USA > Missouri > Pettis County > History of Pettis County, Missouri > Part 3
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Drilling Near LaMonte (Sec. 12, T. 46 N., R. 23 W.)
Feet. Inches.
8
16
22
23
39
41
49
55
73
76
82
96
97
.102
108
116
151
Thickness.
Feet. Inches.
8
8
6
1
16
2
7
6
18
3
6
14
5
6
8
35
1
L
1
1
1
1
1
1
I
I
1
1
L
L
L
I
1
1
I
1
1
1
1
1
1
1
1
1
1
1
1
1
1
1
1
1
1
1
1
L
1
1
I
1
1
1
1
1
1
1
I
1
1
1
I
I
1
1
1
L
I
I
1
1
1
1
1
1
1
I
1
I
Soil
Limestone
Shale, black, "slaty"
Limestone
Shale, gray
Coal
Clay
Coal
Clay
Coal
Clay
Shale, gray
Clay, white
Clay and sand
Limestone. reported as Mississippian
.
I
1
1
I
1
1
1
1
1
1
I
I
1
1
1
1
1
1
1
1
1
1
1
I
1
1
1
1
I
1
1
1
1
I
I
I
1
1
1
1
1
1
1
1
1
1
1
1
1
1
1
1
1
1
1
1
1
1
1
1
1
1
1
I
1
1
1
1
1
I
8
8
8
8
8
8
Depth.
9
Inches.
Soil
1
I
1
1
1
1
1
1
I
1
1
1
1
1
I
1
1
1
I
1
1
1
Shale, black
Shale, "slaty"
Sandstone
6
6
6
1
I
1
1
80
OLD GEORGETOWN COURT HOUSE BELL.
FIRST HOUSE BUILT IN SEDALIA BY GEORGE R. SMITH, NOW THE MILETA DAY NURSERY.
11
-
HISTORY OF PETTIS COUNTY
The coal at a depth of seventy-six feet was shafted but found to be dirty and was abandoned.
Houstonia .- Coal is reported to have once been mined near Hous- tonia, but nothing has been done recently. The coal found in Saline and Johnson counties near the Pettis County line probably extends into the northwest corner of Pettis County.
Broadhead gives the following section in the eastern part of Sec. 21, T. 48 N., R. 23 W .:
1158884
Section Five Miles Northwest of Houstonia.
Feet. Inches.
Clay
12
Sandstone
44
Flagstone, silico-calcareous, and shale similar to the rock over the coal at Jordan's, on Grand River, Henry County.
7
1
Shale, ochery and bituminous, with some iron pyrites and fos- sil plants
3
Coal
1
4
Fire clay
Clay .- Stoneware and potter's clay occurs in deposits near Dresden, chiefly about three miles northwest of the town and these deposits for many years supplied a small but thriving industry at the Stein Pottery. The clay lies practically at the surface, is easily obtained and is said to be of excellent quality for use, standing rapid drying without checking. Besides potters' clay, however, shales occur quite extensively in the Coal Measures area of the western part of the county and about midway be- tween Dresden and LaMonte a good bed of soft paving brick shale is said to have been penetrated in the old Newport mine only a few feet below the surface. While fire clay is not uncommonly found in the Coal Measures rocks and nearly all the deposits in the State do occur in these rocks, the similar shales of Pettis County appear to be at best suitable for paving brick or common brick.
Within the past year Pettis County has come forward with a glass pot clay, probably the finest grade of clay now being produced in Mis- souri. This clay is being produced from a short distance west of Sedalia. While the individual deposits of this clay will probably not be extensive and not many deposits have yet been found there is a good possibility
81
82
HISTORY OF PETTIS COUNTY
for discovering a large number of deposits. Glass pot clay brings about the highest price of any clay on the market, which combined with the good possibility of further discoveries should lead to a diligent search for further deposits.
Up to the present time very little has been written or said about Pettis County clays, but it is believed that such deposits offer some of the best possibilities for mineral development in the county.
Building Stone .- The quarrying industry of Pettis County is naturally built around the market at Sedalia though small quarries are operated in various parts of the county. The stone quarries comes from the Burlington limestone, the Chouteau limestone and the Jefferson City dolomite. The Jefferson City furnishes a good hard stone for road metal and may be utilized for rough building. Certain phases of the Burling- ton and Chouteau limestone make excellent building stones and take on a beautiful polish.
