Whiterock
Valley extends southeast of Coon Rapids, from the Highway 141 bridge next
to the Home Farm all the way to the gravel pits about ten
miles to the southeast. The middle fork of the Raccoon River traverses the
property. Whiterock Road (now known as Fig Avenue) was the main access to the
valley. The River House and the now gone schoolhouse, just to the north, were at the heart
of the community.
The land was first settled in the 1850-1900 era and in parcels
which averaged perhaps 40 acres. Ready access to water and timber for fuel and
construction attracted the settlers. Further, the native wetlands which lay to the north
and east of town could not be farmed until the land was drained.
Several old foundations
are about the only remaining evidence of early settlement. They are generally found along
the now closed roads which once extended
through the area. Be sure to check out the wooden box
culvert on Whitetail Trail. A now abandoned road crossed here and, perhaps
80-90 years later, the culvert is still in good repair. A log cabin,
now falling down, can be seen in the valley.
Another sign of early
culture is a series of sandstone bluffs and caves on the west side of the river. Names … and more names, of lovers and classmates and early
residents are carved into the soft sandstone in the area known locally as "the
caves". Please do not add your name; it is local history and
outside names are not welcomed.
The
valley soil was poor, and therefore the farmers were too. They cleared
timber and farmed the ridge lines and bottoms. They grew wheat, corn and alfalfa and
raised a few cows, hogs, goats and sometimes sheep. The women put in large vegetable
gardens and tended the chickens. Children were sent out to gather walnuts and
gooseberries; beehives and orchards were common. A few families had cars starting in 1920s
but a lot of those were put up on blocks during the Depression.
Families found other
ways to supplement cash income. A big industry in the valley
was coal mining. A two foot seam of coal runs through the valley, about 80
feet deep. Several farmers put in mine shafts, but most never became commercial. In a few
spots, you can still see an eroded pile of "tailings", which is the rubble from
the mines. A big problem was flooding …the lower slopes of the valley are peppered
with springs. However the Pierce family operated a successful mine for several years
… it was a major supplier to Coon Rapids.
There were
many other attempts to raise cash. A few
old-timers tell of gathering morel mushrooms
as children in the woods and selling them to the Garst General Store in Coon Rapids for 25
cents per peck. Warren Pierce
was a fur buyer and there was a lot of trapping
in the valley. The Heater Family tried strawberry production
on the river bottom until flooding wiped them out one time too many. The Heaters also ran dances in their barn and charged 25 cents a head
for cash income. The River House Dance Barn is well
worth a look. One neighbor made sunbonnets. A few young men made money during Prohibition
by running a local bootleg liquor, the famous "Templeton Rye",
into Chicago.
There were many hungry families
in the valley. Every nook and cranny was well known and the wildlife rapidly disappeared. Before settlement, there were elk, deer, turkey, and beaver
but they had largely disappeared by 1930. Hunting laws were finally put into place and
wildlife rebounded. Read more about the wildlife in the
valley.
As far as we know,
there were no well-established Indian villages in the valley. However, a few artifacts
have been found on the bluffs above the river. A tribe from
the Tama Indian Reservation came every summer in the 1930s in large
touring cars. They spent the summer in teepees on the bluff south of the River House,
gathering and drying herbs. Gypsy tribes also sometimes came to the valley.
Farm life was hard in
Whiterock Valley and gradually the area depopulated.
Since the 1930s, the Garst Family has been buying up the land, 40 and 80 acres at a time.
The land reverted from row crop back to pasture and the current owners are encouraging
much of it to revert to wild areas.
