The Van Buren press., 1879-04-05
CRAWFORD COUNTY,.
1 Brief Description of It's Soil, Timber,
Minerals, ETC., etc.
Attractions offered to Immigrants.

Crawford County, Arkansas, is sitnat'
| ed on the extreme W Western boundary oil
the State adjoining the Cherokee Nation,
/ and contains an area Of about 362, 900
acres, good portion.a.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.
/ 900 acres of Railroad Lands, which are
now in the market, and offered at from
50 to $500 per acre, according to quail
ty. Other unimproyed lands can be
bought at from $3.50 to $1,000 per acre /;
aud lands partly improved at from 81 to
to sl5 90, per acre.
The Lands of Crawford County are,
the larger part Of them, exceedingly fer
tile. aud the greater part of them suscept-
ihe of cultivation. There are, within its
limits, more alluvial 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 atl50O0.
Schools and Churches abound in all parts
of the county, there being forty light
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 a large number of Steam
Cotton. Gins, &c, DC, 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 eXeeled
anvwherc, 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 cx-
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 nayigable 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, J. NJ. Washbourne and
J, H. lIanev, to the L. r. & f. S. Rail.
way, in 1851 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
nut 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 yonr Road The up
lands in the eastern section Of this county,
generally, are level and fertile rich in grass
es, vines. grape, ana underground. 6prin Is
are common in parts and water obtained with
readiness by digging. These lands are un-
! derlaid by terruginous shales and clays, and
where unproduCtive, can be made 90 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 Creek
! to the mouth of Mulberry. The greater part
! is high. dry, richly timbcrcd, with luNuraut
growth of vine, shrub and grass; well-wa-
| tered, and as productive as any land on the
| Arkansas.
| Shales are everywhere exposed, even in the
city in several places Coal or coal ndices
are found all over the county, bnt 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, ;. Is I ., r, 80,
coal has been dug for thirty five years, said,
| by smiths, who have worked it, to be the best
| coal in the region; it is three feet thick. and
easy TO quarry it extends quite a 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, 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 shalc runs into Van Buren and in the
well sunk tor the steam mill there. coal was
struck az. also. Il very hard, blue, almost i'm
pcnctrablc rock. Along this stream small
| fragments OF cry stal-aS, also. on Il low ridge
| on the land OF h. scott, ), O. I. ., K. 81, and
4 along the hillside, near the Van Buren steam
mill-are gathered. Limestone occurs at the
! base of the blum of terrugnouS 81 udStoue
above Van Buren; this blum of sandstone
abuts on the river. and yields u fine huidng.
stone and on its height which is broad
/ table land, are some of the finest building
sites to be found in its picturesque valey-it
is tempting TO the wealthy Immigrant. Thi,
tht,a fronts. also. on I ee'S Greek at its con