USA > Wisconsin > Grant County > History of Grant County Wisconsin, including its civil, political, geological, mineralogical archaeological and military history > Part 22
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It is a feature of this ground that it is traversed by several bars or belts of rock which are very hard and impervious to water. As soon as the level is driven through one of them, it unwaters the ground in all directions to the next bar.
Some time in the year 1871, one of these bars was reached which was so hard that blasting with powder made but little impression on it. As an experiment, nitro-glycerine was tried and gave the greatest satisfaction, so much, indeed, that a factory has been established here, and it is gradually being introduced into the mines. It is at present used in Dubuque, Galena, New Diggings, and several other places. It was at first regarded with some dislike and distrust by the miners, but this prejudice is being overcome, and nitro-glycerine, or some of its compounds, will probably supplant gunpowder in the mines, at no distant day.
On account of the position of the bars, it was found necessary to make three branches to the level, one of which is now complete and is gradually draining the western part of the ground. The northern branch, when complete, will undoubtedly unwater the rest of the ground.
This level is an evidence of what can be done by scientific mining, when carried on persistently and systematically, with sufficient capital, applied with foresight and sagacity. It has cost the com-
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MINES OF GRANT COUNTY IN 1876.
pany twelve years of time and about one hundred thousand dollars. Its results are, that it has already repaid the outlay of the capital by the ore raised from the ground unwatered by it, which would otherwise have been inaccessible. When complete it will unwater the ground 135 feet below the natural water-level on the ridge. It furnishes employment to about eighty miners during the mining season.
Quite a large and clear stream of water is discharged from the mouth of the level, and is at present used to operate a furnace and three wash-places. The ore in the Hazel Green mines is usually found in sheets; this is a characteristic mode of occurrence. The ranges are approximately east-and-west, or north-and-south, the former being most productive. Ore is also sometimes found in large bunches or pockets, containing sometime several thousand pounds, and occasionally in openings. The pockets are often lined with large and very regular cubes, affording handsome cabinet specimens. The total production since the discovery of these mines has been carefully computed from the smelters' accounts at one hundred and twenty-six million pounds. Their present product is about eight hundred thous- and pounds per annum.
Mining in this vicinity is confined to the upper half of the Galena Limestone, which is here present in its entire thickness, the clay of the lower beds of the Cincinnati Group being found near the village, on the road to Galena. A section of the strata from the top of the ridge to the level would present approximately the following features:
Soil and flints. 15 feet
Galena Limestone. 90 feet
Shale or thin layers of limestone 10 feet
First clay opening 10 feet
Second clay opening 20 feet
20 feet
Flint opening to floor of level.
Total thickness 165 feet
The following are the parties who are now engaged in mining on the company's land, or have been during the course of the survey :
Richard Eustice and Co .- These parties were working in a new locality, and had at the time they were visited, one of the hand- somest displays of ore ever seen in the grounds. The bottom of the shaft had penetrated an opening filled with soft earth. The sides of the opening were lined with a body of ore which presented an
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HISTORY OF GRANT COUNTY.
unbroken mass of cubic crystals of various sizes, some of them being as much as six inches on a side, and of very perfect shapes, affording very handsome cabinet specimens. There were not less than ten thousand pounds of lead ore in sight, in a place about ten feet long. This body of ore is known to continue several feet deeper to the drift below. These diggings were worked in the fall of 1875, and produced one hundred and twenty thousand pounds.
Rowe and Rowe .- This is a new range, discovered in March 1874. It is an east-and-west sheet in which the ore occurs in crevices three or four inches wide, at a depth of about sixty feet below the surface, and about thirty-five feet above the flint opening. Work was suspended here in September, 1876. The total output produced up to that time was fifty thousand pounds.
Richard Eustice .- These are situated in the Phelps Range; the shafts are ninety feet deep, down to the clay openings. Length of drifts about one hundred and fifty feet. The ore here occurs in a sheet about an inch thick. The diggings were worked from June, 1872, to June, 1875, and produced about forty thousand pounds. Near these diggings, and about ten feet deeper, is an east-and-west sheet dipping to the north, carrying bunches of blende, which afford quite handsome crystals.
Mainwaring and Madison Range .- This is an east-and-west range and is sometimes known as the Hinch Range, from the name of a person who formerly worked it, and by whom it was abandoned in 1858. Since the level has been run, the water has fallen about fifty feet in this ground, and in December, 1873, work was resumed on it by Crawford, Mills & Co., since which time it has produced forty thousand pounds of lead ore. The shaft is down about fifty-five feet and within six feet of the flint opening. Work was suspended on it in June, 1875.
