BAY MINETTE 
 
 THE coumr SEAT or 
 BALDWIN COUNTY ALA. 
 
 AHD ITSVIcmiTY 
 
 COMPUMEMTS- or- THE- 
 BAY- MINETTE.- i-ANP COMBMIY 
 
 •McMvm- 
 
Class 
 
 Book 
 
 GopyiightN^ 
 
 COPYRIGHT DEPOSIT 
 
MAP SHOWING TH^ LOCATION 01^ BAY MINI:TTE: AND BALDWIN COUNTY 
 WITH RESPLCT TO mobile: AND P^NSACOLA. 
 
Bay Minette and 
 Its Vicinity 
 
 A brief description of the County Seat and surrounding 
 
 region of Baldv\/in County, Alabama, now rapidly 
 
 undergoing development from one of the 
 
 greatest timber sections of the 
 
 country into a prosperous 
 
 farming community. 
 
 ISSUED BY THE 
 
 BAY MINETTE LAND COMPANY 
 
 BAY MINETTE, ALA. 
 
 1908 
 

 LIBRARY of MNfiRESS 
 
 I wo CoDies Keceivec 
 
 AUG 2b 1^08 
 
 CUSS b^ XXc. Nu. 
 COPY B. 
 
 Copyright, 1908 
 
 By 
 
 BAY MINETTE LAND COMPANY 
 
p^ 
 
BAY MINETTE AND VICINITY. 
 
 To the seeker for a new home ; 
 
 To the man who has worked for others, and now desires to work 
 
 for himself; 
 To the farmer worn in body and purse in earning a Hving for 
 
 himself and family out of poor and exhausted soil ; 
 
 To the tiller of the soil in the North, with its unbearable winter 
 cold, its late spring and killing frosts; 
 
 To the man of small means living in a community where the 
 price of farming land is beyond his reach ; 
 
 To the hillside farmer whose lands are year by year washed more 
 and more bare; 
 
 To every one who, for any reason, looks for a new land, in 
 wdiich with renewed hope and energy he can rebuild his 
 broken fortunes, or recover his shattered health, Bai.d- 
 w^iN County, in the great State of Alabama, offers a 
 hearty welcome and an unrivaled opportunity. 
 
 Location — 
 
 Baldwin County lies with its southern border on the Gulf 
 of Mexico, and extends thence seventy-five miles to the north, 
 with Perdido Bay and the western line of Florida bounding it on 
 the east, and Mobile Bay and the Alabama River bounding it on 
 the west. It is the more easterly of the two Alabama counties 
 which border on the Gulf of Mexico. Its extreme width is 
 about forty miles, and nowhere, except in the northernmost 
 point, is it narrower than twenty miles in width. It is larger 
 than the State of Rhode Island, nearly as large as Delaware. 
 It has a healthy climate, without severe cold or unbearable heat, 
 
 5 
 
VIEW 01^ COUNTY COURT HOUSE, THREE MILES STRAIGHT-AWAY. 
 
and a diversity of fertile soils, without arid wastes or bare clay 
 or rocky hills. 
 
 Elevation — 
 
 Although fronting on the Gulf of Mexico, and confined on 
 the east and west for at least three-quarters of its length by the 
 bays and rivers above named, Baldwin County has none of the 
 characteristics generally peculiar to a coast country, except pos- 
 sibly the low lands in the extreme southern part. Riding or 
 driving from the sea level at the south end of the county towards 
 the north, one is conscious of a gradual rise, continuing as mile 
 after mile is spun along, until the town of Bay IMinette is 
 reached, and from there on, still going north, there is as gentle 
 and as gradual a fall in elevation until the Alabama River 
 bottoms are reached in the northern end of the county. In the 
 journey one of the greatest plateaus of the Southland has been 
 passed over — stretching out some seventy-five miles north and 
 south, and rising to an elevation at the town of Bay Minette 
 of nearly five hundred feet. Bay Minette, with one possible 
 exception, is the highest point on the line of the Louisville and 
 Nashville Railroad south of Montgomery. 
 
 General Topography — 
 
 Although rising to so great a comparative elevation, the sur- 
 face of this portion of the county is not rugged or hilly, as 
 might be expected, except at rare intervals. The general sur- 
 face of the country around Bay Minette is as level and rolling 
 as the western prairies. Here and there a feeder to the bay 
 reaches up into the tableland, making a crinkle long and narrow, 
 through which the surface drainage water is carried ofif, but 
 vexing the general aspect of the land scarcely at all. A bird's- 
 eye photograph would show these feeders by comparison as 
 
 7 
 
small as the vein of a leaf. To the eye the country is level. 
 There are no hillside farms, no rocky or clayey hills rising up 
 or sloping down to confound the wisdom of the farmer as to 
 how best to handle them so as to get some small profit out of 
 them, or at least keep what little is put on them from being 
 washed away. 
 
 Geological Formation — 
 
 The geological formation of Baldwin County is as unique 
 as its history. Built up of alluvial soil on top of alluvial soil 
 washed down from the upland portions of the State lying north, 
 it has, in course of time, become an upland itself, but without 
 rocky or crusty formations. Covered with wonderful forests 
 of long-leaf yellow pine it stood for generations after the Eng- 
 lish senlements on the Atlantic Coast, a sort of debatable land 
 between the Spanish and French settlements on the Gulf Coast 
 to the east and west, through which men passed but in which 
 few men then found invitation to settle. Within the past few 
 years the pine forests have been cut away, and the lands opened 
 for farming purposes, and thrifty and industrious settlers are 
 coming in and prospering. 
 
