USA > Wisconsin > Grant County > History of Grant County Wisconsin, including its civil, political, geological, mineralogical archaeological and military history > Part 20
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The four great factors which have contributed to Wisconsin's growth have been lead, lumber, iron, and agricultural products. Of the mineral products, we have seen that the deposit first laid down (the iron of the Huronian Period) has been the last to be developed, while the lead, laid down at a much more recent period (the Galena), was the very first to be developed. This was owing to geological con- ditions. If the Lead Region had been covered deep by the glacial drift
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HISTORY OF GRANT COUNTY.
it would probably not yet have been known as a lead region. But it was exposed for such immense periods to erosion that the overlying strata were worn away and deep valleys cut into the lead-bearing limestones, so that the mineral outcropped in scores of little ravines, to be found by the most careless and ignorant prospector. It was easily accessible, so that the poorest man who could procure a pick and shovel could find it in paying quantities, and its value per pound was so much greater and the cost of reducing it so much less than that of iron ore that it is no wonder the Lead Region was so early and quickly developed, while the iron region waited for railroads, a large population and great capital. Thus the Lead Region became early the seat of political power in the State, while the eastern part of the State had for its only advantage its nearness to water transportation to the East, which caused the early development of agriculture in that region.
We have seen that the Pineries correspond roughly to the old Archæan core of the State, and they were the next important natural resource to be developed; and for thirty years they have been transfer- ring the balance of political power from the southwestern to the north- ern and northwestern part of the State. However, the pine woods are not inexhaustible and the time will soon come when this region, stripped of its magnificient pine trees, its silica soil poor for either grain or grazing, will begin to fall behind in the race of progress, and need a yellower coloring on the census map than has the Lead Region in 1890.
One thing that enabled Grant County to hold her own in some measure for ten years after the lead interest began to lose its impor- tance was the agriculture of her remarkable prairies. During the fifties the price of wheat ruled high, owing to European wars and other causes, and the prairies of Old Grant were found to produce enormous quantities of that wonderful "Canada club" wheat, and they quickly became almost solid wheat fields.
These prairies are peculiar, unlike those of any other region, which leads me to give my theory of their formation. It will be observed that they correspond to the divides or watersheds of the county. This shows that they were in ancient times upland swamps, before the little valleys which now drain them so perfectly had cut their way up from the river valleys, then not nearly so deep as now. To the young reader who has never been out of the Driftless Area and never.seen a
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GEOLOGICAL HISTORY OF WISCONSIN.
swamp except upon a low river bottom, the term "upland swamp" may seem a paradox; but such swamps are not unknown in other parts of the world, where the drainage system is not so old and perfect as that of the Driftless Area. The acids formed from decaying vegetable matter ate deep into the limestone rocks and the basins thus formed became swamps which gradually filled up with vegetable deposits and the soil is now deep and rich in proportion to the depth of those deposits. The western edge of such an upland swamp may now be traced near the western edge of the city of Lancaster. But even the deep, rich soil of these prairies seemed unable to stand more than ten years of our reckless wheat culture, and Grant County now imports much of her bread from Minnesota.
One thing that has hindered the prosperity of Grant County has been its long-time lack of railroads, leaving it a sort of dead eddy around which ran the tides of commerce. This was the direct result of its being in the Driftless Area, with its deeply cut drainage system interposing its high ridges and deep valleys athwart the ways of commerce from the populous East with its ocean ports.to the great and growing West. Thus the great trunk railroads avoided Grant County and crossed the drift plains to the south and north of her.
One serious drawback to the Driftless Area and much of the country to the south that was never covered with the drift is the extreme liability of the clay soils of its steep slopes to wash. To-day hundreds of thousands of acres of the old fields of the Southern States are miniature "Bad Lands" or small copies of the great deserts of the far Southwest. There are now in Grant County a few fields some- thing like but not nearly so bad as those old southern fields, but there will be hundreds of them in years to come if corn culture is persisted in too long and too continuously. This fact and the remarkable adapta- bility of the soil for grass and foliage points to dairying as the proper great industry of the region.
