Lafayette County, Missouri - Chapter 2: Geology, Topography and Natural History of Lafayette County, 1910

Chapter 2: Geology, Topography and Natural History of Lafayette County

It is not the aim of the author to go into the detail of the geological formation of Lafayette county, but to rather give a glimpse of the general lay of the land, its topography - hills, valleys, streams - and something concerning the sub-strata of the earth, with its mineral wealth, etc., without entering into the tedious routine of multiplied geological terms - rather, to give something more practical for the average reader of local history.

The first geological work performed systematically in Missouri was executed by Prof. David Dale Owen, who from 1847 to x^52 was tne United States geologist. He surveyed the Missouri river valley from Sioux City. Iowa, to its mouth. His official map shows sections of the Missouri bluffs taken from the opposite side of the river, at Napoleon and Wellington, in Lafayette county, and on the south side, at Lexington, as well as at a point fourteen miles below. This was before coal mining had taken on much of development, hence his observations can be of little or no interest to the present-day reader.

The first state geologist for Missouri was Prof. G. C. Swallow, appointed April 12, 1853. In 1873 Raphael Pumpelly took the position and his published reports give out the most interesting, valuable accounts of the formation of the earth's strata in Lafayette county :

"In going from the east line of the county to Lexington, we pass in succession from the lower to the middle coal measures. At Henry Frank's mine, a half mile east of Concordia, the following geological section was noted, belonging to the lower coal measure :

Kind Of Formation

"In going to the farm of McCausland, two miles north of Higginsville, we find the outcrops of bituminous sandstone, and borings were made to the depth of eight hundred feet for oil, but without success. Professor Swallow made geological sections here as follows :

The following interesting and practical sketch on the geological formation of Lafayette county was prepared by the first state geologist for Missouri, in 1881 :

Geological Formations In Lafayette

Period 2. Middle Coal Measures. "1. The recent alluvium of Lafayette county includes the soils and all the deposits of clays, sand, gravels and river drift of pebbles found in the river bottoms or beds of lakes. These deposits abound in the beds of the stream, as the sand bars of the Missouri and the mud, gravel and pebbles of smaller streams, and in the stratified sands and clays beneath the bottom lands of the principal streams in the county.

"2. The bottom prairies, so extensive in the Missouri bottoms in Chariton, Carroll and Clay counties, cover but a small area in Lafayette county. It is known by the many thin beds of sand, clay and loam interst ratified in the formation under the old bottom prairies. These beds were deposited in the Missouri river bottoms, when that stream spread its sluggish waters from the bluffs, filling the whole valley with the sediments of its lake-like waters. After the level was changed so as to give a rapid current to the waters, the river cut its channel through these deposits thus made, and has been wearing away ever since and forming the newer river or alluvial bottoms, whose surface is more uneven and whose deposits of sand are more irregular.

Bluff Or Loess

"3. It is a singular fact that while the bluff is older than the alluvial bottoms and bottom prairie lands, it lies higher on the bluffs and highlands adjacent to the river valleys.

"The bluff which underlies the soil in all the highlands of the county consists of a sandy marl more or less stratified and varying in thickness from a few inches to more than one hundred feet. This vast deposit was evidently formed in one of those lakes which were formed as the ice of the glacial period melted away. This lake extended over northern Missouri, eastern Kansas, southeastern Nebraska and southwestern Iowa. These bluff marls constitute the rich sub-soils of all the uplands of central Missouri. The marls of the bluff are a little coarser and more sandy on the bluffs adjacent to the rivers, as the finer materials were washed out by the subsiding waters of the streams where the land was changed and the lake drained off and the rivers became more and more rapid, until they found their present condition.

"4. The drift, which is so abundant on the north side of the Missouri river, is very sparingly developed on the south side. Where seen in Lafayette county it rests immediately on the consolidated rocks of the coal measures, beneath the marls of the bluff just described. These limited deposits consist of sands and pebbles, containing some bowlders, called Lost Rocks.

