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CHAPTER I.*
GEOLOGY OF THE COUNTY—BOUNDARY AND DRAINAGE—FOSSILS—SECTION OF THE COUNTY — ANALYSIS OF COALS—NUMEROUS BORES THROUGHOUT THE COUNTY—LOCAL DETAILS—SANDSTONE AND LIMESTONE—IRON ORE, CLAY, ETC.—NATIVE TIMBER.
Daviess County is bounded on the north by Greene County, east by Martin, south by Pike and Dubois, and west by Knox, and contains about 424 square miles. It lies at the junction of the east and west forks of White River, which stream, with its tributaries, Sugar, Mud, Aikman, Veal, Prairie, Smithers, Pond, Purse and a few other creeks, drains the whole county. The county lies wholly within the area of the coal measures, and is probably not surpassed by any other county in the State in the number, value and availability of its coal deposits. By a careful examination of the county it is found that the strata slope or dip to the southwest, and that the principal coal (L) was in past ages removed by erosion from the northern part of the county, except perhaps from elevations occasionally left standing. The following is a connected section of the county strata.
Feet.
Surface soil...........................................20
Shale, argillaceous and silicious.......................6
Coal N .................................................2
Fire clay...............................................4
Argillaceous shale......................................8
Limestone, pyritiferous and shaly.......................1
Arenaceous shale.......................................14
Bluish argillaceous shale....... ...... ...............31
Coal L (main Washington)................................5
Fire clay, often colored...............................11
Shale and sandstone....................................30
Coal X..................................................3 5/6
Fire clay...............................................2
Silicious shale........................................10
Calcareous shale and limestone..........................6
Shale, black, sheety, bituminous........................5
Coal K.............................................3 to 5
Fire clay...............................................3
Shale..................................................25
Coal J..................................................1
Fire clay and shale....................................11
Coal I, good block....................................3 1/2
Shale, argillaceous and silicious..................... 60
Silicious shales.......................................25
Place of coal B.........................................1
"Millstone grit," sandstone............................65
Buff shale............................................ 15
Coal A................................................2 1/2
Fire clay and buff shale.............................. 13
Coal...................................................1/2
*Adapted to this volume from the report of the State Geologist.
FOSSILS.
In the limestone between coals N and L are Brochiapods, Spirifer cameratus, Productus semireticulatus, P. wabashensis, P. elegans, Athyrus subtiliti, Chonetes mesoloba, Cephalopods, Nautilus, Bellerophon carbonarius, B. percarinatus, B. Montfortianus and Orthoceras Rushensis. In the gray argillaceous shale of the roof of coal L are Sigillaria reniformis, Pecopteris arborescens, Sphenophyllum Schlotheimii, Neuropteris hirsuta, N. Loschii, Astero_phyllites sub-lcevis, Alethopteris and Crustacans. - In the limestone over Coal K are Productus punctatus, P. cora, P. semireticulatus, P. elegans, P. Rogersii, Spirifer cameratus, S. lineatus, Athyrus subtilita, Chonetes mesoloba, C. Smithii, Aviculopecten providences, Bellerophon sp. ?, B. carbonarious and Orthoceras Rushensis.
ANALYSIS OF COALS.
Coal L is an excellent coking coal free from deleterious impurities, and ranges in thickness from 3 feet 10 inches to 51 feet. At Washington it averages 5 feet. It is cubical, fractures irregularly and contains little calcite or pyrite. An analysis of it from five different banks gives fixed carbon 56.5 to 61.5 per cent, averaging 59.1 per cent. The quantity of gas varies from 30 to 35.5 per cent, while the ash varies from 2 to 6 per cent. Coal X varies from 2 to 5 feet in thickness. It outcrops in many places and is being worked in several places. It is pure, containing less ash and fixed carbon and more gas than Coal L. An analysis of Coal X from Section 23, Town 3, Range 7, gave 1.75 per cent of ash, 50.75 of fixed carbon, 1 of water and 46.5 of gas. Over Coal X is usually found a heavy-bedded, coarse-grained grayish-brown sandstone. This Coal X may be seen outcropping from the mouth of Veal Creek to Edwardsport, in Knox County.
LOCAL DETAILS.
On Section 6, Town 2, Range 7, on the old canal bank, the following section was taken:
Feet.
