Jackson County IL Archives News.....TROBAUGH HOMESTEAD 400-ACRE SHOW PLACE IN FRUIT; OWNER RESOURCEFUL PLANTER September 3, 1943
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File contributed for use in USGenWeb Archives by:
Karima Allison quest@insightbb.com July 8, 2006, 9:17 pm

Murphysboro Daily Independent September 3, 1943

TROBAUGH Homestead, located on Route 13, 4 miles east of Murphysboro, is one of
the most interesting enterprises to be found in southern Illinois.

The pubic records of Jackson county reveal the TROBAUGH farm (which was included
in a strip of land six miles wide from Chicago to Mobile, Alabama) by a special
act of congress approved September 50, 1850, was conveyed by the United States
to the State of Illinois under an act entitled "An act granting the right of way
and making a grant of land to the State of Illinois and other states in aid of
the constructing of a railroad from Chicago, Illinois, to Mobile, Alabama"; that
by a special act of the legislature of the State of Illinois approved February
10, 1850, the state of Illinois conveyed this farm (included in a strip of land
six miles wide extending from Chicago to Cairo) free to the Illinois Central
Railroad, in order to get the present Illinois Central railroad built; and that
on March 2, 1857, the Illinois Central railroad, by William H. OSBORN, its
president, conveyed the land to William M. TROBAUGH, the great-grandfather of
Attorney Frank E. TROBAUGH, of West Frankfort, the present owner, and that the
land has been owned by the TROBAUGH family from generation to generation
continuously ever since.

William M. TROBAUGH and his family migrated, with an ox cart, to Jackson county
from Tennessee in 1850. His forefathers came to Tennessee from West Virginia.
His wedding suit was made by Andrew JACKSON, who was a tailor near Nashville,
Tennessee, the then home of the TROBAUGHs. Mr. JACKSON later became the seventh
president of the United States.

William M. TROBAUGH died in the year of 1886 and is buried in Pleasant Grove
cemetery, a part of the new memorial cemetery near the farm. The farm descended
from him to the late John W. TROBAUGH, now of Springfield, and the late Dr.
Frank E. TROBAUGH of Murphysboro, father of Attorney TROBAUGH, who has acquired
the interests of the heirs of John W. TROBAUGH, and who now owns the farm.

The original road from Mt. Carbon (before the days of Murphysboro) to
Carbondale, runs north and south through the TROBAUGH farm. A well is now in use
there that was the only soft water well for "miles around" in the early days.
Residents of the entire neighborhood carried water from that well for washing,
and where soft water was needed.

One of the TROBAUGH barns is built of the white oak logs that were a part of one
of the first homes build in this county. The original portion of this barn was
build without the use of a nail-wooden pegs were used instead of nails. The logs
and pegs are still in perfect condition and hard as iron.

Attorney TROBAUGH is the fourth generation of TROBAUGHs to own this farm. He
acquired full ownership of the original TROBAUGH homestead tract in 1921 and of
th Reno TROBAUGH farm adjoining (which has been a TROBAUGH farm since 1856) in
1925, and the Ed P. TROBAUGH farm, one mile north (which has been a TROBAUGH
farm since 1896) in 1935. He has consolidated the three farms, and now operates
them as a fruit farm known as TROBAUGH Homestead. This farm, consisting of 440
acres, has 92 acres of peach and 196 acres of apple orchard, which makes it one
of the largest individually, owned fruit farms in the State of Illinois.

TROBAUGH Homestead is operated with the most modern machinery and equipment.
They used the first caterpillar Diesel tractors, and the first 500 gallon power
spray rigs, in southern Illinois. They have one of the original machines brought
into this fruit belt to remove peach fuzz from their peaches, and one of the few
apple washing machines in these parts. They have practically made (with the
assistance of L. R. ALLEN, a life long resident near TROBAUGH Homestead) a
combination apple and peach brushing, washing, sizing and grading machine. With
this machine TROBAUGH Homestead washes, brushes, sizes, shorts, grades and packs
four bushels of fruit a minute, in four different grades and five different sizes.

They have their own spray and dust manufacturing plant, where most of their
spray material is made fresh, and to their specifications, cut of materials
purchased by the carload.

Eight families live on the farm. Fifteen to twenty people are regularly employed
to keep this farm going the year around, and up to 125 persons are kept busy
during fruit harvest.

IN 1938 TROBAUGH Homestead built their own cold storage plant, where their fruit
is stored the day it is picked, thereby insuring better keeping quality of the
fruit. This also permits TROBAUGH Homestead to pick their fruit at a riper state
of maturity, and when much more of the fruit's starches are turned by nature to
sugar, than if they had to pick the fruit green and depend on commercial
storages. They are now building an addition to their storage which will give
them two and one-half times their present storage capacity-a total storage
capacity of 50,000 bushels of fruit. When the original storage was build
sufficient refrigeration machinery was installed to refrigerate the additional
unit now being built.

Clarence DAVIS has been farm manager at TROBAUGH Homestead since 1933, and is
now widely recognized as being an expert in his chosen field of growing fruit.
Mrs. DAVIS is manager of the packing shed, and fruit packed under her
supervision has never failed to meet all state and federal requirements.

Last year TROBAUGH Homestead built a modern Roadside Market on their farm, where
they retail their farm products, and all varieties of Wisconsin cheese, home
cured meats, kraut made by Mrs. Will CROWELL, wife of Will CROWELL, the general
manager of the market, pickles made by Mrs. Clarence DAVIS, apple cider made and
bottled by TROBAUGH Homestead in their most modern and sanitary cider making and
bottling plant, a general line of groceries, ice cream "pop", confections and
the world famous "Mountain Valley Mineral Water" from Hot Springs, Arkansas.






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Friday, April 07, 2006 


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