pg 1

First in order of time, though perhaps not first in interest, are the records to be found in the rocks. The geological history of Louisa county contains some facts of considerable interest. The latest division of geological time is called the Pleistocene; it includes the present and "reaches back to that special series of events which have brought about the present relations of land and sea, the conditions of climate, peculiarities of soil," etc. Before the beginning of this period Iowa had for ages lain beneath the sea level, and we can read in the rocks which grew then the record of many of the living forms which once inhabited these waters. The rocks in the southern part of the county and in Des Moines county abound in fossil remains of crinoids, sometimes called "feather stars," and other related forms of sea life; while Buffington creek, in Elm Grove township, is noted as the locality from which came a remarkable collection of fish fossils, many of which are described in Vols. 6 and 7, of the Illinois Geological Survey. These fossil remains show that huge fish once inhabited this region. Eventually the land uprose from the sea and became a part of the dry land. This period is called by some the Ozarkian stage. Afterward, for a time. Iowa became, in the language of the late Professor Calvin, "a fair and sunny land, clad in forests of tropical species and revelling in all tropical luxuriance. Birds of gay plumage flitted back and forth in the open glades; savage beasts related to the lion and the tiger sought the shady recesses ; herbivorous animals not very different from the elk, the camel, the rhinocerous and the horse found pasture in the grassy savannas, while troups of monkeys swung from branch to branch, and from treetop to treetop, and stirred the woodland with noisy exclamations."

Then came the great change which, with its centuries of unparalleled precipitation of snow, brought on the age of the glaciers, during which there descended from the north and northwest great ice fields, covering nearly the entire state with an ice sheet, hundreds and perhaps thousands of feet in thickness. Prior to the coming of the glaciers and after the land had become elevated, the surface seems to have been carved into river valleys and streams, while channels were cut through rocks and shales to the depth of 200 to 600 feet.

In boring a deep well near Lone Tree there was discovered an old valley, or channel, doubtless of the Iowa river, some 200 feet below the level of the present river. In the same way it has been found at Fort Madison that there is a channel of the Mississippi deeper than the present stream and walled in by rocks 250 feet high. This old channel was west of the present one, and future borings may show that it found its way through the central or western part of this county. Indeed, an observer of the United States geological survey claims to have located a river bed beginning just north of Columbus Junction and extending south and southeast through this county into Henry county; he traces it in part by a depression in Elm Grove township which is some two miles wide, while in places it is forty feet below the elevation of the adjacent land. How long in the past it has been since the beginning of man's occupation no one can tell, much less the ages of preparation for man's existence. Hills and valleys, woods and prairies, are recent additions to the surface of the earth in comparison to the previous periods in geologic time. Where prairies now are found forests may have flourished once upon a time, and the leveling process of years may have worn the hills into plains.

That the people sought the favored spots as they had been taught to regard them, one needs only to suggest a search for the oldest homes and settlements in any county in this part of Iowa. Moving along the valleys the first settler selected his home site on account of two things, namely, wood and water, which for him would be available at all times. Therefore the oldest portions are not necessarily the most prosperous since they may have been planted upon the poorer sections of land, the settler not appreciating, until in after years, the waiting wealth in the prairie soil.

No one stops now, in his observation of the distribution of population, to inquire whether the first comers looked with wonder upon the scene and waited for men of science to determine the soil structure, or to set at ease the minds of the curious when they came upon peculiar or uncommon formations.

Could the world be seen in one's imagination before the streams, or trees, the hills or valleys were formed, when the rocks deep down in the earth began to take shape, and then believe that ages upon ages of time have passed while other layers of rock have been deposited, it might assist him in studying some common things found along the rocky ledges in many parts of the county.

The fossils found in our rock tell of a period long past when the living animals were so numerous that their bony skeletons have formed whole systems of rocks. Then it must be remembered also, that the geologist does not count time by years, but by ages. He, like the astronomer, must deal with longer units of time in his measurements.

Therefore we need only think of the world as Very, very old and to remember that, with the scientist, as with the Psalmist, a thousand years are but as yesterday. Geologists tell us that twice this vicinity was covered with great sheets of ice and that marks were left upon the surface then exposed that are found and recognized today. These glaciers helped to produce very peculiar changes ...

pg 3

... upon the surface of the earth but a detailed discussion of them would be foreign to the purpose of this work.

Each county has its own peculiar form and features and Louisa is no exception. Indeed it may be said to possess more than ordinary interest since it borders upon the great Mississippi River, and the confluence of two of Iowa's most important rivers lies within its borders.