 Climate — 
 
 Baldwin County is of the same latitude as the northern part 
 of Florida, and shares its wonderful winter climate. It might 
 be called a peninsula, around which the sea stretches its arms ; 
 with the Gulf to the south, and a bay coming up from the 
 Gulf on two sides. In consequence, it has in winter a climate 
 doubly guarded against low temperature by its southern latitude 
 and its water-locked situation; and in summer the fierce heat, 
 that would be expected on account of the latitude, is tempered 
 
10 
 
u 
 
by the breezes which blow clay and night from the Gulf and 
 from the bays. As Baldwin is justly called the "midwinter 
 garden," it might with as much aptness and truth be termed a 
 "sea-tempered summer-land." The climate, winter and sum- 
 mer, is delightful. The winters are open and very mild, 40 
 degrees being a low temperature on the average. Snow and 
 ice are practically unknown, and outdoor work is the practice 
 the year round. In summer the temperature does not often pass 
 above 90 degrees, but, because of the Gulf breezes, the higher 
 temperatures that occasionally come are not depressing. Sun- 
 stroke is unknown here. 
 
 The climate is one of the principal assets of the successful 
 farmers in Baldwin — and there are many of them. It enables 
 them to grow here in the winter season the summer produce of 
 the soil of other sections and to sell it in those sections at their 
 winter prices. In most sections the summer is the only grow- 
 ing season, and there the farmer must grow in summer the 
 produce for both summer and winter use, and consume in 
 winter what would have been the profit of the summer's work 
 if the soil had not been barren in winter. In Baldwin each 
 season can be made to care for the needs of the farmer in that 
 season, so that the farmer here does not eat up in fall and 
 winter his summer profit ; and, further than that, each season, 
 if the farmer is industrious and well informed, can be made to 
 yield him a profit. It is this feature of the Baldwin County 
 climate that makes the county the small farmer's paradise. He 
 can get as much out of one acre here in the growing season of 
 twelve months as he can out of three acres in other climates ; 
 and at the same time he takes only one-third the risk of total 
 crop failure. 
 
 12 
 
Health— 
 
 The air here is pure. Most country air is, but here it has 
 a purity and freshness that comes from the sea, and there is 
 no breeze so fresh and refreshing as a sea breeze. Here water 
 is pure and plentiful, in springs and surface streams and in 
 wells bored or sunk to a moderate depth. It is a soft, limpid 
 water, pleasant to the taste and grateful to the body internally 
 and externally. There is an abundance of ''garden truck" fresh 
 at all seasons, daily gathered by the consumer from his own land. 
 This gives a variety and lack of staleness to the table that pro- 
 motes and keeps a healthy appetite the year round. Every man 
 here can keep a cow with very little cost for feeding her in the 
 winter months, and no family need be without milk for table 
 use. The temperature is not subject to extreme changes of heat 
 or cold. The windows and the doors can, and frequently do, 
 remain open the year round, keeping pure, fresh air in the 
 house. These are arguments which lead to the theory, and 
 establish the fact, that Baldwin is "God's country" for health. 
 Some say that people never die here. Whether that is true, 
 not a few have come here with more than a good reason for 
 dying and found plenty of time to live, exponents of the 
 healthfulness of Baldwin County, and have lived here profitably 
 long after they should have been in their graves by all the rights 
 of other climates. No man need hesitate to come to Baldwin 
 on account of health. There are some men here with nothing 
 but health, but these (and they are very few) are asleep to their 
 opportunities. There are a great many men here with a great 
 deal besides health, and they sleep and are wakeful in season. 
 There are no men here with everything but health, and to all 
 such elsewhere Baldwin County extends a most cordial welcome. 
 
 13 
 
A GROVE IN TOWN. 
 14 
 
ANOTHER GROVE. 
 15 
 
Rainfall and Sunshine — 
 
 Baldwin is neither a wet land nor a dry one. The United 
 States Weather Bureau reports the average yearly rainfall in 
 the county as about sixty inches, or an assumed monthly aver- 
 age of five inches. It is very rare that a crop failure occurs 
 here from lack of rain, or from too much rain. In this par- 
 ticular we are very much like any other robust, hearty climate, 
 and take the sun and the rain as they come and are very glad 
 that they come as they do. We hardly think that anyone coming 
 to Baldwin will attempt to modify the climate in that particular, 
 or care to do so. 
 
 Soil- 
 Now we are getting to ''rock bottom" in setting forth the 
 advantages of Baldwin to the expectant farmer. The most that 
 we can say of the soil is that it is a rich loam mixed with a light 
 sand, and that underneath there is a good, convertible sub-soil of 
 clay and sand mixed. It is a soil, in the first place, that is easily 
 worked. This is a consideration, for work is the first thing that 
 a farmer puts into his soil, and it is from work that he gets the 
 most out of it. The soil is not only easily worked, but it readily 
 retains a good condition. The loam and sand top-soil varies 
 in depth from ten or twelve inches to eighteen or twenty-four 
 inches. It also retains well the requisite moisture for plant food, 
 but does not become wet or soggy, as it readily releases the 
 moisture that it does not need. The sub-soil of mixed clay and 
 sand gives the land a bottom to hold the fertilizer. By careful 
 sub-soil plowing this sub-soil is itself readily converted into a 
 plant-feeding soil. The sand mixed in the clay sub-soil prevents 
 the latter from being impervious to water, and after a heavy 
 rain-fall the surplus water in the top soil can gradually escape 
 
w 
 
 17 
 
by filtration, instead of being restricted to surface drainage for 
 its removal. There is no combination of soil and sub-soil more 
 valuable to the farmer than this. There are no rocks or small 
 stones mixed in the soils of Baldwin County. In consequence 
 we have here no stone fences and no rock piles, and we do not 
 have to spend a day's work getting the stones and rocks out 
 of the way to do a day's plowing. 
 
 The soils of Baldwin are fertile. If a land, as well as a tree, 
 is to be "judged by its fruits" the soils of Baldwin combine the 
 best features of the soils of many sections, for there are few 
 forms of vegetation that grow elsewhere at all that cannot be 
 grown here with profit. As favorable as are the climate and 
 soils of Baldwin, it must not be imagined that this is a land 
 where the man without farming experience or the lazy man can 
 live in idleness on the affluence of Nature. Knowledge is neces- 
 sary, and energy in the application of knowledge, as much here 
 as anywhere. For the farmer of industry and experience, or 
 the man with the time, ability and energy to acquire knowledge 
 in lines of new departure, the land lies dormant, rich in natural 
 resources, awaiting its awakening into fruitful cultivation. 
 
