Goodhue County, Minnesota - Chapter 2: Geologic Ages, 1909

Formation of the Earth - Cooling of the Crust - The Various Periods as Outlined by Scholars - Appearance of Vegetation - First Animal Life - Geologic Formations of Goodhue County - Influence of These Distance Periods on Modern Existence.

!t was necessary for the earth to undergo many changes before it became suited for the habitation of man. According to the students, the globe was originally a mass of molten rock. The cooling process was undoubtedly a slow one, and the crust just under our feet did not become hard enough and cool enough to rest any superstructure on for perhaps many thousands of years. Probably many ages passed while it was a rough, ragged, irregular mass of granite - the skeleton of the future earth. Abrasion and erosion ground the surfaces of the mass into powder. Oceans swept over it. Chemical changes operated upon it. Next the sandstone was laid up. Then came the magnesran limestone of which our bluffs are composed. At this period fossil life begins. The reptilian age came on. The iethyosaurus. the pterodactyl, the iguanodon and plesiosaurus and other huge monsters wallowed and splashed in the muddy water. Then came the glacial period. The edges of the bluffs were polished and seamed by huge icebergs on their way down from the North. The Mississippi at that time covered a vast area. What are now towering peaks were then islands, scarcely reaching above the water. But the glacial period passed. Vegetation appeared. The earth rejoiced in scenes of beauty. Mammals came. Man, rude and uncouth, the contemporary of the mammoth and the cave bear, appeared on the scene, and the era of humankind commenced in primitive barbarity.

Some years ago Prof. E. AY. Schmidt. M. A., of the Red Wing Seminary, was induced to write a short article on the geology of Eed Wing and the surrounding environs of Goodhue county.

Later he amplified the article, but the managers of this publication present the former paper as the one which comes within the scope of this work, and one well suited to popular reading by those not familiar with the story of the formation of this county from the time when the earth was a mass of liquid fire down to the age when it was suited to the occupation of man. The paper follows :

"It is with considerable reluctance that I assented to discuss this subject, because my pursuit of knowledge in this realm has been prompted by a love of nature and recreation, by a desire for relief from the wearisome routine of the daily vocation, by a wish for increase of culture and the pleasures that spring from contact with nature, rather than from a desire to perfect myself in any particular study. These investigations are a splendid field for training the powers of observation and judgment, and a lesson in patience in slowly spelling out the silent pages of nature's book, wherein is imprinted the geologic history of prehistoric Goodhue county.

"The subject is so vast and the material that can be commanded so abundant that the greatest difficulty in discussing it lies in knowing what to omit, rather than in finding sufficient material. The object in the following is an attempt to present the broad outlines of our natural environment. Let us endeavor first to read the story of the rocks and hills, of the uplands and the valleys, of the artesian wells and the gravel terraces, of the fossils and of the rocks, and see bow nature fashioned our present abode upon the ancient sea floor and turned it from a barren sea of waste waters into the picturesque spot that makes Red Wing famous for its beauty, cheers us with its never wearying aspect, and makes it a suitable location for industrial and educational enterprises. If we ascend Barn bluff near Webster's Way, Ave pass over strata of various materials. Some layers are composed of quite pure quartzoze sand, others of sand mixed more or less with earthy impurities. Other layers present shaly limestone, others more massive and finer grained lime. Nodules of chert and cavities filled with crystals can be seen at various elevations. Some of the strata also contain fossils." The limestone that caps the bluff can be traced up Cannon river, where, in the vicinity of Welch, it is surmounted by a hardened layer that seems to be a mixture of sand and the limestone that can be seen still further up the valley as distinct strata. At Cannon Falls Mr. Scofield will gladly take you to the top of the bluffs, where an outcrop of different limestone reveals a cemetery of ancient creatures, lying exposed on one of the farms. It might here be noted that our sandstones are composed of more or less angular fragments, worn smooth with a tendency to round-