Probably the first scientist to cross any part of this county for the purpose of learning and describing something of its structure was a member of the party of which D. D. Owen was the head. In his report for 1852 on the Geology of Wisconsin, Iowa, and Minnesota,.Mr. Owen says that one B. C. Macy, following up the Iowa and Cedar Rivers, found himself in a land of swamps, through which he traveled for some distance, incidentally contracting a dangerous intermittent fever. But conditions in this respect have improved greatly since that time; they began improving before the war, and most of the swamps and marshes had disappeared before the advent of the present "era of drainage," to which we will refer hereafter.

In general it may be said that Louisa County is geologically in four sections, rather distinctly marked having two uplands and two lower areas. The latter lie along the Mississippi and Iowa chiefly, while the former are found between the two low areas and in the west and south. The townships of Eliot, Wapello, Oakland, and Port Louisa contain the great portions of the lowlands. Scientists would divide the lowlands into two parts, one called "Alluvium," which lies near the streams and is formed by the deposit of material from flowing water, and the other "terrace or low plain" which is slightly higher and further from the streams than the first named.

The Mississippi bottoms are fully five miles wide on both the northern and the southern boundaries of the county and probably are over two miles elsewhere. Two prominent features of this portion of the land are known as the Muscatine slough, extending along the western edge of the bottoms almost to the Iowa River, and the Great Sand mound in the northern corner of Port Louisa township, extending over the county line. Perhaps Lake Klum is also of importance enough to be included with these two mentioned, since it is approximately a mile and one half in length connecting with the Muscatine slough in section twenty-five, township seventy-four north of range three west.

Along the Iowa and Cedar Rivers the lowlands are from two to six miles in width and they extend diagonally through the county from northwest to southeast, the widest portion being in Oakland and Wapello townships, the latter having long been known as Wapello prairie. Near the junction of the Cedar and the Iowa Rivers the bluffs of the uplands on either side approach each other, the western side being much nearer the river and for six miles they run nearly parallel, three miles apart until near Bard station. Where Long Creek enters the Iowa River they separate. The narrowest portion of this lowland is less than two miles in Jefferson and Eliot townships. In the former a low area includes a number of lagoons or sloughs indicating a former river channel. Here one finds Stone Lake, Myerholz Lake, Keever Slough, Spitznogle and Parson's Lakes, with minor bayous, not possessing recognized names.

The higher land previously mentioned between the two rivers is estimated to be not less than one hundred feet above the surrounding territory and about...

pg 4

... nine miles in width on the Muscatine County line. From here it tapers to a width of two miles east of Wapello, and then continues for perhaps eight miles farther south stopping abruptly at the Iowa River. It is noticeable that this highland is marked off by a steep bluff line on the eastern side which causes the streams in this area to flow westward toward the Iowa River, although these sources are much nearer the Mississippi.

It is said that the highest point in the county, nearly nine hundred feet, is in the southeastern part of Morning Sun township. From this western elevation there is a moderate slope toward the northeast the streams flowing in that direction until they reach the lowlands.

A feature which suggests the condition of the underlying strata is found in section eighteen of township seventy-three north, range three west, this being near the Concord schoolhouse and in the civil township of Morning Sun. Here a sink hole, as it is called, which is common in some sections of the state, is found, in dimensions five to eight rods across and twenty feet deep, indicating a subterranean cavern in the lower limestone.

As mentioned in the beginning, characteristic geologic changes are found in all sections of this county by means of which scientists determine what names to apply to the exposed strata. These names are not familiar to those unacquainted with such terms, but in the observation of common bluffs or of the material drawn from deep wells any one may readily understand the great differences that are found in even nearby areas of land.

It is said that artesian wells might be obtained very readily in this county should they be desirable, and the lowlands are adapted to such undertakings where it is supposed a "copious flow may be found anywhere" at a depth of from twelve to fourteen hundred feet. On the uplands water is secured in ordinary wells at various depths ranging from thirty to three hundred feet. Shallow wells are subject to a loss of the supply since they do not penetrate the permanent source called "drift gravel" which the deeper wells reach. It appears further, that there are many sources of water in the form of springs along the ravines west of the Iowa River, which issue from between beds of shale known as the "Upper Burlington and Kinderhook shales."

Among the lowlands, especially where the soil is sandy, the driven well is very common, and abundant quantities of the best water are found at a depth of about twenty feet. The water supply about Wapello and in Oakland and Concord townships is obtained by driven wells and is practically inexhaustible. At the time the Baxter Brothers Company located their large canning factory at Wapello, they had some doubts as to whether the water supply obtained by driven wells would be sufficient for their purposes, but after testing the matter thoroughly with a steam pumping outfit, they became thoroughly convinced that it would.

