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First and Second Reports of the Bureau of Agriculture for the State of Tennessee.

IISrTRODXJOTIOlSr

TO THE

RESOUECES OF TENNESSEE

J. B. KILLEBREW, A.M.,

ASSISTED BY

J. M. SAFFORD, Ph. D., M.D.

2b u-hoia loccU a.'viistanc^; w-cts rendered by

C. W. CHARLTON, H. L. BENTLEY,

of East Tennessee. of West Tennessee.

PREPARED UNDER THE DIRECTION OF THE BUREAU OF AGRICULTURE.

NASHVILLE, TENN. :
TAVEL, EASTMAN & HOWELL,

PaiNTERS TO THE StATE.

1874.

COMMISSIONERS

BUREAU OF AGRICULTURE.

W. H. JACKSON, President Nashville, Tennessee.

J. B. KILLEBREW, Secretary

TOM CRUTCHFIELD, Chattanooga,

HUNTER NICHOLSON, Knoxville,

R. B. HURT, Jackson, «

A. B. HAYNES, White's Station, "

J. M. SAFFORD, Chemist to the Bureau Nashville, **

To the General Asscmhly of the State of Temiessee, and to His Excellency,
John C. Brown :

Herewith are submitted the first and second reports of the Bureau of
Agriculture. The publication of the first report was delayed because it was
thought best by the Commissioners that a review of the whole resources of
the State should, with the accompanying map, be included in one volume,
and because Parts II., III. and IV., which constitute the first report, should
be preceded by Part I., which is a general introduction to the whole State.
It is believed that the report is original in its conception and character, and
will serve, in a most effective way, to bring before the world the almost
illimitable resources, yet undeveloped, of the great State of Tennessee.
The plan of the work, together with the idea of introducing the agricultural
and geological map, is the united conception of the Commissioners of the
Bureau, and it gives me pleasure to bear testimony to the zeal, interest and
good judgment displayed by them in all their meetings; but to J. B. Kille-
brew, the efficient Secretary, is eminently due the credit for his good judg-
ment, correctness, zeal, enthusiasm and untiring energy, coupled with a re-
markable versatility in the preparation of the matter of the report, and un-
remitting labor in getting it through the press. He has been a faithful and
assiduous public agent, and has not only earned the salary given him, but
has, in my opinion, merited the thanks of the people of the State for this
work of such magnitude, requiring, as it did, so much and such constant
and persistent labor, and one which will certainly add millions of property
to our State. I regard the outlay of the funds for the collection and dis-
semination of facts pertaining to the resources of the State as the best pos-
sible method of increasing its wealth, reducing taxation, and aftbrding gen-
eral and early relief to the people.

The enquiry for this Report from most of the Northern States and Terri-
tories, and many of the Southern States, as well as from Canada, England
and Switzerland, is truly gratifying, and shows the general desire for in-
formation in respect to the resources of the State, and confirms me in the
opinion I have entertained from the first, that the expense incident to the
work will prove the best outlay the State has ever made.

On account of the pressing demand for such information, and at the sug-
gestion of Gov. Brown, the Commissioners, at their last meeting, instructed
the Secretary to prepare and send out advance sheets of such chapters as

would prove of general interest, and I am pleased to be able to state that
these sheets were sought for eagerly, well received and copied by the lead-
ing papers of the North and of our State, and have already served to at-
tract special attention to the State. With due respect to the wisdom of the
last Legislature, I will add that the number of the Reports ordered will
prove totally inadequate to the demand.

In conclusion, permit me to call special attention to the accompanying
Map, as one of the important features of the Report, and the meed of praise
is due to Dr. SafFord for his skill, care and good taste in its preparation. It
is the most accurate map of the State ever published.

As the financial agent of the Bureau under the law creating it, I respect-
fully request of the General Assembly that it will appoint a committee to
examine and pass upon my accounts, which I insist on, as I think it a rule
that should be adopted and adhered to with all agents of the State who
handle public funds.

Respectful ! y submitted.

W. H. JACKSON,
President of Bureau.

CORRECTIONS.

The readers attention is called to the following errors and omissions :

On page 93, thii-d line from the top, read 1,445,000.

On page 339, seventh line from top, Murfreesboro should have been put
fourth as a wayside shipping point for cotton, having shipped 9,743, and on
this account, on page 743, sixteenth line from bottom, Murfreesboro should
have been excepted.

There are numerous verbal errors, many of wliich were detected and
corrected before the whole edition passed through the press. It is not
deemed necessary to point them out specifically.

In preparing the manuscript from notes, Tennessee Central College and
the Pharmacal College, located at Nashville, were unintentionally omitted in
the reference tj the educational institutions of Davidson county.

PRE F AC E.

The volume now presented to the public is the result in part of the work
done by the Bureau of Agriculture since its establishment in 1872. Its pub-
lication has been delayed simply because of the amount of work requisite
to its proper preparation, and of the unwillingness of the Bureau to send
out an unsatisfactory and unreliable report. This introduction embraces a
general review of the agricultural, mineral and industrial resources of the
entire State, with brief notices of each county. No pains have been spared
to obtain the facts. All localities of special interest have been visited — the
coal fields, iron belts, the best as well as the worst agricultural sections
Altogether, the jjreparation of the Report has involved a travel of 15,000
miles by myself and assistants, and has necessitated the writing of nearly
2,000 letters, besides circulars. It has been the chief aim to make a relia-
ble, rather than a popular, report. Facts have been stated impartially and
without exaggeration. No considerable industry has been overlooked, no
valuable resource left unnoticed, no subject in which strangers would proba-
bly feel an interest left untouched. The great leading idea in its prepara-
tion has been to give just such information about the State as ordinary, un-
scientific men would like to know. Capital and enterprise being greatly
needed, every subject calculated to attract them to the State has been
touched upon. But it is not claimed that the work is perfect. It is only
an introduction to the resources of the State. Tennessee is too large, too
varied in its rough wealth, too diversified in its industries, too magnificent
in its possibilities to be exhausted in one, two, or a dozen reports. But
while it is by no means perfect or exhaustive, it is believed that it will com-
pare favorably with similar reports in this country, or in England.

Mr. C. W. Charlton, from East Tennessee, contributed the articles, with
the exception of what refers to the geology, on the following counties : Bled-
soe, Blount, Bradley, Campbell, Carter, Cocke, Greene, Hawkins, James,
Jefferson, Loudon, Marion, Meigs, Monroe, Morgan, Polk, Rhea, Roane,
Scott, Sevier, Sequatchie, Sullivan, Union, and a portion of Johnson. Mr.
Bentley, of West Tennessee, supplied the larger part of the articles on Ben-
ton, Carroll, Crockett, Decatur, Dyer, Gibson, Hardeman, Haywood, Hen-
derson, Lake, Lauderdale, Madison, McNairy, Obion, Tipton and Weakley,
and a part of the general description of West Tennessee.

VI Preface.

Id addition to the aid received from my regular assistants, my acknowledg-
ments are due to Judge Shields, Prof. Nicholson, Hon. H. N. Snyder, and
Hon. T. Nixon Vandyke, of East Tennessee ; to Mr. B. F. Lillard, Dr. W.
M. Clarke, J. M. Carnes, Dr. D.Lee, A. B. Robertson, W. T. Nixon, D. H.
Goodrich, Col. R. C. Morris, Col. Tom Claiborne, Dr. J. W. J. Payne, Hon.
J. A. Trousdale, B. F. Cockrill, Judge C. W. Tyler, and many others, of Mid-
dle Tennessee ; and to Dr. S. T. Gilbert, W. J. Sykes, John S. Toof, L. J.
Dupree and others, of West Tennessee. These gentlemen have taken a de-
cided interest in the work from its inception, and have cheerfully furnished
me with all the information in their power pertaining to their respective
localities. To Hon. H. N. Snyder the Bureau is under special obligations for
the faithful and elaborate description of the trade and resources of Hamil-
ton county, which work cost him months of hard labor. Other acknowl-
edgments of aid received are given in the Report. The small maps, illus-
trative of the surroundings of particular cities, were furnished by the cities
themselves. The larger map was prepared expressly for the Bureau by Dr.
J. M. Safford, who, in addition to his labors in this particular, has rendered
me constant assistance in all matters pertaining to the geology of the State,
and the proofs of the whole work have passed under his supervision. In-
deed, his aid has been invaluable. To the officers of the East Tennessee,
Virginia and Georgia Railroad, as well as to those of the Nashville, Chat-
tanooga and St. Louis Railway, my obligations are eminently due, not only
for facilities afforded, but for valuable assistance rendered in procuring facts.
These railroads, owned and operated mostly by citizens thoroughly identi-
fied with the State, have shown every disposition to further all the plans of
the Bureau looking toward the material development of the State. My
thanks are also due to A. H. Shrader, of the St. Louis and Southeastern
Railroad, for kindly courtesies.

It may be well to state that since the facts upon which this report is
based have been collected, real estate has fallen in a majority of the

counties not less than fifteen per cent, in price.

J. B. KiLLEBREW, Secretary.
July 28, 1874.

CONTIBINTS.

PART I.

Tennessee in General.

CHAPTER I.— Topographical Fea-
tures, Natural and Civil Divisons.. 1

CHAPTER II.— Climate 6

CHAPTER III— Geological Forma-
tions of the State 26

CHAPTER IV.— Relation of Geo-
logy to the Farm 47

CHAPTER v.— Soils 54

CHAPTER VI.— Timber 71

CHAPTER VII.— Farm Products... 93
CHAPTER VIII.— The Grasses of

Tennessee 112

CHAPTER IX.— Live Stock 122

CHAPTER X. — Tennessee as a

Dairy ^State 140

CHAPTER XI.— Grape Growing in
Tennessee 154

PAGK

CHAPTER XII.— The Honey Re-
sources of Tennessee 174

CHAPTER XIII.— Coal 183

CHAPTER XIV.— Iron 220

CHAPTER XV.— Copper 243

CHAPTER XVI.— Other Minerals.. 253
CHAPTER XVII.— Transportation

— Rivers 276

CHAPTER XVIII— Transportation

— Railroads 305

CHAPTER XIX. — Condition of

Agriculture 350

CHAPTER XX.— Public School

System 370

CHAPTER XXI.— A Word to Im-
migrants 385

CHAPTER XXII.— Occupation of
the People and General Statistics... 405

PART II.
East Tennessee.

GENERAL DESCRIPTION 423

ANDERSON COUNTY 448

BLEDSOE COUNTY 457

BLOUNT COUNTY 460

BRADLEY COUNTY 464

CAMPBELL COUNTY 466

CARTER COUNTY 470

CLAIBORNE COUNTY 473

COCKE COUNTY 483

GRAINGER COUNTY 487

GREENE COUNTY 497

HAMBLEN COUNTY 500

HAMILTON COUNTY 504

HANCOCK COUNTY 528

HAWKINS COUNTY 534

JAMES COUNTY 538

JEFFERSON COUNTY 540

JOHNSON COUNTY 542

KNOX COUNTY 549

LOUDON COUNTY 575

MARION COUNTY 577

McMINN COUNTY 979

MEIGS COUNTY 586

MONROE COUNTY 588

Vlll

Contents.

PAGE.

MOEGAN COUNTY 590

POLK COUNTY 592

KHEA COUNTY 595

EOANE COUNTY 597

SCOTT COUNTY 601

FAGB.

SEVIER COUNTY 603

SEQUATCHIE COUNTY 606

SULLIVAN COUNTY 609

UNION COUNTY 612

WASHINGTON COUNTY 614

PART III.
Middle Tennessee.

C4ENERAL DESCRIPTION 619

BEDFORD COUNTY 624

CANNON COUNTY 637

CHEATHAM COUNTY 641

CLAY COUNTY 647

COFFEE COUNTY 655

CUMBERLAND COUNTY 662

DAVIDSON COUNTY 670

DICKSON COUNTY 701

DeKALB county 707

FENTRESS COUNTY „ 714

FRANKLIN COUNTY 722

GILES COUNTY 735

GRUNDY COUNTY 745

HICKMAN COUNTY 751

HOUSTON COUNTY 760

HUMPHREYS COUNTY 766

JACKSON COUNTY 774

LAWRENCE COUNTY 779

LEWIS COUNTY „... 790

LINCOLN COUNTY 799

MACON COUNTY 808

MARSHALL COUNTY 815

MAURY COUNTY 828

MONTGOMERY COUNTY 845

MOORE COUNTY 859

OVERTON COUNTY 866

PERRY COUNTY 875

PUTNAM COUNTY 883

ROBERTSON COUNTY 890

RUTHERFORD COUNTY 900

SMITH COUNTY 915

STEWART COUNTY 922

SUMNER COUNTY 937

TROUSDALE COUNTY 947

VAN BUREN COUNTY 951

WARREN COUNTY 960

WAYNE COUNTY 971

WHITE COUNTY 979

WILLIAMSON COUNTY _... 990

W^LSON COUNTY 1004

PART IV.

West Tennessee.

GENERAL DESCRIPTION 1014

BENTON COUNTY 1022

CARROLL COUNTY W.\\

CROCKETT COUNTY 1U3U

DECATUR COUNTY 1045

DYER COUNTY 1053

J'AYETTE COUNTY 1062

GIBSON COUNTY 10G9

HARDEMAN COUNTY 1077

HARDIN COUNTY 1085

ILVYWOOD COUNTY .1094

HENDERSON COUNTY 1104

HENRY COUNTY 1109

LAKE COUNTY 1118

LAUDERDALE COUNTY 1125

MADISON COUNTY 1132

McN AIRY COUNTY _1140

OBION COUNTY _ 1148

SHELBY COUNTY „....1160

TIPTON COUNTY 1179

WEAKLEY COUNTY 1185

TENNESSEE IN GENERAL.

CHAPTER I.

Topographical Features— Natural and Civil Divisions.

The State of Tennessee lies between lat. 35° and 36° 30' north, and

long. 81° 37' and 90° 28' west from Greenwich. Its greatest length

from east to west is 432 miles, and its extreme width 109 miles. The

longest straight line that could be drawn in the State, would be from

the north-east corner of Johnson to the south-west corner of Shelby,

and would be near 500 miles in length. The entire area of the State

is about 42,000 square miles, or 26,880,000 acres. Rhomboidal in

shape, the symmetry of form which Tennessee presents is striking

when seen upon the map. It is bounded on the north by Kentucky

and Virginia, on the south-east by North Carolina, on the south by

Georgia, Alabama and Mississippi, and on the west by the Mississippi

River, which separates it from Arkansas and Missouri. It touches

eight States on its borders, a greater number than is touched by the

boundaries of any other State in the Union except Missouri. It is un-

equaled in the number and excellence of its navigable rivers. The

great Father of Waters washes its western boundary, and the placid

Tennessee and beautiful Cumberland, with sources in other States,

sweep in concentric semicircles through the fairest and most valuable

portions of the State, furnishing, cheap water transportation for the

varied products of tlie soil and of the mine.

Resources of Tennessee.

NATUKAL DIVISIONS.

The State has eight great natural divisions. On its eastern borders
rises, in great ridge-like masses and treeless domes, the hnge Appa-
lachian chain, the loltiest peaks of which attain an elevation of more
than 6,000 feet above the sea, and upon whose brows and bald sum-
mits the flora of Canada and the climate of the north may be found.
These mountains form one of the natural diNi.-iuns of tlie State, and
are called the Unakas. Many beautiful and fertile valleys and coves
nestle amid this grand range of mountains ; but aside from these, this
division is of but limited agricultural importance. Its average eleva-
tion above the sea is 5,000 feet, and it has an area of 2,000 square
miles.

Adjoining this on the west, and enclosed between the Unakas and
the Cumberland Table Land, is the beautifully fluted Valley of East
Tennessee. This Valley, so called because of the relations it bears to
the mountains on each side, is a succession of ridges and minor valleys,
running in almost unbroken lines from north-east to south-west. If
one could sail over it from east to west at a moderate elevation, this
division Avould resemble the tumultuous waves of a stormy ocean that
have been arrested and hardened into stony firmness, but viewed from
the highest peaks of the Unakas, the ridges and valleys melt into a
common plain. The innumerable valleys of this division make it,
agriculturally, one of the most important in the State. The average
elevation of this great Valley is 1,000 feet above the sea, and it has an
area of 9,200 square miles.

Next in order comes the Cumberland Table Land, a high, elevated
plateau, that rises in massive grandeur 2,000 feet above the sea, and
1,000 feet above the Valley of East Tennessee. Buried in the bosom
of this plateau are huge treasures of coal and iron. On its eastern
edge it forms almost a continuous line running in a north-easterly
direction, and rises with an abruptness that is marked and striking,
presenting a formidable, gray, rocky, cliff-lined rampart. The western
edge is irregular and jagged, notched and scalloped by deep coves and
valleys, which are separated by finger-like spurs pointing for the most
part to the north-west. The soil of this division is sandy, thin, porous
and unproductive, and it is of but little agricultural importance. Its
area is 5,100 s(|uare miles.

Resting against the western edge of the Cumberland Table Land
and extending to the Tennessee River, with an average elevation of

Natural Divisions. 3

1,000 feet above the sea, are the HighhuKls, RimUmds or Terrace-
lands. This division is diversitied in places ^vith rolling hills and wide
valleys. For the most i)art, however, it is a flat plain, furrowed by
niinierons ravines and traversed by fretpient streams. The soil of this
di\isi()n is of varying fertility, but altogether it is a region of great
agricultural importance and wealth. Its area is 9,300 square miles.

In the center of these Highlands, and surrounded by them, is the
great Central Basin, elliptical in shape, and resembling the bed of a
drained lake. It may be compared to the bottom of an oval dish, of
which the Highlands form the broad, flat brim. The soil of this basin
is highly productive of all the crops suited to the latitude, and it has
been well named the Garden of Tennessee. In this basin stands the
capital of the State. It is of the first importance as an agricultural
region. Its area is 5,450 square miles, and it has an average depres-
sion of 300 feet below the Highlands. This whole basin, with the sur-
rounding Highlands, is slightly tilted towards the north-west, and has
a less elevation on that side than on anv other.

The Western Valley, or the Valley of the Tennessee, forms the next
natural division. This is comparatively a narrow valley, with spurs
from the Highlands pointing in towards it, and sometimes running
down to the margin of the Tennessee River. The surface is broken
and irregular. The soil is fertile, but marshy spots, covered with
cypress forests, occur in places along the river. The main valley
sends out various subordinate ones, extending sometimes as far as
twenty or twenty-five miles before they are lost in the Highlands.
The Western Vallev is not considered as including all the territorv
drained by the tributaries of the Tennessee, but "its general limits
are the lines along which the Highlands on both sides for the most
part break away." The average w^idth of this valley is ten or twelve
miles, and its length the breadth of the State. It has an area of 1,200
square miles, and an elevation of 350 feet above the sea.

The Plateau or Slope of AVest Tennessee is the seventh natural di-
vision, and is peculiar in having but few rocks, differing in this par-
ticular from all the divisions mentioned above. It is a great plain,
that slopes gradually towards the Mississippi River, gently undulating,
and differing widely in the character of its soil and scenery. Here
the streams are sluggish, and the banks unstable. Furrowed with
river valleys, this division extends for an average distance of about
eighty four miles, when "it abruptly terminates, falling off into a long
and stec}) bluff' or escarpment, that overlooks the great alluvial low
plain or bottoms of the JSIississippi." The soil of this division is light,

4 Resources of Temiessee,

porous, siliceous, and charged with the elements of an abounding fer-
tility. Its superficial extent is about 8,850 square miles, with an
average elevation of five hundred feet.

The Bottoms of the Mississippi form the eighth and last natural
division, and constitute a low, flat, alluvial plain, teeming with a rank
luxuriance of vegetable life that is almost tropical. Lakes and mo-
rasses are frequent. The soil is of exuberant fertility, and will pro-
duce year after year, with no apparent diminution in quantity, enor-
mous crops of corn and cotton. Its agricultural resources are immense,
and when reclaimed from the dank, dark forests, will subsist a larger
population than any other portion of the State in proportion to its
area. The surface embraces 900 square miles, and it has an average
elevation of 295 feet above the Gulf of Mexico.

We have thus hurried rapidly over the eight natural divisions of
the State, giving the salient points of each and leaving out all details,
in order that the reader may have a clear conception of them, for these
divisions furnish the best possible basis for the classification of our
soils and for a thorough understanding of the extent of our mineral
wealth.

To recapitulate:

I. The Unakas. High, mountainous, with enclosed valleys.

II. jThe Valley of East Tennessee. A fluted region ; a succession of
parallel valleys and ridges. One of the most beautiful, populous and
fertile portions of the State.

III. Tlie Oumberland Table Land. The region of coal. A high
plateau or table, capped wdth sandstone.

IV. TJie Highlands, or Rimlands, or Terrace-lands, that encircle a
basin of rich lowlands in the center of the State. Soil clayey, silice-
ous, and for the most part productive, but of great variableness of
aptitudes and capabilities.

V. Tlie Central Basin, enclosed by these Highlands. The center
of wealth and political influence, and rich in all the elements of a
splendid civilization.

VI. 2he Western Valley of the Tennessee. Narrow, irregular, low,
swampy, productive, but sparsely settled ; in a condition of compara-
tive wildness.

VII. The Plateau or ^lope of West Temiessee. Slightly rolling;
streams sluggish ; soil for the most part light, siliceous, fertile, and
capable of sustaining an immense population.

Vlil. The Mississiirpi Bottoms. Dark with a dense vegetation;
spotted with lakes and marshes; soil of inexhaustible fertility.

Civil Divisions.

CIVIL DIVISIONS.

These eight natural divisions have l)een reduced to three civil di-
visions :

I. Eant Tennessee. Comprising all the territory from the Nortli
Carolina line to about the center of the Cumberland Table Lan<l,
embracing the first and second natural divisions and about half of
the third.

II. 3Iiddle Tennessee. Extending from the dividing line on the
€umberland Table Land to the Tennessee River, and comprising the
whole of the fourth and fifth natural divisions and about half of thy
third and sixth.

III. West Tennessee. Extending from the Tennessee Eiver to the
Mississippi, and including the whole of the seventh and eighth natural
divisions and half of the sixth.

These three civil divisions are sulxlivided into 93 counties, of which
East Tennessee has 33, viz :

Anderson,

Greene,

Knox,

Rhea,

Bledsoe,

Hamblen,

Loudon,

Roane,

Blount,

Hamilton,

McMinn,

Scott,

Bradley,

Hancock,

Marion,

Sevier,

Campbell,

Hawkins,

Meigs,

Sequatchie,

Carter,

James,

Monroe,

Sullivan,

Claiborne,

Jeiferson,

Morgan,

Union,

Cocke,

Johnson,

Polk, •

Washington.

Grainger,

Middle Tennessee has 40, viz :

Bedford,

Franklin,

Macon,

Rutherford,

Cannon,

Giles,

Marshall,

Stewart,

Clay,

Grundy,

Maury,

Sumner,

Cheatham,

Humphreys,

Montgomery,

Trousdale,

Coffee,

Hickman,

Moore,

Van Buren,

Cumberland,

Houston,

Overton,

, Warren,

Davidson,

Jackson,

Putnam,

Wayne,

Dickson,

liawrence,

Perry,

White,

DeKalb,

Lewis,

Smith,

Williamson,

Fentress,

Lincoln,

Robertson,

Wilson.

West Tennessee has 20, viz:

Benton,

Fayette,

Hardeman,

McNairy,

Decatur,

Gibson,

Henry,

Obion,

Dyer,

Henderson,

Lake,

Shelby,

Carroll,

Hardin,

Lauderdale,

Tipton,

Crockett,

Haywood,

Madison,

Weakley.

Resources of Tennessee.

CHAPTER II

Climate.

The climate of a eountrv is the result of all its inoteorologieal in-
fluences. It is modified b}' latitude, height, mountains and their direc-
tion, proximity of large surfaces of water, winds, and the nature of
the soil. It acts an important part in agricultural development. If
it is too hot, muscular energy is relaxed ; if too cold, it is benumbed.
If the climate is too moist and too hot, the exuberance of vegetation
renders the labors of man insufficient to keep it in subjection, and the
infections of malaria destroy the habits of systematic and hardy indus-
try; if too dry, vegetation withers and the labors of the husbandman
are not rewarded by a bounteous yield of the fruits of the earth. If
the growing season is short, the variety of crops is small; if continu-
ous, the ameliorating efPects of freezes are lost. The most hai)py com-
bination of climate appears to be that in wliich the amount of humid-
ity and sunshine is just sufficient to ju-oducc the highest degree of per-
fection and maturity in the crojjs, and where the degree of cold is just
enough to invigorate the physical system, ameliorate the soil, and
destroy tlie germs of disabling disease. Such a combination is to be
met with in by fiir the larger portion of the State of Tennessee,
Healthy breezes, by reason of elevation, sweep over the State and
dispel the noxious exhalations of the soil. The atniosj^here is kept in
])urity by motion, as the waters of a stream. The miasmata which
arise from low spots, charged with disease and death, are dissipated
almost as fast as formed. The malarious districts of the State are very
small. The days of rain and sunshine, of heat and cold, are beauti-
fully ordered. Health is the rule, sickness the exce|)ti()n. Visitors
often wonder at the large number of healthy old men, active, strong
iind vigorous. No State can boast of greater health, with greati'r
advantages of soil and (;limate, and at the same tinu> such a variety
<»f cro])s, that ai-e grown to perfection. The hills, the knobs, tlie

Climate. 7

mountains, tlie intervenient coves and valleys, give great diversity of
siTb-climate. Tennessee has indeed a double climate— one resulting
from latitude, and the other from elevation— so interwoven and modi-
fied by varieties of soil, position, exposure, trend of mountain ranges,
etc., that the characteristics of the c-limate of every State from Missis-
sippi to Canada mav be found in it. The deliciousness of the climate
in spring and autumn is unsurpassed- by that of Italy. The glory of
our Indian summer, when the whole physical nature, attuned to the
surrounding influences, exults in an abounding and jubilant vitality,
has been a fruitful theme for the poet and the philoso])her. At that
season, which usually occurs in November, the softened tints of ijie
landscape, beautified by the blended colors of decaying leaves, are
charming and ravishing to the eye. An agreeable haziness pervades
the atmosphere, which attempers the rays of the sun, destroying the
glare without lessening the brightness. It is the most delightful season
of the year. Spring resembles it in all save the haziness of the atmos-
phere and the bright colors of the decaying leaves of the forests.

In treating of the climate of the State, we shall notice the means,
maxima and minima of temperature, the number of days between
killing frosts, quantity of rain, and general direction of wind. The
figures and results given will refer mainly to the Valley of East
Tennessee and to the part of the State west of the Cuml)erland Table
Land, the climatic features of the latter division, as well as those of
the Unaka Range, which rise so much above the general level, being
noticed parenthetically as we proceed.

1st. Temperature. Along a line running east and ^vest through
the middle of the State, which we may call the middle parallel, the
mean temperature of the vear is about 57° in the Valley of East Ten-
nessee, 58° in Middle and 59° in West Tennessee. This gives a range,
in traversing the State longitudinally, of three degrees. The differ-
ence is partiallv due to elevation, but not wholly. Making allowance
for this, it will still be found that the temperature increases going
westward. Along the s(nithern boundary of the State the annual mean
will be found to be about one degree higher than it is on the corres-
ponding part of the middle parallel, while on the northern boundary
it will be as much lower, thus giving a range of two degrees. This
is an approximation. The Eastern Valley presents an exception, on
account of the great difference in the elevations respectively of the
northern and southern boundaries. The range here is fully three de-
grees, one degree by reason of the difference oi' elevation and two hj
variation of latitude.

8 Resources of Tennessee.

The mean annual temperature of Tennessee is the same as that of
some of the most delightful regions of the globe. Its isothermale
pass through North Carolina, the northern part of Spain, touch the
south of France, traverse the vine-clad hills of Italy and the classic
land of Greece, through fig-growing Smyrna, crossing the Caspian
Sea near its southern extremity, through the great tea-growing dis-
tricts of China, and through thp spicy fields of the Japan Islands,
re-entering the United States near San Francisco. Thus it is seen
that Tennessee, climatologically, is in the same belt in which origi-
nated the laws, religion, the civilization and refinement of the western
world. Though upon the same isothermals there is a marked diifer-
ence between the climate of Tennessee and that of the European States
mentioned. The range of the thermometer is not so great in the lat-
ter. Our summers are hotter but not so long continued, and our win-
ters are colder. The orange, the olive, the lemon and the fig, that
flourish upon the shores of the Mediterranean, do not mature in our
climate. But for the production of those plants that require a high
degree of heat, it far surpasses the countries of the same isothermals
in Europe. Indian corn, melons, annual vines, grow with amazing
rapidity upon fertile soils. Under the more fiivorable conditions, com
will sometimes grow three inches in a single night, and the melon and
grape-vine almost as much. European grapes rarely do well with us.
Attempts to acclimate the Malaga grape-vine proved unsatisfactory.
The rainfall, being greater in Tennessee than in the Levantine States
of Europe, induces a premature rot. The native varieties of grapes,
however, are brought to a high degree of perfection, as may be seen
by reference to the chapter on grape culture. The amount of annual
rainfall in Turin is 88 inches, while the annual temperature is 53°. In
the Madeira wine-growing districts the rainfall is 30 inches and the
average temjicraturo 07° — winter averaging 61° and summer 71° —
showing an average range of only 10°. Our annual temperature itj
about 58°; rainfall, 46 inches; and range of thermometer, when sum-
taer and winter averages are compared, about 45°.

The following tables j)resent monthly and annual means derived
from observations taken at Knoxville, Falls of Caney Fork, Lebanon,
Nashville, Glen wood and Memphis. They were prepared with great
care, and the utmost pains were taken to insure accuracy in the ob-
servations, by prompt regularity and by using the most approved in-
struments, and placing them in positions where they were not subject
to any undue influences, either of the sun or of the wind.

Climate.

No. l.—{KnoxfiUe, 1873,) Elevation of College Hill 993 feet.

THERMOMETER.

Months.

Mean of

Rangk.

A. M.
Ob.

P. M.

Ob.

Night
Ob.

Maxi-
mum.

Mini-
mum.

Dififer
ence.

34.3
41.2
44.2

56.S
(58.9
74.3
76.2
75.3
68.rt
53.1
44.5
42.2

30.9
35.9
35.4
49.6
61.9
69.7
71.0
70.1
62.3
45.8
38.8
37.8

38.6
45.9
52.3
66.9
77.0
81.0
83.5
83.6
78.4
63.2
49.9
46.1

33.4
40.2
43.5
56.3
65.1
71.7
7:5.4
72.6

65. ;t

50.7
42.8
41. G

54.8

63
65
73

85
90
91
92
90

76
70
G'.t

9
6
6
35
50
61
64
66
50
26
15
16

May

40
30

Juh

August

Septfmber

November

Annual

56.6

50.8

63.9

79.6

33.7

Jso. 2.—[Xashville, 1873.)

Months.

THERMOMETER.

January

February ...
March ....

April

May

June...

July

August

September.,

October

November .
December..

Annual

Mean of

Range.

A. M.

P. M.

Niglit

Maxi-

.Mini-

Dififer

Ob.

mum.

ence.

:55.4

32..'5

39.2

?,L2

43 6

38.8

47.8

13.6

.7.4

40.1

5:^.9

45.6

59.4

52.8

66.5

57.8

TO.O

65.7

76.2

67.0

77.9

75.8

83.1

74.9

80.0

76.9

81.9

TG.G

sO.l

74.7

87.0

77.4

72.5

67.2

79.1

69.7

56.8

4!). 5

64 3

.54.2

47.1

42.3

52.7

45 9

44.6

40. 1

48.2

I!!. 3

59.5

54.3

65.2

56.6

The hours of observation Avere 7 a.
ville and Nashville time respectively.

M., and 2 and 9 p. M., Knox-

Resources of Tennessee.

,5 «

I 3

U O V

3 - (U

S I. u

Climate.

1 1

Table No. 1 has been sujtplicd hy J^rotcssor J. K. I'ayue, of East
Tennessee University, officer in eliar^c of the United States signal sta-
tion at KnoxviHe; table N(». 2 by ]Mv. A. C\ Ford, officer in charge
of the same service at Nashville. These two tables include the obser-
vations of but one year, 187o, and supply the means of making com-
parisons between the tempei-atures of Nashville and Knoxville for
twelve months. In a few years the data of the signal service will
yield us invaluable aggregates and means.

Table No. 3 is of special interest. It embraces results of continu-
ous and unbroken observations coAcring a series of twenty-one years.
We are indebted for this and many other tables in this report to Prof.
Wm. M. Stewart, of Montgomery county, to whose learning and zeal
in the cause of science, indefatigable industry and tireless patience the
State owes a debt of lasting gratitude. This gentleman has done more
towards making out the meteorological characteristics of our climate
than all others combined.

The following table, No. 4, is copied entire from Dr. Saiford's Re-
port, and contains data not otherwise accessible. It presents annual
means, iu degrees and hundredths of a degree, derived from observa-
tions made at six stations. The means of Glenwood arc the same as
those of the corresponding years in Table 3 :

Knoxville..
Lebanon....
Nashville...
Glenwood..

1851.

i "
J57.43

159.31

1852. 1853.

55.67 "
58.10 "

58.08 57.62

1854.

1855.

57.67 57,75

1856.11857.

1858.

1859.

1860.

i o £
I " u 2

" 59.83 57.77!57.05'59.1fi
59.46j57.34 54.23|54.62i57.12

" ; " ,57.03
" 157.76

58.521 " 158.47
56.63158.25 i57.26

Falls of Caney Fork! Period of 2 years, (1855—1856) 58.48

Nashville 1 " "5 " (1840—18*4) i58.44

Memphis I " "3 " (1850—1852) 60.80

From these tables a number of interesting conclusions may be draAvn,
in addition to the means already mentioned. At Glenwood the mean
temperature of wiuter, as deduced from the observations of twenty-
one years, is r>7°.87; of spring, 56°.? 1 ; of summer, 74°.40; of autumn,
57°.54. From limited Knoxville data, four years, we have as the
mean of winter 38°.6(), and of summer 74°.()2. The.se means do not
present as great diflfercnces between the winter and summer tenipera-
tures of the two places as we have a right to expect, for when t]ie
means of these seasons in the same year are com{)ared, we find the

12 ' Resources of Tennessee.

Slimmer of Knoxville to be from one to two degrees cooler than that
of Gleinvood. The summer mean of Knoxville is, doubtless, nearer
73°.6, at which it was placed in Dr. Saiford's report. Assuming this
to be correct, Knoxville has a])out the summer temperature of Phila-
delphia, Penn., as well as that of several points in Central Virginia,
of Cincinnati, Louisville, Ky., Southern Indiana, and Central Illinois.
It is, too, that of the central part of Sjiain and the northern part of
Italy. The summer of the East Tennessee Valley is, therefore, con-
sidering its valley-like character and its low latitude, a comparatively
cool one. This is mostly due to the considerable elevation of the
region above the sea.

This lower summer temperature has its influence in giving to East
Tennessee agricultural features, to some extent, diiferent from those
found elsewhere in the State.

It might be thought that the mountain ranges which bound the
Valley on both sides ^vould materially aifect its climate. This, how-
ever, is not the case. These ranges are liapjiilv so situated as not to
obstruct, to any considerable extent, the southwesterly and westerly
winds, which of all others, in an agricultural })oint of view, are most
im])()rtant. The great trough, of which the Valley is a part, is open
towards the southwest, so that these winds, coming from the Gulf of
Mexico, and charged with warmth and moisture, flow freelv through it,
im])arting, during the spring and summer, fertilitv to all its parts.
The mountain ranges, doubtless, change the direction of the M'inds to
some extent, and thus make southwesterly and northeasterly winds
more frequent than they >vould be otherwise.

The summer of the Central Basin, the mean of which for the middk^
part may be placed at 75°, but ranging from about 74° to 76° in pass-
ing from the northern to the southern portions, is approximately tlie
same as that of the northern parts of Georgia and South Carolina.

West Tennessee has summer means higher by about a degree than
those of the Central ]iasiii. The differences are" sufficient to lengthen
the growing season, and so to modify the climate as to throw a large
part of this division into the cotton-growing region.

The average winter temperature of the middle parallel of Wxa State
may be pla(!ed at about 3«°, and it is doubtless nearly the same in East,
Middle and West Tennessee.

From the (Jlenwood table (No. 3) it is seen that January is the cold-
est montli, 34°.08 being the mean of this month for 21 years; then
follows December, its mean being 38°,54; then February, 41°; and

Climate. 1 3

then the remaining months in order as follows: November, 46°.45;
March, 47°.30; October, 57°.17; Ai)ril, 57°.84; May, 64°.98; Sep-
tember, 69'^; June, 72°.14; August, 74°.85; July, 76°.22, which, as
the hottest mouth, terminates the climax.

The temi)eniture of tlic Cumberland Table Land is from four to
five degrees lower than that of points on the same parallel in the
Central Basin, and from two to three lower than corresponding points
in the Valley of East Tennessee. Tlu' difference in temperature is
mo-st apparent at night. The Table Land has been for years a favorite
resort during the hot months. Scores of summer retreats, ])ublic and
private, may be found ujwn its flat tops, most of them located on or
not far back from its cliff-bound edge. At several points, as at Beer-
sheba and Lookout, summer hotels have been erected, and the.se have
clustered around them many elegant cottages, altogether forming at-
tractive mountain villages. This has been brought about by the agree-
able summer temperature and the pure air of the Table Land, in con-
nection with its pleasing and, in the vicinity of its escarpments, its
wild and grand topographical features.

During the summer of the year 1859, Benj. Bentley, Esq., of Spring
Grove, upon the Table Land in Cumberland count)'-, and Prof. A. H.
Buchanan, of Cumberland University, Lebanon, made regular and
systematic observations, at their respective residences, in order to fur-
nish data for the comparison of the mean temperatures of the two
places. The following tables contain the results :

No. 5. — Mean Temperatures for the Summer of 1859, at Spring Grove,
Cumberland County, Tenn.

June.

July.

i August.

Summer.

6 A. M.

2 P. M.

; 9P. M.

64.03

78 46
66.83

66.74
83.71
71.03

64.16
77.00
68.58

64.98
79.72
68.81

I Mean.

69.77

1 73.82

1 69.91

71.17

No. G. — Mean Temperature for the Summer of 1859, at Lebanon, Wil-
son County, Tenn.

June.

July.

August.

SHmmer.

6 A. M.
2 P. M.
9 P.M.

66.96
80.55
72.65

71.09
85.87
78.06

68.80
80.42
74.30

68.95
82.28
75.00

Mean.

73.38

78.34

74.50

75.41

Resotu^ces of T chines see.

No. 1.— Extremes oj Temperatures, or the Maxima and Minima, observed
during Summer.

Maxima.

Myiima.

Range.

Spring Grove-
Lebanon

July 19 & 21.
July 18 & 19.

.93° June 5... 42°
.97° 1 June 5. ..46°

51°
51°

Difference

4° 1 4°

According to the tir.st two tables, the .summer mean at Spring GroYe
is 4.24 degrees less than at Lebanon. The former has, however, a
lower latitude than the latter. Correcting for this, or supposing the
points to be on the same parallel, the difference in temperature be-
comes greater, and is equal to about 4.5 degrees. Observations taken
at Xashville during the same summer show very nearly the same result.
The highest ridges of the Unakas have a mean yearly temperature of
about 42°, which is that of the northern shore of Lake Superior and
of Quebec and Montreal. This will account for the presence of trees
and other plants on these mountains Ixdonging to a Canadian flora.

2d. Extreme Teiaperatures. The following table. No. 8, prepared
by Prof W. M. Stewart, from his observations taken at Glenwood, is
full of interest from an agricultural point of view. It shows the vicis-
situdes of tenijierature to which vegetation is exposed — an important
.consideration. It i,s, also, highly interesting in other respects, which
will be appreciated by the intelligent reader.

In the following table the minus sign ( — ) indicates temperatures bc-
loAV zero. The thermometers employed in these observations are of the
mo.st careful construction, are provided with adjusting arrangements
at the top of the tube, and are at lea.st verified once during the year
by reference to the freezing point. They are free from i*eflected heat,
and exposed to an ojien circulation of air, on a northern aspect.

It will be observed, by an inspection of the table, that during the
period over which these obs(;rvations extend, the temperature has
never reached 100° Fahrenheit during the Avarme.st terms, a tempera-
ture which is frequently attained in the Northern States and Canada.
In July, 1800, the mercury rose to 99°, which is tlu^ liighe.st range.
During the same lu-riod, it will appear, the temperature has fallen
below zero on several occasions, tlu^ lowest being minus 8°, in Janu-
ary, 18;")7 and 18(54, respectively, making the range for the period,
107'^. Oui- coldest days occur in January; the wai-me.st in July, with
very few exceptions.

Climate.

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Resources of Te?messee.

No. 8. — Continued.

'iS.os'vus.

January

February '.'.'.'"

March "."..'.'."

April

May '"_""

June .'.'.'.".'

July

August .'.'."."'.'.!..!

September

October '.'.'.|

November .'.'.*.'."."

December '.""..'.

Annuai, Means

1869

68
77
80
85
88
91
97

1870

1871

13 49
14

85 t 42

15 ! 62
30
47
54

54 66
71

50 84

38 I 88

78 34

34 i 88
31 I 88
37 I 88
43 82
54 ; 82
45 I 79

35 i 65

S I «

1872

Tlie average of the extreme low temperatures of the years in the
a])ove table is 2°.6. In but six out of the twenty-two years was the
thermometer below zero. Uniting the lowest temperature of Decem-
ber, 1872, as given in this table, with the lowest of January and Feb-
ruary in tables Nos. 1 and 2, it is seen that the thermometer did not
fall to zero during the winter of 1872-3, which was so remarkable
for its extreme cold at the north.

It may be added here, that in general, a median line drawn east
and west through the State is the limit of domestic ice-houses. South
of this the ice season is too uncertain to justify the expense or trouble
in constructing them. North of the line, about once in seven years
there is a failure in the ice crop. On the north side of the Highland
Rim the ice, probably once in ten years, attains a thickness of six
or seven inches ; in the Central Basin it very rarely attains a thickness
of four inches. The most usual thickness, however, of both regions
is from two to thrc'c inches.

3d. Period behi-een KiUincj Froxi.^. The length of the growing sea-
son is measured, to a great extent, by tlic period between killing frosts.
This is, therefore, an important clement of climate. Here again we
are indebted to the extremely useful labors of Prof. Stewart.

Climate.

No. ^.— Table of the Occurrence of Frost, {Earliest and Latest) from Observa-
tions made at Glemoood, near Clarksville, Montgomery County, Tennessee, 1851
to 1873 inclusive.

Ybab.

1851..
1852..
1853..
1854..
1855..
1856..
1857..
1858..
1859..
I860..
1861..
1862..
1863..
1864..
1865.,
1866..
1867..
1868.
1869.
1870.
1871.
1872.
1873.

Last Frost

Spring.

May 2.
March 23.
March 29.
April 18.
April 17.
April 23.
April 20.
April 25.
April 18.
April 2.
April 20.
April 26.
April 9.
April 18.
March 26.
April 10.
Mays.
April 8.
April 14.
April 6.
April 23.
May 3.
April 26.

First
Light Frost

Autumn.

Oct. 23.
Oct. 15.
Oct. 11.
Oct. 19.
Oct. 22.
Oct. 16.
Sept. 30.
Oct. 9.
Oct. 10.
Sept. 21.
Sept. 21.
Oct. 18.
Sept. 19.
Oct. 10.
Oct. 5.
Oct. 21.
Oct. 1.
Sept. 18.
Sept. 27.
Oct. 4.
Sept. 29.
Oct. 11.
Oct. 7.

First

Killing Frost

Skim Ice.

Oct. 23.
Nov. 8.
Oct. 25.
Nov. 5.
Oct. 25.
Oct. 18.
Oct. 20.
Nov. 14.
Oct. 19.
Oct. 12.
Oct. 24.
Oct. 20.
Oct. 6.
Oct. 14.
Oct. 16.
Oct. 24.
Oct. 31.
Oct. 9.
Oct. 16.
Nov. 1.
Nov. 3.
Oct. 12.
Oct. 21.

No. of

Days Free

from

Frost.

Mean for 23 years.

173
205
195
184
187
175
162
166
174
171
153
174
162
174
192
193
145
164
166
181
159
161
164

No. of

Days Free

from

Killing Frost.

173

228

210

201

200

176

181

201

182

192

186

176

178

177

202

195

175

184

185

209

194

162

178

189

The following table, No. 10, which has been kindly supplied by
Prof. Payne, presents similar data for the years 1871 to 1873 inclu-
sive, at Knoxville :

No. 10.

Yeab.

•

Last Frost in
Spring.

First Frost in
Autumn.

First
Skim Ice.

Days Abso-
lutely Free
from Frost

Days Free
from Kill-
ing Frost.

1871

1872

April 23. {

April 3.

/ April 10, heavy.

I April 25, light.

Sept. 16, light.
Nov. 12, killing.
Oct. 10.

Oct. 6.

Nov. 12.
Oct. 10, light.
Oct. 6, light.

140
190
164

203
190

1873

149

IT— »•

1 8 Resources of Tennessee.

This table is good so far as it goes, but the observations of at least
a decade of years are required before very satisfactory comparisons can
be made.

According to the Glenwood table, the length of the growing season
in the northern jjart^ of Middle Tennessee is 189 days. It is seen, too,
that April and October respectively are pre-eminently the frost months
of spring and autumn. From the third week in April to the middle
of October the farmer can afford to risk the occurrence of frost; it
may come within these dates, but the probabilities are against it. lu
the southern part of the State the period of no frost is twelve days, or
two weeks, longer, and embraces, therefore, 200 or 203 days. This
difference is of considerable importance to the cotton region of the
State.

Rain and Snow. In general, the quantity of rain (including snow)
which falls upon the surface of Tennessee, although not so great as
that precipitated upon the States further south, is amply sufficient.
The summers are sometimes too dry, but severe droughts are excep-
tional. It may be said that the rainfall is just enough to ensure a
vigorous growth of vegetation and not too much to interfere with the
proper cultivation of the earth.

The average annual fall of rain upon the surface of the globe is
about sixty inches. In the Torrid Zone, which, by reason of its
greater circumference, has a far larger surface than either the Temper-
ate or Frigid Zones, the annual fall of rain is 96.5 inches, in the
Temperate Zone 36.5, and in the Frigid Zone 12.25. If the whole
amount of rain which falls annually were collected into a single place,
it would be sufficient, according to Commodore Maury, to form a lake
24,000 miles long, 3,000 broad, and sixteen feet deep.

The following table. No. 11 — another of Prof. Stewart's — is our
main dependence for conclusions as to the rainfall of the State. It
will be seen from this that the mean quantity of rain and melted snow
for twenty-one years, at Glenwood, is 45.715 inches, or in round num-
bers, 46 inches. Of the months, April has the highest average, 4.7
inches ; December foilows, 4.6 ; then March, 4.4 ; February, 4.2 ; May,
4 inches, &c. The drycst month is October, 2.5 inches, while Sep-
tcml)cr has but little more, 2.9. The greatest rainfall in any one year
was in 1865, when it amounted to 60 inches; the least was in 1872, it
being 34 inches in round numbers.

Climate.

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20 Resources of Tennessee.

The annual means of the above table have l)een arranged by Prof.
Stewart in a diagram, for the purpose of exhibiting any relation that
may exist among them. The diagram is given below. Each spac«
between the horizontal lines represents ten inches. The lowest line
begins with 30 inches, as no mean falls below this. The annual means
are represented by the points in the vertical columns, each under its
respective year. Successive points are connected by straight lines, sa
that a zigzag is formed, running through the diagram. The dotted
line represents the average of the oscillations, and shows that in the
period beginning with 1851 and ending with 1865, there was a general
tendency to an increase in the rainfall, and that since, the tendency
has been in the opposite direction.

Prof. S., in a note with reference to this diagram, says : " In look-
ing over my records, I can trace an ascending line (in the tables of
precijjitation) in the advancing years; very much zigzagged by the
oscillations from year to year, but still generally ascending. Taking
the year 1851 as the minimum, there is a general increase in the
annual quantities of rain which culminates in a maximum in 1865.

The tables give, it is true, a double curve, but the general mean
line is unmistakable. It would appear, therefore, that the period of
these observations covers two-thirds of a curve of a great oscillation
(21 years), and that a whole oscillation, from maximum to maximum^
would require thirty years. The tables appear to show that, since
1865, the curve has been falling to another minimum. Whether this
will be realized or not, will remain to be determined by future obser-
vations. As it seems almost certain that in other meteorological phe-
nomena there are such periodical oscillations, it would be highly inter-
esting to determine whether this is the case with the aqueous meteors.'*'

Climate.

In order that all the data we have may be recorded, the following
tables are appended. No. 12 is from Prof. Payne, and presents results
■of observations made at Knoxville in 1873; No. 13 from Mr. A. C
Ford, and presents results obtained at Nashville for the same year;
No. 14 is from Glenwood, for same year :

Rainfall^ including Melted Snow.

Months.

Jianuary ....
February ..

March

April

May

June

July

August

September .
October ....
November..
December..

Annual.

12.— At Knoxvillb.

Rain, &c.,
in inchee.

3.85
12.42
5.32
2.82
4.46
5.94
4.34
2.87
3.79
3.75
4.86
4.83

59.25

Days of R'n
or Snow.

17
14
15

7
18
16
13
11
10

8
14
13

156

13.— At Nashville.

Rain, &c.,
in inchee.

2.96
7.14
4.11
3.59
4.11
4.20
4.63
2.36
1.81
4.26
4.36
5.94

49.47

Days of R'n
or Snow.

17
12
15

8
13
17
14

5
10

8
10
12

141

14.— At Glenwood.

Rain, &c. , iu
inches.

3.92
6.50
3.40
6.18
4.83
9.80
2.08
2.24
1.84
6.42
3.37
4.70

53.48

The table below, No. 15, is from Dr. Safford's Report: '

No, 15. — Quantities of Rain and Melted Snow for the Seasons and the Year, in
inches and hundredths of an inch. The Tears of Ohaervation are given under
each Station.

Seasons.

Spring

Summer -

Autumn

Winter

Annual.

Knoxville,
1854-1855,
two years.

10 12

15.45

8.02

11.02

44.61

Lebanon.

Dec. 1S50, August

1853, nearly three

years.

10.55
9.57
7.54

15.95

43.61

Nashviulb.

1844-1849, five

years.

15.04
14.47
13.49
11.99

54.99

Tables 12, 13 and 14 supply data for comparing the rainfall of
1873 at three different point.?, one in East, the others in Middle Ten-

Resources of Tennessee.

nessee.?'^ The reader must recollect, however, that inferences drawn
from the observations of so short a period have very little general
value; the data of another year would most likely give diiferent re-
sults. Simultaneous^ observations for at least a decade of years are
required before reliable differences can be made out in the distribution
of rain, or in any other element of climate. In the tables above, how-
ever, we observe certain synchronous agreements. The number of
rainy days, for example, at Knoxville and Nashville respectively was
the same in January, as well as in the months of March and Septem-
ber. At both points, moreover, the most rain fell in February, though
the quantities were quite different. At Nashville and Glenwood the
least rain fell in September. Table No. 15 embraces aggregates not
elsewhere given. Those of Knoxville may be compared with those
of corresponding years in the Glenwood table.

The table below. No. 16, by Prof. Stewart, explains itself. It refer*
to snow alone :

No. 16. — Table shoteing the Quantity {in depth) of Snow fallen during the cold
Months, Jor the Years 1852 to 1872 inclusive, and the Annual Quantity, at
Glenwood, Montgomery County, Tenn. Depth given in inches and hundredths.

Tears.

1-3

2 «

Years.

1-5

1852

In.
0
0
0
0
0
0
0

0.50
0
0
0

In.
0
0

0.50
0

3.50
0
0
0
0
0
5

In.
Spits
0.88
2.00
1.63
4.50
7.00
0
0

4.50
1.87
0

In.
Spits

2.50

0.25

2.50

1.75

In.
Spits
0
0
0
0
0
7
0
0
0
0

In.

Spits
1.88
2.50
2.13
9

7.25
14
2.50
4 50
1.87
6.T5

1863

In.
0
0
0
0
0
0
0

In.

0.50

3.25

1.50

1.75

In.

10
1.25
3.50
2..50
6.75
0 50
0

10
0
0.25

In,
3.25

8.25

6.25

In.
0
3
0
0

5.75
0
0

0.13
0
1.50

In.
13.75

1853

1864

7.25

1854

1865

3.50

1855

1866

4.50

1^6

1867

27.75

1857

1868

1.50

1858

1869

1870

3.25

1859

10.13

1860

1871

3.50

1861

]ir2

9.7S

1862

MEit

NS POl

t THE

MONTB

0.12

1.28

2.72

1.70

0.83

All the snows and sleets which have fallen during the period are
given above, except those which barely covered the ground. In 1852
such was the case the whole winter ; the falls of snow and sleet are
recorded as only "spits" for that year. In October, 1852, (month not
included in the above table) there was a fall of snow the depth of about
l^^inches, the only instance of a measurable depth for that month.
The above measures arc given only as approximations; it is seldom
po.ssible to obtain accurate measurements, as the snow is frequently
more or less drifted. The deepest snow of which there is any recol-

Climate.

lection in this section of conatry, commenced falling ab°ut 10 A M
W l\ lannarv 1810, and continued nntil about 3 o'clock the next
Irn^g le " .7thirtee'n inches of snow on the ground gla.ed w.th
X c'o'at of ic:; it was attended with a strong north-east w.nd.

Winds The winds often constitute an important element in cU-
ma!: TlJso:therl,. and south-westerly whnls, charg«^ w. ^nnt^
from the tropical regions and .mr n„ .n ^^^^^^
flow over the surface of the State gmng g ^ ^ ^^^^^

and stimrdating the veg^taUon * [ rt^; ^ ^^,„,^ , direction as
that the hiffher mountains ot the otate tieuu rp„i i^

"nterLe with these life-giving and fructi^fyjng breezes Tahl

No. 17 gives the number of winds f^^.t^'^eled te o hert
compass in a decade of years. The southerly wmd,exceeat
in frequency. Tables Nos. 18 and 19, contributed by Prot. J. ^
'payrand Mr. A. C. Ford, show the prevailing '^-^™ <^- ^^
month of 1873 and for the year, at Knoxvdle and ^»*;'' ^J^P^'^^j
ively, and also the rate at which the '^^'^'^ ^^ t
miles they are supposed to pass over. ihe pie% ailing
Knoxville was south-west, and at Nashville west.

Jor Ten Years, from 1863 to 1872 inchmve, at Glenu^ood, Momg j
Tennessee.

1863 1864 1865 1866 1867 1868 | 1869

N.
N. E.

E.
S. E.

s. w.
w.

N. W.
Calm.

158

105

129

115 135

107 1 103

106

99
122 1 129 I 208
114 137 I 112
104 94 ,
137 144 113
129 165 160

Note -The hours of observation are the Smithsonian hours, ^}l- \^-^-
2 P M and 9 P. M., for this as well as all the other tables furnished by Prof.
Stewart.

The figures in the above table show the number of times the wind
has been observed to blow from the indicated quarter for the succes.
sive years.

Resources of Tennessee,

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cQ^ a

For the benefit of those who may wish to know the barometrical
variations at Glenwood, for the h)ng scries of years during which ob-
servations were taken, a table embracing these data will be given in
the appendix. Tables of similar observations for the year 1873, re-
corded at Knoxville and Nashville, will also be given.

The southern States, as appears from the census reports, are much
more favorable to old age than the northern ones. The largest num-

Climate. 25

ber of persons over one hundred years of wgo. is to be found hi
Georgia, which reports 297; Louisiana, 279; North Carolina, 265;
Mississippi, 263; South Carolina, 236: Tennessee, 207; while Penn-
sylvania, with nearly three times the j>(>pulation of Tennessee, has but
103; Massachusetts, 46; New York, 1(57; Ohio, 90, Maine, 21; New
Hampshire and Vermont, 7 each. Nearly the same proportion ob-
tained in the census returns of 1850 and 1860.

The percentage of deaths to the whole population of the United
States was, for the census year beginning 1st of June, 1869, and end-
ing May 31, 1870, 1.28. In Tennessee it was 1.13. There are twenty-
four States and Territories in which the percentage was greater than
in Tennessee, and twenty-two in which it was less. But it is a no-
ticeable fact, that those States or Territories which were reported as
most healthy were those which were being settled, and the proportion
of children small. The proportion of deaths in the United States
under five years of age to the whole number of deaths, is 41.2 per
oent. This proportion in Tennessee is less, being about 39 per cent.
By leaving out those States and Territories which are being settled,
it will be found that Tennessee ranks in the list of the healthiest States
in the Union. The agency of climate is far more important in deter-
mining the intellectual improvement and material prosperity of a
State than even the soil itself; for as health is due in a great degree
to climate, so wealth is dependent upon health and enterprise. The
two latter are almost the necessary antecedents to the former. However
fertile a region may be, it cannot become the focus of wealth unless
its conditions are favorable to health, and consequent activity of the
mind and body. The two united, fertile soil and salubrity of climate,
coupled with a fair degree of enterprise, will ensure a high social and
material development, and luippily for the State of Tennessee, both
are found \vithin its borders.

^^ Resources of Tennessee.

CHAPTER III,

The Geological Formatioxs op the State

The formations of the State, like its topographical features, are nu-
merous and varied. They are mostly made up of rocky strata, such
as limestone, sandstone, slate and gneiss; in the western part of the
Statetheir materials are beds of sand and clay, which are not hard-
ened mto rock, though more or less com,pact. A formation, in a tech-
nical sense, is a stratum, or a group of strata, having characteristics
which make it an individual thing, and which separate it from other
strata, or groups, analagously characterized. This definition the reader
will appreciate after reading the chapter. The formations are gener-
ally wide-spreading, but differ greatly in thickness. The Black Shale
ior example, though outcropping in very many counties of East and
Middle Tennessee, and thus at intervals showing itself over an area of
thousands of square miles, will not average more than fifty feet in
thickness. It IS now, as a formation, very fragmentary, much of it
havmg been removed in the washing out o'f riv!r valleys ba Is, and
in he general eros,on to which the surface has been subjected; but it
was once contmuous-an unbroken, comparatively veiy thin slice
•spreading out, not only through this State, but far into adjacent one
iiorth and s.uth. On the other hand, the great Magnesian Lm
stone-the Kno. Boloraite-n,.on which Knoxville is focated itsev-
eral tbousand feet in thickness, which, with the great extent of he
formation and its calcareous character, gives it greaf agricultural ^hie

this forT '^r'T'""' '''''^''"'' fo--^tioi. in a report lik

this, for the reason that the soils are derived from them. At he start
we may say, the whole surface of the State was bare rock or b".
stratum. By the action of the elements, or, what is the same, by

.:. - v.x^..:.v^V*^*+-^Vr^»*--«^*^*^""^'''*^Hf*

T /t e^ f e ri ( r (, ( i>, ii .v / /./

A GEOLOGICAL SECTION TROM THE MISSISSIPPI RIVER through DYER COUNTY, NASHVILLE,SPARTA;KI

0mfimfm^

^?SS'^:^];^!K5^'!I'^S?^°'^;H'?^^ P^' NT ROCK .0 x„. WARM SPi

5 '^ s:
I 1 i

1 ► < t

5 L ¥ I

tL .: "^•^'•^-r -N: "-- ■--~'^"\r^^^i^^^

,'/ «/ ^ /- fl v / r r

I'nako (liniit

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fi ScKnoxSii^t-

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l^|iH

THe WARM S^'JGS .NORTH CAROLINA

Srr /Mrs I/" ■>/"/' 1 """" '" ^'"' ^'<'/"'''^

HHNNMMMMWMM

Geological Formations. 27

weathering, the rock.s have crumbled and disintegrated into earthy-
matter, thus originating the soil. The surface portion of this weathered
material, modified and enriched by vegetable growth and the addition
of dead vegetable matter, is the sqil proper, the remainder being the
subsoil. By this process limestones, for example, have given us
limestone soils, and sandstones sandstone soils ; and indeed, it may be
added, each variety of limestone and each variety of sandstone respect-
ively its particular variety of soil. It follows from this that a map of
the formations will be a map of the soils, and that a knowledge of the
composition of the former will aid much in acquiring a knowledge of
the composition, and hence the strength, capabilities and deficiencies
of the latter. The Map which accompanies this report has this double
character; it is a representation of both the geological and agricnltural
features of the State. What is said is intended to have reference to
the formations mainly as soil-originating and soil-producing masses,
though some notice will be taken of them as depositories of important
minerals.

The outcrops, or the areas, which the formations severally contrib-
ute to the making up of the surface, are represented on the Map by
different colors. In the Valley of East Tennessee these outcrops
occur in long lines or bands, for the reason that, in this part of the
State, the strata have been, by disturbing elements, greatly tilted or
thrown upon their edges. Dipping or inclined strata are the rule here,
while in the middle and western portions of the State the strata are
approximately horizontal. This difference in the position of the rocks
will account for the peculiarly banded aspect of the east end of the
Map, so different in appearance from its other portions. The reader is
supposed to have the ISIap before him. In the south-east corner will
be seen a table of the formations. At the bottom a vertical section
running east and west through the State is represented, which is in-
tended to show how the formations are superimposed upon each other,
and how they lie with reference to the surface as well as to a horizon-
tal line. The dip of the rocks at the east end of this section is too
great, being distorted on account of the great difference betM'cen the
vertical and horizontal scales. The true dip is more like that indi-
cated in the small section, M. N.

The following is a table of the formations occurring in Tennessee.
It commences with the oldest and lowest, geologically, and proceeds in
order to the most recent. The table corresponds with that on the
Map :

2.8 Resources of Tennessee.

id) LOWER SILURIAN.

1. Metamorpliic Rocks,

2a. Ocoee Group. . . . * . . 1 Potsdam Period.
26. Chilnowee Sandstone, . . . j

2c.' Knox Sandstone, . . . . ^

2c." " Shale, .... V Quebec Period.

2c.'" " Dolomite, . . . . j

3. Trenton or Lebanon, . . . I Trenton Period.

4. JNashville or Cincinnati, . . . j

(6) UPPER SILURIAN.

5a. Clinch Mountain Sandstone,

56. AVhite Oak Mountain Sandstone, .

5cu Dyestone Group,

5d. Niagara Limestone,

6. Lower Helderberg, .

7. Black Shale, ....

^> Niagara Period.

Low. Helderberg Period.

Hamilton Period.

(ff) CARBONIFEROUS.

8a.' Barren Group, . . . . "|

8a." Coral, or St. Louis Limestone, . V Lower Carb. Period.

86. Mountain Limestone, . . . j

9. Coal Measures, .... Coal Measure Period.

(e) CRETACEOUS.

10a. Coffee Sand, ^

106. Rotten Limestone or Green Sand, . .Cretaceous Period.

10c. Ripley Group, j

(/) TERTIARY.

11a. Flatwoods fe^inds and Clays, . . 1 Tertiary Period.
116. I^a Grange Sands, . . . j

{g) QUARTERNARY AND MODERN.

12a. Orange Sand or Drift, . . . Quarternary Period.

126. Bluff Loam or Loess, . . . Terrace Period.

13. Alluvium, Human Period.

Geological Formations. 29

In the descriptions below, the order presented in this table will be
followed. We begin with the Lower Silurian Division.

1, THE METAMORPHIC ROCKS.

This and the two following divisions, the Ococ(^ Gronj) and the CMl-
howee Sandstone, are very thick and massive formations. They em-
brace the rocks of the great Unaka ridges. Their strata are hard and
pre-eminently mountain formation's, and are not found outside of the
Unaka area, or, in other words, outside of the great raised and moun-
tain border, the summit of which presents the line separating Tennes-
see from North Carolina.

The first of the trio, the Metamorphic Formation, is made up of
thick and thin-bedded granite-like rocks, w^iich belong mostly to the
varieties called by geologists gneiss,"^ talcose slate and miea slate. These
rocks are mainly composed of quartz, mica, talc, feldspar, and allied
minerals. They were once common sandstones, conglomerates, shales,
&c., but have lost their original character, and have become crystal-
line, through the agency of subterranean heat, or through the steaming
and baking to wdiich they have been subjected.

This formation is represented on the Map by the deep red or crimson
color which is seen in four patches on the North Carolina line. In
the latter State the group outcrops in a continuous belt, running from
Georgia to Virginia. The red patches are projections of this belt into
Tennessee. The copper mines of Polk County and the magnetic iron
ore of Carter are in this formation.

2«. THE OCOEE GROUP.

This is a great series of half altered rocks, having an estimated
thickness of 10,000 feet, and making up the greater part of the Una-
kas. The series includes heavy beds of conglomerates, sandstones,
clay slates, semi-talcose and roofing slates, and locally beds of magne-
sian limestone (dolomite), all of which generally dip at a high angle.
The mass often holds veins of quartz, some of which, in the more
southern counties, are gold-bearing. The group makes a wide belt in
the counties south of the French Broad River. The formation is
marked 2a on the Map, and is colored light chestnut. Profitable quar-
ries of roofing slates might be opened at a number of points within
the area of this formation were they accessible by railroad.

*Gnei8s is simply a name for stratified granite.

30 Resources of Tennessee.

lb. THE CHILHOWEE SANDSTONE.

This is a mass of sandstone having, it is estimated, a maximum
thickness of not less than 2,000 feet. It is the rock of Cliilhowee
Mountain and of the other similar mountains which together make up
the most north-westerly interrupted range of the Unakas. The green
bands on the Map show the outcrops of this formation, and at the
same time as many mountains. The sandstone is generally heavy-
bedded and grayish white when weathered. It often presents itself as
Avhitish quartose sandstone, and sometimes includes sandy shales. It
is curious to observe how its mountains, in a broken chain, skirt the
higher Unakas.

We pass now, for a while, from mountain-yielding formations — that
is to say, from those so hard and insoluble that the elements, by wear
and tear, have not been able to remove their lofty portions — to forma-
tions mainly valley-yielding, or to those so soft that erosive natural
agencies have been able to scoop out of them our valleys and basins.
The mountain formations are hard because their rocks are, in good
part, siliceous or flinty ; the valley rocks are soft because mainly calca-
reous and magnesian. The valley formations may have reached once
as high as the others, but they have yielded to the wear of time,
making low lands, and leaving their more durable associates in moun-
tains and hiy;h ridy;es.

The next five formations contain more or less limestone and dolo-
mite. The first, the Knox Sandstone, of least importance, contains, as
its name imports, beds of sandstone, makes ridges, and presents in
fact a sort of transition group between the mountain and valley forma-
tions. The first three outcrop in the Valley of East Tennessee ; the
others of the five belong in common to the Valley of the East and
the Central Basin. The last three are, in an agricultural point of
view, the most important formations of the State.

2c.' KNOX SANDSTONE.

Following the last in ascending order, is the Knox Sandstone For-
mation. This is a series of variegated sandstones and shales, with
which occur occasionally beds of dolomite. The aggregate thickness
may be placed at 800 or 1,000 feet. The formation is of little inipor-

Geological Formations. 31

tance agriculturally, but in some sections of the East Tennessee Valley-
it contributes a marked feature to the topography of the country. The
formation is presented in sharp, roof-like or "coniby" ridges. Of
these, Webb's, or Rosebury's Ridge, a few miles west of Knoxville,
and the so-called Bays Mountain on the south-eastern boundary of
Knox County, as well as Beaver, Bull Run and Pine Ridges, in the
western and north-western part of the great Valley, are examples.
This and the two following formations, the Knox Shale and the Knox
Dolomite, are represented on the Map by the belts of light pink marked
2c. The sandstone division, when present, lies generally at the north-
western margin of the 2c belts.

2c." KXOX SHALE.

This division is a group of variegated — brown, reddish, buff and
green — calcareous shales, 2,000 or more feet in thickness. It often
contains thin layers of oolitic limestone; in fact, leaving the middle
line of the Eastern Valley and ajjproaching the Unakas, the formation
becomes more and more calcareous, in some counties being a sort of
slaty limestone or dolomite. This, of the three formations surnamed
Knox, is emphatically the valley-yielding one. Especially is this true
of the north-western, western and southern portions of the Valley of
East Tennessee. It is the formation of many long and beautiful and
generally rich valleys. Rogersville, Madisonville and Cleveland, in
part, are located on the shale. The outcrops of this formation are in-
dicated on the Map by those strips of light pink, marked 2c, which are
without " hatchings ; " those with them are areas of the Knox Dolo-
mite. Fossil shells and trilobites are found in some of the limestone
layers of this group, and are about the oldest traces of animal life as
yet met with in Tennessee.

2c.'" KNOX DOLOMITE.

The surface of a large part of the Valley of East Tennessee is
formed by the outcrops of this formation. The division is the most
massive calcareous formation in the State. It is estimated to be not
far from a mile in thickness. It consists of heavy bedded strata of
blue and gray limestones and dolomites,* the blue prevailing in the
lower part and the gray in the upper. At the base the rocks are often
oolitic, while above they are generally crystalline or sparry. There is

♦Dolomite is a limestone-like rock containing magnesia.

32 Reso7irces of Tennessee.

another feature of the formation which has, when the strata clip at a
high angle, not a little to do with its topography, and that is the pres-
ence of more or less chert or flint in the formation. The chert occurs
sparsely in thin layers and nodules.

The topography of the Knox Dolomite is quite varied. It presents
valleys, plateau-like areas, and broad rounded ridges. These ridges,
however, pertain to the great Eastern Valley, and are not high and
precij)itous like the Unaka ranges and the high sandstone mountains,
to be mentioned. They are undulations of the Valley. This forma-
tion is mainly that of the coves and valleys entangled among the
ranges of the Unakas, though with it others occur, such as the Knox
Shale and even Trenton and Kaskville rocks. The plateau-areas have
been formed in regions where the strata of the Dolomite happen to be
nearly horizontal. Such a region is found in Hamblen County and
the northern part of Jefferson. A portion is called the New Market
Valley, and is noted for its fertility. Another plateau area is in Camp-
bell and Claiborne counties, which is much broken by the considerable
canon w^hich PowelPs River cuts through it. Some of these areas,
when the chert for any reason predominates, become "knobby re-
gions," as, for instance, a strip of country lying between Chattanooga
and the mouth of the Hiwassee River, and the belt east of Missionary
Ridge. When the strata of the Knox Dolomite are much inclined,
the formation generally presents us with characteristic chert-covered
rounded ridges. These are very long, some of them being traceable
for a hundred miles or more. Well marked ridges of this kind occur
in the southern part of the Valley of East Tennessee, and in the
northern part west of the middle line. Knoxville is on one of them,
Athens being on the same. Missionary Ridge, Black Oak, Copper
and Chestnut ridges, Wallin's Ridge in Claiborne, as well as Chestnut
or Big Ridge in Sullivan and Greene, are examples. The fragmentary
chert, which has been liberated by the solution of the calcareous rocks
which originally enclosed it, lias accumulated in such quantities as to
form a sort of protective cap, shielding the strata during later ages
from erosion, thus giving origin to the ridges.

The rocks of the Kwjx iJoloniife are made up of the carbonates of
lime and magnesia, with whicli there is more or less sand and argilla-
ceous and ferruginous matter, the composition being such as to supply
a strong soil. The lower blue and oolitic strata are fossiliferous, the
soil derived from tliem being none the worse for this character. Very
generally the soil of" tlic lurmation is good.

Gcoloo-ical Formations. ZZ

'i>

The outcrops of tlio Knox Dolomite are confined to the A'all(\>' of
East Tennessee, with the exception of a single limited outcrop far
Avest to be mentioned. It nowhere counts to the day in the Central
Basin, though nearly reached by the denudation. West of the Basin
it reappears in a very curious spot called the Wells' Creek Basin.
This is located on A\\'lls' Creek in Houston County. At this place
there has been an uplift of the rocks, by which the Knox Dolomite
has been brought to the surface. In the north-west corner of the
Map is an enlarged re])resentation of this liasin, with a section indi-
cating the ])osition of its rocks.

The Knox Dolomite is re])resented on the ^lap in common with the
Knox Shale by the light pink color, 2c, but the areas of the former,
as already stated, arc to be distinguished by the presence of hatchings.

3. THE TREXTOX OR LEBAXOX GROUP, AXD 4. THE XASHVILLE OR

CIXCIXXATI GROUP.*

The strata included in the above formations are best considered to-
gether, so far as the purposes of this Report are concerned. The pre-
vailing rock is blue limestone, rich in fossil matter and yielding first-
class soils. The groups are represented by the same blue color on the
IMap, and marked 3 and 4. They are especially tlie rocks of the Cen-
tral Basin, where they lie approximately in a horizontal position. In
the Valley of East Tennessee they make up much of titie surface, two-
large belts occurring southeast of the middle line, and many long
strips, the location of as many valleys, north-west of the same line.
To the west beyond the Central Basin they are uncovered in the bed
of the Tennessee River.

These rocks, yielding to denuding and erosive agencies, have pre-
sented us with our rit^hest valley and lowland depressions. In the
Eastern Valley the double series has locally interpolated in it some
hard, sandy layers, which have given origin to certain ridges and
knobs, nevertheless even here it is mainly valley-making. It will be
l)est to consider tho:^e rocks with reference to their occurrence, first, in
the Eastern Valley, and secondly, in the Central Basin.

1. In the VaUei/ of E(td Tenna^t^ee. The maximum thickness of the
entire series in this part of the State may be placed between 2,500 and

*Trenton i? a New York namo, and was first applied to this formation as it occurs in tliat State.
Lebanon, in this State, is locuiud on the same formation. The formation next above the Trenton is
Keen botli at NaTfliviUe and Cincinnati, lience both names have been used. For soma reasons Nash-
ville is to 1)0 preferred. In New Vork tliesc rocks are known as the Hudson Formation.

34 Reso2irces of Tennessee.

3,000 iQ.Q.i. It is divitled into two principal members, the lower em-
bracing strata which appear as blue limestones on both sides of the
v alley, and the upper, which are calcareous throughout, but very
«andy in the south-east half of the Valley. The lower member varies
from 200 to 600 feet in thickness. It is thin and of little importance
in the north-eastern counties. It is more or less argillaceolis, but
always presents itself as blue limestone. In connection with adjacent
strata (the uppermost strata of the Knox Dolomite and the upper
member of this series) it forms many rich valleys. Its strata often
dip at high angles, and when this is the case it outcrops in very nar-
row strips.

The upper memlier is, in the south-eastern half of the Yallcy
(Unaka side), a great mass of sky-blue calcareous shale, more or less
sandy. It often contains "thin layers of limestone and locally tliin
sandstones. Here is also its maximum thickness, which is not far
from 2,000 feet. The two great blue belts (see Map) in this part of
the Valley represent areas formed chiefly by the outcrops of this mem-
ber. The most easterly is denominated the belt of " Gray Knobs,"
the other, the belt of " Red Knobs," or respectively the "Gray Belt"
and the " Red Belt." The first is remarkable for the crowded, bold,
pointed and steep hills which many of its portions present. These
gray hills or knobs, and the vales winding among them, owing to the
composition of the rocks from which the soil has been derived, are
often very rich. Many little forms lie on and among the knobs. The
existence of these knobs is due to the way the sandy calcareous shales
have yielded to erosion. The dipping position, together Avith the oc-
currence now and then of hard layers with the soft, have determined
the topography. Tlie other belt, the "Red Knobs," gets its name
from the presence vvitliin it of remarkable lines of red hills, which are
primarily due to the interpolation, in the Trenton and Nashville series
in this part of the Valley, of a few plates of a hard ferruginous sandy
limestone. The strata dip and the hard plates half way protecting
the softer rocks, liave given origin to the hills, and the iron oxide,
liberated, colors \\\q. soil dec]) red. There are a number of lines of
these " red knobs." One can be seen from Knoxville, pursuing its
south-westerly course on the ()j)i)osite side of the Holston. This lino
originates in tlie vicinity of Strawberry Plains, passes in sight of
Knoxvilli! and Athens, ;ind reaches a point a few miles east of Cleve-
land, being nearly one hundred miles in length. The slopes of tlie
red hills are often exceedingly rich. AVithIn this belt are also locali-

Geological Formations. 35

ties of gray knobs, like those of tile first belt mentioned, and also
vales and traets showino- limestones of the lower strata of the series.
In addition to the Iron Lhnedone, there is another interpolated rock
which ontcroj)s in the Ked Belt, and that is marble — some of which is
red and white varie<:>ated, and some grayish white. The marble occnrs
in heavy layers, ontcropping in long lilies and in inexhanstible quan-
tity. Its outcrops, however, are not confined to the Red Belt. One,
especially, in the blue strij) near Rogersville, in Hawkins County,
may be mentioned.

The blue stri|)s in Sullivan County are areas fidl of gray knobs.
The long narrow ones in Greene and AV^ashington are ridges of a dark
shale mainly, which lies at the base of the upper mem})er we are con-
sidering.

Passing into the north-west half of the Valley (Cumberland Plateau
side), the upper meml)er of the Trenton and Nashville series loses
much of its sandy, shaly character and becomes finally, for the mosf^
part, thin-bedded, blue limestones, which are impure, loaded with fos-
mIs, and sandy enough to yield an excellent soil. The mass also loses
in thickness, and the interpolated beds mentioned, the Iron Limedorm
and the marble, thin out gradually to nothing. The strata become
like those seen around Nashville. Many very long, attractive valleys
are l)ased upon these limestones in the north-western half of the Val-
ley. Among them may bd mentioned, as examples, the Be^aver Creek,
Raccoon, Hickory, Big, Powell's, Tennessee, Lookout, and Savannah
Valleys. The reader can sec the blue valley ranges on the Map.

Before passing to the Central Basin, a word as to 8c(|uatchie Val-
ley. This is regarded as a j)art — rather an outlier — <»f the Valley '^"
East Tennessee. In its trend, formations, dij) of rocks, topogi'aphy,
&c., it is like the Eastern Valley. Of the formations so far consid-
ered, it has outcro|)ping ranges of the Knox Dolomites as well as of
the blue linn^stone formatioiis we have just considered.

2. Ill fhe Chitraf lUixiu. ^^'e are now in a different country. The
strata are practical horizontal, tmd the parallelism c^' ridges and val-
leys, of outcro])s and axes, resulting from a universal di[)ping of rocks,
is no longer S(,>en. The Trenton and Nashville rocks make the bottom
and much of the sides of the liasin. Their area of out('rop is seen at
a glance on tlu' Map. The two divisions, Trenton and Nashville, are
easily made out in the Jksin. On the Map the Trenton is the part|>f
the blue marked .J, and the Nashville that marked 4. All the rocks
are bine, fossil iferous limestones, their analysis showing them to bo

3^ Resources of Tennessee.

rich in the components of a good soil. The Trenton strata are more
argillaceous; the A^'ashville more sandy, iand have generally a darker
blue color. The aggregate thickness of the strata of the two divisions
exposed is not far from 1,000 feet, each being 500.

The Trenton has been sub-divided into minor divisions. First the
Central Limestone, a mass of dove-colored thick-bedded limestones^
containing often much chert or flint. It is the lowest rock in the
Basin, and exposes a thickness of about 100 feet. It outcrops within
a circular area having a diameter of alxmt thirteen miles. Murfrees-
boro is within the area. The soil of this rock is rich and red, the
color being due to oxide of iron derived from the decomposing chert.
The chert is found, by analysis, to contain considerable iron.

Outcropping around this, in a ring, is a bed of flaggy limestones 27
feet thick, called Pierce Limestone.

Around the last, in another ring, the two forming concentric rings-
around the central area, is the third division, the Ridley Limestone. It-
is a group of heavy-bedded, dove-colored limest.ones, 95 feet in thick-
ness, and making a fine country.

This is followed, in another ring, by an important division called
GloAe Limestone, which is made up of light blue, flaggy limestones,
with an aggregate thickness of 120 feet. The Glade Limestone is the
rock upon which the Red Cedar forests of the Basin grow, and the
boundaries of its outcrop could be made out by these forests. The
divasion spreads out and is the surface-rock of considerable areas in
Rutherford, "Wilson, Bedford and Marshall. Such areas occur also in
Maury, AVllliamson and Davidson. Lebanon, Shelbyville and Colum-
bia, in part, are located upon this division.

The Glade Limestone is followed by the uppermost division of the
Trenton, the Carter's Creek Limestone, the thickness of which varies
from 50 to 100 feet. It is found, as are the others, everywhere, in its
proper horizon, within the Basin. It is another series of heavy-
bedded, dove-colored limestone. On Carter's Creek if is whiter than
usual, and is mneh used for making lime. •

The Nashville Formation is toleraljly homogeneous. About seventy
feet near tlie base is much more sandy than that above, and is the
fiurface-rock of several of the best farming regions in the Basin, of
"which the country between Columbia and INIount Pleasant is one.

West of the Basin there are only two outcrops of the Trenton and
Nashville ro(!l<s, and tliese are of small extent. One is in the AVells'
Creek Basin, in which the rocks outcroj) in a ring around tJie Knox

Geological Formations. 2>7

Dolomite; and the other is in the bed of Tennessee River, in the
"Western Valley, where the roek is mainly hydraulic limestone.

The marbles of the Eastern Valley, the hydraulic limestones of the
same Valley, of the Basin and the ^^"estcrn Valley, fla<>;stones and the
varied and choice building materials and lime rock are the useful con-
tributions of the Trenton and Xashville formations to the wealth and
industry of the State.

A\ e come now to a series of half a dozen formations of compara-
tively little interest to the farmer, though one of them is of great
interest to iron men. The first three belong exclusively to the East
Tennessee Valley ; two of the others have their principal development
in the Western Valley, while the last, the Black Shale, is common
alike to both Valleys and to the Central Basin.

0(1. CLIXCIT ^[OUNTAIX SANDSTOXE.

Next above the Trenton and Xashville formations is a bed of Red
C^alcareoiis SJtalc, which has in Hawkins C'ounty a thickness of 400
feet. Following this is a gn;yish white thick-bedded sandstone, also
not far from 400 feet in thickness. This Sandstone forms tlie south-
eastern slope of Clinch Mountain, and is there a very conspicuous
rock. The Red Shale is always found next below the Sandstone, and
is provisionally included with it as one formation. The group is 6a on
the ]Map, and is represented by a deep ochre yellow. It is not found
•outside of the East Tennessee Valley, nor in this south of Knox
■County. The hard sandstone is always associated with high ridges,
which are mountains in the Valley. These are Clinch Mountain,
already mentioned. Stone Mountain, Devil's Nose, House Mountain,
Bays Mountains, Xewman's Ridge, l^owell's and Lone INIountains.
The Sandstone yields a poor soil ; the Shale a better, though generally
cropping out near the crests of the mountains, it presents but a lim-
ited area.

oh. WHITE OAK MOUXTAIX SAXDSTOXE.

This is a group of variegated sandstones and shales, generally red-
dish-brown, but alternating with greenish, buff and differently colored
strata. These rocks are found on the summit and eastern slope of
White Oak Mountain in the southern part of the Valley. This moun-
tain is partly in James (^ounty and partly on the line between James
and Bradley. A limited develo2)ment of the group is also seen on the

38 Resoiu'ces of Tennessee.

eastern slopes of PoM^ell's and Lone Mountains in the northern part
of the Valley. Like the Clinch Sandstone, it is a mountain forma-
tion, with a maximum thickness of about 500 feet.

he. THE DYESTOXE GROUP.

Next in ascending order is the group of strata enclosing the red'
iron ore (dyestone) of the north-western side of the Eastern Valley .^
The formation is a series of variegated shales and thin sandstones,,
from 100 to 300 feet in thickness, and holding from one to three or
more layers of fossiliferous iron ore. INIuch of the mass either is, or
lias been, quite calcareous. In some localities thin beds of limestone
occur. This formation, associated with two others to be mentioned,,
(the Siliceous or Barren Group and the Black Shale, constituting a trio
of formations,) is found in numerous small but long ridges. One of
these runs almost continuously along the eastern base of the Cumber-
land Table Land from Virginia to Georgia, everywhere presenting^
more or less iron ore. The part of the Valley in which these ore
ridges occur, is indicated on the JNlap by the belt of green stars imme-
diately east of the Table Land. The formation itself is represented
by a red line.

5(J. NIA(iARA LIMESTONE.

AVe noM' reach a limestone again. This formation pertains mainly
to the Western Valley. It consists of thick-bedded fossiliferous lime-
stones, more or less argillaceous, often crystalline. At many points
its rocks weather into shale-forming glades. In the Western Valley,,
wherc the formation has its greatest development, it is about 200 feet
thick, and is equally divided into two members, the lower presenting
ix'd and variegated strata, some of which are fair marble, and the
iipper including gray rocks. The group forms the greater part of the-
.surface of the Western Valley. On the Map its outcrops, together
with that of the next formation, the Lower Hehhrberg, is shown by
the red color, the two formations being distinguished by the number*
5a and C. The Niagara Limestone extends eastward, showing itself
1)1 the vaHcys of Duck River and liutlido, to the IJasin, on the Avestern
^loj)e of wliicli its upper or gray m(Mn])er, much reduced in tliickness,
outcrops. It is not seen on the eastern side of tlie Basin. In the
Valley of East Tennessee tliere is very little of it. A strip of it is

Geological Forrnatio7is. 39

met with at the eastern base of Powell's Mountain, and another at the
l)a>Ki of Newman's Ridge.

6. L()Wf:R HELDERBERG I.IMESTC)^•E.

This limestone, like the last, has its greatest development in the
Western Valley. It is a series of blue, thin-bedded, fossil lime-
stones, frequently containing eherty layers, es])ecially in its upper part,
and has a maximum thickness of about 70 feet. The formation out-
crops in the valleys of Buifalo and Duck River. It is occasionally
met with on the north-western slopes of the Basin, but is not promi-
nent. In East Tennessee it has not been observed. It is represented
on the Map, as stated by the portion of the red marked 6. These
blue rocks, rich in fossil matter, make an excellent soil, rather better
than the Niagara limestones, but its outcrops present comparatively
small areas.

7. BLACK SHALE.

In the introductory part of this chapter this rock was referred to as
an illustration of the wide spread a formation may have, although
comparatively very thin. The Black Shale is a stratum of nearly
black, bituminous, rather tough shale, or slate, which can sometimes
be obtained in plates a yard or more across. It outcrops in East Ten-
nessee, the Central Basin, and in the Western Valley wherever, with
but few exc'eptions, its proper geological horizon is brought to tiie sur-
face. Its maximum thickness, 100 feet, is in the Eastern Valley. Its
general average throughout the State is less than 50 feet. Its outcrops
are marked on the map by black lines. These outcrops are themselves
linear, occurring in the Eastern Valley on the slopes of ridges, or in
narrow straight valleys at the bases of ridges, and in the Basin and
the Western Valley generally on slopes. The shale contains pyrites,
which unfits it for roofing purposes. It contains enough hydrocarbon
oil to make it burn with flame for a time, a property which leads
many to mistake it for stone coal, but it does not consume to ashes.
Should the petroleum wells give out, this rock may become a -ource
of "coal oil," or kerosene, a burning fluid that has become almost in-
dispensable.

The four following formations belong to the Carboniferous Age of
geologists — so called because the last, or uppermost, is the great depos-

40 Resources of Tennessee.

itory of our stone coal, l^hey form lar^^e areas of surflice, and their
consideration is very iiiijwrtant from an atirjcultural point of view.
The Barren Group and the Coral L'unc-sfo)U' are the surface rocks of
the Highland lUm. of ]\Iiddle Tennessee ; the 3Iountain Limestone out-
crops on tlie slo])es of the Cumberland Table Land, while the Coal
Measures make its broad table-top.

8«/ BAltREX GROUP.

This and the Coral Limestone are sometimes included under one
name — the Siliceous Group — for the reason that both contain much
flinty matter. It is chiefly characterized by the presence of heavy
layers of flint or chert, intcrstratified with more or less limestone.
In some regions the mass becomes a tolcitibly homogeneous blue
calcareous shale. It often ijicludes heavy beds of crinoidal lime-
stone.

In the Aallcy of East Tennessee its cherty layers alwa}-^ accompany
and rest ujion the Black Shale. It is one of the trio which, as stated,
is found in the dyestone ridges. In this Valley its outcrops are linear,
and are represented, like the Shale and Dyestone, by lines.

In Middle Tennessee the Barren Group includes the rocks of the
edge and the ])ortion of the Rim immediately around the Central
Basin, as indicated by the dark bufl' color and the mark 8a' on the
Map. It is seen, in general, to be the formation immediately above
tlie Black Shale wherever the Highland Rim breaks off into valleys,
gorges, c^'C. The thickness of the formation is "250 to 300 feet, falling,
however, behjw this in the southern part of the State.

Set". THE CORAL LIMESTONE.

This formation is gray and bluish limestone, almost always contain-
ing nodules of chert, fossiliferous, sometimes siliceous and argillaceous,
nnd everywhere characterized by a large fossil coral, known to geolo-
gists as Litliostrotion Canadense. It has a maximum thickness of
about '2oO feet, and is separated from the Barren Group mainly on ac-
<u^)unt of its greater agricultural value. In the Eastern Valley it out-
crops witli liie Barren Group, from which here it is not desirable to
separate it. In Middle Tennessee it is the rock of the higher and
greater part of the Highland Rim. Its c()h)r is light bulFand its mark

Geological Formations. 41

8a". TJio cliort of tlu^ f(inn:iti(»n oontains iron, wliicli !»y disintegra-
tion yields a ])igni('nt coloring the soil red. Tlic area occupied by this
rock is renmrivable for the " siid<holes," and underground streams asso-
ciated therewith, which it veiy generally presents. It ir.ight be called
the Sinkhole formation.

86. THE :\R)rNTArx limestone.

Resting upon the Coral Limestiuie, and outcropping on both the
easterly and westerly slopes of the Cumberland Table Land, is a heavj
group of limestones and shales known l)y the name aboye. The for-
mation forms the base of the Table Laud, and could be reached at any
poijit by piercing the sandstone top of the latter. The Mountain
I^imestone is thickest in the southern part of the State; it becomes less
going north, until on the Kentucky line it is reduced to 400 feet.
About one-fourth of the mass is shale, the most of which is near the
top. Here a part is marly, and might be apjdied \\\x\\. adyantage to
the siliceous soils of the Table I>and. The limestone strata present
many yarieties; some of them are choice building material. For the
most part the strata are highly fossiliferous, and of sucli a composition
as to yield a strong soil on the slopes. In the northern part of the
State, in White and Oyerton, a sandstone stratum, from 40 to 50 feet
thick, occurs in about the middle of the group, which has given origin
to a bench or terrace around the slopes of the Talkie Land, and in ad-
dition caps a number of outlying "little mountains" and ridges. The
outcrops of the jNIountain Limestone are 86 on tiie ]Slap and are un-
colored.

9, THE rOAE MEASURES.

This is the last formation of the carboniferous division, and, more-
over, the last — that is to say, the uppermost — of all the formations con-
sisting of liard rocks. It is, as stated, the depository of all the beds of
true stone coal in Tennessee, and for this reason, if for no other, of
very great interest. The formation caps the Table Land and is co-
extensive with it, and has therefore an area of 5,100 s([uare miles. It
is a series of conglomerates, shales and sandstones, containing a greater
or less number of beds of coal, and is on an average (not including
the north-eastern portion) from 500 to 600 feet thick. In the north-
eastern portion, and within the counties of jMoi-gan, Anderson, Scott,
Campbell and Claiborne, there are high ridges, towering above the

42 Resoiwces of Tennessee,

jrcneral level of the Table Land, in which the coal measures have a
thickness of more than 2,000 feet, and include not less than sixteen
beds of coal. One of these, near the base of the mountain, is exten-
sively mined, and is from four to seven feet thick, and even of greater
thickness. Other l)eds, not yet explored, Init showing outcrops of
three and four feet, occur. In all the counties, wholly or in part, on
the Table Land banks of good coal are found, most of which are"of
good workable thickness. For more detailed description of the cotd
bexls, see chapter on coal.

The greater part of the flat surface of the Table I^and is immedi-
ately underlaid with sandstone. The ridges which rise alx>ve the gen-
eral level have shales cropping* out on their slopes. The soils of these
ridges, and of the coves and mountain valleys about them, are gen-
erally better than elsewhere. The Coal iSIeasures are colored dark
gray on the Map.

We reach now formations of a mucli later age than those described.
Thev are almost wholly confined to West Tennessee, and include all
tbe strata of sands, clays, marls, and siliceous beds of that part of the
State. There is evidently an old shore line running from south tO'
north through the State, coinciding Avith the Tennessee Eiver through
])art of Hardin County, but generally lying a few miles west of that
stream. Along this shore line the older rocks, the solid limestones,
.slates and siliceous rocks of Middle and East Tennessee are abruptly
beveled off tt) an unknown depth, and, going west, are seen no more
within the State. The entire area between this line and the Missis-
sippi River is occupied by formations (cretaceous, tertiary and quarter-
nary,) the materials of which have been <le])osited at periods posterior
tf) the beveling of the rocks of the old shore. The reader may get a
<*Iearer idea, perha])s, by supposing all this region to have been, in ages
j)ast, occupied by a gulf of water, l)oun<h'd on the east side by thi«
old shore, whose ro(;ks were washtcd i)y its waves. Subse(|uently the
water receded, and accumulations of sand, clays, fine siliceous material,
marls and shells took its place.

The formations we are to consiiler belong to the Mchozo'ic and Ccno-
zoic divisions ^)i' geologists, and some of the recent alluvial beds to the
Af/e of Man.

10(1. COFFKK SAN J).

Tliis and the two following f.iriiuilioii>, the Rotten lAmedone ajid the

Geological Formations. 43

Ixlpley beds, are included, by geologists, under the name Cretaceous^
The Coffee Sand is the lowest of the three, and outcrops from beneath
them, just beyond the old shore, in Decatur and Hardin (bounties. It*
area of outcrop — marked 10« on the ^Nlap and cohn-ed light green — is
comparatively small, and most i>f" this is covered by the superficial
Orange Sand to be described. Tlie C'olfee Sand is a grou]) of stratified
sands, usually containing scale-^ of mica. Interstratified more or less
with these sands are thin, often p;ipcr-like, layers of dark clay, the
clay layers oce^^sionally predoniiiuitiiig. Sometimes beds of lamiiiat<'d
or slaty clay of considerable thickness — from one to twenty feet or
more — are met with in the series. The group contains in abundance
woody fragments and leaves, converted more or less into lignite. The
thickness of the series is not known ; the part exposed is probably not
far from 200 feet. For eight<>en or twenty miles in Hardin County
the Tennessee River and the old shore line, and hence the limit between
the old and new formations, coincide, and for this distance the river
washes the Coffee Sand, presenting at intervals interesting bluffs, of
which the principal ones are Coffee Bluff at Coffee I^anding, that at
Crump's Landing, and the one at Pittsburgh Landing.

lOb. eottp:n ij^iestone.

Lapping over the Coffee Sand on the west is an interesting forma-
tion known as Botfen Limestone, or sometimes as Green Sand. Its
mass consists generally of fine quai'to>e sand mixed with clay, forming
a clayey sand. AVith this is much calcareous matter. The mass con-
tains also the green grains of a mineral known as Glaveonite. The
layers in which these grains are most abundant niay be used as a fer-
tilizer. The formation throughout contains fossil shells of many va-
rieties, some of which are of veiy large size. Conspicuous among
these are great fossil oyster shells. These at some localities have been
gathered and burnt into lime. Thi< formation is the northern exten-
sion of the Eotten Ijimestone of jSIississippi and Alabama. Li Ten-
nessee its maximum thickness is in ^IcXairy County, and is about 350
feet. AVhen dry, the material of the formation has a greenish gray
color; when wet, it is much darker. Its outcrop is represented on the-
Map by the same color as that of tlie last formation, and is marked
106, though it must be recollected tluit Orange Sand covers much (»f
this.

44 Resources of Tennessee.

lOe. TvIPLEY.

So far as its material is concerned, tliis formation is mncli like the
Coffee Sand. It is mostly made up of stratified sands, ^liich are often
laminated with thin clayey layers. Oc^casionally a bed of slaty clay is
met with. In Hardeman County a bed of limestone, from two to six
feet in thickness, and a bed of green sand containing shells occur in
the series. The Ripley group may have a thickness of 400 or 500
feet. It outcrops provisionally within the area lOe of the map, not
regarding tlie superficial Orange Stind. Its color is also light green.

11a. FLAT^\'OODS GROUP.

Following the Cretaceous rocks, \\-(> liave two formations wliich are
included in tlie Tertiary division. The name Flatiroodii was dven to
tlie first ])y the Mississippi geologists. In Tennessee the formation has
]iei-liaps a thickness of 200 or 300 feet, and does not differ materially
from the Ripley and the Coffee Sand, excepting in containing propor-
tionally much more laminated or slaty clay. In the Geological Report
of Tennessee this is called the "Porter's Creek Group," so called be-
cause a- heavy bed of the laminated clay 100 feet thick occurs on the
-creek of tliis name. Its belt is l\<i and its color liulit blue.

\\h. r>A (;i?AN(ii-: (irott.

This, the second formation refori'cd to in the Tertiary division, out-
<'rops, less the, portion covered by the Orange Sand, oyer a large part
of West Tennessee. Its belt, l\b on the Maj) and colored canary
yellow, is forty miles wide, and extends in a northeasterly direction
ihrongh the central ])ortion of this part of the State. As seen in
blulfs, railroad cuts, tVrc., it is generally a stratified mass of sands,
more or less argillaceous, which, wIkmi weathered, are yellow, red and
orange. Its sands are often lil<(! those of the other grouj)S just de-
scrilx'd, and contain locally Icaxi's and beds of lignite. The series
presents also beds of white and variegated clays. The thickness is
uid<nr)wn, and may l)e as much as (JOO feet.

Geological Fonnaiions. 45

12^/. THE ol^A^•(JI-; sanj), or dtuft.

Tills is an important formation Avith reference to agricultural feat-
ures. After tlie deposition of the materials of tlie formati«m just men-
tioned, the wliole of West Tennessee, the AVestern A'alley and the
western portion of the Kim, appear to have been SMept over by waters
which deposited unstratified sand and gravel over the whole region.
The materials then deposited eonslitute the Orawje Sand. AVest of
the valley of the Tennessee River the formation is mainly orange, red
or variegated sands. It covers superficially, as has been stated, much
of the outcrops of the formations from 10a to 116 inclusive. The
Orange Sand is a wide-spread coating of variable thickness, thinning
out at places and exposing the underlying formations, like drifts of
snow driven by the wind. Its materials diifer so little from those of
the underlying Cretaceous and Tertiary formations that they are often
not easily distinguishable, and they have about the same agricultural
value. Owing to the superficial character of the Orange Sand, it has
not been represented on the map in any way. The beds of gravel
occurring at so many points in the Western Valley are all referable to
the Orange Sand, and the same may be said of the gravel which is
found on the highlands and which is associated with the iron deposits
of the Western Iron Belt.

126. BLUFF LOAM, OR LOESS.

Crowning tlie uplands of Shelby, Tipton, Lauderdale, Dyer and
Obion is a stratum of fine siliceous loam, more or less calcareous, and
usually of a light ashen, yellowish or" buff color. This is the Bluff
Loam. The formation contains land and fresh water shells, and fre-
quently calcareous nodules. It has a thickness ranging from a few
feet to one hundred. Memphis is built upon it. The Loam rests
upon the Orange Sand, and is therefore of later age. Its area or belt
is colored pink and is marked 126 on the Map. The eastern boundary
of the belt must be taken as an approximation, as the eastern feather-
edge of the formation has not been, as yet, traced out accurately. The
Loam caps the bluffs facing the bottom of the Mississi})pi, the Orange
Sand first and then the La Grange group cropping out below this ou
the slopes.

^6 Resources of Tennessee.

13. ALf-IVlI il.

The alluvia] bottoms of all the riv«rs in the State are properly in-
<4uded in this division. They are the most recent deposits, and con-
sist of washings which the rains hav<? carried off from the uplands.
The most important alluvial area is that of the Mississippi Bottom,
and this is the only one indicated on the Map. All of the rivers,
however, present level, alluvial tracts, whi(;h, in general, are of unsur-
passed fertility. The Mississii)pi Aliuviiim is colored sage green and
18 marked 13.

Relation of Geology to the Farm. 47

CHAPTER IV.

Eelation of GKoi.oriY to the Faum."^

How would the farmer be benefitted by his understanding of geol-
ogy? Can scientific and practical geology benefit the farmer? Could
lie produce more of the means of living by understanding geology?

The writer of this article will undertake to show that the farm ciui
be nuich better managed \)\' a knowledge of geology, and that no occu-
pation of juan depends so nuieh upon a knowledge of that science for
success as that of farming.

AVhat is geology? It is the science which explains the origin and
creation of the earth, in all of its parts, components, connections, rela-
tions, productions and reproductions. It explains the composition,
structure and development of all rocks, soils, lands, mountains, ridges,
valleys, plains, oceans, seas, lakes, rivers, springs, climates, light, heat,
vapor, dew, rain, hail, frost, snow, ice, tides, oceanic currents, the sea-
sons, currents of wind and their temperature. It explains the origin,
creation and reproductions of the whole vegetable and animal king-
doms, their habits and natural laws.

A farm is a portion of the earth ; it is a part of the subject of geol-
ogy. It is cultivated gi-ound — fields, pastures, meadows, orchards,

* This paper was prepared for the Bureau of Agriculture by the late Dr. F. H. Gordon just before
hie death, and is probably the last article wiiich he ever prepared for the press. It will be read witli
mournful interest But few men In the State of Tennessee have equalled Dr. Gordon in the facility
with which he could translate the mysteries of science so as to be comprehensible to the •rdinary
reader. His gifted pen did much to awaken interest in agricultural pursuits, and to lead the farmers
to think for themselves. His nume its inseparably blended with the progress of agriculture. For
nearly fifty years his suggestions and essays have exerted a perceptibly salutary influence upon the
farming community. Many a sterile spot has been reclaimed, many a home made beautiful in its sur-
roundings, many a barren woodland clothed in rich verdure, many an orchard made to teem with de-
lightful fruits, many a dumb brute protected from the wintry blasts, housed and fed, many a family
made happier in life and happier in death, through his teachings. His talent was not hid in a napkin,
nor his light under a bushel; and it gives us sincere pleasure to place upon record the services leu-
dered agriculture by this pure, christian gentleman, who, forgetting self in his desire to benefit man-
kind, toiled patiently, assiduously and persistently to advance the pursuit which lies at the very
foundation of indiridual and national prosperity.

48 Resources of Tennessee.

vineyardf^, nurseries, plant-beds, gardens, knvns, farm-yards, pounds,
plantation rt)ads, gates, fences, dwelling-houses, barns, stables, shelters,
groves of tim])er trees, tirewood, basket-willow, hedges, ditches, under-
drains, plantation bri<lges, springs, ponds for fish, for stock water, for
cranberries, rice, and lor irrigation.

From the two definitions, any one may see what is the relation of

' geology to the form. It is seen that a farm is but a small part of the

materials of geology ; hence, whoever understands well the geology of

his own farm can ])roduce a greater abundance of all the means of

living than any one can do who does not understand it well.

A comj)rehensive definition to geology has been given; but modern
geologists will sustain it. All the natural sciences are included in the
wide field of geology ; hence that science teaches the farmer so much
that it will be im])ossible to do more, in this short essay, than to set
forth its general teachings in the plainest manner, in order that the
farmer may see liow he woxdd be benefitted by the study of it during
his leisure hours. But before this is done, it will give satisfaction to
some plain, honest farmers if we shall first answer a question which
farmers are apt to ask : " If all good and profitable farming depends
on a knowledge of geology, how is it that I get along well and make
money by farming, when I know nothing about geology?" Many a
farmer sincerely asks this question. The answer is easy. We say to
that farmer, you do know something about geology; you know a great
deal about it. ^Nlost of the knowledge which enables you to farm to
advantage, is that much geology. Though you did not learn it directly
from a book or agricultural journal, still you have learned it from
your parents, your neighbors, and every one who showed you or told
it to you. No matter where or how you got the knowledge, it is that
nuich geology, which (jualifies you to carry on your farm profitably.
It would be dilficult to find a man of common sense who knows noth-
ing alxmt geology. To make my position plainer — geology is nothing
but the common sense of the farm, so far as agriculture extends.
Hence, if any farnu'r has much practical good sense on his farm, he is
to that extent ii good geologist; and it makes no ditference where he
got his iiifi-niiiiti'iii — whether from couversation, agricultural j)ap(n's,
or from honks, it is tiMic, that il' he had years ago resorted to hooks
and agricultural papers, he would have learned what he now knows
soouei' and cMsicr ; :in(l he would have learned more than he now
IvHows, and therel'orc! lie would lia\c hccn a moi'i' ])rospci'()us and bet-
ter farnu'i" Hum lie now is.

Relatioji of Geology to the Farm. 49

Then suppose some such a farmer as is here described and answered,
should still sneer at book farming, and make himself smart at the ex-
pense of some writer, who asks neither money nor praise for writing
to benefit him and others. What then ? He is only sneering because
he does not know just a little more. If he knew a little more, he
would see how foolish he makes himself when he sneers at and ridi-
cules his best friends; for whoever will show him how he can preserve
his land from washing, and make it richer and more productive, with
the same amount of labor now employed, ought certainly to gain his
friendshi]!, if not his gratitude. And whoever will show him how and
prompt him to bring every idle acre of his farm into profitable pastur-
age and meadows, ought to be respected.

When a geologist undertakes to instruct and benefit a farmer, he
expects to do it by explaining the nature of all things Avith which the
farmer has to deal ; and when he looks to the farm he finds a vast
multitude of things to be studied. The farmer must have fully ex-
plained to his understanding the soil and subsoil, the rocks he stumbles
over, the mountains, ridges, valleys, plains, the farm crops, plants,
shrubs and trees, all domestic animals, all insects, worms and small
vermin that infest the farm, the atmosphere and its part in production
of climate, storms, rain, snow, ice, the part that light and heat perform
in production, and the best methods of obtaining their full benefit to
the growing crops.

To make all these subjects, a'nd many more, plain to the farmer, the
geologist must begin at the creation of the earth and all things on it.
Of course this cannot be fully and completely done in a short essay,
therefore a general view only will be given.

When the world was created, it was a formless mass of air, water
and earth all in a state of mixture. Then a separation was made so as
to make three parcels, namely, earth, water and air. The solid earth
was made nearly round, and then pressed up into mountains, ridges
and valleys, and the Avater sank and flowed into the deep sinks and
valleys, to form the oceans, seas and rivers. The earth was placed
nearly ninety-six millions of miles from the sun, and made to move
around it from west to east, and at the same time the earth to turn from
west to east on its own axis or center of the whirling motion. This
]n*oduces day and night, and the seasons of the year. Thus the air,
heat and light were prepared to vitalize all vegetables and animals as
fast as created. And the rocks of the mountains Avere reduced to
l)0Avder or dust, out of Avhich all plants, shrubs and trees Aycre made.
4

50 Resources of Tennessee.

Then all sorts and varieties of animals were created or made out of
the vegetable kingdom. Lastly, man was made out of the vegetables
and animals which had been made before. This is, in substance, the
account of creation given by Moses. And the most important lessons
which the farmer can learn may be taught him by a close investigation
of the 'preparations made as absolutely necessary to the creation and re-
jrrodiiction of every class of living beings. First the rocks had to be
reduced to dust for the production and support of plants and trees.
The powdering of rocks was accomplished by several preparations.
The hills and mountains consisted of sheets or layers of rocks. (There
was at first no soil or dirt.) The pushing upward of the mountains
out of the waters bent the layers of rocks across the backbone of
ridges, and cracked them in countless places from top to bottom. The
heat of the sun dried and cracked the rocks on the surface, and the
heat of the sun and the atmosphere evaporated the water of the seas
and let it down as rain, to run into all the cracks and seams, so that
whenever the air was cold enough the water in the cracks became ice,
which expanded in freezing and shivered the rocks to powder or dust.
This dust was used to create and reproduced the whole vegetable king-
dom then and ever afterwards. The same preparations were necessary
to precede the creation of animals. And the vegetable kingdom itself
was an all-important preparation ; it was obliged to precede animals,
because all animals are made directly out of vegetables. Hence the
face of the earth was made hilly, and the hills were made with numer-
ous vents to drain the rain-water downward and form springs for ani-
mals to drink, while the perfect drainage prepared the soil to produce
eteij sort of vegetable for the support of all animals. Then, accoiid-
ing to the Divine economy, without this sj-^tem of drainage no vegeta-
ble could be produced and supported ; and without vegetables, no ani-
mals could be produced and supported; and without vegetables and
inferior animals, man coukl not be produced and supported. This im-
portant lesson of Divine geology ought to be well studied by every
farmer. He cannot cx])ect to produce farm crops, fruits aiid grasi^es
unless he observes the Divine plan. He must keep his lands in a con-
dition to drain well, or then he need not expect to prosper.

Again, we learn from geology that the sheets of rocks which com-
pose the hills are not all made up of exactly the same simple sub-
stances; and wo learn that the most soluble components of the rocks
arc fertilizers, such as potash, soda, i)liosi)liorns, lime, sulphur, chlo-
rine, etc. ; and that, unless the farm is kept in a condition to absorb,

Relation of Geology to the Farm. 51

retain and appropriate thcni as fast as dissolved, they will mostly
be dissolved out and washed away, and the farm will be made poor
and unproductive. But if the farmer will look at nature's con-
trivance to prevent the waste of the more soluble components of the
rocks, he will find that all the contrivances to keep the""face of the
earth unlevel, and to keep open numerous vents to let rain-water down
freely through the soil and the rocks, are nature's chief arrangements
to preserve the fertility of the soil. If rain-water will sink and rwn
away under ground as flist as it falls, it will not delay to wet the soil
excessively so as to bake it, nor to dissolve much of the fertilizers, and
therefore hasty rains will do but little damage. From this the farmer
learns that he ought to co-operate with nature in keeping his lands
porous, to preserve the manures on the surface, and to prevent the
•washing of his lands into gulleys, and the drying up of his springs ;
because, if the soil shall become water-tight, and cause the''rain to run
away on the surface, all springs, creeks and rivers will dry up; then
no vapor will rise from streams, the soil and vegetables, to come down
as dew and rain. The section will become thirsty and barren. It is
probable that from this cause Palestine, once able to support five mil-
lions of inhabitants, is now so barren that half a million of people
consume all that the country can produce.

Again, if the farmer understands the components of the rocks, he
may subsoil and drain in such a mode as will guide the fertilizers
from above the farm down upon all poor spots below and enrich th*m.

Climate has a controlling influence upon vegetation and the capa-
bility of any section for abundant production ; and when we look to
the causes which modify the climate of any locality, we find them- to
be mostly geological. Latitude has some influence upon climate, but'
other causes have much more. The height of mountains, and the
proximity to or remoteness from large bodies of water, have a great
influence. Extremes of heat and cold are prevented by the more uni-
form temperature of an ocean ; hence, the further from an ocean or
sea, the colder in winter and the hotter in summer ; and the higher up
above the level of the sea the colder, and the nearer the level of tlie
sea the warmer. But the relative positions of t4ie seas and continents
will more or less modify the climate of any locality; and tlie ciirrents
of air and of the oceans have a considerable influence upon the «li-
mate of any place. And all these causes which regulate climate maJco
up the measure of production in any section of country. Good geo-

5 2 Resources of Tennessee.

logical maps Avill enable the farmer to look to any part of the earth;
and judge the climate with tolerable accuracy. ""

There are many uses of the rocks of the earthy besides their general
use in making soil. Some of them make lime for building purposes
and for fertilizing land, as well as building-rock for fences and houses.
They contain nearly all the ores of metals, as gold, silver, mercury,
tin, copper, zinc and iron. All these are of use to the farmer, and he
is dependent upon geology for their discovery and development. The
most abundant and most valuable metal, iron, is just at this time a
subject of absorbing interest to the farmer. The coal mines of England
are so nearly" exhausted, that the scarcity of coal used in making iron
has doubled the price of iron even in the United States, and enhanced
at the same rate every article made of iron. Hence the geologists of"
the world are now busy in hunting out the localities where iron ore
and coal can be worked in close proximity. Already iron works are
springing up in Tennessee like magic. AValden's Ridge, on the east
side of the Cumberland Mountains, for at least one hundred miles in
length, contains the very best iron ore and unlimited veins of coal in
close proximity. New iron works are now going up every week. In
a few years Tennessee will make half the iron of the United States.
There is every inducement to establish machine shops in the vicinity
of the coal, to work the iron into all implements of agriculture and
the trades. The whole eastern base of Walden's Ridge may soon be-
come a large manuflicturing city of millions of inhabitants. It may
even rival Mancliester in the future. The iron manufacture of Ten-
nessee \vill be of great benefit to her farmers and all citizens. It Avill
cheapen iron and every article made of iron, and furnish a market at
home for a vast amount of farm products. It will set Tennesseans to
manufacturing, on a large scale, many articles Avhich can be made
cheaper in the vicinity of coal. In providing coal, iron ore, forests of
timber, and the best water-powers in the world, nature ordained that
tlie Cumberland Mountain should become a great worksliop; and geol-
ogy has but recently begun to wnfold those vast natural blessings.
Tennessee farmers will reap the profits of feeding and clothing all the
workmen employed in the iron Avorks and machine shops of the min-
ing region.

We ha\'e now specified enough relations of geology to the farm to
convince every farmer, who desires to be convinced, that he is greatly
dependent upon that science for success in his vocation. He has but
to open his eyes and look around him to see the many ol)jects Avitli

Relatio7i of Geology to the Farm. 53

which geology has blessed him. All of them are subjects of creation
from the dust of the earth he tills, and reproductions according to the
Divine preparations at the beginning ot all earthly things. The light
that shows him his way, the water he drinks, the electricity that warns
him in the clouds, the hills and the valleys, the vegetable and animal
kingdoms, Avhich warm, feed and clothe him, are all the results of
primary creation and of many subsequent changes, transformations
and reproductions, according to the Divine geology. They are all
blessings offered to the farmers of the earth, upon the condition that
i;hey accept them and learn how to use and enjoy them.

54 Resources of Tennessee.

CHAPTER V.

Soils.

The soils of every state constitute its principal agricultural wealth,,
and lie at the foundation of all . durable prosperity. HoM-ever rich a
country may be in minerals, its independence cannot be maintained
without a sufficiency of fertile soils to produce food enough to subsist
its population. In times of peace, a state dependent upon its manu-
factures may enjoy a flourishing prosperity, and even grow opulent, by
Ijartering a portion of its manufactured products for the necessaries of
life, but in a condition of hostilities it quickly yields to the overpow-
ering advantages of a nation capable of subsisting uj^on the products
grown within its limits. Many instances are recorded, both in pro-
fane and sacred history, where the question of food decided great na-
tional contests; and the intelligent reader will not forget that well-
known case, recorded in the Bible, where Tyre and Sidon were com-
])ellcd to make an ignominious treaty with King Herod, "because
their country was nourished by the king's country."

Political economists have long since ascertained that pojoulation in-
creases directly as the quantity of food, other things being equal ; and
that of two countries, one of which has an abundance of cheap food
and the other in which food is scarce and dear, the population of the
former increases more rapidly than in the latter. Now, if in our con-
dition ])(q)ulation is wealth, and ch(^a]) food is the necessary antecedent
to pojMilation, it follows that the highest ends of enlightened states-
manshi}) should be to produce an abundance of the means of subsist-
ence by the ])rescrvation of the fertility of the soil.

In the foregoing chapter on climatology it has been shown, by facts
deduced from a long scries of observations, that the climate of Ten-
nessee is c»f that })eculiar character and excellence which produces the-

Soils. 55

most happy effects upon the capacity of the laborer for work ; being
neither so cold as to benumb his energies and impair the regularity of
his habits, nor so hot as to enervate his physical system. The great
physical agencies which govern the creation of wealth are climate and
soil — the first regulating the constancy, energy and directness of labor;
ftie latter fixing, with reasonable certainty, the profits of labor. " There
is no instance in history," says Mr. Buckle in his masterly work on
the civilization of Ekigland, " of any country being civilized by its
own efforts, unless it has possessed one of these conditions [soil or
climate] in a very favorable form. In Asia, civilization has always
been confined to that vast tract where a rich and alluvial soil has
secured to man that wealth without some share of which no intellect-
ual progress can begin." To the north of this alluvial belt is a "long
line of barren country, which has invariably been peopled by rude
ajid wandering tribes, which are kept in poxj^rty by the ungenial na-
ture of the soil, and who, as long as they have remained on it, havQ
never emerged from their uncivilized state."

Climate and soil, it would therefore appear, are the necessary condi-
tions of wealth, and by reason of the leisure which wealth gives, of
intelligence, moral culture and civilization.

Though the fertility of the soil, and the preservation of that fer-
tility, are necessary to a high degree of social and intellectual culture,
the aptitudes of the soil for the production of a variety of the most
valuable products is a powerful agent in influencing the accumulation
of wealth. A soil that will produce only one crop well, is not so val-
uable as a soil that will produce a dozen. Nor can a State which pro-
duces only one crop be as prosperous as one that produces a diversity.
We propose to show that the State of Tennessee has not only a great
diversity of climate and sub-climate, but a still greater diversity of
soil, and is capable of growing in remunerative quantities all the most
desirable farm products of the continent, sugar and rice only ex-
cepted.

It has lieen shown in the chapter on the geology of the State, that
nearly every formation is represented in the State of Tennessee. We
have the Lower and Upper Silurian, the Devonian, the Carboniferous,
the Cretaceous, the Tertiary and Quartenary. These various forma-
tions, by disintegration, weathering and washing, furnish the organic
matter of the soils and give fixedness to their character. Thus we
have, in common parlance, the granitic soil, the limestone soil, the slate
soil, the sandstone soil, the "made" soil — all, more or less, resulting

56 Resources of Tennessee.

from changes which have been brought about by external agencies on
the subjacent rocks, and from these rocks they derive their chief char-
acteristics. In regard to the alhivial or " made soils/' which are in
part derived from many sources, some of them remote from their pres-
ent localities, some modification of the general remark is required.
The action of the water in transporting, assorting, drifting and com-
mingling the various ingredients which compose the alluvial soils,
make them in some degree independent of the underlying rocks.

The soils of the State may be classified as follows :

1. Geanitic. JJnalca Mountain soils; rather sandy, micaceous and

mellow. Exclusively belonging to East Tennessee.

2. Semi-geanitic. Destitute of mica ; otherwise very much like the lyre-

ceding. Exclusively East Tennessee.

'S. Sandstone Soil. Generally sandy and poor.

4. Siliceous oe Flinty. Fine, sandy soil of the ''Poor Barrens" of

the Highland Kim; genercdly much leached, icith the original

limestone matter dissolved oid.

5. Sandy Soils. Underlying roch not consolidated; often fertile ; im-

portant. Exclusively West Tennessee.

6. Calcaeeo-Siliceous. Very fertile ; contains concretionary calca-

reous nodules; important. Confined to West Tennessee.

7. Calcaeeous Soils. The most important class of soils in the State;

found in all divisiojis of the State; derived from limestone rocks,
or rocks containing lime; strong, durable, and suited to all
crops.

8. Geeen Sand. A calcareo-argillaceous mass underlying it, half con-

solidated into rock, often called rotten limestone, which is loaded
vnth sJiells of many varieties, among which large oyster shells are
specicdly prominent.

9. Slaty Soils. Of varying fertility; stiffer than the generality of

soils.

10. Alluvium. Knomi as river bottoms; black with humus; often

called "made lands."

Soils. 57

The Gea^'itic and Semi-Granitic. These are generally thin and
poor, and are confined exclusively to the Unakas. As for the productive
capacity of these soils for field crops, they have been but little tested,
though for the growing of wild grasses they are exceedingly valuable
to stock herders. Many of the Balds have spots of great fertility, the
soil being black and prairie-like. The slopes are often covered with a
dense growth of fine timber. Walnut, wild cherry, poplar, beech and
oak abound. Though locally very rich, these lands can never be
brought into successful cultivation on account of the ruggedness of the
country. Some spots yield buckwheat unsurpassed in the luxuriance
of its growth.

The climate, though pleasant in sunuuer, is exceedingly rigorous in
winter, and upon the summits of the mountains is found the flora of
Canada. Wild, rugged, uninhabited, these mountains stand sublime
in their unchangeableness — mighty landmarks, darkening with their
shadows the smiling valleys that lie at their base.

The Sandstone Soils are derived from a rock almost totally defi-
cient in fertilizing matter or plant food, being chiefly silica. Hence their
sterility. This class of soils may be divided into five kinds, more or
less distinct. These are the Chilhowee Sandstone, Knox Sandstone,
Clinch Mountain Sandstone, White Oak Mountain and Dyestone rocks,
and Cumberland ]Mountain Sandstone.

1. The Chilhowee Sandstone Soil is confined to the mountain ridges,
and is very limited in extent. Some few areas are found that will re-
pay the labors of the husbandman in the cultivation of potatoes, buck-
wheat and garden vegetables. The Chilhowee Mountains are sparsely
settled, and but a small proportion of the soil has ever been cultivated,
but it is much used as a common pasture ground, blue grass growing
luxuriantly upon some of the ridges near the Virginia lines in the
counties of Johnson and Carter. The locality of this soil is repre-
sented on the ISIap in long green strips, and marked 25.

2. TJie Knox Sandstone Soil is unimportant, being confined to long,
narrow, sharp ridges, which are often called Piney or Comby ridges.
This soil is confined to the Valley of East Tennessee, and is very little
cultivated. It produces timber in limited quantities but not much
grass, and is not so valuable for pasture grounds as the preceding.

3. The Clinch Mountain Sandstone Soil occurs mostly on the south-
east side of Clinch Mountain, Powell's Mountain, Lone Mountain,
some of the ridges of the Bays Mountain group, &c. It is thin, sandy

58 Resources of Te7tnessee.

and poor, sparsely timbered, and has immediately underlying it large
sheets of sandstone. It has a pale yellowish color, and when the
depth of tlie soil is sufficient, will yield Irish potatoes and garden
vegetables. It may be mentioned that the north-west sides of these
mountains have a very fertile calcareous soil, highly productive, the
fields in many cases reaching the crests of the mountains. It is curi-
ous to observe the exuberance of vegetable growth on the one side
and the poverty on the other. Stately trees with leafy tops, covered
with vines and creepers, making an impenetrable thicket, characterize
the one side in its wild state, while the other, covered with an impen-
etrable shield of sandstone, has here and there a few scanty shrubs and
starveling trees, typifying the indescribable sterility and scantiness of
the soil. It is represented on the Map by 5«.

4. The White Oak Mouniain and Dyestone Soil occurs on the south-
east side of White Oak Mountain in James and Bradley counties, and
on the slopes of the smaller Dyestone ridges. These ridges are so
called from the occurrence of red stratified iron ore. The rocks un-
derlying this variety of sandstone soils are more varied in chemical
composition and give more vitality and fertility to the soil, which are
manifested in the better growth of timber, though bat small areas of
this variety have been brought into cultivation, owing to the rugged-
ncss of the country in which it prevails. It may be added that the
aggregate extent of this soil is very limited, and could only be repre-
sented by mere lines on the Map. The White Oak Mountain and the
ridges mentioned are interesting mainly on account of the abundance
of iron ore. This is represented on the Map by 56.

5. The Cmnherhind Mounfcdn Soil is the most important of this
group, inasnuich as it extends over an area of about 5,000 square
miles, covering nearly the whole surface on the top of the Cumberland
Table Land. This soil is sandy and thin, the sand being coarse and
angular. Nevertheless, at the foot of some of the knobs and ridges
that rise above the general level of the Table Land there are areas .of
moderate fertility. The valleys, too, upon the top of the plateau and
the north hill sides are much above the average in fertility. This
region is totally destitute of lime, extremely ])orous, and difiicult to
improve. Maniu'e soon sinks to a depth which renders it unavailable
as ])lant food.

There arc two leading classes of soils on tlu! Table Land, the most
valuable of which has a yellowish red subsoil, with a thin coating of

Soils. 5^

Immiis on the surface. This character of land can be improved and
rendered highly productive, but continual vigilance and care are re-
quired to prevent tha escape of the elements of fertility. This ma}^
be eifected by seeding to clover, Avhich should be treated to frequent
and liberal top dressings of plaster of Paris. The soil is extremely
tender, and constant care is required to prevent ^yashing.

The second class of these soils has a light yellow, whitish and some-
times bluish subsoil, with little or no humus. It is extremely porous,
leaky and, when wet, is often inclined to be miry. In its native state
it produces nothing but shrubby trees and a scanty growth of hardy
weeds and coarse grass. Much of the surface is covered with lichens
and sometimes with mosses. Manure applied to these lands soon dis-
appears, leaving scarcely a trace after the first or second season. It is
a serious question to determine the best uses of which these lands are
capable. For grain farming they are valueless, and scarcely better for
fruits and cultivated grasses. AVe can recommend nothing better thaii.
that they be converted into extensive sheep walks. The native
grasses tmd herbs, with such of the hardy cultivated kinds as might
be induced to grow upon them, would afford pasturage sufficient during;
the summer for sheep and goats, and perhaps for cattle.

Besides these two leading classes of soils pertaining to the Table
Land, ther(\ is another, more limited in extent, but possessing peculiar
characteristics which entitle it to especial consideration. This class
comprehends the glades and wet lands along the smaller streams. The
soil, when wet, is of a dark blue color, sometimes nearly black, but
Avhen dried it is ash color. Blue clay is generally found in connection,
with it as a substratum. These soils are often entirely destitute of
timber, and covered with coarse, rank grass, and spotted with beds oF
fern, the tussocks of which form a close mat over the surface. The
absence of timber is owing to the superabundance of water, witk
which the ground is saturated throughout the greater part of the year..
These lands present another problem, but Ave are more hopeful of them
than of the class of uplands last described. It is true that many
efforts to reclaim them have failed, but this is owing to a failure to
understand their peculiar character. It is not enough to drain off the
water. They contain large quantities of half decomposed vegetable
matter, which imparts to them a high degree of acidity, and this must
be corrected liy a liberal use of alkali, and for this purpose either wood
ashes or lime may be used. "When thus treated, they are nearly equai
to alluvial soils in fertility, and are especially valuable for meadows.

<6o Resources of Te7inessee.

The soils of the Table Land are indicated on the J\Iap accompany-
ing this Eeport l)y figure 9. For more minute and particular infor-
mation, the reader is referred to the descriptions of the counties of
the Table Land, particularly that of Cumberland County, which may
be regarded as a type of the whole division.

Siliceous or Flixty Soils. Strictly these would embrace all the
soils of the Highland Rim except the alluvium on the rivers, but as a
•considerable portion of the Rimlands is strongly impregnated with
lime, we prefer to class the latter kind with the calcareous, and con-
fine the siliceous to that portion which has been leached of calcareous
matter. This soil, found in greatest abundance in the counties of
Lawrence, AVayne, Lewis, in less quantities in Stewart, INIontgomery,
DeKalb, Cannon, Coffee, Moore, Hickman, Humphreys, Dickson and
Franklin, is thin, poor and hungry. It has an original poverty of
-constitution. It generally rests upon a bluish or pale yellowish sub-
soil, so porous as to render the effects of manure unobservable after
one or two years. Chestnut, sweet gum, black jack, and water oak,
Avith an undergrowth of greenbriers, huckleberry and barberry, are the
characteristic growth. It also produces, in open woods, a coarse, rank
grass, which, when young and tender, is palatable to "stock." Thou-
sands of cattle and sheep are subsisted upon these highland pastures,
and this "barren land" is chiefly valuable for that purpose in an agri-
cultural point of view. Xotwithstanding the sterility of this soil, it
has been found well adapted to the growth of almost all the varieties
of fruit trees. Orchards that have been standing for over half a cen-
tury, are still bounteous in their yield of fruit. The finest specimens
of the apple tree in the State are found upon such lands in the coun-
ties of Lawrence and Wayne. The trees are rarely attacked by disease
or insects; and peach trees, planted forty years ago, are still vigoroiLS
in their growth and prolific in their yield. The borer and curculio are
unknown, and the porosity of the soil enables the roots of fruft trees
to take a wide range in reach of nourishment. These "barren lands'*
are usually very level and thinly wooded, and present to the eye a
beautiful surface. Many settlements have from time to time been
made u])on this character of soil, but are quickly abandoned, leaving
sightless, "broomscdge" fields and a few fruit trees as the only trace of
their former occupancy. It would l)c unjust to those seeking homes
in our State to conceal the fiu^t that tiiis character of soil is unfit for
$;eneral fanning ])urposcs, and whoever relies iqion it for the grow-
ing of the ordinary crops must remain steeped in poverty and dcstitii-

Soils. 6 J

tion. AYlien the country shall have become more densely populated
and great cities shall be accessible, these "barrens" will become valu-
able as a fruit region, and will have the capacity of supplying millions
of barrels of apples and bushels of peaches at cheap rates. They also
may be valuabk' as summer homes, for their high elevation gives them
invigorating breezes, and the water is as clear as light and as pure as
that distilled by the clouds.

AVe are anxious not to be misunderstood. By the " barrens " we
mean the poor, leachy soils, not those with red, tenaceous clayey sub-
soils, for these may be improved ; nor those which have a rolling sur-
fiice and an underlying cherty mass; but only that character of soil
whose subsoil is of the kind described above, and which is totally de-
ficient in calcareous matter. The location of these "barrens" is indi-
cated on the Map by 8a', though it must be observed that much of
this area so marked is calcareous and embraces many spots of great
fertility and durability of soil.

To recapitulate:

1. Tlie Barren Soil Light colored, with a porous, yellowish sub-
soil; fine .sandy, leachy.

2. The Productive Soils of the ''Barrens." Chocolate in color, red
clay subsoil, with intermingling cherty masses, generally very fertile,,
which will be treated of under the head of Calcareous Soils.

Sandy Soils. Under this head are included the varieties of mel-
low upland and highland soils which occur in AVest Tennessee. They
are based, not on solid rock, like the sandstone so.ils mentioned, but
upon unconsolidated strata of matter mainly sandy. The soils result-
ing are mainly of the same character. They are called sandy or are-
naceous, because this mineral feature greatly predominates, and are
generally red or yellow^ from the presence of a notable quantity of
ferric oxide and silicate. It does not follow that, because a soil is
*' sandy," it is therefore poor. The clay and calcareous matter that
some contain give them a degree of body and vitality which make
them for many crops highly valuable lands. The way they lie, too, is
an important consideration. If high, plateau-like, or gently rolling
and well drained, such lands are often highly esteemed by the farmer ;
when, if steep or very hilly, they are not prized. In the latter case
the soils have the same components, but, under tillage, are easily-
washed and made comparatively worthless.

-62 Resoiwces of Tennessee.

The varieties may be classified in accordance with the geological for-
anations, as follows:

1. The Coffee Sand Soil.

2. The Ripley Group Soil. ^
■3. The Flatwoods Group Soil.

4. Tlie Lagrange Group Soil.

5. Tlie Orange Sand Soil.

This classification is more a matter of convenience than anything
■else, for the varieties do not differ materially. They approximate a
■general type — a sandy soil, Avith more or less clay and calcareous mat-
ter, yellowish or reddish in color from ferric compounds, mellow, min-
utely pulverized, easily worked and easily washed, and derived from
^underlying, unconsolidated strata. The most important is that of the
Orange Sand, which is not represented on the Map, for the reason that
it is a superficial drift formation and would too mucli conceal the out-
crops of the other groups. As a formation, it is more fully described
in the chapter on the Geological Formations of the State.

The formations that give names to the variety of soils above are (with
the exception of the Orange Sand) represented on the Map by differ-
-ent colored belts running longitudinally across the State, and are desig-
nated respectively 10a, 10c, 11«, and 116. Of these the belt 116 is
much the widest.

These belts of outcrops occupy, as is seen, a large area of AVest Ten-
nessee; but it is to be especially noted that, spread out like a blanket,
•over very much of this area out of the valleys of the streams, are the
Ibeds of £he Orange Sand. These beds lie above the formations men-
tioned, but are overla})ped by the belt 126, the soil of which is there-
fore not modified by it, as hereafter noticed.

The Coffee, Ripley, Flafwoods and Lagrange Formations are here
-and tliere bare, the Orange Sand being absent. In such regions their
beds originate the soil, but being lithologically much like the Orange
Sand the soils of all, as stated, do not differ materially in their constir-
tution.

Tlie area occupied by the belts 10c and 11a, [Ripley and Flatwoods)
though cmln'acing much fine farming lands, some of it high table land,
is very often elevated, rough and broken l)y high ridges and deep de-
files, and includes the Tennessee llidge (west), the summit of the

Soils. 63

watershed, dividing the waters of the Tennessee from those of the
Mississippi. Near New Middleton, in Hardeman County, these belts
contain a thin stratum of limestone, enclosing shells and fossil remains
of crabs, and also a layer of green sand with sliells. These strata out-
crop at a few points, the former supplying material for making lime,
and the latter a fertilizer.

The beJt llrt (Flaticoods) contains, in a number of the counties
which it traverses, heavy layers of a laminated clay, which, when wet,
is dark colored, but light gray when dry. The outcrop of this clay,
when not covered by the Orange Sand, makes a stiff soil, quite in con-
trast with the typical sandy one.

The belt 116 (Lagrange) sometimes presents beds of clay, but they
are local. It occasionally shows a bed of lignite. It is for the most
part covered with the Orange Sand.

In the Western Valley of tlie Tennessee any one of the formations,
including also the older rock formations, may be covered by the
Orange Sand. Here it often presents itself as coarse water-worn
gravel, which here and there includes a great nest of iron ore, making
a "bank." Considerable areas are met with too gravelly for tillage.

CALCAREO-SiLiCEors. This contains but one variety of soil, that
of the Bluif Loam or Loess. The area or the belt it occupies is desig-
nated by 126 on the Map. This soil comes from a formation whicli
caps or overlies all other fbrmations in the belt of highlands running
from Hickman, Kentucky, to Memphis. The formation is made up
of a fine calcareo-siliceous earth, often presenting an ashen aspect as
to color and consistence, but sometimes of a reddish cast, occasionally
black and sometimes mulatto. It contains more calcareous matter
than the other unconsolidated fo^rmations of AVest Tennessee, with the
mngle exception of the Green Sand or Rotten Limestone. It is not
unusual to meet imbedded in it concretions of carbonate of lime. At
sorn^ points they may be gathered by the bushel. The soil is similar
in character to the formation — calcareous, siliceous, or fine grained,
ashen, and sometimes slightly reddish and black earth. Its lands are
among the most fertile in the State. The soil owes its good qualities,
not to its chemical composition alone, but also to its finely pulverulent
mechanical condition. Tobacco, cotton, w-heat, oats, clover and the
grasses grow luxuriantly upon it, while the native growth^ especially
in Obion and Dyer, is of marvellous exuberance.

64 Resources of Tennessee,

Calcaeeotjs Soils. Calcareous soils are those in which the carbo-
nate of lime is the characteristic or predominant constituent. These are
the limestone soils proper, and rest at a greater or less depth upon a
solid stratum of limestone. They are modified by the prevalence or
absence of arenaceous material, or by the quality or quantity of argil-
laceous matter.

There are six distinct varieties of these soils In the State, clearly
marked and defined, though all having more or less resemblance.

1. T]\c Knox Dolomite is the first of this group, and comprises some
of the finest firming lands in the State. It is characterized by a red
clay subsoil, filled with masses of chert peculiar in having rhombo-
hedral cavities. The rock which underlies this soil is composed of
ca^jbonate of lime and magnesia. The chert is mostly confined to the
south-east side of the ridges, the north-west being comparatively free
from it. The Knox Dolomite and the Knox Shale, taken together,
make up a larger portion of good arable land than all the other for-
mations in East Tennessee put together. In the southern part of
Sevier County and in Blount are some beautiful coves of this soil,
"where grass, grain and fruit flourish in vigor. In Jefferson County,
between the Holston and Bays Mountain and extending from near
!New Market to Russellville, is an elevated plateau composed of this
soil. Most of Claiborne County has this soil, also Hancock. It is
the soil of New Market Valley — a valley charming in its love-
liness, and highly productive of the cereals and grasses. The Knox
Dolomite soil has the valuable quality of durability, and when rotated
with clo^'er will continue fiM'tilo through generations. The soil is
designated on the Ma]) by 2c.

2. The Trenton or Lebanon Soil rests on a blue fossil limestone, and
covers nearly one-half of the Central Basin. It is also the soil of
many of the long valle>'s in East Tennessee and of the red knobs
about Knoxville. This soil is more friable and more fertile, but prob-
ably less durable, than the Knox Dolomite. It is also less sandy and
stiffer than that of the Nashville Limestone. This soil has sometimes
black chert in it, and the sand, from its disintegration, gives a suffi-
cient mi^lowness to the soil, and the red oxide of iron acts as a chem-
ical agent in giving it fertility. In productive capacity it is equal to
any in tlie State; grows to great perfection all the cereals. Wlieat
grown upon this soil is exceedingly ilinty and heavy, some of it weigh-
ing seventy pounds to the bushel. Not so productive of blue grass

Soils. 65

or barley as the Xasliville Limestone ; it is probably better suited to
tlie growth of cotton. It forms the fine cotton belt which encircles
Murfreesboro, extends to Bedford and embraces the greater portion of
Giles, Maury and Williamson. It is designated on the Map by the
figure 3, and, it will be seen, covers some of the fairest and most desi-
rable portions of the State.

3. The Nashville Limestone Soil differs from the preceding in having
a greater quantity of siliceous material and not so much clay. It is
mellow, porous, highly productive, adapted to blue grass, corn, cotton,
oats, wheat, barley and vegetables of every kind. It is specially suited
to the production of fine large melons, which are unequaled for sweet-
ness, juciness and delicate flavor. The watermelons of the Nashville
market are a source of admiration to all visitors, and they form quite
an item in the agricultural products of Davidson County. This soil
is more easily worked and washes more readily than any of the calca-
reous soils. It covers nearly one-half of the Central Basin,
and forms many of the beautiful valleys of East Tennessee. It is
designated on the Map by the figure 4, and for all purposes is second
in importance to no soil in the State. The subsoil is of a more yel-
lowish tint than the subsoil of the Trenton or Lebanon.

The qualities of the two varieties of soil last mentioned are of the
highest order, and, considering their great versatility, durability and
fertility, it is no exaggeration to say that they have not their superior
in any land. It is the character of this soil which has made Middle
Tennessee famous, and that has invested the country around Lexing-
ton, Kentucky, with a charm which has attracted from Europe some of
the most renowned stock-breeders of the world.

4. The Niagara Soil is confined almost exclusively to the Western
Valley of the Tennessee and the Valley of Buffalo River. It rests
upon a gray and red limestone, is moderately productive, but not so
Avell adapted to cotton or wheat as those last described. It grows In-
dian corn well and some of the grasses, but it is not so strong nor has
it such depth as the Lebanon or Nashville. It has frequent glady
places, which will subsist only scanty herbage between the fissures of
the rocks. This soil must not be confounded with the alluvial bot-
toms of the Tennessee and Duck rivers. It is designated on the Map
by 5<?.

5. Tlie Soil of the Loxcev Helderberg does not differ materially from
some of the otlier calcareous soils. It has a dark gray and chocolate

■66 Resotirces of Tennessee.

oolor ; is usually mellow. It is better than the Niagara, resembling more
the Trenton and Nashville in its capacity for production. Its largest
area is in Benton, Henry, Decatur and Hardin counties. On the ISIap
it is represented by the figure 6.

6. The Lower Carhoniferous may be sub-divided. The first occupies
a considerable portion of the Highland Rim, and is characterized
everywhere by a large fossil coral. This soil is composed of silica, alu-
mina and carbonate of lime, which make marlv soils. It also has oxide
of iron, organic matter and the like. It forms the best tobacco lands
in the State, and is as good for wheat as any portion of the Central
Basin. Grapes grow to great perfection on this soil; corn, oats, hay,
potatoes also yield largely. It has usually a chocolate color after
being brought into cultivation. Stiifer than the other calcareous soils,
it is not so liable to wash where the land is moderately broken. It
has underlying it a cherty bed that supplies a natural drainage. It is
strong, durable and reliable, never failing to produce fair crops when
well cultivated, whether the season be wet or dry. In wet weather
the cherty bed beneath carries off the superfluous water, and in dry
weather the thick bed of tenacious clay below the chert supplies hu-
midity to the growing plant. The surface of the land where this soil
is found is usually broken. Hopper-shaped sink-holes and Avide cir-
cular pond-like depressions are everywhere found. The skill of the
farmer is taxed to prevent the rims of these depressions from becom-
ing impoverished by washings into the bottoms. Deep plowing and
constant rotations with clover, a plant to which this soil is peculiarly
adapted, are found in practice to be the only means of preserving the
fertility of the elevated places. Notwithstanding these disadvantages
it is found that the farmers who cultivate this soil are among the most
prosperous in the State, and this is doubtless due to the certainty with
which the crops grow. In the Central Basin the soil is more fertile
and the arable land usually more level, but as the underlying lime-
stone comes nearer the surface, crops are more quickly affected by
drouth, so that, although the soil is richer, it is not more productive.
There is another peculiarity about this soil under consideration that
deserves mention. Blue grass sown upon fresh lands grows with
amazing luxuriance, but when tramped ])y the feet of cattle it quickly
dies out. The earth compacts too closely, there being too little sand
in its composition and too much clay. On the other hand, the Na.sh-
ville soil is bciielitted by tramping, the siliceous matter keeping it suf-

Soils. 67

fieiently porous, nnd even too nuich so for blue grass, unless solidified
by grazing. Nevertheless, there are many old fields on this Lower Car-
boniferous Formation that make respectable blue grass pastures, but
they are in such spots as have the limestone rock near the surface, and
Avhere the intervening subsoil is so chertv as to give it a comparative
jiorosity.

The largest orchards in the State are planted upon this soil, and yet
it is bv no means the best land for the yrowth of fruit. The extreme
tenacity of the subsoil checks the roots in their downward course and
induces a premature decay.

This su])-divisiou is marked 8a" on the Map, and constitutes a larirc
area of the best farming lands on the Highland Rim, and some in
East Tennessee.

The second sub-division, marked 86, is found on the slopes of the
Cumberland Table Land. It is less cherty, but highly productive. Nor
is it so red, but resembles more in color the alluvial bottoms. It is
more fertile, less clayey and more sandy than the first sub-division.
But a small quantity has been brought into cultivation. It is mostly
covered with a dense growth of fine timber — walnut, poplar, ash and
.oak. It is fouiul in greatest abundance in Overton, White, AVarreu
and Fentress.

Geeex Sand Sou.. This soilisa kind of siliceous loam, resting
upon an interesting formation in West Tennessee, which is, in the
main, sand and clay intermixed, having as characteristic ingredients a
considerable amonnt of carbonate of lime and numerous green grair.*^
{gkmconite) resembling in o<jnsistence ])articlcs of gunpowder, whi'h
give the mass a light greenish color. It must l)e mentioned that the
fonnation from which this soil is derived is loaded with shells, so
much so that they furnish material for burning lime. This greatly in-
fluences the charactei- of the soil, supplying it with fertile ingredients
and making it friable and ])roductive. It is well adapted to the
growth of cotton and corn, and some portions to the growth of wheat.
The land where this soil prevails is by far the most rugged portion of
AVest Tennessee, and many glady spots occur, especially upon the Ten-
nessee Ridge and its various S|iurs.

The green sand that gives name and character to this soil has bc<Mi
a subject of much speculation by scientific men. Chemical analyses
have been nuide, and the elements of fertility, such as pliosphoric acid,
potash, .sulphuric acid in ecuubination with lime, as in gypsum, aohihle

68 Resources of Tennessee.

fiihca, oxide of iron and carbonate of lime, have been found in greater
or less quantities. Some experiments have been made with it as a fer-
tilizer, with satisfactory results. Should it prove what scientists think,
the green sand in Tennessee will be an inexhaustible bed of manure
from which thousands of worn out acres may be reclaimed and made
])roductive. The extent of this deposit is eight miles wide and fifty
miles long, with a maximum thickness of ooO feet, thinning out to-
wards the northern and eastern margins.

Shaly Soil. Shales are common in many parts of the State. The
Blach Shale underlies the lands of the Rim, sometimes, however, crop-
ping out; other shales are found in great abundance associated with
the coal strata in the Cumberland Table Land ; but as a top formation
shale is rare. In a few of the narrow valleys of East Tennessee the
Black Shale forms the basis of the soil. This soil is cold, clayey, un-
important and unproductive, except for the grasses. It is represented
on the Map by the figure 7.

Alluvial Soil. This soil, in the aggregate, occupies a larger area
tlian any other in the State. For to the 900 square miles embraced
by the great Mississippi bottoms there must be added the lowlands of
the Tennessee and the Cumberland Rivers and that df all their tribu-
taries. The whole State is furrowed by rivers, creeks, rills, each of
which has lying upon its margin more or less alluvial soil. Some of
the highland counties, as Perry, are alternate ridges and valleys. The
alluvial soils differ greatly in character, aptitudes and productive ca-
pacity, depending in great degree upon the formations of the surround-
ing highlands and upon the frequency or infrequency of the overflows.
Where the water-courses Hoav through or over limestone formations
the sediment which they deposit is highly calcareous. When the
streams gather their waters from gravelly hills or sandstone ridges the
soil is more deficient in carbonate of lime and usually not so pro-
ductive. The character of the alluvial soil is generally determined by
tlie region through which the stream flows. On many of the streams
arc terraces, elevated high above the stream-beds and not subject to
overflow, whicli have all the characteristic features of the low alluvial
soils. There are places of this kind on the Cumberland, and especially
on Red River, a tributary of the CUind)erland, which are composed of
sand, gravel and loam, such as might be deposited by the river if
daimiH'd up. Tliesc Htiviatik' deposits arc exceedingly rich in plant

Soi/s. 69

food, and make our most jjenerous soils. Tlicir perfect drainage and
freedom from overflows make them very valuahk' and desirabk>. For
the growth of wheat they are espeeially ada])ted. AVe have seen as
miieh as forty bnshels (if this cereal raised u]>(»n an acre of such ek--
vated alluvial soil.

The streams on the Highland liim have their lowlands highly
-charged with liinty material. The soil is free and comparatively
light, being formed, for the most part, of the silt deposited from the
waters, intermingled with chert and fragments of shivered limestone.
Uj^on this character of soil are grown in great abundance peanuts,
eorn and jiotatoes. It never compacts, but renunns loose and friable
throughout the growing season. Though not so |)roductive of timothy
ns the more. clayey bottoms, they are more highly esteemed for all
•<;'ro])s that reijuire cultivation.

The alluvium of the Mississippi forms by far the largest area of this
soil, and differs in sonie degree from that on the other rivers and
streams of the State. The Mississippi River flows upon the top of a
ridge, the margins of the stream Taeing higher than the country a short
distance back. Immediately upon the banks and running back for
half a mile or more the soil is fine, sandy, yet sufficiently argillaceous,
impregnated with vegetable matter, mellow and rich. Back of this,
low, marshy strips occur where the lands have not been brought into
cultivation to any extent. . Beyond these marshes the dry alluvium
again appears, and extends out in places for many miles. This is the
most productive region in the State, but being low and flat the situa-
tion is liable to malarious influences, and is therefore not considered
desirable for homes. The soil is black, and has an undetermined
<lepth and totally inexhaustible.

There are almost an infinite variety and modification of these classes,
making warm and cold, light and heavy, low, loamy, marly, hungry,
leachy, limy, sweet, sour, sandy, clayey, marshy, compact, tenacious,
tine, coarse, gravell}', rocky, " crawfishy ; " but all may be embraced
in the classification given above. The productiveness of these soils
docs not depend altogether upon the constituent elements — such as lime,
carbon, magnesia, potash, oxide of iron, and various other salts and
compounds — but also upon the climatic influences, the exposures, the
subsoils, the drainage, the pulverization, &c. Drainage is especially
important. Standing water is destructive of all our field crops. Yet

70 ResoiLTCcs of Tennessee.

too much porosity, so as to permit the fertilizers to filter through to a
depth beyond the reach of the rootlets of plants, is almost as objec-
tionable as too much water. The best condition of a soil for produc-
twn is be thoroughly j)ulyerized and to haye a subsoil sufficiently tena-
cious to hold fertilizers and moisture, and yet Avell drained of its sur-
plus water. The humus, or decomposed vegetable matter, giyes fat-
ness to the soil, and the process by which this woody matter is con-
verted into humus gives carbonic acid, the very life-blood of plants.

Timber. 71

CHAPTER VI.

Timber.

The value of timber each year as an element of wealth is becoming-
proportionately greater. The destruction of the forests throughout
the country is becoming a source of disquietude to the far-seeing states-
man, and premiums are offered in many of the States to encourage
tree-planting. Fortunately for the State of Tennessee, there is yet an
ample supply, and with proper care and economical consumption there
is but little danger that the people will ever suffer greatly for lack of
this indispensable article of civilized life.

The Agricultural Department at Washington, estimating the num-
ber of square miles in the State at 45^600, gives 15,572,789 acres as
tlie amount in timber. But as the area of the State is only 42,000
square miles, or 26,880,000 acres, there must be deducted from the
above 2,304,000 acres, leaving of timbered or wooded land 13,268,789
acres, or not quite fifty per cent, of the whole. The States having the
same proportion of timber are Florida, Arkansas and West Virginia ;
the States having a larger percentage are North Carolina, South Caro-
lina and Georgia. All the remaining States have a less percentage of
their lands in timber.

Nearly every variety of timber found in the United States grows in
the State of Tennessee. This is due, in a great measure, to the
difference of elevation which may be found in the State, which in
effect gives a great diversity of climate. The alluvial bottoms of the
Mississippi River are 220 feet above the level of the sea, while the
highest peaks of the Unakas rise in grand sublimity more than 6,000
feet. It is due in ])art also to the existence of a great variety of soil.
The magnificence of the forests in some portions of West Tennessee
is unsurpassed in the United States. The rich soil, stimulated into an

72 Resources of Tennessee.

amazing activity by hot suns and a prevailing humidity, is covered
with a vegetation of incredible profusion. The poplar, the sassafras
and the oak, revelling in the exuberant fertility of the earth, attain a
size second only to the giant redwoods of California.

"We propose to give in this chapter some idea of the extent, variety
and character of our timber, as M-ell as to point out the localities in
which the diiFerent varieties may be found.

Ash. (Fraxinus.)

Of this genus two species are to be met with — White Ash {F. Amer-
icana) and Blue Ash (F. Uridis). Excepting the Oak, there is no tree
more useful in the arts than the White Ash. The wood is light,
strong, supple and elastic. It is highly esteemed by wheel-wrights,
carriage-makers, ship-builders and the manufacturers of agricultural
implements. It makes the most beautiful floors of all our timber,
and when once thoroughly seasoned is not subject to shrinkage and
swelling by the alternations of dry and wet weather. It was formerly
very plentiful in every part of the State, but is now growing scarce
except in places remote from facilities for transportation. It finds its
most congenial soil in the coves and north sides of mountains and in
the rich lands of the Central Basin and West Tennessee. The largest
trees to be met with are probably in Bedford County. This timber is
still very abundant in that county.

The Ash lumber always commands a ready sale at high prices. So
great is the value of the Ash and so rapid is its growth that the atten-
tion of our farmers should be directed to its reproduction. It bears
transplanting well. Along fence rows in the Central Basin and in the
Valley of East Tennessee, when the land is fertile and moist, it will
grow with great rai)idity. A recent writer estimates that a grove
of Ash trees, that is well j)rotected and cultivated, will yield in ten
years a larger return for the investment made than a crop of corn or
potatoes. The growing scarcity and the increased demand for Ash
lumber will perhaps justify the estimate.

To this might be added the statement of Mr. Budd, a reliable tree-
grower of Jowa. He says a grove often acres, thinned to six feet
apart, containing 12,000 trees, at twelve years of age, were eight inches in
diameter and thirty-five feet high. The previous thinning paid all the

Timber. 73

exjjenses of cultivating and planting. Ten feet of the bodies of these
trees were Avorth, for making bent stuff, handles to agricultural imple-
ments, <tc., forty cents each, and the remainder of the top ten cents,
making a total of ^6,000 as the profits of ten acres in twelve years, or
a yearly profit of fifty dollars per acre.

As some pains are being taken to protect the young Walnuts that
are springing up in myriad numbers in the open woodlands of the
Central Basin, it is to be hoped that the White Ash, equally as useful,
may not be forgotten or neglected. Its propagation, on account of
the rapidity of its growth and the great value of its timber, would be
no uncertain investment, especially upon rich soils.

Geeen or Blue Ash. {F. Viridis.)

This Ash is not near so common, and is only met with along the
water-courses. It is a middle-sized tree, with smooth leaves, green or
bluish on both sides, and greenish young branchlets. The color of its
leaves and branchlets gives it its common name. An old tradition
gives the green bough of this tree the power of paralyzing any snake,
and especially the rattle-snake. The timber is excellent, but hardly
equal to the white.

Occasionally specimens of the Water Ash {F. platycui'i)(i) and the
Eed Ash {F. puhemeus) may be met with, but they are not of so fre-
quent occurrence as to be enumerated.

Beech. {Fagus Fen-ughiea.)

The Beech is a common growth throughout the State upon the moist
soils lying upon the streams. The most extended groves are found in
Macon, Trousdale, Smith, Sumner, Cajinon, Bedford and many other
counties of the Basin. Of all our forest growths the Beech is
most comely, with its wide-spreading, compact, tufted foliage. It
makes an impenetrable shade, and the roots ramify the soil and cover
its surface with their multiplied entanglements. When seasoned, the
wood is extremely hard and solid. It is used for plane-stocks, shoe-
lasts and the handles of tools. But little of it is converted into lum-
ber, and it is chiefly valuable as fuel.

74 Resources of Tettnessee.

Birch. (Betula Nigra.)

This species of the Birch is found upon the streams in East Tennes-
see, and especially on Clinch River. Rafts have been shipped out of
that streain tct Knoxville and Chattanooga and sold at good prices.
It is but little appreciated as a lumber tree.

Buckeye. {Aeseulus Flava.)

This tree grows upon the rich soils in many parts of the State, and
jiiost especially in the mountainous and knobby districts, where it
grows to the height of sixty or seventy feet, and three feet in diameter.
It also grows upon the river-courses. The wood is light, soft and
porous, not inclined to split or crack in diying. It is valuable for
making troughs, bread-trays, wooden bowls and shuttles.

Red Cedar. (Junipems Vuyiniana.)

This is considered among the most valuable of all the woods.
Formerly it was very abundant in the Central Basin, growing for the
iiujst ])art in belts or strips upon the glady limestone. The soil and
climate of this region seem peculiarly favorable to its gro"\vth and to
the perfection of its wood. Upon the first settlement of the State,
Cedar forests were as abundant in the Central Basin as those of Oak
and Poplar. The demands, however, of the agriculturists, combined
with the export demand, have nearly exhausted the supply in David-
son, Williamson, Sumner and Rutherford. The best forests are now
found in jSIarshall, AV^ilson, Bedford and Maury, covering in the ag-
gTcgate 300 square miles. (See Bedford and Marshall Counties.)
Occasional trees of a valuable size are still seen upon the banks of
a majority of the streams in Middle Tennessee.

The consumjition of this timber has largely increased during the
])ast few years. More than 700,000 feet are annually shipped to St.
Lcjuis to l)e used for fencing purposes, and large numbers of telegraph
pok's go out from Nashville by every railroad. Bucket factories work
uj) annually of Tennessee Cedar 5,000,000 feet. This growing con-
suin])ti(ni, wliil(! the reproduction is triHing, is rapidly exterminating
the forests. An oi'dcr for 5,000 cords has been recently received in

Timber. 75

AVilson county from the city of Pittsburt*-, to be used in laying Nichol-
son pavements. The price paid for it is %S) per cord.

The wood of the Red Cedar is compact, fine grained, light and du-
rable. The heart of the tree has a reddish color which is well known.
The sap is Avhite. The wood is highly odorous, and chests made of it
arc proof against the moth. It is capable of a high polish — beautiful
ill its contrast of white and red, and is more highly esteemed than all
other woods for the manufacture of hollow wooden-ware. Many of
tlic farms in the Central Basin are fenced with it. A farm witii a
cedar enclosure is considered, other things being equal, of almost as
great value as if enclosed with stone. ^V cedar fence will last for gen-
erations. All log houses in the cedar districts are built of this timber.
A roof made of cedar singles has been known to last eighty years.
Set in the ground it will stand exposed to all the changes of season and
climate for thirty years.

The price paid for cedar plank in the Xashville market is, retail, $40
per thousand feet, wholesale $30 to §35 ; for cedar posts from !$18 to
S30. The trade in this lumber has employed a large number of men
for the last fifty years, but the growing scarcity of the timber is rapidly
reducing it.

Xowhere in the United States are there found such splendid trees of
this timber. In the counties of Marshall and Bedford solid cedar logs
liave been cut that would square twenty-four inches for a distance of
thirty feet. The younger Michaux in his Sylya of North America,
says that it would be difficult to find stocks in the cedar brakes of Flor-
ida thirteen inches in diameter.

Chestnut. {Cmfenea Vesca)

Chestnut is a valuable timber on account of its durability, and is
abundant in the State. Shingles, or rails made of it will last until
they are washed away by rains. Put in the ground, it is not so dura-
ble as the Red Cedar or Locust, but for enclosures it is almost as"
valuable. The rails have been known to last over half a century.
Th(! Avood resembles the Red Oak in cok)r, being a shade lighter. It
luis a beautifully laminated appearance and when polished and varnished
makes very handsome furniture. Ijarge forests of this timber are
found on the ridges of East Tennessee, on the sandstone soils of the
CumbcrUnid Table I^and, and in portions of the Highland Rim,
(•specially in the counties of I^awrencc, \\'ayne, Hickman and Perry.

76 / Resources of Tennessee.

Wild Cherry. {Prunus Serotina.)

This is one of the most vahiable and graceful trees of the American
forest. It loves a rich, Avell drained soil, and grows in every division
of the State. It often attains a height of seventy or eighty feet. The
wood is a light red, compact, fine grained, and takes on a polish as
fine as Mahogany or Rose Wood. AV^ith age and proper treatment it
will compare in polish and beauty with any of the woods. It is rarely
used for any purpose but cabinet work. Xo extensive groves are found
anywheres The trees are usually scattered thinly through the forests on
rich soils.

CoTTOx Wood. (Pojjuhis Ilderophy/la,)

Cotton Wood is confined almost exclusively to AVest Tennessee, and
more particularly to that portion of West Tennessee that constitutes
the alluvial bottoms of the Mit^sissipjn. It grows to an immense size,
towering liigh in the air and darkening the landscape with its thick
foliage. Majestic in its appearance, it fornis a fitting fringe for the
grandest river on the continent. The wood is white, soft and easy to
cut and split. Its chief value is for fuel, being used in great quantities
by the steamboats that ply the Mississiiipi. A wood-chopper can cut
and cord d()ul)lc as much of tliis wood, in a given time, as of oak.

Cypress. {Ta.rodiani DiMichum.)

In tlie s\vani])s lying on the Mississij)pi and Tennessee Rivers tlic
Cypress finds its most congenial home, and attains its highest develoj)-
ment. It exists u])on these rivei-s in (tonsiderable abundance. Owing
to its peculiar nature it rarely grows in company with other trees, but
stands in isolated forests, rearing its long white trunk high into the
u))j)cr air, while its roots permeate the dcej) black soil, which is often
covered with water of an inky blackness. There are few places more
<lismal than a cypress swamj). Covered with stagnant water in which
lie inmnnerablc trunks of fallen trees, black and decaying; studded
with cy])ress knees, excrescences that shoot up cone-like from the
roots to the h(>ight of one or two feet; dark with an overhanging
foliage these swani])s seem ihc habitation and breeding places for all
the slimy, |)oisoMoiis i-cptilcs ihat dciilc the land.

Timber. 77

A great deal of cypress tiniher is luatle into sliiiioles, and staves for
sugar hogsheads and niohisses barrels. The wood sj)lits easily, too
much so indeed, to make good shingles. Set in the ground it will re-
sist decay for a great while, which makes it valuable timber for fencing
posts. The wood has a neat appearance when made into hollow
wooden-ware, closely resembling in color the White Ash, with a slight
reddish tint. The CVjiress is considered a valuable variety of our
timber.

DOGAN'Ooi). {Cornm Florida)

Though never growing to any considerable size, it is found uj)on
rich soils in every part of the State and upon some spots in the "bar-
rens" where the soil is considered thin. The wood is hard, fine-
grained, heavy, beautifully white, and susceptible of a brilliant polish.
It supplies a very needful want in the domestic arts. Shuttles for
weaving, gluts for mauling, horse-hames, cogs for mill-wheels, are best
when made of Dogwood.

The Dogwood gives a highly ornamental appearance to our forests,
its large white flowers being a sure harbinger of spring. These are
succeeded by bunches of vivid, glossy red seed. The appearance of
its bloom is the time adopted by many farmers for the commencement
of corn-planting.

Elm. (Ulmus.)

There are three species of Elm found in Tennessee, viz: AVhite
Elm [U. Amerkana), Slippery Elm (U. Fulva) and AVahoo, AAltch or
Cork (T\ Akifa). The first named is quite famous in some parts of
the United States as a shade-tree, notably so in New Haven, Connec-
ticut. It is widely diffused in considerable abundance throughout the
State, and is by far the largest and most stately of the Elms, attaining
in favorable localities as much as 100 feet in height, with five feet
diameter. It is marked by the tendency of the loAver branches to
sweep the earth. It is l)ut little used as a tiniber, nor is it esteemed
for fuel.

The next named species, the Slippery Elm, averages from forty to
sixty feet in height, with a diameter from one to two feet. It is quite
as widely s])read though not so abundant as the White. Its wood is

yS Resources of Tennessee.

coarser, stronger and more durable under exposure, yet not enougli so
to render it very valuable for any considerable use. The chief char-
acteristic of the tree lies in the fact that the inner bark, es])ecially of
the branches, contains much mucih\ginous matter, which is extensively
used as an emollient.

The last named species, the \\ ahoo, Witch or Cork Elm, is smaller
than either of the others, and may be very easily distinguished by its
smaller leaves and the peculiar corky excresences which cover the
stems. Its wood is tougher and heavier than either of the other spe-
cies, and is more used for the hubs of wheels. Xone of the Elms are
valued, however, for timber or fuel, though all are sometimes used in
the absence of better woods.

Firs. (.16/e.s.)

Of the Firs there are two species found growing in the State — the
Balsam Fir {Ahkn Fra-scri) and Black Fir or Sj)ruce [Abies Xif/m).
Some of the highest mountain peaks are covered with the Balsam Firs,
and they are seldom met with at a lower elevation than 4,000 feet.
The dark, sombre, dusky foliage of this tree has given the name to
the Blaclf Mountains of North Carolina, and makes the charactei-isti(t
feature of many of the highest peaks of the Unakas. Being inacces-
sible, it is rarely made into lumber, though the trunks often rise 100
feet in height. It is distinguished by a balsam which gathers in blis-
terlike intumescences in its bark, and gives the name to the tree. The
Black Fir is also met with in the same localities.

GcM. (Xi/s-ia.)

Two very different species of ti'ces are commonly called (nun; l)orh
are cpiite al)undant in Tennessee. The Black (ium (\i/sm Aquaf'u-d)
is usuallv found upon rich, iiioi.--t soils, and grows to a consider;il>lc
size where the soil is favoraliU- to its growth. It is a valuai)le ti;iil)ci-
for hubs, and is much used for that |)urpose on account of the ditlicnlty
with which it sj>lits. Indetxl, -o intcrwo\en are its fibres, |)assing lik<'
])laitcd strings from one side to the other, that the most persistent
cilbrt can scarcely separate; them. It makes good plank for rough
l)nil(bngs, but docs not di'css or polisii smoothly.

The Sweet (Jnni { Lhjdiihtiithir S/i/roi-lfliui) finds its most congenial

Timber. 79

home in wet, mari^liy jjlaces. It i,< found in every part of the State in
sueh situations. I^arge (juantities of it are manufactured into plank,
which is used for coarse Avork. It is cheaper than poplar, and decays
much more ra])idly. It is 'tough and compact, and is said to be sus-
ceptible of a bright })<>lish. It is sometimes used in cabinet work, and
makes a passable article of furniture, though not greatly admired.
This tree exudes a gummy substance highly prized by children as a
chewing wax, hence its name. The supply is ample.

Hickory. ( Carya .)

The great abundance of this timber and its diversity of uses in the
arts make it one of much interest. There are in Tennessee six species
of hickories, divided naturally into three divisions, viz: 1. The Shell-
or Scaly-bark {Carija Alba), in which the old bark of the tree splits
and shells off at both ends, remaining attached only in the middle ;
the nuts are but little pointed or ridged, thin-shelled, containing the
sweetest of kernels; the hull is thin, and splits entirely into four
pieces, which fall apart. 2. Thick Shell-bark (C Stilcata). This is
more common in the mountains, and differs from the former in ha\'iug
its leaflets in three pairs instead of hco, a thicker hull to the nuts, and
ridges and points on the sides and ends of the nuts. In the second
division the bark does not scale or shell off, and the hulls do not split
off from the nuts, though the kernels are quite eatable. The species
in this division are Common Hickory (C Tomentosa), Pignut Hickory
(C. Glabra), and Small-nttt Hickory (C Microcarpa). The third di-
vision has btit one species in Tennessee, and is marked by the thin
shell and hull and bitter kernel of the nut.

The Common Hickoiy {Carya Tormentosa) grows well upon all soils
of middling quality in the State. It is known by the great dispropor-
tion between the tree, when young, and the root, the latter sometimes
being much larger in circumference than the tree, assuming a tiat or
grub-like form. This tree is foimd in abundance in what are called
the "hickory barrens" on the Highland Kim. When small it i- nsrd
for barrel and hogshead hoops and for l^ox-casings. It is also used by
bricklayers as wythes to tie up their scaffoldings^ It is exceedingly
tough and strong but easily split. The bark is often used by gra]>c
growers for tying up the vine, a purpose to which it is admirably suitcil,
as it peels off \\ith ease in the spring, and will remain supple an<l
ela.stic when kept under water. It is also used for bottoming chairs.

8o Resources of Tennessee.

It rarel}' attains a greater diameter than eighteen inches. AVhen of
this size it is worked np into axles for wagons, spokes and felloes for
carriages, and into axe-handles. The wood is tough and sometimes
stringy, very elastic, hard and of great weight. Mauls or beetles are
made of it for driving the svedges in the splitting of rails. When
seasoned it makes the best carpenter's mallet and the most durable
handles for chisels. Owing to its tendency to sag it is unfit for house-
logs or sills ; besides, it speedily decays wlijen exposed to moisture, and
is peculiarly liable to attack by worms. Great quantities of the tim-
ber are wrought up into chairs, and for other purposes requiring
strength and elasticity.

The Scaly-bark Hickory {Carya Alba) grows to a much larger size
and splits more readily.

The Pignut Hickory (Carya Glabra), like the last, seeks a fertile
soil upon river banks and upon rich hillsides. These last mentioned
are employed for the same purposes as the first.

The v\Ood of the hickory makes the finest fuel for domestic pur-
poses that can be found. It creates an intense heat and burns with
rapidity. The last, perhaps, is its only objectionable feature as a fuel,
but this is corrected by mixing it with black jack or post oak. Hick-
ory wo(k1 is preferred in the tobacco region for curing tobacco. It is
also preferred for curing bacon, giving it a light brownish color strik-
ingly in contrast with the dinginess of that cured by other woods.
The ashes of the hickory are the richest in potash of all our woods.
They will make more soap and of a better quality. There is no tree
more widely spread or used for more domestic ]uirposes than the hick-
ory. In the old coaling grounds millions of hoop-poles grow, which,
with ade(piatc railroad facilities, could be nuule of great value.

IjIXN, ok LiNDKN, oi; Bassavood. {Tilia Americana.)

Tiie Tiinn is fond of a fertile soil, and is found growing with the
Sugar Maple and Walnut. It is abundant in the Jiluc Grass region of
the Central Basin and in some localities in East Tennessee* As a
timber tree it is chiefly valuable for making firkin staves. It is soft,
white and tender, easy to rive, and possesses less durability than any
of our timbei's. When used for fences, where it is exi)Osed to the
weath'i- a pcrc(!|)til)l(! decay l)egins immediately. Troublesome to the
farmer t>n account of the great number ol" sprouts \vhich it sends u})

Timber. ' 8i

from the stump, it is regarded with no favor, though the tre6 often
attains the dimensions of four feet in diameter. The bark is some-
times used for making horse-collars.

Black or Yellow Locust. {Robinia Pseudacacia.)

This tree, considered a pest by a large number of farmers, is really
one of the most valuable species of our timber. For elasticity, dura-
bility, pliability, strength, lightness and toughness, there are but few
woods, if any, equal to it. It grows well upon almost any soil. It
flourishes upon the slopes of the Highlands and Cumberland Moun-
tains, and also upon the sides of the Unakas. It is found upon the
north sides of Clinch and Powell's Mountains, and will flourish upon
the glady places of the Central Basin where no other tree will survive.
It is valuable for hubs and posts and railway ties. For posts it is said •
to excel red cedar. It has been known to last for a century in the
ground. Many of the old fields, scarified with grinning gullies, could
be made profitable to the owners and transferred from deformity to
beaut}'- by planting the locust. It grows with rapidity, and will make
in ten years good posts or railroad ties. This tree rarely attains a
greater size than one foot in diameter and a height of thirty or forty
feet.

Honey Locust. {Gleditschia Triacanthos.)

The Honey Locust is abundant upon all the rich soils of the State.
It is found in company with the walnut, elm, scaly-bark hickory,
hornbeam, ash, &c. The chief value of this tree is for posts, it being
very durable when set in the ground. It is most commonly regarded
as a nuisance on account of its long thorns.

Maple. (Acer.)

There are three species of maple found in our State, viz : the Sugar
Maple {Acer Saccharinum), the Red Flowering or Swamp Maple [Acer
Rubrum), and White Maple {A. Dasycarpum).

The first, or Sugar Maple, abounds in the coves of the mountains
and on the rich bottoms of streams. It formerly covered a large por-
tion of the Central Basin, and was the chief reliance of the early set-
6

82 Resources of Tennessee.

tiers for sugar. The wood of the Sugar Maple has a remarkable
beauty. The Birds-eye Maple, a variety of the Sugar Maple, has an
exquisite appearance. The fibres of this maple are often contorted into
little knots, resembling the eye of a bird, hence its name. It likewise
has fibrous undulations that give the w^ood a wave-like and handsome
appearance. When highly polished the wood has a silky lustre, and
the effect which liglit and shade produce on the landscape is brought
out by the curly undulations of the wood, giving it a pleasing and
varied appearance. This timber is very abundant in every part of the
State, and could be made a source of great profit by being sawed into
veneering slabs and sold for the finishing of passenger cars and the
making of furniture.

The Red Flowering Maple grows in wet soils and on the marshy mar-
gins of streams. The wood is hard and close-grained. The fibres in
some of the trees assume a sinuous course, giving a surface of change-
able light and shade. It also has a silky lustre when polished, and is
valuable for cabinet work. The most beautiful varieties sell higher
than mahogany. It is quite abundant in every division of the State
in localities suited to its growth.

The White or Silver Maple Avith us is a smaller and rarer tree, dif-
fering from the Red Maple in the color of its leaves and flowers. The
wood is very white and fine-grained, but quite soft, and in no way so
valuable as that of the red.

Red Mulbeery. (3Iorus Rubra.)

The rich soils in every part of the State are productive of this tree.
It is highly esteemed as fencing posts, being almost as durable as the
locust. The fruit is nearly as large as the blackberry, which it greatly
resembles.

Oak. (^Querciis.)

Tlicrc are more tluin one hundred s})ecies of the Oak to be found in
the United States, and of these Tennessee lias twelve or more. Thej
grow in every county in more or less abundance, and altogether consti-
tute the great body of our timber. The most valuable species is the
White Oak (QucrcvJi Alba). This tree attains an enormous size in
the Valley of the Tennessee, and in the first and second tier of river
counties of Vfo.st Tennessee. It is also found in (jonsiderable quan-

Timber. 83

titles in many parts of East Tennessee, tlio best being on the ridges
in the western part of that division of the State ; or in the tier %i
■counties resting against the Cumberland Table Land, and also on tlie
slo])C'S of the ;Unaka Mountains. Tlie ridges and valleys lying on
Duck and Buffalo rivers are covered with stately White Oak^.
Indec'd, this tree is pretty generally scattered through all the woodtd
regio:is of the Highland Rim. The timber is strong, durable, com-
pact, elastic, and of better quality than that made of the same tree
further north. It is extensively used in making all the wood work
of wagons, except the axles. ^Manufacturers of agricultural imple-
ments find it indispensable, especially for making plow handles and
beams. It is said to be the only timber grown east of the Mississippi,
the staves from which make vessels suitable for wine or spirituous
liquors; and this not altogether because of the tightness of the casks,
but because the wood imparts no disagreeable flavor to the spirit^.
The making of white oak staves for the European markets has grown
tx) be quite an important industry. The number annually shipped
from the lower Tennessee River, and made in Hardin, AVayne, Perry,
Humphreys and Stewart is ascertained to be 1,635,000. About half
of this quantity is shipped out of the Cumberland. The heavy pipe
staves are 60 inches long, 5 inches wide and 1^^ thick; light pipe oG
inches long and same width and thickness ; claret staves 40 inches in
length. The following are the prices paid by foreign dealers in the
New Orleans market :

Hea%y Pipe, . . . §140@225 per thousand.

Light Pipe, . . . . 80@110 " "

, Claret Staves, .... 80@100 " "

The prices paid for cutting and riving are, for

Heavy Pipe, . . . . ■ $36 ])er thousand.
Light Pipe, .... 2r)(«3o " "

Claret Staves, .... 2o " "

In addition to staves, much AVhite Oak lumber is shi])ped out of the
same river to Paducah and Afemphis ; also to Mound City for botit
building.

The young trees of the A\ hite Oak are extensively used in making
baskets for domestic uses and in bottoming chairs. They are rived
into thin splits, which are scraped with a knife mitil the surface is
smooth and highly polished. Hoops for tobacco hogsheads are made
from trees of eight to twelve inches in diameter. Smaller than this,

84 Resoui^ces of Tennessee.

the necessary width caunot be secured, as the immature or sap portion
of the wood, with a very small quantity of the heart, is the only part
valuable for hoops. When larger than twelve inches in diameter the
wood is too frangible or "brash."

Away from the immediate banks of navigable streams, or beyond
the reach of railroads, this timber has ■ its chief value as fence rails.
A good fence of AVhite Oak, with the rails four inches square, Avill
last thirty years, and its great weight will enable it to resist the winds,
if well staked. The usual price paid for standing trees accessible to
market is one dollar a foot across the stump.

"White Oak lumber sells at the mills for $18 to $20 per thousand
feet, according to demand and accessibility. For the manufacture of
feed-troughs it has no equal. Seasoning into irony hardness, it cannot
be eaten up by mules or horses as the poplar and other soft woods.
Neither can it be penetrated by rats, and corn or wheat bins made of
it are secure against the ravages of these animals. For floors it has
but one superior, the white ash. For the erection of mill-dams its
great weight and toughness make it indispensable. So many are its
uses and so great is the inherent value of this timber, that it may
justly be styled the king of the woods, as iron is the king of the
metals.

The Red Oak (Quercus Rubra) grows generally in every portion of
the State. When of sufficient size it makes fine boards or slabs for
roofing. Staves for tobacco hogsheads and flour barrels are chiefly
made of Red Oak. Though neither so tough nor so durable as the
white oak, its rigidity and comparative freedom from warping give
it a greater value for sills and house logs. A large majority of the log
houses in the State are built of this timber. It is more widely spread
than the white oak, and a large proportion of the charcoal consumed
by our furnaces is manufactured from this timber.

Post Oak. (Quercus Obtusiloba.)

Wherever the soil is dry, gravelly and thin, this tree grows. It is
not so clastic as the white oak, but is more durable. It makes the
best railroad ties, being solid, tough, close grained and hard to split;
the latter quality giving it its chief excellence for railroad ties. It is
found in every part of the State.

Timber. 85

Chestnut Oak. {Quercus Cmfanea.)

This tree delights in high, poor, barren and rocky soils, and may be
found upon such in every division of the State, but especially upon the
leached soils of the Highland Rim. It is chiefly valuable for its bark
this being used in the tanneries, and much of it is shipped to other
states. There are trees growing on the Highland Rim, and on the
southern sides of many of the ridges in East Tennessee, that will yield
a cord of bark, which, if ground up, would sell in the St. Louis market
for '?18. Xo tree of the forest is so rich in tannin. The leather made
by the use of the bark is the most solid and durable manufactured, and
sells for a higher price. Thousands of acres covered with the Chestnut
Oak may be bought for one dollar per acre. The wood is said to be
hard and well suited for flooring.

Black Oak. (Quercus Tinetoria.)

Michaux was of the opinion that the Black Oak does not grow in
Tennessee. In this, however, he was mistaken. It is found in con-
siderable quantities on the Highland Rim, especially those portions
that have a rich loamy soil, as in Montgomery county and parts of
Stewart and Robertson. This tree is considered the most valuable
found in the forest for making boards. It rives easily, and the boards
made from it are not inclined, when nailed upon a roof, to curl up.
Much of this timber is also made into hogshead staves, thousands of
which are annually shipped to the St. Louis market. !Many of the
flour barrels used in the State are made of this timber. Its durability
is greater than any of the oaks, except the white oak and post oak.
It is a very valuable species, and forests of it sell very high.

Scarlet Oak. (Quercus Cocchiea.)

This species is found in abundance in East Tennessee growing in
moist places. It is also found in the small swampy spots in Middle and
West Tennessee, though not in sufficient abundance to make it of par-
ticular interest or profit. The timber is about ocjual in value to the
red oak, and is used for the same purposes.

86 Resources of Tcmiessee.

Black Jack Oak. {Qucrcm Nigra.)

As a timber tree this species is very unimportant, thongli it covers a
considerable portion of the " Barrens." It grows for the most part
upon a red clay, ferruginous, cherty soil, usually poor and thin, but
sometimes very fertile. Tlie black jack lands in the northern parts of
Stewart and Montgomery are among the most productive in the State.
The lands in that region differ from the blackjack "barrens," in this:
that they have an undergrowth of gum, dogAvood and hazel, and also an
extensive growtli of scrub hickory, interspersed with the Blaclv Jacks.
Xo tree so well resists the annual conflagrations that sweep through
the barren plains as the Black Jack. Its tough, thick, rough bark is
proof against the fires, and to this cause may be attributed its multi-
plication over the "Barrens." Made into rails, it decays in three
years. It is valueless, except for fuel and the abundant yield of potash
which the ashes make. During the late Avar much of it was converted
iato ashes for the manufacture of saltpetre.

It ^\•ill serve no good purpose to enumerate separately and in detail
the other species of oaks found in the State. It will be sufficient
to say that they do not exist in quantities sufBcient to make them of
special worth in an industrial point of view. The swamp white oak,,
tlie overcup, the yelloM' oak, the suiall chestnut oak or chincpiapin, the
laurel oak, the Spanish oak, the willow oak, the bear oak, and possibly
one or two other species, are found in small (piantities. A s})ecimdii
of nearly every tree mentioned may be found in the Valley of East
Tennessee, as the rich high ridges of that region give almost every
condition of soil and climate

PrxF.s, (Pin)if<.)

This is one of tlic niost Mbundnnt and one of th(^ most valu:d)le of.
fur forest growth. Tlici-c are two sjjccics of Pines sufficiently abun-
dant to be named among the timl)er trees. These are the Yellow Pine
(P. Metis), tlie most abundant, and tlie White Pine {I\ ^Sfrohii.s).

The Yellow Pine gi-ows in considcraMe (|uantiti('s in th(> vicinity of
Knoxville, and, indeed, in many of the parallel ridges in the Valley of
Kast Tennessee. It is also found in extensive forests on the (/umber-
land Table Land, and forms considerable belts in Hardin and Lawrence

Timber. 87

counties. Patches are found on the south hill sides of AVayne, and in
less quantities in several of the counties of the Highland Rim and
West Tennessee. It is known most generally as short-leaved Pine.
It abounds on poor soils, those usually of sandstone, but often on red
clay with gravel. It takes possession of abandoned old fields, and
will grow with rapidity where the soil is too sterile to produce other
vegetation. On this account it is specially valuable.

In the regions where it abounds it forms the principal timber for do-
mestic purposes. For clapboards, floors, sills, joists, rafters and roofing
it is almost universally used. Fine grained, resinous, durable and
strong, it has but few superiors as a timber tree. Though yielding tar
and turpentine it is but little used for this purpose, hardly enough of
these articles being made to supply the local demands.

The Wliite Pine is not so abundant as the preceding. It is diffused
in more or less quantities over the slopes of the Unaku ^lountains, and is
found locally on the Cumberland Table Land. It grows to a larger size
than the yellow pine, and makes a quality of lumber highly prized
on account of its lightness and comparative freedom from resinous
exudations. For the manufacture of goods-boxes, mantles, door-shut-
ters, window-sash, and esjjecially for ceiling, it is much used. The
supply of this timber is limited, and much of it inaccessible to market.

PoPLAE. {Lyriodendron TuUpifera.)

^ There are several varieties of this tree, known locally as Blue, White
and Yellow Poplar, the latter of which is by far the most valuable as
a timber tree. This grows upon rich soils almost everywhere. The
finest specimens we have seen in the State are in Obion and Dyer
counties, in West Tennessee, and in Maury and Macon, in Middle
Tennessee. Of all the trees of our forest this attains the greatest di-
mensions. Trees twenty to twenty-five feet in girth and from sixty to
seventy feet to the first limb are often met with. More than 10,000
feet of good lumber are cut from some of them. The wealth of poplar
timber is very great in almost every part of the State. Millions of
feet are shipped annually by river and rail, and it is more used in the
construction of house's than any other wood. The studding and clap-
boards, sills and joists, rafters and shingles in a large proportion of
frame buildings are made of this timber. A roof made of Yellow
Poplar shingles is very durable. It will last for thirty years. Plank
and paling fences constructed of it will stand twenty years with good

S8 Resources of Tennessee.

cedar or locust posts. The wood is soft, light, and is worked with ease.
It admits of a good polish, and is used in the manufacture of common
articles of furniture. Its greatest defect is its liability to shrink and
swell by the alternations of dry and wet weather. It is never attacked
by the borer. Fence rails have been known to last for more than fifty
years exposed to all the changes of weather and season.

Poplar lumber sells in the Nashville and Knoxville market at $15
to $20 per thousand feet. A great quantity is sold in the Memphis
market at the same rates. It may be bought at saw-mills through the
country at $10 to $15 per thousand, and it is often delivered at points
three or four miles distant from the mills at these prices. East Ten-
nessee affords the cheapest poplar lumber. The great number of saw-
mills in that division of the State lying remote from railroads and the
ruggedness of the country roads over which, in Wagons, the lumber
has to be transported to market, make it very cheap. Fifteen million
feet of poplar logs are annually floated down the Cumberland River
in rafts to Nashville.

Sassafras. {Sassafras Officinale.)

As a shrub the Sassafras is found in every portion of the State, and
more particularly in the Valley of East Tennessee, and upon the
Highland Rim. It is a great pest to the farmer, sometimes covering
a field with its sprouts almost as thickly and continuously as if sown.
These shrubs upon thin soils never reach the dimensions of a tree, and
rarely ever attain a size sufficient for fence stakes. The roots of the
Sassafras have an aromatic flavor, and are used by many persons for
making tea. Foi-merly the tea made of Sassafras roots was very gen-
erally used at certain seasons of the year. It is pleasant to the taste?
and has a sweet aromatic odor. The pith, which is valuable for mak-
ing mucilage, is ol)tained by splitting the sprout and scraping it out
with an awl-shaped instrument. When dry. Sassafras pith is worth
from three to four dollars per pound. The leaves are used in making
gumbo, the young twigs and bark in making beer.

It is as a timber tree, however, that we wish to consider the Sassafras.
In West Tennessee it takes its place among tlie lordliest of the forest.
A section of one cut near Union City, in Obion county, and exhibited
at the industrial exhil)ition in Nashville, measured sixty inches in
diameter, exclusive of the ])ark, which was one and a half inches thick.

Timber. 89

The wood is soft, brittle, rigid and close grained, and is used for liouse
studding, and to some extent for the manufacture of furniture.

Sycaimotie. {Flatanus Occidentalis.)

This is elsewhere known as the Plane, or the Buttonwood. It is
found growing on the margins of streams in almost every portion of
the State. The wood is used in cabinet shops, and makes a beautiful
article of furniture. It bears a good polish, being fine grained.
Sometimes the grain is wavy and strikingly beautiful. Only as a fire-
wood is it regarded with any favor by the farmer, as it will not split,
and speedily decays when exposed to the Aveather. It grows with
rapidity, and like the linn, is troublesome on account of the sprouts
that it sends up from the stump.

TuPELLO. {Nyssa Aquatica.)

The Tupello abounds in swampy places in West Tennessee. It is a
soft wood and difficult to split, the fibres being interwoven like a plaited
cord. This property makes it valuable for wheel-hubs. The surface
of a dressed plank shows rippling marks like those used by map-
makers in designating the shores of an ocean, but intertwisted. This
wood is also used for making bowls and trays.

Walnut. (Juglans.)

The two species are commonly designated as Black and White
Walnut.

The Black Walnut (Juglans Nigra) is pretty generally diffiised over
all the rich soils of the State. Its growth is an unerring indication of
fertility. It abounds in the Great Central Basin of Middle Tennessee ;
it grows on the better parts of the Highlands; it flourishes on the
north sides of ridges and in the valleys of East Tennessee, and attains
a marvelous size uj)on the calcareo-siliceous soils of West Tennessee.
There is probably no state east of the Mississippi River which has a
greater quantity of this valuable timber. On the Cumberland Table
Land, a few miles from Wartburg, in the eastern part of Morgan
county, is a grove of walnut timber that cannot be surpassed on the
continent. In this locality trees six feet in diameter rise in princely
grandeur to the height of more than one hundred feet, and strike the

90 Resources of Tennessee.

traveler with astonishment at their niac^nitnde. Thickly set upon the
soil, in company with massive white oaks, their trunks rise to the
height of fifty feet or more without a limb. Keraote from market,
this valuable timber is scarcely used except for fence rails. The Cin-
cinnati Southern Railroad will probably brinoj all of this excellent
timber into market and make it a source of profit to the owners.

Stumps and crotches of the walnut wlien worked up into veneering
slabs were once very valuable on account of the beautiful curlings of
the grain, though not so much in demand at present. Common walnut
lumber, seasoned, is worth from |25 to $40 per thousand, and every
year shows a marked advance in the price. It is no overestimate to
say that the walnut lumber that could lie made on the line of the Cin-
cinnati Southern Railroad would pay a large portion of the debt of the
State of Tennessee. The exquisite and rich brown color of the wood
will always make it sought after by the cabinet maker. It is extensive-
ly used in making door-shutters and frames, window-blinds and sash,
railing, newel-posts, counters, and other finishing work about dwell-
ing-houses and places of business. For gunstocks, picture frames
and the ornamental work it is largely used. It is a favorite wood
for the manufacture of coffins, and is well adapted to certain uses in
naval architecture. Tennessee has great reason to rejoice in the
abundance and excellence of its walnut timber.

The bark of the Black Walnut is much used as a domestic dye, im-
l)arting to woolen goods a color much resembling that ot the wood
itself. " Brown jeans," from the first settlement of the State, has
constituted the chief winter clothing lor the men and boys of country
homes.

Butternut or White Walnut. {Juglans Cinerca.)

This tree grows upon the margin of streams, and is sometimes found
oil rich northern slopes. It is diffiised over almost as great an extent
of territory as the black walnut. Resembling the latter when young
in its foliage, it assumes a form clearly distinguishable at maturity.
The wood is much lighter in color than the black walnut, and has a
reddish tinge. It is durable but not strong, and is sometimes used in
ornamental work fi)r giving variety and contrast. The doors of el-
egant houses in Nashville are often made of it. It is sometimes ship-
])tjd to New York for similar purposes.

Timber. 9 1

The trees Ave have mentioned eonstitnte the bulk of" our tinil)er, but
there are many other kinds Avliich have a special interest. Among
them the Yellow Wood, the Cucumber tree, the Jjaurel, the Holly,
the Hornl)eam, the Box Elder, the Chinquapin tree, the CVab A])ple,
the Haekberry, the ^\'ill<i\v and the Persimmon deserve mention.
Tiiough not valuable as timber, many of these last enumerated are
liighly ornamental, especially the Box Elder and Crab Apple. The
blossoms of the latter are the sweetest and most fragrant found iij our
f()rests, and the graceful form of the Box Elder, with its wide-spread-
ing top and pea-green foliage, makes it a favorite for yards and lawns.

It may not be improper in this place to observe that, though the
State of Tennessee has as yet an abundant supply of tind^er, it is
every vear becoming more apparent that some legislation is demanded
for its preservation and reproduction. In the neighborhood of our
furnaces, especially, the consum])tion of timber is enormous, and many
of our finest iron fields will soon be deprived of half their value un-
less some legislative protection is given to the young timber. Thef
annual conflagrations that sweep like a devouring fury through thej
old coaling lands, destroying the young sprouts and rendering barren 1
a large scope of country, should Ije checked. But for these fires the
timber would soon reproduce itself in sufficient quantities to supply
all 'the demands of the charcoal furnaces. Old fields are lying idle
and unfenced in every p(^rtion of the State that could be reclaimed by
being planted in trees. They are now unsightly and hideous pictures
in the landscape, worthless to the owners and to the State. Were
those places broken up and so^\ n with acorns or hickory nuts, or
planted Avith locust trees, the effect AA'Ould, in every particular, be salu-
tary. Xot only Avould the land be reclaimed, but the timber Avould in
tAvo score years be A'aluable, the beauty of the country Avould be
heightened, a spot for the retention of moisture Avould be assured, and
the OAvner would in time reap directly a rich rcAA'ard for his labors.

The Legislature should exempt from taxation for a term of years all
these old fields that are planted in trees, and one hundred dollaiN
Avorth of property should also be exempted for every mile of shade or
fruit trees planted along the highways. A laAv to this effect has been
in operation in some of the states of the Union Avith the best results.
By adopting this line of policy the taxable property in the State Avould
be increased in the next ten or twelve years many millions of dollars.
The Avcalth of a state de])ends [)rimarily upon its soil and its timber,
and it is the solemn duty of the lawmakers to look beyond the pres-

92 Resources of Tennessee.

ent, and to enact such laws and to dictate such a policy as will, in the
end, conduce to the w'ealth, greatness and glory of the State; and in
no way can this be more effectually done than by taking steps for the
reclamation of the soil and the preservation of the timber. Had this
been done twenty years ago, Tennessee would not be dotted all over
with repulsive and haggard old fields, that constitute the shame and
mark the shiftlessness of her farmers. A new departure is called for
in this particular, and he who shall be instrumental in restoring the
lost fertility of those worn places and making them things of beauty
and profit, may well be numbered among the benefactors of the State.

The press in the various parts of tlie State should take up this sub-
ject, discuss it in detail, encourage the enactment of such a law, and
press the matter before the people until pride, taste, interest, ambition
and an enlightened public sentiment shall all unite in building up
these waste places. Enough of such s]iots there are, if reclaimed, to
lauild a railroad through every county in the State.

More is involved in this question than mere money. The very ex-
istence of the human race is jeopardized by this neglect. Happiness,
contentment, progress, refinement and the civilization of humanity
depend, in a measure, upon the preservation of our forests, which so
greatly affect climate, and the preservation of our soils, which so
greatly affect production and population.

Farm Products. 93

CHAPTER VII

Farm Peoducts.

One of the most munificent gifts ever bestowed l)y a monarch upon
his adherents was that of Charles II, to eight of his obsequious and
rapacious statesmen. This gift was no less than 144,500 square miles
of the present territory of the United States and Mexico, and com-
prised all that belt included between 29° and 36° 30' north latitude,
and extending from the Atlantic to the Pacific Ocean. Considered in
reference to its capabilities of supplying those vegetable products most
coveted by civilized nations, this belt may be regarded as the fairest
domain of Christendom. It includes nearly all the cotton, sugar and
rice, and much of the tobacco-growing lands of the continent. All of
North and South Carolina, Georgia, Tennessee, Alabama, Mississippi,
Louisiana, Arkansas, New Mexico, Arizona, a large part of Missouri
and Florida, nearly all of Texas, and a considerable portion of Cali-
fornia and Mexico lie within the boundaries of the original grant.
But the visions of a magnificent empire in which the proprietors in-
dulged were rudely dispelled by the genius of liberty and self-govern-
ment which thrived upon the soil of the western continent. Despite
the grand model of a constitution drafted by Locke, and which was to
" endure forever," less than three quarters of a century convinced the
grantees that the gift, so imposing in appearance, was in reality of but
small value under their form of government, and with the exception
of Lord Carteret* they surrendered, in 1729, their titles to the crown
upon receiving 2,500 pounds each, Avith a small sum for quitrents.

* It may be interesting to the general reader to learn that the descendant of Lord Carteret, who
Iiad become the Earl of Granville before the revolutionary war, brought suit a short time before
the war of 1812, in the Circuit Court of the United States for the District of North Carolina, for the
recovery of his possesiions. The case, as we learn from the Hon. W. H. Battle, formerly one ef
the Judges of the Supreme Court of North Carolina, was tried before C. J. Marshall and Judge
Potter, who was then the District Judge, and resulted in a verdict and judgment against the plain-
till', whereupon he appealed to the Supreme Court of the Uuited States. Before this case could be
htard in that court the war of 1812 came on, which put a stop to it, and it was never revived.

William Gaston, (afterwards Judge Gaston) then a young man, appeared in the suit for the plain-
tift", and Messrs. Cameron (afterwards Judge Cameron), Baker (afterwards Judge Baker), and
Woods appeared for the defendants. The (luestion was whether Lord Granville's rights, which
had been confiscated by the State of North Carolina during the Revolutionary War, had been restored
bv the treaty of peace between the United States and Great BritAin. The case was never reported.
Thus passed away the last vestige of the most munificent gift of which history makes mention.

94 Resources of Tennessee.

Of all this vast territory no portion can o-row such a great variety of
products as that included within the ])rosent limits of Tennessee. Nor
is this to be wondered at. The many varieties of soil and the differ-
ence of elevation give to Tennessee a very wide range in its agricultu-
ral products. Assuming that an elevation of 333 feet is equivalent, so
far as- temperature is concerned, to one degree of latitude, it will be
seen that the highest domes of the Unakas, in the east, differ from the
low lands of the Mississippi by nearly fifteen degrees of latitude —
the one having a semi-tropical climate, the other that of Canada.
Ay e; have seen, also, that the soils do not differ less than the climate.
Upon them can be grown the sweet potato of the south, and the Irish
potato of the north — both in remunerative quantities, and of excellent
qualitv. Peaches, that attain their luscious sweetness in a sunny climate,
find in the State a congenial home, where they are brought to their highest
perfection. Apples, upon the elevated lands, bear as profusely and
ripen as deliciously as in the great apple-growing region of Ohio.
Grapes of many varieties bear in unsurjiassed luxuriance upon the
sunny slopes and rich hills in every jxirt of the State. Vineyards <>f
all si;fec*, from one acre to forty acres, are being planted in every
division of the State, and the certainty with which they bear and
ripen assures for Tennessee, in the near future, a high pre-eminence
as a grape-growing State. (The reader is referred to the chapter on
grape culture for details.) Plums and apricots, pears, nectarines
and cherries flourish and yield in profusion. Even the fig, in
sheltered places, may be brought to maturity in the open air. Nor
must that nuich-used but greatly abused fruit, the blackberry, and
its congeners, the raspberry and dewl)erry, be passed by without
mention. Everywhere throughout the State the bushes are indigenous.
In the woods and in the fields, on poor soils and on rich, covering
the mountain tops and flourishing in the alluvial bottoms, the
blackberry bush supplies a rich, healthy and delicious fruit, and in
quantities sufficient to supply ten times the present population. So
numerous and so excellent are the berries that pickers are sent out
from Cincinnati, and from other towns north, to gather and ship tlie
fruit. The rasi)berry and the dewberry grow wild and yield abun-
dantly. The cranberry grows wild in the elevated swam])y })laces of
Johnson county, and but for want of facilities for transj)ortation,
could be made a source of great ])rofit. These berries, covering in
the aggregate an area of 10,000 scpiaiti acres, are equal in all resjK'cts
to the best to be found in the north.

Farm Products. 95

Indian Cokn.

Tennessee ranks sixth as a corn-growing state. In 1840 it stood
first. Its average animal production of this great cereal is not fai'
from 50,000,000 bushels. The great Central Basin of Middle
Tennessee, the rich valleys of East, and the lowlands of West
Tennessee raise enormous cro})S of this grain, and the quality is greatly
superior to that grown in higher or loM'er latitudes. The grain
matures earlier than in the north, and dries thoroughly, fitting it to
make a superior quality of meal, and it is noted for its freedom from rot.
The average yield: per acre for the State is about 23 bushels ; but this
average is low, due to the pernicious habit in some parts of
the State of planting the same land year after year in this exhaustive
crop without manure. Among the best farmers, those who practice
rotation and clovering, the average yield is not far from 40 'l^ushels.
The rent paid for some of the ])ottom lands on the upper Tennessee is
twenty and sometimes thirty Ijnshels of corn per acre, and the yield
often reaches seventy-five, and in some rare instances, one hundred
bushels per acre.

The varieties of corn grown in the State are almost innumerabh-.
The gourd-seed, a large cob variety, is generally preferred for river
and creek lands ; the yellow for thin, rolling uplands. The variety
known as the Willis corn, hard, white, flinty, and not subject to rot, is
very valuable for thin soils. The stalk is not large, and the ear and
cob small, the latter rarely more than one inch in diameter, thougli
the yield proves veiy satisfactory. It is especially valuable from the
fact that it matures two weeks earlier than the larger kinds. A cross
between the gourd-seed and Willis, knoMn as the large Willis, par-
takes of the excellent qualities of each variety — the flintiness and free-
dom from rot of the one, and the large size of the other.

Both varieties of the AVillis corn make excellent meal, white, sweet,
and of fine keeping qualities, not so liable to become musty and sour
during the hot weather of sinnmer as that made from the larger and
softer varieties.

The weight of Willis corn is about 58 pounds to the bushel; gourd-
seed, 5<3. Bulk for l)ulk the former will shell out one-seventh more
than the latter, though more wagon loads of the latter may be gath-
ered from a given quantity of land; but not more bushels of shelled
corn.

96 Resources of Tennessee,

The Cooley corn, about which so much was written a year or two
ago, did not succeed very well in our climate. The seed was dis-
tributed by the Agricultural Department at Washington, but the yield
proved altogether unsatisfactory. Indeed, in this respect it did not
equal any of the common varieties, nor did it mature any earlier than
the Willis corn.

Wheat.

The usual quantity of wheat raised varies from 5,000,000 to
10,000,000 bushels, with an average yield per acre of from seven to
nine bushels. About 1,000,000 acres are sown annually. The best
wheat-growing portions of the State are to be found in the upper coun-
ties of the Valley of East Tennessee, the counties lying on the north
side of the Highland Rim, the northern counties of West Tennes-
see, and the rolling lands of the Central Basin. The average in these
regions is not far from fifteen bushels. Though the average yield o
Avheat is far from being what a thorough preparation of the land and
early seeding could make it, yet the excellence of the berry compen-
sates in some degree for the scantiness in the yield. The flour made of
Tennessee wheat commands in every market a superior price. A
recent writer in the Soufhern Revietv estimates that at least one-half of
the flour exported to Brazil and other intertropical countries is man-
ufactured from wheat grown south of the Ohio and the Susquehanna.
There is a peculiarity in the flour which enables it to resist damp, and
it will remain fresh and sweet when flour made from northern grown
Avheat will become sour, lumpy and worthless. It also has the capacity
of absorbing more water, and retaining it in the baking process, giving
a greater number of pounds of bread for a given number of pounds
of flour. All the nutritive elements are developed profusely in the
wheat of Tennessee, and maturing a month earlier than the wheat
(!rop of New York, it commands a ready market at good prices.

The Boughton wheat is probably more extensively sown than any
other variety. It has a smoath head and a hirge white berry, very
plump, but subject to smut, which has to he guarded against by
soaking the seed-wheat in a solution of blue-stone or sulphate of cop-
per. The red May wheat was for many years a favorite with the
farmers of the State, but the yield continued to decrease until it was
rarely ever sown. It has a round, plump, red grain, and makes a fine
yield of most excellent flour. At one time on portions of the High-
land Ilim this variety yielded, on good soils, forty bushels *per acre.

Farm Products. 97

Succeeding that was the blue stem, which, when the seasons suited,
made a very generous return, but as it often failed, the farmers ceased
to sow it.

The Mediterranean, though not yielding so abundantly as other
varieties, is a very sure crop. It is grown in limited quantities in al-
most every county in the State, though the quality of the berry is
greatly inferior to that of many other varieties.

There are several kinds of amber wheat sown, which have taken
local names. It is not so liable to smut as the white wheat, but it does
not sell so high, and rarely yields so well.

Oats.

Tennessee annually produces about 5,000,000 bushels ot oats.
The best authorities put the yield at 16 bushels per acre, but
the primitive methods employed in separating the straw from the
grain leave a large portion of the latter adhering to the straw.
Twenty-five bushels per acre can be grown upon any soils in any
portion of the State that have not been impoverished by bad tillage.
Even upon the thin, barren, flat lands that are found upon the high-
lands in Lewis, Lawrence, Coffee, and other counties, oats grow with a
prodigal luxuriance, as also upon the sand-stone soils of the Cumberland
Table Land. Upon the richer valley and bottom lands fifty bushels
per acre is not considered an exorbitant yield, and seventy-five have
been made. Greene, Hawkins, Knox, Sullivan, Roane, Washington
and Blount-, in East Tennessee ; Davidson, Wilson, Montgomery and
Sumner, in Middle, and Obion, Dyer and Gibson in West Tenessee,
furnish the best soils for oats.

. In the sale of this product there is a considerable loss to the
farmers of the State, on account of the weight of the standard bushel.
The statute of weights and measures needs revision and readjustment
80 as to correspond with those of contiguous and other states.
The standard weight in Tennessee for a bushel of oats is thirty-three
pounds, while most of the states have adopted thirty-two pounds as the
standard. By reason of this discrepancy of the standard bushel, the
farmers, in the sale of their oats lose one bushel in thirty-three, or
three per cent. The Quartermaster's Department of the United States
has adopted thirty-two pounds to the bushel, and there is no good
reason why Tennessee should adhere to the old standard, and thereby
cause a loss to the producers of the State.
7

98 Resources of Tennessee.

Tobacco.

Tennessee stands third as a tobacco-growing state, Kentucky
being first and Virginia second. The annual product of this great
staple varies from 20,000,000 to 25,000,000 pounds, or from
13,000 to 22,000 hogsheads. The average yield per acre is between
700 and 800 pounds, though as much as 1,200 and 1,500, and even
1,800 can be grown upon the best soils in good seasons. It ac-
quires a peculiar richness grown in some of the soils of Kentucky
and Tennessee. Tough, thick, gummy and leathery in its character,
it has the capacity of absorbing water, which makes it peculiarly
adapted to the manufacture of strips for the English market.
The tobacco known as the "Clarksville tobacco," and which
grows on the rich red soils of Stewart, Montgomery, Robertson,
Cheatham, Dickson, and in the counties of Kentucky lying contiguous
to the three counties first named, will absorb about 33 per cent of
water when dry. It is prepared for the English market by pulling
out the main stem and packing it in hogsheads as dry as possible.
These " strips " are watered after reaching the English market, and
inasmuch as the duty on tobacco is about 72 cents, gold, per pound, it
is seen that every pound of water absorbed by the strips will be
72 cents, gold, in the pocket of the importer, and he is thus enabled
to sell per pound at the same price that he buys, and make thirty-
three per cent on his investment, less the charges. It is this peculiar
property of the Clarksville tobacco that gives it such a high rank
among the English dealers. Much of the tobacco grown in this
district is shipped to Africa, the natives of that country preferring it.

The upper parts of Sumner, Trousdale and Smith, all of Macon,.
Clay and Jackson, and parts of Overton, Putnam Wilson and DeKalb
raise an article of tobacco not well suited for the manufacturer. It
would make good strips on account of its absorptive capacity. Tliis
tobacco is large, leafy, coarser than the Clarksville tobacco, and is de-
ficient in the active principle of tobacco. It is principally consumed
in the French and Spanish markets, a small quantity going to Italy
and Germany.

Obion, Dyer, Henry, Weakley and Benton counties, in West Ten-
nessee, raise a very fine Ynanufacturing leaf. It is, indeed, the finest
article for that purpose grown west of the Alleghany mountains. It is
rich, silky, mild, of a light color, some of it rivalling the brilliant

Farm Products. 99

colors of the fading hickory leaf. It is especially valued for bright
and mottled wrappers. All of this tobacco is consumed in the United
States, none being exported on account of its high price and scarcity.
This tobacco is not so well adapted for stemming purposes, and even
if it were, the price is too high to make its use in this manner profit-
able.

Coifee, AYarren, Moore, Lewis, Lawrence, Wayne, Hickman, Hum-
phreys and Dickson raise small quantities of light, mild tobacco.

Nearly every county in East Tennessee grows tobacco enough for
home consumption. A great drawback to its cultivation there, is the
prohibition put upon its sale by the government. Small farmers can-
not aiford to pay the license. The farmers throughout that region
regard it as a great hardship that they are not able to sell this product
except to licensed dealers. Very few raise enough for a hogshead,
and the prohibition of selling without license puts them at the mercy
of a few licensed dealers.

The quality of East Tennessee tobacco differs widely from that
grown in Middle or AVest. It is smaller and lighter and not so rich
in the alkaloid nicotine. The stronger tobaccos of Middle and West
Tennessee contain as high as six per cent, of nicotine, while that
grown in East Tennessee does not contain above three per cent. It,
however, is preferred by many on this account for smoking and chew-
ing, being milder, pleasanter and more agreeable.

It may be mentioned that, before the war, there were sixteen stem-
meries in successful operation in the city of Clarksville. The object
in stemming is to evade the tax and increase the value per pound.
We have already stated that the duty on American tobacco in England
is three shillings, or about seventy-two cents per pound. In Austria,
Erance, Italy and Spain the tobacco commerce is monopolized by gov-
ernment, under direction of a Regie. In Germany the duty on Amer-
ican leaf is four thalers per 100 pounds. In Belgium the impost is
reckoned after deducting fifteen per cent, for tare. The duty is thir-
teen francs, twenty centimes (|2.40 gold) per 100 Kilogrammes (100
American pounds equal 45| kilos). In Holland the duty is twenty-
eight cents, gold, per 100 kilos (28 American pounds being equal
to 12.7 kilos). In Russia the duty on leaf tobacco is four roubles
forty kopeks per pud ; on smoking tobacco, twenty-six roubles forty
kopecks per pud; and on cigars, two roubles twenty kopeks per pound.
The " pud " is equal to about thirty-six American pounds. In Turkey
the duty is fifty cents, gold per \\\ American ounces.

lOO

Resources of Tennessee,

The excessive taxation to which this article is subjected bears with
great and increasing weight upon the producer. Substitutes are used^
and the consumption greatly diminished. Tobacco has become almost
an article of prime necessity, and experience has demonstrated that a
habitual smoker or chewer would as soon dispense with meat upon his
table as tobacco after his meals.

Tobacco is now subject to a tax of twenty cents per pound by the
government — about two and a half times the price received by the
producer. The following table gives a comparative statement of the
revenue from the several sources of manufactured tobacco during the
fiscal years ending June 30, 1872, and June 30, 1873:

Sources of Revenue.

Cigars and cheroots of all descriptions, domestic or
imported

Manufacturers of cigars, special tax

Snuffs of all descriptions, domestic or imported

Tobacco of all descriptions.

Stamps for tobacco or snuff intended for export

Dealers in leaf tobacco

Retail dealers in leaf tobacco.

Dealers in manufactured tobacco. •

Manufacturers of tobacco

Peddlers of tobacco

Sales of Cigars, leaf and manufactured tobacco, and
excess of $5,000 of tbe penal sums of bonds of
manufacturers of tobacco

Total

Fiscal Year

1872.

S 7,566,156

119,294

497,092

24,073,683

63,576

116,917

934.341
11,971

363,137 40

$33,736,170 52

Fiscal Year
1873.

I 8,940,364 81

153,195 57

1,082,106 77

22,314,074 27

5,582 70

110,089 60

8,020 54

1,663,053 30

11,944 00

50,694 96

44,572 59

$34,382,699 23

We have dwelt thus long upon tobacco because it is the only great
product of the State that is subject to a burdensome tax, and every
effort of our people should be made to reduce or lighten the load upon
their industry.

Cotton.

This is one of the great staple products of Tenne.s.see. In 1850 the
number of bales raised in the State was 212,000; in 1800,296,464;

Farm Products.

lOI

in 1870, 181,842. The number of acres devoted to this staple in the
State was for 1870, 526,180; 1871,489,352; 1872,552,403; 1873,
613,267.

The following table will show the number of bales handled in the
State for the year ending September 1, 1873, though much of this
cotton came from Missifisippi, Arkansas, Alabama and Georgia:

Shipments from Memphis

" Nashville

" " other places in Tennessee and Kentucky
Stock in Memphis and Nashville at end of year

Shipped from Memphis to New Orleans

Shipped from Memphis, &c., to Norfolk, <fec

Shipped from Nashville south

Shipped direct to manufacturers

Stock in Memphis and Nashville beginning of year

Total shipments to New York, Boston, Philadelphia, &e.
Add shipments to manufacturers, as above

Total product shipped from Tennessee

1872-3.

1871-2.

413,136

381,424

63,021

65,334

137,593

112,155

6,253

1,885

620,003

550,798

96,784

58,416

132,835

124,410

9,676

24,166

141,500

122,065

1,885

2,726

382,679

331,783

237,324

219,015

141,600

122,065

378,824

341,080

The best cotton in the State is grown on the lands in the southern
half of West Tennessee. The staple is long and heavy, and the aver-
age yield on the best lands per acre is from 1,000 to 1,200 pounds of
seed-cotton. The farmers in this portion of the State give to this
staple almost their entire attention. The uplands yield a very desira-
ble article, much sought after by the spinners of New England and
Great Britain on account of its cleanness. At the London Exposition
in 1851, the cotton raised by Col. John Pope, of the county of Shelby,
received the medal as the best cotton known to the world.

Cotton is grown in the whole of the Central Basin south of Nash-
ville. Lincoln, Rutherford, Giles, Davidson and Maury are the prin-
cipal cotton-growing counties in IMiddle Tennessee, these five countie,'^
producing annually about 40,000 bales. The quality of the staple

I02 Resources of Tennessee.

grown in Middle Tennessee is inferior, being generally short and light^
though this varies greatly with the season. The crop of 1873 is a
very superior article, and resembles the best "uplands" of Mis-
sassippi.

The best counties for cotton growing in West Tennessee, arranged
according to their productiveness, are Shelby, Fayette, Haywood,
Tipton, Gibson, Madison, Lauderdale, Carroll and Dyer. The cotton
area has been extending north during the past two or three years into
Lake, Obion and Weakley. The average annual production for West
Tennessee is not far from 160,000 bales.

There is one very fatal error practiced by the cotton planters of the
State, and that is, the omission to put back on the soil the surplus cot-
ton seed. One of the most practical and successful cotton planters in
the State estimates the value of cotton seeds to be worth from twenty-
Ive to thirty dollars per ton as a fertilizer. Dr. Robert Peter has
made an elaborate analysis of the ashes of both the cotton fibre and
«otton seed, in which the relative exhaustion of the soils in the pro-
duction of each may be readily compared. This analysis was made
for the Second Geological Report of Arkansas, and is as follows :

In 100 Parts.

Cotton Fibre. Cotton Seed.

Potash 0.388 0.620

Soda 0 028 0.310

Lime 0.138 0.159

Magne.sia 0.185 0.698

Phrsplioric acid 0.125 1.600

Sulphuric acid 0.096 0.092

Chlorine 0.024 0.060

Sand and jilica 0.45Y 0.120

Carbonic acid and loss 0.254 0.111

1.697 1.69T

From this the reader will readily perceive how valuable the cotton
•eed is for the reproduction of the cotton fibre. There are nine fixed
•onstituents in the ash. The fibre and seed appropriate from the soil
in largest quantities the following substances: phosphoric acid, potash,
loda, magnesia and lime. The seed contains more than twelve times
«s much phosphoric acid, fi)urteen times as much soda, and nearly
twice as much potash as the cotton fibre.

The seeds are now sold to oil manufacturers at from six to seven
dollars per ton, or allowed to rot in great masses al)out the gin-houses,

Farm Products. 103

contaminating the atmosphere and inducing sickness by their poison-
ous exhalations, when they might be made to swell the profits of the
planter with scarcely a perceptible increase of the expenses of the
plantation. The seed-cake, after the oil is extracted, is almost as val-
uable for fertilizing land as the unpressed seed, and it would prove
profitable for the cotton planters of a neighborhood to form a co-oper-
ative establishment for the purpose of extracting the oil, and then re-
turn the seed-cake or refuse to the soil in place of buying costly
fertilizers.

The yield of cotton could be greatly increased and the land pre-
ser^^ed if some such method were adopted. The profits of cotton
planting depend much more upon the amount grown upon an acre
than upon the number of acres cultivated. An increase in the yield
of double the present quantity would quadruple the profits and im-
prove the soil. The attempt to cultivate too much land without re-
gard to its productive capacity has impoverished many a cotton plan-
tation, and there is no truth so much needed to be inculcated among
this class, as the one that if any element is constantly withdrawn from
the soil, the product of which it is a constituent must eventually cease
to grow. An Alabama planter, in speaking of this constant drain of
cotton upon the soil, says that it has destroyed more "than earth-
quakes or volcanic eruptions." Some of the hills around Murfrees-
boro and large bodies of land in West Tennessee are furrowed with
innumerable gullies, which produced cotton until their exhaustion was
complete. They were then turned out, and are now painful evidences
of the former want of care and attention to the soil by the growers of
cotton. All the fires which have occurred in the State, all the storms
of wind and hail, all the devastations produced by these and freshets
are small in comparison to the destruction of the wealth of the State
by bad tillage. It is fearful to contemplate this waste, and if persisted
in, must leave a land almost as desolate and as unfruitful as the desert
of Sahara.

Mr. John L. Strong, of Dickson, Alabama, gives to the Memphis
Appeal of a recent date the following as the approximate cost of the
production of cotton. If this calculation is correct, it will be seen
that there is a dead loss of over three cents per }X)und on all the cotton
gi'own — a conclusion which the pinched condition of the planters
throughout the south would seem to justify. The general estimate of
cost is, for river bottoms 12J cents per pound, and for uplands 16
cents — an average for both localities being 13| cents.

I04

Resources of Tennessee.

$150 00

60 00

20 00

Wages of liand 12 months, at $12.50 per mouth,

Board of hand 12 months, at $5 per month, .

Half feed of mule, ........

Interest on 36 acres of land at $5 61-100 per acre, at 10
per cent., ....

Interest on half cost of mule, $75, at 10 per cent.,
Half wear of same, 10 per cent., .
E;xpense of manager or overseer,

Salt,

Iron and blacksmith work.
Annual expense of tools and gear.
Ginning and baling, actual cost.
Begging and rope,

$328 19

Product, 18831^ pounds.

0)st, 17 32-100 cents per pound.

Average size of farms in the ten cotton states, 220 8-10 acres.

Proportion of improved to unimproved lands, 3 to 3.5 acres.

Average number of acres in cotton cultivated per hand, 10; per
mjule, 20.

Projiortion of land on each farm, per hand, 36 acres.

Average value of land in farms in ten cotton States, $5.61.

Average yield per acre from 1867 to 1872 in ten cotton states, 188J
pounds.

Average per hand, from 1867 to 1872, in ten cotton states, 1883|-
pounds.

This cost can only be reduced by cultivating better land and increas-
ing the yield, employing less labor and thus increasing its efficiency,
restoring the exhausted elements to the soil and thus keeping up its
fertility, producing home supplies and thus saving transportation, cul-
tivating less land and cultivating it better, and, above all, in the prac-
tice of a rigid supervision by the owner in all the operations of the
plantation, and thus save waste, wear and tear, and losses in tools,
stock and time.

Hay.

About 90,000 acres of land in Tennessee are used for the raising of
hay, which yield about 110,000 tons, or about one and a quarter tons

Farm Products. 105

per acre. This crop is valued at nearly §2,000,000, and is one of the
most useful crops grown in the State, and one which is peculiarly
adapted to the numerous bottoms that skirt the many streams through-
out the State. Referring to the different counties, it will be seen that
no state is more abundantly supplied with water-courses, and the hay
crop of the State might be made to rival that of the great states of
New York and Ohio, if farmers would seed the rich alluvial bottoms
to timothy and herds-grass. Nor is the hay-growing portion of the
State confined to the lowlands bordering the streams. On the north-
ern slopes of the ridges of East Tennessee, and on the rolling lands of
the Central Basin, timothy grows with a surprising luxuriance ; and
upon the flat lands of the Highland Rim, and in the sandy lands of
West Tennessee, herds-grass finds a fitting soil, and grows to a
height almost incredible. Knox, Greene, Sullivan and Washington,
in East Tennessee, are among the best hay-growing counties in th«
State. Greene is the banner county, and Davidson stands second.
Considerable hay is grown in Carter and Johnson, 2,000 feet above
the sea. Were the rich bottoms of the Mississippi reclaimed and put
to hay, Tennessee might supply the entire southern states with that
aiiicle.

While the average yield of hay for the State is small, instances are
given where meadows favorably located have yielded, for a period often
years in succession, from two to three tons per acre. The deadliest
enemy to the raising of hay is the "broomsedge," which enters upon a
career of conquest from the time the grass is sown. In the autumn,
after the first mowing, a few scanty tufts of this enemy may be seen
scattered here and there over the meadow like the skirmishers of a
grand army, and unless they are extirpated root and branch, the grand
army of broomsedge will enter the field, and in a year or two more
will claim it as its own. A weed, popularly called white top, also in-
fests the meadows, and injures the character of the hay. This is not
so destructive as the "broomsedge," and oftentimes a vigorous growth of
grass will expel it. In the blue-grass regions, meadows are short-lived,
the blue-grass encroaching year by year until the yield of hay ceases
to be remunerative. Hungarian grass and German millet are grown
largely for hay, and upon rich bottom soils yield a far larger
a^ouit than timothy. Hay is also made from red clover. (For
further details about' hay and grasses, see chapter on grasses.) It
may be added that hay rarely sells below ^20 per ton.

io6 Resources of Tennessee.

Barley.

While the number of acres devoted to barley in the State does not
exceed 5,000, it is yet one of the most profitable crops grown by our
farmers. The average yield per acre is about 18 bushels. About
one-third of all that is grown in the State is raised in Davidson county.
It flourishes well in the high valleys and coves in Johnson and Carter
counties, and would grow well in all the rich valley lands of East
Tennessee. The black lands of the Central Basin yield very large
crops. Upon such lands 25 to 35 bushels per acre is quite a common
yield. Stock-raisers prefer it to any other grain for the feeding of
young colts.

Barley is used principally for beer-making purposes, and with the
influx of a foreign population, the quantity raised would be greatly
increased. Weight for weight, the grain will bring as high a price as
wheat, and where soil and climate are suited for its production, it
would be more remunerative. It is estimated that three bushels of
barley can be raised at the same cost as two bushels of wheat.

Eye.

This is not considered a productive crop in Tennessee. Farmers
rarely ever sow it, except for winter or early spring grazing; a use to
which it is admirably adapted by reason of its hardy nature and rapid
growth. Sown in September, on fertile, well prepared land, it tillers
and forms a complete mat before the cold days of December. Sheep,
cattle and horses eat it with avidity, and the usual custom is to graze
it until the clover fields or highway pastures will supply ample graz-
ing. It is used also by some farmers as a fertilizer, and as it will
grow with vigor where corn, oats and wheat will fail, it supplies a
great want upon the thin and washed soils of the State. The amount
of laud devoted to rye is about 25,000 acres in the State, which gives
a yield of about 220,000 bushels, or about nine bushels per acre.
Tliis yield is doubtless largely diminished in consequence of the ex-
cessive grazing to which it is subjected. The largest rye-growing
counties are Marshall, Lincoln, Rnfhcrfovd, Bedford and Davidson, in
Middle Tennessee, and Johnson and Carter, in East Tennessee. West
Tennessee raises but little rye, but its soil and climate would ensure
an abundant yield.

Farm Products. loj

Buckwheat

Is not a favorite crop with the farmers of Tennessee. About 60,000
bushels is the average crop of the State, principally grown in John-
son, Carter and Washington counties, in East Tennessee, and Perry, in
Middle. It is not a remunerative crop, yielding only seven bushels
per acre.

Sweet Potatoes.

From the early settlement up to the present time, sweet potatoes
have held a high position as an article of food. They grow well on
all thoroughly drained soils of the State, and where the land is friable
and moderately fertile. Bottom lands are not usually the best for the
growth of this vegetable ; the tendency of such places is to produce
an enormous growth of vines at the expense of the tubers; nor does
cold, clayey land suit them. The flavor is greatly improved in a soil
with a small admixture of sand or fine gravel. When grown upon
very rich soils they are apt to be sappy and insipid. Visitors from
the north at the exhibition of the Nashville Agricultural and Me-
chanical Association expressed more surprise at the size and excellence
of the sweet potatoes than of any other vegetable. They may be
grown on suitable soils at the rate of 100 bu&hels per acre. The
annual yield is 1,200,000 bushels. They are grown in every division
of the State. The counties raising the greatest quantities are Shelby,
Obion and Gibson, in West Tennesosee; Davidson, Wilson and
Montgomery, in Middle; and Knox, Bradley and Anderson, in East
Tennessee. Davidson raises by far the greatest number, when counties
are compared ; but West Tennessee when we compare divisions. The
elevated land of the Unakas are not suited to their growth, the climate
being too northern in its character.

Irish Potato.

This, the most valuable of all the vegetables, is not grown in suffi-
cient quantities in the State to supply the home demand. Prolific in
yield when planted upon suitable soils and well worked, there is
no good reason why Tennessee should not supply this vegetable to all
the states south. Upon land moderately fresh and well manured, the

io8 Resources of Termessee. .

yield can be brought up to 400 bushels per acre. Yet the statistics of
this crop show an average yield of only 77 bushels, and the number of
bushels raised 1,122,000. This shows that there is not one bushel
to each inhabitant. The Irish potato grows well in every division of
the State, and especially is it brought to great perfection on the ele-
vated portions of the State. Even the Cumberland Table Land,
though yielding but sparsely of the leading crops, produces the Irisli
potato in profusion. The tubers grown upon the sandy soil of
this division are well flavored, rich and mealy. No more profitable
crop, and no one for which there is a readier demand, can engage the
attention of Tennessee farmers. The potato bugs sometimes destroy
the late potatoes, but rarely ever injure those planted in February
or March. As yet the genuine Colorado bug is unknown in this State.

Peanuts.

The great peanut-growing region of the State embraces the counties
of Perry, Hickman and Humphreys, and portions of Dickson and
Lewis — all upon the west side of the Highland Rim. The cultivation
of this nut was first introduced into this section by Jesse George, of
Hickman county. The seeds came from North Carolina, and were
given to him by some relatives who were passing through the county
on their way West. These he planted, and finding the county so well
adapted to their growth, he ventured to raise peanuts for market. Ob-
taining a good price for these, he Avas stimulated to a larger planting.
His neighbors caught the infection, and Humphreys soon became
famous for the ricliness and superiority of its peanuts. The entire
produ(!tion of ])eanuts in the region mentioned above reached, in the
year 1872, 680,000 bushels. Of these Hickman made 200,000, Hum-
phreys 250,000, Perry 200,000, and Dickson 30,000. The excessive
producition for that year reduced the price so low that the crop was
diminislied to 110,000 bushels for the year 1873, of which Hickman
produced 40,000, Humphreys 40,000, Perry 27,000, and Dickson
3,000. Tlic ])rice8 ])aid in the Nashville and Cincinnati markets vary
from 00 cents to $2.25 per bushel, according to production a^ul demand.
^The average yield is about 40 buslicls jier acre. Land suitable for
peanuts has advanced 100 ])cr cent, since their first introduction as a
crop in the region named. The best soils for jieanuts are those which
are well drained, and have a large quantity of intermingling gravel.
Rich, generally flinty, bottoms lying between ridges, are favorite spots.

Farm Products.

109

Other Crops.

Ill addition to the foregoing crops, there are grown in particular lo-
calities hemp, broom-corn, flax, sorghum and rice. All the garden
vegetables are raised in abundance. Peas, beans, onions, lettuce,
cabbage, turnips, radishes, salsify, celery, cucumbers, butter-beans,
tomatoes, squash, melons, carrots, beets, okra, egg-plant, asparagus, and
many others are found in almost every garden.

The following counties of Tennessee make up the roll of those
which, according to the census of 1870, lead in quantities of field,
stock, and dairy productions, each showing a maximum, or else a
" second-best," of some particular product. The names of the counties,
the products in which they respectively excelled, and the various
quantities or amounts of the latter are tabulated beloM^. The counties
holding the second rank are also given :

Giles, first in corn,
Maur}", second in corn,
Wilson, first in wheat,
Greene, second in wheat.
Knox, first in oats,
Sumner, second in oats,
Marshall, first in rj'e,
Lincoln, second in rye,
Davidson, first in barley, .
Wilson, second in barley.
Perry, first in buckwheat, .
Johnson, second in buckwheat,
Williamson, first in rice,
Henderson, second in rice,
Shelby, first in cotton,
Fayette, second in cotton,
Montgomery, first in tobacco,
Weakley, second in tobacco,
Lincoln, first in wool
Greene, second in wool,
Davidson, first in Irish potatoes,
Sumner, second in Irish potatoes,
Davidson, first in sweet potatoes,
Gibson, second in sweet potatoes, .

2,054,163

bushels

1,449,935

241,715

238,716

'■ (C

259,047

233,837

((

18,526

13,989

((

24,858

11,355

((

70,296

((

2,244

1,191

pounds,

518

32,434 bales.

20,131

((

4,856,378

pounds,

2,599,590

48,113

((

39,511

66,233 bushels.

35,253

62,854

60,275

Resources of Tennessee.

Humphreys, first in peas and beans,

Hickman, second in peas and beans,

Greene, first in hay, ...

Davidson, second in hay,

Wilson, first in butter, . . . .

Lincoln second in butter, .

Davidson, first in cheese,

Shelby, second in cheese,

Davidson, first in milk sold,

Maury, second in milk sold,

Greene, first in flax, ....

Sullivan, second in flax,

Maury, first in hops, ....

Cocke, second in hops,

Hancock, first in hemp, ....

Johnson, second in hemp, .

Sullivan, first in flaxseed,

Greene, second in flaxseed,

Overton, first in silk cocoons, .

Jefferson, second in silk cocoons, .

Warren, first in grass seed,

AVilson, second iil grass seed,

Hawkins, first in clover seed,

Wilson, second in clover seed, .

Sullivan, first in maple sugar, .

Greene, second in maple sugar, .

Wilson, first in sorghum molasses.

Smith, second in sorghum molasses,

Lincoln, first in honey, . . . .

Giles, second in honey,

Davidson, first in orchard products,

Obion,* second in orchard products, .

Maury, first in animals fi^r slaughter,

Lincoln,! second in animals for slaughter,

Lincoln, first in total live stock,

Maury, second in total live stock,

Wilson, first in horses, ....

Lincoln, second in horses,

Maury, first in mules and asses,

62,766

bushels.

. 43,150

7,124

tons.

6,883

399,249

pounds.

. 318,703

67,120

15,840

226,308

gallons.

62,254

((

9,251

pounds.

7,785

((

250

((

290 tons.

207

694

bushels

643

((

pounds.

1,289

bushels

932

((

1,210

((

1,117

12,360

12,271

((

47,794

gallons

40,344

44,838

((

40,515

43,915

dollars

35,087

641,214

. 622,714

2,155,474

. 2,015,355

9,682

number

7,968

5,346

* Warren is* closely aftur Obion, its orchard products beinjj Tallied at $35,031.
t Wilpon is third in rank and near Lincoln, the value being $610,972.

Farm Products. 1 1 1

Shelby,* second in mules and asses, . . . 4,676 number.

Lincoln, first in .slieep, 27,075

Bedford, second in sheep, 25,204

Maury, first in hogs, 53,124

Wilson, second in hogs, 48,708

Union,t first in wine, 3,260 gallons.

Putnam, second in wine, 920

To these might be added the peanut culture for 1872:

Humphreys, • • 250,000 bushels.

Perry and Hickman, each .... 200,000

It is to be hoped the next census will itemize this crop.

* Wilson third ; its mules and asses numbered 4,150.

t Montgomery made about 5,000 gallong in 1872, and Giles about 3,000 gallons.

1 1 2 Resources of Te^inessee.

CHAPTER VIII.

The Geasses of Tennessee.

The object of this chapter is to enumerate and explain all the most
valuable grasses which the soil and climate of Tennessee will produce,
so far as they have been tried.

Several wild or indigenous grasses grow spontaneously in the State,
and these will be first considered. We shall not pretend to give the
origin and history of any grass.

Barren, or Prairie Grass.

This grass covered all the pi-airie lands when the country was first
settled by the white people. It is perennial. It springs up about the
first of April, grows to the height of two feet, and affords good pasture
for cattle, horses, sheep and mules from the tenth of April to the first
of August. Then rt becomes hard, woody, and too tough, so that
stock refuse to eat it. Wherever the forest is not so 'dense as to ex-
clude the light and heat of the sun, on the streams and table lands
of the Cumberland Mountains, and on the sandy, flinty and silicious
"flat woods" of the whole State, this grass still holds possession
where the domestic animals which roam at large are not numerous
enough to keep it down. It is a blessing to the inhabitants of all
lands which are deficient in lime.

Nimble Will.

An indigenous and perennial grass. On tlie limestone lands where
the forest has been thinned out, the Nimble AVill grows up to the height
of about fifteen inches, and forms a dense mat. It is a rich, nutritious

Grasses. 113

grass. It produces seed abundantly, which makes it a rich feed for
cattle, horses, mules and sheep. Much of the beef and mutton sold
in the Nashville and Memphis markets is fattened on Nimble Will. In
limestone lands, when the forest trees are thin enough, and where blue-
grass has not already- got possession, the Nimble Will affords good pas-
ture for five or six months in the year.

"White Clover

Is a spontaneous growth nearly all over the State. It is luxuriant in
limestone soils. It is perennial. It springs up almost the first of
April, spreads rapidly by runners on the surface. It also propagates
itself by numerous seeds. White Clover makes an abundant pasture
for hogs, sheep and cattle. It salivates horses and mules so badly that
it is not valued as pasture for them. Yet, when White Clover is mixed
with timothy and blue-grass, some good farmers believe it improves
the pasture.

White Clover is a valuable forerunner of blue-grass. If White
Clover shall be sowed with blue-grass, in woodland lots, it takes pos-
session sooner than the blue-grass, and prepares the ground for the
grass to take possession in place of it. This clover is a hardy plant,
and -will withstand drouth and constant grazing.

Crab Grass

Is an annual, and comes from the seed every spring about the 20th of
April, in cultivated fields. It is a troublesome pest, and costs much
labor to keep it from overrunning the growing crop. In the corn-
field, especially in wet seasons, it is apt to produce a dense growth
among the standing corn, after the plowing has ceased. Then it is
impossible to put in wheat in good order during the following fall.
But in the small grain fields, it springs up soon after harvest, and
makes a luxuriant fall pasture for all domestic animals, excepting hogs.
It is nutritious, and fattens them well.

Where the farm is kept under a rotation of crops, and tilled only
once in four or five years, the Crab Grass is soon exterminated, and
ceases to be noticed, because better grasses have rooted it out and
taken its place.
8

114 Resources of Tennessee.

"^^^ Meadow Oat Grass

Is a perennial. It is cultivated both for pasture and meadow. In
good soil it grows near three feet high, and yields about a ton of hay
to the acre. It has but little nourishment in it, and makes inferior
hay and pasture. Farm stock will not eat this grass, nor the hay
made of it, if they can get any other grass or any other hay. It is
of so little value that no farmer ought to sow it, because many other
grasses will reward him better for his labor.

Herds-geass, or Eed Top,

Is a hardy perennial. It is devoted to pasture and meadow. For
making meadow in swampy land, it is regarded as superior to any
other grass. It produces a deep, tough sod of roots, that make a
firm surfacer, even in muddy places, and will yield a ton and a half of
hay per acre, of good quality. The hay is not quite equal to that
made of orchard grass, timothy, or clover; but in swamps, the crop
of Herds-grass hay is worth more than a crop that could be made of
any other grass in the swamps. In fact, it will yield good crops
where other grasses would fail altogether. In well drained uplands,
it yields fair crops of hay ; but not equal to clover and timothy. As
a pasture grass it prospers in almost any soil. The greatest yield will
ever be in the richest soil. In black limestone lands it prospers well,
but ought never be sowed to the exclusion of clover, or orchard-grass,
timothy, or blue-grass. The red top will choke those more valuable
grasses, and diminish their yield, and will not itself supply the de-
ficiency which it causes. It prospers in rich limestone land, but it is
not good policy to sow it on such lands, because other grasses arc
worth much more. Hence, in limestone lands, which are not swampy,
this grass ought not to be depended on, either for meadow or pasture.
But on sandy land, and any land that is deficient in limestone. Herds-
grass will probably do better, both for pasture and meadow, than any
other grass. It will not yield much hay, unless it be well ma-
nured ; but liberal manuring Avill make it yield large crops of good
hay. On all the table lands and "flatwoods" of the Cumberland
Mountains, on the silicious soils, and on the orange sands of West
Tennessee, Herds-grass ought to be the standard, both for pasture and
meadow, because it is more prosperous in such soils than other grasses.

Grasses. 115

Hungarian Grass,

Missouri millet, Egvptitin millet, and German millet, are all annual
grasses. In good land they make large crops of hay. If sowed early
in the season, before the drouth sets in, they will all prove highly
remunerative. These grasses all grow best in limestone soils ; but
will prosper on any soil that is rich enough. All these grasses
produce an abundance of seed, which are nutritious; but they are
disposed to shatter out and Avaste badly. To prevent this waste, the
grass ought to be harvested before the seeds mature.

"When all the qualities of these annual grasses are considered, they
prove to be very valuable, because an abundance of good hay may be
made of them in any part of the State. They will make hay, whether
sowed early or late ; but the early sowing is most certain to make u
good crop. There is probably more hay made of these grasses, in this
State, than of orchard-grass, blue-grass, timothy, or clover. These
grasses are w^ell adapted to the condition of renters. Moving, as they
do, from farm to farm, every year or two, they have no chance to
make meadow of timothy, clover, and orchard-grass. But these an-
nual grasses mature in so short a time, that any renter can afford to
make hay of them.

Orchard-Grass

Is a perennial. It makes hay and pasture of the best quality. All
sorts of domestic animals eat it greedily, and thrive upon it. But it
is difficult to get this grass well sodded, and then to keep it in full
possession of the ground. Not less than two bushels to the acre will
insure a dense st^id ; and then, in a year or tw^o, the bunches seem to
rise up out of the ground and become smaller, leaving vacant spots
between them. This disposition may be compensated for, by sowing
timothy or clover with the orchard-grass ; for they will occupy all the
vacant spots, and fill out the crop of hay to a full yield. And a
mixture of the grasses does not damage the (juality of the hay, but
makes it better. *

Orchard-Grass grows best on limestone lands, but will make good
meadows on any rich land.

^ ^ 6 Resources of Tennessee,

Red Clover.

A biennial plant. There are two varieties of it in tliis State. One
is very coarse and large, called "sapling clover." The other nsually
grows in good land, to the average height of about three feet. The
large variety does not suit the rich limestone soils, because it is almost
certain to fall flat down, and "scald out" at the roots, so as to destroy
the stand. But on land that is sufficient in lime, the large clover does
well, and ought to be more generally sown. Clover is the great fertil-
izer of land. Any land may be made productive, if it will grow good
crops of clover. It sends its top roots down to the depth of four or
live feet, and then drains, subsoils, and enriches to that depth. The
common Red Clover is the most valuable of all the grasses. It would
be tedious and difficult to enumerate and illustrate all the advantages
of Red Clover. There is no farm crop grown which equals it. It is
the great fertilizer and dependence to prevent our lands from wearing
out. It grows best on rich limestone lands, but may be made to pros-
per on any land which is not extremely sandy. Wherever there is not
lime enough in the soil, land plaster, sowed upon the growing clover,
will cause it to grow, and to yield large crops. It is, therefore, adapted
to all soils which are not extremely sandy. There is but little land in
Tennessee which will not produce clover; and all that will produce
it, can be made rich by it.

Red Clover makes excellent hay; but the custom now is, to make
hay of clover and timothy, mixed. The farmer adopts a system of
rotation of crops, including four or five years in the rotation. After a
corn crop, wheat is sowed, and clover and timothy are sowed among
the young wheat. After the wheat harvest, the field remains in
clover and timothy for two or three years, and is mowed to make hay.
Experience proves that this mixed hay cures well, makes excellent
]irovender, and may be kept in the stacks, perfectly sound. It is be-
lieved to be more nutritious than cither grass, by itself. This system
of rotation enables every fanner to enrich his lands with clover, and
make an abundance of hay of the best quality.

One great advantage of clover in the rotation is, that it will never
I'un out, after a crop has once gone to seed and is plowed in. The
seed in the ground will remain for many years, and then vegetate and
grow, whenever brought to the surface with the plow.

Grasses. 117

The rotation system with clover, to enrich the land and make hay,
wonderfully helps the farmer to rid his fields of all noxious weeds and
grasses.

Timothy.

A valuable perennial grass. For hay-making it is the best grass wc
have; and it improves all pastures where it is mixed with other
grasses. It is almost an indispensable forerunner of blue grass.
Sowed with blue-grass, it takes possession of the ground at once, and
holds the possession till the blue-grass can grow up and take its place.
Timothy does best in limestone land, in which the crop will often
amount to two tons of hay per acre, which commands the highest price
in the market. The impression once prevailed that Timothy would
not make good meadow on uplands or sloping lands. Modern experi-
ence fully proves that Timothy makes the largest crops on the hillsides
of the black limestone land. It often grows fully four feet high, and
sometimes five, on the limestone hills ; but the average crops of hay
are greater on well drained bottom lands. Farmers have learned to
use the mowing machine on the hillsides with nearly the same facility
as on the flats.

If much of the hay is fed to cattle on the meado^t which produced
it, the tramping and manuring will increase the yield of future crops,
and prolong the exuberance of the meadow.

Blue-Grass.

Perennial, and grows best on rich limestone lands. This is the
grass which is so famous in the blue-grass region of Kentucky. It is
the grass Avhich has produced a large part of the wealth, and made
thousands of large estates in Kentucky, Ohio, Indiana, and Missouri ;
and has caused many Tennesseans to become wealthy. It is the grass
which will ultimately cover all the limestone hills of Tennessee. Much
of the lands of Eastern and Middle Tennessee will produce as fine
Blue-Grass as can be made anywhere. And several of the river coun-
ties of West Tennessee will produce good Blue-Grass. The chemical
constituents of our rocks yield the very best soil for this and other
grasses. In the existing state of our knowledge, there could not he

1 1 8 Resources of Tenjiessee.

made an approximate estimate of the value of Blue-Grass to this State.
Our hills and ridges appear to be in all respects in the best natural
condition for Blue-Grass pastures. This fine grass may be made to cover
every acre of limestone land which is not tilled. No spot need be left
idle to wash away, or to produce noxious weeds and pests of the farm.
No timber trees need be destroyed or wasted, because this grass will
prosper where tall forest trees grow plentifully. And when every acre
shall be made to yield a profit, the people will be uncommonly pros-
perous.

Having enumerated all the valuable grasses that grow in the State
of Tennessee, it may be well to suggest the names of some that might
be introduced by our farmers with profit, and first among these may
be mentioned

LucERXE, OR Alfalfa.

This is a leguminous plant and perennial. It thrives well upon
almost any loose soil, and furnishes a crop as abundant as red clover.
It is not short-lived like clover, but will produce luxuriant crops for
eight or ten years. On the other hand, more care is necessary to secure
a stand. It suffers in compact, clayey soils, or in any soils that have a
hard pan underlying them. On the best portions of the Cumberland
Table Land, and in West Tennessee — except in that portion which has
a hard subsoil — it would flourish vigorously. The soil must be thor-
oughly pulverized and prepared by clean tillage. It would be better
to sow in drills and cultivate the first year, as it is extremely feeble
and tender at first. It will not endure as severe a climate as red clover.
It delights in great heat and sunlight. Compared with red clover, it
has some advantages. It will bear cutting much ofteuer; it is peren-
nial, and its yield of green food continues much longer in the season.
Equally with red clover, it ini])rovcs the soil upon which it grows;
deriving a large proportion of its nutrition from the atmosjihcre, while
it shades the land, and sends down its roots into the subsoil many feet.
It is said that a soil which will bear only a medium crop of wheat, may
be made highly productive of this staple cereal, by being in Lucerne
for a few years.

Lucerne should be sown in the spring, like clover, but as it tillers
less, a larger quantity of seed should be sown to the acre.

Grasses. 1 1 9

An intelligent writer, in speaking of this plant, says : " When prop-
erly managed, the number of cattle which can be kept in good condi-
tion on an acre of Lucerne during the whole season exceeds belief. It
is no sooner mown than it pushes out fresh shoots, and wonderful as
the growth of clover is, in a field that has been recently mown, that of
Lucerne is far more rapid. Lucerne will last for many years, shooting
its roots — tough and fibrous almost as those of licorice — downward for
nourishment, till they are almost out of the reach of drouth. In the
dryest and most sultry weather, when every blade of grass droops for
want of moisture. Lucerne holds up its stem, fresh and green as in
the genial spring."

That the climate of the State of Tennessee will suit it, there is not
a question of doubt. It grows in Illinois with remarkable luxuriance,
attaining the height of three and four feet. A mellow, deep sub-
soil, however, is indispensable to its successful cultivation.

Italian Rye Grass.

Upon the rich, moist bottoms that are found upon our streams, and
especially upon such bottoms as may be irrigated, this grass would
prove a desirable acquisition to our list of cultivated grasses. The
native habitat of this grass is the low plains of Lombardy, where it
grows with unrivalled luxuriance. All stock love it; it is greedily
eaten by cattle, and yields fifty per cent, of hay. According
to the statement of Mr. Lawson, who introduced its culture
into Great Britain, its growth is so rank that if it be sown with clover
or lucerne, it will quickly choke them. This grass was received with
great favor in England and Scotland. The sale of seed by the Messrs.
Lawson increased from 160 bushels in 1831, to 25,000 bushels in 1850,
notwithstanding the fact that they sold for about two dollars per bushel.
Mr. Henry Colraan, in his work on European Agriculture, says that
Mr. Dickenson, who had a farm near London, in 1844, mowed his Rye
Grass ten times. Mr. Dickenson took the trouble to ascertain the pro-
duce of the fifth crop of grass of the season, and found that a square
yard, green, weighed five and three-quarter pounds. This, when thor-
oughly dried by being in the open air twelve days, afterwards in a room
three days heated to fifty-nine degrees, then three days in a kitchen at
seventy degrees, and finally roasted two hours before the fire, weighed

I20 Resources of Tennessee.

two pounds six ounces. This was at the rate of thirteen tons, eighteen
hundred and thirty pounds, per acre of green grass ; when thoroughly
dried and heated, five tons and three quarters nearly.

Though best adapted for irrigated lands, this grass is said to with-
stand severe droughts better than any of our valuable grasses. Mr.
Gould, in speaking of it, says he saw it growing upon the farm of
Lewis G. Morris, of New York, and though the year was characterized
by a very severe drought, and all the neighboring meadows and pas-
tures were brown and sear, yet this field of Italian Rye Grass was green
and beautiful, presenting a lovely picture to the eye, a perfect oasis
amid the parched grass lands by which it was surrounded. Mr. Mor-
ris says that when fed to his cattle they gave an eager preference to it
over any of the grasses on his farm.

Mr. Gould thinks the valuable qualities of this grass may be summed
up as follows :

Its habit of coming early to maturity.

Its rapid reproduction after cutting.

Its wonderful adaptation to all domestic animals, which is shown by
the extreme partiality they manifest for it, either alone or when mixed
with other grasses ; whether when used as green food for soiling, as
hay, or as pasturage, in which latter state its stems are never allowed
to ripen and wither like other grasses.

Its beneficial influence on the dairy, not only augmenting the flow
of milk, but improving the flavor of the cheese and butter.

Its uncommon hardiness and capacity to withstand the vicissitudes
of both wetness and dryness.

The only drawback to it, is the fact that it is not perennial ; but it
is said that if fresh seeds are scattered over the meadow every second
year, and the ground scarified with a harrow, and then rolled, there
will be a succession of crops.

In an economical point of view, there is no crop of greater interest
to the farmer than that of grass. The annual value of the grass crop
in the United States has been estimated to be equal to $500,000,000.

Should the farmers double the area of their meadows and pasture
lands, or, what would be still better, " make two blades of grass grow
where only one grew before," the entire national debt could be paid

Grasses. 1 2 1

off in four years with the surplus, besides the indirect advantage of
having the soils greatly augmented in fertility.

In no state is there such a great disparity between the natural ca-
pacity of the soils for the growing of hay, and the actual production,
as in the State of Tennessee. The large amount of meadow lands to
be found in every portion of the State, amounting in the aggregate to
at least 1,500 square miles, should insure a yield of hay equal to that
of New York; yet we find by comparison that the latter state in 1869
raised 5,614,205 tons of hay, and Tennessee 116,582 tons, or about
one-*fiftieth as much; and this, too, when ready markets and high
prices have been the constant rule for this product in Tennessee.

As it is, it may well be doubted whether any other product of our
soils pays such a large per centage as our grasses. It is impossible to
make an estimate of their true value. One method, however, may be
adopted. We may suppose that all these grasses were at once removed
from our State, so that the citizens would be compelled to do without
them. What wotild.be the consequence? A little reflection will sat-
isfy any one that the privation would be fatal to our prosperity. The
whole population would be reduced to abject poverty before tliey could
provide substitutes for them. The more one thinks about the privation,
the greater it appears to be. On the other hand, the greater the dam-
age that would result from a deprivation of all our grasses, the greater
must we regard the value of their general culture. And the human
mind can approach no nearer to the true value of our grasses, than it
could to the amount of damage that would result from a deprivation of
them all. Without the grasses, Tennessee could hardly support half a
million of citizens. But the general culture of all our grasses will
support five millions of citizens bountifully. Without these grasses,
all the fertilizers, all composts, and all barn-yard manures would not
prevent our soil from wearing out and becoming barren. But with
them, we may enrich all our lands, and make most of them highly
productive.

It is due to the memory of the late Dr. F. H. Gordon, to say that a
portion of this chapter was furnished by him, just before his death, to
the Bureau of Agriculture. Of all subjects connected with our agri-
cultural interests, that of grass engaged his attention the most. It was
his fixed opinion that the increased culture of grass meant increase in
wealth, in intelligence, in refinement, and in population.

122 Resources of Tennessee.

CHAPTER IX.

Live Stock.

Tennessee, taking the ninth rank in the sisterhood of states in the
number of her population, aggregating 1,258,520, according to the last
census, takes also the ninth position in point of the value of her live
stock, aggregating in value $55,084,075. With only 6,843,278 acres
improved land, there is about one-fourth of the area of the entire State,
making about five acres to each inhabitant, actually available and em-
ployed. According to the latest and most reliable data, there are for
each one hundred acres so employed, only 3.6 horses, 3.5 milch cows
and 5.8 all other cattle, 12 sheep, and 26 swine. Considering the
vast area unemployed and unreclaimed, embracing as it does much
of the best lands of the State for the production of the cereals and
cultivated grasses, together with our climate and admirably watered
valleys, so well adapted to stock-growing, that notwithstanding the
aggregate value of our live stock making a large item in the wealth of
our State, the percentage appears very low when compared with the
real capacity of our territory for the development of this great interest.
Even under the unadvanced system of agriculture, Tennessee takes the
seventh rank in the average production of Indian corn and wheat, and
the fifth in that of grasses, demonstrating our great capacity to make
meat for the markets of the wcJrld. We think it must appear to the
mo«t casual observer, upon a review of such facts, that a proper devel-
opment of our live stock interest, especially if aided by the fostering
hand of our law-makers, will do more to furnish a market for our
farm products, and reclaim our worn out lands, bringing into subjection
our wikl territories, and thus beautifying and enriching our State, than
any other branch of agriculture pursued by the husbandmen of Ten-
nessee.

Live Stock. 123

Possessing such great natural advantages in climate and soil, also
being one of the be.bt watered among the states, and occupying a cen-
tral position, our State is already attracting great attention among those
devoted to the breeding interests, and must soon become one of the
great central depots from which stock for the improvement of their
respective varieties will be exported to all parts of our continent.

Horses.

With 118,141 farms in Tennessee, and that, too, with an increase of
thirty per cent, in the last ten years, there is at the present time only
one horse to about every tive inhabitants, aggregating 273,200, whereas
in the most prosperous agricultural states, the proportion is as about
one horse to every three persons. The quality of the horses of our
State, however, is of a much higher standard than is to be found in
most states in the Union. This fact is doubtless due to two causes.
First and chiefly to the fact, that for the past three-quarters of a cen-
tury this branch of stock husbandry has received the attention of
many of the most enlightened minds of our State, whose time, means,
and zeal have been devoted to the production of the highest type of
the equine race.

This becomes at once apparent from the fact that no less than thirty-
five imported stallions, many very expensive ones, were either imported
and owned in Tennessee, or their services employed for the benefit of
their species, as follows : Crawler, Sourcrout, Citizen, Rodney, Eagle,
Dragon, Royalist, Boaster, Bagdad, Bluster, Leviathan, Philip, Mar-
grave, Luzborough, Autocrat, Mordecai, Shamrock, Skylark ,St. Giles,
Fop, Lapdog, Merman, Rowton, Priam, Belshazzar, Ambassador,
Ainderly, TencrifPe, Sovereign, Emu, Glencoe, Scythian, Sacklowie,
and Glengary. Add to this the great number of highly-bred, imported
mares, such as Chance mare, Fortuna, Blacklock mare, Refugee, Kill
Devil mare, Phantomia, Vaga, Venetia, Likeness, Black Bess, Flores-
tine, Rebecca, Jenny Mills, Myrtle, Mango, Nanny Kilham, Sweetbriar,
Colonel's Daughter, Stump's mare. Nun's Daughter, Equity, Yani]),
Anna Maria, Tomboy mare. Primrose, Pledge, Panola, and the pro-
duce of the mares from the English stallions, commingling their blood
with the numerous native stallions, rivalling in excellency and purity
of breeding their imported cousins. As early as 1790, many good

124 Resources of Tennessee.

horses were brought into Sullivan county, in East Tennessee. Col.
John Scott, Col. William Blevins, the Messrs. Snapp, Tiptons, Greens,
Rutledges, etc., seemed to have taken the lea'd in these early importa-
tions. Among the horses brought to that county about that time, we
may mention Stately, Milton, Genus, Flag of Truce, Don Quixote,
Peter Quicksilver, and Diomede, all of which left traces of their blood.
Many of these horses were brought afterwards to Middle Tennessee,
through the influence of General Jackson, who, first settling in East
Tennessee, afterwards removed to Davidson county, and was one of
the leaders of the turf.

Our earlier breeders certainly possessed the materials, when directed
by skill, out of which they were able to fashion the grandest horses
upon the continent. As evidence of this, Tennessee horses have been
sought for by almost every state in the Union, for the improvement of
the equine race, and have contributed very largely in founding and es-
tablishing the reputation of every state now boasting of possessing this
most noble and most useful servant to mankind. Although a few cen-
tral counties have in times past devoted the greatest amount of time
and money to the breeding of horses in their highest type, such as
Sumner, Davidson, Giles, Maury and others, at present there are many
counties that vie with these in the number and value of their stock.
As a matter of reference, taking 5,000 as a basis, the counties owning
over this number are Wilson, Lincoln, Maury, Giles, Sumner, Ruther-
ford, Davidson, Bedford, Williamson and Marshall ; while many others
are nearly equal in point of numbers to the above. In all of these
counties more or less of good blood has been distributed from the
older breeding counties, thus materially increasing the durability, and
consequently the general utility, of the horse stock of the State. This
fact became patent during the late war, especially. Tennessee, being
a central field of hostilities between the contending armies, contributed
probably to a larger extent than any other state in supplying the
armies with useful cavalry horses, of such excellent quality as to ren-
der them distinguished among all the rough riders over bloody fields
throughout both armies. Notwithstanding this great drain upon the
horse stock, the State is fast recuperating in numbers, and the knowl-
edge accpiired from past experience induces our citizens to introduce
none but the best, for the purposes for which they are bred, with which
to improve our already valual)]e race of horses. Latterly, the enor-
mous amount of capital represented in the roadster, has induced num-
bers of our best citizens and breeders to introduce representatives of

Live Stock. 125

this valuable strain of horses at great cost. These when bred upon
our strains of blood coursing in the veins of a large majority of our
stock, cannot fail to found a race that will be the representative of an
enormous revenue to our State, and give character to Tennessee breed-
ers inferior to that of no other state in the Union, both in point of
number and value of her stock.

Cattle.

Next in importance, if second, to that of any other, in the live-
stock interest, is the value and importance of our cattle. Distributed,
as they are, throughout every county of tlie State, and being one of
the necessary appendages to every thriving farm household, the foster-
ing of this branch of stock husbandry would seem to be inseparably
connected with a general prosperity of our people. This interest
having suffered probably to a larger extent than any other breeding
interest by the war, shows, after ten years time for recuperation, still
a decrease of nearly thirty per cent, from 1860 to the present time,
estimating from the most reliable data, numbering now, in the ag-
gregate, nearly 700,000 head; also, showing only one milch cow to
about every five persons, and of other cattle about one to every three
persons — a very small per centage, when it is considered that there are
only 9.3 cattle for every one hundred acres in cultivation; less than
one-fourth what it might be, and that a very large proportion of the
unclaimed lands of the State are well adapted, and abundantly adequate
to the support of large herds of cattle, for at least nine months of
the year, with but comparatively little cost and care. With this
branch of stock-husbandry, comparatively speaking, undeveloped and
little fostered, it forms no inconsiderable item in the w^ealth and reve-
nues of our State. After furnishing our people a large amount of the
meat for home consumption, the aggregate amount furnished to the
public markets, amounts to 15,850,880 pounds. The increasing im-
))ortance of the meat question, together with the large revenue derived
from the dairy products, already amounting to 415,786 gallons of milk,
142,200 pounds cheese, 9,571,069 pounds butter sold, has attracted
thinking men and capitalists to the great importance of the improve-
ment of our cattle, since the war, more than ever before. The dairy
interest, comparatively in its infancy, and little understood, and, so to
speak, overlooked as an industry until recently, yielding over two

126 Resources of Tennessee.

and a half millions dollars, annually, to our wealth, is one that should,
and justly too, attract the attention of our farmers to the immense in-
come and wealth that it might be made to yield to our State, being
less, at present, than one-fourth that of some other states of no more
population and less area than Tennessee, and far fewer natural advan-
tages; showing that it might be increased four-fold, returning annually,
and at less cost than almost any other enterprise, at least ten millions
of dollars, by converting our waste and wornout lands into verdant
pastures, and thus increasing the value of the legacy to be left our
children, by leaving them the soil in its virgin purity, instead of the
worn and gullied hillsides, crowned with thorns, and studded with
stones. Since the war, more than ever before, has an impetus been
added to this industry. Notwithstanding some few of the improved
breeds of cattle were introduced as early as 1834-5, by importations
from England and elsewhere, nothing that could be called anything
like a general interest has been manifested by our people in introduc-
ing the improved breeds, or a desire for the general distribution of the
more economic and valuable variety of cattle, until within the last de-
cade. We feel especially rejoiced to note the great interest recently
manifested, and rapid strides made by many enterprising citizens, in
this attractive branch of husbandry within the last few years. Large
investments are being made with a view to pecuniary profit, and the
result has been that many specimens of rare merit of the bovine species
are the occupants of Tennessee soil. Those who are at all familiar
with our agricultural exhibitions, and who are well informed as to the
great degree of excellency produced by skill and care, attest the fact
that our State boasts many specimens of great merit, annually brouglit
into competition, thus producing a laudable rivalry, that is rapidly
adding thousands to the wealth and prosperity of our State. We think
that we cannot recommend too forcibly to the fostering care of our
farmers the importance ot this great interest by a general introduction
of the blood of the improved varieties of cattle into the herds of the
State. This being already done in many of the older countries, to a
large extent, has produced its fruit by adding thousands to the value of
their cattle for grazing and dairy pur]K)scs.

Davidson, Sumner, Bedford, llutlierford, Giles, Maury, Tipton,
Shelby, Knox, and others, already mnuber their fine herds, while oth-
ers are gradually introducing them, and we think the day cannot be far
distant when Tennessee, with the natural advantages of soil and cli-
mate, must take iiigh rank as a breeding State, furnishing a large pro-

Live Stock. 127

portion of the animals for the propagation of their species, now de-
manded by the great west; also taking high rank among the states in
the valne of her products of beef and the dairy, thus adding millions
to her coffers, and prosperity and happiness to her people.

On this subject, and as showing the breeds best suited for each divi-
sion of the State, we subjoin an article prepared by Prof Nicholson,
of Knoxville, Professor of Agriculture in the East Tennessee Unirer-
sity, and one of the Commissioners of the Bureau.

It has been remarked, says Professor Nicholson, that variety is
the characteristic of both the geology and agriculture of Tennessee,
and the same feature characterizes the cattle of the State. The variety
in the geology and agriculture results from natural causes, but the
variety in the cattle is the result of certain accidents of origin. Ten-
nessee was mainly settled by emigrants from North Carolina and Vir-
ginia, but from time to time considerable numbers came into the State
from Pennsylvania, and other northern and eastern states. These
emigrants very generally brought with them their best cattle, and from
these first imjaortations the native stock of cattle sprung mainly. From
time to time, in almost every section of the State, enterprising and
well-to-do farmers have sent abroad either to Kentucky, Virginia, or
even to England, for improved cattle. These have been mainly of the
Short-horn, and only to a limited extent of the Ayrshire and Dev-
ons. The traces of these improved importations are very manifest in
many localities, though many years have elapsed since the importations
were made.

Notwithstanding these improved additions to the blood of the cattle
of the State, the types of the native cattle remain. In many localities
there have been no importations, and the only changes that have t^iken
place are due to natural causes. Out of this state of things arises the
variety of which we speak.

Starting in the eastern portion of the State, we find the inhabitants
thinly scattered, occupying small farms, hemmed in by the mountain
ranges, and very nearly isolated from the rest of the world. They
are mostly descended directly from North Carolina emigrants, and
have had comparatively little intercourse with the outside world. Con-
tent with the supply which they can easily make on their little farms, by
the aid of the boundless " range " of the mountains, they feel no need
for, and are prompted by no desire to change their stock of cattle.
Here, then, we should naturally expect to find the nearest approach to

128 Resources of Tennessee.

the original " stock " of the North Ciu'olina emigrant, and the expecta-
tion is fully realized, for through the eastern tier of countfes of the
State, the " native " cattle present a closer uniformity in color, size, and
shape, than in any district of the like size that we know of. The note-
worthy features in these cattle, are their uniformly small size as com-
pared with Short-horns ; their angular outlines ; the almost entire ab-
sence of any solid color, besides black ; and the large proportion of
black. These cattle are extremely hardy, as they needs must be to
live, and are very active and sure-footed. As a general thing, they
give very rich milk, though the quantity is small. Frequent instances
are to be met with, however, among them of deep as well as rich
milkers. Though hardy, these cattle do not fatten kindly, beyond the
stage of " grass fat," a kind of fat that will not bear transporting.

If we seek to account for the noteworthy features of these cattle, we
shall find that their pedigrees run back, in very many cases, to stocks
of cattle brought into North Carolina from Scotland by the Scotch
emigrants. Thus connecting together the history of the people and
their cattle, we are enabled to account for the close resemblance between
several types of the native cattle of the mountains of East Tennessee,
and certain well-known breeds of Scotland and England. Often have
we seen in the mountains of East Tennessee as perfect types of the
little Black Kerrie and the Ayrshire as could be found in the forest-
bred herds of Scotland.

Coming westward into the East Tennesse Valley, we find a change
in the cattle marked by an increase in size, the less frequent occurrence
of either, all black or black and white, the more frequent occurrence
of solid red and white, and a general improvement in the shape and
fattening form. The increase in size is generally gained at the expense
of hardiness. There is also a lack of uniformity in any considerable
number of the Valley cattle. These cattle, however, will fatten in the
stall more readily, and being of larger frame, are much more valuable
for beef.

Passing westward into Middle Tennessee, we find at once a greater
number of cattle and a still greater diversity in character. The cattle
are generally larger and more beefy. The little black cow so often
met with in East Tennessee, is seldom seen here. Tlie traces of Short-
horn, Devon, and other good blood, are more marked. The native
cattle of Middle Tennessee of to-day show a diversity of origin much
greater than those of East Tennessee, and yet there is an evident ten-
dency towards uniformity in many comities, owing mainly to the in-

Live Stoc^ 129

creased infusion of Short-horn bh>od, and the general improvement
in feeding and sheltering.

In West Tennessee, stock-growing has not until quite recently re-
ceived much attention from the wealthier farmers, and the number of
cattle is comparatively small. In general, the natives resemble closely
those of Middle Tennessee, from which they are directly descended.
Of late years, there is a marked improvement in the care of stock, and
a corresponding improvement in the cattle, both native and graded.

Improved Breeds.

What crops a farmer shall grow, and what stock he shall breed, are
questions to be determined ultimately by the market demand ; yet there
is a natural order of crop development noticeable in the history of the
agriculture of every new state. The first settlers and their immediate
descendants in Tennessee grew only corn and potatoes, and raised hogs
and a few cattle. Scarcity of labor, remoteness from market, primi-
tive habits and simple wants combined to confine their efforts within a
narrow circle. Hence it is that we find the chief crop of the early set-
tlers and their immediate descendants was corn. This was their main
reliance for bread.

In 1840, Tennessee was the largest corn-producing state in the
Union. But corn is bulky and difficult of transportation, and in the
absence of railroads, the Tennessee farmers had to ship their corn by
the Tennessee, Cumberland and Mississippi rivers. The next step was
to feed this corn at home, and the hog being the main reliance for
home meat, hog growing came to be the leading business of the Ten-
nesssee farmer, and in 1850, Tennessee took first rank as a hog-grow-
ing state. In the meantime, the demand for corn and bacon was being
met by the western and north-western states, and a new demand had
risen in the cotton states for mules. In response to this demand, Ten-
nessee became, by 1860, the largest mule-growing state in the Union.
Here we have three changes, as it were ; first it is corn, then hogs, and
then mules; but these were not changes, in fact, for in 1850, there was
a greater amount of corn grown than in 1840; and in 1860, a larger
number of hogs than in 1850, The whole was the result of the growth
and development of the agriculture of the State.

The devastations of the war not only checked all growth, but up-

130 Resources of Tennessee.

rooted to a large extent the system of agriculture on which all previ-
ous development had been based. Since 1865, the agriculture of the
State has been slowly settling down and adjusting itself to the new con-
dition of things, and new growth and development are only just setting
in. In 1860, there was a manifest tendency towards the growth of
beef cattle in the State, and had not the war intervened, it is not im-
probable that Tennessee would have contested for the supremacy in
cattle growing in the census report of 1870. Fortunately, however,
the war did not destroy the causes which were then directing the atten-
tion of the farmers of Tennessee to cattle breeding. These still ex-
isted, and, when the war closed, began to operate in full force. Es-
pecially is this true of Middle and West Tennessee. Evidence of this
state of things was furnished, not only in the increased activity in the
cattle trade, but in the fact that in the exhibition rings of the various
fairs, improved cattle attracted far more attention than ever before.
Owing to differences of condition, and certain economic causes. East
Tennessee has been slower to feel this cattle movement, but it is now
spreading very rapidly through the Valley, and in time will undoubt-
edly extend into the securest mountain fastness.

What losses came of the war, it boots not now to reckon, but wLs-
dom itself teaches us to try if we may not find something of good to
come of it, for beyond question

" There is some sort of gooJ in all things evil,
Would men observingly distil it out."

The war swept away the cattle of the State to such an extent as to
compel the introduction of others to supply the immediate wants of
the inhabitants — operating, in this respect, just as a fire often does, to
improve the appearance of a town, by making room for a better class
of houses. Having to buy, many farmers went to Kentucky, and else-
where, in search ot the best blood of the improved breeds, thus
laying the foundation for herds of pure breeds, as well as furnishing
the means of grading up the native cattle to a very high state of im-
provement— two effects of very nearly equal value to the agriculture
of tlie State. If it were practicable, it would not be desirable, to substi-
tute the pure-bred Short-horn at once, unless at the same time the rich
pasture, comfortable quarters, and abundance of feed, essential to the
right management of this noble breed, could be brought along with
thorn, and substituted for the rather scanty pasture, scarce shelter, and
limited food, upon which the natives manage to live.

Live Stock. 1 3 1

Again, while it is scarcely to be expected that the farmers of Ten-
nessee will, within any short period, establish a breed of beef cattle
superior to what the Short-horns are, under the most favorable circum-
stances, it is not unreasonable to anticipate that, by judicious and per-
sistent selection and crossing, a breed may be established which will
be better adaj^ted to the conditions of the farmers of the State.
"Whether such a breed will ever arise, remains to be seen ; but it is a
fixed fact that for the majority of Tennessee farmers, the pure blood
of the improved breeds can only be introduced gradually, by the use
of pure bred males. But this fact does not in the least militate against
the introduction of the pure breeds, by such farmers as are so fortu-
nate as to be prepared for it. They will always find their reward in
ready sales, at remunerative prices. For, besides the constant demand
for good bulls by the farmers who only seek to grade up their cattle,
the number of breeders of pure breeds will naturally increase year
by year with the improvement of agriculture.

WfiAT Breeds to Ixtroducp:.

Each farmer must be his own judge as to the kind of cattle that he
will keep; but circumstances will necessarily govern the choice of all,
to some extent. The principal of these circumstances are, location and
character of the farm, capital and market. A farmer living on the
uplands of East Tennessee, however much he may admire, and desire
to possess the lordly Short-horns, could not act wisely to invest in them
unless he knows some better way of growing meadow and pasture
grass than his neighbors know, and has besides, better sheds for winter
care of them. Nor would he be acting much more wisely to attempt
to cross the Short-horn on his small native cows. The difference be-
tween the two is too great for a happy cross.

There is, however, an im]>roved breed of cattle, just suited to the
uplands of East Tennessee — that is the Devon. This, the oldest of
English breeds, and, by some, held to be the best, too, is uniformly of
a rich, deep red color, niedium size, very hardy, extremely active,
kind feeders, generous milkers, making excellent beef, and the best
work-oxen of all cattle. The Devons would cross readily and well on
the native, and add innncnsely to their value, whik' detracting nothing
from their hai-dincss.

If, however, the natives whicii a farnuir owns are extra good milk-

132 Resowces of Tennessee.

•
ers, and he is well situated to inake and sell either butter or cheese, it

might pay him to get an Ayrshire or Jersey bull to cross on them.

This certainly, if he lives near a town or railroad depot.

In the Valley, and especially along the river bottoms, wherever
heavy crops ^of hay and deep pastures may be grown, the Short-horns
may be introduced with profit; but even in the best valleys, it is a
matter of doulit if the Devon will not give the most satisfaction.
Along the line of the East Tennessee and Virginia Railroad, the sale
of butter and cheese forms how a considerable part of the farmer's
profit, and this trade will certainly increase very much with the in-
crease of population. Hence, the dairy breeds will be in demand in
this section. For this purpose the Jersey and Ayrshire are pre-eminent,
the former for butter and the latter fqr cheese. Already several small
herds of Jerseys have been started by enterprising farmers, and a short
experience gives the most encouraging promise of their success in all
parts of the Valley. They cross very successfully with the natives,
alwayc adding a rich flavor and golden color to the milk. As a town
cow the Jersey, or the Jersey grade, is without a rival.

For East Tennessee, therefore, the Devon is the best breed of cattle
for the general farmer, while the Jersey and Ayrshire will suit the
dairy best.

In Middle Tennessee there are two sections described on the Map
accompanying this volume as the Highland Rim and the Central
Basin. Throughout the former section the pasturage and meadow
growth are comparatively light, and as a consequence the heavy-feed-
ing Short-horns cannot be possibly grown by the farmer, generally.
Here, again, the virtues of the Devon come happily into play, and
what has been said of East Tennessee uplands may be repeated of the
Highland Rim, with the exception, probably, of the northern and
eastern portions where better soils prevail. In the Basin the soil is
different. Here the pastures and meadows are, or may be made, rich
and luxuriant enough to carry the heaviest of cattle with profit. This,
then, is the natural home of the Short-horns in Tennessee. Here, too,
the natives are b(>st adapted to crossing with them, and the farm prac-
tices are best suited to their easy introduction.

In West Tennessee, also, there is a considerable section in which
Short-horns seem to thrive well. In the greater part, however, the
Devon would most likely be the best, all things considered.

Live Stock. 133

What has Been Done.

For forty years past there have been a few enterprising and intelli-
gent farmers, scattered throughout the different parts of the State,
who have sought to improve the stock of cattle in the country by in-
troducing improved breeds. The first of these importations were
-drawn from Virginia, Maryland, and Kentucky, and consisted of what
was variously known as the Patton, Teeswater, or English cattle. Pre-
cisely what breed of cattle this was, or whether the same stock went
by different names, is not known with certainty. It is probable, how-
ever, that there was more or less of the same blood in all, and that
this blood was Short-horn, though it was more or less tainted by a
mixture Avith native. At any rate, these early importations were very-
good cattle, and left a good impression on their descendants. Thev
were generally large, roomy co\vs of a deep red color, frequently
flecked with white streaks, and almost invariably deep milkers, fat-
tening kindly, and altogether combining many of the most desirable
qualities of farm cattle.

Subsequently, the importers have directed their attention to the
Short-horns, and from time to time some of the best animals to be
found in the United States have been brought to the State, while other
gentlemen, not counted with these, have gone to England and brouo-ht
back some of the choicest animals of the best herds. From 1838 to
1843 seems to have been a period of remarkable activity in all agri-
cultural matters in Tennessee, and during this period the Agricultu-
rist, published at Nashville, contained numerous advertisements and
notes of imported and otherwise noted Short-horn Durhams to be found
in the State. Shortly after this the financial pressure which swept
over the country seems to have paralyzed all enterprise among the
stock men, and we find no account of any further importations, until
some dozen years after. In the meantime the stock already imported
and their increase spread through the various neighborhoods, tendino-
very much to the elevation and improvement of the grade of cattle.

About 1855 the spirit of improvement began to revive. Fairs were
established, and farmers began to look to the improvement of their
stock. By 1860 this spirit had spread to every part of the State, and
almost every county had a Fair Association. During this period many
additions were made to the Short-horns of the State from some of the
best herds in the United States. During this time several importa-

134 Resources of Tennessee,

tions of Ayrshire and Devon cattle were also made into the State from
Scotland and from New York. The breaking out of the war put a
stop to all agricultural progress, and at its close left everything pros-
trated.

Since the war, the spirit of improvement has begun to revive, and
is fast awakening the farmers of the State to a higher appreciation than
ever was before had, of the superiority of good stock over bad, or in-
different. Many very valuable Short-horns have been brought into-
Middle and West Tennessee from Kentucky, and the Limestone Basin
is fast becoming noted for its good cattle. In East Tennessee, through
the inspiration and instrumentality of a few public-spirited citizens, in
various sections of the Valley, several very promising herds of Jerseys
have been started, and the cattle fever is fast spreading among the
farmers. At various times before the war small importations of Short-
horns were made into East Tennessee, but from some cause or other^
they never seem to have spread or taken root in public estimation.
Since the war, also a few importations have been made, which promise
to succeed. One or two of the many emigrants from New York,
Pennsvlvania, and other northern states, have brought with them ex-
cellent specimens of Devons, which are growing into favor with much
rapidity, as well they may.

Concluding Remarks.

It may not be out of place to close this brief and imperfect sketch
of the Cattle of Tennessee, with a few remarks of a general character,
in the nature of suggestions to cattle breeders.

Cattle breeding, whether of pure breeds or grades, is one among the
highest of the arts of agriculture. It requires a greater degree of
judgment, foresight, skill and patient perseverance than the manage-
ment of any farm crop. At the same time it is for him who loves
stock, the most pleasant, and may be made the most profitable branch
of farming. But the successful cattle breeder must of necessity know
liow to cultivate his farm, otherwise he will often find his stock of
cattle-food running short, and his farm and cattle going down hill.

Every cattle breeder should seek to keep up a steady growth and
improvement in not only individual animals, but in the average quality
of his cattle. To do this, he must fix upon some perfect standard of
excellence and work always towards it.

Live Stock. 135

Excellent as are the best specimens of the improved breeds of cattle,
in none has perfection yet been reached. The way is still clear for
improvement on the best. The greatest and nearest field of labor and
of profit, however, lies in the grading up of the natives. This is the
work for the many, while the establishing of new breeds, or the im-
provement of the old, is the work of the few who have the genius,
backed by the capital, to devote to it.

But the means of improvement are common to both — these are :
careful selection of males, generous feeding, and comfortable quarters.
The chief obstacles to the improvement of the cattle of Tennessee, are
the very general practice of allowing inferior males to propagate,
thereby transmitting their bad qualities ; the cruel and improvident
habit of compelling cattle to shift for themselves through the greater
part of the year, unprotected from the inclemencies of the weather,
and unaided by any nutritious food. While such practices prevail, im-
provement is impossible. With any sort of care, however, the best
breeds known elsewhere may be introduced, and the native cattle may
be improved to the great profit of the farmers and the general improve-
ment of the agriculture of the State.

Sheep.

There is probably no state in the Union, that in climate, physical
features, and productions, excels Tennessee, in the proportion of her
t^rritor}' adapted to the successful prosecution of the important in-
dustry of wool-growing. The vast plateaus, and extensive ridges and
valleys of the eastern division of the State, seem, almost, to have been
fashioned by the Creator especially for the production of wool, while
the table lands of the middle and western divisions can hardly be ex-
celled for the grazing of large stocks. Notwithstanding these great
natural advantages, for the want of proper legislation, and a correct
appreciation of our true interest, the aggregate number of sheep in
Tennessee is, according to the last census, only 826,783, and of wool
1,389,762 pounds. Our State, taking as low as the fifteenth rank in
the production of this very important staple of commerce, the relation
of the number of sheep to pounds of wool produced, show^s only an
average of 1.82 pounds per head; a very low estimate, which may be
accounted for, inasmuch as this estimate, in all probability, fails to
cover a large proportion of the home consumption never reported to

136 Resources of Tennessee.

the census agents. The fact is, however, patent that our flocks call
loudly for improvement. It will be observed that the per centum to
our population, is only about one sheep to every three persons, while
it requires at least two sheep to comfortably clothe each person ; also,
the small proportion of sheep to every one hundred acres in cultiva-
tion being only twelve head, shows how sadly this great interest is
being neglected; and that, too, in the face of the fact that the United
States annually import from forty to sixty million pounds of wool to
clothe its inhabitants. Estimating that Tennessee consumes, in the
proportion to their population, it would require at least one-thirtieth
of this amount for her portion. Estimating this at only twenty-five
cents per pound, (a low estimate), for the manufactured article, and we
have the enormous amount of $500,000 annually paid out by our citi-
zens for the item of clothing alone, and that, too, for an article which,
by producing at home, they would not only save the actual outlay, but
annually benefit their lands, to at least an equal amount. Now, add
to this the amount of mutton, which might be produced for public mark-
et, which would swell the aggregate to at least $1,500,000 of revenue to
our people, over and above the present product — and we have the
loss from the neglect of this great industry.

We would respectfully point our law-makers to the fact, that in trav-
eling through the State, our attention has been repeatedly directed
to the disposition on the part of many of our enterprising citizens to
engage in this pursuit, but are deterred by the want of proper legisla-
tion to guard the sheep from the depredations of the millions of worth-
less curs that infest every portion of the State. A State that has the
advantages of Tennessee, both climatic and physical, that does ndt
produce one-half of the necessary wool required to clothe its inhabit-
ants, shows a bad condition of things, either in its legislation or in its
producers. It has the capacity to produce besides the necessary amount
re(|uired for clothing, wool enough for exportation, which, even at
the present low price would realize money enough to feed every inhab-
tant and educate every child within her borders. This is a subject
that must commend itself to the serious consideration of every think-
ing man of our State. We would here recommend to our people to
demand it of our law-makers, to afford every legal protection to this
important branch of husbandry within their power, in order that those
of our citizens who are disposed to adopt it as a business may feel
that they at least will have equal protection with other pursuits. There
are at present but few persons in the State engaged in the development

Live Stock. 137

of this interest, doubtless owing to the great risks they daily incur
from a want of proper protection by our laws. Those who have given
this subject any attention, have been abundantly rewarded, in their
success, and Tennessee has just cause to be proud of having pro-
duced the iinest specimen of wool that ever came under the microme-
ter, also of having received the grand medal at the great London
Exhibition, held in 1849-50, where every nation of the world had
specimens of wool on exhibition. This was done by Mark R. Cock-
rell, of Davidson county, a name so intimately associated with this
special branch of husbandry, not only in the State of Tennessee, but
throughout the world, that any mention made of w^ool-growing with-
out his name, would be incomplete. After a careful study of the wool
of every country, he fearlessly maintained that the peculiar climate and
soil, and protecting agencies of Tennessee, would make it the best wool-
growing region under the sun, and he proved ij: by wresting the pre-
mium for the finest fleece from the assembled wool-growers of the
world.

Many counties of the State are introducing the improved varieties of
sheep of late years, in addition to the famous Merino flock which dates
its foundation back half a century, and that has always so eminently
prospered under skillful treating, aided by our mild climate, and almost
perennial herbage. The Cotswold, Southdown, Leicester, and Oxford-
shire, have made their appearance and are prospering under skillful
management in various localities. The great demand for combing
wools of late years, has had the tendency to direct breeders to these
long-wool varieties in an increased degree. Should our climate not
prove too warm for these larger breeds, that lay on an excessive
amount of flesh, they will certainly prosper as well here as in any part
of the United States. .With this industry properly protected, it will
very soon receive the necessary attention to make it one of the leading
sources of revenue to the State, commending itself to our citizens gen-
erally, not only as a cheap and remunerative investment, but as the
most rapid and surest way of reclaiming the worn-out lands. By con-
verting the half-wild animals now roaming at large in many counties
of the State, (producing little wool of the lowest grades), to useful
wool-bearing animals, by the introduction of improved blood, manipu-
lated by skill and care, we produce a machine for converting the nox-
ious weeds and useless herbage into gold, more easily than by any
other means, thereby introducing comfort and happiness into thousands
of cheerless homes.

138 Resources of Teimessee.

Swine.

The adaptation of the soil of Tennessee to Indian corn, oats, and
clover, renders the State one pecnliarly fitted for the development of
the live stock interest. Tennessee, regardless of the fact of only one-
fourth of the area being in cultivation, and the loose system practiced
by numerous farmers in many sections of the State, ranks seventh in
the production of Indian corn, which is one of the great essentials in
the successful production of large herds of swine for the public mark-
ets— ranking fifth in the number of hogs grown for market, aggre-
gating 1,828,690, distributed very generally throughout every county
in the State. The average production of corn per acre, in actual cul-
tivation, being only 23 bushels, it becomes plainly perceptible that
by a proper rotation of* crops, clovering, pasturing, and a proper hus-
banding of manures, deep ;ind improved modes of plowing, etc. — means
that are within the reach of the huml:)lest farmer — the average pro-
duct can be easily doubled, or trebled, thus increasing, in like pro-
portion, the average weight of hogs sent to market. In connection
with this, the introduction and distribution of the improved breeds
throughout the State, will vastly increase the hog crop, b(Hh in quantity
and quality. This industry became well nigh annihilated during
the late war, but owing to the rapid reproduction of this animal,
especially when well cared for, our State is now producing twenty per
cent, more hogs than previous to 1860. This animal is probably more
rapidly susceptible of improvement, by judicious care and breeding,
than almost any other species of our domestic animals, and sooner de-
teriorates under bad treatment and neglect. Hence, in renewing the
herds in the State, the importance of introducing the improved varie-
ties has evoked the attention of many of our best citizens, who are
largely engaged in breeding the highest type of animal for breeding
purposes, large importations having been made, and are constantly
being made in many counties of the State, until many sections are
already noted for the high quality and excellence of their swine.

^lany persons from distant states, from old breeding districts, as
well as our own citizens, who have attended our agricultural fairs of
late, luive expressed great admiration for the number and quality of
tiie hogs exhibited ; indeed, such is the interest and laudable rivalry
manifested to procure the best, that many importations are coming into
the State from Europe at great expense. Many of the difi'erent breeds

Live Stock. 139

have been introduced with success; among them the Berkshire, Essex,
Poland China, iS^eopolitan, Sussex, and others, each having their
champions and especial admirers ; but we believe the Berkshires, in
their adaptation to the climate and wants of our people, have the most
advocates. Such is the perfection to which the hogs of the State are
now bred, it is exceedingly questionable whether as fine specimens can-
not now be found in Tennessee as are either in the United States or
Europe.

The State is at present producing twenty-six hogs to the 100 acres
of land in actual cultivation, making the percentage about 145
hogs to each 100 inhabitants; whereas, we might easily produce
one hog to each and every acre cultivated, in addition to other
necessary live stock, making five times as many hogs as the State has
population, increasing our surplus meat to at least 100,000,000 pounds;
and this too, with manifest benefit to our lands, and an addition of
f 2,000,000 net to our revenue. If we mistake not, in a very few-
years the State of Tennessee will become one of th'e great meat marts
for the south. As such it certainly oifers very great inducements, both
to the emigrant from the old world, and the ice-bound, sterile land-
owners of the northern and eastern states, who are desirous of seek-
ing new fields for the development of skill and labor, in the pursuit
of the pleasant and remuneraeive industry of stock husbandry. To all
such we say, that no other enterprise promises a better reward for so
small an outlay of capital as stock-growing in Tennessee.

140 Resouj^ces of Tennessee.

CHAPTER X

Tennessee as a Dairy State.

In a foregoing chapter, we have spoken of the aptitudes of the
soils of Tennessee for the production of vahiable grasses. It woukl
almost follow as a necessary consequence that it has natural advantages
for the economical production of butter and cheese. This subject de-
serves the attention of every one interested in the productive industry
and wealth of the State. The fact is generally known that all kinds
of farm labor are not equally profitable, and the thoughtful owner of
the soil has to consider the question, what crops will pay him best,
taking every fact and condition into account. In bringing dairy hus-
bandry before the public for consideration, our object is to diversify
our agriculture, not to disparage the planting of cotton, tobacco, corn,
or any other crop, nor to discourage wool-growing, stock-raising, or
the production of fat animals, like hogs, cattle and sheep, for meat.
Rightly understood, every branch of tillage and of husbandry adapted
to our climate and soil, may be regarded as a member of one family,
a friend and near relative, which should never be treated as a stranger
and an intruder, to be resisted or driven out. Last year. Great Britain
consumed over thirty million bushels of corn grown in the United
States, and eighty-five million pounds of our cheesa. Tennessee corn
was not worth fifty cents a bushel, generally, to the farmer to send to
any foreign market; that is not one cent a pound; but good cheese,
such as is made in Ohio, sold readily from thii-teen to fifteen cents a
pound at wholesale. If we can produce cheese, and one j)ound is worth
from twelve to eighteen ])ounds of corn, it is plain that there will be a
great saving in the cost of transportation to export our corn to Europe
in the shape of cheese and butter, rather than in the form of grain.

The Dairy. 141

The idea of sending grain, grass, fodder and other forage to market
in the form of fat animals, or in the shape of young muk's and horses,
is not new to our readers ; but not many have had facilities for prop-
erly studying the question, whether the vegetation of the farm will
not return more profit if transformed into butter and cheese of the
first quality, than if sold in bacon or any live stock. If we carry our
dairy industry no farther than to supply the home demand for cheese
and butter of northern manufacture, it Avill be one step in the right
direction. Do this, and the fact will soon be learned, that while some
southern farmers prosper by raising cotton for the factories of England
and Scotland, other southern farmers may do even better by producing
cheese and butter at from twelve to thirty cents a pound, to feed in
part the operatives who card, spin and weave this cotton. The beauty
of dairy husbandry is, that little or no plowing is needed. A field that
has yielded excellent grazing for cows every year for half a century, is
just in its prime, needing perhaps a little bone-dust or land plaster.
There are Bermudit and blue-grass pastures in the south which are as
old as the federal government, and without re-seeding or any cultiva-
tion— being generally in commons near cities and villages — they yield
annually a liberal quantity of milk to thousands of families who pay
nothing for this grazing.