 Crops — 
 
 After all is said, it is the crops that interest us and put dol- 
 lars in our pockets, after putting food in our mouths ; and it is 
 the crops that are the real and final test of a country's climate 
 and soil. Baldwin County luxuriates in crops, and all true 
 Baldwinites are proud of them. They read like the catalogue 
 of a county fair. Oats, hay, corn, rice, cotton, tobacco, sugar- 
 cane, peanuts, millet, buckwheat; all kinds of "garden truck," 
 peas of all kinds, beans of all kinds, beets, sweet and Irish 
 potatoes, radishes, snaps, cucumbers, onions, lettuce, carrots, 
 
 18 
 
19 
 
20 
 
parsley, cauliflower, turnips, tomatoes, egg-plant, okra, cabbages, 
 strawberries and berries of all kinds, canteloupes and melons 
 of all kinds, pears, plums, grapes, pomegranates, figs, quinces, 
 pecans, and many other varieties of fruit. Almost anything that 
 you want, with few exceptions, will grow in Baldwin. 
 
 The following are some results realized by individual farmers 
 in Baldwin, and the instances cited are by no means exceptional : 
 Radishes raised in the winter months, selling for $2.00 and 
 upwards per crate, and more than fifty crates to the half-acre. 
 From less than one-half acre of cucumbers $175.00 was reaUzed 
 before the end of spring, and the land then planted in something 
 else. One and a half acres of Irish potatoes bringing $90.00, 
 the same land then planted in cotton and a good price obtained 
 for a fair yield of cotton. Early Irish potatoes selling for $3.00 
 per bushel. From $1.50 to $3.75 per hamper (less than a 
 bushel) for early beans. Snap beans bringing $120.00 to the 
 acre and the same land planted in cotton the same season. From 
 early tomatoes $500.00 to the acre. An average of 300 gallons 
 of syrup from an acre of sugar-cane, selling at 40 to 50 cents 
 per gallon, with a high-water mark of 800 gallons of syrup from 
 an acre of cane. Sugar-cane has to be replanted every four or 
 five years. Over $100.00 an acre from Irish potatoes, the same 
 land planted in cotton the same season and a yield of over 
 $50.00 to the acre from the cotton, without additional fertilizer. 
 
 Bay Minette, the County Seat — 
 
 Bay Minette and the country around it are on the roof of 
 Baldwin County. They are at the summit of the great plateau of 
 which we have spoken. The town is the county seat. Standing 
 in the outskirts of the town and looking out into the country, 
 no one would imagine the altitude, as there are no surrounding 
 
 21 
 
22 
 
23 
 
declivities by which to measure it. The lands are as level to 
 the eye as in any part of the county, and in fact in driving in any 
 direction there is very little, if any, appreciable decline. The 
 town is a thrifty and growing place of some 1,200 people, built 
 on the main line of the Louisville and Nashville Railroad, with 
 churches, schools, stores, hotels, the county newspaper, a pros- 
 perous and strong bank that did not cease to make loans during 
 the panic, and everything else that goes to the making of a coun- 
 try town, including a progressive class of citizens. The county 
 Court House, a handsome brick building costing some 
 $40,000.00, with well fenced grounds occupying a block, stands 
 in the centre of the town. It is shown on the cover of this 
 pamphlet. In addition to the customary graded public school, 
 there is just outside the town limits, on a tract of eighty acres of 
 land, the Alabama Industrial College, which is under the guid- 
 ance of the Alabama Conference of the Methodist Episcopal 
 Church. The college will be opened in September, 1908. It 
 has a large endowment. While it is called a college, its course 
 of study is suited to children of all ages, from the beginner to 
 the most advanced. Besides the usual academic branches, there 
 will be instruction, to those desiring it, in the industrial arts and 
 sciences and in agriculture. The college is open to white chil- 
 dren of both sexes without reference to their church connections. 
 Bay Minette is not a manufacturing town to any extent as 
 yet, but advantageous proposals will be made to any parties de- 
 siring to engage in manufacturing enterprises of any character 
 in a wide-awake community which presents more than ordinarily 
 favorable opportunities. All such parties are requested to com- 
 municate with the Secretary of the Commercial League of Bay 
 Minette, or with the Manager of the Bay Minette Land Com- 
 pany. We have now one ice plant, and another under con- 
 struction which is to be operated in connection with an 
 
 24 
 
f- ' ' Mf^l/i 
 
 f 
 
 25 
 
26 
 
electric lighting plant. Wood-working plants of several 
 kinds would find a splendid opening here, not only for 
 the local trade, but the trade along the line of the Louisville 
 and Nashville Railroad. A large brickyard would make money 
 here. There is a fine opportunity for a pottery and earthenware 
 plant. We invite inquiry regarding the advantages offered^ to 
 manufacturing enterprises in many lines, without attempting 
 to enumerate them all. 
 
 The countrv roads in the section around Bay Minette are 
 unusually good, and very little work is required to maintain 
 them in excellent condition, even in the wettest weather. They 
 drain and dry themselves very quickly, and travel and hauling 
 are never impeded by impassable country roads. 
 
 For the man who enjoys it there is, in season, hunting 
 and fishing in abundance, quail, wild ducks and other wild 
 fowl are plentiful, with deer and bear in the river swamps. 
 The streams are full of fish of all varieties, while the Gulf 
 is near enough to permit of expeditions for deep sea fishing. 
 To every man not a pioneer, whose expectations are not 
 limited to the actual bodily needs of daily existence, but 
 who is fired with the just ambition to lay something by 
 for a future rainy day, the subject of markets and transpor- 
 tation facilities follows in natural sequence those of climate, 
 soil and crops. At Bay Minette we have, as before said, 
 the main line of the Louisville and Nashville Railroad, and 
 also a branch line extending from the main line thirty-five 
 miles to the south. With Mobile twenty-five miles to the 
 south; with New Orleans and Pensacola within easy dis- 
 tance by rail; with the markets of the North open and 
 eager for the produce of Baldwin County in the Fall, Winter 
 and Spring months, there is no reason why the producer 
 in Baldwin should not find a market for all he can raise. 
 
