The Wheeling daily intelligencer. [volume] (Wheeling, W. Va.) 1865-1903, 1876-01-08
BROWN HEMGyITE oBE.il

IN that section. 49,.
BROWN IIENAyITE oBE.i'
At Woodstock, thirty miles southwest
Of here, on the. Alabama & Chattanooga
Railroad, are found immense deposits Of
brown hcmatite ore, and thousands upon
thousands OF tons are exposed on the
surface. Part OF this land was formerly
under cultivation, but many OF the heids
were abandoned years ago, the "bIack
rock" (ore) being SO abundant that they
could not be proiitably worked. These
ores analyze from so to Go per cent. Of
metallic iron. Daring the te'qnpieds.
antness they were smelted in limited
way by the Confederates with charcoal,
the product being tough neutral iron.
They can be laid down at Birmingham ut
not to exceed 81 so per ton.
THE COAL FrEtps.
Alabama has three great ooal fields,
namely, the Warrior, which has an area
OF 5000 square miles, the. Gahhba, three
hundred square miles, and tho Coosa,
two hundred square miles. Betwcen'the
Warrior field on the west and the Cahaba
on the east lies Jones Valley. That your
readers may be fully impressed with the
resources Of this wonderful mineral re-
gion let me quote what NJ. Bell, the late
President OF the British Iron aud Steel
Association, says ot'it:
al would ask you to Imagine section Of country
Of which the wstern portion Is the Warrior cjll
nrld. Between this and the Cababa coal tJrma-
ton lies Jones Valley, containing the brown aud
red idsslerOus ORES. We thus have two coal hclds
bounding for several Males on the east and west de
poslts Of ore Of immense magnitude, while on the
eastern margin Ot the CahabI coal arc other cI-
tenslVe deposits Of brown ore, and underneath,
geOloSIcally, speaking, an abundance Of SllTflan
Limestone"
THE DEVELOPMENT OF TIE COAL FIELDS.
The Warrior and Cahala coal fields
have been developed to limited extent,
and mining, next to agriculture, is the
principal business. There was mined
last year from the several mines in this
locality 5G9l4 tons of coal. A market is
found for it mainly in the South. ! am
informed that the Nashville Gas Works
have contracted with parties here for 4
supply. As this coal is to take the place
Of Pittsburgh coal, infer that it must be
OF a superior quality for gas purposes.
While hear the opinion freely express.
ed that several OF the Goals mined in this
section will make good iron out Of the red
and brown ores, it Is not by any means TO
he acceptcd as q fixed fact, because the
experiment has never been tried.
AN IMroRTAST EXPERIMENT.
| understand, however, that the fur
mace at 0xmoor, six miles south Of here,
will blow in, during February Or March.
Coke made OF Cahaba coal will be used
and the question ia near practical set
Element. Should il be demonstrated that
good iron can be made from these ores
with coke, the question OF cheap iron for
this country is settled, and | do not see
how Pittsburgh, Wheeling and other
points in the West can compete with this
section, having to- transport their ores
from Missouri and the lakes, the freight
on which will cost two or three times Us
much as the ore laid. down at the furnace
here; while the difference in richness is
hardly appreciable. Well informed iron
men express the opinion that iron can be
made'here ut not to exceed twelve dOllarS
per ton, and even less than this sum.
STORY WITH A MORAL, ,yI.r
In spite OF the various advantages Of
this section for the manufacture OF cheap
Iron, nothing has been done in the imme.
diate vicinity OF Birmingham in the way.
OF development. While. the general de.
preston Of the iron business may he one
Of the reasons for thi4, there is, in the
opinion OF many Of the citizens here, an.
other reason for it. When it was known
that the North & South Railroad would
cross the Alabama & Chattanooga Rail.
road at this point, quite number Of en-.
terprising gentlemen combined and pur.
chased about five thousaAd acres Of land,
embracing all the space in the vicinity Of
the crossing. A company was organized
under the corporation laws Of the STATE
and called the ElytOn Land Company.
Deluding themselves WITH the idea Dat
this was the only place in the South
where iron could be prOftably prOdueed,
they started their city with Agrand flour
i-h Of trumpGts, big advertising and some
gas. Fences were torn down for several
miles in each direction, streets ppd ave-
nues laid out and numbered, and in less
than year from the time grQnl was
broken birmingham had population Of
nearly,Or quite, 1000 people. The whole
country was flooded with advertisements
showing the superior advantages nj Bir-
mingham as = place for manufacture, or
for anything else undcrNhc sun.
THE TIME TO HAVE LErGo.
People poured in from every part Of
the South, all Impressed with the IDEA
that birmingham would soon rival her
sister across the Atlantic. The Land
Company were jubilAnt when the sueccsS
OF their scheme became assured md felt
inflated. They declined to allow sprcrl.
Iators to divide with them, and would mot
dispose Of pow town lot unlesspc
party purchl'iny agreed 10 build house
tho value Of which was 10 be determined
by the company. The President Of thu
Company was called the Duke Of Biz.
mingham," and although no royal blood
coursed through, his veins, he assumed
the title with I'm mir that proclaimed
him far above the common herd. EHtcn.
awe and costly water works were built Ia
supply the immense manufacturing cI'
ta6i.shmcnb that were 10 beg to be per,
mtted To locate within the enchanted
city. But alas for the vanity Of human
expectations! The furnaces and iUuhdrics
aud factories that existed in tho imagiua'
ton Ui the company were not built