But a dairy region cannot, in the nature of things, be a region of dense population and great wealth; only extensive manufactures and the incident commerce give these. But without coal, iron, petroleum, or natural gas, extensive manufactures cannot be maintained. Even the Gogebic region, with its rich deposits of iron, cannot very success- fully compete with the regions which have coal and iron together, as the Appalachian region from Pennsylvania to Alabama, the Ozark region, and the Raton region of eastern Colorado and New Mexico.
1ª
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HISTORY OF GRANT COUNTY.
To conclude, then, the capitalists of the Driftless Area, if they de- sire for their section that wealth, population, and political supremacy which can come only from manufactures and commerce, ought to pray (or rather, pay) for the invention which will dethrone King Coal, with his principal ministers, Pretroleum and Gas, and the invention which will usher in the Aluminum Age (when the clay hills of Old Grant will be mines of wealth), to take the place of the Iron Age, which has prevailed upon the earth since Tubal-cain.first taught man- kind the secrets of the furnace and the forge.
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CHAPTER II.
MINERALS AND MINES OF GRANT COUNTY.
Mining Terms-Minerals of the Lead Region-Deposition of Rock Strata-Product of Grant County Mines, Early Period.
MINING TERMS.
The following definitions of mining terms and description of min- erals are copied from Chamberlin's Geology of Wisconsin.
Range .- A single or several parallel crevices containing ore; verti- cal or nearly so; seldom more than a few yards apart ; sometimes, but not necessarily, connected by quartering crevices. Its length may vary from a few hundred feet to a quarter of a mile or more. Different parts of the same range often have different names given to them be- fore the connection is proved. The term range may also be applied to horizontal bodies of ore, of which there may be one, or several lying upon one another, sometimes, but not always, separated by layers of unproductive rock. Ranges which bear toward the sun at 8 o'clock or 10 o'clock are called "8 o'clock ranges," or "10 o'clock ranges."
Crevice .- This is a fissure in the rock, vertical or nearly so, only a few inches in width, of indefinite length, which may or may not be filled with minerals or ores. When it is less than an inch in width it is called a seam.
Lead Ore or Vein .- The body of ore or mineral found in a crevice.
Openings .- These are vertical or horizontal. Vertical openings are known as crevice openings, and are mere enlargements of the crevice in certain parts, sometimes of the whole extent of the vein, and some- times local. There are frequently several openings in the same crevice, one above another, separated by unproductive rock. Crevices are from one to several feet in width. When very wide and high they are sometimes called "tumbling openings." Horizontal openings are large, irregular spaces between the strata which contain the lode. Such openings are usually from one to four feet high, and are often superimposed one upon another, separated by an unproductive rock
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HISTORY OF GRANT COUNTY.
called a cap, the cap of one opening being frequently the floor of the one above it.
Pockets are small, irregular cavities in the strata, frequently filled with ore.
Chimneys are irregular-shaped vertical holes found in crevices, sometimes connecting openings and at other times extending from the surface of the ground to some particular stratum of rock.
Sheet .- This is a term usually employed to designate a solid body of ore, exclusive of other minerals, which may fill a crevice or opening. A sheet is said to "pitch " when it inclines considerably from the per- pendicular.
Gouge .- This is the soft rock or clay frequently found between the sheet and the adjacent wall-rock.
Bar .- The term denotes a band of very hard and unproductive rock, crossing the crevice and sheets. In crossing a bar, all sheets be- come less productive, and are sometimes entirely lost, the crevices usu- ally dwindling to mere seams. Their width varies from a few feet to many yards.
Wash-dirt has been defined on page 23.
Pipe-clay .- A light-colored, plastic clay, often found in the open- ings and crevices.
Drift .- An underground gallery or way.
MINERALS OF THE LEAD REGION.