 27 
 
the: pre:sbytkrian church. 
 
 ONK 01^ THK NUMEROUS CHURCHKS AT BAY MINETTE^. 
 
 28 
 
^ 
 
 29 
 
The Farmers' Union, composed of the farmers in the 
 territory around Bay Minette, is actively engaged in ad- 
 vancing and safeguarding the interests of the farmers in 
 every way. It is a strong organization, and is earnestly and 
 intelligently at work. They have plans for the erection 
 of a canning factory this Fall, to be owned and operated 
 by the farmers themselves on a co-operative basis. This 
 will supply ready disposition for any surplus produce that 
 might be raised, and will lend courage to the farmer to 
 plant for the greediest market, knowing that when the 
 market is glutted he can divert his produce to the cannery. 
 They are also formulating plans for the erection in the near 
 future of a cane grinding mill for the making of sugar-cane 
 syrup, and, possibly, at some future day, for the manufacture 
 of sugar itself. The selling committee of this organization 
 should be an efficient aid in disposing of the produce of the 
 small farmer, by enabling him in shipping to lump his 
 produce with that of others, and thus secure for all the ad- 
 vantages in price and freight rates of large consignments. 
 
 Considering as a whole this section of Baldwin County, 
 around the town of Bay Minette, Ave think there are few 
 other sections where intelligent, industrious poverty can so 
 readily change itself into independent competency. 
 
 The Baldwin County Fair and Racing Association. 
 
 This is an organization of the farmers and business men 
 of Baldwin County, incorporated to promote the interests 
 of its members individually and of the county at large ; to 
 inculcate and stimulate the more progressive and profitable 
 methods and branches of agriculture among themselves ; to 
 incite a friendly rivalry and a judicious comparison of means 
 and results ; to raise the standards of live stock breeding ; 
 
 30 
 
and to demonstrate to the ontside world the superior op- 
 portunities presented by Baldwin County as a farming 
 community. 
 
 The stock of this association, in small allotments at 
 $5.00 per share, is widely distributed among the farmers and 
 business men of the county, so that it is distinctly an as- 
 sociation of the people at large, and not an organization of 
 a few men of capital wdio control it for private advantage 
 and profit. It is earnestly hoped that it will be only a short 
 time until every farmer in the county will have the interest 
 of part ownership in this association. 
 
 The grounds and buildings of this association are to be 
 located at Bay Minette, where the yearly fair will be held 
 each Fall. 
 
 Tobacco Soils. 
 
 In speaking of the soils of Baldwin County thus far, we 
 have confined ourselves to those characteristics of the soil 
 upon which stress is usually laid for the common agricultural 
 pursuits. 
 
 We now take up a type of the soils existing around Bay 
 Minette, which is specially adapted to an unusual and un- 
 usually profitable branch of farming, that of raising under 
 shade the Sumatra leaf cigar wrapper tobacco, and growl- 
 ing in the sun the Havana cigar filler tobacco. From the 
 earliest systematic cultivation of the soil in Baldwin there 
 has never been a doubt that tobacco would grow^ here suc- 
 cessfully, but heretofore the growth has been spasmodic 
 in character and confined almost entirely to home consump- 
 tion. This was identically the condition in Decatur County, 
 Georgia, and Gadsden County, Florida, until a few years 
 ago. An effort had been made in those counties to produce 
 
 31 
 
32 
 
33 
 
a cigar wrapper tobacco to successfully compete with the 
 tobacco raised for this use in the tropical island of Sumatra. 
 Seeds obtained from Sumatra were planted, but the effort 
 seemed to be on the verge of failure, Avhen some agricultural 
 genius conceived the plan of growing this Sumatra tobacco 
 under shade. From the time of the adoption of this plan the 
 movement in Georgia and Florida has gone on with greater 
 success and profit each year, until for the 1907 crop of Su- 
 matra leaf the farmers got from 95 cents to $1.25 per 
 pound gross. This Florida grown Sumatra leaf wrapper 
 has taken first prizes over the Sumatra grown article, and 
 over the Cuban wrapper leaf at more than one world ex- 
 position. As a tribute to the quality of this American to- 
 bacco leaf, the Cuban Government has imposed an import 
 duty on it of some $4.00 per pound. To protect the Ameri- 
 can growers against the cheap labor of Sumatra, the U. vS. 
 Government has placed a tax on all tobacco imported from 
 Sumatra of some $2.00 per pound. The following are typical 
 instances of returns realized from the growth of the Sumatra 
 leaf in west Florida, in 1907: 
 
 J. T. Davis, Mount Pleasant $30,000.00 from 23 acres. 
 
 M. E. Clark, Jupiter 5,567.20 '' 3^2 " 
 
 D. W. Hinson, Hinson 28,000.00 '' 20 '' 
 
 Roy Smith, Quincy 5,035.00 " 2 
 
 W. C. Blount, Edwards 1,872.00 " i acre. 
 
 Mrs. Sydney Fletcher, Greensboro 1,800.00 " i 
 
 Numerous other instances might be cited and proved 
 where more than $1,000.00 per acre has been received. 
 
 The cultivation of this Sumatra leaf involves a consider- 
 able outlay of money the first year. The construction of 
 the shades costs from $200.00 to $300.00 per acre, but once 
 
 34 
 
35 
 
36 
 
properly erected the shades will last some five or six years. 
 If the land shaded is to be irrigated this will make the 
 initial cost still greater. There should be at least lOO^^ 
 profit in the first year's crop, and the greatest part of the 
 first year's expenses is represented in improvements that 
 will be permanent, which will of course bring the average 
 yearly expense to a comparatively small percentage. 
 
