Vermilion County, Illinois - Chapter 24: Early Mills and Milling, 1911

Chapter 24: Early Mills and Milling

The first corncracker mill used was made by James Butler in 1823. It consisted of a gum, or section of a hollow tree, some four feet long by two feet in diameter. In this was set a stationary stone with a flat surface. The revolving burr, like the other, was selected with reference to its fitness, from the granite boulders - or as the old settlers would designate them, "Niggerheads" - distributed freely over the ground everywhere. The two were broken and dressed into circular form, and the grinding surfaces reduced and burrows sunk into them so as to make cutting edges, by such rude instruments as Mr. Butler could manufacture for the purpose.

A hole was drilled near the rim on the upper side of the rotary burr. A pole was inserted in this, while the other end was placed in a hole in a beam some six or eight feet directly above the center of the hopper, and thus by taking hold of the pole with the hand near the burr and exerting a push and pull movement, a rotary motion was given to the mill. The capacity was about one bushel of corn per hour, with a lively muscular man to run it. It served the wants of the people at Butler's Point until the water mill at Denmark was made, in 1826, when it was taken to Big Grove, in Champaign County, by Robert Trickle.

The well known "Gilbert mill" on the North Fork, at Danville, near the lower end of Main street, was commenced by Robert Trickle and sold to

Solomon Gilbert before it was completed. This was a log building, and the stones were cut out of such as could be found nearby. This answered the purpose of the neighborhood for a time, but it was not until a sawmill was attached two years later, that much profit was realized. Grain was cheap and the commissions on grinding was necessarily small. The mill was completed and in working order in 1828. The bolting was done by hand, and was a slow process, but gave work to the boys who would otherwise have been idle.

All these old sawmills used the "gate-saw." The saw was fixed into a frame which was about eight feet high by six feet wide, made so strong that it could hold the saw firmly to the work, and so heavy that it moved up and down very leisurely, which gave rise to the expression that it would "go up in the spring and go down with the fall freshets." It moved in grooves cut in the upright timbers. Such a saw would not be used now, but at that time men who were accustomed to their use, could saw two thousand feet a day, and a thousand feet of lumber for a day's work was doing very well. The price for sawing was always fifty cents per hundred feet, or a share; so it is readily seen that a sawmill was a profitable piece of property to own.

A mill on the Salt Fork really antedates the Gilbert mill. This mill was in operation in 1826, two years before the Gilbert mill, and it served a large territory. The mill stood in the middle of the stream, just north of the one built later. This mill was built of logs and, as did all other mills at that time, went by water power. Its patronage extended as far as into McLean County, people coming that distance to get their grinding done. This mill continued to serve the people until, in 1837, Mr. John Shepherd, who had come to Illinois the previous year and had money to put into such an enterprise, employed Aaron Dalbey to build a new mill. This was done, and equipped at" a cost of $3,000, a large sum for those days. Mr. Shepherd, dying before he could realize any profit from the mill, it was bought by Mr. Parrish, who operated it for a time and then sold it to John Hay. He operated it until 1873, when he sold it to C. M. Berkley.

This building which served as a profitable mill so long was thirty by fortytwo and a half feet, and had both water and steam power. The supply of water was so constant that the steam was seldom used. The building was moved from the position that it first occupied to the bank of the creek - (but a short distance) soon after Berkley bought it.

Jacob Brazelton put up a horse mill at his place near the Vermilion at an early day, which, though a cheap affair, as were all these horse mills, yet did better than going so far to have the corn ground.

The first carding mill is credited to William Miliken, who built one in about 1830. It was indeed a primitive affair. It was run by tread power, and when he wanted to get up power he had to hunt up the oxen which ran in the bush, and these were not readily found. If they had happened to have wandered over to the river for water, which they were apt to do, it took days to reach the required power to run the mill. Meanwhile there was nothing to do but to wait for the desired material. This primitive mill has long since passed, together with the industry which made the demand for it. Mr. Whitsill built a mill on Middle Fork in about 1832 or 1833. He operated it several years, and then it fell into the hands of the McGees. It finally had to be abandoned because of not being kept in repair. It was a grist-mill at first, with a sawmill added later.

Another old mill on Middle Fork was built by James Howell, who operated it a short time and died; and his son then operated it, and he died. Then Mr. Downing took it, and next James Cunningham ran it until it became useless. This was a sawmill at first, but it finally had a corncracker added before it was abandoned.