John Edwards .- These diggings are situated farther west on the same range. A flat sheet of blende is found here in the second opening, at a depth of eighty feet below the surface. The order of deposition here is: First, pyrite; second, galenite; third, blende. During the winter of 1875-76, the product was blende, ten tons; lead ore, fourteen hundred pounds.
Bull Pump Range .- This range was worked by Jackson & Co. during the years 1873-75, producing ninety thousand pounds. Work was suspended here in the fall 1875.
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MINES OF HAZEL GREEN DISTRICT.
Bininger Range .- This range has been worked at intervals since May, 1874. It is now worked by Stephens, Mankivel & Rowe. Four men are employed here with a horse-pump in the second opening. During the present year the product has been thirty thousand pounds.
Big Pump Range .- This range has been worked since October, 1876, by Richard Eustice & Co. A small amount of ore has been produced from the first opening.
McCoy Water-wheel Range-Work was recommenced here about August 1, 1876, by Rowe & Son, in the first opening.
Oates & Eustice .- This party has been working during the last year and a half on a range two hundred feet north of the west branch of the level. The lead ore is found in a flat sheet in the second open- ing. The opening is seven feet high and averages seven feet in width. The sheet is about one foot thick. The product to the present time has been one hundred and fifty thousand.
Clark Diggings .- Two men have been working during the last year in the range next north of the McCoy Waterwheel Range. The ore is found in "chunk mineral" in the second opening, which is here six feet wide. The product has been thirty thousand pounds.
Treganza & Son .- Work was begun by this party in the fall of 1874, on the Dry-bone Range, south of the Badger Lot. The works are in the second opening which is here from ten to twelve feet wide, and contains a flat sheet about five inches thick of which the upper part is lead ore and the lower zinc ores. The product has been: zinc ores, twenty tons; lead ore, twenty thousand pounds. Very hand- some specimens of galenite, coated with cerussite, are obtained here.
W. H. Eustice & Bro .- This party began work in the fall of 1875 at Crawford's little pump shaft. They worked in the second opening during the winter of 1875-76, and suspended in the summer on account of water. The prospect is good and they expect to resume work this winter [1876]. Product ten thousand pounds.
Edwards Estate .- On this land there are several old ranges, now drained by the level of Crawford, Mills & Co., in which the following mining has been done:
Peter Skinner, in the winters of 1874-75 and 1875-76, produced one hundred thousand pounds.
Moffatt & Co., in the same seasons, produced eighty thousand pounds.
Pierce & Trewartha, in the same seasons produced seventy thou-
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HISTORY OF GRANT COUNTY.
sand. Other parties in the same time, in small amounts, one hundred thousand.
In addition to the parties already mentioned, there are in the win- ter season, usually about sixty miners working on the lands of the Hazel Green Mining Company.
The following diggings are in the village of Hazel Green, but not on the lands of the Hazel Green Mining Company :
McBrien & Co .- This is an east-and-west sheet, connected with a quartering one averaging about an inch thick, situated on the land of Dr. McBrien, on the northwest quarter of Section 25, Town 1, Range 1 west. The range was worked in 1844, and the ore taken out to the water-level. The water having become much reduced by the Hazel Green Company's level, work was recommenced in 1871, since which time about fifty-five thousand pounds of lead ore have been taken out. The diggings are on the upper beds of the Galena Limestone, and not down to any openings.
Torneal's Diggings .- A short distance southwest of the preceding is a range consisting of twenty parallel crevices about twenty-five feet apart, and bearing north 15° east. Work was abandoned on them in 1850, and was recommenced by Mr. Torneal about eight years ago, since which time they have produced forty-two thousand pounds. Considerable time and labor have been expended in running a cross-drift to prove the ground and ascertain the number and posi- tion of the crevices. The distance here to water is eighty feet, and the diggings are in the upper heds of the Galena Limestone.
Rowe and Vivian .- This was formerly known as the Chisholm Range, and is situated on Edward Williams's land in the southwest quarter of Section 25, Town 1, Range 1 west, in the southern part of the village of Hazel Green. It is a north-and-south range, and was abandoned in 1854. Work on it was recommenced by the present parties in November, 1873. Since then it has produced twenty-four thousand. The full thickness of Galena Limestone is here present, overlaid by a few feet of clay of the Cincinnati Group. The deepest shaft is one hundred and six feet, and the total length of the drift is about one hundred and ninety feet. Work was suspended here in the spring of 1875.