Augusta, Georgia, was the capital of that state in the last century, and
its large common has been well set in grass about a century. If the
more southern climate of Georgia permits a dense turf to form and
last so long on rather poor soil, naturally, even when hard tramped
and close fed, it is absurd to believe that the climate of Tennessee is
less favorable to any grass-growing or dairy purpose. So far as there
is a deficiency of the best American and European grasses as they may
be found in Kentucky, Ohio, New York and England, the defect is
due, not to our forbidding sunshine, or lack of rain, but to the general
belief that planting pays better than anything that grass can be turned
into on the form. If a cow-pasture or sheep-walk required as much
cultivation and labor as a crop of cotton, from year to year, this opin-
ion might be well founded. But there are pastures set in grass four
hundred years ago, when Columbus discovered America, that still grow
luxuriantly in England and on the adjacent continent, without any
breaking of the sod or tillage whatever. In January, 1874, good but-
ter sells in Nashville, New York, and London, at thirty-five cents a
])ound. A fat hog sells at five cents a pound in Nashville. It takes
grain and plowing to make the five cents per pound porker, but not

142 Resources of Tennessee.

the butter, worth just seven times as much per pound. Either our
people, Europeans and northerners, do not know the relative value of
meat, grain, and dairy products, or we should plant and plow less, have
more land in grass, and reap our share of the wealth that flows from
the skillful manufacture of butter and cheese.

Several chease factories are in successful operation in North Carolina,
and two are in contemplation in this State — one in East Tennessee and
the other near Nashville. Experience proves that wherever the soil
and climate will permit corn to grow, cheese and butter can be manu-
factured at a profit at present prices for good articles. Very poor but-
ter, cheese and meat are unprofitable staples to produce, and that sort
of industry should cease. But when we consider the fact that there
are three hundred and fifty million people in Europe and America to
be fed, and remember how many careless and stupid men and women
there are in the world employed in husbandry, we need not be surprised
to learn that, while there may be a surplus of nieai* butter and cheese,
and of badly fattened or badly cured meat, prime articles sell at a rea-
sonable profit to the intelligent and careful husbandman. The principle
of association, carried into the dairy business first in the State of New
York, and since adopted in England, Switzerland, and other countries,
has wrought great improvements, and served to kill the market for in-
ferior butter and cheese in all large cities. Agriculture, by close study
and earnest efforts to excel, has become not merely a rude industry,
but a fine art ; not only an intelligent profession, but a highly cultivated
and advanced science. The farmer wants to raise food that will give
the toiling millions pure and healthy blood, at the least cost to them,
and at a profit to himself. Food must sustain life, health and warmth.
To do this with the greatest economy of labor, capital, and satisfaction
to all parties, the dairy cow comes in as an indispensable agent, and an
indispensable factor in the problem. Allowing her to give only ten
pounds of milk in the morning, and the same quantity in the evening,
for 200 days in 365, the yield in a year is 4,000 pounds. As a quart
of milk Aveighs about two pounds, ten pounds at a milking requires
only five quarts, while some cows give twice that quantity ; and it is
rare that a good milker goes dry 165 days in a year if she has projK'r
attention. What is the value of 4,000 pounds of new milk as com-
pared with the beef that can be made on the same amount of cow-
feed? As we have avoided an exceptional case in favor of milk, we
will do tiie same in reference to beef, that the comparison may be
just. An average three-year old steer or heifer may give 600 pounds

The Dairy. 143

of meat, estimating the liide as a part and /f equal value. This as-
sumes in substance that a dry cow will give '200 pounds of beef on the
feed that might produce 4,000 pounds of milk. If we take ten pounds
of fresh corn-beef, free from bone, and dry it perfectly, it loses seven
and a half pounds of water, weighing when dry only two and a half
pounds. Twenty pounds of milk dried in the same way weighs just
the same as the meat, having lost seventeen and a half pounds of
water by evaporation. From these flicts, it follows that a cow or steer
must return for food consumed 2,000 pounds of beef in 200 days to
equal in dry nutrition matter that supplied by a dairy cow in the same
length of time. If the curd, butter and sugar in new milk are worth
as much, pound for pound, as good beef, excluding all moisture in both,
but including the natural bone and fat in beef, then grass, hay, grain,
fodder and roots, will yield mankind just ien times more healthy blood
for human veins in cow's milk, or in butter, cheese, and milk-sugar,
than in beef. Viewing dairy husbandry by the light of these facts,
the reader will understand why it is fast driving the raising and fatten-
ing of cattle out of the best farmed districts of New York, New Eng-
land, old England, and Europe. When a first-class cow gives ten
quarts of milk twice in twenty-four hours, her yield per day is equal
to twenty pounds of lean, fresh meat, in solid matter. The relative
value of a pound of dry milk and a pound of dry meat is worth con-
sidering, as the question affects both meat and dairy production. Not
only the young of gramnivorous animals grow rapidly on milk, like
calves, colts, lambs, and pigs, when liberally supplied, but the young
of all carnivorous animals, like lions, tigers, and wolves, take their
meat in the liquid form by sucking their mothers. The young of the
human species is no exception to this general law. Milk is improved
blood to promote the rapid organization of animal parts in early life.
It is highly nutritive when its water is reduced one-half to bring it
down to the standard of all fresh, lean meat. This separation of water
is an easy process.

In 100 pounds of cured cheese the consumer buys seventy-five pounds
of nutritive elements, including those that support respiration and ani-
mal heat ; in 100 pounds of lean meat (muscle) he buys between sev-
enty-five and seventy-six pounds of water, and less than twenty-five
pounds of the elements of nutrition. If the steak or mutton-chop is
worth ten cents a pound, the cheese should sell for thirty. But it has
been shown that milk production is now so largely developed in the
best cows, they having been milked for unknown thousands of years

144 Resources of Tennessee.

before the time of Abraham, cheese can be made cheaper per pound
than beef. There is less labor in the production of beef than cheese ;
yet the whey left from cheese-making, and the skim-milk left, includ-
ing butter-milk, in making butter, are compensating items in the dairy
business. Concentrating milk by gentle heat applied to large quanti-
ties in vacuum pans pays quite as well as to remove water and deliver
the valuables in cheese, in butter and in sugar. As dried meat keep.s
much better than undried, so condensed milk may be preserved as
easily as dried fruit. Eggs and oysters are dried and kept in good
order for any length of time. The cheap and large manufacture of
ice has an important bearing on dairy industry in the southern states.
The cooling of dairy rooms is now well understood, and practicable at
small cost. We should not hesitate to avail ourselves of these im-
provements no more than of steam engines, power looms, reapers,
steamboats, railways, telegraph wires and electric batteries. A cheese
factory is a new agricultural battery.

How to charge this battery is a question in agricultural engineering
on which we will venture a few hints, drawn from the best authorities.
Mr. La Mont, who has been engaged many years in the manufacture
of cheese in Tompkins county, New York, raises forty tons, dry
weight, of good corn-fodder on five acres at one crop. He finds this
corn-hay equal to that made from timothy or herds-grass ; while the
yield being eight tons to the acre, is four times larger on any given
surfaces. In three-fourths of the counties of Tennessee, by planting
the earliest varieties of corn, two crops for fodder can be raised in suc-
cession on the same land within six mouths. This is impracticable in
all the northern states, and as they all find corn, hay, and green blades
and stalks the cheapest feed for dairy cows, it is easy to see that our
cotton climate, properly understood and utilized, will keep more cows
to the acre, and yield more milk, butter and cheese to the ten acres or
one hundred, than the dairy farms of New York worth $100 per acre,
or those in England worth five times that sum in gold. Milk comes
directly from the blood of the cow, and is one form of her blood, of
which, strange to say, some cows have given' sixty pounds in twenty-
four hours. Su(!h cows are all stomach, which is usually very large,
a.s well as its other digestive and assimilating apparatus. The ma-
chinery which extracts first-class cheese and butter from green corn-
stalks and leaves is very simple and easily managed. Carrots make
rich^ yellow butter and cheese. Twelve hundred bushels of carFots
have been grown on an acre, but GOO may be relied on with fair sea-

The Dairy. 145

sons, good tillage and rich soil. As four bushels of carrots are equal
to one of corn for cows or horses, this makes a crop of roots equal to
150 bushels of corn per acre. If it was impossible to raise corn, cow-
peas, turnips, cabbages, beets, carrots and pumpkins in Tennessee, or
blue-grass and other northern grasses, clovers, Bermuda, and many-
other southern grasses, we should not commend the industry which
may easily transform these cheap articles into cheese worth from twelve
to eighteen cents a pound, and into butter worth from twenty-four to
thirty cents a pound. Let Tennessee farmers give earnest attention to
the production of the best dairy stock — and in what part of the world
can better cows be raised? If any northern state has better blood for
breeding purposes, surely we can buy and import a few bulls and heifer
calves for seed to start with. An enterprising people who have built
many cotton and woolen mills, iron works, railroads, and their equip-
ments, need not dread the cost of seeding land to perennial grass for
pastures, nor the expense of raising dairy cows, and supplying all the
wants of cheese and butter factories. At one of these new institutions
a small farmer, whether he rents land or owns it, can sell at a fair
price all the milk he can possibly produce, whether it is ten pounds or
ten thousand pounds a day. This market for milk creates at once a
demand for land and a demand for labor, in a new and profitable in-
dustry.

To render the milk a commercial article like good bacon, it requires
simply the extraction of the surplus water that exists in this lacteal
secretion. It will not pay to transport much water from Tennessee to
New York or London ; and seven-eights of milk as drawn from the
udder is pure water. If we coagulate the curd dissolved in milk-
water by using a little rennet or acid, and press it into cheese, most of
the water and nearly all the sugar are separated in whey. Nothing
in farming is more chemical in its processes and results than daily
husbandry; nothing more favors a division of labor. One farmer may
raise dairy cows as his business, another feed them and send their milk
to the factory, which, if large, may be divided into three departments.
In one the milk goes into vacuum pans to be condensed by evapora-
tion at a low temperature, and sealed up for exportation. In another
department cheese is manufactured, while in another butter is the pro-
duct. Hogs or cows eat the butter-milk, whey and milk-sugar. Every-
thing is carefully saved and turned to the best account. All the
droppings of dairj-cows arc husbanded as having value in gold ; and
so far as bone material is exported in cheese it is replaced in the soil
10

146 Resources of Tennessee.

by the purchase of bone-dust, guano or South Carolina superphos-
phates. On many a meadow and pasture a spring branch, creek or
mountain stream, for irrigation, is quite within our reach in Tennessee.
The annual fall of rain in this State, and its distribution through the
year, greatly encourages grass culture, dairy husbandry, the formation
of bold and lasting springs of cool water, cheap and successful irriga-
tion. The general topography of Tennessee enables farmers to carry
water from one level to another, by its own gravitation, in ditches, for
fertilizing purposes; and in probably every county hydraulic power is
available to pump water in quantity for watering fields and gardens.
These, and many other inestimable agricultural advantages really
exist, and our people have only to improve, utilize and enjoy them.

But one of the greatest advantages which the State of Tennessee
enjoys is the length of the growing season. It will be seen by refer-
ence to the chapter on climate, that the average length of the growing
season, through a period of twenty -three years, is 189 days. The
hardy grasses will grow through nine months in the year on many of
the low sheltered valleys in the State, so that the actual number of
days in which cattle must be fed wholly upon hay, bran, meal or corn,
is very small. This we regard as quite an important element in the
calculation of the profits upon dairy products. One of the most prac-
tical and successful dairymen in the State, Mr. S. Collins, formerly of
Ohio, in a communication upon this subject, says that grazing furnish-
es tlie principal food from the first of March to the first of December.
In the sale of milk and butter this gentleman estimates the annual
profits in the dairy business, near a city, on each cow to be $100 net,
and that over and above the value of the calves raised and the ma-
nure made. In regard to the profits in a neighborhood away from a
city or a railroad, he says :

" In that case the cost of hauling the produce raised to a shipping
point is quite an expensive item. The cows could consume these pro-
ducts and furnish in their stead butter and cheese. A very ordinary
cow will produce two hundred and fifty ])ounds of butter, or five hund-
red ])ounds of cheese annually. For the next twenty years first-cla.ss
butter will sell at not less than forty cents per pound, and cheese in
time will become one of the staple articles of all classes. In this case
the butter would ])ay one hundred dollars to the cow, and the cheese
seventy-five, besides the butter-milk and wliey for the rearing of hogs
would amount to quite a sum."

The Dairy: 147

"I do not," he continues, " })ropose to make the culeulations in de-
tail. The farmers of Tennessee should investigate this branch of
industry. If they could see, as I have seen in the dairy districts of
Ohio and New York, such prosperity and wealth as abound there
with the increased fertility of the soil, they would not hesitate one
moment, but speedily go to work and make this the great dairy state
of America. A cow can be raised and fed for one-third less here than
in the dairy districts of Ohio and New York. The growing seasons
begin here so much sooner, and continue so much later in the fall ; the
Avinters are' so much milder and shorter, that Tennessee has overpow-
ering natural advantages over the states named. Cool springs are
numerous. I have seen as fine, firm butter made here in the spring-
houses in the hottest days of summer as I ever saw made in the north.
There is no question better settled in my mind than this, that if any
noted family of milkers, such as Devons, Ayrshires, or Alderneys, were
brought here and bred for twenty years they would greatly increase in
size and in the flow of milk. Gen. Harding, a breeder of note, has a
family of Alderneys which. he has bred on his farm for years. The
largest cows of that breed I have ever seen, came from his farm. It
may be asked, what has climate to do with increasing the size of a.
coAV? Just this: If we sow rye and barley early in the fall, w^e
have good grazing almost the whole year. The young calves are
sure to get their share, and this has a powerful influence on the growth
of any animal, and when continued for years the size of the lacteal
ducts are increased from constant distension, and a consequent increase
in the flow of milk. There is not a milkman in Ohio but will say
that cows increase in their milk as soon as they are turned upon the
green grass in spring. The cows may have been fed their fill on bran,
slops, hay, cooked or raw carrots, etc., but green grass will produce
the greatest flow of milk. I do not say that the milk is altogether as
rich, quantity for quantity, but the amount of butter will be greatly in-
creased, for the quantity of the milk will more than <'om])ensate for the
slightly increased deficiency in richness,

" The inducements for entering upon this special (U'partment of farm
economy in Tennessee are very great. The changes that would be
wrought would be of the most beneficial character. J^y entering into
dairy husbandry, the farmers would not only increase the fertility of
the soil, and make the State ])rosperous and wealthy, but the whole
aspccit of this country would be changed. Old wornout fields would
be converted into green pastures and their former fertility restored ;

14S Resources of Tennessee.

the productive wealth of the State would be doubled, and happiness,
peace and calm enjoyment would take the place of the worry, vexation,
uncertainty and discontenment of the present course of farming. Nor is
this the dream of a theoretical visionary. The dairy business is not of
recent origin. It is a branch of agriculture that every farmer knows
something about. Every family has a cow or a few cows to furnish
milk and butter for domestic use. By increasing the number and con-
verting all the products of the farm into butter and cheese, they save
transportation, assure a ready market, and build up a prosperity im-
possible, when all the products of the farm are shipped from the farm
upon which they were raised. In New York and Ohio, the most suc-
sessful farmers are those who thus dispose of their products. Their
farms are in better condition. Their bank balances are on the right
side. And yet these farmers live in a more rigorous climate than this,
and where the cost of a pound of butter is one-third more than in
Tennessee. Double the profit can be made in this State that can be
made in Ohio. In illustration of this, I will simply mention the fact
that during the winter of 1873-4, I killed a beef every two weeks, and
they were fat and good, as many men from Ohio, Indiana, Illinois and
\yisconsin, who stopped with me, can testify. Now, these beeves did
not eat one grain of corn during the entire winter, and had only oc-
casional feeds of hay, and that when snow was on the ground. I state
this to show how easily we winter cattle here. If the farmer wishes
to soil his cows, he has two or three months longer to soil-feed from."

Such is the testimony of one of the best dairymen in the State, as
to /the natural advantages which Tennessee offers for the dairy busi-
ness. Around Nashville, there are about forty dairies. Sweet milk
Kells for eight and a third cents a quart ; butter-milk fifteen cents per
gallon, and good butter forty cents per ])ound. A cow that will give
six hundred gallons of milk aniuially, which is a small estimate, will
bring in two hundred dollars, and upon the supposition that it will
recpiire half tiiis amount to feed her and market the milk, there will
be realized one; hundred dollars net.

Now, in the State of Vermont, where cows have to be fed ^ix
months in the year, and where the facilities for getting milk to nuirket
are ecpially as good as in the State; of Tennessee, we have this state-
ment furnished by one of the dairymen of that State, in which it will
be observed there is no milk sold, probably for want of a nuirket.
The cows were a mixture of natives, Devons, Durham and Jerseys,
and were in number twelve. In June, it took twenty-two pounds of

The Dairy. 149

milk to make one pound of butter, and towards the close of the sum-
mer t^venty-one, and in winter twenty. The skimming Mas done
twenty-six to twenty-eight hours after straining. And here is the
account kept by Mr. Drew with twelve cows :

Creditor.

Sold 2450 lbs of butter for $1,152 02

Used in fiimily 18G lbs, worth at 35c., 65 10

Sold calves, pigs and pork, 120 00

Pork salted, 500 lbs at 7c., 35 00

Killed one calf worth ^ 6 00— $1,377 12

Debtor.

Cost of meal feed to cows, $ 197 00

Cost of meal feed to hogs, 10 00

Paid freight and express on Butter, GO 00 — 267 00

$1,110 12

Leaving $92.50 per cow to pay for work, hay and pasture.

It will be seen that the profits in the State of Tennessee are over
twice as large, while the superior advantages of milder weather will
make the business far more agreeable here than in Vermont.

From ISIemphis, we have the following statement from a very reli-
able and intelligent gentleman. He says, in response to our letter of
enquiry :

" There is almost an unlimited demand in Memphis for good milk
and good butter. Dairying, properly managed, not including a third
of the minutiae, expense, etc., common in the eastern states, is here a
very profitable business; so much so, that one Italian who commenced
poor, is now a wealthy merchant and owner of a number of fine brick
houses — all made since 1860, and nearly all from profits on his dairy.

" There are about thirty-six dairies around Memphis, the largest of
which has about one hundred and fifty cows in milk. The trade is
wholly local, and not one pound of good fresh butter is made to the
one hundred demanded by the local consumers. The price of butter
ranges from forty-five to seventy-five cents per pound. There is
usually great carelessness in its manufacture, yet even this inferior
article averages fifty cents per pound.

"I cannot imagine a more lucrative prospect than that promised by
a butter fa(!tory located near the city, with the necessary fixtures,

150 Resources of Tennesvee.

.sprijig-water, capital, knowledge of and attention to bnsiness. Milk
sells at fifteen cents a quart, or from forty to fifty cents a gallon, and
this is usually considerably diluted with water. The cows are turned
upon the commons, except in the dead of winter, to make their own
support from the spontaneous growth of grass. The native cattle is
almost wholly used, there being a strong prejudice against the importa-
tion of the Short-horns from the blue-grass region of Kentucky.
These fine cattle treated, or mistreated, as they are here, are not
healthy. Confinement does not agree with them, and their digestive
apparatus is not equal, under our hot suns and with our muddy water,
to the task of reducing our coarse garbage and heritage to milk, butter
and a healthy animal economy."

Around Knoxville, the dairy interest is assuming considerable im-
portance. The influx of many northern gentlemen has given a fresh
impetus to this (le])artment of agriculture, and avc doubt not that in a
few years Knoxville will be the center of one of the greatest cheese-
producing regions south of the Ohio river. The rich valley lands,
sparkling springs, moderate climate, and ready markets, all point out
that division of the State as pre-eminently suited to dairy husbandry.
Even now, butter forms one of the staple products, and its manufac-
ture is regularly increasing. The shipments of this article from the
stations along the East Tennessee and Virginia railroad during the
}ear ending June 30, 1873, was 346,819 pounds, of ^vhich over 25,000
pounds were shipped from Knoxville.

As the profits of this business depend greatly upon the richness of
the milk as well as the quantity, we append a table showing the rela-
tive value of the milk of the different breeds of cattle. This table is
the result of carefully conducted experiments made in England a few
years since, and is exceedingly valuable to those intending to embark
in this business.

Milk of Diffeijent JiijEEUs of Cattee.

No. 1. KKKll — GRASS AND HAY ONLY.

Pure Brittany cow's milk lit. 27 per ct. cream.

Pure Jersey 18.65 " "

Pure Durham Vo.Wl " "

Pure Ayrshire E!. H

Pure Devon H.ST

Cross between Jersey and Durham l^l'5

The Dairy. 151

No. 2. FEED — GRASS, HAT, ONE LB. LINSEED CAKE.

Brittany cow's milk 20.00 per ct. cream.

Jersey 18.98

Durham 16.02

Ayrshire 14.14

Devon 15.31

Cross breed 18.21

No. 3. FEED — GRASS, HAY, BREWERS' GRAINS AND ONE MEASURE CONDIMENT.

Brittany cow's milk 20.00 per ct. cream.

Jersey 18.62 "

Durham 16.09 " "

Ayrshire 14.09 " "

Devon 16.07

Cross breed 18.84 " "

No. 4. FEED GRASS, HAT, MEAL AND FEED EXTRA.

Brittany cow's milk 22.00 per ct. cream.

Jersey 20.00

Durham 17.95

Ayrshire 13.94

Devon 15.09

Cross Breed 19.05

No. 5. SAME FEED — BUT CHANGE IN i-ROPORTION.

Brittany cow's milk ,. 21.50 per ct. cream.

Jersey 19.08

Durham 18 56 " "

Ayrshire 14.84

Devon 17.00

Cross Breed I8 60 " "

To sum up the advantages which Tennesse offers as a dairy district,
we have :

1. Comparative cheapness of pasture lands, being about one-fourth
the price of those of the same quality in Ohio and New York.

2. The adaptability of these lands for the growth of the various
grasses — among others the celebrated Blue-grass of Kentucky.

3. The length of the growing season.

152 Resources of Tennessee.

4. The mildness of the weather and tlie short time that cattle have
to be housed and fed.

5. Active demand at high prices for all dairy products, and the
regularly increasing consumption of them.

It may not be generally known that the value of the dairy products
in the United States is as great as that of the cotton crop. The fol-
lowing figures, taken from the census report of 1870, will show the
aiormous proportions to which this business has attained. In a com-
parison of its value with the cotton crop, we have put butter at thirty
cents and cheese at twelve cents per pound, and milk at thirty cents
per gallon :

Chmparison of the Value of the Dairy Products of the United StoMs
with the Value of the Cotton Crop for 1870.

DAIRY PRODUCTS.

Butter, 515,092,683 lbs. at .'JOc $154,527,804 90

Cheese, 53,492,153 lbs. at 12c 6,419,058 36

Milk, 236,500,599 gals. at 20c 47,110,119 80

Total value dairy products $208,056,963 06

COTTON CROP.

Bales, 3,011,996@450 lbs to bale, would be 1,355,498,200

lbs at 15c $203,324,730 00

Showing the value of the former to exceed the latter by $4,712,233.

In 1870, Tennessee reported 9,571,069 pounds of butter, 142,240
pounds of cheese, and 415,786 gallons of milk sold, which, at the prices
above given, would amount to $3,071,545.70. The cotton crop of the
State for the same year was worth $12,274,335. If the same ratio
was preserved in Tennessee that obtains for the United States in rela-
tion to these two products, Tennessee would have to increase her dairy
interest by nearly $10,000,000.

The value of the dairy products in the United States is considerably
more than half the value of all slaughtered animals, and is over two-
thirds tlie amount of wages jKiid to farm hands, including board.

The Dairy. 153

The state of society in the south has been such that but little at-
tcintion has been paid to this branch of agriculture, and many farmers
are unacquainted with it as an element of wealth and prosperity. It
has always been classed with the smaller industries, but in the aggre-
gate value of its products, the dairy interests overshadow every other
farm product. With such advantages as Tennessee presents, it will
certainly, in the near future, become one of the great dairy districts of
Ainerica.

154 Resources of Te?i7iessee.

CHAPTER XI,

Grape-Growing ix Tennessee.

Perhaps in no direction has a greater forward movement in our
State been made during the last decade than in the cultivation of the
grape. The admirable adaptation of the soil and climate to the raising
of this product was in a great measure unknown, or neglected, until
after the great social revolution which the war occasioned, and our
farmers began to consider the feasibility of cultivating a crop that
would combine the profitable with the pleasant, and in a measure dis-
pense with the steady, hard toil demanded in the cultivation of cotton
or tobacco.

One of the first efforts to grow grapes in this State was made by
Mr. P. F. Tavel, a native of Switzerland, who came to the county of
Stewart in 1844, bought land, and afterwards returned and brought out
his family in 1845. During the fall of that year he set out two acres
of grapes upon Lick C^*eek, two miles from Dover. The varieties he
planted were imported, and they failed to do well. In only one or two
years out of seven or eight was there a full crop, but it was observ-
able that the vines ^vhich were pruned closely did not do so well as
those which were suffered to run ujKin trellises, and the European
plan of close pruning was believed V)y Mr. Tavel to be a disadvantage
to the vine on our rich virgin soils. Tiie attempt was finally given up,
and the impression made tliat our climate was not propitious for the
growing of this excellent fruit.

Some ten years aftcrwnrd a few enterprising persons in various
parts of the State were indu(ted, after insj)ecting the vineyards around
(■incinnati, or hearing of the wonderful success of Mr. Long-
worth, to plant a few vines of the Isabella and Catawba varieties.

Grape Growmg. 155

Among these early pioneers we may mention Mrs. Rebecca Dudley
and Mr. James Clark, both of Montgomery county. No history of
grape culture in the State can be written without making honorable
mention of these two persons, who, long before grape-growing or wine-
making was thought possible in our State, planted and successfully
managed several acres of vines, and made wine, that by reason of its
excellence and flavor soon became famous throughout the country.
The varieties they planted, however, were not Avell suited to the lati-
tude, and the fre(iuent failures of their vineyards induced the belief
that Tennessee could never be made a grape-growing State. For a
time thev were even discouraged, but eventually, from some circum-
stances not necessary to detail, Mr. Clark was led to believe that his
frequent failures did not arise from the nature of the location, soil or
climate, but from the unsuitableness of the Isabella and Catawba to
our latitude. Acting in this belief, he tested some new kinds and
found that they did well, among others the Ives Seedling and Concord.
These he subsequently planted altogether and abandoned his old vine-
yard. Several other vineyards in the meanwhile were planted in the
county, and many new varieties tested. Among the most fruitful of
these are or were owned by N. F. Hood and P. H. Porter. Hon. O. P.
Temple, of Knoxville, A. Severin, of Chattanooga, A. Cox, of Pulaski,
and T. S. Barbour, of Shelby, also richly deserve the name of pio-
neers in the growing of the grape.

We propose to give in this chapter, as far as we may be able, some
account of the vineyards in the various divisions of the State.

Grapes on the Highland Rim.

Clark's vineyard is ])lanted upon a spot of ground that had been
turned out on account of its exhausted fertility ; it occupies an elevated
situation in Montgomery county upon the north bank of Red River,
one of the tributaries of the Cumberland. The land is rolling, and
has a red, gravelly subsoil. The whole rests at a considerable depth
upon blue limestome. Geologically, it belongs to the coral or Lithostro-
tion bed of the Carboniferous. The land, before its exhaustion, was well
adapted to the growth of wheat, corn and tobacco, and had been alter-
nated with these crops until its sterility was so great as to render their
culture no longer remunerative.

Two acres of this land were set out in the month of A])ril, 1869, in
grape vines six feet each way. Potatoes and peas were planted be-

156 Resources of Tennessee.

tween, and the vines received no other cultivation than that necessary
to make this crop of vegetables, except to keep the grass cleared
away next to the vines.

The succeeding year, 1870, Mr. Clark set out four additional acres,
seven feet apart, varying the distance more with a view of saving
vines and testing the difference in the yield per acre than anything
else. He is now impressed with the belief that upon land of moderate
fertility, six feet is ample when the training is done on stakes. Upon
very rich soil he would prefer a greater distance.

After the vines were set out, which was done by marking off the
land the distance before mentioned, and digging a hole at the crossings,
into which about a peck of rich light black loam was put, and the
roots of the vine covered with about three inches of soil, he planted
stakes, which reached about five feet above the surface of the ground,
and tied up every vine. The best wood for stakes is cedar, or black
locust. Higher than five feet is not to be desired, as in that case they
are apt, in wet seasons, to be blown about by the wind to the great in-
jury of the vine. Hickory bark is used for tying — the bark being
kept to its proper height by nails driven under it.

This vineyard is planted exclusively with the Ives Seedling, which,
Mr. Clark is of opinion, is decidedly the best wine grape that can he
grown with us. When the whole vineyard comes into bearing, he ex-
pects to get on an average at least 500 gallons to the acre.

In the making of wine, he uses an ordinary cider-press, putting the
bunches in whole. The expressed juice is put into nice, clean barrels
and stowed away in a cellar for fermentation. Care is taken to keep
the barrels full and the bung-hole loosely closed.

AVhcn it is remembered that all the work on this vineyard is done by
one old man seventy-five years of age, except during the season of
gathering and pressing, it certainly suggests, in a most forcible man-
ner, suitable employment for the many persons in our State who, either
from feebleness or misfortune, can find nothing remunerative to engage
their attention.

Hood's vineyard is situated just east of the city of Clarksville, on
Red Ilivcr, and about a fourth of a mile from the corporation. Th«
land slopes slightly to the north and west, and the soil is a clayey loam,
a small proportion of which is gravelly. In all essential particulars,
it is much of the same character of soil as that of Mr. Clark's vine-

Grape Growing. 1^7

yard, except that much of it is free from graveh This vineyard covers
about seven acres, and about 700 of the vines are six, and 2,200 five
vears okl ; the remainder, four years okL They are set six feet by
eight, the narrow way being east and west. Tliey are tied to stakes
four feet high with bark, and were all pruned in the spring to one bud.
Mr. Hood uses the tM'o cane or arm system of training. The vineyard
was plowed five times during the summer, and the hoe and fork used
once about the vines, requiring the work of two hands, who also per-
form the work of summer-pruning or pinching six times.

Unlike the vineyard of Mr. Clark, tliis has a great variety. "We
observed the Concord, Ives, Taylor, Clinton, Diana, Rentz, Hartford
Prolific and Crevaling. Of these the Concord and Ives are most pro-
lific and most profitable. The Concord is slightly subject to rot, but
always yields a good crop. The Ives never rots, is hardy, and always
prolific. The Clinton and Taylor are hardy, but shed their leaves
through July and August, thereby exposing too much the bunches to
the direct rays of the sun. Crevaling does best on loose soil free from
gravel. The Diana and Rentz are both hardy, the first superior in
quality. The Rentz is not well flavored, and is chiefly valuable for
coloring matter. The wine is very dark, and is used to give color to
lighter wines. The Hartford Prolific is a good early grape, but not
desirable for wine. The Taylor makes the finest wine, but yields too
scantily to be profitable. The next best for wine are the Ives and
Crevaling. Mixed with the Concord, the Ives makes a very superior
wine, and one much sought after in the wine markets. From the
Concord, wine of two colors may be made. Pressed before fermenta-
tion, the wine is white ; after fermentation, a rich, bright red.

We have rarely seen anything in the way of vineyards approaching
the productiveness of Mr. Hood's. Plis older vines averaged over
twenty-five pounds of grapes in the year 1872, and the bunches w^ere
compact, free from rot, well shouldered, and positively beautiful. This
productiveness is doubtless attributable in a great degree to the care,
good culture, and intelligent pruning given them by Mr. Hood. The
late frosts injured the crop of 1873. From his vineyard he made, in
1872, nearly seventy barrels of expressed juice, each barrel holding
forty gallons. In addition to this Avine, he shipped from his vineyard
several hundred boxes of grapes to the various markets north, realizing
from this sale a sufficient amount to cover all the expenses of extra
labor.

Porter's vincvavd is alsd 011 the banks of Rcil I\i\cr, two miles east

1 58 Resources of Tennessee.

of Clarksville. It has an elevation of 500 feet above the sea, is open
to the north winds, and the soil, in all essential particnlars, is the same
as that upon whieh the vineyards before mentioned are planted. In
response to our enquiries eoneerning his vineyard, and his success, Mr.
Porter says :

"Secretary Bureau of Agriculture :

" In obedience to your request, I propose to give in detail my ex-
perience in the cultivtition of the grape, feeling well assured that^ it
"svill in time be one of the leading industries of the State. Soil and
climate mark the State of Tennessee as well suited to the growth of
this delightful fruit, and the only drawback to its culture is the limited
demand for wine. For twelve years past, I have been experimenting
on a small scale in the culture of fruits in general, and of the grape in
particular. My location might be called hilly, for it would be very
difficult to find a level spot on my premises. Soil, a tenacious, gravelly
clay; have no trouble in finding gravel and stone to make all
necessary roads. Underlying this is })lenty of limestone. My
first planting was red and white Catawba for family use, these
being the only grapes of which I had then any knowledge (ex-
cept the Isabella, which with us is worthless). These vines were
planted around my garden and on the border, and have had good
crops for several years. In the spring of 1862 I ordered from St.
Louis two each of Delaware, Herbemont, Taylor, Hartford, Union,
Village, Concord, and Norton's Virginia Seedling; also, some cuttings
of Norton's Virginia, which I grafted on wild unfruitful vines. From
these grafts I had a good crop the ensuing year — from one vine sev-
enty-five bunches. From these vines I made cuttings and layers,
and during the next three years planted one acre lying on a hillside
with southeastern exposure, rows running east and west, eight feet wide
and six feet apart in rows. These I have since trellised with number
ten annealed wire, thi-ee wires to the row, bottom wire two feet from
the gi-ound, second eighteen inches above, and third eighteen inches,
making trellis five feet high. Good cedar posts, twenty-four feet dis-
tant, end ]>arts well set in the ground and braced from inside; wires
drawn tight, supported by one nail in each post; drawn half length in
post and bent over. This trellis has borne three heavy crops of gra])es
without any repairs. Cost ])or acre for M'ire about sixty dollars. I
think this trellis, if well put up, will endure twenty-five or thirtv
years, and though more expensive at the outset, will, I am satisfied,

Grape Growing. 1 59

be found more economical in the aggregate, should it last only ten
years, than the single stake system. The cultivation of these vines
consists of one plowing in early spring with shovel plow to loosen the
soil, and hoeing to cut the grass in the row of vines. After that the
cultivator is used about once in two weeks to Jvcep down weeds and
grass and keep the surface soil loose.

" I prune pretty closely at any time in pleasant weather from the
first of November till the first of March. To summer pruning I am
opposed, believing that the grape when near maturity requires the
shade of its own leaves to protect it from the hot sun of August and
September. Where the vines grow luxuriantly, (and they frequently
meet across eight-foot rows) I throw them across the top of the trellis,
where they form a good protection to the grape against the summer
heat. Where unprotected by this shade, I have had the upper branches
scalded, as if laid on a hot stove.

" Of varieties, time of ripening, and qualities, I will here speak of
such as I have tried.

"Concord. Hardv, very prolific, ripens very uniformly from about
the 10th to the 15th of August, has had neither rot nor mildew, has
fine sho^v)^ bunches, good for the table, and makes a pleasant red wine ;
a rapid grower; will bear a good crop the third year from planting
with fair cultivation.

" White Catmcba. Ripens with above, rather thick skin, very sweet,
somewhat pulpy, a regular bearer, hardy, a good grower, not quite so
prolific as Concord ; and mixed with Red Catawba, I think very much
improves the flavor of the wine.

"Araph (white). Very much resembles White Catawba, bunch
rather smaller, thin skin and less pulp.

"Rogers, or Rogers' Hybrid No. 28, (white). Fine, large berry and
bunch, bears well, and has a delicious flavor.

"Martha, another white grape. My vines, young, bore a few bunches
past season. I am much pleased with it.

"Salem, another Rogers' Hybrid. — Vines bore a few bunches past
season ; promises well.

"Herbemont. Said to be a superior wine grape ; too tender for our
climate. Mine were killed root and branch.

"Delatoare. Perhaps the most delicious of all our native grapes ;
hardy, a slow grower while young, tardy in coming into bearing, re-

i6o Resources of Tennessee.

quires better soil and culture than any other grape, but in its fourth
or fifth year will richly repay the labor and time spent on it ; wood
very firm and difficult to propagate from cuttings in open ground.

" Crevaling. Drops its leaves ; not worth planting.

" The above ripen about the same time, and can be used together in
making wine, and, properly mixed, adding to its value.

Late Geapes.

"Norton^ 8 Virginia Seedling, Propagated only by layers ; difficult
to grow, (I have lost more of these in transplanting than all other
varieties ;) a rapid grower ; when started, rather capricious in bearing,
sometimes yielding an immense crop, at other times almost nothing ;
makes a very astringent red wine ; highly praised by some ; when thor-
oughly ripe, pleasant, acid ; berry small, bunch large. The must of
this grape possseses more body than that of any of the preceding va-
rieties, by fifteen per cent., by Oischu's scale.

"No Name. This grape I found growing here twelve years ago,
and do not know its name or origin ; wood short-jointed, firm ; diffi-
cult to propagate from cutting ; exuberant groAver ; buds out very late
in spring, thereby escaping spring frosts ; bears profusely ; berry,
black, small ; bunches very large, shouldered, and the most compact I
have ever seen ; fine flavor ; ripens about with Norton's Virginia,
August 1st to 15th of September, and makes a beautiful brown wine
of great body. I am so pleased with this grape that I wish to plant,
as soon as I can raise the vines, five to ten acres of this variety
alone.

"And now for the celebrated Ives Seedling, of which we have all
read and heard so much of as a Avine grape. I have between six and
seven acres planted. A portion of these bore the past season — their
third season from planting. They are at least one year longer coming
into bearing than the Concord, and I do not think they will yield as
many grapes per vine, but they are hardy, healthy, easily propagated,
and will give satisfaction. I have not made wine from them alone,
(not having sufficient the last season to fill a cask) but by a test with
the saccharometer, find very little variation in the must from that of
the Concord. The Ives colors earlier than the Concord, but in their

Grape Growing. i6i

period of ripening there is little difference. As a table grape, I think
it inferior to the Concord, possessing more acid, which may probably
be in its favor as a wine grape.

" Besides these named varieties, I have perhaps a dozen or two others
on trial, of the merits of which I cannot speak at present from expe-
rience. I have been making wine for the past five or six years as an
experiment, without any previous knowledge of the business, sometimes
using sugar and sometimes wathout, and believe our State as well
adapted to the gro\\i:h of the grape, possessing as good wine qualities
as any east of the Rocky Mountains. We do not expect to compete
with California, for there they can grow all the foreign grapes, which
we cannot, out doors. Is it profitable ? I believe that I can produce,
on an average, 500 gallons of Avine per acre, and can make more
money with wine at fifty cents per gallon than with tobacco at $15 per
100 pounds. Besides, the greater portion of the work is light and
pleasant. Many may not wish to make wine, but every one is fond of
grapes, and can raise them cheaper than almost any other fruit.

" P. H. PORTEE."

Geapes in the Centeal Basin.

Gox & Dunlap's vineyard is one of the most extensive in the State,
embracing thirty acres, and is situated within one mile of Pulaski,
upon an elevation 300 feet above the town, and commands a fine view
of the surrounding country. The soil is a black loam, exceedingly
fertile, of the depth of sixteen inches, and has a large number of
black cherty rocks intermingled with it. Its great fertility may be
inferred from the fact that its original growth was black walnut and
wild grape vines.

The first preparation which Messrs. Cox & Dunlap gave the land
was plowing and subsoiling to the depth of twenty inches, thereby in-
suring a good drainage, which is all-important in a vineyard. They
then visited the vineyards in Ohio, where they spent some time in
gathering all the information they could in reference to the grape and
its manufacture into wine. This was in 1867. The same winter they
purchased 2,000 vines one year old, of the Ives Seedling variety, at
$125 per thousand, besides a large number of cuttings at about $20
per thousand. They included in this last purchase all the varieties
grown there, in order that they might test each variety and ascertain
11

1 62 Resources of Tennessee.

those best adapted to the soil and climate of Middle Tennessee. With
these they set out eighteen acres, and have since that time raised a
sufficient number to plant out twenty-one acres more.

Of the original eight acres about four are in Ives Seedling ; the
remainder is divided between the Concord, Norton's Virginia, Hart-
ford Prolific and Diana. The last, Mr. Cox thinks, is by far the best
table grape, but is not such a sure crop as the Ives Seedling, Norton's
Virginia, Hartford Prolific or Concord. He has no confidence in the
Catawba ; and the Isabella rots so much that he hardly thinks it is
worth planting. Of all the varieties the Ives Seedling rots least, and
next to it the Hartford Prolific and Norton's Virginia. The Concord
is an excellent variety, but not such a good bearer as the Ives. The
Delaware he has high hopes of. The order of ripening is Ives Seed-
ling first. It is ready to be worked into wine by the first of August,
usually. Immediately afterward comes the Hartford Prolific, then the
Concord, then the Diana, then the Delaware, and lastly Norton's Vir-
ginia, which is ripening during the whole month of September.

The Ives Seedling is highly recommended as a superior grape for
wine. The bright red of the wine and its rich flavor make it a favor-
ite wherever it has been tried. Norton's Virginia also makes a red
wine, but the color is deeper. It has a fine flavor, great body, and is
much esteemed for its medicinal qualities. The Concord makes a
showy, light red wine, but not so good as the others mentioned, though,
as answering the purpose of both a table and wine grape, it could
probably be made as profitable as any grape grown.

Messrs. Cox & Dunlap have also five varieties of Scuppernong,
which they procured from North Carolina, and are giving them a thor-
ough trial. Besides the old Scuppernong, they have the Thomas,
Flowers, Sugar and Tenderpulp, and they feel quite sure that these
valuable varieties will do well on an elevated, rocky situation.

All the varieties of grapes, except the Scuppernong, are planted
eight feet each way, and trained to stakes, two stakes to a vine. The
system of renewal is adopted, and all suckers and shoots are pinched
ofi^, except two canes to each vine, which are left to bear the succeed-
ing year. Each one of these canes in winter is carried up one stake
and bent over to the other, there being two stakes, one for each cane.
The stakes to each vine are placed one and a-half feet apart, and if
the vines are pro])erly trained, all the sjiace between the stakes, as well
as around them, will be filled with grapes. After the land has been

Grape Growing. 1 63

marked off, one active man can plant ont 200 vines a day, and can
keep down thronghont the year the weeds and grass from eight acres,
besides keeping the vines pinched back and suckered. No more culti-
vation is required than is necessary to raise a crop of corn, and after
the third year, Avith proper management, each vine ought to yield
twenty-five pounds of grapes.

The products of this vineyard for 1872, were 2,500 gallons of wine,
and many hundred boxes of grapes, or altogether about 8,000 pounds
were shipped by the Louisville, Nashville and Great Southern railroad
to Louisville, Chicago, Cincinnati, and other points three weeks in ad-
vance of the maturing of the same varieties around these cities.

The quantity of wine made in 1873 was not equal to that made the
previous year. The frosts of 1873 materially lessened the yield *f)f
grapes, as care was not taken to protect the vineyard by clouds of
smoke.

In Lincoln county, on the high rolling ridges that surround Fay-
etteville, grapes yield profusely. It is precisely the same characte'r*of
soil as that upon which Mr. Cox's vineyard is planted. Dr. Diemer
has for years made the growing of this fruit highly remunerative.
Around Columbia and Nashville are some flourishing vineyards.

Grapes ox the Cumbeeland Table Laxd.

By reference to the chapter on soils it will be seen that the soil of this
region is almost wholly from sandstone, porous and thin. Elevated
2,000 feet above the sea, this Table Land has a climate considerably
cooler than the localities jiamed. It, indeed, has the climate of New
York and Pennsylvania. Mr. Rogers, of Beersheba, and E. A. Nath-
urst, of Tracy City, both of Grundy county, have given considerable
attention to the cultivation of this fruit. The vineyard of Mr. Rogers
overlooks one of the deep gorges that make such a distinguishing
feature of the landscape around Beersheba. The fogs and mists that
cover the mountain side in the summer months made the spot unpro-
pitious for grape culture, and his vineyard of several acres proved a
comparative failure. On the other hand the vineyard of Mr. Nathurst,
situated several miles from the steep escarpments of this plateau, where
the land is rolling but not subject to the fogs that rise up from the deep
gulfs and lowlands that lie at the foot of the mountain, is highly pro-
ductive, and produces crops with reasonable certainty every year.

164 Resources of Tennessee.

From a five year old vineyard he sold for the year 1872, 3,000 pounds
of grapes, averaging nine cents per pound, or $270 for grapes. In
addition to this he made 200 gallons of wine, worth probably $200.
Total income from vineyard of seven-eights of an acre, $470. He
estimates that the labor cost liini $70, leaving $400 profit. This land
was considered good for nothing except for the underlying coal and
tan-bark privileges.

The Swiss who have settled upon the Cumberland Table Land feel
greatly encouraged at their success in grape-growing. Nearly every
little farm has a few vines, and some of the immigrants have set out
quite extensive vineyards. They manufacture the grapes into wine,
and after bottling it is sold to visitors. A ready market is the only
thing lacking to ensure great success in this branch of husbandry.

Grapes^ in East Tennessee.

From the ridgy character of the lands in East Tennessee, and the
possibility of securing any desirable exposure and soil, great expecta-
tions are entertained in regard to the future developments of this crop ;
and the experiments that have been made fully justify these expecta-
tions. In many of the counties the grape has been grown with re-
markable success.

Stanley and Richey's vineyard is situated four miles east of Chatta-
nooga, on Missionary Ridge, which rises 1,100 feet above the sea. It
has an eastern exposure, and embraces twelve acres, five of which are
in full bearing. The oldest vines are five years old. The fourth year
they bore enormous quantities of the finest grapes. From five acres
40,000 pounds of grapes were sold, of which 25,000 pounds were sold
at an average price of ten cents per pound — many of them selling for
sixteen cents. These sold in Macon, Georgia, and Montgomery, Ala-
bama, brought sixteen cents, in Atlanta twelve and a-half, and in Chat-
tanooga ten cents. At least 15,000 pounds were lost in consequence of
the breaking out of the cholera.

The soil of this vineyard is loose and gravelly, with a deep red
clayey subsoil. The gravel extends a considerable depth below the
surface. The original growth was hickory and black oak.

The varieties planted are the Concord and Hartford Prolific, the for-
mer largely predominating. The former is much more certain in its
fruitage, but the latter ripens from two to three weeks earlier, and has

Grape Growing. 1 65

a tougher skin, and for that reason will bear transportation better and
■will keep a greater length of time.

The vines are trained on horizontal wire trellises, and are set eight
feet apart each way, though it is thought that eight by twelve would
be better — the vines twelve feet apart in rows eight feet wide.

The grapes of the same variety will ripen in Chattanooga four or
five weeks earlier than in Cincinnati. On Walden's Ridge, which rises
five hundred feet higher than Missionary Ridge, the grapes ripen two
weeks later, but will retain their plumpness and sweetness two weeks
longer, on account of the purity of the atmosphere.

Great complaint is made of the want of care in the handling of the
grapes by the express companies, and the sale is oftentimes greatly
damaged on account of their bruised condition.

All through East Tennessee similar situations may be found. East-
ern or southern exposures hasten the maturity of the fruit, but it
is thought no other benefit accrues from such exposures. One compe-
tent man can superintend thirty acres.

The vineyard of Judge Temple, near Knoxville, though small, is one
of the most productive in the State. It is situated near the bank of the
Holston, on a commanding eminence, and overlooks the river. The
late frosts of 1873 did not affect it. When seen by the writer, the
vines were loaded down with rich, jjurple clusters, which peeped out
from their leafy coverts with tempting sweetness. They were sold in
the Knoxville market for about twenty cents per pound. This vine-
yard has several varieties, but mostly Concord.

Vineyards in West Tennessee.

Near Memphis, there are several extensive vineyards which yield
bountifully. One of the largest and most productive is owned by C
F. Vance, who says in relation to it :

" I have vineyards about two miles east of this city. Ten acres of
Scuppernong grapes and two acres of other varieties, consisting of Con-
cord, Ives, Virginia, Norton's Virginia, Herbemont, Delaware, Goethe,
Cynthiana, Hartford Prolific and Clinton. Of these last varieties,
about one-half were planted a year ago, and the remainder last fall.
They are all thriving and promise Avell. Fifteen hundred of them
stood the heat of last summer, and all survived except two or three.

1 66 • Resources of Tennessee.

" This is the fifth year of my Sciippernong vineyard. I lost about one-
fourth of the phmts set out by the injudicious stirring of the ground
about their roots in summer. The ten acres are now doing welL They
bore some fruit h\st summer, and will increase every season from now
onward. I think they are better suited to this soil and climate than
any other variety. They are never caught by frost, and are not at-
tacked by the insects or diseases that other varieties are subject to.

" I have two vines in my garden about fourteen years old, and they
never failed any year to bear fruit ; some years more plentiful than
others, but always fruit.

" They need no pruning after the first year; all that is needed is
scaffolding for the vines to run upon. The vine is of very luxuriant
growth, and requires a great deal of scaffolding. I am using trellis
wires — No. 9 annealed wire ; whether they will do or not when the
vines become old, I cannot say. It is an experiment, but well recom-
mended by persons who have tried this mode of training.

" I made this last summer a few kegs of wine out of the Scupper-
nong grape. The grapes were rather immature when pressed, but the
wine is pronounced by good judges excellent. The perfume or ' bou-
quet ' of the Scupixjrnong wine is very manifest. Some wines have no
'bouquet' at all, but this 'bouquet' is perhaps more distinguishable in
Scuppernong than in any other variety. The wine-ether and the ' bou-
quet' are easily recognized in the Scuppernong by smell. It is a white
wine, and worth $4 per gallon.

" The soil of my vineyard is sandy — the land gently rolling, and
well drained by nature. I chose the locality on account of the wilder-
ness of wild grapes which festooned nearly every tree in the grove."

B. B. Barnes also has six acres in Scuppernong grapes, half a mile
east of the city of Memphis. Vineyard planted four years ago — vines
trained on wire, (No. 8) seven feet above the ground. Most of the
vines fruited last summer. The land is rolling, with slopes towards
the four points of the compass — all slopes e(jually favorable so far.
The vines grow better at the apex of the hills than at the base.

He also has 1000 dwarf pear trees — 12 different varieties — four years
planted. Lost twelve per cent, by late frost last spring. Bartletts
suffered fifty per cent; Duchess d'Angoleme notliing. Duchess is his
favorite, and in future will plant nothing else. ^

T. S. Barbour, three miles from Memphis, is exclusively engaged in

Grape Growing. 167

the culture of the small fruits. The surface of his land is rolling,
with southern and northern exposures. Soil black loam, with a hard
clay subsoil. The farm embraces fifty acres, ten of which are in grapes,
ten in raspberries, and twenty-eight acres in strawberries, besides a few
gooseberries and blackberries. He has several varieties of grapes,
among others, the Concord, Delaware, Ives Seedling and Hartford Pro-
lific. The two first named varieties are most valuable. These and the
Ives Seedling are the best paying varieties. The Ives and Delaware
have never rotted, but the Concord sometimes rots badly, and the older
the vines the worse they rot. His habit is to plant the Concord every
year and to cut down the older vines. The Hartford Prolific is value-
less, and rarely ever brings a paying crop. The Ives Seedling ripens
about the same time, and in a measure supplies its place. Mr. Barbour
has cut down all his Hartfords, believing the effort to raise them is
time and work wasted.

The Concords yield about ten thousand pounds to the acre, while
the Ives have averaged as high as twenty thousand. Mr. Barbour
says he can see no difference in the yield and time of ripening on a
northern or southern exposure, if other things are equal, such as soil,
cultivation, etc. The price of grapes in the Memphis market for the
last three years has been on an average through the season of eight
and ten cents per pound. They are shipped to New Orleans, Louisville,
St. Louis, Cincinnati and Chicago in large quantities, and a much
higher price realized. It will be observed that at the lowest price
named, Mr. Barbour realizes $1,600 per acre from his Ives Seedling,
and half that amount from his Concords.

Of strawberries, his main crop consists of Wilson's Albany. They
usually begin to ripen about the middle of May, and sell in mar-
ket for from sixteen to twenty-five cents per quart, owing to supply,
quality, etc. Mr. Barbour says the best yield he has ever obtained
from an acre was 32,000 quarts, or nearly one hundred bushels. Too
muifih rain or a long continued drouth greatly lessens the crop. In
addition to his Wilson's Albany, he has five acres in the Kentucky
Late, a few Charles Downings, Jucunda, etc. He regards the Wilson's
Albany as the only variety that will bear transportation over rough
roads. Currants do not succeed in the latitude and soil of Memphis.
It may here be mentioned that Mr. Barbour is the pioneer in berry
and grape-growing in the vicinity of Memphis.

There are several vineyards around Humboldt that ])roinise well, as

1 68 Resources of Tennessee.

also in the neighborhood of Jackson. We have no statements from
the owners of these vineyards, but it is generally understood that they
are small but productive. For certain varieties, the soil and climate of
West Tennessee are well adapted, especially for the Scuppernong, which
likes a sandy, porous soil and a hot climate.

Several years since, Mr. Severin, of Chattanooga, had charge of a
vineyard near that city, which was a model of neatness, and proved
highly remunerative. The subjoined communication from his pen
gives his method of culture and propagation. It is a plain, practical
statement of everything necessary to be learned by any one desirous
of entering upon the pleasing occupation of grape culture, as well as
the profits that may be expected :

Essay on the Management of Vineyards.

To the Secretary of the Bureau of Agriculture :

In reply to the request for information on the subject of grape cul-
ture in Tennessee, I will endeavor to present my views and experience
in a manner rendered in some degree feeble and imperfect in conse*
quence of a want of readiness in the use of the English language.

I am pleased to perceive the cultivation of the grape is attracting
the attention which its importance deserves, as, with the exception of
California, the soil and climate of no country are better adapted to
wine-growing than the soil and climate of our State. The grape has
as yet received but little attention with us : we find a few vines grow-
ing, with little culture, in our gardens, or as ornaments on porches ;
but the cultivatien of it on a large scale, aided by science and prac-
ticed skill, has been rarely attempted, or has soon been impatiently
abandoned. The war, too, laid its desolating touch upon many vine-
yards which had just begun to reward the labors of their owners. It
is unfortunate that few of our people have the inclination, or through
the want of means, the ability to test and follow up any experiment of
a kind which requires a period of years to develop its intrinsic merit.
Such persons are discouraged by every obstacle or providential hin-
drance, and of course will thereafter condemn and denounce all similar
enterprises.

The grape ought to become a great source of revenue to our country,
as I am confident that no other fruit can be made so jirofitablc. It
grows to its highest perfection in our climate, our burning sun in-

Grape Growing. i 69

creases the saccharine principle ; and even the pulpy varieties are ren-
dered sweet and i)alatable, with just acid enough to please the taste.
I believe that Tennessee is better adapted to the grape than Mis-
souri or Ohio, owing to our latitude and greater length of the warm
season.

In 1859, I sent Mr. Longworth, of Cincinnati, six bottles of Cataw-
ba wine, six months old, made from cuttings bought from him three
years before. He could not believe that the wine was made of the
Catawba, and asked whether I had added any sugar.

Varieties of Grapes. There are many excellent varieties suitable to
this climate, but too numerous to mention. I shall name only those
which I know- to be healthy and productive. Some of the imported
kinds flourish a few seasons, then, for some unknown cause, they de-
teriorate, or the vines show signs of decay ; but in other localities they
continue to prosper. A better plan is to select some native varieties,
which are more durable and valuable than the imported. I prefer em-
ploying a few only which I know to be healthy and best adapted to
our soil and climate ; such are the following :

For Table Use. The Dutch Sweet Water, Black Prince, Eed Con-
stantia, and West St. Peter's.

For Wine Culture. The Catawba and the Concord. The Ca-
tawba is without a rival as to quality, but subject to mildew. I
made of it a very superior wine, for which I obtained three premiums.
I would recommend to any one possessed of the requisite skill and
judgment, to experiment with this and other varieties, and thus be en-
abled to discover that which is best adapted to his peculiar locality.

Soil. Since different plants require soil suited to their individual
wants, it is necessarily of the highest importance to select for the grape
such soil as is best adapted to its nature. The tendency to disease, the
prevalence of destructive insects, and an inability to mature the
fruit, may all be traced to the soil. I consider a soil rich in car-
bonate of lime, and having a slope towards the south-east, as prefer-
able; besides this, it should be a rich, sandy soil, high and dry. If
not naturally dry, it should be made so artificially.

Cuttings. In selecting cuttings from vines, care should be taken, so
that they may not be too massive ; they should have at least five short
joints, a small j)art of the old wood being left at one end. After being
tied up in bundles, they must be put in dry ditches, and covered up
carefully till planting time.

1 70 Resources of Tennessee.

Planting. I plant six by six, two cuttings in one hill. Ii both
grow, I reject the inferior one in the following spring ; only one vine
should be left. Planting vines six feet apart will give the roots ample
space, and leave sufficient room for cultivation.

Cultivation and Pruning the First Year. The soil should be stirred
around the young vine two or three times during the season. I would
recommend the two-pronged Yearman hoe and the plow to keep down
weeds. In the fall, I take away two inches of earth from around the
vines, so that the frost may kill the eggs of insects imbedded in the
soil.

Pruning the Second Spring. During January and February, I ob-
serve whether the vine has not been injured by insects, such as the
pulp-worm or grape-borer. I drive a stake nine fdet long freely near
each vine; then cut down the plant to two joints or eyes (for safety
take oif one afterwards). Replant, if necessary, from a hill where
two are growing ; replace the soil previously removed. During the
summer, pinch oif lateral shoots and suckers ; tie the vine to the
stake ; keep oif insects, and hoe down weeds.

Pruning the Third and Fourth Year. Notice whether there is any
damage by insects, prune at the same time as in the second year ; but
it now requires good judgment, since the standard-bearing stalk has to
be selected and established. I select for this a healthy, but not too
massive stalk, with joints close together, cut it down to six or twelve
joints, according to the vigor of the vine and strength of the soil ; another
cane I cut down to a spur of two eyes, and raise the cane for bearing
next year. I cut oif branch roots three inches below the surface so
that the summer showers may not cause a too rapid growth of the
wood. I have the bearing vines made in semi-circular bows, witk
three ties to the stake. This should be done carefully. I prefer low
training, to have the crop ripened equally for wine culture. There are
many methods of culture, each of which has its advocates. Pruning
properly performed, and in tlic right season, is of the highest impor-
tance to keep the vines under proper control ; but excessive pruning
shortens the life of the vine. After two bearings and prunings I have
always relaid the vines, to give the young roots a new area; it will keep
up a healthy and young vineyard. This climate and the native grapes
diifcr so much Irom those of Europe, that every intelligent vine-dresser
will have much to learn by observation and experiment.

Summer Training. I remove the young shoots from around the
crown, replace the soil as before stated in the second year. I have no

Grape Groiuing. 1 7 1

work done when the vines are bh^ssoming, the seed is " stoning," or
the fruit ripening. I tie the bearing branches neatly to the stakes to
allow the drying winds to blow through them, remove such lateral
shoots as seem to be unnecessary, to strengthen their growth without
taking any leaves from the fruit-bearing wood. I also carefully re-
move all insects. In August, when the fruit has turned and the wood
is ripe I have the vines to})ped to admit the sun\s rays. This is the
last labor. Summer pruning should not be too close nor too long
deferred. Cleanliness around the vine is also of much importance.

Insects. It would require much time and space to enumerate the
various insects that are destructive to the grape. I will name only a
few of the most common.

One very destructive to the young plant is a red, brownish worm,
three-quarters of an inch long ; it feeds on the pith of the cutting and
destroys it. In this case the cutting will sometimes take root only on
the first eye below the surface, and grow for a few years, and will bear
hardly any fruit because it has not a tap-root, and is therefore worth-
less.

Another enemy to the vine is the grape-borer, or wood-sawyer. If
allowed to become domesticated it will, in some seasons, destroy a
Avhole vineyard. It gnaws into the main-trunk root four inches below
the surface. Its presence is seen by the general aspect of the vine,
which seems to droop, the leaves turning up-side doAvn, and on pulling
the vine the soil will be seen to yield. This worm must be watched
for, and destroyed whenever it is found.

A third kind is a small variety of the Carpocapsa Pomonella ; it
destroys the vine by depositing its ova. To destroy this I have fires
made from the middle of June till July. When permitted to become
too numerous it is very injurious, the whole vineyard appears to have
the " rust," and as if scorched by fire. It is a good plan to permit
free ingress to turkeys, which feed upon it.

The bumble-bee and yellow-jacket are also met with in some locali-
ties. When the labor is done and the crop seems certain, these pests
commence their devastations. I once observed a bumble-bee destroy
t-wenty-seven bunches of grapes in twenty-five minutes ; it went from
berry to berry, cutting them open and letting the juice run out. All
that can be done is to catch and kill them.

Insects that arc injurious to the foliage are :

1. The Tettigonia or Vine-hopper. In some seasons, when yet
in their first state and un])r()vided with wings, they cover the entire

172 Resources of Tennessee.

leaf, which will assume a blotched and scorched appearance. They
are seen in July and August.

2. The Spotted Pelidnota. It is about one inch in length, and of
a brownish yellow color. It flies in day-time with a humming sound.
As it clings to the leaves it can be easily taken and killed.

3. The American Procris. It is covered with short hairs of a
yellow color when in the caterpillar state, and is seen, several together,
underneath the leaves feeding upon their substance, leaving only the
ribs and stalks.

Frost. The great danger threatening all vineyards in the spring is
that of frost; the more so because it cannot be foreseen, and it may be
encountered at any time, and sometimes as late as May.

In 1859 a heavy hoar-frost visited our .neighborhood from the 18th
to the 21st of April, and ^vas most fatal to the grape crop, as the
shoots were from two to three feet long, and the vine was ready to
blossom. I had the whole vineyard under fire so as to produce a
smoke. The result was, I saved the whole crop of forty acres, with
an outlay of .$25, while my neighbor, Judge Massingale, now of Nash-
ville, lost his whole crop, though our vineyards were not four hundred
yards apart.

In conclusion, I beg leave to state that it is not in my power to do
justice to this important subject in this short treatise. This branch of
industry is yet wholly in its infancy, but it is hoped, in course of time,
it will receive the attention which its great importance deserves. To
this end it is necessary that all the information, the results of observa-
tion and experiment, be gathered from every source and communica-
ted to and disseminated by the State Bureau of Agriculture.

To the above I will add a statement of the amount of labor and
expense required in the cultivation of ten acres in grape-vines; also,
an estimate of the probable profits of such a crop:

ESTIMATED COST OK A VINEYARD OF TEN AGUES FOR FOUR YEARS.

Ploughing, ten acres at .$10.00 $ 100 00

Harrowing " " 1.00 10 00

Checlvingofl" " " 1.00 10 00

Cost of 2G,fl00 buttings at $3.00 per 1,000 Y8 00

Planting, at .^B.OO 30 00

Cost of 13,000 stakes, at $25.00 per 100 325 00

Setting of same, at $5.00 per acre 50 00

$ G18 00

Grape Growing. f 7 3

COST OF LABOR FOR FIRST YEAR.

Wages of one hand for two months, at $26.00 % 52 00

Ploughing three times at $3.00 per acre 30 00

Removing the soil from the root, at $2.00 20 00

$ 720 00

COST OF LABOR FOR SECOND YEARS.

Spring pruning, at $2.00 per acre % 20 00

Wages of one hand six months, at $26.00..... 156 00

Taking away soil, at $2. 00 20 00

Strings to tie vines, at 50c 5 00

$ 921 00

COST OF LABOR FOR THIRD Y'EARS.

Expense the same as second year $ 201 00

Wages of wine-dresser six months, at $.35.00 210 00

Strings to tie vines, at $1.00 10 00

Extra labftr for one month 26 00

$1,368 00

COST OF' LABOR FOR FOURTH YEAR.

Expense the same as third year $ '^^^ 00

Extra labor of wine-dresser three months, at $35.00 105 00

Wages two hands two months, at $26.00 104 00

Contingencies 100 00

Entire cost $2,124 00

An average crop will produce 6,500 lbs. of grapes per acre.
At 13 lbs. to a gallon, this will yield 500 gallons, at $1.00

per gallon .'. % 500 00

Or 6,500 lbs. of grapes, at 6c per lb 390 00

Hence, an average yield of ten acres in grapes 3,900 00

Cost of raising • 2,124 00

Profit $1."6 00

Or a little over 80 per cent, on cost.

In 1859, 1 made from two acres in the fourth year, 1,643 gallons of must.

Yield per acre 10,679i lbs. of grapes

174 Resources of Tennessee.

CHAPTER XII

The Honey Resources of Tennessee.

Among the many industries that have engaged the attention of the
people of Tennessee, not the least is the production of honey. From
the first settling of the State, it has been the custom of a4arge majority
of the far^aers to secure a few colonies of bees as a necessary adjunct
to a well-stocked farm. Bees, it has been well eaid, "work for nothing
and feed themselves," only requiring a small expenditure for hives and
a little degree of attention. But in this as in every other pursuit, it is
found that the profits are directly in proportion to intelligent manage-
ment, and though the old system of bee-keeping furnished ample sup-
plies of honey for domestic uses, it was not until the introduction of im-
proved hives, artificial swarming, moveable combs, and mel-extractors,
that it was pursued as a separate vocation. At present there are many
persons who engage in this business almost exclusively, and whose
profits are such as to give reasonable satisfaction. In the year 1850
the number of pounds of beeswax and honey (the beeswax not being
separated) reported for Tennessee, was 1,036,572; in 1860 there were
of beeswax 98,882 pounds, and of honey 1,519,390 pounds; in 1870,
51,685 pounds of beeswax, and 1,039,550 pounds of honey. The
falling off of this jiroduct, as shown by the last report of the census in
the decade ending in 1870, is doubtless attributable to the devastating
effects of the war. At the close of hostilities the number of hives had
been reduced fully two-thirds. In many parts of the State scarcely
one could l)e found. But as peace resumed its sway the peaceful arts
begim to claim attention, and the introduction of all the recent im-
provements in bee-keeping, as well as of the Italian bee, gave a ])ow-
crful impetus to this branch of rural industry. The yield of honey
has been greatly increased during the past three years, and the yield

Honey. i 7 5

for the year 1872 perhaps exceeded that of any previous year in the
history of the State. The heavy rains in the spring of 1873 greatly
reduced the honey product, it falling far belo^y the average yield for
many years. However, the high character of Tennessee honey, made
in northern cities by the shipments of 1872, and the satisfactory prices
for which it was sold, atoned in some respects for the short yield the
following year, and our bee-keepers are more hopeful than ever of the
profitableness of this businsss. Uniting, as it does, pleasure with ease
and plenty without drudgery, and opening a field for original and
profitable investigations and discoveries, it is growing more and more
each year in public favor, and with the natural advantages that Tennes-
see affords, it will doubtless assume increased ^proportions as the State
becomes thickly populated.

It is claimed by eminent bee-raisers that Tennessee has the best
climate and the greatest variety of food for bees of any state in the
Union, it having all the forage of the northern states, and all to be found
in the southern, while it has some that is not found in either. The
White Clover, Golden Rod and Aster are not found in states further
south. In the extreme south the honey is not so good, nor are the
bees disposed to lay up stores of food, as they can be furnished with
supplies outside almost throughout the year. The climate of Tennes-
see being a medium one, with mild and short winters and agreeable
summers, and with the delightful seasons of the fall and spring,
makes the State specially adapted to bee-culture. Dr. Hamlin, one
of the most extensive and eminent bee-raisers in the United States,
says the bees and queens reared in this climate are large, thrifty, and
not excelled by any he has met with from any portion of the world.
He further says, in a note to the Bureau, that no state or section of
country, with which he is acquainted, equals Tennessee in all the de-
partments of bee-culture. We suffer less in the loss of bees in winter? ■
and from those diseases to which they are subject in other localities.
Some of most destructive diseases are unknown in Tennessee.

The Italtan bees were first brought into this State in the year 1866,
by Dr. T. B. Hamlin. They were imported directly from Italy. Since
that time they have greatly increased, and 2,000 queens were raised in the
State in 1873. Eminent superiority is claimed for this species over the
common black bees, and their results are far more satisfactory. They
arc domesticated; they are what may be called civilized; they are less
hostile and more given to the peaceful pursuits of collecting and storing
up honey; they are more manageable and less fretful. Mr. Lang-

I 7 6 Resources of Tennessee.

stroth, whose experience with this species entitles his opinion to great
weight, gives the following as their points of superiority :

" 1. The Italian bees gather freely from the second or seed crop of
red clover, and from other sources of forage not frequented by the
common bees. In regions where late summer or full forage is scarce,
this will often make the diiference between a good profit and a heavy
loss.

" 2. The pure Italian bees are much more peaceable than the black
bees. The assertion, however, which has been made by some, that they
will not sting, is not true ; and the crosses between them and the black
bees are far more difficult to subdue, if once enraged, than the black
bees.

" 3. Italian bees gather much larger stores of honey than the black
bees. Dzerzon, the great German apiarian, after many years experi-
ence, says that the profits of his apiary have been doubled since their
introduction, and we have received numerous statements showing that
colonies of these bees have in this country secured a generous living,
and often a surplus, where common stocks have not gained a suffi-
ciency.

" 4. The Italian queens are more prolific and keep their brood more
compactly in the combs, than black queens, and their swarms are
usually earlier and larger than those from black colonies.

" 5. In opening a hive, an Italian queen is much more readily found
than a black one, not only on account of her brilliant color, but be-
cause the Italian bees are much more quiet on the combs than the
black ones, and the queen is less disposed to leave the combs for the
bottom board or sides of the hive.

" 6. Italian bees are far more inclined to supercede their queens,
when past their prime, than the black bees, and colonies are therefore
much less liable to become weak and queenless.

" 7. The Italian bees are far less disposed to rob than the common
kind. The importance of this peculiarity in an apiary where move-
able-comb hives are used, will be readily appreciated.

" 8. The Italian bees defend their hive against robber bees, whether
black or Italian, much more successfully than the black bees. In
opening a large number of full stocks and nuclei during several season*
from April to November, we have not lost a single colony from rob-
bery. The experience of Dzerzou on this point fully agrees with our
own.

Honey. 177

" 9. The Italian bees protect their combs from the ravages of the
bee moth much more effectually than the black bees.

" 10. The Italian bees cling much more tenaciously to their combs
than the common bees, so that in handling the combs the young bees
which cannot fly do not, like black ones, drop on the ground or upon
the person of the operator.

"11. When the position of a colony is changed, the Italian workers
acquaint themselves with their new location much more readily than
black bees, thus greatly facilitating many important processes in the
practical management of an apiary.

"12. Italian workers are much longer lived than black ones, and
the queenless colonies therefore do not become so rapidly depopulated.

" 13. Colonies of Italian bees can be united during the working
season, with far less quarreling than would be incurred in uniting
black ones. The first cross between the Italian and black races is' far
superior to the black bees, which are improved by any mixture of
Italian blood. It may also be added that the Italian bee is less sub-
ject to casualties and disease than the black bee.

The Italian is fast superceding the old black bee, and will doubtless
in a few years drive it out altogether.

Mr. S. W. Cole, of Madison county, Tennessee, one of the most
practical and successful bee-keepers in the State, in answer to a letter
of inquiry, sends the following communication to the Secretary of the
Bureau of Agriculture. It shows the immense advantages that Ten-
nessee presents for the business of the bee-keeper, both in the mildness
of its climate, the variety and regular succession of wild flowers, and
in the immunity which the bees enjoy from disease.

Secretary Bureau of Agriculture :

Emigrants intending to settle in Tennessee would naturally look at
its resources from the various standpoints of their occupations, profes-
sions, and tastes. The agriculturist would desire information as to
the productiveness of the soil, and the various farm products, prices,
etc. The miner would look to the mineral wealth of our mountains;
the stock-raiser to the adaptability of the country to grass-growing,
and the horticulturist to the character of the soil, elevation, freedom
from frost, and access to market, etc. It is the intention of this paper
to call the attention of the above mentioned class, and all others, to
12

178 Resources of Ten7iessee.

the " Honey Resources of Tennessee," for the reason that it clashes
with no interest or interferes with any other profession, but is freely
given to all. The production and sale of honey are fast becoming an
industry of no mean importance. As our rapidly-growing cities in-
crease in population, the demand for honey increases, and the fearful
rate at which parts of our country are being denuded of forests, and
with them many of our choicest honey plants and trees, its price will
surely be enhanced. The supply of honey now does not nearly keep
pace with the demand, and although the introduction of moveable-
comb hives, the Italian honey bee, and the use of mel-extractors, have
caused so great a revolution in bee culture that the production of
honey is now three-fold more than it was a few years ago — the price
has not only kept up, but has steadily advanced. A half-century back,
the sale of honey in the United States was hardly thought of. Twenty-
five years ago, ten cents per pound was the top of the market, and it
was considered dear at that — while now, with the immense amount
that is put on the market, the bee-keeper who uses improved methods
to obtain his honey, is insulted if he is offered less than twenty cents
per pound, and a choice article Avill now bring double that price. For
a number of years, I have made bee-keeping a specialty, and with the
improved methods of management, have obtained results which prove
Tennessee to be one of the best honey-producing states in the Union.
Fully fifty per cent of all the bees wintered in the northern states are
lost every winter from dysentery and other diseases, caused from con-
finement of the bees in the hive during the very cold and prolonged
winters. Our mild winters in Tennessee permit the bees to fly from
their hives, at intervals of from two to three weeks, all through the
winter, to relieve their distended bodies of the faeces accumulated from
the excessive use of food during cold weather, and they thus avoid the
cause of dysentery or bee cholera, so prevalent and so destructive to
bees in the northern states. I have not lost one per cent, of my bees
during any winter since using moveable-comb hives. In the year
1871, I set apart seven good hives of bees, from which I took no
swarms, and used only for the production of honey. The honey was
emptied from the combs with an extractor as fast as gathered, and the
empty combs returned to the hives to be re-filled by the bees. The
following report I made to the North American Bee Keepers' So-
ciety, at Cleveland, in December, 1871 :

Honey.

179

Honey Recoed of Seven Hives foe 1871.

Edimaied hy carefulhj ■weighing, and after extracting, rc-weiglivng and de-
ducting from the first amount.

No. 1.

No. 2.

No. 3.

No. 4.

No. 5.

No. 6.

No. 1.

April 29th

20 lbs.
20 Ibe.
29 lbs.

34 lbs.
29 lbs.
23 lbs.
25}41b6.

35 lbs.
20>^lbs.

7>?lbs.
ll^sJlbs.
8 lbs.

21 lbs.
173^1bs.
29 lbs.
31 lbs.
28 lbs.
22»<?lbs.
21) lbs.
24 lbs.
12>i^lb8.

"8"ibs.'
2><lbs.

21 lbs.
21 lbs.
33>^lb8.
36Xlbs.
29 lbs.
20 lbs.

18 lbs.

19 lbs.
11 lbs.

7>fibs.
SXlbs.

May 5th

20 lbs.
27 lbs.
37 lbs.
32 lbs.
22 lbs.
22 lbs.
25Xlbs.
14)^lb8.

'io"ibs."

15^1be.

33" "ibs."
42 lbs.
33 lbs.
24 lbs.
23 lbs.
33Xlba.
16 lbs.

■i4"'lbs."

29><lb8.

22 ibs."
29 lbs.
24 lbs.
15>ribs.
13i<^lh8.
20 lbs.
12 lbs.

isi^ibs."

7>ilbs.

" 12th

27 lbs.

" 16th

" 19th

" 23cl

" 26th

June 2d

" 9th

" 15th

August 15th

November 1st

42 lbs.
22 lbs.
22 lbs.
29 lbs.
14)irlbs.
8 lbs.

U'lbs.'
llXlbs.

Total ..:

263 lbs.

225;^ lbs.

216 lbs.

225 lbs.

248 lbs.

102 lbs.

190 lbs.

Total amount, 1,529>^ pounds.

Average per hive, 230><f pounds.

It will be seen from the above that the highest yield from one
colony for one day was eleven pounds, for one week seventy-five
pounds, and for the whole year, from the best hive, 263 pounds, and
an average of 218i pounds per colony, which I think can be done in
any good locality and season in Tennessee. There has l)een a constant
effort made by prominent and interested honey-dealers in the northern
states, for years, to represent southern honey as inferior to northern
honey. They fear the competition of our more favored locality. Now,
the most gratifying result of the above exhibit of honey, was that I
shipped 1,000 pounds of it to C. O. Perrine, of Chicago, the most ex-
tensive wholesale honey dealer in the country, who reported it as the
best lot of honey he had ever bought. I have since sent samples to dif-
ferent cities, and am gratified to know that Tennessee honey is every-
where pronounced strictly first-class. For the assistance of those .seek-
ing good localities for bee-keeping, I will mention some of our principal
honey-yielding plants and trees. It is not a complete list, as very
many have been left out as of minor importance, and others have been
doubtless overlooked.

Red Maple. The first warm south winds in February lu'ing out the
myriad flowers of the red maple. It is particularly valuable in afford-
ing an early supply of natural pollen for the bees, and induces them to
commence to rear brood early. It grows in countless numbers along
the branches, creeks, and river bottoms.

Plum blooms from March 10th to 20th ; is becoming more abundant
about old settlements.

i8o Resources of Tennessee.

Peach from March 15th to April 1st.

Spiceioood, March 30th to April 1st.

Bogiaood, March 20th to May.

Sassafras, March 30th to April 20th.

Fear, Cherry, Gooseberry, bloom from March 30th to April 15th.

Raspberry, from April 10th to 20th.

Red Biid, April 15th to 20th.

Apple, April 1st to 2oth.

Willow, April 10th to 30th, and is a splendid source of bee pasturage
with us^ growing thickly along all our water courses. Tliis is our first
source of honey supply, and I have had strong colonies to store
twenty-nine pounds from it during the last week in April.

Wild Cherry blooms from April 20th to 30th, and is quite plentiful
in some localities, where it gives the peculiar wild cherry flavor to all
honey gathered at this time.

Dewberry blooms from April 25th to May 25th.

JVhite Clover blooms from April 30th, until checked by summer
drouth. It is very abundant, seems to prefer moist clay soil ; is very
variable in its yield of honey. Some seasons the bees seek it eagerly,
and in others scarcely touch it.

Red Clover blooms from April 30th until midsummer ; black bees
touch it but sparingly, but the Italian bees work on it freely.

Alsike Clover is in bloom from first of May to very late summer,
grows vigorously with us on wet clay soils. Its variegated pink and
white blossoms are the delight of honey gatherers. A ten-acre field
in full bloom on a Sabbath morning in May, with an Italian bee hang-
ing to each blossom, is a sight worth seeing.

Black Gum blooms from May 1st to 10th.

Blackberry from May 1st to 30th ; grows in the greatest profusion
everywhere, and yields the most deliciously flavored honey we have.

Black Locust blooms from May 1st to 15th. It is a good honey
yielder, and will grow anywhere.

Poplar blooms from April 30th to May 30th. Undoubtedly this is
the greatest honey-yielding tree in the world; some seasons the secretion
of nectar is so abundant in the blossoms that it can be dipped out on
the point of a knife blade. Tennessee is the home of the poplar ;
here it attains its greatest size ; trees can be found that will measure
nine feet in diameter.

Honey. 1 8 1

HoUx) blooms from May lOtli to 20th. This is a splendid honey
tree, but is found only on creek and river bottoms ; bees resort to it in
great numbers during the whole period of its blooming.

Linden blooms from May 15th to •25th. Unfortunately is found but
sparingly, otherwise would be only second in importance to the poplar.

Buckwheat, in favorable sections, can be made to bloom for several
mmiths. Our soil seems to be well adapted to its growth, and experi-
ments with it for bees have been highly satisfactory.

Butterfly Weed is found nearly everywliere, but in too limited quanti-
ties to afford a fair test of its honey-producing qualities. Like buck-
wheat, it will blooin for several months. We have often noticed the
peculiar action of the bees while feeding on it. Instead of passing rap-
idly over it with eager haste, as they do on most flowers, they crawl
slowly over it, then remain quite still for a long time with bodies quite
distended. It could be easily propagated, as it seeds profusely.

Turnips and Mustard, while in bloom, afford good pasturage for bees.

Bucker Bush is found in abundance in some localities, and is valu-
able.

Persiimaon blooms from May 25th to June 10th.

Wild Grape, from May 25th to June 30th ; very abundant.

Catnip h\oo\MS from May 20th to June 25th; is a splendid plant
for bees, and is easily propagated — a few bunches set out on top of any
old worn-out hill will soon cover the whole hill, as it spreads rapidly.

Red Sumac blooms from June 15th to 25th.

Corn. Blossoms are eagerly sought for by the bees early in the
morning, but principally for the pollen it yields.

Honeydew. We usually have an abundance of this during the lat-
ter part of May and early in June. I have seen it so abundant as to
crystallize on the leaves of trees. It is an exudation from the leaves —
is gratefully received by the bees, and makes a very good honey.

Peas of almost every variety yield a considerable amount of honey,
but the whippoorwill seems to excel all others as a bee plant — blooms
from July till frost.

Heartsease hXoora?, from August 1st to September 1st. It is an excel-
lent bee plant, and grows abundantly after corn on good soil.

Thorourjhwort or Boneset, blooms from August lOtli to SeptOlmber
16th; secretes honey copiously.

Asters bloom from August 15th to October 1st.

1 82 Resources of Tennessee.

Golden Rod blooms from August 15th to October 1st. It is very-
abundant, growing ahnost everywhere, and in favorable seasons yield-
ing an abundant harvest of beautifiil honey.

One peculiarity seen in all our fall honey, is that it has a strong bal-
samic flavor, very soon granulates in large crystals, and in that state
resembles sugar more than honey.

S. W. Cole.

Andrew Chapel, Texx., March, 1873.

Mr. Henderson, of Murfreesboro, writes that his product for 1872,
from fifty-four hives, Avas 3,000 pounds of honey, and in 1873, only
500 pounds, showing how disastrous the heavy rains of 1873 proved
to the honey supply.

Mr. A. G. Willey, from the same place, gives us a memorandum of
his product for the same years as follo^vs :

1872. From 6 colonies in spring and 10 do. in fall 1,200 lbs.

1873. From 10 colonies in spring and 16 do. in fall 500 lbs.

Tke honey was sold at 15 cents per pound, netting $255 00

Bees sold to the amount of 36 00

Queens 20 00

Increase of 10 colonies 100 00

Amountfrom apiary for two years $ 411 00

In Gibson county, West Tennessee, there are seventy-five bee-keep-
ers that will average fifteen colonies each, besides a lai'ge number of
persons who have smaller colonies. The average for the county is ten
pounds for each colony. The price of honey near Humboldt is twenty-
eight cents per pound. Mr. Wiggins, a large apiarist, estimates his
product to be 3,000 pounds in three years, but a small portion of which
is to be credited to the year 1873.

Dr. T. B. Hamlin, of Davidson county, keeps about 300 full stocks,
varying for the last five years from 250 to 350. His honey crop for
the year 1872 amounted to 7,000 pounds, (5,000 extracted and 2,000
comb); beeswax about 150 pounds; making twenty-four pounds the
average for each colony. His produt^t was quite small the following
year, owing to causes which we liave mentioned.

We feel confident that a few years will develop this pleasing busi-
ness into one of first rate importance among the rural pursuits.

Coal. 183

CHAPTER XIII.

Coal.

Under the stimulating effect of a brilliant sun, a humid climate and
an atmosphere charged with carbonic acid, myriads of ages befotre man
appeared, vast forests, gorgeous in their beauty and dense in their
foliage, sprung up in widely extended swamps, flourished for a time,
decayed and made thick mats of slimy organic matter. Earth(|uakes
with tumultuous throes upheaved mountains and produced depressions.
These depressions were swept over by the huge waves of a stormy
ocean, depositing their burdens of sand, gravel and clayey matter
upon the vegetable mass. Oscillations afterwards elevated this sand
and clay-covered deposit, and vegetable life appeared to be at
some remote period again submerged. These processes continued
through ages, the deposits of earthy matter weighing down and shut-
ting out from the influence of the atmosphere and the light of day the
remains of plant-life, in which condition they were transmuted into coal.
Such is the theorv' of geologists in regard to the formation of bitumin-
ous coal, and doubtless a true one, as the same process in all of its
stages may be found going on at the present day. Anthracite coal is
the bituminous coal coked under pressure and subterranean heat.

By far the most important coal field in America is the Appalachian,
extending in a north-east and south-west direction a distance of 875
miles through the western part of Pennsylvania, the eastern part of
Ohio, the western corner of ISIaryland, nearly all of West Virginia,
and the eastern part of Kentucky. It crosses Tennessee, and ends near
Tuscaloosa, in Alabama. The area of this coal-field, in Tennessee,
covers about 5,100 square miles, and includes within its limits the
counties of Scott, Morgan and Cumberland, the greater parts of Fen-
tress, Van Buren, Bledsoe, Grundy, Sequatchie and Marion, consider-

Resources of Tennessee.

Coal. 185

able parts of Claiborne, C'ainpbcll, Anderson, Rhea, Roane, Overton,
Hamilton, Putnam, AVhite and Franklin, and small portions of AVar-
ren and Coffee — twenty-one in all. It is co-extensive with the Cum-
berland Table Land, the third natural division of the vState, and forms
an irregular quadrilateral 71 miles wide air the northern end, and 50
at the southern.

This Cumberland Table Land has generally a broad flat top, capped
with a layer of conglomerate sandstone, averaging perhaps seventy
feet in thickness. This layer of sandstone on the edges of the Table
Land forms a steep escarpment or brow, bold, distinct, and well marked
from 20 to 100, and sometimes 200 feet high. Beneath this often over-
hanging brow the steep, woody slopes of the sides begin and run down
to the low lands. These slopes below the cliffs usually rest against the
lower Coal Measures and upon the Mountain Limestone. The eastern
outline of this Cumberland Table Land, as may be seen by the accom-
panying Map, is a nearly direct line, bulging out in a graceful curve,
and taking in portions of Roane, Anderson and Campbell counties.
The western edge is jagged, notched by innumerable coves and valleys,
and presenting a scalloped or ragged contour, with outlying knobs
separated from the main Table Land by deep ravines or fissures. In
the southern portion, near the eastern side, is a deep gorge, canoe-
shaped, with steep escarpments rising 800 to 1,000 feet above the
valley, through which the Sequatchie River flows. This is the Se-
quatchie Valley, which separates the lower end of the Tal)le Land into
two distinct arms. Through the eastern arm the Tennessee River
breaks, and after flowing down the Valley, which is an extension of
the Sequatchie Valley, for a distance of sixty miles, turns at Gunters-
ville, Alabama, and soon afterward cuts through the western arm fifty
miles from the Tennessee line. This Sequatchie Trough is 1(30 miles
in length, the Tennessee end being sixty miles, and the Alabana end
one hundred.

The eastern arm of the coalfield, on the western side of Mhich this
remarkable Valley passes, is six or eight miles wide. Between the
Tennessee River and the Nashville and Chattanooga railroad, it is
called Raccoon Mountain. Separated from this by Wills' Valley,
rises up in massive propoi'tions. Lookout Mountain. The latter is
an outlier of the Cumberland Table Land, and geologically Is closely
allied to it.

Passing now to the north-east corner of the coal region, we find a
quadrilateral block dissevered from the mountain mass by the valleys

1 86 Resources of Tennessee.

of Elk Fork and Cove Creek, the former running northeast and empty-
ing into the Cumberland River, the latter running south-east into the
Clinch River. Through this pass the route for the Cincinnati South-
ern railroad has been surveyed.

The average height of the Cumberland Table Land is two
thousand feet above tide-water, but some of the ridges of the. north-
eastern part rise to a much greater height, reaching at places, as at
Cross Mountain, 3,370 feet. The Valley of Cove Creek is 2,300 feet
lower than the high points of Cross Mountain. The part of the Valley
of East Tennessee contiguous to the mountain is about 1,000 feet
above the sea, so that, viewed from that Valley, the Cumberland Table
Land stands out with singular boldness and sharpness of outline. Eve-
rywhere in the northern part it is marked by a succession of cliffs, ele-
vated one above the other, with intervening wooded slopes. Parallel
with the main mountain mass, on the eastern side, and separated from
it by a narrow vale, is a steep, roof-like sandstone ridge, with the layers
upturned on their edges, and resembling a huge military work protecting
the main mountain from incursions from the Valley of East Tennessee,
the only access being through a few gaps like that of Coal Creek. This
ridge is known as Walden's Ridge. Following this ridge southward,
the name is applied to the whole arm l)etween Sequatchie Valley and the
Valley of East Tennessee.

We have said that this coal region is sheeted with a thick conglom-
erate sandstone, but upon this sheet, a short distance from the
edges of the precipices, other strata are superimposed, rising in some
places 1,000 feet above the conglomerate or general surface, and form-
ing, as it were, mountains upon the top of the Table Land. Cross
Mountain is one of these.

In the northern part of the coal region its plateau character is de-
stroyed by these superincumbent mountains. For many miles Cross
Mountain, especially in the counties of Anderson and Campbell, forms
the eastern escarpment of the main coal region, though Walden'a
Ridge, whicli runs parallel with it, contains some coal, but in it the
coal always dips at a high angle.

But without going further into details as to the topogra]>hical fea-
tures of this coal-bearing area, we return to its general features, in
order that the reader may have a clear conception of it. First swelling
up from the lowlands and forming the base of this plateau, is the mas-
sive Mountain Tjimestone, from 400 feet at the northern end to 720 at

Coal. 187

at the southern extremity in thickness, extending one-third, and
sometimes two-thirds of the Avay up to the general top. Then come
strata of shale, sandstone interstratified mth seams of coal, the whole
capped by the thick conglomerate before mentioned. These strata be-
tween the Mountain Limestone and the overcapping conglomerate sand-
stone, are called the Lower Coal Measures. The mountains and ridges
made up of strata of coal, shale, fire-clay, sandstone and clay iron-stones
that are superimposed upon the conglomerate, are called the Upper
Coal Measures. Coal Measures may be defined as a group of strata,
in which the coal is interstratified. The coal often appears in beds so
thin as not to be Avorkable. These beds, sometimes, however, swell
out locally to great thickness.

Kecurring again to the building up or formation of this coal plateau,
at the risk of being tedious to the reader familiar with it, we shall en-
deavor to give a clearer idea by an illustration. Suppose a long, nar-
row table to be placed on the ground, sitting longitudinally north-east
and south-west. Build up under this table a stone foundation with a
sloping surface, lower at the northern end, but reaching half way to
the top of the table at the southern extremity. Upon this foundation
pile up sheets of plank until they touch its under surface. The stone
foundation will represent the Mountain Limestone, the sheets of plank
the Lower Coal Measures, and the top of the table the thick conglom-
erate cover.

Thin blocks piled on the table top, a short distance from the edge,
at some places higher, at some lower, being greatly higher near the
north-east corner, will represent the Upper Coal Measures. Now, if a
little to the east of the tongitudinal middle line a w^ide gash were cut
down to the ground through piles of blocks, the table top, sheets of
plank, and masonry, from its middle, but southward, dividing the
southern part of this mass into two parallel but unequal arms, this
gash would represent the Sequatchie Valley, the eastern arm taking
the name of Walden's Ridge. A similar gash in the north-east corner,
running north-east, would represent Elk Fork Valley. From the
head of this valley, if another were cut running south-east, it would
represent Cove Creek Valley, both together cutting off the quadrilateral
block.

It may here be stated that wherever the highest ridges and moun-
tains upon the general surface of the Cumberland Table Land are
found, the conglomerate has been depressed, and sinks to a lower level
tlian where there is no superincuml)ent weight.

1 88 Resources of Tennessee.

The reader is now able to appreciate the following section enfirely
through both Coal Measures. The section was traced out near the Se-
wanee Mines, in Grundy county, by Dr. Safford, and is found in his
Geological Report. It is the most complete section of both Coal Meas-
ures yet found in this part of the coal field, though the Upper Coal
Measures in the north-eastern portion of the coal regions have more
beds, sometimes reaching as high as twenty-one. At other places,
some of the strata thin out and disappear. Beginning at the top and
descending, as though in a well or shaft, we have the

Sewaxee Sectiox.

(13) Coxulomerate; cap rock of the upper plateau, and the up-
permost stratum in the region, 50 feet.

(12) Coal, a few inches, (G)

(11) Shale, 23 feet.

(10) Coal, outcrop, (P) \ foot.

(9) Dark Clayey Shale, 1 foot.

(8) Sandy Shale, 25 feet.

(7) Sandstone, 86 feet.

(G) iS/mZe, more or less sandj', 45 feet.

(5) Coal, Main Sewanee, from (E) 3 to T ft.

(4) S/(a/e, bome of it sandy, 45 feet.

IH^ Coal, outcrop, (D) 1 foot.

(2) Shale 3 feet.

[ (1) Sandstone, 17 feet.

We here reach the bottom of the upper Coal jSIeasures, and
come to the thick conglomerate that caps the whole coal region. De-
scending, we pass successively through

CONGLOMERATE, « 70 feet.

-« f (10) Coal, outcrop, from (C) i to 1 foot-

(9) Shale, vf'nh clay at top, 10 feet.

(8) Sandstone, Cliff' Rockj {Lower Cong, of ^Etna Mines), 65 feet.

(7) Coal, outcrop, from (B) ^tolift-

(6) Shale, with a few inches of indurated clay at top, 8 feet.

(5) Sandy Shale, 22 feet.

(4) Sandstone, hard 78 feet.

(3) Coal, has occasionally shale above and below it; the Coal
from (A) 1 to 3 feet.

(2) Hard Sandstone, \oc&], 20 feet.

(1) Shale, including a tliin sandstone, 20 feet.

MOUNTAIN LIMESTONE.

The last or the Mountain Limestone forms the pedestal, as it were,
upon which the Coal Measures lie.

Coal.

189

The above cut is a representation of the entire Coal Measures as
exhibited at this region. It ^vill be observed that the main conglomer-
ate, which has been spoken of as forming a sheet over the whole Cum-
berland Table Land, divides the Upper from the Lower Coal Measures ;
and furthermore that the veins below the conglomerate are lenticular
in character, while those above are more uniform in thickness. If ad-
ditional strata were piled upon the portion above the conglomerate, in-
cluding not far from a dozen beds and seams of coal, it would be a
fair representation of the Upper Measures as found at Coal Creek, in
Anderson. The second coal (bed E.) above the conglomerate is the
Main Sewanee, the only one which has been worked so far at this
point. The second below (bed B.) corresponds to what has been
called the Main ^tna. The escarpment or slope represented in the
engraving, is typical of the slope on the western side of the Table
Land, in which appear successively the wooded slope, the vertical or
overhanging conglomerate, which forms such conspicuous cliffs, the
back bench and the uppermost rock. The level portion above the
main conglomerate may be considered as the general surface of the
Table Land ; but, as will be seen from the engraving, there lies, at a
greater or less distance from the edge, superimposed strata that make
considerable hills, which often present themselves as a well defined
terrace. It may be added for clearness, though involving some repeti-

I go Resources of Tennessee.

tion, that the main conglomerate in the north-eastern part of the Table
Land sinks to a lower level while the strata are so multiplied as to
make mountains. In the Sewanee section, the conglomerate is about
800 feet above the low lands at the base of the Table Land, while at
Coal Creek, and at other points to the north-east, it comes down to
the level of the valleys.

Including the Upper and Lower Coal Measures, there are seven veins
of coal, aggregating a thickness of from seven to fourteen and a half
feet. Many of these beds, however, are too thin to work, and are
given merely to show the extent of the Coal Measures.

Sewanee Mixes.

As an industrial enterprise, this company has some features deserving
notice.

The effort to mine and ship coal immediately after the war, when
transportation cars could not be obtained from the railroads, drove the
company to put up a car-shop and build its own cars, as far as its means
would allow. Sijice 1859, a small force has been kept employed build-
ing and repairing cars, until now the company has 149, which
are kept constantly employed, with perhaps about the same number of
cars furnished by railroads and coal dealers. In connection with the
work, the company has constantly kept going two blacksmith shops —
and for a time these shops did most of the work on the engines — but
as the business increased it became necessary to get machinery fordoing
certain work, until by degeees a regular machine shop, at the head of
which is a master mechanic, has been built up, and now the company
turns its axles, bores its wheels, takes off and puts on wheels, and
does all the work on its own engines. The demand of the company
justified private enterj)rise in putting up, in connection with the machine
shop, both a brass and iron foundry. The company is running a saw-
mill, sawing considerable quantities of lumber, which is used mainly
in and al)out the mines, and in constructing its own buildings.

Coke burning is now coming to be a leading business with this com-
pany. It is erecting 100 coke ovens, and besides is burning on the
ground 2,500 bushels of coke per day. In all, the amount of coke
burnt will be about 7,500 bushels daily.

Recently the company has built a small blast furnace, and is now
making iron. This is said to be the first cole blast furnace ev-er built

Coal. 191

in Middle Tennessee. The ore used is brought from various points in
Wills' Valley, on the line of the Nashville and Chattanooga railroad,
and on the Georgia State road. This furnace was erected mainly with
a view of testing the different ores of the country. The ore is brought
to the mines in return coal cars, and the blast for the furnace is made
by the engine running the fan mill. The company is rutining a rail-
road which connects with the Nashville and Chattanooga railroad, and
on which it uses five locomotives.

The whole force employed at the mines, including 156 convicts,
is about 450 men. This is the regular minimum force at the season
of the year when the work is running light. In the fall and winter
the working force is largely increased. This does not embrace the in-
cidental employment of labor, such a's getting saw-logs, cross-ties,
props and caps for the mines, etc., all of which is done by contract.
The product of this work is about 235,000 bushels of coal per month,
with a continuing increase. Under the advance move made this year
of burning coke and making iron, it Avill be necessary for the company
to largely increase the coal production. Looking to this, the company
has increased its area of lands by a purchase of 5,000 acres, nearly
all of which is coal land, and it is now opening other mines one mile
and a half from the main entrance. The work of building a rail-
road to these new mines has been commenced.

An analysis of this coal shows as follows :

Fixed Carbon, 63.5

Volatile matter, 29.9

Ash 6.6

And its use in locomotives, as well as all other uses in contact with
iron, shows that it is remarkably free from sulphur.

The feature in this coal enterprise, in which the public are most in-
terested, is the cheap production of coal. The reports of the Presi-
dent and General Manager for that year, show that the company is
mining coal and shipping to Cowan at an actual cost of about six cents,
and that coal is sold there upon contracts, by the year, at eight and a
half cents.

The Sewanee Coal Mines embrace a considerable portion of Grundy
and Marion counties. They are worked at present from three open-
ings, and preparations are being made for opening at two other points.

192 Resources of Tennessee,

The vein of coal averages about four and a half feet, and is
nearly level; all the openings being just high enough above the rail-
road to make loading into cars through chutes quite convenient. For-
tunately the stockholders in this company have all agreed that it was
their interest to build up the property rather than declare dividends,
and this policy has resulted in increasing the work from five cars to
sixty (the average maximum work) per day.

This company owns about 10,000 acres of coal. The entries through
which, making in all about nine miles, fully prove what the coal bed
is, averaging four feet ten inches. By an extension of the company's
railroad eight miles, it would strike Lane Coal Bank, which is the
commencement of a bed of coal extending about thirty miles. This
coal has not been worked, but it is probably one of the most extensive
bodies of coal to be found in any country.

South of the Sewanee Mines, near the Anderson depot, on the
Nashville and Chattanooga railroad, is a section which has four coal
seams, and so of a section taken at a point a mile east of the lower
end of Battle Creek, and at the ^tna Mines. In the northern part
of Grundy and in Warren county, the veins are reduced to two, and
the whole volume of the Measures reduced from 360 feet id fifty.

The veins of the Lower Coal Measures are quite variable, irreg-
ular, and often deceptive. They sometimes swell out into lentiform
masses of five, six, seven, and even greater thicknesses, and then
diminish to a mere thin plate. The quality of the coal is not highly
bituminous, generally, but compact, solid, and burns freely. The
(piantity of coal in the Lower Coal Measures is quite large, and
there are some heavy local developments of this coal in the Valley of
the Little Sequatchie Creek, which rises near Tracy City, runs south,
and empties into the Sequatchie River a short distance above Jasper.
In one place the coal is five feet in thickness, and in another locality
it shows itself beneath the cliff nine feet thick, exposing a horizontal
layer for the distance of forty feet. In the Valley of Crow Creek,
near Anderson depot, on the Nashville and Chattanooga railroad, a
bed in the Lower Coal Measures 160 feet below the conglomerate,
from two to five feet in thickness, has been worked, but operations,
except for local demand, have been discontinued at that point. The
(piality of this coal is said to be excellent, being lustrous and laminated
l)y thin scams of mineral charcoal. Some ])yritcs, in seams, occur in
this vein. This vein thickens further south, and in one place in Ala-

Coal. 193

bama it was found to measure seven feet, soon, however, thinning
down to two.

At the head of Little Crow a vein two feet in thickness supplies an
excellent quality of coal. The Valley of Battle Creek supplies a large
amount of coal from the Lower Coal Measures. The shipments by
the Chattanooga railroad from Bridgeport, the point to which all the
coal from that region is sent by the Jasper Branch, amounted for the
year ending June 30, 1873, to 279,480 bushels, of which 270,241
bushels were from the Battle Creek Mines.

The ^tna Mines.

These mines are in Marion county, thirteen miles from Chattanooga,
near the Nashville and Chattanooga railroad, and between it and the
Tennessee River, in what is called Raccoon Mountain. They were
first opened in 1854, and are now worked by J. C. Haselton. The
Upper Measures contain the Walker seam, four feet in thickness; the
Slate Vein, five to six feet, with eighteen inches of slate and coal mixed,
and the Kelly coal, two or three feet — ^the Kelly coal being the lowest.
These veins or beds are all above the upper conglomerate, which is
here simply a sandstone seventy-five feet in thickness. Between this
conglomerate and the lower conglomerate, which is the same that caps
the coal region, are two thin veins of coal, unimportant. Below the
last named conglomerate are four seams of coal. First in order of
descent is the Main ^tna or Cliff vein, the most important bed in the
Raccoon Mountains. It has been often worked and large quantities of
coal taken from it. Twenty feet below these, the intervening strata
being composed of shale, is a vein of coal from one-half to a foot in
thickness.

Two more veins lie below this, from both of which coal has been
taken. In the lowest a bank was opened, which at first was six feet
in thickness, increased to nine, and then fell off to three, showing the
lenticular characteristics of the veins of the Lower Measures. This
jlocality is interesting as showing nine distinct veins, five of which are
jof workable thickness. From this point a very large amount of coal
has been taken from the Lower Measures, peculiar in its structure.
iThe laminse of this coal are separated by seams of charcoal resembling
that made of poplar wood, fuzzy or soft and spongy. The coal is of good
jquality, comparatively free from pyrites, and makes good coke. The
13

194 Resources of Tennessee.

shipments from these mines L ive been as high as 367 cars per month, or
91,750 bushels, but now amount to only forty cars, or 1,200 bushels,
owing to the falling off in demand.

The section at this place, as taken by Dr. Safford, is as follows :

f (8) Sandstone, cap-rock of plateau above the j3Etna Mines 75 feet

(7) SliaU 48 "

(6) Coal, " FFaZArej' Coal;" uniform, good, cubic 4 "

(5) Shale, including sometimes a thin coal, (Cravens) from. ..30 to 40 "
(4) Coal, ^^ Slate Vein;" including a layer eighteen inches thick,

of shale and coal mixed 5 to 6 "

(3) Shale 44 "

(2) Coal, "Kelly Coal;" good, cubical coal, from 2 to 3 "

(I) Fire-clay, from 1 to 2 "

UPPER CONGLOMERATE, simply a sandstone here 75 "

(4) Coal, seam, a few inches.

(3) Shale 30 to 40 "

(2) Coal, seam, ten inches.

(1) Sandy Shale, from 100 to 130 "

LOWER CONGLOMERATE, Cliff Rock of the sections

east of Sequatchie Valley, in which it is included in the Lower
Measures; becomes a well-characterized Conglomerate over the
upper coal (Main ^tna or Cliff Vein) at Gordan's Mines, in
Georgia, doubtless coalesce at some points with the Upper Con-
glomerate, the intervening layers thinning out, from 70 to 100 "

(14) Shale, sometimes wanting, the rock above making the roof

of the coal from 0 to 12 "

(13) Coal, Main ^tna, or Cliff Vein; will average, perhaps 3 "

(12) Fire clay, indurated, contains Stigmaria, often with rootlets

attached; has been made into good fire-brick 1 to 3 "

(II) Shale7 5 to 20 "

(10) Coal, thin ^tol "

(9) Sandstone and Sandy Shale 80 to 120 "

S'^J (8) Shale 0 to 5 *'

(7) Coal, of good quality, usually too thin t^ be mined, from...^ to 2 "

(6) Fireclay 0 to 3 "

(5) Sandy Shale or Sandstone 20 to 25 "

(4) Shale 15 to 20 "

(3) Coal, lowest bed like the last, and banks have been opened

in both ^to3 "

(2) Fireclay 0 to 3 "

(1) Shales and Shaly Sandstones 80 to 150 "

Mountain Limestone Fokmation.

Variegated Shales and Limestones in the Valley of Running
Water.

In the deep gorge made by the Tennessee River, where it cuts its
way through Walden's Ridge, the same presentation of coal veins

s «

O 00

a a

Coal, 195

appears. The one corresponding to the Main jEtna has been worked
to some extent, and the coal shipped by the Tennessee River.

The Vulcan Mines.

These mines are in Marion county, sixteen miles from Chattanooga,
and near the railroad leading from the latter point to Nashville. They
were first opened in 1868. They are worked by Dodge & Eaton, who
employ at present (January, 1874,) sixty-five hands. The product of
these mines for the year 1873, was 365,000 bushels, (eighty pounds to
the bushel,) the market for which is Chattanooga and points south.
Considerable quantities have also been sold to the Nashville and Chat-
tanooga Railroad for use on locomotives.

The seam worked at present is two and a half feet in thickness.
There are three other seams in the mountain that are known, the
largest of which is about three and a half feet thick. The other two
average about ten inches each, though a careful examination would
doubtless show their lentiform character.

Shoal Mines.

These were opened in September, 1873. They lie six miles north-
east from Chattanooga. There are four veins in view ,* the upper one,
four and a half feet thick, is the one worked. When first opened, the
coal from this vein was soft and friable, but became harder as the
entry advanced. The outcrop of the vein is only eighteen inches in
thickness. It swelled out to five and a half feet, and then went to
four and a half feet. It has remained regular afLer reaching that
thickness The dip of the vein is about five deg:33S out-.vards, just
enough to secure good drainage. The mines are not '^zorked at present,
owing to the falling off in the demand for coal. The lowest vein at
this point was worked by the government during the v/ar.

SODDY CrEEX KiNES.

These are in Hamilton county, on Goddy Creek, twenty 2niles above
Chattanooga, and four miles from the Tennessee River. A tram-road
leads down to Soddy Creek, where the coal is dumped into barges and
shipped by the creek to the river, thence to Chattanooga ajid other
points south.

196 Resources of Tennessee.

This coal is regularly stratified, bituminous, and burns freely. At
pres3nt, about twenty-five hands are kept employed, and 150,000 bush-
els p2? month are exported. The mines were not regularly worked
until 1336, when a company of energetic Welchmen leased them for
fifty years, paying a royalty of one cent per bushel. A lump of this
coal -^reighing 3,600 pounds is exhibited on the streets in Chattanooga,
The upper surface for four inches is spumous and shelly, the remain-
der of the block is a stratified hard coal, but not cubical. The vein
is from two and a half to three and a half feet thick.

Sale Ceeek Mines.

Nino miles north-east of Soddy, on Rocky Creek, three miles from
Tennessee Eiver, in an outlying ridge, are the Sale Creek Mines. The
coal from these mines is said to be superior for all purposes. It has
fine welding properties, and is therefore much sought after by black-
smiths. These mines were worked as far back as 1843 ; but little coal,
except for blacksmithing, was consumed in this State at that time. In
1866, Major Thomas A. Brown and Col. John Baxter, of Knoxville,
began to mine the coal fo^ shipment. At present, they are worked
by V/elchmen, who have leased them, as well as the Soddy Mines,
from Cliffc, McRea & Pearl. Thirty miners are employed, all of whom
are interested and lessees. The monthly product is 50,000 bushels.
A trr.ni-rcad conveys the coal to the river, where it is shipped in barges
to points below. Much of it is consumed in the iron works at Chatta-
noog?. The structure of this coal is peculiar. No stratification is
observable, but it has the appearance of having been boiled, and re-
sembbs hardened blocks of boiled pitch. The thickness of this vein
is about four feet.

The Morgan Mines and the mines at Piney are only used for local
purpcocc, and contribute but little to the coal product of the State.
The veirs are from two to five feet i:i thickness. At TvTiite's Creek,
there is a vein five and a half feet thick, which is used for local pur-
poses. At Clear Creek there is a fine development of coal. This
prop arty has recently been purc^iased by Stambaugh, of Youngston,
Ohio, who ccntemplates the erection of a furnace at this points Two
coal veins have been tested, one showing from five to seven feet in
thickness, and the other from two to three feet.

At Richland Creek, below Sale Creek Mines, is a vein of coal
about three feet thick, and another higher up the mountain from four

Coal. 19^

to five feet thick. This property has been recently bought by English
capitalists. From this point southward, the coal lies in veins nearly
horizontal. North of this, the strata are greatly disturbed, the coal
veins forming horsebacks, and sometimes assuming a position nearly
vertical, lying sometimes in great masses, and again thinning out to a
mere wafer.

RocKWooD Mines.

Continuing north-easterly from Sale Creek Mines, we reach the
mines of the Roane Iron Company, situated in Roane county, ninety-
two miles, by land, above Chattanooga, and one hundred and tv/enty
miles by water. This remarkable body of coal was diocovered in
1840, by William Green, an employee of John Brown, the father of
Major Brown, of Chattanooga. Green and William Brown entered
the land shortly after its discovery. The coal was soon thereafter
opened for local purposes, and used by blacksmiths until the pr&perty
was purchased by Wilder & Chamberlain, in 1867. These gentlemen
subsequently induced capitalists to enter into business with them, and
they have increased their capital from $100,000 to $1,000,000. Two
blast furnaces are built at this point, with capacities respectively of
twenty-five and thirty tons per day. The iron ore lies in a contiauous
vein, nearly vertical, about four feet in thickness, and is oupposed to be a
stratum of a synclinal trough which disappears under the Cumberland
Table Land, reappearing in the Sequatchie Valley and in Elk Fork
Valley. The dip of the iron vein is about eighty degrees, 2Jid in-
clined towards the mountain mass. This dyestone vein, or bed, e^-tends
from Alabama to Pennsylvania, running a distance through Tennessee
of 160 miles. Upon the top of many hills it is folded back by Ltsral
pressure so as to resemble a flattened S, A quarter of a mile from this
iron vein, are seen the outcroppings of the coal. The dip of the via^xx
Rockwood seam is thirty-five degrees towards the north-west. This
seam is remarkable for the immense curled masses of coal rolled up
between the " horsebacks," and attaining a thickness of from Gi:.:ty to
one hundred and ten feet. By reason of the " horsebacks," the dip of
the vein is sometimes locally reversed. Three principal entries have
been driven in at this place, designated respectively Banks 1, 2 and 3.

In Bank No. 1, the main entry is 1,200 yards long, with 1,600 yards
of cross entries, and more than a mile of rooms.

Bank No. 2 has a main entry 1,000 feet long, with 675 yards of croae
entries, and 1,200 yards of rooms.

198 Resources of Tennessee.

Bank No. 3 has an entry 500 yards long, but no cross entries.

The outcrop of coal above No. 1, is 2e50 feet; above No. 2, 500
feet ; above No. 3, 75 to 100 feet.

North-west of the furnace, at a distance of 1,200 yards, in the bot-
tom of a small stream that runs down the ravine towards the furnace,
is a remarkable outcrop of coal, over which the water flows for one
hundred yards. It is on this mountain stream that a local thickness
of 110 feet of coal is found. After these thick accumulations, the vein
thins out to a mere thread. The coal has a crushed appearance, and
though well suited for the purposes for which it is employed, will not
bear transportation well. An analysis of this coal, as well as of several
others, will be found further on in this chapter. >

The number of hands employed at the coal mines at Rockwood is
eighty, of which number fifty-four are miners. The daily product is
4,000 bushels, which is brought down by a tram-road to the furnace,
and conveyed by a chute into the stock-room. The fine coal is made
into coke. Forty coke ovens, besides numerous coke pits, are kept
constantly in operation.

The proportions of charges are :

Coal, ...... 1,600 pounds.

Coke, 1,200 pounds.

Ore, 2,200 pounds.

Limestone, ...... 600 pounds.

Seventy-seven of these charges are put in the hot blast furnace,
Rockwood No. 2, in twenty-four hours. There are no shipments of
coal from Rockwood, the whole amount being consumed by the
furnaces at that point, and by the various machine shops. There are
other veins above and below the one worked at Rockwood, and the
supply is practically inexhaustible. All have the same dip, but dis-
turbed by local flexures.

Hooper Mines.

These are on the Little Emory, four miles from the Tennessee River,
aaid htive been worked, for local purposes, for twenty-five years. The |
vein is four feet thick, and the coal is of a very superior quality.

Coal, 199

Wilcox Mining Company.

The property of this company is situated along the north-east line
of Roane county, occupying the south-eastern slope of Walden's Ridge.
It touches the Big Emory River, in which there is always water enough
to float barges and small steamers, into which the coal is dumped from
the cars. The property also includes ten acres upon one of the spurs
(rf Cumberland Mountain, behind Walden's Ridge. In 1866, William
and Edward Small, of Baltimore, bought 1,200 acres of land, and
subsequently added other tracts. These gentlemen worked the prop-
erty until 1869, when they became bankrupt, and the property passed
into the hands of Col. John Baxter. Wilcox Brothers bought the
property in 1870, and it was transferred to the Wilcox Mining Com-
pany in August of the same year. At the time this company took
possession, the facilities for transferring the coal to the river were very
poor, but a narrow gauge road has been built with easy grades. The
coal is lowered from the mine to the track by an incline 1,000 feet
long. The property is now worked by Col. W. J. Betterton.

The following is a general section of the strata in that region, as
made by Prof. Bradley, beginning with the highest beds exposed, and
numbering downwards, while the coal seams are numbered from belo-w
upwards :

1. Shaly and shaly sandstones — mostly covered, 130 ft.

2. Dark clay shales, 8 to 10

3. Hard dark micaceous shale, 1

4. CoALiS^o. 12, \h "

5. Hard black sandy shale, 1 "

6. Covered space — sandy shale at 90 ft., 136 "

t. Thick bedded and shaly sandstones, 16 *'

8. Thick, irregularly-bedded hard sandstone, 21 "

». Soft clay shale, 5 "

10. CoALiS^O. 11, lto2 "

11. Soft fire-clay, 1 to 2 "

12. Sandy shales and thick-bedded sandstone, 35 "

13. Clay shales, partly sandy, 50 to 60 "

14. Hard sandstone 1 to 3 "

15. Coal No. 10, 1 to 3 "

16. Hard fire-clay and soft shales, 6 to 8 "

It. Thin and thick-bedded sandstones, 20 to 30 "

18. Covered — mostly shales, 50 to 60 "

19. Irregular thin-bedded sandstone 16 "

20. Clay shales, partly black, 5 to 10 "

21. Coal iV^o. 9, 1? "

200 Resources of Tennessee.

22. Covered — mostly sandy shales, 50 ft.

23. CoALiVo. 8, "H" "

24. Thick-beded sandstones, 18 "

26. Covered — mostly shales, 45

26. Heavy-bedded sandstone, V2 "

27. Covered — mostly shales, partly sandy, 58 '*

28. Heavy-bedded sandstone, 153 "

29. Covered — probably shales and shaly sandstones, ITl "

30. Heavy and thin-bedded sandstones, 54 "

31. Ferruginous sandy shales, with beds of iron-stone, 90 to 100 "

32. Irregularly-bedded sandstone, 50 to 70 "

33. Covered — sandy shales and iron-stone— p?'o6a6Zy with Coal

jVo. 7, 180 to 200 "

$4. Heavy-bedded sandstone, 40 to 45 "

36. Shales, 30 to 35 "

36. Thick-bedded sandstone, 1

37. Dark drab, compact clay shales, 40 to 45

38. Shaly sandstone, 12 to 15 "

39. Dark drab to black and ferruginous clay shales, 25 to 30

40. QoK\.No. 6, 3to6 "

41. Dark drab clay shale, with some fire-clay, 5 to 6

42. Shaly sandstone, 10 to 15 "

43. Heavy-bedded sandstone, 47

44. Shales, 8 "

45. Heavy-bedded coarse and fine sandstone,... ~ 53

46. Sandy shales, 8

47. Heavy-bedded light colored ferruginous sandstones — part peb-

bly, 5 ^^

48. Soft clay shales, 2

49. Heavy-bedded fine-grained white sandstone, 31

50. Ferny shales — some sandy layers, 40

51. Coal iVo. 5, 3 to 4 "

52. Hard drab shales, 2 to 3 "

63. Heavy-bedded sandstone, mostly conglomeritic. hevel of Coal

]<So. 4, 140 to 150 "

54. Clay shales, part sandy. Level of Coal No. 3, 180

56. Heavy-bedded sand-stone, lower half compact, upper granular,.. 25
66. Gray ferruginous shales, inc^McZzn^' Coal iVb. 2, 170

57. Dark drab compact sandstone, 40 to 50

58. Thin-bedded sandstone, with shaly partings, 45 to 50

69. Shales, including level of Coal No. 1, 150 to 200 "

60. Bluish-drab fossiliferous limestone, 35 to 200

61. Covered — shale or shaly limestone ? 125

62. Cherty limestone, with heavy bands of chert, 160

63. Green and drab sandy shales, 3 to 24

64. Black and drab shale, 26 to 117 "

65. Covered— black shale? • 90 "

64. Red, greenish and yellowish sandy shales, including two bands of

red hematite and a few thin sandstones, 100 to 150

67. Dark reddish and ferruginous shales, say, 500

68. Compact dark-blue limestone, " 100

69. Cherty limestone, part fossiliferous, " 200

70. Dark-drab limestones, part shaly, " 50

Coal.

20I

"Of the above section/' says Prof. Bradley, " Nos. 1 to 59 belong to
the Coal Measures, showing a total thickness of nearly 2,700 feet. This
is a greater thickness than has heretofore been attributed to the entire
Coal Measures in this region ; ^yhile it apparently does not include any-
where near all the formation. There is, however, only a small portion
of the section which has not been measured, as well as estimated, and
I am satisfied that the total is approximately correct in all its essen-
tial parts. It has been very carefully measured. Less attention was
paid to the lower beds, as the section here is of little importance.
Numbers sixty to sixty-two represent the characteristic divisions of the
sub-carboniferous limestones. Numbers sixty-three to sixty-five rep-
resent the "Black Shale" of the West, which is generally accounted
the equivalent of the " Genesee Shale " of New York, and called De-
vonian, though some of its fossils seem more nearly allied to sub-car-
boniferous than to Devonian sj^ecies. Number sixty-six is what Prof.
SafPord, in his recent report on the Geology of Tennessee, calls the
"Dyestone Group," and is mostly the equivalent of the "Clinton
Group" of New York. The included sandstones at base may repre-
sent the "Medina Sandstone" of New York. Number sixty-seven may
also belong to the Medina, though I have preferred to consider it the
upper division of the "Cincinnati Group," to which belong numbers
sixty-eight and sixty-nine. The latter beds are more compact lime-
stones than are usually found in this group. Number seventy appar-
ently belongs to the Trenton Group, though fossils are, as yet, wanting
for proof of the fact.

"All the coal seams, for the vacant numbers, have not yet been found.
Below coal number five, which is the first thick seam yet discovered
at this place, four seams not observed here, have been found at the
jEtna Mines, and it is believed that they all exist on this property.
Number one has not been found. Number two was found and opened
on the outcrop, and thickened from six to eighteen inches. Number
four is the equivalent of the Main JEtna ; it lies fifteen feet below the
conglomerate number fifty-three. Coal number five has been opened
at two points, but not fully tested. This is thought to b« the equiva-
lent of the seam marked G in the Sewanee section. Coal number six
is over four feet thick ; swelis, locally, to five and six feet, and has
yielded a large amount of superior coal. This is the equivalent of the
Roekwood seam, twelve miles south-west, and probably, of the Main
Sewanee. Lumps of coal above number six, are the only indications of
number seven. This seam is said to contain good bodies of coal at

202 Resources of Tennessee.

White's Creek. Number eight and nine have not been distinctly re-
cognized. They are most likely of no practical value. Number ten
shows along Laurel Branch an average thickness of two feet of super-
rior coal."

The upheaved strata, says the same authority, of Walden's Ridge
are, in the main, evidently continuous with the level beds of the val-
ley and mountain back of it. Along a limited space, from the lower
part of Laurel Branch eastward to beyond D'Armond's Gap, a line of
fault runs near the foot of the Ridge, along which the strata are com-
pletely broken off and displaced, the highly-inclined beds of appar-
ently number Torty-five of the general section being thrust under and
against the edges of the nearly horizontal beds of number nineteen(?),
in the Gap. Along Laurel Branch the disturbance is evident, but
slight.

On the north side of the AVest Fork of Little Emory, for half a
'mile from the Gap, number ten has been worked, at various times,
with a reported thickness of from two to three feet ; but the openings
have been abandoned. It is a superior coal, as shown by the analysis
given below. The area of this portion of the seam is limited by the
uplift of Whetstone Mountain beyond it. Still, if the seam were
thicker and more regular, its area would be sufficient for profitable
mining. As we pass eastward, the Valley of East Fork of Little
Emory approaches the line of Whetstone Mountain, and makes num-
ber ten nearly or quite worthless for a mile or more before reaching
the Gap through Whetstone. As the lower and thicker seams must
underlie all this territory, it will become valuable when, in the indefin-
ite future, the coal will pay for so deep mining.

As the valley approaches Whetstone Mountain, it retires from Wal-
den's Ridge, and leaves a large area of number ten upon its south side.
This is partly in Tarkill Ridge, which reaches from 270 to 470 feet
above Little Emory, and partly on the slopes of Walden's Ridge, from
which Tarkill Ridge is separated by the Valley of Machine Branch.
In both these positions it has been worked, with a thickness of from
one to three feet of excellent coal.

The upper seams, numbers eleven and twelve, have been found only
in the higher parts of Tarkill Ridge. It is possible that number
eleven may exist u))on the slopes of Whetstone Mountain ; but this is
not probable. The heavy-bedded sandstone which forms the crest of
Whetstone is apparently one of the beds which lie between number
six and number eight.

Coal. 203

The coal number six is very superior, and is pronounced by Prof.
Wormley, of Ohio, to be the best coal he has analyzed. The high per-
centage of fixed carbon, as indicated by the analysis given below, to-
gether with the fact that it softens very little in the fire, shows that it
could be worked with great profit in furnaces in its raw state. The
percentage of sulphur is also small. The sample analyzed was a full
section from roof to floor. This coal yields, in gas retorts, 4.47 cubic
feet of gas per pound, as certified by the superintendent of the gas
company at Knoxville. The seam, though the equivalent of the
Rockwood, and tilted at a higher angle, has been less disturbed, and
retains its laminated condition. The amount of slack is inconsidera-
ble. The outcrop of this seam is 636 feet above the dump-house, on
the bank of Big Emory. The mine is in the hollow of the mountain,
and the general level of the outcrop along this part of the Ridge is
from fifty to one hundred feet higher. Prof. Bradey thinks this seam
will yield, above the tunnel, 440,000 tons per mile in length of Ridge,
and below the tunnel 380,000 before reaching the centre of the Ridge.

The following is an analysis of coal number six, as made by Prof.
Theodore G. Wormley, of Columbus, Ohio :

Specific Gravity, 1.308

Water 1.50

Ash — light fawn color, T.YO

Volatile matter, 27.70

Fixed carbon — coke compact, 63.10

100.00

Sulphur, 0.53 .

" left in coke, 0.45

Permanent gas per pound, in cubic feet, 3.32

ANALYSIS OF VEIN NUMBER TEN.

Specific gravity, 1.285

Water,... 1.50

Ash — light fawn color, 2.60

Volatile matter, 30.10

Fixed carbon — coke compact, ...■ 65.80

100.00

Sulphur, 0.71

" left in coke, — 0.52

Permanent gas per pound, in cubic feet, 3.32

The product is about 500 bushels jxjr day, and about thirty haad«
are kept employed.

204 Resources of Tennessee.

Oakdale.

The coal at this point is very similar to that found at Rockwood,
twelve miles below, but is not so soft, nor does it slack so readily.
The vein worked is about four feet thick, swelling out sometimes
to five, and then diminishing to two, making what miners call a
" squeeze."

It was opened in the spring of 1873, and the coal is only used for
making iron. The daily product is 1,000 bushels, and thirty hands
are employed in the mines, all Welch. The mines are in Roane
coninty, four miles from Big Emory River, about ten miles from the
Tennessee and six from the Clinch. The coal supply is ample, but a
sufficiency of men has not been employed to keep the furnace running
to its fall capacity.

Poplar Cheek, or Winters' Gap.

Winters' Gap is a complete cut in Walden's Ridge, through which
Poplar Creek finds its way from the Cumberland Table Land to the
Tennessee River. In the Table Land at this place, several veins of
coal have been opened ; the principal one is a seven-foot vein, opened
in 1852, and for many years the coal was shipped therefrom to Knox-
ville and Chattanooga, and to Huntsville, Alabama. It was highly
esteemed as the best coal brought from Tennessee. It is a hard, free-
burning coal, bearing transportation well, and when ignited burns like
a candle. It is nearly free of sulphur. It was formerly shipped down
Poplar Creek in barges. Near the gap is a salt well which was bored
many years since, and deepened by Prof. Estabrook, who erected
works at this point, but died before his plans were perfected. The
well was sunk a thousand feet, and the water yielded eight per cent.
of salt. On the eastern face of Walden's Ridge three jr more seams
of coal are known to exist, and one has been opened, supposed to be
the main Rockwood.

The following diagram will serve to illustrate the topography of this
most interesting spot, and will also give the position of the Red Hem-
atite iron ore vein, with reference to Walden's Ridge and the Cumber-
land Table Land.

Coat.

205

T. Cumberland Table Land.

A. B. C. Horizontal Veins of Coal.

B swells out sometimes seven feet in thickness.

D. Coal in Walden's Ridge, five feet thick.

S. Salt Well.

W. Walden's Ridge.

U. Mineral Springs.

H. Vein of Red Hematite

In the valley, at the foot of the ridge, are found a large number
of mineral springs, consisting of red, black and white sulphur, mag-
nesia,etc. The dyestone vein is here almost on a level with the Valley,
as at Rockwood.

Above this, coal has been mined at Frost's Bottom, on the Moun-
tain Fork of Poplar Creek. There is at this place a large surface
display of Brown Hematite iron ore. The coal is said to be good and
the supply abundant.

It has not been our purpose to enumerate all the points between
Chattanooga and Frost's Bottom, where coal has been seen, but only
such veins as have been worked. There is not a gorge in the moun-
tain throughout the entire distance in which the outcroppings of coal
may not be seen. Along this line at least fifty good coal mines can be
opened. The quantity is enough to dispel any apprehensions of a fail-
ure of supply for centuries.

Coal Ceeek Mines.

These mines are on Coal Creek, in Anderson county, thirty miles
north of the city of Knoxville, on the Knoxville and Ohio railroad.
The Coal Creek Mining and Manufacturing Company owns at this
point 40,000 acres of land, 25,000 acres of which are coal-bearing.

2o6 Resources of Tennessee.

A branch road from the main stem of the knoxville and Ohio railroad
runs through a gorge of Walden's Ridge up to the mines. Between
Walden's Ridge and the Cumberland Mountains at this point, two
streams, Coal Creek running north, and Welding Creek running south,
meet nearly at right angles, and after their confluence pass through the
gap before mentioned. Near the point of their union five companies
are employed in mining coal.

Prof. Bradley, who made a survey of this property in 1872, gives
the position of the strata and a vertical section of the same, which may
not prove uninteresting, inasmuch as his practical skill as a geologist
is well known. He says:

"That portion of the beds which forms the mass of the Cumberland
Mountains, and underlies the included valleys, is approximately level,
showing only slight dips, and these local and irregular. As a whole,
howev^er, I believe there is a slight westward dip of the whole mass.
But in descending the mountain, and approaching the main branches
of Coal Creek, we begin to find the dips increasing gradually and fol-
lowing two principal directions, corresponding with the courses of
Walden's Ridge. Crossing the creek, we find the dips of those por-
tions of the strata which form the Ridge increasing rapidl^j to 60° and
70°, and, at some points, even to 20° beyond verticality. As these
latter portions consist of shales and sandstones, including coal seams,
and corresponding in general appearance with the horizontal strata be-
hind them, it is not surprising that the opinion has obtained, among
persons who have not made careful examination, that they really con-
stitute fragments of the visible horizontal strata, broken off and
dropped on edge. But closer observation shows plainly that along
the Coal Creek waters, at least, no such break has taken place ; while
it is also evident that the rocks along the whole length of the Ridge
are simply the continuation of strata lying below all the horizontal
beds that are exposed on this eastern side of the Cumberland Moun-
tains, bent up in a grand curve by an immense force which acted so
slowly as not to break them ofP. It was the same force which up-
heaved and displaced the rocks of the whole great Appalachian range.
Most of the courses of disturbance follow a general north-east and
south-west trend ; but there are a few cross fractures, one of whick
runs from near Coal Creek up through Wheeler's Gap, and gives di-
rection to that portion of Walden's Rid^. The lower portion of the
Ridge, running towards Winter's Gap, is approximately parallel to
the general trend. The two portions unite, not at a sharp angle, but

Coal. 207

by a gentle curve, accompanied by considerable Avarping of the broad
plates of sandstone, and more or less crushing of the included coal
and other softer rocks. In the more nearly horizontal portions of the
strata, opposite this junction, two or three considerable wrinkles were
developed, which have been encountered as "horsebacks" in the mines
opened at this point. They probably do not run very far under the
mountain. It is fortunate for the miner that the Avaters of Coal Creek
have at this point (the Gap having been located, very probably, by
some cross crack corresponding with the aforesaid wrinkles), cut their
way down through Walden's Ridge, so far as to admit him directly to
the outcrop of one of the principal coal seams, at a level not far from
that of the general drainage outside the Ridge."

The following is the general section of the strata, as given by Prof.
Bradley. The strata are numbered from above downward, and the
coal lettered from below upwards. The only coal now worked is that
marked E, and which, from an examination, appears to dip towards
a central basin at the rate of one and a half inches to the yard. This
seam lies about sixty feet above the creek. It varies from four to
seven feet in thickness, and supplies a good hard cubical coal. It con-
tains, at one point, a band of cannel coal, varying from a mere steak
up to two inches. The other veins have not been drifted into, but Prof.
Bradley is of opinion that of the twenty-one, at least eight are of work-
ble thickness, and will aggregate over thirty feet of coal. He esti-
mates the amount beneath each acre of surface to be 6,250 tons.

GENERAL SKCTIOK OF STRATA AT COAL CREEK.

1. Shales and sandstones, little or no coal 200 ft.

2. Coal, (U) 6 inches.

3. Shales and heavy cliffy sandstones, ~ 80 ft.

4. Coal, (T). 1 to 20inche8.

6. Underclay and sandy shales, 20 ft.

6. Coal, (S) 3i "

Y. Shales, full of irregular ironstone nodules, 10 "

8. Coal, (R) 1 "

9. Shales and sandstones, 10 "

10. Coal, (Q) \\ •'

11. Shales and heavy cliffy sandstone, 20 "

12. Coal, (P) : 2J "

13. Shales, with two or three heavy sandstones, 300 "

14. Coal, (O) 5 to 7 "

15. Shales, with few thin sandstones, 350 "

16. Coal, (N) ?"

17. Shales and sandstones, 110 "

2o8 Resources of Tenriessee.

18. Coal (M). ?

19. Shales and sandstone, 1*^^

20. Coal, (L) 2 5-6

21. Shale 10

22. Coal, (K) 2 1-6

23. Shales and heavy cliffy sandstones, 180

24. Coal, free from (Jj 3^

25. Laminated sandstone, 2"

26. Shales and shaly sandstones, 220

27. Irregular heavy-bedded sandstones, 10

28. Shales and sandstones, 50

29. Black bituminous shales 10

30. Coal, (I) ?

31. Shales and sandstones, thick and thin 160

32. Coal, (H) 2

33. Black slaty shale ?

34. Sandstone and shales 140

35. Black slaty shale 2

36. Coal, (G) 2 to 3

37. Sandstones 40

38. Dark, hard clay shells, with ironstone bands at bottom - 130 to 150

39. Laminated sandstone, shaly below 12 to 15

40. Coal, (F) lA to 2i

41. Shale, clay and coal, interlaminated 1

42. Clay shale 9 to 15

43. Coal, (E) 4 to 8

44. Underclay • 1 to 2

45. Sandy shale.. 4 to 5

46. Thin-bedded sandstone, part shaly 30 to 40

47. Dark drab to black clay shale — ironstone bands 30 to 35

48. Heavy-bedded sandstones 5 to 10

49. Thin-bedded flagging stone 12tol5

50. Clay shales, partly sandy 10

5L Coal, (D) 1^ to 2J

62. Underclay. 2 to 4

53. Hard, dark shale 15 to 20

54. Shales and thin sandstones. 40 to 60

65. Coal, (C) 3 to 4

56. Shales - 12 to 15

67. Thin-bedded shaly sandstones 8 to 10

58. Sandy shales 30to 35

69. Heavy-bedded sandstones 30 to 35

60. Dark, compact clay shales 55 to 60

61. COi&l, — mostly brashy, with six inches of fire-clay — (B) 1^ to 2

62. Dark shrle, sandv belc\/ 15

63. Sa.ids^ione •". 8 to 10

64. Shales 15

65. Sandstone 25

66. Shcles 70

67. Concretionary shales 15

68. Heavy-bedded sandstones 60 to 60

69. Sandstones and shales, including Coal, (A) 200 to 300

70. Limestone, part c her ty • 100 to 200

71. Sandstones and shales, including beds of iron ore

Coal. 209

There are, then, at least twenty-one coal seams in this section.

The coal A is nearly worthless, being intermingled with large
masses of sandstone and shales.

Coal B is thin and worthless, and Prof. Bradley thinks it attains no-
where a sufficient thickness and purity to be of any practical value.

The outcroppings of coal C, in the bed of the stream at the rail-
road bridge, have been covered with rubbish. It is said to be three or
more feet in thickness.

Coal D is not of workable thickness, containing only ten or fifteen
inches of good coal.

Coal E is the vein now worked, and noticed above.

Coal F is from eighteen to twenty-eight inches thick, and though a
good caking coal, is not worth mining.

Coal G shows a thickness of from two to three feet of good coal.
It was once worked to a moderate extent.

Coal H was examined by Prof. Bradley at one point, and showed
two feet of good caking coal.

Coal I is probably the equivalent of the seam mentioned by Dr.
Safford, six or eight miles west of Coal Creek. At the latter point it
is three feet thick, with a parting of three inches of shale.

Coal J showed upon examination three feet of solid coal. It is a
dry, free-burning coal, and well suited to work raw in an iron furnace.

Coals K and L are separated by ten feet of soft shale. The upper
one is workable ; the lower, not. Prof. Bradley thinks it probable
they run together.

Coal M and N were not seen exposed. The latter is thought to be
of workable thickness.

Coal O is from five to seven feet thick, with one heavy shale part-
ing. It lies at a high level, but is valuable.

The coal seams from P to T are found near the top of the mountain.
P and S are of workable thickness where exposed.

Coiil U is thin and worthless.

Five companies are now mining coal at Coal Creek, viz : the Knox-
ville Iron Company, K. E. McEwen & Co., Coal Creek Company,
Black Diamond, and Anderson County Coal Creek Company.
14

2IO Resources of Tennessee.

The Knoxville Iron Comiiany employs fifty-four miners and fifteen
laborers. It ships ten car l(;;rls of coal per day, averaging 250 bush-
els to the car load. The main entry, with cross entries, is about 2,400
yards in length. The coal is shipped to Atlanta, Augusta, and Macon,
Georgia, and sometimes to Charleston, South Carolina. The fine coal
of this company is utilized in the making of coke. This company has
a lease of 360 acres.

The mine of R. E. McEwen & Co., a short distance from the pre-
ceding one, employs thirty miners and eleven laborers. The product
for the year 1873 was 150,000 bushels. The main entry, 900 yards in
length, iS^ driven in at a water level, and the cross entries, dipping one
inch to the yard towards the main entry, will probably aggregate as
many yards as the main entry. This mine is so opened as to drain
itself. The full capacity of the mine is 100 tons per day, or 2,500
bushels. This company has a lease of 250 acres.

The Coal Creek Coal Company employs twenty men. The main
entry is 425 yards long, with cross entries amounting in the aggregate
to 375 yards. The daily product of this mine is five car loads, or
1,250 bushels. This mine is pretty well exhausted, and the company
propose to open a new mine higher up and above the Black Diamond.

The Black Diamond Company has twenty miners and eight laborers.
It began operations on a lease of 250 acres, in January 1873. 125,000
bushels have been taken out. The mines drain themselves. The
main entry is 150 yards long, with 200 yards of cross entries.

The Anderson Coal Creek Company employs twenty-six men, and
the maximum product is ten car loads, or 2,500 bushels per day. The
character of all this coal is the same. These companies, with the ex-
ception of the Coal Creek Company, work under a lease from the
Coal Creek Mining and Manufacturing Company, paying a royalty of
one cent per bushel.

The total product of the mines at Coal Creek, for the year 1873,
was about 75,000 tons. The mines at this point are not worked to
near their full capacity, for while their annual shipments amount to
nearly 2,000,000 bushels, they could easily, with increased demand,
ship 3,000,000 bushels.

The following letter from E. C. Camp will give additional informa-
tion in regard to these mines, as well as an analysis of the coal:

Coal. 2 11

Knoxville, Tenn., December 27, 1873.
Hon. Wm. Morroio, Nashville, Term.:

Dear Sir — The letter from the Secretary of the Bureau of Agri-
culture, addressed to you, and forwarded to us, is received. In answer
to the inquiries therein made, we state, that there are now five banks
ia operation at Coal Creek, mining, together, about 75,000 tons per
annum. Aside from our local demand in East Tennessee, Atlanta,
Augusta, Macon, and all intermediate points of consequence in Georgia,
Lynchburg, Virginia, and points this side, with a considerable trade
at Huntsville and Stevenson, Alabama, and other points on the Nash-
ville & Chattanooga and Memphis & Charleston railroads, with some
shipments to Savannah, Georgia, and Columbia, South Carolina, are,
and in the order in which named, the principal points of shipment.
Price at the banks in winter is ten cents per bushel for lump, nine
cents for mixed, and five cents for slack coal. Some reductions are
occasionally made to manufactui-ers who purchase large quantities, and
to dealers, in summer, who lay in supplies for winter use. Freight
from the banks to Knoxville (thirty miles) is four cents per bushel,
with a reduction of one dollar per car if the coal goes to or beyond
Bristol, Chattanooga or Dalton.

The thickness of the seam will average about five feet, and is of
tolerably uniform thickness. The quality of the coal is almost pre-
cisely the same in all the banks, except the Anderson County Coal
Company, which seems to be a little freer from dirt, and with less sul-
phur than the others. The analysis of the coal from the Coal Creek
Company and the Anderson County Coal Company, (the two banks
■which I represent,) is as follows :

COAL CREEK COAL COMPANY.

Moisture 1.04

Volatile combustible matter 38.87

Fixed carbon i 56.44

Ash 3.65

Total 100.00

Sulphur in 100 parts coke .59

ANDERSON COUNTY COAL COMPANY.

Moisture 99

Volatile combu.stible matter 38 82

Fixed carbon 57.52

Ash 2.67

'I'ot'il 100.00

Sulphur in 100 parts coke 13

212 Resources of Tennessee.

The retail price of coal at Knoxville is eighteen cents per bushel^
delivered.

I believe we have answered fully the questions, and trust it may
prove satisfactory.

Yours, very truly,

E. C. Camp.

ANALYSIS.

Sample of coal taken from vein E, on the property of Messrs^
McEwen & Wiley :

Fixed carbon 57.69 per cent.

Ash 2.55

Volatile matter 37 80 "

Sulphur 1.70

Phosphoric acid 0.25 "

99.99

The future prospects of the mines at Coal Creek are highly flattering.
The coal veins are regular and reliable, and calculations can be made
with certainty. With the opening of the Cincinnati Southern line,
which will connect with the Knoxville & Ohio, the shipments of coal
from this point, as also from Careyville, will be very large.

Wheeler's Station, or Careyville.

At this point, eight miles above, four mines have been opened, with
varying success, viz : The Powell's Valley Mining and Manufacturing
Company, James Kennedy's mine. East Tennessee Coal Company,
and Dr. Hart's mine.

The first of these is not worked at present, owing to some dispute
in reference to the title. The vein is three and a half feet thick, and
the mine was opened in 1869.

The mine of James Kennedy is worked by twenty-two men, with a
daily product of 700 bushels. Tlte main entry is 500 yards long, and
is on a level with the Knoxville & Ohio Railroad. It was opened in
1868.

The East Tennessee Coal Company has met with a series of misfor-
tunes. The first drift, after going 165 yards, struck a fault and was
abandoned. The vein dipped at an angle of ten degrees, and after

Coal.

213

the entry had been driven in twenty-seven feet, the vein jumped twen-
ty-seven feet, nearly perpendicularly. It was, however, worked until
the. fault was encountered.

The second drift goes in 175 feet. The vein dips at an angle of
thirty-five degrees for forty yards, then becomes horizontal or slightly
undulating. Six or eight men only are employed, and the product is
250 bushels per day. It was opened in August, 1871.

Dr. Hart's Mine.

This is now being opened, (January, 1874,) and the vein has a dip
of forty-three degrees downward. It is five feet in thickness, vary-
ing, however, from four and a half to eight feet. The coal is of good
quality, comparatively free of sulphur, and is highly esteemed for
grates, bringing one cent more per bushel in Knoxville than that ob-
tained elsewhere. Where the vein thickens to more than six feet, the
€oal is curled, twisted and rounded, has a crushed, shelly appear-
ance, and does not bear transportation so well as that taken from where
the vein is thinner. The entry has been driven to a depth of 125
feet, with but little variation in the dip. The total product from
Wheeler's Station, for the year 1873, was 368,325 bushels.

The following is a section taken in 1859 by Dr. Saftbrd, and will
serve to illustrate the stratigraphical position of the Coal Measures at
this point. The strata are nearly horizontal, except at the base, where
they dip at a small angle in the mountain, and this dip is increased in
the small spurs that shoot out from the mountain as though the edges
were turned up by lateral pressure :

45. Sandstone, caps the highest points of the mountain 100 feet.

44. Shales and Shaly Sandstones 55

43. Sandstone. 15

42. Shales and thin Sandstones 165

41. Shale 14

40. Co&lf a fine exposure, contains a six-inch seam of black shale, but

otherwise pure cubic coal 6

39. Shale 40

38. Thin Saiidstones and Shales; these rocks are in the gap through

which the path leads from Wheeler's across to Beech Creek 155

37. Shale 45

36. Sandstone 37

35. Shale and Sandy Shale 74

34. Coal, fiiifi outcrop, (may be six feet) 4

33. Shale and thin Sandstones 40 to 60

214

Resources of Tennessee.

32. Sandstone 60 to 80 fcet.

31. Shale 50

30. Coal, outcrop 1

29. Fire-clay 1 'o 2

28. Shale 50 to HO

2Y. Sandstone 60 to 90

26. Shales 130

25. Shales, -with, clay Ironstones 20

24. Coal, outcrop 1

2.S. Shale 6

22. Coal, outcrop at a large " lick " on Beech Creek side, may be a five

or six-foot coal 3

21. Shale 50 to 80

20. Sandstone 50

19. Shales, mostly lOO to 120

18. Sandstone 75 to 100

17. Shale 45

16. Coal, outcrop, with shaly parting of three inches 3

15. Shale and Sandstones, shales predominating. 190

14. Sandstone 50 to 80

13. Shale 20

12. Coal 3

11. Shale, with clay Ironstones 25

10. Sandstone 25

9. /SAaZ«, heavy, thickness uncertain, say 110

8. Shale and ''black slate" 10

7. Coal, outcrop 1

6. Shale and Fire-clay 4

5. Shale 5

4. Coal, with a three-inch parting in upper portion 5

3. '' Black Slate," coni&\r\^ Stigmaria, y/'xth rootlets — 3

2. Shale and Fire-clay, with Sligmaria 6

1. Sandy Shale, (foot of mountain) 30

The entire thickness of the strata in the section above, is about
2,100 feet.

A section taken at Tellieo Mountain by F. Chavannes, civil engi-
neer, shows great richness in coal. Tellieo Mountain lies on the north-
western side of Elk Fork Valley, which valley has a great fault run-
ning through it. The Coal Measures lie north-west of this fault.

11. Shales, Slate, etc., a portion not defined; contains a bed of Coal not
located ; a heavy series at the top of Tellieo Mountain, with a
maximum tliicknesH, according to Chavannes' sections, of not less
than 600 fiet.

10. Sandstone, compact, forms cliffH, about 90 "

9. Shales and Flaggy Sandstones ; "contains, I think, a three and a half

feet Coal Seam" 50 "

Coal. 2 1 5

8. Micaceous Flaggy Sandstones, Shales, Flaggy Sandstone 80 "

7. Shales and Slate, and very probably a valuable Coal Bed 100 "

6. Flaggy Sandstone, Shales, Flaggy Sandstone; contains Coal

Seams 250 "

5. Slate, Coal one and a half feet thick, Slate, Sandstone, Coal two feet,

Slate, Grit, Shales, Slate, Grit 120 "

4. Coarse Micaceous Sandstone 200 "

3. Slaty Grit on top, Shafes, Slate, Yellow Shales 80 "

2. Slaty Grit on top, Shales eight feet, Slate, probably a four feet Coal

Bed, Shales 50 "

1. CONGLOMERATE, quartzose, thickness unknown. This outcrops
in the Elk Fork Valley on the northwest side of the Fault. Mr.
Chavannes, without giving any especial reason, says: "This rock
is evidently higher in the series than the Conglomerate on the top
of Pine Mountain." I know of no reason why it may not, provis-
ionally, at least, be regarded as the same.

Measures of Tellico Mountain, 1,620 feet, approximately.

Poplar Creek, Frost Bottom, Morgan Mines and Piney are only
used for local purposes at present, though some of them will go into
active business in a short time.

In regard to the northern portion of this great Tennessee coal field,
it may be said that some of the beds which have been opened
for local purposes, show coal of good quality. The want of transpor-
tation has suppressed development. In White, Cumberland, Morgan,
Putnam, Overton, Fentress, and Scott are many fine exhibitions of
coal, especially where the streams have gashed the mountain top.
Coal has been mined for local purposes in all these counties. On Clifty
Creek, in White county, and on Caney Fork are some fine presenta-
tions of coal. Much of the coal in White county is below the con-
glomerate. In Calf Killer Valley are several seams of three and four
feet in thiclgiess. No extensive mining has been done in this portion of
the coal region, and until means of transportation are afforded, this
great undeveloped wealth will remain valueless. A minute geological
survey of this region would be exceedingly valuable, in an industrial
point of view, to the State. Our purpose, in this report, is accom-
plished when we direct attention to such things as directly affect our
agricultural interests. That the erection of manufacturing establish-
ments would stimulate agriculture, and multiply the profits of the
farmer, is not to be doubted. The evidence of this is seen in the
erection of Rockwood Furnace. Before it was built, the farmers in the
vicinity of the spot relied chiefly upon their corn crops for a supply of
money. Those remote from the river could not even rely upon that

21 6 Resources of Tennessee.

staple, for hauling it over a mountainous country was such a tax as to
devour all the profits. Now, it is not uncommon to see, at one time,
a hundred wagons in E,ockwood loaded with chickens, turkeys, beef,
butter, eggs, flour, corn meal, hay, oats, corn, etc. Twenty-five hun-
dred barrels of flour, 15,000 bushels of corn-meal, and 15,000 pounds
of bacon are consumed in a place that, six years ago, was an untamed
forest. Lands and rents in the neighborhood have advanced. The
valleys are crowned with orchards and gardens, with corn and wheat ;
schools have sprung up; population is crowding in; the quiet and
gloom of the forest have been transformed into the glory of the field
and the bustle and activity of a manufacturing town. A thousand
such towns could be built in our coal regions, and the crops of the
farmers be made to yield a remunerative return for their labor. As for
the facilities which this region ofiers for the establishment, not only of
manufactories of iron, but of cotton, wool and lumber, there can be
no question. Contiguous to the cotton fields, in a region where sheep
flourish and thrive upon the mountain grasses almost the entire year,
and where timber of almost every variety abounds, such as walnut,
poplar, oaks, hickory, ash, and maple, and where, too, the most
health-inspiring breezes, free from malaria, invigorate and animate the
physical frame ; with an unlimited supply of coal and iron ore, it will
be an anomaly in the history of industrial progress if this elevated
region of Tennessee, does not become the seat of extensive manufactu-
ring establishments. Nature has ordained it, and capital and labor
cannot long resist it.

J. P. Leslie, accounted one of the best geologists in Pennsylvania,
says of this region :

"The juxtaposition of this Upper Silurian iron ore in East Tennessee,
with the beds of the Coal Measures, is a striking phenomenon, but one
not peculiar to that region. We have before spoken of the great
downthrow faults which have brought this result about — faults which
run in straight lines for several hundred miles from Alabama to mid-
dle Virginia. It is to these faults that we owe the existence of the
Cumberland V Mountain Range, and the preservation of the coal beds.
Before these faults took place, the coal was elevated 10,000 to 20,000
feet above the level of the sea, on a plateau covered with eternal snow
and ice. When this plateau was cracked along parallel lines running
east-northeast and west-southwest, intermediate sections of it dropped
to about 3,000 feet above the tide level. The sections which retained
their altitude have been eroded of all their Coal Measures, and of the

Coal. 2 1 7

formations bciieatli the Coal ]\[easures, as far down as the fossil ore.
Thus, on two sides of eaeh crack the ore and the coal lie facing each
other. GeologicaUy, thev were separated by an iniinense interval.
GeographicaUy, they are now but a few furlongs, sometimes but a few
yards, apart.

The Coal Measures also have been preserved by the vertical drop of
the Cumberland Mountain, almost in their total original thickness.
There are nearly 3,000 feet of vertical Coal Measures west of Knox-
ville. This is in strong contrast with the state of things in Pennsyl-
vania. Our lowest coal beds are well known to run along the summit
of the Alleghany Mountain Range, (which is the northern prolongation
of the Cumberland Mountains of the southern states), and the coal
basins which lie behind the Alleghany Mountains in Lycoming, Clear-
field, Centre, Cambria, and Somerset, are comparatively shallow,
never containing more than the lower 1,000 feet of the whole forma-
tion, and often not more than enough to take in the first, or the first
and second coal beds. The Pittsburg bed, and the Upper Coal Meas-
ures, are not preserved to us except in the low country of the Monon-
gahela and Ohio River Valleys.

But in Tennessee, the lowest coal bed comes to the surface at the
very roots of the mountain, as if it came out in the workshop grounds
at Altoona, or in the Susquehanna river bed at Williamsport and
Lockhaven ; and along these slopes, at intervals from the base of the
mountain to its crest, run horizontal outcrops of numerous coal beds.
It is true none of them are very thick ; the largest one yet discovered
being seven or eight feet thick. But the sum total of mineral fuel
preserved for the use of the inhabitants of the south is practically in-
finite. Every valley and ravine that issues from the plateau lengthens
the outcrops and facilitates access to the beds. In course of time, a
thousand collieries wdll be started in the mountain, and a thousand iron
works established on the ores at its foot ; a thousand villages, towns
and cities will grow up in the broad limestone plain before it; a thous-
and factories and mills will make these towns hum with life, and all
this life will base itself on the mountain coal thus wonderfully pre-
served from destruction by throes of the earth in ancient days, which
would have obliterated every trace of human life from the continent,
had the divine invention of human life been made."

2i8 Resources of Teiuiessee,

Peoduct.

The following table will give the monthly product of coal for the
various mines now in operation :

Sewanee 390,000 Bushels Per Month.

Vulcan 30,000

vEtna 12,000 " "

Battle Creek and mines above 23,920 " " "

CoalCreek- 156,250 " " "

Wheeler's Station 30,694 " " "

Soddy 15,000

Sale Creek 50,000 '

Rockwood 104,000 " " •'

Wilcox Mining Co 13,(l00 " " "

Oakdale... 26,000 "

Shoal Mine 10,000 " for 1873.

This shows a monthly product of about 833,000 bushels, or about
10,000,000 bushels annually.

The United States census reports of 1870 give the total amount of
coal raised for the year which the census returns embrace as 3,335,-
450 bushels, or 277,871 bushels per month, so that it appears the coal
product has trebled in three years. In the estimate made, we do not
include those mines that are worked only for local uses, which was
done by the census takers. The entire amount mined in 1854 was
247,400 bushels, in 1855 this was increased to 571,952 bushels.

The quantity of coal which the Coal Measures of the State will sup-
ply, has been estimated equal to a block one hundred miles long, fifty
miles wide, and eight feet thick. Assuming that a ton is equivalent to
one cubic yard, we have, within the boundaries of the coal fields of
Tennessee, 42,127,360,000 tons; and this is not an over-estimate. If
this were made into a solid bar, one hundred yards wide and thirty
yards thick, it would pass through the earth at the eqtiator.

There can be no more deceptive statement, remarks Mr. McFarlane,
which may be at the same time true, than that of the area of the coal
field only. Kansas has more square miles of coal than Pennsylvania;
yet, one little bed in the latter State, five miles long and less than one
wide, is worth more than all the coal in Kansas. The coal fields of
Missouri, Nebraska, and Kansas cannot be compared, except in size, to
the great Allegheny coal fields, a large portion of which is included in
Tennesssee, The coal in the latter is better, more abundant, more ac-
cessible, and the veins more reliable than in the trans-Missiseippi Coal
Measures.

Coal.

219

The following table will show the various analyses of such eoals as
have not been given elsewhere :

NAME OV MINE.

Grundy ..
Grundy...
Grundy ..
Grundy...
Marion ...
Marion....
Marion ...
Marion ...
Marion ....
HHmilton
Hamilton

Roane

Roane ....

Roane

Rhea

Anderson

Sewanee

Upper Seam

Lower Seam

^tna

N'r Chatt'nooga

Sale Creek

Baxter's Mine...
Hoane Iron

Manuf'g Co..
BHxter'a Mine...

Kimbrough's

Gillenwater's. ..
Coal Creek.

F. Zwicke

W. M. Stewart..

R. 0. Curry

Yaryan

W. M Stewart..
W. M. Stewart.
W. M. Stewart..
W. M. Stewart.,
Dr. J. J. Pohle.
T. Sterry Hunt
W. M. Stewart.
T. G. Wormley.

Unknown

T. G. Wormley.

Troost

IVoo.st

R. O. Curry....

VOLATILE
MATTEH.

(;5.50
59.38
79.56
68.50
59.50
5(i.50
49.50
65.00
74.20
68.90
56.75
65 80

76.89
68.10
71.00
69.00
82.00

29.00

84.:'l()

14 21
29.90
88.00
41.50
43. 0«
82.50
21.89
26.80
40.75
31.60

16.50
28.20
17.00
14 00
10.00

5.50
6.12
6.25
6.60
2.50
2 50
7 50
2.50
4.40
9.30
2.50
2.65

3.46

7.70
12.00
14,00

7.00

In the preparation of this article, free use has been made of the ex-
cellent Geological Rejwrt of Dr. SaflPord, of the surveys made by
Prof Bradley, and the Coals of America, by James McFarlane, A. M.,
D. Appleton & Co., New York. To Mr. McFarlane we are also in-
debted for the beautiful map of our coal regions which accompanies
this article. It is copied from the Geological Map of Tennes.<ee. The
plate was electrotyped at Mr. McFarlane's expense, and forwarded to
the Secretarv of this Bureau.

2 20 Resources of Tennessee.

CHAPTER XI V

Iron.

Iron has not been inaptly termed the world's great civilizer — the
mother of all the useful arts. The consumption of it measures the
progress of civilization, as the manufacture of it measures the progress
of wealth. Its law of development is traceable to the same agencies
that spread population, enterprise, intelligence and learning through-
out the world. Those nations that have ascended the highest in the
scale of civilization and refinement, and have made the greatest ad-
vances in industrial enterprises, are precisely those who have consumed,
per capita, the largest amount of iron. In 1855, the annual production
of iron throughout the world was 7,000,000 tons.* Of this amount,
Great Britain produced 3,500,000 tons, and the United States 1,000,000
tons. The consumption of Great Britain at that period was 144 pounds
per capita ; of the United States, eighty-four pounds ; while the con-
sumption of the world was only seventeen pounds per capita. Since
1855, the production of iron has been doubled, reaching in 1872, 14,-
000,000 tons ; and the consumption has kept pace with the production,
England now consuming 200 pounds per head, the United States 150
pounds, and the whole world thirty pounds. Should the whole world
require as much iron as the United States per capita of population,
the production will have to be increased to 70,000,000 tons, or five
times the (puintity at present made.

This country has been the only one in the world that has kept pace
with Great Britain in the ratio of increase in the production of iron.
When the latter country produced 3,500,000 tons, we produced 1,000,-
000. In 1872, her product was 7,000,000 tons, and ours was 2,830,-
070 net tons, or nearly one-half the product of Great Britain. The

»M:iiiy of thenc flKurcs are derived from an addreee by Abram Hewitt, before tlie American Philo-
•ophicHl Society, New York.

Iron.

221

number of furnaces in operation in that year was 594, and this num-
ber was increased in 1873 to 636. Tlie production of iron for the last
named year in the United States was 2,695,434 tons, a slight falling
off. If the financial crisis had not oncrffred, the production of 1873
would have reached 3,000,000 tons.

The following table will show the production of pig metal in the
United Kingdom of Great Britain and in the United States in the fol-
lowing years :

Ybak.

U. Kingdom.
Tons.

U. States.
Ton?.

17,350

68,300

125,079

25«,2(l6

325,000
368,000
581,367
690,500

678,417

700,000
1,000,000
1,347,790
1,248,871

1,512,500

1,999,508

53,900

130,000
142,000

191,636
200,000
225,000
270,000
230 000
286,903
215,000
486,000
765,000
800,000

Yeak.

U. Kingdom.
Tons.

1850

18.V2
1854
1855
1856
18.57
1858,
1859
1S60,
1861
1862.
1863
1864.
1865.
1866.
1867
1868.
1869
1870
1871
1872,
1873

2,700,000
3,069,838
3.218,154
3,586,377
3,659,477
3,450,064
3,712,904
3,826,752
3,712,390
3,943,469
4,610,040
4,767,951
4,819,254
4,523 897
4,761,023
4.970.206
5,555,757
5,963,515
6,627,179
7,000,000

U. States.
Tonp.

564,755

"736,248

784,178

883,137

798,157

705 094

810,627

987,559

731,544

787,662

947.604

1,135,497

931,582

1.350,933

1,461 626

1,603,000

2,046,124

1,850,000

1.9'i0 000

2,830,070

2,695.434

The quantity produced in the United States was from twenty-one
states. The estimated annual capacities of all the furnaces in the
United States are 4,371,277 tons net.

Of the amount produced in the United States for 1873, it is esti-
mated that Tennessee produced about 50,000 tons. In 1855 the pro-
duction went beyond this, and was so far in excess of the demand that
many of the furnaces were abandoned, and have never been rekindled.

We propose, in this chapter, to give a succinct account of our iron
fields, the facilities which the State affords for the production of iron,
and the cost of its manufacture, together with the munber of furnaces
now in blast.

2 22 Resources of Tennessee.

Iron Belts.

There are four distinct iron belts or areas in the State of Tennessee,
occupying in whole or in part forty-four counties, excluding the Cum-
berland Table Land.

1. TJie Eastern Iron Belt. Extends through the State, and lies
mainly in front, and at the base of the Unaka Range of Mountains.
It reaches beyond the limits of the State, to the north-east into Vir-
ginia, and to the south-east into Georgia.

2. The Dyestone Belt. Skirts the eastern base of the Cumber-
land Table Land, or of Walden's Ridge, from Virginia to Georgia ;
spreads out laterally from ten to twenty miles into the Valley of East
Tennessee ; the Sequatchie and Elk Valleys are included. This belt
reaches far to the north-east beyond the limits of the State, and to the
south-west into Georgia and Alabama.

3. TJie Cumberland Table Land. Co-extensive with the Coal Meas-
ures of the State, and extending into Kentucky and Alabama. The
ores in this are inferior, being clay iron-stones, and black bands that
have never been used for the making of iron in this State, but form
by far the largest amount used in England. In Pennsylvania and
Ohio, they are of great value. We have not included the counties of
the Table Land among those containing iron ore, for the reason that
there is some doubt whether the ore exists in workable quantities.

4. The Western Iron Belt. Lies west of Nashville, or say west of
the Central Basin ; is mainly between the latter and the Tennessee
River, though extending a few miles in some counties west of the
river. Northward it reaches into Kentucky.

The Eastern Iron Belt.

This belt embraces the extreme eastern tier of counties, viz : John-
son, Carter, Washington, Greene, Cocke, Sevier, Blount, Monroe,
McMinn and Polk; to these we may add Sullivan, which adjoins this
belt on the north-west.

Along the North Carolina lijie is a great double range of mountains,
constituting one of the natural divisions of the State, and denominated
the Unukas. Tliis range of mountains consists of several long, high,
parallel ridges, intersected by deep cuts or chasms, through which the

T i

Iron, 223

Watauga, NoHchucky, French Broad, Big Pigeon, Little Tennessee,
Hiwassee and Ocoee Rivers flow out of North Carolina and Georgia,
into this State. A part of this range is called Smoky Range. The
ore banks of the Eastern Iron Belt lie mainly to the north-west of
this Smokv Range, some of them, however, occurring in the valleys
and covefi between the more westerly ridges.

The most important ore found is what mineralogists call lAmonite^-^
a compound of iron, one form of wliich, common iron-rust, is well-
known. In nature it is found in all su:ts of forms, sometimes as yel-
low powder, w^hich, when mixed with clay, is "yellow ochre;" some-
times as a porous sponge-like mass, called honey-comb ore; again in a
compact, hard stane-like condition. It not unfrequently occurs in cu-
ricus ctalactitie forms, and often in hollow balls, or " pots." In all
these forms, however, it retains the simple chemical composition of
ordinary iron-rust. That composition, when the mineral is pure,, that
is to say, when there is no clay, or sand, or other foreign substance
mixed with it, which by the way is usual, is in percentage numbers as
follows :

Iron 59.92

Oxygen 25.68

Water 14.40

10000

It contains, therefore, when pure, very nearly 60 lbs. of iron to the
hundred. Practically, owing to the presence of impurities, and losses
in the reduction, it never yields so much.

The purest possible Limonite, or Browm Hematite, cannot possibly
contain more than sixty per cent, of pure iron, the assertions of min-
eral enthusiasts to the contrary notwithstanding.

This ore does not occur in regularly stratified beds like the Dyestone,
to be mentioned, nor in true veins like many other metalliferous min-
erals, but is met with in irregular masses of all sizes, from small lumps
(shot ore) up to blocks ten or fifteen feet in diameter. The matrix is
composed of clay, gravel and decomposing rock. A spot of ground,
(it may be a knoll, part of a ridge, or part of a mountain slope,) in
which the ore is discovered by digging, is called a bank. A bank may
be defined to be an area beneath which lies a considerable depth of

*Limoiiite is derived from a Greek word, signifying meadows, iiecanse this ore ■vras first found in
boggy or inarsliy places. The term includes both bog ore and brown hematite.

2 24 Resources of Tennessee.

clay, sand and rocky debris, interspersed with which iron ore (Limo-
nite) is to be found in greater or less quantity, the ore presenting itself,
as stated, in irregular masses of all sizes up to blocks as large as rail-
road coaches. The banks differ much in quantity of ore — some are said
to be rich ; others are poor, requiring the removal of much foreign
matter; others, again, are little else than clay and debris — all require
the removal of more or less dead matter before the ore can be ob-
tained. In many banks great excavations, mostly open to the day,
have been made, into which large buildings might be tumbled. The
banks, although in some cases a hundred feet in depth, are superficial
formations, and rest upon stratified limestones, shales, and other
rocks. As may be inferred, mining in such banks is rather an uncer-
tain business, both as to the quantity and the exact position of the ore.
Nevertheless, the best of them yield an abundance of mineral.

In a given valley, or on a given ridge, there may be from one to a
dozen banks, the latter of any length from a hundred yards to a mile.
In the Eastern Belt, banks occur in all the counties. Johnson and Car-
ter contain many of them, some of which are exceedingly valuable.
In Greene county there are very good banks. Two large furnaces
have been erected in this county since the war, and are doing a good
business. The ore yields from forty to fifty per cent, of tough grey
iron.

Limonite, as has been stated, is the principal ore of this belt. In
addition to this, the black ore of iron, 3Iagnetite* of the mineralogists,
occurs at one point at Crab Orchard, near the North Carolina line in
Carter county. How much of this there may be we are not able to state.
Much excellent bar iron has been manufactured from it in a common
bloomary. In Sullivan county, in addition to the Limonite banks, are
veins, or banks of red ores. Hematites. -f The Crockett and Sharp banks
afford this variety, and are capable of supplying much good ore. In
McMinn county is a remarkable deposit of stratified red ore, which, on
account of its proximity to the Unaka Range, we include in the Eastern
Belt. This is Hill's Bank. The ore is a stratified, fosiliferous rock,
miu^h like the ore of the Dyestone Belt, to be mentioned. This bed
of ore is noticeable from the fact that it belongs to the Lower Silurian
series, while the Dyestone belongs to the Upper Silurian. The main
deposit is a third of a mile or more in length, and at some points fifty
or sixty feet wide.

*Maf,'"Ptito takes its name from the property the ore has of being attractable by the magnet,
tllemitite c >rne(» from a Greek word fijjnifyinL; blood, because of the blood like color of the iro»
ore. The term brown Uematite us, applied to limonite, would appear to bo a mixuomer.

Iron. 225

The Tellico ores in Monroe county are varied. The Limonite is most
abundant, but there are a few localities where the Hematite and Mag-
netite are found. The Hematite ore is so compact that blasting powder
is used in raising it. It is very pure, having a few seams of yellow and
white ochre.

Shot ore is likewise found in this vicinity. Donelley's Bank is the
name of the principal deposit of this ore. A tunnel has been driven
into a ridge, and for a while large quantities were taken out that
yielded in the furnace fifty per cent.

Many years ago the immense masses of brown Hematite which cap the
copper veins at Ducktown, in Polk county, attracted the attention of
iron men. Many attempts were made to work it, but the small per-
centage of copper ore present made the iron worthless. Time may
develop processes by which it can be made available, but at present
the quality of iron is what is called " red short," and is almost worth-
less for any practical purposes.

There are now in operation, or temporarily suspended, five furnaces
in the Eastern Iron Belt ; one in Carter county, one in Washington,
two in Greene, and one in Johnson. The quantity of iron made is
small, on account of the inadequacy of railroad facilities. While the
quantity produced in this region will not exceed 10,000 tons annually,
the capacity of the furnaces is equal to the production of 15,000 tons.
This charcoal cold-blast iron is very superior. Its chilling properties
are just such as to make it most suitable for the manufacture of car
wheels, and nearly all the iron made in this region is consumed in
Knoxville and other points for that purpose. It has been pronounced
equal to the best made anywhere for car wheels, axles, locomotive tires,
and, indeed, everything in which toughness, elasticity and strength are
required. A fair test was also given to this iron at West Point, for
armory purposes, and proved entirely satisfactory.

The Dyestone Belt.

This belt of iron ore is remarkable for its length and richness.
It skirts the eastern base of the Cumberland Table Land, and extends
in our State from Chattanooga to Cumberland Gap, a distance of one
hundred and sixty miles. The following counties, or parts of them, are
embraced within this belt: Hancock, Claiborne, Grainger, Union,
Campbell, Anderson, Roane, Rhea, Meigs, James, Bradley and Ham-
15

2 26 Resources of Tennessee.

ilton. As before stated, the li^lt includes the Sequatchie and the Elk
Fork Valleys, which places parts of Marion, Sequatchie and Bledsoe
counties within its area.

The chief ore of this belt is a stratified red iron-rock, called at many
points Dyestone, being sometimes used for dyeing purposes. It is highly
fossiliferous. Like a limestone, or a bed of coal, and unlike the Limo-
nite of the Eastern Belt, it occurs in layers. Its quantity, in any given
locality, can therefore be estimated, and the result of a given amount
of mining can be calculated with some precision. As a mineral species,
the ore is a variety of Hematite, which in plain English is blood-stone,
the word referring to the color of the ore. If we take common iron-
rust and burn it, we obtain a red rust, the change being brought about
by the expulsion of water simply. Common brown or yellow iron-
rust is then Limonite, the same burned is red Hematite. By the burn-
ing more than fourteen per cent, of water is expelled. The composi-
tion of Hematite is as follows :

Iron TO

Oxygen... .o 30

100
One hundred pounds of the pure ore might be made to yield seventy
pounds of iron, but, as in case of Limonite, the impurities defeat this
maximum production. In practice from forty to fifty per cent, (and
rarely sixty) may be regarded as good work. The ore usually soils the
fingers readily. At some points it is hard and is quarried out in blocks;
occasionally it is soft and easily crushed. The impurities in it are
sandy and argillaceous matter and carbonate of lime. Originally much
of it contained limestone matter, this having been in the course of ages
leached out, leaving red layers as we now find them.

One, and, at many points, two or more layers of Dyestone outcrop
at the eastern base of the Table Land, almost without a break, through-
out its whole extent from Virginia to Georgia. Also in many of the
minor ridges, lying from one to a number of miles from the Table
Land but running parallel with its eastern border, are other outcropping
layers. The latter will perhaps, in the aggregate, equal an outcrop ex-
tending continuously through the State and following the direction, as
above, of the outline of the Table Land. In addition there are lines
of outcrops in Sequatchie and Elk Fork Valleys. Elk Fork Valley is
in the extreme north-western part of Campbell county.

One of the richest deposits of this ore occurs within a few hundred

Iron. 227

yards of Cumberland Gap, and extends without a break twenty miles
along the mountain and is half a mile in width. It forms a reg-
ular stratum of AValden's Ridge, four feet beneath the surface and
varies from eighteen inches to three feet in thickness. This stratum
is jiarallel with the slope of the ridge, and forms a complete sheet or
shield, with an overlying stratum of clay, sand, and gravel. The ore is
raised with powder and thrown out in large broad sheets. It is here
very hard and massive. The whole cost of raising; this ore at Cum-
berland Gap, and depositing it in the bridge loft ready for smelting, is
one dollar per ton. This fact will be appreciated by the reader when
he reflects that ores delivered ready for smelting in the Pittsburg fur-
naces cost from ten to twelve dollars per ton. On the spurs which shoot
out from the Cumberland Table Land, are deposits of Limonite iron ore
of superior excellence, yielding from the furnace fifty per cent. This
ore caps the hills, forming a ledge with intermingling gravel from six-
teen to eighteen feet in thickness. Some of these beds are said to have
an unusually small quantity of dead matter. In other places in the
same vicinity are said to be deposits of the black oxide, and silicious
iron ore, which have never yet been tested in a furnace.

Limestone for flux, and sandstone for hearths, are found all through
the Dyestone region. Coal, too, abounds in juxtaposition to the iron
ore, though preference, until the establishment of Rockwood Furnace,
was given to charcoal, for the manufacture of which there are ample
supplies of timber. Until the erection of Rockwood Furnace, since the
war, stone coal had neyer been used in this State for the smelting of
iron.

Very fine deposits of this Dyestone ore occur in the Half Moon
Island region, both on the Island and on the mainland. Being on the
riyer, it is easily transported at small cost to Chattanooga and other
points. Before the war a large furnace was in operation at Chatta-
nooga, which used the ore from this region.

But we cannot pretend, within the limits of this chapter, to point out
all the advantages which this region affords for the manufacture of
iron, or to enumerate all the exposures of ore. What has been said is
sufiicient, perhaps, to give a general idea of the facts. The thickness
of the layers varies from a few inches to four and fiye feet, sometimes
swelling out locally from eight to ten.

So far we have spoken of the Dyestone as occuring in Tennessee ;
but it has a great range outside of the State. It extends south-west-

228 Resources of Tennessee.

ward through the north-west corner of Georgia far into Alabama, and is
represented by several lines of outcrops. It is the Red Mountain ore
of Alabama, and has yielded many hundred tons of iron in that State.
To the north-west it extends into Virginia, and indeed through it,
reaching into eastern Pennsylvania, where it is extensively reduced in
splendidly appointed furnaces.

The layers of ore are attended with shales and thin sandstones,
which, with the ore, make up the Dyestone Group or formation. This
is a part of the Niagara geological series. The Dyestone Group is often
associated, in the ridges, with two other formations, the Blach Shale
and the SUicious Group, both of which lie above it. The three make
a trio of formations often met with.

Prior to the war there were in the Dyestone Belt five blast furnaces
and fifteen bloomaries. The quality of the iron made was excellent.
Soon after the end of the war attention again began to be directed to
the dyestone beds, and it was not long before a new era in iron making
was inaugurated in a portion of the belt, by the building of a superior
furnace in Roane county at Rockwood.

At thts place are now erected two furnaces, only one of which is in
blast. The burning of the gas in the furnace, heats the boilers and
makes the steam. These furnaces were built under the superintend-
ency of Gen. J. T. Wilder, whose communication to the Bureau of
Agriculture, included in this chapter, will be read with increased inter-
est as the wonderful resources of this iron belt are made known.

We have already said that the Dyestone Belt lies at the very base of
the Coal Measures. Here, then, we have, sandwiched, coal, iron ore,
limestone and sandstone, the latter suitable for hearths. This circum-
stance adds much to the interest of this region. Nothing is lacking to
make it one of the most famous metallurgical centres in America but
facilities for transportation, capital and enterprise. The Cincinnati
Southern railroad has already been prospected, and the route surveyed
through this iron belt. It is understood that $10,000,000 have been
subscribed, and doubtless in a short time the iron horse, with its civil-
ized shriek, will run over beds of ore as rich and as exhaustless as any
that exist on the continent. A chain of fiery furnaces will then be
built that will illumine the whole eastern margin of the Cumberland
Table-land. The light of one will reflect back the light of another.
The wilderness of the forest will be replaced by enterprising industry,
and there will gather along this line busy communities. Flourishing

Iron. 229

towns will spring ii]>, in which manufacturers from the colder regions
of the north will rear their establishments for the fabrication of fire-
arms, cutlery and farming implements. Under the shadow of the
mountains a new empire of industry will spring up, in which there will
be no idlers. AVith the creative power of coal the iron rocks that have
slumbered for unknown ages beneath the surface will be fashioned into
articles of utility and value. Ponderous trip hammers will shake the
earth, and the eternal whirr and buzz of machinery will make the very
atmosphere redolent of life and enterprise. Farms in the long, rich
valleys will teem with luxuriant crops, that will find a ready market
near, at good prices, and communities that now live from hand to
mouth Avill revel in all the blessings, superfluities and luxuries of life.

Nor is this a fancy picture. Under a good government, in a happy
climate, wherever coal and iron lie in juxtaposition, and are made ac-
cessible by railroad communication, great centres of population are
established. See Pittsburg, how opulent ! Mr. Valentine, the able
superintendent of Wells and Fargo's Express, says of it : — " If you
would see what coal can do for a people who turn it to full account,
look at Pittsburg, a city with its environs of 300,000 inhabitants built
up by miners of coal. There are no drones in its hive — heads and
hands are busy. It lost §30,000,000 by the war without shaking its
credit. No city on this continent contains more solid wealth according
to its population." If coal can do this for Pittsburg, surely coal and
iron can do the same for this portion of the State, and Knoxville and
Chattanooga will gather in their laps an almost fabulous wealth, and in
time become the Pittsburghs of the South.

In the Dyestone Belt are four furnaces now in operation or tempor-
arily suspended, and two or three others in course of erection. Oak-
dale, stone coal, hot-blast, has a capacity of 1,200 tons per month ;
Rockwood, Nos. 1 and 2, both stone coal, hot-blast furnaces, have
capacities respectively of 750 and 1,200 tons per month; and the Cum-
berland Gap furnace, charcoal, cold-blast, has a capacity of 105 tons
per month. Crockett furnace, in Claiborne county, will soon be put in
blast. This has the same capacity as the one at Cumberland Gap.
Two will soon be in blast in Chattanooga ; one already completed, with
a capital stock of $100,000, and the other under way, Avith a like
amount of stock. Tiiese furnaces propose to work mixed ores from
various points with stone coal. The capacity of each is thirty tons per
day.

The following letter from Gen.AVilder, superintendent of Rockwood,

230 Resources of Ten7tessee,

to one of the commissioners of the Bureau of Agriculture, will be read
Tfith interest.

RocKwooD, Tenn., March 10, 1873.

Mr. Tom OrutoJifield, Commissioner of Agriculture, Tennessee :

Dear Sir: — Your favor, asking me to give you a general outline
of the mineral resources of East Tennessee, is received. With diffi-
dence I undertake the subject, knowing my inability to do it half jus-
tice, yet feeling anxious to assist in, such manner as I may, the early
development of the vast mineral resources of this wonderful country.

East Tennessee is a high Valley, with an elevation of 1000 feet above
the sea, running northeast and southwest about two hundred and eighty
miles from Chattanooga, on the southern line of the State to Bristol,
at the northeastern end, the line of Virginia, with an average width of
sixty miles. It is bounded on the southeastern side by the lofty chain
of the Unaka range of mountains, reaching sometimes an elevation
of over 6,000 feet above the sea, with frequent gaps, through which
numerous rivers flow to the northwest. Still further to the southeast,
about fifty miles in North Carolina, is the unbroken chain of the Blue
Ridge, over six thousand feet high. On the northwestern side of the
Valley is the level-topped Cumberland mountain plateau, sixty miles
wide, with its southeastern side next to the Valley of East Tennessee.
For a distance of 130 miles from Sale Creek (thirty miles above Chat-
tanooga) to Cumberland Gap, it is tilted up or folded back against the
horizontally stratified Cumberland mountains. This uplifted edge is
called Walden's Ridge, and is the southeastern limit of the great Apal-
chinn coal field which runs entirely across the State, from northeast to
southwest, with an elevation of 2,000 feet, and an average of sixty
miles wide by one hundred long, making a coal field of nearly 6,000
square miles, or 3,840,000 acres ; exceeding by 454,000 acres the entire
coal area of Great Britain, including England, Scotland, Wales and
Ireland.

The Valley of East Tennessee is corrugated throughout its entire
length with a number of low ridges running parallel to each other
N. E. and S.W. witii the Valley. The rivers from the valley of West-
ern North Carolina, at the base of the Blue Ridge, cut through the
Unaka chain, and through the numberless ridges of the Valley, until
they unite in the Tennessee river, at the base of the Cumberland
coal field, following which to the southern limit of the State at Chatta-
noosra, the last named river suddenlv turns its course and hews its way

Iron. 231

through the Cumberland chain to the northwest. Here, in the heart
of the great Valley of the Mississippi, it offers its clear, deep current
to bear the commerce of 15,000 miles of navigable waters back through
800 miles of cotton and corn fields, through five great states, to its
mountains of coal and iron, veins of copper, placers of gold and hills
of marble, in a climate like Northern Italy ; adding with its branches
1,800 other miles of navigable waters to the wonderful network of
great rivers that form the national highways for the products of more
than half the states of this Union, and bearing a tonnage greater than
that of any nation of Europe.

This wonderful Valley of East Tennessee is lowest near the base of
the Cumberland mountain, containing the coal fields on its northwest
side. All its streams head in North Carolina and Western Virginia,
and drain northwest into the Tennessee, each river forming a natural
highway down stream to the coal fields. Nearly every ridge in the
Valley contains minerals of some kind, the cuts through which the rivers
flow forming natural openings to the veins of iron ore, which outcrop
in nearly every ridge, whilst the great Alleghany chain is ribbed and
seamed with veins of iron ore of nearly every known variety. From
the same range are taken large quantities of copper at Ducktown, whilst
all along its northern base runs a great, broad belt of roofing slate and
most beautiful black marble intersected w^ith snow-white veins. Along
the base of the Cumberland range runs entirely through the State, a
low range or ridge of about 200 feet altitude above drainage, contain-
ing invariably two veins of red fossiliferous iron ore, varying in thick-
ness from three to ten feet, cropping out through the crest of the ridge
on its southern slope, and dipping at an angle of about forty-five de-
grees to the northwest. It is supposed to extend under the coal field ;
at all events, it crops out at precisely the same geological horizon on
the opposite side of Walden's Ridge, in Sequatchie A^alley and in Elk
Valley opposite Knoxville, localities 100 miles apart, and each ten miles
from the place of disappearance of the ore at the south-east base of the
mountain. The coal in Walden's Ridge is a dry, semi-bituminous or
rather semi-anthracite, working raw in the blast furnace, and requiring
at Rockwood about two and three-fourths of a ton of coal to smelt one
ton of pig-metal. The ore averages a yield of sixty per cent, of iron,
and the sub-carboniferous limestones furnish ample and excellent flux-
ing material, requiring twenty to twenty-five per cent, of flux. No-
where along this long line of 160 miles is it more than half a mile from
the iron ore to the coal beds, while the massive limestones are invaria-

232 Resources of Tennesvee.

bly between them the entire distance. The coal kt Rockwood is very
much disturbed, varying from one to over one hundred feet in thick-
ness. Our No. 1 furnace has been in blast most of the time for over
four years, making a fine quantity of pig-iron for rails with only one
kind of ore. No. 2 furnace, of forty tons capacity, will be put to
work early iu the spring, when we will turn out, with both furnaces,
seventy-five tons of pig-iron per day.* At the base of the Unaka
chain, on the south side of the Valley, is a wide chain of high knobs,
in many of which are wonderful beds of the finest brown Hematite iron
ore, some of which contain maganese. In the Unaka chain are inex-
haustable veins of brown Hematite, and in the high mountains of the
Blue Ridge are large veins and lodes of magnetic iron ores. All these
must go witli the rivers to the coal fields on the northwest side of the
great Valley, for this reason — that it requires one ton and a half of good
iron ore to make one ton of pig-iron, and it takes about three tons of
coal to reduce it, and three to four more tons ot coal to convert and fin-
ish it into bar-iron ; thus using seven tons of coal to produce one ton
of merchantable iron, and one-third of a ton of limestone, making in
all seven tons and a half of fuel and flux. These are found contiguous
to large and persistent beds of iron ore, only requiring a mixture of one
half of the brown Hematite and Magnetic ores to make merchantable
iron, fit for any use in arts and commerce, and giving the advantage to
manufacturers located near the coal in proportion to the greater tonnage
of fuel and flux used, to the vastly lesser weights and freight of ores
required to produce one ton of iron ; in other words, saving in the pro-
duction of pig-iron one-half the transportation, and in bar or plate iron
or nails, nearly 500 per cent. This is the advantage enjoyed by the
manufacturers on the northwest side of the Valley over those located on
the southeast side, where is plenty of ores and no coal. Thus is in-
sured to the northwest side of the Valley, along the proposed route of
the Cincinnati Southern Railroad, a continuous line of works and a
dense producing population. A few words might be added, giving a
geological outline of a cross section of this Valley and its mountains on
either side. Commencing in North Carolina, with the range of the
Bhie Ridge, an enormous Eozoic upheaval ribbed with iron ores; thence
northwest crossing granite formations to the metamorphic rocks of the
Smoky or Unaka chain, walling long veins of copper and iron ores ;
thence througli great beds of roofing slate, across the Silurian ridges of
the broad Valley, to the single lines of Devonian shales at the base of

♦ No. 2 la LOW, (January, 1874,) in operation, and turne ont an^ average of 30 tons per day, thongh
as high as forty and a half tons have been the result of tweuty-lbur hotir,'* work.

Iron. 233

the Cumberland. In the steep wall of this mountain you cross three
workable veins of finest coal, cropping out above drainage, and reach
the level top of the coal fields, having in less than one hundred miles
passed from the lowest primitive rocks across the Metamorphic, Silurian,
Devonian and Carboniferous formations. These turned up on edge
show all the wonderful provisions of nature in minerals, ready for the
hand of man, deposited and hidden in the past ages, but unsealed and
opened by the Creator's engineers and contractors — the earthquakes 6f
the past and rivers of the present — and asking in mute eloquence for
the mind and hand of man to take from their abundance and make
them useful. These ranges and valleys are in a climate unequalled
in salubrity and average comfort of temperature — the driving storms of
the great plains of the Northwest being shut oif by the continuous
Chain of the Cumberland mountain, and the raging gales of the At-
lantic seaboard stopped short of our valleys by the range of the Blue
Ridge and Unakas. These causes render this high mountain-walled
Valley not only more temperate in winter, but much cooler in sum-
mer than any valley south of the great lakes or east of the Pacific coast
and free from malaria, while the great number of medicinal springs of
almost every known property or variety, makes our valleys a favorite
resort for persons seeking either health or pleasure.

I have written these disjointed papers in a great hurry, being unable

either to copy or correct, and send them as crude ores to be refined by

workers in words, hoping they may direct more capable persons to call

just attention to our enormous resources, I having, pioneer-like, but

" blazed out " the road. I am earnestly yours,

J. T. Wilder.

Appended please find a copy from our books of the workings of our
fiirnace for the past two months :

Monthly Report of Rockwood Furnace for the Month ending Saturday.
December 2{\th, 1872.
Materiul, etc. No. Pounds.

Ore charged. 2,144.000 $2,835 86

Coke " 891,200 2,005 20

Coal " 1,389,200 LlOl 80

Limestone 552,700 304 59

Labor 1 170 15

Salari'^a 400 00

Material from Store. 303 37

Blacksmithinj; 118 56

Foundry Castings 98 03

Total $8,33

/ :ii>

234

Resources of Tennessee.

Produce, 590 tons No. 1 mill iron ; cost,
ing 62 40-100 per cent.

13 per ton. Ore yield-

Report cf Rocktoood Furnace for the Month ending Saturday, January — , 1873.

Material, etc. No. Pounds.

Ore charged 2,145,500

Coke. 1,408,800

Coal charged 1,636,600

. . Limestone 601,800

Labor

Salaries

Materials from Store

Blacksmithing

Foundry castings.

Total

$3,194 80

3,169

1,405 77

331

1,486

580

127

$10,433 38

Product, 655 tons No. 1 mill iron; cost, $15.92 per ton. Ore yield-
ing 62 78-100 per cent. W. F. Sanks — for D. E. Rees, Agent.
J. T. Wilder, Superintendent.

REMARKS.

Ores are charged at $3 per ton, and actually cost by contract $2 per
ton. All allowances are made to cover any possible waste or cost of
extra handling.

The cost for January is unusual, owing to the greater amount of
coke used in that month, to reduce the amount of stock of coke on
hand. Ore yielded for the time quoted above 62 59-100, and an aver-
age of 2.715 tons of coal used for each ton of iron produced.

J. T. Wilder.

We may add here that the heaviest collection of ores which were
seen at the Vienna Exhibition, in 1873, came from Tennessee, and
was under the charge of General Wilder. The collection was honored
with a premium, though it arrived very late.

A list of Furnaces in East Tennessee, with the kinds of fuel and ore used,
and the average yield per month.

County.

^fame of Fur-
nace.

Fuel.

Blast.

Kind of Ore.

Averas^e

yiold
per mo'th

Remarks.

Roane.

Rock wood. No. 1.
Rorkwood, No. 2.
Oakdale.

Coke & Coal.

Hot.

Red Ilematite.

57(i
'.(00
900

Blown out for re-
in blast, [pairi.

Claiborne.

Cunih. Gap I. W.

Charcoal.

Cold.

" "

105

Greene.

N.Y. E.T.I. Co.
Unaka.

Bro'u Hematite

200
800

Wa»liiiii,'ton.

Bradley.

" "

200

JohllHOU.

Bneluionf;.

" "

100

Carter.

Kuoxville Car Co

200

Showing a monthly yield of 3,481 tons per month.

Iron. 235

These furnaces have seldom been run to their full capacity.

A companv called the Rhea Iron Company, will erect during the
present year, in Rhea county, twelve miles below Roekwood, a furnace
with a capacity of thirty tons per day. It is understood that this com-
pany has 5,000 acres of fine coal and mineral lands. The name of
the place is Greenwood.

The Ieon Ore of the Cumberland Table Land.

The ore found in this region lies interstratified with the shale, sand-
stone and coal of the Coal Measures. It is called day iron-stone, and
is an argillacious carbonate of iron. It occurs mostly in nodules, but
sometimes in layers, and is co-extensive with the coal fields. The low
per cent, of pure iron found in it, rarely over thirty per cent., usually
twenty, and its comparative scarcity, have caused it to be neglected by
our producers of iron. In England the largest quantity of iron is
made from this ore, and doubtless the time will come when the iron-
stones of Tennessee will be smelted in our furnaces. This, for iron
ore, is the least valuable of our iron belts. It covers over 5,000 square
miles.

The Western Iron Belt.

A line drawn from Clarksville, Tennessee, to Florence, Alabama,
would pass through the center of the Western Iron Belt. It is about
fifty miles wide, and extends through the State, often overleaping the
Tennessee River, passing into Kentucky and reaching to the Ohio
River. It embraces an area of more than 5,400 square miles. It in-
cludes all or parts of the following 'counties : Lawrence, Wayne,
Hardin, Lewis, Perry, Decatur, Hickman, Humphreys, Benton, Dick-
son, ISIontgomery, Houston and Stewart. On the eastern side of the
Central Basin, at the foot of the Cumberland Table Land, is the coun-
terpart of this Western Iron Belt. It embraces the counties of War-
ren, White, Putnam, Overton and Yan Buren.

Could one be elevated so as to have in view the'whole of this part of
Tennessee, he would see no such mountains as presented themselves
in the eastern part of the State, but, reaching north in Kentucky, and
south into Alabama, would be seen an elevated plateau country, covered
for the most part with forest trees, though showing some cultivated areas,
and here and there a town. In sight to the east and bounding the

236 Resources of Tejtnessee.

plateau on that side would lie the depressed and fertile Central Basin,
holding the capital and many towns, while, to the west, would lie
across the State, and bounding the elevated area in that direction, the
narrow broken valley of the Tennessee River.

It would be seen, furthermore, that this plateau country is not a little
cut and dissected by the valleys of rivers and creeks. Duck River runs
thi'ough it in a serpentine course, with gleaming brightness, from east
to west. The Cumberland River, with its valley, cuts it completely if we
include its Kentucky extension. Buffalo River and valley lie wholly
within it. Besides these, very many creeks with narrow valleys curve
its edges and fringe it with multitudes of ridges and spurs. This cut-
ting has in some parts of the area resulted in the formation of rolling
lands, especially along the larger streams. There is presented along
the Cumberland River, for example, at intervals, a border of such land'
several miles wide.

The rocks underlying the plateau region are limestone, more or less
charged with flint-masses (chert,) and fine siliceous and clayey impuri-
ties. They belong to the two lower divisions of the Carboniferous
system, which are known to geologists as the Siliceous Group and thi
Lithostrotion Bed, which are described in this report as the Barren '
Group, and the Coral or St. Louis Limestone. The whole country has
been undergoing a leaching process for ages. The purer limestone
matter has been dissolved and carried away, while the chert, siliceous
material and clay have been left behind. The rocks now are generally
covered with a very considerable depth of such residual debris.

The Iron Belt may be considered as coinciding, for the most part,
with this area. To it, however, must be added certain hilly tracts dn
the west side of the Tennessee in Decatur and Benton. Over this
whole region more or less ore occurs. But only at certain centers is it
found in sufficient quantity to be made available. These centers pre-
sent accumulations of ore, and are for that reason called "banks." The
ore, like that occuring for the most part in the Eastern Iron Belt, is
lAmonite, sometimes called, as we liave said. Brown Hematite. The
banks, too, though the kind and the jiosition of the rocks, the topography
of the country, and other circumstances, make some difference, resem-
ble those of the Eastern Belt. They have generally a high position,
being h)catcd, with few exceptions, on the tops or edges of the pkiteau
ridges. To apjireciatc their geological relations, it must be borne in
mind that these ridges are capped with the leached remains, the debris,

h-mi. 237

of tlie rocks of the Siliceous Group, these remains consisting of angu-
lar fragments of half-decomposed, and often bleached, chert and sand-
stones imbedded in clay, with which is sometimes sand. To this is
verv frequently added water-worn gravel. The bed of debris is fi'om
1 few feet to 100 feet in depth, and in it as a matrix the iron ore has,
it the centers mentioned, accumulated and formed the banks. It may
3e added that some localities do not abound in chert ; a few aiford ore
n red clay alone.

The banks vary greatly in the richness of ores and in their extent.
5ome of them cover whole square miles, while others occupy only an
icre or two. Oftentimes the ore is intermixed with hard cemented cherty
nasses, and yields but a poor return from the furnace. Again it is
!omparatively free from impurities, yields, when worked, from forty to
ifty-five per cent. The lumps, as taken from the beds, are of various
izes, from a few inches to a yard in thickness, and in all possible
;hapes. In Wayne county, near the Wayne Furnace, at the depth of
hirty or forty feet beneath the crests of the ridges, large masses are
bund so strongly cemented as to require the use of the drill and blast-
ng powder to raise them. Of the quantity of material removed from
he best banks, one-third is ore. The cost for digging and delivering
0 the furnaces is two dollars per ton.

It would be impossible in this chapter to give a description of all
he banks that have been worked in this region. In Hickman county
here are at least twenty which have been examined, each affording a
ulficient supply of ore to run a furnace. Indeed, it has been asserted
hat the quantity of ore in this county is equal to that of Iron Moun-
ain, Missouri. The supply is also very great in Stewart and Dick-
on counties. The iron deposits in Lewis, Lawrence and Wayne are ex-
snsive, and underlie much of hill lands in these counties. Decatur and
Benton counties, in West Tennessee, though more limited in the extent
f their deposits, have some banks of great richness. Indeed, it may
ruly be said of this whole region, that it is a wide field of undeveloped
r'calth, and capable of sustaining establishments enough to supply the
i^orld with iron for a century.
There were in the Western Iron Belt, before the war, thirty-five
irnaces, four blooraaries, and thirteen refineries, the latter having
bout fifty-nine fires. Of the furnaces, Stewart county had the great-
st number; Montgomery came next; then Dickson and Decatur,
ach having two ; and finally Hardin, Wayne, Lawrence, and Perry
dth one each.

238

Resotirces of Tennessee.

There are now in operation, or were for the year 1873, eleven fur-
naces* in this Western Belt. The names and average monthly pro-
ductions are given in the following table :

Name.

County.

Blast.

Capacity ^ Month.

Hot

Cold....

Hot

Cold....

Hot

Cold....

Hot

Cold....
Hot.....
Hot.. ..

540 tons.

Wayne

Lewis

Dickson —

Dickson

Montgomery

Stewart

540 tons.

270 tons.

360 tons.

Worley Furnace

240 tons.

360 tons.

DoTer Furnace

300 tons.

Rough-and-Ready Furnace...

300 tons.
360 tons.

Clark Furnace

Stewart

510 tons.

LaGrunfe Furnace

450 tons.

Aggregating monthly 4,230 tons ; add that of the furnaces in East
Tennessee, 3,481, and we have for the monthly product in the StatC) I
7,711 tons. [For more minute descriptions of the banks, furnaces, de- ]
tails of the cost of manufacturing iron, see descriptions of Stewart,
Wayne and Lewis counties in this volume.] ■ j

The fuel used in all the western region is charcoal, and the ore
Limonite or Brown Hematite. Wood for its manufacture is plentiful
and cheap. The quality of iron is better than that made of stone coal,
being used extensively for bar and boiler plate, as well as for car
wheels, axles, &c. Mr. George T. Lewis, who before the war was ex-
tensively engaged in the iron interests of this region, says : " The Cum-
berland Tennessee iron/ has become '©elebrated for its toughness and
strength, and has maintained its superiority for nearly forty years in
competition with Swedish iron. Though there have been many casual-
ties by the explosion of boilers upon the western and southern steam-
boats, resulting in the loss, of thousands of lives, yet not one boiler
made of this iron has ever exploded."

Now, as to the present cost of making this iron, there is a very great
diversity of opinion, even among those engaged in its manufacture.
Mr. Lewis thinks the cost of making cold-blast charcoal metal in
Pennsylvania, Ohio and Indiana, is $40 per ton, while the same may
be made in the Western Iron Region for less than $30. Stone coal
pig-metal, according to the same authority, costs, Avhen made in Pitts-
burg, $30.76 per ton. A better grade, he says, can be made at points

* Laara Farnace is located in Eentteky, bat most of the pro]»erty lies in Stowart Coanty.

Iron. 239

on the Memphis, Clarksville and Lonisville Railroad, at a cost of
$20.25 per ton,^-viz. :

2^0118 ore, at f2 $5 00

80 bushels coke, at 10 cents 8 00

\ ton limestone, at $1 25

Superintendence and labor per ton 4 00

Interest on investment 80

InQidentals, per ton 1 00

Repairs, &c. 1 20

Total cost per ton $^0 25

Mr. Lewis' statements, as to the cheapness with which iron can be
manufactured in the Western Iron Belt, having been doubted by men
holding prominent positions in the government, we have sought other
sources of information from the most responsible makers in this region.

The following is a bona fide transcript from the books of a company

that is extensively engaged in the manufacture of this metal. It is for

the year 1871 — the furnace not running through the whole period of

1872 or '73:

Operation of Furnace for the Year 1871.

Number cords of wood chopped 16,176

Bushels of charcoal used 648,400

Number tons of iron made, 4,110

Number of days blowing ,.,. 296

Average tons per day for 296 days 13 6-7

Number tons of ore received 10,905

Average cost of ore per ton $2.00

Number tons of ore to ton of pig-iron. 2J

Number bushels of coal used 639,400

Number bushels of coal to ton of pig-iron 155J

Average cost of coal per bushel 7|c.

Number pounds of limestone to ton of pig-iron 613

Cost of limestone to ton 50c.

Whole amount of daily labor and salaries for the year $26,469.49

Average cost of ton ot pig-iron for labor and salaries 6.44

Extra per ton for hearths, sand, interest, &p - 1.33

From this statement it is easy to sum up the cost of a ton of pig-iron,
tims:

155 bushels of coal, at 7f cents $12 04

2^ tons of ore, at $2 4 66

Labor and salary 6 44

Lime 50

Incidentals 1 33

Cost of ton charcoal (hot-blast) iron $24 97

Substantially the same cost appears on the books for 1872 aad 1873.

240 Resources of Ten?iessee.

The details, as given from a cold-blast charcoal furnace, in Stewart
county, for 1873, are:

170 bushels charcoal, at 8 cents $13 60

2 tons ore, at $2.50 5 00

Labor and salary 6 44

Lime 50

Incidentals 1 33

Cost of ton charcoal (cold-blast) $26 87

If the number of days in the year in which the furnace is idle were
deducted, it would reduce the price of iron 20 per cent, per ton on the
item of salaries and labor. The estimate is further reduced by the
profits from goods supplied to hands. About three-fourths of the labor
employed is paid in goods, upon which a profit of 35 per cent, is real-
ized.

ADVANTAGES OF TENNESSEE FOR MAKING IRON.

1. Cheapness of Ore. As compared with Hanging Rock, Ohio,
and other points north of the Ohio River, it is striking, as the following
figures will show. They are made for the year 1871 :

Cost of ore to ton of pig-iron in the Western Iron Belt $4 66

Cost of ore in the Dyestone Belt 2 00

Cost of ore at Hanging Rock, Ohio 7 50

Cost of ore at Pittsburg 12 67

2. Cheapness of Fuel. In the Western Iron Belt charcoal costs
per bushel 7f cents ; at Hanging Rock, 10 cents — making a diiference
in cost of ton of iron of $3.50.

The difference is still greater between the cost of fuel at Rock-
wood and Pittsburg, where stone coal is used.

3. Days of Blowing. This is very marked, when the averages of
the furnaces in the Western Iron Belt and those at Hanging Rock are
contrasted. Timber is so scarce in Ohio that it is difficult to lay in a
sufficient stock of charcoal to get a blast to exceed 2,500 or 3,000
tons. In the Western Iron Region the timber is abundant and con-
venient, as also in the Eastern Iron Belt.

4. Taxes on property are loroer. In Tennessee, the amount paid for
taxes on a furnace that will make 5,000 tons annually, is known to be
$450. In Ohio, a furnace with the same capacity pays $1,200 taxes.

Iron.

241

Disadvantages of Tennessee.

1, Want of transportation. This, in all the iron regions of the State,
except those portions contiguous to the Tennessee and Cumberland
Rivers, is a great drawback to the iron interests. It takes seven dol-
lars per ton to transport the pig iron from Napier's Furnace to the
railroad, four dollars per ton to get it to Tennessee River from Wayne
Furnace, and from two to three dollars from other furnaces not con-
venient to railroads or navigable rivers.

2. Difference in price of labor. Labor is twenty-five per cent, higher
in Tennessee, and not so efficient.

With all these drawbacks, Tennessee can still make charcoal iron
from six to seven dollars cheaper than it can be made in Ohio, Indi-
ana or Pennsylvania, and stone-coal iron from ten to fifteen dollars less
cost per ton.

The subjoined tables will show the cost of making iron in Pennsyl-
vania, for the years 1850 to 1873 inclusive. The first table gives the
cost of the iron (stone-coal, hot blast,) on the furnace bank per ton of
2,240 pounds, as follows :*

TEARS.

PRICE PER TON.

TEARS.

PRICE PER TON.

TEARS.

PRICE PER TON.

1850

$14 25

13 30

14 34
14 38

16 00
18 87
18 05

17 04

1858

1859

$17 73
16 14
16 85
16 61
16 11
16 53
20 97
32 21

1866

$27 88

1851

1867

27 88

1852

I860

1868

26 00

1853

1861

1869...

26 83

1854

1862

1870.

30 04

1855

1863.

1871

29 65

1856

1864

1872

30 68

1857

1865

1873

32 33

The second embraces the several items of which these sums are made
up, and the progressive increase in the price of each. We give these
at several periods, before and after the war :

Ore

Coal

Limestone...,

Labor

Interest, etc-

1S60.

1855.

1860.

1864.

1866.

1869.

1871.

$ 5 75

$ 7 51

$ 7 45

$ 9 12

$12 19

$11 86

$12 67

3 70

4 63

3 49

6 41

7 55

7 41

8 59

1 26

1 21

1 93

2 65

2 14

2 08

2 22

2 85

1 87

2 85

3 46

3 54

1 68

2 62

2 83

1 66

2 03

1 96

2 77

1873.

113 30
7 15

1 97
3 79

2 76

♦These figures were furnished by Jameg M. Swank, of Philadelphia, Secretary of the American Iron
and Steel Association.

242 Resources of Tennessee.

It may be well here to po'iit out the danger which threatens our
western iron fields by the inactention or neglect of our law-makers.
The timber supply, while abundant at present, is being consumed at
the rate of 6,000 acres annually. In the neighborhood of old fur-
naces, it has been cut down for a distance of three or four miles, and .t
used in the making of charcoal. Sprouts put up every year, but the
annual fires which sweep over the old "coalings" with devasting fury,
destroy them. No new timber is taking the place of the old. Barren,
sightless old fields, covered with broomsedge, meet the eye on every
hand. How to protect the young timber in the iron region, is a ques-
tion that should seriously engage the attention of our Legislature, for it
will not be a question of iron ore in the future, but of timber. A due
regard for the rights of posterity, if not for the present occupants of
this region, should be manifested in the enactments of stringent
laws against all persons guilty of wantonly setting the leaves on fire.
Were the young timber protected, it would grow as fast as consumed.
Estimating that 500 acres are used annually, by each furnace with a
capack;y of twelve tons daily, twenty-five square miles, or 16,000 acres
would support a furnace perpetually, on the supposition that the trees
will grow in thirty years large enough to be used for coal. In some sit-
uations that have been protected by roads and streams from fires, the
timber on the land has been cut down a second time, after the lapse of
twenty -five years, from the first cutting. It is a crime against the
material interests of the State, and destructive of one of the finest
iron regions in America, to permit the custom of firing the woods to
continue. It is a relic of barbarism, inherited from savages, and
should be stopped by the infliction of pains and penalties.

In the preparation of this chapter, much assistance has been derived
directly from the State Geologist, Dr. SaiFord, under whose eye the
proof-sheets have passed, and all the details collected, submitted and
criticised. Nothing has been admitted but what we have abundant
evidence to be true.

Copper. 243

CHAPTER XV,

Copper.

The copper region of Tennessee lies in Polk county, in the south-
east corner of the State. It is in an elevated mountain basin, not less
than 2,000 feet above the sea, and 1,000 feet above the great Valley of
East Tennessee. This basin contains about forty square miles. On
the south-west, at a distance of a few miles, looms up the dome-like
crest of Frog Mountain, and from this, trending north-easterly, is one
of the ranges of the Unakas. Towards the east and south-east, are
the towering peaks of the North Carolina chain, while southward,
running into Georgia, the scenery is more subdued. The surface of
this valley is made up of hills and ridges, with gneissoid rocks and
metamorphic slates showing themselves here and there, the area pre-
senting a wild and rugged character. To add to this wlldness, the
country is denuded of timber, much of it having been consumed
in the making of charcoal, and large quantities have been destroyed
by the fumes from the smelting furnaces, which, charged with sulphur-
ous acid, wither and deaden all vegetation by their poisonous contact.

Through the southern part of the mining district flows the Ocoee
River, which, rising among the ridges of Georgia, takes a north-
westerly course gently and quietly through the copper valley, as if
gathering its force for the fearful plunges through the deep gorges and
narrow ravines of the Unaka Range. For twelve or fifteen miles
after passing the copper valley, the confined stream, fretted with huge
masses of stone, is white with roaring cascades and plaited currents,
while, rising almost perpendicularly above, are frowning and winding
cliifs, walling in the river, and forming altogether one of the wildest

244 Resources of Temiessee.

and one of the most romantic scenes in the south. Along this stream,
and near the water's edge, a wagon road has been cut out of the cliffs,
and forms the only means of transportation from the mines to the
railroad.

The Copper Valley is intersected by numerous small tributaries of
the Ocoee, which cut deep ravines, between which are the rounded
gneissoid hills before referred to. The strata dip at high angles to the
south-east, and their ontcrops have a north-easterly and south-westerly
direction. The ore deposits are in lenticular masses or belts, lying
in the valley, these belts being separated by intervening rocks.
Though the walls of the ore are often not well defined, the ore blend-
ing and gradually disappearing with the containing rocks, the veins or
belts of ore are plainly marked. The deposits are in three belts.
From the outcrop downwards, four distinct zones or stories are passed
through. These several zones are thus described in a report made by
the Union Consolidated Company, in 1866 :

"1. Upper part of the ' vein,' consisting of ^ gossan,' i.e., sandy,
porous, massive or reniform ore, mixed with streaks of reddish-brown
slate. In this zone, and especially in its lower portion, occur mala-
chite, azurite, cuprite, in grains, masses, and threads, and native copper
in foliated and dendritic forms. Cuprite, (the red osyd of copper,)
and the so-called black oxyd, become more and more abundant, and
gradually form

" 2. The second zone, the transition to which occupies, generally,
not more than ten feet on the dip of the vein. This may be called the
zone of the black copper ores. It branches upward, somewhat into
the gossan. It varies in depth from two to eight feet, and appears to
follow with its upper limit, the contour of the surface above. In it are
found layers, nodules and pockets of cuprite, and granular admixtures
of iron and copper pyrites. This division is abruptly cut off below by

" 3. The third zone — that of iron pyrites, and pyrrhotite (magnetic
pyrites,) containing but little disseminated copper pyrites, and, on the
other hand, a large proportion of tremolite and actinolite, of radial,
fibrous structure, and wine-yellow to brown color. The disseminated
copper pyrites grows more abundant in depth, until it forms

" 4. The fourth zone — that of cojiper pyrites. In the center of the
deposit this mineral is almost pure and solid, containing some thirty
per cent, of copper. Towards the walls, where it is mixed with

Copper.

245

pyrrbotite, iron pyrites, tremolite, and actinolite, the average contents
of copper in the whole mass is 8-10 per cent."

The third and fourth zones above are hardly distinguishable, and may
be thrown together.

The "gossan" spoken of is limonite iron ore, which caps the tops
of all the veins, but owing to its admixture with foreign ingredients, it
makes a "red short" iron, almost or nearly worthless.

The following diagram will illustrate the dip of the strata and the
included vein with its several zones.

A. The Upper Zone.

B. Zone of Black Copper Ores.

C. The Third and Fourth Zones,
containing Copper Pyrites,
etc.

D. A mass of Wall Rock within
the vein, called " horse."

E. Iron Ore, or Gossan, on the
surface and capping the vein

For a great while, the mining operations were confined to the black
and red copper ores, but subsequently the yellow copper ores, of which
the region is capable of furnishing large quantities, were smelted with
satisfactory profits. The lodes of this ore vary greatly in richness,
some of the ore containing six per cent, of copper, but much of it not
more than two or three per cent. The low grade ores are crushed
before smelting, and by a somewhat complicated chemical process the
pure copper extracted.

246 Resources of Tennessee.

There are now operating at Dncktown two large companies. The
Union Consolidated Company, of Tennessee, and the Burra Burra
Copper Company. The Union Consolidated Company has the fol-
lowing mining properties :

The East Tennessee 480 acres.

" Mary's 160 "

" Isabella 240 "

" Callaway 320 "

" Maria 80 "

" McCoy 140 "

" Buena Vista 240 "

" Johnson 315 "

" Beaver 40 "

" Cherokee 320 "

" Ocoee 240 "

Total comprised in the original consolidation 2,575 acres.

Since acquired, mainly for timber 2,67G

Making a total of 5,251 "

It employs in its operations two steam engines of eighty horse-
power and four water wheels of sixty-nine horse-power. It has
sixteen furnaces, and employs 562 men and eighty children and youths.
The amount of wages paid is $200,000 annually. It consumed in
its operations for 1872, 16,298 cords of wood, costing $48,894. The
production of ingot copper for the same year was 1,466,847 pounds,
worth $308,038. The ores are mined from the company's own lands.

The following machinery was added to the improvements during the
fiscal year ending in June, 1873 :

Diamond Drill Cost $4,205 48

Engine Lathe " 888 25

Hoisting Engine " 4,584 92

Rotating Calciner " 210 69

Machine Drills, Air Compressor, Boilers, &c " 9,103 (19

$19,023 03.

The whole value of the property of this company is $474,549.30.

We learn from the report of the company that the openings at
the Mary's Mine, which were commenced about two years since, have
developed a strong and paying lode, and this mine now furni.>^hes a fair
proportion of the ore production. Instructions have been given for

Copper. 247

the erection of dressing works, and the buikling of a three feet rail-
way thence to the smelting works, upon the completion of which,
the company will obtain a marked increase of production from this
mine.

The diamond drill has been doing good service in determining lo-
cations for shafts at the East Tennessee Mine. More recently, it has
been testing the vein at the Isabella Mine, and at last accounts had
reached a depth of 308 feet, the drill hole still in the vein. At various
parts of the vein good specimens of ore have been obtained from the
core, and the indications are favorable to an important addition to the
productive workings. In the opening of this mine, other holes will be
bored at different angles, more fully testing the productiveness of the
vein ; but it is now pretty well established that it is not less than 200
feet in width, at the point being tested. For further information, we
here insert the letters of Capt, John Tonkin, of the East Tennessee,
and Capt. E. Mueller, of the Mary's Mine, to the Superintendent, on
the 1st of June, 1873, showing the condition of the mines at that time:

East Tennessee Mine, June 1, 1873.

J. E. Raid, Esq., Agent, Cleveland, Tenn. :

Dear Sir — In last month most of our stoping was confined to the
slate vein below the thirty fathom level, which has not yielded as much
roast pile ore as I expected ; the vein is getting much wider as we go
down, and the ore more scattered through the vein.

I commenced stoping a few days ago on the main vein south-west of
Thomas Shaft, thirty fathom level ; this stope, to all appearance now,
will yield a large quantity of ore.

I have also commenced to-day the stope below the forty fathom
level, north-east of Thomas Shaft.

I have discontinued work in the stope on the slate vein until further
orders. I have also discontinued work at the stope below the twenty
fathom level south-west ; we have a large vein there which contains a
good deal of copper, but is so much mixed with slate that I doubt if
it can be made available with our present mode of selecting out the
ore by hand labor. For the last few days I have been sending ore to
the roast piles pretty fast, and expect to be able to do iso this month.

Macaulay Shaft was sunk in last month eleven feet nine inches, and
the shaft secured with all necessary timbering. Tonkifi Shaft, sunk

248 Resources of Tennessee.

fourteen feet, taken out some rich ore from the shaft to-day, and, so
far as can be seen, looks very favorable.

Cross-cut at fifty fathom level driven nine feet six inches. South-
west drift forty fathom level, on the slate vein, driven twelve feet
nine inches — copper and slate. South-west drift thirty fathom level,

driven three feet. This drift looks well for copper.
«
North-east drift, twenty fathom level, driven fifteen feet; copper

and slate looking favorable. South-west drift, between ten and twenty

fathom levels, driven four feet three inches. No copper.

Cross-cut at Number 2 Shaft, driven nine feet six inches. Winze
north-east of Number 2 Shaft in ten fathom level, sunk ten feet. The
winze does not look as well for copper at the bottom. I have suspended
work there, had to use the hands in the stope.

Cross-cut south-east of Allen Shaft driven ten feet. North-east of
Patterson Shaft, a cross-cut was driven twenty-eight feet three inches,
and intersects the northern vein, and a drift driven on the vein twenty-
nine feet nine inches. The vein, so far, is small, with only traces of
copper occasionally.

Truly Yours,

John Tonkin.

Mary Mine, June 1, 1873.
Mr. J. E. Raid, Supei'intendent, Cleveland, Tenn. :

Dear Sir — The south-west drift from bottom of Henneman Shaft
was continued nine feet six inches during last month, most of the drift
stands in mundic. Some good copper ore.

The cross-cut from Henneman Shaft was advanced twelve feet,
mostly in gneiss slate. Some hornblend and quartz.

From the winze on Stillwcll adit towards Henneman Shaft, about

fourteen cubic fathom of vein was stoped, containing a fair proportion

of yellow ore. The stope looks more promising now than before.

Most Respectfully,

E. Mueller.

From these evidences this company is led to expect a considerable
increase in the production, parti(uilarly during the present year (1874).
The shipments for the year ending June, 1873, were 2,2G7,8G3 pounds
of fine copper, which was sold at good prices.

Copper.

249

The following statement will show the production of ingot copper
by this company in each year since the resumption of work in the fall
of 1865:

From fall of 1865 to June 1, 1866 257,304 pounds net.

June 1,

1866
1867
1868
1869
1870
1871
1872

1867 632,377

1868 1,013,883

1869 1,006,146

1870 1,466,847

1871 1,441,941

1872 1,390,511

1873 1,267,863

Total 8,476,872

The following table will show the prices realized during the same
period, in gross and net, with charges and expenses, as averaged
through each year:

COPPER FORWARDED.

From fall of 1865. to June 1, 1866 ....
From June 1, 1866, to June 1, 1867....
From June 1, 1867, to June 1, 1868...
From June 1, 1868, to June 1, 1869..
From June 1, 1869, to June 1, 1870...
From June 1, 1870, to June 1, 1871....
From June 1, 1871, to June 1, 1872...
From June 1, 1872, to June 1, 1873....

GROSS PRICE.

33.78 ^

27.03

23.72

2380

20.95

21.12

28.02

33(?)

It).

NET PRICE.

30.22 P

K).

24.71

21.72

21 82

19.22

19.39

26.05

30.

CHARGES AND
EXPENSES.

3.56 ^ K)

2.29

2.00

1 98

1.73

1.97

The Burra Burra Company has two steam engines, of eighty horse-
power, and one waterwheel, of four horse-power. It ran nine furnaces
in 1872, and employed one hundred and fifty-eight men and eight chil-
dren, paying out for wages $60,000. It also consumed 10,192 cords of
wood, costing $30,576, and produced, of ingot copper, 917,329 pounds,
valued at $192,639. The ore is obtained from the lands owned by the
company.

The whole amount of copper made in the copper region is wagoned
to Cleveland, a distance of forty miles, and shipped by the East Ten-
nessee, Virginia and Georgia Railroad.

The effect of the working of these mines upon the wealth of the
county has been very great. In 1849 the total gross tax collected in
the county, was $513.45, and the land was valued at $266,607. Ten

250 Resources of Tennessee.

years thereafter, in 1859, the county paid a tax of $4,539.67, and the
land was vahied at $2,240,420. In 1869 the revenue from that coun-
ty amounted to $8,874.28.

History.

The history of the development of these mines is invested with pecu^
liar interest, and though often published, will not fail to be pleasing
to the general reader, inasmuch as it is marked by exhibitions of in-
domitable industry, perseverance and will.

It is related of the commissioners who were appointed to run the
dividing line between North Carolina and Tennessee, that when they
reached a point in their course south-west, just above the Hiwassee
River, they became greatly fatigued in climbing the steep, rocky, rough
sides of the Unakas, through dense and tangled masses of mountain
laurel, and were exceedingly anxious to finish their disagreeable task,
whereupon one of them suggested that they run a due south line from
their position to Georgia, which was finally agreed upon, and the
line was so run. This circumstance robbed North Carolina of the
copper region, and gave it to Tennessee ; for had they continued the
line in the direction in which they began, this small triangle would
have been left to the mother State.

In the year 1843 while Mr. Semmons was prospecting for gold, at
which time there was considerable excitement in regard to the gold found
on Coqua Creek, he thought he perceived indications of that valuable
metal at a point whore the Hiwassee mine is located. Vigorously
using his pan, he collected an abundance of yellowish particles which
he took for gold; biit they proved to be red copper ore. He abandoned
the region with disgust. Subsequently Mr. Grant discovered several
rich specimens of native copper. The black oxide of copper was
afterwards found, and samples shipped to New York, but the report
on them was unfavorable. The value of the black oxide was made
known to the company by Mr. Webber, a German, in 1847, and secur-
ing a lease, he mined and shipped to the Revere Smelting Works,
near Boston, ninety casks of ore. This was divided into three lots —
one of which proved to be worth 32.5 per cent.; another 14.5 per cent.,
and the third was thrown aside as worthless. Webber suspended oper-
tiouH, aad gave up his lease. The ])roperty was leased to a second per-
son, and no further attention was given to it until 1850. The year

Copper. 251

previous, however, Mr. John Caldwell came to Ducktown scouting for
copper, and found several tons in a cabin, ten feet square, on the prop-
erty now known as the Hiwassee. He says:

" I found the country unexplored — the school section, now worth a
million of dollars, attracting little or no attention. Sat down in the
woods for three hours, to mature a plan to control and open the sec-
tion. I owned, at the time, one twenty dollar bill. After three hours'
reflection, resolved to call a meeting of the citizens of the township,
and make a speech explanatory of the value of the school section, and
of the importance of leasing it for mining purposes. Told the people
that as soon as the mines could be opened, their condition would be
improved, and that civilization, intelligence, comfort and wealth, would
be the inevitable results. At the conclusion of this remark, a speaker
arose in the crowd, and informed me that a large portion of the inhab-
itants had come here to get away from civilization, and if it followed
them, they would run again.

" After the speech was made, drew up a memorial to the Legislature,
praying the passage of a law authorizing the commissioners to give a
mining lease on the school section. The . memorial was signed by a
majority of the citizens, and on personal application, the law was
passed, and under it, the lease was taken.

"In May, 1850, commenced mining in the woods. In the same
year sunk two shafts, and obtained copper from both of them. The
excavations made did not exceed twelve feet — at that depth the copper
being found. Commenced mining at the Hiwassee Mine in 1851, in
connection with S. Congdon, the agent of the Tennessee Mining Com-
pany. Built a double cabin, and taught Sabbath-school in the kitchen
end of the establishment, aided by young Mr. Walter Congdon."

• This gentleman also conceived and carried out the idea of making a
wagon road down the Ocoee, instead of packing the copper ore out of
the mountains on mules. To this end he labored assiduously. Desti-
tute of means to accomplish his purpose, he, by speeches, succeeded in
enlisting public sentiment in its favor. "Going," he says, " to a Meth-
odist camp-meeting, I obtained permission to make a road speech in
the recess of Divine service. The speech over, we took up a collec-
tion, principally on accredit, ajid payable in trade. This, however,
served the purpose; and on the 6th of October, 1851, the work was
commenced. On the first day, three hands worked; on the second,
two ; and the third, worked alone — public opinion, strong and power-

252 Resources of Tennessee.

ful, being against the enterprise. On the fourth day, hired a dozen
Cherokees.

"Thus began one of the most important projects in the State, which
was consummated in two years, at an expense of about §22,000. The
Tennessee Company came early to help in the enterprise, but the Hi-
wasseee held back till fourteen miles of the road were passable for
wagons. At the close of the first year, Robert McCampbell was em-
ployed as the engineer of the road, after which I again turned my at-
tention to mining."

A narrow gauge railroad is now projected along the same route from
Ducktown to Cleveland. The board of directors of the Union Con-
solidated Mining Company, who have the building of the road -in
charge, are determined to push forward the work as rapidly as means can
be assured, without embarrassment to their mining operations. They
propose to furnish $12,500 per month after the work shall have been
commenced, and to take three-fourths of the sto(;k. The financial pres-
sure of 1873 has probably retarded operations in this particular, but such
a road is of vital importance to the welfare of the mining interests of
Ducktown.

But to return. A consolidation of some of the most effective mines
was made in 1858, and is now owned by the Union Consolidated Com-
pany, which, under the masterly superintendence of Julius E. Raht,
has attained a degree of prosperity rarely equalled.

Refining works were erected in 1860 by the various companies in
common. The copper produced is of excellent quality, and in ready
demand. A copper rolling mill and wire works were erected at Cleve-
land, but were destroyed during the civil war.

A village of some three thousand inhabitants has sprung up in what
was a barren, sterile region })rior to 1850, and no part of the State
shows a greater industrial activity than the neighborhood of Duck-
town. The farmers have a ready market at home for all their sup-
plies, at good prices, and a manifest improvement has taken place in
the social and domestic life of the inhabitants. Churches and schools
prevail, and educational advantages are highly appreciated and sought
after.

Other Miner acs. 253

CHAPTER XVI.

Other Minerals.

Having in the three preceding chapters, treated of the coal, iron
and copper of the State, its most abundant and most valuable minerals,
we propose in this, to speak of such others as may be of interest or
importance. It is observable, that while some states have more cop-
per, others more iron, and some more coal, &c., no one probably has
such a great variety of mineral wealth and in workable quantities.
Tennessee, indeed, may be compared to a grand museum, in which
nature has gathered a great diversity of rocks, soils, plants, minerals,
physical features and climatic influences, all classified and ready at
hand, for such purposes as they may be suited. We shall include in
the term mineral, marble, gypsum, barytes, cement rocks, building
stone, clays, &c., and endeavor to point out the quantity, quality, and
locality of each, and give such other information as may be of practical
benefit.

Marble.

The marble of Tennessee has gained, by its beautifully variegated
appearance and fine polishing qualities, a richly deserved fame through-
out the United States. There are found in the State several varieties,
among which may be mentioned the black, grey, magnesian, fawn-
colored, red variegated, conglomerate, and breccia. One or more of
these varieties are met with in every division of the State. By marble,
is meant any limestone that takes a good polish, and looks well after
it is polished.

The black marble, sometimes beautifully streaked with veins of
white calcite, is found in Washington, Greene, McMinn, Polk, Sevier,

2 54 Reso2irces of Tennessee.

and, indeed, in many of the counties in East Tennessee, where the
limestone has been fissured in local flexures. It is quite compact, hav-
ing a great specific gravity, and takes a fine polish. This marble was
used to fiDrm the bases of the columns in the senate chamber of the
capitol at Nashville. That, with white reticulated veins, would make
handsome mantles.

The gray and red variegated marbles occur in inexhaustible quanti-
ties in several counties of East Tennessee. The two are usually asso-
ciated, the one running into the other. The counties, however,
which have furnished the largest supplies, are Knox and Hawkins.
The gray, which is coralline, sparry, whitish, and often variegated with
pink or reddish spots, rests usually upon a blue limestone. It weighs
180 pounds to the cubic foot, and is freer from "dries," or porous sponge-
like cavities, or unconsolidated material than that of deeper color. A
quarry was opened in 1871, and is now being worked at the confluence
of the French Broad and Holston Kivers. This marble spreads over
an area of many square miles, aiid is several hundred feet thick. It
forms the building stone of the custom house in Knox vi lie, and the
quality of it is justly regarded as among the finest in the State. A
polished slab shines with glowing brilliancy, and the small pinkish
spots that are sprinkled over its surface, give it a delicacy and richness
of tint that is surpassingly beautiful. Unpolished, the pink spots do
not appear. As employed in the custom house in "drove" work, it
has a grayish white appearance, and is mistaken by many for the ordi-
nary light-colored uncrystallized limestone.

In the bed, this marble does not appear disposed in regular strata,
but is found in great boulder-shaped masses, twenty-five or thirty feet
across, sometimes sharpened to a point, and again worn down into bowl-
like cavities. No gunpowder is used in the quarry. The blocks are
all separated by the use of the drill and forcing wedges. Thirty men
arc regularly emj)loyed at this place, and the force will be increased as
the excellence of the marble becomes known. Already has a demand
been created in St. Louis for it, and blocks are sold in that market at
from three to six dollars per cubic foot, for mantles, moldings, &c.

Since the com])]eti<)n of the stone work of the Custom House, a com-
pany has been organized, W. Patrick, President, with a siilficieut ca})i-
tal to carry on the business successfully. The stone is sawed into slabs
at the (juarry by steam, and trans})orted in flatboats, a distance of four
and a half miles to Knoxville, whence it is shipped by railroad to

Other Minerals. 255

various points. There are about eighty saws kept constantly at work.
Two engines are employed; one for sawing, and the other for derrick
work. Boats are brought up within ten feet of the saws, and very
little labor is required to transfer the slabs from the one to the other.
The following are the prices at which the slabs are sold, delivered on
the cars at Knox vi lie :

^ inch slabs, superficial, $ 38 per foot.

1 inch slabs, superficial, 42

\\ inch slabs, superficial, 53

\\ inch slabs, superficial 64

2 inch slabs, superficial, 82 "

3 inch slabs, superficial, 1 10 "

4 inch slabs, superficial, 145 "

5 inch slabs, superficial, 1 80 "

6 inch slabs, superficial, 2 15 "

7 inch slabs, superficial, 2 50 "

8 inch slabs, superficial,.... 2 85 "

The above cut to size, ten per cent, added.

Rough blocks, 20 cubic feet and under, $3 00 per foot.

Kough blocks, from 20 to 40 cubic feet, • 2 50 "

Rough blocks, from 40 to 60 cubic feet, 4 00 "

Rough blocks, from 60 to 80 cubic feet, 5 00 "

Rough blocks, from 80 to 100 cubic feet, 6 00

Monuments blocks sawed to size, 6 50 "

All spires measured at base.

Marble taken from the quarries around Knoxville, worked into
tombstones, show no signs of crumbling after exposure to the weather
for fifty years.

A large quarry has been opened on the farm of Rolfe S. Saunders,
seven miles north-east of Knoxville, on the banks of the Holston
River, and near the East Tennessee, Virginia and Georgia Railroad.
Mention of this quarry was made by Judge Haywood, in his History
of Tennessee. It forms a perpendicular bluff over one hundred feet
above the water's edge, several hundred yards in width and many miles
in length. A few miles west, the same varieties appear on the farm of
Horace Foster.

Col. John Williams, near the city of Knoxville, has a valuable
quarry of this same gray variety. The bed at this point, is 380 feet in
thickness, and divided into three distinct layers. Commencing at the
bottom and ascending, there is

1. Variegated with grey and red, with a slight flesh-colored

appearance 55 feet.

2. Grayish white, slightly tinted, though not perceptible in

an unpolished state 95 feet.

3. Redder, especially near the surface 230 feet.

256 Resources of Tennessee.

The second portion of this section furnishes the most valuable mar-
ble. It is said to have no superior in the State as building stone.

Two miles north of Knoxville, and near the East Tennessee and
Virginia Railroad, is the quarry from which most of the marble used in
the State capitol, at Nashville, was taken. It is known as Sloan's
Quarry. This marble is more highly variegated than that taken from
the quarry at the mouth of the French Broad. It has a deeper red,
and is of such rare and exquisite beauty as to arrest the attention of
the most unobservant. It w^as used in the state capitol of Ohio for
ornamental work. The quarry was opened in 1852, and this, with the
one in Hawkins county, has given character to that peculiar species of
marble known as East Tennessee marble.

A short distance east of Athens, in McMinn county, is a fine bed of
grayish marble. It bears a high polish, and is highly esteemed for its
beauty.

But the Hawkins County Marble is the best known, both on ac-
count of the length of time it has been worked, and because it was in
that county that the General Government opened a quarry for the
ornamentation of the capitol at Washington. This marble is highly-
variegated, and differs from that taken from Sloan's Quarry, only in
being more delicately shaded, and not being of such a deep reddish
tint. The history of the opening and working of the marble quarries
in Hawkins county is thus detailed by Dr. Safford in his Geological
report :

"In April, 1838, the 'Rogersville Marble Company' was formed, by
gentlemen in and pear Rogersville, for the purpose of ' sawing marble,
and establishing a marble factory in the vicinity of Rogersville.'
Orville Rice, Esq., was elected President, and S. D. Mitchell, Secre-
tary. The company operated to a limited extent for several years,
erected a mill, and sold several thousand dollars' worth of marble an-
nually, which was mostly distributed in Tennessee.

"In 1844 the company sold out to Mr. Rice, who, on a moderate
scale, has perseveringly and successfully carried on the business ever
since.

"Mr. Rice sent a block of the Might mottled strawberry variety' to
the Washington monument. This wa» called the ' Ha irk ins County
Block,' ixnd hanTH the inscription, ^ From Hawkins Count 1/, Tennessee**
Another block of one of the best varieties, was sent by act of the
Legislature, vrhic^h was called the ' State Block.'

Other Minerals. 257

" These blocks attracted the attention of the building committee of
the national capitol, who, although they had numerous specimens
from all parts of the Union before them, decided in favor of the East
Tennessee marble.

" An agent was soon after sent by them to ascertain whether or not
it could be obtained in quantity, who, when on the ground, had no
difficulty in satisfying himself as to that point.

" As the result of these circumstances, an extensive quarry, affording
an excellent material, was opened at a point about nine miles south-
west of Rogersville, where the Holston River intersects the marble
range. The rock here is, in good part, massive, and several hundred
feet in width. The location of the quarry is excellent, and admits of
the easy transportation of the blocks to the boats. Many thousand
cubic feet of marble were sent off. It was taken down the river, and
then by railroad to Charleston or Savannah, where it was shipped for
Washington.

" A good use has been made of this marble in the capitol at "Wash-
ington. The balustrades and columns of the stairs leading up to the
House and Senate galleries, the walls of the Marble Room, and other
parts of the building, are of Tennessee marble. It doubtless forms
half the ornamental marble there."

This marble is also used in the money-room of the treasury build-
ing in Washington, and it shows its superior beauty when contrasted,
as it is, with the marbles from other states.

The marble in Hawkins county lies west and south-west of Rogers-
ville. It is found on the south-west side of a belt of Trenton and
Nashville limestones, and runs for a distance of sixteen or seventeen
miles. In thickness, it varies from fifty to several hundred feet. The
quarry which the Government opened lies on the Holston River, near
the south-west end of this belt.

There are quarries of this same marble near Loudon, in Loudon
county, and also near Sweetwater.

The variegated red marble is also found in many of the counties
west of the Cumberland Table Land. One, of a brownisli red, is met
with on the waters of Elk River, in Franklin county, in considerable
quantities; the gray is also found in the same county; both have been
worked to some extent. A gray marble, crinoidal in structure and
dotted with red, also occurs in Maury county, at the Oil Spring on
17

258 Resources of Tennessee.

Lieper's Creek. Some of tho marble at this place has a ground work
of gray, with fleecy clouds of red and green. It is susceptible of a
high polish, and would make handsome mantles, table tops, and pannel
work. The bed is ten feet in thickness, and extends for a considera-
ble distance.

An extensive bed occurs on Elk River, and some of the tributaries
of Elk in Lincoln county, specimens of which exhibit all the charac-
teristic beauty of the red variegated East Tennessee marble. Quar-
ries in that county are now worked to some extent.

In Henry county, a mile or two from Mammoth Springs, on Big
Sandy, and four miles from Springville Station, on the Memphis and
Louisville Railroad, is a bed of red marble, mottled, and susceptible of
a Vfery high polish. It is similar in character to the East Tennessee
marble, and has been used for monuments, tombstones, etc. It is a
handsome variety and greatly admired.

On Birdsong Creek, in Benton county, there is also marble of sim-
ilar character. It is inexhaustible in quantity, and has been quarried
to a considerable extent. These beds in Henry and Benton counties
are best known as supplying material for lime, they being the last out-
crops of limestone in the State going west.

In the Western Valley of the Tennessee, there are also other deposits of
red marble. The finest presentation is probably in the counties of
Perry, Decatur, Wayne and Hardin. Much of it lies immediately
upon the Tennessee River. Near Clifton is an extensive bed. The
piers of the bridge at Danville, where the Memphis, Louisville and
Great Southern Railroad crosses the Tennessee River, are built of
grayish marble from Decatur county, found ten miles below Perry-
ville. The thickness of the stratum is ten feet; it is inferior in beauty
and fineness, but not in solidity, to the Hawkins county marble.

On Shoal Creek, in Lawrence County, eighteen miles south of Law-
renceburg, and extending on both sides of the creek for a distance of fif-
teen miles, is a bed forty feet in thickness, of fawn-colored or brown-
ish red marble, with fleecy clouds of green. It bears a very fine polish,
and is beautiful in the delicateneas and softness of its coloring. Other
strata, in the same locality, are of an intermingling red, green and white
colors. Some of it, with a brownish ground, is covered with deep red
spots, which shade away until the ruddiness is lost in the common ground.

Other Minerals. 259

It is free from "dries/' very solid and compact, and is pronounced
by competent judges to be as valuable as any in the State. But for
lack of railroad conveniences, it would soon attract the attention which
its delicate beauty would warrant. Farmers build chimneys of it, and
a furnace-stack built in 1833, by Mr. Vanleer, of the same material, is
still standing in an undamaged condition.

A short distance below Manchester, a bluish or dove-colored marble
appears in considerable abundance, forming the bed of Bark Camp
Fork of Duck River. The late Dr. Troost expressed a high admira-
tion for its subdued beauty and its fine quality. In Wilson, Davidson
and other counties, a dove-colored marble is met with, which is worked
up into grave-stones and for other purposes.

In Rutherford county, a bed of marble occurs of a pale yellowish
color, with serpentine veins of red and dots of black. This bed has
not been traced, and specimens have only been polished for paper
weights and as objects of curiosity. It bears a fine polish, but is not
so handsome as some other varieties.

There is also in the southern part of the East Tennessee Valley,
and especially in that portion east of the Holston, a' light gray fine-
grained rock, variegated with brownish red clouds, which is worked as
a marble, though its appearance is greatly inferior to those mentioned
above. It is known as magnesian marble. Some of it does not
weather well, being reduced by exposure to shaly material. Some of
the best occurs near Chattanooga.

The Breccia limestones on the Little Tennessee River, south of
Chilhowee Mountain, sometimes supply a beautiful marble. The
angular fragments, which make up the rock, are often of different
colors, and when polished present a surface of checkered and varied
beauty, resembling mosaic work. This marble occurs in Greene,
Cocke and Sevier. It is not much worked on account of the hardness
of some of the angular fragments.

The conglomerate marble, differing from the last only in the shape
or configuration of the imbedded gravel, being in this rounded and
not angular, is found in the same region. They have the same style of
beauty when polished.

Doubtless there are many other places in which marble has been
found, but the great abundance of it in every part of the State makes
it an object of but little interest, unless it has some superiority in the
elegance or beauty of its appearance.

26o Resources of Tennessee.

Roofing Slates.

Though slate is met with in every division of the State, very little
of it, comparatively, is fit for roofing purposes, being charged with
pyrites to such a degree as to undergo decomposition by exposure.
The presence of pyrites causes it to crumble into small fragments in a
few years. There is, however, in what is known as the Ocoee group,
strata of pale, greenish slate, serai-talcose, and free of pyrites. This
slate splits easily into thin plates with smooth surfaces, and though
never having been used for such, would doubtless be valuable for roof-
ing purposes. It is met with in Polk, McMinn, Monroe, Sevier,
Blount and Cocke counties. Slates of various shades might be quarried
in different localities in these counties — light and dark green, dark
purple, reddish and violet.

Millstone Geit.

Several beds of millstone grit have been found in the State. Per-
haps the most noteworthy is that in Claiborne county, at Big Spring,
on the road leading from Morristown to Tazewell. The rock is a
flinty mass, filled with cellular cavities. The manufacture of mill-
stones at this point was carried on as a business before the war, and
the demand for them increased as their excellence became known.
Many millers regarded them as equal in every particular to the French
buhr. The hard gnessoid rock near Taylorsville, in Johnson county,
has been used for millstones. Those made of this rock are inferior to
the last mentioned, and are unsuited for the grinding of wheat, though
they answer tolerably well for corn. The syenitic granite in Carter
county is more highly esteemed for grinding both wheat and corn.
The conglomerates of the Coal Measures, made up of hard, flinty
material, honey-combed in structure, have frequently been wrought
into millstones. In Trousdale county, a few miles north of Hartsville,
is a stratum of silicificd shells several feet in thickness, that has been
used for the sainc purpose. This mass, when exposed to the disinte-
grating influences of the weather, is leached of its calcareous matter,
leaving it filh'd with iniumicrable small cavities. It was formerly ex-
tensively manufactured into millstones. Some of them have been used
for forty years and are still preferred to new ones for the grinding of
coro. This ([uarry belongs to the upper part of the Nashville forma-

Other Minerals. i(i\

tion, is quite extensive, and might be made very valuable if worked.

Near Manchester, in Coffee county, a conglomerate is met with that
answers a very good purpose for millstones. Some of it has all the
characteristics of the true buhrstoue, being hard, gritty, and consisting
of silicious pebbles that have been cemented into a flinty mass.
Wherever exposed, it has a cellular structure. The same stone appears
in Lewis, Macon and other counties, and indeed in many localities in
the Sub-carboniferous formation.

Hydraulic Rocks.

These rocks abound in many of the counties in the State, and most
especially in Hardin, Wayne, Perry, Decatur, Warren, and Mont-
gomery, and in many of the counties of East Tennessee, especially
in Knox and McMinn. Mills for grinding the stone after burning
were in operation in Hardin, Montgomery, Warren and Knox before
the war. The quality of the cement is excellent. Arrangements
for manufacturing it on an extensive scale in Hardin county, above
Clifton, had been perfected before the war, and the cement bore well
all the tests to which it was subjected.

Dr. Safford says of it :

" The cement manufactured is of lighter color than the Louisville
article, and of good quality. In 1861, Mr. Pillow sent me a barrel,
of that first manufactured, for trial. The barrel was put away in my
cellar, and, owing to the troubles which soon came upon us, was left
there without being opened. In the meantime, during a very rainy
season, water rose in the cellar, and the cement got thoroughly wet.
It soon hardened, the hoops and staves fell away, and the cement was
left in a solid cylindrical mass — a good cast of the barrel which held
it. I have also seen, in the Tennessee River, barrel-shaped masses of
the hardened cement, from lots originally lost by the sinking of steam-
boats."

Mr. Saulpaw, a practical mason, who has taken many large con-
tracts for the building of bridge piers, says it is the best cement in the
United States.

The mill for the manufacture of cement at McMinnville, in Warren
county, has suspended.

In Knox county, cement is made of the brown calcareous shale, which

262 Resources of Tennessee.

is found to be a good material for this purpose. The vahie of this
shale for the making of cement was first discovered by Mr. Esta-
brook, a man of sagacity, energy and public spirit.

The quantity of material in the State from which hydraulic cement
may be made, and its accessibility to market, together with the con-
stant and increasing demand for this article, will doubtless attract at-
tention to this unoccupied field of industry. Tennessee could supply
the whole southern market with cement at cheaper rates than any
other state. It speaks badly for the enterprise of our citizens, that
while thousands of barrels are every year used in building cisterns, and
in underground stone or brick work, nine-tenths of it should be
brought from neighboring states, although the material in the State
suitable for its manufacture is inexhaustible in quantity, superior •
in quality, and accessible to market.

Building Stone other than Marble.

In every portion of the State, except in the Tertiary and Quarter-
nary formations of West Tennessee, building stone is convenient and
plentiful ; though differing widely in its weathering capacity, color and
structure, every neighborhood, and oftentimes every farm, has its
quarry. The rock most used for building purposes is limestone, on
account of its prevalence, compactness and good workable qualities,
though the marbles, sandstones and granites are brought into requisi-
tion for the same purposes, where they are abundant and convenient.

The limestones diifer greatly in their color and durability. Some
strata are laminated, others compact; some are oolitic, consisting of
minute concretionary spherules, resembling the roe of fish, others
granular and crystalline. Many of them make valuable building ma-
terial, while others crumble down or exfoliate by exposure. Some
have impurities, as magnesia, sand, clay ; others are almost pure car-
bonate of lime. Most of the limestones have been formed from shells
and corals, ground up by disintegrating agencies, and afterwards con-
solidated. When these shells or corals are found comparatively un-
broken in the structure of the limestone, it is not so compact or homo-
geneous, and will not resist in the same degree the erosive action of
frosts or rains.

The State capitol is l)uilt of a huiiiiuitod limestone, that shows its
sedimentary character in the numcrtjus horizontal bands arranged in

Other Mifierals, 263

laminae. It is, in reality, a consolidated bed of calcareous sand. It
has a bluish gray color, streaked with lines more or less dark. In
the round columns, they appear as lines or bands. It is not a durable
stone, and the selection of it for the building of the state-house wa«
unfortunate, as many of the stones in that building have begun to ex-
foliate or shale oif where exposed.

A most beautiful limestone for building, forms one of the ridges in
Houston county, a short distance from Arlington, the county seat. It
is compact and massive, and lies in huge blocks, with vertical seams.
The stratum must be at least fifty feet in thickness. When dressed, it
has a creamy or subdued whitish color, with sparkling, crystalline par-
ticles. When first quarried, it works with ease, but hardens by time.
It stands weathering, and is almost destitute of fossil remains. It is
much used in Memphis as capstones, and brings, in that market, a high
price.

Dove-colored limestones are found all over the Central Basin.
Their neutral color makes them a favorite stone for the foundation of
dwelling-houses.

Four miles south-west pf Nashville, occurs a bed of light-colored
limestone, good grain, easily worked, and very durable. It forms
some of the most magnificent fronts to the store-houses and other
buildings in Nashville. The stratum is four or more feet in thickness,
and is known as the Bosley stone.

A rock very much of the same character is found in Bell's Bend,
probably the same stratum as that mentioned above, which has been
extensively used, and some of it, several years ago, was taken to Mem-
phis. The owners have made extensive preparation for quarrying
this stone, a railroad having been built to convey it to the Cumberland
River. The oolitic limestone of the Cumberland Table Land is an
excellent building stone, on account of its light color, grain and dura-
bility. It occurs on the slopes of the Table Land. A light-colored
sandstone, from the top of this Table Land, has been used for building
purposes. It is compact, hard and durable. One front in Nashville
has been constructed of it.

There are localities where a soft sandstone occurs, especially in the
counties of Dickson, Lawrence, Wayne, Perry, and Hickman. This
rock is much used for building chimneys. When first quarried it is
soft, easily cut with an axe into desirable shapes, but hardens by ex-
posure.

264 Resources of Tennessee.

In East Tennessee, near the North Carolina line, are places that
would supply a good granite for building ; both gray and reddish va-
rieties occur, the latter somewhat resembling the Scotch granite.

In the Central Basin, the surface, glady limestones, as well as the
better rocks from quarries, are utilized in the building of fences. All
the best farms of Davidson, Maury and Rutherford counties have
more or less stone fencing. Many of them have no other for outside
boundaries. The prevalence of this limestone rock in Middle and
East Tennessee renders the farmers, in a measure, independent of the
timber supply for enclosures. Flagstones for pavements can be ob-
tained in several localities in the Central Basin. Much of the iron
limestones are in thin sheets, ripplemarked, and answer a good pur-
pose for flagstones. This has, to some extent, been used for curbing
and paving in Knoxville and other towns in East Tennessee. Flags
of sandstone occur in Morgan county. Roofing slates are also used
for flags.

A red ferruginous sandstone, occurring in isolated masses on high
points in West Tennessee, often in fantastic shapes, most usually in
great cubic blocks, is much used in that region as foundations for build-
ings. It belongs to the Orange Sand formation, and supplies a want
in that division of the State, owing to the scarcity of building stone.
A curious specimen of this sandstone occurs at Hollow Rock Station,
on the St. Louis division of the Nashville and Chattanooga Railroad.
It is a huge, lonely boulder, without any other rock in the vicinity, and
is pierced by a large cavity.

Potter's Clay.

This clay results from the decomposition of granites and shales.
When the clay is red or yellow, it denotes the presence of the oxide of
iron ; when white, its absence. Potter's clay has a peculiar unctions feel,
and has the valuable property of resisting heat without cracking. Con-
siderable deposits of white clay are found in East Tennessee, on the
Knoxville and Ohio Railroad, and in the vicinity of the lower Ten-
nessee River, in the counties of Hickman, Perry and Wayne; also in
Montgomery and Houston counties. Some of this clay has been
worked up into stone-ware. There are numerous establishments in
the State for the manufacture of Potter's ware, and quite large ones in
Memphis, Nashville and Knoxville. The wares arfe sometimes colored

Other Minerals. 265

with oxide of manganese. Kaolin, a clay derived directly from gran-
ite^ is found in Carter county.

Fire-Clay.

A useful variety is met with in Stewart county, at the heads of sev-
eral of the smaller valleys. The Memphis and Louisville Railroad
also cuts through extensive beds in Houston county. Upon the erec-
tion of the Cumberland Iron Works, on the Cumberland River, fire-
brick at an enormous expense were brought from Liverpool. In pros-
pecting for iron ore, a bed of grayish-colored earth was found near the
" Morgan Bank," underlying a bed of gravel. This earth was tested,
and the bricks made of it were found to be equal to those brought from
Liverpool. This bed of clay has been worked to the depth of six feet
without reaching the bottom. Much of it has been shipped to various
points. Fire-clay is also found in the Coal ISIeasures, always, we be-
lieve, immediately underlying a seam of coal. It results from the de-
composition of the eiliceo-argillaceous underlying shale, and its plas-
ticity and impervious nature, when collected in a bed, prevents it from
being carried away by infiltration.

Gold.

Hopes were entertained for many years that this precious metal
would be found in paying quantities. The first gold was discovered
in the State on Coca Creek, in Monroe county, in 1831. The dis-
covery produced an intense excitement. The farmer left his plow, the
woodman his axe, the hunter his gun, the shoemaker his last, and
hurried to this newly found El Dorado. Over a space eight or ten
miles long and two or three wide, the accumulations in low places
and in the beds of streams, were "panned" with a commendable in-
dustry. But no very rich deposits were ever found. The highest
average per day was about two dollars, and this average fell, until gold
digging in Tennessee was abandoned as a profitless business. A com-
pany for the purpose of working the Coca Creek Mines has been
formed since the war ; what success it has met with we are not in-
formed. The following table, taken from Safford's Geology, will show
the amount of Tennessee gold that has been deposited in the United
States Mint. It will be observed, that the largest quantity for anyone

266

Resources of Te?inessee.

year did not much exceed $7,000. The two most prosperous years
were 1833 and 1848.

TBAB9.

VALUE.

'TBASS.

VALUE.

TEAKS.

VALUE.

1831

$1,000

1,000

7,000

3,000

100

300

1,500

1839

% 300

104

1,212

2,788
2,240
3,202
2,642

1847

$2,511
7 161

1832

1840

1841

1848

1833

1849

5 180

1834

1842

1850

1,507
2 377

1835

1843

1851 .... ....

1836

1844

1845

1846

1852

750

1837

1853

149

1838

1854

Total

$46,023

Since 1854, the quantity of gold dust deposited from Tennessee has
probably been so small as to be unworthy of mention.

Lead.

Though this metal has been found in various localities in East and
Middle Tennessee, no sufficient quantity has been met with, except at
one place, to justify the erection of an establishment for its reduction.
The veins or pockets have proved unreliable. Among the most prom-
ising veins is the Caldwell Mine in Union county. Besides this, are the
Jackson Mines in Bompass Cove, Washington county, the Carter and
Montgomery Mines in Monroe, and the Hambright Mine in Bradley.
The Hambright Mine was first opened in 1851. The Confederate gov-
ernment worked it in 1861-2-3, employing 100 men, and spent $25,000
in erecting works. The lead is in pockets, each pocket yielding from
a half ton to a ton. In regard to the Caldwell Mine, Dr. Safford, who
visited it in 1867, says :

" Of all that I have seen, th(^rc is but one that I regard as promising, and
that is the Caldvcll Mine on Powell's Uiver. This is in Union county,
at a point on the river between Tazewell and Jacksboro', and about six-
teen miles from the former place. The vein fills a nearly vertical fis-
sure, about twenty inches wide, in nearly horizontal rocks. It can be
traced for nearly a mile. At the time of my visit, very little had been
done towards its development, l)ut its character, in one plaiic on the
surface, could be distinctly seen. The gakuiite, associated with blende
and some pyrite, occurs in several sheets, with an aggregate thickness

Other Mi7ie7'als. 267

of about five inches. The sheets are separated by a gray vein-stone.
There is reason to believe that the character of the lode will improve
further down."

South of Tazewell, in Claiborne county, a vein of lead ore crosses
the road leading from Morristown to Cumberland Gap, and has been
traced for several miles. Large specimens have been picked up, but
no abundance has been developed.

Zinc Ores.

There are two ores of zinc easily worked, the smithsonite and cola-
mine. These occur at a number of localities in considerable deposits,
especially in Claiborne, Union, and JeiFerson counties.

A large establishment for the manufacture of white oxide of zinc
for paint, was once in operation at Mossy Creek, in Jeiferson county.
Since the war it has been suffered to go to decay, although it is under-
stood that the lack of ore, in workable quantities, was not the cause of
its failure.

The zinc ores are probably in greatest abundance in Union countv.
Near Powell's River, the Stiner belt of zinc exists. It is fifty or sixty
feet wide, and is marked by the absence of trees. Dr. Saiford, who
traced the vein in 1865, for a considerable distance, in an east-north-
easterly direction, says, that at the time of his visit, six or seven pits
had been dug and a large quantity of ore thrown out. Some of
this was taken down the river, but the most of it has been lying on
the ground ever since. So far as could be seen, the ore, smithsonite and
calamine, occurs, with here and there buttons and small masses of
galenite, and occasionally of blende, with much siliceous matter, in ir-
regular "veins," or in a network of veins. The veins apparently run
vertically into the rocks, are from a few inches to several feet in thick-
ness, and with the enclosed matter make up the zone described- The
rocks of the vicinity are dark and blue magnesian limestones, of the
lower part of Knox Dolomite. Some of them are oolitic, and a few
thin beds of Knox variegated shale are met with. The strata, in gen-
eral, are approximately horizontal. The masses of ore throwui out are
rough, heavy, and generally more or less open.

The lead and zinc ores are often associated, and with proper means
of transportation, tlie working of the latter, no doubt, would prove

2 68 Resources of Te?messee.

remunerative, and add to our mining industry. The assays of the
best lead ores, {galenite or suljohuret of lead,) show that in 100 parts
there is of

Lead 86.6

Sulphur 13.4

roo.o

Of the zinc ores, smithsonite (carbonate of sine,) contains

Oxide of zinc 64.8

Carbonic acid , .^S.2

100.0
Calamine, or silicate of zinc, has

Oxide of zinc 67.5

Silica 25.0

Water 7.5

1000

Zinc blende, (sphalerite or sulphuret of zinc) and cerussite, (car-
bonate of lead) occur at many of the localities mentioned above, but
they are of limited importance. They are only mentioned as showing
the great variety of our mineral deposits.

Black Oxide of Manganese.

This ore is nearly always associated with iron, especially in the
banks of the eastern and western iron regions. Though valuable in
many of the arts, it has been used only to a limited extent in Tennes-
see. Small quantities are mixed with the iron ores in Greene county,
which serve to fit the iron for making some kinds of steel. This min-
eral is distinguishable from iron ore by the earthy black color of its
powder. It sometimes resembles magnetic iron ore, but differs from
it in not being attractable by the magnet. Like iron, it is found in
small masses all over the State.

luoN Pyrites.

This mineral also exists everywhere in the State, and inasmuch as it
has a yellow color and metallic lustre, it often excites hopes of bound-
less wealth. Scarcely a week passes that the State Geologist does not
receive a package of this mineral from persons who believe they have

Other Minerals. 269

discovered gold beds of marvelous promise. It . is valueless unless
when occurring in large quantities, when it may be utilized in the
manufacture of sulphur and sulphuric acid. It can be distinguished
from gold in several ways.

1. By its hardness. It strikes fire with steel as readily as flint, and
from this circumstance it derives its name — pyrites meaning fire-stone.
Gold, on the contrary, is soft and easily cut, and of course will not
strike fire with anything.

2. It makes a hlaoh mark on a piece of unglazed porcelain, or on
the clean surface of a whetstone, while gold always gives a golden
yellow metallic streak.

3. If coarsely pulverized and roasted on a shovel to a low red heat
it takes fire and burns, giving oflP the fumes of burning sulphur, while
gold, under the same conditions, would remain unaffected.

AVe have been induced to give these tests in order that persons may
apply the tests themselves.

A large quantity of this mineral is found associated with the copper
at Ducktown. It also occurs in a considerable bed in Greene county,
south of Greeneville two miles ; in Moore and Perry, and indeed every-
where in the Btack Shale formation.

GOPPEEAS.

The mineral which has just been described, when it occurs mixed
with shales, very often in sheltered places, decomposes in such a way
as to give incrustations or deposits of impure copperas. The black
shale which crops out on the margin of the Highland Rim, is
capped by siliceous, flinty layers. Exposure to the atmosphere disin-
tegrates the shales and leaves circular, cavernous spaces, often called
" rock houses," with great overlianging rocky ceilings. Sometimes
these are called copperas caves, and one near Manchester, described in
the article on Coifee county, is of picturesque beauty. There are hun-
dreds of these rock houses, in which it is common to meet with heaps
and specimens of copperas. This crude copperas is used for domestic
purposes, such as dyeing, etc., by persons living in the vicinity.

During the conflict between the states, tons of copperas were made
from the debris thrown out from the copper mines at Ducktown, this
debris consisting in great part of iron pyrites.

270 Resources of Te?inessee.

The manufacture of copperas could be carried on to considerable ex-
tent in Tennessee, but the low price of that article presents very few
inducements at present to engage in its manufacture.

Heavy Spae or Barytes.

A white, heavy mineral, used for making cheap paints, and takes
the place of white lead to some extent. It is found in Middle
and East Tennessee. It is mined in Greene, Washington, Jeffer-
son, and some other counties. It is found usually associated with
lead, constituting the gangue of that mineral. It occurs in all
the limestone counties of the State, but rarely in workable quantities.

In 1840, while Col. R. C. Morris was prospecting for lead in
McMinn county, he discovered an extensive bed of it near the mouth
of Mouse Creek, on the west side of the point of the ridge running
down between Hiwassee River and the creek, opposite the point from
where the lead mine was opened. He penetrated the bed for twenty
feet. The deposit is very rich and heavy. The amount mined an-
nually in the State is 1,040,177 pounds. The following are the ship-
ments from the several stations on the East Tennessee, Virginia and
Georgia Railroad for the year ending June 30, 1873 :

Fallen's 455,663 pounds.

Greeneville 125,498 "

Midway 184,847

Morristown 197,835 "

Sweetwater 76,334 "

Total 1,040,177 "

Gypsum.

An extensive bed of gypsum would be very desirable as furnishing
material for land-plaster, and it has been industriously sought for, but
as yet no such happy discovery has been made. Nevertheless, gypsum,
in cabinet specimens, has been gathered in many points, both in East
and Middle Tennessee. Small crystals have been observed in great
quantities in the soils east of Bays Mountain ; in many of the lead
veins, and in iron pots or geodcs of iron ore of the Western Iron re-
gion. It takes the form of dazzling incirustations in numerous caves,
which often assume tlie form of snowy rosettes and icy vegetation.
The most noted of these caves is Gray's cave, in the northern part of

Other Minerals. 271

Sumner county. On the floor of this cavern are fine specimens of
crystallized gypsum, or selenite. Some of the limestone rocks of the
Cumberland Table Land are loaded with balls of granular gypsum, a
true alabaster. Many of these balls are four or five inches in diame-
ter, or even larger.

Common Salt.

Twenty-five or thirty years ago, salt, to some extent, was made in
the State, especially in Overton, White and Anderson counties. The
wells, however, failed to hold out, or the water became too weak to
justify further operations, in the face of the competition from other
quarters. Perhaps the most important locality is at Winter's Gap, in
Anderson county, where salt was manufactured for many years. A
diagram showing the relative position of this well, is given in the
chapter on coal. During the petroleum excitement, many wells bored
in search of that oil, yielded salt water, from which a fair percentage
of salt might have been manufactured. On Obey River, furnaces were
erected and the manufacture of salt begun. The want of transporta-
tion probably caused an abandonment of the works. A number of
artesian sulpher wells, among others, those in Nashville, in Henry and
Hardin counties, were bored in search of brine. The manufacture of
salt has not proved thus far a profitable industry.

Saltpetee.

In 1812-14, a large amount of saltpeter was manufactured in this
State, and small quantities during the late civil conflict. The nitrous
earth is found in caves. These caves are numerous all over Middle
and East Tennessee. They are found in limestone regions.

Petroleum.

Petroleum has been found at various points in the State In Ovcb-
ton county there are many places where this oil oozes from the surface.
Spring Creek, in that county, has given the fairest promise of a remu-
nerative return. Ten thousand barrels of oil have been obtained from
the wells in that vicinity, but the price of transportation made the
business unprofitable. On Eagle Creek, in the same county, oil was
obtained. On Jones' Creek, in Dickson county, some oil has been
found at various times, amounting in all probably to 200 barrels.

272 Resources of Tennessee.

The depth to which the boring was carried in Overton county, was less
than 100 feet. On Jones Creek, oil was found at the depth of 132
feet. Deeper borings failed to increase the yield.

Lignite.

This may be termed a half-formed coal, and is intermediate in char-
acter between the true coal and a mass of dead vegetable matter. In
appearance it sometimes looks like the true coal, but it has rarely the
deep lustrous black of that mineral. It is very often of a brown color,
light and sometimes spongy. It does not ignite readily, or burn
freely, though it is often used for fuel, burning when dry, something
like rotten wood, and emitting an empyreumatic odor. In structure
it varies considerably, sometimes showing woody fibre and then ap-
proaching in aspect the mineral coal. For commercial purposes, its
value increases as it approximates the latter in appearance. Some-
times it is scarcely distinguishable, except during combustion, when
it emits the peculiar odor mentioned and burns with a smothered
flame, leaving a large residuum. Extensive beds of lignite are
found in many of the counties in West Tennessee, and especially
in those counties in which are the escarpments that overlook
the valley-plain of the Mississippi. Fair presentations are to be
found in Dyer, Lauderdale, Tipton and Shelby. The beds, some-
times overlying each other, vary in thickness from a few inches
to four and five feet. . A fine bed, four feet thick, is seen at Old
River, in Tipton county. At this place are three strata of lignite,
with many more thin seams. These beds do not spread out laterally
very far, but usually thin out and appear to have been formed from
beds of accumulated vegetable matter, either the former growth of
swamps, or of drifted material.

At Raleigh, the old county seat of Shelby county, situated on Wolf
River, a mine was opened in the winter of 1855-6, and the lignite
was used as fuel in a hotel at that place. It is said to have been a
tolerably good substitute for coal, but in its burning and heating prop-
erties, it was far inferior to that article. Attempts were made also
to generate steam in a neigliboring saw-mill with it, with not very sat-
isfactory results. Blacksmiths have emj)loycd it in their forges when
nothing better could be obtained. In very dry seasons, when set on
fire, it will burn for weeks in the beds. The lignite, like peat, in
order to be used as a fuel, must be mined in the summer or fall and
aull'ered to dry thoroughly.

Other Minerals. 273

Some interesting adventures in reference to this article have occured,
among others may be mentioned the formation of a joint stock com-
pany, a few years anterior to the war, for the purpose of mining coal
near Old Fulton, in Lauderdale county. It was believed by the pro-
jectors of this company that a real coal mine existed, and great were
the expectations created. Excitement ran high all along the Missis-
sippi River. The advice of eminent geologists was disregarded for the
superior knowledge of " practical miners." Great preparations were
made and considerable sums of money expended in getting out a huge
pile, which, to the eyes of the " practical miners," was the representa-
tive of vast wealth. But this, like all other ill-advised schemes, proved
illusory, and the company dissolved without finding a sale for their
precious products.

In many other counties, in the digging of wells, lignite has been
met with, and its black appearance when damp has given existence to
rumors about the discovery of coal in West Tennessee. In Carter
county, also, a limited bed of lignite has been met with, not far from
Elizabethton. Into this bed pits were sunk and the mineral used for
a short time.

We wish to say here, once for all, that no true coal has ever been dis-
covered or is likely to be discovered in the State, except within the
limits of the Cumberland Table Land, or its outliers, the thousand and
one reports to the contrary notwithstanding. In this, as in many other
particulars, the negative results of geological surveys have their value,
inasmuch as they save immense expenditures of labor and capital in
pursuit of chimerical enterprises. So far as Tennessee is concerned, the
Coal Formation is distinctly defined, and outside of it true coal is not to
be expected. Lignite also has its geological horizon, and belongs to
much more recent formations, such as the Tertiary, and more modern
deposits. In the future cycles of chemical change, embracing many
ages, lignite may be transmuted into coal, but, as yet, it bears the
same relation to that article that the sprout does to the old Irish oak,
that lies imbedded in the peat-beds or morasses of the Emerald Isle.

Another ignis-fatuus that bewilders the unscientific mind and decoys
many into the infatuations of delusive hope, is the black shale. Be-
cause this material is heavily saturated with an inflammable oil, and
therefore ignites and burns, and because its structure is that of a
shale or slate, it is thought to be an unerring indication of coal, if not
coal itself. In hundreds of places in the State this slate has been dug
18

2 74 Resources of Tennessee.

into in search of coal, money and time Avasted, and hopes blasted. If
this report should eifect no other good than that of deterring per-
sons from engaging in such adventures and illusory speculations, it
will have saved a great deal to the people of the State. For more
than twenty years men of more than ordinary intelligence have been
deceived by the black shale and lignite, and we have scarcely visited
a county in Avhich indications of coal are not reported — always
hearing of it, but never seeing it, except in its proper geological posi-
tions. These errors are akin to those spoken of under the head of
iron pyrites.

Alum.

Alum is found in the same situations as copperas — in the "rock
houses" of Middle Tennessee. The black shale could be profitably
used in the manufacture of this salt. It also occurs in the sheltered
places of the Unaka Mountains.

Epsom Salts.

In limestone caves, the rocks of which contain magnesia, epsom
salts are by no means a rare mineral. This material is found also in
many of the saltpeter caves. In some of these it was gathered by the
barrel during the war. A noted locality for this salt is Alum Cave in
Sevier county.

Bluestone {Sulphate of Copper).

This is found at Ducktown in large quantities. Beautiful masses
have been met with in the mines. The water flowing out of the drifts
is impregnated with this salt. It is not, however, separated as sul-
phate of copper, but is converted into metallic copper by being brought
into contact with iron. A great deal of copper is thus separated every
year from this salt.

Mineral Waters.

Tennessee may challenge comparison with any portion of the United
States in the number, variety, excellence, and medicinal value of its
mineral waters. They occur upon the lofty peaks of the Unakas,
and break out in groups from the bases of the long ridges of the
Eastern Valley. The Cumberland Table Land is crowned with spark-

Other Minerals. 275

ling clialyl)eate springs, and beautified by some of the loveliest scenery
in America. The Highland Rim sends forth sulphurous and chaly-
beate springs too numerous to mention, and even West Tennessee, from
Kentucky to ]\Iississippi, pours forth great volumes of mineral waters
from the deep strata that lie beneath tlie level surface.

There are many of these springs tliat have a reputation co-extensive
Avith the Union, on account of their curative properties. It cannot be
doubted that the pure air, magnificent scenery, cooling breezes, and
other healthful influences, will make these watering places favorite
summer resorts for all the states lying in a lower latitude. Especially
do we refer to those places in East Tennessee and on the Cumberland
Table Land, many of which are handsomely improved, and offer ac-
commodations equal to the best. During the past summer they were
crowded with persons fleeing from cholera, and the miasmata which
infest lower districts. Swarms of visitors from Atlanta, Macon, Savan-
nah, Charleston, Xew Orleans, Mobile, as well as from Memphis,
Nashville and Chattanooga, sought these airy retreats, where blankets
are in request during the hottest nights of summer. Not even the spring
region of Virginia or of New York c^n surpass that of Tennessee, in
the splendor of the climate, the delightful coolness of the atmosphere,
the wildness and picturesqueness of the scenery, or the health-giving
properties of the water.

276 Resources of Tenjiessee.

CHAPTER XVII.

Transportatiox — Rivers .

The State of Tennessee is abundantly supplied with navigable
streams. The Mississippi River, always navigable, rolls its turbid
current along the western limit ; and the Tennessee and Cumberland,
with their tributaries, drain more than three-fourths of the entire sur-
face of the State. Of the tributaries of the Mississippi, the Forked Deer
and its tributaries (Obion Riv^r and South Forked Deer), the Big
Hatchie and Wolf River are the largest and most important. The
Forked Deer is navigable for steamboats, at times, as far up as Dyers-
burg, the county seat of Dyer county, and some have gone as far as
Jackson. Big Hatchie is also navigable for several miles, though the
amount of shipping done on this stream is quite small, considering the
fertility of the region through which it flows. These confluents of the
Mississippi pass through a region remarkable for the fertility of its
soil, and its capability of subsisting a dense population. These streams
have sluggish currents and earthy banks, and oftentimes rise in fearful
floods over the level country through which they flow. Most of the
streams of West Tennessee, by their course, denote a warped surface of
the country. Flowing, for the most part, in a north-westerly direction
until they reach a point within fifteen miles of the Mississippi River,
they then turn nearly at right angles, flow south-west, and empty into
the Mississippi, generally where that river makes a convex curve.
But little, if anything, has been done by the Government to improve
the navigation of these streams, and, indeed, little can be done, except
to keep the channels cleared of snags and driftwood, and the banks
free from overhanging trees. In the year 1838, the Legislature appro-
priated $93,000 for the improvement of the Obion, Forked Deer and
Big Hatchie.

Transportation — Rivers. 277

Tennessee River.

This is the hirgest tributary of the Oliio, and so far as vohime of
water and length are concerned, it is as much entitled to be called the
main stream as the Ohio. It is, in many respects, a remarkable
stream. It drains an area of 41,000 square miles, and its total length,
from the source of its longest confluent to the mouth is 1,100 miles.
Its fall within that distance is 2,000 feet, and its average width 1,500
feet. Rising in the south-west portion of Virginia, and bearing
the name of Holston until its union with the Clinch, near Kingston,
in Roane county, it sweeps down the Valley of East Tennessee in a
rapid current until it passes Chattanooga, a short distance below which
it breaks through Walden's Ridge in tumultuous whirls, by a series of
l)ends, into the Sequatchie Valley, where the current grows less turbu-
lent, flowing quietly down this valley for a distance of sixty miles, and
at Guntersville, Alabama, takes a direction nearly west by north. Be-
tween Lauderdale and Lawrence counties, in Alabama, 330 miles be-
low Knoxville, it spreads in a broad, shallow expansion called Muscle
Shoals, flowing over flint and limestone rocks for twenty miles, forming
an almost insurmountable barrier to_ navigation, yet affording the very
finest water privileges. On the Mississippi line, at Chickasaw, it turns
north-west, and forms the boundary line between Alabama and Missis-
sipppi; and after a circuit of 300 miles in Alabama, re-enters Tennes-
see, flowing north, and emptying into the Ohio -River at Paducah,
Kentucky, 800 miles from the union of the Clinch and Holston
rivers.

Regarding the Holston as the Tennessee, its principal tributaries
from the north are the Clinch, Sequatchie, Paint Rock, Flint, Elk and
Duck rivers, and Shoal and other creeks; from the south the Watauga,
French Broad, Little Tennessee, and Hiwassee, and Big Sandy from
the west. Many of these tributaries, especially the Clinch, French
Broad and Hiwassee, are navigable for considerable distances, and du-
ring the spring freshets, large quantities of produce are transported
down these streams on flat and keel-boats to Chattanooera and other
points.

Muscle Shoals practically divide the Tennessee River into two dis-
tinct navigable streams. But for this single obstacle an easy, cheap
and desirable water communication could be had between the south-
eastern states and the vast fertile region watered by the tributaries of

278 Resources of Tennessee.

the Mississiijpi. Its value, as a highway of commerce, early com-
manded the attention of our statesmen, who saw that, by removing the
obstructions which the Muscle Shoals presented, the means would be se-
cured of rapidly developing the population, wealth and resources of
one of the finest agricultural and mineral regions on the continent.

Accordingly, (we condense from the able report of Major McFarland)
the Board of Internal Improvement, as early as 1828, was directed by
an act of Congress, approved the same year. May 23, to make an ex-
amination of the Muscle Shoals, with a view to opening them to navi-
gation, and to submit a plan and estimate therefor, which plan and es-
timate were submitted December 18, 1830, and were approved by the
President in March following.

The salient features of this project were the formation of three
basins, by the construction of dams across the river, one below Brown's
Ferry, one below Elk River Shoals, and one below Campbell's Ferry,
and their connection with each other, and with the deep water at Flor-
ence, by a canal along the northern shore.

The construction of these basins was rendered necessary by the pro-
vision of the act of Congress, that the scheme should provide for
bringing the southern shore of the river into direct water-communica-
tion with the canal, which it was well understood would, if built, have
to pass the shoals on their northern side.

To carry out the scheme of improvement presented by the board^
which also related to the construction of certain works at Colbert's
Shoals below Florence, Congress appropriated four hundred thousand
acres of the public lands lying within the State of Alabama, which
were to be sold and the proceeds applied to the construction of the
works recommended by the board ; and the execution of the work was
confided to the State of Alabama, with the single condition that the
work should be begun at the deej) water, near Florence, and carried
up the river as far as the funds available would permit.

The funds accruing from this source, however, being manifestly inad-
equate to the completion of the work as designed by the board, the
commissioners of the State of Alabama, who had the work in cliargc,
deemed it best to apply them to the construction of that section of the
proi)osed canal which was to connect the deep water at Lamb's Ferry
with the deep water at Campbell's Ferry; and upon their a])plication,
Congress removed the restri(;tion whicli it had placed upon them in
respect to beginning the work at Florence, and gave them the author-

Transportation — Rivers. 279

ity asked for to enable them to construct this middle section of the
canal first; and the. board of internal improvement was ordered to re-
examine the question in relation to this proposed change in its scheme,
and to report a modified plan and estimate accordingly.

Their report bears date March 25, 1831, and in it they state that it
is " a plan not presented or approved by this board," And they fur-
ther add, in relation to it, " that it will overcome about fourteen miles
and six-eighths of the impediments of the river; but after passing
these, a boat cannot go farther for want of the improvements to pass
over the impediments above and below." The work, however, w^as be-
gun that year, 1831. In July, 1836, water was first let into the caiutl,
which a few months later was thrown open to navigation — its lower
terminus being in the eddy of Campbell's Ferry (now Bainbridge
Ferry), and the upper terminus being about three miles below the
Lamb's Ferry eddy, the funds not being sufficient to admit of the
completion of the work to the eddy itself, where, however, it \vas
eventually carried under a small additional appro})riation.

The width of the canal, as finished, varied from sixty to seventy
feet at the water-surface, with a depth of six feet, and lock chambers
thirty-two feet wide by one hundred and twenty feet between miter-
sills, with an average lift of five feet.

The work, so far as done, was well done, and the canal was, for a
time, extensively used ; but the very objection to the scheme, urged
by the board of internal improvements in their modified report of
March 25, 1831, found constant verification in the fact that boats which
had passed through the canal were stopped commonly by the Elk River
Shoals above, or the Little Muscle Shoals below; so that often scores
of vessels lay idly at one obstruction or the other, waiting for a rise
in the river to enable them to pass.

In a letter dated May 14, 1838, Mr. Thomas Williams, the chief
engineer of the canal, says :

"A great quantity of cotton has passed through the Muscle Shoals
Canal, but for some weeks ])ast, the unusual lowness of the water has
completely suspended navigation ; not that there is any difficulty in
passing through the canal itself, but the water on the shoals above and
below it (Elk River and the Little Muscle Shoals), is so shallow as to
prevent boats from getting into it. There were, a few days ago, about
seventy large flatboats, loaded with cotton (all of which had passed
through the canal), lying at Campbell's Ferry, waiting for a rise in the

2 8o Resozirces of Tennessee.

river to carry them over the Little Muscle Shoals. Many more are
detained by the shoals above the canal. The steamer Holston, of more
than one hundred tons burden, and intended for the upper Ten-
nessee trade, passed up the canal sometime ago, but I am told is de-
tained by shoals above the canal."

These difficulties, together with the failure of all attempts to obtain
further appropriations, either from Congress or trom the Legislature
of the State of Alabama, to maintain and extend the canal — a failure
due, no doubt, in a great measure, to the financial distress of 1837, and
the years immediately succeeding — gradually caused its abandonment.
The lockgates rotted and fell to pieces, leaks occurred, the dams across
the creeks became broken and disintegrated, quantities of sediment
washed into the bed of the canal, and now, over forty years since the
work was begun, tow-paths, banks, and bed alike of this great work,
which cost the country nearly $700,000, are overgrown with trees
and heavy masses of shrubbery, while glimpses only of the fine ma-
sonry of its seventeen locks are to be caught here and there through
the occasional openings of the dense growth which envelops them.

Major McFarland is of opinion, that the scheme proposed by the
board of internal improvement, in 1831, for the passage of Muscle
Shoals, cannot be improved upon, and the work now remaining to be
done, in order to carry it out, is to put the old canal in good condition,
to construct the canals around Elk River Shoals and Little Muscle
Shoals, together with the basins proposed for connecting them with the
south shore. He estimates the entire cost to be from $2,128,500 to
$3,676,000, varying according to the width and depth of the canal,
and width and length of lock chambers. The latter amount is the
estimate for the trunk of a canal one hundred feet wide at the surface,
six feet deep, and with lock chambers sixty feet wide by 300 feet be-
tween mitre-sills. The following are the itemized necessary improve-
ments, with cost, at the three points named, with the canal of the di-
mensions already constructed between Lamb's and Campbell's ferries,
which is sixty to seventy feet wide at water surface, and six feet deep;
lock chambers thirty-two by one hundred and twenty feet between
mitre-sills :

Ei.K RiTER Shoals.
9 miles of canal-trunk, at $40,000 per mile $360,000

3 locks, Hi feet lift, at $50,000 each 150,000

2 guard-locks, at $10,000 each HO, 000

2 crib-dums across the Tennessee, at $76,000 150,000

$740,000

Transportation — Rivers. 281

Brought forward $ 740,000

Big Musci-E Shoals.

1 guard-lork 40.000

Repair of 17 locks, at $10,000 each 170 000

Repair of 15 miles of canal-trunk, at $25,000 per mile ■•. 375,000

Dams and culverts 50,000

030,000

Little Muscle Shoals.

6J miles of canal-trunk, at $40,000 per mile 260,000

3 locks, 7* feet lift, at $50,000 each.. 150.000

2 guard-locks, at $40,000 each 80 000

1 crib-dam across the Tennessee 75,000

565,000

1,935,000
Contingi^ncies, to proride against leakage, accidents, construction of

coffer-dams, pumping, &c., 10 per cent 193,500

Aggregiite cost ■■ 2,128,500

The whole distance and fall from Brown's Ferry to Florence, be-
tween which points are the obstructions named above, are as follows:

From Brown's Ferry to head of Elk River Shoals, (deep)

Elk Kiver Shoals

Lamb's Ferry pool, (deep)

Big Muscle Showlg ,

Campbell's, or Bainbridge, Ferry pool, (deep)

Little Mnscle Shoals

Total

DISTANCZ.

FAIL.

Miha.

Feet.

2.6

1.7

8.6

21.1

6 3

14.4

82.1

1.25

5.35

22.0

38.5

134.2

From Florence, Alabama, to Paducah, Kentucky, at its mouth, a
distance of 260 miles, the Tennessee River is navigable for the largest
steamers, and the same may be said of the river between Muscle Shoals
and Chattanooga, a distance of 200 miles. A rise that will give
from four to five feet on the Muscle Shoals, will give forty feet at
Chattanooga, and twenty feet at Florence, and enable large vessels to
pass to Knoxville, 200 miles above Chattanooga, and renders the Hols-
ton, French Broad, and Little Tennessee, navigable for a considerable
distance further.

Major McFarland, in his report, says the Tennessee has more water
than the Ohio, with a permanent bed, broad, deep, and beautiful, witli

282 Resources of Te7inessee.

no obstructions except of rocky reefs, with little or no sandy gravel,
which prevents the formation of shifting bars that obstruct the naviga-
tion of most of the western rivers.

Some thirty years ago, slight improvements were made by the Gov-
ernment on the river between Chattanooga and Knoxville. These
were temporary, however, and no good effects are now derived from
them to navigation. The failure to overcome the principal obstruction
to the navigation of the river, the Muscle Shoals, together with the
rapid construction of railroads, caused the project of Tennessee River
improvements to be neglected for twenty years, and it was not again
revived until the increasing commercial interests of the country through
which it flows, could no longer be ignored. In the year 1868, the
Government resumed the work. Appropriations were made in that
year, also in 1869-70 and 71, amounting in the aggregate to about
^180,000. The work was done by contract, but it proved to be so slow
and unsatisfactory, that the Government, in 1872, abandoned the con-
tract system, and has since conducted it by hired labor. Under this
latter system, the work has been rapid and effective.

Under the present condition of improvement, the river, for conve-
nience, may be divided into four sections :

1. The Upper Tennessee River improvement, comprising all the
river above Chattanooga. 2. The middle division, lying between
Chattanooga and Muscle Shoals. 3. The Muscle Shoals. 4. The
Lower Tennessee River, or that lying below Muscle Shoals.

The divisions are entirely arbitrary, but they serve to give an idea
of the location of the work.

On the upper division, work has been prosecuted vigorously during
the past two years ; it extended from Chattanooga to Loudon, a dis-
tance of 160 miles, and comprised work on fifteen obstructions. Dur-
ing this time ^85,000 have been expended on this part of the work.
The work on these obstructions may be said to be about two-thirds
finished.

With regard to the effects so far upon navigation, only two of tlie
improvements are complete — at White's Creek and at head of Half
Moon Island ; results at those places have met the most sanguine ex-
pectations. At the other points the work is unfinished, and only par-
tially a(rcoiiiplishes what it is expected it will effect; but the experience
of the j)ast j)r(»v('s that almost all of tiie difficulties to navigation on

Transportation — Rivers. 283

this part of the river can be removed by a moderate expenditure of
money.

One of the immediate effects of the improvement at White's Creek,
was to prolong the navigable season at least a month, since this obstruc-
tion was the first to suspend navigation.

Immediately below Chattanooga are a series of shoals known as tlie
mountain obstructions, and by the names of Ross Towhead, Tumbling
Shoals, Suck, Pot, Skillet, and several others. The most formidable
was the Suck. A large amount of work has been done at that place.
As this mountain portion of the river will not be used to any extent
for commercial purposes until the lower river is open to navigation, no
immediate importance is attached to the improvement of these moun-
tain obstructions. The policy of the United States engineer officers
in charge of this improvement, is to do work which will benefit com-
merce immediately, and as the appropriations of Congress become more
liberal, a general improvement of the river will be undertaken.

The improvement of the Tennessee above Chattanooga particularly
recommends itself to Government aid, from the fact, that it is the only
portion of the river on which the coal and iron deposits are found in
such vast quantities and richness, and which must depend upon water
transportation for successful development.

The object of all the Tennessee River improvements above Muscle
Shoals, is to obtain a minimum depth of three feet in the channel at
low water. This condition of the navigation would exist only about
three months in the year, or what is known as low-water season. In
the low-water season of 1873, with the exception of a few weeks, com-
munication by river between Chattanooga and Rockwood Landing, the
present most important point on the river between Chattanooga and
Kingston, was uninterrupted. With' a favorable season in 1874, the
work begun at several obstructions will be finished, thus ensuring cer-
tain and safe water communication between the above points.

No improvements have been begun on the second division, or that
lying between Muscle Shoals and the mountain near Chattanooga. It
is in proportion to its length, however, more susceptible of improve-
ment than any other portion of the river.

At Muscle Shoals the Government has made accurate and elaborate
surveys and estimates in the past two years for a canal, the only prac-
ticable mode of avoiding these shoals. As soon as sufficient means are
at the command of the Government officer in charg-c of this work to

284 Resources of Tennessee.

justify its commencement, it will be begun. The important relation
which this great project sustains to the whole country, has been too
often discussed to bear repetition ; suffice it to say, that it would open
to the west an immense area of mineral land in West Virginia, North
Carolina, East Tennessee, Georgia and Alabama, that would quite rev-
olutionize the manufacturing industries of the west and south.

On the lower division of the Tennessee River, work has vigorously
progressed at Colbert Shoals, the chief of the lower obstructions.
This improvement is completed and is entirely successful. With the
improvement of Big Bend Shoals, and some obstructions of minor im-
portance, constant communication between Florence and Paducah will
be secured.

The Tennessee River improvement no longer drags its weary length
along, but it is a live enterprise, rapidly attaining useful results. During
the summer and fall of 1873, five hundred laborers were on the rolls,
five times the force that was ever employed before on the river at one
time. This fortunate change in the tide of its affairs, is due to the
energy and distinguished abilities of Major Walter McFarland, whose
plans and conceptions embrace the hydrographic system of almost half
a continent, and of which the Tennessee River improvement forms
only a component part.

The amounts appropriated by the Government since the war for the
improvement of this river may be classified as follows :

Amount for river above Muscle Shoals $180,000

" " at " " 50,000

" below " " 80,000

Total $310,000

The amount appropriated for improvement at Muscle Shoals was
<!onsidered by the officer in charge as so inadequate that nothing has
been done at that point. The yearly increasing trade of the river will
no doubt, in a short time, have its effect upon Congress in securing an
appropriation sufficiently large to unite this dissevered stream. The
prosperity of the whole East Tennessee Valley, the development of the
rich coal fields and iron regions of that portion of the State, as well as
of a large section of Alabama, depend in a great measure upon making
the Tennessee River navigable from Knoxville to Paducah, Kentucky.
A thousand barges loaded with coal, pig-iron, staves, hoop-poles, cot-
ton, tobacco, dried iViiit, potatoes, lumber, etc., M'ould annually float

Transportation — Rivers. 285

down this great river, but for the obstruction of the Muscle Shouls.
As it is, the amount of business done is considerable.

. The Trade of the Tennessee River.

The amount of produce shipped from the river above to Chatta-
nooga, by careful investigation, is found to be as follows for the year
1873:

Corn 609.266 bushels.

Oats 121,404

Potatoes 3,000

Wheat 116,023

Coal, (present product) 240,000

Hay 1,763,568 pounds

Pig Iron 22.077 tons

Maple Sugar 30,000 pounds

Bicon 1,717,058

Blackberries, (dried) 5,000 "

Other dried fruits 300,861

Saw Logs, 10,500 ; board measure 2,100,000 feet

Quantity and trade rapidly increasing.

Besides these articles, there are transported from the river above,
immense quantities of produce to Knoxville and Loudon, from as high
up as Lee county, Virginia. As many as two hundred and fifty flat-
boats annually come out of the Clinch, Powell's, French Broad, Hols-
ton, Nolichucky, Watauga, Hiwassee, Little Tennessee, Poplar Creek,
and other tributaries of the Tennessee. Five steamboats run regularly
between Kingston and Chattanooga, and two others are employed
above in the trade, and if the water was deepened, would extend their
trips to Knoxville and to points above.

Between Chattanooga and the Mascle Shoals, the trade is very lim-
ited. Below the Muscle Shoals, from Florence to the Kentucky line
the following reliable statistics of the trade have been collected.
Many other articles doubtless escaped notice :

Cotton 10,000 bale*

Staves 1,635,000

Pig Iron 16,500 tons

Pine Lumber 5,000,000 feet

Poplar Lumber 1,000,000 "

Peanuts 300,000 bushels

Eggs 200,000 dozen

Leather 500,000 pounds

Tan Bark 1,000 cords.

