USA > Illinois > Greene County > History of Greene county, Illinois: its past and present > Part 19
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49,182
2,648,72₺
272,660
Massac
25,151
33,396
30
72.316
544
133,126
22,097
MeDonough
52,547
14,035
273,871
36,146
52,401
1,362,490
280,717
MeHenry
230,566
53,293
57.998
401,790
270
29,264
1,145,005
910.397
494.978
40,366
49,087
211,801
10,955
39,824
3,723 37:
911,127
Menard.
134,173
34.931
13.952
36,152
45,793
4,283
1,973.88₺
235,091
Mercer.
222.809
45,977
22.588
289,291
13,203
40,778
2,054,96%
452,889
92.810
83,369
666
651,767
1,425
543,718
276,682
47,804
8,495
59
744.891
3,29t
1,527,898
668,424
293,450
60,217
1,376
18,196
357,523
5.53.
3,198,835
198,724
144,220
24,783
13,112
17,128
196,436
6,670
1,753.141
263,992
316,883
43,643
14,913
497,038
5,580
157,504
1,787,066
141,540
170,729
48,666
2,516
92,361
31.843
99,502
969,224
93,754
220
350,446
1,016
384,446
94,454
5,978
13,897
26,382
39,762
9.248
1,029.725
130,610
Pike ..
233.785
128,953
9,302
130
1,057,497
25,303
1,399,188
161,419
Pope.
55,980
87.754
70,457
2,309
Pulaski.
19,319
12,516
4.174
28,137
796
7.707
140,764
162,274
1,170
450
1,031,022
3.235
510.080
414,487
Richland
75,079
50,618
2 025
150,268
3.401
482,594
204.634
155,214
31,239
20,755
243,541
2.279 83.011
20,003 568
531,51₺
69,793
421,748
51,085!
19,932
247.658
23,073
4,388.7631
397,718 119.359
96,195
62,477
21,294
56,221
165,721
20,841
440,975 752.771
13.462
Shelby
310.179
74,908
9,314
15,526
452,015
23,686
2.082.578
637.812
Stark.
138,129
12,375
2,783
124,630
1,562 621
1,008
1.615,679
960,620
Tazewell
229,126
45,268
14,846
132,417
72.410
59,027
2,062,053
505,841
Union.
75,832
83 606
5,300
44,806
249,558
52,476
2,818.027
436.051
Wabash.
54,063
37,558
509
186,290
5.712
72,212
2,982,853 836.115
533,398
Wayne
147,352
146,794
10,486
266
164,689
8,665
1,179,291 870.521
119.653
Whitesides
289.809
21.823
37.310
457.455
264
31.658
2,162,943
880.838
Will ..
419,442
24,261
6,335
195,286 176
1,996
8,030
1.131,458 655,710
180,986
Winnebago
241,373
37.238 25,217
15,237 23,135
408,606 178,139
2.468
137,985
1.237.406
868.903
Woodford
225,504
108,307
20,426
2,154,185
744,581
Crawford.
105,505
78,350
27,185
60
550
84,697
14,798
403,075
Cumberland
75,342
40,334
3,274
2,651
154,485
8,825
2,133,111
570,427
1,584,225
De Witt.
Douglas
11,897
63,976
42,571
1,008
11,577
565,671
154,589
Franklin
80,749
Greene.
175,408
1,051,313
64,029
Grundy
193,999
6,256
295,971 735,25%
203,464
28,117
140,954
Iroquois
78,548 90,867
67,023
12,250
87.808
9,165
519,120
71,770
JoDaviess.
156,517
82,076 3
79,141
92,191]
2,468
343,298
74,525
Kane ...
240,120
Knox.
Lake
207,779
LaSalle
48,117
Lawrence
Lee.
903,197
Livingston
659,300
Logan.
Macoupin
2.404
1,051,544
459,417
Madison.
257,032
89,450
13,675
Marion.
261,635|
McLean
Morgan .. Moultrie.
Ogle
Peoria
334.892
338,760
Piatt.
37,271
17,184
809
200
Schuyler
44,633
1,610
18
266.105
930
30.534
1,149 878
316.726
St. Clair.
231,117
76,591
2,016
527,394
2,118
135,362
679,753
124,473
Vermilion.
360,251
53,078
31,122
202.201
421,361
110,793
Warren.
266.187
27.294
14,583
672,486
2,576
White.
