A history of Foster County

• Format: Text
• Language: unknown
• Published: North Dakota State Library
• Subjects: Canada; Glacial Lake; Hudson; Hudson Bay; James River; glacier*
• Online Access: http://cdm16921.contentdm.oclc.org/cdm/ref/collection/ndsl-books/id/32392

Topograph & @>eoIog\? Soils - rivers - lakes - hills - dams - water resources Long before Foster County was officially organized, the area which is now the state of North Dakota had experienced a long and dynamic history. More than once in geologic time huge inland seas washed its surface, dinosaurs and other fierce looking reptiles roamed through the area. Much later the continental glaciers engulfed the area. These glaciers or ice sheets, as they were called, grew thick and then would flow outward from the center. In North America the center was near Hudson Bay. Ice piled up from 8,000 to 10,000 feet thick. Moving southward, it spread over 5,200,000 acres of land. At their height, the sheets turned so much water to ice that the level of the oceans dropped 300 feet. As they retreated, the low areas that were gouged out filled with water. The glaciers ground some of the rocks into fine dust which the wind blew far and wide. This fine silt is called loess. It took thousands of years before these glaciers retreated back into Canada. As the glaciers were moving from the north, it pushed soil and loose rocks ahead of it like a huge bulldozer. As the ice melted, it left behind mounds of soil and rocks which are called moraines. The rich deposit of earth material is called drift. Foster County is in the area called the "Drift Prairies". It's official position is: Northern border, 47 degrees 35 min. north latitude; southern boundary, 47 degrees 25 minutes north latitude; the eastern boundary is 98 degrees 30 minutes west longitude; and western boundary is on the 99 degree 30 minutes west longitude. It follows the rectangular system of survey. Its elative position is extreme inland. It is near to being the center of the North American Continent. It is bordered on the south by Stutsman county; Eddy county on the north; Griggs county to the East, and Wells county on the west. The County seat is Carrington, which is located in the southwest central part of the county. It measures 36 miles wide and 18 miles long which makes it the smallest county in the state containing 648 square miles. Soils The majority of the soil in Foster county has been broken down and brought into the area by wind, water, or ice. It has a darker surface than any other upland soil in the United States. This is due to the large accumulation of black organic matter or humus in the surface soils. The native vegetation is tall and short grasses, now largely replaced by cultivation. The next layer is brown loam which is four to twelve inches thick. Below this is a lime zone and below that is a layer of highly calcerous glacial drift. In some areas the loam tends to be silty and sandy. It is classified in tne Barnes-Parnell soil area. The Parnell soils are water logged associates of the Barnes and occur in nearly all parts of the area in poorly drained depressions. Most of these depressions are part of the old glacial lake bottom lands. A soil survey was made of the Carrington area in 1905. This survey divided the soil into ten distinct types. They are as follows. 1. The Marshall loam: has an average depth of about ten inches, a dark-brown friable loam, underlain usually by a grayish-brown silt clay, becoming slightly yellow in the lower depths. This type is found in all parts of the area occupied by moraines and in the level prairie along the courses of the streams. It also occurs between areas of Marshall silt loam and Marshall stony loan^along the James River and in the vicinity of Pipestem Creek and south and west of Carrington. The porous subsoil gives adequate subdrainage, which is likely to be excessive in season of slight rainfall. The Marshall loam is of glacial origin. The principal crops are wheat, flax, barley, rye, oats, hay, potatoes, sunflowers and the hilly areas are largely used for pastures. 2. Marshall Silt Loam: ranges from 10 to 16 inches in depth consisting of a dark-brown to black silt loam resting upon a yellowish-brown silty clay subsoil, usually several feet in depth. The Marshall silt loam is by far the most extensive soil mapped. One of these bodies occupies the level land between Baldhill creek and the hilly region along the James River, and a second occupies the major portion of the prairie west of Bordulac. That portion which lies in the eastern part of the survey has somewhat heavier soil than found west of the James River. Near Bordulac and in the vicinity of Carrington area are found soils consisting of about 14 inches of black silt loam with a small percentage of sand. The subsoil is silty clay, varying in color from light brown to white. The lighter soil is not quite so productive as those of the darker color. The origin of the Marshall silt loam dates back to glacial times. This type retains moisture and is one of the most valuable soils in the area. The Marshall silt loam has been devoted mainly to the growing of small grains; though well adapted to a variety of crops. Alfalfa has done well, while other grasses have given excellent results. 3. Clyde Loam: soil is of a varying texture, ranging from a dark-brown loam to black clay loam with an average depth of ten inches. The subsoil is usually a gray drab-colored clay about 30 inches deep below which are frequently found thin layers of coarse sand. Scanned with a Zeutschel Zeta book scanner at 300 dpi. Edited with Multi-Page TIFF Editor.