"In Lafayette county the upper coal measures overlie the middle coal measures to the west, and the lower coal measures underlie them below Lexington.

"The clays and shale of the coal measures usually make a poor soil, as in England and Pennsylvania, but in Lafayette county all the coal rocks are so deeply inbedded beneath the bluff marls that they have very little influence on the soils."

Richness Of The Soil

The Professor continues: "The usual process of forming soils on the surface of solid rocks, such as the surface of Missouri was before the clays, gravel, sands and soils were placed over the solid rocks, is a very slow process. The action of the winds, the rains and the frosts would slowly decompose the rocks into sand and clays. Plants would grow on these clays and marls, and animals would live on the plants; and when the plants and animals died they would make up the necessary organic matter and thus the soil would take a thousand years to form a foot of soil by this process.

"But if some vast mill of the gods would grind up the rocks to the depth of some fifty or a hundred feet and then sort out the finest and best material and place it on top to the depth of from five to fifty feet, a first-rate soil would be formed in a few years, since all the mineral elements would be provided in vast abundance and in the best possible condition to receive the decaying plants and animals to complete the soil. This is just what has been done for central and northern Missouri."

Plant Food Values In Lafayette Soil

This shows that these soils are as rich in food for plant life, save organic matter, at a depth of three feet as they are at the surface, even a little richer in phosphorus, soda, potash, chlorine and sulphuric acid. At twelve feet below the surface the amount of plant food is still greater, except in organic matter and phosphoric acid.

For this reason the Lafayette county farmer does not have to artificially supply his lands with fertilizers, but simply sets his plow a little deeper each few years and draws from mother earth the very elements wanted to sustain his crops. This holds good from the very surface down to the depth of from one hundred to two hundred feet.

Reduced To Money Values

The second foot from the surface of these soils in Lafayette county contains phosphoric acid to the amount of eleven thousand one hundred and fifty-seven pounds to every acre. The next foot contains thirteen thousand nine hundred and ninety-six pounds, which, at ten cents per pound, would be worth one thousand three hundred and ninety-nine dollars and sixty cents. Thus it will be seen that two feet only of these sub-soils contain on each acre as much phosphoric acid as could be bought in commercial fertilizers for two thousand five hundred and fifteen dollars and thirty cents. Hence, the oft heard statement that "Lafayette county soil is inexhaustible" is strictly and scientifically correct. It is, then, no wonder that farm lands in this section range in value from one hundred to two hundred dollars per acre.

Originally there were found the following varieties of trees growing on Lafayette county soil : Ash, coffee bean, cottonwood, crabapple, elm, dogwood, hackberry, hickory, ironwood, locust, linden, mulberry, maple, oak, persimmon, sycamore, walnut, wild cherry, willow.

Native Shrubs

Blackberry, buttonbush, coralberry, elderberry, gooseberry, greenbriar, hawthorn, blackhaw, raspberry, red-bud, pawpaw, hazel nut, wild plum, sumach, wahoo, laurel bush, wild black or Missouri currant, wild rose, wild grapes, woodbine and honeysuckle.

Beaver, bear, buffalo, catamount, chipmunk, coyote, deer, deer mouse, elk, fox (gray and red), gopher, ground mole, groundhog, mink, muskrat, otter, opossum, panther, prairie dog, prairie mouse, pouched rat (pocket gopher), rabbit, jack rabbit, raccoon, skunk, squirrel (red, gray and black varieties), swift, weasel, prairie wolf (gray and black varieties), and the wildcat.

Wild turkeys, grouse, or prairie chickens, wild goose, swan, pelican, wild duck, snipe, plover, pigeon, partridge, gray and bald eagles, raven, crow, turkey buzzard, owl, hawk, finch, mocking birds, blue jay, king fisher, gull, bluebird, blackbird, bobolink, woodpecker, oriole, sapsucker, night hawk, whippoorwill, curlew, sandhill crane, blue heron, swallow, wren, and other birds that have been common ever since white men first knew the county.