92,398
78.167
869
184,321
418
1,868.682
Williamson
128,448
116,949
1,618
170,787
6,228
1,423.121
476.851
Stephenson
254,857
43.167
13,701
180.231
1,737
601.054
Washington.
177 592
55,852
1.931
2.550
44,922
222
315,958 195.735
16,511 86,519
Rock Island.
1,459,653
276,575
Saline
72,309
70.393
89,304
Scott .
85,331
152,251
Monroe.
Montgomery
93,242
577,400
415
352,371
129,152
Effingham.
120,343
56.330
26,206
195,716
19.759
620,247
386.073
Fayette.
187,196
93,460
16.786
83,093
51%
509,491
27,164
Coles.
208,337
45,214
20,171
244,220
21,627
Bond.
145,045
42,613
42,658
30
461,345
149,214
DuPage.
Edgar ..
122,703
528
228,132 49,572
269,332
Hamilton
Henry
430,746
558,367
45,779
103,466
Kendall.
72,738 12,071
Macon.
78,260
31,739
68.470
67,886
Putnam
334,259
Randolph
Sangamon.
404,492
Perry
198,056
861,398
5,604
Total
HARMON Se
GEORGE B. PRICE, CARROLLTON.
HISTORY OF GREENE COUNTY.
GEOGRAPHY, TOPOGRAPHY, AND GEOLOGY.
The Illinois River, with its tributaries, drains nearly one-third of the State of Illinois. It is one of the most important affluents of the Missis- sippi and flows from the northeast to the southwest fully across the State, draining about an equal amount of territory on either side. Its valley consists of long arms of beautiful, dry, rolling, fertile prairie, alternating with similar, though narrower, lines of wooded land so distributed as to be convenient to any part of the surrounding country. The latter is as rolling and healthful as the former, and, on every section of either, living water may be readily found. This mighty river is the central water line of the great upper valley of the Mississippi, and has cut into the crust of the earth a deeper groove than any other branch of the Father of Waters. For this reason the Illinois is the last river to freeze in the early winter and the first to thaw in the spring, among all the streams in the same latitude. The depth of its channel accounts for the total absence of extensive swamps and morasses along its borders.
The southern portion of the Illinois valley, east of the river, was known by the Indians as the Sangamo country -"a land where there is much plenty "- a term very appropriately applied to the region, by the Pottawatomies. . In the midst of this charming, rich, and healthful vale, about twenty miles above the mouth of the river, lies Greene County. It is bounded on the north by Scott and Morgan Counties, on the cast by Macoupin County, on the south by Jersey County, and on the west by the Illinois River, beyond which lie the Counties of Pike and Calhoun. It contains seven fractional and fourteen full townships - equivalent to about sixteen full townships-or more accurately five hundred and seventy-six square miles, and comprises the following voting precincts : Carrollton, Greenfield, White Hall, Bluffdale, Northwestern, Wrights- ville, Roodhouse, Kane, Rockbridge, Walkerville, Woodville, Mt. Airy, and Fayette. It is well supplied with water and timber having, in addition to the river which forms its western boundary, Apple and Macoupin Creeks, which, with their tributaries traverse the county from east to west. Fine springs are abundant along the river bluffs and throughout the limestone region generally, and good wells can usually be obtained on the uplands at depths varying from twenty to forty feet. Several mineral springs, in which sulphur chiefly predominates, are to be found in various parts of the county and have been resorted to by many for medicinal purposes, with the best of results. The precinct of Mineral
A
222
HISTORY OF GREENE COUNTY.