The quarries which are operated at the present time in the vicinity of Sedalia are owned by Rymer Brothers, J. W. Marsh, James Jenkins, Benjamin Johnson and Mr. McEnroe. A number of abandoned quarries occur in this locality. The quarry at Georgetown, four miles north of Sedalia, is said to contain excellent building stone, but its distance from the market makes it unprofitable to work. Along the Georgetown road, north of Sedalia, a number of quarries have been opened up which are now abandoned. The stone from one of these was, at one time, used by the city as a road metal.
The Jenkins Quarry .- This quarry is located at the corner of 22nd and Engineer streets, near the southeast limits of the city. It has a north face 250 feet long and twenty feet high.
The stone breaks with a conchoidal fracture and when blasted or split, it usually breaks toward any chert nodule which may occur in the block near the breaking surface.
The Johnson Quarry .- This quarry, which is located four miles west of Sedalia, consists of two openings, in which several beds, from four to twelve inches in thickness, are being worked. The stone is a fine grained limestone belonging to the Chouteau formation. It is used for curbing, sidewalks and foundations. The quarry has been opened about ten years.
The McEnroe Quarry .- This quarry is located about three and one- half miles northeast of Sedalia and one and one-half miles east of the March
83
HISTORY OF PETTIS COUNTY
quarry, is operated by Charles Meyers. It is situated on the south side of a hill and has a face about 325 feet long.
At the time the quarry was inspected the stone was being used ex- clusively for the foundation course to macadam pavements near Sedalia. River gravel was being used for the surface and the combination is said to produce an excellent pavement.
The Rymer Bros. Quarry .- This quarry, which is located two miles north of Sedalia, is owned by Mrs. Heidenfelter and operated by Edward and J. W. Rymer. It was opened in 1894, since which time it has been operated each year. It consists of two openings, only one of which is now being worked. The opening which is active has a face fifty feet long and ten feet in height. The entire output is being used for founda- tions, although ashler blocks might be obtained, especially from the lower bed. From three to five men are employed during the summer months.
Sand and Gravel .- Only one sand and gravel plant of important size is known to be in operation in Pettis county at the present time. This plant, owned by Geo. T. Menefee and Sons, is located near Valda Station on Spring Fork Creek, about eight miles south of Sedalia. The output is chiefly gravel.
The plant has a spur of the Missiuri Pacific railroad, and shipments are made to Sedalia, Jefferson City, Boonville, and other nearby towns.
The exposures of sandstone in the county are practically limited aside from the Coal Measures area to the small patches of the so-called Phelps sandstone scattered in the eastern and southern part. This sand- stone is white and composed of clear quartz grains, where not stained with iron, and it has every appearance of being a good glass sand. There has been for some time a feeling on the part of many that there was a possibility of utilizing these sands for glass-making. Such deposits as occur on the Missouri, Kansas and Texas railroad at the Pettis-Cooper County line and just south of Flat Creek at the Sedalia Waterworks are no doubt pure enough to be suitable for glass-making.
Water Supply .- Pettis County is well watered, the supply coming principally from shallow dug wells sunk to the base of the residuum or bored well drilled into the bed rocks. The dug wells in the residuum supply sufficient water only for a family and are not always dependable throughout dry seasons. The bored wells, however, yield various amounts of water, depending somewhat upon their depth, and from a dependable source of supply throughout all kinds of seasons. Many of these bored
84
HISTORY OF PETTIS COUNTY
wells enter the surface limestones to a depth of 200 or 300 feet but as a rule the best of them are sunk to the Roubidoux sandstone where tests show that thirty to sixty gallons of water per minute may be obtained. Where larger supplies of water are needed wells are sometimes sunk to depths of 700 to 900 feet. Springs in Pettis County are quite abundant but usually small.
Mineral Waters .- The sulpho-saline water so commonly encountered in the wells of the counties to the north and west of Pettis is rarely met with in this county. In the northwestern part water of slightly sulpho- saline character is obtained from a few wells, but in none of the wells is the mineralization strong. In view of the fact that the deep horizons encountered in the gusher at Sweet Springs, Saline County, offered such highly mineralized water, it is believed that drilling to depths equally great in northern Pettis county would encounter similar water. How- ever, in all but the northern part even these deeper horizons carry fresh water.
Crystal Spring, a small mineral spring flowing from a sandstone member of the Coal Measures is located about two miles south of La- Monte near Muddy Creek. Its water has been classified as sulphatic by Schweitzer.
1
CHAPTER IV.
