Indiana Geological Survey Annual Report 1870

155

Warrick County: With the exception of a narrow belt of hills flanking the broad bottoms of the Ohio river, the land in this county is well adapted for cultivation, being gently rolling and fertile. The coal measures extend over the entire county, and are capped with loess on the ridges along the Ohio river and Big Pidgeon creek. Though the coal seams in this county are equivalent to those of Spencer county, the coal, with the exception of that in the northeastern part of the county, is of the quality designated as caking coal. The following section is made from the outcrop of the strata at Newburg, as far down as the main seam, and below this, from the record of a bore which commenced in the under clay of that seam, and penetrated to the depth of two hundred and ninty-seven and a half feet:

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      ____________________________________________________________________
     |                     SECTION AT NEWBURG.                            |
     |____________________________________________________________________|
     | SPACE.|          |FEET.| IN.|                                      |
     |_______|__________|_____|____|______________________________________|
     |       |          |  15 |    | Loess, Marl and Soil.                |
     |       |__________|_____|____|                                      |
     |  40.  |          |  10 |    | Brown Sandstone. ("Anvil Rock" of    |
     |       |          |     |    |  Owen's Kentucky Report.)            |
     |       |__________|_____|____|                                      |
     |       |          |  15 |    | Arenaceous Shale.                    |
     |_______|__________|_____|____|                                      | 
     |   ?   |XXXXXXXXXX|   ? |    | COAL.                                |
     |_______|__________|_____|____|                                      |
     |       |          |   2 |    | Limestone.                           |
     |   3.  |__________|_____|____|                                      |
     |       |          |   1?|    | Black Shale.                         |
     |_______|__________|_____|____|                                      |
     |   1.6 |XXXXXXXXXX|   1 |  6 | COAL K.                              |
     |_______|__________|_____|____|                                      |
     |       |          |   2 |    | Fire Clay.                           |
     |       |__________|_____|____|                                      |
     |       |          |  20 |    | Gray, argillaceous, silicious Shale. |
     |       |__________|_____|____|                                      |
     |  91.6 |          |  68 |    | Brown, schistose Sandstone and       |
     |       |          |     |    |  gray Shale.                         |
     |       |__________|_____|____|                                      |
     |       |          |   1 |  6 | Black Shale.                         |
     |_______|__________|_____|____|                                      |
     |   4.  |XXXXXXXXXX|   4 |    | COAL I. (Main Newburg coal.)         |
     |_______|__________|_____|____|                                      |
     |       |          |   3 |  6 | Fire Clay. Top of Bore.              |
     |       |__________|_____|____|                                      |
     |       |          |   2 |    | Shale.                               |
     |       |__________|_____|____|                                      |
     |       |          |  23 |  6 | White and dark Sandstone.            |
     |       |__________|_____|____|                                      |
     | 124.  |          |  58 |    | Dark Shale.                          |
     |_______|__________|_____|____|______________________________________|

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      ____________________________________________________________________
     |                SECTION AT NEWBURG -- Continued.                    |
     |____________________________________________________________________|
     | SPACE.|          |FEET.| IN.|                                      |
     |_______|__________|_____|____|______________________________________|
     |       |          |  37 |    | Sandstone.                           |
     |_______|__________|_____|____|                                      |
     |   1.  |XXXXXXXXXX|   1 |    | COAL.                                |
     |_______|__________|_____|____|                                      |
     |       |          |   1 |    | Fire Clay.                           |
     |       |__________|_____|____|                                      |
     |       |          |  50 |    | Light-colored Sandstone.             |
     |       |__________|_____|____|                                      |
     |       |          |  17 |    | Dark Shale.                          |
     |       |__________|_____|____|                                      |
     |       |          |   5 |    | Gray Shale.                          |
     |       |__________|_____|____|                                      |
     |       |          |   5 |    | Redish Shale.                        |
     |       |__________|_____|____|                                      |
     |       |          |   5 |    | Hard redish Rock, no Grit.           |
     | 172.6 |__________|_____|____|                                      |
     |       |          |  87 |    | Gray Shale.                          |
     |       |__________|_____|____|                                      |
     |       |          |   2 |  6 | White Sandstone.                     |
     |_______|__________|_____|____|                                      |
     | 437.6    TOTAL.             | BRINE.                               |
     |____________________________________________________________________|

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The vein of brine struck at the bottom of this bore flows to the surface, but is too weak to be profitably used for manufacturing salt. Analysis might prove this water to be possessed of valuable medicinal properties.