286 Resources of Tennessee.

Hoop-poles^ shingles, fish, etc., are shipped in considerable quanti-
ties. The market value of the articles shipped out of the lower Ten-
nessee is not less than $2,500,000, while those from the upper Ten-
nessee are worth $2,375,000, aggregating for the whole trade of the
Tennessee, $4,875,000 annually. Were the obstructions to navigation
removed, this trade would be quadrupled in four years. St. Louis,
New Orleans, Cincinnati, Louisville and all other points on the Miss-
issippi and its tributaries, would be in water communication with the
great Valley of East Tennessee, and heavy products could be trans-
ported at greatly reduced rates. It is earnestly hoped that the atten-
tion of Congress may be directed towards the improvement of the
navigation of this river — a river that flows through four states, and
washes the boundary of the fifth — a river upon whose shores are found
lands as fertile as those of the Nile — a river that almost dashes its
waves for a distance of 150 miles against the great coal fields of the
Appalachian chain, and in whose confining ridges and hills, for a dis-
tance of 400 miles, are found immense deposits of as good iron ore
and as beautiful marble as can be found within the boundaries of the
Government. For thirty years the development of this rough wealth
has been retarded for want of cheap transportation. For thirty years
the genius of enterprise has been paralyzed by the tardy action of the
Oovernment. Five millions of dollars would be no unreasonable ap-
propriation to make to attain an end so fruitful of magnificent results
and so advantageous to the whole country. Let this river, so beautiful
in its majestic flow, be made tributary to the wealth of the country,
and bear upon its broad bosom the products of the soil, the mine and the
manufactory. The great north-west needs it to transport its surplus
grain and bacon to the cotton growing sections of the south ; the
south, in its impoverished condition, needs it to secure its supplies at
reduced rates. The wdiole country needs it for the stimulating elfects
it will exert upon its industry, development and material progress and
prosperity.

CUMBERI.AND RiVER.

This river, whose commennal importance is fiir greater than that of
any other in the State, and u|)ou whose banks is fi)und a larger number
of flourishing towns, tak(!s its ris(; in the Cumberland TabU^ Ijand,
very near its eastern margin, its branches spreading out like the fibrous
roots of a tree, many of the head springs of which are within a mile
or two of some of the tributaries of the Tennessee River, separated from

Traiisportation — RiveTS,

287

them, in fact, by a single ridge. These variou.s small stream.s, wliieh
have their sources upon the eastern elevated margin of the Table
Laud, unite and re-unite, forming the main Cumberland. More than
half of these take their rise in Kentucky, and the remainder in Ten-
nessee, the latter making the Big South Fork, down which fla-tboats
occasionally descend. This stream unites with the Cumberland in Pu-
laski county, Kentucky, just after leaving the limits of the Table
Land. A short distance from the point of union, the river turns and
flows to the southwest, entering the State of Tennessee in Clay county,
passing through Jackson and Smith. In Smith it assumes a north-
westerly direction, flowing through the rich lands of Trousdale, forms
the boundary line between Wilson and Sumner, turns again to the
south-west, passes on through Davidson county, and at Nashville again
resumes its north-westerly direction through Cheatham, Montgomery
and Stewart counties, approaching within a few miles of the Tennessee
River at the State line, and finally debouches into the Ohio River, on
nearly the same parallel of latitude in which some of its main branches
take their rise. Its entire length is about 650 miles, and what is re-
markable, 595 of these can be made navigable, and of the navigable
part, 304 miles are in the State of Tennessee.

From the full and able report of Col. S. T. Abert, who has in charge
the improvements of the Cumberland, and who made, in 1871, a sur-
vey of the river, we glean some interesting and valuable information
pertaining to this stream. The slope of the river varies considerably
in different parts of its course, as is seen by the subjoined table, and
produces a corresponding variation in range, between high and low
water.

Locality.

Distance
in miles.

Heiglit above

mean tide at

Mobile.

Descent or
difference
of level.

Slope per mile

of the water

8u rface.

Foot of the Falls, in Whitley Co., Ky

Laurel River

10"

2
129
229
192

770.70
685.70
651.70
597.70
597.00
502.50
365.00
286.00

85.
31.
54.
0.7
94.5
137.50
79.

8 5

Head of Smith's Shoals

1 42

Foot of Smith's Shoals

6 00

Point Burn side ^

0 35

0.73

Nashville

0 60

Mouth of the river

0 41

Total

595

481.5

At the Falls,' the river is precipitated over conglomerate with a ver-
tical fall of sixty-three feet. The range between high and low water

288 Resources of Tennessee.

at Point Burnside, is 65.5 feet. At Nashville, the high water of Feb-
ruary, 1847, was 52.9 ; of March, 1867, 50.3 feet. An ordinary rise of
33.8 feet at Nashville, is equivalent to fifteen feet at the foot of Smith's
Shoals, and to five feet at the head, which is called a coal-boat tide, the
stage of water at which the coal barges are just able to pass the rapids.
At Gower's Island, the range is 41.6 feet; at Harpeth Shoals, forty
miles from Nashville, it is 39.3 feet; below Davis' Ripple it is 55.8;
at Clarksville, sixty-five miles from Nashville, it is 56.3 ; at the Ten-
nessee Rolling Mills, 145 miles from Nashville, the high water of March
14, 1863, was 53.8; of March 14, 1867, 55.2. At the mouth of the
river, 192 miles from Nashville, and 552 miles from Point Burnside,
the range is 51 feet. As the great floods occur generally in February
and March, before the crops are planted, the destruction from high
water is not as great as takes place upon the Arkansas, the Red River,
and the Mississippi, where the bottoms are less elevated, and where
the greatest floods often occur in June and July.

From the Falls to Point Burnside the river flows in a narrow gorge
which it has excavated out of subcarboniferous sandstone, conglomer-
ate, and cavernous limestone, at a depth of 300 to 400 feet below the
highland plateau. The river in this distance varies from 100 to 650
feet in width, but the gorge is more uniform, increasing gradually
from 500 to 700 feet. In this part of its course the river is approach-
able by roads, which are exceedingly rough, resembling irregular
flights of stone steps, hardly practicable on horseback, but exhibiting
at every turn, as they descend the sides of the blufls, wild and pictur-
esque clifis of rock. At Point Burnside the gorge widens, and bot-
toms appear of suflicient extent to be cultivable. The river continues
to flow through a rocky bed with bluffs of limestone, and with a val-
ley varying from one-half to one mile wide, as far as Carthage, where
the valley extends upon the south side into the Central Basin. The
river follows the northern edge of the Highland Rim, until it leaves the
Basin and re-enters the highlands about fi)urteen miles below Nash-
ville. It continues to flow through the intersecting ridges and valleys
of the Highland Rim, with bottoms about a mile wide and gradually
increasing in length and encroa(;hing on the bluffs of siliceous lime-
stone, until it enters the upheaved sandstone and coal of Livingston
county, at its mouth. In the latter part of its course its width varies
from 000 to 700 feet, and its banks, when composed of alluvium, begin
to exhibit evidences of change, which shows itself in the bars.

Transportation — Rivers. 289

Before entering on a more niinnte description, the course of the
river may, for convenience, be divided in three general divisions :

The first division extends from the great falls of the Cumberland to
Point Burnside, a distance of forty-five miles.

The second division extends from Point Burnside to Nashville, a
distance of 358 miles.

The third division extends from Nashville to the mouth of the river,
a distance of 192 miles.

First Division.

Through the first section of this division from the Falls to
Laurel River, the river flows between cliffs of conglomerate and
sandstone, sometimes rising in bold escarpments 300 and 400 feet.
The top of the bluffs is the extension of the Cumberland Table Land
into Kentucky. The course of the river in this section is obstructed
by large masses of conglomerate rock, which have rolled down from
the bluffs above. The river between the foot of the Falls and Laurel
River is very rapid, the descent being 85 feet to the mile. From
Laurel River to Smith's Shoals, a distance of twenty-four miles, the
descent is 1.3 feet per mile.

The elevation of the bluffs is not so great as in the previous section,
between Laurel and the Falls, but the country is equally broken near
the river by ridges and ravines, shut in by vertical walls of sandstone
or conglomerate. The ravines, on account of their depth and narrow-
ness, might be compared to canyons. The tops of the tall hemlocks
reach to the feet of the traveler as he rides along the brink. The sides
of the ravines are clothed with the dark-green foliage of the ivy and
laurel, mingled with cedar and arborvitae. The bluffs upon the river
are similarly adorned, and overhang the water at many points for
thirty feet or more. At one point a creek, which disappears at some
distance from the river in the plateau above, enters near the surface of
the water with a volume sufficient to turn a small grist-mill. Rock-
castle River enters about three or four miles below Laurel, and al-
though the veins of coal appear near the surface of the water at this
point, it cannot be profitably mined on account of the shoals. About
ten miles below Laurel, the coal bed is about 250 feet above low water,
and here a deep channel affords facilities for building and loading the
coal barges.

Below the mouth of Rockcastle River, the Cumberland is divided
19

290 Resources of Tennessee.

into a succession of pools and rapids ; the pools vary in depth from
four to six feet at low water. One or two of them are from twenty to
thirty feet deep. At the shallow points, six inches may be found at
low water. The bars are composed of rocky debris and large gravel,
resting on a rock bottom. The work on this section will consist in
removing several bars and fish-dams and blasting detached rock and
projecting masses. The obstructions to descending navigation are
small in comparison with those which occur at Smith's Shoals, which
come next in order.

Smith's Shoals. The name of Smith's Shoals, or the Great Shoals,
has been applied to a succession of rapids, caused by the descent of the
river over ledges of shaly limestone, and designated successively Shad-
owen Shoal, White CliflP Ripple, Long Shoal, and Smith's Shoal.
These shoals are the most dangerous obstacles to descending naviga-
tion, and before the channel had been improved, as many as ten to
twelve coal boats have been lost out of forty, which attempted to de-
scend during a freshet. Since that period a large amount of rock has
been removed from the channel, and the loss of coal boats does not
exceed three annually. The entire length of the shoals is nine miles,
and the aggregate descent fifty-four feet, or at the rate of six feet per
mile. As the river below the shoals has a very moderate descent, a
rise of three and a half feet at the foot is equivalent to one foot rise at
the head of the shoals. When, therefore, the river is high enough
for boats to run the rapids, the slope is reduced to about forty-four
feet, or to nearly five feet per mile.

Shadowen Shoal, the first of the series, is formed of horizontal
ledges of limestone, fractured and seamed by the current, over which
the water flows with a depth varying little from three inches, when the
river is about one foot above low water. Here the river expands from
a width of 400 to 700 feet, and continues nearly the same width
throughout the length of the shoal. The length of Shadowen is two
miles, and the descent ten feet, or at the rate of five feet per mile.

A vertical cliif of limestone, two to three hundred feet in height,
gives the name to White Cliff Ripple, which is three miles below the
first. It is about one-fourth of a mile long, with a descent of 2.5
feet, or at the rate of ten feet per mile. The width of the river is
about GOO feet. It resembles the first.

Long Shoal is separated from the last by a pool, three-(|uarters of a
mile in length. It has the same bottom as the others, but varies in
width from 600 to 660 feet. It is one mile and seven-tenths in length,

Transportation — Rivers. 291

nnd has a descent of twcuty-ODe feet, or at the rate of nearly thirteen
ioot per mile, but at one point there is a vertical fall of two and a half
I'eet. The contraction of the water-way, the rapid descent, and the
sudden turn to the left which occurs at this point, make the ])assage
more dangerous than at any other jiart of the shoals. Three lateral
dams have been built in this bend. All of them enter the river nearly
perpendicular to the current, and two of them are provided with flank
N\ alls. The stones on the upper one have been scattered by the floods.
These dams were not intended to influence the low-water stage, and
tlieir utility, on account of their position, is doubtful at high -water.

Smith's Shoals are about one-fourth of a mile lower down. In length
tliey are three-fourths of a mile plus 478 feet, and have a descent of fifteen
i'cet, or at the rate of 17.6 feet per mile. Three lateral dams, or wing-
dams, have been built in this bend, two from the right bank and one
from the left. The upper dam on the right and the dam on the left
have flank extensions. In these shoals there is a vertical descent of
about two feet, but the danger is not as great as in the Long Shoal.
Some of the dams were constructed by the United States and part by
the State of Kentucky, at different times, and quite a large amount of
rock has been removed from the channel. The rock excavation has
been of undoubted benefit, but the utility of the dams has been ques-
tioned. While increasing the depth of water, they have, it is said, at
the same time increased the turbulence of the current, and the coal
boats are sometimes sunk by the waves which dash over the sides.

A canal would afford a secure transit both for ascending and descend-
ing boats in ordinary stages of the river, and would cost about $1,500,-
000. A slack-water navigation, by means of locks and dams, would
be equally efficient, but not so durable. It would cost about $900,000,
or about $15,000 per foot rise for sixty-six feet, which, with four or
five dams, would give at low water about three feet of water in each
lock.

A descending navigation is practicable by the latter method in this
part of the river. The coal boats receive their loads during the fall
months, and are tied up to wait for the winter floods. Upon the ap-
pearance of a sufficient " tide " they start in rapid succession.

Throughout the length of Smith's Shoals the bluffs, between 300 and
400 feet in height, are conspicuously escarped ; the escarpment is
sometimes on the right, sometimes on the left, but always opposed to
the direction of the current. The rock, when not stained by oxide of

292 Resources of Tennessee.

iron, or pink lichen, is of a light-gray color. Tlie debris at the bottom
affords a foothold for trees, and the bluff on the opposite side is partially
concealed by trees and clinging shrubbery. Two narrow strips of
bottom, one at the foot, and the other about one-half a mile below the
shoals, are cultivated. From the foot of the slioals to Point Burnside,.
a distance of two miles, and a descent of seven-tenths of a foot, or at
the rate of 3.5 feet per mile, completes the first division. The removal
of some logs is sufficient to make this distance safe for steamboats.

Before commencing the descri])tion of the next division, a few words
may be given to the Great South Fork of the Cumberland, which
enters at this point. This branch is regarded by some persons as of
sufficient importance to dispute precedence with the main stream.

Tlie Great South Fork. This fork has been surveved under the au-
thority of the State of Kentucky. The following statement of dis-
tances and descent is taken from the report of that survey : From
Little Jumps, a narrow rocky gorge, to the mouth of the river, tlie
distance is about thirty miles, and the descent at the rate of two and a
half feet per mile. The width varies from fifty to 200 feet, except at
Messer's and Sloan's Shoals, where the wndth varies from 200 to 400
feet. In this distance are two rocky bars and two shoals composed of
ledges of rock, which have just been named. The descent of these
shoals is about fifteen feet to the mile. This part of the Fork could be
improved by lateral dams and excavation, for the sum of $10,000.
But the best coal is found above Little Jumps and between Little and
Big Jumps, a distance of fourteen miles, and here the obstacles are
very formidable. At Big Jumps, the channel is filled with large rocks
for a distance of 400 feet. The descent of the river between these two
points varies from seven to fourteen feet. The channel is narrow, and
its course so crooked that a loaded boat could hardly descend at high
water with safety. At one point during low water the river disappears,
and, sinking into a subterranean channel, reappears two miles below.
Here, where improvement would be most costly, the best veins of coal
are found. The work above mentioned is not included in the estimate
for improving the Cumberland.

Second Division.

From Point Burnside to Nasliville, the head of low-water steam
navigation, the distance is 358 miles, and the descent 232 feet.

Transporta tion — Rivers. 293

The line of the proposed railroad from Cincinnati to Chattanooga
crosses the river at the head of this division, and ascendinir the ridire

' Co

cast of the South Fork, attains the highland plateau, upon which, with
an imperceptible descent, it extends to the state line of Georgia, From
Point Burnside to the dividing line between Kentucky and Tennessee,
the distance is 129 miles, and the descent ninety-four feet, or at the
rate of 0.73 of a foot to the mile. In this section, in ordinary high
stages of the river, steamboats encounter difficulties at nineteen or
twenty points, consisting of rocky ledges, gravel-bars, and snags or
logs, and overhanging trees. At low water the pools become nearly
level, the bars more numerous, and the descent is transferred to the
shoals and rapids. At this stage an improvement of the natural chan-
nel by contraction and excavation is impracticable. When the river
IS from six to eight feet above low water this method may be applied
with advantage.

For the first forty-five miles between the South Fork and Creels-
borough, many shoals and bars are observable. The descent in this
distance is 0,74 of a foot per mile, and the width of the river varies
from 350 to 400 feet. A gravel-bar at Fishing Creek, and a rocky
channel at Cowan's Shoals, offer Init little impediment.

The first point which requires attention is found at Foxbush's Bar.
The channel near the left shore is swift for about 1,600 feet, with rocky
rapids at the head and foot. A reef below deflects the channel to the
right. Some rock excavation to distribute the descent, and a dam, is
re(|uired at this point.

The names of the principal shoals as far as Carthage, are Haimon's
Shoals, Lilly or Wolf Island, Wild Goose Slioals, Waltin Shoals,
Scantlin Island, Sampson's Island, Cub Creek, Indian Creek, and Sand
Shoal, at all of which either dams or excavations are necessary.

From Carthage to Nashville, a distance of about 103 miles, many
bars are revealed at low water. The following bars are named in the
order of their occurrence : Carthage Island, Foster's Island, Goose
Creek Island, Wiltey Island, Bartlett's Creek, Donaldson's Horseford,
Beck's Ripple, and several others of unknown names.

The width of the river from the State line to Nashville varies from
550 to 600 feet, and its average rate of descent is 0.59 of a foot to the
mile, or about seven and one-twelfth inches. The bottoms vary in width
from one-half to a mile, and are highly productive. At Carthage, the
bottoms expand on the south side into the Great Central Basin, one

294 Resources of Te^inessee.

of the natural divisions of the State, and one unsurpassed for its rural
beautv, and for its fertility of soil. This remarkable Basin, says
Col. Abert in his report, is 120 miles long and fifty to sixty miles
wide, and extends longitudinally in a south-west direction. It lies
wholly in the State of Tennessee, and contains the most flourishing
cities and some of the most fertile lands in the State. Its surface rest-
ing on Silurian limestone, is undulating with isolated ridges or small
hills, which rise occasionally to the level of the summit of the sur-
rounding highlands. It is difficult to conceive of this Basin as the
result of erosion and aqueous denudation, but no other cause has left
such unmistakable evidences of its action. Throughout the entire
area of the cavernous limestone its operation is conspicuous. The con-
glomerate which covers the limestone and forms the surface of the
Table Land, possesses extreme compactness and strength, and at the
falls of the Cumberland has for ages resisted the action of rapid cur-
rents. After the water had once penetrated this rock, and reached the
limestone, the caverns of the latter must have supplied subterranean
reservoirs for the accuniulation of the water.

Before the water was able to find vent, the increasing hydro-
static pressure must have l)een proportionate to the subterranean
area, multiplied into the height of a column, which, in the Table
Land, must have varied from 400 to 600 feet. This enormous pres-
sure would have been sufficient to have rent asunder the rock, and to
have opened channels for powerful currents. Evidences of this action
are not confined to the Central Basin, but are co-extensive with the
conglomerate and underlying cavernous limestone. It may not only
be observed in the canyon-like ravines, the rock -bridge of Rockcastle
River, the subterranean channel of the South Fork, the deej) gorge-
like vaUeys of the Cumberliind and its tril)utaries, but also in the
<'onrsc of the Tennessee after it enters the same formation, and it is
equally conspicuous in the denudation, down to the Lower Silurian,
which characterizes the southern Ixtrder of the blue-grass region of
Kentucky.

The strata of the Basii'i, composed of Lower Silurian, pass l)elow
the l)C(l of the rivei' Ix'Iow llarpeth Shoals. This dip controls the
course of the river in its efforts to flow to the north-west, but the south-
west dire<;tion of tlie greater part of its course m:iy have been deter-
mined by the surfa(;e of the HU])erin(nunbent siliceous rock through
which it must have cut its way before reaching the Silurian limestone.
The c(»nrse of th<! tributaries is also controlled bv this formation. All

Transportatioji — River's. 295

these streams have a general north-west direction. Caney Fork is
worthy of note, because of the deep and rocky gorge, and a vertical
fall of ninety feet, by which the river descends from the Highland
Rim and enters the Basin.

Thied Division.

From Nashville to the mouth of the river the distance, as deter-
mined by reconnaissances of Col. Abert, is about 192 miles; the de-
cent by railroad level is seventy-nine feet, or at the rate of 0.41 of a
foot per mile.

The obstructions in this division consist of rocky ledges in the upper
part, and of brittle ferruginous conglomerate of gravel and sand in
the lower. There are also snags and logs which should be removed.

By far the most serious obstruction to navigation in this division are
the Harpeth Shoals, a succession of rocky ledges and gravel bars, sev-
erally known as the Flaxpatch, Harpeth Island, Sycamore Creek,
Harpeth River Bar, and Reed's Reef. The entire length is 4.3 miles ;
the total descent 11.59 feet; the average slope per mile 2,17 feet, and
the maximum slope 7.81 feet, which is near the lower part of the
island. The shoals are probably formed by the increased dip of the
strata and the increased hardness of the rocks. The work executed by
the Government in 1834 has increased the depth of the water, but the
lateral dams constructed at that time are greatly in want of repairs.
Openings have been made in them by fishermen, to secure a passage for
their canoes, and a large amount of water escapes behind the dams.

The following shoals in this division require improvement : Davis'
Ripple, Palmyra Island, Elk Creek, Dover Island, Upper Gatlin
Shoals, Line Island, Race Track Shoals, Shelby's Island, and Ingram's
Shoals.

The character of obstructions, according to Col. Abert, may be
classified as follows :

1. Overhanging trees in the upper part of the river, and some logs
and snags in the lower.

2. Horizontal ledges of rock, revealed at low water, at points
where the river passes from a higher to a lower level.

3. Bars composed of the debris of the bluffs and of the bed of the
river and of heavy gravel.

296 Resources of Tennessee

4. Bars composed of a horizontal layer of ferruginous conglomerate
of sand and gravel, found in the lower part of the river.

5. Wrecks of barges and old cribs.

The ledges of rock and bars of rocky debris become so numeroas
above Nashville at low water, that any attempt to improve navigation
at this stage, by contracting the channel or by excavating the bed, is
impracticable. The river from Nashville to Point Burnside is naviga-
ble for steamboats at a stage varying from six to eight feet, and from
Poplar Mountain "tows" drawing six feet water can make regular
trips when the river is ten feet above low water. Any improvement
of the natural channel must facilitate navigation at these stages.

Low water, according to pilots, is the stage which permits the pass-
age of the smaller steamers, drawing one foot without freight. This
may be called steamboat low water, and is one foot above the ordinary
low water of summer. From the mouth of the river to Nashville,
navigation is practicable at from one foot to one foot and a half above
low water ; from thence to Carthage four feet is necessary ; thence to
Burksville, five feet ; thence to Point Burnside, six to eight feet. In
this division the period of navigation is usually six months. Five
months, with a depth of from eight to ten feet, are counted on by the
pilots of the Poplar Mountain coal trade for their tows of six-feet
draught. Above Point Burnside, a flood of 15,7 feet at the foot of
the shoals, and 4.5 feet at the head, and 16.8 at the point where the
coal boats receive their loads, are requisite for the safe descent of the
coal barges from the coal mines of Pulaski county. This stage of
water is equivalent to thirty-three and a half feet at Nashville. The
coal barges which make the trip unassisted by the steamers are com-
pelled to wait for the flood. If the river at this point could be so im-
proved that the barges might take advantage of intermediate floods of
less elevation, the shipment of coal would be largely increased.

It is evident, therefore, that the improvement of the bed of the
stream may be made eflicient by adapting this method to the changing
conditions of the river at diflerent stages and in diflercnt sections. On
account of the variation of the descent, depth, and navigable period in
different parts of the river, a uniform standard of navigation is im-
practicable. The navigable period of cacli section (^an, however, be
prolonged, and many of the difficulties and dangers which obstruct
navigation can be removed.

Transportatiofi — Rivers. 297

The estiniatcd cost of ini[)rovin<i:; the CiiniberlancI River from Point
Buruside, the head of navigation, to the mouth, is $452,(3()4, of which
amount the first division will require $40,116; the second division,
1163,727, and the third division, |248,821. This estimate is based
upon the supposition that the work be done by the Government. If
done by the contract system, at least twenty per cent, shoidd be added
to this amount. The improvement of Harpeth Shoals alone will re-
quire $51,000.

But these figures refer to the improvement of the natural channel by
the contraction of the water-way, and by the removal of rocks and
gravel bars from the channel. This method, by abating certain diffi-
culties and dangers, does not materially prolong the navigable season.
To effect this, another system must be employed.

Slackwater navigation, by means of locks and dams, is now favorably
known as a means of *river improvement. Authority has been asked
for making a survey of the Cumberland for this object. In the absence
of data, a probable opinion may be formed and an approximate esti-
mate can be made, based on known facts.

From Laurel River, in Kentucky, to Nashville, is about 350 miles.
Through the entire distance, the river flows over a rock bottom and
for the most part between rocky bluffs, alternating with bottom lands.
The average fall from the South Fork is about seven-tenths of a
foot per mile, or less than the Monongahela navigation. Smith's
Shoals, the greatest obstruction above the South Fork, have an average
descent of six feet per mile. These are easily surmounted by locks
and dams, which pool the water for one and three-quarter miles.
About thirty dams would be required for the entire distance, giving
pools of an average length of fifteen miles. The Cumberland presents
less difficulties than have been successfully overcome upon other rivers.

The entire cost of the improvement, which would secure five feet of
water during the low-water season and afford navigation for ten'months
of the year, would not be more than $4,500,000, or less than one-half
of the value of the present trade of the river.

It would possess a rare advantage for profitable investment, by rea-
son of the fact that it would be without rival by rail or water trans-
portation. But one road is likely to cross, and none can ever be con-
structed along the course of the valley, jagged with such rugged and
precipitous spurs of limestone, capped with siliceous rock. The profits
of tlie trade of the valley will therefore fall undivided to the im-

298 Resources of Tennessee.

provement, the entire valley Avill share its benefits, while to the cities
must accrue the lion's share. There is probably no improvement
which would bring such an accession of wealth to Nashville as this of
locking and damming the Cumberland. How far the Government will
aid the States interested, it is impossible to say, but the question is one
of such importance that its merits should be at once thoroughly can-
vassed, and the successful accomplishment of this scheme would place
the great coal fields of Kentucky, as it were, at the very doors of
Nashville and the country below. Cheap coal has become, in a meas-
ure, the creator of wealth and the basis of manufacturing industry.
With the Cumberland locked and dammed, coal could lie delivered at
all points along the river within the State from Celina to Line Port,
at from eight to twelve cents per bushel. The great iron region be-
low Nashville would be developed to a degree impossible with char-
coal only, while the towns and cities upon its banks would become the
seats of innumerable manufacturing enterprises, of ceaseless life and
industrial activity. Nashville, then, being practically surrounded on
three sides by accessible coal fields, would become the Pittsburg, and
Clarksville the Scranton, of the State. The heavy forests on the Cumber-
land, that now sigh in loneliness and uselessness to the touch of the
breeze, would contribute valuable woods to the meclianic and artisan,
and the vast sum paid by our farmers for implements, kept at home to
be paid out in turn to them for food and supplies, thus adding to their
wealth by giving them a home market for their products and by pro-
curing their utensils at cheaper rates. The merchant, the manufac-
turer, the mechanic, the farmer, are all interested in such a schenu'.
Cheap coal means wealth, intelligence, greatness, and in no way can it
be so surely cheapened as by the improvement of the upper Cumber-
land in the manner suggested. Tennessee should stretch out her Bri-
arean arms and gather into her lap the native wealth around her. In
this way will her cities grow in extent, in grandeur, in beauty, in opu-
lence and in commercial supremacy.

The eastern coal fields of Kentucky fi)rm part of the great Appala-
chian coal fields of America, and embrace 8,900 scpiare miles. They
embrace a larger extent of territory than the coal fields of France,
S|)ain and Belgium united, and exceed those of Great Britain by 800
scjuare miles. That portion of tiie eastern coal fields of Kentucky,
that can be made tributary to the wealth of Tennessee, is near the head
of navigation, and extends from Clinton county to the eastern border
of Pulaski county, a distance of ninety-live miles.

Transportatio7i — Rivers. 299

Coal of the Upper Cumberland in Kentucky.

The coal of this region, according to Col. Abert, belongs, with few
exce])tions, to the Snb-conglonierate or I^ower Coal T^Ieasures, and like
the coal of Arkansas, of the same horizon, is remarkable for its excel-
lence and extent. Tlie two latter instances have corrected the
erroneous opinion formerly entertained of this formation, and have
established the inapplicability of the distinction between the product-
ive and barren Coal INIeasures, which possess a local propriety when
applied to the coal iields of England and Pennsylvania.

When the first grate was erected in Nashville, in 1831, says Col.
Abert, the consumption was not 1,000 bushels. From 1836 to 1860,
coal by the boat-load, was from fifteen to twenty-five cents per
bushel ; by retail, from twenty to fifty cents. It is now about
twenty-five cents per bushel, of eighty pounds to the bushel, or seven
dollars a ton. The demand, on account of the obstructions to naviga-
tion, has always largely exceeded the ability to supply the market.
The mines are held chiefly by private owners, who limit their opera-
tions in order to supply the demand at the close of the winter, at which
time only they are able to reach Nashville. The result is, the Pitts-
burgh coal, after descending the Ohio for 900 miles, is able to reascend
the Cumberland for 200 miles, and to compete in market with the
Cumberland coal, of superior character, which has to descend the river
about 400 miles, not quite one-half the distance. In 1860 it was
estimated that 1,000,000 bushels, or 35,714 tons, would be required to
supply Nashville and the mills in the vicinity. This amount is now
divided betAveen diiferent sources of supply, viz: Pittsburgh, the Cum-
berland River coal, the coal mines in western Kentucky, on the St.
Louis and South Eastern Railroad, and the Sewanee coal, from the
Upper Coal Measures of the plateau in Grundy county, twenty-four
miles north of the Alabama line. The latter coal comes by rail to Nash-
ville, a distance of about 106 miles. It is evident from these facts, that
if it was practicable to circumvent the Great Shoals, and to improve
the navigation of the Cumberland between Rowena and Nashville, the
coal from the u})per river could be sold in Nashville in much larger
quantities and at much lower rates. The larger investment of capital
in mining operations, stimulated by the facilities of reaching market,
would lead to so great an increase in mining operations, that not only
would the supply be sufficient for Nashville and the Cumberland River,
but the Cumberland coal would be enabled to compete with the Pitts-

300 Resources of Tennessee.

burgh and Ohio River coals upon the lower Ohio and Mississippi
Kivers.

In the present condition of the river the coal boats are obliged to
wait for a " coal-tide." This stage is equivalent to 33.5 feet at Nash-
ville, fourteen to fifteen feet at the foot of the shoals, four to five. feet
at the head, and sixteen and one-half feet at the coal banks. At this
stage barges drawing four feet may pass the rapids without much
danger.

There are many tides of from eight to ten feet, which, in the unim-
proved condition of the river, are not available for descending naviga-
tion. The barges cost from $150 to |200, and carry from 6,000 to
8,000 bushels, or from 215 to 286 tons.

The district bordering on the South Fork has, on account of
obstructions of the shoals, and large masses of conglomerate which
block the channel, contributed but a small amount to the trade of the
river. About seventeen miles from the mouth of the river a three-
foot vein was opened and worked for a short time. Between Big
Sinking Creek and Little South Fork, about twenty-five miles from
the mouth of the river, another vein, about forty-six inches thick, was
opened and subse(|uently abandoned. This vein is about 160 feet
above the limestone, and over it twenty to thirty feet of shale, form-
ing the top of the ridge. This coal is sulphurous. About half a mile
above the Little Jumps much better coal is found, at Dick's banks, at
an elevation of 350 feet above the creek. This vein is forty-six inches
tliiek and of excellent quality. The coal in the vicinity and above
this point is abundant, and of the same quality as the upper banks of
Pulaski county, but is naturally excluded from market by the obstruc-
tions to navigation in the South Fork.

Between Smith's Shoals, or the South Fork and Indian Creek, the
landing of the Poplar Mountain Coal Company, below Rowena, fifty-
eight miles from Point Burnside, coal has been mined in small quan-
tities at several points. With the exception of the tops of isolated
ridges, the entire area belongs to the so-called unproductive, or Lower
Coal Measures, below the " farewell" conglomerate.

The mines near Rowena have largely contributed to the river trade,
and tiic <'oiiij)any arc preparing to extend their ()j)erations. The
V(Mn is three and a half feet thicU, and is about 900 feet above low
water of the Cinuberland, and tiiercfore 1,357 feet above tide, or
480 feet above the main coal vein of the Piihiski Banks. But the

Transportation — Rivers. 301

difficulties of navigation limit the qnantity brought to market.
Mining costs three and one-half cents, transportation one and three-
fourths cents, or five and one-half cents per bushel at the landing.
The demand largely exceeds the ability to supply. The round trip
to Nashville and back again to Indian Creek, recpiires six days, when
not delayed by fogs. A rise of ten feet at the coal landing is neces-
sary for a '' tow," drawing six feet of water, and carrying from 35,000
to 42,000 bushels, to pass down with safety. The dangers consist in
narrow and crooked channels and rocky obstructions. If the facili-
ties of navigation Mcre increased, a much larger amount of coal could
be handled, with the same outlay. As in all other operations, the
gross profit depends not upon the increased value of the unit of meas-
ure, but in the increased quality of the commodity. One towboat, and
the machinery now on hand, could bring to Nashville four times the
quantity now handled. It is evident that the mines only await a more
accessible market in order to become largely remunerative.

From Harpcth Shoals to its mouth, the Cumberland River passes
through the great Western Iron Belt. The brown hematite is met with
on both sides of the river, but mostly on the southern side. This
ore, before the war, supplied about twenty furnaces, and the tensile
strength and ductility of the metal produced, equalled the Swedish
iron, and surpassed that made in any portion of the United States.
At a point near Palmyra, the ore is found in the bed of the river, and
extends on both sides for a considerable distance. From this point,
ore has been shipped since the war to Pennsylvania and other places.

Besides the furnaces mentioned, which made annually 30,000 tons of
pig iron, there were, before the war, a number of bloomaries, and the
Cumberland iron works, and Tennessee rolling mills, turning out iron
to the value of $1,680,000; capital invested $1,216,000; hands em-
ployed 3,500. The Cumberland iron works were destroyed during the
war. The Tennessee rolling mills and nine furnaces are still in oper-
ation upon the river, with an annual capacity of 32,000 tons. The
Tennessee rolling mills turn out an excellent quality of cold-blast
charcoal iron, admirably suited for engineering and mechanical purposes.

These furnaces and mills being remote from railroads, are totally de-
pendent on the stage of the water for transportation. Trade is de-
pressed from this cause. Large orders remain unfilled, or are given to
other parties, on account of the delay caused by the difficulty of navi-
gating at low water. The present consumption of coal, in and along
the borders of the Gulf of Mexico, amounts to 2,000,000 tons annu-

302 Resources of Tefinessee.

ally. The increasintr number of steamships is creating a much larger
demand for this article, and the application of iron in ship-building is
causing a corresponding extention of the manufacture of this useful
metal. The increasing demand for these minerals keeps pace together,
and both of them are found in large quantities in the states of Ala-
bama, Tennessee, and Georgia. These states have the advantage of
being five hundred to one thousand miles nearer to the Gulf than
Pittsburgh, and since thev produce an equal, if not finer quality of
coal and iron, they are destined to play an important part in the de-
velopment of the trade of the Gulf of Mexico and the Caribbean Sea.
Xo fairer agricultural region is found in the United States than that
through which this river flows, from Carthage to Smithland, a distaiice
of 295 miles. It is the great grain-growing and tobacco-growing dis-
trict of Tennessee. The great Central Basin which this river tra-
verses, as before remarked, is remarkable for the exuberant fertility of
its soil. It is the blue-grass region of the State, the seat of the capi-
tol, and the home of an industrious, cultivated, moral and enlightened
population. Before the construction of the net work of railroads that
now converge at Nashville, about twenty steamboats were kept busy in
transporting the products of the soil to the seaboard cities; and even
now, with six railroads, nine are demanded below Nashville and five
above to carry out the bulkier products.

The Trade of the Cumberland.

To Mr. C. H. Arthur, of Nashville, and Capt. F. P. Gracy, of
Clarksville, we are indebted for the following information in regard to
the trade of this.' river:

Exports and Imports of Nashville by River.

Exports hy River. Receipts at Nashville.

Cotton 3,785 bales. 447 bales.

Tobacco 5,487 hhds. 7,52.S hhds.

Corn 190,000 bushels. 1,368,000 bushels.

Oats 2,(iS0 bushels. 97,450 bushels.

Wheat l.OSO bushels. 54,968 bushels.

Flour 10,483 barrels. 13, "275 barrels.

Salt 7,340 barrels. 65,461 biirrels.

In addition to this j)roduce, the boats ]>lying the Cumberland carry
to and from Nasliville over ten thousand tons of miscellaneous freight,
such as sugar, coffee, soda, hardware, tinware, dry goods, clotldng, etc.;
15,000,000 feet of saw-logs arc annually floated from the river above

Transportatio7i — Rivers.

J03

to Nashville, and probably half as much more to points below. The
entire supplies for the upper Cumberland, a distance of over 400 miles,
tor the entire year, have to be laid in during the navigable season,

which usually embraces the months of December, January, February,
IMarch, April, and May. The navigation of the upper Cumberland is
suspended after the 1st of June.

Coal, to the amount of 350,000 buslicls, and sometimes running as
high as 500,000 bushels, is annually brought down from the mines in
Kentucky to Nashville, and to points below. Five good boats are kept
busy in the upper river trade during the boating season, and nine be-
low, besides several towboats that make special trips when the
river is high, bringing Pittsburgh coal and salt. These boats are often
started to points on the river, but are forced, in consequence of the
uncertainty of the water, to some other market.

Upon the Cumberland, below Nashville, are nine furnaces now in
operation, which, however, are not run to their full capacity. They
are as follows:

NAME.

OWNER.

ANNUAL PRODUCT.

Cumberland Furnace

J. P. Dniillard & Co.
Sechler. McCullnus & Cm
0. Hartluck. Supt
Woods, Yeatman k Ci
Woods, Year man & Co.
J. S. ]\[.-Nichols & Co.
D. Hillman k Co.
D. HillmMn & Co.
D. Hiliman & Co.

3,000 tons.
1 500 t lis

Mt Vernon Furnace

3,000 tons.

1 3,000 tons.

2,000 t' ns.
1

Laura Furnaee

Tri <'■<'■ Furnac^

\ 6 000 tens.

Empire Furnace

J '

The quantity of iron will be greatly increased hereafter, as some of
the furnaces have just commenced operations. Besides these, D. Hiliman
& Co. have an extensive rolling mill, and all the iron has to be freighted
out by river. The iron made on the Cumberland River finds a ready
market at Evansville, New Albany, Louisville, Jeifersonville, Cincin-
nati, Newport, Portsmouth, Pittsburgh, and Cleveland.

There are annually shipped out of the river, from jioints below Nash-
ville, besides iron, large quantities of tobacco, flour, staves, and many
articles, such as lumber, shingles, boards, hoop-poles, wheat, and oats,
shipped from landings, of which no statistics are kept. To sum up the
value of the exports and imports of this river, they will amount to lit-
tle less than $10,000,000, which might be increased to double that

304 Resources of Tennessee.

amount if the river navigation could be made reliable. Mr. Gracy, in
concluding his communication, says :

" The lands along this river are decreasing in value daily, also the
productions. If there were two feet of water, at lowest stage in the
year, the increase in values and productions would, in taxes alone, pay
the entire outlay in ten years."

Amount Given by Government.

AVhile the Government of the United States has been liberal in its
appropriations to many rivers north of the Ohio, the amount given for
the improvement of the Cumberland has been characterized by a par-
simony as unwise as it was unpatriotic. During Jackson's administra-
tion, and through his influence, about $90,000 were expended in the
construction of rip-rap dams, and in deepening the channel of the
stream. Nothing more was done until 1871, when, by recommenda-
tion of the chief of engineers, $70,000 were appropriated, and an en-
gineer placed in charge. About $50,000 of this have been expended
on improvements. Five times this appropriation would not be too large,
considering the value of the river in a commercial point of view. With
eighteen or twenty towns on, or dependent upon, the river for supplies,
with immense coal fields lying on its upper waters, and vast iron fields
on its lower portion, and with a supply of water lasting only six
months, which might be increased to ten, it becomes an important
duty that a correct representation of the value of this stream, and the
necessity for its improvement be brought to the minds of our national
lawmakers. The estimate made by Col. Abert for its improvement,
from Point Burnside to its mouth, is less than half a million of dollars,
while the benefits that would accrue to commerce, and to the manufac-
turing interests, by reason of its improvement, would amount to many
millions of dollars annually.

In the preparation of'this article on the Cumberland, many of the
facts have been derived directly from Col. S. T. Abert, the engineer in
charge, or from his exhaustive report. His valuable suggestions de-
serve the special attention of our congressmen.

Transporta Hon — Railroads. 305

CHAPTER XVIII

Transportation — Railroads.

Of all the agencies which modern civilization has brought to bear
upon the development of the natural advantages and resources of a
country, railroads are by far the most powerful. By their rapid,
safe, and cheap transfer of the products of the soil, manufactories
and mines, they equalize prices, and put those who are remote from
market, almost on the same footing w^ith those in close proximity,
thereby stimulating production, spreading population, stirring up
enterprise, and by aifording facilities for intercommunication, enlight-
ening, civilizing and refining the great mass of population. That they
bring in their train certain evils, is not to be denied, but the great good
which they accomplish outweighs by far the accompanying evils.
Before their invention, population gathered about the great river
valleys, or on the shores of lakes or oceans ; and inland situations
were uninhabited except by wild beasts and savages. But for rail-
roads, the greater portion of the interior of the American continent,
must have remained a wilderness, untamed by civilization, and afford-
ing no outlet to the great human wave, which, for three centuries,
was dammed up by the Alleghanies. Breaking over this, it flowed
along navigable rivers until the iron road made the prairies navigable,
and spread the current of human intelligence, refinement and civiliza-
tion from the Atlantic shore to the sparkling waves of the Pacific.

Early Railroad Projects in the State.

The progress of railroad construction in the United States, from the
opening of the Granite Railroad at Quincy, Massachusetts, in 1827, to
the commencement of 1874, is shown in the following statement:
20

3o6

Resources of Tennessee.

Tear.

MILES YEARLY
OPEN. INCREASB.

Year.

MILES
OPEN.

Y EARLY

INCREASE.

YEARS.

MILES
OPEN.

YEARLY

INCREASB

1827

3
3

131

576

762

918

1,102

1,431

1,843

2,220

2,797

3,319

3,877

445

186

156

184

329

412

477

577

522

558

1843

4,174
4,311
4,522

4,870

5,336

5,682

6,350

7,475

8,589

11,027

13,497

15,672

17,398

19,251

22,625

25,090

297

137

211

348

466

346

668

1,125

l,114i

2,438

2,470!

2,1751

1,726

1,853

3,374

2,465|

1859.

26,755
28,771
30,593
31,769
32,471
33,860
32,442
35,351
36,896
38,822
42,272
48,860
55,535
62 647
69,158
74,403

1,665
2,016
1,822
1 176

1828

1844

1845

1846

1860

1861

1.^62

1863. .

1829

1830

1831

1847

702

1832

1848

1864

1 389

1833

1849

1865

1866

1867

582

1834

1850

909

1835

1851

1,545
1,926
3 450

1836

1852

1868

1837

1853

1869

1838

1854

1870

6,588
6,675
7,112
6,511
5,246

1839

1855

1856

1871

1840

1872

1873

1841

1857 .'!

1842

1858

1874

These road.s were built at a cost of ^3,326,413 09, or at an average
cost of 148,740 per mile.

The history of railroad enterprises in the State of Tennessee is one
of singular interest, exemplifying the immense impetus which can be
given in a particular direction, by the persistent and long continued
efforts of a few men.

The movement towards awakening public interest in that direction,
occurred as early as the year 1835. Col. Robert Y. Hayne, of South
Carolina, whose famous debate with Daniel Webster on the Foote
resolutions gave him a world-wide reputation, visited Nashville in that
year, and delivered an address in Vauxhall Garden, which, as it was
in advocacy of the doctrine of nullification, was received with great
di.sapprobation by the union-loving citizens of that city, the public sen-
timent of which had })een moulded, and, in a great measure, directed by
the hero of the Hermitage. During the same year Col. Hayne again
visited the city, and advocated in a speech, powerful for its argument,
the construction of a railway from Memphis to Knoxville, and from
the latter place to Charleston, South Carolina, so as to connect the sea-
board with the Missi.ssippi River, the great inland route of navigation.
The plan failed, probably on account of the obnoxious character of its
advocate, but the effort served to direct attention to railroad enter-
prises.

A second effort was made two years afterward in the Legislature, by
William Armour, representative from Shelby, to unite the Mississippi
with the seaboard, by constructing a line from Memphis to Nashville,

Transportation — Railroads. 307

thence to Knoxville, and on through to the Atlantic Ocean. He .suc-
ceeded in enlisting many in its favor, but the great financial crash of
tlip.t year rendered a successful movement in that direction impossible.
Public enterprise was killed. Stagnation brooded over every class of
business, and it was with difficulty that money enough could be col-
lected to carry on the State government. Produce of all kinds fell in
j)rice to a point hitherto unknown. The price of cotton in the Nash-
ville market was about seven cents per pound, and tobacco, when ship-
ped to New" Orleans, often brought the planter in debt.

Notwithstanding the financial embarrassments of the country, there
were a few men who cherished the ])roject of opening an outlet to the
Atlantic by a line of railroads, and who were regarded by the great
mass of people as visionaries. Among these may be mentioned Dr.
James Overton, a man of far-reaching sagacity, undaunted resolution,
and unquestionable genius. In a contest for legislative honors, he ad-
vocated the building of a railroad from Nashville to Chattanooga, to
connect with the Western Atlantic. This was in 1843, and Chattanooga
at that period was a mere shipping station, in a wild section hemmed in
by rugged mountains, but lately abandoned by the Indians, and in
every respect unpromising. But the keen foresight of Dr. Overton
had pointed out Chattanooga as the grand focus to which must converge
the lines of traffic from the southern states, and that by opening com-
munication with that point, Nashville would command a large trade
from the cotton-growing districts of Georgia and Alabama. But the
people did not so regard it, and his scheme was looked upon as the
delusive dream of a visionary fanatic. He was defeated, and was nick-
named "Old Chattanooga," a cognomen which he retained to the
period of his death — in life, a name of ridicule, depreciation, mockery;
in death, one of crowning honor, pointing out the wisdom, the sagacity,
and the almost prophetic foresight of him who bore it.

Though the labors of Overton Avere fruitless in practical results, he
sowed seeds that were soon to germinate and bring forth an abundant
harvest. About the year 1845, the depression in business circles which
had continued so long began to be relieved. The groNving^ trade of
Nashville made other outlets than the Cumberland River a necessity.
Other portions of the State began to show signs of an awakened in-
terest in the subject of railroads, doubtless stimulated in some degree
by the action of Georgia, in chartering a road to run from Augusta to
Chattanooga. The subject was brought before the Legislature, and,
under the pressure of influential citizens of Nashville, it passed an act

3o8 Resources of Tennessee.

on the 11th of December, 1845, to incorporate "a railroad from Nash-
ville, on the Cumberland River, to Chattanooga, on the Tennessee
River," and by the 17th section of that act authorized "any state, or
citizen, corporation, or company, to subscribe for, and hold stock in
said company, with all the rights and subject to all the liabilities of any
of the stockholders."

The act was amended by the Legislature on the 9th of December,,
1847, in which provision was made that the town of Nashville, through
its Mayor and Aldermen, be authorized to subscribe $500,000, and was
also further authorized to raise money on loan, by pledging the faith
of the corporation, by pledging a portion of its taxes, by mortgage or
otherwise, to an amount not exceeding what might be demanded for
the calls upon the stock, and that the loan might be created for such a
length of time, and payable in such manner as the Mayor and Alder-
men might deem best. The Mayor and Aldermen were also author-
ized, should they deem such a course best, to issue the bonds of the
corporation, provided the bonds so issued should be in sums not less
than $500 each, and that they should not be at any greater rate of
interest than six per cent, per annum, and should not be payable at a
greater distance of time than thirty years.

These measures were resisted by the minority, and were characterized
as iniquitous, visionary and unconstitutional. A bill was filed in
chancery to enjoin the subscription to the road, or the issuing of bonds
by the corporation. On appeal, it was taken to the Supreme Court^
and finally decided at the December term, 1848, the opinion being
delivered by Judge Turley. This opinion, able in its arguments and
irresistible in its conclusions, decided that the Legislature of Tennessee
had the constitutional power to authorize the corporation of Nashville
to take stock in the Nashville and Chattanooga Railroad ; that the
making of this road was a legitimate corporate purpose of the corpora-
tion, and that it was legally authorized to pay for its subscription to
the stock of said road in either of the modes pointed out by the act of
1847.

It was about the time the charter was obtained that Vernon K.
Stevenson, a merchant, unknown to fame, undertook to canvass the
city and create a public sentiment in favor of the enterprise. He
entered upon his work with a zeal and an energy that foreshadowed
success. Pie visited every house, the high and the low, the rich and
th*' poor, not even neglecting the purlieus, where vice reigns rampant.

Transportation — Railroads. 309

and secured the signatures of fully two-thirds of the population in
favor of the subscription. Godfrey M. Fogg, who was one of his
most earnest and efficient co-laborers, and who was acting at the time
as chairman of the city finance committee, had the honor of first
signing his name in assent of the proposition. For two years Mr.
Stevenson canvassed this question, often repelled, but never discour-
aged ; often perplexed, but never in despair; hopeful, constant, per-
sistent, working in season and out of season, until he at last succeeded
in accomplishing his purpose, that of moulding the public senti-
ment in favor of building the road. Acting under the authority
of the Legislature, the city readily voted $500,000, to be expended
in the construction of the road. This appropriation being secured,
Mr. Stevenson, in the winter of 1847-8, visited Charleston, South
Carolina, for the purpose of soliciting aid from that city. At
first the opposition to his scheme was violent, and in advocating it, he
even had to endure the irritation of ridicule, it being considered pre-
sumptuous in the people of Tennessee to ask for an appropriation from
a state, not contiguous, in aid of an internal improvement from Avhich
they would derive no immediate benefit. Undaunted by the manifes-
tations of opposition, he had the tact to secure a large attendance of
the citizens in a public meeting, which meeting was continued for sev-
eral evenings, and, though no orator, his plain, practical, luminous
statements, enforced as they were with earnestness, directness and
candor, wrought conviction in the minds of a majority of the citizens,
and before leaving the city he obtained an appropriation of $500,000.
The success which he had attained in the accomplishment of his cher-
ished design, inspired him with renewed energy. Stopping at Augusta,
he secured from the Georgia Railroad and Banking Company |250,-
€00, and from the corporation of Murfreesboro $30,000, which enabled
him, with the private subscriptions that were afterwards received,
and the aid which the State rendered by endorsing the company's
bonds, to enter upon the v.ork of construction.

Nor must we omit to mention the great service rendered by James
O. Jones, ex-Governor of the State. He canvassed many counties in
aid of the enterprise and secured a large subscription. His popular
oratory and fervid eloquence won many friends for the road, and
awakened enthusiasm all along the route.

In the month of January, 1848, the company was organized, and
Mr. Stevenson was elected president, and continued in that position
until the breaking out of the civil war. His arduous and lonjr-c'on-

3IO Resources of Tennessee.

tinued labors in the interest of the Nashville and Chattanooga Railroad
have secured for him the title ©•f the father of the railway system in
Tennessee. The work upon the road was begun shortly after the
organization of the company, but it was not opened for business until
1854, though the portion from Nashville to Bridgeport, on the Ten-
nessee River, was put in operation in May, 1853, which, with the aid of
steamboats, opened communication with Chattanooga.

Such was the inception and progress of this great work, and we have
dwelt upon it because it was the first railroad that was completed in
the State, and which to-day has no superior, whether we consider the
excellence of the road-bed, the efficiency of its officers, the quantity
and quality of its rolling stock, and the thoroughness with which all
the details necessary to the successful management of a road are carried
out. Life is not endangered by parsimony, nor freight lost or damaged
by carelessness.

Simultaneously with the building of the Nashville and Chattanooga
Railroad, was the Memphis and Charleston, which formed a junction
with the former at Stevenson, Alabama. We have diligently sought
for information in regard to the liistory of the construction of this
road, being anxious to show the difficulties encountered in the first
building of railroads in each division of the State, but have found
nothing satisfactory. Edmond Pendleton Gains, nearly half a century
ago, made a railroad s})eech in Memphis, and advocated the construc-
tion of a road on the line of the Memphis and Charleston road, so as
to connect the waters of the Mississippi with the Atlantic. The
Lagrange and Memphis Railroad, chartered in 1835, was graded many
years before the Mem])his and Cliarleston was built, but owing to some
financial difficulties, the road-bed was abandoned. The Memphis and
Charleston was chartered February 2, 1846, the charter authorizing a
capital stock of $800,000, and under the persevering hibors of ex-Gov.
James C. Jones, who was the first ])resi(lent, (4)1. Sam Tate, Joseph
Ijciiow, Minor Mci'iwctlicr and others, was brought to a successful
completion in 1857.

Tlie East Tennessee and Georgia Raih-oad was (ihartered as the
Hiwassee Raih'oad, as early as 18:>(), thecharter having been procured
throiigli tii(Mnfluen(r(! of General James II. Reagan, a rejiresentative
from McMinn connty. The charter re<iiiired that stock amonnting to
§000,000 should Ix; subscribed within two years. On the 4th of July^
183<), a railroad couveulion, (composed of delegates from all the north-

Tra7isportation — Railroads. 311

western states, from Maryland, and all the southern states, met in
Knoxville. Robert Y. Hayne, of South Carolina, was made president.
The convention adopted a route from Cincinnati or Louisville, through
Cumberland Gap, up the French Broad River and on to Charleston,
South Carolina. The route adopted was not satisfactory to the dele-
gates from Georgia and lower East Tennessee. The delegates from
McMinn county, one of whom was J. Nixon Vandyke, brought to the
notice of the Georgia delegation, the Hiwassee charter, and upon a
conference, it was agreed that the McMinn delegation should go home,
open books and secure subscriptions, while the members from Georgia
should procure a charter from their State and meet at the State line.
It was confidently expected that the cars would be running from Knox-
ville, through Georgia to Charleston, before the work would commence
on the Cumberland Gap, Blue Ridge and Charleston route. In this
the delegates were not mistaken, as time has shown, but more than
twenty years intervened from the adjournment of that convention
before the whistle of the locomotive was heard along the route agreed
upon by the McMinn and Georgia delegation.

The delegates from McMinn, upon their return home, set immedi-
ately to work. Books were opened. It was believed that the Hiwas-
see road w^ould be built within two years. But it was a new thing ;
the people did not understand it ; the taking of stock advanced slowly,
and to prevent the forfeiture of the charter, six gentlemen of McMinn
county, viz.. General Nathaniel Smith, Onslow G. Murrell, Ashbury
M. Coffey, James H. Tyife, Alexander D. Keys, and T. Nixon Van-
dyke, agreed to subscribe, each, $100,000. When the outside subscrip-
tion books came in, it was found that the stock taken amounted to
about $120,000, so that the subscription of these six gentlemen had to
be scaled down to $80,000 each. These six agreed, among them-
selves, to permit no organization (for they held the controlling
power) until they could distribute their stock to those who would take
it, so that each stockholder could pay the calls without embarrassment.
By persevering efforts, the stock was so distributed within a year. An
organization was effected after this, and Solomon P. Jacobs elected
president, and Ashbury M. Coffey, secretary and treasurer. A call of
one dollar on the share was made and promptly met. J. C. Trautwine,.
of Philadelphia, was engaged as chief engineer. The road was located
and ground was broken two miles west of Athens, in 1837, being the
first lick ever made in the State in the construction of a railroad. The
road was graded for a double track from the State line to Loudon,

312 Resources of Tennessee.

with the exception of a few intervening gaps, and the bridge over the
Hiwassee River built.

Meantime, it was ascertained that $600,000 were insufficient to build
the road, and upon application to the Legislature, the State agreed to
subscribe stock to the amount of $650,000, to be paid upon call, as the
individual stockholders paid, in five per cent. State bonds. This was
in 1837. The financial embarrassments which fell upon the country
that year, compelled a suspension, and the company was forced to exe-
cute a deed of trust, in which the trustees were authorized to sell the
road and pay the debts 'pro rata. Thereupon the State filed a bill en-
joining the trustees from acting under the deed, and sought to annul
the charter. The suit v.as carried to the Supreme Court, and finally
decided against tlje State. The debts were about $130,000, and the
amount due by the State upwards of $80,000, but by skillful manage-
ment on the part of Vandyke, the president, and others, the debts
were all compromised and liquidated, by the creditors taking one-half
of the debt in five per cent. State bonds, and the remainder in the
stock of the company at par. The stock of delinquent stockholders
was declared forfeited. After various unsuccessful attempts to procure
money to carry on the construction of the road, the company finally
made a contract with General Duff" Green, who agreed, upon certain
conditions, to build the road from Dalton, Georgia, to Knoxville.
General Green, after doing a considerable amount of work, failed,
and surrendered his contract, bringing suit, however, against the com-
pany for $100,000, which suit has been settled since the war, in favor
of the defendents.

After the failure of General Green, the company, still persistent, en-
tered into another contract with William Grant & Co., who finished
the road from Dalton to Hiwassee River. J. G. Dent & Co. built the
road from Hiwassee River to Loudon, in 1852, and the portion from
Loudon to Knoxville was not completed until 1856, twenty years after
the charter was obtained. Major Campbell Wallace was the president
at the time the road was finished. Though meeting with many delays
and failures in its construction, and though the name "Hiwassee" be-
came so odious that it was found necessary to change it, yet there is
probably no better built road anywhere than that between Chatta-
nooga and Cleveland, located and built under the superintendence of
Colonel R. C. Morris as chief engineer. The !)ridgcs across a major-
ity of the streams are built of stone, and the one across the Chicka-
raauga is, by all odds, the most substantial structure to be found in the
State.

Transpo7'taiion — Railroads. 3 1 3

We have gone into the history of the construction of two of these
roads not without a purpose. The facts themselves are instructive and
interesting. The difficulties encountered, and at last overcome, the
scarcity of means, the numerous fliilures, the unconquerable energy
displayed, all have their lessons, which the present times need as incen-
tives and encouragements in the eiforts now made to establish new en-
terprises for the development of our resources, and for the advance-
ment of our social and educational interests.

The completion of the East Tennessee and Virginia Railroad in 1858
formed a connecting link between the two great svstems of roads —
those in the north-east with those of Alabama, Georgia, and South
Carolina. The two lines of railroad from Bristol to Knoxville,
and from the latter place to Dalton, Georgia, (and by a branch to
Chattanooga) have been consolidated into one line, and is now called
the East Tennessee, Virginia and Georgia Railroad. It penetrates the
Eastern Valley of the State, and renders accessible a vast number of
agricultural products and mineral resources. Perhaps the influence of
no road has been so much felt as this. The want of navigable streams
in upper East Tennessee was a serious drawback to the prosperity of
that beautiful country, diversified with hills and rich valleys, and
beautified by innumerable streams of living water. Nature has been
lavish in the climate, generous in the soil, gorgeous in the romantic
beauty of East Tennessee, and this railroad supplied a necessity, with-
out which, all the imperial wealth and beauty which nature had be-
stowed upon the country were nearly worthless. Before its con-
struction, goods were brought by wagons from Lynchburg and Balti-
more at a cost often equal to their value.

The construction of other railroads followed in quick succession.
Internal improvement w^as stimulated by the munificent aid received
from the State, under the operations of the Omnibus Bill, which was
enacted by the Legislature in the winter of 1851-2. The provi-
sions of this law were most generous. Under it State aid, to the
amount of $10,000 per mile, was given every railroad in process of
construction, or thereafter to be constructed, under certain regulations
and restrictions.

From 1850 to 1860, 1,253 miles of railroad were built in the State.
The decade which followed shows only 239 miles, and since January,
1871, 142 miles, making, in all, 1,634 miles at this time (January,

1874).

314 Resources of Tennessee.

In proportion to population, Tennessee has one mile for 750 in-
habitants, and one mile for every twenty-six square miles. England
has one mile for every six square miles ; Ohio has one mile of railroad
for 664 inhabitants, and for every 9.7 square miles ; Connecticut one
mile for every 641 inhabitants, and for 5.2 square miles, and New
York one for every 914 inhabitants, and 9.6 square miles.

"VVe propose, in this chapter, to give such statistics in regard to the
railroads of the State as may be of general interest. Some of these
roads have furnished a list of the articles carried, quantity and qual-
ity, from which some valuable facts may be gleaned in reference to the
productions of the State. Others have failed to comply with the re-
quest made by this Bureau, and we have been compelled to rely, in
such cases, upon Poor's Manual.

Nashville and Chattanooga Railroad.

OFFICERS.

E. W. Cole, President.

W. A. Gleaves, Secretary and Treasurer.

J. W. Thomas, General Siq)erintendent.

R. C. Morris, Resident Engineer.

A. L. Landis, General Agent.

R. C. Bransford, General Book-keeper.

This, as has been said, is one of the best and one of the most im-
portant roads south of the Ohio River. Taken in connection with the
Nashville and North-western Railroad, which is owned and operated
by the same company, it is the shortest line from the west to the south-
east, and in addition to all-rail connections with Louisville, Cincinnati,
Chicago, and St. Louis in the north and west, and with New Orleans,
Montgomery, Mobile, Atlanta, Savannah, Augusta, Port Royal,
Charleston and Wilmington in the south-east, has the Mississippi,
Tennessee and Cumberland Rivers to draw from. It traverses the
heart of the richest section in the State, passing directly through the
middle of the Great Central Basin, throwing out arms to Shelbyville
and .Jasper, tapping the coal region at Cowan, intersecting the valley
of the Tennessee River, and penetrating a considerable portion of the
cotton-growing district of vVlabama, then passing through a rich coal
region on to Chattanooga. It also forms a junction with the McMinn-
ville and Manchester road at Tullahoma, with the Fayetteville road at

Transportation — Railroads. 3 1 5

Dec'hord, with the Sewanee road at Cowan, and with the Memphis and
Charleston liaih'oad at Stevenson. It is, in fact, a grand trunk line,
gathering the products from each side through subordinate roads its
entire length. It is now in splendid order, with new bridges, fine
track, fully equipped with first-class engines, and the entire road, with
the exception of seventeen miles south of Decherd, is laid with fish-bar
iron.

The main line of road from Nashville to Chattanooga is 151 miles
in length ; from Wartrace to Shelbyville is a branch road eight miles
in length, and from Bridgeport, Alabama, to Jasper, another branch
fourteen miles, sidings and other tracks eleven miles, in all 184 miles.
Gauge five feet, rails sixty-five pounds to yard.

From a report made on the 13th of August, 1873, to the president,
E. AY. Cole, by the general superintendent, J. W. Thomas, we gather
the following information in regard to the business of this line for the
twelve months ending June 30, 1873:

The receipts of the Chattanooga division have increased from $80,-
000 to $138,000 per month, or fifty-eight per cent.

Deducting the earnings of the Shelbyville and Jasper Branches,
(112,932.23) the receipts of the Chattanooga division average $10,-
878, expenses S7,753.95, and net earnings $3,124.05 per mile of road.
An average unequalled but by two roads south of the Ohio Biver.

The total operating expenses, ordinary and extraordinary, being
seventy-one and one-half per cent, of gross earnings.

There have been forwarded from Nashville, over the Chattanooga
division, 26,263 loaded and 5,215 empty freight cars, and 4,027 passenger
and baggage cars, making a total of 35,505 cars forwarded, and 35,734
received. 1,356 passenger trains have been run over this division
between Nashville and Chattanooga, 720 between Stevenson and Chat-
tanooga, and 570 between Wartrace and Nashville, a total of 2,646
passenger trains, transporting, without the slightest accident, 166,184
passengers, an average of 62 passengers per train, hauling 2.3 tons of
dead weight to each passenger. There were transported 87,130 pas-
sengers north, and 79,054 south, of which 47,861 were through, and
118,323 local, at an average for through of $3.80, and for local $1.75
each ; general average from each passenger, $2.34. Including passage,
mail and express, but excluding Memphis and Charleston liailroad
tolls, the receipts of the day passenger trains have been $187,653.45,

3^6 4 Resources of Tennessee.

an average of |549.54 per round trip, or $1.98 per mile run. Receipts
of the night passenger trains were $165,530.00, an average of $453.00
per round trip, or $1.50 per mile run. Receipts of accommodation
trains were $36,106.75, an average of $115.35 per round trip, or $1.05
per mile run. Passenger train mileage was 239,186 miles; earnings
per train mile, $1.62; expenses, $1.12; net earnings, 50c. Car
mileage, 956,744 miles ; earnings per mile per car, 40c ; expenses, 28c ;
net earnings, 12c.

There have been run 4,414 freight trains between Nashville and
Chattanooga, 829 between Stevenson and Chattanooga, 620 between
Bridgeport and Chattanooga, 87 between Cowan and Chattanooga,
and 161 between Cowan and Nashville, making 6,111 freight trains,
transporting 384,240 tons, at an average of $3.18 per ton. Average
number of cars per train, 14|. Total mileage of freight trains, 717,-
519 miles; earnings per mile, $1.72; expenses, $1.23; net earnings,
49c. Total freight car mileage, 10,477,162 miles; earnings per car
per mile, 11 4-5c; expenses, 8 "2-50; net earnings, 3 2-5c. Total train
mileage, 956,770 miles. Train earnings per mile, less Memphis and
Charleston Railroad tolls, $1.70; expenses, $1.20 7-10; net earnings,
49 3-1 Oc.

The Board of Commissioners for Massachusetts reports that, in 1872,
upon twenty-eight roads in that state, the average of expenses to re-
ceipts, was 72 per cent.; average income per train mile, $1.81; ex-
penses, $1.31; net, 50c; while the results of the past year upon the
Chattanooga division show total train earnings per mile, $1.70; ex-
penses, $1.20 7-10; net earnings, 49 3-lOc; expenses per train mile
were 10 cents less than the average in the State of Massachusetts.

The tables given below will exhibit the amount and kind of pro-
duce shipped from way stations over this road for twelve months end-
ing June 30, 1873.

It will be seen that the amount of lumber shipped from these stations
going north and south will amount to considerable over 5,000,000 feet;
coal, over 3,500,000 bushels; cotton, 29,000 bales; bacon, 1,500,000
pounds; wheat, 332,000 bushels ; corn, 21 1,000 bushels; flour, 6,200
barrels; oats, 10,600 bushels ; liay, only 287 tons; hogs, 373 car loads ;
cattle, 211 carloads; horses and nudes, 71 car loads. These figures are
important, as showing the productiveness of the country througii which
the road passes.

Tra?isportation — Railroads.

317

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Resources of Tennessee.

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Transportation — Railroads.

319

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320 Resources of Te?tnessee.

The report of the treasurer, AV. A. Gleaves, shows the road to be
in a prosperous coudltion, financially.

R. C. Morris, the resident engineer for the whole consolidated line
from Chattanooga, Tennessee, to Hickman, Kentucky, says in conclu-
sion of his report :

" It is gratifying to me to be able to state that yonr road, consisting
of 321 miles of main line, 20 miles of branches, and 30 miles of side
tracks, with ample grounds for shops and depots at Nashville, Chatta-
nooga, Hickman, and stations on the line and branches, as well as for
division houses for men employed on the track, has been steadily im-
proving and increasing in value during the past four years, and now
ranks second to no road in the south.

" The bridges, with few exceptions, have been rebuilt, the important
ones having been replaced with iron structures ; a great many depots
and division houses built; the road-bed ditched and a large portion of
it ballasted; 240 miles relaid with best oak ties, and 163 miles with
heavy 'fish-bar' rail; the water stations renewed with red cedar tubs,
and the important ones supplied with stationary engines and steam
pumps. The work required to reduce the grade on section 53, St. Louis
division, to the maximum, is well advanced. Your main line and
branches, 341 miles, including side tracks and right of way, could not
now be constructed for $40,000 per mile, which I consider a low esti-
mate upon the property in its present condition."

Nashville and Northwestern Railroad.

This road, now consolidated with the Nashville and Chattanooga,
making the Nashville, Chattanooga and St. Louis Railway, was char-
tered as early as 1852, and was in the course of construction when the
civil war put a check upon all public enterprises. It was projected
by V. K. Stevenson, at that time president of the Nashville and Chat-
tanooga Railroad. He caused surveys to be made, and asked for sub-
scriptions by counties and cities to be benefited by it. After canvass-
ing various counties, which might be interested, and receiving sub-
scriptions to a large amount, and which were in few if any in-
stances ])aid, he applied .to the city of Nashville for a f 100,000
cY/.s7i subscri|)tion, which was })aid by a special tax, probably in
1858 or 1859. Nashville subscribed, altogether, $270,000. On this
subscription work was commenced, the first being done from Nash-

Transportation— Railroads. 321

ville, and with the money subscribed by Nashville. It had pro-
gressed but twenty-nine miles from Nashville, and four from John-
sonville, when the war opened, and was running to Kingston
Springs. During the war, the United States Government, for military
purposes, built the road to the Tennessee River, at Johnson ville. At
the close of hostilities, Mr. M. Burns, who was then president of the
Nashville and Chattanooga Railroad, applied to the Legislature for the
amounts which the road was entitled to under the then existing laws,
both for ironing and bridging. By his active and continuous exertions
the entire aid was granted, and with it Mr. Burns was enabled to com-
plete and open the road to Hickman, Kentucky, as originally surveyed
and planned. Mr. Burns accomplished this work, when labor was
high and when bonds were low, and under general circumstances in
which great energy, judgment, and ability were required to finish
the enterprise. It was finally finished toward the close of the year
1868.

On the 27th day of October, 1869, the president of the Nashville
and Chattanooga Railroad, E. W. Cole, submitted a written proposi-
tion, on the part of the road of which he was president, to the direc-
tors of the Nashville and Northwestern, in which he agreed to lease
the last mentioned road, for a period of six years, to put the road in
good repair, to pay out certain amounts for salaries, and to pay to the
State of Tennessee, monthly, any surplus earnings, which were to be
credited to the interest due, or to become due, to the State upon the
bonds issued to the lessor. Any surplus after this should be paid to
the lessor. This lease continued in operation for three years, when
upon the suggestion of Col. Cole, a two-thirds interest in this road was
bought by the Nashville and Chattanooga Railroad, from the commis-
sioners appointed by the Legislature and the Chancery Court to sell
delinquent railroads in the State, individuals in Tennessee and New
York taking the other third. The whole cost was $2,400,000 in Ten-
nessee bonds. After this the road was repaired thoroughly, new
bridges were constructed, new trestles built, new iron laid, and the
whole road put in excellent order. Subsequently, the directors of the
Nashville and Chattanooga Railroad, believing it to be to the best in-
terest of the company, bought out the one-third interest held by indi-
viduals, and the company now owns the entire route from Chattanooga
to Hickman, Kentucky, as well as the branches to Jasper and Shel-
byville, making the entire length 341 miles. This line is now called
the

322 Resources of Tennessee.

Nashville, Chattanooga and St. Louis Railway.

The gross earnings for the whole line for the year ending June 30,

1873, were $2,298,200 67, and accrued from

Freight $1,607,328 35

Passengers 618,781 96

Mail. 40,582 39

Rents and Privileges 31,507 97

Total as above $2,298,200 67

For the Chattanooga Division :

Freight $1,222,841 50

Passage 388,476 77

Mail 25,580 00

Rents and Privileges 18,621 00

$1,655,519 31

The expenses were, for

Maintenance and Improvement of Roadway $329,202 28

" Motive Power 389,207 92

" of Cars 96,404 14

Conducting Transportation 287,445 17

Miscellaneous 81,528 15

$1,183,787 66

Net earnings $ 471,731 65

For the St. Louis Division :

Freight $384,486 85

Passage 230,305 19

Mail.'. 15,002 35

Rents and Privileges 12,886 97

$642,681 36
Expenses 559,150 33

Net earnings $ 83,531 03

The two following tables will show the shipments from way stations
eastward and westward over the St. Louis division. The shipments
each way over the Chattanooga division have been given under the
head of Nashville and Chattanooga Railroad.

By adding the shipments eastward to the shipments westward, a very
good idea can be formed of the exjiorts from the country lying contig-
uous to the road. It is a matter of regret that the quantity of peanuts is
not given, as the St. Louis division of this road passes through the
great peanut-growing region of the State. It will })e seen that lumber,
corn, bacon and cotton form by far the largest items. Huntingdon
and Hollow Rock, in Carroll county, ship more than one-half the
cotton on the route.

Transportation — Railroads.

323

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324

Resources of Tennessee.

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Xra nspurtatio7i — Railroads. 325

The following table will exhibit the entire freights passing over the
St. Louis division for twelve months ending June 30, 1873, includ-
ing those from Hickman, Kentucky, Nashville, Tennessee, and the
transfers from the Iron Mountain Railroad, as well as all from all the
way stations :,

FROM

Nashville,.
Hickman, Ky.,
Stations East,.
Stations West,.
I. M. R. R.

Total,

•a

0 -^ 03

bto

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u 0

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0

Car Loa
Woot
Sand,
Brick.

870,400

76,860

145

3,794

13,010

1,004

1,125

379

1,352,134

359

7,196

556.048

642

128

2,199

2,487

60,000

5,433

3,932

2,8.38,582

76,860

154

187

4,795

200

28,963

14,609
22,003
17.255
3,650
39,917

97.434

FROM

d
0

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0

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0

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.2S

Nashville

8,908

7,3(16

1,327

1,661

409,063

19.198

156

Hickman, K}'.,,

612

11,846

1,430

655,840

21,492

515,090

241,543

Stations East...

9,003

10,362

1,510

312,818

31,137

296,434

40,939

Stations Wei-t,..

485

2,57(1

8,842

10,877

I. M. R. R.,

76,529
106,131

4,519

7,708,996

98,531

617,167

275,699

Total

19,008

5,929

4,681

9,089.287

179,200

1,439,606

558,356

Total tons shipped over St. Louis division, for year ending June 30, 1873, 9,434.
Average, p<-r ton, $3 94

This road has paid its whole amount of indebtedness to the State, in
bonds and pa.st dne coupons, the sum amounting to $1,790,789.95.

The amount in Tennessee bonds originally required in the purchase
of the Northwestern road was $2,4'00,000, and past due coupons; and
the amount of bonds loaned by the State to the Nashville, Chattanooga
and St. Louis Railway was $400,000. These large amounts have been
paid within tlie remarkably short space of two years. The last payment
on the j)urchase of the Northwestern Road, amounting to $600,000,
was anticipated, it not being due until next October.

326 Resources of Tennessee.

The Nashville, Chattanooga and St. Louis Railway originally had
out $1,650,000 of its bonds indorsed by the State, but this amount has
been reduced, from time to time, by purchase of bonds by the company
and paying them into the State sinking fund, to $1,425,000.

The management of this road has been characterized by wisdom^
prudence, foresight, and financial ability, and its president and other
officers have never failed to advance the material interests of Nash-
ville and the State of Tennessee.

East Tennessee, Virginia and Georgia Eailroad.

OFFICERa.

R. T. Wilson, President.

Joseph Jaques, Vice-President mid Superintendent.

Charles M. McGhee, Vice-President.

James G. Mitchell, Secretary and Treasurer.

0. H. P. RoGAN, Auditor.

James R. Ogden, General Freight and Ticket Agent.

This road runs from Bristol, on the Virginia line, to Dalton, Ga., a
distance of 240 miles, with a branch from Cleveland, Tennessee, to
Chattanooga, thirty miles, making in all 270 miles. It has sidings and
other tracks 22 miles; guage five feet; weight of rail, fifty-six to
sixty pounds per yard. The East Tennessee and Virginia, from Bris-
tol to Knoxville, and the East Tennessee and Georgia, from Knoxville
to Dalton, Georgia, were consolidated November 26, 1869, and put
Under one management, with the above title. Since the consolidation, the
road has been greatly improved. In 1872, the Kogersville and Jeffer-
son Railroad, sixteen miles in length, was bought by the company from
the State of Tennessee for $15,548.91. It is said to have been re-
cently purchased by W. P. Elliott. The Cincinnati, Cumberland Gap
and Charleston Railroad, thirty-nine miles in operation, from Morris-
town to Wolf Creek, is also o])erated by this company.

This company purchased of the State, October, 1871, the Knox-
ville and Ohio Railroad, which extends from Knoxville to Wheeler's
Ga]), or Canjyville, a distance of forty miles. The State granted aid to
the oi'iginal company to the amount of $2,."j50,()0(), but owing to the
failure of the road to ])ay the interest it was sold. The following account
of the shipments of coal over this road was furnished by Jno. L.
Moses, secretary, treasurer, and superintendent. There is a discrep-
ancy in the amounts as given by him, and those given by Mr. Camp
in the chaptiT on coal.

Transportation — Railroads. 327

Coal Shipments over Knoxville and Ohio Railroad.

From Coal Creek and Carey ville in 1871 36,006 tons.

in 1872 48,191 "

From Coal Creek in 1873 46,206 tons. \ ^i leo n

" Careyvilleinl873 14,976 " /*>^.15^

Mr. Camp gives the product at Coal Creek, for 1873, at 75,000 tons.
Dr. Hart's statement as to the product at Wheeler's Station, or
Careyville, agrees with that given above.

The following statement, taken from the report of the vice-presi-
dent and superintendent, will show the gross and net earnings of the
main line, for the year ending June 30, 1873.

From Passengers $ 439,062 84

" Freight 856,772 44

" Express 14,090 00

" United States Mail 57,457 50

" Miscellaneous sources 10,975 iiS

$1,378,358 46
The expenses for the same time, both ordinary and extra-
ordinary, amount to 929,148 42

Leaving as net earnings, after deducting all expenses, in-
cluding the laying of new iron, ballasting track, &c., $449,210 04

The debt of the road at the date of consolidation, was $5,664,785.32.
This, under the financial ability brought to bear upon its management,
has been reduced in four years to $1,926,791.60, leaving the total in-
debtedness now outstanding as follows :

The funded debt, including bonds given to the United
States Government in settlement of former bonds or
notes $4,191,900 00

Deduct from the above the cost of the Morristown and
Rogersville Roads, and the money loaned in the pur-
chase of securities in the Western North Carolina
Road, and the interest on same, which will be re-
turned when these properties are sold 453,906 28

$3,737,993 72
During these four years the value of the property has been increased
$500,000. The total gain, therefore, during that time will amount to
$2,426,791.60. Over and above the operating expenses and the in-
terest on the indebtedness, the road has for the same period received
$654,791.60. This sum is equal to an annual dividend of about eight
per cent.

This road shows each year an increasing business, and as tlie iron
and coal mines are developed, it will become the great trunk line
for the whole of the Valley of East Tennessee. Feeders extending to
the coal, copper, and iron fields, will give it increased traffic, and over
this line must eventually pass a large portion of the coal consumed by
Western Virginia and Western North Carolina. It also forms a direct

328

Resources of Tennessee

line from the Georgia cotton fields to the city of New York, the' con-
necting link between the net-work of railways of the north-east and
south.

The following tables, furnished by James R. Ogden, the general
freight and ticket agent, will show the great amount of local trade.
The first will exhibit a classified statement of freight for three years,
and the others, the shipments from each station for the year ending
June 30, 1873. The items of copper, butter, feathers, marble, dried
fruit, eggs and barytes are noteworthy. It will be seen that the amount
of iron has increased in three years nearly fifty per cent.

Comparative Classified Statement of Freight Shipped on the East Tennessee^
Virginia and Georgia Railroad, Jor the Year ending June 30, 1873.

Bacon and Lard

Butter

Fiour

Corn

"Wheat —.

Oats

Other Grain

Dried Fruit

Egg;3

Salt

Leather

Coal and Coke

Cotton Yarn

Cotton

Feathers

Lime and Cement

Coppor

Barytes

Marble-

StftTf'S

Lumbpr and Shingles..
Iron-Pig, Bl'm & Sc'p.
Iron — Manufactured..

Horses.

Cattle 1

Shefp and H^g^ /

Nails and Spikes

Hay

Miscellaneous

Year Ending
June 30, 1871.

Cars.
2;929

Bales.
139068

Cars
266

Pounds.

3,795,612

279,348

6,919,493

23,733,431

30,089,704

9,628,076

439 227

4,072,476

582,437

19,034,950

52,294,000

62,585,092

187,935

786,300

1,522,825

1,262,422

9,938,916
8,722,864
1,714,824

4,257,655

406,866

1,992,615

127,421,121

371,669,089

Year Ending
June 30, 1872.

Cars.
3,380

Bales.

131788

Cars.
63|

166i
124

Pounds.

3,844,902

321,366

4,174,355

24,141,677

4,863,375

2,772988

297,666

2 2^4,956

573,667

19,754,150

60,840,000
504,863

66,031,247

264,2.34

723,950

1,636,908

2,053,439

14197,713
9,673,239
2,183,071

1,020,000

2,664,000

1,984,990

338,538

4,420,874

112,723,219

344,789,387

Year Ending
June 30, 1873.

Cars.

4,489

Bales.
144645

Cars.
59J

301
131i

Pounds.

1,938,690

346,819

6.813,661

18.037,345

42,826,560

5.444,629

1,095,676

6,094,237

874,404

22,816,000

441,311

80,792,000
411,351

72,160 888

292 773

480 000

1,200,910

1,040 177

1,582,257

6,370,000"

9,134.548

12,440,634

2,918,437

952,000

5,416,317

2,104.000

7.33,295

3,728,161

134,707,574

443,194,654

Tra7tsportation — Railroads.

329

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330

Resources of Tennessee,

Stations.

Live Stock— Cars.

<
P3

H
O

i5 .^
o 5

Horses

Cattle

Sh&H's

Pounds

124,969 494

1,8^2,016

3,347,461

2,278,183

5,172,165

1,090,391

2,129,981

1,942,807

1,269..358

11,568,924

3,544,877

7.697,491

3,402,761

1,672,321

11,776 217

984,789

1^S5,154

l?r70,180

4,039,397

512,986

110,377,t'91

2 .577,687

3.914,683

10.763,062

3259,lfi7

5.180,166

2.559 203

3,061,514

2,046,887

4,176,331

416,542

5.213,406

991,277

41,275

3,022,052

541.740

19.737.049

72,067,151

Pd8

Brietol

101,993,329

Union

555,216
135.000
64,000

Carter's

2.33.686

484,917

97,7.30

Johnson'?

Jonei^boro'....

3;Stf

Telford's

19,893

LimestBue

428.711
104,359
110.843

Fullen's

455,663

Henderson's ..

Greenville

26
5

5
2

9,998

125,498
184,847

Midway

4.900
50,000

198,032

1,210,291

114,660

272,121

1,631,436

78,517

302,246

112,907

145,97(i

.54,428

11,722,. 372

3.382

524,395

Rogersville J.

Wtiitesburg...

RuHsellville...

02"

7'"

84,000
1,152,000

Morristown...

197,835

Talbot's

Mossy Creek.

itt"

13^

42'"

New Market..

StrawberyPls

63"'

2
4

15
9

30
9
1

2,496,000 8,428

McMillan's....

I 49.170

Knoxville

98101

Concord

177,572

33.000

266,804

Lenoir's

101800

Loudon

9
2
8
9
9
9
3

9.4.81.3

Philadelphia ..

107,187

Sweet Water..

41,280

76,334

Mouse Creek..

1,673

109,899

275,848

382.103

180,348

40,699

35.5.714

268,116

24..349

. 455.173

216,111

3,058,627

. 9,409,062

134.707,574

1521

Athens

33974

Riceville

256,000

Charleston

Chatata

4,651

464,000

232

Cleveland

Ooltawah

Tyner's

State Line

2,192.000 1,895
207,000 275
413.000 193,705
528,0(0 1.53..3.54

.....N

"Varnoll's

Dalton

175955

Chattanooga..

n\%

1,040.177

Total

59>^

301

9,134,548

441„311

443,194.654

411351

Besides the articles enumerated in the tables above, there -were shipped
over the road 1,582,257 pounds of marble, of which 396,000 pounds
were shipped from Rogersville Junction, 1,184,813 pounds from Whites-
burg, 1,444 pounds from Riceville. Of nails and spikes, 733,295
pounds were shipped from Knoxville, the product of the nail factory
at that place ; of copper, 1,200,910 pounds from Cleveland, the ship-
ping .station of the Ducktown copj)er mines ; of coal and coke, 80,-
792,000 pounds, 79,578,000 pounds from Knoxville, and the remainder
from Chattanooga; of cotton, 144,645 bales from Chattanooga and
Daltoii, Georgia; of .salt, 22,816,000 pound.s, nearly all of which comes
from I^ri.stol ; of cement, 480,000 pounds from Chattanooga.

Wc may add that this road is managed by able, energetic, and
skillful officers, who are faithful in the discharge of their several du-
ties, as the business and freedom from accidents testify.

The two roads for whi(!h we give such full .statistics are by far the

Transportation — Railroads. 331

most important to Middle and East Tennessee ; for though one other
traverses the middle division, it does not taj) the coal region, to the de-
velopment of which we must look, in part at least, for a restored, pros-
perity.

Knoxville and Chakleston Railroad.

This road runs from Knoxville to Maryville, and is sixteen miles in
length. It was intended to connect with the Blue Ridge Railroad of
South Carolina, and form, with the Knoxville and Ohio Railroad, a
through line from the Ohio River to the sea-board at Charleston, S. C.
The road was sold by the State on account of its failure to pay the in-
terest on the bonds issued to it for $105,000. We have received no
report of the operations of the road, and can therefore give no account
of the amount of its business.

Tennessee Coal and Railroad Company.

This road runs from Cowan, a village on the Nashville and Chatta-
nooga Railroad, to Sewanee Mines. It is twenty-one miles in length,
and was built at a cost of $850,000. It is now operated by the
Sewanee Mining Company. For a more detailed account of it see
Grundy county.

St. Louis and Southeastern Railw^ay.

officers:

Edward F. Winsi.ow, St. Louis, Mo., President.

James H. Wilsok, New York, Vice President.

Charles W. Gardexer, St. Louis, Treasurer and Secretary.

Geo. S. WiNSLOW, Mt. Vernon, 111., "I . ., ^o

H. L. Morrill, Evansvillo, Ind., / ^ss^«^««^ Superintendents.

A. E. Shrader, St. Louis, Mo., General Ticket Agent.

This road traverses one of the most fertile regions of the Missis-
sippi Valley, and also passes directly through the immense coal fields
of West Kentucky and Illinois. The quantity of coal shipped to
Nashville by this road is estimated to be 449,000 bushels; to points
south of Nashville, 100,000 bushels. All the towns on the line of the
road from Henderson, Kentucky, to Nashville are supplied with coal
from the mines in Kentucky, while inmiense quantities are carried to
St. Louis from the coal fields of Illinois. In addition to coal, tobacco,

332 • Resources of Tennessee,

wheat, corn, and whisky are transferred by this road in large quanti-
ties. From Springfiekl alone over forty barrels of whisky are daily
shipped to St. Louis, Nashville, and other points. The road is admi-
rably located, and the facilities offered for the erection of manufactur-
ing establishments on its route are so great that they cannot long re-
main unnoticed by capitalists. Cheap living, cheap coal, fertile lands,
unoccupied water-power, contiguity to the cotton fields and to the iron
regions, are some of the advantages of the country through which this
road passes. Good management and liberal rates on the part of its
officers must eventually make it one of the most desirable roads lead-
ing to Nashville.

The total length of this road is 358 miles, 48 of which are branches.
The distance to St. Louis is 310 miles. Length of road in Tennessee,
48 miles; guage, 4 feet, 9 inches, and 5 feet; rail, 50, 56, and 65
pounds to the yard.

Operations for the year ending December 31, 1872:

From passengers $260,888 35

freight 626,446 06

Miscellaneous 36 266 44

Total earnings $822,600 85

Operating expenses 632 821 69

Net earnings $169,779 16

The authorized capital stock of this road is $16,000,000, of which
11,000,000 are paid in. Funded debt, $5,807,000. The cost of
construction, $11,089,000; equipment, $1,725,000; real estate, etc.,
$700,000.

McMlNNVILI.E AND MANCHESTER RaII.ROAD.

The line of this road extends from Tullahoma to McMinnville, the
county seat of AVarren. Its length is thirty-four miles. Upon its
failure to pay the interest on the bonds issued by the State in aid of
its construction, it was sold in 1872. The sale was declared void, and a
new sale ordered. It is run by the lessees of the Memphis and Charles-
ton Railroad, and has the same list of officers. The total receipts
for the road in 1872, no later information being accessible, were from
passengers, $6,816.45; from freight, $7,856.05; total, 14,672.50. The
expense of running was $12,517.61.

This road was projected to run to Sjjarta, Tennessee, and ultimately

Tra7isportation — Railroads. 333

to extend to the Kentucky state line, with a view to a connection with
the Cincinnati Southern. Work has been done beyond McMinnville,
in the direction of Sparta, to the amount of $81,063.76. The total
cost to Sparta, it is estimated, will be $659,806 ; and to the Kentucky
state line, $1,493,000.

Winchester and Alabama Railroad.

There is in operation of this road thirty-nine miles from Decherd,
on the Nashville and Chattanooga Railroad, to Fayetteville, the
county seat of Lincoln. It was projected to run to Huntsville, Ala-
bama, a distance of forty-seven miles. The Memphis and Charleston
Railroad purchased it of the State on sale for the non-payment of in-
terest, and it is now operated by the Southern Railway Security Com-
pany as lessees of the Memphis and Charleston Railroad.

The receipts from passengers, ending June, 1872, was $6,527; from
freight, $12,429.72; total, $18,776.72. Expenses, $16,015.80.

Tennessee and Pacific Railroad.

OFFICERS:

Geo. Maxet, Nashville, President and Superintendent.

R. M. Miller, Treasurer, Secretary, and General Ticket Agent.

W. M. Marr, Master of Transportation and Conductor.

J. D. Manbt, General Freight Agent.

This road runs from Nashville, Tennessee, to Lebanon, the county-
seat of Wilson. Length, 31 miles; sidings and other tracts, 4 miles;
guage, 5 feet; rail, 56 pounds to the yard.

It was projected to run to Knoxville, Tennessee, but financial em-
barrassments checked its progress. Considering the shortness of the
road, it makes a better showing than any short line within our knowl-
edge.

The company bought the interest of the State in this road on ac-
count of bonds issued, paying therefor $300,000. The amount of
State loans was $1,185,000.

The following is the report of the business of the road for 1872:

Cedar lumber, value $99,400

Other lumber, value 8,355

Total value of lumber $107,755

334 Resources of Tennessee.

J3esides lumber there were shipped :

Barrels of flour 10,437

Sacks of flour 9,099 .

Bushels of grain 12,676

Pounds of bacon 321,761

" lard 12,000

" butter 23,568

Eggs, dozens 69,800

Pounds of fruits 44,858

" feathers 6,081

" rags 49.177

"old iron 98,362

Hogsheads of tobacco ,. 140

Bales of cotton 146

" hay 146

Pounds of wool 14,164

" " cotton yarn 8,237

Car-loads of stock 208

For the year ending January 1, 1872, the earnings of the road were:

From passengers 132,468 44

" freight 20,950 92

Miscellaneous 4,323 17

Total earnings $57,742 53

The expenses amounted to 41,478 71

Net earnings $16,263 82

We are indebted to R. W. Miller, secretary and treasurer, for the
following account of the business of the road for 1873:

Passengers over the road 22,474

Car-loads of stock 187

" " flour 128, average 90 barrels each.

" grain 96, " 300 bushels "

" " bacon. 60, " 16,000 pounds "

" tobacco 20, " H hhds.

" cotton 24, " 25 bushels "

" " lumber 466, " 5,000 feet, f cedar.

" " wood 285, " 7 cords each.

Louisville, Nashville and Great Soutiiekn Kailroad.

This is one of the largest corporations in the south, and the ability
and energy which have been displayed by its officers in its management
have placed it among the first railroads of America. Boldly striking
througli the lieart of Kentuuky, it was the first road whicli phuicd in
communication the cotton states of the Mississippi Valley with the great

Trafisportation — Railroads. 335

grain-growing states of the north-west, and the wisdom of its projectors
is manifested in the fact, that since its main line from Louisville to Nash-
ville was finished, a distance of 185 miles, it has, witliin a period of
fifteen years, thrown out branches and extended its main line, until the
aggregate number of miles has reached 737.3, 380 of which are in
the State of Tennessee. The cost of the property owned by this cor-
poration amounts to $22,946,338; including other assets, the value of
property owned by the company, after deducting floating debt, is
$25,583,575,91 ; liabilities, (stocks and bonds) amounting to $23,801,-
939.03. The total earnings for the year ending June 30, 1873, not
including leased lines, amounted to $4,909,426.44; expenses, $3,498,-
303.29 ; showing a net profit of $1,411,123.29. A dividend of seven
per cent, was paid out of the net earnings, also interest on bonded
debt. The bonded debt, for which the road is mortgaged, amounts to
$14,820,500.00.

The main stem of this road, from Louisville to Nashville, was opened
for business November 1, 1859. The Memphis branch, extending from
Bowling Green, Kentucky, to Memphis, Tennessee, a distance of 264
miles, and embracing the Memphis and Ohio and the Memphis, Clarks-
ville and Louisville railroads, was opened in 1860. The two last men-
tioned roads, built under separate charters, were bought by the company
and consolidated. The Nashville and Decatur road was leased for
thirty years, commencing July 1, 1872. The company acquired a con-
trolling interest in the stock of the South and North Alabama liailroad,
■which road was completed October 1, 1872, putting the capital city of
Tennessee in direct communication with the capital city of Alabama.

We only propose to speak of the trade of such portions of this
company's roads as pass through the State of Tennessee. The main
stem enters the State near Mitchellsville, Sumner county, and for the
distance of thirteen miles passes over a part of the great Highland
Rim, and descends through a tunnel into the low lands of the Central
Basin. Upon the Highland Rim, contiguous to this road, are grown
tobacco and wheat of fine quality. The shipments from the stations
on the Rim are mainly of these two articles, as will be seen from the
subjoined table. South of South Tunnel, and on to Nashville, the
stations show but little tobacco shipped, that from Gallatin having
probably been raised in Trousdale county, or upon the Highlands,
though the car loads of stock are notably increased. Indeed, there
are but few counties in the State that have earned a better reputation
for stock-growing than Sumner.

We are indebted to Col. Albert Fink, the vice-president and gen-
eral superintendent, for the following tables :

2>d>^

/Resources of Temiessee.

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Transportation — Railroads. 339

Guthrie is within the State of Kentucky, but much of the produce
shipped from that point is grown in Tennessee.

It will be seen that Clarksville ships the largest amount of tobacco,
being 11,125 hogsheads, and Guthrie, which is in the edge of Kentucky,
next. Ommiting Nashville and Memphis, the most cotton from way
stations comes from Brownsville, being 21,153 bales; Humboldt stands
second, shipping 14,172; Mason third, 10,316; Pulaski fourth, 8,863;
Columbia fifth, being 8,299. From the lower Tennessee River, from
Florence to Danville, the steamer Dick Johnson collected 6,999 bales,
which is about two-thirds of all the cotton raised on the Tennessee
River from the Muscle Shoals to its mouth. About 10,000 bales an-
nually find their outlet by this river. Stewart's Station is noted for
lime. 1,473 car loads of iron are shipped by the Memphis division.

This road v.ith its branches, traversing, as it does, one of the most
productive sections of the country, is destined, with judicious manage-
ment, to become the great inland route of commerce between the two
sections. It is yet in its infancy. The company hopes before a great
Avhile to have direct connections, by Virginia and Tennessee roads, with
the Atlantic ports, with the Mexican Gulf by Montgomery, Alabama,
and with the Pacific ports b/ Memphis, Little Rock and Shreveport, con-
necting at the latter point with the Texas Pacific. Eighteen consecu-
tive semi-annual dividends have been made, the road is well kept up,
and under the skillful superintendence and management of Col. Fink,
it will doubtless continue to extend its arms, until it can command a
large part of the trade of the Southern Mississippi Valley, and the trade
of 3,000 miles of seaboard.

Mobile and Ohio Railroad.

officers.

Hon. Abraham Murdock, Columbus, Miss., President.

Hon. Charles E. Rushing, Marion, Misa., Vice President.

John J. Walker, Mobile, Ala., Second Vice-President.

Alonzo L. Willoughby, Mobile, Ala., Secretary and Treoysurer.

Oliver S. Beers, Mobile, Ala., Auditor.

George N. Stewart, Mobile, Ala., General Solicitor.

L. J. Fleming, Mobile, Ala., Resident and Consulting Engineer.

A. L. Rives, Mobile, Ala., Chief Engineer and General Sup t.

John A. Pu'nch, Mobile, Ala., General Freight and Ticket Agent.

This road was opened in 1859. At the twenty-fifth annual meeting
of the "stockholders, held in Mobile, the president, in his annual report,
took occasion to pay a just tribute to the persevering efforts of

340 Resmcrces of Tennessee.

Baldwyn in the building of this road, an enterprise at the time of its
inception, greater than had been started on either continent — the build-
ing of a road that was to extend through seven degrees of latitude, and
to connect the waters of the gulf with those of the western rivers and
lakes. After thirteen years of patient toil and persistent energy, the
road was completed from Mobile, Alabama, to Columbus, Kentucky, a
distance of 472 miles. Shortly after its completion the war broke out^
and at its close the road was a splendid wreck. Sixty-five per cent, of
its original cost was lost. But by energy and credit, in eight years the
property was in a prosperous condition, with increased equipments, en-
larged facilities for business, and a developed earning power that sur-
prised its friends.

Earnixgs for the Year 1872.

From Passengers $ Yo4,970 39

_" Freijjht 2,089,681 25

Mail and Express... 127,855 95

Total earnings $2,952,507 5>

Expenditures.

Maintenance of way $ 582,386 10

Rolling Stock 512,779 48

Transportation 835,053 60

Total Expenditures 1,930,219 18

Net earnings $1,022,288 41

This road has a bonded debt of $10,839,144.46, and floating debt of
$1,176,938.03. Its lowest estimated value is $22,500,000. The origi-
nal capital stock amounted to $4,466,475.86. This has been doubled.
The company has paid off its indebtedness to the State of Tennessee,
and resumed the payment of interest on all classes of bonds, May 1,
1870.

The following table will show the amount of cotton received at each

statio^ on this road, within the State of Tennessee, for the year ending

March 31, 1873:

Earner's 86 Bales.

Bethel. 735

McNairy 733 "

Henderson 2,514 "

Pin.son 1,099 "

Jackson 7,841 "

Humboldt 088 "

Trenton 6,852 "

Dyer 561 "

Rutherford 751 "

Kenton 1,260 "

Troy 41 "

Union City 992 "

Total 24,146 Bales.

Transportation — Railroads. 34 1

Amount of Tennessee cotton received by this road the previous
year, 20,856 bales.

The number of passengers moved for the year 1872, was 398,884.
Average distance traveled by each passenger, 41 miles. The average
number of seats provided in each passenger train, 125; the average
number occupied, 25, or only one-fifth the capacity of the cars.

The total tonnage of the road was 374,531 ; total number of tons,
one mile, 553,993.02. Total cars for passenger trains, 56; total freight
cars, 1,073; total number engines, 89.

Mississippi Central and JS^eav Orleans Railroad.

officebs:
A. M. West, Holly Springs, Mississippi, President.
R. P. Neelt, Bolivar, Tennessee, Secretary and Treasurer.
E. C. Walthall, General Attorney.

By the consolidation of the Xew Orleans, Jackson and Great North-
ern Railroad and the Mississippi Central, this company controls the
entire line from New Orleans to Cairo, Illinois, a distance of 549
miles. Running arrangements have been effected with the Illinois
Central Railroad company, which places, practically, under, one man-
agement, though operated by two charters, 1,700 miles of railway.

The extension of the road from Jackson, Tennessee, to Cairo, Illi-
nois, giv^es to it an independent connection. By the completion of
this work the road gains seven new and independent connections : 1st.
With the Louisville, Nashville and Great Southern line, at Milan,
Tennessee; 2d. With the Nashville, Chattaiiooga and St. Louis line,
at Frost, Tennessee ; 3d. With the Memphis and Paducah line, at
Fulton, Kentucky ; 4th. With the Iron Mountain Railroad; 5th.
With the Cairo and Fulton Railroad ; 6th. With the Cairo and Vin-
cennes Railroad. 7th. With the Illinois Central Railroad, at Cairo,
Illinois.

By the first, the shortest route yet opened is secured from New
Orleans to Louisville and Cincinnati. The second gives favorable con-
nection with Nashville. The third secures connection with Paducah
and the rich coal fields of Kentucky. The connections at Cairo bring
it within easy access of the great coal regions of Illinois. The Cairo
and Fulton and Iron Mountain railroads give it direct connections
with Missouri, northern Arkansas and Kansas. The Cairo and Vin-

342 Resources of Tennessee.

cennes Railroad leads into the great grain-growing regions of the
Wabash and White River valleys.

In his report for 1873, the president, after enumerating the advan-
tages of the connections given above, says :

" The ultimate establishment of a line of steamers between New
Orleans and Cuba, to run in connection with these consolidated roads^
will follow as naturally as effect follows cause, which, aided by the
Mississippi river, will in the main control the direction of the imports
and exports, from and into the West India Islands, the value of which
may be estimated by the exports from the United States into Cuba,
which, in 1871, amounted to |14,200,000, and the imports from Cuba,
for the same year, into the United States amounted to $58,584,000.
If American enterprise could be infused into Cuba, and their exorbi-
tant duties (which on flour are eight dollars per barrel) reduced, we
would export as much as we import, and thus keep balances from run-
ning against us, and the volume of her commercial wealth would
increase with unparalleled rapidity ; and travel, attracted by her tropic
charms and salubrious climate, would increase in a greater ratio.

" These arrangements fully consummated, transportation will be cheap-
ened and business greatly increased by doing away with all transfers
and dray^ges on the railroad line. Besides, it will relieve the entire
line of roads and steamers of all complications, by fixing definitely its
responsibility to shippers and passengers."

Regular trains commenced running from New Orleans to Cairo on
the 24th of December, 1873. Arrangements are effected by which the
ears are transferred at Cairo without breaking bulk.

We regret that -we have received no itemized account of the business
of the road for 1873.

The gross traffic of the road to Jackson, Mississippi, ending Decem-
ber 31, 1872, was $1,425,984.37, expenses $846,128.46, of which $67,-
477.59 were charged to the Mississippi Central company as construction
expenses, making net earnings $646,333.50. Capital stock $3,935,-
534.60. Funded debt $4,628,980.00. This road is indebted to the
State of Tennessee $1,199,180. The floating debt amounted to $3,-
787,030.45. Of the whole road, 120 miles are in the State of Ten-
nessee. Gauge five feet. Rail fifty-six to sixty pounds per yard.

MlvMI'lIIS AND ClIAUr-KST().N RaII.ROAD.

This road was ()j)ened in 1857 from Mcinpliis, Tennessee, to Steven-
son, Alabama, where it unites with the Nashville and Chattanooga

Transportation — Railroads. 343

Railroad. The lengtli of the main line is 271 miles, of which eighty-
seven miles are in the State of Tennessee. It has a branch leading
from Macon, thirty-nine miles east of Memphis, to Somerville, the
county seat of Fayette county, a distance of thirteen miles, and another
from Tuscumbia to Florence, Alabama, six miles. The Winchester
and Alabama and McMinnville and Manchester roads are operated by
the same company.

Receipts for the Year Endikg June 30, 1872.

From Passengers $630,423 00

" Freight 670,009 26

" Mail and Express 65,232 77

" Other sources 38,450 99

$1,404,116 02

Expenses.

Transportation $312,596 4Y

Motive power 286,597 43

Maintenance of w:-.y 236 250 85

" cars 114,946 94

$951,191 69

Receipts over operating expenses $453,724 33

In the above are included the returns of the McMinnville and Man-
chester and Winchester and Alabama Railroads.

The amount of cotton moved by this road was 188,313 bales.

The Southern Railway Security Company leased this road for ninety-
nine years, which lease went into effect 1st of July, 1872. By its
terms it is to pay, daring the first five years, six per cent, per annum
on the capital stock, $5,312,725, provided the net earnings amount to
that sum. Three per cent, is guaranteed. "After the expiration of
five years the company binds itself to pay six per cent, for the remain-
der of the time for which the road is leased. The company also agrees
to pay all installments of interest and sinking fund on the bonded
debt, amounting to $4,157,000, and $900,000 for completing the Win-
chester and Alabama Railroad, the Memphis and Charleston Railroad
agreeing to issue consolidated mortgage bonds, amounting to $5,500,-
000, bearing seven per cent, interest in gold, and payable in forty
years from July 1, 1872, to cover the present bonded debt, and a fur-
ther amount of $200,000 to take up the floating debt." " The road is
to be kept in good repair, and to be surrendered at the expiration of
the lease in good order and condition." It is now reported (April,
1874) that the company has returned the road to the stockholders.

344 Resources of Tennessee.

The road owes the State of Tennessee $1,741,576.75, upon which
interest is. due, amounting to $103,315.

The Memphis and Ohio has been spoken of under the head of the
Louisville, Nashville, and Great Southern Railroad in another part of
this chapter.

Mississippi and Tennessee Railroad.

officers:

H. S. McCoMB, Wilmington, Del., President.

F. M. White, Memphis, Tenn., Vice-President.

S. H. Lamb, Memphis, Tenn, Secretary and Treasurer.

E. D. Frost, Water Valley, Miss., General Manager.

M. B0RKE, Memphis, Tenn., Superintendent.

S. Carey, New Orleans, General Ticket Agent.

D. B. MoREY, New Orleans, General Freight Agent.

Only eleven miles of this road are in the State of Tennessee, and,
though imjjortant to Memphis, it can hardly be called a Tennessee road.
It was opened for business in 1857. Distance to Grenada, Mississippi,
100 miles.

For the year ending September 30, 1873:

The gross earnings from all sources were $5G0,650 79

Operating expenses less material on hand = 301,865 24

Net earnings $258,785 55

Operating expenses, 53 17-20 per cent.

Gross earnings of previous year were 522,644 82

Operating expenses previous year 268,152 21

Net earnings $254,492 61

Operating expenses, 51 3-10 per cent.

The capital stock of this road is $825,406.99. Funded debt, $2,-
311,214.08, of which $417,800 are due the State of Tennessee. Float-
ing debt, $136,121.54.

Of cotton there were shipped :

From local stations to Memphis 56,444 bales.

" local stations to New Orleans 5.037

" Memphis to New Orleans 33,289

Total bales transported in 1873 94,770

Total bales transported previous year 80,077

Increase 14,693

Total present year to New Orleans 38,326

Total previous year to New Orleans 31,901

"Increase to New Orleans - 6,425

Tra7isportaiio7i — Railroads. 345

A comjiarison Mitli the tables of last Ke])ort shows a very favorable
increase in loeal cotton, 61,481 against ;j0,744 last year, besides an in-
crease of 3,956 bales from Memphis to New Orleans. The movement
from local stations to New Orleans

Last year was 2,568 bales.

This year it is (1873) 5,0H7 "

Increase 2,4G9 "

Memphis and Paducah Road.

This road is now in the course of construction, and will be finished
during the year 1874. It passes through the most fertile sections of
the State, and makes connection with other roads at Troy Station,
Paducah Junction, and Paducah. Col. L. J. Dupree, in a communi-
cation to the Secretary of the Bureau, says of the country through
which the road passes :

" The average distance of this road from Mississippi River is about
fifteen miles. The whole road from Paducah to Memphis penetrates
the richest districts of Tennessee and Kentucky.

"Until the financial collapse occurred, land along the Memphis and
Paducah Road was held at from $30 to |60 per acre. It is an absolutely
faultless farming country; chestnut, oak, cypress, and every tree that
flourishes on the richest land in this latitude grows luxnriantly here.
The greater part of the country is level, and the lowest of it is above
the highest floods of the Mississippi, which diff'uses itself over the low-
lands of Arkansas. The earthquake of 1811—12 made abrupt hills
and deep, narrow valleys in rich lands of Obion ; but much the greater
part of the country, enriched by the Memphis and Paducah Railroad,
and protected against high freight tariflk forever by the proximity of the
river on the one hand, and of the Memphis and Louisville Railway
on the other, is the most attractive in the State. The reader should
remember that the climate of this region is milder than that of East
and Middle Tennessee in the same latitude. Knoxville is quite 600
feet more than Memphis above the sea level. Figs and cotton, which
never reach maturity at Nashville or Knoxville, flourish along the
route of the Memphis and Paducah road. Beyond Troy, 100 miles
north of INIemphis, the people cultivate tobacco, grain, and grasses, and
raise horses; south of Troy there are rich corn and cotton fields.
Forests are most dense, but when swept away by the hand of toil the
rich alluvial farms that smile in the sunshine are invaluable. There

3 46 Resources of Tennessee.

is no such district of country of equal extent and exuberance in Ten^
nessee."

The roads named below are projected or in course of construction :

Memphis and Kxoxyille.

A portion of this railroad, (narrow guage) in West Tennessee, is
now under contract and the work of grading is progressing. The
route passes from Memphis on through Sommerville, Bolivar, crossing
the Mobile and Ohio Railroad at Henderson's Station, thence through
Henderson county, striking the Tennessee River at Salrillo, in Hardin
countv. From this point to Clifton, in AVayne county, a distance of
seventeen miles, connection will be made through the means of
steamboats. From Clifton the road will run on through Waynes-
boro, Lawrenceburg and Pulaski, effecting a junction with the Winch-
ester and Alabama road at Fayetteville, in Lincoln county. An
arm of this road will pass from near Wayne Furnace, through
Lewis county, to Columbia. Perhaps no road in the State will pass
through a more interesting section of country. From Memphis to
Saltillo it will pass through the heart of the cotton region of West
Tennessee, and from Clifton to Lawrenceburg it will run over de-
posits of limonite iron ore. Hydraulic rocks and marbles of valuable
varieties will form the foundation of the road-bed for many miles.
The route east of tiie Tennessee River offers favorable locations for
immi<::raiits. Land is cheaji, the country high and healthy, and the
soils of moderate fertility, from the Tennessee River to a point twelve
miles west of Pulaski, where the road will descend into the great
limestone Basin of Middle Tennessee, the fairest and the most beautiful
portion of the State. In this Basin it continues its course to Fayette-
ville. l?y continuing on to the Cumberland Table Land, it will be the
means of connecting the coal with the iron ore of the Western Belt,
and will also give to West Tennessee coal facilities hitherto not enjoyed
and open the grain-growing and stock-raising-regions of the State with
the cotton-producing section.

The JiiiowNsviLLE and Ohio.

This road (narrow guage) will run from Cairo, Illinois, to Browns-
ville, in Haywood county, through Bolivar to Middlcton, and there

Transportation — Railroads. 347

v^ill connect with the MidcUeton and Ripley road. Twenty-five or
Ihirty miles are graded from Brownsville north.

I The Cairo and Tennessee.

This road is to be bnilt from Cairo, Illinois, to Paris, the county seat
)f Henry county, and from thence an arm extended to Johnsonville to
connect with the Duck River Valley Railroad — the main line running
ihrough Clifton, in Wayne county, to Florence, Alabama. Consider-
ilile amount of s#ock has been taken, and the road is now being sur-
jveyed preparatory to letting out contracts.

Tennessee Central.
i

This road was first chartered in 1847, and re-chartered during the
session of 1869-70. It is designed to run from Huntington, the county
scut of Carroll county, ont hrough Gibson, Crocket, a corner of Hay-
wood and through Lauderdale to the Mississippi River, at Fulton. It
penetrates the heart of one of the finest farming regions of the State,
and its course from east to west gives it great advantages over roads
running north and south.

This road has twenty-five miles of road-bed graded. It -will form a
link in the great inter-oceanic route from Norfolk, Virginia, or Charles-
ton, South Carolina', to the coast of California. The prospect for its
s|)eedy completion is good. The cost from Huntington to the Missis-
sippi River, it is estimated, will be $366,000.

Memphis and Raleigh (Narrow Guage).

This runs out from Raleigh to a point on the Memphis and Louis-
ville- road, a distance of some seven miles. We have no official infor-
mation in regard to it.

Cincinnati Southern.

One of the most important projected roads, is the Cincinnati South-
ern, from Cincinnati to Chattanooga, passing over the Cumberland
Table Land to Emeryville, and thence along its eastern edge, and
opening one of the finest coal and iron regions in America. The
Kentucky end of this road is now under contract, and proposals
have been issued for work on sections in Tennessee. The estimated

S48

Resources of Tennessee.

cost of the road is $15,000,000, of which Cincinnati subscribed
000,000.

Cumberland and Ohio!

The Cumberland and Ohio Railroad is in process of construction,
and will pass from some point on the Ohio River, through Eminence
and Scottsville, Kentucky, and Gallatin, Tennessee, on to Nashville.
Sumner county has taken stock to the amount of $300,000. There is
little doubt of its early completion. This road will give a new com-
peting line to the Ohio River.

The following are a classified list of railroads proposed and in opera-
tion in and passing through West Tennessee :

NAMES OF ROADS.

Mobile and Ohio

Mississippi Central and New Orleans..

Memphis and Charleston

Memphis and Ohio

Mississippi and Tennessee

Memphis and Paiucah

Nashville and Northwestern

Memphis and Raleigh, (narrow guage

Jaokson and Birmingham

Memphis and Knoxville

Huntingdon and Jackson

Jackson and Memphis.

Tennessee Crntral

Jackson and Evansville

Jackson and Lexington

Selma, Montgomery and Memphis

Memphis and Vicksburg

Cairo and Tennessee River

Brownsville and Ohio

Total

IN OFEKATION.

MILES.

119
120

87
152

11
125

90
9

713

PROPOSED.

MILKS.

55
117
38
78
97
70
28
14
11
10
90

668

TOTAL LENGTH
OP ROADS.

472
559
271
.377
100
165
321

210

350

190

260

205

3,651

The Owensboro and Russelville Railroad is also projected to pass
through Sumner county.

The Duck River Valley Raih'oad, (narrow guage) running from
Johnsonville on the Tennessee River, througli Centerville, the county
seat of Hickman, to Columbia and on to Lewisburg, Marshall county
to Fayottoville, the county seat of Lincoln, will ])robably be built
witliiii tlio next two or three years, and will open a rich agricultural
and mineral region. The amount of subscription is $242,500.

Tra7isportatiori — Railroads. 3 49

Several more roads were projected, but the financial crisis of 1873
<\\\ render their construction, for a. time, a matter of doubt. Among
hese is the Ducktown Xarrow Guage, running from Cleveland to
^ucktown. Two miles of this road are now in operation. Also one
iDin Nashville to Clarksville, (narrow guage) is being surveyed, with
onie prospect of being built. A narrow guage, five miles long, from
Roekwood Landing to Rockwood Furnace, in Roane county, has been
n operation for some years. It does all the carrying business from
:be river to Rockwood.

We have thus given pretty full statistics of the railroads in the State,
because the public mind, from causes not necessary to mention, has
been directed towards their management, and a great necessity is felt
for a work showing the details of their operations, cost of running,
and price of freight. The projected railroads are also a matter of
interest to persons seeking new locations.

150 Resources of Tennessee.

CHAPTER XIX.

Condition of Agriculture.

The condition of agriculture in the State of Tennessee is not so
prosperous as the nature of the soil, the variety of the products, the
means of transportation and the salubrity of the climate should ensure.
The great civil convulsion which upheaved the very foundation, of the
social structure in the south, wrought most disastrous changes among
the land-owners and farmers of the State, and especially among those
occupying the more fertile sections of Middle and West Tennessee.
The change was less apparent in East Tennessee, where the proportion
of the slave population to the white was not so great as in the other
divisions, and where the character of crops grown was not such as to
demand arduous and continued efforts throughout the entire year. In
the cotton and tobacco-growing regions the greatest changes were
wrought, and the condition of the farms in these sections, denote
radical defects in the system of labor or general management, or
both. Previous to the war, the farmers in Middle and West Ten-
nessee were the most thriving in the State and their farms showed a
high state of cultivation and improvement. Each year showed progress
and the demand for real estate Avas so great that land attained the
limit at which it ceased to be profitable as an investment, except to those
whose increasing number of slaves rendered it necessary for them
either to extend tlieir domains or dispose of their surplus laborers. So
long had this class of farmers been accustomed to the well regulated
and Avcll disciplined system of slave labor, that they found it impos-
sible to adapt tliemselves to the changed relations between the laborer
and the master. Many, who had been })rospcrous and successful under
the former condition of things, were reduced to coni])arative poverty
under the operations of free lal)or, and sought new fields of business.

Naturally enough, at the close of hostilities, many farmers tried the
plantation system, or the system to which they had been accustomed,

Condition of Agriculture. 351

paying their farm hands by tlie year in money and supplying them
^vith rations. With the high prices of produce immediately subsequent
to the war, this system proved remunerative, but as the prices of the
staple products declined, while the expenses of the farm remained sta-
tionary, it was discovered that some change would have to be made,
either in the manner of employing labor, or in the character of the
crops grown. Then followed what is called the "share system," by
which the laborer is paid part of the crop instead of money, thereby
decreasing the risk of the land-owner, and, as it was supposed, applying
a spur to the exertions of the laborer. In some cases this worked
well, but these were exceptional, and only served to show the necessity
of additional reform in farm economy. It was found that under
this method of employing labor, the farm could not be kept up, either
in its productive capacity or in its improvements. Fences rotted down,
noxious weeds and shrubs grew without limitation over the farm, and
stock-raising became a thing of the past. The laborer felt disposed to
Avork only during the active growing season, and would show a dispo-
sition to spend his time during the fall and winter months to no profit
to himself or employer. And this state of things exists to a great
extent at present. It is found, that the amount required to procure
extra labor to do what should legitimately be done by " croppers" con-
sumes by far the largest share of the profits of the farm, and the land-
owner justly feels that while the burdens of taxation and the social
demands of the community rest upon him, his profits are really less
than the interest on his capital invested, and are growing smaller each
succeeding year. This has in a measure discouraged this class of farmers,
and many of them have ceased to regard their estates as a thing of
profit, but rather as an encumberance, locking up their capital and
clogging their energies. As might be inferred, there are large quan-
tities of improved land for sale at prices that would in the states north
of us be considered ruinously low — prices for which the land could not
be cleared and enclosed, to say nothing of the cost of farm buildings.

There is one class of farmers, however, that is both prosperous and
happy. We refer to the small fiirmers who own from 100 to 200 acres,
and who perform the work on them themselves, hiring only occasion-
ally during the busy seasons. This class is improving yearly. Their
farms denote thrift, and they luxuriate in an abundance of all the
necessaries and many of the luxuries of life. Such farmers fill up
Perry, Humphreys atod Dickson counties. They may be found scat-
tered in spots in Stewart, Montgomery, Robertson and Sumner. They

352 Resources of Tennessee.

form a large majority in East Tennessee, and wherever they are found,
a pleasing content prevails. Relying upon their own strong arm for
support, the question of labor does not aifect them. Dependent upon
no one, they form a class upon which the State must, in the end, rely
for its solid and permanent advancement. The march of events is ,
working out the great problem of labor. It was necessary that some- \
thing should happen to divorce our people from the plantation system —
a system that in times past was the very embodiment of economy,
energy and productive industry — a system that moulded, in a measure,
the industrial pursuits of Old England and New England, and diverted
streams of capital by the certainty with which it furnished the pro-
ducts of the earth, but a system which is not adapted to free labor, and
can never be rendered, for a great length of time, profitable, and which
must be abandoned sooner or later by the people of the whole south.
No system, yet tried, has given such satisfactory results as that in which
the owners work their own farms. In this every inducement is held
out for practicing economy, for enriching the soil, for improving the
stock, and for elevating the social and intellectual status of the people.
We wish to be understood that we are speaking only of farms that
are cultivated — not grass farms, nor stock farms. A thousand acres in
a grass or stock farm will require but little more labor than one hund-
red in a tobacco or cotton farm. Additional acres on such a farm
only mean an increase in the number of stock and increased labor upon
enclosures. The quantity of labor required on such a farm does not
increase with the size of the farm.

For the purpose of production, land should be divided approxi-
mately in proportion to the number of cultivators. A man who owns
the land he cultivates takes a peculiar interest in it. He has a con-
stant motive to improve it. To make it as productive as possible is
his study, since all he makes is his own. Each man working for him-
self, upon his own land, will greatly increase the aggregate wealth of
the State : 1st, in the increased products ; '2d, in the superior quality of
the ])roducts; 3d, in the increased fertility and im])rovement of the
land.

Ovvncrsliip makes men more industrious, thrifty, independent and
patriotic. The character of the laborer is elevated. The character of
the soil is im])roved. Poor sterile hillsides are reclaimed, gullies are
sto])ped, and a thriftless laborer becomes a proud and industrious pro-
pri(!tor. When the mass of the people own the land they till, the
motives to j)r()ductive industry are brought to bear most luiiversally.

Condition of Agriculture. 353

A strong stimulus is brought to get as much as possible from the land,
and at the same time improve it. Mr. Perry, in his Elements of Politi-
cal Economy, thinks the division of the land in France a positive
benefit in supplying a regular increase of agricultural products; in
creating an industrious, frugal, cheerful peasantry ; in the promotion of
a desire and ability to purchase land ; in diminishing pauperism, and
consequently crime. The division of land only reaches the point where
it begins to be less profitable. He compares the condition of the labor-
ing classes of England with those of France. The want of patriotism
in the former is constantly manifested by their loud complaints against
the government. Having no interest in the soil, they feel little inter-
est in the Government.

There is a widely marked and striking difference in the three divis-
ions of the State in the economical management of the farmers. The
most distinguishing characteristic of the average farmer in East Ten-
nessee is the effort which he makes to supply what may be required for
his own consumption. He is indeed a great provider of the necessaries
of life. He is ambitious to live within himself. It is not uncommon
on a small farm to see a patch of cotton, which the women of the
household work up into cloth ; a spot given to tobacco for home con-
sumption ; a field of sorghum from which syrup is made for domestic
use ; a few acres of wheat are raised for flour ; corn and oats or hay to
feed the stock, which usually consist of a few sheep to supply wool for
winter clothes, cows from which a considerable revenue is derived by
the manufacture of butter, and a brood-mare or two from which the
farmer rears his mules and horses for farm use. Besides these, an
abundance of the standard vegetables, such as cabbage, beans, peas,
potatoes and onions, is raised, as well as of ducks, chickens, geese, guinea-
fowls, peafowls, &c. A few bee-hives, and an apple and peach orchard,
are the necessary adjuncts to nine-tenths of the farms in East Tennessee.
The most striking fact in the farming operations of that division, is
that no money crop, so-called, is raised. Tobacco, cotton, corn and
hay, are all grown in small quantities, not so much for sale as for
use. The amount of money realized by the average farmer of East
Tennessee is painfully small, and yet the people in no portion of the
State live so well, or have their tables so bountifully furnished. Many
a farmer who lives like a lord at his table, does not realize $200 in
money from his entire farm, and this sum comes mainly from the sale
of feathers, chickens, eggs, dried fruit, and occasionally a few cattle or

mules. Indeed, with their strict habits of economy, the farmers of East
23

354 Resources of Tennessee.

Tennessee have but little use for money. The wool and cotton, by the
patient industry of the female members of the family, are wrought
into cloth. A few hides from the beeves are tanned and made into
shoes. Salt, coffee and sugar comprise almost the sum total of pur-
chases, while a few dollars are required to meet the demands of the
tax-gatherer.

The women of the rural districts, it has been said, do their own house-
hold work. It is not considered a hardship by them to cook, wash,
iron, milk, churn, clean up, spin the " filling" and make the cloth for the
entire family. They also make their bed-clothes, and a generous
rivalry is sometimes manifested by the house-wives in the making of
the neatest counterpane or window-curtain, and other articles for the
ornamentation of their homes. At the annual exhibitions of the Fair
in Knoxville, specimens of the handiwork of East Tennessee ladies
arrest the attention of all spectators, by their beauty of design and
elegance of finish. Yet, after all, it must be confessed that this con-
stant labor is worrying to the physical frame. A woman who, in
addition to bearing a house full of children, makes their clothes and
does the drudgery of the whole family, shows too visibly the effects of
it. There is a care-worn expression about their countenances, and
oftentimes a wasted frame, that speaks too plainly of overwork,
anxiety and consequent premature old age.

Almost every farm-house is situated near a spring, to which is
attached the omnipresent milk-house, where the milk and butter for
the family are kept during the summer, fresh and cool. A stranger,
passing through the country, is always pleased at the table by the deli-
cious coolness of the milk and the firmness of the butter. Ice-houses
are scarce, the cool springs which break out from the base of the
mountains supplying their place.

The character of the produce raised for sale in this division has es-
tablished a barter trade, wliich is unequalled in extent elsewhere in the
State. Almost every neighborhood lias its country store, where spun-
cotton, calico, salt, sugar, and coffee are exchanged for feathers, eggs,
chickens, dried fruit, etc. These articles, after being thus collected
in considerable quantities, are shipped to Knoxville and other points.
It would astonish a farmer of Middle or West Tennessee, unacquainted
with tliis trade, to learn to what extent it is carried on. In illustration
of it, it may be mentioned that the Secretary of this Bureau, on one
occasion, rode up to a little store-house, that was perched upon a steep

Co7iditioit of AgriciUture. 355

hillside in one of the counties remote from railroad or river commu-
nicatiou. The house Avas about ten feet by sixteen, and the stock of
goods consisted of such things as are named above. Upon inquiry
it was found that the eggs bartered for during the preceding year
amounted to $2/200; feathers to about the same sum; chickens and
turlceys, $1,500; and dried fruit, '$2,000. These barter stores are rarely
more than eight or ten miles a])art, and their proprietors usually have
connected with them a little farm of their own, upon which they work
in the intervals of trade.

There are fields cultivated in East Tennessee that would be consid-
ered, in ISIiddle and West Tennessee, by reason of the abundance of
surface rock and their steepness, ^vorthless for agricultural purposes,
and yet the farmers in that section, like their prototypes, the Swiss,
maintain that such spots are more easily cultivated, will yield more
largely, and are more reliable for the production .of crops than the
level lands of the valleys. And indeed such a statement, with refer-
ence to the north hillsides, is not hard to believe. We have seen fields
of corn upon steep slopes, where the limestone rocks almost sheeted
the surface, that ^vould yield from fifty to seventy bushels per acre. In
looking at them it is liard to say which created the greatest surprise,
the extraordinary luxuriance of the crop, or the ingenuity of the farmer
in cultivating it. This is usually eifected by using a bull-tongue plow,
narrow enough to enter between the crevices of the rock and stir
among the broken fragments.

The use of improved machinery, except in the valley lands, is im-
possible on the farms in East Tennessee. The consequence is that the
implements are very inexpensive, and are frequently made at the neigh-
borhood blacksmith shop. The valley farms are usually supplied with
reapers, mowers, and horse-rakes; and resemble, in every particular,
the best farms in Middle Tennessee. The growing of corn and wheat, ,»
for a long period, in East Tennessee, without proper rotation, resting \
or clovering, has greatly impaired the fertility of the soil. There is
no better land anywhere for clover. The rich, red, ferruginous sub-
soils, resting in the valleys upon limestone rock, are susceptible of
being kept up to a point of high fertility by the liberal use of clover.
But the avarice of the farmer, or rather his stinginess to the land that |j
so readily responds to kind treatment, has made the sowing of clover
of but little benefit to the soil that grows it; for as soon as it covers
the surface with its rich foliage, and the work of renovation begins by
shading, herds of stock are turned upon it, and the land is left in its

356 Resources of Te?tnessee.

nakedness to the blasting heats of a July sun which evaporate all
moisture, and with it the fertilizing elements deposited while covered
^\\i\\ the rich vestment of clover. Or, if not grazed by herds of cattle
and sheep, the clover is converted into hay, so that the land receives
little or no benefit from it.

As for labor in this division, it is abundant in the neighborhood of
towns, and commands a less price than in either Middle or West Ten-
nessee. It is probably also more manageable and reliable. Good
farm hands can be hired about Knoxville throughout the summer
months for $10 and |12 per month. After the corn crop is "laid by,'^
and the wheat harvested and threshed, there is but little employment
on the farms. August and September, the busiest months in the to-
bacco-growing counties, are those of most leisure in East Tennessee.
A few farmers, taking advantage of this surplusage of labor in sum-
mer, are beginning to grow tobacco for sale.

It is a serious drawback to the farming interests of East Tennessee
to have so few good roads. Usually they are execrable, and especially
is this the case where the roads run transversely across the country.
No successful efforts have been made to build turnpikes, though rocks
are abundant and convenient for that purpose. With the exception of
a few miles of McAdamized roads leading out from Knoxville, we be-
lieve there is not another in East Tennessee. Prior to the war, one,
partially McAdamized, extended from Morristown to Cumberland
Gap; but, though toll is still collected, its condition is such as to
warrant the remark that no worse road can be found in the State.
For a greater part of the distance it passes up hill and down over
great^limestone masses as large as a man's head, and almost impassible
for wheeled vehicles. The tax the farmers indirectly pay in getting
their produce to market over such roads is very burdensome, and the
public mind should be directed to improvement in this particular.
Wagons, passing over such roads as prevail in East Tennessee, soon
wear out and break down, and teams are strained and overtaxed with-
out doing more than half the work that they might do on smooth
roads. Yet, with all this. East Tennessee farmers are blest in the gen-
eral fertility of the soil, in the glory of the climate, in the excellence
and abundance of the water, in the healthfulness of the country, in
the sublimity, beauty, and picturcsqueness of the scenery, in the ex-
tent and variety of the fruits, in i\\e convenience and abundance of
mills, in the magnificence of the forests and value of the timber, in the
extent of mineral wealth, the development of which will give home

Condition of Aorictdture. 357

markets for their surplus produets, and in that happy combination of
physical agencies that develop the highest types of a noble manhood.

Unlike his brother in East Tennessee, the farmer of the Middle
division, especially in the Central Basin and the richer portions of the
Highlands, aims to have, in addition to the food crops, a " money crop,"
of either tobacco, cotton or peanuts. His anxiety is greater to secure
the former than the latter, for his domestic habits are not such as to
enable him to dispense with money to the same extent as the farmer of
East Tennessee. As a usual rule, except in places remote from towns,
he does not manufacture his clothes at home, but buys them. He does
not pay as much attention to the smaller industries, nor is his every-
day table supplied with such a variety of food. Milk and butter he
usually produces in abundance for home consumption, but unless in
the dairy business, he does not aim to produce a surplus for market.
While his orchards may Cover more acres, his orchard products are less
remunerative. Fowls are raised in large quantities, but the money for
them belongs to the housewife, and does not enter into his bills re-
ceivable. His thoughts center on his money crops, and everything,
€ven the appearance of his farm, must yield to the imperative demands
of such crops. Gates may be dragging, the palings that guard his
vegetables from the incursions of fowls and swine may be missing, his
orchards may be pilfered of their choicest fruits by interlopers, all
these give him less concern than worms upon his tobacco, or grass in
his cotton or peanut fields. He feels no disappointment at having no
^orn or pork to sell. He aims to make a supply. If there is a surplus,
he rejoices, if not, he remains contented. He is often enlisted in pub-
lic enterprises, and recognizes the fact that his bulky products are more
easily carried over a McAdamized road than over a dirt one. He
knows and appreciates the value of labor-saving machinery, and his
farm is usually well supplied with the best of implements. His work
stock are the best his purse will enable him to buy. He also inherits
a love for a good saddle-horse. He rejoices in a good cotton-gin, or
tobacco screw, gin-house or tobacco barn, and will take infinitely more
pains to exhibit tliem than he will his dwelling, although his dwelling
may be tasteful and elegant in its surroundings, charming with bright
flowers and delicious fruits. He is fond, too, of a good stable, with a
bounteous supply of provender, though stables and everything else
must yield to the exactions of his "money crop." If a stock-raiser,
everything is subordinated to that, it being the " money crop." The
possession of a heavy purse once a year is the dream of his existence.

358 Resources of Tennessee.

Energetic, thoughtful, intelligent and painstaking, he prospered under
a different condition of things. He prospers yet when able to take
the front row, or to carry on his farm in a systematic and orderly
manner. He is not so careful of his land now as before the war ; he
does not value it so highly. His rotation of crops is not so regular.
He can be tempted to rent out fields that in the regular order should
be rested. Sometimes his clover seed runs short, and he prefers to let
the unsown field lie fallow rather than tc> incur further expense. He
is not so particular about having his fence corners clean as formerly.
He is in a manner disheartened because he can rely upon no regular
supply of labor. He threatens every year to seed his land to grass,
but is rarely ready when seeding time arrives. He sometimes thinks
of selling, but the low price of land holds him back. Plis improve-
ments cost too much to sell at low figures. He is a great grumbler,
but can think of no occupation that will pay him better. His enthu-
siasm is greatly chilled by the course of events, and yet he will con-
fess that in a good season, with good hands, his profits are as great and
as satisfactory as ever. He has State pride, and glories as much in the
prosperity of the other divisions as in his own. He rarel} uses the
terms East, West and Middle in speaking of his State.

The farms of ISIiddle Tennessee, as a general thing, are much better
improved than in the other divisions. In the great Central Basin, a
considerable proportion, probably one-third, are enclosed with either
cedar or rock fences. The dwelling-houses are good, many of them
elegant, some of them princely. Stock-raising and cotton-growing in
this Basin are the favorite branches of husbandry. Fine stock-horses,
cattle, hogs and sheep of the most approved breeds are to be found in
every county. On the Highlands surrounding the Basin, ])eanuts,
tobacco, wheat and fruits are the favorite crops. The number of
turnpike roads is very large. In some of the county towns as many
as ten or twelve enter. Timber in the most fertile districts is growing
scarce. The capacity of the soil and variety of the crops are
great. Almost every crop of the farm, when well worked, makes a!
remunerative yield. Labor is not sufficiently abundant, and is badly]
regulated. Small farms and small farmers are greatly needed and de-
sired, and could make, with projKM- industry, large profits. Capitalists
would find this division of the State almost, if not (piite, as desirable
as East Tennessee as a nuuiufacturiug regiou, for coal could be had in
unlimited (piantities from our own State, from the upper Cumberland
and IVoiii tiie eastern coal fields of Kentucky, wiiile the railroad and
river faeiiities are mueli nrc-vter.

Condi iioji of A g7^i culture. 559

The average farmer of lower AVest Tennessee aspires to be a planter.
He loves to see many broad acres in cultivation. He is ambitious and
industrious, careless and energetic. He cares for nothing so much as to
see his cotton fields flourishing. He does not try to raise his supplies,
but stoutly maintains that he can buy them cheaper than he can make
them. Debt has no such terrors for him as for the East Tennessee
farmer. He will stake his all upon his prospects for cotton ; chickens,
eggs, butter, corn, wheat, hay, meat — all these are little things, and
cotton will buy them. Cotton is the Grand Mogul of all the crops.
It controls all, and buys all. Land, teams, tools, are as nothing
compared wnth the lordly bales rolled out from the gin-house. Gullies
may wash, fences may rot, houses may fall to decay, but cotton must
be raised. A big crop of this staple atones for all other deficiences.
What if the fertility of the land is exhausted in one place, a large
crop of cotton will buy fresh fields with virgin soil in another. Taking
care of land and resting it may do for the farmer elsewhere, but time
is too valuable to be wasted in this way by the average West Tennessee
farmer. He can, and does spend money for fertilizers, and they are
used where the cotton crop wdll get the full benefit. He will crop
out his land, or rent it out, payable in cotton, but rarely in money.
He is willing to buy mules, supply provender, advance provisions on
the faith of cotton, but on no other farm product. He is inclined to
be more cosmopolitan than his brothers of the other divisions; yet he
cherishes a high regard for his State, but would cherish it still more if
it would produce more cotton. Memphis is his pet, because it is the
great cotton market. Once a year he goes down to settle with his
commission merchant, clear off old mortgages and make new ones.
The rise or fall of cotton in Xew York, or Memphis, spreads with
the rapidity of lightning, and in a few hours the most ignorant
farm hand smiles with the rise, or grins with the fall of that staple.
The rise or fall of corn is nothing if cotton stays up. Cotton is his
trade regulator.

In the more northern counties of West Tennessee, however, the
average farmer is very much like the average Middle Tennessee farmer.
He has his money crop, but he feels an interest in making supplies
enough for home consumption. He is careful of his soil, and will feed
it and nurse it with clover. He takes great delight in his corn crop,
until his tobacco plants begin to press him, then the corn must stand
second in his affections. He loves his hay fields, but his tobacco fields
better. He is fond of rich soil, and studies the aptitudes and capacities

360 Resources of Tennessee.

of the different varieties — the yellow, the mulatto and the black — and
plants his various crops so that each may have the most congenial soil.
There is no better farmer in the State than the farmer of northern
"West Tennessee. He rates his lands higher, is better contented, and
is more cheerful, pays higher for labor and grumbles less about it.
He raises a surplus of all food crops, but pays little attention to the
smaller industries. He is fond of good stock, especially good hogs,
which his magnificent corn crops enable him to rear in great quantities,
unless attacked by disease. He keeps up his improvements, and has a
lively faith in the future of the State.

Drawbacks to Farming.

There are numerous drawbacks to the prosperity of the farmer in
this State, among which may be mentioned:

1. The want of active capital.

2. An attempt to cultivate too much land.

3. The want of a sufficient amount of good labor.

4. A want of faith in the profitableness of farming, and a conse-
quent inattention to the business of the farm.

5. The expense of fencing.

6. Want of a dog law.

7. Want of home markets.

8. Want of cheap transportation.

Active capital to provide suitable labor and tools, and to enable them
to hold their crops for the best prices, is probably one of the greatest
needs of the farmers of Tennessee. Their crops, at maturity, are
hurried into market oftentimes without proper care in the gathering,
housing or handling, and under the pressure of unpaid bills, or indebt-
edness for labor or supplies, are sold at prices sometimes below the
actual cost of production. A farmer under such pressure can neither
control his labor, add to his improvements, nor keep them up. All
his legitimate profits are lost. The fertility ot his land cannot be
increased, for to do so requires the expenditure of ready cash either
for fertilizers or fi)r clover seed. Nor is he able, under such pressure,
to ])rocure labor-saving machines, nor such breeds of stock, or such
varieties of seed, or such im})lcm(!nts as will insure the largest returns.
All the profits are lost whicli would i-csult iu the i)aying of cash, and
in using nothing but the b(!st inii)lenK'nts, cultivating nothing but the

Condition of Agriculhire. 361

host lands, rearing nothing but tlie best animals, tmd eni])loying nothing
I)ut the best labor.

And the attempt to cultivate too large a breadth of land, is proI)a-
bly as fatal to the prosperity of the farmer as the want of means,
(iood tillage, next to good soil, is the very foundation of successful
farming. The very laws of nature have made this a condition prece-
dent to the gathering of abundant crops. An acre well cultivated can
be made to yield as much as three half cultivated, while the amount
of work would be a third greater on the latter than on the former.
Xor must it be forgotten, that a large percentage of every crop is re-
quired to pay the cost of cultivation. If it takes fifteen bushels of
corn to pay the cost of culture of a crop upon one acre, the farmer who
only makes fifteen, reaps no profit. If it is tilled in such a way as to
make twenty bushels, his profits are five bushels, anc] if thirty bushels
are made, his profits will be fifteen bushels, or three times as great as
when he made twenty. The profits begin only after the expenses of
cultivation are deducted. Many of the crops now grown in the State
do not pay the cost of their culture, by reason of the shiftless methods
adopted.

By cultivating less land and cultivating it more thoroughly, a better
opportunity is afforded for rest and rotation. The expense of fencing is
lessened, as well as the amount of labor required ; for in the planting
of the crop, the same labor is demanded for an acre that will be badly
cultivated, as for one that will be well tilled ; and in the gathering of
it, ten barrels can be gathered in a much shorter space of time from
one acre, than to go over two for the same quantity.

The want of a sufficient amount of good labor can be best remedied
by cultivating less land, for whatever tends to diminish the demand,
relatively increases the supply, and as the latter increases, the efficiency
and regulation of labor are promoted. If ten • men are wanted and
eleven apply, the ten will be more efficient, reliable, and controllable
than they would be had only nine in place of eleven applied for situa-
tions. The attempt to raise crops out of proportion to the supply of
labor, will diminish production by impairing the efficiency of the
laborer.

And from this have followed a want of faith in the profitableness of
agricultural pursuits, and a neglect on the part of many farmers to at-
tend to their legitimate business. A farmer, like a lawyer, must give
his undivided attention to his business if he would succeed. There can

362 Resoin^ces of Tennessee.

be no substitute for his presence, simply because no other can feel the
same interest in his business that he can. If he cannot do this, if he
cannot love his pursuit, he had better abandon it. The first element
of success in any business is to learn to love that business. A man
should not succeed in any pursuit by neglecting it. It would be con-
trary to the inexorable law of our nature. Without this law there
would be no incentive to ambition, to industry, to energy, or to hon-
esty. Indolence and idleness would be as profitable as industry and
energy. AVe might as soon expect a man to be good without being
moral, or a thief to be honest while he is stealing, as for men to be
prosperous without being industrious and attentive to business. How
many plows have been broken, how many tools have been mislaid, how
much stock abused, because the interested eye of the master has been
absent! Such leaks waste the profits of a farm, to say nothing of
the hours of idleness indulged in by the laborers, the slovenly char-
acter of the work done, the bad management and the want of interest
felt by laborers left to themselves.

Every farmer, too, should have intelligence enough to study his soil,
ascertain its capabilities, its defects, and its requirements. He should
learn how to increase the first, remedy the second, and supply the
third. The habit of scratching over large surfaces, and of half cultiva-
ting his crops, is one most disastrous to financial success. In place of
seeking to widen his acres, he should strive to deepen them. The
drifted leaves and silt that form natural compost heaps along the beds
of streams, should be carefully gathered, and freely spread over the
galled spots that now disfigure so many farms. Muck beds, rich in the
elements of plant food, a})ound in many counties. These all could be
utilized in the same way. More mind is demanded in the cultivation
of the soil. The management of the farm is too often entrusted to
those who have neither the intelligence to increase its fertility, nor the
interest to preserve it. The soil, that provident mother that supplies
food and raiment, comfort and affluence, is treated too much like an
enemy. It is expected to surrender its rich fruits and receive nothing
in return. Nature cries out loudly against such a system. Every in-
dustrial ])ursuit cries out against it. The tax which our farmers pay in-
directly by their neglect to provide for the wants of the soil, is more
than Ihf'v arc able to (Midurc. When first cleared, much of the land
will yield fifty bushels of corn, twcmty-five of wheat, one thousand
ponnds of cotton, and twelve hundred of tobacco. But this yield, by
slovcnlv and tiniialiii-ai cuUivation, is reduced one-half in a few years,

Condition of Agriculture. 363

which is a loss of at least two-thirds of the profits. This could all be
stopped by nursing the soil from the first, and not drawing upon it
until the virgin fertility is exhausted, and then complaining that farming
is not profitable. The process of restoration is a much slower one than
that of exhaustion, while it is accompanied by an expense that the very
condition of the soil will not permit the farmer to make. While the
soil is fertile, two circumstances make it easy to keep it so — one, that the
farmer is more able by reason of his abundant crops, and the other; f
that the soil will produce green crops in sufficient quantities without
other fertilizers to keep up its productiveness On the other hand,
when once impoverished, the same things, working in an opposite
direction, conspire to keep it in that condition. The farmer makes
less, while the outlay necessary to restore the fertility is greater. Fore-
cast, which is born of intelligence and experience, is as necessary on
a farm as it is in any other pursuit or profession.

The tax upon the farmers for keeping up their enclosures is another
])urdensome one, and is more onerous than that of state, county and
school united. In the State of Tennessee there are 10,027,762 acres
enclosed, requiring 65,681,841 rods of fencing, at a cost of $62,397,748,
the interest on which, at ten per cent., will amount to $623,977. But
as this amount of fencing will have to be renewed every ten years, we
may add ten per cent, more, making the total annual tax $1,247,954,
according to the estimated cost by the Commissioner of Agriculture, at
Washington, which is less than one dollar per rod, and which probably
is about the average cost when the worth of the timber is added to the
cost of making rails, hauling, putting up, and clearing the fence cor-
ners. But there is still an additional item to be added, viz., the
quantity of land occupied. Estimating a zigzag fence, of which
kind there is ninety-five per cent, in the State, to occupy a width
of four feet, we have nearly 100,000 acres of the best lands taken
up by fences, worth at a low estimate $1,000,000, which would
rent for five dollars per acre annually, or $500,000. Add this
to the preceding estimate of the annual cost, and we have the grand
aggregate, $1,747,954. Now this tax is paid by 129,550 farmers and
planters, who occupy 118,131 farms, or about $13.50 for each farmer,
or $15 for each flirra per annum. Some legislation is needed on this
subject. The tax is too burdensome to be borne without complaint,
while in some sections timber is growing so scarce that necessity will
compel the abandonment of fences to some extent before a great while.

A law creating a pound in every civil district is also a necessity.

364 Resources of Tennessee.

Roving stock often break over a legal fence, and no damages, by reason
of the exemption laws, can be obtained from the owner. Instances are
reported where owners of such stock wilfully turned them upon the
crops of others, while the suffering party was obliged to bear the loss.
The establishment of a pound would force the owner of such trespass-
ing stock to pay the expense of impounding and keeping, and would
altogether have a most salutary effect.

A dog law also would add materially to the prosperity of the farmer.
Farmers will not run the risk of raising sheep as long as there are so
many prowling curs in the State owned by irresponsible persons.
There are about 250,000 families in the State, and it will be no exag-
geration to allow one dog to each family. What will support a dog
will raise a hog every year that will weigh 200 pounds, so that the
people of the State lose, by keeping this large army of dogs, not less
than 50,000,000 pounds of pork, or 12,500,000 annually.

But the losses do not stop here. Not less than 30,000 sheep are killed
annually by these pests, worth, say two dollars each, which will be $60,-
000. Add to this the discouragements to sheep-raising. In all countries
where sheep-raising is protected, and the climate suited to this branch
of liusbandry, there should be at least two sheep for each person. The
population of Tennessee by the last census was 1,258,520. Multiply
this by two, and the resulting number, 2,517,040, should^ represent the
number of sheep in the State. But the actual number is 826,783
Deduct this from the number that, in all probability, would be raised
if proper protection were given, and the loss, properly chargeable to
the presence of dogs, will be 1,690,217, worth at least $3,380,434.

Jkit we may go further still. There are innumerable streams now
wasting their strength against their rocky banks that might be har-
nessed and made to ^vork up tlieir wool into valuable stuffs, if the supply
of wool was regular and constant. Ten millions pounds of wool
could be grown every year in Tennessee without interfering in the
least with her other industries. Allow this t(^ be worth forty cents
j)er ))ound, or §4,000,000, and that manufacturing establishments
could realize fifteen per cent, clear profit, which, with the advantages
here offered, would be exceedingly reasonabk", and here we may enter
a loss of §600,000.

Still further: There are in the State not fewer than 40,000 women,
and an ef|ual number of children, who can fiiul no profitable employ-
ment on the farm or in our workshops. This labor is lost to the State?

Co7idition of Agi'icidture. 365

and this class of persons is a burden upon the communities in which
thev reside. Take what tliey now cost from the profits of productive
inihistrv, and add to it the profits which they wouhl make the State by
hiboring in woolen mills, and the amount "svoiild not fall short of §50
for each person, or $2,000,000 annually.

Now let us sum up the actual and constructive losses to the State
from this negative protection to dogs, and positive discouragement to
sheep raising :

Loss for feeding dogs $2,500,000

Sheep killed by dogs annually 60,000

Value of sheep that would be raised but for dogs 3,380,434

Profits of wool factories 600,000

Losses on labor 2,000,000

Aggregating $8,540,434

And this is what we pay for dogs annually. Let our legislators do
what is right for the protection of property. If they are unwdlling to
do this, they are unworthy the high position to which they have been
called.

Dogs and sheep cannot thrive together. The question reduces itself
to very narrow' limits: Shall we have sheep and prosperity, or dogs
and the depravity and idleness resulting from the want of suitable
employment for a large class of our citizens.

The want of home markets is a very serious impediment to the
prosperity of the farmers of the State, and this can only be remedied
by the establishment of manufactories. The heaviest tax paid by land
and labor is that of transportation. It is estimated by Mr. Carey that
corn, which would produce at market $24.75 per ton, is worth nothing at
the distance of only one hundred and sixty miles, when the communica-
tion is by means of the ordinary wagon road, the cost of transporta-
tion being equal to the selling price. By railroad this cost is reduced
to $2.40, leaving the farmer $22.35 as the amount of tax saved to him
by the construction of a railroad. Assuming the product of an acre
of land to average a ton, the saving is equal to the interest at six per
cent, on $370 an acre. For wheat averaging twenty bushels per acre,
the saving is equal to the interest on $223.66, and still greater on
bulkier products, such as hay, potatoes, turnips. But suppose a
farmer pays even $2.40 for transporting a ton of produce, the yield
say of one acre, one hundred and sixty miles, it will be equivalent to
paying the interest on land worth $40 per acre. The average price of

2,66 Resozirces of Tennessee.

the very best improved farms in the State is about forty dollars, so
that it would apj^ear that unless the farmers on such lands are able to
make more than six per cent, they cannot, without loss, ship their
products to a greater distance than 160 miles. Now if the products
could be consumed at home, there would be the entire saving of six
iper cent, on the investment in land. The nearer the market the
greater the ])rofits of agriculture, and these profits increase geometri-
cally, while the distance diminishes arithmetically. The farmer dis-
tant from market is always selling his soil, which is his capital in
trade. The impoverished fields all over the cotton, tobacco and wheat
regions show that this capital has, in many localities, been exhaust-
ed, and while the farmers thought they were living upon the revenue
derived from the sale of their crops, they have, in fact, been living upon
their capital, and find themselves at the end of a certain period Avith
neither income nor capital, and this period is reached when the produc-
ing power of the soil is reduced to the point where the cost of cropping
is more than the crops will bring in market. This point is reached much
sooner in localities where the cost of transportation must be added.
By bringing markets nearer and creating an active demand for the
products at good prices, the producing power of the land is in effect
increased.

But this is not all. Home markets enable the farmers to diversify
their crops. Many products of the soil will not bear long transporta-
tion, and are yet grown very profitably when they can be sold near by.
In this class may be included nearly all garden vegetables, and many
fruits, besides fresh meats, milk, etc. Farmers do not diversify their
cro^DS because only a few products command a ready sale, or will bear
transportation. If there were ten manufacturing establishments in the
State where there is one now, the markets for their produce as well as
the demand would l)e greatly increased, so that they could sell every
bean, pea, potato, onion, peach, cherry, tomato, every pound of hay,
bushel of corn, and sheaf of oats, every pound of butter, beef, bacon
and fresh meats, besides their cotton, peanuts and tobacco, at enhanced
prices, wliile they would be able to purchase their hoes, axes, rakes,
plows, reapers, calico, domestic, etc;., at reduced rates. The saving in
the one place and the increased profits in the other, would serve greatly
to better their condition and swell their gains. Land would increase
in value for two reasons: 1. Because the profits from its cultivation
would be incnsased many fold on account of the active demand for its
products; and 2. Because, other tilings being e(|ual, the ])rice of land

Condition of Ag7dculture. '1,6']

varies as the population and nearness to market. Labor also would
be more reliable, because higher prices could be paid by the farmers,
and a better class of laborers secured. The best laborers always gravi-
tate to a point where the highest prices are paid.

Next to home manufactures, the construction of competing or cheap '
lines of railroads, so as to reduce the freight, gives a powerful impetus _
to agricultural industry. The reason why railroads increase the price
of lands is because they increase their value as a producing agent.
Ma,ior William J. Sykes, in a recent able speech, puts the whole matter
clearly in this way :

" It is done," he says, " by cheapening the cost of transportation.
This adds value to the articles grown on the land, and as the value of
the productions increase the value of \\\q land producing them in-
creases also in the same proportion. If an acre of land produces
fifty bushels of corn, and it costs fifty cents a bushel to get this
corn to market, the land is taxed twenty-five dollars per acre
every year to enable the farmer to get his corn to market, but if
it should only cost ten cents per bushel to get the corn to market,
then the farmer would only pay five dollars on each acre for transport-
ing his produce to market, and thus save twenty dollars on each acre
planted in corn.

. " Cotton is worth four dollars more at Jackson or Henderson Station
than at Lexington ; and three dollars a bale more at Columbia than at
Lewisburg, because Henderson and Marshall counties have no rail-
roads. Peanuts were worth last year fourteen cents a bushel more at
Waverly than at Centerville, because Hickman county has no rail-
roads ; it costs fifty cents a bushel more to get Hickman wheat to
Nashville than it does Maury or Giles wheat, for the same reason. Let
these examples suffice.

" Some entertain the opinion that it costs a man nothing to haul in his
own wagons and with his own teams. What a mistake ! The wear and
tear of the wagons, the injury done the horses and mules, the feed of
his teams, besides the cost of his labor, really amount to as much as to
hire it done, to say nothing of the losses sustained by his absence from
home, and his exposure in having the hauling done. Experience has
shown that it injures horses and mules as much to haul farm produc-
tions a considerable distance over bad roads as it does to cultivate them.
A man might say, with as much truth, that it costs him nothing to
cultivate a crop with his own wagons and teams, and on his own land,

368 Resotirces of Tennessee,

as to say that hauling in his own wagons and with his own teams costs
him nothing. It costs as much to haul corn, wheat, potatoes, and such
heavy articles many miles over bad roads, as it does to raise them, and
sometimes even more. For these reasons we need cheap railroads in
every agricultural neighborhood. The tax upon the productive indus-
try of the country in transporting agricultural products to market is
the main reason why our farmers are not more prosperous. Cannot
any one see that where there is cheap transportation the land is made
more valuable than where transportation is high, although the land
produces the same amount of corn, wheat, cotton or potatoes. The
remarks which have been made in reference to corn, apply to all other
articles in a greater or less degree. Articles comparatively valueless on
account of the want of railroads and the distance from market, become
valuable as the cost of transportation is reduced. The reason why
lands increase in price as railroads are built, is because they increase in
real value. The productions of the forest, the field, and the mines
depend for their value and usefulness upon cheap and easy access to
good markets ; and, therefore, if the stockholders should never realize
any direct profits from the roads, the incidental advantages would
more than compensate them for their construction."

To this able argument we may add that for the very same reasons
that is, the want of transportation, persons living in counties without
railroads have to pay more for articles of prime necessity, such as
sugar, coffee, salt and calico. Thus it will be seen that the want of
transportation cuts two ways — the farmer gets less for the products he
has to sell, and pays more for the articles he is compelled to buy. To
arrive at his actual losses, we shall have to add to what he loses in the
sale of his products the increased price he has to pay for his supplies.
Let us illustrate : say on the sale of twenty bushels of wheat he loses
ten dollars — receiving twenty where he should receive thirty dollars.
But this is not all his loss ; for with this twenty dollars he purchases,
in his county town, his supplies, for which he has to pay, say ten dol-
lars, in excess, because the merchant has been compelled to pay this for
transportation. It is plain that he thus actually loses twenty dollars
on his twenty bushels of wheat, throwing away, indeed, all his profits.

Cause of tiik Ijow Price of Land.

The question is sometimes asked, why is it, that, with all the natural
advantages of Tennessee, real estate is so much cheaper than it is in Ohio

Condition of Agidculture. 369

or Pennsylvania. This is easily answered. The want of home markets
is one cause, and perhaps the greatest ; another is the want of good
roads and cheap means of transportation. , The war_ broke up many
farmers, and their lands were placed upon the market in such quanti-
ties as to go beyond the demand. Estates that were worth $100,000
before the war, have been sold for one-fifth of that sum. In addition
to this cause, the unequal distribution of the currency has kept money
at a high rate of interest, so that capitalists were more disposed to avail
themselves of those high rates than invest in real estate. Persons able
to buy were thus drawn out of the market, while those who were com-
pelled to sell, were obliged to take the best pieces oifered. A land
panic, as it were, grew out of this state of facts, and prices tumbled in
every portion of the State, except in those places w^here the white ele-
ment predominated and the owners of the land worked it. Super-
added to these causes is the fact that in the more fertile and, before the
war, more wealthy counties, the laboring population, mostly negroes,
have shown no disposition to save their earnings and invest them in
homes of their own. In the states north, the first eifort of thrifty
and intelligent laborers is to amass means enough to buy homes of their
own. This providence on their part creates a demand for land. Were
the 150,000 laboring men of the State of Tennessee to save, each,
annually fifty dollars, there would be at the expiration of each year,
$7,500,000 of surplus funds to invest in the purchase of homes,
in the development of new industries, or in both. After all, it is the
frugal and intelligent laborer that gives value to real estate and builds
up the commercial and material prosperity and greatness of communi-
ties, The leading manufacturers of the north were once economical
laborers. The great farmers of the country once held the plow handles
and took the front row. With an influx of white immigrants, provident
by instinct and economical from principle and training, real property
would quickly rise to its true value, and their savings would not only
make agriculture flourish, but would develop our matchless natural
wealth, and cause the State to rise to a degree of opulence undreamed
of in the past and impossible in the present condition of things.
24

37^ Resources of Tennessee.

CHAPTER XX.

Public School System.

The educational interests of the State, above all others, have for many
years been a subject for the earnest consideration of the thoughtful
and patriotic citizen. The spirit of intellectual progress, without
some share of which communities must decay and enterprise perish, is
coeval with the spirit of independence, and upon which the latter
must rely for support and protection. An ignorant people cannot long
resist the encroachments of power, and they soon fall into servility to
superior minds, or, what is still worse, override all law, and are con-
trolled by none of the sanctions of an enlightened conscience.

The very foundation upon which the superstructure of our Govern-
ment rests, makes it the imperative duty of every citizen to see that the
voter is made sufficiently intelligent to appreciate the power that he
wields. The most dangerous condition of society is that in which ig-
norance rules. There is no security for property or life where the
controlling power is ignorance, and its inseparable companions, super-
stition and crime. This truth the more enlightened citizens of the
State quickly recognized immediately after the war, and urged upon
the Legislature the necessity of making some provision for the educa-
tion of the masses. A law was soon thereafter passed establishing
a system of schools, but it was in advance of public sentiment,
and the Legislature of 1869-70 repealed it, and substituted a county
system. The members of that Legislature, reflecting the sentiments
of their constituencies, saw that a tax sufficiently large to support a
good system of public schools would press with great severity upon the
property-holders of the State in the impoverished condition in which
they were left by the results of the war.

The county system during the entire period in which it was in oper-
ation was a stupendous failure. Not more than one-third of the coun-

Public School System. 371

ties pretended to levy any tax for schools, and of those that did, a ma-
jority levied such an insignificant amount that it is a question whether
it did not do more harm by interfering with private schools than it
did good in furthering the cause of education. Davidson, Gibson, and
one or two other counties raised a sufficient amount to sustain free
schools for several months in the year, but most of the counties levy-
ing a tax were able to keep up the schools but one or two months.
This was trifling with a sacred cause, and one that impeded the mate-
rial progress of the State. This exclusively county system fell into
disrepute with almost all persons interested in the education of the
people. Meantime the degree of ignorance became greater. In many
of the counties there was scarcely a school of any kind, and the appall-
ing fact was made manifest by the census returns, that, while the white
population had increased during the preceding decade only thirteen per
cent., the number of white illiterates had increased fifty per cent. The
fact was made known that there had been fewer schools in the rural
districts in proportion to population during that decade than were
ever known in the history of the State.

This added to the fact that there were 93,651 voters unable to read
and write, who were likely to be manipulated in the interest of design-
ing men, aroused the intelligent portion of the community to the neces-
sity of more earnest effijrts in the cause of free public schools. Dr.
Sears, the agent for the Peabody fund, seconded their efforts with
money and with advice; and by dint of lecturing, writing, and speak-
ing, the public mind was brought to act upon this most important sub-
ject, and the Legislature of 1873 passed a general law establishing
schools, and making provisions for their maintenance. It also made
it obligatory upon the county courts to supplement the State aid by
such an amount as would sustain the schools at least five months in the
year, or submit the proposition to a vote of the people. While the
law is not so liberal in some of its provisions as the importance of the
subject demands, still it is a great advance over the preceding, and Avill
doubtless form the basis of an enduring system of public schools. A
brief synopsis of the law will serve to acquaint persons interested with
its leading provisions.

Synopsis of School, Law.

It ])rovides for the appointment of a State Supei'intendent, county
superintendents, and district school commissioners. The State Super-

372 Resources of Tennessee.

intendent is nominated by the Governor, and confirmed by the Senate.
He is allowed a salary of |3,000 annually, an office in the capitol, and
is required to devote his whole time to his duties. For misconduct or
neglect of duty he is liable to removal by the Governor. His duties
are to collect and disseminate information in relation to public schools;
to make tours of inspection among the public schools in the State; to
distribute blank forms for all returns required by law; to distribute
the school law ; to appoint inspectors of schools ; to require reports from
county superintendents, and, in case the latter fail to make reports, to
appoint some one to do so ; to prescribe the mode of examining and
licensing teachers; to keep and preserve educational documents; to re-
port to the Comptroller on the first day of December of each year the
scholastic population; and to report to the Governor annually all in-
formation regarding the schools.

The county superintendents are elected biennially by the county
courts of each county. They have supervision of the public schools
in their respective counties. They are required to visit the schools,
confer with teachers and district directors ; to keep informed in regard
to the merits of school books, though having no power to order a
change of books, but can only suggest; to secure reports from the
directors; to examine teachers, and issue certificates, as may be re-
quired of them by the State Superintendent; to report to the county
trustees the scholastic population of their respective counties; to report
to the State Superintendent all such particulars as shall be demanded;
to keep a record of all their official acts. Their pay is fixed by the
county courts.

The law prescribes that three district directors be elected for each
school district, one going out each year, and after the first election each
one holding his position for three years. The election is held on the
first Thursday in August by the sheriff of each couuty. The direct-
ors hold their office until their successors are elected and qualified.
Vacancies are filled for unexpired terms by the remaining directors.
The directors are required to explain and enforce the school law, and
for this purpose to visit the public schools from time to time ; to em-
ploy and dismiss teachers in case of necessity ; to suspend or dismiss
pupils; to use the school funds in such a manner as will best promote
the interest of the public schools in their respective districts ; to see
that the census of the children is taken; to hold regular meetings,
and call meetings of the people of the districts for consultation ; to
keep separate and apart the schools for white and colored children ; to

Public School System. 373

disburse the school funds ; to take charge of the public school property,
and to report to county superintendents.

The clerk and treasurer, who is elected from the board of directors,
is required to take the census of all persons between six and eighteen
years of age, in the month of July ; to gather statistics ; to keep a
record of proceedings. He is furthermore required to give bond and
security in such a sum as the board of directors may designate, for
the safe keeping and proper disbursements of all moneys that come
into his hands as treasurer. He is to keep a cash account, to keep on
file vouchers, contracts, and otlier official papers, which shall be open
to the inspection of the county superintendent and of every citizen of
the district. He is allowed one dollar per day for every day of service,
to be paid out of the school fund of the district.

Section 22 provides for tlie establishment . of school districts, and
invests them with corporate powers.

By section 23 public school officers and teachers are enjoined, under
a penalty of not less than $200 nor more than $500 and removal, from
having any pecuniary interest in the sale of school books, maps, fur-
niture, and apparatus, or from acting as agent for the sale of such, or
from receiving any gift for their influence in recommending or pro-
curing the use of any of the articles mentioned, in the public schools.

All school officers going out of office are required to deliver to their
successors the papers of their office, under a forfeiture of not less than
$25 nor more than $100, and a like penalty for each month thereafter
that they shall persist in withholding them, and shall also be guilty of
a misdemeanor. All penalties and forfeitures shall be for the benefit
of public schools. The suit for penalties is brought in the name of
the State Superintendent, and if in a court of record, tlie district at-
torney is required to conduct the same.

A certificate of qualification is required of every teacher. Teachers
are required to keep a daily register of facts pertaining to their re-
spective schools. Written contracts must be made with teachers, in
which must be specified the fixed rates per month. Teachers may sus-
pend pupils until the case is decided by the district directors.

All persons between the ages of six and eighteen years, residing
within the school district, and, in special cases, those residing in differ-
ent districts, may attend school under such regulations as may be pre-
scribed by the directors of the districts interested, provided, that white
and colored persons shall not be taught in tlie same school.

374 Resources of Tennessee.

Orthography, reading, writing, arithmetic, grammar, geography^
elementary geology of Tennessee, and history of the United States
shall be taught in every school. Vocal music may be taught. Other
branches shall not be introduced except as provided for by local taxa-
tion, or shall be allowed by special regulation upon the payment of
such rates of tuition as may be prescribed. The fund so derived to go
into the fund for the support of the respective schools in which it may
be collected.

Preference is given to graded schools. Section 33 provides for
consolidation with private schools, on condition that all the branches
prescribed shall be taught free.

The Permanent School Fuxd

for the State is declared to be ^2,512,500. For this a certificate of
indebtedness is issued, signed by the Governor, under the great seal of
the State, and deposited with the Comptroller of the Treasury. In-
terest at the rate of six per centum is payable semi-annually on the
first of July and the first of January in each year.

To the permanent' school fund are added the proceeds of all es-
cheated property, of all property accruing to the State by forfeiture, of
all lands sold and bought in for taxes, of the personal effects of intes-
tates having no kindred entitled thereto by the laws of distribution,
and donations made to the State for the support of public schools, un-
less otherwise directed by the donors.

Only the annual income derived from the permanent school fund
can be used for the support and maintenance of the public schools.

The Annual School Fund.

This shall be the interest on the permanent school fund, the money
that may come into the State treasury for the purpose under present or
future laws of the State, as well as the money for that purpose from
any source whatever, the poll tax of one dollar upon every male in-
habitant of the State subject thereto, the money arising from a tax of
one mill on every dollar's worth of pro])erty in the State subject to tax-
ation. This last tax is paid over to the county trustee in the county
where collected, and distrihuted to each school district. State school
taxes, with the above ex('ei)tion, are collected in the same manner as
other State taxes, l)ut the collectors, in paying over to the Treasurer,
designate what part is the proceeds of the school taxes.

Public School System. 375

The law declares that when the money derived from the school fund
and taxes is not sufficient to keep up a public school for five months
in the year, in the school districts in the county, the County Court
shall levy an additional tax sufficient for this purpose, or shall submit
the proposition to a vote of. the people, and may levy a tax to prolong
schools beyond the five months. This tax must be levied on all pro-
perty, polls and privileges liable to taxation, but shall not exceed the
entire State tax. The tax so levied shall be collected as other county
taxes, and distributed by the County Trustee to each school district, in
proportion to the scholastic population. The State Treasurer and
County Trustee are required to keep the school moneys separate and
apart from state and county funds. The Comptroller is required to
apportion all school moneys in the treasury, on the first Mondays in
October and April of every year, among the several counties, according
to their scholastic population as reported to him by the State Superin-
tendent. The warrant for the amount due each county is drawn in
favor of the County Trustee.

The County Trustee is required to keep separate accounts of the
state funds and county funds, whence derived, on what account the
moneys were severally derived, and by what order, on what account,
and to whom they were distributed. The money received by him shall be
reported immediately to the County Superintendent, and to the direct-
ors of each school district. He is also required to give bond, with
surety, to be approved by the County Court of his county, in double the
amount of money that may come into his hands. His compensation
is one-half of one per cent, on the amount distributed by him.

Section 45 provides for the incorporation of school districts, which
shall be invested with the following rights and powers :

1. To purchase and hold, in the name of their respective boards of
directors, such real estate and school furniture as may be necessary for
school purposes.

2. To levy a tax,not to exceed three mills on the dollar, upon prop-
erty for prolonging schools, for purchasing school sites and building
school-houses, and for payment of necessary school expenses, but they
shall have no power to levy a tax for any other purpose.

The law also provides that when a majority of the freeholders of a
district shall make application in writing to the school directors of a
district to levy a tax for school purposes, stating the amount to be
levied, it shall be the duty of the school directors to call forthwith a
meeting of the people' of the district, designating the time and place of

376 Resources of Te?tnessee.

meeting, and giving thirty days' notice thereof, the object of the meet-
ing, and the tax proposed, in one or more public places of the district;
and if the directors shall fail to call such meeting, it may be called by
any fifteen freeholders of the district, in the same manner as required
by the directors.

When such meeting is assembled, it shall be the duty of the school
directors, or those having called the meeting, to lay before it the pur-
poses for which it is proposed to levy a tax; and if a majority of the
legal voters of the district shall vote for a tax, the amount so voted
for shall be assessed by the directors upon the property of the district
subject to taxation. The school directors of the district shall appoint
a tax collector to collect the taxes then assessed, and shall fix his com-
pensation.

The collector is required to give bond in double the amount of taxes
to be collected, which taxes are to be paid over to the Treasurer of the
district.

All sums of money derived from the State or county funds, which
are unexpended in any year in any public school district, are required
to be placed in the hands of the County Trustee, for redivision the
next year, but the sums derived from district assessment are not sub-
ject to redivision outside of the district.

Section 51 provides that none of the provisions of the law shall be
so construed as to interfere with schools or school systems already es-
tablished in cities or incorporated towns, or conflict with the chartered
rights, by virtue of which funds for their support are being received,
raised, and distributed, or to limit them as to the power to extend the
course of study, it being intended to encourage the establishment of
pulilic high schools, when the population justifies it, as a means of
perfecting the grading and elevating the standard of scholarship. The
law provides that all such schools shall receive their pro rata shares of
money, raised under the provisions of the act, according to their scho-
lastic population.

Such are the leading provisions of this law — a law which, in some re-
spects, is a compromise between a county system and an exclusively State
system. While the smaller and poorer counties preferred a State system
throughout, the more wealthy and populous counties preferred the
the county system, and it was found impossible to enlist the represen-
tatives of the latter in favor of any law that did not retain some of the
features of the county system, wliercby the money collected in tlie respec-
tive counties should be expended where collected. The result was the

Public School System. 377

present law, with two separate and distinct funds, totally independent
of each other, yet each distributed in proportion to the scholastic popu-
lation. The proceeds of the permanent school fund and the poll tax
are distributed to the counties by the Comptroller, while the sum de-
rived from tlie levy of one mill on each dollars' worth of property, as
Avell as that raised by county taxation, is distributed by the County
Trustee. The money raised by each district is entirely under the con-
trol of the directors of that district.

Not more than thirty-five counties at the present time (May, 1874,)
have levied a tax for school purposes. The question in others has been
submitted to the people. It cannot be disguised that the Civil Rii^hts
Bill, now pending before Congress, has had a very damaging eifect
upon the school interests of the State. Many eager and zealous friends
to the cause have ceased to work for it until the fate of that bill is
made known. A large number of counties postponed action on that
account. It cannot be doubted that the passage of that bill would ruin
the public schools in the State, and give a blow to educational prospects
in the south, from which it would not recover for generations. Preju-
dice cannot be removed by legislation. Of all the qualities of the
human mind, it is the most tenacious and the most difficult to eradicate.
It conquers judgment and masters the will. It is made powerful by
custom and long usage. Statesmen in all ages have recognized this
fact, and have guarded against intensifyng it by legislation. The pas-
sage of the Civil Rights Bill, while it cannot possibly benefit the class
for which it is intended, would be a severer stroke to education than even
the war itself. Ignorance would be increased, virtue and intelligence
among the masses would be diminished, and a corrupt and depraved so-
ciety, composed of two incongruous and incompatible elements, would
keep back the State in all its prossgreive movements, whether intel-
lectual or material. The majority of the citizens in this State are
white. They are able to sustain private schools. While the white
population numbers 936,119, the colored numbers only 322,331, or
about one-fourth of the whole. Can the colored population be educated
without public schools, and would public schools be established and main-
tained under the effects of this Civil Rights Bill? This is the practical
question. The ostensible friends of the colored race in this movement,
are showing themselves to be indifferent to their intellectual progress
in pressing this bill. If public schools are destroyed, what shall pre-
vent the colored race from becoming the victims of ignorance and stu-
pidity? Who shall provide private schools for their instruction?

^I'J^ Resources of Teimessee.

What possible good, theoretical or practical, social or otherwise, can
be accomplished by having a system of mixed schools. Discord would
be generated, factions will spring up, prejudice would be nursed, and
the whole social structure would be shaken to its very center.

With such a delicate question, enlightened statesmen should deal
gently. The application of force in this particular, under the color of
securing rights, would be accompanied with evils so much greater than
that intended to be corrected, that it would be like blotting out the sun
in order that a tallow dip might send its feeble rays over the world.
Whose rights are impaired under the present system? If colored chil-
dren are refused admittance into white schools, so white children are
denied places in the colored schools. As well might the farmer be de-
clared inimical to his cows, because he does not permit them to occupy
the same enclosure with his horses. The white and colored children of
the State have claims upon it, as the cattle and horses have claims on
the farmer, and like the farmer, the State should place them in posi-
tions where both will receive the greatest benefit. By keeping the
schools separate, both races will be advanced, and a spirit of healthy
emulation will spring up, and the very prejudice that exists may be
made a powerful lever in forwarding the improvement of both races.

The school system of the south had just begun to unfold itself like
the beautiful bloom that presages the fruit. The Civil Rights Bill, like
the threatening of an untimely frost, has shed its withering and blight-
ing influence over it. If that becomes a law, now or hereafter, all the
rich fruitage which a system of public schools would assure, will be
destroyed beyond redemption. If the bill be passed, no power on earth
can revitalize that bloom, which, to the people of the south, is the germ
of progress and enlightenment, the avenue to the "treasures of knowl-
edge, th(! delights of learning, the comforts and sweets of domestic
life, and the incalculable joys of our rational existence."

The following counties have levied taxes in addition to the State
tax :

Bedford. Eighteen cents on each one hundred dollars, and one dol-
lar on polls.

Bledsoe. Fifteen cents on each one hundred dollars.

Clay. Ten cents on each one hundred dollars, and one dollar on
polls.

Davidnon. Ten cents on the hundred dollars, one dollar on polls,*
and forty cents on merchants' largest stock.

Public School System. 379

Dyer. Ten cents on the hundred doHars, one dollar on polls, and
one dollar on each marriage license.

Franklin. Twenty cents on the hundred dollars worth of realty,
and fifty cents on polls.

Giles. Fifteen cents on the one hundred dollars, one dollar on polls,
and one-fourth of the county levy on privileges.

Gibson. Twenty-five cents on the hundred dollars worth of property.

Grundy. Thirty cents on the hundred dollars, forty cents on polls,
and one-third the State privilege tax.

Hamilton. Five cents on the one hundred dollars worth of property,
and one dollar on polls.

Hamblen. Five cents on one hundred dollars worth of property,
fifty centf^on polls, and ten cents on privileges.

Hawkins. Ten cents on one hundred dollars personal property, ten
cents on one hundred dollars of merchants' stock, and twenty-five
cents on polls.

Haywood. Five cents on one hundred dollars, one dollar on polls
and marriage licenses, and the State tax on privileges.

Hardeman. Fifty cents tax on each dog, and fifty cents on polls.

Humphreys. Twenty cents on each one hundred dollars worth of
property, one dollar on polls, and one-half the State tax on privileges.

Houston. Twenty-five cents on each hundred dollars worth of
property, one dollar on polls, fifteen dollars on each tippling house,
five dollars on each merchant, and one dollar on each marriage license.

James. Ten cents on one hundred dollars, fifty cents on polls, and
one mill on privileges.

Knox. Ten cents on each one hundred dollars worth of property,
one dollar on polls, and ten cents per hundred dollars on merchants'
greatest capital.

Lake. Ten cents on property, one dollar on polls, and two dollars
on dogs.

Loudon. Ten cents on each one hundred dollars worth of property.
• McMinn. Five cents on each one hundred dollars worth of prop-
erty, and one dollar on polls.

MeNairy. Ten cents on each one hundred dollars worth of property,
and one dollar on polls.

Matiry. Five cents on the hundred dollars, and one dollar on polls.

Montgomery. Five cents on each hundred dollars worth of property.

Monroe. Ten cents on each one hundred dollars worth of property,
and one-half the State taxes on privileges.

;8o

Resources of Tennessee.

Obion. Twenty cents on property and privileges^ and fifty cents on
polls.

Roane. Fifteen cents on the hundred dollars, and one dollar on
polls.

Robertson. First of January, 1874, there were assessed twenty cents
on the hundred dollars, one dollar on polls, and fifty per cent, of State
tax on privileges. The April term repealed the tax and submittted
it to the people.

Sevier. Ten cents on property, and twenty-five cents on polls.

Shelby. Five cents on one hundred dollars.

Stewart. Twenty cents on property, one dollar on polls, and a tax
on privileges equal to State tax.

Sumner. Fifteen cents on property, and one dollar on polls.

Washington. Twenty cents on property, and one dollar on polls.

Wayne. Ten cents on property, and one dollar on polls, and one-
fourth the State tax on privileges.

Williahison. Five cents on property, one dollar on polls, and one-
half the State tax on privileges.

Most of the counties will be able to carry on schools for five mouths
in the year, a few of them six months, and one or two ten months.

Scholastic Population for the Year 1873, Between the
Ages of Six and Eighteen.

East Tennessee.

Counties.
Anderson..
Bledsoe ....

Blount

Bradley....
Campbell ..

Carter

Claiborne ..

Cocke

Grainger ..

Greene

Hamblen...
Hamilton ..
Hancock....
Hawkins ..

James

Jeflerson ...
Johnson —

Popul

ion.
,869
,689
,449
,332
,125
099
,682
,897
424
505
.571
638
,363
,345
,440
,433
,054

Counties.

Knox

Loudon

Maiion

McMinn

Meigs

Monioe

Morgan

Polk

Khea

Roane

Scott

Sequatchie..

Sevier

Sullivan

Union

Washington.

Popul

ation.
9,193
2,559
2,409
4,764
1,624
4,219
1,02-4
2,50&
1,911
4,004
1,522
776
4.153
4,096
2,604
5,059

111,835

Public School System.

381

Middle Tennessee.

Counties.

Bedford

Cannon

Cheatham . .

Clay

Colfee

Cumberland.
Davidson —

DeKalb

Dickson

Fentress

Franklin —

Giles

Grundy

Hardin

Hickman —

Houston

Humphreys ,

Jackson

Lawrence —

Lewis..

Lincoln

Popu

lation.
7,483
3,395
2,191
1,844
b,630
1,285

21.193
4,012
3,162
1,705
4,519
9,484
1,4.53
4,312
3,418
1,233
o,llio
3,227
2,676
620
7,432

Counties. Population.

Macon 2,389

Marshall 5.399

Maury 11,241

Montgomery 7,575

Moore 2 383

Overton 3,335

Perry 2.314

Putnam 3,420

Robertson 5,345

Rutherford 10,508

Smith 4,839

Stewart 3,463

Sumner 6,515

Trousdale 1,705

Van Buren 904

Wcirren 4,298

Wayne 3,313

White 3,264

Williamson 7,685

Wilson 8,062

189,354

West Tennessee.

Counties. Population.

Benton 2,841

Carroll 5,697

Crockett 3,867

Decatur 2,357

Dyer 4,301

Favette 8,533

Gib.son 8,844

Hardeman 5,943

Haywood 6,401

Henderson. 5,136

Counties. Population.

Henry 6,530

Lake 899

Lauderdale 3,448

Madison 7,566

McNairy 5,007

Obion 5,860

Shelby 23,810

Tipton 3,827

Weakley 6,129

116,996

recapitulation.

East Tennessee 111,835

Middle Tennessee 189,354

West Tennessee 116,996

Total 418,185

East Tennessee.
School districts in East Tennessee, except Monroe county 573

White schools organized 1284

Colored schools organized 149

Total schools organized 1433

^82 Resoiirces of Tennessee. i

Number of pupils enrolled, white 58181

Number of pupils enrolled, colored 4984

Total enrolled in East Tennessee 63165

Teachers licensed, white, male 1354

Teachers licensed, white, female 237

Teachers licensed, colored, male 97

Teachers licensed, colored, female 33

Total teachers licensed 1721

Number of Teachers employed in East Tennessee.

White, male 1205

White, female 199

Colored, male 80

Colored, female 33

Total number teachers employed 1517

Middle Tennessee,

( With the exception of Moiitgomcry County.)

School districts 775

White schools organized 1697

Colored schools organized 327

Total schools 2024

Number Pupils Enrolled hetween Six and Eighteen.

White 71108

Colored 14245

Total 85353

Teachers lisenced, white male 1541

Teachers lisenced, white female 414

Teachers licensed, colored male 237

Teachers licensed, colored female 133

Total 72^

Teachers employed, white, male 1398

Teachers employed, white, female 410

Teachers employed, coloied, male 217

Teachers employed, colored, female 113

Total 2138

West Tennessee,

{Except Tipton, which failed, to give the number enrolled.)

School districts 433

White schools organized 489

Colored schools organized Il3

Total schools organized 603

Public School System. 38

Pupils eurolled between six and eighteen, white 20288

Pupils enrolled between six and eighteen, colored 4'.395

Total enrolled 24583

Teachers licensed, white, male 472

Teachers licensed, white, female 166

Teachers licensed, colored, male - 93

Teachers licensed, colored, female 46

Total 777

Teachers employed, white, male 380

Teachers employed, white, female 177

Teachers employed, colored, male 70

Teachers employed, colored, female 47

Total 674

Total for the State,

{Except Monroe, Montgoviery and Tipton.)

School districts 1781

"White schools organized 3470

Colored schools organized 589

Total schools organized 4359

Pupils enrolled between six and eighteen, white 149577

Pupils enrolled between six and eighteen, colored 235'^4

Total 173101

Teachers licensed, white, male 3367

Teachers licensed, white, female 817

Teachers licensed, colored, male 427

Teachers licensed, colored, female 212

Total 4823

Teachers employed, white, male 2983

Teachers employed, white, female 786

Teachers employed, colored, male 367

Teachers employed, colored, female 193

Total ^329

For many of the above facts the Bureau is indebted to the courtesy
of Col. Fleming, State Superintendent of Public Instruction.

It may be added, that the private schools of this State are of a high
order, and well supported. All the religious denominations have one
or more institutions of learning, each, under their supervision and con-
trol. There are also three so-called State universities, one in each
division of the State. The Cumberland University, at Lebanon, has

384 Resources of Tennessee.

established a well earned fame by the thoroughness of its instruction,
and is especially noted for its legal department. The Sewanee Univer-
sity, beautifully located in Franklin county, on the Cumberland Table
Land, gives promise of extended usefulness, and doubtless in a few
years will be as richly endowed as any in the State. The Vanderbilt
University, the buildings for which are now being erected in Nashville,
will be richly endowed. Mr. Vanderbilt, of New York, has donated
to it ^500,000, and the Methodist Church, South, is making eiforts to
raise $500,000 additional. The Presbyterians are striving to locate
the Southwestern University at some point in the State. Clarksville,
in Montgomery county, offers over $150,000 to have it located at that
point. It is a fertile, healthy, accessible region, and well suited for the
seat of a university. It is understood that an endowment of $500,-
000, if not already, will soon be secured for this institution. The
Baptists are also taking steps to establish a first-class university, with
ample endowment ; and it is thought that the northern branch of the
Methodist Church will shortly establish one in Knoxville, with an en-
dowment also of $500,000. Fisk University, located at Nashville, by
the colored people, is being handsomely endowed, mainly from the
north.

Besides these colleges and universities, there are a dozen or more
flourishing schools for young ladies. It cannot be doubted that Ten-
nessee will become the great educational center of the Mississippi
valley, and that it will have invested, in a f^w years, more than $10,-
000,000 in institutions of the highest order.

A Word to Immigrants. 385

CHAPTER XXI,

A Word to Immigrants.

In a work, the object of which is to give a plain, practical statement
of the resources of the State, it is altogether proper that some space
should be given to that class of persons desirous of seeking homes in
this State, and upon whom it must, in a great measure, rely in the
future for its material progress. That many have come to the State,
and have to some degree become dissatisfied, we have no purpose or
intention of denying. But this discontent has arisen in nearly every
instance from the want of the exercise of proper judgment in the se-
lection of their places of residence, or from the inherent sterility of
the soils upon which, in consequence of their great cheapness, they
have been induced to occupy. Let it be understood, once for all, that
the productive, improved lands of this State, favorably located with
respect to markets and transportation, cannot be bought for one dollar
nor five dollars per acre. Good lands, upon which an industrious, hard-
working man may grow rich, are to be found in every division of the
State, but these lands are worth from eight to fifty dollars per acre, ac-
cording to improvements and location. Good unimproved lands may
be bought for half this price. Good soils are, in the end, the cheapest.
An acre of land that will produce fifty bushels of corn is far cheaper
at thirty dollars than an acre that will produce only twenty bushels,
though the latter may have cost only ten dollars. The work* required
to cultivate each is just the same, which may be set down as worth
fifteen bushels of corn. In the first instance the farmer will make
thirty-five bushels, in the latter five bushels, after deducting the worth
of his labor. So that, although the higher priced lands cost three times
as much, the profits are seven times as great. But the expenses do not
stop here. The cost of improvements and the demands of the family,
are as great on the poor soils as on the rich, and this expense will, un-
less a rigid economy is practiced, in nine cases out of. ten eat np the
profits and leave nothing to the tiller of the poor soils. Hence follows
dissatisfaction. Immigrants who have sold their farms in Ohio, Penn-
25

386 Resources of Teftnessee.

sylvania, and New York for fifty or one hundred dollars per acre,
ought not to expect to purchase lands of as good quality in this State
for one-tenth the prices realized in the northern states. There is no
reason for such expectation. This much may be said truthfully.
Lands equally as productive, and with greater aptitudes, and in a better
climate, can be bought from fifty to seventy-five per cent, cheaper here
than in the north, and this arises from a variety of causes, among
which may be mentioned :

1. The great quantity of land for sale, in consequence of the de-
struction of the labor system and the scarcity of labor.

2. Because a large proportion of our old farmers can never adapt
themselves to the change from slave labor to free labor, and are there-
fore anxious to retire from the occupation of the farm.

3. Farming is not profitable unless the owner can " either hold him-
self or drive," and this is what many farmers cannot get their consent
to do,, and are consequently not prosperous. Though every farmer
who works thrives, and such constitute a large majority.

There is no question that the advantages which this State offers to
men able and willing to work are very great. They can have rich
soils, healthy climate and good markets. There is scarcely a product
of the farm that does not sell twenty-five per cent, higher here than in
Illinois and Ohio. Corn, wheat, oats, hay, butter, cheese, are all made
in the north-western states and shipped to Tennessee, and through it
to the southern markets. Why should not the inhabitants of those
states remove nearer their market and save transportation, and where
the same knowledge of business and attention to it will produce equal
results ? Why not possess themselves of soils equally as productive at
half the price ? Are not these sufficient inducements, not to mention
a thousand others ?

Below is a statement framed in the experience of a large number of
small farmers in the State who occupy good soils :

100 acres of the best land, at $30 $3,000 00

2 mules to work same, at $150 300 00

1 two-horse wagon and gear I;'i0 00

2 plows and gear 20 00

Otiier necessary fani.ing implements 25 00

125 buslit^ls corn, at 5(1 cents fi2 50

300 pounds of pork, at 5 cents 15 00

1200 bundles of oats, at 2 cents 24 00

Seed wheat and oats .35 00

$3,H3l 50
Add for interest on disbursement 300 00

Total investment $3,931 50

A Word to Immip-rants. 3^7

"^ii

On land of the quality to be had for the price mentioned there can
be raised by one man, with the exercise of proper industry, in an
average seasonable year:

* 3 acres of tobacco, averaging 800 pounds, at 7 cents $16S 00

10 acres of wheat, 15 bushels per acre, 150 bushels, at $1 150 00

5 acres of hay, producing 8 tons, at $20 160 00

15 acres of corn, 40 bushels per acre, 600 bushels, at 50 cents.... .SOO 00

8 acres in oats, 30 bushels per acre, 240 bushels, at 50 cents 120 00

1 acre sweet potatoes, 100 bushels, at $1 100 00

1 acre Irish potatoes, 150 bushels, at $1 • 150 00

Beans, peas, etc 50 00

Total $1,198 00

Deduct value of labor 200 00

There remains § 99S 00

The profit on this investment is over twenty-five per cent. In
this, no account is taken of profits that might be made in converting
the provender into stock, the sales from the poultry yard, apiary,
orchard, and many other items that a thrifty farmer might add to the
list. No farmer will say these are over-estimates, on good soils well
worked. But it may be asked, if such profits can be made, why do
not the farmers grow rich in the State? Why do they complain so
much of poverty, and why do they have so little money ? We think
this can be easily answered.

In the first place, it is not true that they have no money ; and if
they have none, it is because they do not work themselves, but rely
upon hiring the entire force employed on the farm. In the present
disorganized condition of labor, and the want of attention given to
their business by a certain class of farmers, they do well to get a sup-
port for their families. How much better would a merchant or me-
chanic do who would sit idly in his house, and leave all his business to
the control of irresponsible agents? The wonder is that such farmers
do so well, or make so much.

In the second place, many farmers cultivate too much land, and do
not have it in good tilth. The crops are therefore meager, unsatis-
factory, and unprofitable.

In the third place, however extravagant a farmer's family may be,
he does not consider that his farm makes anything unless he has a sur-
plus left after paying all the family expenses.

''In place of tobacco six acres of cotton may be substituted, which onght to yield, with good tillage,
at least 250 pounds of lint cctton per acre, or ] ,500 pounds at 12 cents, SISO 00.

3^8 Resources of Tennessee.

In the fourth place, many farmers pay taxes on a large quantity of
woodlands that do not contribute a dime to their incomes. The capi-
tal invested in such lands is worse than dead, inasmuch as it entails an
annual expense in the shape of taxation.

In the fifth place, farmers rely too much upon the virgin fertility of
the soil, and there is but little saving or making of manure, and but
few farmers will even haul out that which accumulates about their
stables.

We do not wish to mislead any one who desires to settle in this
State, and we would not have .them disappointed after arriving here.
To say the least, this course Avould be the very worst possible policy.
There are hundreds of industrious men in the State of Tennessee wha
have bought small farms, and paid for them with their own labor in
the short space of four years, besides supporting themselves comfort-
They did it by rigid economy, by indefatigable industry, by the exer-
cise of a proper judgment and a wise forecast. They did it by hard,
patient, and persistent toil, not greater, however, than thousands in the
northern states practice every year. The very fact that Tennessee can
grow such a variety of crops, makes it patent that the farmers, with
the same labor and industry, can make here a greater profit than in
the north. His cattle and hogs do not require to be fed so long, the
number of days suitable for outdoor work is greater, the amount of
capital required to be invested is less, and the price for a majority of
his products higher. Is there any good reason why they should not be
prosperous ?

A strange hallucination sometimes takes possession of the minds bf
many northern immigrants upon their arrival within the State. Not
only do they expect to get lands of the same productive capacity for
about one-tenth what they are worth in New York; not only do they
expect to have a winter so mild as to make the feeding of stock un-
necessary; but they cherish the hope that their labors' will be greatly
lessened, while their profits will be greatly increased. Now this hallu-
cination should be dispelled. There has been no country yet found in
which men can bo thrifty without work. It is a law as inexorable as the
law of gravitation that man shall eat bread in the sweat of his face,
and in shirking labor he shirks thrift, independence, and moral recti-
tude. Land is cheap, the winters short, the products varied, the mar-
kets good, but work is necessary to attain success in this as in other
pursuits.

A Word to Immigrants. 389

The question is often asked, through letters and otherwise, how will
the people of Tennessee receive northern men and women? As kindly
as they deserve. If they come to stir up strife between the races, they
will not, and should not, be respected. If they come to live by their
wits, and, by making false representations to the Government, to secure
a fat office, they will not, as they should not, be respected. If they
come to preach the unutterable turpitude and sinfulness of the former
slaveholder, and to set themselves up as examples of virtue and un-
stained purity, they will not, and should not, be respected. But if
they come with earnest hearts, and willing hands, and cheerful voices,
to help build up the prosperity of the State, be their politics what it
may, be their religion what it will, they will be received with all the
heartiness and all the civility that it is possible for a gallant people to
exercise. They will be welcomed with open hands, and encourage-
ment and sympathy will be given them by every intelligent man and
woman in the State. Instances could be given, and names mentioned
of persons who fought in the Union armies, who would be sent to Con-
gress to represent the people against whom they fought, or other posi-
tions given them of honor and profit if they would accept. The preju-
dices of the war have vanished, except in some dark corners of the
State where the facilities of intercommunication are scarce, and where
ignorance broods, and prejudice is nursed, as an evidence of patriotism.
Yet even such places as these are difficult to find. The great body of
the citizens sincerely wish for a denser population, and would give to
worthy men and women every attention in order to make them com-
fortable and happy in their new homes.

It is also asked whether it would be best for immigrants to come
singly, or in groups, or colonies. Experience has shown that, not
only in this State, but in every State, they are better satisfied, and go
to work more earnestly and vigorously when they have the compan-
ionship of some of their old friends and neighbors. Not less than six
or eight should come at once. Lands in sufficient quantities may always
be secured in one neighborhood to settle several families. Coming in
groups, they are usually independent. They have a society of
their own. The transition is not so sudden. The feeling of lone-
liness is dispelled, and they do not feel so much like strangers
in a strange land. But they should not practice an exclusive-
ness. They should lay aside whatever prejudices they may have
inherited or imbibed, if they expect others to do the same. Like be-
gets like. A cold, suspicious, distant demeanor on the part of immi-

390 Resources of Tennessee.

grants will beget the same on the part of the natives. They should
come, not claiming Ohio, Pennsylvania or New York as their homes,
but should at once throw themselves into sympathy with all the move-
ments looking to the welfare of their adopted State — be citizens of it,
willing to endure the hardships, enjoy the privileges, and partake
• of the glorv of the hour. The past, with all its bitter acrimonies, and
enmities, should be ignored. Kindly and courteous intercourse should
be cultivated. They will find the people of this State as tolerant of
opinion as they are anywhere. They will find the observance of law
and order as general as in the northern states. They will find that
there is no distinction made on account of birthplace; that intelligence,
honesty and moral worth are the only passports needed to be received
into the best society.

Here, as elsewhere, immigrants are sometimes imposed upon by
unscrupulous men. E,eal estate is sometimes sold for more than it is
worth, but this is not done half so often as in the north-western states,
simply because the great amount of laud for sale, and the competition
between sellers, make them, in nine cases out of ten, more eager than
the buyers. By the payment of one-third or one-fourth of the purchase
money, time extending through two, three and even four or more years,
can be had for the payment of the remainder. Usually, however, inter-
est,varying from six to ten per cent., is demanded on the deferred pay-
ments. By paying all cash, a deduction is often made of from ten to
twenty per cent. The farmers of the State are usually " land poor."
The weight they are carrying is too great. They need relief, which
can only be obtained by selling off portions of their lands to immi-
grants, and investing the money where it will be more easily controlled
and will yield a larger per cent, than in surplus lands. This they are
anxious to do.

There is another error that prevails to some extent among the people
of the north, and this error has been industriously circulated to our
prejudice, by a class of pot-house politicians, who bank upon prejudice,
and whose occu]>ation would be destroyed if the simple truth were
told. It is to the effect tliat the ])eo])le of this State do not respect
laboring men. There was a time perhaps, when labor and servility
were associated somewhat together, but the fiery crucible through
which tlie State has passed lias purified public sentiment in this par-
ticular. The horny hand and brawny arm and stalwart form, if con-
nected with honesty, intelligence and moral worth, augment rather
than diminish respect. The truth is being cli^arly recognized that the

A Word to Immigrants. 391

man or State incapable of labor is incapable of greatness; that labor
is the living soul of nations as of individuals ; that in proportion as
men discard labor, just in that proportion do they revert to the condition
of the savage; that labor is the true index of civilization, and that
without it civilization itself would be lost. The pernicious doctrine,
that it is not respectable to labor, has ceased to be taught ; on the con-
trary, the disgrace of indolence is daily discussed. The respectable
idler is becoming scarce. His supports are growing feebler each year.
His hold upon society is lost. Whether as a lawyer, a doctor, a mer-
chant, a mechanic, or a farmer, if his indolence is so great as not to
make a support, he is flouted at by society, shunned and disrespected.
On the other hand, diligence, economy and attention to business will
soon assure a high place in the estimation of the community. Some
of the brightest lights in the State were once mechanics. Money
alone, however, has no power to purchase respectability^ nor poverty
such a disgrace as to work a forfeiture of it, unless the poverty is the
result of indolence and inattention to business.

An impression prevails extensively north, that the people of the
State of Tennessee are exceedingly ignorant. To a certain degree this
is true. The number who can neither read nor write is a burning
shame to the legislation of the State, and yet, it would be difficult to
find in any State in the Mississippi Valley more really educated men
and women. Those who are educated at all, are usually well educated.
The people in respect to education may be classed thus : The negroes,
who are almost totally uneducated ; the poorer white classes who live
in sparsely settled districts, remote from schools, and who have never
had the means or opportunity to educate themselves or their children ;
and lastly, those who have had school facilities, either public or private,
afforded them. The latter class are usually as well instructed as any
class of people in the United States. The second class are beginning
to reap the benefits of free schools, and as the population becomes more
dense, their advantages in this particular will be increased. The first
class are making commendable progress, and institutions of learning
are springing up in every portion of the State for their benefit. Of
course it will be a question for immigrants to decide whether they will
prefer cheaper lands without school facilities, or higher lands with
ample opportunities for the education of their children. By high priced
lands we mean those ranging from fifteen to forty dollars. It may be
said, in this connection, that at present there is not a civil district in the
State that does not have a free public school taught from two to ten

392 Resources of Tennessee.

months in the year. The provisions of the school law are such that
each civil district may be incorporated and any additional tax levied,
provided, it does not exceed thirty cents on the $100, to prolong the
schools beyond the time which the public funds, derived in other ways,
will support them.

There is still another error disseminated to the prejudice of the
people of the State. It is, that a secret society, known as the Kuklux,
exists in the State, and that persons who are obnoxious are maltreated
and driven away by these secret emissaries. There never was a baser
slander perpetrated upon any State than this, so far as Tennessee is
concerned. There is not a respectable man in the State of Tennessee
who would tolerate for a moment such an unlawful, atrocious and
mischievous society as this is represented to be. There have been
fewer outrages committed against persons or property in the State of
Tennessee, during the past five years, than in any other State in the
Union. Public sentiment is so strongly enlisted in favor of the pres-
ervation of the peace of society, that no man, however bad or however
reckless, would dare for one moment to place himself in such an obnox-
ious attitude, as to declare himself in sympathy with the shadowy, vis-
ionary and diabolical band of Kuklux and their alleged atrocities, and
thus exhibit himself an enemy to law and order. Our courts of justice
are amply sufficient to preserve order and insure justice, and they do
the first and render the second. All fears in regard to such an order
are groundless. Ten thousand persons in the State would be willing
to enter into bond to guarantee protection to the life, person and prop-
erty of all industrious, honest, sober immigrants, whether they come
from the north or from Europe. Quiet and order are the foundation
stones of good society. The people of the State recognize the freedom
of every man in his opinions, and will protect and defend him in the
maintenance of them.

Another error propagated, is, that the State is deeply in debt, and that
taxation, of necessity, must be burdensome. A bare statement of facts
will serve to correct this error. Taking the census reports of 1870 as
our guide, in a comparison of the states, because the figures given in
these reports are more accurate and more reliable in every respect
than any others within reach, we find, first, the following as showing

THE SHARE PER READ OF WEALTH.

1. New York |1 483 27 5. California l,14n 15

2. Mas8H(hu8Ptt8 l,4r)3 (13 6. PenngylvHnia 1.081 31

3. Connecticut ..1,44130 7. New Jersey 1,038 49

4. Rhode Island 1,306 28 8. Ohio 838 73

Word to hnmigrants.

393

9. Illinois 8:?5

10. Mar\land 824

11. NewHmp^hire 79H

12. Delaware 777

13. Indiju.a 754

14. Missouri 746

15. Nevada 732

16. Vfrmnnt 711

17. Wi fniisin 6t.5

18. Michigan 6(i7

19. Iowa 601

20. Oregon $ 567

21. Nebraska 563

22. Maine 555

23. Minnesota 520

6t;

28.

32.

33.

34.

(16

35.

36.

37.

Kansas 518 36

Kentucky 457 ■16

L()uisi;ina 444 51

West Vircrinia 431 32

Tennessek 3'i5 89

Virginia 334 31

Arkansas 322 81

South Carolina 294 99

Mississippi 252 67

North Carolina 2.3 39

Florida 235 23

Georgia. 22ii 47

Alabama 2n2 46

Texas.... 194 30

TAXATION ttPOX EACH $1,000 (tRUE VALUe) OF PROPERTT.

1. Nevada $26

2. Louisiana 21

3. Arkansas 18

4. Mississippi 17

5. Maine 15

6. Nebraska 14

7. AlMbama 14

8. Kansas 14

9. South Curolina 13

10. New Hampshire 12

11. l.wa 12

12. California 12

13. Massai husetts 11

14. Minnesota. 11

15. Oregon 11

16. Vi ginia 11

17. Florida 11

18. Missouri 10

19. Ohio. 10

Maryland $10 30

Illinois 10 28

Georgia 9 79

Kentucky 9 48

Vermont 9 07

West Virginia 9 03

North Carulina 9 02

Indiana 8 52

New Jersey 7 88

Connecticut 7 83

Wisconsin 7 67

Michigan 7 52

New York 7 47

Khi^de Island 7 31

Texas 7 10

Tennessee 6 79

Pennsylvania 6 44

Delaware 4 30

TAXATION PER HEAD.

1. Nevada $19

2. Mas.«achusett8 17

3. C:.lifornia 13

4. Connecticut 11

5. New York 11

6. New Hampshire 10

7. Rhode Island 9

8. Louisiana 9

9. Ohio 9

in. Illinois 8

11. M ine 8

12. Mfiryland 8

13. Nebraska 8

14. New Jersey 8

15 Missouri 8

16. I.wu 7

17. Kansas 7

18. Pennsylvania 6

19. Vermont 6

.30

37.

Indiana $ 6 42

Oregon 6 39

.Minnesota 6 20

Arkansas 5 91

Wisconsin 5 10

Michigan 4 57

Mississippi 4 51

Kentucky 4 34

South Carolina 3 92

West Virginia 3 89

Virginia 3 76

Delaware... 3 34

Alabama... 2 99

Tennessee 2 69

Florid i 2 64

(leorgia 2 21

North Carolina 2 20

Texas 1 38

394

Resources of Tennessee.

PROPORTION OF STATE AND LOCAL DEBT TO POPULATION.

( The Slims given being the per capita division of the debt.)

1. Louisiana $70 03

2. Massachusetts v.. 47 49

3. Nevada 46 74

4. Virginia 45 G4

5. Tennessee* 38 80

6. Mainland 37 18

7. New York 36 46

8. New Hampshire 35 04

9. California. 32 29

10. Connecticut 31 79

11. North Carolina 30 31

12. Rhode Island 27 32

13. Missouri.. 27 25

14. Maine. 26 52

15. Pennsylvania 25 27

16. New Jersey. 2n 22

17. South Carolina 18 53

18. Georgia 18 37

19. Kansas 17 68

20. Nebraska $16 98

21. Illinois 16 61

22. Kentucky 14 34

23. Alabama 13 31

24. Florida .- 11 64

25. Vermont 10 88

26. Arkansas 8 57

27. Ohio 8 .34

28. Iowa 6 73

29. Minnesota 6 34

30. Michigan 5 68

31. Wisconsin 5 60

32. Indiana. 4 64

3.^ Delaware 4 21

34. Mississippi 3 13

35. Oregon 2 40

36. Texas 1 97

37. West Virginia 127

Now, when it is remembered that one thousand dollars worth of per-
sonal property is exempted from taxation, and persons owning less than
this pay no tax except the poll-tax, it will readily appear that the
poor, hard-working laborer bears but a small proportion of the bur-
dens of society. We very much doubt whether there is any State in
the Union, in proportion to the value of its agricultural products,
that pays so small a tax. It is true the State debt proper amounts to
$27,920,386, but there are debts due to the State from solvent rail-
roads, amounting to $6,437,548.75, which promptly meet the interest
as it falls due, leaving $21,482,837.70 as the amount upon which the
State must pay interest. Add to this the school fund, $2,512,500,
the interest upon which may be met by one-half the tax which will
be derived from railroads, not to mention the uncollected back taxes,
amounting to nearly $1,000,000. Now the lowest estimated true value
of property in the State is $500,000,000. It will most probably reach
$600,000,000. The products of the faj-m, the forest, market gar-
den, and home manufacture, amount to $106,000,000 annually, to
say nothing of the value of live stock, $55,000,000, and the value of
manufactured products, over $34,000,000. Besides, but few of the
counties are in debt. Local taxation is light. Many of the counties
have a surplus in their treasuries. And when it is considered what
Tennessee may become, with enterprise and well directed energy,
its debt ap])ears but an in considerable sum, which may be paid
by the gradual increase of wealth, without inconvenience to its

*The debt in 1870, when tho census was taken, was over $40,000,000. It has been reduced one-half.

A Word to Immigrants. 395

citizens. The taxes on merchants and on privileges are estima-
ted to be sufficient to pay the expenses of the State Government.
The rate of taxation, which will, at present, pay current expenses
and interest, will, at the average rate of increase in taxable prop-
erty, absorb the principal in a few years. The true value of
property in the State in 1850 was ^201,240,686; in 1860, $493,-
903,892; in 1870, $498,237,724. In the decade between 1850
and 1860, the value of property increased 145 per cent. In the suc-
ceeding decade it did not increase quite one per cent., though this was
owing to the destruction of property by the war. It is estimated that
at least $200,000,000, including slaves, were lost to the property-
holders of the State between 1860 and 1870. But for that calamity,
$700,000,000 would have been the true estimate in 1870, or about
forty-two per cent, increase. Estimating the same rate of increase
to have obtained since 1870, and we ought to have $600,000,000
in 1875, $700,000,000 in 1880, and nearly $1,000,000,000 in 1890.
In sixteen years from the present time, we should collect double the
amount of taxes, at the same rate of taxation and the same relative
assessed value of property as in 1870. To put it in a different way:
If the increase in the value of property be four per cent, annually, the
increase in the amount collected at the same rate ought to be four per
cent, if the ratio between the true and assessed value is maintained.

If the revenue derived from taxation on property in 1875 should be
enough to pay the interest on the State debt, we can set aside as a
sinking fund in

187G 4 per cent, of present revenue derived from property.

1877 8

1878 12 " " " " " "

1879 16

1880 20

1881 24

1882 28

1883 82 " " " " " "

Assuming the taxable property will be, in 1875, $320,000,000, at
forty cents, the present rate, the revenue from this source should be $1,-
280,000. Now, in 1876, if the property of the State should increase at
the rate of four per cent, per annum, and the rate of taxation remain
the same, we shall have the exhibits as given below. The first column
represents the annual increase of revenue above that of 1875, because
of the increase in the value of taxable property ; the second column

39 6 Resources of Tenjiessee.

represents this increase, with the interest on the amount paid towards
the State indebtedness added :

1876 % 51,200 $ 51,200

1877 102.400 plus interest on sinking fund, 105,472

1878 153,600 " '• " " 16;^,U00

1879 204,800 " " " " 223,980

1880 256,000 " " " " 288,583

1881 307,200 " '• " " 333,098

1882 358,400 " " " " 428,284

1883 409.600 " " " " 500,181

1884 460,8i)0 " " " " 586,391

1885 612,000 " " " " 672,775

1886 563.200 " " " " 764-341

1887 614,400 " " " " 861,402

1888 665,600 " " " " 964,286

1889 716,800 " " " " 1073.344

1890 768.000 " " " " 1,188,944

1891 819.200 " " " " 1,311480

1892 870,400 " " " " 1,441,369

1893 921,600 " " " " 1,599,051

1894 982,800 " " " " 1,736,194

1895 1,024,000 " " " " 1,871,566

In twenty years, in this way, we shall have reduced our debt $16,-
164,341, and be in a condition to pay to the sinking fund thereafter
over $2,000,000 annually, without increasing the rate of taxation.

But we have other expectations of an increase in taxable property.
By 1875, nearly every railroad in the State will be liable to taxation,
which will add $70,000,000 to our taxable property, though we have
included one-half of this in our estimates. All the elements exist
in the State also for giving full development to the manufacturing
industry of the people. Within the next decade all the pent up forces
will burst forth, and the erection of manufacturing establishments will
proceed with a marvelous rapidty. Evidences of this are beginning
to be seen. Without some unforeseen calamity, at the present rate
of increase $100,000,000 will be invested in manufacturing enterprises
within \\\ki next ten years, and the debt of the State can be almost
extinguished at the present rate of taxation. Financially, there are
but few States in a more prosperous condition when the aggregate
wealth and undeveloped resources are considered. The surest way
of diminishing taxation is by stimulating development and produc-
tion, and this the people of the State are beginning to do.

Several letters have been received by this Bureau, in which the
question is asked, what class of people could do best, farmers, me-
chanics, tradesmen or professional men. We answer unhesitatingly,
any class that will produce. There is room for 100,000 small farmers,
and then the State needs for the further development of its rough

A Word to Imfnig7'ants. 397

wealth 100,000 skilled laborers and artisans. The excellence and va-
riety of timber, the abundance of coal, the immense deposits of iron
ore found in forty-four counties out of ninety-three, the superb water-
]iower that flows in rapid currents through nearly every county in the
State, the contiguity of the cotton fields, the cheapness of living, the
access to markets, the salubrity of the climate, the central position of
the State itself, all point to its future as a great manufacturing center.
Iron can be made cheaper, agricultural implements will find a readier
market, fuel is more abundant, water privileges are better and cheaper,
the weather is milder than at the north, and nothing is wanting but
skilled hands to weave the cotton and wool into textile fabrics, to con-
vert our woods into the implements of industry, to transform our ores
into useful metals, and to develop other beds of treasures that lie
slumbering in our valleys and mountain chains. We want mechanics
and capital to do this. The field is open, the time is propitious, the
harvest is ready.

As for traders and professional men, the supply is already equal to
to the demand. Nor does the State need any more of what is called
cheap labor, that is, labor that can be hired at a small price,
to do a small amount of work in an unsatisfactory manner. We
want laborers who are intelligent enough to think, and prudent
enough to be honest, and wise enough to save their earnings. We
want laborers that can be advanced socially, that can invent and
can utilize the forces of nature, and compel them to work in obe-
dience to the will of man. We want the same character of labor-
ers that have made that vast belt of the American continent, ex-
tending from the Atlantic to the Pacific, and from the Ohio River to
the lakes, the theatre of an industrial activity nowhere else seen on
the continent. Measured by the production of wealth, these laborers
have proved far the cheapest, and they have also cheapened the means
of living while they have elevated themselves. Doubtless, many would
like to see an influx of house servants, cooks, milkmaids, &c. These
would find remunerative employment at good prices, and we wish it
distinctly to be noted, that the prices paid for working men and women
in this State, are by no means an index to the prices that would be paid
for labor of a more reliable character. The world over, and especially
in the United States, laborers are paid in proportion to their real
worth. As has been already said, one of the greatest drawbacks to the
prosperity of a portion of the farmers of this State, is that a portion
will not work themselves, nor will those employed by them work

398 Resources of Tennessee.

as tliey should. They constitute the grumbling and dissatisfied portion
of the population. First-class wages are asked by a majority of the
laborers, and about sixty per cent, of first-class work done.

As agents of the State, and regarding its interest as paramount to all
considerations of the mere personal convenience of the community, the
officers of this Bureau regard as the greatest want of the State to be a
supply of skillful, energetic, ingenious, industrious and frugal people, to
fill up the unoccupied fields of our industry. The class most needed,
are men who have a spirit of thrift and independence, resolute hearts,
cunning hands, and clear brains. No fairer field was ever presented
for the occupation of such a class. It is a field filled with all the ele-
ments of wealth and of substantial enjoyment. Here is an abundance of
raw material and rich soils, upon which all the fruits and all the crops
and all the animals necessary for man's support, comfort or conven-
ience, can be raised with less labor, and less expense, than in a higher
latitude. Here are mighty rivers, and flowing creeks, and purling riv-
ulets, and gushing springs of sparkling waters, suited for navigation,
for machinery, for stock, the dairy, and the household. Here is a cK-
mate so congenial to the physical man, that the very exuberance of his
spirits doubles his pleasure, and robs adversity itself of half its woes.
This is the home of the working man, land and living are cheap, labor
is high and in demand. The laws have exempted from taxation |1,000
worth of property, and the exemptions from execution are ample to
secure comfort, though one may have unwarily become involved in
debt.

One word, by way of recapitulation, to those contemplating removal
to this State. Do not be deceived by the falsehoods that have been
circulated to the prejudice of the people of this State. Do not believe
that the native citizens are lawless and despise the stranger. Do not
think that labor is looked upon as disreputable. Disabuse your minds
of the impression that Tennessee is unhealthy. Consult the census re-
turns for the last seventy years on this point, and convince yourselves.
Do not place yourselves in the hands of unscrupulous and designing
men, and tlien hold the people of the State responsible for the damage
they may do you. Let no immigrant be deceived about titles to land.
Complaints have sometimes been made by ])crsons coming into the State,
who have been imposed upon by unscrupulous j)arties. The responsi-
bilities of this office, as well as a just sense of truth, impel us to make
known that in the early history of this State, unwifHe enactments were
made for granting our public lands, and many persons now have the

A Word to Immigrants. 399

grant of this State with its great seal affixed, who have no title. It will
not do for strangers to accept an entry and grant as sufficient evidence
of title. In every county in the State there are persons who may be re-
lied on, and who will give correct information in regard to titles, claims,
&c. And, moreover, if immigrants will confer with this Bureau, direc-
ting their letters to " The Bureau of Agriculture, Nashville, Tennessee,"
every effort will be made to give them correct and reliable information,
without charge. The officers of it are determined not to publish any
thing that they do not believe to be trr,", after seeking and consult-
ing the very best sources of information to be had.

For the further information of immigrants, we append a synopsis of
such laws as may be of interest or value to them, relating to mortgages,
redemptions, deeds of trust, exemptions, liens, and the naturalization
of aliens.

Laws of the State of Interest to Immigrants.

Mortgagee and Deeds of Trust. A mortgage is a conveyance to a creditor
of property to secure the payment of a debt due or to become due, or the
repayment of a sum loaned. A deed of trust is a mortgage with power of
sale added. The mortgagor and conveyor in deeds 0 trust are similar.
Where real estate is sold under any decree, judgment or order of a court of
chancery, whether founded on a foreclosure of a mortgage or deed of trust,
or otherwise, is redeemable at any time within two years after such sale.
But the right of redemption may be expressly waived by the deed or mort-
gage. And again, where the court, upon application of the complainant,
orders that the property be sold on a credit of not less than six months, nor
more than two years, upon confirmation of such sale by the court, the right
of redemption or repurchase is gone, and the title of the purchaser becomes
absolute. All mortgages and deeds of trust, of either real or personal
property, may be registered. The place of registration in case of mortgages
of real estate, is in the county where the land lies, unless it lies partly in
two or more counties, and then it may be registered in either; and where it
contains several tracts of land lying in different counties, it shall be regis-
tered in each of the counties where any of said tracts lie. Mortgages of
personal property shall be registered in the county where the person exe-
cuting the same resides, but if he is a non-resident, then in the county
where the property is. Mortgages and deeds of trust have effect between
the parties thereto, and their heirs and representatives, without registration ;
but as to other persons, not having actual notice of them, only from the
noting thereof for registration on the books of the register, unless otherwise
expressly provided. An assignment of choses in action is not embraced in
the registry acts, and is as good with as without registration. A mortgagor
in possession of lands is not accountable for rents on a bill to foreclose; but
a mortgagee in possession is accountable to the mortgagor for rents and
profits. A raechanic'9 lien has priority over the special lien of a mortgage
in a case where the contract is made with the mortgagor, and the mortgagee

400 Resources of Tennessee,

has written notice of the same before the work is begun or materials fur-
nished, and he consents thereto or fails to object within ten days after re-
ceipt of the notice.

Redemption. Real estate sold for debt is redeemable at any time withia
two years after such sale in cases where it is sold under execution, or under
any decree, judgment or order of a court of chancery, whether founded
upon a toi'ecliisure of a mortgage, or deed of trust, or otherwise, unless,
upon application of a complainant, the court order that the property be
sold on a credit of not less than six months nor more than two years, and
that, upon confirmation thereof by the court, no right of redemption or re-
purchase shall exist in the debtor or his creditor, but that the title of the
purchaser shall be absolute ; or where it is sold under a deed of trust or
mortgage without a judicial sentence, unless the right of redemption is ex-
pressly waived by the deed or mortgage ; or where it is sold for taxes. The
right of redemption does not extend to any sale under and by virtue of a
power contained in any deed of trust, mortgage, or other instrument,
whereby said right is waived or surrendered by such mortgage or convey-
ance. The time for redemption begins to run from the date of the confirma-
tion of the sale, and the debtor has two years from that time in which to
redeem. The debtor, whose interest in real estate has been sold, redeems
by paying to the purchaser, or to any one claiming under him, the amount
bid or paid by him, with interest thereon at the rate of six per cent, per
annum, toge:her with all other lawlul charges. If the purchaser is horvx
/?o?e a creditor by judgment, decree, or debt acknowledged by deed, and
■within twenty days after the sale he makes an advance on his bid and cred-
its his debt by depositing a receipt therefor with the clerk of the court in
which the judgment or decree was rendered ; or, if the sale was made
under a deed of trust or mortgage, he acknowledges a receipt for such ad-
vance before the clerk of the county court for registration, and causes the
same to be registered in the county where the land lies, then he shall hold
the land subject to redemption at the price bid and such advance, just as if
he had bid the whole sum at the time of the sale. A creditor redeeming
from the purchaser at the sale, holds the property subject to redemption by
the original debtor, or any other of his creditors, upon the same terms on
which it was redeemable in the hands of the first purchaser or any person
claiming under him, that is to say, by the party proposing to redeem paying
or tendering ,o the person holding the land the amount of money paid or
credited by him, with interest at the rate of six per cent, per annum there-
on, and agreeing to pay to the debtor the further sum of ten per cent, or
more on the sum bid for said land when sold, or crediting him with that
amount or more on the debt owing to him by said debtor. Any creditor
having i-edeemed land from the original purchaser, or from one who had
previou.sly redeemed, may within twenty days advance upon his bid any
sum to the extent of his debt or debts, just as if he had been the original
purchaser. Real estate suld lor d«?bt and made redeemable, continues re-
deemtbie to the debtor and his creditors for two years after the sale, no
mattei' how often it may have been previously redeemed. No person hold-
ing the temporary title to real estate subject to redemption shall use more
of the wood growing thereon than the timber required to keep the improve-
ments in good repair, and fire-wood necessary for those occupying the same,
nor deslruy or remove from the land any iencing or buildings. The debtor

A Word to Immigrants. 401

permitted by the purchaser to remain in possession shall not be liable for
rent from the date of the sale to the time of redemption ; and if the pur-
chaser or assignee take possession under his purchase, upon redemption
by the debtor, he shall have a credit for the fair rent of the premises du-
ring the time they were in the purchaser's possession. Where the pur-
chaser is absent from his usual place of residence, so that the tender to him
in person is prevented, or resides out of the county where the land lies, the
debtor may pay the redemption money to the circuit court clerk of the
county where the land lies, to be held by him for the person entitled to it.
In case of the death of the debtor, the right to redeem descends to his
heirs.

Exenvpiiona. A homestead in the possession of each head of a family,
and the improvements thereon, to the value of one thousand dollars, is ex-
empt from execution, or attachment, or sale, under legal process. Thirty
dollars of the wages of mechanics or laboring men are exempt from execution,
attachment, or garnishment. And the following named articles are exempt
from execution, seizure, or attachment in the hands of heads of families:
Two beds, bedsteads and necessary clothing for each : and for each three
children of any one family, one additional bed, bedstead and necessary bed
clothing — the value of such bedstead not to exceed twenty-five dollars,
two cows and calves, and if the family consist of six or more persons, three
cows and calves, oup dozen knives and forks, one dozen plates, half dozen
dishes, one set of table-spoons, one set of tea-spoons, one bread tray, two
pitchers, one waiter, one coftee-pot, one tea-pot, one canister, one cream-jug,
one dozen cups and saucers, one dining-table and two table-cloths, one dozen
chairs, one bureau, one safe, one wash-basin, one bowl and pitcher, one
washing kettle, two washing tubs, one churn, one looking glass, one chop-
ping axe, one spinning wheel, one loom and gear, one pair cotton cards, one
pair wool cards, one cooking stove and utensils, or set of ordinary cooking
utensils, one meal seive and one wheat seive, one cradle, one bible and hymn
book, and all books used in school, two horses or two mules, or horse and
mule, or horse or mule and yoke of oxen, one ox cart, yoke, ring, staple and
log chain, one two or one horse wagon and harness, one man's and one wo-
man's saddle, two riding bridles, twenty -five barrels of corn, twenty bushels
of wheat, 500 bundles oats, 500 bundles fodder, one stack of hay worth
twenty dollars, if the family consist of less than six persons, 1,000 pounds
of pork or 600 pounds of bacon ; if the family consist of more than six per-
sons, twelve hundred pounds of pork or nine hundred pounds of bacon, all
the poultry on hand and fowls to the value of twenty-five dollars, a home-
made carpet, six cords of wood or one hundred bushels of coal, and one
sewing machine. If the head of the family be engaged in agriculture, the
following articles, in addition to the foregoing, are exempt : Two plows,
two hoes, one grubbing hoe, one cutting knife, one harvest cradle, one set of
plow gears, one pitch fork, one lake, three iron wedges, five head of sheep,
ten head of stock hogs. In the hands of every mechanic, there is exempt
one set of tools, such as are necessary to the pursuit of his trade. One gun
is exempt to every male citizen eighteen yeais of age, and every female
who is the head of a family. To heads of families there is also exempt fifty
pounds of picked cotton, twenty-five pounds of wool, and upper and sole
leather enough to provide winter shoes for the family, and to each mechanic
fifty dollars worth of lumber or material.
26

402 Resources of Tennessee.

lAens. Proprietors of warehonses have a lien on all tobacco and proceeds
for fees and charges on same. There is a lien upon any lot of ground or
tract of land upon which a house has been constructed, built or repaired, or
fixtures or machinery furnished or erected or improvements made, by special
contract with the owner or his agent, in favor of the mechanic or undertaker,
founder or machinist who does the work, or furnishes the materials, or puts
thereon any fixtures, machinery or material, either of wood or metal. And
the benefit of this provision relative to the mechanics, apply to all persons
doing any portion of the work, or furnishing any portion of the material
for the building. Each mechanic so employed, has the lien in proportion to
the amount and value of the work he does or the material he furnishes.
The lien includes the building, fixture or improvement, as well as the lot or
land, and continues for one year after the work is finished or material fur-
nished, and is not afi'ected by the owner's disposal of the lot or land. Every
journeyman employed shall have the lien if he notify the owner of the prop-
erty in writing of his intention to rely upon it, when he begins to work or
furnishes materials. A debt contracted by the master, owner, agent or con-
signee of any steam or keel boat, within this State, on accouut of any work
done, or materials or articles furnished, or groceries or provisions supplied,
for or towards the building, repairing, fitting, furnishing or equipping such
boat, or for wages due to the hands of the same, shall be a lien upon such
boat, her tackle and furniture, to continue for three months. The owners
and proprietors of wharves and landings have a lien on all boats, rafts and
other water craft and their loading for the payment of their wharfage fees.
Whenever any horse or other animal is received to pasture, for a considera-
tion, the farmer has a lien upon the animal for his proper charges. Any
person keeping a stallion, jack, bull or boar for public use, has a lien on the
offspring of the same, until the season is paid for, provided the lien is
enforced in five months. Livery stable keepers have a lien on all stock
received by them for board and feed. When merchants, factors or cotton
brokers sell cotton, a special lien in behalf of the vendors, exists for five
days from and after the day of sale. Silversmiths, lock and gunsmiths,
blacksmiths and artizans generally, are empowered, at the expiration of
one year from the time of the contract and leaving the material with them,
or the article to be repaired, if not claimed or called for, to sell the same at
public outcry and satisfy their charges out of the proceeds. A judgment
or decree obtained in a court of record in the county where the debtor re-
sides at the time of rendition is a lien upon the debtor's land Irom the
time the same was rendered. If the judgment or decree was obtained in
any other county than that in which the debtor resides, the lien takes effect
only from the time when a certified copy of the judgment or decree is regis-
tered in the county where the debtor resides, if he resides in the State, or if
not, then in the county where the land lies. But this lien will be lost unless
an execution is taken out and the land sold within twelve months after the
rendition of the judgment or decree. Any debt by note, account or other-
■wise, credited for the rent of land, is a lien on the crops growing or made on
the premises, in preference to all other debts, from the date of the contract,
and it continues for three months after the debt becomes due. And any
debt by note, account or otherwise contracted for supplies, implements of
industry or work stock furnished by the owners of land to lessees, or by
lessees to sub-tenants, and used in the cultivation of the crop, is a lien upon
the crop growing or made during the year upon the premises, but the lien

A Word to Immigrants. 403

must be contracted for on the lace of the note or other writing, and this
lien does not have priority over the lien of the owner of the land for the
rent.

Naturalization of Aliens. Any alien, being a free white person, may be
admitted to become a citizen of the United States, or any of them, on these
conditions : That he shall have declared on oath or affirmation, before the
supreme, superior, district or circuit court of some of the States, or of
the territorial districts of the United States^ or a circuit or district court
of the United States, two years at least before his admission, that it was
bona fide his intention to become a citizen of the United States, and to
renounce all allegiance and fidelity to any foreign state or sovereignty what-
ever, that at the time he applies to be admitted, he shall declare on oath or
affirm, before some one of the courts aforesaid, that he will support the con-
stitution of the United States, and that he renounces all allegiance and
fidelity to every foreign state or sovereignty whatever. The court admit-
ting such alien shall be satisfied that he has resided within the United States
at least five years, and within the State or territory where such court is held
at least one year, and that during that time he has behaved as a man of
good moral character, attached to the principles of the constitution of the
United States and well disposed to the good order and happiness of the
same. In case the alien applying for citizenship shall have borne any hered-
itary title, or been of any of the orders of nobility in the kingdom or
state from which he came, he shall make an express renunciation of his
title or order of nobility. Every court of i-ecord in any individual state
having common law jurisdiction and a seal and clerk or prothonotary, may
naturalize aliens. The children of persons duly naturalized under any of
the laws of the United States, or who may have become citizens of any Dne
of the said States under the laws thbreof, being under the age of twenty-
one years at the time of their parents being so naturalized or admitted to
the riglits of citizenship, shall, if dwelling in the Uuited States, be consid-
ered as citizens of tha United States. If an alien, who has complied with
the conditions and directions set forth herein, shall die before he is actually
naturalized, his widow and children shall be considered as citizens of the
United States, upon taking the oaths prescribed by law. The alien's resi-
dence in the United States must have been uninterrupted for five years next
preceding his admission to citizenship. An alien under twenty-one years of
age, who shall have resided in the United States three years next preced-
ing his arriving at the age of twenty-one years, and who shall have contin-
ued to reside therein to the time of making application for admission to
citizenship, may, after he arrives at the age of twenty-one years, and after
he shall have resided five years within the United States, including the three
years of his minority, be admitted a citizen of the United States, without
making the declaration required two years before his admission, provided,
he makes it at the time of his admission, and declares on oath, and proves to
the satisfaction of the court, that for three years next preceeding, it has been
his bo7ia fide intention to become a citizen of the United States, and shall in
all other respects comply with the provisions of the naturalization laws.
An alien of the age of twenty-one years and upwards, who has enlisted or
shall enlist in the armies of the United States, either the regular or volun-
teer forces, and has been, or shall hereafter be honorably discharged, may be
admitted to become a citizen of the United States, upon his petition, with-

404 Resources of Tennessee.

out previous declaration of his intention of becoming a citizen, and lie shall
not be required to prove more than one year's residence within the United
States previous to his application to become such citizen. The court shall
require proof of good moral character, of residence, and that such person
was honorably discharged from the service of the United States. All nat-
uralized citizens shall be entitled to all of the rights, privileges and immu-
nities of native born citizens, and while they are in foreign states, shall re-
ceive from this Government the same protection of person and property that
is accorded to native born citizens in like situations and circumstances.

Geiieral Statistics.

405

CHAPTER XXII.

Occupation of the People and General Statistics.

It is well to observe, at the outset of this chapter, that though we
give an abstract of the census returns for 1870, but little reliance, so
far as the State of Tennessee is concerned, can be placed in them. To
convince any one of this, it is only necessary to compare the amount
of land as returned by the assessors for taxation and the amount re-
turned by the census takers. In the first instance, it was in 1872,
24,822,508 acres, and in 1873, 25,078,308, while the census reports
give only 19,581,214 acres, showing a discrepancy of 5,241,294 acres.
It is much more reasonable to suppose that the list given in by the
tax payers would fall below than above the actual number of acres.

The following table represents the decennial progress in population
since 1790:

CENSUS.

WHITES.

FREE
COLORED.

SLAVES.

TOTAL.

INCREASE!
PER CENT.

1790

32,013
91,709
215,875
339,927
535,746
640,627
756,836
826,828
936,119

361

309

1,317

2,779
4,555
5,524
6,422
7,235
322,331

3,417
13,584
44,535

80,107
141,603
183,059
239,459
275,784

35,791

105,602

261,727

422,813

681,904

829,210

1,002,717

1,109,801

1,258,520

1800

195.05

1810

147.84

1820

61.55

1830

61.28

1840

21.60

1850

20.92

1860

10.68

1870

13.40

As to the order of states in point of population, Tennessee, in 1790,
stood 16th; in 1830 it stood 7th; in 1850, 5th; after which time it
began relatively to fall back, for we find, in 1860, it stood 9th in point
of population, and preserved its place in 1870.

Of the population in 1870, 936,119 were white; 322,331 colored;
70 Indians.

4o6

Resources of Tennessee.

The population of the principal cities as reported, was in 1870,

Chattanooga 6,093

Kuoxville 8,682

Memphis 40,226

Nashville 26,865

Now estimated 11,000

13,000

" " 60,000

" " 40,000

Density of population in 1850, was 24 to the square mile; in I860,
25; in 1870, 30.

The following tables will show the population by counties, and the
decennialincrer.se since 1790. Eight new counties, viz., Clay, Crockett,
Hamblen, Houston, James, Loudon, Moore and Trousdale, have been
organized since the census of 1870 was taken. We have not the
means of ascertaining the population of these new counties. A fair
idea can be obtained by comparing the list of voters which we give in
this chapter. The counties from which fractions were taken will
doubtless show a less increase in the census report of 1880.

AGGREGATK.

COUNTIES.

1870

1860

1850'

69381

1840

1830
5.310

1820

4668
16012

1810

.3959
8242

1800

1790

8704
24333

8234'

4870'
14237
11652

7445
10502
19447

7909

6678

9321
12458
10237

:M61
62897

7772
11425

9340
13706
26145

4717
14970
25666
32413
12421
2166X

3.250
17241

7148
18074
n7f)8
15837
25094
14217
20380

9856

9326

12583

I 19476

i 5852

, 28990

2428
! 10838

7068

21584

8463

4459

13270

11701

6712

9509

17437

7124

7258

9643

10408

9689

3460

47055

6276

10573

9982

10536

24327

5054

13848

21777

2()166

1(1962

191104

3093

13258

7020

17769

11214

16162

19232

14491

19133

9312

90(t6

11725

16043

5018

22813

5658

Bedford

21511' 20.546 30396

6315 4772
5959 5676

Bledsoe

4648

5005
11258

3259
88:39

Blount

12424 11745 11028

5587

Bradley

12259 7:385
6068 6149

5110

4244

2668

8982 7163

15967 12:362 9397
6296 5372 6414

"■"9:369 "9474 "'8470
8:300 6992 6017

Carroll

4835

"5508
4892

4190

"4798
5154

4813

Coffee

8a51 8184

38882 30509

28122

20154

15608

9965

345»

6003
8016

DeKalb

5Sfi8

8404 7074
6:361: 44W
26719 1 21501
4454' :3.550
13768' 1203:3
19548 13(i89
25949 21494
17824 10572
17824 16076

72&5
1904

8t552
2748
15(520
5801
18703
1(K)(56
14410

5190

4516

Dyer

FontresH

'Tiv:-\

i rank 1 in

1(5.D(1

12558
7(551
11:324

5730

"'454V5

(5.397
9713

"'7367
7610

Giles

7741

2773
10075

5660
17456

8175

2276

821

14)56:3

11(5.55
48(58
1:3(58:5

53:54

8748
12249
8119
(51 .87
9(i9S
11801

K«28' 824')
1:3:570' 150:3.5
17259 i i:3870
1:3164 11875

1462
10949

7W3

656:3

6970

182:33
1 9:597
! t)422
! 15073
1 i:5"04

14'.H)6
8618
5195

12872

(»- . ^■' *

6080
4067
7593
8953

2583
1511
.5401
7:309

Jefferson

9017

:5705 2ii.')8
18807 15485

14498

1:30:54

10171

12446

^ \^''''Z''''''z^i''. ;

LilU.l.T.lMJC

■" 7559

51C)9

:4:«

General Statistics.

407

COUNTIES.

AGGREGATE.

1870

1860

1850

1840

1830 1820

1810

1800

1790

7601

1986

28050

6633

23480

6841

16207

36289

13969

12726

4511

12589

24747

2969

15584

11297

6925

7369

8698

5538

15622

16166

33289

4054

2335

11028

76378

15994

12019

13136

23711

14884

7605

2725

12714

16317

10209

20755

9.375

25328

25881

9320

2241

22828

7290

215:35

6190

14.592

.32451S

l:i555

14732

4667

12607

20895

3353

12817

12637

6042

8726

8558

4991

ia583

15265

27918

3519

2120

9122

48092

16*57

9S9(;

1*5.52

220.30

10705

6117

2581

11147

14829

9115

18216

9381

23827

26072

9280

4438

2:3492

6948

21470

6314

1.5616

29520

1:391 Hi

128(54

4879

11874

21045

34:30

7633

11211

5821

63.38

7121

5411! 3''71

21493

22075

14761

6104

165:30

6070

14.555

2S1,S6

12719

9385

4794

12056

16927

2(560

4814

9279

7419

3570

11.594

5508

:3888

Marshall

276&5 22089
14460 1623

10359

5697

13708 2529

14.349 12219

2.582 1676

8021

2899

1:387

Obion

2099
8242

7128 5(543

7094

2384

Polk

Rhea

4415
12ia5
1(5145

29122
1905

3985
10948
13801
14280

8186
11.3-il
13272
26134

42i5

7895

9938

19552

2504

5581

7270

10265

4280

Seott

Sevier

Shelby

6920

311.57
1.8412

9719
11742
22717

8887

6442
14721
21179

a587
107:;i5
22445

6800

5717
5648
19906
6968

4772

364

175R0

4595

3419

361»

Smith

11649

4294

8397: 4262

1(107:; 7015

6847
13792

10218
4616

4447

20569
5317

19211

219«

Tipton

2674
10179
13861

8170
14608
11444
27201
27443

10803
11751
7705
9870
10747
27006
24460

15210
10995

10:348

9.557

5725
7740

fi.379

5872

60131 2459

4797
99(57
2(5638
2.5472

White

8701
20640
18730

4028
1.31.53
11952

Williamson

2868
3261

Wilson

Totals

12585201109801

1002717

829210

681904

422771

261727

105602

35691

Occupation of the People.

Classifying i-hem with reference to occupation, we find that out of
367,987 persons engaged in all classes of occupation, 267,020 are en-
gaged in agriculture, or over 72.6 per cent. ; 54,396 in personal and
professional services, or 14.7 per cent.; 17,510 in trade and transjjor-
tation, or 4.7 per cent. ; and 29,061 in manufactures and mechanical
and mining industries, or 8 per cent. Compared with Illinois, Iowa,
Indiana, Missouri and Kentucky, Tennessee has a far greater propor-
tion of her working people engaged in agriculture. Illinois has but
50 per cent., Iowa 61 per cent., Indiana 58 per cent., Missouri 52 per
cent., and Kentucky 63 per cent. But we shall find that the cotton
States immediately south, Georgia, Alabama, and Mississippi, will
average about 80 per cent, of their population engaged in agricultural

4o8

Resources of Tennessee.

pursuits. On the other hand, Massachusetts has only 12 per cent., and
Connecticut 22 per cent.

The following tables, compiled and calculated from the census re-
turns for 1870, furnish some interesting facts in regard to the agricul-
ture of the United States.

Column one shows the ratio of persons engaged in agriculture to the
whole number of persons returning occupations in the several States.
Thus, Maine has 39 per cent., etc.

Column two shows the number of acres of " improved land " to each
person engaged in agriculture.

Column three shows the amount in money value of farm land for
each person engaged in agriculture.

Column four shows the total value of farm products for the year
1869 for each person engaged in agriculture.

Maine

New Hampshire,

Vermont

Massachusetts

Rhode Island

Connecticut

New York ,

New .Terse J

Pennsylvania....,

Delaware

Maryland

Virginia

North Carolina..,
South Carolina..

Georgia

Florida

Alabama ,

Mississippi

Louisiana

Texas

Arkansa.s

Tennessee

Kentucky

West Virginia ..,

Ohio

Michigan

Indiana

Illinois

Wisconsin

Minnesota

Iowa

Missouri

Kansas

California

.39

$1,255

.38

1,730

.53

2,403

.12

1,584

.13

1,843

.22

2,846

.25

3,400

.21

4,079

.25

4,012

.39

2,924

.30

2,117

.58

871

.76

283

.78

216

.75

281

.70

234

.79

232

.81

314

.55

411

.70

361

.80

366

.73

818

.63

1,192

.64

1,373

.47

2,655

.46

2,127

.58

2,375

.50

2,455

.54

1,885

.57

1,302

.61

1,865

.52

1,487

.59

1,233

.20

128

2,950

$ 404
482
597
442
404
606
677
676
707
511
439
211
215
202
239
209
231
282
367
290
372
323
335
316
500
430
460
560
510
445
544
990
377

1,041

There are 6,843,278 acres of improved land in the State, according
to the census returns, divided into 118,141 farms, or an average of 166

General Statistics.

409

acres to the farm. In 1860, this average was 251 acres; and in 1850,
261 acres, showing a striking tendency towards small farms. The
number of farms have also increased from 72,735 in 1850, and 82,368
in 1860, to 118,141 in 1870. Of these, Shelby county has the largest
number, 4,187. Giles stands second, having 3,917. LcAvis has the
smallest number, 223. The entire value of the farms is estimated
at 1218,743,747. According to the assessor's returns, there were for
1873, as will be seen, 25,464,857 acres of taxable lands (exclusive of
town lots) in the State, valued at $200,673,358, showing an average
assessed value of $8 per acre. The value of the entire assessed tax-
able property for 1873 was $308,089,743 or a little more than three-
fifths of the true value, as given by the census reports. This result*
from the exemptions of $1,000 worth of personal property, and from
the deduction of 15 per cent, on real estate, though the real estate is
nominally valued at what it Avould sell for on a credit of one and two
years. The subjoined tables, compiled from the returns of the asses-
sors, will show the taxable property in each division of the State, the
number of voters, and the number of polls :

East Tennessee.

Counties.

No.
Civil
Dist.

Voters

1871.

Acres As-
sessed in

1873.

Value.

Total Valua-
tion of Taxa-
ble Property.

Polls.

12
10
17
13
14
13
13
13
14
25
10
12
14
17

14
10
21
11
17
13

8
20

8
10
10
13
10
14

8
18
U
19

1.508
860
2,381
2,177
1,349
1,601
1,957
2,173
1,952
4,016
1,712
3,917

* 501
3,054

963
2.436

* 680
6.093
1.604
2,608
l,4:i5
1.119
2.278

601
1,375

9a5
2,407

738
2,1(30

467
3,074
1,476
3,428

194,921
223,:y8
316,561
185,137
262.&50
269.7.36
195.867
257.273
178.935
324,143
101,687
191.881
112.570
288.986
103.782
179,198
233.126
290,579
1.37,933
270.249
274.631
129,144
444,913
803,258
253,510
202,691
212,789
387.831
549,059
1.31,2.58
237,271
98.475
304.736

Sl.088.889

648.033

1.985,134

1.543,358

854.175

894.657

768.419

l.ia5,918

1,284,128

2.609.144

1,1(>5.988

2,.397.701

474.995

2.027.727

641.010

2.146,127

.54.5.973

4.a59.947

1,484,372

2,066,817

1,103,4.30

1.072,322

1,878,973

.352.515

975.454

969.8: '.6

1,770.129

1,377,867
296. a32

1.819.856
7:34.093

2.270.0:«

$1,266,591

818,229
2,. 310,. 357
2,.5:35,820

992.912
1,004,4.51

907,093
1,:362.0.32
1,. 531. 807
3.413.3:36
1.676,665
7,012,903

519,650
2,.316.675

754,372
2,4.59,205

613,326
9,.5ft3,5;33
1,972,2.52
2,7.54,273
1,263.199
1,148.930
2,.304,291

398,081
1,220.470
1,123..570
2,210,961

266,943
1,-593,648

347,526
2,:394.472

843.015
2,709.541

1,018

Bled.^oe

630

Blount

Bradley

Campbell

1,585
1,276
1.072

Carter

1.094
1.326

Cocke

Grainger

Greene

1,460
1.369
2,800

1,0.59

3,227

Hancock

807
1,963

522

JeflFer.«on

1,720
723

Knox

4,177

Lou<ion

1.063
1,896

Marion

Meigs

Monroe

1,028

738

1,591

418

Polk

Rhea

8:38
680

1,809

Scott

5:34

1,517

Sequatchie

299

1.822

Union

988

Washington

1,970

6.5,085

8,347.628

145,030,039

$63,550,129

45,701

4IO

Resources of Teimessee.
Middle Tennessee.

COPNTIES.

No.
Civil
Dist.

Voters
in

1871.

Acres As-
sessed in
1873.

Value.

Total Valua-
tion of Taxa-
ble Property-

Polls.

Bedford

19
12
10
12
14
11
25
12
17
12
17
20
11
15
15
lO
1(5
15

8
25
12
17
25
19
11
13
17
11
17
2.5
21
12
1(5
10

8
15
U
12
22
25

4,132
2,000
1,121
1,436
1,936
725
15,054
2,225
2,186

* 271
2,911
6,458

700
2,017
1,951

758
1,670

* 521

* 142
4,983
1,431
3,3:^0
6,521
5,271

1,750
1,(512
1,254
3,112
6,343
■^ 912

* '551
4,013
1,351

457
2,743
1,915
1,915
4.786
5,332

293,.333

160,013

124,933

182,287

253,816

877,093

305,244

291,623

192,726

355,4.57

277,479

370,430

198,943

.322,131

359,.551

179,872

175,162 '

;y3,743

120.090

.317,079

176,223

227,7a5

366,910

312,686

98,024
2.54,618
216,.525
220,239
284,116
379,707
192,902
2.57,042
308,399

66,874
140,806
247,070
422.267
217,101
356,100
354,550

$5,295,9.52

1,452,220

661,061

990,708

1,520,201

600,789

8,&5.5.160

1,077,460

1,.510,.563

.392,267

1,557,230

5,411,041

462,999

1,22.5,508

1,465,638

449,299

968,.379

990,526

218,189

4,087,394

829,647

3,771.873

7,9.50.478

3,:yi,880

983,484

787,2(54

790.150

1,011,8.50

3,409,035

6.892,102

2,3(54,973

1,180.415

3,697,504

888,119

223,617

1,800,862

1,243,009

1,140,836

5,790,429

5,135,351

8 7,104,9a5
1,669,240

763,615
1,1.54,108
1,911,074

614,009

26,683,7(55

1,232,543

1,960,031

413,&58
2,081,318
7,616,921

741,498
l,394.9:r>
1,794,307

512,100
1,123,915
1,2(5.5,-580

230,888
5,178,933

987,802
4,62.5.106
11,109,144
5,716,02.5
1,130,1(58

828,466

890.712

i,2a5,oa5

4,516,117
9,614,975
2,841,2.59
1,. 524,379
5,185,727
1,152,904
259,493
2,5^5,768
1,6(U.494
1,. 320, 610
7,629,778
6,691,164

3,260
1,395

Clay

Cheatham

Coffee

Cumberland

Davidson

Dickson

DeKalb

797

926
1,298

393

10,914

1,502

1,.536

615

Franklin

Giles

1,672
4 640

Grundy

Humphreys

Hickman

540
1,390
1,330

Houston

629

Jackson

1,204

Lawrence

Lewis

Lincoln

Macon

1,037

213

3,1.34

1.088

Marshall

2,.535

Maury

Montgomery

Moore

4,728
3,096
1,003

Overton

Putnam

Perry

1.218

1,177

956

2,436

Rutherford

Smith

4,987
2,118

Stewart

1,880
2,776

Trousdale

^ an Buren

651
300

1,543

Wayne

1,452

White

1,171

Williamson

Wilson

3,623
3,695

109,796

10,800,929

$92,425,463

$136,906,579

80,858

West Tennessee.

Benton

Carroll

Crockett

Decatur

Dyer

Fayette

GiD.son

Henderson .

Hardin

Hardeman .
Haywood....

Henry

Lake

Lauderdale

Madison

McNairy ....

Obion

Shelby

Tipton

Weakley ....

641
970

411
.3:59
540
851
529
214
010
2.35
784
821
587
8:54
099
i:50
187
4.59
79it

&5,4-40

239,663
.3.52,0:50
163,(5.58
205,:5.')4
327, (iOO
4:38,(i.52
366,195
374,287
.317,(i.5(i
:598,826
296,958
:5.57,7()5
84, :',(!()
272,415
:5C)1,,SI2
402.()7('>
29(5.278
442,5:U
270,7(14
3:57,:i.s7

6,316, :500

% 911,277
3,1.53,880
2,(561,121

918,642
3,214,148
4.910,805
5,(il8,()95
1,9,58,128
1,(509,0.50
3,.3:59,0.54
3,700,9:57
2, .812,81)0

755,883
2,442,(523
3. Si!:!, 124
1.7.')3,55()

3,(;:n,l49

9,54(i,:5n
2,7(i3,]55
3,().53.464

$(5:5,217.856

1,012,619

3,787,8.55
3,163..5.Si)
1,0.54.846
4,072,0.81
6,;U3,:;25
7,471. :5.S9
2,;ill,.5:58
1,9:50.970
4,449, (W)
5,697,559

3,().5(;.:u()

908.:586
2,829, 1.8:5
6,248,727
2,161,269
4,52.5,8(X)
:58,.55:5,951
3,:554,(582
4,100,065

$107,(5;{3,0;55

The ajTRreifate number of voters is 260, .321, though the counties marked with a star ('•') are not
given in full; the number given being the number of votes cast in the last elections.

General Statistics.

411

The following table will exhibit the average yield of farm products
in the State for 1869, their cash value per acre, and the number of
acres of each :

AV. YIELD.

AV. VAI.IJE.

KO. ACRES.

Corn bushels

25.8
8.8
11.3
19.3
22.5
20.0
88
845
1.43

$12 12

8 53

9 15
8 87

16 87
15 00
45 76
70 13
23 79

1,976,744

AVheat "

836,022

Eye "

20,530

Oats "

203,108

Barlev "

1,368

Buckwheat "

475

Potatoes "

13,863

Tobacco.... pouuds

41,420

Hay tons

108,391

AVERAGE PRICE OF LIVE AXIJIAI^S.

Horses % 84 48

Mules 105 51

Oxen and other cattle 14 77

Milch Cows 23 57

Sheep •. 1 66

Hogs 4 49

Table shoiving Number and Size of Farms in each County.

NUMBER OF FARltfS.

COUNTIES.

1
a

s .

si
18,806

c
■n

Co
oio

Total

118,141

170

8,076

19,987

42,862

27,788

412

Anderson

1,034

1,667

1,165

481

1,170

1,133

607

1,514

960

527

908

1,100

1,509

1.004

421

1,948

241

110

131

1Q3

586

132

196

118

235

479

206

216

114

144

106

281

426
489
469
169
216
256
251
549
447
184
285
437
312
378
158
704

254
551
310
104
442
309
179
252
266
160
156
227
255
241
83
455

123
483

97
103
440
265
139
122
180
111
116
117
231
168

33
346

2
1

Bedford

Benton

Bledsoe

4
3
3

Blount

Bradley

Campbell

Cannon

■ 1
4
1
5

Carroll

Carter

Cheatham

Cocke

Coffee

Cumberland

Davidson

412

Resources of Tennessee.

Table Sho^ving

NiJiBER OF Farms—

-Continued.

xrivrBER OP

FARMS

COTJXTIES.

r ^

; "

' ■* ^

1
5

•A
CO

a
0

0
1

a ■
00

Decatur

655

1,200

857

2,311

2,796

646

1,358

3,373

3,917

1,169

1,873

272

850

758

2,307

1,059

336

957

1,923

2,083

1,178

1,108

1,820

1,410

601

2,397

192

1,113

950

223

3,393

1,062

1,547

937

1,658

3,061

1,186

1,205

588

991

1,644

394

2,130

1,828

1,138

546

1,325

690

1,339

1,811

7
53
28
93

133
56
51

161

214
68
35
11
33
20

257
31

116
4

141
80
71
36

168
50
60

103

149

128
1

508
45

263

195
47
11
5
21
29

168

163

159
63

113

286
38

132

252

842

440

129

187

825

1,199

406

213

100

335

296

305

284

469

279

205

273

997

207

215

646

117

172

695

441

452

354

165

240
517
315
938

1,403
216
477

1,498

1,475
383
404
105
256
313
799
435
73
322
755
861
445
471
654
355
227
957
81
552
447
103

1,154
410
908
139
657
956
184
494
244
213
565
198
841
579
362
169
484
117
396
479

229
260
261
300
525
163
344
646
607
342
681

51
253
240
515
255

69
281
466
584
219
246
351
454
156
682

55
206
150

56
616
221
382
108
428
576
360
373
115
363
417

64
295
390
137
160
254
128
456
562

118
115
154
129
264

76
292
240
399
277
653

41
230
101
303
125

61
238
223
258
127

70
174
447

73
363

45
136

16
460

88
211
102
308
589
412
171
131
384
450
8
125
249

26
110
120
114
365
468

DeKalb

Dickson

5
7

25
1
4
2

13
7

Dyer

2
1
5

1
1
8
2
4

Fayette

Fentress

Franklin

Gibson

Giles

Grainger

Greene

Grundv

Hamilton

Hancock

Hardeman

Hardin

Hawkins

11
3
4

Henderson

Henrv

Hickni an

Humpli revs

1
1
5

Jackson

3
6
4
3

Jefferson

Johnson

Knox

9
2
1
1

Lake

Lauderdale

Lawrence

Lewis

Lincoln

16
1
5
3
4

26
4
1
2
6

Macon

Madison

Marion

Marshall

Maurv

5
1
2

McMinn

McNiiirv

Meigs

Monroe

Montgomery

Aforgan

Obion

2
3

2
7

3
2

Overton

Perry

Polk

Putnam

Rhea

6
2

Roane

Robertson

General Statistics.

413

Table Showing Ncmber of Farms — Coniinued.

COUNTIES.

Eutherford.

Scott

Sequatchie .

Sevier

Shelby

Smith

Stewart

Sullivan

Sumner

Tipton

Union

Van Buren.

Warren

"Washington

Wayne

Weakley ....

White

Williamson.
Wilson

NUMBER OF FARMS.

2,011

621

303

1,003

4,187

2 272

1^012

1,526

2,528

1,055

715

432

1,372

1,400

1,401

2,312

1,152

2,467

3,059

42
76

115
51

339

166
44

225
78
14
17
18
57
21

109
76
44

169

157

151

147

141

917

473

175

254

155

154

414

348

226

459

461

^~*.

576

623

248

125

354

285

2,039

619

823

464

224

404

432

916

687

411

299

225

275

152

499

377

385

484

500

255

1,042

600

363

301

850

5021

1,196

793;

587
25
50
171
264
340
102
372
569
171
151
73
284
413
121
236
207
466
448

1
1
5
3

2
4

18
4
1

14
1
2
2
5

16
4

Manufacturing Industries.

The manufacturing industries of the State have been largely increased
since 1870. The number of establishments at that time was 5,317, em-
ploying 732 steam engines and 1,340 water-wheels, 19,412 hands, and
a capital of $15,595,295. The amount of wages paid was $5,390,630 ;
value of material, $19,657,027; value of products, $34,362,636. De-
ducting value of material and cost of labor from the value of products,
and there remain $9,314,979, or nearly sixty per cent, on the capital
invested. In this, however, salaries paid are not included. Among
these establishments may be mentioned 25 cotton factories, 15 woolen
manufactories, not including wool carding, of which there were 133 ;
flouring and grist mills, 1,058 ; furnaces, 14; founderies, 29; sawmills,
702; tanneries, 209 ; carriage and wagon, 220 ; agricultural implements,
25; blacksmith shops, 719; furniture, 80; saddlery and harness, 161 ,
distilleries, 44; breweries, 6; steam engines and boilers, 7; manufiic-
tured tobacco, including cigars, 181.

In the manufacture of cotton goods and iron, the establishments, if
not doubled in number; have twice the capacity they had in 1870:

4^4 Resources of Tennessee.

and so of the distilleries and carriage and wagon shops. The coal
product has been trebled. There is a growing tendency in the minds
of the citizens to diversify their pursuits by the establishment of man-
ufactories. The want of home markets is greatly felt. The undue
proportion engaged in agriculture is a serious drawback to the pros-
perity of the State, More than fifty per cent, is not to be desired.
Xor is it for the best interest of society to have a fewer number. Those
in agricultural pursuits should be numerous enough to supply food and
material, and no more, to those engaged in other pursuits and profes-
sions, and to be able to absorb, in times of financial distress, those
thrown out of employment.

Relative Rank of Tennessee.

As compared with other states and territories, we find Tennessee to
stand — in area twenty-first ; in population, ninth ; in number of in-
habitants to the square mile, seventeenth, though if the true number
of square miles were given, it would be the fifteenth ; in land in farms,
seventh ; in improved land, tenth ; in farm productions, ninth ; in
Avheat raised, thirteenth; in Indian corn, seventh; in tobacco, third;
in cotton, eighth ; in wool, fourteenth ; in the value of live stock,
ninth ; in number of horses, twelfth ; in mules and asses, second ; in
milch cows, twelfth; in work oxen, fifth; other cattle, twelfth; in
swine, fifth ; in animals slaughtered, ninth ; in home manufactures,
fifth.

Financial Condition of the State.

Amount debt State of Tennessee January 1,1870 $43,052,652 25

" " " " " " " 1871 38,539,802 25

" " " " " " 1872 33,190,938 37

" " " " " 1873 30,632,200 76

" " April " 1874 27,920,386 45

AMOUNT DUE STATE.

From solvent railroads;

Mississippi Central Railroad $1,199,180 00

Mississippi and Tennessee Railroad 417,800 00

Mcnipliis and Charleston Railroad 1,741,576 75

Interest due from last 103,315 00

$3,461,871 75

General Statistics. 41 5

Brought fwward $2,461,871 7o

From endorsed bonds for which State is secondarily liable :

Nashville and Qiattanooga Eailroad $1,237,000 00

East Tenn. and Va. Railroad, consolidated 242,000 00

Memphis City Bonds endorsed by Memphis and

Little Eocic Railroad 673,400 00

$2,152,400 00

From purchasers of delinquent railroads :

McMinnville and Manchester Railroad $105,000 00

Edgefield and Kentucky Railroad 330,250 00

Knoxville and Kentucky Railroad 12,500 00

Tennessee and Pacific Railroad 150,000 00

Interest on all of above 125,527 00

Knoxville and Charleston Railroad, unsold, valued 100,000 00

$ 823,277 00

Total amount due State $6,437,548 75

Net amount upon which State must pay interest $21,482,837 70

To which add school fund 2,512,500 00

Wliole amount for which the State must provide interest $23,995,337 70

"Which amount would require an annual interest of nearly one mil-
lion four hundred and forty thousand dollars.

A List of Newspapers and Periodicals Published in the State.

Courier, Bristol. Democratic. Weekly.

Herald and Tribune, Jonesboro. Republican. Weekly.

Echo, Jonesboro. Ptepublican. Weekly.

National Union, Greenville. Democratic. Weekly.

New Era, Greeneville. Republican. Weekly.

American, Greeneville. Weekly.

Gazette, Morristown. Democratic. Weekly.

Spy, Morristown. Republican. Weekly.

Press and Herald, Knoxville. Democratic. Daily and Weekly.

Chronicle, Knoxville. Republican. Daily and Weekly.

Grange Outlook, Knoxville. Agricultural. Weekly.

Holston Methodist, Knoxville. Religious. Weekly.

Commercial Advertiser, Knoxville. Commercial. Weekly.

Republican, Maryville. Republican. Weekly.

Journal, Loudon. Republican. Weekly.

East Tennessean, Kingston. Independent. Weekly.

Valley News, Kingston. Republican. Weekly.

Enterprise, Sweetwater. Democratic. Weekly.

Post, Athens. Democratic. Weekly.

41 6 Resources of Tennessee.

Banner, Cleveland. Democratic. Weekly.

Republican, Cleveland. Republican. Weekly.

Commercial, Chattanooga. Republican. Daily and Weekly.

Times, Chattanooga. JDemocratic. Daily and Weekly.

Herald, Jasper. Democratic. Weekly.

New Era, McMinnville. Democratic Weekly.

Observer, Fayetteville. D-emocratic. Weekly.

Express, Fayetteville. Democratic. Weekly.

Home Journal, Winchester. Democratic. Weekly.

Commercial, Shelbyville. Democratic. Weekly.

Gazette, Shelbyville. Democratic. Weekly.

Sentinel, Lynchburg. Democratic. Weekly.

Gazette, Lewisburg. Democratic. Weekly.

Free Press, Woodbury. Democratic. Weekly.

Democrat, Manchester. Democratic. Weekly.

Index, Sparta. Democratic. Weekly.

News, Gainsboro. Independent. Weekly.

Monitor, Murfreesboro. Democratic. Weekly.

News, Murfreesboro. Democratic. Weekly.

Herald, Lebanon. Democratic. Weekly.

Sentinel, Hartsville. Democratic. Weekly.

Examiner, Gallatin. Democratic. Weekly.

Tennessean, Gallatin. Democratic. Weekly.

Record, Springfield. Democratic. Weekly.

Chronicle, Clarksville. Democratic. Weekly.

Tobacco Leaf, Clarksville. Democratic. AVeekly.

Record, Dover. Democratic. Weekly.

Union and American, Nashville. Democratic. Daily, Semi- Weekly,
and Weekly.

Republican Banner, Nashville. Independent. Daily, Tri- Weekly,
and Weekly.

Rural Sun, Nashville. Agricultural. Weekly,

Bulletin, Nashville. Republican. Weekly.

Commercial Reporter, Nashville. Commercial. Weekly.

Journal of Commerce, Nashville, Commercial. Weekly.

Christian Advocate, Nashville. Religious. Weekly.

Baptist Watchman, Nashville. Religious. Weekly.

Banner of Peace, Nashville, Religious. Weekly.

Gospel Advocate, Nashville. Religious. Weekly.

Independent Workingman, Nashville. Weekly,

Southern Press, Nashville. Neutral- Weekly,

Tennes.see Post, Nashville, German. Weekly.

Good Templar, Nashville. Temperance. Weekly.

Journal of Medicine and Surgery, Nashville. Medical, Monthly,

Pharmacal Gazette, Nashville, Medical, Monthly.

Tennessee School Journal, Nashville. Educational. Monthly.

Religious Historian, Nashville. Religious. Monthly.

Sunday School Magazine, Nashville. Monthly.

Sunday School Visitor, Nashville. Monthly.

Sunday Morning, Nashville. Monthly.

Sabbath School Gem, Nashville. Monthly.

Sunday School Standard, Nashville. Monthly.

General Statistics. 417

Our Little People, Nashville. Monthly.

Southern Law Review, Nashville. Law. Quarterly.

Theological Medium, Nashville. Religious. Quarterly.

Review and Journal, Franklin. Democratic. Weekly.

Herald and Mail, Columbia. Democratic. Weekly.

Citizen, Pulaski. Democratic Weekly.

Journal, Lawrenceburg. Democratic. Weekly.

Citizen, Waynesboro. Democratic. Weekly.

Journal, Waverly. Democratic. Weekly.

Transcript, Savannah. Democratic. Weekly.

Reporter, Lexington. Democratic. Weekly.

Times, McKenzie. Democratic. Weekly.

West Tennessean, Huntingdon. Republican. Weekly.

Democrat, Dresden. Democratic. Weekly.

Signal, Troy. Democratic. Weekly.

Progress, Dyersburg Democratic. Weekly.

Gazette, Dyersburg. Independent. Weekly.

News Gazette, Trenton Democratic- Weekly.

Journal, Humboldt. Democratic. Weekly.

Exchange, Milan. Democratic. Weekly.

Herald, Union City. Democratic. Weekly.

Sentinel, Alamo. Democratic. Weekly.

News, Ripley. Democratic. Weekly.

Intelligencer, Paris. Democratic. Weekly.

Whig and Tribune. Jackson. D«mocratic. Weekly.

Dispatch, Jackson. Democratic. Weekly.

Herald, Jackson. Democratic. Daily and Weekly,

Courier, Jackson. Independent. Weekly.

States, Brownsville. Democratic. Weekly.

Bee, Brownsville. Democratic. Weekly.

Record, Covington. Democratic. Weekly,

Bulletin, Bolivar. Democratic. Weekly.

Falcon, Somerville. Independent. Weekly.

Appeal, Memphis. Democratic. Daily and Weekly.

Avalanche, Memphis. Independent. Daily and Weekly.

Ledger, Memphis. Democratic. Daily and Weekly.

Western Methodist, Memphis. Religious. Weekly.

Tennessee Baptist, Memphis. Religious Weekly.

Southern Advertiser. Memphis. German. Weekly.

Southern Farmer, Memphis. Agricultural. Monthly.

Masonic Jewel, Memphis. Masonic. Monthly.

The table following is inserted to supply a much needed demand.
It is taken from the census returns, and shows improved land, value
of farms, live stock, &c.
27

4i8

Resources of Tennessee.

COUNTIES.

>
o

■J "", «

LIVE

STOCK.

"3
>

C CIJ
t S Mo

^ ,5 ." 'S

o
<o
a
"a
>

■3
a

c
o

No.

1,893

4,668

2.028

1,354

2,488

2,455

1,488

2,487

4,076

1,:326

1,529

2.112

2,830

1,881

964
5,428
1,436
2,002
1,917
3,531
4,534
1,380
3,043
5,47(1
6,6:36
2,248
5,279

621
2,393
1,514
3,146
2,670

3,ro5

2,6S1
8,649
3,600
2,600
2,:355
2,780
3,097
1,601
4,543

615
2,799
1,867

443
6,9:34
1,<599
3,931
1,977
3,881
6,7,35
2,653
2,999
1,069
2,5;39
3,272

940
3,716
3,360
1,971
1,057
2,166
1,4,55
3,0(>1
3,000

3
U
X

Anderson

A ores.

50,750

143,537
46,443
33,873
91,740
74,597
40.042
59.149

127.515
36,386
43 213
47.847
67.33-i
55,307
16,174

126.481
41,205
51,405
50,534
83.724

152.766
29,059
91,716

13-i,669

182.894
82,518

162 031
12,274
e8,958
39,778

138,112
51,005

116,79s
75,949
92,520

110,172
57 ,329
44,018
68,834

118, I3i
28.393

135,960

13,379

53,728

33,«37

9,168

189,5t>2
42.690
94,169
3.3.211

114,002

196,242
98,731
64.596
41 ,204

101 976

130,.S95
12,248
75.416
82,9(i3
2!<,2.s((
34,648
51.:tl5
32.72;i

102,502

140,641

Dollars.

1,045,727
7,511,259

463,607

702,880
2,410,825
2,077,861

897,182
1,671,572
3,077,511
1,022,2:6

758. 5;»

979.459
1.523,952
2,414,115

414,455
12,186,365

564,677
1,549.156
1.381,330
1,950.346
3,901,190

527,275
2,784.364
4,890,570
6,717,824
1,6^0 266
4,526,184

429,190
2,416,203

692,815
3,335,4o9
l,29:i.203
2,:i48,287
1,885,796
1,929,885
2,645,294
1,411.409
1,6(.3,934
1,075,086
3.694.155

763,190
4,502,445

882,4 il
2,536,'.t80

803,4.S6

211,140
6,5-,il,190

639,731
3 953. 675

9.'^9,as0
3,707,071
10,086,9,-9
2,350 882
1,139.310

729,108
2,2.53,045
4,172,162

263,952
2,437.755
l,.3.57,26i

991 67:!

887,695

812,779

996,474
2,58742;^
4,291,516

Dollars.

344,492

2,037.652

599,786

387,703

986,532

639,655

350,291

1,088,168

1,791,796

275,355

379,496

254,175

ao2,850

598,277

227,074

1,967,907

577,699

710,808

533.067

l,528,oS5

2,974,576

219,302

1,012,127

3.327,52;3

2,690,754

533.925

1,200,990

356,108

571,856

&34,031

2,154,818

746.785

815,053

1.403,495

1.168.172

1,337 686

975.199

648,819

631,496

993.655

237 671

1,116.430

398,348

1,197.975

574 891

107 804

2.066,.342

1,143,735

1,601,143

499,367

1,204,956

2,682,211

856,6^2

943.156

266,318

829,515

1,706,506

162.877

1,5(54,292

623,539

499,295

317,949

637,645

717,727

6] 9,768

1,359,245

Dollars.

3:-i7,678
1,471,421
372,297
2:B1,915
540,8^4
448,542
263,685
680,805
910,2.55
193,166
341,92(1
32vi,016
433,768
463,201
175,359
1,2'9,870
311,117
548,285
366,936
862,591
1,085,136
194,839
625,000
1,319,242
1,736,504
433.913
890,043
104,140
445.340
244.673
793,203
£0.',919
593,066
662,705
732,519
915.425
536.926
512,13;i
5:«.605
652.822
210,240
840,2-^7
125,802
594,1)20
353,H41
84,664
2,155,474
424.090
956,719
356,903
1,229,100
2,015,;3,55
530,128
61.5.521
213,5,50
419.798
873,2.56
133,759
871.179
,570,079
384,690
160,998
419,792
262,120
520,488
970,816

No.

1,783

6,255

1,747

1,137

2,847

2.1M

1,390

3,360

3,517

1.0:^<3

1,450

1.752

1.994

2,506

527
5,646
1,2S8
2,737
1,622
3,855
2,839

942
2,945
5,631
7,672
2,233
4,644

601
1,-75
1,263
2,684
1 ,993
.3,192
2.172
2,816
3,658
2,374
1,971
2,984
3,210

951
4,907

511
1,992
1,745

329
7,968
2.233
2,849
1.571
6,202
8,-64
2,336
2,3:^8

996
2,3.34
3,023

515
3,742
3,450
1,706

715
2.218
1,152
3.390
3,9'i8

No.

261

2,372

819

2:36

476

730

235

1.202

2,265

167

820

187

525

603

103

2,223

628

653

997

1,.562

4,073

148

750

2,955

3,458

350

858

563

2,202

S70

417

1.889

1,679

2,722

1,790

914

435

461

142

913

381

1,12:1

544

209

3,434

561

3,195

265

2,598

5,346

713

1,149

2.^4

„485

2,569

1,671
4:f4
804
364
;!.39
243
604

2,461

No.
636
716

1,075
498
813
638
684

1,046
857
239
293
824

1,145
599
524
138
764

1,183
655
923
405
822
948

No.
6,064

25,204
7,790
5.555

10,82.s
9,146
6,671

12,198

10,822
6,4:30
4,825
9.502
9,730
8,107
4,466

12,221
6,649

11,473
6,925
8,831
3,828
5.021
8.820

No.
9,773

Bedlord

38,962

Benton

20,016

Bledsoe

11,048

Blount

15,725

6
7

Bradley

13,633
9,784

Cannon

23,550

Carroll

35,018

10
11
12

Carter..

Cheatham

1 'laiborne

7,253
14.980
11.942

O'cke

19,297

Coffee

17,226

15
16

Cumberland

Davidpc-n. ..•.

10,311
29,667

Decatur

13,508

18
19

DeKalb

Dickson

20,999
11,557

Dyer

36,448

Fayette

30,762

F.'iitres?

Franklin

12,017
24,074

Gibson

5:33114.113

51,103

Giles

l,3a3

1,000

1,026

298

796

661

1,007

1,383

1,298

351

1,308

882

549

1,094

2,040

7ti8

369

744

256

605

771

165

1,371

800

101

1,014

396

693

703

827

3,36

5:56

562

473

1,169

1,643

928

540

1,.364

542

827

134

18,658
9.797

21,130
1,880
6,741
7,:365
7,139
8,044

16,567
5.206

10.168

10.878
(i,927
8,9:37

15,323

11,598
6,004

13,441
816
3.118
5,520
1,676

27,075
8,175
3,558
5,()05

16,218

21,:3:iO
9,829
9,865
4,392
8,:346
8,015
4,312

10,505

17,293
5,.328
4,(;42

10.460
5,:306

10 552
1.146

47,700

?fi

Grainger

47,723

27
98

Greene

Grundy

25,306
5,892

Hamilton

16,;359

30
SI

Hancock

Hardeman. „

10,690
34,936
21,2:35
21,700

Hardin

1 lawkins

34
35

Haywood

Henderson

20,514
32.559

3fi

Henry

.34 384

Hickman

23.793

Humphreys

18,418

39
40
41
42
43
44
4-5
4fi

Jackcon

29,120

Jefferson

17,971

Johnson .

Knox

5,271
22,519

Luke

5,853

I.auiierdale

22,086

Lawrence

13,584

Lewis

3,.361

LincDln

26,595

Macon

13,227

viadison

•31,906

Marion

17,020

Marshall..

32,038

.Maury

Mc.Miiin

53,124
16,558

McNairy

Meifi;;'

21.801
8,098

5ti

Vlonroe

13,422

67
58
59

.Montgomery

Morgan

Obion

28,205
9,.53a
44,1.37

<iO

Overton

29,126

I'erry

17,950

fi'

['oik

5,537

Putnam

21,568

Rhea

9,2:J9

6^
66

Koanc

17,661

Rcibertaon

29.817

General Statistics.

419

PBODUCITD.

Wheat.

Bushels.

170
3,415

548
2,761

387

140

*"i

4,863

26,794

5,208

1.3

6,828

34,451

530
606

8,175

15,9U4

""■211

2,816

19,416

115

3,137

2,138

2,0T4

10,3-22

3.217

78.058

599

18,221

371

5,515

3! 7

34.201

373

483
3.714

Bushels.

22,932

212,752

22,338

21,9()()

107,271

109,580

18,401

79,138

93,872

37,169

19,432

33,901

79,006

43,075

1,585

82,303

19,159

81,399

7,3 16

74,078

6.578

10,2-36

77,529

iie.sao

111,184
78,146

238.716
11,601

103,110
22.956
24,75)
19,6!i2

138,96S
38.296
38.458
98,375
22.120
27,(i68
29.;)09

135,-; 38
16.481

151.2;32

18.669

29,183

4.025

192,175
30,497
48408
28.('74

123,416

122 I '26
4:i,32H
26.378
29.6 13

113,382

16-^.978
1.5,32
91,i:i9
43,102
336
35,353
39,330
3'.^,6!9
74,:!31

1.57,404

Bushels.

290

10,486

105

2,078

774

239

3,167

4,094

281

1,125

1.023

10,123

2,241

10,442

146

1,492

721

738

1,232

3,229

5,895

1,971

818

6-^9

3,846

2,407

1,180

131

1,083

452

446

554

1,221

958

4,160

1,947

13.397

7,291

100

1,004

163

13,989

696

287

1,979

18,526

5,812

762

363

452

1,178

6,8.38

2,212

216

1,S97

301
1,519
2,0S2
2,4.'59
1,527

937

Bushels.
262,664
1,010,642
357,403
201,667
384,5S3
2^9,490
127,145
564.330
777,922
132,097
274,052
204,840
3;^8,867
309 503
42,377
8:32,9S2
314,653
486,823
319,085
74'.M75
627,271
109,084
4()7,7.">7
1,067,775
2.054 163
353,2(i0
496,659
73,373
353.700
204 190
586,-508
484,721
466.470
522,921
547,805
767,220
514,554
491,3,55
530,276
527,853
85,782
548,54()
414,570
443.809
189,695
73,315
l,233,'.i60
2.56,483
692.910
265,100
591,358
1,44'" 9^5
350,8.33
370431
17«,7,33
415,010
810,194
52,042
917,445
394.026
368.045
152 425
.332.254
187,970
504.590
550.920

Bushels.

73.441

104,801

18,986

21,550

104,501

41,727

65,208

26,870

4,206

63,3'J6

44,585

59,039

45,259

26,462

9,115

131,558

20,549

32,250

58,810

7,023

9.450

24,067

68,371

12,118

70,512

86,0U5

149,518

11,242

44,963

41,308

19,799

15,151

112,306

9,717

17.

26,816

34,202

29,967

54,3 1 4

132,453

34,682

259,047

1,892

5,465

22,095

3,472

72,179

60,756

9,781

27,989

83,691

61.387

77,810

18,362

18,T

50, -'67

62,.37

15,548

21.919

69.957

9.312

17.192

37,854

30.03

112.029

149,01

Pounds.

15,578

19,290

412,435

14,220

675

10,628

8.509

30,750

10,840

1,H0

419,265

4,827

17.741

13 387

l:'..098

21,490

44,6!0

87,076

402,130

412,440

840

16.990

9,983

97.300

40,655

16,646

41.. 585

2'147

855

9,9'

5,000

300

12,370

15.134

1,715.001

18,913.5

113,177

713,578

10182

7.557

26,532

2,100
32,417

5,677

31.83'

950,768

17,487

12,788

14,215

4,862

6,33s

200

2,875

4,856,378

7,944

645,937

1«7.331

5.244

1.100

131,856

10,276

.350

2,10?,322

Bales.

869
696

Potatoei" Sugar

5,023

"1,416

1,159

4,908
20,131

289
9,815
8,367

7,884
2,026

10 510
4,191

2,.385
755
107

6,337

522

120

3,745

1,988

9.255

724

2,063

9,36

3,347

456

""21

2,256

495

Pounds

12,884
35,516
10,288
11465
18,178
14,826
12,055
21,451
13,044

7,978

8,179
15 300
15,074
12,597

8,497
30,310

9,796
20,4b0
15,028

3,314

3,305

9,044
16,294
12,67'
34,259
15,989
39,511

3,158
12 912
13,967

9,1)20
10,275
26,r-'4
10,118
15,923
16,459
14,96:
14,622
26,311
21,892
11,333
26,328
815
447
10.598

3,040
48.113
13,605

8,692

9,157
34 553
35,544
17,8r8
13,509

4, .396
16,324
14 009

9,17
17 082
25,586
10,429

7.639
19,092

9,0.88
14.027
19,387

Bushels.

11,063

17,408

19,926

4,714

3,520

12,810

2,445

7,045

371

2,781

7,609

3,150

6,219

11,726

2,367

62,854

15,913

9,1-56

12,i54

2,931

26.077

4,901

9,915

60,276

28.074

8,045

11,331

3,652

1,480

3,489

32,143

10.472

4.950

31,037

30,736

31,882

16,226

17.829

12.803

9,280

046

24,243

4,3.s2

5,002

9,391

3,004

23,103

9,H40

9.724

10,662

16,656

24.962

13.102

22.028

3,497

9,208

33,490

3,415

33,607

14,.514

6,254

4,575

11,581

6,185

11,609

27.455

Hhds

200
160

191

12';

420

Resources of Tennessee.

COUNTIES.

•a

1
P^
0

"5
>

Total (estimated) value ol
all farm productions, in-
cluding betterments and
additions to stock.

LITB STOCK.

0
«>

<
-a
a

0
0

a>
M
0

n
0

(57

Rutherford

Acrp>'

181,447

20,682

15,505

57,338

164,431

120 332

47.382

104.306

181,189

67,370

46.435

i'6,414

85,844

106,646

56 957

113,457

64,361

155 471

163,834

Dollars.

10,153,110

298,248

.382,060

1,444,930

9,987,974

3,182,929

803,838

2,434,109

5,167,581

2.2.36,745

904,320

370.120

2,454,908

3,228,291

1,201,233

3,453 713

1.203,790

6.528,324

7,147,654

Dollars.

2.260,874

181,869

150,180

308,498

4,169,342

1,278,088

637559

655,732

1,690,216

1,458,235

505,506

236,262

751,645

882,804

766,893

1,393,025

673,072

2,594,875

2,195,087

Dollar i.

1,519,939
176,947
146,756
364,923

1,418,849

1,096,202
461,870
593,487

1,435,431
600,109
231,235
143,041
570,221
605,797
645,740

1,024,853
377,622

1,403,202

1,919,019

No.
7,953
824
655
1,954
4,221
4,857
1,579
3,384
7,582
1,879
1,451
718
3,218
3,620
2,500
3,914
2,345
7,194
9,682

No.

3,493

104

257

4,676

1,239

994

202

3,078

1,851

118

112

666

297

962

2,673

349

3,121

4,150

No.

5,862

1,4('0

680
2,264
6,629
3,715
2,158
3,405
5,378
2,784
1,264

766
2,781
3,604
2,898
4,062
2,122
5,060
5,185

No.

496

579

298

574

542

1,979

1,007

268

687

184

400

406

906

462

1,585

1.047

806

379

584

No.

17.183

6,589

2, 72

9„578

5,720

17,591

8.939

15,634

20,421

4.675

6,326

3,247

12.495

13,208

9,674

13,034

8,144

15,226

24,023

No.

33,376

Scott

13,189

69
70

Sequatchie

Sevier

6.193
13,083

Shelby

Smith

-1,070
33,687

Siewart

15,652

1 8.478

37,304

Tipton

20,240

Union

6,971

8.584

79
80

Warren

18,814
15,3.35

Wayne

24,841

8''

Weakley

.38,935

White

17.;-!40

Williamson

41,703

Wileon

48,708

General Statistics.

421

PRODDCKD.

Wheat.

Bushels.

22.725

152,0-20

13.746

726

1,001

12,472

2,035

63.483

1,575

4 333

14,692

287

126,004

3,833

31.380

436

400

132,247

5,650

163,074

7,222

30.579
29,61.5
14,002

108
735
422

1,111

72,280

1,072

170,934

6,43!)

47,428

1,500

1 5

136 173

211

55,181

1,158

45,568

181.7-.26

4,662

1,765

239,950

3,189

Bushels.

867,443

88,311

103,010

260,214

940,796

888,0' '

428,311

302,227

1,155,914

446,771

168,579

104,033

339,250

290,388

484,861

879,544

347,944

1,010,443

1,173,201

Bushels.

63,514

17,793

6,915

42,460

7,697

72,52S

26,623

176,387

2;33,837

18,681

69,799

4,456

515,348

148,383

19,314

1,945

22.129

!t9,933

151,067

Pounds

1,300

9,283

9,353

13,997

950

2,250,202

1,191,620

16,307

909,568

170

14,169

9,858

27,446

22,806

26,769

2,599,590

21,816

80,415

332,901

Bales.
8,4J2

32,434

1,809

170
10,052
884
135
lu5

1,101

84
3,815
1.2U5

Pounds
23,285
12 560

5,904
16,109

1,264
32,674
16,1.35
27.026
38,860

5 195
■ 10 673

6,006
24,212
26,694
17 ^56
20,056
15,735
29,944
36,854

Potatoes

Bushels.

24,299

4,200

4,102

7,308

50,747

15,163

18,746

7.844

25,074

18,380

""4,2i6
17,15-.'
3,656
14,927
10,282
13 .301
20,5.55
33,362

Sugar

Hhds

654

67
68
69
70
71
72
73
74
75
76
77
78
79
80
81
82
83
84
85

P^RT II.

EAST TENNESSEE,

(With a Description of Each County.)

The State of Tennessee is divided into three political divisions,
known as East, Middle and West Tennessee. Of these we are to
speak now only of East Tennessee. This division of the State em-
braces the counties of Carter, Greene, Hancock, Hawkins, Johnson,
Sullivan and Washington, forming the first judicial circuit; Camp-
bell, Claiborne, Cocke, Grainger, Hamblen, Jefferson, Sevier, Scott
and Union, forming the second circuit; Anderson, Blount, Fentress,
Knox, Loudon, Monroe and Morgan, forming the third circuit; and
Bradley, Bledsoe, Hamilton, James, Marion, McMinn, Meigs, Polk,
E,hea and Sequatchie, forming the fourth circuit — in all, thirty-three
counties, containing an aggregate of 7,961,079 acres assessed for
taxation. The census returns give to East Tennessee 329,112 inhab-
itants.

History.

It is not within the province of this paper to attempt even a sketch
of the history of East Tennessee, only in so far as may be necessary to
a proper understanding of the present condition of this division of
the State. For this purpose a very brief summary will suffice.
The present State of Tennessee was once a part of North Caro-
lina. Indeed, by the same royal grant that made Tennessee a part
of the colony of North Carolina, its boundaries were extended "west-

424 Resouj'ces of Tetinessee.

ward to the South Sea/' (Pacific Ocean). The colony, however never
claimed beyond the Mississippi. ^ ' ^"^

East Tennessee was settled mainly by emigrants from North Caro-
lina and Virginia, with a few families from South Carolina The
hrst white man who built a house and brought his family out, wa^
Captain William Bean. He came from Pittsylvania county; Virginia
m the ye 1769, and built his cabin on a small creek, tbat em^ptie^
into the Watauga River, called Boone Creek. This name is said to
have been given the creek in honor of Daniel Boone, who had, some
time previously, made this record on the bark of a beech standing
near its bank: D. Boone "cilled ABA R.- The first white native
of Tennessee was Russell Bean. Bean's Station now marks and com-
memorates this first settlement.

A fortunate combination of circumstances had freed that section of
East Tennessee lying north and west of the Little Tennessee from
Indians, and thus favored the rapid settlement of this most inviting
country. The exemption from Indian troubles continued up to the
outbreak of the war of revolution. Up to this period the Watauga
settlement had grown to many hundreds, and other settlements had
been made. A considerable acquisition was made to the Watauga
settlement in 1771 from the refugee "Regulators" from North Caro-
lina, who, after the defeat at Alamance, took refuge in the settlement
trom the threatened vengeance of Governor Tryon.

When the war began, the Watauga settlement went heart and hand
with the Colonists against the King. In all the settlement not a Tory
was to be found. In 1776 the settlers met together and made a writ-
ten agreement for the better management of their common affairs.
I his agreement was called the " Watauga Association." They elected
thirteen men as commissioners to manage affairs, and chose five men
as a court for the settlement of all individual disputes. The members
of this court were: John Sevier, James Robertson, Charles Robertson
John Carter and Zach. Isbel. At the same time they named East
Tennessee the Washington District, and sent a memorial lo the
authorities of North Carolina exi>laining that they had no desire to
separate from the Province, but wished to have its laws extended over
them, and were willing to bear part of all the burdens, danger and
expenses of the war. To this memorial the North Carolina Legisla-
ture replied by establishing all the settlements west of the mountains
mto Washington county, and giving them the right to send delegates
to a State Convention about to assemble at Halifax. The delegates

East Termessee. 4-5

sent by the new county were: John Sevier, Charles Robertson, John
Carter and John Haile.

Thus, to the pioneers of Watauga belongs the honor of being first to
do homage to him whose name now graces more men and towns, cities,
counties and states, than any other one name in history. George
Washington had just been named commander-in-chief of the American
colonial armies. The news was fresh to the western settlers, and in
their zeal they hastened to link the name, as they stood ready to risk
the fortunes of their young settlement, with the cause in which the
colonies were embarking. Washington district — afterward Washing-
ton county — was the first county ever named in honor of George
Washington. It was also the first county organized in the present
State of Tennessee, and originally embraced the entire State.

The result of the convention at Halifax was the adoption of a con-
stitution for the government of the 8tate of North Carolina. The first
Legislature which met under this constitution laid off the county and
established civil courts and militia laws for the administration of justice
and the protection of the settlers. At the next term a wagon-road
was ordered opened from some convenient point in Burke county, across
the mountains, to some convenient point in Washington county, and six
hundred and forty (640) acres of land were offered to every head of a
family who would go out and settle on it, and in addition, one hundred
for his wife, and one hundred for each of his children. Under these
impulses the number of immigrants increased so rapidly that, in 1779, it
was found best to establish another county to the north of the Watauga
settlement. This county was named Sullivan, in honor of General
Sullivan of the Continental army. In the same year the present town
of Jonesborough was laid off by authority of the General Assembly.
It was named in honor of Wiley Jones, of Halifax, North Carolina,
and Avas made the county seat of Washington, an honor which it still
retains.

It would make this sketch too long w^ere w^e to follow up the line of
progress by which, from one county, has developed thirty-five in East
Tennessee, and nearly twice as many more in Middle and West Ten-
nessee. A glance at the names of the thirty-five, which we have given
above, will suffice to show that for many years the people of East
Tennessee continued to go to the rolls of honor of the revolution wdien
they sought to name new counties.

At the battle of "King's Mountain" the Watauga regiment, under
command of Colonel John Sevier, contributed largely towards turning

426 Resources of Tejinessee.

the tide of the battle, aud of the war, in favor of the almost despairing
colonies.

The first separate government in Tennessee was irregular and short-
lived. It was known as the State of Franklin, and had at its head
Colonel John Sevier. It lasted just one year, and was suppressed by
the State of North Carolina. The one session of the General Assem-
bly of Franklin, held in Jonesborough in 1785, established "Martin
Academy," one of the first chartered institutions of learning in Ten-
nessee, It was long and wisely administered by the Rev. Samuel
Doak, eminent alike for his piety and his learning. In the same year
North Carolina chartered Davidson Academy, at Nashville.

In 1789 the General Assembly of North Carolina ceded the territory
now constituting the State of Tennessee, to the United States, and in
the following year the cession was accepted by the United States, and
Tennessee ceased to be a part of North Carolina.