Covered slope..............................................0
Soft, shaly sandstone .....................................7
Soft, gray sandstone.......................................6
Coal X.....................................................4
Fire clay..................................................0
This mine was one of the earliest worked in the county. The following is the section near the mouth of Veal's Creek :
Feet.
Covered space.................................................4
Shaly sandstone..............................................20
Coal X........................................................2.3
Fire clay.....................................................0
Silicious shale...............................................5
Hard blue limestone...........................................1/2
Cale. shale, fossiliferous....................................2
Pyritiferous calcareous shale with fossils....................5
Hard blue limestone ..........................................1
Black bituminous sheety.......................................2
Coal B, exposed above low water...............................2
In the limestone and calcareous shale over Coal K of this section Productus punctatus, P. cora, P. elegans, P. semireticulatus, Aviculopecten providensis, Bellerophon carbonarious, Chonetes mesoloba, Orthis Rushensis and Cyathoxonia prolifera were found. The sandstone overlying Coal X appears on the hills near Pond Creek Mills, in Knox County. Between Washington and Montgomery, the sandstone over Coal X may be seen in several places. Toward the eastern side of the county Coal changes from a caking to a semi-block or possibly block, and becomes thinner, often too much so to work. Near Montgomery it ranges from one and a half to three feet in thickness. At Montgomery the limestone over Coal K is about one foot thick, and the coal two feet. On Section 7, Township 2, Range 5, it is three feet thick. On Section 20, Township 2, Range 5, the following strata appear:
Feet
Soil and clay.................................................................10
Silicious shale, with alternating bands of iron...............................20
Gray, silicious limestone......................................................2
Shale, place of Coal K.........................................................4
Fire clay......................................................................3
Flaggy sandstone...............................................................1
Sandstone and shale...........................................................20
Coal I?........................................................................0
Fire clay......................................................................2
Good iron ore mixed with shale................................................14
Silicious shale...............................................................20
Bed of sugar creek.............................................................0
In the vicinity of Alfordsville, on Sections 34, 33 and 26, Coal K has been mined. It contains considerable sulphur, but in other respects is good. The following strata are taken from Section 9, Town 1, Range 5, three miles southwest of Alfordsville:
Feet.
Covered space.................................................................20
Shale, argillaceous, with bed of white clay and sandstone.....................70
Limestone, hard, blue, fossiliferous...........................................3
Shale, arenaceous..............................................................8
Shale, black bituminous........................................................2
Coal K, semi-block............................................................2
At the mill the limestone is 6 inches thick, and contains Productus, Spinfer, Pinna and Chonetes. Coal K outcrops near Glendale, Harrison Township, in several places, on Sections- 27, 28, 29, 33, 34 and elsewhere, and usually does not exceed 2-.12- feet in thickness, and is generally less. An analysis of Coal K, from four different mines in the vicinity of Glendale, gave fixed carbon from 49.5 to 60.5 per cent, the average being 55.1 per cent; ash, from 1.5 to 2 per cent; gas, from 30.5 to 42 per cent, averaging 37 per cent. The coke was brilliant, puffed, porous, and sometimes lamellar. It is doubtful if any workable seams of coal exist in the southern part of the county between K and A. Coal I is almost always good block. It outcrops and is encountered in wells. It varies 21 to 4 feet in thickness. At Montgomery the following is the section:
Feet.
Soil and clay..................................................................8
Brown shale, with ironstone....................................................6
Dark,fossiliferous limestone.............................................1 1/2
Black, bituminous, sheety shale................................................1 1/4
Coal K—caking..................................................................1 1/2
Arenaceous shale..............................................................46
Blue, argillaceous shale.......................................................1 1/2
Coal I—block...................................................................4
Fire clay......................................................................6
The following section is taken from a shaft on the Hay's farm, five miles east of Washington:
Feet.
