USA > Indiana > Perry County > Cannelton > Cannelton, Perry County, Ind., at the intersection of the eastern margin of the Illinois coal basin, by the Ohio River : its natural advantages as a site for manufacturing > Part 1
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M. L.
GEN
ALLEN COUNTY PUBLIC LIBRARY
3 1833 01708 3095
Gc 977.202 C16s SMITH, HAMILTON. CANNELTON, PERRY COUNTY , IND., AT THE INTERSECTION. . .
CANNELTON,
PERRY COUNTY, IND.,
AT THE INTERSECTION OF THE EASTERN MARGIN OF THE
ILLINOIS COAL BASIN,
BY THE
OHIO RIVER;
ITS NATURAL ADVANTAGES AS A SITE FOR
MANUFACTURING.
Published by the American Cannel Coal Company,
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LOUISVILLE: PRINTED AT THE JOURNAL OFFICE. 1850 ..
€ €
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The object of this publication is to attract labor, skill, machinery and capital to Cannelton from less favorable positions abroad. Copies will be sent where there is little knowledge of the physical features of the Mississippi Valley, and where the enterprises of individuals here may be regarded with distrust. It was, therefore, deemed proper to submit this pamphlet to the examination of those whose official station and public services were widely known, and whose opinions would be entitled to public confidence.
The following letters from Hon. H. L. Ellsworth, Dr. D. D. Owen, Hon. R. D. Owen, Capt. C. A. Fuller, and Lieut. Col. Stephen H. Long are sufficient for the purpose in view. The able reports of Mr. Ellsworth, while Commis- sioner of Patents, on the resources of this country, evinced a vast amount of labor and care in investigations on this subject. Dr. Owen, now in the ser- vice of the U. S. as Geologist, who resides in the mineral district of Indiana, and whose contributions to geological science have made him known over the world, will be regarded as unquestionable authority. Hon. R. D. Owen was a manufacturer in Scotland, and familiar with the advantages of the chief seats of manufacturing industry in Europe. As a leading Representative in the Congress of the United States, and as the active member in the Board of Re- gents of the Smithsonian Institution, he has had every opportunity of forming accurate opinions on the relative resources of his own district. Capt. Fuller has been in the service of the Topographical and Engineer Departments of the U, S. for the last thirteen years and personally made the topographical surveys at Cannelton. Col. Long entered the Engineer Department of the U. S. in 1814. In 1819-20 he commanded the U. S. Exploring Expedition to the Rocky Mountains, and a similar expedition around the sources of the Mis sissippi, in 1823. The histories of those expeditions, which were published by Messrs. Carey & Hart of Philadelphia, in four octavo volumes, with map and plates, will show that Col. L. has had a better opportunity for extensive researches in the country situated between the Gulf of Mexico and the nor thern boundary of the United States, than any other individual, while th description given in the volumes alluded to, enforce conviction that he il not only a careful and attentive observer of the character, aspect, &c., of th regions through which he travelled, but that the accounts given by him an his coadjutors in the expeditions, abound in adequate descriptions (geograph cal, geological, botanical, and zoological) of the country and its resource both in a special and in a general point of view.
Since that period he has located the Baltimore and Ohio Rail Road an other important routes on the seaboard and in this valley, and may be regarde as the pioneer of Rail Road enterprise in the United States. Perhaps he lu seen more active service, and over a more extensive surface than any livid engineer.
(See last two pages of cover.)
IDIANA COLLECTION
CANNELTON
PERRY COUNTY, IND.,
AT THE INTERSECTION OF THE EASTERN MARGIN OF THE
ILLINOIS COAL BASIN.
BY THE
OHIO RIVER;
ITS NATURAL ADVANTAGES AS A SITE FOR
MANUFACTURING.
Hamile
Smith
Published by the American Cannel Coal Company,
LOUISVILLE: PRINTED AT THE JOURNAL OFFICE. 1850.
LOUISVILLE, May 1, 1850.
SIR: I am instructed by the Board of Directors of the American Cannel Coal Company to request you to collect and prepare for publication the most important of your articles on the advantages for manufacturing the great sta- ples of the South and West at the coal beds on the Lower Ohio, and to add thereto the special claims of CANNELTON to the attention of capitalists, mechan- ics and manufacturers. STEPHEN H. LONG,
Pres. A. C. C. Co.
To Hamilton Smith, Esq., Louisville.
LOUISVILLE, May 20, 1850.
