Tama county is amoung the finest agricaltural counties in the State. It comprises an area of seven hundred and twenty square miles, or a total of 455,182 acres; but a small protion of which is unfit for cultivation.

The first ground broke was by William Riley Vandorin, on the third day of June 1849. Ephraim Whittaker came with Vandorin, and did breaking a few days later. This was in what now comprises Salt Creek township. They brought with them two breaking plows and some seed corn, besides garden seed. They "chopped in" some pumpkin seed, and planted corn, and Mrs. Van Dorin "chopped in the sod" quite a garden. A good crop was the result, raising quite a lot of corn and nearly a hundred wagon loads of pumpkins, while Mrs. Vandorin, from her