History of Belmont and Jefferson Counties, Ohio, and incidentially historical collection pertaining to border warfare and the early settlement of the adjacent portion of the Ohio Valley, Part 77

Author: Caldwell, J. A. (John Alexander) 1n; Newton, J. H., ed; Ohio Genealogical Society. 1n
Publication date: 1880
Publisher: Wheeling, W. Va. : Historical Pub. Co.
Number of Pages: 728

USA > Ohio > Jefferson County > History of Belmont and Jefferson Counties, Ohio, and incidentially historical collection pertaining to border warfare and the early settlement of the adjacent portion of the Ohio Valley > Part 77
USA > Ohio > Belmont County > History of Belmont and Jefferson Counties, Ohio, and incidentially historical collection pertaining to border warfare and the early settlement of the adjacent portion of the Ohio Valley > Part 77

Note: The text from this book was generated using artificial intelligence so there may be some errors. The full pages can be found on Archive.org (link on the Part 1 page).

The Coal Basin .- It will be seen from the map (Fig. 15) that there are four principal coal fields in the United States ; and that the one to which our eastern Ohio coal district belongs, is a long, narrow, irregular strip, extending from the northern boundary of Pennsylvania, in a sonthwesterly direction, to near central Alabama, covering considerable tracts in southwestern Pennsyl- vania and southeastern Ohio, with a large portion of West Vir- ginia, and parts of Kentucy, Tennessee and Alabama. This great coal field, it will be observed, trends southwest, almost par- allel with the Atlantic coast and with the Blue Ridge Moun- tains, which form its eastern boundary. It is separated from the coal fields of the west by an upheaval of the underlying strata, forming an arch, or anticlinal, as it is called, trending in the same direction-a little east of north-from the southern boun- dary of Tennessee, through Nashville and Cincinnati, to Lake Erie. This is called by our state geologists the Cineinnati Arch. East of this Arch the strata dip generally in a line per- pendicular to it; so that, the surface being assumed to be gen- erally level, the various formations from the highest strata of the eastern portion of the state to the lowest seen on the summit of the Arch, will in turn become the surface rock. Fig. 16 rep- resents a section of the strata from Bellaire to Cincinnati, show- ing the dip of the strata, and how the different formations be- came in turn the surface roeks.

Until recently it was supposed that all the great coal fields were formed together, and consequently that the basin in which the coal forests grew, extended almost over the entire continent, from the islands of the Arctic Ocean to near the present shores of the Gulf of Mexico, and from the Bhe Ridge Mountains which existed at that time, to the district where the Rocky Mountains now stand-that district, as it is well known, being then at the bottom of the sea. It seems, however, from the in- vestigations of the eminent geologists of our State Gieological Corps, that the coal field of which onr Ohio district is a part, was formed independently of the rest, and has never, at any time, been connected with the coal fields of the west. This is proved by the fact that the Cincinnati Arch is older than the coal-bear- ing formations. The Allegheny mountains did not exist when the coal measures were formed. This is shown by the fact that the upheaval of these mountains bent and eracked the strata of the coal measures, and carried them out of their original hori- zontal position. Of course the trongh in which the Ohio river now flows did not exist in the eoal-forming period, as the center of depression of the coal basin, is known to have been further east in the Appalachian region, at least during the carly part of the coal-forming period. Within this long, narrow basin, then, bounded on one side by the Blue Ridge Mountains, and on the other by the Cincinnati Arch, and deepest in the Appalachian region, grew the coal forests. In order to understand the state of affairs which then existed, we must get rid of our ideas of things as they now exist over the same districts. We must not think for a moment of a country of hills and hollows, threaded by rivers, creeks and brooks; but must picture to ourselves a vast plain stretching over the bottom of this basin, varied by gentle undulations, which raised portions of it above the level of the lakes, lagoons and marshes which covered a large proportion of the area. On the dry lands grew the Conifers and Lepido- dendrids, while the Sigillarias probably grew in the marshes, as did the Ferns and Equiseta Centipedes; land snails, spiders scorpions, May flies, cockroaches and erickets, lived on the land: and fresh water mollusks crawled among the Equiseta of the marshes. Along the brink of the waters were reptiles of the amphibian nature; in the lagoons sported swimming reptiles ; while in the deeper lakes swam shark-like fishes. A still, warm,

