The journal. (Caldwell, Ohio) 1934-1961, 1951-01-25

~GIL ILOoIAy SOllAlCIICu Will SllIP
lay, 1948. His professional sur
vey is as follows:
In reply to your request for
a professional opinion regarding
the coal resources of Noble
County, it is, of course, known
that a great deal of information
pertaining to the coal seams out
cropping in the county is avail
able from the Geological Survey
of Ohio. However, there is very
little published information per-
tanning to any coal in the area
south of Caldwell, that could be
mined by underground methods.
II have been closely associated
since May 1948 with coal strip
ping operations in the areas
comprised by the Dudley-Dexter
City Elba Middleburg tri-
angle. In contracting farmers in
this area, when buying or leas-
ing coal lands, persistent re-
ports have been received, from
those connected with oil we'll
drilling operations, of an eleven
(1D foot seam of coal located
below the 900 foot sand" Be-
cause of certain geological con-
ditions within this local area a
great deal of credance could be
given to such rumors, and such
a seam of coal would yield ton
nageS far greater than the pre-
sent producing Meigs Creek
no. 8 seam.
The sand" over-lying this
reported IL foot seam of coal
coudr refer to either the PeakeT'
sand stone (53r below the
Meigs Greek coaD or to the
Dunkard sand stone (570' ben
cath the same coaD. The Geolo-
gical Survey of Ohio publishes
a "Generalized Coal Section of
Ohio" which shows, within the
limits of these two sand stones,
three (3) possible seams of coal
as follows:
Cd Lower Freeport, patchy,
1.0' thickness;
(2) Upper Kittanning, seldom
present, 1.0' thickness
(3) Middle Kittanning No 6,
persistent, 40 thickness.
This lower seam, the Middle
KIttanning should appear at a
distance of 578' below the Meigs
Greek coal, which is close en-
ough to the 300 foot sand to
satisfy the reports.
while the reported IL thick
ness is not consistent with the
Generalized Section thickness
of 4, it must be recognized that
this same Generalized Section
shows the Meigs Creek coal to
have an average thickness of
110," whereas in actuality the
Meigs Creek coal attains a
thickness of 8'8" in the above
triangle. The Meigs Creek coal
appears to have the shape of an
irregular soup BOWL" being
thicker in the middle and thin
ming out towards the outer rim.
In fact, beyond the rim, this
coal thins down to less than
To- or is completely absent.
Inside the rim the coal reaches
a maximum thickness of 104"
on the John Sailing and Frank
Sailing farms on State Route
563, near Dexter City. Since the
Meigs Creek coal in this area is
so much thicker than the aver
age of 110" shown in the
Generalized Section, there
arises the interesting theory
that the above mentioned Mid
ole Kittanning coal or no. 6
seam, shown to be 4 in average
thickness, where found in the
state, might actually be IL
thick in this local area. Geolo-
gically this is neither impossible
nor improbable since all the
formation from the no. seam
up and including the no. 8
Meigs Creek seam, could be
locally thicker. A very interest
ing notation accompanies the
Middle Kittanning no. 6 in the
Generalized Section, whereby! it
is described as persistent" and
worked ac the "Great Bed of