History of Berks county in Pennsylvania, Part 6

Author: Montgomery, Morton L. (Morton Luther), b. 1846
Publication date: 1886
Publisher: Philadelphia : Everts, Peck & Richards
Number of Pages: 1418

USA > Pennsylvania > Berks County > History of Berks county in Pennsylvania > Part 6

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In the grand system of the universe, the earth holds a very subordinate position. The sun is the centre of this system, and the earth is only one of his smaller satellites. The sun is four- teen hundred thousand times larger. It is esti- mated that this system has a radius of three thousand million miles. The nearest star to the earth is seven thousand times farther off than the planet Neptune, and Neptune is dis- tant two billion six hundred and fifty-five mil- lion miles. Thus it appears that the earth, though vast to us, is only a very little object in the universe. Through gravitation, light, me- teorie stones and the moon, we learn that there is oneness of law throughout space. From these we can say that the laws which govern

United States Census Reports, 1880.

$474,510,993

Products

Live stock.

41,500,053

GEOLOGICAL MAP OF

BERKS COUNTY

Mill C:

Stony Run

Round Top

-Blue - - Mo

MAT CT:

Hamburg

Kittati

SSocony Cr

Kutztown here the Er sinke.

Moselem Co.

North

Schuylkill

myssoJ )

Millersburg

Little Swatara.

North

Burnets

Ca:

Biof Perkin

Cr.

C Wohleberstown

Berner

Plumb

River

il ) itu

Conglomerate No 4 ot' Rodgers

Stouchtown

Cr.

Womelsdorf

Spring Cr.

Monocacy Cr:

& Limekill Cr.

Mar

Limestone No.2 of Rodgers

O Spring

Wynilssing. Cr:

Angelica Cr.

O Birdsboro'

Pottsgrove

Punitive formation, chiefly Syenite

Welsh M/t.

Unionville

Allegheny

French Cr.

Br. of French Cr.

Big shuld

Morgantown

Copestoga,

Mertztosp

Little Lehigh

Halnitttown -- foxtown

Dem

ico

---

Rehrersburg

Scrlis Hill

Pricetown

Pine

Dry Run

Penns Me

Slate formation No.3 of Bodyers

Cacoosing

Iron Stone Cr

White Sandstone No 1 Rodgers

Br of

Calico

Hay Ce

Red Sandstone

Calcurious Breccia, All sorts

lpehocken

Reading ellosse

Neversink

PHYSICAL GEOGRAPHY.

the earth are the laws which govern the uni- verse; and, though it is but an atom in immen- sity, it is, nevertheless, immensity itself in the revelations of truth.

The earth is in form almost a perfect sphere. It is somewhat flattened at its poles. Its equa- torial diameter is 7926 miles, and its polar 7900 miles. Its circumference is 24,899 miles. Its entire surface comprises 197,000,000 square miles. The surface is composed of land and water ; about one-fourth part is land and three- fourths water. It is divided into two hemi- spheres-the eastern and western. The land surface of the western hemisphere comprises fourteen million five hundred thousand square miles. The whole of this hemisphere is called America. The northern portion is North America and the southern South America. The surface of North America comprises seven mil- lion nine hundred and eighty thousand square miles. The United States occupy the central part, and extend from the Atlantic Ocean on the east to the Pacific Ocean on the west, and from the British possessions on the north to Mexico on the south. They comprise two mil- lion three hundred thousand square miles. Pennsylvania is one of these States and com- prises forty-six thousand square miles. It is divided into sixty-seven counties. Berks County is one of them and comprises eight hundred and twenty-two square miles, or five hundred and twenty-six thousand square acres. To us this county is a great and important tract of country; yet, by comparison, what a speck it is on the earth ! But the natural laws which govern its people, its animals and plants, its waters, etc., are the same as those which govern the people, animals, plants and waters of the whole earth.

