Excerpt from a book written, but not published, about the Tzemach Tzedek

It was about the year 1844 that Rabbi Menachem Mendel Schneersohn purchased some 3600 desiaten (about 9700 acres) of forest and farm land laced with brooks, from Prince Schtzedrinov, in Minsk. He invited over 300 Jewish families to settle in the new colony of Schtzedrin, under the supervision of a special board. The land was distributed to the settlers at no cost, every family receiving enough land for a home and farm buildings, and several acres for cultivation and pasture, besides farm equipment. Some 700 desiaten were thus distributed. The other 1800 desiaten of forest were sold to one Efraim Holodetz of Bobruisk, a condition of the sale being that lumber be supplied for homes and stables for the colonists. The settlers were granted special government privileges, among them a long term loan of 200 rubles, by the Provincial treasury, to be repaid with farm produce. The settlers prospered and were soon able to devote several periods of the year to Torah study. The purchase money paid by Holodetz was used to defray the expenses and debts of colonization. Part of the down-payment was sent by the Rabbi to the Holy Land, and the rest contributed to his regular Charity Fund . The establishment of the Schtzedrin colony impressed Russian Jewry and Government officials alike. The Governors of Minsk, Vitebsk, and Mogilev provinces wrote laudatory letters to the Ministry of the Interior in regard to the officially sanctioned colony. The Governor of Minsk noted the beneficial effects of the colony in diverting Jews from unstable and insecure petty trading activities.