USA > Iowa > Floyd County > History of Floyd County, Iowa : together with sketches of its cities, villages and townships, educational, religious, civil, military, and political history; portraits of prominent persons, and biographies of representative citizens > Part 7
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70
HISTORY OF IOWA.
One Hundred and Two River is represented in Taylor County, the valleys of which have the same general character of those just described. The country around and between the east and west forks of this stream is almost entirely prairie.
Noduway River is represented by east, middle and west branches The two former rise in Adair County, the latter in Cass County These rivers and valleys are fine examples of the small rivers and valleys of Southern Iowa. They have the general char- acter of drift valleys, and with beautiful undulating and sloping sides. The Nodaway drains one of the finest agricultural regions in the State, the soil of which is tillable almost to their very banks. The banks and the adjacent narrow flood-plains are almost every where composed of a rich, deep, dark loam.
Nishnabotany River is represented by east and west branches, the former having its source in Anderson County, the latter in Shelby County. Both these branches, from their source to their confluence, and also the main stream from there to the point where it enters the great flood-plain of the Missouri, run through a region the surface of which is occupied by the bluff deposit.
The West Nishnabotany is probably without any valuable mill- sites. In the western part of Cass County, the East Nishnabotany loses its identity by becoming abruptly divided up into five or six different creeks. A few good mill-sites occur here on this stream. None, however, that are thought reliable exist on either of these rivers, or on the main stream below the confluence, except, per- haps, one or two in Montgomery County. The valleys of the two branches, and the intervening upland, possess remarkable fertility.
Boyer River, until it enters the flood plain of the Missouri, runs almost, if not quite, its entire course through the region occupied by the bluff deposit, and has cut its valley entirely through it along most of its passage. The only rocks exposed are the upper coal measures, near Reed's mill, in Harrison County. The exposures are slight, and are the most northerly now known in Iowa. The valley of this river has usually gently sloping sides, and an intis- tincly defined flood plain. Along the lower half of its course the adjacent upland presents a surface of the billowy character, peculiar to the bluff deposit. The source of this river is in Sac County.
Soldier River .- The east and middle branches of this stream have their source in Crawford County, and the west branch in Ida County. The whole course of this river is through the bluff deposit. It has no exposure of strata along its course.
71
HISTORY OF IOWA.
Little Sioux River .- Under this head are included both the main and west branches of that stream, together with the Maple, which is one of its branches. The west branch and the Maple are so similar to the Soldier River that they need no separate descrip- tion. The main stream has its boundary near the northern bound- ary of the State, and runs most of its course upon drift deposit alone, entering the region of the bluff deposit in the southern part of Cherokee County. The two principal upper branches near their source in Dickinson and Osceola Counties, are small prairie creeks within distinct valleys. On entering Clay County the val- ley deepens, and at their confluence has a depth of 200 feet. Just as the valley enters Cherokee County, it turns to the southward and becomes much widened, with its sides gently sloping to the uplands. When the valley enters the region of the bluff deposit, it assumes the billowy appearance. No exposures of strata of any kind have been found in the valley of the Little Sioux or any of its branches.
Floyd River .- This river rises upon the drift in O'Brien County, and flowing southward enters the region of the bluff deposit a lit- tle north of the center of Plymouth County. Almost from its source to its mouth it is a prairie stream, with slightly sloping valley sides, which blend gradually with the uplands. A single slight exposure of sandstone of cretaceous age occurs in the valley near Sioux City, and which is the only known exposure of rock of any kind along its whole length. Near this exposure is a mill-site, but farther up the stream it is not valuable for such purposes.
Rock River-This stream passes through Lyon and Sioux Coun- ties. It was evidently so named from the fact that considerable exposures of the red Sioux quartzite occur along the main branches of the stream in Minnesota, a few miles north of our State bound- ary. Within this State the main stream and its branches are drift streams, and strata are exposed. The beds and banks of the streams are usually sandy and gravelly, with occasional boulders intermixed.