Galenite .- Composition : lead, 86.6; sulphur, 13.4. This is the only ore of lead found in sufficient quantities to be of economic value. It is universally known in the lead region as "mineral," but is also called "galena." It occurs in distinct crystals, either as cubes or some mod- ification of that form. Eight-sided crystals are rare. Usually the ore occurs in masses with a distinct cleavage.
Sphalerite .- Blende, or black-jack. Composition: zinc, 67; sul- phur, 33. This is one of the most abundant minerals, in some parts of the lead region, and is of great economic value. It is almost inva- riably found as an associate vein-mineral in the horizontal deposits of lead ore. It is usually found massive and compact, of a dark brown or black color, due to a small portion of iron contained in it, and more or less mixed with galenite. The lead region has never afforded a per- fect crystal of blende, although many specimens are found with small and imperfect crystalline faces. The fractured surfaces of such speci- mens usually have a resinous luster.
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MINERALS AND MINES OF GRANT COUNTY.
Pyrite .- Composition : iron, 46.7; sulphur, 53.3. Sometimes called "fool's gold." Often found in lodes and sometimes mixed in the rock when other minerals are absent. It is usually found massive, but often crystallizes in some modification of the cube; the eight-sided crys- tal is common. The Crow Branch Diggings in Clifton afford good specimens and large quantities. It has not been of economic value in this county, but in some places it is used in making sulphuric acid.
Marcasite .- The same composition as pyrite and differing little from it except in shape of crystals.
Chalcopyrite .- Composition : copper, 34.6; iron, 30.5; sulphur, 34.9. This is the principal ore of copper in the lead region. It usually occurs massive, but sometimes in small, indistinct crystals.
Barite .- Composition : baryta, 65.67; sulphuric acid, 34.33. It is usually white and massive, but sometimes occurs in leaf and crystal forms. It is very rare in Grant County.
Calcite .- Composition : lime, 56; carbonic acid, 44. Sometimes called "tiff." This is common to all deposits of ore. It occurs crys- tallized in modified diamond-shaped forms. There is a variety called "dog-toothed spar."
Dolomite .- Bitter spar or brown spar. Composition : carbonate of lime and carbonate of magnesia in nearly equal proportions. It oc- curs in the cavities of the Galena Limestone in small, diamond-shaped crystals.
Smithsonite .- Often improperly called calamine. Composition : oxide of zinc, 64.81; carbonic acid, 35.19. This mineral, commonly known as dry-bone, is one of the two ores of zinc found in the lead re- gion. It is usually found in connection with blende. It rarely crys- tallizes, and then in diamond-shaped forms. It is usually massive with a structure like partly decayed bone, hence its popular name. It is sometimes found covering crystals of galenite.
Cerussite .- Carbonate of lead. Composition : oxide of lead, 83.5; carbonic acid, 17.5. Found in small pieces, but never abundant. It usually occurs in irregular rounded pieces of a yellowish color with no crystalline structure.
Malachite .- Carbonate of copper. Composition: protoxide of copper, 71.19; carbonic acid, 19.9; water, 8.2. Rare in Grant County.
Azurite .- Another form of carbonate of copper. Composition : pro- toxide of copper, 69.2 ; carbonic acid, 25.6. It occurs massive in seams associated with chalcopyrite.
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HISTORY OF GRANT COUNTY.
There does not appear to have been any absolute and unvarying order in which the minerals were deposited in the lead region; but they appear to have been deposited in the following general order:
1. GALENITE. .
2. SPHALERITE.
3. DOLOMITE and CALCITE.
4. PYRITE, MARCASITE, and CHALCOPYRITE.
5. BARITE.
6. CALCITE.
7. CERUSSITE, SMITHSONITE, MALACHITE, and AZURITE.
The order given is subject to very numerous and important excep- tions, and is more particularly applicable to crystallized specimens than to heavy ore deposits. Large bodies of ore frequently consist of galenite, sphalerite, and pyrite so mingled together that no order of deposition can be ascertained. In general it appears that the sul- phurets of the metal were deposited first, and that the carbonates have been generally, if not invariably, derived from them. Carbonate of lead (cerussite), when found crystallized, always occurs in connec- tion with sulphuret of lead (galenite) ; and carbonate of zinc is so fre- quently found graduating into the sulphuret (sphalerite) as to leave little doubt of its origin from that mineral.
