Daviess County, Indiana - Chapter 5 (1 of 2 so headed), 1886

Chapter 5

Geology of the County - The Section of Strata - The Merom Sandstone - The Coals - Local Details - General Observations- Fossils - Limestone and Sandstone - Economic Considerations - Analysis of Coals.

THE county of Knox is bounded north by Sullivan and Greene, east vby Daviess, south by Pike and Gibson, and west by Illinois, and comprises about 540 square miles. White and Wabash Rivers, with their small tributaries, drain the entire county. Springs of good water abound, and eligible mill-sites are not infrequent. The bottoms along the rivers are from one to three miles wide, and are of surprising fertility, while back still farther are benches or terraces of gravel and fluviatile drift, former flood-planes of the river. A connected section of the county is as follows:

General Observations

The above gives in descending order a careful estimate of the average strata met with in Knox County. The group belongs to the upper part of the coal measures and dips from east to west at an average of twenty-two feet to the mile ; and from the fact that the depth becomes greater in the valley of the Wabash, and the relative distance of the strata farther from each other, owing to the thickening of the intervening strata, the coal seams there may be looked for far under the surface. The most noticeable rock is the "M om sandstone." It consists of coarse red and white sandstones, disintegrating upon exposure to a coarse sand, owing to the iron which is oxidized and rendered soluble in water charged with carbonic acid gas. The stone may be seen at Fort Knox, Wolf's Hill, and numerous other places forming the high bluffs along the Wabash. The stratification is so uniform and the composition so similar that it is reasonable to conclude that the rock occupied all the intervening area, but has been' worn away by water, save the bluffs. This will also account for the large quantity of sand in the southern part of the county and vicinity where it has been washed, and for the logs, etc., found deep under ground at Vincennes and elsewhere, imbedded in niuck deposited in chasms formed by ancient erosive agencies. Owing to its lithological character and position, it is thought further examination will give to this rock a more recent origin. In the western part of the county the rash coals of the above section are found near the surface, but they occur higher going eastward, and finally disappear in a line extending from near Freelandsville via Cox's Hill and High Point to the head of Wilson's Creek. These coals are not of workable thickness, and the slate over them usually contains so much bituminous matter that it will support combustion. The limestones superimposing these coals (tbe upper two of the above section) are compact, hard and clinky, but on the west line of the county they became soft laminated beds or calcareous shales containing fine Pleurotomaria, Macrocheilus, Bellerophon, Moulfortianus, Athyris, Myalina, etc. The yellow sandstone, the roof of Coal M, is soft but weathers hard, and furnishes excellent hammered masonry. Coal M has an average thickness of about three feet. It is fat, caking, contains considerable sulphur, but is excellent for grate use, and underlies the county west of a line drawn from Edwardsport to Freelandsville. Between Coals L and M there sometimes occurs among the sandy shales and soapstones a massive argillaceous sandstone. It is too soft for foundations. Coal L averages over three feet in thickness. It is semi-caking, burns to a white ash, is usually free from sulphur, and compares well with the same coal at Washington, Daviess County. It underlies the entire county save a small tract around Edwardsport. The limestone forming the roof of Coal K is compact, massive, often pure enough for lime and durable enough for building purposes, but in places it suddenly becomes calcareous shale. It is full of Producta, Spirifera, Allorisma, Athyris, Hemipronitis, Chonetes, Bellerophon, RhynchoneMa, Orthoceras, Lophophyllu.m, and others. The black sheety slate under it contains scales, spines and dermal slates of the shark Petrodus, also Orthocerata, Discina and Lingula. It also contains potstones of iron ore. Coal K is the lowest outcrop of coal in the county which appears at the surface. It is from three to six and onehalf feet thick, and future investigation may give it a thickness, as in places in Daviess County, of seven to ten feet. It no doubt underlies much of Knox County and will be found thick and otherwise valuable. It is usually a strong, fat, caking coal, occasionally sulphurous. Coal I below K has not been well examined, but though comparatively thin doubtless contains much good coal, block and cannel.

