The History of Rock County, Wisconsin: Its Early Settlement, Growth, Development, Resources, Etc., Part 47

Author: Wesern historical company, Chicago, pub
Publication date: 1879
Publisher: Chicago : Western Historical Co.
Number of Pages: 899

USA > Wisconsin > Rock County > The History of Rock County, Wisconsin: Its Early Settlement, Growth, Development, Resources, Etc. > Part 47

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The average elevation of fifteen powers, the first of importance on their respective branches, is about one hundred and fifty-five feet above the surface of the river where it leaves the State at Beloit. The average fall from these powers to the State line is a little less than three feet per mile.

With these general statements, we will set aside the tributaries, several of which are important, and consider more accurately the main stream between Horicon and Beloit. The collecting area above Horicon is four hundred and thirty-six square miles, upon which the annual rainfall, reckoned at thirty inches, would be 30,387,456,000 cubic feet. Allowing one-half for evaporation, filtration and other sources of loss, the theoretical discharge at the outlet of Horicon Marsh would be 15,193,728,000 cubic feet. Reckoned at the lowest rainfall in the last thirty years, the amount would be 10,114,749,120 cubic feet. Col. Worrall gives, as the result of a careful measurement of the flow at a time when the volume was estimated to be only three-fourths of the average, a supply of 27,651 cubic feet per minute, or 14,533,365,600 cubic feet per annum, from which it would seem that the calculated amount is not far from the truth. From the foregoing data, estimating the accession from tributaries, it is thought to be safe to consider the average flow between Horicon and Beloit, as, in round numbers, 50,000,000,000 cubic feet per annum. The fall from Horicon to the State line is one hundred and twenty-seven feet. An estimate of the theoretical power generated by the main river shows it to be upward of 20,000 horse power. Of the one hundred and twenty-seven feet fall, less than sixty feet are utilized, according to the best information at command. The unused portion is mainly between Horicon and Watertown, and between Janesville and Beloit. A portion of this latter may readily be made available at Beloit by means of a race leading from a dam situated above the

314

HISTORY OF ROCK COUNTY.

slack water of the present one. Another power near the State line can also be utilized to the profit of this place.

SPRINGS.

Rock County, in common with other portions of Eastern Wisconsin, has two general sys- tems of springs-those that originate in the drift deposits, and those that flow from the rock. The springs of each group occupy several different horizons, which it will be interesting to notice briefly, as the subject is one of great importance, it having been abundantly demonstrated that some of the most terrible diseases which afflict mankind are directly attributable to impure water. If unaided nature has provided any means of escape from this prolific source of danger, it is cer- tain to be found in her deep-seated springs.

There are several reasons why spring-water is more likely to be pure than that of wells. On the average, it comes from greater depth, and has passed through a greater extent of the deeper str ..: 2, which are comparatively free from organic impurities, than has the water of wells, which is usually drawn from the surface of the water level beneath the location of the wells. Artesian fountains are not here taken into account. The water of wells is usually stagnant. while that of springs is active-is "living water." There are some exceptions to the first part of this statement. Occasionally a well is sunk upon an active, flowing, underground stream, in which case the superior character of the water will usually be very marked. Spring-water is not liable to so many sources of contamination, and accidental impurities are more readily discharged.

The lowest noteworthy horizon from which springs arise, is the vicinity of the junction of the Potsdam sandstone and the Lower Magnesian limestone. The water from this source usually has a temperature of forty-eight to fifty degrees, and is clear and comparatively free from organic impurities, but contains a small percentage of the carbonate of lime and magnesia, and, in some cases a very small percentage of iron, with usually some silica, alumina and chloride of sodium. But the combined amount of these is small, and the water is "soft," and very pleasant to the taste. A small amount of free carbonic acid is usually present, which enhances the grateful effect of the water upon the palate and stomach. There are no springs from this horizon in the county, but the water-bearing bed may be reached by wells.

Above this horizon, springs occur but rarely till we reach the junction of the St. Peter's sandstone with the Trenton limestone. Some shaly impervious layers mark this division, while the limestone above is fissured and the sandstone below is porous. It hence follows that the springs may arise either above or below the impervious stratum, according to circumstances. (1) Water descending from above may be caught and carried out where the strata are cut across to the proper depth ; and (2) water that gained access to the sandstone at some distant and more elevated point may rise from below at places where the confining stratum is removed. So that it is proper to include in this group some that issue from ledges somewhat above or below the junction of the formations. These springs are similar in general character to the last, but usually contain a more considerable percentage of the several mineral ingredients, at least that portion of them that are derived from the limestone, which still retains traces of many of the salts that we have reason to suppose were incorporated with it when it was formed beneath the ancient ocean. To this class belong most of the springs that issue from the rock in the western half of Rock County ;; those that issue from the rock in the eastern half spring from the Galena limestone.

