The following article and pictures appeared in the Chariton Herald-Patriot on March 21, 2013, written by Sandra Knebel.The Werts Family farm has been in their family for 118 years and was recognized and honored by the Iowa Department of Agriculture and the Iowa Farm Bureau Federation in 1996 as a "Century Farm".
The family legacy began with John Jackson Werts (1831-1901) and his wife, Esther (1837-1912). John and Esther were both born in Muskingum County, Ohio. At the age of 21, John took a job as a farmhand for $13 a month. He saved his money and the next year rented a 50-acre farm in an adjacent county. By the year 1864, with six children and the loss of one baby, John and Esther could see the necessity of having more land in order to feed a growing family. John made a trip to the new state of Iowa where his Uncle William Maple had homesteaded a farm on the prairie, paying the government $1.25 per acre. He was favorably impressed with the land and the prospects for future settlement and growth. He purchased 160 acres of prairie including 20 acres under cultivation and a newly built house. He also bought 40 acres of timber for fuel, fence posts and lumber. The entire package cost him $2,100. The farm was half a mile north of "Ragtown", a village having a store, sawmill, and a few houses. A school was added in a few years. John hurried back home to Ohio to move his family and what possessions could be carried across the prairie to Iowa. With the fall of 1864 came the big move to Iowa with six children and all the household goods they could pile on one
wagon. The family rode to Iowa on a train.
John was proud of the flock of sheep he had in Ohio and was determined to move them as well to Iowa. The sheep were driven from the farm to the railroad yard and loaded into a railway car. During the train trip, John spent most of his time with the sheep, watering and feeding them and keeping them as comfortable as possible in order to prevent costly losses.
In Chicago, it was necessary for passengers to move from one railway station to another to board a train to Eddyville, Iowa, the end of the line and about 40 miles from their farm. The carload of sheep, on arrival in Chicago, was most likely also switched from one road to the other. At Eddyville, the two weary families crowded into a stagecoach which took them on another dirt road to Lagrange, Iowa, a village that was still a good 10 miles from their farm. There they were welcomed by the Maple family who helped them make the final trek leading to the farm that would eventually become a Century Farm.
The sheep were unloaded in Eddyville and the flock driven out on the prairie and on to the farm. There was a trail they could follow during daylight hours. John Quincy Werts was nine years old at the time and remembered that he went with his Uncle Alex McCurdy to get the sheep and bring them the remainder of the way to the farm. They could not find the trail in the darkness and prepared to stay all night. They eventually heard a dog barking and were able to find a house where a man showed them the trail and they completed the journey, arriving about daybreak.
Having arrived in the fall of the year, the first winter was a difficult one. The men had to work hard to begin preparing the land for a crop the following year. Prairie sod was deep and tough and their tools were primitive, but they were able to turn over a good-sized plot before the weather became severe. The young boys worked along with the men and all were hungry. Those were the days when neighbors helped neighbors and all worked together to provide for the needs of the community. Labor was shared and food was shared.
There was no town of Russell for another three or four years. The first store there opened in 1865. Until then, staples of food and equipment were hauled from Eddyville to Chariton and the farmers drove their teams and wagons the six or seven miles to Chariton for their necessities.
In 1867 the railroad tracks were completed through Lucas County. The first train came through in July of 1867. Soon afterward a general store was built and women were able to buy cotton fabrics for dresses, buttons and thread. The town of Russell grew and Ragtown, the village that had been a half mile south of the Werts farm, disappeared except for the schoolhouse.
In 1891, after 27 years of thrift and hard work, John and Esther built a house in the west end of Russell and retired, leaving the farm in the hands of their son Clifton Elmer Werts, whose name was on the original deed with his father. Cliff had learned farming from his father and neighbors, but more than others, he learned to appreciate the advent of the mechanical age and used his ingenuity for the construction and application of farm machinery.
In 1905, Cliff mounted two gasoline engines on a horse-drawn wagon, the engines providing power for a threshing machine. He then helped many neighborhood farmers with their threshing. He assembled and built one of the first gasoline tractors in the county. The equipment enabled him to farm more land and he added neighboring farms until he had 620 acres.
In 1932, Cliff invented a pipe-laying machine and used it to lay underground piping for farmers and other industries. He built a motor home on an auto chassis about 1926. A few years later he built a larger one. Over more than 17 years he and his wife, Clara, used their motor home to explore the 48 states, Canada and Mexico, often in the company of family and friends.