Big Sioux River .- The valley of this river, from the northwest corner of the State to its mouth, possesses much the same charac- ter as all the streams of the surface deposits. At Sioux Falls, a few miles above the northwest corner of the State, the streams meet with remarkable obstructions from the presence of Sioux quartzite, which outcrops directly across the stream, and causes a fall of about 60 feet within a distance of half a mile, producing a series of
72
HISTORY OF IOWA.
cascades. For the first 25 miles above its mouth, the valley is very broad, with a broad, flat flood plain, with gentle slopes, occasionally showing indistinctly defined terraces. These terraces and valley bottoms constitute some of the finest agricultural land of the region. On the Iowa side of the valley the upland presents abrupt bluffs, steep as the materials of which they are composed will stand, and from 100 to nearly 200 feet high above the stream. At rare inter- vals, about 15 miles from its mouth, the cretaceous strata are ex- posed in the face of the bluffs of the Iowa side. No other strata are exposed along that part of the valley which borders our State, with the single exception of Sioux quartzite at its extreme north- western corner. Some good mill-sites may be secured along that portion of this river which borders Lyon County, but below this the fall will probably be found insufficient and the locations for dams insecure.
Missouri River .- This is one of the muddiest streams on the globe, and its waters are known to be very turbid far toward its source. The chief peculiarity of this river is its broad flood plains, and its adjacent bluff deposits. Much the greater part of the flood plain of this river is upon the Iowa side, and continues from the south boundary line of the State to Sioux City, a distance of more than 100 miles in length, varying from three to five miles in width. This alluvial plain is estimated to contain more than half a million of acres of land within the State, upward of 400,000 of which are now tillable.
The rivers of the eastern system of drainage have quite a' differ- ent character from those of the western system. They are larger, longer, and have their valleys modified to a much greater extent by the underlying strata. For the latter reason, water-power is much more abundant upon them than upon the streams of the western system.
Des Moines River .- This river has its source in Minnesota, but it enters Iowa before it has attained any size, and flows almost centrally through it from northwest to southeast, emptying into the Mississippi at the extreme southeastern corner of the State. It drains a greater area than any river within the State. The upper portion of it is divided into two branches, known as the east and the west forks. These unite in Humboldt County. The valleys of these branches above their confluence are drift valleys, except a few small exposures of subcarboniferous limestone about five miles above their confluence. These exposures produce several
73
HISTORY OF IOWA.
small mill-sites. The valleys vary from a few hundred yards to half a mile in width, and are the finest agricultural lands. In the northern part of Webster County the character of the main valley is modified by the presence of ledges and low cliffs of the sub-car- boniferous limestone and gypsum. From a point a little below Fort Dodge to near Amsterdam, in Marion County, the river runs all the way through and upon the lower coal-measure strata. Along this part of the course the flood-plain varies from an eighth to a mile or more in width. From Amsterdam to Ottumwa the subcar- boniferous limestone appears at intervals in the valley sides. Near Ottumwa the subcarboniferous rocks pass beneath the river again, bringing down the coal measure strata into its bed; they rise again from it in the extreme northwestern part of Van Buren County, and subcarboniferous strata resume and keep their place along the valley to the north of the river. From Fort Dodge to the northern part of Lee County the strata of the lower coal measures are pres- ent in the valley. Its flood-plain is frequently sandy from the debris of the sandstone and sandy shales of the coal measures pro- duced by their removal in the process of the formation of the val- ley. The principal tributaries of the Des Moines are upon the western side. These are the Raccoon, and the three rivers, viz .: South, Middle and North Rivers. The three latter have their sources in the region occupied by the upper coal measure lime- stone formation, flow eastward over the middle coal measures, and enter the valley of the Des Moines upon the lower coal measures. These streams, especially South and Middle Rivers, are frequently bordered by high, rocky cliffs. Raccoon River has its source upon the heavy surface deposits of the middle region of Western Iowa, and along the greater part of its course it has excavated its valley out of those deposits and the middle coal-measures alone. The valley of the Des Moines and its branches are destined to become the seat of extensive manufactures, in consequence of the numer- ous mill-sites of immense power, and the fact that the main valley traverses the entire length of the Iowa coal fields.
Skunk River .- This has its source in Hamilton County, and runs almost its entire course upon the border of the outcrop of the lower coal measures, or, more properly speaking, upon the sub- carboniferous limestone, just where it begins to pass beneath the coal measures by its southerly and westerly dip. Its general course is southeast. From the western part of Henry County, up as far
74
HISTORY OF IOWA.
as Story County the broad, flat flood-plain is covered with a rich, deep clay soil, which, in time of long continued rains and over- flows of the river, has made the valley of Skunk River a terror to travelers from the earliest settlement of the country. There are some excellent mill-sites on the lower half of this river, but they are not so numerous or valuable as on other rivers of the eastern system.