It seems not impossible that the formation of zinc may be even now taking place in the ground to quite a large extent, especially in such deposits as are not below the water-level, or are only periodic- ally submerged. It is a well-known fact that the dry-bone diggings are usually comparatively free from water, and that the zinc ore below the water-level is usually blende (sulphuret), with but little admix- ture of the carbonate. As the level of the water in the ground be- comes gradually lower, and it is a well-known fact that it does, the air, together with the surface water charged with carboni cacid, is per- mitted to act upon the blende, and a transformation from the sul- phuret to the carbonate takes place.
The association of calcite with other minerals is such as to indi- cate that it must have been formed in crystals during at least two different periods. Stalactites of recent origin are found in the mines, which, on being fractured, show a distinct crystalline structure, and large planes of cleavage.
DEPOSITION OF ROCK STRATA.
In the mines the term "glass rock" is indiscriminately applied to
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MINERALS AND MINES OF GRANT COUNTY.
all the strata in the Buff, Blue, and Galena Limestones. The follow- ing section is given as a general guide to the relative position and thickness of the strata and openings to which references will be made in a subsequent chapter. But this order and thickness are by no means universal in the lead region. In practice the most reliable plan for determining the geological position of an ore bed or mine is to find the outcrop of some well-defined horizon in the vicinity and ascertain the distance of the bed or mine above or below it, making due allow- ance for the dip or inclination of the strata. The Buff and Blue Lime- stones are the Trenton described on page 197.
(Green rock 4 feet
Galena Limestone.
Green rock opening.
3 feet
Green rock.
12 feet
Brown rock
12 feet
Brown rock opening 5 feet
Brown rock.
8 feet
Upper pipe-clay opening. .5 feet
Glass rock (Blue Limestone) 25 feet
Glass rock opening
6 feet
Buff Limestone ..
.12 feet
Lower pipe-clay opening
.3 feet
Buff Limestone.
10 feet
St. Peters Sandstone
10 feet
PRODUCT OF GRANT COUNTY MINES, EARLY PERIOD.
The following tables show the estimated product of the different mines in the several mining districts of Grant County, the aggregate up to 1843. The dates given are those of the discovery of the mine.
HARDSCRABBLE DIGGINGS.
Durley & Coates 1,000,000 Wolcott & Billings .1,200,000
Tesat & Ogan 800,000
Pearse
.2,300,000
Phelps
1,800,000
Badger
1,200,000
Wetherbee.
900,000
Binninger
600,000
McCoy & Thompson 700,000
Bruce.
3,000,000
Edwards 800,000
Adney
1,500,000
Craw 1,000,000
McCoy, upper.
700,000
Lower water lode. 1,300,000
Bull
1,300,000
Upper water lode. 700,000
Dry Bone
500,000
Scattering.
6,000,000
BIG PATCH DIGGINGS.
Big Patch (in 1828) 2,000,000 Finley (in 1828)
200,000
Scofield (in 1828) ... 550,000 Copelin (in 1828). .. 80,000
Bowmer (in 1828).
150,000
Taylor & Murphy (in
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Buff and Blue Limestone.
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HISTORY OF GRANT COUNTY.
McCormick (in 1834) .... 80,000 1835)
470,000
Henderson (1836). .... 150,000
Leavy (1837).
50,000
McCormick, 2d (in 1836) 200,000
Gentry (in 1829)
90,000
Gilmore (in 1842) .. 56,000
Small lots
150,000
PLATTEVILLE DIGGINGS.
Rountree
3,000,000 Pettijohn
50,000
Finney
1,700,000 Denson
100,000
McClintock.
700,000
Holman dry bone. 350,000
Meeker
500,000
Roper 150,000
Davidson
700,000
Goode
150,000
Teller & Richards
1,000,000
Gillis.
