Untitled - Illinois Ancestors

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HISTORY OF AIcDONOUGH COUNTY.
633
sandstone is found below the coal, from ten as the concretionary member of the St. Louis
to fifteen feet in thickness. It is No. 11, of limestone was found outcropping on the creek
the foregoing section, and is believed to be a short distance below where the coal was dis-
the equivalent of the sandstone in the McLean covered. On tne northwest quarter of Sec-
and Stewart quarries near Macomb. A section • tion 33 (Bethel) a coal seam was opened and
of the bed exposed In the vicinity of these worked in 1S58, on land then owned by J.
quarries shows this succession of strata: Thin Stouching, The coal was worked by "strip-
coal, 1 foot; Shaly clay, 2 feet; Thin bedded ping" in the bed or a small creek, the deposit
sandstone, 1 to 6 feet; Massive sandstone, 10 ranging flrom eighteen to twenty inches in
to 12 teef; Bituminous shale (coal No. 1), 4 thickness and being overlaid by about two feet
feet; Carbonate of iron, % foot; Fire clay. V2 of gray shale.
foot; Bituminous slate, or shale, 2-3 foot; Shale, These two lower seams also outcrop on Job's
5 feet. Creek near tslandinsville, and have been
In the Colchester region, at most of the worked from the first settlement of the coun-
outcrops examined, the same horizon was rep- ty. They appear aiso on nearly all the tribu-
resented by dark blue shales (No. 12 of the taries on the east fork of Crooked Creek, and
section previously given), containing nodules probably underlie at least seven-eighths of the
of iron ore inclosing crystals of zinc blende. entire area of the county. In this portion of
On the southwest quarter of Section 24, Town- the State, however, they seldom attain a thick-
ship 5 North, Range 4 West (Tennessee), the ness of three feet; but they are nowhere more
following beds were found exposed in con- than 175 feet below the surface of the gener-
nection with coal No. 1: Shaly sandstone, 4 ally level prairie. No. 3, if developed any-
feet; Coal No. 1, 2 feet; Fire clay (not ex- where in the county, will probably be found in
posed); Shaly sandstone, 16 feet; St. Louis the eastern range of townships, and would
limestone, 6 feet. probably be the first seam reached in sinking
Although the lower coal was not found de- a shaft, or boring from the prairie level.
veloped at any of the exposures examined in At Bushnell a boring for coal passed
the vicinity of Colchester, it was found by Mr. through the following beds, as reported by
Horrocks at his tile and fire-brick kiln, not those in charge of the work: (1) Soil, 2 feet;
more than a mile from the town, and was (2) Yellow clay, 12 feet; (3) Sand, 2 feet; (4)
struck in one of the pits sunk for fire clay. It Blue clay, with bowlders, 61 feet; (5) Blue and
was discovered about forty-five feet below yellow sand. 35 feet; (6) Sandstone, 5 feet;
coal No. 2, being a foot in thickness and asso- (7) Clay shale, 1% feet; (8) Black shale, 1%
ciated with an excellent fire clay. feet; (9) Gray shale, % foot; (10) Limestone,
As early as 1S53 a coal seam was opened 9 feet; (11) Shale, 1 foot. The beds Nos. 1 to
on Section 24, Township 5 North, Range 4 5, inclusive, belong to the drift, and show an
West, on land then owned by Mr. Lowrey. The aggregate thickness of 112 feet, Indicating the
coal was from eighteen inches to two feet in existence of an old valley here, in which the
thickness, overlaid by a few feet of shaly Coal Measures have been cut down to a point
sandstone. Below the bed of coal about six- below the horizon of the Colchester seam, and
teen feet of sandstone was exposed, and a which was subsequently filled with drift de-
short distance up the creek a concretionary posits. Consequently, that coal which should
limestone underlies the sandstone. This is have been found at this point at a depth of
doubtless the lower coal (No. 1) and probably fifty to seventy feet below the surface, was
exists at many points in the county, ranging not discovered at all. The limestone (No. 10
from one to three feet in thickness. At the of the above section) is probably the bed over-
same time (1S53) coal was also dug on Mr. laying the Seaville coal.
