USA > Illinois > White County > History of White County Illinois > Part 2
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The drift deposits in this county vary from ten to thirty feet or more in thickness, and consist of brown gravelly clays, with some northern boulders of considerable size. In the vicinity of the Little Wabash, north of Carmi, these seemed to be more abun- dant than elsewhere, and one was seen near the north line of the county, and about a mile east of the ford, on the Little Wabash, that was fully four feet in its longest diameter by two feet or more in the opposite direction. This is the most southerly point in the State where boulders of this size have been seen.
Coal Measures .- The stratified rocks of this county belong to the lower part of the Upper Coal Measures, and the lowest beds appearing in the county are to be seen in the bluffs of the Little Wabash, in the vicinity of New Haven, and near Carmi, these two points being on nearly the same geological level. The New Haven limestone appears to be identical with the lowest limestone seen in Clark County, which there lies about seventy-five to eighty feet above coal No. 7. Here the space is probably 150 to 200 feet or more, with two thin coals intervening between the limestone and the main coals below. In the solid portions of this lime- stone fossils are comparatively rare, only a few species being found at New Haven. The rock is hard and brittle, and weathers to a rusty brown color. The section in the vicinity of New Haven commencing at the base with this limestone and extending north along the small branches putting into the Little Wabash for about two miles and a half to land adjoining Mr. R. W. Boyd, and be- longing to the Jones heirs, is as follows:
FEET. IN
No. 1. Sandstone, forming the bed-rock on top of the hills, and penetrated by Mr. Boyd in his well. 181
No. 2. Sandstone and sandy shale, passing downward into Arg. shale, (partial exposure) .. 40 to 50
No. 8. Ferro argillaceous limestone, with fossils 0
8
No. 4. Ferruginous shale, with fossils 0
2 No. 5. Chocolate-brown cale, sandstone, with fossils 1 6
No. 6. Dark-colored shale. 2 to 8
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HISTORY OF WHITE COUNTY.
FERT. IN.
No. 7. Coal.
0
No. 8. Shaly fire-clay 8
6
No. 9. Hard sandstone, partly in heavy beds. 4 to 6
No. 10. Shale and thin-bedded sandstone. 6 to 8
No. 11. Space covered, probably not more than 15 to 20
No. 12. New Haven limestone. 3 to 4
The three-inch band of ferruginous limestone, No. 3, of the above section, contains numerous well-preserved fossils. The chocolate-brown calcareous sandstone below it also contains a pe- culiar group of fossils. This bed is found at Carmi, in the bed of a small branch south of the town, containing the same group of fossils.
About three-quarters of a mile from New Haven, north on Rock Creek, the beds numbered from two to ten of the foregoing section are well exposed, and a fair quality of thin-bedded micaceous sand- stone is quarried for building purposes. From this point to Carmi, by the road on the west side of the river, the country is quite broken, and frequent outcrops of sandstone and shale may be seen in the hillsides and in the banks of the small streams. On Grind- stone Creek, seven miles south of Carmi, a bed of sandstone in rather even beds is exposed on a small branch running into the main creek from the southwest. The beds exposed are from twelve to fifteen feet in thickness, and the rocks have been quar- ried for building stone, and some grindstones have also been made from it. Most of the beds are in tolerably even layers, but some portions of the mass show a more or less concretionary structure.
At Carini there is a repetition of the same beds found in the vicinity of New Haven, with the upper part of the section better exposed, but only extending downward to No. 5 of the section seen near New Haven, the lower part of that section being here below the level of the Little Wabash. Commencing with the sandstone to be seen in the north part of town, above the dam, and descending from thence along the river bluffs to the small creek just south of the town, we have the following section :
FEET. IN.
No. 1. Sandy shales and some sandstone in even beds. 12
No. 2. Clay shales. 16 to 18
No. 3. Two thin coals, parted by a foot or more of clay shale. 1 to 1 6
No. 4. Brown sandstone, quarry rock. 8 to 10
No. 5. Band of cinnamon shale, with Posidonias 2
No. 6. Dark clay shale 1
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No. 7. Gray sandy shales, passing downward into clay shalee, with FEET. IN.
iron stones. 18 to 20 No. 8. Ferro-calcareous, chocolate-brown sandstone, with fossils ... 17% to 2
The lower bed of the above section was only partially exposed in the bed of the creek, where it presents the same general appear- ance, and contains the same group of fossils as were obtained from No. 5 of the section near New Haven. Only a part al exposure of it has been found in the vicinity of Carini. The brown sand- stone, No. 4 of the above section, contains numerous specimens of broken plants, is somewhat ferruginous, and affords a good quality of building stone. The thin band of cinnamon-colored shale seems to have been formed from an impalpable brown mud, and on split- ting it in thin layers countless numbers of minute shells like Posi- donia are found covering the surface of the slabs.
