The Sweetwater enterprise. (Sweetwater, Tenn.) 1869-187?, 1871-09-28

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cinnati, Cumberland Gap aud Charleston,
have been completed in the direction Of
North CaroliBa, and of course will give
US commercial connection with all the
towns and cities Of that State.
1t will thus be seen that East Tennessee
will soon have all the important oonnec-
tiOns she can possibly desire.
There is a branch railroad completed
from the East Tennessee and Virginia
railroad, eighteen miles, to Rogersyills,
the county seat of Hawkins county.
MINERALS.
East Tennessee abounds in minerals
We have iron, coal, copper, riuc, lead,
marble and brown sandstone.
Large quantities Of iron ore are found
in almost every county in East Tennessee,
and pig metal is manufactured in all of
them. Our iron ore is inexhaustible IN
quantity and of the finest quality.
The copper mines Of Polk county have
yielded largely for many years, and the
owners have realized very large fortunes
from them.
Rich deposits of zinc have been found
in Jefferson, Knox, Claiborne, Campbell,
ard other counties of East Tennessee.
A vein Of red and white marble, mex
haustible in quantity, runs from the North
eastern to the Southwestern portion of
East Tennessee. This has been admitted
to be the finest marble in the United
States. The inside Of the magnificent ad-
dtion of the Capitol Of the United States,
at Washington City, is finished with mar
ble from East Tennessee. So is the Cap
itol of our own and those Of several other
States. At the time Of the commence
ment Of the building of the Washington
Monument, each of the States of the
UuiOn sent u block of marble to repre-
sent them in its erection. That from
East Tennessee, We believe, was unani-
mously pronounced the finest of them all.
Besides this, we have a comparatively
white marble that is most excellent ma
terial for building. 1t is as sound aud
pure as marble can be, without single
seam. The custom house and poStoffice
at Knoxville are being built of this
Quarrlcs Of beautiful brown sandstone
have been found in several counties.
When first taken from the quarry, it is
soft and easily worked, but Oh exposure
to the atmosphere becomes as hard as
granite. BituminOus and camel coal Of
u very superior quality is found in Cum
berland mountain aud Walden's ridge,
from Cumberland Gap to Chattanooga,
a distance Of about two hundred miles.
1t is is,inexhauStible in quantity and lies in
close proximity to iron ore Of the very
finest quality. The veins Of coal are
frem four to six feet thick and are work
ed with great facility.
Lead has been found ut Leadvale, in
Jefferson county, aud experiments are
now being made to ascertain. its richness
and quantity.
QUALITY AND PRICE or LAND.
In country as diversified as East Ten
neSsee in it's physical geography must nee
eSoarlly be great variety OF soil. Our
islands, riverbottomS or lUwlands and
valleys are dark loan and are exceed
ingly fertile. Much of our upperlands,
called a mulatto clay, are also very fer
tile and very easily worked. Even in our
mountains there are coyes or valleys that
produce well.
The soil of most of our lands is mex
haustble, because the basis is clay. We
have seen land SO much exhausted as
scarcely to produce anything. improved
by clover and little manure until it was
made as rich as when it was first cultiva-
ted. And this is the regenerative quail
ity Of nearly all Of our lands in East Ten
neSSee.
All our lands are very favorable to the
growth of wheat, rye, Indian corn, oats,
grapes, grass, barley, sweet and Irish pO-
tatoes, turnips, apples, peaches, pears,
plums and all kinds of fruits. Our great
number of creeks and rivulets that pene-
trate every part of our country give us
considerable scope of country for meadows;
and hay is made in large quantities and ex-
ported to the South.
The price of land in East Tennessee is
varied according to quality and location.
Our islands tate from fifty to hun
dred dollars an acre; improved uplauds
from ten to thirty dollars Other lands
from one dollar to ten.
There is a great deal of land in almost
every county in East Tennessee that is fa-
vorable to the growth of rye and the grape,
that can be bought for one dollar or less
per acre. Much of this land is not far
from our railroads already completed and
the lines of others already begun. The
average taxable value Of the land of East
Tennessee, according to the reports made
by our Comptroller to the Legislature, is
FIVE dollars.
MANUFACTURES.
Notwithstanding our great resources
and facilities for manufacturing. VIC have
but very few establishments for that pur-
pose. A mild climate and fertile soil
has furnished our citizens with an abun-
dance of provisions for themselves and to
export to other countries to exchange for
whatever they may have need of.
On account of the abundance of coal
and iron ore. we have had for years man
ufactories Of pig metal and iron in almost
every county in East Tennessee. These
we're, however, on small scale.
Latterly, some two or three large mills
have been put in operation for manufac.
turing and rolling iron and making nails.
But these are by no means sufficient to
supply even for home consumption.
Our resources and facilities to sustain
manufactures of every kind, consist in
immense water power, an abundance of
coal lumber of almost every variety and
iuexhaustible quantities of the richest
iron ore and zinc, lying in immediate
proximity to our railroads. Coal can be
laid down at Chattanooga and Knoxville