The Van Buren press., 1878-03-12
CRAWFORD COUNTY.
4 Brief Description Of lis Soil, Timber.
Minerals. etc.. etc.
Attractions offered TO Immigrants.
AND THE

Crawford County, Arkansas, is situat
ed on the extreme Western boundary Of
the State, adjoining the Cherokee Nation
aud contains an area of about 3G2, 00t
acres, good portion of which is river
and creek bottom lands There il in the
! County nearly 10000 acres subject to
| homestead or other entry, and about 10.
000 acres of Railroad Lands, which are
now in the market, and offered at from
81 to s 90 per acre, according To quail
ty. Other unmproved lands can be
bought at from $50 to $1,000 per acre
and lands partly improved at from 81 to
to $1,000, per acre.
The Lands of Crawford County are,
the larger part of them, exceedingly fer.
tile, and the greater pant of them suscept-
ihle of cultivation. There are, within its
limits, more alluvial lands than most, il
not all the other western counties. Well
watered, good timber, and capable of
supporting dense population, The
present population is estimated at 1000
Schools and Churches abound in all parts
of the comfy, there being forty.eight
School Districts in the county, in which
free schools re taught from three to ten
months in the year
There are in the county eight Steam
FIGURING Mills, two Wool-carding ma
chimes, and large number of Steam
machinery.
Cotton, Corn, Wheat, Oats, Tobacco,
Grasses, Grapes, etc all do well, turning
off large crops,
Fruits of all kinds: Apples, Pears,
Peaches, Grapes, etc, are not cNcelled
anywhere, and in this connection We may
state, that at the Arkansas State Fair,
he!a a. Little Rock last Fall, the first and
second premiums were awarded Crawford
County for the best ana largest display
of Apples exhibited; the contesting eX-
hibits being large and numerous In
short, the agricultural products of our
fertile lands will vie in richness and quail
ty with those Of the most favored locali-
ty in the Union.
The Little Rock and Fort Smith Rail
way, runs through the entire breadth of
the county from east to west And the
Arkansas River which is navigable the
greater part of the year, runs along the
entire length of its southern boundary,
thus giving to the citizens of the county
ample shipping facilities, and such as are
not enjoyed by many Of her sister coun-
ties.
The description of Crawford County,
which we publish below, is taken from
report made from an actual reconnos-
sance by nlessrs j. NJ. Washhourne aud
j. II, lIancy, to the l.. Il. IL f. S Rail
way, in 1857. Since that time there has
been Of course, vast improvements made
in the condition of the county, in most
all respects:
VERY little pine is found in this County;
but in the adjoining Cherokee Country, com
mencing nine miles north of westward from
Van Rnren, is one of the greatest pinciies
north Of the Arkansas River. 1t will hcreHf-
ter, be very valuable to yonr Road. The up
lands in the eastern section # this county,
generally, are level and fertile, rich in grass
es, vines, grap and underground Sprinr Is
are common in parts and water obtained with
readiness by digging. These lands are UNI
derlaid by icrruginous shales and clays, and
where unproductiVe, can be made so by ma
teral existing there or in the hills. One of
city OF Van Buren,. and runs down the river.
past the mouth of Frog Bayou or Clear Creek
to the mouth of Mulberry. The greater part
is high. dry. richly timbered, with luXuriant
growth of vine, shrub and grass; well-wa-
tered, and as productive as any land on the
Arkansas.
Shales are everywhere exposed, even in the
city in several places Coal, or coal indices
are found all over the county, but the coal, as
rule, is not as thick As it is in Franklin On
Frog Bayou, a considerable tributary to the
Arkansas, at Phillips bank, :. is, Il o. K. 30.
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; it extends quite distance
along this Bayou, aud is a part of the Arkan
sas coal field. This stream has long been ia
med for its fine. wide, high aud oh lands A
few small prairies skirt it with excellent
grasses and herbs.
On Flat Rock, a stream eastward from Van
Buren, two miles, shale is exposed, and coal
has been found. The uplands, along this
stream. are fine for fruits, grapes and berries.
This shale runs into Van Buren, and in the
well sunk tor the steam mill there. coal was
struck, as, also, a very hard, blue, almost i'm
penctrable rock. Along this stream small
fragments of crystal-as, also, on a low ridge
on the land of +. Scott, ). 8, L. .. Il. 81, and
along the hillside, near the Van Buren, steam
mill-are gathered. Limestone occurs at the
base of the bun of ferruginous 81 ndstone
above Van Buren; this bluff of sandstone
abuts on the river, and yields a fine building
stone; and on its height, which is a broad
table land, are some of the finest building
sites to be found in its picturesque valley--it
is tempting to the wealthy immigrant. This
bluff fronts, also, on Lees Creek at its con-
uence with the Arkansas, and runs along that
stream into The adjoining hills; the mouth of
this stream Is in >. Is, I. 8, X, 30; opposite
the bluff across the creek, is high bill, in
which lead was found many years ago-it was
probably drift. Fine springs gush cut along
the valley of this stream, and its many aillu-
ents; iron oxydes and carbonate are com
mon everywhere, and the carbonate is eXcce-
dinghy heavy; indeed the absence of iron is
the exception in this valley. The water in
this region Is very good, and the springs
about and near Van Barren, are accounted
the best in the country. The water is cold
and sweet. These streams will all supplv
mills; and the county grows excellent
wheat. The corn, cotton, cereals, grasses es-
pecially bMc--Which takes hold OF the soil
and spreads rapidly and close (as il does, in-
deed in other parts of the valley --cloverand
! fruits are all grown here in great perfection
and quantity to the acre. Fruits, especially
/ have been SO thoroughly tested and cultiyat-
ed by DR.. II. Thurston, near Van Buren,, that
| it is now demonstrated that the Arkansas will
| produce fruit equal to any other valley in the
world.
The alley of Lees Creek contains excel
! lent land, both bottom and high lands; these
last are, for the most part. broken, rough and
rocky. The Valley of Lees Creek, with If.
tributaries, is probably wider than that Of
. pip int, IL