 The Havana filler tobacco, while not as profitable as the 
 Sumatra leaf, does not involve any larger initial expense 
 than does the cultivation of any other sun grown tobacco, 
 and yet pays very handsomely. As high as $400.00 per 
 acre has been returned from the Havana sun grown tobacco 
 in a season. From $200.00 to $300.00 would be less than a 
 fair average. 
 
 The reports of the Bureau of Soils of the U. S. Depart- 
 ment of Agriculture show that the lands on which these 
 tobaccos are so successfully raised in Florida and Georgia, 
 have one or the other of the three following soils, which 
 are valuable for this growth in the order named : The Nor- 
 folk fine, sandy loam, the Gadsden sand, and the Orange- 
 burg sandy loam. Comparison and analysis, as well as the 
 reports of the Government's experts on soils, show that 
 we have large areas around Bay Minette of the Norfolk 
 fine, sandy loam — demonstrated to be the best soil for the 
 growth of these tobaccos — together with a considerable 
 quantity of the Orangeburg sandy loam. The climatic 
 conditions here are the same as in the other two counties 
 above named, the soils are the same, the indigenous vege- 
 tation is the same ; and so there is no escape from the con- 
 clusion that these very profitable tobaccos can be grown 
 as well and as profitably here as there. Some of the farmers 
 of Baldwin are this season (1908) planting the Havana 
 
 37 
 
38 
 
39 
 
sun grown tobacco, and there are one or two companies 
 putting in some of the Sumatra leaf. 
 
 By reason of the immense profit reaHzed from the growth 
 of these tobaccos, the prices of suitable lands have in- 
 creased proportionately in the Florida and Georgia territory, 
 until they are now practically prohibitory, except to organized 
 companies or individuals of considerable capital. Whereas, 
 the lands of similar character here have not had their cost 
 enhanced, and can be secured now at low prices, on easy 
 terms. 
 
 The lands of the Bay Minette Land Company, which we are 
 now offering for sale, lie immediately around, and also at 
 varying distances from, the town of Bay Minette, and are all 
 on the elevated plateau. These lands have been selected because 
 of their suitability for farming. The soil is as good as in any 
 part of the county, and generally is much better than the average 
 land in the county. In general it corresponds very accurately to 
 the description of the soil of Baldwin previously given, having 
 the same characteristics of top-soil and sub-soil. Our lands 
 are level and rolling — not hilly or rough. They drain well and 
 therefore are not "craw-fishy" and wet, but retain enough moist- 
 ure for the growth of vegetation through the longest dry periods 
 that we have here. Being in the elevated portion of the county, 
 their summer climate is much more pleasant than in lower lying- 
 sections, as they get the full benefit of the Gulf breezes. They 
 have also the advantage of near accessibility to the county seat, 
 with its shipping and other facilities, schools, churches, stores, 
 etc., being the only lands offered for sale in this area of the 
 county in any sufficient acreage to permit of discriminating selec- 
 tion. We are offering them for sale in tracts of any desired 
 acreage, large or small, with the guarantee to every purchaser 
 of ingress and egress by good roads to and from his land. Our 
 
 40 
 
subdivisions are regular and uniform, and are themselves capa- 
 ble of being subdivided where desired, as we are following the 
 lines of original U. S. Government survey. Where two or more 
 purchasers from the same neighborhood desire to be located to- 
 gether, we will have no trouble in accommodating them, regard- 
 less of the sized tracts desired, and we desire, when possible, to 
 encourage these neighborhood settlements on account of the 
 numerous advantages to the purchasers. The choice between 
 different locations of land is confined to nearness to or distance 
 from the town of Bay Minette, rather than to any difference in 
 soils, elevation, drainage, etc., of the land itself ; as in these 
 latter particulars there is very little choice. Our schedule of 
 prices, therefore, varies principally according to the distance 
 from the county seat; the nearer the town, the more valuable 
 the land for that single reason alone, other things being equal. 
 Parties preferring to live in, or immediately on the outskirts of, 
 the town, will reasonably expect to pay a higher price for land 
 than those who buy at a greater distance. To the average 
 farmer a distance of five, six or seven miles from town is no 
 disadvantage, and for such we are now opening up a body of 
 land lying from five to seven miles from Bay Minette and from 
 one to three miles from the Ft. Morgan Railroad, which we are 
 putting on the market at $10.00 per acre on easy payments. In 
 the matter of payments we have our regular terms, which are 
 one-fourth cash, and balance in three equal annual instalments, 
 with 8% interest on all deferred payments, that being the regular 
 legal rate in the State of Alabama ; but at the same time we 
 desire to accommodate our terms as far as possible to the con- 
 venience and needs of the individual purchaser, and to give him 
 all necessars^ accommodation in terms that may be desired. We 
 have large bodies of land nearer the town, some, which we will 
 sell at from $25.00 to $30.00 an acre, within from one to two 
 
 41 
 
42 
 
miles of the centre of the town, on easy terms. We also have 
 for sale very desirable business and residence lots in the town, 
 which we will sell at very reasonable prices. To such pur- 
 chasers as desire it, and whose cash payments are large enough 
 to justify, we will advance money for improvements of one kind 
 and another, on their land, such as the clearing of land, when 
 needed, erection of buildings, &c. We are willing and desirous 
 at all times to do all that we can in the reasonable interests of- 
 those who buy from us, as we recognize that the prosperity of 
 the community is dependent upon the condition of its individual 
 members ; so that our interest in those who buy from us will not 
 end as soon as their lands are paid for, but we shall try, as far 
 as may be acceptable, to work with and for them in aiding to 
 build up the prosperity of this entire section of the county. 
 
 We invite letters of inquiry on any line of information de- 
 sired, and assure those who may be interested that their letters 
 will receive prompt, careful and courteous attention. In this 
 pamphlet our effort has been to set forth some of the advantages 
 of this section of the country, truthfully and in candor, with 
 the intention of underestimating rather than of exaggerating, 
 and the same purpose will actuate us in waiting to those from 
 whom this pamphlet may bring inquiry. 
 