150,000
Vineyard
1,600,000
Williams
200,000
Huntington
400,000
Carrington & Co.
690,000
Flynn
1,000,000
O'Hara
1,100,000
Woolfolk & O'Hara
100,000
Farmer
100,000
Blundell
100,000
Robeson Boys
150,000
Pennington
100,000
Black Bill
7,000
Ritchie
120,000
Dorff's
80,000
Miller & Levy
200,000
Capt. Judson. 40.000
Elliott & Swartz
200,000
Orn's
100,000
Montpleasure
30,000
MENOMINEE DIGGINGS.
UPPER DIGGINGS.
Christy
2,000,000
Brock & Crocker
500,000
Benn
1,000,000
Ford & Whitaker
100,000
A. McCormick
1,000,000
Jackson 600,000
Van Vickle.
900,000
Jackson & Brown 50,000
Brooks & Adams
700,000
Kilbourn
150,000
Donaldson & French
500,000
Ford. 250,000
Schofield
300,000
Morgan. 50,000
Rigsby & Gilmore.
300,000
Taylor & McCormick ...
350,000
Gilmore & Bonner
300,000
Gilmore & Arndt.
160,000
Gilmore & Whitaker.
300,000
Williams & Atchison. ... 100,000
Morrow & Taylor. 150,000
Taylor & Phipps 150,000
Trespass
300,000
Vosberg
50,000
Hard Times
250,000
Mccullough
100,000
Gilmore & Paul
200,000
Cave. 500,000
Smith
150,000
Patches
100,000
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MINERALS AND MINES OF GRANT COUNTY.
KILBOURN OR LOWER DIGGINGS.
McKnight 1,200,000 May 1,000,000
James Boice. .1,150,000 Ramsey 170,000
Scone & Kilby. 140,000 Brooks & McCallister ... 75,000
Total in both diggings
27,500,000
BEETOWN DIGGINGS.
Morey (in 1828) ...
30,000 Morey & Woodhouse 50,000
Dr. Snyder (in 1828).
175,000 McHollister (in 1838) ... 90,000
Holliday & Merideth. 66,000 Dr. Griffy (in 1839). 30,000
Arthur (in 1829). 65,000 Hackett (in 1828) 30,000
Hackett (in 1840)
120,000
Bunches. 60,000
NEW GRANT.
Day's (1843)
160,000 Day's (in 1844)
55,000
Hore (in 1843)
160,000 Bunches
75,000
RATTLESNAKE.
Segar & Bushnell (in 1827)
Stewart (in 1835).
230,000
250,000 Case (in 1835).
30,000
Dudley (in 1828). 70,000 Stout & Merritt (in
Dudley (in 1843)
50,000
1843) 20,000
NIP-AND-TUCK.
Stewart (in 1828).
80,000 Dudley (in 1838).
70,000
Cave (in 1828)
250,000 Price (in 1843)
16,000
Sheldon (in 1835)
30,000 Brock (in 1843)
40,000
St. John (in 1843)
32,000 Bunches and prospects ..
75,000
BEE TOWN.
Bee (in 1827).
266,000 McCartney (in 1838) ...
30,000
Clues (in 1829).
30,000 Blessing (in 1838).
30,000
Burton's (in 1838). .. 45,000
GRANT RIVER DIGGINGS.
These diggings, Section 15, Beetown, were discovered in 1838 and pretty nearly worked out that year.
Day's
650,000 Big Yank
150,000
Huses 150,000 Bunches 50,000
PIGEON DIGGINGS.
Bonham
900,000 Groshong
250,000
Shanley
200,000
Fraction
80,000
Pigg & Boit
100,000
Terrapin. 50,000
Blackleg
500,000 Houdeshell 100,000
Sheet
1,200,000
Taylor & Houdeshell. 150,000
Bonham & McDonald ... 300,000 Bunches
200,000
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CHAPTER. III.
MINES OF GRANT COUNTY IN 1876.
