Rural Historic Structural Survey - Will County Land Use

Wiss, Janney, Elstner Associates, Inc.
During World War II, farmers were encouraged by the federal government to increase production by the
use of power machinery and the latest scientific processes. When a decline in demand arose, the farmer
was forced to continue his heavy production rate in order to compensate for lower farm prices. Cash crop
income in 1950 was $2.038 billion nationally. Of this amount livestock and livestock products accounted
for $1.26 billion; crops, $763 million; and government pay for adaptation of production program, $10.6
million paid to the farmers in Illinois. Principal crops were corn, soybeans, wheat, oats, hay, fruits, and
greenhouse products. The average value of an Illinois farm in 1950 was $28,400. 82 The farm population
83
in Illinois declined from 1,341,104 in 1900 to 772,521 in 1950.
The map at left diagrams the predominant types of
agriculture in Illinois during the mid-1950s. Note
that northwest Will County lies near the dividing
line between dairy, livestock and grain, and cash
grain farming. (Robert C. Ross and Harold C.M.
Case, “Types of Farming in Illinois – An Analysis
of Differences by Areas,” University of Illinois
Agricultural Experiment Station Bulletin No. 601,
April 1956.)
northeastern Illinois. (U.S. Department of Agriculture Forest Service, Draft Environmental Impact Statement,
Midewin National Tallgrass Prairie Land and Resource Management Plan (Wilmington, Illinois, 7 May 2001), 1.)
82 Morrison, Prairie State, A History, 116.
83 Salamon, 35.
Will County Rural Historic Structural Survey
Du Page Township Chapter I – 31