| Show THE HISTORIC PAST another interesting letter from froin the pen of elder jenson memoir of john B E page A detailed description of jackson county KANSAS ci ciry ry Sep september temoer 12 1888 editor et nas yesterday before leaving independence we vi visited il ted the widow of the late laie john E pam page she lives near bear te temple lot antis and is about 70 years old from her and her son SOB justin E pase who owns owna a blacksmith shop immell south of and facing the temple lot we learned that the late john E page after aba entina himself from the Cli church located in IB de kalb county Illi illinois aois where he engaged 11 in farming later he be removed to a point about six miles north of sycamore de kalb county where lie be died in the fall of iso being then 08 years and 8 months old according to his hig own request he was buried under an ash tree on his farm ilis his son declared that he died in full faith in the divinity of the bookoff boob of mormon aad the prophetic calling of joseph josell smith kafter after his death the removed with the children to de kalb and later ister located at independence I 1 missouri besides tile the two sons sens abo roside re hide in the I 1 i ater daughter ol of jotin joa E page pae now lives in ten nes lesec ee and a third son resides in iii kansas A As jackson county the land of zion where the saints in the near f future expect to build a temple to the name ol 01 tile the most high and also a holy cita in which the lamb of godshall god shall dwell in peace I 1 have taken pains to collect the following from various reliable so sources arces jackson county is located in north latitude 39 de degrees 11 bees 4 seconds its northwestern corner commencing at the cont confluence luence of the kansas river kiver with the waters of the missouri the latter of which for a distance of forty miles of its meanderings separate it from clay and ancl ray hay counties naun the borth upon a straight line me distance is 27 miles f from com the eastern to the western boundary tile tho length of the castera boundary north and south is miles aud the extreme length jiow its most northern point upon abe missouri river to its southern line jine lb ib 1 27 miles it is bounded on the east by lafayette and johanon counties south by bv cass county and west by the kansas line lim liavine an area oi of 3 acres jackson county presents si cal cai features found in no uther county io missouri ariere sie aie three elevations or passing through it I 1 born the south bea bearing bor lAward 30 degrees decrees east the water drained from teed feed ii st reama reatus upon the east cast aud aad west sl sides des those u upon the east dide of the Z steyn ridge riddie income tu the big abi blue which als w tU artiea its waters into the chiu i ax bel baciow low tiie mouth of the ihu kansas and those upon alif vs f 11 r lolle lor r city h ir 41 i the kana tir W wiatt Wit fetn tt ine beut htiu nie form streams u upon pon I 1 he west s side ide that also become tributaries tributa ries to the mhd big blue aud and those from froia the eastern slope empty into the little L blue which forma the eastern boun boundary aary of the second ridge the waters of 0 the little blue are discharged feito the missouri at a point thirty miles b by the river line east of the mouth OT of the kansas waters drained from the third or eist east ridge form streams that also become tribu triba barles of the little blue flowing west and those from the east side flow into the lini a bar which discharges its waters in into the missouri about three miles east of the northeast corner ol of the co county these principal streams having their sources in the country south and west of jackson county are arc made up of springs that are found upon the uplands io in great number along the streams are found bodies of excellent timber the three taree elevations mentioned passing the county north loyth and south terminate abruptly on the missouri river the middle one having an elevation of feet above higa biga water mark at a point four miles north of once the western ridge terminates at kansas city at an elevation of feet deec above higa biga water mark and the eastern ridge breaks off near the northeast corner ot of the county these rhese three elevations running nearly parallel with each other the eastern and western approaching the central finally ur unite izeor or consolidate in one general eie elevation about five miles souta and five miles east ot of the southwest corner of the county forming a topographical eleva elevation Liou the general direction of chach is iii southwest and may be followed by the cou continued tinned elevation to the summit of pikes peak in colo rado without crossing a single stream of water anese elevations with their perfect drainage present an exceedingly pure atmosphere throughout the entire cout coubry ity thus precluding the possibility of malaria to exist to any great extent hence it is one of the most healthy and desirable places of missouri from a sanitary standpoint it cau can oe be siftley estimated that inai acres of tile the entire area are sus cep centiole of high for ari agal cultural purposes the soil is very rich and fertile and the river bottoms bott bo toms oms are susceptible of