#The confusion incident to the use of loose and inaccurate "common munes" would, of itself, be a sufficient excuse for the introduction of the seientific names of the species here described. But, fortunately for science, these plants have no "common names," so that we must call them by their technical names, or not at all. These names, it is hoped, will not tend to confuse. The name is usually either descriptive of the nature of the plant, or is de- rived from the name of the discoverer. The "Lx.," or "Lesqx.," is for Lesquereux, the naturalist who first named and described the species. In like manner, "Brgt.," or "Bt ," is a contraction for Brongniart, the name of an eminent French naturalist; "Scloth," for Schlotheim; "Nwby.," for Newberry ; "Geri.," for Germar.

28-B. & J. Cos,

218

HISTORY OF BELMONT AND JEFFERSON COUNTIES.

moist, impure atmosphere, hovered over the plain. Not a flow- er blossomed. not a bird sang, in all this wide horizon of soli- tude ; but a dull, monotonous stillness instead, broken only by the croaking of batrachians, the hum of insects, or the bubbling of gases exuding from the marshes. Fig. 17 (from Dana) rep- resents an ideal carboniferous landscape.

Thus, during the long, dreamy ages existed the desolate plain. Trees and herbs grew up, fulfilled their years, and added their remains to the accumulating mass of vegetable debris. Crawl- ing centuries passed away, and the mighty mass grew more solid and deeper. But no phase of Nature can endure forever ; and even this long, listless scene closed at last. The unstable surface sunk down, till at length the waters triumphed and covered the whole plain. Then began the formation of beds of sediment over the buried mass of vegetation. Now currents sweep from one direction, bearing particles of calcareous matter, washed from some old siluriau or Devonian continent, which, «leposited in layers at the bottom, are to harden into a bed of limestone. Again it changes its direction, and bears grains of sand, washed and sifted, perhaps, from the disintegrated parti- cles of some old granite hills. Again the water was parted by the rising surface, and a new forest grew, followed in turn by another subsidence, and new deposits of rock-materials. Thus the process went on, in an endless cycle of change, repeating itself for each successive coal formation.

This is no mere ideal picture. True, no eye of man was present to look upon that dreary landscape; but Nature, here as elsewhere, has not left herself without witnesses. The coals, the rocks, the fossils, all bear undoubted testimony as to the exist- ence of such a condition of affairs.

THE EARTH'S CRUST.

That the earth consists of a mass of intensely-heated fluid or molten rock-material, surrounded by a crust of solid rocks, is a proposition which cannot be doubted, or at least is not doubted by any who have qualified themselves to express an opinion on the subject. It is the ernst of solid rocks with which geology has most particularly to deal. There are so many kinds of minerals entering into the structure of this crust that a list of them would bewilder any one who is not a professional mineral- ogist. But all these may be grouped into two classes: First, a layer of crystalline rocks encircling the globe of molten matter, consisting of granites, porphyries and others of like nature ; and, second, a sphere of rocks arranged in layers or strata, con- sisting of sandstones and limestones in their various forms, overlying the crystalline rocks, and forming the surface of a large portion of the earth. The first class is called Azoic rocks; the second Stratified or Sedimentary rocks: the first term having reference to their arrangement in strata or layers; the second signifying that these layers were formed of materials deposited as sediment at the bottom of bodies of water. It is impossible to give any idea of the thickness of the azoic beds underlying the sedimentary rocks of Ohio; but the sedimentary rocks themselves have been studied so carefully by our State Geologi- cal Corps that it is possible to arrive at an approximate idea of their. depth and arrangement. They are divided into three classes: 1. The Silurian, consisting of vast beds of sandstone and limestone, containing fossil remains of animals of the lower orders, and lying upon the azoic rocks; 2. The Devonian, con- sisting of layers lying upon the silurian, and differing from them mainly in the kinds of fossil remains which they contain, fishes being the characteristic fossil; and, 3. The Carboniferous, or coal-bearing strata, overlying the Devonian, characterized mainly by fossil plants. The relations of these rocks in Ohio are shown by Fig. 16. It will be observed that the surface for- mations of Belmont county belong to the carboniferous. An approximate section of the sedimentary rocks of Ohio is given in Fig, 18. The lower part of this section is from the notes of an artesian well sunk at Columbus to the depth of 1775 feet. At this depth the bottom of the sedimentary rocks was not reached ; and it is impossible to tell how much greater depth would have been required to reach the azoic beds. The upper part of the section was completed by adding to the notes of the well the thickness of the various deposits, as estimated by the state geol- ogists. The complete section as platted in the figure is as fol- lows :