Under Federal authority, and by the appointment of President
Washington, Wm. Blount, of North Carolina, was made Governor of
the Territory, and David Campbell and Joseph Anderson were made
judges, in the year 1790. The Territory was at that time divided into
two districts: Washington district, consisting of all the counties in East
Tennessee, and Mero district, consisting of Davidson, Sumner, and Ten-
nessee counties in Middle Tennessee. Governor Blount secured the
appointment of Jno. Sevier, as Brigadier-General for Washington dis-
trict, and James Robertson, for Mero. In these and the many other
appointments intrusted to him, Governor Blount confirmed the choice
of the people and made himself very popular. He made his official resi-
dence at Knoxville, though at the time it was nothing more than the site
of a few cabins. It and the county of Knox were named in honor of
General Henry Knox, then Secretary of War.

Under the territorial organization, the government consisted of a
Governor, Legislative Council, and a House of Representatives. This
organization was not completed until August 25, 1794. Much impor-
tant business was transacted by this body, although it remained in ses-
sion only thirty-seven days. Among other things, Greeneville College
was chartered in Greene county, and Blount College in Knox.

At the next term of the Territorial Legislature, steps were taken to
change the Territory into a State. Accordingly, a Constitutional Con-
vention assembled in Knoxville on the 11th of January, 1796, and on
the 6th of February ibllowing, tlic first Constitution of the State of

East Tennessee. 4^7

Tennessee was unanimously naopted. The first session of the General
Assembly of Tennessee commenced at Knoxville, on the ^8th ot
March 1796. General Jno. Sevier was declared elected Governor and
duly inaugurated. The United States Senators chosen by this Assem-
bly were Governor Wm. Blount and William Cocke, Esq., and m June
following, the State of Tennessee was duly admitted a member oi the
Federal Union.

The name Tennessee was given to the State by the Constitutional
Convention, upon motion of Andrew Jackson. It had hitherto been
applied only to the beautiful river that flows through the State, and to
a county in Middle Tennessse. The name was originally spelled Ten-
assee, and is said to be Cherokee for ^i^oon, in consequence of a fancied
resemblance in the shape of the river to a spoon.

When admitted into the Union, only about one-third of the State
of Tennessee was actually inhabited by white people. There were no
settlements whatever in West Tennessee, and the settlements of Middle
Tennessee only extended to the counties now known as Cheatham, Da-
vidson, Montgomery, Robertson, Sumner, Wilson, and Willianison,
while the East Tennessee settlements were bounded by the Little ien-
nessee River, and a line running a little west of KnoxviUe to Kentucky.
The only trade there was in the country consisted of peltries, bacon
and honey, and other "trade truck," with which flat-boats were occa-
sionally loaded on the Tennessee and Cumberland rivers, and floated
to Natchez or New Orleans.

Corn was the staple crop. Wheat was scarcely known as a farm
crop. Small crops of flax were grown for home consumption. Hogs,
cattle, sheep and horses were grown only for home use. There was no
market for anything. And yet the people of Tennessee were not worse
ofi" for comforts of life than many of their fellow citizens of older
states. How the crops have changed and trade improved will appear
as we take up other topics in this sketch.

Physical Geography of East Tennessee.

There are very many interesting chapters of East Tennessee history
waiting to be written, but ours is not the historian's task. We have to
speak of things as we find them to-day, and just now our topic is the
Physical Geography of East Tennessee, without some knowledge of
which it will be impossible to arrive at a correct appreciation of either
the soil, climate or industrial resources of this section.

428 Resources of Tennessee.

The Mountains of East Tennessee.

The eastern system of the mountains of North America is known as
the Appalachian system. It begins in broad low hills near the mouth
of the St. Lawrence, in Canada, and keeping approximately parallel to
the Atlantic coast, extends through Vermont and New York, Penn-
sylvania, Maryland, Virginia, North Carolina and Tennessee, and loses
itself in broad low hills in the northern parts of Georgia and Alabama.
The characteristic feature of the whole system is, that it is made up of
parallel ranges, separated by valleys of remarkably uniform width.
These ranges are not continuous, but are broken up into stretches of
various lengths. The outer ranges sink down into low broad ridges,
but maintain, almost without exception, the general parallelism of the
larger central ranges. The extreme length of the Appalachians is
about thirteen hundred miles (1,300), and the greatest width from east
to west about one hundred (100) miles. This is about midway the
length, in Pennsylvania and Maryland. Without the towering height
of the Alps or the massive grandeur of the Rocky Mountains, there
is still much of interest attaching to the Appalachians to excite the
study of men of science. Accordingly, many distinguished geologists
of America and Europe have made a study of different sections of these
mountains and have felt well paid for their labors. But the results of
their various labors are only to be found in separate reports and
society papers, and a full and satisfactory account of the entire system
remains yet to be w^ritten. In each State local names are given to the
various ranges which make up the system, and most of the school
geographies have created confusion by failing to recognize the fact that
these local ranges are but parts of one grand system. That part of
the system which passes through Tennessee, has been appropriately
named the Unaka Range and the Cumberland Table Land. These
ranges are in turn composed of various subordinate mountains and
ridges having local names and special features to distinguish them.
The Unaka and the Cumberland ranges are moreover separated by the
Valley of the Tennessee.

T}iR Unaka Range, lies between the States of Tennessee and North
Carolina, its central crest forming, for the most part, the dividing line
between the two States.

The Valley of East Tennessee is in turn made up of numerous sub-
ordinate valleys, lying almost parallel. So that an orographic view
would present the appearance of a great valley, with a floor fluted by

East Tennessee. 429

low ranges of mountains, running almost parallel with the two great
ranges that form the sides. The general trend of these ranges is from
north-east to south-west. At irregular intervals, the valley is partially
intersected by short ridges or spurs, breaking oif from the main lines
and lying nearly at right angles to them. These parallel ranges and
transverse ridges exercise a very powerful influence on the climate of
East Tennessee. The trend of all the parallel ranges is north-east and
south-west, while the dip of the floor of the valley is almost uniformly
to the south-west. Near the Virginia line the elevation of the valley
floor is between 1,300 and 1,400 feet, while near the Georgia line it
falls to about 800 — the direct distance being about 175 miles. In ad-
dition to this south-westerly dip, the entire plane of the valley has a
north-westerly inclination, in keeping with the general inclination of
the plane of the State. On the east the mountain range, which Prof.
Safford has named the Unaka, is by far the grandest and most massive
chain of mountains east of the Mississippi, and presents many peculiar
and interesting features, but little known. The elevations along the
State line vary from about 6,500 to about 3,000 feet. The Cumber-
land Mountains or " Table Land," lying west of the valley, is much
lower and possesses but few of those wild and massive features which
characterize the Unakas. It varies in elevation, along its eastern rim,
from 2,000 to 3,000 feet.

The River System of East Tennessee.

With the exception of a few small streams, that take their rise in
the north-west corner of East Tennessee, and flow into the Cumber-
land River, all of the water courses of East Tennessee, both great
and small, flow into the Tennessee River, and find their way out of the
valley, through one common channel, near the southern boundary of
the State, west of Chattanooga. Standing on the northern ledge of
the mountain range that lies just along the Alabama State line, and
looking north-east, the streams of East Tennessee would present the
picture of an enormous oak tree, with its grand and graceful trunk
stretching across the entire State and resting its head far up in Vir-
ginia, while its numerous branches stretched on either side far and wide.
The tributaries on the eastern side are more numerous and more rapid
than those on the west, and are fed by many more smaller streams.
These streams are all remarkable for their clear waters and rapid cur-
rents, and are filled with many of the most esteemed varieties of fish.
The principal of the tributaries on the east are the Watauga, the

43© .Resources of Tennessee.

French Broad, the Little Tennessee and the Hiwassee ; on the west,
the Clinch and the Sequatchie. Each of these rivers is fed by smaller
rivers, and they, in turn, by smaller streams, until the head waters are
divided into small branches, flowing from clear and limpid springs
bursting out from every nook and cove of the mountain sides. The
whole forming a net- work of water unsurpassed in any land.

Climate.

East Tennessee has a climate more equable and pleasant than that of
any other part of North America, east of the Rocky Mountains. It
lies between parallels 35° and 36°4' north, and its mean altitude is
1,000 feet above the sea level. The prevailing winds are from the
south-west and west, and they bring a constant and bountiful supply of
rain from the Gulf of Mexico.

Kuoxville is the geographical center of East Tennessee, and it occu-
pies a mean elevation too, so that it may be taken as the climatic center
also. This is fortunate, since it is only at Kuoxville that regular obser-
vations have been taken. On this point we cannot do better than
quote from the " Geology of Tennessee," by Prof. Jas. M. Saflford.

" The summer mean at Kuoxville, which has been placed at 73° 6' is
about that of Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, as well as that of several
points in central Virginia, of Cincinnati, Louisville, Kentucky, south-
ern Indiana and central Illinois. It is, too, I may add, that of the
central part of Spain, and the northern part of Italy. The summer of
the East Tennessee Valley is, therefore, considering its. valley-like
character and its low latitude, a comparatively cool one. This is
mostly due to the considerable elevation of the region above the sea."
(Page 65.)

According to very careful observations made at the East Tennessee
University, under the direction of the United States signal service, at
Kuoxville

The mean temperature for the year is 57°

The mean heat for the summer is 71°

The mean cold for the winter is 40°

Averajte maximum temperature ^H°

Aver!i>?e minimum 2

The result is a mild and equable climate that combines delightfully
the temjicrate and tr()])ical, without the extremes of either.

The mountains on either side protect the valley from the blighting

East Tennessee. 431

and chilling northern and north-western winds that so scourge the
plains of the north-west — while they act as natural conduit for the
milder and gentler winds that come from the Gulf of Mexico. But
even these are tempered into pleasant breezes, by the spurs or cross
sections of mountains before mentioned as breaking out from the
main ranges. Thus it comes, that while it is a very rare occurrence to
see the anemometer standing still, destructive storms are never experi-
enced.

Health.

A happy result of these influences is a degree of exemption from all
malarial and atmospheric diseases, unsurpassed in any country. The
undulating surface of the land, the great numbers and rapid flow of
the rivers, the entire absence of all low and marshy lands, and the
constant flow of gentle breezes, keep the atmosphere pure and exhiler-
ating to a delightful degree.

Mineral Springs.

In addition to the healthful climate, the mountain regions abound
with all manner of mineral springs, many of them furnishing waters
that have been thoroughly tested and long noted for their healing
properties, and have of late years become popular resorts for health
and pleasure-seekers from all parts of the south.

Agriculture.

Though soil and climate may limit the agricultural capacities of any
given land, location and facilities for transportation will always direct-
ly shape the character of crops grown as well as the style of cultiva-
tion. This truth is well illustrated in East Tennessee. Variety is the
characteristic of the soil as it is of the geology of this section. It is
true that the great body of the soil is of a limestone character, as lime-
stone is the predominating rock, but limestone soil varies more widely
than any other, and there is scarcely a variety that is not to be found
in East Tennessee. And all limestone soils, if not rich and fertile,
may be made so at comparatively small cost. The sandstone soils of
this section are also quite varied in character, and many of them pos-
sess very valuable features. For farming purposes, however, they are
far exceeded by the limestone. The sandstone soil is confined almost

432 Resources of Tennessee.

exclusively to the high mountains, while the limestone soil makes up
the lower hills and valleys. How rich these valley and cove lands
have been, may be imagined from the enormous size of many of the
trees. The fertility of these soils warranted the planting of any crop
the farmer might wish to grow, while the equable climate favored any
but purely tropical plants; but East Tennessee, with all its fertilitv of
soil and salubrious climate, was shut in by mountains verv difficult of
crossing. There were no near markets, and only one practicable route
to the distant ones. The Tennessee River offered a possible outlet for
any produce that the East Tennessee farmers might have to send off.
But this route, when open, was very long and tedious, and was prac-
ticable only for flatboats and in high water, owing to the obstruction
ot the muscle shoals. As a consequence of this isolation and lack of
transportation, Indian corn was, for many years, the only flirm pro-
duct shipped from East Tennessee. With the increase of population
and the development of the resources of the section, roads multiplied
and were improved, and the facilities for trade and commerce were
greatly extended. Farmers, too, learned to feed their corn to ho-s and
cattle instead of shipping it off raw. Still the farm operations of East
Tennessee moved in a very narrow circle until the completion of the
hue of railroad from Virginia to Georgia opened the doors to markets
north and south. Corn and oats, and oats and corn, were the chief
and only staples. On the majority of farms no other crops were
grown. Of course it will be understood that this description applies
to the general practice, and is, by no means, applicable to the many
individual exceptions, in which intelligent farmers sought, with most
praiseworthy zeal, to introduce all the modern improvements and de-
velop the bountiful resources of their sections. It was owino- to the
presence of these men of superior intelligence and enterprise diat the
improvement in farming spread so rapidly when once the doors were
thrown open to the markets of the world. It would be difficult to
overestimate the value of the influence which t\^^ Virginia and Geor-
gia line of railroad has exerted on the agricultural interest of East
Tennessee. It is all the more admissablc and desirable that the good
work that It has done be noted and acknowledged at this time when
under the excitement of feeling against railroads, on account of al-
leged exorbitant rates of freight and travel and invidious discrimina-
tions, many are apt to lose sight of the amount of the indebtedness of
the entire community to railroads. The extent and character of the
revolution which this road has worked and is working in the farm
economy of East Tennessee may be estimated by reference to the

East Tennessee. 433

chapter on Transportation — Railroads. For these facts* we are in-
debted to the kindness of Captain Jos. Jaqiies, the Superintendent,
and Mr. Ogden, General Freight Agent, at Knoxville.

The point brought out by these figures to which we wish to direct
especial attention, is the very great increase in the smaller products of
the farm, such as butter and cheese, eggs and poultry, fruit fresh and
dried. In this we discover that the characteristic of East Tennessee
agriculture is diversiti/ of products. This characteristic is strengthened
by the prevalence of small farms. According to the census returns of
1870 there are, in East Tennessee, 26,331 farms. Of these only nine
are reported to amount to, or exceed, 1,000 acres, only seventy amount
to 500 acres and over, while 6,379 are between 100 and 500 acres,
leaving the large proportion of 19,873 under 100 acres. While
it is freely admitted that census figures are very little to be trusted,
where accuracy is desired, it cannot be denied that, after every
allowance is made, these figures show, what is true, that in the matter
of sub-division of farms, East Tennessee has gone quite as far as seems
to be desirable. However this may be, the fact remains that the small
farms and diversity of crops characterize East Tennessee agriculture.
And it is mainly to these fiicts that we trace the marked increase
within a few years of the smaller industries of agriculture. But it
must not be assumed that because these little things have grown that
larger things have been neglected. Such is by no means the case.
Turn again to the account of shipments and see how corn, wheat, and
bacon figure.

Wheat. East of California no section of America is better adapted
by soil and climate to the growth of wheat than East Tennessee. Since
1858 the fact has been well established that Tennessee wheat could
command a premium in the New York market. This fact, and its
cause, is clearly stated by Henry C. Carey, the distinguished political
economist :

"Even before the war a great change had commenced in regard to
the sources from which northern supplies of cereals were to come, Ten-
nessee and North Carolina furnishing large supplies of wheat, _(7/-eai/2/
superior in quality to that grown on northern lands, and commanding
higher prices in all our markets. The daily quotations show that
southern flour, raised in Missouri, Tennessee, and Virginia, brings
from three to five dollars more per barrel than the best New York
Genesee flour; that of Louisiana and Texas is tar superior to the

*See chapter on Transportation— Railroads.

434 Resources of Tennessee.

former even, owing to the superior dryness, and the fact that it con-
tains more gluten, and does not ferment so easily. Southern flour
makes better dough and maccaroni than northern or western flour, it is
better adapted for transportation over the sea, and keeps better in the
tropics. It is, therefore, the flour that is sought after for Brazil, Cen-
tral America, Mexico, and the West Indian markets, which are at our
doors. A barrel of strictly southern flour will make twenty pounds
more bread than Illinois flour, because, being so much dryer, it takes
up more water in making up."

Add to this the fact that the Tennessee harvest precedes that of New
York and the north-western states by nearly a month, and it be-
comes evident that, so far as quality and time of selling go, our state-
ment of the superiority of Tennessee, as a wheat section, is borne out.
The quantity grown per acre is far below what it should be. The
gross yield might be trebled by judicious management.

Corn. Of corn. East Tennessee has long produced too much in
proportion to the other crops.

Oats are much grown and of excellent quality. In this crop there
has been much improvement of late years.

Both natural and artificial grasses flourish in the greatest luxuriance.
Indeed, from the lofty mountain lands in the East, where timothy
grows six feet high, to the banks of the Mississippi, where the Ber-
muda grass abounds, it is doubtful if a greater variety of good grass-
land can be found within the bounds of any State in the Union.

Red Clover. Throughout East Tennessee, wherever the land is
properly prepared, a good stand of red clover may be secured, and
when once secured, from one and a half to three tons of hay may be
counted on. Such has been the experience of forty years.

Timothy. From the meadow lands of the valley to the table
lands of the mountain, timothy of the rankest luxuriance may be met
with. With equal care it yields about the same as clover.

Blue-grass. This favorite grass of the limestone regions, which
has given name and fame to the richest region of Kentucky, grows
indigenously throughout almost all of the valleys and coves of East
Tennessee, and is easily introduced upon most of the uplands that are
in good heart.

OucHARD-ORASS, {Dactylis Glomerata). This grass has been but
sparingly introduced into East Tennessee, but has failed nowhere. It

East Tennessee. 435

succeeds admirably, and takes rank even above blue-grass in the esti-
mation of those who have tried it. It is rapidly spreading, being sown
wit]i clover for hay, or alone for pasture. It is much relished by all
kiiuls of stock, green and in hay, and yields abundantly.

Mountain Pastures. One of the prominent features of stock-
growing, as practiced in East Tennessee, is the use made of the
luxuriant growth of wild grasses and succulent vines and shrubbery
that clothe the mountain sides and tops. Vast areas of unoccupied
lands here furnish almost unlimited and inexhaustible range for cattle
and sheep. And thousands are driven out every spring to pass the
summer in these free pastures, from which they return in the fall as fat
as grass can make them.

Cattle. The native cattle of East Tennessee are descended mainly
from the stock brought by the original settlers from North Carolina
and Virginia. They are generally small, hardy and active. More
nearly resembling the Devon, Ayrshire and Kerry than the Short-
horn or Hereford types, and, as a general rule, are good milkers.
Only a few farmers, comparatively speaking, had made any effort to
improve the cattle of the section before the war. Within the past few
years, a considerable impetus has been given to the improvement of
cattle, through the influence of county and division fairs and conven-
tions. Quite a number of excellent small herds of thoroughbred
Jerseys, Devons and Short-horns are now scattered throughout the
valley, and a commendable spirit of improvement seems to be spread-
ing throughout the entire section. The tendency at present is in favor
of the smaller and milking breeds. Among these, the Jersey takes
the first rank. As a consequence, the quantity and quality of East
Tennessee butter is rapidly increasing and improving. At the same
time the number of farmers who fatten cattle for shipping is steadily
increasing. For this purpose it is probable that the Devon wall take
precedence of the Short-horn in the larger part of East Tennessee,
owing to the ability of that breed to keep on shorter pasturage than
either the Short-horn or Hereford. With \kvQ increase of cattle feed-
ing:, the sale of hav and corn will cease. A thins; much to be desired.

'&?

Spieep. Slieep husbandry in East Tennessee is in its infancy. If the
country can ever get rid of the thousands and tens of thousands of
wortliless dogs that over-run it, the rearing of sheep will very soon
thereafter become one of the leading and most profitable branches of
rural economy in East Tennessee. The natural advantages are unsur-

436' Resources of Tennessee.

passed in America ; but hitherto every effort to develop this industry
has been frustrated by the abominable dogs.

Hogs. The rearing and fattening of hogs has long been a favorite
branch of East Tennessee farming. The near and profitable markets
offered by Alabama and Georgia have, for many years, been largely
supplied from East Tennessee. There is still much room for increas-
ing the supply and leaving the demand unsatisfied. The Berkshire is
much the most profitable and popular among the improved breeds.
There is, however, much need of improvement in the general stock of
hogs.

Poultry. More or less of poultry is raised, or allowed to breed
on all farms in Tennessee, but as a general rule, the fowls get but little
or no attention, and what they get is given them by the "women folks"
and children. In E ist Tennessee, however, the rearing of poultry is
fast growing into one of the fixed industries of no insignificant im-
portance. Already a poultry car is a regular fixture on the Virginia
and Georgia Railroad, and the business is rapidly increasing, as may
be seen by reference to the railroad figures already relerred to. There is
no one breed kept to any considerable extent, but the old-fashioned
Dominique is most common. Xo separate poultry farms have yet been
established, nor is it probable that there will be ^oon ; but it is becom-
ing quite a general practice for all small farmers to raise more or less
poultry, and to rely on them for more or less of the profits of the
farm.

The Oechard.

Did space permit, the facts would justify an elaborate presentation
of the advantages of East Tennessee as a fruit region. But the length
to which this report has already extended, and the many other weighty
topics yet to be dwelt on, compel us to condense into bare statements
many facts that we should like to dwell on.

Apples. From the days of the earliest settlers, even among the In-
dians, excellent apples have been grown in East Tennessee. Many
orchards half a century old still bear abundant crops. Most of these
old orchards are stocked with native varieties, and many of these rival
the best and most popular varieties of the north. As yet, however,
the apple has been sold from East Tennessee only in the shape of dried
fruit. In this form it is a very considerable article of ex2)ort.

East Tennessee. 437

Pears. Only a few experiments have been made in growing pears
as an orchard crop, but in every instance, under proper care, they have
succeeded admirably.

Peaches. Only a small amount of attention is necessary to secure
abundant crops of peaches throughout the greater part of East Ten-
nessee.

Grapes. On this subject, we cannot do better than quote from an
admirable address delivered some years ago by Hon. O. P. Temple,
before the Knoxville Industrial Association :

" Before the late war, the varieties planted here were the Catawba
and the Isabella, and here, as nearly everywhere else, they proved un-
reliable— some years making splendid crops, and sometimes failing.
Since the war, new varieties have been introduced, and, so far as they
have been tested, they promise to prove an entire success. This is par-
ticularly true of the Concord. That this justly popular grape, as well
as the Hartford Prolific and the Norton's Virginia, and other varieties,
will do as well here on the banks of our rivers as in any part of the
United States east of California or New Mexico, does not admit of a
doubt.

"On this subject, Mr. George Husman, a grape-grower of Missouri,
and the author of a standard work entitled ' Grapes and Wine,' speak-
ing of the advantages of his State for grape culture, says : ' The moun-
tainous regions of Tennessee, Georgia, Arkansas, Texas and Alabama,
may perhaps rival, and even surpass us in the future, but their inhabit-
ants at present are not of the clay from which grape-growers are
formed.'

" That may have been true of us in the past, and even yet, but let
the author of ' Grapes and Wine ' remember that, in East Tennessee
at least, old things are passing away, and that this ^-ecluded region,
girdled round with mountains — this heretofore terra incognita — snuffs
from afar the spirit of advancement, and will ere long tread on the
heels of her most forward sisters, even of Missouri, in all that pertains
to material, moral and mental progress."

What he then predicted, Judge Temple has since done much to
vcrifv. He has on his own place as fine a vineyard of the grapes
named, and many others, as can be found anywhere in Missouri.

Strawberries. The same may be said of strawberries that has
been said of grapes, and the same gentleman has demonstrated that

43 S Resoui^ces of Tenfiessee.

the Charles Downing, Agriculturist, Barnes' Mammoth, Boydeu's No.
30, Triomphe de Gand, and many others of the most popular varieties,
can be grown as successfully in East Tennessee as anywhere else in the
United States. Indeed, for at least two seasons past, Knoxville might
have challenged any city in the Union to show finer strawberries than
were offered in her market.

We leave the fruit department with reluctance, because we see in it
60 vast a field for profitable development.

Style of Farming.

The system of agriculture practiced in East Tennessee is very far
from perfect. There is scarcely any point in which it does not need im-
proving. Some of the points in which improvement is most needed
we shall state briefly, prefacing with the remark that we speak in gen-
eral terms, of general practices, and in no case refer to individuals.

Rotation. There is no system of rotation practiced. Corn follows
corn, year after year, if the farmer thinks his land will stand it. If
any change is made, it is to alternate oats and corn and maybe wheat.
But system there is none.

Preparation of Land. The bull-tongue plow does the greater
part of the work the year round. This is by no means the worthless
instrument which it has been represented to be, nor is it the perfect
thing which the use made of it in East Tennessee would indicate. The
farmer who relies mainly on the bull-tongue will always have foul
fields. Deep ploughing and thorough cleaning are the two things
most needed in the preparation of the land on the most of farms in
East Tennessee. For these purposes better implements are essential.

Fences. The worm fence, made of rails, is universal throughout
East Tennessee. They are none of the best when new, and the com-
mon practice of allowing tlio corners to grow up in briers and bushes
rots them very rapidly.

Faiim Buildings. These are generally built of wood. The
dwel ling-houses often of plank, but most generally of logs. They are
neither handsome, comfortable nor convenient, as compared with the
better class of houses. The stables and out-houses arc mere make-
shifts. They' an; by no means sufficient in numbers and room, and
very badly built. Too little care is taken of stock and implements,
and too little regard is ])aid to the comfort of the firmer and his family.
The room for improvement in these particulars is very great.

East Tennessee, 439

These criticisms apply with more or less force to American agricul-
ture in general, and especially to that of the Southern States. And
while it may be true that, owing mainly to its comparative isolation for
so long a period, agriculture is less advanced in East Tennessee than
in Middle or West Tennessee; it is also true that several circumstances
combine to stimulate a more rapid advancement in East Tennessee in
the future, than can be hoped for in either of the other sections. One
of these circumstances is the tendency to develop the small industries
already alluded to. In these industries the labor of women and chil-
dren, which is almost entirely unused in the other sections, can be
profitably employed. Another favorable circumstance is the character
of

The Farm Laboe. In comparison with the other sections, the
number of slaves was always small in East Tennessee, and the num-
ber of non-slave holding farmers quite large. As a consequence, there
has always been a much greater proportion of the farm work done by
white laborers. Since the war, year by year the number of negroes
has rapidly diminished, by emigration to the cotton regions mainly,
and of course the number of white farm laborers has increased. This
condition of things has already opened the way for the introduction of
considerable foreign farm labor. This brings us to the consideration
of the next favorable circumstance of which we wish to speak.

Immigration.

No part of Tennessee certainly, perhaps no part of the south,
has received so many immigrants since the war as East Tennes-
see. From the northern states and from Europe many most excel-
lent people have come, and more are coming every year. So far,
they have been mostly men with families, possessing small means, who
come to make their homes here. They are heartily welcomed, as they
would be anywhere else in the State, and almost universally they are
well pleased, and write back to their old homes inviting others to come.
Comparatively few immigrant laborers have as yet come to this or any
other part of the south. The time has not come for them, as yet, but
it will come soon, and when it does, East Tennessee will be one of the
first sections supplied. In the meantime, the native farm laborers
should be cultivated and encouraged to improve in skill and intelli-
gence. The farmers who set the example of bettering the condition of
this class will not only be public benefactors, but will find their profit
in doing good.

44^ Resources of Tennessee,

Mineral, Hesources.

The Mineral resources of East Tennessee are exceedingly rich,
abundant and varied. Some general notion of the character and ex-
tent of these resources may be gathered from Prof. Safford's excellent
Geological Report, but no adequate survey has as yet been made of
the entire region, and no trustworthy statistics as to the present state of
development are to be had. This very much needed information it is
the purpose of the Bureau of Agriculture, in part, to supply. We can
only state, therefore, in general terms, through what sections and coun-
ties the various minerals are known to exist, without attempting to
particularize as to localities and mines.

Iron. The iron regions of Tennessee, as described by Prof. Saf-
ford are three : the Eastern, the Dyestone (or Cumberland), and the
Western.

The Eastern region extends along the western base of the Unaka
range of mountains. It passes through parts of Johnson, Carter, Sul-
livan, Washington, Greene, Jefferson, Cocke, Sevier, Blount, Monroe?
Polk and McMinn. The iron of this region is of three species, as
follows :

1. Limonite, (Brown Hematite) containing, when pure, nearly
sixty per cent, of metallic iron.

2. Hematite, (Red) containing when pure nearly seventy per cent,
of metallic iron. Varieties, (hard solid ore,) (Dyestone or stratified
ore.)

3. Magnetite, (Black,) contains, when pure, seventy-two per cent.
of metallic iron.

The first is most abundant, the third the rarest and richest.

In this region the iron is found at the bottom of the many coves
and valleys that fringe the western slope of the Unakas. The ore is of
fiuificient quantity to supply, for an indefinite period, an average of four
large-sized iron works to each of the counties named, or an average
total of forty-eight iron works.

The Dyestone, or Cumberland region, extends along the entire east-
ern face of the Cumberland range, and is a part of the grand belt
which extends through the entire Appalachian system from Canada to

East Tennessee. 441

Alabama. In no part of its immense limits is it richer or more abun-
dant than in the Tennessee section. Included in this section are all or
parts of the counties of Hancock, Claiborne, Grainger, Campbell, An-
derson, Roane, Rhea, Meigs, Hamilton, Marion, Sequatchie and Bled-
soe. The iron of this region is of two species : the Dyestone, or Red
Hematite, and the clay-ironstone. The former much the best known,
and most abundant ; the latter of exceeding value on account of its
occurrence with coal. This is the species that is mostly used in
England.

The amount of iron in this region almost defies computation, and its
proximity to the coal regions renders it additionally valuable.

At various points throughout the valley are to be found considerable
quantities of iron. Not enough, however, in any one place to justify
the erection of extensive works.

Coal. The Coal Measures of Tennessee are co-extensive with the
Cumberland Plateau, stretching across the State from Kentucky to
Alabama, embracing an area of some 5,100 square miles, and about eight
feet deep. Of this immense area Prof. SaflPord makes three divisions.
The Sequatchie, the Raccoon and Walden's Ridge, the North-eastern.
All of these crop out in East Tennessee on their eastern borders. The
Sequatchie division in Marion, Sequatchie and Bledsoe ; the Raccoon
division in Marion, Sequatchie, Hamilton, Bledsoe, Rhea, Cumberland,
Roane and Morgan ; the North-eastern division crops out in Morgan,
Anderson, Scott, Campbell and Claiborne. Of the quality of this
coal Prof. Safford says : "All the Tennessee coals are bituminous ; but
as such they present many varieties. Some are highly bituminous,
gas-making coals; others are semi-bituminous ; some open, free-burn-
ing, while others are cokeing coals."

Since the war, all of these qualities have been put to the test along-
side of the best coals of other regions, and the result is till that could
be desired by East Tennesseeans.

Copper. The copper region of Tennessee is confined to the south-
east corner of East Tennessee. It is known as the Ducktown region,
and is very rich in ore of excellent quality.

Lead and Zinc. These two metals are found in small quantities
in many parts of East Tennessee. Indeed, there is scarcely a coujity
in which small quantities of lead may not be found. With the excep-
tion of perhaps two or three localities, however, it is not likely ever

442 Resources of Temiessee.

to be developed sufficiently to pay. The most promising veins of lead
are in Union ond Monroe counties. Zinc is found in considerable
quantities in Union, Claiborne and Jefferson counties.

Gold. For many years a small amount of gold has been mined in
East Tennessee. The gold region extends from the French Broad
River to the Georgia State line. The amount of gold to be found in
any place, however, is too small to justify any considerable expense in
getting it out.

Marble. Next in value to its iron and coal, come the marbles of
East Tennessee. Already these have attained national reputation by
reason of the use made of them in the national capital at Washington
and the State capital at Nashville. There are found in East Tennessee
six distinct varieties of marble, to-wit :

1. Reddish Variegated Fossiliferous. This is much the most valuable
and most abundant. It is found in Hawkins, Hancock, Grainger, Jef-
ferson, Knox, Roane, Blount, Monroe, McMinn, Bradley, Meigs,
Anderson, Union and Campbell counties. This variety is popularly
known as the Hawkins county marble, owing to the fact that the most
of the marble sent to Washington and Nashville, for use in the two
capitals went from that county. ♦

2. miitish Variegated Fossiliferous. Akin to the above. This
variety is also very abundant and furnishes some of the most beautiful
marble to be found in the national capital. The largest quarry opened
is within a mile of Knoxville, from which the custom-house is built.

3. Didl Variegated Magnesian. This variety in many places makes
an excellent building-stone, and is quite available.

4. Black and Dark Blue. Throughout most of the extreme eastern
counties are to be found beds of this variety. It takes a good polish
and much of it is chocked with narrow white veins that, contrasting
with the dark color of the body, render the slabs very handsome.

5. Breccia and Conglomerate. This variety occurs chiefly in the
coves and valleys at the foot of the Unaka Mountains. The peculiar
feature of this variety is the mosaic appearance given it by the angular
fragments of various colors which compose it. Good specimens, well
polislied, are exceedingly beautiful.

6. Conglomerate. Tliis variety differs from the last named only in
the rounded form of the various colored fragments that compose it.
The lavst two varieties are comparatively of limited extent.

East Tennessee. ' 443

Other Building Stones.

Granite of excellent (}uality aud exceeding beauty is found in almost
all of the beds of the Metamorphic group in East Tennessee. Fine
specimens of gray and flesh-colored have been taken from beds lying
in Johnson, Carter, Washington, Cocke and Polk counties.

Sandstone. Throughout all the sandstone groups, extensive beds of
most excellent building-stones may be found. Owing to the little use
made of stone in building, throughout East Tennessee, very little of
this inexhaustible material has been tried. One quarry on the Knox-
ville and Ohio Railroad has been opened to a limited extent, and
the stone used in the front of E. G. Sandford & Co.'s handsome build-
ing, in Knoxville. The stone is of a beautiful brown, comparatively
soft when taken from the quarry, but hardening under exposure to the
atmosphere.

Flagstones, of an excellent quality and in great abundance, may be
obtained in Morgan and Anderson counties. In the latter very close
to the railroad.

Boof Slates, of good quality and abundant in quantity, are found in
Polk, McMinn, Monroe, Blount, Sevier and Cock counties. The
greatest quantity and best quality perhaps is on the West Fork of Little
Pigeon River, in Sevier county.

Jlillstone material, hydraulic limestones, fire clay, potters clav and
mineral paints abound, many of the very best variety, and conven-
iently located for transportation.

(For timber, see chapter on timber.)

Mining and Manufacturing.

In no department of industry has there been sp much capital invested
and so much work done in East Tennessee since the war as in mining
and manufacturing. The opening of the Knoxville and Ohio
Railroad to the grand coal fields of the Cumberland Mountains, has
given a powerful impetus to these departments. Several extensive
coal mines have been opened, several large foundries established, and
active measures are on foot for the establishment of many more. In
almost every county of East Tennessee, prospecting surveys are
making, with a view to finding out the character and extent of the
hidden wealth of the land. And all indications point to the rapid

444 Resources of Tennessee.

growth of the mining interest throughout this section of the State.
As yet the stimulus to manufacturing has become neither so general
nor so active as the mineral developments would seem to justify. This
is in some measure due to a scarcity of capital, undoubtedly, but it is
in a larger measure due to the lack of enterprise and the absence of
that spirit of improvement so essential to the rapid development of
the wealth of a country. Beyond iron furnaces and foundries, cotton-
yarn factories, wool-carding factories, planing mills, tanneries, coach
factories and such other mechanical industries as are absolutely neces-
sary, almost nothing has been done.

" We import from other States, all of our reapers, mowers, threshers
and engines ; all of our chains, axes, shovels, spades, hoes, rakes, forks,
wire, sheet-iron, iron pipe, hinges, scythes, picks, willow-ware and rope,
and even our axe and pick handles and wagon spokes; most of our
plows, brooms, furniture, wooden-ware, fire grates, stoves, corn shellers,
horse shoes and horse-shoe nails, domestics, prints, woolens, boots, shoes,
hats, clothing, horse collars, most of our carriages and many of our
wagons, besides hundreds of other articles. The average cost of trans-
portation upon thirty of these articles, as I learn from a leading hard-
ware house, is seventeen per cent, as compared with the original cost.
On stoves it is from twenty to twenty-five per cent.; on reapers, mow-
ers and threshers, fifty per cent., and on fire-proof brick, one hundred
per cent. Hundreds of reapers and mowers are sold here that are
manufactured in Chicago or Ohio ; plows and axes and even horse
shoes are brought from Connecticut ; stoves are brought from Albany,
Philadelphia and Cincinnati; carriages are brought from New Hamp-
shire; even brooms are brought from New York." — Judge 0. P. Tem-
ple, before Knoxville Industrial Association.

Not one of these articles but could be profitably manufactured in
East Tennessee. Not one but will be, within the next decade, if things
do l)ut j)rosper as they promise. No portion of America offers more,
or better natural advantages for manufacturing. Water courses with-
out number and of unlimited ])ower, and coal inexhaustible, furnish
motive power for as much machinery as now moves in all Pennsylva-
nia and New England. Nor is there any less abundance of the raw
materials. Every s[)ecies of useful ore lies almost in contact with the
coals, timber of every variety and of excellent quality clothes the hill-
sides on every hand. Everything needful is at hand for the manufac-
ture of metal or wood, and the same facilities offer for woolen nuinu-
factories, while thousands upon thousands of acres now lying idle,

East Tennessee. 445

■would make as fine sheep-walks as America can boast of. With cotton,
too, though it may not be grown in East Tennessee with profit, East
Tennessee is the nearest point to the cotton belt, where the natural
facilities for its manufacture are to be found. In short, every natural
advantage for manufacturing is found in East Tennessee, but the spirit
of enterprise is wanting. The people have yet to learn the power of
associated capital. The joint stock company is almost an indisj)ensable
institution where manufactures or mines are to be opened. The cost
of such works is beyond the individual purse. But the people of the
entire south are lacking in that commercial spirit that begets joint
stock companies, and until they improve in this respect, they will not
engage very extensively either in mining or manufacturing. In the
meantime, the golden harvest will not appeal in vain to the many men
from abroad, who are every year prospecting through East Tennes!-ee,
and foreign capital and enterprise will gradually gather in the harvest,
while the native people are learning to be enterprising. Such at least
are the present indications. Most of the mines opened and manufac-
tories erected since the war, are wholly or in part under the manage-
ment of new-comers.

On this subject, however, it is but fair to state that the complaint is
very general among the miners and manuflicturers that the railroads
cramp their operations and prevent their developments by their high
rates of charges. How far the complaint is just, we cannot say. We
only note it as one of the excuses made for the slow growth of these
great industries.

While speaking of railroads, and mining, and manufactories, we must
not pass by a new feature in railroads that seems destined to play a very
prominent part in the future progress of railway transportation, and
that is

The jSTarrow Guage Railroads.

Of the utility of railways, there can be no question, and the onlj
obstacle to their universal adoption in the place of wagon ways, is their
cost. In proportion as this cost is reduced, will this substitution take
place. It was in response to this desire for cheap railways, that the
narrow guage was invented. It is a well-known fact, that on a large
number of American railroads, there are considerable periods of the
year during which the freights and passengers scarcely pay expenses.
And on the majority of them, there is one direction which does not

44^ Resources of Tennessee.

pay so much as the other. These two sources of co-operative loss, it
is claimed, may be removed by the use of narrow guage roads. The
estimated cost of constructing and running such roads is far less than
that of the ordinary roads, while it is claimed that for the greater part
of the year they could do all the carrying. However this may be, the
one point about which we are now interested, is the introduction of
narrow guage roads into the main branch valleys of East Tennessee.
There are several exceedingly rich valleys in East Tennessee, which
would abundantly support such roads. And every such road would
promote the rapid development of the valley through which it passed,
besides contributing to the business of the main roads. Several such
roads are now talked of, and we refer to the subject merely to indicate
the line of possible development which internal improvement is to take
in East Tennessee.

Educational Facilities.

Naturally and rightfully, before moving to a new home, one wishes
to know what facilities are offered for educating his children. Upon
this very important point. East Tennessee can well aiford to invite
comparison with the other portions of the State, although, in truth and
candor, it must be owned that throughout the entire State the facili-
ites for education are lamentably deficient. A strong desire for im-
provement in this respect is, however, rapidly spreading throughout
all East Tennessee, and there is every reason to believe that this spirit
will grow and increase, until the educational advantages are equal to
the natural wealth of the section. At present, there are several col-
leges and seminaries in healthy operation in various parts of the Val-
ley, and at Chattanooga and Knoxville city schools are kept up in
fair style for ten months in the year. The East Tennessee University,
at Knoxville, is one of the oldest institutions of the State, and has done
much good in its time, numbering among its alumni many of the most
prominent public men of the State. In 18G9, this institution under-
took the establishment of the Tennessee Agricultural College, under
the CVmgressional endowment. This college is now among the most
flourishing in the State, and promises to develop into an institution of
the highest rank and value. It is designed to train young men in
the principles of those sciences especially applicable to agriculture
and the mechanic arts. Tiiis purpose entitles it to the cordial syra-
patiiy and hearty support of the farmers and mechanics, and when

East Tennessee. 447

the college comes, to be in truth what it was designed to be, it will
undoubtedly obtain this support.

Social Life.

The luxuries and refinements of social life have never flourished in
East Tennessee. All the conditions and surroundings of the people
have contributed to foster those simple and frugal habits of life which
characterize most mountain people As a consequence, even now a great
many, perhaps a majority of the families in East Tennessee, wear home-
made clothing in part or altogether. As a result, while they do not
dress finely, they live well and are free from debt and own what
they use. Hospitality is a cardinal virtue throughout all the South and
East Tennessee is no exception. The well-behaved stranger, whether
he comes as a mere passer-by or an immigrant, is sure of a hearty
welcome and kind treatment.

Churches.

All of the leading Protestant denominations have churches scattered
throughout the different counties, in which religious services and Sun-
day schools are regularly held. The Methodists, Baptists, and Pres-
byterians are most numerous. There are a few Quakers, and at Knox-
ville and Chattanooga, Roman Catholic churches. All of these denomi-
nations have one or more male and female schools or colleges, located
ill different counties, and are actively alive to the work of spreading
the gospel, at the same time that they work most earnestly for the in-
crease of their own sect.

Thus have we, in a brief and hurried manner, gone over the salient
points in the industrial resources of East Tennessee. Of necessity,
we have done but scanty justice to the many interesting features,
which render it one of the most promising fields for the future
growth of wealth and prosperity to be found in the United States.
We can only refer the reader to the details as given in the accounts of
different counties. Brief and incomplete as these details are, they can-
not fail to impress the observing reader with the fact that nature has
lavished her wealth as abundantly upon East Tennessee as upon any
part of the United States. This wealth lies waiting the hand of enter-
prise and skill to develop it.

44^ Resources of Tennessee

ANDERSON COUNTY.

County Seat — Clinton.

This county, situated partly in the Valley of East Tennessee and
partly on the Cumberland Table Land, was established by the Legisla-
ture as early as 1801. It contains about 450 square miles. Its phys-
ical geography is of a most interesting character. It has great inequali-
ties of surface. Its north-western half is a high mountainous rough
region, traversed by deep ravines, and covered on, the slopes with a
dense growth of timber. The surface of this portion does not partake
of the general character of the Cumberland Table Land, which usually
has a flat or slightly rolling surface. It here rises to a higher altitude,
and is the water-shed between the Cumberland and Tennessee rivers.
Several creeks, flowing north-westerly, unite and form the South Fork
of the Cumberland, while Coal Creek and Poplar Creek flow in an
opposite direction, south-easterly, and empty into the Clinch, a tribu-
tary of the Tennessee. Between the south-western escarpment of the
Cumberland Table Land and the Valley of East Tennessee, Walden's
Ridge, with its nearly vertical strata of sandstone, forms a huge bar-
rier, almost continuous throughout the county, and preserving its paral-
lellism with the Table Land. This ridge, so singular by reason of its
tilted strata and its persistent continuity, is cut in a few places by-
transverse gaps or fissures down to the level of the valley, and through
these gaps the streams that take their rise upon the southern side of the
Tal)le Land find a passage to the Clinch. Between the ridge and the
Table Land, a narrow rocky valley, down which a railroad might run,
preserves its continuity through tlie entire diagonal length of the
county. Coal Creek flows down this valley in a north-easterly course,
and unites, at a point between the ridge and the Table Land, opposite
the village of Coal Creek, with AVelding's Fork, which comes from the
valley above. The united streams flow nearly at right angles to their
original courses through a deep narrow cut in Walden's Ridge, which
here makes a beautiful symmetrical curve, forming nearly a quadrant.
This curve has its counterpart in the Table Land, and makes what is
called the Big Butt, This Big Butt furnishes a great amount of ex-
cellent coal, the working of which will be referred to hereafter.

Between Walden's Ridge and Pine Ridge is a narrow valley, which
is, in fact, a continuation of Powell's Valley, though much shrunk in

East Tennessee. 449

its dimensions and diminished in its. fertility. Pine Ridge is one of
the characteristic ridges of East Tennessee, whose north-western slope
is of an abounding fertility, crowned with stately forests, while the op-
posite side, exposed to the vertical rays of a burning sun, is parched
into sterility and barrenness. Going transversely across the county in a
south-easterly direction, we next meet a series of broken hills and
ridges, which may be termed the river ridges of Clinch River. Cross-
ing the Clinch, whose general course is south-west, though making
some great convolutions before reaching Clinton, the county seat, we
reach Lone Mountain, which is in the same line with Powell's Moun-
tain, and is really a continuation of it, and extends from Roane up
through Claiborne and Union counties. On the south-western slopes
of this mountain are found the Trenton and Nashville strata of lime-
stone. The tangled masses of luxuriant creepers which envelop
the tops of stately trees like a green tufted vail, indicate a soil teem-
ing with an abundance of plant food. The White Oak red sandstones
sheet the opposite side, and, in their tilted positions, resemble the huge
scales of a water monster. As in Powell's Mountain and Clinch, the
south-east side is poverty stricken. The timber is sparse and scraggy,
and the thick scales of sandstone leave but few interstices for the
gnarled roots of the famishing timber to penetrate. On this side,
howev^er, is found the Dyestone formation, which contains some rich
beds of red hematite, or fossiliferous iron ore.

Continuing our course south-east, we come to Chestnut Ridge and
Flint Ridge. The last is characterized by occasional deposits of oxide
of iron, which occurs in pockets. This ore does not work readily in a
furnace, on account of its hardness, but mixed w^ith the red or brown
hematites, it adds greatly to the quality of the iron. A little west of
Clinton is a ridge known as Black Oak, though not the same as passes
through Knox county of the same name.

The most noted valley in the county, and the one best suited for
farming purposes, lies between Lone Mountain and the Clinch River
hills. It is about one mile in width, and extends from Moore's Ferry,
on the Clinch River, through the remainder of the county, and contin-
ues on into Virginia. Near the base of Lone Mountain, the soil of
this valley has a chocolate color, but grows darker as one approaches
the river from the mountain. Nowhere does it attain the blackness of
the alluvial bottoms, but is rather intermediate between the red lands
mentioned and the river bottoms.

Streams. Clinch River, the great arterial current of the county, with
29

450 Resources of Teiuiessee.

several long bends, passes nearly throngh the center, its general course
being a little west of south. It is a rapid stream, flowing, for the most
part, over rocky ledges. The channel is often obstructed with large
stones that have rolled down from the confining bluffs. It abounds in
fish of delightful flavor. So numerous are they that more than a wagon
load have been taken in a single night from one fish trap. Flat-boats and
keel-boats freighted with produce, from as high up as the Virginia
line, pass down during the freshets. In Campbell county it forks, one
branch, Powell's River, reaching up through Claiborne county, while
the main stream furnishes navigable facilities to Union, Grainger.
Claiborne and Hancock counties, forming the boundary line between
Grainger and Claiborne. Steamboats have passed as high up as Clin-
ton. Before the construction of the Knoxvilleand Ohio Railroad, this
river formed the sole means for the transportation of the products of
Anderson county to distant markets. ^

Hinds Creek, a stream of sufficient volume to drive a large flouring
mill, runs through this valley. A small rapid stream, known as Clear
Creek, rises in the northern part of the county, among the river hills,
and flowing nearly west, empties into Clinch River. Clear Creek is
noted for its excellent water power. There are two carding factories,
one saw mill and two grist mills upon it. Its length does not exceed
five miles. It has a rapid fall and a good volume of water. Between
Clinch River and Hinds Creek occurs one of the finest forests of pine
timber to be found in the State.

Bull Run, on the south-east side of Hinds Creek, and running at
the distance of five miles parallel with it, is sluggish, and inferior on
that account as a milling stream. There are many fine bottoms, how-
ever, on it, which are kept very fertile by frequent overflows. The
banks of Bull Run being flat and low, are quickly submerged.

West of Clinch River is Poplar Creek, which rises on the Cumber-
land Table Land, cuts through a gap of Walden's Ridge, in the same
manner as Coal Creek, and empties into the Clinch. It has, as all
these mountain streams have, a rapid descent. It is about forty feet
wide, and in ordinary stages of water will average a foot in depth.
The supply of water for nine months in the year is ample, but in the
remaining three it gets very low.

Running out at a right angle to P()|)lar Creek is a narrow, broken
valley, which extends up to Coal Creek. This creek, previously men-
tioned, is not more than six miles long, but owing to the rapidity of

East Tennessee. 451

its fall is admirably suited for manufacturing purposes, for nine months
in the year.

Lands. Hinds Creek Valley has already been mentioned. On all the
streams are found alluvial bottoms, but they are, with few exceptions,
narrow, the confining hills and ridges coming oftentimes, on both sides,
to the water's edge. Especially is this true of the Clinch. For six
miles the Knoxville and Ohio Railroad runs along its banks, and
throughout this distance the bottoms are narrow, rarely more than
three hundred yards wide and frequently less than twenty.

The highlands in the western part of the county are very poor, Jiilly
and rough, being composed of sandstone soils, which, in their produc-
tive capacity, are in every respect like the soils elsewhere on the Cum-
berland Table Land, with the disadvantage of a more broken surface.
These highlands are inhabited by a hardy class of mountaineers, who
supply the deficiencies of their farms by fishing, hunting and digging
ginseng and pink-root for market. Though unsuited for agricultural
purposes, this portion of the county is rich in mineral coal and iron
ore, and will doubtless, in time, be by far the most valuable part of
the county.

The minor valleys, after leaving the Cumberland Table Land and
entering the Valley of E\st Tennessee, are all fertile, having limestone
soil, though many of them are much worn by careless cropping. It
must be borne in mind that the Valley of Eist Tennessee, so called, is
only so by contrast with the Unakas on the east and the Table Land on
the west. It is, in truth, composed of a succession of minor valleys and
ridges, the latter rising above the valleys from 300 to 500 feet. There
is a marked ])arallelism in all these minor valleys and ridges, which is
preserved all the way from Alabama and Georgia to Virginia.

The north sides of the ridges, though steep, rarely abrupt, are highly
productive, and produce quite as well as many of the valleys. In the
southern part of the county, next to the Knox county line, are some
good areas of farming lands.

Timber. Almost every variety of timber prevails in this county.
The pine forest between Clinch River and Hinds Creek has been men-
tioned. This is quite extensive, and sup])liesa large amount of lumber.
On the Cumberland Tal)le Land, especially on the slopes, are walnut, pop-
lar, white and red oaks, and occasionally cherry and chestnut. In the
valley, besides the species named above, are some groves of cedar,
though they have been thinned of the best timber. Board and rail

452 Rcso2irces of Tennessee.

timber is abundant. The price of sawed lumber is from ten to twelve
dollars per thousand feet at the mills. For making rails, seventy-five
cents per hundred is the usual price. The farms are all enclosed with
old Virginia zigzag fences.

Crops. Everywhere in East Tennessee the standard crops are corn,
W'heat, oats, potatoes and hay. Clover is sown both for hay and for graz-
ing. All these are raised in Anderson county, though the amount of
hay raised is disproportionately small to the demand and the facilities
afforded for its growth. The soils of the numerous valleys that run
through the county produce timothy and herdsgrass well. For wheat,
the best soils are in what are called the second river bottoms. On
such lands the yield frequently reaches twenty bushels per acre. On
the poorer lands and ridges it cannot be relied on as a paying crop, the
returns sometimes exceeding but little the amount sown.

Corn is the great staple of the county. It is raised in largest quan-
tities on the black soils of the river and creek bottoms, and sometimes
there are gathered from such lands sixty bushels per acre.

Oats make a very fair average yield, though they do not grow with
the same luxuriance as on the bottoms of the Tennessee River above
Chattanooga, where crops averaging seventy-five bushels per acre have
often been grown. The usual average in Anderson county is about
twenty-five.

Both sweet and Irish potatoes are raised in considerable quantities
and are sold in the Knoxville market and at Coal Creek, where several
hundred persons are engaged in coal mining. Market gardeners could
do well in this county, as neither the land nor labor is so high as in
Knox county, while the vegetables could be shipped by rail at a trifling
cost.

Upon all the limestone soils clover grows well, and it bespeaks a
thriftlessness among the farmers of Anderson that more is not sowed.
It is the only possible method by which their washed hillsides can be
reclaimed. Clover and land-plaster are the only remedial agents for
the bruised and skinned surfaces that appear with ghastly sterility upon
many farms. When it is sown, it is not done with a view of fertilizing
the land, but for hay and for grazing. About two tons of clover hay
per acre are obtained from the best lands, and about two bushels of
clover seed from the second growth.

The lands upon Bhick Oak Ridge grow a good article of tobacco,
which cures a light, fancy, bright yellow color, and makes an excellent

East Tennessee. a^c%

wrapper leaf. Many farmers would engage in the culture of tobacco,
but for the burdensome exactions and prohibitions of the government.
Under the operations of the present law, a farmer can sell to no one but
a licensed dealer. However much his neighbors may wish to buy a few
pounds for their own use, he is prohibited from selling without procur-
ing a license, the cost of which would propably amount to as much as
his surplus tobacco would be worth. Honey and butter are sold in
considerable quantities.

Fntits. Apples and peaches, on the ridges, rarely fail. Even the
severe frost of 1873 did not destroy them upon the highlands, though
they were entirely destroyed in the valleys. Strawberries, raspberries,
gooseberries, and, indeed, all the smaller fruits, grow and yield as well in
Anderson county as in any portion of the State. The hills and knobs,
and mountains afford every variety of site and climate that could be de-
sired by the most fastidious fruit-grower. Indeed, what may be said
of Anderson in this respect, may with equal truth be affirmed of all
the counties in the Valley of East Tennessee and of the Cumberland
Table Land.

The apples and peaches are marketed after being dried, and the
revenue from this source is almost equal to that from the wheat crop.
Brandy is distilled from apples, but not to the same extent as formerly,
owing to the heavy government tax.

Stock. A few mules are raised in the county, and considerable quan-
tities of pork are sent to Knoxville. There have been no efforts made
by the farmers to improve the quality of the stock. The common scrub
^^ razor-back" hog is most usually met with. The cattle are suited to
the country, and subsist during the summer months upon the "broom-
sedge" that everywhere springs up in the old abandoned fields. . This
grass, odious and unsightly, usually an emblem of neglect, the farmers
of Anderson county make useful in protecting their lands from wash-
ing, and for grazing their cattle.

Leases and Rents. Farmers rarely lease their lands, preferring to
keep them in timber. Leases are confined almost entirely to lands
containing coal, in which the lessee pays to the owner a royalty of one
cent per bushel. About one thousand acres are thus leased about Coal
Creek by the Coal Creek Mining and Manufacturing Company.

Good land for farming purposes rents high — the best for one-half the
crop, medium uplands, one-third. *

Size, Condition and Price of Farms. By the census returns for
1870, there were 1,034 farms in the county, of all sizes. There

454 Resources of Tennessee.

were 33 of less than 10 acres; 196 of less than 20 acres; 426 con-
taining between 20 and 50 acres; 254 between 50 and 100 acres;
123 between 100 and 500 acres, and bnt 2 containing over 500
acres. The average size of farms is probably about 45 acres. As
the amount of good land is small in comparison with the unproductive,
the farms, though small, have large quantities of w^oodland attached to
them. The number of acres assessed fortaxation in 1873, was 149,921,
while the improved land, as given by the census, amounts to 50,750, so
that for every acre cleared there are about three in timber. The per-
rlicious habit, and one that argues no rights for posterity, prevails to
some extent of oj^ening lands, and by ceaseless and careless tillage ex-
hausting their fertility, and thus cheating the soil of "its opulent privi-
lege of production." They are then turned out to grow up in broomsedge
and briers, persimmon and sassafras bushes, unsightly and painful pic-
tures in the landscape, showing a w^ant of thrift on the part of such
farmers. Many of these old fields are gashed with gullies and are past
redemption, except at a cost greater than the value of the best land.

The greatest drawback to farming is the want of effective and re-
liable farm hands, and an orderly and systematic cultivation of the farms.
The farmers are afraid to spend money for either fertilizers or labor —
unwilling to risk the first, and having no confidence in the efficiency
of the second. As a necessary consequence, the farms are not kept in
a high state of cultivation. Nor do the farmers always give such at-
tention to the business of their farms as will insure success and profit,
but most frequently divide their time between the farm and some other
avocation.

Farm houses are not built, with few exceptions, with an eye either
to comfort, elegance or convenience. But few farmers feel entirely
satisfied with their homes or attached to them. There are, however, a
few notable exceptions to this state of things. Some of the valley
farms are embellished with magnificent mansions, with yards and
lawns, adorned and beautified by the choicest shrubbery, w-here the
highest comforts of life are secured and enjoyed. On these farms, too,
good barns and stables are erected, and the dumb brutes are made to
partake of the prosperity of their owners. The fences are well built,
the corners kept clean, and everything indicates the fact that the pro-
prietors are devoting tlicir time, energies and capacities, to the opera-
tions of their firms.

Well improved places, such as described above, with good lands at-
tached, are rarely in market, except upon the death of the owner, and

East Tennessee. 455

then for division. They bring from $50 to $100 per acre. Where
the improvements are bad, the best lands may be bought for $20 to
$25 per acre, generally on time. Of course, much depends upon the
nearness to the railroad and to the county seat. Very good farms, wdl
imp7-oved, may be bought remote from these advantages for $25 to $30
per acre. Ridge lands, well timbered, where there are no minerals, are
worth from $5 to $10. On the Cumberland Table Land the price is
still lower, running down to one dollar per acre.

Minenih. Anderson county is rich in coal and iron ore. On the
south-east side of Walden's Ridge, and immediately at its foot, is a
lead of Dyestone iron ore, that extends through the county, it being
the same great vein that runs almost continuously from Alabama to
Pennsylvania. This vein on the surface varies in thickness from one
to four feet, and dips at a very high angle. The ore is highly fossili-
ferous and calcareous, and yields from fifty to sixty per cent, from the
furnace. This dyestone vein is supposed to pass under Walden's
Ridge and thin out under the Cumberland Table Land. Iron ore is
also found, as before mentioned, on Lone Mountain, and on Flint
Ridge. Recently the lands containing iron ore have been much sought
after, and at least two companies, before the financial crash in Sep-
tember, 1873, were preparing to erect furnaces in the county. Most
all the iron lands have either been bought or leased, by parties who
propose at some time to work the ore.

The convenience and abundance of coal will make the cost of mak-
ing iron very low. Coal pits have been opened on Coal Creek, where
five companies are now at work, the details of whose operations, as
well as a description of the mines and coal, may be found in the chap-
ter on coal in the first part of this report. In the same chapter may
also be found a description of the Poplar Creek coal mines.

Near Poplar Creek is a remarkable group of mineral springs, known
as the Oliver Springs. Here are found, in close proximity, sulphur,
salt and chalybeate water. A salt well was sunk near this place by
the lamented Estabrook, and 1,500 bushels of salt made, but the diffi-
culty of keeping the fresh water from the well rendered the manufac-
ture of salt unprofitable. It is thought that operations will again be
resumed at this well.

Domestic Manufactures. The almost universal custom which prevails
in East Tennessee of manufacturing homespun for daily wear, is prac-
ticed in this county. The value of home manufactures amounted, in
the year 1870, to $30,126, a sum greater than the whole amount paid

45 6 Resources of Tennessee,

for wages, including the board of the laborer. The daily wear of the
farmers is homespun.

Immigrants and Schools. A good many Welchmen, with their fami-
lies, have migrated to the county since the war. The heads of families
are mostly engaged in mining, but some of them have bought small
farms, upon which their wives and children work and raise supplies.
The citizens would gladly receive new accessions to their population, and
some efforts have been made to attract immigrants. Probably the want
of good schools has operated most powerfully against success in this
particular. Up to the passage of the law creating a more liberal sys-
tem of public schools, the schools, with the exception of the academy at
Clinton, were of a very low grade; the price of tuition low, and the
quality of instruction bad. At present there are several good schools
in operation, and the one at Clinton is said to be very efficient. The
tax levied by the county to supplement the State aid for schools is ten
cents on each $100 worth of property.

Towns and Villages. Clinton, the county seat, is situated on the
Clinch, and has communication with Knoxville and other points by
the Knoxville and Ohio Railroad, which extends to Wheeler's Gap,
within three miles of Jacksboro, the county seat of Campbell. It has
a population of 325. The houses are generally of wood. The court-
hiouse and jail are of stone. There are three stores, two saloons, a
blacksmith shop, a wagon-maker's shop, one boot and shoe shop, three
hotels, two flouring mills, a saddler's shop, one carpenter shop, a tan-
yard, two lawyers and two physicians.

Coal Creek is a village ten miles above Clinton, near the Knoxville
and Ohio Railroad, and between Walden's Ridge and the Cumberland
Table Land. It has a population of 500. It has been built up during
the past two or three years by persons working the coal at that point.
There are three stores, three churches, three schools and a place of
entertainment. The population is a mixed one, consisting of native
Tennesseans, Welch men and Scotchmen — arranged in the order of
of their predominance. A branch railroad runs up through the gap
in Walden's Ridge to this point.

Coal Creek Station. This place has a population of about 100, and
is situated one mile from the former, on the main line of railroad. It
is built uj) with t(!neincnt houses for miners and other employees of
the mining companies.

Game. The county of Anderson is a heavily wooded region, and in

East Temtessee. 457

the mountain fastnesses the wikl deer still roams in moderate security,
though often hunted by the hardy and athlete mountaineers. Part-
ridges and squirrels are numerous, and the wild ducks glory in the
gleaming waters of the Clinch. Fish, as has already been said, is
plentiful.

Health. The health of the county is proverbial. The excellent drain-
age, the pure water, the inspiriting breezes that play upon the mountain
top, or sweep in gentle currents through the valleys, dispelling malaria
and purifying the atmosphere, the temperate and steady habits of the
citizens, with wholesome food, all conspire to keep the physical frame
vigorous, hale and hearty, and the mind fresh, active and strong.
What is said of this county in this respect, may with equal truth be
affirmed of almost all the counties of East Tennessee, and to a large
portion of those in the middle division of the State.

(For statistics of this county the reader is referred to the twenty-
second chapter of Part First.)

BLEDSOE COUNTY.

County Seat — Pikeville.

This is one of the counties lying mainly in the beautiful Valley of
Sequatchie. It was erected November 30, 1807, embracing at the time
of its organization one-third of what is now Sequatchie county, and
one-half of Cumberland county. The original county seat was a place
known as "Old Madison," six miles from where the town of Dunlap
now stands, the capital of Sequatchie county, and fifteen miles from
Pikeville, the present county seat. The first court ever held in the
county was at the residence of a Mr. Thomas. The county is bounded
on the north by Cumberland, on the east by Rhea, on the south by Se-
quatchie, and on the w^est by VanBuren counties.

The only town in the county is Pikeville, containing a population of
about 150, and situated in the heart of a fine agricultural region. It
has the disadvantage of being cut off from the commercial centers.
To Chattanooga across Walden's Ridge, it is some fifty or sixty miles,
and to Jas])er, in Marion county, it is about the same distance, where it
reaches railroad communication. It is hemmed in by two mountains,
the Cumberland and Walden's Ridge. The entire valley in which it

45 8 Resources of Tennessee.

is located is retarded in consequence of the lack of railroad facilities.
The great distance to market keeps the farm products down at a low
figure. The Nashville and Chattanooga Railroad Company has sub-
mitted a proposition to the people to the effect that, if they will grade
the road from the upper end of the valley on through the counties of
Bledsoe, Sequatchie and Marion, the company will furnish the rolling
stock and run the road at its own expense. This proposition has not
been accepted, and, perhaps, will not be. There is some talk about a
narrow guage road, but this will also fail, judging from present indica-
tions. If both these projects fail, then the citizens should construct a
McAdamized road through the counties mentioned to Jasper, in Marion
county.

Pikeville is an enterprising little town, and filled up with an ener-
getic and intelligent class of business men. They carry on a consid-
erable trade with the farmers, furnishing them goods, and often buying
their hogs, mules, horses and cattle, as well as their bacon, lard, wheat,
corn, flour, butter and dried fruit. Its chief feature is its excelle-nt
male and female school, which will compare favorably with any in the
country. This institution is known as the " People's College."
The building is a commodious and handsome one, and will accommo-
date from two to three hundred students. It was chartered in 1871.
The course of study is ample. The faculty the very ablest, and the
number of students in attendance about 125.

That part of the county stretching from the base of the main Table
Land to the base of Walden's Ridge, comprises an area of the finest
farming lands in East Tennessee. An ordinary ridge runs through the
center of it from north-east to south-west, not very steep, and affording
a vast deal of timber, such as oak, hickory, walnut, pine, etc. On
either side the valley extends for miles, and widens out from two to
three miles to the base of each mountain. The soil is productive, but
much injured by injudicious treatment. Everywhere there is alack of
clover and grass. Deep tillage is neglected to a great extent. The
farmers seem to })ay but little attention to the numure heap. No plaster
is us(!d, and no fertilizers of any description. Tiie ])rin(^ipal crop
gi'own is corn. Wheat is secondary. The corn is fed to hogs and
cattle, and these arc (li'i\'('n across tlic mountains to Chattanooga, from
whence tiiey are ship[)e(l by i-ail to Georgia. For years this county,
and the entire valley, has becni famous for hogs and cattle. Thousands
an; aniuially fattened and sold. A great mistake, however, is made in

East Tennessee. 459

not seeding the land in grass to a wider extent, and this must be done
before this region can be restored to anything like its original fertility.
The lands are not near so productive as they were twenty-five years
ago, and the present system of farming will inevitably keep them
down.

There can be no better section for grazing stock, such as sheep and
cattle. The nearness of the mountains affords wonderful advantages
for grazing purposes. For nearly two-thirds of the year these moun-
tains abound with a nutritious grass and tender weeds that keep sheep
and cattle in excellent order. Here the "cattle of a thousand hills"
can be grazed from the first day of April to the first day of November.
The expense attending the operation is only nominal.

It has already been remarked that the only valley in this county is
Sequatchie. Its average width is from two to three miles. That part
of it lying next to the Cumberland range of mountains is more or less
deficient in limestone, and the soil is mixed with yellow sand. The
part stretching along Walden's Ridge is strongly impregnated with
lime, the limestone cropping out everywhere. On the other side there
is a great deal of sandstone. On the tops of both of these mountains
there are extensive plateaus of land, quite level for eight or ten miles
across them, with springs and water courses, but the land is unfit for
profitable cultivation. It is said it produces superior Irish potatoes.
No doubt fruit trees, apples and peaches, would do well. Along the
slopes and coves of these mountains tobacco could be grown advan-
tageously. The average production of corn in the valley is about
twenty bushels to the acre ; of wheat, about five ; of oats, ten ; of rye,
five; of sweet potatoes, one hundred and fifty; and of Irish potatoes,
one hundred. There is some cotton grown, which seems to do well.
No flax or hemp.

The primitive style of dwelling-houses is still in vogue for the most
part. But few brick mansions, occasional frame ones, and mostly log.
Here and there scattered over the valley, fine mansions are found. There
are no brick or stone barns, and but little attention is paid to the
housing of milch cows. There are but few improved agricultural im-
plements. The turning plow is mostly used. No wheat drills are used,
and but few reapers and mowers.

Mineral springs are abundant. They are iound in every portion of
the county. There is a valuable one near Pikeville, and still another
seven jniles distant.

460 Resources of Temiessee.

The deposits of iron ore and coal hidden in the bowels of the moun-
tains referred to are very great in extent. Of course they remain
where they are, as there is no transportation.

The educational interests of the county are commendable. Allusion
has* been made to the " People's College/' at Pikeville. There is
still another of high grade some eight miles southwest of Pikeville,
known as Sequatchie College. It was chartered in 1870. The build-
ing is a substantial brick, and large and airy. It is located in a moral
and intelligent community. It is presided over by an able faculty, and
there are now over 10(* students in attendance.

Bledsoe College is twelve miles north-east of Pikeville, in a
good neighborhood, and now numbering about 100 students. There
are twenty-three free schools in successful operation, and three colored
schools.

(For statistics pertaining to this county, the reader is referred to page
405, chapter XXII.)

BLOUNT COUNTY.

County Seat — Maeyville.

Blount county is one amongst the oldest of the State, and was named
in honor of Willie Blount, the first Governor of Tennessee. Most of
its early records were destroyed during the late civil war. The county
was erected by the Territorial Legislature, July 11, 1795. In con-
nection with its adjoining counties, it formed what was known as
" Cherokee County," whose inhabitants stoutly contended for its
continued possession, and even now make occasional pilgrimages to their
ancient hunting grounds. This county also claims having reared sev-
eral prominent personages, among whom may be mentioned General
Sam Houston, whose mother settled in this county, from Virginia,
from which State and from North Carolina the jirincipal settlers of
this county came, and in tlie year 1800 numbered 347 inhabitants.
The census of 1870 gives this county 14,180 inhabitants.

Maryville, the county seat, is situated near the center of the county,
on Pistol Creek, and contains 811 inliabitnnts. Other towns are
Louisville, Friendsville, Unitia and Jlockford.

East Te?inessee. 4^^

The area of the county is estimated at 425 square miles, a little more
than one-third of which, or 91,740 acres, are in cultivation. About
oue-sixth of the area of the county is mountain land and unsuited to
successful cultivation. Several ranges of hills, or low ridges, well
timbered, but of inferior land, run through different parts of the
county, but no waste swampy land is found anywhere.

Being bounded on two sides by the Holston and Tennessee rivers,
while Little River runs through its entire length, and numerous streams
flow into all these, the county can boast of a very fair amount of first-
class river and creek bottoms, alluvial in their formation. The substra-
tum along all the streams is either limestone or marble. The soil of
the uplands is much varied in composition and richness, principally
composed of limestone, loam or slate, and lying on a substratum of
red clay, which serves greatly to retain the fertility of the soil. The
best soil is along the streams, of course, but marble soil on the uplands,
when fairly treated, is but little, if any, inferior, and may be preferable
for the raising of wheat. ,

Next in order of fertility, is the limestone, and after this the black
loam. Apart from the bluffs along the rivers and several low ridges,
the main portion of the county is comparatively level. Along the
south-eastern boundary, however, the Unaka, or Smoky Mountains rear
their lofty heads more than 6,000 feet high, and along these the Chil-
howee stretches its whole length. Between these two mountains small
level valleys are found of extraordinary fertility. Chief among these
valleys may be named Miller's Cove, Cade's Cove, Chilhowee and
Happy Valley, all of which are specially adapted to the raising of
fruit and vegetables.

Along the mountains the rocks are chiefly sandstone, slate and
quartz ; along the streams, limestone in great abundance ; in the south-
west and western portions of the county, different kinds of marble
of excellent quality are found in abundance, and are lately begun to be
worked.

Iron ore crops out in many* parts of the county, and along Chilhowee
Mountain this ore, of a superior quality, is found in great quan-
tities, but the want of capital, and particularly the want of enterprise
on the part of the native inhabitants, have left this boundless source of
wealth almost untouched. The same kind of copper ore as that which
is dug in the rich mines of Ducktown, some fifty miles south, is also
found along the mountains in this, and only needs the energy of the

462 Resources of Tennessee.

capitalist to make it a great source of wealth to the county. Gold,
silver, lead, and various other metals have been found along these
mountains. At this writing, an excitement is prevailing over supposed
coal found in these mountains, by parties prospecting for the same.

Montvale Springs, well known through various parts of the south,
and to which hundreds of invalids and pleasure-seekers resort during
the summer months, are situated in this county. The water is impregna-
ted with iron, Epsom salts, and various other minerals, and is highly re-
commended for chronic diseases and general debility of the system.
Near these are the Black Sulphur Springs, quite noted during ante hel-
I'lun times, but now much neglected for want of proper accommodations.
Other mineral springs are in existence, but not generally known.

The streams of Blount county are numerous. Chief among these is
Little River, which rises in the Unaka Mountains, and runs north-
west into the Holston. Some of the richest bottoms and finest farms are
along this stream. Having its source in the mountains, it descends with
great rapidity, forming sites for mills or factories at short distances. It
receives the waters of Crooked Creek, Pistol Creek, NaiPs Creek,
EUijoy, and several smaller streams, along all which good land is
found, and abounding in springs of pure water. On the southern
and western part of the county are Abram's Creek, Nine Mile, Six
Mile, Four Mile Creeks, Baker's Creek, and Boyd's Creek, all of
which have good land along their banks and contain numerous mill
sites.

Manufacturing in this county is in its infancy. First in importance
may be mentioned the cotton factory at Kockford, under the excellent
management of R. I. Wilson. The machinery is of the latest and
most improved kind. The operatives are paid liberal wages. About
sixty hands are constantly employed, and about 1,600 spindles kept
running. This factory is chiefly engaged in making yarn for domestic
use, but is eagerly sought in northern markets.

A woolen factory has lately been erected in Maryville, by A. J.
Stone, a gentleman from Massachusetts, but has hardly been tried suf-
ficiently to test its value. Three wool-carding machines are also in
active operation in different parts of the country. Si)inning and weav-
ing by hand is yet very extensively carried on throughout the county.

A number of tanneries are located in different parts of the county,
capable of supplying its demands for leather.

Some faVming imj)hMnents of a fair ([uality are also produced here,

East Tennessee. 4^3

but the demand for improved implements is rapidly increasing, so that
large sums of money are yearly sent north for these articles, which
ought to be made here, giving employment to our citizens, and keep-
ing the money among us. **

There are sixteen grist mills and about twenty saw mills, propelled
by water, and sites for fifty more in the county. Three steam saw
mills, cutting, in the aggregate, from fifteen to twenty thousand feet per
day, are now in active operation.

The county everywhere is well supplied with timber, though not
always of the best quality, for fencing. On the upland, the black oak
predominates, while hickory, post oak, white oak and yellow pine are
abundant, the latter of a superior quality for building purposes.
Along the streams may be found walnut, wild cherry, ash and poplar;
on the ridges the chestnut, and along the mountains the white, yellow
and spruce pine, locust, all the varieties of oak, poplars of enormous
size, and forests of chestnut.

The ruinous method of farming practiced in this county has given
to most of farms the appearance of unthrift, while on others, especially
those on which clover is cultivated, a more hopeful appearance is pre-
sented. On the whole, the system of farming has been much improved
since the war, both by using better implements and by rotation of
crops and cultivating clover. The greatest drawback to successful
farming is working too much land and too imperfectly. Very many
farms have been divided since the war, but the majority are too large
yet, ranging from 200 to 800 acres. Those of less extent are usually
worked by the owners, the larger sized farms are let out to renters, on
one and two years' time, who pay the owners one-third of the grain
produced.

Improved farms sell, at this time, at from three to twenty-five dollars
per acre, though in a few instances good river bottoms may bring
higher prices. There is quite a large amount of land for sale. Many
of the farmers would dispose of part of their land in order to im-
prove the remainder.

The county can boast of excellent schools, as good, perhaps, as any-
where in the State. Maryville has two or three superior institutions
for the education of both sexes and of both colors. The free school
system is working admirably, and the citizens throughout the county
are favoring this system of popular education.

464 Resources of Te7inessee,

There is one newspaper published at Mary ville, called the " Mary-
ville Republican."

(For other statistics, see First Part, chapter xxii.)

BRADLEY COUNTY.

County Seat — Cleveland.

Bradley county was organized in 1836. It will rank favorably, in
every respect, with any of the counties of East Tennessee. The pop-
ulation is an excellent one — industrious, provident, moral and intelli-
ent. There is little litigation among them, and consequently good order
prevails. Many of them are superior farmers ; keep their estates in
fair condition ; do thorough work, and raise improved stock.

The county is bounded on the north by McMinn and Meigs, on the
east by Polk, on the west by James, and on the south by Georgia.
The face of the country is made up of long, straight valleys, with
ridges between them. The soil is productive, of a red mulatto
color, and well adapted to all the grapes. Among the noted valleys
of the county, are Big Chatata, Little Chatata, Walker's Valley,
Mouse Creek A^alley, and Candy Creek Valley. They run north-east
to south-west, and will average about three-quarters of a mile in
width. They are generally productive, but have been badly used
by improper cultivation. The Mouse Creek Valley is quite noted
on account of its fine lands. There are but few better anywhere.
The lands, in all the valleys named, produce fair crops of wheat
and corn, averaging of wheat about eight bushels to the acre, and
of corn about twenty-five to the acre. But few of these lands are
devoted to the culture of grass or meadow, comparatively speaking^
and yet there are but few sections that excel it, naturally, for mead-
ows. The size of farms runs from 320 to 800 acres. They are
mostly worked by the owners and hired labor. They range in
price from twenty to twenty-five dollars per acre. There are lands
that can be bought for a much lower figure, and, perhaps, there
arc farms that could not be bought for less than fifty dollars per acre.
They are in a worse condition than before the wjar. This part of Ten-
nessee was greatly torn up and destroyed during the war, and the
people were so badly crippled that they have had no chance to recu-

East Tennessee. 465

perate since ; they are, however, at work, and it will not be long until
they will once more be themselves. Steel-turning plows are mostly
used in breaking up the soil — bull tongues sometimes used. Horses
and mules do all the farm work, or the most of it. The farmers are
paying considerable attention to the improvement of their stock ; they
have some pretty good cattle, nice horses and mules, and a fair breed
of sheep. There is, however, much room for improvement, which
will follow in due time. The sheep business could be made profitable
but for the ravenous dogs ; they devour the sheep on all hands, and
there is one general complaint all over the county against them. The
farmers want some sort of dog law to protect them against this nuis-
ance. One of the best farmers of the county suggests that it ought
to be made a penitentiary offense to keep a sheep-killing dog.

The value of taxable property is §2,585,820, and the number of acres
assessed 185,137. Land rents for one-third the products where the
renter furnishes his own stock, provisions, etc. Bottom lands rent
for one-half of the products. The county is not thickly settled.
There is an earnest demand for immigrants, and they would be re-
ceived most kindly ; nor are there many places in East Tennessee
where they would do better. It is an exceedingly healthy region, en-
tirely free from all malarious diseases, with a climate unsurpassed for
mildness. The county has good society, excellent schools, and churches
of all sects. Lands can be bought on reasonable terms, and are of easy
access to market. Timber abundant, consisting of pine, chestnut, hick-
ory, walnut, white and black oak, etc.

Bradley county affords a vast deal of very fine water power. There
are, at least, fifty sites where the most efficient power could be had,
and would drive any sort of machinery. There are any number of
saw and grist mills in the county, but no other manufacturing estab-
lishments. Cotton and woolen factories could be operated to great ad-
vantage in various parts of the county. Capital and enterprise are
badly needed.

The East Tennessee, Virginia and Georgia Railroad runs entirely
through \\\Q county, affording transportation to the best and most re-
liable markets in the country. Most of the shipping is done in the
direction of Georgia, as that State is only a few miles distant. Atlanta
is reached in a few hours, and that* is one of the best markets in the
south. But the eastern markets are also open — Lynchburg, Richmond,
Baltimore, Philadelphia, and New York.
30

4^6 Resources of Tennessee.

Labor is scarce and not reliable. For this reason wages are low.
An average hand is worth about ten dollars a month, the year round.
Many of the most prominent citizens of the county think the greatest
drawback is, that the rates of interest on money are too high, and that
they ought to be reduced. All surplus capital is withdrawn from farm-
ing pursuits, and loaned out at high rates of interest, when it should
be used in prosecuting farm work. Many of them also maintain that
there ought to be a law compelling the children of the county to ai>
tend the public schools.

Cleveland is the county seat of Bradley county. It is situated on

the East Tennessee, Virginia and Georgia Railroad, and at the junction

of a branch road leading to Dalton, Georgia. It contains a population of

about 2,0C0. There are but few prettier towns in Tennessee. It

IS well laid off. The streets are wide and roomy. It has excellent

sidewalks. The grounds consist of a level plateau, and rolling enough

to drain the town. Palatial residences are seen in all parts of the

place. Yards are handsomely laid out, tastefully ornamented with rare

flowers and evergreens. The churches are. costly. Hotels are good.

Two newspapers are published — the Cleveland Banner and Republican.

Number one schools, and the very best society are found. Charleston

IS another town of this county, situated on the Hiwassee River, and

on the East Tennessee, Virginia and Georgia Railroad, and containing

a population of about 600. It drives a brisk business, and is a moral
place.

The prevailing rocks of the county are limestone, some sandstone
and marble.

(For statistics, see chapter xxii. Part First).

CAMPBELL COUNTY.

• . County Seat — Jacksboro.

Campbell county was erected September 11, 1806, and is. one of the
extreme northern counties of East Tennessee, being bounded on the
north by Kentucky, on the east by Claiborne and Union counties, on
the south by Anderson county, and on the west by Anderson and Scott
counties. Waldcn's Ridge strikes it at its southern extremity, and runs
a north-eastern course through it. Hence there is about as much ter-

East Tennessee. 467

ritorv on the western side of it as on the eastern side, though the land
is not so valuable in the former case as in the latter, for it must be
borne in mind that \)i\Q. great valley known as Powell's Valley runs
through tlie entire county on the eastern side. Perhaps this is one of
the finest and most productive valleys in East Tennessee. Its average
width is about two miles, and it extends for sixty miles or more to the
Virginia line. There is scarcely an acre of it but that is tillable, and
the most of it is exceedingly fertile. As a general thing, the land of
this valley is gently rolling, now and then a little broken, with thou-
f-ands of acres finely adapted to meadows, and all of it producing heavy
crops of corn, wheat, rye, oats, etc., and this, too, under an injudicious
system of farming ; for it cannot be disguised that the farmers, for the
most jiart, have, and are still pursuing an unwise course in the man-
agement of the soil. They have only a small percentage, say fifteen
per cent., in clover and grass, when they should have vastly more.
All this wonderful valley needs to make it one of the very best in the
country, is to produce more grass and less corn. It is eminently a
grass region. The soil is strongly impregnated with lime. The lime-
stone rock cro})s out in all directions. The finest timothy and blue-
grass could be grown by only a small effort. Indeed, the latter is in-
digenous, and takes the land everywhere. Of course there are some
farmers who are turning their attention to these crops, and they are
successful, but by far the greater proportion are neglecting them. The
average of corn to the acre is about thirty bushels ; of wheat, about
ten ; of oats, about twenty-five or thirty.

On the opposite side of Walden's Ridge there is another extensive
valley, but, as before remarked, not so valuable as the one just de-
scribed. In the first place, it is cut oif by the mountains in question.
Waldpu's Ridge is an immense barrier. It is high and rugged, and
miles across it. In the next place, it is not so wide nor so long. The
land, perhaps, is equally as productive, and quite as good grass is pro-
duced. It has one marked advantage, that of affording a wide range
for the grazing of stock. The mountain is so near that it can be easily
readied, and cattle and sheep economically kept upon it from early
s]>ring to lute in the fall. It is a fine fruit region. Apples of almost
unsurpassed flavor and of fine size grow there. Limestone is the pre-
vailing rock. Iron ore and stone coal are found in quantity.

The physical character of the coimty, upon the whole, is mountain-
ous. There are a number of hills and ridges making through it in
various places, and between them lie fertile valleys. Many of these

468 Resources of Tennessee.

hills and ridges are productive. The soil is rich, sometimes mixed
with gravel, and well adapted to fruit, wheat and Irish potiitoes. The
soil of the valley is a dark mulatto in color, with a substantial clay
subsoil. It is exceedingly tenacious, and will stand oppressive culti-
vation. There are acres upon acres that have been in cultivation for
more than half a century, that produce fair crops to-day. Nor have
they been aided by grassing or clovering, nor by manuring or fertiliz-
ing, nor, indeed, by rotation of crops. For years, in succession, they
have yielded the very same crops, and, at the present time, will pro-
duce fair crops of corn, wheat and oats. No soil in the State is more
generous than that of Campbell county, especially when the fact is
considered that so little care has been taken with it. Once inaup^urate
a systematic and intelligent mode of culture, and there is no soil that
would more amply repay the proprietor. It is admirably adapted ta
all the crops peculiar to this latitude. Tobacco has never been tried ta |
any extent, but enough is known on this subject to warrant the asser- !
lion that there is no better section for its growth.

The average size of farms is from 100 to 800 acres, and they
are mostly cultivated by the owners themselves. The tenant system
does not prevail to any extent. Where it does prevail, the land-
lord receives, as rent, one-third of the entire crops, the tenant fur-
nishing everything. The farms are not in as good condition as before
the war, for the good reason that this county was at the mercy of both
of the contending armies, and was badly treated. It was almost deso-
lated. Fencing was destroyed, stock was taken, and the principal men
on both sides of the contest were compelled to abandon their homes»
It is rapidly recovering, however, from its prostration, .and will soon
be itself again. The population is an industrious one. Before the
war, there was scarcely a county in East Tennessee more noted for the
number and character of its stock. Here could be found fine cattle,
hogs, mules, horses and sheep. Thousands were annually fattened and
sent off to the southern markets. Its hog crop was always unusually
large. It was but little trouble to raise corn, and this was fed to this
stock. There are obvious indications among the farmers that they
will in the future change their mode of farming in this regard, and
turn their attention to grazing. They are beginning to find out that
the most profitable system of farming they can adopt is to put down
their lands to grass and raise cattle, mules, horses and sheep.

The average price of lands in this county ranges from one to fifteen
and twenty dollars per acre. Unimproved lands can be had as low as

East Temiessee. 469

one and two dollars per acre, but, of course, not valuable. Improved
farms, in some localities, are worth as high as forty and fifty dollars
per acre, but, in others, from fifteen to twenty. The terms of sale are
usually one, two and three years' time, six per cent, interest, a lien re-
tained upon the property, and about one-third of the purchase money
paid down at the time of sale. Even longer time than this is often
granted, and, occasionally, no interest exacted from the purchaser.
At the present time there is a great deal of land for sale, in various
parts of the county, and much of it very valuable. Bargains could be
had and excellent homes secured.

The principal markets for this county are Knoxville, Chattanooga,
and Atlanta, Georgia. They are reached by the Knoxville and Ohio
Railroad, which taps the extreme southern portion of the county and
intersects the East Tennessee, Virginia and Georgia Railroad at Knox-
ville. Powell's River drains a portion, or rather, one corner of the
■county, and during tides or freshets, considerable quantities of produce
are rafted down this river.

There are important mineral deposits in the county, such as iron ore
•and stone coal. These, in many localities, exist in abundance. There
are also fine clay for making furnaces, and limestone for fluxing.

There are valuable water-powers in various parts of the county, and
timber of almost all sorts, such as pine, hickory, oak, walnut, maple,
dogwood, poplar, etc. There are likewise excellent mineral waters.
Near the town of Jacksboro, the county seat, there is a fine chalybeate
spring which is attracting some attention on account of its medicinal
virtues.

Immigration from the north, or anywhere else, is strongly desired.
The citizens take a very proper and liberal view of this matter. They
are painfully conscious of the pressing want of more population. They
need men and money, brains and enterprise. Persons from abroad,
therefore, would be kindly and M'armly received by them. There has
been no systematic effort made to induce them to come, as yet, but it
is to be hoped that something will be done in this direction in the
future.

The principal town is Jacksboro, the capital of the county. It is a
small place, Avith a population of about three hundred. Fincastle is
another small village, situated in Powell's Valley, and some miles north
of Jacksboro. There is a flourishing school here. Tiie country around
it is rich and beautiful. Caryville is at the present terminus of the

470 Resources of Tennessee.

Knoxville and Ohio Railroad. Buck-eye Town is another village. At
Caryville coal is mined to a considerable extent, four companies opera-
ting at this place. There are two small bloomeries in this county,
which manufacture an excellent article of bar iron, which is mostly
consumed by the blacksmiths of the county.

Other items of information can be obtained by consulting chapter
xxii.

CARTER COUNTY.

County Seat — Elizabetpiton.

Carter county was created in April, 1796, and was taken from Wash-
ington county, the oldest county in the State. It is bounded on the
north by Sullivan and Johnson counties, on the east by Johnson and
North Carolina, on the south by North Carolina, and on the west by
Washington. It is a mountainous region, at least a considerable por-
tion of it. Along its southern boundary the Unaka mountains extend
its Avhole length. Though broken, there is a large quantity of fine
lands on the Watauga and Doe rivers, perhaps equal to any in this
portion of Tennessee. The bottoms are wide and productive, the soil
consisting of a black loam, intermixed to some extent with sand.
Corn and wheat are the great staples upon them. The Watauga
lands produce an excellent quality, and a large quantity of wheat per
acre ; they are, in fact, noted in this particular. They will average as
high as fifteen bushels to the acre, and with judicious culture, they
would probably reach thirty bushels to the acre. They are, likewise,
finely adapted to corn. The Doe River bottoms produce heavy crops
of wheat and corn.

All these lands rate very high, and are regarded by the owners as
exceedingly valuable. The Watauga bottoms are held at one hund-
red dollars per acre, while the Doe River lands are c(jually as high.

Away from these rivers the land is generally broken; and up next
to the Unaka mountains it is unfit for agricultural purposes. In some
of the coves, and on some of the more depressed spurs, fruit might be
advantageously produced. Apples, no doubt, would do well. Irish
])otatoes could be profitably raised. Grapes woukl thrive, as the na-
tive grape is found in abundance all along the base of these mountains.

East Tefinessee. 471

Bee culture could be carried on successfully. The most profitable
use, however, to which they could be applied, would be the grazing of
sheep and cattle, for which they have a peculiar fitness. The most of
the coves produce a luxuriant growth of grass, while the mountains
are covered with a native grass which cattle are fond of, and which
possesses fattening qualities to a high degree.

But this section of Carter county is more particularly noted for its
iron interest. The iron of this county has become celebrated through-
out the country. It is equal to the Cranberry iron of North Carolina,
close to the Tennessee line. The car wheel manufactory of the city of
Knoxville uses this iron altogether in the manufacture of car wheels.
All along the southern boundary of the county the ore exists exten-
sively, but, as yet, but little has been done to develop it, owing to the
fact that transportation is difficult. It has to be hauled from six to
twelve miles to the railroad. The East Tennessee, Virginia and Geor-
gia Railroad runs through the north-western corner, Carter being the
only depot in the county. There is no prospect of building a road
through the county at present. One was projected just after the war,
and most of the grading done, but it fell through. The car wheel
company of Knoxville have a cold-blast furnace in operation, and are
supplying their factory with the iron. There are six forges in various
parts of the county engaged in manufacturing bar iron.

Mineral springs are abundant, consisting mostly of sulphur and
chalybeate waters. There are no doubt valuable mineral waters in the
town of Elizabethton, which have never yet been tested. The Jenkins'
white' sulphur and the yellow sulphur springs are regarded as possess-
ing superior medicinal qualities.

There are many different kinds of rocks in the county, among which
sandstone, limestone and granite are the most valuable.

The average size of the farms is from fifty to one hundred acres, and
are mostly worked by the owners. Prices of improved lands, except-
ing those mentioned, are as follows : First bottom lands, fifty dollars
per acre ; second quality, from twenty to thirty dollars per acre ; and
the third quality, from five to ten dollars per acre. The staple crops
are wheat, rye, corn, oats, and hay. Timothy is the prevailing grass.
It is an excellent fruit region. For apples, it cannot be easily excelled.
Vegetables of all kinds grow well. There is scarcely any improved
stock in the. county. There are some improved hogs, and but few
sheep of any sort; they are annoyed by the dogs, and the farmers are

472 Resources of Tennessee.

not inclined to embark in sheep husbandry. There is considerable at-
tention paid to making butter and drying fruit. There are no dairies,
although a dairy region by nature. This could be made a paying as
well as a pleasant business. But few of the smaller fruits are culti-
vated.

The county is sparsely settled. It would bear an additional popula-
tion of ten or fifteen thousand. More people are badly needed.
Hence, immigrants are invited from every portion of the country, and
would be kindly received by all classes. The taxable property amounts
to $1,004,450. The timber is oak, poplar, wild cherry, hickory, wal-
nut, white pine, spruce pine, locust, and maple.

The principal streams are Watauga River, Doe River, Buffalo
Creek, Indian Creek, Stony Creek, Elk Creek, Gap Creek, Laurel
Fork, and Sinking Creek. None of them are navigable. There is
water power to any reasonable extent in any portion of the county.
Doe River furnishes a vast deal. There is a woolen factory on it, and
quite a. number of mills. There are some ten merchant mills in the
county.

Elizabethton is the county seat. It is situated on Doe River, and
six miles from Carter depot. Its population is about three hundred.
It contains three churches — Presbyterian, Methodist, and Baptist.
One school of about one hundred pupils, and there are fair schools
throughout the county.

(See chapter xxii for statistics.)

The scenery of this county demands a passing notice. The north-
eastern part is a splendid valley, lying between two huge sandstone
mountain ranges, the Holston Mountain on the north-west, and the
Iron Mountain on the south-east. This valley may be regarded as a
continuation of Shady Valley, in Johnson county, though separated
from the latter by a cross ridge. Indeed, the county is nearly hemmed
in by high rugged mountains, with outlets to the west and south, and
the enclosed valley is of enchanting beauty and fertility. These
mountains are built up of Chilhowee sandstone, almost invulnerable to
the elements of decay, while the valleys present the limestones and
dolomites of the Knox formation. Altogether, it is a county charac-
terized by magnificent scenery, in which towering, massive ridges rise
in majestic proportion on all sides, sublime in their grandeur and un-
tamed in their beauty.

East Tennessee. 473

CLAIBORNE COUNTY.
County Seat — Tazewell.

By far the larger portion of Claiborne county lies in the Valley of
East Tennessee, only its northwestern corner resting upon the Cumber-
land Table Land. The law authorizing the organization of the county
was passed at Knoxville, October 29, 1801. It was formed from parts
of Grainger and Hawkins counties. The Justices of the Peace appoint-
ed by Governor Roane, were qualified on the 7th day of December,
1801, the first day of the first term of the court of quarter sessions for
the county. For several years after its organization, there was no
court-house, the courts being held at the houses of the different magis-
trates, in turn. Walter Evans w^as elected the first Clerk of this court
David Rogers was the first Sheriff for the county ; Ezekial Craft, Regis-
ter; Luke Boyer, Solicitor; Nathaniel Austin, Ranger; and John
Sumpter, Constable. The first settlements in the county were made at
Big Spring, near Sycamore Creek, in 1794-5.

Boundary and Topography. This county is bounded on the north
by the Kentucky line, on the east by Hancock, and the South by Gran-
ger and Union, the Clinch River forming the line, and on the west by
Campbell. It comprises about 360 square miles. The physical features
and surface conformation are a good deal diversified. Broad stretches of
comparatively level land and abrupt bluffy highlands and swelling pro-
tuberances make up the general face of the country. Powell's River
runs diagonally through its center, from north-east to south-west, and
forms the great highway of commerce. During the season of freshets,
the crops of various kinds are shipped in flat-boats to Chattanooga and
other points. North of Powell's River, and running parallel with it,
are three or four belts of land differing in quality, kind and condition.
The most northward of these is triangular in shape and forms a part of
the Cumberland Table Land. The soil of this is sandstone, porous and
poor. The next strip southward is Poor Valley, which lies between the
steep escarpments of the Table Land and Walden's Ridge. This valley
is well named, for its surface is covered with blocks of sandstone, and it
has low marshy spots, some of which are drained and cultivated, but
the great proportion of this valley is totally unfit for cultivation.
Then comes Poor Valley Ridge, a low ridge skirting the base of the
mountain for many miles, forming with Poor Valley a moulding to the

474 Reso7irces of Tennessee.

base of the Cumberland Table Land. Then we have Walden's Ridge,
with its high, comb-like, serrated, wooded crests. It rises steeply and is
only passed by transverse cuts, which occur at various intervals, from
one to four miles. Between Walden's Ridge and Powell's River is
Powell's Valley, one of the finest in East Tennessee. This remark-
able valley does not lie on Powell's River, but is separated from it by
a high belt of table land, from two to four or more miles in width.
The valley itself is 400 feet above the river, and extends continuously
from Virginia to Wheeler's Gap, a distance of about sixty miles. It
preserves its parallelism with the river, whose name it takes, and has a
width varying from two to five miles. Through the center of this
valley a high "hog-back" ridge, that is, a ridge in which the strata of
the rocks are nearly perpendicular, runs for a distance of eight or ten
miles. Running out at right angles to Walden's Ridge, are a series of
swollen protuberances that project themselves into the valley, giving to
the surface, near the ridge, a tumid and rolling appearance.

The next belt is the high wooded region that separates the river from
the valley. It falls off in a steep escarpment on the river banks, but
descends gradually into the valley on the north-west side. It is heav-
ily timbered.

Between Powell's River and Tazewell is a barren, chestnut-covered
plain, comparatively level, which has an open, gravelly soil. South of
Tazewell the country is very broken, rising into massive ridges and
hills, among which, towering above all the rest, is Wallen's Ridge, with
its wide rounded summit. This ridge is made up of Knox dolomite,
limestone and cherty masses. Immediately south of Tazewell, its
swelling form may be seen for miles, as it runs north-easterly into
Hancock and south-westerly into Union. Its sides are marked by nu-
merous coves, with the intervenient spurs, and often interlocking with
these are the spurs shooting out from the chestnut plain on the north.
Lone Mountain appears in the southern part of the county. Its north-
western face is covered with green fields and dense woods, in which the
clambering vines, receiving sustenance from rich limestone soil, make
the surface dark with their rank luxuriance. On the. south-eastern side
of the same mountain huge layers of sandstone sheet the surface in tilted
masses, and the vegetation is sparse and the trees small and scraggy.
With the exception of Powell's and Sycamore bottoms, the whole
country is high, rough and broken, for the most part fertile, but almost
everywliere the tilted limestone rocks rise to the surface, forming
glades and rendering the soil difficult of cultivation.

East Temiessee. 475

In this county is (Cumberland Gap, a spot made memorable by recent
events, and is the great pass from the blue-grass region of Kentucky to
the cotton States of Georgia and Alabanuu The picturesqueness and
grandeur of the scenery are imposing. On either side of the gap, high,
rocky, weathcrstained ramparts, rising to a perpendicular height of
1,500 feet above the valley, till the mind with awe and sublimity. Stand-
ing upon the pinnacle 2,680 feet above the sea, and looking southward,
the view is one of magnificence and beauty. The long parallel ridges
of East Tennessee, cut by innumerable gaps, are distinctly traceable,
forming a billowy sea of mountains, while far beyond tower up grandly
the majestic domes of the Unakas, wrapped in mist, the universal
expression of the sublime, the type of the infinite and unchangeable,
standing out as '' landmarks on the vast and shoreless sea of the azure
heavens."

The gap is 500 feet above Poor Valley, and 1,000 below the pinnacle.
A road, by a series of gentle curves,* passes from the valley below up
through the gap. Beyond the gap the slope is less abrupt.

Streams. Besides the Clinch, which washes the southern limit of
the county, and Powell's River, there are numerous small streams tribu-
tary to these rivers. Russell's Creek, Indian Creek, Gap Creek and
Town Creek empty into Powell's River. Sycamore Creek, Big Bar-
ren and Bald Creek empty into Clinch. All these tributary streams
furnish good w^ater-powers, many of which have been utilized. The
streams are rapid in their descent, and the banks, being of limestone,
are admirably suited for the erection of dams. Mills are usually driven
by over-shot wheels, to which the water is conducted from a point
above by flumes. Very little expense is incurred in the making of
dams. Sometimes the natural dip of the rock can be made to answer
the purpose. In numy places the dip of the strata is in the direction
from which the stream flows. In such situations many beautiful nat-
ural dams occur, over which the water falls with glassy smoothness.

Lanch, Soils and Timber. The soils of Claiborne county are almost
as varied as the topographical features. On the Cumberland Table
Land is a sandstone soil, thin, porous and unproductive. In Poor
Valley the soil sometimes runs into quicksand. The finest and most
productive soils are found in the Sycamore bottoms and in Powell's
Valley. In the latter it has a reddish cast with a deep red ferruginous
subsoil.' There is no better soil in the State than that found in Powell's
Valley, especially when we add to its fertility its durable properties.

47 6 Resources of Tennessee.

It is the garden spot of the county. Lands are remarkably high in
this valley, Avhen their remoteness from market is considered. The
entire })roducts are shipped out by Powell's River, a stream that is
navigable for flat and keel-boats, and only then for one or two months
in the year. The best improved farms bring from forty to fifty dollars
per acre. On Chestnut Ridge the soil is thin, and lands sells for about
four dollars per acre. The lands immediately north of Wallen's Ridge,
though rocky and rolling, have a rich limestone soil, and are highly pro-
ductive. They are held at thirty and forty dollars per acre. South of
this ridge, though nearly as fertile, the lands are not so valuable, except
those in close proximity to Clinch River. The exceeding ruggedness
of the surface of the county, and the difficulty of making good roads,
make the nearness or remoteness from the river quite an important
element in the estimates of the value of farms.

Timber. There are but few counties in East Tennessee better tim-
bered than Claiborne. Walnut and sugar trees are abundant and grow
to enormous sizes on the rich slopes of the ridges and in the elevated
bottoms between. In places chestnut prevails, especially on the chest-
nut plateau north of Tazewell. In the north-eastern part of the county,
on Powell's River, are some good groves of cedar. Birch is met with
on the streams. The })revailing timber, however, is oak, poplar, hick-
ory and pine. Of the latter, none is found east of Tazewell, but white
oaks of fine size, black oaks, suitable for boards, and walnut trees are
abundant. In this portion cedar bushes grow up in the old fields and
relieve them of their barren aspect. At least three-fourths of the
county is covered with valuable timber. The walnut is more abundant
than is found in contiguous counties, and would yield a fine revenue if
the means of transportation were better. Rafts are sometimes carried
down Powell's River.

Crops and Farms. The average size of farms in Claiborne county
does not exceed thirty-five acres of tillable land. By the census re-
])ort of 1870 there were 1,100 farms in the county of all sizes, nearly
half of which had more than twenty and less than fifty acres. There
was not a farm reported in the county as having five hundred acres.
Most of them are worked by their owners, with a little help during
the summer. Farm hands are not hired by the year, but from about
the 1st of March to the 1st of August, and again from the 1st of Octo-
ber to December.

The usual crops are corn, wheat, oats, rye, and hay, and some farm-

East Tennessee. 477

ers raise flax for domestic use. By far the larojest proportion of corn
is fed to hogs and sold in pork, but a considerable quantity is shipped
out in flat-boats. The hay crop has been greatly increased during the
past few years. The valleys that lie at the foot of the limestone ridges
produce timothy well. Receiving fresh accessions to their fertilizing
elements by every rain, the soils, in these low places, are among the
most durable in the State. Outside of Powell's Valley these areas are
small, though they produce from two to three tons of hay per acre.
It is claimed, by leading farmers, that the north hillsides, especially
of Wallen's Ridge and Lone Mountain, are as well adapted to the
growth of hay as the bottoms themselves. This statement is not in-
credible ; for of all the corn crops which came under our observation
during the past summer, we saw none surpassing in luxuriance of
growth those seen on the northern slopes of the hills and ridges of Chii-
borne county. The only trouble about growing hay on the hillsides
is the difficulties which have to be encountered in the use of suit-
able machinery for saving it. As pastures, these lands would be
unexcelled, for the hot suns of summer are attempered by the uprising
hills on the south, and the moisture, so necessary to the rapid and lux-
uriant growth of grass, is not so readily evaporated. Besides timothy,
clover is also sown as a hay crop. The limestone soils grow it with
surprising rankness. Three and four tons are sometimes taken from a
single acre. Here, as -in other counties in East Tennessee, the
practice does not prevail of giving the land the benefit of the clover
crop. It is either pastured or cut for hay. Diligent inquiry failed to
find more than two or three farmers who habitually sow clover for the
purpose of benefitting the soil. Fields are often cultivated until the
fertility of the soil is destroyed and then turned out to grow up in pine
forests, or alder and persimmon bushes. Upon Chestnut Ridge tliis prac-
tice is quite common, and instances were given where the same rails,
made of chestnut timber, had outlasted the fertility of two or three
fields. But as the turned-out fields in this chestnut region soon grow
up into pines, the effect upon the appearance of the country is not so
bad as in many other portions of the State.

The condition of the farms is not so good as it was before the war.
The fences are badly neglected. Many of the fence rows are tangled
masses of briers and bushes. Crops are not so well cultivated, nor do
the out-buildings receive the care and attention they demand. Of
course there are many noticeable exceptions to this condition of things.
The farms on Sycamore Creek, and on the slopes of Wallen's Ridge,

478 Resources of Tennessee,

by their strong enclosures and neat farmhouses, show, unmistakably,
the industry and thrift of their owners.

Stock and Implements. Stockraising is considered by far the most
profitable branch of husbandry for this county. Many farmers are in-
troducing improved breeds of cows from Kentucky. Sheep would
find here a congenial home among the sheltering rocks, and in the
coves of the hills and mountains ; but the great number of dogs, which
is said to equal at least one for each person in the county, would make
sheep-raising an unprofitable and unsatisfactory business. However
much a farmer might wish to improve his breed of sheep, he is de-
terred from importing high-bred bucks, because of the imminent risk
he would run on account of these pets of society. Numerous cases are
mentioned where fine sheep have been killed by dogs, while the scrub
stock remained unharmed. Tliere is about one sheep for every per-
son in the county.

Mules and horses are raised in sufficient quantities to sup])ly the
home demand, and some for export. Both are used in the cultivation
of crops, though the number of horses is much greater than of mules.
Oxen are employed in hauling over the rugged hills, and to some ex-
tent, in spring, for breaking up land. Hill-side plows are coming into
use, much to the advantage of the land. The cultivation of the crops
is done with shovel-plows or bull-tongues^ which are favorite plows
with the hill-side farmers of East Tennessee. With this simple imple-
ment many of them assert that a crop is more easily worked upon a
steep hillside than upon level land, and this sauie opinion prevails
in Claiborne county. Some of the fields in this county have an as-
cent of nearly forty degrees, and upon such places the corn always
looks well, if well tilled. Usually the corn rows are run with a long
bull-tongue ])low on nearly a water-level, and in some instances we
have remarked one long spiral row from the base of a conical hill to
its apex.

On the more level farms reapers, mowers and horse-rakes are exten-
sively used by the farmers. In Powell's Valley the farmers keep
abreast of all the recent improvements in agricultural implements. All
the fertile parts of the county are tolerably thickly settled. In Pow-
ell's Valley, the population will average fifty to the square mile, while
the average for the whole county will not exceed twenty-six.

Rents. Renters are numerous, notwithstanding the great sur])lus-
age of land and the desire of many farmers to sell. This class fur-

East Tennessee. 479

nif>hes everytliirig, and gives the pro])rietor one-third. If the
land is very fertile the owner claims and rect4ves one-half.

31inerals. It ^vonld be difficult to estimate the mineral wealth of
Claiborne county. The iron ore is very abundant. The dyestone, or
red hematite, is found sheeting both sides of Poor Valley Ridge, and
also in considerable quantities in Walden's Ridge. Poor Valley Ridge
is within a few hundred yards of the Cumberland Gap Iron Works,
which are situated within a quarter of n mile of the gap, just under
the frowning brow of the Cumberland Table Land. The vein, in
Poor Valley Ridge, has been traced ten miles east and ten miles west.
It is from eighteen inches to three feet in thickness, and runs with the
inclination of the ridge. It is thought to average, in width, fully a
half mile. This ore, it is said, yields in working from the furnace from
fifty to seventy-five per cent, of good pig iron, tough and of great ten-
sile strength. It is much sought after for car wheels and boiler plate.

On the spurs of the main range of the Cumberland Table Land are
brown hematites. In other places are found the black oxide.

The red hematite is so abundant that it is mined and delivered in
the furnace loft at one dollar per ton. Limestone, fire-clay, and sand-
rock, suitable for making furnace hearths, are found in the same vi-
cinity. The sand-rock has, in practice, proved better in the furnace,
and more able to resist heat than the fire-brick.

Between Poor Valley Ridge and the Cumberland Table Land runs
a vein of the black oxide of manganese, which would supply this ore
in considerable quantities. This mineral, in the market, is worth
from thirty to forty-five dollars per ton. It is extensively used in
the mechanical arts, especially in the manufacture of glass. Lead, in
pockets and in veins, has been discovered in some places, but never in
workable quantities. It occurs in the great anticlinal (or upheavel of
the strata in which the rocks dip in op])osite directions) that passes
through the county and occupies one-half of it. In this anticlinal is
also found zinc-blende.

In relation to the quantity of coal in the county, enough has been
ascertained to know that it exists in abundance, but there have been
no efforts made for its development. The coal-measures attain, in this
county and Campbell, a much greater thickness than in any other ]:)or-
tion of the Tennessee coal-fields. The aggregate mass of coal must be
very great in that part of the county included within the limits of the

480 Resources of Tennessee.

Cumberland Table Land. A few places have been opened near Cum-
berland Gap, and coal or good quality has been mined, but only for
domestic purposes.

Millstone grit is found in many places ; and at Big Spring, where
the first settlements in the county were made, an extensive manufactory
of them was carried on before the w^r.

Numerous mineral springs are in the vicinity of Cumberland Gap,
consisting of both sulphur and chalybeate. There are also caves in
the same neighborhood, in which occur beautiful incrustations. One
known as the Newlee's cave, from which the dashing stream of water
issues that drives the blast and mill at the furnace, has been explored
for many miles. The stream, from the point of issuance to the valley
below, has a fall of 150 feet, though the distance is scarcely more than
one hundred yards.

Boads and Transportation. The roads of Claiborne county are ex-
ceedingly rough. No pains have been taken and no expense incurred
by the citizens to make good roads, though they are greatly needed.
The nearest point to the railroad is Morristown, in Hamblen county, a
distance of twenty-eight miles from Tazewell, the county seat. It
would be worth a load of corn or hay, oats or wheat, to haul it over
the road between these points. Between these points there is what is
called a State road, yet the roughest in the State, one on which toll
is still demanded, and yet it would be difficult to say for what purpose,
unless for the privilege of riding over the worst possible road. The
material for the construction of roads is abundant. Good McAdam-
ized roads could be built as cheaply in Claiborne county as in any
county in the State.

The Clinch and Powell's rivers are the only available outlets for the
various commodities of the county. Four railroads have been sur-
veyed and located tli rough Cumberland Gap — the Cincinnati, Coving-
ton and Cumberland Gap Railroad, the Lebanon Branch of the Louis-
ville and Nashville Railroad, the Bristol and Cumberland Gap Rail-
road, and the Cincinnati, Cumberland Gap and Charleston Railroad.
The latter will doubtless be extended from Morristown to this point
when the demands of trade shall justify it. It now runs from Morris-
town to Wolf Creek, in the opposite direction, a distance of thirty-nine
miles.

Schools. Very few, if any immigrants come to the county, doubtless
owing to the want of railroads and good schools. The county has suflered

East Te?messee. 481

quite as much for want of the latter as the former, and the indisposition
of the people to levy a tax for that purpose is a harbinger that broods no
good for the future industrial and moral development of the county.
There is an excellent school at the county seat, but aside from this, we
could learn of no other, though doubtless a few peripatetic teachers
will now and then come to the county and stay long enough to gather
the small sum semi-annually disbursed by the State. The county has
levied no tax for school purposes, and has by vote of the people re-
fused to do so.

Furna.Ges. There is at present only one in operation. This is at Cum-
berland Gap, and its daily product is about three and one-fourth tons.
This furnace is cold blast. It uses charcoal as fuel, the cost of which
is six cents per bushel. Cost of raising ore, fifty cents ; cost of deliver-
ing fifty cents. Two hundred bushels of charcoal and two tons of ore
are required to make a ton of iron. Labor at the furnace for each ton
of iron, costs §3.35. Flux costs one dollar per ton delivered. Forty
cents per cord is paid for cutting wood. The estimated cost of making
a ton of cold-blast charcoal pig-iron at this point is as follows :

200 busbels of charcoal, at 6 cents $12 00

2 tons of ore, at $1 per ton 2 06

One-fourth ton limestone, at $1 per ton 25

Superinteo'lence and labor, per ton 3 35

Interest on investment 80

Incidentals and repairs, per ton.. 2 00

Total $20 40

The cost in Pennsylvania and Ohio is over $30.00 per ton.

The iron made at this point is shipped out by Powell's River.

Towns. Tazewell, the county seat, has a population of 400. It has six
general stores, three hotels, one grocery, six physicians, two lawyers, a
tan-yard, blacksmith shop, etc. This place was nearly destroyed du-
ring the war, and has not since been rebuilt.

Barrc Forge, Cumberland Gap, Pleasant and Little Gap are all
small villages, witli one or two stores each. Scattered all through the
county are little stores that barter goods for beeswax, dried fruit, gin-
seng, feathers, eggs, butter, chickens, turkeys, maple sugar, bacon, lard,
corn, wheat, potatoes, onions, beans, peas, rags, wool, socks, hides and
domestic manufactures. When a considerable quantity of these articles
are gathered, they are sent to Knoxville, Chattanooga, and points fur-
31

4^2 Resources of Tennessee. I

ther south. The largest demand for chickens conies from Atlanta}
Georgia. [

Farmers. The farmers of Claiborne county are said to be the best con
tented people in the State. They are not ambitious of wealth or distinc
tion, but make what they live upon and live upon what they make. The;;
work for a competency and are satisfied with it. No visions of princel}
wealth in the future beguile them into a neglect of the enjoymen-
of the present. Life to them is a thing to be enjoyed, not merely to b(
endured. If in discharge of the duties of the farm any social pleasures
€an be interwoven, it is always done. Neighbors help each other ir
harvest, in the clearing of land, and oftentimes in the planting of th(
crops, and what would be a dry, hard, irksome labor for one is made a
pleasant pastime for the many. Even the bnrning of the briers from
a field is made a season of sportive enjoyment by the young of both
sexes. The habits, manners and customs of other days prevail to a
great extent among the farmers of Claiborne. The lofty virtues oi
simplicity, frugality and honesty are cultivated and appreciated, but
there is a woful lack of enterprise.

Cost of Living. In no part of the State can the necessaries of life
be obtained so cheaply. An income of five hundred dollars in Clai-
borne would supply almost as many comforts as three thousand dollars
in Nashville. The following prices for the chief articles of domestic
use were gathered in the county :

Lumber, per 1,000 feet $10 CO

Ejii^s, highest price per dozen 10

Butter, " " " pound 16§

Beef " " " " 4

Pork, " " " " 4

Corn, average price per bushel 40

Wheat, " " " " 1 00

Hay, per 100 pounds 50

Cliickens 10

Horses a;nd mules are cheap. The best work-horses can be bought
for $125.

Farm Labor. Men, $8 to $12 per month and board; women, $3 to
$4 per month and board ; carpenters, $1.50 per day and board. The
price for splitting rails is fifty cents per hundred and board ; getting
out staves, fifty cents per hundred ; boards, thirty-three cents ; shingles,
drawn, $2.50 per thousand.

House rent, with fire-wood, is cheap. Comfortable houses can be

East Tennessee. 483

rented in this county, and in the adjoininp; county of Hancock, for
^25 per year.

I'jxports and Statistics. The exports from the county for the year
ending July 1, 1873, as gathered by a gentleman engaged in the river
tnule, consist of the following articles : wheat, 30,000 bushels ; butter,
45,000 pounds ; dried fruit, 20,000 pounds ; corn, 50,000 bushels ; eggs,
60,000 dozen ; wool, 5,000 pounds ; maple sugar, 2,000 pounds ; bacon,
18,000 pounds; feathers, 3,000 pounds ; besides various articles not
estimated, such as ginseng, honey, socks, home-made cloth, etc. From
Lee county, Virginia, Hancock and Claiborne counties, the exports
annually are: wheat, 100,000 bushels; bacon, 600,000 pounds; corn,
120,000 bushels — all shipped by Powell's River.

The amount of land assessed for taxation in 1873 Mas 195,867 acres,
valued at $818,919. The number of polls, 1,057.

The population of the county in 1870 was 9,321, of which 758 were
colored, showing only about eight per cent, colored.

(For other statistics, see chapter xxii.)

Claiborne and Hancock counties differ but little in the configuration
of the surface, in the quality and quantity of products, the price of
labor and of living, and in the manners and customs of the people.
Claiborne raises more stock, Hancock more orchard products ; Claiborne
more wheat, Hancock more tobacco. In all other products except do-
mestic manufactures, of which Claiborne has forty per cent, more, the
two counties are about equal, though Claiborne reported a fourth more
tillable land, farms and population than Hancock. The size of the
farms is about the same. The description of the farming operations in
one will apply to the other. *

COCKE COUNTY.

County Seat — Newport.

Cocke county is bounded on the north by Hamblen and Greene, on
the east by Greene and North Carolina, on the south by North Carolina
and Sevier, and on the west by Sevier and Jefferson counties. It was
created October 9, 1797, and therefore is one among the oldest counties
of East Tennessee. It embraces a vast territory, considerable portions
of it exceedingly broken, while there is a large quantity of very superior

484 Resources of Tennessee.

lands. Tlie soutbern portion Is bounded by the Unaka chain of moun-
tains, and all this is unfitted for agricultural purposes. In some of the
coves and gorges of the mountains the lands are productive, but tod
contracted to render them valuable for producing grain crops. They
are adapted to the grasses and to the raising of fruits, though there is
nothing done, or comparatively so, in this direction. They might be
made available if there was more enterprise among the citizens who-
live in them and who cultivate them.

The agricultural and mineral resources of the county are scarcely-
inferior to those of any county in East Tennessee ; and yet these great
natural advantages are not made available to that extent which they
deserve. There is a lack of stirring enterprise. Was there more of
this, it could be made equal to any county in the State. There are a
few men of enterprise, who are doing what they can to advance and
j)ush forward the work of progress and steady improvement, but they
do not meet with sympathy and vigorous co-operation on the part of
the great body of citizens.

There are four towns in the county — Newport, Parrottsville, Sweet-
water and Clifton. The first having a population of 800, the next'
300, the third 150, and Clifton about 200. Newport is an old town,
and has not improved any. Parrottsville is in the midst of good lands
and has a fine population. Clifton is immediately upon the Cincinnati,
Cumberland Gap and Charleston Railroad, and is a flourishing place.
More business, perhaps, is done there than by all the other places put
together. The principal part of the trade of the county concentrates
there.

The principal valleys are French, Broad and Pigeon valleys, taking
their names from the French Broad and Pio-con rivers. The former
is about forty miles long and about one mile wide, and the latter
twenty miles long and one wide. These are exceedingly fertile
valleys, the soil equal to any in the State. It is alluvial and deep.
With anything like fair cultivation, it will produce from fifty to one
hundred bushels of corn to the acre. It is not so good for wheat.
Oats grow well. Owing to the prevalence of sand, meadows do not
succeed, but clover does. TIk^sc bottoms have been cultivated in
corn from time immemorial, with scarcely a change, and still they
are enormously productive, as already indicated. Corn, of course,
is the great staple upon them, and this is fed mostly to hogs. Recently,
however, some of the largest farmers are turning their attention to the

East Tennessee. 485

cattle and mule business, and much of the corn is fed to them. This,
no doubt, will lead to a radical change in the raising of so much corn,
and bring about a new era in the cultivation of the grass crop, a change
that certainly would be beneficial to the county.

The average size of farms in this county, as in all the counties of
East Tennessee, is, by far, too large. Many farmers have more land
than they know what to do with, but these are wild lands. Some of
the farms are very large, and there are a number of wealthy farmers in
the county. Before the war, this was especially the case. They owned
a large number of slaves and cultivated immense tracts of land. The
quantity of corn produced was great, and the number of hogs fattened
and sent to the southern markets was equally so. Many shrev/d and
far-seeing men of the county now see the folly of attempting to culti-
vate so much land, and a more judicious public sentiment on this
subject is likely to take root, and to produce its legitimate fruit.
Unquestionably, it would be better for all concerned if these large
estates were reduced to at least one-half of their present size, especially
in view of the fact that labor is not so reliable as in other days.

The tenant system is not much in vogue. The owners of the soil
cultivate it mostly themselves. When they rent at all, thev require
tenants to give one-half of the products of bottom lands and one-third
(»f the up lands.

The price of land ranges from five to fifty dollars per acre, and in
some special instances even higher. The bottom lands referred to are
not for sale. They have been retained in the same families for gener-
ations, and are not likely to pass out of their hands in the future.
There are some very superior lands on Big Creek, in the eastern por-
tion of the county, and are owned by some of the best citizens and
farmers. These lands are duly appreciated by their owners, and rate
pretty high on account of their fertility.

Improved implements of husbandry are not, by any means, in gen-
eral use, comparatively few, in fact. This is owing to two causes: First,
they are enormously high, and second, the farmers have not been in-
clined to buy them. There are a few reapers and mowers, no wheat
drills, and the plows generally in use are the bull-tongue and shovel.

But little advance from primitive times has been made in raising
stock. Tiic same old bi'ceds raised fifty years ago are still raised.
Here and there there has been some improvement, but too superficial

486 Resources of Tennessee.

to benefit tlie county at large. All kinds of stock partake of the scrub
species, except hogs, and they are fair, though not thorough-bred. It
is an excellent region for sheep, but on account of the extensive pre-
valence of sheep-killing dogs, very little is done towards raising them.
Hundreds of farmers are in favor of a stringent dog tax law, or of any
plan that will exterminate this deadly foe to their interests. But again,
there are many more who are fond of hounds, and run the risk of
having their sheep destroyed, in order to have some idle sport in hunt-
ing the fox.

We should have remarked, in the proper connection, that there is a
vast amount of waste land in the county. This is owing to the fact
that the Unaka chain of mountains makes into it deeply. The southern
side of it is densely packed with ridges and with spurs of the moun-
tain. On this account, more perhaps, than from any other cause, the
county is not thickly settled, and, we suppose, never will be. ^

The taxable property in the county amounts to $1,362,032. Its
financial affairs have been judiciously managed, though but little,
comparatively, has been done to advance the cause of education, by
a reasonable tax upon the people, and in this undoubtedly lies one
of the marked errors of this county. No people on the face of the
earth can advance to a high plane of civilization in the absence of edu-
cation, and no people could spend a portion of their means more profit-
ably than by appropriating money in promoting and fostering a liberal
system of education in their midst.

The timber of this county is renuirkably fine. Every variety known
in this section abounds here — white oak, chestnut oak, black oak,
post oak, sugar tree, maj^le, hickory, walnut, beech, cedar, white pine,
spruce, yellow pine, poplar, dogwood, ash, &c. There is an extensive
trade carried on in the shingle business, which are made out of white
pine.

The principal streams of the county arc the French Broad and Pigeon
rivers, and Big Creek. Their cajnicity to drive all sorts of machin-
ery is almost, if not altogether, without a parallel. Tlie water-power
is truly immense, es])ecially that offered by the two rivers mentioned,
and yet this j)ower remains undeveloped to a great extent. There are
not many mills in operation, and no facitories of any description. En-
t(!ri)ris(' and capital could find, in this direction, ample scope.

The facilities for transportation are favorable. As already indicated,
the Cincinnati, Cumberland Gap and Charleston Railroad runs through

East Tennessee. 48 7

the entire county, and through the richest portion of it ; and, besides,
the two rivers mentioned are navigable for flat-boats. Live stock is
driven across the mountain into North and South Carolina.

There is no way of estimating the mineral wealth of this county.
It abounds to a great extent. Iron ore is found in paying quantities —
the hematite, brown and specular. Baryta and lead exist. Nothing is
now boing done to develop these minerals. Lands containing iron ore
deposits can be bought at reasonable rates.

The prevailing rocks in the valley lands are limestone and shales,
and there are numerous springs of chalybeate and white, black and yel-
low sulphur in the county.

GRAINGER COUNTY.
County Seat — Rutledge.

Grainger was the second county that was organized after the State
of Tennessee was received into the Union, Carter having preceded a
few days only. By an act of the Legislature, passed on April 22,
1796, contiguous portions of the extensive and unwieldy counties of
Hawkins and Knox were severed from those jurisdictions, and " created
into a separate and distinct county, by the name of Grainger." The
name was given in compliment to Mary Grainger, the wife of Governor
William Blount, who, according to Dr. Ramsey and tradition, was a
woman of vigorous intellect, highly esteemed for her rare virtues, per-
sonal accomplishments and address. It is said of her, that her influ-
ence on the robust manners of the day was most happy, and that she
was often able to soften even savage ferocity in the persons of the
chiefs who at times visited her husband. The seat of justice was
located on the waters of Richland Creek, in the great central valley of
the county, in the month of October, 1798, and received the name of
Rutledge, in honor of George Rutledge, a name well and honorably
known in the early days.

Grainger, by the creation of the younger counties of Union and
Hamblen, has been shorn of much of her ancient territory, but there
is still left to her an ample domain, Avith, perhaps, improved symmetry
of boundary and shape. The southern boundary of the county,
as now established, is the waters of the Holston, ad jilum aquae,

488 Resources of Tcmicssec

the stream not being navigable, according to the rule of the civil law,
which has been adopted in Tennessee. We write the Holston, for by
that historic name, all along its course, from its source away in the
green, grape clad hills of south-western Virginia, it is still and ever
will be designated. Arbitrary legislation cannot change the names of
natural objects, that are endeared to the hearts of the people by honor-
able association, grateful recollections, and which came to their ears in
infancy from the lips of their ancestors. Let the name of Holston
still be spoken, in memory of the brave pioneer who first explored the
waters of the noble stream. It was he who led civilization to its
shores, and there permanently planted its advance ; and now, to con-
sign his very name to forgetful ness by a mere legislative fiat, void of
meaning or solid purpose, is to deprive him of the only reward by
which his services were ever requited, and to incur the national shame
of ingratitude for disinterested service to the State, which, at the time
it was rendered, was at once profitless, perilous and unknown. The
Clinch River, for a considerable distance, limits the territory of the
county on the north. This stream, more rapid and boisterous than the
placid Holston, obtained its name from a very trivial and ludicrous
incident, which happened in one of the earliest explorations of its
course. An Irishman, afloat upon the stream, in company wnth others,
upon a rude raft, by an unlucky step was precipitated overboard.
Rising to the surface, he vociferously called upon his fellow-voyagers
to " clinch" him ; and from that day the stream, and a mountain which
holds its turbulent waters in their place along its course for several
hundred miles on the south, have been known by the name of Clinch,
and are so designated both in popular local nomenclature and upon
the maps of geographers. Neither of these streams is navigable, in the
legal sense of the term before alluded to, but during the winter and
oarlier spring months are of sufficient volume and depth to safely float,
under the direction of practiced and skillful steersmen, large flat-bot-
tomed boats, heavily laden with the agricultural products of the coun-
try, thereby affording access to the markets and railroads on the waters
of the Tennessee. Not only is the agricultural surplus of the country
thus cheaply and safely transported, but when the waters of the Hols-
ton are in freshet, which generally happens several times during the
period mentioned, of every year, large fleets of boats, loaded with salt
and plaster from Virginia, and with iron and castings from upper East
Tennessee, convey immense quantities of these staple manufactures, of
superior quality, stopping at convenient points to supply local demands

East Tennessee , 489

on the way, and finally landing' the remainder at })oints accessible to
the demands of the south and west. These natural means of trans-
portation, while they conduce greatly to the health, and enhance the
beauty, and lend an indescribable charm and interest to the scenery of
the laud — for no landscape, however limited or extended, is perfect
without water, still and placid, or moving and resonant — are of immense
aid to the national interests of the country. The boats are easily and
cheaply constructed. The forests abound with the material, and in
every locality are to be obtained, on reasonable terms, persons compe-
tent to construct them and also to manage them after they are
afloat. Indeed, there is something in life upon the river that is fasci-
nating ; there is something in the majestic, onward march of the swol-
len tide ; in the wild roar of the shoal ; in the arrow-like speed of the
rapids ; in the deep, fretted agitated whirl ; and in the lofty, beetling
crags and cliffs, heavy with the undying verdure of the native ever-
greens, that here and there overhang, or loom up beside the way, that
has a charm for the most uncultivated sensibility, and " a trip down
the river," with all its minor perils and deprivations, is an undertaking
that requires but small pecuniary inducement. The transportation
thus obtained is much cheaper than that obtained by rail, and almost
as secure — the difference in cost amply compensating the increased
risk. Before the day of railroads, these were also channels of emigra-
tion, and scattered over the great west are many natives of East Ten-
nessee whose last recollections of their native hills are as they ap-
peared from the bosom of the waters of the Holston and, to this day,
it is not an extraordinary sight to witness the passage of a solitary
covered boat, laden with the all, the hopes and fears of a self-expatri-
ated family, on their winding way to the great West.

Hawkins, Hancock, Claiborne, Union, Knox, Jefferson and Ham-
blen are the coterminous counties. The county may be said to be
divided by natural objects into three sections, longitudinal, and lying
in three great channels, or flutes. The formation of the county is an
approximate miniature representation of East Tennessee. He who
traverses East Tennessee from south-east to north-west, or vice versa,
will find emphatically "a hard road to travel," and form a most erro-
neous and inadequate conception of the character of the country. His
way will be over a succession of mountain ranges, of varying altitude
and difficulty of passage, Avith only glimpses between of the better
parts, sometimes confined and narrow, but sometimes in \\'u]c stretches
of beauty and fertility. But to the traveler passing at right angles to

490 Resources of Tennessee.

this direction, or up and down the country, is opened an inviting
land. In the direction first named, scenery, wild, ruggid and romantic,
is on every mountain's side, and shades the deep, lonely glens that lead
to their feet; but here are valleys, at places spreading into considerable
plains, that have not only features of exquisite picturesque beauty in
profusion, but the soil of which is, for the most part, either naturally
fertile or susceptible of being made so, and this, too, without other
means than those afforded by the country itself. Nor are the farmers
here as ignorant, as unskillful, and as poor as it is the fashion of the day
to represent them. There are numbers of farms in East Tennessee
under the direction of as much science, intelligence and practical skill
as are to be found even north of the line of Mason and Dixon. There
are homes here which are as elegant, as sumptuous, and which are as
much the abodes of comfort, taste and refined and cultivated enjoy-
ment, as any that grace and make happy any other section or country,
in which there are books to be read, pictures to be seen, music to be
heard, virtue to be loved, beauty to be admired, intelligence to be
communed with, hospitality to be enjoyed, and, above all and beyond
all, incorruptible honesty and high-toned honor to constitute the true
gentlemrai. The best improved agricultural implements find ready
sale, and are used with skill and success by large numbers. There
are, it is true, a large number of farms here, perhaps the larger num-
ber, in a low state of cultivation, worn, exhausted, and reduced from
their virgin fertility ; but such is also the case in almost every section
of the United States, Prejudice against innovation, proneness to the
way the ancestor trod, here as elsewhere, have been great obstacles in
the way of improvement in agriculture. Want of the necessary means,
resulting in part from this unwise adherence to the traditional dogmas
and modes of the past, and in part from the loss of slaves and other
property during and at the close of the war, is now the great hinder-
ance to advancement, to renovation and to success. These lands, as
has bee;i already intimated, are capable of improvement to the extreuie
productive capacity of soil. Their owners now have the will — tliey
see the way, but the means to pursue tiiey have not, at jircsent, as a
general rule. They are not ignorant dolts. They understand and see,
some with a dim visiou only, it is true; but yet they see, that after all
there is not any gre:it mystery in scientific agriculture, or, as it is deri-
sively termed, " book farming;" that the leading facts and principles
are few and siniph", and that common men can understand and carry
tlicm into practice in the field. When this is more generally done,

East Teniiessee. 49 1

whon every valley is made to teem with its appropriate productions,
and when the hills, clad in living green, become the haunts of the
Short-horn, the South-Down andCotswold, East Tennessee will surely
advance to the front in the great march of the material and social pros-
peritv of the nineteenth century.

What has been generally said of East Tennessee, is applicable to the
county of Grainger. "VVe started out with the remark, that the county in
its physical configuration w'as like the general section ; and the remarks
made in the digression are equally applicable — what is true of the whole
in these particulars, is also true of the part.

The course of the sections we have mentioned are north-east and
south-west, with slight variations. The section, or flute, we may call
it, on the north-west side, lies between the Clinch Mountain and the
Clinch River, and is several miles in width. The surface is broken ;
hill succeeds hill, in every variety of shape, regular and symmetrical,
rugged and fantastic, now extending awny before the eye in a regular
range, and then looming up in isolated peaks. But around the bases,
and snugly ensconced between these elevations, are numerous small
vales, and wild glens, and gorges, the contemplation of which never
fails to bring vividly to the mind of the writer the scenes of many a
well-remembered story of the Highlands.

The soil is productive, large portions of it exceedingly so. Indian
corn, the greatest of feeders among all the cereals, is seen flourishing
on the steep hill-sides, with all the pride of luxuriance so character-
istic of that lordly plant in the richest alluvial bottoms. The other
cereals flourish nearly as well. We have observed but few attempts at
the cultivation of the grape, but have no doubt that they could be
grown to perfection. The hog here finds a congenial and a bountiful
home. He can, as a general rule, subsist himself the whole year in
the forests. Large numbers of this ani-mal are reared and fattened for
market. One of the industries of Clinch, as the section is called in
local speech, the manufacture of maple sugar, is not now prosecuted
with as much energy nor as extensively as in former years. "Old
times are gone, old manners changed," even in Clinch, whose hills
have not yet echoed the sound of the steam-whistle. There are many
tender associations and dear recollections clustering around th(^ old
camps in the deep maple forests, which now, alas! are rajiidly yielding
to the remorseless axe of the woodman. "Woodman, spare ^/i/.s tree,"
fihould be inscribed on every fine old rock maple that adorns the land-

492 Resources of Tennessee.

scape. The inhabitants are a hardy, industrious, sober, frugal people.
Honestv in the discharge of debts is their prominent moral trait, and
this rare virtue is possessed by them in an eminent degree. There is
another one of the virtues for which these people are pre-eminently
distino'uished — hospitality. Theirs is no niggard hand. Their doors
are ever open to the homeless wanderer, their roofs a shelter to the
uncovered, their boards spread to the weary and hungry. Remote
from the strife of the more busy and enterprising world, they live to a
green old age, in health, in peace and with plenty, serving God in the
good old primitive way, and ever ready, at their country's call, to go
forth with their brave hearts and stalwart arms to fight her battles.

Between a long, regularly formed ridge, known by the name of the
Big Ridge, of nearly uniform elevation, and the Holston River, lies
the south-eastern section or flute. It bears the euphonious and sugges-
tive appellation of Skin-foot. How dubbed, we know not; but so it
hath been, " time whereof the memory of man runneth not to the con-
trary." But let not the reader draw an unfavorable inference from the
name ; for, although an unshod foot, venturing upon some of its fields,
might remind its owner that the name was not inappropriate, yet in
this instance, it may be truly said, there is nothing in a name. In this
wide and long region are situate some of the finest farms in the east-
ern end of the State. Even those portions that may be designated as
stouv, are quite productive. All the grains, and particularly wheat,
are produced in abundance. There are large forests of superior pine
trees, which are easily reduced to "saw-stocks," and which, floated
down the river Holston in rafts, find a ready and a remunerative mar-
ket below. The river is the most convenient outlet to trade ; but a
few miles beyond, and so near that the sound of the passing trains is
distinctly audible, is the line of The East Tennessee, Virginia and
Georgia Railroad, stretching its rails away north-easterly and south-
westerly, in almost a parallel c6urse with the boundary of the country
we are describing. The facilities of transportation and travel are
abundant. Morality, industry, thrift and intelligence are the leading
characteristics of the inhabitants.

We come now to a l)rief sketch of the great central valley, which,
in our plan of tlie county, forms the remaining section. Clinch Moun-
tain, of which we have spoken, is first seen as a distinct elevation
emerging i'rom among the mountains of Sonth-western A^irginia, and
it then extends, in wedge-like form, in a direction generally south-

East l^ennessee. 493

west, through upper East Tennessee, to the waters of Flat Creek, in
Knox county, where it abruptly terminates. Immediately at its south-
eastern base, which is four hundred feet lower than its north-western
base, and between it and a parallel range of hills, known as the Poor
Valley Knobs, is a narrow valley, bearing the appropriate name of Poor
Valley. This valley, sterile, sandy, with desolation presiding over its
whole length, and these knobs, covered with melancholy stunted pine, are
the constant companions of the lofty mountain the whole extent of its
existence, and from its north-eastern to its south-western extremities
both are known by the same name. Poor Valley, however, if we are
correctly informed, has the honor of holding within its bosom the cele-
brated salt-wells of Western Virginia. At the foot of the Poor Val-
ley Knobs, and between them and the Big Ridge before mentioned,
lies the central portion of Grainger county, about thirty-three miles in
length, and of varying breadtli. The valley in its whole length, which
north-eastwardly extends much beyond the limits of the county, may
be properly termed the Valley of the Clinch. But within the territorial
limits of the county, it, in its two sections, has separate and distinct names
The western end, watered by Richland Creek, is called the Richland
Valley; the eastern, watered by German Creek, and its many confluent
streams, the Bean's Station Valley. Through this general valley,
down to the time of the construction of the East Tennessee, Virginia
and Georgia Railroad, passed the great stream of trade, travel and emi-
gration from the east to the west. It was the great thoroughfare of
East Tennessee. Over this road goods were transported in wagons as
far west as Nashville, and into northern Georgia and Alabama, from the
eastern cities; and over it the sons and daughters of Virginia and North
Carolina wended their toilsome way in the march of civilization. But
they have passed, and neglected now, and silent, is the ancient w^ay.

Bean's Station, the point of intersection of the two great roads that
traversed upper East Tennessee — the one we have just mentioned, and
the other the thoroughfare from Kentucky to the Carolinas, over which
was annually driven several hundred thousand mules, horses, cattle
and hogs — was one of the first permanent abodes of the white man. Dur-
ing the whole of the first half of the present century, it was the most
"public place" in the country. We doubt whether Knoxville, during
that period, was visited by as many strangers. Its history is a strange,
eventful story, but we cannot here recount it. For some years before
the war, railroads having completely revolutionized the courses of travel
and trade, the fortunes of the place seemed to wane ; during the war

494 Resources of Tennessee.

it was frequently occupied by large armies, and finally was torn and
wasled by battle, leaving it, and the surrounding country, at the close
of the war, a sad, silent scene of desolation. Bat, such is not now the
aspect of the place, for the present proprietor is rapidly restoring it to
its former condition, and making many handsome improvements.

The Bean's Station Valley proper is one of the most beautiful spots
in tlie world — so pronounced by the visitor and traveler, without ex-
ception. From M'hatever direction approached, the fact is at once re-
cognized and conceded. Seen from the passage of the lofty Clinch,
Avith the distant elevations of four States on the horizon, the myriad
intervening hills appearing like the broken waves of a vast ocean in
tempestuous agitation, it lies below, wrapt in all those charms of land-
scape loveliness which are so pleasing and soothing to sensibility, a
scene of peace, a home of rest and health. The valley is now visited
by large numbers of persons, from many States, during the summer
months, on account of its mineral waters, for whose accommodation
three very large hotels have been erected within a space of two miles.
The springs are numerous, and furnish every variety of mineral water
that has any sanitary reputation, and of the most superior quality.
One of them yields, on a quantitative analysis, as much as two hundred
and seveuty-three grains of solid matter to the gallon. There are not
less than twenty of these springs within easy reach, and the actual ex-
perience of hundreds of invalids has demonstrated that they possess
curative properties of wonderful efficacy. These waters, with the ac-
cessories of easy transit in several lines of hacks from the railroad, ten
miles distant, daily mails, splendid drives, pure air, rural quiet, pleas-
ing scenery, abundant facilities for innocent amusement, and the most
wholesome country fare, together with three spacious hotels, supplied
with every convenience and comfort, have rare attractions to the sick,
the weary, and the fugitive from infection and pestilence.

Grainger, as has already been stated, in age, ranks among the oldest
counties in the State in wealth and population, she is the tenth in East
Tennessee. Her ])ast history is honorable. Her sons have shone con-
spicuously on the bench, in the pulpit, and in the legislative halls of
her own and of other States, and in the councils of the nation have not
been unheard, or without distinction. They rest, with the soldier's
honor, on every field from the city of Mexico to the Potomac.
Her people are eni])hatically good citizens. Morality and sobriety are
the rule. Good order prevails. The laws arc respected and enforced.
Grainger juries are proverbial for convictions, with merciful exercise of

East Tennessee. 495

discretion, in criminal prosecutions. Thev make punishment cet-tain,
but exclude not the elements of mercy from their verdicts. But there
has always been, and there still is, a lamentable lack of public spirit
in the county. It is to be hoped that more liberal, enlarged and am-
bitious views in this respect will be taken in the future. It is not lib-
erality, but corruption in the use of public money that is to be con-
demned. A county that is worth between three and four millions of
dollars, though as compared to other.-; poor, yet is rich enough to act a
prominent part in all works of public iiiiprovement, adornment, char-
ity, and patriotism.

If we were called upon to express an opinion as to the branch of
industry and production to which this county should be chiefly devoted,
we should, without hesitation, answer — breeding and grazing. The
words are used in their technical sense. There are many farms in the
county highly adapted to tillage husbandry, some portions are pre-em-
inently suited tt) horticulture, particularly to the growth of the apple
and the peach, the hills of Clinch to the apple, and the dry elevations
of Skin-foot to the peach ; and it is said that the southern acclivities of
Clinch Mountain, the soil being dry, warm and porous, are admirably
suited to the culture of the vine. The native vine grows there with
great luxuriance ; and we have no doubt that, with some amelioration
of the virgin soil, held in position by terraces or other contrivance,
which would not be generally necessary, the cultivated varieties
would do even better. These mountain heights, swelling away to the
north-east, wild and blue, thus draped would contribute something more
than the background of beautiful scenery, and become as valuable as
the more fertile plain lying below. Neither of these branches of ag-
riculture should, then, be abandoned or neglected, but the area devoted
to tillage should be greatly reduced. All the more valuable grasses
can be cultivated to perfection. The orchard grass, which is the
very best of all grazing grasses, is easily set, and grows well on nearly
all soils of medium fertility. There are here large tracts of calcareous
soil, the delight of blue-grass, and the great forage grasses, timothy
and red-to]), nowhere, under proper cultivation, the latter, indeed,
almost without care, yield better crops. Red clover, sometimes called
a grass, but which is, properly speaking, a leguminous pUmt, happily
for the country, here performs its double mission of supplying food,
green and dry, for all graminivorous creation, and of supi)lying the
soil with plant food, with wonderful efficiency and certainty. Aided
by a liberal dressing of plaster, it yields immense crops of hay

49^ Resources of Tennessee.

and seed, and at the same time is the most rapid, sure and cheap
of all the means of soil renovation. Yet, when the late Judge
Powell, of Hawkins county, many years ago introduced its culture
upon his estate, he was formally waited upon by some of his neighbors,
and requested to desist, as they had been informed it was a most pes-
tiferous plant, and would soon so propagate itself as to infest all the
fields in the country. But Hawkins farmers are wiser now, thanks to
the persistency of the well-informed Judge, and annually derive a
large income from the sale of seed alone.

Pastures, herds and flocks should be the specialties of the agricul-
tural industry, of not only this particular section, but of all the region
round about. Sheep, of the improved breeds, should predominate.
Beyond all question, under proper management, this is the most profit-
able stock that can be reared. The climate is precisely that in Avhich
they do best; it is neither too cold in winter, nor too hot in summer.
The food that brings them up most rapidly to the pei'fection of wool
and mutton, can be made most abundantly, with little labor and cost.
They make an ample return to the field from which they draw their
sustenance. They enrich it, they extirpate brambles, and brier, and
bush, and keep it in perfect order. Their wool will compensate their
owner for the care and expense of them during the winter, and their
increase and flesh, more and more sought after every year, afford a
most handsome profit. Mr. Randell says it is scarcely possible for a
sheep to die in debt to his owner. And then, the ease, the beauty, the
simplicity, the innocence of pastoral life!

But, what a revulsion ! The cur, and his friend and protector, the
solon of the day, stand before us, to warn us that there is not yet much
profit, and less poetry, in the shepherd's vocation in this fair land of
Tennessee.

"'Tis true, 'tis pity, and 'tis pity, 'tis true."

How long will our legislators value more a re-election to a [)osition,
which is profitless, and when its duties are not faithfully discharged,
not only without honor, but disgraceful, than the true material and
social interests of their State? The passage of a well-considered and
efficient law for the protection of the mutton and wool interest, would
be a monument to the memory of the Legislature, more durable than
marble, for, not upon the statute book alone would it appear, butevery-
where, all over the land, and in every mart, in the enhanced prosper-
ity and happiness of the great central commonwealth.

East Tennessee. 497

This interest has the peculiar protection of law in almost all the
countries of the old world, and now in many of our American States.
" The dignity and importance of the shepherd's vocation," says Allen,
" have ever been conspicious. Abel, the supposed twin brother of the
first born of the human race, was a * keeper of sheep;' and from this it
may be fairly inferred, that there is no animal which has so long been
under the control of man. Abraham and his descendants, as well as
most of the ancient patriarchs, were shepherds. Job had 14,000 sheep.
It is said of Rachel, the favored mother of the Jewish race, ' she
came with her father's sheep, for she kept them.' The seven daughters
of the priest of Midian came and drf w water for their father's flocks.
Moses, the statesman and lawgiver, who was learned in all the wisdom
of the Egyptians, kept the flocks of Jethro, his father-in-law; and
David, the future monarch of Israel, the hero, poet, and divine, was a
keeper of sheep. It was to shepherds, ^ while abiding in the field,
keeping watch over their flocks by night,' that the birth of the Savior
was announced. The root of the Hebrew name for sheep signifies
fruitfulness, abundance, plenty — as indicating the blessings they were
to confer on the human race. With the sacred writers they were the
chosen symbols of purity and the gentler virtues; they were the vic-
tims of propitiatory sacrifices ; and, finally, they became the type of
redemption to fallen man." Yet, in Tennessee the dog, the remorse-
less enemy and wanton destroyer of the sheep — the dog, the most
worthless, vilest, meanest of the inferior animal creation — is allowed
by our Legislature to continue his ravages, unrestrained and unchecked.

GREENE COUNTY.

County Seat — Greeneville.

Greene county was created by the State of North Carolina, from a
portion of Washington county, in 1783. It is one of the very 'best
counties of this section of the State, and its farmers are leading ofi" in
the work of agricultural reform. They are organizing, all over the
county, in associations for mutual benefit and improvement, and pre-
paring for vigorous action in every department of their vocation.
Already the fruits of their labors are beginning to show themselves in
the adoption of a better system of farming, and in introducing a higher
bred race of animals into their midst. Go into any portion of the county
32

49 S ResoM'ces of Tennessee.

and it will be found that tliey are waking up to their interests and
making bold and manly stri les in recuperating their exhausted lands.
They are filling up the gullies, righting up their fences, repairing their
dilapidated houses and building new ones, plowing deeper, sowing more
clover and grass, and producing more remunerative crops. They are
housing their cows, economizing their manures, bringing into use im-
proved implements of husbandry and exerting themselves to elevate
their vocation.

Especially are they alive to the importance of popular education.
Greene county was one of the first counties in East Tennessee to lead
off in the adoption of the free school system, and now its children,
rich and poor, white and black, have the glorious boon of receiving a
liberal education.

The people throughout the county are kind, industrious and provi-
dent. They are generous to strangers, and always glad to see honest,
active and intelligent citizens settling in their midst. They invite
more population among them, and will sell them good and cheap
homes. They are anxious to develop the wealth of their county, and
they feel the need of a denser population to do it.

Greene county is bounded on the north by Hawkins, on the east by
Washington, on the south by North Carolina, and on the west by
Hamblen and Cocke counties. Some portions of it are much broken,
and mountainous.

This county may, for description, be divided into three belts, in accord-
ance with its geological formations, running north-easterly and south-
westerly. Beginning on the north-western side, we first have the Lick
Creek country, in which the prevailing rock is a calcareous shale or
slate. This belt varies in width from four to six or eight miles, being
much wider in the south-western corner. The soil of this belt is gen-
erally adapted to wheat, but more especially to grass. It is well watered
and occasionally low white " spouty" or " crawfishy" spots occur. The
best soil of this belt is in its northern portion, at the foot of Bay's
Mountain.

Passing over, for the present, the middle belt, we reach the ridges of
the Unaka Mountains. These occupy a belt from three to six miles
wide on the north Carolina line. Uj)on the tops of the mountains,
here and there, may be found cultivated areas. The rocks are sand-
stones, hard slates, rough conglomerates approaching granites in struc-

East Tennessee, 499

ture and appearance. The soil is generally thin, gravelly and un])ro-
ductive, but in spots it is a dark color and prairie-like, and yields
bu-^kwhcat, potatoes and oats, with remarkable prodigality. Some-
tiiiies buckwheat attains a height of six feet. Fruit trees also do well,
and especially peaches. Generally, however, the mountains are wild,
uninhabited, rugged and covered with dense forests of pine and hem-
lock, with an undergrowth of thick laurel, through which it is difficult
to pass. The inexpressible solitude of these airy elevations awes the
mind, while it fills the soul with emotions of sublimity.

Between the mountains and the first belt described, the surface of
the country is greatly diversified by hills and valleys, but the soil is
very strong and fertile, being based upon calcareous rocks, limestone
and dolomite. On this belt all the cereals grow well. Greene county
takes the second rank among all the counties in the State in the grow-
ing of wheat, Wilson being first. It is first in hay and flax, and be-
sides wheat, is second in wool, flaxseed and maple sugar.

The Nolichucky courses through this middle belt, which, with its
tributaries, supplies it w^ell with water, and upon these streams are
many fine alluvial bottoms. The water-power afforded by the Noli-
chucky is very valuable, the descent of the stream being rajiid, the
banks solid and the bed rocky, abundance of material for the con-
struction of dams being convenient and accessible.

The Unaka or Smoky Mountains, which form its southern boundary,
is indeed a valuable part of the county, on account of the immense
deposits of iron ore of the best quality. The ore is a brown hematite
or limonite, containing a large per cent, of manganese. An eastern
company, with ample means, has developed an iron interest here, some
eleven miles from the town of Greeneville, and has expended a consid-
erable amount of money in the manufacture of pig metal. This company
is still actively engaged in the business, and is quite successful.
It labors under the disadvantage of having no railway communica-
tion. The metal is hauled to the town of Greeneville, from whence it is
shipped to market. In the course of time, no doubt, a railroad will
be constructed to this region.

The best lands of the county lie on the Nolichucky and Little
Chucky rivers and Lick Creek. These lands w^ill compare, in fertil-
ity and in the variety of their productions, with any lands in the State.
They produce unusual yields of corn, from fifty to seventy-five bushels

500 Resources of Tennessee,

to the acre, and are equally as favorable in the production of wheat
and oats. The Lick Creek bottoms are superior grass lands. Of
course all these lands are very valuable and command high prices,
ranging from twenty-five to fifty dollars per acre. The wheat of
Greene county is noted for its excellent quality. The uplands are
remarkably well adapted to its growth. The farmers, since the war,
have wisely turned their attention to the grassing of their lands.
They are doing more grazing and raising more cattle and mules.

Of course, there are some poor lands in the county, some of them
naturally poor, but by far the most of them have been made so by
injudicious cultivation. Stock and spring water is abundant. The
timber is large and plenty of it, consisting of white and black oak,
Spanish and red oak, chestnut oak, hickory, maple, walnut, wild cherry,
&c. Labor is reasonably abundant, and wages run from eight to ten
dollars per month, when the hand is boarded, and from fifteen to
twenty, when he boards himself. The facilities for transportation are
very favorable. The East Tennessee, Virginia and Georgia Railroad
runs through it. The great drawback upon the county, is the lack of
capital and enterprise. Close attention is paid to the smaller industries.
Considerable quantities of land are for sale in every portion of the
county, ranging from five to thirty dollars per acre. For the most
part the farmers are contented. The county has an Agricultural and
Mechanical Association, well organized and succeeding admirably.

The principal town is Greeneville, situated on the East Tennessee,
Virginia and Georgia Railroad. It contains a population of about
1,000. It is a moral, energetic and intelligent community. There
are flourishing schools in the place, and two excellent institutions of
learning in the county. Rheatown is also in this county, but not im-
mediately on the railroad.

HAMBLEN COUNTY.
County Seat — Morristown.

This, with tlie exception of Union, is the smallest county in East
Tennessee, embracing only about 160 square miles. The number of
acres assessed for taxation for the year 1873, amounted to 101,687.
The law creating the county was passed May 31, 1870, and the county
was organized during the same year.

East Tennessee, 501

To Mr. J. C. Hodges, of Morristown, we are indelited for the fol-
lowing statements in regard to this connty, and our own observations
fully sustain the truth of his assertions :

"While Hamblen county has existed as a county less than four years,
it consists of territory by no means newly settled. The county is com-
posed of fractions taken from Grainger, Jefferson and Hawkins, three
very old counties.

" Morristown, the county seat, is located at the crossing of the East
Tennessee, Virginia and Georgia and the Cincinnati, Cumberland Gap
and Charleston Railroads. It is comparatively a new town, but is
thriving and prosperous, and very fortunately situated. The great
air line from New York to the south-west passes' through the town,
and a glance at any correct map will show that a line drawn from
Louisville, Kentucky, or Cincinnati, Ohio, to Charleston, South Caro-
lina, covers Cumberland Gap, Morristown, Paint Rock, etc. Then,
when it is remembered that the Cumberland range may be crossed at
Cumberland Gap with a short tunnel, and that the French Broad cuts
the Unaka or Alleghany range entirely through, and that by actual
survey this route is found to be more than seventy-five miles shorter
than any other route from Cincinnati to the sea-board, and that a
road on this route may be constructed at less cost by millions of dol-
lars than on any other route, it will be conceded that Morristown is to
be a railroad center of no mean importance. Already we have from
1,200 to 1,500 inhabitants, and improvements going up all around.

" Russellville and Whitesburg, on the East Tennessee, Virginia and
Georgia Railroad, are thriving villages of a few hundred inhabitants
each.

" Hamblen can boast of no great attractions in the shape of mineral
springs and mountain scenery, nor do I know of any great mineral
wealth in the county, except her quarries of marble. But of this there
are indeed exhaustless quantities, and of varieties the finest on the
continent. Tlie red variegated, pink and gray arc more plentiful than
any other varieties. Limestone and marble are the prevailing rocks.

"While this county is generally pretty well watered by many small
streams of no note or importance, and while it is washed on the one
side by the waters of the deep, sluggish Kolichucky, and the rapid
Freneli Broad, and on the other by the majestic old Ilolston, it can-
not, like many counties in East Tennessee, boast of its vast water-

502 Resources of Tennessee,

powers. There are, however, many sites for mills and other machinery,
many of which are utilized to a greater or less extent. There are,
aside from these, no manufacturing establishments of any importance.

"The county includes within its limits much of the very best portion
of the famous New Market Valley, the soil of which is known as mu-
latto clay, and is underlaid with limestone. This valley is a continua-
tion of the Valley of Virginia, and in many respects resembles the
latter valley. The laud is adapted to the growth of the grasses, in-
cluding red clover, timothy and blue-grass, all of which produce very
remunerative crops. Wheat and the other cereals also do well here.
Then, along the rivers and large creeks are many hundreds of acres of
rich alluvium, whose productive capcity is equal to the best prairie
of the north-v/est. Then, again, there is in the county much land
different from and inferior to either the valley or bottom lands. It
would bo hard, indeed, to tell the average fertility of our lands.
Some will produce sixty, eighty, or even one hundred bushels of Indian
corn per acre. Then, there are hundreds of acres too badly worn by
bad farming to produce a paying crop of anything.

" Farms in this county vary in size from a few acres to a thousand.
Some are worked by hired labor, but muc]i the greater number by the
owners. There is also a great range in the price of lands. Some lands may
be bought at $5 per acre, others could not be bought for $100 j^er acre.

"There is perhaps as great a variety of crops grown here as in any
county in the United States. Corn and wheat were in former years the
leading crops. They are perhaps so yet. But grass is rapidly coming
to the front, especially red clover and timothy. This county last year
shipped a considerable amount of hay, and produced enough clover
seed, perhaps, for home consumption. This year much more hay will
be shipped, and much more clover-seed saved. Tobacco is now receiving
some attention, and the country is found to be well suited to its cul-
ture. Upon our higher lands all kinds of fruits prosper, including the
grape. Much more attention is now being paid to fruit-growing than
formerly.

"Upon the whole, the outlook is more favorable, agriculturally, than
ever before. Our people are beginning to see more and more clearly the
propriety of plowing deep with the best improved plows and sub-soilers,
and of raising more hay and less grain. It is a])parent to every ob-
server among us tliat grass crojxs are more profitable than any others.

East Tennessee . 503

" One thing our people seem slow to learn — that it costs no more to
feed a blooded horse or ox than a scrub. True, there is some fine stock
in the county, and the breeds are gradually improving, but we do need
badly some farmers of means and enterprise enough to show the con-
trast between fine and common stock.

"While we have a population of about forty-five to the square mile,
the lands of our county are fully half lying idle and uncultivated.
Much of the land in cultivation is poorly farmed, and is wearing out.
On this account there are many of our poorer farmers dissatisfied, and
desirous to sell their lands. Among the better farmers, and the trades-
men, few, if any, are discontented. They find no reason (especially
the farmers) to be so ; for the soil responds kindly to the plow and
harrow, the climate is equable and healthy, the products of the farm
are various and abundant, and a ready market awaits all surplus pro-
ducts. Then, we have in our midst some excellent schools, and many
churches in all parts of the county.

" Indeed, with our abundant facilities for transportation, consisting of
the railroads and rivers above spoken of, the productiveness of our
soil, the healthfulness of our climate, there is nothing to render the
farmer discontented, except, perhaps, the lack of reliable labor. In
this respect, many farmers find some trouble. This, and the lack of
" agricultural information," are the great drawbacks upon farming in
this county.

"Our farmers are waking up. They are inviting capital and industry
from any source they may come. The old fogies are, many of them,
offering their lands for sale. Our better farmers are giving more at-
tention to fruit culture, butter making, and the smaller industries, and
organizing into clubs all over the county, and in the march of improve-
ments we are determined, many of us, not to be found lagging
behind."

While Mr. Hodges has given a good account of the state of agri-
culture in this county, we deem it necessary to add some remarks in
relation to its physical features. The topography and geology of this
county are quite simple. A very considerable ridge, the so-called
Bay's Mountain, traverses centrally this county in a north-easterly and
south-westerly direction. It is the dividing ridge between the waters
of the Holston and the waters of the Nolichucky. This ridge and the
country north-west of it as far as the Holston River, its boundary, are
made up of Knox limestones and dolomites, which include several

504 Resources of Tennessee.

strata of light-colored marble, in the vicinity of Morristown and else-
where. South-east of this ridge, much of the county is underlaid by
blue limestones and calcareous shales belonging to the Trenton and
Nashville formation and is a part of the great knobby slate region in
the western parts of Cocke and Greene counties. It may be added
that there is very little waste land in the county, and the soils are as
fertile as any in East Tennessee.

The population — estimated from the number of polls, 1,057, and the
number of voters, 1,712 — is about 8,000.

HAMILTON COUNTY.

County Seat — Chattanooga.

Hamilton county was erected out of Rhea county, under an act of
the Legislature, passed October 25, 1819, which provided, "that the
territory south-west of Rhea and south and east of Bledsoe and Marion
counties, should constitute a county by the name of Hamilton, in honor
and to perpetuate the memory of the late Alexander Hamilton, Secre-
tary of the Treasury of the United States." The said act further pro-
vided, " that the said county of Hamilton shall be bounded as follows,
to-wit : Beginning at a point at the foot of Walden's Ridge, of Cum-
berland Mountain, on the east side thereof; thence running to a point
on the Tennessee River, two and one-half miles below the lower end
of Jolly's Island, so as to include Patrick Martin, in the county of
Hamilton ; thence south thirty-five degrees east to the southern limits
of this State ; thence west to the point where the Marion county line
intersects said southern boundary ; thence north-eastwardly with Ma-
rion county line to Bledsoe county line; thence with Bledsoe county
line to a point opposite the beginning, and thence to the begin-
ning." The seat of justice was subsequently established at Dallas.
About half of the county thus formed, and all of the county on the
left banks of the Tennessee River, lay within the territory of the
Cherokee Nation. The white inhabitants of the county continued to
occupy the lands on the north side of the Tennessee, until the removal
of the Indians, which was effected under a treaty concluded between
the United States and the Cherokee Nation, December 29, 1835. After
the extinguishment of the Indian title, the lands south of the Ten-
nessee River were rapidly taken up.

If*

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1^X1*1 4A?s ATION

Railroads

I^uiiiiisliod Railroads--
Coal = = =

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CHATTANOOGA,

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for transportation and

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' I ■' / * Ki^ riiliuishod Railroads -=
Coal = = =

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East Tennessee. 505

By an act of the Legislature of January 3, 1840, it was provided that
ae electors of the county should determine, by vote, where the perma-
nent seat of justice of the county should be located, '' namely, whether
it should remain at Dallas, or be removed to the south side of the
r'ennessee, at or within one mile of the framed house lately occupied
Joseph Vann, a Cherokee Indian, in said county." It was also pro-
vided that a majority of twenty-five should be necessary to authorize
iie removal to Vann's house, and that, in case such majority resulted
.n favor of Vann's house, then certain commissioners therein named
should proceed " to fix a suitable and eligible site for the seat of justice
and for a county town at or within one mile of the locality named, to
purchase the necessary land, to lay out a town into lots, and to sell the
lots and apply the proceeds to paying the cost of the public buildings."

The result of this election was the removal of the seat of justice to a
town selected and laid off as directed under the provisions of said act,
and which was named Harrison, after General Wm. H. Harrison, sub-
sequently President of the United States.

At an election held November, 1870, pursuant to an act of the Legis-
lature, approved June 29, 1870, the people decided, by a two-thirds
vote, in favor of the removal of the seat of justice from Harrison to
Chattanooga, and the change was made accordingly.

By an act of the Legislature, approved January 30, 1871, that por-
tion of the county lying east of a line running south-west from the
mouth of Harrison Spring Branch, on Tennessee River, to the Georgia
State line, was cut oft and united with a portion of Bradley county, to
form the county of James.

Geography and Topography of the County. Hamilton is one of
the southern tier of counties situated near the south-east corner of the
State, and north of the north-east corner of the State of Georgia.
The county is bounded as follows : On the ncn'th by the county
of Rhea, on the east by the county of James, with the Tennessee
Riv'cr separating the two counties from Harrison to the northern
boundary, on the south by the States of Georgia and Alabama, and
on the west by the counties of Marion, Sequatchie and Bledsoe. The
county is oblong, extending about twice as far from the north to the
«50uth as from east to west, and embraces about 360 square miles. So
far as the general to])Ograp!iy is concerned, it may be ren)arked that
the valleys and ridges all have a north-easterly trend, preserving a
marked parallelism throughout.

5o6 Resoui'ces of Tennessee. ^

Principal City and Villages. Chattanooga, the county seat, is one
of the most important cities in the State. A description of this place J
IS given in subsequent pages. Wauhatchee is situated in the south-
west corner of the county, at the junction of the Nashville and Chatta-
nooga Eailroad with the Alabama and Chattanooga Kailroad, six
miles from Chattanooga. Tyner and Chickaraauga are growing vil- "^
lages, with considerable local trade, located in the south-east portion 1
of the county. The former is situated on the East Tennessee and i
Virginia Railroad, nine miles from Chattanooga, and the latter on
the Western and Atlantic Railroad, twelve miles from Chattanooo-a.
Villages will spring up at several points on the Cincinnati Southern
Railway, where the agricultural products need an outlet, and where
mining operations are now progressing, and blast furnaces are con-
templated. This railroad runs through the whole length of the county,
north of the Tennessee River, and is to be finished within two years!

Principa.l Streams. The Tennessee River, after running along the
eastern border of the county for about fifteen miles, turns its course
through the county from north-east to south-west for fourteen miles
until It strikes the base of Lookout Mountain, from which it turns and
pursues a north-west course for about seven miles, until it breaks
through the mountain range, at what is known as the ^^suck,'' on the
Marion county line. From this point the river pursues a winding, but
a south-west, course, forming the boundary between Marion and Ham-
ilton counties. The Tennessee has an average width of 1,500 feet,
and in this county is navigable for steamboats during the year. The
obstructions at the suck and other points have been removed, or nearly
so, by the General Government. All the other streams of the county
are tributary to the Tennesse River. The principal streams are Look-
out, Chattanooga, Citico and South Chickamaga Creeks, from the
south-east; and Suck, Mountain, North Chickamaga, Soddy (Sauda),
Possum, Rocky and Sale Creeks, from the north-west. The larger
of these creeks are navigable for flat-boats and rafts, and are made use
of for taking out timber, minerals and i)roduce.

Principal Mountains and Rldrje^. Lockout Mountain commences at
Gadsden, Alabama, eighty miles from Chattanooga, and terminates
abruptly in what is known as Point Lookout, near the south-west cor-
ner of the county, about two and a half miles from Chattanooga. This
mountain is about 1,G00 feet in elevation at its extreme height above
the Tennessee River at low water. The mountain spreads out as it
extends south into an undulating surface, a large portion of whic^h can

East Tennessee. 5^7

ae cultivated, and is well timbered land, watered by numerous springs
ind small streams. Walden's Ridge extends the whole length of the
county, and bounds the Valley of the Tennessee on the north-west.
[t rises abruptly to an elevation of about 1,000 feet. The county line
runs on the top and near the center of the ridge, which is from five to
ifteen miles wide. The land is cultivated, and is well timbered and
.vatered. Loookout Mountain and Waldeu's Ridge are outliers of the
Jumberland Table Lands. White Oak Mountains occupy a small space
n the south-east corner of the county. Raccoon Mountains extend into
the south-west corner of the county. Missionary Ridge, commencing
at South Chickamauga Creek, near the Tennessee River, rises to the
heighth of 300 to 500 feet, and extends in a southerly direction into
Georgia, approaching within two and a half miles of Chattanooga. Its
elevation is gradual, its top rounded and its soil generally fertile.
The Valley of the Tennessee, between the river and Walden's-
Ridge, is broken by ranges of hills, known as first and second ridges,
which follow the general course of the valley, and which are separated
from the Table Lands by the " Back" Valley. South of the Tennes-
see, and beyond the valley of the river, the country is broken by
minor ridges.

PrincijKd VaUei/s. ■ The famous and fertile Valley of the Tennessee
is first in importance. This extends the whole length of the county on
the right bank of the river, and on both sides of the river from Har-
rison to the Georgia line. Lookout Valley, on the west side of Look-
out Mountain, extends from the Tennessee River, at the point of this
Mountain, near Chattanooga, in a south-west direction into Alabama.
Chattanooga Valley, between Lookout Mountain and Missionary
Ridge, extends from Chattanooga in a southerly direction into Georgia.
! Chickamauga Valley, to the east of Missionary Ridge, extends from
the Tennessee River into Georgia, and constitutes in that State what
i^ known as McLemore's Cove. The Back Valley lies between Wal-
deu's Ridge and a groui)of minor ridges running parallel therewith.

Roads and Bridges. One of the best natural roads in the country is
tlie " Dry Valley road," running through the county on the north side
(.f the Tennessee River. The other roads on this side of the river are
in better condition than elsewhere in the county. Sufficient labor has
not been exjUMided upon the roads throughout the county. The impor-
tant matter of roads has not received in this State, the attention it de-
mands, but there is a marked disposition to advance in that direction

5oS Rcso2trccs of Tennessee.

in Hamilton county. With respect to bridges, the county is not be-
hind the times. All the principal creeks will soon be spanned by the
most substantial structures, where they are needed. There are now
constructed, or in the process of erection, six wrought-iron arch bridges.
They have a span of seventy-five feet to one hundred and fifty feet.
The six bridges will cost the county $30,000.

Railroads. The following railroads terminate at Chattanooga: The
Nashville and Chattanooga, the Memphis and Charleston, and the Ala-
bama and Chattanooga, passing through the south-western portion of
the county ; the Western and Atlantic, and the East Tennessee, Vir-
ginia and Georgia, running through the south-eastern portion of the
county. The Cincinnati Southern Railway, now in course of construc-
tion, enters the county from the north and runs nearly its whole length.
Thus every portion of the county has railroad facilities.

General Features. The main stream, the Tennessee, and the main
ridges and valleys of the county, have the general course of the Appala-
chian range, and present the general features of that region. The sharp
deflection of the Tennessee at Chattanooga, to the north and west,
changes somewhat the configuration of the southern portion of the
county. The tributaries of the Tennessee River, rising in Walden's
Ridge on the right of the river, run from north-west to south-east,
and cut through the minor ridges of the main valley. On the left of
the Tennessee River, the tributaries flow into it from a south-westerly
direction. In the south-eastern portion of the county the elevatioiiiB
are generally continuous; in the north-western portion they are more
" knobby." The valleys and coves formed by the different ridges are
generally susc(;«{3tible of cultivation, and frequently their soil is very
productive. The valleys and ridges together present a variety of soils
and conditions, suited to all kinds of agricultural and horticultural
products.

Geology of the Countij. The geological formations of this county are
exceedingly varied, commencing with the Knox dolomite, and ending
with the Coal-measures. They embrace ten distinct grou])S or divis-
ions, viz: Beginning with the Knox dolomite, the lowest, which
we find in the valley lands, we next come to the Trenton and
Nashville linu;stones, in the valleys and Missionary Ridge ; then the
dyestoneor red iron ore group, mainly in small ridges, followed imme-
diately by the Niagara limestone, black shale, and the siliceous or St.
lioiiis liiiK'stoue, mountain limestone, which forms the base of the

East Tennessee. 5^9

mountain, and lastly, the Coal-measures, which cap Lookout and Rac-
coon mountains and Walden's Ridge. It may be noted here, that Look-
out Mountain rests in a synclinal trough, or one in which the strata dip
from both sides to the center, forming a trough. It may be further
remarked, that on each side of this mountain, is a skirting ridge, rough
and vsharp, formed by the tilting outcrops of the siliceous group, the
dyestone or red iron ore and the black shale, just as if the weight of
the superincumbent mountain had bent this flexible mass in the center,
and caused the edges to turn up. Missionary Ridge is formed by the
outcroppings of the Knox limestone and dolomites, its eastern slope
and contiguous knobby belt of country to the east of the ridge being
covered with the flinty masses and gravel of this formation. Between
Missionary Ridge and Chattanooga, the rocks are Knox dolomite,
Trenton and Nashville limestones, forming a wide rolling valley. This
valley belt further north is covered with rounded flinty hills, making
it a knobby region. Will's Valley, on the western side of Lookout,
shows mainly outcrops of Trenton and Nashville blue limestone rocks.
On the west side of this valley, at the foot of the Table Land, and
forming a skirting ridge, the dyestone group again appears. Perhaps
more than one-fourth of the county belongs to the Coal-measures,
which furnish a large amount of good coal. For particulars, the reader
is referred to the chapter on coal.

&oil8. The soils of the county may be classified, generally, as river
and creek bottom, second bottom, upland and table-land. These general
classes are not uniform, but present a number of varieties.

The bottom lands are alluvial, generally with a clay sub-soil. Some
bottom land, known as "Crawfish bottom," is regarded as having little
value. This land, in its natural condition, is wet and acid. It only-
needs to be drained and supplied with lime, or other alkaline fertilizers,
to be made productive and valuable. Some bottom lands have been
cultivated year after year without rest or rotation ; then, again, only
the surface has been used without any mixture of the subsoil, by deep
and thorough plowing. With these exceptions the bottom lands are
very productive. With respect to the exceptions named, the lands can
easily be restored to their original productive capacity by correct man-
agement. Little or no fertilizing is needed.

The second bottom, in some places, is a clayey loam, and in other
places, a sandy loam. The remarks above in regard to the condition
of the first bottom lands, apply also to these lands. The soil of the

5IO Resou7'ces of Tenitessee.

second bottom is not so deep nor strong as of the first bottom Ma-
nures can be used to advantage. Compost is especially beneficial to the
sandy loam, and " summer fallowing" and the turning under of clover,
to the clayey loam of these lands.

Tlie uplands or ridge lands constitute a large portion of the county.
The soil is thin, and in some places poor. These lands are not so
much affected by a dry season as naturally would be supposed. With
careful tillage and intelligent management, they can be made to pro-
duce well. For stock farms and grazing purposes they are well
adapted. The soil on the ridges north of the Tennessee River is fre-
quently impregnated with iron, and by the addition of the proper in-
gredients, is fitted for special crops.

The table-lands constitute the plateau of Lookout Mountain and
Wal den's Ridge. Notwithstanding their elevation, the soil is a sandy
loam. Fine crops are raised on these lands, although they can be
much improved by fertilizers of the proper kinds. These lands are
especially valuable for the raising of stock, particularly sheep, for graz-
ing purposes, and for the cultivation of fruit and potatoes.

The Climate and the Seasons. The climate throughout the year is
mild and invigorating. The extremes of heat and cold are not known.
During the winter there is usually, but not always, a light fall of snow,
which disappears in a day or two. Throughout the summer the nights
are cool and comfortable. Lookout Mountain and Walden's Ridge are
noted resorts for invalids and pleasure seekers from different parts of
the country, during the summer season. Chattanooga is becoming more
and more the home of those who require a mild and healthful climate
during the winter. The beautiful weather of autumn usually extends
to Christmas. From that time to the middle of March there is some
cold and considerable rainy weather. The spring and summer seasons
are at least a month earlier than in the northern and eastern states,
which gives the advantage of an early market to those engaged in agri-
cultural and horticultural pursuits.

Agricultural Products. Corn, Avheat, oats, barley, beans, peas, to-
bacco, the different grasses, broom corn, sorghum, cotton, potatoes,
sweet potatoes, and almost every variety of ])roduce can be cultivated
with success. Certain localities are better adapted to certain crops.

Corn yields most on the first bottoms, where seventy-five to one
hundre'd bushels per acre can be raised. Corn is also cultivated on all
the other classes of lands.

East Tetmessee. 511

'Wheat is raised to the best advantage on the second bottom and
table-lands, yielding from fifteen to twenty-five bushels per acre.

The grasses, especially timothy and herds-grass, are very successfully
cultivated on the first and second bottoms, yielding from one and a
half to three tons per acre.

Clover grows too rank on the first bottoms, but does finely on the
second bottoms and uplands, yielding two to two and one-half tons per
acre.

Cotton, although not receiving so niach attention as formerly, has
been very successfully cultivated in the county.

Tobacco is grown principally for home consumption.

Potatoes (the Irish potato, so called) do not yield well in the valleys,
except for early use, but they grow to perfection on the table-lands.
Potatoes grown on Lookout Mountain and Walden's Ridge have all
the flavor, dryness and "keeping qualities" of any produced in north-
ern climates. Their cultivation, in the localities named, for the home
and southern market can be made the source of much profit.

Sweet potatoes do well in the valleys. The other products named
can all be cultivated successfully.

Garden vegetables of all kinds, except cabbage, do well, but are not
produced in sufficient quantity to supply the Chattanooga market.
Their production for this and the more southern markets would be a
permanent and remunerative business.

Horticultural Prochicts. Apples, peaches, pears, apricots, quinces,
cherries, grapes, plums, berries, and figs are produced in the county.
The most of these do well. The lower bottom lands are not adapted
to fruit culture, but the uplands and table-lands are.

The apple does not do so well here as in a more northern climate.
This fruit does not keep well.

The peach is regarded as well adapted to this climate, but the nature
of the fruit, and the proper manner of taking care of the tree, must
be well understood in order to make it equal, in quality and yield, that
of more northern localities, where its cultivation is a study. Many
fruit trees are brought from the far north. If fruit trees were accli-
mated by being first produced in nurseries in our own latitude, our
orchards would be more successful and profitable. The constant de-
mand and ready market for all kinds of fruits render their production
very remunerative, and is leading to more attention to their culture.

The grape is deserving of special mention.

5 1 2 Resources of Teimessee,

Gro.pes and Wine. The cultivation of the grape, and the production
of wine, are destined to become very important and extensive occupa-
tions in this locality. Fully one-half of the lands of this county are
peculiarly adapted to the cultivation of the grape. On the light sandy
soil of Lookout Mountain and Walden's Ridge, on the rich red soil of
Missionary and other ridges, and on the white and rocky soil of lower
hills, grapes are grown superior to any produced in the northern states.
The soil and the climate combine to produce grapes in greater abun-
dance, containing more saccharine matter, yielding more wine, and with
a richer "boquet" than can be produced in the celebrated vineyards of
Ohio and Missouri. So far as investigation has gone, the Hartford
Prolific, Concord, Ives' and Delaware do the best, although other va-
rieties do well.

The Catawba, which is regarded as making the best wine, is liable
to the oidium, or vine-mildew, which has proved so troublesome else-
where. This difficulty, in regard to the Catawba, can be overcome, to
some extent, by frequent renewals, as young vineyards are less affected.
Seven hundred and fifty gallons of pure juice to the acre have been
obtained from the Catawba grape in this county. Thirteen pounds of
grapas make a gallon of wine. With respect to grapes generally, each
kind of soil and each elevation has its advantages. On the tops of the
higliest ridges, and on the sides of the mountains, at an elevation of
three hundred to five hundred feet, immunity from early frosts is se-
cured, and early grapes can be obtained for shipment to northern
markets. The Hartford Prolific matures by the 15th of July on the
eastern slopes. For the southern markets, the Concord can be grown
on the elevated table-lands, and kept on the vines until the middle of
October.

The Concord is regarded as the most healthy and productive of all
varieties. With good care and cultivation, 10,000 pounds to the acre can
be produced. Its quality is very much improved in this climate.
Gru])e-vines should be set further apart here than is usual in the north,
and trained on wires, on account of their rank growth.

Timber. This county is well supplied with white and black chestnut,
red and post oak, with yellow and long-leaf pine, with cherry,
hickory, ash, bircli, locust, iron-wood, gum, black walnut, maple,
beech, red cedar, holly, and white and yellow poplar.

Oak grows (piitc generally over the county. The white oak of this
section of the country is pronounced, by experienced mechanics, to be

East Tennessee. 5^3

superior for wagons and implements to that found almost anywhere
else-

Long-leaf pine is found at the base of the Raccoon Mountain, in
Lookout Valley, and on Soddy Creek. It is especially valuable for
bridge and car timber, for flooring and joist.

Chestnut abounds on Walden's Ridge, and is found in other places.
From it the most durable shingles are made.

Hickory is found on Raccoon and Lookout mountains, on Walden's
Ridge, and in north Chickamauga Valley. It is of superior quality
for manufacturing purposes.

Ash abounds in all the valleys. It works easily and finishes well.
The blue ash is superior material for wagon-wheel rims.

Locust and iron-icood are found on the north side of the Tennessee
River, and are valuable timbers.

Black walnut, bird's-eye maple, and cherry are found in the north-
east portion of the county. They are valuable for the manufacture of
furniture, and for the inside work of houses.

Red cedar and cypress abound, particularly on the north side of
the Tennessee. The former makes the most lasting fence- posts, and
both make the most durable wooden-ware.

Holly, of large size, is found in the north-west portion of the coun-
ty. It makes choice veneering.

Poplar is plentiful in the county. It makes excellent finishing lum-
ber for the inside work of buildings. Gunwales from sixty to ninety
feet long have been split out of poplar trees.

Uiestnut-oak knees, for ship-building, can be obtained along the base
of Walden's Ridge, which are said to be of very superior quality. The
bark of the chestnut-oak is rich in tannin.

Rocks. Limestone is the prevailing rock of the county. It is found
in strata of any desired thickness for building and flagging purposes,
and quarries are easily opened and worked. The color is blue, red,
dove and variegated.

Sandstone is found on the slopes and top of Lookout Mountain and
Walden's Ridge. Some of this rock makes superior furnace hearths,
and has been shipped to different parts of the county for that and sim-
ilar purposes.
33

5^4 Resources of Te?inessee.

Minerals. Coal is found in the greatest abundance in Walden's
Kidge and Raccoon Mountain, of excellent quality for heating, manu-
facturing and smelting purposes. There are several strata vaiying in 1
thickness, those now worked averaging about four feet. "Pockets"
and "folds" are frequently presented, swelling out from eight to fif-
teen feet in thickness. Mines have been opened near the base of the
mountain range, also about 300 feet from the base, and on the top.
These coal strata do not present a uniform composition. Analysis of
the coal at different points in this and adjoining counties presents dif-
ferent results. These results may be stated as follows :

Fixed Carbon 64 to 76

Volatile matter 27 to 18

Ashes 9 to 6

Sometimes sulphur is present in the proportion of .25 to .35, then
again it is not found at all.

The veins of coal are generally in a horizontal position, with a slight
dip to the north-west. The elevation of the beds above the valley
makes the drainage of the mines very easy.

The coal banks are two and a half to four miles from the Tennessee
River. The Cincinnati Southern Railway will run between them and
the river. Coal has been mined in different places in the county.
During the year 1873 about 240,000 bushels were taken out, seventy
men being employed in and about the business. This coal yields
good illuminating gas, but not so largely as some other coals. It
cokes very well. The analysis of the coke from the coal of Dade
county, Georgia, adjoining this county, shows —

Carbon " 82.800

Ash or Clinker 16.200

Sulphur 098

Undetermined 902

(For additional information in regard to coal, see chapter xiii.)

Iron ore extends through the county. It is known as fossiliferous
red hematite or dycstone ore. It is found in the "dyestone" ridges
running parallel with Walden's ridge, and between the coal veins and
the Tennessee river. Two of the well known strata of this ore which
extend from Virginia into Alabama, run through this county, one of
them crossing the river at Chattanooga. These veins lie in different

East Tennessee. 515

positions, and their thickness varies from two and one-half feet to five
feet. The following is an analysis of this ore :

Silica 5.36

Pf-roxide of iron ''-^ 21

Lime Gl

Alumina. 27

Phosphorus 21

Moisture. 17

Loss 17

l(iO
Per cent, of metallic iron G5.H9

Iron mining is not carried on at present within the county. The
ore that has been used in this vicinity has been principally surface ore.
This county, with coal, iron ore and limestone lying side by side, all of
excellent quality, very accessible, with convenient means of transpor-
tation by river or rail, and having within its borders one of the best
distributing points in the south, presents a most inviting field for the
investment of capital in iron manufacturing enterprises.

(See chapter xiv, on the subject of iron ore.)

Fride of Lands, Rents and Wages. The valley lands are valued at
$8 to $25 per acre ; occasional farms, which have been well cared for,
at $30 to $40 per acre. Good lands, near Chattanooga, command
higher prices, and some have been sold as high as $200 per acre. Ridge
and mountain lands are valued at $1 to $5 per acre. The size of farms
ranges from 200 to 1,000 acres. Good farm-houses and buildings are
not common. With some notable exceptions, the farmers have not
cultivated their lands to the best advantage. With the proper atten-
tion and study given to agriculture, the farms will be made more pro-
ductive and valuable. Good grape-growing land can be bought for $5
to $15 per acre. Very favorable locations, near Chattanooga, are
valued higher. Mineral lands are very cheap in some places, being '
nothing more than wild lands. Mineral lands in the vicinity of good
sites for furnaces, and with means* of transportation near, are held at
higher, but not uniform prices. A large portion of these lands have
been rented for the purpose of mining, or the mineral right has been
jjurcliased. These "leases," or "rights" are often on the market.

Without any exodus of the people, there is a large quantity of land
for sale and for rent, in the county. Rents, when for cash, are from
^3 to $5 per acre. Usually the landlord receives half the products of

5i6 Resources of Tennessee,

the land, when he furnishes the material and stock, and one-third
when the tenant furnishes the same.

"Wages of farm hands vary from $8 to $16 per month, when they
are boarded, and $16 to $25 when they board themselves. Farm
labor is not abundant. The wages of mechanics, in the city, range
from $2 to $4 per day, according to the season and the demand. In
rolling mills and manufacturing establishments skilled workmen re-
ceive from $3 to $8 per day. Laborers in same receive from $1 ta
$1.50 per day. House servants are paid from $4 to $8 per month.

Population. At the time of the organization of the county in 1819-
20, the inhabitants numbered 821, including 39 slaves and 16 free
colored persons. In 1860 the population numbered 13,258, consisting
of whites 11,641, slaves 1,419, free colored 192, Indians 6. Accord-
ing to the United States census of 1870, Hamilton county contained
in that year 17,241 inhabitants; of this number 13,053 were white, and
4,188 colored. Those of foreign birth numbered 582. The excess of
males over females was 69. The same report shows that the city of
Chattanooga contained at that time 6,093, and the county, outside of
the city, 11,148. Since that time the population of the city has largely
increased, and the population of the rest of the county has increased
considerably. The number of inhabitants of the county is now consid-
ered to be 23,000 to 25,000, including Chattanooga, the population of
which is set down at 10,000 to 12,000.

Schools. The pul^lic school law of 1873 has operated very benefi-
cially in this county. Under this law schools have been established in
every civil district. The city of Chattanooga has a system of public
schools of its own, as provided for under the general law. The num-
ber of persons enrolled, between the ages of six and eighteen, in 1873,
was, in Chattanooga, 2,387; outside of the city, 2,146. Total en-
rolled in the county, 4,633. About half of this number have been
in attendance upon the public schools.

The schools of the county are established upon a firm basis; public
feeling is favorable to their support and improvement. The facilities
offered there!)y are constantly increasing, and will be equal to all de-
mands for fundamental education. In Chattanooga the principals of
public schools are paid $80 to $90, assistant teachers $40 to $50 per
month. Outside of the city teachers are paid $30 to $40 per month.
There are four academic institutions in the county — the Lookout Male
and Female Institute, located at the foot of Lookout Mountain; the

East Tennessee. 5^7

Eock Creek Academy, in the north-west portion of the ''"""'y; ""^
academy at Tyner's Station, and the Chattanooga Female Institute.
A^e^ed ,alm of property, lax,, and KabiUUe, of the county. The

assessment of 1873, shows :

, 191,P8l

Number of acres assessed ^ g2g

Number of village and city lots

Assessed value of real estate:

$1.72:^,6-^8

Out.-^ide of Chattanooga ^^ 3 457 513

In Chattanooga ** " ]_

$5,181,161
Total in county.

Assessed value of personal property :

Outside of Chattanooga ^ .^^ ^^.^

In Chattanooga J

$1,831,741
Total in county .

1 f„ S7 012,902

Aggregate of real and personal property

Hate of taxation for 1874, on the hundred dollars:

By the State for general purposes ^^

By the State for school purposes _

Total State Tax -

By the county for general purposes ^,

By the county for poor-house "'■^^^ ^^

By the county for bridges, &c ■■ ••■■■ ' ^.^

By the county for schools _

.50

Total county tax.

$1.00
Total State and county tax

Number of polls assessed :

1,126

Outside of the city. 2,101

In the city

3,-. 27

Total polls in county

The noil ta^ levied by the State is one dollar, and by the county the
same Jl of 1 h is devoted to school purposes. The county ts in-
^"l ent financial condition. It now has, out of the taxes <.f 18/3,
:w;24,000, over and above all dne liabilities. There are so,„
tracts for bridges which will require payment in 18 <o and subse
quently.

5 ' 8 Resources of Tennessee.

General Observations. The cultivation of the money crops pays the
best on farms consisting exclusively ot bottom laud. On the uplands
and table-lands stock and fruit are the most profitable. In most cases
the cultivation of the grains and grasses, and the raising of stock, can
be advantageously combined.

Improved farmin.^ implements are coming into general use, with
marked beneficial results. Mules and horses are generally used. Im-
proved cattle, sheep and hogs have been introduced by a number of
farmers, and there is a growing interest in this respect, with room
for much advancement in the county generally. Dogs are a curse here
as elsewhere, and kill many sheep annually, to what amount is not
known. There is need of legislation to remedy this evil.

" Homespun " is worn quite generally by the farmers. There is con-
siderable attention given to the smaller industries. A large quantity
of berries and fruit is dried, and considerable honey produced, but the
making of butter is one of the lost arts.

The farmers and manufacturers are so mutually dependent that the
prosperity of the one indicates the prosperity of the other. There is
no drawback to the success of either class. The advantages for manu-
facturing are unsurpassed, and where manufactories flourish, there
farming is profitable also. This section will undoubtedly become a
great manufacturing district.

There is only one small nursery in the county. The nursery busi-
ness would undoubtedly be profitable.

Mills for making flour and meal supply the home demand very
well, still an additional number would be an advantage to the people
and profitable to the owners. Saw mills could be multiplied to ad-
vantage.

Mineral springs are common in the valleys and on the mountains.
Alum, sulphur, saline and chalybeate waters are found.

The county has a poor-house, and farm of '.^00 acres. This institu-
tion has twelve inmates at present.

Tlie Hamilton County Agricuiltural, Horticultural and Mechani(!al
Association is a successful and well established organization, having
grounds and buildings located at Chattanooga.

Sectional nor social prejudices do not disturb the prosperity of the
people. Good citizens are coining from all parts of the country to-

East Tennessee. 519

make their homes in this county. The population of Chattanooga is
largely made up of people from the north. All classes dwell together
in harmony. Immigrants are not only desired but sought after, and
they will find here many inducements which do not exist elsewhere.

Chattanooga. The country in and around the present city of Chat-
tanooga was occupied by the Cherokee Indians until 1837. In 1837^
a post-office was first established at this point, which was then called
Ross' Landing. In the same year, a town was laid oif and divided into
lots, and the Indian name of Chattanooga given to the place. In
1841, Chattanooga was incorporated as a town.

For the next twenty years, until the commencement of the civil war
in 1861, Chattanooga increased in importance as a trading point and
railroad center. During that period, all the railroads now leading to
the city were completed, except the Alabama and Chattanooga Rail-
road, which, however, had been commenced at this place under the
name of the Wills' Valley Railroad. Chattanooga was incorporated
as a city in 1851, at which time the population was about 3,500.

During the civil war nearly all the business houses and private resi-
dences were destroyed, and the inhabitants scattered. The close of
the war left Chattanooga nothing more than a military post, without
business, without buildings, and without inhabitants. What the city is
at present it has become since 1865. During the last eight years the pop-
ulation has increased to 10,000, and probably 12,000. Invited by the
genial climate of this region, and influenced by the importance of this
point as a future trade center, the increase of the population, and the
development of the business of the city has been rapid. At the same
time, the growth of the city has not been spasmodic, but substantial.
During the year 1873, just passed, there was invested in the erection
of manufacturing establishments, the sum of $175,000, and as much
more in the construction of dwellings. The inducements offered by
Chattanooga and the surrounding country for every kind of enterprise,
are as real as they are unusual and flattering.

Railroads and Depots. The railroad facilities of this city will be
spoken of under the head of "Chattanooga as a distributing point."
There are two large union passenger depots, and three freight de-
pots. The accommodations for the vast amount of freight handled at
this point are not sufficient, and additional freight houses are soon to
be erected.

Hotels. Chattanooga boasts of one of the largest and finest hotels

520 Resources of Tennessee.

in the south, with all the modern conveniences and improvements.
There are six hotels in the city which afford good accommodations to
the traveling public. ^

Churches. All the leading religious denominations have one or more
churches. Sunday-schools receive much attention and are in a very
prosperous condition.

Schools. The public school system of Chattanooga is well perfected,
and in a prosperous condition. It is in the hands of an efficient board
of Education. Ample facilities are afforded for all who desire to avail
themselves of its advantages. (See " Schools" under Hamilton county,
ante.) The Chattanooga Female Institute affords ample facilities for
female education in all the higher branches of learning. An academy
for males is all that is needed to make the educational facilities of
Chattanooga complete in all departments. It is expected that this
want will soon be supplied.

TJie Press. The press is represented in Chattanooga by two daily,
two weekly, and two monthly publications.

The Professions. In the several professions are found men of expe-
rience and ability. All the different schools of medicine are repre-
sented. There are at present twenty-six physicians in the city. The
members of the legal profession number thirty. The pulpit is honored
by scholars and earnest workers.

Banks. There are now in Chattanooga two national banks and one
private bank, with an aggregate capital of about $500,000, which is
used in the commercial transactions of the city, and in moving the
large quantity of stock and grain shipped south from this point. In
tlie shipment of produce, liberal advances are made upon railroad re-
c;'ipts, and thus is secured the advantage of distant markets. But
the l)usiness of the city demands a large addition to the banking capi-
til, as is indicated by the high rates of discounts.

Gas-works, water-works and street railroads. The city is supplied
with gas ; price $4.50 per thousand. The gas is made from Tennessee
coal. This coal, when used to good advantage, yields about four cubic
feet of gas to the pound.

T/ie v)ater-works afford an abundant supply of water. The water is
taken from the Tennessee River, and elevated to reservoirs on Cam-
eron hill. A considerable higher elevation than is now made use of
can be obtained. Hydrants, supplied irom the water-works, are made

East Tennessee. 5 2 f

use of for fire protection. Water from the fire-plugs can be thrown
to the heighth of sixty feet on the main street.

A street railroad has been chartered, and the stock subscribed. It is
expected to be in operation very soon.

Chattanooga as a distributing point. Chattanooga commands the
great valleys of the Appalachian region, which extends through Vir-
ginia, Tennessee, Georgia, and Alabama. The ridges and valleys of
this region converge at the point where this city is located, and are
there cut through by the Tennessee River. The topography of the
country is such that no practical connection of the northern and south-
ern system of railroads is presented, except through Chattanooga.
This city is also situated upon that part of the Tennessee River which
must form a part of a through line of water communication between
the North-W'CStern and South Atlantic States.

By a glance at the accompanying maps, it will be seen that Chatta-
nooga already has direct railroad connections with all parts of the
Union. By the Nashville and Chattanooga Railroad direct and
through connections are made with St. Louis, Louisville, Chicago and
Cincinnati. By the East Tennessee, Virginia and Georgia Railroad,
Norfolk, Washington, Baltimore, Philadelphia and New York are
reached by an air line. By the Western and Atlantic Railroad
Chattanooga has direct connection, via Atlanta, with the sea-ports of
the South Atlantic. By the Alabama and Chattanooga Railroad the
most direct connection is made with New Orleans, Mobile and the
other gulf ports. By the Memphis and Charleston Railroad direct
connection is made with the Mississippi River, and with several im-
portant north and south railroad lines. By the St. Louis, Nashville
and Chattanooga railroad line, Chattanooga has direct connection with
the Northern Central Pacific route, and by the Alabama and Chatta-
nooga, and the Memphis and Charleston railroads, direct connection
with the different termini of the Southern Pacific Railroad. The
Cincinnati Southern Railway, now in the course of construction, has
its southern terminus at Chattanooga. Other railroad connections have
been surveyed, their construction being demanded by the rapid devel-
opment of the country.

Seven steamboats are now engaged in the Tennessee River trade
above Muscle Shoals. Tiie upper Tennessee, and tributaries extending
into Virginia and North Carolina, bring to Chattanooga large quan-
tities of }) reduce.

Resources of Tennessee. 522

The following statistics, appertaining to the trade of Chattanooga
for the year 1873, are as full as space will admit, and have been select-
ed and prepared with care :

Local miscellaneous freights received at and shipped from Chatta-
nooga, for the year 1873, not including grain, stock, iron, lumber,
coal, cotton, nor hay : ^

Forwarded, pounds 97,444.469

Received, " 35,352,606

Through freights:

From the north, pounds 552,615.661

From the east, " 82,424,297

From the south, " 46,462 395

From the west, " 66,411.500

Total 747,943,853

Produce and mineral products received at Chattanooga, from the
upper Tennessee River and tributaries, for the year 1873:

Corn, bushels , 609,266

Wheat, " 116,023

Oats, " 121,404

Hay, pounds 1,763.568

Baoon, " 1,717,058

Pig iron, " 4,544,000

Coal, bushels 240,000

Saw-logs, number 10,500

Value of goods, wares and merchandise brought to Chattanooga for
the trade of the city, for 1873:

Amount $4,339,404

Distributed from Cliattanooga over the Atlantic and Gulf States
in 1873:

Horses and mules, number 13.380

Hojis and sheep, " 35,700

Cattle, " 9,640

Corn, bushels 2,538.325

Wheat, " 604 100

Oats, " 507,274

Flwur, barrels 132,135

Hay, pounds 25,763 568

Bacon, " 62,753,000

East Tejmessee. 523

Lumber shipped to the Northern and Eastern States from Chatta-
nooga, 1873:

Number of carloads ^^^

Cotton shipped from and through Chattanooga, 1873:

To the east, number of bales. 112,850

To the north, " " 2.997

To the south, " " 11,669

Total 127,516

Coal and coke received at Chattanooga, for consumption there, or
re-shipment south, 1873:

Number of bushels coal 1,193,000

Number of bushels coke 150,000

Iron shipped from Chattanooga, 1873:

Pig, pounds 26,788,000

Merchant bar, pounds 5,772,373

Railroad, pounds 25,800,000

Chattanooga as a 3Ianufacturing Point. Chattanooga possesses all
the elements necessary to make it a great manufacturing center.

1. It has a healthy location and a salubrious climate.

2. It has ample facilities for transportation and distribution.

3. Its market for all manufactures is near and large, and the de-
mand constantly increasing.

4. It is immediately surrounded by all the materials, inexhaustible
in quantity and superior in quality, which enter into the production of
the leading manufactures.

After what has been said elsewhere, it is not necessary to specify all
the advantages offered by Chattanooga and the surrounding country
for almost every kind of manufacturing enterprise.

With reference to the manufacture of iron, the advantages are so
unusual that it seems as though nature, in the combination of the
material elements here made by her hand, intended this point to be the
great center for its production.

Chattanooga, situated near the Alleghany coal fields, possesses the
element first in importance in the economical production of iron, viz:
good coal, abundant and cheap.

524 Reso7irces of Tennessee.

Veins of iron ore underlie the very city, divide the surrounding
hills, and stretch away into the regions beyond, side by side with the
veins of coal.

In juxtaposition with the coal and iron are found the sandstone and
fire-clay necessary in the construction of furnaces, and the limestone
necessary for the smelting of the ores. Ov^er these treasures grow
forests of valuable timber. These wonderful mineral deposits have
already attracted the attention of manufacturers and capitalists, both
in this country and in Europe, and large investments have been made
and important enterprises have been organized.

The cost of transporting the iron ores to the manufacturing centers
of the Northern States, and the changed condition of the coal supply in
England, will make Chattanooga, in no distant future, the Pittsburg
of the South, and the Birmingham of America.

The cost of the production of pig iron in the vicinity of Chattanooga,
whether by hot or cold blast, and whether with charcoal or coke,
ranges from $15 to $25, the average being below $18. The result de-
pends somewhat upon surroundings, but more on scientific knowledge
and judicious management.

The following shows the capital invested, value of machinery, value
of products, and number of hands employed in manufacturing in
Chattanooga in 1873 :

Capital invested $2,142,000

Value of machinery l.OGO.ftOO

Vtlue of products •••• 1,977,300

Number of hands employed 1,207

The following are some of the principal manufacturing establish-
ments in Chattanooga :

CkatUmoocja Foundrij and Machine Works. This is one of the oldest
manufacturing establishments in the city, having been started in 1849.
It has been very much enlarged within the last eight years, and is now
one of the largest and most complete establishments of the kind in the
South.

It has a foundry of fifteen tons daily capacity ; a machine shoj)
supplied with lathes, planes ami all the modern machinery necessary
to do the heaviest iron work; a blac^ksmith shop containing five
forges; a fully equipi)ed boiler shop, and a pattern shop. These works
are at present engaged in the construction of the largest engines ever

East Tennessee. 525

built south of the Ohio River. Three engines have just heen com-
pleted of 300 horse-power each, with blowing cylinders of seven feet
diameter and four feet stroke, for different smelting furnaces in that
vicinity. A large amount of work is done here for railroads, mills,
bridges, water and gas-works. Heavy work and large castings are a
specialty.

Vulcan Worhs. This establishment has been in operation about
eight years, and manufactures bar iron, bolts, hammered axles, fish-
plate, wrought iron work for railroad bridges, and railroad forgings
generally; also, light T rail for narrow gauge railroads, and rails for
street railroads. There is a full supply of all the necessary machinery,
together with five heating and eight puddling furnaces.

The Alabama and Chattanooga Railroad Machine Shops. The shops
of this important road are located in this city. They contain a large
amount of first-class machinery necessary for the repair of engines and
the construction of cars.

The Wason Car and Foundry Company have eight commodious
brick buildings, well arranged for their several purposes. Framing
shop, two stories, 58 by 122 feet; pattern shop, two stories, 52 by 55
feet ; erecting shop, one story, 42 by 265 feet ; blacksmith shop, one
story, 47 by 133 feet; machine shop, one story, 47 by 61 feet; boiler
room, one story, 21 by 47 feet; foundry, one story, 60 by 133 feet;
annealing room, one story, 52 by 55 feet.

The machinery in the works is all of the latest and most a]")})roved
kinds. The car shop has a capacity of six freight cars per day, be-
sides all kinds of car work. The foundry has a capacity of fifty car
wheels per day, besides turning out other kinds of car castings. Other
castings made to order.

Roane Iron Company. This company has tv.'o blast furnaces in
operation on their mineral lands at Rockwood, with a capacity of fifty-
five tons of pig iron per day. The rolling-mill of this company, located
at Chattanooga, manufactures railroad iron only. The rail mill is 80
by 650 feet, and contains ten of Dank's rotary puddling furnaces and
five common puddling furnaces, nine heating furnaces, four trains of
rolls, fifteen steam engines, from 25 to 300 horse power, one Winslow's
squeezer, one steam hammer, together with all the other machinery in
use in first-class rolling-mills. Capacity, 100 tons railroad iron in
twenty-four hours.

526 Resources of Tennessee.

Chattanooga Iron Company. This company has erected the first
blast furnace in the city limits since the war, and it is the only one
now in the city. The blast stack is sixty feet high, iron shell, eighteen
feet in diameter. Diameter of bosh, thirteen feet four inches. Four
tuyers. Cast house 36 by 65 feet, engine house 24 by 38 feet, boiler
house 20 by 52 teet, stock house 50 by 200 feet. Four boilers, length,
50 feet, diameter, 32 inches. Steam cylinder 32 by 48 inches. Blow-
ing cylinder 6 feet diameter, 4 feet stroke. Draft stack 90 feet high,
50 inches inside. Capacity of furnace, 30 tons pig-iron daily.

The cost of material delivered will not exceed —

Ore, (over 50 per cent, metallic iron,) per ton $3 00

Limestone, per ton 1 00

Coke, per bushel lOf

The expenses entering into the cost of production of pig iron not
more than elsewhere.

Saio-Mills, Planing- Hills, etc. There are five steam saw-mills in
the city, with capacity for the production of 40,000 feet of lumber
per day. There are also five establishments for the manufacture of
all kinds of dressed lumber, doors, sash, blinds, and every variety of
house finishing materials.

Chattanooga Steam Wagon and Implement Works. This establish-
ment makes a siDecialty of heavy wagons, and of turned handles, spokes,
and similar work. Manufactures entirely from Tennessee timber,
which is found to be of superior quality.

Chattanooga Steam Carriage and Wagon Works manufactures bug-
gies phsetons, carriages, hacks and wagons. Sewing machine wagons
and livery work a specialty.

Flouring Mills. The Lookout Steam Mills have five run of stones
and an eighty horse-power engine. Capacity, 250 barrels flour per
day. The Chattanooga Steam Mills have three run of stones. Ca-
pacity, 50 barrels flour per day.

Chattanooga Fire-Clay Works. This establishment manufactures
fire-brick, drain pipe, and fire-clay work of all kinds.' Has capacity
for 4,500 fire-brick per day. The products of this factory have stood
the severest tests.

Chattanooga Soap Factory. This is a new enterprise, but is starting
out under auspices which bid fair to make it an important addition to
the rapidly increasing number of manufacturing enterprises in the
city.

East Tennessee. 527

Southern Pump and Pipe Company. Superior wooden pumps are
made at this factory. There is also made here wooden pipe for aque-
duct purposes, and especially adapted for mines, water-works, and
railroads. This pipe is made to sustain an equal pressure Avith iron
pipe made for the same purpose, and is much cheaper.

Chattanooga Steam Bakery. This manufactory is supplied with im-
proved machinery for making crackers and similar products. Has
capacity for using twenty barrels of flour per day. There are two
other bakeries in the city.

Chattanooga Steam Leather Manufactory. Main building, 38 by 290
feet, three stories. Bark mill will grind twenty cords per day. Steam
engine forty horse power. All necessary machinery complete. There
are 112 vats, 20 limes and soaks, six large leaches, one ten-cord Allen
and Warren leach. Capacity, 26,000 sides per annum.

The Novelty Machine Works manufacture brass and iron articles in
large variety.

The Chattanooga Fertilizer Works are engaged principally in the pro-
duction of bone fertilizers.

The Chattanooga Steam Furniture Factory has large capacities for
making all kinds and quantities of household furniture.

Chattanooga Brewery. This establishment makes lager beer, and
has capacity for 20,000 kegs per annum.

Mountain City Cotton and Woolen Factory. This factory has all the
necessary machinery for making cotton yarns, rope and cloth, and also
for making woolen goods. The factory at present consists of one main
building, 50 by 105 feet, three stories, with wing 50 by 80 feet, one
story. Three thousand spindles are now set up. Engine forty horse
power. The buildings and machinery are so arranged as to increase
the capacity at any time.

The Future of Chattanooga. The lumber trade of this city will
necessarily swell into large proportions. It is estimated that, within
the region of country tributary to Chattanooga, there are 5,000,000,000
feet of lumber of the more valuable varieties. This trade already ex-
tends to the Northern and Eastern States.

A cotton market of importance would be established at once in
Chattanooga upon the erection of a cotton compress, with a supply of

528 Reso7irces of Tennessee,

capital to make purchases or advances. A large amount of business
which now goes through and around the city would then be transacted
here, this being the natural center for collection and shipment.

The foregoing statistics show the vast amount of grain, live stock,
and provisions distributed over the country south of Chattanooga, and
indicate, not only what will be done in the future of this rapidly grow-
ing country, but also what opportunities there are for producers in
Tennessee.

The opportunities and prospects in regard to manufactures, and es-
pecially with respect to the production of iron, have been fully set
forth.

The railroad facilities which Chattanooga possesses, and which give
the city direct communication with every section of the country, have
been mentioned, and are shown by the accompanying maps.

By the removal of the obstructions to the navigation of the Tennes-
see River at Muscle Shoals, this river will be open throughout its whole
length to the trade of the country. Thus cheap transportation will be
afforded for all the heavy articles of commerce, and a line of water
communication can be provided between the great North-west and the
South Atlantic and Gulf States.

The time is not far distant when the varied products of the soil, the
mine, and innumerable furnaces and manufacturing establishments, and
tln' commerce which will course through the natural channel of trade,
will make Chattanooga the metropolis of the central South.

HANCOCK COUNTY.

County Seat — Sneedville.

This, one of tlie northern counties of the Valley of East Tennessee,
has approximately the form of a right-angled triangle, the hypothenuse
resting in part on the summit of Clinch Mountain, and the longer leg
coinciding, for nearly thirty miles, with the Virginia line. It contains
about 230 square miles, and had a ])opulation in 1870 of 7,148, of
which 585 were colored. This was but a small increase over 18G0,
when it was 7,020.

East Tennessee. 5^9

Hancock is remarkable for the number of ridges and mountains
it contains. Its surface is indeed a succession of cro^vded straight
ridges, trending in a north-easterly and i^outh-westerly direction, and
separated by intervening valleys, some of the latter of which are rich,
populous and beautiful.

The act establishing Hancock county was passed January 7, 1844.
It was, however, not organized, owing to some constitutional objections,
until 1846, when A. P. McCarty, Anderson Campbell, Richard
Mitchell, William Nichol, of Hawkins county, and James Ritchie,
James Fulkerson, John Farmer, Marshall Brewer, and Alexander
Bates, of Claiborne County, were appointed commissioners and author-
ized to have the county re-surveyed, so that its establishment might
not interfere with the rights of other counties. These commissioners
were likewise empowered to organize the county. It was named in
honor of John Hancock, one of the patriots of the revolution, and
the prominent signer of the declaration of independence. The county
was formed out of Claiborne and Hawkins.

The general topographical characteristics of Hancock have been
given. From high points, its surface presents the appearance of an
extended and congealed billowy sea, the great waves of which succeed
each other in parallel lines. The waves are the ridges and mountains,
which, with the valleys and the beds of the streams, run across the
county from the south-west to the north-east, or, more accurately, in a
east north-easterly direction. While this billowy and parallel feature
is characteristic of the whole Valley of East Tennessee, it is particu-
larly so of Hancock county. Its south-eastern boundary is the crest
of the straight and high Clinch Mountain, except where too close a
proximity to Rogersville throws the line a few miles to the north-west.
From this mountain across the county to its north-v/estern corner, the
traveler intersects many ridges and valleys. Of the former, the prin-
cipal ones are, in the order of their occurrence. Copper, Chestnut,
Comby, Newman's, Powell's and Wallen's ridges. Newman's and
Powell's ridges are good sized mountains ; the first, in fact, is known
as Powell's Mountain. The two lie close together, being separated by
a very narrow valley, which is, indeed, but little more than the bed of
Sycamore, a creek of respectable size. Comby Ridge is a curious line
of sharp shale and sandstone knobs. Chestnut Ridge, so well defined
in the counties to the south-west, is here much broken up by the Clinch
River and its tributaries. The parallelism and direct course of these
. 34

530 Resources of Tennessee.

ridges, would at once attract the attention of a person not familiar
with the characteristics of this country, and no one without the proper
geological knowledge could explain the peculiar topography. It is
enough to say, that the strata of the county have been so disturbed as
to have a tilted or inclined position, their edges being exposed to the
wear and tear of the elements. These long, straight outcropping
edges, when of hard rocks, like sandstone, have resisted erosion, and
formed ridges and mountains, while the edges of softer rocks, as of
limestone and shales, have yielded to the action, their materials being
removed and valleys formed.

There are a number of rich valleys in the county. Clinch Mountain
Vallev, lying between the north-western base of Clinch Mountain
and Copper Ridge, is based on limestone, and presents the best wheat
lands in Hancock. In seasons sufficiently wet, the soil grows large
crops of corn, but there are portions in which the rocks are so near
the surface that, in dry seasons, the corn is withered before coming to
maturity. The north-western slope of Clinch Mountain is very fertile,
and is to be regarded as continuous with the valley, both together
making the widest and most desirable belt of land in this portion of
the county. There is also much good land on the slopes of Copper
Ridge.

Extending in a north-easterly and south-westerly direction nearly
through the center of the county, and lying along the south-eastern
base of Newman's Ridge, is Sneedville Valley. This will average
throughout about two miles in width. Its soil is marly and sandy,
and is well adapted to grass. Its more westerly lands are not con-
sidered the be-t, but as we approach Clinch River they become much
better, and grow corn and wheat as well as any lands in East Ten-
nessee.

Sneedville, the only town in Hancock, is located near the south-
eastern base of Newman's Ridge, and gives name to the valley. It
may be added here that, though Sneedville is the only town, there are
stores or trading centers at convenient intervals throughout the county.

Between Clinch Mountain Valley and the one just mentioned, the
country is for the most part rough and hilly. There are some valley
lands. Mucii of the country, both lowlands and hills, is very rich,
and will produce all the crops suited to the latitude. The steepness of
the hills is often such as to make the cultivation of them difficult. The
best disposition to be made of these would be to put them in grass,

East Tennessee. 531

Avliieh mitilit be made to yield in the end a better return, in the ^vay of
stock, butter, and cheese, than they do now in corn and wheat.

Xext west of the Snecdville Valley, and lying between Newman's
Ridire and Powell's Mountain, is the narrow Valley of Sycamore, of
which we have sj)()kcn. It is a cold trough, of little agricultural im-
poi'tance, but opens out at the south-western end of Powell's Moun-
tain into a wide, desirable country.

Proceeding north-westerly across Powell's Mountain, we find be-
tween the latter and Wallen's Ridge, another wide valley of marked
fertility and interest, much like the Clinch Mountain Valley. It is
called Mulberry Valley, from the name of the stream which flows
through it. The north-west side of Powell's Mountain, like the same
side of Clinch Mountain, is rich, and more or less in cultivation. In-
deed, the two mountains, Powell's and Clinch, each with its blue lime-
stone valley on the north-west side, are counterparts of each other.
The mountains have the same formations, and in the same order, and
the valleys are also alike in rocks, and, to a great extent, in soils and
agricultural characteristics.

Beyond Wallen's Ridge lies the Tazewell Valley of Claiborne, which
has geological and other features much like the two valleys that have
just been compared. The western line of Hancock runs so as to cut
off and throw into the county the extreme north-eastern end of the
Tazewell Valley, that immediately on the Virginia line. Wallen's
Ridge has much good land upon it; on the north side it is rich. It is
wide and rounded on to]), being in this respect quite in contrast with
Powell's Mountain, which is sharp and roof like.

As in Claiborne county, the prevailing rocks in Hancock are lime-
stone and dolomite, the latter differing from limestone in containing
magnesia as well as lime. Sandstones occur conspicuously on the
south-eastern slopes of Powell's and Clinch mountains, though this
slope of the latter is not to be included in the county. The Black Shale
presents two linear outcrops, one in Sycamore Valley and the other in
Snecdville Valley. Tliis formation yields several sulphur and cha-
lybeate springs. There are two outcrops of the dyestone, or red fossil-
iferous iron ore in the county, one on the east side of Powell's Moun-
tain, and the other on the same side of Wallen's Ridge. Both supply
some ore, but the latter is fiu' the more valuable, and has supplied
much ore in times past for forges. Patches of brown hematite, or
linionitc, may be ibund on Wallen's Ridge and at other points.

53- Resources of Tennessee.

In a comparison of this county with Claiborne, it has been said that,
for agricultui'al purposes, Claiborne is the better of the two. In Han-
cock, farms and farm-houses are not so good, nor is the same attention
given to the management of the farm. The farms average about the
same size as in Claiborne, and are generally worked by the owners,
though, during the summer months, most of them hire laborers. The
crops grown are the same as those grown in Claiborne, and the prices
and supply of labor much the same More attention is being given to
the raising of gr.iss and stock than formerly. The use of clover in
the improvement of land has begun to attract attention, and a manifest
advance is taking place in this direction. But the farms generally
have deteriorated ; fences are bad, and the dense growth in the fence-
corners shows a Avant of neatness in the farming. No attention, except-
ing in the rich valleys, is given to beautifying homes or in making them
attractive. Hill-side plows and mowers and reapers are coming slowly
into use. Mules are not common, the reliance being placed on horses
and oxen.

Great comjilaint is made here, as elsewhere, in regard to dogs. The
best flirmers desire that some law should be enacted by the Legislature
to diminish the number of dogs that make sheep-raising next to im-
possible. Get rid of these, and soon the mountains and ridges of this
picturesque county would be covered with flocks of the best sheep, and
large areas of what is now useless territory made to yield comfort and
wealth to its inhabitants. There is a large amount of waste land crow-
ing up in persimmon, " broomsedge," briers and other noxious vegeta-
tion.

The valleys arc thickly inhabited. At short intervals dwellings are
seen, but on the ridge and mountain slopes houses are comparatively
scarce. Every firmer has his spring, near or over which is the spring-
house, containing abundant supplies of milk and butter.

The terms of leases and rents are the same as in the county of
Claiborne, to the account of which the reader is referred. The best
and most abundant timl)er is poj)lar, all the oaks, (chestnut, sugar tree
and walnut. The county abounds in timber, the hills, ridges and
mountains being (-overcd with forests.

The countv is remirkably well watered. Clinch River traverses
the (!ounty, and there are a number of large creeks. Four Mile and
Morton's Creek flow from the north into Powell's River, and Big
Mulberry from the south, all supplying good water-power. Big Syca-

East Tennessee. 533

more empties into Clinch River in Claiborne county, and like those
mentioned, is a good milling stream. Swan and Blackwater creeks
empty into Clinch River within the county and from the north side of
the river. On the south side are Richardson's, War and Big creeks,
also respectable streams, affording many excellent mill or factory sites.
On the smaller streams of the county there are many over-shot mills.
There is a goodly number of saw-mills, and lumber sells for ten dollars
per thousand feet.

Hancock is without railroads. Produce is shipped down the Clinch
and Powell's rivers in flat-bottomed boats. Want of transportation is
the greatest drawback to the farmer. No accession is made to the
•county by immigration, while there is some loss by emigration, families
now and then moving off to the west. The schools are poor.

Apples, peaches, pears, plums and berries grow well. The knobby
lands on the Clinch River are especially suited to apples, and much at-
tention is being given to the improvement of that fruit. Peach trees
are short-lived. The seedling is relied on for a crop. A large amount
of fruit is dried every year, and brings the farmer oftentimes his
greatest income ; especially has this been the case since the war. Honey
is produced by the citizens for their own use, but little being offered
for sale. Large quantities of butter are shipped during the winter
months to Knoxville, Atlanta and Augusta. Both apple and peach
brandy is made in the county.

There is much land for sale, the best being offered at $25 to $30 per
acre, medium $10 to $15, common from $1 to $6. Farmers complain
of hard times and want of facilities for getting their produce to market.
A lack of enterprise is apparent among them. No organizations are
in existence. They have no fair grounds, and no opportunities are
presented for conferring together and improving their condition by a
concert of action.

Living is very cheap, and much the same as in Claiborne. The fol-
lowing list will give information on this point :

Eggs, highest price, 10 cents ; butter, 161 cents ; beef, 4 ccyits ; pork,
4 cents; corn, 40 cents per bushel; wheat, average, $1 ; chickens, 10
<;ents; labor, $8 to $12 per month; carpenters, $1.50 per day ; splitting
rails, 50 cents per hundred, and board; making staves, 50 cents per
hundred; shingles, drawn, $2.50 per thousand; making boards, 33
cents per hundred . hay 50 cents per hundred.

534 Resources of Tennessee.

HAWKINS COUNTY.

County Seat — Rogers ville.

Hawkins county is situated in the north-eastern portion of the Val-
ley of East Tennessee, which valley constitutes the Tennessee portion
of the great valley extending from the Susquehanna, in Pennsylvania,
to the Coosa and Black Warrior rivers, in Alabama. This county was
the sixth out of seven counties organized by the State of North Caro-
lina. Its original boundaries, in 1786, embraced all that portion of
Tennessee between the north fork of the Holston River on the east,
the top of the Cumberland Mountains on the west, and the Kentucky
line on the north, and Bays Mountain and the French Broad, lower
Holston or Tennessee rivers on the south. At the organization of
the State of Tennessee, although the counties of Knox and Grainger,
and a portion of Jefferson, had been carved out of its territory, which
reduced it nearly to its present dimensions, it contained the largest
population, and, with the exception of Knox county, very much the
largest slave population, of any of the eleven counties then comprising
the State of Tennessee. Its white population was composed of citizens
from North Carolina and Virginia, with a strong infusion of Pennsyl-
vanians and Protestant Irish, and a few New Englanders of the best
stamp. The establishment of the town of Rogersville, the county
seat of Hawkins, was one of the last acts of the Legislature of North
Carolina. It was called after Joseph Rogers, an Irishman, the first
settler in the place. The second settler was Richard Mitchell, a mem-
ber of the first convention, an intimate friend of the Governors Wil-
liam and Willie Blount. The brook which runs through the town
still bears the name of Crockett's Creek, called after the father or uncle
of Colonel David Crockett. At the old Rogers tavern, as it was called,
many of the old celebrities of the day were wont to gather, and it was
there that General Jackson made the dandy, who wanted a separate
room and bed, sleep in the log corn-crib. In Rogersville, in 1791, the
first newspaper ever published in Tennessee, '^ The Rogersville Gazette,"
was issued, and in 1832, "The Railroad Advocate," the /r.sif news-
paper exchisively devoted to internal improvement ])ublished in the
United States, was issued at Rogersville. Hawkins county furnished
one of the two senators first elected to the United States Senate from
the State of Tennessee, and one of the earlier governors, and from its
earliest organization has held the ])osition of one of the leading coun-
ties in the State.

East Ten7iessee. ■ 535

Topography. The snrfiice of the county is divided into rich valleys
and ridges. Its northern boundary includes a portion of Clinch
Mountain, and its southern, a portion of Bays Mountain. The Hol-
6ton River runs through the entire length of the county, and on its
banks are bottom lands wide and extremely- fertile.

Productions. The native growth of timber is yellow pine, poplar,
hickory, walnut, all the oaks, beech, buckeye, cedar, ash, elm, cherry,
locust, mulberry, sugar tree, sweet gum, (much used in the interior
finish of churches, &c.,) and many other trees. Every fruit known to
the continent, except those purely tropical, and all the grains and grasses
grown in the State are found here. Before the war the hog product
was made a specialty, but since then the grasses and live stock have
been the order. Wheat is extensively raised, and forty bushels per
acre has been produced without other aid than home-made fertilizers
and clover. Much attention is given to stock-raising, and thorough-
bred and trotting stallions. Herdbook, Short-horn and Jersey cattle,
Berkshire, Chester White and Essex hogs, improved sheep and Cash-
mere goats are numerous. Sheep could be raised by the thousand with-
out interfering with our grain and grass crops, but unfortunately we
have no dog law.

The Holston affords good boating facilities for the shipment of pro-
duce. The Rogersville and Jefferson Railroad, fifteen miles long, con-
necting with the East Tennessee, Virginia and Georgia Railroad at
Bull's Gap, two turnpike roads crossing the Clinch Mountain and River,
one running to the Virginia, Lee county line, and the other to the coun-
ty seat of Hancock county, with the various county roads, afford good
commercial and mail facilities. Two other railroads are projected,
which, if completed, will give additional railroad fiicilities. The Shen-
andoah Extension Railroad, of which Colonel Tom Scott is President,
being an air line from Hagerstown, Maryland, to Russellville, Tennes-
see, where it will intersect the East Tennessee, Virginia and Georgia
Railroad, has been surveyed; and in the able report of General Haupt,
the chief engineer, the marble, timber, grain and stock of Hawkins coun-
ty are largely looked to as affording prospective freight. This road, if
built, will traverse the county from east to north-east to south-west.
General Mahonc has also had a preliminary survey made from Bristol,
in Sullivan county, to Bean Station, in Grainger county, with a view,
it is understood, to a connection with the Tennessee and Pacific Rail-
road at or near Clinton, in Anderson County, Tennessee. These two

536 Resources of Tennessee.

roads, Scott's and Alahone's, run in parallel lines, as projected through
Hawkins county.

Ilinerals, Marbles, &c. Gold, silver (?), lead and iron ore are found
in the county, but not in paying quantities as yet. The variegated
marble of Hawkins is unrivaled. This marble outcrops for about
twelve rniles. Its extraordinary beauty attracted the attention of Mr.
Troost, State Geologist, and in 1838 a company of gentlemen, in and
near Rogersville, commenced working it. Two blocks of it are in the
Washington monument, at Washington city, one sent by the State of
Tennessee and the other by Hawkins county. Large quantities of it
were used in adorning the interior of the capitol extension at Washing-
ton city. The balustrade and columns of the stairs leading up to the
House and Senate galleries, the w^alls of the marble-room and other
parts of the building are of Tennessee marble. Four large quarries
are worked, and blocks weighing eighteen thousand pounds are shipped
by railroad. It is used for a great variety of purposes. Barytes is
found, but has not been worked as yet. Salt was made in Hawkins
county as early as 1820, and two new wells are being bored at this
time, with very favorable prospects. The water is found in the same
valley in which the Smyth county, Virginia, salt wells are situated.

Mineral Waters. An alum well, with an abundant supply of water, is
five miles east of Rogersville, and the same distance north of the town
are Hale's red and white sulphur springs, a place of great repute
and beauty, and largely attended as a summer resort, while other sul-
phur and chalybeate springs abound in the county.

Towns and Villages. Rogersville is a place of one thousand inhabi-
tants, and has always been justly celebrated for the intelligence, re-
finement and genuine hospitality of its citizens, but in these respects the
town has only worthily represented the county at large, a county which,
in the enterprise, refinement, and hospitality of its people, the comfort
and elegance of their dwellings and other surroundings, has always
challenged the admiration of passing strangers. The town has three fine
schor)ls, well attended. It has five churches — two Presbyterian, two
Methodist, and one Baptist — in which tlie white population of the
town and vicinity worshij), and two are being erected — Presby-
terian and Methodist, by the colored people. One of the branches
of the Bank of Tennessee was located here, in what was said to
be the best arranged banking house in the State. A private bank
is soon to occupy this fine building. Tiiere arc four other towns or

East Tennessee. 537

villages in the county. l^Iorrisbura:, St. Clair, Stony Point, and Roth-
erwootl. The county is well supplied with churches — Baptist, Method-
ist, Presbyterian, and, in a few localities, Duukards of Pennsylvania
origin, and comprising a steady and industrious peoj)le. Tiie connuon
school system is well established, and the county has good mail facil-
ities, having twenty-two post-offices, and seven mail routes.

Woolen 3Illls, Water-power, &c. There are two woolen mills in
operation. The Potherwood Mill on the north fork of the Holston,
twenty-six miles east of Rogersville, and Kirkpatrick's Mill, five miles
south-west, operated by steam ])ower. They manufacture blankets,
and cloths of every quality. Flouring mills, saw-mills, and tanneries
are to be found in every neighborhood. The Holston River and tributa-
ries afford ample water-powers for any amount of machinery. In 1825-6,
Cloud's Shoals on the Holston River, five miles west of Rogersville,
were reported upon by Colonel Long, United States army, then survey-
ing a military road, as a proper location for a government manufactory
of arms. That the county is well watered, is evidenced by the fact that
the old stage route, traversing the county from north-east to south-west,
is crossed by twenty-four distinct and perpetual streams, and twelve of
these afford water-power sufficient to operate numerous mills. Lime-
stone springs are innumerable.

Population. The population of the county was, in 1870, about six-
teen thousand. Taxes, State and county are one dollar and fifteen cents
on the one hundred dollars, upon a very reasonable valuation of prop-
erty. Immigration greatly desired, that is, of the right kind, which
means peaceable, industrious persons, who were good citizens where
they came from. Hawkins county has already received and welcomed
some such additions to its population, and earnestly desires more.
One gentleman from New York has established one of the woolen
mills referred to above. Another from Vermont has introduced, and is
breeding and training, trotting horses. Others from Pennsylvania are
taking hold of our fine farming lands. More of this stamp are thrice
welcome, and can come and reside amongst us without our peoj^le ask-
ing or caring to know their ])olitics or religion. Farm wages are
reasonable, from eight to ten dollars per month. Labor is both white
and colored. Colored population of the county, rejn'esentcd by about
three hundred voters, is quiet, orderly, and well disposed. Lands
range from five to sev^enty-five dollars per acre, according to location,
quality and improvements. The climate, as to health and comfort, is

538 Resources of Tennessee.

all that could be desired. Fifteen of the citizens of Rogersville are
between the ages of seventy-five and ninety-two years, and this is
but a fair sample of the good health and longevity of the people gen-
erally. The county has lost but few citizens by emigration since the
war, and many of these are returning to " Old Hawkins."

JAMES COUNTY.

County Seat — Ooltawah.

This is a new county, the law creating it having been passed and
approved January 30, 1871, when it was immediately organized. It
is bounded on the east by Bradley county, on the north by Meigs, on
the south by the State of Georgia, and on the west by the Tennessee
River and Hamilton county. It contains about 285 square miles, has
a voting population of about 1,000, and a total population of near
5,000.

The principal towns are Ooltawah, Harrison and Birchwood. Ool-
tawah is the county seat. It contains a population of about 400. It
is situated on the East Tennessee, Virginia and Georgia Railroad.
The citizens are enterprising and intelligent. Harrison was formerly
the county seat of Hamilton county, but fell into James county when
it was formed. It is an old town, and contains a small population.
Harrison College is located here, an institution of high grade, and
doing an important work. Birchwood is a small village, with a popu-
lation of about 200.

There are some excellent farming lands in this county. The Savan-
nah Valley, which runs through it, is exceedingly fertile. It is three
miles wide on an average. The soil is supported by a strong clay
subsoil.

The prevailing rocks are limestones and dolomites. Sandstones and
shales occur in White Oak Mountain, in which also are strata of the
red fossiliferous iron ore. Mineral waters of various kinds abound.
There is no lack of pure spring water, and no healthier region any-
where. The climate is mild. The winters are short, and the summer
seasons are not oppressively warm.

Farms are of various sizes, but mostly in tracts too large for success-

East Tennessee. 539

ful cultivation. They are generally worked by the owners. The terms
of leasing are one-third of the crop of the iijdands and one-half of
the bottom lands. The cultivation of the grasses is too much neglected,
and there is but little meadow. Both the soil and climate are favorable
to the successful culture of all the grass crops. The farmers continue
the old system of raising too much corn, which has exhausted the soil.
Here and there one has broken the crust of this fossilized system, and
adopted the more sensible one of cultivating less, and of fertilizing his
soil with an eye to meadows and grazing.

Although this section was greatly iujurefl by the war — stock de-
stroyed, fences burnt up, and the lands neglected — farms are now in a
more hopeful condition than they were antecedent to the Avar, Avhich
proves that the farmers have been industrious and fully alive to the
importance of recuperating their soil and of repairing the waste places.
They are using better implements of husbandry, are plowing deeper,
and paying more attention to their duties.

There is a deficiency of improved breeds of stock throughout the
county. There is very little thoroughbred stock of any kind. This
is a drawback upon the operations of the farmers. They would find
that their profits would be largely enhanced by at least crossing their
native stock with the purest breeds. It is difficult to raise sheep on
account of hungry curs. They are regarded as an intolerable nuisance,
and there is a universal wish that some stringent measures should be
adopted to abate the nuisance.

The county is not thickly settled. There is ample room for three
or four times the present population. ]\Iany large farms would make
from two to four good ones, and it would be a benefit if they could be
subdivided and sold to others. The citizens are anxious that new-
comers should come into their midst. They would be kindly received.
Lands are for sale in all parts of the county, and are offered upon easy
terms.

The aggregate amount of taxable property is $754,327. There
is almost every variety of timber. The water-courses are small, but
tliere are some valuable sites for mills, &c.

Transportation is available by way of the East Tennessee, Yirginia
and Georgia Railroad. Labor is scarc-e and wages reasonably high.
The greatest drawback upon the coun*ty is the want of laborers and
fertilizers.

5-10 Resoitrccs of Tennessee.

There is an earnest feeling on the subject of education. The schools
are usually good.

There is not a fanners' club in the county, nor any fair grounds.

JEFFERSON COUNTY.

County Seat — Dandridge.

Jeiferson county, having a far greater extent of surface than it has
now, was established at the same time with Knox, in June 1792, by
the Governor, when the Str.te was a part of the " territory south-west
of the Oliio River." This county is situated in the great Valley of
East Tennessee, and is remarkable for its superior lands, its excellent
fecliools, its enterprising farmers, its numerous churches and its orderly
and intelligent society. It joins Knox county on the west, and the
East Tennessee, Virgina and Georgia Railroad runs through its north-
western side. It is bounded on the north by Grainger and Hamblen
counties, on the north-east by Hamblen, on the east by Cocke, and on
the south by Sevier. It is somewhat broken by hills and ridges,
and one large rid<>;e runs throu2:h it, dividing the waters of the
French Broad and Holston. South-east of the French Broad is a
triangular area embracing about fifty square miles, which is a part of
the great knol)by belt extending from the Bays Mountain region to the
Tennessee River. The soils of this area are mellow and derived from
the sandy shales of the Nashville group of rocks. It is well adapted
to grass and grain, but is, excepting on the streams, too hilly for large
continuous aral)le tracts. On the north-west side of the French Broad
the soils and formations are very different. The rocks are limestones
and dolomites, mainly of the Knox group, and the soils are calcareo-
siliceous and clayey, and suited for all crops grown in East Tennessee.
Some of the ridges are flinty. The great staples are corn, wheat, oats
and hay. The uj)lands especially produce good crops of wheat, and
the lands on the French Broad River are noted for their heavy yield
of corn. For many years, both before and since the war, the farmers
have turned their attention to the raising of mules, horses, cattle, sheep
and hogs. Of late, however, this has been considerably abated, and
now they are ])utting more of *their lands down in clover and grass,
with the view of raisin<r cattle and of establishino- dairies.

East Tennessee. 541

Dandridge is the county seat. It is an old town, with a population
of about one thousand. It is ten miles from the nearest depot. It is
a moral place ; its business men are active and honorable ; its scholastic
advantages excellent, and its citizens intelligent and refined. There is
a flourishing academy in the })lace, and three churches, Methodist,
Baptist and Presbyterian.

The next town of importance is Mossy Creek, ten miles distant,
lying in the New Market Valley, immediately on the East Tennessee,
Virginia and Georgia Railroad, and twenty -seven miles from the city
of Knoxville. Its pojiulation is about -300. The community is one of
the best — temperate, moral and intelligent. There are two churches,
Presbyterian and Methodist. Its eduf-ational advantages are superior,
there being two institutions of learning, the Masonic Female Institute
and the Baptist College. Both arc permanently established and doing
a great work for the youth of the country. The healthfulness of the
locality, the pure spring water, the moral and religious advantages, and
the high social tone jiervading the community, render flossy Creek a
desirable place at which to educate the youth. The country contiguous
is inviting and attractive. Fine farms, dotted with beautiful homes,
can be seen on all sides.

The water-power here is unusually good. It is, perhaps, superior to
any in the country. The stream known as Mossy Creek furnishes it.
It is only about six miles long, but for every half mile a sufficient
power for all purposes can be obtained. The stream is fed by a large
spring, and therefore is constant. There is a number of mills on it,
and one or two cotton factories.

Near the village is a zinc mine. The ore is considered valuable.
The mine is not more than a quarter of a mile from the depot, A few
years ago a company came out from the east, bought the mine and
erected suitable buildings for the purpose of manufacturing zinc.
Heavy expenditures were made, and vast quantities of the ore were
gotten out and manufactured, but the company failed. It is thought
the ore exists in sufficient quantity, if judiciously worked, to be a source
of profit to the owners.

New Market is another town of Jefferson county, some five miles
south-west of Mossy Creek, twenty-four miles from Knoxville, and on
the railroad. It is a quiet and orderly place. No ardent snirits are
drank or sold in the place. There are three churches and a college in

542 Reso7irces of Tcjinessee.

the town. It lies in a magnificent valley. The land is productive.
It produces all the crops — corn, wheat, oats and hay.

Jefferson county must be ranked with the best counties of East Ten-
nessee. There is not a great deal of mineral wealth, but, for agricul-
tural purposes, it is hard to excel. It possesses almost every variety of
soil, and produces almost every kind of product. The average yield
of corn per acre is about thirty bushels, of wheat ten, of rye ten, of
oats twenty-five, of sweet potatoes 100, and of Irish potatoes about the
same. The richest lands are on the French Broad and Holston rivers.
They will produce on an average about fifty bushels of corn to the
acre. It is a great hog region. The price of land varies according to
quality, improvement and location. The bottom lands are valued at
from fifty to one hundred dollars per acre. The better grade of uplands
at from ten to twenty-five dollars per acre. The second class from five
to ten, and unimproved from one to^three dollars per acre. There is
not much waste land in the county. It is not thickly settled ; there
is space for treble the population. The prevailing timber is oak, wal-
nut, maple, hickory, &c. The principal streams are the French Broad
and Holston rivers, Mossy Greek and Muddy Creek. Facilities for
transportation are good.

Labor is not very abundant in this county, nor reliable. Wages
range from eight to twelve dollars per month.

Jefferson county has done a good deal towards improving its stock.
There are a number of thoroughbred Short-horns, and Chester and
Berkshire ho^s.

JOHNSON COUNTY.

County Seat — Taylorsville.

This county was organized in the year 1836, and was originally a
part of Carter. The boundaries, by an act of the General Assembly,
were fixed as follows: "Beginning at the line of Sullivan county, at
a place called the Rich End, wliere the cross ridge commences that di-
vides the waters of Beaver Dam and Stony creeks; thence running
with the heights of said ridge to the Iron Mountain ; thence with the
extreme heights of said mountain to a point opposite the ridge running
from said mountain, between Bugger's and Vanhouse's; then with said

East Tennessee. 443

ridge to the AYatanga River; then up said river to the mouth of Elk
Creek; then with the ridge dividing Elk Creek from the Watauga
River, to the North Carolina line; then with the line between Carter
county and North Carolina to the Virginia line; then with the Vir-
ginia line to the corner of Carter and Sullivan counties; thence to the
beginning."

The county is bounded on the north by Virginia and Sullivan
county, on the east by North Carolina., on the south by Carter county,
and on the west by Carter and Sullivan.

Topography, Yalleys and Mountains. To understand the to})ography
of the county let us suppose ourselves to hover, for a time, at an ele-
vation high enough to bring in sight not only the whole of Johiwon,
but also adjoining regions, including Carter county and parts of North
Carolina and Virginia. Furthermore, we will suppose our position to
be immediately over Taylorsville, the county seat, and about the cen-
tral point of Johnson. We recognize at once below us a long, straight
valley, with a north-easterly and south-westerly trend, on both sides of
which run long and defiant mountain ranges. The valley is thirty
miles long, and, in the vicinity of Taylorsville, but three or four wide.
To the north-east it narrows to a point, the mountain ranges appar-
ently coming together a few miles beyond the Virginia line ; to the
south-west it widens, but is, in the distance, cut off by a mountain run-
ning east and west. We see, moreover, that the valley below Taylors-
ville contains a long, isolated mountain, by which, for a part of its
course, it is split in two. This is known as Doe Mountain. In other
parts of the valley, as in that north of Taylorsville, considerable hills
and ridges are met with.

Such is the valley below us. As we see, it is entirely hemmed in by
mountains, and might be called a cove. With the exception of the
extreme southern end, which is in Carter, it lies in Johnson, and em-
braces almost all the arable land of this county. Agriculturally we
may almost say it is Johnson county.

But let us observe the mountains. In addition to the two ranges
which bound the valley below us, we see a third to the north-west, run-
ning in a direction nearly parallel with the others. We have thus a
trio of great mountain ridges in sight, the eastern and middle one
bounding the Johnson Valley, and a western one in the distance. Be-
tween the middle and western range another valley is to be seen, of
which we will speak soon.

544 Resources of Tennessee.

The eastern is the ^tone Moxmiain Rcmge. It is a bed of a few
crowded ridges, on the highest of which the Tennessee and North Car-
olina line runs. Forge Mountain, a sandstone mountain, the southern
end of M'hieh is a short distance east of Taylorsville, is one of its
ridges. To the north-east, just within Virginia, the Stone Mountain
culminates in the grand old summit — the White Top — whose treeless
*'bald" is 5,530 feet above the sea. Other peaks, south-west of White
Top, are Beech Summit, Cat Face, Slate Face, etc., having elevations
of from 4,000 to 5,00(* feet.*

The middle range of the trio is known locally as Iron Mountain.
It lies on the north-west side of the Johnson Valley. It is a straight,
well-defined ridge, having a length, from the Virginia line to its south-
eastern termination in Carter county, of nearly forty miles. The last
and most westerly is Holston Mountain. This, as if a prong of Iron
Mountain, branches off at the State line from the latter, and runs out
boldly into the " open country," a well-marked and massive mountain,
terminating abruptly a few miles north of Elizabethtown, in Carter
county, with a length of about twenty -six miles.

The topogra])hical relations of the Holston and Iron mountains, and
of the country between them, may be well represented by the letter A,
the apex being on the State line, and the open end turned towards the
south-west. In the angle lies the valley lands. In the large open
part is the Valky of Stony Creek, in Carter county. In the very apex
of the mountain letter is an elevated cove-like valley called Shady,
which is embraced in Johnson county. The cross-bar of the A repre-
sents a ridge whicli divides the waters of Stony Creek from those of a
creek running through Shady, and breaking out through a gorge in
the mountains. The bar ought to be nearer the apex, the space above
it is too large, relatively, to represent the comparative size of Shady.

Shady is an interesting place. It has a much greater elevation than
the Johnson Valley, but is of limited extent. It is a delightful retreat
in the hot summer months. The little basin was formerly noted for
the excellent iron made at a forge within its limits. It is so elevated
that its flora is Canadian in character. Within it cranberries grow
wild, and Northern pines aiul balsams flourish.

The l)oundaries of Jolmson have been given, but we can now, per-
haps, trace them out more satisfactorily. Starting at the north-western

*Lo(ik1n>f to the eact.taeymul the Stone Range, into North Carolina, the great mountain range*
are nunl(•r()ll^>. We can almost inia:,'iiie llicm to he ihc giant hillows of a fearfully disturbed ocean
arrefteU and petrified.

East Ten7tessee. 545

corner of the county on the Virginia line, the boundary runs to the
south-west on the summit of Holston Mountain, until the ridge be-
tween Shady and the valley of Stony Creek is reached; thence it fol-
lows this ridge across to Iron Mountain; thence on the summit of this
mountain to the south-west for a number of miles, when it leaves the
range and runs southerly to the State line. On other sides the county
is bounded by the State lines. The adjoining counties are Sullivan
and Carter.

Geology. Stone Mountain, on the North Carolina line, is made up
of granite-like rocks. Opposite Taylorsville, very fine blocks of strat-
ified granite (gneiss), both gray and flesh-colored, might be obtained
for building purposes. Millstones have been cut out of some of it,
and have answered a good purpose, especially for grinding corn. Near
the Virginia line Stone Mountain shows much talcose slate, which
abounds in small rough knots of quartz.

Nearly all the other mountains of Johnson, Iron and Holston moun-
tains, the isolated Doc Mountain, and Forge Mountain are built up of
conglomerates and sandstones, which belong respectively to the great
formations named O^oee Cjnylomerate and CMlhowee Sandstone. These
rocks, as well, by the way, as the rocks of Stone M :)untain, and we may
say, in general, nearly all the rucks in the county, are more or less in-
clined, often tilted at a high angle, and sometimes quite thrown up on
edge, so as to stand in a vertical position. In this respect the strata
of this part of State are greatly in contrast with the horizontal lime-
stones of Middle Tennessee. The mountains mentioned present great
thicknesses of sandstones and conglomerates. In some cases they
measure 6,000 feet, and even 10,000 across.

The Johnson Valley and Shady are underlaid with magnesian lime-
stones (dolomites) and calcareous slates, rocks belonging to the great
and most prevalent firmitlon of Eist Tennessee, the Knox Group of
the State Geological Report. The limestones present several varieties.
They are often heavy-bedded, and both light-gray and dark-gray sparry
rocks. Some of them contain so much clayey matter as to become
thin-bedded and slaty; in fact, they run into variegated red, buff and
greenish calcareous shales and slates. The latter abound in the
minor ridges in the northern part of the valley, and occur elsewhere
also.

Johnson county is noted for its iron ore banks, and for the excel-
lency of the bar iron it manufactures. Before the war there were
35

546 Resoui'ces of Tennessee.

fourteen or fifteen forges in operation, running twenty-six fires. In
1854, 367 tons of bar iron were manufactured. The ore used is limon-
ite. The banks are quite numerous, and pretty well distributed over
the county. There is now one furnace in operation.

Water-courses — Roads. The Watauga River, a beautiful stream,
flovfs across the southern end of the Johnson Valley. It rises in North
Carolina, cuts through the Stone ^Mountain range into Tennessee, flows
westerly across the above valley, and then, breaking through the Iron
Mountain, quietly pursues its course towards Elizabethton. It is in
Johnson a rapid stream, presenting many good sites for mills and forges.
The Watauga is the largest stream, but there is little of it in the county.
The principal stream is Roane's Creek. This rises in the vicinity of
Taylorsville, has several important branches, is a large creek, flows
southerly, and empties into the Watauga. In the northern part of the
Johnson Valley is the south fork of Laurel, quite an important creek.
This rises north of Taylorsville, runs in a northerly direction, passes
Iron Mountain in a deep cliff-bound gorge, and flows into Virginia.
Both this and Roane's Creek, with its leading branches, afford desirable
locations, with good water-power, for mills and iron establishments.
The forges of the county have been mostly located upon them. The
county, upon the whole, is well watered. It abounds in springs of
cold, pure water, which feed thousands of rivulets, these in turn feed-
ing the branches and the creeks.

The county has two or three tolerably good roads, but no railroads
or macadamized turnpikes. As before stated, to get into or to get out
of the Johnson Valley, it is necessary either to travel laboriously over
a mountain, or else to pass through a water-gap. From Taylorsville
there are lour principal roads — one to the south-west into the valley
counties of East Tennessee, which passes Iron Mountain through the
AVatauga Gap; another to the north into Virginia, passing the same
mountain through the Laurel Gap at the State line; and the two others
running easterly and south-easterly over Stone Mountain into North
Carol iiui. A road al.-o passes from Taylorsville to the west through
Shady into Sullivan county.

With respect to industry, enterprise and intelligence, the people of
Johnson county will compare favorably with any other portion of East
Tennessee. They are quiet and orderly, make no pretensions, are plain
and unassuming, and the most hospitable })cople in the world. They
are devoted to education, and take commanding views of the question*

East Tennessee. 547

They are doing a great deal towards diffusing this great blessing throngh-
out the county. They are, too, a moral and religious people. They
believe in churches, and revere Christianity.

Johnson county is comparatively out of debt; a fact that is not true
of many other counties in East Tennessee. Its financial affairs have
been judiciously managed, and it has been gaining ground steadily
since the war in every respect. It was vastly injured by the recent
civil strife. Both armies preyed upon it, and destroyed much valuable
property. Every interest was neglected, and, of course, suffered ; but,
notwithstanding this, by the energy and good sense of its people, it
has about regained all that it lost. Men of fidelity were chosen to fill
the offices, and hence the public treasury was held sacred. There have
been no defalcations, and the incurring of heavy liabilities has been
guarded against. Judicious economy in administering the affairs of
the county has been scrupulously observed. The magisterial court is
made up of the best men in the county, and they are conducting its
affairs to the satisfaction of all.

For varied husbandry, this county is somewhat remarkable. It
produces all the cereals. Corn, wheat, rye, oats, potatoes and buck-
wheat grow well. It is, however, obvious that nature intended to
make it more of a grazing than a grain region, to which it is admira-
bly adapted. The hills and ridges, and even the mountains, would
produce grass in abundance. Blue-grass seems to be indigenous. It
is found growing in many localities, and would grow to great perfec-
tion if properly attended to. No doubt orchard-grass would find a
congenial home here. Timothy and red-top makeup the meadows. It
is very true there is only a very small percentage of the county in grass.
It would seem that the farmers have not fully waked up to the idea of
cultivating the grasses. Some of them have, and they are daily exem-
plifying the truth of the fact just enunciated. They have their farms
well set, and are raising cattle, mules and sheep, and doing a thriving
business. Both the soil and climate are favorable to the grasses. The
soil seems to be tight and compact, and has a tenacious subsoil. The
climate is suitable. The air is cool and invigorating.

Under these circumstances it would seem that the grazing of cattle
and sheep should be the business of the farmers of Johnson county.
They certainly woidd find it far more profitable than producing grain.
Indeed, the county is too far from the channels of commerce to
make grain-raising profitable. The farmers cannot afford to haul it

548 Resources of Temiessee.

upon wagons, some twenty or thirty miles to the East Tennessee, Vir-
ginia and Georgia Railroad, or to the Virginia road leading to Lynch-
burg, Virginia. Hence, it should be their policy to cultivate lesscorn^
and raise more grass and hay for the purpose of grazing and feeding
stock. By this method the stock could be driven off, or sold upon the
estates.

Another branch of industry might be prosecuted with success, and
that is raising tobacco. The ridges, hills, and slopes of the moun-
tains contain a rich, loamy soil, and would produce fine tobacco.
"Wherever the matter has been tested, success has followed.

For the choice of superior fruit, there are few sections in the United
States superior to it. The apples of Johnson county are noted for
their richness, their luscious appearance and for their great size. It is
a wonder that the business of raising fruit is not far more extensive
than it is. It ought to be greatly increased. The revenue alone from
this source would make the county independent. Not only apples, but
grapes and peaches do well.

There are several varieties of soil in the county. Much of it is a
black loam, and productive. In some of the valleys it is a dark
brown, and, in some instances, sandy. The soil of the ridges is grav-
elly, and, on some of the mountain slopes and in the coves, it is a
dark loam. On Roane's Creek it is a dark brown. That along Little-
Doe River is a black loam, and that on Laurel Creek somewhat sandy.
The principal valleys are Roane's Creek, about twenty miles long, Little
Doe River, about nine miles long, and Laurel Valley, about nine miles
long. None of them are very wide. The water-power afforded by the-
streams through these valleys is abundant for all purposes.

We have heretofore mentioned " Shady." It is a mountain basin^
encircled by the Holston on one side, and Iron Mountain on the other.
Portions of it are swampy and unfit for grain purposes. Draining
would do good. It produces fine grass, and considerable quantities of
hay arc raised. But its remarkable feature is its astonishing adaptation
to the rearing of cranberries. These berries grow wild in every por-
tion of it, and are of the largest species. There are not less than
10,000 acres that would produce them, and, perhaps, this entire surface
is now covered with them. Tlie berries are large, sound and plump.
Here they have grown from time immemorial, without any cultivation.
They have been exposed to the depredations of stock, and still they
live and do well. The natives pay but little attention to them,

East Tennessee. 549

although hunclrccls of bushels could be gathered at a nominal cost.
Now and then the women of the county gather a few gallons and ex-
<5hange them for coffee, sugar, &c.

There are still other portions of the county equally as well adapted
to them. Only a quarter of a mile from the town of Taylorsville, the
•county seat, there are one hundred acres of land that produce them
to perfection. Nine miles west of Taylorsville, there are two other
swamps adapted to them. From these facts it may be inferred that
-Johnson county is remarkable in this respect.

Almost every species of timber is found in this county, consisting of
white pine, spruce pine, yellow pine, the various oaks, chestnut, poplar,
locust, wild cherry, walnut, beech, &c.

Taylorsville is the county seat of Johnson county. It is a neat,
-quiet town, well laid off, containing a population of about 300, and
situated on a handsome plateau of ground. It is " high and dry," and
thoroughly drained. There is in the place an excellent institution of
learning. It is eligibly located. The faculty is an able one.

(For other items of interest, the reader is referred to chapter xxii).

KNOX COUNTY.

County Seat — Knoxville.

The county of Knox was erected in the year 1792, June 11th. Five
days thereafter, " James White, John Sawyers, Hugh Beard, John
Adair, George McNutt, Jeremiah Jack, John Kearns, James Cozby,
John Evans, Samuel Newell, William Wallace, Thomas McCulloch,
William Hamilton, David Craig and William Lowry presented a com-
mission from Governor Blount, appointing the Justices of the Peace
for Knox county, and appeared before the Hon. David Campbell, who,
in the presence of Governor Blount, administered to each of them an
oath to sup})ort the constitution of the United States and also an oath
of office. Charies McClung also produced a commission from the
Governor, appointing him Clerk, and he was in like manner qualified.
Thomas Chapman also as Register." — History of Tennessee, Ramsey.

On the 25th of the same month, Robert Houlston was commissioned
Sheriff. The first court was held on the 16th of July, 1792, at which
time Luke Bowyer, Alexander Outlaw, Joseph Hamilton, Archibald

550 Res octrees of Tennessee.

Roane, Hopkins Lacy, John Rhea and James Reese, Esquires, were
qualified and admitted to practice law in the court. — Ramsey, op. cit.

The boundaries of the county, as then prescribed, ran far beyond
their present limits, and embraced much territory now lying within
other counties. At present the county embraces only 573 square miles.
In shape it is an irregular polygon of seven sides, running as follows :
The northern boundary nearly due east and west, then south-east,
then south-west along the crest of Bays Mountain, thence west to Lit-
tle River, and with its meandering to the Tennessee River, and along
its many tortuous windings, south-west ; then at a right angle north-
west to Clinch River, and up its bed east of north to the intersection
of Copper Ridge, then turning ofP north-west to Flint Ridge and along
its crest to the beginning line. Of these lines no two are equal and
only two are parallel, those along Bays Mountain and Flint Ridge.
In topography the county is typical of the valley counties, and will
well repay a somewhat detailed description. Its chief characteristic
and prominent feature is the number of long straight ridges traversing
the entire county, in perfect parallels, from north-east to south-west.
These ridges furnish the skeleton of the county, and have not only
shaped its boundary, but have given rise and direction to all its M'ater-
courses, controlled the natural products of the intervening valleys, and
moulded the characters and occujsations of the inhabitants. Though so
truly parallel and uniform in outline, these ridges differ so widely in
geological structure that the soils of no two of the valleys, all of which
have been made from the weatherings and washings of the ridges, are
alike. This fact renders it necessary that we should speak of each of
the larger valleys in turn, in order to do justice to all.

There is, however, a part of the county lying south-east of the Ten-
nessee and French Broad, in whicli this parallelism of ridges and
intervening valleys is broken up. Though clearly manifest and easily
traced, it is intermixed and distorted by breaks and cross sections, or
short spurs running at right angles to the general trend of the moun-
tain and larger ridges. These intcrru])tions or breaks give the appear-
ance of large and irregular groups of hills, and are spoken of by Prof.
Safford, in his Geological Survey of the State, as knobs. It will be
convenient, therefore, to divide the county into the knobby region, lyingr
as above described, south-east of the Tennessee and French Broad
Rivers, and composing four civil districts, viz: 13, 14, 15 and 21, not
quite one-fifth of the county ; the other region, embracing the remain-
der of the county, may ))e called the ridge or valley region. In order

East Tennessee. 551

the better to see and more easily to describe these regions, it will be
well to take Knoxville as our stand-point, since it is a central point
from which both are in view.

The Knobby Region. Standing upon any of the elevated points
around Knoxville, or better still, taking our stand on the dome of the
University, and looking to the south and east, we shall see a vast group
of great red-headed hills, of remarkable uniformity in size, shape and
color. They raise their heads from 200 to 400 feet above the plane of
the valley, have regularly rounded tops, and are of a dark reddish
brown color. They are separated from each other by rough, deep and
irregular ravines, resembling, in a small way, the canyons of the west.
They are really narrow, deep and winding valleys, and make a region
quite peculiar and characteristic. From the extreme steepness of the
hill-side the arable land in this region is cut up into small strips. But
the soils of these valleys are quite rich and yield excellent returns for
fair cultivation, while that in woods is often heavily timbered with
white oak, hickory, poplar, maple and other valuable trees. Some
one, speaking of this region, has called it the " poor man's rich coun-
try," and the description is not inapt, as things are, but is at the same
time a severe reflection on the enterprise and thrift of the men who
have held this rich country for generations and are still poor men.
Nowhere in Tennessee are the improved practices of farming so much
needed as on these rich little farms, and nowhere would they pay
better.

The geological formation which gives shape and name to this region,
is described as a red, ferruginous, sandy fossiliferous limestone. This
rock, as Prof. Saiford says, is interstratified with calcareous shale and
flaggy limestone. The whole group is well named iron limestone. The
iron is so abundant in the soil and rock it is not improbable that
in some not distant day a process may be discovered for extracting
it with profit. At present, as rocks, their chief value is as flag stones
and building material. In weathering, this group of rock forms a soil
of exceeding strength, especially rich in mineral matter, and for this
reason responding readily to all organic manures. In texture it is
inclined to be tough, is of a dark red or brownish red color. It will
bear deep plowing, requires to be thoroughly worked, and would be
immensely benefitted by underdraining. It is a first-class wheat land,
yields good crops of corn and oats, and may be thoroughly set in cither
clover or grass by a little judicious management. The population in
this region is sparse and thinly scattered. The improvements are qu'.te

552 Resources of Tennessee,

primitive in style and few in number, and usually consist of a double
log cabin, covered Avith clap-boards, with chimneys of sticks, mor-
tar-lined on the inside and reinforced on the outside, near the ground,
with fire-rock ; rarely two stories, but invariably a loft, reached by a
ladder or open steps, narrow and steep. The house is surrounded by
a rail fence, enclosing a small garden and yard. In the former are
grown a few of the common garden vegetables, while the latter is
adorned with a few stands for bees, and perhaps an apple tree or two.
The out-buildings, if any, are built of logs or polls, and rarely consist
of anything beyond a corn-crib and stable. Two or three horses, as
many cows, six or a dozen hogs, occasionally a dozen sheep, and no
end of chickens, make up the live-stock account. The crops grown
are usually corn, oats and potatoes, but these suffice for the few simple
wants of the inhabitants. Their market produce is chiefly confined to
chickens and eggs, featliers, beeswax, ginseng, a few peltries, with now
and then a young beef. There are generally a few apple trees which
yield abundant crops, and furnish the remaining article of commerce
from these farms, in the shape of "dried fruit."

The creeks that empty into the French Broad, Tennessee and Little
Tennessee, which severally bound this region, are few and short. They
are, beginning with the French Broad tributaries. Hind's and Mill
Shoal ; into the Tennessee, Baker's, Hodge's and Knob ; into Little
River, Stock Creek alone. This comparative scarcity of water, doubt-
less, is the chief cause why the knobby region is so sparsely settled.
The presence of a spring or running water of some kind being an
essential to a settlement in former days. As may well be imagined,
the inhabitants of this region are not learned in the ways of the world,
nor in books, neither are they ambitious of making either a noise or a
show in the world — content with what contented their fathers, to live
as they lived, to die as tiiey died, leaving the world neither better nor
worse for their living and dying.

T]\e Tennessee and French Broad Rivers. The Tennessee, which
is more commonly and was originally named the Holston, enters
the county from the east, not far from its north-eastern corner,
and flows, in many bends and foldings, a little west of south, until
it ap])roaches the southern border of the county, when it sweeps
westward, and having made a wide curve, again flows west of south,
passing out of the county in almost a due south course and the
width of the county west of the point of entrance. By these
many and devious windings a very large surface of the county is

East Tennessee. 553

watered, and rich river bottoms are ranlti|)lied,to the exceeding benefit
of the owners. Tlie agricultural value of the river, however, great as
it is, is exceeded by the aggregate value of its many tributaries. These
are swift and clear creeks, taking their rise in several instances outside
of the county and flowing through long narrow valleys, fed on either
gide by numerous branches that swell' them into considerable volume by
the time they reach the river. AVe enumerate these creeks in order,
mentioning also such mills as we know the names of, situated on them.
Beginning with the right bank of the river and following its flow,
Big Flat Creek is the first. It enters into the county on its northern
borders and flows almost due south, when but a short way in the county
it is reinforced by Little Flat Creek, which takes its rise quite a way
oiF in the extreme north-western corner of the county and flows east-
ward, emptying into its larger namesake at the head of McAnnally's
Ridge. The mills on Big Flat are Carter's, Brice's, McBee's and Rob-
ert's; on Little Flat, Tarvers' is the only mill. Next comes Rose-
berry's Creek, which rises in Beaver Ridge, flows south-east, cutting
through McAnnally's Ridge. There are no mills on this creek. Doak's
Creek is comparatively small and turns .only Armstrong's mill. Love's
Creek is also small, with but one mill, Buffat's. First Creek supplies
Scott's mill, besides three or four mills in Knoxville. Second Creek
also passes through Knoxville, supplying power to a number of mills
and factories, besides Sharp's mill out of the town. Third Creek takes
its rise in Black Oak Ridge and flows eastward and soutii, through
McAnnally's Ridge, furnishing power to Hargen's paper and grist
mills. Lyon's Creek furnishes power to Kennedy's and to Lyon's
mills. Sinking and Turkey Creek supply no mills, and are compara-
tively small. On the left bank are Turkey, Sinking and Swan Pond
creeks, besides those enumerated as coming from the knobby regions,
none of which supply mills. In addition to those already mentioned
as emptying into the French Broad from the knobby region, Tuckahoe
Creek empties into it on the right bank, but none of these support a
mill. There are however, Keener's and Michael's mills on the river
itself, besides the cement mills.

The Tennesse and French Broad are both too deep for fording, and
the only bridge is that recently erected across the Tennessee at Knox-
ville. There are, however, across the Tennessee, three regular ferries
above Knoxville, besides those at the city, viz., Armstrong's, Boyd's
and Ramsey's, and across the French Broad there is Huffaker's ferry.

The Ridge or Valley Region. Returning to Knoxville and looking

554 Resources of Tennessee.

north-westward, we see a long regular ridge running parallel with the
river, and beyond it another and another, as far as the eye can reach.
These ridges extend for the most part through the county. The north-
western boundary lies along the crest of Flint Ridge, which it will be
most convenient for us first to consider. This ridge is sometimes called
Chestnut Ridge, from the fact that this timber abounds on it. Flint
is the older and better name, however, since it describes the character
of the crest of the ridge itself, which is composed of a chert that has
very much the appearance of the true flint. This ridge divides, and on
the west side, within the county, lies a short section of a narrow valley
called Raccoon Valley. The main ridge extends from Virginia into
Georgia. On the western side it is steep and broken, but on the east-
ern and southern sides it slopes gradually into Bull Run Valley. This
valley is confined by Flint or Chestnut and Copper Ridges. It is one
of the long valleys which cross the entire State, reaching from Virginia
into Georgia. It takes different names, however, in different sections, as
do the ridges which enclose it. In Knox county, it gets its name from
the creek which flows through it, emptying into Clinch River. Taken
as a whole. Bull Run Valley contains a large body of first-rate land.
There is, however, a noticeable diflerence between the lands lying on
the east and west banks of the creek. It has a south-eastern ex-
posurf, and the soil is the product of the weatherings and washings
from the ridge; it is, therefore, composed of quite a varied mixture of
different qualities of limestone, clay and chert or flinty gravel. It is
dark colored and heavy, not easily worked, but yielding fair crops and
wearing well. Under thorough cultivation and judicious management
these lands would yield many fold more than they do, both in quan-
tity and variety of crops. On the eastern side of the valley Copper
Ridge rises somewhat abruj)tly. The land is not so smooth, does not lie
so handy for the plow, but it is comparatively free from the chert or
flinty gravel, and is })erhaps in some respects a richer soil, though,
owing to its north-eastern exposure, it does not bring forward crops so
early and is not so highly esteemed. It is, however, excellent grass
land and a favorite fruit region.

The whole valley is abundtmtly watered and heavily timbered, and
is tolerably thickly settled. The inhabitants are intelligent, industrious
and moral and have provided themselves with churches and school-
houses.

leaver Creek F«//e?/lies east of Co])per Ridge, and is bounded on the
east by Beaver Ridge, and divided through the middle by the creek from

East Tennessee. 555

which it gets its name. In many res])ects it is the richest and most
esteemed valley in the county, though it is only second in size. There
is something of the same diiference noticeable between the soils on the
east and west side of the dividing creek, but the difference is not so
marked as in Bull Run Valley. Copper Ridge here slopes into the
valley in the same gradual manner described in Flint Ridge. Indeed,
these ridges have a general resemblance, each being crowned with a layer
of chert and is based on limestone. So, also, each has more or less of
limestone scattered or sandwiched in thin layers through it. The pres-
ence of this limestone, added to other minerals, gives variety and rich-
ness to the soil into which it weathers. There is considerable of this
chert mixed in the soil along the foot of the ridge, which gradually
disappears towards the creek as we approach the limestone bed that
forms the basis of the valley. On the east side, again, Beaver Ridge
mounts up more abru|)tly and has weathered down but little or none of
the chert which covers its crest. The greater width of this valley
gives more room for level stretches, and hence the land lies better than
on the east side of Bull Run Creek. The soil is of a dark mulatto
color, and quite rich. There is, perhaps, more of enterprise and a dis-
position to adopt new ways in this valley than in any part of the county
away from the railroad.

Hhid's Valley. The section of the valley lying between Beaver and
Black Oak ridges, is known as Hind's Valley. It is comparatively
narrow, though very long, reaching from Georgia almost across Ten-
nessee. In Knox county only the lower half is watered by Hickory
Creek, a tributary of Clinch River. The soil is generally light grey
and rather thin, though in the lower section it gets to be quite fertile.
It is, however, admirably adapted to grass, and is one of the leading
meadow regions of the county. It is susceptible of very high im-
provement, a fact which some of its inhabitants have begun to ap-
preciate.

Gransy Valley, bounded by Black Oak and Webb's ridges, is, as its
name indicates, a valley of much agricultural importance. The soil is
composed mainly of the weathering of soft shale and various lime-
stones, which make up the ridges on either side. Though it is neither
so rich nor so friable and easily worked as the calcareous loams that
overlie the blue limestones of the Central Basin, yet it is most excel-
lent land, and under proper treatment yields abundant crops of grain
or grass. Unlike the valleys so far des(!ribcd, the waters of Grassy
Valley do not flow along its trend, but taking their rise in Black Oak

55^ Resources of Tennessee.

Ridge, several creeks flow across the valley, cutting through the east-
ern ridge and finding their way to the Tennessee River. It will thus
be seen that Black Oak Ridge is the liip-roof that separates the water-
sheds of the Clinch and Tennessee rivers as they draw near to unite.
The floor of Grassy Valley is not an inclined plane, falling from north-
east to south-west, as are the other valleys named, but a succession of
gentle wave-like undulations cross the valley, forming cross-troughs
which collect the waters of the creeks and pour them out through the
eastern ridge. This eastern ridge (Webb's) is marked on the western
crest by a sharp angular escarjDment, so that the eastern side of Grassy
Valley is made quite abrupt. The settlements are more numerous and
the improvements somewhat more pretentious, indicating an approach
to the neighborhood of railroads and cities.

Poor Valley. The character of this valley is indicated by its name.
The soil is thin, poor and rough over a great part of the valley, but
not over the entire body. The valley is bounded by Webb's and Mc-
Annally's ridges, which are largely composed of shale and dolomite
that have weathered into a poor soil very meagerly supplied with lime.
Poor Valley is not confined to Knox county, but runs on up into Vir-
ginia. It presents one feature in common with all the shale valleys —
where it is narrow, its bed is rough and the soil almost barren, but with
increase of width, the bed of the valley becomes smoother and the soil
better. North of Knox county, Poor Valley is noted for the great
number, variety and strength of mineral springs that break out from
its sides. It is watered by the same creeks and in the same manner as
Grassy Valley.

This brings us to the Central or Knoxville Valley, variously called
Rocky Valley and New Market Valley. In width, variety and impor-
tance, it exceeds cither of the others. It is, properly speaking, the
Valley of Tennessee River. The soil is composed of the debris of
shale, chert, dolomite and limestone on a clay substratum, the whole
more or less mixed with iron, which gives it a red color. The appear-
ance and quality of the soil vary in different parts of the valley, as
one or the other of these ingredients predominates. Where the soil is
best, as towards the northern and southern extremities of the valley,
the rocks are Nashville and Trenton limestone, which yield a dark, rich
and friable soil. All the creeks cm[)tying into the Tennessee on its
right bank within the county flow through this valley, while iha river
washes its entire eastern side. It is thus more abundantly watered
than all the other valleys of the county. In addition to this, it is the

East Tennessee. 557

great thoroughfare of trade and commerce across the State, the track
of the East Tennessee, Virginia and Georgia Railroad running along
its bed. These natural and artificial advantages have combined to fos-
ter a higher degree of improvement than is to be found elsewhere.
The crops are more diversified, and there is a more general disposition
to fix up and to make the most of every thing.

Farming in Knox County. The exigencies and advantages of climate,
the fertility and exposure of soils, and the nearness or remoteness of
markets, are the main elements which control the character of crops
and style of farming in every location. Secondary to, but scarcely less
important, are the intelligence and cash capital of the farmers. In
Knox county, as in East Tennessee generally, the climate is admirably
suited to a wide range of crops, and the soil, as we have seen, is of
sufficient variety, and was originally sufficiently fertile, to bear any crop
within the range of climate. But for many years there was no market
for anything that would not bear long and tedious transportation.
As a consequence, the farming operations of the county were almost
entirely confined to the production of such articles as were needed for
home consumption. Under this lack of stimulus, naturally there
would be no great effort at improvement. The farmers were content
to grow the same crops in the same way that their fathers had done.
Corn and oats, by unvarying routine, in time wore away the virgin soil.
This process has been continued until a great deal of the arable land
in the county is reduced to a very low state of productiveness. A
commendable effi:)rt is now making by many of the most intelligent
and enterprising farmers to redeem this error and restore the land.
The ferruginous and aluminous character of most of the subsoil of the
county renders such restoration comparatively easy, since such soils
retain manure longer than others, besides excelling other lands in the
power to abstract ammonia from the superincumbent air. Under the
impetus of the railroad, furnishing a ready means for sending to market
every possible product of the farm, and the rapidly growing demand
of the city of Knoxville, the spirit of change and progress is fast
spreading through the entire county. New and improved implements
are coming into use, wiser and better practices begin to prevail.

Faryn Buildings. These are generally built of wood. The dwelling-
houses often of plank, but most generally of logs. They are neither
handsome, comfortable, nor convenient, as compared with the better
class of houses. The stables and out-houses are mere make-shifts.

55S Reso7irces of Tennessee »

They are, by no means, sufficient in numbers and room, and very badly
built. Too little care is taken of stock and implements, and too little
regard is paid to the comfort of the farmer and his family. The room
for improvement in these particulars is very great.

These criticims apply with more or less force to American agricul-
ture in general, and especially to that of the Southern States. And
while it may be true that, owing mainly to its comparative isolation
for so long a period, agriculture is less advanced in East Tennessee
than in Middle or West Tennessee, it is also true that several circum-
stances combine to stimulate a more rapid advancement in East Ten-
nessee in the future than can be hoped for in either of the other sec-
tions. One of these circumstances is the tendency to develop the small
industries already alluded to. In these industries, the labor of women
and children, which is almost entirely unused in the other sections, can
be profitably employed. Another favorable circumstance is the char-
ter of the farm labor. In comparison with the other sections, the
number of slaves was always small in East Tennessee, and the number
of non-slaveholding farmers quite large.

Juive Stoch, of improved breeds and in considerable numbers, are
coming into tlie county from Kentucky, Pennsylvania and New York.
These consist chiefly of cattle and hogs. Of cattle, the greater number
are Jerseys and a few Devons — the disposition seeming to be in favor
of butter-making. While the hogs are mainly Berkshires, and some
Chester white. With stock-growing comes of necessity an increased
breadth of grass and larger tonnage of hay.

Fruil- Growing. From the earliest settlement of the county, some
sections have been locally noted as fruit regions. Large crops of most
excellent apples have been borne on some orchards for half a century.
Since the war the nursery agents from Rochester and other northern
cities have sold large numbers of fruit trees through the county. Some
of which, getting into good hands, in favorable sites, will do well, but
the great bulk of these purchases have or will come to naught. It
cannot be a great while, however, until fruit-growing assumes an impor-
tant feature in the farm economy of the county, so many circumstances
favoring it. The same is true of grapes, as of apples. Climate and
soil favor and it needs only skill and enterprise to cover thousands
of hill-sides with vines. Immediately around Knoxville strawberries
are already grown of a size and quality not surpassed in the United
States.

Social Statufi of the Knox County Farmer, Necessarily, the social

East Tennessee. 559

life of all farmins: communities differs from that which exists in towns
and cities. The farmer is not so readily in reach of news — it is not so
easy for him to step across to his nei_2;hbor's and have a talk. His life
is largely confined to his own farm, his daily intercourse limited to his
own family; his acquaintance is limited at best, and but little fitted to
add to the variety or extent of his information, and unless he is hap-
pily given to reading, he is not likely to get any ideas about his calling
beyond what comes down to him from his father. This is true of farm
life under the most favorable circumstances of an open country and
good roads, but this tendency is strengthened and intensified when
the country is broken, as it is in Knox county, and the roads are
so few and so bad. The ridges that rise up between the farming re-
gions, that is, the valleys, in the county are to all but the intrepid hun-
ter entirely impassible, and but for the occurrence at intervals of gaps
or breaks in them, the inhabitants of one valley would be as com-
pletely shut ofPfrom all intercourse with those of a neighboring valley,
only a few miles away, as if hundreds of miles intervened. As it is,
the intercourse between valleys is very limited. This comparative se-
clusion, while it is not conducive to rapid progress and general culture
of the farming community, does foster those simple tastes and frugal
habits that keep off debt, and beget contentment if not happiness.

Roads. As has been intimated, the roads of Knox county are not
noted for their excellence, although they are, perhaps, on the whole,
better than in most counties in East Tennessee. The topography of
the country renders the making of good roads a matter of extreme
difficulty. With the trend of the valleys, that is, north-east and south-
Avest, pretty fair roads are practicable, but from north-west to south-
east, practicable roads are confined entirely to the gaps or low places
in the ridges, and the best of these are anything but good road-beds.
However, the establishment of the Virginia and Georgia and the Ken-
tucky and South Carolina lines of railroads, is fast remedying the con-
dition of things naturally growing out of the lack of good roads.
The first of these roads follows, in the main, the trough of the central
or river valley, and taps all the main or gap roads that come into the
valley. The other road, cutting across the several valleys, offers to
each an easy outlet and ready market.

Towns. As a consequence, the towns of Knox county that are grow-
ing, all lie along one or the other of these roads, at the junction of the
gap-roads, or in the valleys intersected by the Kentucky and South
Carolina road. At present, these points of intersection are mere

560 Resources of Tenitessee.

stations, but the forces at work must soon build them up into thriving
villages and towns. The influence of these two roads concentrate at
their intersection in Knoxville. This, the oldest city and the first State
capital, is deserving of some special description for what it is and for
what it promises to be.

Knoxville was laid out in Februray, 1791, though settlements were
not begun in the new town until the next year. It was, like the county
of which it was to be the capital, named in honor of Major General
Henry Knox, at that time. Secretary of War under President Washing-
ton. The county was not established until a year after the town was laid
off. Governor Blount, then presiding over the affairs of the Territory
by appointment of President Washington, established his headquarters
at Knoxville, while the town was as yet only a name. On the fourth
Monday of February, 1794, the first Territorial Legislature assembled
in Knoxville. On the 11th of January, in the following year, a Con-
vention was assembled in Knoxville for the purpose of changing the
Territory into the State. The Constitution adopted by this Convention
was pronounced by Mr. Jefferson to be "the least imperfect and most
republican" of any of the existing State forms of government. Under
this Constitution the State of Tennessee was admitted. It is said that
the name Tennessee was given the new State at the suggestion of Gen-
eral Andrew Jackson, who was a member of the Convention from the
county of Davidson.

On the 28th of March, 1796, the first State Legislature assembled
in Knoxville. At the election in which the members of this Legisla-
ture had been chosen. General Sevier had been elected Governor, and
was duly inaugurated on the 30th of March, 1796.

Knoxville at this time was but a small village, yet of ample dimen-
sions to meet all the wants of the times. How few and simple were
the wants of the first Legislature and Convention, may be pleasantly
learned from Ramsey's Annals of Tennessee, but is beyond our prov-
ince. The founders of Knoxville chose more wisely than they knew,
when they fixed the site of the young capital. To them it was the
most convenient, because the most central and most accessible point in
the territory then settled. They were not thinking of commerce, nor
did they dream of the manufactures of to-day. Steam was a thing to
them unknown, the stage coach was the height of locomotion, both as
to speed and convenience, and but few of the citizens had seen this in-
stitution. But the natural laws which fixed the site of the young city

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East Ten7iessee. 5^^

Avhere the war trails of the Indians and the wagon ways of the settlers
crossed, continue to influanoe and will continue forever. The iron
track of commerce and trivel follows the moccasin trail of the hunter
and pioneer, and where the settlers met to barter and trade, commerce
now centers, and m inufacture plies her busy arts. For though the
halls of legislation have long since been carried westward, the ware-
houses of commerce remain, and are multiplying and widening with
every coming year.

In the history of civilization, no feature is more interesting than the
establishment and growth of great towns and cities. From the build-
ing of the first cities by the descendents of Cain, to the manufacture
of the newest city in that Eldorado of cities, so named, the west, there
is never a one but has its history — full of charms and full of lesspns for
the student of political economy. Yet all great towns and cities, how-
ever widely they may diifer in history and character, have certain gen-
eral features in common, pointing back to certain common laws M^hich
underlie and govern their growth. For no large town or city is an
accident. There are laws that govern the location as well as laws
that govern the growth of cities. These laws, or, more properly,
these forces, are two-fold — natural and artificial, as furnished by
nature or developed by man. In ancient times, large towns or great
cities grew only where nature invited them. Where deep and wide
harbors offered safe riding for ships; or where mighty rivers emp-
tied their waters. But now the location of cities is, in a measure,
in the hands of man. Wherever many lines of railroads con-
verge, wherever broad beds of iron and coal crop out, there large
towns and great cities may be made to grow. But it is in building
cities, as in all things else, Providence helps those who help themselves.
To illustrate : nature did a vast deal for New York, she gave her a
great river and capacious harbor, and surrounded her with broad acres
of fertile land, but until Governor Clinton opened the lake canals,
Philadelphia bid fiiir to rival her. After her canals came he^ rail-
roads, and the work was done. She became the metropolis of America.
But even now, with all her immense prestige, she must needs keep
working.

Cities, as they are located, are called sea-board or inland, and owe
their importance to being either the termini or crossing of trade-routes.
So, also, cities are said to be either commercial or manufacturing, ac-
cording as the one or the other interest predominates. But, as a mat-
36

562 Resoui'ces of Tennessee.

ter of course, no consiclerabl - city is ever devoted exclusively to either
interest. In a general way, nil sea-board cities are commercial, and
all inland cities manufacturing.

Knoxville is an inland city, and must, of necessity, be mainly a man-
ufacturing city. The first great law of growth in inland cities is the
development of local resources. It is in obedience to this law that
Knoxville has attained the foremost rank in the Valley of the Ten-
nessee, and in carrying out this law there is reasonable prospect of her
becoming, at no distant day, a great and wealthy city.

Then it is but natural that we should describe the city in speaking
of Knox county, of which it is the capital. As the county town,
Knoxvdlle would naturally become the center of the business and trade
of the county, but Knox county contributes only a small proportion of
the business now done in the city. For not only is Knoxville the
geographical and topographical center of Knox county, but it is also the
commercial and trade center of a wide region, embracing nearly all East
Tennessee, and large sections of south-east Kentucky, south-west Vir-
ginia, western North Carolina, and northern Georgia and Alabama.
And, in the nature of thino;s, the radii of this circle must leno;then with
each year's increase and develo})ment of the enormous resources of the
city. Ultimately these resources must make Knoxville a great manu-
facturing center. The rate at which it is to grow to these proportions
depends of necessity very largely on the railroad connections. This is a
matter worth a few moments of consideration. It is not possible to
consider one part of the railroad system of a State withont some refer-
ence to the whole. Tennessee occupies the position of a pivot-plate,
on which all the inter-state commerce going north and south, east of
the Mississippi, must turn. There are on this plate naturally three foci
or poles, wlierethe lines of travel must cross viz., Knoxville, Nashville
and Mem])his. To illustrate: a trade line drawn from either New
York, Philadelphia or Baltimore, to Mobile or New Orleans, must pass
throuf^h cither Knoxville, Nashville orMcmi)his; so, from either of
tlie southern Atlantic cities, to reach either St. Louis, Cinciniuiti or
Chictigo, trade must pass through one of the trade centers of Tennessee.
Knoxville lies within the shortest of these great connecting routes.
At [)rcsent, however, only one of these routes is provided with a road-
way. The East Tennessee, Virginia and Georgia Railroad furnis-hes
connection for the commerce of the north-eastein and south-western
cities, and it would be impossible to exaggerate the importance of this

East Tennessee. 5^3

road to Knoxville. But it is an indisputable flict, that no one road
ever did or ever can build up a great city. And until the cross route
is rompleted, the city cannot possibly attain its full rate of develop-
ment. This route has been well begun, and its completion, in the
nature of things, cannot be long delayed. That branch of it reaching
out north-west is already built within easy connection with any possi-
ble line of the Cincinnati Southern road, while it points directly
through Louisville to Chicago. Other lines must be opened in time,
connecting Knoxville more directly with Nashville and the east. These
will not be speculative lines, but lines of real worth, built in response
to urgent demands and supported by actual commerce.

Predictions are cheap and easily made, and it were an easy task to
draw a brilliant horoscope of Knoxville, but we have no desire to indulge
in fancy pictures. The facts suffice us. They promise that the city will
long continue to grow with healthful rapidity until it becomes one of
the great internal cities of the South. In this growth, beyond question,
many resources now unknown will be developed. One which would
seem to promise more than any other is as yet not begun, that is, cot-
ton manufacturing. Every possible facility is at hand for making
Knoxville a great center for this industry, while the nearness of the
cotton field, renders it almost marvelous that this has not been the first
enterprise sought by capital. In time these natural facilities must be
taken advantage of, to the immense benefit of the city.

The Poultry Trade. Perhaps in no one item of commerce can we
find so many points of interest and instruction as in that of poultry,
including eggs and feathers. The figures which we append, present
this trade in a magnitude that will doubtless astonish many who are
wont to consider it as a small business to buy and sell eggs. But when
any trade reaches the figures shown below it ceases to be insignificant,
let its details be as little as they may.

The poultry trade has grown into a regular system. There are no
large poultiy farms to supply it, no farms, indeed, on which poultry-
raising is made a leading business. But the entire supply of this trade
is drawn from the farms from many counties around the city. On
these farms the poultry kept is almost exclusively attended to by the
women and children, labor that else must be unemployed, and the
cost of raising is almost nothing. The supplies are carried by the
farmers or their wives to the neighboring country stores, and from
these points sent to Knoxville. As yet no efforts have been made to
increase the supply beyond the purchase of what are brought in. But

564. Resources of Tennessee.

the recent rapid increase in the trade shows clearly that the farmers
themselves are fast awakening to the fact that there is money in the
business. But where, it muy be asked, are all these eggs and chickens
sent? And the answer illustrates very strikingly the value of the
geographical location of Knoxville. During part of the year, that is,
winter and early spriug, the eggs are shipped to New York ; after that
time, they are sent to different points in Georgia and Alabama. The
poultry go almost exclusively south. What is true in this respect of
this branch of trade, is true of many other articles of greater bulk
and more general importance. Knoxville is the half-Avay house, as
East Tennessee is the common depot, from whence supplies are sent
north and south.

The rapid development of the poultry trade is better illustrated by the
following table of the annual shipment for 1871-2-3, as given by the
East Tennessee, Virginia and Georgia Railroad :

1871. 1872. 1873.

Ejrss 2rt,50i) lbs. 1 12,409 lbs- 218,301 lbs.

Feathers 70,734 lbs. llu,009 lbs. 108,837 lbs.

Of the quantity of dressed poultry shipped we have no means of
estimating, but from the fact that a car load a week passes over the
road, it must be very great. Considerable as the poultry trade now is,
it is scarcely fairly begun as yet. With each year it must increase in
the width of the circle from which the supplies are drawn, and in the
increased number of eggs from the same number of fowls, and the in-
creased size of the fowls by the introduction of improved breeds. At
present no breed prevails to any extent, though we notice in the coops
of live fowls on sale in the market considerable more of the American
Dominique, or old fashioned " Dominecker," than of any other one
strain. However, there is every color and shape, size and shade,
showing the utter disregard in which the subject of poultry-breeding
is held in the country. Immediately around the city, however, some
interest is growing up in the larger and more improved breed of fowls,
and it will not be a great while until they find their way into the
country around. At present, the average of dressed fowls are estimated
to weigh about three pounds, for which the dealers give eight cents a
pound. From the best estimate that we can make, Ave should say that
at present the annual yield of eggs per hen is about eight dozen for
the best, while a large number fall far below this. Of the improved
breeds, there are several in which the grown fowls will dress four to
five pounds, and the hens will lay from fourteen to eighteen dozen eggs

East Tennessee. 565

a piece. Here, then, is the easy means of increasing the poultry trade
fifty per cent., without adding one hour to the amount of labor now
expended.

The Butter Trade. For the past two years there has been a little
over twenty-five thousand pounds of butter shipped from Knoxville
each year, but this cannot be taken as any indication of a stationary
condition in the butter trade. The production of butter has increased
Tery largely within that time, but instead of being shipped it has found
a ready market at home. Not only has the supply of butter been
much increased, but the quality of the supply has been very much im-
proved. This increase and improvement are due to two causes mainly :
the one the increase and improvement of the pastures of the county,
the other the introduction of Jersey cattle. These two forces are still
■at work, and are likely to grow in strength, until Knox county shall
rival Orange county. New York, as a butter region. In every natural
feature it is superior. It only needs the stock and the skill. We have
dwelt at length on the poultry and butter trades, because they illus-
trate that feature of domestic economy which characterizes East Ten-
nessee as compared with the other divisions of the State, and that is,
the attention paid to and the profits derived from the smaller indus-
tries. As a matter of coarse, the great bulk of the trade and com-
merce of Knoxville is based upon the staples of iron, coal, corn, wheat,
bacon, &c. In the future, iron and coal and their manufactured pro-
ducts will increase, while, with the increase of population, though the
«rops of corn, wheat and bacon may be ever so much multiplied, the
export trade will not be proportionably increased, simply because, as
in the case of butter, referred to above, those articles will find a mar-
ket at home. And this is the natural and by far the most powerful
stimulus to the improvement of the agriculture of the country. For
the following approximate estimates of the trade and manufactures, we
are indebted to the Hon. Wm. Rule, late Mayor of the city.