-
SOILS
DISTRIBUTION AND CHARACTER-AREAS OF DIFFERENT SOILS OF THE COUNTY- ANALYSIS-EFFECTS OF EROSION -SOIL MATERIAL - DRAINAGE - PRO- DUCTION.
We have quoted largely from the report made to the United States Government by the "Bureau of Soils" officials in their soil survey of Pettis County, known as "Advance Sheets-Field Operations" of the Bureau .of Soils of 1914. The county is fortunate at having the soil survey mentioned because it was prepared by competent hands and is authentic and very full in its treatment of soils of Pettis County. The report says:
The soils of Pettis County belong to the group of residual prairie soils that cover the greater part of western Missouri. They were formed by the weathering of the country rock, and their distribution and char- acter are influenced by the distribution and character of the rock.
In general the soils of Pettis County are silt loams, containing rela- tively little sand or clay. They are usually mellow, or are easily made so with proper treatment. They are well drained, and are moderately early and warm. The subsoils are universally heavier than the surface mate- rial, which makes the various types generally retentive of moisture.
From their origin and color the upland soils of Pettis County are grouped into four general divisions. The dark-colored rolling prairie includes the Summit, Pettis, and Bates series. The Oswego, Cherokee, and Boone series make up the flat prairie soils. The red limestone soils are represented by the Crawford and Baxter series, while the Eldon series and a part of the Baxter gravelly loam represent material coming from the cherty limestone.
The alluvial soils are composed of material carried down from the
86
HISTORY OF PETTIS COUNTY
uplands and deposited over the stream flood plains from overflows. Since most of the streams rise within or near the border of the county, the material deposited by them is of local origin, and the bottom soils are closely related to the upland soils. The alluvium, where derived from the lighter colored prairie soils, is gray in color; it is darker gray or brown where derived from the black prairie soils. Thus, the Muddy Creek bottoms are somewhat darker than the Flat Creek bottoms, because the former drains the black prairie and the latter the light prairie soils. The difference, however, is not sufficiently great to warrant a separation, and all the lighter colored alluvial soils are included with the Osage and Robertsville series. In the northeastern part of the county the alluvial soils are largely derived from the Crawford material. They are darker in color and have a higher content of organic matter than the Osage soils, and are classed with the Huntington series. The Chariton soil is similar to the Robertsville in topography, origin, and texture but differs from it in color and organic-matter content.
The summit soils are dark gray to black in color to a depth of eight to twelve inches. The subsurface material is brown to light brown, slightly heavier than the surface soil, and friable in structure. The upper subsoil, into which the subsurface layer passes gradually, is a plas- tic silty clay to clay, dark drab in color, with abundant spots of yellowish brown. The lower subsoil is predominantly grayish yellow or yellow with abundant gray mottling. These soils are residual in origin and derived from shales and limestones.
The Summit silt loam is locally known as "black land" or "black prairie." It consists of a black, dark-brown, or very dark gray, rather heavy silt loam, ten to twelve inches deep, underlain by a brownish- black or very dark gray, crumbly silty clay loam, which at about eighteen inches grades into a dark-drab to black silty clay or clay loam of a plastic, waxy character. The subsoil below 30 inches is a yellowish to drab, crumbly silty clay, mottled with brown and yellow. On many of the slopes where erosion has been active the surface soil is frequently only 6 to 8 inches in depth and rests directly on the heavy, compact clay subsoil. Such areas are locally known as "glade lands". In the northern part of the county much of this type has a brownish color in both surface soil and subsoil, the latter containing less clay and being more friable than in the dark-colored areas. The brown variation has a more rolling topography, and is associated with the Bates silt loam. North of Dres- den and LaMonte the type has a lighter color than typical.
87 .
HISTORY OF PETTIS COUNTY
The Summit silt loam is similar in appearance to the Oswego silt loam. When wet these types have almost the same color, but when dry the Summit silt loam retains the dark color as distinguished from the lighter color of the Oswego silt loam.
In the vicinity of LaMonte and westward the soil is a transitional soil between the Summit and the Oswego. It is like the Summit in color and in the gradual change from subsurface material to subsoil, but ap- proaches the Oswego in the presence of a faintly developed subsurface gray layer.
The Summit silt loam is one of the most extensive types mapped, and includes all the smoother land in the northwestern part of the county. In general, it may be said that the Summit silt loam in Pettis County represents the eastern edge of the most extensive soil type in west-central Missouri.