I. Carboniferous. { Upper Barren Measures 300 teet

1. Coal Measures.

Upper Coal Measures 430

Lower Barren Measures. 352

Lower Coal Measures. 505

2. Lower Carbonif- Carboniferous Conglomerate .. 88 feet

Lower Carb, Limestone .. 20

erous. ( Waverly Sandstone .... 460

Huron Shale. 275

Il. Devonian. Corniferous Limestone 138 6

Oriskany Sandstone, 2

648

111. Silurian.

Upper

Lower

1849

Total 5067 fcet.

Here then is a section of sedimentary rocks nearly a mile in thickness. There is every reason to believe that the depth of the sedimentary rocks, from the top of one of our Belmont coun- ty hills to the azoic beds beneath, is considerably greater than this estimate. In the first place, only the lowest possible esti- mates are given ; in the second place, the section does not pre- tend to reach the bottom; and, lastly, there are very strong reasons for believing that all these formations are thicker here than farther west where the figures given were obtained, since the same deposits are known to reach the enormous thickness of seven miles in the Appalachian region of Pennsylvania, and to thin out gradually towards the west; consequently, in this re- gion, lying nearly mid-way between the points where these rocks have been definitely studied, they would be expected to have an intermediate thickness. It is not unreasonable to suppose that the sedimentary rocks of Belmont county would aggregate much more nearly three miles than one. But this is more of a sur- mise than an estimate, since there is no basis upon which an es- timate can be made, except that given.

The Coal Measures .- It will be noticed from the section (Fig. 18) that the carboniferous formation is divided into two groups, the lower carboniferous and the coal measures. The lower car- boniferous rocks, as is determined by the fossils which they con- tain, belong to the same geological age as the coal measures ; but unlike the latter, they contain no coal-seams. The coal measures are, strictly speaking, the true carboniferous, or coal- bearing formations. These are the rocks which it is important to study minutely in order to understand the geology of this re- gion.

By reference to the section (Fig. 18) it will be observed that, lying immediately upon the rocks of the lower carboniferous, there is a group of strata about 500 feet in thickness, containing seven persistent seams of coal, besides two or three seams which do not cover the whole area of coal field. This group is called the lower coal measures. The coal-seams of this group are num- bered by our state geologists from 1 up to 7, beginning with the lowest. Coal No. 1 varies from 3 to 6 feet in thickness; No. 2, from 1 to 5 feet; No. 3, from 1 to 4 feet ; No. 4, from 1 to 7 feet ; No. 5, from 2 to 5 feet; No. 6, from 3 to 12 feet; No. 7, from 2 to 7 feet. Between No. 6 and No. 7 is a seam 6 feet thick, seen by Prof. Andrews in the southern part of the coal field, which, according to Dr. Newberry, does not appear in the north- ern. This is therefore called No. 6A. There are other seams not shown in the section ; but they are neither persistent nor impor- tant. All these persistent seams, and perhaps others, underlie the rocks of Belmont county, though none of them are exposed within the limits of the county. No. 7 is mined at Cambridge, Guernsey county, and also in the shaft at Steubenville, Jefferson county. These are the nearest points at which any seam of the lower measures is worked.

