. Grain silos were important to have in close proximity. Farmers dug wells so they no longer had to get tainted water from creeks or springs. Meanwhile, with more resources, childbirth and infant deaths decreased. So they fathered more children to have workers to tend the fields.

Railroads provided transportation needed for flourishing farming communities. Altamont in 1900 was considered a center for grain, fruit and livestock growing. It was the site of two-grain elevators, a flourishing mill, and a large creamery to help the farmers market their produce. Many goods were shipped to St. Louis by rail.

The dairy business also began to flourish. Creameries were equipped to make butter and ice cream, and the by-products were fed to hogs on the farm, thus adding a new revenue stream to a farmer's income.

The agricultural landscape of Effingham County continued to evolve with the introduction of new technologies and crops. Tractors began to appear in fields in the 1920s, and soybeans were introduced in the 1920s. 

The first known soybean farmer in Effingham County was Christopher Seyferth who lived south of Edgewood. By the 1960s, soybeans were the number two cash crop in Illinois. Early varieties grown in the area were hay beans with brown, black, or green seeds.

A projector advertisement for the Altamont Agricultural Fair. This was shown at movie theaters before screenings. c.1910s.

The Altamont Agricultural Fair was started in 1906 and its fairs ran until 1917. In the prior years, locations like Ewington and Effingham hosted Effingham County Fairs. At these fairs, farmers from throughout the area would congregate. Some spent a whole day traveling by horse and buggy to get there. These fairs showcased the newest farm machinery and innovative farming methods.

In the 1940s, the Effingham County Fair Association bought the old Agricultural Fair fairgrounds for $6000. Its location next to Route 40 made it a convenient site for a newly resurrected Effingham County Fair. By the time of the first Effingham County Fair in 1945, only three permanent structures were on the property. 

Like the Altamont Agricultural Fair, these fairs showcased new farm technologies, including the latest tractor models. Farmers could discuss farming techniques, and livestock could be bought and sold. The youth through 4H learned more about farming and showing animals taught them the importance of caring for them. The fair continues to do all of these things.

Additions made to Homann Grain in Altamont. They used a helicopter to lower new parts. c.1970s.

In the mid-20th century, innovations continued. Farm production was increased by the greater use of fertilizers, chemical weed control, hybrid seeds, and other scientific methods. Rural roadways were improved for the new methods of grain transportation using trucks that gradually replaced many railroad boxcars and wagons.

Larger grain elevators, which towered above their communities, were constructed across the county. For example, by the 1970s, the Homann Grain Company in Altamont could handle over 50,000 bushels of grain per day.

Today, agriculture in Effingham County has transformed from the use of handheld scythes to combine tractors, from oxen to semi trucks, and from greased axles to digital technologies. The inside of a modern-day tractor often resembles a spaceship compared to the tractors of the past. But the one thing that hasn’t changed is the importance of agriculture to Effingham County.