The History of Farming
in Central Illinois

Christine Romersberger
Gridley High School, Gridley

Andrew Jackson once said, "The wealth and strength of a country are its population, and the best part of that population are the cultivators of the soil. Independent farmers are everywhere the basis of society and the true friends of liberty." His was a common view of farming in the nineteenth century, and it was largely farmers who settled Illinois in the early nineteenth century. These farmers were mostly of English, Irish, Scottish, German, and Swiss descent. They worked extremely hard to provide for their families. They bartered for the items they could not produce. The completion of the Erie Canal in 1825, the passage of the Homestead Act in 1862, and the invention of barbed wire in 1874 by Joseph Glidden of DeKalb, Illinois, all contributed to dividing the land among private owners and ultimately to the disappearance of the open frontier. However, after the Homestead Act, only a small percentage of men actually became independent farmers because most of the best land was bought up by rich speculators who had many tenant farmers working their land.

The need for manpower on farms resulted in large families of ten to fifteen children. Even though Cyrus McCormick and John Deere began making machinery in the 1830s (and later both started factories in Illinois), the power for most Illinois farmers was draft horses. During that period, there were frequent crop failures; harvests were small, transportation was poor, and shipping rates were high. Throughout those economic hardships, farmers learned to conserve wherever they could to make ends meet.

Often, ends did not meet, and rural people began migrating to the cities in the late 1800s. An average farm worker made $252 a year compared with $572 a year for a non-farm worker. The gap continued to grow wider until 1900. In 1896 corn was 16¢, wheat was 49¢, and oats were 10¢ a bushel. Those conditions resulted in the formation of the Populist Party. The rural movement reached its climax when Democratic and Populist presidential nominee William Jennings Bryan gave his "Cross of Gold" Speech in 1896. The population as a whole became disenchanted with farm life during that age.

Dissatisfaction brought reform legislation in Illinois. Many farm organizations such as the Farm Bureau were formed, railroad rates were regulated, and agricultural curriculum at state universities was introduced. Some traditional farmers looked down on book learning as foolish, but eventually they ended up doing what got the best results.

With surplus corn and low prices during the Depression years, farmers sought alternatives. The Illinois Central Railroad and many others became active promoters of soybeans. The idea caught on, and today soybeans are a major cash crop in Illinois. Another new idea was converting corn into gasoline. Ten percent corn alcohol added to regular gasoline would increase the demand for corn, and the fuel could be used for mechanized implements. A bill that would have encouraged the corn alcohol industry was voted down in 1940 in Congress and was not addressed again for several decades.

Life improved somewhat for farmers after World War II. Many farmers purchased automobiles and modern machinery. As roads were improved, farmers were no longer isolated in their rural locations. Machinery such as cornpickers and combines ended "change work" where farmers helped each other harvest and raise barns. Central Illinois farmers also benefited from overseas trade and increased barge shipping on the Mississippi River.

More recently farms have greatly benefited from herbicides, insecticides, and modern machinery. For example, a Gridley-area implement dealer, Clark Stoller, has been in the agriculture business for eighteen years. His father, Clarence Stoller, bought an implement dealership with his brother, Reuben, in 1935. At that time, farmers traded in horses for machinery. In 1942 Clarence was drafted for World War II, and he closed the business. He reopened it when he returned in 1948 to Pontiac, Illinois, about 20 miles north of Gridley. When Clarence became ill in 1974, Clark took over the business. His brother, Lynn, joined him in 1981. Clark remarked that their business depended largely on the buying power of the farmer. In the past, there has been a decline in the number of dealers, and that will likely continue. In Clarence Stoller's day, there was an implement dealer in every town. Now, Stoller's is the only Case International dealer in Livingston County, and he does a lot of business in other counties. Thus, national and even international trends in agriculture can be traced in local events.—[From Perry A. Klopfenstein, Foundations Strong—A History of Gridley, Illinois, 1856-1990; Richard Lingeman, Small Town America.]

20	ILLINOIS HISTORY / DECEMBER 1992