In treating of the earth as an individual ex- istence in the universe, we must consider, first, its geology in respect to structure and develop- ment; second, its physiography in respect to surface arrangements and physical changes ; and third, its relation to man in respect to the distribution of races and their progression. Ge- ology has been divided into four sub-divisions -historical, lithological, dynamical and phy- siographical. The first treats of the successive stages in the formation of the earth's structure

and the concurrent steps in the progress of life, through past time; the second of the constitu- ents of this structure; the third, of the active forces and mechanical agencies which were the means of physical progress ; and the fourth, of the systematic external form and feature of the earth.

The progress of the earth's development is marked by ages. These ages are not separated by distinct dividing lines. All efforts to make such divisions have been fruitless. The culminant phases of different periods are traced in the pro- gress of development, and each culmination is the centre of a separate period. But the germ of that period was long working onward in pre- ceding time before it finally came to its full development and stood forth as the characteris- tic of a new era of progress. Geologists recog- nize five ages. The first age is the Azoic. It is so called because it is without life. It is admitted that at one time the earth was in a state of universal fusion. The period inter- vening between this state and when the cli- mate and waters had become fitted for animal life is called the Azoic age. The second is the Palcozoic, or ancient. In this age there are three periods: 1, the Silurian or period of Mollusks ; 2, the Devonian, or period of Fishes ; and 3, the Carboniferous, or period of Coal Plants. The third is the Mesozoic, or middle, the age of Reptiles. The fourth is the Cenozoic, or recent, the age of Mammals. And the fifth is the Age of Man, or era of mind.1

Professor H. D. Rogers made the First Geo- logical Survey of Pennsylvania during the years from 1836 to 1857 ; and published a geological map in 1858. In the section of the State which includes Berks County, there are four principal strata. These extend through the county from north-east to south-west.

First. The Matinal, in the northern section. It occupies about two-fifths part of the county.

Second. The Auroral, in the upper central section. It occupies about two-fifths part.

Third. The Gneiss and Primal, in the lower central section. It occupies about one-fifth part.

Fourth. The Mesozoic Red sandstone, in the south- ern section. It occupies about two-fifths part.

1 Dana's "Manual of Geology."

HISTORY OF BERKS COUNTY, PENNSYLVANIA.

The first three are placed by him in the Lower Palcozoic Age, and the last is placed in the Upper Palcozoic.

The Azoic Age is also represented in the southern section, in the South Mountain and in the Welsh Mountain. By some geologists it is called the Laurentian system. The Palcozoic or older secondary system, beginning with No. 1 Potsdam sandstone, is represented in Penn's Mount, a spur of South Mountain, at the " White Spot." This system is magnificently developed throughout the entire State.

Dr. Jolin P. Hiester published a Geological Map of Berks County in 1854, which was copied from the Rogers Survey. A copy of this map is presented in this chapter. The streams and creeks on the map illustrate admir- ably the distribution of water and the general topography of the county. At that time there were twenty-five iron-ore mines in the county, as indicated on the map. Other mines have been opened since, especially in the East Penn Valley. The construction and operation of the railroad caused them to be developed rapidly. Several mines are not indicated on the map, though they were operated, at least had been discovered then, notably Boyertown (on Iron- stone Creek), Seisholtzville (at head-waters of Perkiomen Creek) and Heffner's (several miles east of Coxtown, now Fleetwood).

MINERALS.1

Mineralogy is that branch of natural science which treats of the different kinds of ores, com- position of the rocks and stones, etc., and teaches us to distinguish their properties and classify them. There are sixty-eight different elements, or separate substances in the material world. Everything, therefore, must be com- posed of one or more of these elenients. Oxy- gen comprises one-fifth of the air, eight-ninths of the water, three-fourths of all animal bodies and about one-half of the crust of the earth ; hydrogen, one-ninth of the water; and carbon is a large constituent of limestones, marbles and magnesian rocks. The other elements are less abundant ; and as their abundance diminishes,

their value among mineralogists increases. Among the precious stones, the diamond is the most valuable, and among the metals, vanadium. Iron is worth one cent a pound, silver $18.60, gold $299.72, and vanadium $4792.40. To the best of the knowledge and belief of the mineralogists of Reading, vanadium has no existence within the confines of Berks County.

