USA > Pennsylvania > Bedford County > History of Bedford, Somerset, Fulton counties Pennsylvania > Part 38
USA > Pennsylvania > Fulton County > History of Bedford, Somerset, Fulton counties Pennsylvania > Part 38
USA > Pennsylvania > Somerset County > History of Bedford, Somerset, Fulton counties Pennsylvania > Part 38
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Meanwhile the Somerset & Mineral Point railroad, connecting the county seat of Somerset county with the Pittsburgh & Connellsville railroad at Rockwood, was built by the people of the town of Somerset and others along the line. . It proved to be a convenient and favorite route of travel with the general public, but like many other enterprises of this kind throughout the country, a non-paying investment on the part of its original owners. During the past five years the Johnstown & Somerset railroad, connecting the towns thus indicated, has been completed along the valley of Stony creek. This, with the Somerset & Mineral Point road, forms a continuous line from Rockwood, by the way of Somerset and Stoystown, to Johnstown, on the main line of the Pennsylvania railroad, and, operated by the Baltimore & Ohio Railroad Company, is now known as the Somerset & Cambria branch.
The Huntingdon & Broad Top railroad, the first railway line to penetrate the confines of
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INTERNAL IMPROVEMENTS.
Bedford county, was completed to Hopewell, in September, 1860, but did not reach Mt. Dallas, its southern terminus, until sometime after the close of the late war. It branches off from the Pennsylvania railroad at Huntingdon and fol- lows up the valley of the Raystown branch of the Juniata to Mt. Dallas, a station one mile west of the thriving town of Everett. The road was built by eastern capitalists for the purpose of opening the immense coal deposits of the Broad Top region. About thirty-two miles of the road-bed lies in Bedford county. Three branches from the main line- Shoup's Run, Six Mile Run and Sandy Run - lead to the various coal-fields now opened in the Broad Top district.
The Bedford & Bridgeport railroad was, from its inception, a Bedford county enterprise. It also reflects great credit upon all who were instrumental in its construction, for it was the link by which an important, though to that time isolated, locality was connected with the
great markets reached by the Pennsylvania and Baltimore & Ohio railroad systems. Connect- ing with the Huntingdon & Broad Top rail- road at Mt. Dallas, it follows up the Raystown branch to Bedford, thence through Bedford, Napier and Harrison townships, to Mt. Savage Junction in Londonderry township, thus effect- ing a connection with the Baltimore & Ohio railroad and the great Cumberland coal-fields. The road is thirty-nine miles in length. Hon. John Cessna, of Bedford, has served as presi- dent of the company since 1870, though for several years the road has been leased and oper- ated by the Pennsylvania Railroad Company.
The Dunning's Creek railroad branches off from the Bedford & Bridgeport railroad at Bedford and follows up the stream from which it derives its name, to Cessna station, a distance of about nine miles. By means of it the exten- sive iron ore deposits owned by Hon. John Cessna, John W. Lingenfelter, Esq., and others are rendered valuable as well as accessible.
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HISTORY OF BEDFORD COUNTY.
CHAPTER XVI. LOCATION, TOPOGRAPHY AND RESOURCES, MINERAL WATERS.
General Description - Drainage - Surface -Altitudes - Coal In- terests - Iron Interests - Furnaces - Ores - Analyses of the Various Kinds - Quality of the Iron Produced - Limestone - Building Materials - Fire-Clay-Timber - Mineral Waters -- Agricultural Resources.
GENERAL DESCRIPTION.
THE county of Bedford, containing one thousand and three square miles, or six hundred and forty-one thousand nine hundred and twenty acres, lies upon the southern border of Pennsylvania, and includes territory extend- ing from Ray's Hill and Broad Top mountain on the east, to the Great and Little Allegheny mountains on the west, and from Mason and Dixon's or the Maryland line, northward to Blair and Huntingdon counties. In other words, a region of mountains, hills and dales, rich in minerals, and always picturesque. Its length from north to south is forty miles, its width twenty-five miles.