Beetown District-Potosi District-Hazel Green District-Platteville District.
The following is the report of Moses Strong, Assistant State Geologist of Wisconsin, of the condition of the mines of Grant County about the close of 1876:
BEETOWN DISTRICT.
This is the most westerly district in which any productive mines have been worked. In former years they were very productive, but have gradually become less so. There are several subdistricts, of which the principal ones are Beetown, Nip-and-Tuck, Muscalunge, and Hackett. The diggings in the immediate vicinity of Beetown are situated north and east of the village, chiefly on Sections 20 and 29 of Town 4, Range 4 west. There are here on the ridge about a dozen principal old ranges, all nearly parallel, and bearing a few degrees north of west. They vary from half a mile to a mile and a half in length, some of them extending easterly to the Grant Diggings. There are no large organized companies at work on them, the prin- cipal product being by individual parties in small lots. Lead ore is usually found in this district in two principal openings, known as the twelve-foot opening and the sixty-five-foot opening. The first is named from the height of the opening, which usually averages about twelve feet. The second derives its name from sixty-five feet of unproductive rock which separates it from the first.
The following parties are now or have recently been mining near Beetown :
Brown Bros. & Birch .- These diggings are situated in the Hull Hollow, about three-fourths of a mile south of the village. They were discovered in 1860 by Walters & Roberts, and were first worked in the twelve-foot opening. There are three parallel east-and-west ranges situated about nine feet apart. They produce lead ore which
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MINES OF GRANT COUNTY IN 1876.
is found in flat openings four and one-half feet high and four and one- half feet wide, lying about seven feet above the sixty-five-foot opening. The ore has been traced by a level 300 feet west from the discovery shaft. The depth at the working shaft is sixty feet; the greatest depth on the ridge will be 160 feet. Work was commenced in the winter of 1875-6, since which time the product has been thirty-five thousand pounds. The prospects are considered good.
Wilcox Diggings .- Situated on the north half of southeast quarter of Section 32, Town 4, Range 4 west. This ground has been recently by Messrs. Henry, Ross, Gundry & Toay, of Mineral Point, by whom it is now operated under the name of the Beetown Mine. Work was begun here by Mr. Wilson in 1868. A level has been run in the ground five hundred feet, underlying a flat sheet of blende and smith- sonite, which is in places three feet thick. The sheet has been found to extend eighty feet north and south, and 130 feet east and west ; its extreme limits are not yet known. On the south side some copper ore has been found. The sheet lies in the upper pipe-clay opening. About twenty-two feet above the sheet of zinc ores is one of smith- sonite and lead ore, 150 feet wide, whose length is unknown. It lies in flat and pitching sheets in the Green-rock opening. The ground has produced lead ore to the value of $3,500; also forty-five tons of smithsonite and 175 tons of blende. Four men are now employed here, and it is intended to work the mine to its fullest extent.
Some mining has been done during this year (1876) on Section 27, on the east side of Grant River. The parties are as follows:
Josiah Crossly & Co .- Produced about eight thousand pounds of lead ore in the operation of one month.
Crossly & Bass .- Situated 'south of the preceding. Work was carried on for six months and stopped by the owner of the land; twenty thousand pounds of lead ore were produced.
Wilcox & Sons .- These parties have been working about a month on a new east-and-west range. The product is considered good.
Pigeon Diggings .- They are situated on the north half of Section 20, Town 4, Range 3 west, and consist of several east-and-west ranges, in which the ore is found in flat openings in the "Brown-rock" division of the Galena Limestone. The ground is owned by Messrs. Barber, Dewey, and Cox. There are about fifty men employed here, mining chiefly in the old workings at a depth of thirty to fifty feet below the surface. The annual product of the Pigeon Diggings is
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HISTORY OF GRANT COUNTY.
about twenty-five thousand pounds of lead ore. Mining is chiefly confined to the winter season. During the last year a sheet of smithsonite was discovered on the southeast quarter of Section 19, which has produced sixty tons.
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