Lexington, Kentucky - History (part 8 of 8)

"With the flash of darkness flashed out lines of golden clouds in the southwest and northwest of indescribable beauty. No night clouds, no clouds by twilight, no clouds at sunset, no clouds by day, ever resembled those. The relations of earth and air in color and light had changed night on the earth, twilight in the distant mid-air, and a daylight in the further upper air where the clouds were marshaled. Golden, orange, gray, crimson, lavender, and the tenderest hues of olive were seen mottled and pure in their coloring. They lay in ledges, the lower stratum resting on a bank of rich orange mist that deepened and deepened in color till it reached and disappeared beneath the horizon. In tone these clouds were unlike all other clouds one sees. Rich in color, beyond description of tongue, pen, or pencil, they were not ablaze as are the clouds of day, and appearing and disappearing like the pictures of a phantasmagoria."

Even while the entranced gazers are looking with wrapped eyes and with hearts moved to their deepest depths by the glory of the grandest work of the Omnipotent Creator, there comes a flash and a blinding, dazzling, overwhelming light. It is like nothing else than the breaking loose of great reservoirs that had long been dammed - grateful, warm, genial, blessed light, it came streaming forth, giving life and health and peace. It seemed like a resurrection. It seemed as if the habiliments of the grave had been thrown aside, and in the garments of youth the earth had been decked. The shadow fled away before the sudden burst, the old moon became the new, and once more it began its solemn movement around the earth, and with the earth around the sun. The eclipse was over.

Judge S. S. Nicholas, noted as a profound jurist and publicist, died in Danville, Kentucky, at the age of seventythree, on Saturday, November 27, 1869. He was born in Lexington, on the' corner of Short and Mill streets, read law with K. Wickliffe, Sen., practiced in Louisville, and rose rapidly to a high position. He served in the legislature, upon the appellate bench, and in preparing the revised code of Kentucky. He became particularly celebrated for his able essays on constitutional law. His father, Hon. George Nicholas, was one of the ablest men that ever lived in Kentucky, and was the leading member of the Lexington bar for a number of years.

Farmer Dewees, whose face had been familiar to Lexington for so many years, died at his residence, on Main street, July 28, 1869.* Mr. Dewees was born near Midway, Kentucky, September 15, 1792, but settled in Lexington in early life, and was identified with her banking institutions for nearly half a century. He was teller, at one time, in the old branch of the United States Bank, and was subsequently the first teller of the Northern Bank, with which institution he remained connected until old age crept upon him. Mr. Dewees was distinguished for his gentle manners, amiable deportment, and quiet charity. He filled his allotted part in life with fidelity, and died with the Christian's hopes bright upon him.

Chapter Lxxxii

The census report, and the report of the city assessor of the population of Lexington for 1870, conflict, owing, in part, to the unsettled condition of the negroes. A wellinformed citizen estimated the population at seventeen thousand five hundred, which is believed to be about correct. The population of the entire county was twenty-six thousand six hundred and fifty-six.

In January, 1870, the charter of the city of Lexington was so amended as to require elections of municipal officers to take place on the last Thursday in January, 1870, and every third year thereafter.

The Irish National Benevolent Association of Lexington was organized May 13, 1870, with the following officers, viz: J. H. Mulligan, president; J. A. Geary, first vicepresident ; M. Clark, second vice-president ; T. J. Brogan, recording secretary; J. Dowling, corresponding secretary; A. J. Hogarty, treasurer. The objects of the association are to promote the cause of Ireland's independence, to assist distressed Irishmen in Lexington, and to honor the memory of Saint Patrick by a proper celebration of his anniversary. We may mention here, that the first observance of Saint Patrick's day in this city was the occasion of a dinner at Megowan's tavern, in 1790.

The Fayette National Bank, corner of Short and Upper streets, was organized September 8, 1870, by the election of the following directors, viz: R. R. Stone, J. S. "Wool-

The Lexington Daily Press, the first newspaper printed in this city by steam, was established in October, 1870, Messrs. Hart Gibson, H. T. Duncan, Jr., and J. J. Miller, being proprietors. Office on the corner of Short and Market streets. It is now owned by Gibson and Duncan only.

