The Van Buren press., 1878-12-17
CRAWFORD COUNTY.
4 Brief Description Of Its Soil, Timber.
Minerals, etc., etc.
AND THE
Attractions Offered to Immigrants.

AIa dAliUaS VHGlVU ~ hMMiS ANS
Crawford County, Arkansas, is stuat
ed on the extreme Western boundary o
the State, adjoining the Cherokee Nation
aad contains an area of about 36a, 00t
acres, a good portion of which is rive
and creek bottom lands There is in th.
County nearly 10000 acres subject tt
| homestead or other entry, and about TO
| 600 acres of Railroad Lands, which are
now in the market, and offered at from
50 to 81, 90 per acre, according to quail
ty. Other unmproved lands can bt
bought at from $3.50 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 part OF them saseept-
ihle of cultivation. There are, within its
limits, more alluvial lands than most. ii
not all the other western counties. Well
vatered, good timber, and capable of
supporting dense population. The
present population is estimated at Is, 900.
Schools and Churches abound in sill part.
Of the county, there being forty-eight
School Districts in the county, in which
free schools ire taught from three to ten
months in the year
There are in the county eight Steam
Flanring Mills, two Wool earding ma
chimes, and 4 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 eyeel!ea
anywhere, and in this connection we may
state, that ut the Arkansas State Fair.
held at Little Rock last Fall, the first and
second premiums were awarded Crawford
County for the best and largest display
of Apples exhibited; the contesting ex
hibts 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 local..
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 /. navigahe 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, end such as are
not enjoyed by many ofaher sister eonn-
ties. -
The description of Crawford County,
r ma,ea lpTb,fa below, Is hNe EN- from i;
fep'9mo made from an actna reeonhois.
Z NJ ~ Messrs. j. NJ. Wvhbourne and
,erL my - Ianey, to the L. q I. ). hail
cyl 1857. Since TIM tla'e e'iefe nas
! wan ~ course, vast improvements made
q, III the condition of tht soua'y' III most
all respects: -,
Very little pine : foana ~ 10 INNS county !;
but in the adjoining aasto'te .aans,s u t tpa
n eaa ''.fsn' ARKANSAS RIVER. 1t will hereaf
ter, ha ~ valuable tofoar Road. The up
ID in the eastern section this county
na. are 'sg1 "hdtsrf ti sspa;l
| are common in pafs and water obtained with
/ readiness by diy.,ng. These lands are I'M
Iderlaid by terru,inots shaie. and clays. and
where unprodutive. can be made 80 by ma
| terial existing there or IN the hills. One OF
the finest tracs OF bottom land begins In the
city of Van 5uren. and runs down the river.
| past the moth OF Frog Bayou or Clear Creek
/ to the mouti of Mulberry. The greater part
/ Il high, dr.. richly timbered. with luxurant
growth Divine. shrub and grass; well-wa-
| tered, ano as productive as any land on the
| Arkansas
Shades are everywhere exposed even In the
city In several places Coal or coal indiees
| Iatl tbp bpf I'm M
a rule, Is not as thick as it is In Franklin On
Frog Bayou. considerable tributary to the
| Arkansas, at Phillips bank. $. -, T g. X. 30,
coal has been dug for thirty five years, said
by smiths. who have worked 1t, to be the best
coal In the region; II Is three feet thick. and
easy to quarry; II extends quite distance
along this Bayou and ia a par. Of the Arkan-
sas coal field. This stream has long been Ia
med for its fine, wide. high and r,ch lands, A
| few small prairies skirt it with excellent
| grasses and herbs.
On Flat Rock, 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. az. also, a very hard. blue. almost i'm
penetrable rock. Along this stream small
| fragments of crystal-as. also, on a low ridge
on the land Of Il. Scott, s. 8, T. ., II. 81, and
| along the hillside. nesr the Van Buren, steam
! miil--are gathered. Limestone occurs at the
! base of the bluff of ferruginous 81 ndstone
above Van Buren,; this hlHif of sandstone
abuts on the river and yields fine building
stone; and on its height, which Is broad
| table land. are some of the finest building
sites to be found in It's picturesque valley-ii
Is tempting to the wealthy immigrant. Thi,
1 bluff fronts. also, on Lees Greek. at its con.
uence with the Arkansas. and runs along that
No.. l,.t.t