USA > Illinois > Hardin County > History of Hardin County, Illinois > Part 5
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lands embrace 30,878 acres and brushlands, 9,792 acres. There are 42,140 acres in open fields.
In Hardin County today there are 950 farms with corn and hay as the principal crops. Corn production is 245,000 bushels annually. The yield of hay is from ap- proximately 22,000 acres. The river bottom arcas are well suited to corn production.
While the soil of Hardin County could not be de- scribed as the best in Illinois, it responds to treatment better than most areas in the state, farm leaders say. The county is potentially an ideal livestock area since the hill lands produce almost year-around pasture and the river lands yield sufficient corn to supply thousands of head of cattle. Poultry and dairying occupy only a minor place in Hardin County agriculture because of unfavor- able marketing facilities. There are no commercial or- chards.
From that long-ago day when a pioncer farmer plant- ed his "(ruck patch" and began his new home in the wil- derness of the west, Hardin County has been an agricul- tural community.
MINERALS AND MINING By Judge A. A. Miles
In order to write intelligently upon this subject, it is necessary that we say something of the geology of the territory, that the reader may understand the formations and how the faults and veins occurred and how ore was deposited in them. Geologists tell us that in the long, long ago-possibly as much as 100,000,000 years or more ago-there was a disturbance, probably caused by pres- sure of gases from beneath which broke the crust of the carth in the section of country now known as Hardin County. These breaks in which the crust of the earth parted and some parts of the crust moved upward of downward, left many cracks, and the gases while escaping,
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solidified, filling these breaks with a non-metallic miner- al called calcite, which is calcium carbonate and almost pure lime.
Some claim the calcite was deposited in the breaks of the earth's crust by water percolating through them. At a later time, another disturbance occurred in which fluor- ine gases from below, escaping through the former breaks, united with the calcite and limestone and formed what is known as fluorspar. The cracks in the earth's crust then formed are what we now call veins, and the moving of the parts of the earth's crust upward or downward is known as faulting.
These faults vary from a few feet to more than 1,000 feet and run in a general north-easternly, south-westernly direction across Hardin County. The proof of this is plainly seen in several places where great cliffs of lime- stone and sandstone stand side by side. This condition is also found in the mines.
Formation
The country rock is of two kinds-sedimentary and igneous. The sedementary rocks are those that were formed by sediment from erosion of the mountains which settled in the low places and was formed into rock under pressure of large bodies of water, for at one time all this territory was, no doubt, the bottom of a vast ocean. The igneous rocks are those which were intruded while in a molten mass through the cracks of the sedimentary rock and there is in the northern part of this county a plainly visible crater of an extinct volcano.
Minerals
There are several minerals found in Hardin County, the most important of which are fluorspar, iron, lead, silver, zinc, and limestone. These are, or have been, mined and shipped commercially. Other minerals found in this county are barite, calcite, calcium, coal, malachite
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and stibnite. This county is more particularly noted for the large deposits of fluorspar which is a non-metallic mineral composed of about fifty-one per cent calcium and forty-nine per cent fluorine. In color it ranges through all the shades of amber, blue, green, violet, and yellow to transparent. The iron is of high quality and many beau- tiful specimens of limite ore have been found. The lead and zinc is to a large extent sulphide although some car- bonate is found. The limestone is high in carbonate con- tent.
The great limestone cliffs both along the river and in the interior have furnished tens of thousands of yards for commercial purposes. The quarries along the river (idle now) have been operated for many years and the stone used to pave the river banks at most of the cities along the lower Mississippi, to riprap the caving, crumbling banks, to make the dikes, and to build the jetties at the mouth of that river. In the last few years much limestone has been crushed for soil sweetening.
Fluorspar was discovered in this territory in 1839 by a farmer while digging a well on what is now the Prop- erty of the Franklin Fluorspar Company within the pres- ent corporate limits of the city of Rosiclare, near what is known as Fairview Landing.
