The Van Buren press., 1878-09-10
CRAWFORD COUNTY.
/ Brief Description Of its Soil, Timber,
Minerals e;c,, etc.
Attractions Offered 10 Immigrants.
AND #IHE

Attractions Offered 10 Immigrants,
Crawford County, Arkansas, Is situat.
ed on the extreme Western boundary Of
the State. adjoining the Cherokee Nation,
aud contains an area of about 3b2 600
acres, n good portion of which is river
and creek bottom lands. There is in the
County nearly 10000 acres subject to
homestead or other entry, and about 10.
600 acres of Railroad Lands, which are
now in the market, and offered ut from
- to 81 90 per acre, according to quail
ty, Other unimproved lands can be
bought at from $3.50 to $1,000 per acre;
and lands partly improved at from 5 to
to $1,000, per acre.
The Lands of Crawford County arc,
the larger part of them, exceedingly fer
! tile, and the greater pant Of them aascept
| lille Of cultivation. There are, within its
limits, moro alluyia lands than most, if
not all the other western counties. Well
watered, good timber, and capable Of
supporting n dense population. The
present population ia estimated at II ,000.
I
of the county, there being forty-eight
School Districts in the county, in which
free schools tire taught from three to ten
! months in tho year.
| There are in the county eight Steam
Fl5uring Mills, two Woolearding ma
chimes, and a large number Of Steam
Cotton Gins, &c., dc, as well as other
machinery.
Cotton, Corn, Wheat, Oats, Tobacco,
Grasses, Grapes, etc all do we'll turning
off large crops.
Fruits of all kinds: Apples, Pears,
Peaches, Grapes, etc, are not eNcelled
anywhere, and in this connection we may
state that at the Arkansas State Fair,
held at Little Rock last Fall, the first and
second premiums Were awarded Crawford
County for the best aud largest display
of Apples exhibited, the contosting eN-
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, aud such as are
not enjoyed by many of her sister eoun-
ties.
The description Of Crawford County,
which we publish below is taken from
report made from an actual reconnois-
sanee by Messrs. j. NJ. Washbourne and
j, II. Haney, to the l.. Il. h +. 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;
"Nery little pine is found in this County;
but in the adjoining Cherokee Country, com
moncing nine miles north of westward from
Van Buren, Is one of the greatest pineries
north Of the Arkansas River. 1t win hereaf-
ter, be very valuable to your Road The up
| lands in the eastern section this county,
nenerallp. ara laval ,nJ ia,,fiIe, ..ii, i.-
oS, vines. grap', ana undergroWtli. springs
are common in parts and water obtained with
readiness by digging. These lands are un-
derlaid by terruginous shales aud clays, and
where uuproductive, can be made so by ma
teral existing there or in the hills. One OF
the finest tracts of bottom land begins in the
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; we1l-wa-
tered and as productive as any land on the
! Arkansas.
Shales are everywhere exposed, even in the
city III several places Coal, or coal indices
are found all over the county, but the coal, as
| l., l. IL +.
| Frog Bayou, u considerable tributary to the
Arkansas. az Phillips bank, s. Is, Il ., Il. 30,
coal has been dug for thirty-ilve years, said.
| by smiths, who have worked il, TO be the best
coal in the region; 1t Is three feet thick. and
easy to quarry; 1t extends quite a distance
along this Bayou, and is u part of the Arkan-
sas coal field. This stream has long been la
med for its fine, wide, high and rich lands. 4
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 tine for fruits, grapes and berries
This shale runs into Van Buren; and in the
we'll sunk tor the steam min there, coal was
struck, as. also, a very hard, blue. almost inn
| penetrable rock. Along this stream small
| fragments of crystalas also, on low ridge
on the land of Il. Scott ). ., Y. 8, Il. 81, and
along the hillside. near the Van Buren, steam
|
base Of the bluf of ferruginous 81 ndstono,
above Van Buren,; this bluif of sandstone
! abHts on the river and yields 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 yallcy--it
4 is tempting to the wealthy Immigrant, This
I bluif 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, T. 8, X, 30 opposite
the blum. across the creek, is a high hill, in
which lead was found many years ago-it was
| probably drift. Fine springs gllsh out along
! the valley of this stream and its many aiiiu-
ents; iron oXydes and carbonate are CON,
! mon everywhere, and the carbonate is excec-
| 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 aud near Van Buren,. are accounted
| the best In the country. The water is cold
and sweet. These streams viii all supply
| mills; and the county grows excellent
wheat. The corn, cotton, cereals, grasses, es-
| peciallv blue-which takes hold OF the soil,
and spreads rapidly and close (as it does. in
deed in other parts of the valley clover and
/ fruits are all grown here in great perfection
and quantity 10 the acre Fruits. especially,
have been so thoroughly tested and cultivate
! ed by lr, X. ThurSton, near Van Buren,, that
! IL Is now demonstrated that tho ri o,,eoc