It is highly probable that the sandstone, which appears at the bottom of this bore, is the millstone grit. The main coal I am disposed to refer to I of the Indiana column, hereafter given, which indicates that the main block coal seam of Brazil is the equivalent of No. 9 of Owen's Kentucky column of coals. It is, however, possible, that when Spencer and Warrick counties have been more critically surveyed, some change will have to be made in the correlation now given of the coal seams of these counties.

The four feet seam of coal has been reached by shafts, varying from eighty to one hundred feet deep, at four or five places along the bank of the Ohio river, just above the town, The coal is quite extensively mined at three of these shafts, and sold, principally, to steamboatmen, some being boated to markets down the river. The mines are known as the Love shaft, Locust Grove shaft, and Robert's shaft.

Four specimens, taken from different parts of the seam, were collected at the Locust Grove mine, for analysis, and the result is here given:

                 LOCUST GROVE COAL, SPECIMEN NO. 1.

       Specific gravity, 1.300; one cubic foot weighs 81.25 lbs.
                               { Ash, dark brown,    -    -     14.00
   Coke,    -     -     61.50  { Fixed carbon,    -     -       47.50
                               { Water,    -     -       -       4.00
   Volatile matter,     38.50  { Gas,     -      -       -      34.50
                      ________                                ________
                       100.00                                  100.00

The coke is slaty, compact, and has a metallic lustre.

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                 LOCUST GROVE COAL, SPECIMEN NO. 2. 

       Specific gravity, 1.279; one cubic foot weighs 79.93 lbs.
                               { Ash, white,    -       -        2.00
    Coke,     -     -   52.50  { Fixed carbon,    -      -      50.50
                               { Water,     -      -      -      3.00
    Volatile matter,    47.50  { Gas,    -      -       -       44.50
                      ________                                ________
                       100.00                                  100.00

The coke is swollen, puffed, and has a metallic lustre.

                 LOCUST GROVE COAL, SPECIMEN NO. 3.

       Specific gravity, 1.313; one cubic foot weighs 82.06 lbs.
                               { Ash, brown,    -       -        7.00
    Coke,     -     -   53.00  { Fixed carbon,    -      -      46.00
                               { Water,     -      -      -      2.00
    Volatile matter,    47.00  { Gas,    -      -       -       45.00
                      ________                                ________
                       100.00                                  100.00

The coke is dense, laminated and lustreless.

           LOCUST GROVE COAL, SPECIMEN NO.4.

       Specific gravity, 1.285; one cubic foot weighs 80.31 lbs.
                               { Ash, white,    -       -        2.50
    Coke,     -     -   53.00  { Fixed carbon,    -      -      50.50
                               { Water,     -      -      -      2.50
    Volatile matter,    47.00  { Gas,    -      -       -       44.50
                      ________                                ________
                       100.00                                  100.00

The coke is dense, laminate and lustreless.

No. 1 forms a thin layer on the top of the seam, and approaches cannel coal in appearance, but contains too much earthy matter to be a good fuel. No. 2 is from the upper part of the seam, No. 3 from the middle, and No. 4 from the lower part.

The average amount of fixed carbon is forty-nine per cent., and of ash three and a half per cent. It is a fatty, caking coal, contains some sulphur bands, breaks into small

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cubes, and contains scales of white calcite between the numerous irregular seams which cut across the lines of stratification.

For steam and household uses, it meets with a ready sale.

The same seam has recently been opened by Mr. Spear, in section 15 ? township 7, range 8, where there is the same succession of strata seen in the Newburg mines; the seam is four feet four inches thick. About ninety feet below the four feet seam, there is a coal one foot three inches thick, lying in the bed of Little Pidgeon creek. This is, probably, the equivalent of the thin coal found in the bore at the mouth of the creek, which indicates a rise in the strata toward Rockport, a fact that furnishes additional evidence in favor of referring the "Lady Washington rock" to the millstone grit.