David A. Sayre died in Lexington on the 12th of September, 1870. Mr. Sayre was born in Madison, New Jersey, March 12, 1793. He was a child of poverty, and the hard labor of his youth left him little time for education. He came to Lexington in 1811, a silver-plater's apprentice, walking barefoot all the way from Maysville to this place, with a meager pack upon his back, and only a half dollar in his pocket. The young mechanic was thrifty and shrewd, and while he labored he also saved and watched his opportunities. In 1823, while yet a journeyman, he concluded to add the broker's calling to his regular business, and by dint of close and careful dealing, he achieved great success in amassing money, and in 1829, was enabled to open a banking-office on the corner of Mill and Short streets. He succeeded in his business, and long before his death was known for his wealth; a considerable part of which was devoted to public institutions connected with the Presbyterian Church, of which he was a member, and to the benefiting of his relatives, some of whom he raised from humble life to prosperity and wealth. " Uncle Davy," and his faithful help-mate, " Aunt Abby," sleep side by side in the beautiful Lexington Cemetery. Mr. Sayre was no ordinary man ; he did great good, and the record of his life is full of encouragement to ambitious strugglers with poverty.

The Historical Society of Fayette county was organized in the Lexington Library building, June 7, 1870. The object of the society is to procure and preserve whatever may relate to the history of Fayette county, Kentucky, viz : books, relics, and memorials, and also to collect and publish manuscripts concerning the history of the county and state. The first officers of the society were : President, George liobertson; vice-presidents, James 0. Harrison and

Robert Peter ; recording secretary, George "W. Ranck ; corresponding secretary, Joseph D. Pickett ; treasurer, John S, Wilson, and librarian, J. B. Cooper. Messrs. Leslie Combs, Benjamin Gratz, S. D. McCullough, Benjamin Kiser, "William Swift, Richard Marsh, T. P. Dudley, and others are members of this society.

The writer returns his thanks to the officers and members of the Payette Historical Society, and to Richard H. Collins, of Covington, (who is now revising and enlarging his father's history of Kentucky,) for the valuable assistance they rendered him in the preparation of this volume.

Chapter Lxxxiii

Mission Church - Dollar Press - Broadway Christian Church - Second Church of Christ - Meeting Places and Pastors - Sugh McKee - Knights of Pythias.

The first number of the Dollar Weekly Press, published by Duncan & Gibson, on the corner of Short and Market streets, made its appearance January 21, 1871.

The Broadway Christian Church was organized, and became independent of the Main Street Christian Church, in July, 1871. (See Christian Church, 1825.) J. W. Mc- Garvey was first regular pastor of the church.

The Second Church of Christ was established in the spring of 1871, by a number of persons who desired freedom and rest from the intolerance and illiberality of certain leaders of the " Main Street Church," with which they had been connected. (See Christian Church, 1825.) The first regular meeting preliminary to organization was held on the afternoon of March 19, 1871, in the upper room of the library building, on the corner of Church and Market streets. Present, Elder G. W. EUey, chairman; J. S. Wolfolk, D. S. Goodloe, J. H. E"eville, J. B. Bowman, G. W. Eanck> and others. In addition to these persons, the following were among the earliest movers in the formation of the new church, viz : J. D. Pickett, Mary E. Carty, John . Shackelford, A. M. Barnes, Lulie Mays, Marcus Downing and family, Helen C. llanck, John Curd, Sen., E. D. Luxon, "W". S. Lipscomb, N. Prall, John Curd, Jr., Mary D. Bowman, Joseph Wasson and family, Jas. Sullivan and family, B. E. Smith, S. D. Pinkerton, and others.

The establishment of the church was duly perfected, and on Sunday, April 2, the opening sermon was preached in the library building, by Elder Elley.