Springs, in the northern part of the county, received its name from fountains of this sort which at one time attracted a great deal of atten- tion. They are situated on the west half of the northwest quarter of section 22, township 12, range 11, and were discovered soon after the first settlement of the county, by a party who were following an Indian trail. Shortly after, in 1825. Governor Reynolds and a gentleman named Cook, of Springfield, entered the land, believing that the presence of the springs would make the property valuable. For many years people, suffering with various diseases, resorted thither from all parts of the adjacent country to obtain the benefit of the waters and, in many cases, received immediate relief. Sometimes from two hundred to three hundred and fifty would be camped near the Springs at one time. In October, 1852, the property was purchased by B. G. Hopkins, having previously been owned by Samuel Hopkins, Abraham Easton and others, who built a large hotel the same year. The main building was forty feet long by about thirty feet wide, with a commodious ell in the rear and a wing forty feet long on either side of the main building, giving a total front of one hundred and twenty feet. From this time the Springs were very popular. Often more persons applied for board than could be accomo- dated at the hotel and the neighboring dwellings were frequently filled. Later the property came into the possession of B. MeGlothlen, under whose management the Springs began to lose their popularity. In 1862, while the hotel was occupied by Mr. McGlothlen and owned by C. G. Simonds, it was burned to the ground. The waters of the Springs undoubtedly have a pronounced medicinal effect. They are described as being "strongly diuretic, rather more than slightly cathartic and diaphoretic, a good tonic and appetizer." Dropsy, rheumatism, kidney com- plaints, dyspepsia, and sore eyes are prominent among the ailments they have been known to cure. Just northeast of Greenfield are the Green- field Springs, which are impregnated with iron, magnesia, calcium, and other ingredients. For debilitated persons they act as a tonic, and assist nature in its work of rejuvenating the system. Many stories are told of the successful use of the waters, by persons who came a long distance, suffering with rheumatism, white swellings, fever sores, etc. Many who have visited Saratoga and the Sulphur Springs, of Virginia, consider the Greenfield Springs their equal in every regard. An effort was at one time made to establish a watering place here but without success. The town is a . pleasant one, the scenery delightful, the railroad facilities excellent and the enterprize may yet be revived. Some three or four miles northeast of Carrollton, on land now owned by Malachi Carmody, there is another natural font of healing, and Mr. Parham Thaxton well remembers when as many as fifty people habitually congregated there on Sunday and spent the day in drinking the waters, and in quiet repose, in the immediate neighborhood. A similar spring, on the farm of Mr. Thos. Luneen, southeast of Carrollton, just beyond the limits of the city, was much resorted to in years past, and at other points they may be found.
The county has an abundant supply of timber conveniently located. The following list of the indigenous trees and shrubs of the county is the result of years of observation and study by Dr. Daniel Bowman, an old settler of this county and one of the most skillful practical botanists in the State. With the exception of a single shrub growing along the
223
HISTORY OF GREENE COUNTY.
bluffs, which Dr. Bowman has never seen in bloom, the list is believed to be complete :
BOTANIC NAMES. . COMMON NAMES.
BOTANIC NAMES. COMMON NAMES.
Clematis Virginiana
Virgin's Bower.
Symphoricarpus Vulgaris __ Corn Bush.
Uvaria Trilabia Pawpaw.
Sambucus Canadensis .. __ Common Elder.
Menispermum Canadensis_ Moon Seed.
Viburnum Prunifolium .. Black Haw.
Xanthoxylum Americanum Prickly Ash.
Cephalanthus Occidentalis, Button Bush.
Ptelea Trifolea Wafer Ash.
Diospyros Virginiana. Persimmon.
Rhus Glabra Smooth Sumac.
Tecoma Radicans Trumpet Flower.
Rhus Toxicodendron Poison Ivy.
Fraxinus Americana White Ash.
Rhus Aromatica
Sweet Sumac.
Tilia Americana
Linden Tree
Aristolocia Sipho Dutchman's Pipe.
Vitis Cardifolia Winter Grape.
Benzoin Odoriferum
Spice Wood.
Vitis Etivalis Blue Grape.
Sassafras Officinale. Sassafras.
Vitis Riparia Frost Grape.
Ulmus Americana White Elm.
Ampelopsis Quinquefolia _. Woodbine.
Ulmus Fulva
Slippery Elm.
Acer Rubrum
Red Maple.
Celtis Occidentalis
Hackberry.
Acer Dasycarpum
Silver Maple.
Juglans Cinerea White Walnut.
Acer Saccharinum
Sugar Tree.
Juglans Nigra
Black Walnut.
Negundium Americanum_ Boxelder.
Carya Alba
Shag Bark Hickory.
Æsculus Glabra
Buckeye.
Carya Sulcata
Shellbark Hickory.
Staphylea Trifolia Bladder Nut.
Carya Oliveaformis Pecan nut.
Euonymus Atropurpureum, Spindle Tree.
Carya Porcina
Pig-nut.
Euonymus Americanus .. Burning Bush
Carya Amara_
Bitter-nut.
Ceanothus Americanus. Red Root.
Prinos Ambiguus
Winterberry.
Cercis Canadensis Judas Tree.
Morus Rubra. Mulberry.
Gymnocladus Canadensis_Coffee Tree.
Plantanus Occidentalis Svcamore.
Gleditschia Triacanthus_
Honey Locust.
Quercus Alba White Oak.
