Macoupin County, Illinois - Chapter 2: Geology, 1911

Chapter 2: Geology

Drift Deposits - The quatenary beds of the county consist mainly of drift clays, with some interstratified beds of sand and gravel, and some local deposits of loess along the bluffs of the Macoupin. They range in thickness from forty to two hundred feet or more, their greatest development being restricted to the ancient valleys, excavated anterior to, or during the drift epoch, and subsequently filled with drift accumulations.

Three miles south of Carlinville a shaft was sunk by T. L. Loomis, to the depth of one hundred and sixty feet, without reaching bed rock, all but a few feet at the top being through a blue hard pan. At this point a stream of water broke through, probably from an underlying bed of quicksand and filled the shaft in a few hours to the depth of about eighty feet, and the work was consequently abandoned.

At a coal shaft one mile east of Bunker Hill the superficial deposits were only twenty-eight feet thick, while at a shaft east of Staunton, they were one hundred and ten feet ; at the Virden shaft, twenty, and at Girard, about seventy feet. These figures illustrate the variable thickness of the drift deposits in the county, and indicate the irregularity of the original surface of the bed rock, which seems to have been intersected by valleys of erosion quite as deep, if not as numerous as those which characterize the surface at the present time.

Stratified Rock - All the stratified rocks of this county belong to the coal measures and include all the strata from the horizon of coal No. 4, which outcrops on Hodges' creek, just on the Greene county line, to coal No. 10, inclusive, embracing an aggregate thickness of about three hundred and fifty feet. The following section of the coal shaft at Virden will give a general idea of the relative thickness and position of the strata, and includes nearly all the different beds that outcrop in the county.

Coal - As may be presumed from the perusal of the preceding statements coal is by far the most valuable mineral product of this county. Its entire area is underlaid by coal, and the supply from coal seam Xo. 5 alone is practically inexhaustible ; and its resources from this seam, reckoning its average thickness at six feet, which is believed to be a fair estimate, is not less than 5,184,000,000 tons, and will admit of an annual consumption of one million tons per annum for 5,184 years, before the coal from this seam alone would be exhausted. The underlying beds as capable of affording an amount equally as great as that of No. 5, and hence the entire coal resources of this county may be estimated in round numbers at more than ten billions of tons.

Coal No. 5 may be found anywhere in the county that it may be desirable to inaugurate a coal mining enterprise, as it outcrops at the surface on the principal streams that intersect the western border of the county, and in the central and eastern portions it may be reached in shafts varying from three to four hundred feet in depth.

Coal No. 4 usually lies from thirty to forty feet below No. 5, and the three lower seams, Nos. i, 2 and 3, will all be found, if developed at all, within one hundred and fifty feet below No. 4, so that a boring or shaft carried two hundred feet below the main coal in this county, would penetrate all the coals to be found here, and determine positively the amount of coal accessible at any given point where the experiment may be made.

Coal No. 5 affords'a coal of good average quality, tolerably hard, bright, compact and usually free from pyrite ; it has a rather uneven fracture, but inclines to, break into cubic forms, the layers rather thick and separated by partings of carbonaceous clod or mineral charcoal, and contains vertical seams of white carbonate of lime. An analysis of this coal from the Hodges' creek mines, made by the late Henry Pratten, former chemist of the geological survey, and published in Dr. Norwood's "Abstract of a Report on Illinois Coals," gave the following result :

Analysis

In quality this coal will compare favorably with the average of our western bituminous coals. It is a good steam producing coal, hard enough to bear transportation, and when carefully selected this seam will afford a good smith's coal.

Building Stone - The coal measure strata seldom afford a good building stone, except for foundation walls, culverts and the more ordinary uses to which a coarse and homely material may be used. The Carlinville limestone is the most valuable rock of its kind to be found in this county, and it has been freely used for the ordinary uses above named. In the vicinity of Carlinville,. the beds range from five to six feet in thickness, antl occur in quite regular layers from four inches to a foot or more in thickness. When burned, it slacks freely, and makes a tolerably good but dark colored quick lime. It appears to stand exposure well and has proved to be a durable stone where used for foundation walls, bridge

The coarse brownish gray limestone above the Carlinville bed, which is found in the bluffs of the Macoupin, east of Carlinville, is also a durable stone and has been used for abutments and foundation walls in the vicinity of its outcrop, but as the bed is only from two to three feet in thickness the supply from this source is necessarily limited.

