USA > Wisconsin > Jefferson County > The history of Jefferson county, Wisconsin, containing biographical sketches > Part 25
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167
MINERAL RESOURCES.
14.24 ; = 99.69 : metallic iron, 51.26.
Brown hematite, mingled with more or less red ore, occurs also in some quantity filling cracks und irregular cavities in certain portions of the Potsdam series in northwestern Sauk county and he adjoining portion of Richland. A small charcoal furnace has been in operation on this ore t Ironton, Sauk county, for a number of years, and recently another one has been erected at Cazenovia in the same district.
MAGNETIC ORES AND SPECULAR HEMATITES.
These are taken together here, because their geological occurrence is the same, the two ores occurring not only in the same group of rocks, but even intimately mingled with one another. These ores are not now produced in Wisconsin ; but it is quite probable that they may before many years become its principal mineral production. In magnetic iron ore, the iron is in the hape of the mineral magnetite, an oxide of iron containing 72 4 per cent of iron when pure, and his is the highest percentage of iron that any ore can ever have. Specular hematite is the same s red hematite, but is crystalline, has a bright, metallic luster, and a considerable hardness. As nined the richest magnetic and specular ores rarely run over 65 per cent., while in most regions where they are mined they commonly do not reach 50 per cent. The amount of rich ores of this ind in the northern peninsula of Michigan is so great, however, that an ore with less than 50 per ent. finds no sale; and the same must be true in the adjoining states. So largely does this mat- er of richness affect the value of an ore, that an owner of a mine of 45 per cent. "hard " ore in Wis- onsin would find it cheaper to import and smelt Michigan 65 per cent. ore, than to smelt his own, ven if his furnace and mine were side by side.
The specular and magnetic ores of Wisconsin occur in two districts - the Penokee iron dis- rict, ten to twenty miles south of Lake Superior, in Bayfield, Ashland and Lincoln counties, and he Menomonee iron district, near the head waters of the Menomonee river, in township 40, anges 17 and 18 east, Oconto county. Specular iron in veins and nests is found in small quan- ities with the quartz rocks of the Baraboo valley, Sauk county, and Necedah, Juneau county; nd very large quantities of a peculiar quartz-schist, charged with more or less of the magnetic nd specular iron oxides, occur in the vicinity of Black River Falls, Jackson county; but in none of these places is there any promise of the existence of valuable ore.
In the Penokee and Menomonee regions, the iron ores occur in a series of slaty and quartzose rocks known to geologists as the Haronian series. The rocks of these districts are eally the extensions westward of a great rock series, which in the northern Michigan peninsula ontains the rich iron ores that have made that region so famous. In position, this rock series nay be likened to a great elongated parabola, the head of which is in the Marquette iron district nd the two ends in the Penokee and Menomonee regions of Wisconsin. In all of its extent, this ock series holds great beds of lean magnetic and specular ores. These contain large quantities f quartz, which, from its great hardness, renders them very resistant to the action of atmospheric rosion. As a result, these lean ores are found forming high and bold ridges. Such ridges of ean ores have deceived many explorers, and not a few geologists. In the same rock series, for he most part occupying portions of a higher layer, are found, however, ores of extraordinary ichness and purity, which, from their comparative softness, very rarely outcrop. The existence quantity of these very rich ores in the Menomonee region has been definitely proven. One eposit, laid open during the Summer of 1877, shows a width of over 150 feet of first class pecular ore; and exceeding in size the greatest of the famous deposits of Michigan. In the 'enokee region, however, though the indications are favorable, the existence of the richer res is as yet an inference only. The Penokee range itself is a wonderful development of
168
HISTORYOF WISCONSIN.
lean ore, which forms a continuous belt several hundred feet in width and over thirty miles in length. Occasionally portions of this belt are richer than the rest, and become almost merchant- able ores. The probability is, however, that the rich ores of this region will be found in the lower country immediately north of the Penokee range, where the rocks are buried beneath heavy accumulations of drift material.
COPPER.
The only copper ore at present raised in Wisconsin is obtained near Mineral Point, in the lead region of the southwestern part of the state, where small quantities of chalcopyrite, the yellow sulphide of copper and iron, are obtained from pockets and limited crevices in the Galena lime- ·stone. Copper pyrites is known to occur in this way throughout the lead region, but it does not appear that the quantity at any point is sufficient to warrant exploration.