Lying upon the lower measures, there is a group of strata, about 350 feet thick (often much more) consisting of sandstone shales, with some thin beds of limestone, and an abundance of red and gray shales, marls and clays, but containing little or no coal. This series was first definitely studied by the Pennsylva- nia geologists, and was designated by them the "lower barren measures," a very appropriate name, which has very properly been adopted by the geological corps of our own state. The lower barren measures contain little that is interesting to the geologist, the mineralogist, the manufacturer or the farmer. There are several exposures of the upper part of this group in Belmont county, the greatest being some 200 to 250 feet in Flushing township. None of the lands of Belmont county, how- ever, belong to the lower barren measures. The exposures are along the valleys of crecks which have cut down through the overlying strata and into the barren series. The soils of the hillsides belong to the upper coal measures, while the alluvial soils of the valleys are from the same source. Above the lower barren measures lies a series of strata ranging from 400 to 500 feet in thickness, and containing, in this county, nine coal seams. This series is called the upper coal measures. Upon this lies another series reaching, in this county, the thickness of

219

HISTORY OF BELMONT AND JEFFERSON COUNTIES.

300 feet, or upwards. This is called the upper barren measures. It is to these two series that the rocks'of Belmont county be- long; and consequently the study of these is essentially the study of

THE GEOLOGY OF BELMONT COUNTY.

Many of the most interesting features of the geology of Bel- mont county, have been given as illustrations of the general principles treated of in the foregoing outline. It remans now to apply these principles in tracing the geology of a locality which may fairly be said to be the most interesting part of the upper coal measures of Ohio. The surface structure of Belmont county is such as to give us a fine opportunity to study the whole range of the upper coal measures, while there are ample exposures of the lower barren measures at the north, and of the upper barren measures at the south, to serve as illustrations of those formations, and to show clearly our geological relations to the remainder of the great coal field of which our region forms a part. On the north and west, in Jefferson, Harrison and Guernsey counties, the formations which give to Belmont its peculiar interest, are known only by groups of strata crowning the hill-tops, or have entirely disappeared, and given place to the lower barren measures. In Monroe, on our south, the upper barren measures predominate. In Belmont, better perhaps than in any other locality west of the Ohio river, can the upper coal measures be seen and studied in their full scope, and in all their relations.

Surface Features .- The surface of Belmont county has two general slopes : the one eastward toward the Ohio river; the other westward toward the Muskingum. The dividing ridge between these slopes is a tortuous line beginning near the mid- dle of thesouthern boundary of Somerset township and running north into Warren, thence east into Goshen, thence north, through Union and Flushing to the northern boundary of the county. This line of divide is shown on the map of the county, found elsewhere in this work. Branching off from this divide, and continuous with it, are the ridges sep- arating the drainage systems of the eastern slope. Much the larger portion ot the surface of the county belongs to the eastern slope. This slope is drained by the three large creeks, Captina, McMahon's and Wheeling, together with nu- merons smaller streams, the most important of which are Pipe creek and Wegee. The western slope is drained principally by Stillwater and Leatherwood.

The Dip .-- If the rock-strata of the county were level and uni- form we should expect to find the highest geological formations along the ridges as shown on the map, and the lowest at the mouths of the larger creeks. The strata are not horizontal, however, but have a general dip or fall toward the Ohio river, in a line a little sonth of east. The result of this is that the highest geological formations of the county are found on the hills of York, Mead and Washington townships, and the lowest are found along the valley of Stillwater, in Kirkwood and Flushing townships. This will appear clearly from Fig. 19, representing a diagonal section of the county from northwest to southeast, that is, passing through Flushing, Union, Smith and York town- ships, and merely touching the corners of others. The dip of the strata is not unitormly towards the southeast. On the west- ern slope, along Leatherwood, the direction of the dip appears to be reversed. On the eastern slope, too, there is an anticlinal running east of north through York, Mead, Pultney, Pease and Colerain townships, which appears to have raised the strata something like forty feet higher than their natural position in a uniform dip. From this axis the strata dip very rapidly to the Ohio; so much so that the Pittsburgh coal, which is forty feet above the creek bed at Quincy, sinks to the level of the river at Bellaire, and at Dillie's Bottom, opposite Moundsville, it is reach- ed by a shaft at the depth of 80 or 90 feet below the level of the river. Want of time in gathering the materials for this sketch has prevented any accurate measurements on the dip of the strata of this county.