Among the sandstones of this county there are at least three distinct beds that will furnish building stone of fair quality if carefully selected. Two of these beds outcrop on Apple creek and its tributaries, in the northwestern corner of the county. These beds are twenty-four and thirty feet thick respectively, and are in part composed of a massive brown sandstone that stands exposure well, has an even texture, and can be easily quarried in blocks suitable for ordinary building purposes. There is also a softer micaceous sandstone outcropping on the Macoupin, below the bridge, on the Chicago, Alton & St. Louis railroad, which affords a tolerably good building stone if carefully selected. These sandstones may probably be found outcropping at other points in the western portion of the county, and as a rule, wherever a sandstone is found to present a solid cliff or rock at its outcrop, it may be safely used for all ordinary building purposes.

Iron Ore - A band o-f very pure carbonate of iron was observed at two or three points on the Macoupin east of Carlinville, intercalated in the shales overlying the Carlinville limestone, but nowhere in sufficient abundance to be of any economic importance at the present time.

Sand and Clay for Brick Making - These materials are abundant in all parts of the county and may usually be obtained from the beds immediately beneath the soil on the uplands, and where there seems to be a deficiency of sand in the subsoil clays it may be easily supplied from the beds of the streams, or from the sandbeds interstratified with the drift clays.

"The report will show the number of tons of coal mined, the tons shipped on railroads, the tons supplied to railroad locomotives, tons sold to the local trade and tons used for steam at the mines ; the aggregate value of coal at the mines, the number of tons mined by hand and the number of tons mined by machines ; the number and kind of machines used for mining coal and how operated by electricity or compressed air ; the number of miners, others employed underground, boys employed underground and all others employed above ground, with the total number of employes ; the number of kegs of powder used and motors used underground for hauling the coal, the number of accidents both fatal and non-fatal.

"Number of shipping mines 17, as follows: Superior Coal Company, No. 3, Gillespie ; Superior Coal Company No. 2, Gillespie ; Superior Coal Company No.

"Total number of mines, 22; tons shipped on railroads, 3,753,550; tons supplied to locomotives, 34,242; tons sold to local trade, 112,564; tons used at mine for steam purposes, 140,080; total number of tons, 4,040,436; tons mined by hand, 794,292; tons mined by machines, 3,246,144; average working days for shipping mines, 152; mining price for hand mining to June i, 1910, 55 cents; mining price for hand mining after June i, 1910, 58 cents; price for machine mining to June i, 1910, 48 cents; mining price for machine mining after June I, 1910, 51 cents; number of mining machines, 278; number of miners, 3,117; others employed underground, 1,043; boys employed underground, 150; employes above ground, 371 ; total number of employes, 4,681 ; number of kegs of powder for blasting coal, 66,552 ; number of kegs used for other purposes, 71 ; number of compressed air locomotives, 4; number of electric locomotives, 17; number of cable rope used, i ; aggregate value of coal sold at mine, $3,508,565 ; number of fatal accidents, 4; number of non-fatal accidents of those who have lost thirty days, 23; number of tons produced to each fatal accident, 1,010,109; number of tons produced to each non-fatal accident, 183,656.

"The output of the county shows a falling off of 322,494 tons from last year. This is owing to the suspension of work at all the shipping mines in the county from April i, 1910, to June i, 1910. A number of the mines in the county have signed a scale with United Mine Workers and went to work June i, 1910, namely: Girard Collieries Company, Glenridge Coal Company, Carlinville Coal Company, Nilwood Coal Company and Superior Coal Company.

"Improvements - There have not been many improvements in the mines of the county during the last year, except putting in fire protection at the bottom of the shafts and stables in accordance with the amendments to the mining law passed by the late special session of the legislature. The shipping mines are all finished. Some of the local mines have not been able to secure all material to finish their mines but they will be finished in the near future.

"Change of Name - The No. i mine of the Illinois Collieries Company, being the north shaft at Virden, will be known from this time on as the Glenridge Coal Company."

