History of Butler and Bremer counties, Iowa, Part 10

Author: Union publishing company, Springfield, Ill
Publication date: 1883
Publisher: Springfield, Ill., Union publishing company
Number of Pages: 1316

USA > Iowa > Butler County > History of Butler and Bremer counties, Iowa > Part 10
USA > Iowa > Bremer County > History of Butler and Bremer counties, Iowa > Part 10

Note: The text from this book was generated using artificial intelligence so there may be some errors. The full pages can be found on Archive.org (link on the Part 1 page).

some of which indicate that their owners reached a length of 25 or 30 feet. Of the Articulates, only two species of the genus Phillipsia have been found in this forma- tion. Of the Mollusks no Cephalopods have yet been recognized in this forma- tion in Iowa. Gasteropods are rare; Brachiopods and Polyzoans are quite abundant. Of Radiates, corals of gencra Zaphrentis, Amplexus and Aulopora are found, but erinoids are most abundant. Of the low forms of animal life, the proto- zoans, a small fossil related to the sponges, is found in this formation in small num- bers.

The St. Louis limestone is the uppermost of the sub-carboniferous group in Iowa. It occupies a small superficial area, consisting of long, narrow strips, yet its extent is very great. It is first seen resting on the geode division of the Keokuk limestone, near Keokuk; proceeding northward, it forms a narrow border along the edge of the coal fields in Lee, DesMoines, Henry, Jefferson, Washington, Keokuk and Ma- haska counties; it is then lost sight of until it appears again in the banks of Boone river, where it again passes out of view under the Coal Measures, until it is next seen in the banks of the DesMoines, near Fort Dodge. As it exists in Iowa, it consists of three tolerably distinet sub- divisions-the magnesian, arenaceous and ealeareous. The upper division furnishes excellent material for quieklime, and when quarrics are well opened, as in the north- western part of VanBuren county, large bloeks are obtained. The sandstone, or middle division, is of little economie value. The lower, or magnesian division, furnishes a valuable and durable stone, exposures of

HISTORY OF IOWA.

which are found on Lick creek, in Van Buren county, and on Long creek, seven miles west of Burlington.

Of the fossils of this formation, the vertebra es are represented only by the remains of fish, belonging to the two orders, Selachians and Ganoids. The Articulates are represented by one species of the trilobite, genus Phillipsia; and two ostracoid genera, Cythra and Beyricia. The Mollusks distinguished this formation more than any other branch of the animal kingdom. Radiates are exceedingly rare, showing a marked contrast between this formation and the two preceding it.

The Coal Measure Group is properly divided into three formations, viz: the Lower, Middle and Upper Coal Measures; each having a vertical thickness of about two hundred feet.

The Lower Coal Measures exists east- ward and northward of the DesMoines river, and also occupy a large area west- ward and southward of that river; but their southerly dip passes below the Middle Coal Measure at no great distance from the river. This formation possesses greater economic value than any other in the whole State. The clay that underlies almost every bed of coal, furnishes a large amount of material for potters' use. The sandstone of these measures is usually soft and unfit for use; but in some places, as in Red Rock, in Marion county, blocks of large dimensions are obtained, which make good building material, samples of which can be seen in the State Arsenal, at Des Moines.

But few fossils have been found in any of the strata. of the Lower Coal Measures, but such animal remains as have been

found are, without exception, of marine origin. All fossil plants found in these measures, probably belong to the class Acrogens. Specimens of Calamites and several species of ferns are found in all the " Coal Measures, but the genus Lepidoden- dron seems not to have existed later than the epoch of the Middle Coal Measures. The latter formation occupies a narrow belt of territory in the southern-central portion of the State, embracing a superfi- cial area of about 1,400 square miles The counties underlaid by this formation are, Guthrie, Dallas, Po'k, Madison, Warren, Clarke, Lucas, Monroe, Wayne and Appa- noose.

Few species of fossils occur in these beds. Some of the shales and sandstone have afforded a few imperfectly preserved land plants, three or four species of ferns, belonging to the genera. Some of the carboniferous shales afford beautiful speci- mens of what appears to have been sea- weed. Radiates are represented by corals. The Mollusks are most numerously repre- . sented. Trilobites and ostracoids are the only remains known of Articulates. Ver- tebrates are only known by the remains of Selachians, or sharks and ganoids.

