xt72542j6x1z https://exploreuk.uky.edu/dips/xt72542j6x1z/data/mets.xml Grahn, K. B. 1880  books b98-37-40931196 English s.n., : [Greenup, Ky. : Contact the Special Collections Research Center for information regarding rights and use of this collection. Mines and mineral resources Kentucky. Kentucky Economic conditions. Kentucky Industries. Review of the resources of eastern Kentucky  / by K.B. Grahn, editor of the Independent, Greenup, Kentucky. January, 1880. text Review of the resources of eastern Kentucky  / by K.B. Grahn, editor of the Independent, Greenup, Kentucky. January, 1880. 1880 2002 true xt72542j6x1z section xt72542j6x1z 


           EASTERN KENTUCKYT.


   In as brief a review of my observations, explorations, and notes on
the resources and developments of this section of the State as the short
allotment of time will allow me to make, it is impossible to do my sub-
ject that justice which its importance should demand.
  I can only recite what so far has been done in the way of opening to
the markets of the world the treasures stored away in our mountains,
to hint at what further should be done, and to speak of the opportunities
here offering to the investment of capital and to immigration.
                   THE VALLEY OF THE BIG SANDY,
Or, as the Indians used to call it, the " C/zatta-arvaza" Valley, lies in
the rocks of the carboniferous age, the underlying sub-carboniferous
measures coming to the surface in only few places, thus admitting an
almost unparalleled full development of the lower coal measures, or
those lying within nine hundred feet from the top of the carboniferous
limestone. Properly spoken, the Big Sandy Valley coal beds are but a
W47estern continuation of those of the Ka.aawha Va'ley, whose import-
once as fuel, and for manufacturing pdrpp.es, is known all through the
West and Eastern States
  There are twelve distinctly diFlrent veins of coal, whose average
thickness is shown by the following table computed by A. R. Crandall:

                              Minimum.              Maximum.

Coal No. I.... ..    .    3 feet o inches.      5 feet o inches.
        2...... .        2    0    "           3"   8
 ' '   3        -...... .     2    I6                6 " 6
        4.. .  .2.             0            1..' 4 "  6
 "' "'  5. . .             3   ".6..                         9 " 0
        6.... .          3    0    "           4"        .
 14t'   "      .      I 7 3  " 0   ''           6  '  a
 ' "   8 ... .           2"   6   "            8    o.
 I      9      .2           '' 6        "       2 I'  6
 Id "   Jo... ..          ....                  3 ".  6
 U' "   xix. .. . .. .    2 "  0   "            2 "  6
 s "s 12        . -...      ..   Not opened.



  So far the opening of coal veins in this valley has been principally
confined to benching and short entries, so that it may be correct to sug-

 




gest that, further driven into the hill, all these veins will shlo at much
larger thickness than even that of the above maximum mreasuras.
  All these veins, where opened. are above highest water level, so that
in the pursuit of mining operations they can all be reached by drifting.
thus discharging the mine water wvithout expense; nor requiring the
costly process of hoisting.
  The following table, taken from the State Geological Report, gives
the analysis of samples taken from the whole thickness of beds as mined,
and vill be useful for future reference:

                   No. i. -No. 2. No 3. N4. No. 5 No. 6. No. 7. No. S.





                      _   , -    noI_             ,  

specitic gravity .  1.267  . 289  1 317  I 30  l 3o 1 279  1.320  367
Moidture           2.; 0 410    3.26   1.50   3.20 1 2 94   - 00 3 - 50
\olatile comr. mat  _36. oo  A6s  34 2  52.20  3z-O  3' 50 r 4 so  I 90
Fixed( cartefl) . . . . 57 30 55 - 25 55.36  40.6o .53 00  6 76 55 40 52.
Ash..  . .. . .. .   2.90 4 77  77 i6  5.70  1150   7 74   5 10 12. SO
Sulphur.                1.148 1 440.901 0.782 1      .9wc1 9721 295 0.873

