In 1934, the worst dust storm in our nation's history set the stage for the formation of the Soil Conservation Service within USDA. By 1935, the federal government was working directly with landowners to try to prevent such a disaster from occurring again. In 1937, President Roosevelt sent a letter to each of the forty-eight states suggesting the formation of local soil and water conservation dist
ricts. Illinois passed the Soil Conservation Districts Law on July 9, 1937, which allowed the state to recognize local soil conservation districts. By the beginning of 1947, seventy-one Illinois counties had organized soil conservation districts but Coles County was not among them. Myers, Farm Advisor for Agriculture and Home Economics (which later became Cooperative Extension Service), Dr. Pete Barton, EIU Professor, and Clifford Homann became convinced of the need for a soil conservation district in Coles County. They began a two-year campaign to education the landowner in Coles County on the benefits of a soil conservation district in their own county. In October 1949, more than the required 55% of all landowners in the country had signed petitions and a public hearing was held in the office of the Charleston Chamber of Commerce. The Coles County Soil Conservation District was officially chartered on December 23, 1949 becoming the 93rd SCD in Illinois. In 1962, the name changed to the Coles County Soil and Water Conservation District. Today, the District's mission is to provide education, leadership, and assistance in order to protect and to promote the wise use of our natural resources, including soil, water, air, plant, and animal, in Coles County, Illinois.