The first pastors of the church were Elders J. D. Pickett and John Shackelford, who acted jointly. After worshiping in the library building for some months, the congregation fitted up a chapel on the second floor of the Carty building, on the corner of Main and Mill streets. Services were held in this chapel, for the first time, on the morning of Sunday, February 4, 1872, the sermon being preached by Elder R. C. Ricketts, of Harrodsburg. The congregation still worship in the Carty building. The pastor of the church at this time is Elder John Shackelford, a native of Mason county, Kentucky, a graduate of Bethany college, and now a professor in the Agricultural College of Kentucky University. This faithful and earnest minister ably represents the charitable feelings and liberal opinions of his little flock.

The gallant Hugh McKee, who was killed in the attack made by the United States naval forces upon the forts of Corea, Asia, June 11, 1871, was born in Lexington, on the 23d of April, 1844, and graduated at Annapolis, in 1866. He was the first man to reach the fort, within which he died as bravely as did his father, Colonel W. E. McKee, upon the battle-field of Buena Vista. Admiral Rogers, in his report of the fight said : " The citadel has been named Fort McKee, in honor of that gallant officer who led the assault upon it, and gave his life for the honor of his fiag." This noble son of a noble sire sleeps in the Lexington Cemetery.

Lodge No. 15, Knights of Pythias, was organized in Lexington, October 25, 1871, with the following officers, namely : J. T. Uppington, W, C. ; O. S. Wood, V. C. ; Thomas Forman, R. 8.; G. C. Snyder, F. S. ; C. H. ISTorris, "W. B. The order is a charitable one; its objects, according to its constitution, being to "alleviate suflFering, succor the afflicted and unfortunate, and care for the widow and the orphan."

Chapter Lxxxiv

In the latter part of January, 1872, the Kentucky legislature granted the right of way through this state to the Southern Eailroad, destined to extend from Cincinnati to Chattanooga. -The event was celebrated with great enthusiasm by the citizens of Lexington, who regard the road (which is now on the eve of being commenced) as another great means of advancing the growth and prosperity of their city. This important enterprise is not new in its general outlines. Thirty-five years ago, a road from Cincinnati to Knoxville, and thence to Charleston, South Carolina, was projected, and the right of way given by the Kentucky legislature. From that time to the present, the project has always been regarded with favor by Cincinnati and Central Kentucky.

The banking house of J. B. Wilgus & Co. was established February 7, 1872, and commenced business in Hoeing's building, on Main street. The bank now uses an office in the Wilgus building, on Main street, between Mill and Broadway.

Lexington Division, I^o. 35, Sons of Temperance, was organized on the night of Monday, July 29, 1872, in Kastle's building, on Main street, where the division still meets

Governor Benjamin Gratz Brown, of Missouri, and now the Liberal Republican nominee for vice-president of the United States, was born on the 28th of May, 1826, in Lexino-ton, at the residence of his grandfather. Judge Bledsoe, who lived at that time on Short street, between Walnut and Dewees streets, in the house now occupied hy Mr. Armstrong, and next to the residence of Mrs. Waters. Governor Brown's father, Hon. Mason Brown, was a citizen of Frankfort, and Mrs. Brown was on a visit to her parents at the time of her son's birth.