SIR: In accordance with the request of the Directors of the A. C. C. Co., I have collected and arranged for publication the accompanying papers on the subject of Western manufactures, and on the importance of the coal measures of the central West. I have added thereto copies of the charters for manu- facturing purposes at Cannelton, and the reports and letters of geologists, engineers, and others, in reference to the peculiar advantages of that point for manufacturing.
In justice to myself, I remark, that most of these papers were written hastily and at intervals; that I had no practical knowledge in any department of man- ufacturing, and that I found great difficulty in obtaining from abroad all the da- ta from which we might calculate the advantages of our own position. There are some slight discrepances in the data used. These were obtained at differ- ent times and from different sources, and changes have been of constant occur- rence. I have not the leisure to make a new series of calculations on the facts as they now exist: indeed, as these are subject to further change, the labor of correction would be almost useless.
The business of manufacturing in this valley is comparatively new, and very inany of the circumstances and accessories which attend, and will attend it are also new. Some of these we may now regard as too important. while we attach too little importance to others. All that we should do now is to gath- er and publish all the facts within our reach, that bear, or seem to bear on the subject, and leave the correction of our errors and the elaboration of sys- tematic treatises to those who follow and who will have the tests of experience and the opportunities for comparison.
Very respectfully, your ob't serv't, HAMILTON SMITH.
To Col. Stephen H. Long, Louisville, Ky.,
President of the Am Can. Coal Company.
1433137
CIRCULAR
OF THE AMERICAN CANNEL COAL COMPANY. -
MAY, 1850.
Within the last few years, the town of Cannelton, on the lower Ohio, has attracted much notice at home and abroad. Distinguished geolo- gists, civil engineers, and manufacturers have pronounced it the most eligible site for a manufacturing city of any now known. Some have predicted that it will eventually be "the great manufacturing city of the world." The press has favorably noticed the place and the enterprises there in progress, and the public mind seems to regard the whole move. ment as legitimate and in the hands of those who are making permanent investments and not a fancy stock.
This site naturally embraces an area of perhaps ten miles square, and fronts Deer creek on the east, Anderson river on the west, and the Ohio river on the south. Of this area of 64,000 acres, probably over 10,000 acres are alluvial, and of a grade towards the river sufficiently easy to be eligible sites for mills and work shops. Nearly the whole of this is above ordinary floods, and the larger portion is never covered with water. The remaining portion of this area is chiefly in ridges of from fifty to several thousand acres, rising from 50 to 300 feet above the plane of high water. These are covered with a luxuriant growth of the most valuable timber, and are filled with strata of bituminous and can- nel coal, building stone, fire and whetstone, fire-clay or potters' marle, which are convenient of access and are worked horizontally with ease and safety.
A full examination of geological charts, and mining and manufactur- ing statistics warrant the opinion that this site, in natural advantages for manufacturing, is unsurpassed and perhaps unequalled.
CANNELTON now presents the most prominent position on this site. It is nearly in the center of the front, and, by its facilities of access to the coal and minerals through the valleys of Dozier and Castleberry 1
it will probably retain its relative position. The stockholders of the American Cannel Coal Company, whose large property lies in and contiguous to Cannelton, are now so often called upon for information
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in reference to their operations at Cannelton, that the Directors deem it advisable to present to the public, not only a full description of the place and its improvements, but the leading facts and arguments on which its claims to importance rest.
The Directors are STEPHEN H. LONG, WILLIAM RICHARDSON, - Louisville, Ky.
HAMILTON SMITH, JAMES C. FORD, HENRY A. GRISWOLD, E. HUTCHINGS, JAMES BOYD, Cannelton.
MAUNSEL WHITE, New Orleans. CHARLES T. JAMES, Providence, R. I.
The Officers are STEPHEN H. LONG, President. HENRY A. GRISWOLD, Secretary. WILLIS RANNEY, Treasurer.
The inquiries of mechanics, manufacturers and capitalists, relative to Cannelton are as to
1. The healthiness of its site;
2. The purity and supply of water for household and manufacturing purposes;
3. The character and cost of fuel and building materials;
4. The cost and means of obtaining an ample supply of food;
5. The facilities of intercommunication;
6. The price of lots in the town, and of lands in the vicinity;
7. The amount of State and local taxes;
8. The advantages for educating children, and the opportunities of enjoying religious privileges;
9. The character of the works already in progress, the demand for labor, and the chances, probabilities or certainties of a rapid increase of population and appreciation of property;
10. The opportunities of making advantageous investments in and near Cannelton;
11. The branches of business most appropriate to the place, and which would be most likely to yield the largest profits.
1. THE HEALTHINESS OF THE SITE .- Coal districts are proverbially healthy. This is considered peculiarly so. The drainage is natural and rapid. The small streams that penetrate the hills are confined to
5
narrow channels and run over rocky beds. The nearest low and wet lands are at some distance, on the other side of the river, and opposite the direction of the prevalent summer winds.