From Cliff and Clara, the farm passed to their son, Richard Werts, who was born in 1899. Richard attended Russell high School and learned farming from his father. From Richard, the farm was purchased in 1964 by Richard's nephew, James Elmer Werts. James, born in 1931, was the son of Ralph and Alice Werts.
After completing the public schools in Russell, James went into the Air Force, serving much of his four years in Frankfurt, Germany. On returning home, "Jim" went into farming. In September of 1952, he married Beverly Ann Pierce. Jim and Beverly's daughter, Terry and her husband, Rick Elmore, now live on the farm. Rick was born in Corydon. He helped coach football and basketball at the Russell High School and farmed with his father-in-law. Rick and Terry raise cattle, mostly Angus, and the usual crops found in Lucas County - corn, soybeans and hay.
Rick and Terry have three children. Their son, Conrad, is currently involved with raising the cattle. Their grandaughters, Alixis and Alivia VanRyswyk, are members of 4-H and raise their 4-H cattle on the farm. In addition to their daughter, Kelly VanRyswyk (Chariton), son Conrad (Chariton), they also have a daughter, Kayla, who lives near Des Moines.
Having arrived in the fall of the year, the first winter was a difficult one. The men had to work hard to begin preparing the land for a crop the following year. Prairie sod was deep and tough and their tools were primitive, but they were able to turn over a good-sized plot before the weather became severe. The young boys worked along with the men and all were hungry. Those were the days when neighbors helped neighbors and all worked together to provide for the needs of the community. Labor was shared and food was shared.
There was no town of Russell for another three or four years. The first store there opened in 1865. Until then, staples of food and equipment were hauled from Eddyville to Chariton and the farmers drove their teams and wagons the six or seven miles to Chariton for their necessities.
In 1867 the railroad tracks were completed through Lucas County. The first train came through in July of 1867. Soon afterward a general store was built and women were able to buy cotton fabrics for dresses, buttons and thread. The town of Russell grew and Ragtown, the village that had been a half mile south of the Werts farm, disappeared except for the schoolhouse.
In 1891, after 27 years of thrift and hard work, John and Esther built a house in the west end of Russell and retired, leaving the farm in the hands of their son Clifton Elmer Werts, whose name was on the original deed with his father. Cliff had learned farming from his father and neighbors, but more than others, he learned to appreciate the advent of the mechanical age and used his ingenuity for the construction and application of farm machinery.
In 1905, Cliff mounted two gasoline engines on a horse-drawn wagon, the engines providing power for a threshing machine. He then helped many neighborhood farmers with their threshing. He assembled and built one of the first gasoline tractors in the county. The equipment enabled him to farm more land and he added neighboring farms until he had 620 acres.
In 1932, Cliff invented a pipe-laying machine and used it to lay underground piping for farmers and other industries. He built a motor home on an auto chassis about 1926. A few years later he built a larger one. Over more than 17 years he and his wife, Clara, used their motor home to explore the 48 states, Canada and Mexico, often in the company of family and friends.
From Cliff and Clara, the farm passed to their son, Richard Werts, who was born in 1899. Richard attended Russell high School and learned farming from his father. From Richard, the farm was purchased in 1964 by Richard's nephew, James Elmer Werts. James, born in 1931, was the son of Ralph and Alice Werts.
After completing the public schools in Russell, James went into the Air Force, serving much of his four years in Frankfurt, Germany. On returning home, "Jim" went into farming. In September of 1952, he married Beverly Ann Pierce. Jim and Beverly's daughter, Terry and her husband, Rick Elmore, now live on the farm. Rick was born in Corydon. He helped coach football and basketball at the Russell High School and farmed with his father-in-law. Rick and Terry raise cattle, mostly Angus, and the usual crops found in Lucas County - corn, soybeans and hay.
Rick and Terry have three children. Their son, Conrad, is currently involved with raising the cattle. Their grandaughters, Alixis and Alivia VanRyswyk, are members of 4-H and raise their 4-H cattle on the farm. In addition to their daughter, Kelly VanRyswyk (Chariton), son Conrad (Chariton), they also have a daughter, Kayla, who lives near Des Moines.
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