The Republican. [volume] (Oakland, Md.) 1877-current, 1909-04-08
lies at depth not exceeding 300 feet

Goal has been mined in the Georges
Creek basin since 1880. Until recently
only the Pittsburg seam has been min
ed. but with the approaching exha as
ton of this coal, development of the
thinner seams is rapidly increasing.
The BakestOwn, Upper Freeport and
Lower Kittanning seams are at present
being mined on commercial scale in
the Georges.Creek and Potomac Valleys.
Extensive developments, preparatory
to mining the Upper Freeport and
Lower Kittannng Goals by shafting.
have been in progress for the last two
wears at Henry. The Lower Kittanning
coal has been mined for several years
in the Upper YOughiogheny basin at
Corinth. The coal in the Castleman
and Lower YOughiogheny basins has
never been mined, except for local use.
ut is probable that within a few
year there will be very extensive de-
velOpments in the Potomac, Castleman
and YoughiOgheny Valleys, especially
in the former. Development has been
retarded. in the Castleman basin by the
lack of means of transportation. and by
the fact that the Allegany Goals are
buried in the central part Of the basin.
Now that railroad has been construct
ed along the Costleman River, develop
ment of the coal may be expected.
Ownership of the small-vein coal is
principally in the hands of the farmers.
Few large tracts have been acquired.
except in the Georges Creek and Poto-
mac basins.
Garrett county contains a great
abundance of valuable clay of various
kinds. These resources are entirely
undeveloped, except at the two tire-clay
mines in the northeast corner of the
county, but they will not stand high
enough temperature to be called or used
as fire clay. The only satisfactory
means of telling whether clay is fire
clay or not is by testing its actual fusi-
bility. Not all fire clay or not even all
those in this region, underlies coal
seams. There are at least two very
valuable fire clays now known in Gar
rett county.
The Mt. Savage fire clay occurs
at a very constant horizon in the Mercer
group, near the top of the Pottsville
formation. and Immediately under the
HomewoOd sandstone The belts are
along the edge of the areas of outcrOp
of the Pottsvllle formation, not very
far from the contact of the POttsville
and Allegheny.
''In the mines of the Union Mining
Company and the Savage Mountain
Fire Brick Works, in the northeast part
of Garrett county, the clay has a thick
ness of from to Il feet, averaging
about 10 feet. 1t is overlain within a
short distance by seam of coal about
3 feet in thickness. above which is the
HomewOod sandstone. There are usual
ly two kinds of clay, the soft or plastic,
and the flint or non-plastic. Both are
essential in the manufacture of the
bricks. 1t is necessary that both
should be refractory. There is no regu-
larity in the occurrence of the two
kinds Of clay in relation to each other.
Usually the plastic clay is above, but
this is not always the case. The clay
is well exposed in the west bank of the
Potomac River, one mile above Blaine
There is a very large adjacent area
from which the clay can readily be min
ed by drift, either here or around the
hill to the north, in the valley of Wolf
den Run. At the mouth of that run, or
between there and Blaine, are admira-
BILE locations for manufacturing plant,
as coal is being mined on the hill above,
and there is bridge across the river
at this point leading to the tracks of the
West Virginia Central and Pittsbure
Railroad. Tests made by DR.. Heinrich
Ries show that the flint clay from tins
locality is fully equal in its refractory
qualities to that from the mines on
Savage Mountain, while the plastic clay
from this locality is superior to that
from Savage Mountain.
Another locality where the same
clay was observed is in the tramroad
cut t Swallow Falls.
AT no other place has the clay been
observed above the coal as it is here.
| There is large area underlaid by the
clay in this vicinity, which can be easily
worked by drift, and the dip is slight.
Transportation can be furnished by the
narrow gauge road, which extends from
here to the terminus of the Confluence
and Oakland branch of the Baltimore
and Ohio Railroad. Power for the plant
can be secured from the Youghiogheny
River and coal for the kilns can be OBJ
tanned near at hand
Garrett county has numbering inter
ests second to none in the State. Their
rapid growth in the past few years is
due to the activity of the mills cutting
hemlOck. Three large mills are at work
in the county, one is building and there
is prospect of another. One of the mills
A.,