Lead
At that time another mineral was discovered, which the farmer thought to be silver. A quantity of this min- eral was transported by flat boat down the Ohio and Mississippi rivers to the government mint at New Orleans. Analysis proved that while there was some silver in the material, the greater part of it was lead sulphide. Min- ing operations were started at the site of the well and carried on for lead alone, there being no market for fluor- spar. A small smelter was created, the lead smelted, but the fluorspar was thrown into the waste dump. A cast
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iron part of a small lead smelter, used in early times, is still to be seen at the Fairview Mines.
In 1842 lead and fluorspar were found on the prop- erty of the Rosiclare Lead and Fluorspar Mining Com- pany, near the present site of their mill which also lies within the corporate limits of the City of Rosiclare. Min- ing operations were carried on here for lead. A large smelter was built and the lead was molded into pigs for shipment. It is said by some of our older citizens that lead from these mines was used by the United States Army in the war with Mexico, 1847. The activities in the lead smelting were suspended probably prior to the sus- pension of iron smelting. But mining has been carried on in conjunction with the mining of fluorspar until this date.
Iron
We do not know a great deal regarding the mining and smelting of the iron ore as our carly settlers left us few records. We know, however, that iron ore was dis- covered about the same year, 1839, in which fluorspar was discovered, and two furnaces were built and smelt- ing operations were carried on for a number of years. These furnaces were located five to six miles north of Elizabethtown, one being known as the Illinois Furnace and the other as the Martha Furnace. The ore was cast into pigs and hauled by team and wagon to Elizabethtown for shipment by boat. The charcoal for the smelting was ob- tained from timber cut from the surrounding forest. These furnaces were operated intermittently over a period of years and were finally closed about 1875 and 1882. Part of the old stone masonry stack and furnace is still standing at the site of the Illinois Furnace. Recent ef- forts to restore it to the original form have failed owing to the fact that the property is owned by private parties who will not or cannot give authority.
Many years ago the machinery was moved from the
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site of the Martha Furnace and nothing is left to mark the spot but a recently constructed concrete slab. Since clos- ing the furnaces for smelting no further mining of iron has been done although there are indications that large bodies of ore lie hidden in several of the little hills.
Zinc
Although small quantities of zinc have been mined from several localities in conjunction with mining for fluorspar and lead. no large bodies of rich zinc ore had been located in this county until recently when the Ma- honing Mining Company opened up a large deposit five miles north of Cave-in-Rock. Zinc ore is not found in all the mines that produce fluorspar and lead yet in some mines there are places where zinc is found interspersed with the fluorspar and lead to such an extent as to make milling very difficult.
This condition of mixed ores was found at the Fair- view Mines twenty years ago when several thousands of tons of high zinc-highlead-low fluorspare ore were mined. In order to separate these ores a new mill was built and a "flotation" system was installed, and was the first flotation used in Hardin County. The floated ores, called concentrates of lead and zinc sulphide, were ship- ped to smelters located outside this county. The exper- iment proved successful and now all the larger mills are using the flotation system along with the water and gray- ity system for fluorspar as well as lead and zinc.
Calcite
Calcite is the purest form of calcium carbonate and is white in color. As it was thought to be valueless, being used only for dressing walkways and driveways or to make ornamental flower beds, however, about twenty years ago it was sold as a soil sweetener, since that time considerable tonnage has been shipped for that and other purposes.
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Silver
The silver found in Hardin County has been so inter- spersed with lead that no attempt has been made to separ_ ate them, hence the two minerals are shipped together and the smelters pay for the silver they recover.
Coal
There are several coal measures in the county and some of them have been worked but the veins are too narrow for profitable mining.
Fluorspar
Experiments with fluorspar proved it to be useful as a flux in making steel, but small quantities were used until the development of the open-hearth furnace. Fur- ther experiments proved fluorspar to be useful in making acids, opaleseent glass, and in enameling.
The crude ore as it comes from the mines is not of uniform grade but frequently mixed with other minerals, and to prepare it for the market it must undergo thorough milling.
The mining of fruorspar together with the by products of lead and zinc has been carried on in all the various forms from open cuts or shallow pits to deep shaft work. But the best mining today is done by sinking a three or four compartment shaft in the foot wall near the vein to a depth of five hundred feet or more then crosscut to the vein. Drifts then are driven along the vein at intervals of about one hundred feet in depth of the shaft.
