The Van Buren press. [volume] (Van Buren, Ark.) 1859-1914, 1878-10-15
CRAWFORD COUNTY.
4 Bret Description of Its Soil, Timber,
Minerals. etc., etc.
Attractions Offered to Immigrants.

i the State, adjoining the Cherokee Nation
I aud contains an area of about 362, 00t
acres, good portion of which is rive
and creek bottom lands. There is in til,
! County nearly 10000 acres subject tt
9 homestead or other entry, and about 70
!. 000 acres of Railroad Lands, which ar,
, now in the market, and offered at from
: 81 to $500 per acre, according to quail
ty Other unimproved lands can be
bought 1T 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,
tile larger part Of them, exceedingly fer
tile, and the greater part of them suscept-
ible of cultivation. There are, within its
limits, more alluvial lands than most, if
not all the other western counties Well
watered, good timber, and capable of
supporting dense population. The
| present population is estimated at ID, 600.
| Schools and Churches abound in all parts
i 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
FIGURING Mills, two Wool carding ma
/ chimes, aud large number of Steam
] Gotten Gins do. he.-aas we'll IA olliar
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 at Little Rock last Fall, the first aud
second premiums were awarded Crawford
County for the best and largest display
of Apples exhibited the cohtesting ex-
hibits beng 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 eoun-
ties
The description Of Crawford County,
which we publish below, is taken from
report made from an actual recoanois-
sanee by Messrs j. NJ. Washbourne and
j. H. lIanev, to the l.. r. q L. 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
meneing nine miles north of westward from
Van Buren,, Is one of the greatest pineries
north of the Arkansas River Ii will hereaf-
ter. be very valuable to your Road, The up
lands IN the eastern section f this county,
generally, are level and fertile. rich in grass
es, vines. crap and underground. Sprn IS
are common in parts and water obtained with
readiness by digging. These lands are un-
detlaid by ierruginous shales and clays. and
:. .'; IL.
the finest tracts of bottom land begins in the
city of Van Buren,. aud 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 luXurant
growth OF vine, shrub and grass; well-wa-
| Arkansas.
Shales are everywhere exposed, even in the
| city in several places Coal, or coal ndices
are found all over the county, but the coal, as
a rule, is not AS thick as it is in Franklin. On
/ Frog Bayou, considerable tributary to the
| Arkansas. at Phillips bank. 5. Is, T o, Il. 30,
coal has been dug for thirty-ltve years, said
by smiths, who have worked 1t, to be the best
coal in the region; it is three feet thick and
! easy to quarry; 1t extends quite d distance
along this Bayou. and is a part of the Arkau-
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 excellent
grasses and herbs.
On Flat Rock, stream eastward from Van
Buren, two miles, shale is exposed, and coal
has been found. The uplauds, 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. rs, also, a very hard blue almost inn
penetrable rock. Along this stream small
Fragments of crystal-as, also on a low ridge
on the land of f. Scott, 5. .. I. 8. r. 81, and
along the hillside, near the Van Buren, steam
mlll--arc gathered. Limestone occurs at the
base Of the blutt of ferruginous $, ndstone,
above Van Buren,; this bluff 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 its picturesque valley-it
is tempting to the wealthy immigrant. This
bluif fronts. also, on Lees Creek. at its con-
uence with the Arkansas, and runs along that
stream into the adjoining hil,s the mouth OF
this stream is in ). IS I. 9, K. 30; opposite
the BLUM, across the creek, is high hin, in
which lead was found many years ago--it was
probably drift, Fine springs gush out along
the valley of this stream, and its many ailu-
ontss iron oXydes and carbonate are con,
mon everywhere. and the carbonate is excee-
dinghy heavy indeed the absence of iron il
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 viii all supply
mills; and the county grows excellent
wheat. The corn. cotton, cereals, grasses es-
peciallv blle--which takes bold OF the soil
and spreads rapidly and close Gas il does, in
deed in other parts of the valley Glover and
, fruits are all grown here in great perfection
and quantity Jo the acre. Fruits. especially
have been so thoroughly tested and cultivat-
ed by lr, X. Ihurston, near Van Buren,. that
it is now demonstrated that the Arkansas will
produce fruit equal to any other valley in the
world
The Valley Of Lees Creek contains excel.
] lent land, both bottom and high lands; these
last are for the most part, broken, rough ant
rocky. The Valley of Lees Creek. with il.
} tributaries, Is probably wider than that O
. any othert tributary running into the Arkan-
sas, on the north, within the State but great
hills and high bluffs of the milestone gri
8 sandstones everywhere intersect it; and ye
ltI,a l,.,tlf H..