The Upper Coal Measures occupy a very large area, comprising thirteen whole counties, in the southwestern part of the State. By its northern and eastern boun- daries it adjoins the area occupied by the Middle Coal Measures. This formation contains a considerable portion of shales and sandstone, but the prominent litho- logical features are its limestones. Al- though it is known by the name of Upper Coal Measures, it contains but a single bed of coal, and that only about 20 inches in

HISTORY OF IOWA.

maximum thickness. The limestone ex- posed in this formation furnishes good building material, as in Madison and Fre- mont counties. The sandstones are quite worthless. No beds of clay, for potters' use, are found in the whole formation. The fossils are more numerous than in either the Middle or Lower Coal Measures. The vertebrates are represented by the fishes of the orders Selachians and Ganoids. The Articulates are represented by the trilobites and ostracoids. Mollusks are represented by the classes Cephalapoda, Gasterapoda, Lamellibranchiata, Brachio- poda and Polyzoa. Radiates are more numerous than in the Middle and Lower Coal Measures. Protozoans are repre- sented in the greatest abundance, some layers of limestone being almost entirely 1

composed of their small fusiform shells.

CRETACEOUS SYSTEM.

The next strata in the geological series are of the Cretaceous age. They are found in the western half of the State, and do not dip, as do all the other formations upon which they rest, to the southward and westward, but have a general dip of their own to the north of westward, which, however, is very slight. Although the actual exposures of cretaceous rocks are few in Iowa, there is reason to believe that nearly all the western half of the State was originally occupied by them; but they have been removed by denudation, which has taken place at two separate periods. The first period was during its elevation from the cretaceous sea, and during the long Tertiary age that passed between the time of that elevation and the commencement of the Glacial epoch. The second period

was during the Glacial epoch, when the ice produced their entire removal over consid- erable areas. All the cretaceous rocks in Iowa are a part of the same deposits farther up the Missouri river, and, in reality, form their eastern boundary.

The Nishnabotany sandstone has the most easterly and southerly extent of the cretaceous deposits of Iowa, reaching the southeastern part of Guthrie county and the southern part of Montgomery county. To the northward, it passes beneath the Woodbury sandstones and shales, the latter passing beneath the Inoceramus, or chalky beds. This sandstone is, with few excep- tions, valueless for economic purposes. The only fossils found in this formation are a few fragments of angios permous leaves. The strata of Woodbury sand- stones and shales rest upon the Nishnabot- any sandstone, and have not been observed outside of Woodbury county; hence their name. Their principal exposure is at Ser- geant's Bluffs, seven miles below Sioux City. This rock has no value, except for purposes of common masonry. Fossil re- mains are rare. Detached scales of a lepi- doginoid species have been detected, but no other vertibrate remains of vegetation, leaves of Salix Meekii and Sassfras creta- ceum have been occasionally found.

The Inoceramus beds rest upon the Woodbury sandstone and shales. They have not been observed in Iowa except in the bluffs which border the Big Sioux river in Woodbury and Plymouth counties. They are composed almost entirely of cal- careous material, the upper portion of which is extensively used for lime. No building material can be obtained from these beds, and the only value they possess,

HISTORY OF IOWA.

except lime, are the marls, which at some time may be useful on the soil of the adja- cent region. The only vertebrate remains found in the cretaceous rocks are the fishes. Those in the Inoceramus beds are two species of squaloid Selachians, or certra- cionts, and three genera of teliosts. Mol- luscan remains are rare.

PEAT.

Extensive beds of peat exist in Northern Middle Iowa, which, it is estimated, con- tain the following areas: Cerro Gordo county, 1,500 acres; Worth, 2,000; Winne- bago, 2,000; Hancock, 1,500; Wright, 500; Kossuth, 700; Dickinson, 80. Several con- tain peat beds, but the peat is inferior to that in the northern part of the State. The beds are of an average depth of four feet. It is estimated that each acre of these beds will furnish 250 tons of dry fuel for each foot in depth. At present this peat is not utilized, but, owing to its great distance from the coal fields, and the absence of timber, the time is coming when their value will be fully realized.

GYPSUM.

The only sulphate of the alkaline earth of any economic value is gypsum, and it may be found in the vicinity of Fort Dodge, in Webster county. The deposit occupies a nearly central position in the county, the Des Moines river running nearly centrally through it, along the valley sides of which the gypsum is seen in the form of ordinary rock cliff and ledges, and also oc- curring abundantly in similar positions along both sides of the valleys of the smaller streams and of the numerous ravines coming into the river valley. The

most northerly known limit of the deposit is at a point near the mouth of Liza. d creek, a tributary of the DesMoines river and almost adjoining the town of Fort Dodge. The most southerly point at which it has been exposed is about six miles, by way of the river, from the northerly point mentioned. The width of the area is un- known, as the gypsum becomes lost be- neath the overlying drift, as one goes up the ravines and minor valleys.