The city contains eighteen churches, twenty schools, four colleges, one university, eight newspapers, one public library, three railroads, thirty physicians, forty-five lawyers, five hemp and bagging factories, nine carriage factories, twenty livery stables, four planing mills, ten saddle and harness manufactories, eight banking houses, ten hotels, thirty-five drinking saloons, twenty-one boot and shoe establishments, fifteen confectioneries, one hundred and twenty-five groceries, eight sewing-machine offices, twentytwo dry goods houses, sixteen millinery houses, ten drug houses, six blacksmith shops, one woolen mill, four flour mills, ten clothing houses, fifteen dress-making houses, one foundry, one mustard factory, four wagon factories, one soap and candle factory, four mattrass factories, one plaster ornament factory, one hoop-skirt factory, one agricultural implement factory, two pump factories, two broom factories, two cigar factories, three hair ornament factories, five furniture houses, six bakeries, eight restaurants, ten coal yards, one gas company, four dental offices, five hardware houses, two gas and steam-fitting houses, three leather houses, five furniture houses, four agricultural implement houses, ten barber shops, five paint shops, six tin, copper, and stove shops, two machine shops, one cooper shop, three gunsmith shops, two locksmith shops, four lumber yards, one book-bindery, one brewery, three marble works, seven watch and jewelry houses, eight merchant tailor houses, one bath house, one dye house, three photograph galleries, four book-stores, six meat houses, three rag houses, one public laundry, six insurance offices, three nurseries, eight auctioneers, one lottery office, one omnibus line, four builders, four public halls, one sculptor, two portrait painters, four architects, several hundred carpenters, brick-masons, plas- terers, and stone-cutters, two quadrille bands, one agricultural and mechanical association, one racing association, one park, one express office, two telegraph offices, one lunatic asylum, one orphan asylum, one female benevolent society, two Bible societies, one musical society, one theater, one work-house, four Masonic lodges, three Odd-Fellow lodges, two Good Templar lodges, one B-ed Men lodge, one Knights of Pythias lodge, one Sons of Temperance lodge.

The officers of Fayette county at the present time are : Judge of the Circuit Court, C. B. Thomas ; Commonwealth's Attorney, J. L. Jones ; Circuit Court Clerk, J. B. Eodes; Judge of County Court, B. F. Graves; County Attorney, J. E.. Morton ; County Court Clerk, A. G. Hunt ; Sheriff, R. S. Bullock; Jailer, T. B. Megowan; Assessor, J. D. Sprake ; Surveyor, J. F. Slade ; Coroner, T. Logwood.

Chapter Lxxxv

Fayette County - Wealth, Population, and Fertility - Soil and Stock - Lexington - Situation, Trade, and A'ppearance - Characteristics and Geology.

Fayette county, the center of the "Blue Grass Region," or "Garden of Kentucky," is situated in the middle of the state, and lies on the waters of the Elkhorn and Kentucky. It is bounded on the north by Scott county, on the south by Madison and Jessamine, on the east by Bourbon, and on the west by Woodford. It is twenty-five miles from north to south, mean breadth eleven miles, and contains 275 square miles, or 176,000 acres. It is fair table land, gently undulating; all the streams rise and flow from the center of the county and empty into their common receptacle, the Kentucky river.

The entire population of Fayette at present, including Lexington, is estimated at nearly 30,000. The taxable property of the county is valued at |1 4,790,457,* and is second in amount only to Jefferson, including the city of Louisville. The real value of all kinds of property in Fayette, not including Lexington, is estimated at $25,000,- 000. The proverb, " as rich as Fayette county," is not without point.

There is probably no richer or more productive soil on earth than that of Fayette county. In pioneer days it was a deep mass of rich, black, vegetable mold, the accumulation of ages, which made it a perfect hot-bed for fertility. This gradually changed after the original forests and canebrakes were cleared, and the heat of the sun and the full influence of the atmospheric agencies were admitted to the soil. But then came the rich and luxuriant blue grass, for which this favored locality is noted the wide word over,* and we were still left a region "beautiful as the vale of Tempe and fertile as Sicily, that granary of Europe." The soil of Fayette county now varies from a rich dark brown or mulatto color to a light yellowish or reddish brown in the upper soil, and a light brownish or reddish yellow in the subsoil. The following analysis* exhibits the chemical composition of the soil of Fayette county, viz :

The wheat crop of Fayette is always an abundant one. Of corn she averages more than a million bushels per year, and her last crop of hemp reached the enormous amount of 4,762,300t pounds, or very largely over one-third of the amount produced by the entire state.