Local Details

Just north of Griswold the upper rash coal of the above section was reached forty-three feet below the surface. At Emison the valuable coals are 200 to 250 feet below the surface. South of

Emison and north of Marie Creek 1| feet of coal and black slate appears at the surface. One mile south of Vincennes a shaft of 54 feet revealed 1 foot of coal and 40 feet of soft sand-stone.

Section At Bunker Hill

The coals there given are the upper rash varieties of the former table. The valuable Coals M, L and K are from 250 to 500 feet lower down. It should be remembered that all the country around Vincennes was once covered with the "Merom sandstone" 50 to 70 feet thick. The limestone which superimposes the rash coals outcrops at several places in the southern part of the county, being usually 2 to 3 feet thick. Though argillaceous it furnishes a strong dark-colored lime. Thin outcrops of the rash coals are also found in the southern part. The coal is bright, lustrous, pure, semi-caking, turns to a white ash and is used by residents and by blacksmiths. The following section was taken in the southeastern part of Harrison Township:

It is probable that had this shaft been sunk a short distance farther one or more workable seams of excellent coal would have been found. Beds of massive sandstone outcrop with precipitous or projecting walls near this shaft. Coal M may be found about fifty feet below the base of Lucky Point. Coal M has been worked by stripping near Wheatland, and varies in thickness from one to two and a half feet. The Ni black section is as follows :

Had this shaft been sunk a few feet deeper Coal L would have been reached. At the old Weaver bank north of Wheatland Coal M is 3 feet 4 inches thick and is a fat caking coal full of gas and bitumen. The section is:

Coal K is found about forty feet below the surface, Coal M from 45 to 78 feet and Coal L from 70 to 108 feet. On Donation 131 the section was:

Coal L of this section is bright and glossy and burns to a white ash. Three shafts a mile or more northwest of Edwardsport found coal L varied from 3 feet 2 inches, to 5 feet 8 inches. Near this Coal K was 6 feet deep. On Section 12, Town 4, Range 8, the following is the section:

This section may be taken as a type for the region in and. around Sandborn, though faults will be found and the thickness of the seams may vary greatly. A well dug in Freelandsville, passed through the Merorn sandstone; it was 51 feet thick, and 12 feet below the surface.

Limestone And Sandstone

The limetone of this section often outcrops and leaves detached blocks scattered over the surface, and when burned, produces the strong dark-colored lime. Deposits of Merom sandstone may be seen near Bruceville. At this town the section is:

Coal N has been worked on Lots 12 and 143, and varies from one to three feet thick. Over the surface coals are two or three feet of bituminous slate, some of which will burn. The following is the section on Lot 183:

Economic Questions

Knox County has large tracts of alluvial bottom-lands. Crops of all descriptions grow well on them, while the higher and more barren soils produce fine grasses and fruits. Trees reach an enormous size. On the old Ochiltree farm was the " great pear tree," which was 12 feet in circumference at the base, 120 feet high, had a lateral spread of 60 feet from the trunk, and bore an average crop of 50 bushels. Gravel, suitable for the grading of roads, is found in several places. The whole eastern side of the county furnishes coals M, L and K, in an aggregate thickness of over ten feet, underlying probably half of the county. The Merom sandstone is generally too soft for building purposes, but other deposits of sandstone furnish durable material. The limestone is generally argillaceous and pyritous, but when otherwise, as is occasionally the case, furnishes good, though darkm HISTORY OF KNOX COUNTY.

colored lime. Clays for brick, tile, terra-cotta and pottery-ware abound. An analysis of the coals of the county shows the presence of from 38 to 59 per cent of fixed carbon, with an average, from twenty-one critical examinations, of over 50 per cent. The lower part of the Weaver coal showed the largest percentage of fixed carbon and the smallest percentage of gas - 33 per cent. The percentage of gas varied from 33 to 38.5 per cent. The quantity of ash varied from 2.5 to 25 per cent, but averaged 5.6 per cent.