On either side of the creeks and ravines which come into the valley of the Des Moines river, the gypsum is seen jutting out from beneath the drift in the form of ledges and bold quarry fronts, having almost the exact appearance of ordinary limestone exposures, so horizontal and reg- ular are its lines of stratification, and so similar in color is it to some varieties of that rock. The principal quarries now opened are on Two-Mile creek, a couple of miles below Fort Dodge.

Age of the Gypsum Deposit .- No trace of fossil remains has been found in the gypsum or associated clays; neither has any other indication of its geologic age been observed except that which is afforded by its stratigraphical relations; the most that can be said with certainty is that it is newer than the coal measures, and older than the drift. The indications afforded by the stratigraphical relations of the gyp- sum deposit of Fort Dodge are, however, of considerable value. No Tertiary de- posits are known to exist within or near the borders of Iowa, to suggest that it might be of that age, nor are any of the Palæozoic strata newer than the subcar- boniferous unconformable upon each other

HISTORY OF IOWA.

as the other gypsum is unconformable upon the strata beneath it. It therefore seems, in a measure, conclusive that the gypsum is of Mesozoic age; perhaps older than the cretaccous.

The lithological origin of this deposit is as uncertain as its geological agc. It secms to present itself in this relation, as in the former one,-an isolated fact. None of the associated strata show any traces of a double decomposition of pre-existing ma- terials, such as some have supposed all de- posits of gypsum to have resulted from. No considerable quantities of oxide of iron nor any trace of native sulphur have been found in connection with it, nor has any salt been found in the waters of the region. These substances are common in associa- tion with other gypsum deposits, and by many are regarded as indicative of the method of or resulting from their origin as such. Throughout the whole region the Fort Dodge gypsum has the exact appear- ance of a sedimentary deposit. From these facts it seems not unreasonable to en- tertain the opinion that this gypsum origin- atcd as a chemical precipitation in com- paratively still waters which were satu- rated with sulphate of lime and destitute of life; its stratification and impurities being deposited at the same time as clayey impurities which had been suspended in the same waters.

Physical Properties .- Much has already been said of the physical character of this gypsum; but as it is so different in some respects from other deposits, there are still other matters worthy of mention in con- nection with those. According to the re- sults of a complete analysis of Prof. Emery,

the ordinary gray gypsum contains only about eight per cent. of impurity, and it is possible that the average impurity for the whole deposit will not exceed that pro- portion, so uniform in quality is it from top to bottom and from one end of the region to the other. As plaster for agri- cultural purposes is sometimes prepared from gypsum that contains thirty per cent. of impurity, it will be seen that this is a very superior article for such purposes. The impurities are of such a character that they do not in any way interfere with its value for use in the arts.

Although the gypsum rock has a gray color, it becomes quite white by grinding, and still whiter by the calcimining process necessary in the preparation of plaster of Paris. These tests have all been practi- cally made in the rooms of the Geological Survey, and the quality of the plaster of Paris still further tested by actual use and experiment. The only use yet made of the gypsum by the inahabitants is for the purposes of ordinary building stone. It is . so compact it is found to be comparatively unaffected by frost, and its ordinary situa- tion in walls of houses is such that it is protected from the dissolving action of water, which can, at most, reach it only from occasional rains, and the effect of these is too slight to be perceived after the lapse of several years. Hon. John F. Duncombe, of Fort Dodge, built a fine residence of it in 1861, the walls of which ' appear as unaffected by exposure and as beautiful as they were when first erected. Several other houses in Fort Dodge have been constructed of it, including the depot buildings of the Dubuque and Sioux City Railroad. Mary of the sidewalks in the

HISTORY OF IOWA.

town are made of the slabs or flags of gyp- sum which occur in some of the quarries in the form of thin layers.

MINOR DEPOSITS OF SULPHATE OF LIME.

Sulphate of lime in the various forms of fibrous gypsum, selenite and small amorphous masses, has also been discov- ered in various formations in different parts of the State, including the Coal Measure shales near Fort Dodge, where it exists in small quantities, quite independ- ently of the great gypsum deposit there. The quantity of gypsum in these minor deposits is always too small to be of any practical value, usually occurring in shales and shaly clays. Associated with strata that contain more or less sulphuret of iron, gypsum has thus been detected in the Coal Measures, the St. Louis lime- stone, the Cretaceous strata, and also in the Dead Caves of Dubuque.