                              IRON ORES.
   But little is so far kno',,no of the iron ores interlying the sections of
coal referred to. There b ing no demand fcr them in the valley, no
developments have been mpde iti that direction and only where the little
mountain streams have washed their surface bare, or where a road on a
hill side cuts into an dar vein, is their existence revealed.
   However, that, with proper prospecting, the iron ores in these coal
 measures will be found as profuse as they are in the further western
 outcrop of the Big Sandy Valley coal belt, where their existence has
 created the Kentucky portion of the famous Hanging Rock Iron Region,
 may be correctly suggested. Five miles above Louisa a thirty-inch vein
 of black band iron ore has been found extending over a large territory,
 containing, by analysis, 36.96 per cent. of metallic iron, or 14 per cent-
 more than that from Scotland, and 1 1.33 per cent. more than that found
 in Perry county, Ohio.
                             DEVELOPMENTS.
   Cincinnati, and others of Ohio's river-bound cities, owe, in no small
 measure, their prosperity and growth to the mercantile trade they have
 been and are still drawing from Kentucky.



EASTERN KinENTUC KY.



2

 

EASTERN KENTUCKY.



  But it is also true that Ohio has, to a large degree, contributed to ad-
vance in our State throst interests which will elevate us from the old-
times slave-curse ruts, which steadily keep us decades behind our more
advanced sister States. One of these contributions is the Cincinnati
Southern Railroad; another, which affects this part of our State more
closely. is the Chattaroi Railway now building from Ashland up the Big
Sandy Valley to Peach Orchard, and destined finally, by connecting with
the railroad system of Virginia at the Salt Works, to open up the 'whole
valley of the Big Sandy river to the world, to improvement, to immi-
gration, and to unmeasurable prosperity.
  It may be justly suggested that these advances of Cincinnati or her
citizens are urged by motives of self interest; yet nobody can deny that
they are bringing about what our own citizens lack the spunk and means
to undertake and accomplish.
  What do we care about the motives The result is what we are in
need of; and heartily do we welcome any other corporation which will
open our country and its immense intrinsic treasures to the marts of
the world.
                  BIG SANDY COAL MINING COMPANY.
  The first enterprise started by Cincinnati's citizens was the coal mining
at Industry, near the mouth of Hurricane creek, close to the borders of
Flovd and Pike counties, in 1847, which were kept in operation for a
few years; but which, owing to the drawbacks, later to be referred to,
were finally abandoned, and nothing now remains of these works at
Industry but the black waste banks and a few decaying houses antd
improvements. About the same time Mr. Wm. P. Mellen, another Cin-
cinnatian of remarkable enterprise, opened a coal mine near Prestons-
burg (also to supply Cincinnati), and continued successfully (realizing,
it is reported, 15,000 net profit) in this business till i85o, when he,
on the 3d of September, purchased fourteen acres of land at what is now
known as Peach Orchard, for a mill-site, and the privilege of obtaining
coal from adjoining lands of 'Mr. Archibald Borders, a highly respected
and wealthy farmer, who is now widely known as Judge Borders to all
familiar with the valley.  A MIr. Campbell, also of Cincinnati, soon
afterwards became a partner of Mlellen, and these two built a mill,
opened a coal mine, and pushed work with such energy that the)y were
able to make their first shipment of coal to Cincinnati in the winter of
iS5o. This partnership did not continue longer than a year, when a
joint stock company, now known as the " Great Western Mining and



3

 


EASTERN KENTUCKY.