Thompson's place, on the northeast quarter At Prairie City a boring was carried down
of Section 16, Township 4 North, Range 3 West to a depth of 227 feet, passing through the
(Bethel). At this point the seam was thirty following beds, as reported by Mr. T. L. Ma-
inches thick, but was only exposed in the bed gee: (1) Soil and drift clays, 36 feet; (2)
of the creek, with no outcrop of the associate Clay shale, or soapstone, 16 feet; (3) Black
beds. This is, without doubt, the lower seam, shale, 1/2 foot; (4) Coal No. 2, 1% feet; (5)
2
HISTORY OF Mcdonough county.
634
Fire clay, 4 feet; (6) Shale and sandstone, 12 and 5, Range 4 West (Lamoine and Tennes-
feet; (7) Clay shale, 38 feet; (8) Hard rock see). The upper part of this formation is us-
(limestone), 11 feet; (9) Shale, 4 feet; (10) ually a bluish calcareo-argillaceous shale, con-
White flint, 1 foot; (11) Shale, 10 feet; (12) taining siliceous geodes, either filled with a
Coal No. 1, 3 feet; (13) Fire clay, 6V2 feet; mass of crystalline quartz, or hollow and lined
(14) Hard rock, 5 feet; (15) Clay shale, 8 within with quartz crystals, mammillary, chal-
feet; (16) Sandstone, 4 feet; (17) Dark gray cedony, calcite and dolomite. Below this
shale, S feet; (18) Clay shale (light colored), geode bed there is usually from thirty to forty
14 feet; (19) Limestone (St. Louis bed), 441/2 feet of gray limestone, tne strata varying in
feet. thickness from a few inches to more than two
In the foregoing sections the beds numbered feet and separated by partings of shale. The
from 2 to 18, inclusive, belong to the Coal limestone beds con—sist mainly of the remains
Measures and include the two lower coal of or—ganic beings corals, crinoids and mol-
strata. No. 19 is undoubtedly the St. Louis lusca that swarmed the primeval ocean; and
limestone, which outcrops on Spoon River, the old quarries of limestone afford a rich
just below Seaville, eight miles east of Prairie field for the student to become acquainted
City. At Lawrence's Mound near that city, at with the varied and peculiar organic forms of
an elevation considerably above the surface this geological period. South of Colmar the
where the above boring was made, a coal seam grade of the Chicago, Burlington & Quincy
three feet in thickness was found (probably Railroad cuts into the upper part of this lime-
No. 3). It was probably an outlier left by the stone to the depth of several feet, and from
denuding forces which swept it away from the excavated material were obtained many
the surrounding region, as it lay immediately characteristic fossils of this period in an ex-
below the drift with no roof but gravel, and cellent state of preservation.
covered but a limited area of ground. A complete section of all the limestone be-
— low the Coal Measures In this county would
LiMKSTONE BEn.s. This division of the Lower show the following order of succession and
Carboniferous series is probably nowhere in thickness: Light gray brecciated limestone, 5
the county more than fifty feet in thickness, to 10 feet; Calcareous sandstone, 12 feet; Mag-
and consists (first) of a bed of light gray con- nesian limestone and shale, 10 to 12 feet; Ge-
cretionary or brecciated limestone, lying im- odiferous shales of the Keokuk bed, 20 to 30
mediately below the lower sandstone of the feet; Light gray chirty limestone, 30 to 40
Coal Measures; and (secondly) of a magnes- feet.
ian limestone and some blue shales or calcar- —
eous sandstones, constituting what is some- Economical Geology. As may be seen from
times called the "Warsaw limestone." On the a perusal of the foregoing pages, a large por-
east fork of Crooked Creek, a little north of tion of this county is underlaid with coal, and
west from Colchester, the following sections although the seams that have been discovered
of these limestones may be seen: (1) Brec- are much thinner than those that outcrop in
ciated light gray limestone. 5 to 20 feet; (2) Schuyler and Fulton Counties, they have not
Calcareous sandstone in regular beds, 12 feet; only furnished an abundant supply of fuel for
(3) Bluish shale, 3 feet. The magnesian bed. home consumption, but for many years thou-
which usually forms the base of the group, sands of tons have annually been shipped to
is below the surface here and generally ranges adjoining counties. From Colchester alone the
from eight to ten feet in thickness. The brec- yearly shipments have for a long period
ciated (composed of angular fragments ce- amounted to about 500,000 tons, and, until
mented together) of limestone is very unevenly within a few years past, the output equalled
developed, and, in a short distance, often var- the shipments.
ies in thickness from five to twenty-five feet, The Colchester coal is of an excellent qual-
or even more. ity, if taken out at some distance from the
The Keokuk limestone is the lowest rock outcrop, where it has been exposed to atmos-
exposed in the county, and is only found along pheric influences. It is hard, bright and com-
the bluffs of Crooked Creek, in Townships 4 paratively free from pyrites, breaking freely
HISTORY OF Mcdonough county.