The coal, usually found under the limestone, is not seen in the hill at Spear's mine, and the space between the limestone and the four feet coal, and between the latter seam and the lower coal, is much less here than at Newburg. The following section indicates the position of the coal at Spear's mine:

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      ____________________________________________________________________
     |                    SECTION AT SPEAR'S MINE.                        |
     |____________________________________________________________________|
     | SPACE.|         |FEET.| IN.|                                       |
     |_______|_________|_____|____|_______________________________________|
     |       |         |  50 |    | Covered space, containing Sandstone   |
     |       |         |     |    |  and Shale.                           |
     |       |_________|_____|____|                                       |
     |       |         |   4 |    | Limestone.                            |
     |       |_________|_____|____|                                       |
     |       |         |   6 |    | Sandstone.                            |
     | 114.7 |_________|_____|____|                                       |
     |       |         |  51 |    | Silicious and argillaceous Shale.     |
     |       |_________|_____|____|                                       |
     |       |         |   3 |    | Tough blue Clay.                      |
     |       |_________|_____|____|                                       |
     |       |         |   0 |  7 | Black bituminous Shale.               |
     |_______|_________|_____|____|                                       |
     |   4.4 |XXXXXXXXX|   4 |  4 | COAL I. (Caking Coal.)                |
     |_______|_________|_____|____|                                       |
     |       |         |   3 |    | Fire Clay.                            |
     |       |_________|_____|____|                                       |
     |  91.10|         |  87 |    | Arenaceous and argillaceous Shales.   |
     |       |_________|_____|____|                                       |
     |       |         |     | 10 | Ferruginous black Shale.              |
     |       |_________|_____|____|                                       |
     |       |         |  1? |    | Black bituminous Shale.               |
     |_______|_________|_____|____|                                       |
     |   1.3 |XXXXXXXXX|   1 |  3 | COAL L. [should read: COAL.]          |
     |_______|_________|_____|____|                                       |
     | 212.     TOTAL.            | Low water of Little Pidgeon Creek.    |
     |________________ ___________________________________________________|

S. G. R. -- 11

162

At the time of my visit, Mr. Spear had just completed a railroad from his mine to the Ohio river, two miles in length, and was preparing to do a large business. The quality of the coal is the same as that at Newburg, but it appears to be somewhat firmer and will probably stand stocking better than the latter coal.

At Boonville, the county seat of this county, a thin coal is reached in many of the wells, at a depth of twenty to thirty feet, after passing through eight feet of soil and from twelve to twenty-two feet of sandstone. This is probably a thin seam which lies above coal K, as the limestone outcrops on all the hillsides in the vicinity.

At D. L. Hart's mine, a half mile northeast of Boonville, on section 13, township 5, range 8, is seen the following section:

       Soil and clay,      -     -      -      -      -      8 ft.
       Schistose sandstone and shale,     -     -      -    50 ft.
       Black, bituminous, fossiliferous limestone,           2 ft.
       Arenaceous shale,      -      -      -      -         4 ft.
       Black, bituminous, sheety shale,     -        -       2 ft.
       COAL K, caking coal,      -      -      -      -      4 ft.
       Fire clay,     -      -        -       -      -       ? ft.

Fragments of coal picked up on the surface indicate that it is block coal.

Seams of coal, of good, workable thickness, are reported at numerous places in Lane, Hart, Owen and Pidgeon townships, but they are only dug into occasionally during the winter months to take out a little coal for home use, and at the time of my visit, these pits were mostly filled by the caving in of the earth. Judging from what I saw, it is my opinion that coal I will be found in this part of the county sufficiently pure for smelting and working iron.

The citizens and land owners should see that the seams are well opened, so that the geologist, when hereafter making the detailed survey of the county, can have a good opportunity to view the coal at as many localities as possible.

I desire to express my obligations for kind attentions

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received while prosecuting the reconnoissance of this county to Hon. Benoni S. Fuller, C. F. Hopkins, Col. Bates, A. M. Phelps, and Dr. Barker.

1870 Table of Contents

Geology Library, Indiana University, Bloomington