Historical encyclopedia of Illinois

\/ ' 'f CI Doyioa^^JHISTORY OF AIcDONOUGH COUNTY. 633 fromsandstone is found below the coal, ten as the concretionary member of the St. Louis in It ofto fifteen feet thickness. is No. 11, limestone was found on the creekoutcropping isthe section, and believed to be a short distance belowforegoing where the coal was dis- the of the sandstone in the McLean covered. On tneequivalent northwest of Sec-quarter •and Stewart near Macomb. A section tion 33quarries (Bethel) a coal seam was andopened of the bed In the of these worked inexposed vicinity on land then owned J.1S58, by shows this succession of strata: Thinquarries Stouching, The coal was worked by "strip- 1 2 Thin bedded incoal, foot; Shaly clay, feet; the bed or a small theping" creek, deposit 1 to 6 Massive 10sandstone, feet; sandstone, flrom to inches inranging eighteen twenty to 12 Bituminous shale No. 4teef; (coal 1), thickness and overlaid about two feetbeing by Carbonate of Firefeet; iron, % foot; clay. V2 of shale.gray Bituminous or 2-3foot; slate, shale, foot; Shale, These two lower seams also on Job'soutcrop 5 feet. Creek near andtslandinsville, have been In at of thethe Colchester most worked from the firstregion, settlement of the coun- examined, the same horizon was aiso onoutcrops rep- ty. They appear all the tribu-nearly 12 of theresented by dark blue shales (No. taries on the east fork of Crooked Creek, and section nodulespreviously given), containing probably underlie at least of theseven-eighths of iron ore of zinc blende. entire area ofinclosing crystals the In this ofcounty. portion On the southwest of Section 24, Town- thequarter State, however, seldom attain a thick-they 5 4 West theship North, Range (Tennessee), ness of three feet; but are nowhere morethey beds were found in con-following exposed than 175 feet below the surface of the gener- nection with coal No. 1: 4Shaly sandstone, level No. ifally prairie. 3, developed any- Coal No. 2feet; 1, feet; Fire clay (not ex- where in the will be found incounty, probably 16 St.posed); Shaly sandstone, Louis the eastern of and wouldfeet; range townships, 6 feet.limestone, be the first seam reached inprobably sinking Although the lower coal was not found de- a or from the level.shaft, boring prairie ofat the examined in At Bushnell a forveloped any exposures coalboring passed the of it was found Mr. thevicinity Colchester, by through beds, asfollowing reported by Horrocks at his tile and fire-brick not those in ofkiln, the work: (1) 2charge Soil, feet; more than a mile from the and wastown, (2) Yellow 12 2clay, feet; (3) Sand, feet; (4) struck in one of the sunk for fire Itpits clay. Blue with 61 Blue andclay, bowlders, feet; (5) was discovered about feet belowforty-five sand. 35 5yellow feet; (6) Sandstone, feet; coal No. a foot in thickness and2, being asso- Black(7) Clay shale, 1% feet; (8) shale, 1% ciated with an excellent fire clay. feet; (9) Gray shale, % foot; (10) Limestone, As as 1S53 a coal seam wasearly 9 1 foot. The beds Nos. 1 toopened feet; (11) Shale, on Section 24, Township 5 North, 4 inclusive, to the and show anRange 5, belong drift, on landWest, then owned Mr. The thickness of 112 theby Lowrey. aggregate feet, Indicating coal was from inches to two feet in existence of an old in which theeighteen here,valley thickness, overlaid a few feet of Coal Measures have been cut down to aby shaly point sandstone. Below the bed of coal about six- ofbelow the horizon the Colchester seam, and teen feet of sandstone was and a withexposed, which was filled drift de-subsequently short distance the creek a that whichup concretionary coal shouldposits. Consequently, limestone underlies the sandstone. This is have been found at this at a ofpoint depth doubtless the lower coal and(No. 1) to feet below the wasprobably fifty seventy surface, exists at in themany points county, not discovered at all. The limestone (No. 10ranging from one to three feet in thickness. At the of the above is the bed over-section) probably same time coal(1S53) was also on Mr. the Seaville coal.dug laying onThompson's place, the northeast At Prairie a was carried downquarter City boring of Section 16, 4 3 West to a of 227 theTownship North, Range depth feet, passing through At this(Bethel). the seam was as Mr. T. L. Ma-point thirty following beds, reported by inches but wasthick, in the bed Soil and drift 36only exposed gee: (1) clays, feet; (2) of the creek, with no of the associate or 16 Blackoutcrop Clay shale, soapstone, feet; (3) beds. This without the lower Coal No.is, doubt, seam, shale, 1/2 foot; (4) 2, feet; (5)1% 2HISTORY OF Mcdonough county.634 12 4 West and Tennes-Fire 4 Shale and sandstone, and 5, Range (Lamoineclay, feet; (6) rock The of this formation is us-38 Hard see). upper partfeet; (7) Clay shale, feet; (8) bluish con-11 4 feet; (10) a calcareo-argillaceous shale,(limestone), feet; (9) Shale, ually either filled with a1 10 feet; (12) siliceous geodes,White flint, foot; (11) taining