Copper occurs also in the northernmost portions of Wisconsin, where it is found under alto- gether different circumstances. The great copper-bearing series of rocks of Keweenaw point and Isle Royale stretch southwestward into and entirely across the state of Wisconsin, in two parallel belts. One of these belts enters Wisconsin at the mouth of the Montreal river, and immediately leaving the shore of Lake Superior, crosses Ashland and Bayfield counties, and then widening greatly, occupies a large area in Douglas, St. Croix, Barron and Chippewa counties. The other belt forms the backbone of the Bayfield peninsula, and crosses the northern part of Douglas county, forming a bold ridge, to the Minnesota line. The rocks of this great series appear to be for the most part of igneous origin, but they are distinctly bedded, and even interstratified with sandstone, shales, and coarse boulder-conglomerate, the whole series having generally a tilted position. In veins crossing the rock-beds, and scattered also promiscuously through the layers of both conglomerates and igneous rocks, pure metallic copper in fine flakes is often found. Mining on a small scale has been attempted at numbers of points where the rivers flowing northward into Lake Superior make gorges across the rock series, but at none of them has sufficient work been done to prove or disprove the existence of copper in paying quantity.
GOLD AND SILVER.
Small traces of gold have been detected by the writer in quartz from the crystalline rocks of Clark county, but there is no probability that any quantity of this metal will ever be found in the state. Traces of silver have also been found in certain layers of the copper series in Ash- Iand county. Judging from the occurrence of silver in the same series not far to the east in Michigan, it seems not improbable that this metal may be found also in Wisconsin.
BRICK CLAYS.
These constitute a very important resource in Wisconsin. Extending inland for many miles from the shores of Lakes Michigan and Superior are stratified beds of clay of lacustrine origin, having been deposited by the lakes when greatly expanded beyond their present sizes. All of these clays are characterized by the presence of a large amount of carbonate of lime. Along Like Superior they have not yet been utilized, but all through the belt of country bordering Lake Michigan they are dug and burned, fully 50,000,000 bricks being made annually in this region. A large proportion of these bricks are white or cream-colored, and these are widely known under the name of "Milwaukee brick," though by no means altogether made at Mil- waukee. Others are ordinary red brick. The difference between the light-colored and red bricks is ordinarily attributed to the greater amount of iron in the clay from which the latter are
169
MINERAL RESOURCES.
burned, but it has been shown by Mr. E. T Sweet that the white bricks are burned from clay which often contains more iron than that from which the red bricks are made, but which also contains a very large amont of carbonate of lime. The following analyses show (1) the compo- sition of the clay from which cream-colored brick are burned at Milwaukee, (2) the composition of a red-brick clay from near Madison, and (3) the composition of the unutilized clay from Ashland, Lake Superior. Nos. 1 and 2 are by Mr. E. T. Sweet, No. 3 by Professor W. W. Daniells :
(1)
(2)
(3)
(1)
(2)
(3)
Silica.
38.22
75.80
58.08
Potash.
2.16
1.74
Alumina
9 75
11.07
25.38
Soda.
0.65
0.10
Iron peroxide.
2.81
3.53
4.44
Water
0.95
1.54
Iron protoxide ...
1.16
0.3I
Moisture
1.85
2.16
4.09
Lime .
16.23
1.8.1
8.30
Magnesia
7.54
.08 )
Totals
99.85
99.56
100.19
Carbonic acid.
18.50
1.09
At Milwaukee 24,000,000 cream-colored brick are made annually ; at Racine, 3,500,000 ; at Appleton and Menasha, 1,800,000 each ; at Neenah, 1,600,000; at Clifton, 1,700,000; at Wat- erloo, 1,600,000; and in smaller quantities at Jefferson, Ft. Atkinson, Edgerton, Whitewater, Geneva, Ozaukee, Sheboygan Falls, Manitowoc, Kewaunee, and other places. In most cases the cream-colored bricks are made from a bright-red clay, although occasionally the clay is light- colored. At Whitewater and other places tile and pottery are also made from this clay.
Although these lacustrine clays are much the most important in Wisconsin, excellent brick clays are also found in the interior of the state. In numbers of places along the Yahara valley, in Dane county, an excellent stratified clay occurs. At Madison this is burned to a red brick ; at Stoughton and Oregon to a fine cream-colored brick. At Platteville, Lancaster, and other points in the southwestern part of the state, red bricks are made from clays found in the vicinity.
KAOLIN (PORCELAIN - CLAY - FIRE - CLAY).
The word "kaolin" is applied by geologists to a clay-like material which is used in making chinaware in this country and in Europe. The word is of Chinese origin, and is applied by the Chinese to the substance from which the famous porcelain of China is made. Its application to the European porcelain-clar was made under the mistaken idea-one which has prevailed among scientists until very recently-that the Chinese material is the same as the European. This we now know to be an error, the Chinese and Japanese wares being both made altogether from a solid rock.