Manufacturing Company," consisting of the late Mr. Carlisle, Boler,
Shoenberger, Longworth, and others of Cincinnati. and leading men from
Pittsburgh, was formed, Mellen continuing in charge. The operations of
this company extended over ten years, till i86i, when the breaking
out of the civil war rendered this section so unsafe, exposed as it was to
the marauding parties of both sides, that business came to a stand still.
During this time extensive improvements were made, which rendered
this village a very garden spot in the wilds of the mountains.
                       TRANSPORTA1 ION, E l C.
  The barges in which the coal was shipped held from 12,000 to 14,000
bushels, as many as fourteen of which could be accommodated at one
time in the pool at the foot of the incline. They were run down to Cin-
cirnati by hand, and there sold with the coal or after being unloaded.
Costing at an average of 300 per barge at Peach Orchard, where they
were made, and hardly ever selling for more than 5o, the consequent
loss of 250 per 12,000 bushel barge was equal to over two cents per
bushel. Another drawback caused by the long droughts, when no ship-
ments could be made owing to the low stage of the river, was the
expense of pumping barges, which not seldom had to be done for six
months uninterruptedly. One hundred and forty barges were shipped
during these ten years, twenty of which were totally wrecked on their
way down; so that another 13 per cent would have to be added to the
total cost of the coal to cover this loss. Yet, in spite of all these con-
tingercies, not to mention the enormous expense of hauling supplies
out to the mines per axle during the summer's suspense of navigation,
the company made a profit on their operations. though unnecessary
extravagances on the part of the management finally consumed more
than a possible dividend, The miners received ninety cents per ton for
mining, realizing often 4 per day. The manner of mining was that
known as " undermining" and " shooting down."
                       PEACH ORCHARD VEIN.
  The principal mine was located on a ridge dividing tvo branches
(Bird's Trace and Miller's Branch) of Nat's Creek, which flows into Big
Sandy about i X2 miles above Peach Orchard, and was reached from the
river by means of three tunnels, 900, 700, and 800 feet in length.
Those three gangways were -run on the Peach Orchard coal vein, which
at the river tunnel mouth measures but thirty inches, but which in the
mine, on Bird's Trace and Miller's Branch, increases to a total of seven-



4

 

EASTEKN KENTUCKY.



ty-three inches of coal; the following being the cross-section of the
vein:
                 Slate roof.
                 6 inches coal.
                 7  "    slate.
                 14  "    coal.
                 I  Id   shale.
                 1 2 "    coal.
                 3       shale (runs out).
                 23  Id   coal.
                 5  "    slate.
                 18       coal.
                 Fire- clay.
  The slate separates very easily, and the miners used to prefer this
mine to any other; while the coal always found as ready a market in
Cincinnati as the famous Youghiogheny coal. About three fourth miles
due east from this point, on Bear Creek, where the same vein has been
opened, it shows the same thickness, while on Grassy Creek (three miles
southeast) and on Little Laurel (two and a half miles east) it consists of
84 inches of workable coal.
  There are about seventy miners' houses on the company's property,
which embraces 6,ooo acres of land, as well as a mill, superintendent's
and manager's residences, store, etc., all of which, as well as the mines,
could be put in repair and running order at no very great expense.
                          MAMMOTH VEIN.
  Of immense value as this-the Peach Orchard coal (geologically
known as No. 3 coal vein)-has proven itself to be, and sufficient as it
is to render the Peach Orchard property one of the most remunerative
ones of our State, another coal vein, lately opened on a goo-acre tract,
purchased by Mr. G. S. Richardson, the company's manager, surpasses
the No. 3 vein, both as to size and quality, and has only too justly been
called the Mammoth veiti. It is about i8o feet above the uniform
bench, which, running along the hills in this section, always indicates
the Peach Orchard vein; and, provided the latter is the No. 3 vein, the
Mammoth vein may be considered the equivalent of the cannel coal
vein of Greenup county. At Wolfpen Fork of Nat's Creek, where this
vein has been opened, it shows a solid all-coal face of eight feet. It is
true its upper eleven inches are as yet somewhat rotten, owing to the
fact that the opening has not been driven into the hill any distance.
When further in, this condition will cease, and these eleven inches will
turn as solid as the rest.



5

 

EASTERN KENTUCKY.