The foregoing are all derived from rocks that were laid down under the ancient Silurian ocean, rocks whose ages are to be reckoned by myriads of years, and from which there has at least been a liberal allowance of time for the removal of whatever soluble matter may have been originally incorporated in them ; and yet we find in all that have been analyzed varying quanti- ties of the oceanic salts.

The remainder issue from loose material of much more recent origin, formed by the agency of ice and fresh water, so far as the evidence goes; and yet, as this material was derived from the preceding oceanic formations in great part, the same ingredients may and do occur in the

315

HISTORY OF ROCK COUNTY.

water . They are, as a class, more superficial than the preceding, and more liable to contamina- tion from surface impurities, and for a like reason their temperature is often less constant and their flow less regular. To this class belong those springs that issue from the drift. The most remarkable and most valuable springs in Rock County are the Iodo-magnesian, at Beloit, which flow from the lower portion of the Trenton limestone, and give this analysis :

Chloride of sodium.

Grains per U. 8. gallon. 0.3362

Bromide of sodium

trace.

lodide of sodium

0.0049

Bicarbonate of lime.

14.5196

Bicarbonate of magnesia

12.2808

Bicarbonate of soda

0.1406

Bicarbonate of iron.

0.0396

Sulphate of lime.

0.1326

Sulphate of potassa.

0.3123

Phosphate of soda.

0.0104

Alumina

0.0590

Silica.

0.7581

Organic matter.

trace.

Total per U. S. gallon of 281 cubic inches.

28.5936

ARTESIAN WELLS.

The term artesian is frequently applied to deep wells, without regard to whether the water flows at the surface or not; but it will here be confined to flowing wells, without regard to depth. Flowing wells depend upon these requisite conditions : There should be an impervious stratum to prevent the escape of the water below ; a previous water-bearing stratum upon this, to furnish the flow of water; a second impervious layer upon this, to prevent the escape of the water above, it being under pressure from the fountain-head. These must dip, and there must be no adequate outlet for the water at a lower level than the well. There must also be a suffi- cient collecting area or reservoir in connection with the porous stratum, and it must have suffi- cient elevation to act as a fountain-head.

Wells of this description in Eastern Wisconsin are divided into six different classes, only one of which is now found in Rock County, though there is every reason to believe that others could be sunk successfully in some portions of the county.

The well on the fair grounds at Janesville belongs to the class which flow from the primor- dial zone. The flow of this well at the surface is obtained only by the aid of hydraulic appli- ances. The elevation is about two hundred and ninety-five feet above Lake Michigan, and the depth is one thousand and thirty-three feet, through the following formations :

Drift

350 feet.

Red and green rock, probably Mendota horizon.

Fine-grained, slightly calcareous sandstone.

155 "

Calcareous shale ..

Fine-grained, very slightly calcareous sandstone

163

Coarse, non-calcareous sandstone.

275

Total

1,033 feet.

Drift

350 feet.

Potsdam

683 "

Probably forty to fifty feet of the upper portion of the Potsdam has been removed, making the thickness about seven hundred and twenty-five feet, with the bottom not reached. In the upper portion of the Potsdam horizon, a vein was struck which gave a permanent rise in the tube of forty-eight feet above the water level in the open well, without the aid of a seed-bag or other apparatus for preventing lateral leakage. This corresponds, according to aneroid measure- ment, to two hundred and forty-seven feet above Lake Michigan, or seven feet above the depot at Janesville.

816

HISTORY OF ROCK COUNTY.

There are three extensive areas in Eastern Wisconsin over which there is a reasonable pr- sumption that fountains may be obtained, one of which lies in the Rock River Valley. An el vation of two hundred feet should be taken as the upper limit of favorable chances, and the Janesville well shows that a flow may be obtained at this altitude.