 We extend an invitation to all interested parties to come to 
 Bay Minette to see for themselves, and we do this in the con- 
 fidence that investigation will fully justify your expectations. 
 
 Bay Minette Land Company, 
 Bay Minette, Baldwin County, 
 
 Alabama. 
 
 43 
 
44 
 
45 
 
46 
 
47 
 
I moved to Baldwin County, Alabama, about a year and a 
 half ago, from Geauga County, Ohio, and have found the cli- 
 mate to be all that anyone could desire. I have not spent a 
 single penny for doctor's bills. Many people from different 
 parts of the country have come here in poor health, and have 
 been greatly benefited, some entirely cured. The winters are 
 short, mild and pleasant, and the simimer heat is not as extreme 
 as in the northern States. As to the conditions of the soil ; I 
 have not given farming the attention I should have done, devot- 
 ing most of my time to public works, but from what I have 
 experienced in the line of farming, I find that with right treat- 
 ment and proper cultivation this soil will produce as large a crop 
 as much of the land in the North and Middle States, but the soil 
 alone will not produce much unless you give it some fertilizer. 
 I am convinced that this soil can be enriched by planting for 
 fertilizing purposes such crops as cow peas and velvet beans 
 and turn them under, then vve can raise all kinds of crops suc- 
 cessfully without the use of much commercial fertilizer. Two 
 and three crops can be raised on the same ground in one season. 
 A crop failure in a land of single crops means the loss of a whole 
 year. There are excellent opportunities here for those wanting 
 to farm. This is the place for a man of small means. He can 
 do more on a smaller acreage and at less cost and expense than 
 in the North. For the farmer, the stock raiser, the fruit and 
 vegetable grower this is the place. The farmer, as stated above, 
 avoids the cold w^eather of the North. The stock raiser will 
 have pure water and abundant grass for his stock. I had a few 
 head of cattle running out all winter, did not feed them any- 
 thing, and they were in better shape than my cattle had been in 
 the North, where I had to feed them from five to six months in 
 the year. To the fruit grower this country has shown Its adapta- 
 bilities. Figs grow easily and with little care here. Plums are 
 
 48 
 
indigenous and offer great inducements for commercial plant- 
 ing. I have a few trees that are loaded with fruit. Pears do 
 remarkably well here. Nuts, such as pecans and English wal- 
 nuts, are grown here. I know of a pecan tree in my neighbor- 
 hood that bore $17.00 worth of nuts in one season. I have set 
 out 100 pecan trees this spring. Have one young tree that grew 
 29 inches in height this spring. Have an elderberry sprout that 
 grew 6 feet 6 inches this spring. I never saw trees grow as fast 
 in the North as they do down here. Strawberries, blackberries 
 and dewberries are adapted to this country. They have become 
 the most profitable shipping fruits. Some garden vegetables can 
 be grown every month in the year. I believe in the course of a 
 few years the South will need no advertising to bring in set- 
 tlers, and that Baldwin County will be the garden spot of the 
 South. Poultry does remarkably well here. In conclusion, I 
 will say, come to the South where you do not have to feed your 
 cattle five to six months in the year, and where a man of small 
 means can shape himself up to live as independent as the 
 moneyed man of the North. To be convinced of the truth of 
 this letter, come and see for yourself. 
 
 E. N. Be:achy. 
 Bay Minette, Baldwin County, Ala., 
 April 1 6th, 1908. 
 
 I was born and raised in Baldwin County, Alabama, and feel 
 that too much cannot be said in her behalf. I have lived in sev- 
 eral other counties, and I am sure that Baldwin is far superior to 
 any of the others. The climate in winter is very mild. We 
 hardly ever have any severe freezes. Some vegetables can be 
 grown the year round. Our summer months are not as hot as 
 in the North, as we have the Gulf breeze that cools the atmos- 
 phere, and we seldom ever hear of sun-strokes here as in the 
 
 49 
 
50 
 
North. Our soils are suitable and productive of almost any- 
 thing that one could wish to grow ; corn, cotton, sweet and Irish 
 potatoes, sugar cane, rice and vegetables of all kinds do well 
 here. Of course we have to use some commercial fertilizer or 
 barnyard manure, which greatly helps the yield. Stock of all 
 kinds do well here. We seldom ever have to keep up and house 
 our stock during the winter. There are several large stock 
 owners in Baldwin County who drive up their cattle in the 
 spring, mark and brand the increase and turn them out on the 
 lange until the next spring. Sheep also do well here. They are 
 treated about as the cattle are, but instead of branding the 
 sheep they shear them and mark the lambs. Our water is all 
 that could be desired. Flowing springs and streams abound 
 throughout the county. Good, cool, healthy water can be had 
 at small cost anywhere by digging or boring for it, the depth 
 ranging from 20 to 50 feet. The soil here is very much adapted 
 to the growth of pecans. I have some 300 trees, some of which 
 have been bearing several years, and the nuts are superior, both 
 in size and flavor, to any I have seen from elsewhere. 
 Bay Minette, Ala., W. H. Byrne, 
 
 April 20, 1908. 
 
 I have been in 13 or 14 States of the Union, and taking 
 exerything into consideration, I like it here the best of any 
 place I have ever lived. We have a fine climate here and good 
 pure water. The soil is a dark sandy loam, wdth clay sub-soil, 
 which if properly handled will produce anything a person would 
 want to grow. I have at this writing (April 16, 1908) almost 
 every variety of garden truck that you could name and growing 
 thrifty and nice. Have had onions, radishes, strawberries and 
 collards to use over a month, besides small fruit, grapes, black- 
 cap raspberries, wine-plant currants, apricots, pears, peaches 
 
 51 
 
and plums ; 20 or 25 different varieties of apples that I set out 
 since I came and they are all doing fine. We came to Alabama 
 three years ago and bought a piece of land one mile south of 
 Bay Minette, the County Seat of Baldwin County. Bay Minette 
 has every prospect of making one of the finest little towns m 
 the South, and I would just state that we have come to stay 
 and make this our future home. Sun strokes are unknown here, 
 tor the heat of the summer is fanned away by the breeze from 
 the Gulf. We also have good markets here, and last, but 
 not least, the best people in the world, kind-hearted, clever and 
 sociable. The land is generally level with a gentle slope south 
 toward the Gulf. W1LI.IAM Spijncer. 
 
