T. B. TOWNSEND ROCKLAND FARM Transcribed from the 19 June 1901 edition of the Peabody News by: Charmaine Keith (charmain@southwind.net) 24 November 1998 --------------------------------------------------------------------- KSGENWEB INTERNET GENEALOGICAL SOCIETY COPYRIGHT NOTICE: In keeping with the KSGenWeb policy of providing free information on the Internet, this data may be used by non-commercial entities, as long as this message remains on all copied material. These electronic pages cannot be reproduced in any format for profit or other gain. Copying of the files within by non-commercial individuals and libraries is encouraged. Any other use, including publication, storage in a retrieval system, or transmission by electronic, mechanical, or other means requires the written approval of the file's author. --------------------------------------------------------------------- Peabody News 1901 One of the most extensive and well-improved farms in Marion County is owned by T. B. Townsend, of Zaneville, Ohio. It is the Rockland farm and situated three miles east and one north of Peabody, embracing parts of Summit, Catlin and Fairplay townships. The farm proper consists of 2,500 acres, 1,600 in posture, besides several farms near Florence, which makes a total acreage of about 3,000 acres. It is all under fence and has on it many line buildings, all in good repair. There are twelve buildings on the ranch, a village in itself. There is a barn and house shown in accompanying pictures, carriage house, horse barn, granary, an immense cattle barn, built of brick, a store, dwelling house for operator, and four houses for the men that work on the ranch. All are kept neat and clean, well painted and in good repair. Besides these buildings he owns the stockyards at Horner and the office of the Townsend Cattle Co. In fact Mr. Townsend is practically Horner, post-office, stockyards, store, and all. Hans Johnson, who has been with Mr. Townsend eleven years, is overseer of the ranch. Mr. Johnson is a Dane, and one of the most faithful and efficient of men. This ranch is devoted to raising fine cattle, stockers and feeders, hogs and the stuff to feed them. As a rule there are 600 to 700 cattle on the place all the time. Mr. Townsend buys calves, raises them on his pastures and sells them on the Kansas City market at three years old after fattening them. His extensive pasture0land of 1,600 acres enables him to do this at small expense. For their winter-feeding he raises alfalfa, sorghum and millet. Besides his stock cattle he keeps a find herd of Polled Angus cattle, which ate bred up and sell at fancy prices. Berkshire hogs is one of the points to which attention is given. Of these he raises and sells annually 500 or 600 head. Everything is equipped with all modern improvements to secure the best results and accomplish the most with the help at hand. And the hog department is no exception to this rule. Everything is arranged just as though the hogs were expected to become civilized and have good manners. They have their bedroom, dinning room, individual soup bowls and salt cellars and would be furnished a napkin if results would justify the expense. There is a general playground for these that behave and dungeons for those that do not. With pork at the present price it means a nice little wad for Mr. Townsend when he markets 500 to 600 head of hogs weighing 400 to 600 pounds apiece at $5.75 or $6.00 per hundred. One gets a fine view of Rockland farm in passing through on the Santa Fe train. It lies just north of the track and the cluster of white buildings with red roofs and trimming looks like a small town in itself. The barn is an immense structure, 80x140 feet, built of stone, and cost $10,000. It is three stories high and is roofed with slate on which appears in gigantic letters that can be seen for miles the name, "T. B. Townsend." In the basement are cow stalls and horse stalls; first floor, for fanning mills, grinder and grain bins, and above haylofts, machinery and storage room with an elevator for raising and lowering them. The power for grinding is furnished by the monster wind mill seen stand beside the barn. The cattle barn (not shown in the illustrations) is a whopper, furnishing room for 200 head of cattle and storing 200 tons of hay. It is built of brick and is a very handsome and substantial building, one story high. T. B. Townsend was born in Pittsburg, Penn., in the year 1837; moved to Beverly, Ohio, in 1846; moved to Zanesville, in 1867, and has been living there ever since. He lived on a farm at Beverly until the age of 24 years. Since that time he has lived in the city. He learned the mason trade when a boy, and commenced as a contractor and builder at the age of 21, and up to 1898 has been engaged in building stores, dwellings, court houses, railroads, sewers, and bridges. Today he is president of the T. B. Townsend Brick and Contracting Co., which is located in Zanesville, Ohio, with a paid up capital stock of $200,000/ This brick factory is the largest single brick factory in Ohio. The capacity of the plant is 100,000 brick per day, and they manufacture 30,000,000 per year. Mr. Townsend is a true gentleman of the old school. His honor is his most precious possession, and he esteems lack of courtesy a sin. "Thoroughness" is stamped in unmistakable characters on every action and feature, and you never need to ask if he is a gentleman or if he is honest. Such men as Mr. Townsend always succeed in the world, even if they do not have the advantages of living in Marion county, Kansas.