Amorpha Canescens.
Indigo Bush.
Quercus Macrocarpa Over Cup.
Cerasus Serotina Wild Cherry.
Quercus Obtusiloba Post Oak.
Cerasus Virginiana Choke Cherry.
Prunus Americanus
Wild Plum.
Quercus Castanea Chestnut Oak.
Spiræa Opulifolia
Nine Bark.
Quercus Imbricaria Shingle Oak.
Cratagus Coccinæ
White Thorn.
Quercus Nigra. Black Jack.
Cratægus Crussgalli
Cock-spur Thorn.
Quercus Tinctoria Black Oak.
Cratægus Tomentosa
Black Thorn.
Quercus Rubra Red Oak.
Pyrus Coronaria Crab Apple.
Quercus Palustris Pin Oak.
Amelanchier Canadensis. . Shadberry.
Corylus Americanus Hazel.
Rosa Setigera
Prairie Rose.
Carpinus Americanus Water Beech.
Rosa Lucida
Wild Rose.
Ostrya Virginica Iron Wood.
Rosa Carolina Swamp Rose.
Salix Tristis .Gray Willow.
Rubus Vilosus Blackberry.
Salix Humilis
Sage Willow.
Rubus Canadensis
Low Blackberry.
Salix Eriocephala Creek Willow.
Rubus Strigosus Dewberry.
Salix Sericea Swamp Willow.
Rubus Occidentalis. Wild Raspberry.
Betula Nigra Red Birch.
Ribes Rotundifolium Gooseberry.
Populus Tremuloides Aspen.
Hydrangea Arborescens Wild Hydrangea.
Populus Angulata Cotton Wood.
Cornus Stolonifera White Dogwood.
Juneperus Virginiana Red Cedar.
Cornus Sericea Red Osier.
Smilax Rotundifolia Bramble.
Cornus Florida
Flowering Dogwood
Smilax Quadrucularis .Greenbriar.
Lonicera Flava
Yellow Honeysuckle
Myrica Gale Sweet Galc.
The surface of the country is generally rolling, and the western por- tion, in the vicinity of the river bluffs, is quite broken and hilly, the val- leys of the small streams being excavated to the depth of from one to two hundred feet below the general level of the uplands. In the central and eastern portions of the county, the depressions of the valleys are consid- erably less, seldom exceeding fifty or sixty feet below the general level. In the northern part of the county is what is known as the "Grand Pass." It is a narrow channel, connecting a chain of small lakes below the bluffs and near the river. It is said by some to derive its name from the fact that the water which usually flows south from one lake into the other, in
Celastrus Scandens
Staff Tree.
Carya Tomentosa
Thick-shelled-nut.
Quercus Bicolor Swamp Oak.
Fraxinus Undrangulata __ Blue Ash.
224
HISTORY OF GREENE COUNTY.
times of high water, reverses its direction and runs backward into the lake from which it came. It was for many years an important feature of the landscape for the reason that here only could a passage be had beyond the lakes. For this purpose a rough stone causeway ivas built which was much used when Bridgeport, just west of the lakes, was one of the lead- ing commercial points in the region. The bluff lands are well adapted to the cultivation of fruits, as well as wheat and other cereals, and the timber soil when cleared is as fertile as that of the prairies. The latter are gener- ally small and are covered with the deep black loam so characteristic of the prairies of central and northern Illinois, and their productive.qualities are not surpassed by those of any other portion of the State. As an agricultural region this county ranks among. the best, and taking into the account its proximity to the great rivers, its railroad facilities and its varied and rich mineral resources, it must commend itself at once to those seeking a home in this State as one of the most attractive and promising locations to be found. The broken lands in the vicinity of the river bluffs are well adapted to grape culture, and, in the hands of skillful vine- growers, could be made to yield a more liberal return for the labor required to cultivate them than can be obtained from the richest prairie lands in the county, planted with the common cereals grown in this climate.
There is much beneath these fertile prairies to enlist the thoughtful consideration of geologists. In various places in the county, at the depth of from thirty to forty feet, has been found a black earth, similar to the prairie soil, in which large trees have been imbedded. In sinking deeper the well, on the northeast corner of the square in the city of Carrollton, at the depth of forty feet, was found a large pine tree. The late William Costley, in digging a well at his place of residence, a mile or so south of Macoupin Creek, discovered, at the depth of thirty feet, a mass of rock which had evidently been a wall, against which was a collection of drift- wood. The stone taken from the well had been dressed, and bore plainly the marks of a mason's hammer. The late Mr. Samuel Thomas in deep- ening a well, from which, for fifty years he had been using water, struck a quantity of periwinkle shells, amongst which were found the jaw teeth of some extinct animal, larger than those of our domestic animals, a por- tion of which were petrified. These discoveries afford much food for reflection.