635
into cubic bloclis when mined. As I'eported there are sixty-nine operators and dealers.
by Henry Flatten, in Dr. Norwood's "Analy- The report also stated that each mine had been
sis of Illinois Coals." the specific gravity of inspected and found in good woj-king condi-
Colchester coal is 1.290. It loses 41.2 per cent, tion. During the year 1905 a large mine owned
in coking, the complete analysis being as fol- by a corporation of which W. A. Compton was
lows: Moisture, 0.4; volatile matters, 35.S; President, was opened at Littleton, on the Ma-
carbon coke, 56.S; ashes (light gray), 2.0. The comb & Western Illinois Railroad, and pos-
coal consists of 60.10 per cent, of carbon. sesses all the latest facilities for mining.
The analysis shows it to be one of the best —
grades of coal in the State, and its freedom Fire Clay. The fire clay found in McDon-
from pyrites has always made it a favorite ough County is plentiful and of first class qual-
with blacksmiths. The coal from the lower ity. While manuiacturing drain tile at an
seam is usually harder than that from the Col- early day, Mr. Horrocks found an excellent
chester vein, and less uniform in quality. No. quality of clay near Colchester by sinking a
3, if found at all in this county, would be met shallow shaft down to the lower, or No. 1 coal,
with in the uppermost layers of the bed rock which at his works is about forty-five feet he-
and immediately underneath the bowlder low the Colchester vein. Tne horizon of the
clays, except at a few points where it might lower coal furnishes an excellent article of fire
t)e overlaid by a few feet of sandstone or and potter's clay in various portions of the
sandy shale. A boring carried down to a State and county. In 1S6S Messrs. Horrocks
depth of two hundred feet would probably and Stevens Brothers erected tile-works just
pass entirely through the Coal Measures in outside the limits of Bardolph, and for a quar-
any portion of the county, and in the western ter of a century increased their output of tile
part the subordinate limestone would be sewer-pipe and fire clay, with bricks of all di-
reached at a depth of 150 feet, or less. When mensions, the entire manufacture being of
the light gray brecciated limestone of the St. most excellent quality. The fire clay was noted
Louis group is reached, it is useless to bore throughout the country for its purity and fire-
further in search of coal. This limestone is so resisting qualities. The raw material has
different in its appearance from any of the been found all along the north side of Crooked
limestones in the lower part of the coal meas- Creek from Bardolph to Tennessee, but the
ures that an expert would find no difficulty in shipment of the manufactured product ceased
identifying it, even by the smallest fragments with the destruction of the Bardolph Fire Clay
taken up by the sand pump; hence it forms a Works, some years ago.
reliable guide, both where it outcrops and —
where it may be reached by the drill, and de- Iron Ore. There is a band of iron ore very
termines the point below which no coal may generally developed in connection with coal
be found. No. 1, and indications of its existence have
The following, taken from the report of J. A. been observed at other points in the county,
Kavanaugh, Mine Inspector, for the year 1905, though nowhere has it been found in work-
indicates the state of the coal-mining industry able quantities. On the creek below Colches-
in McDonough County: Number of mines in ter Tile Works, a bed of very pure ore occurs
operation, 72; miners employed, 299; total about six Inches thick, and it is quite probable
number of days operated, 10,986; bushels of that it may somewhere be found in the county
coal mined, 1,076,461; average price and value of sufficient thickness to be of some economical
of coal at mines, 8% cents per bushel; total value. In the adjoining county of Schuyler
value of coal mined during the year 1905, $92,- there are several bands of ore associated with
519.18. The report shows a decrease of 378,- the same coal, attaining an aggregate thick-
659 bushels, as compared with 1904. Only one ness of about two feet and yielding an analy-
accident occurred during the year, and that sis of about fifty-two per cent,—of protoxide of
not fatal. The foregoing represents coal Iron. The—ore is argillaceous rich in carbon-
mined at Colchester, Tennessee, Birmingham, ate of iron and compares favorably in quality
Blandinsville, La Harpe, Bushnell, Vermont, with the best Pennsylvania ores, but is not
Industry and Macomb. In the entire county found in sufficient quantities to justify mining.