The central portion of the county is traversed by several mountain ranges : Terrace, Tussey's, Dunning's, Evitt's, Will's and Buffalo. All form part of the great Appalachian chain (trending northeast and southwest), and all contain one or more valuable seams of fossil iron ore, with the exception of Terrace mountain, which has an excellent red hematite ore. It is claimed that the county contains more than two hundred square miles of fossil iron ore, while the valleys known as Morrison's cove, Friend's cove, Milligan's cove and Snake Spring valley, are quite generally underlaid with a very rich brown and red hematite ore. Indeed, a recent writer has asserted that " there is not a county in Pennsylvania that surpasses Bedford, and it is a question if there is one that equals it in iron ore, with respect to either quality or quantity."
The coal of the county is confined almost ex- clusively to Broad Top township, with perhaps a little in Liberty township, the remainder of
the field lying in Huntingdon county. This coal is semi-bituminous. It is celebrated for its steam-producing qualities, and cokes equally as good as that mined in the Connellsville region. Large shipments of it are annually made to Harrisburg, Philadelphia, Baltimore, New York, and to various points in New England and the South.
The coves and valley already mentioned, as well as the country surrounding the town of Bedford, in Cumberland valley, Dutch Corner, St. Clair, Will's Creek valley, and in the vicinity of Schellsburg are also famed for their beauty and fertility. In brief, Bedford county cannot easily be excelled in soil, scenery, minerals, mineral waters, the sterling qualities of its people, and its pure, healthful climate.
Its drainage belongs to two systems: the Susquehanna and Potomac. The Raystown branch of the Juniata is the most important water-way, and drains fully four-fifths of this division. It rises in the Allegheny mountains and follows a generally eastward course across the county to the edge of East Providence township, when it turns northward and flows in that direction until it passes into Huntingdon county. Dunning's creek, its chief tributary, drains the whole northwest corner of Bedford county, and enters the river just below the town of Bedford at the west foot of Evitt's mountain. Brush creek, entering from the south, drains much of Monroe, East and West Providence town- ships. The important streams belonging to the Potomac area are Will's, Evitt's, Flintstone, Town, Fifteen-Mile and Sideling Hill creeks, of which the first and last named are the largest.
Prof. J. J. Stevenson, in his "Report of Progress," Second Geological Survey of Penn- sylvania, says :
As the secondary drainage rudely follows the strike of the rocks and evades the softer beds, the surface of the district [ Bedford and Fulton counties] shows alternating valleys and ridges.
The hard Medina sandstone forms Will's, Dunning's, Evitt's, Tussey's, Black Log, Shade, Cove, Tuscarora
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JAMES CULVER
VIEW O
BEDFORD,
1883
BEDFORD COUNTY COURT HOUSE BEDFORD, PA.
1. WASHINGTON'S HEADQUARTERS. - OCT. 1794.
2. COMMANDANT'S HOUSE - FORT BEDFORD.
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LOCATION, TOPOGRAPHY AND RESOURCES -MINERAL WATERS.
and Dickey's mountains; the Pocono, Ray's, Sideling and Town hills, Meadow Ground mountain and Scrub Ridge or Licking Creek mountain. All of these are bold mountains. The sandstones of the Catskill, Chemung, Hamilton and Oriskany form distinct ridges, some of which, especially near the Maryland line, rival in hight the mountains of Pocono and Medina.
The frequent occurrence of diminishing anticlinals and widening synclinals in close proximity gives origin to "coves" in both counties. These are in- closed by the mountain ridges which lock at one or both ends of the "cove." This complicated topog- raphy renders the region especially difficult for the railroad engineer, as a gap through one of the moun- tains may lead only into a cove from which no exit is possible, while at best the gaps through the several mountains are arranged geographically so as to be of little service.
No water-gap occurs in Will's mountain or in Dun- ning's mountain within Bedford county, but the Juni- ata river and Dunning's creek flow across the low area between those mountains; only one water-gap is found in the Medina ridge of Dunning's-Evitt's mountain, and wagon-roads can reach the wind-gaps only by long approaches. Tussey's mountain is cut by the Juniata and Yellow creek ; but the Raver's Creek gap is incomplete, as the stream heads in a cove. Ray's Hill is broken by Brush creek and by Sideling Hill creek, the latter near the Maryland line; but good wind-gaps are found in Monroe and East Provi- dence townships of Bedford county.