In 1880 an old-time fisherman compiled the following list of fish whose home was then found in the various streams of this county, including the Missouri river of course :

Red horse, log perch, black bass, croppie, chubs, silversides and minnows. Occasionally there are caught estray pike and sunfish, but they come from some of the northern waters.

The most valuable of all the mineral deposits within Lafayette county is its vast coal fields, which underlie so great a portion of the territory at a shallow or deeper location from the surface. The coal seams are not as thick as in some sections, but the "Lexington" coal is known to be superior to most any other in Missouri.

As early as 1876 Hon. William H. Chiles, in his "Centennial History," had this to say concerning the coal mining interests of Lafayette county:

"The coal beds of our county have had a wide reputation for years, and for home and river use many mines were operated. The Goodwin Brothers took the initiatory steps about the close of the war to build up a large export trade in this useful mineral, but the best facilities for transportation were not sufficient to reward their enterprise with profit, and after a few years their work was abandoned. On the completion of the Lexington & Sedalia railroad, however, the Lexington Coal Company sank an expensive shaft near Old Town, and now carries on a flourishing trade. This company has sold more than one hundred thousand dollars' worth of coal per annum since they commenced business."

The author is indebted largely to the state mining report for 1908, kindly furnished by Mine Inspector Michael Gavin, of Lexington, for the following array of facts concerning the present mining operations of this county :

There are forty-six coal mining plants in the county; twenty-three of these are shafts, nineteen drifts and four are slope mines. The depths of these mines runs from sixteen to one hundred and eighty feet from the surface. The vein, or seam, of the workable coal, suitable for marketing purpose, is from thirteen inches to twenty-two inches in thickness, and this is covered by a roofing of thick slating, which makes a safe means by which cheap mining operations can be carried on - but few accidents occur to miners in this kind of coal mining. All but six of these mines are what are known as "long wall" mines, while these six are "room."

In these forty-six mines, the report says that the total number of miners and helpers employed was two thousand and ninety-five during the winter months, with about half the number in the summer season.

Perry Brothers' mines are two and a half miles south of Higginsville, on one hundred and sixty acres of land owned by John Wagner. The shaft is thirty feet deep. Horse power is employed.

Macey mine, located near Myric station, is entered by drift. The seam is twenty-two inches thick, extra quality, and is sold in Kansas City.

Kierstead Coal Company is one mile west of Corder, on five hundred and seventy acres of good coal land. The shaft entrance is ninety feet deep. Steam power is employed.

Steamboat Coal and Mining Company operates a mine on the bank of the Missouri river. It has shaft entrance of one hundred feet ; employs steam for hoisting. This has an extra thick seam - fifty-four inches.

Western Coal and Mining Company, capitalized at one million dollars, operates the following mines in Lafayette county : Glen Oak, Valley, Midway, Summit, Seawall and South mines. This is the largest company in the county, and maintains large machine shops at the mines for building and repair work.

Among the mines in operation now are these : The Waverley Brick and Coal Company, where the old Backbone mine used to be. The company owns or controls two thousand and five acres of coal, clay and shale lands. The mine's capacity for coal is one thousand tons a day, while the brick-making works produce one hundred and fifty thousand paving bricks, fifty thousand facing brick and fifty thousand fire brick, also ten thousand vitrified fence posts. The coal shaft is one hundred and forty-five feet deep.

Labor Exchange mine, a mile and a half east of Wellington, obtains coal through a shaft ninety-three feet deep, the seam being eighteen inches thick. Steam power is used.

The Bell & Greer mine is a half mile south of Lexington, on seventy acres of land owned by Bell & Greer. Here the seam of coal is eighteen inches. This coal is sold to local dealers mostly.

Bonanza Coal Company, on two hundred and fifty-seven acres of land two miles east of Higginsville, has a shaft entrance eighty feet deep. The coal is sent to Kansas City.

Diamond Coal Company, the Wilson mine, is three-fourths of a mile from Corder on a three hundred and twenty-acre tract. The coal is eighteen inches thick.

