March, 1875 South New Jersey Newspaper, The Vineland Rural, With Supplement

Charles Landis, Vineland, NJ, 1875; 21" x 28", 4 pgs., plus 2 pg. Supplement. March, 1875 issue of The Vineland Rural newspaper, published by dynamic 19th century visionary Charles K. Landis (1833-1900), founder, designer, developer, and promoter of Vineland, New Jersey. After traveling throughout the United States in search of an ideal location, Landis settled upon Cumberland County, New Jersey as the site to realize his plan for a place of beautiful homes, manufacturies, businesses, schools, and churches, populated by hardworking, prosperous, contented citizens, all laid out with a mind toward beauty, and surrounded by thriving farms. "I desired to make Vineland so desirable a place to live in by reason of its various privileges, and over all to throw such a halo of beauty, as to make people loath to leave it." After purchasing 20,000 acres in 1861 from prominent Quaker landowner Richard D. Wood, Landis quickly set about drawing up plans, clearing a wide boulevard, and advertising agricultural acreage and residential and commercial lots for sale at reasonable prices with low down payments, citing the area’s ample water, rich soil, abundance of timber, adjacency of rail lines, proximity to ready markets, and mild and healthful climate. To insure success and maintain the integrity of his plan, sales were made to actual settlers only, none to speculators, and as long as practicable there were to be no taverns in Vineland. Landis was a temperance man, but his reasons were more practical than religious, as he felt that the magnitude of the task in clearing a heavily wooded tract, draining swamps, building roads and starting homes and successful farms required healthy, reliable, happy, sober men, with all of which liquor too often interferes. To aid in attracting experienced farmers, industrious colonizers, and providing a unifying community forum, Landis began publication of The Vineland Rural newspaper "devoted to agriculture, horticulture, and the interests of Vineland." Within this issue and supplement are: A lengthy appeal to those looking for farms to come to Vineland, listing in detail the many features beneficial to agriculture, as well as to homes and commercial sites; A list of recent purchasers and new and improved buildings and factories, over 200 in all, giving name, location, and type of purchase or improvement for each; Full texts of speeches by Landis at the NJ Legislature on the subject of Local Option, at Exeter Hall in London upon the Prohibitory Liquor Bill, at the Supreme Court in Trenton on the superiority of New Jersey over lands in the West, and a six-column history of the creation of Vineland delivered while in London the previous January. There are tallies for various crop shipments 1872-1874; Lists of Vineland professional and social organizations; Copies of letters received from farm and residential property buyers expressing their satisfaction; A list of establishments where men and women could find work; Directions and suggested modes of travel to Vineland; A list of new manufacturers since 1874; Descriptions of the new Vineland Seminary and Vineland Steam Flour Mills; A report on President Grant’s visit to Vineland, and more. Beautifully illustrated with large engraved views of Landis Avenue, Vineland Seminary, and Vineland Steam Mills, plus small engraved cuts of the Methodist and First Baptist churches. Supplement printed both sides. On the 19th of the very month and year of publication of this issue, March, 1875, Charles Landis walked into the offices of rival newspaper "The Vineland Independent" and shot antagonistic editor Uri Carruth in the head with a pistol for having insulted his wife. Unbelievably, Carruth recovered, but six months later died. Landis was charged with murder, but acquitted on grounds of temporary insanity. Very Good, a few small closed margin tears, three short open splits and one in the supplement, as indicated in the photos. Ships folded along the original seam fold.