The Van Buren press., 1878-10-08
CRAWFORD COUNTY.
4 Brief Description Of Its Soil, Timber
Minerals, clc., etc.
AND THE
Attractions offered to Immigrants.

~
} ed on the extreme Western boundary c
the State, adjoining the Cherokee Natior
. and contains an area of about 1862, 90
u acres, good portion of which Is rive
" aud creek bottom lands. There is in th
County nearly 10000 acres subject t
4, homestead or other entry, and about II
u 600 acres Of Railroad Lands, which ar
; now in The market ond offered at fror
81 to $500 per acre, according to quail
ty. Other unimproved lands can b
bought at from $3.50 to $1,000 per acre
and lands partly improved at from 81 t.
to $1,000, per acre.
The Lands of Crawford County arc
the larger part of them, exceedingly fer
tile, and the greater part of them suscept
ible Of cultivation. There are, within it
limits, more alluvia lands than most, i
not all the other western counties Wei
watered, good timber, and capable o
supporting dense population. The
present population is estimated at Is, 900
Schools and Churches abound in all part;
of the county, there being forty eight
School Districts in the county, in which
free schools tire taught from three to ten
months in the year.
There are in the county eight Steam
FIGURING Mills, two Wool earding ma
.rli.soo, end largo nan,Sei OF -5to",n
Cotton Gins, &c, &c, rs we'll as other
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 exeelled
anywhere, and in this connection we may
state, that at the Arkansas State Fair,
held ut 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-
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 navigabe 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 a
report made from an actual reeonnois-
sance by Messrs. J. NJ, Washbourne and
j. IL. Haney, to the L. II. & 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:
avery little pine Is found in this County !;
but In the adjoining Cherokee Country, COM
mencing nine miles north of westward from
Van Buren,, Is one of the greatest pineries
north of the Arkansas River. 1t will hereaf-
ter, be very valuable to your Road. The up
lands in the eastern section Of this county,
generally, are level and fertile, rich in grass
es, vines, grape, and underground. Sprn rs
are common in parts and water obtained with
readiness ~ digS,ng. These lands We s M
where unproductive, can be made so by ma
terial existing there or in the hills. One OF
| the finest tracts of bottom land begins in the
city Of Van Burcn, and runs down the river
past the mouth of Frog Bayou or Clear Greek
to the mouth of Mulberry. The greater part
is high, dry, richly timbcred, with luxuriani
growth of vine, shrub and grass; well-wa-
tered and as productive as any land on the
/ Arkansas.
Shales are everywhere exposed, even in Tho
city in several places Coal, or coal indce'
are found all over the county, but the coal, a.
rule, is not as thick as it is in Franklin. Or
Frog Bayou, a considerable tributary to tn,
Arkansas at Phillips bank, 5. Is, T, 0, II. 80
coal has been dug for thirty five years, said
by smiths, who have worked it, to be the bes
coal in the region; it is three feet thick. anC
easy to quarry; it extends quite a distanc,
along this Bayou, and is a part of the Arkan
sas coal field. This stream has long been ia
med for its fine, wide, high and rich lands. A
few small prairies skirt it with eXcellen
grasses and herbs.
On Flat Rock, stream eastward from Vai
Buren, two miles, shale is exposed, and Goa
has been found, The upands, along thl
| stream, are fine for fruits, grapes and berries
This shale runs into Van Buren,; and in tn
well sunk for the steam mill there. coal wa
struck, rs, also, very hard, blue. almost i'm
penetrable rock. Along this stream small
fragments of crystal-as, also, on a low ridg
; on the land of T. Scott, ). 8 L. 0, Il. 81, an,
along the hillside, near the Van Buren, steam
, mill-are gathered. Limestone occurs at tn
|, base of the bluff of ferruginous ST ndstone
above Van Buren,; this bluff of sandston
, abuts on the river, and yields fine building
stone; and on its height, which is a broa,
table land, are some of the finest building
sites to be found in its picturesque Valley
Is tempting to the wealthy immigrant. Thi
, bluif fronts, also, on Lees Creek, at its con
uenco with tho Arkansas, and runs along tina
stream into the adjoining hills; the mouth O
this stream is in $. Is r. 8, X. 30 opposit
the bluff. across the creek, is high hill, i
, which lead was found many years ago-it wa
5 probably drift. Fine springs gush out alon
the valley of this stream, and its many alllu
ents; iron oXydes and carbonate are con
mon everywhere and the carbonate is eNcee
dinghy heavy; indeed the absence of iron
. the exception In this valley. The water /
| this region Is very good, and the sprinc
about and near Van Buren,, are accounted
the best in the country. The water is coli
and sweet. These streams will all suppl
J mills; and the county grows eNcellen
wheat. The corn, cotton, cereals, grasses, eS
, peciallv blue-which takes hold OF the sol
and spreads rapidly and close Gas ii does, in
deed In other parts of the valley)--clover an
Q fruits are all grown here in great perfection
and quantity 10 the acre. Fruits, especially
have been so thoroughly tested and cultivat
ed by DIR. II. Thurston, near Van Buren,. tina
9 it is now demonstrated that the Arkansas wi
t produce fruit equal TO any other valley in tn
. world.
The Valley of Lees Creek contains excel
y lent land. both bottom and high lands; thes
G last are for the most part, broken, rough an
:, rocky, The Valley of Lees Creek. with il
=, tributaries, Is probably wider than that G
. any other tributary running into the Arkan
sas, on the north. within the State. but grea
hills and high bluffs of the milestone gr
n sandStOnes everywhere intcrsect it. and We