  Throughout the center of the vein runs a streak of snarly coal, about
six inches in thickness, which burns down to as light an ash as the rest
of the vein, and will not prove a drawback when mined.
  The appearance of the vein is that of splint, and it shows strong indi-
cations to form into blocks. It has been coked in a rather rude manner
in an open air pit, and unskillfully, yet the result was quite a fair sf;eci-
men of coke, especially from coal taken out of the upper part of the
vein. At this point the covering above the vein is two hundred feet per-
pendicularly.
  On Nat's Creek, two miles due south from this opening, the same
vein shows a total thickness of eight feet two inches; and three miles
further south from this opening, on Chestnut Creek, it even increases to
nine feet solid coal.
  Returning to the year i86i, when the last coal was shipped by the
G. W. C. M. and M. Co., we find that for the four succeeding years of
civil war no work was carried on at all. In 1864. Mr. G. S. Richardson,
of Rhode Island, took a lease of the whole property, with a view of
boring for oil. A well was sunk as low as seven hundred feet, resulting
in nothing but weak salt water; striking, however, at a depth of eighty
feet, a four-foot coal vein. The bore-hole is still open, and pours out of
a two-inch pipe a steady never-ceasing stream of pure water. In i865,
Mr. Richardson built seven i 2,000-buslhel barges and a new incline, and
resumed mining. However, he only made this one shipment, though
it proved quite profitable to him. Yet, a long eight months' drouth fol-
lowing immediately afterwards, lie decided that further operations could
effectively and successfully be carried on, only, by a slack-watering of
Sandy river or the construction of a railroad up its course, and to these
problems, especially the latter, he has ever since devoted his time.
                        CIIATTAROI RAILWAY.
  Mr. John Carlisle, of Cincinnati, one of the leading stockholders, not
only aided Mr. Richardson in this respect. but lie devoted niuch of his
time and attention to this object. And it is due to his efforts principally
that the Chattaroi Railroad is now pushing its way up the valley. It is a
narrow-gauge road of three feet width. The following are its present
distances: Ashland to Catlettsburg, 5 mniles; Catlettsburg to Louisa, 25
miles; Louisa to Peach Orchard, 15 miles; Peach Orchard to the Vir-
ginia Salt Works, 125 miles. This last figure is not exact, as no survey
has been made to that point at this writing. Yet orders have been
issued for a survey from Peach Orchard to Piketon, to be completed by



6

 

EASTERN KENIUCKY.



spring. If the citizens along the upper part of this route will aid the pro-
fect as liberally with donations and rights of way as the people between
Ashland and Peach Orchard, who have presented over ioo.ooo to the
road, have done, the time will not be far distant when Piketon may be
reached from Ashland in three or four hours' travel, instead of that many
days, as at present. Nearly all the construction work has been com-
pleted between Ashland and Louisa; yet it is not probable that the iron
will be laid before spring, and that the road will be opened to travel as
far as Peach Orchard before July next.
  The Chief Engineer, Col. Forbes, has evidenced decided talent in
locating the road; and it will be, when completed, a handsome monu-
ment to his skill and ability. The Ohio river terminus at Ashland,
which is correctly considered the extreme head of low-water navigation,
embracing a tract of valuable land, will be above the Norton Iron
Works. At this place, also, will be located the machine and repair
shops of the company; while union passenger depots will answer the
demands of this and the Lexington and Big Sandy road, both at this
place and at Catlettsburg. The heaviest grade down (excepting at Flat
Gap, where it is much heavier) will be 52 8-io; the heaviest grade up
will be 8o feet per mile; the sharpest curve does not exceed I 5 degrees.
                       SHIPPING AND MINING.
  That the shipping of coal down this road to the river, and thence to
the lower markets, will prove remunerative, is the readier apparent as
Ashland is 335 miles below Pittsburgh, and always accessible at times
when the latter is entirely cut off from the lower markets by our fre-
quent river droughts. Considering further that nearly 6.oooooo tons
of coal annually pass down the Ohio river, of coal of abt qualities, it
is evident that as superior a character of coal as that of the Peach
Orchard and Mammoth veins will find quite a prominent place in the
lower markets.
  There is no doubt but that the coal can be mined at 50 cents; add to
this for contingencies, entries, mule feed, superintending, dead work,
etc., 25 cents; railroad freight, 40 cents; loading and pumping of
barges, 25 cents, which makes the total cost I 40 per ton of lump
coal, and 65 cents per ton of nut or slack coal. This undoubtedly
leaves quite a margin for profit. Coal openings have been made all
along the river, principally to furnish the passing steamboats with fuel.
Prominent among these is the entry of Daniel Wheeler, near Paints-
ville, Johnson county, which shows a remarkable increase in size as it is



7

 

EASTERN KENTUCKY.