True kaolin, using the word in its European sense, is unlike other ordinary clays, in being the result of the disintegration of felspathic crystalline rocks "in place," that is without being removed from the place of its first formation. The base of kaolin is a mineral known as kaolinite, a compound of silica, alumina and water, which results from a change or decay of the felspar of felspar-bearing rocks. Felspar contains silica, alumina, and soda or potash, or both. By perco- lation through the rocks of surface water carrying carbonic acid, the potash and soda are removed and kaolinite results. Mingled with the kaolinite are, however, always the other ingre- dients of the rock, quartz, mica, etc., and also always some undecomposed, or only partly decom- posed felspar. These foreign ingredients can all, however, be more or less perfectly removed by a system of levigation, when a pure white clay results, composed almost wholly of the scales of
170
HISTORY OF WISCONSIN.
the mineral kaolinite. Prepared in this way the kaolin has a high value as a refractory materia;, and for forming the base of fine porcelain wares.
The crystalline rocks, which, by decomposition, would produce a kaolin, are widely spread over the northern part of Wisconsin ; but over the most of the region occupied by them there is no sign of the existence of kaolin, the softened rock having apparently been removed by glacial action. In a belt of country, however, which extends from Grand Rapids on the Wisconsin, westward to Black river, in Jackson county, the drift is insignificant or entirely absent ; the glacial forces have not acted, and the crystalline rocks are, or once were, overlaid by sandstone, along whose line of junction with the underlying formation numerous water-courses have existed, the result being an unusual amount of disintegration. Here we find, in the beds of the Wisconsin, Yellow, and Black rivers, large exposures of crystalline rocks, which between the rivers are overlaid by sandstone. The crystalline rocks are in distinct layers, tilted at high angles, and in numerous places decomposed into a soft white kaolin. Inasmuch as these layers strike across the country in long, straight lines, patches of kaolin are found ranging themselves into similar lines. The kaolin patches are most abundant on the Wisconsin in the vicinity of the city of Grand Rapids, in Wood county. They vary greatly in size, one deposit even varying from a fraction of an inch to a number of feet in thickness, The kaolin varies, also, greatly in character, some being quite impure and easily fusible from a large content of iron oxide or from partial decomposition only, while much of it is very pure and refractory. There is no doubt, however, that a large amount of kaolin exists in this region, and that by selection and levigation an excellent material may be obtained, which, by mingling with powdered quartz, may be made to yield a fire-brick of unusual refractoriness, and which may even be employed in making fine porcelain ware.
The following table gives the composition of the raw clay, the fine clay obtained from it by levigation, and the coarse residue from the same operation, the sample having been taken from the opening on the land of Mr. C. B. Garrison, section 5, town 22, range 6 east, Wood county :
LEVIGATION PRODUCTS.
LEVIGATION PRODUCTS
RAW CLAY.
FINE CLAV.
COARSE RESIDUE.
RAW CLAY.
FINE CLAY.
COARSE RESIDI'E.
Silica
7S.83
1094
92.86
Soda ..
0.057
0.0S
0.05
Alumina
13.43
36.80
2 0S
Carbonic Acid
0 01
Iron peroxide
0.74
0.72
0.74
Water
5.45
11.62
2.53
Lime
0.64
trace
0.96
Magnesia
0.07
0.10
Totals
99.60
99.67
49.60
Potash
0.37
0.51
0.25
CEMENT - ROCK.
Certain layers of the Lower Magnesian limestone, as at Ripon, and other points in the east- ern part of the state, are known to produce a lime which has in some degree the hydraulic property, and the same is true of certain layers of the Blue limestone of the Trenton group, in the southwestern part of the state; the most valuable material of this kind, however, that is as yet known to exist in Wisconsin, is found near Milwaukee, and has become very recently somewhat widely known as the " Milwaukee " cement-rock. This rock belongs to the Hamilton formation, and is found near the Washington street bridge, at Brown Deer, on the lake shore at Whitefish
171
MINERAL RESOURCES.
bay, and at other points in the immediate vicinity of Milwaukee. The quantity attainable is large, and a very elaborate series of tests by D. J. Whittemore, chief engineer of the Milwau- kee and St. Paul railroad, shows that the cement made from it exceeds all native and foreign cements in strength, except the famous English "Portland " cement. The following are three analyses of the rock from different points, and they show that it has a very constant composition :
1
I.
2.
3.
