Etowah County AlArchives History .....Etowah County 1888 ************************************************ Copyright. All rights reserved. http://www.usgwarchives.net/copyright.htm http://www.usgwarchives.net/al/alfiles.htm ************************************************ File contributed for use in USGenWeb Archives by: Joy Fisher http://www.genrecords.net/emailregistry/vols/00001.html#0000031 September 11, 2011, 2:10 pm XI. ETOWAH COUNTY. Population: White, 19,808; colored, 3,000. Area, 520 square miles. Woodland, all. Coal measures, 140 square miles (40 on Lookout Mountain and 100 on Sand Mountain). Acres—In cotton, approximately, 17,000; in corn. 24,891; in oats, 6,000; in wheat, 7,000; in tobacco, 67; in sugar-cane, 9; in sweet potatoes, 200. Approximate number of bales of cotton, in round numbers, 7,500. County Seat—Gadsden: population, 4,000. Newspaper published at County Seat— Times and News. Postoffices in the county: Atalla, Aurora, Ball Play, Buford, Clear Spring, Coats Bend, Coxville, Duck Springs, Etowahton, Gadsden, Greenwood, Hill, Hokes Bluff, Howelton, Keysburgh, Markton, Nix, Oak Hill, Reaves. Red Bud, Seaborn, Shahan, Stanfield, Turkeytown, Walnut Grove. Three-fourths of the county is made up of mountain plateaus or table lands. The agricultural resources of the county are fine, and when you take into consideration the diversity of crops which flourish in it, it is equaled by few counties in the State. The county contains lands of nearly every variety, and these lands are adapted to raising profitably many of the cereals and fruits. Some of the richest valley lands to be found in the State are in this county, and these valley lands produce the finest staple of cotton, as well as abundant crops of corn, oats and wheat. Some of these valleys are remarkable for their beauty, as well as their fertility, and we mention the Little Wills Valley, up which runs the Great Southern Railroad. We have these beautiful valleys running through the county, in addition to the Coosa River bottoms, as they are called. This Coosa bottom land is remarkable for producing a very fine grade of cotton, from which the celebrated Coates thread is made. It also yields large crops of corn and oats, and other small grains. The county is penetrated from the northeast to the southwest by two mountain plateaus and their valleys. As before mentioned, nearly three-fourths of the county is mountainous, the other fourth takes in the three valleys. These valleys are known as the Coosa Valley, which averages from three to four miles on either side of the river, making its width about six or seven miles. The other two valleys are known as Big and Little Wills Valleys, and are remarkable for their beauty and fertility, especially the latter, which is the smaller of the two valleys. While Etowah County is rich in minerals of nearly every description, her mineral treasure is not her only wealth. Her agricultural resources are very fine, and her chief products are cotton. corn, wheat, oats, millet, sorghum, sweet and Irish potatoes, besides the clovers and grasses. The amount of tilled lands is nearly 65,000 acres. Of this amount, nearly 17,000 acres are planted in cotton, yielding annually about 7,500 bales. About 2,5000 acres are planted in corn; 6,025 acres in oats; 7,053 acres in wheat; 260 acres in sweet potatoes, and about 67 acres in tobacco. The soils of the county vary greatly in the different localities. The valley lands are quite productive being of a loamy character, and of a dark color. These lands are usually stiff, but yield abundant crops when properly cultivated. The lands along the ridges and plateaus are of a different character, being light, sandy, and easily cultivated. Upon the plateaus crops can be rotated very rapidly, as they grow more rapidly and mature earlier than on the valley lands. Among the early settlers the valley lands were prized the most highly but latterly the plateau lands have come quite in demand, and their tillage has been very gratifying. These plateau lands are not only cultivated with far less effort, but when assisted by fertilizers are found to be almost equal in production to the lower soils in the valleys. The lands of the county may be divided, in a general way, between the dark, stiff soils of the valleys and the light soil of the plateaus. In connection with a description of the soils, we mention the fact that in this county there are 12,000 acres of Government lands, still open to settlers, besides a large quantity of railroad lands, which can be bought very cheap, with the mineral rights reserved. The mountain lands are especially adapted to the raising of fruits. Fruits grow upon them to the greatest perfection, and the climate, as well as the soil, seems adapted to peaches, apples, plums, pears and the smaller fruits, such as strawberries, grapes, raspberries and the like. Grape culture has proven quite a success, and experts believe that as fine grapes can be grown on Sand Mountains as in