HISTORY OF Mcdonough county.
636
In Mound Township a deposit of bog iron-ore but not in sufficient quantities to justify the
of good quality has been found and reported erection of kilns and other expensive appa-
to be several leet in thickness, but the area ratus. At an early day, before railroad facili-
covered has not been ascertained. Should it ties were available, a kiln or two had been
prove sufficiently extensive and pure as the erected and the product used by the early
samples indicate, it may be a valuable deposit; settlers, but never in sufficient quantities to
but to this date no person has been sufficiently encourage its manufacture to any great ex-
interested to lurther investigate. tent; and to-day there is not a kiln in the
— county.
BiTiLDixG Stonk. The central and Westef-n
portions of the county have an abundant sup-
CHAPTER
ply of freestone from the sandstone bed inter- VI.
vening between coals Nos. 1 and 2. This is us-
ually from ten to twelve feet in thickness (as
worked), in the upper part the beds being
from three to twenty inches in thickness, and EARLY SETTLERS—THEIR HARDSHIPS.
capable of being quarried out in thin, even
slabs, suitable for flagging pavements. The
lower part of tue seam of sandstone is quite m'doxough coun—ty pioxeebs and problems they
massive, and splits evenly. At the McLean, n.^Il to —meet HARDSHIPS OF THE E.M—IGRAXTS'
Rowley and Stewart quarries, two miles west JOURNEY REMINISCENCES OF A PIONEER—BUILD-
of Macomb, there is an exposure of about ING AND FURNISHING A PIONEER HOME BREAK-
twelve feet of stone in the face of the quarry. ING THE PRAIRIE SOD THE COLD WINTER AND
The stone is rather coarse-grained sandstone, —DEEP SNOW OP 1830-31 SUDDEN —FREEZE OF 1832
nearly white in color, and furnishes a very FO—OD AND CLOTHING PROBLEMS BLACK HAWK
durable material for foundation walls, curbing —WAR EXPERIENCE OF A CALIFORNIA GOLD-SEEKER
and culverts. CHILLS AND FEVERTROUBLES CROPS AND BUSI-
At the Hector-McLean quarries, half a mile NESS METHOD—S "wild-cat" CURRENCY AND PRO-
west of the Rowley place, the sandstone is DUCE PRICES AVEB-A^GE LOG HOUSE AN—D ITS
more regularly bedded, the layers varying DOMESTIC LIFE— AMUSEMENTS WAGES LIVE-
from four to more than twelve inches in thick- STOCK PRI—CES ABSENCE OF LABOR-SAVING MA-
ness and the stone being of better quality. Mr. CHINERY' CONTRAST PRESENTED BY PRESENT
McLean manufactures grindstones, whetstones, CONDITIONS.
grave-stones and milk troughs, from the best
portions of the quarry, and several of the The McDonough County pioneers, as well as
veins were equal to any freestone in the coun- those in other parts of the State, had many
ty for color, regularity of grain and durability. difficulties to contend with, beginning with
Mr. Rowley invested a considerable amount of their journeys from civilization to their prairie
money in erecting the necessary buildings and homes. For many weary miles their routes lay
machinery for the manufacture of grindstones, through a rough country; swamps, marshes,
but it did not prove a remunerative investment creeks and larger streams were crossed with
and, within a few years, was abandoned. much hardship and dangerous labor. Their
The sandstone is equivalent to that on the teams were often stalled in fords deep with
railroad west of Seaville, in Fulton County. mud, being obliged to unload the numerous
The magnesian and arenaceous beds of the members of the family and their worldly goods.
St. Louis group will afford excell—ent material At night they were obliged to camp on the
for culverts and bridge abutments in fact, as open prairie, subject to storms of rain accom-
good as can be found in the State, since they panied with terrific thunder and vivid light-
are scarcely affected by changes in tempera- ning. It was enough to strike dismay to the
ture or climatic conditions. Good limestone hearts of these strangers in a strange land
for burning into quick-lime may be obtained when the rain came down in sheets of water,
on most of the tributaries of Crooked Creek, penetrating the canvas of the covered wagon
and on the east fork as far north as Colchester, and sometimes upsetting them, with the camp