Other economic products include the common building materials of stone and sand, as well as clay products, with traces of coal and natural gas. Building stone is abundant in certain sections, exposures of this nature being found in the south and southwestern parts of the county. The kind of strata to which building stone belongs are found along the bluffs west of the Mississippi River and south of the Iowa in Eliot, Wapello, and Morning Sun townships. There are, however, other "outcroppings" along the streams in Columbus City and...

pg 5

... Elm Grove townships. The best stone is taken from what is called the Upper Burlington bed and all of the present working quarries use this stratum. Formerly the lower beds were worked on the farm of J. D. Anderson south of Elrick Junction, but it appears that the weathering of this rock has lessened materially its value for building purposes. The principal quarries of the present are located near Morning Sun on Honey Creek, and on Long Creek and its tributaries in Columbus City and Elm Grove townships.

The quarry of Charles B. Wilson in section twenty-eight, a mile and a half east of Morning Sun, furnishes rock from the Burlington bed as named above. This quarry extends for approximately a quarter of a mile on either side of Honey Creek, and from the excavations now made, one may judge that a large amount of stone has been removed. There is a small amount of waste material in comparison to the amount removed and many acres of land are yet available for working; while the labor of opening the quarry is not heavy. Just across the railway tracks in section twenty-nine is the quarry of W. C. Bryant, where more than seven feet of pure limestone is available "for heavy foundations, bridge piers and other masonry work, besides walls and finishings." The analysis of rock found in these quarries commends it for the manufacture of Portland cement, and also for an excellent quality of white lime. These two quarries appear to be limitless in the material available, and are moreover conveniently situated for shipping.

In section twenty-seven of Morning Sun township the "Ackenbaum" quarry is located. This lies on Gospel Run and when the face of the rock is exposed there is a light covering of soil similar to what is called "loess." Quarries of less importance are found in other parts of Louisa County, especially along Buffington and Long Creeks. There is the old Wasson quarry, later controlled by C. J. Gipple, located in a low terrace along the south branch of Long Creek in section twenty-three. The same rock is found in other parts of the same vicinity on Long creek and in section fourteen of Elm Grove on Buffington Creek. In section three of Columbus City township J. E. Gray and J. M. Marshall have opened the white rock found there. As one moves farther westward in the county the rock are less frequently exposed, because of the heavy "drift" in that portion.

The names of those conducting commercial quarries with the kind of stone and means of handling it as it has been reported are mentioned here; all the work is described as "hand work." The product is building, macadam, rip rap, and rubble stone, of a gray subcrystalline limestone nature. The owners are, as found in reports, Mrs. Churchman at Cairo; J. M. Marshall, J. E. Gray and J. H. Jones, Columbus Junction: W. C. Bryant, W. A. Steele, and Chas. B. Wilson of Morning Sun ; and John Ackenbaum at Newport. Stone from the Wilson quarry has undergone engineering tests in the department at Ames. The Churchman land now belongs to Frank P. Brown and the Ackenbaum property is owned by D. L. Morris.

The Clay products from Louisa County for the year 1908 amounted to about eight thousand dollars. Institutions for such manufacture have been in operation at Columbus Junction, Morning Sun, and across the river east of Wapello.

Brick and tile in sufficient quantity to supply local demand have been made at these three points, but there is no work being done at the Wapello institution ...

pg 6

... just now. Some brick products have been used in sidewalks, notably that of the Morning Sun factory. The clay used in the plant at Columbus Junction is taken from a low terrace-like extension of the upland lying between the Iowa River and Short Creek, the loess formation here consisting in part of a calcareous element. Brick made from this formation have an especially fine texture according to the judgment of men versed in such matters.

Coal measures, according to signs remaining, were once deposited over a large part of the county, either in independent sections or more or less continuous sheets. These, however, have been almost entirely removed by the continual and heavy denudation through the years of erosion subsequent to that deposit. Nearly all that remains to indicate the former deposit is found within four hundred acres. The region so described is located chiefly "in the west bluff of the Iowa River in the adjoining corners of sections sixteen, seventeen, and twenty-one in Union township." Here, it is said, a few inches of coal appear in the rock formations of grayish white sandstone, and dark shale. In digging wells also signs of coal have been found. The only recorded output of coal is given as "forty bushels in 1862." Small quantities have been found and used for fuel, yet no indications have suggested a profitable development. Money has been spent, and wasted in prospecting, where no coal could be found.

We find in the Wapello Republican of January 30, 1866, the following item in regard to coal: "We are informed that a vein of coal some four feet in thickness has been found on the farm of Judge Springer, south of Columbus City, in this county."