yielding a larger crop per acre than any other lands northwest Borth west of the mississippi river luver the lands upon which the huckleberry grows are regarded as being ane richest aud and most productive wheat and indian corn are raised in abundance the wonderful blue grass grows spontaneously and its beautiful carpet covers we the whole country lending beauty to lawns and door yards yarda and wealth to innumerable pasture lauds lands under cultivation or in prepared ground its spears grow to the enormous heig height glit of four feet and its seed spikes stand firm and erect at the height of two to enree teet feet this saas excels all others as a pasture grass the earliest in spring to attract the lowing herd itis it is the last to succumb to the frosts and snows of winter after furnished rood good all ali the spring summer and autumn months timothy orchard grass and red clover also grow with great rapidity when cultivated j being located upon the highest ele ot of land between the rocky aud and allegheny mountains the air in i jackson ack county is pure healthy and salubrious the sky is generally clear there is scarcely a day but some sunshine is seen aud and snow rarely lies on the ground over a week or ten days jackson county is especially adapted for stoc krals ln of 01 the many sorts of timber which grow row to great perfection are the husk ink leb berry crry ash oak elm hickory sugar maple walnut etc the latter atter has as attained a height of from 50 to feet in the counte the county is well supplied with springs of civics g water pushing lushing out upon every hill bide wells of from 10 to 50 feet deep give a supply of good limestone water jackson county Is known for its line orchards aples apples pears peaches cherries plums quince and grapes are rai rais edu sedAn abunda abundance uce and inthe iu the berry line jise strawberries raspberries rasp berries blackberries etc independence the counte seat is orle one of the oldest towns in northwestern missouri having been laid out in 1827 by commissioners appointed by the general assembly of missouri to preempt a tract of laud upon which to locate a county seat tor for jackson county tue original ori sinal plat contained acrey acres upon noon which there are sixteen springy i of pure crystal water since then ake the city bab been largely added to and tho the additions made now include SOU out acres within the corporate limits tue tiie town is located upon an elevation of 1075 feet above the tac atlantic ocean and feet above the level of the missouri river being the highest point in northwestern 1 or between the and rocey mountains along the same line of latitude the court house is located in the centre of one of 0 the higa eat elevations ibe grounds upon which sr it stands comprise one acre anda and a half heing being byan tilled by trees and a magnificent lawn oi bajue bi ue grass from the te cupola of atle court aliouse a most beau tirol Ml view cn can te be had of lie he surrounding country in ISKI there twebe as stores 3 aud 12 k ui in now there arett arc a num hm her more ra fu the town centa ived aia 0 inhabit tante r ov now they clairn up Kuti surf cay liy nw FI sali to tn con etain condall mt aIn tall 3 U ha M is al 10 coa confluence fluence of the missouri and kansas rivers in jackson county react reacting king up to toe the kansas state line and is id extending east toward independence it was first settled in ie IM 1838 and was then known as westport Laudi landing Bg ake e to town w 11 of westport being located about five miles inland on account of its location it became thu the headquarters for the santa fe and southwest overland indian trade and soon began to grow rapidly during the civil war however the town experienced perien ced a serious struggle and came out of the conflict with a population ot less than three thousand inhabitants but since then kansas city has grown with wonderful rapidity during the past two years upwards of have been invested in new tur burring ring and commercial com mercia enterprises enterprise a thirty miles double track of cable roads have and are in successful operation public and private buildings to the amount of over are said to have jeen been erected last summer there is at present about as much prospect forthe for the saints to return to jackson county to possess it as there was anciently for the children of israel to return to jerusalem from their captivity in babylon atter after the seventy years predicted by the prophet as the period of 0 bondage were ended when the wicked Bels mocked the god of israel by desecrating dese crating the holy vessels taken from the temple in J the events of a single night at however so cow com plemely changed the condition ol of the children of israel that that the day before seemed an utter impossibility now became comparatively easy and the words of the prophet were literally fulfilled israel did return to their own laud land so also shall the words ot of the lord be fulfilled iu in regard to the Lattek day israel zion shall be redeemed as the Prop prophets hetts have told and the saints occupy this land of their inheritance la in my next I 1 will tell you something about ane Hedric kites the custodians of the temple lot in independence ANDREW JENSON |