Of manufacturing establishments, there are two foundries, one ma-
chine shop, one car-wheel manufactory, one rolling mill and one nail
manufactory. Of wood manufactories, there are three sash and blind
manufactories, two saw mills, one saddle-tree manufactory, two furni-
ture manufactories, one wagon and carriage manufactory, and one keg
factory, besides some smaller establishments. Three flouring mills,
two saddle and harness manufactories, one tannery, one broom hianu-
factory, &c. The iron establishments draw their raw material from
the iron and coal mines opened at different points in East Tennessee —

566 Resottrces of Tennessee,

coal from Anderson and Campbell counties, and iron from Greene,.
Washington and Carter counties ; the \yood manufactories from va-
rious points in East Tennessee along the line of the railroads and
rivers. In all their departments these manufacturing establishments
employ 1/200 hands, perhaps, wages ranging from one dollar per day
for common laborers to four dollars and fifty cents for skilled laborers.
The wholesale trade will approximate: dry goods, notions, &c., $3,000,-
000; drugs $250,000; groceries $350,000; hardware $300,000. These
sales are made in South-eastern Kentucky, South-western Virginia,
Western North Carolina, Northern Georgia, North Alabama and East
Tennessee, covering a large territory, as will be seen upon examination of
the maps of these States, of which Knoxville is the centre. This trade
is increasing rapidly and constantly. Approximate number of houses
built, all classes, dwellings and business houses within the past two
years, five hundred. Average wages for unskilled labor $1 to $2.50 per
day, skilled $3 to $4.50. Average retail price of bacon, Vl\ cents per
pound, beef 8 cents, mutton 8 cents, flour 4 cents, meal 65 cents per
bushel, sugar 12 J cents per pound, coffee 27 to 30 cents. Average
house rent, say, eight to ten per cent, of value of property rented.
Comfortable houses, four to five rooms, $12 to $20 per month,
according to location.

For heathfulness the location of Knoxville could scarcely be im-
proved. It stands on a series of hills, abutting on the right bank of
Tennessee River, and separated by two small, rapid streams, known as
First and Second creeks. By means of these two creeks, the surface
drainage of the city is, by nature, almost perfect. The peculiar for-
mation of the surrounding mountains and ridges so directs and tem-
pers the winds as to keep the city thoroughly ventilated at all times.
The anemometer on the university is rarely ever still, and yet it is
hardly probable that the city will ever be visited by a very destructive
storm, such as sometimes visits other cities in the State; neither can it
ever suffer loss of property, or be made unhealthy by an overflow.
The elevation of the city may be stated as 1,000 feet above the
sea level. But to make this point clearer, the averages of wind,
heat and rain during the year may be seen in the chapter on cli-
mate. To those familiar with such estimates of climate, the tables
will furnish more accurate information than the most elaborate verbal
description. To others it may be said, that the climate is truly
temperate; neither the long and dreary winters of the Northern
Sates, nor the equally long and burning summers of the South-

East TeiiJiessee. 567

ern States. During the hottest of its summer days, the city is
always fanned by a breeze that robs the air of its sultriness, and ren-
ders it balmy and invigorating. The substance of the hills on which
Knoxville is situated is of such a nature as to render it easy of drain-
age, so that the city is never liable to breed, within itself, any of the
numerous epidemics that spring from the poisoned earth. In short, all
things combine to insure the healthfulness of Knoxville, while the
trancendent beauty and picturesqueness of the scenery give it attrac-
tions beyond almost any city in the Union as a place of residence.
As yet, the capabilities of the city in this respect are very far from
being developed. All of the early, and most of the present, inhabi-
tants Avere, and are, content with making their homes comfortable, and
but little regard for the beautiful has found a place either in the houses
or their surroundings. Of late years, however, new styles of architec-
ture have begun to appear, and sites are beginning to be valued some-
what for the views which they command, and quite a number of really
handsome residences have been built on some of the most beautiful
sites. As yet, the great majority of the houses are built of wood, and
though considerable taste has been displayed in many of the plans,
most of them are small, and make no great show. These remarks are
not so applicable to the business houses. On these the expenditures
have been more liberal, and larger or handsomer ware-houses are not
to be met with in any but the largest cities of the Union than a few of
the wholesale firms of Knoxville have built. Without much remodel-
ing, however, the older part of Knoxville can never be made really
handsome, because of the extreme narrowness of the streets. It will
be strange indeed, however, if, in time, Knoxville is not noted for the
beauty and elegance of its houses. Innumerable most eligible sites
invite adornment, and offer the ground-work for every variety of edi-
fice from the picturesque gothic cottage to the mostly stately Italian
mansion, and ready at hand are building-stones unsurpassed for beauty
and durability by any in the United States.

The Marble Trade of Knoxville. East Tennessee marble has long
been noted for its beauty, chiefly through the handsome variety taken
from Hawkins county. But until recently but little has been known
abroad of the Knox county marble, and yet marble is to be found in
almost every ])art of the central valley of the county, and that, too, in
the greatest variety. The building of the elegant custom house and
post-offi'c that now graces the city, has been the means of developing
and bringing into notice a grey marble, which, for beauty and dura-

568 Resources of Tennessee.

bility, promises to equal if it does not exceed in popularity the beauti-
ful variegated variety that was used in the decorative work of the Capi-
tols at Washington and Nashville. This variety will become still bet-
ter known as it is distributed through the various national cemeteries,
it having been selected for head stones. The great value of this marble
to Knoxville must be developed at home. It offers the cheapest ma-
terial for building such elegant and j^rmanent residences and business
houses as shall of themselves give reputation to the town.

The Lumber Trade. The timber trees of the county are such as are
common to what we have called the valley division in speaking of the
timber of East Tennessee. The number of the creeks in the county
and the amount of river bottoms give an extra quantity of the yel-
low poplar, white oak and other trees growing in the richer lands,
while considerable yellow pine is mixed with the oaks, hickories, ashes,
and elms that cover the ridges. The luml)cr trade of Knoxville is
rapidly increasing, mainly in such as is used in house-building. The
prices for green lumber at the yards average about as follows: Pine,
poplar, hickory oak, and ash $15, and walnut, $30 per thousand feet.
The supply of the first four is practically unlimited, but both good
ash and walnut are hard to get. The hickory is extra fine, and large
quantities are manufactured into wheel-spokes, pick and axe-handles.
Recently a considerable trade has been opened in shipping yellow
poplar plank to Boston, and there is every reason to anticipate a
large increase in this trade. The cost of shipment is $13 per thous-
and feet. For cabinet-making, lumber is bought dry ready for use, at
about the following prices per thousand feet : Ash, beech, cherry,
hackberry, poplar, sweet gum and sycamore $22, cherry $25, walnut
$45. Oar quotations are all for first-class lumber.

Schools and Colleges. Among the earliest acts of the Territorial
Legislature was the establishment of Blount College. Since that time
the schools of Knox county have kept pace with the foremost in this
end of the State. Since the war especially has there been much inter-
est manifested on the subject of free schools. The citizens now pay an
annual tax for school purposes, and the system is perhaps as well
organized as in any county in East Tcnnesse. The superintendent
is a college graduate, and thoroughly alive to the importance of the
work he has to do. He is wisely seeking to build neat and com-
modious school-houses wherever it is possible to do so, and to secure
that communion and esprit de corps among the teachers so essential to
the success of any system. The city of Knoxville has maintained

East Tennessee. 5 69

tolerably good free schools for three years. The public mind is being
rapidly educated up to a full appreciation of their value, and year by
year they grow better and stronger. There is as yet no public library
in Knoxville, nor is there as much disposition to read as one might
expect in a place of its size and business activity. There has been,
however, a marked improvement in this respect within the past three
years, due in part to the incoming of reading citizens from abroad, and
to the general growth in intelligence, but mainly due to the presence
and influence of

East Tennessee University — Tennessee Agricultural College. An ex-
press condition of the cession by North Carolina to the United States,
of the "Western Territory," now the State of Tennessee, was that "its
inhabitants should enjoy all the privileges, benefits and advantages set
forth in an ordinance made by Congress for the government of the
territory north-west of the Ohio River." That ordinance provided
that, " religion, morality and knowledge being necessary to good gov-
ernment and the happiness of mankind, schools and the means of edu-
cation shall forever be encouraged " in the Territory. Therefore, in
an act of cession from the United States to the State of Tennessee,
passed September 26, 1806, it was made a condition of the transfer of
all the right and claim of the United States to certain vacant and un-
appropriated lands, that the State of Tennessee should appropriate
100,000 acres, located in one tract, on the lands to which the title of
the Cherokee Indians had been extinguished, " for the use of two col-
leges," one in East and the other in West (now Middle) Tennessee.
The State of Tennessee accepted this condition. The 100,000 acres
required were located by it "south of French Broad and Holston
rivers, and west of Big Pigeon River." East Tennessee College (now
University) was chartered in 1807, to be one of the beneficiaries of
this endowment. Cumberland College (now the University of Nash-
ville) was the other intended recipient. Only a very small part of the
proceeds of sale of the lands was ever realized by the two institutions.
The promised payments were repeatedly deferred by successive Legis-
latures, upon urgent solicitations of the occupants of the lands. This
process continued through a period of sixteen years, until 1823, when
the Legislature remitted one-third of the whole an\ount then due. In
1825, the occupants refused, almost unanimously, to comply with the
provisions of tlie law, and as they were sustained by the popular dis-
favor toward education, the lands were finally wrested from the
colleges.

57° Resources of Tennessee,

The claims against the State for the losses thus inflicted upon tlie
colleges, were estimated in 1838, at $168,000. Their trustees had
appealed again and again, by memorial, to the State for an equitable
remuneration, but in vain. At length, the Legislature appropriated
two half townships of land in the Ocoee District to the colleges, pro-
vided they would accept them in full of all their claims against the
State. The trustees, despairing of any just and ample remedy in the
case, signed the deed.

The proceeds of the half township to East Tennessee College, were
about ^40,000. With these, added to the means it had originally de-
rived from Blount College and other resources, the trustees renewed,
under more flattering auspices, the work of collegiate instruction, which,
before, they had been unable to conduct in more than a very imperfect
manner. Since 1838, the institution has passed through various vicis-
situdes. By the Legislature of 1839-40, it was chartered as a univer-
sity. In 1842, '43 and '44, it attained considerable relative pros[)erity.
About 1850, it was depressed, and later still, it fell into a state border-
ing upon extinction. Then it partially recovered its former usefulness.
In 1862, it was entirely suspended, and continued so for four years,
during nearly all which time its grounds and buildings were in military
occupation, and at its expiration were left in a seriously damaged con-
dition. The buildings were repaired in 1866, and the university was
re-opened for the admission of students. Owing to the long interrup-
tion of the work of education in Tennessee, occasioned by the war, the
youth who attended were found very deficient in knowledge; but
gradually, from the preparatory department, classes were formed in the
college proper, which have continued to enlarge in numbers.

In January, 1869, the Legislature appropriated to East Tennessee
University, upon certain conditions, the Agricultural College fund,
derived from the United States by act of Congress, approved July 2,
1862. The trustees accepted the trust, and in June, 1869, they in-
augurated the State College in accordance with the law of Congress.
The real estate of the university, consisting of forty acres of land near
the city of Knoxville, and six buildings upon them, were applied to
the uses of the new institution. vVn eligible farm about half a mile
distant, comprising 275 acres, was also purchased for the college, a
competent faculty was elected, and additional provision made for the
accommodation of students.

Tlie college fund (with the exception of a few thousand dollars,

East Tennessee. 571

which, contrary to the law of Congress, "vvas applied to pay expenses of
investment,) "vvas invested by the State in its own bonds. These
amount to $397,600, bearing six per cent, interest. The failure of the
State to pay this interest has occasioned considerable loss in it.

The trustees, after due consideration, decided that the new college
might, according to the terms of the law of the United States, be built
upon a broad foundation as regards its work of instruction, and em-
brace a wide range of studies. Its " leading object" must be " to teach
branches of learning pertaining to agriculture and the mechanic arts."
But this is to be done " without excluding other scientific and classical
studies, and including military tactics." It was evidently the mind of
Congress, in making this endowment, that it should be applied to the
education of young men, more particularly of the industrial classes,
liberally ^and practically, for the various pursuits and vocations of
life; and that while every branch of learning important to that end
might be included in the field of instruction, such branches as are re-
lated to agriculture and the mechf^Kic arts should receive chief at-
tention.

In agreement with these views, the trustees have provided three
courses of study in the college — the agricultural, the mechanical, and
the classical course — either of which may be followed at the option of
the student. The agricultural and the mechanical courses are alike in
including the study of physical geogra]ihy, the farm manual, drawing
(elementary), universal history, English language (Fowler's), and a
more extended course in chemistry. And in common with the classical
course, they embrace instruction in pure and mixed mathematics, (ex-
cept that in the agricultural course, analytical geometry is omitted), in
the French and German languages, rhetoric, logic, moral and mental
philosophy, and other advanced English studies, zoology, mineralogy
and geology. The agricultural course is peculiar in its provision of
instruction in the knowledge of farm implements, etc., domestic ani-
mals, etc., stock-breeding, etc., entomology, lectures on agriculture, and
in a more thorough course in botany. The corresponding specialties
in the mechanical course are drawing, (linear perspective, etc.,) civil
engineering, the steam engine, and the more extended teaching of men-
suration, surveying, etc. The classical course alone includes the study
of Latin and Greek. As in the present condition of the work of educa-
tion in the State, a prei)ai'atory de])artment is a necessary adjunct to
tho college, the trustee have had one in continuous and successful op-
eration. It has two courses of study, of three years each, one English

572 Resources of Tennessee.

and scientific, and the other classical. Applicants for admission gen-
erally should be twelve years old, be able to read and write well, and
have a good knowledge of the rudiments of arithmetic, English gram-
mar and geography.

The college farm lies west of Knoxville, about five-eighths of a
mile from the college, on the right bank of the Tennessee (Holston)
River. It embraces 275 acres, and is intersected by the Kingston
Turnpike and the East Tennessee. Virginia and Georgia Railroad.
The soil is mainly ferruginous limestone with clay sub-soil, and of a
dark reddish brown color. It has been in cultivation many years,
during the most of which time it was managed discreetly. Owing to
a considerable variation in surface and elevation, it offers natural fa-
cilities for a greater variety of crops than could otherwise be had ; and
it is therefore better suited to the purposes of the college. The soil is
admirably adapted to the growth of wheat. In 1859, the State Agri-
cultural Society gave the premium of $100 for the crop of that grain
produced on this iarm by Mr. James H. Armstrong. It is equally
well suited for clover, and will readily grow the finer grasses. Inju-
dicious cropping, however, as has been commonly the case with good
lands in this State, has much injured it. For some years before it
came under control of the college authorities, it suffered from neglect
and bad treatment, and it was found necessary to recuperate its wasted
strength and restore its fertility. To do this has been the chief object
of the work bestowed, in the past two years, upon the 100 acres, which
alone have been in a condition for cultivation. Good barns, stables
and tenant houses have been erected, and much work done toward
cleaning up and jiutting the farm in good productive condition. This
process is indispensable, but tediously slow, and without immediate pe-
cuniary returns. The authorities are confident that it will be justified
by ultimate results. It is designed to make it a stock farm, and as
near a model as may be. To this end, a system of cropping has been
adopted, and in carrying it out, in the belief that it Avill restore the
original fertility of the land, chief reliance is placed upon clover and
manure. Stock is only to be introduced as the land is made fit to
carry it. Along with the })urpose to procure and keep at " Riverview "
(the name given to the college farm) specimens of the best known
breeds of farm stock, another purpose is entertained, to carry on each
year, one or more actual field experiments in the growing of different
crops. It is believed that only such of these can profitably be tried
as will involve no considerable outlay of money. For instance, in

East Tennessee. 573

putting in the wheat crop of 1872-3, the field of sixteen acres to be
cultivated was divided into sections, which were differently tilled, and
different amounts of grain per acre were sown, with the drill and
broad-cast, with and without manure, and with different manures, and
the various results were noted. Such experiments as these cost only
the manure and extra work, and whatever the wdieat crop may be, no
loss is incurred. It is worthy of remark, that in all experiments with
wh^t made on the college farm, the yield has invariably been best,
both in quality and quantity, where the land has been best prepared
and manured and the wheat has been drilled. The same is true when
corn has been planted. The college authorities are not unmindful of
the very high value which properly attaches to more elaborate and
costly experiments than those just spoken of — experiments intended to
discover new truths, and develop better practices, than are now known.
But until the more pressing wants of the college are met, these more
expensive experiments will wisely be left to parties who have the
means to make them. In the all-important province of breeding and
feeding stock, it is the purpose of the college to carry on from year to
year, such experiments as may be repeated by any intelligent farmer,
with a view to practical results in the shape of increased profits.

So far, it has not been deemed advisable to employ the students as
laborers on the farm, beyond a limited extent. Whatever may be the
case elsewhere, until the youths who come to this college are better
prepared in the public schools or otherwise, they will have as much as
they can do to master the necessary studies assigned them. They
will have little time for manual labor, if they do their duty in the
recitation and lecture rooms. However, all able-bodied students must
perform a small amount of work. Those who wish to labor more are
furnished with work to a limited extent, for wdiich they are paid from
seven to twelve cents an hour. The present condition of the farm is
very satisfactory, and will favorably compare with that of the best
farms in the State. In the amount and small cost of its crops, it
will not fall much below them, all things considered. This con-
dition of things, it is believed, will improve each succeeding year.
The students are organized into a battalion, officered by students ap-
pointed by the faculty. Military drill and inspections take place un-
der the direction of the Professor of military tactics. The whole col-
lege is under military disclipline. Every student, not physically una-
ble, is required to take part in military duty. Neatness of person and
dress, and order and cleanliness of room, are enforced. Uniform suits

574 Resources of Tennessee.

of clothes of a fixed color and pattern, are worn by the students.
These may be had at Knoxville, at a cost less than that of other
clothes of equal quality, i. e., $28 or $29.

The college library has recently received additions, and others, it is
expected, will shortly be made. The cabinets of geology, mineralogy
and zoology are constantly having accessions. The extensive private
collections of Professor Bradley have been placed at the service of «the
college, for purposes of instruction. A collection of 700 models of
machinery, received from the United States Patent Office, are open for
inspection. The chemical lal)oratory is enlarged and supplied as oc-
casion demands. Two literary societies, conducted by students and
provided with suitable halls, meet every week. The government of
the institution is paternal. Special attention is given to the preserva-
tion and impartation of good morals among the students. As the
school is not intended for the reformation of vicious youth, certificates of
good moral character are expected of all applicants for admission.
The college is not sectarian, but it is conducted with a view to exert a
decided christian influenee upon the students. Churches of the prin-
cipal religious denominations exist in Knoxville, into which they are
welcomed, and one of these, at their choice, they are required to attend
every Sunday. The necessary expenses of a student at the college are
remarkably small. Including tuition, other college fees, board, fuel,
lights and washing for the academic year, they may be estimated at
$166 or $172. In the case of a State student, whose tuition is free,
they are reduced to $136. Along with these, an investment of ten
dollars in furniture (exclusive of bed clothing), is necessary for each
occupant of a dormitory room. Each State Senator has the privilege
of appointing three students to the University, tuition free. Each
State Representative may send three. At the solicitation of the Legis-
lature, through the Governor, the railways in the State have agreed to
give transportation to and from the college to tlie students thus appoin-
ted. But the Nashville, Cliattanooga and St. Louis Railway will pass
free only such youth as really need free transportation in order to
enable tiiem to attend the institution. State students who are fully
able to ])ay their fare on that road must do it. During tlie past year
a large and commodious structure has been erected at the college,
which combines a dwelling for the steward's family, a spticiousand airy
diiilng-hall and lodging-rooms for students. The college buildings
stand on an eminence near Knoxville, and removed from the noise
and bustle of the city. From the hill a picturesque view is afforded

East Teiinessee. 575

of the town and adjacent country, of the river and the mountains.
The air is pure and the climate salubrious.

LOUDON COUNTY.

County Seat — Loudon.

Loudon county is a new county. It was established in 1870, under
the terras of the new constitution. It was formed of fractions of ter-
ritory, taken from the counties of Roane, Monroe, and Blount.

Loudon is situated on the Tennessee River, at the crossing of the
Eist Tennessee, Virginia, and Georgia Railroad, and twenty-nine
miles from the city of Knoxvillc. It occupies a central position in a
rich and prosperous country. It is surrounded by thrifty and energetic
farmers and stock-raisers, who, for the most part, cultivate fine lands,
and do it well. It also affords one of the principal shipping and trad-
ing points in East Tennessee. As a shipping point, it is supported by
the E\st Tennessee, Virginia, and Georgia Railroad, the Tennes-
see, the Holston, and the Tellico rivers. Indeed, it is at the head of
steamboat navigation for steamers plying the Tennessee River
above Chattanooga. The shipments of grain alone from Loudon
county, annually, amount to the round sum of 175,000 bushels. Be-
sides this, there are heavy shipments of hogs, cattle, horses, mules,
and sheep. Add to all this the beauty and heathfulness of the place,
and it will readily ap])ear that Loudon is one of the most desirable places
in East Tennessee for trade and the pleasures of life. Its social and
educational features are eqxial to any town of its size in the whole
country, while its citizens are highly moral and intelligent. The
"Loudon High School" is an excellent one.

Loudon county is, perhaps, not surpassed by any district of equal
extent in the productive capacity of its soil. It is a small county,
comprising only about 275 square miles, but embraces within that
area a vast quantity of the very finest lands. Among the many ex-
cellent districts of land might be named the lands along the Tennessee
River, which passes through the entire length of the county ; those
along the the Sweetwater Valley, which are washed by Sweetwater
Creek, and which empties into the Tennessee River, two miles from
Loudon ; those washed by Pond Creek, which finds its way from the

576 Resources of Tennessee.

southern part of the county to the Tennessee River five miles from
Loudon ; i'ork Creek Valley, through which passes the creek of that
name ; the lands along and adjacent to Town Creek, these and other
fertile districts stand prominent, and must be a continual source of
large revenue to the county and State. Most of the districts mentioned
are extensive and rich, and most of the creeks and small rivers men-
tioned afford superior water-power for machinery, some of which have
already been utilized.

The taxable property of the county, as returned for the year 1873,
exclusive of polls and privileges, amounts, in round numbers, to
$2,000,000, which, considering the fact that the county is not four
years old, is quite creditable. And of the revenues already accrued,
the county has done itself the credit to build one of the best and most
handsome court-houses yet built in the State.

Within the limits of Loudon county there are four railroad stations,
to-wit : Easly's, Lenoir's, Loudon, and Philadelphia, from which the
county ships, in the aggregate, 350,000 bushels of grain, and large
quantities of hay, stock and other articles of trade.

The agricultural interests of the county may be said to be in a flour-
ishing condition. The soil is closely watched and enriched. Much of
the produce is now being fed on the farm, and thus returned to the
soil. Subsoiling is now rapidly taking the place of the old system of
skinning the surface, and thus a new era has been inaugurated. Stock-
raising is greatly on the increase. Horses, mules, hogs and cattle, as
well as other kinds of stock, are being raised for market, but mules
and cattle are principally looked to as a source of revenue at the
present time. The county is out of debt, and in a most prosperous
condition. The prevailing rock is limestone, and every species of
timber abounds. There is a great deal of interest felt by the citizens
in regard to woolen factories. There is a cotton factory situated on
Town Creek, at Lenoir's, that employs twenty-five operative. Wages
range from fifty cents to two dollars per day. The number of females
employed, 20; males, 5; quantity of cotton consumed daily, 500
pounds; quantity of products, 425 pounds spun cotton, besides batting
amounting to 2,000 pounds annually; number spindles, 936. It was
erected in 1832, and its motive power is water, when abundant, and
steam in dry seasons.

East Tennessee. 577

MARION COUNTY.
County Seat — Jasper.

Marion county was organized in 1817, at the town of Liberty, where
the se:it of justice remained three years. The capital was removed to
the town of Jasper in 1820, wheie it is now. Jasper is situated at the
terminus of a branch of the Nashville and Chattanooga Railroad. It
lias a population of about four hundred. It has an enterprising and
stirring citizenship. Owing to the fact that it is the outlet for most
of the trade of the Sequatchie Valley, in which it is located, it
must necessarily become a town of some considerable importance.
There is an excellent school here, one of high grade, and educating at
present more than two hundred pupils. There are two good churches,
a number of stores, a wagon factory, &c. Social advantages are good.
The town is immediately under the brow of the Cumberland Table
Land. It is a romantic place, and there is none more healthful.

Besides Jasper, there are other towns or villages of some import-
ance, on account of the fact that they are manufacturing points. They
are Vulcan, Whitesides, and Shell Mound. All of them are on the
Nashville and Chattanooga Railroad, and in the midst of an extensive
coal region.

Marion county has a considerable number of mineral springs, mostly
chalybeate, and from three to seven miles from Jasper. They are pro-
nounced by competent judges to possess strong and medicinal quali-
ties. None of them have been improved. The prevailing rock in the
Valley of Sequatchie is limestone, and in Walden's Ridge valuable
sandstone prevails. The latter is found in large square bowlders, and
can be quarried in suitable sizes for building purposes.

The coal and iron interest of the county is striking. Perhaps there
is no county in East Tennessee surpassing it in this respect. The iEtna
coal mine is an extensive one, Vulcan another, Alpine another. Alley
another. Battle Creek another, Vaughn another, McNabb another,
Little Sequatchie another. All these mines are turning out considera-
ble quantities of coal, which is shipped to Nashville and to the South-
«'rn States. The Cumberland Table Land is filled with strata of coal.
The Little Secjuatchie mines, sixteen miles from Jasper, have a vein
fully seven feet thick, extending horizontally, which supplies coal of

good quality.
37

578 Resources of Teimessee.

The iron interest is equally as great. It is mostly of the hematite
species. There is said to be a solid iron bed of more than nine miles,
stretching north-east of the town of Jasper. With such advantages,
what is there to prevent this county from becoming one of the richest
in East Tennessee?

The topography of Marion county is easily understood. It lies
partly on the Cumberland Table Land, and partly in Sequatchie Val-
ley. The Sequatchie Valley is sixty miles long and five miles wide.
Oace it was exceedingly fertile, producing immense crops of corn,
which was fed to hogs, but it has been much abused. However, it
still has considerable vitality. Its average production of corn to the
acre is about thirty bushels. It is not so well adapted to wheat as
corn, though, it raiist be confessed, that but little pains have been taken
in the production of wheat. There is almost a total absence of clover
and grass, and yet there is no better region for either. But little ma-
nure is economized. It is a great section for sweet potatoes. Tobacco
grows well, and so does cotton. There are no extensive orchards in
the valley, and consequently but little fruit raised. Apples and
peaches do well, and by not having orchards, the farmers lose annu-
ally thousands of dollars.

The average size of farms is about three hundred and fifty acres.
Scores of farmers in this valley are retarded in their operations by
having such overgrown estates, and their lands are depreciating.
Another unfavorable sign is, that fully one-half of the farms are leased
to tenants.

Prices of improved lands are as follows: bottom lands, fifty dollars
per acre; second bottom twenty; and uplands about five. There is
an abundance of land for sale, and it can be bought on one, two and
three years time, with six per cent, interest.

The most profitable system of farming is the raising of grass and
stock. The mountains on either side afford abundant grazing grounds
for sheep and cattle, and the only cost is the herding and salting.
They are driven there as early as the first of April, and are kept until
about the first of November, during which time they get in good order.
There is no better region for sheep husbandry. They can be raised
and kept at a nominal cost. Sheep-killing dogs, as in other counties,
are in the way. Plow to exterminate them, the farmers cannot well
determine. They arc in favor of a stringent dog law.

Before the war, this county was noted for the great quantity of hogs

East Tennessee. 579

and mules, and even cattle, that were raised. Hogs were the principal
staple. Since then, there has been a large falling off in every descrip-
tion of stock, and many of the farmers are convinced that they have
been pursuing a fatal policy in attempting to raise so many hogs.
They now think their true policy is to put their lands down in grass
and clover. The county is deficient in good stock. The want, there-
fore, of a better race of animals, is seriously felt. The scrub stock pre-
dominates.

The county is sparsely populated. The present population is only
about 2,300, with about 175 colored. There is room enough to
•quadruple the number. The citizens are extremely anxious for
new-comers to settle in their midst, where they would meet with a
cordial welcome, and find good and cheap homes. The country is
healthy, and it is no trouble to make a living. The water is good,
society is highly respectable, the schools are efficient, plenty of timber,
genial climate, and mills and churches in every community.

The principal stream? are the Tennessee, Big and Little Sequatchie
rivers, and Battle Cieek. The Sequatchie River runs the entire
length of Sequatchie Valley. The Tennessee River is navigable, and
affords an outlet to market.

Labor is equal to the demand. There is not much complaint on
this score. Wages range from twelve to eighteen dollars per month.

The smaller industries are not lost sight of. Considerable quantities
of butter, eggs, chickens, and dried fruit, are daily sent off. There
are some farmers' organizations in the county, but no fair grounds.

See chapter xxii, for other statistical information.

McMINN COUNTY.

County Seat — Athens.

The Secretary of the Bureau of Agriculture is indebted to Judge T.
Nixon A^andyke for the following description of this county :

By the treaty of 1819, the Cherokee nation of Indians ceded to the
United States, among others, that portion of their territory in the State
of Tennessee now embraced within the boundaries of McMinn county;
and the Legislature of Tennessee, in session at Murfreesboro, on the

5 So Resources of Ten?iessee,

5th of November, 1819, passed the act authorizing the organization
of the county of McMinn, which, with the county of Monroe, inckid-
ed the kirgest and best portion of the lands in Tennessee thus ceded
by the Indians. A new judicial circuit was established in lower
East Tennessee, composed of seven counties, of which McMinn was
one, and the Hon. Charles F. Keith, then a leading lawyer of Jefferson
county, Tennessee, was elected the first judge, and held the first Cir-
cuit Court in the county, at the house of John Walker, in the town of
Calhoun, on the Hiwassee River, fourteen miles south-west from
Athens, the present county seat, on the first Monday of March, 1820.

In 1821-2 the town of Athens was first laid off into streets and lots,
and all the courts of the county were removed there, where they have
ever since been held. The population of Athens is now about 1,200,
and that of the county a little over 14,000. Within the last year the
County Court appropriated |22,500 for the building of a new court-
house, which is now being built on a plan not excelled in beauty and
convenience by any in East Tennessee.

The value of the real and personal property of McMinn county, in
1870, was $3,740,346, and if the value has not increased since, it is be-
lieved not to have diminished.

The people of McMinn county have not, heretofore, manifested
a disposition to build up, and congregate in towns and villages, there
being now only four towns in the county — Athens, Riceville, Calhoun,
and Mouse Creek — all situated directly on the East Tennessee, Virginia
and Georgia Railroad, and doing a thriving business in buying and
shipping off the surplus produce of the county, generally to a south-
ern market, and bringing back such supplies of neccessaries or luxu-
ries as the country demands.

McMinn county is traversed from its north-east to its south-west
boundaries by six large creeks, separated by slightly elevated contin-
uous ridges; the creek valleys averaging about a mile and a half in widthr
and the ridges about a mile and a half from valley to valley ; the Hi-
wassee River forms the south-west boundary of the county ; all of the
main creeks have several large affluents, having their sources in the ad-
jacent ridges, and a course of several miles, and it is believed that
there is no portion of the globe, of the same extent, which affords more
water-power for mills of every kind, than the six creeks and their af-
fluents in McMinn county.

The soil of McMinn county is generally of limestone formation.

East Tennessee. 5 S i

The bottoms of the Hiwassee River are alluvial, and the lands of the
county may be properly divided into three classes ; the first class being
the river bottoms, the second class the creek valley lands and some of
the ridge lands (equal in every respect, for agricultural ]nirposes to the
creek valleys), and the third class the thinner ridge lands. The creek
valleys are of limestone formation ; many of the ridges are strongly
impregnated with iron, and others have gravel and flint. The river
lands, with ordinary cultivation, produce from sixty to eighty bushels
of corn to the acre, and although occasionally fine wheat is raised upon
tliem, yet they are generally devoted to corn. The valley and best
ridge lands, with ordinary cultivation, produce from twenty-five to
thirty-five bushels of corn, and from fifteen to twenty bushels of wheat
to the acre ; and even the gravelly ridge lands, whenever tried, have
ju'oduced fine clover, and after it, wheat; in a word, I can safely af-
firm that every part of McMinn county is well adapted to the produc-
tion of all the important cereals, clover and grasses.

The price of lands, of the first class, ranges, according to location,
from forty to eighty dollars per acre ; that of the second class ranges,
according to location, from twenty-five to fifty dollars per acre, and
lands of the third class, from one to ten dollars per acre. These
prices are applicable to improved lands ; the prices of unimjjroved lauds
must be reduced in the same ratio.

In addition to the cereals, clover and grasses, there is no farm in the
county upon which tobacco, of tiie finest quality, cannot be raised, pro-
ducing from 1,000 to 1,200 pounds per acre.

During the existence of the war, great damage was done to the
farms ; nearly all the fencing was destroyed, all the best horses, mules
and other farm stock were carried off, and the farmers, for two or three
years after, labored under very great disadvantages in putting their
farms in order again, but they went to work with energy and a will,
and now the farms, as a general thing, are in a better condition than
they were before the war.

The amount of waste land is estimated to be about ten per cent.,
caused entirely by bad tillage of the land, and nearly all could be re-
stored again by the application of manure and with jiroper tillage. The
average size of cultivated farms is about two hundred and fifty acres, and
the general oj)inion is, that the union of stock-raising and the cultiva-
tion of money crops, is the most profitable farming for this county.
The varieties of grasses sown for hay are timothy, herds-grass,

c^82 Resources of Tennessee,

and red-top. Orchard-grass does finely here, and is considered best
for grazing. Clover is much used, both for hay, pasture, and as a ren-
ovator of the soil.

The improved steel turning plows are now pretty generally used for
breaking up land, frequently followed l>y a bull-tongue as a subsoiler ;
the hill-side plow is sometimes used ; but the shovel plow, which, at the
first settlement of the county, -was in common use, is now thrown away,
except on some river farms it is used in the cultivation of the corn
crojis. On the uplands the bull-tongue, cultivator, and harrow are
generally used for cultivating the crops. Horses and mules are mostly
used for farm work, and on some farms oxen are also used. Good
labor is not abundant in the county, and when good laborers can be
procured, they are paid ten dollars per month and boarded, or sixteen
dollars and board themselves. Some farmers pay their laborers in
cash, some in cash and supplies at cash price, and others, again, a
portion of the crop, as they may agree on. The contract for labor is
generally verbal, and when it is with negroes for the month or year, is
frequently abandoned without cause by the laborer, and, of course,
without redress for the employer.

Lands are generally rented from year to year, and almost invariably
for a portion of the crop ; the first quality of land, for one-half the
crop, the tenant furnishing the stock and seed ; and ordinary lands for
one-third of the crop, the tenant furnishing stock and seed. Very few
lands rent for cash, and when cash rent is paid, it is from two to five dol-
lars per acre, according to the quality of the land. Nearly all the surplus
product of the county is taken to a southern market, principally to
Georgia and Alabama ; the live stock, such as horses, mules, cattle and
hogs, are principally driven on foot. Everything else, and a portion of
the live stock, are taken off to market by the East Tennessee, Vir-
ginia and Georgia Railroad, which has depots at Athens, Mouse Creek,
E-iceville and Calhoun, from five to seven miles a part.

The E:ist Tennessee, Virginia and Georgia Railroad is the only
railroad in McISIinn county; it traverses the whole county from north-
east to south-west. Engineers are now surveying a route for a narrow
gauge railrond from Tellieo Iron Works in ^lonroe county, to Athens,
and it is believed this road will be constructed in a short time, and
finally extended into North Carolina, and make connection with the
railroad system of that State.

The stock of mules and liogs in McMinn county is very good, that

East Tennessee. 583

of horses, cattle and sheep not so good ; though recently, a few enter-
prising farmers have brought into the county some fine horses, cattle
and sheep to breed from, with what success it is too soon yet to deter-
mine; but as it regards sheep, with the experience we have heretofore
had with dogs, it is not thought that any prudent man Avill invest much
capital in improved sheep, or indeed in any kind of sheep. If the
people of this county would agree to give U]i their dogs, no country is
better adapted to the raising of sheep than McMinn county.

The prevailing rock in McMinn county is limestone, with several
veins of very fine grey marble. The ridges in some places have gravel
and flint. The limestone has not been used in building, except in
abutments and piers for bridges, and occasionally for foundations to
houses and barns. There is no coal found as yet in the county, but
on the south-east side of the county, and by which the contemplated
narrow gauge railroad will pass, there is an abundance of the best
quality of iron ore. Lead is found, of fine quality, in several sections
of the county.

There are two cotton spinning factories in the county. Eureka, seven
miles from Athens, situated on the Chestua Creek, has nineteen em-
ployees, spins 78,000 pounds of cotton, by 528 spindles, into 156 dozen
of cotton warp, which is sold in southern Kentucky and East Ten-
nessee. The factory is propelled exclusively by water-power. Mount
Verd, three miles from Athens, on Mouse Creek, has thirty-one em-
ployees, twenty-one girls and ten men, spins 280 bales of cotton by
924 spindles, into 275,000 dozen of cotton yarn, one-third of which is
sold at the factory, one-third in southern Kentucky, and the balance in
Nashville and Cincinnati. This factory is propelled by water-power
alone. Almost all the farmers of McMinn county have their clothing,
except their Sunday suits, manufactured in their own families, and
they almost universally, except on Sunday, wear homespun goods. The
farmers and manufacturers of the county are about equal in prosperity,
in fact, the population of McMinn county of all vocations are pretty
much upon an equality as regards prosperity — none very rich and
very few poor, and nearly all in comfortable circumstances. It is diffi-
cult to say what per cent, capital pays vested in manufacturing en-
terprises, but it is ])resumed that capital vested in manufactories
would pay a much larger per cent, than it would in ordinary farming
operations.

The greatest drawback to farming in McMinn county is the large-

584 Resources of Tennessee.

ness of the farms and the want of the capital to purchase the necessary
improved farming implements. If our farmers had the capital to pur-
chase all the necessary improved farming implements, and would sell
off a portion of their farms, whicli they now desire to do, they have
energy and intelligence enough to bring up their lands to the highest
condition of production and profit.

Since the completion of the railroad, and a market for the surplus
has been opened up, the farmers of McMinn county have paid a great
deal of attention to the . -smaller industries, such as drying fruit, making
butter, raising honey, jioultry and eggs and garden vegetables of va-
rious kinds, and they have for several years past been very much
engaged in setting out orchards, especially of apples and peaches, so
that now, on almost every farm, there is a respectable apple and peach
orchard; and in getting trees, they have sought to get the best varie-
ties. No eifort has yet been made to grow the grape, except on a small
scale ; where the vines have been properly attended to, grapes of the
most luscious kind have been produced, as well in one part of the
county as in another. There are several apple and peach nurseries in
the county, and a large number of trees are annually sold in this
and adjoining counties, and some in Georgia and Alabama.

The most valuable timber in McMinn county is the white, red and
post oak, chestnut, walnut, locust, hickory and pine ; the white and
red oak for fencing, the white and red oak and hickory for fuel, the
locust and post oak for posts, the pine and white oak for building
lumber, and the walnut and poplar for furniture. Shingles are made
of pine and yellow poplar, and staves of white oak. Very little of
lumber, staves and boards have as yet been exported — the most of tliese
articles have been used in the neighborhood where made. Shingles
are largely exported to the South.

The disposition of the people of McMinn county towards immigrants
is of the best kind. All respectable persons who may come into the
county will be kindly and respectfully met and treated, no matter
from what j)orti()n of the globe they may come. We have had many
])ersons to come and settle among us since the war — some from the
Northern States and some from foreign (countries, and not like in other
Southern States, as carpet-bagcrs, but sec^king a j)ermanent home, and
identifying themselves in feeling and interest with the country and peo-
})le. To such we have given a cordial weh^ome, and we have room
and a cordial welcome for all who may yet come with like feelings

East Tennessee. 585

and purpose, being satisfied that we have space enough for ten times
the popuUition we now have.

Our farmers are not disposed to sell out and emigrate; they feel that
there is no better country to go to. Many, and perhaps the most of
them, desire to sell off a portion of their farms to respectable and in-
dustrious persons, by which to get funds to improve the balance.
We desii'e practical and intelligent farmers, skilled mechanics and
manufacturers, and if gentlemen of capital come and settle among us,
we will endeavor to make tliem feel at home.

There are thirteen granges of the Patrons of Husbandry organized
in our county. There are no other agricultural or mechanical associa-
tions. The county of McMinn owes no debt. It pays as it goes.

There is one college in Athens, with 100 students; two common
schools, one for whites and one for blacks with about 100 pupils
each; two private schools, one with fifty pupils of both sexes, and the
other exclusively female ; Hiwassee Masonic Institute, at Calhoun,
with 100 pupils; Wesleyanna Academy, five miles from Athens, with
thirty-five pupils ; Cain Creek Academy, twelve miles from Athens,
with eighty-five pupils; Riceville Acadmy, with 100 pupils; and Mouse
Creek Academy, with twenty-five pupils. Besides the two common
schools in Athens, there are sixty-four others scattered about in differ-
ent parts of the county, and all well attended and managed. The col-
lege and all the academies have literary societies connected with them,
but there are no public libraries in the county. We have no poor-house,
no macadaraezied road, and our dirt roads are not kept in good order
during the winter and early spring. The balance of the year they
keep in very good order. There is one newspaper, the Athens Post.

We have a great number of mineral springs in all parts of the
county, some of them attended in the summer by per.-ons from their
neighborhood. The waters have never been analized, but ])crsons af-
flicted with various diseases, who have attended them, say they have
been benefited by the use of the water.

We have thirty-nine grist mills in McMinn fouuty, eight of them
first-class merchant mills, thirty saw-mills, five cotton gins, two card-
ing machines, and two j)lauiug macliincs, all ])ropell('d by water-jiower,
and there are about twenty other sites, yet unoccu})ied, of ample water-
power fin- first-class merclrant mills.

The casualties of the war carried off a large number of our popula-

586 Resources of Tennessee.

tion, and the result of the war exiled as many more, so that our popu-
lation is now about equal to what it was at the commencement of the
war, or only a small increase.

MEIGS COUNTY.

County Seat — Decatur.

There are about one hundred and forty thousand acres of land in
Meigs county, and about six hundred farms. But few of them are rented
or leased. A large proportion of the land is in timber, and not much
of it inclosed. A considerable quantity of land is "turned out," or
abandoned, because it had become completely exhausted. Fully
one-half of the land in the county is for sale. First-class bottom
lands are worth one hundred dollars per acre; number one uplands,
fifty; medium bottom lands, seventy-five; inferior, twenty-five, and
common uplands, from one to twenty dollars. In effecting sales,
one-third is demanded at the time of sale, and the remainder in one,
two, three, four and five years time, and sometimes longer. The aver-
age rental per acre, is one-third to one-half of the crop. There is
but little swamp land comparatively.

The leading crops of the county are corn, wheat, Irish and sweet
potatoes, apples and peaches. The average breadth of corn is about
twelve thousand and eight hundred acres, wheat eight thousand six
hundred, and oats about the same. About four hundred iicres each in
Irish and sweet potatoes, twenty-ibur hundred acres in meadow, and
thirty-two hundred in clover. About one hundred acres are employed
in raising sorghum. Everything in the above enumeration grows
well, except blue-grass, which has not been thoroughly tried.

There are about eight hundred horses in the county, eight hundred
mares, four hundred mules, fifteen hundred milch cows, one hundred
and sixty work oxen, and twenty-four hundred cattle over two years
old. Two hundred and fifty beef cattle are slaughtered annually. There
are no Short-horn cattle, and no other im])roved breeds, and but few
sheep. There are about seven hundred hogs, and five thousand are
slaughtered annually.

The number of laborers in the county is about four hundred, and

East Tennessee. 587

these are equally divicled between whites and blacks. Harvest hands
receive per day from one to one dollar and a quarter. Transient hands,
fifty to seventy-five cents per day. The customary allowance or share
allowed, where hands work for a share, is one third. They are not
permitted to keep stock of their own. The number of acres allowed
to a hand, in jjitching a crop, is twenty. Cooks and washers get from
four to five dollars a month. There is a demand for farm hands and
for all kinds of labor.

There are but few brick dwellings, none of stone, about one-
half framed, no brick barns and stables, few framed, no hay elevators,
no gin houses, and no ice houses. The fences are mostly made of rails,
and average five feet and a half in height. The average size of fields
enclosed are fifty acres. The principal timber used in making fences
is pine, oak, and chestnut. Upon the subject of a stock law, compel-
ling owners of stock to keep them confined, there is no matured
opinion.

The country has not made any marked advancement in the way of
improved implements of husbandry. Cast and wrought iron plows are
about equally divided. One-half of them are manufactured in the
State. There are no sub-soil plows; no hill-side plows, and no culti-
vators. There are no buggy-plows, hay tedders, farm mills, steamers,
or feed boilers, and but few buggies and pleasure carriages. A num-
ber of the farmers use reapers, mowers, and horse-rakes.

The mechanical industries are only moderately represented. Saw-
mills are numerous, and are run by water-power — none by steam.
There is a number of corn and grist mills. There are no woolen or
cotton fiactories, but several carding machines. There are no iron
furnaces, or forges; no coal mines, copper mines, lead mines, or zinc
mines. There is a number of tanneries. Marble is abundant, but not
developed.

But little is done in the smaller economies. Barely enough to sup-
ply the home demand.

Churches are built by the joint action of all the peojile, and are
worshipped in by all denominations. Free schools are not working ad-
vantageously. There are no colleges, and no newspaper published, and
but few agricultural papers taken. No public libraries arc in the
county.

The Tennessee River passes through the county, and runs from

588 Resources of Tennessee,

north-east to south-west. It is the only channel of transportation, and
is navigable for small steamers. The Hiwassee River runs from east
to west and is not navigable. The river and creek bottoms are exten-
sive and productive. The subsoil is clay. The prevailing rock is
limestone. The crops best suited to the uplands are corn, wheat, and
oats. The bottoms make valuable meadows. The principal market
is Chattanooga, by way of the Tennessee River. But few immigrants
have entered the county. They would be generously received from
any part of the world. A large number of families have moved away.
Any one with industrious habits could do well here. There are many
advantages and but few disadvantages. Good water, fine climate, and
excellent society and healthfulness, are some of the desirable features
of the county.

MONROE COUNTY.

County Seat — Madisonville.

INIonroe county was organized in 1819, and the county seat located
at M'.ulisonville. It is bounded on the north by Loudon and Blount
counties, on the east by North Carolina, on the south by North Caro-
lina and McMinn county, and on the west by McMinn and Loudon
counties. The southern portion of it is rough and broken, a con-
siderable quantity of the land thin and unproductive, and much
of it injured by improvident cultivation. The northern portion is less
broken, and the land far more productive.

There are few better counties, taken altogether, in East Tennessee.
In the first place, the population is an excellent one — industrious, in-
telligent and successful farmers. In the next place, there are vast
tracts of rich and productive land, for the most part well cultivated,
and in good condition. The buildings are generally comfortable,
and thrift and jirosperity abound. More than ordinary attention is
paid to the rearing of improved stock of every species. "

Madisonville, the county seat, is situated in the central portion of
the county, and some nine miles south of the East Tennessee, Virginia
and Georgia Railroad. Its population is 324. It is an old town, and
in consequence of its distance from the railroad, has not improved rap-
idly. It is a moral j)lac(', and its educational advantages are very
good.

East Tennessee. 5 89

Sweetwater is another town of this county, and is situated directly
upon the East Tennessee, A^'irginia and Georgia Railroad. It is a young
and enterprising town. Its population is 1,069. It is located in the
midst of a rich and productive country. Sweetwater Valley has long
l)een noted for its beauty and the fertility of its lands. They are ex-
ceedingly valuable. The soil is a dark mulatto, and contains iron
and lime. It yields finely to cultivation. There are five val-
leys in all in the county, and they vary in width from one mile and a
quarter to two miles. They extend through the county, and are very
fertile, embracing first and second bottoms. The rolling lands are
adapted to the culture of tobacco, Avheat, corn, hay and oats. The
farms are generally small, and worked by the owners. Improved
lands are worth from ^7 to ^50 per aci-e. The timber is of the best
quality, and of almost every species. The profits in farming are, to a
large extent, dependent upon the raising of stock. The plows mostly
in use are the Collins, the Jones, Avery and Peacock. Mules are
mostly used in making crops, as they are more hardy and enduring
than horses. Sheep are destroyed by dogs, and some of the best farm-
ers take the ground that a tax of five dollars should be put upon every
dog, and ten dollars upon every bitch. Remove this difficulty, and
there is no better section for sheep husbandry. There is about twenty-
five per cent, of waste land in the county, but it is mostly ridge land.
With proper management, however, it would make excellent orchards.
The county is not thickly settled. The value of taxable property
is $2,304,291.

The principal stream of the county is the Tennessee River, which is
navigable for steamers. Tellico River heads in the mountains, and is
navigable for thirty miles six months in the year. It affords an abun-
dance of water-power. Conasauga, Ball Play, Citico, Big Creek,
Fork Creek, Bat Creek, Pond Creek and Sweetwater are all good
streams for manufacturing purposes.

Labor is abundant, and wages range from $10 to $15 per month.
The kindest feelings prevail towards immigrants, and they are earnestly
invited to settle in the county. The great drawback to farming is the
want of means and enterprise. There is a large quantity of land for
sale. Some few of the citizens are anxious to emigrate to the West,
and some have already gone. As a general thing, they are contented,
and the more industrious and cnterjirising arc not disposed to move
away. There is a large fair association composed of the best farmers

59^ Resources of Tennessee.

in the county, and some other farmers' organizations. The prevailing
rocks are limestone.

The White Cliif Springs are a noted place of resort. These springs
are* situated on Chilhowee Mountain, sixteen miles from Mouse Creek,
the nearest point from the East Tennessee, Virginia and Georgia
Railroad. They are located at an elevation of 1,200 feet above Cona-
sauga Valley, in a dry, pure and very invigorating atmosphere, afford-
ing an extensive and beautiful view of the surrounding country. There
are three springs in close proximity, two of which are tonic, diuretic
and alterative, and have proved very efficacious in relieving diseases of
the liver, kidneys and stomach, and have acted as a sovereign remedy
in chorea and dysmenorrhea. The other spring possesses properties
that have proved beneficial in scrofulous affections of the skin and
chronic diseases of the eye.

MORGAN COUNTY.

County Seat — "Wartburg.

Morgan county is bounded on the north by Scott and Fentress
on the east by Anderson on the south by Roane and Cumberland,
and on the west by Cumberland and Fentress counties. It is one
of the mountain counties, and embraces a great deal of rough and
untillable land, especially in the southern portion. There are a
number of fertile valleys, but they are not wide. The most noted
are. Crooked Fork, Flat Fork and Emery. The soil of these is
productive, and is of a dark, mulatto color. The lands on the Obed
and Emery rivers are exceedingly fertile. Although a large county
there is a great deal of land totally unfit for cultivation. These
consist of abru])t hills, ridges and mountains. Much of the land is on
the market, and can be bought low. Improved lands are worth about
twenty dollars per acre; medium, about ten; ordinary, about five, and
unimproved from fifty cents to one dollar. The usual terms of sale
are one-third of the purchase money paid in hand, and the remainder
in one, two and three years, with six per cent, interest. The terms
of leasing are one-third of the crop.

The leading croj)s are corn, wheat, oats, hay and potatoes. No bar-
ley, buckwheat, peanuts or liops are produced, and but few pears,

East Tennessee. ' 591

cherries, plums, strawberries and raspberries are grown. The climate
and soil are admirably adapted to the growth of apples and peaches.
Not much attention is paid to either. Grapes have been thoroughly
tested by an enterprising colony of Germans, settled at the town of
Wartburg, and they have been found to do well. This colony makes
a considerable quantity of wine every year, which is sold at remunera-
tive prices. It usually commands about four dollars per gallon, retail.
It is believed that there are few logions better suited for extensive
vineyards.

Some of the grasses grow well, and produce good crops in this
county. At the same time, the farmers have not improved this advan-
tage. The usual grass raised is timothy and herds-grass. Blue-grass
grows well in places. Orchard grass, perhaps, would suit this
region better than any other kind. A good deal of sorghum
and maple sugar is manufactured. The finest honey in the world is
produced here, and considerable attention is paid to the rearing and
management of bees.

There are no improved breeds of horses, cattle, hogs or sheep raised.
The varieties in use are of the scrub species. But a small percentage
of either class on the market. Mules are not raised to any extent.
For rough work, oxen are mostly used. The rearing of cattle and
sheep could be made a most profitable business, from the fact that the
hills, ridges and mountains afford the very best pasturage. One diffi-
culty in the way of raising sheep is the prevalence of sheep-killing
dogs. No danger is apprehended from wolves, as they do not infest
this region. It is not a hog-producing country, for the reason that it is
not adapted to corn. Considerable quantities of corn, it is true, are
raised in the valleys indicated, and on the Obed and Emery rivers,
but these constitute only a small proportion of the county. The great
staples are the " small grains," grass and fruit. Very much could be
done in the dairy business — the making of cheese and butter — and yet
everything is blank on this subject. Thousands of pounds of both
could be made every year, at a small cost, and sold at a fair margin.
Some attention is paid to the smaller industries, bui not half enough.

The demand for labor is amply met, though not strictly reliable.
But few blacks are in the county. The work on farms and in house-
holds is mainly done by the families themselves. All are trained to
industrious habits. The young men work on the farm and the young
ladies do the work of the house.

592 Resoui'ccs of Tennessee.

Allusion was made above to the fact of the existence of a German
colony at Wartburg. They are an industrious, intelligent and enter-
prising people, and have done much to advance the agricultural, horti-
cultural and educational interests of the county.

The farm buildings throughout the county are plain. But few are
brick, a number of frame, and a large number made of hewn logs.
Rails are altogether used for making fences, and the average height of
the fences are about five feet. The cost of lumber is one dollar per
hundred feet, and rails ten dollars per thousand.

The mineral capacity of this county is equal to almost any county in
East Tennessee. Stone coal is found in great quantities in every di-
rection. The long distance from market, and the difficulty of trans-
portation retard development. The chief markets are Knoxville, and
Rockwood in Roane county. The former is distant about sixtv miles,
and is reached by wagon conveyance. The latter is some twenty-five
miles. The Cincinnati Southern Railroad is projected to pass through
this county, and it will traverse a region rich in valuable timber and
mineral wealth.

The water power of this county is unsurpassed. On all the streams
mentioned, any desired power can be had. But little of it is made
available. There are some grist and saw-mills, but no cotton or
woolen factories.

Wartburg is the county seat, with a population of about 150, mostly
Germans. It has one church — Lutheran. It can boast of one of the
best schools in the country — about eighty pupils in attendance. Mont-
gomery is another small village, with a population of about fifty.
It was formerly the countv seat of Morgan countv.

See description of Cumberland county, of Middle Tennessee, for a
fuller description of the soil. Both counties are on the Table Land.

POLK COUNTY.
County Seat— Benton.

The law establishing this county was passed November 28, 1839.
It was taken off Bradley and McMinn, and named in honor of James
K. Polk. It is bounded on the north by McMinn and Monroe, on the

East Tennessee. 593

east by North Carolina, on the south by Georgia, and on the west by
Bradley county. It comprises about 430 square miles. The greater
part of Polk county is mountainous, and unfit for agricultural pur-
poses. There are other advantages, however, far outweighing the ag-
ricultural feature. There are copper mines found in this county. They
were developed many years ago, and have been worked with success.
They are known as the " Ducktown mines." They are situated about
forty miles from Cleveland, an enterprising town on the East Tennes-
see, Virginia, and Georgia Railroad. A daily line of hacks runs there
from this point. The mines are about two miles from the Ocoee River, in
the midst of hills, surrounded by high mountains in the distance.
The principal ranges of these mountains lie between the copper mines
and Benton, and traverse the county in a northeasterly and south-
westerly direction, occupying, perhaps, more than half its area.

The discovery of these mines has brought about a great change in
what was once a wilderness region. Upon a beautiful plateau of ground,
in the midst of the mines, stands a number of villages, whose hundreds
of buildings attest the presence of the genius of civilization. They
aggregate a population of about three thousand, with churches, schools,
and stores. And although occupied mostly by miners, the moral and re-
ligious status is not inferior to more highly favored towns.

One drawback upon the company is the long distance to the rail-
road, which interferes materially with its profits in the prosecution
of the business. Energy and capital, however, will soon surmount
this obstacle. A movement is now on foot to construct a branch road
from Cleveland to intersect with the railroad at that place. The pros-
pects for its early completion are favorable. For more particular de-
scription of these mines, see chapter xv.

These mines furnish a valuable market for all the products of that
part of Polk county. All the butter, lard, bacon, flour, corn, chickens,
etc., for miles around, are sold there at fair prices. Thus, hundreds of
dollars are scattered where it is badly needed.

Nearly the entire surface of the county is covered with high rolling
lands, with hills and ridges here and there. There are some rich val-
leys which are level and produce fair crops of wheat, corn and oats.
The principal bulk of the land has been greatly exhausted by hard
usage. Hundreds of acres have been brought into a state of almost
complete exhaustion, so far gone as to require years, and a great deal

of money and labor to restoi'e. Originally, this county was rich in its
38

594 * Resources of Tennessee

western portion. The farni'Ts, at least many of them, have not pur-
sued a wise course. They ha\c expected too much from the soil with-
out returning a corresponding benefit to it. From year to year it has
been robbed of its cream until it has been forced to succumb to this
ill-treatment. Shallow plowing, no fertilizing and heavy crops of
corn have done the work. The exhausted spots, the skinned surface,
the wide patches of sassafras, the fields of sedge grass, and the gullies,
but too plainly indicate the unkind treatment which it has received.
Grass, clover and manure have been ignored all over the coun-
ty. Ground that would have made excellent meadow, has been, for
years, rudely cultivated in corn. There are acres upon acres that have
never been aided in yielding their substance to the proprietor by sow-
ing clover and using manure.

This is not the case with all the farms. Polk county has a number
of superior farmers — enterprising, energetic, and intelligent — who are
improving their lands, and making them more and more productive
every year. The most valuable lands are on the waters of the Ocoee
River, the Hiwassee River, and the Conasauga River.* They yield,
on an average, about thirty-five bushels of corn to the acre, wheat ten,
oats twenty-five, and rye eight. The creek valleys yield about twenty
bushels of corn, wheat six, oats twenty, and rye seven. The uplands,
ten of corn, five of wheat, and fifteen of oats. The principal valley
is the Ocoee, which is about twenty-five miles long, and five wide.

The county needs a much larger population than it has, for it is
sparsely settled. Lands can be bought low, and on the easiest terms.
From three to twenty dollars per acre will buy about the best lands in
the county, with the exception of highly improved farms, or lands
lying on the rivers and the principal creeks. The opening here for im-
migrants is a good one. They would be kindly received by all the
citizens.

The county is deficient in improved stock of all kinds. Considera-
ble numbers of hogs, cattle and sheep are fattened annually, and sent
to market. There is one butter and cheese dairy carried on by an en-
terprising German. There is quite a trade in eggs, poultry and dried
fruit.

Farm hands are about equal to the demand — but few colored. Good
laborers, working by the year, receive about one hundred and fifty dol-

The water from this sticam flndK its way to the Gulf of Mexico without emptying iuto the Missis-
Bippi, aLd in this rebpect dlfTere from all others in the State.

East Tennessee. 595

lurs per annum, and are fnrnislied with houses and gardens. Transient
hands from fifty to seventy-five cents per day; cooks and washers get
fr(»:ii four to five dollars a month.

The principal town is Benton. Its population is about three hun-
drcMl 'and fifty. There is one church and a good school in the place.

RHEA COUNTY.

County Seat — Washington.

Rhea" county was established December 3, 1807, and the county
seat was located at Big Spring, fourteen miles west of the pres-
ent capital. It was renioved to Washington in 1812. The county
contains a population of about 5,000. It is thinly settled. The
majority of the farms are very large, and could be divided and
sub-divided advantageously. This would make room for immigrants,
and in a short time, double the population. It would tend to develop
the county and increase its wealth. It is suifering for the lack of pop-
ulation. Laborers are needed ; men of capital and enterprise are in
demand, and better farmers are wanted.

The area of Rhea county is divided between the Valley of East
Tennessee and the Cumberland Table Land. Its north-western bound-
ary rests on Walden's Ridge, this plateau ridge being divided about
equally between Rhea and Bledsoe. Its south-eastern boundary is the
Tennessee River, which separates it from Meigs. On the north-east it
is bounded by Roane county, and on the south-west by Hamilton.
Between Waiden's Ridge and a series of broken knobs parallel with
it, is a long valley running the entire length of the county, which con-
stitutes a part of a great valley extending through the State, and
closely hugging the eastern encarpment of the Table I^and.

The Tennessee River meanders through rich alluvial bottoms.
White's Ci-eek, Muddy Creek, Piney River, Town Creek, Wolf Creek,
Clear Creek, Yellow Creek, Big and Little Richland, and Sale Creek,
thread various portions of it. River Valley is one of the most noted
in East Tennessee. It is fi)rmed by the Tennessee River. It is wide,
and runs the entire length of the river, and the soil is a rich alluvial.
The average production of corn is about fifty bushels to the acre,
wheat ten, oats twenty. The Tennessee Valley is wide and long ; has

59^ Rcsoztrces of Tennessee.

an excellent subsoil, and well adapted to all the cereals and to the
grasses. It is not so productive as the River Valley, but it has ad-
vantages in the way of good water, and free from destructive over-
flows. Its average production of corn is about twenty-five bushels to
the acre, wheat ten, oats twenty, Irish potatoes about seventy-five, and
sweet potatoes about one hundred and fifty. Muddy Creek Valley is-
another fine body of land.

The price of land ranges from five to one hundred dollars per acre.
The average size of farms is about four hundred acres. This is un-
usually large. It is u serious injury to the county, and tends to keep
it down. They should be divided into smaller tracts, a lesson hard to
learn. Rhea county shows rough usage in the management of it&
soils, caused in part, by the owners having more land than they can well
cultivate. There is not half enough clover sown, and manures are
applied in the most stinted manner. Hundreds of acres have
given way under this injudicious treatment. There is, however, a
change for the better apparent in this fine county. Deeper plowing is
done, more grass seed is sown, better stock is being raised, wheat
drills are coming into use, and a better class of agricultural implements
generally, is brought into- requisition.

Considerable quantities of land are rented or leased in this county,,
and this has had a damaging effect upon the soil. Under the present
system of renting, there are no lands which can long survive it, and be
sides the policy of turning over a business to some one else that ought
to be attended to by the person himself, is suicidal. The disposition to
lease farms and to pull up stakes, and settle in towns and villages, or to
embark in some other enterprise, is having a bad effect upon the agri-
culture of the country.

The labor system is not reliable. There is no lack of it, but the
trouble is in retaining it. The farmers throughout the county com-
plain bitterly of this difficulty. Laborers shift, going from one place
to another. This subverts all the plans of the farmers, and subjects
them to a vast deal of inconvenience and irreparable loss.

The overshadowing feature of this county is its iron and coal inter-
ests. They do not exist in s])ots, or heic and there, but they are found al-
most everywhere. Waldcn's Ridge is filled with masses of iron and coal.
They are found side by side, both in the mountain and in the valley*
These wonderful interests have not been developed to any extent, though

East Tennessee, 597

attracting now a good deal of attention. On Clear Creek, a valnable
property has recently been sold to a northern company. At Smith's
Cross Roads, an English company has made a pnrchase. At the
month of Piney River there is a valuable iron property. Caldwell's
Forge is turning out considerable quantities of iron.

Mineral springs are numerous all over the county. The Rhea Springs
have attained a wide celebrity for their healing virtues. The water is
composed of red oxide of iron, sulphuric acid, lime, <fec. The grounds
are handsomely improved. There is a large hotel, livery stable, &c.
These celebrated springs are about twenty-five miles from Athens, of
McMinn county, from which you diverge to reach them.

The scholastic advantages of the county are fair. The free school
system works well. There are no schools of high grade.

The principal town is Washington. It has a population of about
three hundred. Smith's Cross Roads is a small village. Sulphur
Springs contains a population of about one hundred.

There are no finer lands in the world than those on the Tennessee
River, and the easy access to market by way of this river makes them
exceedingly valuable. At all seasons of the year steamers make con-
stant and regular trips to Chattanooga, where a connection is formed
with the roads leading into Georgia, and, indeed, into all the Southern
States.

ROANE COUNTY.

County Seat — Kingston.

The act establishing Roane county was passed the 6th of November,
1801, and took effect the 20th of December, 1801. At that time it
embraced what is now Morgan county. In 1819, when the Indian
title to the land on the south side of Tennessee River was extin-
guished, Roane county was extended on the south side of Tennessee
River, and Morgan county was stricken off. Since then (1870) Lou-
don county was formed, taking off about five districts. It is bounded
on the north by Anderson and Morgan on the east by Knox and
Loudon, on the south by Loudon, McMinn and Meigs, and on the
west by Rhea and Cumberland counties. Topogra])hically, Roane
18 very much like Rhea, to the description of which county the reader

598 Resources of Tennessee.

is referred. It contains a great deal of broken and untillable land.
The entire face of the country, with the exception of a few valleys
and the bottom lands along the rivers, is rolling. The hills and ridges
contain large quantities of timber and are profitable for grazing pur-
poses, and especially for fruit-raising. In many instances they abound
in rich deposits of iron ore and coal. In fact, the minerals are re-
garded as adding greatly to the natural wealth of the county; a fact •
which has already arrested the attenrion of some heavy capitalists who
have made large investments in the iron business. Rockwood, near
the Tennessee River, has become noted within the last two or three
years as a manufacturing point. But the other day it was a naked
spot with scarcely a house, or even a mark to identify it. Now it
is a busy, bustling and thriving place, with a population of more than
1,000, and with hotels, schools and churches. It has sprung up as if
by magic, and is increasing in importance every day. There is but
the one reason to assign for this unprecedented prosperity, and that is
the magnitude of the iron interest. But this, really, is only the be-
ginning. Other manufacturing interests, equally as important, will
spring up in other localities of the county. It bids fair to become the
great iron center of East Tennessee, and will, therefore, be one of the
richest counties in our section. The agricultural interests of Roane
county have suffered somewhat from a too careless mode of cultivating
the soil. Fertilizers have been sparsely used, deep tillage to a great
extent neglected, but a small per cent, of clovering and grassing, and
an exhaustive process perpetuated by raising too much corn. Much of
the soil is already exhausted by this unnatural system of husbandry.
Better views, however, are beginning to prevail, and the reasonable
hope is entertained that wiser counsels will soon gain the ascendency.
A new element of population has been thrown into the midst of the
old with more advanced ideas, and with more enterprising habits.
This element is mostly from the Northern States. The county is
greatly deficient in good stock. A few farmers alone have taken it
upon themselves to introduce a better race of cattle, hogs, sheep and
liorses. Thus far nearly all the stock is of the scrub species. It is
not because the farmers are not able to buy better stock, for there is
considerable wealth among them. It must be the lack of enterprise.

Limestone is abundant. It crojis out in the valleys. It makes the
l)est of lime, which can be manufactured at a nominal cost. Every
farmer almost in the county could afford to make this important element
available on every acre of his land. The soil, except on the Table Laud

East Tennessee. 599

has a clay subsoil. The clay is tenacious, and will hold fertilizers of
any description. Where there is such a fine clay subsoil, and such
an abundance of limestone, so that it is obvious that any of the
grasses would grow to great perfection in that portion of the county
and if the farmers would pay more attention to the cultivation
of the grasses, either for grazing or soiling purposes, they would find it
tar more remunerative than raising so much corn. The average produc-
tion of corn to the acre is about twenty bushels; of wheat about seven ;
of oats about twenty-five, &c. All the root crops do well. Improved
bottom lands are worth from $50 to $100 per acre; unimproved from
%\ to $30 per acre. There is jjpuch land for sale. It can be bought
(m one, two and three years time, with six per cent, interest. Alto-
gether there is a good deal of waste land. The county is not thickly
settled. There is ample room for hundreds of immigrants, and there
is no section where they would be more kindly received. The soils on
the Table Laud do not diifer from these described in Cumberland
(iounty.

The oaks are the prevailing tim.ber, though some pine forests exist
east of Kingston. Poplar and walnut are also found. Labor is abun-
dant. Wages range from $12 to $15 a month. The character of the
schools is not firstrate, though improving. The greatest drawback
is the want of capital and enterprise. The variety of wheat sown is
red May. Turning plows are mostly used. The farmers are con-
tented. There are no farmers' clubs, nor fair grounds. The principal
streams are the Clinch and Emory rivers. The Tennessee River runs
through a portion of the county. It is navigable for steamers. The
bottom lands on these rivers are rich and productive. The principal
town is Kingston. It has a population of about 600, is situated at
the confluence of the Tennessee and Clinch Rivers and is an enter-
prising place. It supports two active newspapers, a number of stores,
churches, &c.

(For the number of furnaces in operation in this county, and their
capacities, see chapter on iron.)

The subjoined letter from Henry E. Colton will give informa-
tion in regard to the mineral wealth of this county. It may be proper
to observe that Mr. Colton has spent several montlis in prospecting

this region.

May 6, 1874.
0. B. KMehrew, Secy. :

Roane lias as ranch iron ore as any other oonnty in East Tennessee. It
has the Wlute Oak E,idge vein or bed, the Halt Moon Island vein, and that

6oo Resources of Tennessee.

at the eastern foot of Walden's Ridge, and one or two other small veins of fos-
siliferous red hematite. It has beds nf hematite (limonite), but only partially
opened. The other metals of the coanty are lead and some zinc. Ba-
rytes is found in abundance, and of excellent quality, near the Tennessee
R'ver. The county line takes in, for over foity miles, the coal veins in
Walden's Ridge, and for some miles crosses that ridge, and takes in the
horizontal veins of the Cumberland Table Land. Manganese exists in great
abundance, but of poor quality. Several points in the county furnish ex-
cellent marble, white and variegated. Thus it is seen that the county is
very rich in the two great minerals, iron ore and coal, and it is no wonder that
a man of Gen. Wilder's shrewdness should select it, above others, as the lo-
cation of his furnace. It is very safe to say that every five miles along
Walden's Ridge, in this county, affords sites equally as good, or better than
Rockwood, on account of streams coming irom or through that ridge. Such
excellent locations at the gaps through whiSh flow the Big and Little Emory
Rivers are yet unoccupied.

The county is watered by the Tennessee and its tributaries, the Clinch
and Emory Rivers, the last of which are navigable about eight months in
the year, and the first all the year, though some improvements are needed
to make them perfectly sale. The county seat, Kingston, is located at the
junction of these rivers with the Tennessee, and has in that fact a more ad-
vantageous location than any place in the United State;^, not excepting Pitts-
burg. Yet the place is but little more than a country village. The cause
of this is, that having the rivers its people did not care for the railroads, and
hence, in this fast age, it has been passed by, while towns of inferior advan*
tages have sprung up and flourished. If half the money which has been
spent on the Monongahela, the Alleghany, and the Ohio was expended
on the Tennessee and its tributaries, these streams would be permanently
navigable, and the river trade again become great, and such localities as
Kingston attract the attention they deserve. It is I'oughly estimated that
during the past winter and spring over 200,000 bushels of grain passed
Kingston in flat-boats. In past days these boats went over the Muscle
Shoals, and frequently out of the Tennessee to New Orleans. Now the
changes of the ehoals compel them to take the more costly railroad routes at
Chattanooga. Coal was formerly boated from out Poplar Creek (Winter's
Gap) to Huntsville, and other towns in Alabama, and sold there at not over
twenty-five cents per bu.-hel, and a profit realized. If we glance at
either Map in this volume, we see that Kingston is so located as to make
tributary to itself, with proper enterprise, all the vast products of a large
area. Within five miles by land, and ten by water, are the Wilcox Coal
Mines; a little farther up the Emory River other veins in W.dden's
Ridge are accessible, as well as the horrizontal veins of the Cumberland
Table Land. Poplar Creek affords nearly as good access to the Winter's
Gap coal. With the expenditure of a small amount of money the Co*al
Creek coal might, all the year, be brought down the Clinch at less rates than
it is now transported by rail, and large loads of it have been brought down
during the past winter on the high water. By these same streams the fos-
siliferous red liematite, brown hematite, or limonite, clay carbonate and black
band iron ore may be brought down to Kingston, and the peculiar location
of the town is such that, whether in the Tennessee or the Clinch, the water is
always calm, thus afl'urding excellent harbors. From the east or north-east
the Tennessee comes, having, within a distance of eighteen miles by land,

ZmmS

'.i'

I*-'

Kiiit;slon to London
hy slcaiiUM-. daily, '2 1 inilos.

T>\ Land 18 miles.
Kiniistoii to Cliattaiiooaa

bySteiuuer ll^O miles.
KinJision lo C. S. R.K.r> unices.
M ff Coal G

•' t; Korlnvoofl II ,,

I'jncl, KiisduaiuS. II<»voll

East Tennessee. 60 1

received its tributary, the Little Tennessee, from \Yhich latter stream may-
be derived the magnetic and specular ores of iron, roofing slates, soapstones,
&c. Within two miles of the town, immediately on the Tennessee, is the
White Oak bed of fossiliferous red hematite, which is noted in Alabama (at
Cornwall and Red Mountain) as making a quality of iron which has not
been surpassed for car-wheel purposes, and cannon made from it duiing the
late war came out triumphantly from the most severe tests. The same ore
is found on the Clinch above Kingston, and runs in Roane county a distance
of near thirty miles.

The climate of Kingston and of the whole county is mild in winter, and
equable in summer. The peculiar advantages of the town caused it to be
selected as the first capital, but it was soon abandoned as there were not then
houses enough to accommodate the delegates; it was also selected by the
United States Government as the site of their chief fort in operating against
the Indians, and from a fancied resemblance to the " Pride of the Hudson,"
as well as the impregnable position, it was called South-west Point.

The Cincinnati Southern Railroad Company proposes to build a branch
from Emory Gap via Kingston to Loudon or Lenoirs, to connect with the
railroad from Knoxville to Charle3ton. This will eventually be built.

There are two or more groups of mineral springs, to which persons resort
during the heated term. Respectfully,

Henry E. Colton.

SCOTT COUNTY.

County Seat — Huntsville.

Scott county is bounded on the north by Kentucky, on the east by
Campbell county, on the south by Anderson and Morgan counties, and
on the west by Fentress county. The act establishing this county was
passed December 17, 1849. It was composed of fractions of Ander-
son, Campbell, Fentress and Morgan counties. By reference to the
map of Tennessee it will be seen that it is one of the extreme northern
counties of East Tennessee. It lies on the Cumberland Table Land,
and possesses all the characteristics of that region. The only lands
that are valuable lie upon the creeks, and these are narrowed down
to small .strips.

Huntsville, the county seat, is a small village of about 200 inhabit-
ants. Of course there is but little business done there, and its dis-
tance from the markets of the country and from railroads will always
operate against its advancement.

Chitwood is another town, but still smaller and more insignificant
than Huntsville. It may yet grow considerably, in consequence of

6o2 Resources of Teiinessee

the fact that the contemplated railroad from Cincinnati to Chattanooga
will pass immediately through it. Indeed, this road will be of incal-
culable benefit to this entire region, cut off, as it is, from the commer-
cial world.

There is a sparse population in Scott county. It has had no benefit
whatever from immigration. Perhaps not a dozen families have gone
there in as many years. This is owing to causes already indicated. It
is out of the way, the farming lands are not good, and the trouble, ex-
pense and annoyance of reaching market, have operated as a barrier to
immigration. There is no difficulty about buying land. Thousands
of acres are for sale, and upon satisfactory terms. Improved farms
can be had for about five dollars per acre, and unimproved for from
fifty cents to three dollars per acre. The citizens are extremely anxious
to augment their population, and would do all in their power to make
new-comers welcome in their midst.

In some respects, immigrants could do very well here. Sheep hus-
bandry and fruit-raising would pay largely. The extensive plateaus of
land spreading over the surface of the mountains, and the rich growth
of mountain grass found there, make it suited for the rearing of sheep.
The county is not much annoyed by mean dogs, and, therefore, sheep
would not be disturbed from this source. The cost of raising them would
be only nominal. The winters, as everywhere in East Tennessee, are
mild and short, and the summers are pleasant in this mountain region.

Fruit could be raised to any extent. Apples, peaches, pears, cherries
and all the smaller fruits grow to perfection. An enterprising man,
taking hold of this interest, could turn his means and his energy to
good accoui)t.

There has been l)ut little progress in the system of farming. The
old plans are still adhered to for the most part. Improved means of
husbandry have not been introduced to any extent, and most ot the
farms are cultivated with the ancient implements in vogue half a cen-
tury ago. Bull-tongue ])lows do all the turning of the soil, the
bar-shear being regarded as an innovator. There is scarcely any sow-
ing of clover, and but few meadows. Corn is the chief crop, and that
is fed to an inferior breed of hogs. Very little wheat is sown. Every
species of stock belongs to the scrub race. The farmers have little
encouragement, in consefjuencc of their isolation, to improve either
their lands or their stock. They need railroads, and they need mar-
kets.

East Tennessee. 603

The prevailing rocks of the county are red sandstone and freestone.
Limestone is seen scarcely anywhere in the county. The water is pure
freestone, and is very fine. There is an excellent mineral spring near
Huntsville, consisting of sulphur water. The healthfulness of this
region cannot be questioned. Sickness is rare. This is owing, of
course, to the pure mountain air and the excellent water.

The prevailing timber is black oak, post oak, poplar, walnut, pine,
etc. Of this there are vast quantities, but of no great value at present,
owing to the lack of the means of transportation.

The principal streams are Straight Creek, Buffalo Creek, Paint Rock,
Brimstone Creek, Wolf Creek, Clear Fork, Smoky Creek, Difficulty
Creek, Roaring Pouch Creek, Tellico Creek and Xew River. Along
the most of these streams there are narrow strips of fair land, capable
of producing from twenty to thirty bushels of corn to the acre, and
about eight or ten bushels of wheat. None of these water courses are
reliable for water power. The most of them go dry during the sum-
mer season. Consequently there are but few mills in the county, and
no manufactories of any kind.

Its mineral resources are said to be very great, consisting, for the
most part, of iron and coal, which may be developed wdien the railroad
project, to which reference has been made, is consummated.

The county needs badly a better and more efficient school system.
There are but few schools that are doing much good. There is one at
Huntsville, but not what it ought to be.

For the character of the soil, see Cumberland county, of Middle
Tennessee.

SEVIER COUNTY.

County Seat — Sevier ville.

Sevier county was erected in 1795, one year before the admission of
the State into the Union. It was named in honor of Governor Sevier.
It is bounded on the north by Knox, Jefferson and Cocke counties, on
the east by Cocke county and North Carolina, on the south by North
Carolina and Blount county, and on the west by Blount and Knox
counties. It embraces a large territory, much of it valuable, and con-
siderable portions of it not fit for cultivation. Its entire eastern and

•6o4 Resources of Tciuiessce.

southern borders rest on the Unaka Mountains, and this portion of it,
•especially, is too rough and mountainous for cultivation. Some ridges
and hills make through it, which are not valuable for farming purposes.
The valleys and river bottoms are exceedingly fertile.

The principal town is Sevierville — indeed the only one. Its popu-
lation is about 220. The nearest shipping point is Knoxville, some
thirty miles.

There is a number of chalybeate springs in the county, one especially
worthy of note. It is situated in Wears Valley, eighteen miles south-
west of Sevierville. It would be a place of considerable resort but
for the distance from the railroad, which is about thirty-six miles. It
is in the mountains in the midst of wild scenery. It has performed a
number of striking cures.

There is a large amount of undeveloped iron ore, also some lead,
alum, epsom salts, etc.

Most of the clothing worn is homespun goods, spun on the old-
fashioned spinning wheels, and wove on the old hand looms.

Sevier county contains some of the finest soils in East Tennessee.
There is a belt of country several miles wide which passes through
the county, of strong limestone land. It goes through Boyd's Creek
Valley, crossing the French Broad River, and on by way of Henry's
Cross Roads. Another belt passes immediately south of Sevierville.
This dark red land is the best for wheat. There are fine valley lands
on Little Pigeon and French Broad rivers. Then, there is a large
amount of what is called knob lands, forming a belt five or six miles
wide, and running through the county. It is very productive. Wild
grapes are found on this belt in great abundance. It is the opinion of
some of the best informed citizens of this county, that the day is not
distant when these rich hills will be more valuable than the river bot-
toms, on account of the fact that they are so well adapted to the grape
culture. While there is a considerable quantity of excellent land in
the county, there is at the same time much that is worn out by bad
tillage.

There are five valleys or coves in Sevier county. Wear's Cove is
the most noted. It is about five miles long and three miles wide. The
mountain's wall it in on all sides. The coves next to to the Unaka
Mountains are very rich. Tiicy afford a range sufficient for thousands
of cattle from the 1st of April to the 15th of November.

East Terinessee. 605

It is difficult to give the size of farms, as they range from forty to
several hundred acres. The lands were entered when there had been
no public survey, so that a man entered and run his lines so as to take
in the best lands, thus making crooked lines and numerous corners.
The price of lands varies greatly. It ranges from §50 down to
^2 per acre, owing to quality, improvements, etc.

The usual crops grown are corn, wheat and oats. Corn is the great
staple. Comparatively a small quantity of grass is grown. There are
fine grass lands all through the county. The meadows are mowed and
then closely pastured. The clover fields meet with the same fate.
There has been but little improvement in the lands since the war.
Perhaps they are in better condition now than they were then. Grass
and stock raising are regarded as the most profitable farming for the
county. Turning, shovel and bull-tongue plows are in use. No hill-
side plows are used. Work stock consists of horses and mules. There
is but little improved stock in the county. Sheep raising is not profit-
able, on account of mean dogs. Much of the land is uncultivated.
With the exception, perhaps, of Cumberland county, it comprises the
largest territory of any county in the State. It contains about 549,059
assessed acres. Some of the civil districts are almost as lar^e as small
counties. The value of taxable property for the year 1873, was
$1,593,648.

The water-power of this county is extraordinarily good. The east
and west forks of Little Pigeon River are especially noted in this par-
ticular. Millions of dollars might be judiciously invested in develop-
ing it by building up manufacturing establishments of one sort or
another. Nothing has yet been done in this direction. Only a few
old-fashioned mills exist to establish the folly of the citizens in not en-
deavoring to do better. Most of the surplus wheat of the county is
sent off to other mills outside of its limits to be ground. This is ob-
viously a mistake, when we consider the natural advantages which the
county possesses in the way of superior water-power. The most of the
surplus of the county is shipped on keel boats down the French Broad
River to Knoxville, and iron, salt, goods, etc., are brought back in the
same way. Labor is abundant at fifty cents a day, and from ten to
twelve dollars and a half a month. The native population is extremely
anxious to have good citizens from any part of the country to settle
among them. As already intimated, there are vast tracts of land M'hich
have never been developed, for the reason that there is a lack of pop-
ulation. The county could easily accommodate a much larger number

6o6 Resources of Tennessee.

than it now has. Hence there is an earnest demand for more people,
and for energy, capital and enterprise.

The work of popular education has received due attention at the
hands of the citizens of the county. Tlie free sr^hool system works
well thus far, and is in general favor. At Sevierville there is a flour-
ishing academy.

SEQUATCHIE COUNTY.

County Seat — Dunlap.

This county is traversed by Sequatchie Valley, which divides it
naturally into three strips or belts — the south-eastern portion being on
Walden's Ridge, the central being in Sequatchie Valley, and the north-
western on the Table Land. The first and third portions have about
the same elevations, while the central or valley portion is not far from
being one thousand feet lower, and is the only cultivated part of the
county. This is walled in by the escar])ments of the Table Land on
the one side, and Walden's Ridge on the other. It has only one
natural outlet, and that is south-west to the town of Jasper, the capital
of Marion county, where a branch of the Nashville and Chattanooga
Railroad is reached. To reach Chattanooga, or any other point on the
railroad, Walden's Ridge must be ascended, which is from ten to four-
teen miles from base to base, and a journey of twenty-five or thirty
miles must be made to get to a railway.

This is a great drawback upon the enterprise of the county, and re-
tards development. Nevertheless, this strong barrier is overcome by
the pluck and energy of its citizen-farmers, many of whom drive their
horses, mules, cattle, and hogs, across this mountain top to the rail-
road, and from thence ship to southern markets. ■ It would astonish
any one to know the number of stock which is annually fattened and
taken over this route. Before the war it was incredible. The war
crip|)led the people considerably, but they are fast regaining their for-
mer position of prosperity, and a few more years will fully re-instate
them. Tlieir mode of doing business on the farm is, to cultivate im-
mense breadths of corn, and feed it to cattle, horses, mules, and hogs.
These they either sell on foot to stock buyers, or drive them off them-
selves. Whether they are pursuing the wisest course in raising so

East Tennessee. 607

much corn and thus taxing their lands very heavily, is altogether
another question. In passing through the length and breadth of that
county we were most painfully impressed with the fact, that the finest
soil of East Tennessee had been, and was still being, most cruelly cul-
tivated by this system of raising so much corn from year to year. By
nature that entire valley is adapted to the grasses. The rocks show
this as well as the timber. Limestone crops out everywhere, and in
the greatest abundance, and the timber consists of oak, hickory,
walnut, maple, beech, &c. Blue-grass -.rows up in the fence corners
and is luxuriant. Notwithstanding this, meadows are rare and clover
is rarely sown. To be sure, the agricultural mind is undergoing a
rapid change upon this subject, and, perhaps, a few years more may
record a change for the better. Healthful thought is becoming aroused,
the farmers are reading more, and more experiments are being made
touching this matter.

Farms are entirely too large. They will average from two to three
hundred acres. The result is bad cultivation, especially since the
utter derangement of the labor system. Many of these large estates
are put into the hands of irresponsible tenants, who cultivate them
only to make all the grain they can, with no eye to the recuperation
of the soil. Hence, some of the best farms of the county are giving
way to this unfortunate treatment, and will soon be unproductive, un-
less a wiser course is pursued.

The central portion is divided by a small ridge that passes nearly
through its center, but susceptible of cultivation. In some places it is
denuded of its timber and put to grain. The most of it, however, is
left in timber. The Sequatchie River runs a south-western course
through the valley, and the bottoms contiguous are exceedingly fer-
tile. The soil is a black alluvial, with a clay subsoil. Corn grows to
great perfection, producing from twenty-five to fifty bushels to the
acre. It seems that wheat does not do so well, whether from the want
of adaptation of the soil, or from an injudicious management in the
seeding, is hard to determine. More than possible, the latter course
has much to do with it. The bottoms are wide and the land valuable.
But little of it is for sale at any price. When in the market, it will
command from twenty-five to fifty dollars per acre.

There is a considerable change going on among the farmers with re-
gard to introducing labor-saving machines, and improved breeds of
stock. Reapers, mowers, now and then a wheat drill, threshing ma-

6o8 Resources of Tennessee.

chines, substantial turning-plows, &c., are finding their way to this
county. Here and there some well-bred stock may be found, and es-
pecially hogs. There is, however, an almost total neglect in removing
the ancient houses erected by the early settlers, and building more de-
sirable ones There are houses still standing in this county, and occu-
pied by men of extensive means, which were built by the pioneers. It
is a rare circumstance to find a modern building. This lack of neat
and comfortable residences gives an unfavorable aspect to the other-
wise beautiful country, and a bad impression is made upon the mind
of the stranger. It is not because the farmers are not able to have bet-
ter homes, for they are generally in good circumstances, and a better
population is not found anywhere. They are moral, and attend to
their own business.

The work of education is not ignored by them. They have some
excellent schools, one of high grade, and the common school system
meets with general favor.

This county is rich in its mineral deposits. Iron is in the greatest
abundance, and found in the valley next to Walden's Eidge. Coal is
equally as abundant. Of course neither is worth much now, in con-
sequence of the want of transportation. A narrow gauge road is badly
needed through this valley, running from the upper end of it to Jas-
per, some sixty to seventy miles.

The Sequatchie River affords an abundance of water-power for any
and all purposes. There are but few mills and no factories. There
are no fair grounds in the county.

SULLIVAN COUNTY.

County Seat — Blountville.

Sullivan county was organized in the year 1779, and was taken off
Washington county while it was still under the jurisdiction of North
Carolina. The courts were not organized until 1782 or 1783, as there
were difficulties existino; between the State of North Carolina and the
State of Frank land. It is a border county, touching Virginia and
bounded on the north by that State, on the east by Johnson and Car-
ter, on the south by Washington, Johnson and Carter, and on
the west by Washington and Hawkins counties. It has a population

East Tennessee. 609

of 13,136. The eastern boundary of this county, which runs north-
easterly and south-westerly, rests upon Holston Mountain, a bold sand-
stone ridge, dividing Sullivan from both Carter and Johnson. Between
this and Blountville are several remarkable belts of knobby country,
separated by limestone valleys. The rocks of the knobby belt are main-
ly calcareous and sandy shales. The soil is mellow, rich, friable and
very fertile, but owing to the unevenness of surface produced by the
large number of conical hills, it is not adapted for large farms. Little
farms with small farm-houses are found in this region, nestling amid
the hills. In the Avestern part of the county rises up Chestnut Ridge,
with the usual trend. Between this and Blountville, the rocks are
limestones and dolomites, and the soils strong, fertile and highly pro-
ductive. North-west of this ridge the rocks are shale, and the river
valleys are exceedingly generous in the yield of their various crops.

The county town is Blountville, named after Governor Blount, with
a population of about 350. It has gone down considerably since the
construction of the East Tennessee, Virginia and Georgia Railroad.
It was once a flourishing place, and absorbed the trade of an extensive
area of country, but the road in question left it some seven miles and
made its terminus at the town of Bristol, on the Virginia line. This
concentrated the trade at the latter place. Blountville was destroyed
by fire during the war, the devouring element consuming four stores,
two hotels, eight dwelling houses, court-house and jail. Since then
the court-house has been re-built and the town otherwise improved.
The Masonic fraternity have a commodious building for the education
of both sexes, and there is a large male academy. In this school there
are 145 scholars enrolled, with an average attendance of 125.

Bristol, on the State line and the terminus of the E ist Tennessee,
Virginia and Georgia Railroad, is comparatively a young place, con-
taining a population of 1,800. This is exclusive of that of Goodson,
on the Virginia side. The two have some 3,500 inhabitants. There is
one Presbyterian church, one Methodist church, two Baptist churches,
one Episcopal church, one Catholic church, and one Christian church.
There are sixteen dry-goods stores, two drug stores, two provision
stores, two tin and stove establishments, one steam sash and blind fac-
tory, one tobacco factory, two woolen mills, one foundry, and two weekly
papers.

Union is situated on the East Tennessee, Virginia and Georgia Rail-
road, eleven miles west of Bristol, seven miles east of Blountville, and
31)

6[0 Resources of Tennessee.

on the Holston River. It contains a population of about 400, with
five mercantile establishments, one cotton factory, running 800 spin-
dles, employing about sixty hands, half of them females, at good wages,
one, steam saw-mill, one grist mill and soon a tobacco and woolen fac-
lory will be established. The water-power on the Holston River at
this place is very fine, and is worth thousands of dollars to the town of
Union. There are three churches, one Presbyterian, one Baptist and
one Methodist, and a good school of over 100 pupils.

Kingsport, one of the oldest towns in the county, is situated in the
west end of the county, on the Holston River, with a population of
about 200. It is surrounded by the best land in the county, large
and broad bottoms and productive. There are two stores, and two
churches, Presbyterian and Methodist.

There is one white sulphur spring in the county, unsurpassed, as is
believed, in any country. It is situated eight miles east of Blount-
ville and five miles west of Union, in a lovely valley, and in the midst
of charming scenery. There is a most desirable location lor hotel and
other buildings. It is situated in an excellent community. There are
a number of chalybeate springs in different places in the county, sev-
eral of which are improved.

The prevailing rock is limestone ; occasionally, on the ridges, sand-
stone and flint. The principal mineral is iron, and that is in great
abundance and of the best quality. At one time there were eight iron
manufactories in the county, besides founderies for making hollow-
ware. There are only two now in operation. Dr. Hammer, an enter-
prising gentleman, has a fine iron ore bank on his estate, within one-
fourth of a mile of the town of Blountville. It is said to exist in larger
quantities in the county. A considerable quantity of bar iron is
manufactured. There are two founderies making hollow-ware, machine
iron, plows, &c. There are two woolen factories, &c. There are fifty
grist mills in the county, and about seventy-five saw-mills, two steam
saw-mills, two shoe factories on a large scale, and ten tanneries.

The soil of Sullivan county is based mostly upon a solid clay sub-
soil, and is susceptible of improvement and well adapted to all the
grasses. There is a great deal of what is termed mulatto soil, of a
dark reddish color, and is regarded as the best wheat land in the
county.

Tlie principal valleys are Denton's, Holston, Cook's and Beaver
Creek valleys. Denton's Valley is in the eastern part of the county.

East Tennessee. 6i i

IS large, and extends to the Virginia line. The Holston Valley is
•extensive, and lands good ; it lies on the Holston Kiver. The first
and second bottoms are very prodnctive. Cook's Valley is in the
western portion of the connty, is narrow, but the land is fertile. Reedy
Creek Valley is in the east end of the county, rather thin land, until
it reaches some fiftsen miles east of Kiugsport; at this point is some
of the very best land in the county. In this region considerable
<][uantities of clover and timothy seed are produced. It is a fine grass
section.

Beaver Creek Valley from Bristol to the mouth of the Holston
River, some ten miles, is a magnificent stretch of country. Here are
fine farms and excellent farmers. Through it runs Beaver Creek, one
of the finest streams for machinery in all the country. It has more
mills on it, for its length, than any Avater course in the county. The
valley from Bristol to Blountville, about eight miles long, is level and
productive. The meadows are excellent.

The average size of the farms is about 160 acres, and altogether
worked by the owner;. The average price of laud per acre is about
fifteen dollars for improved and unimproved. The general crops
grown are wheat, corn and oats. Some tobacco, with a fair prospect
of a large increase of it in the future. About one-eighth of the land
in cultivation is in grass and clover. The condition of the farms as
compared with that before the war is about twenty per cent, worse off.
The most profitable mode of fiirming is raising grass and wheat. The
cast turning plow is altogether in use for breaking land.

The stock of the county has always been above an average. Before
the War there were in use a number of thoroughbred horses, and their
descendonts are scattered all over the county. There is scrub stock,
but it is giving way to a finer race of animals. Sheep are annoyed
by dogs and killed by hundreds every year. The citizens of the
county are in favor of a stringent dog law, by which the dogs may be
gotten out of the way.

There is but little waste land in the county. The population is
sparse. The value of taxable property will exceed §2,300,000. The
terras of renting is one-third of the crops, and house, wood and pasture
for the tenant.

The prevailing timber is oak, poplar, ash, walnut, chestnut, beech
and yellow pine.

6 1 2 Resources of Tennessee.

There is a number of valuable streams running through the-
county. Holston River is a bold stream, furnishing water-power to-
any extent. Beaver Creek is noted for its capacity in this respects
Reedy Creek is another large stream. Sinking Creek affords water-
power, and so does Fall Creek. Kendrix Creek is a large stream with,
good fall.

The facilities are not favorable for transportation. The roads are in
bad condition, and that is a great drawback to the county. The near-
est shipping points are Bristol and Union.

Labor is scarce. Many laborers, tempted by stronger inducements^
have gone west and south into the cotton fields. Good laborers will com-
mand from seventy-five cents to one dollar per day, and during the
harvest season, still more. The citizens throughout the county are ex-
tremely anxious for immigrants to settle in their midst, and will treat
them kindly. The schools are in a prosperous condition. The free
school system is working well, and giving general satisfaction. The
greatest drawback to the county is the want of capital. Peaches,
apples, blackberries, dewberries, raspberries, &c., are dried and sent off"
to market. It is considered that a good fruit year is worth more to
the county than a crop of wheat. Considerable quantities of butter^
apple butter, and peach butter are made. Hundreds of bushels of B
onions are raised and shipped oflp.

The farmers sow the red bearded and white smooth winter wheats
But little spring wheat is sown.

There are fair grounds containing thirty acres. There are some or-
ganizations among farmers.

UNION COUNTY.

County Seat — Maynardville.

Union county is of comparative recent origin, having been organized
in 1856. It is not large. It is bounded on the north by Claiborne
and Campbell, on the east by Grainger, on the south by Knox and
Anderson, and on the west by Anderson and Claiborne counties. There
is a number of ridges running entirely through it from north-east tol
south-west. !

East Tennessee. 613

Maynardville is a small village of about 160 inhabitants. Before
the war, it was quite a prosperous place for an inland town. It is now
recovering, and bids fair to regain what it lost. It commands a con-
siderable trade for miles around, and the merchants are prosperous.

The valleys are Big Valley, Hickory Valley, Hind's Valley, Rac-
coon Valley, Bull Run Valley, and Flat Creek Valley, the most noted
of which are Big Valley, Hickory Valley, Raccoon Valley and Flat
Creek Valley. Their average fertility, under such culture as is usually
bestowed by the farmers of this county, is about thirty bushels of corn
or oats, and about ten bushels of wheat to the acre. Other crops are
in proportion. The ridge and mountain lands are scarcely fit for any-
thing except it be for raising fruit and grazing sheep. The average size
of farms is about 200 acres, and they are mostly cultivated by the own-
ers. Improved farms are worth about $10 per acre, and unimproved
about §5. The principal crops grown are corn, wheat oats rye, pota-
toes, cotton, tobacco, sorghum, etc. Nearly one-tenth of the land is
devoted to grass, one-half of which is mown and the remainder is pas-
tured. One-fourth is clovered, which is mostly pastured.

The condition of farms, as compared with ante-bellum times, is
much better. The farmers are learning to improve their lands very
rapidly. Before the war, they attempted to cultivate too much land.
They now begin to see the folly of this, and are reducing their acres
under cultivation. Corn, wheat, oats and clover are regarded as the
most valuable crops. Tiiere is a large quantity of until lable land, owing
to the mountains and ridges which run through it, and there is no in-
considerable quantity that has been broken down by injudicious culture.
The character of the soil partakes of clay, sand and slate, but clay
predominates. The principal rocks are limestone. The prevailing
timber is poplar, pine, oak, chestnut, etc., of which there is a great
abundance. The value of taxable property is $843,014.

Water courses suitable for mills and manufacturing purposes are.
Lost Creek, Little Barren, jMillers Creek, Crooked Creek, Fall Creek,
Bull Run, Hind's Creek, Dotson's Creek and Flat Creek. Any of
.these will afford power sufficient for any kind of machinery. Besides
these, there are some smaller ones suitable for light machinery, such as
<;arding machines, cotton gins, etc. Clinch and Powell's rivers run
through the county, and they afford water-power to any extent desired.

The facilities for transportation are not good. There is no railroad,
and the only means of transportation is by flat-boats on the Clinch and

6i4 Resources of Tennessee.

Powell's rivers during high tides, and by wagoning some twenty-five
or thirty miles to Knoxville.

The mineral wealth of this county consists of iron and lead, the'
former in great abundance, while of the latter there is thought to be
large quantities. There is quite a number of mineral springs in va-
rious portions of the county, such as chalybeate and black and white
sulphur.

The farmers have made no progress, or, at least, but little, in im-
proving their stock. They still have scrub cattle, hogs, horses and
sheep, and no other kind. The sheep business might be made profit-
able in this county. They are not much disturbed by the dogs.

Labor is abundant, and wages run from $8 to $10 per month. There
is ample room for immigrants, and they would be received with cor-
diality, especially those who have capital and enterprise. But to induce
all this, more attention must be paid to the education of the children.
The interest, however, in this direction, is growing slowly. There are
some good schools, but they are not continued long enough, for want of
means to sustain them. The people are industrious and provident, while
they are law-abiding and orderly.

WASHINGTON COUNTY.

County Skat — Jonesboro.

This county was organized under the government of North Carolinay
November, 1777, and composed of portions taken ofi^ Wilkes and
Burke counties of that State, and embraced the present area of Tennes-
see. It is, therefore, the oldest county in the State, and was the thea-
ter of the most important events that occurred in its early history.

Washington county has a superficial area of about 480 s(]u:ire miles.
Its southern l)()undary runs along the highest summits of the Unakas^.
passing over quite a number of pi-omincnt ])enks, among which is the
Great Bald, which rears its cloud-cajiped dome 5,550 feet above the
level of the sea. About one-third of the county is covered by these
mountains, whose towering heights give a boldness, sublimity and pic-
tures(|ueness to the landsca])C, and tempers the winds of summer with
a delicious coolness. The mountain ridges partaking of the usual

East Ten7iessee. 615

trend of the Unakas are separated into two groups, by a long lime-
stone valley, which has taken the odd and unique name of Greasy
Cove. Those south-east of the cove constitute the main Unaka range,
and are composed of gneissoid or stratified granitic rock. The higli-
est summits in the county, though not in the State, are found on this
range, several of which, being destitute of timber, are called "Balds."
These B:\lds are covered with a gravelly, blackish soil, which produces
a wild mountain grass that affords pasturage for droves of stock. On
the north-west of Greasy Cove there are several parallel ridges, the most
prominent of which are known, locally, as Buffalo, Rich and Cherokee
mountains. These also afford ample pasturage during the summer
months. The rocks of these are conglomerates and sandstones. All
the mountains, with the exception of the Balds mentioned, are clothed
with dense forests of timber. Oaks of many species, the pine, pop-
lar, walnut, cherry and linn, rear their massive trunks high in the air,
while an undergrowth on the main Unakas, south-east of Greasy Cove,
is largely intermixed with laurel.

Bompass Cove, a small mountain-hemmed valley, nestling between
the ridges of the north-west division, is noteworthy on account of the
very extensive deposits of limonite iron ore, which makes iron of su-
perior quality, and almost invariably contains a small percentage of
lead. This ore occurs in banks, the matrix being clay and flinty
gravel. Iron ore, of the same quality, is also found in Greasy Cove.

The Nolichucky, by deep canyons, cuts at right angles the Unakas,
and also the group to the north-west. It may here be stated as a sin-
gular fact, that the whole Unaka range, although the highest of the Ap-
palachian chain, is cut transversely in the State of Tennessee by a num-
ber of streams, among them the Watauga, the Nolichucky, the French
Broad, Big Pigeon, Tennessee, Hiwassee, and Ocoee, all of which are
tributaries of the Tennessee River.

North and west of the mountain, the aspect of the country becomes
more subdued. This portion of the county lies properly within the
Valley of East Tennessee. The surface is rolling, and made up of al-
ternating ridges and valleys.

Jonesborough and Johnson City are the only incorporated towns in
its limits, though there are several villages. Jonesborough was laid
off in 1779, is the oldest town in the State, and was its first cap-
ital. The first session of the Superior Court was held here, and it was
about this time that President Andrew Jackson began his career as a

6i6 Resources of Tennessee.

jurist. The county buildings and business houses are alike creditable
to the public and private enterprise of the people. Two good institu-
tions of learning are located at this place. There are, also, five church
organizations, four church edifices, three newspapers, two hotels, sev-
eral lawyers and physicians, an agricultural implement store, six mer-
cantile houses, and three drug stores. The town is built among the
hills, and the location is exceedingly healthy. Being centrally located,
it draws a splendid trade from the county and a good portion of the
mountain regions of Western North Carolina. The manufacturing in-
terests are embraced in a tannery, two blacksmith shops, a foundry,
two cabinet shops, saw-mill, a harness and several shoe shops. A
flouring mill, carding machine and woolen factory would be profitable
investments. Steam wcnild have to be used as motive power. Popu-
lation 1,200. Johnson City is a new and enterprising town, seven miles
east of Jonesborough, on the East Tennessee, Virginia and Georgia
Railway. It contains three churches, several stores, a large hotel, is
situated in a rich agricultural region, and enjoys a high degree of pros-
perity. The population is 800.

Along the water courses the soil is a rich alluvium, and produces
abundant crops of corn, oats, grass and rye. In the central and north-
ern portion of the county, the uplands consist of a clayey soil,
resting on a limestone formation. The subsoil of these lands is of
such a nature and depth as to render them susceptible of the very
highest degree of tillage. These lands are highly adapted to the rais-
ing of wheat, timothy, and the various kinds of crops indigenous to
high latitudes. In the north-eastern sections of the county the soil
is composed of gravelly ridges, interspersed with extensive slate
strata, finely suited for grazing purposes, and grows the finest qual-
ity of wheat. On all the diiferent varieties of soil above mentioned,
rod clover grows luxuriantly.

Ten large creeks traverse the county, and these, with the rivers al-
ready mentioned, afford a water-power for milling and manufacturing
purposes that cannot be closely estimated.

The prices of improved land vary from fifteen to fifty dollars per
acre, owing to hxiation as regards schools, churches, post-oflfices,
mills and railroad facilities. Unimproved lands vary in valuation
from fifty cents to ten dollars. The latter embrace the mountains and
timbered sections.

Farms are in a much better condition now than previous to the war,
and the system of cultivation is rapidly improving. Wheat, corn, oats.

East Tennessee. 6 1 7

rye and barley are the crops w;rown, and the average yield per acre,
considering the entire area, is small. There is a large quantity of
waste land, exhausted by crops and a ruinous system of cultivation.
A large amount of this impoverished area can be restored by proper
management. The size of farms is generally large, larger than can
be conducted with remunerative profits with the labor employed. We
would here add that the people do not perceive the advantage of small
tracts, thereby increasing their agricultural force and enriching the
same to the highest degree of productive capacity. Stock-raising
would, undoubtedly, be more profitable than any other department of
farming, owing to the fact that the land needs rest, fertilizers and
grasses, whilst the waste and mountain lands will furnish ample pas-
turage for a hundred times the number of stock that is now owned.
Wool-growing, for several reasons that might be assigned, would be a
most profitable employment. The soils are highly adapted to the cul-
tivation of timothy and red-top, and clover is used extensively as a
renovator. Turning plows, shovels and the bull-tongue are used in
breaking up, the two latter in cultivating the crops. Horses and
mules are used for farm work, except in the mountains, where oxen
are used for farm work, except in the mountaineous, where oxen are
used almost entirely. Labor is abundant, and is generally paid for in
part of the crops. The tenant system universally prevails. Where
the owner of the land furnishes all the material and supplies, he gets
two-thirds of the crops, and vice versa. Rental contracts generally
run for a year. The products are generally shipped to southern mar-
kets. The East Tennessee, Virginia and Georgia Railroad passes
through the county a distance of twenty-five miles, in Avhich there
are four depots. Horses, hogs, mules, sheep and cattle comprise the
stock. Some fine stock are being introduced with the most encourag-
ing results. Sheep are considerably annoyed by dogs, and the annual
loss may be safely estimated at 300 head.

Limestone and dolomite are the prevailing rocks north and west of
the mountains, and but little use is made of them except for lime. The
mineral wealth as regards iron seems to be exhaustless and of the very
finest and richest quantity. Barytes is found in immense beds near
Fall Branch, and large quantities are being sliipped. Lead is also met
with. There is a large iron manufactory at Embreeville, which uses
water-power. Near this place is one of the largest deposits of iron in
the State, already mentioned as Bompass Cove.

A considerable quantity of home-spun goods are manufactured but

6i8 Resources of Tennessee.

none shipped. Almost every farm has an orchard, and frnits wonld do
well if properly attended to. The grape can be grown with profit. The
most valuable varieties of timber are oak, walnut, beech, wild cherry,
hickory and ash. The people are kindly disposed toward immigrants,
and most desire farmers and mechanics. The population of the county
is about 17,000, and is increasing. There is an agricultural and me-
chanical association, and its efforts are highly promising. The Octo-
ber fair, held under its auspices, was a splendid success, eclipsing in
the variety and excellence of the articles exhibited in any fair ever held
in the county. Tlie county abounds in mineral springs, principally
chalybeate, and are recommended by medical authority for their med-
icinal virtues. The dirt roads, as a general thing, receive but little
attention. There are fifty-two flouring mills in the county. The
schools, ten of which are graded, are all public, and sustained by State
and county taxation with a liberal yearly donation from the Peabody
fund. They are seventy in number, and employ eighty teachers.
The educational interest is constantly increasing. The introduction
of improved implements and machinery has brought a wonderful and
encouraging change in the modes of agriculture, and the results are so
strikingly manifest that it is to be hoped that the people will make
some ap})roach to the advancement that prevails in the rich agricul-
tural States of the Union. There is a poor-house, which contains
about twelve inmates, supported by the county. The county owns
the farm upon which the poor-house is situated, which contains about
400 acres, valued at $9,000.

The Secretary is indebted to A. B. Cummings for many facts con-
tained in this notice of Washington county.

PA.E,T III.

MIDDLE TENNESSEE,

(With a Description of Each County.)

Middle Tennessee is by far the most valuable division of the State.
It embraces forty counties and has a superficial area of 18,000 square
miles, and a po})ulation, according to the last census, of 561,832. The
value of its taxable property in 1873 was 3136,906,557 ; number of
polls 80,858 ; number of voters, 109,796. It contains 245 towns and
villages. It has 550 miles of railway, and nearly 500 miles of navi-
gable rivers. The surface is greatly diversified, and exhibits varieties
of scenery the most opposite. Passing from Grundy county to \Yayne,
or diagonally from Stewart to Franklin, one sees almost every variety
of landscape and surfice features — mountainous, with rushing tor-
rents and foaming cataracts ; hilly, with swift, smoothly gliding streams ;
level, where the waters linger by the sides of green pastures and grassy
meadows, and where luxuriant crops gladden the face of nature. There
is indeed no faircp region than that of Middle Tennessee. Nature has
been lavish of her gifts of soil, of mineral, of timber and of water, of
beauty in the landscajieand freshness in the air; of health for the body
and mind and of freedom from inclemencies of season. There is not
a swamp properly, so called, within its boundaries. Its drainage is al-
most ])erfect. The surface is slightly tilted towards the northwest, and
through deep gorges in the highlands, the Cumberland, Duck and Elk
rivers flow on to mingle their watei\s with those of the Mississipjn.

620 ' Resources of Tennessee.

There are altogether, more than 300 milling streams in this division,
over fifty macadamized roads, and good schools and churches in every
neighborhood. One peculiarity is noticeable about Middle Tennessee,
and that is its great variety of ]n-oductions. No crop can be named,
that grows above the 35th parallel, that does not mature in some por-
tion of this division. Tobacco, corn, clover, wheat, barley, rye, cot-
ton, peanuts, all the grasses, vegetables of every kind, melons of the
finest flavor and size, fruits, such as grapes, peaches, pears, apples,
quinces, apricots, plums, cherries, strawberries, dewberries, raspberries,
gooseberries, attain each such a perfection as to be noticeable. And fur-
ther, nearly every product ripens most opportunely, and can always be
put upon a bare market. Wheat and fruits and all the vegetables can be
put in the Chicago or New York markets three weeks before they
ripen in that latitude. The extent, variety and excellence of the
timber is another marked feature of this division. Nowhere else
are there such forests of red cedar, while the ash, poplar, cherry, sugar
tree, the oaks and hickories, are found everywhere. The climate is
such as to permit the introduction of the fig and magnolia. Nowhere
in America are seen so much valuable fencing material. For in addi-
tion to the cedar and chestnut timber, which makes the best rails in the
world, there is an unlimited amount of the finest building stone,
of which cheap and durable enclosures may be constructed. Nowhere
within the same limits is there found such a variety of soils of such
excellent quality and of such adaptabilities.

In relation to the mineral wealth in this division, the iron ore on the
west covering 4,000 square miles, is balanced by the stone coal on the
east. As to the quantity of these two minerals, there is practically no
limit. Since 1810 the iron ore has been worked, and we have no rea-
son for believing that it will not be worked a tlioiisand years hence.

As a manufacturing region, time will develop its eminent advan-
tages. The counties herein described will show that the aggregate
amount of unoccupied water-power is enough to work up annually the
entire cotton crop of America. Cheap coal is attainable from three
points — from our own coal fields, from the upper Cumberland, and from
the western coal fit^lds of Kentucky.

Hlodk. There is no surer method of estimating the wealth and solid-
ity of a farming community, than by the number and excellence of
its domestic animals. The following pages will show that Middle
Tennessee, and ('specially that portion included within what is called

Middle Temiessee. 62 r

the Central Basin, has probably as much fine stock as all the cotton
states put together. For three-quarters of a century, the Tennessee
horse has been famous. On the turf and in the more useful labors of
the farm and field of battle, tlieir spirit of endurance has given them
a character unsurpassed. Tennessee mules, for the two past decades,
have cultivated the cotton fields of the south. Cattle of every breed
from the lordly short-horn to the deer-shaped Ayrshire, are seen graz-
ing upon every hill, and the central part of this middle division is
acquiring an enviable fame by reason of the superiority of hc-r bovine
species. From Indiana and Illinois, Ohio and Missouri buyers come
to this State in search of the most perfect types of every animal. One
noted for his sagacity in stock breeding, recently declared that the
Central Basin was the finest region for growing cattle he had ever seen.
With a spontaneous growth of Blue-grass, there is united a well wat-
ered fertile region, in a mild climate and one whose healthfulness for
stock is unsurpassed. The richest countries in the world are the cattle
countries, and one may well determine the value of land by the price
of the cattle. Every well-informed man knows that the quality of
the wool made in Tennessee has elicited the admiration of the whole
world. The late Mark R. Cockrill used to declare that every agency
is here united to make the very finest fleece, and he had the satisfac-
tion of demonstrating it to the assembled wool-growers of the world.

Farms and Farmers. The attentive reader will not have failed to
observe that the main topographical feature of Middle Tennessee con-
sists of a grand terrace covering 9,300 square miles, which circularly
rims the great limestone basin which we have called the Central Basin,
and which covers 5,450 square miles. This Basin is the fairest agri-
cultural region in the United States, south of the thirty-sixth parallel,
and the character of the soil, the style, finish and elegance of the farm-
houses, and the general beauty of the country, depending not upon
any general feature, but the combined result of hill and dale, wood and
stream, meadow and field, mingled into a thousand delightful landscapes,
everywhere set off this Basin and make it an extended panorama of ex-
quisite rural elegance and beauty. In this Basin are found the very
best farmers in the State, who bring to their vocation the appliances of
improved machinery and all other agencies that a cultivated intellect
would suggest. As a usual rule rotation is practiced, though not to
the same extent as before the war. The soil is well prepared by deep
plowing and subsoiling, and the crops are usually well cultivated, ex-
cept in those localities where the pernicious system of cropping prevails.

^22 Resources of Tennessee,

Labor is scarce and not reliable, and as a general thing the farms are
too large and were arranged to suit the old plantation system, which
under the new regime has ceased to be profitable. Lands in the Cen-
tral Basin are high, the best improved farms ranging from thirty to
$100 per acre. And there is one singular fact connected herewith.
Remote from railroads, lands in this Basin have not depreciated in
value, while in the more populous counties, such as Maury, David-
son, Sumner and Rutheribrd, they have fallen since the war at least
twenty-five per cent. In Cannon, Smith and Marshall counties and por-
tions of Bedford lands are in active demand at high prices. There is
but one way to account for this phenomenon. The high rate of inter-
est which money bears, and the frequent opportunities offered for invest-
ment in the first named counties, have directed the minds of many
farmers from their legitimate business, and they prefer the more quiet
work of clipping off coupons to the troublesome and constant atten-
tion necessary to insure success on their farms. Hence many farms
are for sale, and the competition among sellers has reduced the price of
land.

On the Highlands, and especially in Montgomery, Robertson, Stew-
art, Warren and Franklin, the character of the farms and farmers is
much the same as in the Central Basin. In the first two named, tobacco
is largely grown, and no land in the State grows \yheat so kindly or so
well. The Highlands are probably also better suited for fruits. In
proportio^i to productive capacity, there are probably no lands in the
State that rate lower than those in Montgomery and Stewart.

In respect to health, the Highlands will compare favorably with any
portion of the American continent. No epidemic has ever prevailed,
and as the forests are swept away by the demands of domestic life, even
fevers, (which were once prevalent,) by reason of the climatic changes
wrought are becoming uncommon. There is really no epidemic disease,
and when the Central Basin is sometimes unfortunately visited by chol-
era, the citizens flee to the Highlands, with an assurance of perfect
immunity from that dread disease.

In the northern tier of counties on the Higlilands, ice-houses are
very common, and almost every farmer either has one or an interest in
one. Spring and well water is abundant, though many prefer cisterns.
In the Central Basin spring water is very generally used. The pre-
valence of limestone makes the digging of wells or cisterns expen-
sive and difficult. With the exception of a very lew localities, stock-
water is abundant throuy-hout Middle Tennessee.

Middle Tennessee. 623

As to educational facilities, no portion of the South is better provided
than the best portions of Middle Tennessee. And the probabilities
now are that it will become the great educational center of the Mis-
sissippi Valley. Several first class Universities are now being estab-
lished with endowments ranging from 3100,000 to §1,000,000. A
generous rivalry is spriuging up between the different religious denom-
inations, and Middle Tennessee is gathering into her lap contributions
from almost every State in the Union for the benefit of her educational
institutions.

We should probably be remiss in our duty not to repeat the truth
that immigrants would be warmly welcomed. In no portion of the
United States could they do better. Industry is here sure of its re-
■\vard. Thousands of acres of good land can be bought at reasonable
prices on the Highland and in the Basin. Much oT the land on the
Highlands is thin and unproductive, except for fruit, and may be bought
for two and three dollars per acre. AVherever a red subsoil on the
Highlands prevails, the surface soil is good. Many such spots occur in
basin-like depressions and constitute as valuable land as can be found
in the State.

The climate is equable and mild. Observations for twenty-one years
show that the temperature has not gone above 99°, while the lowest has
been 8° below zero. The mean summer temperature is 75° — annual
mean 58°. The average of low temperature for twenty-one years
is 2.6°. The number of days between killing frosts is 189, and
the average amount of rainfall forty-six inches. Winter rarely lasts
over seventy-five days, and snows, though occurring often during win-
ter, soon disappear. In general, the climate, on equal latitudes, is
two degrees hotter than in East Tennessee and two degrees cooler than
in West Tennessee. During many winters stock is able to subsist
throughout the season upon grasses and especially is this the case in
protected situations.

Mineral springs of excellent water are found scattered all over Mid-
dle Tennessee. The most noted are upon the Highlands and upon the
Cumberland Table Land. The spring region of Middle Tennessee is
becoming justly famous, not only on account of the water, but for
the beauty of the landscape and purity of the atmosphere. Especi-
ally is this the case with the portion upon the Table Land. The magic
influence of the mountain air and the healing virtues of the water,
impregnated as it is with salts of iron, have restored many a consump-

624 Resources of Tennessee.

tive to vigorous health and given fresh vitality to many a frame worn
out with over work and anxiety.

For minute details as to the agricultural features and geological for-
mations and industrial interests, the reader is referred to the descrip-
tions of the counties ffiven below.

BEDFORD COUNTY.

County Seat — Shelbyville.

Whether we regard the fertility of" the soil, the rural beauty of the
landscape, the abundance and variety of the timber, the excellence of
the streams, the high cultivation of the farms, the value of the live
stock, the diversity of the products, the high character of the schools,
the refinement, elegance and hospitality of the citizens, Bedford county
must be considered as entitled to a position hardly second to any in the
State. Erected by an act of the Legislature in 1807, and organized in
1808, it has always occupied a prominent place in the commonwealth.
When first organized, it included what is now Lincoln county, a por-
tion of Moore, Marshall, and Coffee counties. It has an area of about
475 square miles, or 300,000 acres, and is well watered by Duck River
and its tributaries. This stream flows nearly through the center of the
county, from east to west, and is fed from the north, reckoning from
the west, by Spring Creek, North Fork, Garrison Fork, with its trib-
utary, AVartrace Creek. Barren Fork may be considered the main
stream, but the name of Duck River is not applied until after its junc-
tion with Garrison Fork. From the south, beginning on the west,
there flow into it. Sinking Creek, Sugar Creek, Big Flat Creek,
Thompson's Creek, and many smaller streams. Duck River is the
great arterial current, and drains, with its tributaries, almost every foot
of land in the county. There is scarcely a farm upon which a bub-
bling sj)ring of pure limestone water does not rise, and after flowing
beside, or through green pastures, discharges its waters into some
tributary of Duck River.

The toj)ography of Bedford county is very simple. It presents in
the main, a gently rolling surface, with occasionally flat topped hills,
that rise to an elevation of two or three hundred feet. West of the
road that leads from Shelbyville to Murfreesboro, and north of Duck

Middle Tennessee. 625

River, the country is comparatively flat, east of this road it is undula-
ting, with h'nes of rounded hills. These hills are usually capped with
sandstone, and like the slopes and crests, are heavily wooded. The soil
is comminuted limestone and sandstone, with an intermingling of rich
black humus. It is exceedingly fertile, durable, and generous. South
of Duck Hiver, and running west as far as Sinking Creek, the surface
configuration continnes much the same, while west of Sinking Creek,
the hills rise much higher than anywhere else in the county. The ele-
vation of Gentry Hill is about 350 feet above the valley lands below,
and a description of this may serve as an illustration of the character
of all the hills in the county. This hill occupies, if reduced to a level
plain, about 100 acres. The ascent from the south is very gradual.
Beginning at a small tributary of Sinking Creek, we first pass
though a field, characterized by a large amount of yellowish angular
gravel, soil mulatto in color, and very friable. For three hundred
yards no large rocks are seen. After this, the limestone rocks in
ledges and "nigger heads" appear, with their steep faces beveled oif
by the accumulations of silty matter. The timber here is characteris-
tic— buckeye, sugar tree, ash, white oak, red oak, elm, and scalybark
hickory, with no underbrush, and very few grape vines. This growth
continues to the top, while the soil grows more sandy, and the shivery
masses of sandstone increase to the crest. On the east side are found
all the varieties of timber mentioned, with the addition of walnut
and black locust. Here, too, the underbrush of blackberry bushes,
matted in thick beds, elder and locust, obstruct the way, and this mass
thickens on the north. Blue-grass, which did not show itself on the
southern exposure, springs up in all the open places, the soil becomes of
a deeper red, which shades otF to a deep black on the north. On the
west side paw-paw bushes appear, and some of them are of great size.
On some of the neighboring hills they are found five and six inches in
diameter, and will make from two to four good rails.

From the top of the Gentry Hill, one of the finest views presents

itself to be had in the State ; a view in which the rural beauty of the

landscape is unexcelled. Looking towards the east, a smiling circular

valley, covered with cultivated fields and pastoral plains, spreads out

for a distance of twenty miles, and a like distance towards the north,

the minor hills disappearing when seen from this elevation. Farms

and farm-houses, villages, and belts of timber darkened with cedar, and

streams like threads of silver, enlivening the landscape, flowing

through ample pastures, whose green is flecked with herds of cattle
40

626 Resources of Tennessee.

and flocks of sheep — all the.«e may be seen at a glance. The whole
valley appears like an amphitheatre, enclosed with a cordon of gently
lising rounded hills. This hill is a type of all the higher elevations ia
the Central Basin.

Rocks, Soils, Timber. Situated, with the exception of the border on
the south and east, within the Great Central Basin of Tennessee, the
prevailing rocks are limestone, generally thinly bedded and flaggy
but with some fine building stones. The limestones belong to the
Nashville and Lebanon formations, limestones low in the geological
series. West of Shelbyville are quarries of excellent building stone.
That of which the pillars to the new court-house are made, and of
which the county jail is built, is of a deep blue, hard and compact. It
breaks with a smooth fracture, is comparatively free from fossil re-
mains, and is very durable. Two other varieties of an impure lime-
stone are found, called white rock, and sandstone or firerock, that
work easily, and will withstand the action of fire for a long while.
They do not readily burn into lime like the blue stone first mentioned.
Indeed, they are never used for that purpose. The white rock, found
in the north-west corner of the county, bears a good polish, and was
used for the caps to the lower columns of the court-house. It makes
a good appearance and is said to weather well. The sandstone, or fire-
rock so called, occurs in thick beds eight miles west of Shelbyville, and
is coarse, very soft and easily worked, but in thin slabs is flexible. It re-
sists the action of the weather, and is much used for gravestones, floors,
&c. It has the aspect of a sandstone but has no sand, or a very small
proportion in its composition. The sandstone proper, that covers the
knobs, is of but little value. There are several varieties of soils, dif-
fering in color and productive capacity. They may for convenience be
called the mulatto, the red and the black. The mulatto covers a
larger extent of surface, than either of the others. It is, indeed, the
characteristic soil of the county, and is the best for clover, wheat, oats,
sweet potatoes, and cotton. It has considerable tenacity, is stiffer than
the red or black, and upon it a stand of grass or clover is much more
easily obtained. The native growth upon this is ash, poplar, walnut,
butternut, elm, buckeye, sugar tree, several kinds of oaks, hickory,
beech, linden, box elder, slippery elm, red bud, sumac, dogwood,
and black gum. The prevailing timber, however, is sugar tree, ash,
poplar, and beech. The ash timber is as fine as can be found in the
State, and is very abundant. Ash trees may be found six feet in
diameter, also white oaks of the same size. Black walnut is growing

Middle Tennessee, 627

scarce, but was once ])lentifal. So much for the native growth of the
muhitto soil. When cleared up and put in cultivation, the average
yield of crops per acre, is of wheat from fifteen to twenty bushels, of
corn forty bushels, of sweet potatoes seventy-five bushels, and of
cotton about 700 [)ounds. Fortunately for the appearance of the
county there is very little cotton grown. The very best yield,
however, goes far above these averages. Good farmers often make
thirty-five bushels of wheat, sixty-five to seventy-five of corn. Tim-
othy takes kindly to the mulatto soil, and yields from one and a
half to two tons per acre. Among the annuals, Hungarian grass, and
Oerraan millet, do best on this soil, and the yield is sometimes as high
as three tons per acre, and even more. Of all the soils in the county,
it is considered the most reliable for clover, a better stand being se-
cured on it, than on either of the other varieties. Formerly hemp was
raised in the eastern })art of the county, but mostly on the black soils.
The red soil is confined mainly to the Cedar belt. This belt lies, for
the most part, on the north side of Duck River. It begins at a point
near Wartrace, and extends in an irregular arc as far as Fishing Ford,
on Duck River, and from this point bends southwardly, crosses Duck
River, and terminates a few miles north of Richmond. The cedar
timber covers about ninety square miles. At least two-thirds of the
farms in the county are supplied with rails from this cedar forest,
which has been considerably thinned out in places, but timber enough
yet remains to supply the demands of the county for many generations,
if economically used. The young cedars that spring up grow very
rapidly after the larger trees are cut out, and will attain a size large
enough for rails in forty years, which is not more than the average
duration of a good cedar fence. In some spots the cedar trees stand
very thickly upon the land, and many of them are from fifty to seventy
feet in height, and from three to three and a half feet in diameter.
The largest trees are not the best however. The best timber is ob-
tained from trees varying from fifteen to twenty inches in diameter.
The timber from an acre of the best cedars, will sell for one hundred
dollars, standing in the woods. The red soil is well adapted to the
growth of wheat, cotton, oats, and sweet potatoes. It is not so good
for corn as the mulatto. The black soil may be subdivided into alluvial
and hill-side. The former is upon all the streams, and in the supply
of plant food, much surpasses any in the county. It is the best soil for
corn and hemp, making by far the largest yields. It also grows hay
and grasses of all kinds very luxuriantly, but it is sometimes difficult

628 Resources of Tennessee.

on account of its friable nature, to secure a good stand. The freezes also
produce upheavals of the soil, which throw these plants, whose ft)ots
lie near the surfiice, entirely out of the ground. These alluvial bot-
toms are not suited to wheat. The straw grows too rank, and is
liable to rust. Neither does it suit clover so well as the mulatto and
red. The great difficulty is not in the lack of fertility, but in getting
a stand. It is quite possible that the land might be benefited by
tramping, rolling, or in some other way compacting the soil. It usually
has a large quantity of intermingling gravel, and is very easy to culti-
vate. The black soil on the hill-sides is composed of comminuted an-,
gular gravel, imbedded in black humus. It abounds on the north
slopes of all the hills, and is considered very productive and valuable.

Farms, Stock, Blue-grass and Meadov'S. In no county in the State
are the farms in better condition than in Bedford. The fences are
, usually made of cedar rails, and are well kept up. In going through
the county one will scarcely see a bad fence, an old lield, or an impene-
trable thicket in the fence corners. The farm houses, though not ele-
gant, are neat and comfortable, and wdiile the stables and barns might
be made in many cases more sightly objects, they will compare favorably
with those seen in the best counties in the State. The price of farms
may be considered high. Ordinary farms, w'ithin five or six miles of
the county seat, range from thirty to thirty-five dollars per acre. Good
farms well improved are worth from fifty to one hundred dollars per
acre, and even higher than this near the county seat. This high price
is to be attributed to the fact, that the farmers not raising cotton, have
opportunities to keep their farms in a high state of cultivation. Gul-
lies are not suffered to wash, nor noxious weeds and briers to grow^
while the enclosures art* of a durable nature, and the expense of fenc- "
ing greatly diminished. It may be mentioned also, that stock-raising,
being the chief business of the farmers, labor is relatively in greater
supj)ly and is more effective than in the cotton growing districts.
Bedford is pre-emiently a stock-growing county, and a large belt of
land suitable for blue-grass, makes that branch of farming very pro-
fitable. This grass grows spontaneously in a great portion of the
county. Beginning a few miles west of the Murfreesboro pike, the
blue-grass belt extends eastward nearly to the Coffee county line, then
sweeps southward and embraces nearly all the county south of Duck
River, extending westward a little beyond Richmond, and northward
from that point until it strikes the cedar belt. The entire blue-gras»
area eml)races 150,000 acres, or about one-half of the county. Within

Middle Tennessee, 629

this area, however, are many rocky ledges and glady spots which grow
it but sparingly, and where it soon perishes under the blasting rays
of a summer's sun. The amount of lands suited to meadows is also
considerable. The great number of streams that thread the county,
pass through many rieli low bottoms, that can be irrigated at a small
cost. As has already been said, it is sometimes difficult to secure a
staud of timothy, but herds-grass does well and yields hay in satis-
factory quantities. The lands adapted to meadows, may be said to
l)egin along the railroad near Bellbuckle and Wartrace, and extend
Avest approaching Shelbyville, and continuing to the western boundary
of the county. It is estimated that there are at least 75,000 acres of
good meadow land in the county, and with proper attention, hay
enough might be made not only to supply the county, but give a very
handsome income to the formers. On some of this meadow land tim-
othy grows as high as a man's head. Some of the bottoms are "craw-
fishy," but when exposed to the sun and deeply plowed, they warm up
and grow grass and hay luxuriantly. In reference to the hay and
grass crops of the county, Mr. Shoffner, an intelligent farmer, in a
communication, says:

Our soils are better adapted to the raising of grasses than any other crop,
While it is necessary in the States north of us to manure their meadows in
order to ensure a good hay crop, I have never known one to be manured
in this county, except from the droppings of the stock. The grass grows
protii.eely without any top dressing. 1 have known meadows to remain in
grass lor twenty years without any change, and they would produce satis-
factory yields of hay throughout the whole period. There is not an acre of
Boil in the county that will not produce some species of grass to perfection,
while there are some soils that will not produce any other crop. As an illus-
tration of this fact I need only mention that my father owned a meaiiow (a
low marshy spot) which produced enormous quantities of hay, but becom-
ing, after a lapse of time, infested with weeds, he plowed it up and planted
it in corn. The corn yielded comparatively nothing. It was again put to
meadow, and yielded bouncifully. The grass sown was herds-grass. I have
often known the seeds of this grass to be sown without breaking the land,
and make fine meadows. I would say, in this connection, that while herds-
grass seeks the low marshy land, timothy, clover, blue gra.ss and orchard
grass prefer the higher and drier lands. Clover, while e.xcellent for graz-
ing, stands with us in the front rank as a meadow grass. It can always be
mowed twice a year, and .sonaelimes, in a good growing season, three times.
There i.s, probably, ten limes as much clover used, for the making of hay, as
there was twenty years ago. Our best sods will produce from two to two
and a half tons per acre, and if properly manured, would produce three
tons. As to the number of animals, cattle, and horses, that an acre of Blue-
gra.ss will sustain through the spring and fall, I am not very well advi.«ed,
having made no experiments in that way, but according to the best infor-
mation that I can procure from others, as well as the lesults of my own

630 Resowces of Tennessee.

practice, I think that two acres for three head would probably oe about
(•orrect.

It may be added that the worst enemy to meadows is the broom-
sedge, and farmers are often compelled to plow them up on account of
its inroads. Cotton is mainly grown in the north-west part of the
county, the amount of production for the year 1873, was 2,338 bales.
Eleven gins are in the county, which will average 200 bales each.
Hogs, mules, cattle, and sheep claim the attention of a large majority
of the farmers.

The Hog Product. This is very large, perhaps as large in propor-
tion to area, as any county in the State. It stood fifth in 1870,' Maury,
Lincoln, Wilson, Giles, and Williamson, ranking it. The favorite
breed is the Berkshire, crossed upon the native hog. The latter gives
size, while the former gives quickness of growth. One farmer who
has 166 acres of land, gave as his hog crop, eighty-five hogs, averag-
ing 350 pounds each, and others are reported as having done better
than this. The value of the hog crop at present will probably reach
1550,000.

Mules. Almost every farmer in the county raises more or less mules,
and many of them raise them for export. Droves are bought up and
carried away every year. The cost of raising mules is very little.
They feed upon the blue-grass during spring, autumn, and a good part
of the winter. During the hottest months, they are turned upon clover
])astures, and upon the newly mown meadows, after the hay has been
harvested. They require to be fed on corn and hay, for about two or
three months, the time being longer or shorter in proportion to the
severity of the winter.

Horses. The character of the horses is much the same as that found
in the other counties of Middle Tennessee. The blood of many of
them has been enriched by importations from Kentucky, Davidson
county and other points. Horses are much used for riding. Almost
all classes in the country, men, women, and children, ride horseback.
Buggies are less used by farmers than in many of the other counties.

Cattle. Since the war many fine short-horn bulls have been im-
ported, and crossed u})on the native breeds. The graded cattle are pre-
ferred for milkers. No county in the State offers more natural facili-
ties for engaging in dairy farming. The numerous streams and spark-
ling springs, that are seen almost everywhere, as well as the rich
meadow land, invite the farmer to this special department of agricul-

Middle Tennessee. 63 1

ture. In natural facilities it surpasses the Herkimer district of New
York, and the time of green grass by reason oF climate is prolonged
at least six weeks. There is no good reason why Bedford county may
not become as famous for its butter and cheese, as any part of the
United States. '

Sheep. Almost every farmer has a small flock of sheep. The Cots-
wold has been introduced by various persons, and almost all the flocks
are more or less intermixed with this breed. Good mutton is common
and cheap, and the cost of keeping sheep is inconsiderable. The num-
lier killed by dogs is variously estimated at from twenty-five to thirty-
three per cent., and great complaint is made that our Legislature has
done nothing to eradicate this evil, by levying a tax upon dogs.

The farms in Bedford covmty will average between fifty and one
hundred acres. The number returned by the census taker is 1,667,
and only one reported over 500 acres. They are well worked and well
cared for. The best farmers subsoil with a bull-tongue plow, after a
two-horse turning plow, going to the depth of ten or twelve inches.
Fewer badly cultivated crops are seen than in any other county in the
State. Indeed, the examjxle which the farmers of Bedford have set in
this particular, might be imitated with profit by all the counties. Very
few overcrop themselves. The soil is well prepared for the planting
by deep and frequent plowings, and the yield always proves remuner-
ative. As a consequence, the farmers are usually contented, and very
few desire to remove from the county, except such as desire to procure
land in larger bodies for their children.

Fruit. Apples, peaches, plums, and pears are raised. Peaches often
fail, but one year with another, do probably better than other fruit.
But few experiments have been made with the grape, but these have
proved satisfactory. John R. Eakin, now of Arkansas, planted a
vineyard near Wartrace, and took a premium in 1858, at the exhibi-
tion of the United States Agricultural Society, held in Louisville. He
planted the Catawba and Isabella, which soon ])roved worthless. Ives'
Seedling, Concord, Norton's Virginia, and Rogers Nos. 1, 2, 3 and 4,
are being set out by various persons. The great amount of loose, rich,
rocky and well drained soil, together with the gentle slopes, would in-
dicate a brilliant future for this county in the growing of this delight-
ful fruit. There are five or six small nurseries in the county, and
many new orchards are being set out.

Labor. Labor is not hired usually throughout the year, as in the

632 Resources of Tennessee.

cotton-growing and tobacco-growing districts of the State, bnt usually
from the first of March to the 4th of July, which is called the crop
season. Good hands can be be hired at prices ranging from ten to
twenty dollars per month and board. It is unusual for farmers to put
out their land for part of the crop, though it is sometimes done. The
want of this habit may in some degree account for the good condition
of the farms. Land rents for four and five dollars per acre. When
rented for a portion of the crops, one-third, sometimes two-fifths, and
near the county seat, one-half is given to the landowner. In the rais-
ing of wheat, if the landowner furnishes the seed, he gets half, but if
the renter furnishes the seed, he pays only one-third.

Mills, Wheat, and Lumber. Mills are abundant and excellent. Duck
River furnishes fine water-power, and thirteen grist mills are found
upon it and its tributaries. In addition to water mills, there are some
excellent steam mills, one of which has a capacity of eighty barrels
per day, and another fifty. The wheat crops of the county keep these
mills running for a good portion of tli« year, though supplies of wheat,
are .drawn from Marshall and other counties surrounding, and a good
deal is brought to the city mill by railroad^ An amber wheat, called
the Walker wheat, appears to be the favorite. It does not produce so
abundantly as many other varieties, but it is plump, makes a fine yield
of flour, and is reliable. The Mediterranean is the best for thin soils,
and will make a respectable yield when all the other varieties fail.
Saw mills are scattered all over the county. Poplar lumber is worth
at the mills, $15 per thousand. Cedar from $20 to $25. A great
many cedar shingles are made. They sell from $5 to $7 per thousand.
Boards of white oak and black oak, are worth from 60 cents to $1.25
per hundred, according to length. One dollar per hundred is paid for
making rails. Cedar rails in the cedar brakes sell for two and three
dollars per hundred; delivered on the farms, from $5 to $7, according
to distance hauled, character of roads, &c.

Factories. On Duck River, just below the town of Shelby ville,
there is a cotton factory in successful operation. It has fifty looms,
1,616 spindles, and employs about forty operatives. It is understood
that the net profits will amount to fifteen per cent, on the capital stock.
There are several planing mills in operation, at which blinds, sash
and door shutters are made. There is also an establishment for mak-
ing axe helves.

Domestic Mamifactui-e. There is some contrariety of opinion as to the
quantity of domestic manufacture. It is estimated by some gentle-

Middle Tennessee. 633

men, that fully one-third of the every -day wear is homespun. The
census reports give the value of home manufactures of this county at
^30,126. This would show about half the amount of Lincoln county,
where the value was $60,540, not one-third as much as De Kalb, which
is put down $105,421. In Bedford, the value of home manufacture
was about $1.23 for each inhabitant; in Lincoln $2.16; in De Kalb
over $9. From this it would appear that thirty-three per cent, would
be a high estimate for those who wear home spun unless it is brought
to the county from other points.

Smaller Industries. The number of eggs annually shipped from the
county is enormous. Daring the first week of February, 1874, there
were 'shipped from Shelbyville alone, 4,780 dozen. The same week
the following articles appear among the shipments : 246 pounds of but-
ter, 631 pounds dressed poultry, fifty live turkeys, besides one coop,
number not given, four barrels of onions, nine barrels of onion sets,
and $100 worth of furs. Almost every farmer has a few hives of bees
and some few as many as fifty or one hundred hives. But little atten-
tion is given to improved hives— the gums are either made of plank
or are s^awed off from the trunk of a hollow tree. White clover is a
very common growth throughout the county and the bees have a large
supply of food.

Transportation Facilities. The Nashville and Chattanooga Railroad
has a branch leading from Wartrace to Shelbyville, eight miles long.
The main line passes through the eastern border of the county. In
addition to the railroad, Duck River has been used for the transporta-
tion of lumber. Some rafts of cedar are yet sent to Paduach, Mem-
phis, New Orleans and intermediate points on the Tennessee River by
means of this stream. There are also eight macadamized roads, seven
of them leading to the county seat. Many of them are badly in need
of repairs and can scarcely be called macadamized roads. The dirt
roads are execrable, and for a county so blessed with fertile soils, so
rich in all the resources of a vigorous and elevated civilization, are
simply disgraceful. In winter it is not unusual for the wheels of a
buggy to sink so deep in the stiff, tenacious mud and sloughs that a
single horse is incapable of pulling it out.

Seliooh. For the year 1873, Bedford county levied a tax of ten
cents on the hundred dollars for the maintenance of public schools.
During the fall and winter of the same year, 100 public schools were
kept in operation for four months. The average amount paid teachers

634 Resources of Tennessee.

was thirty-nine dollars per mouth. The number of enrolled scholars,
5,039. The public graded school in Shelbyville has 300 students en-
rolled, with an average attendance of 275. It is conducted on the
graded system, and has been able, with the assistance derived from the
Peabody fund, to keep in operation ten months in the year. The sys-
tem of rules and regulations adopted is such as to make the school a
model of discipline. In addition to the studies prescribed in the school
law, a preparatory course of the ancient languages and mathematics is
taught. The county superintendent is John R. Dean. The Shelby-
ville Female Institute is of high standing, and is presided over by men
of great intelligence and learning. To show the disposition of the
people of the Shelbyville district in regard to public schools, it is
enough to mention that at a recent election in which it was proposed
to tax the district twenty cents additional on the hundred dollars, there
were 380 votes cast for the tax and thirteen against it.

Agricultural Afisooiaiions. The Bedford County Agricultural and
Mechanical Association have erected fair grounds just without the cor-
porate limits of Shelbyville. The buildings will compare favorably
with any in the State, and the number and excellence of the articles
exhibited show that Bedford county has quite a diversified industry.
A farmers' club has been in existence for several years, and has done
much to develop thought and to induce thrift amongst the farmers of
the county. Several granges have recently been established, and the
order of the Patrons of Husbandry is making quite a favorable im-
pression throughout the county. The debt of the county in February,
1874, was about $17,000, principally contracted in the building of a
court-house. Bonds were issued for the amount of indebtedness and a
small tax levied to pay them. The county poor-house is a miserable
affair, and unworthy the elevated character of the citizens. It has
about an average of ten inmates, but the appropriation for its susten-
ance is inadequate and parsimonious.

Tovms and Villages. The incorporated towns in Bedford county,
are Shelbyville, Wartrace, Bcllbucklc, Unionville, Richmond and
Flat Creek, having populations in the order named of 3,500, 200, 150,
300, 100 and 200. The three first named have railroad facilities.
The other villages are Normandy, Fairfield, Palmetto, Hawthorne,
Rover, Fall Creek, Haley's Station and Bedford. Those upon the
railroads, Normandy and Haley's Station, are good shipping points.
Shell)yville is by far the largest town in the county. It is situated at
the terminus of the Shelbyville Branch of the Nashville and Chatta-

Middle Tennessee. 635

uooga Railroad, and on the north side of Duck River. In addition to
the population within the corporate limits, it has a suburban popula-
tion of four hundred. The public buildings are of the best character*
TJie court-house, erected at a cost of about $90,000, is a model of
taste and propriety. It is one of the most correct and convenient pub-
lic buildings in the State. The principal court room is forty by ninety
i^^i, County Court room twenty by forty, and one of the same size for
the Chancery Court. Besides, there are four jury rooms, six offices,
and eight basement rooms. The whole building, including porches, is
120 feet long and 91 feet wide. It is two stories in height. The pil-
lars for the lower porches are of blue limestone, square and in Ashler
masonry. Those above are cast iron, and Corinthian in style. The
latter are twenty in number. The building is surmounted by an ele-
gant cupola, containing a clock and bell that cost $1,500. The people
of Shelby vi lie are justly proud of this structure, so elegant in design,
and so appropriate for the purposes for which it was designed. There
are twenty-five commercial estal)lishments in Shelbyville doing business
to the amount of $500,000. There is also a pork-house that has been
operating for two years, slaughtering 9,000 hogs annually that aver-
aged two hundred and fifty pounds each, gross. A carriage shop is
in operation that employs nine hands, and does a business amounting
to $15,000 annually. Besides these there is a tannery, with a business
of $10,000, also a marble yard doing $5,000 worth of business. There
are two hotels, twenty-two lawyers, six doctors, and three trade and
livery stables. The city mills turn out a very superior article of
flour, making, annually, about 8,000 barrels, and this besides custom-
grinding. Another mill, six miles from Shelbyville, manufactures
about 5,500 barrels of flour annually. Over 70,000 bushels of wheat
are ground annually at these mills, and they do a business, in flour and
meal, amounting to over $100,000. There are two newspapers ])nb-
lishcd in Shelbyville, the Commercial and the Gazette. The religious
denominations are represented by two Presbyterian churches, two
Methodist, one Baptist, one Episcopalian, one Christian, and one Roman
Catholic. Sunday schools are conducted in most of them. Of Shel-
byville, it may be said generally, that the people are public spirited,
moral, intelligent, but not so enterprising as those in some other towns*
in the State; the buildings do not display, with the exception of the
court-house, any architectural beauty ; the streets are rough and the
sidewalks uneven, paved sometimes Avith flagging stones, and some-
times with brick, and in the latter case more than half the brick are

636 Resources of Teniiessee.

usually missing. But few new houses go up. Some of the residences
are comfortable and neat, and have tasteful yards, ornamented with
evergreen shrubs, beautiful and rare flowers, and above all, with a rich
sward of blue-grass. The society of Shelbyville is highly cultivated
and refined. It would be difficult to find a greater number of intelli-
gent persons in any town of the same size in the State. The princely
hospitality of the citizens, and the imperial fascinations of the ladies,
always make a favorable impression upon the stranger. The charac-
ter of the people in the country is very much the same as in town.
They have leisure for improvement. They do not raise cotton, but in
its place are found fat stock, rich, green meadows, bulky stacks, neat
dwellings, commodious stables, clean fence corners, abundant leisure,
smiling faces and contented hearts. Owners of farms are free from the
corroding cares, the ceaseless complainings and bickerings, the eternal
worry and constant dread lest the rains or the boll worm, or some
other calamity, fall upon the crop and ruin them. Enterprise is needed.
A fresh stimulus is demanded. Old ways are too numerous, and old
ruts are adhered to too closely. Capitalists are more disposed to buy
notes than to establish manufactories. Something that will change
investment into the last-named enterprises would give a wonderful
impulse to the material interests of the county. With a proper
degree of industrial activity it would be, if not the most desirable, at
least one of the most desirable counties in the State to live in. A
home market which manufactories would establish, would greatly bene-
fit the farmers.

Statistics. The population of the county in 1870 was 24,333, of
which 6,484 were colored. In 1830 the population was over 30,000,
which was reduced, from various causes, to 20,546 in 1840. In this
decade, also, Marshall county was erected, and a considerable por-
tion of Bedford was taken off for that county. Since that time it has
been gradually increasing, but not so fast as the excess of births over
deaths should ensure. Visions of wealth in new countries have de-
coyed many of the best citizens from the county, but some of them,
after the lapse of a few years, return. There has been more emigration
from the county than immigration to it, a fact difficult to account for
in any other way than that the high price of land deters immigrants.
There is scarcely a county in the State in which a respectable living
can be made with so little labor. The scholastic population numbers
7,483. The voting population in 1871 was 4,113; 3,315 white, and
798 colored.

Middle Tennessee. 637

CANNON COUNTY.

County Seat — Woodbury.

Cannon county was organized in the year 183G, and was named in
honor of Governor Cannon. But few counties in the State have a more
varied beauty of scenery than Cannon. Traversed from east to west
by the sparlvling, rapid waters of Stone's River, with numerous tribu-
taries flowing into it from the north and from the south, with high
rounded forest-covered hills between, while valleys as green and soils
as fertile as may be found on the American continent lie sleeping in
quiet repose by the bubbling streams, resonant and joyous as they
dance in circling eddies and playful plunges over pebbly shoals, it
would be difficult to find any s])ot so suited for retirement from the
noise and confusion and distracting occupations of metropolitan life.

Boundary, Topography and Streams. The county is bounded by
Wilson and Smith on the north, by Warren and DeKalb on the east, by
Coffee on the south, and Rutherford on the west. It embraces about
420 square miles. More than half of this county lies in the Central
Basin, and the remainder, or eastern and southern edge, on the High-
land Rim. Spurs shoot out from the Highlands into the valley, one
of wdiich, in the northern part of the county, extends nearly through
it, from east to west, and forms the w\ater-shed between the streams
that enter directly into the Cumberland, and those which flow in an
opposite direction into Stone's River. From the north, beginning on
the east. Stone's River is fed by Roekhouse, Carpent?r's, Rush and Lock
creeks; from the south. Hill's Creek, Hollis' Creek and Brawley's
Fork, the latter having several tributaries known as Espy's Cave, Horse
Spring Fork and Burgess Creek, the three making Carson's Fork,
which empties into Brawley's Fork, one-half mile south of the
Woodbury and Murfreesboro Turnpike, and the latter into Stone's
River, five miles west of the county seat. Other streams issue from
the dividing ridge, which we have mentioned, and flow north. Among
these are Clear Fork, Sycamore, Hurricane, Saunder's Fork, and Mar-
shall's Creek. Barren Fork of Collins River, rises on the Highlands,
which form the eastern edge of the county, and flows east into Warren
coimty. Nearly all these streams supply good water-power. Stone's
River, by reason of its swiftness and constancy, and volume of water
is especially suited for milling purposes. On it, within a few miles of
Woodbury, are four large flouring mills, with capacities of grinding

638 Resources of Tennesee.

from 250 to 7('0 bushels of wheat daily. Corn mills are located upon
nearly every stream mentioned. From Espy's Cave a stream of water
issues in sufficient volume to drive a mill. It bursts out at a consider-
able height above the valley, and a mill, for many years, has been in
operation at a point only twenty yards distant from the mouth of the
cave. There is, probably, no county in the State which has more use-
ful water-power.

8oih, Timber and Crops. The soils, on the Highlands, are light
colored, sometimes of a pale yellow, often blue and occasionally red.
These soils, for the most part, are thin and unproductive, occupying
level areas, and covered with a rank barren grass which affords good
summer grazing. Fruits, herds-grass and tobacco grow well upon the
Highlands, but these soils are not well suited for general farming.
Neither corn, nor wheat, cotton, nor clover will grow or yield remu-
neratively They are of the same character as those described in Lewis
and Lawrence counties, and while the surface of the country is pleas-
ing to the eye, the soils are almost always deceptive. As a conse-
quence, these lands are elieap. Unimproved lands, in this part of the
county, can be bought for one dollar per acre ; improved five dollars.
Passing from the Highlands eastwardly, we descend a long slope and
enter the knobby region of the Central Basin. These knobs cover by
far the larger part of the county, and are usually fertile to the top.
Limestone crops out in such abundance as to render much of the sur-
face unprofitable for cultivation. The character of the country, as one
descends into the Basin, changes entirely. The timber of the High-
lands, which usually consists of black jack, chestnut and red oak, is
here replaced by poplar, walnut, while oak, sugar tree, ash, beech, red
elm, hackberry, buckeye and cherry. Nor docs the timber differ less
than the grasses and crops. All over the slopes and tops of these swell-
ing hills blue grass springs up, and even upon the glady places, it
grows with vigor between the interstices of the rocks, and furnishes a
rich pasturage. The crops of corn and wheat, by the luxuriance of
their growth, show a soil rich in ])lant food. The rocks are limestone,
and even the pebbles have a character entirely different. Nearly all
the lands, in this portion of the county, are enclosed. The knobby
lands will yield from thirty to thirty-five bushels of corn per acre, of
wheat from ten to twelve bushels, and hay from one to two tons.
Clover grows remarkably well. The price of such lands, improved and
unimproved, varies from ten to twenty-five dollars per acre. It is es-
timated that at least one-fourth of the county is embraced in the creek

Middle Tennessee. 639

basins. The soil of these bottoms is rich, loamy and pebbly, easily
worked and highly productive. They are esteemed of great value,
and rate from thirty to seventy dollars per acre. Nearly the whole of
this valley land is in cultivation.

The crops are corn, wheat, hay and clover. Some cotton is raised
in the western end of the county, but it is by no means a general crop.
With good cultivation, sixty bushels of corn, twenty bushels of wheat,
and two tons of hay are considered ordinary crops. Great attention is
paid to the sowing of clover, and no farmer deserving the name fails to
have a considerable part of his farm given to clover every year. The
consequence is, there are no abandoned old fields to be seen. Scarcely
an acre of land has beeu turned out. Gullies are scarce, though the
land is rolling. In no county in the State do the farmers pay more
attention to the preservation of the soil. In this respect it very much
resembles Bedford county. Stock raising in Cannon, as in Bedford, is
the main pursuit of the farmers, and, as in Bedford, their farms are in
good condition and command a high price. No two counties could be
more alike in soils, in the habits of the people, the character of the
houses, and the configuration of the surface. Stone's River answers to
Duck River. A small portion of the Highlands is included in each.
The greatest observable difference is in the fencing. In Bedford the
fences are almost wholly of cedar, but only partly so in Cannon. Bed-
ford has cedar forests of large extent ; Cannon has a very limited sup-
ply of cedar timber. That used in the county is obtained from Ruth-
erford. Fine stock is raised in both counties, and no better idea can
be given of the soils and the crops, the stock and the people, than that
which we have already given in the description of Bedford county.
The latter county is not so knobby, and it has the benefit of a railroad,
which Cannon has not. With these differences pointed out, the reader
is referred to Bedford county for prices of labor, rents, conditions of
contracts, etc.

JRoacls and Towns. Cannon has but few good roads. The Murfrees-
boro and Woodbury Turnpike is the longest macadamized road in the
county, passing over about eight miles. There is also one leading from
Auburn to Murfreesboro, and another from Bradyville to the same
point. Woodbury, the county seat, nestles in the lovely valley of
Stone's River, and is surrounded by a series of beautifully rounded
eminences. The scenery around the town is lovely and grand, without
being startling. Beautiful farms and comfortable farm houses are seen
towards the west, the cultivated fields climbing sometimes to the tops

640 Resources of Tennessee,

of the rounded hills. The bright flashes of running streams enliven the
landscape. Springs of perennial flow break out from the bases of the
numerous hills, and supply good water in great abundance. Yet,
despite all the natural beauty of the surroundings, Woodbury has a
sleepy appearance. No manufacturing establishments give life to the
place. A court house, seven dry goods stores, two drug stores, three
gro(;eries, two blacksmith shops, one carriage shop, two saddlery es-
tablishments, and the usual number of lawyers' offices and doctors'
shops comprise the business portion of the place. It has a po]5ulation
of about 500. There are three churches, one Methodist, one Baptist,
and one Christian. The Presbyterians hold worship in the u])per story
of the court house. School facilities are very good. The Woodbury
Press, a weekly paper, is published here. Bradyville, in the southern
part of the county, Auburn in the north, and Mechanicsville in the
east, are all post villages, with two or three stores each. The county
has a poor house, with 150 acres of land attached, within two miles of
the county seat. It usually has from ten to twenty inmates.

General Observations. The population of Cannon county in 1870,
was 10,502, of which 927, or less than one-tenth, were colored. The
citizens are industrious and energetic, but not enterprising. They pre-
fer the old way because they believe it to be the sure way. They are
greatly attached to the county, and emigration to other states is very
rare. They would like to have additions to their population, though
labor is sufficiently abundant and cheap. The county is free from debt,
and jury tickets are at par. Infractions of the law are not common.
Ease, peace and plenty characterize the county. Economy is the ruling
trait of the citizens, and they mingle with their labors many of the
pleasures of life. The streams abound in fish of delightful flavor, and
the woods with various kinds of game. Hunting and fishing form the
recreation of almost every class. Simplicity and honesty, intelligence
and virtue characterize the citizens. Desirous of a competency, but
unambitious of great wealth, they probably come as near as any people
in the State to occupying that condition which DeQuincy says is the
most favorable for happiness — not so poor as to require unremitting
toil, nor so rich as to make labor unnecessary. Nearly every farmer
works himself, saves his earnings, and invests them in his own county.
For this reason, land is higher in Cannon county than in Davidson.
In the latter county there are so many o|)j)()rtunities for investments
that land is a drug on the market. In Cannon, land is considered, if
not the most profitable, at least the safest investment. There is but

Middle Tennessee. 641

little good land for sale, and when it is offered, there are always a num-
ber of eager competitors. The nearest railroad is the Nashville and
Chattanooga, twenty miles from the county seat, and by this all the
surplus produce is shipped. Stock is driven south on foot — mules,
horses and cattle. Sheep raising is almost unknown, though there are
but few localities where this business could be carried on more profit-
ably, if protected by law. The farmers greatly complain that the law-
makers have failed to give any protection to this branch of farming.
On every farm dogs can be seen prowling about, but sheep, one of
the most useful of all the domestic animals, are rarely met with. The
blue-grass that clothes the rolling hills in such beautiful green, would
sustain thousands of flocks, and increase the profits of the farmers
largely, but experience has taught them that any attempt at sheep
breeding, in the absence of a dog law, is the extreme of folly.

CHEATHAM COUNTY.

County Seat — Ashland.

Cheatham county was established by act of the Legislature passed
February 28, 1856. Its territory was taken from the counties of
Davidson, Robertson and Montgomery, and by the act of the last
Legislature a very small portion of Dickson county has been attached
to it. It is bounded by the above counties and also by the county of
Williamson. The Cumberland River runs through the county in a
westerly direction, dividing it into two nearly equal parts.

Towns. Ashland City, the county seat, is situated on the north bank
of Cumberland River, about one mile above the head of Harpeth
Shoals. It contains about 250 inhabitants. It has one church, a Masonic
hall, and the usual county buildings. The court-house is justly the
pride of the citizens of the county. During the past scholastic year the
town had three public schools, two white and one colored. There are three
dry-goods stores, in all of which groceries and family supplies are kept;
one shoe and boot store, in connection with faniily groceries; with
blacksmith, shoe and boot maker, cooper, saddler, &c., and three drink-
ing saloons. There is a tobacco establishment for putting up tobacco
in hogsheads, from which about 200 hogsheads are shipped to Clarks-
ville, Tennessee, annually. Also one establishment for the manufac-
ture of chewing tobacco. Sycamore, about four miles north of Ash-
land, is a flourishing manufacturing village with a population larger
than that of Ashland City.
41

642 Resources of Tennessee.

Pegram's Station, Kings) «^n Springs and Craggie Hope are small
villages on the Nashville and Northwestern Railroad. All do a small
trade in dry-goods and family groceries. Thomasville, on the Nash-
ville and Clarksville Pike, has one store and a tobacco establishment,
where several hundred hogsheads are put up annually.

For the most part, the face of the county is hilly. Adjoining Rob-
ertson and Montgomery counties, the hill land is quite productive,
yielding well corn, wheat, oats and tobacco; while the valleys con-
tiguous to the Sycamore, Half Pone and Barton's creeks, are rich and
produce fine crops. The Davidson portion on the north side of the
river is mostly broken and the hill land valuable only for the timber.
The Marrowbone Creek bottoms are not as productive as those on the
streams already mentioned. On the south side of Cumberland, the land
on Harpeth River is exceedingly fertile, and on Sam's and Brush creeks
is good. The greater portion of the county on the south side is hilly
and almost mountainous. Half Pone, Barton and Marrowbone
creeks on the north side of the Cumberland River are not valuable for
milling purposes, not furnishing a sufficient quantity of water in the
summer season. Sycamore Creek, also on the north side of the Cum-
berland River, afiords a much better and more constant supply of
water. This stream runs deeply below the general level of the country;
its average depth being 140 feet. Its course is very winding. From
its source in Sumner county, to its mouth on the Cumberland River, at
Harpeth Shoals, it runs a distance of some sixty miles. It falls rap-
idly and affords many valuable mill sites. Harpeth River and its
tributaries on the south side of the Cumberland, have valuable water-
power. On Harpeth is a very valuable one, known as the " Narrows
of Harpeth." It is made by cutting across the very narrow neck of a
bend in this stream, seven miles in its circuit. This is the site of the
formerly celebrated iron works of Montgomery Bell.

Hill land unimproved, sells from three to five dollars per acre. Im-
proved land can be bought at from ten to fifty dollars per acre.
Farms are generally in worse condition than they were before the war.
The average yield of wheat per acre is ten bushels. No cotton is
raised and very few peanuts. Corn will average about twenty-five
bushels to the acre. About five per cent, of the cleared land has be-
come waste, exhausted by a succession of corn crops and bad cultiva-
tion. The average size of farms, cleared land, is about thirty acres.
There has been but little attention paid to the raising of stock in the
county, and hitherto the money crops have been most profitable. The

Middle Ten7iessee. 643

soils on the rivers and creeks are well adapted to the raising of herds-
grass, though clover has mostly been sown as a renovator.

Turning plows have been almost exclusively used for breaking up
as well as cultivating crops, but of late there has been a gradual intro-
duction of shovel plows for the latter purpose. Farm stock is
as varied as the tastes and fancies of the farmers ; mules, horses and
oxen being indiscriminately used. Labor is rather scarce, and is gen-
erally paid for in money. The usual terms when part of the crop is
given, is for the land-owner to furnish the land, stock and provision
for stock, and implements, and divide equally. Farm hands get from
twelve to fifteen dollars and board per month ; factory hands one dol-
lar to two dollars per day without board. Land generally rents for
one-third the produce for grain crops. There is a great deal of un-
improved land for sale in the county. Farm products are shipped
to Nashville and Clarksville by river, and to Nashville in part
by the Nashville and Northwestern Railroad, which is the only rail-
road passing through any portion of our county, and that only through
one corner. Stock, as a general thing, is rather common. Some are,
however, introducing a few Essex, Berkshire and Chester hogs, and as
a consequence marked improvements are noticeable in the increased
amount of pork annually slaughtered. Sheep are not generally raised.
The people are not sufficiently prepared with pasture land for their
accommodation, and to let them run in the woods would expose them
too much to the predatory attacks of the worthless curs.

Building Material. Limestones adapted to building purposes are
common, though of late years not much used, as brick seems to have
superseded its use. There are large quantities of rock, called by the
natives sandstone, that has never been brought into use as a building
stone to any great extent.

Manufactories. The largest manufacturing establishment in this
county is that of the Sycamore Manufacturing Company. The works
of the company are situated in a beautiful and picturesque valley of
Sycamore Creek, four and a half miles north of the Cumberland River
and about half way between Nashville and Clarksville. The water-
])owcr for the works is obtained by cutting across a very narrow neck
of a bend in the creek. The stream in its course around this bend
falls about fourteen feet, so that, with a dam fourteen feet in height, a
head of water is obtained twenty-four feet in height, affording one of
the best water-powers within sixty miles of Nashville. The principal
business of this comj)any is the manufacture of gun-powder, although

644 Resources of Tennessee,

they have in addition a saw mill of large capacity, and a flouring mill
with a capacity to turn out about seventy-five barrels of flour per day.
Prior to the war the manufacture of cotton yarn and cloth was carried
on at Sycamore, but the machinery having been ruined by standing
idle during the war, that branch of business has been abandoned and
almost the entire attention of the present company is now given to the
manufacture of gun-powder. Since the war the business has been or-
ganized under a charter with a cash capital of $100,000, with authority
in their charter to increase the same to $300,000. The permanent
capital of the company has already been largely increased by the addi-
tion to their mills of the entire machinery of the Confederate powder
works at Augusta, Ga., which were very large and perfectly built.
When this machinery is put into operation, (which will be done during
the present year), the permanent capital of the company will be in-
creased to very nearly the limit allowed by its charter, $300,000. The
Augusta machinery has all been removed to Sycamore, and is now being
put up. The buildings fbr the same are already completed. The build-
ings for the incorporating mills, where there is the most danger of ex^
plosions, are six in number. They are massively built, the walls being
of heavy limestone rock, five feet wide at the base and three feet wide
at the top, with four buttresses on the outside of each wall three feet
square. The buildings are open at opposite ends, so that in the event
of an explosion, no other buildings will be in danger. To supply the
want of water in seasons of great drought, there is a steam engine of
100 horse power for the powder mills, and a double steam engine of
forty horse power for the other works. The capacity of the powder
works, when the additional machinery is put into operation, will be
240 kegs or 6,000 pounds of blasting powder per day, or 3,000 pounds
of sporting powder. The company has brought the quality of its
sporting and blasting powder to great perfection, there being none
made in the United States superior to it. Our State, as well as the
whole south, has reason to be proud of the success of the company in
this respect as well as of its success as a business enterprise. Upwards
of thirty-five families, besides several single men, arc supported by the
business of the company. It provides a room for religious services for
its operatives, and a hall for the Good Templars, a temperance
organization. It gives liberal support to schools, and has on its prem-
ises boarding school buildings for boys, probably more spacious and cer-
tainly superior in architectural beauty to any in the State. One practice
has been adopted by this company worthy of imitation by all manu-

Middle Tennessee. 645

facturing companies. They give to each head of a family at the close
of the year, as a Christmas offering, a newspaper, to be selected by the
operatives out of any newspapers published in the United States.
North of Sycamore mills, about four miles, is a flouring mill with
three runs of stones, wdiere a superior article of flour is manufactured.
There are other smaller corn and flouring mills, and many saw'-mills in
different parts of the county, but the manufacturing capacities of the
county are but little developed. At the Narrows of Harpeth the
manufacture of iron was formerly carried on extensively by Montgom-
ery Bell. Four forge hammers were kept in constant operation. The
iron made there was of a superior quality, and was the favorite iron for
the manufacture of steam boilers. The ore beds are extensive, and
.the ore, limonite, yielding about 45 per cent. These works are now
in the hands of the widow of the last proprietor, and are not in oper-
ation.

The people are quite domestic in their habits, observing primitive
customs and dress, and wear a great deal of home-made clothing. As
a general thing farming is not as remunerative as it should be, for one
reason, among others, that the farmers adhere with too much tenacity
to old modes and customs, and do not keep up with the spirit of im-
provement, noticeable in some other parts of the State. The great draw-
back to farming is the lack of labor-saving -machinery, improved farm
implements and a regular system of rotation of crops, very few paying
any attention to these vital matters, continuing to run land in corn
without using fertilizers or renovators until the soil is exhausted, then
it is thrown out to grow up in sassafras and persimmon sprouts, while
another field is cleared to undergo the same exhaustive process. Su-
peradded to all is a shallow plowing, one-horse plows in a majority of
cases being the rule, a subsoil plow being regarded as one of the va-
garies of " book firming."

Smaller Industries. The people pay but little attention to the smaller
industries of life. Fruit-raising is only in its infancy, there being very
few orchards worthy the name ; however, there is a marked improve-
ment in this branch of industry of late years. Doubtless more fruit trees
have been planted in Cheatham county in the last three years than in
any ten years before. There was a spasmodic effort made about three
years since in bee culture, but owing in part to the failnrc of the hive
generally adopted, the interest soon died out, and now there is scarcely
any effort made in that direction. Butter and cheese making, especially

646 Resources of Tennessee.

the latter, has but a small place in the list of industries of the people of
Cheatham county. Considerable numbers of chickens and eggs are
annually shipped to Nashville and Clarksville. The grape has not
been tried to any considerable extent, but from the character of the
soil and the number of its favorable exposures, it might be success-
fully cultivated. When proper care and diligence have been used, the
apple and the peach do exceedingly well. There are no nurseries in
this county, most of the trees planted here now are obtained from Da-
vidson, Robertson and ]\Iontgomery counties, the people having pretty
generally come to the conclusion to patronize home industry, at least
so far as fruit trees are concerned.

Timber, Immigrants, &c. The most valuable timbers are the va-
rious kinds of oak, hickory, poplar, walnut, cherry and chestnut.
The poplar, walnut and cherry timber is sawn into lumber and shipped
to Nashville and Clarksville. Large quantities of saw logs are rafted
to the latter place. Poplar and chestnut shingles, in large quantities,
are also made and shipped to the above points. Many thousands of
boards and staves are annually made and shipped, while a good many
are made into flour, whisky and lard barrels for exportation. This
is the principal use to which the oak timber is applied. Considerable
numbers of wagon-spokes are also made of the white oak. The hick-
ory timber is used for axe handles, spoke timber and axletrees, as also
for hoop poles, which are shipped as above, though sometimes pipe
staves are shipped direct to New Orleans. The people are favorably
disposed to immigrants, and would kindly receive any who would help
to develop the resources of the county. They have no use for that
class who propose to live by their wits, at other people's expense, but
if immigrants come to identify themselves with the fortunes of the
county, a hearty welcome is extended to them. They will be made
to feel at home, and as a part of the people. The county needs men
of energy and public spirit to infuse new life into the various indus-
tries. Tlie farmers are, as a general thing, not disposed to sell out
their farms to immigrants, or any one else, but out of the abundance of
unim])rovcd land, are willing to sell them homes on reasonable terms.
The population is about fourteen thousand, and has increased in the
last decade. There is but little concert of action among the farmers.
They have no agricultural or mechanical associations. The county debt
is about ^1,200, to meet which it has the taxes of this year, and real
estate and notes for real estate, amply sufficient to meet it all. Upon a
fair balance being struck, the county would l)e entirely out of debt.

Middle Tennessee. 647

Schools. At the opening of the public schools, under the present
law, there were some ten or twelve private schools, but poorly sus-
tained. The public schools were continued for three months, thirty-
six in number, about 1,400 children receiving instruction therein.
There are now no colleges or academies in the county. Before the
war there was one near Sycamore that commenced with fair prospect
of success, but the war coming on, the enterprise was abandoned, and
nothing now remains of it but the very extensive, convenient and
well-arranged buildings, standing as a monument of the devastating
effects of the late civil strife.

Mineral springs are abundant. Kingston Springs, on the Nashville
and Northwestern Railroad, furnishes red, white and black sulphur
water; Sam's Creek, red and white sulphur. Harris' Sulphur Springs
are about two miles from Ashland city. King's Sulphur Springs, and
various others of less note, are in the county.

There are plenty of saw and grist mills — among the latter two or
three flouring mills — to supply the necessities of the county. The
county has no poor-house ; what few paupers there are in the county
are kept by appropriations made at the quarterly sessions of the county
court. There is only one macadamized road in the county, and that only
for a few miles. The dirt roads are not kept in good order.

The soil is moderately fertile, and when properly cultivated, yields
sufficiently for the support of a much larger population than we have
at present. Education is rather at a low ebb. The present public
school law meets with strong opposition, which is giving place to a
better feeling.

For assistance in the preparation of this county the Secretary is in-
debted to S. D. Power.

CLAY COUNTY.

County Seat — Celina.

This is a new county, created by the Constitutional Convention of
1870, and organized on the 17th day of December, in the same year.
The territory was taken in nearly equal parts from the counties of
Jackson and Overton. Three places were put in nomination for the
county seat, Celina, Butler's Landing and Bennett's Ferry, but the

648 Resources of Tennessee.

election resulted in favor of the first. The county comprises ten civil
districts.

Toions. Celina, liie county seat, is situated on Cumberland River,
at the mouth of Obey's River, and for many years has been one of
the most important points on the upper Cumberland. It is the depot
and shipping point for a very rich agricultural region. The new court-
house is one of the most substantial and elegant buildings in this part
of the State. Celina is growing rapidly, but its present size is by no
means commensurate with its commercial importance. Population,
about 300. Butler's Landing is also on Cumberland River, below
Celina, and is an important shipping point. Population, about seventy-
five. Centreville is a quiet little village, in the north-western part of
the county, within half a mile of the Kentucky line. It has several
stores and shops, and a population of about seventy-five.

Topography. The county is nearly a parallelogram, forty miles in
length from east to' west, by twelve miles wide. In order to facilitate
a correct understanding of its topography, it is best first to imagine a
plain of the above dimensions, with a moderately undulating surface,
nearly level in the west. Then imagine the middle of this plain cut
diagonally across from north-east to south-west by a valley of irregular
outline nearly 600 feet deep, and averaging a little more than one mile
in breadth between the bases of the opposite hills. This is the valley
of Cumberland River. Opening into it on the east side near the center
of the county, is the long, winding valley of Obey's River, with a
general direction from east to west. A number of smaller creeks
emptying into these two rivers, have valleys of their own, extending
outward, and separated from each other by ridges or fingers of the
j)lain to which tlie general surface of the county has been referred.
These ridges and the intervales may be compared to the teeth of a saw,
broad at the base and growing gradually narrower toward the apex.
It must not be supposed, however, that they are of uniform size or
regular shape. Some of the valleys have branches ramifying back
among the Highlands and breaking the surface of the plain irregularly.
The extremities of some of the ridges have been cut off, leaving isolated
knobs standing out in the valleys. It is worthy of remark that the
ridges generally have flat tops, which are in the plain of the Highlands.
In the eastern part of the county there are some ridges elevated con-
siderably above this highland plain.

Rocks, Soils and Timbers. The geological and agricultural features
of the Highland plain, and of the valleys, are so different that we must

Middle Tennessee. 649

consider them se])arately. In the eastern part, as alrt^ady observed,
there are high hills, which are the termini of spurs or outliers of the
Cumberland Table Land. The Mountain Limestone here gives the
country a character similar to that of the belt extending all along the
western base of the Table Land. The surface is broken, caves and
sink-holes are common, and the soil is rich, lying on a strong clay sub-
soil. The hills and hollows, except where the land has been cleared,
are covered by forests of large trees, among which walnut, beech, pop-
lar, buckeye, linden and several kinds of oaks are common. Further
west, the Lithostrotian limestone continues to underlie the surface, often
cropping out on the hillsides ; the country is rolling, and the soil is
generally a rich, dark brown loam, with a red clay subsoil. North of
Obey's River the red clay and limestone prevail to the Valley of the
Cumberland, and even west of the latter there are extensive areas of
red rolling lands reaching nearly to the western boundary of the county.
All of this red land is naturally rich, and with good management its
fertility will never be impaired. Even when worn out by slovenly
farming and constant cropping, its recuperative power is wonderful.
Hickory, beech, sugar maple and dogwood are common on the hillsides
and in the hollows or basins, and oak and chestnut on the hills and
ridges. These red lands occupy a larger proportion of the area of the
county than any other one class. Though not held in such high es-
teem as the river and creek bottoms, they possess many advantages
over them. In other parts of this Highland plain, particularly in the
south and west, sandstones prevail, and the lands are less fertile. The
red clay gives place to a yellowish subsoil, which is so hungry that the
effect of manuring is scarcely perceptible after the first or second
season. In some places on the hills are extensive beds of siliceous
chert, known locally as ''bastard flint." These gravelly soils are
always leachy. Most of the timber consists of small post oaks and
black oaks. But even in these parts red clay and limestone, afi^brding
good lands, are found in spots. Small hickories are the prevailing
timber in such places, and they are generally called "hickory barrens."
In the north-west part of the county, on the head watei's of a creek
which flows north-west into Barren River, the surface is more generally
level, and there are some fine lands. In the valleys, the prevailing
rocks are all limestones of a different kind from that which appears on
the surface of the highlands. They belong, geologically, to the Nash-
ville Group of the Lower Silurian, consequently the soils are like those
in the Central Basin. This limestone underlies all of the vallevs and

650 Resources of Tennessee,

outcrops on the sides of the hills about half way up on each side. It
is highly fossiliferous, and by disintregation is continually adding to
the fertility of the soil. In the valleys of the creeks, and also to
some extent in the larger valleys, the soils have been modified by drift
which comes down from the surrounding hills, so that they contain a
larger proportion of sand than the same kind of soil otherwise situated.
This sand mixed with the calcareous and argillaceous materials fur-
nished by the rocks, niakes a very mellow, friable loam. Most of the
creeks bring down also large quantities of chert, which gives a gravelly
character to the soil where it is deposited. This gravel, however,
rarely reaches out into the larger valleys in sufficient quantity to im-
pair their quality. In the beds of all the creeks this chert is found in
immense quantities. All along Cumberland and Obey's rivers there
are alluvial bottoms of considerable extent. These are naturally the
richest lands in the county. The deposits of fertilizing mud brought
down by the river renew every year the waste of the soil, and some of
them have for more than half a century continued to produce crops of
corn every year with no manure, and without any decrease in the
amount produced. But there are some disadvantages to counterbalance
these good gifts. Fences are often carried away by high water. Not
unfrequently, when the fields are ready to be planted, a sudden freshet
in a few hours obliterates the work of many days, and in some cases
growing crops are destroyed by an unseasonable overflow.

Valleys. In this connection, a particular description of some of the
principal valleys may not be out of place. The largest and most im-
portant is that of Cumberland River. The part included in Clay
county is fifteen miles long, with an average breadth of a little more
than one mile. Crossing the State line a little east of north from
Celina, it extends obliquely across the county in a direction rather
more south than west. The numerous smaller valleys opening into it
give to the escarpments on either hand a serrated character. The river
meanders througli the valley, often crossing from side to side, and
many towering cliffs rise perpendicularly from the water's edge to the
heiglit of several hundred feet. In passing up or down the valley by
land, it is necessary either to cross the river many times or to pass over
these bluffs by rugged, toilsome roads. Obey's River Valley is, in its
general chanK^ter, similar to that of Cumberland, ex(!ept that it is
smaller. Reckoning from a few miles above the mouth of Wolf
River, where it properly begins, it meanders first west south-west and
then a little north of west, to the center of the county, where it opens

Middle Tennessee. 651

into the Cumberland Valley at Celina. Following its serpentine coarse,
the distance is perhaps thirty miles or more, but, in a direct line, not
exceeding twenty. It has an average breadth, between the bases of
the hills, of one-half to three-quarters of a mile. Mill Creek has a
fine valley coming in on the east side below Celina. It is eight miles
long, and averages nearly half a mile in width. Iron's Creek Valley,
having about the same dimensions, comes into Obey's from the south,
in the eastern part of the county. The line of the proposed South-
western Railroad passes through this valley. Kettle Creek Valley
comes into Cumberland from the north-west near the State line, about
three miles of the lower end being in this county. It has an average
breadth of half a mile. There are a number of less important valleys,
all of which contain good farms. Of these, Mitchell's Creek, Proctor's
Creek and Brimstone are the largest.

Farms. The amount of waste land in the county is estimated at
about one-third of the entire area. By waste land, we mean land that
is yielding nothing. There is no farm, properly so called, less than
eighty acres, and the largest perhaps never exceed two thousand acres.
Two to three hundred acres in a farm are not uncommon. The small
farms are almost always cultivated exclusively by the owners, while
on those that are large hired labor is employed to a greater or less ex-
tent. Labor is scarce. The negroes, of whom in slavery times there
were large numbers, have nearly all left the county, and but few
laboring men have come in to supply their place. Wages for farm
hands range from $10 to $20 per month, and there is no difficulty in
finding employment.

Good, well improved farms on the uplands can be bought at five to
ten dollars per acre. In the valley, prices range considerably higher.
Twenty to fifty dollars may be taken as the limits. The prices, of
course, are governed by various considerations, such as quality of land,
value of im]:>rovements and location. Farm improvements are scarcely
as good as at the beginning of the war, and lands are not generally in so
high a state of cultivation. This falling off is due mainly to the
scarcity of labor. But most of the farmers are enterprising and indus-
trious, and are regaining, as fast as circumstance, and the means at
their command will permit, their former degree of prosj)erity. Unim-
proved lands vary in value from one dollar to thirty dollars per acre,
the latter are, of course, in the valleys. We would recommend, as a
means of supplying the lack of labor, a more extensive use of labor-
saving machinery than is now common. On most of the firms (hills.

652 Resources of Tennessee.

gang plows and reapers could be used with great advantage. Two-
horse turning plows are now in common use. Subsoiling is often done
with a home-made gopher plow. We are not aware that there are any
hill-side plows in the county. Single and double shovels are commonly
used in cultivating the crops. The latter are increasing in popularity.
Horses or mules are generally used for drawing plows. Oxen are em-
ployed for carting, and sometimes for heavy plowing. Large land-
owners often let a part of their farms to tenants, either for money-
rents or on shares. Sometimes farms are leased for several years.
Money-rents vary, according to quality of land, from two to seven dol-
lars per acre. Those who cultivate land on shares usually pay to the
owner one-third of the crop for ordinary, and one-half for best lands.
If the owner furnishes an outfit, he has an allowance for that.

Crops. The leading crops in the order of their importance are corn,
tobacco, clover and grasses, wheat, oats and rye. Potatoes and tur-
nips are also raised to some extent as field crops. About one-tenth of
the cultivated land is kept in grass, of which almost all is meadow.
Some grass is sown for pasture, but not to any considerable extent.
Old meadows that have become foul are often plowed up and planted,
but not generally for the purpose of enriching the land. Clover is
sometimes used as a green manure, but by no means so generally as it
should be. In the rich alluvial bottoms, no crop can compete with
corn. It may be grown on the same field year after year without any
apparent decrease in the quantity produced. Eighty bushels per acre are
common, and 100 are sometimes reached on the best lands. This
brings a net income of thirty to fifty dollars per acre. Such farming
pays. On the Highlands tobacco is the leading crop, and its produc-
tion is annually increasing. We have no statistics by which to esti-
mate the amount raised, but Clay county, according to area and popu-
lation, no doubt, ranks among the largest tobacco-producing counties.
Considerable quantities of wheat are shipped. The Walker variety of
red wheat originated a few miles below Celina. It is still quite popu-
lar, but the Tappahannock is taking the lead since the white varieties
have become fashionable. The Mediterranean, also, has many friends.

JJivie Stock. l^^)r the county at large there is nothing more profitable
than tlu! rearing of live stock, and many of the largest farmers make
it the heading husiness. Horses and muk\s in consitk'rable numbers are
driven to the southern market every year. IJut little effort has yet
been made to improve the stock of horses. There are in the county

Middle Tennessee. 653

several stallions with approved pedigrees, but a large majority of the
horses are of unknown lineage. There are three Spanish jacks in the
county. Scrub cattle are still common on the hills, but most of those
in the river valleys are Short-horns and grades. Many fine animals
have been brought from the '' blue-grass region" of Kentucky. Clay
county, also, boasts a race of hogs superior to the common stock. In
the valleys very few are to be found, except Berkshires and grades.
But villainous looking razor-backs still roam over the ridges. Sheep
are not numerous. Most of the old stock have been killed by dogs,
butchered for mutton or sold out of the county. The number which
fall a prey to the dogs every year is estimated at one-fourth of all in
the county. There is no effectual remedy but a wholesome dog law.
Many farmers would be glad to embark in the business of sheep-breed-
ing on a large scale, if they could have protection for their property.
Large areas of land might be utilized in this way that are now value-
less. The sheep now on hand are generally good, and farmers are buy-
ing of the improved breeds.

Smaller Industries, Household Manufactures, &c. Fruit growing has
not received the attention that it deserves, and good orchards are not
so common as in some other counties in this part of the State. Even
the fruit that is produced is generally allowed to waste, very little
being dried or canned. Butter-making receives more attention. With
better facilities for transportation, dairying would be quite profitable.
Poultry and eggs are sold in considerable numbers. Articles of home
manufacture include jeans, linsey, home-made carpets, cotton and
woollen socks, and many other articles used in the family or on the
farm.

Transportation and Markets. There are few counties in the State
more favored by nature, in regard to facilities for transportation.
Cumberland River is navigable for steamers for about seven months
in the year. During the winter and spring, boats run regularly.
Obey's River is navigable for small steamers to the eastern border of
the county, usually for three months or more. Most of the products
are carried to market by water, and merchandise is brought up from
Nashville in the same way, during the boating season. When the
water is low it is carried in wagons either from Nashville or from
Glasgow, Kentucky.

Streams and Water-power. The rivers have already been sufficiently
described. The creeks are all so much alike that a general description

654 Resources of Tennessee.

will suffice. Several small streams flowing from off the Highlands,
unite their waters in or near the head of the valley. The volume of
water is increased by springs and by other streams coming in on either
hand. It is now a creek, and meanders gracefully through the quiet
valley, often leaving the bases of one or the other of the opposite hills,
while a broad bottom, usually a level field, stretches out on the other
side. The banks are low, and generally comjjosed of chert mixed
with sand. The sides and bottom of the channel are unusually noth-
ing but chert. From this general character it will be seen that the
streams do not offer many advantages for manufacturing. Some of
the streams, which are of considerable size where they come down from
off the Highlands, afford good powers. Irvin's Creek has several mills,
Mill Creek has two in Clay county. Both of these have their head
waters in Overton county. Most of the mills are run by steam. Of
these there are five saw-mills, three grist-mills, a planing-mill and a
carding-machine.

Minerals. In the neighborhood of Irvin's Creek, and lying partly
m Overton county, there is a ridge which is believed to contain exten-
sive beds of iron ore. It has been dug into at several places, and rich
specimens obtained, but none of the ore has been worked. It is near the
line of the Southwestern Railroad. Another iron region is reported
to exist in the northern part of the county, but of its extent or value
we have no accurate information. The completion of this railroad,
which we hope will not be long deferred, would afford an opportunity
for developing whatever valuable minerals exist. The Black Shale
which underlies the sandstone of the Highlands and crops out on the
sides of the hills, and is often exposed in the beds of the streams, con-
tains alum and copperas, and it is possible that these substances might
be profitably eliminated. The Black Shale is also the source of sul-
phur springs, particularly in the eastern part. Petroleum oozes from
the same formation at several points in the county. These are called
oil springs. They occur on Brimstone Creek in the south-west, on
Sulphur Creek in the north, and on Mill Creek in the south. There
is an oil well on Mill Creek, from wliich several barrels of petroleum
have been obtained.

Miscellaneous. The area of the county is one hundred and ninety-
five square miles, nearly. No census has been taken since the county
was formed, so that we are unable to give the exact population, but
basing an estimate upon that of the neighboring counties, it is, in round
numbers, 6,000, l)eing about thirty to the square mile. The scholastic

Middle Tennessee. 655

]iopulation is nearly 2,000. The public schools are working success-
iully in every district, and the means of education are within reach of
all. There is at Celina a county academy, where a good school is reg-
ularly kept. At Concord, ten miles north-west of Celina, there is a
good private school, which has been carried on regularly since the war.
Philomath Institute, near the Cumberland River, seven miles below
Celina, has been open most of the time. The taxes and restrictions on
the sale of tobacco are a subject of complaint, and the means of trans-
portation are not so good as is desirable. But the farmers generally
are well contented, and there is not much disposition to move away.
We believe that, in general, they are as prosperous as their brethren in
any part of the State. There has been but little immigration, but the
citizens would gladly welcome to their midst enterprising and indus-
trious people from any quarter, and will treat them as they do their
neighbors and friends.

Other items of interest may be obtained by consulting chapter xxii.

COFFEE COUNTY.

County Seat — Manchester.

This county was originally composed of fractions of Warren, Frank-
lin and Bedford, and was organized May 2, 1836. At an election held
in March previous, the following magistrates were elected from the
ten (now fourteen) civil districts into which the county was divided,
to-wit : Adam Rayburn, John G. Walker, Alfred Ashley, John Lusk,
Larkin Burnham, Robert S. Rayburn, Alexander Downey, James Yell,
Gabriel Jones, William Hodge, Johnson Garrett, Josiah Berry, John
Charles, William Montgomery, Wade Strand, Lecil Bobo, John W.
Camden, Jesse AVooten, James M. Arnold and William Holmes.
John W. Camden was elected chairman, and the following officers
were required to come forward and give bonds, with security, and be
qualified for their several duties at the first term of the County Court,
in May, 1836: G. W. Richardson, Circuit Court Clerk; Daniel
McLean, County Court Clerk ; John Bell, Sheriff ; James A. Brantley,
Register ; Moses F. White, Trustee ; and William P. Harris, Coroner.

The first term of the Circuit Court was begun on the first Monday
in May, 1836, Judge Samuel Anderson presiding. The unpretending
log residence of a private citizen served as a temple of justice for the
time.

656 Resources of Tennessee.

Towns and Villages. Manchester, the seat of justice, was laid out
on lands given by Andrew Erwin for that purpose, on a high, beautiful
level, about half a mile above the great falls, on the banks of the Bark
Camp Fork of Duck River, on an elevation of about 650 feet above
Nashville, and in sight of the Cumberland Mountain range, some ten
miles to the east and south-east. The population in 1870 was about
600, with the usual public buildings, one college, and primary schools
to which all the scholastic population may have access on easy terms.
There are four churches in the place, and the community are noted for
their uniform attendance on public worship. The Democrat, published
here, is the county paper, and seems to be living. The old court-house,
destroyed by fire in December, 1870, has been replaced by one of the
most beautiful and conveniently ari'anged in the State. There are six
business houses in Manchester, doing good business, though, since the
destruction of the paper mill in October, .1873, there is not as much
done as before, especially in the shipping trade. The hotel has lately
changed hands, and is to be entirely refitted and refurnished.

Tullahoma is a flourishing town on the Nashville and Chattanooga
Railroad, where the McMinnville and Manchester Railroad terminates,
and is a place of considerable trade, with an orderly, progressive pop-
ulation. Situated on the Highland Rim, at an elevation of some
600 feet above Nashville, it is, on the whole, the most desirable location
within the same distance of Nashville, as a summer residence — prover-
bially healthy at all seasons of the year, with churches and schools of
a high order for the education of the youth of the place and the county.
Near the town there are a woolen factory, a spoke and hub factory, be-
sides other smaller manufacturing industries, all doing a prosperous
business. Its location and population give promise of a large manu-
facturing town at no distant day. The hotel is now being refitted and
enlarged for the accommodation of summer visitors who may resort
there as a pleasant summer retreat. The place has been gradually
growing since the war. Its business men are wide aAvake, alive to the
interest of Tullahoma, and are putting forth their best energies to make
it what they deem it should be M'ith such surroundings and advantages.
Success to their energy and enterprise ! By an oversight, this place is
put down in the map as in Moore county. It should be in CoiFee.

Beech Grove, in the north-western jiortion of the county, on the
Garrison Fork of Duck River, was so called by the late "William S.
Watterson, on whose land it stood, and by whom its improvements

Middle Tennessee. 657

were made to accommodate the trade of that section lo«g before a new
county was thought of. It was then Bedford county. The country
around is very productive and thickly settled, consequently Beech
Grove has been, and still is a prosperous village, with stores, churches,
and school houses, and is the center of a very lucrative business. No
section of the State was more prosperous before the war ; but, having
been the camping ground of both armies, and subject to all the waste
that followed, it has not been so prosperous since. However, the soil
remains, the waste is gradually being repaired, and her people hope
soon to recover their wonted prosperity. The best lands in the county
lie in the neighborhood of Beech Grove, while the owners are generally
the most progressive and intelligent farmers in the county. A narrow
gauge railroad from Wartrace to Woodbury, through Beech Grove,
is in contemplation.

Hillsboro, in the south-eastern section of the county, eight miles
from Manchester, was formerly in Franklin county, and was at one
time a place of active trade, with a number of stores and workshops,
churches and schools, but now not so prosperous, as most of the trade
has been transferred to Manchester and Tuilahoma, on the line of the
McMinnville and Manchester Railroad.

Summitville is a village situated on the highest point between Nash-
ville and McMinnville, on the McMinnville and Manchester Railroad,
eight miles from Manchester, near Flat Mountain. It is a thriving
place, with an orderly and industrious population, and is beautifully lo-
cated. The Flat Mountain lands are equal in fertility to the best on
the Cumberland Plateau, with an abundance of the best timber and
limestone rock.

Pocahontas is a small village in the north-east of the county, in
the " Barrens," without much trade or population.

Needmore is a village of recent origin, eight and a half miles north
of Manchester, on Noah's Fork of Duck River. The country around
it is good, and the denizens of the foot-hills find it a very convenient
point for the exchange of their products for supplies of goods and
groceries.

The water-power near Manchester is, for many reasons, probably the
best in the State. It is easy of access, being hardly a mile from the
depot of the McMinnville and Manchester Railroad, at Manchester,
"with an excellent road sloping gradually to the river, and most con-
veniently situated in almost every respect. The supply of water of
42

658 Resou7'ces of Tennessee.

the smaller stream nearest ^Manchester, the Bark Camp Fork of Duck
River, is constant, being furnished from a number of springs near
the town, no loss or inconvenience is occasioned during the summer
months from low water, nor is there any danger in winter from fresh-
ets or freezes. The Bark Camp Fork, as before stated, takes its rise
a short distance above town, and is increased by the town springs. It
has a succession of falls for nearly a mile, making in the aggregate a
descent of more than one hundred feet in that distance. The bed of
the stream is on solid rock. At the first and principal fall it cuts
through the bed of Black Shale. At this point the large flouring mill of
W. S. Huggins formerly stood. It was destroyed by fire in the fall of
1871, and has never been rebuilt. Below where the mill stood, the
stream makes an S-shaped curve, falls rapidly, and affords great water-
power, which could easily be made available. The large stream — the
Barren Fork — rises some ten or fifteen miles away in the Barrens, and,
flowing westwardly, approaches to within one or two hundred yards
of the Bark Camp Fork, opposite the first fall mentioned, and then
rushes downward in a succession of falls, similar to those described, for
half a mile, to the point at which the streams unite. On this large
stream, and just below the first fall, were situated the extensive paper
mills of the Whiteman Brothers, burned last October. Between the
two rivers, here flowing nearly parallel, is the ridge or backbone upon
which the Old Stone Fort is situated. The two streams afford the
amplest power for any kind of machinery, the most conclusive evi-
dence of which is the fact that, in a report made thirty years ago by
the Secretary of War, it was recommended as favorable in all respects
for the location of a United State's armory, and rejected only because
of its distance from navigation and railroads at that time. Under the
direction of the Secretary, two careful surveys were made by United
State's engineers, the last of which was made in the winter of 1840 or
1841, by Cols. Long and Armistead and their assistants, and the loca-
tion reported to Congress as favorable in all respects — water, timber,
soil and health. The streams were measured and weighed, showing
that they afforded ample motive power to move all machinery required
in a United State's armory. This is proof conclusive as to the suffi-
ciency of motive power to drive machinery for the largest class of fac-
tories or mills. The report is not at hand, but the writer was cogni-
zant of the survey, saw the report, and recollects distinctly the facts.
At that time, we had not thought of railroads in Tennessee. If we
had then had the Nashville and Chattanooga Railroad, we should now

Middle Tennessee. ' 659

have an armory at Old Stone Fort on the Great Falls of Duck River.
Copperas Cave. A short distance west of Manchester, on the Bark
Camp Fork, below the site of the flouring mills, is " Copperas Cave,"
so called. It is a great rock-house or opening under a huge shelving
rock. The shelving or projecting rock above is a mixture of flint and
limestone. Below this is the bed of Black Shale, by the disintegration
and removal of which the cave has been formed. At the bottom
is a great bed of blue limestone. The width of the cave, or excavation
between the flinty limestone above and the blue limestone below, in-
creases from the outer ends of the cave to the center. The cave is
semi-circular, and lies beneath a considerable precipice, over which a
stream of water pours, falling fifty feet right at the center of the arc,
and is dashed into spray on the rocks below. During the summer
months, this forms a delightful and wholesome shower bath, and is a
favorite resort for the citizens of Manchester at eventide. In winter
it forms a solid icicle, colossal in its proportions and beautiful in its pris-
matic colors. Under the circular canopy of Copperas Cave large par-
ties congregate in summer on picnic excvirsions, and the sound of music
and the gayety of the dance are enjoyed in a temperature a little under
seventy degrees, while the thermometer marks nearly one hundred
degrees in the town above. The coolness of the atmosphere, the cheer-
fulness of the waterfall, the roaring of the cataracts in Bark Camp
Fork a hundred yards distant, the frowning cliffs and the beauty of
the forests, all lend a fascination to the scene, and make it a delightful
retreat from the heat and toils and dust of a summer's day. The dis-
integrated shale is rich in copperas and alum, and during the war per-
sons came from a great distance to procure the debris for dyeing pur-
poses. With the natural advantages offered, we see no reason why an
establishment for the manufacture of copperas and alum may not be
made profitable near Manchester. Surely, if it can be manuflictured in
New England and shipped to the South and sold at a profit, it can be
made here at a profit, if nothing is realized but the cost of transporta-
tion. While the late Dr. Troost was State Geologist, which was about
the year 1837, he visited Coffee county, and made a report on the soil,
timber and minerals. He reported iron ore of the most superior quali-
ty in more than one place. He described one locality below Man-
chester, near the mouth of Compton's Creek, as having ore banks suffi-
cient to warrant the erection of a large furnace, with all the timber
close by to work it, and then water-power enough in the stream to
work up the iron, or to put it in shape to meet the demands of the

66o Resources of Tennessee.

country. He gave the names and analyses of the two kinds of ore-
near Manchester. That found in the bed of the river about the falls
he described as most desirable in quality, but not so abundant in quan-
tity. In the same report, he spoke of the inexhaustible beds of alumi-
nous shale at the falls, dwelt on its commercial value, and gave the
mode of making the alum of commerce from it.

8iom Fort, one of the ancient ruins of an extinct race, lies between
the rivers, enclosing an area of thirty-seven acres, with its regular
gateway opposite the Great Falls. Its walls of loose stone, covered
with earth, on which trees thought to be five hundred years old are
growing, are evidently not the work of the same hands that built the
mounds that are so numerous in Tennessee, and no Indian looking
from his happy hunting ground can claim them as his own. It is more
probable that they were erectod by the same people that left such evi-
dences of civilization in Mexico. The interest attaching to the Stone
Fort, as a relic of a past age, cannot be easily exhausted, but so much
has been written as to its probable builders, and the date of its ereo-
tion, which is at best mere surmise, that we decline to enter a field where,
not having even the stories of old men to guide us, we must be lost in
a labyrinth of conjecture. All we know is that an intelligent race of
people once existed within its confines.

Lands. The lands in the northern or north-western section of the
county, known as the Beech Grove country, are not surpassed in pro-
ductive fertility by any lands in the State. The country is beautifully
diversified with hill and valley, abounding in springs of pure water^
through which the Garrison and Noah's Fork of Duck River passes, and
affording numerous small mill privileges after their descent from the
Highlands into the Central Basin, which are occupied by grist-mills, saw-
mills and wool-carding factories. The soil is admirably adapted to the
production of corn, wheat, rye, barley, oats and hemp. The grasses —
clover, timothy, herd's-grass and orchard-grass — grow in the most lux-
uriant profusion, as the meadows and grazing fields of Mr. A. B»
Robertson and others abundantly show. The fruits also here find a
congenial home. Apples, peaches, pears, plums, cherries, and particu-
ticularly the grape, all bear abundantly, and might, under competent
culture, be made profitable industries. The small fruits may also be
produced in great abundance.

Timber. The tinii)or in this ])ortion of the county is beech, sugar
maple, elm, ash, hackberry, black walnut, white walnut, cherry, mul-

Middle Tennessee. 66 1

berry, yellow poplar, (six or seven feet in diameter) pawpaw, black
locust, honey locust, buckeye, linn, white and black haw, etc. All these
varieties, besides some that are not enumerated, cover the lands that
have not been cleared.

The rocks are the same found everywhere in the Basin — the blue
limestone and shell limestone. This description applies to all the lands
on the waters of Duck River in the county below the Highland Rim,
or that portion of the county lying in the Great Central Basin of Mid-
dle Tennessee. The Rim or Highlands come next in order, which
are higher as you approach the base of Cumberland Table Land,
of which, in fact, this is the first bench. , Here the country is compara-
tively level, capable under careful cultivation of producing a large
variety of crops, but not so Avell adapted to the production of the
cereals as the lands in the north and north-west sections of the county,
yet all the cereals grow here, and, when Avell cultivated, in all cases
make fair average yields as compared Avith other counties, with the
single exception of Indian corn, and the best of these barren lands pro-
duce average corn crops. No lands in the State make more produc-
tive meadows or better hay from timothy and herds-grass than the best
of these flat lands ; and many })ersons regard this as among the best
tobacco regions in Tennessee. The yield is heavy, and of a quality far
superior to that grown on the strong limestone lands below ; in fact,
equal to the best grown in Virginia or North Carolina. No one can
doubt this who has witnessed its gro^vth upon a soil where hickory,
post oak, white oak, dogwood, etc., is found. An analysis of the soil
Avould doubtless show the same properties as the tobacco lands of Vir-
ginia and Kentucky. The same class of lands produces large crops of
the finest short staple cotton, and at one time large crops of both cot-
ton and tobacco were produced in Coffee county on these elevated lands.
The lands in the southern and south-eastern portion of the county are
excellent in quality, and well adapted to stock-raising. Along the
base of Cumberland Table Land the lands are much more productive
than in what is called the Barrens, and corn, wheat, etc., are raised in
abundance. This is a thickly settled and highly cultivated section,
and although on what is known as the Barrens, it is yet slightly de-
pressed, forming a beautiful valley between the Barrens and the moun-
tain, where the lands, especially on Bean's and Bradley's creeks, are
all tillable and very productive, and for cotton and tobacco are equal
to the best lands in the State.

662 Resources of Tennessee.

CUMBERLAND COUNTY.
CouisTTY Seat — Crossville.

Cumberland county was created by act of the General Assembly of
Tennessee, in the year 1856. The first court was held at Crossville,
which was selected as the county seat. The territory of the new
county was taken from the counties of White, Van Buren, Bledsoe,
Rhea, Roane, Morgan and Putnam. Crossville, the county seat, is
the only town in the county. It is situated on the Cumberland Table
Land, nearly midway between Sparta and Rockwood. It has a popu-
lation of about seventy-five, two stores, a good hotel, post-office, and
a wagon shop. The public buildings are a court-house and a jail, the
latter of which is rarely used.

Topography. The topography of the county is comparatively sim-
j)le, there being less variety than in any other county in this part of
the State. With the exception of a small part of the head of Se-
quatchie Valley, it all lies on the Cumberland Table Land. The sur-
face is generally level or undulating, and thinly wooded. In many
places there are glades of greater or less extent, which are, in fact,
small prairies, destitute of timber, and covered with coarse, rank
grass. The superabundance of water in the soil and on the surface is
the cause of the absence of timber. Besides the glades there are ex-
tensive flats, covered mainly with post oak and black jack. The ridges
and hills, which, with a few exceptions, are but little elevated above
the general level, are often gravelly, and sustain a larger and more
dense growth of timber, among which are several valuable varieties of
oaks, chestnut, hickory, white poplar, pine, and sometimes elm and
maple. The larger streams generally flow in narrow valleys, de-
pressed, more or less, below the general level, and the abutting hills
are often very rugged and steep. In their neighborhood the surface
is usually very much broken on each side. In some places there are
knobs and ridges rising to a considerable elevation above the Table
Land. The most remarkable of these is Crab Orchard Mountain,
which has an elevation of 1,000 feet above the mountain plateau on
which it rests, being, in fact, a mountain on top of a mountain. Be-
ginning near Big Emory River, it extends south-westwardly, rising
gradually till an elevation of 1,000 feet above the Table Land is at-
tained alcove Crab Orchard Gaj), tlirougii which the road from Cross-
ville to Kingston passes. At this gap it is cut completely in twain,

Middle Tennessee. 663

leaving room for a large farm between the abutting ends. Continuing
its course in the same direction, but having a less elevation, it is ab-
ruptly cut in two at another point a few miles from the last by Grassy
Cove. This cove is one of the most remarkable topographical features
of the Table Land. Here we have between the two opposing ends of
the mountain a beautiful and fertile valley eight miles in its greatest
diameter from north-east to south-west, and four miles wide. It is de-
pressed 300 feet below the average elevation of the Table Land, by which
it is completely surrounded. The Crab Orchard Mountain, beginning
again at the south-west end of the cove, continues in a direct line to
its abrupt termination at the head of Sequatchie Valley. About three
miles of the head of Sequatchie Valley are included in Cumberland
county, which is the only part of the county not on the Table Land.
Though comprising but a small part of the area, it contains a very large
part of the population and wealth. The surrounding mountain sides,
or more properly, the escarpments of the Table Land bifurcate immedi-
ately at the terminus of Crab Orchard Mountain, each forming a crest,
which is higher and more distinctly marked on the south-eastern or
Walden's Ridge side. By their gradual divergence greater width is
given to the valley, until at the county line it has a breadth of about
one mile. The depression of the valley below the level of the Table
Land is about 1,000 feet. Its surface is considerably broken, but there
is little of it too rugged for cultivation.

Soih. The prevailing rocks of any region give character to the
soil. The entire surface of the Table Land, with a few exceptions, lies
upon sandstone and conglomerate. Most of the county has, therefore,
a light sandy soil, with but little humus, and i^ greatly deficient in cal-
careous matter and other elements of fertility. In some places the
subsoil is a yellowish red clay, strong enough to bear improvement,
and responds readily to generous treatment, but the elements of fertil-
ity must be supplied before it can produce satisfactory crops. On such
sites good farms can be made by penning cattle on each field until it
becomes thoroughly fertilized. But we cannot undertake to defend
the capabilities of these lands for the production of grain. The ex-
pense of adding a sufficient quantity of lime to the soil would more
than pay for good lands where nature has supplied it. For the pro-
duction of fruits, grasses, root crops and most garden vegetables they
are scarcely surpassed. There are other places where the subsoil is
yellow, sometimes inclining to blue or white. It is frequently so
porous that a walking-cane may, with little effort, be thrust in to the

664 Resources of Tennessee.

head. Of course no amount of manure "would satisfy its craving hun-
ger. But even these lands are not without their value. They might
be converted into extensive sheep-walks, and made to yield a return
scarcely less than that from those more favored by nature. Besides
these two leading classes of mountain lands, we may consider the wet
lands along the small streams and in the glades as another possessing
peculiar characteristics. Their color, when wet, is a dark blue, some-
times nearly black, but when dried they assume an ashen hue. Blue
clay generally accompanies them as a substratum. They are now re-
garded as of little value, and the few experiments that have been tried
upon them have generally been without satisfactory results. The ab-
sence of timber, except a few valueless kinds which delight in water,
has added to the disrepute in which they are held. We do not like to
venture an opinion which contravenes the experience of nearly all who
have tried ex})eriments upon them, but may it not be that those experi-
ments have failed because their peculiarities have not been well under-
stood ? So far as we have been able to learn, the efforts to improve
them have been limited to draining off the water. This, of course,
must be done, but this is not all. Their sourness must be corrected.
The partially decayed vegetable matter which they contain in large
quantity is too acid to nourish the growth of any plants, except hardy
and gross feeders. This acid must be neutralized by the liberal use
of some alkali, and for this purpose there is nothing better than wood
ashes. But while the population is so sparse and lands are so cheap,
we cannot expect much effort at improvement. The want of humus
in the soils of the Table Land is owing in part to the annual
fires in the woods, which consume all the leaves and dried grass
and other combustible material, and leave the ground bare. These
fires are kindled by the people to facilitate, as they say, the early
growth of the grass. It is true that it leaves the surface very
smooth and clean, and we will not deny that pasturage is thereby ob-
tained a few days sooner. But we cannot commend the practice, for it
destroys the only natural source of fertility, and causes the land to grow
poorer and poorer every year. Another evil growing out of this bar-
barous custom, is the injury thereby done to the timber, and particu-
larly to the valuable chestnut trees, most of which are ruined before
the time when they should be most vigorous and fruitful. As an evi-
idence of the injurious effects on the soil, we may observe that the
north hill-sides, where the forest debris, being less exposed to the sun,
is often too wet to burn, are always more fertile than lands otherwise

Middle Tennessee. 665

eituated. Along some of the larger creeks there are narrow bottoms,
depressed more or less below the general surface of the county. The
lands in such situations, though light, are tolerably productive,
and where they are not encumbered with masses of round water-
worn rocks, are easy of cultivation. The anticlinal dip of the strata
in the Crab Orchard range shows that it has been upheaved by a fold-
ing of the earth's crust. By this means the mountain limestones,
which lie under the cap rock of sandstones and conglomerates, have
been brought up into, and even above, the plane of the Table Land,
and where the superimposed formations have been removed by denuda-
tion, as at Crab Orchard Gap and Grassy Cove, they appear on the
surface and give character to the soil. Consequently we have, at these
places, lands similar to those in the limestone region along the western
base of the Table Land. Grassy Cove is worthy of especial mention.
Its fertile soil and other advantages as an agricultural region have
been admired by all visitors, and it has been not inaptly called "The
Gem of the Mountain." There are in it several excellent farms, the
best of which is owned by Mr. Stratton, who is becoming famous as a
breeder of Devon cattle. The head of Sequatchie Valley has already
been spoken of at some length, and it only remains to add that the
soils are, without exception, good, being derived from calcareous rocks,
and for many years have continued to produce good crops of corn,
small grain, grasses and fruits. The lower slopes of the surrounding
mountains are covered with heavy forests of timber, among which
many valuable varieties, such as walnut, ash, yellow poplar, wild
cherry and several varieties of oaks are abundant.

Farms and Crops. The Table Land, as an agricultural region, is not
in the best repute, and we cannot deny that it will suffer by compari-
son with any other natural division of the State ; but, at the same time,
we believe that its advantages have been too much under-valued. The
price of lands is very low, and a very large proportion of tlie area of
the county is yet unimproved. The farms, generally, consist of a few
small cleared fields on a tract of several hundred acres. Not unfre-
quently from one to twenty thousand acres in a body are owned by a
single proprietor. Of course it is not often profitable to the owners,
and it has become a common saying that "the more mountain land a
man owns, the poorer he is." Much of it has been sold and resold,
time and again, for taxes, and many law suits result from conflicting
titles. About the only profitable use that is made of these large
tracts of waste land, is as a summer range for cattle and sheep from the

666 Resources of Tennessee.

farms in the valleys. Ranches or "cow-pens" may be met with at
many places, which, during the season of pasturage, are occupied by
the herdsmen, who vary the monotony of tending the cattle with hunt-
ing deer, bear and wild turkies. But there are some good, well im-
proved farms on the Table Land, which yield to their thrifty and indus-
trious owners a comfortable living, and wq are glad to note the fact
that the number of these is every year increasing. The leading crops
at present cultivated are Irish potatoes, corn, rye, oats, buckwheat,
tobacco, sorghum, sweet potatoes, turnips and beans. Most garden
vegetables grow in perfection, but as there is no market, their produc-
tion is limited. It is a notable truth that almost everv thina: that will
grow on the mountain is of better quality than the same article pro-
duced elsewhere. This is especially true of Irish potatoes, the meali-
ness and fine flavor of which cannot be surpassed. By the use of fer-
tilizers and good cultivation grain can be successfully grown. Expe-
riments in this line have been tried to a considerable extent within
the past five or six years, resulting in one instance in the production
of thirty bushels of wheat per acre. Mediterranean and Walker
wheats are the varieties generally cultivated. A very satisfactory
proof of the nutritive qualities of the wild grasses is found in the fact
that cattle, sheep and horses fatten on them rapidly and easily. The
various cultivated grasses do well with fliir treatment. This is partic-
ularly true of red-toi3 and orchard-grass. The soil and climate are
also favorable to red clover and timothy, and with good farming, they
are generally successful. Grasses are usually mown, sometimes pas-
tured, but rarely or never given to the soil as manure. The amount
of land appropriated to the cultivated grasses is much smaller than it
should be. In the ante bellum period, Mr. J.W. Dodge, who resided a few
miles west of Crossville, " made himself and the mountain famous " by
raising su[)erb apples, which carried oif the prizes at fairs in all parts of
the State. His worthy example has been followed by many others,
and ()i'('liai-(ls, producing fruit of (juality far superior to the same varie-
ties grown in higher latitudes, are now quite common. It is now an
admitted fact tiiat fruits grown in a sandy soil are richer in saccharine
matter than those of the same name grown in a limestone or clay soil.
Gra[)es have been tested sufficiently to show that they can be success-
fully gi'own. All varieties of fruit, which are adapted to a temperate
climate, can be profitably cultivated on the Table Land, and as a corre-
spondent truthfully remarks, "it is easy to have a thrifty orchard
where you cannot have a good cornfield."

Middle Tennessee. 667

Live Stock. But the rearing of live stock will probably continue to
be the leading and most profitable pursuit of the people of Cumber-
land county. The " range " of the woods aifords unlimited pasturage,
and the natural meadows, or glades, furnish coarse hay of good quality.
The glades and wet lands along the smaller streams, when drained,
make the best of meadows, and if the farmers would give more atten-
tion to the cultivation of grass, they would find it much more profita-
ble, and better for forage than cut corn, Avhich is now the chief reliance.
But little effort has yet been made to introduce the improved breeds of
stock. The common, or scrub breeds, are generally good of their
kind, but there is an increasing desire to improve them by crossing
with the different varieties of thoroughbreds which have been intro-
duced since the war. Essex and Berkshire hogs are scattered in con-
siderable numbers over the county, and have made their influence felt
in producing a race of superior animals, instead of the native "razor-
backs," which, for generations, have depended on the mast alone for a
subsistence. The greatest difficulty in the way of swine-breeding, is the
frequent destruction of young pigs by foxes and other vermin. The
breeding of sheep is subject to the same casualties, and to a still
greater extent, in consequence of which but few are kept. The sheep
is remarkably healthy and long-lived on the Table Land, and nature
has done everything to render this department of husbandry profitable,
if some means could be devised for their protection from dogs and
vermin. A dog tax, however, would not be popular in the county at
present. The effort to improve the breed of sheep is limited to the re-
cent introduction of a few Merinos. Mr. Stratton, of Grassy Cove,
has gained considerable reputation as a breeder of Devons, and sev-
eral fine animals from his herd have gone to improve the stock of cat-
tle in neighboring parts of East Tennessee. Mr. Wilson, in the same
neighborhood, breeds Short-horns, but the Devons are generally pre-
ferred by the farmers of the Table Land, and wisely we think. In
the head of Sequatchie Valley, where the soil is rich and blue-grass
grows freely. Short-horns would perhaps be more profitable.

Status of Agrk'idtiire. Considerable improvement has been made
since the war in the kind of farm implements used, and the modes
of cultivation. But " bull-tongue" plows still have some advocates.
Double shovels arc gaining in popularity, and coming into general use.
Two-horse turning plows are common, but larger ones are rarely iVsed.
Subsoiling is not believed to be advantageous, and is rarely or never
practiced. On lands so light and loose as those of the Table Land, it is

668 ResotiJ^ces of Tennesee.

not best to plow too deep, and, indeed, the chief difficulty is to render
the ground sufficiently compact. For this purpose the roller, which is
now almost unknown, might be used with great advantage. Most of
the plowing is done with horses and mules. When the work is unusu-
iilly heavy, as it always is in the boggy land, oxen are used. Very
few farmers ever employ any hired labor, except on extraordinary oc-
casions, and even then the extra help is usually obtained by "swap-
ping work." The average of wages is from eight to ten dollars per
month. In a few cases, fifteen dollars has been paid for the best
hands. Wages per diem are usually seventy-five cents where the
laborer finds himself, and fifty cents if found. There is never any
difficulty in procuring labor at the above rates. Land is frequently
leased for the purpose of having it cleared, the person who leases
having the timber and use of the land for three years for his labor
in clearing. When open land is rented, one-third of the crop
is always allowed the owner. The great wants of the county are
better facilities for transportation, and more and better labor. The
farmers are tolerably well contented, and there is but little emi-
gration, but many would go if they could sell their lands. There
are many well-improved places offered for sale, and unimproved
lands in any quantity that might be desired. Live stock is generally
■driven to market. Rockwood, in Roane county, has a large manufac-
turing population, which gives a gqod market for the poultry, dairy
products, &c. Bacon, lard, flour, and other articles, are sometimes
carried to Nashville or Knoxville in wagons, and merchandise brought
back in the same way. The people are kindly disposed toward immi-
grants, and are anxious to have them come. The immigration since
the war has been quite large, especially of people from the north. Not
less than 150 families have come into the county, most of whom have
remained, and are well contented. Those who have returned or gone
elsewhere have done so on account of the failure of their expectations
in regard to the location through the county of the Cincinnati South-
ern Railroad. The sparseness of the population renders it a difficult
matter to sustain good schools. The public schools, which have been
but recently established, are generally well attended, and are likely to
b(! ])r<)ductive of good results.

Streams and Water-power. Daddy's Creek and Obed's River, both
■of which are tributaries of Big Emory River, receive most of the
streams in the northern and eastern parts of the county. Caney Fork
flows from nortli to south through the western part, and conveys off all

Middle Te7i7iessee. 669

the waters of that portion. Sequatchie River rises in Grassy Cove,
where it is called Cove Creek. After flowing for several niiles in an
under-ground channel very far below the surface, it breaks out again
in a large spring at the head 'of Sequatchie Valley. The best water-
power in the county is on Sequatchie River, a short distance below the
Big Spring. In Grassy Cove, ten miles south-east of Crossville, there
is upon Cove Creek a mill with an ample supply of water throughout
the year. Stony Branch, a tributary of Daddy's Creek, has a fall of
seventy feet within a few hundred yards. There is a mill here which is
pj-opelled mainly by the water of a large spring. Near where the Cross-
ville and Sparta road crosses Caney Fork, there is a good power for a
small mill, throughout the year. For about half the year there is abund-
ance of water for large machinery. There are a number of smaller
creeks, the most important of which are Wilkinson's, Fall, Piney,
Big Laurel, and Basin. All of the mountain streams have abundance
of water in winter and spring, but in summer the sandy soil absorbs
it so that many of them become dry. From this cause the permanent
facilities for manufacturing by wnter-power are limited. Domestic
manufactures embrace jeans, linsey, cotton cloth, flax, linen, buck-
skin pants and gloves, woolen and rag carpets, cotton and woolen
socks, fur and woolen hats, split-bottomed chairs, baskets, shuck col-
lars, and wooden ware. There are also several tanneries and boot and
shoe shops. The products of the smaller industries are greater, in pro-
portion to the population, than in almost any county in the State.
Butter and cheese of good quality are manufactured for the market,
and it is a noteworthy fact that the dairy products of the Table Land,
where care is taken in their manufacture, have an excellence of flavor
that is peculiar to this region. This is owing no doubt to the purity
of the air and water, and to the qualities of the wild grasses and herbs.
Poultry are healthy and thrifty, but large numbers are destroyed by
vermin. Large quantities of honey are produced. It is light colored,
and has generally a sprightly aromatic flavor. Chestnuts and ginseng
are gathered in the forests and sold for good prices. The total value of
taxable property, according to the late assessment, is $614,019.

Minerah. Chalybeate springs may be counted by the hundred.
The most noted are the Howard Springs, four miles west of Crossville.
There are three springs, two of which arc chalybeate, and the other
freestone. There are at this place a boarding house and several very
neat residences. Gibson's Spring, eighteen miles east of Crossville, is
very strong chalybeate. It has the credit for some remarkable cures.

670 Resources of Tcnncsser.

Two miles south of Crossville, near the Pikeville road, is a good cha-
lybeate spring, and ten miles south-east is another which is said to be
" equal to Gibson's." Coal crops out on the side of a ravine three-
quarters of a mile south-east of Crossville, but has never been worked,
and its thickness is unknown. Six miles south of the county seat are
two very fine banks near together — Davis', thirteen feet thick, and An-
drew's, said to be eighteen. We give these figures as reported, but
cannot vouch for their accuracy. We saw specimens of the coal which
is black and lustrous, and appears to be free from sulphur. Ten
miles north of Crossville there is a place where Clear Creek runs, for
about one hundred yards, over a continuous bed of block or cubic coal.
Mr. W. W. Powell, postmaster at Crossville, has some specimens
which are as symmetrical as if cut by a lapidary. On the north-west
slope of Black Mountain, which is a part of the Crab Orchard range,
coal in large quantities is known to exist, but has never been worked.
Haley's Bank, in the same range near Crab Orchard Gap, has fur-
nished coal for blacksmiths' forges for a number of years. It is pro-
nounced by those who have used it to be of very superior quality.
These were the only points that were reported, but they will serve to
indicate the mineral wealth of this region. The entire county, except
the head of Sequatchie Valley and Grassy Cove, belongs to the great
Cumberland Coal Field, and no doubt enough of this valuable mineral
might be obtained from this county alone to supply the State of Ten-
nessee for an unlimited number of years. Clay ironstones abound in
the strata of the coal-measures, and many good specimens of ore may
be found at various points on the Table Land, but their extent and value
are not known. In the head of the valley the bed of red hematite, or
" dyestone," which appears to underlie all the eastern part of the table
land, crops out on both sides, but it has never been worked. Its qual-
ity is the same as that at Rockwood and Oakdale, in Roane county.
Other minerals doubtless exist, but their extent or value is unknown.

DAVIDSON COUNTY.

County Seat — Nashville.

This largo, excellent and populous county was organized under the
State of North Carolina in 1783. It comprises about 550 square miles,
or 352,000 acres, and is bounded on the north by Robertson and Sum-
ner, on the east by Sumner, Wilson and Rutherford, on the south by

Middle Tennessee. 671

Williamson, and on the west by Cheatham. The Cumberland River,
Avith eight convolutions, passes through the county from east to west,
dividing it into two parts nearly equal. The surface configuration of
the county is, for the most part, gently rolling, swelling in places to
considerable heights, and forming lines of rounded flat hills, or mamil-
lary protuberances, and occasionally long ridges from which shoot out
subordinate ones more or less at right angles. There are three of these
main ridges: 1st. The Paradise Ridge, in the north-western part of
the county, at the heads of White's, ]Mansker's and Marrowbone creeks.
This ridge forms the edge of the Highland Rim. 2d. The Harpeth
Ridge, which is the water shed between the Cumberland and Har-
peth rivers. 3d. The ridge dividing the Harpeth from Little Har-
peth. In addition to these, or rather subordinate to them, are many
inferior ridges between the streams, which also have spurs putting out
from them to such an extent as to give to the surface a very rough and
broken appearance. Especially is this the case in the north-western
part of the county.

To enter more minutely into the surface features of the county, we
shall assume Nashville as the starting point, and confine ourselves, for
the present, to the south side of the river. South and south-west of
the city is a series of rounded hills, sweeping in almost a semi-circle
about the city. These hills are symmetrical in form and rise very
gently to the height of 150 or 200 feet. Between them and the city
the soil, mulatto in color, and considerably mixed with rocky frag-
ments, rests upon a bed of limestone that comes very near the surface.
This soil was once quite fertile, but much of it is now comparatively
worthless, except in level places. With a radius of nine miles, if the
segment of a circle were described from the Cumberland River oppo-
site Bell's Bend to Mill Creek, it would enclose a body of as fertile
land, with the exception of that mentioned, as can be found in the State.
With a slightly rolling surface just sufficient for drainage, it grows in
large quantities all the crops cultivated in the Central Basin. This
area is drained by Richland Creek, Little Harpeth, Brown's Creek,
and Mill Creek. It embraces the 7th, 8th, 9th, and 11th districts, and
parts of the 10th 12th, and 14th. This section embraces the best blue-
grass lands in the county. The native growth is poplar, walnut, maple,
and several varieties of the oak. Beyond this segment, on the west, is
a dividing ridge, heretofore spoken of as Harpeth Ridge, running east
and west. South of Harpeth River, and including most of the 14th

672 Resources of Teimessee.

district, the land is, for the most part, high, rolling and thin, though
there are some excellent bottoms on the river.

Taking the section now east of Mill Creek, and South of the Cum-
berland, we find the best soils for cotton, wheat and clover in the
county. The color of the soil, except in alluvial bottoms, is mulatto,
and the timber consists of poplar and white oak, with a very small
sprinkling of maple and walnut. This section is drained by Mill
Creek and Stone's River, with the exception of the 4th district, wdiich
is drained by Stoner's Creek, mainly, and Stone's River, and a consider-
ble portion of it known as Jones' Bend is drained by the Cumberland.
The Hermitage is in the 4th district.

Tj^irning our attention to the lands on the north side of the Cumber-
land, and beginning on the western side of the county, we meet with
the Marrowbone Hills, high, poor, gravelly siliceous spurs, jutting
out from the Highlands with minor spurs as numerous as the branches
of a tree, and between these, numerous streams with a hundred
branches ramify the whole country. A bold ridge runs north and
south for a few miles, and culminates in Paradise Hill, from which the
waters flow in every direction. Almost the whole country embraced
between White's Creek and the Cheatham countv line is rugged and
poor, with the exception of the river and creek bottoms and some of
the uplands near the Cumberland. The lowlands on the upper part
of White's Creek are very narrow. Nearer the mouth, the bottoms
become wider, and the uplands more fertile. The soils on this creek
are well adapted to the cereals, and grow blue-grass luxuriantly. East
of White's Creek, and embraced between that and the Cumberland
River on the east and south, and comprising the 18th, 19th, 20th and
21st, and part of the 22nd districts, the country is considerably diversi-
fied, though not so broken as the last section just described. In the
portion of the county under consideration there are some good, warm,
valley lands, with occasional ridges or spurs too steep for cultivation.
The soil is a mulatto, with a good many surface rocks, and with the ex-
ception of a portion of Neelcy's Bend, is well suited to the growth ot
wheat, corn, potatoes, and clover. The soil in a portion of Neeley's Bend
is dark and well adapted to the grasses. This section is well drained by
AVliite's Creek and its tributaries on the west, and by Manskcr's Creek
on the cast, and Dry Creek through the center. The northern part of
this section abuts against the Highlands, 'and many finger-like projec-
tions shoot out from these into the lowlands, between \vhich nestle many

Middle Tennessee. 673

beautiful coves, wliose southern exposures shorten the number of the

frost days, and woos spring to their embrace some weeks earlier than

the bleak level plateau overlooking them from the north. The soil and

situation here are suitable for the growth of early vegetables. The

only serious objection to this area is the nearness of the underlying

I rocks to the surface, rendering it unable to resist drought. The corn

crops are often materially injured with a few days of dry, hot weather in

i summer. In seasons of great humidity, however, the crops are unusu-

I ally large, and many of the fields in this portion of the county will,

with suitable seasons, yield from fifty to sixty bushels of corn per

acre.

Geological Features. The greater part of this county presents an
outcrop of the Nashville or Cincinnati formation. The rocks are
mostly an impure blue limestone, generally containing many shells,
and easily disintegrating into a loose, mellow, arenaceous soil, easy to
till and wash. The impurities consist of clay and fine sand. A de-
tailed section of the rocks as they occur in Nashville, and which may
be taken as a type of the whole county, was made out by Dr. Safford.
This section, given beloAv, commences beneath the wire bridge and
ascends to the top of Capitol Hill. The section is numbered from the
bottom up, but the highest is described first :

(6.) College Hill Liviestone. When freshly quarried, a dark blue, highly
fossiliferous, coarsely crystalline and roughly stratified limestone, with more
or less of its lamina shaly. The mass weathers, generally, into rough,
flaggy limestones, and shaly matter interstratified, often liberating multi-
tudes of fossils — especially small corals. Some of the layers of this lime-
stone are wholly made up of corals and shells. Stenoporce, Constellaria an-
theloidea, Tetrad um fibratura, Columnaria stellata, 8lromatopora pusiulosa,
Sirophomena alternata, Ort/iis lynx, 0. occidentalis, and others, are abund-
antly represented by individuals. Bellerophon Troosii, species of Gyrtodonta,
Aynbonychia radiata occur. This division is well seen on College Hill,
and in the upper part of the bluff at the Reservoir. There is, also, a fine
presentation of it on Capitol Hill, around the Capitol. Its lowest layers are
at the top of the bluflT at the Wire Bridge. These rocks pertain to the high-
est stratum in the vicinity of Nashville. The division, as here presented,
may be taken with the upper division, ( (2) Middle Member), of the Colum-
bia Section, as typical of the Nashville Formationiu general. This division,
at Capitol Hill, measures 120 feet.

(5.) Cgrtodonta Bed. Immediately below the College Hill Limestone, is
a remarkable bed of coarsely crystalline, ashen gray, or light yellowish gray-
limestone, in great part made up of valves of species of Cgrtodonta, indi-
viduals of Bellerophon Lindsleyi, and B. Troosti. Of the Cyrtodontoi, C.
Saffordi is especially abundant. This bed is best developed in the bluflf at
the Wire bridge. It is here ten or eleven feet thick, and forms one solid
layer. The shells are silicified, and pretty generally have their edges
43

674 Resources of Tennessee.

rounded and worn, as if they had been rolled in currents of water, or by
waves. The bed is seen again at the engine house of the water- works,
wliere it is six feet thick. In tracing it beyond the engine house, it very
soon runs out, and is replaced by a compact, dove-cnjored limestone, like
No. 3, l)elow. Descending the hill on the west side of the Capitol, it is also
seen, but it is, for the most part, replaced by the compact limestone spoken
of. It is well exposed at other low points about the city, and has been
traced, in some directions, a mile or two beyond the city limits. This rock
has been used for building purposes to some extent, and for making corner
posts. Maximum thickness eleven feet.

(4). Bed of Liviestone of the common type; much like the college hill
limestone, coarsely crystalline, fossiliferous, &c. It occurs below No. 5, on
the west side of the Capitol. In the bluff at the wire bridge, it is twenty-
three feet thick. In the bluff above the engine house of the water-works,
it measures twenty-eight feet.

f3). Dove Limestones. This is a group of three layers, for the most part.
The upper layer is a light dove-colored, compact limestone, four feet thick,
breaking with conchoidal fracture, containing strings (mostly vertical) of
crystalline matter, which show points on a horizontal surface. (Birdseye.)
The middle layer is, mainly, the common dark blue crystalline limestone,
(two feet). The lowest layer, (four feet), is mostly like the upper, but more
or less mixed with blue layers. Such is the group as seen at the foot of
Gay Street, in a quarry on the river bank. This group presents itself at
many points in and around the city. It is conveniently studied at the
quarry mentioned, at the foot of Gay Street. At the end of the bluff be-
yond the water-works, it may also be seen, and it is here ten or eleven feet
thick. The group may also be seen in the region of the penitentiary, and
of the old State quarry, overlying the rock of that quarry. It appears at
many points in Davidson county, outside of Nashville. The layers are gen-
erally of desirable thickness, and are quarried at numerous points in and
about the city, for building and other purposes. The group contains a num-
ber of species. Detached siphimcles of Orthoceras Bigshyi, and of an allied
species, are numerous at some points, especially in the middle layer. Tetra-
dium, Bellerophon, Mitrchisonia, Pleuroioviaria, and other genera are rep-
resented. It is in this group that Leperditia Morgani is found. Thickness,
eleven feet.

(2.) Capitol Limestone. This bed supplied the rock to build the Capitol,
and was formerly well exposed in the old State quarry, west and in sight of
the building. It is limestone, but has the appearance of a laminated sand-
stone. When cut and ground smooth, a block of it, presented edgewise,
shows well the laminar character. Such a surface is bluish gray, plenti-
fully banded with daiker lines. The capitol is a splendid presentation of
this rock as a building material. The rock often contains rolled fragments
of the beaded siphuncles of species of Orthoceras. Some specimens of these
are seen in the faces of the blocks m the walls of the Capitol. It exhibits,
also, examples of cross stratification, another evidence of the current-action
to which it was originally subjected. The mass contains some little siliceous
matter, mostly in grains, and in small fragments of silicified shells, so that
they do not interfere, materially, with the working of the rock. It is easily
quarried, and can be obtained in blocks of any desirable size. In its nat-
ural exposures it exfoliates in laminas by long weathering. The bed, pretty

Middle Tennessee. 675

generally, underlies the city, has been quarried at the foot of Gay street,
on the river; is near the water, under the wire bridge, and appears beyond
the water- works, where it has also been quarried, and is twenty feet (hick.
The lamellar structure of this bed runs into the one just below, to some ex-
tent, and it is not always easy to draw a line of separation. Below the
wire bridge my measurements make the thickness of the bed twenty-five
feet.

(1.) The OriJiis J5f:c? underlies the last, and is the lowest member of the
Nashville formation. It is in the water below the wire bridge, but rises in
going down the river, and may be studied in the bluff below the railroad
bridge. It may be seen, too, and its Orthis gathered, at the first mile-stone
on the Miirireesboro Turnpike. It inses at tlie end of the bluff, beyond the
water- works; and still further east, as at Mount Olivet, it may be seen rest-
ing on the Carter's Creek Limestone — the upper member of the Trenton
formation.

One of these strata takes the name of the Bosley stone, and is quar-
ried in tlie tenth and eleventh districts, near the Hillsboro turnpike.
It is a light gray, fine-grained, and easily worked limestone, and makes
a handsome, durable front. Quite a number of the fronts of the best
buildings in Nashville are made of this stone ; among others may be
mentioned that of the Methodist Book Concern and Ensley's block ad-
joining, also the elegant front of Burns' block. This rock is also quar-
ried in Bell's Bend, below Nashville.

There is a large number of minerals found in the county, but in
such small quantities as to be undeserving of notice.

The sulphur springs are numerous, the most famous of which is sit-
uated within the corporate limits of Nashville, which was bored to a
great depth in search of salt. The water is much used during the
summer months, and large quantities are sold on the streets by boys. In
the early history of the county, this spring was known as the Big
French Lick, called so because a Frenchman, name unknown, built a
cabin on the mound on the north side of the spring branch as early as
1710. When the first white hunters came to this region, in 1770,
they found a Frenchman named DeMonbreun living on the same spot.

Soils, Timber, Farms and Crops. In giving the topographical fea-
tures of the county, we incidentally mentioned some of the varieties
of soil. These may be classified into 1st, the siliceous; 2ud, the
limestone proper ; 3rd, the alluvial. The first is of a brownish yellow
color, with intermingling water -worn gravel and underlying sandstone.
The native growth upon this soil is poplar, walnut, chestnut, beech and
oak. The best timber in the county is found upon it. It is specially
adapted to the growth of fruits and watermelons, peanuts and cotton.

676 Resources of Tennessee,

The second exceeds in extent all the other soils of the county. It is^
as has been mentioned, considerably mixed with arenaceous material,
and is light, porous, and easily worked. It varies in color and con-
sistency, giving it diiferent capacities. Upon it grows all the blue-
grass of the county, as well as the largest proportion of all other
grasses except herds-grass, which grows better upon the silicious and
alluvial. Injudicious cultivation has impoverished much of this soil,
once so generous in its yield of all the crops of the county. Of the
alluvial soils, there are three sub-divisions :

1. The Black, which is sticky, without sand enough to give it mel-
lowness. It opens in great cracks or seams during dry weather, and
upon a smooth surface resembles blocks of detached black rock. It
grows corn, millet, Hungarian grass, clover and barley in great luxu-
riance, but is not so well adapted to wheat, cotton, blue-grass, herds-
grass or timothy. It is admirably suited to orchard-grass and lucerne.
The fertility of this soil is very great, and will equal the best soils i^
the Mississippi bottoms.

2. Wlnteor ^^Crmc fishy," retentive of water, cold, and inclined to
be marshy. Well drained, this soil warms up, and is excellent for
timothy and herds-grass. It is also good, when drained, for corn and
oats, but they are longer in maturing.

3. Sandy. This soil is remarkably productive in a wet season, but
vegetation parches up during seasons of drought. When there are fre-
quent and abundant rains during the corn-growing season, the largest
crops are made upon this sandy, alluvial soil. It washes easily, mak-
ing great drifts, but is of inexhaustible fertility.

Timber is growing scarce and dear. The most valuable varieties in
the best cultivated parts of the county, such as cedar, walnut, oak,,
sugar tree and hickory, have been picked over until the quality of that
standing is very inferior. Upon the spurs and ridges in the north-
western parts of the county, in AVhite's Creek Valley, Harpeth Val-
ley, and upon the Cumberland, we find valuable bodies of poplar,
wahuit, oak, ash, hickory and chestnut. Occasionally a good grove,
that has been protected, may be found in other parts of the
county, yet they are very scarce. Usually the woodlands are open,
the trees standing thinly upon the surface, and of an inferior kind,
such as hornbeam, elm, scrubby oaks, honey locust, &c. And yet
the farmers are, to a great extent, independent of timber for en-
<losures. The vast amoiiut of rock that everywhere may be found

Middle Tennessee. 677

near the surface, supplies a cheap, ready and durable material
for the construction of fences. The price of poplar lumber at the
mills is from ^15 to $20 per 1,000, walnut $25, cedar $35. Coal is
now used on many farms, being much cheapei^ than wood. About one-
half the land in the county is still in timber, but the quantity of tim-
ber is not one-fifth of what it was originally. The census report gives
1,948 farms for the county. There is only one farm given as con-
taining over 1,000 acres, which is certainly incorrect.

The farms before the war were in a very high state of cultivation.
The number in such condition is still very great. Farm-houses and
fences, stables and yards, all show refinement of taste and a marked
appreciation for rural elegance and beauty. In the better districts of
the county elegant brick dwellings and stone fences are general. There
are several farms that have from eighteen to twenty-five miles
of stone fencing, the average cost of which w^as one dollar per linear
yard. In improvements, thorough tillage and the extirpation of noxious
weeds and briars, the condition of the farms does not compare favor-
ably with that before the war. Farm improvements have been greatly
impaired and much valuable soil has been taxed to such a degree as to
be almost unproductive. In consequence of this state of things, farms
do not sell so high in Davidson county as in many of the counties adjoin-
ing. The very magnitude of some of the improvements, requiring
large sums to keep them up, has affected the price of first-rate farms.
Farms of the same quality of soil are higher in Maury, Bedford,
Lincoln and Giles counties. Very good farms with good improve-
ments may be bought within six miles of Nashville for forty and fifty
dollars per acre, though the best improved places are held at much
higher rates, ranging from sixty to one hundred and twenty-five dol-
lars, though none are sold. The knobby lands, which are extensive in
the north-western part of the county, may be bought from one dollar
and a half to twenty dollars per acre. They are cliiefly valuable for the
timber and for pasture lands. Most of them grow blue-grass well, and
will subsist large flocks of sheep and cattle. Rents vary from four to
six dollars when paid in money, or if in crop, one-third. The chief
crops grown l)esides vegetables, are corn, wheat, oats, barley, rye,
timothy, herds-grass, Hungarian grass, German millet, native millet,
and cotton. The fi)llowing will show the average yield on the best
soils in the county, according to the estimate of two of the most suc-
cessful farmers in the county: oats forty, corn fifty, wheat twelve,
barley forty, and rye twelve bushels; timothy hay two, herds-gra^s

678 Resources of Ten7tessee.

one and a half, Hungarian grass three, German millet three to four,
and native millet three and a half tons; cotton eight hundred pounds.
The yield of wheat, whether from the exhaustion of the suitable con-
stituents in the soil, or from bad tillage, or from the nature of the cli-
mate, is very small. Immense quantities of straw are produced and
very large heads are formed, but they have but few grains of wheat.
Judging from the straw, one would expect a bounteous yield, but expec-
tations are seldom realized in this particular. Another crop grown in
this county extensively, for market, deserves mention. We refer
to watermelons, which attain an extraordinary size and sweetness.
They grow in this county to their greatest perfection, especially upon
limestone soils that have a considerable admixture of sand. A farmer,,
one of the best in the county, a year or two ago, being desirous of hav-
ing an old sedge field cleared up preparatory to seeding it in grass,
gave one of his employees five acres for one year free of rent, on con-
dition that it should be put in some crop and cultivated well. This
laborer put it in watermelons, and used no fertilizer. He realized in
the Nashville market, $600 clear of all expense, and more than one-
third of the whole number rotted upon the ground. Some of them
weighed from sixty to ninety pounds. All other melons grow well.
Sweet potatoes also grow to a very great size. The quality of the soil,
loose, lich, with a considerable admixture of sand, is just suited to
their growth. They grow too large oftentimes, and those of less size
are preferred. AVe have seen tliem in the Nashville market so large
that four would pass for half a bushel. One hundred and fifty bushels
per acre are often raised. The quantity raised will equal 25,000 bush-
els annually. Irish potatoes grow to perfection on the black soils.
The yield is about one hundred and fifty bushels per acre, and the
total product of the county fi)r the year 1870, as given in the census re-
port, was 66,243 bushels. The estimated crop for 1873, was 40,000
bushels. Of sweet potatoes, the crop of 1870 amounted to 66,854
bushels. Snap beans are raised on the series of high hills from Brent-
wood west, and are made a stai)l(' crop. These hills are very fertile to-
the top.

/S/ocL In the blue-grass districts, which embrac^e a large projwrtion
of the county, stock-raising is by far the most profitable branch of
husbandry, and no county in the Stat(! has such an abundance and va-
riety of fine sto(rk. Indeed, there is scarcely a place in the United
States more famous for the <rliai;icter oC its thoroughbred horses, cows,
sheep and hogs.

Middle Tomcssce. 679

Horses. Since the beginning of this century, the rearing of fine
horses has always, been a favorite occupation with the people of David-
son county. Many fine racers for breeding purposes have been im-
ported, some of them of national reputation, among which we may
mention Haynie's mare Pacolet, Truxton, Wilke's Wonder, and many
others, a partial list of which may be found in the chapter on live
stock. All these have left their blood in their descendants. The ex-
cellence of the blooded horses of Davidson county is well known and
appreciated by stock men everywhere. The war was a very serious
drawback to the breeding of fine horses. Many of the best having
been lost to the county by the exigencies of war. Among Xho. most
distinguished breeders of blood horses in the county are W. G. Hard-
ing, B. F. Cockrill, A. Turner and Samuel Murphy. These gentlemen
are well known by stock men throughout the United States, but there
are various instances of individuals having raised distinguished animals
without being regularly in the business. Trotters received some atten-
tion before the war, but since, this special branch of breeding, stimu-
lated by demand and high prices, has received a new impulse, and
promises to become of leading interest. At present, there are more
than a dozen trotting stallions kept for breeding purposes within the
county, many of them of high character and great value. The number
of horses reported for the county is 5,646, which does not include
horses in the cities, but only on the farms. At present the estimated
number is 6,500.

Mules and Asses. Of these there were in the county 2,278 in 1870,
but the number has been considerably increased since that period. The
estimated number at present is 3,000. A large majority of these are
raised in the county, and many have been sent to the southern markets.
The quality of the mules raised is of the very best, some of them from
mares of the highest blood.

Cattle. The cattle of Dayidson county are generally of a high order
of graded cattle, being mixed with Short-horn, Devonshire, Ayreshire
and Alderney. The milch cows are of much more than ordinary ex-
cellence, owing to the importation of the improved breeds with which
they have been crossed. There are many establishments that have gone
to great expense and care in getting the very best breeding animals,
and perhaps as fine specimens and as perfect types of each breed may
be had in Davidson county as in any portion of the world, I-Cngland
not excepted. The county is indebted to the late Dr. John Shelby,

68o Resources of Tennessee.

Henry Hill, Mark R. Cockrill and others for the introduction of the
better breeds of cattle, these gentlemen having procured of Murdock,
Bao-o'and Waite and others the best short-horns to be found at that day
in England. The natural adaptation of the soil and climate of Tennes-
see for the rearing of fine breeds was manifest to them, and their fore-
caste in this particular will appear still more conspicuous in the future
history of cattle breeding in the State, for it is clear that dairy farming
must in the future hold a high place among the industries of Middle and
East Tennessee. And in this connection we desire to say a few words
in reference to the

Dairy Farming of Davidson County. Already there is a growing
disposition in this State to engage in this business, and nowhere is
this more apparent than in the county of Davidson. There are at
present about forty dairies in Davidson county, with 1,500 cows. These
dairies average from ten to one hundred cows. They are all near
Nashville, and supply that city with sweet milk, butter milk and butter.
Only one is yet engaged in the manufacture of cheese. The many
cool springs of sparkling water, green, perennial grasses and fertile
soils of Davidson county, with a home market, would make this branch
of industry one of the most profitable in which the farmer could engage.
A majority of the cows used in the dairies about Nashville is of mixed
breeds. They are fed with bran, meal, hay, still slop and malt during
the winter, while grass furnishes their principal food from the first of
March to the first of December. Sweet milk is sold by the quart at
8J cents; butter milk, 15 cents per gallon; and good butter the year
round at 40 cents per pound. Upon the supposition that these cows
will yield only 600 gallons of milk, each, annually, the gross amount
each year for each cow would be, according to the estimate of one of
the most successful dairymen in the county, $200, and allowing $100
as the cost of feeding, there would be realized on each cow the net
sum of $100. It is true that the dairy business, as pursued around
Nashville, is very laborious and exacting. A great portion of the
work has to be performed at night, involving the loss of much sleep.
However bad the weather, the milkman, if he would retain his custom-
ers, must deliver his milk before breakfast. But with all this it is
profitable, and could be made more so if, in addition to the selling of
milk, the cheese from a co-operative manufactory could be sold. The
average cost of dairy cows is al)out $30 each, so that it appears the
product of milk one year pays for more than three times the vahie
of the cow, a realization of 333 per cent. No estimate is made of

Middle Tennessee. 68 1

the worth of the offspring or of the manure, both of which, near a
city, are quite vahiable.

Sheep. Every variety of sheep has been tried in this county with
more or less success. The late Mark R. Cockrill gave a world-wide
reputation to this locality, for the production of the finest wool in the
world, a premium for which was awarded to him in London, at the
great International Exhibition in 1849-50. The great fact was
demonstrated that the soil, climate, and latitude of Tennessee, are bet-
ter suited for the growing of wool, superior in (piality and quantity,
than any place then known. Dr. G. R. Brown, of Philadelphia, whose
researches into the cuticular productions of the animal kingdom gave
him an extended reputation, having occasion to analyze specimens of
wool from all parts of the world, declared that the finest specimen
came from Davidson county, and from the flock of the late Mr. Cock-
rill. At present, the favorite breeds of sheep are the Cotswold,
Merino, Leicester and Southdown. The first and last mentioned are
chiefly raised for mutton. The rising hills of Davidson county afibrd
ample herbage and protection for numerous flocks of this valuable
domestic animal. But for the insecurity given to this branch of pro-
ductive industry, by reason of the indifference or neglect of our law-
givers, it would become of leading importance in the county.

Hogs. More than 30,000 hogs are annually raised in this county.
Almost every breed is met with. The problem the farmers have had
to solve since the advent of hog cholera, is how to produce the greatest
amount of pork in the shortest possible time, at the least possible cost.
This disease, when it appears in its most malignant form, sweeps away
the entire surplus production. In consequence of the frequency with
which this disease occurs, the farmers have been led to discard all
breeds of slow growth. Those which mature in the shortest space of
time have been substituted — the Berkshire and the Essex. It would be
difficult to find a drove of hogs in the county that is not more or less
mixed with one of these breeds. The Chester White has been sparsely
introduced, but latitude and climate do not seem to agree with
them. They are subject to the mange, and this tendency increases
when they are carried to more southern latitudes.

Goats. Several years anterior to the war, an im})ression obtained
that the Cashmere goat could be raised with profit in the rich pasture
fields of tlie great Central Basin. Some of the enterprising farmers
of Davidson county, wishing to keep step with the progress of the times.

682 Resources of Teruiessee.

bought from importers several fine bucks and does, paying for them in
some instances $1,000 each. These were crossed on the native goat,
and their appearance greatly improved. The investment, in a pecu-
niary point of view, proved a failure, owing to the lack of demand for
the hair or wool. Large flocks of these graded goats are on some
farms, and they prove serviceable workers in keeping doAvn bushes and
weeds on old pasture lands. Some farmers estimate the saving in labor
by their flocks of goi.t 5 at several hundred dollars. Owing to their pro-
pensity to transcend all bounds and roam at will, the value of goats
has never been appreciated on a farm. The flesh of this animal when
young is extremely juicy, tender, well flavored and wholesome, and
as they subsist in a great measure upon v/hat the farmer is glad to get
rid of, the aggregate profit, directly and indirectly, from a flock of
goats is probably almost as great as that from a flock of sheep.

Mules and horses are both used on the farms. The very best imple-
ments are employed in the making of crops, and in no county in the
State is subsoiling done to the same extent. The benefits derived from
it are very great. It aids the crops to resist drought, and enables the
land in a wet season to absorb and carry away the surplus water. Ex-
perience shows that a farmer who uses the subsoil plow rarely fails to
make good crops.

Labor is scarce, and dear for the quality. It is cheap enough if it
was reliable. Many of the farms show a great lack of this indispen-
sable article in -the slovenly condition of the fence corners, and in the
general air of untidiness which prevails. The breeders of stock pay in
money for all the labor they employ. The price varies from $10 to
$20 per month and board. In the cotton-growing districts a part of
I'.ie crop is given, usually one-half when the owner finds tools and teams
and feed for the latter. When the laborer finds everything, the land-
lord gets one-third for the use of the land. The want of a sufficiency
of labor is proliably the greatest drawback to the farmers of the
county.

Frnif.<t. Tlu-rc are many counties in the State better adapted to
fruit-growing than Davidson, nevertheless, the proximity to market
has made it the banner county in the State in this particular, her
orchard products being valued at $43,915. One of the best fruit-
growers in the county, in answer to a letter of inquiry says in re-
gard to apples and ])ears :

I commenced planting in 18()5, and Irom tliat time have sought to ascer-
tain the experience ol' ohl planters and my contemporaries. Like most new

Middle Tennessee. 685

beginners, I coveted all varieties; I have at least 63. I find that I have
lost thereby. Near large cities summer varieties of apples may be grown
at a profit if energy is used in disposing of the fruit, and even at points re-
mote from cities, some sorts of summer apples may be dried. I think it
undeniable that many favorite sorts are "running out," as the "Early
Harvest," the trunk and limbs of which are filled with warty excrescences,
and the Rawls Jennet, a splendid apple forty years ago, Turner's Green,
ditto, White Pippin, Horse apple. Striped June, and, indeed, many others
whose decaying trunks (much larger than modern trees) are still to be seen
in old orchards. I draw the inference, that it behooves planters to look well
as to what sorts they plant. It is best to look around for newer and tried
varieties. Among these may be found some as good as ever pleased the
palates of our lathers. It must be admitted that natives ought to be
the most desirable, and the trees are vigorous when the apple attains a de-
gree of perlection, to which we of the "Basin" may not hope to aspire, if
we attempt to grow the sorts of which they may justly boast; yet we
have, in my opinion, some sorts of prime excellence. As summer sorts,
the Russian, the Astrachan Red, which is a magnificent July apple ; the
Summer Pearmain, a little later, is a very fine apple; the Red June ; the
Summer Queen, a fine large apple; and the Horse, not so large as formerly.
As fall apples we have the Gloria Mundi, Muskmelon, very fine, Lady
Finger, Maiden's Blush, Cheese, High Low Jack, Winter, Nigger-head or
Pennock, Penn. Cider, Black Apple, Ben Davis, Shookley, small but very
fine, Nickajack, excellent, Kinnard's Seedling, Hatchie, Jo Andrews, and"
Wine Sap. These comprise the best I have seen, and are most generally
preferred by fruit-growers of experience. I omit some of those splendid
old sorts, as Turner Green, &c., because I believe the days of their vigor are
past. Pears grow well in the Basin, and I have not seen, except when gi-own
in volcanic soil, any finer than Bartlett's, Sickels and Sheldon. I have
grov,'n on standards and also on dwarfs. There is a small summer pear
which grows finely, and a great many summer and fall sorts grow very well.
The winter sorts, with me, do not do so well, as they drop too soon from the
stem. The Julienne or Belle pear ripens in July, and grows in great per-
fection. There are numerous others that might be added.

Dwarf pears are grow'ii with great success in some localities, and ai-e
a failure in others. Peaches grow very well upon the high slopes, but
decay early in the low })arts of the county. Many farmers do not try
to raise them on account of liability of the trees to disease. Yet very
fine peaches, richly flavored, large, juicy, and luscious, are raised in
the county, and sold in the Nashville market. One-half of the
lands grow them to perfection. Plums, and most especially the AVild
Goose plum, that was first propagated in the vicinity of Nashville, da
very well. Grapes are raised with success, especially on the elevated
hills. Some vineyards in the northern part of the county, near Para-
di.se Hill, have su])j)lied an almost incredible amount of grapes.
There are others, varying in size from one to five acres, that bear well.
The most usual varieties grown in the county are the Concord, Ives'

684 Resowces of Tennessee.

Seedling, Delaware, Hartford Prolific. The Catawba is a great favor-
ite, but is liable to rot. Straw^berries and raspberries, currants and
gooseberries, are found growing in almost every farm garden. There
are five nurseries in the county that sell 1,500,000 trees annually, the
gross income from which will amount to $250,000. These trees con-
sist of apple, peach, pear, (both standard and dwarf) plum, cherry, and
miscellaneous trees or shrubs. About three-fourths of the number
sold are apple trees, and they are shipped to all the States south, and to
almost every county in the State of Tennessee.

Honey is produced in large quantities. The largest apiary in the
south is in this county.

Mills. Both saw and grist-mills, driven by steam or water, are every-
where convenient in the county, besides some excellent flouring mills
and saw-mills in Nashville. The whole number is about forty. The
water-courses of Davidson are not usually well adapted for the con-
struction of mills. The water is inconstant. During the summer
months many of the streams dry up. As the county becomes denuded of
timber, the streams become more uncertain in the volume of water. In
some localities, even stock water is becomes scarce in summer. Har-
peth is the best milling stream in the county. It furnishes seats for a
half dozen good mills. Stone's River and Mill .Creek also furnish
some good water-power for mills.

Roads. Of all the counties in the State, Davidson has the largest
number of good macadamized roads. The abundance of surface rocks
ra'akes the labor and expense of metalling roads small, compared with
many other counties. There are twelve turnpikes running into Nash-
ville, from every part of the county. The dirt roads are badly kept
up. They run over many soft, rich, miry places, that become almost
impassable in winter.

RaUroads. Six railroads enter Nashville, viz.. The Louisville and
Nashville and Nashville and Decatur, consolidated; Nashville and
Chattanooga and Northwestern Railroad, consolidated — making the
Nashville, Chattanooga and St. Louis Railway ; Tennessee and Pacific,
extending to Lebanon, Tenn. ; St. Louis and Southeastern. Two others
are now being put under (;ontract, the Owensboro and Russellville,
and the Cumberland and Ohio, and a route for a narrow gauge from
Nashville to Clarksville is being surveyed.

Rioer. Cumberland River is navigable below Nashville for about
nine months in the year, and to Carthage, above, for about the same
time. See (chapter on Transportation — Rivers.

Middle Tennessee, 685

Churches. There are forty-two churches ouiside of Nashville and
Edgefield, and school-houses are to be found in every district, many
of which are used as churches.

Schools. We are indebted to R. W. Weakley, the Superintendent
of Public Schools for Davidson county, for the following informa-
tion :

The public schools of this county have been in successful operation for
several years. In 1870 the school law was so modified as to leave to sepa-
rate county action the subject of public schools. This county took the lead
under that law, levied a tax on property, polls and privileges, and through
the School Directors of each district formed a "County Board of Educa-
tion." This board adopted an admirable code of regulations for the gov-
ernment of the schools, and a uniform series of text-books. These regula-
tions, slightly changed to adapt them to the present school law, passed
in March, 1873, are still in force, and the text-books have been gradually
changed so as to incur the least expense, when, found by experience to be
not well suited to the wants and capacities of pupils. The school districts
are twenty-six in number, and conform, with one exception, to the civil dis-
tricts. Schools for white and schools for colored children, located at points
deemed by the directors to be most eligible, are continued in some districts
ten months, and in other districts for shorter periods, averaging for the
county about seven months in the year. The tax for school purposes, both
State and county, is two mills on the dollar of property, two dollars on polls,
and a privilege tax, and amounts to about $80,0U0. This is apportioned to
each district by the County Trustee, according to its scholastic population.
There have been employed, for the term ending the last Friday in January,
about one hundred teachers, at an average salary of §45 per month. The
scholastic population for the present school year is 21,193 — in the city of
Nashville 8,877, and in the other districts 12,316 — between the ages of six
and eighteen. Orthography, reading writing, arithmetic, English grammar,
geography, elementary geology of Tennessee, and history of the United
States, are the branches prescribed by law, and, by our regulations, are di-
vided into seven classes or grades, viz., two primary, two intermediate, and
three grammar. Higher branches are taught in many of the schools by the
pupil paying a moderate tuition fee. Declamation, compositions, select
readings, &c., are also prescribed at weekly and monthly reviews. Within
the last year commodious school buildings have been erected in the town of
Edgefield and the loth district, presenting a handsome appearance and
furnished with clocks and bells. In many of the districts neat frame
school-houses have been erected and furnished with good desks, while in
others, churches are used for school-houses, and rented buildings, devoid of
the proper furniture and apparatus. Good discipline cannot be easily
attained in a house badly designed for school purposes and seated with old-
fashioned benches. I feel the want of proper buildings and school appli-
ances in many portions of the county, and what is true here is true of every
portion of the State.

Towns and Villages. Nashville, (lat. 36°10^ north, and long. 8(>°49
from Greenwich) is situated on the left bank of Cumberland liiver,

6S6 Resow^ces of Tennessee.

200 miles above its mouth, and a little north of the center of the State.
It has a population of about 40,000, and is fast growing in commercial
importance and wealth, but its political influence has greatly diminished
since 1835, about which time it dictated the national policy of the
government. The city is founded literally upon a rock, the river bluffs
rising to the height of seventy or eighty feet above low water mark.
The surface of the land upon which Nashville is situated is irregular,
but not abrupt, rising in long, gradual slopes, with the exception of
Capitol Hill, which rises with more precipitancy but with great sym-
metry, resembling a great Indian mound. It covers the space of sev-
eral acres, and overlooks the entire city. The city is laid out into rec-
tangular streets, most of them rather narrow, but at convenient dis-
tances. The public buildings of the city are numerous and some of
them elegant.^ The State capitol is built upon Capitol Hill, and accord-
ing to Parton, is one of the most elegant, correct, convenient and gen-
uine public buildings in the United States, a conspicuous testimonial of
the wealth, taste and liberality of the State. The corner-stone to this
magnificent building was laid on the 4th day July, 1845. The last
stone of the tower was laid July 21, 1855, and the last stone of the
lower terrace March 19, 1859. The building was first occupied by the
Legislature October 3, 1853. The whole appropriation from 1844 to
1859 was $900,500. Small appropriations have been made since for
the improvement of the grounds, which are still in an unfinished con-
dition. The length of the building is 239 feet 3 inches, width at
-ends 112 feet 5 inches. Including side porticos, the width is 138 feet
5 inches. The total height of the building is 206 feet 7 inches. It
is completely fire-proof, no wood having been used in its construction
except for the doors, window frames and sash. The rock used in its
construction is a laminated limestone filled with fossil remains, and not
the most durable. It exfoliates upon exposure, and a few of the stones
in the building are beginning to show signs of disintegration and exfo-
liation. The railings and columns of the interior are made of \\\q varie-
gated East Tennessee marble. Most of the work was performed by
Tennessee mechanics, under the supervision of the architect, Wm.
Strickland, of Pliiladelphia, who died before the building was finished,
and lies cntoml)cd in a recess in the wall on the east side of the north
portico. Altogether, the building is an ornament to the State, and it
has enlisted the pride of every class and profession. The market-house
and court-house are situated on a square of several acres in extent, and
are neat models of architectural taste, beauty and convenience. The

Middle Tennessee. 687

State penitentiary is on west Church street. The buildings occupy
three sides of a hollow square, all enclosed by a massive stone wall
twenty-five feet high, and four feet thick at the base. In it are numer-
ous workshops, in which the convicts are required to work every day.
Within the past few years, under a new system, a majority of the con-
victs is employed in coal mines, in the construction of railroads, and in
working upon the capitol grounds. The present number imprisoned
is over 900, of whom tlie greater number are negroes. The county
jail is a substantial structure, built of stone, and is upon the very spot
where the first fort was erected, nearly a century ago. There are also
a city work-house, a pest-house just without the city limits, several
hospitals, an institute for the blind, a house of industry for females,
two orphan asylums, city water-works, gas-works, fair grounds, race-
course, etc. Within six miles of the city is the county poor-house,
and about the same distance is the Tennessee hospital for the insane,
which, through the persevering endeavors of Miss D. L. Dix, was es-
tablished by the Legislature in 1848. It has about 350 inmates.
There are twenty-five more men than women. There are many other
charitable and benevolent institutions in and around Nashville, but as
the details in regard to them do not come strictly within our province,
we pass on to consider the

Nashville Public Schools. In the spring of 1852, Alfred Hume, Esq.»
long an eminent teacher of a select classical school in Nashville, was en-
gaged by the city council to visit various cities in which public schools were
in operation, to investigate their practical working, and report to the Board.
Having returned and signified his readiness to make known the result of
his inquiries, he was requested to do so in public. Accordingly, on the 26th
of August, he appeared before the Board and a large concourse of citizens,
at Odd FeJlows' Hall, and read a lengthy and masterly report, two thousand
copies of which were published. That report may be regarded as the cor-
ner-stone of the system of public schools in this city. In the same year the
lot, 185x270 feet, at the corner of Spruce and Broad streets was purchased,
and proposals received for the erection of a building. On the 19th of May,
1853, Dr. W. K. Bowling delivered an oration, in the presence of a large
audience, at the laying of the corner-stone. The building was completed
withm the following year, and was called the Hume school, in honor of the
distinguished scholar who had taken such an active part in inaugurating
the new enterprise. On the 14th of October, 1854. the city couHcil elected
the first Board of Education, the following gentlemen being chosen : F. B.
Fogg, W. K. Bowling, R. J. Meigs, Allen A. Hall, John A. McEwen, and
Alfred Hume. They held their first meeting on November 5, following,
and the schools were formally opened to pupils February 26, 1855. Much
ot the unvarying prosperity of the schools is due to the fact that they have
always been controlled by boards of active, intelligent, discreet gentlemen,
many of them the most distinguished citizens of the place, as will appear
from the following list of those who, at different times, have served in that

688 Resources of Tennessee.

capacity: Charles Tomes, W. F. Bang, J. B. Lindsley, Isaac Paul, M. H.
Howard, J. B. Knowle^, S. Cooley, J. W. Hoyte, J. P. Coleman. Wm.
Stockel, C. K. Winston, P. S. Fall, J. L. Bostick, B. S. Ehea, J. 0 Griffith,
M. M. Brien, M. G. L. Claiborne, M. M. Monahan, J. S. Fowler, H. H. Har-
rison, T. A. Atchison, H. S. Bennett, L D. Wheeler, D. D. Dickey, E. H.
East, R. B. Cheatham, Ira P. Jones, John A. Callender, M. C. Cotton, Eu-
gene Cary, D. W. Peabody, D. Rutledge, J. Jungerman, John Rhum, J.
Sample, John J. McCann, James Whitworth, T. H. Hamilton, Samuel Wat-
kins, J. B. Craighead, L. G. Tarbox, J. L. Weakley, Charles Rich, George
S. Kinney, A. D. Wharton, A. J. Baird, R. A. Young, J. T. Danlap, M. B.
Howell. In the year 185G, the lot on the corner of Summer and Line streets
was purchased with the proceeds of property donated by Colonel Andrew
Hynes, and a building erected upon it was called by his name. In the
year 1859, M. H, Howard, Esq , gave to the city a line lot on College Hill,
on which now stands the school-house named for him. The Trimble school,
at 524 South Market street, \yas so called in honor of John Trimble, Esq.,
who presented the lot on which it stands for school purposes. In 1867 the
Belle View building was purchased and converted into a school-house for
colored pupils. The new Ninth Ward school-house, at the corner of High
and Madison streets, has just been completed. There are, therefore, six
different buildings occupied by the public schools of the city. They con-
tain thirty-three study-halls, and thirty-eight recitation rooms, furnishing
3,300 sittings. The scholastic population last year was 8,370, the total num-
ber enrolled 3,722, the average number belonging 2,630, average attendance
2,514, total number tardy 2,451, per cent, of attendance on number belong-
ing 95.60, on enrollment, 67.54, on enumeration 44.46, per cent, of tardiness
on attendance 0.49, average age of pupils 11.7 years, cost of tuition per pupil
belonging $16.91, total cost $21.89, average salary paid teachers $684, total
outlay for tuition $44,477.20, entire cost of schools $57,588.47, tax levied by
city two mills, by county two mills, total four mills. The schools embrace
primary, intermediate, grammar, and high school departments, requiring
ten years to complete the course of study. The first two grades, or pri-
mary, are devoted to teaching orthography, reading, notation, &c.; the next
three, or intermediate to the elements of arithmetic, geography, &c.; the
two following, or grammar, to advanced arithmetic, grammar, history, and
composition ; and the high school of three years embraces elementary, alge-
bra, geometry, Latin, French, German, and natural sciences. Vocal music,
penmanship, and drawing are taught by special teachers throughout the
schools. The officers of the board of education now in charge are Gen. Jas.
T. Dunlap, President; Jos. L. Weakley, Esq., Treasurer; Prof. A. D.Whar-
ton, Secretary; Capt. S. Y. Caldwell, Superintendent.

No better conducted schools are found anywhere. The teachers are
the best the country can afford, and the officers are all energetic and
.skillful, devoted to their duties, and are animated by a desire to make
the schools equal in every respects the best to be found in any country.

Other Educational Institutions. Nashville is destined to become a
j;rcat educational centre, for in addition to the well-regulated system
of public .s(thools, it has .several private institutions of learning of high
merit and with growing patronage. Among these are the University

Middle Tennessee. 689

of Nashville, which dates its existence back more than ten years ante-
rior to the admission of Tennessee into the Union. It was chartered
by the State of North Carolina in 1785, and endowed with two hun-
dred and forty acres of land, which was included within the corporate
limits of the city. This institution has passed through various phases,
and has had many names — first Davidson Academy, then Cumberland
College, and finally the University of Nashville. It has never received
any aid from the State, though it has received several endowments of
lands from North Carolina and the general government. It has
almost always been presided over by men of great learning and ability.
First the Rev. Thos. Craighead, then Dr. James Priestly, and in 1824
Rev. Phillip Lindsley, formerly President of Princeton College. Dr.
Lindsley held his position for twenty-six years, and during that period
the institution rose to a high position and influence. In 1850, after
having passed through a career of brilliant prosperity, it was compelled
to suspend operations for want of funds, and a few distinguished gen-
tlemen of the medical profession organized the medical department
of the University of Nashville, and since that period, the buildings
have been used for that purpose. The buildings for the literary de-
partment, as they now exist, were erected in 1853-4, a short distance
from the old college. The literary department was again opened m
1855, and Gen. Bushrod R. Johnson made Superintendent. It was
conducted on the military plan until the breaking out of the civil war, _
when the buildings were used as a hospital. After the war, the trus-
tees of the University located the Montgomery Bell Academy in the
buildings of the literary department of the University. The fund for
this academy was derived from a bequest of $20,000 by the late Mont-
gomery Bell — a man whose name is inseparably connected with the de-
velopment of the iron interests of the State, and who had the honor of
furnishing to Gen. Jackson, at the battle of New Orleans, all the can-
non balls used in that famous conflict. A Pennsylvanian by birth, he
began the manufacture of iron as early as 1810, and became thorough-
ly wedded to his adopted State. He was one of those pioneers in in-
dustrial enterprises that give direction to capital and energy. It was
througli his influence, and by reason of his financial success, that more
than thirty furnaces shed their ruddy light over the Western Iron Belt
previous to the war. A man of indomitable energy, of commanding
intelligence, of genuine philanthropy, and of extended views, he made
such an indelil)le impress u])on his age that it will be seen and felt for
many generations to come. The bequest made by this public-spirited

690 Resources of Tennessee.

citizen was for the free education of twenty students from the counties
of Davidson, Montgomery, JJickson, and Williamson. By judicious
investment it has increased one hundred and fifty per cent., and the
whole amount now is $50,000. During the eighty-nine years of its
existence, according to its agent, Dr. Shelton, the University has re-
ceived a total of $89,000. The college funds and property are now
worth :

The College fund $ 50,000

Montgomery Bell fund 50,000

Buildings and grounds 120,000

Medical College 50,000

Libraries, Cabinets, etc 30,000

Total $300,000

Ward^s Seminary for young ladies has made a character far and
wide for its thoroughness of instruction, excellence of teachers, and
for the refinement, accomplishments and solid learning of its gradu-
ates. It has taken the place of the old Nashville Female Academy,
which for so many years educated the daughters of Middle Tennessee.

St. Cecilia's Academy, under the control of the Sisters of the Dom-
inican Order, is beautifully situated on a commanding eminence two
miles north-west of the city. It was erected in 1860. The course of
study embraces the French, German and ancient languages, besides the
regular English branches. There are two other schools under the con-
trol of the Catholics, and several private schools under no particular
denomination.

The Vanderbilt University. This institution, the buildings for
which are now being erected, had its origin in the desire of the Metho-
dist Conference to have an institution which would worthily represent
it, and was assured by the donation of $500,000 by Cornelius Vanderbilt,
of New York. To this amount are added other gifts, until its funds
reach nearly $700,000. It is under the control of the Methodist
E})iscopal Church, South, and will unquestionably be one of the most
richly endowed institutions in America. It is in contemplation to
make a thorough University of it, with theological, law, medical,
scientific and literary departments.

Fisk University was established by the liberality of several northern
gentlemen shortly after the war, for the benefit of the colored children
of the State. The curriculum is quite full. The ancient languages

Middle Tennessee. 691

and the higher mathematics form a regular part of the course. There
never has been a time when tlie educational prospects of Nashville
were so flattering as at present, and the broad "stream of steady intel-
lectual light which her institutions of learning will annually shed over
the State, must have a powerful effect in stimulating enterprise, elevat-
ing thought, refining grossness, diminishing sensuality, lessening crime,
and lifting our people into a higher scale of intelligence, morality and
civilization. The common schools of the city have already, by their
excellence and example, aroused a deeper interest in the public mind
throughout the State for better schools, and will doubtless prove the
silent but secret power to disarm prejudice against education in every
county in the State.

There are over thirty-five churches, of all denominations, in and
around Nashville. Of these the Methodists have the largest number.

WHOLESALE TRADE OF NASHVILLE.

For many items relating to this we are indebted to James T. Bell,
the former commercial editor of the Union and American.

Cotton. The following is a statement of all the cotton transported
from the city, and to what destinations, for the year beginning Sept.
1st, 1872, and ending Sept. 1st, 1873.

TO WHAT POINTS. NO. BAI.ES.

New York, N.Y 38,523

Boston, Mass 3,277

Philadelphia, Pa 1,789

Baltimore, Md 1,252

Providence, R. 1 1,747

Fall River, Mass 1,526

Lawrence, Mass 400

Utica, N. Y 45

Harrisburg, Pa 101

Alleghany, Pa 42

Dayton, 6 878

Pittsburgh, Pa 540

Lockport, N. Y 5

Rockford, 111 3

Cincinnati, 0 1,891

Louisville, Ky 1,313

Evansville, Ind 27

Savannah, Ga 417

Charleston, S. C 16

Mobile, Ala 2,088

New Orleans, La 7,171

Total 63,051

692 Resources of Tennessee.

In addition to which there were 38,645 bales shipped through Nash-
ville without stopping. Taking the table of cotton receipts and ship-
ments, and instituting comparison between the year under review and
the previous one, we find the excess of receipts in favor of the year
just closed. A recapitulation shows receipts to August 31, 1872,
55,936; receipts to August 31, 1873,67,627; making a difference of
11,691 bales in favor of the last year. As to the extent of the cotton
trade of Nashville for that year, and the amount required to handle the
crop, we can put it down in round figures at $4,260,000, a smaller
amount than former years, owing to the inferior quality of the bulk of
the staple handled. For the season of 1873-4 the amount handled
will be over 100,000 bales.

iea/ Tobacco Trade. This trade is increasing with great rapidity.
For the year ending September 1, 1872, there were only 946 hogs-
heads received in Nashville, but the subsequent year, ending Septem-
ber 1, 1873, there were 2,002 hogsheads, showing a rapid increase in
this important branch of business. It is thought that the year ending
September 1, 1874, will show double the number of hogsheads as the
one just past. A large proportion of the tobacco shipped to Nashville
is raised in Smith, Trousdale, Wilson, Macon, Jackson, Putnam, De-
Kalb, Overton, Clay, Fentress and Sumner, the largest quantity com-
ing from the two counties first named. The following will show the
receipts from the Upper Cumberland at the wharf.

For New Orleans 4,925 hhds.

For New York 258 "

For Louisville 203

For Clarksville 2 "

For Nashville 1,242 «

Total 6,630 «

RECEIVED AT NASHVILLE WAREHOUSES

Via river 1,242 hhds.

Via railroads 1,299

Total 2,541 «

SOLD AND SHIPPED

To New Orleans 672 hhds.

To New York 1,718 '^^

To Baltimore "^

For consumption ^"^^

Total 2,541 «

Middle Tennessee. 693

Provision Trade. This business aggregated for the ytar ending Sep-
tember, 1873, nearly double that of any previous year. The receipts of
hogs amounted to 35,000, about 10,000 of which were shipped south,
and the remainder packed in the city. They were mostly from the
north side of the Cumberland River, but few coming from the counties
south of Nashville. Those raised in Wilson, Williamson, Maury and
Giles counties, were purchased by drovers and shipped on southern ac-
count. The method of curing pursued in Tennessee makes a very
superior bacon, which is the standard of superiority in the leading
markets in the South.

Dry Goods Trade. The aggregate of this trade amounts to about
$4,000,000 annually. It is conducted by solid men with an abund-
ance of capital, and the failures that have occurred amongst this class
are very few and at long intervals.

The Liquor Trade. The proportions which this trade has assumed
'during the past five years are immense. The manufacture of whisky
In the fifth district, in which Nashville is embraced, is being increased
by machinery backed by a large amount of capital. So superior is the
artiele manufiictured, that imitation brands are being made in many of
the western cities. The demand for Tennessee whisky is extending in
every direction, and now reaches as far south as Texas, and as far north
as Michigan. For the last commercial year the sales amounted to 100,-
000 barrels, valued at $5,000,000— $1,000,000 more than the dry goods
trade. If to this are added the imported brandies, wines, &c., it will
swell the trade to between $6,000,000 and $7,000,000. There is also
a considerable trade in the malt liquors. One brewery in the city
turns out 600 kegs per week, worth $2.75 per keg; value of annual
product, $85,800. Add to this the amount brought from the Cincinnati
breweries, which is estimated to be half of the above, we shall find the
business in lager beer to amount to $128,700.

Boot and. Shoe Trade. This amounts annually to $2,000,000. There
are sijc firms with large capital engaged i» this business, and they send
out to all divisions of the State, to North Alabama, North Georgia,
North Mississippi, and Southern Kentucky, about 40,000 cases of
goods annually. There is no branch of business in the city more
prosperous than that of the boot and shoe trade.

Hat Trade. This is on the increase, and the sales of the wholesale
houses amount to $300,000 annually.

694 Resources of Tennessee.

The Hardware Trade. The extent of this business is rapidly in-
creasing. In 1871 it amounted to $900,000; in 1872, $1,300,000; in
1873, $1,500,000. This business rests upon a substantial basis, and
will, doubtless, continue to increase^until it takes in all the principal
points in the southern adjoining States.

The Grocery Trade. The following is the estimate of the sales made
of the staple articles for the year 1871 : 14,000 hogsheads of sugar,
18,000 barrels sugar, 13,000 barrels sirup and molasses, 50,000 bags
coifee, 50,000 kegs nails, not to say anything of the many other
articles that belong to this trade. The total sales amount to $10,000,-
000 for the year — a figure that will do to compare with the footing up
of other places of more pretentions.

Notions and White Goods. Two houses, which are among the
largest in the United States, are devoted exclusively to the articles em-
braced in this classification. The total trade in these goods amounts to
$1,300,000.

The Drug Trade. For the year 1872 this trade amounted to $900,-
000, and for the year 1873 to $1,600,000, which is an increase of nearly
eighty per cent.

The Clothing Trade. At the close of the war the business of the
city amounted to $100,000. For the year ending September 1, 1871,
it footed up $600,000, the year following, $850,000 ; and for the past
year, $1,200,000; which shows a rapid and successful growth.

Flour and Grain. The excellent wheat and corn-growing districts
that environ Nashville, with the facilities for transportation, have
made it a great grain and flour emporium. There are now five large
flouring mills within the city, with a capacity of 800 barrels of flour
per day, and 2,000 l)ushcls of meal. Contiguous to the city are also
several large establishments, which, with the city mills, turn out daily
about 1,500 barrels of flour and 4,000 bushels of meal, or the enormous
sum of 450,000 barrels of flour, and 1,200,000 bushels of meal annu-
ally. This, with im])orts from other points, will swell this trade up to
$5,000,000. Add to this tiie grain trade, about $1,500,000, and the
grand aggregate will amount to $6,500,000. With the increasing fa-
cilities for transjiortation, and an improved agriculture, we may hope
Hoon to see this business attain a growth of $10,000,000 annually.

Corn and Oats. During the year under review Nashville handled
1,100,000 bushels of corn, worth $638,000; 100,000 bushels of oats^
Avorth $50,000.

Tlie Salt Trade amounted to (50,000 barrels, valued at $175,000.

Middle Tennessee. 695

Leather. There are three tanneries in the city, which produce as fol-
lows:

13,000 sides harness at $6 per side $78,000

5,000 sides skirting at $4 per side 20,000

2,000 sides sole leather at $7 per side 14,000

1,000 sides wax upper and kip at $3.50 per side 3,500

Total amount $115,500

Add to the above 15,000 sides of country leather, rough and finished,
at say an average of $3 per side, making $45,000, and French and
American calf, and linings, &c., imported, say $50,000, handled by
our leather dealers, and we find the total business foots up $210,000.

China, Glass and Queensware. This trade foots up to $200,000 an-
nually, with prospects ior a large increase.

Cigars and Tobacco. This business has increased to about $2,000,-
000. One house is reported to have sold, in eight months, a quarter
of a million of one brand of cigars.

Live Stock Trade. The excellence of Tennessee beef and mutton,
especially of that made in the great blue-grass region of the Central
Basin, is making Nashville a focus for drovers and shippers. The fol-
lowing is an approximation of the sales in the Nashville market :

21,000 cattle, average weight 800 lbs. at 4c $672,000

16,000 sheep, average price $2.50 per head 40,000

30,000 hogs, average weights 265 lbs. at $4.50 per cwt 831,250

Total sales $1,043,250

Furniture. The business in furniture is estimated at $500,000.
This trade is rapidly extending. It is to be regretted that, with the
immense amount of valuable timber within reach of Nashville, more
capital is not engaged in the manufacture of furniture.

Paper. The manufacture of paper, including news, book and wrap-
ping, is assuming respectable proportions. Ten thousand pounds of
rags are used daily, and the business is set down at $3,000,000 an-
nually.

Hides. An average of 40,000 hides are annually handled by the
dealers in Nashville, worth, probably, $200,000.

T^e Coach and Saddlery Hardware business is estimated to equal
$250,000, and the saddle and harness trade $200,000.

696 Resources of Tennessee.

Millinery. In this business there are two wholesale houses doing
business to the amount of §110,000.

The Coal Irade. More than upon any other one article, must Nash-
ville rely upon this product for a rapid and successful growth. Three
coal-fields lie convenient and accessible, viz: the coal lying contigu-
ous to the Nashville and Chattanooga Railroad, the upper Cum-
berland River coal-fields, and the coal-fields of Western Kentucky,
which are reached by the St. Louis and Southeastern Railroad. No
city in the Union has a larger area of coal to draw from than Nash-
ville, and the cheapness of this indispensable article of fuel, which
will result from a heathful competition, will make Nashville, in time,
a great manufacturing center. The present trade in it amounts for the
city to 2,500,000 bushels, which is sold at an average price of sixteen
cents per bushel, amounting to $400,000 annually. And this leads
us to speak of the

Manufacturing and Mechanical Interest. There are at present in the
city seven saw-mills, five flour mills, eight planing mills and sash and
blind factories, two cotton seed oil mills, two tanneries, one cedar ware,
two chair, four furniture, three wagon factories, four carriage, several
for making mattresses, saddle-tree and trunk factories, six foundries,
six machine shops, two brass foundries, brewery, distilleries, paper mills,
broom factories, manufactory of fertilizers, shoe and clothing factories,
and quite a number of smaller establishments, representing, exclusive
of the mammoth cotton factory, $1,500,000.

The Cotton Factory alluded to is situated in North Nashville, and is
one of the largest establishments in the country, rivalling in the num-
ber of spindles, quantity and quality of products, some of the famous
cotton factories of Rhode Island. Upon a capital stock estimated to
be worth $400,000, these mills only half finished were able to pay a
profit of ten per cent., and with the new machinery now being put up,
the President confidently expects, with reasonable management, to pay
at least three per cent, per quarter. As we learn from the Secretary's
report, the amount of cotton used for the year ending September 1,
1873, was 2,328 bales, weighing 1,106,465 pounds, costing $175,347.11,
at an average price of fifteen cents per pound. From this amount
of cotton there were produced in the same period 1,981,406 yards of
4-4 sheetings, 20,000 yards ])an()las, 312,384 yards of 7-8 sheetings, and
315,117 yards of 7-8 drills, besides 30,245 yards of batting, remnants
of cloth, waste for paper, 107,076 pounds. The actual loss amounted

Middle Tennessee. 697

to 36,272 pounds. These goods were shipped to New York, Chicago,
St. Louis, Cincinnati, and about ludf of the quantity made sold direct-
ly to merchants in the State. The cost of manufacturing 2,628,907
yards, divided as above, and w^eighing 891,795 pounds, was $90,159.14,
or 10.1 cents per pound, or 3.42 cents per yard. The whole number of
operatives employed is 268, of whom 202 are females. The average
price paid factory hands is a little over §5 per week. The number of
spindles that were in operation, 7,520 ; shortly to be added, 6,300 ;
making 13,820. Number of looms, 250; to be put up, 150; making
400. The entire assets of the company, exclusive of fourteen acres of
land, amount to $469,297.29, and their liabilities, exclusive of the
capital stock, which is $320,187.10, are $149,110.19. The company
has recently ordered additional machinery, amounting in value to $75,-
000, cost and carriage, and have also issued bonds which are at par in
financial circles. The net profits for the year under consideration was
$41,353.65. The success of this enterprise is highly gratifying to the
people of the State. It shows the advantages the State affords for the
manufacture of heavy cotton goods, in saving transportation, and
making a market for home products. In regard to the supply of labor,
the President in his report says:

It is the policy of nearly all large mills to furnish their operatives with
houses convenient, and charge them rent, or give them the houses free, and
reduce the wages paid, which, in the matter of dollars and cents, certainly
could be made beneficial to the company, besides it would greatly tend to
locate and make stationary che better class of operatives, by reason of the
fact that each family that might occupy one of our houses would regard
themselves at home so long as they desired to work in the mill. I must
Eay that first-class skilled labor is not always obtainable at short no-
tice, but under the management of our mill it is increasing rapidly in this
section of country, and ere many years have passed by we will have as much
a:> will be needed. We find no difficulty in getting unskilled operatives —
in fact, the pressure is daily upon us to take more hand's into the mill than
we can use, and many that we took at first, who were inefficient, are becom-
ing quite efficient.

The State needs, for its prosperity, a hundred such establishments
to work up its wool and cotton, and to give employment to a large
class that is now a drag upon its industry and enterprise. The supply
of raw material and fuel is ample, and when it is once impressed upon
capitalists that such investments will pay, there will be no lack of cap-
ital to make Tennessee a great manufiicturing and industrial center.
Continuing the trade of Nashville, we find

The Produce Trade to be considerable, and may be summed up as
follows :

698 Resources of Tennesee.

Peanuts, 150,000 bush. @ 80c % 120,000

Dried Fruit, 250,000 lbs. @ 4c 100,000

Eggs, 20,000 bbls. @ $15 300,000

Butter, 500,000 lbs. @ 20c 100,000

Feathers, 300,000 lbs. @ 65c 185,000

Beeswax, 100,000 lbs. @ 30c 30,000

Ginseng, 50,000 lbs. @ 90c 45,000

Wool, 200,000 lbs. @ 33c 66,000

Potatoes, 50,000 bbls. @ $ 3.50 175,000

Green Apples, 16,000 bbls. @ $3.00.'. 48,000

Total $1,069,000

A great portion of the egg.s, butter, feathers, beeswax and ginseng-
is brought by the river from the counties above. To recapitulate the
trade of Nashville, we find

Cotton $ 4,250,000

Leaf Tobacco 416,320

Provisions 1,300,000

Dry Goods 4,000,000

Liquors 7,000,000

Boots and Shoes 2,000,000

Hats 300,000

Hardware 1,500,000

Groceries 10,000,000

Notions and White Goods 1,300,000

Drugs 1,600,000

Clothing 1,200,000

Flour and Wheat 5,000,000

Corn and Oats 688,000

Salt 175,000

Leatlier 210,000

Hides 200,000

China, Glass and Queensware 200,000

Cigars and Tobacco 2,000,000

Live Stock 1,043,250

Stoves and Tinware 750,000

Furniture 500,000

Paper 300,000

Coacli and Saddlery Hardware 250,000

Saddlery and Harness trade 200,000

Other manufactures 2,500,000

Produce 1,069,000

Millinery 110,000

Coal 400,000

Books and Stationery 500,000

Lumber '. 300,000

Total amount $51,261,570

Middle Tennessee. 699

There are published at Nashville, the following newspapers and pe-
riodicals, devoted to politics, religion, literature, trade, agriculture and
commerce: Republican Banner, daily, tri-weekly and weekly; Con-
servative and Progressive. Nashville Union and American, daily,
semi-weekly and weekly; Democratic. Nashville Bulletin, weekly;
Republican. Nashville Journal of Commerce, weekly; Immigration
and Trade. Commercial Reporter, weekly ; Trade. Rural Sun, week-
ly ; Agriculture. The Tennessee Post ; German. Nashville Christian
Advocate, weekly; Methodist. Banner of Peace, weekly; Cumber-
land Presbyterian. Baptist Watchman, weekly; Baptist. Gospel
Advocate, monthly; Christian. Theological Medium, quarterly; Cum-
berlan Presbyterian. Sunday-school Visitor, weekly ; Methodist. Sab-
bath-school Gem ; Cumberland Presbyterian. Sunday-school Standard ;
Baptist. School Journal, monthly; Educational. Law Review, quar-
terly ; Law. Nashville Directory ; annual. To write in detail, or
even notice all the objects of interest in Nashville, and around it, would
require a volume, but w^e may add that several lines of street railroad
traverse the city. The city is well lighted by gas, at a cost to con-
sumers of $3.50 per 1,000 feet.