Carbonate of Lime_
45.54
48.29
41.34
Carbonate of Magnesia
32.46
29.19
34.88
Silica
17.56
17.36
16.99
Alumina
I.ŞI
1.40
5.00
Iron Sesquioxide
3.03
2.24
1.79
Totals
100.00
98.68
100.00
LIMESTONE FOR MAKING QUICK - LIME.
Quick-lime is made from all of the great limestone formations of Wisconsin, but more is burnt from the Lower Magnesian and Niagara formations, than from the others. The Lower Magnesian yields a very strong mortar, but the lime burned from it is not very white. It is burned largely in the region about Madison, one of the largest quarries being on the south line of section 33 of that town, where some 20,000 bushels are produced annually, in two kilns. The lime from this place has a considerable local reputation under the name of "Madison lime." The Trenton limestone is burned at a few points, but yields an inferior lime. The Galena is not very generally burned, but yields a better lime than the Trenton. In the region about Watertown and White- water, some 40,000 to 50,000 barrels are made annually from this formation.
The Niagara, however, is the great lime furnisher of the northwest. From its purity it is adapted to the making of a most admirable lime. It is burned on a large scale at numbers of points in the eastern part of the state, among which may be mentioned, Pellon's kilns, Pewau- kee, where 12,000 barrels are made weekly and shipped to Chicago, Grand Haven, Des Moines, etc .; and Holick & Son's kilns, Racine, which yield 60,000 to 75,000 barrels annually. A total of about 400,000 barrels is annually made from the Niagara formation in eastern Wisconsin.
LIMESTONE FOR FLUX IN IRON SMELTING.
The limestones of Wisconsin are rarely used as a flux, because of their prevalent magnesian character. The stone from Schoonmaker's quarry, near Milwaukee, is used at the Bay View iron works, and is one of the few cases. There are certain layers, however, in the Trenton lime- stone, widely spread over the southern part of the state, which are non-magnesian, and frequently sufficiently free from earthy impurities to be used as a flux. These layers deserve the attention of the iron masters of the state.
GLASS SAND.
Much of the St. Peter's sandstone is a purely siliceous, loose, white sand, well adapted to the making of glass. It is now being put to this use at points in the eastern part of the state.
172
HISTORY OF WISCONSIN
PEAT.
Peat exists in large quantities and of good quality underneath the numerous marshes of the eastern and central parts of the state. Whether it can be utilized in the future as a fuel, will depend altogether upon the cost of its preparation, which will have to be very low in order that it may compete with superior fuels. As a fertilizer, peat has always a great value, and requires no preliminary treatment.
BUILDING STONES.
All the rocky formations of Wisconsin are used in building, and even the briefest synopsis of the subject of the building stones of the state, would exceed the limits of this paper. A few of the more prominent kinds only are mentioned.
Granite occurs in protruding masses, and also grading into gneiss, in the northern portions of the state, at numerous points. In many places on the Wisconsin, Yellow, and Black rivers, and especially at Big Bull Falls, Yellow river, red granites of extraordinary beauty and value occur. These are not yet utilized, but will in the future have a high value.
The handsomest and most valuable sandstone found in Wisconsin, is that which extends along the shore of Lake Superior, from the Michigan to the Minnesota line, and which forms the basement rock of the Apostle islands. On one of these islands a very large quarry is opened, from which are taken masses of almost any size, of a very close-grained, uniform, dark brown stone, which has been shipped largely to Chicago and Milwaukee. At the latter place, the well known court house is built of this stone. An equally good stone can be obtained from the neigh- boring islands, and from points on the mainland. A very good white to brown, indurated sand- stone is obtained from the middle portions of the Potsdam series, at Stevens Point, Portage county ; near, Grand Rapids, Wood county ; at Black River Falls, Jackson county; at Packwau- kee, Marquette county ; near Wautoma, Waushara county ; and at several points in the Baraboo valley, Sauk county. A good buff-colored. calcareous sandstone is quarried and used largely in the vicinity of Madison, from the uppermost layers of the Potsdam series.
All of the limestone formations of the state are quarried for building stone. A layer known locally as the " Mendota " limestone, included in the upper layers of the Potsdam series, yields a very evenly bedded, yellow, fine-grained rock, which is largely quarried along the valley of the lower Wisconsin, and also in the country about Madison. In the town of Westport, Dane county, a handsome, fine-grained, cream-colored limestone is obtained from the Lower Magne- sian. The Trenton limestone yields an evenly bedded, thin stone, which is frequently used for laying in wall. The Galena and Niagara are also utilized, and the latter is capable, in much of the eastern part of the state, of furnishing a durable, easily dressed, compact, white stone.