Iowa River .-- This river rises in Hancock County, in the midst of a broad, slightly undulating drift region. The first rock ex- posure is that of subcarboniferous limestone, in the south western corner of Franklin County. It enters the region of the Devonian strata near the southwestern corner of Benton County, and in this it continues to its confluence with the Cedar in Louisa County. Below the junction with the Cedar, and for some miles above that point, its valley is broad, and especially on the northern side, with a well-marked flood-plain. Its borders gradually blend with the uplands as they slope away in the distance from the river. The Iowa furnishes numerous and valuable mill-sites.
Cedar River .- This stream is usually understood to be a branch of the Iowa, but it ought, really, to be regarded as the main stream. It rises by numerous branches in the northern part of the State, and flows the entire length of the State, through the region occupied by the Devonian strata and along the trend occupied by that formation. The valley of this river, in the upper part of its course, is narrow, and the sides slope so gently as to scarcely show where the lowlands end and the uplands begin. Below the con- fluence with the Shell Rock, the flood-plain is more distinctly marked, and the valley broad and shallow. The valley of the Cedar is one of the finest regions in the State, and both the main stream and its branches afford abundant and reliable mill-sites.
Wapsipinnicon River .-- This river has its source near the source of the Cedar, and runs parallel and near it almost its entire course, the upper half upon the same formation-the Devonian. In the northeastern part of Linn County it enters the region of the Niagara limestone, upon which it continues to the Mississippi. It is 100 miles long, and yet the area of its drainage is only from 12 to 20 miles in width. Hence, its numerous mill-sites are unusually secure.
Turkey River .- This river and the Upper Iowa are, in many respects, unlike other Iowa rivers. The difference is due to the great depth to which they have eroded their valleys and the
75
HISTORY OF IOWA.
different character of the material through which they have worked. Turkey River rises in Howard County, and in Winneshiek County, a few miles from its source, its valley has attained a depth of more than 200 feet, and in Fayette and Clayton Counties its depth is increased to three and four hundred feet. The summit of the uplands, bordering nearly the whole length of the valley, is capped by the Maquoketa shales. These shales are underlaid by the Galena limestone, between two and three hundred feet thick. The valley has been eroded through these, and runs upon the Trenton limestone. Thus all the formations along and within this valley are Lower Silurian. The valley is usually narrow, and without a well-marked flood-plain. Water-power is abundant, but in most places inaccessible.
Upper Iowa River .- This river rises in Minnesota, just beyond the northern boundary line, and enters our State in Howard County before it has attained any considerable size. Its course is nearly eastward until it reaches the Mississippi. It rises in the region of the Devonian rocks, and flows across the outcrops, respectively, of the Niagara, Galena and Trenton limestone, the lower magnesian limestone and Potsdam sandstone, into and through all of which, except the last, it has cut its valley, which is the deepest of any in Iowa. The valley sides are almost everywhere high and steep, and cliffs of lower magnesian and Trenton limestone give them a wild and rugged aspect. In the lower part of the valley the flood plain reaches a width sufficient for the location of small farms, but usu- ally it is too narrow for such purposes. On the higher surface, however, as soon as you leave the valley you come immediately upon a cultivated country. This stream has the greatest slope per mile of any in Iowa, and consequently it furnishes immense water- power. In some places where creeks come into it, the valley widens and affords good locations for farms. The town of Decorah, in Winneshiek County, is located in one of these spots, which makes it a lovely location; and the power of the river and the small spring streams around it offer fine facilities for manufacturing. This river and its tributaries are the only trout streams in Iowa.
Mississippi River .- This river may be described in general terms, as a broad canal cut out of the general level of the country through which the river flows. It is bordered by abrupt hills or bluffs. The bottom of the valley ranges from one to eight miles in width. The whole space between the bluffs is occupied by the river and its bottom, or flood plain only, if we except the occa-
76
HISTORY OF IOWA.
sional terraces or remains of ancient flood plains, which are not now reached by the highest floods of the river. The river itself is from half a mile to nearly a mile in width. There are but four points along the whole length of the State where the bluffs approach the stream on both sides. The Lower Silurian formations compose the bluffs in the northern part of the State, but they gradually dis- appear by a southerly dip, and the bluffs are continued successively by the Upper Silurian, Devonian and Subcarboniferous rocks, which are reached near the southeastern corner of the State.