In the banks of the Skillet Fork, at Mill Shoals, there is an out- crop of thin cual, with a bituminous shale and limestone, as shown in the following section :
Hard shelly sandstone.
FEET.
3 to 4 Hard, black laminated, passing locally into clay shale. 6 to 8
Shale, with thin coal ... 2 to 3
Hard, fine-grained limestone. 2 to 3 2
Greenish, pebbly shale.
Sandy shale in creek bed 1
These beds afford no distinct fossils, but the limestone and black laminated slate bear a strong resemblance to beds found three miles northeast of Fairfield, in Wayne County, and two and a half miles south of Olney, which I have referred to the horizon of coal No. 13 of the general section. The cross-clearage planes of the limestone show Stigmaria rootlets, and these were the only indi- cations of organic life we could find in it. The rock is fine-grained, of a bluish dove-color, the lower portion weathering to a yellow- ish buff. The beds in the foregoing section are succeeded in the hills north and east of the station by sixty to seventy feet of shale and sandstone, with a thin bed of bituminous shale near the top of the exposure.
At Grayville, on the west bank of the Wabash River, the bluff rises to a height of more than 100 feet above low-water level, and affords a fine section of the Coal Measure beds, as follows:
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HISTORY OF WHITE COUNTY.
FERT. IN.
No. 1. Covered slope of loess and drift. 48
No. 2. Heavy-bedded sandstone.
15
No. 3. Slopes, with partial outcrops of shale. 25
No. 4. Siliceous shale. 7 to 8
No. 5. Blue argillaceous shale, with bands of fossiliferous iron ore at the bottom. 4
No. 6. Bituminous shale 6 to 0
No. 7. Calcareous shale, and shaly bituminous limestone. 0 to 3
No. 8. Black shale. 6 in. to 1
No. 9. Green clay shales, or fire-clay 1 to 2
No. 10. Sandy shales and sandstone in river beds. 10to 12
This section was taken about 300 yards below the ferry landing, and at the lowest stage of water in the river. The beds here lie in wave-like undulations, the black shale of the above section being at one point fifteen feet above the river bed, and in a distance of about fifty yards they come down to within six feet of the river level. In the calcareous shale, No. 7 of the above section, there is a thin band filled with broken and crushed specimens. This shale is dark colored and highly bituminous, and contains several species of crushed fossils in addition to that above mentioned, but all iden- tical with those found in the clay-iron band at the base of No. 5. Local patches of sandstone and conglomerate in lenticular masses a foot or more in thickness come in at two or three points imme- diately above the black shales, and where this occurs the shales are compressed into something less than one-half their normal thick- ness. At the upper end of this exposure the calcareo-bituminous shale, No. 7, is replaced by three or four inches of blue clay shale. The thin-bedded sandstones and sandy shales in the river-bed contain Calamites, and fragments of other coal plants, sometimes inclosed in iron concretions similar to those noticed in the river- bed at Mt. Carmel. The ferruginous band at the base of the blue shales, No. 5 of the foregoing section, contains many fine fossil shells in a good state of preservation, and the locality has become some what noted on this account. It is the same group as found on Raccoon Creek, near the north line of Edwards County, at Law- renceville, in Lawrence County, and on Lamotte Creek, near Palestine Landing, showing that the Wabash River, from the latter point to Grayville, continnes on nearly the same geological level.
The exposure in the Grayville bluff affords an interesting exhibi- tion of the variable character of the beds occurring at this horizon, and if the upper and lower extremities of this outcrop were only to
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HISTORY OF WHITE COUNTY.
be seen as separate exposures, their identity might not be suspected. At the upper end of the hill a seam of pyritiferous shale from one to three inches thick is all that separates the black laminated shales, while at the lower end they are separated by about three feet of calcareous shale and shaly bituminous limestone. Fossils are abundant at the upper end of the exposure in clay iron ore in the lower part of No. 5 of the section, while 300 yards below neither the iron stones nor the fossils they inclose can be found. Hence the difficulty of constructing a connected section of the up- per Coal Measures from the examination of isolated outcrops, which are the only exposures of the strata to be found in this portion of the State.