The free use of bituminous coal, as is believed, has a decided tenden- cy to neutralize malaria.
The miners are remarkable for good health, and the rosy looks of their children in the schools afford the most conclusive evidence of the healthiness of their homes.
Prior to the commencement of the cotton mill, the statistics of mor- tality here compared favorably with those of the most healthy sections of the country. Such, however, has been the influx of ordinary labor- ers for the last year, and so insufficient have been the means of accom- modation, that many cases of sickness have been the result of crowded apartments and careless, intemperate habits.
The company has done all in its power to provide shelter and en- force sanatory rules; yet it has been found exceedingly difficult to in- duce the lower classes of laborers and emigrants to avoid exposure and to pay the proper attention to diet and cleanliness.
At the lower part of the town there were a few cases of fever and ague during last summer. The causes of these, however, were tempo- rary and are being removed.
At a few positions on Deer creek and Anderson river, it will be un- safe to locate residences until the lands have been cleared and the decay- ing vegetable matter has been removed.
2. THE PURITY AND SUPPLY OF WATER FOR DOMESTIC AND MAN- UFACTURING PURPOSES .- The permanent springs on the hill sides are sufficient in permanency and volume, for ordinary domestic and stock purposes. Wells sunk below the sandstone afford an abundant supply of soft water. On the first and second banks of the river the wells are ›unk into a thick stratum of gravel, through which the river water rapid- by passes and is perfectly filtrated. These wells rise and fall with, and are as inexhaustible as the river.
It is supposed that wells sunk below the sandstone will furnish an abundant supply to paper and other mills that require pure and soft water.
On the hill back of the town, is a natural site for a reservoir, 250 feet above high water, and about 800 yards from the river bank, and the company intend to establish water works as soon as the number of inhabitants will justify the cost. From the natural convenience
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of the site referred to and the low cost of power, the Cannelton hydrants can be supplied at very low rates.
About a mile from the town, in the valley of Castleberry creek, is a spring of mineral water, resembling that at the Grayson springs of Ken- tucky which are under the coal formation. This spring is a place of healthy and agreeable resort in the summer, and the company are now improving the grounds around it.
On this margin of the coal series, and north of Cannelton, are many sulphur and chalybeate springs, said to equal those of Virginia. It is quite probable that the same will be found in Perry county.
3. THE SUPPLY, CHARACTER, AND COST OF FUEL AND BUILDING MATERIALS .- For the facts on these points reference is made to the opinions and statements of Dr. Jackson, Dr. Hall, Prof. Johnson, and of Messrs. Lawrence, Ridgeway, Eastin, McGregor and others, in the appendix. In the report of Dr. D. Dale Owen to the Legislature of Indiana, are full statements of the topographical and geological features of this coal series. The outlines of this have been mapped out by him and adopted by Prof. Lyell and other eminent geologists. The margin of this series may be seen on the outline map fronting page 60 of the appendix.
It is, therefore, assumed that these strata of sandstones, clays, coal, and perhaps iron-stone, extend, on the same plane, from the Ohio river at Cannelton, as far north, at least, as the Wabash river above Coal creek, and that they are to be found in every intermediate part of the line except where they have been washed out by the action of water on the surface.
On the property of the company, the lower stratum of coal has been opened and worked in three separate ridges; openings that have been made in more remote localities, show thicker and purer coal, which, however, will not be worked until access to it has been made by the working out of chambers and drifts in front and on the same plane.
It is supposed that, from the openings on the western front of the property of the company, the "adit levels" would run northwaidly along the coal stratum, and without a break for fifteen miles, where they would be cut by one of the forks of Anderson river, and where the coal and snperincumbent sandstone distinctly "crops out." These adit levels and the coal chambers on either side could be ventilated by shafts rising at proper intervals from 50 to 300 feet above the floor.
When it is remembered that each square mile of this section will
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yield over one hundred millions of bushels of coal, and that Cincin- nati, with her 125,000 population, consumes only about six millions of bushels yearly, it will be admitted that Cannelton has a supply of fuel and motive power for a very large population and for centuries.