The Summit silt loam represents typical prairie land and originally supported a heavy growth of wild grasses. Where properly plowed the soil is loose and friable and easily tilled. The mellow surface soil, good drainage, and heavy subsoil make it well suited to all the staple crops, and it is regarded as one of the best upland soils in the county. It is the best corn soil of the uplands, although wheat is grown extensively. Corn yields forty to seventy-five bushels per acre, and wheat twenty to thirty bushels. A large acreage of the type is used for pasture and produces an excellent growth of bluegrass. Clover thrives on it, and alfalfa is grown successfully, except in the more eroded areas. With an ex- tension in the acreage of clover the present system of farming will tend to keep the soil in a fairly productive condition. This soil has a good content of lime.
The soils of the Oswego series are dark brown to a depth ranging up to about twelve inches. The soil grades into a gray subsurface layer, slightly heavier than the soil, and this in turn at a depth ranging from fifteen to twenty inches passes rather abruptly into a tough, plastic silty clay to clay layer, dark drab in color, mottled with dark reddish brown.
The Oswego silt loam is the typical prairie soil of the county, and is characterized by its dark color, nearly level topography, and stiff sub- surface stratum. The surface soil to a depth of nine to twelve inches consists of a dark-gray, dark-brown or black, mellow silt loam, grading into a lighter gray and more friable silt loam at about twelve
88
HISTORY OF PETTIS COUNTY
inches. The subsoil, beginning abruptly at a depth of sixteen to eighteen inches, is a brown or grayish-brown to dark-drab, heavy, plastic clay, faintly mottled with red.
The almost flat areas, as those west of Green Ridge, have a light- gray surface soil, a well-developed gray subsurface layer, and a darker and stiffer subsoil than the more rolling areas. These areas closely re- semble the Cherokee silt loam, but since they include considerable dark soil they are not separated from the main type.
That part of the Oswego silt loam to the east and south of Sedalia averages darker in color and probably possesses a slightly higher agri- cultural value than the main body of the type in the southwestern part of the county.
This is one of the most extensive types mapped. It occupies entire sections in the southwestern part of the county. It occurs on high, flat divides and gentle slopes, and in general represents the smoothest land in the county.
The Oswego silt loam is derived from soft argillaceous shale of the lower Coal Measures. The limestone beds that outcrop in ditches act merely as a support for the overlying soil and give character to the topography, but have no influence in the formation of the soil.
The soil of the smooth prairie land in the southern part of the county is of the same origin as the Oswego silt loam, but is of lower agri- cultural value. The soil is a dark-gray to dark-brown silt loam, grading into a brownish-gray silty clay. This is underlain at about ten to fifteen inches by a dull-brown, heavy plastic clay, which at about thirty inches passes into a drab or yellowish-gray silty clay, mottled brown and gray.
The shallow phase of the Oswego silt loam occupies the flat divides and plateaus south and east of Flat Creek. It has an average altitude of about 1,000 feet and represents the highest land in the county. It was originally more extensive, but is steadily being encroached upon by draws heading back into the upland.
The soils of the Cherokee series are gray and have a floury struc- ture. The subsurface material is nearly white and slightly heavier in texture than the surface soil. The upper subsoil, beginning abruptly at twelve to eighteen inches, is a tough, waxy clay to silty clay, dark drab in color, with mottlings of reddish brown or yellowish brown. The deeper subsoil is lighter in color and friable.
The surface soil of the Cherokee silt loam is a gray, floury silt
89
HISTORY OF PETTIS COUNTY
loam ranging from ten to twelve inches in depth. When dry the soil is almost white, but when moist it is much darker in color. The surface soil grades into an almost white silt loam, which contains slightly more clay and usually is somewhat more compact than the surface material. The ashy-gray layer has a depth of four to six inches. It is often mottled with rusty-brown ferruginous material. The subsoil, beginning abruptly at sixteen or eighteen inches, is a tough, plastic, waxy, heavy clay of dark-drab to brown color, faintly mottled with reddish brown. Below thirty inches the material becomes more friable, and the dominant color is drab with yellowish-brown and gray mottlings.
The soils of the Crawford series have dark-brown to reddish-brown surface soils and reddish-brown to red, friable subsoils. The series in- cludes residual limestone soils of the prairie regions. The soils contain a fair percentage of lime. The surface is undulating to rolling, with some local areas of rough, broken topography. Three types of the series- the stony loam, gravelly loam, and silt loam-are found in Pettis County.
The soil material of the Crawford stony loam consists of a black to dark-brown friable silty clay loam. The subsoil is a reddish-brown clay loam, which crumbles on exposure.