These drifts, usually about eight feet wide and ten feet high or sometimes the width of the vein, are timber- ed overhead and bins built to receive the ore from above which is drilled by air-operated machines and blasted with dynamite to break it loose from its solid formation. This is called overhead stoping and is continued upward from one hundred foot level to another until all the ore except what is left for pillars is taken out.
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The ore is then loaded into cars and hoisted to the surface by electricity or steam. Two hundred tons is a fairly good day's hoisting.
In order to keep mines safe for workmen, timber must be used where the ore has been extracted. This timber is secured from the forests of the county.
From the beginning of mining operations until about thirty-five years ago, drilling was done with hand steel drills and hammers and black powder was used in blast- ing. Two men working together worked the drill-one holding the drill-the other striking. While this seems very crude today, yet, our early miners could break all the spar the trade demanded.
In prospecting and in some small operations hoisting is done by manpower using a windless but in earlier days when machinery was scarce horsepower was also used.
Milling of Fluorspar
The milling of fluorspar is a business within itself. In order to produce the various grades large mills and ex- pensive machinery are required.
When the ore reaches the surface it is placed in bins at the top of the mill from where it moves by gravity and elevators through crushers and washers to a horizontal conveyer belt where it is hand picked. The pure lumps, called high grade or acid spar, are separated and placed in bins while the larger pieces of waste material such as limestone, calcite and all other waste is also picked by hand to take it out of the circuit. The mixed ores are then recrushed, screened to various sizes, and passed over jigs which use a gravity water system where much of the waste and foreign materials are separated and thrown out. Some of the ore coming from these jigs is of high fluoride content and is acid spar, but the greater part will run about eighty-five per cent and this is known as the metal- lurgical or fluxing grade.
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Some of the acid spar is shipped in lump form and some is pulverized to the fineness of wheat flour which it then resembles and is placed in bags for shipmnt to consumers. The fluxing grades are shipped in the gravel form. There is also some shipments of the lump form of a lower grade.
In this connection, we might add that in the smaller mining operations where the ore is not so badly mixed with other materials but containing clay or free rock, a system of log washing is used to prepare this ore for market. A log washer is a timber approximately twelve io sixteen feet in length with iron lugs fastened along the octagal sides, (making a sort of screw conveyer), and geared so that in turning the ore is stirred and washed while moving along the length of the log. In some in- stances hand picking is also necessary to take out the larger pieces of foreign matter.
Owing to the fact that some ores are so interspersed with fluorspar, lead, zinc, silica (sand) and other sub- stances, it is necessary to use the new milling system known as "flotation". In this system the ore is pulverized in ball mills to a fineness of one hundred and fifty to three hundred mesh. And the material is passed through frothing machines where with the use of certain reagents the fluorspar, lead, and zinc is floated by the froth which is then passed over vibrating tables and washed so that the remaining waste material is removed and the ores arc of sufficient grade for use.
Some of the mines have reached the depth today of cight hundred feet and there is much seepage of water and in order to clear the mine of this water large and ex- pensive pumps must be used. Some of these pumps throw from three to ten thousand gallons of water per minute.
The largest and deepest fluorspar mines in fer wor !!! "n brudd at Resiclare for the mining operations have
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been more continuous at that point and gone on for a longer period than at other points of the county. Within recent years large bodies of ore have been located some three to five miles north of Cave-in-Rock and consider- able mining operations have been carried on there. Some of this mining is done by deep shaft and some by lateral mining or tunneling.
The largest fluorspar mills in the world are located within the corporate limits of the City of Rosiclare. The other mines of consequence are located near Elizabeth- town, Cave-in-Rock, Eichorn and Karbers Ridge.