On the Little Wabash, at the ford six miles west of Grayville, on section 21, township 3 south, range 10 east, the bluff consists of sandstone and sandy shale, inclosing a bituminous shale and thin coal. The section here is as follows:
FEET. IN. Evenly-bedded sandstone and sandy shale 30 to 40 Bituminous shale and thin coal. 1
6 Clay shale.
5 to 8
Massive sandstone, partly concretionary
10 to 15
A short distance below the ford the bituminous shale and coal appeared to be wanting, wedging out in a distance of about 100 yards. The upper bed of sandstone is in part a hard micaceous rock, in even layers of moderate thickness, and will afford a good quality of building stone, as will also the concretionary bed below. About half way from Grayville to this ford, in crossing a ridge, there is from twenty to thirty feet of shales exposed, which proba- bly overlie the sandstones at the ford, though the exact connection between them could not be determined.
Gossett Station, on the Cairo & Vincennes Railroad, is located on a high ridge something more than 100 feet above the bed of Bear Creek. At the summit the railroad cut shows about ten feet of coarse, soft, brown sandstone that decomposes easily on exposure. A few feet below this sandstone a thin coal has been found at two or three places in the neighborhood, and some digging has been done here in the expectation of finding it somewhere thick enough to work to advantage, but so far without success. A section of the rocks seen in this vicinity show the following order:
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HISTORY OF WHITE COUNTY.
FEET.
IN.
Brown clay, capping the ridge.
10 to 15
Coarse, soft, brown sandstone.
10
Space not seen, probably not more than.
10 to 15
Sandy shale.
6
Thin coal.
0
4
Sandy shale.
6
Space not seen
15 to 20
Nodular argillaceous limestone, without fossils.
1 to 2
Sandy shale.
4 to 6
Even-bedded micaceous sandstone.
6 to 8
The lowest bed in this section affords sandstone in smooth, even layers, from an inch to a foot or more in thickness, which is an ex- cellent and durable stone for flagging, foundation walls, etc., and the thickest beds could be easily cut for caps and sills. The rock at this quarry resembles that at McGilly's, a mile west of McLeans- boro. No outcrop of coal of any value has yet been found in this portion of the county, and the four-inch seam in the above section is not likely to increase in thickness sufficiently to become of any practical value for mining purposes.
The following observations and sections are from Prof. Cox's notes in this county: "At the Grand Chain, one and a half miles below Black's Ferry, the Wabash flows over a hard sandstone, that is here a fine-grained gray rock, excellent for building pur- poses. It forms a low reef across the stream, creating a strong current, and hence the name 'Grand Chain.' On the Illinois shore the rock is but a few feet above the river bed, and is soon lost under the alluvial bottom. On the Indiana side it forms a ledge in the hills bordering on the narrow bottom. At Warrick's riffle, six miles above, this sandstone is again seen at the water's edge, and on the Indiana shore, near the mouth of Rush Creek, it is overlaid by a heavy bed of shale, including a soft, calcareous stratum, containing numerous fossils.
At Webb's Ferry the equivalent of the Rush Creek shale, alter- nating with shaly sandstone, again makes its appearance, and at Bonpas, a little higher up, we have the following sections:
IN .
L0668, with characteristic fossils.
FEET. 30
Drift clay and gravel.
2
Buff sandstone ..
10
Shale and covered space.
80
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HISTORY OF WHITE COUNTY.
FEET.
IN.
Thin coal.
0
Fire-clay ..
1
6
Siliceous shale and sandstone.
6
Argillaceous shale.
25
123
The lower shale in the above section is first seen a half a mile below the ferry, and contains fossil plants, but they are too fragile to be preserved.
On the western borders of the county, opposite New Harmony, in Indiana, there is a large island formed by an arm of the Wa- bash, called Fox River. This island is low and flat, and subject to overflow. Soon after crossing Fox River we ascend Phillips- town ridge, which bears a little east of north, and strikes the Wa- bash River at Grayville. In this ridge we find the counterpart of the sections at Cut-off, below New Harmony, and at Grayville, but the creeks do not cut quite so deep into the argillaceous shale here, so as to show the lowest beds. Just before reaching Phillips- town, on the New Harmony road, a thin coal is seen in the bank of a branch. Below it there are a few inches of fire-clay, and then an argillaceous shale. which is seen in the bed of the branch. Above the coal, which is mostly decomposed, there is a calcareous band containing fossils similar to those found at Grayville. When first quarried this band is firm and hard, but after long exposure it becomes soft. Above the fossil band there are a few feet of argil- laceous shale and a bed of sandstone, as seen in the following section:
FEET.
