Cedar Falls gazette. [volume] (Cedar Falls, Iowa) 1860-1895, 1868-04-10
iowa Cents.al TSaiIrona

White, State Geologist, or the re-
sources of the counties along the line
of the Iowa Central Railroad, will
show the great Importance Of this
road to the State:
Iowa City, Iowa. March l, 1865. :
President Of the Iosca Central IN. R.
Cb., Oskdio6sts, lotcd: M
DEAR SIR: Your request that I
should furnish your company with d
abatement of the natural resources of
the country along the route Of your
road, was, duly received. Although
am just furnishing to the public
press, statements cmbodying the m.
formation sdcsired. I take the earliest
opportunity of complying with your
request, Because i believe such enter
prlses as yours to be among tile most
important means of sdeveioping the
fesources oflthe State, by whose sul
thority am now pursuing these in
scHAkAcTER or SURFACE. 5e9
The general surface Of the whole
State OF Iowa, so far az railway oDer.
ationsiare concerned, is practically
leyeL That is. there Is no ranges OF
hills or mountains to be crossed with
In It's ilimitsAthe existing Uneven
ness'of the surface havitig resulted
freml the. erosion of the fvalleys by
their own streams during past ages.
This character of surface In sonc
parts of the State renders heavy
grades indispensable tn Iabproachinv
atf bs,N 4 L.
comparatively free from this ldiilicul,
~, from the fact that IL will run up
on the "uiviuesp betwcenEthe heads
ofitha stteauas alonga good portion
OF the route the valley will be air
pr9nched BY way of fayprably LOCATED
eu tributary creeks, and In the north
ern liaft OF tile State u will run
nearly parallel with the principle
streams. Al ala IA t-,s s.,1it 3,a,,.l +,
ta,aa CHARACTER on SOIL. f{,.r 4.
can say without hesitation that
every mile OF your road will pass
threugha regionH which is not sur
passed Sor fertility anywhere in the
West.a That Of the, pprthern part of
the State as well asof Minnesota. Ii
peculiarly adapted to wheat, While
that Of the southern part, ,aaiid Of Mis-
souri,, 4 ig better adapted TO corn.--
Thus an Interchange, of these pro-
ducts will often be desirable through
the agency OF your road, in addition
todtlie constant use fit to reach n
southern market III 4 gjitis y 844lIj
TIMBER. ,gsy,,y aaf,
With, the exception OF the ,pes
Moines Valley Railroad, there Is no
al. ~ n
timber for tiesand fuel may be had,
than along the greater part ofyeur
road. A few prairie districts will be
crossed by 1t, but along the whole
route there ID sufficient otimhertofn-
sure hespeedy and eompiete settlei
ment Of the country, and 10 render
certain a sufficient supply Of fuel for
the purposes OF tho road, as well
as, hewn timber for it's sstructures.
IL has beer sappnsedsl lvb many that
the northern part Of tue State was
not supplied with so large quantities
of fuel as the central and southern
parts. This is the case so far as coal
IA seoncerned. hnt the late. discoveries
of extensive beds OF peat In the north-
ern part of the State insures the
speedy settlement of much of that
region which was formerly supposed
to be destitute OF fuel. Thus it will
be seen that your road will traverse
no wstste regfoii In iowa. i''h z !"
wArpR - 9lflgRith TiH.
!. Good wells can be obtained atmod.
crate depth at almost any point along
the route, and lio danger OF failure of
an abundant supply OF water need be
1T'lr'l sroNr. 5a'' asmld
"A gbod stippiy of stone suitable for
culvefts and bridges can be reatiily
obtained in the counties of Appa-
moose. Monroe, MahaslSa and lama,
| Without distant transportation, and
/ from Black Hawk county itnrthward
| to the State line, along almost any OF
the streams which may be chosen for
| the route, an abundant supply OF ex-
/ celIent stone exists. Much of the
last named stone Ii regularly bedded
nIBgnesian limestone, very durable,
and well adapted to- the purposes Of
heavy masonry, and also for, dressing
| fn all desirable forms {.
@ MINERALS. ia.
with the exception Of lend I'M the
vicinity or Dubuque. gypsum near
Fort Dodge, and coal In the region
bordering each sideofthe Des Moincs
valley. Iowa has yet furnished no
valuable minerals. No iron ore
worth mentioning has yet been
found, aud the probabilities of find
Ing IL are so slight that IL hardly en-
ters into my plans Of Investigation.
Our State must depend in great
measure upon those immense dcpos.
its ofjroD In Missouri, much OF which
will pc broaght hither upon your
lilhs beHlifs COAL. ~ iafii sfHsi4i
+ The prominent feature of the min.
eral resources of the region through
which your road will pass is the
large deposits OF coal along one part
The productive portion Of the Iowa
coal-field Ia much smaller than some
have supposed, while the best part OF
the Held contains more and better
coal than had commenced my ex-
plUrattOit 0f the naines last. autumn
Ifyou draw line on the napof Iows
from the spptheast corner lf Van
Buren, county directly north ward 70
the north llneof township ~; thence
80 the northwest. corner Of Keok ok
county - thence tothe middle of the
south line Of Marshall county; thence
directly north to the north liie OF
township 81; thence to Webster City
and Fort Dodge, you fhasesssry near
the eastern and northern boundary
Of the Iowa coal-ield The produc,
tive coal region lying to the south.
swafd and westward oe the Des MolAes
riyerp yet pxoven, docs net equal In
ward and eastward OF II. The former
region lies adjacent to, and opposite
the latter. sN8st5 btfys8Bbhnif GHU
~ am aware that the general belle
4 has been that our. coal field is much
larger, and / have myself goo hop<
that coal may yet be obtafned by deef
mining in the western part of'tllt
Stair hut if any is found north ward
or eastward of the line have. desig.
mated, the supply. will be very pool
And very iyJfe e6arfOus We Md also
tbat tlzere n much difYerenusfwiti1fu
i this area as TO the character and
qurlitlX. 9f eQal 70 bs sebtaiped. and
foxtiscsOsses the best part Of the fows
aAi-tieldssIt - Aeedtsdn within IL Ill
the way from the Missouri State Hne
70 near Mpntezulpa or Grinnen but
tIiatyregfoiI tfnvefsed be II for 4 dis
tance effeighteeli Or twenty miles,