The Strata .- In tracing the relations of strata, geologists, as a general rule, begin with the lowest. The reason of this rule is obvious : the lowest strata were, of course, first formed; and geology, being substantially a history, must follow the order of time. This order has been followed in this sketch, though no attempt has been made to give a historical treatment of the subject. The facts are given just as they exist, and also the principles which applied to the facts show the historical bearing of the subject. (See article on Coal.) Following the historic order, let us, as briefly as may be, inquire into the structure of the formations which compose the frame-work under the soils of

Belmont county. This must be done in a manner somewhat general, as the space allowed will not permit of separate treat- ment of the geology of each township. It is to be hoped, however, that this general treatment may make the excellent sketches of local geology given in our State Reports intelligible to all. Continual reference to the sections represented in Figs. 20 and 21 will greatly assist in understanding the text. The first, Fig. 20, is a section taken in York township, which will serve as an illustration of the general structure of the Eastern Slope. The second (Fig. 21) is an accurately measured section taken by Mr. Dawson, of Barnesville-the lower part from the coal shaft at that place, and the upper part completed by math- ematical measurements of the intervals between the coal-seams in the surrounding hills. It will be remembered that the last or highest coal-seam of the Lower Coal Measures, the "Cam- bridge Coal," was No. 7. The first, or lowest, seam of the Upper Measures, then, is known as Coal No. 8. This is the great "Pittsburgh Coal," of which more remains to be said fur- ther on. The next seam, supposed to be persistent, is Coal No. 9, and so on up to the highest known to be persistent, which is Coal No. 13. Between No. 8 and No. 9 there are three seams, the last of which is of considerable importance, called respect- ively, No. 8 A, No. 8B, No. 8c. Between No. 12 and No. 13, like- wise, there is a thin seam which may conveniently be called No. 12 A. Above No. 13 there are other small seams ; but they are of little importance.

By reference to the sections it will be seen that the strata be- low Coal No. 9 are mostly limestone, while those above that seam are mostly sandstone. Thus the strata naturally group themselves into two series, the lower of which we may desig- nate as the Limestone Series; the upper, the Sandstone Series.

Enough has been said of the lower barren measures. We will consider the limestone series of the upper coal measures, begin- ning with the lowest stratum, namely, the Pittsburgh coal. This seam doubtless underlies the entire area of Belmont county. It is the great seam so extensively mined at Pittsburgh, so well known in the iron manufactories, and which has for years sup- plied so large a part of the coal commerce of the Ohio river. This seam is mined at outcrops in ten of the sixteen townships of Belmont county. The rise of the stratum towards the north- west brings it to the surface along the creek valleys in Flushing, Kirkwood and Union townships. The same cause, together with the great depth to which the stream has eroded, makes this seam accessible along Wheeling creek and its larger tributaries for the distance of nineteen miles from the river: that is, in Wheeling, Colerain, Richland and Pease townships. It is acces- sible all along the eastern border of the last named township, of course, by virtue of the depth of the river valley ; and down the river to Bellaire, where the dip carries it below the river level. The anticlinal axis before mentioned (see county map,) brings it to the surface along McMahon's creek and its larger tributaries, for the distance of six miles. It disappears below the level of the creek at Franklin Station, at which point it is largely mined. In Mead Township, near the mouth of Pipe creek, it again outcrops, as it does also in York township, for the distance of five miles along Captina, where that stream crosses the anticlinal. In Washington and Wayne Townships it could easily be reached by shafts at almost any point along the valley of Captina. On the old Danford homestead, near the Wayne township line, an oil well sunk by Mr. A. C. Danford, reached the Pittsburgh seam at the depth of 39 feet, and the seam is re- ported to be 17g feet thick at this point. This is the greatest thickness this seam is known to have; the next greatest, per- haps, is at an outcrop in Union township, on the land of Mr. Isaiah Lee, in section 31. Here it reaches the thickness of 10 feet. Its usual thickness is about 6 or 7 feet; but it has a com- mon range of from 4 to 8 feet.

