Yorkville enquirer. [volume] (Yorkville, S.C.) 1855-2006, 1906-02-13
no BE CONTINUED.
OUR GREAT IRON RESOURCES.
Capt. Petty Tells Of the Mineral
My.,IkL of &ha piedraonf


Wealth Of the Piedmont.
Greenville is stirred up over the dis,
covery of iron after waiting more than
q century. A very high value Is put
on the discovery up to date. They are
talking about millions Of dollars not
enough to buy it. 1t has been our
privilege to watch some mineral dis
coveries in this Piedmont country for
long time, considering our youth.
Before the revolution an excellent
quality of iron was made in this
county. Before 1895 1t was known
that there were acres Of iron In this
the "old Iron District" Next came
the discovery of lead and copper. A
shaft was sunk about two miles from
Limestone Springs, and some fine spec
linens of galena and copper taken from
the mine. Just at that time we knew
much more about mineralogy and min
been studying mineralogy and veins
and dikes and faults, and lots OF
things. That mine being near my
home, I concluded to investigate 1t
scientifically for felt that was COM
petent, went down into the earth, Sc
lected such specimens as wanted, ex-
amined them and proceeded to write
column for the Carolina Spartan,
showing that lead, copper and silver
would never be found in that neighbor-
hood in paying quantities Major Bill
TRIMMER was editor Of the Spartan,
and in his kind consideration for me
he published what I wrote. These
juniors in college know lots. But any
way, there was little work done in that
mine after my investigation and re-
port. Then the gold mines were al
ways with us. They have also been
investigated. But the iron is abund-
ant.
From the old Cherokee Ford to the
neighborhood of Landrum iron ore Is
found in various places. Thousands OF
tons have been smelted. Thousands
of acres of land have been cleared to
make charcoal to make the iron. In
are acres Of iron ore and some fine
magnetic iron. There was a little
furnace over in Lincoln county, N. c.,
running after the war They made
iron with charcoal and magnetic ore.
B!acksmiths said that 1t was almost
equal to steel. Near Cherokee Springs
before the war, farmers would dig
magnetic ore and haul 1t to the roller
mill, now Clifton and they got dollar
ton more for that than was paid for
the brown hemolite. There are tons
of the same sort Of ore about Cherokee
Springs now, and the farmers are
making crops on the land. The beds
extend out towards the Southern
railway near Campobello When the
South and Western Is finished to Spar
tanburg, we will be not more than hve
hours from the Iron Mountains, where
the famous Cranberry mines are. There
Is the greatest abundance OF magnetic
ore for miles along the southern slope
of those mountains.
Considering the abundance Of iron
in this Piedmont country, and the dis
tance from fuel and the fate Of Mid
dlesboro KY, II asked for advice, we
would say to our Greenville friends to
sell for one million dollars, good and
lawful currency, when offered and not
wait for the five or ten millions de-
sired. But we are not giving ad-
vice to prospectors and owners OF
mines Some of them know much
more than we did half century ago,
when our knowledge was astonishing.
At least 1t must have been so to 9TH
ers for Ii Is to us at this date.
be well to state that boiler makers
before 1860 considered the iron made
at Cherokee Ford superior to any
they could get in Pennsylvania or
elsewhere. Between 1S45 and 1850
cannon balls were made at the same
iron works. They were boated from
Smiths Ford down Broad river to
Columbia. The ore was hauled to the
iron works in wagons, much Of 1t be-
ing carried six to ten miles. At the
Hurricane Shoals, long managed by
Simpson Bobo. tram way was built
out northward on a ridge about ten
miles. Instead Of iron wooden string
ers were used. The cars were drawn
by mules, one small mule pulling more
wood Cr ore than four could do when
loaded on wagons. The mules were 80
we'll trained that drivers were not
necessary. Early in the morning the
train would start from the rolling mill
with one or two drivers to look after
all the cars and keep them going.
Hands at the terminus would do the
loading. The mules would be fed, and
then start homeward. But the dig
ging of ore, tramways, the making Of
iron and nails, and the burning Of
charcoal will soon be amongst the lost
arts in the "Old Iron District
Charles Petty in News and Courier.