Edgefield lies just across the river from Nashville, and has a popula-
tion of about 4,000. A wire bridge connects the two places. Though
there are some forty commercial establishments in Edgefield, besides
three saw-mills, a broom factory, &c., its chief distinction lies in the
great number of elegant residences, occupied mainly by persons who
do business in Nashville. It has an excellent system of public schools,
some good private ones, and many neat churches. It has a quiet,
orderly appearance, excellent society, and is noted for its health. Even
when the cholera rages with greatest violence in Nashville a case rarely
occurs in Edgefield. This is attributable by many to the use of cistern
water, with which the citizens, in the absence of water-works, have sup-
plied themselves.

The other towns in the county are Madison and Edgefield Junction,
on the Louisville and Nashville Railroad; Goodlettsville, on the St.
Louis and South-eastern Railroad; McWhirtersville, on the Lebanon
Pike, about six m'L^s from Nashville; Brentwood, on the Decatur
division of tiie Louisville and Nashville Railroad, and Belle vue, on
the St. Louis division of the Nashville, Chattanooga and St. Louis
Railway. These are small villages containing from two to four stores,
churches, scihools, &<\

Statistics. Davidson county has a population at the present time of

700 Resources of Teiinessee.

<iuite 70,000, of which 25,000 are colored. Number of ix)lls, 10,914.
The number of acres of land assessed for taxation in 1873, was 305,-
244, valued at $8,855,160, or nearly $23 per acre. Number of town
lots 8,357, valued at $13,461,780. The entire taxable property of the
county amounts to $26,683,765. The indebtedness of the county
is not large, and was mostly incurred in the building of railroads and
turnpikes. The census report of 1870, which in reference to this
county is totally unreliable, gives 1,948 farms, and only one over a
thousand acres, while within a radius of six miles from Nashville there
are at least ten ranging in number of acres from 1,000 to nearly 4,000.
The whole number of acres of land, improved, woodland, and other
unimproved, according to the census of 1870, amounts to 278,315
acres, while the amount given in for taxation, exclusive of town lots,
is in excess of this by over 26,000 acres. In the matter of live stock,
the value as given is $1,269,870, while Giles county is accredited for
the same, $1,736,504; Bedford, $1,471,421; Gibson, $1,319,242; Lin-
coln, $2,155,474; Maury, $2,015,355; Rutherford, $1,519,939; Shelby,
$1,418,349; Sumner, $1,435,431 ; Williamson, $1,403,202; and Wil-
son, $1,919,019. In forest products, Davidson ranks all the counties
-except Shelby, and takes the lead in orchard products, barley, Irish
potatoes, sweet potatoes, cheese and milk.

As to the industries, there were reported by the census, 373 estab-
lishments employing 82 steam engines and 12 water wheels, aggregat-
ing a power equal to 2,613 horses. In these establishments were em-
ployed 2,311 males above 16 years of age, 129 females, and 173 youths.
Capital invested $2,513,679; wages paid $1,059,255; cost of material
$2,840,745; value of products $5,321,293. The value of its manufac-
tured products far exceeded any county in the State except Shelby,
and these may be set down as fully double what they were in 1870.
New flouring mills, saw-mills, cotton and wool factories, and various
other establishments have been erected since 1870, while the capacity
of those then in operation has been greatly increased. Take for illus-
lustration the flouring mills, of which six were reported for the county,
with products valued at $824,325. By referring to the statement of
the trade of Nashville, it will be seen that there are five flouring mills
in the city, alone capable of turning out 800 barrels of flour per day,
which, by running two hundred days in the year, would manufacture
160,000 barrels of flour, worth $1,280,000. Add to this amount the
worth of the meal ground, and the value of all the products of the
country mills, of which there are forty, and it will readily appear that

Middle Tennessee. 701

the value of mill products is four or five times as great as reported in
the census of 1870. The value of sawed lumber has increased from
1198,670 to over $500,000. And so it may be said of nearly every
article manufactured in thy county. Everything strengthens the belief
that Davidson county will, in a short time, become the center of an
immense manufacturing and agricultural population. The cheapness
with which food can be produced, the vast deposits of iron that lie
on the west side, and the inexhaustible quantity of coal that sleeps with
its latent power on the others, the splendid educational facilities that
are offered, the lines of railroad that place it in communication with
all the world, a navigable river which will insure cheap freights to the
seaboard, the proximity of the cotton fields, the salubrity of the cli-
mate and itn pleasant vicissitudes — all tliese foreshadow and assure the
incoming of a population, skilled in the arts, frugal, temperate, indus-
trious, progressive, intelligent and energetic, that will make the very
atmosphere ring with the hum of industry, and scatter abroad the
lights of a benign and splendid civilization.

DICKSON COUNTY.

County Seat — Charlotte.

This county is situated on the Highlands, which lie between the
Central Basin of Tennessee and the Tennessee River. Its surface is,
therefore, mainly high table land. Cut out of this, however, are
many creek valleys. On the north, it includes the south half of the
valley of the Cumberland, and near its eastern side, a portion of the
valley of Harpeth River.

The county lies immediately south of Montgomery, and about twen-
ty-five miles from the Kentucky line, and was established October 3,
1803, the territory being taken from Robertson and Montgomery. It
contains about 470 square miles. It began to be settled about the year
1793, at which date a large body of land was granted by the State of
North Carolina to Robert Bell, described as lying in the county of Rob-
ertson, on Jones' Creek. The -first entry in the Register's office was made
in 1801, and all deeds were proven before Andrew Jackson, one of the
Judges of the Superior Court of Law and Equity for the State of Ten-
nessee. The first Register was James Walker, who showed fitness for
the position by the excellence of his chirography.

702 Resources of Tennessee,

The early settlers were mostly from North Carolina and Virginia,
and appear to have been attracted to Dickson county on account of the
plentifulness of wood and water. Game, too, which at that early day
was so abundant, was another inducement which the early pioneers
could not resist. Many of them relied for provisions upon the deer
and wild turkeys, which roamed the wild woods by thousands. Fish
abounded in the streams, and even to this day the salmon and trout of
Dickson are well known to the disciples of Izaak Walton. During
the summer months scores of citizens seek the " shady nooks and
bushy dells" on Jones' Creek or Harpeth, for the purpose of angling.

To' us, at this day, it appears a little singular that the rich and level
lands of Christian, Todd and Logan counties, of Kentucky, should
have been neglected by these early settlers for the comparatively thin
soils of Dickson. But it must be remembered that land was then no
object. Millions of acres were to be had for a trifle, and the disad-
vantages of not having wood and water convenient overbalanced every
other consideration. It should be borne in mind that cisterns, a com-
paratively modern invention, were unknown, and wells and springs
were the sole depeudence for water. As the digging of wells was
expensive, those parts of the country that had the largest number of
springs were first settled ; then the wooded regions. Nearly all the
old dwellings in the country are situated in low places, near a stream
of water, and to which wood might be easily hauled by a yoke of cat-
tle, in which, oftentimes, a half dozen families had an interest.

Toions. Charlotte, the county seat, was laid off into town lots m
1804. The surface of the town is very uneven, rising gradually from
a small stream that skirts it, and is broken by deep ravines and washes.
Some of the streets are rendered impassable from this cause. The sur-
roundings are picturesque, hill rising above hill, covered with dense
forests. Among the earliest settlers were elohn Reed, Sterling Brewer,
Benj. Josline, Frank Ellis and Marble Stone. The first house was
erected by Peacock, about the year 1801, and for the next tliirty years
Charlotte appears to have been a place of importance. The Supreme
Court held its regular sessions there, and the iron interest made it a
place of much traffic.

In 1830 the court-house was destroyed by a hurricane which swept
over the country, destroying houses and forests, the course of which
may be easily traced at the present day by the red mounds which
mark the spots where the trees were uprooted. In 1834 the new

Middle Tennessee. 703

court-house was completed, which, though small, is much more con-
veniently arranged than most public buildings. Charlotte has two
churches. There are four commercial establishments in the place, one
liotel, one blacksmith shop, and many comfortable private residences. Al-
together, Charlotte is a pleasant rural town, where one may steal away
from the hurry and excitement of railroads and cities, and enjoy that
(juietude and ease so promotive of long life and philosophic reflection.
The population is about three hundred and fifty. Dickson is a flour-
ishing little village on the Northwestern Railroad, 42 miles from Nash-
ville, settled since the war by Pennsylvanians. About three hundred
have bought land in and around the town, and are displaying an
amount of energy and enterprise that should put many of our native
born citizens to the blush. White Bluff is another growing village on
the railroad, and is about equal in size to Dickson, and has a church,
school, postoffice and several stores. The quality of the land about
White Bluff is superior to that around Dickson, and the timber much
better. Nothing is wanting to make this village a flourishing place
but an increased population. Mouth of Harpeth and Raworth's Land-
ing, on Cumberland River, are noted as shipping points for staves and
hoop-poles. Burns' and Gillam Stations, on the railroad, are respec-
table villages, and do a good local trade.

Farms and Crops. The physical features of the county are va-
ried. Much of its area is rolling, with a deep reddish subsoil, rest-
ing usually upon chert or upon limestone, or, in some cases, on a bed
of soft sandstone. In the river bottoms the land is alluvium and ex-
ceedingly productive. The valley of Harpeth and Turnbull Creek
bottom, and the valleys of Jones' Creek are as fine as any lands in the
State. Tobacco is raised only to a small extent in the county, although
the land is well adapted to its growth. One instance was reported
where 1,800 pounds were raised to the acre, though the usual aver-
age is not above 600 pounds. Farmers rely more upon stock and corn
than tobacco. Some of the finest mules to be found in the State are
raised in Dickson county, the uneven surface of the country giving full
play and development to every muscle. Wc also observed large flocks
of sheep running on the commons getting a sufficient quantity of food
through the winter from the ferns and grasses growing in sheltered
coves and nooks. Blue-grass also shoots up spontaneously in some
parts of the county, and supplies good grazing to the stock that
range the woods. Peanuts are sometimes raised in considerable quan-
tities. A man may cultivate six acres in addition to his usual crops of

704 Resources of Tennessee.

grain. No crop requires cleaner culture than the peanut. When ma-
tured in the fall, the vines are dug or plowed up, and the nuts are left
adhering. After drying in the sun for several hours, they are stacked
around a pole, with an intei'space between the pole and the vine, so as
to permit the free circulation of air. The nuts are placed next the
pole and the tops of the vines form the surface of the stack. About
thirty bushels per acre are the usual yield. Wheat is not generally a
very productive crop. This is doubtless owing to the want of proper
preparation of the soil. As an evidence that it may be made to do
better, we saw one field near Dickson belonging to a Pennsylvanian
that had been thoroughly and deeply plowed and manured that would
yield twenty bushels per acre. This is encouraging, when the fact is
remembered that the county has never perhaps averaged six bushels.
The Pennsylvanians who settled around Dickson have given a fresh,
stimulus to agriculture, though it is to be regretted that they did not
select more fertile lands, but it is understood that all who bought
just what land they could conveniently pay for are satisfied with the
country. They first of all raise the products that are required to sup-
port the family and the stock, and then put in such crops as will sell
readily in the market. They sow a great deal of clover and save the
seed, of which four bushels per acre are sometimes raised. Under their ju-
dicious treatment, the soils, originally sterile, are beginning to improve.
Thev have erected neat houses and barns, and if the soil was equal in
productiveness to the industry of the citizens, there would be no more
thrifty community in the State than that around Dickson. Some of
the finest farming lands in the county are on Barton's Creek, near the
old Vanleer (now Cumberland) Furnace. They are very valuable for
the production of corn, clover, wheat and tobacco, and it is to be
doubted whether there is in Middle Tennessee any land more constant
in its yield or reliable in its character. Improved tillable lands are
worth from ^8 to $12 per acre ; creek and river bottoms, from $20 to
$30 ; productive uplands, from $5 to $15, unimproved. Mineral lands
sell from $2 to $5. On the railroad lands are valued for the timber
more than for the soil. There are many old wornout fields in the
county, an everlasting disgrace to the former habits of tillage. The
principal timber on the uplands is post oak and red oak; on the val-
ley lands, almost every species found in the State. There is some ex-
cellent walnut timber near the Montgomery county line, and in places
good poplar is found. Some good stock has been introduced. Twenty-
five ])er cent, of all the sheep are annually destroyed by dogs. I^abor

Middle Tennessee. 705

is not reliable, but probably of the kind is sufficiently abundant. Com-
pared with Davidson or ISIaury, not half the amount of labor in pro-
portion to area cultivated is employed. Most farmers prefer to do their
own work, hiring only occasionally. From $12 to $20 per month and
board are given for first-class hands. House servants from %b to $6.
Rails are split and put up in some neighborhoods at $1.25 per hund.ired,
and lumber made of good poplar may be bought at saw-mills for $10
per thousand feet. Che^stnut is used for fencing, and the rails made
from it will last until they wash away. We have seen in this county a
fence of chestnut rails which was fifty-four years old and still tolerably
good. Fruits grow well, and the rolling, rocky, well drained surface
is especially suited to the grape. We may add here that a gentleman
living at Burns' Station has erected a mill, and shipped, as we have
been informed, as much as seventy or eighty tons of ground sumac
leaves, for which he got $70 per ton. The work of gathering the
leaves is somewhat tedious, but may be performed by women and chil-
dren. This is a new industry, and is worth looking into.

Iron Interests. The first furnace ever erected in Middle Tennessee,
was by Montgomery B-ell, in 1810, and in Dickson county. From his
furnace he sent all the cannon balls that were used by General Jackson
at the battle of New Orleans, and through his influence, the iron inter-
ests of the Western Iron Belt were first brought into notice. The iron
banks in the county are numerous and rich, and are usually found cap-
ping the flat ridges or on the slopes as they descend into the valleys.
Before the war half a dozen furnaces were in successful operation and
many thousand tons of iron were made. At this time there are but
two in bFast, Worley, (situated on Pine Creek) and Cumberland fur-
naces, the former making about seven tons of pig metal per day, and
the latter from ten to twelve. The iron interest is an important one
in Dickson, and we trust that very soon a furnace will be in operation
at each important locality of ore. There is but one county in the
Western Iron Belt that probably has a larger amount of iron ore, and
that is Hickman. The two furnaces in operation give employment to
about 400 hands.

Water-potcer. One of the most noticeable features of Dickson
county is its water-power. A remarkable water-power is found at the
"Narrows of Harpeth," a point near the Dickson and Cheatham line.
Harpeth River makes here an extensive bend, enclosing a large penin-
sula of land, the neck of which is rock and but a few feet through.
Mr. Montgomery Bell, the founder of the Montgomery Bell Academy,
45

7o6 Resources of Tennessee.

and the same gentleman referred to above as inaugurating the devel-
opment of the iron interests of the county, conceived the idea of tun-
neling the narrow neck and the work was done by E. W. Atkisson, a
citizen of Cheatham. The fall gained by this tunneling gave a powerful
force to the current, and a sufficient power was thus secured for driving
a number of large manufacturing establishments. In addition to the
Harpeth, there is Jones' Creek, a fine bold stream, that winds with
graceful beauty through rich bottoms and by high bluffs, the escarpments
of limestone rock often rising a hundred feet above the surface of the
water; opposite these bluffs are usually low bottoms, that yield in
bounteous profusion all the products of the climate. Sometimes, how-
ever, the banks rise to a moderate height on either side, and in such situ-
ations the lay of the land is excellent for the erection of mills. There
are also Turnbull Creek, Barton Creek, Piney Creek, Yellow Creek,
Johnson's Creek — all large, beautiful streams, with a sufficient capacity
to drive the machinery of a hundred mills and manufacturing estab-
lishments. The position of the county is favorable for the establish-
ment of manufactories. Midway between the coal-fields of Kentucky
and the cotton-fields of the South, with an abundance of water-power,
with the Cumberland, one of the best streams for navigation in the
south, sweeping the whole north-eastern boundary, with the North-
western Railroad traversing its center from east to west, with a fine,
healthy climate, and a large quantity of cheap land, the average price
of which is only five dollars per acre, it will be the fault of its citizens
if Dickson county does not yet become one of the leading manufactur-
ing counties in the State. The large immigration which has come to
the county in the past few years is a step in the right direction, and we
are glad to know that the people of Dickson fully appreciate the ad-
vantage it will be to the county.

Statistics aiid Schools. Dickson county has twelve civil or magiste-
rial districts. The number of acres assessed in 1873 was 291,623,
valued at $1,077,460; total value of taxable property, $1,232,543;
number of polls, 1,502; number of voters, 2,225. According to the
census returns it had, in 1870, 50,334 acres of improved land and 155,-
606 acres of unimproved, the whole valued at $1,381,330. The value
of farming implements was $49,960; annual wages for the year 1869,
$38,108; value of farm products, $533,057; orchard products, $940;
value of manufactures, $17,421; value of animals slaughtered or sold
for slaughter, $112,957; value of live stock, $366,935. There were
1,622 horses; 937 mules and asses; 1,917 milch cows; 655 working

Middle Tennessee. 707

.xen; 6,043 other cattle ; 6,925 sheep; 11,557 hogs. There were, in
1869, 319,085 bushels of Indian corn raised; about 36,000 bushels of
wheat and 58,810 bushels of oats; 462,130 pounds of tobacco; 9 bales
of cotton; 15,028 pounds of wool ; 3,290 bushels of peas and beans;
12,584 bushels of Irish potatoes; 12,554 bushels of sweet potatoes;
98,798 pounds of butter ; 5,586 gallons of sorghum, and 543 pounds
of honey. The population of the county was, white, 7,663; colored,
1,677 ; in all, 9,340. There has been a decrease in the population
of 642 during the decade between 1860 and 1870, 500 of whom
were colored. The county has no debt. Public schools are kept up for
several months in the year. Tracy Academy at Charlotte and Clover-
dale Seminary on Barton's Creek, are flourishing schools. The county
recommends itself by its cheap lands, facilities of trade, salubrity of
climate, and the high-toned liberality, integrity and virtue of its citi-
zens.

DeKALB COUNTY.

County Seat — Smithville.

DeKalb county was organized by act of the General Assembly of
Tennessee in the year 1837, the territory being taken from the coun-
ties of White, Warren, Cannon, Wilson and Jackson. The first court
met at Barnard Richardson's, near Smithville, on the first Monday in
March, 1838. Smithville was selected as the county seat. There are
seventeen civil districts in the county.

Toions. Alexandria, in the north-western angle of the county, is the
largest town. It has seven stores, one good school, one good hotel,
two cabinet shops, four resident lawyers, three churches, one tannery,
and one steam mill. Population about six hundred. Smithville, the
county seat, has, besides the public buildings and offices, ten stores,
county academy, one hotel, eight resident lawyers, four churchy, one
tannery. Population about four hundred. Liberty, midway between
Alexandria and Smithville, has five stores, two good schools, one law-
yer, two churches. Population nearly three hundred. Laurel Hill
has two stores.

Topography. About two-thirds of the county lies on the Highland
Rim, the remainder being in the Central Basin, and in the valleys.
The Highlands occupy the eastern and northern parts of the county.

7o8 Resottrces of Tennessee.

They are part of the extensive circular plain known as the Highland
Rim. For the sake of convenience, we may consider this part of the
county as a single, natural division, though it is cut diagonally across
from south-east to north-west into two unequal parts by the long, nar-
row and winding valley of the Caney Fork, the larger division being
on the southern side. The surface is gently undulating, the beds of the
streams, except near the escarpments, being depressed but little be-
low the general level. The western part of the county, as already ob-
served, lies in the Central Basin. It embraces several valleys of con-
siderable size and great agricultural value, separated from each other
by irregular ranges of hills, and there are isolated peaks and short
ridges, some of which mount up to a level with the Highlands. These
ridges are often connected with spurs juttin-g out from the serrated es-
carpment of the Rim Lands, and enclose between them valleys of
greater or less size, which are ramifications of the Basin.

Valleys. The Valley of the Caney Fork, as already observed, is
long, winding and irregular in outline. It begins below the falls be-
tween White and Warren counties, near the south-east corner of
DeKalb, and meanders first toward the north-west, and then westward-
ly till it opens out into the Basin, in the north-western part of the
county. It is very narrow at the upper end, allowing room for only a
few small farms wedged in between the bluffs and the river. But be-
low Sligo Ferry, where the road from Smithville to Sparta crosses, it
has an average width of half a mile. Its greatest width is about one
mile. Its length, following the general direction, is about thirty miles.
The Valley of Smith's Fork extends from south to north, through the-
western part of the county. It lies along the western base of the
Highland Rim, and receives the valleys of the smaller streams flow-
inir westward from off the Highlands. On the west side it has no dis-
tinctly marked natural boundary, but there are broken chains of short
ridges and knobs, which form the water-shed between its waters and
the tributaries of Stone's River, in Cannon county, and Round Lick
Creek, in Wilson and Smith. Its length is about fifteen miles, but its
breadth is very variable. At some places it spreads out for a space of
two or three miles, while in others, it is cut in two by projecting spurs
from cither side, leaving barely room for the bed of the stream. Each
of the tributaries of Smith's Fork has a valley of its own, lying either
between the fringing spurs of the Highlands on one side, or ramifyMng
back among the disjointed ridges and knobs on the other. These
smaller valleys contain many beautiful tracts of level land.

Middle Tennessee. 709

Rocks, Soils and Timber. The cap rock of the Highlands is silicious
and calcareous, often soft when quarried, but becoming hard when ex-
posed. Layers of flinty chert are found in many places superimposed
upon a bed of yellow clay which rests on the rocks. Where the
earth has been removed, through the agency of water, the chert
is scattered on the surface, and makes a gravelly soil. Large quan-
tities of this chert are washed down by the streams and deposited
in beds along their course. The underlying strata are very hard
silicious limestones, which are exposed in the beds of many of the
streams, and crop out along the escarpments of the Rim. They
resist the action of the elements to such a degree as to make them
valueless as a fertilizer. Of course the soils found in company with
such rocks cannot be naturally fertile. The humus is thin, and the sub-
soil sometimes leachy, but there are some tracts m here red clay appears,
and all such give a grateful return for liberal treatment. There are con-
siderable areas of boggy land, overgrown with whortleberry bushes,
which, when drained, makes excellent meadows. But the best lands
in these parts are found on the hill-sides and along the streams, and in
such situations there are many valuable farms. One cause of the pe-
<;uliar character of these Barren lands is, no doubt, the reprehensible
practice of burning the woods every spring. The debris of fallen
leaves, logs and dried grass is thus consumed instead of being allowed
to decompose and mix with the soil. The timber of the Barrens is
usually of small size, but includes many valuable varieties. Post oak,
and small white oak, suitable for railroad ties, black oak and hickory
are the most numerous trees. Underlying all the valleys, and extend-
ing about half way up the hills, is found the limestone common to all
parts of the Central Basin. It is highly fossiliferous, easily decom-
posed, and yields, by disintegration, a soil of inexhaustible fertility.
Even the hills, except the highest, which are capped with silicious rocks
are rich to the very tops, and wherever they are not too rugged for the
plow, can be cultivated year after year with scarcely any loss of fertil-
ity. In the larger valleys, especially that of Caney Fork, are many
broad, alluvial bottoms, which are renewed every year by the deposits
of fertilizing mud brought down by the overflow. Some of these have
been producing annual crops of corn for half a century or more, with-
out any decrease in the quantity. The timber of the valleys and hill-
sides is very dense and heavy. Gigantic poplars, beech, sugar maple,
a.sh, linden, walnut, and many other varieties furnish a constant and
seemingly inexhaustible supply for the many lumbering mills now at

7io Resources of Tennessee,

work among them. Poplars twenty-five feet in circumference are not
uncommon.

Farms. There is little waste land in the valleys ; one per cent, of the
entire area would, perhaps, include it all. But on the hill-sides and
in the barrens there are hundreds of acres yielding nothing — thirty per
cent., we think, at least. Unimproved land in the Barrens can be
bought at very h^ v figures. Farms in this part of the county arc often
large, but rarely a, -11 cultivated. The prices of improved lands vary
from $1.50 to $6 pc • acre, according to quality, location and other ad-
vantages. In the V. lleys there is considerable range in the size of
farms. There are a few not larger than twenty or twenty-five acres,
while others contain six or seven hundred. One hundred and fifty
acres, we suppose, is about an average farm. The smaller farms are
generally worked by the owners, while hired labor is largely employed
on those of greater extent. The laborers employed are generally
colored, of whom there are large numbers in the wealthy sections.
There is no difficulty in securing any desired number of laborers at
any ordinary time, but sometimes it is difficult to find enough to supply
the demand for harvesting. Wages range from eight to twenty dollars
per month, twelve dollars being the average. Farms on the High-
lands usually rent for one-third of the crop, the tenant being obligated
to keep up the repairs, and sometimes to make improvements. In the
valleys a fixed rental is generally demanded, the terms for good lands
being, for each acre, ten bushels of corn or four dollars in money.
Farms in the valleys differ much in price, owing to advantages of situ-
ation, (juality of soil and improvements. We may safely state the
minimum price at ten dollars, and it is rare that a farm sells for more
than fifty dollars per acre. The average price is about twenty-five
dollars. The farmers of DeKalb county are generally prosperous, and
the improvement in the condition of farm-buildings, fences and other
appointments of the farm is highly commendable. They have not
only regained all that was los*, but have even reached a higher state of
improvement. As an evidence, and at the same time a cause of this
prosperity, we may notice the extensive and increasing use of improved
implements. Good turning plows, double shovels, and gang plows
have almost supj)lanted the old and laborious custom of doing all the
work with a bull tongue. Hill-side plows have been used with ad-
vantage in some localities. Reapers and mowers, grain drills and good
harrows are commoti in the valleys. Mules and horses are used on
fiirms in about ecpial numbers. The large farmers generally prefer

Middle Temzessee. 711

mules. Oxen are used for heavy draft, and sometimes for plowing.

Crops. The leading crops, in the order of their importance, are
corn, wheat, tobacco, oats, rye, sorghum, barley and cotton. The corn
crop is perhaps equal in value to all the others combined. It is some-
times shipped, but more frequently used for fattening stock, principally
hogs. The production of wheat is increasing every year, and it bids
fair to become the leading crop. The red varieties are more extensively
cultivated than the white, the Walker and the E-ed wheat being most
common. Mediterranean is preferred by some ; but the white varie-
ties are increasing in popularity, the Tappahannock taking the lead.
Tobacco receives considerable attention, and is found to be quite profit-
able. Mr. T. L. Seawell is doing a thriving business by manufacturing
it at Sraithville. It is estimated that olie-third of the cultivated lands
are devoted to clover and grass, one-half of which is meadow. On
the Highlands, grass is by far the most profitable crop, and there are
some extensive and beautiful meadows. It is not common in this part
of the country to sow grass or clover for pasture. A meadow is al-
lowed to stand until it becomes foul, and is then plowed up and culti-
vated for a year or two to kill the weeds, after which it is resown. In
the valleys where the common range is limited, it is necessary to have
extensive pastures. Much of the land that is too rocky for plowing is
set in blue-grass or orchard-grass, and the pasturage, per acre, is worth
almost as much as any cultivated crop. Clover is also cultivated ex-
tensively, being sometimes mown, but more commonly for pasture.
After standing two years, the land is plowed up and cultivated for one
or more seasons.

Live Stock. The rearing of live stock is the most profitable branch
of farming, both on the Highlands and in the valleys. With a few
acres of meadow and the " range " for pasture, a farmer in the Barrens
can keep a large number of cattle and sheep with very small expense.
In the valleys and on the hills blue-grass grows spontaneously where-
ever the underwood is cleared out, and orchard-grass succeeds equally
as well. The rich fields produce, besides the cereals, heavy crops of
millet, clover, timothy, and other grasses, which furnish winter forage
with very little labor. The cost of rearing to marketable age is, for
cattle, about $10 per head ; for mules, $50 ; for horses, $50 ; for sheep,
75 cents ; for hogs, $3. There is but little improved stock of any
kind in the county. There are, however, some very good animals, a
few of which are thoroughbred. Among the latter is an imported
trotting stallion, the property of Henry Schurer, near Alexandria.

712 Resources of Tennessee,

Several other stallions with good pedigrees are kept in different parts
of the county. Two jacks bred from imported stock, and five or six
others with good pedigrees, make up the number of this class. Mr.
John Reynolds, seven miles below Alexandria, has an imported Short-
horn bull. There are a few other tlioroughbred Short-horns, and quite
a number of high grades in the western part of the county. There
are several small flocks of Cotswold and Southdown sheep, most of
which are in the valleys. But the risks of sheep husbandry are so
great that farmers are shy about investing capital in that way. Not
less than twenty-five per cent, of the whole number are killed annually
by the dogs. Berkshire hogs are numerous in the valleys, but in the
Barrens " razor-backs " still have the ascendency.

Smaller Industries. Orchards are numerous and very profitable, par-
ticularly on the Highlands, and the production of dried fruit is a busi-
ness of considerable importance. Butter is made for home consump-
tion and for market. ^lany families buy their suppfes of groceries
with butter and eggs.* Chickens and other poultry are carried to Nash-
ville, the dealers realizing handsome profits. Bees are very profitable
and the honey is of good quality. Household manufactures embrace
jeans, linsey, cotton cloth, flax linen, blankets, coverlets, carpets, and
cotton and woolen socks. The amount of home manufacture is ^9.00
per head. The Caney Fork E-iver is navigable for small steamers
from the first of December to the first of March, and occasionally at
other times. But most of the carrying is done by wagons to Nashville,
which is sixty-seven miles from Smithville. The nearest railroad sta-
tion is McMinnville, twenty-one miles south. One survey for the
Tennessee and Pacific Railroad passes through Smithville.

Streams and Water-poiver. There are several good mill streams along
the Caney Fork, and some of the smaller streams which flow from off
the Highlands form beautiful falls near it, some of which afford good
water-powers. Smith's Fork has some good rapids, but the supply of
water in summer is not sufficient for machinery. Pine Creek, rising
near Smithville, flows east into Caney Fork. It is a rapid stream, and
affords abundant power for large machinery all the year. Sink Creek
rises near Short Mountain and flows east fou several miles, then
disappears in a cave; after running about three miles it reappears
in a large spring; from this point to the river it is a good stream
for machinery. Fall Creek rises one mile west of Smithville, and
flows east into Caney Fork. At the falls, two miles below Smith-
ville, there is a flouring and saw-mill; but the main fall, ninety

Middle Tennessee. 7^3

three feet high, is a sliort distance below the mill. Eagle Creek
rises one mile north of Smithville and flows north-east into Caney
Fork. It is a little smaller than Fall Creek, bnt has a fall of
about equal height. Hurricane Creek rises two and a half miles north
of Smithville and flows north-east into Caney Fork. It is about as
large as Fall Creek, but there is no perpendicular fall, except near the
source, where the amount of water is insufficient for machinery.
Holms' Creek rises one and a half miles north-west of Smithville, and
flows north-west into Caney Fork. It has several good mill seats.
Dry Creek, a tributary of Smith's Fork, is a large stream at its source.
It flows out of a cave five miles west of Smithville. There is near the
mouth of the cave a mill with a wheel nineteen feet in diameter. On
the east side of Caney Fork there are several streams of good size, all of
which have plenty of fall. Falling Water, after crossing the White
county line, continues its course west to the Caney Fork, a distance of
seven miles. It descends rapidly and has several good places for
machinery. Mine Lick Creek rises near Cookeville, in Putnam county,
and flows west into Caney Fork. It is a bold stream and has a rapid
fall, particularly in the lower part of its course. There are many
smaller streams, some of which have enough of water for small mills
or other light machinery.

Manufactures. There is a small woolen factory near Liberty, run
by steam. There is a large steam flouring and saw-mill at Alexandria,
and another at Liberty. Good water mills are numerous in all parts
of the county.

Minerals. On the east side of Caney Fork, near the line of White
county, there are beds of very rich iron ore extending over a space of
several miles. The same quality of ore exists also on the west side of
the river, and was worked many years ago at a bloomery on Pine
Creek, but of the extent of these deposits we have no means of ob-
taining accurate information; sufficient is known, however, to war-
rant the assertion that the county is very rich in iron. The fact that
at several places in the county the needle of the compass refuses to
point toward the pole, but spins round in every direction, is an evi-
dence of the existence of magnetic iron ore. One of these places is
near the Caney Fork, nine miles north-east of Smithville. There are
reported to be several other such places in the county, but we have no
definite information concerning them. The Black Shale underlies the
silicious rocks of the Highlands, cropping out on the sides of the hills
facing the Valley of Caney Fork and the Basin. It is not valuable as a

714 Resources of Tennessee.

roofing slate, on account of crumbling when exposed to the weather,
but several valuable minerals are found in connection with it. In
caves and rock houses copperas and alum occur in efflorescences and
incrustations on the rocks. The shale also yields mineral oils, in
some instances, amounting to forty gallons to the ton ; but whether the
eliminating of these oils could be made profitable has not been deter-
mined. The Black Shale is also the source of sulphur springs, of
which there are several on the Table Lands. There is a well of very
strong sulphur water in Alexandria, and another of the same kind
near Liberty ; both of these are also impregnated with salt. A short
distance east of Smithville there is a fine chalybeate spring, which is a
favorite place of resort in the warm season.

MisGellaneous. According to the late assessment the county has an
area of 192,726 acres, or a little more than 301 square miles, with a
population of 11,425. This would be about thirty-eight to each square
mile, but we doubt whether the entire area of the county was assessed.
The total value of taxable property is $1,960,031. The county has a
scholastic population of 4,012. There are fifty-two public schools,
generally well attended. Smithville, Alexandria and Liberty all have
good permanent private schools. There is a county Agricultural and
Mechanical Association which holds annual fairs at Alexandria. The
farmers generally are contented and prosperous, and there is but little
disposition to emigrate manifested. The greatest need of the county
Is better and more reliable facilities for transpoi'tation, which we hope
will be secured ere long by the building of the Tennessee and Pacific
Railroad.

FENTRESS COUNTY.
County Seat — Jamestown.

Fentress county was created by act of the General Assembly of the
State of Tennessee in the year 1823, the territory being taken from the
counties of Overton and Morgan. The first court was held at the
Three Forks of Wolf River, but Jamestown was soon after selected as
the county seat.

Tovmn. Jamestown, the coimty scat, is situated on the Cumberland

Middle Tennessee. 7 ^ 5

Table Land, twenty-eight miles east of Livingston, and thirty-seven
miles north of Crossville. It has a population of about 100, three
dry goods stores and one drug store. Travisville, on Wolf River,
fourteen miles north of Jamestown, has one store and a population of
about thirty. There are twelve civil districts in the county.

Topography. The south-eastern part of the county lies on the Table
Land, and has the level or undulating surface common to that natural
division of the State. As elsewhere, however, the larger streams all
flow in rocky "gulfs" or gorges, varying in size and depth according
to the size of the stream. The soil is generally sandy, and the timber,
except pine, is of the smaller and hardier kinds. The escarpment of
the Table Land, which fronts the north-west, is vpry much serrated by
bold spurs and intervening valleys or "coves," and generally marked
by a broken line of sandstone or conglomerate cliffs. From the base
of these, there is a steep declivity cut in many places by deep ravines,
and mostly covered with loose masses of rock. The terrace, which is
a characteristic feature of the western aspect of the mountain in White
and Van Buren, is not so distinctly marked in Fentress, but the spurs
projecting between the valleys of the principal creeks and rivers oe-
cupy much of the county's area. These spurs have the same elevation
as the terrace, which is about half the height of the Table Land. In
places, however, there are bold rocky hills rising high above other
parts of the range, and sometimes reaching an elevation equal to the
Table Land. The tables of these spurs are, in places, several miles
wide, and there are some good farming lands on them. This is espe-
cially true in the neighborhood of the limestone knobs spoken of
above. The lower slopes, both of the main mountain and the spurs,
are often steej) and broken, but not generally so rocky as above. They
are generally covered with heavy forests of valuable timber, but
cleared fields are occasionally met with. It is a difficult matter to
trace the line which marks the base of the mountain. Unlike the
escarpment above, there is no line of bold bluffs — no natural boundaiy,
but the smaller spurs run out into hills and gradually melt away into
the general level of the Highland Rim. The valleys lie between the
projecting spurs, occu])ying, in the aggregate, about one-fourth of the
area of the county. There is considerable variety in the surface and
soil. In some places are extensive bottoms, while in others an undu-
lating surface with a red clay soil predominates. Taking the valleys
altogether as one natural division, we think that about two-thirds of
its area is clay upland, while tlie other third is divided about equally

7^6 Resources of Tennessee,

between the coves and bottoms. Most important of these is the Val-
ley of Wolf River. Reckoning from the place where the Three Forks
unite to form Wolf River, where it has a breadth of three miles, it
extends north-westwardly, spreading out ten miles wide seven miles
lower down, and then grows narrower again. Its entire length, in
this county, is fifteen miles. The Three Forks of Wolf is fimous far
and wide for the fertility of its soil. Major John C. Wright, who
owns the best part of the valley, has raised corn on his farm which,
after paying all expenses, netted him fifty dollars per acre in cash on a
single crop. Each of the three forks has a valley of its own. That
of Main Fork is about four miles long, and from a quarter to a half
mile wide. Middle Fork Valley is about the same size, while that of
Rottin's Fork is somewhat smaller. In all of them there are excel-
lent lands. The Valley of East Fork is the largest in the county.
The head of it, in the south-western part of the county, is very nar-
row, being nothing more than a "gulf," deep atid rugged, and hemmed
in by the almost precipitous mountain sides. But farther north, it
gradually expands until it gains a width of six miles. Its length is
about twenty-five miles. The river runs in a deep channel, while the
surface of the valley is undulating, with a good red clay soil. The
lower slopes of the ridges, on either hand, are fertile, and in some
places not too rugged to be cultivated. Indian Creek, a tributary of
East Fork, has a valley six miles long, by half a mile wide, similar
in its general character to the larger valley of which it is an outlier.
There are a number of minor valleys, lying between the various
spurs and ridges, of which Dry Creek Valley is most importapt.
It is three miles long, by an average width of five-eighths of a
mile.

8oih. The Table La^nd has a loose, sandy soil, having but little
humus, and greatly deficient in calcareous matter. The subsoil is gen-
erally a yellow clay, which does not possess the elements of fertility,
and is too leachy to retain them when applied to it. Grain farmiag
will never be profitable on these lands; but they arc by no means
valueless. The native wild grasses grow freely everywhere, and afford
nutritious and abundant pasturage to large herds of cattle. The culti-
vated grasses have succeeded well wherever tried. Fruit trees are
generally of dwarfish habit, but they bear abundantly, and the fruit is
of excellent quality. The red clay lands of the valleys derive their fer-
tility from the mountain limestone upon whicih they rest. Over much
of the surface are scattered (^herty masses gradually undergoing decom-

Middle Tennessee. y 1 7

postion, and imparting their calcar^eous mattiir to the soil. With good
tillage, these lands are inexhaustible. The cove lands are a strong
loam, rich in hvmius, and sufficiently luixed with sand to render their
cultivation easy. In some places the soil is several feet in depth. Some
of the most desirable farms in the county are in the coves. The bot-
tom lands, especially those on Wolf River, are perhaps unsurpassed by
any lands in the State. "Their capabilities have already been spoken
of in the description of Wolf River Valley.

Prevailing Rocks. Sandstone and conglomerate underlie the surface
on all the Table Land, cropping out on the hill-sides, and forming bold
cliflPs, overlooking all of the valleys. There are many places where
flagging stones of any desired thickness can be quarried. The con-
glomerate has been used to some extent for mill-stones. Below the
cliffs on the mountain sides, layers of shales and stiff clay, with oc-
casional outcrops of coal, are seen. Still lower, and just above the
terrace, the mountain limestone sets in, which again gives place to
sandstones,, below which the limestone reappears, and extends to
the base of the mountain. The bluffs along the streams, and most of
the rocks in the valleys, are limestone. There are two principal varie-
ties, the blue and the gray. The former is more or less silicified, but
the latter is easily burned into lime of excellent quality. There is also
a whitish limestone, called " fire rock," which resembles that of which
hydraulic cement is made. The chert in the valleys is distributed
without any regularity, the stones varying in size from that of a small
pebble up to several hundred pounds weight. B^ds of water-wo*a
pebbles of quartz are occasionally met with.

Farms vary much in size ; fifty acres, we suppose, is the smallest,
where the proprietor depends on it for a living. There are a few farms
of more than a thousand acres, but from one to three hundred is most
common. The owners of the land do the work on most of the smaller
farms. Hired help is employed on most of the larger places, and it is
not uncommon to let fields, and sometimes entire farms, to tcna-nts.
There is plenty of fixrm labor in tha county, such as it is. Skilled
labor is greatly needed, but the wages paid is not sufficient to attract
it from abroad. Eight to ten dollars j)er month is the amount usually
paid. Better wages would command better labor. When lands are
let out to be cleared, the lease generally extends for three years, the
owner receiving no rents for that time. One-third of the crop is gen-
erally allowed to the owner, where the renter furnishes his tools and

71 8 Resources of Tennessee.

teamSj and finds himself. If the owner furnishes everything and the
renter boards himself, the crop is divided equally between them. The
best lands sometimes command higher rates, the renter not unfre-
quently furnishing everything and giving half the crop. Money rents
are unknown. There is a wide range in the prices of farm lands.
Five dollars per acre, we suppose, is about the lowest rate at which
any of the valley farms could be bought. Other farms are rated at
ten, fifteen and twenty dollars per acre, according to quality of land,
advantages of location and other considerations. These estimates may
apply to all the valleys except the Three Forks of Wolf. Some of the
lands in this neighborhood could not be bought for one hundred dol-
lars per acre. But those who desire to settle in the county may rely
upon buying good lands for fair prices. Improved mountain lands
are worth from fifty cents to ten dollars per acre, the price, of course,
depending upon location and quality of improvements. Unimproved
lands on the mountain, where there is no dispute about the title, range
from twenty-five cents to one dollar and a quarter per acre, but " wild-
cat claims " can be bought as low as five or ten cents.

Crops raised, and how cultivated. The leading crops, in the order of
their importance, are as follows : corn, wheat, oats, rye, tobacco, pota-
toes, turnips, pumpkins, buckwheat, and all garden vegetables common
to this latitude. Walker wheat is the most popular variety. It is a
red wheat, which makes a good yield, and rarely fails to do well. Some
varieties of white wheat are sown, and have proven satisfactory so far
as tried, but have not become generally known. The soils of the
Table Land are well adapted to the cultivation of potatoes, both sweet
and Irish. Turnips also do well. All kinds of roots grown in sandy
or mellow loam soils are more mealy and richer in saccharine matter,
than the same varieties produced on a stiff clay or alluvium. But few
of the farmers pay any attention to the cultivated grasses, but it is
known that cloyer, red-top, timothy, and orchard-grass will grow in
perfection. The latter is becoming the favorite for grazing, the others
are cultivated only for mowing. It is customary to let a meadow
stand for several years, and then turn it under, but this is done rather
for the purpose of cultivating the land than with a desire to improve
it. Land is generally broken up with two-horse turning plows. Three
and four-horse plows arc rare. Hillside j)l()ws have never been used
to any considerable extent, but if their advautages were known they
would no doubt bc(!ome popular. There has ])robably never been a
subsoil plow inthe county. Single and double shovels are used in cul-

Middle Tennessee. 7 r 9

tivating the crops which require the use of the plow. Three-fourths
or more of the work stock in the county are horses. Mules are pre-
ferred by some farmers, but oxen are rarely used except in breaking.

Live Stock. The great mass of the stock is scrub. There are half
a dozen or more Short-horn and grade bulls, and perhaps a dozen well
In-ed Berkshire hogs. Captaiji Millsaps has a herd of sheep composed
of Cotswolds and Southdowns and their crosses. So far as tried, the
improved breeds have given general satisfaction, and there are few
who will contend that scrubs are more profitable, No eifort has yet
l)een made to improve the breed of horses and mules. About five per
cent, of the sheep are killed by dogs, but sheep in the county are not
numerous. The custom is to kill any dog that is convicted of killing
sheep, but the farmers al-e almost unanimous in their opposition to a
dog tax. The rearing of live stock is the most profitable branch of
farming. With the advantage of the rich natural pastures, cattle and
sheep can be reared at very small expense. We doubt not that the
time will come when the mountain lands, which are now almost value-
less, will be converted into extensive shegp-walks, as has been the case
among the Highlands of Scotland. In this way, large tracts of land,
which are now yielding nothing, amounting in all. to perhaps three-
fourths of the entire area of the county, might be made to contribute a
large share to the wealth of the country. We hope that the spirit of
improvement, which is now working among the farmers, and which
has already accomplished much, will continue to be directed in this
channel. As a general rule, we are sure that the condition of farms,
especially as regards appliances for stock-raising, is better than before
the war.

Smaller Industries. Dried fruit is produced in such quantities as to
render it an item of considerable importance. Poultry and eggs are
bought by the merchants, and carried, generally, to Nashville, down
Obey's and Cumberland rivers. The county does not rank high in the
production of butter. Feathers, deer-skins, furs, honey and dried ven-
ison hams are important articles of trade. But tar, turpentine and
lampblack take the lead of all the less important industries, and are
said to bring more cash into the county than anything else. Dairying
Avould be a very profitable business if transportation was not subjected
to such delays and risks as is now the case.

Facilities for Transportation and Markets. The greatest drawback
to farming in the county is the want of some reliable, cheap and ex-

720 Resotirces of Tminessee.

peditioiis transportation. Many articles which are almost valueless
would bring good prices if they could be taken to market. Live stock
IS driven to market on foot, country produce is carried in wagons,
either to Clinton, in Anderson county, distant sixty-six miles, or to
Horse Cave, Kentucky, one hundred miles, except during the boat-
ing season, when it is shipped down the river from Burksville, Celina
or Butler's Landing, or from some point on Obey's River. Steamers
sometimes run up as far as the mouth of Wolf or Obey's, but the
" tides " are so uncertain that they are not at all reliable. The distance to
Burksville is forty miles, to Celina and Butler's, each, about fifty miles.

Minerah. The Table Land or mountain part of the county belongs
to the Cumberland Coal Field, and many valuable banks have been-
opened. In Rockcastle Cove, two miles south-west of Jamestown,
there is an outcrop of coal four feet in thickness, and of good quality.
Overlying it is a slate of excellent quality, the layers of which are
thirty feet thick in the aggregate. On Crooked Creek, seven to eight
miles east of Jamestown, coal crops out at many places, but has not
been worked. On Buffalo Cove Creek, near the East Fork, there is
an outcrop three and a half to four feet thick. Near the head of East
Fork it is reported seven feet thick, six miles south-west of James-
town, is a fine bank near the East Fork, and on the opposite side of
the valley is another four feet thick. In the head of Buffalo Cove is a
bank three and a half to four feet thick. No coal has ever been carried
out of the county, but at most of the places mentioned small quantities
have been taken out for local use. Nine miles from Jamestown, in a di-
rection a little west of south, there is said to be an extensive bed of iron
ore of good quality ; but as we have seen no specimens we cannot phice an
estimate upon its importance. Seven miles south of Jamestown there
is a mound, similar to a potato hill, which is full of ferruginous
sandstone, but although it contains a large per cent, of iron, the cost
of reducing it would render the working of it unprofitable. There is
another vein similar to the last, running in a north-east and south-
west direction, a few miles east of Jamestown. Limonite occurs at a
number of points in the valleys, and some of the beds will doubtless
prove to be valuable. But the most interesting iron deposit in the county
is an outcrop of the dyestone, on the western slope of the mountain,
near the Livingston and Jamestown road. It appears to be about
three feet thick, and is of unknown extent. For years it has been
used for dyeing purposes by the housewives in the neighborhood.
Tlie limestones below the bluffs on the western slope of the motmtain

Middle Tennessee. 721

afford a beautiful variegated marble, similar to that found in East
Tennessee. On East Fork, ten miles west of Jamestown, is an oil
spring. The oil flows out with the water, and is sometimes skimmed
off. Another similar spring, three miles higher up the river, confirms
the existence of petroleum in this region. A group of oil springs is
reported at the mouth of Poplar Cove Creek. A dozen or more good
chalybeate springs are scattered over the Table Land, but none of them
have been improved. At Van Buren Academy, near Travisville, on
Wolf River, there is a good sulphur spring, and several others of the
same kind along East Fork are occasionally resorted to by people in
the neighborhood.

Manufactories. Except the ordinary mills of the country, there are
no manufacturing establishments, but tine streams of water abound in
all parts of the county. The largest of these is East Fork, which flows
in a general northward direction through the western part of the
county. The length of the valley is about thirty-five miles, but with
its meanders, the river is probably three times as long. It is an im-
petuous stream, and no ordinary dam would stand, but at several
places there are large bends with narrow necks, where cut-offs might
be made at small expense. Wolf River has four mills in Fentress
county, besides the "Tunnel Hill Place," named from the fact that a
tunnel has been cut through a bend. It is a noble water-power, but
unemployed at present. One of the mills on Wolf River has a card-
ing machine attached, and on Caney Creek there is a saw and grist-
mill and wool-carding machine. Clear Fork is a large mountain
stream, flowing north-east and north into the Great South Fork of
Cumberland River. It has several tributaries in the county on which
there are mills, but like all the mountain streams, they get low in
.summer. The less important streams which afford constant water-
power, are Indian Creek, Crab Creek, Poplar Cove Creek and Rock-
castle Creek. There are two carding machines and one cotton gin.
The household goods manufactured are jeans, linsey, cotton cloth, cot-
ton and woolen socks, counterpanes, coverlets, flax linen, blankets,
buckskin gloves, rag carpets, baskets and split-bottomed chairs.

Social Oharacteristics. General contentment prevails among the
farmers, and there seems to be but little inclination to go west. More
than twenty families from the north have come in since the war, and
only two out of the number have gone back. They are all on good
terms with the older residents, and express themselves as highly
pleased with the county and people. There is room for many more,
46

72 2 Resources of Tennessee.

and the people are anxious to have them come. According to the late
assessments, there are in the county 355,457 acres, which is nearly
556 square miles. The entire population, by the census of 1870, was
4,717, being less than nine per square mile. The entire value of
property assessed is $413,658. The scholastic population is 1,705.
There are no schools except the public free schools. Of these there
are about thirty, all of which are reported as doing well. There are
no fair grounds.

For other statistics, see chapter xxii.

FRANKLIN COUNTY.

County Seat — Winchestee.'

On the 3d day of December, 1807, the county of Franklin was
established by act of Legislature, with the following boundaries: Be-
ginning on the south-east corner of Warren county, thence with the
south boundary line of Warren to the east boundary line of Bedford
county, thence with said line to the southern boundary of the State,
thence east with the State line to the south-east corner of Bledsoe,
thence northwardly to the beginning.

By various acts of Legislature, Franklin has been, at different times,
deprived of territory, and her present boundaries are as follows:
North lie Grundy and Coffee, south the State of Alabama, Marion
bounds it on the east, and Lincoln and Moore on the west. But
though deprived of much of her " ancient demesne," Franklin is more
than a fair average county — indeed, in view of her various resources,
it ranks high in the scale.

Dr. Safford, in his "Geology of Tennessee," states that variety in
natural features is a characteristic of Tennessee. This holds good in
the soils, as well as in the rocks, topography and climate of the State.
It holds good also in agricultural character, for this depends upon the
soil, the topography and climate, and varies with them. What is said
of the State may be said, in good part, of Franklin.

The original distinction of lands among the early settlers, was ftioun-
tain and 7'iver lands, coves and barrens, which latter term included not
only those level thinly-wooded tracts west of the Elk, in which the

Middle Tennessee. 723

soil is generally thin and greatly deficient in calcareous matter, but
also the belt of country lying between the river and the coves, where
the country is more rolling and the soil red and fertile, though in the
early settlement greatly deficient in timber — now, however, where un-
cultivated, covered with young, vigorous forest growth.

The belts, or natural divisions of land, lie in parallel lines with the
mountain, i. e., extending from north-east to south-west, or mainly so.

The Cumberland Table Land, with its Avestern escarpment, including
its sides and benches, comprises about one-fifth of the present area of
the county, and though thin in soil, and as yet sparsely inhabited, yet
may be looked to as a rich field of promise in the future. The Cum-
berland Table Land is the great depository of all the stone coal in
Tennessee, and abounds also in iron and other minerals. Althongh no
eoal mines are at present worked in this county, yet rich banks are
known to exist, both in the upper and lower measures. The old "Por-
ter and Logan Bank," near the Grundy line, about four miles north-
west from the track of the Sewanee Railroad, as well as near Ander-
son's Depot, on the Nashville and Chattanooga Railroad, as also at the
head of " Little Crow Creek," are points at which coal has been taken
out. Sections of these mines show a fair stratum oi fire day to exist,
and near Cowan, immediately on the Sewanee road, an inexhaustible
bed of hydraulic cement, of the very best quality, lies awaiting devel-
opment. The elevation of this Table Land, retarding early develop-
ment of vegetation in the spring, and yet from its latitude in this
county, (35°) having all the advantages of early summer climate, makes
it the country for orchards, vineyards and gardens, nor will the astute
fruit grower and horticulturist overlook the advantages afforded to
this immediate locality by the Sewanee Railroad down the mountain,
and the Nashville and Chattanooga Railroad, between the south and
the west, giving them the benefit of both northern and southern mar-
kets— thirty-five hours placing their products either upon the shores of
the lakes or on the seaboard cities of the South. The chestnut oak of
this region affords the best quality of tan-bark, for the gathering.
Stock-raisers, with a little ranche, have the privilege of illimitable past-
ures, and here are sheep-walks unvisited by the sneaking curs of the
valley, or the prowling wolf of the mountains, for it is said to be a
veritable fact, that no wolf has been seen in the county since the first
locomotive passed through the tunnel, and produced its trembling re-
verberations in the mountain.

724 Resotirces of Tennessee.

Last, but not least, its cool summer nights, its cold gushing foun-
tains, its life-giving chalybeate springs, and its invigorating atmos-
phere, render it attractive during the hot months, "and it bids fair in
a few years to be the favorite resort of southern men." The western
escarpment of this Table Land presents a bold outline, with wild and
grand topographical features, only broken by the indentations of the
rich coves that lie along its base, and as there are only one or two in-
significant outliers in this county, known as the Little Mountains, the
north-western views are truly magnificent, affording not only a pano-
ramic view of Franklin, with its numerous villages and winding
streams, but extending as far as the eye can reach, to the haze of the
Central Basin and the dim outline of the jS^ormandy hills.

The benches of the mountain are exceedingly fertile, but being
mostly in narrow strips, are only valuable for their timber, whicli is
of excellent quality for lumber, consisting of ash, beech, poplar, cherry,
walnut, and other nut-bearing trees. The coves, generally small, with,
however, some exceptions, are among the best lands in the county.
Some of them, however, are subject to the dreaded "milk sick" — not
so much so, however, of late years as formerly. What the original
cause of this malady is, no one knows. As long as the subject remains
in doubt, it becomes no one to say positively the cause is or is not veg-
etable, mineral or serial poison. It is certainly true that animals feed-
ing on lands infected at certain seasons, and under certain circumstances,
will be attacked with this disease and communicate it to others who
drink the milk or eat the flesh or butter of animals so affected ; but
this does not prove it to be of vegetable origin. In the lead districts
of the west, they claim that the disease prevailed most after long^
droughts. Cultivation serves to destroy the poison, whatever it may be.
Distinct localities have been pointed out that had to be fenced in.
Grazing thereon for a single day seemed to be as fatal as an approach
to the deadly Upas tree, but since brought into cultvation are fed upon
with impunity.

Bdi of Red Land. Next, and running along the western base of
the Cumberland Table Land, is a wide belt of characteristic red land,
furnishing a fine agricultural region, where the limestone frequently
crops out, forming the Lithostrotion bed, equivalent to the St. Louis
limestone of the Missouri geologists. Then comes the fine river lands
of the Elk, which flows through the county from north-eiust to south-
west, and which originally nearly bisected tlie county. West of the

Middle Te7inessee. 725

river lie the Barrens, so called, affording luxuriant range for cattle in
spring and early summer, and not so sterile as many suppose. Northern
men, of whom there are many in Fsanklin, by judicious cultivation, are
succeeding in orchards and small grain, especially oats, but the soil is
not adapted to the growth of Indian corn. These immigrants admit
that they have been deceived in the soil of this section, expecting to
find it like the gray soils of Pennsylvania and Ohio, and only needing
a more thorough upturning than was the custom of native Tennesseans.
Many of them have l)ecome land-poor by the injudicious policy of
''the most territory for the least money." In the western portion of
the county, and running dov/n to the river, is found

The Black Shale formation, with its " rock houses," or alum and cop-
peras caves, in which are often found native alum and copperas ; and
sulphur springs, so called, which is water impregnated with sulphu-
retted hydrogen gas, one of the substances resulting from the decom-
position of the pyrite contained in the shale. At some future day this
Black Shale may, perhaps, be profitably used for the manufacture of
both copperas and alum ; and when the petroleum wells are exhausted,
it may be fallen back upon as a source of supply for oils suitable for
illuminating, lubricating, and other purposes, by distillation in suitable
vessels. The richest of these shales is said to yield from thirty to
forty gallons to the ton, at a cost of fourteen cents per gallon, as is
gathered from the Report on the Geology of Canada, giving an account
•of the production of oil from bituminous shales in that country.
At an experimental boring for oil at a well upon Rock Creek, in this
county, a few years ago, by a Nashville company, this shale was largely
used as fuel in their furnace.

Franklin county, exclusive of its Table Land or mountainous por-
tion, lies upon what is known in the Geology of Tennessee as the
Highland Rim, a region bordering and surrounding what is known as
the Central Basin of Middle Tennessee.

As Professor Henry, of the Smithsonian Institute, in constructing
his isothermal chart of the territory of the United States, has made an
■allowance for decreasing temperature of one degree for every 333 feet
of elevation, or three degrees for every 1,000 feet, it may be instructive
to make some comparative statements of elevation, as gathered from
various railroad surveys passing through this county.

Taking low water of Cumberland River at Nashville as 365 feet
above the elevation of the sea, or the height above low tide of Mobile

726 Resources of Tennessee.

Bay, we find Elk River at tlie crossing of the Nashville and Chatta-
nooga Railroad 865 feet, Decherd 965, Cowan 973, Tunnel 1,153,
junction of Sewanee and Nashville and Chattanooga railroads 1,137,
University of the South (eight miles) 1,955, top of the highest ridge in
that vicinity 2,076 feet.

From these data it would appear that what is known as the valley
portion of Franklin, is 600 feet above Nashville, and that of the Table
Land 1,490, while the highest summits reach a difference of 1,711 feet^
making a diiference of about two degrees for valley and four or five
degrees for mountain heights.

Rivers and Streams. While it is not to be disguised that much of
the best land lying at the western base of the Cumberland Mountain
is sadly deficient in water, yet taken as a whole, Franklin is perhaps
one of the best watered counties in the State, and in view of her abun-
dant water-power, added to her railroad facilities and contiguity to coal^
must become at no distant day one of the important manufacturing
districts of the State. As already stated. Elk River passes through the
whole extent of the county from north-east to south-west with the fol-
lowing rate of descent : At a point eight miles from Decherd, according
to an experimental survey for a railroad from that place to McMinn-
ville, the elev lion above the sea is 950 feet. Higher up toward the
mountain t1r; elevation of course is much greater. Six miles below,
at the cro- lug of the Nashville and Chattanooga Railroad, the eleva-
tion is 835 feet. At the crossing of the Southern Central Railroad,,
near which point the Elk passes the Tennessee and Alabama line,,
the elevation is 553 feet. It is evident in a stream of such rapid
descent water-power is abundant. The Elk is one of the most beauti-
ful rivers in Tennessee, and to the tourist and disciples of Izaak Walton
is very attractive. Sweeping in its tortuous course around fertile "bends,""
it ever and anon enters some shady gorge, whose precipitous rocks
and hanging woods contrast their deep broad shadows with its sparkling
waters. Every now and then a mountain trout, with sudden splash,
darts to the surface of the bounding stream in j)ursuit of flies and other
insects swarming in myriads on the moss set adrift by cattle browsing
knee-deep in the stream, or else on flowers overhanging and kissing
the rippling water, or on leaves and plants drifting about like fairy
barks on its pellucid bosom.

Th(! western branches of tlie Elk in Franklin are Lost Creek, Big
Hurricane, Littk; Hurricane, Rock Creek, Taylor's, Spring, Rowland's,.

Middle Te^inessee. T^y

Bromlowand Bradley. The eastern are Mud, Gum Swamp, Blue,
Muse's or Wiggins' Boiling Fork of Elk, with its branches, viz:
Waggoner's and Norwood's. Below the Boiling Fork of Elk fall in
Dry Creek, Town Creek or Owl Hollow, Hooker Hollow, Spring
Valley, Tartar's, Murrell's, McElroy's, Bean's, with its branches.
Factory Falls, Robertson's and Indian. East of the western es-
carpment of the mountain, upon the Table Land of Franklin, Larkin's,
Estell's and Hurricane Forks unite to form Paint Rock, which flows
south-west through Alabama into the Tennessee, and Rush Creek, Big
and Little Crows, uniting, flow south-east through Alabama into the
Tennessee— the water-shed of the Table Land inclining Avholly into
Alabama. There may, however, be some small tributary branches of
Battle Creek in Franklin.

Coves. Farmers Cove, Lost Cove, Round Cove and Sinking Cove
lie upon the Table Land, and'are wholly shut in by mountains, beneath
which their waters find outlet, and when, in time of floods, these inlets
become obstructed, the inhabitants have to paddle about in canoes until
the obstructions of leaves and drift are removed. Lying along the base
of the mountain are found Buncombe cove, almost shut in by an outlier,
and watered by the head branches of Bean's Creek, then after a long,
bold outline toward the north are found Holder's, Williams' or Nor-
wood's, Keith's or Caperton's, Talley's, a long cove which runs up
under University Place, whose broad plateau sweeps boldly out into the
valley, above and north of which is found Roark's Cove, one of the
largest in the county. In this cove is to be found some of the best
cotton lands in Franklin.

Cariosities. Many beautiful cascades and waterfalls are to be found
upon the mountain, and also quite extensive caves. Of these, one
above Keith's Cove, near Cowan, is frequently resorted to by tourists.
This cave is said by tradition to have an outlet into the valley, though
this is doubted.

About one mile below the Elk River bridge, upon the Nashville and
Chattanooga Railroad, is a remarkable excavation or fissure in the
solid wall of rock which forms a narrow neck of forty or fifty feet,
connecting quite an extensive peninsula, which the river forms in its
tortuous course with a fall of about twenty feet. Though high above
the present high-water mark, there is evident appearance that water
once passed through. In many places fine specimens of fossils are to
be found.

728 Resources of Tennessee.

Dry Creek, one of the streams already mentioned, is intermitting,
and may be included among the curiosities of Franklin. It is really
curious, on a hot summer day, to pass south of Winchester, and find
its bed as dry as powder, and returning a few hours thereafter to find a
limpid, purling stream. Many suppose that it has connection with the
Tennessee Kiver, and rises and falls with that stream. But this is
impossible, because not oi>ly is the Tennessee much lower, but even the
bed of the Memphis and Charleston Railroad, east of the mountain,
is several hundred feet lower than the Highland Rim, upon which the
stream is located. The elevation of the Memphis and Charleston
Railroad at Woodville being 600 feet, while that of the Winchester
and Alabama Railroad at the crossing of Dry Creek is above 900.

The true solution is, that the reservoir of supply must be an inter-
nal cave of the mountain, receiving its water from slow infiltration
from above, whose drain is a syphon-formed channel, which, when
the reservoir and upper leg of the syphon is filled, carries off the water
faster than it accumulates.

Railroads. The Nashville and Chattonooga Railroad, one of the
most important connections between the south and the northwest,
passes through the heart of the county, with depots at Estell Springs,
Decherd, Cowan, Tantallon, Catchings and Anderson. This railroad
passes over the Elk on a very high bridge, 400 feet long, lately rebuilt
on the improved Howe Truss plan, at a cost of $12,000, exclusive of
masonry. The road passes through the Cumberland Mountain in this
county by deep cuts, on either side, through the solid rock, and a tun-
nel 2,200 feet long, which may be regarded as one of the curiosities
of Franklin. This mountain was long thought to be an impassable
barrier, and the first experimental surveys made a long detour south
to avoid it. The Sewanee Mining Company has a railroad from
Tracy City, passing by University Place, and making a connection
with the Nashville and Chattanooga Railroad, near Cowan, at the base
of the mountain. The Winchester and Alabama Railroad connects
Decherd with Fayetteville, the county seat of Lincoln. A route has
been surveyed from Decherd to McMinnville, in continuation of the
great Cincinnati road, whose completion is only a thing of time. A
narrow gauge railroad from Winchester to the extensive marble quar-
ries on Elk River is also in contemplation. There is no turnpike in
the county, though one was sanctioned by a vote of the people before
the war, connecting Winchester with University Place upon the moun-

Middle Te7inessee. 729

tain. The public roads of Franklin are generally good, except in
very rainy seasons.

Factories, 3IiUs, d-c. Before the late war there were several cotton
factories that are now destroyed. At present there are but two in
operation. David & Mann, near Salem, upon Bean's Creek, or one of
its branches, are running about 38(' spindles on cotton yarn, in dozen,
for home consumption. They are also running wool cards and grist
and saw-mills. Anson Butterworth has made an investment of be-
tween ^60,000 and S80,000 in building up Town Creek Mills, an es-
tablishment that reflects great credit upon his business capacity, and
reminds one of a model New England factory. He owns 500 acres
of land, is running 712 spindles and 30 looms, consuming one bale of
cotton per day, and producing 160 bolts, or 7,100 yards of cloth per
week. He runs by water in winter and spring, in summer and autumn
steam is superadded to his water power. He runs also a flour and
grist-mill, with a capacity of eighty bushels per day, and also cards
wool for the public convenience. He has a school-house and church
on the premises, and furnishes his operatives with houses, gardens and
fire-wood. The Town Creek Mills are eight miles from Winchester,
near Elk River. Flouring mills are abundant. Brown & Payne, on
Bean's Creek, Mosley on the same stream; besides Butterworth, Arl-
edge has an extensive mill on Town Creek, Graham on Little Hurri-
cane, Taft on Elk River, Estill, Syler and G^hnig have mills on Boil-
ing Fork, Crane on Spring Creek. There is also a fine flouring mill
in Sinking Cove on the Table Land. Grist-mills and saw-mills are to
be found on almost every stream. There are also several steam saw-
• mills. There are also many blacksmith and wood shops outside of the
■villages. Besides the tannery in Winchester, there are three others on
Bromlow, one on Bean's Creek, and another near Salem. Near
Decherd there is quite a large cheese factory in operation. It is a
brick building three stories high, and built over one of the finest springs
in Franklin, known as Colyar's Spring.

2'he University of the South. The University of the South is an in-
stitution of which Franklin may well be proud. This Southern en-
terprise owes its origin to the clear and comprehensive mind of Gen-
eral Leonidas Polk, a native of Tennessee, but late Bishop of Louisi-
ana. He first conceived the idea of concentrating the interests of the
several southern dioceses of the Ei)isco])al Church upon one great school
of learning. He accordingly issued an address in the year 1856 to the
Bishops of the Southern States, proposing to establish a University

72>^ Resources of Tennessee.

upon a scale which should meet the highest ends of Christian educa-
tion. The proposal met with general favor, and measures were at once
taken to carry the design into effect. The Bishops of Tennessee, Geor-
gia, Alabama, Texas, Mississippi, Florida, South Carolina, North Car-
olina and Arkansas, with delegates, assembled for the first time on
Lookout Mountain, Tennessee, the 4th day of July, 1857. A com-
mittee was appointed to collect information on the subject of a loca-
tion for the proposed University, and to report to the Board at an ad-
journed meeting to be held at Montgomery, Alabama, on the 28th of
November following. In the interim a number of localities were
visited and carefully examined by a commission of scientific men,
which reported upon their respective advantages. Representatives
from these several localities afterward appeared before the committee,
and urged their claims with liberal oiFers of money and land. A full
report was made to the board, and after a protracted discussion and re-
peated ballotings, Sewanee, Tennessee, the present site of the University,
was unanimously agreed upon. A charter was soon afterward pro-
cured from the Legislature of Tennessee, granting the fullest powers,
and a magnificent domain of nearly 10,000 acres of land was secured
for the University site. A sum of nearly ^500,000 had already been
obtained toward an endowment; the corner-stone of the central build-
ing had been laid with great ceremony, when amidst the throng of as-
sembled thousands the eloquent voice of Preston had cheered the
hearts of his hearers with the bright promises of the future ; offices
and buildings had been erected, and the most active measures were in
l)rocess of execution to })ush the work forward, when the late civil
war broke out and put an abrupt end to all operations. At the close
of the war little remained except the University domain. Worse than
all, a number of the most active fathers of the movement — Otey, Polk,
Elliott, Cobbs, Rutledgc, Freeman — had fallen asleep. The South
was in poverty and distress. The prospects were gloomy, but a move-
ment was inaugurated in 186G to revive the work, and save whatever
still remained. Funds liaving been generously contributed in England,
the trustees were enabled to put the University in operation upon a
moderate scale in September, 1868. Since that time there has been a
rapid development, and the number of students has steadily increased,
the present number being about 230. The University schools are now
fully organized, and a bright future lies open before it.

Sewanee, the site of the University, is on the elevated plateau of
that name, a spur of the Cumberland Table Band. Experience fully

Middle Temiessee. 73 ^

confirms the wisdom of the board in its selection. The summer tem-
perature is delightful, and the winter not sensibly colder than the val-
leys below. It is abundantly supplied Avith pure, cold, freestone
water. The domain is heavily wooded, and care being taken to pre-
serve the native forests, gives the whole the appearance of an exten-
sive park. From the verge of the cliffs, bordering it on all hands,
are presented most charming views of the valleys and neighboring
mountains, combining, in endless variety, to delight the eye. Beauti-
ful cascades and curious freaks of nature lend additional charms. The
buildings, though simple, are generally elegant and attractive. Quite
a village of artisan shops, and business houses of various kinds, have
sprung up at the railway station just at hand, and the whole has lately
been constituted one of the civil districts of Franklin. One of the
business houses is a large three-story stone building that cost $6,000,
and would be an ornament to any city. Within the last three years
the investment in l)uildings, macliinery, etc., at that point has been
over $200,000, independent of the University proper, which, accord-
ing to the interesting report of George R. Fairbanks, Commissioner of
Buildings and Lands, at the last meeting of trustees, is set down at
the value of $165,000.

Other Institutio7is. Besides the institutions of learning in Winches-
ter, of which mention will be made when we speak of that town, there
are also flourishing academies at Decherd, Salem, and near Cowan.
These are emphatically high schools, in which the languages and sciences
are thoroughly taught. There are also in other parts of the county
many good schools, though not dignified perhaps with the title of acad-
emies. Free schools are also taught in all the civil districts of the
county.

Price of Lands. There are farms in Franklin that cannot be bought
for $50 per acre. Upon lands sold by order of court, and where the
minimum bid is fixed by commissioners, the prices vary from fifty
cents to near that amount. The discreet purchaser will not select the
cheapest lands.

Mineral Springs. For many years before the war, in the days of
hacks, private carriages and stage coaches, the " Winchester Sulphur
Springs," so-called, situated iu a romantic dell near Elk River, were
resorted to by multitudes from the south. The ])ropcrty has been for
many years owned and withdrawn from public use by Dr. Kittredge,
a wealthy Louisiana planter, who, during his lifetime, spent his sum-
mers there, and educated his daughters in this county.

732 Resources of Tennessee.

Estill Springs, immediately upon the Nashville and Chattanooga
Kailroad, and near Elk River, where trout-fishing abounds, were also
much resorted to before the war, and its village, "Spring Hill," regu-
larly laid out, and improved by beautiful cottages, built by both Ten-
nesseans and southerners, contained a summer population of 800 or
1,000 persons. This place was resorted to mostly for health, though
it too had its ball-room and other amusements. It has a variety of
springs, chalybeate and other minerals. Here pure sulphur water is
to be found. Dr. Safford, in his Geology, says that fine specimens of
native sulphur have been obtained from the quartz c/eodes in this vicin-
ity. This place was almost entirely destroyed during the war. Its
buildings being deserted, were torn down by the troops to construct
winter quarters. Southern men have not rebuilt their cottages, but
Tennesseans, principally from Murfreesboro, are again beginning to
resort to these life-giving waters.

Hurricane Springs, so justly celebrated for their medical waters, es-
pecially beneficial for chronic bowel affections, lie near the line of
Moore county. Numerous other springs have local reputation.

Marble. A vast mine of wealth lies in the extensive marble quar-
ries of Franklin, upon Elk River, seven or eight mites from Winches-
ter. This marble was hauled and worked at Winchester before the
war, but is now more extensively used. These marble beds in Frank-
lin appertain to the Nashville series, in lithological character, which
teems with fossils, and so impresses the marble. Some of them fur-
nish a gray, others a brownish red coralline marble. Indeed, almost
every variegated variety abounds, and makes it a valuable marble for
ornamental or building purposes.

Vineyards and Orchards. Some attention has been given, especi-
ally by German and Swiss immigrants, to the cultivation of grapes,
which grow finely in the valleys of this county. Extensive apple
orchards of grafted fruit are also taking the place of the old seedling
trees. There is an extensive nursery near Winchester, and another
near Estill Springs.

Relif/ion, Morah, etc. Nearly all the various denominations of
Christians have representatives in Franklin, and a healthy moral tone
pervades the county, though deeds of violence sometimes disturb the
public composure. The Masonic fraternity have lodges in Winchester,
Salem and Marble Hill. The ludependent Order of Odd Fellows
has a flourishing lodge in Winchester, and the Good Templars a
lodge at Decherd of over one hundred members.

Middle Tennessee. 733

Immigrants from all portions of the United States, as well as the old
.vorld, (of whom there are many in Franklin) receive a hearty wel-
iome. Indeed, the money brought into the county by immigration
^ince the war may be said to have saved it from bankruptcy.

Towns. Winchester, the county seat of Franklin, is situated upon
he Boiling Fork of Elk, and surrounded by fertile lands. The first
:;ourts of Franklin were held near where now stands the town of
Cowan, but the lots in Winchester were laid out and sold in 1808 or
1809, and the court-house was built in 1838. The population is be-
tween 1,200 or 1,500, and has its full complement of lawyers, physi-
cians, clergy, merchants and artisans. The jSIary Sharp College is the
boast of the town, and is liberally patronized throughout the South.
The Robert Donnell Institute and the Carrick Academy have exten-
sive buildings, and are regarded as good schools. Its shops, both of iron
and wood, are first class, and besides the tanneries of Porter and Buc-
hanan, the Sewanee Tanning and Manufacturing Company have ex-
tensive and costly brick buildings, in which leather of fine quality is
largely made for export, by steam process entirely.

The Home Journal, ably edited, weekly sends forth its notes of warn-
ing and encouragement to numerous anxious subscribers.

The Cumberland Presbyterians, Baptists and Methodists have im-
posing church edifices. The Roman Catholics have lately built a neat
chapel, and the Episcopalians are now erecting a neat brick gothic
structure in an eligible location ; their first church building having
been burnt during the war. There are several beautiful villas near
the town. From some of these may be seen the winding river with its
clattering "town mill," and its beautiful cascade, and railroad and
other bridges in the foreground ; the town rising regularly upon ter-
races of emerald green, with its glittering spires reflecting the rays of
the rising sun, flooding with its golden halo the mists of the valley,
scudding away from its full-orbed splendor as it emerges " like fiery
steeds " from behind the western escarpments of the mountains which
form an elevated and continuous background, just at that enchanting
distance which robes it with its azure hue. Altogether it forms a pic-
ture pleasant to the eye, and deeply engraven on the tablets of memory.

Salem is an old town in the lower part of Franklin, in a rich por-
tion of the county, and near the Winchester and Alabama Railroad.
It has a flourishing academy, and various shops and business houses.
Ilockerville, in the upper part of the county, is also surrounded by

734 Resources of Tennesee.

fine lands. Hunt's Station, on the Winchester and Alabama Railroad,
and Estill Springs, Decherd, Cowan and Anderson, on the Nashville
and Chattanooga Railroad, are places of considerable business. Of
th(8 3, Decherd has the preeminence, indeed is desthied in the future to
rival Winchester. Perhaps at the present tim6 as many goods are sold
in Decherd as in Winchester.

Statistics. The following are the agricultural productions of Frank-
lin for the year 1870, according to the census report:

Spring wheat 6,828 bushels.

Winter wheat 77,529 "

Rye 3,229 "

Indian corn 467,757 "

Oats 68,371 "

Barley 2,087 "

Buckwheat 45 "

Tobacco 9,983 pounds.

Cotton 289 bales.

Wool 16,294 pounds.

Peas and beans 1,276 bushels.

Irish Potatoes 8,931 "

Sweet Potatoes 9,915 "

Butter 127,880 pounds.

Cheese 106 "

Hay 370 tons.

Clover seed 12 bushels.

Hops 16 pounds.

Sorghum molasses 26,026 gallons.

Wax 1,471 "

Honey 14,129 pounds.

Forest products, value $19,775

Number of horses 2,945

Number of mules and asses 750

Number of milch cows 3,043

Number of working oxen 948

Number of other cattle 3,830

Number of sheep 8,820

Number of swine 24,074

In the Slate Comptroller's report of this year, the area of the county
is stated to be 277,479 acres, valued at $1,557,230. In the census re-
port the land is given as follows:

Improved 91,716 acres.

Woodland 176,603 "

Other unimproved 6,024 "

Total 274,343 "

Middle Tetmessee. 735

The population in 1870 was:

White 11,998

Colored 2,972

Total 14,970

The Bureau is indebted to Dr. J. W. J. Payne for valuable aid in
the preparation of this county.

GILES COUNTY.

County Seat — Pulaski.

Giles county ranks among the very best counties in the State, by
reason of the productive capacity and strength of the soil, the high
character and intelligence of its citizens, the elegance of its soci-
ety, the beauty and variety of its landscape, the abundance of its
streams, the excellence of its timber and building material, and the
splendor of its climate. It was originally a part of Maury and was
erected into a separate county by an act of the Legislature, passed
November 14, 1809. The name of the county was suggested by Gen-
eral Jackson, in honor of Governor William B. Giles, of Virginia,
who was a Senator in Congress at the time the State was admitted, and
a prominent advocate for her admission, against strong opposition, as
well from Tennessee as in Congress. The boundaries of the county,
as defined by the Legislature, commenced at the south-east corner of
Maury county; thence south to the southern boundary of the State;
thence west far enough to include a constitutional county ; thence north
to the Maury line ; thence with the Maury line to the beginning. As
thus indicated, nearly half of the county lay west of the congressional
reservation line, a large portion of which was then vacant land and
belonged to the United States Government, over which the State of
Tennessee had no control. The act establishing the county appointed
James Ross, Nathaniel Moody, Tyree Rodes, Gabriel Bumpass and
Thomas Whitson, commissioner, to select a place on Richland Creek,
as near the center of the county as practicable, and cause a town to be
laid off, and to sell the lots, reserving two acres for a public square, on
which should be erected a court-house and stocks — that the town should
be called Pulaski, in honor of Count Pulaski, who fell in the attack on
Savannah in 1779. The commissioners selected the present site of

"]'^(i Resources of Tennessee.

Pulaski, although at that time it was vacant land, lying south and west
of the reservation line, and was not granted until the 14th of Novem-
ber, 1812, but assurances of the title had been given, which author-
ized the commissioners to make the selection. The cane and under-
growth were removed from a small portion of the town in 1810, and
in August, 1811, the first lots were sold, and in due time a court-house
and stocks were erected. An act establishing the county also estab-
lished a Circuit Court, to be held the second Monday in June and De-
cember, and a Court of Pleas and Quarter Session, to be held third
Monday in February, May, August and November, and the house of
Lewis Kirk, who lived in a log cabin on the bank of Richland Creek,
about 200 yards above the Nashville and Decatur depot, was used for
that purpose. The first County Court M^as held third Monday in Feb-
ruary, 1810, when county officers were elected or appointed — German
Lester, Clerk ; James Buford, Sheriff; Nelson Patterson, Chairman;
Jesse Westmoreland, Register. The first Circuit Court was held, it is
believed, the second Monday in June, the records of which are lost;
but the record shows that court was held December 10, 1810 — Thomas
Stewart, Judge. James Berry was appointed Clerk at the first court.

Areas and Population. This county has twenty civil districts, and
embraces over 600 square miles. The number of acres of land as-
sessed for 1873 was 370,430, valued at $5,411,041, or nearly $15 per
acre. The population in 1870 was 32,413, of which 12,738 were col-
ored. The voting population in 1871 was 6,458; scholastic population
in 1873, 9,484. The Cornersville district has been taken from the
county since 1870, and added to Marshall. This has reduced the pop-
ulation 2,141.

Topography and Streams. The topography of Giles county may be
best understood by considering the entire area to have been once an
unbroken table land as high as the tops of the leading ridges, and that
out of this original table land the streams have since cut their deep
valleys. This, and we take it to be true, has caused the county to be
made up of very many winding valleys, and high, often flat-topped,
dividing ridges. The depth of the valleys, or, what is the same thing,
the height oi leading ridges, is from 300 to 500 feet. Richland Creek,
a tributary of Elk River, is the most important stream, though not
the largest in the county. It divides the county longitudinally, north
and south, into two nearly equal portions. The name Richland is sig-
nificant and ap})ropriate. The stream has a large, wide valley which
cannot be excelled, if equalled, in the State for fine farming lands.

Middle Tennessee. J'^'j

Richland has also many tributaries, each with its fertile valley. Elk
River flows across the south-eastern corner of the county, receiving in
its course many creeks and branches. Sugar Creek is in the south-
western corner. All these have deeply set and rich valleys. The
number of creeks, large and small, is very great, so that the
table land mentioned above has been very thoroughly dissected by the
waters. The ridges, the remnants of what once was, are narrow and,
although numerous, make up a small part of the area of the county.
The northern boundary of the county lies on Elk Ridge, an important
arm of the Highlands. This conspicuous ridge runs nearly east and
west, divides the waters of the Elk from those of Duck River, and cuts off
the portion of the Central Basin of Middle Tennessee lying in Lincoln
and Giles. We add further notices of the streams. The largest water-
course in the county is Elk River, which takes its rise in Grundy county,
and after passing through the counties of Franklin and Lincoln, and
the south-east corner of Giles, pours itself into the Tennessee at the
Muscle Shoals. It is a bold stream, and was formerly used to trans-
port produce to New Orleans.

Richland Creek, though called a creek, is really a river, and was de-
clared by the Legislature a navigable stream to Pulaski, soon after the
county was established. It has now numerous excellent flouring mills
upon it, and among others. Vale mills, a few miles above Pulaski, which
make a fine article of cotton rope in addition to the manufacture of
flour. There are two other mills at Pulaski, and Brown's mills, ten
miles below, on this creek, all with good machinery, and they are
usually amply supplied with wheat raised in the county.

Yet for all these mills, Richland Creek is not considered a good
milling stream. The banks are low, and are frequently overflowed in
winter, and • the drouths in summer reduce the quantity of water so
much that the mills have to stop grinding, or grind but a short time each
day. For thirty years after the organization of the county, numerous
large flat-bottomed boats were built at Pulaski, by which the produce
of the adjacent country was shipped to market. Occasionally small
keel boats and pirogues were constructed, which made the voyage to
New Orleans and returned with merchandise, stopping at Elkton, near
the mouth of the creek. It required from three to four months to
make the voyage. Sometimes they brought salt down the Tennessee
River from King's salt works, near the Virginia line. Goods were
hauled in wagons from Baltimore by the merchants.
-17

738 Resources of Temzessee.

Sugar Creek, in the south-west corner of the county, probably sup-
plies the best water-power for machinery in the county. The water
falls through a succession oi' cascades more than thirty feet within a
distance of one hundred yards, and it is easily and cheaply utilized.
Big Creek, a confluent of Richland Creek, is a good stream for man-
ufacturing purposes, and has upon it, just within the borders of Law-
rence county, a fine cotton and woolen factory. On this stream, and
below Campbellsville, are the Arlington and Morris mills, that manu-
facture a very superior article of flour. Then there are Shoal Creek,
and Bethel or Little Shoal Creek, that empty into Elk River, very
good streams, but have nothing about them deserving of particular
mention.

Geology. The geological features of the county are easily understood.
The strata are horizontal, and excepting the summits of the ridges, are
mainly limestone. The ridges are everywhere capped with the lowest
and flinty layers of the Lower Carboniferous. Below this formation,
outcropping on the slopes and underlying the lowlands, are everywhere
the limestones which belong to a geological division called Silurian.
The latter strata may be further divided into an upper part which is
called Niagara, a middle part called Nashville, and a lower known as
Lebanon. These different sets of strata kre so named because their
continuations occur at the places from which the names are taken. For
example, the upper limestone strata of Giles belong to the very same
formation which makes the great fall at Niagara ; the middle part in-
cludes the strata outcropping all around the city of Nashville. So
those of the lowest set are seen about Lebanon, the county seat of
Wilson. By far the most important subdivision, so far as the soils of
Giles are concerned, is the Nashville. The Niagara is a comparatively
thin division, seen outcropping high on the slopes in the middle and
southern portions of the county ; in the northern portions the formation
appears to be entirely absent. The Nashville, on the other hand, in-
cludes about 300 feet of rather sandy, highly fossiliferous rich lime-
stones, which, by weathering, form a very fertile, mellow soil. These
strata outcrop mainly on the slopes and uplands. The lowest subdi-
vision, the Lebanon, is the bottom rock of a number of local areas in
the valleys of Richland, the Elk, and some of their tributaries. The
Lebanon limestones, owing to their limited extent, have not the agri-
cultural importance attaching to those of the Nashville sub-division.
It ought perhaps to be stated here that there is a thin formation of
black slate, called, technically, the Black Shale, in the county, in ad-

Middle Tennessee. 739

dition to those we have already mentioned. It lies next below the
sub-carboniferous and above all the limestones. It is often taken erro-
neously as an indication of stone coal.

Lar^ and Soils. All the soils in that part of the county which lies in
the Central Basin arc fertile and easily cultivated. The hdl-sules and
the slopes of the ridges are often remarkably fertile and productive
As mi^ht be inferred from the number of streams, the amount of
alluvia! soil in the county is very great. On all the streams wide bot-
toms extend sometimes on both sides t^a considerable djfta-e.and
1 not surpassed in productiveness by any lands in the State._ The
Unds bordering on Elk River and Richland Creek are the best m the
ouuty for ™t'n, and its 'cultivation is confined almost exclusive^ to
r 1 Lis on thes; streams. Tire whole valley of Richland Creek for
miles when we saw it, was rejoicing in luxuriant crops of cotton corn
Tnd c over, the latter filling the air with a fragrance as delightful as
the "perfumes of bright Circassia." This sea of verdure, enriching
he soil while it gladdened the landscape, is the best evidence we can
* -vc o L sanguine hopes of the farmers of Giles of pros,,eri y in
Ic filre. These lands sell for from ?40 to «90 per acre The farms
are will improved. They have tasteful farm-houses, good stables and
blrJ neat fences, pretty yards, extensive orchards and all the eom-
fortsind luxuries that can be found on the farms m any part of the
Sol The farmers for the most part are highly intclhgen t, and con-
duc their farms with skill and energy. The capacity of the soil for
the pXtion of grass is wonderful. On one farm we observed a
little field of 2i acres in timothy, of which the owner related that .t
wa sown abou: the year 1840, six years before he cau^ -t" P-ession
of the place ; that he had pastured it two years since, but has cut f^m
it twenty-two out of the twenty-four years, one and a half to two tons
of hay per acre annually, and still the growth of the grass is vigor-
ous andthe meadow is comparatively free from any noxious weeds
: grsel It has also suppUed pasturage enough in ^V^^^ZZ^-
cos! of cutting and saving the hay, so that the owner '- -7"^ ^^ ^
i,.ed, clear of all expenses, from this small plat "f 1^" ' ' ''J^;^
incredible sum of $1,650, estimating hay to be wo h SI' 1'^' ™;*'^^

five tons to be produced annually. '^^^l^'^lJ:^:^

Cf-^f^ +lTnf Pin ho frrown with iinbkuieu i<.iuui niu^^^
:a"sfarr;"as;ii!tofhay,anathewonderisthatmoreattention

is not given to it iu this excellent county.

Immediately around CampbellsviUe, on Big Creek, the lands are fer-

740 Resources of Temtessee.

tile, and continue so on to the south and east, but on the north and
west they run into the " barrens," on the Highlands, where the land isr
thin, and can be bought at almost a nominal price. A great many
hogs are raised on Big Creek, and the tendency is to a better stock.
Recently many fine Berkshires have been brought into the county, and
some Chester whites. There is a native stock, however, called Sum-
ner's stock — very large, easily fattened, thrifty, and yields a very
large percentage of pork for the amount of food consumed — that is a
general favorite in every part of the county. The land in this region
is admirably suited to hay, and a considerable quantity is raised. The
western part of the county is hilly, not suited to cotton, but is well
adapted to wheat and fruit. It rarely happens that there is a fail-
ure in fruit. The fogs that rise up from the valleys settle on the ele-
vated land and apparently protect the fruit from the destructive effects-
of the late frosts. The timber here is very fine, and the water, being
freestone, is soft, limpid and free of all impurities. Lands here gen-
erally sell at from one to ten dollars per acre.

The lands on Elk River, and in the eastern part of the county^
though originally of the finest quality, have been much worn in the
cultivation of cotton. The landscape, in many places, is scarified by
deep gullies, some of them are of such depth and width as almost to-
exceed belief. Hundreds of acres, on the Lincoln county line, are per-
manently ruined and are not worth the taxes paid on them. It is to
be hoped that the present generation will attach more importance ta
the preservation of the soils, if not from principle, at least from policy.
The cultivation of cotton seems to be the curse of the soil in Middle
Tennessee — not necessarily so, but custom, more powerful than reason,
exacts so many crops that no opportunity is afforded the land for re-
claiming itself,

O'ops, Orchard and Vineyard Products. Giles was, in 1870, the
banner county in corn, leading all other counties in the quantities of
this product. The following are the products for 1870, according to
the census report:

Corn 2,054,163 bushels.

Wheat, Hpring 34,451 "

Wheat, winter 111,184 "

Oats 70,512 "

Eye 5,895 "

Barley ^,710 "

Hay 1,644 tons.

Grasfl Beed 153 bushels.

Middle Te7i7iessee. 741

Cotton 8,367 bales.

Tobacco 40,655 pounds.

•Potatoes, Irish 32,556 bushels.

Potatoes, sweet 28,074 "

Hops 26 pounds.

Sorghum 21,023 gallons.

Orchard products, value of 10,341 dollars.

Market garden products, value of 7 119 "

Wine 569 gallons.

The production of wiue has increased very much since 1870. In
1872 the product was 2,500 gallons. As to the crops suited to the
jsoil and climate of the county, enough has already been said under the
head of Land and Soils.

All kinds of fruit known to the latitude find a congenial soil in
Giles. The peach and apple tree flourish well on the barren lands, as
also the cherry, the plum, the apricot. The grapes, as well as the
peach and apple, do well on the high elevations of the Silurian. By
far the largest vineyard in the State is in this county, formerly owned
by Messrs. Cox and Dun lap, but recently sold. It embraces thirty
acres, and a detailed description of it may be had by referring to the
chapter on Grape-Growing, page 163 of this volume.

Live Stock. The value of all live stock for 1870 is placed at
•^1,736,504. The importation of a good breed of hogs has already
been mentioned. Many fine Cotswold sheep have been lately intro-
duced into the county from Kentucky, and are giving great satisfac-
tion by their enormous yield of wool. We saw a flock of twenty-one that
yielded 195 lbs. of wool, clear of burrs and trash, and all the flock
were ewes except four. Many Merino sheep are found in every part
of the county. Durham cattle, from the Alexander farm, near Lex-
ington, Ky., are often seen, and some of the finest thoroughbred horses
in the State are to be found in Giles.

The following statistics are compiled from the census returns :

Horses, number of 7,672

Mules and asses, number of 3,452

^lilch cows, number of 6,536

Sheep, number of 18,658

Swine 47,700

The value of animals slaughtered or sold for slaughter was $482,127.
There are also many fine jacks in the county, and the farmers are do-
ing more in the raising of stock than ever before.

742 Resoiirces of Tennessee.

Roads and Railroads. It is a source of regret that while Giles
county is going ahead in almost all other enterprises, it should Ihiger
so far behind in the matter of turnpikes, there being but two or three
in the county, and they are poorly kept up, although limestone rock
abounds, and is easy of access. The other roads are execrable, and to
look at them it would seem impossible that any vehicle could pass over
them without breaking down. The people of Giles, so exemplary in
other things, will, we trust, soon direct their attention to the building
of good roads, the benefit, profit and convenience of which can hardly
be over-estimated. There is but one railroad in the county — the Nash-
ville and Decatur — that passes through from north to south. It is a
great convenience to the people, and before it was built the transporta-
tion of produce was a work of great risk, labor and expense. Another
railroad, the Memphis and Knoxville, has been surveyed to pass
through the county, which is intended to be narrow gauge. Should
this be built, Giles county will be quartered by railroads, and will en-
joy means of transportation enjoyed by very few counties in the State.

Immigrants. During the decade between 1860 and 1870 the popu-
lation increased over 6,000. There are lands to be found in this coun-
ty cheap and d \rable, but away from transportation. All that portion
of the county lying west of Pulaski, and beyond the Valley Basin,
might be profitably settled by fruit-growers. The soil is of the same
character as that found in Lawrence and portions of Coffee county.
Some of it is very leachy and poor, but spots occur of moderate fertil-
ity, and, under good management, might be made highly productive
and profitable. The lands elsewhere in the county rate so high it
would be difficult to get immigrants to buy them.

Labor. Labor is high and unreliable. In the cotton-growing areas
the system of cropping prevails. The same contracts are made with
laborers here as in Davidson, Marshall, and other counties in the best
portions of Middle Tenn.essee.

Towns. Pnlaski stands on the east bank of Richland Creek, with a
circular range of irregular hills, that run from north-west to the south,
hemming it in on three sides, and reminding one of sentinels keeping
watch and ward over the towii beneath. South-west and Avest from Pu-
laski, the country is comparatively level, and stretching away are

"Woods and cornfields, and tlie abodes of men,
Scattered at intervals" —

The place selected by the commissioners for the town was know°

Middle Tennessee. 743

by the first settlers as the "shoals," and is fifteen miles above the con-
fluence of Richland Creek with Elk River. Pulaski in 1870 had 470
dwellings, occupied by 2,070 people, of whom 910 were colored. The
town, within the past few years, has suffered greatly from fires, but
better buildings have been erected, and it is now one of the best built
towns in the State. It has an elegant court-house, one hundred and
fifty feet by sixty, with cross halls, and four entrances. It is well ven-
tillated, having eight double windows on the sides. It was completed
in 1859 ; the previous court-house having been destroyed by fire before
it was finished, though some of the rooms were in use. Pulaski has
considerable trade, there being required to meet the wants of the citi-
zens of the county about twenty dry goods houses, sixteen groceries,
two tailor shops, seven blacksmith shops, one planing-mill, two wagon
shops, two tan-yards, one stove and tin shop, two livery stables and two
banks. There are five churches, two of them colored. The Episco-
palians worship in the basement of the Odd Fellows' Hall, which is a
large building, and shows that benevolent order to be in a flourishing
condition. There is also the jail, which cost the county the sum of $25,-
000 to construct. It is a sightly building, and besides having spacious
rooms for the accommodation of the jailer, has numerous cells, lined so as
to make the possibility of the escape of the criminals, without the con-
nivance of the jailer, very remote. There is one newspaper, the Pu-
laski Citizen, Democratic and progressive. The amount of cotton
shipped from this place for 1872-3, was greater than that shipped from
any other point in Middle Tennessee, being 8,863 bales. The whole
amount shipped from the county during the same year was a little over
16,000 bales. From this point also there were shipped 10,456 bushels
of wheat. Pulaski can also boast of a town hall, which for elegance,
convenience, safety, beauty of finish and appropriateness for the pur-
pose designed, cannot find its equal in the State. It is 84x42, with an
arched ceiling, beautifully frescoed, and has a capacity for seating com-
fortably 800 persons. The galleries are large and well ventila-
ted. Two wide flights of steps lead to the auditorium, and in case
of fire the whole building can be emptied in the space of two minutes.
Speakers and actors highly commend it for its acoustic properties, rend-
ering the labor of speaking comparatively easy. There were in Pu-
laski, in 1870, 68 establishments of productive industry, with a capital
of $97,157 invested, that gave employment to 133 males above sixteen
years of age, and thirty-five females above sixteen, besides seventeen
other young persons below the ages mentioned. The wages paid to

744 Resources of Tenjzessee,

these persons for the year ending June 1, 1870, was $38,204, and the
products were valued at $168,262. Standing first among these manu-
facturing establishments are the Pulaski Manufacturing Mills, situated
in the north-eastern part of the town. These mills were incorporated
under the same charter as the Tennessee Manufacturing Company at
Nashville, and have now a capital invested of $65,000. They employ-
ed in 1872, 75 operatives, and made 1,500 yards of sheeting, 340 dozen
yarn, 100 yards of jeans, cassimeres, &c., daily. They had in operation
1,500 spindles, the looms and spindles being driven by two steam engines.
Pulaski has 405 lots, valued at $672,654. Lynnville, Buford, Rey-
nolds, Rhodes, Wales, Pfarwell, Aspen Hill, Lesters, Prospect and
Veto, are all shipping points on the railroad. Lynnville has a popula-
tion of 250 and 17 business establishments. The number of bales of
cotton shipped from this point for the year ending June 30, 1870, was
1,452; bushels of wheat, *4,813; cattle, 19 car loads; hogs, 28 car
loads. Buford has two ueneral stores. Wales, four miles north of
Pulaski, has the same number. Aspen Hill, with a population of 100,
has two stores, a cabinet shop, two blacksmith shops, flour and grist-
mill, saw-mill, and one grocery. Prospect has a population of 150,
and six business houses. The other towns in the county, away from
the railroad, are Elkton, south of Pulaski, on the Elk River, with a
population of 300; Bunker Hill, Campbellsville, Bradshaw, Bethel,
Bodenham, Marbutis, Minnow Ford and Pisgah. All these have from
one to four stores, and are trading points for the surrounding country.
Elkmont Springs is a beautiful watering place, located on the edge of
the table land which lies on the south side of Elk River. The water
is sulphur, and is much sought after by dyspeptics, as well as those suf-
fering from general debility.

The citizens of Giles county, for the year 1873, showed a commend-
able liberality in providing good public schools. But for untoward
events in our national legislation, the county would soon have become
as noted for the excellence of its schools as for the richness of the soils,
and hospitality of the citizens. A special tax of fifteen cents on the
hundred dollars worth of property, one dollar on polls, and one-fourth
of the county levy on privileges, was set apart for school purposes, which*
with the State levy of ten cents, realized over $21,000 per annum for
the public schools. The private schools of the county have always
been of a high order.

Middle Tejmessee. 745

GRUNDY COUNTY.

County Seat — Tracy City.

This county was organized in 1844, from fractions taken from Frank-
lin, Coffee and Warren. It embraces 324 square miles, and has a pop-
ulation, according to the last census, of 3,250, of which only 137 were
colored. It is one of the eastern counties of Middle Tennessee, and
more than half of it rests upon the Cumberland Table Land.

Topography and Streams. The part of the county that lies upon the
Table Land is generally flat, but deeply gashed by the valleys of streams.
Sometimes, also, as near Tracy City, knobs rise several hundred feet
above the general surface. There being eleven districts in the county,
three lie entirely upon the Table Land, and a portion of eight run
down into coves and river vallej'S. Elk River breaks from one of
these coves, and is strong enough to make valuable water-power where
it bursts out. The head waters of Collins and Sequatchie rivers are
also in this county. Many of the streams on the top of the Table
Land have sufficient volume for milling purposes, such as the Fiery
Gizzard and Fire Scald. These mountain streams are very rapid, hav-
ing perpendicular falls sometimes of thirty or more feet, especially
where they begin to descend into the valleys. The waters are not so
bright and sparkling as one is disposed to imagine, but have a yel-
lowish cast. They flow over great layers of sandstone, and are fretted
in their courses by detached rocks that have tumbled down in their
channels. Some of the wildest gorges in the State are to be met with
along these streams — perfect pictures of untamed nature embellished
by numerous and varied evergreens. Several of these places of great
-beauty are found in the vicinity of Beersheba Springs. Laurel Creek
Falls may be taken as a type of these mountain rapids. The creek
which forms these falls, after flowing on the mountain plateau for several
miles, plunges into a deep ravine gashed in the side of the gorge,
through which the east fork of Collins River flows, and finds its way
down to that stream by a succession of rapids and falls, descending
about 1,000 feet in the distance of five miles. The Laurel Creek
Falls forms one of several by which the Avater descends to the foot of
the mountain. These falls pitch over a mass of conglomerate rock,
some six feet in thickness, which rests upon a bed of crumbling shale.
This has been disintegrated and washed out from beneath by the floods,
60 that the hard and conglomerate sandstone projects a considerable

74^ Resources of Tennessee.

distance over, which projection increases on the right and below the
falls to twenty or thirty feet over the elliptical grotto, some sixty feet
in length, and nearly the same in breadth. The water has a fall of
thirty feet, which, after striking a broken mass of rocks below, sweeps
around to the left, finding its way amidst huge bowlders, at one time
resting in a quiet pool, and then dashing headlong down deep chasms
darkened by the overhanging trees. The ruggedness and wildness of
this gorge fill the mind with emotions of sublimity, and form a picture
of mighty convulsions where huge rocks have been piled upon each
other, intermingled with fallen trees, in wild confusion. The bosoms
of some of these bowlders are covered with wild ferns, which make
them resemble green islands in the rugged sea of rocks.

Soils and Productions. A considerable portion of the land in this
county may be termed first rate Middle Tennessee land. All the soils
in the coves and on the streams produce corn, wheat, clover, and some
of them are well adapted to blue-grass. Cotton and tobacco grow
well on these bottom lands. They can be bought at from ten to thirty
dollars per acre. Such lands in Ohio or Pennsylvania would be worth
from one hundred to one hundred and fifty dollars per acre.

All in all, this county is now one of the most interesting in the
State — interesting, because a spirit of enterprise, not very common in
Tennessee, is giving the top of the mountain a trial never before made
in this, nor in any State in the South. The coal in this county is now
at the very foundation of commerce and manufacturing, and by means
of the capital and enterprise which it has developed, many other in-
dustrial interests have taken a new start.

Among the many interesting developments in this county, nothing is
enlisting more valuable and scientific investigations than the effort to
utilize lands hitherto regarded as of no value. In this county there
are now 100,000 acres that can be bought at from fifty cents to one
dollar per acre. Late practical and scientific tests have shown, as is
now claimed, that these lands are indeed of considerable value, since
they are found to be productive, and they are made accessible by rail-
road. A highly cultivated and eminently practical Scotchman five
years ago settled on lands immediately on the line of railroad, and near
the colmty line between Marion and Grundy, and by a series of actual
experiments with fertilizers, has demonstrated that lands which he
bought at from sixty cents to one dollar ])er acre, can be made, with a
trifling (lost, to produce excellent corn, clover and oats. He claims

Middle Tennessee. 747

that this land, for farming purposes, is equal to the valley land ; but in
this, while we cannot agree with him, we are glad to know that intelli-
gence and scientific cultivation will make them productive and profit-
able. For the production of corn and wheat they must be well ferti-
lized ; but there are no lands in the State equal to them for the produc-
tion of fruits, Irish potatoes, and some other vegetables. The soil is
sandy, loose, porous and hungry, though it produces clover very well
if gypsum is applied to the crop. Mr. E. O. Nathurst, an enterprising
and intelligent Swede, now connected with the Tennessee Coal and
Railroad Company, residing at Tracy City, by a little extra work from
arduous duties as book keeper, made six years ago a vineyard of less
than one acre, which in grapes and wine yielded him one year between
$700 and ^800. Experiments by E. F. Colyar at the mines, and
by others, prove beyond doubt that for grape culture the top of the
mountains has no su})erior in this country.

Swiss Colony. Near Altamont, in this county, is a most interesting
Swiss colony, composed of about sixty fiimilies. The establishment
and population of this colony is quite a feature in the history of Ten-
nessee. Without means this experiment was made, and for a time the
difficulties in the way of success seemed insurmountable ; but under the
protection of Consul General Hitz, and under the management of Mr.
Peter Staub, of Knoxville, the active and enterprising agent for the
Swiss government, this colony has been put on a firm basis. They are
a most industrious people, and have now clearly demonstrated the value
of the lands which they bought at a few cents per acre. The cultiva-
tion of tlie grape and of fruit trees, is among the many interesting vo-
cations of this most industrious people. They are said to be quite sat-
isfied with their new mountain home, and in a few years will be among
the most thriving and wealthy of Tennessee's taxpayers. They have
two stores and several saw-mills, and possess all the requisites for living
within themselves.

Timber and Lmnber. On the low lands and in the coves there is an
abundance of fine yellow poplar, black walnut, sugar tree, white and
black oak, and on the top of the mountain there are two kinds of tim-
ber of great value — the yellow pine in large quantities, and chestnut
oak, which grows in great abundance, the bark of which is much
sought after by tanners. Besides, the top of the mountain is better
supplied with tie timber than any part of the State accessible by railroad.

Climate and Fruit. It is now well known, after experiments for

74^ Resources of Tennessee.

twenty-five years, but especially since the railroad was built in 1858,
that as a fruit and vegetable country, the top of this mountain surpasses
any section in the Southern States. The climate in many respects is
about the same as in Pennsylvania, being about 1,500 feet higher than
the basin around Nashville, and from the dryness of the atmosphere in
the Springs, there is scarcely such a thing known as the fruit being
killed by a frost. By a series of experiments, the summers are found
to be cooler by several degrees than in the Central Basin, while the
crisp, dry air renders it not uncomfortable in winter. Since the whistle
of the locomotive summoned to the top of the mountain men with the
woodman's axe and the miner's pick in place of the backwoodsman,
with the hunter's rifle, the progress in raising and taking care of fruit,
cultivating and sending to market cabbages and potatoes, which grow
z& they do nowhere else in the South, is one of the most cheering signs
in the advancing steps of Tennessee.

Bersheeba Springs, in this county, is one of the most delightful and
fashionable watering places in the South. The waters are chalybeate
and freestone. The growing town at the coal mines, as well as the
.spring, affords a splendid market for everything raised for sale ; and
instead of hunters and a half civilized backwoods people, the popula-
tion is coming to l>e an industrious and thrifty people, who are begin-
ning to look with as much interest to the question of churches and
schools as any people in the State.

Grass and Grazing. One of the great sources of wealth in this
county is the native wild grass covering the entire face of the country.
This grass, together with a weed called beggar's lice, which grows
in great profusion, and is much sought after by cattle in the fall, is
equal to the finest blue-grass of Kentucky, from the 15th of April
to the 15th of November. During this time the cattle, with salt
only, get as fat as it is possible to make them. Such a thing as cattle
disease is not knf)wn, and by actual experiment often made, for a man
with a small capital, buying cattle in the coves in the spring, and gra-
zing them on this mountain for six months, is the surest mode of
doubling the capital in that short space of time.

Toiims and H(*fiools. The towns are Tracy City, at the end of the
railroad, now the county seat, and is quite a growing town, Altamont,
the former county seat, and Pelham, a small village on the head of Elk
River. Becrsheba Springs may also be reckoned among the number.
For two years this county has levied, in addition to the State tax

Middle Tennessee. 749

for school purposes, a tax of thirty cents on the one hundred dollars.
No other county in the State has done this — the result is a good system
of schools. The Tennessee Coal and Railroad Company, which pays
about $4,000 of taxes, has encouraged the levy of a high tax for schools,
and has done everything possible to aid in having public schools per-
manently established at the mines. One of these schools now requires
three teachers, and preparation has been made for keeping it up nine
mouths in the year.

Minerals and Railroad. The great feature of the mountain is the
coal. From Tracy City east the whole country is a bed of coal, and
the time is coming: when these coal fields in the South will be like
Newcastle iiF England, or Scranton in Pennsylvania. In 1854 a com-
pany, mainly made up of New York capitalists, commenced building a
coal road to what is known as the Sewanee Mines, in Marion county,
now, by the new constitution, detached, and attached to Grundy county,
and which was completed in 1858. This road is twenty-one miles
long, and is the first successful attempt in the South to build a railroad
up a mountain of 1,000 feet. The cost of building and equipping this
road was about $850,000. The company, then known as the " Se-
wanee Mining Company," made a debt of between $350,000 and
$400,000, the litigation about which resulted in two sales of the entire
property in 1860. These two sets of purchasers, at the close of the
war, compromised their litigation, and the Tennessee claimants there-
upon organized under the new charter of the Tennessee Coal and Rail-
road Company, and commenced work. The mines and road had been
used during the war for army purposes ; the road was in a dangerous
condition, and the rolling stock was worn out. The work of rebuild-
ing was undertaken without capital, and for a time pecuniary embar-
rassments threatened the ruin of the enterprise.

The report made by the President and sole manager in 1869, shows
the expenditures in rebuilding the road, building cars, miner's houses,
etc., to be $210,658. By this expenditure the work had been increased
from four cars per day in 1866 to twelve cars per day in 1869, the
mean diiference between which was about the aggregate of each year's
work. Since that time the entire earnings have been put into the
property after relieving the company of the heavy debt made in re-
building. This company is shi})})ing from forty-five to fifty cars of
coal per day, or say 12,000 bushels, which is far ahead of any work of
the kind ever done south of the Ohio River.

750 Resources of Tennessee,

A few facts will show what such an enterprise is worth to the
industry of Tennessee. The company now, in all its depart-
ments, gives employment to about 450 persons, including 150 convicts
digging coal. The aggregate coal trade, commencing with the first
of the year 1866, and ending with the first of October, 1872, was
31,582 cars— 8,005,954 bushels, producing $960,714.48. The other
business of the company, sales of goods, lumber, &c., amounts to
$562,860, making the entire receipts $1,523,574.48. The amount of
improvements made for the year 1873, as well as the monthly produc-
tions of coal for the same year, may be ascertained by referring to
chapter on coal, pp. 190-218, where the minimum and maximum pro-
ducts are given. Around the mines has sprung up a town of 1,000
people, with churches and schools. A branch of the Tennessee State
prison has been established there, and 150 convicts are now worked in
the mines with great success. The shipments of coal daily are to At-
lanta, Chattanooga, Huntsville and Nashville, besides the towns on
the line of the Nashville and Chattanooga Railroad. System and close
economy in the business of this company have developed a trade alto-
gether beyond the expectations of the parties interested. Besides sup-
plying several railroads, the company is now shipping coal daily to St.
Louis. The number of men employed inside the mine is about 250;
the whole amount of track under the ground is about nine miles, and
the extreme points of the mine worked are 1,500 yards apart. The
average thickness of the coal is four feet ten inches. The openings to
the mines are three, and cars are loaded from three different chutes.
The coal is not brought down an inclined plane, as most of the mines
in Pennsylvania, nor is it elevated as in most of the mines in England.
All the entries are horizontal, and the coal is brought to the mouth of
the pit and dumped into the railroad cars. Practically the mine is in-
exhaustible, and as a pure coal, valuable alike for grates and manufac-
turing— making iron as well as making steam — there is perhaps no
coal in the United States superior to it. As analyzed by Prof. Safford, it
is carbon 65.50, volatile matter 29.00, ashes 5.50. Since this company
commenced rebuilding and shipping coal in 1866 the increased demand
for coal is one of the most interesting features in the growth of Ten-
nessee. We are assured that shipping 50 cars per day the company is
further from supplying the demand than when it was shipping four
cars in 1866. A. S. Colyar has been President of the company since
1860, except when the property was abandoned during the war. In his
annual report for 1869 occurs the following remarks in reference to the
enterprise and coal trade of Tennessee :

Middle Tennessee. 75 [

Believing that coal was to be the great basis of wealth in Tennessee, as it
is in Pennsylvania, and knowing that this could never be while the coal
trade here was confined to a sort of huckstering business, as it has been for
twenty-five years, I have struggled through difficulties which but few per-
sons will appreciate, to make the company what it now is — capable of sup-
plying the present demand, and as it may increase, of a great and growing
manul'acturing State, and of supplying the demand upon tlie well established
basis in enterprising communities, that money in coal is to be made by sell-
ing large quantities at small profits, instead of small quantities at large
profits. Coal can be supplied at Nashville for manufacturing purposes as
cheap as in most towns in Pennsylvania, and cheaper than in the manufac-
turing towns of New England.

The success of this enterprise may be attributed in a great degree
to the fact that the stockholders have been more anxious to put it on a
firm basis than to declare dividends, believing that fixed and perma-
nent dividends, though delayed, were preferable to early but uncertain
dividends. The increase of the business is shown by the following
facts :

1866, shipped in October 40,500 bushels.

1867,
1868,
1869,
1870,
1871,
1872,
1873,

. 92,260
. 65,250
.107,000
.144'856

.198,755
.267,753
.300,000

This company sold at Nashville for manufacturing purposes in 1866
not exceeding 50,000 bushels. Now the sales at Nashville for manufac-
turing purposes amount to between 400,000 and 500,000 annually.

The Secretary is indebted to the President of this company for many
facts pertaining to this county, and especially for those pertaining to
the coal interest, which is the great interest of the county, and is des-
tined in the future to give to it great wealth.

HICKMAN COUNTY.

County Seat — Centerville.

Hickman county, containing 559 square miles, lies on the western
side of the great Highland Rim of Middle Tennessee. It was created
by the Legislature in 1807, reducing the limits of Dickson county, and

752 Resou7^ces of Tennessee.

was named in honor of Edmund Hickman, a surveyor, who came with
Colonels Robertson and Weakley, in 1785, to survey entered lands on
Piney River. Hickman, while on this trip, was killed by the Indians
near the mouth of Defeated Creek, on Duck River, within one mile of
where Centerville, the county seat, now stands. In 1819 the county
was permanently established, David Love, Joel Walker, John S. Primm
and Joseph Lynn being appointed commissioners to superintend the
running and marking of the lines, these to include an area within the
constitutional limits.

Strearns. The drainage in every part of the county is perfect. The
main artery, Duck River, a clear, swift stream, abounding in fish of
delightful flavor, flows in a westerly direction entirely through the
county. Its tributaries. Sugar Creek, Beaver Dam, Piney, Swan, Lick
Creek and Leatherwood, flowing north-east and south-west, supply
every portion of the county with living water. One other stream,
Cane Creek, rises in Lewis county, passes through the south-west cor-
ner of Hickman, and empties into Buffalo, in the county of Perry.
These streams are remarkably clear, and their beds are filled with im-
mense piles of gravel, which, shifting with every rise, often destroy the
fords, and roads which run on their banks. For manufacturing, these
streams will not do to rely upon, for several very good reasons. ' Their
banks are unusually low, and composed for the most part of gravelly
beds. These are cut away by the action of the stream, and wide sand-
bars are constantly forming on the opposite side. It is almost impossi-
ble to construct a dam that will not in the course of a few years be
undermined. Another reason is, that the undulating surface of the
county makes the descent of water from the surface very rapid, and
after hard rains, the water with its accumulated force rushes down with
Alpine fury, sweeping away trees, fences, houses and everything, and
subsides with as much rapidity as it rises.

There is, however, some fine water-power in the county. McClarin's
mills, sixteen miles from Centerville, are situated upon a stream that
flows in a large volume from the side of a bluif, with a descent so rapid
that, within forty yards of its exit from the bluff, it has capacity enough
to drive an overshot wheel twenty feet in diameter. Several manufac-
turing establishments have been driven by this stream without requir-
ing more that half its available force.

Another fine power is to be found about eight miles west of the
county seat, and where the old Montgomery mills were situated. A
mile above the mills the waters of the Piney disappear under a bluff,

Middle Tennessee. 753

and reappear, after passing under a farm of considerable extent, upon
the face of a bluff 150 feet high, and fall perpendicularly about ten
feet. No dam is Avanted. The construction of a forebay is all that is
necessary to utilize the stream. Perhaps in the State no finer uncurbed
water-power can be found.

Topography, Timber, Soils, etc. Hickman county has usually a bro-
ken surface, composed of high, rolling ridges and deep ravines, point-
ing generally toward the streams. Some plateau lands lie in the north-
ern part of the county, being a continuation of that which extends
through Dickson county, and forming the water-shed between the
Cumberland and Tennessee rivers. This plateau sinks as it approaches
Duck River, but again appears on the south side and extends on through
the county into Lewis and Lawrence counties, where it widens out into
abroad prairie-like area, and is marked by open woods, scrubby timber,
barren grass, thin soils and a scarcity of settlers. For a more particu-
lar description of this plateau land the reader is referred to Lewis
county, in this volume. The ridges that form so large a proportion of
the lands of Hickman are exceedingly sterile and unproductive. The
soil is rocky and thin, but in spots sustains a rich verdue of barren
grass, upon which the stock of the county subsist for nine month in
the year. The timber of the ridges is white oak, chestnut oak, red
oak, black oak, hickory, and chestnut. In the valley it is poplar,
beech, maple, ash, boxelder, black walnut, butternut, red bud and elm.
Sometimes, however, these ridges flatten out into a broad surface, and
wherever sucli places are found, in which the subsoil is a deep red cherty
clay, the land is very fertile. Such a spot is found on the road from
Dickson to Centerville, about Pinewood. Around this village are found
lands of the same character as the rich, chocolate lands north of Clarks-
ville, in Montgomery county, well adapted to the growth of corn,
v/heat, cotton and tobacco. These low plateaus differ widely in pro-
ductive capacity from the more elevated ones to which we have re-
ferred. In many respects the soil is superior to the bottom lands, es-
pecially for the growing of wheat and clover. The price of these lands
are, for improved farms, |30 to $40 per acre ; bottom lands, about the
same; barren lands and rolling ridges, from fifty cents to five dollars.

Crops. The crops grown in the county are wheat, oats, rye, barley,
cotton and peanuts. The average yield of wheat for the county is
eight bushels per acre ; cotton, 600 pounds ; corn, thirty bushels ; pea-
nuts, forty bushels. On the most fertile lands the yield would be fully

754 Resowces of Teftnessee.

doubled. The culture of peanuts bid fair, at one time, to be the great
industry of the county, but the fall in price, occasioned by the enormous
crop of 1872, cut down tlie quantity for 1873 fully four-fifths. Since the
war, this crop has been very profitable, and has constituted the principal
source whence farmers obtained means to buy their supplies and meet
their general wants. Nashville is the principal market forthe farmers, and
the place for selling and buying such things as they need, from a paper
of pins to a barrel of salt. It was no uncommon thing in 1872 to meet,
in one day, fifty wagons loaded with peanuts on their way to Nashville.

They are hauled fifty-four miles over a common dirt road at great
expense, and with much loss of time, the expenses averaging twenty-
three cents on the bushel. The first peanuts raised in Tennessee and
carried to Nashville for sale were from Hickman county. Jesse
George, who died but recently, was the first to introduce them. He
obtained a few from some emigrants, moving from North Carolina to
the west, and planted them. This was the beginning of the culture of
peanuts, which has become such an important agricultural feature in this
and adjoining counties. The crop averages from forty to fifty bushels
per acre, and sometimes reaches 125 bushels per acre. The yield of
this crop for the county was in 1871, 150,000 bushels; 1872,225,000;
1873, 35,000.

Hickman, like all of those counties in which the farms are cultivated
by white labor, is as prosperous as it was before the war. The farms
are worked as well and look as well. They are mostly small, and but
few old fields have been turned out to grow up into thorns and briers.
Since the fall in the price of peanuts, and the consequent abandonment
of their growth as a crop, it has been a very serious question with the
farmers what crop to introduce in their place. Near Pinewood, where
there is a most excellent cotton factory, the raising of cotton has proved
highly satisfactory, l)ut in other portions of the county the raising of
mules and horses is thought to be more profitable. The highway pas-
turage being am])le for their sustenance, the usual practice is to bell
the mares and turn them out with their colts to shift for themselves.

Wool Groining. But for the dogs, sheep would be extensively raised,
as they can live the entire year in the woods without attention ; but
the lowest estimate of the loss from dogs is forty per cent. Sheep
are driven up twice during the year. May and September, and sheared,
and the owners, after marking the lambs, pay no more attention to
them. They live on the wild grasses in summer and on the farm in

Middle Temiessee. 755

Avinter. They may be bought in the woods for one dollar each. Na-
ture is favorable to a prolific yield of wool, yet there is not more raised
than will supply the home demand. It cannot be doubted, from all
tlie evidence collected, that this Plighland plateau is one of the finest
sheep-growing regions of America. The comparative mildness of the
winters, the sheltering rocks and perennial grasses make the cost of
keeping through winter almost nothing, while the quality of the wool
can be made in fineness to rival that produced by the flocks that cover
and browse over the fertile plains and rolling heights and mountain
fastnesses of the Spanish Peninsula. In this matter the Legislature
should act decidedly, and throw the shield of its protection around
this branch of our husbandry, so remunerative and pleasant. Two
millions of sheep, with proper attention, could be raised in the counties
of Hickman, Lewis and Lawrence without any diminution in the
quantity of other products.

Those farmers who have introduced the improved breeds of hogs
and cattle are succeeding well.

Labor. Labor is scarce. Farm hands are worth $1 per day when
they board themselves. Factory hands, female, get from $13 to $26
per mouth and board themselves.

Orchards are not abundant, though the farmers are planting more
fruit trees now than at any previous time. Apples, pears, peaches,
plums and cherries grow with remarkable vigor, and upon the rolling
lands yield bountifully. Grapes have not been tested, but it is believed
from the character of the soil and the perfect drainage of the county,
that they would grow and bear well upon the many sunny slopes that
rise up from the margins of the streams.

Ircm Ore and other Minerals. Of all the counties of the Western
Iron Hegion none can surpass Hickman in the quantity and richness of
its iron ore. Almost everywhere this iron ore crops out. The tops of
the ridges are filled -with it. It lies in beds or banks more or less as-
sociated ^\ith cherty masses, and will yield from the furnace about
forty-four per cent. The old iEtna mines, that were worked many
years ago, arc the best yet found in the State. Competent judges assert
that there is more iron ore in this county than in the Iron Mountain
of Missouri. B .^fore the war there was one furnace in operation in the
county that made 1,500 tons annually. But for the heavy expense of
hauling to tlic railroad, there would be now nuiny in operation. Tim-
ber is abundant, the ore is rich, inexhaustible, and easy of access. It
is believed that twenty furnaces could be run indefinitely, and be made

75 6 Resources q/ Tennessee.

to yield a revenue of $1,500,000 annually. Could a railroad be built
from Clarksville to Florence, Alabama, it would pass through the
center of one of the finest iron belts in America. Ten miles back on each
side of such a road would furnish timber and ore enough to run a fur-
nace for every ten miles of road. This statement may appear incredible
to one who has never thoroughly inspected this region, but will not be
questioned by those at all familiar with the immense deposits of this
useful metal on that line. This line would pass directly through the
center of Hickman county, and would add millions to its wealth and
to the wealth of the State.

Surface lead has been picked up in various parts of the county, but
no extensive bed of this metal has been discovered.

There are several mineral springs, some of them in high repute as
remedial agents. One of these watering places, Bon Aqua Springs, is
in the north-eastern part of the county, seven miles south of Burns*
Station, on the Nashville and Northwestern Railroad. It is a favorite
resort for persons in a feeble and debilitated condition. Beaver Dam
Springs, in the southern part of the county, are also well known for
the health-giving properties of the waters. Primm's Springs, in the
eastern part of the county, is also a place of considerable resort. These
springs are located near the summit of the Highlands, and are in a
high, dry and healthy region. The water is white sulphur and free-
stone, and is thought to be equal in every particular to the far-famed
white sulphur of Virginia.

Manufactories. At Pinewood, on Piney River, is a cotton mill run
by steam, Avlth wood for fuel, (the water being too inconstant,) that em-
ploys sixty operatives, fifteen males and forty-five females. The pro-
ducts are 4-4 sheetings 1,800 yards daily, besides cotton yarns and cot-
ton rope in quantities to suit the demand. The number of spindles is
1,886, looms 40, cards 20, cost of mill $60,000. Quite a flourislnng
village has sprung up around this factory, all owned by Mr. S. L. Gra-
ham, one of the most enterprisin<r, energetic and public spirited citi-
zens in the State. The order, neatness, industry and sobriety which
prevail in this place make it a model manufacturing town. No loafers
are seen lounging about the streets; no drunken men reeking with the
fumes of whisky pollute its atmosphere, or make night hideous with
their senseless yells. Neat cottages, with gardens attached, make the
place one of smiling beauty. These cottages are rented to the opera-
tives, or to the farm hands. The proi)rietor finds it more profitable to
pay liberal wages and rent the cottages to the heads of families. There

Middle Tennessee. 757

is a store, grist-mill, blacksmith shop, church, school-house, etc., in
the village all built by the proprietor. The effect of manufactor-
ies upon an agricultural community is well illustrated by this cotton-
mill. The proprietor pays Nashville prices for cotton raised in the
neighborhood, the farmers thereby saving freight, commissions, etc.
Articles of diet, vegetables, fresh meats, bacon, etc., all find here a
good home market. Twenty such establishments in Hickman would
make its farmers independent of railroads, or other facilities of trans-
portation.

Homespun goods are made in considerable quantities by the house-
wives. Fully nine-tenths of the citizens, before the war, wore domestic
manufacture, but since the introduction of the culture of the peanut,
many of the farmer's wives and daughters have abandoned the making
of cloth, and assist in the culture and harvesting of this crop. As
long as the price for peanuts kept up, it was found more profitable to
make a hundred bushels of peanuts than a hundred yards of cloth, as
it could be done in one-half the time. Since the fall in the price of
this staple crop the women have resumed their labors of the wheel and
the loom, though not to the same extent as before the war. The
smaller industries, such as drying fruit, making honey and butter are
much neglected, though fowls, eggs and feathers are sometimes sent to
Nashville for sale.

Immigrants and Emigrants. Good citizens are greatly needed, espe-
cially such as could aid in developing the great iron interests of the
county. The county is but sparsely settled, not sufficiently i^o to have
good schools, good roads, cfr to create an enterprising public spirit.
The accession to the })opu!ation is very small, while those leaving and
seeking fields of more activity are quite numerous. The principal
cause of this emigration is the want of railroads. Energetic, indus-
trious men are loathe to have their powers crippled for want of the
means of communicating with the world. Her citizens justly com-
plain, that though they have been taxed to give such facilities to other
portions of the State, none have ever been given to them, and just
as they were in a condition to avail themselves of the benefits of
the law for internal improvements, a change was made requiring a two-
thirds vote to get a county tax. Most of the farming population are
discontented, and manifest a desire to change their homes, especially
since their principal crop has fallen below remunerative prices.

PiLhllc Improvements, Schools, etc. There are no railroads nor turn-

75 S Resources of Te7t7iessee.

pikes in the couuty. Dirt roads are poorly kept up. The rugged
features of the county make transportation for heavy articles very dif-
ficult, and this, in addition to persistent efiort, is the greatest draw-
back to farming.

There is a poor-house which supports, on an average, about six in-
mates. There are but few private schools. The public schools are
well attended. Sixty-one were in operation during the autumn of
1873, with an average attendance of 1,500 pupils. There are two
academies in Centerville, male and female, with good teachers and a
respectable attendance. The county is poorly supplied with mills, for
nothwithstanding the number of water courses, they are in the main
unfit, as has been said, for milling purposes. The county is out of
debt, with a sur^^lus in the treasury.

There is an AgricultuVal and Mechanical Association, which is in a
flourishing condition, and well attended.

8tate of Society. Industrious and economical in their habits, the peo-
ple of Hickman are rarely tempted beyond their ability to pay. They
are contented to live on what they make and not to draw upon imag-
inary or prospective crops in order to shine in borrowed apparel. No
county in the State has a more law abiding community. For twa
years there has been no inmate in jail, and the criminal docket is the
smallest in the judicial circuit. The civil dockets are so small that law-
yers are compelled to resort to other avocations to supplement the
meager:) ess of their fees, and there are but two at the county seat.
Education for their children is greatly desired by the citizens and the
public sentiment in favor of free schools has been of rapid growth.
Usually, the people are poor; they handle but little money, but honesty
and honor are highly cherished by them. They have a deep and
abiding patriotism; no county, in proportion to its ])opulation, has fur-
nished more men to fight the enemies of tlie country than Hickman.
Wlien Jackson was wont to gather up his legions to fight the Indians,
or drive the British from our soil, Hickman county always responded
in a manner that pleased the lieurt of the old soldier. And when Mex-
ico, torn by civil convulsions, thouiiht to allay tliem by throwing the
strength of her armies against the United States on the plea of defend-
ing her territory, Hicknuui county sent her young men and her old
men to the battle field, and helped to win the treaty of Gaudaloupe Hi-
dalgo, by which the boundaries of the United States were extended
eight degrees on the Pacilic, including all the golden wealth of the

Middle Tennessee. 759

Californias. Brave in war, law abiding in peace, independent, fear-
less in defense of right, simple in their habits, the citizens of Hickman
may be excused for the lack of the less loftier virtues of taste and pub-
lic enterprise. Their houses are not elegant, but an air of calm, rural
comfort surrounds them. Usually built near one of the many bright
flowing streams that glide in silvery courses through the county, with
a lofty ridge for a back-ground, the farm houses are more suggestive
of convenience than of architectural elegance. The narrow winding
bottoms produce year after year an abundant supply of food, and the
sheep that browse upon the hills, furnish ample material for clothing.
Arcadian ease and simplicity characterize the farming community.
Unambitious of wealth, plenty smiles in the sunburnt face. The so-
cial instinct shows itself in the manly chase after the deer and fox, and
in the primitive contests of shooting for beef. The fairer portion com-
bine the useful with the agreeable by inviting each other to social
"quiltings" or "apple cuttings." The economy of the household is
rigid in the extreme, and many a family, whose table is spread with
delicious food, and whose home is comfortable, spends less than fifty
dollars a year for all supplies. A barrel of salt, a small keg of sugar,
a bale or two of spun cotton, and a little coffee is the extent of their
purchases. The wives and daughters do their own weaving, and, until
quite recently, made up the clothes with the needle. Sewing machines
are now used to a considerable extent in the county. All farmers try
to raise a sufficiency of wheat for their own flour, but none for export.
At a farmer's table, one would find a greater variety of dishes than at
many of the hotels. Chickens, ducks, deer, fish, wild turkeys, are
common dishes. The cooking and other housework is done, with few
exceptions, by the family.

A Railroad in Prospect. Already a company is organized and char-
tered, and a road projected to connect the ore of Hickman with the
coal of the Cumberland Table Land. The road is known as the Duck
River Valley Narrow Gauge Railroad, and is designed, ultimately, to
become a link in a through road from St. Louis to Atlanta, Georgia.
It will connect with the St. Louis and Cairo road at Johnsonville. In
a south-easterly direction it will extend toward Fayetteville by way of
Columbia. Hickman has not a foot of railroad or turnpike, nor a
toll-bridge within its limits. Efforts were made several years ago to
lock and dam Du(dv River as high up as Columbia, but the undertak-
ing failed, which has seriously damaged all individual enterprises in
the way of improvement since that time.

760 Resources of Tennessee. -

Statistics. Population in 1870, 9,856, of which 1,471 were colored;
in 1860, 9,312, of which 1,753 were slaves, and 27 free colored. From
this, it Avould appear that the colored population is leaving the county,
while the white is rapidly increasing. Number of voters 1,951; num-
ber of polls 1,320; scholastic population 3,418; total number of acres
assessed for taxation is 359,551, valued at $1,465,638 ; total valuation of
taxable property $1,794,307.

HOUSTON COUNTY.

County Seat — Arlington.

This county was created by an act of the Legislature, passed Janu-
ary 23, 1871. On the 17th day of March following, an election was
held by fractions of the counties of Dickson, Humphreys, Stewart and
Montgomery, to ascertain the wishes of the people as to the formation
of a new county. All the fractions of the counties, with the exception
of that of Montgomery, voted for a new county. The county as now
established comprises about 340 square miles, and is named in honor
of General Sam Houston, of Texas fame, but a native of Tennessee.
Of the fractions, 75 square miles were taken from Humphreys county,
28 from Dickson, and the remainder from Stewart. About 30 miles
were proposed to be taken from Montgomery, but the people, by their
votes, refused to be incorporated in the new county.

Organization, Population, &g. After the survey and the report of the
commissioners, the people met at Erin on the first Monday in April,
of tlie same year, and completed the organization by the election of a
Chairman of the County Court. Twenty Magistrates, representing the
ten civil districts in the county, were qualified, as well as the County
and Circuit Court Clerks. The county contains about 6,000 people,
and has a voting population of 910. The assessed number of acres of
land for 1873 was 179,872, while the entire surface of the county, by
survey, measures 217,600 acres, showing a discrepancy of 37,728 acres.
A portion of this is occupied by beds of streams and town lots.
This difference is observable in nearly every county in the State,
which usually amounts to one-sixth of the actual quantity. The land for
taxation is valued at $449,279, or $2.50 per acre, which must be consid-
ered a low average, while in the adjoining county of Montgomery it is
valued at over $10 per acre; in Stewart nearly $5; in Dickson $4, and

Middle Tennessee. 761

in Humphreys about the same as in Dickpon. The low valuation can
only be accounted for from the fact that much of the land is high and
broken, valuable only for timber, and much of this has been con-
sumed by the furnaces which were formerly in operation in the county.

Topography and Streams. This county is traversed by a high, bold
ridge running north and south, known as Tennessee Ridge. It is the
water-shed between the Tennessee and Cumberland rivers, and rises 250
to 400 feet above the general level of the county. Erin, on the one
side, is 425 feet above the sea level, and Stewart's Station, on the other,
is 484 feet, while the low gap through Avhich the railroad passes, is 753
feet. From the western edge of this prominent ridge numerous afflu-
ents of the Tennessee River take their rise. Beginning on the south
the principal ones are in regular order. White Oak Creek, Cane Creek,
and Hurricane Creek. The first has two considerable feeders coming
in from the north, known as Long Branch and Lewis' Branch. East
of the Tennessee Ridge, and tributary to the Cumberland, are AVells'
Creek and Guices Creek. The former has numerous branches or forks,
called the North West, ISIiddle West, West and East Forks. Yellow
Creek, rising in Dickson county, passes through the north-eastern cor-
ner of Houston, and empties into the Cumberland within the limits of
Montgomeiy county. Yellow Creek and White Oak furnish good
water privileges. Hurricane Creek, though not having the same vol-
ume of water as the two mentioned, is a good milling stream. There
are situated on White Oak three good mills, and on Yellow Creek two.
Milling facilities are not so good as they might be, and many of the
farmers have to go a long distance to have their grinding done.

Geology. A great portion of the country is included in the river basin,
whilst a still larger portion belongs to the silicious group of the lower
carboniferous. A very interesting geological phenomenon occurs in
this county, in the Wells' Creek basin. This is an area, nearly circu-
lar, containing six or seven square miles, and touching the Cumberland
River. Wells' Creek runs through it, the rocks in the basin dip at a very
great angle, and in some places are nearly vertical. There are evi-
dences of a terrible sul)terranean convulsion at one time. To explain
to the unscientific reader, we will premise that the crust of the earth
consists of layers which were originally deposited or formed in regular
order, one above the other. Sometimes there are lapses or failures of
certain formations, but a lower formation is never seen superimposed
on a higher one without showing signs of great disturbance. Now, to
illustrate the peculiarity of the Wells' Creek basin, we will suppose

762 Resources of Tennesee.

that layers of flour dough, of different colors, are placed one above
another, and that from beneath, the mass is forced up in the center, so
as to form a cone. Now, suppose this CH)ne to be cut off horizontally,
and on a level with the surface of the undisturbed portion, the various
colors of dough would be seen in concentric rings, the lowest layer on
a level with the highest. This is precisely the case with Wells' Creek
basin. The center of the basin has been elevated by subterranean
forces, and the elevation or cone swept away by abrasion. The sur-
rounding rocks belong to the silicious group of the lower carbonifer-
ous formation ; the other formations — the Black Shale of the Devonian,
the lower Helderberg, and the limestone of the upper Silurian ; the
Nashville and Trenton limestones, and lastly, the Knoxville limestones
of the lower Silurian, all appear in regular succession until the center
of the basin is reached.. Walking across the valley, all the formations
are passed over twice, except the lowest — the Knoxville. The locality,
geologically and agriculturally, is interesting. Here may be tested,
within a few miles, the relative capacity of the several formations for
the growth of any crop, without the complicating elements of differ-
ent elevations, and varying seasons. Valuable agricultural knowledge
might be acquired by trying the various crops in this valley, and noting
the difference in yield on the several formations. The valley Is ex-
ceedingly fertile, and grows corn and wheat well. Fruit yields but
sparsely in the valley, and the general surface slopes from the center of
the basin, or top of the dome or cone, in every direction, until it reaches
the surrounding hills. The rocks dip away from the center of the basin
at very great angles. The only spot in ^Middle Tennessee where forma-
tions so low in the series as those of Knoxville, East Tennessee, are seen,
is in this Wells' Creek basin. Some of the best building stone in the
State occurs within a few hundred yards of the county seat. It is a
com])act limestone, heavily bedded, with vertical fissures, and is quite
soft when first taken from the quarry, Init hardens by exposure to the
air. ^^'hen dressed it is a subdued white color, Avith sparkling crystal-
line particles which give it, in the sun, a brilliant appearance. It is in
great demand, and the proprietor can readily obtain in Memphis sev-
enty-five cents per cubic foot. A branch railroad runs from the main
stem, so that tiic means of transportation are ample.

Lime. At this (piarry is manufactured a large quantity of lime.
Four liundred and fifty barrels arc made and siiipped every three
weeks. The lime is burnt in a kiln with the above capacity. It sells,
delivered on the curs, at §1.25 per barrel. The barrels are made in a

Middle Temiessee. 7^3

foctory oil the spot. The price of staves ready dressed and delivered is
flO per thousand, one thousand making sixty barrels. Hoop-
poles sell for $6 per thousand, that number serving for fifty barrels.
Heading same price as staves, though a thousand pieces are sufficient
for two hundred and fifty barrels. The cost of cooperage is fourteen
cents per barrel. At Stewart's Station lime is also made and sold in
large quantities. Indeed, lime furnishes one of the chief articles for
export from this county.

Lands, Soils, Timber, Crops and Labor. The lands of the county
are rolling, except in the river and creek basins. The soils, though
very thin on the broad, flat ridges, are generally of sufficient fertility
to repay the labors of the husbandman. Though subject to be injured
by the washings of the rain, they have a surprising versatility in their
productive capacity, and 'will grow with reasonable certainty most of
the products of the climate. The general topography resembles that
of Dickson and Humphreys counties. The lands have, for the most
part, subsoils of tenacious clay, with a gravelly, cherty mass under-
lying. Wheat, corn, tobacco, potiitoes, oats, etc., grow well ; but the
land is better adapted to the growing of grasses than any other crop.
Herds-grass and clover grow admirably on the rolling lands, while
timothy is becoming a favorite^erop with thoee who own bottom lands.
These bottom lands are of marvellous fertility. The largest crops of
corn that we have ever witnessed were grown on the bottom lands in
Houston county, and we are assured that the yield of hay is even bet-
ter than the yield of corn. On bottom farms the average yield of
corn is, one year with another, forty bushels, wheat twelve, pea-
nuts thirty-five. The uplands are better for tobacco than the low-
lands. The yield per acre is not so great, but its money value is
greater. Land may be bought at almost any price up to fifty
dollars per acre. Much land, however, of moderate fertility, con-
venient to railroad and river, may be had at ten to fifteen dollars
per acre, cleared, but otherwise unimproved, or with indiiierent
buildings. Six to eight miles from public conveyance, it is much
cheaper, and the coaling lands are barely saleable at two dollars per
acre, though susceptible of improvement. Oaks and hickories on the
uplands; poplar, sugar tree, ash, white oak, in the bottoms, are the
prevailing timber. The want of population is the greatest drawback
to Houston county, and colonies of industriou.s farmers of good habits
would Ijc lieartily welcomed by the citizens. Muscle, well directed by
intelligence, would soon make the new-born county grow in strength,

764 Reso7irccs of Tennessee.

wealth, power and greatness. Labor is scarce. Farmers rely upon
their own strong arms and live within their means, consequently there
are but few grumblers. Very little land is rented, and but little good
land is for sale. The best farms are held by persons entirely satisfied
with their condition, and do not want to sell. A great deal of ridge
land is for sale, which will doubtless come into market as its suitable-
ness for growing fruit becomes known and appreciated.

Fruits of almost all kinds grow well. Peaches are becoming a
favorite crop. Seldom is this fruit destroyed by late frosts. The pecu-
liar meteorological conditions of the atmosphere, induced probably by
the prevalence of numerous streams and the rolling surface of the
county, are effectual preventives against the injurious effects of late
frosts. One of the finest peach orchards in the State is two miles from
Arlington, the covinty seat. It is situated on the Tennessee Ridge.
The soil is clayey and gravelly. The original growth was hickory,
white oak and red oak. 5,000 trees were set out in the fall of 1867,
and the first crop was gathered in 1872. Two-thirds of the fruit was
killed on the night of the — April, 1873. The frost line was distinct-
ly traceable. Sometimes the peaches on one side of a tree were killed
and not on the other, while not a peach escaped in the valley. The
trees on the crest of the ridge were loaded. The first peaches from
this orchard reached the Chicago market July 6, 1872, and on the
8th of the same month in the year following. It is the intention of the
proprietor to increase the orchard by setting out 10,000 additional trees.
He is experimenting with grapes, which thus far have done well. Dwarf
pears also yield abundantly. In the same vicinity there is a peach
orcliard that has not failed to bear fruit for thirty years. The early
peaches sell very high. Throughout the season of 1873, peaches
netted 67 cents per basket after paying all expenses. Among other
articles of export are ginseng, dried peaches and apples, chickens,
turkeys, eggs, butter, etc. 900 pounds of ginseng were gathered
for the year 1873. All small fruits flourish. The cherry grows
and matures well; so also do the strawberry, raspberry and cur-
rant. The wild strawberry grows abundantly in the old coalings,
where the bushes arc not too thick, and it has a richness and dcli-
cacv of flavor that i)artly atones for its small size. The woodland
in parts of the county is sj)()tted with this luscious fruit in May.
Huckleberries are abundant during the summer. Wild grapes hang in
countless clusters upon the dwarfish shrubs that grow in the old coal-
ing grounds. The Muscadine flourishes wi(h vigor and fccumdity ujion

Middle Tennessee. 765

the lands lying on the Tennessee River. Peanuts thrive in the same
locality, and are relied upon for money \\\{\\ more certainty than cot-
ton, tobacco, or wheat. Tlie blackberry grows co-extensively with the
county. Many of them are made up into wine, and to some extent
the wine is becoming an article of export. We here suggest that the
profitableness of this crop has never been properly tested or appre-
ciated by the people of Middle Tennessee. A fruit that grows spon-
taneously, yields bountifully, is easily gathered, and that can be made up
with little labor into a marketable product which is in constant and grow-
ing demand — one that grows upon a shrub that is a powerful fertilizer,
and will reclaim and flourish upon lands that are fit for no other crop
— such a fruit, if imported from Europe, would be held in high repute,
and be sought after by the millions.

Mhmrals. On the North-west Fork of Mill's Creek is the seat of
the old Ashland Furnace, \shich manufactured iron before the war
with great success. Eclipse Furnace was located on Hurricane Creek.
Union Furnace wajs on Thomas' Branch of Well's Creek. These fur-
naces procured the ores used immed'ately around their sites. There are
good prospects for ore in many portions of the county. Indeed, there
is scarcely a hill that does not show good indications, and doubtless a
thorough investigation would discover many rich deposits of brown
hematite. Near the Tennessee River is a bank from which ore has
been dug and shipped, and on White Oak Creek are some good banks.
With the facilities for shipping heavy products, this interest deserves
more attention than it is receiving. Fire-clay is found in abundance
near the old Byron Forge, tM% and a half miles from the railroad, in
the north-eastern part of the county.

Immigrants. Several families from Pennsylvania have come to the
county since the war, and still remain in perfect accord and sympathy
with the people, and are highly respected.

Schools. Among the first acts of the County Court of Houston after
its organization, was to levy a liljeral tax for the support of common
schools, and there is scarcely a county in the State where a more lib-
eral feeling prevails on the subject. There is a common school in
nearly every district, and excellent private schools at Erin and Arling-
ton.

Towns. Arlington, the county seat, has but one business housei
Erin, one mile east on the railroad, and twenty-seven miles west of
Clarksvillo, is quite a thrifty village that has been built up since 1870.

766 Resources of Tennessee,

It has a population of 500, fouF stores, one grocery, one drug store,
one shoemaker shop, one saddler's shop, tw» hotels, several boarding
houses, one church and two schools. It has also a machine shop, and
the foundation has been laid for building a round house. This place
competed with Arlington for the county seat. The latter place was
selected as a compromise between Cumberland City on the Cumber-
land River, Danville on the Tennessee, and Erin. Cumberland City
and Danville are shipping points, conveniently situated on railroad
and river, and have considerable trade. The first has a population of
300 ; Danville about half that number. They have four or five busi-
ness houses each. Stewart's Station, nine miles west of Erin, has two
or tliree business houses.

Transportation. But few counties have better facilities for transpor-
tation. The Cumberland Rim bounds the north-eastern border, the. Ten-
nessee the western, while the Louisville, Nashville and Great Southern
Railroad passes from the one river to the other through the center of
the county. The county is free of debt, and the citizens are apparent-
ly contented and happy.

HUMPHREYS COUNTY.

County Seat — Waverly.

This county rests mainly upon the western edge of the Highland Rim.
A portion is also in the Western Valley of the Tennessee. The law
creating the county of Humphreys was passed October, 1809. It
was organized in the year 1810, out of a portion of what was then
Stewart county, and was named in honor of Perry W. Humphreys,
a judge of the Superior Court. At the time organized, Humphreys
county comprised all the territory cast and west of Tennessee River,
now embraced in the counties of Humphreys and Benton. In 1816,
the county seat was located at Rcynoldsburg, so named in honor of J.
B. Reynolds, then a member of Congress from Tennessee. Here the
county seat remained until the county was divided, which occurred in
the year 1830, Tennessee River being the dividing line. After the
division, the cofinty seat was removed to Waverly, where it has since
continupd. The ])0])ulation of the county in 1810, at the time organ-
ized, numbered 1,511 souls; in 1820, 4,067; in 1830, 6,187; in 1840,

Middle Tennessee. 767

0,095. This falling off was occasioned by the division of the county
in 1836. In 1850, the population had increased to 6,422; in 1860,
9,096 ; and in 1870, it numbered 9,326. The area is 375 square miles.

Towns. The principal towns of Humphreys county are McEwen,
Johnsonville, Waverly, Hurricane Mills and Bakerville. McEwen,
Waverly and Johnsonville are situated on the St. Louis division of the
Nashville, Chattanooga and St. Louis Railway. Johnsonville is on
the Tennessee River, at the crossing of the railroad. McEwen and
Waverly are the principal shipping points for the produce raised on
Tumbling, Hurricane, Blue, Trace, Big and Little Richland creeks
and the upper part of White Oak from which points the farmers draw
their annual supplies. Johnsonville has also a considerable local trade,
and is a place of importance as a shipping point for the Tennessee River
trade. An elevator is being erected by the railroad company at this
point for the more rapid transfer of freight. The population of
Waverly at present is about 275. It has one church, Masonic and
Odd Fellows' lodges, court-house and jail, nine stores and two hotels.
The Waverly Journal, the only newspaper pul)lished between Nashville
and the Tennessee River, west, is issued weekly, and is being well sus-
tained by the citizens. Cuba and Fowler's Landing, on Tennessee
River, are considerable shipping points.

Topography, Soils and Crops. The surface of the county is moder-
ately uneven and the soil generous. Tennessee River flows in a north-
erly direction on the western border. Duck and Buffalo, in the same
direction, through the western portion of the county. The bottom lands
on these streams are rich, alluvial soils. Most all the cereals are grown
with profit, corn in particular, the average yield being about fifty
bushels per acre. The Buffalo bottom is also well adapted to the
growth of cotton. Tumbling, Hurricane, Blue, Trace, Big and Little
Richland and White Oak creeks flow in a westerly direction through
the county, emptying into the Tennessee River and its tributaries. The
bottom lands on these creeks are broad, and of a rich, loamy soil, and
well adapted to the growth of corn, wheat, rye, barley, oats and pea-
nuts. Peanuts are the principal product of the county, the amount pro-
duced in 1872 being 250,000 bushels, and the average price $1 per
bushel. Cotton is also grown to some extent. The county is also well
sup])lied with water-power. Big Bottom, one of the most noted bottoms
ill Middle Tennessee, lies on lower Duck River. It extends for fifteen
or twenty miles above its mouth. It contains 17,508 acres, and is
known as the third civil district. Only a very few years ago it was

7^^ Resojirces of Termessee.

the most uninviting portion of the county, being covered with dense
forests, cane-brake, and at places an almost impenetrable underbrush.
It is now cleared and in a high state of cultivation, yielding from 50
to 75 bushels of corn per acre, and grasses and hay in almost limitless
profusion. The farmers of Big Bottom shipped to market of the corn
crop of 1873 30,000 barrels, or 150,000 bushels, to say nothing of
the immense quantities of hay and hogs. On the main road leading
from Paint Rock, on Duck River, to Trotter's and Hubb's Ferries, on
the Tennessee River, for fifteen miles one is in view of tasteful cottages
and the most beautiful residences, besides a number of elegant churches,
masonic halls and school-houses, all of Avhich have been erected within
a very few years. A few of the farms are worth $50, $60 and $75
per acre. The Buffalo Valley is a desirable section of the county. It
is from three-fourths to one and a half miles in width, with a clayey
subsoil, very fertile, producing in immense quantities corn, wheat, rye,
tobacco, cotton, peanuts, clover and the grasses. These lands are very
level, and beautiful beyond description, and their beauty is heightened
by the Buffalo Riv^er, whose waters are as limpid as a diamond, abound-
ing with fish of the best quality. Its banks are fringed with maple, wal-
nut, elm, hackberry, boxelder, etc., making the most lovely scenery.
The farmers in that valley have also displayed a good deal of archi-
tectural taste in erecting their cottages, residences, barns, graneries,
etc. The price of improved lands on Tennessee, Duck and Buffalo
rivers is from $40 to $50 per acre; the creek lands from $25 to $50
per acre ; unimproved lands, from $1 to $10 per acre. The farms as
a general thing are not in as good condition as before the war, owing
to the uncertainty of labor and impoverished condition of the owners.
The average yield of crops grown is, wheat, eight bushels ; corn, thirty
bushels; oats, thirty bushels; peanuts, fifty bushels. Cotton will aver-
age 500 pounds over the county. Tobacco is not much grown, but
yields, if })roper]y cultivated, 1,000 pounds per acre. Fully twenty
per cent, of the open lands of the county are in a waste condition, on
account of bad management, the soil being sterilized for want of rota-
tion in crops. Thirty p?r cent, of the land is not under cultivation, for
the want of laborers. The average size of farms, cleared land, is about
seventy-five acres. The growing of stock is thought to be the most
profitable mode of farming. Some improved breeds are being intro-
ducctl. All kinds of grasses grow fin(!ly. Clover, orchard and timothy
are the principal grazing and hay crops. Blue-grass will also grow,
l)ut is not looked upon as favorably as orchard-grass. Clover is being

Middle Tefmessee. 769

generally introduced as a renovator of the soil with marked results.
In breaking up the lands, the cast turning plow is most frequently used,
though a large number of cast steel plows are being introduced. In
cultivating, the bull-tongue, double shovel, harrow and expanding cul-
tivator are brought into requisition. Reapers and mowers are being
introduced to some extent. Horses and mules are the principal stock
used in cultivating the crops.

Labor and Rents. Cropping on the shares is generally adopted in
preference to hiring. When paid in money, farm laborers get from $8
to $10 per month. When the renter furnishes stock, cultivating under
the share system, he gets two-thirds of the crop raised ; and when the
owner of the land furnishes stock and feeds the same, seed and imple-
ments, he gets one-half. House servants hire at from $4 to $6 per month ;
skilled labor, women, from $4 to $5 per week ; men, $10 to $15. Im-
proved bottom lands rent from $3 to $5 per acre a year. Leases are
given from four to six years. They are governed by the amount of
improvements to be placed on the lands and the labor required to clear
them up. Large quantities of land are for lease in the county.

Markets. All the produce raised east of Duck River is marketed in
Nashville, and is transported to that place either by railroad or by
wagon. All the produce raised west of Duck River is shipped by the
Tennessee River to Louisville, Evansville and Cincinnati.

Stock. There are but few improved kinds of stock in the county,
though some enterprising farmers are introducing the better breeds of
hogs and cattle with good results. Dogs are a great curse to sheep
raisers, fully fifty per cent, of the annual increase being destroyed by
them. Under existing laws, the breeding of this animal is likely to
be discontinued, much to the injury of the county. The range for
sheep is excellent, and they are usually healthy, and would under
proper protection be profitable.

Rocks and Minerals. The prevailing rock of the county is freestone,
being susceptible of high polish, easily quarried and worked, and gen-
erally used for building chimneys. The county abounds with pipe,
pot and honey-comb iron ores, the various forms of limonite.

Manufactories. There is a hub and spoke factory on Big Richland

Creek, driven by Avater-power. This factory turns out a superior class

of work. This superiority is due to the excellence of the timber. The

Hurricane Woolen and Flour Mills, situated on Hurricane Creek, ten

miles south of Waverley, is a flourishing manufacturing village. Here
49

770 Resources of Tennessee.

is one of the best water-powers in the State. The machinery in the
woolen factory consists of ei;j;ht narrow and one broad loom, one set
of manufacturing cards, two sets of custom cards, spindle jack, and all
the necessary machinery for making jeans, blankets, flannels, stocking
yarn and linsey. The geods manufactured at this place have a wide
reputation, and stand at the top of the market. The flour mill consists
of three run of burrs, one for corn and two for wheat. There is also a
saw-mill, driven by water-power, a blacksmith and carpenter's shop,
and a store doing a large and profitable business. A large church has
been built, also a Masonic lodge. About thirty operatives are employed
at this place. The power to drive the factory and mills is given from
three American turbine water wheels. There is also a large number
of tanneries in the county, turning out a superior article of leather.
The one located at Johnsonville is driven by steam power. It employs
about twenty operatives, and turns out $30,000 worth of leather an-
nually. The county is well supplied with steam saw-mills, water, flour
and grist mills. The women of the county are said to be as industri-
ous as any in the world, and of course domestic manufactures are car-
ried on extensively. Fully fifty per cent, of the people are clothed in
homespun.

The farm pays quite as well as manufacturing. Both, properly man-
aged, will earn a good per cent, on the capital invested. If farmers
would read more, and learn the use of fertilizers, they would be much
better paid for their outlay of labor.

Very little attention is paid to the smaller industries, such as drying
of fruit, making of butter, and raising of honey. The people are pay-
ing more attention to orchards now, and in a few years the county will
be a large exporter of fruit.

Fruit. The hill lands are adapted to the vines, in fact, all kinds of
fruits, apples, peaches, pears, plums, and cherries grow well and yield
abundantly. There are many varieties of grapes native to the soil, and
flourish with astonishing vigor and fecundity. Within 300 yards of
Hurricane Mills there is a vine of the summer grape that measures
eleven inches in diameter. There are two kinds of native winter
grape, one summer, and one fox grape, and an excellent grape nearly
as large as the Catawba, and looking like a cross between that grape
and the Isabella whicsh, with a little care and culture, would make a large
and valuable wine grape. There are also two kinds of muscadines,
rich in juice, and highly flavored. Even the most unpromising cherty

Middle Tennessee. 771

hills are sufficiently impregnated with iron to give body and high col-
oring to wines, and the time is not far distant when the European im-
migraiit, skilled in the culture of the vines, will find his most profita-
ble employment in the hills of Humphreys. There is one nursery in
the county.

Timber. This county abounds in the greatest variety of timber.
All kinds of oak — white, red, black and chestnut — are in almost
inexhaustible quantities, also large quantities of hickory, ash, poplar,
walnut, cherry, chestnut, black locust, hackberry, beech and sycamore.
Large quantities of staves are shipped down the Tennessee River to
the cities of the South.

The people are well disposed toward immigrants, and cordially wel-
come any honest, industrious ones who come to live among them. Be-
tween 1865 and 1873 sixty-two families moved to the county, and
about 200 moved from it. An Americanized German colony has re-
cently settled in the county. Those who move away usually return
after a year or two, expressing themselves glad to get back to such a
healthy county. Some of the farmers were very restless in the spring of
1873, under the depressing prices for their staple crop, the peanut. There
are many inducements for an industrious man in this county. Much
of the land is cheap, and the soil will produce a great variety of crops.
Springs are numerous, and stock water is abundant, besides the county
is accessible, and the means of transportation are ample. Game is
plentiful. Sectional animosities have died out. The habits of the peo-
ple are simple and frugal, and a high degree of economy is practiced.
All classes labor. Property is pretty evenly distributed, the differ-
ence being mainly in the diiference of the farms.

There is one Agricultural and Mechanical Association located at
Waverly. The last fair held was well attended, and quite a success.
There is no county debt, taxes being levied sufficient to meet current
expenses. Schools are scarce in the county. One that is located in
Big Bottom of Tennessee River, is now, and has been in a flourishing
condition for several years. The balance of the schools are of a low
grade. The citizens hope to be able this year to maintain the public
schools five months. The Assessor's books show that there are in this
county 322,133 acres of land, valued at $1,225,508.23, and 121
town lots, valued at 37,795.50, making the total assessed value
of realty $1,263,307.73. The assessed value of ]icrsonal property of
every description is put down at $186,499.53, making the total assessed
value of all kinds of property in the county, for the year 1873, $1,-

772

Resources of Tennessee.

394,935.26. On this property there was assessed last year for
State purposes ^5,597.73, and for county purposes ^5,597.73, amd for
maintainance of public schools $6,964.80, for jail purposes $1,394.93,
making the total tax on assessed property $19,519.21. The county is
now divided into fifteen civil districts — the third and eighth paying the
most taxes.

There are no mineral springs in the county, but the purest freestone
water, which gushes from every hill, and some alum wells. The
county is certainly one of the best watered in the State.

There is, as yet, no poor house. There are only about twelve pau-
pers on the county. No macadamized roads have been built, and the
dirt roads are badly kept up. Nature has done too much for the
county in the way of roads.

STATISTICS OF HUMPHREYS COUNTY.

PRICE OF LANDS.

Best improved bottoms $40.00 to 75.00 per acre.

Best improved uplands 10.00 to 25.00 "

Medium improved bottoms 15.00 to 20.00 "

Medium improved uplands 5.00 to 10.00 "

Medium unimproved inferior bottoms 8.00 to 10.00 "

Improved inferior uplands 5.00 to 6.00 "

Unimproved uplands, inferior 1.00 to 2.00 "

The swampy lauds in the county do not exceed 500 acres. Rents
vary from $1.50 for inferior uplands to $5 for good bottom land, when
paid in money. The proportion of crop given is one-third to the
owner, when the renter furnishes everything, and when the owners
find teams and tools, and feed the latter, one-half is given.

CROPS FOR 1872.

Peanuts

Corn

Wheat

Oats

Eye

Barley

Buckwheat ....
Irish Potatoes.
Sweet Potatoes

Apples

Peaches

Pears

Cherries

No. Acres.

8,000
9,956

876
5,168

120

144
180
279
216
84
127

Average yield
per Acre.

30 bushels.

4.3 "

10 "
not cultivated,
not cultivated.

50 bushels.

70
100

100 "
175 "

Plums

Strawberries....

Raspberries ....

Meadow

Pasture

Clover

Blue-grass

Timothy

Orchard -grass
'Ilcrds-grass ...

I Hops

|Sorghum

Maple Sugar...

No. Acres.

108

289

1,300

1,600

none

500

600

180
90

Average yield
per Acre.

40 bushels.

Tons.

40 gallona.
25 pounds.

Middle Tennessee. 773

FARM BUTLDINGS.

DweZKni/s— Brick 90

Frame 460

Log 1380

Whole number 1830

£arn5— Log 1050

Frame 45

Whole mimber 1095

iStoik"!— Log 1955

Frame 180

Whole number 2135

Gin Houses 1

Meat Houses 1620

Ice Houses 15

Corn Cribs — separate 1520

Fences, zigzag, rail, average length 4| feet; price of splitting rails
per 100, 70 cents; hauling and putting up, per 100, |2; average cost
of worm fence, per rod, 80 cents; timber used for rails, chestnut, wal-
nut, white oak and red oak; average duration, chestnut rails, 30 years,
walnut 20 years, white oak 18 years, red oak 10 years.

MECHANICAI, INDUSTRIES.

Ntimber. Wages.

Carpenter shops 75

Wagon shops 5

Plows made 900

Saw-mills, water power 2

■' steam 6

Blacksmith shops 45

Hands employed 90

Average price shoeing horses

Grist-mills, corn 4

" wheat 4

Shoe shops 15

Spinning-wheels 400

Woolen Factories 1

Wool-carding machines 1

Tanneries 4

Harness and Saddle shops 1

Hand-looms 150

$3.00 per day.

$2.50

$7.50 each.

$3.00 per day.

$1.50 each.

Value and Pi-odtict

$10,000

500

10,000

3,000

15,000

774 Resources of Tennessee.

SMALLER ECONOMIES.

Bushels. Value.

Dried Apples 1810 $1,365

" Peaches 1200 2,115

Chestnuts 375 1,200

Pounds.

Beeswax 3,000

Feathers 4,465

RELIGIOUS AND EDUCATIONAL.

Church Buildings. Membership. Sunday-schools. Weekly Attendance.
55 2,113 30 525

The Secretary is indebted to D. H. Goodrich and H. C. Lockhart^
Esq., for many of the facts embraced in the description of this county.

JACKSON COUNTY.

County Seat — Gainsboro.

It would probably be the most unnatural thing in the world for
Tennessee not to have a Jackson county, for Andrew Jackson, almost
from the first settling of the State down to a period within the memory
of persons not yet old, exercised an influence over the commonwealth
beyond that of any other man living or dead. Accordingly, we find
that as early as 1801, the first year of the nineteenth century, the Gen-
eral Assembly sitting in Knoxville, established the county of Jackson,
and named it in honor of the man who resigned his position in the
Senate of the United States in 1798, after holding it only one year, to
fill the position of Judge of the Supreme Court. Nothing, perhaps,
indicates more clearly the manner in which the memory of the two
great rivals in the political world forty years ago is cherished by the peo-
ple of Tennessee, than the fact that there are lying side by side the coun-
ties of Jackson and Clay. Tliougli differing in life, the names of these
two patriots are perpetuated in death — equal in the honor and esteem
of their countrymen. Jackson was originally a large county, embra-
cing the territory of the present county of White, and the largest pro-
portion of Clay. It now has an area of nearly -"iOO square miles. The
number of acres of land assessed for taxation is 175,162, valued at
$768,399, or about $4.40 per acre. It is bounded on the north by

Middle Tennessee. 775

Clay, on the east by Overton, on the south by Putnam, and on the
west by Smith and Macon.

Topography, Streams and Geology. The topography of this county
is in the main so much like Clay that the description of the surface
features of the one will almost answer for that of the other. To ob-
tain a correct idea of its physical configuration, let the reader imagine
an elevated champaign country, and meandering through this, from
north-east to south-west, a wide, fertile valley. This valley would rep-
resent the river basin of the Cumberland. From this river valley
others run out more or less at right angles, with high, flat-topped ridges
between. These form the valley lands lying on the tributaries of the
Cumberland. Near the river the country is much dissected after this
fashion, but getting back a number of miles, the flat-topped ridges
spread out; still further back we find ourselves in a country mainly
high and comparatively level. This high country on both sides of the
Cumberland River belongs to the Highland Rim. Jackson county
may be said to belong to this Rim, with deep, wide gashes cut down to
the formation of the Central Basin. On the ridges and high lands we
have flinty rocks with more or less limestone (the siliceous beds of the
Lower Carboniferous) ; in the valleys blue fossiliferous limestones
abound (Nashville formation), which yield an excellent soil, far better
than that of the Highlands. High in the hills, near the river, and at
the heads of the tributary valleys, and holding a position between the
blue limestones and the upper flinty limestones, is a bed of Black
Slate (Devonian). This is of no importance, however, in an agricul-
tural point of view. The country is generally well watered. Cum-
berland river, as has been said, flows through the county, emerging
from Clay, about eleven miles above Gainsboro, and passing into
Smith about twenty miles below, perhaps thirty by water. Roaring
River, heading in Overton county, away up among the spurs of the
Cumberland Table Land, empties into the Cumberland a half mile
above Gainsboro Landing. This beautiful and romantic stream, in
whose bosom is found many fine specimens of the finny tribe, is fed by
many fine creeks and branches, among which may be mentioned Mor-
rison's Creek, Blackburn's Fork, Spring Creek, and last, but not least,
Hopper's Creek. Among the other water courses of Jackson county
may be mentioned Jennings' Creek, running into Cumberland River
from the north, two miles below Gainsboro. This creek runs, from its
source in Clay county, about eighteen miles through an excellent
farming country. Other creeks are Indian, Cole, Wartrace and Salt

^^(i Resources of Tennessee.

Lick, emptying into the Cumberland from the same side, after flowing
through a rich but not so extensive a country as that of Jennings'
Creek. Crossing back on to the south side of the river we have
Flynn's Creek, along which, to its very source, is fine farming land,
some in a good state of cultivation, and Martin's Creek, about which
the same can be said. At the mouth of the creek, in the lower edge
of the county, is situated the village of Granville. Good springs of
cold water abound throughout the county, though the water is gener-
ally strongly impregnated with lime.

Water and Steam Mills. Considering the vast natural resources,
consisting of water-power, timber, and almost everything else need-
ful, this county is sadly behind in the way of manufactures. There
are two good flouring mills at Granville, a wool-carding machine on
the headwaters of Blackburn's Fork, in the southern portion of the
county, and another down on the same creek, near its mouth. There is
also a good mill on Roaring River, near the Overton county line. All
of these run by water-power. On Flynn's Creek there is a steam mill,
another two miles west of Gainsboro, and six miles east of that place,
is a third mill driven by steam. There is a very good water-power
mill on Jennings' Creek. Excepting the foregoing there are no mills
in the county, or other factories, except some little grist-mills on some
smaller water courses.

Soils, Timber and Crops. The river valley land is of deep soil and
of great fertility; the knobs and narrow valleys between them are
equally as fertile, and are precisely like the knobby lands of Cannon,
Maury and Bedford, and it is a curious fact that where the ridges run
continuously to the Highlands, they are not so fertile as when they are
serrated. It is something remarkable that these dissected ridges,
forming knobs, some of them hundreds of feet above the valleys, are
almost to their very summits of inexhaustible richness of soil. The
whole county is heavily timbered. Poplar, hickory, beech, oak, elm,
buckeye, lynn, ash and walnut predominate. Most of the poplar and
walnut near the river has been cut and floated down in rafts to Nash-
ville. Six or eight miles back from the river there is yet a large sup-
ply. The county in general is h'ighly productive of all the cereals,
and is, no doubt, admirably adapted to a variety of grasses, such as
clover, blue-grass, herds-grass, orchard-grass and timothy. Much of
the knob land, too steep to cultivate with the plow, might be made ex-
ceedingly profitable by putting it down in grass, and stocking it with

Middle Tennessee. JT"]

mules, sheep and cattle. But in this respect the people are a long way
behind the times. The most of their land lies as a dead capital. It
yields them no profit. The leading crops are corn, wheat, oats, rye,
clover and the grasses. Tobacco has become a staple crop, and the
amount grown each year is gradually increasing. Hemp was formerly
grown for market, but has been abandoned. The finer qualities of to-
bacco, though not so heavy as that grown in the bottoms, are produced
in that portion of the county resting upon the Highlands. Usually
the rolling lands are preferred for the growth of this crop. Irish and
sweet potatoes grow well. A recent writer, in speaking of the manner
of farming in this county, bewails the slovenly method practiced, and
the want of forethought on the part of the flirmers in the direction of
their farms. He says:

If they must raise tobacco — and the soil is truly well adapted to its growth
— why not curtail their corn land to one-half its present amount, subsoil,
pulverize and cultivate scientifically. That half, with less labor, would
yield them more corn than the whole they now scratch over. Meanwhile
they can be sowing down the other half of their farms for pastures and
meadows, raising liay and some stock, needing not half the corn which they
now consume. Then if the price of tobacco should go down — which, with
an experience of more than sixty years, I have never known it fail to do —
the farmer will have his grass and his stock to fall back upon. Those per-
sons even in the sections of country adapted to the culture of tobacco, who
own farms suitable for grass and stock-raising, should avail themselves of
that advantage at once. The price of cotton and tobacco, as a general
thing, rules the price of other products. Hence, if these two staples com-
mand high prices, so will stock and other things in about the same ratio, for
two reasons. First, money becomes more plentiful. Secondly, the higher
the price of cotton and tobacco, the greater the number of farmers who will
engage in their production, to the consequent neglect of other branches of
husbandry, and thus the stock-raiser would be certain to realize remunera-
tive prices. The majority of farmers own but small tracts of land, and
therefore cannot raise stock to much advantage, but they can raise some to-
bacco, corn and pork. And thus the industiy of the country might be di-
vided to the mutual benefit of alL While they keep up the old monotonous
routine of corn and some hogs, and plowing from one to four inches deep,
raising tolerably good crops of corn and fine crops of — weeds, impoverishing
their farms, and reaping no benefit from their rich bills and knobs, which
ought to be carpeted with biue-grass, clover and timothy, and dotted over
with fat mules, sheep and cattle of the best bloods of the country, we can-
not indulge high hopes of advancement.

Fruits grow well upon the hill lands, especially peaches.

Price of Lamh and Labor. The richest bottom farms on the Cum-
berland are worth from twenty to fifty dollars per acre, according to
improvements. On the u])landK improved lands may be bought for

']']Z Resources of Tennessee.

five and ten dollars per acre. Unimproved farms vary in price from
one to thirty dollars. Farm improvements are not so well kept np as
formerly. Labor is scarce and dear. The superior temptations of city
life have enticed many of tlie farm laborers from the county. Men
are worth from ^10 to $20 per month, according to season. As in
Montgomery, Robertson and other tobacco-growing counties, labor is
very high during the suckering, worming and housing of that crop.

Towns. Gainsboro, the county seat, was established in 1817, and
incorporated in 1820. It was named in honor of Edwin Pendleton
Gains. It is situated on Doe Creek, one mile from the Cumber-
land River. It has a population of 600, and does a large amount
of shipping. During the navigable seasons it is a place of en-
terprising activity. It has ten or twelve business houses, besides arti-
san shops, law offices, &c. The Jackson county News is printed at
this place. Flynn's Lick, on the Cumberland, has a population of
about 100, and is the shipping point for a very fertile section of coun-
try. It has two general stores, several liquor establishments and
a blacksmith shop. Highland and Granville are other shipping points.
They have two stores each. Gum Spring, twelve miles from Gains-
boro, on Jennings' Creek, on the road leading from the latter place to
LaFayette, the county seat of Macon, has three general stores.

Transportation. Jackson county is noted for the fertility of the soil,
but the want of facility for getting the surplus produce to market is a
great drawback upon its prosperity. Cumberland River is navigable
for steamboats, on an average, about five months in the year, but ex-
cepting this, there is no other public outlet, and the citizens have to
rely, for the balance of the year, on wagoning over very rough roads.
The county is noted for the bad condition of its roads. In fact, since
the war, there is scarcely anything that can properly be dignified with
the name of road.

Schools. The county is greatly in need of good schools. The edu-
cational interests have been much neglected latterly, and though
a few schools may be found scattered here and there, like isolated feeble
points of light, the education of the children, especially the poorer
classes, is sadly overl()(>l<e(l.

Chara(deristin.s. There are no better people in the State than those
to be found in Jackson county. Frugal and provident, they are not
ashamed to work. Independent in thought, honest in action, plain in
manners, tc'm|»(!rate in habits, s(K'ial l)y instinct, and patriotic from

Middle Tennessee. 779

principle, they have a durable basis upon which to erect the highest
order of manhood, and were proper educational facilities added to the
moral surroundings of the county, her sons would shine with a more
brilliant lustre in the future history of the State.

LAWRENCE COUNTY.

County Seat — Lawrenceburo.

Lawrence county was established in the year 1817. There is no
mention made in the act establishing the county as to why it was called
Lawrence, but the evidences are that it was so named in honor of
Commodore Lawrence, of the American navy, who uttered the historic
sentence, " Don't give up the ship." The act is not specific in regard
to the territory which is to compose the county, reading " to be consti-
tuted out of the territory south of the county of Maury and west of
the county of Giles." Lawrence is one of the counties on the Highland
Rim, and may be considered a type of that division. One, in entering
and traveling through the county, is not impressed with its fertility,
for the reason that the main east and west, north and south dirt roads
follow the barren ridges in order to have the benefit of the ^sand and
gravel, which make good roads, and to avoid the low marshes near the
valleys and creeks. Coming into Lawrence from Maury, we have to
rise the " Big Hill," south of Mt. Pleasant, and then follow the ridge
either to Lawrenceburg on the dirt road, or to Waynesboro on the
Central pike. So in coming into Lawrence from Giles, twelve miles
east of Pulaski and seven miles west of Lawrenceburg the "Powder-
mill Hill " is to be ascended, and then the road to Lawrenceburg fol-
lows the ridge as before stated. The lands lying on Little and Big
Buffalo rivers, west of the Lawrenceburg dirt road and the Central turn-
pike from Columbia, are exceedingly fertile, corresponding in some
measure to the lands in the Duck River Valley of Maury and Hick-
man counties. The lands lying in the valley of Shoal Creek and its
tributaries. Factory's Fork, Chisholm and Knob creeks, are also very
fertile. What are known as uplands are not good, but improvable,
having for a subsoil clay and (^hert.

Location and Streainn. In the grand natural divisions into which

780 Resources of Tennessee.

Tennessee has been divided, the county of Lawrence has, very properly,
been assigned to the Highland Rim, and it preserves its continuity of
upland from the north-east to its south-west boundaries. Here, it has
been estimated, the Highland Rim, lying west and south of the Basin,
rises to its loftiest height, and we are certain that from its sides rush and
from its caverns gush streams that flow in every direction down into
the Basin on the north and east, or rush down the slopes to the
Valley of the Tennessee. The streams of Lawrence, renowned for
their pure, clear waters, flowing over pebbles, shale or limestone bot-
toms, are but the limpid spurtings of the great watery heart that lies
embosomed in her hills. While the formation of the county seems to
have originated in a desire by other counties to lop ofi^ the barren from
the more fertile, yet its topography very early suggested its great water-
powers and privileges. As early as 1829, we find Judge John Catron,
who assisted in giving lustre to the judicial ermine of the State,
entering large quantities of land in the north-western portion of the
county (now within the territory of Lewis county) for the establish-
ment of what was then, as well as now, known as the Buffalo Iron
Works. Just as early the Legislature encouraged the building of mills
by authorizing persons to have land set apart for their erection.
These statutes seemed to have had a special application, in some in-
stances applying exclusively to counties belonging to the Highland
Rim. Shoal Creek needs only to be described that an approximate idea
may be had of the water-power of the county. Three of the tributaries
which make up Shoal Creek proper rise within the northern portion of
a circle that might be described about Lawrenceburg, with a radius of
six miles, and bring their sparkling forces within a mile of the town.
One branch (Buler's Fork) rises about four miles east of town, and at
an elevation of at least 1,000 feet above the level of the sea, as de-
termined by the line surveyed from Nashville across the Highlands
to Hamburg, on the Tennessee River. The hills are quite small around
its source, but it soon breaks through the Lithostrotion Bed, upon
which Lawrenceburg is situated, winding al)out from bluff to bluff* in a
most serpentine way until its course has measured fully forty miles
before it crosses into Alabama. On one side or the other there are
always large bluffs rising in solid limestone sometimes as high as 300
feet, in whose cliffs the eagles still build their nests and propagate
their young. The valley is usually narrow, in no instance spreading
out beyond half a mile. The fall from its head to the point where it
leaves the State cannot be loss than 300 feet, and its bottom is generally

Middle Tejmessee. 78 1

of limestone, worn smooth by the rush of its waters, making it exceed-
ingly difficult at places for the angler to maintain his equilibrium when
he wades after the fine trout that lave their silvery fins in the pure,
bright waters. The miller can always place his dam on an immovable
foundation, and its narrow channel peculiarly adapts it to the building
of cheap dams. These several tributaries have hardly emerged from
the bosom of the earth before their waters are appropriated to the run-
ning of mills and cotton ftictories. Within five miles of Lawrenceburg
five cotton i*actories are in successful operation, and, in the year 1860,
run more spindles than all the rest of the State besides. There are
several mills within the same distance, and there are as many locations
at intermediate points equally if not more desirable than those already
appropriated. Knob, Chisholm, Factory's Fork, Blue Water, Sugar
Creek, Buffalo, and innumerable other smaller streams, rush down the
slopes, sparkling in cascades and foaming in torrents, and laughingly
inviting the mechanic, the machinist and the artizan to occupations that
will give wealth and prosperity.

Towns and Villages. Lawrenceburg was established as the county
seat of Lawrence county by an act of the General Assembly of the
State, passed at Murfreesboro, on the 23rd day of November, 1819.
The commissioners of the town, Enoch Tucker, Josephus Irvine, Henry
Phenix and Maximillian H. Buchanan, by virtue of duplicate land
warrants issued at Hillsboro, North Carolina, on the 14th day of April,
1792, assigned by F. Glasgow originally, and assigned at Nashville by
J. Winchester, on the 10th day of April, 1807, and attested by K..
McGavock, Clerk of Commissioners for West Tennessee, which Avar-
rant was issued to John Thompson, and lastly assigned to said commis-
sioners, located 400 acres of land, the survey of which constituted the
boundaries of the town, and to which it has been limited ever since.
The German Catholic Homestead Association in the year 1870 pur-
chased what was called the Bentley Farm, north of and adjoining the
corporation, and have laid off 350 lots that will make a beautiful addi-
tion when improved. Shoal Creek runs through the southern portion
of the corporation from east to west, and numerous springs rush out
from the blufts or bubble out from the banks, where cool, refreshing
water can be had in abundance, which with very little expense can
be driven into every family room and kitchen in .town. The scen-
ery skirting the banks of the creek or spreading out into gently un-
dulating plains, is captivating to the transient visitor.

782 Resow^ces of Tennessee.

Note. — The only monument in the State erected to the memory of those who gave
their lives to their country's call in the war with Mexico, stands on the public square,
north of the court-house. It is made of limestone. The base is about ten feet square
and six feet high, then pyramidal about three feet, when a shaft shoots up about thir-
ty feet, making it in all about forty feet high. Upon the upright shaft on the north
side is the following dedication :

" Erected to the memory of
CAPTAIN WILLIAM B. ALLEN,
J. B. Burkett, F. Glover,

G. W. Wilson, A.^I. Pratt,

A. J. Eaton, Lieutenant L. M. Putnam,
J. A. Hill, AV. H. Eobinson,

E. W. Thomas, E. D. Willis,

B. H. Dalton, P. H. Martin,
B. Soaper, W. M. Alford,

W. Rhodes, J. M. L. Campbell,

A. J. Gibson, J. H. Saunders,

G. B. Porter, J. F. Coflfee,

J. B. Turner, J. H. Johnson,

J. H. Elliot, E. Prior,

H. Collins, J. H. Allison,

Of the First Eegiment Tennessee Volunteers, who fell on the 21st of September, 1846,
at the capture of Monterey by the American Army, under the command of Major-
General Z. Taylor, and of all Tennesseans, who died of wounds or disease, received
or contracted during their service in the war with Mexico."

On the west side :

" This column is erected by the grateful countrymen of the citizen-soldiers, who gave
their lives a willing sacrifice at their country's call. May it be held sacred by posterity,
and inspire future generations with love of patriotism and valor."

On the south side :

" Let posterity remember that the valor of the citizen-soldier scaled the Rocky Moun-
tains, and planted our eagles on the banks of the Pacific, doubled our country's area,
and opened a new path to the commerce of Asia."

Erected by
L. W. KIRBY,

A. D. 1849."

nd on the east:

"Died of disease

S. H. Allen,

A. Boswell,

J. Billingsly,

J. Farris,

L. Garrett,

J. Goodman,

J. M. Gray,

S. G. Kiltner,

W. W. Lindsey,

A. J. Lindsey,

E. Tucker,

J. W. Walker."

"How .«l<!e|) the l)ravc, who pink to rest,
I'y all their country's wishes blest,"

An appropriation was made by the State of $1,500, and $1,000 raised by private sub-
scription, principally in Lawrence, for the building of the monument. This evidence

Middle Te?iitessee. 7^3

vi appreciation of that noble patriotism that inspires the citizen-soldier to respond to
Mif country's call when the sliglitest insult or injury is done to her honor or rights, cer-
t:anly speaks well of the grateful countrymen. This most naturally suggests Texas,
and her history cannot be mentioned witliout the name of Crockett, who was a citizen
of this town and county at its organization, and for several years after. About this time
the Hon. William R. Harris commenced the study of law in the office of Isaac C!ook,
Esq., and afterwards was appointed and elected to a place on the Supreme Bench.

Lawrenceburg has at this time seven dry goods stores, one drug store,
three groceries, one tin shop, two furniture stores, two harness and
saddle shops, one beer saloon, one jewelrv store, three blacksmith shops,
one millinery shop, three hotels, a printing office, four churches. Southern
Methodist, a colored Methodist, one Presbyterian and one Catholic. The
Catholics also have a large convent. The Protestants have two school-
houses, the Jackson, male and female. The court-house is large and
well arranged, with commodious offices for every county officer. The
population of the town is reported, in the census of 1870, as being 351,
though now it is estimated to be not less than 500. Henryville is a
small village, 11 miles north-west of Lawrenceburg, on the Central
Turnpike "where it crosses Buffalo Creek, and has about 75 inhabitants,
one dry goods store, a church and school-house, and a Catholic Church,
at least in the course of construction. Every one who has traveled
down the pike will remember the mill close by. West point is another
little village, 15 miles to the south-west, with a population of 50 ; it has a
dry goods store, a good flouring mill, and a church ; and six miles
south-east of West Point, almost cooped up by the hills, Wayland's
Springs, with a population of forty, does a lively business, with two
stores. Shoal Creek runs close by, and her fertile bottoms and rich
hill-sides furnish the principal cotton raised in the county. Before the
war, Wayland's Springs was visited by crowds of invalids and plea-
sure-seekers. The hotel and neatly hewn log cabins furnished room
for hundreds at a time, and they were sometimes filled to their utmost
capacity. The pleasure-seeker passed away the fleeting hours at angling,
hunting, and in the "giddy mazes of the dance." The invalid fre-
quently found relief from the use of the waters. The water underwent
a chemical analysis at Nashville, and was pronounced inferior to none
in point of medicinal virtues. It is reported to have cured chronic
cases of scrofula, sore eyes, and dropsical affections. Their curative
and health-promotive virtues are equal to Bailey's celebrated springs,
near Florence, Alabama. The improvements were destroyed by fire
during the war. Pretended soldiers did it.

Lands and Timber, Crops and Methods of Farming. The greater

7^4 Resources of Tennessee.

part of the creek bottom lands has been cleared up, but the up or flat
lands are a comparative wilderness, in some instances for miles square
not a stick has ever been removed, where the wild deer sleeps as quietly
as in the swamps of Arkansas, unless, as is occasionally the case, they
are aroused by the horn or the dog of the huntsman. These flat lands
are densely covered with white oak, post oak, chestnut, chestnut oak,
black oak, red oak, and black jack timber. The creek bottoms and
the hills that fringe them are quite productive. It is evident that the flat
barren lands are well adapted to the cultivation of the grape, as they grow
wild and in the greatest profusion on seemingly the poorest spots.
The apple, cherry, pear and peach are equally as thrifty.

In Lawrence there are thousands of acres of waste lands, "old
fields," and worn out hill-sides. In riding through portions of the
county, one is very frequently confronted with the gloomy prospect of
vast fields, whose corrugated surfaces show the wanton carelessness of
the old-time farmer. These fields are monuments, so to speak, of the
criminal prodigality of a time when it was decidedly cheaper to the
then living generation to clear new fields than to pay any attention to
the fertilizing, careful cultivaiion and preservation of those already
cleared. These lands are not past redemption, but they have been ex-
hausted years ago by bad tillage and a too constant drain upon the soil
by reason of yearly corn crops. Reclamation is possible, but years of
industry and scientific, intelligent farming are necessary to right the
wrongs of those who have preceded us. As stated in the outset, the
soil is of a decidedly retentive 'character, owing to the waxy clay sub-
soil, and as a matter of course, under the judicious management of the
careful farmer, and the generous application of manures, the land in a
reasonable time regains its vitality and jjroductiveness. Although
there are some large, well managed and highly cultivated farms in
Lawrence, yet there is a "taint of the olden time" lingering still.
The average farm in the county generally comprises 160 acres. How-
ever, it is difficult to lay down anything like an average, or to make a
relative statement as to the size of farms, from the fact that the entries
of vacant lands have always conformed to the will and wish of the loca-
tor, and as a consequence, the lands are ragged, and without sym-
metry.

How sadly do we stand in need sometimes of that accurate system
of surveys which, in some of the Northern and all the Western States,
so admirably divides and sub-divides the lands in townships, sections
and fractions of sections. The benefit of the government surveys on

Middle Temiessee. 7^5

the public domain will only be appreciated fully when the country
shall have become thickly populated. It is as opposed to this system-
atic division or survey of lands, or rather in contrast therewith, that
the ragged entry-taking and locating system of Lawrence — in fact, of
Tennessee — is mentione<l.

Owing to an exceedingly diversified topography, the county can turn
its attention both to the raising of stock and to the cultivation of
money crops. While the uplands, of which there is an immense area,
offer rich pasturage for sheep and all kinds of cattle, the creek bottoms
and low lying lands, of which there is also an abundance, seeded to
any of the grasses, make an inexhaustible meadow, and render them
eminently fitted for the raising of horses and mules. Besides this the
lands, both upland and bottom, seem highly adapted to the raising of
Avheat, oats, barley, millet and buckwheat. The main crops, however,
are corn and cotton. Bat little attention has iierctofore been paid to
grasses, but some new ideas are creeping into the heads of the farmers,
and we are safe in saying that the average acreage sown to the grasses, for
the past three years, has exceeded that for the previous twenty-five. All
the grasses grow well, the yield in pounds being nearly up to that in
the richer counties of Giles and Maury, while the character and qual-
ity are far superior, not being rendered so harsh, tough and rank by a
limestone soil. If any preference should be given, we think the
orchard grass is more peculiarly adapted to our soil, though Hunga-
rian, herds-grass, timothy, and blue-grass do exceedingly well, the latter
being a natural growth to some extent. Since the war a great many
farmers have put clover upon their lands, and with obvious benefit.
One instance is given which will serve as an illustration of the benefit
of clover upon the soils, and also of the adaptability of clover thereto.
Upon a farm of 160 acres, lying about one and a quarter miles east of
the town of Lawrenceburg, a gentleman moved soon after the war; but
little of the land was good, and one field, of about forty acres, level
almost as a floor, was covered with persimmon and sassafras sprouts.
This forty acres, with the best of cultivation, averaged, for two years,
with a limited quantity of manure broad-cast, but six barrels of infe-
rior corn to the acre. In the fall of 1865 it was broken up with a
No, 2 Knhn and Turpin plow, and moderately treated with fresh stable
manure; in the spring it was broken up with "bull tongues" and sown in
clover. Besides a barn full of clover hay, it supplied rich pasturage for
twenty head of cattle the same year sown. It remained in clover until
1871, when it was turned over in the fall and planted in corn the follow-
50

7^6 Resources of Tennessee,

ing spring. Without manui-e, there were gathered and cribbed from this
forty acres, 360 barrels of prlsne corn. It may be added that the re-
sults of this cultivation becoming known, the same plan of action was
adopted by a number of farmers, with pleasing and beneficial results.
Heretofore, the old fashioned " bull tongue " plow has been the uni-
versal tool in the cultivation of all crops; the land was broken up
with it, the crops planted, cultivated and "laid by" with the same
^'buU tongue." The irons made in the old blacksmith shop and
"stocked" by the farmer himself under the shed on rainy days, and
with no tools but a drawing knife and chopping axe. A departure
from first principles, however, is being made, and a groat many of the
farmers are proceeding to adopt a better system of tillage. The
bull tongue, however, is regarded as a splendid implement in its
place, and could scarcely be dispensed with. The generality of farm-
ers use mules in the cultivation of their crops, being hardier than
the horse. Labor is not very abundant. There is about an equal
amount of paid and share labor in the county. Those who pay in
money usually give eighteen doUar.i per month, and this is about the
average money wages paid all over the county. The terms, for part of
the crops, are usually one-half the corn and one-third the cotton — this,
when the landlord furnishes nothing. As a matter of course, this is va-
ried by terms between individuals. In the renting of land, putting it
at a fair average, for good cotton and corn lands, $3.00 and §4.00 per
acre; for upland, $1.50 to $2.50 per acre.

There is not a great quantity of land for sale in the county, as the
prospect of the early building of a railroad, of which more anon, has
tightened the grip of those disposed heretofore to sell. However, there
is a great deal of uncleared lands, moderately fair, that can be advan-
tageously cultivated, which is held at reasonable figures. Two causes
have operated to lessen the amount of good land for sale, and also to
advance the price of all, viz., the influx of German immigrants under
the auspices of the Cincinnati German Catholic Homestead Association,
and the vigorous movement looking to the early building of the Mem-
])his and Knoxville Narrow Guage Railroad. The association above
referred to was organized in Cincinnati, Ohio, in the year 1869, and
sent its agent into this county for the jnirchase of lands. From 1870 up
to the present time they have j)urchased and now hold 23,280 acres of
land, 5,000 acres of which is in one body, lying on Buffalo River, near
the Laurel Hill cotton factory. Besides this, numerous farms have
been sold by individuals to immigrants who did not buy or take lands

Middle Tennessee. 787

from the association. Tlie number of families of immigrants who have
come into the county under this association will probably reach 350.
They are industrious, intelligent and thrifty, and are making the barren
fields blossom as the rose. All that is lacking to make the people pros-
perous is a railroad, and from intimations previously given, this will
probably soon be built. There is now no transportation outside of
w'agons. All the products and manufactured articles are transported at
great cost over eighteen miles of as bad road as can be found anywhere
in the State. Weekly, and sometimes semi-weekly, six of the factories
send out their teams and wagons laden with cotton yarns, batting, rope
and sheeting, and these are hardly sufficient for transportation. The
cost of these teams and drivers, feed, wear and tear of wagons, is truly
a startling item to our manufacturer.^. Wales Station, Giles county, is
the nearest point on the Nashville and Decatur Division of the Louis-
ville and Nashville Railroad. To this point the greater portion of the
shipping is done, though some trade goes to Pulaski.

The character of stock raised in this county is of that nondescript
kind commonly called ''scrub." No attention scarcely has been paid
to the better breeds of cattle and sheep. This is shameful, when the
county affords ample facilities to the stock-raiser to make it a successful
and highly profitable business. There seems, however, to be some in-
quiry in regard to better stock, and the day will soon come when blood
will be at a premium, even in Lawrence. Sheep, as has been previously
remarked, can be reared in the county cheaply and safely. The ravages
from dogs are great, but they do not destroy so great a per cent, as
in some other counties.

The smaller industries receive a good share of attention, and there
has been exported a quantity of dried fruit for several years. The
raising of honey, making of butter, poultry raising, etc., each is
receiving consideration, and promise ere long to become of some mark-
etable importance. There are a great many fine orchards in the
county, and others are being planted yearly. More apple and peach
trees were shipped into the county last winter than has ever come into
it since its formation. One nursery alone in Nashville took orders, for
delivery in November last, for fruit trees amounting to over $300. All
of this fruit was of the best varieties grown, so there is hope in this
quarter. Grapes do well, exceedingly well. Several vineyards, one or
two somewhat extensive, have been planted by the German citizens,
and give promise of succeeding finely.

7^^ Resources of Tennessee.

The most valuable variety of timber is poplar, of v.-liich there is an
exceeding abundance; next in importance are the oak and ash. The
county is a mine of wealth in timber, which is pronounced sufficient for
centuries. The county needs population, immigration, and the citizens
are decidedly in favor of all immigration schemes, and will lend a help-
ing hand to all new citizens, or those seeking homes among them. The
minerals, the never failing streams, the vast plateaus of densely tim-
bered country, the salubrious climate, all tend to the ultimate wealth
and prosperity of the county, if they were only developed.

Jlinenils. Of the extent and variety of iron ore in the county, no
proper estimate can be made. Draw a straight line from Clarksville,
on the Cumberland River, to Florence, at the foot of Muscle Shoals,
and it will pass over or near the rich iron deposits of Lawrence. These
deposits are along the line indicated from the point it would strike
Lawrence until it leaves it. In more than a half dozen places where
it has been examined with a view of testing the extent of the deposits,
it is said by competent judges to be great, and would run a number of
furnaces of the largest capacity for many years. Many years ago there
were several forges in operation in the county, and the iron always
commanded a better price than any other with blacksmiths. The ore
is limonite, and it exists in all its forms in different banks. In the
McKey and Powell banks, on Shoal Creek, (now owned by Chancellor
Nixon) it exists in masses of all sizes and in layers of great thickness.
The Wright bank is of great richness, and of a similar character, but
the Wisdom bank, some two miles from the Wright bank, is composed
of layers from an inch to several inches in thickness, and was called in
the iron-making days of Lawrence, plate ore. It is of a dove color,
and was so called in contradistinction to the lump ore. The excava-
tions have not reached any great depth, but the workings have been
near the surface. The deeper the excavations the thicker the
stratum becomes. The Keliey, the Warren and Flipp's bank, as
well as many others, are of the same variety and extent. These banks
are so situated that any amount of timber can be obtained for coaling
purposes at reasonable figures. On this line, too, there are vast forests
of cliestnut oak that are exceedingly valuable for tanning purposes, and
little streams are numerous for the establishment of tanneries. A rail-
road on the line indicated from Clarksville to Florence would develop
the great Western Iron Belt, traversing the counties of Dickson, Hick-
man, Lewis and Liwrence, and if capitalists could be induced to put
into operation all the furnaces that could be successfully run on it, no

Middle Tennessee. 7^9

better paying road could be built if the iron freight alone was depended
on. This line would be the most direct route from the great North-
west to the States south. Besides the iron ore, on this same line there
are vast bluffs of variegated marble on Shoal Creek, near the McKey
bank, that is susceptible of the very highest polish, also inexhaustible
stores of hydraulic limestone. The contemplated Memphis and Knox-
ville R.iilro-id will pass in a short distance of some of the iron deposits,
and even the farthest bank mentioned will be nearer than the distance
the Wayne furnace now hauls its pig metal.

Shale. Under the bluffs of limestone alluded to is a thick layer of
shale laminated, the laminoe from the eighth of an inch to three or
four inches in thickness, and so impregnated with oil, that when hot it
burns very freely, much like stone coal. Blacksmiths have made a
good heat with it. ♦

Manufactories. We have stated that five cotton mills are in opera-
tion within as many miles of Lawrenceburg. The Crowson Mills, on
Crowson's Fork of Shoal Creek, OAvned and operated by W. H. Sykes
& Bro., run 576 spindles, 288 used in making cotton carpet warp, and
the balance in manufacturing thread. The machinery is run by
an American turbine of 35 horse power. This mill uses about 300
bales of cotton annually, keeps employed about 30 operatives, men,
women and children. This factory was built in 1856, of brick. Cres-
cent mills, on Simonton's Fork of Shoal Creek, one and a half miles
from Lawrenceburg, operated and owned by Bate & Simouton, were
erected in 1852; have 1,152 spindles and 32 looms for the making of
yarns and sheetings. They have also an American turbine of 40
horse power; consume about 400 bales of cotton yearly; keep em-
ployed about 70 hands. The building is a two and one-half story brick.
The Hope Mills, a frame building two and a half stories, on Shoal Creek,
one mile from town, run 768 spindles in the making of cotton yarns
alone ; use 300 bales during the year; have a breast wheel of 35 horse
power, and employ 30 hands. The Shoal Mills, owned and operated
by J. and W. Parkes, two and a half miles from Lawrenceburg, have
1,068 spindles employed in making sheetings, drills, &c. ; 60 hands are
employed ; have a turbine wheel of 35 horse power. A 25 horse pow-
er engine is also used. This factory has 30 looms, and uses 400
bales of cotton annually. Eagle Mills, brick, four and a half miles
from Lawrenceburg, on Shoal Creek, owned and operated by Hugh
McCrea &. Co., have 1,176 spindles in making cotton yarns, carpet-chain

790 Resources of Tennessee.

and cotton rope; turbine wlieel 45 horse power; use 50(* bales of cot-
ton yearly, and have about 40 hands. Laurel Hill, situated on Little
Buffalo, 16 miles west of Lawrenceburg, has 1,570 spindles, and about
600 bales of cotton are used in making sheetings and yarns; has 56
looms, and employs 80 hands. Marcclla Fulls, one and a half miles
north of Lawrenceburg, manufactures woolen fabrics exclusively. It
makes an excellent article of jeans, blankets, checks, &c.

The population of Lawrence in 1870 was 7,036; in 1860, 8,136; in
1850, 8,094; a decrease in the last decade of 1,100. The colored pop-
ulation, in 1860, was 1,184; in 1870, 625. This decrease of the col-
ored population occurs by emigration to towns and cities. To live in
town, or near it, is a mania with the colored race. Many of the white
race caught the cotton-raising mania at the close of the war, and moved
to Giles, Maury, and into Alabama^ for this purpose. The war, of
course, had something to do with the decrease. It is believed now,
though, that the immigration has swelled the population to at least
what it was in 1860. The County Judge reports the debt of the coun-
ty to be $3,500, and that the arrearages are sufficient to discharge it.
The schools are not numerous, nor are they well attended. The
value of the property is $1,265,580. There are no literary societies or
public libraries, except those belonging to the Sunday-schools. The
county is well supplied with flouring mills. It has no poor-house.
The few paupers that are the subjects of its care, are let out by con-
tract to benevolent and clever individuals. The old Columbia and
Clifton Central Turnpike passes through the county, but is used and
kept up by the county, as are all other roads. The dirt roads are kept
in reasonable repair.

The Secretary is under special obligations to Captain Davenport and
W. T. Nixon, Esq., for valuable assistance in the preparation of this ac-
count of Lawrence county — a county to which the immigrant is being
directed in a way to greatly benefit the State, and which takes the lead
in manufactories.

LEWIS COUNTY.

County Seat — Newburg.

Lewis countv, situated on the western side of the great Highland
Rim of Middle Tennessee, was organized into a separate county from

Middle Tennessee. • 79^

fractions of Maury, Lawrence, Wayne and Hickman, in the year 1844.
It was nimed in honor of *Merriwether Lewis, the companion of
Chirke in the famous ovcrhmd expedition to Oregon Territory in the
year 1803-6.

Ex,leni, Topography and Lands. The county of Lewis contains
about 353 square miles, and is bounded on the north by Hickman, eapt
by Maury, south by Lawrence and Wayne, and west by Perry. It is
perhaps the poorest county for agricultural purposes in Middle Ten-
nessee. Remote from market, without river or rail communication,
its surface composed of thin soils and high rolling ridges, it is not to
be wondered at that there are only 9,168 acres of improved lands re-
ported out of an area of 225,920 acres, or about one acre in twenty-
five. This county is one of extreme wildness. One may ride for
hours through open woods, or over rugged hills, without meeting with
a human being, or seeing any signs of civilization. The timber for
miles is untouched, the wild grasses upon the broad areas of flat lands
groNV^vith spontaneous luxuriance, and deer, foxe-, and other wild
animals and fowls roam the forest almost as fearlessly as when the red
man claimed the country as his own.

Topographically, Lewis county is a high, level plateau, higher
than the counties surrounding, and gashed by frequent streams^ that
take their rise in the county, and flow from it to nearly every point of
the compass. Near the streams, and beyond the immediate bottoms,
the land is ridgy, sterile in character and covered with a dense growth
of red oak, chestnut, and a tough variety of poplar, called, in the lan-
guage of the county, "blue poplar." The soil on these ridges is
fiint^N-, oftentimes underlaid with slate, and is almost totally deficient in
fertilizing matter. Upon these rolling lands from three to four barrels
of corn, five to six bushels of wheat, and ten to fifteen bushels of pea-

*In the very center of the present county, on the line of the old Nat?hez Trace, while on a
journey from the Territory of Louisiana, of which he was Governor, Merriwether Lewis, on
the nth day of October, 1809, committed suicide, being at the time a little over 35 years of age,
On f.iis very spot he was buried, and the Lj:j:islaturo of Tennessee, in ISiS. had a suitable monu-
ment ere;-tid t) his memory. This monument, with a pedestal composed of the hard, siliceous
roclisof this region, and a shaft of limestone in imitation of a giant of the forest, untimely
broken, is typical of the hard, rough life, and premature death of a man of whom Jefferson said :
" His courage was undaunted, his firmness and perseverance yielded to nothing but im])ossibili-
tics: a rigid dii:iplinarian, yet tender .as a father,to those committed to his charge; honest, dis-
interested, liberal, with a sound understanding and a scrupulous fidelity to truth." In the
midst of dense woods, several miles from any human h.abitition, on the crest of a bold, broad
ridge, with deep gorges running toward the north-east and west, and near the commencement of
the flat lands, this monument stands, seldom visited, and almost forgotten by the present gener-
ation of men. Its entire hight is about 23 fjot, and it is surrounded by an iron fence in a stato
of great dilapidation, many of the rods having been taken away.

792 Resources of Tennessee.

nuts, are considered a good crop. This quality of land is in no de-
mand, and thousands of acres may be bought at prices varying from
fifty cents to two dollars per acre — the latter for mineral lands, of
which more hereafter. A mile or two out from the streams the
lands become flat and open. There is a belt of such land, three
miles wide, running diagonally through the county from south-east to
north-west. This strip is unbroken, and is covered, for the most
part, with scraggy blackjacks and barren grass, which last furnishes
good grazing from April to November. The soil upon these flat lands
is thin, and to some degree porous and leachy. Much of it could
never be enriched, especially that portion of the flat lands that has a
bluish subsoil with yellowish gravel. Where the color of the subsoil
is red and the clay tenacious, experience has demonstated that it may
be converted into soils of more than average fertility by keeping the
fires from the woods, thereby allowing the undergrowth to shoot up
and shade the lands, and permitting the leaves and decayed timber to
be transformed into vegetable mold. In spite of the damage d(^ne to
the timber and the destruction to the mast, many persons living in the
county, having inherited the pernicious practice from their fathers, still
persist in firing the woods every fall. These fires sweep with resist-
less fury, destroying or damaging timber, burning up enclosures and
spreading terror in their course. It is believed by many that the ex-
cellent highway pasturage can only be preserved by these annual burn-
ings, but it is a question Avhether the pasturage would pay for the dam-
age done in other particulars. These "barren" or pasture lands are
worth from one to two dollars per acre, according to location. There
are but three varieties of soil in the county — the alluvial, the cherty
on rolling lands, and the yellow in the "barrens." The best are found
in the alluvial bottoms — almost the only lands in the county that are
cultivated, and indeed all that will repay the labors of the husband-
man. The bottom lands are as productive as the bottom lands in any
part of the State, Dark in color, they are warmed by the summer's
heat into a marvellous fruitfulnesss. Corn crops averaging sixty to
eighty bushels per acre are not uncommon. Wheat yields less abund-
antly, owing to the excessive growth of straw, which causes it to bed
while immature. The usual average of hay is two tons; peanuts from
fifty to seventy-five bushels; oats from twenty-five to thirty bushels.
The latter is not usually threshed, but fed in the sheaf. Some cotton
is planted in these bottom lands, but they are not adapted to the growth
of that great staple. The stalk grows too late in the season — grows

Middle Tennessee. 793

too rank for the climate, and many of the bolls are caught by the frost
in an immature state.

These bottom lands command a ready sale at high prices. The
usual price is forty dollars per acre for the best improved lowland farms,
but it must be remembered that in all sales of such farms, timber
land enough on the hills is gratuituouoly given to support the farm
and keep it fenced. It may seem curious that there should be a ready
sale for these bottom lands in a county where land is so abundant.
But it must be remembered that nearly all the farms lie upon water
courses. These farms, for the most part, are worked by an industrious,
frugal population who own them, and are always anxious to extend
their boundaries by investing their earnings in valuable lands that ad-
join them. Incredible as it may seem, good bottom lands are in bet-
ter demand in Lewis county, and at better prices, remote as it is from
all facilities for transportation, than in many of the richer counties
lying convenient to river and railroad communication. Though desti-
tute of these facilities, the farmers have a good market for their sur-
plus corn at Napier Furnace, and at some of the cotton factories in
the adjoining county of Lawrence. A good farmer on a good bottom
farm in Lewis county, has some peculiar advantages afforded him.
Untempted by the demands of fashionable life, his wife and daughters
usually manufacture all the goods consumed by the household, the
wool for which he raises without expense ; for the hardy breed of sheep
grown in the county will subsist the entire year upon the wild grasses
that grow upon the rolling hills and level plains, and upon the mosses
and ferns that fringe the streams and cover the marshy spots. His
hogs eat but little corn. The acorns and chestnuts that cover the sur-
face of the earth like a shower of hailstones, afford ample sustenance ;
the sweet-tasted ones being eaten throughout the winter, and the bitter
ones after they have been sweetened by the process of germination.
The extensive highland pasturage enables him to rear his stock of
cattle at a nominal expense, so that almost his entire crop of corn, hay
and oats, as well as his peanuts, cotton and tobacco can be converted
into money.

Compared with Lewis, the poorest county in Middle Tennessee?
Maury, the most fertile, has twenty times as many acres of improved
lands, yet it does not raise twenty times the quantity of corn, oats,
wool or cattle ; and of the quantity raised, Maury requires at least
one-third more for home consumption. So that it appears that al-

794 Resources of Tennessee.

though the farmers of Lewis labor under many disadvantages, they are
really more prosperous in proportion to the amount invested than tlio
farmers in the richest county of Middle Tennessee. And this pros-
perity shows itself in the better condition of their farms, in their abil-
ity to pay for what they buy, and in the general contentment of the
farmers, and above all, in the fact that good farming lands are one-
third higher than before the war. There is no emigration from the
county, and but little immigration to it, though hard working, indus-
trious men would find it a field tempting in many respects. They
would be heartily welcomed, and in fruit-growing, for which the up-
lands are well adapted, would probably find a new industry that would
be remunerative, pleasant and healthful.

i'ru'xt. The high elevation of the county almost assures a bountiful
fruit crop, and it is a rare thing for a peach orchard to fail that is
planted upon the ridge lands. These lands, as before mentioned, are
sterile, but all kinds of fruit suited to the latitude, from the apple to
the blackberry, grow well on them. Unsuited for corn, wheat, oats,
peanuts or cotton, they may be made profitable in orcliards, and they
also grow a fine, silky quality of tobacco, that is sought after for man-
ufacturing ])urposes. Yet it would be unwise for any one to settle on
either the ridge lands, or barren or flat lands, for the purpose of gen-
eral farming. Many have tried it, and the deserted old fields, fenceless
and houseless, show how cruelly they have been deceived. Yet, in all
these deserted places, apple and peach trees, vigorous in spite of deser-
tion, fully attest the value of the land for the growing of fruits.

/S'/oc/c and Labor. Relying, as the farmers do, upon the highway
pasturage, and being subject to frequent losses of stock by straying,
they have never thought it profitable to introduce improved breeds of
hogs, sheep or cattle. Of mules and horses, not more are raised than
will meet the demands of the county, but many beef cattle are fattened
and driven to Nashville and to other points. Dogs are very destructive
of shecj), and the number in the county has been lessened one-third
since the war, from this cause alone. There is about one sheep for each
per.-on in the county, which is aliout three times the average of the
State. Under the cliargc of a sho])herd, thousands of sheep could be
subsisted upon the wild grasses at an almost nominal sum, and a profit
could be realized from the sale of wool and mutton that would satisfy
the most unreasonable. As an evidence that sheep can be raised witii-
out expense to their owners, it is enough to say that hundreds may

Middle Tejinessee. 795

l)Ought at $1.50 and ^2 per head. They are never seen, except at
hearing time, when tlicyare driven up, sheared, and the himbs marked.
Vs the farms are cultivated mainly by their owners and families, and
s there are but few colored persons in the county, (the census for 1870
civing only 188 out of a population of nearly 2,000,) there is little
k![) hired for farm work. Good farm laborers are worth from %V1 to
?15 per month and board, but as the furnace in the county can pay
lom $26 to $40 for good hands, it is a difficult matter to get labor
ipon the farm, however much it might be desired.

Streams. Lewis county is well watered, and has an abundance of
yood water-power for milling purposes, though there is scarcely a cood
nill in the county. Swan Creek, one of the tributaries of Duck
River, rises in the county, flows near the eastern boundary, and emp-
;ies into Duck River four miles above Centerville. This stream is
rotally unfit to be used as a w^ater-power, on account of its banks.
These are low and gravelly, and are constantly changing. Large beds
of loosened gravel and sand, covering a space from one to two hundred
yards wide, are found on one side or the other of the running stream,
and during a freshet these beds of gravel are washed from place to
place, destroying fords, changing the channel of the stream and some-
times covering acres of rich bottom lands. Little Swan rises near the
center of the county, and enters Swan one mile above Palestine, a vil-
laLic that is almost as deserted as some of the villages in the country
from which it is named. This creek has all the characteristics of Big
Swan, and is almost useless for milling purposes. Indian Creek, also
a tributary of Swan Creek, rises six miles west of Palestine, flows west,
and enters into the Swan one-half mile north of Palestine. This
stream has one mill built upon it. Cane Creek rises within the limits
of the county, runs north-west and empties into Buffalo, in Perry
county, passing through a portion of Hickman. This stream has some
fine mill sites upon it. Trace Creek has its source in the western ])art
of the county, runs in a southerly direction, and empties into Buffalo
Creek three miles above Ashland, in AVayne county. It fui'nishes val-
uable water privileges. Rock House Creek rises in the western part
of the county, runs south, and enters Buffalo Creek near the mouth of
Trace Creek. It has some good mill sites. Grinder's Creek, noted
for its wide, fertile l)ottoms, is a tributary of Buffalo Creek, and rises
near the center of the county. Big Buffalo Creek, taking its rise in
Lewis and Ijawrenre, runs first west, then makes a right angle, pass-
es through a portion of Lewis, and empties into Duck River, in

7g6 Resouj'ces of Tenncsee.

Humphreys county. It is an excellent water-power, the banks being
composed of limestone, siliceous shale and slate. Little BufiTulo Creek,
a tributary of the latter, resembles it in the character of its banks, and
is remarkable as having no bottom lands lying on it, the ridges of the
adjacent country running down and terminating on the stream inblulfs.
It is one of the best water-powers in the State. Brush Creek heads
in Lawrence county, and runs through the southern part of Lewis
county, in a direction nearly north, and enters into Little Buflfalo
Creek about one mile above the confluence of the latter and Big Buf-
falo creeks. On this stream a new furnace is in process of erection,
and when completed will have a capacity of making twelve tons of pig
iron per day. Chief's Creek, a tributary of Little Buffalo Creek, rises
in Liwrcnce, and runs west through the southern borders of the
county. This stream has a constant supply of water, rapid fall, good
banks, affording fine sites for factories. It is one of the best water-
powers in the State, admirably suited for driving the machinery of cot-
ton and woolen mills, as well as for furnaces. Upon this stream are j
built Napier's Furnace, a flouring and saw-mill, and, before the war, J
there was in operation, upon its banks, a forge. From the bluffs that i
border it, the flux is obtained for the furnace, and much good building
rock, in layers of suitable width, is found. Pond, a tributary of Big
Buffalo Creek, takes its rise near Newburg, the county seat of Lewis,
runs in a south-westerly direction, and has two mills erected on it. Itl
is a good water-power, rapid in its fall, and has good, substantial banks.
West Fork of Bigby rises in the county, near the eastern limit, and
flows north, emptying into Big Bigfey. It is also a good water-power.
Cathey's Creek rises in the north-eastern portion of the county, runs
north-east, and empties into Duck River. This stream is subject to
great overflows, which sweep everything in its course, but for this it
would be a most excellent water-power. Little Grinder's, a tributary
of Big Swan, rises near Newburg, and runs north. It is also one of the
best water-powers in the county, and has fine banks and good sites for
mills and factories. It is thus seen that Lewis county has fifteen
streams, either rising in the county or passing through it, upon all of
which^ except three, may be found good factory and mill sites. It
caniu)t be doubted that in the future much of this water-})ower will be
utililizcd, and that the present quietness of their banks will be broken
by the whir of the spindle, the clanking of the loom and the roar of
the furnace.

Iron Interests. As yet there is but one furnace in the county, al-

Middle Tennessee. 797

loun'li there is ore enongli aiul timber ciiongli, according to the state-
K'lit of a gentleman familiar with the mineral resources of the county,
to run a hundred furnaces a hundred years." Indeed, in the southern
art of the county the top of nearly every ridge is a rich bed of limo-
ite iron ore, which will yield from the furnace from forty-five tofifty-
ve per cent, of pure iron. At least two-thirds of the lands in the
ounty is charged with iron ore. This ore is found in banks more or
?ss extensive, and is confined to the rolling lands. The rocks under-
ving this whole region, ai; a greater or less depth, are limestone, charged
.ith flinty masses and fine siliceous and clayey impurities. This bed
f siliceous debris is of varying thickness, from a few feet to several
.lundred, and forms the matrix of the iron ore. The banks differ in
ixtent, sometimes covering but a small space of an acre or two, auain
iovering square miles. The depth to which the ore extends is also
variable. Around Napier's Furnace, (cold blast) which is situated on
Chief's Creek, nine miles south of the county seat, ore has been dug at
I depth of twenty-five feet, without any diminution in the quality or
juantity. From the best banks about one-fourth of the material re-
lieved is iron ore. Between Allen's Creek and Brush Creek the rich-
st ores are found, and these lands may be bought at $2 per acre. Na-
pier's Furnace, the only one now in operation in Lewis county, was first
rccted in 1834. It was leased in 1873 by Ward, Rains & Co., and
put into operation on the 15th of September. During the remainder
Df the year it made about nine tons of pig metal per day, at a cost of
about §24 per ton, but this cost, the superintendent thinks, may be re-
duced to $18 by having a sufficient amount of stock on hand to run
for ten months. Wood choppers are paid from sixty to seventy-five
cents per cord, and day laborers $1.50 per day, they feeding themselves.
About 200 bushels of charcoal is consumed in making a ton of iron.

The country in the iron region abounds in fine timber, water-power,
and though hilly, is sufficiently level for transportation. It is esti-
mated that a furnace with a capacity of ten tons per day can run on
the timber within a radius of three miles for thirty years. The great-
est drawback to the iron interests of Lewis county is the want of trans-
portation. It now costs $7 per ton to deliver it on the railroad at
Columbia, the nearest point, a distance of thirty-three miles. When
the contemplated railroad from Colund)ia through Mt. Pleasant, on
through Lewis and Wayne to Cliftou, is completed, it will o])en uj) oue
oi the finest iron regions in the State. The quality of iron manufac-

79S Resoiti'ces of Tennessee.

turcd from these ores with clmrcool is of a character remarkable for it?
toii-liness, and is sought after by manuflicturers of boiler plate and car
wheels.

Towns, Newbnrg-, the county seat of Lewis county, is twenty-eight
mdes west of Cohimbin, and is the only post-office in the county. ^It
is almost a deserted village, no business of consequence having been
done there since the war. At one time the village contained three
stores, but only one establishment is now carried on, which retails|
whisky and a few domtvstic goods. Palestine is another deserted vil-i
lage, situated five miles north of Newburg. It was once -a place of I
some business, but the houses are now deserted. A church and a grave-
yard are the most prominent features of the spot.

General Observations. The numerous streams in Lewis county fur-
nish fine sport for the fisherman. The most common varieties are "the
black ])erch, trout, salmon and red horse." Many fish dams are built
upon the streams, and hundreds of fish are taken after a hard rain.
The woods are stocked with deer, turkeys, foxes, opossums, ground,
hogs, wolves, wild cats, squirrels and rabbits. Patridges are ])lentiful,
and are rarely disturbed by hunters. Deer are )iroteete(l by law from
from the 1st of March to the 1st of September. Lewis comity, as might
be expected, has but few schools, and even a system of common scho'ols
can do but little good in a population so sparse. Twelve free sciiools
Avere in operation for a portion of the year 1873, but as the amount of
funds coming to the county is small they were only kept up two or
three months. InconcltHion, it may be said of this county, that despite
its remoteness from market, its future is bright with splendid possibili-
ties. The very sterility of the soil may lead its citizens to direct their
attention to their immense iron deposits, and to the utilizing of the
great water-power that is found in every part of the county. Its only
hope for wealth is in manufacturing. Lying contiguous to the cotton
region, abundantly supplied with timber, with a high, dry and health-
ful climate, ai;d where chea]) homes may be had for ()|)eratives, every
condition, except facilities for transportation, exists ior making it a
successful manufacturing region.

Middle Tennessee. 799

LINCOLN COUNTY.

County Seat — Fayetteville.

This county was established by an act of the Legislature in 1809,
and organized the following year. It is bounded on the north by
Marshall, Bedford and Moore, on the east by Moore and Franklin, on
the south by the State of Alabama, and on the west by Giles and Mar-
shall counties. It lies almost wholly within the great Central Basin
of Middle Tennessee, and contains about 520 square miles, or 332,800
acres. It is divided into twenty-five civil districts. The county is
cut into nearly two equal parts by Elk River, which flows from east to
west. The streams which enter this river from the north, beginning in
the west, are Bradshaw Creek, Swan Creek, Cane Creek, Norris Creek,
Mulberry Creek, Roundtree's Creek, Tucker's Creek and Farris' Creek.
Tliese tributaries of the Elk River all flow approximately south. The
tributaries of the Elk River from the south side, beginning on the east,
are Shelton's Creek, Duke's Creek, Stewart's Creek, Wells' Creek,
Cold Water Creek and Kelley's Creek. Between Elk River and the
Alabama line is a belt of high, level land, which is the water-shed be-
tween Elk River and the Tennessee. Flint River, with its numerous
feeders, rises on this high land and flows south into the Tennessee River,
as also does Piney. The surface of the county is greatly diversified.
On the north runs Elk Ridge, which divides the waters of Elk and
Duck rivers. This ridge sends out numerous spurs, which form the
elevated lands between the streams on the north side of Elk River.
On the south side, high, flat-topped, rolling hills are met with until
the flat lands begin, which latter extend to the Alabama line.

Climcde and Geology. The climate of Lincoln county is mild and
salubrious. An ice season seldom occurs, and the summer heat rarely
reaches 100° Fahrenheit. Epidemics are almost unknown in the
county. The average elevation being about 500 feet above the level of
the sea, the air is comparatively free from miasmatic influences. The
average temperature for winter is about 42° ; spring, 61°; summer, 78° ;
autumn, Gl°. The average for the year is 60°. The greatest range for
any one month does not exceed 40°. The geological situation of the
county is about equally divided between the Siliceous Group of the
Lower Carboniferous formation and the Nashville Group of flie Lower
Silurian. On the line of railroad may be seen large quantities of Black

8oo Resources of Tennessee. ■

Shale, which is so impregnated with petroleum or bitumen that it will
sustain for months a fire when kindled on it. This Black Shale is also
rich in sulphuret of iron, by the decomposition of which copperas and
alum are formed. It easily disintegrates upon exposure, and is value-
less except for the manufacture of the salts mentioned. Many of the
limestone rocks are but aggregations of fossil remains.

Ifarble. There is in the county a very fair article of marble. A
few miles east of Fayetteville is a quarry of reddish, variegated marble,
such as is used in making the railing to the main stairway in the Capi-
tol, and for making the columns in the Senate chamber, and usually
denominated East Tennessee marble. Some specimens are superior to
that used in the Capitol in fineness and colors. It is sometimes injured
by particles of iron pyrites.

Lands, Timber and Crops. The lands, with the exception of a strip
lying on the Alabama line, about eight miles wide, and containing
about one-third of the county, are very fertile. This is a strip of high
plateau, and is exceedingly level, so much so that it is not well
drained. The subsoil is a pale, yellowish clay, porous and leachy, ex-
cept in swamps, where the clay is bluish, and therefore scarcely suscep-
tible of improvement. A few spots, with good red clay subsoil, are
found, and where these occur the lands are rated higher, and ,'Etre much
more productive. This portion of Lincoln county is of the same char-
acter as the flat lands in Lewis county, to which the reader is referred.
No limestone rock is seen on this plateau and the wild growth in-
dicates poverty. Much of it is, however, well timbered — oak, hick-
ory, chestnut, blackjack, sour wood. Chestnut oak and poplar consti-
tute the })rincipal timber trees. The undergrowth is huckleberry
bushes, green briers, and occasional patches of alder bushes.

Of the timber on these Highlands, chestnut is considered the most
valuable, and great quantities of it are made into rails and sent to the
other portions of the county. A good chestnut fence will, it is said, last
forty years with little repair. The rails, delivered in Fayetteville, sell
for three dollars per hundred, and there is a growing demand for them
from the more fertile sections of the county. This land can be bought
for a small price, ranging from three to ten dollars per acre. It is
sparsely settled, and is regarded as of but little value, except for fruit
trees and the timber.

The remaind(!r of the county is of the most fertile character. Spa-
cious valleys, alternating with hills and ridges, are the leading "features

Middle Tennessee. 80 1

of this portion of the county. Many knolls, near Elk river, are up-
raised alluvium, as is shown by the pebbles and other alluvial indica-
tions. Upon some of the hills, the loose limestone lies in such abund-
ance as to preclude the possibility of culture. Upon these, however,
blue-grass grows with great luxuriance, and the sunny slopes will fur-
nish ample grazing during the entire winter for sheep and cows. The
timber consists of linn, buckeye, hickory, poplar, box elder, black
Avalnut, wild cherry, black locust, chestnut, beech, gum, dogwood, iron
wood, hornbeam, sugar tree, hackberry, cedar in limited quantities, and
elm. Chestnut oaks grow very large on Elk Ridge. An enterprising
citizen, a few years since, planted a glady spot on his farm in black
locust, which at present forms a splendid grove of that valuable tim-
ber. He thinks it is more valuable to him even than his rich bottom
lands ; for, in addition to the value of the wood, he has a good stand
of blue-grass upon it, upon which subsists a large flock of goats during
the entire year.

The valleys of Elk River and Cane Creek will average, probably,
a mile in width, and the latter is probably fifteen miles in length. All
the land north of Elk River was once covered with cane thirty feet
high, and even now farmers in plowing to a great depth turn up masses
of cane roots. The soil is as rich as any in the State, and it is not un-
usual to gather 1,000 pounds of seed cotton to the acre; 2,000 pounds
have been raised. On East and West Mulberry, the lands are worth
from ten to fifty dollars per acre, the former for ridge lands, and this
may be considered a fair average price for the limestone soils of the
county. The flat lands heretofore spoken of are much cheaper. The
very best of them may be bought for ten dollars per acre, while large
(juantities of it will not bring in the market three dollars per acre.

The corn crops of Lincoln are generally very fine. It is questiona-
ble whether any other county in the State can make a better average
in this great staple than Lincoln. Wheat, also, when properly put in,
makes very satisfactory returns. Timothy grows with great luxuriance
upon the moist bottoms, but the sun sometime kills it out very badly
after the mowing season. But for this it would probably be a staple
crop. Millet of every variety yields abundantly. The heaviest millet
crops we have seen harvested in the State, grew in Lincoln. Cotton,
however, is the great crop, and almost every thing in the better parts
of the county is sacrificed to this. But for this Lincoln county would,
undoubtedly, become famous for
51

So2 Resources of Tennessee.

Stock-raising. Every tiling; marks this county as well adapted to
the rearing of stock. The blue-grass that clothes the slopes of the
hills, the well watered valleys, and the ease with which forage can be
grown, as well as the abundant yield of the corn crop, show how easily
and how cheaply stock of the best quality could be grown. There is
an inclination among some of the best farmers to abandon the growing
of cotton and substitute therefor, the raising of stock. The financial
embarrassments under which the farmers labored immediately subse-
quent to the war, compelled many of them to continue the cultivation
of cotton, although their judgments pointed to stock-raising as the
most pleasant, and in time, the most remunerative. A great deal of
fine soil has been sterilized by the cultivation of cotton, but it is pleas-
ing to note that a manifest improvement is now going on. The farmers
are sowing more clover, stopping washes, putting up stone fences, and in-
creasing the quality and quantity of their stock. Some very fine
short-horns have been imported, and some of the finest sheep to be
found in the State are in Lincoln. The native breeds of cattle are
hardy, and are usually good milkers. These are being crossed on
the Short-horns and Alderney, and a high order of graded cattle will
soon be found upon nearly every farm.

The Farmers and Farms. The farmers, as a class, are usually well-
informed and industrious. There is, probably, a greater number of
renters in Lincoln county than in any county in the Central Basin.
The farms will probably average from twenty to fifty acres of arable
land. The census returns show 3,393 farms, of which 1,154, or over
one-third, were between twenty and fifty acres. Since 1870 a consid-
erable portion of the county has been cut off, and is now embraced in
the new county of Moore. The farm houses and improv^ements are
greatly inferior to those of Maury, Davidson, Williamson, Rutherford,
or Bedford, but the percentage of profits is probably greater. Laud
rents usually higher, and there is generally an active demand for lands
to be rented. But little is sold however. As has been before re-
marked, the lands arc usually fertile, but the exhaustive process
through which some of them have passed, has impaired their fertility
to such an extent that no crop can be grown profitably upon them.
We observe many hill-sides so washed as to be permanently ruined.
The limestone lies very near the surface in Lincoln county, and when
by injudicious tillage the soil is washed down to the underlying rock,
the land cannot be reclaimed, exccj)t at a cost of three or four times
its value. Deep plowing and subsoiliug are lessons that the farmers of

Middle Te?tnessee. 803

Lincoln will have to learn. Sliallow plowing is the direct road to
poverty and exhaustion. Hill-side plows should be used, and team
enough employed to plow to the depth of eight or ten inches, and be-
hind them, at least once in three or four years, should be run a sub-
soiler. The large quantity of limestone rocks that are lying upon the
surface should be broken into small pieces, and spread upon the sur-
face. It will be found highly beneficial to the land. This has been
tried in Bedford with marked efPect upon worn soils. Let the farmers
of that rich old county — rich in all the elements of wealth — rich in
climate, in soil, in society, in history — see to it that their lands are
preserved by deep plowing, subsoiling and clovering. Plowing with
one horse upon rolling land is a suicidal policy. The very greatness
of the county is involved in it. Their very hill-sides will grow power,
wealth and greatness for them if they are preserved. Let them sow
clover and enrich their lands. Let intelligence, and not custom, gov-
ern. And then, with a proper diversification of crops and a judicious
and far-sighted policy in the cultivation of their lands, new industries
will spring up. Their streams, which are flowing wath all their power
to the gulf, will, in time, be harnessed and made to work up their pro-
ducts, so as to quadruple their value. Not a single pound of cotton
should ever be exported from Lincoln. Just enough should be raised
to supply the manufacturing establishments of the county, and no
more. Just that much will be profitable. The greatest drawback to
manufacturing in the county is the indisposition of large landholders
to sell their lands. A dense population, jierhaps, is not desir-
able, but a population sufficient to carry on every branch of human
industry, for which there are natural facilities, should certainly be en-
couraged. Every foot of land that should be cultivated, and is not,
for want of laborers, is so much loss to the owners, to the county and
to the State. Every stream that can turn a manufacturing establish-
ment profitably, and is Avastiug its power for want of labor, is so much
loss. One reason why so many farms are found with w'hole fields
washed into gullies, and irredeemably sterilized, is that the cultivators
of them have generally no permanent interest in the soil. The rem-
edy lies alone with the landholders — either long leases or sales.

Fruit -(jmirhuj. While the low bottoms are not well adapted to the
growth ol' fruit on account of its liability to be killed by late frosts in
spring, the flat lands and hilly regions grow almost every variety of
fruit to be found in the State, to great perfection. The farmers are
planting out many new orchards, and special attention has, within the

8o4 Resottrces of Tennes.^rc.

past few years, been directed to the culture of the grape. The admi-
rable drainage and broken surface of the country around Fayetteville,
together with the abundance of wild grape-vines, show a peculiar fit-
ness in the soil for the growth of this fruit. A gentleman living in
Favetteville, of foreign descent, planted, a few years since, one hund-
red and ten vines. They were of the Concord, Catawba, Delaware
and Herbemont's Madeira — the last a native of Georgia. Nine out of
ten bore well, and the third year after planting them he made one
hundred and ten gallons of wine, and this from a quarter of an acre.
He thinks it can be made the most profitable crop in the country, and
recently he has purchased land upon one of the many slopes around
Fayetteville, and intends going largely into the cultivation of the vine.
The Concord is his preference for a wine grape. It is hardy, a gener-
ous bearer, and suited to the climate.

The Water-poicer, while not the best in the State, is fully equal to
all the present, and probable future, demands of the county. Elk
River is not an ungovernable stream, and has rarely, if ever, been de-
structive to mills or dams, and for every distance of five miles good
sites for manufactories may be found. The banks are limestone, gen-
erally, and material is abundant for the construction of durable dams,
at a small cost. The fall of the river is good, the supply of water
constant, and many necks of peninsulas may be tunneled so as to se-
cure a very rapid flow of water. Several good flouring mills are on
the river; one near Fayetteville that manufactures a superior article of
flour.

History of Organization, Towns and Public Improvements. In the or-
ganization of the county, in 1810, Oliver Williams, of Williamson
county, qualified the Justices of the Peace, and Thomas H. Benton,
then a young man of twenty-eight, who had removed, with his mother,
to Tennessee from North Carolina, acted as Clerk, 'pro tern. At this
meeting, Brice M. Garner was elected County Court Clerk, and entered
upon the duties of his office. Steps were immediately taken to build
a temple of justice, and Micajah and William McElroy, father and son,
became the contractors. Prior to 1809 District Courts were held, but
during that year a law was enacted by the Legislature establishing our
j^resent system of Circuit Courts. Thomas Stewart was elected Judge
of the Circuit Court of the circuit including Iviucoln, upon the organi-
zation of the county, and James Bright ap])ointcd Clerk. The first
courts were held iu u house two miles west of the present county seat,
then owned by a man named Greer. Ezekicl Norris, who removed

Middle Tennessee. 805

irom Montgomery county about the year 1805, bought two sections of
land, containing 1,280 acres, lying at the junction of Norris' Creek
with Elk River, that had been taken up in the year 1787, under an
old North Carolina warrant. He having heard that Greer had agreed
to donate a small quantity of land for the county seat, met the com-
missioner and proposed to give one hundred acres where the present
town of Fayetteville stands, if the commissioner ^vould build the
court-house upon it. This he readily agreed to do, and accepted
Norris' proposal, but Norris, having learned in the meanwhile that he
had been misinformed as to Greer, afterwards demanded compensation
for the hundred acres, and was allowed by the commissioner $700.
This was then divided into lots and sold, and the money appropriated
to county buildings. And thus began the pleasant town of

Fayetteville, which stands on a considerable elevation, and commands
a fine view of the surrounding country. The scenery is decidedly pic-
turesque; the spurs of Elk Ridge and Pea Ridge rise in solemn gi;an-
deur like the parapets of the Titans. The intervenient valleys, through
which flow Elk River and Norris' Creek, present a lovely country.
The luxuriant fields of wheat and grass, the stately residences peeping
out from a mass of dense foliage, the snug cottages embowei*ed in ever-
greens, and winding roads, skirted with white-washed fences, present
such a variety to the eye that it never wearies. The to\vn has a popu-
lation of 1,800, and is a place of considerable trade. Among other
things, it has seven dry goods stores, six wholesale grocery stores,
three drug stores, one boot, shoe and hat store, six retail liquor estab-
lishments, two saddler shops, three tailor shops, fi^ve blacksmitli shops,
two cabinet shops, one tin shop, two hardware stores, four carpenter
shops, one carriage and wagon shop, one seed and implement
store, two printing offices, at which are printed the Fayetteville
Press, and the Fayetteville Observer, two livery stables, two sil-
versmith sho})s, one gallery of art, one hotel, four boarding
houses, two barber shops, three church buildings for white, and
two for colored, one tan-yard, four shoe shops, one butcher, five doc-
tors, two dentists, one gunsmith, four schools and twenty-six lawyers.
Besides Fayetteville, there are several other flourishing towns in the
county : MoHno, on McCullough's Creek, Mulberry, seven ami a half
miles north-east of Fayetteville, Oak PTill, on Norris' Creek, Peters-
burg, on Cane Creek, and Oregon, are all thriving villages. Tlie last
mentioned has near it a cotton factory, which manufactures heavy do-
mestics. It runs about 400 sjMudles, employs 30 hands, and has 16

So6 Resources of Tennessee.

looms in operation. Besides these villages, another has recently been
built in the southern part of the county, on the flat lands, by immi-
grants from Ohio, Indiana and Illinois. It is called Lincoln, and is a
place of considerable activity. Nothing, probably, shows more public
spirit among the people of Lincoln than the attention they have paid to

Piihlic, Imjiroveinents. There are four turnpike roads centering in
Fayetteville, and another is in process of construction. One of these
roads crosses the Elk River, near town, by one of the most substan-
tial stone bridges in the State. This bridge was built in 1861, by
Patrick Flannery and John Markham, of limestone rock obtained
from a quarry near by. It is composed of six elliptical arches, four of
them sixty feet from center to center, one forty-five feet, and one thirty
feet, making the total length of the bridge 315 feet. The piers are in
Ashler masonry. The roadway is fifteen feet wide, flanked by stone
walls three feet in height and two in width. The two arches on the
east end of the bridge are not built in the water, but on the bottom
land, and are lower than the others, so there is a gradual declination
from the end of the fourth arch of about 12° to the southern terminus
of the bridge. This is considered the only defect in the bridge, as the
approach of a wagon cannot be seen from either end, and the roadway
is scarcely wi^le enough for wagons to pass. Its cost was about
$40,000.

Railroads. There is but one railroad in the county, and that runs
from Decherd, in Franklin county, where it branches off from the
Nashville and Chattanooga Railroad, passing by Winchester, the county
seat of Franklin, in a southerly direction, until it reaches a point near
the Alabama line, where it turns in a north-westerly direction to Fay-
etteville. This road is a great convenience to the people of Lincoln.
IJefore its construction the farmers were compelled to ship their cotton
and other produce down the Elk River in flatboats to the Tennessee
River, or carry it in wagons to the Chattanooga road.

Schools. In regard to the sentiment of the county as to public schools,,
it is believed to be more favorable now than it was a few years back.
There is, however, a class of influential citizens who have always
opposed their establishment, and have regarded all efforts in that direc-
tion with disfavor.

7Vic Antiquitie.'i of the county are numerous and interesting. Be-
tween the Stone Bridge and l^^iyetteville, a little to the right of the
turnpike leading into town, are to be seen the remains of an ancient

Middle Ten?iessee. 807

fortification extending in a semi-elliptical form, some 500 yards along
the banks of Elk River. The line of fortifications is frequently broken
by bastions. No tradition has come down to this age as to the work —
the Indians themselves had no tradition respecting it. There is but
one possible conjecture in regard to it. Bastions were probably un-
known among the nations of Europe previous to 1527. After that
date they came into frequent use. Now Hernando de Soto, a Spanish
officer, who studied at one of the universities, and kept himself in-
formed in all military inventions, was, doubtless, acquainted with the
bastion as a means of defense. It is recorded, that in the winter of
1540, he encamped in the northern part of the State of Mississippi,
through the winter, in one of the Indian villages. Northern Alabama
was called Mississippi less than a century ago. Now it is altogether
probable that the place of his encampment was in the southern part of
Tennessee. This conjecture is strengthened by the fact that remains
of a large Indian village are found near Fayetteville. It is further
strengthened by the discovery of an antique coin, a few years ago,
near this spot, bearing the image and superscription of tlie' Csesars. Put>-
ting all these circumstances together, it is highly probable that Her-
nando de Soto passed the winter of 1540-41 on the site of the present
town of Fayetteville.

Statistics. Lincoln county contained in 1870, a population of 28,050
persons. In 1860 the population was 22,828. Number of dwellings
in 1870, 5,080; number of families, 5,069; w'hite population, 22,097;
free colored, 5,953. In 1860 the white population was 15,926; col-
ored 6,902. Tills shows that during the decade ending June 1, 1870,
the white population increased 6,171, while the colored decreased 949.
The number reported in 1870, that could not read, was 6,526, that
could not write, 9,064, or nearly one-third of the whole population.
The assessed value of lands in 1873, was $4,087,394; 317,079 acres
were reported, which is about |12.90 per acre. The total amount of
taxable property is valued at $5,178,933; number polls, 3,134 ; num-
ber voters in 1871, 4,983, of whom 778 were colored.

Lincoln was, in 1870, a " banner county " in more respects than one.
For that year it produced a greater number of pounds of wool, and
of honey, had a larger number of sheep, and had more capital in live
stock than any other county in the State. It was, moreover, second
only in quantity of rye produced, pounds of butter, and in number
of horses. It was third in corn and fourth in wheat.

8o8 Resources of Tennessee.

MACON COUNTY.

County Seat — LaFayette.

Tlie county of Macon was created by act of the Tennessee Legisla-
ture, in the year 1842, from fractions of Smith and Sumner. It was
at first rectangular in form, the sides bounding the county on the north
and south being twenty-eight miles long, while those on the east and
west were about fourteen miles in length. In 1870, a small part of
the county, at the south-western corner, was cut off to form a part of
the new county of Trousdale, so that the county is not now completely
symmetrical. It is bounded on the north by Kentucky, on the east by
Clay and Jackson counties, on the sovith by Smith and Trousdale, and
on the west by Sumner. LaFayette, the seat of justice, is the only
town in the county. It has a central position on an elevated plain, be-
tween the tributaries of Cumberland River and the waters which flow
north into Barren River, in Kentucky. The town is well laid off, and
the buildings, though not large or fine, are generally neat and substan-
tially built. There are several retail stores and shops, and two churches.
The population is about 300.

Topography. Except small parts of the valleys of Goose Creek and
Dixon's Creek, near the southern boundary, the whole of the county
lies on the Highland Rim. The escarpment of the Rim, erroneously
called " the ridge," is near the southern boundry, the county line cut-
ting off the upper end of some of the valleys which expand south-
ward into the Central Basin. The summit of the " ridge " is the most
elevated part of the county. Toward the north there is a broad stretch
of level and gently undulating country, reaching beyond the northern
boundary into Kentucky. The inclination of this plain toward the
north is scarcely perceptible, yet sufficient to give a good fall to the
streams, all of which flow in that direction. In the northern part the
surface is more rolling, and the valleys of the streams larger and more
depressed below the general surface. South of the "ridge" the High-
lands break off in steep declivities, whicli run down into deep valleys,
where the rocks, soil, timber and productions indicate a different geo-
logical formation. The general elevation of the Highlands above
these valleys is about 600 feet, though near the western boundary there
is a place called the "gap," where the elevation is considerably less.
The head springs of creeks flowing in opposite directions are here within
a very short distance of each other.

Middle Tennessee. S09

Bocts and Soils. A siliceous rc»c'k underlies the surface through-
out the most elevated parts of the county, cropping out on the
hill-sides and forming the escarjiment of the Highland Rim. The
soil resting upon this formation is not of the best quality, but is gen-
erally susceptible of improvement. Wherever the clay subsoil is of a
reddish or chocolate color it will retain fertilizers, and may be brought
to a very high state of productiveness. If, however, it is yellowish,
bluish or whitish in color, no amount of manure will fill its insatiate
maw, and it is only valuable for timber, grass and orchards. Below
the siliceous rock, and immediately under the soil, in less elevated por-
tions of the Highlands, the formation is a flinty rock, containing more
or less limestone. The surface in many places abounds in flinty frag-
ments, which have been derived from the underlying formation. There
is considerable lime in the soil, derived from the disintegration of these
cherty fragments, consequently it is more fertile than that oivthe silice-
oiLS ridges. On the hill-sides facing the north, and in the little val-
leys of the Highland creeks and branches there are excellent farming
lands. Large quantities of this chert have been washed down from
the hills, and the beds of the creeks are lined with immense beds of it.
In some of the creek bottoms it is so abundant as to seriously obstruct
the tillage of lands that would otherwise be valuable. The blue
limestones in the deep valleys, south of the ridge, belong to the Nash-
ville group of the Lower Silurian. They are highly fossiliferous, and
yield, by disintegration, soils of inexhaustible richness. The largest
portion of this limestone land lies in the south-western part of the
county, embracing the head valleys of Goose Creek and its tributaries.
Further east, the southern boundary includes small parts of the rich
valleys of Dixon's, Peyton's, Defeated, and Wartrace creeks.

Timber. The most elevated parts of the " ridge " or plateau bear
forests of chestnut, poplar, hickory, and several kinds of oaks. Post
oak and small white oaks, valuable for railroad ties, abound. The
chestnut trees are very large ; one near the western boundary was re-
cently measured and found to be more than ten feet in diameter, and
apparently sound, with good healthy top. Poplar trees from five to
eight feet in diameter are common. There are also extensive forests of
chestnut oak, the bark of which is highly jn'ised for tanning. The
cherty lands, on the hill-sides and in the valleys, produce sugar maple,
beech, black walnut, })oplar, hickory, sweet gum and large oaks. In
the limestone valleys there are, in addition to the above species, linn,

8io Resources of Tennessee.

buckeye and shell-bark hickory. The beech groves are among the
most extensive in the State.

Farms. Farms vary much in size. There are none perhaps smaller
than fifty acres, and but few less than one hundred, while the larger
often embrace five or six hundred, and sometimes more than one
thousand. The average is about one hundred and fifty or two hundred
acres. We believe that farmers are generally as prosperous as at any
previous period in the history of the county. Slave labor was never
employed to a very large extent, consequently the county has not suf-
fered seriously by the change in the labor system. Farm buildings
and fences are generally in good repair. The work on most of the
farms is done by owners. It is not uncommon for the farmers to en-
gage hands to assist in cultivating the crop, giving in payment a share
of the proceeds. Hired laborers are also employed on some of the
larger farms, the wages being from eight to twenty dollars per mouth.
Renters supplying their own implements and stock, pay one-third of
the crop to the land owner, but where these are furnished by the latter,
he receives one-half. Unimproved lands rarely sell for more than five
dollars per acre, and some of the least valuable are offered at two and
a half to three dollars. Improved farms on the Highlands range in
^rice from five to twenty dollars per acre, according to location, im-
provements and quality of land. In the valleys the lands are consid-
ered more valuable, the highest price being about forty dollars per acre.
Improved implements and agricultural machinery are found on a few
of the farms, but their use is by no means so common as it should be.
Two-horse turning plows are not uncommon, and there are a few of
larger size, but the old-fashioned narrow shovel is still extensively
used by many, both for breaking up and cultivating. Threshers are
employed extensively, the owner of the machine receiving as toll usu-
ally one-tenth of the crop. Reapers, mowers and grain drills are
almost unknown. Horses are more commonly used in the work of the
farm than any other stock, but mules are preferred by some on account
of their hardiness and economical habits. Oxen are considered the
best stock for heavy draft and deep plowing.

Crops. The leading crops, in the order of their value, are corn, to-
bacco, wheat, oats and potatoes. There were produced in 1870, 2-56,-
483 bushels of corn, 950,708 pounds of tobacco, 30,525 bushels of
wheat, G0,75G bushels of oats, 9,441 bushels of Irish, and 9,340 bush-
els of sweet potatoes. The average yield of (H)rn per acre is about

Middle Tennessee. 8 1 1

twenty bushels, but with better cuUivatiou it might be hirgely in-
creased. Little or none of it is shipped, but large numbers of hogs
and otlier animals are fattened for market every year. Tobacco is the
money crop. Estimating the price paid the producer at an average of
eight cents per pound, the crop of 1870 was worth $76,061.44. Wheat
succeeds well on all the lands except the sandy ridges. The average
yield per acre is about ten bushels. This is very far below M^hat it
should be. The range of the woods affords native grasses which are
nutritious and valuable for pasturage. The cultivated grasses have re-
ceived but little attention, not more than ten per cent, of the cultivated
lands being sown. The bottoms on the Highland creeks and branches
mak'e beautiful meado^vs, yielding two tons per acre of excellent hay.
Red top is the common variety. Timothy and orchard-grass, so far as
tried have succeeded well. Millet is cultivated to a limited extent,
but mapy of the farmers think that it is a very exhausting crop, con-
sequently its cultivation is confined almost entirely to the rich valleys.
Blue-grass grows spontaneously on the limestone hill-sides in the south-
ern part of the county, and affords rich and abundant pastures. Clover
is a valuable crop, much of the hay produced being of this kind. It
is also sometimes sown for pasture. It is rare that either clover or
grass is sown for the purpose of improving the land.

Live Stock. Few counties have better natural advantages for the
economical rearing of live stock. The range or forest pasture furnishes
abundant sustenance to all kinds of domestic animals for about half
the year, and the moadu)ws and grain-fields, with but little labor or ex-
pense, can be made to yield sufficient provender for winter. It is not
uncommon that hogs can live through the entire winter ^vith no food
except the mast which abounds in the forests. Sheep, likewise, require
little attention, except to guard them from dogs. The live stock of
Macon is generally on the " scrub " order, though improved breeds,
latterly, are receiving some attention. There are several fine jacks,
and good mules are fre([uently met with. A few of the farmers have
Short-horn cattle, but these are confined almost entirely to the valleys
in the southern part. Sheep are not numerous, but those kept are
generally good. They are not so much annoyed by dogs as in some
of the more densely i)opulaled counties, but lambs ai"e often destroyed
by foxes and wild cats, which are a great pest in some localities. The
stock of horses and sheep are, as a rule, better than those of cattle and
hogs, because the latter are allowed to range at will and breed jiromis-
cuously, and, of course, cannot preserve good blood. It is claimed by

8i2 Resources of Teimessee,

some of the farmers that the scrub cattle are superior as milkers to the
Short-horns, and some of the valley farmers have been jestingly ac-
cused of procuring scrub cows to help raise their thoroughbred calves,
the milk of the mothers being too poor to sustain them. There is some
justice in this observation, but if Devons were bred on the Highlands
they would be found superior in this particular to the scrubs, and pos-
sessing many of the valuable qualities of the Short-horns.

Fruits. Orchards succeed well in all parts of the county, and many
acres of the siliceous ridge lands and gravelly hill-sides that are now
lying waste, might be utilized for this purpose. But this branch of
farming has heretofore received but little attention. There are favor-
able indications, however, that promise improvement. A citizen in-
forms us that durii^.g the last two years more than §5,000 worth of
apple and other fruit trees have been purchased in the county from
ISTashville, Murfreesboro and Glasgow nurseries. The wild grape-vine
grows everywhere, and yields several varieties of grapes of good qual-
ity, some of which ripen in summer, while others do not mature until
after frost. Some of these native grapes have a good flavor, and w^ould
no doubt make excellent wine. The soil and climate indicate that
grape culture would succeed as well as anywhere in the State, but it is
as yet scarcely commenced.

Smaller Industries. Butter is extensively made for home use and
the market. There were produced in 1870, 82,724 pounds. Honey
is an important article, some of the farmers making it a specialty. The
amount produced in 1870 was 8,994 pounds. Sorghum molasses is
manufactured for home use, the annual production amounting to more
than 1,300 gallons. Extensive forests of the sugar maple are utilized
for making sugar, the annual yield being nearly 2,000 pounds. Poul-
try is reared on all the farms, and large numbers of chickens, turkeys,
and other fowls are carried to market every year. Eggs and feathers
are also valuable articles of trade. Almost every flimily purchases its
supplies of groceries with the income from the poultry yard. .

Household 3[anuf((cturefi. The loom and the spinning-wheel are
found in almost every household, and most of tlie every-day clothing
. for the family is manufactured and made at home. The goods manu-
factured are jeans, linsey, cotton (doth, flax linen, blankets, coverlets,
counterpanes, carpets, mats and rugs, and cotton and wool socks.

Transport (tf I <iu (Did Mdrkcfx. Live stoc^k is driven to market, usu-'
ally to Nashville, or to some point in Kentucky. Mules and horses

Middle Tennessee. 8 1 3

are sometimes taken to the cotton States. Produce is generally carried
to Nashville in wagons. There are many peddlars that deal in poultry,
butter, eggs, wool and other products of the smaller industries of the
farm. Tobacco is sometimes shipped from some point on the Cumber-
land River. The line of the Cumberland and Ohio Railroad passes
near the western boundary of the county, and when completed, it will
supply a want thfyt has been the greatest drawback to the prosperity of
the county.

Streams and Water-poioer. The only streams that afford any con-
siderable water-power are those which How north into Barren River,
but of these there is a considerable number. The most considerable
are Trummel, Long, Puncheon Camp, White Oak, Long Fork, Salt
Lick and Line creeks, all of which are available to a greater or less
degree for manufacturing or milling purposes.

Milh. Macon is well supplied with mills of almost all kinds, among
which may be mentioned Oglesbey's steam flouring and saw-mills, and
A. J. Johnson's water-mills of the same kind, on Goose Creek; Gibbs',
Foust & Jones' merchant-mills and wool-carding machine at Gibbs'
Cross Roads; William Reeves' fine water-mill on Salt Lick; Lawrence
& Kidwell's saw-mill, LaFayette, besides numerous other good saw
and grist-mills in different portions of the county.

Minerals. Iron ore is found locally at many places in the county,
but no extensive beds are known to exist. The ore is brown hematite,
similar to that used in the western iron region.

Near the Kentucky line, and along all the creeks, a few miles north
of the ridge, a kind of limestone formation is found, some of which
makes excellent fire-rock for lining chimneys and furnaces. But little
of it will burn easily into lime, though brick-masons state that the
lime, when burned, makes a better mortar than the blue limestone. It
has been said that it will make hydraulic cement, but no satisfactory
experiments have been made in this county. A rock, however, of
similar character has been tried in Sumner county with success. But
the most valuable minerals in the county are those pertaining to the
Black Shale. This formation occupies a position between the silicious
rocks of the Highlands and the Silurian limestones of the valleys. It
crops out on the face of the Highland Rim or Ridge about half way
between its base and escarpment, and farther north it is exposed in the
valleys of many of the creeks. Wherever protected from the weather,

3 14 Resources of Tennessee.

as in "rock houses" on the sides of the hills, incrustations of copperas
and alum may be found, and it is probable that these articles might be
profitably manufactured from it. The Black Shale is also valuable as
a source of mineral oils. Petroleum oozes from it, and in some places
flows out in small quantities at the Sulphur Springs. By distilling in
close vessels, the bituminous matter in the shale is Ulcerated and con-
verted into oils for illuminating, lubricating and other purposes.

Mineral Springs. The Black Shale is also the source of the Sulphur
Springs, which have contributed more than anything else to direct at-
tention to Macon county from abroad. These waters appear at various
localities in almost every portion of the county, and are very popular
with certain classes of invalids, among which may be mentioned those
afflicted with gravel, stone and any weakness of the kidneys and blad-
der, dropsy and certain female complaints. Two of these springs have
been improved and opened to visitors for many years, Epperson Springs,
in the western part of the county, and Eed Boiling Springs, in the
eastern portion. The former claims five different kinds of health-
giving waters in a compass of a few acres. The latter has two distinct
sulphur springs within 150 feet of each other, the one precipitating a
black sediment and the other a red, besides gushing freestone springs
and chalybeate waters. These springs are situated about seventy miles
north-east from the city of Nashville, and usually have a good number
of visitors. The Red Boiling Springs derive their name from the red
precipitate of the water, and the fact that soon after their discovery
there was, as was said, a boiling commotion in the spring every morn-
ing at a certain hour — nine or ten o'clock. At this time, however,
that jjhenomenon is never observed. The water has produced some re-
markable cures in gravel and diseases of the bladder and kidneys, as
well as in dropsical disease ; and, indeed, there is scarcely an instance
reported Avhere persons afflicted with calculus have failed to find relief
after using it for a sufficient length of time.

According to the assessment of 1873 there were in Macon county
176,223 acres,»valued at $829,047. The poi)ulation, when the census
was taken in 1870, was 6,633, but since then a jiart of the county has
been given to the new county of Trousdale, so that it is impossible to
give the precise number of inhabitants, or the number to the square
mile.

Middle Tennessee. 815

MARSHALL COUNTY.

County Seat — Lewisbueg.

In point of natural agricultural advantages, but few counties in the
State are superior to Marshall county. Situated wholly within the
Central Basin, the fairest agricultural region in the State, it has much
of the finest soils and timber to be fourid in that famous locality. As
a home for thrifty formers it is desirable, both on account of the
abounding fertility of the soil and the salubrity of the climate, and
these advantages were quickly recognized by the early settlers. The
original inhabitants were from North Carolina. From 1782 to 1794
most of the lands now embraced in the county were located and sur-
veyed by commissioners from North Carolina, appointed by the Legis-
lature to locate and survey grants made to the officers and soldiers of
the revolutionary army living in that State. Private citizens of the
same State who held grants, also came out and located them here.
These locations and surveys w^ere the parents of the tide of emigration
that poured into this region from the old North State, from the year
1800 to 1820. The location and surveys were made in accordance with
the laws of North Carolina, and before the government of the United
States, under the advice of Col. Mansfield, Surveyor General in 1800,
adopted the wise system of surveying the public lands into sections,
quarter sections, townships, etc., based on meridian lines. These sur-
veyors and locators were the first white men who explored this country,
then a wilderness of forest and cane and wild animals. They gave
names to the streams and ridges. Some of them never removed from
North Carolina ; others came and settled on their lands in this lovely
region. Other emigrants from Virginia, South Carolina and Georgia
swelled the tide of poj^ulation flowing into this part of Middle Tennes-
see. The first settlements were made at Fishing Fork, on Duck River,
a])Out the year 1810. The village of Farming-ton is said to be the
oldest town in the State south of Duck River.

Organization, Area, Boundaries, etc. During tlie session of the Leg-
islature of 18:35-6, Marshall county was established out of fractions of
Bedford, Maury and Lincoln counties, and contains an area of about
400 square miles. In the year 1870, by act of the Legislature, the
Cornersville district of Giles county — about 32 square miles, and the
best part of Giles county — was attached to Marshall county. The pop-

8 1 6 , Resources of Teimessee.

ulatiou of the county in 1870 was 16,270, .of which 4,385 were colored.
Add to this the popiihition of the Cornersville district, which has been
since added, 2,141, and w^e have the whole population in 1870, 18,348.
The number of acres reported by the assessors for 1873, is 227,765,
valued at $3,771,873, or $16.55 per acre. About two-thirds of the
county is improved, the remainder being woodland. The county is
bounded on the north by Williamson, on the east by Bedford and
Lincoln, on the south by Giles and Lincoln, and on the west by Maury
county. No railroads run through the county, but one has been sur-
veyed, known as the Duck River Valley Railroad, that is projected to
run from Johnson ville on the Tennessee River to Fayette ville in
Lincoln county, passing through Centerville in Hickman county, Co-
lumbia in Maury county, and Lewisburg in Marshall county. It is
intended to be a narrow-gauge road, and the country through which it
is designed to pass, by reason of its productiveness, will be a sufficient
guarantee of its financial success. It is understood that nearly $250,-
000 have been already subscribed for its construction. On the east is
the Nashville and Chattanooga Railroad, and on the west the Nashville
and Decatur, a branch of the Louisville and Nashville and Great
Southern Railroad. This latter road runs within two miles of the
west boundary of the county. Duck River, which flows through the
county from east to west, supplies during winter and early spring a
sufficiency of water to float out rafts of cedar timber.

Topography, Streams, Soils and Crops. The county of Marshall is
abundantly supplied with streams. The tributaries of the Duck River
flowing into it from the north, beginning on the west, are, in order of
their occurrence, Flat Creek, Caney Spring, and several inferior streams
too small for milling purposes. South of Duck River, and running
north, are, beginning on the east, East Rock Creek and West Rock
Creek, these two latter uniting a mile before emptying into Duck
River. These last mentioned streams all take their rise at the foot of
Elk Ridge, a bold, high, well defined and prominent backbone that
runs from east to west, and rises to the height of 300 feet above the
plain. It cuts oif a portion of the great Central Basin in Lincoln,
Marshall and Giles counties. South of Elk Ridge, Cane Creek, Rich-
land Creek, Bradshaw Creek, Swan and Robinson Fork all rise in
Marshall county and flow south through Lincoln and Giles into Elk
River. Richland Creek runs for a time nearly parallel with Elk
Ridge, and affords fine water-power. Duck River, by reason of its
larger supply of water, is probably the best stream for milling purposes

Middle Tennessee. 817

in the county. There are eight grist and saw-mills in operation and
one wool-carding factory, all propelled by water. The two main
branches of Rock Creek also afford fine water-power. Five grist and
saw-mills are in operation on the two branches. The other streams
have not been utilized, though some of them afford manufacturing fa-
cilities. Duck River and Richland Creek are beautiful streams, and
their broad, rich valleys are exceedingly attractive and fertile. The
waters of these streams have a greenish tinge, pleasant to the eye, and
are filled with fish of the daintiest flavor. The bottoms and banks
are usually of limestone, the currents moderately SM'ift, and the flow
and volume of water sufficiently abundant and constant to make them
valuable as water-powers. From Elk Ridge there shoot out numer-
ous spurs or highlands, which give the surface of the county immedi-
ately north of it and south of Duck River a high, rolling character.
There are, however, in this portion of the county, many fine bottoms,
Ix'tween which oftentimes are glady places in which the rocks cover the
surface like a shield. The lands usually lie better north of Elk Ridge
than south of it, though not so well adapted to the growth of cotton,
but corn, all the grasses, including blue-grass, small grain, potatoes,
and other crops grow luxuriantly. On some of the projecting spurs,
however, there are soils well adapted to the growing of cotton. It
may be said generally with reference to this great staple, that it grows
well on all high and broken lands, especially if there is an outcropping
of sandstone and a native growth of poplar. The soils on such lands
are light, porous, warm and generous in the yield of cotton. The lands
on the north side of Duck River are very fine, almost equal in every
particular to those on Richland Creek, yet to be described. They are
level, the soil is of a more reddish hue than that 'found elsewhere,
and is very strong, lively and productive. In this part of the county
nearly every farm is fenced with cedar rails. Cotton is grown exten-
sively, especially near Chapel Hill. The yield is equal to that grown
in the Cornersville district, which is looked upon as the garden spot of
the county. It is doubtful whether there could be found in the State
a more desirable farming region than this if it were supplied with rail-
road facilities. The soil is rich and productive, the cedar forests which
here abound supply durable material for fencing, and the surface of
the country is almost perfectly level. There are but few stony places,
and the underlying rocks rarely crop out at the surface. That part of
the county which lies south of Elk Ridge, comprising the first, second,
third and seventeenth districts, and lying mostly upon the waters of

8i8 Resotirces of Tennesee,

Richland Creek, is regarded as altogether the finest farming lands in
the county, if not in the Stau', and this is especially applicable to the
Cornersville or seventeenth district. Here lie the finest blue-grass
lands in the county. The farms are kept in a high state of improve-
ment, and everything about them denotes the thrift of the proprietors.
The surface in the western part of this section is a gently rolling plain,
though it becomes more broken towards the head of Richland Creek.
Between the head of this stream and Swan Creek, with which it runs
almost at right angles, and between the latter stream and Caney Creek,
the lands are higher and more broken, but very productive, except in
glady spots. The knobby, serrated ridges that run out from Elk
Ridge on both sides are covered with large poplars, grape vines and
pawpaw, which to the intelligent farmer are sure indications of good
soils. The slopes of Elk Ridge and of the subordinate ridges are not
steep, but are mostly susceptible of cultivation, and are fertile to their
very tops. The crests are covered with a flinty, siliceous, cherty gravel,
that furnishes a friable, easily worked soil, not liable to bake, and that
drains itself quickly and easily.

Timber, Farms, etc. The timber of Marshall county is by no means
the least important of its elements of wealth. The large cedar forests
that cover eighty square miles of its territory are unexcelled on the
continent. South of Duck River, and lying between East and West
Rock creeks, is an elevated tongue of land upon which there are
splendid groves of cedar timber. Also west of Farmington, and lying
between the line of Duck River Valley Railroad and Duck River, and
extending to the neighborhood of Berlin, are extensive forests of this
valuable timber, but the best are found in the north-west quarter of
the county. The groves in this section are of inestimable value. Not
only are the farms fenced with cedar, but all log houses are built of it,
and nearly all the roofing is done with cedar shingles. The farmers
prefer cedar fences to stone. They are much more easily moved, and
are not so liable to fall down. There are cedar fences in this county
that were built in 1812, and are yet in a sound condition. If the
ground rails were placed upon stone, cedar fences would require no
additional rails for thirty years or more. The soundest and best cedar
timber is the product of a good soil which will grow oats, wheat, mil-
let, etc. That which grows upon rocky, glady places is usually hollow
and " shelly." The largest trees do not supply the best timber. Those
above eighteen inches in diameter are apt to be filled with decayed
spots or streaks. The price of good cedar lands with the timber varies

Middle Temtessee. 8 1 9

from $60 to $100 per acre, and is cheap at that. A farmer would save
in the cost of fencing alone enough in twenty years to pay for such
lands. Where cedar timber does not abound the surface of the country
is covered with oaks of different species, poplar, ash, elm, linden, beech,
sugar tree, walnut, cherry, locust, hackberry, buckeye, and, on the
south slopes of Elk Ridge, chestnut. The eastern side of the county,
though destitute of cedar, has an abundance of white oak, sugar-tree,
hickory and walnut, the latter sometimes attaining a diameter of five
feet. The timber cannot be surpassed in size or quality by that of
any county in Tennessee. The price of lumber varies from $1.25
to $3.00 per hundred feet, according to kind and quality. Cedar rails
are worth from $2 to $4 per hundred, and rails of oak, ash, poplar, or
walnut are worth $1.50 per hundred. The fencing south of Elk Ridge
is mostly of oak, ash, poplar and walnut. Plank fencing with locust
or cedar posts is quite common. Xorth of Lewisbui^, from east to
west through the county, the old Virginia zigzag fences, made of cedar,
are most common. These are built about five feet high, and some of
them staked and riclered.

Building Stone. Should all the timber of the county be consumed,
there would still remain an abundance of material for enclosing the
farms. Limestone rock of a good quality is everywhere accessible, and
in the south-west portion of the county a sandstone rock crops out in
strata from the slopes of the ridges of a desirable thickness for build-
ing purposes. This sand rock in places furnishes good grit, and a good
deal of it is wrought into grindstones and shipped to other points.
Some of the limestones furnish a good fire rock, owing to their argilla-
ceous character. Lime of excellent quality is obtained from the Nash-
ville and Lebanon formations, which are the prevailing limestones of
this county.

In the general condition of the farms, this county will compare
favorably with any in the State. The farm buildings are not so good
nor so elegant as in Maury, Sumner, Davidson or Bedford, but with
the exception of the last named county, there is less waste land, fewer
bad fences, and a greater degree of neatness about the farms is every-
where observable.

Cropa and Mode of Farming. The soil produces corn, cotton, wheat,
oats, rye, and the different grasses in abundance. Potatoes and other
garden vegetables are grown for home consumption mostly. Blue-grass,
clover, timothy and herds-grass grew luxuriantly. Much millet is

820 Resources of Tennessee.

raised for hay. But little tobacco is produced, although there are some
parts of the county well adapted to its growth. Enough hay and oats
are grown for home consumption. Apples, peaches, cherries and other
fruits are plentiful. A good deal of attention of late has been, and is
now being, given to planting orchards of fine fruit, apples, peaches
and pears. The hilly lands of the county make an excellent fruit
region. Peaches hardly ever fail on the sandstone hills. Apples and
peaches are largely made into brandy. Both are also dried and sent
to market. Cherries and plums are abundant. There are but few im-
proved grapes in the county. The forest abounds with wild grapes.
Corn) yields from twenty-five to fifty bushels per acre; cotton 600 to
1,200 pounds per acre, according to soil, cultivation and season. The
amount per acre of corn, wheat, cotton, etc., could be greatly increased
by a more thorough system of farming. Very little manure is used,
and the result is that many of the rich lands get poorer. The hillsides
especially wash into gullies on account of the improvident custom of
farming without manure and deep plowing. The rich, virgin soil has
been greatly abused by surface plowing and a lack of proper rotation
of crops.

Land is generally broken up in the spring with one or two horses,
and the crops cultivated with one-horse plows. In a word, the method
of farming, kind of crops, labor, wages, etc., are similar to what they
are throughout the cotton region of the Central Basin.

In the censtis report of 1870, Marshall county is credited with a
greater number of bushels of rye than any other county in the State.
The following table exhibits the products of this county for 1870.
These statistics refer to the county as it was before the addition of the
Cornersville district :

Corn 591,358 bushels.

Wheat, Spring 3,217

Wheat, Winter 123,416—126,633 "

Rye 18,526 "

Oats 83,691

Hay 1,734 tons.

Cotton 2,063 bales.

Tobacco 12,788 pounds.

Peasant! Roans 342 bushels.

Potatoes, .Sweet, 16,556 "

Potatoes, Irish 16,182 "

Grass Seed 315

Clover 10 "

Middle Tennessee. 821

Butter 170,658 pounds.

Cheese 1,633

Wine 239 gallons.

Sorghum Molasses 17,674 "

Maple Sugar 281 pounds.

Honev 13,040

Wax' 1,190

Wool 34,553

The Cornersmlle District. In regard to the Corner.sville district we
have a full statistical account furnished by Mr. Geo. T. Allman, whose
success as a farmer and breeder of stock has given him a national rep-
utation. Portions of this district were settled more than sixty years
ago. The best lands were originally covered with cane. Mr. James
S. Haynes, the oldest living inhabitant, remembers distinctly when the
broad surface of the county was almost an impenetrable thicket of
cane. The bottoms on Richland Creek will average very wide. The
soil on the best lands is black with a clay subsoil. It is very retentive
of moisture. All the elevated lands are gravelly and porous, and are
well adapted to the growth of the grape. The amount of stock water
is ample. There are fifteen running streams in this district, confluents
of Richland Creek. Land in this district varies from $15 to $75 per
acre. It is very productive of all crops consumed by man or beast,
that are suited to the latitude. Intelligent immigrants would be wel-
comed, not only in this district but in every part of the county. In
this district there are two hundred farms, about twenty of which
are rented, the remainder worked by their owners, or on shares for
the owners. About one-half of this district is in woodland. Three-
fourths of the whole district is enclosed with substantial fences, and
not a single acre of waste land is turned out. In this particular, as
well as in many others, this is a model district. But little land is for
sale, scarcely one-tenth could be bought at what would be called rea-
sonable figures. The following may be regarded as the price of lands
that are for sale :

Best improved bottom lands $50

Best improved uplands 50

Medium bottom lands 30

" uplands 30

Inferior bottom S15 to 20

" uplands 15 to 20

It will be observed that the uplands are regarded as being as valuable
as the bottom lands, and this because, in addition to being nearly as
productive for corn, cotton, hay, &c., they grow blue-grass much better

o22 Resom'ces of Tennessee.

and are not subject to overflows, ^vhich sometimes impede the work of
the farmer. The amount of untillable land does not exceed one-tenth.
The average rental per acre paid for these lands is one-third of the crop,
or $3 in money. For inferior lands $2 per acre rent is paid. The
usual terms of sale are one-fourth cash, balance in equal annual payments,
without interest. At least ninety per cent, of the farms in this district
are worked on shares. The crops grown are corn, wheat, cotton, oats,
hay, tobacco, Irish potatoes, sweet potatoes, hemp, flax, &c. The fol-
lowing is an estimate of the average yield for the whole district :

Corn, (the proportion jjlanted being one-half

of tlie cultivated land) 30 bushels per acre-
Wheat, (the proportion planted being one-
tenth cultivated land) 10 " "

Oats, (the proportion planted being one-fifth

cultivated land) 600 binds.

Irish potatoes 100 bushels, per acre.

Sweet potatoes 75 to 100 bushels "

Cotton 800 to 1600 pounds.

Apples, per acre 150 bushels.

Peaches, " 100 "

Hay, timothy 3000 pounds.

Hay, clover, per acre 4000 "

Hay, herds-grass, per acre 2000 "

Hay, millet, per acre 5000 to 6000 "

The grazing grasses furnish a large quantity of feed from April to
December.

Stoi^l; in the County. The average price of stock is placed high, though
not higher than their intrinsic value justifies. From the early settlement
of the county it has been noted for its saddle stock. Horse-back riding
is the almost universal custom with persons of all classes. Recently
there have been imported some fine trotters, and public attention is
being directed to that special department of breeding. Next to horses,
cattle, hogs and sheep are the principal stock. Cotton, wheat and stock
are the principal sources of money. Mules are largely raised and sent
south. The number of improved breeds of cattle, hogs and sheep is
rapidly increasing. The flocks of sheep, mostly graded Cotswolds and
Southdowns, are very fine. Nearly all the hogs are more or less mixed
with the Berkshire, which experience has demonstrated to be the* best
hog for the county. Stock is kept under fence usually, though a cer-
tain class of farmers still rely upon the commons. In the fall of the
year the abundant mast from the oak, beech, hickory, walnut and
chestnut su])plies a gratuitous living for the hogs.

* Middle Tefinessee. ^^^

We gather from the census of 1870 the following statistics as to
stock, and here again the Cornersville district is not included :

6,202

Horses, number of ^ 2,598

Mules and Asses 3 881

Milch Cows ' 396

Working Oxen ^ gyg

Other Cattle ' \Q^21?>

Sheep ....!!!" y.. 32,038

Swine .

%\ "^'^g 100
Value of all Live Stock "" ' '

For the Cornersville district we have the following report for 1873 :

.„ price $ 50 00

Cows kept for milk ^„ ^, ^^

Work Oxen „ 3^ qq

Beef Cattle, over two years old ^^ 150 00

Horses, common ,, ^^^ qq

Horses, thoroughbred ^^ ^^. ^^

Mules •• goo

Number beeves killed annually ^^^

Number Short-horn cattle ^^^

Number other improved breeds ^^^

Number Sheep, Southdown and Cotswold ^

Pounds of wool per head ^^^

Number Sheep killed for mutton ^^^

Number Sheep killed annually by dogs ^^'^^

Number Hogs g 000

Killed for bacon ^ ^ 2o 00

Berkshire Hogs, price per pair ^, ^^

Essex Hogs, price per pair, ^^ ^^

Other Improved Breeds ^^^ ^^

Cashmere Goats, per pair •. 15 000

Number Chickens 5000

Cliickens sold j 000

Improved Breeds, number j ^^

Turkeys, price per pair ^ ^^

Geese, price per pair ^^

Ducks, price per psir ^^

Guinea Fowls, price per pair ^ ^^

Peafowls, price per pair

Bees are raised to some extent, a„<l the average of honey per hi™
is sixteen ponnds. From seven to nin'e pounds oi bntter per week 13
the average yield per cow.

Labor. In regard to the labor of the county, Mr. Steele says:
« This is strictly an agricultural and stock-raising county, ihe white

824 Resources of Tennessee.

people own nearly all the land, and they were generally the owners of
the colored people in time of slavery. But there are many white
farmers in Marshall, hard working, honest, intelligent men that owned
lands, but no slaves, before the war. They are thrifty now. The col-
ored people work remarkably well. They generally hire to the land-
owner or proprietor at wages varying from five to twelve dollars per
month, or take a share of the crop, say one-half, when the landlord
furnishes land, implements, feed for stock worked, and other expenses
of the crop, the laborer to have his house, firewood, garden, etc., be-
sides, furnished to him. This plan works well when the freed men are
industrious and economical, and are treated fairly by the landlord. I
believe, sincerely, that the best friends of the colored people are their
former owners. Very few women work in the fields, and none that I
know of from compulsion and necessity." In some sections of the
county, the laborer is allowed to keep a milch cow, a horse, hogs, and
whatever stock may be necessary to his comfort or convenience.

The number of acres allowed for each able bodied hand in pitching
crops, is of corn, if of that crop alone, twenty ; if in connection with
other crops, from five to ten; of cotton, five, wheat five, oats five. The
prices paid for good farm hands will average twelve dollars per month
and board.

There are employed, in the Cornersville district, 150 white males,
and 300 colored males, and 50 colored females, making the total of
field hands employed on the 200 farms, 500. Of those employed,
three are of foreign birth, and fifty born in America, but not in Ten-
nessee.

By the year, laborers can be procured for |150 with board, or $225
without board. Harvest hands are worth per day, with board, $2.00 ;
without board,'$2.50. Transient hands, not in harvest, per day, $1.00.
Price paid for cutting wheat per acre $1.00, and the same is paid when
the wheat is cut by contract, with a machine, the contractor furnishing
the machine, but requiring his board and feed for teams, and some-
times even teams are furnished by the farmer, the owner of the ma-
chine driving or furnishing a driver, and assuming all expense of
repairs, etc. House servants, cooks and washerwomen, are worth $8
per month and board. There is a great demand for farm hands, host-
lers, and especially for cooks.

Farm Statistics of (jornerHviUe District. For the Cornersville dis-
trict, we subjoin other statistics of more than local interest, as they will

Middle Tennessee. 825

;i]>ply with slight modifications to the whole country lying in the Cen-
tral Basin: Height of fences, 5 feet; average size of fields enclosed,
20 acres; cost of plank fencing, per 1,000 feet, $50; rails per thou-
sand, $20, except for cedar and chestnut, which delivered cost from
!?oO to $70 per thousand; cost of splitting rails per thousand, $10;
cost of splitting rails and putting up per thousand, $15; two-thirds of
the openings to fields have gates, one-third bars; average cost per
hundred yards of worm fence, $9; with cedar or chestnut rails, $18 to
820; average cost per hundred yards of post and rail fence, $20;
average cost per hundred yards of plank fence, $17.50; average cost
per hundred yards of stone fence, $100 ; annual repairs to fences other
than cedar, chestnut or stone, are one rail to the panel per annum; oak,
hickory, poplar, walnut, chestnut and cedar are the woods used for
fencing. Chestnut and cedar are worth two and a half times as much
as the most durable of the others. Cedar and chestnut rails will last
fifty years, the rails made from the other woods enumerated, will last
from eight to fifteen years. A few farmers keep their fence corners
clean, the majority, however, suffer them to grow up in briers and bushes.
About one-third of the stock of the district runs at large, and subsists
during the summer upon the highway pasturage. The reading, pro-
gressive farmers favor a stock law. The expense of fencing out
other people's stock is felt to be onerous. Mr. Allman thinks that
soiling stock would be profitable; that one acre mowed and fed will
furnish as much provender as three where stock are turned in to graze,
and tramp out the herbage. The tenant has to do more fencing under
the present law to protect his crop.

The number of two-horse cast iron plows used in this district, con-
taining 200 farms, is 300, at an average cost of $12 each; the number
of cast iron one-ho-rse plows, 900, at an average cost each of $6 ;
the number of wrought iron one-horse plows used is 2,000, at a cost
each of $3.50; subsoil plows used 25; hill-side plows 10; cultivators
75 ; walking cultivators 2 ; buggy plows 2 ; harrows used made in the
county 150; harrows used not made in the county 75 ; number of
rollers used in the district 20, at a cost each of $5 ; reapers 20, at a
cost each of $225; mowers 25, cost each $125; horse rakes 25, cost
each $10 ; straw-cutters 100, cost from $5 to $40 each ; six-horse
wagons 20, cost each $175; four-horse wagons 51, cost each $125;
two-horse wagons 110, cost each $100; spring wagons, one-horse, 30,
cost $125; ox wagons 75, cost $75; carts 25, cost $50; pleasure car-
riages 10, cost $250 ; buggies 100, cost $200 ; wheelbarrows 50, cost
$5. The mowers and reapers are usually combined.

826 Resources of Tennessee.

In regard to mechanical industries, the following statistics will give
the number of establishments in the district for 1873 : carpenter
shops, 5; hands employed, 10; wagon shops, 7; number of wagons
made annually, 28; plow shops, 6; number of plows made, 150; saw-
mills, water-power 1 ; steam, 2 ; lumber, mostly poplar made, sells at
$17.50 per thousand feet; blacksmith shops, 6; hands employed, 12
grist mills, corn, 3 ; w^heat, 2; wool-carding machines, 1 ; tanneries, 2
value of products, $2,500 ; shoe shops, 3 ; value of products, $3,000
hands employed, 9; wages per day, $1.50; harness and saddle shops,
2; value of products, $3,000; carriage and buggy factories, 1; value
of products, $1,500; hands employed, 2; wages, $1.50 per day; hand-
looms, 25 : value of products, $750. A few ladies manufacture su-
perior blankets, jeans, linsey, etc., on the old hand-looms. During
the late war nearly all did. Very little homespun is now worn in that
district, though the amount is considerable in the county, in the
smaller industries, this district makes a respectable showing. Apples,
dried, 1,000 bushels; peaches, dried, 500 bushels; chestnuts gathered,
400 bushels ; beeswax, 2,000 pounds ; feathers, 3,000 pounds ; ginseng,
500 pounds. At the usual prices at which these articles are sold, the
amount reported would bring into the district $6,600.

In concluding his answers to the questions sent him, Mr. Allman, in
reference to this district, says :

"We have as fine land as can be found in America. Limestone,
sandrock and timber for building, and fine water privileges for ma-
chinery. The greatest want of this district, as well as for the whole
county, is good roads, reliable labor, and capital to start manufactories.
A woolen or cotton factory would pay well. We need skilled mechan-
ics, also quite a number of live, progressive immigrants. The large
bodies of land ought to be cut up into farms of 100 or 200 acres, then
we could buihl roads, churclics, sustain schools, etc. The tenant sys-
tem will never develop this section. We need more labor-saving ma-
chinery. We should sow more grass, grow a better class of stock.
Ours should be second to no ])art of the United States, and would not
be if our people would only will it."

Manufactures. The county is well su})plied with water and steam
mills, either for grinding grain or for sawing lumber. There are more
water mills than steam mills. Marshall county has no cotton factory,
and no woolen factories outside of carding machines. The blacksmiths,
mechanics and farmers make many of their agricultural implements.

Middle Ten7iessee. 827

They buy, however, too much from the North iu the way of agricul-
tural implements, when better and cheaper articles could be produced
and made in the county and in the State, if the people would give
their attention to it. The supply of wool and cotton manufactures is
limited. The people sell the raw products at a low price, and buy the
manufactured goods, paying the manufacturer a great profit. Still a
good quantity and quality of jeans, linsey, blankets and cotton cloth
are made from the original wool and cotton by the women, who, for
industry, economy and skill in household and domestic aifairs, are not
excelled. They ply the wheel, loom and needle, and make cotton and
woolen fabrics that vie in utility and comfort with any in the country.
In 1870 the value of home manufactures was $45,466.

Academies, Schools and Churches. Academies and schools are gener-
ally supported by voluntary contributions. The county has several fine,
flourishing academies and many excellent private schools. Except about
five schools for colored children, no free schools exist in the county.
The colored people draw their part of the funds and enjoy the benefits —
the whites seem indiiferent, and prefer to send to private schools and
academies. The county is well supplied with churches, some of which
have well furnished rooms for worship. The churches are entirely
Protestant, and are of the Presbyterian, Christian, Methodist, Cumber-
land Presbyterian and Baptist denominations. The clergy are devoted,
able and learned men, and are well supported.

The statistics showing the amount of taxable property, number of
polls, etc., which are not herein given, may be found in the chapter on
statistics.

Social Characteristics. The citizens of this county are mainly the
descendants of emigrants from North Carolina, Virginia and South
Carolina, and have imbibed from their infancy lofty principles of hon-
esty, morality, hospitality and generosity. Unsuspicious by nature,
they welcome the stranger to their hospitable boards with a heartiness
as sincere as it is rare. Through all the bitter trials of the war they
maintained their self respect by the preservation of order, and when
it ended and their slaves became freedmen, they dealt honestly and
kindly with them, faithfully observing their contracts, and bore with
patience the ebullitions of new born freedom. Quiet as citizens, noble
as men and women, proud without being arrogant or ostentatious,
courteous in bearing, kind, generous and law-abiding, but withal not
sufficiently alive to the educational tendencies of the age, nor to that

828 Resources of Tennessee,

spirit of progress which weaves garlands of beauty and honor about
the homes of the industrious, and without some share of which com-
munities and men decay.

The thanks of this Bureau are due to Hon. A. A. Steele, Major G.
T. Allman, Mr. Talley and Mr. McClelland for many valuable facts
pertaining to this excellent county.

MAURY COUNTY.

County Seat — Columbia.

Maury county was organized December 21, 1807, and was named
in honor of Hon. Abram Maury, of Williamson county. The act
authorizing its establishment was passed November 24, 1807. Since
its organization, its boundaries have been curtailed from time to time
to furnish all or part of the counties of Giles, Bedford, Marshall,
Lewis, Lawrence, and Hickman. At present the number of acres, ex-
clusive of town lots assessed for taxation, amounts to 366,910, valued
at $7,650,478. Small as this area is, compared with its original di-
mensions, Maury is still one of the large counties of the State.

From its earliest history, Maury county has been noted in the State
for its fertile lands, its fine farms and the hospitality, culture and re-
finement of its society. In the point of country wealth, it ranks first;
its farms are among the largest, and are held at the highest figures per
acre, and, excepting Davidson and Shelby, it has long maintained a
larger number of good schools than any other county in the State. It
is not strange, therefore, that it should have exercised considerable
political influence in State affairs, or that its citizens are proud of
it. The early settlers were mostly from North Carolina and Virginia;
many of them were immediate descendents of revolutionary soldiers, and
well to do for those days. As a consequence, they brought to the young
county as much of refinement and culture as was known in the older
society from which they came. This fact had much to do with the after
development of the county. People who have been reared to know
the comfort and conveniences of life, to say nothing of its luxuries,
will not willingly live without them when they can be procured. The
early settlers soou showed their culture by the style of their houses,

Middle Tennessee. 829

the planting of fruit trees and flowers, and the general care and atten-
tion bestowed on the adornment of their homes. Inseparable from
tliis love of comfort and regard for the looks of things, was the high
a[t[)reciation of education. Not a few of the first generation of young
nun raised in the county were sent off to college. Chapel Hill, North
Carolina, was the ftivorite resort, while the young women were sent to
Nashville to be finished off. We shall see that this spirit never died
out.

Topography and Phijsieal Features. An orographic view of the
county would present the picture of a section of a river valley running
almost due east and west, with the dip to the west, and fringed to the
north and south by smaller valleys which furrow the sides of irregular
ranges of knobs or hills which lie along the northern and southern
boundaries of the county. To tlie west, these hills broaden out into
the uplands known as the bari^ens forming a part of the Highland
Rim. The bed of this valley is occupied by Duck River, which flows
through the whole extent of the county, dividing it ahiiost equally.
This river drains the entire county; all other streams in the county
flow into it. It is not navigable, though it is floatable through
the entire extent of the county, and was, in former years, much used for
the transportation of corn and lumber, principally cedar. Rafts are
still floated out in considerable numbers every winter, during the high
water. The main use and great value of the river, however, are as a
water-power in driving the many excellent flour, corn and saw-mills
that line its banks. The current of the river is moderately swift, its
banks comparatively steep, and on one side, tolerably high throughout
the county, while in the west, where ii breaks through the Rim escarp-
ment, its banks rise steep and high into almost perpendicular bluffs of
solid rock. This escarpment is about thjee hundred feet high from
the surface of the river. The bottom of the river is either smooth
rock, or more generally, of smooth round gravel, averaging about two
and a half inches in diameter, and of a clay color. The fords are,
therefore, permanent and safe where at all practicable. The number
of its tributaries is so great that when protracted rains prevail, the
river rises rapidly and to a great height ; its banks are such, however,
that it does comparatively little damage outside, while the solid char-
acter of its bottom enables dams to be built which are impregnable.

The Greeks. From the north and south ten good sized creeks flow
into Duck River. They all take their headings near the boundaries
of the county, and their average fall is about two hundred feet from

830 Resources of Tennessee^

headwater to mouth. These creeks are in character much like the river.
They wind considerably within narrow plains, and one of the banks is
always tolerably high, and often consists of a perpendicular bluff. There
is a marked difference in the velocity of the creeks near their heads
among the Highlands, and along their lower course as they near the river.
In several creeks, on the western side of the county, this difference is
marked by beautiful Avaterfalls. On the north-west and south, the
Rim which 'borders the county is slashed by narrow and beautiful val-
leys of extreme richness; the remainder, and main body of the county,
is of a gently rolling surface, stretching out toward the west and south
of the river into almost a plain-like smoothness.