being driven into the hill, the vein measuring but 42 inches at the out-
crop, while only 300 feet in it rises to 5 feet solid coal of excellent
quality. The same vein can also be seen, well developed, near Laynes-
ville, Floyd county, of even greater thickness. An 8-foot vein of coal
has also been opened at the mouth of Mud, in Pike county, thus show-
ing a continuous increase in the size of the vein.
  Unproductive as most of the coal lands on both sides of the valley,
and extending many miles beyond, at present are, their value is not
great, and they may readily be purchased at from 5 to 15 per acre, to
be worth one hundred times that much whenever transportation facilities
will have reached them. Another source of much profit, in the not far
future, will be the coal oil and salt resources of this and adjacent valleys.
  At present salt water is only utilized at Warfield, on the Tug Fork,
while bore-holes for coal oil are being sunk on the Paint head waters in
Johnson county.
  Lack of space forecloses a more minute reference to these interests,
as well as to the numerous mineral waters which are found in several
parts of all this region, and which will prove of no small value to the
owners of these springs whenever the country will have been more
thoroughly settled and opened to transportation.
                         RIVER NAVIGATION.
  Owing to the fact that the main exports from the Big Sandy Valley
are and will be of a bulky nature, requiring the very cheapest man-
ner of transportation for any remunerative purposes, ways and means
to slack-water this river will ere long be found.
  The Federal Government, indeed, is giving this matter its considera-
tion, and it is not improbable that the present session of Congress will
make sufficient appropriations to commence this important and much
needed work.
  At present boats drawing from 20 to 30 inches navigate this river as
far as Louisa during eight months, and as far as Piketon during five
months, the traffic of the valley being carried on by push-boats during
the remainder of the year. Both these classes of craft combined carry
about 30,000 people and 30,000 tons of freight up and down the river;
the total value of all the present exports of the valley, consisting of
saw-logs, staves, tan-bark, timber, fruit, grain, live stock and farm pro-
duce, aggregate about I,Soo,ooo, as nearly correct as can be estimated.
Considering the fact that the locking and damming of this river would
render possible the mining of coal, and its delivery by all water trans-



8

 

EASTERN KENTUCKY.



portation at Cincinnati and the lower markets at prices much less than
what it costs the Pittsburgh shippers, renders the slack-watering of Big
Sandy river a pre-eminently important project to all the interests of the
Ohio River Valley. Big Sandy river is formed by the confluence of
the Louisa and the Tug Forks, 26 miles from its mouth, opposite the
town of Louisa, Lawrence county, Ky., and is the dividing line between
the States of Kentucky and West Virginia. It flows in a northwest-
erly direction, through a narrow valley, confined between rocky hills,
from 6oo to 2,300 feet apart, and empties into the Ohio at Catlettsburg,
Kentucky.
  The bordering hills are broken nearly every mile by streams which
have their sources from two to fifty miles distant. The average width
of this part of the river is 300 feet. It is to a great extent shallow;
but in many places deep pools with rocky bottoms are found.
  The bottom lands, varying in width, are about So feet above low
water-mark, and not subject to inundations except in extreme cases.
The banks are in many places clear of trees, and except where the
rocky hills immediately border the river, they are composed of sand so
fine and uniform in composition as to be easily washed away by the
currents. The erosive action of this river during floods washes the
sand from the roots of the trees to such an extent that they often
become so inclined as to obstruct navigation.
  An examination was made a few years ago by boring into the river
bed, and rock from 8 to 20 feet below the surface of low water was
found throughout the entire length of the river except at its mouth.
The natural bed of this stream is covered with sand, a deposit due, no
doubt, to the large quantities of this material constantly being carried
by the small rills into the various tributaries; thence it is brought into
the river, and eventually it finds its way to the Ohio. The numerous
bars found at the mouths of the branches are constantly being carried
from place to place by the successive rises in the river. This stream is
crooked like other mountain rivers, and its average fall is 1.o5 feet per
mile.
                            LOUISA FORK.
  The Louisa Fork is the principal branch of the Big Sandy river, and
it rises beyond the Cumberland Mountains in the table lands of the
southwestern part of Virginia, at a distance of 1,500 feet above tide
water.  It flows, like the main river, in a northwesterly direction
through a narrow valley.



9

 

EASTERN KENTUCKY.



