Daily tobacco leaf-chronicle. (Clarksville, Tenn.) 1890-1895, 1891-10-31
GREAT IRON BEDS.
A Trip Over Louisa Furnace
Lands.
Graoey- Woodward & Co.'s Operations
and the Wonderful Mineral
Wealth of our Hills.

Superintendent Dunn conveyed a
party of gentlemen over the Clarks-
vile Mineral yesterday, the objec-
tive point being Gracey, Woodward
& Co.'s ore banks. In the party
were Capt. Gracey, Mr.. Woodward,
T. d. Luckett, Supt. Dunn and the
LEAF. CHRONICLE reporter. Capt.
Cobb joined the party at the ore
banks.
1t was an ideal day for such a trip,
and the gorgeous beauty of the south
side forests in the rich autumnal
garb was enjoyed by all.
The place visited was Louisa ore
mines, owned by Gracey, Woodward
& Co., where they are now prepar-
ing for mining. This adjoins the
home of Squire J. X. Ramey, who
is taking a deep interest in affairs.
Louisa is fifteen miles from the city
by the public highway and sixteen
and a half miles by rail. Gracey,
Woodward q Co. own 1000 acres of
these iron lands, known as the Louisa
track, 300 acres of the o. X. lands,
Lafayette, Tenn, and Mount Yer
non. They are preparing to work
first the Louisa mines, and this will
be as much as they will ever need
unless they build five or six more 200
ton furnaces.
Superintendent Dunn thinks that
if he should meet with no mishaps or
bad luck he may be able to haul
most of this ore out of Louisa in a
thousand years, and he is not very
far wrong in his calculations.
The company is building spur in
to this property one and a quarter
miles long. The spur runs up the
valley between ridges A. and B., as
designated by Engineer and Geolo-
gist Fitzhugh.
Ridge A, is on the old Louisa prop
erty, and here is where the great
washer, which will cost $4,000 and
have a capacity of 800 to 400 tons per
day, is to be located. The water will
be brought from the old Louisa
spring, over the hill 1,40O feet, by
pipes to the washer.
This ridge fronts ITO feet on the
railroad, is seventy feet high above
the valley or road, and 1,4OO feet
deep back to the spring. Mr.. Fitz-
hugh gave this bank a thorough .ex
animation and found that it was a
solid bed of ore from the top of the
hill to the level of the valley, and
how much deeper down it extends il
not known. 1t yields fifty per cent.
of rich hematite and not more than
half of it Will need to go through the
washer, as it will have to be blasted
out in large Jumps and loaded di-
rectIy on the cars. Besides this the
dirt taken out contains fifty per cent.
of fine particles of ore. This may be
observed on the surface from the val
ley to the very top of the ridge,
where the ore lies as thick as stones
on a gravel. washed hill side.
Ridge b. lies on the opposite side
of the road from A, and can be-
worked at the same time. This is
ITO feet high and is perhaps richer in
ore than ridge A.
Next is ridge c., l40 feet high and
half mile long, which Mr.. Fitz
hugh says is the best of all, and con
tains the finest quality of ore. 1t
covers the surface from the top down,
and sinking a shaft thirty feet he
found it better the deeper he went
The surveys have been made for
another spur or branch road hall
mile up the valley between ridges B
and c., and also spurs for the vaIleys
between C. and D. and d. and E.,
which ridges are as good as those de
scribed.
The wash from the machine runs
down the valley and as the mud set
ties fills up the great hollow. The
clear water will be caught in a reser-
voir to be utilized again for either
ridge desired.
There will be room here for the
employment of 100 to 1000 miners,
and beautiful level valley Of about
100 acres lying hroadside of the spur
and fronting these ridges, has betn
laid out for a mining town, and the
timber will be used in building
houses for miners.
MOUNT VERNON RIDGES
are Immediately along the main line
Of the Mineral road and the ore will
be conveyed to the cars by wire ropes
and baskets.
Now our readers can form some
idea of the magnitude Of this enter
prise, with 200 ton furnace located
in the city, and the iuexhaustible
amount of ore that is found ia the
hills IN the south side, and this com
pany does not own the one-tenth OF
it. This chain of ridges extends all