The following geological sketch of the county is taken mainly from the report of the State survey by Prof. A. H. Worthen, assisted by Messrs. Henry Engleman, H. C. Freeman and H. M. Bannister :
GENERAL GEOLOGY OF THE COUNTY.
The geological features of this county are by no means so varied as those presented in the adjoining county of Jersey, for the reason that the disturbing influences that have elevated the Devonian and Silurian beds above the surface, in that county, did not extend into this, and conse- quently we find no beds exposed here below the lower carboniferous limestones. The following vertical section of the several formations in the county will illustrate their general thickness and relative position :
Quaternary deposits, Alluvium, Loess and Drift. 100 to 120 feet.
Coal Measures 150 to 160
St. Louis Limestone 8 to 40
225
HISTORY OF GREENE COUNTY.
Keokuk Limestone Io0 to 125 feet.
Burlington Limestone 120 to 150 =
Kinderhook Group (partial exposure) 50 to 60
Alluvium .- The principal alluvial deposits in this county are those forming the bottom lands on the Illinois River, comprising a belt from three to five miles in width, and extending the whole length of the county from north to south. These lands are exceedingly fertile, and are amongst the most valuable and productive farming lands in the county. The greater portion of these bottom lands are prairie, sufficiently elevated to be susceptible of cultivation and exceedingly productive. Adjacent to the river bluffs they are elevated entirely above high-water mark, and are not subject to overflow from the annual river floods. Belts of heavy timber occupy some portions of these bottom lands, and skirt the small streams by which they are intersected.
Loess .- This formation is usually confined to the vicinity of the river bluffs, which it caps to the depth of from forty to sixty feet, and gives origin to the bald, grassy knobs which form so notable a feature in the topography of the bluffs, both on the Illinois and the Mississippi. It is largely composed of beds of marly sand, which sustain a thick growth of wild grass, and occasionally a stunted growth of oak. It is unconform- able to the drift clays below it, and presents its greatest thickness imme- diately at the river bluffs, growing thinner towards the highlands of the adjacent region. It has been formed in the quiet waters of the lakes which once occupied the present valleys of the Illinois and the Missis- sippi Rivers. These marly beds of Loess form an admirable sub-soil, being sufficiently porous to allow a thorough drainage; and, where they underlie a gently rolling or tolerably level surface, they form a quick, warm and very productive soil.
Drift .- Some few sections of drift may be seen in the bluffs of Bear Creek, below Blanchard's coal bank, of forty to fifty-two feet in thick- ness. The lower part is composed of bluish-colored clays, with small pebbles, and the upper part of the common reddish-brown clay, so gen- erally characteristic of this formation. Large boulders of metamorphic rocks are not so abundant in the drift of this region as in many other portions of the State; but a few are found of moderate size, composed of greenstone, porphyry, and granite, giving unmistakable evidence of their northern origin. Specimens of drifted copper and galena are, also, occasionally found in the clay and gravel beds of this region, which cover the whole surface of the county, except the valleys of the streams. These have been transported also from the north-the copper from Lake Supe- rior, and the galena from the lead region of northern Illinois or Wiscon- sin, and were transported at the same period and by the same agency that brought the boulders of metamorphic rock.
Coal Measures .- The Coal Measures of this county comprise about a hundred and fifty feet in thickness of sandstones, shales and thin bands of limestone, including three seams of coal, and comprise all the strata from the horizon of coal No. 6 to the base of the measures, as they are developed in this portion of the State. The subjoined general section, compiled from many local sections in various parts of the county, will show their general thickness and relative position :
226
HISTORY OF GREENE COUNTY.
1
Compact Brown Limestone
2 to
4 feet.
Bituminous Shale
I foot.
Coal No. 6
6 feet.
Shaly Clay and Nodular Limestone
3 to
1
Shale _
15 to 20
Bituminous Shale.
2 to
3
Coal No. 5
2 to 3
Arenaceous Shale and Sandstone.
25 to 30
Bituminous Shale, passing to Coal No. 3?