   The fountain head being so far south gives the river an advantage
over northern streams in having but little ice, a feature of considerable
importance to those interested in navigation. In ascending the river
the hills increase in height. In some places the banks are composed of
rock; in others, of sand and clay. Where they are of the latter mate-
rial, the slopes are uniform. The bottom lands, like those of the main
river, are above ordinary high water-mark.  There are many large
bowlders in the river which have rolled from the bordering hills, and
are obstructions which ought to be removed. The peculiar feature of
this fork is the great number of rock bars, which are doubtless due to
the fact that its steep slopes cause a velocity in the current so great
as to prevent the sand from lodging. These rock bars have only a few
inches of water on them during low stages, while at the head and foot
are pools varying in depth from 6 to 12 feet. The average fall from
Piketon to Louisa, Ky., is i.49 feet per mile, and the average width is
200 feet.
                              TUG FORK.
  The Tug Fork rises in the mountains of McDowell county, West Vir-
ginia, and flows in a northwesterly direction, forming. with the Louisa
Fork, the Big Sandy river.
  It has the same general features as the Louisa Fork. The hills come
nearer to the river, and consequently the bottom lands are not so wide.
This fork, as far up as the Falls of Tug, is shallow, crooked, and nar-
row-so shallow during low water as to render navigation impossible;
but above the falls its character changes, and it becomes a succession
of pools separated by rock bars.
  The hills are very steep, exposing the rocky materials of which
they are mostly composed. The banks are alternately of rock and of
sand; but, when formed of the latter material, they have been but
slightly cut away by the river, on account of the protection afforded by
the trees and plants. The average width of this fork is i8o feet, and
the average fall from Louisa to Warfield, Kentucky, is I.75 per mile.
The Big Sandy proper is 26 miles in length from Catlettsburg, at its
mouth, to Louisa, at the junction of its two forks; and Piketon, on the
Louisa Fork, is 8632 miles above Louisa, or  1234 miles above Catletts-
burg, and Warfield, on the Tug Fork, is 35 miles above Louisa, and 6i
miles above Catlettsburg.
  The fall of the river is distributed as follows: Piketon to Louisa, via
Louisa Fork, 129,719 feet; Warfield to Louisa, via Tug Fork, 61,i84
feet; Louisa to Catlettsburg, via Big Sandy river, 27,479 feet.



IO

 

EASTERN KENTUCKY.



  It is evident that the only feasible way of procuring a sufficient sup-
ply of water for navigation, and especially for a navigation by coal
barges, is to canalize the river by means of locks and dams. In doing
this, we at once have our choice of two methods-the French method,
recently invented, of movable dams, and the method in use on the
Monongahela, Muskingum, Kentucky, and other rivers, of permanent
dams. The first method is decidedly the better of the two, where the
natural navigation lasts for several months continuously; but its greater
cost of establishment and of maintenance naturally causes the selection
of the second method for rivers on which the total amount of naviga
tion is not great. Assuming a lift of 10 feet, which experience on the
Monongahela has shown to be the most serviceable lift for river locks
and dams, we obtain the following table:
                                                        Rise.
                                    Distance.      Rise.
                                              :  _     _ _  _ Locks and dam,
                                                              required.
                                     Miles        Feet.

Catlettsburg to Louisa...              26.0        27,479        3
Louisa to Piketon.... . .. . . . .     86.5       129.719   1     13
Catlettsburg to Piketon..              112.5       157,9 19        6
Catlettsburg to Louisa..               26. o       27,479        3
Louisa to Warfield... . .. ..          35      i   6j, 'N4       6
Catlettsburg to Warfield.             61.o        88,663        9

  In the following estimate of a Government survey no account is taken
of coffer-dams, as it is believed that by building in low water this expense
would be trifling. The size of the lock has been fixed at forty-five feet
in width and two hundred feet in available length, as it is thought that a
larger lock would be out of proportion to the available supply in low
water. By available length is meant the distance between the chord of
the upper meter wail and the upper ends of the recesses of the lower
gates. This is the full length that is available for the use of boats. The
average length of a dam will be two hundred and fifty feet, the average
height will be fifteen feet, and the width of base forty-five feet. The up-
stream slope will be one and a half, and the down-stream slope one on
three. The crib work will be filled with rip-rap, and its upper slope wvill
be sheathed with 4-inch planking, and its lower slope with 8-inch tim-
bers.
                          GENERAL ESTIMATE.
The total number of locks required in order to improve the main river
and both forks will be as follows: Catlettsburg to Piketon, 16; Louisa