Williams and Brother .- On Edward Williams's land. This party began in the fall of 1875 and is now mining in a range a short dis- tance west of the diggings of Eustice & Co., in the village of Hazel
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MINES OF PLATTEVILLE DISTRICT.
Green. They are working on a vertical sheet, and have produced twenty thousand pounds.
Chandler's Mines .- These diggings are situated on Mr. Wetherbee's land, and on the Sulphur Lot Range. Work was begun in 1874. The works are in the second opening, which is from six to eight feet wide, and contains a sheet of lead ore from one to two inches thick, and also large, irregular masses, which afford handsome specimens. The mine has produced half a million pounds and is now very good.
PLATTEVILLE DISTRICT.
The diggings of the Platteville District comprise those situated in the immediate vicinity of the village, the Whig Diggings and the Big Patch Diggings. The mines near Platteville are all included in Sections 9, 10, 14, and 15; and of these, the ones chiefly worked are situated on Sections 9 and 10, a short distance north of the village. The diggings here are very shallow; the deepest shafts are seldom more than thirty feet. The ore occurs in bunches, pockets and small openings in the clay crevices, and often comes up to the surface. Their geological position is about the middle of the Galena Limestone. There are no large companies at work in the district, all the mining being done by parties of two or three persons. There are quite a large number of such parties, who form the aggregate production of the district. A few of the most prominent are here given, and their annual production as nearly as could be ascertained :
Stevens & Rowe ... 40 thousand lbs. Lane & Lawton.60 thousand lbs. Wales & Rowe ...... 50 C. Cornelius, Jr., .. 8 " Thompson, Phil- Wm. Johnson ....... 5
lips & Colt ... .12
: Burns & Conley.100
Sheppard. .12
" Leonard Coates ... 15 Other sources in
Carlyle, Hender-
shot & Co. 20
small lots. 63 395 ..
¥ ..
Total
As most of the mining is done in the winter, none of the above mentioned firms were engaged in mining at the time the district was visited, and we are unable to give a detailed description of the several mines.
WHIG DIGGINGS.
This is a small group of east-and-west ranges in the south- west quarter of Section 7, Town 3, Range 2, West, on the ridge, on the west side of the Platte River, which belongs to the Platteville
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HISTORY OF GRANT COUNTY.
district. More or less mining is done here during all the year. The following information concerning them was obtained from part- ies now at work there. The diggings are all in the upper beds of Galena Limestone. The principal ranges are as follows:
Gillis Range .- This is the longest and largest range in the Whig Diggings, being half a mile in length. The shafts are sunk on it from thirty to fifty feet deep, where a crevice opening from three to fiye feet high is found. There are from three to seven parallel crevices, which were discovered in 1839. Their total product since then has been about five million pounds. The present annual product is fifteen thousand pounds.
Robbins Range .- Situated a short distance north of the Gillis. It was struck in 1840, and produced five hundred thousand pounds. Work was suspended on it, and resumed in 1866 by Cronin & Stevens, who raised about three hundred thousand pounds. Less work is now done on it than on any of the others.
Duncan Range .- Situated 150 yards south of the Gillis. It is a little more than a quarter of a mile in length. There are here two parallel crevices, and one opening which is from six to twenty feet high, and from five to forty feet below the surface, according to the contour of the ground. It is a very hard ground to work, as everything has to be timbered. It still produces a little ore and a little smithsonite, exactly how much could not be ascertained. The total product of the range is said to have been one and one-half million pounds.
The relative position of the openings here is as follows:
First opening 6 feet
Unproductive rock. 9 feet
Second opening 8 feet
Limestone cap. 9 feet
Third opening, height not known.
Messersmith Range .- This range is situated a short distance south of the Duncan, is about a quarter of a mile long, and has but one principal crevice. It is from five to thirty-five feet to the top of the opening; which is from five to ten feet high. The range is now worked out for lead ore, but still produces a small amount of smithsonite.
Missouri Range .- Some work is done on this range at all times. It is situated a short distance south of the preceding, and is about a
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MINES OF PLATTEVILLE DISTRICT.
quarter of a mile long. It has one crevice, and an opening which is about seven feet high. It has produced six hundred and fifty thou- sand pounds since it was discovered ; and its annual yield is about five thousand pounds.
Dutch Range .- The range was discovered in 1840, and has been worked nearly every year since. It is a quarter of a mile long. The ore is found in bunches mixed with blue clay, in the first opening, which is from fifteen to thirty-five feet below the surface. No ore is found in the lower openings. It has produced in all two hundred thousand pounds, and its present annual average is five thousand pounds.