&01I, Timber and Crops. With the exception of the small portion
around the northern, western and southern edges, invaded by the High-
land Rim, the entire county is of a limestone formation. It is by no
means of one uniform variety, however, nor is the soil the same over
the county. Entering the county with the river on the east, we find a
lead or dove colored rock containing many fossils, and lying in thin
layers, which are easily lifted from their bed and make tolerable good
paving stones without any dressing. This stratum continues to show
itself along the river and on the surface until we reach Columbia.
The soil in which it is embedded is dark and friable, and exceedingly
rich. The subsoil is generally a stiff, dark colored clay, which weath-
ers rapidly into a rich soil. But the characteristic of this region is the
cedar timber, which abounds in some places so thickly as to exclude all
undergrowth, and to shut out every ray of the sun as effectually as
the darkest clouds of winter. In "the cedars" the rock comes to the
surface, and lies in masses, separated by narrow strips of earth, from
which spring giant cedars. The appearance is very singular, and may
be not inaptly compared to g^-eat flocks of giant sheep lying at rest be-
neath the shade of the friendly trees. This character of land is found
in several other sections of Middle Tennessee, and is commonly known
as "the glades." The soil is admirably suited to wheat and grass, and
peach trees do finely in it. The other timber is chiefly ash, wal-
nut, hickory, and elm. North of the river and running up to the
county line, and westward to Columbia, the limestone lies in much
heavier and thicker strata, and is of a dark blue color, shading off into
a whitish gray in the upper strata. This rock is very heavy and dense;
it quarries with regularity, and is much esteemed as a building stone. It
makes lime of snowy whiteness with com])aratively little heat. The
soil of this region is of dai'k bi-own rich loam, mixed more or less with

Middle Te7messee. 831

fine sandy chert, the produce of the weathered rocks. It is excellent
corn land. Generally speaking, the surface is considerably rougher
north of the river than south of it. There are more abrupt hills, and
thes:e often show rocky ledges destitute of soil. There is, however, in
tliis region one characteristic level section of land, where the land both
in surface and general texture resembles the plain-like land in the
south-western part of the county. Spring Hill lies in this section, and
the county around is a fair type of it. The favorite crops are corn,
wheat, barley and the grasses. From Columbia south-westward lies
one of the most l)eautifal bodies of land in the United States. Cer-
tainly none other in Tennessee surpasses it, and no other is so well
known, or so often spoken of by travelers. The soil is of a dark,
calcareous clay, mixed with siliceous sandy impurities. The surface is
gently rolling, carpeted with indigenous blue-grass, and adorned with
a luxuriance of forest almost tropical in size; walnut, maple, hickory,
elm and oak abound of enormous size. This section extends over
almost the entire territory embraced between the Little and Big Bigby
creeks, and contains some of the handsomest and most productive
farms in the State. This region resembles very closely the famous
blue-grass region of Kentucky, but has one very great advantage over
that region, in that it is abundantly watered, a point in which the Ken-
tucky region is sadly deficient.

Agriculture. If ever nature designed any country for the farmer's
paradise, it must have been Maury county when first the virgin soil
was turned by the white settlers in the young years of this century.
It is difficult to conceive of richer soil, of more congenial climate, or a
greater combination of natural comforts ready made to the farmer's
hand, than nature offered to the first settlers of Maury county ; nor
were they unmindful' of these bounties. Few counties in the State
sprang so rapidly forward in population and importance. This was
due, however, not entirely to the natural fertility, but in a large meas-
ure to the character of those early settlers. They were very generally
men of good means, large numbers of them owned slaves, and came
to the county well equipped, for that day, in the appurtenances of farm-
ing, so that, strictly speaking, they did not have to pass through those
primitive and trying stages of pioneer life with which the less fortu-
nate settlers of some of the older counties had to contend.

The early crops were corn, cotton and fiax — the cotton and flax
only grown for home use, and in such quantities as the home wheels

832 Resources of Tennessee.

and looms could spin and weave. Corn was tlie selling crop — the
only marketable cro}), indeed. In a little while, however, the impetus
which Whitney's invention of the cotton gin gave to cotton growing
reached the county, and cotton began to be a sale crop. The erection
of flouring mills also opened the way for wheat culture ; but this crop
made very slow progress, and it was only at a comparatively recent
date that enough was grown for home use. Oats came earlier into
favor and general cultivation, but this crop, too, had to wait until there
grew a demand in the increased live stock. Hemp came to be consid-
erably grown in the county, and at an early day it was used for ropes,
and for making bagging for the cotton.

The opening of the Mississippi lands to entry and purchase at a later
date exercised perhaps a more immediate and powerful influence upon
Maury county than upon any other part of Tennessee, great as was the
influence upon the entire State. Mississippi was the El Dorado of cot-
ton planters. The slaves brought to Maury county had increased, mul-
tiplied, furnished their owners with the best possible instruments with
which to win the golden fleece of the cotton fields. Large numbers
emigrated from the county, and made their homes in Mississippi, while
many others and the more wealthy bought land and opened plantations
in Alabama and Mississippi, while they retained their homes and kept
their families in Maury county. But the influence was scarcely less on
those who did not become planters. The rapid development of the
cotton interest of Mississippi drove the Maury county cotton planter
out of the market. New Orleans was the cotton mart, and if the
Maury man could have grown as good cotton as the Mississippian, he
was too far away from market to compete with him. But it soon be-
came evident that there was no comparison between the staples grown
by the two. So, per force, cotton was driven from Maury county in a
large measure. But there was a compensation in store for the farmer.
The planter might monopolize the cotton market, but he was almost as
much at a disadvantage in trying to grow his own supplies of hemp,
corn and bacon. For these he must look elsewhere. Naturally he
came to Tennessee, the nearest and then the best hemp, corn and hog
region in the Union. In resi)onse to this demand, hemp came to be
one of the staple crops in Maury county, and rope walks and hemp
factories were quite as common in the county as cotton gins are now.
At the same time, increased attention was paid to the growth of corn,
hogs and mules, and the selling crops increased from the one article,
corn, to corn, hogs, mules and lieinj). This change favored and was

Middle Tennessee. 833

favored by the reduction of the number of farm hands. More land
A\ as put down in grass and more negroes were taken to the cotton
region. In time, however, Missouri, Kentucky and other States en-
tered the hemp field, and the competition became too strong. Hemp
gradually ceased to be grown, but its place was occupied by more grass
and stock, and more negroes were sent to the cotton fields. By this
])rocess the number of persons residing in Maury county and planting
in some of the cotton States increased year by year. The influence of
this condition of things we shall soon have occasion to notice. One
singular feature presents itself in the agricultural history of the county,
and that is that at a certain period a mania for making brandy and
whisky seems to have pervaded the whole community, accordingly
we find an astonishing number of still-houses built. This feature we
are unable to account for, and all the more so as it was not peculiar to
this county, but seems to have been more or less common to the other
counties at the same time.

The following letter to the Secretary from Major Campbell Brown,
of Spring Hill, gives much information in relation to this excellent
county. In it are embraced some items given by Mr. Akin :

"There are four leading divisions of lands, the barrens, the creek bot-.
toms, the cedar lands, and the rich limestone and clay soil, the latter
constituting the bulk of the county. The soil of the barrens is light,
sometimes red and clayey, sometimes gray, but in either case washing
off readily, and said to be soon worn out by tillage. It brings good
fruits and vegetables. Very fair clover and corn grow on it, on a
small scale as regards the clover. The creek and river bottoms are al-
luvial, of the richest description, but not constituting any large portion
of the county. The north-eastern and eastern parts of the county are
cedar lands, of the poorer class, as far as my observation (which is
limited) extends, a very black, pasty soil on white and gray limestone,
much stone and the soil thin. The well known blue-grass lands, which
constitute the bulk of the county, have occasionally rising above them
a fifth class of soil, which I have not specified, flinty hills with a good
deal of slate in their lower parts, the tops and sides covered with frag-
ments of flintstones and sharp gravel. These hills, where not too steep,
are excellent for corn and grass, but not so good for cotton. The soil
is darker than that of the lower grounds. I am unable to say what
are the special aptitudes of our best lands — the yellow poplar and beech
lands. They seem, if properly cultivated and well treated, tc produce
53

834 Resources of Tennessee.

almost anything desired. But they grow some of the grasses to per-
fection, cotton, corn and tobacco well, wheat and small grain ditto.

"With such variations in quality, land ranges from $100 per acre for
small, highly improved places, in good neighborhoods, a price paid
two or three times in the last three years near Ash wood and Mount
Pleasant, down to $1 for wild lands in the barrens, plenty of which
can be had at that price. It is hard to give an idea, but excellent places,
with tolerably good improvements, and conveniently situated, have
sold for $35 to $40 per acre, and fair lands near them at $20 and $25,
on usual time.

" The average yields on our better class of soils I should put not
higher than, corn, 30 bushels ; wheat, 13 bushels ; cotton, 600 pounds
(seed); tobacco, 900 to 1,000 pounds. Very little tobacco or peanuts
are grown. Hay, \\ tons, though this is a mere guess, as it is rarely
weighed or sold. On the poorer class of soils not over two-thirds of
this, perhaps not over one-half. I mean the barrens and cedar lands
by this class. There is not over one acre in forty or fifty actually
thrown out of cultivation and gone to waste from exhaustion, but at
least one-fourth the land is worked at a loss, in my opinion, and ought
to be rested. We have reached a point where on many places farming
must improve or stop. I attribute this more to bad tillage than to
actual exhaustion of the soil. Our lands are rolling, and when plowed
up and down hill wash badly, especially where there is a liard pan
four or even three inches below the surface, as is not seldom the case.
It is still the case that some of our farmers break up with a one-horse
plow, or if they use two horses do not give proper attention to the
manner in which the work is done. A piece of land within sight of
my door was cleared in 1870 and put in tobacco. In 1871 it was again
in tobacco, and that fall put in wheat, the rows always running up and
down the face of a short but steep hill. It is now utterly worn out, or
washed off, rather. Another reason why I attribute deterioration more
to bad farming than to exhaustion by crops, is that some of the very
oldest farms in the county are among the most productive. I am sat-
isfied that the most profitable farming for the county is a strictly mixed
system, embracing both stock-growing and money crops. I know
that the percentage of returns on capital invested in stock-growing has
not heretofore compared with that received from money crops, chiefly
cotton ; but last fall a farmer, who is regarded as among the most suc-
cessful, if not the most successful, of the cotton planters in the county,
and whose farm is comparatively level, assured we he would soon have

Middle l^ennessee. 835

tn begin stock-growing and the raising of grasses to renovate his lands,
which are, he says, deteriorating fast. He regretted not having com-
bined the two pursuits in the first place, and said his land had lost in
value a good part of what he received for his crops. A near neighbor
(it mine, who follows the mixed system strictly, is perhaps the most
successful farmer in the county, and as I know of no ftiilures to make
money where it has been observed, (though many may have occurred)
the result of my observation is that it promises best for the county.
Our soils are all adapted to the grasses. Even in the barrens clover
grows well, and there are native grasses which furnish good summer
grazing. I never saw the meadow grasses tried on that soil. On our
better lands, timothy and red-top (or herds-grass) have been the usual
meadow grasses. Orchard-grass is rapidly coming into favor, and lor
grazing also is nearly as well liked as blue-grass, though it has not vet
had a free and fair trial. Clover is the only renovator in habitual use.
Barnyard manure is beginning to be cared for, and plaster is occasion-
ally sown on clover, but clover alone is the chief reliance for worn-out
lands.

" Labor is sufficiently abundant. Cotton and corn are chiefly grown
on shares, or by renters, except that a large proportion of the cotton
in the county is grown by the smaller farmers and their families.
Hands on shares feed themselves and get one-third or one-half of the
crop, where the owner furnishes teams, implements and forage. Where
they furnish these, they get one-half to two-thirds. Farm hands get
$12 per month and rations, for good men, ranging down to $5 or '$6
for women.

''Rents. Where these are paid in money, $4, ^5 and ^6 for cotton,
corn and wheat lands respectively, are the usual rates. Sometimes
more, sometimes less is paid, owing more to accidental circumstances,
or to relation of supply and demand, than to the quality of the land.
Leases are not much in fashion. Where made, they are usually for
five years, so far as I have observed, with a stipulated annual rent, the
lessee being bound to stricter care than an ordinary renter, and having
compensating advantages allowed him. I am inclined to think it
would be well for the county if long leases were more in use, as three-
fourths of the bad farming is done by annual renters. In leasing for
terms of years, owners would find the character of the lessee as a
farmer more important than the higher rent that another man might
promise, and tenants feeling permanently settled would be encouraged

St^6 Resources of Tennessee.

to be careful, and to improve the lands. In this connection, while
recognize the value of the negro as a laborer, or as a manageable ai
nual tenant, let me say it is of no nse to expect him to improve (
keep up rented land without close personal attention on the part oft!
owner. As for being a tenant for years and caring for the land on h
own account, it is quite outside of his philosophy.

"There is a good deal of land for sale in the county — some goo
farms belonging to men with large families who want to seek a new(
country, or to men who are in debt and obliged to sell, and a goo
many farms run down by the same bad management that makes
necessary for their owners to move.

"The Live Stock of Maury county is probably a little better than
was in 1860, when there was a great deal of highly improved stock i

the county, most of which was swept away by the war. In 1866 thai
was scarcely a good horse in the more exposed portions of the county
and the stock of cattle was very small and inferior. Most of the ca
tie haV'C an infusion of Short-horn blood. The horses are generall
well bred, but deficient in size and bone. The sheep are generally m
tives, with a good proportion of Southdown grades, and the hogs ai
Berkshire or grades. In hogs, indeed, Maury county is better oif tha
in any other class of stock, having both more of the improved spec
mens and a better average. A good deal of improved stock has late!
been brought into the county. In horses, it now has four good troi
ting stallions, four or five good thoroughbreds, and a large number (
saddle horses, mostly bred in the county, some of them quite gooc
In cattle quite a number of excellent Short-horns, some good Devor^
and Jerseys, and in sheep, a few Cotswolds and a good many Southdownilj .■
But I fear it would be too much to say that any general interest in iml
proved stock has been aroused. The stock of the county, howeve'
cannot help improving steadily, under present circumstances, as th
numl)er of well bred sires increases yearly. There is very genen
coin])]aint of the trouble given by dogs, and it prevents many froi
attempting to grow sheep. If the loss in the county were as gret
amuudly as it is in this neighborhood, I should estimate it at 1,00
head, but it will scarcely fall short of 600 at the least. It is not al
ways the case that the largest owners lose most. The largest flock i
the county has lost less than one-half of one per cent, from this caun
for three years past. I have had a good deal of experience wit
sheep-killing dogs, and feel tempted to go outside of the strict questi

Middle Termessee. 837

■lir as to say that it is the rarest of things for a dog tliat is good for
ihing, or whase owner takes decent care of him, to kill sheep.

ne-tenths of the damage is done by rambling, half-starved curs,
^lose owners cannot or will not feed them. I have poisoned fully 100
(OS in fields where sheep had been killed, and never failed to get the

iity one — never killed but one dog that was of any value, and he
i d undoubtedly killed the sheep by whose carcass we found him.

''There are several drawbacks to farming:

''1. The System of Annual Renting and cultivation of cotton on
fares. This begets a feeling of insecurity and want of permanence

• relations, both of tenant and owner, that is palsying to all system-
;ic efforts at improvement. The object of the owner is to obtain the

rii;ost return with the least expenditure of labor or money, as the
xt tenant may require an entirely different arrangement from that
hich would suit the present one, and the tenant obviously has no in-
rest, but to make the most out of the land for the present season.

"2. This system arises from the lack of means on the part of the
nd owners, as much as from any otlier circumstance. There are few
' them who possess the capital to buy stock, or to be able to seed
nd to pasture and wait for returns from it. Their wants necessitate
le constant cultivation of their arable land, and as it annually de-
oases in fertility, the necessity is continually more stringent. For
ich there seems but one escape — in the practice of most careful econ-
iny until a capital has been accumulated, or the sale, where possible,
I' part of their lands, to procure means to improve the rest, and as
lost own more than they can have thoroughly tilled, this is the most
romising course.

" 3. The scarcity of stock, of permanent pastures, and the lack of
roper rotations of crops are all corollaries from the above facts. I

• lieve it is accepted as an axiom, that either commercial fertilizers or
oinc-made manures are essential to improvement, or even to sustained

It i Iity of farms. Commercial fertilizers are not used (except occa-
ionally plaster on clover) and few farmers keep enough stock to fur-
ii<h the necessary manures, or take care of what manures are made.

"4. Those who keep stock often handle them carelessly, pay too lit-
attention to weeding out the unprofitable ones, and consequently
ind themselves more pinched for means than if they kept none.

"5. The means of communication throughout the county are bad,

838 Resources of Tennessee.

so that there is less of social intercourse than ever before, and less at-
tention paid to those things that render a farmer's life graceful and
cheerful, and make his children content to remain with him. I think
this will soon change for the better. This lack of intercommunication
is a great obstacle to the spread of improved ideas, and is a real, not a
fancied, evil, of -the most serious nature.

"The valuable varieties of timber are growing scarce. The walnut in the
county, has been much thinned since the war, as have the poplar and cedar.
Probablv more of poplar and walnut have been exported than of any
other lumber. Some walnut logs (uncut) have gone direct to Cincin-
nati by rail, and a good deal of lumber has been sent to the same
market. There is a large number of saw-mills in the county. I am
safe in saying that the feeling of the people toward immigrants is most
friendly and favorable, and that they are anxious for anybody to come
who expects to work for a living. This I have seen practically de-
monstrated in repeated instances. The farmers are rather disposed to
sell and emigrate, the wish seeming almost confined to three classes :

"1. Those of limited means, with large or growing families, who
want to go where land is cheaper, so as to be able to own more and
leave better provision for their children.

"2. Those who are in debt and sell out by way of clearing off old
scores, taking the money left them for a fresh start in a new country.

"3. Those who are renting land here, and who do not, therefore,
come strictly under this class, who move where they can buy. ♦

'^ Roach. At an early day the natural facilities for making good roads
were taken advantage of in Maury county in a general way, but it was
not until the joint stock turnpike companies came into vogue that the
present system of roads were established. The building of the Nash-
ville turnpike gave such an immediate and powerful stimulus to trade
and travel that the other roads were built without much trouble.
These roads are first graded, then macadamized, and in many cases
covered with a thick coating of gravel, which may be obtained from
tlie bed of almost any of the creeks, and from any shoal in the river.
These roads are not well kept up at present, and an efficient road
law is sadly needed."

Farm Houses, Out-huildings, Fences, and Fixtures. A majority of
the houses in the county are weather-boarded, framed, painted, white
M'ith green blinds. The prevailing plan is two rooms, with a passage

Middle Tennessee. 839

between, with an L addition running back; kitchen detached and smoke
house by itself. With comparatively few exceptions, the houses are
comfortable and roomy, and the most of them have some attempt at orna-
ment in the way of a front porch, or ornamented front door. So, too,
the front yard always shows some desire for something beyond the merely
useful, in the shape of a rose bush or other flowers. In the better class
of houses, all these regards for comfort are multiplied and the refining
influence of woman is made more manifest. This spirit and influence cul-
minate in the finest residences in the county, which were always in the
country, and not in town. Around these residences are beautiful pleas-
ure grounds, and costly green-houses, conservatories and flower gardens,
all devoted alone to the delight and comfort, and not at all to the profit
of the owners, their families and friends. The buildings in such places
are usually of brick, and designed and finished in the highest style of
art within reach. Here we find the ripened fruit of that spirit of com-
fort and good taste which marked the early settlers.

The out-buildings are, perhaps, not quite up to the level of the
houses, relatively speaking, yet they will compare favorably with those
of the best counties in the State. In one particular, there is a favor-
able exception, and that is in the fences. No county in the State can
boast fences superior to those in Maury county. The abundance of excel-
lent timber and building stone has been wisely and widely used.
Stone fences are gradually extending along the boundaries of the best
farms. As a natural appendage, good gates accompany good fences.

Toivns. There are in the county twenty-three towns and villages^
Of these. Spring Hill and Sante Fe lie north of the river, and Wil-
liamsport, Hampshire, Mt. Pleasant, Campbellsville, Bigbyville, and
Culleoka south of the river. Columbia, the county seat, is situated
on the south side of the river, nearly midway the county. The vil-
lages are neat, with wide streets, and have the same air of taste that
marks the country towns of the State. Columbia is, in some particu-
lars, a noticeable county town. It is, in the first place, the cleanest
town in the State. It lies so as to drain itself. Its streets are broad,
well built and gravelled, bordered with wide and smooth sidewalks.
Originally, these sidewalks were laid down of slabs of shaly limestone
in the native state, but these have mostly given place to brick. Along
each side of the streets, but not in the pavements, shade trees have
been planted and preserved. They are mostly of the paper mulberry
and maj)le. Columbia is one of four or five towns in the State with
public water-works. A primitive style of wheel and pump supplies

840 Resources of Tennessee.

the town from a splendid spring, situated about half a mile from
the town, and has done so for more than a quarter of a century. But
an observing traveler having been through the county, and coming
into the town, would hardly fail of being disappointed in its appear-
ance. The residences are not such as, judging from other counties and
towns, he would be led to expect. But this phenomenon is easily ex-
plained. The county is emphatically an agricultural county. By way
of illustrating the English love of the country, it has been said that
every native inhabitant of London, at some time in his life, dreams
of a happy future when he can go to the country to live. This saying
would be literally true of every native of Columbia. The wealth of
the county lies in the country; there are the finest houses, and there
the mass of the intelligence and refinement of the county is found.
By this it is not to be understood that Columbia would not compare
favorably with its sister county towns, for most assuredly it would, and
in one most important particular, would be acknowledged the peer of
any town or city in the State, not excepting even the capital itself, we
mean, of course,

Tlie Female Schools. We have seen that the early settlers brought
with them, from their old homes, a high appreciation of education,
and sought to secure the best within reach. This appreciation was in-
herited by their children, so that at an early day schools were established
in all the large neighborhoods, which were quite equal, if not superior,
to schools of their class elsewhere, but it was properly left to Colum-
bia to build up higher institutions. In 1837 a few wise and good men,
noted alike for their learning and liberality, their zeal and self-sacri-
ficing devotion to the cause of education, determined to build an insti-
tution in Columbia that should be at once a pride to the town and a
blessing to the State. The work was long and arduous, but it was
done, and the Columbia Female Institute was the result. It took, from
the beo-inninsr, a stand in behalf of female education far in advance of
the times. Under the wise management of its gifted rector, it became
known far and near, and drew pupils from all of the Southern States. In
1853 the Columbia Athenseum was established, and soon became as
popular and as widely known. These institutions, which still
flourish, have made for Columbia an enviable reputation, and exer-
cised a hap])y influence in elevating and refining the tone of society in
the town and county, or for that matter, wherever their pupils were
sent far and wide throughout the South. For many years, Jackson
College offered fair op])ortunities to the young men of the county for

Middle Te7messee. 841

acquiring something more of education than could be obtained in the
neighborhood schools, though these were very good. The buildings
were destroyed during the war, however, and the college has not been
revived. There is at present a lack of good male schools, not only
in Columbia, but throughout the county. There are some very good
ones, but not enough to meet the wants of the community. Precisely
why this want should continue so long unsupplied, is not easy to say,
but it is quite possible that the things needed are not taught in the
schools, or rather the things taught are not the things felt to be needed.
The farmers want something more than the abstractions and dead
forms of dead people, and though they may not be able to define their
w^ants, they certainly feel that what is offered in the old style curricu-
lums, is not the thing. Herein lies the root of much of the indiffer-
ence to schools, of which speakers and writers have so much to say.
When the schools shall offer what the farmers need, live matter and
life-giving matter, then there will be found plenty of interest. In
this field lies the most important and urgent work that belongs of
right to farmer's clubs and Granges.

Since the War. In all the South a new era has begun since the war.
In Maury county the loss by the war was excessively great. The mo-
bilized wealth of the county consisted of negroes and stock, and much
of the value of the negroes consisted in their familiarity with and skill
in the management of stock. At the close of the war the negroes
were free and scattered, the stock gone, stables and barns burnt, and
fences destroyed, and the farmers had to begin almost as empty-handed
as the first pioneers. This condition of things, added to the further
fact that cotton was the one thing in demand, compelled every farmer
to devote more or less of his land to cotton. The free negroes would
not work other crops, and no one had money to stock a farm. Nine
years have passed, and a wonderful change has been wrought. The
recuperative powers of the land and the people have shone out in great
force. Fences have been rebuilt, barns and stables renewed, roads re-
paired. The county agricultural society has been revived, and for six
years has held annual fairs with great success. A large, live and
earnest farmers' club has been established. The true policy of the
county is restored. Cotton is fast giving way before improved
stock; hogs, cattle and sheep of the very best blood and form are per-
haps bred now by a larger number of farmers than was ever the case
before. The one great obstacle in the path of all agricultural progress
in the county is the uncertain and disorganized condition of the labor

842 Resoiwces of Tennessee.

force. This condition of things is common to the entire South. The
labor question is indeed the great question with American farmers. In
stock-raising the labor must be skilled, and in some measure fixed.
Stock farmers, therefore, find it more difficult to get good hands than
do cotton-growers, to whom the quality of the labor is not a mattter of
such great moment. The solution of this problem is one of the works
for the coming generation. The loss of property, and especially of the
incomparable house servants, consequent upon the war, has reduced
the style of living among the wealthier families very greatly, and
worked many othei changes in the domestic arrangements of the •farm-
ers. But the wives and daughters have proved themselves equal to the
emergency, and are meeting the difficulties and overcoming them with
most commendable cheerfulness.

The Country Store. Prominent among the institutions which have
grown up or received new life since the war is the (joimtry Store. In
the olden time the owner of servants, having to provide their food and
clothing, bought in bulk and dealt almost exclusively either in Colum-
bia or Nashville, but since the freedman has to provide for himself he,
of necessity, buys by the dollars' worth, or less, and cannot afford to
go far to buy. Out of this consideration of things have sprung up
country stores that keep on hand a small stock of all the ordinary arti-
cles of household needs, and buy or barter for almost everything that
can be brought to market. The influence of these institutions is just
beginning to show itself. In time they will become the nuclei of little
villages. It will be all the easier to build up these little towns, now
that the absence of good servants robs country-life of many of its old-
time pleasures. Both Columbia and the older villages are getting the
benefit of this same influence, as may be seen by the increased number
of country people who are " moving to town." The result is a marked
improvement in the towns in the number of residences and amount of
business carried on.

Mannfacfuriuff in ColmnbUi. There had been for many years, before
the war several manufactories of carriages and of furniture, and the
business was growing. Since the war, however, the demand for pleas-
ure-carriages lias not been so great, or at least the style of carriage de-
sired is not s<j costly, but in place of this branch of business the manu-
facture of plows, harrows, etc., has been entered \\\)0\\ with zeal and
success. In the meautine furniture-making has largely increased, and
a factory erected, in which the making of hickory-framed split-bottomed

Middle Tennessee. 843

chairs is a specialty. A foundry has been established, and there is
manifestly an increasing inclination to make things at home, which in
time may ripen into an active manufacturing spirit.

Tlie Smaller Industries. Springing from the same causes that give rise
to the country store, is a general tendency to pay more attention to the
little industries. The selling of butter, chickens and eggs was in the
palmy days of the old regime, beneath the dignity of too many of the
farmers and farmers' wives of Maury county. A wiser and more
profitable sentiment is spreading abroad through the county. As a
consequence, the town markets are improved, and the pocket money of
the farmers' wives is increased. The change is a healthful one, and
deserves encouragement, since, there is still much room for improve-
ment in this direction. Among these smaller industries, the

GrouHug of Fruit deserves especial mention. It is something near
twenty-five years since, through the active canvassing of some Oljio
nurserymen, a new impetus was given to the planting of fruit trees in
the county. By the praiseworthy persistency of these agents and their
successors, the county became pretty thoroughly stocked with fruit.
Much of it was worthless, it is true, because many of the agents were
swindlers, but there was also much good fruit put out. Especially did
the peaches and plums do well ; the northern apples all failed. But
the farmers got a taste of good fruit, and since then, have been stead-
ily buying. They have begun to learn from experience that there is a
difference in fruit trees. In the meantime, a few trustworthy nurser-
ies have been established in the county, so that, in tlie future, gross mis-
takes may be avoided. The uniform experience of all careful experi-
ments establish conclusively that peaches, plums, pears and apples, of
the finest quality and in paying quantities, may be grown in any part
of the county. In peaches, several splendid seedlings have been estab-
lished.

Railroads. The Nashville and Decatur Railroad traverses the
county about midway from north to south. It is one of the best built
roads in the country, and has been of immense benefit to the <'0unty.
At present, active measures are on foot for building a narrow gauge
road from Jolinsonville to Columbia, and on to Fayetteville. If built
as projected, it will be of exceeding value to the county in developing
its latent resources.

Co'iamon Schools. Under the old condition of things there were, in

§44 Resoui'ces of Tennessee.

the sense in which the terms are used in the Northern States, no poor
jDeople in Maury county. This fact, coupled with that spirit of per-
sonal independence, which made it alike a matter of duty and of right
as well as of honor for every man to take care of and educate his own
family at his own expense, obviated the necessity for schools made free
at the common expense of the tax-payers. Under the present condi-
tion of things, circumstances are altered, and a tax for common school
purposes has been voted by the county, and the system is in good
working order, [as will be seen by reference to the scholastic statistics
appended to chapter xx, part first.]

Religious Observances. Attendance upon church exercises is a social
requirement in this county, of quite as efficient force as if it were a
statutory regulation. No where are the people more addicted to
church-going, and nowhere does church-going do more good. Most
of the leading denominations of Protestant Christians are represented
in the towns, and almost every large neighborhood has a handsome
church building.

Newspapers. From an early day in its history, Columbia has boasted
one or more weekly papers, and no chapter in the history of the
county would be more interesting than that which should give an ac-
count of the press of the county. Many of the most distinguished
men in the State have, at some period of their lives, been connected
with the Columbia press. At present, the Herald and Mail is the
only paper published in the county, and it is no disparagement to any
other paper to say that it has no superior, if it has an equal, as a
weekly county newspaper in the State.

The New Order of Things. Whether it be true everywhere, as some
hold, that where the soil is fertile, the climate salubrious, and the mar-
kets near, institutions are of rapid growth and quick development,
certain it is that the people of Maury county are rapidly adapting
themselves to the new order of things, and ra})idly aligning themselves
with the new movements. In this, tliey are but keeping their place in
the front rank. In the nature of things, they could not hold back.
Honor, duty and interest all demand that Maury county shall continue
to lead, as in times past, she lias lead in all forward movements.
Farming is the calling of tlic county. Commerce and manufacturing
may be and should be developed as auxiliaries, but the great bulk of
the wealth will, of necessity, remain on the farm. In the hands of
the farmers, therefore, rests the future of the county, and especially of

Middle Tennessee. 845

the young farmers. The young farmers must come to the front, and
come in a body organized and educated. Old slipshod ways may do
for out-of-the-way places, but where nature has done her best, and set
it in the eye of the passing world, shame and confusion must follow
neglect. None but the best known practices can be afforded here. In
time no other will be tolerated.

Statistics. In point of wealth Maury stands the third in the State,
Shelby being first and Davidson second. It had a population, by the cen-
sus of 1870, of 36,289, of which 16,265 were colored. In 1860 there were
32,498 persons in the county, including 14,654 slaves, and 143 free
colored. The entire value of taxable property is $11,109,144, num-
ber of polls 4,728, number of voters 6,521, of whom 2,405 are col-
ored.

MONTGOMERY COUNTY.

County Seat — Ci.arksville.

On the 12th day of April, 1780, on the eastern shore of the Cum-
berland River, at what is now called the mouth of Red River, in the
county of Montgomery, Moses Renfroe landed the rude boat con-
structed by his own hands far away upon the head-waters of the Hol-
ston. That boat, loaded with his household goods, had brought him
down stream, and up stream, more than 1,000 miles through a country
inhabited by hostile Indians. It had been the home of himself and
his family for four months of the hardest winter on record, and here it
rested in the gentle waters of Red River, and from it stepped his
brave old wife, and his sons, and sons-in-law and their families, led by
the old patriarch, " who entered into and possessed the land." And as
Moses Renfroe disembarked with his family and his dogs (for of these
he had an abundance) and his household goods, he might have felt proud,
for of all the adventurous men and women who lived in these adventur-
ous times, he was the first to occupy that goodly land. But one band had
preceded him in the settlement of the country west of the Cumber-
land Mountain, and that band was led by Captain James Robertson,
wlio, in the early spring of 1779, set out from the parent hive at Wa-
tauga, crossed the wild Cumberland Mountains, or Table Land, pene-
trated the thick cane-brakes, and pitched their tents near the French

846 Resources of Tejinessee.

Lick, where the city of Nashville now stands. Six hundred miles
away to the east, and separated by a trackless wilderness, lay the old
home of Moses Renfroe, in North Carolina — and the settlement of the
Watauga, half that distance, then the extreme frontier, and looked
u])on by the old colonists as beyond the verge of civilization^ and out-
side the pale of their protection. It were a pleasant task to narrate
the many hazardous adventures encountered, the dangers and trials,
the toils and sufferings, and the many privations endured, and deeds
of daring performed by this resolute band, but our task is one of the
present, and not of the past — to deal with what is, and not what was.

In the year 1788 a new county, called Tennessee county, was organ-
ized by the Legislature of North Carolina, and its boundaries embraced
the present counties of Robertson, Montgomery and Stewart. The
State was admitted into the Union in 1796. Tennessee county gave
up its name, and the State took it, and during the same year, by
authority of the Legislature, then sitting at Knoxville, the counties of
Robertson and Montgomery were established. The county was named
in honor of Colonel John Montgomery, a native of Virginia, who
came west early, and was killed on the frontier. James Ford was the
first Senator from the county of Tennessee, and Thomas Johnson and
William Ford Representatives — elected in 1796. This Thomas John-
son was the father of the late Hon. Cave Johnson.

Size, Geography and Topography. The county of Montgomery at
present embraces nearly 500 square miles, and is divided into nineteen
civil magisterial districts. It had a population, according to the last
census, of 24,747, of which 11,670 were colored. It is one of the
northern tier of counties, and is bounded on the north by the State of
Kentucky, on the east by the counties of Robertson and Cheatham, on
the south by Dickson, and on the west by Houston and Stewart. The
general surface of the county is undulating, with a mean elevation of
over 500 feet above the sea. The records of the survey of the Mem-
phis, Clarksville and Louisville Railroad, for which we are indebted
to J. B, Tapscott, civil engineer, show the subjoined elevations from
Sailor's Rest, in the south-western part of the county, to the crossing
of the State line, near the north-eastern corner. The figures on the
left give the distance in niiles between stations:

Sailors' Rest 385 feet.

5 Carlxnulalo 383 "

1.8 Palmyra 388 "

1.7 Allen's Switch 382 "

Middle Tennessee, 847

3 Steele's Spring 385 feet.

5.9 Bottom on Cumberland River at Eail-

road crossing, Clarksville 326 "

Passenger Depot 454 "

Stewart College 49G "

Bottom on Eed River, 1.4 miles from

Clarksville 329 "

3.6 Cherry's Station 557 "

1.9 Dudley's 514 "

3.2 Hampton's 533 "

6 State line 563 "

The first six stations are in the river basin. The last four are on the
level plateau, which extends over the north-eastern part of the county,
and probably more nearly approaches the general elevation of the
county. On the south side of the Cumberland River, the undulations
swell into considerable hills.

Streams. The Cumberland River is one of the finest and most
beautiful streams in the country. It enters the county near its south-
eastern extremity, runs in a northerly course, until it passes the town
of Clarksville, and then makes a great bend, and leaves the county
near its south-western corner. With an unchangeable channel, rock
bound, with banks high and precipitous in places, and its rich bottom
lands, among the best in the State, spreading out here and there on
either side, it presents to the traveler passing up or down, a picture
hard to be excelled in beauty. The Cumberland is a fine, bold stream,
and presents quite a contrast to most of the rivers in the west. It
is navigable for boats of good size about eight months in the
year. The tributary streams within the boundaries of the coun-
ty are numerous, and spread themselves into nearly every dis-
trict, furnishing many fine mill sites, and a sufficiency of water-power
to drive any quantity of machinery. Red River enters the county on
the east, near the ancient and honorable town of Port Royal, which
once competed with Nashville for the seat of government, and flowing
in a westerly direction, enters the Cumberland between the towns of
Clarksville and New Providence, which lie scarcely a mile apart, with
this river for their dividing , line. Before the days of railroads and
steamboats, many flat-boats were built at Port Royal, and loaded with
tobacco and other produce, and floated down Red River into the Cumber-
land River, and thence to New Orleans. Chickens and turkeys, in great
droves, were not unfrequently compelled to take compulsory voyages of
a thousand miles. Big West Fork, Little West Fork, Sulphur Fork,

848 Resources of Tennessee.

Spring Creek and Passenger Creek are all conflnents of Red River, and
several fine mills are in operation upon their banks. Blooming Grove
Creek, which passes in a semi-circle through district number nine,
empties into the Cumberland on the north side, below the mouth of
Red River, and Big Brush Creek on the same side above the mouth of
Red River. South of the Cumberland, Yellow Creek, a fine stream,
and the delight of all genuine fishermen, winds its way through fer-
tile bottoms, and discharges itself into the Cumberland below Palmyra.
Budd's Creek, McAdoo and Half Pone are also good streams, with
rich and productive bottoms and are thickly settled along their banks.
They empty into the Cumberland above Clarksville. The early settlers
of the country all hunted for springs and water courses, and hence the
banks of these streams bear evidences of a much older civilization
than the country back in the interior. The rich barrens, as they were
called, near the Kentucky line, were totally neglected until there were
no more springs for emigrants to settle around, and then they came
into notice. The most fertile and productive lands in the county were
thus saved for the last comers. Cisterns are now used almost exclu-
sively in the " barrens."

Geology. Montgomery is one of the counties of the Highland Rim,
and is geologically on the upper or Lithostrotion bed of the Siliceous
Group of the Lower Carboniferous. This formation is always charac-
terized by hopper-shaped sinkholes, which are produced by the removal
of the rocks and earth beneath the surface by subterranean streams.
The Lithostrotion bed, sometimes called the St. Louis limestone, is the
prevailing rock. It affords valuable building material. Some of this
limestone is oolitic, other layers are interstratified with flinty masses.
In color it varies from a blue to a dingy white. On the south side of
the Cumberland beds of sandstone occur of a yellowish cast. This
rock is sometimes used in repairing furnace hearths. Caves are quite
numerous. One known as Dunbar's Cave, four miles north-east of
Clarksville, is a favorite resort in summer. It is two or three miles in
length, and has a magnificent entrance overarched by limestone.

Lan(h, Soik, Timber and Crops. The soils of this county are strong
and durable. They produce well and are easily reclaimed after exhaus-
tion. Resting ujwn a bed of red clay with layers of interstratified
chert, they have the cai)acity of retaining moisture without suffering
from a want of drainage. Calcareous and siliceous, they combine the
strength of the one with the friableness of the other. Though not so
rich gen(!rallv in the elements of phint-food as those in the Central

Middle Tennessee. 849

Basin, they are more reliable for the production of crops. The lime-
stone lies at a great depth beneath the surface, as is shown in the dig-
ging of wells and cisterns. Away from the river basins it is rarely
seen cropping out, and where it does so, it is usually in isolated blocks
and not in continuous layers. In the part of the county south of the
Cumberland River the country is traversed by long holbws and ridges,
much broken, and the soil, though thin, is fertile. It washes easily, and
careful cultivation is necessary to preserve it. The northern slopes of
the ridges are peculiarly fertile. All this portion of the county was
formerly covered with magnificent timber, but much of it has been
used in the manufacture of iron. Oaks predominate, hickory is
plentiful, and walnut is found on river slopes and in the valleys. The
supply of timber is still ample for generations to come. The soil is
largely intermixed with " bastard flint," and is suited for grazing pur-
poses, for fruit, and especially for the grape. Good crops of corn,
oats and tobacco are made. The lands are cheap, unimproved selling
from two to ten dollars, improved from five to thirty. River and creek
bottoms are worth more, .varying from twelve to fifty dollars. Indeed,
the Cumberland River bottoms are unsurpassed in fertility. We have
the statements of reliable farmers that they have produced from fifty to
ninety-five bushels of corn per acre. Wheat and tobacco do not grow
so well on these low lands, the former taking the rust, and the latter
the spot. For grass, clover, oats and pumpkins, however, they are
among the best lands in the State. The lands lying south of Red
River are not so broken generally as those included south of the arc
made by the Cumberland. Near the Cheatham county line they be-
come flat. The soils here are unproductive, except in the creek bot-
toms. They assume a whitish color, and their sterile character is in-
dicated by the prevalence of the sweet gum. W^here the surface is
elevated the soil is better. These flat areas produce grass and oats in
paying quantities, though they will scarcely repay the cost of tillage in
corn or wheat. For fruit trees, and especially for the peach and the
cherry, they are highly commended. Between this region and Red
River the country is heavily timbered, and large quantities of boards,
staves and shingles are made annually. It is the great lumber region
of the county. The soil is productive and the region is thickly settled by
small farmers. Lands vary in price from three to thirty dollars. The
lands north of Red River and the Cumberland, and bordering on the
Kentucky line, are comparatively level, becoming more broken but not
less fertile as one approaches the rivers. The farms are large and well
54

850 Resources of Tennessee.

improved, and were, before the war, in the best state of culti-
vation. Many of them are still well kept. Three and four-horse
plows are in frequent use. Double shovels, cultivators, and the most
approved implements are to be found on nearly all the farms, but as
the farmers rely upon negro labor almost entirely, they have not pros-
pered in the same degree that the farmers have in those portions of the
State blessed with small farms. Lands have greatly declined in price.
From fifty to seventy-five dollars per acre they have been reduced to
twenty-five and thirty, and in proportion to their productive capacity
are the among cheapest in the State. This division of the county is
the great tobacco and wheat-growing region, and produces one-seventh
of all the tobacco grown in the State, and about three-fourth of all
grown in the county. The soil when first cleared is a mellow loam
underlaid by a deep red subsoil.

Tobacco. The soil last mentioned grows tobacco to great perfection,
and the type of the article is of such merit that it is well known
throughout Europe. The farmers, however, by overcropping and in-
attention to housing, stripping and firing, have reduced the standard
until it comes in competition with the inferior grades grown elsewhere.
If, instead of planting so much, they would plant less upon lands well
manured, and thus raise the best style of tobacco, as they can do, they
would have competition from but one place in the United States, and
that is the lands on the James River in Virginia. , A great error is
committed in aiming at quantity instead of quality. The region around
Clarksville is singularly favored in the peculiar composition of the soil
and in the inscrutable agency of climate for the production of this crop.
Under judicious culture and correct management the farmers may
grow a quality of tobacco that can be grown in no other place in the
Mississippi Valley. In raising an inferior article they are thrown in
competition with the farmers of Indiana, Illinois and Missouri, who
can produce a low grade much cheaper, because the soils in those
States will yield a greater number of pounds per acre. Manifestly it
would be to the highest and best interest of the farmers to produce the
higliest type, and thus avoid competition, and secure a better price.
For this reason small farmers would do well. Indeed, there are but
few places in the South where intelligent farmers could do better. Of
all the crops grown in this State none requires the exercise of so much
judgment, skill and foresight. It is impossible for an unthinking man
to manage successfully a crop of tobacco. A difference in the shade of
color will often make a difference of twenty-five per cent, in the price

Middle Tennessee. 851

of the article, and how to produce this color, exactly when to cut, and
how to house, when and how long to fire, when to bulk and how to
prize, are all questions in its management that require the nicest dis-
crimination and judgment. The best managers will sometimes get
two or three times the price realized by the common, ignorant farmer.
The chief drawback to the county has been that farmers plant out a
crop too large, and run the risk of procuring additional laborers at the
critical time in its management. It too often happens thSt when this
critical tinie arrives additional help cannot be procured, and conse-
quently the value of the whole crop is impaired. The best tobacco
land may be known by the native growth of blackjack and scrub hickory
with an undergrowth of hazel and black gum. It should be slightly
undulating, with an admixture of blackish red pebbles, an argillaceous
rock with fossil remains silicified, but still retaining a trace of phos-
phoric acid. These pebbles, interstratified with clay, form an admirable
natural drainage, and make the land much Avarmer. The best type of
tobacco is thick but fine, heavy of leaf, but small of stem and fibres.
The next best land for tobacco may be known by the growth of
poplar, sugartree, beech, and white oak, with pawpaw. The to-
bacco grown on this land is more leaf\-, but not so rich or fine as that
grown on the blackjack and hickory land. Red oak land with a mu-
latto subsoil will grow a fancy article of tobacco, but it is always light.
^., The average amount grown annually in the county is 3,500 hogsheads,
i| or about 5,000,000 pounds. Sometimes the crop reaches 5,000 hogs-
K heads. The average yield per acre is 850 pounds, though the best soils
■Loften produce 1,000, 1,200, and sometimes more. Though the local-
^Kty described i§ the largest tobacco-producing district in the- State, yet
^H,he same type of tobacco is grown all over the county, and also in the
^■counties of Stewart and Robertson adjoining. These, with the contig-
uous counties in Kentucky, grow what is known as the Clarksville to-
bacco.

Whmt. There is probably no land in the State better for wheat
than the best uplands in Montgomery. The siliceous soils, strongly im-
pregnated with lime, give strength to the straw while they also give
])lumpness to the berry. Under the best system of tillage the yield
often reaches thirty bushels per acre, and some few farmers have raised
forty. The most general average is not far from ten bushels on the
lands south of the Cumberland, and fifteen on the farms bordering on ^
the Kentucky line. By judicious tillage this yield could be doubled.
The use of the drill in the best parts of the county is increasing the

S52 Resources of Tejmessee,

yield. Reapers are in general use. Nowhere is there l:)etter flour
manuflictured. In the northern markets it is eagerly sought after.
The extent to which this crop is raised may be inferred from the fact
that there are thirteen large flouring mills in the county, that manu-
facture annually 65,000 barrels of flour for shipment, besides the amount
consumed at^liome. The flour has the valuable property of retaining
a large percentage of water in the baking process, so that a barrel will
make a larger number of pounds of bread than that grown north. Nor
is this property peculiar to the wheat grown in Montgomery only, but is
characteristic of nearly all the wheat grown in the State.

Indian Corn is a staple crop, and is grown upon every farm in the
county. The yield on best uplands is forty bushels ; on bottoms, fifty
bushels per acre.

Clover. This plant finds a congenial soil in Montgomery. It is
grown in every portion of the county, and is much used as a renova-
tor. The best farmers have it in regular rotation with other crops.
The following are the usual rotations practiced : First year corn, sec-
ond oats and sometimes wheat, third and fourth years clover ; or first
year tobacco, second wheat, and third and fourth clover. The clover
seeds are sown with the oats or wheat.

Hat/. On the alluvial bottoms, considerable quantities of hay are
grown. Some very fine meadows are made, and the yield from timo-
thy sometimes reaches as high as three tons per acre, though rarely.
Usually, about one and a half and two tons of hay frorp this grass are
regarded as satisfactory. Larger returns are obtained from German
millet and Hungarian grass. Mowers and horse-rakes are quite com-
monly used.

Potatoes. Sweet and Irish potatoes are grown upon every farm.
The yield of the former varies from seventy-five to one hundred
bushels. For several years, owing doubtless to unfavorable seasons,
the Irish potatoe has not done so well. This vegetable was largely
exported ten years ago, but more recently, not a sufficient quantity has
l)een raised to meet the home demand. For early varieties, the Early
Hose and Russet are preferred. Some farmers still raise the London
Lady, which is very rich, but not so early nor so productive as those
mentioned. For market, the late varieties — Peach Blow and Mountain
S])rout — were once grown very remuneratively. We have known, in
extreme cases, 400 bushels of the latter to be produced upon one acre.

Middle Tennessee. 853

The usual avernge is 100 bushels. Rich uplauds are much better
suited to the growth of this vegetable than bottom lands, though on
the latter the vines will grow more vigorously. All the garden vege-
tables do well. For the growth of hojis, the soil seems especially
-adapted.

Fniits. We cannot undertake to recommend every part of this
county for the production of fruit. Neither the apple nor peach tree
is long lived, except in special localities. While some excellent apples
and peaches are grown, the compact clay, especially in the northern
part of the county, checks the growth of the roots, and induces a pre-
mature decay in the trees. The borer also attacks the trees, and they
have to be carefully watched and nursed. Some of the lands south of
Red River, those in which the subsoil is largely composed of gravel,
produce trees vigorously, and in special localities the peach never fails.
The Murrillo and jNIay cherries probably give as satisfactory returns
as any other fruit, but the finer and larger varieties of cherries rarely
ever bear. Dwarf and standard pears bear bountifully, and the trees
are long lived. Some quite successful adventures have been made in
grape-growing, and judging from the experiments that have been
made, we are inclined to the belief that there are but few counties in
the State better suited for the growth of this delightful fruit. Such
readers as are interested in the cultivation of the grape in this county
can refer to the chapter on grape-growing, page 154.

Minerals. Iron ore is abundant in the south-western part of the
county. In 1854 seven furnaces were in operation in the iron district
that produced over 8,000 tons of pig metal. At present there is
only one in operation — Mount Vernon Furnace — which has a capacity
■of 360 tons per month. Some of the iron banks in this county are
very rich. The one known as Steele's Bank, lying on Yellow Creek,
and one mile from Sailor's Rest Station, on the Memphis Division of
the Louisville, Nashville and Great Southern Railroad, deserves special
mention. This bed has been penetrated to the depth of twenty-three feet
without reaching the bottom of the ore. The ore lies in horizontal
strata, eighteen inches in thickness, and the strata are separated from
each other by a half inch of red clay, and this thin layer of clay consti-
tutes the whole amount of dead matter. Captain Gracey, who has
had charge of the workings of the banks, raised 1,500 tons, a fair sam-
ple of which, upon analysis, yielded 57i per cent, of pure metallic
iron. The ore is entirely fr^e of flint. Mr. Oltawoth, of Pittsburg,
expresses the opinion that the ore found at this j)lace is the best that

§54 Resources of Tennessee.

has come under his observation, with the exception of the pipe ore
used in the manufacture of the boiler Sligo iron. Less than two tons
of ore are required to make one ton of iron, and it needs no calcening
before being used in the furnace. The limits of this bank have not
been reached on any side, and from present indications, the thick bed
extends in every direction for miles, for this same character of ore is
found cropping out on the property adjoining. In working the bank,.
a shaft eighty-five feet deep was sunk on a hill, and in the valley be-
low, another thirty feet deep, both striking the solid stratum of ore»
Hitherto the ore was thought to be confined to the hills. The ore is
limonite or brown hematite, and is believed to be practically inex-
haustible. Many other rich banks occur in the same region, and the
attention has not been given to this interest which its importance de-
serves.

There are numerous mineral springs in the county. The sulphur
springs, near Dunbar's Cave, have been improved to some extent, and
for a few seasons they were frequented as a summer resort.

Towns. Clarksville, situated on the right bank of the Cumberland
River, sixty-five miles by water, and fifty by land, north-west from
Nashville, has a population of 5,000, and a suburban population of
3,000. Its location is a beautiful one, being high and hilly. When
viewed from the river above, or from a few points on the railroad
south of the Cumberland, it reminds one, with its rolling green hills
and uneven surface, of the "Queen of the Tiber," Perhaps, in all the
State, u more elegant, intelligent, refined and hospitable people cannot
be found. From the institution of the State government to the pres-
ent time, her citizens have always taken deservedly prominent posi-
tions. At the bar and on the bench, in legislative halls, and in the
cabinet, on the hustings and in the field, they have won a character
honorable to themselves, and built up a well merited fame for their
city. Yet, there are many places in which enterprise and public spirit
are more conspicuous. With the best fiicilities for building up a manu-
facturing town, there are but few establishments that deserve to be
called manufactories. These consist of one foundry, two carriage
shojis, two wagon shops, two planing mills, three boot and shoe shops,,
one establishment for making agricultural implements, one chair fac-
tory, two saw-mills, two flouring n)ills, iwul one large steam tannery.
The whole amount invested in manufactories is only about |2,000,('00
with a trade equal to $G00,000. The wholesale grocery trade reaches

Middle Te^inessee. 855

$575,000 ; dry goods, hats, boots and shoes, $600,000 ; hardware,
$150,000; livery and trade stables, of which there are three, $200,000;
retail grocery, $40,000 ; furniture, $40,000. There are four banks,
including the one in Providence, representing a capital of $400,000;
six stemmeries, including the one in Providence, which shipped, for
1873, 2,000 hogsheads of strips and dry leaf. There are six Avare-
houses which sold, for the year 1873, 13,500 hogsheads of tobacco,
and shipped, altogether, 14,500 to New York, New Orleans, and other
points, besides 2,000 hogsheads of strips. The average annual ship-
ments before the war were 15,000 hogsheads, and during one year
18,000. The tobacco goes mostly to Liverpool and London, Bremen,
and to the French and Italian governments, via New York. The
average price of a hogshead of tobacco for the year 1873, was $160.
Altogether, there are about forty-one business houses in the place.
Their entire trade will aggregate $1,750,000 annually. This excludes
the manufactures, livery stables, and tobacco trade. Pork packing was
once carried on to a great extent, but under the pre.i-ent system
of farming, the crop of hogs barely supplies the demands of the county.
There are two large pork-houses in the county, one in Clarksville,
with a capacity of slaughtering 600 hogs daily, and another in Provi-
dence. The Clarksville and Providence Transfer Company is a char-
tered institution, with a capital stock of $20,000, and does business to
the amount of $50,000 annually. There are in the place two Metho-
dist Churches, two Episcopalian, one Presbyterian, one Cumberland
Presbyterian, one Baptist, one Christian, one Catholic, two colored
Methodist, tw^o colored Baptist, and one colored Presbyterian. Two
hotels are also kept in the city.

Educational Advantages. But few places have better prospects for
educational advancement than Clarksville. There are in operation
eight private schools, besides the free schools, for which the city has
voted a tax of ten cents on the hundred dollars worth of property,
and the sum of $27,000 for the erection of school houses. The Clarks-
ville Female Academy is an excellent institution, and has a regular at-
tendance of about 150 young ladies. The buildings are beautifully
situated in a grove of native timber. It is of many years standing,
and under the patronage of the Methodist Episcopal Church, South.

South-western University. Since the chapter on public schools went
to press, the synods of the Presbyterian Church of the States of Ala-
bama, Mississippi, Louisiana, Texas, Arkansas and Tennessee have loca-

856 Resoui^ces of Tennessee.

ted the University at this point. It is the intention to make this in-
stitution thorough in every particular, and second to none in America.
The amount donated to it by the city of Clarksville reaches in bonds,
notes, buildings, apparatus and museum $194,000, as follows :

Bonds $85,000

Old Endowment Fund 2,000

Notes 27,000

Buildings of Stewart College, and grounds 60,000

Museum, apparatus, &c 20,000

It is the intention of the trustees to raise an endowment fund of
$500,000, the interest only upon which is to be used. It is thought
that the Presbyterians of Missouri will co-operate with those of the
States named, and possibly those of Kentucky and Georgia. Houses
will at once be erected for the professors. The selection of Dr. B. M.
Palmer, of New Orleans, as Chancellor, is almost equivalent to a guar-
anty of its success, usefulness and widespread popularity and influence.
No better spot could have been chosen for a seat of learning. Clarks-
ville is noted for its healthfulness, for the high-toned morality and in-
telligence of its citizens, for its accessibility by river and by rail, and
for the varied but subdued beauty of the surrounding landscape. Stu-
dents will not occupy dormitories, but will be distributed among the
various families of the city, and thus be preserved from contracting the
rough manners and wild habits almost inseparable from protracted se-
clusion from the refinements and restraining influences of the domestic
circle.

The Press is represented by the Chronicle and the Tobacco Leaf,
two of the best country papers in the State. Both are Democratic in
principle, and are able and earnest advocates of all measures tending
to the development of the country. The city has a wharf-boat, gas
works, and a new market-house, but the court-house and jail are un-
worthy of the 'county, being old, unsightly, inconvenient and disagree-
able. Two bridges span Red River, three macadamized roads run out
from the city east, north-east and north, the latter passing through
Providence. The professions are represented by sixteen lawyers, thir-
teen doctors, three judges, four dentists, and ten or twelve ministers of
the gospel. The bar of Clarksville has always been distinguished by
the ability and learning of its members, and it would be difficult to
find in the State, within the same limits, so many men of influence
and weight.

New Providence. This thriving town is within two miles of Clarks-

Middle Tennessee. 857

ville, separated from it by Red River, and is situated on the north side
of Cumberland River. It has a population of 2,000, and is a place of
considerable trade. Besides the bank, pork -house, and warehouse,
which we have mentioned, it has eighteen commercial establishments,
and does a business to the amount of ^600,000 annually, one-half of
which is in groceries. The tobacco trade is carried on largely. The
region of country lying north of Providence is very fertile and pro-
ductive. The other towns and villages are Palmyra, situated in the
southwestern part of the county — old and almost deserted — shorn of
its ancient glory, for it, like Port Royal, once competed for the seat of
government ; St. Bethlehem, on the railroad, north-east of Clarksville
three and a half miles ; Port Royal, Peacher's INIills, Woodlawn, Oak-
wood, Carbondale, and Jordan's Springs. All of these places have
from two to six business houses. At Peacher's Mills there is a
wool factory, wdiich at one time employed thirty operatives. Besides
these towns and villages there are scattered through the county forty
country stores that supply their respective neighborhoods with staple
goods.

Transportation. Prior to 1860 the county was altogether dependent
upon the Cumberland River for transportation. During that year the
railroad leading from Memphis to Louisville was completed. It passes
diagonally through the county from north-east to southwest, crossing
Red and Cumberland rivers at Clarksville. This road intersects the
St. Louis and South-eastern road at Guthrie, 14 miles above Clarks-
ville, and only a few hundred yards beyond the county line. New
roads are projected, connecting Clarks'ville with the Kentucky coal
regions more directly, and also Nashville with Clarksville.

Indebtedness of the County. The depreciation in the price of land
in this county is doubtless attributable to the local taxation, which for
several years was one and a half times as much as the State tax. The
county created a debt in aid of the construction of the Memphis, Clarks-
ville and Louisville Railroad. Some of this has been ]x\id off. The pres-
ent county debt is $278,000, but as an offset it holds securities to the
amount of $180,000, so that the true debt does not exceed $100,000.
With the present energy and financial ability of the county officers, it is
thought tlie entire debt will be extinguished in four years. That we
are correct as to the cause of the low price of land, will appear from
the fact that the same qualities of land in Robertson on the one side, and
Stewart on the other, though not having equal advantages of transpor-
tation, are worth from ten to twenty-five per cent, more per acre.

858 Resources of Tennessee.

Fluctuations in Land. But a great depreciation took place in conse-
quence of the devastating results of the war, as will readily appear
from a comparison of the taxable value in 1858 and 1859 with the
valuation since. For the first named year the land in this county was
valued at $4,373,673 or $13.50 per acre. For 1859 it was valued at
$4,714,171 or $14.36 per acre. In 1867, as appears from the Comp-
troller's Keport, the total value of the land was $2,409,029 or $7.16
per acre; in 1872, $2,672,195 or $8.29 per acre, in 1873, $3,341,880 or
about $10.70 per acre. On the other hand the railroad tax, while it
relatively dhuinibhed the price of land as compared with those coun-
ties levying no tax, the construction of the railroad itself nearly
doubled the price of the land in every part of the county. In 1850
first-rate farms could have been bought for ten dollars per acre ; in
1860 the best farms were in demand at forty and fifty dollars per acre.
For the year 1859 the taxable property of the county amounted to
$10,362,762, or nearly double what it is at present, notwithstanding
the stringent assessment law now in force. From 1855 to 1864 there
was no county in the State more prosperous, and no one in which there
was a better or more thrifty class of farmers. It was the golden
period in the agriculture of the county. The city of Clarksville
for a portion of this period had sixteen tobacco stemmeries in op-
eration. Money was abundant. Life and energy were everywhere
apparent. The farmers practiced a diversified husbandry, and reaped
rich rewards. The number of hogs driven to the Clarksville market
was almost incredible. The streets were crowded with wagons from
morning until night, laden with produce of all kinds from the country.
Even turkeys formed no inconsiderable article of export, and as many
as 1,500 have been sent out of the county in a single year. The con-
trast between 1860 and 1874 is a painful one. Many of the smaller
industries are now totally neglected. With soils well suited for the
growth of potatoes, jiotatoes are imported. With the greatest facili-
ties for raising hay, hay is brought from Ohio and sold at $30 per ton,
when it may be produced at a less cost than $8 per ton. With rich
pasture lands, where the finest and best breeds of cattle may be raised
at a small cost, and butter and cheese manufactured as cheaply as in
Ohio, yet butter and cheese from the Western Reserve supply, in great
part, the market. The county has been in the past peculiarly prosper-
ous. It may be so again with tlie same energy and the same directness
of purpose on the part of the farmers. The farms are too large. Too
much reliance is placed upon the negro. Too few intelligent men labor.

Middle Tennessee, 859

Hard working men, industrious by nature and provident from princi-
ple, interest and habit, are sadly needed in this county, and nowhere
could they occupy a land more healthfid, more kind in production, or
more varied in its products. The farmers are carrying a burden in
land greater than they are able to endure. Farms may be bought at
very reasonable prices, and nothing would aiford so much pleasure or
so much relief to the land-holders as an influx of frugal and industrious
farmers.

MOORE COUNTY.
County Seat — Lynchburg.

Moore county was organized in the year 1872, from fractions of
Lincoln and Franklin. Its superficial area embraces about 160 square
miles, or about 100,000 acres, 98,024 of which are reported by the as-
sessors for taxation.

The surface of the county is greatly diversified. On the eastern
border it is a high, flat, slightly rolling plain, which breaks off to the
south and west into ridges and ravines, some of the latter having a
depth of 300 and 400 feet below the plain. These ridges are spurs which
shoot out into the valleys of the Elk and Mulberry and their tributaries,
the valleys constituting a part of the broken southern division of the
Central Basin, Avhich is partially cut off by Elk Ridge. About one-
half of the county lies upon the Highland Rim and the remainder in
the Central Basin. These ridges are very fertile on the slopes and
often to their very summits. They are composed mainly of the Nash-
ville Limestone, u})on which rests the Black Shale or Devonian, which
is often mistaken as evidence of coal. Upon this shale rests, as a pro-
tecting rock, the siliceous layers of the Barren Group, which is charac-
teristic of the barren portion of the Highland Rim. The county is
bounded on the north by Bedford, from which it is separated by Elk
Ridge; on the east by Coffee and Franklin, being separated from the
latter on the south-east by Elk River, on the south by Franklin and
Lincoln, and on the west by Lincoln.

Lands, Soils, Timber and Crops. Elk Ridge is a remarkable arm,
running east and west, dividing the waters of Duck River from those
of Elk River, and cutting off the part of the Basin that lies in Giles,

86o Resources of Tennessee.

Lincoln and a portion of the county under consideration. This ridge
is narrow, irregular and winding, like the inverted channel of a stream,
though its general course is nearly straight. Its soil is very rich,
friable, gravelly and productive. For agricultural purposes it is almost
as good as the lower lands. The slopes are heavily timbered with
poplar, oak, chestnut, walnut, sugar tree, linden and black locust, with
an undergrowth of pawpaw, dogwood and other growths indicative of
fertility. This ridge may be taken as a type of all the subordinate
ones shooting out southward from it. Indeed, the broken portion of
Moore county is far more productive than the flat lands of the eastern
border, and ranks second only to the valleys. The valleys of the Elk,
Hurricane and Mulberry, and especially of the latter, are exceedingly
generous in their yields of the staple products of the county, which are
wheat, corn and oats. Twenty bushels of wheat and thirty bushels of
corn are the average product on these valleys, which yields, under
more judicious cultivation, might be increased to thirty bushels of the
former and fifty of the latter. On the rich slopes of the hills the yield
of these cereals, though not so large, is abundant and satisfactory,
being fifteen bushels of wheat and twenty-five and thirty bushels of
corn. The flat lands are generally poorly timbered with rough black-
jacks and scrubby post oaks, though occasionally fine groves of chest-
nut timber, interspersed wdth red oaks, occur. Generally, the timber
is better on the flat lands, where the surface is rolling, and on the bor-
ders of the streams. These lands will barely pay the cost of cultiva-
tion, the yield of corn averaging about ten bushels and wheat four or
five bushels. They are, however, excellently well adapted to fruit,
which their high elevation secures from premature budding and from
the killing of late frosts. This land is also well suited for tobacco,
growing a fine, silky article, much prized by the lovers of the weed on
account of its excellent flavor and agreeable mildness. The wonder is
that more of this weed is not grown by the farmers living in this por-
tion of the county. The soil is thin, leachy, clayey and unproductive,
and is of the same character and quality as that described as occurring
on the flat plains of Lewis county, to which the reader is referred.
The prices of the lands vary from $5 to $50, according to kind,
condition, facilities for market and improvements. The quantity of
waste land is inconsiderable, and what there is has been made so by in-
judicious cultivation.

Sfremii.s. This county is well watered by the streams heretofore
mentioned and their tributaries, which ramify almost every square mile

Middle Tennessee, 86 1

in the county. Elk River, ISInlberry and Plurricane all furnish good
mill sites, and are much used for grinding grain. The banks are usu-
ally encased by bluffs or ledges of limestone, which supply an ex-
cellent material for the construction of dams, though heretofore wood
has been used for that purpose as involving less outlay. The descent
of the streams is rapid, and the supply of water good, especially in
Elk River.

Farms and Crops. The farms of this county are said to be in a
better condition now than before the war. They are usually small, and
much of the labor performed on them is done by industrious white
men. In addition to the crops before mentioned, stock-raising is car-
ried on to some ^tent, and the character of the land in the broken
portions of the county is Avell suited for that purpose. Blue-grass
grows well on the slopes of the ridges and in the bottoms, and in the
latter Hungarian grass, Gernum millet, timothy, clover and herds-grass
make bountiful returns. The natural advantages offered for dairy farm-
ing are very superior. The numerous springs afford admirable sites
for the building of cool milk houses, and the grasses in the fertile val-
leys and on the slopes would sustain large herds of cattle. The direc-
tion of the farmers is being turned to the improvement of their breed
of cattle, sheep and hogs, and they will doubtless in time be at-
tracted to the business of dairy farming, to the successful prosecution
of wliich their natural facilities furnish a guaranty.

The old bull-tongue plow is still used by a large class of farmers,
who maintain that it is best adapted to their rolling lands, but the
hill-side plow, so satisfactory upon hilly lands, is coming gradually into
use, and the surface soil which has been, in places, cultivated through
successive generations, is being replaced by a deeper loam. For the
cultivation of crops the double shovel and bull-tongue are mainly used,
upon w^hich, for this purpose, there has been no improvement. Both
mules and horses are used upon the farms — rarely oxen.

Labor is moderately abundant, as is the case in almost every county
where the farmers as a general rule labor themselves. Some laborers
prefer a part of the crops, others wages ; the latter ranging, for boys,
from $4 to $13 per month, and for men, from $10 to $15 with board,
without board, about $10 additional.

The rents of lands run as high as $7.50 per acre. One-third of the
crop is usually given. Some few places are leased for several success-

862 Resources of Tennessee.

ive years, upon the same basis as rents, the lessee enjoying the benefit
of the wheat crop, which is impossible to the annual renter. Land is
not in ready demand, and a considerable quantity is offered for sale,
both improved and unimproved. Corn and wheat are hauled in wagons
to Shelbyville and Tullahoma, and from these points distributed to
Nashville and various points south. The Nashville and Chattanooga
Railroad passes through the eastern corner of the county.

In the construction of the map which accompanies this report an
error was made in placing Tullahoma within this county. Tullahoma
lies in Coffee county, the Moore county line running a short distance
west of that j^lace.

As in nearly every county in the State, the good farmers greatly
complain of the depredations made upon their flocks of sheep by dogs
and the estimate of loss in this county is placed as high as fifty per
cent, annually by good farmers.

The best building stone is limestone. This is used in some of the
better improved farms for fencing. It is also used as foundations for
houses and for building chimneys.

Manufactories. Whiskey is largely made in this county, and is
known in commerce as Lincoln county whiskey. There are in the
county twelve registered distilleries, which average thirty barrels per
day for eight months in the year. These distilleries employ seventy-
two hands. The capital employed in this branch of industry is said to
pay twenty per cent. The manufacture of domestic goods is carried
on to a great extent. About sixty per cent, of the population wear
home-made goods, and small quantities of jeans, linsey, wool socks, etc.,
are sometimes exchanged for such articles of foreign manufacture as
are needed for family use. Where such industry prevails among the
women of the family, the farmers are prosperous. Many of them realize
as large a percentage from their investments in farms as the manufac-
turer of whiskey. Poplar and walnut lumber is made, and a good deal
shipped to Nashville and other points.

Orchards and Fruits. We liave before stated that the soils of the
flat lands in the eastern part of the county were well ada])ted to the
growth of fruit trees. The same may be said of the high slopes of the
ridges. Peaches especially do well upon these elevated spots. Grapes
also do well, and the thick purple clusters which hang from the few
vines that have been planted in the county foreshadow the period

Middle Tennessee. 863

when the sunny slopes of Elk Ridge, with their gravelly loams, shall
lie crowned with vineyards, and rival in fruitful beauty the French
vineyards of St. Genes. Plums and cherries, as well as raspberries,
gooseberries and strawberries are found upon many farms.

Immigrants and EmigranU. A good class of immigrants would
greatly stimulate production in this county. The citizens desire such
a class, and especially would they welcome the hardy Teuton, who,
with brawny arm and stalwart muscle, aided by his habits of economy
and industry, would give a renewed impetus to the agricultural devel-
opment of the county ; but it must be added that a good many of the
farmers have an inclination to move "West," under the impression
that land is cheaper, and that they can secure homes for their children.
This view has so often proved fallacious and ruinous, that the sooner
our people learn, that all the best lands in the so-called West are in
the hands of speculators who "decoy but to deceive" the better. The
truth is that it will cost more to clear an enclose a farm West, Avhere
the lands are cheap, than a good farm in Tennessee is worth, to say
nothing about the improvements necessary to make life comfortable
and pleasant. It may be stated as a fact that two-thirds of those who
move from the best parts of Tennessee to the West, return worsted in
property, and often in health, after the expiration of a few years, while
of the third that remain in their new homes, at least half would re-
turn if they could. For the benefit of those who are still beguiled by
the phantoms of the unbounded wealth to be gained by going West,
we subjoin an extract from a letter received from a gentleman now liv-
ing in Iowa, who roamed this region in search of the fabled treasures
of mineral and agricultural wealth, which he could only find on paper.
He says "the diiferent railway companies, who have obtained their
millions of acres so generously donated to them by an indulgent Con-
gress, have flooded the country with flaming advertisements of those
lands, the amazing fertility of the country, its vast natural resources,
etc., until the credulity of many an unsuspicious tiller of the soil be-
comes so excited at the prospect of amassing a fortune in the great El
Dorado, that they have, in many instances, sacificed their comfortable
homes, and gathered together their household idols to wander toward
the setting sun. Midsummer indicates the drouth this country is sub-
ject to, and the yield of crops is exceeding short and scant, compared
with what they are east of the Mississippi. The emigrant, Avhile travel-
ing over this country, may stretch his vision as far as the eye can
reach, and although aided by the telescope, not a tree, bush or blade

864 Resources of Te?inessee.

of grass higher than the wire grass at his feet is to be seen. A great
many of the settlers upon these railroad lands, as well as all over the
country, actually dig holes in the ground in which to live, for the want
of timber to build with, and do their cooking with dried manure and
grass, for the want of better fuel. As incredible as this may seem, let
your would-be emigrant but look before he leaps, and go and see for
himself to find this statement verified to the letter. The scarcity of
timber in the West, renders the winters more unpleasant than they
would be otherwise. In heavy timbered countries, the great air cur-
rent passes too far above us to make its force felt to any great extent.
But when you reach the country where the great tide of emigration is
now flowing ; where, while looking, even by the aid of a spv-glass,
not a tree, shrub or bush is discernible, you may imagine what an
awful force the north-western winds have in the winter, upon the
bleak and desolate hills that surround you upon every side. It was
only last spring, while we were engaged in putting in our crops in
south-eastern Iowa, that a terrible snow storm swept over Nebraska
and the western part of this State. But its greatest casualities were
felt in Nebraska. In some places snow drifted into and over houses,
whole families perished, and men, who, in some instances, went out to
try to save their stock, were found frozen within fifty and one
hundred yards of their houses. Thousands of horses and cattle per-
ished, and in many instances were found huddled together where the
snow was completely drifted over them, hiding them from view until
it melted away after days and weeks had passed. And all this trans-
pired while, doubtless, the farmers of Tennessee were engaged in the
happy sunshine of spring, planting and plowing corn in sight of flow-
ery lueadows and green forest trees."

Let the well-to-do farmers of this county, rich in the elements of
agricultural wealth, study the picture of cold and desolation here pre-
sented, and take a second thought before sundering connection with
those who have been their protectors, associates and friends ever since
childhood.

Schools. Tiie ])eople of Moore county were pleased with the trial
made of public schools last fall. The private schools, witl| four or
five exceptions, were absorbed. Says a gentleman writing to the Sec-
retary of this Bureau on this subject : " We need a change in the law
authorizing private schools -to draw a pr-o rata share of the public
money fi)r the benefit of the pupils attending them." The funds at
present are just sufficient to interfere with private schools, without fur- •

Middle Tennessee. 865

nishing a substitute. The Lynchburg Male and Female Institute is
the only chartered school in the county, and has sixty pupils. There
are four academies.

Boads, Health, Towns and Statistics. There are two macadamized
roads in the countv, one leading from Lynchburg to Fayetteville, and
the other from Lynchburg to Shelbyville. The dirt roads are kept in
good condition.

There is, perhaps, no county in the State more healthful. It is high
and well drained, and has no swamps contaminating the atmosphere
by their deadly miasmatic exhalations. Fevers, when they occur at
all, are of a mild type. Cholera has never visited the county.

Lynchburg has a population of about 350. It has a good trade in
dry goods, there being five stores, selling from $125,000 to $150,000
worth of goods annually. There is also one drug store doing a good
business. The manufacture of whisky is carried on largely in this
place. County Line and Marble Hill are small towns, doing each about
one-sixth of the business done at Lynchburg. Ridgeville and Boone-
ville are small villages. Altogether the trade of the county in dry goods
will amount to $225,000. From some portions of the county the citi-
zens go to Shelbyville and Fayetteville to purchase goods. There are
no public buildings, no court-house, jail, or poor-house, and no appro-
priations made for that purpose, though the county is out of debt, and
has a surplus in the treasury.

STATISTICS.

Population, estimate based on polls ^,000

Acres of land taxed — •• '

Value of same «;inV422

Personal property taxable $13 800

Mills are valued at ^ '

Number of polls • <H1 iWlfiS

Total value of all taxable property is ;:M,iou,iuo

This county is yet in its infancy, and has, by reason of its diversity
and fertility of soil, its healthfulness, the industrious and elevated char-
acter of its citizens, the high regard which is paid to law and order, bright
prospects for the future. With good schools and proper railroad facil-
ities, its lands would rapidly advance in price, its productions would
be greatly increased. The Moore County Pioneer is the only news-
paper in the county, and gives promise of working great good for the
material and intellectual progress of the citizens.

The Bureau is indebted to A. F. Seitz for many facts pertaining to

this county.
55

866 Resources of Tennessee.

OVERTON COUNTY.

County Seat — Livingston.

This county was organized in the year 1806, the territory being
taken from Jackson county. The first court was held at a place now
known as James' Store, five miles north of Livingston. The county
was originally very large, embracing, in addition to its present area,
about one-half of Clay, one-half of Putnam, one-third of Cumberland
and two-thirds of Fentress. At present, its extent is about an average
of the counties in the State. In the year 1807, the town of Monroe
was laid off and selected as the county seat, but it was not suffered to
possess its honors undisturbed. Livingston appeared as a formidable
rival, and for many years there was a lively feud between the two
towns. The latter was victorious in 1833 by a small majority of votes,
but still the agitation was continued, until the Constitution of 1870
was adopted, by a provision of which it is required that a county seat
cannot be removed without a two-thirds vote in favor of removal.

Towns. Livingston, the county seat, is situated in a beautiful valley,
on the head waters of Koaring River, and about sixteen miles west of
Cumberland Mountain. It is a thriving business town, containing,
besides the public buildings, some elegant residences and several well
appointed and well furnished stores. Population about 300.

Monroe, six miles east of Livingston, has two stores and a popula-
tion of about seventy-five. Oak Hill and Olympus are small villages,
the first having four stores and the second one.

Hillham, founded by Dr. Moses Fisk in 1805, is the oldest town in
the county. Dr. Fisk graduated at Harvard University in the same
class with Daniel Webster. He settled at Hillham when the county
was a wilderness, and devoted himself to study and to the education of
young men. He spent a large fortune in building turnpike roads and
in making other improvenjents, but his anticipations of the future
greatness of Hillham have not been realized. It now has two stores
and a population of about seventy-five.

Topography. The south-eastern extremity of the county lies on the
Cumberland Table Land, and possesses the characteristics common to
this natural division of the State. But little of the Table Land proper
belongs to the county, but an outlying ridge, or more properly an arm,

Middle Tennessee. 867

most of which belongs to Overton, extends northward between the
East and West Forks of Obey's River. Its length is about fiteen railcK
and its breadth from two to six, but its outline is very irregular.
Throughout the greater part of its extent it has an elevation equal to
that of the Table Land, but at two or three points it is broken by gaps
which drop down to a level Avith the terraces or "benches," spoken of
elsewhere as a characteristic feature of the western face of the moun-
tain. These terraces occupy a considerable and quite a valuable part
of the county. Their elevation is about half that of the Table Land,
or about 500 feet above the average level of the Highland Rim, From
below the cliffs which form the western escarpment of the Table Land,
they extend westward and northward, broken in places by valleys,
coves and ravines, but in other parts affording extensive tracts of nearly
level land, on which there are now many good farms. It is difficult to
define the limits of this natural division. It is often deeply indented
and scalloped by coves, and many spurs of greater or less length pro-
ject outward. It will be borne in mind that this terrace region occu-
pies all of the south-eastern part of the county except a little that lies
on the Table Land. On a level with these terrace lands there is a long
ridge or spur extending through the middle of the county, and forming
the " divide " between the waters of West Fork and Roaring River.
Being an arm of the bench, it is difficult to fix its southern limit, but
reckoning from Thorn Gap, thirteen miles south-east of Livingston, it
extends northward for about fifteen miles, to a point near Monroe.
Here it makes nearly a right angle, and then extends in a westerly di-
rection for some fifteen miles further. Its breadth in some places is
several miles, while in others it is nearly cut in tNvo by coves on the
opposite sides. The top of this little mountain is a well defined plateau,
but at several points there are knobs rising from its surface, two of
which attain an elevation nearly equal to the Table Land. Between
ihis mountain and the higher one, on the line between Overton and
Fentress counties, lies the Valley of West Fork. Beginning in a nar-
row cove near Thorn Gap, it extends northward, growing rapidly
wider until an average breadth of about two miles is attained. It
is about twenty miles long. In quality of land and other advantages
this valley is the best part of the county, considering the extent of its
area. Nestled cosily in the angle formed by the long ridge or moun-
tain spoken of above, there is the beautiful little valley in which Liv-
ingston is situated. It is three miles long and from one-half to one
mile wide. Along the eastern side, above Livingston, the lands are

868 Resources of Tennessee.

very fine. Further south is a group of three coves — Nettler's, Cope-
land's and Eldridge's — all of which may be regarded as an irregular
valley, somewhat larger than the one last described, and very fertile.
This valley has several very large and fine springs, which furnish the
headwaters of Roaring River. Between the fringing spurs of the Table
Land and its outliers there are a great many small valleys or coves,
most of which are very rich. It is estimated that nearly half of the
cultivated lands in the county is in the coves and in the creek bot-
toms. West of these ridges, valleys and coves there is a broad belt of
clay upland, much of which is rich, especially along the creeks and in
the neighborhood of limestone hills. In the extreme west, comprising^
perhaps one-tenth of the entire area, there are some tracts of barrens.

Rocks, Soils and Timber. The cap rock of the Table Land is a
massif layer of sandstone and conglomerate. The soils which rest
upon it are the poorest in the county. This is true also of the tables
of the outliers. Yet these mountain lands are by no means valueless..
They produce good grasses, and for orchards they are unsurpassed.
The timber is generally of the smaller and hardier kinds, among which
post oak and small black oaks and black jack are most abundant.
Chestnut trees are numerous, and there are some hickorys and a few
of other kinds.

Below the shale beds which underlie the bluffs of sandstone and
conglomerate, there are stiff clays and limestones which crop out
above the terraces. This limestone is found also in the knobs which
rise above the tables of the outliers. Wherever it is found, the terrace
lands adjoining are good, and often rich. The timber is dense and
heavy. Poplar, ash, shell-bark hickory, sugar maple, buckeye, elm
and many other varieties are common. But these bench lands are
often disposed to be leachy, and away from the vicinity of the limestone
they are less fertile and the timber of a different character. Here
there are gigantic chestnut trees, besides white poplars, oaks, etc.

The cap rock of the terrace, and also of the outliers, is a sandstone,
but neither so much indurated nor so massive as that above, conse-
quently the escarpment is not so well defined. Below, the limestone
prevails to the base of the mountain, and large and valuable trees
abound. This Ijitliostrotion limestone which crops out on the lower
slopes is the same that underlies the rich lands in the valleys and coves.
The cove lands are the richest in the county, and where favorably sit-
uated they are very valuable. The surface is generally level, and the

Middle Tennessee, 869

soil a good loam, easy to till, and with good cultivation will never wear
out. Some of the coves seem to be alluvial. Because of their simi-
larity, we may class with the cove lands the bottoms along the creeks.
But of these there are but few worthy of note. Of the tillable lands
in the county, by far the largest part is what is sometimes called clay
upland. This class of lands occupy most of the area of the valleys
and extend in a broad belt across the county west of the mountains.
The surface is rarely level, sometimes undulating, but generally roll-
ing or broken. Caves and sinkholes are common everywhere, and
most of the smaller streams soon disappear from the surface. Lime-
stones crop out on the hill-sides and along the streams. In many places
there is scattered loosely over the surface a coarse chert, known locally
as "crag rock." This chert is rich in calcareous matter, and by its
gradual decomposition adds to the fertility of the soil. But there is
another kind of chert which occurs especially in the western part of this
clay belt. It is locally known as "bastard flint." It is more siliceous
than the kind spoken of above, and consequently does not furnish the
elements of fertility. Its natural position is in beds on the tops of the
hills, but it has been washed down, and is now found in large quanti-
ties along the streams. Towards the west the lands become gradually
less fertile. The limestone disappears or is replaced by a hard, highly
silicified variety of a dark blue color, which is valueless as a fertilizer.
A fine-grained brown sandstone, soft and easily quarried, abounds.
The surface, except where cut by the streams, is level or gently undu-
lating, and thinly wooded, and the soil generally poor. The red clay
subsoil gives place to a yellow or bluish variety, which is less reten-
tive of manures. But tracts of better lands are met with in places,
and there are many good farms in this part of the county.

Unimp7'oved Lands. It is estimated that nearly half the lands in
the county are yielding nothing. A large percentage of these waste
lands lie on the mountains, and are now considered almost worthless.
On the benches there are a few farms, but large tracts of valuable
lands remain unimproved, and can be bought for a trifle. For mead-
ows and orchards, these lands possess peculiar advantages. Fruit crops
rarely suffer from frost and are never a total failure. Good grain crops
can be raised, and with kind treatment the fertility of the soil will nev-
er be impaired. The barrens in the western part embrace about one-
tenth of the area of the county. They afford a valuable summer
range for cattle and sheep, and there are many tracts that might be
converted into beautiful meadows. The price of unimproved lands
ranges from ten cents to ten dollars per acre.

870 Resources of Tennesee.

Farms vary in size from fifty to 1,000 acres. Two hundred acres
is about the average. The work on small farms is mostly done by
owners, but on most of the larger, hired labor is employed as help.
Farmers complain of the scarcity of good laborers, and many more of
the right kind could find employment. Fifty cents per day is the
average price for farm hands, but extra good laborers command better
wages. In harvest, one dollar per day is the rule. It is customary
for laborers to board with their employers. Where they board them-
selves, an allowance is made for that. Letting lands to tenants on
shares is more common than renting for cash. In such cases, the ten-
ant usually provides farm stock, implements, &c., and gives the owner
one-third of the crop. When the owner furnishes everything, he re-
ceives half the crop. The price of farms varies with quality of land,
improvements, advantages of location, &c. Ten dollars per acre is
about an average, and twenty dollars is perhaps the highest limit of
farms that are for sale. Well improved places can be had at very
reasonable figures. During the last two years, considerable improve-
ment has been made in the condition of farms, but they are not yet up
to the standard of excellence and good management maintained before
the war. But if the eiforts for improvement are continued, it will not
be long until we shall see a higher degree of prosperity than has ever
been attained heretofore. The farm stock and implements are of the
kinds common throughout the State. Horses, mules and sometimes
oxen are used for plowing. For heavy draught, oxen are always pre-
ferred, ])ut they are rarely used where the work can be done by horses.

Many farmers prefer mules on account of the economy of keeping
them, while others use mares to do all the farm work, and by breeding
them every year, a considerable amount is realized from the colts. Im-
proved plows are more generally used now than ever heretofore. One
and two-horse turning plows are common, and there are a few of larger
sizes. Hill-side plows are rare. The old fashioned " bull-tongue,"^
though not so universal as formerly, is still extensively used, but is
gradually giving place to cultivators and double-shovels.

Crops. The leading cro])s, in the order of their importance, are
corn, wheat, tobacco, oats, rye, cotton, potatoes and turnips. Very
little of any of tiiem, cxcei)t tobacco, is carried out of the county.
The cultivation of this staple is increasing, and it bids fair to be ere
long the most important lariu product of the county. But little atten-
tion is paid to grass. Corn fodder is chiefly relied on for winter prov-
ender. It is estimated that less than one-tenth of the cultivated lands

Middle Tennessee. 871

is in grass. The little that is sown is chiefly for mowing. Clover
and herds-grass are the common varieties, but there is a little timothy
and orchard-grass. Good pastures are by no means common, but the
best farmers are giving more attention to them. Clover and herds-
grass are preferred for this purpose. The principal cause why pastures
have been so much neglected, is that the native grasses have heretofore
afforded abundant pasturage, but when the country becomes more dense-
ly populated, this can no longer be relied on. Manuring with green
crops is almost unknown. Sometimes an old sod or a clover lea is
turned under, but it is done rather to destroy weeds that have taken
possession of the meadow, or for the purpose of raising a crop of grain,
than with a view to benefitting the soil. In sowing wheat, the com-
mon practice is to plow it in among the corn. The Walker Avheat has
been for many years the most popular variety. Mediterranean and
Tappahannock or Boughton have been tried, but have not made much
headway against the old approved kind.

lA.ve Stock. As in most other counties in Tennessee, the rearing of
live stock is the leading and most profitable business within the range
of agricultural pursuits. Grass can be produced more readily and with
less labor, and will yield a better return per acre than any other crop.
There are many hill-sides too rocky or too steep to be tilled, where
blue-grass or orchard-grass would grow with great luxuriance. The
range on the mountains and in the barrens, where the land is too poor
to be cultivated with profit, affords almost unlimited pasturage for about
half the year, so that with a little meadow land on each farm to fur-
nish winter provender, cattle and other stock can be raised with but
little expense. Most of the stock is scrub, and until recently, but lit-
tle effort has been made to improve it. There is but one thorough-
bred horse, we believe, in this county. Some fine Short-horn bulls
and heifers have been brought in from Kentucky since the war. A
commendable desire to secure graded animals, by breeding to these,
is manifested, and we look for good results. Berkshire hogs, in con-
siderable numbers, are scattered over the county, and have already
greatly modified the character of the hogs. Owing to the great de-
struction of sheep by dogs, but few are raised. The number killed an-
nually is at least ten per cent, of the entire number, and the county is
thus robbed of hundreds of dollars worth of property. Of the im-
proved breeds of sheep, there are a few Cotswokls and Southdowns, in
the county, the former being most numerous. The question of the
comparative profits of improved and unimproved breeds of stock is

872 Resources of Tennessee,

settled by common consent in favor of the former, and many more
fine animals would be brought in if the farmers had more capital.

Smaller Industries. Dried fruit is produced largely for home use,
and considerable quantities are shipped. There are few articles that
bring more money into the county, and with better means of trans-
portation it would be very profitable. Butter is made for home use
and to a limited extent for market, and an inferior quality of hard,
tough cheese is sometimes found in the stores, but dairy products do
not receive the attention that their importance demands. Poultry is
raised for the market, and Overton county has become famous for
chickens. Feathers are an important article of trade. The supply of
honey is scarcely equal to the demand, for home consumption. Small
quantities of beeswax are sold.

Manufactures. At the falls of Roaring River, in the south-western
part of the county, there is a factory in successful operation, with ma-
chinery for carding, spinning, weaving and knitting, and in the same
building and propelled by the same wheel, a good flouring mill. The
wheel is an overshot, fourteen feet in diameter, and the supply of water
is abundant at all seasons of the year. On Nettlecarrier Creek, eight
miles east of Livingston, there are a carding machine, cotton gin, saw-
mill, grist-mill and turning lathe, with wagon shop attached, all pro-
pelled by the same power. At Olympus, in the north-east corner,
there is a steam saw-mill, and water mills are numerous in every part
of the county.

Household Manufactures. Jeans, linsey, cotton cloth, flax and tow
linen, blankets, rag and woollen carpets, straw matting, and woollen
and cotton socks are the leading articles of home manufacture. Most
of the every-day clothing worn by the farmers and their families is
manufactured and made in the county. The value of home manufac-
tures in 1870, was $51,813, or about four dollars and a half for each
person in the county.

Streams and Water-povier. Except Obey's River, which touches the
county on the north-east. West Fork is the largest stream. Rising
twelve miles south-east of Livingston, it flows north through a beauti-
ful and fertile valley into Obey's River. Throughout its whole course
it is a bold, rapid stream, hemmed in by high banks, and has many
valuable sites for machinery unemployed. Roaring River is formed
by several large springs, five miles south of Livingston, and flows
north-west into Cumberland River. It is, as its name indicates, a bold,

Middle Tennessee. 873

impetuous stream. Besides the factoiy spoken of above, it has three
mills before crossing the county line, besides a numl)er of noble powers
unemployed. Flat Creek, a tributary of the last, heads four miles
north-west of Livingston, and flows south-west. Its length, in a direct
line, is ten miles. It has two mills, and might have several more.
Matthew's Creek, in the southern part of the county, is a good stream
for machinery. It has two grist-mills, and might have several more.
Spring Creek, forming the southern boundary, is described in connec-
tion with Putnam county. Nettlecarrier is a short but valuable creek,
flowing into West Fork ; though but little more than three miles in
length, it propels a factory (spoken of above) two good flouring-mills
and one saw-mill. From these particulars it will be seen that in
Overton county, as in all the other eastern counties of Middle Tennes-
see, the natural advantages for manufacturing by water-power can
scarcely be over-estimated.

Minerals. Near Obey's River, in the northern part of the county,
there are valuable deposits of coal. It has been worked, to a limited
extent, at a point where the stratum is four and a half feet thick, and
a few boat loads have been carried down the river to Nashville. At
the angle of the mountain, one mile south-east of Monroe, coal has
been mined in considerable quantities for local use. The bed averages
three and a half feet thick. The blacksmiths who have used it, speak
well of its quality. At two points on Alpine Mountain, a spur of the
Cumberland, coal has been worked. The first is eight miles east of
Livingston, and the other about the same distance south-east. It is
elevated about 200 feet above the valley, and the stratum is from two
and a half to three feet thick. This coal was formerly used at a
bloomery on Roaring River, and it is said that it will make iron with-
out coking. Coal is known to exist in many other places where no
developments have been made. There is an extensive bed of iron ore,
covering several square miles between Livingston and Roaring River,
beginning one and a quarter miles south-west of Livingston, it ex-
tends nearly west seven miles to the site of the old bloomery. Its
average l)readth is about three miles. The ore is brown hematite, sim-
ilar to that found in the Western iron region. There is another large
bed of the same kind of ore in the northern part of the county and
reaching into Clay, but it has never been w'orked, and its extent is not
known. The Black Shale is exposed at several places in the valleys
of the creeks and rivers. In rock-houses, formed by the over-caj)ping
sandstone, incrustations of alum and copperas are often found. This

874 Resources of Tennessee.

shale also yields oils, of which the oil well on Spring Creek is a not-
able example. It was opened in the spring of 1866, and yielded large
quantities of petroleum for about two years, but the cost of transporta-
tion was so great that it was not profitable. When work was sus-
pended there was no perceptible diminution of the oil. Sulphur springs
are also common in this shale. Five miles south-west of the town of
Livingston, there is a very fine red sulphur spring. It is said to be of
nearly the same quality as the famous " Red Boiling Spring" in Macon
county. During the past year, Mr. Livingston, the proprietor, has
erected a comfortable boarding-house at this place, and it will doubt-
less become a popular resort. \Yithin one mile of this place, there is
a chalybeate spring on Roaring River, which has been resorted to by
people in the neighborhood for many years. Chalybeate springs are
common in the mountainous parts of the county.

Miscellaneous. The number of acres, according to the late assess-
ment is 254,618, valued at §787,263, and the total value of taxable
property ^828,465. The population in 1870 was 11,297, of which 550
were colored, but since that time, nearly one-third of the county has
cut oif to form the new county of Clay, so that it is impossible to give
an exact statement of the number, but leasing the estimate upon a
comparison Avith other counties in this part of the State, there are
about twenty to the square mile. The scholastic population is 3,686,
and the public schools are generally well attended. There is a county
academy at Livingston, and a permanent private school at Pond Ridge
in the southern part of the county. Good schools have hereto-
fore been sustained in almost every neighborhood. Want of facilities
for transportation is the great drawback to the prosperity of the
county. The stimulus of a railroad is needed to infuse new life into
all branches of business, and to carry the great and increasing produc-
tions to market. At present, everything is hauled in wagons to Nash-
ville. There is complaint of the burdensome restrictions imposed
upon the ])ri)ducers of tobacco, but no general feeling of discontent,
and but little dis])osition to move aNvay. Since the abolition of slav-
ery, most of the large farmers see the necessity of reducing the size of
their farms, consequently there it a large amount of land for sale.
The people would be glad to receive, into their midst, any number of
good working men, and will give such all possible assistance and en-
couragement. The cost of living is very low, board being $1.50 to
$2.50 per week. There was before the war a county agricultural asso-
sociation, but it has not been revived, and t\\(i fair grounds remain un-
iin])roved.

Middle Temiessee. 875

PERRY COUNTY.

County Seat — Linden.

Perry county was established November 14, 1821. At the time of
its organization, it embraced a large part of the present county of De-
catur, lyi':\7; west of the Tennessee River. Subsequent legislation
greatly reduced its limits, so that it lies altogether east of the river,
and contains only about 400 square miles. Perryville, now in Deca-
tur county, was the original county seat. After Decatur county was
established, this place, once very flourishing, went to decay. The de-
serted public square, with the debris of torn down buildings, forcibly
reminds one of Goldsmith's " Deserted Village." The ancient capital
of Perry has been reduced to a mere shipping point.

Towni^. Linden, after the erection of Decatur county, became the
county seat of Perry. It is some ten miles from the Tennessee River,
almost due east from the old town of Perryville. It has a handsome
court-house, and for an inland town, is a place of considerable trade.
Buifalo River flows on the east side of the town, and Buffalo
Ridge, with its high wooded crests, lies on the west. The present
population of Linden is about 200. It has six stores, four groceries,
and two hotels. The other villages, or places of business, are Britt's
Landing on the Tennessee River, Lobleville, thirteen miles north of
Linden, Beardstown, and Farmer's Valley, all of which have one or
more stores.

Geology. Blue and gray limestones outcrop in all the valleys, ex-
cepting a few in the northern part of the county. These limestones be-
long to the formations known among geologists as Niagara and Lower
Helderbcrg. Many of the bluffs along the Tennessee River are made
up of their strata. There is a number of glady places in the county
formed by the outcrops of the Niagara limestones, which have sup-
plied geologists at home and abroad with fine specimens of fossils.
Many of these fossils have been taken to Europe. Above the Lower
Helderberg limestones, which by the way are generally thin-bedded>
blue, and full of fossils, lies the Black Shale, a formation which every-
where attracts attention, mainly because it is mistiiken as an indication
of stone coal. This bed ranges in thickness from a few feet to thirty
or more. Above the Black Shale, and constituting the mass and tops
of the ridges, is the siliceous division of the Lower Carboniferous.

876 Resou7'ces of Tennessee.

The lower strata of this division are often silico-calcareous shales,
mixed more or less with limestones. The upper portion contains more
limestone, which often shows cherty masses. The latter being liber-
ated, cover more or less the tops of the ridges.

Topography and Streams. Tlie topography of this county is beauti-
ful, from the regularity and great number of the ridges. Buifalo
Ridge, west of Buifalo River, rises to the height of 700 feet above
tide water, and 300 feet above the adjacent valleys. It traverses the
county longitudinally north and south throughout its entire extent, and
sends out westward eight subordinate ridges, nearly to the Tennessee
River, a distance of nine miles. Between these various ridges, streams
of pure sparkling water flow in parallel lines, and empty into the Ten-
nessee River. On the eastern side of Buffalo Ridge are parallel spurs,
running down to the banks of Buffalo River. These spurs are seldom
over one mile in length, and the troughs which they form convey the
waters from the eastern slope of the ridge into Buffalo River. The
portion of the county east of Buffalo River is also fluted with ridges
and valleys, similar to the western side, and many beautiful streams,
bordered by fertile lowlands, empty into that stream which is the
great artery of the county. Beginning at the southern end of the
county, the tributaries of the Bufflilo from the eastern side are Coon
Creek, Brush Creek, Hurricane Creek, Short Creek, and Cane Creek,
the last of which is by far the largest, and has a fine fertile valley.
Most of these creeks are rapid in their descent, and flow alternately
over gravelly beds and limestone rock. They have a sufficiency of
watcr-j)ower to drive mills. The tributaries of the Tennessee, begin-
ning at the southern limits of the county, are Cedar Creek, Marsh
Creek, Cypress Creek, Spring Creek, Lick Creek, Tom's Creek, Roan's
Creek, Crooked Creek, and Blue Creek. The average length of these
creeks is about nine miles, and they usually flow through flat wide
bottoms, the channels often changing, the water cutting out the banks
on one side or the other, and throwing up a wide expanse of rounded
pebbles and sand on the other. After heavy and continuous rains, these
streams rise with an amazing rapidity, the water sweeping down from
the steep declivities on each side, and swelling them until they carry
away in their inundation, fences, and oftentimes cover acres of the
finest land with gravel and sand to such a depth as to injure them per-
manently.

Timber. This county is heavily timbered. White oaks and walnuts.

Middle Tejmessee. 877

black oaks and hickories of magnificent size, prevail upon all the slopes
and in the bottoms. Chestnut oak, exceedingly valuable for its bark,
is very abundant, and large quantities of tan-bark could be collected
annually for shipment. Boards, staves and shingles are shipped to St.
Louis and New Orleans. The lumber trade is considerable, and
rapidly growing.

Soil and Crops. The finest soils, and perhaps almost the only ones
that will remunerate the farmer for his toil in the cultivation, are in
these bottoms. Dark in color, they are heavily charged with flinty
quartzose gravel, sometimes comminuted until it approaches a coarse
sand. These stones serve to keep the land friable, and make it easy
of cultivation. By reason of its mellowness, the soil is specially
adapted to the cultivation of peanuts, and this crop, for a number of
years, has been the principal staple of the county. At the time when
the price of peanuts reached its highest limit, one hundred dollars an
acre was asked for the best peanut land, the product on an acre
sometimes reached, though rarely, one hundred bushels. The intro-
duction of the culture of the peanut in the county, marked a social
revolution. Previous to this time almost all the cloth used in every-
day wear was manufactured by the wives and daughters of the
farmers. But as the labor required to cultivate the peanut was not so
confining, nor so arduous, or long continued as the labor of the spin-
ning wheel and loom, the latter were exchanged for the hoe, with
which they were able to buy from six months labor in the field what
before required twelve to manufacture within doors. It is no uncom-
mon sight to see women of fairest face and comliest form, with hands en-
cased in gloves, and their faces screened from the rays of a blazing
sun by an old-fashioned sunbonnet, hoeing long rows of peanuts, while
the sterner sex drives the plow. And especially when this crop is
being harvested are the nimble fingers of the women of peculiar value.
It is said that a woman can pick from the vines at least one-third more
in a day than a man. As a consequence of this outdoor exercise, the
women of Perry county have a most fascinating beauty in striking con-
trast to the wan, care-worn, pale faces of those who pace to the spin-
ning wheel, or work with tireless patience over the loom. Nor has
this change been without other benefits to the community. It is said
that the farmers who habitually grow peanuts are in a highly prosper-
ous condition, nearly all of them being free of debt, with money to
lend. Cotton was the staj)le (and still is in some portions of the
county) before the introduction of the peanut, but the moist, cold soil.

SyS Resources of Tennessee.

while it induced a vigorous growth of stalk, did not bring all the bolls
to maturity, and the yield was, in most cases, small. Sometimes, how-
ever, in favorable localities. 1,000 lbs. of seed cotton are made to the
acre. Wheat will make a yield of about ten bushels per acre on soils
of the many small coves that everywhere run up into the ridges, and
upon the gentle slopes, but it is not a profitable crop for the lowlands,
the overflows frequently injuring it. Corn, oats and hay grow well on
the bottom lands, but of the latter, though the soil and situation are
well adapted to its growth, but little is sown, and of that which is
grown, three-fourths is made of the annual grasses. There are very
few permanent meadows in the county, though timothy and herds-grass
both make a fine return. Clover is rarely sown as a renovater of the
soils, but often for pasturage.

8toGk. The number of streams which thread the county, with the
large extent of bottom land, would indicate stock-growing as a profit-
able business, and yet stock-growing is in its infancy. A few improved
hogs and cattle have recently been introduced into the county, but the
long-horned, scrubby cattle that browse upon the scanty herbage which
springs up in the woodlands, and the pike-nosed "king fisher" style of
hogs that roam the forest, or search the streams in quest of food, feed-
ing upon acorns and devouring the muscles, show too plainly that stock-
growing has not, as yet, become an art in the county of Perry. Prior
to the war, a considerable number of mules was raised for the southern
markets, and hogs, in more or less quantities, were driven to various
places. Enough of these animals are still raised for home demand,
and a few mules are driven to Alabama. The high hills and green
valleys make this a county well suited to the rearing of sheep, but the
same cause has operated to the injury of this pursuit as in other coun-
ties. It is estimated by competent persons, that the loss is not less
than fifty per cent, annually by dogs. At this rate, all the flocks will
soon be exterminated. Sheep can live at least nine months in the
year without being fed, so great is the abundance of short, wild
grasses, ferns and mosses.

Benefits of Small Farms. The beneficial effects of small farms which
are cultivated by their owners are clearly perceptible in this county.
There is an unmistakable air of thrift about all the farms. Houses
are usually in good repair and comfortable, though not so neat and
tasteful as might be desired. The lack of taste about the dwellings is
due more to inherited habit than to a want of means. There is but

Middle Tennessee. 879

little land in market. Improved farms range in price from $20 to $50
per acre; unimproved, from $3 to $10; ridge lands, $1. In those
counties where large farms predominate, and the owners rely upon
hired labor and not upop their own strong arms to cultivate them,
land is a drug, and immense quantities can be bought at prices which
in Perry county would be considered exceedingly low. The farmers of
Perry, though not rich as a class, are independent and contented. The
farmers in those counties that were considered the most fertile and the
most opulent before the war, are usually in debt, land-poor, discon-
tented and unthrifty. The old plantation system, wherever continued
in force, is giving discouraging results. No difference is observable in
the farms of Perry since and before the war, while the dilapidated ap-
pearance and the air of desolation and decay that mark many of the
homesteads in the hitherto more desirable portions of the State tell
more plainly than the strongest words how miserable has been the
failure of the old plantation system. Farming lands in such counties
are for sale in great quantities, while in counties like Perry, where the
labor on the farm is done by the owner and his family, but little land
is in the market. The farms of Perry will not average over 100 acres
of arable land, and the comparative scarcity of old fields clothed in a
tawny mantle of obnoxious broomsedge, shows that, though clover is
not greatly used as a fertilizer, the lands have not been exhausted by
bad tillage. Indeed, constantly fed as the valley farms are by the
washings of the adjacent hills, it would be difficult to exhaust them,
for like the Nile, these streams are subject to annual overflows, and
leave a rich sediment upon the land after their subsidence.

In consequence of the fluted topography of the county, most of the
civil districts are laid off so as to embrace a valley, and the half of
each of the parallel intervenient ridges. Neighborhoods are known by
the creeks, for it is easier to go eight or ten miles up or down one of
these streams than to cross the high ridges that bound them.

Labor, Rents and Markets. There is a scarcity of transient labor.
Farmers hire but little help, and then only in the busy seasons. As a
consequence, they have to pay higher for it than the average price paid
in the State. From $15 to $20 per month and board is the usual price
for stout, able-bodied farm hands. There is but little demand for house
servants or cooks, the industrious housewives preferring to do the work
themselves. A few, however, are hired at from $5 to $10 dollars per
month. Corn land rents for $3 per acre ; peanut land, $5; oat and

S8o Resources of Tennessee,

wheat land, lower. One-third of the crop is sometimes given. There
are but few renters or croppers. Most of those engaged in agriculture
own their farms. Products are shipped by Tennessee Eiver. Peanuts
usually go to Cincinnati. This crop, mainly raised in the northern
portion of the county, reached 250,000 bushels in 1872. Tobacco is
raised to a limited extent. The nature of the soil is very generous
towards this weed, growing a fine, silky, small stem leaf, well suited
for the manufacturer.

llinerals. Iron ore is abundant. Blossoms outcrop on the west side
of Buffalo Ridge. These blossoms are dark, blackish boulders, whose
great weight shows iron to be the predominant ingredient. Before the
late civil war, there was a furnace in operation on Cedar Creek that
made 1,500 tons of pig metal annually. Nearly every civil district
has more or less iron. A rough species of variegated marble, not de-
void of beauty when polished, and very valuable as building stone, is
plentiful. This red marble overlies a stratum of hydraulic rock, which,
from the tests that have been made, will make cement equal in quality
to any in the country. The facilities which the Tennessee River af-
fords for the transportation of heavy products will doubtless bring
this rock into notice. A kind of soft sandstone is very common.
This stone is easily hewn into any desirable shape when first quarried,
but hardens by exposure, and is much used for building chimneys, a
purpose to which it is admirably adapted. It is cheaper than brick,
and will resist the action of fire much longer. The Black Shale is rich
in oil, but so far from being an indication of coal, it is the best sign of
its non-existence. Petroleum there may be, but coal, which many
think exists in the county, has never yet been met with, and a stratum
of it in th(! counties that border the Tennessee River would be an ano-
maly as strange as trees growing downward. When the oil excitement
ran so high, great expectations were entertained as to the wealth of
Perry county in this particular, and nearly all the lands were leased to
oil speculators, but we believe no attempt was ever made to find it, at
least no successful attempt. Mineral springs are found in various lo-
calities, but they have never been improved, and their qualities or heal-
ing pro})erties are unknown.

Fndfs and the Smaller Indnsfries. The large extent of rolling lands,
their elevation, and the variety of exposures which they present, \\ould
indicate an unusual adaptation of the county for fruit-growing. Nearly
every farmer has a small orchard of apples and peaches, but most of

Middle Te7i7iessee. 88 1

them are planted in the valleys, and the fruit is liable in such localities
to be killed by the late frosts. On the tops of the ridges, and especially
on the crest of Buffalo Ridge, fruit often escapes this danger. Dried
fruit, if advantage was taken of high elevations in the planting of
orchards, could be made as remunerative as the growing of peanuts,
and the condition of society is such as to make this branch of hus-
bandry peculiarly agreeable to the farmer. The apple orchards that
are planted in the valleys have a thrifty appearance, but the fruit often
specks before coming to maturity. The blackberry grows in the valleys
and the huckleberry on the hills in every part of the county. Honey
in sufficient quantities for home consumption is made. Nearly every
farmer has a few hives of bees, and they are healthy and prolific. The
thousands of blossoms that with their bright hues garnish the sides of
the ridges and lend their fragrant perfumes to the valleys, supply ma-
terial in abundance for honey. The facilities for the cultivation of the
smaller industries are great, and an impulse given in this direction
would add much to the wealth of the county.

Water-power. It might naturally be inferred from the large number
of streams, that water privileges are abundant, but such is not the
case. The character of the stream beds is such as to unfit them for mill-
ing purposes. The channels of a majority are not encased with lime-
stone or other rock banks, but are cut out of the alluvial soil, and are
constantly changing. The thick beds of sand and gravel absorb the
water during the summer months, so that no reliance can be put in a
constant supply. Though this is the character of the greater number
of streams, the Buffalo has some admirable water privileges. At a
point a mile or two south of Linden, there is one of the best water-
powers in the State. The main stream makes a circuit of about three
miles, forming a peninsula. A tall, -inaccessible bluff, 300 feet in height,
forms the neck of this peninsula, but a subterranean passage has been
eroded under this bluff, and the water pours through this in a volume
large enough to run a dozen mills. So rapid is the fall after its emerg-
ence that scarcely any mill-d ira is required. The supply of water is
constant, the volume being measured by the calibre of the underground
chaur.el. Neither wet weather nor dry has any perceptible effect upon
the quantity. When the river is high the surplus water flows around
the blufi, and when low the larger quantity passes through the subter-
ranean passage. At this point a flouring and saw-mill have been
erected. There are a few mills on the other streams, but the number
is not sufficient for the convenience of the county.
56

882 Resources of Tennessee.

Immigrants and Emigrants. Though Perry county offers some fine
inducements for an industrious population, but few immigrants come to
it. This is doubtless owing to a want of railroad facilities and of
school advantages. The want of the latter has caused many good citi-
zens to leave the county and seek other locations where their children
can enjoy the privilege of attending good schools. This want is scarcely
felt by a large proportion of the population. Generally with lim-
ited education, they do not recognize what a powerful lever it is in
building up the prosperity and greatness of a community, in attracting
population, in diversifying pursuits, in awakening dormant energies, in
multiplying the effectiveness of labor, in softening manners, in nutsing
manly sentiment, in mitigating ferocity, in harmonizing the different
shades of society, and in beautifying, adorning and ennobling private
liie and manners. Schools, without which in this age there can be no
permanent progress, meet with but little favor. No additional tax was
ever levied to supplement the scanty pittance received from the State,
which of itself will run free schools a month or two, only long enough
to inflict a grievous wound upon private enterprises, without rendering
any effective service in the cause of education.

Public Improvements. Perry county has no poor house. Paupers
are put out to the lowest bidder. There is not a macadamized road
within its limits. Streams are not bridged. Public spirit and enter-
prise are at a low ebb. A tax for public works is so obnoxious that to
advocate it is to render one extremely unpopular. The convenience
of the public is made secondary to the convenience of an individual.
Money paid for public improvements, in the opinion of the many, is
money abstracted to benefit all others except the tax-payer. It is to be
regretted that a county which has so many of the elements of wealth
within its limits should be so indifferent or unmindful of the steps
necessary for its development. To work up their vast treasures of
iron ore there must be skilled labor. To have skilled labor there must
be schools. To have schools there must be a public sentiment created
which will view the taxes paid for such a purpose in the light of an
investment. Were there twenty furnaces in operation in Perry, or
twenty cotton factories, the increased revenues which the farmers would
derive by reason of the home markets thus created, would pay the tax
demanded for the support of a good school system twenty times. The
whole community would be benefitted, and the stagnation that now
reigns over the county like an incubus, would be replaced by activity,
zeal, public spirit and awakened enterprise.

iMiddle Te7inessee. 883

Statistic-'i. Perry county has eleven civil districts. The number of
acres of land assessed, 220,139; value, $1,011,850; number of town
lots, 79; value, $12,295; value of horses, mules, mills and other tax-
ables, $210,940; number of polls, 956; total value of all property,
11,235,085; total State tax, |5,896.34. Population in 1860, 6,042;
of which 556 were colored. Population in 1870, 6,925 ; of which 472
were colored, showing a dimunition in the number of the latter class.
School population, white, 2,143; colored, 171; total, 2,314.

PUTNAM COUNTY.

C'OUNTY Seat — Cookeville.

This county was created by act of the General Assembly of Ten-
nessee in the year 1842, the territory being taken from White, Over-
ton, Jackson, Smith and De Kalb counties. In the same year an at-
tempt was made to organize, but soon after, a bill in Chancery w^as
filed by the county of Jackson, through the County Court of said
county, suspending any action that the county of Putnam had taken,
or might take. Thii? delayed the organization till 1854, and the parts
taken from the several counties were thrown back to them. In
1854, the county was permanently organized. Monticello, which had
been first nominated as the county seat, failed in the second instance to
carry the election, and Cookeville was chosen. The county was then
laid off into sixteen civil districts.

Toums and Villages. Cookeville, the county seat, is a neat little town,
with a population of about 250. It has an deviated site, from which
there is good drainage in every direction. The only village in the
county Avorthy of mention is Bloomington, about ten miles north of
west from Cookeville. It has a population of about seventy-five. It
is chiefly remarkable on account of a fine chalybeate spring, and is
becoming popular as a summer retreat.

Topography. In order to have a sufficient amount of territory,
without encroaching upon the constitutional limits of previously exist-
ing counties, it was necessary to make the county long and narrow and
very unsym metrical in shape. Its length from east to west is more
than forty miles, while its average width is not more than twelve miles.
The eastern end, comprising about one-eighth of the entire area, is on.

884 Resources of Teimcssee.

the Cumberland Table Land. This part of the Table Land is remark-
able as containing the head springs of streams radiating from it as a
centre toward every point of the compass. The east and west forks of
Obey's River flow north, Spring Creek north-west, Fallingwater
nearly west. Calf Killer River south-west, and just across the line, in
Cumberland county, are the head springs of Emory, which flows east
into Clinch River, above ICingston. These facts are an evidence of
its great elevation. These streams, except the last, in their descent
from this elevated plateau, have cut through the western escarpment^
forming many deep ravines and sequestered valleys, with towering
ridges projecting between. The scenery here is remarkable for its
wildness and sublimity. Bold cliffs of sandstone and conglomerate
crowned with scraggy trees, where the scream of the eagle is not un-
frequent, and the howl of the wolf is sometimes heard ; mountain
sides, rugged with jutting cliffs, the deformities of which are some-
times cancelled by mantling ivy ; " benches" (terraces) here and there
with good farms and orchards ; deep valleys sometimes with narrow
bottoms, but more frequently pressing close upon a stream which dashes
and thunders down one cascade after another — suuch are the character-
istic features of this part of the county. As we approach the central
part of the county, the valleys become wider, and the ridges and spurs
run out into lower hills, or disappear entirely. W^ are now in the red
cl ly region, a broad belt of which extends along the western base of
the Table Land. In Putnam county this belt is about fourteen miles
wide, and is the best part of the county. Its surface is diversified with
hill and dale, the beds of most of the streams being considerably be-
low the general level of the country. Sinkholes and caves are a char-
acteristic of this belt of clay lands, and in the neighborhood of the
mountains are many large springs, whose waters have accumulated^
and perhaps flowed for miles in underground channels. The country
becomes more level and the lands less fertile toward the west, until the
part of the county designated by the significant name " barrens" is
reached. Here the red clay gives place to a yellowish subsoil, greatly
deficient in calcareous matter, and too leachy to bear improvement.
There is but little humus in the surface soil, and it is not well adapted
to tlie j)roducti()n of grain. The surface is generally level, except in
the neigiiborhood of the streams, and the timber is thin and of small
size. But the valleys and the hill-sides along the streams aflbrd some
good lands, and the less fertile portions are covered with nutritious
wild grasses, which furnish pasturage for large numbers of cattle and

Middle Temtessee. 885

sheep. The extreme western end of the county runs down into the
hills bordering the Caney Fork and Cumberland Rivers, and takes in
a small part of the Central Basin. The Highland Rim is so broken
by the valleys separated by projecting ridges that its escarpment is not
^11 defined. The surface is broken, but the soil of the valleys lying
upon Silurian limestones is very fertile.

&oiU. The soils of the Table Land are light and sandy, and not
valuable, except for fruit-growing and grazing. But little of this part
of the county has been imjjroved, and lands can be bought at very low
figures. The Mountain limestone on the western face of the Table
Land does not present any very extended areas of land level enough to
cultivate, but there are several farms on some of the benches, which
are rich enough to produce any crops grown in this latitude, and are
especially valuable for fruit farms. In such situations orchards never
fail to bear good crops. The cov^e lands are often level and always very
fertile. The soil is a mellow loam, having enough of sand to render
cultivation easy, but not so much as to impair its fertility. It is some-
times several feet thick, resting upon red clay or limestone. As al-
ready stated, the clay uplands occupy the central part of the county,
and embrace the largest area of good lands. The soil is a dark brown
mould, rich in humus, and with good tillage will continue to increase
in fertility. The subsoil is a strong red clay, possessing many of the
elements of fertility. At a greater or less depth beneath the surface is
found limestone, either blue or gray, and sometimes fossiliferous. It
often crops out on the hill-sides, and nearly always along the streams.
The soils in the barrens are chiefly valuable for grazing. We believe
there is no part of the State better adapted to the rearing of sheep.
The coarse native grasses are nutritious, and the cultivated grasses
grow finely. But the porous yellow subsoil is so leachy that we do not
recommend these glands for grain fiirms. There are places, however,
where red clay and limestone are found, and in all such the lands are
rich. The bottoms along the streams and the hill-sides, especially those
facing the north, are generally fertile. The valleys in the western end
of the county have a deep dark soil, generally resting on Silurian
limestone and very rich.

Valleys. Buffalo Valley, in the Western end of the county, is four
miles long, with an average width of one mile. The surface is level,
and the soil very fertile. Dry Valley is scarcely less fertile, and has
a lara:e area. Alone: the base of the mountain are several coves, or
small valleys.

886 Resources of Te?inessee.

Farms and Crops. According to the last assessment, the total value
of taxable property is ^890,712. The county contains about three
hundred and forty square miles, with a population of 8,698, being more
than twenty-five to the square mile. Of the entire area about thirty-
five per cent, is yielding nothing. Farms vary much in size. Some
that yield a good living to their owners contain no more than finy
acres, while others have one, two, three and even as high as six hun-
dred acres. Most of them are cultivated exclusively by the owners,,
but on the larger some hired help is employed all the year, and on oc-
casions of extra work, such as harvest time, almost all farmers require
more or less' assistance. There is rarely any difficulty in obtaining
common hands, but skilled labor is scarce. The wages paid, however,
are not such as to invite good laborers from abroad. Twelve to six-
teen dollars per month are the regular terms, but harvest hands gen-
erally receive something higher. Money rents range from three to five
dollars per acre, according to the quality of land. One-third of the
crop is generally paid by those who rent on shares. The leading field
crops, in the order of their importance, are corn, tobacco, wheat, oats,
hay, potatoes, turnips, cotton, buckwheat and barley. Walker wheat is
the most common variety. Tappahannock is preferred by some. About
ten per cent, of the cultivated lands are in grass. It is customary ta
mow a meadow until it becomes foul, and then turn the sod under, but
this is done rather for the purpose of destroying the weeds than for
improving the land. Several of the best farmers use clover as a green
manure. Grass is sometimes sown for pasture. "Xew ground," or
land jusfc cleared, is plowed with a coulter to cut the roots, but after
these are out of the way, breaking is done with turning plows»
Subsoiling is practiced to some extent, but it is generally done with a
narrow shovel or " bull-tongue," following in the furrow after the
turning-plow. Single and double shovels are used in cultivating crops.
Horses are most popular for work stock, but mules are also used, and
are ])referred by some. For very heavy plowing, and other work that
requires a strong team, oxen arc often used, but rarely or never where
horses or mules can do the work. The condition of farm improve-
ments, especially fences and barns, has undergone a change for the bet-
ter since the war. More attention is paid to the improvement and care of
lands, and the yield of cultivated crops is greater. These improve-
ments are due in a great measure to the efforts made to systematize the
farming, under the direction of the County Agricultural Society.

Live. /^iock. The rearing of live stock is and will probably continue

Middle Tennessee. 887

to be the leading and most profitable branch of farming. Almost all
of the stock is of the common breeds known as scrub. Several good
horses, with fashionable pedigrees, have been brought in since the war,
and their influence is beginning to be felt. There are also in the
county a few Short-horn cattle. Berkshires, Chester Whites and per-
haps some other breeds of hogs are represented by a few fine specimens.
More recently an effort has been made to improve the sheep by bring-
ing in Southdowns, Cotswolds and Leicesters. The adaptation of the
county to sheep husbandry has already been spoken of, and the busi-
ness is steadily on the increase. We hope before many years to see
flocks of hundreds and thousands roaming over broad acres of "barrens"
that are now waste, and yielding fleeces and mutton that will rival
those produced on the " downs" of "merrie England." But before this
can be realized, the old scrub stock must be bred out and replaced by
those which will afford a better return for the labor and care bestowed
on them. Nor is this necessity for improvement confined to sheep;
horses, cattle and hogs must be bred with care, until a scrub of any
kind will be a thing uriknown. There has been hvX little complaint
for several years past of sheep-killing dogs, and most of the farmers
are opposed to a tax or any other restriction upon the keeping of dogs.

Household Department. The smaller industries belonging to farm
economy receive some attention, but not as much as their importance
deserves. Dried fruit is prepared for home use, and is also shipped in
considerable quantities. Butter enough for family use is made on every
farm, the year round, and often enough extra to buy the supplies of su-
gar, coffee, etc. Poultry receives a good share of attention. There is
scarcely a family in the county without a good stock of chickens, and
many raise also turkeys and guineas. Honey is not so common, but
many families have enough for home use, and a few produce it for
market. Geese and ducks are common, and feathers are an article of
some importance. Household manufactures embrace such articles as
jeans, linsey and cotton cloth, also blankets, coverlets, counterpanes and
cotton and woolen socks. Most of the cloth worn by the farmers, ex-
cept their " Sunday clothes," is made, at home or in the neighborhood.

Streams and Water-power. Fallingwatcr, which is partly in Putnam
and j)artly in White, is a fine stream for machinery. It rises among
the mountain spurs in the eastern part of the county, and flows west
south-west into Caney Fork. As its name indicates, there is a con-
tinual succession of falls and rapids along its entire course, and the

Resotirces of Tennessee.

quantity of water is sufficient for machinery of any size or amount.
There are now several good mills along its course. Spring Creek is
next in importance. Its source is near the western base of the moun-
tain, and its course nearly north-west. For a part of the way it forms
the dividing line between Putnam and Overton. There are several
good falls along its course, the one at Waterloo, where there was once
a large powder manufactory, being the most important. There is no
machinery at this place now. There are three cascades within a few
hundred yards, the total flill being about thirty feet. It is now the
property of Col. J. D. Goodpasture, of Livingston. Blackburn's Fork
rises near the center of the county, and flows north-west into Roaring
River. The smaller creeks are Indian, Pigeon Roost, Cane and Hug-
gin's, all of which afford water enough for light machinery.

Transportation and Markets. Caney Fork River, bounding the
county on the west, is navigable for small steamers for about five
months in the year. Cumberland River, twenty miles north-west of
Cookeville, is navigable during six months ofthe year. Butmostof the
produce is sent to market in wagons, and merchandise is carried from
Nashville in the same way. The line of the South-western Railroad
is located through the county, passing one and a half miles east of
Cookeville.

Minerals. Coal is abundant in the eastern part of the county. It
has been worked at Home's Cove Bank, nine miles south-east of
Cookeville, and at Whitaker's Bank, ten miles east of the same point.
It is known to exist in quantity at many other points, but the demand
for it has been merely local, and there is nothing to stimulate develop-
ment. At several places it is reported to be six feet thick at the out-
crop. Pilot Knob, two miles south-west of Cookeville, is reported to
be very rich in iron ore. The beds of brown hematite extend all
around its base, and probably underlie the entire mountain. But lit-
tle effort has been made to develop it. In the immediate vicinity of
Cookeville, we saw some good ores, but are unable to estimate the
quantity. In the neighborhood of Huggin's Creek is another extensive
bed of iron ore in quality similar to the hematite common in this part of
the State. Several years ago there was a bloomery on Fallingwater,
four miles south of Cookeville, which, with the imperfect machinery
used, yielded about forty per cent, of pure iron. The ore was obtained
in the neighborhood and from Pilot Knob. With good machinery, it
would doubtless yield from fifty to sixty j>er cent. When better facil-

Middle Tennessee. 889

ities for transportation are })r()vide(1, the manuflictnre of iron will doubt-
less assume great importance. We are informed that there is a quarry
of excellent marble at Pilot Knob, but have seen no specimens. It
has been used for tombstones to a limited extent. The limestones are
of the blue and gray varieties, the former being very hard, and more
or less silicified, but the latter is easily burned into lime of excellent
quality ; both kinds are valuable for building stones. The sandstones
of the Table Land and barrens are quite diiferent in appearance and
structure. The former are generally very much indurated wherever
they are exposed, and are frequently mixed with conglomerate. In
many places they split readily into thin, tough slabs, and would make
excellent paving stones. But the barren sandstones are generally soft,
easily worked, and furnish a beautiful building stone. There are
seven well-known mineral springs in the county, three of which are
chalbyeate and four sulphur. Boarding-houses have been erected at
several of these. Bloomington, where there is a very excellent chaly-
beate spring, is becoming popular as a summer resort. The buildings
are new, commodious, and well adapted to the purposes for which they
were erected.

Schools. The scholastic population of the county is 3,420. There
are fifty-two public schools, with an average attendance of more than fifty
per cent, of the entire scholastic population. Besides the public
schools, there is an academy at the county seat, and good private
schools have heretofore been sustained in several neighborhoods.

What is Needed. A railroad to stimulate .developments and carry
the productions to market, is the most pressing want. Owing to the
great length of the county, compared with its breadth, it has been im-
possible to secure county aid for a north and south line, but the citi-
zens in the central part are willing to make liberal donations to any
company that will undertake the completion of the Southwestern Rail-
road. One survey for the Tennessee and Pacific Railroad passes
through the county from east to west, and if it should be located on
that line, county aid could no doubt be obtained. The restrictions im-
posed by the revenue law upon tobacco, are very much complained of
among the farmers, and it is hoped that the government will re-
move them.

MiscellaneoxiH. Immigrants will meet with a cordial welcome if they
come to stay and do not hold themselves aloof from the jjcople, and
are willing to look upon them as neighbors and friends. They are

890 Resources of Tennessee.

greatly needed, for there are many broad acres of good land unim-
proved, and many noble streams for manufacturing, yet unemployed.
The price of land is very low, and there is plenty of it for sale. As
a general rule, the farms are too large, and many of the farmers desire
to sell a part so that they can better improve the remainder. Indeed,
we think that trying to cultivate too much land is the greatest draw-
back to the prosperity of agriculture, not only in this, but in most of
the counties of the State. Although there is a great deal of land for
sale there are not many of the farmers who wish to move away. Gen-
eral contentment prevails, and a spirit of improvement is manifest.
There is an Agricultural and Mechanical Association which holds an-
nual fairs at Cookeville. The fair grounds embrace five acres,.and the
value of the improvements are estimated at five thousand dollars.
There is also one farmers' club in the countv.

ROBERTSON COUNTY.

CouxTY Seat — Springfield.

Robertson and Montgomery counties were, previous to 1796, known
as Tennessee county. The Territorial Legislature, sitting at Knox-
ville, passed an act bearing date April 9, 1796, dividing the county,
the western half taking the name of Montgomery and the eastern that
of Robertson, named in honor of the brave pioneer who planted the
first colony west of the Cumberland Mountains. On the 6th of June
of the same year, the State was admitted into the Union, taking the
name of the county j)rcvious to the division. The county contains about
550 square miles, and is bounded on the north by Kentucky, on the
east by Sumner county, on the south by Davidson and Cheatham, and
the west by Montgomery. The first settlements in the county were
made on SLil])hur Fork. Tradition has it that one Caleb Winters, in
the year 1781 or 1782, settled on the place now occupied by Hon. G.
A. Washington, and never eat a piece of bread from the time of set-
tling them until he made it. It was about this time that corn was
worth $165 a bushel in Kentucky, in Continental money.

Topography and (Jcoh<jy. The toi)ography and geological features
of Robertson county are so much like those of Montgomery that a
description of the one may well answer for the other. The surface is

Middle Tennessee. 891

generally broken, except near the Kentucky line, where it becomes a
level plain. A small strip of level plateau land also bounds the south-
ern and eastern borders. The middle belt running east and west is
more broken, but is quite fertile. Geologically, the county belongs to
tlie Lower Carboniferous and to the upper or Lithostrotion bed of
that group. The St. Louis limestone abounds in the county and crops
out all along the streams in high bluffs.

Water Courses. Sulphur Fork runs centrally from the eastern ex-
tremity of the county, passing about one mile north of Springfield.
It i^ a fine stream, affording sufficient Avater for almost any manufactur-
ing purpose. It has numerous rapids which would render the harness-
ing of it for driving machinery comparatively easy. North of this
stream are good farming lands, being in the main level, but well watered
and somewhat broken by the smaller streams and the inevitable two
hills between which they ripple. Red River, a much larger stream
than Sulphur Fork, runs westward through the northern })art of the
county. It has several merchant and one or two woolen mills or fac-
tories on it. As affording water and sites for manufacturing purposes
it is almost unsurpassed. Buzzard's Creek, Miller's Creek and Elk
Fork are small streams, the latter entering Red River from the north.
These are suitable for small mills. Red, River has two prongs
known as Middle Prong and North Fork, both of which are utilized
to some extent. Stock-water is everywhere abundant and convenient,
if not in running streams, in the numerous ponds that form in the
basin-like depressions which characterize the county. Springs are
quite common, and cisterns are easily and cheaply constructed in the
stiff clay, requiring no wall to hold the cement. Sulphur Fork may be
considered a dividing line near the center of the county. North of
this line is the highest and levelest country and the richer and more
fertile 'soils. South are more hills, more streams and less productive
soils. There are, however, many farms in this part of the county.
The bottoms along the larger streams are usually rich and last well.
Carr's Creek empties into Sulphur Fork, three miles west of Spring-
field, and the two form a A'^, Springfield being situated in the fork. It
is something smaller than the latter, but has more fall, is moi-e rapid
and dashing, but would be still more easily harnessed. Syciuuore
Creek forms the soutlieru boundary of the county, rising in Davidson
and em})tying into Cumberland River in Cheatham, just below Ash-
land City. It, too, is a large stream, affording fine water-power and
almost iniuunerable mill sites.

892 Resources of Teiuiessee.

Lands and Soils. These are very much as in Montgomery, to which
the reader is referred. A strip of thin porous land with siliceous soils,
begins on the Kentucky line, near the north-west corner of Sumner
county, and rims the county on its east, south and half of its west
boundaries. This land has a Avhitish subsoil and though well suited
for the growth of fruit, is not considered fertile or suitable for general
farming. All the lands north and east of this rim rest upon a good
clay foundation, and until impaired by injudicious cultivation were
among the best in the State. The soil is strong, durable, quick and
productive. It abounds with flinty gravel, which, without impairing
its fertility, adds to its friability. From Sulphur Fork to the Middle
Prong of Red River, there is a very fine body of land, constituting a
fine agricultural region. From the Middle Prong to North Fork of
Red River the lands become more level, though not less productive.
South and west of Sulphur Fork, a portion of the lands are very fine.
The rim of thin lands, which we have mentioned, has a few good spots
of arable land that will richly repay cultivation. From Tyree Springs
to Cross Plains, the country is very thickly settled, the land high and
level. The finest soils for tobacco lie on Sulphur Fork, Buzzard's Creek
and that portion of the county east of Miller's Creek. There is also
around Fort's Station sj)me very excellent farming lands, probably,
all things considered, the most desirable in the county. A few elevated
swamps occur in the various parts of the county. One on the railroad
covers probably 600 acres. It goes dry, or nearly so, in summer.

Timber. The finest timber in the county is to be found on Sulphur
Fork. Black oak, red oak, white oak, poplar, ash, black gum and
walnut are the most valuable varieties. In the northern part of the
county, on the level lands, the timber is not so good, being mostly
black jack and hickory. Near the Davidson county line, chestnut is
abundant. A large amount of the best timber has been used in the
making of staves for tobacco hogsheads, whisky and flour barrels, for
which there is a great demand. Saw-mills are quite numerous and a
considerable amount of lumber has been shipped by railroad. Much
of the land lying contiguous to the railroad has been stripped of its
timber, and the lumber trade is not carried on to the same extent as
formerly.

(jropH and Fann.s. Preciisely the same croj)s are grown in this county
as in Montgomery. Corn, wheat, oats and tobacco are the staple crops.
The yield of corn has been greatly lessened by bad cultivation. When
first opened the best soils will produce, per acre, from forty to sixty

Middle Teimessee. 893

bushels of this cereal, but there are thousands of acres in the county
that have been so over cropped that it would be a difficult matter to
gather ten bushels. Everywhere the farms are scarified by deep gul-
lies and the fatness of the soil is being continually swept away by every
rain. Tobacco on the best lands will yield from 800 to 1,200 pounds
per acre. The quality is excellent and is classed with the best Clarks-
ville tobacco. Wheat and oats on the fresh soils yield bountifully,
(-lover is not sown to the extent necessary to keep up the fertility of
the soil, though there is no better soil in the State for its production.
IMeadows are scarce. Most of the hay made is from the annual
grasses. Both sweet and Irish potatoes do well and yield abundantly.
The amount reported by the Census Bureau will compare favorably
with any county. Milk and butter are produced in considerable quan-
tities, and much of the latter is sold in Nashville. Bees are prolific,
and the supply of honey is good. Farmers pay great attention to
providing for home wants, and usually live well at their tables. Sor-
ghum was a favorite crop for many years, but is now pretty well aban-
doned. The system of farming may, as a general thing, be called
slovenly, though there are many neat farmers in the county. Fences,
with few exceptions, are not good, and the corners are suffered to grow
up in bushes and briers. Broorasedge puts up on all the old fields, and
there are but few counties that have more abandoned land or land that
is worn out. On the old fields sassafras and persimmon sprouts vie
with the broomsedge in occupation. The aspect of the county is by
no means inviting. The farm-houses, while they are comfortable are
not tasteful. The cultivation of tobacco, prevents any attempts at orna-
mentation. But few localities exists in the State that show more
plainly the earnest fight for the almighty dollar, at the expense of the
soil. And yet we should do injustice to a large class of excellent farm-
ers, were we to fail to mention the fact that some of the best improved
farms in the State are in Robertson county. Such farmers are scattered
like bright lights in every portion of county. Their farms are pictures
of beauty, surrounded by frames of waste and desolation. Yet their
examples appear to be lost. Though they thrive, yet their thrift does
not inspire a desire to imitate. Corn succeding corn has destroyed
more fertile land in Robertson county than would be sufficient, if sold,
to build two railroads throughout the entire extent of the county. The
habit contracted in early times of working land until exhausted, and
then turning it out, has a firm grip^iipon a large per cent, of the farm-
ers. They have the virtues of economy and industry, yet their econ-

894 Resources of Tennessee.

omy descends into stinginess, when practiced towards the soil. More
clover is needed on their heretofore fertile soils. Rotation of crops
with regular rests, is imperatively demanded. Their industry, under a
different system of tillage would fill their pockets, while their capital
in trade would be preserved. There are but few better citizens, so far
as the observance of law and the requirements of society are concerned
than those of Robertson county, bnt they have an idea that what their
fathers did with virgin soil and a superabundance of land, can still be
done with impunity. The eai'th cries out against it, and the haggard
and red fluted old fields show tliat the abused soil will no longer ren-
der its rich rewards to those who so abuse and mistreat it.

• Labor, Bents and price of Land. Tlie county offers a profitable field
for the employment of both additional labor and capital. Wild and
exhausted lands sadly need husbandmen and can be bought very cheap.
Land ranges in price from about two to sixty dollars per acre.
There is land in the county that could not be bought for ^100 per acre
probably, but such land l< not for sale at any price. The usual way
of renting is for a part of the crop. One-third or one-half is charged,
according to the producing capacity of the soil. Twelve and a half
dollars is about the average price paid for farm hands per month.
Good laborers are in demand, and can obtain higher wages than
the above. Farmers have to rely principally on the colored class for
labor. Those of this class that have stuck to the farm since free are
generally good hands, but these are few.

Live Stock. Considerable interest is being manifested in importing
and raising fine stock. The Robertson County Agricultural and Me-
chanical Association is doing a great work in this direction. The
Messrs. Bell (Bell & Co.) have made several importations of Berkshire
hogs direct from England. They are extensively engaged in raising
fine stock of different kinds, as also are many other persons in the
county. The raising of hogs has been always carried on extensively.
The numerous distilleries supply slops in sufficient quantity to" rear
large droves. Before the war there were but few counties in the State
that surj)asscd it in tliis branch of l)reeding. The prospects are more
hopeful of an improved agriculture, with its ever accompanying bless-
ings to the county, undcu" tlie stimulating effects of tlie Agricultural
Association. Premiums should be offered for reclaimed lands and for
the largest yields of corn, wheat and tobacco.

Fruit. The high plateaus on the east and south are said to yield

Middle Tennessee. §95

fruit well, and in the more fertile portions peaches, apples and pears
are generally planted on every farm. Cherries and plums, of certain va-
rieties do well. Grapes have not been tried to any extent, but it is
known that the same quality of land in the adjoining county of Mont-
gomery bears them profusely. Dried fruit and feathers are exported to
some extent.

Whisky Making. In nothing is Robertson county so much distin-
guished as in the making of whisky. From an early period in the
history of the State, this brand has been sought after. Its manufacture
was begun by a family of Woodards, who were among the first set-
tlers of the county, and their honesty in the preparation of this article
gave it a name second to none in America. It was first made in small
distilleries, with capacities of thirty or forty gallons per day. Sour
mash was used altogether. Along little streams and at the heads of
hollows may still be found the decaying " still-house" where the origi-
nal sour mash was made. It is said that on some streams there was
once a distillery every hundred yards. It seems always to have been a
lucrative business, as they are usually men of means who have been
long engaged in its manufacture.

At present " Robertson County" whisky is made by the sweet mash
plan, which is shorter and less expensive. As will be seen by the appended
figures, the present traffic in whisky in the county is immense. The
Government derives more revenue from Robertson than it probably
does from any half dozen other counties in the State. In point of
revenue, as compared with other Congressional districts, Robertson
county alone is entitled to one or more members of Congress. Less than
two per cent, of the revenue it annually pays the United States Gov-
ernment would pay the salary of a Congressman.

The letter given below, from Hon. Wm. Moore, of the firm of
Woodard & Moore, will throw much light upon the extent of the
business at present. It shows also very clearly the impetus which any
one branch of manufacture will give to other pursuits. While it has
acted perniciously in tempting the farmers to wear out their land in the
cultivation of grain, it at the same time shows how a ready market at
home will stimulate production even to exhaustion. As a result of this
manufacture, cooper shops have sprung up in every part of the county,
and form one of the subordinate industries of the couniy.

S96 Resources of Tennessee.

Springfield, Tenn., March 7, 1874.
J. B. Killehrew, Secretary :

Fully appreciating the important work you have undertaken, and the
great labor requisite to compile reliable statistical information of the vast
mineral and agricultural w^ealth of Tennessee, which needs but to be com-
puted to show her the richest and most prominent of her sisters, I have been
led to the conclusion that, perhaps, some reliable information in reference to
the whisky statistics of our county of Robertson would be as interesting as
they are important. I have devoted some time to collecting facts and figures,
which readily show the magnitude of the business done in this line, and do
not require at my hands, I think, much comment.

The extensive reputation which Robertson county whisky enjoys is founded
upon the fact that our distillers take more pains and pride in its distilla-
tion, use better material and thoroughly understand the business, many of
whom have been engaged in its manufacture for forty years.

No effort has ever been made to evade the law, and although this county
pays annually a half million of dollars as tax to the general Government,
not a solitary arrest has ever been made for illicit distilling, and I am sure
that the Revenue Department has competent and vigilant officers to guard
honestly and/aithfully her interests.

The immense amount of grain required in the manufacture of the article
has stimulated the farming community to produce more corn, there being an
active and steady demand for it at the highest and most remunerative prices.
Seven hundred and fifty bushels of grain are being daily consumed, (which
would be forty-five thousand barrels annually). This will give some idea of
the immense business. The increasing demands for grain have absorbed the
entire surplus oi corn in the county, and have compelled our distillers to rely
in a great degree upon the St. Louis and other foreign markets, including
the productions of the rich Wabash valley. This business of manufacturing
whisky direct from the grain is carried on by the following named persons,
with the amount of their daily capacity appended, viz:

Dr. Geo. E. Draughan 3 barrels per day.

Hopkins & Lawrence 3 " "

James H. Woodard 4 " "

Woodard & Moore 10 " "

H. H. Kirk & Co 5 " '•

G.H.Garrett & Co 18 " "

Charles Nelson 10 " "

James W. Powell 5 " "

Besides these, the following are in contemplation, and the parties propose
to commence their construction at a very early day.

Distilleries in Process of Construction. George H. Garrett & Co. design
building an additional distillery, with "a capacity per day of from 15 to 20
barrels.

Henry H. Kirk from 15 to 20 barrels per day.

Wilson Pitt " 2 to 3 " "

Thomas, Haird & Co " 4 to 5 " "

Tliomns Woodard '• 2 to 3 " "

Thomas Pepper & Co " 3 to 4 " "

The business of re-distilling is actively carried on by the following named
persons, and the capacity of each esfal)lishment will show the large amount
of business done in this line, independent of the manufacture direct from
the grain.

Middle Te7i? lessee. 897

Woodard & Moore have recently erected in tlie suburbs of our city, a
large establishment for this purpose, upon an improved plan, with a capacity
of making twenty-five barrels of finished whisky per day, which can be
easily increased to fifty.

John W. Stark Re-distills annually about 600 barrels.

Thomas Pepper & Co " " " 600 "

Carroll Huey " " " 600

William Clotworthy & Co " " " 600

Wiley Woodard «& Co " " " 1000

J.E.Morrow " " , " 500

JohnG. Conts " ' " 500

Farmer&Fuqua " " " 300

Hopkins & Lawrence " " " 600

Which shows that about thirteen thousand barrels of whisky is annually
redistilled, and beside these I shall notice

Distillers of Apple and Peach Brandies. There are about ten apple and
peach brandy distilleries in operation in the fruit season, which produce
about seven hundred barrels.

Wholesale Liquor Dealers at Springfield and Vicinity. Before the war
there were no houses of this character, and just at its expiration, Woodard,
Moore & T. L- Green embarked in the business, and the increasing popu-
larity of the whisky induced others to operate in this department, and to-
day it has assumed gigantic proportions, showing that a business of nearly,
or quite, one million dollars is annually done. Below I give you the names
of the wholesale dealers, with an approximate estimate of their business,
which is steadily increasing, and in doing so, I deem it but right to state
that I have endeavored fairly and impartially to obtain said information
from the most reliable data at their command. Below we give the annual
approximate sales of the firms named :

Woodard & Moore $250,000

Harrison, Murphey & Bell 100,000

L. L. Polk 50,000

Thomas Pepper & Co 100,000

John W. Stark & Co 100,000

Wiley Woodard & Co 75,000

Thomas L. Green & Co 75,000

Farmer & Fuqua 25,000

William Clotworthy & Co 25,000

Hopkins & Lawrence 125,000

Carroll Huey & Son 25,000

This shows a large and growing business, and the number of firms who
have established, houses at this point.

Tlie Manufacture of Barrels, is an item of no small importance, and I can
safely estimate thatat leastone hundred and twenty-five thousand dollars are
annually paid lor their production.

The shipment cf whisky from the depot at this point amounts to about
forty thousand barrels annually, and when the other distilleries are put in
operation, of course there will be an increase.

Eighteen months ago the Springfield National Bank sprung into existence,
57

898 Resources of Tennessee.

which has proven an indispensable auxiliary to every department of business,
and more especially to the whisky interests, as our merchants were com-
pelled to rely upon Nashville banks for facilities.

The solidity, prudence and strict integrity of the officers of this institu-
tion command the respect and highest confidence of the business commu-
nity. With the Hon. John Woodard as its able President, Thomas Pepper,
Vice-President, and Henry T. Stratton, Cashier, and with an average deposit
of over one hundred thousand dollars, it has given a new impetus to busi-
ness, and those heretofore opposed to the national bank system are loud in
their praises of the manner in which this institution ia conducted. During
the financial storm of 1873, when the largest banking houses of the country
were reeling, tottering and breaking, it stood like a stone-wall, and defied
the storm from without, never suspending, never oppressing.

There are other interests which time will not allow me to discuss, and if
I have written anything which will be of interest, or worthy of publication,
it is at your command.

Very truly, your friend,

William Moore.

Towns. Springfield, the county seat, is situated on the St. Louis
and Southeastern Railroad, twenty-eight miles from Nashville, a little
west of north. It has about forty business houses, a population of
3,000, and does an immense trade in whisky. There are two good
schools, male and female, well sustained, and the principal Protef^tant
denominations have churches. It has also a bank recently established,
of which mention has been made in Mr. Moore's letter. The Spring-
field Record, an excellent county paper, is issued here, and is alive to
the interests of the county, and more given to developing enterprise
than to making politicians. It is well sustained and handsomely
printed. Besides Springfield, there are several towns in the county,
the largest of which is Cross Plains, a thriving village of some 500
inhabitants, located on the line of the proposed Owensboro Railroad.
Adams Station and Cedar Hill are .stirring stations on the St.
Louis and Southeastern Railroad. Coopertown, Turnersville, Black
Jack and Barren Plains are active little post towns off the railroad.
There is a church and a .school-house in almost every neighborhood,
but the educational interest is sadly neglected. Cross Plains, Cedar
Hill and Coopertown have each a good school.

Statistics. Population in 1870, 16,166, of which 4,813 were colored;
number of voters in 1871, 3,112; acres of land a.ssessed in 1873,
284,116, valued at $3,409,035; total value of taxable property,
$4,516,117; number of polls, 2,436. Robertson county reported in
1870, 140,641 acres of improved land; 139,456 woodland, and 5,020
acres of other unimproved.

Middle Tennessee. 899

The value of farms in 1S70 was S4,291,516

" " farming implements and machinery 196,239

" " farm products 1,359,245

" " orchard products 18,588

" " forest products 8,862

" " home manufactures 12,991

" " animals slaughtered, or sold for slaughter 361,549

" " all live stock 970,816

LIVE STOCK.

No. Horses 3,908

" Mules and asses 2,461

" Milch cows 3,000

" Work oxen 134

" Other cattle 3,157

" Sheep 11,140

" Swine 29,817

FARM PRODUCTS.

Winter wheat, bushels 157,404

Eye, bushels 937

Corn " 559,020

Oats " 149,019

Tobacco, pounds 2,103,322

Cotton, bales 11

Wool, pounds 19,387

Irish potatoes, bushels 19,295

Sweet potatoes, bushels 27,455

Butter, pounds 155,653

Hay, tons 953

Sorgham, gallons 4,292

Wax, pounds 627

Honey " 12,936

Miscellaneous. The Bureau is iudebted to the Hon. G. A. "Washing-
ton, Hon. Boyd Cheatham, J. L. Watts, Esq., and to Hon. Wm.
Moore for assistance in the preparation of this account of Robertson
county — a county formed by nature for a varied industry, and one
which, under more judicious culture, must, in the future, take a high
position among the wealthy counties of the State. In no county are
immigrants more needed or desired. The efforts of all leading citi-
zens are tending to attract good men. Lands in portions of the county
are cheap, and thousands of acres may be bought in a single body for
the settlement of colonies. Coal can be brought by the St. Louis and
Southeastern Railroad from the coal fields of Kentucky. The streams
of purest water that glide through every portion of the county, and

900 Resources of Teftnessee.

the meadow lands that border them, invite the dairyman to a pleas-
ant and profitable locality. The fruit-grower would find a ready mar-
ket for all his products, while the adaptation of the soil to a diversified
agriculture should entice the intelligent farmer from the colder regions
of the north to pluck his profits in a more genial climate.

RUTHERFORD COUNTY.

County Seat — Muefreesboro.

Rutherford county was organized in the year 1804, it having been
up to that time a part of Davidson county, and when first organized^
contained the larger portion of the better part of Cannon county^
which it retained until the year 1835, when that county was organized.
The first court was held at the Menefee place, near to and on a part of
the field on which was fought the battle of Stone's River, in the late
war between the States, and near the present location of the Federal
cemetery. The next court was held at Simon Miller's, about three
miles north-east of the first, and about five miles north of Murfrees-
boro, near the present residence of Mrs. Colonel Watkins, Mrs. Dr.
Rucker, Major J. W. Quarles, and Dr. T. C. Black. In 1805, Jeffer-
son, in the forks of Stone's River, was made the county seat, a good
court-house was erected, town lots laid off and many buildings were
put up; located in the midst of a beautiful and rich country of lands,-
and with the prospects of river navigation for small crafts, the inhabi-
tants felt certain that they would soon have quite a gay city. CoL
Thomas H. Benton, then a mere youth, but afterward so distinguished
and deservedly famous in the the United States Congress, as a Senator
from Missouri, located here to practice law, and was first sworn in as
an attorney at the Jefferson court. Felix Grundy and Andrew Jack-
son (Old Hickory) attended this court. Samuel Wilson, a revolu-
tionary soldier, planted, about the year 1800, the first corn in the forks
of Stone's River that was ever cultivated in the county. Medford Cof-
fey, who is still living here, was the first birth in Rutherford county
after its settlement. In 1812 Murfreesboro was made the county seat,
which was then a piece of woodland, owned by Captain William Lytle,
and donated by him for the county seat. The town was laid off into lots,
and named in honor of Col. Matthew Murfree. Rutherford county

Middle Tennessee. 901

took its name from General Rutherford, of North Carolina, famous in
the American revolution, and who also distinguished himself in many
Indian fights in Middle Tennessee, and no ground was darker and
bloodier than that now within the confines of this county. The county
was full of wild game of every description, its streams with fish, and
here lived and died the renowned and bloody Black Fox Chief — here
he won his last victory, here he met his last defeat, and here he fought
his last battle. While pursued by the white braves, when his last man
was killed, or captured, and death, or imprisonment at the hands of
the white man stared him in the face, he plunged into a fathomless
deep blue spring, which now bears his name, and was seen no more.
The county seat having been permanently located in the center of the
•county, and within one mile of the center of the State, population
came in very rapidly from the Old Dominion, as well as from the old
mother State, until 1819, when the capitol of the State was removed
to Murfreesboro. The Legislature met here until the year 1825, and
among the distinguished men who have adorned our State, who assem-
bled in her halls, were Judge Hugh L. White, Judge Roane, Felix
Grundy, John Bell and others alike honored by their countrymen. The
renowned David Crockett was a member of .one session of the Legis-
lature that assembled here, (the session not remembered), representing
the wilds of some county in West Tennessee. Judge Mitchell, who
was the first judge that occupied the bench at this town, was also a
member of the same body with Col. Crockett. It was fashionable at
that day and in that generation for gentlemen to wear large ruffles
protruding from their shirt bossoms. On one occasion a controversy
grew up in the House between these two gentlemen, when from some
misapprehension of the judge, the courageous David flew at him, and
in the scrimmage, tore off the judges ruffles. An explanation followed,
and the two were soon friends again. At that time, and for many
years afterward, this county was regarded as peculiarly the land of
chivalry. A man who would try to impose on another of inferior
physical strength, or who would resort to the pistol, or knife, or any
■other mode of fighting, save the " fisticuif," was regarded as a coward,
and looked upon with scorn and contempt, and if he attempted to dis-
play the braggart and the bully toward any one, either high or low,
he was just as certain to meet with the misfortune of a genteel thrash-
ing. Such was the character of the heroic sons of old Rutherford,
tind she sent many of her sons to all of the Indian wars ; hundreds
of the them followed Jackson to New Orleans ; several companies,

902

Resources of Tennesee,

under Taylor and Seott, trod the sands of Mexico, and followed their
colors to the halls of the Montezumas, while sons of noble sires took part
in the war between the States. No population of the same size afforded
a greater number of gallant and chivalrous men. When the capitol
was permanently located at Nashville, the bill was first carried ta
locate it at Murfreesboro, but lost by a very cl-ose vote, on reconsider-
ing the bill. We then had no railways, and the Cumberland River
won the capitol. Up to the year 1860 Rutherford county furnished a
large emigration to settle up the cheap lands of West Tennessee, and
other points west, and indeed, wherever you travel you can find some
of her enterprising sons and daughters. About one-fourth of the
population of Gibson county sprung from Rutherford. In 1800 this
county was included in Davidson, but the census table shows her pop-
idation to have been as follows :

1810 10,265

1820 19,552

1830 26,134

1840 24,280

1850 29,122

1860 27,918

1870 33,289

The last census sho-wing only three counties (Shelby, Davidson and
Maury) containing a larger population than Rutherford, in the State of
Tennessee. And between the years 1830 and 1840 a large population
was taken oflf to form Cannon county, and previous to 1860 a portion
was taken olf and added to adjoining counties.

Toions. Murfreesboro, the county seat, once, as above stated, the
capitol of the State, is a pleasant little city of about 4,000 inhabitants,
situated in a vast plain on the Nashville, Chattanooga and St. Louis
Railway, thirty miles south-east of Nashville. The town is beautifully
laid off, the streets are rectangular, wide, and well paved with stone
and gravel, and drained by Murfree's Spring Branch and Lytle's Creek,,
the I'atter flowing into the west fork of istone's River about one mile
from the corporation. It is the commercial center of the trade and
shipping of several counties, the shipments of corn, wheat and bacon,
bulk meat and j)i(;kled pork being very large, M'hile as to cotton, it
ranks as the second place in Middle Tennessee, it being raised mostly
within the limits of the county. The dry goods and grocery market
is extensive, and her merchants rank among the first class in any city,,
their paper is seldom ever protested, and failures are almost unknown
among them. Her ministers, lawyers, ])hysicians and teachers are dis-
tinguished for eminent ability throughout the whole land and country^
There are two national banks located here, while there is quite a

Middle Tennessee. 903

number of workshops conducted by business men, all doinj^ a thriving
business. The mechanics and artizans of this city, for skill, ingenuity
and intelligence, will vie with those of any other town or city. Stone's
River Utility Works, engaged in the manufacture of cedar buckets
and hollow ware, is the only chartered organization at work in this
city, but it is one of the most desirable locations for cotton spinning
and the manufacture of farming implements, or other large establish-
ments, throughout the whole South. There are houses of worship in
this little city that will compare favorably with those of larger places.

The Christians, Primitive and Missionary Baptists, Presbyterians,
Cumberland Presbyterians and Methodists all have commodious church
edifices and many communicants. The Episcopalians have a church
organization, besides there are several benevolent institutions common
to all cities. Union University has sent forth many sons, who as min-
isters, lawyers, physicians, teachers, skilled artizans and engineers,
rank among those of the most flourishing and foremost institutions of
learning in the country. The noble founder of this institution, Joseph
H. Eaton, LL. D., who lived and died a pure, goo;l and great man,
sleeps in a tomb erected by his devoted pupils on the college campus.
Murfreesboro Female In^-titute, conducted by Professor James E.
Scobey, a ripe scholar, an upright christian, and a teacher of distin-
guished reputation, and Soule Female College, under the supervision
of the Tennessee Methodist Conference, have both for many years been
very successful, and have received the highest approbation of their
patrons. The free schools, both male and female, are taught by the
most efficient teachers during the entire year. They are established on
a permanent basis, and are well attended. General Wm. J. Lytle,
deceased, was the first white boy born in this city. There are several
villages in this county. Eeadyville, situated on the east fork of Stone's
River, t\yelve miles east of Murfreesboro, on the line between this
county and Cannon; Milton, five miles north-cast of Readyville;
Jefferson, twelve miles from Murfreesboro, in the forks of Stone's River,
as before described ; Smyrna, three miles south-east of Jefferson, on
the Nashville, Chattanooga and St. Louis Railway ; Lavergne, on the
same railway, and on the line between this county and Davidson;
Sakni, five miles south-west of Murfreesboro ; Versailles, twelve, and
Eagleyille, eighteen, near the lines between this county, AYilliamson,
Bedford and Marshall ; Middleton, fourteen miles south, on the line
between this county and Bedford ; Christiana, ten miles south, on the
Nashville, Chattanooga and St. Louis Railway ; Lesterville, three

904 Resources of Tennessee.

miles further, on the same road, between this county and Bedford ; and
Bio- Springes, or Carlockville, fourteen miles south-east, all contain
stores and shops, with a small population to each, some of them con-
taining as many as 100 persons.

This county has three sulphur springs, one about four miles north of
Murfreesboro, in early times called Blount's Lick, and two other of
excellent w^ater below Jeiferson, on Stone's River ; but there are a
good many sulphur wells, some two or three in Murfreesboro, one of
which, on the premises of Dr. Joseph W. Nelson, has been analyzed
and found to be equal to that of some of our most noted watering
places.

The prevailing rock of the county is limestone, although there is a
great quantity of what is commonly known as " fire rock," used for
the purpose of building fire-places and furnaces, and whatever mineral
wealth may exist is yet undeveloped. Individuals claim to have dis-
covered silver and lead three miles east of Murfreesboro, on and near
the plantation of the late Benjamin Lillard, deceased, and also several
miles further north-east. Very pretty specimens have been exhibited,
bearing the appearance of galena, and the discoverers claim that cap-
italists conld work mines to a great profit, but as yet, for the want of
means, the explorations have not been sufficient to form a very accu-
rate opinion concerning these discoveries.

Having given a brief history of the organization of the county, a
description of minerals, and towns and villages of the county, with
occasional incidents, we will proceed to give its

Situatio7i, Soil and Froducfions. Rutherford county, situated in the
<;enter of the State, and in the Middle Division, is, as described by
geologists, the center of the Central or Great Blue Limestone Basin of
Tennessee. Take Murfreesboro as a point, and with a radius of about
ten miles describe a circle, the included area will be a basin within the
Great Central Basin. Indeed, if from Murfreesboro, the common
center, the eye is turned in any direction, the blue hills will be seen
in the distance, disclosing the fact that the county is bordered with a
circular belt of hills, or rolling lands, while the area within the belt
seems to the naked eye to be a level })lain, and may be considered as
an entire valley of about oOO square miles. The climate is mild and
exceediugly healthy, and much warmer, one would sometimes think,
than farther south. If proper attention is bestowed on pasturage, stock

Middle Tennessee. 9^5

are fed exclusively by grazing from March until November. It oc-
casionally snows south of this county when not a single flake falls
within her borders, and were the rim of the basin a little higher at
some points, her inhabitants might bask in the sunshine of a Jalapa.

Soil. The soil is fertile, and seems to be almost inexhaustible. There
are two general kinds, the black and brown colors, the latter predomi-
nating to a large extent in both quantity and quality. It is very fer-
tile, and has a "clay" or subsoil base, containing salts to an average
depth of six to ten feet, and will afford almost every production of
general growth in the United States. Although we can find large
bodies of land frequently exceeding 1,000 acres clear of surface stone
of any character to obstruct the implements of husbandry, yet like all
limestone valleys, " shales " are seen occasionally to crop out, and as a
matter of course rocky ledges are more frequent on the borders among
the circular belt of hills, or rolling lands above referred to ; still only
about one-fifth of the^county is considered as waste lands. The aver-
age fertility of these lands, when properly cultivated, of general crops
per acre, is, of corn, 30 bushels; cotton, 800 pounds; wheat, 20 bush-
els; potatoes, 100 bushels; millet and clover hay, 2 tons each ; but
there are lands in this county which have been in cultivation over sixty
years, without subsoiling, that produce 1,500 pounds of cotton, or 75
bushels of corn per acre. Indeed, as to the subsoil plow, so far as its
use is concerned, it is almost unknown to the farmers of this county,
and it is to be deeply regretted that the neglect of this important im-
plement of industry should reflect so deeply on them, when in no com-
munity can there be found a more thrifty and intelligent class of citi-
zens. The surface and soil are so well drained that ditching is seldom
ever necessary, or resorted to in the lowest bottoms, and yet, with dee}>
plowing and pulverizing, droughts are better withstood than in almost
any other section. All that is required to preserve the fertility of these
lands is a change of crops, with the additional precaution of sowing
red clover every ten to twenty years. The soil is of such a nature
that it readily yields to culture, and when apjiarently worn out, can
easily be restored by a two years' growth of clover, which grows so
luxuriantly that it is about as profitable a cro]) as the farmer can raise,
even for the hay market, but especially for stock feeding or grazing.
The land is easily cultivated, and the turning plow, or old-fashioned
Carey, has generally been, and is still, much used, but the latter is
being gradually superceded by the best improved plows. As to the
remark of its being easily cultivated, ought to be made this exception,

9o6 Resources of Tennessee.

that like all first-class land, it produces weeds and grass as well as the
most prolific agricultural crops, and the farmer has to keep moving to
prevent them from getting a head of him.

Productions. The native growth is all kinds of oak, poplar, cedar,
hickory, beech, buckeye, sycamore, black and honey locusts, ash, elm,
walnut, hornbean, mulberry, cherry, dogwood, sassafras, pawpaw,
cucumber tree, sugar tree, aspen, hackberry, linn, boxelder, coffee tree,
black and sweet gum and chittim. It may be added that there are
many other trees, such as the magnolia, etc., which grow, when
transplanted, as large and beautiful as in their native forests. The
prevailing timber is oak, hickory, cedar, poplar, walnut and beech.
Of other growth, there are angelica, crab apple, ginger, ginseng, grape
vines, black and red haw, red bud, sweet anise, spikenard, spicewood,
Virginia and seneca snakeroot, wild hop and wdld plum. At the
early settlement of the county, the prairie portion was covered with
buffalo grass, clover, pea vines, strawberries, black and white berries,
raspberries, dew berries, wild oats and wild rye,' and in many places
canes grew more than twenty feet high, and stood so thick on the
ground that no other plant could grow up among them. The forests
are now in many places carpeted over with blue-grass and clover as
soft as velvet, and there is a large variety of flowers that bloom from
March until November, rendering the county, to the lovers of nature,
a land of enchantment.

Products and Crops. The following are the products, including some
other statistics of the county, as given in the Census report of 1870,
under the head of " Selected Statistics of Agriculture :"

Improved land 181,447 Acrt\«.

Value of farms §10,153,110

Total (estimated) value of all farm productions, including

betterments and additions to stock 2,260,874

Value of all live stock 1,519,939

Number of hoi-ses 7,593

" " mules and asses 3,493

" " milch cows 5,862

" " working oxen 496

" " sheep .' 17,183

" " swine 33,687

PIIODUCE.

Spring vvlieat 22,725 bush.

Winter wheat 152,020 "

Rye 13,746 «

Indian corn 867,443

Middle Tennessee. 907

Oats 63,514 bush.

Blrley'Z"""'"" 2,496 ^^

Peas and Beans ^-^^

Irish potatoes 22,141

Sweet potatoes 24,199

Cotton 8,412 bales.

Tobacco I'^^OO pounds.

Wool 23,285 ^^

Honey W^i^l

Butter 291,844 "

Cheese .

170

Wine ^^1 §^|J«"^-

Sorglium molasses 14,Jd9

Hay 2,410 tons.

Cotton, corn and small grain are the chief productions. -Cotton is
the principal crop, corn ranking next, and wheat standing third on the
list. Up to the present time formers have been taught to believe that
cotton is the most profitable crop, and it will remain so until there is a
change of laborers. A very small quantity of grass is grown, but du-
ring the last year ten times the amount formerly, principally German
millet, all of which was mowed, and it made an abundant yield. About
half of the grass is usually mowed, and the balance is grazed. The
different varieties of grasses grow luxuriantly everywhere in the county,
and within the last few years many persons have turned their attention
to the hay field and the breeding of fine stock, and all have met with
a success beyond their most sanguine expectations.

The Garden, Orchard and Vinei/ard have not received much atten-
tion heretofore in this county, but experiments have been made in each
sufficiently large to fully assure all who wMsh to engage in either, that,
with proper selections, no section of the American Union is superior
to it in the production of the different selected varieties of fruit, vege-
tables and grasses, a great part of which is attributable to the mild cli-
matic influence, as well as the rich and peculiar nature of the soil.
Owing to the almost total destruction of all the personal property,
among which was included live stock and farming implements, previous
to the year 1865, and the impoverished condition of the people, farms
are in a very bad condition as compared with their condition previous
to 18G2. The kind of sUx-.k used in making crops are horses and
mules, the former doubling the latter, and the improved breeds of
both are generally used, which are considered by every farmer of ^vide
experience to be by far the most i)rofitable, and in every respect supe-
rior to the scrub stock. T!ie farms contain from 50 to 100 acres,
although a good many large farnis yet remain undivided, and about

9o8 Resources of Tennessee.

one-half of the former are worked by the owners, and the bal-
ance by lessees and hired laborers. There were in 1870, 1,811 farms
in the county. First class improved farming lands, without dwelling-
houses, can be purchased at from twentyTfive to sixty dollars per acre,
depending entirely on the location ; with dwellings, add about one-half
of the cost of building to this price. Unimproved lands are worth as
much as the improved, on account of the value of the timber. There
are a great many farms in this county now that can be purchased, as
the tendency is to cut up large plantations into small farms by the
owners, and all lauds now sold under decrees of the Courts, for, distri-
bution of proceeds, are divided into lots, and it can be confidently
affirmed that they are cheaper now than they will ever be again. They
are generally rented at from three to four dollars per acre per annum,
but about half are worked on shares, in the proportion of one-third of
corn and cotton each to the landlord, the laborer furnishing himself
with rations and everything else, except house rent and fuel. The
county is densely populated and labor might be considered abundant
for the open lands, although frequently there is a scarcity for short in-
tervals on account of hands temporarily changing their field of labor
to the cotton plantations of the south and west. Wages range from
eight to twelve dollars per month, the employer furnishing rations and
quarters, but the great irregularities in labor, caused by the too frequent
changes of homes and employers by the employees, work very disad-
vantageously, causing a great desire on the part of landowners for emi-
grants, both as laborers and purchasers. Immigrants are treated with a
great deal of hospitality by the citizens of this county. The morality
of the people is of the highest character, and it matters not with them
where a man is born or educated if he possesses, and in his demeanor
shows the dignity, the refinement, or the instincts of a true gentleman,
esteems himself, attends to his own business, declines to play the role
of the demagogue, or to stir up strife between the races, he is gladly
welcomed by them and treated kindly, socially, politically and relig-
iously. After taking into consideration the advantages and disad-
vantages, pric(! of land, yield of croj^s, market facilities, demand for
labor and manufactories, climate, hcaltli, public finances, and the social
qualities, the education and the higher christian virtues of the people,
to the ca])italist, the laborer, the farmer and the mechanic, there can-
not be found a more inviting field for immigration in the whole civil-
ized world.

Hheep Jlamni/ wouhl be very ])rofitable here, and more especially on

Middle Tennessee. 909

the waste lands and in the cedar brakes, were it not for the dogs.
This could be easily remedied by local police regulations, but hereto-
fore members of the Tennessee Legislature have been either opposed
to good, healthy and nutritious mutton and cheap warm clothing for
the poor, or they are afraid of the dogs and their masters. No shep-
herd objects to a faithful dog, but they do, in behalf of their innocent
Rocks, protest against the vile dog that sucks out their life blood. Let
sheep-raising neighborhoods be laid off into districts, and let there be
conferred on them municipal or police powers for the protection of
live stock of every description, like those conferred on our towns and
cities to abate nuisances, or to protect life and property, and it will
afford all the power and authority necessary to resist the encroachments
and inroads of the murderous canine tribe.

Railways. The Nashville, Chattanooga and St. Louis Hallway
passes through the county from north-west to south-east, entering near
Lavergne and passing out near Fosterville, making above thirty miles
of road. Many of her people subscribed liberally for the construction
of this road, and when the stock was being made up for this gigantic,
new enterprise, quite a number of amusing incidents occurred. The
first time the 'subscription books were opened at Murfreesboro, ex-
Gov. James C. Jones and Colonel V. K. Stevenson addressed the peo-
ple, and Governor Jones made one of his happiest efforts, not only
convincing the people of the importance of railway transportation, but
that it would yield large dividends to the stockholders. The last
proposition, also, struck with a great deal of force one of the Govern-
or's old political friends, and as he concluded by requesting some friend
of the enterprise to give them a good start, by a large and liberal sub-
scription, his old friend Colonel W. N., now deceased, who then resi-
ded near Florence Station, cried out, " j)ut me down tioenty thousand
dollars.'^ Governor Jones, knowing the amount would atmost ruin his
friend, and that it would be years before a dividend would be declared,
quickly turned to Colonel Stevenson and said, " tve do not intend that
afcio men shall monopolize tJiis enterprise, pid down Colonel W. N., Jive
thousand dollars,'^ and he used this incident to induce others to freely
subscribe, for no one then stood back. Governor Robert Y. Hayue,
of South Carolina, who was distinguished throughout the whole coun-
try for his great debate with Daniel Webster, while engaged in per-
fecting some of the earliest roads of his own State, and who might
well be regarded as the father of the Nashville and Chattanooga rail-
road, honored Murfreesboro with a visit, when en route for Nashville,

9IO ResouT-ces of Temiessee.

to address the State Legislature in behalf of his projected line. Al-
though his stay was very brief, he was received warmly by the citi-
zens, and hailed as the chief who would open up to them a way to the
sea. On the 4th day of July, 1851, the first passenger coach arrived
at the depot in Murfreesboro, the citizens gave a dinner, and the Mayor
addressed an audience of several thousand people. The fare to Nash-
ville was put down at one dollar, and freight in about the same pro-
portion, since which both have traveled upward in the same propor-
tion, until now passenger fare is one dollar and sixty cents. To
show something tangible with regard to the business and wealth of
this county in addition to the large amount transported by turnpike
roads, we will proceed to copy some of the statistics from the annual
report of the directors and other officers of this road, ending June 30,
1873, from each station within Rutherford county :

FREIGHT EARNINGS,

Freight Forwarded. Freight Received.

Lavergne S292.60 S283.25

Smyrna 1,804.31 1,454.81

Florence 540.81 767.80

Murfreesboro 32,525.33 17,733.28

Christiana 686.40 597.34

Fosterville 896.98 589.35

Total earnings $36,746.43 .§21,125.79

STATEMENT OF PASSENGER BUSINESS,

Passengers. Amount.

Lavergne 829 $716.43

Smyrna 1,333 1,347.70

P^lorence 551 658.50

Murfreesboro 6,365 10,114.20

Christiana 339 513.20

Fosterville 390 725.20

Total $9,807 $13,075.25

The census report of 1870 is fixr behind the cotton raised in this
county, which places the number at 8,112 bales, while the shipments
over the railroad show 12,330 bales, very little of which is grown out-
side of Rutherford county, in fact there arc twice as many bales
shipped by turnpike grown here as there are bales shipped by rail
grown in other counties. Tlie year the census report was made out
was a very short crop year.

Streanhs and Water. The east and west forks of Stone's River flow

Middle Tennessee. 9 1 1

through the county toward the north-west, forming a junction at Jef-
ferson, and the main river continues northward toward the Cumber-
land, entering Davidson county about five miles from the junction.
The east fork rises in the rim of the Basin in Cannon county, and en-
ters Rutherford county at Readyville, running thence a little north of
west through a rich section of lands. On this fork there are several
flouring and saw-mills that run the whole year, and there is quite a
number of other mill sites on it, waiting for capitalists, equally as good
as those now in operation. Its first tributary after entering this county
is Cripple Creek, which rises in the Dnghollow hills, about fourteen
miles south-east of Murfreesboro, near the corners of Rutherford, Can-
non, and Coffee counties, running thence north-east, and emptying into the
east fork seven miles from Murfreesboro. The next tributary is Brad-
ley's Creek, which rises in the Cainesville hills near the Wilson county
line, and flowing south, enters the east fork a})out three miles below
the mouth of Cripple Creek. The water that gathers in the cedar-
brake, about six miles east of Murfreesboro, forms a subterranean
creek, and runs some three miles north-east of the city, where it breaks
out, is called Bushnell's Creek, and after running thence about four
miles north-ward empties into the east fork; Fall Creek heads on
the west side of the Cainesville hills, and flows westward near the
boundary line between Rutherford and Wilson counties, and empties into
Stones River five miles below Jefferson. Spring Creek is about five
miles long, and empties into the river about three hundred yards below
the mouth of Fall Creek, and runs parallel with it. The east prong
of the West Fork rises in Hoover's Gap, about fifteen miles south-east
of Murfreesboro, near the Coffee county line, and flows west, forming
a junction with the west prong two miles south of the city. It re-
ceives, as a tributary, about eight miles from Murfreesboro, Big Spring
Creek, M^hich flows from the place that gives a name to both the creek
and village. Long Creek rises near the Bedford county line, in Lib-
erty Gap, and flowing north-west, empties into the east prong of the
West Fork just below the mouth of Big Creek. The west prong of
the AVest Fork rises in the vicinity of Middleton, and runs north to
the junction. The West Fork of Stone's River then receives, as a
tributary, Lytle's Creek. This creek rises in the hills about ten miles
a little south of east of Murfreesboro, flowing thence west until it
reaches the south part of the city, Avhen it turns to the north-west, and
empties into the river one mile from the city. Overall's Creek rises
in the hills about ten miles south-west of the city, and flows thence

912 Resources of Tennessee.

north-east, emptying into the river about five miles north-west of the
city. Stuart's Creek rises near the Williamson county line, about
twelve miles west of Murfreesboro, and runs thence north-east, and
empties into the river near old Jefferson. Hurricane Creek rises not
far from Lavergne, passing which, it forms the boundary line between
Davidson and Rutherford counties, and empties into the river below
Jefferson. On all of these creeks there is the finest of bottom lands,
and mill sites are of frequent occurrence ; they afford sufficient water-
power to turn mill machinery for from six to ten months in the year.

There are a great many subterranean lakes or lime sinks in the
county, as well as springs, and ponds are very easily made, so that we
have a bountiful supply of stock water. Wells can be dug, or bored
at any place desired, at but little expense, and the purest of water ob-
tained.

Schools, Taxable Property and Tax. The county is laid off into
twenty-five school districts, and in many of these districts the best of
free schools are taught during the entire year, besides several first-class
academies ; indeed the church and the school-house can be found every
few miles in Rutherford county convenient for all, and moral and in-
tellectual culture seems to be the leading and predominant idea among
the people. To show how they can be sustained, we will add the value
of taxable property and the municipal tax for the year 1873, with this
remark, that the county is entirely out of debt.

379,700^ acres of land, aggregate value $6,892,102 00

6861 town lots, " " 1,025,264 00

Personal property 1,697,609 00

Total $9,614,975 00

State tax $ 43,446 89

County tax 14,422 47

School tax 29,024 45

Total $ 86,893 81

Number of white persons paying poll-tax 2,823

" " colored " " " %^^^

Total polls 4,987

The value of these lands will ('nhanc(> in the future as the people
will be abler each succeeding year to improve their farms, and bring

Middle Tennessee. 9 1 3

them up to the standard previous to the year 1862. As before stated, the
present condition of them compared with their condition up to that
time, is very bad, owing to the total destruction of the personal prop-
erty.

Marhet Facilities and Transportation. Besides the Nashville, Chat-
tanooga and St. Louis Railway, there are eleven turnpike roads center-
ing at Marfreesboro, connecting all the villages of the county, as well
as several tow^ns and villages of adjoining counties, the citizens of
which bring the principal part of their trade to this city. The people
of this county not only have good home markets for all their produce,
but have easy access to those of neighboring cities. The capital of this
county has been generally invested in agriculture, and but little atten-
tion has been bestowed on manufactures. The census report for 1870
give the following manufactures by totals : Establishments, 64 ; steam-
eagines, 9; water-wheels, 17; all hands, 252; males above 16 years,
235; youth, 17; capital, $187,250 ; wages, |71,945; materials, $466,-
188; products, $796,370.

Fairs, etc. The Tennessee Central Agricultural and Mechanical As-
sociation holds two splendid fairs during the year, at which there are
magnificent displays of live stock, of the mechanical and fine arts, the
products of the field, the orchard, the garden and vineyard, together
with all articles of domestic use. They are conducted with order and
decorum, and they are equal to any fairs held in this State. But few
of the people dry fruit, attend to the smaller industries, or make but-
ter for market, although they make a sufficient amount of butter and
raise enough of fowls to supply the demands of home consumption.
In some parts of the county a good deal of attention is paid to wheat.
The variety sowed is Reed, Boughton, and Mediterranean, which is
grown very successfully. The people in this beautiful county, this
Eden of the new world, that we have attempted to describe in our fee-
ble way, are discontented, and many, as is natural, on account of discon-
tentment are disposed to move away, although we think it neither wise
nor philosophic. " Better bear the ills we have than to fly to those we
know not of." There is a cause for this discontentment founded on
the great "drawbacks" to farming in the United States, among which
we may number the national banks, the ten per centum annual inter-
est law, iha credit system, the high tariff on all foreign articles of con-
sumption, the unequal discriminations by the railroads, in terminal
and intermediate rates and their high tariff on freights, the annual pay-
58

914 Resources of Termessee.

men! of one hundred and twenty millions of interest to United States
bondholders, the union of the bankers and the speculators, and the in-
suflSciency of currency to remove the crops, all of which can be traced
to the national bank and bondholding monopoly fostered and protected
by the Federal Government, and which will continue to exist until
these bonds are paid off in new issues of legal tender notes, and the
farmer ships his crop direct to the manufacturers and consumers to re-
ceive a fair remuneration for it, and purchases his supplies direct from
the manufacturer, and from the tropics where they are grown. The high
rate of interest begets credit, and this added to the interest on the national
debt will utterly ruin an agricultural people, but more especially when
every avenue to free trade is cut off, and they are burdened with a high
protective tariff. The surplus money in the county, instead of going
into agriculture and manufactures, is placed in national banks, and is
used altogether in wild schemes of speculation. The banker is paid
by the producer nearly six per cent, on his capital to commence his
operations, and then he charges his customers for loans and discount, from
one to two per cent, a month, and all this is finally paid by the farmer
and mechanic. To meet these difficulties the farmers have organized
Granges of Patrons of husbandry all over the American Union, and
Rutherford county now has a great many within her borders, and will
soon have as many Grangers as the constitution of the order will allow.
It is believed by every person of ordinary intelligence who has
examined the subject that the order is designed and intended to be a
great school of instruction, teaching the farmer the conflict between his
interests and the interests of the bondholder, the banker, the protec-
tionist, the speculator, and the monopolist. When we arrive at that
period when all will thoroughly understand this conflict, bonds, usuri-
ous interest laws, high protective tariffs, banks and monopolies, will
soon be numbered with the past, and will only be remembered to be exe-
crated, and at the same time the Grange need not be an organized partisan
political body, in fact it is far better not to enter the political arena, it
would be too debasing, and would, from the contact with other parti-
san organizations, become contaminated and corrupt. Let it remain
an unspotted, undefiled and pure school of instruction, in which will be
thoroughly taught the idea that the genius of American institutions is
against all monopolies.

B. F. LiLLARD.

Middle Teimessee. 9 ^ 5

SMITH COUNTY.

County Seat — Carthage.

This county was organized in 1799, and then embraced the territory
since taken off by Jackson and Overton counties, the greater portion
of Delvalb, Macon and Putnam, and part of Trousdale. It contains
about 300 square miles.

Topography and Geology. To one coming down the Cumberland
River from Burksville, Kentucky, to Nashville, Smith is the .first
county fairly within the Central Basin. Though within this Basin it
is rimmed on the north and east by the Highlands. As in Cannon
county, many of the spurs run far in towards the center of the county,
filling it with ridges, and giving it a very rough surface. This is es-
pecially true of the parts north of the Cumberland River and east of
Caney Fork. South and west of these streams the ridges are not so
high, but the surface is rolling and hilly. The county is remarkably
well watered by the Cumberland and Caney Fork and their tributaries.
Nearly all of these streams have wide and exceedingly fertile valleys.

The soils of Smith, with the exception of the caps of the ridges,
rests everywhere upon limestones belonging to the Nashville and Leb-
anon formations, but principally the former. The tops of the ridges
present the siliceous rocks of the Highlands, being the Subcarbonifer-
ous. Immediately below these siliceous rocks, and separating them
from the limestone is the Black Shale Formation,

Lands, Farms, Crops and Stock. The county is divided in two parts
by the Cumberland River flowing through it from north-east to south-
west. It is navigable above Carthage for about six months in the
year far into the State of Kentucky. The Caney Fork, a large stream
that flows into the Cumberland, is navigable for small steamboats about
forty miles above its mouth. Into these two streams run all the creeks
that drain the county. The heavy produce of the county, such as corn,
tobacco and bacon, is shipped in steamboats, mainly from warehouses
erected at the mouths of these creeks. The soil of the bottoms along
I'.icse creeks, and the hills between which they flow, is very fertile,
nearly efpial to the bottoms of the Cumberland and Caney Fork, so
famed for their richness. There has been but very little immigration
into this county since the war, either of northern people or foreigners,

c)i6 Resowces of Te7i7tessee,

and when seen passing these fertile lands, and on to the poor Table
Lands of the Cumberland Mountain, those acquainted with the relative
productiveness of the two sections express their astonishment. It is
the cheapness of those lands that attracts them. A good Cumberland
River farm, Avith moderate improvements, can usually be bought for
about $25 per acre, sometimes for less. Farms with no waste land on
them, when well improved, command higher prices. The fine blue-
grass farms in the south end of the county, though generally not so
fertile as the river bottoms, are held at higher prices — a striking evi-
dence of the value of improved methods of farming, and that stock-
raising is the proper business for the farmers of this county. The soil
has much lime in it, and of course produces blue-grass, the best of all
grazing grasses, very luxuriantly, and also timothy, herds and other
grasses for hay — not only in the bottoms, but on the hills. The bottoms
are superior for corn, rye, hay and oats, and the hills for wheat, blue-
grass and all culinary vegetables. What is known as the flat woods^
or barrens, being the Rim of the great basin of Middle Tennessee,
are not so fertile as the river and creek bottoms or the rolling hills ; yet
these flat woods are valuable, and produce the best tobacco, being of
a finer texture and more delicately flavored. In 1872, the exports of
this article amounted to 3,000,000 pounds; in 1873, 3,500,000 pounds.

Here fruits grow to greater perfection, and succeed much oftener
than the orchards on the creeks and rivers. No cotton is now raised in
the county, except small patches for home consumption. In times past,
the farmers raised it in considerable quantities for market. But it is
not claimed that this is a cotton region. Tobacco raising and stock
and grain farming are the chief pursuits. Much improvement in the
mode of farming and breeds of stock has been made in the last quar-
ter of a century. This improvement is due in a great measure to the
late Dr. F. H. Gordon, who about the year 1836, then a teacher in a
literary institution, Clinton College, went to Kentucky and brought to
the farm on which the college was situated a herd of the best breeds of
Durham cattle, and began to sow blue-grass. These were no doubt
tlie first of that superior stock ever brought to Smith county. The
doctor was regarded as an enthusiast, and so it must be admitted he
was. But he was a man of energy, a deep thinker, a clear writer, and
struck out by reason and experiment many highly useful suggestions
for the improvement of farming. Others, as is often the case, took
hold of his ideas, and with more caution reduced them to valuable
practical results. And now the farms of that section of the county

Middle Tennessee. 9 1 7

are covered with blue-grass and grasses for hay, and here may be seen
the very finest short-horn cattle, Cotswold and Southdown sheep and
Berkshire and Chester hogs. The example thus set has spread to other
jiortions of the country, all directly or indirectly traceable to the ex-
amples and teachings of Dr. Gordon. There is still ample room for
improvement on most of the farms. The soil is rich, and suited to a
great variety of crops. There is much land yet in forest that should
be in grass. Some years ago, the venerable Judge Keith, who graced
the Circuit Court bench for about half a century, while riding up one
of the large creeks, in company with another, looking at the rich
bottoms and the tall hills, covered with forest timbers and wild grasses,
said with much enthusiasm to his companion, " Sir, this is the finest
poor man's country in the world. Here are the rich creek bottoms
that produce in great abundance and perfection all the grains ; and
these bottoms are not in bodies large enough to induce the wealthy to
want them for homes, and hence the poor can buy them at cheap rates ;
and here are the hills that afford abundant range for their stock, wild
grasses in all seasons, and mast for their hogs in the winter."

Labor is comparatively scarce. Field hands are worth from ^8 to
$12 per month ; house servants, from %1 to %\. Most of the farms are
cultivated on shares.

Curious Records. In looking over the pages of an old record book
now in the office of the County Court Clerk of Smith county, many
things are met with that give an insight into the early history of Smith
county and the customs of our fathers. From it we learn that the Court
of Pleas and Quarter Sessions first met at the house of Tilmore Dixon,
(where the village of Dixon's Springs now stands,) and organized on
the 16th day of December, 1799, there being prcent and sworn as
justices of the peace and members of the Court of Pleas and Quarter
Sessions, Garrett Fitzgerald, William Alexander, James Given, Til-
more Dixon, Thomas Harmon, James Hibbetts, William Walton and
Peter Tiirney. This last was the grandfather of the present member
of our Supreme Court of the same name. Moses Fisk administered the
necessary oaths to them, after which he was appointed clerk, ^ro tern.,
and was sworn in turn by Garrett Fitzgerald. Amos Lacy was ap-
pointed constable.

The minutes of the court appear to have been kejjt with very brief
notes of the business. The court exercised a very extensive jurisdic-
tion. There was appointed at every quarter session a grand and traverse

91 8 Reso7irces of Tennessee.

jury, which, in addition to the usual powers of County Courts, took
cognizance of pleas, civil and criminal. The court, on the first of Au-
gust, made a number of orders for the laying out of roads in various
directions on the north side of the river. At the March term, 1800, an
order was made for laying out a road "from the mouth of Caney Fork
to the Indian boundary." This road was the first one south of the
Cumberland and west of Caney Fork, and would have to be about
thirty miles long, as it was that distance to the Indian boundary. The
north side of the river was first settled. S. M. Fite, to whom we are
indebted for these notes, says: **I have often sat with rapt attention
and heard my grandfather tell the history of the settlement of the south
side of the river. He with his family, and two other men with their
families, made the first settlements any distance from the south bank
of the Cumberland and west of the Caney Fork. There being then
no road save the paths of wild beasts, these pioneers struck out boldly
into the great forest, encountering at every step canebrakes, that made
progress very difficult and dangerous. They held a council to devise
the best means of getting through these canebrakes, and because of the
danger of the cane piercing their horses' ■ legs if cut low, they deter-
mined to merely cut off the heavy, leafy tops, and then press their
teams and wagons over them. Having reached their destination, fif-
teen miles South of the river, on the banks of a beautiful stream,
Smith's Fork, they spread their tents and commenced throwing up log
huts, and cutting down and burning the cane and timber to make a
' clearing,' where they could raise a little corn for bread. As for meat^
the streams and forest were full of that — fat bear, deer, turkey and
other game in great abundance. These hardy men, having followed
the standard of Washington through the bloody scenes of the Revolu-
tion, now came to this fertile land to renew their labors and enlarge
the area of civilization and Christianity. The first night after they
had camped, my grandfather erected his family altar, and offered up his
evening prayer — no doubt the first Christian worship ever offered in
that vast region, extending thence southward for hundreds of miles ;
unless, perchance, some stalwart hunter, whilst resting from the chase
of the. day beneath the 'starry canopy,' inspired by tlie magnificent
scenes of primitive nature around, ' looking through nature up to na-
ture's God,' may have sent up a song of praise and thanksgiving, and
breatlicd a prayer of adoration. Those vast canebrakes that have long
since disappeared, afforded abundant food for horses and cattle during
the year. And let me remark, by way of parenthesis, that witli proper

Middle Tennessee. 9 1 9

care, we can again soon have cane for our cattle to live on in the win-
ter, and it is a nutritious food for them. If we were to enclose our
forest lands in Smith, or other counties with similar soil, and keep the
stock from them during the spring and summer, they would soon be
covered with cane. The destruction is caused by stock eating up the
young, tender, sweet stalks that come up in the spring. But if this
young cane is kept free from the depredations of stock until winter, it
then becomes hard and the stock will only eat off the rich foliage,
which puts out again next spring. This I know by experience. I
have a small canebrake made in this way, and a neighbor has about
one hundred acres cane raised in the same manner." Advertino;
again to the venerable old record of the Court of Pleas and Quarter
Sessions, the first order levying a county tax for the year 1801 is given,
and from it we may at least learn a lesson of economy : "Ordered, that
there be a county tax of 6i cents on each 100 acres of land, 6j cents
on each white poll, 12 J cents on each black poll, and 50 cents on each
stud horse for the present year." Nor was the venerable Court of
Pleas and Quarter Sessions afraid to pass ordinances to restrain men
from extortion who undertook to carry on a business that was to be
patronized by the public, as witness the following order made at its
first term : " On motion of Tilmore Dixon, ordered that all tavern-
keepers be allowed to sell spirituous liquors at the following rates, to-
wit: good whisky and brandy, 12| cents by the half-pint; for breakfast,
dinner and supper, 25 cents ; for corn and oats by the gallon, 12| cents;
for two bundles of fodder, 2 pence ; for pasturage twenty-four hours,
12J cents; for lodging, 65 cents." And thereupon it was further or-
dered that Tilmore Dixon be allowed a license to keep tavern. The
court seemed then to be omnipotent. No one was permitted to
build a mill without an order from the court, and the toll fixed by the
same authority. As a specimen of this exercise of power, the follow-
ing quaint order, made at September term, 1800, is given : " Ordered,
that William Saunders be allowed to build a saw and grist-mill on
Dixon's Creek, about 200 yards below the Blue Spring, under the fol-
lowing restrictions, to-wit : the dam not to be more than twelve feet
high, the water to be drawn off, if requested by Maj. Dixon, by the
15th of June in each year." So Mr, Saunders was obliged to keep on
the good side of Maj. Dixon. The next exhibits the same care of the
public and individual rights, made at June term, 1804: "Ordered, that
Leonard Fite have the privilege of building a water grist-mill on
Smith's fork of the Caney Fork, he being the owner of the lands on

920 Resources of Tennessee.

both sides of the river, and that he be allowed the customary toll for
grinding." Afterwards, on the same day, it was "ordered that Jacob
Overall have leave to build a grist and saw mill, on Smith's fork of
the Caney Fork, it being suggested that he owns the lands on both
sides of the stream, but upon this express condition, that he does not
dam up the water so as to injure the mill already granted to Leonard
Fite, and that he be authorized to receive the customary toll." Fite's
mill was built, and did good service till about the year 1840, when it
was swept away by a high rise. This okL court seems from its min-
utes to have been for the first four years ambulatory in its sittings,
part of the time at the house of Maj. Dixon; then at Wm. Saunders',
the place where Dr. J. L. Alexander now lives ; then at Fort Blount ;
then at Col. Walton's, at the mouth of Caney Fork ; then on Peyton's
Creek, and alternating around at these places, till in 1804 the county
site was fixed at the place where Carthage now stands, which was laid
out on the lands of William Walton, one mile below the mouth of
Caney Fork, on the north side of the Cumberland. Col. Wm. Walton
had, at an early day, made a settlement on the north bank of the Cum-
berland, at the mouth of Caney Fork, and had erected houses of en-
tertainment at convenient distances for travelers moving from Vir-
ginia and North Carolina, and had cut a road, yet called after his name,
from the junction of the Cumberland and the Caney Fork eastward
across the mountain. These houses he supplied with grain from his
Cumberland farm, and with meat furnished by hunters whom he kept
in his employ for this purpose. This was then, and is yet, a great
highway for persons moving to what was then called the "Cumberland
country."

The following letter from a practical farmer, and one familiar with
the country, will give some additional information :

GoRDONsviLLE, April 16, 1874.
J. B. Killehrew, Secretary, Nashville, Tenn.:

Cumberland Elver runs through the county from the east to the west, di-
viding it into two unequal parts, the larger one being on the south side.
The surface is in hills and valleys, trending north or south according as they
are on the one or the other side of the river. These valleys are remarka-
bly fertile, and so are the hills to the tops, especially on their north, east
and west sides. Caney Fork, the largest tributary the Cumberland has, en-
ters the county at its south-east corner, ai.d running nearly north, empties
into the Cumberland one mile above Carthage, the county seat. Besides
these two, the other streams of the county become nearly dry in summer,
and consequently are of but little use in driving machinery. Corn, wheat,
oats, rye, hay and tobacco are the principal crops cultivated, for all of which

Middle Temiessee. 921

the soil is well adapted. Timothy, herds-grass and clover are the chief hay
grasses, though a number, especially of tobacco farmers, still persist in the
folly of sowing annual grasses for hay. Blue-grass does well as a most val-
uable pasture grass, but notwithstanding it was introduced here forty years
ago by the late Dr. F. H. Gordon, and has been a perfect success, still but
few have their lands sodded, when all could have them so without expense
and with but little labor. Every hill in the county might be covered with
this beautiful and profitable grass. Orchard grass has done well in the few
instances in which it has been tried. The most valuable timber is poplar,
oak and black walnut. Poplar is niost abundant, and is used for lumber
and shingles, and in that form has been exported in considerable amounts.
As to which is more profitable, raising stock or cultivating the money crops,
there is a difference of opinion among the farmers in this county. My own
opinion is, that with proper attention to grasses, hay, etc., with the cereals,
taking into consideration the preservation of the soil, stock raising is greatly
the more profitable. The small experiments in sheep husbandry have proved
that, but for the dogs, that department of stock raising would be very pro-
fitable. If the time should ever come when we could have civilized legisla-
tion on this question, then the hills of Smith county would be covered with
wealth-producing flocks. There are no nurseries of any importance in the
county ; only one or two on a very small scale, and limited to a few kinds of
fruit. Orchards have been extensively planted in the last few years. Lands
are too high here to invite agricultural immigrants. They range from ten
to sixty dollars per acre, according to improvements. Oar people would
Welcome sober, industrious immigrants of all classes. There is a good deal
of emigration from the county to the West and South-west.

Very respectfully, John W. Bowen.

Toions. Carthao;©, the countv seat, situated on the Cumberland
River, is fifty-one miles above Nashville. It has a population of 500.
Among the business establishments are three dry-goods stores, one
drug-store, a hotel and several groceries. It is a good shipping point.
New Middleton, seven miles from Carthage, has a population of 250,
three stores, one drug-store, two groceries and a woolen mill. Dixon
Springs has about the same population as the latter, three stores, one
grocery and a good school. Rome is an old, dilapidated town with
two stores and a drug-store. Gordonsville, with a population of 100,
has two stores. Chestnut Mound has a population of 100, two stores,
two groceries and one hotel. Difficult and Grantville are small post
villages.

Schools. The county is not so well provided w^ith schools as is de-
sirable. But few really good schools exist, and but little encourage-
ment has been given to free schools.

Social Status. In no county is there more real honest worth among
the masses than in Smith. Occasional feuds spring up between those
occupying different sides of the river, but with this exception the conn-

922 Resources of Tennessee.

ty is noted for the kindly intercourse that exists between its citizens.
Honesty in the payment of debts is necessary to a man's social stand-
ing. The people, however, sadly need enterprise. They cling to the
old ways, which, thongh highly conservative, are not suited to the hab-
its and tendencies of the age. Railroads are greatly needed, and it is
hardly possible to hope for a change for the better until more markets
are made accessible by means of good railroads. The greatest stimu-
lus which agriculture can receive is to have a ready market for all the
products of the soil. Destitute of manufactories, the farmers are com-
pelled to confine their attention to a few staple crops, and a large per-
centage of the value of these is absorbed in the delay and expense
of getting to market.

STEWART COUNTY.

County Seat — Dover.

Stewart county dates its organization from an early period in the
present century, and but a few years after the State became a member
of the Federal Union. The act erecting the county bears date No-
vember 1, 1803, and was passed while the Legislature was sitting at
Knoxville. The act provides that " Montgomery county be divided
by a line which shall commence in the Kentucky line, thirteen miles
west of the meridian of Clarksville, and run south to the southern
boundary of the State," and all the territory west of this line was
" constituted a separate and distinct county, called and distinguished
by the name of Stewart." It was named in honor of Duncan Stew-
art, an energetic and prosperous farmer. The county at that time em-
braced a vast domain, running westward as far as the Tennessee
River and south to the Alabama line. It embraced the present coun-
ties of Houston, Humphreys, Perry, Wayne, and a part of Hardin and
Lewis. Upon the extinguishment of the title of the Chickasaws in
1819 to the lands in the " Western District," as it was then called, now
West Tennessee, the jurisdiction of the county extended to the Mis-
sissippi River, and covered over 1,200 square miles, or more than a
fourth of the State. All deeds made for ju'operty in the Western Dis-
trict were recorded in Stewart, until the district was surveyed and
organized into counties. November 7, 1821, thirteen new counties

Middle Tennessee. 923

were authorized by the Legislature to be established in the Chickasaw
territory, and after that period Stewart county was shorn of much of
its glory.

Extent — Topography. The last dismemberment of the territory of
Stewart occurred in 1871, when Houston was formed. This reduced
the limits of Stewart to about 425 square miles, or about 270,000
acres. The number of acres returned to the Comptroller in 1872 was
264,041, and in 1873, 257,042. The United States census, which fe
manifestly inaccurate, shows only 183,762 acres, or more than one-
third less than the county assessor returned for taxation. Stewart
county, like all the counties on the Highland Rim, has a high elevation
above the sea, and is drained by frequent and rapid streams. The
Cumberland River enters the south-eastern corner of the county and
runs approximately in a north-westerly direction until it reaches a
point beyond Dover, when it turns and runs nearly north, and parallel
with the Tennessee river, which bounds the western side of the county.
Between the Tennessee and the Cumberland is an elevated ridge, called
the Tennessee Ridge. This is the water-shed between the two streams.
Numerous subordinate ridges shoot out from this main one, more or
less parallel with each other, between which numerous streams descend
on the west to the Tennessee, and on the east to the Cumberland. The
region between the rivers is much broken, and aside from the valleys
bordering the streams, is of but small agricultural importance. On
the north-east side of the Cumberland the country is more level, and
some rich areas are found remote from the streams. The surfiice of
the country grows more level as one travels back irom the river, until
in the north-eastern part of the county, it is prairie-like in its flatness,
highly fertile, and unsurpassed by any portion of the Highland Rim
in its attractions for the farmer and the advantages it offers to the in-
dustrious.

Lands and Soils. The lands may be divided into mineral and agri-
cultural. The mineral or iron lands are found on both sides of th&
Cumberland, extending to the Tennessee on the west, and cover fully
one-third of the county. For half a century Stewart county has been the
center of the great iron interests of Middle Tennessee. Samuel and John
Stacker, by their knowledge, skill and industry, reaped princely for-
tunes from the manufacture of iron in this county, and gave a charac-
ter to Tennessee charcoal iron, which has made it famous everywhere.
This added greatly to the character of Stewart county as a mineral re-
gion, and before the war there were in operation in the county, four-

^24 Resources of Tennessee.

teen furnaces, making nearly 20,000 tons of pig-iron annually. A
large part of this pig-iron was made into sugar kettles and bar and
boiler plate. The Stewart county metal produced kettles superior to
those made in Scotland, and were pronounced by sugar planters to be
the best in the world. Many of these lands have been stripj)ed of
timber, but sprouts shoot up very rapidly and would speedily supply a
second growth suitable for coaling purposes, all over the denuded iron
region, but for the fires. Some of this second growth around Dover
Furnace is now being worked. Unlike the counties of Wayne and
Lewis, the lands in the iron regions are not cursed with sterility, but
are moderately productive, and all the low places eminently so. Around
the Cumberland Iron Works there are some splendid farms, which in
times past supplied all the provender consumed at the rolling mills.
Some of these lands are thought to be well adapted to blue-grass, as
experiments made a few years ago by Mr. George T. Lewis were en-
tirely satisfactory, and it was his belief that blue-grass could be made
as valuable to the farmers of the valley of the Cumberland, as it is to
those in the blue grass region of Kentucky. But whether blue grass
does well on these lands or not, it is known that timothy, herds-grass,
clover and corn grow well and make the iron or mineral lands of
Stewart of more than ordinary value. The old coaling lands sell for
prices varying from one to three dollars, according to location and
quantity wanted. Of the agricultural lands proper, there are several
varieties, all having some peculiar excellences or aptitudes and deficient
in others. Indeed variety is characteristic of the lands in Stewart.
These lands maybe classified thus: 1st. The high rolling lands
between the rivers. 2d. The alluvial bottoms. 3d. The red lands.
4th. The flat lands. Taking them up in order, we shall find the
largest proportion of rolling lands on the south and west side of the
Cumberland River. The great Tennessee ridge, with its offshoots, comes
within this classification. The tops of these ridges are sometimes wide
and flat and afford good areas for cultivation. Moderately fertile and
well adapted to fruit, they are gradually coming into cultivation.
These ridges rise between 500 and 600 hundred feet above the Ten-
nessee, and persons residing upon their summits are seldom attacked
by malarial or miasmatic diseases. Well timbered with white and
black oak, these lands are more valuable as supplying material for
staves and boards than for agricultural purposes. These ridge lands
sell from three to ten dollars per acre. The amount of bottom land
in Stewart county is very considerable. The bottoms on both sides of

Middle Tennessee. 925

the Cumberlund River and on one side of the Tennessee River,
will of themselves, make an area of fifty square miles. And if to
these, we add the low lands on the numerous creeks that are tribu-
tary to the rivers, it will be found that there are not less than sev-
enty or eighty square miles of the richest alluvial lands. These bot-
toms are singularly productive of Indian corn and oats. Seventy-five
bushels of the former per acre are not uncommon. Timothy, herds-
grass, clover, millet and indeed all the hay grasses revel in the abound-
ing fertility of these bottoms. The morning fogs, too, charged with
humidity, add to the wonderful growth, so that four tons of hay have
in places been taken from an acre of this land. In the valleys, the
wild growth indicates an exuberant fertility. The walnut, wild cherry,
poplar and hickory abound with occasional groves of the sugar tree.
The bottom lands, unimproved, on the streams south and west of the
Cumberland, sell for ten to fifteen dollars per acre. Bottoms on the
creeks north and east of the Cumberland sell higher by five dollars
per acre. The bottoms on the Tennessee sell low ; price from five
to ten dollars. Cumberland River bottoms are about twice as high. The
bottoms on Saline Creek sell higher than any others in the county.
They are worth from ten to thirty dollars, but they are exceedingly
beautiful, level and fertile, and are seldom injured by overflows, while
numerous handsome building sites lie convenient. On the north side
of the Cumberland, on the road leading from Dover to Lafayette,
Kentucky, are to be seen some of the best lands in the State. Taey
are limestone, and in all their characteristics resemble the lands of the
Central Basin of the State. Ascendino; the hills on each side of the
valley they change in character, and become identical with the cherty
lands south of the county seat. A steep ridge intervenes between the
head-spring of Dyer's Creek and that of Green Tree Grove or Dry
Creek. The lands near the head of the latter creek are not fertile,
being rather inclined to be marshy in winter and hard and dry in sum-
ijier. Whitish in appearance, and upon the higher points rocky to
such a degree as to render them unfit for any purposes but the growth
ot timber, they are not settled to any extent. Descending the course
of the stream the lands improve in appearance and fertility. Indeed,
it would be difficult in any State to find soils more kind, and veg-
etable growth more luxuriant, than are to be found upon this
fciieam. The bottoms are wnde, extending sometimes for miles
wiili scarcely a rise that might be called a second bank, gradually
ciianging character from bottom lands to " barren plains." It

926 Resources of Tennessee.

must not, however, be understood that the " barren plains" are des-
titute of fertih'ty. On the contrary, they are by many preferred
to the low lands on the streams, especially for the cultivation of tobacco,
wheat and fruit. The red lands in the north-eastern corner of the
<30unty are by far the besi. They are a continuation of that body of
lands so remarkable for their fertility, which embraces all the southern
parts of Christian, Todd and Logan counties, in Kentucky, and the
northern part of Montgomery in Tennessee. They are peculiar in
having no stone or gravel, and the limestone rock lies at a great depth
beneath the surface. As tobacco lands, this body of land has no equal
in Middle Tennessee, if in the Mississippi Valley. It has a gently
rolling surface, small and indifferent timber, mostly black-jack and
hickory, with an undergrowth of hazel and gum, and in the early his-
tory of the State were regarded with indifference on account of the
scarcity of wood and water. Wood is now abundant, but during the
summer months the stock suffers for good fresh water. The reliance
of many farmers in this locality for stock water in the summer is the
pools along the bed of Dry Creek, which is rightly named, inasmuch
as it invariably goes dry in the summer. Farmers are sometimes
obliged to send their stock several miles. Yet notwithstanding this
inconvenience, the red land portion of the county is by far the most
desirable. The soil is generous in the extreme. Thirty bushels of
wheat, seventy-five of corn, are not unusual. Tobacco often yields
1,500 pounds per acre, and of a quality so rich, yet so fine, so strong,
tough and elastic and so abounding in the essential oils of tobacco as
to command the very best prices. These red lands cover an area of
thirty square miles, and are worth from thirty to sixty dollars per
acre, though far removed from market or facilities for transportation.

The fourth and last variety which we have adopted are the flat lands.
These are immediately south of the red lands, and are called " barrens,"
because once barren of timber. They resemble very much the lands
last described, and will probably in the course of nature become of
the same character. They have, indeed, undergone a great change
during the past thirty years. It was a custom with the early settlers
to burn off these lands every spring, in order that the barren grass, a
strong, coarse, but nutritious herbage, might spring up and supply sum-
mer grazing for their cattle. During spring and summer, the chimes
of a hmidred bells might have been heard as the cattle browsed over
the natural meadows. There were but few trees, and those of an in-
ferior kind for timber, being scrubby black jack, which, owing to the

Middle Tennessee. 927

thickness of the bark, is able to resist the prairie fires. There was no
undergrowth, and tlie strawberry vines laden with fruit in the spring
filled the air with delightful odors. The wild honeysuckle, lady slipper
and wild pink contributed their fragrance and their flowers to the land-
scape. The soil, however, was poor. A cold, clammy, whitish soil,
with here and there a marshy spot covered with large water oaks, which
were protected from the fires by the dampness of their place of growth,
was characteristic of the land in winter. A few settlers built houses
along the margins of the wet weather streams and cleared a few acres.
In order to protect their fences, fires were interdicted. A rank under-
growth of gum, hazel, hickory and red oak sprung up. The barren
grass disappeared. Black jacks died out. Red oaks, post oaks and
hickories shot up into the upper air. Several generations of leaves
fell to the earth and rotted. The soil blackened. The roots of the
trees penetrated the subsoil, admitted the air and gave to it porosity.
A good drainage supervened. Marshy places dried up, and the land
became productive. A region of country south of Lafayette, Ken-
tucky, and lying on both sides of the old Skinner's Ferry road, that
was once regarded as of no value whatever, except as a range for cattle,
is now in great demand as farming land. Thirty years ago a cow or
horse could be seen for miles, there being no undergrowth or timber to
obstruct the view. It is impossible now to ride on horseback through
the woods. Impenetrable thickets have sprung up, and all the features
which distinguished the landscape thirty years ago, nearly all the char-
acteristics of the country at that time, have disappeared. These lands
are worth from $6 to §10 per acre. They grow tobacco, wheat, corn
and clover, but not in such quantities as the land which they adjoin on
the north.

Streams and Water-poiver. Stewart, like Perry, has its water-shed
between two rivers, and a perfect system of drainage. Beginning at
the point where the Cumberland Eiver enters the county, and noting
first the streams on the left, we find first of all Elk Creek, which has
a constant supply of water. It is a valuable milling stream — one of
the best in the county. The bottoms are not so wide as some others. It
rises on the Tennessee Ridge and enters the Cumberland nearly opposite
the Checkered House. South Cross Creek, upon which is situated Dover
ICurnace, has the same starting ridge and the same destination. It has
good stable banks and a constant supply of water. Long Creek, par-
allel with the last, affords plenty of water for milling purposes. It
already drives two saw-mills. The bottoms are very good. Lick

928 Resotirces of Tennessee.

Creek heads in Tennessee Ridge and enters the Cumberhmd near
Dover. This is also a milling stream, and once propelled a good mill.
The bottoms on this creek are rather narrow. Hickman Creek enters
the Cumberland a mile below Dover. It has one good mill. The soils
are good but bottoms narrow. Bear Ci-eek empties into the Cumber-
land near Catling Shoals. This stream is swallowed up during the
summer by the sand and debris, and is utterly worthless as a water-
power. There are some wide l)ottoms and good farms on it. Barrett's
Creek enters the Cumberland two miles below the mouth of Bear
Creek. It has a good flouring mill upon it. Its bottoms are wide.
Neville's Creek is short, the Tennessee Hidge here approaching nearer
to the river. There are some excellent farms on this stream. Prior's
Creek is the only remaining one between Tennessee Ridge and the
Cumberland. It runs nearly north. There are some excellent tobacco
lands in this part of the county. Large quantities are raised and sent
to Clarksville. Returning again to the point where the Cumberland
enters the county, and taking the streams on the right bank, we first
notice Bullpasture Creek, which is worthless as a water-power. It has
wide fertile bottoms upon it. i^orth Cross Creek heads in the " barrens,"
and empties into the Cumberland opposite South Cross Creek. There
are good mills, good farms and good timber on this creek. Cub Creek
rises also in the "barrens," runs south-west, and empties into the Cum-
berland three miles below North Cross Creek. It is a poor water-
power. Some good farms lie upon it. Dyer's Creek heads in th^
nortliern part of the county, flows south-west, and empties into the
Cumberland opposite Dover. We have already spoken of the lands
on this creek. It is worthless as a water-power. Banks low and
changeable. Saline Creek, of whose lands mention has also been made,
rises in the " barrens," and running west, empties into the Cumberland
one mile above Tobacco Port. It has one good flouring mill, and fur-
nishes several excellent sites for others. It is said that more and bet-
ter tobacco is raised on the bottoms of this stream than on any others
in the county. There are some tasteful farm houses and good improve-
ments in the way of stables and out-houses on this stream. The
creeks named are all tributaries of the Ciunberland River. These
creeks have an average distance of about four miles between them, and
it is thus seen that the larger part of Stewart county is a succession of
ridges and valleys, running out at right angles to the river on the
south-west side, as far as the Tennessee Ridge, and on the north-
east side as far as the level lands of Kentucky. On the west side of

Middle Tennessee. 929

the Tennessee Ridge, and tributary to the Tennessee River, are Leather-
wood, Standing Rock, Panther Creek, Birds Creek and Rushings
Creek. The first is considered the best water-power, and upon it are
situated Clarke and LaGrange Furnaces. The farms on Leatherwood
are very fine, and grow corn in great abundance.

Leases, Rents, Stock and Labor. Where land is generally so abun-
dant as in Stewart county, leases are very rare. Some few places are
leased for a term of years, in which the tenant agrees to keep the farm
in repair and give one-third of the crop. For clearing heavily tim-
bered land $10 per acre are paid, and this does not include fencing.
Much clearing is done for the timber, the latter being sold to steam-
boats and furnaces. Land rents for one-third of the crops. Tobacco
lands, from $6 to $8; wheat lands, one-third the net yield. When the
landlord furnishes tools and teams, and feeds the latter, one-half is
given. Good farm hands are scarce. They hire very readily for $15
to $20 per month and feed during the summer. Cooks are also scarce
and hard to get.

Much fine stock is being carried to the county. The admirable
pasture lands that border the streams make the county well suited to
raising fine cattle. Dairy farming could be made a profitable business,
and many of the Swiss immigrants have directed their attention to this
branch of husbandry. Durhams are the favorite cattle in the county.
The Cotswold, Leicester and Southdown sheep are all being tried.
Sheep raisers are greatly discouraged by the dogs, ten per cent, being
killed annually.

It^on Interests. Iron ore, the most valuable and the most abundant,
is found in the county. The species of ore here met with is the
limonite or brown hematite. It occurs in various forms, such as pipe,
honey-comb, bog, compact, pot, etc. On Long Creek, one and a half
miles from the Cumberland River, a rich deposit of pipe iron ore has
recently been found, which yields from the furnace about forty-nine
per cent, of pig metal. The ore is dug and delivered at $2.00 per ton.
The banks at Bear Spring Furnace, on Bear Spring Creek, are very
rich and apparently inexhaustible. At Lagrange Furnace an ore bank
has been opened on Leatherwood Creek, two miles from the Tennessee
River, which presents a face 100 feet wide and thirty feet high. The
ore is so compact that gunpowder is necessary to raise it. The rich-
ness of this bank may be inferred from the fact that seventeen hands
only are required to supply the furnace with ore. In regard to this
furnace, Clarke and Eclipse, Mr. J. C. Garrett, the president, writes :
59

930 Resources of Tennessee.

The " LaGrange Iron Works " property, of Stewart county, Tennessee,
consists of about 40,000 acres of mineral and farmincr lands, on which
are located three blast furnaces, \ iz , LaGrange, Clark and Eclipse. LaGrange
Furnace has a brick stack, thirty-five feet high and nine feet across the
bosh, horizontal engine, steam cylinder, sixteen inches in diameter and five
foot stroke, with two blast cylinders thirty-eight inches diameter and four foot
stroke ; hot blast of six small rings and cross pipes under the boilers, heat-
ing the blast 800 to 900°; makes from thirteen to sixteen tons of iron per
day with one tuyer; uses charcoal for fuel, and 133 to 140 bushels coal to
ton of iron; uses brown hematite ores, yielding in the furnace forty-eight to
fifty-five percent of iron. Clark furnace has stone stack, thirty-six feet high,
ten feet across the bosh ; upright engine, steam cylinder thirty-two inches in
diameter, four foot stroke ; one blast cylinder, seventy inches diameter
and four foot stroke ; hot blast of thirty-two upright pipes with
twenty-seven cross pipes under the boilers, heating the blast about 1,000°,
using two tuyers, and now making seventeen to eighteen tons of iron per
day; uses charcoal and the brown hematite ore, about 140 bushels coal to
ton of iron, the ore yielding about same as at LaGrange Furnace. The Eclipse
Furnace has stone stack thirty-five feet high and nine and a half feet across
the bosh. No machinery there ; it was destroyed during the war, and has
never been refitted. The ores at Eclipse same as about Lagrange and
Clark Furnaces. The timber on the company's lands yields forty to fifty
cords to acre. The ores are inexhaustible, the present owners working banks
from thirty to sixty feet of ore, and in no case have they found the bottom or
gonethiough the ores. These ores are valuable for shipping purposes;
lying near the Tennesse River, they can be mined and shipped to Pitts-
burgh e'^en, and make iron at a less cost than using Missouri or the lake
ores. Below is the analysis of ores by Prof. E. S. Wayne, of Cincinnati,
from one selected piece of ore :

Peroxide of iron 95.34

Phosphorus trace.

Sulphur trace.

Potash trace.

Lime 21

Silica 3.71

Loss 74

Equal to 65.75* of pure iron. The ore is very free from sulphur and
phosphorus, mere traces being found.

(Signed). E. S. Wayne.

The following is a copy of the analysis of numerous small pieces of ore
"average samples" by J. Blodgett Britton, of Philadelphia.

Water 9.10

Insoluble silica 1.40

Pure iron in form of sesquioxide 52.97

Oxvf^en with the iron 23.41

Alumina 1.36

Lime 40

Sulphur 03

Phosphorus 06

99.34

* There must be some error in this analysis. The amount of pure iron is too great for limonite.

Middle Tennessee. 931

Double Furnace Aspay yielded 56.10 in reduced metal or cast iron. Tlie
reduction was complete, buttons flattened under the hammer, fracture
ragged, color dark gray, rather close grained; iron soft, but tough, not nat-
■ur;il.

(Signed). J. Blodgett Britton.

Philadelphia.

Bough and Beady Furnace is about four miles from the Checkered
House on Cumberland River. The company OAvns about 16,000 acres
of land. Brick and stone stack, twenty-eight feet high, nine feet
bosh ; horizontal engine, seventeen inch steam cylinder, six foot
stroke ; two blast cylinders, forty inches diameter, four and a half foot
stroke ; two tuyers ; hot blast; 150 bushels coal to ton iron ; pipe and
fine honey-comb ore, yields thirty-five per cent, iron ; makes about ten
tons per day.

Cumberland Iron Works. Dover Furnace stone stack is 34 ft. 8 in.
high ; one tuyer ; steam power ; cold blast ; boilers heated on top of
stack with waste gas from furnace ; horizontal engine ; three
tubs; blast usually about If Ihs. pressure; product about ten tons
per day; uses about 170 bu.shels charcoal and two tons ore to the ton
of metal ; coal costs about eight cents per bushel delivered ; ore about
$2.50 per ton delivered; wages depend entirely on the efficiency of the
hand ; most of the Avork is done by the job or task.

Bear Spring Furnace. Re-built in 1873; out of blast since 1854;
etone stack 38 ft. 11 in.; two tuyers; steam power; cold blast;
boilers heated on top of stack with waste gas from furnace ; horizontal
engine; three tubs; will blow about two pounds per inch; ex-
pected to make twelve to fifteen tons per day, with about the same
yield of material as Dover Furnace ; coal will cost one cent per bushel
less, and ore fifty cents per ton less than at Dover Furnace. Wages
about same as at Dover Furnace. The property embraces sixty-
three thousand acres of land, with an inexhaustible supply of
ore and timber. Cumberland River divides the property with
a river frontage of eight miles. It is well supplied w'ith running
water and springs, and has better roads than are usual in this section.
Near Dover Furnace is a deposit of fire-clay of good quality. It is
used for making the lining of the furnaces, and was extensively em-
ployed before the war at the rolling-mill.

Hon. J. C. W. Steger forwarded to this Bureau specimens of ore
that would average fidly fifty-five per cent. These specimens were ob-
tained from Long Creek branch and Bear Spring. In his letter, Mr.
Steger says :

932 Resources of Tennessee.

Cumberland Iron Works, February 23, 1874.
J. B. Killehrew, Secretary:

Dear Sir — I send specimens of ore from the old Bear Spring bank, and
also from the new bank on Long Creek. I have just visited the latter bank
and find they have commenced at the base of a high ridge, quarter of a
mile from where the Clarksville and Dover road crosses Long Creek, and a
little above the level of a small branch near it, and have gone in 150 feet,
extending out from fifty to one hundred feet. The ore presents a face of
from five to fifteen feet of such as I send. They have run a race seventy-
five yards up the ridge, and find the same quality of ore within three feet
of the surtaee all the way up. They are now stripping about seven feet,
and the only rock about the bank is found just on the top of the ore. The
sandstone is from three to six inches thick. I consider this the best ore in
Stewart county. The specimens I send from Long Creek bank were taken
out of the bottom of the bank, showing the pipe, honey-comb, and the two
mixed withinthiee feet of each other. At present the working is carried no
lower than the branch, for want of means to keep the water out.

LIST OF FUKXACES IN STEWART COUNTY,

Names. Owners. Daily Pi-oductimi.

Dover Furnace Woods, Yeatman & Co 10 tons.

Bear Spring " " '• 12 "

LaGrange J. C. Garrett, Pre.siclent 13 "

Clark " " " 18 "

Kough and Ready Theobald Gurkenhammer e^ Co 10 "

Connected with Dover and Bear Spring furtiaces is an extensive
farm, where nearly all the necessary supplies are made. This firm
hires by the year, and employs negroes almost entirely. The three
last employ white labor by the job. About two or three hundred
Northern men have settled around these last since the war. The only
fuel used is charcoal.

Dover, Rough and Ready, and Bear Spring furnaces ship by the
Cumberland River and the Memphis and Louisville Railroad, the re-
maining two ship by the Tennessee River. Fire-clay, of an excellent
quality, is found within a mile of Dover Furnace, on the property of
the Cumberland Iron Works. Upon the first introduction of the man-
ufacture of iron in the county, fire-bricks were brought from England
at an enormous expense, and the discovery by the Messrs. Stacker of
this deposit of clay, led to a new source of wealth. Much of it is
shipped to other ])oints. Good building rock is found in nearly every
portion of the county, except the north-east corner. A valuable va-
riefy of sandstone is found on Dyer's Creek and Barrett's Creek, which
is extensively used for furnace hearths.

Timber. In the lowlands oak, poplar, ash, sugartree and elm pre-

Middle Term es see. 933

Tail. On the Tennessee Ridge while oak and red oak are the princi-
pal growth. More than 200,000 staves are annually shipped down the
Cumberland and Tennessee for the European markets. Large quan-
tities of yellow poplar lumber are sent in rafts to New Orleans and
other points. Working in timber is the occupation of a large propor-
tion of the people. The wood-choppers, stave-makers, sawyers, and
(shingle-makers are especially numerous between the rivers.

Colonies and Social Condition. On the southern limits of the "bar-
ren" lands there has settled a thrifty colony of Swiss. Thev have
bought a considerable quantity of land, and make dairy farming a
specialty. The thrift of this colony is proverbial, and a mere inspec-
tion of their farms will convince the most skeptical that they are
prosperous and thrifty. Every place about them is utilized. Even
tlie fence corners are seeded to grass. Their houses are workshops*
Neatness, order and economy are everywhere displayed. Their cheese
cellar is a model of neatness. One gallon of milk is consumed in
making one pound of 'cheese. Mr. Ulric Buhler, the founder of the
colony, is well pleased with his profits, and the only dissatisfaction ex-
pressed is the w^aut of railroad facilities and of educational and relig-
ious advantages. Mr. Buhler thinks if these were supplied, there
would be no difficulty in settling all the unoccupied lands in the State
in a short while, with an industrious, hardy, enterprising and intelli-
gent population. Their method of culture is well suited to the char-
acter of land they work. Their land is usually flat and not well
drained. The top soil is of a pale yellowish hue, with a subsoil of an-
gular gravel of a dingy yellow color. It will not, with the usual cul-
tivation, produce the cereals well, nor tobacco, owing to the stiffness of
the soil. Oats do very well, and so does clover, the latter penetrating
with its long tap roots the tenacious soil down to the gravel. Deep
culture is required to secure good drainage, and to get good crops. The
Swiss have good plows, and they believe in deep culture. They make,
according to the testimony of old citizens, the best crops of corn that
ever grew on that soil. They sow clover largely and suffer no spot to
run to waste. They are careful in saving manure and applying it in
such places and in such manner as will do the largest amount of good.
They brought many seeds with them from Switzerland, among others,
the Esparzetta-grass, a favorite hay and herbage crop in Switzerland,
but found the soil unsuited to it here. The Esparzetta-grass grows
somewliat like clover, with a leaf like that of the sensitive plant, and
a bunch of snuill, red papilionacious blooms arranged in clusters

934 Resources of Tennessee.

around and at the end of the stem. It will, upon suitable soils, bear
cutting three times a year, and is said to be very nutritious and much
relished by stock. The improvements made by the colony show the
practical nature of their minds. Their gates, stables, garden, cheese-
house, iudeed everything about the premises have a neat, durable, but
economical appearance. Whatever work can accomplish they perform.
They sell as much as possible, and buy as little as possible. What they
buy is of the best. By the neighbors they are much respected. They
make good citizens. They pay but little attention to visitors during
the week days, but are very hospitable on Sunday. They are hopeful
of having good return from their dairy so soon as the character of
cheese they make is known to the market and their number of milk
stock is increased. They are all working people, and will doubtless do
well. At the old Peytona Furnace between the rivers, a colony of Ger-
mans have settled, and are giving their attention to grapes and nurseries.
They are well pleased, and are prospering. There is another colony of
Northern men on Saline Creek, occupying a portion of the lands of
Lewis Irwin & Co. A few years ago, Mr. George Platte, of Ohio,
bought two hundred acres of land, and since he bought, many of his
old neighbors liave followed him. They are hard working, quiet, in-
dustrious citi:'ens, attend to their own business, and are willing to
work. These men, with Mr. Platte, are highly respected, and are
doing muc]i by their industry to restore prosperity to the county. It
may be said of Stewart county what can be said of but few other
coujaties in Middle Tennessee, that the white men have become self-
reliant. They labor in the fields, in the shops, and in their houses.
The women of the family do housework, and suffer no annoyance from
trusting to unreliable servants. The condition of society in Stewart
makes it peculiarly attractive to immigrants. All work, men and
women. No idle croakers, dreaming of past glories and obscuring the
brightness of the present by comparison with the past, dishearten the
industrious. Hospitality abounds, and tliere is a general desire to
make the most of the present without unmanly repinings of the past.

Fair Gromuls. During the year 1873 stock was subscribed to build
Fair Grounds. The buildings were erected during the summer, and
Ihe first fair was held in October of the same year. It was a grand
success, and will no doubt stimulate the farmers to a further introduc-
tion of fine stock.

School and other Statistics. The school sentiment is growing. The

Middle Tennessee. 935

County Court levied twenty cents on the $100 additional for school
purposes, and it is believed that a good system of schools can be carried
on at least five months in the year.

Scholastic population, white 2,804

" colored 659

Total 4,563

No. acres land returned to Comptroller in 1873, 257,042 ; value
$1,180,415; number town lots 102; value $42,519; value of mills,
factories, &c., $56,720; livestock $48,421, which with other taxables,
such as watches, ferry-boats, &c., make the total valuation of property
in the county amount to $1,524,379.

State tax 40 cents $6,097.51

County tax 3,048.75 '

State school tax 1,524.37

County school tax 3,049.14

Polls ;

Towns. Dover, the county seat, is situated on the south bank of the
Cumberland, and is the oldest town in the county. It was located in
1803 by James Elder, Amos Bird, James Huling, Henry Small and
John Blair, commissioners appointed by the Legislature to select a
permanent seat of justice. It was as late as October 17, 1811, before
the courts were permanently held there. The act provided that this
seat of justice should be on the Cumberland River, twelve and one-
half miles west of the eastern boundary of the county. Dover has
several commercial establishments and a newspaper, the Dover Record,
which does much to encourage immigration. Dover was almost de-
stroyed during the war. The battle of Fort Donelson having been
fought in the suburbs, all the houses were used for military purposes
and ultimately destroyed with the exception of three. The court-
house was burned and private dwellings torn down, and out of the
rubbish shanties were constructed for the accommodation of the soldiers.
At the termination of the war the owners of property returned, and
have since rebuilt their houses, so that new Dover, rising upon the
ashes of the old, presents from the river, enthroned upon her twenty
hills, a very sightly appearance. It has a fresh, tidy look, and some
500 inhabitants, and is a place of considerable business. The country
on the north side of the town is exceedingly hilly, some of the hills
swelling to the height of two or three hundred feet with deep ravines
between. The roads are execrable, scarcely pa.ssable. They often-
times follow the beds of wet winter streams, which, gathering a huge

936 Resources of Tennessee.

volume of water from the steep hill-sides, after heavy rains, rush with
great force through the narrow defiles, filling them with debris and
washing the road beds into deep holes so as to render them impassable
for wheel vehicles. Tobacco Port and Line Port, on the Cumber-
land, are shipping points. Indian Mound and Big Rock, are small
villages on the north side of the river, and are situated in a rich
agricultural region and do a considerable business in dry -goods.

Transportation Facilities. Cumberland and Tennessee rivers fur-
nish the only means of public transportation. Some products are
hauled to and from Stewart's Station, on the Louisville & Memphis
Railroad, but the country roads are so bad as to make hauling an ex-
pensive job. Stewart county stands greatly in need of railroads. One
running from Hopkinsville, Kentucky, through Lafayette, by Big
Rock, down Dyer's Creek Valley, crossing near Dover, intersecting the
Memphis, Clarksville and Louisville Railroad somewhere between
Stewart Station and Tennessee River, then passing through the coun-
ties of Humphreys, Perry and Wayne down to Florence, Alabama,
would open up one of the richest sections, whether viewed in an agri-
cultural or mineral point of view, to be found on the continent. It
would be the most direct route from Chicago to Mobile, connecting, as
it would, by the Memphis and Charleston Railroad with the North
and South road at Decatur. With such a railroad passing through the
county from north-east to south-west, and the placid Cumberland
sweeping diagonally from south-east to north-west, Stewart county
would be abundantly supplied with commercial facilities and rush for-
ward on the course of material prosperity at a speed that would aston-
ish her own citizens. Nature has done much for the county. Her
citizens have but to will it to be wealthy. Some sacrifices will be de-
minded at the outset; prejudice will have to be broken down; new
id'uis will have to be propagated ; fresher activities will have to be
brought into play. Stewart county is fortunate in having the minds
of her leading men full of })rogressive thought. Let the truth be re-
alized that " old things have passed away," and a new energy will
nerve the hearts and fill the minds of her people. They will enter
upon a new life, bright with fresh hopes, instinct with intelligence and
arched by the rainbow of bright prospects, that will induct them into
the paths of pleasantness, peace and prosperity.

Middle Tennessee. 937

SUMNER COUNTY.

County Seat — Gallatin.

•

There are but few counties in the State more desirable as a place of
residence than Sumner. The rich beauty of the green sward that
clothes the rolling surface of more than halt tl^ county, the dark
green foliage of the maple forests, the perennial streams that flash and
S})arkle through verdant meadows, the herds of fine stock that browse
upon the rich herbage, the stylish dwellings and splendid roads and
stone-arched bridges, and above all, the elegance and refinement of the
citizens, make Sumner county one of the most delightful to be found
anywhere. It is one of the oldest counties in the State, having been
established in 1786. It then embraced the territory now included in
Macon, Trousdale and portions of Jackson and Smith. In 1799, it
was reduced to 625 square miles. Since then, the counties of Macon
and Trousdale have been formed, each taking a portion of the terri-
tory of Sumner, so that it now has but little over 500 square miles. It
was named in honor of Colonel Jethro Sumner, a brave pioneer. The
county is bounded on the north by Kentucky, on the east by the coun-
ties of Macon and Trousdale, on the south by Cumberland River,
which separates it from Wilson, on the south-west by Mansker's Creek,
which is the line between Sumner and Davidson counties, and on the
west by Robertson county.

Topography and Geology. The northern half of Sumner lies upon the
Highland Rim and the southern half within the Central Basin. This
is a fundamental fact, and will explain the great contrast there is be-
tween the two portions. The northern half is a high plateau country,
having an elevation of 800 to 900 feet above the sea, the most elevated
portions reaching 1,000 feet. The southern half lies several hundred
feet below this, and presents a most fertile region, one of the best in
Tennessee, in a high state of cultivation, and greatly in contrast with
the wooded flat lands of the other portion. The escarpment of the
high lands runs pretty nearly east and west through the county. The
highest portion of the Rim lands is at the summit of this escarpment,
and is universally known as "the Ridge." From this the waters flow
nortliward witli very little slope into the Barren River in Kentucky,
and into the head branches of Red River in Robertson county. South
of " the Ridge" the creeks taking their rise at the base of the escarp-

938 Resources of Tennessee.

ment flow southerly with considerable fall into the Cumberland River,
which bounds the county on the south. The valleys of these creeks
are generally separated by ridges, which are finger projections from
"the Ridge/' or Highlands. Near their origin, these dividing ridges
are high and rough, but as they ajfproach the river, they break away
into low hills and not unfrequently into a nearly level country. The
rocks of the plateau portion are Lower Carboniferous, and are siliceo-cal -
careous, often with much flint. Within the Basin and forming the fertile
country, the blue Nashville limestone very generally abounds. Be-
tween the two and outcropping on the slopes of the Highlands are the
Black Shale and thin limestones and shales of the Niagara formation,
but the latter formations contribute very little to the agricultural area
of the county. In the immediate valley of the Cumberland River
the Lebanon limestones, lying below the Nashville, are reached and
are presented in the bluffs and on the hill-sides facing the river.

Districts, Soils, Crops and Timber. For a minute description of
these, as well as for many other matters pertaining to the county, we
can do no better than to insert at length the following letter from J.
A. Nimmo, Esq., who is intimately acquainted with every farm in tlie
county, and whose information may be relied upon as being entirely
correct. Says Mr. Nimmo :

The county is divided into twenty-five civil districts (to go into ef-
fect as the periods for which the magistrates are elected under the old
division expire).

District No. 1. The north-east corner of the county is traversed by
Garrett's Creek and Little Trammel Creek, branches of Big Trammel,
a tributary of Barren River, Kentucky. The valleys of these creeks
are narrow and rocky, but generally productive. The rocks are flinty
and contain many organic remains. A quality of coarse, hard lime-
stone, good fire-rock, is found toward the Kentucky line. The north
hill-sides are generally "poplar lands," and produce corn, wheat and
tobacco. Tlie south hill-sides are " white oak" lauds, and are less pro-
ductive. The tops of the hills, or Table Lands, are capped with a
siliceous rock, and upon them grow much valuable chestnut and tan-
bark (chestnut oak) timber. There are two steam saw-mills and one
water-power saw-mill in this district; also, one good flouring-mill at-
tached to one of the steam mills. Tlie lumber is sold principally to
the farmers on Bledsoe's Creek and in Gallatin. There are several
good scliools in the district, well attended. The religious denomina-

Middle Tennessee. 939

tions are represented by three churches — two Methodist and one
"Union" church. There is also a Masonic Hall and Lodge, and one
Good Templars' Lodge. The Scottsville Turnpike divides the dis-
trict nearly equally, and the Cumberland and Ohio Railroad, in course
of construction, runs near the pike through the district. Apples,
peaches, pears, cherries and plums grow well, and produce abundantly
where cultivated, and wild grapes of two varieties grow spontaneously
in the woods everywhere. This district contains about twenty-one
square miles, not over twenty per cent, in actual cultivation, and the
remainder has an abundance of the most valuable white oak, black
oak and poplar timber. The white oak is in greatest quantity, and
when the railroad is completed, wagon timber and barrel timber can be
shipped extensively. The farmers here are hard-working, economical
citizens, and the ladies manufacture nearly all the goods used for every-
day wear from the wool of sheep raised here. Sheep do well in the
woods, and are less troubled with dogs than in the more thickly set-
tled districts. In cultivating the new grounds the farmers use a
"jumping coulter," and afterwards "bull-tongues" and "shovels."
When the ground is clear of stumps, they use cast turning plows for
breaking. Herds-grass, orchard-grass and clover grow almost anywhere
here, herds-grass taking hold even on the chestnut ridges. Tobacco
is the best paying crop raised in this district, as it grows of a finer qual-
ity than it does south of the ridge. Cotton is only raised by a few for
domestic use. There is but little hired labor, except at saw-mills,
where wages range from fifteen to twenty-five dollars per month, with
board. Horses and oxen are generally used for plowing and draft pur-
poses. A few mules, however, are raised and sold. There is but oj;e
family of negroes located in the district (railroad employes excepted),
and they own land and are making an independent living. Lands sell
here at from two to six dollars, unimproved, and from five to fifteen dol-
lars for improved lands. Several farms could be bought, and much of
the unimproved lands are in market. The greatest drawback to farm-
ing in this district is the labor necessary to clear the heavy timber
from the soil, which will be obviated to some extent by the railroad,
which will furnish a mai'ket for the timber.

I)i>il:nd No. 2 is traversed by " East Fork" and " Middle Fork" of
Drake's Creek, and is in general features similar to No. 1. It has
free schools, three (churches, and one water-power grist-mill.

District No. 3 has more level land and is more thickly inhabited.
The limestone rock crops out toward the Kentu(!ky line, and the price

94^ Resoui^ces of Tennessee.

of land, improved, varies from ten to thirty dollars. Corn, tobacco
and wheat are the principal productions, and blue-grass grows well in
some spots. There are three churches and three or four schools, with
good attendance.

District No. 4 is bounded west by Robertson county, and is traversed
by Drake's Creek (there are two Drake's creeks in the county), which
rises at the south tunnel on the Louisville and Nashville Railroad, and
runs northward to the Kentucky line. It is a tributary of Barren
River. The creek bottoms of this district are rich alluvial lands, and
productive, the uplands generally lying well. East of the creek black
oak is the predominating timber, with limestone cropping out. This
land produces fine wheat, corn and tobacco. West of the creek are
black-jack lands, much of which have good red clay subsoil, and are
fine wheat and tobacco lands. Mitchellville Station and Richland
Station, on the Louisville and Nashville Railroad, which runs through
the district, are flourishing villages, the former being the largest to-
bacco market in the county, shipping for the year ending June 30,
1873, 331 hogsheads. There are several good schools and churches,
the latter being Cumberland Presbyterian, Methodist and Christian.
Several flimilies of negroes live in this district, and have a school and
church of their own. Many of them own lands. The lands of this
district rate at from ten to forty dollars per acre, according to improve-
ment, locality, etc.

District No. 5, south of No. 4, and joining Robertson county, is sim-
ilar in many respects to No. 4, but is watered by the head branches of
Red River, a tributary of the Cumberland. Much fine wheat and to-
bacco are raised, though in both Districts Nos. 4 and 5 there are sev-
eral tracts of land considered exhausted, which can be recuperated by
skillful farming, as is being demonstrated by several families of Penn-
sylvanians and some of our native firmers, who are making fine crops
from land considered worn out.

District No. 6 contains Fountain Head Station, a village with sev-
eral business houses, and a considerable shipping point for tobacco.
Much railroad timber, cross-ties and heavy bridge timber, etc., are
8hipi)cd from this point. The general features are similar to the last
mentioned district, and the waters of both Red River and Drake's
Ci-eek run through portions of it. Lands range from five to thirty-five
dollars per acre. It is comparatively thickly settled. In this district
are a Masonic Lodge, an Odd Fellows' Lodge, and Methodist and
Baptist churches.

Middle l^emiessee. 941

District Ko. 7, east of No. Q, is a small district, has two churches
and two school-houses. The lands are a little more elevated, finely
watered, and timbered with white oak, but are cheaper. For fruits
the lands are excellent.

District No. 8 is similar to No. 7 ; has the waters of" Caney Fork" of
Drake's Creek running through it. There is a good sulphur spring iu
this district, and some of the finest orchards in the county. Fruit
trees are raised to some extent, and are sold principally in this and ad-
joining counties. There are good schools, with large attendance, and
several churches, the Baptists predominating. The chestnut lands here
are better than the average chestnut lauds, and produce, under the
careful cultivation given them, fine wheat, corn and tobacco. Herds-
grass grows abundantly. Several good farms are situated on the
chestnut lands. Lands unimproved are valued Irom two to six dol-
lars, and improved from five to twenty.

District Xo. 9 embraces lands on both sides of the Ridge, and is
rather broken. The northern portion, however, lies better, and has
much valuable white oak timber and chestnut. Coatstown is in this
district, and the Scottsville pike and Fort Blount road give good out-
lets for produce. The " Rock House," an old tavern stand, is on the
south side of the district. Some good schools and churches are on
both sides of the Ridge. Bledsoe's Creek heads in this district. There
are two tan-yards iu it, where some good leather is manufactured.
There is a quality of marble found near the Rock House, which is sus-
ceptible of fine polish, and will, when the Cumberland and Ohio Rail-
road is completed, be easy of access for transportation, and will prob-
ably be in demand for building purposes. A cave occurs near the
Rock House of considerable extent, containing some of the usual sta-
lactite formations, and is said to have furnished material for making
saltpetre for the pioneers of the country. The hill-sides south of the
Ridge are generally covered with briers and undergrowth. Blue-grass
"will grow on any of these hills w'ith proper attention.

Districts Xos. 10 and 11, embracing a portion of the Bledsoe's Creek
valley, including Bethpage, have some of the best lands in the county,
producing heavy yields of corn, hay, etc., and the hill lands for the
most part are blue-grass lands. The valley lands are all in cultiva-
tion, and prices of best lands would probal)ly run up to forty and fifty
dollars. The hills are cheaper, but much of the hill lands are owned
by the farmers in the valley, and are valued for the timber. Rogue's

942 Resources of Tennessee.

Fork and Brushy Fork of Bledsoe's Creek empty into the main stream
in the tenth district. There are good schools and competent teachers,
and there are churches of various denominations.

Distriets Nos. 12 cmd 13 embrace land on both sides of the Ridge,
and are similar in contour to No. 8. The Louisville and Nashville
E.;nlroad runs through No. 12, passing through a tunnel cut through the
Ridge. Timber is the chief article of trade on the line of the rail-
road, though there are several energetic farmers around the tunnel on
the north side. The valleys on the south side are narrow, but there
are some very good farms in these districts, and prices range from
twenty to forty dollars for some of them ; others sell cheaper. The
timber south of the Ridge in these districts is being hauled to Galla-
tin for fuel, and used for rails, boards, etc. Churches and schools are
convenient.

District No. 14 adjoins Robertson county, and is wholly north of the
Ridge. There is some good poplar land in it, and the farmers raise the
usual products in the ordinary quantity and quality. Lands range
from three to twelve dollars per acre. The general character of the
people in all the districts named is similar. The men do their own
work, and the women attend to their household duties generally without
help, many of them making their coarser cloths at home by hand, and
in some cases there are strong prejudices existing between this class of
people and other classes who dress better and work less.

The remaining eleven districts lie south of the Ridge, the spurs
from which project into some of them. The valley lands were origi-
nally of the very best alluvial soils, and are still very productive. The
lands south of the Ridge may be classed in three qualities: bottom
lands, creek and river ; second bottoms or higher lands, generally with
chocolate-colored sub-soil, and mulatto lands, the latter generally
having limestone rock cropping out, and are seriously affected by
drought. Corn, cotton, wheat and hay are the general products, the
cotton being ])rincipally raised in the south-western portion of the
county.. Broom-corn is cultivated successfully by several men, who
claim that it is a paying crop. Irish and sweet potatoes are raised in
abundance for home consumption, and many men raise them for ex-
portation. The prices of lands vary from twenty to sixty dollars per
acre, according to locality, improvements, etc. The condition of farms at
present contrasts badly with what they were before the war, especially
in point of g-)od fences and improvements, many of the best farms

Middle Tennessee. 943

having been entirely stripped of fences during the war. There is
probably fifteen per cent, of waste land south of the Ridge (lands that
have been cleared and exhausted), much of which can be recuperated
bv judicious management. Its exhaustion is owing generally to bad
cultivation, gullies being allowed to wash, the result of shallow plow-
ing. The want of rotation of crops is another cause of this exhaust-
ion. Farms range in size from one hundred to five or six hundred
acres. Raising stock is more profitable south of the Ridge, but north
of the Ridge, tobacco is the best paying crop, after raising family sup-
plies.

Timothy is regarded as the best grass for hay, and blue-grass for
grazing. Orchard-grass and herds-grass both grow well, and some farm-
ers think that orchard-grass on the chocolate-colored or mulatto soils
will stand more grazing than either of the others. Hungarian grass and
German millet are both raised for hay, and there are different opinions
as to which is the better. Both are good. Clover is universally ac-
knowledged to be the best renovator, but many act injudiciously in graz-
ing too closely to get its full benefits as a fertilizer. Turning plows,
steel and cast, are used for breaking up, one-horse turning plows and
double shovels and riding plows are all used south of the Ridge for
cultivating.

Labor is not abundant — that is, reliable labor. There are many
negroes who lounge around for job work at extra prices, who will not
undertake to make regular crop hands. Hands hired by the year
generally get from $10 to $12 per month and board, equivalent to from
il5 to SI 7 per month. Renters pay one-third of the crop sometimes,
but more generally give about ten bushels of sound corn per acre.
When the land-holder furnishes teams and tools he gets two-thirds.

The produce of the county goes to Louisville and Nashville over
the Louisville and Nashville Railroad, or is shipi)ed to Nashville by
the Cumberland River. When the Cumberland and Ohio Railroad is
completed, the Cincinnati market will be open to the farmer.

Blood horses are numerous. Short-horn, Devon and Jersey cattle,
and Berkshire hogs are raised extensively in the southern part of the
county. There are some other varieties of hogs, but none better than
the Berkshire. There are also Merino, Southdown and Cotswold sheep,
and many of the farmers are doing well by raising improved breeds of
dilFercnt animals. Sheep are much annoyed by dogs, and at least fifteen
per cent, of them are killed every year in that way.

944 Resources of Tennesee.

Manufactories. There is one woolen factory at Gallatin, one agri-
cultural implement factory, and a large cotton factory in course of con-
struction. There is another woolen factory six miles north-east of
Gallatin. Two carriage and buggy factories, and probably a dozen
manufacturers of wagons, are in the county. There is no domestic
manufacture south of the Ridge, but a considerable amount north. The
manufacturers probably make a greater per cent, on investment than
farmers. The exact per cent, a farmer makes is hard to ascertain, from
the want of system. Want of reliable labor and aversion upon the
part of the young men to study the science of agriculture are the great-
est drawbacks to farming. Most families make enough butter for
family use, and many persons dry fruit. Bee culture has not attracted
much attention south of the Ridge. Several parties living north of the
Ridge are engaged in it, wutli reasonable success. Fruit trees in the
Basin are generally short lived, except upon gravelly soil, on which
there are apple trees two ie^i in diameter. Grapes are raised by many
for family use, but none for market. There is but one nursery of any
consequence in the county. Rabbits are very destructive to young
trees in winter, unless protected.

Timber is abundant, the most valuable varieties being white oak,
chestnut and poplar. There is some good black walnut in places, and
valuable hickory for buggy timber, but no shipments of either' have
been made. Sugar-tree, beech and black locust abound. It is thought
machinery for getting out hubs and spokes, and wagon timbers gener-
ally, also barrel staves and hoop poles, would pay in localities on the
Cumberland and Ohio Railroad. Sweet gum and maple are plentiful
in some places on the Ridge, both of which are valuable timbers for
certain styles of furniture.

Immigrants of good character are always well received by the citi-
zens, and all working classes are desired. Good mechanics get good
wages. Journeymen carpenters receive from $2 to $4 per day, and
brick masons about the same. Farm labor is cheaper. There is some
disposition on the part of large land-holders to sell their farms and in-
vest in something else. They cannot control labor under the present
condition of things. Other parties have sold on account of indebted-
ness, and a few others desire to sell to invest in lands in new States or
Territories, where land is chca])er. Farmers accustomed to attend per-
sonally to their farms before the war, are generally better contented
than those who depended entirely upon slave labor.

• Middle Tennessee. 945

There are many Granges organized in the county, and much interest
is being manifested by the farmers, who look to the gathering of sta-
tistics, and other information obtained through this organization, as of
vital importance. There is an agricultural and mechanical association,
which has been well attended since the war, and much interest is taken
in their annual meetings.

The county debt is as follows : $15,000 in bonds for the Louisville
and Nashville Railroad, with sufficient assets to pay them ofP; about
^30,000 for building jail and establishing poor-house, due in 1877.
There is a sinking fund tax of ten cents on the $100, besides a levied
tax of about $10,000 for county purposes, which wull more than meet
contingent expenses. The surplus will be applied to the payment of
the bonds as required. The poor-house property is a farm worth $10,-
000. Not more than thirty paupers are on the county.

There are three academies in the county, besides the high school at
Gallatin, which has over 250 students. One of these is at Henderson- -
ville, one at Gallatin, and one at Pleasant Grove, in the first district.
There is a library belonging to the members of the Gallatin bar,
left them by one of their revei-ed predecessors, John J. White. Each-
high school has a library.

There are many good mills in the county. There is no section of
the county that is not moderately convenient to good mills. There
are nine turnpikes converging into Gallatin, but the dirt roads are
not generally kept in good condition. The county bridges are of stone,
and are built in the most substantial manner.

Toim\8. Gallatin is situated three miles north of the Cumberland
River, on the Louisville and Nashville Railroad, about the longitudi-
nal center of the county. It occupies the center of an elliptical basin,
and has a rich country surrounding it. Its population is about 3,000.
Prior to the war, Gallatin improved slowly, but since that period its
growth has been rapid. More houses have been erected during the
past five years than in the thirty years previous. The people are dis-
tinguished for their hospitality and refinement. Singularly free from
a clannish disposition, they look more to the sterling qualities of in-
dividuals than to any accident of birth. For forty years the people of
Sumner county have been noted for their love of fine stock. Some of
the horses raised in this county have borne away prizes in trials on
the turf with the most celebrated in the land. It was the horses of
Sumner county that General Jackson in his sporting days feared most.
60

946 Resources of Tennessee. ,

The records of the turf for forty years are filled with the performances
of Sumner county horses. At one period three race-courses were kept
up within the county. At these races men from every portion of the
United States would assemble, and the associations thus brought about
have served to liberalize the minds of the people. The fair grounds
are elegant and the fairs well attended. Gallatin has a number of ex-
cellent business houses. The dry goods trade is carried on in ten
houses. There are also three drug stores, ten family groceries, and
thirteen drinking saloons. The place supports two newspapers, the
Examiner and Tennessean, both fearless and independent journals,
working with might and main to advance the interests of the county.
The ^nanufacturing interests are considerable. There are two flouring-
mills, one planing-mill, a carriage factory, a hub and spoke factory, one
foundry, a woolen factory, where linseys, jeans and other goods of do-
mestic wear are manufactured. But the greatest enterprise is the mag-
nificent cotton factory. For years an establishment for the manufac-
ture of cotton goods has been in operation, giving employment to
a large class of persons. It was erected in 1850, and destroyed by
fire during the year 1873, but upon its ruins is being erected one of
more magnificent proportions. The establishment will have 4,096
spindles, and 80 looms. There are five churches in Gallatin, viz. :
Methodist, Baptist, Catholic, Christian and Presbyterian, besides one
Methodist and one Baptist belonging to the colored people. The latter
have also two schools which are well attended. A large hotel has re-
cently been erected. The court-house is one of the most convenient
in the State. Saundersville, eight miles from Gallatin on the Nashville
turnpike, is a flourishing village. Hendersonville, two miles south-
west of Saundersville, is also a thriving village, with railroad depot.
Cairo, a very old town, five miles south-east of Gallatin, on the Cum-
berland River, was once the center of a large trade, and was a great
shipping point, but is not much used now, and is considerably dilapi-
dated. Castalian Springs, also called Bledsoe's Lick, is a flourishing
village, in a beautiful and fertile section of country, has several stores
and other business houses. It is noted for the mineral water, and is much
resorted to by invalids and pleasure-seekers. Near it are interesting
antiquities. It has a Masonic lodge. Bethpage, ten miles north-east
of Gallatin, on the Scottsville pike, a noted church, with store and
blacksmith shop near it, is flimous as being one of the places at which
the religious revivals of seventy years ago were held. Beech Camp-
ground, on or near Drake's Creek, has a Presbyterian church, a Masonic

Middle Tennessee. 947

hall, aud two or three business houses near it. It was also one of the
points where a great revival took place in early times. Cotton Town,
on one branch of Station Camp, is about seven miles north-west from
Gallatin, on the Red River pike, and is in a good section of countrv.

Statistics. The following were the productions of Sumner county in
1870, according to the census report. The part of Trousdale recently
cut off was included in Sumner when the census was taken :

Winter wheat 163,074 bushels.

Spring wheat 40 "

Rye ,7222 "

Indian corn 1,155,914 "

Oats 233,837 "

Barley 40,047 "

Tobacco 909,568 pounds.

Wool 38,860 "

Cotton 170 bales.

Irish Potatoes 35,253 bushels.

Sweet Potatoes 25,074 "

Wine 363 gallons.

Butter 224,295 pounds.

Cheese 715 "

Hay 4,921 tons.

Sorghum molasses .38,563 gallons.

Wax 920 pounds.

Honey 1,5668 "

Hemp i^ 150 tons.

Flax 75 pounds.

Sumner was the second county in the production of oats, Knox
being the first, producing 259,047 bushels. This county was second
also in Irish potatoes, the first being Davidson, which yielded 66,243
bushels. The population of the county in 1870 was 23,711, of which
7,777 were colored. Number of voters in 1871, 4,013, of whom 1,033
were colored. The number of acres of laud assessed in 1873 was 308,-
399, valued at $3,697,504 ; total value of taxable property, $5,185,727.

TROUSDALE COUNTY.

County Seat — Hartsville.

This county was organized in 1870, under a special provision of the
new Constitution, from fractions of Sumner, Macon, Smith and Wil-
son counties, and named in honor of the late Governor Trousdale. In

948 Resources of Tennessee.

territorial extent, it is by far tlie smallest county in Middle Tennessee,,
containing only about 110 square miles. The assessed number of acres,
exclusive of town lots, is 66,874, valued at |888,119, or $13.28 per
acre. Compared with the adjoining county of Wilson, it contains less
than one-fifth the area. It has a voting poj)ulation of 1,351, of which
346 are colored. The population, estimated from the number of voters,
is about 6,700, of which 2,000 are colored. The entire assessed value
of properly is |1,1 52,904, from which it will appear that in proportion
to extent of territory it is one of the wealthiest counties in the State.

Topography and Geology. This county, with the exception of its
south-eastern corner, lies, in the main, between the High]ands,(so wide-
spreading in Macon and in the northern part of Sumner,) and the Cum-
berhmd Eiver. It is thus within the Central Basin, a fact accounting
f >r its fertile character. The part excepted lies south of the river.
The area of the county, outside of the lower lands and bottoms of the
Cumberland, is made up of valleys separated by ridges; whose slopes,.
like the valleys, are rich and productive. The ridges are the south-
erly prolongations of the spurs of the Highlands, which become broken
and generally lower as they approach the Cumberland. The Nashville
group of limestones is the prevailing formation, though near the river
the country is cut down to the Lebanon rocks. The ridges, especially
i:i the more nothern portion, are often capped with the siliceous rocks
of the Highlands. Immediately below these the Black Shale is always
met with cropping out on the hill-sides. A short distance from Harts-
ville, near the top of a ridge, is a bed of mill-stone grit, which has
siip])b'ed Middle Tennessee with many pairs of stones. The bed is six
Oi- eight feet thick in its heaviest part. The rock is the top layer of
the Nashville group and is principally a mass of silicified shells, mixed
with more or less limestone matter. The best portions are those from
which the calcareous part has been leached.

'So/fe and Timber. The soils of the county are such as pertain uni-
vor.-jally to the rocks underlying them. Tliey are mellow and there-
t.);-c easily worked, producing in good seasons, corn, wheat, tobacco
and tlie other croj)s of this latitude in luxuriance. A large propor-
t-oii of the timbered huids has been cleared of the underbrush and
- -I'.lod to blue-grass freely, and supplies good pasturage through many
nio:it]is in the year. It is among the best blue-grass counties of Mid-
'iii' Tennessee and promises to become pre-emincutly a stock-growing
coimty. The timber consists of jiophir, white oak, walnut, sugar-tree,

Middle Tennessee, 949

and indeed^ almost all the varieties toiiiui growing In the Central Basin,
but it is by no means abundant, many of the farmers drawing their
supplies from the surrounding counties.

Farms, Crops, Labor, A'c. The farms are usually small and in a
high state of cultivation. The very best implements are employed in
the cultivation of crops, and many of the farms are highly improved.
The price of improved farms varies from twenty-five to sixty dollars, and
the same phenomenon is here presented as in Cannon county, of lands
keeping fully up to former prices, though the means of transportation
are wanting in a great measure. The Cumberland River, which is
navigable only about six months in the year, being the only outlet
other than turnpike roads for the produce of the county. The staple
crops are corn, wheat, tobacco and hay. The latter is mostly made of
the annual grasses, such as Hungarian-grass and German millet. The
average yield of tobacco, on the best soils, is near a 1,000 pounds per
acre ; of corn, forty bushels ; of wheat, fifteen bushels. The crops are
greatly injured by droughts, much more so than in some of the ad-
joining counties. The land, by reason of its steepness, is often fur-
rowed by gullies, and it is estimated that fifteen per cent, of the arable
land has been permanently ruined by improper culture. The size
of farms varies from 100 to 500 or 600 acres. Stock-raising is very
profitable, but tobacco brings the largest amount of money into the
county. It is indeed the money crop. Clover is used both as a reno-
vator and for the hay, which is saved for winter use. Several varieties
of plows are used, steel and cast turning plows for breaking, and one-
horse turning plows, bull-tongues, shovels, harrows'and double-shovels
for cultivating. Horses, mules and oxen are used on the farms, the
mules probably predominating in lowlands, and oxen on steeper lands.
Labor is moderately plentiful, but the negro here as elsewhere, is not
disposed to fasten himself by the year, but prefers job-work. From
twelve to fifteen dollars per month is given for good hands by the year,
but some work for part of the crop. No general rule has been estab-
lished. Mechanics, such as blacksmiths, carpenters brick-masons,
&c., get from two to five dollars per day for journeyman's work.
House servants hire for from four to ten dollars per month. Land
rents for one-third of the crop, or from three to five dollars per acre,
owing to the crop to be raised — more being given for land to be culti-
vated in corn or tobacco than for small grain. Some good farms can
be bought at reasonable prices, or within the limits above specified.

950 Resources of Tennessee.

As has been already said, the general features of the county are
greatly diversified. It is traversed by East, West and Big Goose
Creeks. The bottoms on which are unsurpassed in fertility, and
the intervening hills are rich for the most part to their very summits^
and where too steep and rocky for culti^'ation, are covered with a nat-
ural growth of cane, or where the cane has been subdued, by the best
blue-grass. There are good mill sites on every stream and many fine
flouring mills. A small portion of the county lies south of the Cumber-
land. Boats run up the river to this point over half the year, and of
a wet season, much longer. The portion south of the Cumberland
River is less broken and contains some splendid farms. The people in
this portion are all engaged in agricultural pursuits, and like their
countymen across the river, are proverbial for hospitality.

Transportation. Produce is shipped by the Cumberland River to
Nashville, Louisville and New Orleans. The Gallatin and Carthage
Turnpike runs through and three other pikes converge at Hartsville..
The country roads are not kept in first-rate order, as the nature of the
ground is such as to cut to pieces by travel. Rock being plentiful^
roads can be made very cheaply.

Stock. Some of the finest cattle and hogs in Middle Tennessee are
raised here. Also some thorough-bred horses. Sheep are easily and
cheaply raised. Dogs destroy probably twenty per cent, annually, be-
sides deterring farmers from trying to raise more. It is hard to give
the percentage realized on capital invested in farms, but as a class, the
farmers are working men and live bountifully, and are not troubled
much by hard times. The greatest drawback to farming is the large
size of the farms and want of transportation. In some of the rich
cane-brake hills milk-sick, or milk sickness prevails, often proving fatal
to cattle, and sometimes to persons using the milk of cows affected with
it. The origin or cause of this malady is wrapt in mystery. Various
theories have been formed in relation to it, but none satisfactory. It
ceases whenever the land is cleared and cultivated. It never occurs ex-
cept in the fall.

Smaller l7idu.strlcs. Much attention is ])aid to the drying of fruit,
and almost every family puts up canned fruit. There are no nurseries,
bpt fruit trees do moderately well, the higher lands being better adap-
ted to fruits. The trees, however, are not generally long-lived, particu-
larly peach trees. Bees are very healthy, and some persons are engaging
extensively in the making of honey, though but a very small quantity
is exported.

Middle Tennessee. 951

Towns. The principal town is Hartsville, the county seat, situated
on the west prong of Goose Creek, about one mile from its junction
with the Cumberland River. The town contains five stores, four fam-
ily groceries, two drug stores, four practicing physicians and five or six
lawyers. Population 700. Much tobacco is prized and shipped from
Hartsville every year. One newspaper, the Hartsville Sentinel, is
published at this place, and has a good circulation among the thrifty
farmers. There are two academies or high schools in the place, male
and female. The latter is under the direction of the Masonic fraternity.
Efforts are being made to build up -manufactories in the town, which
would give it an activity heretofore unknown. The social condi-
tion of the place is good, and its healthfulness undoubted. This
town was established in 1817, and in 1834 had as many business houses
as at present. It is eighteen miles from Gallatin, the nearest point to a
railroad. Dixon Springs, on the Cumberland River, thirteen miles
from Lebanon, the county seat of Wilson, is a place with eight or ten
business houses. It was originally in Smith county. Euon College is
a post village, eleven miles from Gallatin. It has two stores, a wagon-
maker's and blacksmith shop. There are many interesting features
about Trousdale county, but as in its agriculture and general appear-
ance it so much resembles Lincoln, a description of the one may well
apply to the description of the other, by substituting tobacco, which is
raised in Trousdale, for cotton, which is the staple crop of Lincoln.
Schools and churches are numerous in every part of the county. Im-
migrants of a good class would be heartily received.

VAN BUREN COUNTY.

County Seat — Spencer. <

Van Buren county was organized by act of the General Assembly,
and the first court was held at Spencer, April 6, 1840. The terri-
tory now comprising the county, originally formed parts of the coun-
ties of White, Warren and Bledsoe, about equal parts in value and
area having been taken from the two former. Nine civil districts was
the original number, but since the war the number has been reduced
to eight.

952 Reso2irccs of Te?niessce.

Topography. The county, lying partly on the Cumberland Table
Land, and partly on the mountain slopes and in the valleys, presents
great diversity in surface, soil and productions. The Table Land part
embraces the south-eastern half of the county. The surface is gener-
ally level or gently undulating, except where the larger streams have
cut deep gorges, or " gulfs," as they are locally called. These gulfs are
generally narrow, rugged, and hemmed in on 'both sides by lofty clijffs
of sandstone or conglomerate. The plateau on top of the mountain,
has an elevation of about nine hundred to twelve hundred feet above
the lower hills and valleys in the northern and western parts of the
county. The slopes on the sides of the Table Land, and its spurs and
outlying ridges, are an important feature, and occupy a considerable
part of the area of the county. The escarpment is generally marked
by perpendicular and sometimes overhanging cliffs, from the salient
angles of which extensive views may be seen stretching far to the
north and west. From the base of this line of bluffs, a steep declivity
sets in, rugged with large masses of sandstone and conglomerate fallen
from the cliffs above, and cut in places by deep ravines. These higher
slopes usually terminate in a terrace varying in breadth from half a
mile to a few yards, and sometimes disappearing altogether. This ter-
race is usually at about half the height of the mountain. At the outer
margin of the terrace, the lower slopes commence and extend to the
base of the mountain. In places where there is no terrace, the upper
and lower slopes are continuous. The surface in this part is generally
more broken with ravines, but not so rocky as above. Sinkholes and
caves are numerous here, and most of the small streams loose them-
selves in the labyrinth of underground channels with which the moun-
tain limestone is honey-combed. The base of the mountain is not well
defined. Spurs of greater or less magnitude extend outward at irreg-

t ular distances apart, sometimes enclosing valleys or coves of consider-
able size, in some of which the best lands in the county are found.
Beyond the range of these spurs are the red clay lands, extending

*nortli to the Caney Fork and west to Rocky River. The surface is
generally broken or undulating. All of the streams, except the larger
creeks, are underground. Bordering Caney Fork and Rocky River^
which form the boundary of the county on the north and on the west, are
bold blufis of limestone extending down to the water's edge. It is
worthy of remark that there are no bottom lands in the county, ex-
cept in the coves.

Soils. There is so much diversity in the soils in different parts of
county that we must treat of them under three heads:

Middle Tennessee. 953

1. The Table Land, or as it is commonly called, "the top of the
mountain." We cannot undertake the defense of the agricultural capa-
bilities of these lands, for they are and must always remain poor. In
most places there is little or no humus, and the porous yellow subsoil is
so hungry that no quantity of fertilizers will fill its insatiate maw. To
such an extent is it Icachy that the effects of manure can scarcely be
seen after the second, or at farthest, the third year, and grain-grow-
ing can never be made profitable. But for pasturage and meadows,
they are scarcely surpassed. There is a coarse nutritious grass, well
known in this part of the State as '• mountain grass," which is indig-
enous to the soil, and affords rich and abundant pasturage to hundreds
of cattle, sheep, and other animals. In many places are tracts similar
to the "oak openings" of the west, where the trees stand wide apart,
or in graceful groups with broad vistas opening up on every hand, some
of w^hicli extend far into the distance, while others are terminated sud-
denly by the tangled undergrowth which borders the banks of
mountain streams. Here and there little sunny glades or miniature
prairies, appear in the distance like cultivated fields. The level lands
along the streams are naturally sour, but can be easily reclaimed by
drainage and the liberal use of alkalis, and rendered very valuable for
the production of the cultivated grasses. We believe the yield of
herds-grass and timothy produced on these lands is equal to that grown
in any other part of the State. All garden vegetables, particularly
roots, can be grown successfully on land that has been " cow-penned "
or otherwise manured. The quality of roots grown in sandy soils is
well known to be superior to that of the same varieties produced in
€lay lands, and the mealiness and fine flavor of the mountain potatoes
is becoming extensively known. All manner of fruits common to this
latitude can be produced in perfection. It is a conceded fact that
fruits grow on a sandy soil possess more saccharine matter than the
same varieties on alluvial or clay soils. The purity and dryness of the
atmosphere on this elevated plain has a highly beneficial influence on
the keeping qualities of apples and pears. Owing to the same cause,
fruit crops are seldom, and in some localities, never killed by late
frosts in spring. The mountain slopes are generally too rugged for
cultivation, and perhaps four-fifths of this jiart of the county can
never be made available for anything within the range of agriculture.
Their chief value consists in the heavy forests of timber which they
bear. In some places on the terrace, there is a sufficient extent of
level land to furnish sites for small farms. Orchards do even better

954 liesources of Ten7iessee,

here than on the Table Land, and in many places there has never been
a total failure of the fruit crop. The mountain limestone, which crops
out above the terraces, is a continued source of fertility to these lands,
which, from their exposed situation, would otherwise become barren.
The soil is a mellow loam, so tender that where there is much slope it
washes aAvay. It is naturally rich, producing good crops of corn
wheat, and other cereals. The coves have the richest soils of all the
lands in the county. It is generally alluvial, very rich in humus, and
sufficiently sandy to render its cultivation easy and pleasant. There are
appearances which indicate that at a remote period some of these
coves were the beds of small lakes. In some of them the soil over-
lying the clay subsoil is ten feet deep. Very heavy crops of the
cereals are taken from them year after year without any diminution of
their productive powers. In the valleys of the Caney Fork and Rocky
River the soil is a dark rich loam, resting on a subsoil of strong clay,
and with good tillage it is inexhaustable. This red land is of the same
quality as that found in other counties in this part of the State and
in Robertson and jSIontgomery and other counties west of Nashville*
In places, especially on the hill-sides, there are scattered loosely over
the surface masses of ferruginous chert, which, by its gradual disin-
tegration, continually adds fertility to the soil. Some fields where
these stones abound have been cultivated for half a century or more,
without any apparent loss of productiveness.

Valleys. From the base of the mountain above Cane Creek to Rock
Island is about ten miles in a direct line, and from the base of the
mountain to the Caney Fork River, the average distance is about two
miles. This may be described as a part of the valley of the Caney
Fork. The surface is generally undulating, and the soil a good loam
on a clay subsoil. Some of the best farms in the county are in this
valley. The valley of Rocky River extends upward in a southerly di-
rection from Rock Island for a distance of about fifteen miles. It is
narrow at the upper end, but lower down the average distance from the
base of the mountain to the river is about four miles. The part of the
valley west of the river is in AVarren county. In all of its features it
resembles the valley of Caney Fork, but it extends from south to north
instead of from east to west. The gulf of Cane Creek extends from
south to north, in the eastern part of the county, forming a valley of
eleven miles in length, with an average breadth of about one mile.
The surface is generally level, and the soil a sandy loam, which pro-
duces well. But Laurel Cove, embrac^ed by projecting spurs on the

Middle Tennessee. 955

western side of the mountain, is the finest body of land in the county.
It contains, besides some timber, about six hundred acres in cultiva-
tion, nearly all of which is as level as a floor. There are several
smaller coves, all of which contain good lands.

Productions. The field crops at present cultivated, in the order of
their importance, are corn, wheat, rye, oats, sorghum, cotton, tobacco,
potatoes and turnips. Cabbages, beets, sweet potatoes, parsnips, toma-
toes, squashes, melons, etc., are cultivated in gardens. Fruit culture
is one of the leading industries ; apples, peaches, pears, cherries, plums,
grapes and small fruits are all easily grown and very productive. It
is estimated that 50,000 bushels of apples are sometimes produced in
a single year, and the quantity would be greatly increased with better
facilities for transportation. Herds-grass, clover, timothy and several
varieties of millet are cultivated for mowing, and to some extent for
pasture. Orchard-grass, which has been more recently introduced, is
growing quite popular for pasture. Clover and the weeds that grow
spontaneously are used for green manures. Farmers now seem in-
clined to increase the acreage of wheat at the expense of the corn crop.
The Walker wheat has been for a number of years the most popular
variety. Some prefer the Mediterranean, or some of the white va-
rieties.

The Smaller Industries, such as drying fruit, making butter and
cheese»and rearing poultry receive considerable attention. Bee-keep-
mg is made a specialty by some of the farmers, and a hundred or more
colonies are sometimes owned by a single proprietor. The Table Land
is covered by forests of chestnut trees, the fruit of which is gathered
for exportation, and is quite a valuable article of trade. Ginseng
abouTids on the mountain slopes, and some persons find profitable em-
ployment in digging and marketing the roots. An industrious boy,
armed with a "sang hoe," can easily make a dollar a day. Maple
sugar is another article of home production which deserves especial
mention.

The Present Condition of the Farming Interests. The county has an
area of about 211 square miles, with a population, in 1870, of 2,720,
being an average of nearly thirteen to each square mile. One-half of
the area nuiy still be regarded as waste land. The total value of tax-
able property, as assessed for the past year, is $259,493. The size of
farms varies from 50 to 600 acres, but small farms are more common
than large" As a general thing, the farmers and their boys do the out-
door work, while house-work is left to the female members of the fam-

'9 5 6 Resources of Tennessee.

ily. A very small proportion of the cultivated lands are let, one-third
or the crop to the land-owners being the general rule. Money rents
are almost unknown, but in a few instances five dollars per acre have
been paid for the best lands. Hired labor is employed to a limited ex-
tent by the larger farmers. The wages range generally from ten to
fifteen dollars per month, though a No. 1 hand sometimes commands
more. There are but few negroes in the county. Native M'hite labor-
ers are sufficiently numerous to supply the existing demand. The
present condition of the farms is scarcely up to the standard of order
and good management in the ante-bellum days. During the war fences
were burned, live stock destroyed and farm buildings left to take care
of themselves. But much has already been done to regain what was
lost, and we look for greater improvements in the future. The lim-
ited means of the farmers is a great obstacle in the way of the pro-
gress of agriculture, but we are glad to see a desire manifested to take
advantage of improved machinery. Two-horse turning plows are in
common use for breaking land. A few three or four-horse plows have
been recently introduced. We are not aware that subsoiling is ever
practiced. The old-fiishioned narrow shovel, or bull-tongue, is in com-
mon use for plowing small grain and cultivating corn and other crops.
One or two of the best farmers have commenced the use of double-
shovels, and they are likely to become popular. Horses are more pop-
ular for farm work than mules. Oxen are sometimes used for break-
ing land.

What is Most Profitable. Fruit-growing, Ave believe, would take the
lead of all branches of agricultural industry, if the facilities for trans-
portation were better. All varieties common to this latitude grow in
perfection on the Table I^and, the mountain sides and in the valleys,
and the day will come when the songs of the vintage will wake the
sleeping echoes in the sequestered glens where the wild deer now finds
a safe retreat. It is not uncommon for apples to sell at ten cents per
bushel. Tobacco is receiving increased attention of late years, and is
found to yield a better return for labor than grain crops. But the
heavy taxes and oppressive restrictions imposed by the Government
upon this staple operate injuriously upon its producers. Under ex-
isting circumstances, the rearing of live stock is almost the only re-
liance for bringing money into the county. Besides the cultivated
grasses already spoken of, the natural meadows of the Table Land af-
ford rich and abinidant pasturage, over which large herds of native
cattle roam at will, and find a bountiful living for at least half the

Middle Tennessee. 957

year. There are in places on tlie mountain sides extensive tracts of
wild land, too ruo-ged for tillage, but which are covered in spring by
a luxuriant growth of wild pea vine and '^ lamb's tongue," which are
eagerly sought after by both cattle and sheep, and in the fall the herds
grow fat on a weed called " beggar lice." Sheep would be even more
profitable than cattle, if they were afforded the protection of the huv;
but as it is, few are willing to invest money in them. We think it
safe to estimate that the annual destruction amounts to one-lialf the num-
ber produced. A wholesome dog law is the only remedy. Very little
improved stock of any kind has been introduced. A fcNV of the cattle
have an infusion of short-horn blood, but it has been accidental rather
than from any systematic effort to improve them. There are some
yery good Berkshire hogs, but they have as yet made but little impres-
sion on the common stock. It would undoubtedly be more profitable
to rear the improved breeds, and ior this purpose we would recom-
mend Devon or Ayrshire cattle, Southdown sheep, and Berkshire hogs.
In some localities where the pastures are most luxuriant. Short-horns
would, perhaps, prove most satisfactory.

In response to the question, are the farmers contented? we would
say that, as compared with those elsewhere, they are. They feel, hov.-
ever, that the burden of taxation is not impartially distributed, and
that they are made to bear too large a share of the expenses. They
act wdsely, however, in choosing rather to bear the ills they have than
fly to others that they know not of. There is but little emigration.

Farmers' Organizations. There has never been a fair held in the
county, and until recently no organization of any kind. A number c'
enterprising fiirmers from the North, who have immigrated to the
eastern part of the county, with the assistance of others in Bledsoe
county, have organized a farmer's club, which meets monthly, and is
in good working order. Several Granges have been organized.

Schools. Burritt College, a chartered institution, located at Spencer,
has been open, except during the war, for about twenty years. There
are four large brick buildings, erected at a cost of about ^10,000, and
commodious enough to accommodate 250 students. There is also at
Spencer a county academy, which is usually well attended. Good i)rl-
vate schools have been sustained in almost every neighborhood, and
the people will not suffer by comparison with those in other parts of
the State. Under the new school law, there are fifteen public schools.
The entire scholastic population, includaig all between the ages of six

958 Resources of Tennessee.

and eighteen years, is 904. About eighty per cent, of these are en-
rolled, and the average attendance is about one-half the enrollment.

Immigrants. As already stated, there has already been considerable
immigration from the North since the war. Among these are some of
the most enterprising and valuable citizens. Those with whom we
have conversed, express themselves as highly gratified with the re-
ception that has been extended to them. Lands are cheap, and
all who are willing to work will meet with a cordial welcome. Good
improved lands in the valleys can be bought at fair prices, ranging
generally from $5 to $20 per acre, though some of the cove lands have
recently sold as high as $50 per acre. Unimproved valley lands range
from $5 to $10 per acre. Improved mountain farms can be bought at
from $1 to $10 per acre. Unimproved lands sometimes sell as low as
ten cents per acre, never above $1.

31inerals. All of the Table Land part of the county belongs to the
great Cumberland Coal field, and there are outcrops varying in thick-
ness from a few inches up to several feet everywhere below the escarp-
ment. In some places, however, they are covered by debris. The
most valuable bank that has yet been opened is on the lands of Her-
man Walling, eleven miles south of Spencer. The thickness of the
coal is not known, but it has been worked to a depth of more than
three feet. It is very near the surface, and M^agons can be loaded from
the place where it is dug. At the head of Camp's Cove, eight miles
east of Spencer, is a bank that is known to be more than five feet thick.
Mooneyham's bank is in the same neighborhood, but more conveniently
situated. It is three and a half feet at the outcrop. At Denney's
Mill is a bank four feet thick. The same stratum has been worked at
another place three miles south-east of Spencer. Coal bas been worked
to a limited extent in many other places. Iron was manufactured
before the war at a bloomery on Rocky River, two miles above Rock
Island, but most of the ore was obtained from White county. Good
ores of the brown hematite are found all along the northern border of
the county, and we have observed one place in particular, on the farm
of George Plumlec, five miles north of Spencer, where it exists in
great abundance. Several wagon loads were taken from this place to
the Rock River Forge, but the distance was so great that it was aban-
doned.

Some of the caves in the county are inhabited by immense numbers
of bats, the excrement of which has been accumulating for ages,

Middle Te7i7iessee. 959

and formed valuable deposits of a kind of guano, which has proved to
be a valuable fertilizer, and has been exported to some extent.

During the war, large quantities of saltpetre were obtained from the
caves. There are probably other valuable minerals in the county, but
they have not been developed.

Mineral Springs. Chalybeate springs ai-e numerous on the Table
Land, and many of them are of excellent quality. There are no well
improved watering places, but several of them have been resorted to
by invalids from the surrounding country for a number of years. Mr.
Mulloy, one mile south of Spencer, has a very fine spring, and during
the summer he often has boarders. The McBride Springs, two in num-
ber, are three miles from the county seat, on the north-western brow
of the mountain. The place commands an extensive view of the lower
country to the north and west.

Manufactures. Caney Fork, bounding the county on the north, is a
noble stream for manufactures, but as most of the sites for machinery
are on the north bank, it will be described in connection with White
county. Rocky River, separated from Warren county on the west,
rises on the Table Land, about twenty miles south-west of Spencer,
and flows in a general northerly direction into the Caney Fork at
Rock Island. It is a bold stream, and has fall sufficient in every half
mile or mile throughout its entire course to drive large machinery. It
now has three or four mills. Cane Creek^^ a stream of considerable
size, and has plenty of fall, but along the greater part of it the banks
are low and the bottoms wide, so that dams cannot be constructed.
There is a very fine power half a mile above its mouth. A large fac-
tory might be built where there is now only a third-rate mill. From
the top of the dam to the bottom of the fall below the descent is more
than fifteen feet. Laurel Creek, a tributary of Rocky River, is a short
stream, but large enough to propel several good mills. On the Table
Land tKere are several of the tributaries of Cane Creek, which in
winter are strong enough to furnish good powers, but the sandy soil
drinks up most or all of their water in summer.

Timber. The Table Land, as a general rule, is thinly wooded, but
it has much valuable timber, chiefly oaks and chestnuts. The mountain
sides, gulfs and ravines are very heavily timbered with chestnut, pop-
lar, ash, maple, walnut, buckeye, cherry, linden, beech and other va-
rieties. In the coves and valleys there are still large quantities of

960 Resources of Tennessee.

very fine timber, which is ahuost valueless for want of transportation.
There is a poplar on the farm of William Worthington, in Laurel
Cove, which is more than ten feet in diameter.

WARREN COUNTY.

County Seat — McMinnville.

Warren county occupies a position nearly midway between the north-
ern and southern boundaries of the State, and lies for the most part at
the western base of the Cumberland Table Land. Small portions of
the county have a high elevation on the Table Land, but the most of
it is from 900 to 1,000 feet above the sea, making a part of the High-
lands, which lie west of the Table Land, between the latter and the
Central Basin. This height is still several hundred feet above Nash-
ville and the counties of the Basin. Warren, situated thus, enjoys the
salubrity and freshness of the mountain air, with the fertility of the
valleys. Ben Lomond, a prominent point within a few miles of Mc-
Minnville, is the end of one of the spurs included within the county.

Organization and Extent. The county of Warren was organized in
the year 1807 from a portion of White. From the time of its organ-
ization until 1810 the courts were held half a mile south of Barren
Fork, on the hill above the old tanyaid, in a log court-house. About
six or eight hundred yards irom the old court-house was the celebrated
Poplar Tavern, where Kentuckians and others intending to settle on
Elk River, usually put up. Here they often stopped for several days,
and had rare sport hunting and fishing. Among the first settlers of
the county were General W. C. Smartt, Elisha Pepper, Aaron Higgin-
botham, Harry J. A. Hill, William Rock Martin, James Cope, James
Forest, John England and Johnny Mai'tin. All these came to the
county in 1805, of whom Johnny Martin was living in 1872,' and was
107 years old.

Geology and Geological Products. Most of the county is based on
the Lithostrotion bed of the Lower Carboniferous. This is a series of
impure limestones which often contain flinty masses, and occasionally
a large j)etrificd coral bearing the formidable name of Lithostrotion,
whence the name of the bed. These limestones yield by disintegra-
tion a sti'ong clayey subsoil, ol'ten containing flinty fragments, and

Middle Tennessee. 961

usually presenting a reddish color, due to the oxide of iron out "of the
decomposing flints. On the slopes of the Table Land, including its
spurs and outliers, the upper great division of the Lower Carboniferous,
the Mountain Limestone, out-crops in full force. At many points, es-
pecially on the northern slopes, it is covered with a rich soil. Capping
the Table Land and its flat-toj)ped spurs is the uj)permost formation of
the county, the Coal Measures — a group made up of sandstones and
shales without limestone. It includes two or three thin strata of coal,
but they are not of much value. In the Lithostrotion bed are a num-
ber of layers of impure limestones, which, when burned, yield an hy-
draulic lime or cement. A considerable amount of cement has been
manufactured at McMinnville from these rocks. Quite a number of
wells have been bored in Warren for petroleum, but with poor success.
Some little petroleum has been met with, but none of commercial im-
portance. Salt-water was found in many of the wells, but it has not
been utilized so far as we know.

Topography. In speaking of the situation of the county, iis to-,
pography has been referred to Excluding the mountain portion, the
county may be said to be flat highland, but sufficiently cut by streams,
with tolerably deep valleys, to give contrast and variety to the surface.
The eastern portion is made rough by the spurs and outliers of the
Table Land, and supplies many mountain valleys, coves, and often
wild picturesque gorges, precipices and water-falls. The chief of these
spurs is Ben Loraand, an arm of the Table Land, embracing the valley
of Collins River. It branches out from the Table Land near the south-
ern boundary, and extends northward for about twelve miles, termi-
nating in a bold peak, Avhich commands one of the finest of the many
extended and beautiful views that may be seen from many points on
the escarpment of the Table L md. The south-eastern part of the
county lies on the Cumberland jilateau, and has the elevation, soil and
physical features which pertain to that region. For a more detailed
account of the soil of this portion, the reader is referred to description
of Cumberland county.

Streams. The streams of Warren county are various and useful,
and many of them abound in fish. Taking its rise from a large spring
in Grundy county, Collins River, which may be called the main artery
of the county, runs in a northerly direction, in a deeply cut valley of
the Table Land, near McMinnville, the county seat, receiving just be-
low the town the waters of Birren Fork, and finally discharges itself
into Caney Fork. There are numerous mills on this stream, some of
61

962 Resources of Terinessee.

them with excellent machinery for the manufacture of flour, and the
banks are well suited for the erection of dams and mill houses. Be-
low its junction with Barren Fork there are no mills, the volume of
water being too great. Collins River is not a reliable stream. Bar-
ren Fork, in connection with Collins River, into which it empties, al-
most encircles McMinnville. It is a beautiful stream, and can be made
a very useful one. Its average fall for the first fifteen miles, is ten
feet per mile. It has good banks and a rock bottom. Rocky River
rises on the Table Land, in the western part of Sequatchie county,
and descends through a deep gulf, emerging from which it flows
northward between Warren and Van Buren counties, into Caney Fork
at Rock Island. It is a bold rapid stream, hemmed in by high rocky
banks, and affords many valuable water-powers. Hickory Creek, a
branch of Barren Fork, runs from the south-eastern part of the county,
and drives many fine mills. Charles Creek rises near Woodbury, in
Cannon county, runs east and empties into Collins River. This stream
has many valuable water privileges. The supply of water is constant,
and for the first five miles the stream has a fall of 100 feet. Four
miles north of this is Mountain Creek, which heads in Short Moun-
tain, runs east and empties into Collins River. It very much resem-
bles Charles Creek and is a valuable stream. The Great Falls of
Caney Fork occur on the line between White and Warren counties.
There is not such a volume of water as the Merrimac, at Lowell, Mas-
sachusetts, has, but there is a greater fall, being seventy-five feet within
the distance of a mile, while the Merrimac has but thirty-two. There
is no county in Middle Tennessee that has more valuable water priv-
ileges than Warren, and it is destined to play an important part in the
future manufacturing interests of the State.

Lands, Soils and Crops. The lands for the most part being situated
on the Lithostrotion bed, have the characteristic chocolate color, and
are naturally very fertile, but slovenly cultivation has allowed many
gullies and washes to form, which have carried away whole acres of
soil. In some respects these lands are to be preferred to the rich black
lands of the Central Basin. They have the capacity of resisting a
drought much longer. There is usually a foot or two beneath the sur-
face of those red lands a bed of chert and argillaceous rocks, generally
about a foot in thickness, which su})plies an admirable natural drain-
age, yet retains a sufficient amount of humidity to enable vegetation to
successfully resist the most severe droughts. The elevations and un-
dulations of this character of land protect the wheat crop from the

Middle Tennessee. 9^3

damages of rust, while the underlying flinty mass supplies to the wheat
a sufficient quantity of siliceous matter to insure a vigorous growth of
the stalk.

There is another advantage connected with these lands that has not
been sufficiently spoken of or appreciated. They are practically inex-
haustible. Though denuded of the primitive soil, the imperviousness
of the clay enables them to retain all the fertilizing elements placed
upon them, and when galled or lean spots occur they can be reclaimed
by plowing deep and subsoiling, sowing with clover and applying gyp-
sum or land plaster at the rate of one barrel to the acre on the clover
after it has come up. This continued for a year or two will reclaim
the most sterile spots. These spots may also be restored by setting out
blackberry bushes, which not only act as a subsoiler, but quickly and
cheaply enrich the land.