SULPHATE OF STRONITA.

This mineral is found at Fort Dodge, which is, perhaps, the only place in Iowa or in the valley of the Mississippi where it has. as yet been discovered. There, it occurs in very small quantities in both the shales of the Lower Coal Measures and in the clays that overlie the gypsum deposit, and which is regarded as of the same age with it. The mineral is fibrous and crys- talline, the fibers being perpendicular to the plane of the layer; it resembles, in physical character, the layer of fibro-crys- talline gypsum, before mentioned. Its color is of light b'ue, is transparent, and shows crystalline facets upon both the

upper and under surfaces of the layer, of the upper surface being smaller and more numerous. The layer is probably not more than a rod in extent in any direction, and about three inches in maximum thick- ness. Apparent lines of stratification occur in it, corresponding with those of the shales which imbed it. The other deposit was still smaller in amount, and occurred as a mass of crystals imbedded in the clays that overlie the gypsum at Cummins' quarry, in the valley of Sol- diers' creek, upon the north side of the town. The mineral in this clay is nearly colorless, and somewhat resembles masses of impure salt. The crystals are so closely aggregated that they enclose but little im- purity in the mass, but in almost all other cases their fundamental forms are ob- sured. This mineral has almost no prac- tical value, and is only interesting as a mineralogical fact.

SULPHIATE OF BARYTA.

In Iowa this mineral has been found only in minute quantities. It has been de- tected in the Coal Measure shales of De- catur, Madison and Marion counties, Devonian limestone of Johnson and Bre- mer counties, and, also, in the lead caves of Dubugne. It is in the form of crystals or small crystalline masses.

SULPHATE OF MAGNESIA.

Epsomite, or native Epsom salts, having been discovered near Burlington, all the sulphates of alkaline earths of natural origin have been recognized in Iowa; all except the sulphate of lime being in very small quantity. The Epsomite mentioned

HISTORY OF IOWA.

was found beneath the overhanging cliff of Burlington limestone near Starr's Mill. It occurs in the form of efflorescent encrusta- tions upon the surface of stones, and in similar small fragile masses among the pine debris that has fallen down beneath the overhanging cliff. The projection of the cliff over the perpendicular face of the strata beneath, amounts to near 20 feet at the point where Epsomite was found. The rock upon which it accumulates is an im- pure limestone, containing also some car- bonate of magnesia, together with a small proportion of iron pyrites, in a finely divided condition. By experiments with this native salt in the office of the Survey, a fine article of Epsom salts was produced, but the quantity obtained there is very small, and would be of no practical value on account of the cheapness in the market.

CLIMATE.

The greatest objection to the climate of this State is the prevalence of wind, which is somewhat greater than in the States south and east, but not so great as it is west. The air is pure and generally bra- cing,-the northern part particularly so during the winter. The prevailing direc- tion of the wind during the whole year is easterly. Correspondingly, thunder-storms are somewhat more violent in this State than east or south, but not near so much so as toward the mountains. As elsewhere in the Northwestern States, easterly wind- bring rain and snow, while westerly ones clear the sky. While the highest temper- ature occurs here in August, the month of July aver ges the hottest, and January the coldest. The mean temperature of April and October nearly corresponds to the

mean temperature of the year, as well as to the seasons of spring and fall, while that of summer and winter is best represented by August and December. Indian.summer is delightful and well prolonged. Untimely frosts sometimes occur, but seldom severely enough to do great injury. The wheat crop being a staple product of the State, and is not injured at all by frost, this great resource of the State continues intact.

TOPOGRAPHY.

All the knowledge we have at present of the topography of the State of Iowa is that derived from incidental observations of geological corps, from the surveys made by railroad engineers, and from barometri- cal observations made by authority of the Federal Government. No complete topo- graphical survey has yet been made, but this will doubtless be attended to in a few years.

The State lies wholly within, and com- prises a part of, a vast plain, and there is no mountainous or even hilly country within its borders; for the highest point is but 1,200 feet above the lowest point; these two points are nearly 300 miles apart, and the whole State is traversed by gently flowing rivers. A clearer idea of the great uniformity of the surface of the State may be obtained from a statement of the gen- eral slopes in feet per mile, from point to point, in straight lines across it.

Per Mile.

From N. E. corner to S. E. cor- ner of State 1 ft. 1 in. From N. E. corner to Spirit Lake, 5 ft. 5 in. From N. W. corner to Spirit Lake, 5 ft. From N. W. corner to S W. cor-

ner of the State .2 ft.