Another sawmill in the county was built this same year of 1832. It was built by Naffer & Smalley three-fourths of a mile southeast of Higginsville. It did good work, and was much in demand in sawing up the timber. Hard wood lumber was much in demand for fencing, building and furniture. Later a grist-mill was added to this and did good work, and was a great convenience. This mill was in operation until 1860, or perhaps later, but long ago every evidence of its being had disappeared.

There was a water mill built on Stoney Creek in 1835 by Robert Kirkpatrick, which was operated for some years. It was a sawmill, and was run only by Kirkpatrick himself. One of the best mills of its time was what was known as the old Kyger mill. Situated as it was, with surroundings of the most beautiful scenery, it was a pleasing spot, and a favorite place, even after its usefulness as a mill was passed. The first mill upon this site was built by William Sheets, of Georgetown and Thomas Morgan, in 1835. When Mr. Kyger came into possession of the mill, he built a large frame and put in new machinery.

Mr. Amos Williams has left a number of letters and other papers from the contents of which there is reason to infer that he was much interested in milling, but it is difficult to learn how many mills he had, and where they were located. Whether he bought or built the one long known as the "Cotton's mill" is not known, but that it was in his possession at one time is not to be disputed. It was in 1836 that the dam was put in at this place, at any rate, and that is a probable date of its being begun. This mill was built on the main stream of the Vermilion river, and it is possible that the date fixed for its beginning is too late, and it is the date of a second dam. Mr. Williams did not prove as successful as a miller as he was in many other things, and the mill was a heavy expense with little returns, as long as he lived. After his death Mr. Cotton bought this mill, refitted it, and continued to run it until 1867. This mill had a carding machine attached to it. After the building of the new mills began, Mr. Cotton thought he could use his water privilege to greater profit, and discontinued the use of the old mill. The fall was about six feet and gave head sufficient for more modern wheels.

Mr. Hale came to Danville in the thirties, bringing some money with him. As a general thing, the early settler did not have much money. This was the first capitalist to come to Danville on record. Since there was no better way to invest his money, he built a sawmill in 1836. He took a Mr. Galusha as a partner, and his investment was profitable. Had he entered less land, with the profits of his sawmill, he would have become very wealthy; but he made the mistake many others have, and became possessed of more land than he had money to pay taxes upon.

In the course of time it was considered a need of the community to have a steam sawmill located at Danville. A company was organized, consisting of Thomas Willison, Thomas McKibben, J. H. Murphy and G. W. Cassidy, and perhaps one or two others, and a mill of that kind was built. This steam sawmill was located on the Vermilion Bottoms just below where the Wabash Railroad crosses the river. This promising improvement to Danville was destined never to profit its projectors, however. The panic of 1837 struck it, and it was suffered to go into decay ; even the logs which were drawn there to be sawed into lumber, were left to decay in the yard.

Eli Thornton built a water mill on the Little Vermilion at the Wright-Cook ford in 1837. This was both a gristmill and a sawmill. The need of the latter was more particular at this time because of the fact that many of the trees had been killed the previous season. The frost was so severe in June of that year that the leaves of the trees were killed, and the trees, many of them, were also killed. Thornton ran this mill until 1857, when it was abandoned as a mill and the frame of the building was sold to James Frazier for a barn. There was a mill built at Cook's ford before this. Jonathan Haworth built one in 1830. This mill Isaac Cook bought and sold to Eli Patty, who operated it as long as it could be used.

With advancing civilization, the water at this place became too low to run a mill. A mill was built in the more northern part of the county the same year that Eli Thornton built his at the Wright-Cook ford. Mr. Menely, himself a practical millwright, built a sawmill at a little way down stream from Marysville. Menely ran this mill for some time-, but afterward sold it to Smith. While it was the property of Smith, J. D. Shepler was the miller. In about 1860 the mill burned. Smith rebuilt it and sold it. In 1872 a run of stone was put in.