"At Claybank can be seen the clay pits. At Wanamingo the limestone quarries are filled with mummies of countless creatures, while on the fields are boulders of volcanic rock, covered everywhere in our county, as with a mantle, by till and loam. Along our rivers lie the terraces and gravel bars which add so much to the beauty of our deeply-eroded valleys. The above features constitute the main geologic formations of Goodhue county. The story of these formations is believed by geologists to be about as follows : The hard archaen rocks revealed by borings represent the ancient sea bottom when the earth had cooled sufficiently to form an outer crust and the vapor of the atmosphere had become sufficiently chilled to form the sea, which covered the outer crust. Then the nucleus of America appeared at the north. The sea had a powerful sweep against the newborn land. The absence of vegetation favored swift drainage. The high rate of the earth's revolution favored the formation of rapid ocean currents. The tides produced by such a rapid motion hurled themselves with fury in quick succession upon the beach. The higher temperature of the atmosphere favored, torrential rains and produced most violent storms. The presence of many gases and acids and the barren ness of the land all favored the rapid disintegration of the rocks under the attacks of the atmosphere, while the heaving of the sea washed the debris back, scattering it over the floor of the sea. The finest parts were carried furthest, so that the sand in our county is a testimony of the comparative shallowness of the former sea. The grains of sand were sifted, sorted and smoothed in their journey. This explains also the fact that the grains in any one layer are fairly uniform in size. The difference in color is due to storms or later infiltrations; coarser or finer grains determine greater or less distance transferred. The succession of sandstone, shales and limestones is due to the successive rising and sinking of the ocean surface. The shales were formed by the stirring up and blending of the sand with the new material coming in above it. The limestones were deposited in quiet, deep waters, but the succeeding elevation permitted the waves to stir them up in places into dome-shaped structures and knolls of varying thickness. "Wherever the sea encroached on the northern land, the sand was left further north, and we received the finer materials. When the sea receded it washed backward the sand upon the deeper formation. That our rocks are sea deposits is shown by several clearly read proofs. 1 - The nature of the material and character of the grains of sand and lime. 2 - Their horizontal position and also the oblique ebb and flow structure. 'S - The presence of only marine fossils, of shales, mud cracks and ripple marks. The absence of tilting and of the influence of heat shows that ttiey were never disturbed by volcanic eruptions in this quarter. The enormous amount of material deposited shows that long periods of ceaseless activity were consumed to perform such a tremendous amount of erosion. Our limestone formation, for instance, extends from New York to the Rockies. The large quantities of carbon dioxide in the Limestones is thought to have been derived from the cooling atmosphere. The sediments were hardened by their own cohesion and the infiltration of cements. The wide extent of country over which some of the formations spread indicates that when submerged it formed a wide, shallow sea bottom. The mud cracks and ripple marks speak of the beach. The compacted layers of sediments have received different names. The lowest is the Potsdam sandstone, also called St. Croix, from the St. Croix valley, where it outcrops. Over this are spread in succession : J. 2. the Si. Lawrence and Jordan sandstones, by some included in the St. Croix, which can be seen in outcrop in Barn bluff, College hill and Twin bluff; 3, lower magnesian limestone, capping our bluffs; 4. New Richmond sandstone at Cannon falls: 5, Shakope limestone, seen at Cannon falls and Northfield; '». St. Peter sandstone^ seen at White rock, Castle rock and the falls of the Cannon; T. Trenton limestone, seen at Wanamingo and Cannon falls.

"Ai some period life appeared. Some geologists place this evenl hack as far as 2< )().()( )().()( )0 years, so we have a wide range of lime to choose from. The archaean rocks contain no clear traces of life, so thai the rocks in our immediate neighborhood are of special interest, as they introduce us to some of the earliest known animals. Other living things, such as lichens and mosses, may have preceded them, hut owing to their delicate structure, the physical conditions under which they lived and the lone- period of time that has elapsed, no definite traces have been left. The St. Croix formation contains traces of plants regarded as sea weeds. There is no evidence of land plants. In the geologic foundations of the county are evidences of all the types known to the animal kingdom except the vertebrates. The combined contribution of animal life to the rock structure of our present home was great. The successive generations were piled up on the tombs of their ancestors, while those whose shells were reduced to powder - and their number was undoubtedly far greater than those whose remains are unearthed today - furnished the material for the encasing rock. In general it is an accepted proposition that limestones deposited by marine agencies were produced by the calcareous remains of animals

--Then came the interval between the Trenton and the glacial periods. The struggle between the ocean and the archsean continent ceased. Minnesota and adjoining areas were raised above the sea. and our enmity began giving up instead of receiving more. Erosion sei in and the debris went elsewhere to build up other states, the archsean rocks in the meantime being completely worn down. The resull is in good part embodied in the topography we have today. The .Mississippi carved out its pivsenl channel but flowed aboul 100 feel Lower than it docs today. As the former periods were useful in building up the material for Red Wing's industries, so tins period was useful in exposing and making them easy of access.