But with all this wonderful fertility, Fayette is properly a stock-raising county. The soil and grasses are particularly rich in the chemical elements necessary to the formation of bone and muscle, and has resulted in Fayettb's becoming one immense aggregation of breeding establishments. It is the native paddock not only of the peerless "Lexington," that blind old Milton of the turf, whose fame extends throughout Europe and America, but of a multitude of other great and noted coursers. Her blood horses and fine trotters are eagerly and constantly sought after by appreciators of superior stock from every quarter. Droves of mules and splendid herds of thorough-bred cattle browse in her blue grass pastures, and Southdown and Cotswold sheep, and Berkshire and Chestershire hogs, abound upon her farms. It has been said of Fayette county, and without exaggeration, that " the products of the temperate zone and tropic climes here grow as if upon common ground. From the stalk that forms the staple of Russia to the vine that blooms in France and Italy, there is scarcely a plant which does hot seem iudigeuous to the soil. From the small grain and blood stock exported from England, to the corn and tobacco leaf known only to tbe native tenant of the West, there is scarcely an article which is necessary to the subsistence, or which contributes to the comfort of man, to which the soil and climate is not kind and genial."

Lexington, the seat of government of Fayette county, Kentucky, is situated on the headwaters of the town fork of ^N'orth Elkhorn creek, 25 miles southeast of Frankfort, the capital of the state ; 64 miles southwest of Maysville ; 77 southeast of Louisville; 85 south of Cincinnati, and 517 from "Washington city. Latitude 38° 6' north; longitude 84° 18' west.

The city is located on the extensive table land, on which Cincinnati is nearly centrally placed, formed by an uplift of the lower silurian rock formation, and its elevation taken at one of its lowest points, viz : the depot of the Lexington and Louisville Railroad, is, according to the authority of railroad engineers, 950 feet above the ocean level.

Although originally commenced immediately in what Bancroft styles " the unrivaled valley of Elkhorn creek," and on the springs in which it takes its rise, the city has extended up both the ascending sides of this valley and over a considerable portion of the level grounds above, the natural drainage of the place into the fork of the Elkhorn is therefore excellent.

The population of Lexington at present is believed to be between 18,000 and 20,000. The principal trade of the city, and the heaviest capital invested, is in hemp- manufacture, groceries, dry goods, whisky, and live stock. The taxable property in Lexington amounts to $7,000,000 ; the real value of all kinds ot property is estimated at $15,000,000, and that of the city and county together at $40,000,000.

Lexington for a long time presented more of the appearance of an opulent, stagnant, and contented old English town than the air of a live American city ; but this is now changing. The railroads projected and in progress, the growth of an enlightened public spirit, and the encouraging prospects of Lexington have created a new era as well as a new appearance for the city. Large and handsome buildings are taking the place of small and dingy business houses, modern, improvements are to be seen on all sides, and the increase of mills and factories indicate the future manufacturing importance of the place. The streets, which are laid ofl' at right angles, are mainly well paved, and are now in a better condition than they have ever been. Pine macadamized roads extend through and from the city in every direction, and constitute the trotting grounds of a multitude of fleet and valuable horses, which are constantly driven over them. Lexington can boast of alarge number of exceedingly handsome private residences, beautified by art and taste, and surrounded by extensive grounds luxuriant in flowers and shrubbery. She has long been justly noted for the generous and refined hospitality of her citizens, for her great educational advantages, the skill and standing of her medical profession, and the learning and ability of her pulpit. The Lexington bar, which has ever been distinguished for its strength, is now not surpassed and perhaps not equaled in this country, and there are few places where the young members of the bar constitute a body of such marked promise.

The pre-eminence which Lexington enjoys for elegant society is due to the intelligence, culture, and refined beauty of her women. The striking similarity of Lexington society, in this respect, to that of a European capital, has been more than once remarked by foreigners.

"Words can not be found too strong to express the richness and loveliness of the country about Lexington. The landscape is soft, luxuriant, and picturesque ; the approaches to the city are beautiful, and the rides and drives in every direction are charming. Noble English-looking homesteads, surrounded by evergreens and magnificent foresttrees, 'dot velvet lawns of peerless blue grass and clover, the emerald green of which covers every inch of ground, save where the walks and carriage drives are cut through the thick turf. Stone fences and osage orange hedges, or high snow-white pailings, inclose breeding establishments of fine stock on every road. Splendid blood horses and herds of thorough-bred cattle browse in the shade. The land teems with fatness, and the eye is constantly refreshed with scenes of plenty, comfort, and loveliness.