The minor ridges are more difficult to overcome than the mountains are. Their number is so great and their slopes are so abrupt that the grades of wagon roads are usually tedious and painful.
According to the authority just quoted, the al- titudes above the sea-level of various points in Bedford county are as follows :
Feet.
Marietta, Union township 1,474
Dunning's mountain, King township 2,040
Pleasantville, West St. Clair township 1,205
Top of Allegheny mountain, St. Clair town- ship 2,609
Bench of Allegheny mountain, St. Clair town- ship 1,995
St. Clairsville, East St. Clair township 1,251
Chestnut ridge, Napier township 1,907
New Paris, Napier township 1,195
Millerton, Napier township. 1,744
Buena Vista, Juniata township.
1,298
Summit of Dry Ridge pike, Juniata township .. 2,126 West End P. O., Juniata township . 1,831 County line on Dry Ridge pike, Juniata town- ship 2,079
Summit at north end of Snake Spring township 1,744 Rainsburg, Colerain township. 1,335
Neal's Gap, on Tussey's mountain, Monroe township 1,915
Round Knob, Broad Top township.
1,990
Summit, head of Six-Mile run
1,805
On the Pittsburgh division of the Baltimore & Ohio railroad :
Feet.
Cook's Mills 774
Hyndman 941
On the Bedford division of the Pennsylvania railroad :
Feet.
Hyndman 930
Fossilville 1,091
Buffalo Summit 1,356
Mann's Choice 1,136
Napier 1,108
Wolfsburg Summit 1,118
Bedford 1,062
Lutzville
1,045
Cove creek
1,033
Mount Dallas 1,053
On the Huntingdon & Broad Top railroad :
Feet.
Mount Dallas 1,053
Everett 1,118
Bloody Run summit. 1,234
Tatesville.
1,096
Brallier's summit 1,108
Piper's run 947
Hopewell
898
Riddlesburg
865
Saxton, new depot 849
On the Six-Mile Run branch of this road :
Feet.
Riddlesburg 865
Riddlesburg coal mine 962
Coaldale, or Fairplay 1,126
End of third mile. 1,194
North point.
1,311
End of fourth mile. 1,374
End of track
1,416
On the Sandy Run branch of the same road :
Feet.
Hopewell
898
Railroad track, opposite Chivington mine.
1,297
THE COAL INTERESTS.
For what follows regarding the coal and iron interests, building materials, mineral springs, and agricultural resources we are again in- debted to Prof. Stevenson's report.
The coal area of Bedford county comprises about two-thirds of Broad Top township. Even of this, not all is available. For along the whole length of the Broad Top anticlinal, the Pottsville conglomerate is at the surface, and on each side of the Pottsville space the covering of the coal is so thin as to destroy the value ; while around the whole field is a strip of barren area, either without coal or with the cover too thin.
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HISTORY OF BEDFORD COUNTY.
The structure of the region presents obstacles to mining which are very serious. On Sandy run, in the second basin, the energetic folding of the beds along the east side of the Grey's Run anticlinal has crushed the coal to such an extent as to render it worthless economically, while in the Cunard basin, on the same run, a large part of the workable coal on the west side has been rendered worthless by the same agency. A similar difficulty has been encount- ered in the first basin, and to a moderate ex- tent in other basins on Six-Mile run.
Irregularity of the folds produces further complications interfering with the drainage and compelling a zigzag course in the gangways. Abrupt, though short, rolls are common, per- plexing faults occur, such as have been found in the old workings at Mount Equity and in the headings of the Cunard shaft ; horse-backs or rolls of the roof are sometimes of great extent, and the coal is more or less crushed and twisted in their neighborhood. The beds themselves show great variations in thickness and serious variations in the quality of their coal.
Notwithstanding these difficulties, which would almost destroy the value of the property in the eyes of one accustomed only to the regu- lar and gently dipping coals of western Penn- sylvania, the beds of the Broad Top coal-field have great economical importance, not only be- cause of their proximity to market, but also of the decided excellence of the coal obtained from any of the mines.