France or any other grape countries. In addition to fruits, all garden vegetables flourish here and some of them reach the highest perfection. Within the past few years, the clover known as Lespedeza Striata, has spread rapidly over the mountain lands of the county, and is even going into the-valleys. It affords a luxuriant green pasture for cattle, horses and sheep—even hogs fatten on it. This new clover is self-propagating, and grows in the sun as well as under shade. Besides the Lespedeza, we have the Bermuda grass, which flourishes in this county, affording fine pasturage for stock. It is also valuable for producing hay. The Johnson grass also does well here with cultivation. These other grasses grow without any attention or cultivation. Especially would we mention the crab grass, which is indigenous and very abundant. It is equal in value to any other grass grown in the county. Several of the Etowah farmers gather fine crops of hay from this grass, which springs up after the wheat and oats have been taken from the land. There are few counties in the State that offer as many inducements to stock raising as Etowah does in consequence of her fine grasses. The timber is another source of wealth to the county. In the valleys are found forests of oak, hickory, chestnut and walnut, while in the flat wood region, south of Gadsden, are found large numbers of Spanish, red, post, and black-jack oaks, and short-leaf pines. Very little of the above timber has been used beyond the home market. The long-leaf yellow pine, which is found in great abundance along the Coosa River, just on the edge of the valley, has been a great source of wealth to Etowah County, and especially to the city of Gadsden. As before stated, the county is crossed midway by the 34th parallel of latitude and is divided north and south by the 86th degree of west longitude. The climate is all that could be desired, being exempt from either extreme of heat or cold. The following is taken from the records of the signal service which have been kept in the city of Gadsden, by Prof. D. P. Goodhue, for a number of years. Of course the average is a fair approximation, and as nearly accurate as can be obtained. TEMPERATURE. The winter season averages 40° F. " spring " " 60 " " summer " " 76 " " fall " " 58 " " whole year " 58 1/2 " RAINFALL. Winter season 16 inches Spring " 13 " Summer " 11 " Fall " 8 " Total 48 inches The above shows that the county has a very generous rainfall, and at the same time its distribution is such as to practically exempt the county from either floods or drouths. The general distribution of it, through the year, prevents the extremes of heat and cold, and gives the county quite an equable climate. The whole county is almost a bed of minerals, in which nearly every variety is found. It is impossible to give accurate information concerning the mineral wealth of the county, because it is only partially developed. In the county are found the following ores, with an analysis of each appended, as far as we have been able to obtain them: 1st. Red Hematite, a fossiliferous ore, yielding from 45 to 50 per cent, of metallic iron. This ore is found in large quantities along the Coosa River, and five miles west of the Coosa, at or near Atalla, is found what is called Red Mountain, containing inexhaustible deposits of this ore, and is not only one of the largest deposits in the State, but is one of the mineral wonders of the American continent. The seams vary from eighteen inches to three feet in thickness. This vast body of fossiliferous ore runs from a point a few miles east of the city of Tuscaloosa to the northeastern limits of the State and is said to be 100 miles in length by from half a mile to a mile wide. This vast deposit passes right through the county of Etowah. In addition to the red hematite, the county has large quantities of brown hematite, though undeveloped. The quality of this brown hematite ore is regarded by experts as good, though we have no analysis of it. Though in its initial state of development, the most abundant mineral of the county is coal. Around the city of Gadsden the coal deposits have been tapped and worked at eight or ten different points, and it is clearly established that there are three veins, one above the other, running under the mountain. The top veins alone have been worked, and they have averaged from eighteen to thirty-six inches in thickness. The yield is a soft, bituminous coal, which is very tine for coking. It is supposed that the two lower veins are thicker, and of a better quality. The quality of the top vein improves as you follow it under the mountain, and Gadsden to-day is mining as good coal as is to be found in the State, with a few exceptions. On the western edge of the county, on Straight Mountain, east of Murphy's Valley, the coal fields of the county have been tapped, and here they show four veins, varying in thickness from eighteen inches to five feet. It is a soft, bituminous coal, and makes line coke. To these coal fields on the western edge of the county two railroads are in process of construction. and these fields will doubtless soon be developed. The coal fields, as far as they are known, extend under Sand and Lookout Mountains, and all indications would lead one to infer, that the quantity of coal is simply inexhaustible. Manganese.