This abundance of coal will, of course, insure low prices. The only advantage possessed by the company is the convenient and self drain. ing position of its coal strata. An advance of two cents, and perhaps of one cent per bushel would draw an instant and ample supply from the same strata below the water level, from Anderson river, and perhaps from the opposite side of the Ohio.
It is clear, therefore, that the company cannot have a monopoly of this article of prime necessity, and that, even if it had a monopoly, the inexhaustible supply would enable the company, by low prices, to attract population and thus increase the demand for coal and stone and the value of the surface property.
The present rate of "coal leave" is one cent per bushel, and for stone, when taken abroad, 10 cents per perch. For buildings on prop- erty purchased of the company no charge has yet been made for stone, clay or timber. For extensive manufacturing establishments the rent of and credit for coal would depend on the circumstances of each case. To the Cannelton Cotton Mill an extensive site and coal rent free for 15 years were given by the company. The general rule has been to offer to the first concern in each department of manufacturing, a bonus, in site and coal, equivalent to the presumed extra cost of starting the busi- ness at a new place.
4. THE COST AND MEANS OF OBTAINING AN AMPLE SUPPLY OF FOOD .- The Cannelton markets have been and for some time will be limited in variety, compared with the markets of Cincinnati and Louisville. A full supply, however, is sure to meet the demand. Many acres around the town have this year been put in garden cultiva- tion, and the farmers, for an hundred miles back, are now looking to that market for customers. There will, perhaps, be no other good mar- ket for a circle of fifty miles around it. The average prices for a se- ries of years of the chief articles of subsistence will be, say,
Corn. Potatoes,
Beef, Pork and Mutton,
Butter, Poultry, Game. Eggs, Flour, about
25 " 40 3 4 .. 6 1b. 10 " 20 5 " 10 3 4 6. 6 .. 4 + 12 66 66 .. .. doz " barrel. $4 50 20 to 30 cents per bushel.
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This is an higher average than the prices at the Western markets for the last ten years, and there are many reasons why we may expect them to be reduced.
There are, within 6 miles of Cannelton, and on both sides of the river, at least 12,000 acres of the richest alluvial land, and a cheap and abundant supply of vegetables, milk, and fresh meat may be reckoned upon with certainty.
The supply from abroad may be estimated from the facts stated under the next head.
5. THE FACILITIES OF INTERCOMMUNICATION .- A very slight examin- ation of the physical features of the Mississippi valley and of the statis- tics of its exchangeable products will show the immensity of the com. merce that must exist between the mouth of the Green river and the Falls of the Ohio. Already an average of about 15 steamboats pass every point of this space daily, to and from remote districts. There are lines of packets from cities on the upper Ohio to New Orleans and St. Louis-from Louisville to towns on the Green, Cumberland, Tennessee and Wabash rivers. The slack water improvements of the Green river have connected us with nearly the half of Kentucky; the completion of the Nashville railroad and the improvements on the Cumberland riv. er will give us cheap access to the southeastern seaboard, and the locks at the Falls of the Wabash have opened to us the rich fields of northern Indiana and Illinois. This year many cargoes of wheat, corn, oats and other articles of food from the upper Wabash have passed by Cannelton on their way to the cities and towns on the upper Ohio, and we have arrested some of the pine lumber shipped to Louisville from the foot of Muscle Shoals on the Tennessee. Of the steam packets that constant- ly take in coal at Cannelton, those from St. Louis are freighted with pig iron, lead, grain, flour, hemp, and hides; those from the lower Mis- sissippi, with cotton, sugar, groceries, fruits and dry goods; from Flor- ence, with cotton, pig iron and lumber; from Nashville, with cotton, pig iron and tobacco; from Little Rock, with cotton and peltries; from Bowling-Green, with tobacco, grain, corn, fruits and vegetables for the Louisville markets: from Terre Haute and Lafayette, Beardstown and Peoria, with provisions and bread-stuff's; while the return freights of these packets are, to a great extent, the products of this cotton, pig iron and food, combined and compressed by the Virginia and Pennsylvania coal.