Fluorspar in the Trades
What we have written in the foregoing pages pertain particularly to the activities of mining and milling in Hardin County but we feel that we should follow these mineral products to the point of consumption and give the readers, many of whom are unfamiliar with this matter, a brief account of their uses. The high grade or acid fluorspar is used in making hydrofluoric acid. This acid is used in etching glass and in the preparation of sheet iron for galvanizing. The high grade is further used in making of opalescent glass and in enameling. Opales- cent glass has a white appearance and is used for table tops, lamp shades and other useful and ornamental glass fixtures. This glass may be seen in practically every home in the country in some form, as, the inside lining of the Mason fruit jar caps are made with the use of fluor- spar. It is high grade fluorspar that gives the beautiful white finish to bath tubs and other bathroom fixtures and it is also used in cnameling kitchen utensils of various kinds. Fluorspar is used to make a synthetic cryolite and this is used in extracting alumina from the bauxite or aluminum ore. It is used in the refining of lead. Some cement companies use fluorspar in the making of ce- ment. There are still other uses but the foregoing are the principal ones.
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The lower grade of fluorspar which contains about eighty-five per cent calcium fluoride is used principally at the steel mills to speed up the heating processes of the smelting and to help purify the steel by removing the dross. About seven and one-half pounds of fluorspar is used in making a ton of steel. Although spar is used to some extent in the cupola furnaces it is a necessity in the open-hearth furnaces in which most steel is now made. With increased activities in steel making, in acid making, and in enameling works, the consumption of fluorspar rose from a few thousand tons annually in 1880 to approx- imately 200,000 tons in 1920. Some fluorspar is imported from Europe and other countries.
Early Personalities
The early citizens of our county seemed to be content to work at the mines and mills and probably thought little of passing information on down to future generations. Therefore we have refrained from going into detail of personalities of people who have operated the mines or were employed therein.
We might, however, mention a few men of national reputation that were connected in some way with the fluorspar and lead industry in this section of the country. The earliest was General Andrew Jackson, later President, who operated mines in the Illinois-Kentucky district for lead. President William McKinley owned fluorspar prop- erty lying in this district although not directly in Hardin County. John R. McClean, newspaper publisher of Cin- cinnati and Washington, was the principal owner and at one time the operator of the Rosiclare Mines. The late Andrew Mellon was interested in the Fairview Mines. Many other men of more or less prominence have in the past one hundred years had something to do with mining in Hardin County.
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INSTITUTIONS AND PERSONS By Capt. R. F. Taylor
Histories of the Early Churches
Having been appointed one of the Committee for History of Hardin County for a Centennial Celebration, and having been assigned the subject, "Histories of the Early Churches", I give this as I can find from the various histories and records of churches in the land now Hardin County.
I find that back in the year 1806, probably the first organized church in Hardin County was organized in a little log pen about two miles West of Elizabethtown in what was then known as English territory several years before it became the State of Illinois or the County of Pope or the County of Hardin. That church was called the Regular Baptist Church organized by William Rondo, Steven Stilley and others. It grew and prospered until it was fairly a large congregatoin. Other Baptist churches existed in the land now known as Hardin County.
At that time and since that time an order called Gen- eral Baptists has grown extensively and is now strongly built in .many parts of the country. This seems to have been an order separated from the Regular Baptists in the third century and has existed as an independnt order ever since.
There was also a Separatists Baptist in this country, which seemed to be of the same faith and order as the other churches.
After some reasoning and arguments, on the 21st day of October 1827, at that time being Pope County, these churches met on the banks of Grand Pier Creek by pre- arrangement and united into one church, and from then on for several years called themselves United Baptists, taking in the Separatists and the Regular Baptists.
A few years after that Charlie Clay, who entered the
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land where the Stuart Mines are now, was a prominent preacher of that denomination and preached successfully for many years.
These churches spread out to other parts of the coun- try and in their associations united Tennessee and Ken- tucky and up through Illinois. Afterwards dissension got among these denominations, and they again separated. Those who had belonged to the Regular Baptist gave themselves the name of the Regular Baptists. The others called themselves United Baptists, which existed for a good many years. For the last few years they are known as the Missionary Baptists. All have prospered and done a great deal of good for the country. The old Regular Baptist Church organized on Big Creek still exists, and its minutes of the old meetings are in possession of the Clerk, but it has drifted across the line into Pope County and is known as Grand Pier.
A strong church at Elizabethtown called Non-Mission- ary, that went with the United Baptists since, is a part of the old Regular Baptist church organized in 1806 on Big Creek near Stone Church.