—The extent and character of these deposits of manganese are hardly known, as until the past six months, no efforts have been made to locate or open up the mines, except by the Gadsden Iron, Coal and Real Estate Co., but the surface indications are good. Floats of this ore are found on the line of the R. & D. R. R., northeast of Gadsden, but the richest deposits are found in the western part of the county near the village of Walnut Grove, on this same line of railroad, the Rome and Decatur. These mines have been examined by Earle Sloan, of the firm of Reccio, Sloan & Vediles, Birmingham, Ala. We will copy his report: "Entering gulch along the outcrops we ascended comb of ridge affording a bold outcrop of manganese ore; a test-shaft was sunk, showing section affording vein thirty-five inches in thickness, the lower ten inches being an inferior ore, the upper twenty-five inches affording ore ranging from forty-five to sixty-five per cent, metallic manganese, as determined by series of analyses of sections made by writers, and also by analysis rendered by J. Blodgett Britton, of the Iron Masters' Laboratory, Philadelphia, Penn. The ore is low in both phosphorus and sulphur, containing of phosphorus less than 0.2 per cent.; of sulphur less than 0.05 per cent. "Careful inspection of analysis rendered, shows an ore of manganese of the di-oxide class, eminently adapted to the production of ferro-manganese, so essential to the manufacture of steel." This deposit was also examined by Mr. Carl Wentrock, of Birmingham, Ala., who is the mineralogist of the Alabama Mineral Bureau. His report was as follows: "We examined the outcrop for over one mile and chose a place for prospecting. On opening this, we found a vein of four layers. "1, Six inches of ore (mixed); 2, seven inches of clay between; 3, two inches of ore; 4, four inches of clay; 5, two and one-half inches of ore; 6, eight inches of clay; 7, eighteen inches of ore. " This shows a true vein runs through the property. After this, about 100 yards distant and thirty feet below in the same course, we made another opening, and found the same true vein in a better condition, showing a first layer of eleven inches solid manganese super-oxide of best quality, called soft manganese ore. I went over the property for three miles and found the same outcropping and leading veins over the whole distance." The deposit of manganese extends over a considerable area between Blountsville and Walnut Grove, but has not been developed. The above facts and following analysis we get from Mr. James M. Cooper, President of the Gadsden Iron, Coal and Heal Estate Co. Analysis of outcrop of vein, much washed, made by J. Blodgett Brittain, June 3, 1887, for the following substances only: Pure metallic Maganese 44.094 " Silica 12.160 " Phosphorus .106 Contained of available binoxide of manganese, 52.30. Analysis of specimen from pocket made by same party on June 22, for the following substances only: Pure metallic Manganese 59.840 Sulphur 0.000 Phosphorus .212 Contained of binoxide of manganese, 03.85. Stillwell & Gladding, chemists of the New York Produce Exchange, made the following analysis on June 9, 1887. Manganese 56.950 Phosphorus 0.081 Sulphur 0.050 Other minerals. Besides iron, coal, and manganese, the following minerals, rocks, and clays are found in the county: Baryta, used in the manufacture of mineral paints, is found in different sections of the county. Building Stones. Lime rock, in great abundance and easily quarried, blue sandstone of the prettiest quality, and yellow sandstone in the greatest quantities. In addition to the building stones mentioned we have a marble quarry containing the variegated marble of chocolate color, and of the finest quality. Bath brick are also to be found, and they are unsurpassed. Kaolin is found within five miles of the City of Gadsden, though the mines are undeveloped, specimens of the finest quality having been obtained from wells dug at different points. Potters' clay of a very fine quality can be found almost anywhere in the county. Beautiful specimens of galena have also been found, but not in working quantities. As we have before stated, the extent of these mineral deposits are not known, but in many cases they are known to be very great. Additional Comments: Extracted from: Northern Alabama: Historical and Biographical Birmingham, Ala.: Smith and De Land 1888 PART III. HISTORICAL RESUME OF THE VARIOUS COUNTIES IN THE STATE. MINERAL BELT. File at: http://files.usgwarchives.net/al/etowah/history/other/etowahco369gms.txt This file has been created by a form at http://www.genrecords.org/alfiles/ File size: 15.7 Kb