The weekly Ottumwa courier. [volume] (Ottumwa, Iowa) 1857-1872, 1870-01-06

CuIS, W dsNiuStoH VIII HaNS ucT |
north aud south road, and she
will then be railroad center, and
in condition tosuccessfull, compete
IN manufacturing as we'll as in trade,
with surrounding cities having two
or more railroads. She never can be !
come manufacturing point till she
gc.s cheaper coal, and coal of better
quality than is now obtained at thir-
ty cents per bushel from four feet
veins, twenty miles away in Jeffer.
son county. The coal interest alone,
aside from all the advantages that
would result from connecting at o.
tumwa with rival lines of roads run
ming north, east, south and west,
ought to unite the people Of Wash
ington in favor Of the Ottumwa
route; and ought to give us tho road
beyond all question. With the view
Of correcting erroneous opinions in
regard to tho Des Moines Valley coal
basin entertained by gentlemen of
Washington and directors Of the rail
road companies, 1 ask particular at
tention to the coal deposits on the
two proposed routes ard particularly
t. the
GOAL FIELDS OF wAPELLo AND AppAN.
DOSE COUNTIES.
Nearly the whole of these two
counties are underlaid with workable
veins Of coal. They are nearly in
the center (cast and west) ofthe coal
basin, aud contain the ,hickest veins.
From Ottumwa eastward and south
ward the beds btcome thin, except at
isolated points. "Draw line on the
map of Iowa from the southeast cor.
ner of Van Buren, county directly
northward until it touches the south
line of Washington county; thence
northwestward, keeping six or eight
miles to the norlhward of north
Skunk river to the south line of Mar
shall county" Whites report Page
l64) and You have the southern cast
ern boundary OF the productive coal.
field, except the isolated deposits
found at few points further east.
ward.
The Artesa an we'll at NJ. Pleasant
is ll25 feet deep, yet no coal was
found in boring this well. The first
rock pierced was the sub-Carboniter.
oas limestone, the .tsoor Of the coal
strata. The strata dips ,oest,oard and
southrard, so that workable beds of
coal are found above this limestone
in Jefferson county. AS you go
westward from this eastern boundary
the coal strata thickcns.
The State Geologist found no beds
in Jefferson county thicker than four
teet-see report page 94-95-96; while
at Alpine in the south eastern part of
Wapello CO., the mine is from four to
five feet thick, and is four and half
feet thick at Brown & Godfiey's four
miles above Oltumwa and is five feet
thick at the mines OF Marshall, Shock
& Co., Evans and others northeast
and northwest, and near the Brown
4 Godfrey's mines--sec same report
pages 100, 10, and cat Oskaloosa
station the thickest bed OF coal is
worked yet known in the State. II
measures from FIVE TO nearly eight
feet thick of solid and good coal -
same report page 80. In Van Buren,
county southeast Of Wapello, seven
where the continuity of the coal beds
can be made out, they are found to
be in good workable condition in
some PLACES, and 50 thin in others AZ
TO be worthless Report page lis /;
'."a W. G..1-..a ..Asn.inn of my beds
be- found in Davis county over four
fec ,hick. The coal OF Appanoose
cou y seems to he almost entirely
undoveloped, doubtless owing to the
very limited local demand, and the fact
tina, that county has no Railroads to
carry her coal to market; but Mr..
White tells US that "it lies wholly
withio the great Iowa and Missouri
coal field, page 40, and the coun-
ties Of Polk, Warren, Marion, Mon.
roe, Mahaska, Wapello, Appanoose,
Davis, and Van Buren, are among
the most important coal counties,
page 165.
We have referred freely to the re-.
port Of the present State Geologist.
since his report is recent and u,
questionably the best in relation to
coal, no having made a personal ex
animation OF the mines in the sever.
al counties mentioned herein.
The writer OF This u, ticIe had the
pleasure Of visiting with Mr.. W bite.
all OF the mines i'll Wapello county.
except three, when he was making
\ survey of this county, and is salts
fed that be would be sustained bs
that gentleman. in the staten n,
that along the line of Railroad
running from the northeast corner
OF Wapello county, southwest
through the counties of Wapello and
Appanoose, the coal strata will br
found less disturbed, more continu-
Gus and thicker than on any line OF
road that could be run parallel with
and southeast of this line.
-ince the coal veins thiL out 10
wards the east aud southeast. On
tue Washington and Ottumwa line
tine coal deposits will be found near
'tlchland, aud there can be little
doubt that an abundance of coal
could be obtained by sinking shafts
at any place on the high prairies be
tween Rlchland and Otuc.wa. Yves,
of Oltumwa on Bear Creek, are some
OF the best banks in Wapello coun.
~. So that from Richland nearly
10 the State line this ronte runs
through almost the center OF the Iowa
coal basin.
The veins being much thickerand the
coal so much more abundant than on
the Fairfield and Bloomfield route,
the company would by taking the
Ottumwa route, be one of the great
coal roads o. Iowa, and Washington
would Do supplied with coal at lower
rates than would be possible if the
lower line should be adopted.