Later Churches
The Methodist Churches have been strong and done much good. Some great preachers existed in this Coun- ty, and at the time the present brick Methodist church was built, a very strong Revivalist by the name of Grabe was in charge of the church. Since then we have had many strong preachers. Among them it would be proper to mention the name of Barney Thompson.
The Christian order have done much good in Hardin County. It has got some splendid members but not many organizations.
Presbyterians have been strong and have done a great deal of good.
Methodists were organized as early as any other church and has been a strong church ever since.
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Schools have improved greatly within the knowledge of this writer. They have gone from little log school- houses practically all over the county to much better build- ings built of good material and a much higher grade of teachers, who are making scholars out of people such as had no opportunity many years ago. The early schools were taught mosily by self-made teachers, who had but little opportunities to give themselves a higher education but much desire to learn.
Many years ago it appeared these early churches of the various names were more enthusiastic and really ap- peared enjoy their religion to even a greater extent than the people do now. They would hold camp meetings in the woods and in passing nearby you would hear the elo- quent sermons and the good women shouting with joy.
Soldiers of Hardin County
One Revolution soldier, Isaac Hobbs, lies buried in cemetery located on the SW SE Sec. 31 11 9. It is claimed that there are seven Civil War soldiers buried in same cemetery; all in unmarked graves.
One soldier of 1812 served under Jackson at New Orleans, lies buried in Hardin County, but writer does not know where. His name was Ginger. Among the most noted Civil War veterans were General Lucian Great- house and Colonel C. M. Ferrell. In 1832 this, then Pope County, furnished large share Blackhawk soldiers; among which was Isaac Martin, who built the little brick house near Stone church, just where the first Baptist church was organized and many years afterwards used the little old round log church house for a stable for horses.
Company "D" 9th Ill. V S was the only company furnished in Spanish American War, commanded by Captain Richard F. Taylor; W. B. Hincs First Lieutenant. Edward Ferrell, Second Licutenant, and Harry Warson, Orderly Sergeant. They returned home after war was over with loss of six enlisted soldeirs.
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Pioneer Lawyers
R. F. Wingate, Judge James Warren, Charles Burnett and J. B. Turner all before the Civil War. James Macklin.
Lawyers since the Civil War can be noted as Colonel Charles Wilkinson of Confederate Army. Lieutenant W. S. Morris, L. F. Plater, C. H. Littlepage, Harry Boyer, Marion Moyers, Judge J. A. Ledbetter, Judge J. F. Taylor, L. F. Twitchell, R. F. Taylor, H. Robert Fowler, J. E. Denton, Noah Gullett, James A. Watson, Clarence Soward and James G. Gullett.
Under the Constitution of 1848 we had such dis- tinguished District Attorneys as John A. Logan, Sam Mar- shall and Marion Youngblood.
Since the Constitution of 1870 those who have served as State's Attorneys are as follows: W. S. Morris, L. F. Plater, J. Q. A. Ledbetter, H. Robert Fowler, Richard F. Taylor, James A. Watson, Noah Gullett, James E. Denton, John C. Oxford and Clarence E. Soward. Hardin County has never had a Circuit Judge and only one Congressman (H. Robert Fowler). Only three lawyers, Judges J. Q. A. Ledbetter, J. F. Taylor and James G. Gullett, have ever been County Judge.
Hardin County has only two Ex-State Senators: H. R. Fowler and A. A. Miles. Dr. W. N. Ayers, L. F. Plater, W. S. Morris, R. R. Lacy, H. R. Fowler, James A. Watson and Richard F. Taylor have served in Legislature.
There are only four licensed lawyers in Hardin Coun- ty at this time, Richard F. Taylor licensed in 1882; James A. Watson in 1896; Clarence E. Soward, 1910 and Judge Gullett in 1934, all teaching the people to do good.
Pioneer Ministers
Among the pioneer preachers of Hardin County, we note the names of William Rondo and Steven Stilley. Soon afterwards the Reverend Charlie Clay, all of the Regular Baptist order.
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The earliest General Baptist preachers, who appear to have organized their denomination, we find John Gregory, Abner Dutton, John Tucker, Albert Briggs and John Thornton.
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