IN.
Yellow crumbling clay
20 to 40
Loess, with fossils.
20 to 30
Drift, with pebbles and small granite boulders
35
Siliceous shale.
10
Sandstone
2
Argillaceous shale.
10
Calcareous fossil band
0
3
Fire-clay ..
1
Thin coal and fire clay
5
133 3
About a quarter of a mile southwest of this the sandstone of the above section is ten feet thick without seams. It is micaceons and soft when first quarried, but hardens upon exposure, and makes a good durable building stone. Two and a half miles south-
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HISTORY OF WHITE COUNTY.
west of Phillipstown this same ledge of sandstone forms a low cliff along the eastern face of the ridge, and in places is weathered into caves, locally called rock houses.
On the road to Carmi the loess is replaced by a loose yellow sand, that forms a bluff on the eastern border of a prairie, which is succeeded by a shallow slough or swamp that was probably once the bed of an arm, if not the main stream of the Little Wabash.
Section on Seven-mile Creek, on the Mt. Vernon road, and near the ferry on Skillet Fork, section 30, township 4, range 9 east:
FEET.
IN .
Drift clay.
5 to 6
Argillacoous shale.
20
Bituminous shale-block.
10
Coal.
1
Fire-clay.
3
The black shale contained some poorly preserved specimens of interesting fossils. The argillaceous shale, twenty feet or more in thickness, appears again on the creek a short distance below the opening to the coal.
On Limestone Creek, north of Enfield, township 4 south, range 8 east, there is an earthy limestone two feet thick, passing down into hard siliceous fire clay. No fossils in the upper part, but the lower part contains rootlets of Stigmaria. This rock has been burned for lime, and hence the name of the creek.
A thin coal is found at the following localities in this county not already mentioned: Sections 16 and 18, township 4, range 8; section 8, township 5, range 16; section 30, township 4, range 9; section 21, township 6, range 8; section 3, township 6, range 10, and section 19, township 3, range 9.
The coal used in Carmi is brought chiefly from Equality and Evansville. Prof. Cox, State Geologist of Indiana, in a letter a few years ago to Dr. Daniel Berry, estimated that the coal bed of the region of Carmi was about 100 feet below the surface. No coal seam thick enough to be worked advantageously was found outcropping in the county, and the only resource of this county in that direction is in the main coals of the lower measures. These coals may be found here at a depth of 300 to 500 feet in any part of the county. At Carmi, and along the Wabash south of Gray- ville, coal No. 7 ought to be found not more than 150 to 200 feet below the river level, and if that should be found too thin to be
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HISTORY OF WHITE COUNTY.
worked to advantage, about 100 feet more would reach No. 5, one of the most persistent seams that can be found in the Illinois coal basin. Situated as Carmi is, at the junction of two important railroads, the citizens could well afford a test experiment with the drill, in order to determine whether they have coal beneath the surface at a reasonable depth, and sufficient thickness to justify the sinking of a shaft. This is a matter of public interest, and so far as the test experiment is concerned, the expense should be shared by the property holders of the town, and when this point is settled private enterprise will do the rest.
ECONOMICAL GEOLOGY.
Building Stone .- Sandstone of a fair quality for building pur- poses is found at a number of localities in this county, as noted in the sections already given in the preceding pages. At Carmi, the brown sandstone that forms the bed-rock in the southeast part of the town is an even-bedded building stone. On Grindstone Creek, six or seven miles south of Carmi, on the New Haven road, a bed of gray sandstone is quarried for building stone, and affords a durable stone for all ordinary purposes. Near Gossett Station an excellent flag-stone may be obtained, as well as heavy-bedded sand- stone for other purposes. This rock is micaceous and cuts freely, and could be chiefly wrought into door-sills, lintels, window-caps and sills, etc.
The sandstone outcropping in the bluffs of the Wabash River, from Phillipstown to Grayville, affords some good building stone at many points, as does that also that outcrops farther south at Grand Chain. In the bluffs at the Little Wabash, near the north line of the county, there is from thirty to forty feet of sandstone, nearly all of which might be used for building purposes, and the upper beds are in even layers of moderate thickness that could be cheaply quarried.
