ECONOMIC PRODUCTS OF CHICKASAW COUNTY

  Apart from the splendid soil of the county there are no geological deposits capable of supporting extensive industries.

  The quarries furnishing building stone are those in Chickasaw and Bradford townships. The best grade of limestone is in section 25, in the southeast corner of Uinta Township.  The old Bishop Quarry,  about a mile north of Chickasaw,  might be made to yield a good quality of flagging stone

  Mr. Marion E. Ackley operates lime kilns at Chickasaw and supplies the local market with a product of excellent quality.

  The only brick yard in the county is operated by Mr. Cotant about three-quarters of a mile west of New Hampton. The clay used is in the upper three feet of the Iowan drift,  most of it fine black surface loam or soil. The raw material is partly dried in the sun, partly on pallets under cover.  The burning is done in small clamp kilns, with a capacity of 100,000 for each kiln. The plant  includes a two horse-power, Iron Quaker Machine  of 20,000 daily capacity.

  In the matter of road materials,  the Buchanan  gravels constitute by far the most important resources in the county.  The material is cheap and is everywhere at hand. The fine piece of road between Ionia and Chickasaw,  and that leading south from New Hampton to Williamston,  are impressive object lessons on the subject  of what may be accomplished in the way of road improvements.

  There are a number of beds of a fairly good grade of peat in various parts of the county.  One of these is traversed by the new line of the Great Western Railroad near the southwest corner of section 17,  New  Hampton Township. Other peat beds are located in section 33,  Deerfield Township and section 32 of Chickasaw Township.

  Some small beds of limonite or bog iron-ore are found in a number of county spots but the best known is in the northeast quarter of section 24, Dayton Township.

   Water Supplies.  Chickasaw County is well supplied with an abundance of pure, wholesome water.  No area of similar size is  better provided with streams as a supply for farm  stock.  There are not many springs in the county, but the well water is of a good quality.  Eight or ten miles north of New Hampton, drillers report that wells go down to 200 feet without striking rock. The town well of Lawler is 135 feet in depth and Fredericksburg and Dayton townships report depths over 200 feet to reach water.  At New Hampton the city well has a depth of 235 feet.  The boring went 100 feet into limestone,  The well is ten inches in diameter, the water rises to within thirty feet of the surface and the supply is ample to meet all the demands so far made on it.  In Little Turkey driven wells need to go only 25 feet into gravel beds for  get unfailing  water supplies.

   Water Powers   Considering the number of streams,  there are not many water powers developed in the county.  The water power on the Cedar at Nashua,  and those at Chickasaw and Greenwood Mills on the Little Cedar are the most important.

   Agriculture is,  and must always  remain,  the most important industry in the county.

If one regrets the absence of coal or other mineral products,  let him remember the wealth producing qualities of the soil.  LET HIM REMEMBER THAT THE FARMS OF IOWA ARE WORTH MORE THAN ALL THE GOLD AND SILVER MINES OF AMERICA.

Source:  History of Chickasaw and Howard Counties, 1919, Vol. 1,  Chapter 1, Pages 36 to 38
Synopsis of Pages Transcribed by Lookup Person,  Leonard Granger jmclaw221@gmail.com

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