The Ottawa free trader. [volume] (Ottawa, Ill.) 1843-1916, 1869-11-13
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The whole 1nbounded continent q oun"
One day last wsSk wS paid !. brief visit to
| the great ciAx Of esment, one Of, the mott on
tfrprising places in La Sale county. We
know of no locality in Illinois which combines
more nat6ral resources than this. Inexhausti-
I bic coal fields surround it, vast beds of pure
4NY an pd@sd fine s.nda, as gpod in ausl,,
ity as can be found id the United States beds
Of potters' clayssbound on every hand, con-
taining material of rare excellence; brick
clay isplenty; and lastly, the great beds of
cement rock, the quarrying and making into
lime whereof gives employment and daily
bread to. several, hundred men. This rock,
magnetism limestone, seems to- crop out here
/ in thin layers at its western limits, and dip
ping towards The southeast soon develops in
huge ledgsiY gradually growing thicker and
more dsepdy colored until the rock gets 50
far unq1 The surface. that the workmen do
not find st profitable to quarry it. The stone
j, Of lghtish b'as, OF . blue gray, very hard
and tough, and where worked, is in lodges OF
from the to sixteen feet. It was discovered
when the csaAl was being dug, and Messrs.
Steel 6 Norton Of Lockport began TO work it
into wier lime. They were afterwards sue
ceeded y Mr.. James Clark, who notwithstand-
ing thd 9any difficulties Of building up hith-
erto alrkos unknown branch of business in the
west, cSntinued 10 follow the progress Of his
enterprise, until from small demand and In
sdequals machinery, he has created business
famous "a over the country, and has mills and
machinery costing him hundreds of thousands
efdollars. 1t is not needed here that we should
follow the rock from the quarry, along and
over the horse railroad half mile or so to the
kilns, or thence to the crushing machines, or
the burs by which it is ground like meal, nor
to wstch it a. tits barrelled and shipped. Suf:
fee it to say that, this firm, James Clark &
Son. are employing about two hundred men,
on an average, and make cement to the
amount Of four hundred barrels per day. This
firm do the chief business of the place Be-
ddes their cement mills they ship off to Chica-
80 rolling mills and elsewhere, twenty five
canal boat loads, and sell IS much more in the
beds, of.white sand--not far from four thous
and tons. They also shipped off this season
thousand tons or more of potters' clay. Their
grain shipments reach up to this time one
hundred and fifty thousand bushels. As anoth.
er large and expensive branch of their bust
| ness, employing thirty hands are their pottery
works, situated on the canal bank The clay
| 10 dug mile off, and hauled to the works
Here it is mixed with red clay of coarser
nature than the potters' clay, and ground fine,
and then put into large press wherein it is
moulded into sewer pipes, or in another place
ground out into drain tiles, or certain quail
ity Of tits moulded and burned into fire brick.
The pipe and tile are then placed in immense
kilus, and when u - certain degree of heat,
salt il thrown into the kiln, the steam arising
from which forms the glazing on the crockery
or brick. The process is interesting, and Mr..
White, Of the arm Of Clark & White. spares
no pains to explain all the many details of the
business to all who call upon him.
| The manufacture Of earthen ware is nice
|
thing here, being IN enterprise yet an expert
ment, but it has proved so successful that next
season . very large building will be erected
and the capacity Of the establishment greatly
| increased. E&s Is68 yFs.4aot4 8g
Besides tho above, Utica contains many
good stores, dwelling houses, &c. The dwell
ings of Mr.. Clark and Of Mr.. John Clark are
very neat and tasty in design and finish, and
either would be creditable to towns of many
times the 1000 people which inhabit the above
place. The steam elevator of Mr. Weld is
very large and fine, and like that of Mr.. Clark,
can handle immense quantities of grain.
| Utica has public school, good hotel, and
much general enterprise prevails. The town
needs a good wagon bridge at the ferry cross
ing Of the Illinois river, a subject which is be.
ing agitatsd, and will ere long assume tsng-
ible and proper shape. A bridge they need
and one they will have. 1t is matter oftime
when it will be constructed. f-42t SOB
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