The year after Menely built his mill down stream from Marysville, Myersville was made a possibility by the building of the Chrisman mill at that place. A dozen families were settled in this neighborhood, and Peter Chrisman came from Indiana and bought a mill site at that place, and began the building of what he meant should- be a combined saw and grist mill. He began his work on the building at once, but before the grist mill was begun a sad accident prevented further work upon it. A sharp ridge lay transversely to the mill-race which the men were cutting, and it was decided to tunnel it to avoid removing the great amount of earth in the way. Chrisman's son Joseph drove the digging too far before he propped the great weight overhead and it broke down, crushing him beneath. This accident occurred in February, 1839, and it so affected the father that he never finished the building, but sold the mill in the following fall to a man living in Indiana. This man's name was Koontz. He employed John and Samuel Myers to go and complete the work which was begun. These Myers brothers were practical millwrights, and soon bought out Koontz, moving their families to the place which afterward was given their name. These brothers were enterprising men, and besides running the sawmill, they at once put in a run of .stones and also set a carding mill in operation. In June, 1842, they set a carding mill in operation. In June, 1843, they raised the grist mill. They owned and operated this mill for nearly twenty years. After making much profit, they sold the mill to Joseph Smith. By this time only the grist mill was in use. It has been some years since this old mill has been run to profit, yet it still stands, and some one or another comes along occasionally and fixes it up, and finds work can be had from it even yet.

A little northwest of Alvin there is yet to be seen the old historic mill around which cling tales of prosperity and tragedies. It was built by Mr. Clawson in 1838 as a sawmill, and later was also made a grist mill. After the accident at the Chrisman mill which cost young Chrisman his life and the mill was sold in consequence, Mr. Chrisman bought the Clawson mill at Alvin. The Clawsons ran this mill nearly ten years and then sold it to John Hoobler from Perrysville, Indiana. In 1851 Hoobler sold the mill to Jacob T. Ross and from that time it was called the Ross mill. To accommodate his neighbors, Ross put in a small stock of goods and made the first store in the township. It was here that the town meetings were held, and here also were the elections.

In 1858 John L. Persons bought the mill and operated it until his tragic death in 1862. The circumstances of his death were as follows : A man by the name of Miller had an account with Persons of less than five dollars. In making settlement a dispute arose between him and Persons. Being very angry, Miller laid his pocketbook down and went home without it. When he discovered that his pocketbook was missing, and remembered that he had left it at the mill, he would not return for it, but made an agreement with three men to get it for him. The agreement was that the men, whose names were Sanders, Smith and Moore, should go to the mill after the pocketbook, and in case they did not succeed in getting it, they should kill Mr. Persons. The men said they would go together and demand the pocketbook, and all expected they would have no trouble in getting it. Miller gave them a gallon of whiskey and agreed to give them half of what was in the pocketbook. There was about ten dollars there. Moore, for some reason, had the custody of the whiskey and drank more than his share before the others were ready to go. He started on the errand alone, and without asking Persons for the pocketbook, killed him on sight. After Moore killed Persons, he hunted up the others and told them their help was not needed. Moore was arrested, but turned states evidence, and thus escaped punishment. On the death of Persons, the property went into the hands of Sangster & Swazy of Cincinnati, Ohio, and about 1867 John Mains bought it.

About 1839 James George built a grist-mill on the Middle Fork and operated it eight or ten years. He then sold it to Mr. Watts. Mr. Watts ran this mill for seven or eight years, and sold it to Mr. Phillips. Mr. Phillips kept it for a while and sold it to Abisha Sanders, who let it run down. Later Doane & Byerly bought it and put it into profitable working order, and sold it to Mr. Swift of Danville. A watermill was built on the Vermilion by William Jenkins about 1840. It was a good mill and did good work. The water at this point rose rapidly and at times was very high. So uncertain was the water here that the bridge was nearly thirty-five feet high. With all precautions taken the mill was washed away at high-water time. An incident of this bridge is to the effect that while a boy on a wagon load of corn, was crossing it, the bridge broke and the wagon fell into the water; the bridge was ruined, the wagon disabled, but strange to say, the boy was not hurt. The old woolen mill on the banks of the North Fork of the Vermilion river at Danville was for a long time one of the landmarks of Vermilion County. The building yet stands, but the machinery has all been sold and since the attempt at a box factory a few years ago, no use has been made of it. This mill was built in 1844, by Hobson and Ailsworth, and went through many hands and many changes of remodeling in the thirty years before Riggs & Menig took it in 1877, and made a woolen mill of it. It was first operated by hand power, then by water power and at last by steam power. Its supply of water by the series of fine springs on the bluff above it, added to its value. This mill was probably better known than any other in the county, and during the time it was operated by Mr. Menig, its product was a pride and could compete with any in the country. The large steam mill at Georgetown was built by Henderson, Kyger, & Morgan, in 1850. It was built forty by fifty-three stories high, and had three run of stones. It was a great success and was in active operation until the same firm, Henderson & Kyger built the first grist-mill in Danville. Later Mr. M. M. Wright bought it and ran it for some time. By 1859 the county had grown to such proportions that more mills were needed. Blount township had grown and a grist mill was much needed. It was then that Henry and Andrew Wood built a sawmill and a grist-mill on North Fork, near the northeast corner of the township. It was a good mill with two run of stones, and had enough water to run almost all the time.