The natural facilities of access to the country immediately back of this site are considerable. The mouth of Anderson river is the com-
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manding point for the counties of Spencer, Perry, Dubois, Daviess and Martin; and the rich counties of Green, Owen, Putnam and Montgom- ery are nearer this point than to Madison, New Albany or Evansville. The valley of Anderson runs north for about twenty-five miles; at thirty miles is the fertile valley of the Patoka; at thirty five miles is the South Fork of White river; in a north-westerly direction Vincennes is reached at a distance of 50 miles and by an easy route that crosses the White river and the Ohio and Erie canal. The State road to Greencastle will run nearly north. From Orleans, a point on the New Albany and Salem Railroad, Troy is about the same distance as New Albany.
The natural route of the roailroad pointed out in the article on p. 60 from the Am. R. R. Jour., is nearly north, and will intersect the roads from the Wabash running eastwardly.
Thus it is apparent that Cannelton is very favorably situated in re- spect to an abundant and cheap supply of food, and in facilities of in- tercommunication.
6. THE PRICE OF LOTS IN THE TOWN AND OF LAND IN ITS VICIN- ITY .- Prices of lots and of land depend on position. The best lots are now selling at from $5 to $7 the front foot. The prices range from 87 to 50 cents, and the lots are generally from 100 to 121 feet in depth. The company will not sell lots except on condition of improvement within a limited time. Lots in the vicinity, of not over 10 acres are offered for sale on the same conditions as to improvements. The prices will be governed by position and the character of improvements stipulated for. To those who wish places for mills and work-shops, the company is disposed to afford the most eligible sites on the most liberal terms.
Land adjacent to that of the company, is rated at from $40 to 83 per acre; and within 10 miles and back of the town are lands yet unsold by government that can be had at $1 25 per acre.
7. STATE AND LOCAL TAXES .- The State, County and Road taxes in Indiana average about } per cent on the actual value of property. The public schools are chiefly supported by interest on proceeds of sales of school lands.
The taxes for all purposes are not likely to exceed 3 of 1 per cent.
S. THE MEANS OF EDUCATION, AND OPPORTUNITIES OF ENJOYING RELIGIOUS PRIVILEGES .- The company give two lots for church and parsonage to each religious society, and a lot for every educational and public purpose. It will also erect a commodious school house during
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the present year. On page 104 will be found a notice of the present schools and places of public worship.
The company will do all in its power to extend the sphere of useful- ness of the teacher and the preacher, who are justly regarded as the ablest auxiliaries of the manufacturer.
9. CHARACTER OF THE WORKS ALREADY IN PROGRESS, THE DEMAND FOR LABOR, AND THE PROBABILITIES OF A RAPID INCREASE OF POPU- LATION AND APPRECIATION OF PROPERTY .- Twelve months since, the population of Cannelton and its vicinage was about 600, who were wholly supported by operations connected with the mining of about 400,000 bushels of coal yearly for steamboat demand.
The increase of tonnage on the western rivers, according to the report of the Topographical Bureau, is about 16 per cent: the increased de- mand for coal will exceed this ratio and call for a corresponding and. steady increase of population.
There are many who argue that the power of the river current is weak when compared with the power of steam, and that the cities at the Falls of the Ohio must soon be supplied with fuel from these mines. These cities now require about two millions of bushels per annum, and an additional population of from one to two thousand would be required here to supply one half of that demand.
The erection of the first cotton mill and the buildings directly and indirectly connected with it has already added nearly one thousand per- manent residents to Cannelton. The operatives of that mill, say 300, are yet to come. These, with their families and dependants, may reason- ably be estimated at over another thousand. The Indiana mill, the foundry, and the saw, flour and planing mills, will give a further de- mand for and support to labor. The grading of a wharf, opening of streets, and other contemplated improvements of the company; the making of a plank road to Troy (already commenced); the manufacture of fire-brick, and the working of stone for foreign demand, give promise of operations capable of almost indefinite expansion: while the great natural advantages here for almost every kind of manufactures author- ize the expectation of a rapid and steady increase of population and appreciation of land in the town and its vicinity.
10. THE OPPORTUNITIES OFFERED FOR MAKING ADVANTAGEOUS INVESTMENTS IN AND NEAR CANNELTON .- To men of small means, who wish to occupy the land they own, it is doubted whether better investments can be made than in lots in the town at present prices, or
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in small holdings in the vicinity. The company specially desire the prosperity of those who buy and settle on portions of their property. It offers lots and lands at village rates and with but little reference to the extended operations alluded to. If but a tenth or hundredth part of the expectations of the company are realized, they who purchase lots or lands now will be satisfied with their investments; and, should Cannel- ton increase in population and wealth as accessible coal districts always have increased, such investments will result in immense profit.
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