Salt Fork mine is a half mile east of Corder on a four hundred and twenty-acre tract. The shaft here is forty-seven feet deep. Horse power is here employed.

Dover Coal Company, at Dover, is located on a tract of two hundred and sixty-five acres. The coal seam is here twenty-two inches thick. Product is sent to Kansas City and intermediate towns.

Duncan mine is in the vicinity of Higginsville, on one hundred and twenty acres. The coal from this place is mostly consumed at Higginsville. Seam is twenty inches thick.

Farmers' Coal Company has several mines in the county, one at Higginsville. on three hundred and twenty acres of land, with shaft eighty feet deep. Steam power is applied, together with electricity. No. 7 of the company's mines is ten miles west of Higginsville.

As the rivers and creeks are a part of the natural features of any country, in this connection may be named the more important streams in Lafayette county, which are as follows:

The largest and longest stream in this county is Davis creek, which takes its rise through several tributaries in the southern, western and central parts of Washington township and flows northeasterly between Freedom and Davis townships, then southeasterly into Saline county, where it finds its way into the Blackwater river.

The east and west branches of the Big Sni both rise in Sniabar township, the east fork flowing northward, while the west fork makes a grand detour westward into Jackson county, then back northeasterly to a junction with the east fork in Clay township, about three miles from its mouth, near the village of Wellington.

The Little Sni rises partly in Clay and partly in Washington townships, meanders north, northwest and north and for about three miles of its length forms the boundary line between Lexington and Clay townships.

Tabo creek rises in Washington township in two forks, in two forks in Lexington township and by one branch in Dover township. One of its tributaries or forks rises in the southeast part of the city of Lexington.

Salt creek rises in the southwest part of Middleton township, with lesser branches or head-streams flowing into its waters from Davis and Dover townships. Its course is north and northeast, and finally enters and flows across the entire county of Saline, emptying into Blackwater river, of which in that county it is called Salt fork.

Elm creek takes its source in the southeastern part of Middleton township, flows northeasterly into Saline county and there unites with Salt creek.

Lesser streams, not marked on the common maps of the county, are: Mulkey creek, in Freedom township; Blackjack creek, in the same township, as well as Peavine creek. In Middleton township are Willow creek and Craig's branch. In Davis township are found Elm branch, Bear branch, Merritt's branch and Johnson's creek, all flowing into Davis creek. In Dover township there is the Cottonwood. In Washington township flow the James and Honey creeks, north and south forks of Davis creek and Brush creek. In Clay township is Owl creek, and Helm's lake, what is left of the ancient river bed. In Lexington township are Graham's branch and Rupe's branch, at Lexington city, and the Garrison fork, of Tabo creek. In Sniabar township there is Horseshoe creek. In Clay and Lexington townships, together with Dover and Middleton, the river frontage is that of the Missouri river, which forms their northern boundaries. The chief steamboat landings in the county on this majestic water course are those at Lexington, Napoleon, Berlin, Dover and Waverly.

The present boundary lines of Lafayette county are as follows : It is the second county from the line on the west, between Kansas and Missouri ; is the seventh from the south and sixth county from the east line of the state of Missouri. It is also the fourth county south of the Iowa-Missouri state line. It contains about four hundred thousand acres of land. The thirty-ninth parallel of latitude passes through the town of Higginsville, while its longitude is almost seventeen degrees west from Washington, District of Columbia. Saline county is to the immediate east; Johnson county on the south; Jackson county on the west, and Ray county, with Carroll county, across the Missouri river, is on the north. It may be said that this county is almost on a direct line drawn from Kansas City, Missouri, to Cincinnati, Ohio, and continuing on east to Dover, the capital of Delaware. Going north and south, a line drawn from Mankato, Minnesota, through the capital of Iowa, Des Moines, will strike this county about midway. Continuing on south, the same line would reach the state line between Louisiana and Texas.

The most elevated points within Lafayette county are said to be found at, or near, the town of Odessa, in Sniabar township, and also about the same altitude is found at Mayview and Lexington.