As a majority of deep-seated wells of Eastern Wisconsin derive their flow from the St. Peters sandstone, the following list, showing the elevations in Rock County at which the upper face of that formation outcrops is submitted : Avon, Section 5, northeast quarter, 272 feet; Section 9, northeast quarter, 250 feet; Beloit, Section 3, southwest quarter, 229 feet; Section 3, southwest quarter of southwest quarter 196 feet; Section 10, northeast quarter, 180 feet; Section 10, southeast quarter, 200 feet ; Fulton, Newville bridge, Rock River, 208 feet ; Magnolia, Section 6, southwest quarter, 309 feet ; Section 7, southeast quarter, 433 feet; Section 28, southwest quarter, 339 feet ; R. R. Cut. 330 feet; Porter, Section 9, northwest quarter, 250 feet ; Rock, Section 32, 189 feet; Afton, 206 feet; Spring Valley, Section 3, southwest quarter of southwest quarter, 314 feet; Section 4, southwest quarter of southwest quarter, 338 feet ; Section 9, center, 321 feet; Section 13, Mid. N. line, 300 feet ; Section 15, southeast quarter, 321 feet ; Section 28, northeast quarter, 296 feet; Section 33, southeast quarter, 268 feet ; Union, Section 12, near center, 298 feet.

GEOLOGICAL FORMATIONS.

The northern part of the State is occupied by the oldest formations that are definitely known to geologists by observation, though theoretically there are older ones. These dip down beneath the sandstones and limestones that constitute the upper formations in the southern part of the State. They pass beneath Rock County at a depth of more than a thousand feet, and may be looked upon as forming the great rock floor upon which the later formations repose. There lies upon this floor first, a great bed of sandstone, to which the name Potsdam has been given. The thickness of this is somewhat irregular, but is sometimes nearly, or quite one thou- sand feet. It does not appear at the surface anywhere in the county, but was penetrated by the Janesville artesian well. Upon this sandstone there, lies the Lower Magnesian limestone. This is likewise irregular in thickness, varying in Eastern Wisconin from about sixty feet to one hundred and fifty feet, while in the western part of the State it is sometimes two hundred and fifty feet thick. It does not appear at the surface within the county, but would in the northern part if the drift-the sand, gravel and clay-were removed.

ST. PETERS' SANDSTONE.

Upon the Lower Magnesian limestone, there rests the St. Peters sandstone, which is also uneven in thickness, the average being, perhaps, seventy-five to one hundred feet. This may be readily recognized, as it is the only sandstone known to crop out in the county. It may be seen to good advantage in the cliffs that face the Sugar River Valley, in the western part of the county, and along the valleys of the streams that lead down into it, particularly along Allen's Creek, in the town of Magnolia. It may be seen in the north part of the railroad cut, near Magnolia Station, where it is overlaid by the Trenton limestone, the junction between the two being well shown. It also appears in the cuts between Magnolia and Footville, and forms that singular natural monument not far from the track, about midway between the two stations, which attracts so much attention from passengers on the Chicago & North Western Railway This railroad cuts through the formation again just below Afton, where the Trenton limestone may also be seen to advantage overlying it. Both formations appear along Bass Creek, above this. It is also exposed at several points around the base of the " Big Hill," north of Beloit, and at the quarries along the railroad below. The lower quarry is the most southerly point at which it is known to appear at the surface in the Rock River Valley. It dips southeastward, and becomes buried by later formations. Following up Rock River, we again find the St. Peters sandstone at several points above and below Janesville in the banks of the river. It is well

817

HISTORY OF ROCK COUNTY.

exhibited near the Monterey bridge, and forms that singular little promontory above the dam on the right-hand side of the river. This sandstone may also be found near Indian Ford, and above along the river ; likewise along the creek below Edgerton, and at several other points in the county. It should be understood that it is a nearly horizontal bed, underlying nearly all the county, and that it is only where the valleys have cut down into it that it is exposed to view. In other portions, it is covered by later formations, but may be reached by wells. It is every- where a soft, crumbling standstone, usually white or yellow, but sometimes red or green. It furnishes an excellent building sand, and some portions are suited to glass manufacture. In the upper portion, there are often concretions of iron ore. The constituent grains of sand are nearly pure quartz.

TRENTON LIMESTONE.

Upon the St. Peters sandstone, there lies the Trenton limestone. This is the limestone so frequently seen in the western half of the county ; indeed, with the exception of the capping of several of the higher hills with Galena limestone, it is the only limestone that outcrops west of Rock River.

It has been divided by the State Geologist into four subdivisions, which will be found fully described in his geological reports; but it may be difficult for a non-professional observer to always discriminate between them. The subdivisions are the Lower Buff, the Lower Blue, the Upper Buff and the Upper Blue beds. All of these beds are more or less buff near the surface, so that the color is not a wholly reliable guide.

