Bradford reporter. [volume] (Towanda, Pa.) 1844-1884, 1866-11-15
TOWANDA, BRADFORD COUNTY, Pa, NOVEMBER Is, 1866

Barclay Company's lands, and they are
known to contain three several bodies on
fields of coal, two of which have been open.
ed, and show vein of coal of unusual
thickness. But the property is still in a
state of nature, the mines not having been
worked no houses or coal works built, and
the railroad does not yet extend to the
| lands sts
There has never been any coal discover
ed in Bradford County, except on the high
est SUBMITS of the Towanda Mountain, a
spur of the Alleghanies, lying between the
main Towanda Creek and the Schrader, or.
Middle Branch, of that stream, and the
| above six parties own the whole of it. only
three of whom are mining and shipping
coal, viz =: the Barclay, Towanda, and Fall
Creek Coal Companies
Beginning at the nearest to Towanda,
near the point, or end, of the mountain, and
going westward, the several bodies of land
are situated in the following order: 1st,
Cashs heirs. I'd, Elisha A. Packer, and
others. Sd, Fall Greek Bituminous Coal
Company. 4th, The Towanda Coal Com
pany. 5th, The Barclay Coal Company,
and 9th, The Schrader Land Company.
But as this whole region is painless
wilderness, without improvements, or even
roads,-except about the mines-and unex-
plored, it is not unlikely that large discov-
cries of coal may, hereafter, be made.
The mountain called "Burnet's Ridge"
ON the opposite side of the Schrader
Creek from Barclay,-is thus described by
Prof. WALTER R. JOHNSON, an eminent geol-
ogist, in his report "On the southern
side of the creek, between that stream and
the Milestone Run, is a district, which, so
far as the indications of the surface can be
relied on, will probably be found more val
liable than any other which l have seen
It's greatest elevation is almost identical
with that of the coal deposits, and every
rock found on the north side of the stream
is also observable on the south side" Ow-
ing, however, to the quantity of earth with
which the rocks are concealed, it will be
more expensive to make explorations.
JAMES MAcFARLANE, of Towanda, owns one
thousand acres on the highest part of Bur-
nets Ridge, directly opposite Barclay, and
adjoining the Fall Creek Company's lands,
which he offers for sale, and this is the on
ly land in the region now in the market,
except that owned by Mr.. CAsH's heirs.
1t is well known that the great difficulty
in the coal business, in this region, has been
the want of transportation at times when it
was most needed For several years, when
the canal was new, it was very leaky and
subject to frequent breaks. When prices
of coal were high, and the demand good,
boats, being also in demand, were very
scarce The working capital of the only
Rail Road and Coal Company was limited
for eight years there was but one locomo-
tive, and not a sufficient number of cars,
and the road was consequently without ca
pacity to do any larger business than was
done. The quality of the coal, however,
was good, it sold at prices equal to that OBJ
tanned for any other similar coal, and it has
earned for itself a good position in the mar
ket, throughout the State of New York, for
blacksmithing, rolling mills and steam pur-
poses. - E.s
In the meantime, however, the trade in
similar kind of coal, in the Blossburg, or,
more properly, the Fall Brook and Morris
Run coal region, in Tioga county, only
about twenty-five miles west of the Barclay
region, and the same distance from market
as the Barclay, had rapidly increased, as
will appear by the following comparative
statement of the quantities shipped from
the Barclay and Blossburg regions