In presenting a list of the animals of the county that existed here prior to and after the advent of the white man, while the list may not be complete, it will, however, be of interest to the student and scientist. Of the ruminating animals that were indigenous to this territory we had the American elk, and still have the deer of two kinds, the more common, the well known American deer and the white-tailed deer. The latter still affords amusement and sport for the hunter in the more timbered portions of the county, and at a period not very remote, the American buffalo must have found pastures near the alluvial and shaded banks of the Macoupin and plains and prairies of this portion of the state. The heads, horns and bones of the slain animals were still numerous in 1830. The black bear was quite numerous even in the memory of the old settlers. The gray wolf and prairie wolf are not unfrequently found, as is also the gray fox, which still exists by its superior cunning. The panther was occasionally met with in the earlier times, and still later and more common, the wild cat. There were also found the weasel, one or more species ; the mink and American otter, which were quite numerous on Otter creek, in the northern part of the county; the skunk, the badger, the raccoon and the opossum. The two latter species of animals are met with in every portion of the United States and the greater part of North America. The coon skin among the earlier settlers was regarded as a legal tender. The bear and otter are probably now extinct in the county and were valuable for their furs. Of the squirrel family we have the fox, gray, flying, ground and prairie squirrel. The woodchuck and the beaver were common prior to the settlement, as was also the common musk rat. The bats, shrews and moles are common. Of the Muridae we have the introduced species of rats and mice, as well as the meadow mouse and the long-tailed jumping mouse, frequently met with in the clearings. Of the hares, the so-called rabbit is very plentiful. - Several species of the native animals have perished, being unable to endure the presence of civilization, or finding the food congenial to their tastes appropriated by stronger races. Many of the pleasures, dangers and excitements of the chase are only known and enjoyed by most of us at the present day through the talk and traditions of the past. The buffalo and the elk have passed the borders of the Mississippi to the westward, never more to return.

Of the fish, the most common are the cat, bass and the sun-fish. The perch, pike and buffalo are also occasionally seen. The common carp chub is numerous. The bass is a game fish and affords fine sport.

The game birds most sought are the wild turkey and prairie hen, which afford excellent sport for the hunter and are quite plentiful. The gray eagle is also occasionally seen. We also have pinnated grouse, ruffled grouse, ortyx virginianus quail, woodcock, English snipe, red-breasted snipe, telltale snipe, yellow legs, marbled godwit, long-billed curlew, short-billed curlew, Virginia rail, American swan, trumpeter swan, snow goose, Canada goose brant, mallard, black duck, pintail duck, green-winged teel, blue-winged teel, shoveler, American widgeon, summer, or wood duck, red-head duck, canvas-back duck, butter ball, roughbilled pelican, loon killdee, plover, bald head, yellow legged and upland plover, wild ibis, white heron, great blue heron, bittern, sand hill crane, wild pigeon, common dove, American raven, common crow, blue jay, bobolink, red winged black, meadow lark, golden oriole, yellow bird, snow bird, chirping sparrow, field sparrow, swamp sparrow, indigo bird, cardinal red bird, cheewink, white bellied nut- hatch, mocking bird, cat bird, brown thrush, house wren, barn swallow, bank swallow, blue martin, cedar bird, scarlet tanager, summer red bird, robin, blue bird, king bird, pewee, belted kingfisher, whippoorwill, night hawk, chimney swallow, ruby throated humming bird, hairy woodpecker, downy woodpecker, red headed woodpecker, golden winged woodpecker, Carolina parrot, great horned owl, barred owl, snowy owl, turkey buzzard, pigeon hawk, swallow tailed hawk, Mississippi kite, red tailed hawk, bald eagle, ring tailed eagle. We give the following classification of birds in three divisions :

1. Those of the greatest value to the fruit growers in destroying noxious insects, and which should be encouraged and fostered in every way : blue birds, tit mice or chickadees, warblers, swallows and all birds known as woodpeckers except sapsuckers. The latter is entirely injurious, as it is not insectivorous but feeds on the inner bark of many species of tree and may be known from other woodpeckers by its belly being yellowish, a large black patch on its breast and the top of its head a dark bright red. The males have also a patch of the same on their throats and with the minor margins of the two central tail feathers white. This bird should not be mistaken for the two other most valuable birds which it nearly resembles, - the hairy woodpecker and the downy woodpecker. These two species have the two outer tail feathers white and have only a small patch of red on the back of the head of the males. The yellow hammer or flecker is somewhat colored with yellow and should not be mistaken for the sapsucker. It is a much larger bird. The red headed woodpecker sometimes pecks into apples and devours cherries and should be placed in the next division (2). The wren, ground robin, meadow lark, all the fly catchers, the king bird or bee catcher, whippoorwill, night hawk or goat sucker, nuthatcher, pewee or pewit, all the blackbirds, bobolinks, white and brown creepers, Maryland warblers, indigo birds, chirping sparrow, black throated bunting and thrushes, except those named m the next class, and all domestic fowls except geese.