Considered in their relation to the present general surface of the State, the relative ages of the river valley of Iowa date back only to the close of the glacial epoch; but that the Mississippi and all the rivers of Northeastern Iowa, if no others, had at least a large part of the rocky portions of their valleys eroded by pre-glacial, or perhaps even by palæozoic rivers, can scarcely be doubted.
GEOLOGY.
Geologists divide the soil of Iowa into three general divisions, which not only possess different physical characters, but also dif- fer in the mode of their origin. These are drift, bluff and alluvial and belong respectively to the deposits bearing the same names The drift occupies a much larger part of the surface of the State than both the others. The bluff has the next greatest area of sur- face, and the alluvial least.
All soil is disintegrated rock. The drift deposit of Iowa was derived to a considerable extent from the rocks of Minnesota; but the greater part of Iowa drift was derived from its own rocks, much of which has been transported but a short distance.
In Northern and Northwestern Iowa the drift contains more sand and gravel than elsewhere. In Southern Iowa the soil is frequently stiff and clayey.
The bluff soil is found only in the western part of the State, and adjacent to Missouri River. Although it contains less than one per cent. of clay in its composition, it is in no respect inferior to the best drift soil.
The alluvial soil is that of the flood-plains of the river valleys, or bottom lands. That which is periodically flooded by the rivers is of little value for agricultural purposes; but a large part of it is entirely above the reach of the highest flood, and is very productiv; .
77
HISTORY OF IOWA.
The stratified rocks of Iowa range from the Azoic to the Meso- zoic, inclusive; but the greater portion of the surface of the State is occupied by those of the Paleozoic age. The table below will show each of these formations in their order:
SYSTEMS. AGES.
GROUPS. PERIODS.
FORMATIONS. EPOCHS.
THICKNESS IN FEET.
Cretaceous
...
Lower Cretaceous ...
Woodbury Sandstone and Shales.
130
Nishnabotany Sandstone
100
Upper Coal Measures.
200
Coal Measures .. . ..
Middle Coal Measures.
200
Lower Coal Measures ..
200
Carboniferous.
St Louis Limestone ..
75
Subcarboniferous
Burlington Limestone.
196
Devonian
Hamilton
Hamilton Limestone and Shales, Niagara Limestone. .Maquoketa Shales. Galena Limestone.
80
Trenton.
Trenton Limestone.
200
Lower Silurian.
St. Peter's Sandstone
80
Primordial.
Lower Magnesian Limestone ...
250
Potsdam Sandstone ..
300
Azoic. ...
Huronian.
Sioux Quartzite.
50
AZOIO SYSTEM.
The Sioux quartzite is found exposed in naturalledges only upon a few acres in the extreme northwest corner of the State, upon the banks of the Big Sioux River, for which reason the specific name of Sioux quartzite has been given them. It is an intensely hard rock, breaks in splintery fracture, and of a color varying, in different localities, from a light to deep red. The process of metamorphism has been so complete throughout the whole forma- tion that the rock is almost everywhere of uniform texture. The dip is four or five degrees to the northward, and the trend of the outcrop is eastward and westward.
LOWER SILURIAN SYSTEM.
Primordial Group .- The Potsdam sandstone formation is ex- . posed only in a small portion of the northeastern part of the State. It is only to be seen in the bases of the bluffs and steep valley sides which border the river there. It is nearly valueless for economic purposes. No fossils have been discovered in this formation in Iowa.
3
Keokuk Limestone ...
90
Kinderhook Beds.
175
Upper Silurian .... Niagara.
350
Cincinnati
Inoceramous Bed.
50
10 to 200
Post Tertiary.
.Drift
200
250
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HISTORY OF IOWA.
Lower Magnesian Limestone .- This formation has but little greater geographical extent in Iowa than the Potsdam sandstone. It lacks a uniformity of texture and stratification, owing to which it is not generally valuable for building purposes. The only fos- sils found in this formation in the State are a few traces of cri- noids, near McGregor.
The St. Peter's Sandstone formation is remarkably uniform in thickness throughout its known geographical extent, and it occu- pies a large portion of the northern half of Allamakee County, im- mediately beneath the drift.
