The Van Buren press., 1879-08-23
CRAWFORD COUNTY,.
A Brief Description Of Its Soil, Timber,
Minerals, ETC., etc.
Attractions Offered 10 Immigrants.

I lFaNlbGu tpuutN, Ehihhh'''''' 80 "'''N'0
ed on the extreme Western boundary oi
the State, adjoining the Cherokee Nation,
and contains an area of about G2,OOO
acfes, a 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 ~
Geo acres Of Railroad Lands, which are
now in the market, and offered at from
81 to 90 per acre, according to quail
ty. Other unmproved lands can be
bought ut from $3.50 to Sl2,OO per acre
and lands partly improved at from VI to
to $500, per acre.
The Lands of Crawford County are,
the 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, il
not all the other western counties. W ell
watered, good timber, and capable ol
supporting a dense population. The
present population is estimated at 10, 600.
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, DC, &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 eXcelled
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 contestng eX'
hibits being large and numerous. III
short, the agricultural products of oul
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 o
the county from east to west. And The
Arkansas River which is navigable tht
greater part Of the year, runs along th'
entire length of its southern boundary
thus giving to the citizens of the county
ample shipping facilities, and such as arr
not enjoyed by many of her sister coun
ties.
The description of Crawford County
which we publish below, is taken from {
report made from an actual reconnois
sance by Messrs. j. NJ. Washbournc ans
J. II. Haney, to the l.. Il. Il +. S. Rail
way, in 1857. Since that time there ha'
been of course, vast improvements made
in the cordition Of the county, in mos
all respects:
"Nery little pine is found in this County
Dut in til adjoining Cherokee Country, com
mencing 1ne miles north of westward from
Van Blren, Is one of the greatest pineric
north of the Arkansas River. 1t will hcreat
ter, be very valuable to your Road. The up
lands in the eastern section If this county
generally are level and fertile, rich in grass
es, vines. grape, and underground. Sprin Z.
are common in parts and water obtained will
readiness by digging. These lands arc un
derllid by ierruginous shHles and clays. ant
where unproductiye, can be made so by ma
teri;. existing there or in the hills. One o
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 Creel
to the mouth of Mulberry. The greater part
is high. dry. richly timbered, with luXuriant
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 indiccS
are found all over the county, but the coal, Us
n rule, is not as thick as it is in Franklin. On
Frog Bayou, n considerable tributary to the
Arkansas. at Phillips bank, 5. Is, I. 0, Il. 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 distance
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 praries 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 thi,
stream, are fine for fruits, grapes and berries
This shale runs into Van Buren, and in the
well sunk for the steam mill there. coal was
struck, as. also. very hard, blue, almost inn
penetrable rock. Along this stream small
fragments of crystal-as, also, on a low ridge
on the land of Il. Scott, 5. ., Y. 8, II. 81 ant
along the hillside, near the Van Buren, steam
mill-are gathered. Limestone occurs at the
base of the bluf of tcrrugnous 81 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
is tempting to the wealthy immigrant. Thi
bluff fronts. also. on Lees Creek. at its con
uence with the Arkansas, and runs along tha
stream into the adjoining hilis the mouth o
this stream is in >. Is, I. 8, X. 30; opposit
the blun, across the creek. is n high hill, il
which lead was found many years ago-it wa
probably drift. Fine springs gush out alon
the valley of this stream, and its many ailu
ents; iron oXydes and carbonate are con
mon every where. and the carbonate Is eNcee
| dinghy heavy indeed the absence of iron
; the exception in this valley. The water i
this region is very good, and the spring
about and near Van Buren, are accounte
the best in the country. The water is col
and sweet. These streams Will all suppl
, mills; and the county grows eNccller
wheat. ghe corn, cotton, cereals, grasses, e!
pecallv blue--whiCh takes hold OF the sol
and spreads rapidly and close Gas il does, il
deed in other parts Of the valley y)--clovcran
fruits are all grown here in great pcrfectio
= and quantity to the acre. Fruits. espcciall
y have been SO thoroughly tested and cultya
ed by DR.. r. Thurston, near Van Buren,, thu
it is now demonstrated that the Arkansas wi
produce fruit equal to any other valley in I'll
world.
The Valley of Lees Creek contains exec
J lent land, both bottom and high lands; the,
: last are, for the most part, broken, rough an
n rocky, The Valley of Lees Creek, with /
u tributaries, is probably wider than that ,
n any other tributary running into the Arkar
" sas, on the north. within the State. but grej