2. Birds of doubtful utility are those which have beneficial qualities in the way of destroying fruits and whose habits are not fully determined. The robin, brown thrush and cat bird are very valuable as cut worm eaters but also very obnoxious to the small fruit growers. The blue jay is not only destructive to grain and fruits but very noxious ' in the way of destroying the nest eggs and young of smaller and better birds, robin, brown thrush, cat bird, shrike or butcher bird, red headed woodpecker, jay bird or blue jay, crow and the small owls, pigeons and mocking bird.

3. Birds that should be exterminated are sapsucker, or yellow bellied woodpecker, Baltimore oriole, or hanging bird, cedar bird, or wax wings, hawks and the larger owls.

Flora

When we gaze out over the landscape the eye is pleased with its chequered beauty and loveliness. Here and there are bright flowers, clinging vines, green verdured hill and dale, majestic forest trees, whose towering heads have withstood the blasts and storms of many winters, - these were created not only to please the eye and beautify the world, but the cereals and grasses were made to furnish food for man and beast. This article will treat particularly of the more valuable woods utilized in the mechanic arts, and the grasses, plants, vegetables and flowers most beneficial to man, and particularly those which are natives of the county. Many species of the native vegetable kingdom have fled. The buffalo grass, which only grew on parts of the prairies, and almost wholly the large pampas grass, have become extinct and given place to blue grass, which, in places where domestic cattle feed, is rapidly and quietly displacing all others. The plants are many and rare, some for beauty and some for medicine. The pink root, the columbo, the ginseng, boneset, pennyroyal and others are used as herbs for medicine. Plants of beauty are the phlox, lily, asclepias, mints, golden rod, eye bright gerardia and hundreds more which adorn the meadows and brooksides. Besides these there are the climbing vines, trumpet creeper, bitter sweet, woodbine, clematis and the grape, which fill the woods with gay festoons and add grace to many a decaying monarch of the forest. The trees and grasses, one so lordly and permanent, the other so humble and transient, are the true glories of the county. The oak, with at least its twenty varieties ; the hickory, with as many more species ; the thirty kinds of elm, from the soft, which bear leaves as large as a man's hand, to the kind which bear a leaf scarcely larger than a man's thumb nail ; the black walnut, so tall and straight ; the hackberry ; gum tree, black and sweet; the tulip and the giant cottonwoods and hundreds more, attest the fertility of the soil and mildness of the climate, while the blue grass, in its ten varieties, the timothy and red top, with clover so abundant in succulence, affords excellent pasturage and opens a fine field for the dairyman or stock raiser.

The following is a partial list of the trees and plants of the county : Cottonwood, willow, alder, birch, hazel nut, red oak, water oak, black oak, black jack, laurel oak, chestnut white oak, yellow oak, white oak, post oak, pig nut, hickory, overcup oak, white heart hickory, shellbark hickory, pecan, black walnut, butternut, sycamore, red elm, red mulberry, stinging nettle, white elm, spear grass, blue grass, bulrush, Indian turnip, cat tail, arrow head, yellow lady's slipper, white lady's slipper, hemp, hop, Jamestown weed, milk weed, white ash, black ash, poke weed, pig weed, sour dock, sassafras, fever bush, hoarhound, night shade, ground cherry, horsemint, catnip, pennyroyal, persimmon, plantain, mullein, common thistle, burdock, dandelion, fire we'ed, rag weed, cockle bur, Spanish needle, beggar ticks, May weed, ox eye daisy, thoroughwort, dogwood, elder, wild gooseberry, wild crab, climbing rose, dwarf wild rose, blackberry, paw-paw. May apple, blood root, wild pepper grass, linden, prickly ash, sumach, poison oak, summer grape, frost grape, Virginia creeper, buckeye, sugar maple, white maple, box elder, indigo weed, red bud, coffee tree, honey locust, red plum, Chickasaw plum, wild cherry, wild strawberry, black cap raspberry, dewberry.