Trenton Group .- With the exception of the Trenton limestone, all the limestones of both Upper and Lower Silurian age in Iowa are magnesian limestones-nearly pure dolomites. This formation ocenpies large portions of Winneshiek and Allamakee Counties, and a small part of Clayton. The greater part of it is useless for economic purposes; but there are some compact, even layers that furnish fine material for window caps and sills. Fossils are so abundant in this formation that in some places the rock is made up of a mass of shells, corals and fragments of trilobites, cemented by calcareous material into a solid rock. Some of these fossils are new to science and peculiar to Iowa.
The Galena limestone is the upper formation of the Trenton Group. It is 150 miles long and seldom exceeds 12 miles in width. It exhibits its greatest development in Dubuque County. It is nearly a pure dolomite with a slight admixture of silicious matter; good blocks for dressing are sometimes found near the top of the bed, although it is usually unfit for such a purpose. This formation is the source of the lead ore of the Dubuque lead mines. The lead region proper is confined to an area of about 15 miles square in the vicinity of Dubuque. The ore occurs in vertical fissures, which traverse the rock at regular intervals from east to west; some is found in those which have a north and south direc- tion. This ore is mostly that known as Galena, or sulphuret of lead, very small quantities only of the carbonate being found with it.
Cincinnati Group .- The surface occupied by the Maquoketa shales is more than 100 miles in length, but is singularly long and narrow, seldom reaching more than a mile or two in width. The most northern exposure yet recognized is in the western part of Winneshiek County, while the most southerly is in Jackson. County, in the bluffs of the Mississippi. The formation is largely composed of bluish and brownish shales, sometimes slightly are-
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HISTORY OF IOWA.
naceous, sometimes calcareous, which weather into a tenacious clay upon the surface, and the soil derived from it is usually stiff and clayey. Several species of fossils which characterize the Cincin- nati Group are found in the Maquoketa shales, but they contain a larger number than have been found any where else in these shales in Iowa, and their distinct faunal characteristics seem to warrant the separation of the Maquoketa shales as a distinct for- mation from any others of the group.
UPPER SILURIAN SYSTEM.
Niagara Group .- The area occupied by the Niagara limestone is 40 and 50 miles in width and nearly 160 miles long from north to south. This formation is entirely a magnesian limestone, with a considerable portion of silicious matter, in some places, in the form of chert or coarse flint. A large part of it probably affords the best and greatest amount of quarry rock in the State. The quarries at Anamosa, Le Claire and Farley are all opened in this formation.
DEVONIAN SYSTEM.
Hamilton Group .- The area of surface occupied by the Hamil- ton limestone and shales, is as great as those by all the formations of both Upper and Lower Silurian age in the State. Its length is nearly 200 miles, and width from 40 to 50. It trends in a north- westerly and southeasterly direction. A large part of the material of this is quite worthless, yet other portions are valuable for economic purposes; and, having a large geographical extent in the State, is a very important formation. Its value for the production of hydraulic lime has been demonstrated at Waverly, Bremer County. The heavier and more uniform magnesian beds furnish material for bridge piers and other material requiring strength and durability. All the Devonian strata of Iowa evidently belong to a single epoch. The most conspicuous and characteristic fossils of this formation are brachiopods, corals and mollusks. The coral Acervularia Davidsoni occurs near Iowa City, and is known as "Iowa City marble " and " bird's-eye marble."
CARBONIFEROUS SYSTEM.
Of the three groups of formations that constitute the carbonifer- ous, viz., the subcarboniferous, coal measures and Permian, only the first two are found in Iowa.
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HISTORY OF IOWA.
Subcarboniferous Group .- This group occupies a very large area of surface. Its eastern border passes from the northeastern part of Winnebago County, with considerable directness in a southeasterly direction to the northern part of Washington County. It then makes a broad and direct bend nearly eastward, striking the Mississippi at Muscatine. The southern and western bound- aries are to a considerable extent the same as that which separates it from the real field. From the southern part of Pocahontas County it passes southeast to Fort Dodge, thence to Webster City, thence to a point three or four miles northeast of Eldora, in Har- din County, thence southward to the middle of the north line of Jasper County, thence southeastward to Sigourney, in Keokuk County, thence to the northeastern corner of Jefferson County, thence sweeping a few miles eastward to the southeast corner of Van Buren County. Its arc is about 250 miles long and from 20 to 50 miles wide.
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