or hollow and linedFire feet; mass ofCoal No. 1, 3 feet; (13) clay, 6V2 crystalline quartz, chal-5 8 within with mammillary,Hard rock, feet; (15) Clay shale, quartz crystals,(14) 4 Dark calcite and dolomite. Below thisSandstone, feet; (17) gray cedony,feet; (16) shale bed there is from to fortyS (light colored), geode usually thirtyshale, feet; (18) Clay Louis feet of limestone, tne strata in14 Limestone (St. bed), 441/2 gray varyingfeet; (19) thickness from a few inches to more than twofeet. numbered and of shale. TheIn the sections the beds feet separated by partingsforegoing to the Coal limestone beds consist of the remainsfrom 2 to inclusive, mainly18, belong —two lower coal of crinoids and mol-Measures and include the beings corals,organic —Louis the andstrata. No. 19 is undoubtedly the St. lusca that swarmed primeval ocean; of limestone afford a richwhich on River, the oldlimestone, outcrops Spoon quarries of Prairie the student to becomebelow miles east field for acquaintedjust Seaville, eight ofAt Lawrence's Mound near that city, at with the varied and organic formsCity. peculiar above the surface this South of Colmar thean elevation considerably geological period. was a coal seam of the &where the above boring made, grade Chicago, Burlington Quincy in thickness was found Railroad cuts into the of this lime-three feet (probably upper part an outlier left the stone to the of several and fromNo. It was by depth feet,3). probably which it from the excavated material were obtainedforces away manydenuding swept it characteristic fossils of this in an ex-the as lay immediately periodsurrounding region, and ofbelow the drift with no roof but cellent stategravel, preservation. section of all the limestone be-covered but a limited area of Aground. complete In this wouldlow the Coal Measures county —LiMKSTONE BEn.s. This division of the Lower show the order of succession andfollowing Carboniferous series is nowhere in thickness: brecciated limestone, 5probably Light gray the more than feet in thickness, to 10 Calcareous sandstone, 12county fifty feet; feet; Mag- of a bed of con- nesian limestone and 10 to 12 feet; Ge-and consists (first) light gray shale, or brecciated im- odiferous shales of the Keokuk 20 to 30cretionary limestone, lying bed, the lower sandstone of the 30 to 40mediately below feet; Light gray chirty limestone, of a feet.Coal Measures; and (secondly) magnes- shales or calcar-ian limestone and some blue —what is some- As be seen fromeous sandstones, Economical Geology.constituting may On the of atimes called the "Warsaw limestone." a the pages, large por-perusal foregoing of with andeast fork of Crooked a little north tion of this is underlaid coal,Creek, county discoveredwest from the sections the seams that have beenColchester, following although inof these limestones be seen: Brec- are much thinner than those thatmay (1) outcrop ciated limestone. 5 to 20 feet; (2) and Fulton have notlight gray Schuyler Counties, they Calcareous sandstone in 12 feet; furnished an abundant of fuel forregular beds, only supply Bluish 3 feet. The bed. home but for thou-(3) shale, magnesian consumption, many years which forms the base of the sands of tons have been tousually group, annually shipped is below the surface here and counties. From Colchester alone thegenerally ranges adjoining from to ten feet in thickness. The brec- have for aeight yearly shipments long period ciated of ce- to until(composed angular fragments amounted about 500,000 tons, and, mented of limestone is within a fewtogether) unevenly thevery years past, output equalled in a short often var-developed, and, distance, the shipments. ies in thickness from five to twenty-five feet, The Colchester coal is of an excellent qual- or even more. if taken out at some distance from theity, The Keokuk limestone is the lowest rock where it has been to atmos-outcrop, exposed exposed in the and is found influences. It is and com-county, only along pheric hard, bright the bluffs of Crooked in 4 free fromCreek, Townships paratively pyrites, breaking freelyMcdonough county.HISTORY OF 635 there are and dealers.bloclis when mined. As sixty-nine operatorsinto cubic I'eported The also stated that each mine had beenin Dr. Norwood's "Analy- reportHenry Flatten,by in condi-the of and foundsis of Illinois Coals." specific gravity inspected good woj-king owned1.290. It loses 41.2 cent, tion. the 1905 a mineColchester coal is per During year large wasas fol- a of which W. A.in the analysis being by corporation Comptoncoking, complete 35. was at on the Ma-lows: Moisture, 0.4; volatile matters, S; President, opened Littleton, 2.0. The comb & Western Illinois andcarbon 56. ashes gray), Railroad, pos-coke, S; (light of carbon. sesses all the latest facilities forcoal consists of 60.10 cent, mining.per of the bestThe shows it to be oneanalysis — its freedom Fire Clay. The fire found in McDon-of coal in the State, and claygrades it favorite is and of first classfrom has made a o