Clay...........................................................................10
Sandstone.......................................................................2
Shell rock and gravel...........................................................2
Blue clay.......................................................................6
Soft sandstone..................................................................4
Hard sandstone.................................................................10
Hard limestone..................................................................6
Sandstone......................................................................10
Hard sandstone.................................................................10
Soapstone......................................................................15
Black slate..................................................................... 1/4
Coal K ?........................................................................3
Fire clay......................................................................11
Lime rock.......................................................................1
Fire clay.......................................................................2
Hard rock.......................................................................1
Fire clay.......................................................................6
Hard rock.......................................................................2
Soapstone.......................................................................6
Coal I?.........................................................................4
Fire clay.......................................................................3 1/2
Hard rock.......................................................................2
Fire clay.......................................................................4
Hard rock.......................................................................1
Fire clay.......................................................................4
Hard rock.......................................................................1
Hard black slate................................................................1
Soapstone.......................................................................5
Fire clay.......................................................................5
Hard rock.......................................................................1
Chalk slate.....................................................................1
Black slate....................................................................13
Hard rock ...... ...............................................................1
At Clark's Station Coal K is one foot, two inches thick, and Coal I three feet; on Section 29, Town 3, Range 5 Coal I is four feet, three inches thick. On the west half of the northwest quarter of Section 29, Town 3, Range 5, the following is the section:
Feet.
Surface........................................................................33
Sandstone.......................................................................6
Dark gray slate.................................................................8
Coal K?.........................................................................2
Fire clay.......................................................................6
White Sandstone.................................................................4
Dark Gray slate................................................................15
Coal J?.........................................................................1 1/2
Sandstone.......................................................................3 1/2
Black slate.....................................................................9 1/2
Coal I..........................................................................4 1/2
Near this shaft, and on the same section, is this bore:
Feet.
Surface........................................................................32
Hard gray rock..................................................................8
Dark gray slate................................................................24
Coal K?......................................................................... 2/3
Fire clay.......................................................................1
Sandstone.......................................................................3
Gray slate......................................................................5
Coal J?......................................................................... 1 1/8
Fire clay.......................................................................2
Sand rock........................................................................4
Black slate....................................................................10
Coal I..........................................................................5
On Section 19, Town 3, Range 5, was this bore:
Feet.
Surface..............................................................32
Dark gray slate......................................................14
Black slate..........................................................4
Coal..................................................................1/6
Hard gray rock........................................................5
Black slate...........................................................10
Coal I................................................................4 1/2
On the east half of Section 36, Town 3, Range 6, is the following section:
Feet.
Surface soil. ........................................22
Soft coal.............................................5/6
Pale gray slate.......................................8 1/2
Dark gray slate........................................7
Black slate............................................3
Coal K.................................................1
Fire clay...............................................2
Ashy slate...............................................4
Dark gray slate..........................................4
Blue sandstone............................................10
Coal I....................................................2 1/3
Fire clay..................................................3
Ashy slate..................................................4
Dark gray slate.............................................15
Coal G......................................................13/4
On Section 19, Town 3, Range 5, was the following shaft:
Feet.
Surface...............................................................46
Gray slate............................................................4
Black slate............................................................4
Coal...................................................................1/3
Hard gray rock.........................................................4
Black slate............................................................4
Coal .................................................................2/3
Fire clay...............................................................1
Black Slate............................................................5 1/2
Coal I.................................................................4 1/6
The following is a shaft at the Billings' farm, Sections 29 and 32, Town 3, Range 6:
Feet.
Surface...............................................................24
Slate rock............................................................51
Pale gray slate........................................................6
Dark gray slate.......................................................14
Black sand rock........................................................2
Slate..................................................................2
Fire clay..............................................................2
Ashy slate............................................................16
Blue sand rock.........................................................2
Black slate...........................................................13
Fire clay..............................................................5
Blue slate............................................................10
Blackslate............................................................10
Gray slate.............................................................1
The sections shown above are highly instructive, and show a great want of persistency in the various coal seams regarding thickness and continuance. Coal A is subconglomerate and outcrops in the northeastern and southeastern parts of the county. At Epsom it is a caking coal, one and a half feet thick. It is the same on Section 35, Town 5, Range 6. It is found in wells all around Clark's Prairie. There seem to be two strata of coal A in the county, the upper averaging about eighteen inches in thickness, and the lower two and a half feet, the latter being the most persistent seam. It has been worked in numerous places in Towns 4 and 5, Ranges 5 and 6. A few miles north of Washington the country across the county appears to have been subjected to powerful denuding forces, which swept away the upper part of the coal measures. Coal A probably covers the entire area of the county. In some parts of the county there are six seams, giving an average of nineteen feet of coal in the aggregate. It was estimated by the State Geologist that an aggregate of eight feet of coal in the average extended over the entire county, 271,000 acres. The citizens of the county need not fear of exhausting the quantity. Coal L, at Washington, is the best caking coal yet mined in the Western coal field. It is excellent for gas and coke.