About one-third of the elements form the mass of the earth, and these are found in Berks County. Most of the others are found only in a few localities in the world, and in very small quantities. The few simple elements met with everywhere are compounded by the operations of nature in wonderful and astonishingly fine and exact proportions. These elements are combined in an infinite number of ways, and so minutely that it requires the highest scientific skill to separate them. The crystallization in minerals, the result of a combination of the elements, is often so small that its forms can only be seen with a powerful microscope. So varied are they that Dana (who is one of the best authorities in mineralogy) has described six thousand five hundred; and new ones are added yearly.

GOLD .- It is known to some persons, and to others it may be a great surprise, that we have gold in Berks County, in the immediate vicinity of Reading ; at least so says the eminent chem- ist, Professor Charles M. Wetherill, Ph.D., M.D. Dr. Wetherill made an examination of rocks, and reported the results of his search to the Academy of Natural Sciences, Philadelphia, December, 1854. In his report he says,-

"In a paper upon the occurrence of gold in Penn- sylvania, I alluded to an auriferous quartz in the neigh- borhood of Reading, Pa., and the examination of which afforded me slight, though uncertain, traces of gold. I stated at the close of the article that I had no doubt that a more careful examination of the rocks in the vicinity would yield affirmative results in an examination for this metal. . . . I have noticed this quartz scattered over the ground in various parts of Berks County, some bearing very strong gold charac- teristics ; they are partially water-worn, but the angles are moderately sharp. On breaking them open, the inclosed masses of dark oxide of iron are apparent."

SILVER .- The most reliable information about silver in Berks County is from the pen

1 From articles published in Spirit of Berks, at Reading, by Professor D. B. Brunner, in 1881.

PHYSICAL GEOGRAPHY.

of Dr. Wetherill. In speaking of a heap of stones at the junction of Eighth and Ninth Streets, he says,-

" Eighth Street quartz-65 grammes x 130 litharge x 10 black flux gave a lead button of 14 grammes, and silver .0075, which contained gold beyond a doubt, as judged from its lustre and resistance to nitric acid.

" Another portion of quartz from the same locality -200 grammes x 400 litharge x.5 charcoal dust, gave lead 17 grammes, silver .00875, containing gold, though not as distinctly as the last.

"Quartz from Jonathan Deininger's field-185 grammes, 370 litharge x.5 charcoal gave 20 grammes of lead, containing .00825 silver, in which no gold could be detected."

By looking at the figures denoting the quantity of silver, it would, at first sight, appear to be infinitesimal ; but when it is remembered that the quantity of ore from which it was taken, was only 'one hundred and eighty-five grammes, and that a ton of the same rock would have produced over forty pounds of silver or seven hundred and fifty dollars, it will be seen that, if there were a large body of the argentiferous quartz, yielding the same per cent. of silver, the mine would be a very remunerative one. Judging from the geological formation of North Reading, it is probable that the argentiferous quartz is not found in a body in or along the mountain, but in isolated fragments scattered over the alluvial soil in the valley.

Professor H. W. Hollenbush, who had a large experience in mineralogy and visited every " nook and corner" in Berks County, exhibited a few years ago a beautiful globule of pure silver which he obtained from a fragment of a rock found in the northwestern part of Oley town- ship. He returned and investigated the local- ity for silver, but he found nothing.

Some twenty years ago, there was found in Alsace township, a mile and a half north of Fies' Hotel, a combination of the elements among which silver was supposed to be con- spicuous. A small organization was formed to extract the silver from the refractory elements. The party secured the services of an expert, who had charge of the mining and smelting opera- tions. After a large amount of labor had been expended in drilling the hard rock and getting

it out of its natural bed, it was thought advis- able to smelt the ore on hand and see what quantity of silver it contained. A foundry was rented at the foot of Penn Street, a crucible oh- tained and a quantity of the ore smelted. At the proper time the stockholders of the "Gneiss Silver Mining Company" were invited to see the shining metal poured out of the crucible, and behold ! there was enough silver in it to make a half-dollar! The operator asked for more funds to purchase the necessary apparatus to carry on the operations more successfully. The stockholders paid over the required amount, but the operator went to Philadelphia and never returned. It was supposed that the operator had put a half-dollar into the crucible with the ore. No further effort was made to obtain silver from the ore.