 Bay Minette, Baldwin County, 
 April 16, 1908. 
 
 I came to Baldwin County in 1897, from Crete, III., and 
 have lived here ever since. I have returned to the North several 
 times for short visits. I have been farming here and like the 
 climate, both winter and summer. In the North I have lost 
 horses from sun-stroke in summer, and the heat there has at 
 times prevented work on my farm from going on for a day 
 or so at a time. Nothing of the kind has ever happened here. 
 We do not have sun-strokes. I have never heard of an instance 
 of sun-stroke here. The winter climate here is delightful. Cold 
 weather is practically unknown. I have had lettuce and radishes, 
 raised right here, all last winter. I ate ripe strawberries, raised 
 on my place, at Christmas, 1907. I have been eating new Irish 
 potatoes from my own garden since January ist, 1908. These 
 would have sold in Chicago this winter at about $8.00 a bar- 
 rel, I am advised. Any intelligent farmer can raise here all the 
 year round all the garden produce he can use and sell. I am 
 hving here on account of the climate, and do not raise more 
 
 52 
 
than I need for my own use. I have a near neighbor who made, 
 I know, out of truck on one-quarter of an acre $132.00 in 1907. 
 The cHmate here is fine the year round, and if the farmers in 
 the North knew all the truth about this country, many more of 
 them would come down here. The soil is good, there is no 
 doubt about that. Live stock does well here and can be raised 
 much cheaper than in the North. Erne;st RinnE 
 
 Bay Minette, Baldwin County, Ala., 
 April 25, 1908. 
 
 I have been farming in Baldwin County, Ala., five years. I 
 came here from Monroe County, Ala. The soil here is as good 
 on the average as it is anywhere that I know of, and is suited 
 for all kinds of crops and trucking. I have raised a bale of 
 cotton to the acre some seasons, and my cotton would average 
 something over three-fourths of a bale to the acre since I have 
 been here, with about 500 pounds of fertilizer to the acre. I 
 raise from 100 to 120 bushels of Irish potatoes to the acre, 
 and from 150 to 200 bushels of sweet potatoes. The land 
 is level and rolling, but not hilly or rough, and does not wash. 
 There is a good clay and sand sub-soil, which is easily worked 
 into a plant feeding soil. I like the climate here very much. 
 There is no winter cold to speak of, and the summers in Bald- 
 win are more pleasant, on account of the steady breeze, than 
 further north in Alabama. The water is pure and good and 
 plentiful. We have had no sickness in my family at all since 
 we have been here. There is no malaria here. We can raise 
 from two to three crops a year on the same land, and cultivate 
 the ground the year round. Altogether I would rather farm 
 in Baldwin County than anywhere I know of. I like it better 
 than any place I have ever lived. q -^ Garrett 
 
 Bay Minette, Baldwin County, Ala., 
 May 22, 1908. 
 
 53 
 
I came to Baldwin County February 26, 1907, and had only 
 enough money to pay all my expenses, having only one acre 
 under fence, but had bought iii acres of land before I moved 
 here. I came here with the intention of farming and have not 
 changed my mind. I have never before in my life seen clover 
 grow as it does here, and, in fact, all kinds of crops. I have 13 
 acres in corn this year and it looks fine. I also have an acre 
 of Irish potatoes, which we have begun to dig to-day, and which 
 I figure will give me 120 bushels, which I have contracted to 
 sell at $1.25 a bushel. I am also going to make a hay crop and 
 another potato crop this season on the same ground. I think 
 this country is the place for a poor man. I also have a fine 
 yield of velvet beans, sugar cane, sweet potatoes, canteloupes, 
 melons, and also had plenty of all kinds of garden vegetables 
 in February and March when we heard that roads were drifted 
 Vv'ith snow in the north part of Ohio where I came from. We 
 are all more than pleased with the country. We built us a new 
 house and barn and hen house, and bought stock, hogs and cat- 
 tle. I have now 7 head of cattle, 9 hogs, 3 head of horses, 6 
 goats, and have paid for all. I think this is one of the healthiest 
 countries I have ever seen. We have good water, and for fruit 
 I have never seen its equal, such as figs, grapes, plums, pears, 
 and all kinds of nuts. You will be astonished at the different 
 kinds that are raised here, and you can be raising crops here 
 when you would be chopping wood in Ohio. I can also say to 
 anyone in the North that they will never find the heat a draw- 
 back in this country ; as so many of them think it is too hot for 
 white people to live. It is not as hot as in the North. We also 
 have plenty of rain here. I have never seen it here that things 
 did not grow if people only plant them. I hope people will 
 take advantage of the inducements offered, and I would kindly 
 
 54 
 
invite an}^ who desire to see this country to come and be 
 convinced. 
 
 J. J. GucK. 
 
 Bay Minette, Baldwin County, Ala., 
 May 22, 1908. 
 
 I came here March 22nd, 1905, from Coshocton, Ohio, and 
 bought 120 acres about 2 miles south of Bay ^linette. I am well 
 pleased with this country. The climate summer and winter is 
 tine. There is no cold weather in winter to speak of, and in 
 summer the highest the heat has been was 96 degrees, and then 
 in the shade it is very much more comfortable than it is in the 
 North at that temperature. There is always a steady breeze 
 in summer, day and night. The nights here .are always cool. 
 We have had as good health here as we had in the North. There 
 IS plenty of good pure water. The country is level, with roll 
 to give right drainage. After new ground is gotten into con- 
 dition, the soil is as good as can be gotten anywhere for the 
 price, in my opinion. I have raised corn, oats, Irish and sweet 
 potatoes, cucumbers, melons, peas and beans, sugar-cane, gar- 
 den stuff of all kinds, and they all do well here. I know of 
 i^. great many other things that have been raised successfully 
 by other farmers. Two to three crops a year can be grown on 
 the same ground, profitably, if the proper crops are selected. 
 We farm here the year round. Altogether I am glad that I 
 moved here, and am entirely satisfied, and would not hesitate 
 to advise any intelligent, industrious man to come here to live. 
 