Brick Materials .- Sand and clay suitable for brick-making may be found in every neighborhood, and on the uplands on nearly every farm. Sand for mortar and cement are also abundant at some localities, as between Carmi and Phillipstown, where a bed of clean yellow sand is found replacing the loess.
Soil and Agriculture .- The soil of this county includes three quite distinct varieties, to-wit : The low alluvial bottoms skirting the main water-courses, and subject to annual overflow ; the higher
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HISTORY OF WHITE COUNTY.
alluvial lands southeast of Carmi, between the Little Wabash and the chain of ponds already referred to as indicating an ancient river channel, which are mostly above high water ; and the rolling uplands forming the northern and western portions of the county. There is a small prairie on this second or higher bottom between Carmi and Phillipstown, about five miles in length to about two in breadth, and also two small prairies on the northern border of the county, and partially within its limits, but the remainder of its surface was originally covered with a heavy growth of timber. On the low bottoms between Fox River and the Wabash, cane- breaks are frequently met with, the canes usually ranging from three to six feet in height. This is the most northerly point that we have observed this shrub growing in Illinois. The soil on the low river bottoms is exceedingly productive, and especially adapted to the growth of corn, and were it not for the annual river floods, would be the most valuable land in the county. The higher alluvial land skirting the Little Wabash south of Carmi has a sandy soil, not quite so productive as that on the low river bottoms, but yielding fair crops of corn, wheat, oats and grass, and easily cultivated. On the uplands the soil is generally a clay loam, simi- lar to that of Wayne and Edwards, but more variable in its pro- ductive capacities in consequence of the inequalities of the surface. On the oak ridges the soil is thin and yields only light crops of corn, but is better adapted to small grains and grass, while the valleys and the level stretches of land between them have a deep loamy soil that is very productive, yielding good crops of all the cereals usually grown in this portion of the State.
BOTANY.
This term comprises everything that grows in the soil, from the largest tree to the smallest moss. Scientifically, every living organ- ism that subsists upon inorganic matter is a plant, whether it pos- sesses locomotion and sensitiveness or not ; while all living organisms that subsist upon organic matter are animals, although some of them are fixed to a spot as most plants are.
White County is in a region favorable to the high development of many species in the vegetable kingdom. While about 2,300 species of plants are found native within the United States, about 1,600 are found within the State of Illinois, and fully 1,000 within the limits of White County. In the following paragraphs
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HISTORY OF WHITE COUNTY.
we will notice only those of interest to the general reader ; and we will mention the most conspicuous first, pursuing the following order : 1. Trees which grow to the full forest height. 2. Low trees. 3. Shrubs and bushes. 4. Vines, woody and herbaceous. 5. Native herbs. 6. Weeds, or introduced herbs, growing spon- taneously in cultivated and waste places.
TALL TREES.
Oaks .- The most conspicuous family of the forest is that of the oaks. There is a greater variety and abundance of them than of any other tree, and, perhaps, in this country, they are the most useful of all. At the head of this family stands the White Oak. which, though the most common species of oak in some sections of the country, is not so abundant in White County as some other species. Being the most useful for general purposes, it has been cut out of the forest more than the others, and thus made relatively scarcer. Bur Oak is abundant, and in general utility is perhaps next the White species. The other kinds of oak which have a whitish, soft bark, and prevail in this county, are the Post Oak, Lyre-leaved Bur Oak, Chestnut Oak, Swamp Chestnut Oak, and Swamp White Oak. Most of the latter are rare.
Of the oaks which have a black, hard, rough bark, the most prominent are the Scarlet, Red, Black, Black Jack, Shingle and Water oaks. The Willow Oak, so called from the form of its leaves, occurs, but is rare. The Black, Scarlet and Shingle oaks are of the first order for fuel, as they furnish fully as much heat as hickory, afford ashes strong with lie, and produce good embers and charcoal.
The Oak family intermix to a great extent-in some localities so much that it is really difficult for even a scientist to classify them.
Elms .- Next to the oaks the White Elm is the most common tree in this county. Its principal value is as a shade-tree, though when sawed thin it is much used for small goods boxes. The Slippery or Red Elm and the Winged Elm occur here and there The latter is distinguished by narrow. thin ridges of cork on the twigs.
Sycamore, or Buttonwood .- This is the only species of its fam - ily in America, and finds its home in all the Wabash country. Used as a street shade-tree here, where it forms beautiful heads, and
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HISTORY OF WHITE COUNTY.
produces larger leaves than any other tree. Sawed thin, its wood makes good material for small boxes.
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