The Jackson standard. [volume] (Jackson C.H., Ohio) 1847-1888, 1876-02-24

and iron ore but no one realized the
vast quantities Of these valuable miner
ais; and doubt if many persons at the
present day realize the great wealth yet
undeveloped in our county.
There was great activity in the build
ing of furnaces in the year 1854 The
three furnaces in Jefferson township,
Monroe, Cambria and jefferson, were
built during that year, and the Scioto
Furnace Co, known as Robinson, Gid
den AZ Co, established the house of p.
Powell & Co at Portland, and that viii
lage was laid out in 1851 p. Powell
d Co. sold goods, and bought ore for Sci
otto Furnace. jackson Furnace company
also got large quantity of ore at Port
land, McDaniers Switch, and other pla-
ces p Powell d Co. got a large quanti-
ty of ore at Cackleys Switch, between
Portland and Cross Roads. Franklin
Furnace. on the Ohio river, had c. w.
Selfridge and David Kelly as agents at
those points, who got large quantities of
ore for that furnace. A man named
Baldridge, from Adams county, leased
what was known as the Rambo coal
bank, half mile above Portland, and a
short distance west of the railroad and
took out and sold large amount OF
coal This vein is seven feet thick. with
a seam of slate six inches thick near the
of 1.
coal and ore banks operated all the way
from Monroe Furnace up to Irwin's sta
ton
/ kept the books Of p Powell & Co.
from March l, 1854, to July, 1856, and
thus had the means Of learning much
about the yield of iron ore in that part OF
the county. The ore is the richest and
best limestone ore, and varies much in
thickness. From few inches, it goes up
to several feet. One bank operated by
P. Powell & Co. near McNeers Switch, a
mile below Portland, known as the Evans
Bank, often swelled to seven feet in
thickness. Sometimes this rich ore runs
to flint, and that has to be rejected, a.
flint will not work in furnace
P. Powell a Co. bought one acre of ore
land from James Kennedy, a quarter o.
a mile west of Cackley's Switch, for Sl20
1t was on the top of hill, and the dir
was plowed and scraped down to the ore
and the ore on the entire acre taken out
1t yielded little over 1000 tons of gooC
ore. This is a fair average yield per acre
for that region of country, and show
that the ore lands of that part Of tn
county are cheap at $1,000 per acre, no
counting the coal, or surface value
When we consider that at least one
fourth of Jefferson township will yiel'
this amount Of ore, we can make som
estimate of the wealth of that TOWNSHIP
alone, in the one item of ore The town
ship contains 36 square miles, of Ga
acres to the mile. or 23,040 acres. One
fourth Of this would give $500 acre;
which at $1,000 per acre, would Civ
SI1 $40, 900 worth of ore, -uet taking an
account of coal and limestone, whic
would yield fully an equal value. Som
persons will doubt these calculations, bu
am positive that fair estimate of tn
iron ore, coal, limestone and other valu'
bic minerals in the county, are worth, j
the ground, an amount of money suff
cient to pay the National debt, and the
leave a large surplus. Time will demon
IL Al, - q l..
In order to show what railroad wi
do for a county in twenty years, ! wi
give the population of the several towr
ships in jackson county IN the year
1850, and 1870.