"Then came the glacial period. Geologists are very happy because of the fact thai an area of 10,000 square miles in Minnesota. Wisconsin and Illinois was left uncovered by the ice fields. Of the driftless area. 3,000 square miles lie in Minnesota, and we are jusl about at the upper end of it. Maps of this period show thai glaciers bearing down on this region from the northeast seem to have spent their force and died away before they reached the lower driftless area. The glaciers from the Lake Superior and Michigan regions encircled it on the south, but did not cover it. hence, as Prof. Chamberlain said, the driftless area remains an unmarred monument of erosion from the earliest ages to the present time. The driftless area is clearly distinguished from the drifted area in that it is free from lakes, sloughs, or obstructed drainage. Gravid mounds, like those spread over the country from Hastings northward, are absent. No gravel is found beneath the soil except where running water lodged it. The valleys look old. The rivers that run from the glaciated to the driftless area are lined by high terraces showing the height of the river bottom during the melting period of the glaciers, while the rivers lying wholly within the driftless area lack them. During the last glacial epoch, when the melting glaciers made a larger part of this county a great sea of icy water, gravel and sand were disengaged from the ice and carried forward to lower levels by turbulent waters. 'The valley of the Cannon river was flooded permanently during the continuance of this whole epoch with waters that came directly from the ice fields of Dakota and Rice counties, and which bore along great quantities of floating ice and of mingled sand, mud and gravel. The Mississippi also was at flood stage. These valleys were filled with alluvial detritus to the height of their highest terrace, and flowed at a permanent level of about 125 to 150 feet higher than now, the bottom of the water being determined by this terrace. On the withdrawal of the ice field further north, and the cessation of the supply of such detritus, these streams began to excavate their present channels in the loose materials over which they had been flowing. This excavation was a process of short duration and continued as long as any glacial condition of the preceding cold epoch lingered in the state. When the rivers were reduced to more nearly their present stage, by the cutting off of the supply from the melting glaciers, a slow process of refilling seems to have been begun, which we see going on at present. This refilling is most evident in the lower portions of the river valleys, and in those parts where the valley is much larger than is now required by the stream flowing there.'

"Such, then, is the geological story in brief, telling us how our environments were formed. They are of interest because the industries of Ked Wing are directly dependent upon them. The porous sandstones, containing gallons of water per cubic yard, furnish us with an inexhaustible supply of water for our mills and other establishments. The limestones furnish us lime for mortar and rocks for architectural purposes. We draw upon the gravel bars to grade our roads and our railroads. The soil of our farms is splendidly mixed, by the plowing, grinding and crushing of the glacial mill. The trees of the North and the grasses of the South came in, and furnish us with fuel and with opportunities for dairying. Clay for making bricks is handy in many places, and furnishes material for the pottery industries. The woods keep our saw mills humming and supply our furniture factories with materials for various products. The yield of the soil employs many at the malt houses and the mills, while the beauty and the facilities of the place draw to it seats of learning and of training."

Thor K. Simmons, now deceased, was for thirty-three years one of the leading citizens of Red Wing, and his name is still perpetuated in the title of one of the county's leading financial institutions. He served as alderman and as county commissioner, and in other ways showed his public spirited interest in the welfare of the city and county. Born in Kragers, Norway, August 12, 1832, he received his education in the excellent public schools of that city, and became a school teacher. At the age of twenty-one, in 1853, he left his native land and came to America, locating for a time at Janesville, Wis., where some fellow countrymen had previously settled. In 1856 he followed the influx of immigration to Goodhue county, and homesteaded 160 acres near what is now known as Clay bank, in Goodhue township. A year later he decided to enter business life, and as a preliminary training in American commercial methods, clerked a year in the store of C. J. F. Smith, then one of the leading stores in the city. Thus equipped, Mr. Simmons started a mercantile establishment of his own, and continued in business manyyears, being also a wholesale grain dealer on a large scale, his elevators being located throughout the country. During this time the need of a financial institution was felt, and the Pierce- Simmons bank was organized, with Mr. Simmons as one of the chief promoters. In 1887, he retired from active business, and lived a retired life until his death, May 7, 1890. He was a Republican in politics, and a member of the Swedish Lutheran church. Thor K. Simmons was married June 25, 1858, at Cannon Falls, Minn., to Hannah S. Hawkins, of. that city, daughter of Nels and Eva (Carlstrom) Hawkins, natives of Sweden, who came to. America, located in Indiana for three years and then settled at Cannon Falls, where they resided until the 'time of their deaths, the father dying May 10, 1889, and the mother May 26, the same year. To Mr. and Mrs. Simmons were born nine children. Emma is now Mrs. AY. C Krise, of Red Wing. N. K. Simmons, the second child, lives in this city also, as does Eleda, now Mrs. (Rev.) 0. S. Meland. Eva. married to H. J. Brown, lives in Portland, Me. T. N. Simmons lives in Red Wing. Frances is Mrs. J. L. Keenan, of Hammond, La. Marie, now Mrs. H. Van Smith, lives in Oklahoma. Elvira is at home, and T. K. Simmons also lives in Oklahoma. The family is universally respec.ted, and enjoys the heritage of honor left by the father.