HISTORY OF IOWA.

Per Mile.

From S. W. corner to highest ridge between the two great rivers (in Ringgold county) .. 4 ft. 1 in. From the highest point in the State (near Spirit Lake) to the lowest point in the State (at the mouth of DesMoines river) 4 ft.

We thus find that there is good degree of propriety in regarding the whole State as belonging to a great plain, the lowest point of which within its border, the south- eastern corner of the State, is only 444 feet above the level of the sea. The aver- age height of the whole State above the level of the sea is not far from 800 feet, although it is a thousand miles from the nearest ocean.

These remarks are, of course, to be un- derstood as applying to the State as a whole. On examining its surface in detail, we find a great diversity of surface by the formation of valleys out of the general level, which have been evolved by the actions of streams during the unnumbered years of the terrace epoch. These river valleys are deepest in the northwestern part of the State, and consequently it is there that the country has the greatest di- versity of surface, and its physical features are most strongly marked.

The greater part of Iowa was formerly one vast prairie. It has, indeed, been estimated that seven-eighths of the surface of the State was prairie when first settled. By prairie it must not be inferred that a level surface is meant, for they are found in hilly countries as well. Nor are they confined to any particular variety of soil, for they rest upon all formations, from those of the Azotic to those of the Creta-

ceous age, inclusive. Whatever may have been their origin, their present existence in lowa is not due to the influence of cli- mate, of the soil, or of any of the under- lying formations. The real cause is the prevalence of the annual fires. If these had been prevented fifty years ago, Iowa would now be a timbered country. The encroachment of forest trees upon prairie farms as soon as the bordering wood- land is protected from the annual prairie fires, is well known to farmers throughout the State. The soil of Iowa is justly famous for its fertility, and there is prob- ably no equal area of the earth's surface that contains so little untillable land, or whose soil has so high an average of fer- tility. Ninety-five per cent. of its surface is capable of a high state of cultivation.

LAKES AND STREAMS.

Lakes -The lakes of Iowa may be prop- erly divided into two distinct classes. The first may be called drift lakes, having had their origin in the depressions left in the surface of the drift at the close of the gla- cial epoch, and have rested upon the undis- turbed surface of the drift deposit ever since the glaciers disappeared. The others may be properly termed fluviatile or allu- vial lakes, because they have had their origin by-the action of rivers while cut- ting their own valleys out from the surface of the drift as it existed at the close of the glacial epoch, and are now found resting upon the alluvium. By "alluvium" is meant the deposit which has accumulated in the valleys of rivers by the action of their own currents. It is largely composed of sand and other coarse material, and

HISTORY OF IOWA.

upon that deposit are some of the best productive soils in the State. It is this deposit which forms the flood plains and deltas of our rivers, as well as the terraces of their valleys. The regions to which the drift lakes are principally confined are near the head waters of the principal streams of the State. They are consequently found in those regions which lie between the Cedar and DesMoines rivers, and the Des Moines and Little Sioux. No drift lakes are found in Southern Iowa. The largest of the lakes to be found in the State are Spirit and Okoboji, in Dickinson county, Clear Lake in Cerro Gordo county. and Storm Lake in Buena Vista county.

SPIRIT I AKE .-- The width and length of this lake are about equal, and it contains about 12 square miles of surface, its north- ern border resting directly on the boun- dary of the State. It lies almost directly upon the great water-shed. Its shores are mostly gravelly, aud the country about it fertile.

OKOBOJI LAKE .- This body of water lies directly south of Spirit Lake, and has somewhat the shape of a horse-shoe, with its eastern projection within a few rods of Spirit Lake, where it receives the out- let of the latter. Okoboji Lake extends about five miles southward from Spirit Lake, thence about the same distance westward, and it then bends north ward about as far as the eastern projection. The eastern portion is narrow, but the western is larger, and in some places 100 feet deep. The surroundings of this and Spirit Lake are very plea-ant; fish are abundant in them, and they are the re- sort of myriads of water-fowl.

Need help finding more records? Try our genealogical records directory which has more than 1 million sources to help you more easily locate the available records.

History of Butler and Bremer counties, Iowa, Part 10

Author: Union publishing company, Springfield, Ill Publication date: 1883 Publisher: Springfield, Ill., Union publishing company Number of Pages: 1316

Author: Union publishing company, Springfield, Ill
Publication date: 1883
Publisher: Springfield, Ill., Union publishing company
Number of Pages: 1316