Iron County register. [volume] (Ironton, Iron County, Mo.) 1867-1965, 1884-03-27
Pilot Knob.
The Mine and the Works.
HriaeH for the REGlsTER.

1 ~~-- Sf'A anu II N<ASIA.
occur that ones own country is NOR
widely known and read abroad thar
at home: as witness the following ex
tracts, descriptive of our State, gene-
ally, and our immediate surroundings
particularly.
VIM. Henry Bishop, in his article OF
st. Louis, published in the Marcl
number of Rarper's Monthly, write
as follows:
missouri Is a State very rich in mineral re
sources. The Iron Mountain and Pilot knoi
district Is eighty miles by rsltssNa below 81
Louis These mountains are hf almost soliS
ore, so that ii l. estimated that they snow
! enough above tie surface to supply one mil
lion tons year for two hundred wears"
Again, quoting from one who has
made her stores Of mineral wealth g
study:
THE State of Missouri Is one of the most
remarkable pieeeS Of the earth's surface
, Surface indeed. Missouri gees far enough
under the surface to furnish mankind with
| one hundred million tons OF coal year for
| thirteen hundred yeTrS. Think of 26,ss.
/ square miles of coal bedS-neaTly half the
Siate-and some of the beds nearly fifteen
! feet thick, With regard - iron. il i not
/ Pilot Knob. 5s1 feet high. and containing 80
! acres. i = mass of iron. without counting the
! ineXhaustible supply that may reasonably be
supposed 70 exist below the level. There i
enough iron lying about loose in Missouri for
| a double track OF railroad across the tonti-
uea:."
Other writers have taken Up the sub
| ject, and are more or less yehemently
chanting the refrain, but most of them
are not '.naJiVe and TO the manor
born It. therefore, is a practical
query: is there not one in our midst
with skilifui hand and steady eye and
brain who can picture TO us the Nigh
~ reservoirs OF wealth lying beneath
our very feet? carry US back and con-
trast with the present the time when
even Thomas II. Benton wrote of Mis-
souri,: ''After you get forty or fifty
miles from the Mississippi arid plains
set in, and the country is uuinhab biJa-
bic except on the borders OF the rivers
and creeks.u But this was written fif-
II years ago, and since then Greeiey's
testimony was, Missouri possesses
the resources and capacities Of nation
within the boundaries OF q state, " and
his advice. go West. young man, f"
has borne fruit, and the borders OF the
"rivers aud creeks have been extend
ed So as to embrace thousands OF farms.
supporting myriads OF cattle; its coal
mines are riyaling the oldest and best
known, and its beds Of iron are beeom-
ing the wonder OF the continent.
With thoughts and feelings in con-
sonance,Sith the above, and with a de-
sire TO hrst get and then impart some |
particulars relative TO what / now
think the central point OF interest in
Southeast Missouri, beg 70 su bmit to |
you, Mr.. Editor, and TO your many |
readers few jottings relative TO
THE PILOT KNOB MINE.
a few days since, bearing in my
pocket a letter Of Introduction from a i
mutual friend TO Mr.. w q. Dilts, |
Cashier, Pilot Knob Department of the /
St. Louis Ore and Steel Company. / |
walked into the Company's Office at
Pilot Knob. After a few moments gen.
eral conversation with the above nam
ed gentleman, / informed him of the /
cause OF my visit: /. O.. to obtain infor-
nation as basis for this article.
/ was courteously supplied with sta
tistics from the books and records of
the company, and many items were
given which the books did not show.
After some time spent in the office,
Mr. d. kindly consenting TO act as a
guide, spent several hours in a per-
mountain of iron. Through its tunels, /
drifts, galleries and SLOPES, we went,
and also inspected the furnace, ma
chine shops, engine rooms, and store.
1t is needless to say, / spent a very
profitable and pleasant day.
PILOT KNOB MOUNTAIN
is situated in Iron county. Missouri,
eiga ty-seven miles south of st. Louis,
On the Saint Louis, Iron Mountain and
southern Railroad, and ON the east
side thereof, the railroad passing, at
Is foot, through a narrow gap, or
pass, between it and Shepherd Noun
ain, another rich deposit of ore, also
owned by this corporation These two
are at the north end of a
.hain OF mountains, all rich in ore,
which surrounds our beautiful and ap- .
Aamed Arcadia Valley.
Pilot Knob Mountain land many ,
acres is the property OF .
inc
ST. LOUIS ORE AND STEEL COMPANY, |
he chief office of which Is located in
81. Louisa The President is AIr. E. A.
with @. L. Garrison sec :
Treasurer, both of St Louis
In addition TO this celebrated iron {
nine, this company owns many other
works, mines and mining lands, among I
which are coal mines at Grand Tower,
llionois; Vulcan Iron Works, St.
.Ouis; and thirty thousand 80, ,0o0)
cres of land fnlining) in this State, a ! !
,reat portion of which is in this,
Iron y Madison and BollingeT counties.
The present company was organized
n lSS2, by the consolidation OF the Pr /
0t Knob Iron Company, Grand Tower Y
'oal Company, and Vulcan Iron 7
Works CosuEaBE =
Prior 10 that organization the work O
iad been carried on by the Pilot Knob II
ron Company. Il
The articles of Incorporation of the y
/. Louis Ore and Steel Company showf u
hat It's capital Is Eve million 80, ,e5o,- i
81 dollars. +
Iron ore was discovered Ga. Pilot n
mob fifty Years ago, and has been n
rorked for more than forty years, by |,
arious companies and individuals. "