The geology* of Lexington and vicinity is interesting, and is well worthy of careful consideration. The lower Silurian rock strata, which underlie the city, are mainly composed of layers, varying in thickness from less than an inch to about two feet, of a dark grayish blue, changing . into yellowish gray, granular limestone, usually quite fossiliferous, called by the Ohio geologists the blue limestone, the layers being often separated by seams of marl, generally of a lighter color. This limestone is much used in the construction of the admirable turnpikes and macadamized streets of this locality and city, and is valuable for building purposes, especially in stone boundary walls, foundations, and even walls of houses; the hard light-gray granular layers being quite durable and making quite a handsome structure, even in the undressed state, when skillfully laid up in the wall with good mortar. It also yields very good lime for building purposes, and the more earthy layers, containing much magnesia and silica, might be calcined into hydraulic cement.

This limestone, however, is generally quite shelly and fossiliferous, and hence it readily and continually disintegrates, in place, under the influefice of the atmospheric agencies, giving to the celebrated "blue-grass" soil, which it produces, the superior fertility which characterizes it, and keeping up its productiveness under a thriftless culture, in a most remarkable manner.

For the same reason, the water which comes in contact with it is rendered " hard," and deposits, when boiled, a crust on the boiler composed of carbonates of lime and magnesia, with some little phosphate of lime, oxide of iron, etc. The water of all the wells and springs, hence, is more or less hard, causing the inhabitants to resort, very generally, to the use of rain-water collected in cisterns, lor culinary and washing purposes as well as for drinking.

The very general use of t^iis hard limestone water is believed to have had something to do with the great prevalence of calculous disease here, in former times, during the early surgical practice of the late distinguished surgeon of Lexington, Prof. Benj. "W. Dudley, as the writer has attempted to show, in his publication on the Urinary Calculi of the Museum of Transylvania University ; and it may also greatly aid, according to the theory of others, in the very complete development of the bones and bodies of the animals grown in this rich limestone county.

The waters of the deep springs and bored wells of this geological region very frequently contain common salt and other saline ingredients, as well as sulphureted hydrogen, and carbanic acid gases, in greater or less quantity, varying from the celebrated salt-sulphur water of the "Blue Lick" springs down to water containing a mere trace of salts and having only a slight odor of sulphur, such as was obtained by boring at MontmoUin's mill, on the town fork, at the lower part of the city, which contains only one thousandth of its weight of saline matters ; or that at the bored well of the Lunatic Asylum, sunk one hundred and six feet below the surface, and eighty-six feet through the solid rock, the auger then dropping eighteen inches into a cavity, and the water immediately rising fifty feet in the bore, a soft, very weak, sulphur water, containing about one and one-sixth grain of saline matters to the thousand of the water. Most of the waters of bored wells have a smell of petroleum at first, and in some cases, a considerable quantity of combustible gas (light carbureted hydrogen) has been given out from them for some time.

The irregular disintegration of the limestone layers has caused the formation throughout the whole of -this region of extensive caverns, and underground lakes and streams of water, as well as numerous sink-holes. Such lakes and streams doubtless exist under the valley of the town fork of Elkhorn quite extensively, and more than one steam- engine is supplied at the lower part of the city, by tapping them, one of which is the bagging factory of Z. Ward. This gentleman, in boring, also, some eighty or ninety feet for water at his residence, on the high ground, near the trotting track, in the southeastern part of the city, obtained water, which was found, on chemical examination, to be quite impure, it containing not only carbonate of soda and nitrates and other salts, but also a notable quantity of fatty organic matter, smelling somewhat like soap, and becoming quite offensive on exposure, as though he had penetrated into a cavern or stream in the sub-strata into which some of the drainage of the city found access.