2 to
3
Sandstone and Shale
40 to 50
Coal-Tulison's and Nettle's Coal No. I
2 to 3
Nodular Steel gray Limestone, sometimes replaced with fire- clay, as at Tulison's_
4 to 6
Shale and Sandstone, passing locally into Conglomerate
15 to 20
..
153 feet.
The only outcrop of the Belleville or No. 6 coal, that is found in this county, is on the northeast quarter of section 36, township 10, range 10, just on the county-line between Greene and Macoupin, in the bluff of Hodges' Creek. This bank was owned and worked in 1864 by Thomas Rice, and the seam is here very variable in its thickness, ranging from four to seven feet. The upper part of the seam is considerably mixed with sul- phuret of iron, and is only fit for steam purposes ; but the middle and lower portions afford a good smith's coal. The seam at this locality dips to the eastward; and this may probably be considered as its most westerly out- crop. There are only a few inches of shaly clay separating the seam from the nodular argillaceous limestone below, exhibiting here the phenom- enon of a heavy seam of coal directly enclosed between beds of marine limestone. The nodular limestone below the coal abounds in fossils at this locality, among which a massive coral, the Chaetetes milliporaceous, is most conspicuous. This coral is generally hemispherical in form, and often attains a diameter of six to twelve inches. The limestone also con- tains many univalve shells belonging to the genera Naticopsis, Pleuroto- maria, Loxonema, etc.
The limestone which forms the roof of the coal is a compact bluish- gray rock, which weathers, on exposure, to a rusty-brown color, and con- tains Productus longispinus, Spirifer lineatus, Fusulina, and joints of Crinoidea.
Below this coal there is another seam that outcrops on the creek in this vicinity. It has not yet been worked to any extent; and no good exposure of it is to be seen, but it is reported to be about two feet in thickness. It is, undoubtedly, the equivalent of coal No. 5, of the gen- eral section, and the Howlett coal near Springfield, but is much thinner here than the seam above it. Bassett's coal, on the southwest quarter of section 27, township 10, range 11, is about eighteen inches in thickness ; and the coal is overlaid, first by three or four feet of bituminous shale, and this by a septarian limestone, four feet or more in thickness. The coal is underlaid by a blue clay shale, from four to six feet thick, and this by a brown sandy shale, passing into sandstone, which outcrops down the creek for a distance of half a mile or more, and shows a thickness altogether of twenty-five or thirty feet. This seam probably overlies the coal at Tulison's, on Wolf River, as well as that on Birch Creek; but that point could not be positively determined. It is probable that it represents Coal No. 2 of the general section. The coal in the seam
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appears to be of good quality ; but it is too thin to be profitably mined at the present time. At many points there is a heavy bed of sandstone intervening between this seam and the coal on Brush Creek; and a similar bed, though perhaps a higher one in the series, is well exposed in the bluffs of Macoupin Creek, at Rockbridge. The exposure here is from thirty-five to forty feet in thickness, the lower part consisting of blue sandy shales, which are overlaid by a massive brown sandstone, pass- ing upward into a brown sandy shale. The sandstone is partly concre- tionary in structure, the concretions being quite hard and forming a dura- ble building stone. On Birch Creek a similar sandstone is well exposed, overlying Coal-seam No. 1 with a thickness of twenty-five to thirty feet.
Nettle's coal-bank is on the northeast quarter of section 25, town- ship 12, range 11, about eight miles northeast of White Hall. The coal averages about three feet in thickness, and is overlaid by from three to five feet of bituminous shale, which forms a good roof to the coal. Above the shale there is a bed of massive sandstone, twenty feet or more in thickness, similar to that at Rockbridge. Under the coal, there is a bed of shaly clay, not more than a foot or two in thickness, which rests upon a hard steel-gray nodular limestone about four feet thick. These beds outcrop along the creek for a distance of about three miles above Nettle's place, the fall of the creek being just about equal to the dip of the coal, and in the same direction, which is to the southeast. On Wolf Run, about a mile and a half east of White Hall, a seam of coal outcrops along the creek for a distance of a mile or more, and has been opened at several points. It is from two feet to two and a half in thickness, and is a clear, bright coal, breaking in regularly shaped blocks, and quite free from sulphuret of iron. It is overlaid by about two feet of bituminous shale, which passes upward into a blue clay shale, which is overlaid by sandstone. Below the coal there is an excellent bed of fire-clay, from eight to ten feet thick. The upper openings on this creek are on the lands lately owned by David Rankin, and the lower one on the lands of Isaac Tulison.
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