Wilkinson and Cronin Range .- Is a quarter of a mile long, and was discovered in 1868. The ore is found partly in the first, and partly in the second openings, which are here eight feet apart. It is from five to thirty feet from the surface to the top of the first opening. There are here two ranges which have produced three hundred thousand pounds. The range is now nearly worked out.
Smith Range .- This differs from any of the Whig ranges before mentioned, in having its course north and south, instead of east and west. The range is about an eighth of a mile long, and the distance from the surface to the top of the opening is from ten to sixty feet. The sheet was from one to four inches thick, and was worked in one place down to the Blue Limestone. The principal bodies of ore were found in the Brown Rock opening, which is much lower than the general run of openings at these diggings. The range is said to have produced two hundred thousand pounds, and is now worked out.
BIG PATCH DIGGINGS.
The greater part of this group of diggings is situated in Section 10, Town 2, Range 1, West. The general course of the range is north 65° west. The ore is found here in crevice openings, and usually in the first opening. The following parties are now mining here :
Dixon & Coates produced since February, 1876 .. 400 thousand lbs. Casper Linden produced since March, 1876 25 =
Tupper & Trowbridge produced during August, Sep- tember, and October, 1876. 12
Peacock & Co., annual product 18
66 6.6
Todd & Co., annual product 10
Haverness & Co, annual product 15
Spink & Co , annual product.
,20
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HISTORY OF GRANT COUNTY.
Hawkins, Thomas and Co .- Southwest quarter of Section 31, Town 3, Range 1, West. This is a discovery of the year 1872. The ore is blende, somewhat mixed with rock, and occurs in a flat sheet on the upper surface of the Blue Limestone. The sheet has in some places a thickness of five feet; it lies in the bed of a small stream, and a level to drain it is partially complete. About twenty-seven tons of ore have been produced.
STATISTICS OF ORE SMELTED IN THE COUNTY.
Beginning in the western portion of the lead region and proceed- ing eastward, the first is the Beetown furnace, in which is smelted all the ore of the Beetown Diggings, together with that of Muscalunge, Nip-and-Tuck, and Hackett Diggings.
The furnace is owned and operated by Hon. Christopher Hutchin- son, by whom it was built in 1868. Previous to that time all the ore of the above-mentioned district was smelted at Potosi. It is a reverb- eratory furnace, known as a Drummond, with a capacity of nine thou- sand pounds of ore in twenty-four hours. It consumes one and three- fourths cords of oak wood, and is operated by two men. The number of pounds of ore smelted from June 19, 1876, to October 1, 1876, is as follows:
Year. Ore smelted. Year. Ore smelted. Year. Cre smelted. Year. Ore smelted. 1868 .. 800,000 1870 .. 1,700,000 1872 .. 900,000 1874 ... 1,000,000 1869 .. 1,100,000 1871 .. 1,300,000 1873 .. 850,000 1875 ... 800,000
1876 ... 700,000
Total .9,150,000
Proceeding east, the next is the Platteville district, which has two furnaces, both near the village. Here is smelted all the ore raised in the Platteville and Whig Diggings, and also that from the Big Platte Diggings in the town of Smelser:
Year.
Furnace No. 1.
Furnace No. 2. Total.
1862
800,000
350,000
1,150,000
1863
600,000
350,000
950,000
1864
600,000
350,000
950,000
1865
500,000
350,000
850,000
1866
500,000
350,000
850,000
1867
500,000
350,000
850,000
1868
450,000
350,000
800,000
1769
450,000
350,000
800,000
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STATISTICS OF ORES SMELTED IN THE COUNTY.
Year.
Furnace No. 1.
Furnace No. 2.
Total.
1870
450,000
350,000
800,000
1871
600,000
350,000
950,000
1872
600,000
350,000
950,000
1873
400,000
200,000
600,000
1874
500,000
..
500.000
1875
504,000
504,000
1876
1,044,000
1,044,000
Total
8,498,000
4,050,000
12,548,000
The above table gives in round numbers the product of the Platte- ville district since 1861. It is, however, only an approximation made by the smelters themselves, and believed to be tolerably correct. Fur- nace No. 1, owned by Messrs. Straw & Spensley, is a blast furnace hav- ing two hearths, and is situated about half a mile south of the village. Furnace No. 2, owned by Mr. Coates, is situated near the railroad de- pot. It is a blast furnace of two hearths, and has not been worked since some time in 1873. Nothing more than an oral statement of its annual average could be obtained.