The important beds are the Kelly and the Barnet. The Cook has been mined to a slight extent in one of the basins, but for the most part, the variations in thickness and quality of its coal are too great to permit profitable min- ing.
The Kelly coal-bed is worked in the first and third basins of Six-Mile run, and mines have been operated in this bed in the fourth, fifth, sixth, seventh and ninth basins. It is mined in the fifth basin on Sandy run, and it has been mined in the second. It has been opened on the waters of Long run in the fifth, sixth and seventh, but no mining was doing at the time the area was examined.
On Six-Mile this bed shows a thickness of four feet in the first basin, and the thickness is maintained with great regularity, except where a roll in the roof reduces it. The coal is much esteemed as fuel for steam purposes,
but especially for the manufacture of coke. The quality of the coal is poorer in the other basins along this run. It is fair shipping coal in the Duval or third basin, but thence east- ward it is so poor that it cannot be sold; at least such is reported to be the experience of those who have mined it. The crushing in the second basin on Sandy has destroyed the market value of the coal, but in the fifth or Cunard basin, the quality is satisfactory, and extensive mining operations are carried on. The follow- ing analyses show the character of the coal at different localities :
1. Mount Equity mine, first basin on Six-Mile.
2. R. B. Wigton's mine, fifth basin on Six-Mile.
3. Cambria mine, fifth basin on Sandy run.
Water
0.435 0.610 0.575
Vol. combust. matter
19.245 20.375 16.515
Fixed carbon 73.865
67.497
76.720
Sulphur
1.039
3.583
1.230
Ash
5.416
7.935 4.960
The analyses are by A. S. McCreath.
The coal from Mount Equity mine yields a very superior coke, which is used by the Kemble Coal and Iron Company in their furnaces at Riddlesburg. No attempt has been made to manufacture coke at any other mine, but a sam- ple of pit-coke was obtained from the Cambria mine on Sandy, which was made from slack alone, and so fails to give a just impression respecting the character of coke such as would be made from " run-of-mine " coal. An analysis of Connellsville coke, also by Mr. McCreath, is given for comparison :
1. Coke from Mount Equity works, Six-Mile run.
2. Pit-coke from Cambria mine, Sandy run.
3. Coke from H. C. Frick's works, near Connella- ville.
Water
0.095
1.015 0.000
Vol. combust. matter
0.575 2.297 0.000
Fixed carbon
89.083
86.782 87.259
Sulphur
0.925
1.928
0.746
Ash
9.322 7.978 11.995
Though these Broad Top cokes are inferior to the Connellsville in respect to sulphur, yet they are superior to it in point of ash. The coke is hard, and bears well the burden of the furnaces at Riddlesburg.
THE IRON INTERESTS.
Furnaces.
The earliest attempt to manufacture iron within this district was made by Messrs. Lane & Davis in 1802, when they built Hopewell
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LOCATION, TOPOGRAPHY AND RESOURCES-MINERAL WATERS.
furnace on the Juniata river, opposite the mouth of Yellow creek. It was supplied with ore from the base of Mauch Chunk, and some ore was obtained from the Lower Helderberg of Warrior ridge. The furnace was run with more or less success until 1830 or 1831, when the stack was rebuilt by Mr. Lesley. It has been in blast almost constantly since that time. The present owners are Messrs. Lowry, Eichel- berger & Co., and the ores are obtained from the Clinton and Lower Helderberg, near Everett, in West Providence township. The statistics of the furnace are :
Hight of stack 31 feet.
Diameter at boshes
8 ¥
Diameter at tunnel-head 24 4
Pressure of blast. 1} lbs.
Temperature of blast 850
Fuel . Charcoal.
The burden is : Charcoal, 400 lbs ; ore, 1,000 lbs; limestone, 50 to 60 per cent of the ore.
Six charges yield one ton of metal, and the daily yield is about five tons. The mixture employed is, brown hematite, four-fifths ; fossil ore, one-fifth. In former times, when the furnace was run with cold blast, the yield was not far from fifteen tons per week.