And in an issue of the same paper published in September of that year, it is said that J. F. Schill reported that he had discovered a vein of cannel coal, twenty inches thick, on Long creek, six miles northwest of Wapello. These reports were not borne out by the facts.

Down near Morning Sun, in the fall and winter of 1868-9, a Price Hughes did a great deal of digging for coal. According to the newspaper reports he went down something over 220 feet and spent all of his own spare change, and some six or seven hundred dollars that was contributed by people who relied upon his claims that he could get coal at less than 200 feet. When he had gone down about 130 feet, and was confident that coal was but a few feet away, his work was written up in glowing fashion by a correspondent of the Wapello Republican. In response to that communication we find the following in a subsequent issue of the same paper, dated at Iowa City, January 6, 1869: "In your paper of last week I observed that some correspondent gave you the progress of Mr. Hughes in his search for coal near Morning Sun. This reminds me that I had promised some of the Morning Sun citizens to call on Dr. White, State Geologist, and get his opinion on coal matters in Louisa county. I have called on the Doctor, and I assure you he does not flatter coal mining in that region. He says that Louisa, Johnson and Des Moines counties have no coal, for this reason: that during the Glacial period they were passed over by an immense glacier moving in an almost direct north and south line, which entirely stripped these counties of all deposits of coal. He says that the rock on the surface in Louisa county is the bed rock for all the coal in the state, and if any coal is found in your county, it will be on top of the rock, in some basin or hollow where it was protected from the moving mountain of ice. I remarked to the ...

pg 7

... Doctor that Mr. Hughes warranted coal at less than two hundred feet. He remarked: 'Tell your people at Morning Sun that I will warrant them none at any depth.' W. E. B."

These initials look very much like those of the Hon. W. E. Blake, who was then going to law school at Iowa City. Mr. Hughes "came back" at Dr. White and "W. E. B." in a communication from Morning Sun, dated February 26. 1869. in which, among other things, he said: "A few weeks ago I noticed a letter in your paper from Iowa City giving the opinion of the State Geologist, and so far as I can learn I believe I know more about the indications of coal than Mr. White does about making tin cups. I have found the indications of coal here the same as I have found elsewhere where I have found coal, and I intend to test the matter . . . Let me say, Mr. Editor, that I believe there is coal in this county, and I do not think the ice of Tinman White swept it quite all away."

The allusion to Dr. White as "Tinman White" was doubtless due to the fact that the Doctor, many years before that, had been a partner with his brother in a hardware store in Burlington. However, some weeks after the above communication, Mr. Hughes had thoroughly convinced himself that in fighting against "mother nature" and "father science," he was engaged in an unequal combat, and he wrote an article acknowledging his mistake, and making some amends for his former flippant and sarcastic reference to our worthy and eminent State Geologist. Since then there has been very little coal prospecting in Louisa County.

There is a tradition that at one time the Indians secured lead from somewhere on Long creek and we find in the Wapello Republican of June 7. 18f1o, an item of interest on this line under the heading of Lead Ore. "We understand from Mr. Jesse Vanhorn, of Marshall township, that a fine specimen of this ore was found near the mill he formerly owned in the Long creek timber a few days ago. It is known that the Indians used to get plenty of lead in this neighborhood years ago but we believe the exact locality was not known to the white men." It is not known, yet.

More than twenty years ago natural gas was first discovered in this county. It was early in December in 1890, according to Mr. F. M. Witter, who made some study of the matter, that Mr. F. L. Estle, who lived in section three, township seventy-five north, range four west, sunk a well on his farm. At a depth of one hundred feet he struck a flow of gas which readily burned, but in two or three days it ceased to flow. About the same time, Mr. R. M. Lee at a point just west of the first well, a half mile or more, bored for water. At one hundred feet he failed to find a flow of water and stopped boring. In the evening he began to remove his casing and succeeded in raising it several feet. During the night he heard a great roaring, and on approaching the abandoned well with a lantern the gas suddenly took fire and shot high into the air, making a frightful noise. In course of time the flame was extinguished and the gas was piped into the house where it was used for fuel and light. Later it was used in the same way in neighboring houses, one being more than a mile away. The gas was carried over the ground in common pipe of different dimensions. The well at one time supplied twelve fires and sixteen lights. More than a score of wells ...

pg 8

... have been found to furnish gas, some furnishing a supply for many years. The pressure has been measured in at least fifteen of these and found to be from four to ten and one half pounds, the higher pressure being in the deeper wells. A short distance below the gas area a good flow of water is obtained. Many interesting facts are related concerning these wells, and the results of such discoveries.

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