Cherokee County Business History |
Cherokee County Business History |
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Cherokee's Tow Mill |
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In 1883, the Champaign Twine and Bagging Company established a tow mill
in Cherokee. The purpose of this mill was to process flax straw into
tow, a type of linen fiber used to make rope, twine and a coarse fabric
of which bagging was made. The company advertised for flax straw, but what they were really looking for were farmers to contract with to grow flax. The farmer bought his seed from the company and contracted his crop to them at a fixed price. Often the company loaned the farmer money to purchase the seed, at a handsome rate of interest, of course. In December 1883, the company advertised for flax straw, stating that they required 3,000 tons and would pay $3.00 per ton for long, dry flax straw delivered at their mill in Cherokee. They wanted as much delivered in August and September as possible in order that they might get it rotted before winter. The flax straw, so stated the company, must be free from chaff and reasonably clean of weeds. The advertisement advised that flax to be of the most value for seed and straw should be cut as soon as the bolls begin to turn brown, and stacked as soon as possible after cutting, that is within three or four days. The company also stated that they had available a few machines arranged especially for threshing flax and advised farmers to make arrangements to have their flax threshed by the company. A few good men and teams would be needed to operate these machines the coming fall, it was stated, and those interested should contact the company’s agent in Cherokee - Mr. J. A. Platt. Partially as a result of this market for their crop the farmers of the county responded by growing flax. In 1885, 260, 419 bushels of flax seed was produced in the county. In 1912, when the tow mill was long just a memory, Cherokee county’s flax production was a mere 968 bushels. About the same time, a number of tow mills were established in various Iowa communities. In a brief burst of economic enthusiasm farmers turned to raising flax as a good paying crop. When the market for flax fiber abated, so did the market for flax seed and Cherokee county farmers abandoned flax as a cash crop. Source: Former Cherokee County Historical Society Newsletter, Vol. 13, Number 3, March 1978, pg. 4
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