This type includes steep, precipitous areas and slopes where the percentage of rock at or near the surface is so large as practically to preclude cultivation. It represents the roughest land in the county and is mapped along Muddy and Heath's creeks. Practically all the type sup- · ports a characteristic growth of walnut and elm, and grape vines.
The fine material of the Crawford gravelly loam is like that of the silt loam, varying from a reddish-brown or dark-brown silt loam in the surface soil to a reddish-brown silt loam or silty clay in the subsoil. Both soil and subsoil contain from twenty to sixty per cent. of brownish- gray, porous chert.
The soil of the Crawford silt loam is a dark-brown, yellowish-brown or reddish-brown, mellow silt loam, grading at about fifteen to eighteen inches into a reddish-brown, friable silty clay loam. Frequently there is little change within the three-foot section, although the subsoil is always redder than the surface material. In general, that part of the Crawford silt loam south of Muddy Creek is mellower and has a brighter color than the main body of the type in the northeastern part of the county. In the latter place it is usually a yellowish-brown, heavy silt loam with a yellowish-red or dull-red, plastic silty clay subsoil.
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HISTORY OF PETTIS COUNTY
Locally, the Crawford silt loam is known as "red land" or "mulatto land." It occurs on the slopes of the streams in the northeastern part of the county. The greater part of the smooth land occurs south of Muddy Creek. It is a good agricultural soil, well suited to the general · farm crops of the region. It is considered best wheat and fruit soil in the county. It is a natural clover soil, and is the best type in the county for the production of alfalfa.
On account of its rolling topography, much of the type is subject to serious erosion. The warm, open character of the soil causes a rapid decay of the organic matter. The type requires careful farming, to- gether with the frequent growing of legumes as green manuring crops.
The soils of the Baxter series range in color from reddish brown to gray and pale yellow, and the subsoils are brown. The soils differ from the Crawford series in being shallower and usually lighter in color. The chert seems to be less calcareous than the Crawford chert. This series includes three types in Pettis County-the Baxter gravelly sandy loam, gravelly loam, and silt loam.
The Baxter gravelly sandy loam has the same origin and distribu- tion as the gravelly loam, but differs from the latter in the larger percentage of sand in the soil. Typically it consists of a gray to dark- brown fine sandy loam, grading at about six inches into a light-brown, friable loam.
The sandy material of the soil is derived from the thin sandstone lenses in the cherty limestone and from the Carboniferous sandstones originally overlying the limestone formation. The type is associated with the Baxter gravelly loam, and is of about the same agricultural importance.
The fine material of the Baxter gravelly loam is a yellowish-brown to grayish-brown silt loam, grading at six to eight inches into a yellowish- brown or dull-red silty clay loam. The lower subsoil is usually a red, plastic clay loam.
The Baxter gravelly loam, dark-colored phase, is locally known as "veneer land," because of the thin covering of soil material over the gravelly substratum. The surface soil is a black to dark-brown or dark- gray, mellow loam or silt loam, grading at about eight to ten inches into a brown, friable silt loam.
Originally all the phase was prairie, but now some of the more broken areas are covered with a black oak, blackjack, sumac, and hazel brush.
91
HISTORY OF PETTIS COUNTY
The most profitable use of this land is to seed it with some of the hardy bunch grasses, such as orchard grass, and use it for the production of hay and for pasture. The Baxter silt loam typically consists of a light yellowish brown or light grayish brown silt loam, grading at about eight to twelve inches into a friable silty clay, with little change in color. The content of organic matter is low. The subsoil becomes heavier and redder with depth, and at about thirty inches the color changes to mottled brown and yellow. The Baxter silt loam has its greatest development in the eastern part of the county along Flat Creek and its tributaries. Sev- eral smaller areas occur west of Sedalia along Muddy Creek. Like the Crawford silt loam, it occupies slopes, although it is more rolling than the latter. It is also of limestone origin, but is inferior to the Crawford agriculturally.
As a grass, clover and fruit soil this type is equal to the Crawford silt loam, and, like the latter, it responds to manuring and good cultivation.
The surface soils of the Eldon series are dark brown to nearly black. The upper subsoil is gray or grayish yellow to yellowish-brown, and has a friable or crumbly structure. It is underlain by mottled gray and red, moderately plastic to crumbly silty clay material, and the lower subsoil is mottled gray and yellow in color and rather plastic. Usually a com- pact layer, consisting largely of angular chert mixed with reddish clay, is encountered at a depth of eighteen to thirty inches. The soils of the Eldon series are derived from shale and limestone.
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