Another sawmill was built in Blount township in 1861. This was built on section 26 (20x12) and run by steam. Anderson come from Michigan, and bought sixty acres of timberland, and cut it off for lumber. It was a splendid piece of timber. He ran the mill here about eight years, and then sold it to William and John Lee, who moved it to section 36. This year was the time of building another mill at Danville. There was no longer any need to locate the mills on the banks of streams because the power adopted was steam. So it was the Amber Mill was built near the Wabash station. It was built in 1866 at an original cost of $28,000. This mill was burned in 1874 and rebuilt by Bowers & Co. Later it was sold to D. Gregg who ran it until the time of his death. This was a fine mill and produced an excellent grade of flour. The building was three stories and a half and basement built of brick, and was forty by a hundred on the ground. It was remodeled in 1878, substituting the new process and making it a first-class mill in every respect, which it continued to be as long as it was operated by Mr. Gregg. The building lay idle for some time after Mr. Gregg's death and in 1902 it was remodeled and used for the wholesale groceries.

John Dougherty built a grist mill at Fairmount in 1868. It was forty by fifty and supplied with three run of stones. The mill under his management was a great success. It was built at a cost of $15,000. The Globe Mill was a conspicious building in Danville for many years. It was built by Knight & Fairchild in 1870. It was 40 by 80, and well equipped with the "patent process" machinery. It had four run of stones. This mill was known as the "Lustro" after the firm of Smith & Giddings took it. Mr. Joseph Smith, the senior member of the firm, had been connected with the mill a year before the firm was established in 1875. During the proprietorship of Smith & Giddings, the output of the mill was about 40 barrels per day. This mill was operated until 1894, during which year the partnership was dissolved by the death of both Mr. Smith and Mr. Giddings. The building was burned the same year and was not rebuilt. A large and, in every respect a first class mill was built at Rossville in 1875, by Tittle and Ross. The City Mill in Danville was built on Vermilion street opposite the jail, by Samuel Bowers. It was a frame building 60 foot front on Vermilion street and 55 on South street. This mill is better known as the Wright mill, or the Danville mill. Mr. Wright bought this mill in the early seventies and under his supervision this industry became an important factor of the city's growth. He constantly enlarged it.

Although the use of clay for the manufacture of articles of utility or ornament is one of the oldest crafts of the world, yet the various operations connected with it have never yet been reduced to an exact science, and definite data as to character, accessibility, or methods of working, is very scarce.

Before proceeding to a description of the clays and clay industries of this county, it would probably be pertinent to give a little time to a brief description of clays in general.

It must be understood that the word clay is used in its broadest sense to designate any silicate of alumina from which ware of any description can be manufactured.

No really satisfactory classification has yet been proposed, but the following grouping is perhaps the best suited to general purposes, and this, therefore, is taken from the Geological Report of the State of Illinois, Bulletin No. 9, as adopted from Orton & Wheeler:

General Classification Of Clays

This classification will perhaps be best understood by identifying the various kinds of clay with the wares they are best suited to produce.

Taking the first group of "High Grade Clays," all of the "Whiteware and Pottery Clays" are used to produce articles of comparatively light weight, where the cost of procuring the raw material is a very small factor in the total value of the article, and generally speaking are used in the manufacture of wares combining ornament and utility, such as art-ware of all descriptions, pottery, chinaware, porcelains, sanitary-ware, insulating material, etc.

Refractory Clays, as the name indicates, find their use in the making of wares of high fire and heat resisting qualities, such as fire brick, retorts, furnace, stove linings, etc.

The value of ware produced in the State of Illinois during the year 1908, (the last statistics available at this writing,) from the first group of clays was $1,008,638.00, but unfortunately Vermilion County contributed nothing to this, as up to date no so-called "High Grade Clays" have been discovered in the territory.

From the second group, called "Low Grade Clays," are produced those wares in which the cost of procuring the raw material is a large factor in determining their value, as face, paving and common brick, sewer pipe, terra cotta, roofing tile, drain tile, etc.

