The Van Buren press., 1878-06-18
CRAWFORD COUNTY.
A Brief Description of lis Soil, Timber
Minerals, etc., etc.
Attractions Offered TO Immigrants.

. lUc bbNlt, dtlIotHlug INV Slti 'h1i Afahi''
and contains an area Of abont a62o0t
acres, good portion of which is fitel
t and creek bottom lands. There is in The
) County nearly 10000 acres subject tc
homestead or other entry, and about 10
} 600 acres of Railroad Lands, which are
now in the market, and offered at from
50 to 500 per acre, according to quail
ty. Other unimproved lands can be
bought at from S2,50 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 suscept-
ibe of cultivation. There are, within its
limits, more aluval lands than most, II
not all the other western counties. Well
watered, good timber, and capable OF
supporting n dense population. The
present population is estimated at $4,000.
Schools and Churches abound in all parts
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, and large number of Steam
Cotton Gins, &c, &c, as well 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 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 and largest display
of Apples exhibited; the contesting eX
hbits 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 eoun.
ties.
The description of Crawford County,
which we publish below, is taken from a
report made from an actual reconnois-
sance by Messrs. }. NJ. Washbourne and
J. II. Ianey, 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 eom-
mencing nine miles north of westward from
Van Bnren, is one of the greatest pineries
north of the Arkansas River 1t will hcreat-
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. grapt, and underground. Springs
are common in parts and water obtained with
readiness by digging. These lands are un7
derlnih hy flr,-t-5iact.p efrnics ana ciaYs. and
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 Buren, and runs down the river
past the mouth OF Frog Bayou or Clear Greek
to the mouth of Mulberry. The greater part
| l. high, dry. richly timbcred, with luNurian,
growth Of vine, shrub and grass; well-wa-
tered, and as productive as any land on the
| Arkansas
| Shalcs are every where exposed, even in the
! city in several places Coal, or coal indiees
are found all over the county but the coal, a>
a rule, is not as thick as it is in Franklin Or
Frog Bayou, a considerable tributary to tn,
| Arkansas. at Phillips bank, s. lS T Q, l.. 30
coal has been dug for thirty-iive years, said
| by smiths, who have worked 1t, to be the bes
| coal in the region; 1t Ii three feet thick, anC
easy to quarry; it extends quite distance
along this Bayou, and is 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 excellent
grasses and herbs.
On Flat Rock, a stream eastward from Var
Buren, two miles, shale is exposed, and coa
has been found. The uplands, along thi.
stream, are fine for fruits, grapes and berries
This shalc runs into Van Buren, and in the
well sunk for the steam mill there. coal was
struck. rs, also. Il very hard. blue. almost i'm
penetrable rock. Along this stream small
fragments of crystal--as, also, on low ridge
on the land of f. Scott, 5. O. T. 8, K. II. and
along the hillside. near the Van Buren, steam
mill--are gathered. Limestone occurs at the
base of the hluif of ferruginous 81 ndstone
above Van Buren,; this bluff of sandstone
abuts on the river and yields q fine building.
stone; aud 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
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 5. Is, I. ., Il. 30; opposite
the blun, 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 aillu-
ents; iron oXydes and carbonate are CON
mon everywhere, and the carbonate is eXcee-
dinghy heavy; indeed the absence of iron |.
the exception in this valley. The water IL
this region is very good, and the springs
about and near Van Buren,, are accounted
the best in the country. The water is colo
and sweet. These streams will all supply
mills; AMI the county grows eNeellen,
| wheat The corn. cotton, cereals, grasses, es
| pecallv blue-~whfch takes hold OF the soil
and spreads rapidly and close (as it does, in
deed In other parts Of the valley y)-clovcran
| fruits are all grown here in great perfection
and quantity tn the acre. Fruits, especially
have been so thoroughly tested and cultivar
ed by DR.. K. Thurston, near Van Buren,, tina
it is now demonstrated that the Arkansas vii
produce fruit equal to any other valley in tn,
| world.
The Valley of Lees Creek contains excel
lent land, both bottom and high lands; thes
last are. for the most part broken, rough anO
rocky. The Valley of Lees Creek. with il
tributaries. IS probably wider than that O
any other tributary running into the Arkan
sas on the north. within the State. but grea
hills and high bluffs of the millstone- gri
sandstones everywhere intersect it; and We