In Warren township the Pittsburgh coal, if indeed it does not outerop, would be easily accessible by shaft along Stillwater, Down the Leatherwood, west of Barnesville, a seam (the same mined in the Barnesville shaft) believed to be the Pittsburgh, is mined in hillsides; but it is not overwhelmingly certain that this is the Pittsburgh coal. In Goshen and Smith the Pitts- burgh coal is not seen ; but it might, if it were needed, be reach- ed by shafts in either of these townships.

Over the Pittsburgh coal and separated from it usually by four or five feet of slate or soapstone shales, there is a seam of limestone about twenty-five feet thick. This seam ap- pears to be persistent all over the eastern slope. Upon this limestone lies coal No. 8 A, a thin and unimportant seam, some- times reaching the thickness of 24 feet, but usually abont 1 to 13 feet. Between this and the next coal seam above (No. SB) there

I-28-B.&.J.Cos.

220

HISTORY OF BELMONT AND JEFFERSON COUNTIES.

is an interval of 30 to 40 feet. This interval is filled mostly with limestone, one bed of which, about six feet in thickness, pos- sesses good hydraulic properties, and is known as the Bellaire cement. About seven fect, sometimes less, above this cement lies coal No. 8 B, a seam usually a foot or eighteen inches in thickness, but sometimes reaching four fect, in which case it has so many slate and clay partings as to be of no practical value. Between this seam and the next above (No. 8 c) there is a varia- ble interval, sometimes not more than 12 or 15 feet, and again as much as 35 feet. At the east this interval is usually less than 20 fect, and is almost wholly sandstone. Towards the northwest it seems to thicken up, and to contain a bed of limestone over the sandstone. Coal No. 8c is the third seam in importance of the coals of Belmont county, Lying from 80 to 90 feet above the Pittsburgh coal, it is scarcely noticed where that seam is ac- cessible ; but it outcrops along the creeks, somctimes for many miles, after its great neighbor has disappeared, in which cases its true value is recognized. Along Captina it is visible as far as Armstrong's Mills. It disappears beneath the creek bed at the northern extremity of the " Three Mile Bend," two miles above Armstrong's. In Wayne township it is again brought to the surface, perhaps by an anticlinal arch, where it is well known as the " Horeb coal." On McMahon's creek it is known as the " Glencoe coal."> It is mined along Wheeling creek, above where the Pittsburgh seam disappears, as far as the crossing of the Uniontown and Flushing turnpike. At Flushing it is now known as the "Tunnel Seam," There is a strong probability that this is the seam worked at the bottom of the Barnesville shaft, though the weight of authority pronounces that the Pitts- burgh coal.

Need help finding more records? Try our genealogical records directory which has more than 1 million sources to help you more easily locate the available records.

History of Belmont and Jefferson Counties, Ohio, and incidentially historical collection pertaining to border warfare and the early settlement of the adjacent portion of the Ohio Valley, Part 77

Author: Caldwell, J. A. (John Alexander) 1n; Newton, J. H., ed; Ohio Genealogical Society. 1n Publication date: 1880 Publisher: Wheeling, W. Va. : Historical Pub. Co. Number of Pages: 728

Author: Caldwell, J. A. (John Alexander) 1n; Newton, J. H., ed; Ohio Genealogical Society. 1n
Publication date: 1880
Publisher: Wheeling, W. Va. : Historical Pub. Co.
Number of Pages: 728