COPPER .- Copper combines with many of the other elements, and in consequence of this combination about fifty different minerals are found in which copper forms one of the con- stituents; six of these varieties are found in Berks, viz.,-chalcopyrite, chrysocolla, mala- chite, azurite, oxyd of copper, bornite and ven- erite.

Copper is found at various places in the county, but there is only one locality, Jones' mine, in the eastern part of Caernarvon township, near Joanna Station, in which it has been found in such quantities as to make the mining re- munerative. There being no record of the opening of this copper shaft, we give only such information as we obtained from the oldest per- sons still living, who spent the earlier part of their lives in the vicinity of the mine. Mrs. Lavinia Simmers (nearly eighty-four years of age) said that she could remember distinctly when the first search was made for copper. It was about seventy-five years ago (1806) when the first mining operations began there, by Cap- tain Thomas, who had obtained the privilege from the owner of the land. Richard Trealich was the superintendent of the mine, and he was assisted by two men named Ryfert and Oldfield. These were Englishmen. A building was erected at the large excavation. The slate for the roof, some building material and the machinery for operating the mine were brought from Eng-

HISTORY OF BERKS COUNTY, PENNSYLVANIA.

land; and it being before the time of railroads, they were conveyed from New York in wag- ons.

It appears that Richard Trealich was a miner of great experience, because subsequent excava- tions proved that he sank a shaft near the spot where the richest copper was deposited. The miners descended perpendicularly one hundred feet, then drove a short distance northeast and sank a shaft eighty feet, making the entire depth of the shaft one hundred and eighty feet. In the bottom of the shaft a very hard rock was met, showing that the miners had struck a different geological formation. In sinking the shaft Alexander Young lost an eye and another man was crippled by an accidental blast. Shortly afterward Anthony Petz, while looking down the shaft at the pumping machinery, inadver- tently got his head under the bob and had it crushed.

A considerable amount of copper-ore was taken out of the shaft. They had no fur- nace to smelt the ore, so Thomas erected one about midway between the present house and barn. The ore was smelted in crucibles ; but the furnace and its fixtures being imperfect and the ore not yielding a very high percentage, it is believed Thomas did not obtain enough of copper to pay his expenses ; at least the mining was not profitable. In 1814 the machinery was taken away. The copper-mine was then idle until 1838, when it was operated by a man named Sands, who realized a considerable amount of money from the copper. In 1840 a Mr. Simons endeavored to get a lease on the mine ; but failing, after strenuous efforts, he commenced to take out ore and continued until 1854 without paying a royalty.

There were at that time only two copper fur- naces in this part of the country : one at Tyson's, in Baltimore, and the other in Jersey City. Mr. Simons hauled much, if not all of his ore, with wagons to Jersey City. With all this expense and inconvenience in transportation, he is said to have realized considerable money. He separated the copper from all the other minerals by a process called "jigging " and " bucking." These operations were performed as follows : The ore was taken to the Conestoga Creek, and

there placed into sieves which were immersed in barrels filled with water, and by a "jig " movement the dirt was washed out and the re- fuse worked on the top and scraped off. The copper-ore, then almost free from impurities, was put into barrels, for convenience in trans- portation.

From 1850 to 1854 the mine was in the hands of the American Mining Company, whose branch office was in New York. This company also sent the ore to Jersey City, and was reported to have been successful.