Mr. J. W. Swank says that in 1806 Mr. Lane built Lemnos forge on Yellow creek at two miles from Hopewell. With it a slitting-mill was erected. But these works have been abandoned for many years. Bedford forge was built either in 1812 or 1816 on the same creek by Messrs. King & Swope.
Elizabeth furnace was built near Woodberry, in Morrison's cove, in 1827, by Messrs. King, Swope & Co., Dr. Shoenberger being the com- pany. The ore was obtained from the surround- ing country and belonged to the Calciferous. After running nearly twenty years, the stack was torn down and removed to Bloomfield, near the line of Blair county, where an important deposit of wash-ore had been discovered. At a somewhat later date the stack was again taken down and was removed into Blair county, where it was rebuilt as Rodman furnace. The weekly product at Bloomfield was not far from fifty tons.
The furnaces of the Kemble Coal and Iron Company are at Riddlesburg on the Juniata river. They were begun in 1868, and filled for the first time on July 1, 1869. With the excep- tion of short intervals, they have been in con-
stant operation. The statistics as given by Mr. Kelly, the superintendent, are :
No. 1. No. 2.
Hight
60 ft. 60 ft.
Diameter at boshes 14 ft. 10 in. 15 ft.
Diameter at tunnel-head. 8 ft. 3 in. 8 ft. 6 in.
Number of tuyeres 4
6
Pressure at engines
6 to 7 1bs.
Pressure at stack
3 lbs.
Temperature of blast. 880
The blast is heated by four Thayer stoves. The charge is: Coke, 2,400 lbs ; ore, 2,500 to 3,200 lbs ; limestone, 50 to 75 per cent of the ore.
The ores used are altogether fossil, but these contain no inconsiderable admixture of brown hematite. They are obtained from Dutch Corner and Wolfsburg in Bedford township, Everett and Tatesville in West Providence, and the Cambria mine in Hopewell township. The variations of ore and limestone in the charge are due to the varying proportions of silica in the ore. Two charges give one ton of metal. The quantity of coke per ton varies from 2.6 to 2.8 tons and that of limestone from 1.5 to 1.8 tons. The mixture of ores used in making the irons, of which analyses are given beyond, are : Dutch Corner, one-fourth ; Tatesville, one-half ; Ever- ett, one-eighth ; Wolfsburg, one-eighth.
Analyses of these ores are given beyond.
Only one of the furnaces was in operation at the time of visit, as the other was undergoing repairs. The daily yield of the single furnace was from thirty-six to thirty-eight tons. The fuel is supplied by eighty beehive coke ovens, and the coal is obtained from the Mount Equity coal mine on Six-Mile run.
Since the foregoing was written Mr. Robert Hare Powel (now deceased) has erected a large furnace on the Juniata river, near Saxton. A full account of it will be found in the history of Liberty township.
Ores.
Iron ore occurs to a greater or less extent in all the groups exposed within the district, 80 that loose lumps are found on farms everywhere, often leading the farmers to entertain false hopes of future wealth.
Coal Measures Ores.
No ore of economic importance was discov- ered in the coal measures, but, at many locali- ties, a very considerable deposit of clay iron- stone is present under the Barnet coal-bed. This
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HISTORY OF BEDFORD COUNTY.
bears much resemblance to the " Blue Lump " of Fayette county. No explorations of this ore have been made.
Mauch Chunk Ore.
Brown hematite occurs in the Mauch Chunk within a few feet of the bottom of the group. It was seen in Hopewell township, opposite Hope- well ; at Hopewell, and at several places in Ground Hog valley of Broad Top township. This ore has been mined only in Hopewell township, and in Ground Hog valley of Broad Top township, both in Bedford county. The mining at the latter locality was extensive, and some hundreds of tons were shipped to Johns- town to secure a thorough test. But the ore was condemned as too cold short. Mr. McCreath's analysis resulted as follows :
Metallic iron 41.450
Sulphur 0:026
Phosphorus. 1.257
Silicions matter . 16.340
Pocono Ores.