In the vicinity of Beloit, there are a number of natural and artificial exposures that are so fortunately situated at different elevations as to exhibit the entire thickness of the formation, and yet-an equally fortunate circumstance for the students of geology of that locality-their correct correlation is attended with something of difficulty, and is only accomplished by careful and industrious study. By combining the partial series shown at the various points, the following general section for that vicinity may be constructed, and may be taken as illustrative of the gen- eral nature of the formation :

Upper Blue Beds .- A greenish-blue impure limestone, chiefly earthy and subcrystalline, but in part granular, beds thin and separated with shale, very fossiliferous. Estimated thickness, 15 feet.

Upper Buff Beds .- I. In general, a fine-grained, impure limestone of earthy or subcrys- talline texture, the former a light buff, the latter gray, combined so as to give an obscure banded and mottled appearance quite peculiar. Nodules of chert are present, which distinguish it from the rock below. Beds, thick and uniform, fracture easy and regular in the upper two-thirds, while that of the lower part is very rough and angular, as though from a brecciated structure ; more impure than the upper portions. A shaly layer, seven feet from the base, contains carbon- aceous seams, with graptolite markings. Thickness, 22 feet.

II. Layer of homogeneous structure, conchoidal fracture and earthy texture, but sparkling with minute crystals ; lined and spotted with obscure reddish fucoidal stains. Thickness, 2} feet.

III. Combines to some extent the character of the layers above, being less homogeneous than the last, and more so than the preceding. Some layers, very fossiliferous, the remains being grouped more or less in colonies. Horizon of the Halysites. Thickness, 7 to 8 feet.

IV. Similar to 2, but the characters more marked, 3 to 4 feet.

V. Similar to 1, but not cherty. Texture toward the upper part more irregular than below, 19 feet.

Lower Blue Beds .- Thin-bedded, impure limestone of varying earthy and crystalline texture, interleaved with shaly partings, the whole having a bluish-green or gray color; very fossiliferous, 20 feet.

Lower Buff Beds .- Thick-bedded, buff limestone, of rather coarse texture, somewhat shaly at the base. Fossils not very abundant, except in the shaly portions, 23 feet.

Transitional layer of sandstone, 2 feet.

318

HISTORY OF ROCK COUNTY.

Transitional layer of impure limestone, 4 feet.

St. Peters sandstone.

In the vicinity of Janesville there are several quarries and cliffs that exhibit this formation. At the lower railroad bridge the Lower Buff beds are seen reposing upon the St. Peters sand- stone, and above these the Lower Blue beds, which are here quite shaly. At the quarry one and a half miles west of the city we find at the base the heavy Buff beds, above which are the Lower Blue beds, and at the top the Upper Buff beds. Above the city, the river road on the east side winds up through a little defile between cliffs composed of the middle portion of this formation. On the west side of the river and farther up on both sides, the lower beds of the formation are seen reposing on the sandstone. This locality presents a fine field for the young student of geology.

The railroad cuts mentioned in connection with the St. Peters sandstone and the cliffs in the western part of the county expose to view the lower layers of this formation. The cliffs in almost all cases owe their origin to the protecting cap of Trenton limestone. The soft sandstone is readily worn away from beneath, leaving a projecting ledge or vertical cliff.

This limestone forms a stratum which slopes gently to the southeast, so that in the eastern part of the county it becomes entirely buried by later formations. There are no cliffs or quar- ries in it east of Rock River, except in the immediate vicinity of the stream and some slight exposures of the upper layers near Turtleville. The formation is valuable for lime and building material.

THE GALENA LIMESTONE.

Upon the Trenton limestone there rests a closely related formation known as the Galena limestone, from the fact that it is the main formation that bears galena or lead ore in the lead region of the southwestern part of the State. It differs from the Trenton limestone in being thicker bedded and having a more irregular texture, so that it weathers into rough, craggy forms, and often has a rotten appearance. It is usually a deeper buff than the Trenton beds.

In the western part of the county, it is only found on the higher elevations, forming a cap of no great thickness to some of the hills and ridges. In the eastern part of the county, it is more extensively prevalent, though largely concealed by drift. It may be seen in the quarry south of Milton, in those near Emerald Grove, and, very finely, along the gorge of the Turtle Creek, in Bradford, and along the railroad above Porter's Station in the town of Turtle. At these points it has essentially the same appearance that it presents in the lead region, but only small quantities of lead ore have ever been found in this portion of the formation.