In preparing this paper, I have made use of Professor Whitney's "Metallic Wealth of the United States." and " Report on the Geology of the Lead Region;" of the advance sheets of Volume 11 of the Reports of the State Geological Survey, including Professor T. C. Chamberlin's Report on the Geology of Eastern Wisconsin, my own Report on the Geology of Central Wisconsin, and Mr. Strong's Report on the Geology of the Lead Region ; Mr. E. T. Sweet's account of the mineral exhibit of the state at the Centennial Exposition; and of my unpublished reports on the geology of the counties bordering Lake Superior.
WISCONSIN RAILROADS.
BY HON. H. H. GILES.
The territory of Wisconsin offered great advantages to emigrants. Explorers had published accounts of the wonderful fertility of its soil, the wealth of its broad prairies and forest openings, and the beauty of its lakes and rivers. Being reached from the older states by way of the lakes and easily accessible by a long line of lake coast, the hardships incident to weeks of land travel were avoided. Previous to 1836 but few settlements had been made in that part of the then territory of Michigan, that year organized into the territory of Wisconsin, except as mining camps in the southwestern part, and scattered settlers in the vicinity of the trading posts and military stations. From that time on, with the hope of improving their condi- tion, thousands of the enterprising yeomanry of New England, New York and Ohio started for the land of promise. Germans, Scandinavians and other nationalities, attracted by the glowing accounts sent abroad, crossed the ocean on their way to the new world; steamers and sail-craft laden with families and their household goods left Buffalo and other lake ports, all bound for the new Eldorado. It may be doubted if in the history of the world any country was ever peo- pled with the rapidity of southern and eastern Wisconsin. Its population in 1840 was 30,749; in 1850, 304,756; in 1860, 773,693; in 1870, 1,051,351; in 1875, 1,236,729. With the develop- ment of the agricultural resources of the new territory, grain raising became the most prominent interest, and as the settlements extended back from the lake shore the difficulties of transporta- tion of the products of the soil were seriously felt. The expense incurred in moving a load of produce seventy or eighty miles to a market town on the lake shore frequently exceeded the gross sum obtained for the same. All goods, wares and merchandise, and most of the lumber used must also be hauled by teams from Lake Michigan. Many of our early settlers still retain vivid recollections of trying experiences in the Milwaukee woods and other sections bordering on the lake shore, from the south line of the state to Manitowoc and Sheboygan. To meet the great want- better facilities for transportation -a valuable land grant was obtained from congress, in 1838, to aid in building a canal from Milwaukee to Rock river The company which was organized to construct it, built a dam across Milwaukee river and a short section of the canal; then the work stopped and the plan was finally abandoned. It was early seen that to satisfy the requirements of the people, railroads, as the most feasable means of communication within their reach, were an indispensable necessity.
CHICAGO, MILWAUKEE & ST. PAUL RAILWAY.
Between the years 1838 and 1841, the territorial legislature of Wisconsin chartered several railroad companies, but with the exception of the " Milwaukee & Waukesha Railroad Company," incorporated in 1847, none of the corporations thus created took any particular shape. The commissioners named in its charter met November 23, 1847, and elected a president, Dr. L. W. Weeks, and a secretary, A. W. Randall (afterward governor of Wisconsin). On the first Monday of February, 1848, they opened books of subscription. The charter of the company provided
174
HISTORY OF WISCONSIN.
that $100,000 should be subscribed and five per cent. thereof paid in before the company should fully organize as a corporation. The country was new. There were plenty of active, energetic men, but money to build railroads was scarce, and not until April 5, 1849, was the necessary subscription raised and percentage paid. A board of directors was elected on the Ioth day of May, and Byron Kilbourn chosen president. The charter had been previously amended, in 1848, authorizing the company to build a road to the Mississippi river, in Grant county, and in 1850, its name was changed to the "Milwaukee & Mississippi Railroad Company." After the company was fully organized, active measures were taken to push the enterprise forward to completion. The city of Milwaukee loaned its credit, and in 1851 the pioncer Wisconsin railroad reached Waukesha, twenty miles out from Milwaukee. In the spring of 1852, Edward H. Broadhead, a prominent engineer, from from the state of New York, was put in charge of the work as chief engineer and superintendent. Under his able and energetic administration the road was pushed forward in 1852 to Milton, in 1853 to Stoughton, in 1854 to Madison, and in 1856 to the Mis- sissippi river, at Prairie du Chien. In 1851 John Catlin of Madison, was elected president in place of Kilbourn.
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