Another remarkable instance of the kind, observed by me, was that of the weFl bored in 1852, by Mr. John S. "Wilson, in the cellar of his drug store, on Cheapside, in this city. He obtained water at the depth of forty feet below the level of the street, after boring twenty-six and a half feet through solid limestone, containing hard masses of iron pyrites, and the water was such a strong chalybeate water, sparkling with carbonic acid gas, depositing oxide of iron on exposure to the air, and containing quite a variety of saline ingredients (as detailed in the chemical analysis of it, published ia the first volume of the reports of the Kentucky Geological Survey), that it soon became quite popular as a mineral water. Not a long time elapsed, however, before the changed odor of the water gave evidence of the admixture of impurities, and presently it became so offensive from the undoubted presence of town drainage, that Mr. "Wilson was obliged to discontinue its use for any purpose, and to plug up the well.

These facts are not at all wonderful, when we know that the whole of the drainage from the extensive State Lunatic Asylum, with its five hundred patients and attendants, situated on the northwestern part of the city, is discharged, through a natural underground channel, probably into subterranean cavities so extensive, under the city, that they never fill up nor become obstructed, notwithstanding the immense and filthy torrent which daily flows into them

This may throw some light on the fact that every well bored in the valley of the town fork, below the city, is a saline sulphur water, for it is well known to chemists that, the spontaneous fermentation of water containing impurities of the kind mentioned, produces, by their decomposition, sulphureted hydrogen, and carbonic acid gases and nitrate. Hence is it important that the origin and source of sulphur waters, found in the line of the drainage of towns, should be carefully studied, more especially as it is the result of experience that the habitual admixture of even very small quantities of town drainage in the water used for drinking is a fruitful source of disease, giving rise to diarrhea, dysentery, and low fevers, and aggravating the mortality of cholera and other epidemics.

A good exposure of the rock strata under the city may be seen on the Elkhorn branch, just below its limits, especially at the old stone-quarry of Van Akin, and that higher up, opposite the cemetery, near the Frankfort railroad. At the first-named quarry, more than twenty feet perpendicular of the rocks are exposed. The layers are from six inches to one foot thick (thicker in the upper quarry). In the lower beds some good specimens of that large trilobite, the isotelus (asaphus) gigas, have been found ; and in those above are to be seen those other characteristic fossils of the lower silurian formation, the chatetes lycoperdon, leptcena, alrypha, receptaculites ; also portions of small encrinital stems, specimens of modiola, orthis, pleurotomaria, etc., etc.

In the quarries at the eastern end of the city, the layers are usually thinner and more fossiliferous, containing airypha, orthis, leptcena, etc., etc.

We append, in a tabular form, a statement of the chemical composition of some few of the limestones of this region, as analyzed by Dr. Peter for the late Kentucky Geological Survey, and published in volume two of the reports of that survey, as follows:

Bistort Of Lexington

No. 508. Limestone - forming a thicker layer below, used for curb-stones, etc., in the city, and containing fossils characteristic of the Trenton limestone of the New York geologists.

No. 511. Limestone - an upper layer live inches to one foot thick, at Grimes' quarry, on the Kentucky river ; not used for building purposes, but which would probably make hydraulic cement.

N"o. 512. Magnesian Limestone - from Grimes' quarry. A very good and durable building stone, used in the construction of the Clay monument in our cemetery. This material, of a pleasant buff-gray color, was also used in the Clay statue, placed on the top of the column. Its fine granular structure, and its freedom from cracks and fossils, adapt it very well to the chisel of the sculptor.

Composition, Etc

"With these remarks, we close our history of Lexington, the ancient metropolis of the mystic Alleghan ; the huntingground of the Indian ; the first capital of Kentucky ; the home of Clay; the center both of the blood-stock region of America, and of the " Garden Spot of the World."

Index

Mr. George Alfred Towcsend, who is so well knoirn to our citizens through his Washington City letters to the Cir. jnati Enquirer, is on a visit to Les gton, and is registered at the Phot)/ix Hotel.