The Van Buren press., 1876-04-29
CRAWFORD COUNTY.
\ Brief Description of its Soil,
Timbor, Minerals. ETC., and tho
Attraction offered to
Immigrants.

dining the Cherokee Nation, and con
tsins an area of about $685. acies,
good portion Of which is river and creel
bottom lands There is in the count,
about 100000 acres subject to homestead
or other entry, and about 100000 acres
af railroad lands. which are now IN tho
market, anl offered at from So 90 tc
s. per acre according to quality Other
unimproved lands can be bought at from
Sa.5o to $1,000 per acre and lands part
iy Improved at from 800 TO $500 pei
acre.
The LANDS of Crawford county are, the
larger part of them exceedingly fertile
and the greater part of them susceptible
of cultivation; there are. within its lin.
its. more allnvial lands than r.ost, if no,
all the other western counties; WE'LL
tered, good timber, and capable Of sup
plying dense population the presen,
population is estimated at $4,000.
Schools and churches abound in all parts
Of the county, there being thirty.three
school-distrlcts in the county, in which
free schools are taught from three to ten
months in the year.
There are, in the county, six steam
Touring mills, two wool carding ma
chimes, and large number Of steam cot.
ton gins, etc, as well as other machi-
merry.
Cotton, corn, wheat, oats and grapes
all do well, turning off large crops.
Fruit of all kinds-apples. pears, pea.
ches, grapes, etc.--are not excelled any
where; in short, the agricultural prod
ucts Of our fertile lands will vie in rich
ness and quality with those of the most
favored locality in the union.
The Little Rock and Fort Smith Rail.
way (Which will be completed in three
months) runs through the entire breadth
of the county, from east to west; and
the Arkansas river, which is navigable
the great part Of the year, runs along the
entire length of its southern boundary,
thus giving to the citizens of the coun-
ty ample shipping facilities, and such as
arc not enjoyed by many of her sister
counties
The description of Crawford county,
which we publish below, is taken from a
report made from nm actual reconnoi.
ssancc by Mcssrs J " Washhourne and
j. II. Haney, to the l.. K d f. S. r. r.
Company, in 1857. Since that time there
have been. Of course, vast improvements
made in the condition of the county, in
almnst all -rasyaant. --4-4..
Very little pine is found IN this coun-
ty; but in the adjoining Cherokee coun-
try, commencing nine miles north Of
westward from Van Buren,, is one Of the
greatest pincrics north of the Arkansas
1t will. hereafter, be very valuable to your
Road. The uplands in the eastern sec
ton OF this county. generally, are level
and fertile, rich in grasses, vines, grape
and underground. Springs are common
in parts, and water obtained with rcadi-
ness by digging These lands arc.uuder-
laid by ferruginous shales and clays, and
where ulproductivc, can be made so by
material existing there or in the hills.
One Of the finest tracts Of bottom land
begins in the city of Van Buren, and rams
down the river, past the, mouth of Flat
Rock, past the mouth Of Frog Bayou or
Clear Creek to the mouth of Mulberry.
The greater part is high, dry, richly tim
hered, with luxuriant growth of vine,
shrub and grass; we'll watcred, and as
productive as any land on the Arkansas.
Shalcs are everywhere exposed, even
in the city in several places. Coal. or
coal ndices are found all over the coun
W. but the coal. as a rule, is not as thick
as it is in Franklin. On Frog Bayou, a
considerable tributary of the Arkansas
at Phillips bank. S. Is. T. 8, r. 80, coal
has been dug for thirty five years; said,
by smiths who have worked it, to be the
best coal in the region; it is three feet
thick and easy to quarry; itextends quite
distance along this Bayou, and is part
of the Arkansas coal field This stream
has long been famed for its fine, wide,
iigh, aud rich lands. A few small prai
ries sair, il, with excellent grasses and
herbs.
On Flat Rock, stream eastward fro i,
Van Buren two miles, sbale is exposed
and coal has been found The uplands
along this stream are fine for fruits,
grape and berries. This shale runs into
Van Buren,, and in the well sunk for the
steam mill in Van Buren, coal was struck
as, also, a very hard. blue, almost impen.
etrabie rock. Along this stream small
fragments Of crystal--as, also, on low
ridge on the land of f. Scott, S. 8, T. 8
X. 81, and along the hill side, near tht
Van Burcn steam mill--arc gathered
Limestone occurs at the base Of the blut
Of ferrugnous sandstone, above Var
Buren,: this bluff Of sandstone abuts OF
the river, and yields fine building stone
and on its height, which is broad tabl,
land, are some of the finest building site,
to be found in bis picturesque valley
it is tempting to the wealthy immigrant
This bluff fronts also. on Lees Creek. q
its confluence with the Arkansas, anC
runs along that stream into the adjoining
hills. the mouth Of this stream ia in S
is. I. 0, Il. 80; opposite the bluff, across
the creek, is a high hill in which lead wal
MI ~ n q 4