IRON, CLAY, OCHRE, ETC.
In the northern part, bog iron or is often found, several valuable fields being on Clark's Prairie. From 40 to 50 per cent of metal can be obtained from this ore. Clay ironstone is found in numerous places, particularly around Alfordsville. Ochre is also found in this vicinity. The massive sandstone over coal X, in the hills north of Washington, furnishes a durable building stone. Good limestone, four feet thick, and of any length and width, may be obtained on Aikman Creek. It takes a fine polish, but is not durable for outside work. Abundance of good clay for brick and tile abounds.
THE PRINCIPAL VARIETIES OF TIMBER.
Ash, black,
Fraxinus sambucifolia, low land; ash,white, Fraxinus americana, low land;
alder, black, Abuts glauca, swampy ground; beech, red, Fagus ferruginea,
upland; beech, white, Fagus sylvestris, upland; birch, black, Betula lenta,
low land; buckeye, Pavia lutea, low land; cherry, wild, Cerasus v trginiana,
low land; coffee nut, Gymnocladus canadensis, low land; cottonwood, Populus
canadensis, river banks; dogwood, Cornus florida, swamps; elder, box, Acer
negundo, low land; elm, white, Ulmus americana, low lands; elm, red., UlTAUS rubra, low
land; gum, black, Nyssa sylvatica, low land. and upland; gum," sweet,
Liquidamber styraciflua, low land; hazel nut, Corylus americana, swamps;
hackberry, Celtis crassifolia, low land; hickory, common, Juglans,
tornentosa, uplands; hickory, pignut, Juglans porcina, upland; hickory,
shellbark, Juglans squamosa, upland; ironwood, Carpinus ostrya, low land;
locust, black, Robinia pseudo-acacia, low land; locust, honey, Gleditsia
iriacanthos, low land; linn, (basswood) Tilia americana, low land; maple,
soft, Acer rubrurn, low land; maple, sugar, Acer saccharinum, low land;
mulberry, Monts rubra, low land; oak, black jack, Quercus ferruginea, low
land; oak, white, Quercus alba, low land; oak, red, Quercus rubra, low land;
oak, black, Quercus tinetoria, low land; oak, chestnut, Quercus,
prinits-palustris, upland; oak, water, Quercus aquatica, swamps; pawpaw,
Annona triloba, low land underbrush; persimmon, Diospiros virginiana, hills
and low lands; poplar, Lyriodendrum tulipifera, hills; red bud, Cercis
canadensis, low land undergrowth; sassafras, Laurus sassafras, hills and low
lands; spicewood, Laurus benzoin, upland underbrush; sycamore, Acer pseudo-platanus,
river banks ; willow, white, Salix alba, river banks; walnut, white, Juglans
cathartica, low land; walnut, black, Juglans nigra, low land. In the
northern part of the county the growth is principally oak.
Index
Preface | Ch1 | Ch2 | Ch3 | Ch4 | Ch5 | Ch6 | Ch7 | Ch8 | Ch9 |Biographies
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This information is the research of many people across the United States and may contain errors. It is presented as the best information to date. Like all of those whose work I have incorporated herein, my research is a work in progress and subject to change without notice. A special thanks to Marlene Ricci of CA, Dwayne Meyer of CA, Jacqueline Bean of TX, Debbie Dick of IN, Milus Miller of IL, Carol Hendricks Miller of IN, Clarence Miller of IN, and Harold Glen Miller of IN. There are numerous others too; many of which are unknown, but their findings and stories are still much appreciated. Much of this would not have been possible with out their information. Also this website includes historical facts gathered from Washington County History, Indiana History, Rowan County and Salisbury North Carolina Historical sources and other US Historical sources.
James A. Miller- Great -Great -Great -Great Grandson of Adam Miller and Hannah Sheets.
©2007 The Millers of Washington County
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Last Updated 07/02/07 02:32:53 PM -0700