No deposits of economic importance have been found in the Pocono ; but iron ore is present at several horizons, and in such quantity that when set free by decomposition of the rock, it seems to indicate the presence of a considerable body. Nodules of brown hematite are scattered in great numbers throughout the topmost sandstone of the group; brown hematite and pyrolusite are pres- ent as nodules in the lower beds. The quantity, altogether, must be very great, and the surface indications have led the county map-makers to place patches of iron ore along the west side of Ray's Hill, in Bedford county. But the material is unavailable, as it does not occur in bodies.
Chemung Ores.
Small pots of brown hematite occur at many localities in the lower part of the Chemung series, and these have given rise to false estimates of the value of property at more places than one. Ore was seen in the hills west from Buffalo moun- tain ; at a mile or so south west from Saxton, and at many places in Monroe and Southampton townships. The ore appears to be of moderately good quantity, but nothing definite can be learned respecting the quantity, except that the scattered fragments do not indicate the existence of an extensive deposit at any locality examined.
Hamilton Ores.
Ore occurs at the lower horizon along Warrior Ridge, south from the Juniata, in Bedford
county. Nothing is known, however, respect- ing the quantity, as the pits were of insignificant size at best, and now they are filled with rubbish. But there must be much in southern Monroe, for an extensive deposit of bog-iron ore was seen north from Cheneysville. Samples of brown hematite were obtained from the Barn- dollar andBaughman place, one mile south from Everett, which have the following com- position :
Metallic iron 53.050
Sulphur 0.056
Phosphorus 0.087
Silicious matter
7.800
Lower Helderberg Ores.
Brown hematite occurs at many localities in the Lower Helderberg. It was mined at one time at two places on the west side of Warrior ridge, in Hopewell township, of Bedford county, to supply the old furnaces and forges on Yellow creek ; and, if one may judge from the extent of the excavations, the mining operations must have been important. Small quantities of the ore have been found along the ridge in West Providence, south from the river, as well as in Monroe township, where the quantity seems to be considerable. The only locality at which mining is now carried on is in West Providence township, on the Juniata river, west from Everett, There the ore occurs in the decomposed shaly limestones belonging at the base of the group, whereas at the other localities it is found in the compact limestones high up in the series. The peculiar occurrence of the ore at Lowry, Eich- elberger & Co's mines is described in the chapter on Black valley. The ore is mined to supply Hopewell furnace, and its composition according to McCreath is :
Metallic iron 42.650
Sulphur 0.099
Phosphorus 0.182
Silicious matter . 18.730
Iron ore occurs in the upper part of this group near Bedford, and a large pocket was opened during the construction of a reservoir south from the borough ; but the ore is evidently sandy and of little value. The same ore is present at many localities along the west foot of Will's mountain, and it has been mined on the property from J. Wolford, in Londonderry township, north from Fossilville. Some ore has been shipped from this farm, and it is said to be very good.
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LOCATION, TOPOGRAPHY AND RESOURCES-MINERAL WATERS.
The Clinton Ores.
The Clinton is the most important ore- bearing group of the district. Three ore-beds were recognized :
The Fossil. The Frankstown. The Block.
Besides these, some thin, indefinite seams occur in the highest parts of the group, but they have no economic value.
The Fossil Ore- Bed.
This is the important bed which is mined at Powel's Cove mines, in Liberty township ; by the Kemble Coal and Iron Company at the Cambria mine in Hopewell township; by the same company and by Lowry, Eichelberger & Co., in West Providence township, north from the Juniata river ; it has been well exposed south from that river by Scott & Russell, in West Providence and at many localities in Monroe and Southampton townships by J. B. Williams. It has been prospected, on the west side of Evitt's mountain, by Robert Hare Powel and E. F. Kerr, while the Kemble Company has had extensive mines along the same line, but further north. On the east side of Will's and Dunning's mountains it has been mined ex- tensively by the Kemble Company, and it has been prospected to the Maryland line by E. F. Kerr and others. It has been prospected and mined on the west side of Will's mountain by John Cessna and by the Cumberland Coal and Iron Company. It is the main source of sup- ply for the Kemble Coal and Iron Company's furnaces at Riddlesburg, and from it must come the ore for Mr. Powel's new furnace at Saxton.
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