The value of the products made from this group in the State of Illinois for 1908 was $9,084,338.00, and of this amount practically ten per cent was produced from Vermilion County; hence, although this group of clays is called "Low Grade," it is a fact that they are of more importance to a community than clays of higher grades and value per ton.

Referring to the classification, and having eliminated from consideration all of the so-called "High Grade Clays," because there are none available in this territory, modern practice, as applied to the location of clay plants, forces us to confine the discussion of this subject, as connected with Vermilion County, to "Vitrifying Clays" for the following reasons :

Prior to 1890 practically all of the "Low Grade Clays" wares, such as brick, sewer pipe, terra cotta, etc., more especially brick, were made from Gumbo, Loes or Brick Clays. These being of late geological formation (Quaternary or Tertiary periods), the deposits are not uniform in quality, or of very great depth, hence the plants were of necessity small and scattered over a wide area.

Since the discovery, however, of the utility of the "Vitrifying Clays," consisting mostly of the shales and under-clays of the carboniferous period, a great change has been made in the industry. Because of the uniformity of these deposits, and of their great depth, enormous supplies of raw material are available close to the plants. Capital has, therefore, been able to concentrate and instead of a number of scattered, horse-power brick-yards, we find large plants, equpped with the best of appliances, using steam shovels for digging their material, and with all of the modern labor and fuel saving devices, as recommended by the best engineering practice.

Hence, although it is true that the Loes, Gumbo and Brick Clays are still being used to some extent, particularly in the Cook County region, it is still a fact that the product manufactured from them is very inferior, and it is doubtful if the modern Ceramist would recommend the investment of capital in a plant to work any thing except the "Vitrifying Clays" of the Carboniferous period, consisting of the shales above and the clays beneath the coal strata.

In considering, therefore, the Clays of Vermilion County, we can safely confine the discussion to the coal measure or caboniferous materials, and hence the geological section becomes of prime importance:

Sketch Of Geological Section

Of the above No. i is of no interest to the clay industry, as it consists almost entirely of gravels, sands, hardpans, and the kind of materials which could not possibly be worked into any clay products. In every instance No. i forms the stripping, which must be gotten rid of before any of the underlying materials can be worked.

In many instances, where Nos. 2 and 9 are available in the low grounds, bottoms and second-bottoms they are covered with a very heavy deposit of No.

No. 2 is a plastic, blue, argillacious, red burning, shale, vitrifying at about 1,950 degrees F., with a very slight range between the point of vitrification and the point of fusion, making it a very dangerous shale to work. This stratum is valuable only for common building brick, and is being extensively used for this purpose by the Western Brick Company, at Danville, who are manufacturing upwards of 250,000 daily.

At the particular point where this Company is producing, it varies from 20 to 35 feet in thickness, and it is very unusual to find it exceeling 50 feet in depth, except in and around Glenburn, where it attains its maximum of about 100 feet, including from 15 to 25 feet of solid sand-stone, which forms the top of the deposit.

Although this analysis compares favorably with some of the best paving brick shales of the country, yet the infusible sillica particles seem to be very fine in texture, making the burned clay body too brittle for this class of clay products, and the range in temperature between the point of vitrification and the point of fusion being so small, renders this shale practically useless for sewer pipe, or any of the kindred wares.

The under-day, No. 4, designated at "A," although of sufficient depth, is of exceedingly poor quality, is not refractory, and is impregnated with lime nodules, which of course would make it impractical for any purpose.

The No. 5 deposit is a dark, slaty shale, and forms the roof for the extensive mining operations of No. 6 coal. In nearly every instance this shale is mixed with layers of from two to twelve inches of limestone.

No. 7 is an under-clay, designated as "B." Although some better than No. 4, it is not sufficiently refractory to make it valuable for any fire-resisting ware, and has neither the strength nor color requisite for the manufacture of sewer pipe, light-colored brick, or for any of the products in which under-clays are usually used. Concretions of lime are often prevalent, making it a dangerous material for any purpose.

In almost every instance the first 20 feet of material under No. 7 deposit contains hard, bulky sandstone, too gritty to be worked in with the underlying shale, and with not sufficient weather-resisting properties to make it valuable as a building stone.

Quite a considerable quantity of this stratum has been quarried southeast of Danville and used for building stone, with, however, but indifferent results. The first action of the weather is to harden it, as is usual in sandstone, but after repeated freezing and thawing, disintegration commences.