THE GLACIAL FORMATIONS OR DRIFT.

Long after the above formations had been deposited by the Silurian ocean, and had been lifted from the water and eroded into hills and valleys by the elements, the region was subjected to the action of ice and glacial waters, by which a covering of clay, sand, gravel and bowlders was deposited over the face of the region, well-nigh concealing all the strata beneath. This consti- tutes the drift, or glacial, or quaternary deposits that prevail at the surface. They are composed of rounded fragments and the ground-up material of various kinds of rocks. When carefully studied, it is found that all these fragments were derived from formations lying to the north- ward and northeastward, and that a great many of them came from the Lake Superior region and beyond, as, for instance, the copper that is occasionally found, sometimes in quite large lumps.

Taken altogether, this is one of the most puzzling formations known to geologists ; and although the explanations worked out by the recent geological survey are probably the most satisfactory that have ever been given, it would far transcend our limits to attempt to reproduce them here. Indeed, we can only very briefly mention some of the more prominent facts.

In the southwestern part of the county, the drift is not very deep in general, and the shape of the hills and valleys is mainly determined by the contour of the underlying rock. which frequently shows itself in the side hills.

319

HISTORY OF ROCK COUNTY.

across the northern part of the county there is a belt of very heavy drift, which gives ar, billowy, knob-and-basin contour to the surface. The most prominent part of the s across the county from east to west, passing south of the villages of Lima, Milton, d Cooksville, and lying between the latter place and Evansville.

is part of a very extensive drift ridge, or rather belt of ridges, that has been traced by Geologist in its windings. not only across our State, but into adjoining States, and has ed by him the Kettle Moraine, it being a part of the Kettle Range of Eastern 1. e are some minor drift ridges that possess interest, especially one in the town of The great gravel plain of the Rock River Valley, and the similar plain of the Sugar ley, are interesting subjects of study to the geologist. The drift of the former, as the artesian well at Janesville. is 350 feet deep. It probably fills an ancient river

soil, the latest geological formation, was produced by the disintegration of the drift : rock, where it approaches the surface.

820

HISTORY OF ROCK COUNTY.

CHAPTER II.

PHYSICAL GEOGRAPHY - MOUND BUILDERS-INDIAN OCCUPANCY-THE BLACK HAWK WAR- UNITED STATES SURVEYS AND LAND SALES-FIRST SETTLEMENT IN ROCK COUNTY.

PHYSICAL GEOGRAPHY.

Rock County is composed of twenty townships of six miles square each. These include the originally surveyed Townships 1, 2, 3 and 4, of Ranges 10, 11, 12, 13 and 14 east. The sur- face of the county is generally regular and even, a very inconsiderable portion of it being rough or broken land. More than half, when surveyed, was prairie. The residue consisted of oak openings and heavily timbered land. The county is intersected in almost every direction with living streams, and is dotted here and there with springs and lakes. In the original survey, the area of the meandered streams is not included in the acreage, nor are the townships exactly six miles square, as a matter of fact, though the theory of surveying, adopted by the Government, proceeds upon the hypothesis that they are. The county contains actually four hundred and fifty-seven thousand two hundred and eighty-five acres and ninety-seven hundredths, as follows:

Township 1, R. 10, (Avon) 22,542.47

Township 3, R. 12, (Janesville), w. of river ... 14,851.99

Township 2, R. 10, (Spring Valley) 22,996.44

Township 4, R. 12, (Fulton), n. & w. of river .. 9,954.22

Township 8, R. 10, (Magnolia)

22,880.32 Township 4, R. 12, (Fulton), s. & e. of river ... 12,817.11

Township 4, R. 10, (Union)

23,141.41

Township 1, R. 13, (Turtle).

28,108.69

Township 1, R. 11, (Newark)

23,060.62

Township 2, R. 13, (La Prairie).

23,009.10

Township 2, R. 11, (Plymouth)

23,015.96

Township 3, R. 13, (Harmony)

23,214.54

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The History of Rock County, Wisconsin: Its Early Settlement, Growth, Development, Resources, Etc., Part 47

Author: Wesern historical company, Chicago, pub Publication date: 1879 Publisher: Chicago : Western Historical Co. Number of Pages: 899

Author: Wesern historical company, Chicago, pub
Publication date: 1879
Publisher: Chicago : Western Historical Co.
Number of Pages: 899