The mine was lying idle from 1854 till 1869, when it was operated by the Schuylkill Copper Company, of Phoenixville, under the superin- tendence of James Harvey. This company opened a place a little farther east of the shaft, and took out a copper clay, which yielded about six per cent. of copper. Some of this clay was sent to England and the rest to Jersey City, till the company at Jersey City broke up; then the Copper Company at Phoenixville erected a furnace and smelted all the clay which the mine produced till 1878. They then abandoned the mine, and it has been idle since. This clay runs in veins a few feet thick. It is believed by some that it is far from being exhausted.

At this mine are found fine specimens of malachite, chalcopyrite, chrysocolla, bornite and venerite.

IRON .- Iron ore has been found in the county in very great quantities. It is not known when mining for this ore began in this vicinity. The first places were doubtless in Colebrookdale and Caernarvon townships. Its rich deposits have been a source of great wealth to the county. They have caused forges and furnaces to be erected in every section, which have been worked almost constantly till now. The Boy- ertown Mines and the Jones Mines are particu- larly prominent. The East Penn Valley has supplied immense quantities of this ore. The total weight carried away cannot be estimated.

In 1882 there were over one hundred mines in successful operation, whose annual produc- tion exceeded three hundred thousand tons. They then furnished constant employment to over a thousand men and brought into our county over a million of dollars. The many improvements

PHYSICAL GEOGRAPHY.

in Schuylkill and East Penn Valleys indicate the prosperity afforded through this single source-iron-ore.

The annual product of the county in 1880 was two hundred and fifty-two' thousand nine hundred and forty tons. The Census Report placed the county third in the list of ore-pro- ducing counties in Pennsylvania-Lehigh hav- ing been first and Lebanon second .. In the en- tire country, our county was seventh.

The following are the prominent mines in the county with the per centum of iron in the ore :1

IRON MINES .- Primitive ore is designated by an asterisk (*); hematite ore is designated by a dagger (+).

Longswamp.

Per cent.

1st Range, Gap Mine * 30

2d Rock " * 39-41

3d Ginkinger Mine * 45-52

4th Weiler Mine * 52

Wetzel's *

Miller *

48-53

Dunkel *

Gardner *

Marsteller*

42-57

Mickley

Boyer* 43

Frederick *

Fritch & Bro .*

Tatham *

Mertztown + 2

Klein +

Lewis +.

Trexler +.

Merkelt

Zieglert.

Longs t.

Farmingtou + (at least twenty)

Maxatawny.

Kutz +.

Levan +

Bieber t.

Matz +.

Miller +

Richmond.

Moselem Mines (4) . 50

Rothermel + 50

Schaeffer +. 45

Kiefer +

Old Heffner + 45

Heffner +

I See Geol. Survey Berks Co., vol. D. 3-ii. pp. 237 to 375.

2 Kaolin also.

Ruscomb-manor.

Clymer *

Tunnel * 35

Schitler *

Schwartz & Kutz +

Udreet.

Mellert t

45-50

Medary t.

Messersmith +

Kelchner +

Schollenberger +.

Hoch +

Hereford.

Siesholtzville * 22

Bittenbender * 45

Gehman *

41-66

Bittenbender + ..

Washington.

Laudis * 56

Barto *

Stauffer

Gilbert *

Gilberg

Sparr *

Eline *

Pike.

Rohrbach *

Lobach (red oxide).

District.

Beitler *

Dotterer (red oxide)

Oley.

. Oley *

Talley *

Weaver + 2

Hunter +

Manwiller +.

Alsace.

Hartman *

Reading.

Miller *

Eckert *

Colebrookdale.

California *

40-50

Gabel *

Warwick *

Rhoads *

Caernarvon.

Jones *

Cumru.

Fritz Island*

Raudenbush *

Eureka +

Spring.

Wheatfield +

Raub *

Ruth *

Seitzinger +

Muhlenberg f ..

€

Earl.

HISTORY OF BERKS COUNTY, PENNSYLVANIA.

CATALOGUE OF MINERALS IN COUNTY.

The following alphabetical catalogue contains the names of all the minerals which have been found in Berks County : 1

ALLANITE is found on Haines', Rhoads' and Schrce- der's farms, near Pricetown, in Ruscomb-manor township. It is associated with magnetite and zir- con. The mineral is black, and was named after T. Allen, the discoverer.