 L^wis Schumacher. 
 Bay Minette, Ala., 
 
 May 25, 1908. 
 
 55 
 
I have farmed here for the past six years. Our cHmate is 
 unsurpassed anywhere, either summer or winter. Our free- 
 stone water is as pure as pure can be. A healthier country 
 I have never seen, and I am famihar with nearly all the 
 United States. This is Nature's great sanatarium. Our 
 soil is especially adapted to the raising of vetgetables of 
 all kinds. Many varieties thrive finely all the winter through. 
 Many varieties of fruits do wonderfully well here — notably 
 the Satsuma orange, Japanese persimmons, figs, plums and 
 grapes. Berries do splendidly here. All fruits, berries and 
 vegetables have a flavor unsurpassed anywhere. I have 
 raised as fine corn, oats, rice and potatoes as I ever saw 
 grow in any country. Cotton does extremely well here. Mel- 
 ons of all kinds have a flavor which surpasses anything 
 raised north of here. Pecan and walnut trees thrive finely 
 here. This is a splendid stock and dairy country, with a 
 home market for all the product with the best of prices. 
 In fact, this country offers more inducements for immi- 
 gration than any country I have ever seen, and I have seen 
 all the entire Central West, as well as all the West, North- 
 west and Southwest develop from a wild country into what 
 is is to-day — unsurpassed in the whole world. This South- 
 land is destined to be the wealthiest portion of the United 
 States, is my humble judgment, because Nature has done 
 a thousand times as much for this country as for any por- 
 tion of the North or West. All this country needs is an intro- 
 duction of new blood from the North and AVest, with its push 
 and energy. All I have said I can prove to the satisfaction 
 of the most skeptical, and if more is needed I am here to 
 answer questions or show up if called upon to do so. 
 
 John M. GrEe;n. 
 Bay Minette, Ala. 
 April, 26, 1908. 
 
 56 
 
57 
 
We have a good healthy country, and a very mild climate. 
 A man can raise most anything in the trucking line, such 
 as Irish potatoes, cabbage, onions, lettuce, carrots, spinach, 
 cucumbers, squash, English peas, watermelons, canteloupes, 
 sweet potatoes, sugar-cane, corn, cotton, turnips and ruta- 
 bagas, snap beans. You can raise two crops of Irish po- 
 tatoes in one season. You can plant oats and follow with 
 cotton or sweet potatoes. AVe have splendid water, wells, 
 pumps, streams and flowing springs. You can grow vege- 
 tables the year round. You can grow good cotton and corn 
 with 600 pounds of fertilizer to the acre. I am a native of 
 this county, am going on 51 years old, and my father and 
 mother are both living. 
 
 Chas. E. Ste;wart. 
 Bay Minette, Baldwin County, Ala. 
 April 24, i( 
 
 I realized some $300.00 from one acre in strawberries this 
 spring, with a rainy season, selling them on the home market. 
 
 R. C. Warr. 
 Bay Minette, Ala. 
 May 19th, 1908. 
 
 I raised 100 bushels of sw^eet potatoes from one-half acre. 
 
 Martin Thomas. 
 Bay Minette, Ala. 
 May I, 1908. 
 
 I raise from 125 to 150 bushels of Irish potatoes to the 
 acre. 
 
 T. J. Booker. 
 Bay Minette, Ala. 
 May 19th, 1908. 
 
 58 
 
I make from 400 to 600 gallons of syrup from an acre 
 of sugar cane, selling for from 50 to 60 cents per gallon, with 
 about 1,000 pounds of fertilizer to the acre. I replant my 
 cane every three years. 
 
 Frkd Thompson. 
 Bay Minette, Ala. 
 May 20th, 1908. 
 
 The climate and water of Baldwin County is all that 
 anyone could wish for, and the heat in summer is not nearly 
 as oppressive as in the North. I came here ten years ago. 
 Had been suffering for a number of years with stomach 
 trouble, and also had hay fever every summer so bad I 
 could not lie down at night. Since coming here I have been 
 entirely free from it, and can digest anything from a gopher 
 to a Baldwin County steer. I consider the land around Bay 
 Minette as good as any in the county. Most of it a sandy 
 loam with a good clay subsoil and will retain moisture in the 
 dryest season, if properly worked. It is well adapted for 
 trucking, and also for raising small fruits, such as straw- 
 berries, grapes, figs, canteloupes, &c. Under proper care 
 cotton will make a bale to the acre. With the exception of 
 cotton, two crops can be made on the same ground in one 
 year. I raise 125 bushels of Irish potatoes to the acre. 
 
 Chas. E. AyIvIN. 
 Bay Minette, Ala. 
 May I, 1908. 
 
 I have lived in seven of the Alabama counties, and have 
 lived in Baldwin County the past seven or eight years. 
 Fertilizer pays better here than anywhere I have ever 
 farmed. I made $59.00 from sweet potatoes on one-eighth 
 
 59 
 
of an acre last summer; sold them at $1.50 per bushel. I 
 have averaged 200 bushels of sweet potatoes to the acre here. 
 I raise from 125 to 175 bushels of Irish potatoes to the acre. 
 I use from 400 to 500 pounds of commercial fertilizer to the 
 acre. I have raised a bale of cotton and upward to the acre 
 the past three years. 
 
 J. W. Hendrix. 
 Bay Minette, Ala. 
 May 20th, 1908. 
 
 I raise a bale of cotton to the acre in good seasons, with 
 300 to 400 pounds of fertilizer. 
 
 Bud Jones. 
 Bay Minette, Ala. 
 May 20th, 1908. 
 
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