Knoxville daily chronicle. [volume] (Knoxville, Tenn.) 1870-1882, 1872-12-31
FACTS ABOUT EAST TENNESSEE.
The Iron Mines of Monroe
County.


EDITORS CHRONICLE: Desiring to aid
you-who are doing so much in the devel-
opment of the resources of East TenneS-
see-I give you a brief glance at the
iron resources of Monroe county. The
line of hills through McMinn and Monroe,
known as Natchey Creek Ridges, furnish
a superior brown iron stone of remarkable
richness and purity, easily mined and of
great extent, and lying in juxtaposition
with limestone and marble veins OF great
value. The deposits of ore have been
mistaken by men of much experience Is
containing mercury and specimens have
been sought for and sent to New York for
analysis. With facilities for moving this
ore to points where it could be worked
would make it valuable. This is an entire
ly different character from that found at
Telico, some seven or eight miles further
south. The Telico ores are hematite, but
mostly limonite, with few localities of
magnetic. The hematite ore is mostly
raised with powder, and exists in great
purity, with seams of yellow and white
ochre, with few impurities in connection.
There is at Telico bank, known as the
Donnelly bank, of shot ore which is in
ridge 200 feet high, and extends along
said ridge fore one mile. [ was told
by Mr.. Donnelly, the discoveror,
that this ore was easily mined, was of great
purity and of unknown extent, as the
amount taken out and worked at the Tel
lico Furnace was by driving tunnel in
the side of the ridge and timbering it. Be-
fore my seeing this remarkable bank in
1913, the timber had given way, and I
could not go in.
The foundry men at Tellico Furnace and
Forge told me it yielded fifty per cent.
Surrounding Tellico are some ten different
banks of iron. many of them differing in
quality, owing to being in connection with
different strata of conglomerate and sand
stones. Nature here seems to have furn-
ished some very peculiar faults in the STRAIT
ification, the rocks In parts showing
marked and unusual changes. 30 far from
the supply of ore being limited. as has
been said, it arises from the exhaustion
of some magnatile veins, which were ex-
hausted. But as no efforts have been
made to prosecute the search, the extent is
not known of these valuable ores.
For Tellico iron has been fully
tested in car wheels, which are now run
ming on the Memphis and Char
lesion Railroad, and been pronounced
quite equal to Scotch pig for car wheels,
axles or locomotive tyre.
Specimens of the iron have been tested
at West Point, New York, with reference
to adaptation for "armory purposes by
the United States. The experiments were
made by scientific men and pronounced
quite satisfactory. The Tellico river has
superior water power, fully equal to that at
Harper's Ferry, or even Lowell, and is
never failing owing to being fed from
springs and a short river and readily con-
trolled or not subject to high and danger
Gus freshets. Being a mountain stream it
is susceptible of slack water navigation to
its mouth at the head of navigation on the
To- NJ a IL ovnondifI1ro ao
s. 900 has already been expended upon it
by the State. Our Representative VIM.
CrUtchfield proposes, and will doubtless
spread himself upon the navigation of the |
Tennessee river from the mouth of TellicO, |
and what he does not know about the Ten |
nessee river and its adaptation to success
full navigation to New Orleans every day |
in the year 10 one else need be called
upon. He is the right man for the |
people from Colbert's Shoals to Knoxville. |
For that's whats the matter with the |
price of our products. Our President, |
with his penetration, and desire to develop |
the finest country upon the earth, has
come up to our help, and recommended
progress in the right direction.
Some seven miles above Telico, upon
the Teico Mountain plateau, is the Coker
Creek gold deposits. They have been
worked as surface mines for many years,
with paying success. But it has required
the energy and untiring perseverance un-
der difficulties of our good citizen, Joseph
johnson, to exclaim, "EurekaW He has
had faith like Mahomet, and has gone into
the mountain 100 feet by driving or tun-
neling. He has found the true vein. Tt
yields, upon experimental tests, from $40
to $50 to the ton-only 20 feet down on
the vein. Mr.. Johnson belongs to the
They are few, but bless
God for what we have, as East Tennessee
with your efforts in immigration and
bound to prosper, and the
country will get proper credit for her un>
developed capacity and resources.
Yours, MONROE.