ALLOPHANE has been found, in small quantities, at Jones' mine, in the eastern part of Caernarvon township. It occurs in fine white and sky-blue mam- millary and stalactitic masses.

APATITE is a phosphate of lime, and crystallizes in six-sided prisms of a greenish color. It is found in magnetite at Jones' Mine, and in serpentine in Ruth's Mine.

ARAGONITE .- (See Calcite.)

AMPHIBOLE,-a hornblendic rock, which extends over a large portion of the county. The best speci- mens are found in the vicinity of Antietam Lake. It takes different forms, according to the locality, viz., that of Actinolite, at Jones' Mine; Asbestos, at Earl- ville, on the Manatawny, and at Antietam Lake; of Mountain Leather, at Boyertown, and on Mr. Ezra High's farm, a mile south of Reading, in a cut of the Pennsylvania Schuylkill Valley Railroad, fromn which specimens a foot square have been obtained; of Hornblende, a constituent of many of the South Mountain rocks, on Henry Ruth's farm, Mohnsville; and of Byssolite, at Antietam Lake and in Long- swamp township.

APOPHYLLITE .- (See Zeolites.)

AURICHALCITE is reported to have been found at Jones' mine and on Fritz's Island; but it has been of very rare occurrence.

AZURITE, in fine azure-blue crystallization, was obtained, a few years ago, at Jones' Mine and on Fritz's Island.

BARITE occurs, abundantly associated with other mineral matter, at Mt. AEtna (Tulpehocken town- ship), which, when it is struck, emits an odor resem- bling sulphureted hydrogen, and hence it is called Fetid Baryta.

BORNITE is a sulphuret of copper of a brilliant red and blue color. Very fine specimens are found at Jones' Mine and on Fritz's Island.

BRUCITE,-a hydrate of magnesia,-takes its name from Dr. Bruce, of New York, the discoverer. It is of a yellowish tint, and is met with on Fritz's Island, both laminar and botryoidal. A vein of this mineral was also struck in Ruth's Mine.

CALCITE,-a carbonate of lime,-is found in various forms through the extensive limestone formation of

the county. Very beautiful acicular crystals and botryoidal coatings of this mineral are found at Jones' Mine, which are called Aragonite, from Ara- gon, a place in Spain where the crystallization was first discovered. It is also found on Fritz's Island, Ruth's and Wheatfield Mines, and in Crystal Cave. From its peculiar crystallization at the Big Dam, Fritz's Island and Luckenbill's Cave, it is called Dog-Tooth Spar. It is met with in some parts of Bern and Cumru townships, in rhombohedral crys- tals, and is called Calc-Spar.

CHALCOCITE-from chalcos, copper-is a sulphide of the mineral. It crystallizes in rhombs, and occurs sparingly at Fritz's Island and Jones' Mine.

CHALCOPIRITE-copper pyrites-occurs at Fritz's Island, Jones' Mine and Boyertown.

CHLORITE-from chloros, green-is found at Fritz's Island, Jones' Mine, Wheatfield and Ruth's Mine.

CHLOROPAL is a silicate of iron, and is found in the hills in the neighborhood of Longswamp Church.

CHRYSOCOLLA-from chrusos, gold, and kolla, glue -is a silicate of copper of a blue or green color, and is met with at Jones' Mine and Fritz's Island.

CHRYSOLITE-from chrusos, gold, and lithos, stone -is composed principally of silica and magnesia, and occurs in thin layers on Fritz's Island and Ruth's Mine.

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History of Berks county in Pennsylvania, Part 6

Author: Montgomery, Morton L. (Morton Luther), b. 1846 Publication date: 1886 Publisher: Philadelphia : Everts, Peck & Richards Number of Pages: 1418

Author: Montgomery, Morton L. (Morton Luther), b. 1846
Publication date: 1886
Publisher: Philadelphia : Everts, Peck & Richards
Number of Pages: 1418