Analysis Of Sandstone No. 8

No. 9 is the most valuable, general purpose shale in the entire coal measures accessible in Vermilion County, but unfortunately, because of its location in the geological section, it is seldom found accessible, except with extraordinary heavy stripping, or by mining.

The infusible silica particles are of rough, sharp grain, the material vitrifies at about 2,050 degrees F., and there is a wide range between this and the point of fusion, making it a safe shale to work, and producing very tough, densetextured ware, standing high rattler tests, and is in every way a desirable material. This stratum is red burning under oxidizing conditions, but will burn to good, dark color when reducing atmosphere is used in the kiln.

This deposit is being worked extensively by the Danville Brick Company in the manufacture of superior grade of paving brick, and has been worked for some years by the Selley Brick Company, located at Danville, Illinois, which plant has recently been purchased by the Western Brick Company, who are

Bearing in mind the fact that only "Low Grade Clays" exist in the county, and that their accessibility and proximity to market are the determining factors of their utility, the geographical distribution of these clays over the county, with respect to the surface, will be of paramount interest.

The provisional geological map of Illinois of 1907 shows the entire county as being in the coal measure, or carboniferous belt. This may be true, and yet the clay deposits be so covered up by glacial drift as to be inaccessible, except by mining, which process of procuring raw material is, for most "Low Grade Clay" products, impracticable.

Only in portions of Danville, Catlin, Georgetown and Oakwood townships do conditions exist favorable to the finding of clays of modern utility, accessible from the surface, as practically all of the balance of the county is level prairie, and the coal measures are covered by heavy glacial drift.

ist. The geological formation of Vermilion County is unfavorable to the discovery of any clays other than those suitable for the manufacture of "Low Grade" products.

2d. The area in which valuable materials are likely to be found accessible, without mining, is very small compared with the total area of the county, and is limited to portions of Danville, Catlin, Georgetown and Oakwood townships.

3d. Referring to the geological section, No. 2 material (shale above No. 7 coal), and the No. 9 material (shale under No. 6 coal) alone can be utilized, all of the under-clays being non-refractory and more or less impregnated with limestone nodules.

4th. Even in the townships in which the carboniferous formation occurs close to the surface, there is little probability of finding desirable strata exposed, without a heavy over-burden of alluvial or glacial drift.

Prior to the year 1888 only the surface or the alluvial clays of the county had been worked, and those only in a small way in the manufacture of common "Low Grade" building brick and drain tile.

About the year above mentioned the Grape Creek Coal Company built a plant near Grape Creek, southeast of Danville, and opened deposit No. 5 of the geological section, or the shale between Nos. 6 and 7 coals.

This was operated intermittently under the active management of Dr. Joseph Fairhall until 1895, when it was definitely abandoned. Although some very good ware in both building and paving brick were produced, the material was not very satisfactory, and the limestone layers, prevalent in this stratum, caused some trouble.

This plant was the pioneer in the working of the coal measure clays of this county, and it was mainly because it proved the possibilities of these that all succeeding enterprises were located.

In 1891 J. G. Shea opened No. 2, being the shale above the No. 7 coalr and No. 9, being the shale below No. 6 coal, directly west of Danville. This plant, very much improved and enlarged, is now being operated by the Dan- ville Brick Company, and is now using No. 9 almost exclusively. It is equipped with all modern machinery, kilns, etc., including an extraordinary heavy steam shovel, and is manufacturing about twenty millions yearly of ten-pound paving blocks of excellent quality, testing favorably with the acknowledged best of the country.

In 1900 the plant of the Western Brick Company was built about two miles and a half west of Danville, and stratum No. 2, or the shale immediately overlying the No. 7 coal, was opened and has been almost exclusively used ever since.

This company is forced to remove an over-burden of from 15 to 20 feet of glacial drift before reaching workable material, which is accomplished by hydraulic process, or the washing of the stripping down an inclined plane. As part compensation for this, however, a considerable quantity of No. 7 coal, six feet in thickness, is uncovered; the shale almost down to the coal being workable.

This is in every way a modern plant, using steam shovels and the best of equipment throughout; mines all its own coal, operates 58 kilns, and produces upward of seventy-five million yearly of vitrified and impervious red and brown building brick, of which quite a considerable portion is used for facing purposes.

The clay industries of the county at the present writing represent an investment of considerably over a million dollars, give steady employment to over five hundred men, and disburse an annual payroll somewhat in excess of $350,000.