I I

 

EASTERN KENTUCKY.



to Warfield, 6; total 22. Assuming that one third of these will be on
gravel. we have the following general estimate:
7 locks on gravel, at 78,049....... .. . .. . .. . ..   .        546,343
7 dams on gravel, at 25,449.... . .. . .. . . .. . .. .  .       178,143
15 locks on rock, at 60,401.................               .      906,015
15 dams on rock, at 19,469 . .2.9. . ..... ...... ... ..  292,035

     Total for 22 locks and dams ................. .    1,922,536

Average for X lock and dam .................... .        87,388

  The track of a narrow-gauge coal railroad taps the Ohio river three
miles below the pretty city of Catlettsburg, at the mouth of Big Sandy
river, leading to the Keyes Creek coal mines, which years ago, when the
panic struck the iron interests of the Union, laid low the hopes of that
property, and its realty finally reverted to its original owners, the most
prominent one of whom is the Hon. E. F. Dulin, of Greenup, Kentucky.
The coal found on the property, the No. 6 vein, is of good, strong, and
pure character, and its final development will yet result in profit to par-
ties taking hold of it.
  Two miles further down the course of the Ohio river lies
                              ASHLAND,
a highly prosperous manufacturing city of some 4,000 inhabitants.
  When, years ago, the Lexington and Big Sandy Railroad enterprise
collapsed, leaving nothing to tell the tale of its short yet hopeful exist-
ence but a large stock of various county bonds, contractors' debts, the
graded road-bed from Lexington to Mt. Sterling, and about 12 miles of
completed track leading from the Ohio river to some coal lands in Boyd
county, this " Eastern Division " was secured by a company of gentle-
men who, through their coal mines at Coalton, have immortalized Ash-
land, the road's terminus, built it up, and made it a manufacturing cen-
ter of no little importance.
  In the earlier years of their mining operations, this L. & B. S. R. R.,
E. D. Co., did not seem to realize much profit; but when in 1867 the
old Greenup, or present Hunnewell Furnace, in Greenup county, had
demonstrated that Kentucky's stone-coal, in the raw state, and native
iron ores would produce good pig iron, the Ashland Furnace was built
at Ashland the following year, and owing to its success, combined with
a careful management of their coal mines, the L & B. S., E. D. Co.,
officered by John Means, President, W. F. Gaylord, Treasurer, and
Robert Peebles, Secretary, have been prospering ever since.



12

 

EASTERN KENTUCKY.



                         ASHLAND FURNACE,
under the management of Col. Putnam, is 6o feet high, with a i5-foot
8-inch bosh, and 7 feet at the top. It has a water-hoist, 4 batteries of
each 2 boilers (46 feet by 44 inches), a 36 inch by 7-foot engine, a
7 by 7-foot blowing tub, 3 Whitwell hot-blast ovens, 5o feet high and
i6 feet in diameter, and a i i8 feet high smoke-stack.
  Some mill cinder and Iron Mountain iron ore is used with the native
iron ore, supplied from Coalton, near the present terminus of the rail-.
road. The mixture of the Iron Mountain iron ore improves the quality
of pig-iron greatly, producing a superior grade of neutral foundry pig,
of which an average of 45 tons is daily produced on only raw stone-coal.
  This coal is famous for its adaptability to the reducing of iron ores
in its raw state, similar to anthracite coal, while all the other veins of
bituminous coal (excepting the No. i vein) can only be used in the iron
furnace after having been previously coked. The mining village, some
12 miles distant, where this coal vein was first opened and mined, was
christened Coalton, and thus it came about that the No. 7 vein is now
generally known among coal miners and iron men as the Coalton coal.
  The entries in the immediate vicinity of Coalton have been exhausted,
and mining operations are now being carried on three miles further
south, where the villages of Rush, Geigersville, and Trace are the homes
of some four hundred miners and laborers. One of the most interest-
ing improvements is an endless wire rope, which runs through the main
mine entry, one and a half miles in length, and by