POTOSI DISTRICT.
Four furnaces have been operating in the vicinity at times since 1861, but only two of them are now worked. Vance's furnace ceased work in 1868, and Gibson & Co.'s furnace in 1871. A. W. Emery's furnace, situated near Rockville, is a reverberatory, with a capacity of six thousand pounds in twenty-four hours. Thomas Hymer & Co.'s furnace, situated near British Hollow, is a blast furnace of one hearth. Previous to 1868, all the ore from the Beetown district was smelted at these furnaces, in addition to that which they now smelt, which comprises the mines of Potosi, British and Dutch Hollows, and Rock- ville.
A detailed statement of the ore smelted at the several furnaces could not be obtained, but from the oral statements of the several smelters, the following estimate has been prepared, and it is believed to be nearly correct.
Year. Ore smelted Year. Ore smelted Year. Ore smelled. Year. Ore smelted. 1862 .. 6,050,000 1866 .. 4,400,000 1870 .. 1,900,000 1874 .... 750,000 1863 .. 5,120,000 1867 .. 3,500,000 1871 .. 2,230,000 1875 .... 700,000 1864 .. 4,500,000 1868 .. 2,600,000 1872 .. 1,400,000 1877 to
1865 .. 5,200,000 1869 .. 2,200,000 1873 .. 1,500,000 Oct.1st 650,000
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HISTORY OF GRANT COUNTY.
HAZEL GREEN DISTRICT.
This district embraces all of the mines in the vicinity of the village of Hazel Green, and, indeed, all the ore produced between Sinsinawa Creek and the Coon Branch of the Galena River.
The furnace is a new blast-furnace of one hearth and a capacity of a hundred pigs (of seventy pounds each) in twenty-four hours. It is owned and operated by Messrs. Crawford, Mills & Co., who furnished the following statement from their books. It is situated on the Hard- scrabble Branch, about a mile southeast of the village of Hazel Green. Year. Ore smelted. Year. Ore smelted. Year. Ore smelted. Year Ore smelted. 1862 .. 2,027,047 1866 .. 797,421 1870 .. 1,223,250 1874 ... 830,174 1863 .. 1,262,640 1867 .. 1,334,640 1871 .. 1,230,917 1875 .... 735,395 1864 .. 837,597 1868 .. 1,541,670 1872 .. 1,278,524 1876 to
1865 .. 753,82I 1869 .. 1,316,970 1873 .. 1,046,626 Oct. 1st 723,192 Total from January 1, 1862, to October 1, 1876 ..... 16,938,885
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CHAPTER IV.
PRESENT CONDITION OF GRANT COUNTY MINES.
Potosi District-Beetown District-Platteville District-Hazel Green District-Wingville District.
Since the report in the preceding chapter was made mining in Grant County has greatly declined, although during the last year it has somewhat revived. The new mining is mostly of a different character from the old, as most of the shafts are on the high ridges and have to be sunk very deep and require much pumping; consequently, the min- ing is done by stock companies instead of individual workers. Also, the ores of zinc, which before the Civil War were considered worthless in this county, and were thrown out as waste material, and even used in road-making, are now in many mines of more value than the lead ore. But the most productive zinc mines of this region lie just outside of the county to the east, and consequently a description of them is not within the scope of this work.
It is impossible in many instances to get any idea of the amount of ore raised by individual miners. Most of them are working on land owned by other persons, and having to pay rent on the mineral, they are not inclined to make accurate reports of the amount of ore raised. The furnaces of the county, from which much information as to the amount of lead raised in their districts was formerly obtained, have been abandoned and the ore is now shipped away to be smelted.
A remarkable instance of the decadence of mining in the county is seen in the Fairplay district, once so productive. The great mines have been abandoned and only a few individual prospectors are working with comparatively small results.
POTOSI DISTRICT.
The Potosi lead mines celebrated in an early day as "Snake Hol- low Diggings" have in recent years been almost abandoned as a prof- itable employment or even a "grub-stake" producer, as the miners callit. Of late years none of the old ranges, such as the Woolley Range, 16
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HISTORY OF GRANT COUNTY.
the Long Range, Mud Range, Adney Patch, Silver Point, the Old St. John Cave, or Preston Point, noted and well-known diggings in early days, which turned out millions of lead ore sixty or seventy years ago, are not worked at all, nor even attract the least attention. They are moss-grown and recognized only by the piles of dirt and range of abandoned shafts or mineral holes.
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