Three-fourths of Warren county are red lands. The remainder of
the lands is mountainous, but some of the best soils in the county are
to be found in the coves. These are usually very productive, and yield
from six to ten barrels of corn per acre, while for fruit they are con-
sidered unequalled, especially for the apple. Wild grasses grow with
great luxuriance on the mountain sides and make the finest flavored
beef. No other meat has the same juiciness aud richness of flavor, and
strangers visiting the mountains for the first time always notice the ex-
cellence of mountain-fed beef. The north sides of the mountain spurs
are usually of great fertility. Climbing up Ben Lomond on the north
side, we observed, among other trees, the ash, yellow poplar, linn, buck-
eye, sugar tree, hickory, every species of oak, black walnut, wild cher-
ry, dogwood and black locust. Most of these trees are unerring indi-
cations of the best quality of land. The timber on the south face of
the mountains difi^ers only in the prevalence of cedar and the compara-
tive scarcity of black walnut. Corn, wheat, rye and barley all grow
well on the mountain sides and summits, but the summits are especially
adapted to Irish potatoes, turnips, and all rooted vegetables. Most of
the lands on the Table-Land may be bought unimproved for one dollar
per acre, but there are notable exceptions. Occasionally at the foot
of the mountains is found a strip of land that is very sterile. It
is generally known by a fine water-worn gravel intermixed with
sand. On4Sucii places greenbriers, persimmon and sourwood prevail.
Unusually, however, the first bench is the most fertile, as it receives the
washings from the limestone rock that forms the lower escarpment of

gi64 Resources of Tennessee.

the mountains. One of the poor gravelly spots occurs between the foot
of Ben Lomond and McMinnville. The top of the mountains has gen-
erally a sandstone soil, the character of which is given in the account of
Cumberland county. The finest freestone springs are found near the
crests of the mountains from which the purest of water bubbles out
from golden sands. These springs are not much affected by dry weather
or wet, bat keep their even flow throughout the year. Mineral springs
of different kinds are found in the county, sometimes on a mountain
side, sometimes on the banks of a river at low water level, and occa-
sionally near the highest mountain summits. The richest lands, and
those most highly improved, are to be found on Hickory Creek, a tribu-
tary of Barren Fork. Very fertile and desirable farms lie between
Barren Fork and Charles Creek. By many they are accounted the
best in the county. The best lands, improved, are worth from thirty
to fifty dollars per acre. Between Mountain Creek and Charles Creek,
both of which streams empty into Collins River, the soil is thin, and
the lands unproductive. We may say, generally, that all the lands
north of Charles Creek, Avith the exception of bottoms, to the county
line, are poor. On the east side of Collins River, however, though the
lands are more mountainous and broken, the soil is of better quality
than in the northern portion of the west side of Collins River. Some
very excellent lands in the county are exceedingly stony, containing
flinty fragments, which are often highly fossiliferous. Lands of this
character never fail to bring good crops, whether the season be dry or
wet; and they may be enriched by every act of cultivation. The peo-
ple liave but little reason to complain, however, of the natural fertility
of the lands in any portion of the county. They are of the same
character as some of the best lands in the State, and with proper atten-
tion would become as valuable as the lands in any portion of Middle
Tennessee. Let the farmers, for the good name of their county, as well
as for their own emolument, plow deeper, sow more clover, cultivate
the grasses, and take those steps for the preservation of their lands
which experience shows to be necessary. We are glad to know that
tliere are some public spirited farmers, who are, by a proper attention
to the soil, raising tlie yield of Avhcat from four bushels per acre ta
twenty. We have seen wheat of extraordinary prcunise growing on
land that had almost been abi<ndoned because of its sterility. Deep
])h)\ving, manuring, clover, and a high system of tillage, would double
the products of Warren. More gra^s has been sown during the past
five years than in the fifty years previous.

Middle Tennessee, 965

Fruit. In proportion to area no county in the State produces so
much fruit, and especially the apple. Peach trees are said not to do
well, being subject to disease and blight. Prior to the building of the
railroad this county was not convenient to any market, and her expor-
tations consisted chiefly of hogs, which could be driven, and apple
brandy. This last article was manufactured in large quantities, and
transported by wagons to Nashville and points on the Cumberland
River. It was one of the principal articles of traffic, and nearly every
farmer devoted a large portion of his laud to apple orchards in those
places of the county where the apple bore well. It is no uncommon
thing to see orchards of one hundred acres or more, the apples from
which, after first being made into cider, are distilled into brandy. In
consequence of their enlarged experience in the culture of the apple,
the people generally have a better knowledge of the varieties of ap-
ples suited to our soil and climate than the people in any other county
in the State. At the risk of being tedious, we shall condense the in-
formation we have obtained from the largest cultivators in relation to
this valuable fruit. The best location in the county for the apple is what
is called the upper bench on the mountain sides, where the limestone and
sandstone meet. In such a situation they are never frosted, and are
not liable to the rot. On the cove lands — that is, those lands which
lie near the foot of the mountains, on the first rise and under the
shadow of the mountain — the northern winter kinds rot badly, and
are almost always killed by late frosts in spring. The almost univer-
sal favorites, Rawle's Jennett, Meckleuberg and Nickajack, will not
bear on the cove land, but bear very well in the "barrens," where the
land is level and high. They also do well just under the tops of the
mountains. The following kinds, well known in other portions of the
State, are failures on cove lands, either elevated or flat: French Pip-
pins, Newton Pippin, Rhode Island, Greening, Swaar, iEsopus, Spitz-
enburg, and the celebrated Porter apple, brought to the county in
1849, though grafted on thrifty seedling stock, planted and well cul-
tivated. The Baldwin bears occasionally, but may be classed among
the failures. The failures do not ai'ise from a want of vigor in the
trees, for nowhere can be found more vigorous growers. The most
certain bearers are the Early Harvest and Maiden's Blush, which, until
a year or two past, grew vigorously and yielded bountifully, but have
failed to some extent since; American Summer Pearmain, which for
all uses is the best of its season, ripening between the June and Horse
apple. Belle Bonne, next to the Pearmain, is considered best ; Yellow

966 Resoui'ces of Teniiessee.

Baiigh is a sweet apple, nice bearer and matures well a little after the
Early Harvest. The Rambo bears well, but has the spot, after a few
times bearing, in the coves. Smoky Twig, or AVinter Pearmain, bears
early, does well, is very sound, and not liable to spot. It is not so
rich as many others, but is much liked as an eating and dessert apple.
It ripens for late fall and early winter. The Red Limber Twig is re-
lied on mainly for winter apples. The Wine Sap bears and matures
well, but is liable to the speck after long bearing. It is a choice win-
ter variety. Tlie Stoner Apple is a beautiful, deep red apple, and
highly flavored, very showy and large, and has, wherever tried in the
county, done well. The Bouldin Apple, a native of the county, is a
fine bearer, matures well on mountain situations where the limestone
terminates. On all elevations it does well, but rots on low or flat
lands. Ben Davis does well in particular localities, especially on
Rocky River. Rome Beauty, when grown on alluvial soil, or on cove
lands, keeps better than any other apple grown in the county. The
Cooper, grown on the same situations, is a better apple, but takes the
speck. It is a late summer variety, and the best dessert apple of
the season. Kentucky Queen, a large, red autumn apple, bears well
and is sound. Hall's Seedling, Horse Apple, and a great many native
varieties do well. There are 7,000 acres in orchards in the county,
and a large number of trees are planted every year. Grapes have
been tried v, ith varying success. The wild muscadine grows luxu-
riantly and yields an abundant harvest. Plums and pears are gener-
ally sure crops.

Farm Statistics. In the census report of 1870, Warren is stated to
have 1,372 farms, which are thus classified:

Farms having 3 and under 10 acres 57

" " 10 " 20 " 154

" '• 20 " 50 " 499

" 50 " 100 " 377

" 100 " 500 " 284

" " 500 " 1000 " 1

Farms arc here understood to " include all considerable nurseries^
orchards and market-gardens, which are owned by separate parties, are
cultivated for pecuniary profit, and employ as much as the labor of
one able-bodied workman during the year." What is owned, or leased
for one year, rec|uiring the exclusive labor of one man for the time, is
called a farm. The value of the farms is placed at |2,454,308.

Crops, Dairy Products, etc. Corn is the leading crop ; then come,
in the order of their importance, wheat, oats fruit, sorghum, sweet and

Middle Tennessee. 967

Irish potatoes, tobacco, cotton, grass seed, rye and hay. The follow-
ing are the quantities respectively of corn, wheat, oats, etc., produced
in 1870, according to the census report, the table including also wool
dairy products, honey, sugar, etc.:

Corn 329,950 bushels.

Wheat, spring 1,111

Wheat, winter 72,280— 73,391 "

Oats 56,348

Orchard products, value of 35,031 dollars.

Sorghum Molasses 22,443 gallons.

Potatoes, sweet 17,152 bushels.

Potatoes, Irish 16,918 "

Tobacco 27,446 pounds.

Cotton 104 bales.

Grass seed 1,289 bushels.

aover 52 "

Peas and beans 1,156 "

Eye 1,072 "

Hay 735 tons.

Flax 181 pounds.

Flax seed 7 bushels.

Hops 7 pounds.

Butter 134,499 "

Clieese 490 "

Milk sold 6,515 gallons.

Maple Sugar 1,670 pounds.

Maple Molasses 23 gallons.

Honev 16,569 pounds.

Warren was in 1870 the banner county as to the number of bushels
of grass seed. In leading crops it was ranch behind the rich counties
of the Central Basin, Giles, for example, producing six times as much
corn, and ^Vil.son more than three times as much wheat. In value of
orchard products, Warren was third, Davidson and Obion being ahead,
the latter, however, by a very little, the figures being for Obion
^35,087, and Warren ^35,031. This speaks well for the fruit-producing
capacity of Warren.

Uve Stock. Warren ought to be a great stock county. Its mountain
slopes and summits are the very places for sheep and cattle. It is by
no means a difficult matter to make clover and grasses grow upon its
strong soils, and thus to supply an abundant area for grazing.
Some improved cattle and hogs have been brought into the county,
and earnest efforts are being made to raise the grade of both. We
gather the following statistics in regard to the live stock from the
census reports :

968 Resources of Tejinessee.

Horses, number of 3,218

Mules and Asses 666

Milch Cows 2,781

Working Oxen 906

Other Cattle 3,658

Sheep 12,814

Swine 13,814

Value of all Live Stock % 570,221

Value of all animals slaughtered or sold for slaughter % 165,683

Manufactures. For many years Warren county has been noted for
some of the most successful manufacturing establishments in the State.
The Central Cotton Factory, two and a half miles from McMinnville,
was started in 1847, with 720 spindles, and manufactures cotton yarns
for the hand loom. It has been in successful operation ever since. It
employs seventeen hands, four men and thirteen girls, and makes 600
dozen per day. It is driven by the waters of Charles Creek. A short
distance from this factory are the Charles Creek Woolen Mills, which
manufacture about 300 yards of jeans and linseys per day. These mills
have four cards, one jack of 300 spindles and eight looms, and give
employment to eight girls and three men. The machinery is propelled
by a thirty-inch Faulkner turbine water-wheel, under a nine foot head.
It is, perhaps, one of the most powerful water motors known. The
Annie's Factory, at McMinnville, has 2,016 spindles and sixty
looms. It makes 2,500 yards of 4-4 sheeting per day. It is driven
by the waters of Barren Fork, with one of LefPel's turbine wheels.
These mills are a great advantage to the county, not only in supplying
at clieap rates their fabrics to the community, but in stimulating pro-
duction, and in giving employment to a worthy class of citizens. Mr.
Faulkner, the owner, states that at his two cotton factories, and
at his gin, he has bought of the crop raised in the county for
1873, 550,000 pounds of seed cotton, besides a considerable quantity
of picked cotton that came in from other counties, some of it from
Overton, Jackson, Putnam, Van Buren and White, nearly all of which
was grown in small patches by white labor. The Annie's Mills employ
about 54 hands, mostly native orphan girls, who are paid well and are
comfortably provided for. These girls are thus made useful members
of society instead of being a drag and a tax upon it. Warren county
has five tanneries in ojicration, which manufacture about 60,000 pounds
of leather annually. Tan-bark is abundant and cheap. There are six
good flouring mills in the county.

Middle Tennessee. 969

Toivns. McMinnville, the county seat, was laid out on the 4th day
of August, 1810. The hmd for the site was bought of Robert Cowan,
Joseph Colville and John A. Wilson, of Warren county, by James
Taylor, Thomas Matthews, Benjamin Lockheart, John Armstrong and
James English, who were appointed commissioners by the Court to
select a suitable situation. They paid §100 for forty-one acres, and
after dividing it up, and selling out the lots, they put out a contract
for the first permanent court-house in 1810, and it was finished the
following year. This structure was used up to 1858, when a new one
was erected at a cost of $12,000. The population of McMinnville is
1,167; with the suburbs, 1,700. There are six churches in McMinn-
ville, many of them excellent buildings, one having been erected at a
cost of $10,000. This is an exceedingly neat structure, and speaks
well for the morals, taste and liberality of the citizens. There are two
colleges, two common schools, two hotels, eleven dry goods stores,
seven grocery stores, two drug stores, two hardware, one variety, two
stove and tin stores, one hat, shoe and clothing store, two millinery
shops, two watch-makers, one carriage shop, one flouring mill, one
cotton factory. The New Era is a first-class country paper, and is
•edited with marked ability. The McMinnville and ISIanchester Rail-
road, the only one in the county, terminates here. It has been graded
from McMinnville to Sparta, in White county. The scenery around
McMinnville deserves a passing notice. Situated upon an elevated pe-
ninsula formed by Barren Fork, it stands 1,000 feet abov'e the level of
the sea, and is encircled on two sides by mountain spurs and peaks,
rearing their crests majestically 1,000 feet above the town. On the
south looms up Ben Lomond, densely covered with trees, Avith only
here and there a diminutive field, that looks like a dark shadow rest-
ing upon a sea of emerald, where some mountaineer, loving the upper
air, is exacting contributions from its fertile sides. To the south-east
appears a succession of spurs varying in height, without definite names,
but reminding one of videttes placed on the outskirts of the main
army of summits that stretch away as far as the eye can reach. To
the left of these, and on the east side of McMinnville, within five miles
of the place, is seen Card well Mountain, a beautiful conical peak with
its crest denuded of timber. The land on this mountain is said to be
as fertile as any in the county. The ascent to the top is easy. But
few rocks are met with in going up. A smaller mountain to the left,
and further north, is also called Cardwell — the two peaks being owned
by two brothers of that name. A fine view may be seen from the top

970 Resources of Tennessee.

of Ben Lomond. From a point near the Mountain House, McMinn-
ville appears sleeping amidst groves and streams like a thing of beauty,
while beyond it, stretching away to the north, is a seemingly level ex-
panse, dotted wath farms and orchards and thick woods, from which at
intervals the curling wreaths of smoke, that point out the location of
farm houses, are seen ascending until their form and color are dissipated
in the pure ether above. Kising up boldly to the north-west, appears
Short Mountain, which consists of several truncated and flattened coni-
cal protuberances, from which emanate Mountain Creek, that glides
and winds like a silvery serpent through the unbroken green of the
landscape. The difference in the atmosphere on reaching the top of
Ben Lomond is quite perceptible.

There are a number of small villages in Warren. Viola is a small
village on Hickory Creek, in the south-western part of the county. It
has three stores and a blacksmith shop, and is situated in the garden
spot of the county, eleven miles from McMinnville, on the Winchester
road. It is a post town. Vervilla is another small post town, nine
miles from McMinnville, on the west branch of Hickory Creek, not
far from the junction of the east and west branches. It has two or
three stores, a good school and two churches. Morrison, on the Man-
chester and McMinnville Railroad, and ten miles distant from the
latter place, is a flourishing little railroad town, with three stores.
Other post towns are Increase, Mountain Creek, Pine Bluff and Clair-
mont, each with one or more stores.

Social Status. Though having given more space to this county than
our limits will justify, we cannot refrain from referring to the social
aspects of the county. The people are mostly descendants from North
Carolinians, and were early nurtured in the habits of economy and
frugality. They fear debt, and prefer to wear their own domestic man-
ufactured goods to more extravagant dress, for which they would have
to pinch themselves in their households. Their tables are usually well
supplied with good, wholesome mountain beef, in the excellence of
which they take pride. Their houses are comfortable, and though not
aping the aristocratic style of the city, are more conducive to happi-
ness than more palatial residences without the means to keep them up.

Sfnfifitics. The pojinlation of the county in 1870 was 12,714, of
which 1,955 were colored. Number of voters in 1871, 2,743, of whom
367 were colored. The number of acres of land assessed for taxation
in 1873, exclusive of town lots, was 247,070, valued at $1,800,862.

Middle Tennessee. 971

Total value of taxable property, $2,535,768. Schools are not so num-
erous through the county as they should be, but more attention than
formerly is being given to the subject of education.

WAYNE COUNTY.

County Seat — Waynesboro.

The act establishing Wayne county was passed November 24, 1817.
More than half of the present county of Hardin was originally em-
braced within the territory of Wayne. By the creation of Hardin,
Wayne was shorn of its most fertile lands; its river front being reduced
to about ten or twelve miles.

Topography, Ea:tent, etc. Wayne county is situated on the extreme
western side of the Highland Him, witli its north-western corner pro-
jecting into the western valley of the Tennessee. It contains about
700 square miles. The county is bounded on the north by Perry and
Lewis, on the east by Lewis and Lawrence, on the south by the State
of Alabama, and on the west by Hardin county and the Tennessee
River. It is a high elevated plateau, between eight hundred and a
thousand feet above the sea, furrowed by deep winding ravines or
"hollows," with intervenient high rolling ridges, cut transversely in
places by other ravines, which give the surface of the county the ap-
pearance of what sailors call a "chopped sea." Generally, however,
these ridges radiate from the center of the county in every direction,
except toward the east, in which direction the lands are flat, level and
barren.

Streams. As might be inferred from the broken surface of the
county, the number of water courses is very great, and the high eleva-
tion of the county above the Tennessee River gives to them a rapid
fall. After heavy rains these creeks rise with startling rapidity, and
run down almost as rapidly as they rise. Indian Crock, noted for its wide
bottoms and good fanning lands, rises in the eastern part of the county,
and runs west, passes through Hardin, and empties into the Tennessee
River below Saltillo. This creek has numerous tributaries wliich
brancli out as one ascends the stream until they resemble the numerous
limbs of a pictured tree. Many good mill sites are found ujion these
branches, thoiigli the quantity of water is variable, and cannot be re-

972 Resources of Tennessee.

lied upon throughout the year. Hardin Creek rises in the south-east
part of the county, and running west, empties into the Tennessee
Riv^er, a short distance above Clifton. It has two or three good un-
improved mill sites upon it. Mill Creek, a tributary of the last, is an
excellent stream for milling purposes. The stream, in many places,
has cut down through a solid ledge of rocks, so that the banks are firm
and durable. Butler's Creek, a tributary of Shoal Creek, runs south-
east through a rich portion of the county. This stream has a rapid
fall, good limestone banks and a fine lay of land upon the banks for
the building of mills and factories. Big Cypress, Middle Cypress and
Little Cypress all rise in the south-eastern portion of the county, run
south, and after their confluence, empty into Shoal. There are already
erected several good mills on these streams. Second Creek rises in
the south-east corner of the county, runs south-west, and empties into
the Tennessee River at Waterloo. This stream could be readily util-
ized as a water-power. Factory's Fork rises in the eastern part of the
county, runs south-east and empties into Shoal Creek. It is a good
water-power. Forty-eight Creek rises in the north-eastern part of the
county, runs north-west and empties into Buffalo River. It is a good
stream for mills, and upon its banks before the war there was a forge
of the same name. Green River rises in the south-eastern part of the
county, runs north and empties into Buffalo. It is very rapid in its
flill, and has some good mill sites. Moccasin Creek, a tributary of
Buffalo, rises in the northern part of the county, and runs north. It
is a short, swift stream, but is constant in its supply of water, and is
an admirable milling stream. Buffalo River enters the county from
the north-east, and after running west half way across the county,
makes a right angle and passes out north through Perry county. It
is a tributary of Duck River; is very rapid in its fall, but the banks
are not usually good for the erection of mills and factories. It is
bountifully stocked with game fish. Rock House rises in Lewis county,
and running a short distance through the north-east corner of Wayne,
empties into Buffalo. It has no great excellencies. Ojiossum is a
small stream that rises in Lewis county and empties into Buffalo. It
has an excellent mill site. Mill Creek, a tributary of Buffalo, rises in
Lewis county. It has good substantial banks, a rai)id descent, and
has much available water-j)o\ver. Cliapol Creek, also a tributary of
Buffalo, enters that stream near Flatwoods. It drives an excellent
floui-ing-mill, also gin and saw-mill. The sup])ly of water is small
during the summer. Beech Creek rises two miles west of Waynes-

Middle Ten nessee. 973

borough, runs west and empties into the Tennessee River. It has one
mill and several good mill sites. Eagle Creek rises six miles west of
Waynesboro, runs west and empties into Hardin's Creek, three miles
from Clifton. It is worthless as a water-power, the banks being low,
changeable, and the supply of water very variable. The low bottoms
supply many convenient sites for tauyards, of which there are several
on this stream.

Lands and Soils. The lands in Wayne county may be divided into
three classes, viz: mineral, agricultural and grazing. Of the first
class there are more than 200 square miles, lying in the eastern and
south-eastern parts of the county. These lands usually have a rolling
surface, are .well supplied with timber, except in those s])ots where it
has been consumed in the manufacture of charcoal. The soil upon
these mineral lands is exceedingly sterile. The humus is a thin wafer
that is lost when brought into tillage by the superabundance of gravel
and yellowish clay. The gravel upon the highest hills is often water-
worn, sometimes angular, but always indicative of an unproductive
and stingy soil. The characteristic growth, besides the timber, is
greenbrier, persimmon bushes and a grayish moss, upon which the
Avild deer subsist during the winter. This rolling land is sometimes
deeply cut by streams, upon the banks of which are found exposed
limestone, siliceous and black shale, and occasionally hydraulic rock.
The agricultural lands are mostly confined to the river and creek bot-
toms. They are heavily charged with a black, flinty, angular rock ;
soil alluvial and highly productive of wheat, corn, cotton, peanuts,
sorghum and hay. The best bottom lands will make per acre thirty
bushels of corn, twenty bushels of wheat, 1,200 pounds of seed cotton,
fifty bushels of peanuts, and from two to three tons of hay. Instances
are given where four tons of German millet have been raised to the
acre. Clover would grow with an abounding luxuriance upon the bot-
tom lands, but the habit of sowing clover has not yet been adopted by
many of the farmers. The objection to raising the perennial grasses
is, that the broomsedge soon destroys the meadows, and it has been
found in practice impossible to keep it out. These lands command
very high prices, ranging from $20 to $50 per acre, according to im-
provement and location. Scarcity, too, makes this quality of land in
demand. It may be stated that the fertility of the soil adjoining these
bottoms reaches high uj) on the hills on the south side of the streams,
and but for the tendency of such hill-sides to wash, they would be al-
most as valuable as the bottoms themselves. The south sides of the

974 Resources of Tennesee.

ridges are poor. It would be a mistake to infer that the north sides of
all the ridges are fertile. The fertility is only confined to such ridges
as hound the water courses. Away from these and on the south sides
of the dry "hollows/' the soil is almost as thin as on the north sides.
On the waters of Buffalo River, Indian Creek, and a portion of
Beech Creek, the bottoms are wide, the farms good, the improvements
respectable, while on Hardin's Creek, Butler's Creek, Second Creek,
Factory's Creek, Forty-eight Creek, Green River, Moccasin, Opossum,
Chapel and Eagle Creeks, the bottoms are narrow, farms small and
improvements common. On the Cypress the bottoms attain a width
of half a mile, and many productive farms are found upon that stream.
It is estimated that the lowlands of the county will cover 70 square
miles, or 44,800 acres. The third class of land, which is pm down as
grazing land, is flat and open, covered during the summer with a rank
wild grass, which supplies nearly all the food for the stock (other than
work stock) in the county for eight and ten months in the year. The
usual practice ^yith farmers is to begin to feed about the middle of De-
cember, and to stop the first of April, or so soon as the buds and young
grass begin to appear. But little of this flat land is cleared for the
purpose of cultivation. Here and there a spot with a rich red clay sub-
soil may be found that will yield remunerative crops, but wherever
the subsoil is white or bluish in color, the land is cold and unprofit-
able for general cultivation. Fruits, however, yield abundantly on
such lands, and the trees are long-lived, hardy and not subject to dis-
ease. Old, abandoned homesteads on such lands, of which there are
many on the road leading from Waynesboro to Columbia, show the
fruit trees vigorous and healthful. Some of these trees, peach and ap-
ple, are known to have been set out fifty years ago, and they are still
fruitful. The high elevation of this barren land, its healthfulness and
cheapness, may cause it in time to become one of the great fruit-grow-
ing regions of the State. The people of the county are turning their
attention to fruit-growing, many orchards of choice fruit having been
set out during the past two years.

Stock. Sheep husbandry could be made a profitable business but for
the grand army of curs that roam over the country. Twenty-five per
cent, of sheep killed annually is the least estimate put down by anyone.
Many are deterred fi'oin sheep and wool-growing on this account. The
wild, savannah-like surfaces that cover a large portion of the county,
the sheltering hills and the genial climate, all ]ioint to Wayne as being
well adapted to sheep-growing. A few fine Berkshires introduced by

Middle Tennessee. 975

some enterprising citizens several years since, have greatly improved
the breed of hogs. But little pains are taken with the hog. Subsisted
in the woods upon the mast from September to June, and then upon
the wild grasses, this animal is scarcely domesticated. Pork enough is
raised to supply the demands of the county, but very little for export.
The cattle are principally " scrub." Some of them make good milk-
ers. A few Short-horns are being introduced, and the quality of the
cattle is gradually improving. Before the war mules were raised for
the southern markets, but the destruction of the breeding animals was
so great during the period of hostilities that the farmers have only
been able since to raise enough for the home demand.

Timber. Very few counties in the State are more abundantly sup-
plied with timber. The southern part is covered with a dense forest
of yellow pine, which has scarcely been touched. On the ridges, white
oak, black oak, chestnut, poplar and chestnut oak prevail. Cedar tim-
ber of a good quality formerly covered the glady hills near Clifton,
but most of it has been cut down. The white oak timber is largely
consumed in the manufacture of pipe staves for the French and Spanish
markets, and near the Tennessee River it is growing scarce and dear.
Seventy-five thousand staves are annually shipped from the county, and
as the demand continues to increase, the vast white oak forests of the
interior will be rapidly consumed in meeting this demand. The tan-
bark from the chestnut oak is largely used in the various tanneries, and
is found in practice to be the best for tanning purposes. It makes by
far the best leather, which brings at least ten cents per pound more
than the hemlock or oak-tanned. In the iron regions, the timber is
very valuable. Charcoal, of which forty bushels are made from a cord
of wood, is the fuel used for smelting purposes. In the neighborhood
of Wayne Furnace, timber is consumed at the rate of 700 acres an-
nually. AVith proper protection by law, the great extent of land de-
nuded of timber could be made to yield a new growth, but the annual
burnings destroy all the young sprouts as fast as they appear, so that
the old coaling lands are a dreary waste, covered witli broomsedge and
green briers, and worthless to the owners.

Minerals. Hydraulic rock of an excellent quality has been found
near Clifton, underlying a reddish limestone. This red limestone is
classed as a marble, and though not equalling the variegated beauty of
the East Tennessee Marble, yet some of it makes quite a handsome
and durable building stone. But by far the most valuable mineral in

97^ liesota'ces of Tennessee.

Wayne county is the iron ore. This is found in large local deposits
called banks, and the quality of the ore is very variable, some of it
being so intermixed with gravel and siliceous and argillaceous material
as to be nearly worthless. The l)est banks yet found are two miles
south-east of Wayne Furnace. The ore lies in wave-like masses, run-
ning mostly parallel with the surface. But these masses sometimes
approach and run into each other and then separate, leaving between
large masses of clay and flint. The ore has been dug to the depth of
thirty feet with no apparent diminution of quantity. Outcrops of iron
ore occur upon nearly every hill around the furnace, and these indica-
tions extend at places down to the beds of the streams. The gravel
overlying the ore is sometimes white and water-worn, but generally
of a pale yellowish appearance. Practical iron men consider the
quantity of ore inexhaustible. The ore is a brown hematite, and
yields from the furnace 44 per cent. Near Clifton is a bed of anhy-
drous red oxide of iron that is very valuable. A shaft has been sunk
in this bed to the depth of twenty-five feet without reaching the bot-
tom of the ore. Much of this ore is very soft and can easily be re-
duced to powder and used as a pigment.

Wayne Furnace. Thirty-five years ago, two furnaces were erected
upon the same ground where Wayne Furnace now stands. One of
them was discontinued and the other was kept in blast for many years.
Six years ago, the Gaylord Iron and Pipe Company, of Kentucky,
bought the property for $40,000, inclusive of 21,000 acres of land,
and set to work to repair it. They introduced the hot blast, erected
new stacks, and began operations on a scale much more extensive than
ever before. The capacity of the furnace was increased to twenty-four
tons per day, but it rarely makes above eighteen. The iron manufac-
tured is cold short, and is unfit for boiler plate, car wheels or wrought
iron. It is mostly consumed in the foundry owned by the same com-
pany in making iron pipe. One hundred and fifty bushels of charcoal
arc consumed in making one ton of pig iron. The estimated cost of
coal at present is six cents per bushels. The cost of green ore delivered
at the furnace, $2 per ton, of whicii two and one-third tons are used
to one ton of iron ; cost of limestone per ton of iron, fifty cents f labor
and salaries, $G.44 ; incidentals, such as sand, hearth, interest, etc.,
$1.33; making ])resent cost of a ton of iron $21.97. It costs $5 per
ton to get to Clifton, on the Tennessee River, and $3.62 from that
j>oint to Cincinnati, making its present (January, 1874,) cost in Cin-
cinnoti $29.69. It must be remembered, however, that much of this

Middle Tennessee. 977

labor is paid for in goods, upon %vhi(3h a profit of from thirty to fifty
per cent, is made. *'

About 200 hands are kept in constant employment, and nearly all
the work is done by contract. Sixty cents per cord is paid for cutting
wood; ^2 per ton for digging and delivering ore; daily laborers, $1.20
per day; skilled laborers, $1.60. The furnace force consumes annually
20,000 bushels of corn, 30,000 pounds of bacon, 600 barrels of flour,
1,200 bushels of corn nieul, and 360 tons of hay. It may be stated as
a'significant flict that all the hay and most of the bacon are brought
from Indiana and Kentucky. This furnace furnishes the best market
in the county.

The height of the stack of Wayne Furnace is forty-two feet ; width
across boshes, eleven feet; hot blast, the blast being heated by the waste
heat from the trundle head. It is driven in through two tuyers.
Capacity of furnace, 5,800 tons annually.

Tanneries. Previous to the wa^, Wayne county was noted for the
number and excellence of its tanneries. More than a dozen were
then in operation, manufacturing annually 200,000 pounds of superior
leather. Many of them were abandoned or destroyed during the war,
and now the number is reduced to four. These manufacture 100,000
pounds of leather annually. The hides are obtained in the St. Louis
and New Orleans markets. The leather is mostly shipped to St. Louis.
With the abundance of streams that thread the county, and the almost
exhaustless quantities of tan-bark, the manufacture of leather will
doubtless become in the future one of the leading industries of its citi-
zens. Bark is sometimes shipped, though not in large quantities.

Tow)XH and Villages. Waynesboro, the county seat, was located
by commissioners appointed by an act of the Legislature November 5,
1821. The courts were removed to that point in the fall of 1823, and
since' that period, it has been the seat of justice. It is situated on a
level plateau on Green River, and has many high hills encircling it.
Population 300; drv goods stores 4; saloons 3; hotels 1 ; churches 2,
one of which is a colored church, the other Cumberland Presbyterian.
It has also a large tannery, and a school averaging eighty scholars.

Clifton is a flourishing littU^ town of five or six hundred inhabitants,

situated on the Tennessee lliver. It has five dry goods stores, two

drug stores, two saloons, one saddler's simp, one hotel, one foundry, one

church, Presbyterian, a Masonic school that contains about sixty stu-

978 Resources of Temiessee.

dents, male and female. Tiiore are annually shipped from Clifton i
1,200 bales of cotton, 6,000 tons of iron, 3,000 bushels of wheat,
100,000 pounds of leather, 50,000 staves, 7,000 bushels of'peanuts, 500
bushels of dried fruit, besides considerable quantities of feathers and
lumber. The latter article, delivered on the river bank, is worth from
$14 to $15 per thousand ieet. Ashland, on BulFahi, has three stores,
one grocery, blacksmith shop, and two churches, Southern Methodist
and Cumberland Presbyterian. Flatwood, on Buffalo, has two stores,
one church, Protestant Methodist. Wayne Furnace has a store, black-
smith shop and two churches. Martin's Mill has a store, saw-mill,
grist-mill, woolen mill, tanyard, and one church, Cumberland Presby-
terian. Parker's store, on Indian Creek, has two stores, cotton gin,
blacksmith shop and tanyard.

The Agricultural and Mechanical Association has erected handsome
buildings upon a lot near Waynesboro. The first fair was held 1872,
and another in the fall of 1873. Both were eminently successful.
The Association is out of debt, and the people of the county flock in
droves to the annual exhibition.

School Statistics. There were enrolled in 1873, between the ages of
six and eighteen years, whites, 1,270; colored, 69; total, 1,339. Be-
tween the ages of eighteen and twenty-one years, white, 64; colored,
5; total scholastic population, 1,408.

There are employed in the public schools tliirty-nine teachers; aver-
age salary paid teachers $31.37. Owing to the failure of the magis-
trates to levy an additional tax for school purposes, the free schools
were only kept up for a period of two months and a half.

Statistics. The population of the county in 1 870 was as follows: whites,
9,316; colored, 893; total, 10,209. Number acres of land assessed for
taxation in 1873, 422,267; value, $1,243,009; number of town lots,
178; value, $70,901; value of mills, manufactures, etc., $70,238;
value of personal property, $278,433; total valuation, $1,664,494.
Number polls, 1,452. Amount State tax, $6,650.32; amount county
tax, $3,325.16; total tax, $9,975.48.

Health. There is no healthier county in the State, as the experience
of physicians show. Being well drained, and but a small portion lying
in the Tennessee Valley, there is little or no malaria in Wayne county.
Its elevation above the sea gives it a mild and pleasant climate and
makes it peculiarly j)leasant in the summer.

Middle Tennessee. 979

Immigrants. While the citizens greatly desire to see their county
populated with an industrious class of immigrants, they have been
unable as yet to attract hut few from other States. The want
of transportation, schools and public spirit has deterred many from
making Wayne county a permanent home. There are no railroads
in the county, and while the citizens would hail with delight any
external movement to open up their resources to the world by rail,
they are yet averse, many of them, to a levy by the county for
that purjiose. The word tax has a sound to their ears as ominous as
the roar that precedes the whirlwind. Taxes, to their minds, are de-
structive of the best interests of society. It is the taking of something
for which nothing is given. In consequence of this erroneous idea,
schools have been neglected, public buildings have been sutFered to
fall into dilapidation, roads are mean, and at times well nigh impass-
able, bridges are scarce and out of repair, and, indeed, all the great
public interests which society for its own convenience and safety has
been accustomed to look after have been neglected. W^hile the countv
greatly needs immigrants, its citizens still hesitate to take the verv
steps necessary to secure that immigration, Avhich to them, in their
sparsely settled county, means wealth, intelligence, comfort and inde-
pendence.

The Waynesboro Citizen, the only newspaper in the county, will
doubtless awaken a more zealous interest in public affoirs.

WHITE COUNTY.

County Seat — Sparta.

On/anizdtion and Early History. White county was orginally a part
of Smith. Smith county was laid off October 2(3, 1799, embracing all
the territory east of Sumner to the Cherokee boundary, which was the
east side of Cumberland Mountain, and from the Kentucky line south
to Caney Fork River. White county was organized by an act of the
Tennessee Legislature, passed at Knoxville in 1806, just ten years after
Tennessee was admitted into the Union. It embraced at that time all
the territory east of Smith to Walden's Ridge, and south to Elk River.
The first Court was held at Rock Island on the 15th of October, 1806.
Although originally so large, White county has been roughly handled

980 Reso2irces of Tennessee.

and whittled down, giving off territory for new counties, until now it
is below the average in area and population in the State. The boun-
d tries at present are Cumberland county on the east, Putnam on the
noi-th. DeKall) on the west, and Caney Fork River separating from
Warren and Van Buren, on the south. The county, as at present
constituted, contains twelve civil districts.

Toions. Sparta, the county seat, is beautifully situated on the left
bank of the Calf Killer, in the midst of the romantic valley of that
river. It has a population of about 500, nearly all white; one weekly
newspajK^r, two good hotels, one good school, five cabinet shops, ten
resident lawyers, two churches, two shoe and boot shops, two saddle
shops, and one large tannery. Yankeetown, five miles up the river
from Sparta, has a fine water-poM^r. Bunker Hill is the center of the
earthernware interest. There are several stores and shops at Stone
F(M-t, twelve miles from Sparta, on the McMinnville road.

Topography. In its topograjihical features the county is naturally
divided into three parts. The Table Land or mountain, the valleys
and coves, and the barrens. These three divisions give great diversity
of elevation, soil and productions. We will consider them in turn.
The eastern side of the county, comprising about one-fifth of its area,
lies on the Cumberland Table Land, and has all characteristics of this
natural division of the State, viz: an elevation of about 2,000 feet
al)ove the sea ; a level or gently rolling surface, cut in places by deep
;;orges or gnlfs; pure mountain air, delicious water and beautiful
and sublime scenery. The mountain slopes on the face of the Table
Land and its spurs and outlying ridges occupy a considerable part of
the area of the county. The surface on these slopes is for the most
j)art i)roken and rugged, with many bold cliffs and deep ravines. The
escarpment of the Table Land is marked by a line of hard sandstone
and Conglomerate cliffs, in many places towering high above the tall
trees on the slopes below. From the salient angles of these cliffs may
be seen extensive and beautiful views of the lower outlying ridges with
their intervening valleys and the broad flat and wooded country be-
yond, extending as far as the eye can reach. At about half the height
of the Table Ij and is the terrace or " bench." This terrace has the
saniL' elevation as t!ie tables or tops of most of the little mountains or
outliers. It alfords sites for sonu^ beautiful farms and orchards, where
ill varieties of iVuit common to the country are produced. The valley
of Lost Creek, (ait off and completely encotnpassed by Pine Monntain,
an arm of the Cumberland, is on a level with the terrace. This ter-

Middle Tennessee. 98 i

race was doubtless originally much more extensive than at present,
and there are evidences that it covered more than half the aren of tiie
county, including the whole valley of the Calf Killer River and all the
smaller valleys and coves in the county, and also the range of smaller
mountains to the west. By far the greater part has been removed by
the agency of water, but the spurs and outliers are left to tell the tale
of its former extent. The escarpment of the terrace, as it now is, is
very much scalloped by coves, and processes of large size extend out-
ward, forming spurs, some of which spread out into jilateaux, sepanited
by coves and valleys. Some of these spurs are cut off by gaps, forming
separate mountains; but all, with two exceptions, have a common ele-
vation. The two exceptions are Pine Mountain, between Lost Creek
and Hickory Valley, and Milksick Mountain, west of Hickory Valley,
both of wdiich are equal in height to the Cumberland Table Land; A
belt of these little mountains, averaging three miles wide, extends all
along the western base of the Table Land. Intersjjersed among them
are many coves and small valleys. Separated from these by the broad
valley of Calf Killer, there is a distinct range broken into three parts
by large gaps. This range begins with a spur of Cumberland Moun-
tain in Putnam County, which extends first westward and then south-
west around the head of Calf Killer River. The extremity of this
spur is in White county. In a line with it the- range of small moun-
tains extends south-west entirely across White county, terminating near
Rock Island in the Caney Fork. This range is cut off from the spur
by the valley of Cherry Creek. It is divided by three gaps into four
separate mountains, each of which has a distinctive name. The-^e gaps
are on a level with the valleys and all of them are large enough to
contain farms. They give easy means of outlet to the open country
north and west. The valley of the Calf Killer lies between the belt
of little mountains along the base of the Cumberland, and the range last
described. Its head is in the south-east corner of Putnam county.
Narrow at first, it grows wider as it extends toward the south-west
occupying a belt across the center of the county, and reaching
from one extremity to the opposite. It is twenty-five miles long,
and has an average breadth of about four miles. The surface is
generally rolling, and there are no bottoms along the river. An
interesting topographical feature is presented by the sink-holes,
which are very numerous in this valley. These hojiper shaped cav-
ities vary in size from ten to one hundred yards in diameter. Their
presence indicates the existence of underground caverns, through

982 Resources of Tennessee.

mm V of which flow s'lbterraneun streams. In all this reffiou there
Is no rnnninp; water on the surface, except the rivers and large creeks;
all of the sprin<:!;s bein*]^ swallowed up by the caves. In many of sink-
holes the opening at the bottom has become closed by stiflp clay or some
other obstruction, and in such cases a little lake or pond is formed.
There are many of these in all parts of this valley, and they are a
convenience to the farmers, enabling them with ease to have water in
every pasture. Hickory Valley lies between Pine and Milksick Moun-
tains in the southern partof the county. It is five miles long with an av-
erage breadth of one mile. Its characteristics aresimilarto those of the
Calf Killer Valley, with which it is connected by two gaps at the up-
per or northern end. Cherry Creek Valley opens into that of Calf
Killer a!)ove Yanlvejtowu. It is seven miles long and three-quirters to
one mile wide. The elevated valley of Lost Creek has already been
mentioned. In it are a number of beautiful farms, where the people
dwell retired and caring little for the changes that agitate the world
abroad. The waters of the creek linger lovingly in this Arcadian re-
treat, protracting their stay by many graceful meanders, and then steal
away through an underground channel beneath the mountain into the
Caney Fork. There are many beautiful little coves snugly ensconced
among the smaller mountains, generally having one or more outlets
into the valleys. Beyond the range of mountains which bounds the
Cdf Killer Valley on the west, are the barrens. Most of the surface
is level or gently undulating, and all the streams of water are here oq
the surface.

RocL-i, Soils and Timber. The rocks on the Table Land are sand-
stone, and consequently this division has a light, sandy soil, well
adapted to the production of wild grasses, fruits and garden vegetables,
but too thin for grain; tracts of boggy land along the streams, Avhich,
when drained, make beautiful meadows; small trees of the hardier
kinds, of which post-oak and black-jack are most abundant. This
part of the county is sparsely ]K)pulatcd, and is now regarded as of lit-
tle value, except as a summer range for cattle. ISIost of the farmers in
the valleys own tracts of the mountain lands, in some cases amounting
to thousands of acre«, where they have ranches or "cow-pens." The
woods are burnt off in February or March, leaving the surface smooth
and clean for tlic growth of the grass, which then springs up beauti-
fully, and after a few warm days, the whole mountain presents the ap-
pearance of an unbounded meadow. Wild flowers grow in great pro-
fusion and bedeck with gav colors the emerald sea. Thither the cat-

Middle Tennessee. 9^3

tie are driven from the farms in the valleys, and attended by herds-
men, who allow them to ran-e at will and jrraze on the rich herbage
during the day, but pen them at night. The Mountain Limestone crops
out on the slopes above the terrace, and yields, by disintegration, the
elements of fertility to the soils in its vicinity. These terrace or
" bench" lands are especially valuable for fruit farms. Some of the
orchards never fail to produce good crops. They are peculiarly ex-
empt from injury by frost. The tables of the outliers have a cap
rock of sandstone, and a soil in all respects similar to that of the Cum-
berland Table Land> Limestone appears again on the lower slopes,
and prevails to the base of the mountain. Too rugged for cultivation,
these slopes are nevertheless valuable for the great forests of timber
thev bear. Sugar-maple, beech, ash, walnut, buckeye, linden, wild
cherrv, and immense yellow poplars are abundant in the forests. In
the valleys the soil is generally good, being a dark brown loam,
on a subsoil of strong clay, which lies on a bed of Lithostrotion
limestone. The subsoil is of a peculiar red color, made so by
oxide of iron liberated in the decomposition of masses of ferru-
ginous chert. In some places these cherty masses are scattered
lo )5ely over the surface, in nal.iles or irregular concretions from the
eize of a pebble to sover.il hundred pounds in weight. These rocks
are troublesome in tillage and wearing on implements, but by gradual
disintegration thev continually add fertilizing elements to the soil.
Alost of them are highly fossiliferous, and among them it is common
to meet with a large coral of a prismoidal form, known to geologists
as the Lifhosfrotion Canadense. The richest lands in the county are
in the smaller valleys or coves, some of which appear to have been, at
a remote period, the beds of small lakes, from which the water
has escaped, leavin- a deep, rich alluvium, well mixed with sand from
the surrounding heights. With good tillage the soil is inexhaustible, and
it is very easy of cultivation. AVhen the country was settled, the coves
were covered with a very heavy growth of beech, sugar-maple, buck-
eye and yellow poplar, while an undergrowth of cane-brakes rendered
the surveying of the lands a work of great difficulty. In the barrens
much of the soil is thin and deficient in lime. Sandstone prevails,
valuable for building, but imparting no fertilizing quality to the soil.
Much of the surface is level or gently undulating, and thinly wooded.
Post-oak, suitable for cross-ties, is abundant. At several places, how-
ever red clay and limestone appear, and furnish sites for a number of
good grain and fruit firms, and the less fertile portions furnish a fine
range for sheep and cattle.

984 Resources of Tennessee.

Farms. Nearly half the land in the county is at present yielding
nothing, but there is little naturally so poor or so rugged that it can-
not be made profitable, so that there is scarcely any really waste land.
There is no farm of less than fifty acres, and none, properly so-called,
larger than one thousand acres. Two hundred acres is about an av-
erage. The owners do most of the work on the small farms, while
hired labor is employed more or less on the larger. The supply of
labor is scarcely equal to the demand. Most of the negroes have gone
elsewhere, and there has been but little immigration of farm laborers.
Wages are too low to attract good labor from abroad. Fifty cents per
day is considered good wages, but skilled workmen and extra good
hands can do better than this. It is rare, however, that more than
one dollar per day is paid for farm work. Reenters pay one-third of
the crop for ordinary, and one-half for the best lands. Money rents
are almost unknown. There is a wide range in the price of lands.
Fifty cents to one dollar per acre would buy most of the mountain
lands; but of the farming lands in the valleys, there are none rated
lower than five dollars, and some as high as forty dollars per acre.
The lands in the vicinity of Sparta are considerably higher priced than
in any other part of the county. Farms are not generally in as good
condition as before the war. There are mary honorable exceptions,
however, and a commendable spirit of improvement is now manifest-
ing itself in many ways, chief among which we may mention the adop-
tion and use of improved machinery and implements to a greater ex-
tent than heretofore. Good turning plows are now found on almost
every farm. Most of these are two-horse, but there are some of larger
size. Subsoiling is sometimes done with a scooter or narrow shovel,
and there are a few subsoil plows in use. We know of no hill-side
plows. Double-shovels have generally been adopted as a labor-saving
appliance. For farm work horses are generally preferred to mules on
iiccount of their docility. Oxen are used for carting and heavy plow-
ing.

Crops. The principal crops, in the order of their value, are corn,
wheat, cotton, oats, sweet potatoes, Irish potatoes, rye, turnips and to-
bacco. The amount of land devoted to grass will average about one-
tenth of all cultivated. It is generally meadow. Clover fields are
o^tcn used for pasture, and grass is sometimes sown for this purpose.
In such cases it is considered best to mix it with clover. Herds-grass
and timothy are the kinds generally used. Hinigarian grass and mil-
let are not uncommon. Clover fields and meadows are usually al-

Middle lennessee. 9^5

lowed to stand several years, and are then turned over, but there is no
regular system of manuring with green crops. The wheat crop has
increased steadily since the war, while there has been a falling off in
ct)rn. The Walker wheat and the Mediterranean are the leading
kinds. Of the white varieties, the Tappahanuock has not given gen-
eral satisfaction ; but there is another kind, the name of which is not
known, that is cultivated extensively. It is called simply " the white
wheat." Cotton is becoming a very important crop. A few years ago
it was confined to "truck patches," and was manufactured only in fam-
ilies; but now there are fields of considerable size on many of the
farms. For the last season the total value of the cotton crop was
"greater than that of any other except corn.

Live Stock. For the rearing of live stock the county possesses un-
usual advantages, and there is no other agricultural pursuit that will
bring such sure and liberal returns. The "range" of the mountains
and barrens furnishes ample pasturage for more than half the year, and
many of the rich limstone hill-sides produce blue-grass and orchard-
grass amost equul to the best lands in the Central Basin. Corn fodder
is still chiefly relied on for winter forage, but it might be replaced by
increasing the hay crop. A great saving of labor and food might also
be effected by providing good barns and sheds for cattle and sheep.
With few exceptions, the best shelter that the poor animals have from
the chilling winds and pelting storms, is the leeward side of a straw
stack. Hogs find more comfortable quarters in hollow trees, and
sometimes in rock-houses. Good stables are generally provided for
horses. Most of the stock of all kinds is scrub. There are four
blooded stallions which have done much to improve the stock. There
are also four jacks bred from imported animals, and the mules raised
are generally good. The only blooded cattle in the county are Short-
horns. Six bulls have been brought in since the war, and there are
now a considerable number of grades. AVe think, however, that the
Devons would be found more profitable than any other kind, except
on some of the farms where pastures are unusually luxuriant. Berk-
shire hogs are scattered over the county in considerable numbers, and
there are also a few Chester Whites, Essex and Poland China. The
BerK-.shires are by odds the best. Except on the mountain, there are
now but few hdgs that have not a cross of the Berkshire. Sheep-
breeding IS a perilous business, and very few are willing to invest in
it. Not less than one-third of the whole number are destroyed annu-
ally by dogs. The majority of the farmers would be in favor of any

986 Resources of Tennessee,

lawful means or measure that would secure to them protection, but the
irresponsible dog-owners and sympathizers are sufficiently numerous
and influential to prevent the passage of any law on the subject by the
County Court. The Legislature ought to afford protection to this spe-
cies of property. Nevertheless, there are several small flocks of Cots-
wolds and grades.

Smaller Industries. Orchards are numerous, and dried fruit is an
important article of trade. Butter is made in ahnost every family suf-
ficient for home use and some for market. Butter and eggs very fre-
quently buy the family supplies of sugar and coifee. Mr. Mow-
bry, who came into the county froui Ohio several years ago, has es-
tablished a cheese dairy on the Table Land. The peculiar aromatic
flavor of milk, butter and cheese from cattle pastured on the mountain
range, has been noticed and spoken of in terms of praise by many
summer visitors. Honey is of superior quality, especially on the Table
liands, but is not as abundant as it should be. Articles of home man-
ufacture include jeans, linsey, blankets, carpets, matting, cotton and
woolen socks, cotton cloth, flax linen, baskets, shuck collars and ropes.

Transportation, 3IarJcets, etc. Caney Fork River is navigable for
small steamers through the winter and spring months to Frank's
Ferry, eleven miles south-west of Sparta. McMinnville, now the
nearest railroad station, is twenty-six miles distant. The Southwest-
ern Railroad, designed to be an extension of the McMiunville and
Manchester in the direction of Cincinnati, is partly graded to within
nine miles of Sparta. More than four hundred thousand dollars have
been expended upon it between McMinnville and that point. The
piers of the bridge across the Caney Fork at Rock Island are nearly
complete, and the sn]>erstructure is to be of iron. The roadbed be-
tween McMinnville and this point is nearly ready for laying the tracl;.
Two of the surveys for the Tennessee and Pacific Railway, connecting
Nashville and Knoxvillo, pass through White county, one by Sparta
and the other through Fngkmd's Cove, above Yankeetown. The lat-
ter route is reported to be the best. The road, when completed, will
be a link in the great Southern Trans-continental Chain. During
most of the year, carrying is done by wagons to Nashville. The dis-
tance is ninety miles. This, of course, is a very slow and unsati.-^fac-
tory means of transportation; and the completion of the railroad is
anxiously desired by the citizens.

Streams and Water-power. Caney Fork, bounding the county on

Middle Tennessee. 987

the south, is the largest river in this part of the State. It takes its
rise on the Table Luul, about eighteen miles east of Sparta. Running
southward, and then west, it descends through a deep, narrow gorge^
hemmed in by beetling cliffs, and characterized by wild scenery.
Emerging into the valley, it passes westward, by many devious wind-
ings among the romantic hills to the Big Falls below Rock Island,
where it plunges down into a long, winding and narrow valley leading
out into the great Central Basin of Middle Tennessee. It is safe to
assert that no stream in the State offers more abundant water-power,
easily applied, than Caney Fork. Throughout the entire length of
its course, from the mountains to the base of the falls, is a continuous
succession of rapids, affording many sites for the largest machinery.
The Southwestern Railroad crosses on a bridge half a mile above the
falls, near Rock Island, and from this point the impetuous river
' plunges down one fall after another, descending ninety-four feet within
two miles. The top of the fills at low water is 391j^ feet above low
water of the Cumberland at Nashville. The Calf Killer River is next
in importance. It rises in the eastern part of Putnam county, twenty
miles north-east of Sparta, and flows south-westwardly through the
middle of the central valley of White county into the Caney Fork, at
a point eight miles south-west of Sparta, and four miles above Rock
Island. Its length, in a direct line, is about twenty-eight miles, but
more than twice that distance by the course of the stream. Its cur-
rent is rapid throughout, and it is so hemmed in by high rock-bound
banks, that a dam of any required height will not cause an overflow
on any part of its course. Fallingwater, a tributary of the Caney
Fork, near the northern boundary of the county, is a fine stream, hav-
ing an ample and constant supply of water for machinery, scarcely any
of which has yet been utilized. The smaller streams are Cherrv
Creek, Plum Creek, Wildcat Creek, Town Creek, Post Oak Creek, and
Fanchcr's Creek, all of which are available to a greater or less extent
for manufacturing.

Manufadoi'ies. On the Calf Killer River, one mile below Sparta,
LS a large cotton factory, which was in successful operation before the
■war. The fall at this place is about fifteen feet, and a dam could be
raised above to any necessary heiuht. This, with the ample water of
the river, would give almost unlimited power. The building is of
brick, with a solid stone basement, sixty by one hundred feet, and four
stories high. Attached to it are one hundred and twenty acres of
land, with a good brick dwelling, and all necessary tenement houses.

9S8 Resources of Tennessee.

The machinery of the factory was shipped south during the war, and
it has not been restocked since. The county is well supplied with
lumber and flouring mills, all except two of which are run by water-
power. Some enterprising gentlemen from the north have recently
erected a steam saw and flouring-mill at Sparta. In the north-western
angle of the county there is a fine quality of potters clay, from which
large quantities of earthenware have been manufactured. There are
now a number of kilns in successful operation, and employment is fur-
nished to large number of men. So great has been the number of
wagons engaged in the " crock trade," that some persons in other coun-
ties have jocularly remarked that there can be nothing left of White
county but a hole in the ground.

M'lneraU. The Table Land, or mountain part of the county, be-
longs to the great Cumberland coal field, and three distinct strata, and,
at some places four, are recognized in this part, two of which are im-
portant. At Scarborough's mill, on Caney Fork near the head of the
Gulf, the upper stratum has been worked to a limited extent at a point
where it averages five feet thick. Tt is equal in quality to the well
known Sewanee, and is supposed to belong to the same stratum. Coal
occurs at many points beneath the brow of the Table Land, facing the
valleys of the Caney Fork and Calf Killer. There are generally
three or four seams which frequently are too thin to work, but in a
few places swell out to three, four or five, and rarely to seven or eight
feet thick. Little's Bank, six miles north-east of Sparta, has been open
for many years, the coal being used at Sparta. The thickness is about
three feet at the outcrop, but further in it grows to four feet at
the point where it is now worked, and probably will prov^e to be very
valuable. Officer's Bank is a little farther north, and has afforded con-
siderable coal. Several fiue outcrops are reported in the head of
England's Cove, still further north. Captain M. C. Dibbrell has rer
cently opened a bank seven miles east of Si)arta, on Clifty Creek, and
there is another owned by Captain Dibbrell, but worked by Mr. Mil-
ton Fisk, seven miles north-east of Sparta. Each of these is about four
feet thick. Within half a mile of Bon Air, General G. G. Dibbrell is
working a vein which averages two feet, in the hope that a richer de-
posit will be found. On Pine Mountain, eight miles south of Sparta,
there is coal, averaging four thick feet near the surface, and consequently
v<'rv easily mined. In Sparta coal is used almost exclusively for fuel.
Twelve and a half cents per bushel is the price when delivered. The
stimulus of a railroad is needed to develop the rich deposits of coal

Middle Tennessee. 989

and other minerals in this rejiion. Tliere is an old salt-well on the
Calf Killer, three and a half miles north-east of Sparta, and it is said
that about fifty yeai's ago, salt was manufactured at the rate of fifty
bushels per day. Sulphur water, with small quantities of petroleum,
now flows from the well. Persons amuse themselves sometimes by
setting fire to the petroleum as it spreads out on the surface of the
river. Frequently the flames run entirely across the stream. The
upper jvart of the Mountain Limestone, near Bon Air, aflords a clouded
white marble, from which a few tombstones have been made. Hy-
draulic limestones, gypsum, co[)peras, galenite and other minerals of
value are found. Many years ago iron was successfidly manufactured
at a bloomery on the site now occupied by the Sjiarta factory, and at
another on Fallingwater. The ore in the valley is limonite, and oc-
curs in considerable quantity. The most extensive bed is eight miles
south-west of Sparta, on the McMinnville road. Besides that used at
the bkomery near Sparta, it also supplied one on Rock River, in Van
Buren county. Its precipe limits are not known, but there is no d()ui)t
that it covers an area of several squ ire miles. Above Sparta, on the
west side of the Calf Killer, there is another bed of considerable size
which has never been worked. There are many beds of shales in the
Coal Measures of the Tal>]e Land which contain clay iron-stones. This
variety of ore is quite diiferent in appearance and composition from
any worked at present within Tennessee, but it is extensively used in
England. A number of mineral S])rings, possessing valuable medi-
cinal properties, are found in this county, among which may be men-
tioned Bon Air, on the brow of the Table Land, immediately above
Sparta. The view from this ]M)int is one of the finest, and possesses
great variety. The water is chalybeate and freestone. The buildings
were burned during the war, and have not been rebuilt. Clarktown is
a summer village, ten miles out on the Table Land, where area number
of elegant, airy cottages to which the owners, who reside in various
parts of the country, some of them in New Orleans, reti'cat from the
hot sun and cares of business to the invigorating breezes and delight-
ful groves of the mountains. There is, at this place, a noble ch;dy-
beate spring, and a good quality of black sulphur.

]\[isc('U(tneoys. There were assessed in White county 217,101 acres of
land for 1873, valued at $1,140,836 ; noi^ulation 9,375, of which l,080are
colored. The scholastic population is 3,264, of which there are enrolled
in the public schools 2,401. There were, in 1873, forty-seven ])ublic

990 Resources of Tennessee.

schools and forty-eight public school teachers ; besides, a seminary at
Sparta, whicn is generally well attended. There are five permanent
private schools in ditferent parts of the county. C/hurches of the
various denominations of Christians are numerous, and the moral tone
of the citizens is good. Intelligent and enterprising immigrants are
hindly received, and there are now in the county a large number of
new-comers from the north, and from Europe. Repeated disap-
pointments in securing the completion of tlie railroad have tended to
discourage the farnjers and produce some dissatisfaction with their sit-
uation, and some have been influenced l)y this and other causes to
move away. But nothing like general discontent prevails. Many of
the larger farmers are preparing to sell a part or all of their farms, not
generally with a view to leaving the county, but for the ])urpose of re-
ducing the size of the farms that they have, or purchasing smaller
farms. We believe that the greatest hindrance to agricultural pros-
perity is the attempt to cultivate too much land. There was, before
the war, a flourishing agricultural and mechanical association, but it
has not been revived, and the old fair grounds remain unimproved.
The Sparta Index, published weekly, is a sj)riglitly country paper,
edited with ability, and does much to attract attention to the various
resources of the county.

WILLIAMSON COUNTY.

County Seat — Feanklin.

We are indebted to Dr. W. M. Clarke for the following interesting
account of this county :

Williamson is situated in the great Basin of Middle Tennessee,
and though a small i)ortion of its western border is on the Rim, yet it
is one of the richest counties of the Basin. In point of fertility of
soil, wealth of its citizens, and intellectual advantages, it stands third
in Middle Tennessee and fourth in the State. Go where you will, in
any country, and you will find that rich land makes rich people, and
hence follow schools, churches, hos])itality and intelligence.

Bouii(l((rij. It is bounded by Davidson on the north, Rutherford on
the east, Marshall and Maury on the south, and Hickman on the west-

Middle Tennessee. 99 j

History. It originally constituted u portion of Davidson county,
and was cut oti' by an act of the General Assembly on the 26th of
October, 1799. Henry Rutherford, who gave his name to the large
creek in the southern part of the county, and John Davis, were the
commissioners appointed to divide the two counties. It received its
name from General Williamson, of North Carolina, some of whose
descendants were prominent men of that day, among others. Dr. Hugh
Williamson, the intimate friend and companion of Franklin. It is
snjjposed by some that the county receive! its name from Dr. William-
son and the county seat from the name of his eminent friend. The
county originally contained twenty-four districts, but the enterprise of
Rutherford in building turnpikes robbed us of the twenty-third and
the twenty-fourth, and with them deprived us of a rich section and the
finest cedar forest of the State.

Towns and Villages. The only town in the county is Franklin, the
county seat, though the whole county is dotted with thriving villages,
besides numerous " country stores," thus bringing every facility desired
within reach of every one to furnish himself with supplies. These
country merchants do also a thriving business in barter, thus convert-
ing the produce of the careful housewife into material wealth.

Franklin. Franklin is one of the loveliest towns in Middle Ten-
nessee. It is eighteen miles from Nashville, on Big Harpeth River,
and is in the center of a vallev that would rival the Vesra of old Gre-
nada, if it had the same historic associations, nor is it devoid of a
bloody day, for here the Confederates made their last gallant charge
upon the Federal army, and here was poured out the best blood of the
South, many of them inspired by the sight of their homes in possession
of their enemies ; and here died Cleborne, the Bayard of the South.
In point of schools, both male and female, it stands unrivaled, though
it boasts no college halls, except a female college, hereafter noticed.
As an evidence of the character of its teachers, though ample facilities
for attending free schools are afforded to every one, and many private
schools throughout the State have succumbed to their cheapness, yet
these schools stand unshaken, and arq likely to remain as prosperous
as ever. The churches of this town embrace all the denominations of
our free-thinking people, and are all well supported and have the ablest
l)astors of the different denominations officiating in them. All these
educational and religious advantages, together with the fact of having
the Louisville, Nashville and Great Southern Railroad passing through

99- Resources of Tennessee.

it, makes it a very desirable place for the residence of men of means
or of business men in Xashville, who can, by almost hourly trains,
reach their place of business in a few minutes, thus combining the ad-*
vantages of a city with the health, quietude and good water, of the
country, and evading the dust, mud and excessive taxation of city life.
The lleview and Journal is published in Franklin, is Democratic in
principle, and fearless in the advocacy of all progressive movements.

Villages. There are many villages in tlie county which have grown
up around stores that have been established for purposes of barter.
Some of them are quite thriving, and all offer peculiar inducements to
country families to educate their children and attend religious worship.
They have in all good society and educated people, and offer great
social advantages to those preferring this to country life. Hillsboro,
Peytonsville, Bethesda, College Grove, Triune, Nolensville, Brentwood,
Mitone, Thompson's Station, Williamsburg, Jordon's Store and Arring-
ton dot the county all over with their pleasant cottages and thrifty ap-
])earance. Brentwood boasts a woolen mill, which bids fair to supply
the needs of this county with all Avoolen fabrics. It belongs to Messrs.
Holt, Gibbons & Humphrey, men alive to their own and the country's
interests, and by the next season they will have up all their machinery,
already purchased, to manufacture jeans, blankets, flannels, etc., in as
good style, and as cheaply as can be procured elsewhere. A great
obstacle to the establishment of factories in Tennessee, is the notion
that our people will patronize Northern factories when we have them
here. But this idea will vanish when our artizans work as cheaply as
at the North, and produce as good fabrics. Why we cannot do this, is
yet to be I'.scertained. We have an ample supply of chea]) j)rovisions,
fuel is cheap and abundant, and we can easily procure skilled labor by
offering the same inducements held out by other and similar establish-
ments. It wants a little of Northern energy and enterprise infused
into our veins. The cai)ital M-ould be quickly forthcoming to erect a
factory upon every stream in the county were right men to take the
matter in hand. The raw material is here, and the idea so long en-
(hired to trans])ort it thousands of miles and pay other men to do what
we can easily do ourselves, thus enriching them and enriching cor])oi-a-
tions to trans])ort it for us, is something not easily ex])lained in political
economy.

Flour 3fills. Arrington and Franklin have the best of merchant
ilouring mills, and a fine mill has been Iniilt near J>ri'nt\vo()d by the

Middle Tennessee. 993

enterprise of Mr. William Davis. Besides these, there are many fine
mills upon the streams to be mentioned hereafter.

Topography. The face of the county is undulating all over the
Basin, though in some places it swells up into hills and knobs almost
equal to mountains. The water-shed is from the south-east to the
north-west. There is a famous range commencing in Rutherford
county, from Stewart's Creek, running south-westerly, and gradually
sinking into the general level near the Wilson Pike, about six miles
from Franklin. The northern face of this range empties its waters
into Mill Creek, and the valleys of this creek and its tributaries com-
pose two civil districts, and are exceedingly fertile. No amount of
cultivation seems to exhaust them, though they have been cultivated
continuously for a long period. The uplands are also good, some
first-rate, except the cedar glades. A fine belt of cedar traverses this
section, coming in from Bedford and Rutherford, and is amply suffici-
ent to supply all demands for rails within hauling distance. All these
streams, however, become still and silent during the heats of summer,
though aifording abundance of stock water. Of course no mills can
be remunerative on them. The " knobs " are really mountains, in
height, but bottoms in fertility. They are heavily clothed with poplar,
ash, oak, walnut and wild cherry, and the soil is deep black loam, and
although so steep that it is difficult to walk up, yet they are very
thickly settled, and the produce is really astonishing. Grains and
grass, and especially fruit, find here congenial nourishment. The
people raised here are attached to hills, and rarely leave them for the
low lands. Fruit rarely fails from frost, and lately, within three years,
a vineyard has been established upon one of the northern spurs, and
though last year was its first bearing, it proved highly profitable.
Many other men are following the example set by Mr. Didiot, an edu-
cated Frenchman, who has demonstrated the fact that more money can
be made from one acre of good grapes than from twenty acres in corn.
The southern aspect of these highlands is truly beautifid. Spurs run
out from the main ridge and gradually end in Hay's Creek, and are
separated from each other about half a mile.

Between these spurs are valleys, or rather gorges, that rival the
famous valleys of Switzerland, both in beauty of landscape, fertility of
soil and equable climate. Exposed as they are to the genial rays of
the sun, sheltered from the cutting blasts of the north, it is a delight-
ful place to live. Snow never remains upon the ground but a day or
63

994 Resources of Teniiesee.

two, grass grows all the winter, and vegetation starts here long before
it does on the other side. Passing over the Ridge, it feels like going
from one country to another. Here is the finest inducement to sheep
husbandry to be conceived of. In fact, these hills should be devoted
exclusively to stock and fruit, being well watered, cheap, and pro-
ducing grass in the finest manner. What is truly surprising about
them, they do not wash into gullies but slightly, though perfect tor-
rents sometimes pour down their sides, converting the insignificant
branches into roaring rivers. This peculiarity arises from the fact that
the soil is mixed intimately with small gravel or chert, thus affording
the best of drainage. Another, and possibly still larger range, begins
in the twenty-second district, at what is called Cross Keys, and the
description of the Burke Knobs applies equally to the Keys. On the
south-western slope of this range rises Rutherford Creek, which repre-
sents as good land as is in the county, but it quickly leaves AVilliamson
and passes Into Maury. Between the two, commences the system of

Harpeth Rivers, which, w^ith its valleys and foot-hills, constitute Wil-
liamson county ; for althougli two districts are drained by Mill Creek,
and a part of one by Rutherford Creek, all the balance is drained by the
the different Harpeths. And here my pen fails Me. Much has been
written about the famous blue-grass lands of Keiitucky, and the lands
on the Mt. Pleasant Pike, near Columbia, are deservedly admired ; but
here is a whole county, as it were, equal to the best lands in any coun-
try. Gently rolling, heavily timbered even now, formerly covered
v:'.']i a dense growth of cane, black loam deep and strong, capable un-
der the worst abuse of supporting a nation. There is no break, no
wa^-te lands in its whole extent. These lands extend from the head
of Harpeth to where it leaves the county. Were this region cared for,
and improved with fine buildings, it would be a terrestrial paradise.
Here cotton, corn, hemp, millet, wheat, oats, rye clover — anything,
everything grown in a temperate climate, reaches perfection. In the
centre of this magnificent valley, like a queen on her throne, is situated
Franklin, and it also includes many of the above-named villages. The
main stream. Big Harpeth, rises on 'Squire Owens' farm, in what was
once the twenty-fourth district, and flows a south-westerly course,
and empties into the Cumberland River at the famous Harpeth Shoals,
forming a bar there which has ever been a check to the prosperity of
Nashville. There arc also South Harpeth, West Harpeth and Little
Harpeth. The lands bordering these streams are of the same general
character, witli tlie exception of those of South Harpeth, to which we

Middle Tennessee. 995

will shortly go. If there is any difference, it must be made in favor of
Little Harpeth, which runs from near the Hollow-tree Gap, north of
Franklin, in a westerly course, and empties into Big Harpeth, near
Tank. The lands on this stream are as rich as the richest, and gen-
erally are finely improved, and are graced with the best country resi-
dences in the county. Land is here in great demand, as high as |100
per acre being occasionally paid, and ^75 to $80 per acre being quite
common. Brentwood is on this stream, and from its location on the
Louisville, Nashville and Great Southern Railroad, it offers a fine lo-
cality for future manufacturing establishments. West Harpeth courses
along the base of the Highland or Eim on the western border of the
county, and has on its bottoms fine farming lands. It rises from the
north slope of the Cross Keys, and includes in its course those famous
lands around Thompson's Station and Spring Hill, though the latter
village is just across the line of Maury county. It empties into Big
Harpeth near the county line. This family of Harpeths contain with-
in their embrace more fine farming land than any other stream in
Tennessee. Not only the bottoms, but the hills are rich. All over it
crops out limestone, and that not enough to interfere with its full cul-
tivation, but sufficient for all building purposes, and it is freely used
in fencing. They are peculiarly adapted to the raising of stock and
all grains. Before the war tobacco formed one of the staple produc-
tions, and Williamson county took the premium on this enervating
weed. Byrd Hamlet, aged ninety-one years, and in excellent health,
lives near Nolensville, and he carried the first hogshead of tobacco to
Nashville that was ever raised in Middle Tennessee. He sold it to a
young man just commencing business, named John Yeatman, who gave
him a check on Stump & Cox. They offered to keep it for him at a
big rate of interest, which he wisely declined. Now, from the many
obstacles thrown in the way of this valuable article, it has ceased to be
a staple production and is only raised for home consumption. One of
the best of our tobacco raisers was the late Wm. De^Iontbreun,
whose father was the first settler of the city of Nashville, and a Cap-
tain in ^Montcalm's army, and had his arm broken in the great and de-
cisive battle of Quebec, when Wolfe and Montcalm both fell. He es-
tablished a trading post at the Licks, on the bluff of Cumberland, and
remained there during the winters of nineteen years, returning to
Kaskaskia, on the Ohio, during the summer, before the place was per-
manently settled. Wm. DeMontbreun, the subject of this sketch, was
born there, during one of his annual visits, in a cave at the mouth of Mill

996 Resources of Tennessee.

Creek, on the Cumberland, which still bears his name. Leaving his
parents at a very early age, anu diving into the wilderness, he settled
near College Grove, and in time became a great farmer, though he
lost his aristocratic name. Being deprived of educational advantages,
and losing sight of his father, he spelled his name by its sound, and
from being William of the Brown Mountain, the meaning of his name,
he became simply Uncle Billy Demumbrane. Another of his con-
temporaries was a Mr. Sledge, who penetrated, with his wife and a
pack-horse, the dense cane, and settled near Peytonsville, where he
lived in a cane shelter four years, and where four children were born
in this primitive residency. One of his sons now lives in the six-
teenth district, and though upwards of eighty years old, does not hes-
itate to walk to Nashville, a distance of sixteen miles, and back in a
day. This hardy race of pioneers, however, is fast disappearing from
the face of earth, and another race, better or worse, is taking their
place. The name of Harpeth originated from two celebrated high-
waymen, named from their size Big Harp and Little Harp. They had
their headquarters on Big Harpeth, and from thence ravaged the set-
tlements far and near, and the name was synonymous for all that was
terrible and murderous. They defied all forces brought against them
for many years, but at last were caught, and as is done on the frontiers
even now, had justice summarily dealt them by having their heads cut
oif. The only comment upon their end was by Big Harp, a huge
giant, who turned his eyes on his executioner and told him, as he was
sawing at his bull's throat, " he was a d — d rough butcher."

8o\itK Harpeth. We now come to South Harpeth, which cuts its
way through the Rim or Highland in the extreme western part of the
county, and is, though small, the most steadily running stream among
them. It is bordered by huge bluffs and high hills through its whole
course in the county, and has but a narrow valley, though this is ex-
tremely rich. Were it not for its continually changing bed, it would
afford fine water-power, being fed with bold springs along its whole
course; but from the quantity of coarse gravel in its bed, and the fierce
torrents that occasionally almost fill the valley, this gravel is drifted
first one side of the valley and then the other, so that it would be dif-
ficulty, if not impossible, to utilize its waters. It is on this stream
that are situated the celebrated medicinal springs, well known as Smith's
Springs. It is a very cool, pleasantly tasted water, and is moderately
impregnated with iron, and strongly with sulphur, and has a great
local reputation for curing diseases of the liver, kidneys and bowels.

Middle Tennessee. 997

This place only lacks a convenient method of traveling to make it
popular, and is destined, when it is properly improved, to become one
of our standard places of summer resort. On each side of South Har-
peth is the great Rim of Middle Tennes-see, extending west to the
Tennessee River about seventy-five miles, and eastwardly about six or
seven miles to the West Harpeth. This region, except upon its creeks,
is very sparsely settled, and abounds with primitive game, such as
deer, turkeys, and a few bears. Its value consists almost entirely in its
timber, which is something marvellous. So thick does it stand that
the woods are almost impenetrable. The timber is very valuable from
its tenacity and solidity. Almost all of it is white oak, though in
some parts a fine growth of poplar and chestnut stands. The trees
are very large, and the wonder is how such poor land could produce such
an immense growth. It is but little used as yet, on account of the
difficulty of transportation, except in the neighboring bottoms, where
the fencing is procured altogether from it. It is capable of furnishing
all the staves, boards, bucket oak, etc., for the Mississippi Valley. The
land, when denuded of its timber, is of little value, except for fruit-
growing, but for this, on account of its great elevation, it is unequalled.
This plateau stands about three hundred feet above the bed of the
neighboring streams. At present it affords grazing for large numbers
of cattle and sheep, and when a mast " hits," any number of hogs are
fattened on it. The people of this region are a hardy, adventurous
race as was well shown during the civil war, for they, though the
last to go into the struggle, were the last to come out of it, and gave
many a doughty blow for the South. A very thrifty colony of Penn-
svlvanians have settled in these barrens, and express themselves as
being highly pleased with it. No doubt, in time, this great treasure
house of timber will be opened out to the world, when other and more
accessible timbers are exhausted. Lands sell here for from twenty-
five cents to two dollars per acre. With the the exception of the
lower parts of West and Big Harpeth, none of the streams of this county
afford any permanent milling flicilities, all drying up during the sum-
mer months, but both the above streams would be effective near their
mouths, or in the north-western part of the county. As yet, in our
chrysalis state, no effort has been made to put them to use.

Now, I have already stated that the bulk of the lands partake of the
same general character, being a rich black loam, but in the neighbor-
hood of the cedars there is some exceptions. The lands here are
sandy, and when first cleared very fertile, but soon becoming worn and

99^ Resources of Tennessee.

thin. This is especially so with those known as white oak lands. And
here blue-grass does not grow well, though they are'fine for root crops
such as potatoes, ground peas, etc., and when manured, produce the
best of tobacco. This sort of land is found mostly on the head waters
of Mill Creek, and between Triune and Franklin. These lands rate
at from ten to twenty dollars per acre. The cedar lands sell for from
fifty to two hundred dollars per acre, according to its convenience to
rich lands.

^kate of Agriculture. The farms of the county are not in as
good condition as before the war, from the scarcity of labor and its
uncertain character, but even now, great improvements are to be seen,
many of the farmers repairing their dilapidated fences and out-build-
ings. Our county produces, on an average, about ten bushels of wheat
per acre, but this small yield is to be attributed to the usual slovenly
manner of its cultivation, but few farnlers doing more than plowing it
in between the stalks without any previous cultivation with bull-
tongues. When a good farmer pays proper attention he rarely fails
to be amply repaid, making from twenty-five to thirty bushels. One
farmer, in my knowledge, sowed a field in wheat, from which he gath-
ered four bushels. He sowed it in clover, and at the expiration of
two years resov/cd the same field, after breaking it up, and got thirty
bushels. Corn is grown easily, and with proper cultivation, will yield
fifty bushels, though for the same reasons above stated the average
yield cannot go beyond thirty bushels. Oats, a crop greatly neglected,
will easily make forty to sixty bushels. Cotton, the principal money
crop, will make from eight to twelve hundred of seed cotton. Tobacco
rarely falls under one thousand pounds per acre. Millet seed, a crop
peculiar to the Mill Creek Valley, will make with proper culture, on
good land, fifty bushels. This crop has long been grown in the east-
ern part of the county, and with many farmers has superseded all
other money crops. The growing importance of millet can be seen
when it is known that before the war the demand was so little that a
tliuusand bushels would glut the Nashville market, and it would fall
below a paying price. But the superior excellence of German millet
over all others, and the fact that it is a fine substitute for the more costly
timothy, has created a southern demand, that last year made the price
of it three and a half dollars per bushel, though the supply reached at
least ten or twelve thousand bushels. The present crop will probably
reach fifteen thousand bushels, and there is a decided demand, so that
producers need not fear receiving pay for their work. Hemp, once

Middle Tennessee. 999

the staple of the Thompson Station country, has ceased to be produced,
the heavy work attending its cultivation preventing laborers under-
taking it. But few peanuts are raised, though some jjatches in this
neighborhood reach from seventy-five to one hundred bushels per acre.
There are comparatively few large farms left, and there is a decided
tendency to cut up these. Some men who do own large tracts, build
shanties and lease to hands, virtually making small farms. I suppose
the average size of farms would fall under eighty acres rather than
above, and from the great demand for small tracts, they will soon come
still lower. Many negroes of thrifty habits have laid by their earn-
ings, and take every opportunity to secure homes, so that it is less dif-
ficult to sell than formerly. The average price of lands throughout
the county in 1873 was, according to the tax books, $16.23, and this
includes the barrens, where the price is merely nominal. In the south-
ern part of the county, land readily brings fifty dollars ; in the south-
eastern, about fifteen to twenty; in the Mill Creek Valley, about fifteen
to forty ; and around Franklin, and to Brentwood, from forty to sev-
enty-five, and even one hundred dollars have been paid. This is,
however, on liberal time. The taxable property of the county is about
eight millions, and of this there are in land 356,100 acres. The fol-
lowing is the tabular statement of the productions of the county, ac-
cording to the census of 1870:

Indian corn 1,010,448 bushels.

Wheat 227,294 "

Eye 4,662 "

Oats 99,933 "

Barley 10,536 "

Peas and beans 652 "

Irish Potatoes 24,440 "

Sweet Potatoes 20,555 "

Clover Seed 23 "

Grass " 593 "

Tobacco S0,415 pounds.

Wool 29.994 "

Kice 1,191 "

Butter 187,008 "

Cheese 1,122 "

Honev 10,370 "

Flax 10 "

Cotton 3,815 bags.

Wine 782 gallons.

Sorghum molasses 13,246 "

Horses 7,193 number.

Mules and Assos ;J,121

looo Resources of Tennessee.

Miloh Cows 5,060 number.

Working Oxen 379 "

Other Cattle 6,609 "

Sheep 15,226 "

Swine 41,703

Fruit, value of $23,528

This is far from a full report of the crops raised, as can be easily
seen from what I have already stated about the cultivation of millet,
no mention of it being made. Another industry is omitted which is
now growing into huge proportions, namely, hay. Much attention is
being paid to this valuable friend of the farmer. Chiefly timothy, al-
though the other grasses are raised in considerable quantity. Blue-grass
grows spontaneously over nearly the whole country, and clover, that
great renovator of the soil, is grown by almost every farmer, and its
popularity is increasing daily. The soil is well adapted to clover, and
with the aid of gypsum, it yields from two to four tons per acre. A
few farmers are also sowing clover seed inconsiderable quantities. All
our agricultural papers and societies have been endeavoring to wean
our people from cotton and turn them to stock, but as yet with few ex-
ceptions, but little has been done, the farmers preferring the sure re-
turns of the cotton fields to the fluctuating and uncertain prices of
stock. No df'ubt the land would be greatly benefitted by the change,
but the war left our people in such an im])overished condition, that
few had the capital necessary to properly prepare and suitably stock a
farm. And then raucli of our lands are leased to tenants, who cannot
afford to seed down the land, and await the slow returns. For this and
other reasons that might be given, it suits our j^eople to produce money
crops. There are a few exceptions to this, and these public spirited
men deserve well of our community for their enterprise in bringing to
us the best blood of the country. It has certainly had a salutary effect
in improving the common stock. Poverty has hitherto also restricted
us from availing ourselves of the best farming implements, but in this
rcsjjcct there is improvement. As yet, the l)ull-tongue and turning
plow supply most of our wants. Mowers and reapers are, however,
greatly used, few considerable farmers being witliout them. Horses
and mules, mostly the former, do all our farm work, oxen being only
raised for the butcher's use. If all the labor of the county could be
made available, it would ]ierha])s be sufficient, but that being imj)os-
sible, there is a deficit, and though improving annually, it is yet far
from reliability. Farm hands arc generally obtained on the shares^
though some pay money, as they can better repair their fences, out-

Middle Tennessee. looi

buildings, &c,, by this means. The usual price is twelve dollars jier
month and board. Wiien shares are taken, and this is being generally
adopted, the laborer gets, without anything being furnished, one-third.
When stock is also furnished by the owner, they divide equally. Land
rents for, from three to six dollars, according to location and fertility.
House servants cost from four to six dollars per month, except in the
towns, where they command eight to ten dollars and board. Nashville
may be said to be altogether our market, and produce is carried there
by the different turnpikes centering at that place. But few facilities
are afforded by the only railroad passing through the county. Sheep
are not annoyed by dogs to the same extent as they were a few years
ago.

Domestic Manvfadiwes have almost totally disappeared, farmers
preferring to sell their cotton and wool and buy their clothes. This
is owing to the fact that our wives and daughters have the most of
their house-work to perform.

The greatest drawback to farming is poverty, but few farmers pos-
sessing sufficient capital to avail themselves of all the appliances to
profitable tillage.

Smaller Lidustnes. We are becoming alive to the profits of the
smaller industries, many farmers even now paying all the expenses of
the farm by selling butter, honey, dried fruit, &c., and this branch m ill
be still more pursued, as we see its good effects. From our distance to
market, except in a scarce year, it pays but little to carry fruit off the
farm, and there being a great many orchards, we are drying more fruit
each year. The past year Nashville was, in a great measure, supplied
by our knobs and their spurs, for here fruit never fails. There are but
three nurseries in?the county, and they are amply sufficient for the
supply of our people, though many are still taken in by itinerant tree
sellers. Messrs. Truett, at Franklin, have the largest, and have earned a
well deserved fame as a reliable nurseryman. Messrs. Crutcher,
Sparkman and Crisman & Green, have also nurseries, and have the
full confidence of the county. With my present data, it is impossible
to say what is the extent of their sales, though it will probably reach
about $15,000.

Immigration. We are all glad to see steady industrious immigrants
come among us. If they want work, it can be obtained at an ad-
vance over our local supply, or if they want farms they can also easily
be procured on most reasonable terms. Much of the success of the

I002 Resources of Tennessee.

United States is due to the advent of these daring and courageous im-
migrants, and from being the best of Europeans they become the best
of our citizens, and succeed best. This " natural selection" has made
the great west to blossom as a rose, and should their restless steps trend
this way, they will be most heartily welcomed, as the few who have
already come can well testify. In the language of Rev. Mr. Zinche,
^' All other series of events, as that which resulted in the culture of
mind in Greece, and that which resulted in the Empire of Rome, only
appear to have pur])ose and value when viewed in connection with, or
rather as subsidiary to the great stream of Anglo Saxon immigration
to the United States." A nation adopting thus the greatest number of
intellectual, energetic, brave, patriotic men, will have eventually a
great advantage over all other countries and peoples. So come on im-
migrants. Our population is already, according to the census of 1870,
25,328, of which 11,111 are colored, and we would like to increase it
by the next decade to 50,000. This is an increase since 1860 of sev-
eral thousand, in spite of the fatality of the war. But few of our
citizens emigrate, which speaks well for the soil and climate. Another
inducement to immigrants is our well developed system of

Free Schools, which are under full operation throughout the county.
We have a tax of 15 cents on the polls, besides the interest on the school
fund, which is amply sufficient to afford several good schools in every
district, convenient to every child, for at least five months in the year,
and with rigid economy and a little private assistance, for ten months.
One school, the Nolens ville High School, has received $300 from the
Peabody fund, and others could do the same with a little attention by
the directors. We have a most able Superintendent, Jno. B. McEwen,
whose heart is so wholly in the cause, that he gives'^his services freely to
the county, an examjile it would be well for many of our office-holders
to imitate. We have an Agricultural and Mechanical Association at
Franklin. It has a splendid lot and suitable buildings for holding
annual fairs.

Patrons of Husbandry. As yet but ten Granges have been formed
and a County Council, but the whole county is on fire, and we may
look for the formation of many more, and then we hope our agricul-
tural interests will receive a new impetus.

County Debt. Tlie debt of the county is insignificant and is fully
met by the ordinary taxes whicli generally, including the school tax,
ecjuals the State assessment. Our free schools have superseded all pri-

Middle Tennessee. 1 003

vate schools, except in Franklin, where the very best private schools
in the State are well patronized. A Female College, under the super-
vision of Professor W. J. Vaughan, stands deservedly high in public
estimation, and receives support from all parts of the South. A liter-
ary society with a small but growing library, is all that the county can
boast of.

Springs. There are mineral springs resorted to by invalids, besides
several others without any accommodations. First I have already
mentioned. Smith's Springs, situated on the South Harpeth, thirteen
miles from Franklin, but best reached from Nashville by the Hardin
pike to Allison's mill, thence up the creek six miles to the springs.
The buildings here are not such as one would desire, but this is owing
to a defective title to the land, and when that is .settled the properly
will be improved. Cayce's Springs are on the waters of West
Harpeth, six miles from Franklin, and have great character for
children's diseases, especially summer complaints. They are finely
improved and an excellent hotel is kept up during the season. Mc-
Ewen's Spring is situated one mile from Franklin, and is gaining
very rapidly in fame. It has only been cleaned out for visitors
one year, and from its location on the highest hill. Roper's Knob
in the valley, from whence are the finest views, it is destined to be
famous. Thousands visited it the past season with manifest pleasure
and benefit. It would be a very magnificent place for a German gar-
den. I have had no analysis of any of these waters. Besides these,
there is a Sulphur well at Brentwood, Nolensville and Petersburg, that
may in time become popular.

Poor-House. We have a poor-house with a farm attached, but the
people are too independent to need its kind offices, as there are only
twenty to thirty inmates. ^

Turnpikes. We have seven turnpikes traversing the county from one
end to the other, converging with three exceptions to Nashville. Three
go direct to Franklin. Besides these, we have a most excellent system
of road working, having adopted the system lately made discretionary
by the Legislature, and it is working admirably. Under its provisions
our roads in a few years will equal the roads of England, for a spirit
of emulation is strongly aroused among the overseers as to who shall
have the best worked roads. I would strongly urge all the counties to
to adopt it. On the whole, though no banner county as to any particu-
lar article of production, we can present as good a record as any county

I004 Resources of Tennessee.

in the State. All cereals grow well, as well as textile crops. Stock is
abundant and begins to ornament every hill pasture. Water is every
where for stock })urposes at least, and though not sufficient generally
for manufactories,is amply so for all milling purposes, as good mills bor-
der every stream. Our citizens are independent, brave, hospitable and
social. Schools are everywhere, and churches point their tall steeples
from almost every hill-top. Our colored people deserve every praise
for their steadiness and sobriety, and have equal educational and re-
ligious advantages with the whites, and when well and promptly paid,
make as good servants as any one could desire.

WILSON COUNTY.

County Seat — Lebanon.

Wilson ranks among the best counties of the Central Basin. It
was originally a part of Sumner, and was established October, 1799,
by an act of the Third General Assembly of Tennessee, three years
after the organization of the State. The General Assembly met at the
time in Knoxville. The following were the original boundaries: Be-
ginning upon the south bank of Cumberland River, at low water
mark, at the mouth of Drake's Lick Branch, the north-eastern corner
of Davidson county; thence, with the line of Davidson county, to the
Cherokee boundary, and with said boundary to the Caney Fork ; and
down the Caney Fork, with its meanders, to the mouth thereof; thence
down the meanders of Cumberland River, by the south bank, to the
beginning.

The new county was called Wilson, after Major David Wilson, a
native of Pennsylvania, who came to Sumner county while it was a
part of North Carolina. The first court of the county was held at the
house of Ca])tain John Harpole, the first magistrates were Charles
Cavcnaugh, John Alcorn, John Lancaster, Elmore Douglas, John
Doak, Mathew Figures, Henry Ross, William Gray, Andrew Donelsou
and William McClain. Robert Foster was elected Clerk ; Charles
Cavcnaugh, Chairman; Charles Rosborough, Sheriff ; William Gray,
Ranger; and John Alcorn, Register. B. Seawell, Esq., was aj)pointed
County Solicitor. Among the names mentioned, the citizens of Wilson
will recognize nuiny belonging to the old families of the county.

Middle Tennessee. 1 005

"Wilson lies next east of Davidson, and is wasted on its northern
side by the Cumberland River for an air line distance of about twenty-
four miles. In 1868, according to a survey made by General A. P.
Stewart, it contained 585| square miles. Since that time, 7J square
miles have been taken off from the north-eastern corner, to help make
the county of Trousdale. This leaves 578^ for Wilson, as it now
stands, equal to 370,022 acres.

Geology. The lands are based almost wholly on limestones. These
limestones occur in successive layers, nearlv horizontal in position, and
measuring, altogether, in vertical thickness, from the lowest exposed
to the highest in the hills, inclusive, about 900 feet. In addition, a
number of the high hills and ridges in the eastern and south-eastern
part of the county are capped with a stratum of flinty material, imme-
diately beneath which is a layer of Black Shale or slate. This Shale
is generally so covered with soil and the flinty debris of the upper
rock as to not be seen unless dug for. At a few points the Black Shale
has been dug into for coal, (a waste of time and money) by persons not
as profound geologists as they might be. Such is the simple geology
of Wilson. We may say its rocks are limestone, disregarding the
Black Shale and the flinty stratum above it, for the latter are found
only on high points, and make an insignificant part of the area of the
county. These limestones belong to the group of formations which
geologists call Lo^^er Silurian. The upper part of them, embracing
500 feet of layers, pertain to the Nashville Formation, (Cincinnati)
having been once continuous with those outcropping about the Capital.
The lower part may be called the Lebanon Formation, (Trenton) as
this place is located upon some of its layers. We thus divide the
limestones of Wilson into two great formations, the Nashville and the
Lebanon. The rocks of the former are seen on the slopes of the hills
and ridges, while those of the latter outcrop on lower grounds and in
the valleys. There is a difference in the composition of these lime-
stones; those of the Nashville division contain more sandy or siliceous
matter, while those of the lower or Lebanon division are more clayey.

Streams and Topography. The county, as we have said, has the
Cumberland River on its northern side. The following important
creeks lie wholly within its area: Cedar, Spring, Barton's, Spencer's
and Cedar Lick. These flow in a north-westerly direction into the
Cumberland River. The following have their head waters and con-
siderable portions of their valleys in the county : Stoner's, Sugg's, Hur-
ricane and Fall creeks, which ultimately empty into Stone's River;

ioo6 Resources of Ten?iessee.

Smith's Fork and Round Lick emptying respectively into Caney Fork
and the Cumberland. All these streams have good valleys, large por-
tions of which are rich and attractive, supplying sites for very many
excellent farms. In the south-eastern part of the county are many
high but fertile hills and ridges, from which flow the head branches of
Hurricane, Fall, Smith's Fork and Round Lick creeks.

The county, summarily, outside of the valleys, of which there is a
good supply, may be said to be rolling, with often high hills and ridges
in the eastern part. The county seat, Lebanon, is surrounded by a
circle of moderate hills, the area within being a depression or basin, in
the center of which is the town. From the town to the hills, in any
direction, is from three to four miles. The average elevation of the
county above the sea is from 500 to 600 feet.

Land and Soils. There is very little waste land. With the excep-
tion of a few cedar glades and some rocky points, all can be cultivated.
The number of acres has l)eon given. A large part, say four-fifths, of
the county is enclosed. According to the census of 1870, the number
of acres in woodland is 151,749, not much less than half the county,
This appears to us to be too great a proportion. It is a rare circum-
stance to see old turned out fields. The soils of the county, excepting
those of alluvial bottoms, and a dark cedar soil sometimes met with,
may be grouped into two general kinds or classes, corresponding re-
spectively to the two formations above mentioned, into which the lime-
stones are grouped. The first kind foupd on the tops of the hills and
plateaus of the western and middle portion of the county, and on the
higher slopes of the eastern portion, is a mulatto-colored, warm and
rather sandy soil ; it may be called a com soil, though it produces
wheat, cotton and other crops well. It is proverbial for its fertility.
Blue-grass, if a little shaded, springs from it luxuriantly and covers
the hills. This soil comes by disintegration and weathering, from the
sandy limestones of the Nashville Formation, and, by the way, wher-
ever, in Middle Tennessee, these limestones outcrop, the same soil is to
be seen. > The second kind, found outside of the bottoms in the valleys
and lower parts of the county, rests upon the Lebanon group of lime-
stones, and is also a mulatto soil, but is more clayey and rather stififer.
It may be denominated a wheat soil. It does not fall much behind in
fertility, though we would place the other, all things being equal, be-
fore it. Corn, wheat, oats, grasses, clover, etc., thrive upon it, and
yield satisfactory returns. The soil, and more especially its subsoil,
contains frccpiently more or less "flinty gravel," small angular pieces

Middle Tennessee. ioo7

of weathered flint or chert, which perhaps is an advantage. The same
may be said of the first mentioned soil. These fragments are derived
from the underlying limestones, and are principally small pieces ot
petrified corals, sponges and shells.

The prices at which lands are held in Wilson are estimated to be,
per acre, as follows :

Best improved bottom lands "• •-

Best improved uplands ^

Medium bottom lands ^

" uplands

T . . ,1 10

Inferior uplands

At this time lands are low, with a downward tendency, but recently
cedar lands have been sold for the timber at ^40 to $60 per acre.
Taking the whole countv, the average price, or present cash value, may
be placed at S20 per acre, which makes the farms in the county worth
in the aggregate §7,400,440. Wilson is in fact the sixth county in
the State in cash value of land. Bedford is very little ahead ; the
others which outrank Wilson in this respect are, in the order of great-
est value, Davidson, Maury, Rutherford and Shelby.

In the ninth census report the county is credited, for 1870, with
2,009 farms, which are thus classified :

Farms having 3 to

9 acres 1'^'

.461
1,196

10 to 19 "

" '• 20 to 49 "

« " 50 to 99 " "^^^

" " 100 to 499 " ^^^

" " 500 to ,999 " '^

Farms as here understood, " include all considerable nurseries, or-
chards and market gardens, which are owned by separate parties, are
cultivated for pecuniary profit, and employ as much as the labor of one
able-bodied workman 'during the whole year." What is owned or
leased by one man and cultivated under his care, may be included
under the name farm, the cultivation requiring the labor of one hand
for a year.

The farms of Wilson are mostly occupied by their owners; very
few entire farms are rented. It is common, however, for portions to
be rented either on shares or for cash ; when on shares, the rates are
from one-third to one-half the products; when in cash, from %\ to |5
according to quality of land.

ioo8 Resources of Tennessee.

The best farm hands get from ten to twelve dollars per month ;
Avomen (cooks and laundresset) from four to ten; good axmen get one
dollar per day.

Crops, Dairy Products, etc. The cro]is, in the ordv,r of their im-
portance, are corn, wheat, oats, hay and barley. In addition to these
are produced in considerable quantities, tobacco, cotton, potatoes, both
sweet and Irish, and sorghum. Small quantities of clover and grass
seed, and rye may bo added to the list. The following are the quanti-
ties respectively, of corn, wheat, oats, etc., produced in Wilson county
in 1870, according to the report of the census of that year:

Corn 1,173,201 bushels.

Wheat, spring 1,765

Wheat, winter 239,950— 241,715 "

Oats 151,067 "

Barley 11,355 "

Potatoes, sweet 33,302 "

Potatoes, Irish 25,945 "

Clover seed 1,117 "

Grass " 932 "

Eye 3,189 "

Hay 5,S50 tons.

Tobacco 332,901 pounds.

Cotton 1,205 bales.

Sorghum 47,794 gallons.

The same report brings out the fact that in 1870 Wilson was the
banner county in wheat production, the yield being greater in this
than in any other county of the State. Greene county, in Eist Ten-
nessee, was next in quantity of wheat, and clo^e upon Wilson. This
year the county raised a good crop, and doubtless still claims the ban-
ner. And here, once for all, we may mention in what else this county
excelled in 1870. Of all the counties, Wilson had the greatest num-
ber of horses, made the most butter, and the greatest number of gal-
lons of sorghum. Moreover, it was only second in hogs, barley, and
in clover and grass seed; was third in mules, sheep and hay, and fourth
in orchard products, corn and oats. As to tobacco and cotton, the
yield has been steadily increasing since the war. The crop of tobacco
in 1872 was estimated at 750,000 pounds; in 1873, at 400,000. The
yield of cotton has been coii.sidera'Dly greater of late years than tluxt
reported for 1870. The following is an estimate of the average yield
]K'r acre of a few of the crops grown in the county I)y some of its
citizens:

Middle Temiessee. 1 009

Corn 25 bushels.

Wheat 10

Oats 20 "

Barley 20 "

Potatoes, sweet and Irish 100 "

Clover and timothy \\ tons.

The averages for corn, wheat and oats are small, falling much below
what they ought to be considering the fertility of the soil. When
crops, by better cultivation, may be increased at least one-third, boast-
ing ought to be moderate, though the banner is carried oflP. The aver-
age yield of corn in Ohio and Illinois is thirty -eight bushels to the
acre; of wheat in the former State fourteen, and in the latter thirteen
and a half bushels, and of oats respectively thirty-four and thirty-
three. The census report has the following information as to other
Wilson county productions :

Orchard products Value $24,660

Produce of market gardens " 11,740

Forest products " 9,668

Home manufacture " 45,909

As we have said the county is fourth in orchard products, this is its
rank likewise in yield of market gardens. Dried fruit makes a con-
siderable item. The number of bushels of dried apples produced is
estimated to be 2,000; of peaches, 1,000. In the production of but-
ter, as before stated, this county takes the lead. Nor is this butter a
poor white article, with an aguish look about it, but the solid golden
stuif that comes from good cows and blue-grass. The quantity of but-
ter produced in 1870 was 399,249 pounds. A little cheese was made^
but nothing to boast of; the quantity given is 540 pounds. We trust
the good people of Wilson will improve upon the start they have made,
and soon exhibit an aggregate of a million of pounds of butter, which
tliey could easily do.

Forest Products. The value of these for 1870 is given above at
$9,668. This is for subsequent years greatly below the mark. The
county exported in 1871 over the Tennessee and Pacific Railroad, as
we have been informed by Mr. R. Miller, the former secretary of the
road, 3,976,000 feet, board measure, of cedar, sawed and in telegraphic
poles. If we rate this at two and a half cents per foot, it amounts to
$99,400, or in round numbers $100,000. In addition much oak, ash,
and hickory timber, the latter for spokes, axe-handles, etc., were car-
ried off by the same road. Add to this the lumber sawed at a score of
64

loio Resources of Tennessee.

mills, and used in the county, and also the large quantity of wood sent
by railroad to Nashville, and VvC must have for the value of the forest
products npt much less than $200,000. In April of this year, 1874,
parties from Pittsburgh, Pa., contracted with gentlemen of the county
for the delivery of 5,000 cords of good sound cedar at Nashville. This
is now being shipped to Nashville, from which point it is carried to
Pittsburgh by water. The county is noted for its fine cedar. It is
used at home for many purposes. Most of the rail fences are built of
it, the rails lasting fifty years. The cedar exported goes to Nashville,
St. Louis, Louisville, Cincinnati, and other points. Many telegraph
poles are sent also to distant points, and even stakes of cedar are
shipped to Indiana, and other States for vineyard purposes.

Live Stock. Wilson is undoubtedly to be classed as a stock county.
The value of its live stock in 1870 was $1,919,019, which makes it, in
this respect, third among the counties, Lincoln and Maury leading it.
The census statistics show the following figures :

Horses Number 9,682

Mules and asses " 4,150

Milch cows " 5,185

"Working oxen " 584

Othercattle " • 7,399

Sheep " 24,023

Swine " 48,708

For the later years the numbers will be much greater. There has
been marked improvement in all kinds of stock. The blue and other
grasses of the uplands and hills make excellent pasturage, and cattle,
sheep and mules readily grow sleek and fat. Beef-cattle, hogs, sheep
and mules are sent off in large numbers to supply the Nashville, and
more especially the southern markets. The value of animals slaught-
ered and sold for slaughter in 1870 was reported to be $610,972. Were
it not for the abominable dogs which at night roam over the country,
this county, in the place of 24,000, would have 100,000 sheep grazing
over its rich hills. In this county these public enemies kill about
2,000 sheep every year, a heavy loss to its citizens, and a stoppage to
enterprise in this direction.

Let some "fierce Achilles
The god propitiate, and the pest assuage."

Population. The people of this county have and deserve a good
name. They encourage and support many academies and schools, and

Middle Tennessee. i o 1 1

compare well with other sections as a church-going people. They are
intelligent, hospitable, and know how to mind their own business and
let other people's alone. To industrious and clever immigrants, they
are well disposed, no matter from what section they may come, but
persons of uncertain character do not receive a hearty welcome. The
total population in 1870 was 25,881, Avhich was classified as follows :

White 18,544

Colored 7^331

Indian 6

Manufactures, etc. The value of home manufactures for 1870 is
stated to be $45,909. This includes cotton and woolen goods and all
else made at home. There are at least twenty-five saw-mills in the
county, twelve of which run by steam power ; one or two woolen fac-
tories, and perhaps a dozen wool-carding machines. It also has a full
quota of carpenter, wagon and blacksmith shojjs. Of grist-mills,
wheat and corn, there are about twenty, of which six or seven are
steam mills. Flour is an important article of export. At Lebanon
there is a barrel and stave factory. The company operating was or-
ganized in the spring of 1873, with a capital stock of $4,500. The
amount now invested in machinery, land, etc., is $15,000. The estab-
lishment has machines for doing all the work of making staves and
heads, with capacity of about eight cords of wood per day for staves
and four cords for heads. It works thirty hands in the factory, and
from seven to twelve in the cooper shop. Located north of the town,
it is convenient to an abundance of the finest timber. The price of
barrels is from thirty to forty-five cents. Hands receive 40 cents to
$2.50 per day.

Colleges and Schools. Cumberland University, is located at the coun-
ty-seat, and is one of the best institutions of the South. In addition
to the Academical Department, it has a Law School, Theological
School, Preparatory School, and Commercial and Telegraphic School,
with a corps of eleven professors and teachers. It is under the care of
the Cumberland Presbyterian Church. The Alumni of this Univer-
sity have supplied the bar and ])ench, the pulpit and the halls of Con-
gress to a considerable extent, and have furnished many of the best
editors, teachers and business men of the country. The last catalogue,
June, 1874, exhibits a total of three hundred and fifty -two students.
An endowment is being rapidly obtained. The influence of the In-
stitution is widening every year, and it promises to be, within the neo*-
future, a great power in the land.

IOI2 Resoi^rces of Touiessee.

Four miles east of Lebanon, on the Sparta turnpike, is Greenwood,
a seminary for young ladies. The location is noted for its beauty of
landscape, being within a delightful valley, with bold, wooded, swell-
ing hills in sight, to add a pleasing variety. The Institution was
founded in 1850 by the late N. Lawrence Lindsley, L.L. D., so long
recognized throughout the country as Tennessee's great educator and
scholar. Since his death in 1868, it has been presided over with signal
ability and success by his elegant and accomplished widow, assisted by
the ablest teachers in all of the departments of learning. Graduates
of Greenwood hold high positions as educators. They all look back
upon it as the happy home of their youth, and from almost every State
in the South, in person and by letter, constantly come the assurances
of a most pleasant and grateful memory.

The county has twelve high schools, or academies, male and female,
which average seventy-five pupils each. There are about seventy-five
free schools, attended in all by 4,500 children. To the support of the
latter schools the county contributed in 1872 the sum of $12,000, se-
cured by a tax of five cents on the hundred dollars, and by the appro-
priation of the poll tax. Within the last year, however, no tax has
been levied for school purposes.

Roads and Railroads. The county is traversed by many good roads»
An excellent macadamized turnpike runs entirely through it from west
to east, being a part of the old stage route from Nashville to Knox-
ville, a route which was, not many years ago, before the day of rail-
roads, a grand highway from the eastern slope of the Alleghanies to
the great West. In addition, there are six other macadamized roads
radiating from the county seat, and two branch roads in the extreme
parts of the county. The common country roads are generally in bad
condition. Lebanon is the present terminus of the Tennessee and Pa-
cific Railroad. The length of this road is thirty miles. It supplies
ready means of transportation, and large quantities of material, such
as flour, wheat, lumber, lime, live stock, etc., are carried off by it. The
extension of the road is a desideratum, as it will be when completed
one of the most important railways in the State. We believe the de-
mand for tlie route will, before many years, secure the extension and
completion of this road. It is not saying much for judicious enter-
prize that we cannot go from the capital to Knoxville without going
out of the State.

Towns. Lebanon, the county seat, is an incorporated city, with
something more than 2,000 inhabitants. It is the seat, as we have

Middle J^ennessee. i o 1 3

stated, of Cumberland University. It has also a female seminary of
high grade, besides other schools. The educational facilities of the
place are rarely equaled. The Methodists, Cumberland Presbyterians,
Baptists and Christians are the principal religious denominations, and
the first three have large and respectable places of worship. The col-
ored portion of the population have also two very good churches.
Places of worship are well attended. The people are noted as well
for their good morals as for their intelligence and refinement. The
Lebanon Herald, the only paper in the county, is ably edited, has an
agricultural department, and a good circulation. The town has its full
share of mercantile establishments, and in this respect does not differ
materially from other places in the State of the same size. There are
nine lawyers' offices ; two national banks ; three steam flouring-mills ; a
cotton and woolen factory, using also steam power ; the barrel factory
already mentioned ; a buggy and wagon factory ; a marble yard ; two
saddle and harness establishments ; five boot and shoe shops ; also sev-
•eral furniture establishments, one with steam power ; a number of car-
penter and tin-ware shops ; nine general stores ; three drug stores ; one
hardware store ; two jewelry establishments ; two hotels ; two livery
stables; one broom factory, etc. The Fair Grounds of the Wilson
County Agricultural and Mechanical Association are located at Leba-
non. These grounds, with their improvements, reflect great credit
upon the association. The space enclosed embraces many acres. There
is a grand covered amphitheatre, a complete circle, making a delight-
ful promenade for lads and lasses. A floral hall has been added to
the other buildings.

In addition to the county seat, there are a number of small towns
in the county which deserve to be mentioned. These are Statesville,
Gladesville, Commerce, Laguardo, Taylorsville and Shop Springs.
These are pleasant villages, with an average population of about one
hundred. The larger places contain two hundred or more people.

PA.JRT IV.

WEST TENNESSEE,

(With a Desceiptiox of Each Couxty.)

West Tennessee, extending from the Tennessee River to the Mis-
sissippi, embraces twenty counties, and has an area, if we inchide the
whole of Hardin county, of 10,700 square miles, or about one-fourth
of the entire area of the State. It had a population in 1870 of 367,-
576, of which 127,738 were colored. The number of voters in 1871
was 85,440, of whom 26,757 were colored. The number of acres of
land assessed in 1873, exclusive of town lots, was 6,316,300, valued at
$63,217,856, or over $10 per acre. The entire value of taxable
property is $107,633,035. West Tennessee has in operation 713 miles
of railway, or about seven-sixteenths of all in the State. While in
territorial extent it is but a fourth of the whole State, it has over one-
third of the wealth and nearly one-third of the entire population.

History.

Prior to the year 1819 this region, known as the Western District,
was occupied }>y the Chickasaw Indians, whose title to the lands was
extinguished during that year. Two counties, Hardin and Shelby,
were organized by the General Assembly immediately subsequent to
the treaty extinguishing the Indian titles. In the year 1821, provis-
ions were made for the organization of Weakley, Madison, Henry and
Henderson counties ; in 1822, for the organization of Carroll county ; in

JVes^ Tennessee. i o 1 5

1823 for the organization of the counties of Obion, Gibson, Dyer,
Haywood, McNairy, Hardeman and Tipton and in 1824 for the or-
ganization of Fayette county. These comprised all the counties in the
District until the year 1835, when provision was made for the or-
ganization of the counties of Benton and Lauderdale. In 1845 the act
of the General Assembly authorizing the organization of Decatur
county was passed; in 1870 Lake county was organized, and in 1872
Crockett took its place in the family of Tennessee counties.

Physical Geography.

There are three natural divisions in West Tennessee.

1. The Western Valley of the Tennessee River.

2. The Plateau Land, extending westward to the Mississippi bottoms.

3. The Mississippi Bottom.

The first division includes the counties of Hardin, the eastern parts
of Decatur, Benton and Henry. Bounding this division on the west
is a high bold ridge, known as Tennessee Ridge, the water-shed be-
tween the Tennessee and the Mississippi rivers. This ridge has an ele-
vation of 600 and sometimes 700 feet above the sea. It is by far the
roughest part of West Tennessee, and is valuable principally for its
timber, but a few spots occur that are well adapted to cultivation. This
main ridge sends out towards the Tennessee |River on the east a suc-
cession of minor ridges, some of which terminate in bluffs on the Ten-
nesseee. Some of these ridges before reaching the river flatten down
so as to give a better agricultural country. The general slope of the
Western Valley is tow^ard the north, while that of the Mississippi River
is toward the south, thus denoting a warped surface to West Ten-
nessee. The elevation of high water of the Tennessee at Hamburg is
392 feet, while at the crossing at the Northwestern Railroad it is 357,
which shows a fall of about four and a half inches per mile. The val-
leys between the ridges making out from the Tennessee Ridge eastward
are generally in cultivation and some of them have rich productive
soils. The Plateau or Slope of West Tennessee differs greatly from
the Valley of the Tennessee and particularly in two features : 1. In
having no hard rocks excepting in a few localities, and 2. In having
more level surface. Sand, too prevails everywhere, and the soil though
tender is very productive. The absence of a clayey subsoil makes hori-
zontalization a necessity for the preservation of the soil. Hundreds of
acres have been exhausted and are beyond remedy. The entire area has

ioi6 Resources oj Tennessee.

this distinctive feature, that though there are hills and valleys to be seen
in every county, its general character is that of a broad plateau. Espec-
ially fringing its eastern and western boundary lines, is the hill country
to be found, the hills being, as before stated, the minor ridges extend-
ing eastward from the Tennessee Ridge, and on the west the Missis-
sippi Blufis, which reach throughout the State, from north to south, on
a line almost parallel with the Mississippi River. It is very difficult
to estimate correctly the average elevation of so comprehensive a sec-
tion as that of the Plateau of AVest Tennessee. Its elevation is, in the
southern part of the division, between 500 and 600 feet above the
sea, and in the central and northern part, from Jackson northward
along the Mobile and Ohio Railroad, it becomes less, ranging from
400 to 500 feet. It also appears that in going toward Memphis the
elevation is reduced to a level considerably below 400 feet. (Geology
of Tennessee, page 117.)

The Mississippi Bottom

Is just what its name indicates, a bottom lying on the banks of the
Mississippi River. The whole of this bottom is a low and great allu-
vial plain, which, at many points, is below the high water level of the
Mississippi, differing much in its general features from any other large
section of the State. It is true along the banks of the Tennessee
River there are a few bottoms which present features somewhat similar
to those presented in this section, but they are on a limited scale, and
imperfectly foreshadow what is found there. Avery considerable pro-
portion of the area embraced in the bottoms is covered with swamps
and lakes, and much of it is covered with wild, dark and heavy forests
in which are found even such wild game as deer and bear. Con-
sidered as an agricultural section, it is especially attractive, though
its resources are still in a very undeveloped condition. This division
of West Tennessee embraces in its area about 900 square miles. The
general surface of this division coincides very nearly with the
high water level of the Mississippi River. Its general elevation on
the northern boundary of the State may be placed approximately at
295 feet above the gulf, and on the southern boundary below Mem-
phis, at about 215, the fall in this distance being therefore eighty feet.

Climate.

It is not known that any systematic climatological observations have
been made in the Western Valley, but being lower than the Central Ba-

Wes^ Tennessee. 1017

sill in Middle Tennessee, it is presumable that it enjoys a warmer tem-
perature. Within the Plateau of West Tennessee there may have been
a few observations in some of the counties, but they were not system-
atically made, and of course cannot be relied on. This much, however,
may be said with safety, that the climate is modified sufficiently to
throw nearly the whole division in the cotton belt. The Mississippi
Bottom, owing to the fact that it has a less altitude above the level of
the sea than any of the other leading natural divisions is in all proba-
bility the warmest section in the State.

Soils.

The soils of West Tennessee are as varied as its topographical
features. For instance, the bottom lands on the Tennessee River
generally consist of a deep, dark, rich, alluvial soil, which rests upon
a clay subsoil, and wherever the lands are not subject to overflow
they produce excellently well in corn and cotton, and where there is
a pretty good mixture of sand, the grasses generally do well. The
highlands of the Western Valley are«much less productive than the bot-
toms. In color they are generally much lighter, and they rest upon -a
clay subsoil, which is either whitish, yellowish or red. They produce
tolerably well when planted in corn, cotton, tobacco, and especially
well when sowed in grass, provided there is not too much sand in the
soil. The general character of the soil in the Plateau, or Slope, of West
Tennessee is everywhere pretty much the same. Of course it differs
materially in color in different counties, or even in different districts of
the same county; but everywhere it is mellow, mixed with more or
less sand, impregnated with siliceous matter, and susceptible either of
the highest state of cultivation, or, in the hands of careless and igno-
rant farmers, on account of its very mellowness, of being very soon
made comparatively worthless. As has been before said, much of the
area of the Mississippi Bottom is covered with lakes, bayous, lagoons,
etc., and much of what remains is covered with heavy timber, but
everywhere the soil is a dark, rich alluvial, very deep and everlasting.
Indeed, it is difficult to understand how even a careless or ignorant
farmer can ever render this soil entirely worthless. By surface plow-
ing only, it may not produce well after a few years, but it will even
then require only a thorough "subsoiling" or deep plowing to make it
as productive as ever. This section of country is destined in time to
become the agricultural paradise of Tennessee. At present, however,
owing to the immense size of its timber, which renders it extremely

ioi8 ResouTces of Tennessee.

difficult to get it in a state of cultivation, but a small proportion of it
is being worked at all. The reader is referred to the first part of the
Report for the general geology of this portion of the State.

Timber.

In every county in West Tennessee there is an abundance of
timber, including all the varieties usually found in the West and
South-west. The best timber, however, is poplar, the diiferent varie-
ties of oak and gum, hickory, ash, cypress and walnut. No portion of
the State can compare with Dyer and Obion counties in wealth of
timber.

Farm Products.

In the more northern counties of West Tennessee the staple
products are corn, tobacco and the grasses; but in most, if not
all of them, cotton, wheat and oats are also raised. The principal
staple in the southern counties is cotton, though corn, wheat and oats,
the different grasses, and some tobacco are raised in all of them. In
addition to these crops, sweet and Irish potatoes are grown every-
where, but scarcely ever for market. In those counties where there is
much sand (as for instance in Decatur), peanuts are raised to a con-
siderable extent.

Live Stock.

Though possessing very superior natural advantages as a stock coun-
try, West Tennessee does not rank well with the " fine stock" sections
of the country. In fact, very little attention is being paid to the sub-
ject of raising fine stock, and almost none to that of rearing pure
breeds. Occasionally a few pure-blooded males will be found, having
been introduced into a county with the view of improving the domestic
breeds ; but it is a rare thing to find a farmer who has turned his at-
tention to l)reecling thorongh-breds. Almost every farmer, however,
in the northern part of West Tennessee raises a sufficient number of
horses, mules, cattle, sheep, swine (common stock), for his own pur-
poses, and most of them raise some to sell. In every county and in
almost every neighborhood, the range is good, and it really costs but
little to raise and even fatten a good number of stock. It is earnestly
hoped that ere long the farmers of this grand division of the State
will understand that it costs no more in dollars and cents to raise a
thorough-bred than to raise a scrub, and but little, if any, more trouble.

West Tennessee. i o 1 9

Grasses.

It is very appropriate in this connection to consider West Tennessee
as a grass-growing- section. If the natural advantages of this section
of Tennessee for grass-growing were developed, it would probably
equal Middle Tennessee. All the best grasses grow well, and wher-
ever there is a reasonable amount of lime in the soil, blue-grass thrives
as well as in any part of Middle Tennessee ; and where there is not
sufficient lime in the soil for blue-grass, herds-grass and orchard-grass
both grow, and the latter is more prized by stock men than blue-grass.
Clover is also a standing crop in the northern portion of this division,
and is being extensively grown, not only for its grazing and hay-
making qualities, but also as a fertilizer. The usual rule is to allow it
to stand untouched for two years, when it is turned under, thereby
greatly increasing the fertility and crop-producing properties of the
lands.

Farming Before and Since the War.

Prior to the war the farms of West Tennessee were generally in
very good condition, the farmers were generally solvent, and the agri-
cultural interests of the country were being reasonably advanced. But
the war, when it ceased, left the whole section in an impoverished con-
dition, from which it was difficult to recover. The people, however^
after the first feeling of despair, went vigorously to work, and despite
the many difficulties with which they had to contend, they have, in a
great measure, recovered their " lost ground," and are still working
with the cheering hope, that before many more years shall have passed
they will have completely regained their fallen fortunes. The farmir.g
community has this serious difficulty to contend with, however: most
of them are either indifferent to the real value of labor-saving imple-
ments, or they consider themselves too poor to purchase them. In
either case, the result is the same. A very small minority of the farm-
ers are using them, and a large majority are content to plant, work and
gather their crops just as did their fathers and grand-fathers before
them. There has been, within the past few years, an increase of in-
terest in these matters, and in almost every neighborhood one or more
enterprising men are to be found who are using these improved
implements and machines, greatly to their advantage, and indi-
rectly to the advantage of their neighbors; for they are slowly, but

I020 Resources of Tennessee.

surely, convincing them of the wisdom of their course, which will, it
is hoped and believed, eventually result in the general introduction and
use of labor-saving implements throughout this division of the State.

Transportation — Railroads.

West Tennessee is fast becoming a net-work of railroads, the follow-
ing enumeration including all those which are already completed, or
actually in the course of construction:

The Nashville and North-western Railroad, which is now under the
immediate control and is being operated by the Nashville and Chatta-
nooga Railroad Company, extends from Nashville, Tennessee, to Hick-
man, Kentucky, on the Mississippi River. This road crosses the Ten-
nessee River at Johnsonville, which is on the east bank of the river,
and in Humphreys county, and entering West Tennessee ranges thence
west and north-west through the counties of Carroll, Weakley and
Obion, passing out of Obion into Kentucky at a point about half-way
between the north-east and south-east corners of the county. This
road crosses the Memphis and Louisville Road at McKenzie, in Car-
roll county, the Mississippi Central at Martin's, in Weakley county,
the Memphis and Paducah at Paducah Junction, in Obion county, and
the Mobile and Ohio at Union City, also in Obion county.

The Memphis Branch of the Louisville, Nashville and Great South-
ern extends from Memphis to Louisville, Kentucky. This road crosses
the Tennessee River into West Tennessee from the east at Danville, in
Houston county, ranges thence west through Benton and Henry coun-
ties to Paris, the county seat of Henry county ; thence south-west
through the counties of Carroll, Gibson, Madison, Haywood, Fayette
and Shelby to Memphis. It crosses the Nashville and North-western
Road at McKenzie, Carroll county, the Mississippi Central at Milan,
in Gibson county, and the Mobile and Ohio at Humboldt, also in Gib-
son county.

The Mobile and Ohio Railroad extends from Mobile, Alabama, to
Columbus, Kentucky, where it makes connection with the Iron Moun-
tain Railroad of Missouri. It enters West Tennessee from the south,
crossing the State line in McNairy county, and ranges thence in a direc-
tion a little west of north through the counties of McNairy, Madison,
Gibson and Obion, passing out of West Tennessee at Jordan's Sta-

IVesl Tennessee. 1021

tion, on the Kentucky line. This road crosses the Mississippi Cen-
tral Railroad at Jackson, in Madison county, the Memphis and Louis-
ville at Humboldt, in Gibson county, the Memphis and Paducah at
Troy Station, in Obion, and the Nashville and North-western at Union
City, also in Obion county.

The Mississippi Central Railroad extends from New Orleans, Louis-
iana, to a point on the Ohio River opposite the city of Cairo, Illinois,
there connecting with the Illinois Central Railroad. It enters West
Tennessee from the south-west, in Fayette county, ranges thence north-
east through the counties of Fayette, Hardeman, Madison, Gibson and
Weakley, thence into Kentucky, crossing in its route the Memphis
and Charleston Road at Grand Junction, in Hardeman county, the
Mobile and Ohio at Jackson, in Madison county, the Memphis and
Louisville at Milan, in Gibson county, and the Nashville and North-
western at Martin's, in Weakley county.

The Memphis and Charleston Railroad extends, as its name indi-
cates, in the direction towards Charleston, South Carolina. In its
route it ranges east, passing through the counties of Shelby, Fay-
ette, Hardeman and McNairy, thence into Mississippi at a point on
the southern line of McNairy county, about twelve miles east of where
it touches the western line. In its route through West Tennessee, it
crosses the Mississippi Central Railroad at Grand Junction, in Harde-
man county.

The Memphis and Paducah Railroad is chartered to extend from
Memphis, Tennessee, to Paducah, Kentucky, but at present is not com-
pleted. From Memphis it runs to Covington, in Tipton county, pass-
ing through portions of the counties of Shelby and Tipton. From
Paducah it extends to a point a little north of Newbern, in Dyer
county, leaving a gap which is yet to be completed. Work upon this
road is progressing very satisfactorily, and when completed from Mem-
phis, it will range north-east, passing through the counties of Shelby,
Tipton, Lauderdale, Dyer and Obion, and crossing, in its route through
West Tennessee, the Mobile and Ohio Road at Troy Station, in Obion
county, and the Nashville and North-western at Paducah Junction,
also in Obion county.

The Mississippi and Tennessee Railroad, extending from Memphis,
Tennessee, to Grenada, Mississippi, leaving Memphis, ranges south, and
passes through a portion of Shelby county, which is the only county
in West Tennessee that is touched l)v this road.

I02 2 Resources of Tennessee.

These are the only roads in West Tennessee, except a few miles of
narrow-gauge from Raleigh toward Memphis. For projected roads,
see chapter on railroads, Part I. of this report.

Transportation — Rivers.

The Tennessee River laves the entire eastern boundary of West
Tennessee, and furnishes first-rate marketable facilities to a large num-
ber of the West Tennessee counties.

The Mississippi River, on the other hand, washes the entire western
boundary of West Tennessee, and of course gives to those persons
living on or near its banks the very best marketable facilities.

In this connection, it should be remarked that, with the exception
of Henderson county, every county in West Tennessee has either direct
railroad or river transportation.

Minerals.

Though not so rich in mineral wealth as either of the other divis-
ions of the State, some very rich deposits of iron ore are met with in
Decatur and Benton counties. Previous to the war there were two fur-
naces in operation, Brownsport and Decatur. The former only has
been in blast since. In Henry, Benton and Decatur counties quarries
of very good variegated marble occur. The same rock is burnt into
lime, which is the principal source of supply for the more westerly
counties. Beds of lignite outcrop on the slopes of the Mississippi
bluffs in Obion, Dyer, Lauderdale, Tipton and Shelby. This material
has been mistaken for true stone-coal, an error which has led some into
expensive and vain exploration. In a number of counties beds of
potter's clay abound, much of which is white. In McNairy, Hardin
and Henderson a very extensive bed of " green sand" is met with
which has been described in the first part of this Report.

BENTON COUNTY.

C'ODNTY Seat — Camden.

Benton county is bounded on the north by Henry county and the
Tennessee River, on the east by the Tennessee River, on the south by
Decatur county and a corner of Carroll county, and on the west by

Wes^ Tennessee. 1023

Carroll and Henry counties. It embraces about 400 square miles, and
had a population by the last census amounting to 8,234, of which 452
were colored. The number of acres of land, exclusive of town lots,
assessed for taxation in 1873 was 239,663, valued at $911,277. The
whole valuation of taxable property for the same year was $1,012,619.
There are twelve civil or magisterial districts, and the school districts
coincide with the civil districts.

Outlines of the County's History. The principal portion of the
territory now included in Benton county was originally a part of
Humphreys county, the balance, including about one civil district,
having been taken from Henry county, by virtue of the act of the
General Assembly authorizing the organization of the county, which
act was passed November 24, 1835. The district taken from Henry
county comprises that part of the county lying south of Sandy River,
and between that and the T ennessee River. The commissioners who
organized the county were Green Howers, Ephriam Perkins, Lewis
Brewer, John F. Johnson and George Camp, who accomplished the
work assigned to them on the 7th day of February, 1836. The first
settlers in the county were principally from the counties of Middle and
East Tennessee and from North Carolina.

Physical Geography. Benton county is partly in the Western Valley
of the Tennessee River and partly in the Plateau or Slope of West
Tennessee, the eastern section being in the former, the remainder in the
latter. The point where the Nashville and Northwestern Railroad
crosses the Tennessee River is 357 feet above the sea. But as this
point is lower than the western section of the county by several feet,
it will probably be safe to say that Benton county is, on an average,
about 370 feet above the sea. It should be observed, how^ever, that
the level of low water in the Tennessee River is about forty feet beloAV
that of high water. The surface character of Benton county is very
varied, and is difficult to describe. Immediately about Camden, which
is located very near the center of the county, the country in every di-
rection for a distance of about five miles is gently undulating, but
going east towards the Tennessee Riv,er, until the margin of the
river valley is reached, there are many steep bluffs, or spurs, which
fringe the valley along its entire length in the county. This valley is
about, on an average, two miles wide, and not less than fifty miles long,
and has a rich, alhivial soil, which is very productive. But going west
from the town of Camden, the county becomes more rolling, and the
soil is thinner and much less productive. There are generally flats or

I02 4 Reso7irces of Tennessee.

bottoms along the creelcs which ramify the coanty^ which flats or bot-
toms will probably average half a mile from head to foot, and are
fringed on both sides by ridges which are distinctly marked, but not
very high. The lauds in these bottoms are generally rich, but along
the ridges is is very thin and produces but indifferently.

Formations. Along the ridges in the southern part of the county
there are formations of limestone which are found at various depths
below the surface. Along the margin of these ridges a blue limestone
which makes good lime. In the third civil district, on Birdsong
Creek, in the southern part of the county, is found a variegated marble,
which is susceptible of a good polish, and presents when polished a
handsome appearance. At or near Rockport, on the Tennessee River,
a quarry was opened and worked very successfully some years since,
but recently the work on it has been abandoned.

Climate. The thermometer in summer sometimes shows the tempera-
ture to be as high as 100°, and in winter sometimes as low as zero, but
it is not often as high as 92° and seldom as low as 4° above zero; in the
summer it generally ranges from 75° to 80°, the average for the year
being about 59.5°. The climate is not regarded as changeable, except
during the spring and fall, when the temperature changes more fre-
quently and more rapidly than is comfortal3le. About the time of the
autumnal equinox a very changeable spell of weather may generally
be expected. The average rain fall in the county it is thought will
not exceed 3f inches per month. The average snow fall is probably
about 5 inches per year. About the 10th of October the first killing
frost may be expected.

Healtli of the County. In the latter part of the summer and through-
out the fall months the prevailing diseases of the county are bilious and
intermittent fevers, and such generally as are superinduced by excess
of malaria. In the winter, pneumonia is most to be feared, and in
fact it may be said with truth that lung diseases are quite prevalent.
But none of the diseases to which the county is subject are, as a class,
malignant or fatal, the per cent, of deaths resulting from them not ex-
ceeding twenty. *

Rivers, Creeks and Sjjrings. There is no county in Tennessee which
is better watered than Benton. The following named streams are pe-
rennial and are the most important: Eagle Creek rises in the southern
part of the county, near the Decatur county line, ranges north-east,
and empties into the Tennessee River. Birdsong Creek rises near the

Wes^ Tennessee. 1025

Carroll county line, ranges north-east, and also empties into the Ten-
nessee River. Sycamore Creek rises in the county, ranges north, and
is a cributary of Birdsong Creek. Wolf Creek is another tributary of
Birdsong, which also rises in the county and ranges north. Seventeen-
mile Creek rises in the southern part of the county, ranges about south-
east, and also empties into Birdsong Creek. Cypress Creek rises near
the Carroll county line, ranges north-east, and empties into the Ten-
nessee River. Cane Creek is a tributary of Cypress, one branch of
which rises south-west of Camden, the other north-east, the two form-
ing a junction near Camden, thence flowing to Cypress Creek. Burn-
side Creek, another tributary of Cypress, rises north of Camden, and
ranges south-east. Beaver Dam Creek, still another tributary of Cy-
press, rises in the county, ranges nearly south, and empties into Cypress
east of Camden. Rushing Creek rises in the north-eastern part of the
county, ranges north-west, and empties into Sandy River. Ramble
Creek rises in the county, ranges west, and empties into Sandy River.
Sugar Creek is a small stream which rises in the county, and is also a
tributary of Sandy River. Harmony Creek rises in the county, ranges
north-east, and empties into Tennessee River. Sulphur Creek also
rises in the county, ranges north-east, and empties into the Tennessee
River. Crooked Creek is another tributary of the Tennessee River, rises
in the county, and ranges north-east. Lick Creek is still another of the
numerous tributaries of Tennessee River, rises also in the county, and
also ranges north-east. The Tennessee River washes the north-eastern
border of the county for a distance of not less than fifty miles, and the
Big Sandy River forms the dividing line between Benton and Carroll
counties. All of these creeks are fed by springs, which are in
great numbers in the county, and they furnish a bountiful supply of
water for stock throughout the entire year. The beds of those streams
which empty into the Tennessee River (excepting Cypress Creek) are
generally covered with flinty rock, while those emptying into Sandy
River have sandy, gravelly bottoms. Cypress Creek is a very sluggish
stream, and also has a sandy bottom. The springs in the northern and
central part of the county are freestone, except in a few instances
where the water is strongly impregnated with sulphur or iron. On
Sulphur Creek there are several small sulphur springs, and on Sandy
River there is a very strong sulphur well. On Beaver Dam Creek there
is one spring, the waters of which are strongly impregnated with alum,
and there are several small chalybeate springs on the same stream.
The water in the southern part of the county is also principally free-

I026 Resources of Tennessee.

stone, but there is some limestone water, and on the Tennessee River,
near Rockport, there is a superior chalybeate spring. For domestic
purposes the people use wells and springs about equally, the average
depth of wells throughout the county being about thirty-five feet,
though there are some (in the bottoms) as shallow as ten feet, while
there are others (on the highlands) which are as deep as seventy feet.

Timber. There is a very fair supply of timber in the county, the
best being oak, but scattered over the county in limited quantities are
found some poplar, and in the southern districts some chestnut. There
are still other varieties of timber, but not in large quantities. Along
the creek bottoms and on the rivers, there is some walnut.

Lands, Statistics. The following figures taken from the census re-
port of 1870, will give the reader a very correct idea of the county as
it is in 1874, the change having been small:

Total number of farms in county 1,165

Number of farms having under 3 acres 1

" " 3 and under 10 acres 53

" " " 10" " 20 " 235

" " " 20" " 50 " 469

" " " 50" " 100 " 310

" " " 100" " 500 " 97

It may be mentioned, as one of the peculiarities of Benton county^
that the farmers are generally men of small means, who are content
to work on small farms, hence do not feel much the general scarcity of
labor. Some, however, prefer to rent out their land, and it is esti-
mated that about twenty-five per cent, of the improved lands are in the
hands of renters, the average rentals being, for cotton, corn and grain
lands, per acre, $3.00. It is also estimated that about the same (25)
per cent, of the improved lands are for sale, and can be bought on
reasonable terms, the average prices being as follows :

Best improved lowlands, per acre $15 00

uplands "

Medium lowlands "

" uplands "

Inferior lowlands "

" uplands "

10 00
5 00
3 00
3 00
2 00

These figures will surprise most persons who examine them, for it is
a well established fact that in proportion to their real value, the lands
of Benton county sell cheaper, by a large per cent., than the lands in
any other county in West Tennessee. It is true they are not first-class

Wes^ Tennessee, 1027

lands as a rule, but they produce reasonably well, and are really worth
more than they sell for. The following figures will give a very correct
idea of what these lands will produce, the averages having been esti-
mated by some of the most intelligent farmers in the county :

Average yield of cotton, per acre 500 pounda.

« " corn " " 25 bushels.

" " tobacco" " 700 pounds.

" " Irish potatoes, per acre 60 bushels.

" sweet " " " 75 "

" " peanuts " " 65 "

The usual form of renting throughout the county is for part of the
crops, the terms generally being as follows : Where the land-owner
furnishes everything but the labor, he gets one-half; and where he
only furnishes the land, he gets one-third of the crop. The usual
terms of sale are for one-third cash, the balance in one and two years,
without interest, a vendor's lien being retained to secure payment of un-
paid purchase money.

Labor, As has been stated above, the people of Benton county are
more independent of farm labor than those of its neighboring coun-
ties, ])ut still there is a fair demand for good hands, which, at present,
are very scarce. The principal available labor now is negro labor,
which is very unreliable; there are, however, some white laborers,
and they are generally regarded as being very reliable. The people
would be glad to welcome white men who are willing to work for
wages, but they insist that they don't want any fresh installments of
negroes. The wages usually paid for hands in the county are as fol-
lows:

For farm hands, per year $180

" " " per month 15 to $20

" " " per day 100

Cooks, per month 4 to 5

House servants, per montli 5 to 6

Good cooks are greatly in demand, but the demand for house ser-
vants is small.

Grasses. As yet the ]>eople of Benton county have paid no atten-
tion to the growing of grasses, though it is reasonable to suppose that
they would do well. Indeed, a very few flirmers in the neighborhood
of Camden testify that their limited experience proves that grasses will
do well, especially herds-grass, which is their favorite. Clover yields
well, but it is too short-lived to be profitable. The quantity of hay

I028 Resotirces of Tennessee.

that is saved in the county is too small to enable even an approximate
estimate of the yield per acre to be made with any certainty.

Fruits. Benton is a good county for the growing of fruits, but there
are few market orchards; peaches and plums do especially well, and
they are raised in abundance on almost every farm. The other varie-
ties of fruits also thrive, but those named are the most reliable, and
are the favorites. Grapes, too, bear profusely, the domestic as
well as the wild varieties, and most, if not all of the berries grown in
Tennessee, are grown very successfully.

Forest Products. Lumber is not regarded as an article of commerce,
though good qualities can be obtained in any quantities. Along the
banks of the Tennessee River some attention is paid to rafting logs^
but very little lumber is sawed in the county, only sufficient for home
use.

Stock. Little or no attention has been paid to stock-raising ; every
farmer raises enough for his own purposes, and a sufficient surplus is
raised in the county to supply the towns and villages, but no attention
is paid to raising stock for market. Some eiforts have been made to
raise sheep, but for the want of a " dog law " they have been unsuc-
cessful.

Game and Fish. There is very little game in Benton county, and
such as there is, is very small ; a few deer are occasionally found on
the Tennessee and Sandy rivers. But there is a plentiful supply of
fish in the rivers, and in all the creeks, the principal varieties being
buffiilo, cat, some trout and perch. As a general thing, game fish are
scarce.

Markets. Nashville, Louisville, Memphis and Evansville are the
principal markets, by way of the Nashville and Northwestern, and the
Memphis and Louisville railroads, and the Tennessee River.

Tlie People. As a general rule, the people are very law-abiding and
work well, but they are not the thriftiest people in the world. In fact
they might do much better, but as a class they seem satisfied to work,
and make just enough to live on comfortably. There seems to be less
disposition to get rich among the farmers than is usually seen in Ten-
nessee; indeed, they are the most contented and the most easily sat-
isfied pc<)j)le in West Tennessee, if not in the South.

Immigration and Emigration. Those who are in the county seem
satisfied to remain there, and the result is that very few leave; those

TVesl Tennessee. 1029

who do leave generally go to Texas and Missouri. And since the war
there seems to be but little disposition manifested on the part of home-
seekers to settle in Benton, and the result of this state of affairs is that
the population of the county continues about the same from year to
year, and undergoes but little change. A man may leave and return
after many years' absence, and reasonably expect to find many familiar
faces. The people, however, will heartily welcome white men and
their families, without regard to political antecedents or proclivities,
provided they will come of their " own free will and accord." They
cannot be prevailed on to trouble themselves much to induce immigra'-
tion. It is due them to say that they are eminently sociable as a
people.

Roads. The county roads are in a very bad condition, and have but
little attention paid to them. The people have no confidence in the
new road law, which has never been enforced in the county. There
are no improved roads in Benton county.

Railroads. At present there are but two railroads passing through
the county the Nashville and Northwestern, which passes through its
center from east to west and the Memphis and Louisville, which
just touches the extreme northern part of the county. Efforts are be-
ing made to build a road from Cairo, 111., to Johnsonville, on the Ten-
nessee River, to be called the Cairo and Tennessee River Railroad, but
as yet the prospects are not flattering.

Toions and Villages. Benton county is well supplied with towns and
villages, which are scattered about promiscuously — those at all deserv-
ing of mention being as follows :

Camden, the county seat, is located near the center of the county,
has about 300 inhabitants, is the center of trade in the county, has a
court-house and jail, three churches. Baptist, Methodist and Cumber-
land Presbyterian, and two good schools. It has also, among other busi-
ness-house, a stock store, which is deserving of mention. It is owned
by a joint stock company, numbering 175 (mostly farmers) members,
with a cash capital of $6,000. The stockholders in the aggregate
being worth $100,000. The shares are twenty-five dollars each,
and no one stockholder is allowed to own more than twenty shares,
and every stockholder is allowed to purchase all the goods he needs for
his family use at an advance of ten per cent, on first cost. It is a
chartered institution, having been regularly incorporated under the
style of ** Tiie Pco])le's Company," in April, 1872, when there were

1030 Resources of Tennessee.

only forty members. It has no connection with the order of the Pat-
rons of Husbandry, and anyone not in the interest of a merchant can
become a stockholder, with all the privileges which the others enjoy.

Mt. Carmel is a small village, fifteen miles south-west of Camden,
with about thirty inhabitants. Coxburg is fifteen miles south of Cam-
den, and has about thirty inhabitants. Rockport is a shipping point
on the Tennessee River, and is eleven miles south-east of Camden.
Thompson's Point is on the Tennessee River, and is nine miles south-
east of Camden. Wills' Point is also oh the Tennessee River, and is
seven miles east of Camden. Sales' Landing on the same river is seven
miles south-east of Camden. Point Mason is also on the same river and
is eighteen miles north-east of Camden. West Danville is on the west
bank of the Tennessee River, where it is crossed by the Memphis and
Louisville Railroad, and is twenty-three miles north-east of Camden.
Benton Ridge is a depot on the Memphis and Louisville Railroad, and
is twenty miles north-east of Camden. Big Sandy is also a depot on the
same road, and is fourteen miles north of Camden. Barter Hill is six
miles north-west of Camden. Sawyer's Mills is six miles west of
Camden. All of these places, except Camden, are very small, and
have a neighborhood importance on account of having in them
blacksmith shops, and some of them stores and post-office. In this
connection, it will be well to observe that post-offices are not conven-
ient to all sections of the county. A great many were abandoned du-
ring the war, which have not since been revived. The result is, a
large proportion of the people have to ride to Camden to get their
mails.

MUh and Factories. The fall of the streams in the county is very
slight, and the result is there are few mills. The average milling dis-
tance is not less than five miles. There are two or three small tobacco
^ factories in the county, but they have only a local importance.

For school statistics, see Part I of this Report.

Churches. Nearly every neighborhood has churches convenient,
representing some one or more of the Christian denominations. The
denominations rank in numbers and wealth as follows: 1st, Metho-
dist; 3d, Cumberland Presbyterian; 3d, Baptist; in the southern part
of the county there is one congregation of Reformers or Christians.
As a general thing Sunday-schools are not kept uj) in the country
churches, and but indifierently in the towns and villages. No news-
paper is published in the county.

Wes^ Tennessee. ^o^i

CARROLL COUNTY.

County Seat— Huntingdon.

This county is bounded on the north by the counties of Weakley
and Henry, on the east by the counties of Benton and Decatur, on
the south by Henderson and Madison counties, and on the west by
Gibson county. There are about 625 square miles of territory in
the county. The number of acres exclusive of town lots assessed
for taxation in 1873, was 352,030, valued at $3,153,880. The
countv is divided in twenty-five civil districts and seventy-five school
districts, giving an average of three school districts to each civil dis-
trict. This division into school districts was made under the new school
law. There are no natural divisions which are worthy of remark.
mdory. On the 9th day of November, 1821, the General Assembly
passed an act providing for the organization of whnt was known as the
Western District into counties, and under and by authority of this act
the county of Carroll was formally organized on the 11th day of
March 1822.

Fh'8t Settlers. The old pioneers who first settled in the section of
country now embraced in Carroll county, were originally from the
States of North Carolina, South Carolina and Virginia, and not a few
of them were from the older counties of Middle Tennessee.

Topogmphij. In the immediate vicinity of Huntingdon, which is
located very near the center of the county, the surface character of the
country is very broken; going north from three to four miles the coun-
try becomes quite level, and continues so until the county line is reached;
going south without being hilly, the country is broken ; going west
five or six miles, a very level and very rich body of land is reached,
which extends to the west county line ; going east the county is rather
broken for about nine miles, when it becomes very much broken, and
• even hilly.

Soil The soil is generally of a gray color, with a reddish subsoil,
which is very retentive of moisture. But there is a light sandy soil m
various sections of the county, on which cotton does better than on the
gray lands, but even on that it pays well to raise it.

Geological Formations. As a general rule, the county is very free
from rocks, but in the eastern part there is occasionally a formation of

1032 Resources of Tennessee.

sandstone found, which generally lies near the surface, but it is some-
times reached by well-diggers at a depth ranging from three to six feet.
These formations, however, are very limited in extent, and have only
a local interest. It may also be well to notice that in various portions
of the county a very singular looking sand is found, sometimes at or very
near the surface, but for the most part at a depth ranging from eigh-
teen inches to five and six feet. In color it varies considerably, some-
times presenting a reddish appearance, at another time or place assum-
ing rather a yellowish cast, while in other places its color is almost
white ; again beds of it are found which are something of a bright
orange color, and in more than one place in the county all or most of
these colors may be found in one bed, mixed with a pasty colored clay.
It seems generally to run in veins, and it is said that sometimes fossil
leaves and even semi-petrified twigs and tree limbs are found in these
beds.

River's and Creeks. The county is reasonably well watered with
perennial streams, of which the following are most worthy of notice :

Big Sandy enters the county from Henderson county, ranges north-
east, cutting off the south-eastern corner of the county, and empties into
the Tennessee River in Henry county. Beaver Creek rises in the
county, with two heads, one in the south-eastern part of the county,
which ranges west ; the other in the north-eastern part of the county
and ranges north-west, uniting abouttwo miles south-east of the town of
Huntingdon, thence ranging west, and empties into the South Fork of
the Obion River. Crooked Creek enters Carroll county on its north-
ern boundary near the centre of the line from Henry county, ranges
south-west, and intersects Beaver Creek about four miles from the west
boundary line, forming the South Fork of the Obion River. Reedy
Creek, in the south-western part of the county, ranges about north-
Avef^t, and empties into the South Fork of the Obion. Rutherford
Fork of the Obion rises in Henderson county, enters Carroll in the
south-western part of the county, ranges north-west through the county.
Forked Deer enters the county on its southern line, near the western
corner, and cuts off the south-west corner of the county.

The above named streams, which, it will be seen, are very conve-
nient to a large pro])ortion of the county, are fed by springs ; those
west of Huntingdon have sandy beds, the others have all muddy beds.
There is a great number of springs in the county, some of them being
quite strongly impregnated with sulphur, while others are chalybeate,

West Tennessee, 103 3

but most of them are freestone. The principal dependence for stock-
water is in the rivers, creeks and branches, but for household purposes
wells and cisterns are mainly relied on.

Land Statistics. In 1870 there were 960 farms in Carroll county, of
all sizes, of which number there were three having more than three
and under ten acres; sixty having more than ten and under twenty
acres ; 447 having more than twenty and under fifty acres ; 226 having
more than fifty and under one hundred acres; 180 having more than
one hundred and under five hundred acres ; and only four having
more than five hundred acres, and these four had each less than one
thousand acres. Since 1870, there has been some improvement in the
matter of clearing lands, but it has been so small that it scarcely
admits of being estimated. The cash value of these farms in 1870
was $1,671,572, while the cash value of the farming implements and
machinery was $114,585, which value has not increased to any great
extent. In 1873 there were probably not less than 33^ per cent, of all
the open lands in the hands of renters, while a large proportion of the
balance, say 33J per cent, of the whole, is worked by hired hands for
for money, or on shares, while only about 33^ per cent, is worked by the
land owners themselves. In this connection it may be well to notice
that scarcely more than 5 per cent, of the lands now open in the county
are really untillable. The amount of lands in the county which are for
sale, at reasonable prices, is probably 20 per cent., owned by persons
who have large bodies of lands; but a small proportion of this 20
per cent, is land which is open and ready for cultivation. The average
prices for lands in the county are about as follows :

Best improved land, per acre $30 to $40

Medium lands 15 to 20

Inferior lands 5 to S

In many of the West Tennessee counties quite a difference is made
in the prices of the uplands and the lowlands, but in Carroll county,
as a general rule, there is no such distinction made. The average
rental of lands in the county is about as follows :

Cotton and corn lands, per acre $3.50, or one-third of the crop.

Meadow and f!;rain lands " One-third of tlie croj).

When the land-owner furnishes everything but the labor, and crops
on shares, he gets one-half of the crop. The usual terms of sale are,
one-third cash, the balance in one and two years, with lien retained for
the unpaid purchase money.

I034 Resources of Tennessee. *

Labor. Labor is very scarce, the people having to rely principally
upon negroes, who are indolent and not trustworthy as a class. There
are some white laborers, but they, too, as a general rule, are not re-
garded as reliable. Good white laborers are very much wanted, and
they can command the following |>rices :

Farm hands (with board) per year $150

" " " " " month 15 to $20

" day 1

Harvest " " " " " 2

Cooks " " " month 8 to 10

House servants " " " " 10 to 12

Mechanics " " " day 2 to 4

Products. The county generally produces well, and the following
averages of crops may be relied on :

Corn, per acre 22 bushels.

Cotton " 600 to 800 lbs.

Wheat " 8 bushels.

Tobacco " 800 lbs.

Oats " 15 bushels.

Potatoes, Irish, per acre 20 to 30 bushels.

Potatoes, sweet, " 25 to 40 "

The cotton generally ranks from good ordinary to low middling ;
the tobacco is of a good quality, but not much is raised ; oats do well
sometimes, but on account of the frequency of rust, but few are raised.
The following crops were realized in 1870, and will give a fair idea of
what the people of Carroll county are doing in 1874:

Wheat raised 93,872 bushels.

Corn " 777,922 "

Oats " 4,206 "

Tobacco " 10,840 pounds.

Cotton " 5,023 bales.

Wool " 13,044 pounds.

Potatoes, Irish, raised 213 bushels.

Potatoes, sweet " 371

Butter 272,083 pounds.

Cheese 4,475 "

Hav 108 tons.

Sorghum 8,065 gallons.

Honey ;^,135 pounds.

In tiiis same connection uuiy be very appropriately given a few
other statistics as illustrating the industries of the county :

Value of home manufactures $ 87,455

" animals slaughtered, etc 312,707

all live stock 910,255

Wes^ Tennessee. 1 03 5

Number of hoi-ses 3,517

" mules and asses 2,265

" milch cows 4,076

" working oxen 857

" other cattle 4,505

sheep 10,822

" swine 35,018

Grasses. Clover and herds-grass have long been the favorite grasses
in the county, but of late years clover has been giving place, to a great
extent, to timothy, which is now extensively sowed. The German
millet is also coming into favor in many neighborhoods, but as yet it
cannot be classed as one of the general crops of the county. The es-
timated average yields of these grasses is as follows: Herds-grass and
timothy per acre, two tons ; German millet, three tons. There is also in
the lowlands over the county a wild grass, called locally, swamp grass,
which is said to grow luxuriantly, and of which stock of all kinds are
remarkably fond. This swamp grass stands a drought well.

Fruit, Vines and Berries, The most reliable fruits are the peach
and the apple ; pears do well, especially the standard varieties, but the
dwarfs are short lived and unreliable ; plums and cherries likewise da
tolerably well, but they are not much valued or cultivated. Every
year there is fruit in some neighborhoods of the county, and about
" every other year" a good crop may be relied on. Grapes, espe-
cially the wild varieties, seem to thrive particularly well, but most
of the domestic varieties are subject to more or less rot, which fact
prevents them from becoming an article of export from the county^
Berries of the kinds usually found in West Tennessee grow in great
abundance, and are regarded as being very reliable. The muscadine
is abundant.

Forest Products. Good lumber can be procured in the county at
from $15 to §20 per thousand feet, principally yellow poplar, but there
is some red gum ; the other varieties are very scarce, and but little is
shipped.

Stock and Stock-raising. But very few persons are paying any at-
tention to the improvement of stock. It is believed, however, that the
plentifid supply of water, the wild grass which abounds, and the ex-
tensive ranges in the county peculiarly adapt it to this branch of in-
dustry. The Berkshires are the favorite hogs in the county, aud a
dog law is very much wanted, and would be very popular with the
farmers, most of whom would raise sheep, but cannot do so on
account of the great number of shee[)-killing dogs which infest the
county.

1036 Resources of Tennessee,

Game and Fish. There is very little game in Carroll county ; prin-
cipally turkeys, squirrels and birds, and they are rapidly getting scarce.
Fish, also, are becoming very scarce, the most numerous varieties be-
ing trout, perch, suckers and cat, and a very few buffalo.

Markets. The principal markets are Nashville, Memphis and Louis-
ville, via the Nashville and Northwestern, and the Memphis and
Louisville railroads. There is also a good home market for everything
which one may have to buy or sell.

Population. According to the census report of 1870 the population
of Carroll county was as follows: Whites, 14,648; colored, 4,799;
total, 19,447.

The People. As a general rale the people are industrious and thrifty,
and there is a general spirit of improvement manifested, especially
among the farming classes. New buildings are going up, old ones
are being improved, fences are being built, and to a very limited ex-
tent new lands are being cleared and made ready for cultivation. The
<?ourt records show that the people are generally law-abiding, but
there is probably more litigation in proportion to the jiopulation than
in any other county in West Tennessee.

Farming and Farmers. Since the war, there has been a very grad-
ual and marked improvement in the manner of farming ; but even in
1873 the farmers read but little on the subject of farming, or on any
other subject, and agriculture, as a science, is but little understood.
Tliere is some machinery in use, but very little, and there is certainly
great room for improvement. A very insignificant proportion of the
people are subscribers to agricultural papers and journals.

Immigration and Fmigration. During the past five or six years very
few families or individuals liave moved into the county; these few
principally from East Tennessee and from North Carolina, while
occasionally one from Virginia finds his Avay into the county. The
]){>ople express themselves as being anxious to welcome good settlers,
but they have as yet made no effort worthy of the name to induce peo-
ple to make their homes with tliem. They will be glad to have set-
tlers come in, without resjiect to color or political proclivities. Some
families have left the county recently, most of them going to Arkansas
and Texas, but the general dis])osition of the ])eople is to stay at home,
that is to say, in the county, but it is said that they arc equally as fond
of confining themselves to their respective homes, the result being that
they are not note<l for their sociability.

TVes^ Teii7iessee. i o'^ 7

Roads. As a general rule the roads in the county are in a very
neglected condition, and often in the winter they are nearly impassi-
ble. The people seem to be so much absorbed in the raising of cotton
that they cannot be induced to work on the roads, and the result is
obvious. The road law of 1872-3 is not in force in the county, and is
not likely to be.

Railroads. The railroad facilities, however, are very good, and the
prospects are very encouraging. The Nashville and Northwestern
Railroad runs through the county, entering it from Benton county,
ranging in a south-west wardly 'direction to Huntingdon, running thence
in a north-westerly direction to McKenzie. The Memphis and
Louisville Railroad enters the county from Gibson county at Milan,
which is not far from the line between Gibson and Carroll counties,
and near the middle of the line, running- thence in a north-easterly
direction, passing out of Carroll into Henry at McKenzie, which is on
the dividing line between Carroll and Henry counties, and very near
the center of that line. The Tennessee Central, which is to run from
Huntingdon to the town of Fulton, on the Mississippi River, in the
county of Lauderdale, is under contract from Huntingdon to Trenton,
in Gibson county, and will, in all probability, be completed.

Toions and Villages. Huntingdon, the county seat, is situated near
the center of the county ; has a population of about 800 inhabitants ;
has four churches, representing the following denominations : Metho-
dist Episcopal Church, South ; Methodist Episcopal Church, North ;
Cumberland Presbyterian, and Colored Methodist ; has as its only public
buildings the court-house and jail ; is quite a good looking town, is
growing some, and does a heavy business ; has a depot on the Nash-
ville and Northwestern Railroad, the contemplated northern terminus
of the Tennessee Central Railroad, and also of the comtemplated rail-
road from Jackson. Over 4,100 bales of cotton were shipped from this
point in 1873.

McKenzie is at the crossing of the Nashville and Northwestern, and
the Mem phis and Louisville railroads; is 12 miles north-west of Hunt-
ington; has about 1,000 inhabitants; is quite an active business point;
is growing rapidly; is the seat of Bethel College, which institution is
under the patronage of the Cumberland Presbyterian Church, and has
about eighty students; also of McKenzie College, which has about 170
students, and is a private enterprise; has three churches, representing
the following denominations: Methodist Episcopal Church, South,

1038 Resources of Tennessee.

Cumberland Presbyterian, and Baptist; has also one foundry, one
planing mill, one flouring-raill, three cotton gins, two colored churches
(Methodist and Baptist) and two colored schools. Trezevant is a depot
on the Memphis and Louisville Railroad ; is twelve and a half miles
west of Huntingdon; has a population of about 250 inhabitants.
McLemoresville is on the contemplated line of the Tennessee Central
Railroad ; is nine miles west of Huntingdon ; has about 200 inhabi-
tants; is the seat of a fine institution of learning known as Bethel
Seminary, with 104 students. Atwood is on the Memphis and Louis-
ville Railroad, fifteen miles of Huntingd#n ; has about 100 inhabitants.
Lavinia is a small village, twenty miles south-west of Huntingdon,
with about 150 inhabitants. Clarksburg is nine miles south of Hunt-
ingdon, and has about two hundred inhabitants. Buena Vista is eight
miles east of Huntingdon, and has 50 inhabitants. Hollow Rock is a
depot on the Nashville and Northwestern Railroad ; is ten miles east
of Huntingdon, and has about 200 inhabitants. Marlborough is thir-
teen miles north-east of Huntingdon, and has about 200 inhabitants.
Macedonia is a small village, nine miles north of Huntingdon; is
the seat of Macedonia College, and has about 60 inhabitants. Maple
Creek is fourteen miles south-east of Huntingdon, and has about 40
inhabitants. It will be noticed that these towns and villages are at
convenient distances throughout the county, thus giving the people
good post-office and commercial facilities.

Water-'power , M'llh and llanuf actor ies. The streams of the county
are very sluggish, hence there is no excellent water-power in the
county. However, mills are generally very conveniently located, the
average milling distances being about three miles, and most of them
are very good. There is no strictly merchant mill in the county, and
the saw-mills generally saw lumber for the home trade. About
twelve miles north of Huntingdon the Shiloh cotton factory is located,
which it is proposed will manufacture cotton cloths, but as yet it is
only running spindles, and employs about twenty-five hands.

Schooh and School Stafidlci^. Public schools are not favored. A
tax for that purpose is unpopular. There are, however, many good
private schools, and the public schools are kept up for a few months
each year. The scholastic population is 5,697.

Religious Statistics. Churches are conveniently located with respect
to most of the neighborhoods of the county, representing the follow-
ing denominations: Methodist Episcopal Church, South, Cumberland

West Tennessee. 103 9

Presbyterian, Baptist and Christian ; there are also some representa-
tives of the denominations of Primitive Baptist, but the church is very
weak. Masonic and Odd Fellows' lodges are quite common.

Newspapers. There are two newspapers published in the county :
one, the Tennessee Republican, is a Republican paper, published at
Huntingdon, and has a good circulation ; the other is the McKenzie
Times, which is a Democratic paper, published at McKenzie — it also
has a good circulation. The people in the county are not great readers
of newspapers, but to a very limited extenl, the secular, religious and
agricultural press is patronized.

Fair Association. At McKenzie Is an association kno^vn as the
'' McKenzie Agricultural and Mechanical Association," which is in its
third year, and is in a good condition. The people in the county man-
ifest much interest in its success. The farmers have numerous organi-
zations.

CROCKETT COUNTY.

County Seat — Alamo, or Cageville.

Crockett county is bounded on the north by the counties of Gibson
and Dyer, on the east by the counties of Madison and Gibson, on the
south by the counties of Haywood and Madison, and on the west by
the counties of Haywood and Dyer. According to the best informa-
tion to be had on this subject, without an accurate survey, the county
contains about 275 square miles. The number of acres assessed for
taxation, exclusive of town lots, is 163,658, valued at $2,661,121.
There are thirteen civil districts in the county, and thirteen school dis-
tricts organized under the school law of 1<S72, the school districts cor-
responding with the civil districts. The county has no natural di-
visions, but being composed of parts taken from the counties of
Gibson, Haywood, Dyer and Madison, it is very convenient to refer
to certain sections of the county, as the Gibson, Haywood, Dyer or
Madison fraction.

History. The act of the General Assembly authorizing the organi-
zation of Crockett county was passed July 7, 1870, but was amended
in 1872, and in April, 1872, the organization was effected.

^c>4o Resources of Tennessee,

Physical Geography, Geology and Soil. The country around Alamo,
the county seat, is level for from three to five miles in every direction.
Going north from Alamo, the county is level to the county line, going
south, it is the same way, going west it is level for about three miles,
and is then hilly to the county line ; eastward, it is level until the
Madison fraction is reached, about three miles from Alamo, when it
becomes quite hilly; north-west from Alamo, the hilly country com-
mences in about two miles and extends to the county line. There are
no hard rocks to be found on the surface or under it. In digging
wells, sand is reached at about thirty-five feet below the surface in most
sections of the county. The underlying formation is the LaGrange
Sands, 116 of the map, but this is generally covered by the Orange
Sand, which gives character to the region.

The best lands are in civil districts numbers eight and twelve, which
formerly belonged to Haywood county, and number twelve, which was
taken from Dyer county. Number thirteen is also a rich body of land.
The color of the soil in these four districts is very dark, (almost black)
and has no sand. The poorest lands in the county are in the eastern
districts, near the town of Gadsden, on the Memphis and Louisville
Railroad, the color of the soil being reddish. The northern and south-
ern districts, though not as good as those in the western part of the
county, (numbers eiglit, ten, twelve and thirteen) are better than those
in the eastern part, and yield very well.

The staples in the county are cotton and corn, though only corn
enough is raised to suj^ply the annual home demand.

Health. The health of the county is not first-rate, owing to the
fact that what are called the "West Tennessee bottoms" border it on
the north and south, and there is too much malaria. It will compare
very favorably, however, with other counties in this respect in the
same section of country.

Rivers, Creeks and Sprmgs. Crockett is not as well watered as many
other counties in West Tennessee, the following named streams being
the only ones worthy of esj)ecial mention: South Fork of the Forked
Deer Kiver, forms the southern boundary line of the county. Middle
Fork of the Forked Deer River forms the northern boundary. Pond
Creek rises about 300 yards north of the town of Alamo, runs north-
west, and empties into the main Forked Deer River near the town of
Dyersburg, about twenty-five miles from Alamo. Cypress Creek rises

TVes^ Tennessee. 1041

in Madison county, runs north-west, and empties into Forked Deer
River ten miles north of Alamo. There are very few springs in the
county, and none of them are very bold or noteworthy. For a supply
of stock water, the people have to depend on artificial ponds, which
are easdy made and hold well, and the ponds in the beds of the creeks
which cease to run in summer. Many of these ponds hold water du-
ring the greater part of the year. The dependence for household pur-
poses are wells and cisterns. The water in all parts of the county is
freestone, though two and a half miles west of Alamo there is a good
well of mineral water, which is thought to have medicinal virtues.
The water has not been analyzed ; it affects the liver very actively
when taken even in small quantities.

Timber. All of the various kinds of timber found usually in
West Tennessee, except pine, are found in large quantities in Crockett
county, though the varieties mostly abounding are oak and poplar.

Land Statistics. It is impossible to give a perfectly accurate report
of the products of Crockett county in 1873. However, according to
the best information which has been attainable, the following es'timates
for 1872 are very nearly correct :

Whole number of farms ^ ^oa

Farms having 3 to 10 acres ' V

" 10 to 20 " ... qi

20 to 50 " .... 7ii

50 to 100 " .. qjn

" 100 to 500 " .. Vfifi

" 500 to 1000 " .'".'.'.■.'".■.■.■.■.■.■.■.■.■.■■.■.■.■.■.■.■.■.■.■ 4

Total value (not assessed) af farms ..'..'.".".".*..'.'.*.".'.".'.. .'.'.'$3'i'o6 460

Value of farming implements and machinery 140 152

" orchard products .'.'.'.'.'.'.'.'.'.'.".'.'." i'stT

" forest products .".".'.'.'."'.'.'.'.".'.'.'..'.'...'. 'sOS

" home manufactures 5 157

" all livestock ............'...'.'....... 710595

Horses .. 2,239 number.

Mules and Asses 2 511 "

Milch Cows 2610 "

Other Cattle 5299 "

Sheep !......................' 2,824 "

Swine 24 211 "

Com .'.."."'.v.'.".'."!.";.'." 554^430 bushels.

Wheat, winter 38 029 "

^ats ".".'.'.'.'.'..'.'.'." 6|686 "

Irish Potatoes 2 328 "

Sweet Potatoes 7 539 "

Cotton !.'.."!!.'.'.'.'..'.".' 7^500 bales.

Wool 6^751 pounds.

Gutter 20,293 "

1042 Resotirces of Tennessee.

The average yield per acre for the most prominent crops are as fol-
lows: cotton, 700 pounds; corn, 35 bushels ; wheat, 10 bushels. There
is very little tobacco raised, the amount being too small to admit
of a general estimate being made. There are about 33^ per cent, of
the farming lands of the county worked by renters, the rest being
worked either by the land-owners or under their supervision. The
usual terms of rent are as follows : when money rent is required the
prices paid are, for cotton lands, per acre, $4 ; corn laud, $3 : small
grain land, ^2.50. When part of the crop is required, the land-owner
furnishing only the land, he gets one-third of the cotton and corn and
one-half of the small grain. When he furnishes all but the labor, he
gets one-half of the cotton and corn, and two-thirds of the small grain.

The following are the average prices of land in the county:

Best land $20.00 to 25.00 per acre.

Medium land 12.00 to 20.00 "

Inferiorland 5.00 to 12.00 "

Not less than fifty per cent of the land can be purchased at these
prices, and on the following terms : one-third cash, the balance in one
and two years, a lein being reserved on the land to secure the payment
of the second and third installments.

Labor. Labor is very scarce throughout the county, the laborers
being principally negroes, who are very unreliable. The farmers es-
pecially are very anxious to welcome good laborers, and will prefer
white men who are not afraid to work. Laborers can command the
following wages : farm hands, per year, $180; per month, $18; per
day, $1 ; cooks, per month, $7 ; house servants, $6. Cooks are in
great demand, though the demand for house servants is not so great.

Grasses. Very few persons are paying any attention to grasses, the
" cotton fever " being universal. It is said, however, that herds-grass,
timothy and clover all do well, and are valuable crops.

Fruit. In the eastern section of the county, there are good quanti-
ties of peaches and strawberries raised every year. The standard va-
rieties of pears are reliable, and not much subject to blight ; but little
attention is paid to them. The dwarf varieties are short-lived and un-
reliable. In the other sections of the county, plenty of fruit is raised
for home purposes, peaches and plums being the favorites. Grapes are
cultivated to a considerable extent in the neighborhood of Gadsden,
and yield well, but in the other sections of the county, though they do
well, little attention is paid to them.

J4^es^ Tennessee. 1 043

&toclz and Stock-raising. There is little or no blooded stock in Cro(;k-
■ett county, and the people are paying no attention to the improvement,
grazing or raising of stock. There are a few Berkshire hogs ; but little
oare is taken with them. There are no improved breeds of sheep ;
in fact, this branch of industry is almost entirely neglected.

Markets. Memphis, Louisville, Cincinnati and St. Louis are the
markets to which all the cotton and other produce of the county are
carried to be sold. Memphis, however, gets the bulk of the trade, as
it is only eighty-six miles from Alamo, the county-seat, and is very
accessible via the Memphis and Louisville Railroad.

Population. Since the county was organized, there has been no ac-
curate estimate made of the population, but multiplying the voting
population (2,100) by 5, which is generally regarded as a fair rule, and
it gives 10,500 as the actual population of the county, of which about
one-fourth are colored.

The People. As a mass, the people are not well educated. They
are, however, a hard-working and law-abiding people, but in the strict
sense of the term, they are not thrifty. The result is, that while they
are generally in comfortable circumstances, their general want of en-
terprise is felt by the county, which is developing but slowly. The
drawbacks are, the want of a wholesome system of labor and the scar-
city of railroads and good schools.

hnmigration and Emigration. There has been but little immigra-
tion to the section of country now included in Crockett county since
the war. The majority of the few families or individuals who have
moved in are from the counties of Middle and West Tennessee, with a
few from Mississippi. Nor has there been much disposition manifested
to leave the county, but those who have gone went to Texas, Arkansas
and Missouri. In this connection it should be stated that the people
are very conservative in their views and feelings generally, and will
cordially welcome good citizens, regardless of political opinions.

County Roads. The county roads of Crockett county are better
than the average in West Tennessee, though they are far from being
first-class. Though the new road law is not in force, and is not likely
to be, the people work the roads sufficiently to render them passable at
all seasons of the year.

Railroads. The only railroad now running through the county is
the Memphis and Louisville, which passes through the south-eastern

I044 Resources of Tennesee.

corner. Tbe Tennessee Central is chartered and surveyed to pass
through the county, and will doubtless be completed. The Holly
Springs, Brownsville and Ohio Railroad is also chartered and surveyed
to run through the county, but its prospects at present are not very
flattering.

Toums and Villages. The following are the only towns and villages
in the county worthy of mention : Alamo, the county seat, (formerly
called Cageville) is located very near the center of the county, and has
about 350 inhabitants. Gadsden, a station on the Memphis and Louis-
ville Railroad, is eight miles east of Alamo, and has about 150 inhab-
itants. Bell's Station, on the Memphis and Louisville Railroad, is six
miles south-east of Alamo, and has about 400 inhabitants. Lonefield is
five miles west of Alamo, and has about 50 inhabitants. Cairo is four
miles north-west of Alamo, and has about 50 inhabitants. Chestnut
Bluff is fourteen miles west of Alamo, and has about 100 inhabitants.
Friendship is twelve miles north-west of Alamo, and has about 350
inhabitants. Quincy is four miles north of Alamo, and has only one
store and a blacksmith shop, and a very few dwellings. Crockett Mills,
seven miles north-west of Alamo, is a very small place, and has the
best steam grist and saw-mill and cotton gin in the county.

3Iills. The average milling distance throughout the county is about
five miles. The mills are generally good, and there are numerous
good mill sites which might be improved.

Churches. The leading denomination in the county is the Metho-
dist, and the Christian ranks second. There is also a number of
Baptist and Cumberland Presbyterian churches in the county. The
church advantages are very good throughout the county. Any per-
son can ride from two and a half to three miles and attend divine wor-
shi]). In the towns and villages Sunday schools are generally well
kept up, but this is not the case in the country.

Newspapers. One newspaper is published in the county, the "Crock-
ett County Sentinel," a democratic weekly, which is published in
Alamo. It was established in May, 1873, and as yet has a limi-
ted circulation. As a general rule the people of the county are not
a i^'cading people, and but few papers of any kind circulate. A very
small number of ])()litical and religious papers are taken, but the agri-
cultural press is but indifferently patronized. The farmers are pretty
well organized in Granges.

PVes^ Tennessee. 1 045

DECATUR COUNTY.

County Seat — Decaturvilt.e.

Decatur county is bounded on the north by Benton county, on the
south by the Tennessee River and Hardin county, on the east by the
counties of Henderson and Carroll, and on the west by the Tennessee
River. This county contains about 550 square miles. The number of
acres returned for taxation, exclusive of town lots, is 322,690, valued
at $3,214,148, or nearly ten dollars per acre.

Divisions. There are twelve civil districts and twelve school districts
in the county, which comprise all the artifical divisions in the county.
The natural divisions are those which are created by the various creeks
or rivers. It might also be mentioned that there is a ridge, known in
the county as the " shore line," which traverses the county in a north
and south direction, and forms two divisions known locally as the
^' sand district" and the " rocky district," the former being west of fhe
ridge and the latter being east of it.

History. Decatur county was formerly a part of Perry county, but
in November, 1845, the General Assembly of the State passed an act,
which went into effect on the first Monday in April, 1846, dividing
Perry into two counties, giving to that of the old county lying west of
the, Tennessee River the name of " Decatur county, in honor of and to
perpetuate the memory of Commodore Decatur of the United States
Navy, of whose services our nation should be proud and whose mem-
ory should be revered."

Health Statistics. The people of Decatur county claim to have one
of the healthiest counties in West Tennessee, and with the exception of
a few neighborhoods, this claim is not without foundation. In those
sections of the county which are subject to be annually overflowed by
the Tennessee River, and even in the immediate vicinity of these sec-
tions there is more than a usual amount of sickness growing out of
the superabundance of miasmas which rise from the overflowed terri-
tory. But with these exceptions, the county is generally healthy, the
prevailing diseases in summer being of the malarial type, and in the
winter, affection of the hmgs. The mortuary list of the county will
•compare very favorably with that of the other river counties in West
Tennessee.

1046 Resources of Tennessee.

Phydcal Geography. A large portion of Decatur is included in what
is known as the Plateau or Slope of West Tennessee, the remaining
part being in the West Tennessee Valley. The character of the country
west of the Tennessee River and until the river bluffs are reached is.
a rich dark alluvial soil, very porous, very deep and very productive.
It is true some portions of this county are annually subject to over-
flow, but on the high grounds are some of the best farming lands in
the State. Tlie bluffs range with the meanderings of the river, as a
general rule, the average distance from the v'w^r being about one and a
fourth miles, though the valley in some places is as much as two miles
wide, while in other places it is very narrow, the bluffs approaching
very near to the river banks. West of the bluffs is a high, dry table
land, which is not so rich and not nearly so productive as the valley
or lowlands, and all over the table land is found a great deal of
rock, which generally lies near the surface, frequently cropping out
above ground. This indeed is the general character of this section of
the county until what is known as the " old shore line" is reached,
which extends from north to south through the county. Decaturville,
the county seat is located upon this ridge. Going west from this ridge
toward Henderson county, there is much sand and the districts in this
part of \h.Q county are known locally as the " sand districts," not be-
cause there is nothing but sand, but to distinguish them from the rocky
districts east of the " shore line." The soil in these " sand districts'^
is very mellow, productive and rather thirsty. At a distance below
the surface of about eight inches, on an average, is a light colored,
grayish yellow clay, which is more porous than clay usually is, and is
therefore more thirsty. But on the whole this land produces very
well, and this section may be regarded as a very fine farming country.
As a general rule the lowlands are planted in corn, and the uplands in
cotton, wheat and peanuts. The highlands are well adapted to the
growth of clover, and where there is a preponderance of sand in the
soil, herds-grass and peanuts thrive especially well. Wheat generally
does better in those sections of the county where there is less sand, and
where the soil is stiffer than in the very sandy sections. In various
portions of the county, especially upon or near the ridge, are numerous
glades or bare tracts of land, sometimes containing several acres, which
will ]>roduce nothing in the way of vegetation, but an occasional bush
or little patches of wiry grass. These glades result from the disinte-
gration of gray and sometimes reddish marly limestones, which con-
tain occasionally interstatified thin cherty layers. The surface is

JVes^ Tennessee, 1047

made up of the debris from these rocks, and consists of marly matter,
mixed with angular calcareous and flinty gravel. Fossil shells, cri-
noids, corals and sponges from the limestones are found in comparative
abundance, mixed with the debris, and have made this region of glades
classic ground to palaeontologists. These glades in fact, constitute a dis-
tinctive feature of Decatur county.

Formations. Beginning at a point about six and a half miles from
the northern boundary line of the county, and immediately upon or
very near the west bank of the Tennessee River, and extending
through the county along its bank and out from the river to a distance
varying from one-half to three miles, is found the formation known as
the Niagara Limestone. The formation consists of thick-bedded crys-
talline and fine grained [limestones, more or less argillaceous, and often
weathering into shales. Most of the limestones are sparry and crino-
idal. The series is divided into two nearly equal members, the sponge-
bearing bed above and the variegated bed below, each about 100 feet
in thickness. The lower bed is an alternation of gray, red and mot-
tled layers, the crinoidal portions sometimes making a fair marble.
Much of the mass tends to crumble into shale. The limestone of the
upper beds are gray, and as in the lower beds, much of it weathers into
shaly matter. On the hill-sides layers of this limestone frequently out-
crop in two or three successive ledges, separated by intervals of shale.
Thin layers of chert or flint often occur, interstratified with the lime-
stone or embeded in it. In the report of Henry county it will be no-
ticed that mention is made of a bed of this formation, which affords a
very fair marble, some of which was used in laying the foundation of
the court-house in Paris. It belongs to the variety of Tennessee
marble known as the reddish variegated fossiliferous marble, and sec-
tions of the same variety are found in Benton county, and also in De-
catur county, though in Decatur no efforts have been made to develop
the wealth of the beds. Resting on the Niagara limestone is a series
of blue limestone, full of shells, and known as the Helderberg for-
mation. These rocks are seen about Decaturville. They usually out-
crop further west from the river than the Niagara. The western side
of the county, from north to south, presents a far more recent forma-
tion than those of the limestones mentioned. It is a bed of sand with
with more or less of clayey leaves, and is known as the Coffee sand.
Overlying all the formations mentioned, patches of the superficial
group spoken of in the first part of this report as the Orange sand, are
occasionally met with. The Orange sand consists of sand and gravel.

1048 Resources of Temiessee.

The iron bauks are in it. At a few points immediately on the Ten-
nessee River a blue limestone crops out from below the Niagara rocks
which yields a good hydraulic cement.

Rivers and Creeks. The Tennessee River forms the eastern boun-
dary of Decatur county, dividing it from Perry county, and is of
course worth much to the people of Decatur. There being no rail-
roads in the county, all the exports go out by the way of the river, and
all the imports are brought in the same way. Beech River, which
rises in Henderson county, enters Decatur at a point about five miles a
little north of west of Decaturville, and passing through the county
from west to east, empties into the Tennessee River at a point about
six miles a little north of east of Decaturville. It is the principal
stream passing into or through the county. The only other streams in
the county worthy of mention are Stewman's, Turnbull's, White's,
Rushing's, Cub and Morgan's creeks, which pretty thoroughly water
the county and aflPord ample milling facilities. These streams have
each fine valley lands on both sides of them, some of the valleys being
of considerable length and width. Of the Tennessee River valley
enough has already been said, but it should be stated that the valley of
Beech River is also a very superior one. The soil in this valley is
perhaps, not so deep, nor so productive. The various creek bottoms on
the creeks mentioned, also afford very superior farming facilities.

Timber. There is a bountiful supply of superior timber in Decatur
county, the growth, being poplar and the different varieties of oak
gum, hickory, ash, cedar, pine, sugar-maple, wild cherry, walnut and
some chestnut. As a very natural consequence, there are a number of
saw-mills, which are engaged in sawing up the best timber into lum-
ber, which is shipped by the way of the Tennessee River to various
markets. The varieties which are shipped principally, are poplar,
pine and walnut.

Land Statistics. According to the best information to be had on
the subject in 1873, there were in the county 662 farms of all sizes,
as follows :

Farms having 3 to 9 acres 9

" " 10 to 19 " 62

" " 20 to 49 " 245

" " 50to 99 " 224

" " 100 to 499 " 119

" " 500 to 999 " 1

JVest Tennessee. 1 049

Of the 41,205 acres of improved lands in the county, about two-
thirds or 37,470 acres were worked in 1873 by the land-owners, while
only about one-third or 13,735 acres were worked by renters. The
general rule of renting is, for the land-owner to furnish everything but
labor, when he gets of the crop one-third of the corn, oats and wheat,
and three-fourths of the cotton. But in some instances the land-owner
furnishes only the land, when he gets one-third of the corn, oats and
wheat and one-fourth of the cotton. When land is rented for money,
the usual charges are, for

Best improved bottom lands S5.00

Medium bottom lands 3.50

Best improved uplands 4.00

Medium uplands 3.00

The inferior bottom lands, as well as the third class upland.s, are not
highly prized and are not in demand for rent, renters always preferring
to work the best land they can get. Of all the lands in the county, it
is estimated that at least one-half can be purchased at reasonable fig-
ures, the usual terms of .sale being one-third cash, the balance in
one and two year.s, with lien reserved upon land to secure payment of
unpaid purchase money. The usual prices asked and paid for land are
as follows :

Best improved lowlands, per acre S40.00

2d class improved lands " " 25.00

3d " " " " " 15.00

Best unimproved " " " 15.00

2d class " " " " 10:00

3d " " " " " 2.00

These lands include only the tillable lands of the county. There
are very rich river bottom lands, which are subject to annual over-
flow, that can be purchased at from three to five dollars per acre, but
they are worthless except for the timber which is upon them. The
lands generally of Decatur county yield well, as will be seen by the
following table :

Average yield per acre in corn 30 bushels.

" " " " " cotton, (in seed) 700 pounds.

" " " " "wheat 17bushels.

" " " " "peanuts 25 "

Some attention is paid t« the growing of grasses and such roots as
are usually grown in West Tennessee. Until recently tobacco was
rai.sed to a limited extent and it generally paid well, but since 1871
the rage has been for ])eauut.s, which that year jiaid even better than

1050 Resources of Tennessee.

cotton. The crop of 1872, however, did not pay so well, and in 1873

it appears that the peanut rage had very materially subsided. Efforts

were made to get correct statements as to the yields in 1873 of the

various crops in the county, with the view of embodying them in this

report, but as they failed, the reader must, perforce, be satisfied with

the estimates of 1870, as taken from the census report of that year,

with this assurance, however, that the estimates of 1870 and 1873

would not differ materially, except in the item of cotton, the estimate for

1870 being too great for 1873 on account of the rage for peanuts, which

caused less cotton to be planted in 1873 than was planted in 1870. It

should also be observed that in the census report for 1870, there was

no estimate made of the peanut crop, which was insignificant then, but

considerable now. With the exception of these two items, therefore,

the following estimate, though compiled for 1870, will nevertheless give

the reader a very fair idea of the yield for 1873 :

Tobacco 44.630 pounds.

Cotton 1^159 bales.

Wheat 19,239 bushels.

Oats 20,549 "

Potatoes, sweet 15,913 "

Potatoes, Irish 8,709 "

Peas and beans 2,770 "

Butter 96,348 pounds.

As a general rule, very few grass-seeds are sown for hay and grazing,
and hay is not an article of export ; in fact, not a sufficiency is raised
in the county to supply the home demand, though the uplands gener-
ally are well adapted to the growing of the various grasses. Among
the few who pay any attention to grasses, clover is the favorite and it
is thought to do better than any other grass, especially on the limestone
and clayey lands. On the sandy lands herds-grass grows luxuriantly.
Clover is usually allowed to stand two years without being turned under,
to the great advantage of the land. Though there is a number of
extensive marl beds in the county, no fertilizers are used. The
lands are indifferently cultivated, the farmers using none of the scien-
tific implements so much appreciated by scientific agriculturists, and
pay no attention to saving or improving their lands. A few of
them are beginning to understand the system of rotating their crops to
their advantage, but a large majority of the farmers continue to work
and manage (or mis-manage) just as did their fathers and grand-fathers
before them. As a natural result of thes^ violations of the laws of
nature, the lands are yearly becoming more and more worthless, and
unless there is a wholesome and radical change, the future promises but
little to tlic farming community of Decatur county.

Wes^ TeJinessee. 1051

Stock Items. The same want of enterprise and judgment is as man-
ifest in the mode of handling stock as in the mode of farming. Ko
eflfbrts have been made to introduce the improved breeds of stock into
the county, and little or no attention is paid to the stock on hand,
which is all of common breeds. The object of the farmer seems to be
merely to raise a sufficient number of mules and horses for his om n
purposes, and so they are able to do his farm work, he seems entirely
satisfied. Cattle and hogs are rarely fed, but are turned out to pick
up a precarious living in the "commons," where wild grass is to be
found, and few or many acorns, as the mast happens to be light or
heavy. ^ Sheep would do well running at large, if it was not for the
fact that the dogs are very destructive to them. Notwithstanding this
fact the farmers still allow them to " look out for themselves," and
they seem satisfied to take as their share of the mutton what happens
to be left by the dogs. It is earnestly hoped, however, that there is a
better time coming for Decatur county, when the agriculturist will
understand that farming is a science as well as an art. The fol-
lowing report of the live stock in the county is taken from census
returns :

Horses Number 1,238

Mules and asses " 628

Milch cows " 1,436

Working oxen " 754

Othercattle " 2,115

Sheep " 5,649

Swine " 13,508

The value of this stock was estimated to be $311,117

Labor. Decatur, like her sister counties, complains of a very great
scarcity of labor. A large majority of the laborers in the county are
white men, who are regarded as being generally more reliable than the
negro laborers, but not even the whites cannot be said to be reliable.
During certain months of the year they work well, but when the
weather gets very hot or very cold they spend too much of the time
which they have sold to their employers, either in the shade or by the
fire. The following prices are asked by them and readily paid :
Farm hands, per year, $180; per month, $20; per day, $1.60; cooks
per month, $8 ; house servants, per month, $8.

Markets. The markets at which the people of Decatur buy and sell
are reached by water, the immediate outlet from the county,
being the Tennessee River. Louisville, Cincinnati, Evansville and
St. Louis are the principal ones.

1052 Resources of Tennessee.

Iron Ore. The amount of iron ore in this county is considerable.
The ore (limonite) is singularly free from flint, sand, sulphur and phos-
phorus. Near Brownsport Furnace is a bank from twelve to twenty feet
in thickness, and resting upon a limestone bed. This bank is capped
with a cherty mass, and there is an unusually small proportion of dead
matter. Brownsport Furnace is the only one in operation in the
county. It is three miles from the Tennessee River. This furnace
has been in operation forty years, and has now a capacity of 6,000 tons
of pig metal per annum, or from eighteen to twenty tons per day.
The stack is forty feet high and twelve feet between bosh. It blows
with three tuyers, is hot blast and has all the modern improvements.
It has a vertical engine, with twenty-four inch cylinder, and a blow-
ing cylinder sixty inches in diameter. Sand rock for hearths is conve-
nient, and the ore is dug within one hundred yards of the trundle
head. For making a ton of iron 120 bushels of charcoal are used
(2,688 cubic inches to the bushel). Coal costs seven and a half cents
per bushel delivered. Ore delivered costs $2.00 per ton. About two
and a quarter tons of ore make a ton of iron. The hauling of the pig
iron to the river costs $1.25 per ton. Limestone is delivered at $1.00
per ton. The iron made is only suitable for castings, most of it being
consumed for light castings, such as require strength and toughness.
About 200 hands are kept employed.

The People. The population of the county in 1870 was 7,722, of
which 1,056 were colored. It may be said that the people are sober,
reasonably industrious and law-abiding, but as a whole, they are
neither educated, enterprising nor thrifty. It has been stated above
that the farmers, as a class, are not enterprising, and the same with
equal propriety may be said of the representatives of the other callings
of life. Exceptional cases there are — men who are thoroughly alive,
well advanced and up to the times, and who are thrifty and large prop-
erty holders.

Roads. The new road law has never been enforced in Decatur
county, and under the misworkings of the old law, the county roads
have not, and are not now, kept in good repair. In the sandy dis-
tricts they are better than elsewhere, because they are more easily
worked, and are not so liable to get in bad condition, but even there
tliey could be put in better condition to the great comfort of the
traveler who is (rom[)ellcd to pass over them, good or bad.

TowriH and ViUa(/e.s. The only town (or village) worthy of mention

JVest Tennessee. 1 05 3

is Decaturville, the county seat, which is located near the center of tlie
county, about six miles west of the Tennessee River. It has a popu-
lation of about 200 inhabitants, and does a very fair business, most of
the people of the county doing their trading there.

3Iilh and Mannfadorks. Every neighborhood in the county has con-
venient to it a good grist-mill, the average milling distances throughout
the county being about four miles. Iron is about the only article which
is manufactured in the county.

School Statistics. The people of Decatur county have been, for many
years past, very indiiFerent on the subject of education, so much so in-
deed that it has been almost impossible to keep up a single really good
school in the county. In March, 1872, the County Ccurt levied a tax
of twenty cents on every hundred dollars worth of property for the
purpose of establishing a system of free schools in the county ; but for
some cause the matter stopped there, or at any rate the public schools
were not established. The scholastic population is 2,357. Twenty-
six free schools were in operation in the fall of 1873, three being for
colored children. The total number enrolled being 964, between
six and eighteen, and 127 between eighteen and twenty-one years
of age.

Churches. There are in the county about twenty church buildings
owned by various Christian denominations, of which the leading are
the Methodist, Presbyterian and Baptist. The people are constant
attendants upon divine services, and are very liberal in their support
of the ministry.

DYER COUNTY.

County Seat — Dyersburg.

Dyer county is bounded on the north by the counties of Obion and
Lake, on the east by Gibson and Crockett, on the south by Haywood,
Crockett and Lauderdale, and on the west by the Mississippi River.
It has an area of about 600 square miles. The number of acres as-
sessed for taxation in 1873 was 327,690, valued at $3,214,148. The
assessed value of property is $4,072,081. The county is artificially
divided into fourteen civil districts, and thirty-seven school districts.

I054 Resources of Tennessee.

The natural divisions are made by the different rivers touching or
passing through the county, and by the Mississippi Bluff, which separ_
ates the highlands of the county from the Mississippi Bottoms, thereby
creating two other divisions, known locally as the highlands and the
bottoms respectively.

History. The General Assembly, on the 16th day of October, 1823,
passed the act authorizing the organization of Dyer county, and dur-
ing the early part of the year 1824, it was formally organized. John
Rutherford, Benj. Porter, John D. Burrus, Wm. Lyrrell and Dr.
Thomas Hash were the first commissioned magistrates, and constitut-
ing the first County Court, selected as their chairman John Ruther-
ford, and as their first clerk, Wm. Mitchell. The first settlers in the
county were principally from Middle Tennessee and Virginia.

Health of the County. That part of the county included in the bot-
toms, and also that in the immediate neighborhood of the Bluff, are
more unhealthy than the other sections, except, perhaps, the various
river and creek bottoms throughout the county. All these sections
are subject to malarial diseases during the summer months. Upon the
highlands the people generally enjoy excellent health, but no part of
the county is favorable to consumptives, as the atmosphere is generally
too damj).

Physical Geography. Those portions of the county within the vari-
ous river and creek bottoms are very flat, but the general surface of
the highlands is gently undulating, except in the neighborhood of the
Bluff, where it is very hilly. The country immediately around Dyers-
burg, the county seat, is very level and fertile, and is well timbered
and watered. Going north from Dyersburg to the county line, the
surface is much more undulating, sometimes even hilly, but it is also
fertile and well timbered. Southerly from Dyersburg to the county
line the county is level agajn and very rich, and is covered with a
dense growth of timber. Going east from Dyersburg to the county
line, there are some slight hills, especially in the neighborhood of the
various creeks which one will have to cross going in this direction,
but with these exceptions the country is very level. AVest from Dyers-
burg a few miles, the Mississippi Bluff is readied, and in this imme-
diate vicinity, as already stated, there are many and very steep hills.
Before these bluff hills are reached, the country is level, and after
they have been passed, it again becomes flat, and continues so to
the Mississippi River. The soil of Dyer county is generally a dark

West Tennessee. 1055

rich loam, with a subsoil of yellow clay ; but in the western district
there is considerable sand, and the soil is much lighter in color. The
bottom lands are alluvial, and the soil is remarkably deep, ranging
from five to twenty feet in depth. By far the greater portion of the
county east of the Bluflt' is comprised in what is called by scientists the
bluff loam region, where the soil is generally a rich siliceous loam,
somewhat calcareous. In this region the soil is lighter, being of a
dark yellowish hue. This section is all included in the Plateau or
Slope.of West Tennessee, and of Dyer and Obion counties. Dr. Saf-
ford, the State Geologist, says '' it may not be too much to assert that
Obion and Dyer, the uplands of which belong to this belt, are natur-
ally the richest counties in the State. Here, at any rate, may be seen
a growth of great poplar, walnut, beech, white oak, etc., unsurpassed,
I am sure, by anything elsewhere in Tennessee." As to the produc-
ing qualities of these soils particular mention vail be made further on
in the pages of this report, but it will not be out of place, in this con-
nection, to observe that in no part of the State do they produce better
or last longer. In fact the subsoil, when .<aixed with the soil, pro-
duces well, and the soil itself is generally so deep that it seems almost
impossible even to exhaust it. All that is needed to make it everlast-
ing is a thorough system of subsoiling.

Rivers, Creeks, etc. Dyer county is excellently well watered, as will
be seen from the following brief description of the most important
streams : The Mississippi River washes the entire western border of
the county, and receiving the water from numerous creeks which pass-
ing through portions of the county, contribute greatly to its value.
Obion River enters Dyer county from Obion county, about four miles
west of the point where the lines of Obion, Dyer and Gibson counties
come together, runs thence in a north-westerly directioii until it gets
within six miles of the Mississippi River, when it runs thence south to
the south boundary line of the county, thence with the line westward
and empties into the Mississippi River. North Forked Deer River
enters from Gibson county, about midway of the eastern boundary line
of the county, ranges thence west to a point about two miles south-
west of Dyersburg, when it runs south and forms a junction with the
South Forked Deer River, about five miles south-west of Dyersburg.
South Forked Deer River enters from Haywood county, about sixteen
miles south-east of Dyersburg, runs thence in a south and south-west
direction with the south boundary line of the county, until it empties
into the Obion River, forming, in fact, the dividing line between Dyer

1056 Resources of Tefinessee.

and Lauderdale counties. Richland Creek rises about eight miles
north-east of Dyersburg, runs south and empties into the North Forked
Deer River, about seven miles east of Dyersburg. Louis Creek rises
about three and a half miles north-east of Dyersburg, ranges south
and empties into North Forked Deer River about three and a half
miles east of Dyersburg. Pond Creek enters the county at or near its
south-east corner, ranges north-west, and empties into Forked Deer
River about ten miles south-east of Dyersburg. Reed Creek rises
about sixteen miles north-east of Dyersburg, ranges west and empties
into Obion River, about eight miles north of Dyersburg. Coon Creek
rises north-west of Dyersburg several miles, ranges north-west and
empties into Reel Foot Lake, in Obion county, not far from the north-
west corner of Dyer county. Ricks Slough (Bayou) runs from Obion
River through the center of the county, and empties into Forked Deer
River. There are still others, but smaller streams, which have a neigh-
borhood importance, but it is not deemed necessary to mention them
in d-etail. The principal dependence for stock water is upon the rivers
and creeks, and their various tributaries, but pools are easily made, are
very reliable, and are considerably used. For domestic purposes the
people use wells and cisterns, which are easily and cheaply made, the
wells averaging in depth about thirty-five feet. There are fine springs
(some sulphur) in the county, but they are not numerous.

Timber. As has been stated above. Dyer county is one of the best
timbered counties in the State, the best timber being poplar, hickory,
walnut, cypress, the diiFerent varieties of oak, chestnut and beech, and
the other kinds usually found in West Tennessee. Some of the pop-
lars rise to a height of sixty or seventy feet without a limb, and will
measure six or seven feet in circumference. Oaks, hickories and wal-
nuts grow to an immense size, and even the sassafras here attains the
dimensions of the largest trees of the forest. The wealth of timber is
almost marvellous. The lumber trade from Dyer county is consid-
erable even now, and is constantly on the increase.

Land Statistics. The following figures will give the reader a very
fair idea of the condition of the farming interests of Dyer county.
They have been carefully estimated from reliable reports received
directly from the county :

Total viiliio of farms in the county $2,138,540

Nunilior of farms " " 2,346

" " having under 3 acres 3

" " " 3 and under 10 acres 97

« «< " 10 " 20 " 866

PVesi Tennessee. i057

Number of farms having 20 and under 50 acres 943

" " « 50 " 100 " 313

" " " 100 " 500 " 118

" " " 500 " 1,000 " 6

" " " 1,000 acres and over 0

Of these farms, about three-fourths were worked in 1873 by the
land-owners themselves, or under their immediate supervision, and the
remaining one-fourth was worked by renters. The usual terms of
rent are as follows. When money rent is charged, the prices vary ac-
cording to the value and character of the land and the kind of crop
to be raised. The prices asked may be classified as follows :

Best cotton and corn lands, per acre $6.00

Second class cotton and corn lands, per acre 4.50

Third " " " " " 3.00

Wheat, oats and grass " " " 3.00

When part of the crop is required, the land-owner furnishes only
the land, and gets one-third of the cotton and one-fourth of the corn ;
or if he furnishes everything but the labor, he gets two-thirds of the
cotton, and three-fourths of the corn. Of all the lands, improved and
unimproved, in Dyer county, about one-third can be purchased at the
following reasonable figures :

First class improved lands, per acre $30.00

Second class " " " 20.00

Third " " " " 10.00

First " unimproved lands, per acre 15.00

Second " " " " 10.00

Third " " " " 5.00

There are considerable bodies of land in the county which are sub-
ject to annual overflow, and which can be purchased at from fifty cents
to two dollars per acre. The usual terms of sale are, one-third
cash, the balance in one and two years, with a lien reserved on land.

The following, compiled from authentic information, will show the

average yield per acre :

Average yield per acre, of corn 35 bushels.

" " cotton 950 pounds.

tobacco 1,000

" " wheat 12 bushels.

oats 17

" « hay 3,000 pounds.

The cotton shipped from the county ranks in the market with the
best Tennessee cotton, and the tobacco, most of which is shipped to
New Orleans, ranks well as a heavy shipping tobacco. The leading
67

1058 Resources of Tennessee.

staples of the county are corn, cotton and tobacco, but a considerable
quantity of wheat is annually raised, and also other crops to a very
limited extent. During the past few years much more attention has
been paid to grasses than formerly, and now considerable tracts of
land are sowed down in clover, timothy or herds-grass. A large ma-
jority of the farmers who are sowing grasses use their grass fields prin-
cipally for mowing and grazing purposes. These men are also using
clover as a fertilizer ; but its value in this respect does not seem to be ap-
preciated as it deserves to be. Dyer is a reasonably good fruit county,
considered as a whole, but its northern districts are peculiarly adapted
to fruit growing. The most reliable domestic fruits are apples and
standard pears, but peaches and cherries also do well. The different
berries generally found in Tennessee abound in Dyer county, and in
the woods are walnuts, chestnuts and pecans. Fruit is not one of the
staples of the county, and very little is shipped. The following fig-
ures, estimated for 1873, will give the reader a pretty good idea of the
crops which were gathered in that year :

Bushels of corn 731,219

" winter wheat 83,128

" oats 7,832

Bales of cotton 5,709

Pounds of tobacco 421,147

hay 536,000

There is so little spring wheat raised in the county that it has not
been considered necessary to estimate the quantity. The following
table contains the estimates which have been made for 1873, of the
value and number of stock in the county :

Value of all livestock $859,218

Number of horses 3 848

mules and a«ses 1,497

milch cows 3,633

working oxen 932

other cattle 4,746

sheep 7,318

swine 31,364

The following estimate may be very appropriately given in this con-
nection :

Pounds of butter 283,437

" wool 10,324

Value of animals slaughtered, or sold for slaughter $261,710

In regard to the condition of the farms as compared with that be-
fore the war, it should be stated that many of those which were very

West Temiessee. i059

large, have been divided up into several small ones, and these are now
being well worked and are in a good state of cultivation. There is a
manifest disposition among the farmers all over the county to improve
their farms, and in every direction evidences are seen of this progress-
ive spirit. New houses are being erected, old ones are being repaired,
fences are being renovated, and, in short, improvement is the Avatch-
word. The farmers are also improving in another direction, for of
late years they have been devoting much more time, attention and
means to the improvement of stock, and there are to be seen in almost
every district specimens of blooded stock. The favorite stock of
horses, so far, are the Pacific and Albion ; of cattle, the Short-horn ;
of sheep, the Southdowns, and of hogs, the Berkshires. In the Mis-
sissippi River bottoms, and in the bottoms of the Obion and Forked
Deer rivers, are thousands of acres of wild lands, covered with a lux-
uriant growth of cane, which afford a fine range for stock during the
entire year, and it is to be wondered at that even more attention is not
being paid to the raising and fattening of stock. There is still another
evidence of thrift which must be mentioned to the honor of the Dyer
county farmers : they are fast laying aside their old fogy notions on
the subject of farming, and are beginning to introduce into their fields
labor-saving agricultural implements of every description.

Labor. There is a great scarcity of labor in Dyer county, and, as a
natural result, this interferes very materially with the farming interests
of the county. At present there are more black than white laborers
in the county, but they are, as a class, unreliable. The great de-
mand now is for farm hands, but all classes of laborers may rely upon
securing work and getting good wages. The following prices were
paid in 1873 :

Farmhands per year, with board $150.00

" " " without board 250.00

" " per month, with board 14.00

" " " without board 20.00

" per day 1.00

Cooks per month 8.00

House .servants " 8.00

Mechanics per day 3.00

Game and Fish. There are large quantities of game in Dyer county,
deer, turkeys, ducks, gee.se, rabbits, .squirrels, etc., and the rivers and
larger creeks abound in such fish as trout, perch, cat and buffalo.

Markets. The principal market of the county is Memphis, which is
seventy miles from Dyer.sburg, but .some corn, cotton and lumber arc

io6o Resources of Tefmessee,

also shipped to St. Louis. Most of the tobacco raised is shipped to
New Orleans.

Population. Since the census report of 1870 was made, a small
fragment of the county has been cut off, but from the best information
at present attainable, without an actual count, the population of the
county, as bounded at present, is very little smaller than it was in
1870. The following are the estimates for 1873: Whites, 10,707;
colored persons, 2,822 ; total, 13,589. The population in 1870 was
13,706, of which 2,893 were colored.

Tinmigrcdion and Emigration. A very respectable number of persons
are moving into Dyer county every year, principally from the States of
Virginia and Mississippi, and from the counties of Middle Tennessee.
There are also a good many persons moving away every year, princi-
pally to Texas, Missouri and Arkansas. The immense forests and the
high prices asked for land are driving many away from the county, es-
pecially those who have large families and small means. The prairie
land of Texas, and especially the lov/ price of land there, are the great
attractions.

2he People. The people of Dyer county are industrious, thrifty,
peaceable, and conservative in their religious and political views.
Of late years, they are paying more attention to education than they
did formerly, and are realizing to a greater extent the value of news-
papers. They are also very sociably disposed, and toward actual new
settlers they feel very kindly, regardless of their religious or political
proclivities. The rule acted upon is, "if we can't agree, we will agree
to disagree, and not quarrel about it."

Count 1/ Roads and Railroads. The roads upon the high lands of Dyer
county are generally good, and are kept in tolerable condition, but in
the low lands or bottoms they are bad, in spite of the levees which in
many places have been thrown up. If it were not for these levees the
bottom roads would be impassable in wet weather. On the whole,
however, the roads of Dyer county are above the average of roads in
West Tennessee. The only railroad at present in Dyer county is the
Memphis and Paducah, which enters the county near the nortli-eastern
corner, ranges north-east and south-west, passing very near tlie towns
and villages of Trimble, Newbern and Dyersburg.

Towns and Villages. Tlie following named towns and villages are
the only ones in Dyer county worthy of special mention : Dyersburg,
the county seat, is located very near the center of the county, on the

IVes^ lermessee. 1061

north bank of the Forked Deer River. It has about 1,000 inhabit-
ants, is a depot on the Memphis and Paducah Raih'oad, is seventy miles
north of Memphis, has good churches and schools, excellent saw and
grist-mills and one planing-mill. It is in the center of a rich and thickly
settled section of country, and does a very good business. Newbern
is on the Memphis and Paducah Railroad, ten miles north-east of Dy-
ersburg, has about 400 inhabitants, the best school building in the
county, churches, stores, post-office, wagon, carriage and blacksmith
shops, does a good business, and is located in one of the healthiest sec-
tions of the county. Maxwell, fourteen miles north-east of Dyersburg,
is on the Newbern and Trenton county road, and has two or three
business houses. Ro Ellen, six miles east of Dyersburg, has one
church, one academy, one Masonic hall and one cotton gin. It is a
very small place.

Hills and Manufactories. On the Obion and Forked Deer rivers
there is quite a number of very superior steam saw and grist-mills,
and at various other points in the county there are also good steam saw
and grist mills and cotton gins. There are /lo regular manufactories
in the county. The average milling distance, it is thought, will not
exceed four miles.

School Interests. The County Superintendent reports that the dis-
tricts are so arranged that one school in each district will accommodate
all the white persons in the district who will attend, and that special
arrangements have been made for colored persons. He thinks he will
be able to keep up the schools at least eight months in the year. Be-
sides the public schools, there are a very few private select schools, but
they are being but indifferently patronized. The scholastic population
numbers 4,301. The county levied a tax often cents on the ^100 and
$1 on polls for school purposes.

Churches. The county is well supplied with churches, there being
one or more in almost every neighborhood. The leading denomina-
tions are as follows : Cumberland Presbyterian, Methodist, Baptist,
Christian and Presbyterians. The average distance which the people
have to go to church ^^i]l not exceed three miles.

Newspapers. There are three newspapers published in the county,
two in Dyersburg and one in Newbern. Those in Dyersburg are the
Ncal's State (xazette, a Conservative weekly, and the Dyer County
Progress, a Democratic weekly. The Newbern paper is called the

io62 Resources of Tennessee.

Newbern Bugle, is a Democratic ^veekly, and has been recently es-
tablished.

Farmer'^ Organization. The Order of Patrons of Husbandry is
getting a firm foothold in Dyer county, and the interest which is being
manifested in the farmers' movement is a live one. There is also a
flourishing fair association in the county, with headquarters in Dy-
ersburg. It was organized in 1870, has superior fair grounds near
Dyersburg, and is called the Dyer County Agricultural and Mechanical
Association.

FAYETTE COUNTY.

County Seat — Someryillp:.

This is one of the largest and one of the best counties in the State,
and comprises over 700 sq\iare miles. The number of acres, exclusive
of town lots, assessed for taxation in 1873, was 438,652, valued at
$4,910,805, or a little over $11 per acre. The whole amount of taxa-
ble property in the county amounted in 1873 to $6,343,325. The
country bounded on the east and north by the Big Hatchie, the Wolf
on the south, and the Mississippi on the west, is said to be the most
productive tract of upland cotton land on the globe, in area 1,400,744
acres. In the center of this tract lies Fayette county, in shape nearly
square.

Earlif Historij. About the beginning of this century, some North
Carolinians settled near what is now LaGrange, in this county. They
were followed by other hardy pioneers from their own State, Virginia
and South Carolina, and the number increased so that on September
29, 1824, the I^egislature formed a county for them, and on the 6th of
December, the same year, the first County Court of Fayette county
opened at the house of Robert G. Thornton, in the southern part of
the county, and there iield its sessions until November, 1825. Edmund
D. Tarver was Chairman of this first court, and Henry M. Johnson,
tiie first settler of Somerville, was the Clerk. Only one case was tried
at the first session, whi(!h resulted in l)ringiiig into the coiuity treasury
six and one-fourth cents as a fine, l^iguriug largely among the first
entries by Clerk Johnson, are notices of wolf scalps being taken, one

TVes^ Tennessee. 1063

Ramsey being credited with nine scalps at one time. A tax of thirty-
seven and one-half cents on the 100 acres of improved land, and some
other burdensome taxes raised the revenue of the county to nearly $700
in 1825, in which year Mr. Robert Cotton is taxed on a four-wheel
carriage, the only one in the county. At the February term, 1825,
the commissioners appointed by the Legislature to select a site for the
county seat reported that they had located the same on lands donated by
George Bowers and James Brown, who are supposed to have made for-
tunes out of corner lots. November 14, 1825, the County Court held its
first session in Somerville, in a small log cabin, which stood on the public
square, then otherwise marked by four stakes. The County Court this
year ordered a public road, and three years later the first stage came
rattling into town, its twanging horn and general appearance, says a
citizen still living, exciting quite as much interest and curiosity as the
advent of the locomotive at a later day.

Towns. Somerville now has a population of some 1,600, and though
hardly the town it was in the palmy ante-bellum days, it is still a
thriving place, with superior society, old and of highest culture, and
despite the many indications of decadance, is still a pleasant looking
village to the tourist. There are eight or nine large supply plantation
stores, as many dry goods stores, with the corresponding number of
smaller stores, and shops of various kinds, banks, two hotels, three
churches, fine male and female academies. A new jail, costing $20,000,
has just been completed, and other important improvements are in
contemplation. The merchants are prosperous and reliable. The
trade, although confined to a circuit of seven or eight miles, is very
heavy, as that circuit embraces the most thickly populated planting
section of the county. A live newspaper, the Falcon, is published
here weekly. Next to Somerville, comes LaGrange, sixteen miles
south-east, on the Memphis and Charleston Railroad. LaGrange was
once called LaBelle Village, and had a population of some 2,500; not
more than half of which remains. "Owing to the war " is the explana-
tory legend that may be written over many such. Grant had his head-
quarters here for some time, with 60,000 men. This was the wealthiest
section of Fayette county, and much of the refinement and elegance
of those days remain. The trade of the village, like that of the other
towns in the county, is simply local, consisting mainly in plantation
supplies. A fine female academy is located here. Macon is eleven
miles from Somerville, in a very wealthy neighborhood, and is held to
be a very delightful place of some 800 souls, has a fine school, two

1064 Resources of Tennessee.

churches, and gave $70,000 to the narrow-gauge railroad. LaFayette
has about 700 people, is a town of pretty residences, seven miles from
Macon, on the Memphis and Charleston Railroad. One firm here does
$100,000 business annually. Galloway, on the Memphis and Louisville
Railroad, is the principal village of the north-west corner of the county,
has about 600 inhabitants, and does a thriving business in this county
and the adjoining sections of Shelby and Tipton. Moscow, at the
junction of the Memphis and Charleston and the Somerville Branch
Railroad, has four or five good stores, trades in northern Mississippi,
as well as southern Fayette county, and is thriving, with a population
of about 300. Oakland is the center of a heavy planting district, does
a large trade, and has about 400 people. Bellemont was a thriving
town until the business portion moved over to Macon, on the Memphis
and Louisville Railroad, leaving it now barely a town. Stores are
scattered over the entire county, bringing supplies conveniently near
to all the large planters.

Geology, Topography and Streams. The formation underlying the
surface of Fayette county is the Lagrange Sand described in the first
part of this Report. This, however, is very often concealed by the
Orange Sand drift. The topographical features are not strongly marked.
The northern portion is slightly undulating ; the middle and western
a little more inclined to be hilly, with extended plateaus ; the south-east
portion is more hilly, with very fertile valleys. The extreme southern
part is an unbroken level, being the bottoms of the Wolf River, which
is the largest stream in the county, and navigable at certain seasons.
It runs east and west. The North Fork of Wolf rises in the eastern
part of the county and joins the Wolf at Moscow. The Loosa-
hatchie also rises in the eastern part of the county, runs west nearly
tlirough the center, and empties into the Wolf at Memphis. Bear
Creek rises in the north-east, running north to the Big Hatchie, and
the Beaver waters the north-western portion of the county. The
streams water almost every. part of the county, and though very slug-
gish in dry seasons, are all available for milling purposes, except Wolf,
which is too large. There are seven mills on the Loosahatchie.

Soils. The soils of Fayette county are almost uniformly sandy, with
more silicates in those in the southern portion, and a gradual increase of
clay in the northern. That of the entire county is peculiarly adapted
to the growth of cotton and other textile plants. It is quick, and pro-
duces satisfactory crops of all the cereals ; neglected, this soil easily

Wesi Tennessee, 1065

-washes into great gullies, but it is easily preserved by the Caunon sys-
tem of horizontalization, ^vhich is generally adopted in the county.
This system of levels has each row to carry oif its own water. There
is no regular system of fertilizing. Occasionally the manure from the
stables is used, and some of the green sand or marl of McXairy
county has been used as top dressing for grasses with gratifying results.
This marl can be had in unlimited quantities for about the cost of
transportation, and will probably come into more general use in the
future. The cow pea is used as a renovator by turning it under while
green ; rye has also been used for this purpose.

Farms, Crops. A large proportion of the land in the county is im-
proved, only timber enough remaining for farming purposes. The
prices of farming land range from §3 to §40 per acre, averaging about
$9.50. The price per acre is governed mainly by location and condi-
tion of land. Large quantities of hillside lands having been wholly
neglected during the war have washed into gullies and ravines, the top
loam being swept into the valleys. These only were first cultivated,
though improvements are again reaching up the hillsides and reclaim-
ing them. These neglected lands can be bought for from $5 to $10
per acre, and will produce 500 pounds lint cotton, or fifteen to twen-
ty-five bushels of corn without fertilizers, when properly treated. The
general difference between the condition of farms now and before the
war, is that between thrifty and negligent farming, between reliable
and unreliable labor. Lands are deteriorating, because negroes are
not good farmers, and have no interest, as they think, in their preser-
vation. The blackberry, convovulus vines, etc., in fence corners, rot
the fences, and no rails being made, fields must be thrown out. The
average yield of cotton, under the present system, is about 200 pounds
lint, of corn eighteen bushels, wheat (rough seeding, i. e., thrown on
the ground and ploughed in) 9 bushels, rye and oats, etc., in propor-
tion, or about half in each case of the average yield before the war.
The commercial crop is exclusively cotton, and this is deemed the
most profitable crop. Ordinarily, enough of all cereals (except
corn) are raised for home consumption. No particular attention
is paid to these crops, except by amateurs. Many of these,
however, have experimented quite extensively, and found that
the climate and soil here admit of almost an indefinite expansion
in varieties of crops, of all cereals, fruits, vegetables, flowers, etc.
Plantations are generally large, though lessening slightly, and now are,

io66 Resources of Tennessee,

as a rule, from 150 to 800 acres. Within a radius of five miles of
Somerville there are ten plantations of over 1,000 acres each, and
some sixteen over 500 acres. The land-owners are generally quite
able to hold their land, and are not disposed to sell in parcels, except
to desirable neighbors. The old negro quarters are being broken up,
and cabins scattered over the plantation. Grasses generally do well in
Fayette, red and white clover, red top, orchard-grass and timothy all
do well — clover growing three feet high in some instances ; still it is
not used as a renevator, but solely as a forage crop. Bermuda grass
grows finely where pains are taken.

Labor and Wages. Before the war and ever since, the Fayette
planters have introduced, as fully as their labor permitted, all kinds of
the latest and best improved agricultural implements and machinery.
It is well to remark that a large number of the leading planters of
Fayette county are regular graduates of some of the oldest and best
colleges in the Union. A great many agricultural journals are taken,
and science introduced into farming just as rapidly as it can be
through the laborers. Before the war there was a most flourishing
agricultural association — none now ; but there are eleven granges in the
county, all well attended and earnestly engaged in devising means to
reclaim waste hands, make labor more efficient and reliable, and homes
more comfortable generally. Many experiments have been made with
a view to bettering the labor, trying to introduce white labor, etc.,
but after all done, it is the unanimous opinion that the old negro labor,
badly demoralized as it is, is the best. The prevailing arrangment
with the negroes is to furnish them implements, mules, provender for
mules, and seed, and give them one-half the crop, they furnishing
labor, their clothing, provisions, etc. A few hire out; first-class hands
receiving $150 to $175 per annum, and some rent land; $4 to $5 per
acre being charged for cotton land, some less for wheat and corn, rent
to be paid out of the crop. House-servants' wages are $4 to $6 per
month ; cooks $6 per month ; cook and washer |6 to $10. Mules are
used almost exclusively for farm work. There are no particular efforts
being made in stock-raising, none except for actual domestic and farm
uses, but before the war there was much fine stock introduced, and
improved breeds were sought after. Large flocks of best breeds of
sheep were brought here, but the dogs have effectually destroyed the
sheep husbandry of this county.

Smaller Industries and Manufactories. The industries outside of

JVes^ Tennessee. 1067

planting are merely incident to it in this county; and as a rule, even
the smaller industries receive only the attention demanded by home
needs. There are no manufactories of note, though cotton factories would
have very superior advantages, and a paper factory could get abundant
material at a nominal price. The ramie plant grows remarkably
well, and produces very fine fibre, and that with the waste cotton of
the gins would supply factories with raw material cheaper and better
than rags.

Transportation Facilities are very good, every farm in the county
being within a few miles of a railroad. The Memphis and Charleston
road traverses the southern portion of the county — the Somerville
Branch runs up to the centre, wliile the Mississippi Central and the
Memphis and Louisville embrace it on the east, north and west. In
fact it seems that the only real drawback to prosperous farming, is the
inability to control labor, as with tolerably constant labor of a fair
grade a fair crop is almost certain.

Fruits. A great many orchards are being planted, for which the
best varieties of fruit are selected, and many are putting out a
very great variety of apples, peaches, pears, plums, cherries, etc.,
all of which seem to thrive wonderfully, except winter apples.
The fruit has a peculiarly delicious saccharine flavor, particularly the
peaches. Nearly every variety of grapes do exceedingly well, as
proved by amateur growers. The scuppernong grows in great
abundance and perfection, never rotting. Blackberries are indige-
nous, and are only too abundant, while raspberries and strawberries^
reach perfection, and are certain.

The Timber of Fayette county was, for the larger part, very heavy,
valuable, and of great variety. Along streams, the cypress; on hill-
sides, the oak, walnut, poplar, and hickory, often of enormous size; in
the bottoms, the beech, overcup and white oak. At present, none re-
mains for export, and farmers generally are carefully husbanding their
timber.

MisceUaneous. The people are very anxious to secure intelligent,
honest and thrifty immigrants, regardless of nationality or opinion, if
they will only affiliate with the best classes of the citizens and unite in
the efforts being made to better the condition of the whole county.
The negroes at present have a majority of more than 1,000 votes, and the
whites, who pay very nearly all the taxes, are naturally anxious to have
sufficient votes to retain control of the finances of the eountv at least.

io68 Resources of Tennessee.

So far, no one can complain at the administration. The connty is out
of debt, with a surplus on hand, while some fine public improvements
have been made and paid for. There were sixty-three, wholly or in
part, public schools taught in 1873-4, for from two to ten months.
More than half of these schools were colored. Between $9,000 and
$10,000 was expended, only about one dollar per pupil. There are
five academies and colleges in the county, besides numerous private
schools. In brief, the educational facilities of Fayette county are very
good, and every child, white or black, has a fair chance to get at least
primary instruction. There are now ten inmates of the county alms-
house, more than at any time since the war. The colporteur of the
Bible Society has just made his report for this county. Not a white
family in the county is without a bible ; not a colored family but that
has some one in it who can read. The education of the negroes of this
county was not wholly neglected in ante-bellum times, and there are
several very good colored teachers, born and raised here. The people
are patiently working their way back to the wealth and comfort of
ante- war times, amid a cloud of obstacles, and are dealing fairly with
all. A strictly cotton-growing county, it necessarily suffers more from
the labor and political revolution than those counties with more diversi-
fied industries. The handsome results attending the experiments of the
amateur horticulturists and florists promise to lead many into those in-
dustries, and in due season they expect greater immunity from the pe-
culiar evils of the time.

Statistics. The population of the county is as follows: White,
9,158; colored, 16,987; total, 27,145. mite voters, 2,178; colored
voters, 3,362 ; total, 5,540.

The following statistics are taken from the report of the ninth census :

HorKs 2,839

Mules and asses 4,073

Milch cows 4,534

Working Oxen 405

Other cattle 4,872

Sheep 3,828

Hwine 30,762

Value of all live stock $1,085,136

Value of animals sold for slaughter 152,020

FARM PRODUCTS.

Wheat n, 786 bushels.

Corn 627,271

O&U 9,450

Cotton 20,131 bales.

Peas and beans 2,082 bushals.

Irish })otatoes 8,418

Sweet potatoes 26,077 "

Butter 12,232 pounds.

This county stands second in the production of cotton, Shelby being
first.

Wes^ Tennessee. 1069

GIBSON COUNTY.

County Seat — Trenton.

Gibson county is bounded on the north by the counties of Obion and
Weakley, on the east by Carroll county, on the south by the counties
of Haywood, Crocket and Madison, and on the west by the counties of
Dyer and Crocket. It comprises about 600 square miles. The num-
ber of acres of land, exclusive of town lots, assessed for taxation, is
366,105, valued at $5,618,695, or over fifteen dollars per acre.

Organization. Gibson county was organized by an act of the Gen-
eral Assembly of the State of Tennessee, passed on the 21st day of
October, 1823, which act provided for its organization. The first Jus-
tices of the Peace commissioned were Wm. P. Leat, Robert Edmond-

son, Obey Blakemore, Benj. White, Robert Read, Rice, Ab-

ner Burgan, John D. Love, Wm. W. Craig, W. B. G. Killingsworth,
John J. Lane and F. Davis. The first session of the County Court
was held, beginning on the 1st day of January, 1824, and Wm. P.
Leat was elected the first Chairman, and Thomas Fife was elected the
first Clerk. The first settlers of Gibson county were principally from
Middle Tennessee and North Carolina.

Health of the County. Gibson may be regarded as a reasonably
healthy county, though during the summer and fall months chills and
fevers generally prevail without being fatal. During the winter
months there are cases of pneumonia and other lung diseases, but they
are neither very frequent nor of a very malignant type. In regard to
consumption, it should be stated that very few cases originate in the
county. It is claimed by the physicians, and no doubt very justly,
that the mortuary list of Gibson county will compare favorably with
those of the other West Tennessee counties.

Physical Geography. Immediately about Trenton, the county seat,
which is located very near the center of the county, the surface is quite
level, there being but very little broken land. Going north from
Trenton to the county line, the land is also generally level, but south-
ward it is very broken. Easterly it is also quite hilly and broken,
but going west to the county line, the land is again very level. The
western half of the county is regarded as the best, the lands being
richer and lying better. Here the soil is generally a dark or black

1070 Resources of Tennessee.

loam, with a yellow clay subsoil, which is very retentive of moisture,
and is a good guarantee against very severe droughts. The soil in the
other half of the county is mulatto colored and has a perceptible mix-
ture of sand. The subsoil is rather darker, being of a reddish cast.
The soil here does not stand a drought so well, nor is the land so
productive. Considered as a whole, however, the lands of Gibson
<30unty may be classed as good, and paying crops are annually raised
upon them.

Topography and Formation. There are no ranges of hills in the
county that are worthy of note. Between the different streams which
will be mentioned, there are generally low ridges that divide the val-
leys, but they are neither very distinctive nor very prominent. All of
Gibson county is on " the Plateau or Slope of West Tennessee," in
which there are very few or no regular strata of hard rock, such as
sandstone, slate or limestone, which are found in most sections of
Middle Tennessee ; occasionally, however, local and limited beds or
blocks of coarse reddish or brown sandstone are met with, and this is
true of Gibson, As stated, the soil upon the surface is loam, which
is dark, ranging from a mulatto color to black, and varies in depth
from six to twenty-four inches. Immediately below this loam is a clay,
which varies in color from yellowish to dark brown, and varies in
depth from eighteen inches to four feet. Below this clay in almost
every section of the county are found strata of sand of various
colors. Below the sand is often found a very hard clay, locally known
as " hard-pan," which is hard to dig with picks. It is very difficult to
classify the lands of Gibson county with respect to their relative adap-
tability to the growth of certain crops, but it may be stated as a gen-
eral rule, that the darker lands of the county, which are principally
embraced in the western half of the county, are more favorable to the
growth of cotton than the others, though all the good lands in Gibson
county grow corn and cotton well. The soil of Gibson county gen-
erally is very mellow and has in it a considerable quantity of siliceous
matter. It is easily tilled, but where there are any very perceptible
elevations, it is subject to be washed away, and requires good hand-
ling to make it durable. A Gibson county farm in the hands of a care-
less and indifferent farmer soon decreases greatly in fertility and value.
But in the hands of an intelligent and energetic man Avho, understands
and appreciates the importance of hill-side ditching and general drain-
age, and who is not indifferent to the value of fertilizers, it will not
only hold its own, but increases in value and productiveness. It is but

TVes^ Tennessee. 107 1

just to observe that no lands in the State respond more readily to the
use of fertilizers and are more grateful for rest.

Rivers, Creeks and Spring^!. There are otlier counties in West Ten-
nessee which are better watered than Gibson county, but it has plenty
of water for all practical purposes. The following are the only
streams which are worthy of mention :

Middle Fork of Forked Deer River enters the county from Madi-
son county, about fourteen miles south of Trenton, runs north-west,
and passes out of the county into Dyer county about fourteen miles
west of Trenton. Little North Fork of Forked Deer River heads in
the south-eastern corner of the county, ranges west, passing nearly
centrally through the county, and empties into the Middle Fork near
where it passes into Dyer county. Rutherford Fork of Obion River
rises in Carroll county, comes into Gibson near its north-east corner,
ranges north, and passing into Obion county, empties into the main
Obion River about seventeen miles north of Trenton. South Fork of
Obion River laves the northern line of Gibson, forming the dividing
line, in part, between Gibson and Weakley counties. Big Creek rises
about six miles south of Trenton, runs west, and empties into Middle
Fork of Forked Deer River near the town of Eaton, eleven miles
west of Trenton. There are various other smaller streams in the
county, tributaries of those named above, which water the county very
generally. Along the banks of all the streams in the county are nu-
merous springs which feed them, but away from the streams springs
are very rarely seen. For domestic purposes wells are almost univer-
sally used, though a few families have cisterns, which are made without
brick and generally without cement. The" wells are generally dug
from twenty-five to thirty-five feet, though plenty of water may be
often found at a much less depth. In sections of the county where
the rivers and creeks are not convenient, farmers make ponds, which
hold water well and are easily made. The water throughout the county
is freestone.

Timber. The county is well timbered with the class of trees gen-
erally found growing in West Tennessee, with the exception of pine,
which does not grow here. Gibson having been settled upwards of
fifty years ago, there has been a greater destruction of timber than
in many of the neighboring counties; still there is enough left for
all practical purposes. Tlie best timbered land is in the western
half of the county, though there is no scarcity in any section. Lum-
ber is not one of the staples, though there is quite a number of

1072 Resources of Tennessee,

saw-mills constantly at Avork ; they only try, however, to supply the
home demand for lumber, which is not inconsiderable. In the west-
ern half of the county the principal undergrowth is pawpaw, and in
the eastern half it is principally hazle.

Statistics. Since 1870 no accurate estimates have been made of
the products of Gibson county, but supposing that one-seventh of
the county, as it stood in 1870, has since been given to Crockett county,
decreasing the returns of 1870 for the county a pretty accurate esti-
mate can be secured of the products of 1873. About the same area
was planted in 1873 as in 1870. The following figures, therefore, are
approximately correct :

Orchard products $ 10,271

Forest products 21,260

Value of home manufactures 20,157

" animals slaughtered or sold for slaughter 358,493

" all live stock 1,130,779

Number of horses.. 4,827

" mules and asses 2,533

" milch cows 4,689

" working oxen 457

" othercattle 5,443

" sheep 12,097

" swine 43,803

Bushels of winter wheat 100,145

" corn 915,236

" oats 10,387

Pounds of tobacco 83,400

Bales of cotton 8,413

Pounds of wool 10,866

Bushels of peas and beans 13,988

" Irish potatoes 20,092

" sweet " 51,665

Pounds of butter 209,211

Tons of hay 754

Pounds of honey 25,003

The following table will show the number of farms in the county'
and the relative size of each :

Total number of farms 2,893

Number having under 3 acres 1

" " 3andunder 10 138

" " 10 " 20 708

" " 20 " 50 1,284

" " 50 " 100 554

" " 100 " 500 206

" " 500 " 1,000 2

" "lOOOandover 0

IVes^ Tennessee. ^^IZ

There are about SS^ per cent, of all the open lands in Gibson county
which are annually rented, the general terms of rent being as follows:
When the land-owner gets a part of the crop raised on the land, and
furnishes only the land, his proportion is one-third ; but when he fur-
nishes all but the labor, his proportion is one-half. When money rent
is required, the following prices are asked and obtained by the owner :

For first-class lands per acre S5.00

" medium " " 3.00

" inferior " " 2.00

At least 75 per cent of all the lands in the county can be purchased
at reasonable prices and upon good terms. There is very great differ-
ence in the prices asked for the lowlands and the uplands gener-
ally, the advantages being in favor of the lowlands, which, as a rule,
are level and rich, while the uplands are generally broken and less
productive. The general terms of sale are as follows: one-third cash,
the balance in one and two years, with from 6 to 10 per cent, on de-
ferred payments, and lien reserved upon the land to secure said pay-
ments. The prices asked are :

Best uplands, per acre S15.00 to $20.00

" lowlands " 20.00 to 25.00

Medium uplands " 10.00 to 15.00

" lowlands" 15.00 to 20.00

Inferior uplands " 5.00 to 10.00

" lowlands" 10.00 to 15.00

The overflowed lands, including about 3 percent, of all the lands in
the county, generally sell for from $3 to §5 per acre.

Pi'oducts. Cotton is the principal staple, though corn, wheat and
hay are raised in considerable quantities. The land produces tobacco
well, but very little is raised. There are other products which are
raised in limited quantities, but they cannot be classed with the staples.
The following averages of yield per acre may be relied on :

Average yield of cotton per acre 800 lbs. seed.

" " corn " 40 bushels.

" " tobacco " 900 pounds.

" " wheat " 7 bushels.

" " hay " 1,500 pounds.

Stock peas do excellently well and are generally grown, but it is dif-
ficult to estimate the avei'age yield per acre, as they are used princi-
pally as fertilizers.
68

10/4 Resources of Tennessee,

Grasses. The farmers thronwhout the county are beginning to pay
much more attention to the gro .ving of grasses than formerly, timothy
being the favorite. However, clover and herds-grass (red top) are
quite extensively grown. Timothy grows to advantage only on rich
lands, while herds-grass will do well on any land. Clover will also do
pretty well on any kind of land, but as it makes the best fertilizer, ex-
cept stock peas, it is more frequently sown on poor lands for that pur-
pose.

Labor. Since the war there has not been a sufficiency of labor to
cultivate all the open lands, and it is still very scarce. The laborers
are generally negroes, who are very uncertain and unreliable. There
are some white laborers, but they are also uncertain. People are
anxious to welcome good laborers, and though there is a greater de-
mand for whites than for negroes, all will be able to find employ-
ment at good wages. The following wages are readily paid in the
county :

For farm hands per year $200.00

" " " per month 20.00

" " " per day 1.00

" harvest " " 2.50

" cooks per month 8.00

" house servants " 8.00

When $200 are paid to farm hands per year, it should be observed
that they are also boarded at the expense of the person hiring them.

Fruits. Gibson is not a first-class fruit county. Peaches do very
well, but for several years apples have done poorly. Plums and the
standard varieties of pears also do tolerably well, but dwarf pears are
subject to blight and are generally short-lived. Cherries, strawberries
and raspberries are said to grow luxuriantly, and the wild varieties of
grapes are reliable, but the domestic varieties are very subject to rot.

Stock and Stock-raising. Although Gibson has good natural advan-
tages as a stock country, little or no attention is paid to this important
branch of industry. " Cotton is King," and the farmers seem to be
entirely under its rule, and can with difficulty be made to believe that
money can be made in any other way than by planting cotton.

Markets. Memphis is the best cotton market, but, to a limited ex-
tent, St. Louis, Louisville, Cincinnati, Mobile, and even New Orleans,
are patronized.

Population. Since 1870 no official estimate has been made of the
population of the county. At that time, according to the census re-

Wesl Tennessee. io75

port, there were of whites, 18,801 ; colored, 6,865; total, 25,666. Since
that time about one-seventh of the county has been cut off from it, but
the increase of population has been at the rate of a little upward of 5
per cent., which will give as the population of 1873: AVhites, 17,026 ;
colored, 6,179; total, 23,205.

Immiffi'ation and Emigration. The immigration to the county during
the past few years has not been heavy, though quite a number of fami-
lies and individuals have moved in, principally from the counties of
Middle Tennessee. A considerable number has also left the county,
going principally to Texas and Arkansas,

The People. The people are generally law-abiding, industrious and
thrifty, and though to some extent embarrassed by reason of the war
and its attendant troubles, they are hopeful, and will ere long " be on
their feet " again. They are manifestiirg considerable enterprise, and
are evidently imbued with the spirit of progress.

Roads. The county roads are in bad condition, though they are in
better condition than are the roads in most of the adjoining counties.
The new road law is not in force, and in all probability will not be.
In the low places of the county some leveeing has been done, but the
levees are not kept in good condition.

Railroads. At present there are but three railroads passing into and
through the county — the Mobile and Ohio, which enters the county
from the south-east about fourteen miles from Trenton, and passes out
into Obion county about sixteen miles north-west of Trenton ; the
Memphis and Louisville, which enters the county about fourteen miles
due south of Trenton, and passes out into Carroll county about ten
miles due east of Trenton; and the Mississippi Central, which passes
through the entire eastern part of the county. Scarcely a county in
the State has more railroad facilities. The Tennessee Central, which
is to run from Fulton, on the Mississippi River, and tap the Nashville
and Northwestern Railroad at Huntingdon, will pass through Trenton,
thence onward to Huntingdon. It is now under contract.

Torwm and Villaf/cs. Trenton, the county seat, is located near the
center of the county, has about 2,700 inhabitants, six churches foi"
white peo])le, representing the following denominations: Methodist,
Baptist, Presbyterian, Cumberland Presbyterian, Ej)iscopal and Chris-
tian ; two colored churches, representing the Baptist and Methodist ;
two foundries, one planing-mill, two grist-mills and cotton-gins, two

1076 Resources of Te^inessee.

wagon factories, &c. It is also the seat of Andrew College, which has
been converted into a first-class high school. A very good female
school is also in this place, which is in a flourishing condition. Hum-
boldt is at the junction of the Mobile and Ohio and the Memphis and
Louisville railroads, has about 2,250 inhabitants, a number of churches,
good schools, workshops, mills and other industrial enterprises, among
which is a woolen mill. Among the schools is the Odd Fellows'
College, which is for the benefit of young ladies, who are patronizing
it very liberally. Humboldt is eleven miles south of the county seat.
Milan is twelve miles east of Trenton, has about 1,250 inhabitants, is
at the junction of the Memphis and Louisville and the Mississippi
Central railroads ; is well supplied with churches and schools, and is
quite a growing place. Dyer Station is on the Mobile and Ohio Rail-
road, seven miles north of Trenton, and has about 275 inhabitants.
Rutherford Station is on the. Mobile and Ohio Railroad, ten and three-
quarter miles north of Trenton, and has about 700 inhabitants. York-
ville is fourteen miles north-west of Trenton, and has about 125 in-
habitants. Eaton is eleven miles west of Trenton, and has about 135
inhabitants. Brazil is nine miles south-west of Trenton, and has about
80 inhabitants. Pickettsville is ten miles south-east of Trenton, and
has about 60 inhabitants. The foregoing are the only towns and vil-
lages in the county which are deserving of notice.

Millmg Facilities. There is very little good water-power in Gib-
son county, and mills are very scarce, the average milling distance
throughout the county being about four and a half or five miles. The
streams are sluggish, and have very little fall.

Schools. No county in the State, in proportion to population, has
done more for public schools than Gibson. For the year 1873-4, a
tax of twenty-five cents on the one hundred dollars was levied, which,
with the exception of Houston, is the largest county school tax levied
in the State. Schools are kept up from six to ten months in the year,
and their beneficial effects are clearly perceptible in the increase of
enterprise and intelligence among the people. Scholastic population,
8,484 ; number schools organized, 96.

Churches. Almost every neighborhood in the county is supplied
with comfortable cliurcli buildings, representing the various Christian
denominations. The Methodists predominate. Baptists next.

Newspapers. There are three newspapers published in the county —
the Trenton News, published in Trenton ; Trenton Gazette, also pub-

JVes^ Tennessee. ^^71

lished in Trenton ; and Humboldt Journal, published in Humboldt.
All of these papers are^Democratic, and are very creditable journals.

I Farmers^ Organizations. The "farmers' movement" has gained
considerable headway, and there is quite a number of Granges of the
Patrons of Husbandry in the county. At Trenton there is a fair
association, known as the Gibson County Agricultural and Mechanical
Association, which is in a very prosperous condition.

HARDEMAN COUNTY.

County Seat — Bolivae.

Hardeman county is bounded on the north by the counties of Hay-
wood and Madison, on the south by Mississippi, on the east by McNairy
county, and on the west by the counties of Fayette and Haywood.

According to the census report of 1870, there were 138,112 acres of
improved land in the county, 335,859 acres of woodland, and 22,042
acres of land that were otherwise unimproved than being in wood — in
all about 775 square miles. Since 1872 there has been no change in
the boundaries, and it is supposed that there is still, in 1S73, about the
same proportion of improved land, w^oodland, and otherwise unim-
proved land in the county that there w^as in 1870. Between the num-
ber of acres as given in the ninth census and the number returned for
taxation there is a discrepancy of nearly 100,000 acres. There are
eighteen civil districts in the county, and the same number of school
districts, which coincide with the civil districts.

Organization. Hardeman county was established under an act of
the General Assembly of the State bearing date October 10, 1823, and
on the 17th day of October, 1823, the county was formally organized
by the following named gentlemen, who w"ere the regularly authorized
commissioners for the purpose : Andrew Taylor, William Polk, Jacob
Pirtle, John Y. Cockran, William P. Robertson, Nathan Stell, John
Rosson, and one or two others whose names are not known and do not
a})pear on record. The first County Court elected William Polk as its
chairman and Thomas Jones Hardeman as its first clerk. The first
settlers wore jirincipally from Maury county, in this State, and from
Kentucky, and their descendants constitute to-day the leading citizens
of the county.

1078 Resources of Tenfiessee.

Fliymcal Geor/raphy. Hardeman county is included in the Plateau
or Slope of West Tennessee, and is one of tlie best counties on the
Slope. The country immediately around Bolivar, the county seat, is
quite level. Northward toward the county line it is rather broken,
with rich valleys and table lands ; southward it is inclined to be hilly,
but the lands are very good, and this section is regarded as an excellent
farming district. Proceeding eastward to the county line, it is again
hilly, but there are some rich and productive valleys. In a westerly
direction it is geiierally level and rich. In fact, there are few counties
in West Tennessee which present a greater variety of surface character,
and but few afford better farming facilities. The prevailing color of
the soil throughout the county is dark, and in most sections it is a
mellow, siliceous loam, highly productive. The prevailing color of the
subsoil is a red clay, which, when mixed with the soil, produces well^
and responds readily to the application of manure. The average depth
of the soil is about five inches, but in the valleys, which are numerous,
it is deeper, reaching frequently eighteen inches. Along the ridges,
however, it is very shallow, most of it having been carried off by
water to the valleys. The bottom lands, and what are known as the
table lands, are regarded as the best for corn and small grains, and
also for vines, and the uplands are the best for cotton. Where the
lands are level they wear well, and are easily tilled, but in the more
broken and hilly sections of the county, though easily tilled, they are
easily worn, and require good handling, especially deep subsoiling, to
make them last well.

Formations, Some indications of iron ore are observed in this
county. On Spring Creek, more particularly described hereafter, and
also on Hatchie River, there are frequent indications of iron. Beds of
lignite have also been discovered, whicli furnish a tolerable fuel. In
several sections of the county outcroppings of sandstone occur, and on
Muddy Creek there is a bed of limestone. Formations of limestone
are also discoverable at several points on what is known as Cypress
Creek. In the Geology of Tennessee, Dr. Safford says: "In the
vicinity of the Memphis and Charleston Railroad, in Hardeman
county, there are in the Ripley Group of the Cretaceous series, two
local beds, interesting on account of the fossils they contain as well
as for other reasons. The first is a bed of buff gray, impure limestone,
from two to six feet thick. It is found on both sides of the railroad,
near Muddy Creek. It abounds in two or three species of Turritellay

West Tennessee. 1079

Ostrea Vomer, Mort., claws of a Calianassa, and other species." The
second is a bed of clayey sand with green grains. This has been seen
west of the limestone at two exposures — one in a small cut on the rail-
road, about two miles east of Middleton, the other about two miles
south or south-east of Middleton, on a branch of Cypress Creek (of
Hardeman) and near the old stage road. The lands in Hardeman
resting on the Cretaceous strata are very good, the soil being generally
mellow, and a siliceous loam with a compact clay subsoil, well adapted
to the growth of corn and cotton. It should also be observed that in
many districts of the county the soil is heavily mixed with sand, m hich
is sometimes found in beds ranging in thickness from three to ten inches.
These beds, however, are generally some distance below the surface,
and are only occasionally seen cropping out above the surface. In the
sections where these sand beds are more frequently seen, the lands are
especially adapted to the growing of cotton. The Cretaceous forma-
tions are confined to the eastern part of the county. Much the larger
portion is based on the Lagrange Sands, but all the stratified forma-
tions are very frequently concealed by the Orange Sand Drift.

Rivers, Creeks, etc. It is claimed by the people of Hardeman county,
and not without reason, that they have the best watered region in West
Tennessee. The streams which are more deserving of mention are as
follows : Big Hatchie River enters the county near its south-eastern
corner, runs north-w-est, passing through the county. Little Hatchie
River enters the county from the east, and empties into Big Hatchie
about twelve miles east of Bolivar. Wade's Creek rises a little north
of east from the county seat, empties into Big Hatchie River, about
nine miles east of the county seat. Piney Creek rises in the north-
eastern part of the county, and empties into Hatchie River, about
three miles east of Bolivar. Gray Creek rises in the north-eastern
part of the county and empties into Hatchie, two miles north of Bol-
ivar. Mill Creek rises in the same neighborhood, ranges nearly west,
and empties into Hatchie six miles north-west of Bolivar. Cloon
Creek also rises in the north-eastern section of the county, runs west,
and empties into Hatchie nine and a half miles of Bolivar. Hickory
Creek rises ten miles west of Bolivar, and empties into the Hatchie
sixteen miles north-west of Bolivar. Clear Creek rises eisrht miles
south-west of Bolivar, ranges east and north, and empties into Hatchie
seven miles north-west of Bolivar. Pleasant Run rises six miles
south-west of Bolivar, and empties into Hatchie two miles north-west
of Bolivar. Spring Creek rises south of the county seat, runs north.

io8o Resotirces of Tennessee.

and empties into Hatchie one mile north of Bolivar. Cub Creek rises
south-east of Bolivar, and empties into Hatchie six miles south-east of
Bolivar. Porter's Creek rises south-east of Bolivar, and empties into
Hatchie eight miles south-east of Bolivar. Muddy Creek rises in the
southern part of the county, and empties into Hatchie about seven
and a half miles south-east of Bolivar. Besides those mentioned,
there are numerous other but smaller, streams which ramify throughout
the county, watering not only every civil district, but almost every
neighborhood. These, as well as the larger streams, are lasting, and
afford a plentiful supply of water, especially for stock purposes,
throughout the entire year. They are fed by never-failing springs,
which are numerous and very bold, and the water all over the county
is well tasted and generally clear. Pools and cisterns are easily
made, and hold water well, but are not much needed, hence are not
frequently seen. The wells vary in depth from twenty to eighty feet,
the average depth being about forty-five feet. The water throughout
the county is freestone and chalybeate. About two and a half miles
south of Bolivar are the Dunlap Chalybeate Springs, the water of which
is held in high estimation.

Timber. The best varieties of timber are white oak, red oak, hickory,
gum, poplar, and much pine. Large quantities of lumber are shipped
annually for staves, and are sent to New Orleans, and a great many
cross ties are annually cut for railroad purposes. Saw-mills are numer-
ous. The lumber they make is of pine, cypress, poplar, and oak.

Land Statistics. In 1873 about two-thirds of the open or cleared
lands in the county were worked by the land-owners, or under their
immediate control, and the other one-third was worked by renters.
Tlie usual terms of rent are as follows: When money rent is required
the price asked and obtained is $4 per acre. When part of the crop
is required, the land-owner furnishes everything but the labor, and
gets oue-half of the corn and cotton, or the renter furnishes every-
thing but the land, and gets two-thirds of the corn, and three-fourths
of the cotton. Not less than one-third of the land can be purchased
at reasonable prices and on reasonable terms, the usual terms of sale
being one-third cash, the balance in one and two years, without inter-
est, for improved lands; for unimproved lands, the general rule is to
give one, two and three years' credit. The prices charged are as
follows :

West Tennessee. i oS i

Best improved lands, per acre *2d 00

Medium " " " " 10 00

Inferior " " " " '^00

The average ])eing about, per acre 15 00

Best unimproved lands " " 15 00

Medium " " " " 7 50

Inferior " " " " 1 00

The average being about " " 8 00

Farm Statistics. The following statistics, taken from the census
report of 1870, will give the reader a pretty fair idea of the sizes and
numbers of the farms of Hardeman county, as there has been but lit-
tle change since 1870 :

Total number of farms of all sizes in county 2,217

Number having 3 and under 10 acres 257

" " 10 " " 20 " 406

" " 20 " " 50 " 709

" " 50 " " 100 " 515

100 " " 500 " 303

" " 1,000 " over 7

Corn, cotton, peas, and potatoes are grown more extensively in the
county than any other crops, though there are also yearly crops made
of tobacco, wheat, oats, rye and beans, and a considerable quantity of
clover is also grown. The following figures will show the average
yield, per acre, of

CJotton in seed 800 pounds.

Corn 5 barrels.

Wheal 12 bushels

Tobacco 900 pounds.

Qats 25 bushels.

Hay 1 ton.

Irish potatoes 150 bushels.

Sweet " 200 "

The cotton shipped ranks generally as " strictly middling," and the
tobacco is said to be of a superior quality, though the quantity
is quite limited.

Since the war very little attention has Ijeen paid by the farmers to
the growing of grasses. Clover is being used to some extent as a fer-
tilizer, but hay cannot be regarded as in any sense one of the staples of
the county. As a fruit region, Hardeman takes a front rank among
the West Tennessee counties. Stone fruits, seed fruits and berries do
well in every neighborhood. Apples are the most certain fruit, but
peaches also thrive. The following figures taken from census returns
will give a pretty accurate idea of the crops grown :

io82 Resources of Tennessee.

Value of orchard products $12,101

" " products of market gardena 4,183

Bushels of spring wheat 8,175

" " whiter " 24,755

" rye 1,180

" " corn 586,508

" " oats 19,799

Pounds of tobacco 5,600

Bales cotton 7,884

Bushels of peas and beans 5,412

" Irish potatoes 15,138

" Sweet " 32,143

The following statistics may also prove of interest :

Value of forest products $ 7,915

" " home manufactures 21,119

Pounds of butter 83,872

Gallons of Sorghum 6,817

Pounds of honey 7,142

It should be stated that there are not as many large farms in the county
now as before the war, bat the farms are generally much better im-
proved. The most profitable products are, 1st, cotton; •2d, corn; 3d,
})otatoes.

Stoch and Stock Raising. Hardeman is generally regarded as an ex-
cellent county for stock-raising, and a considerable number of the
farmers are paying special attention to this branch of industry. Those
who are devoting most time and attention to the raising and breeding
of horses prefer, as a general rale, the native breeds of horses^
which they claim, thrive better in this county than thoroughbreds, and
are more generally useful. The breeders of fine cattle are divided in
their opinions as to ,the merits of the Short-horn and Alderny breeds,
but it is certain that these breeds are the favorites over others. Some
of the best stockmen of the county are devoting especial attention to
crossing of blooded cattle on the native stock. The breeders of fine
hogs almost universally prefer Berkshire, and the Cotswold are pre-
ferred to other breeds by the sheep men.

Total value of all livestock in county in 1870 $793,203

" " '' animals slauglitered or sold for slaughter 64,399

Number of pounds of wool saved 9,920

" " horfies in the county 2,684

" " mules and asses 2,202

" " milcli cows 3,146

" " work oxen 1,007

" " sheep 7,139

" " other cattle ^.2^1

" " swine 34,936

TVesl Te7i7iessee. 1 08 3

Qame. and Fif<It. Sportsmen who hunt in this county have to con-
tent themselves with shooting only such small game as turkeys, pat-
ridges, squirrels, rabbits, etc., but fishermen find that the rivers and
creeks abound in fish, such as are usually found in the western waters.

Markets. Memphis and New Orleans are the principal markets.
The former is reached by the way of the Memphis and Charleston,
Railroad which passes through the county, and also by the way of the
Hatchie and Mississippi rivers, the former of which is navigable to
Boliver and empties into the latter ; the latter by the way of the Mis-
sissippi Central Railroad, which also passes through the county, and
by the way of the Hatchie and Mississippi rivers.

Labor. The people are not more fortunate than their neighbors in
the matter of labor. They sorely feel the want of reliable and ener-
getic laborers, and are willing to offer substantial inducements to such
to settle in the county. At present there are more white laborers than
colored, and they are preferred by a large majority of the people, but
there is no prejudice against colored laborers, and if they will work
and behave themselves, they may be certain of constant employment
and good wages. The most pressing want just novr is for good farm
hands, but mechanics are in good demand, and good cooks and house
servants can always get good homes and will be well paid for their
work. The following are the average prices paid to laborers : Farm
hands per year, §200; per month, S18 and board; per day §1.50;
cooks per mouth, §8 to $10 ; house-servants per month, §6 to §10 ;
mechanics per day, §2.50 to §5.

The population of the county in 1870 was, white, 11,220; colored
6,854; total, 18,074.

Immigration and Enuf/ration. Since 1870 the influx of actual set-
tlers has not been great, but the estimated increase of the population
during the past three years has been a little upwards of fourteen per
cent. The immigration has been principally from North Carolina,
Virginia and Mississippi and some settlers have come Sweden. The
number of persons who have left the county since 1870 has been small
and most of these went to Texas with the view of finding cheaper
lands than they could find at hoiue. Very few of the land owners
have moved away.

The 'People. The peoj)le generally, are hardworking, tiirifty and
properly appreciate an education. They are conservative in ))oliLics
and religion, and are to an encouraging extent, readers of news])apers.
As a class, they are above the average.

1084 Resources of Tennessee.

County Roads and Bailroads. The county roads are not Improved
pikes, corduroys, etc., but they are generally kept in pretty fair con-
dition. Across most of the bottoms levees have been thrown up which
answer a good purpose. The only two completed railroads passing
through the county are the Mississippi Central and the Memphis and
Charleston. The former enters the county from the south-west
and passes through it in a north-easterly direction, the latter passes
through only the southern district of the county, entering it from the
west and ranging almost due east. The Memphis and Kuoxville Rail-
road is now in the course of construction and Mill pass from east to
west through nearly the center of the county.

Towns and Yillages. The following are the most important towns
and villages: Boliver, the county seat, is located near the center of
the county, has about 1,400 inhabitants, two large and flourishing
female schools, two good male schools, one foundry, one steam cotton
gin and press and one steam mill. Teague's Station, on the Missisippi
Central Railroad, is eleven miles from Boliver and has about forty in-
habitants. Toon's Station, on the same road, is seven miles north-east
of Boliver and has about ninety inhabitants. Middleburg, on the
same road, is seven miles south-west of Boliver, and has about forty
inhabitants. Hickory Valley, on the same road, is fifteen miles south-
west of Boliver, and has about forty-five inhabitants. Grand Junc-
tion, at the junction of the Mississippi Central and the Memphis and
Charleston railroads, is twenty-three miles south-west of Boliver, and
has about 300 inhabitants. Whiteville is eleven miles west of Boliver
and has about 175 inhabitants. Xewcastle is ten miles north of Boli-
ver and has about ninety inhabitants. Centerville is sixteen miles
north of Boliver and has al^out ninety or one hundred inhabitants.
Saulsbury, a station on the Memphis and Charleston Railroad, is twenty
miles south-west of Boliver and has about 375 inhabitants. Middle-
ton, on the same road, is eighteen miles south of Boliver and has about
400 inhabitants. Pocahontas, on the same road, is nineteen miles
south-east of Boliver and has about 350 inhabitants. Youbet, on the
same road, is eighteen miles west of south-west of Boliver and has
al)Out fifty inhabitants. Cranesville is thirteen miles east of Boliver
and has about fifty inhabitants. Leatherville is on the Memphis and
Kuoxville Railroad, (now being constructed) is three miles west of
Boliver and has about 100 inhabitants.

Mills and Factories. The water-power is good, but is as yet imde-
veloped. The average fall of streams per mile is from one and a half

Wes^ Tennessee. 1085

to two feet. At Grand Juuction there is a large and flourisliing steam
flouring mill. At Leatherville there is an extensive wool and cloth
factory, and in almost every district there is one or more steam or
water-mills. The average distance which the people of the county
have to go to get to mill, it is thought, will not exceed two miles.

School Statistics. Hardeman county has given but little attention to
public schools. The county levies a tax of 50 cents on dogs and 50
cents on polls for school purposes. The following statistics will show
the operations of public scliools for the year 1873-4 : Scholastic poj)-
ulation between 6 and 18 — white male, 1,660; female, 1,682; total
white, 3,342 ; colored male, 627; female, 664; total colored, 1,291
total, 4,663. Number white schools organized, 29 ; colored, 10 ; total
39. Number white pupils between 6 and 18 enrolled, 1,740; colored
590; total, 2,330. Number white pupils between 18 and 21 enrolled
60; colored, 10; total, 70. Number of teachers licensed — white male
35; female, 21; colored male, 5; female, 5; total, 66. Number of
teachers employed — white male, 27; female, 15; colored male, 2
female, 1 ; total, 35. Average per month paid teachers, $46.42.

Churches. In almost every neighborhood there are houses of wor-
ship, representing some of the various Christian denominations. The
denominations rank in numerical strength in the following; order:
Methodist, Baptist, Presbyterian and Cumberland Presbyterian. There
are still other denominations represented in the county, but not nu-
merously.

Newspapers. The only newspaper published in the county is the
Bolivar Bulletin, published in the town of Bolivar. It is Conserva-
tive in politics. The people are generally readers of and subscribers
to newspapers.

Agricultural Organizations. Since the war there has not been a
fair association. The "farmers' movement" is creating considerable
excitement among the farming class.

HARDIN COUNTY.

County Seat — Savannah.

Tliis county at the time of its organization in 1819, contained terri-
tory enough to make a small State. The boundaries extended " west-
ward to the Mississippi River." It was named in honor of Col. Jo-

io86 Resotivces of Temiesee.

seph Hardin. The southern boundary of the county coincides with
the State boundary. The States of Alabama and Mississippi " corner"
on the Tennessee line at a point which bisects the Hardin line. At
this point, also, the Tennessee River, after flowing in a westerly direc-
tion through northern Alabama, re-enters the State. Hardin is sepa-
rated into an eastern and western portion by the river, which has in
general a northerly direction, but sweeps through the county in a con-
siderable curve. Politically, Hardin belongs to West Tennessee;
physically, its western portion pertains to this division of the State,
but its eastern part to Middle Tennessee. From a local report to the
State Bureau of Agriculture, we find that the county contains 371,400
acres, equal to 580 square miles. According to the Comptroller's re-
port for 1873, it embraces 317,656 acres, or nearly 496 square miles.
In the census of 1870 the lands of Hardin are thus reported :

Improved 51,005

Woodland 103,363

Other unimproved 58,927

Total 213,295

These figures of the census are of course much below the mark*
Most probably including town lots and river and creek beds, the area
will be found to be fully equal to the estimate made for the State
Bureau.

Characteristics. Were we asked, what is the especial characteristic
of the natural features of the county we are considering, our answer
would be, variety. This is true of its topography, geology, and neces-
sarily of its soils, or agricultural features. Its geological formations
are more varied than any county as yet described in West Tennessee.
Its topography includes such features as cypress bottoms, the gravel-
covered areas, the sand bluffs, etc.

Topography^ Water-courses. The valley of the Tennessee River
extends in a northerly direction through the county, and of course
is a leading feature of its topography. This valley is comparatively
rough and broken, presenting by no means such a country as we
should expect to find bordering so beautiful and large a stream.
We do not mean to say that there are no rich bottoms, nor good
agricultural areas in it, for there are many of these, not a few of
which are most excellent and worth a hundred dollars per acre,
but, in the aggregate the amount of good arable land is less than
we would look for. Perhaps the whole bottom of the Tennessee

J'Vesc Teiuiessee. 1087

River in this county would embrace 140 square miles. On the
eastern side of the river there are four large creeks, namely : Horse?
Turkey, Indian and Hardin's creeks. The upper part of the latter'
however, is in Wayne county. The others are mainly \\\ Hardin.
They all flow in a north-westerly direction into the Tennessee River?
have long valleys, and are well bordered with farms. On the west-
ern side of the river are a number of streams, among which are
White Oak River, Snake, Owl, Yellow, Mud, Beoison's, Chambers'
and Lick creeks. These rise, for the most part, in McNairy county,
and flow eastward through the western part of Hardin into the Ten-
nessee. The country through which they flow is made up of sandy
and clayey formations, and in consequence the topographical features
attending them are quite difierent from those characteristic of the creeks
first mentioned, and in the eastern part of the county, where limestone
blufi^s abound. All of the streams afford sites for mills, many of which
have excellent water power. In the eastern and south-eastern parts of
the county there are many high, flat-topped ridges between the valleys
of the creeks. In the northwestern part are many limestone ridges
and knolls, upon which are occasionally glady places showing gravel,
rocks and young cedars. Approaching the McXairy county line, on
the western side of the river, the country becomes rolling. In McNairv
is a high ridge dividing the waters of the Tennessee from those of the
Mississippi, from which spurs and broken ridges extend eastward more
or less into Hardin county.

Geology. It may be startling to some, nevertheless we have good
reason for asserting that along a line running in a northerly direction
through the county, and coinciding in part with the present channel of
the Tennessee River, was once a shore of a salt-water gulf, or the shore
of an arm of the Gulf of Mexico, which extended far northward into
the very bosom of the Mississippi valley. The reader may inquire
what evidences exist for believing it to have been a salt-water gulf.
To this we answer, that the first or lowest deposits are full of marine
remains, s.uch as oyster-shells, shark's teeth, corals, etc. Overlying this
marine deposit is a fluviatile deposit, which is first sandy, terminatimi-
with loess or silt. Altogether, it is one of the most interesting exhi-
bitions of geological changes to be met with in the United States,
marking the period when mighty continental changes were effected,
and when gradual elevations caused the ocean to retire and give place
to the grandest river in North America. Along this old shore we have
the western boundary of the limestones, slates and sandstones (the

io88 Resources of Tennessee.

hard rocks) of Middle Tennessee, or the line separating' these rocks
from the smdy and clayey beds (the soft rocks) of the Western Dis-
trict. The horizontal limestones and other hard strata are here sud-
denly be*^eled ofF, and their edges are overlapped by the sand and clay
beds of the west, which are of far more recent age. In the northern
and southern parts of the county the hard rocks extend a short distance
to the west of the Tennessee, but for a distance equal to half the length
of the county the river coincides with the line of the old shore, so that
on the east side the bluffs are limestone, while on the west they are
made up of strata of gray and yellowish sands, interstratified more or
less with dark and white seams of clay. The rocks east of the old
shore line belong to several formations. The lowest seen at many
points in the bed of the Tennessee River below Savannah, and also in
the beds of several of the creeks, is a group of blue, thinly laminated
limestones, which when burned yield a fair article of hydraulic cement.
At a number of points in Hardin cement has been manufactured from
this rock. This formation belongs to the Nashville rocks, and may
reach at some points a hundred feet in thickness. The formation is not
of much agricultural importance, as it is mostly confined to the chan-
nels of the streams. Above the hydraulic rock is a series of gray lime-
stones about two hundred feet in maximum thickness, which are the
principal, and form, in an agricultural point of view, the most impor-
tant limestones in the county. They are seen in many bluffs on the
Tennessee and on the creeks and are the rocks of the most valuable parts
of the valleys, and outcrop on the glades. We have said they are
gray, but many are reddish, and some few make a handsome marble.
These rocks belong to the formations called by geologists Niagara and
Lower Heklerberg, both of which, together with the hydraulic lime-
stone, belong to a larger division called Silurian. Above these, and
making the topmost formation of the eastern part of the county, is a
series of flinty layers, interstratified with more or less limestone, and
presenting a few beds of sandstone, which a geologist would call the
Siliceous Group, or the base of the great Carboniferous Formation.
This group caps the high ridges for the most part. In the southern
part of the county, however, near the State line, it dips down and ap-
pears in the bed of the Tennessee River. On the western side of the
old shore line, we have a very different set of formations. The first
and lowest is a bed of laminated sand, showing many thin clayey seams.
This formation is well seen in the now historic bluff at Pittsburgh
Landing, as well as in the bluffs at Crump's and Coffee landings. The

West Tennessee. 1089

formation has been called the Coffee Sand. A considerable belt of
country lying west of the river, and extending through the county, is
underlaid with this formation. Next above this, and outcropping prin-
cipally near the McNairy line, is a formation of clayey material con-
taining sand and abounding in fossil shells. It also contains dark
green grains, which frequently give a dark appearance to the mass, for
which reason the formation is known as the Green Sand. When
freshly dug this material is used as a fertilizer, often with good results,
its effects being attributable to the shells, small quantities of phosphoric
acid and of potash present in the mass. The two formations just men-
tioned, the Coffee and the Green Sands, are members of the Cretaceous
system of geologists.

Such are the principal formations of Hardin. In addition to these,
however, a superficial formation of gravel is seen at many points on
both sides of the river. When present the gravel is always on top.
It is seen on the high ridges of the eastern part of the county, and now
and then on the lowlands ; it caps the sand bluffs of which we have
spoken, on the west side of the river, and appears at other points on
uplands and hills.

8oils and Lands. We have already said something about the soils.
The geology being so varied, they are of course of many kinds. The
best are those of the bottom lands, and many of these are unsurpassed
in fertility. The soils of the Tennessee bottom, on the west side of
the river, are of three distinct kinds, arranged in strips nearly equal in
width and parallel with the river. The first of these next to the river
is a deep black alluvium, highly productive ; the second is sandy, and
in point of productiveness is about equal to the uplands ; the last is
swampy, bluish in color, "crawfishy" and cold, the home of green-
briers, but it is usually heavily timbered. In the southern end of the
county on the west side sandy hills prevail. The country is rough and
the hills are covered with pine timber and oaks. These hills extend
seven miles down the river, after which the country becomes more
level and the soils better, running into the Green Sand belt. The
soils in this hilly region wash easily by reason of the predominance of
sand, and are moderately productive. The soils on the creeks on the
east side of the river are limestone, and the best in the county, and es-
pecially those in the bottoms lying on Indian Creek, which cover in the
aggregate about twenty-two square miles. The soils of the uplands on
the east side of the river are thin and unproductive. Much of this

lOQO Resources of Tennessee.

upland is high and rolling, but covered with an abundance of excel-
lent timber. Three miles east of Savannah there is a belt of flat or
barren land. It has a white subsoil, shading off into yellow. Some
of this land is quite productive when first opened, but its fertility is
soon exhausted. This flat region covers about fifty square miles. The
summits of the ridges in the eastern part of the county have some-
times a tolerably good soil, but more frequently a thin one. On many
of these ridges chestnut oaks abound, and can be made to furnish much
bark for tanning purposes. The value of the lands in Hardin county,
according to the local report, is as follows :

First quality, improved $100.00 per acre.

Second " ' 50.00 " "

Third •' 20.00 " '•

Fourth " 6.00 " "

Fifth " 50 " "

Rents are as follows : Best bottom, per acre, $6 ; best uplands, $5 ;
medium, $3 ; one-third of the crop is usually given. According to the
census report, the number of farms in the county is 1,059, the sizes of
which are as follows :

Three and under 10 acres 31

Ten " 20 " 213

Twenty " 50 '• 435

Fifty " 100 " 255

One-hundred and under 500 125

One hundred thousand acres are for sale, the rates being one-third
cash, the balance in one and two years.

Crops. The principal crops of the county are corn, cotton, wheat,
oats, peanuts, Irish and sweet potatoes, hay, apples and peaches. The
following are the products of the county for 1870, as reported in the
census of that year:

Corn 484,721 bushels.

Wheat, spring 15,904

" winter 19,662— 35,566 "

Oats 15,151 "

Eye 131 "

Cotton 2,026 bales.

Tobacco 310 pounds.

Potatoes, Irish 5,338 bushels.

Potatoes, sweet 10,472 "

Hay 107 tons.

Sorghum 12,456 gallons.

Maple-sugar 80 pounds.

Honey 9,491

Butter 86,918 '|

Cheese 20

West Tennessee. 1 09 1

The census report omits peanuts. This crop for the year 1872 was
given at 112,500 bushels, which we think must be too high. The crop
of buckwheat for the same year is stated to have been 1,000 bushels.
Fruit (especially apples and peaches) is an important product of the
<30unty. Figs ripen in the open air. Plums are not troubled with cur-
culio. The experiments made with the pear have proved entirely sat-
isfactory. Nuts, blackberries, raspberries, etc., are to be found every-
where. Muscadines grow with unparalleled luxuriance on river bot-
toms. 'Grapes have been grown with success on the flat barren lands.
On the best river bottoms the yield of corn reaches sometimes 75 and
100 bushels per acre. The best lands for the production of cotton are
on Mud Creek, where the quantity raised is sometimes as much as
1,200 pounds of seed cotton per acre. The raising of cotton and stock
is regarded as the most profitable branches of husbandry. The o-reat
amount of bottom lands in the county afford excellent soils for mead-
ows. Wheat is usually sown too late to do well, the largest sowing
being in November and December, and sometimes in Januarv. The
average is about ten bushels per acre. Some farms have been known
to yield thirty bushels per acre. Tennessee bottoms sometimes yield
the latter amount, but the fields are liable to late overflows. Irish
potatoes yield bountifully on bottoms — black sandy land.

8iock. In the census report the stock is given as follows:

Number of horses j pg-^

" mujes and asses ^^q

" milch cows 2 670

" working oxen 1383

" other cattle 4 094

*^'ieep §',044

«^i"e 21,235

Value of all live stock '^50'' 919

" animals slaughtered and sold for slaughter 140 018

Population, Labor. The population of the county was in 1870 as
follows: AVhite, 10,321; black, 1,447; total, 11,768.' The people are
intelligent, hospitable and open-hearted, and would welcome indus-
trious, well-disposed immigrants of any nationalty. There is am])le
room in this county. Many of the river bottoms are yet dark with
forests of heavy timber, and considering the character of the soil, the
amount of timber and the means of transportation, it is the most thinly
settled county in West Tennessee. Colonies could be formed anil
moved to this county, as land is cheap and a large quantity is for sale.
We know of no county that offers greater inducements to working

1092 Resources of Te7inessee.

men. According to the late Judge Walker, a hard-working man can
make on the farm from $500 to $600, and keep on hand a full sup-
ply of provender for stock and food for family use. In speaking of
this subject he said to the writer, just before his death : " If the same
industry and economy were practiced in Hardin county that is prac-
ticed in the North-west, our farmers would grow rich in spite of them-
selves."

A healthful moral tone pervades the county. The principal religious
denominations are Methodist, Cumberland Presbyterian and Bap-
tist, the first having about 1,300 communicants, the second 1,100, and
the third 600. There is considerable demand in the county for farm
hands. Wages are as follows :

Farm hands (with board) per year $150

" " without" " " 250

" " with " " month 17.90

" " witliout " " " 27.00

Harvest " with " " day 2.00

" " without " " " 2.50

House servants, cooks and washers, per month 5.00

For picking cotton $1 per day is paid; carpenters are worth $2.50
per day; blacksmiths, $2.50; bricklayer.s, $3; for splitting and put-
ting up rails, $1 per day. Farm hands are usually hired for the season
of cultivation.

Minerals. In addition to the hydraulic rock (from which thousands
of barrels of cement were made formerly at Laden's Mill, on Indian
Creek), and green sand heretofore mentioned, there is a bluff of quartz
sand a mile and a half long, which furnishes excellent material for the
manufacture of glass. The sand has been tested and pronounced very
superior. Iron ore is found in many parts of the county, but it is too
siliceous or sandy for profitable working. There was one furnace in
operation on^'Hardin's Creek before the war. Drift lead has been picked
up in the' bottoms of streams, but no regular deposits have been dis-
covered. Mineral waters are abundant. Two miles from Saltillo more
than twenty years ago a Avell was bored in search of salt water to the
depth of 890 feet. From this well a large stream of sulphur water
flows. It is very clear and cool. There are some good mineral springs
(white and red sulphur) in the hilly parts of the county west of the
Tennessee River, which were resorted to before the late civil contest.
Several sulphur and chalybeate springs are also found on the east side
of the Tennessee River, but they have never been improved.

West Tennessee, 1093

The Fair Grounds in Savannah were first improved in 1859, but
the buildings were destroyed by the Federal soldiers. They were re-
built in 1872, and two successful fairs have been held.

Manufactories. The only establishments for manufacturing in the
county are tanneries and saw-mills. There were in 1873 six tanneries
in operation, turning out leather to the value of $60,000 annually.
The county offers very superior inducements for the building up of
spoke and hub factories, and for saw-mills. All kinds of timber
abound — red and white oak, pin oak, hickory, gum, sugar-tree, cypress,
walnut and box-elder. One of the finest pine forests to be found in
the State is in this county.

Toums. Savannah, the county seat and principal town in the county,
is midway between Nashville and Memphis. It has a population of
about 500. The business houses of the place consist of eight stores,
one drug-store, two confectioneries, three saloons, one tanyard, two
hotels and two blacksmith shops. There are three churches — Metho-
dist, Presbyterian and African. Savannah College is located here,
and has about one hundred students in attendance. The quantity of
cotton annually shipped from this point is 1,200 bales. Lumber, corn,
wheat and leather are shipped in considerable quantities. Hamburg
is on the Tennessee River, ten miles south of Savannah, has about 100
inhabitants, is a steamboat landing, has two stores, a grocery, post-
office and church. Saltillo is also a lauding on the Tennessee River,
and is twelve miles north of Savannah ; has about 300 inhabitants,
four or five dry-goods stores, one drugstore, two or three groceries,
one blacksmith shop, one good school, post-office and one church.
About 1,500 bales of cotton are annually shipped from this point.
Coffee Landing, on the Tennessee River, north of Savannah, ships
about 1,500 bales of cotton annually. The other villages and land-
ings are, Boyd's Landing, 13^ miles from Savannah, Economy, Low-
ryville, Monticello and Nelson. Each has one or more stores. All,
-except Economy, Lowryville and Monticello, are landings on the Ten-
nessee River.

Antiquities. Many curious Indian mounds are met with near the
Tennessee River, several of them within the town limits of Savannah.

STATISTICS.

NiHiiher of acres assessed for taxation in 1873 317,65(5

Value $1,609,050

Nimiberof town lots 89, valued at 43,225

Value of personal property 278,695

I094 Resources of Tennessee.

Total valuation $1,30,9970

Number poll.'^ 1782

State tax 40c

County tax 20

State (school) tax 10— 70

Poll tax 1.50

One dollar of the poll-tax- goes to schools, and fifty cents to county
purposes.

HAYWOOD COUNTY.

County Seat — Brownsville.

No county in West Tennessee, Shelby excepted, has improved more
rapidly in population and wealth than Haywood. Since its organiza-
tion in 1824, its growth has been marked. The census of 1830 reported
a population of 5,334, Within the succeeding decade it increased 160
per cent., for we find in 1840 the population to have been 13,870; in
1850, 17,259; in 1860, 19,232; and in 1870, notwithstanding the war,
25,094. Between 1850 and 1860, the white population decreased 546,.
while the slaves increased 2,528 ; but within the last decade, we find
that while the negroes have increased 2,806, the white population has
been increased by 3,096. In 1870, of the population then in the
county, 11,261 were white, and 13,832 were colored. Since 1870,
about one-fourth of the county has been taken to form Crockett, so
that the estimate at present of the population is — white, 9,459; col-
ored, 11,661; total, 21,120.

Haywood county comprises at present about 460 square miles, and oc-
cupies, with Madison, a central position in West Tennessee. The num-
ber of acres assessed for taxation, exclusive of towai lots, was, in 1873,
296,958, valued at $3,700,937, or nearly $12.50 per acre.

The first settlers of Haywood county were principally from North
Carolina, and even to this day the descendants of these old settlers
largely predominate, and constitute an element in the society of the
county distinguished for conservatism and a due regard for all the
rights of the community.

Health. As a general rule, the health of the county is good, but
the question of health depends greatly on t^he kind of water which is

I'Fes^ Tennessee. 109 5

used. Cistern water is regarded as being better than well water, while
well water is better than spring water. In the summer, bilious and
intermittent fevers occur, and in the winter, pneumonia and lung dis-
eases. Persons subject to pulmonary diseases complain much of the
severe weather in winter, and of the sudden and severe changes to
which the temperature is subject. There are said to be, by the physi-
cians, fewer cases of sickness during the winter months than at any
other time of the year, but they are generally of a more malignant
type, and deaths at this season are much more frequent.

Physical Geography. The country immediately around Brownsville
is gently undulating, the town itself being on a perceptible elevation,
which is part of the dividing ridge separating what is locally known
as the Forked Deer country from the Hatchie country. The court-
house is on the very backbone of this ridge, and rain water falling
from it on the north side runs into the Forked Deer River, while that
falling on the south finds its way into the Hatchie River, the first
named stream being ten miles north of Brownsville, and the last
named five miles south. This ridge passes entirely through the county
from east to west, and upon it there is no level plain, but the slope
begins from the center of the backbone and continues to the southern
boundary line of the county on the one hand, and to the northern
boundary line on the other. There is very little or no slope from
Brownsville, either toward the eastern or western boundary line.
But the slopes mentioned are intersected frequently by very low ridges,
and sometimes by small hills, so that the face of the country as a
whole is gently undulating. Along the rivers and creeks are many
fine bottoms. Those on the Forked Deer River will average three
miles in width, while those on the Hatchie River will not average less
than four miles. The creek bottoms are not so wide, but they, with
the river bottoms, are nearly all subject to annual overflows. Under
a system of drainage they are becoming more valuable.

Formations. All of Haywood county is on the Plateau or Slope of
West Tennessee, in which there are very few or no regular strata of
hard rock, such as limestone, slate or sandstone. However, there are
occasionally found isolated masses of sandstone and calcareous rock in
some of the counties of the Slope, such, for instance, as that found in
Haywood county, on the north side of" Hatchie River, about seven
miles south-east of Brownsville. Here is a quarry which furnishes a
red sandstone of medium quality, as may be seen from specimens of

1096 Resources of Tennessee.

it which were used in laying the foundation of the court-house in
Brownsville. The eJffect of the atmosphere upon it is to harden it,
but it is easily worn when subjected to friction. Formations of this
same stone are found in most if not all of the small slopes which fringe
the banks of the Hatchie River, the depth at which they are generally
found being from five to ten feet below the surface. In a few places,
however, they crop out above ground, constituting surface formations.
The quarry mentioned above is not now worked. In many places in
the county are found beds of sand, associated to some extent with clay
and loams. In fact, the Lagrange Sands and the overlying drift, the
Orange Sand, are almost entirely the formations found in Haywood.
The Lagrange formation appears as a stratified mass of yellow,
orange, red or brown, and white sand, with an occasional interstratified
bed of white, gray or variegated clay. The best cotton lands in the
county rest upon these sand beds, the soil being a mellow, siliceous
loam, which is easily tilled, but is easily washed away, requiring care-
ful draining and general good farming to keep it up. The prevailing
color of the soil of Haywood is a dark gray, with a yellowish subsoil,
upon a bed of yellow clay. The clay has no sand in it, holds water
well, and makes superior brick. It is also very favorable for cistern
purposes, good cisterns being made without walling, the cement being
applied directly to the clay. There is very little land in the county
which cannot be reclaimed, one of the best features being that it an-
swers readily to the application of manures and fertilizers. Other
features worthy of notice are, that it is very lively, and when tired is
greatly improved by rest. Most of it, however, will wear well, but in
spite of its moisture-retaining qualities, during the long seasons of dry
weather to which the county is subject in summer, it suffers con-
siderably.

Rivers, Creeks and Springs. There are numerous streams running
through the county, but very few of them are lasting. They fur-
nish a jilentiful supply of water during the winter, early in the spring
and very late in the fall, but at other seasons they do not afford run-
ning water. They have generally along their beds ponds which hold
water during the greater part of the year. The following are worthy
of mention : Nixon's Creek rises four miles north-east of Brownsville,
runs rather north of west, and empties into Forked Deer River ten
miles north-west of Brownsville. Welch's Creek rises one-half mile
north of Brownsville, runs north, and empties into Nixon's Creek four
miles north of Brownsville. Walker's Creek rises two miles south-west

TVest Tennessee. 1097

of Brownsville, ranges north-east, and empties into Welch's Creek two
miles north of Brownsville. Meridian Creek rises fonr miles west of
Brownsville, ranges north, and empties into Nixon's Creek eight miles
north-west of Brownsville. Brier Creek rises eight miles north of
Brownsville, ranges north-west, and empties into Meridian Creek nine
miles north-west^of Brownsville. Otter Creek rises tweve miles west
of Brownsville, ranges north, and empties into Forked Deer River
fourteen miles north-west of Brownsville. All these streams are on
the north side of the ridge, and with the exception of Meridian Creek,
which is perennial, they aiford running water only during the winter
and late in the fall.

The following streams are on the south of the ridge, and are either
directly or indirectly tributaries of Hatch^ River: Brown sC-ek
rises twelve miles south-east of Brownsville, runs south-west, and
mpties into Hatchie River eight miles south-east of Brownsv^e.
Lick Creek rises a few miles south-east of Brownsvi le, ^-^^f^^^-
west, and empties into Hatchie River seven miles south-east of B o^^ ns-
ville Sugar Creek rises near the south-eastern corporation line ot
Brownsville, ranges south-west, and empties into Hatchie River six
fjes south-west' of Brownsville. Bradford's Creek nsessi^mdes
south-west of Brownsville, runs south-west, and empties into Hatchie
Tver ten miles south-west of Brownsville. Lagoon C-ek rises ten miles
west of Brownsville, ranges south-west, and empties into Hatchie River
fourteen miles south-west of Brownsville, in Lauderdale county .Poplar
Creek rises about fourteen miles south-east of Brownsville near the Fa, -
ette county line, runs south-east, and empties into Hatchie River fi^e
me south of Brownsville. Big Muddy Creek rises in Fayette county,
^een miles south of Brownsville, ranges north-west -d empties 1^^^^^^
Hatchie River twelve miles south-west of Brownsville. Little Mudd>
Creek rises ten miles south-east of Brownsville, runs north-west, and
empls into Big Muddy Creek eight miles south-west of Brownsville.
R^hland Creek rises in the edge of Hardeman county, ^^^^-^^^
south-east of Brownsville, ranges north-west, and empties into Hatchie
River seven miles south-east of Brownsville.

The following rivers are the only two which pass through the
county • Hatchie River enters the south-eastern corner of the county
Lm Hardeman county, ranges rather north of west, and passes out of
the county so as to form the dividing line between the counties of
Lauderdale and Tipton. North Forked Doer River enters the north-

logS Resources of Tennessee.

eastern corner of the county from Madison county, ranges north-west,
and passes out of the county so as to form the dividing line between
the counties of Lauderdale and Dyer.

There are very few springs in the county, and none are large, or
afford mineral water. In the vicinity of Brownsville they are more
frequent than in any other section.

Lakes. Haywood county abounds in lakes, as will be seen from the
following enumeration and description : Wesley's Lake, eight miles
south-west of Brownsville, is about one and a half miles long, 300 yards
wide and from three to ten feet deep; it is three-fourths of a mile
from Hatchie River, is full of clear, cold water, and is surrounded by
a vigorous growth of cypress trees, though the lake itself is free from
trees. Powell's lake is six miles south-east of Brownsville, is one
mile long, 150 yards wide, and from three to ten feet deep. Swan
Jjake and Hardwick Lake are smaller bodies of water, in the same
neighborhood as Powell's Lake. All of the lakes mentioned are south
of Hatchie River, but the following are north of that stream :
Horseshoe Lake, five miles south-west of Brownsville, is one mile
long, 100 yards wide, and from five to twelve feet deep. Long Lake is
half a mile below Horseshoe Lake, is three-fourths of a mile long, 100
yards wide and from three to eight feet deep. Drain Lake is one-
fourth of a mile below Long Lake, is about one mile long, 150 yards
wide and from four to twenty feet deep. All of these lakes
abound in fish, of which the predominating varieties are buffalo,
l)lue cat, white, black and sun perch, drum and jack. Another
very singular body of water is Moore's Lake, which is four and
a half miles south-west of Brownsville, is half a mile long, 100
yards wide, and from four to eight feet deep. Its bottom abounds in
springs, and the water of the lake is icy cold ; in fact it is so cold as to
l)e unpleasant for those who might wish to sein it. It is not regarded
as favorable for fishing, as it abounds in pike fish, which are not much
esteemed, and are very destructive to other fish. The rest of the lakes
are much frequented by picnic and fishing parties. They are very
clear and attractive, are surrounded with beautiful grasses and grate-
ful shade, and in the neighborhood of all of them are numerous springs
which, in a great measure, feed theiii.

Timhcr. There is an abundance of good timber all over the county,
the different varieties of oak being regarded as the best; there are also
poplar, gum, and along the rivers cypress and other varieties. The
principal undergrowth is pawpaw and hazlenut.

West Tennessee. 1099

Statistics. Since 1870, no perfectly accurate report has been
made giving the land statistics of the county. It is stated, however,
by residents of the county, that allowing for the four civil districts
(one-fourth of the whole number) which were taken off of Haywood
in part to form the county of Crockett, the figures returned to the
census bureau for 1870 will still be approximately correct. The fol-
lowing are the figures of the census returns less one-fourth :

Cash value of farms $ 889,347

" " farming implements and machinery 82,167

" " all farm productions 1,052,622

" " orchard products 800

" " home manufactures 6,829

" " animals si aughsered or sold for slaughter 121,979

" " alllivestock 497,129

Number horses 1,629

" mules and asses 1,417

" milch cows 2,011

" working oxen 264

" other cattle 3,506

" sheep 3,905

" swine 15,386

Bushels of spring wheat 159

" winter " 38,722

« pyg 339

« Lidian corn 392,191

« oats. 7,288

Bales, of cotton 7,883

Pounds of wool 7,589

Bushels of Irish potatoes 10,014

sweet " 23,278

Pounds of butter 67,305

Tons of hay 247

Gallons of sorghum 2,375

Pounds of honey 13,638

The following table will show the number of farms in the county,
and the relative size of each :

Total number of farms 722

Number having 3 and under 10 acres 3

" " 10 " " 20 " 75

" " 20 " " 50 " 244

" " 50 " " 100 " 211

" " 100 " " 500 " 179

« " 500 " " 1,000 " 9

" " 1,000 " over I

About ten per cent, of all the lands in Haywood are subject to over-

1 1 oo Resources of Tennessee.

flow, or are otherwise iintillable. Not less than fifty per cent, of the
improved lands are annually rented out, and twenty-five per cent, of all
the land in the county can be purchased at reasonable prices. The fol-
lowing facts may be of interest to those who may desire to rent land
in the county: Average rental of best lands, per acre, $5; of other
lands, $3.5(>. Some farmers rent out their cotton lands for fifty
pounds of lint cotton per acre, but this price is not often obtained.
When the land-owner furnishes only the land, and crops on shares, he
gets one-third of the cotton and one-third of the corn. When every-
thing is furnished but the labor, the laborer feeding himself, the land-
owner gets one-half of the crop.

The following average of the prices of laud in the county may be
relied on: Average price of best lands, per acre, $25; medium, $20;
inferior, $7.50. There is very little inferior land in the county. The
usual terms of sale are one-third cash, the balance in one and two
years, with interest on deferred payments, and lien reserved to secure
payment.

Crops. The staple is cotton, but a sufficiency of corn to supply the
home demand is generally raised. Much more attention is paid to the
growing of wheat than to the growing of any of the other small grains;
though some attention is paid to oats. Haywood is not, in any sense,
a tobacco county, and little or none is raised. The great object is cot-
ton. The following average of the yields are as nearly correct as can
be made: Average yield of cotton, per acre, 750 pounds; corn, 25
bushels.

Grasses. There is not much attention paid to the growing of grasses,
though some herds-grass and clover are grown, and do reasonably well,
yielding about one ton of hay per acre. German millet is being intro-
duced and promises well, but as yet there has not been sufficient atten-
tion paid to it to justify an estimate of its average yield.

Labor. There is, and has been since the war, an abundance of farm
labor in Haywood, principally colored, though in some sections there
are a few white laborers. The native negro labor is regarded as relia-
ble, especially the old and middle aged men ; the young men are too fond
of city life. The white laborers are not, as a class, regarded as relia-
ble ; though there are said to be young white men from North Caro-
lina and East Tennessee, who have recently settled in the county
and are making good character as laborers. The following prices
are paid for hands :

IVesl Tennessee. ^^°^

$200

For farm hands, per year ^^ ^^ ^20

<« " " per month g„

" " " per day ^ ^^

« hands in town, per day 7 to 10

Cooks, per month ^ ^^ g

House servants, per month

The demand for good cooks is especially great, and house servants
are wanted in toAvn and country.

FrvMs This county is not a first-class fruit region; peaches thrive
well, and so do the standard varieties of pears, but they are short-
lived Apples are very uncertain, and the dwarf varieties of the pear
are subject to blight, and live but few years ; cherries are not much
grown, nor are any of the other kinds of stone fruit not mentioned.
Grapes, both the domestic and wild varieties, yield with reasonable
certainty, and especially is this true of the Scuppernong.

Forest Products. Lumber is not a staple of the county; in fact there
is not enough sawed to supply the home demand^ and more than half
that is used in the county is imported from other sections of the btate.
Saw-mills are very few.

Stock and Stock Raising. But few persons are paying attention to
the raising and improvement of stock. Those who have been and are
engao-ed in the business, have been at heavy expense, and have even
imported fine stock from Europe, but their labors, while individually
remunerative, are not appreciated.

Markets. Memphis, via. the Memphis and Louisville Railroad, is
the principal cotton market for the county. In fact it is the market,
since there is little of anything else shipped.

Immigration and Emigration. Immigration to the county since 1870
has not been heavy, though a goodly number of families have moved
mn principally from North Carolina, though some were from Virginia,
Mississippi, Georgia and East Tennessee, and a few from the northern
States Some families and individuals have left the county since 18^0,
going principally to Texas, a few to Arkansas and some to Kansas.

Manufactories. The principal manufacturing establishment in the
county is the large cotton factory at Brownsville. The building is of
brick 160 feet long and 80 feet wide, two stories high, with ample
Winers, and is supplied with the very best machinery. The factory has
or will have in a short time, 100 looms in operation, and will turn out
5 000 yards of domestics daily. The hands employed are mostly native

II02 Resources of Tennessee.

white girls and women, who earn a handsome support by their indus-
try. A barrel factory is in operation in the city.

Roads. But little attention is paid to the county roads, the over-
seers working them before the opening of each Circuit Court (three
times a year), just enough to save themselves from being indicted.
The result is, they are in bad condition at all times, but in the winter
they are frequently almost impassable. The new road law is not in
force.

Railroads. The Memphis and Louisville Railroad enters the county
from the east, very near its north-eastern corner, extends south-west,
passing entirely through the county and out of it very near its south-
western corner. The Holly Springs, Brownsville and Ohio Railroad
has been chartered to run from Brownsville, near the center of the
county, ranging north, passing through Newbern in Dyer county, and
on to a point opposite Cairo, Illinois. But as yet little progress has
been made in the construction of this road, and the people are not san-
guine as to its success. The Denmark, Brownsville and Durharaville
Railroad Company has a charter to build a road from Denmark in
Madison county to Durhamville in Lauderdale county, but very little
work has been done as yet. The two last named roads are to be nar-
row gauge.

Tovms and Villages. The following are the towns and villages in
the county, with their several locations given: Brownsville, the county
seat, is located near the center of the county ; had at the close of the war
about 1,200 inhabitants; has now about 6,000; is well supplied with
churches, there being two Baptist, two Southern Methodist, one North-
ern Methodist, one Cumberland Presbyterian, one Old 'School Presby-
terian, one Christian, one Catholic, one Episcopalian and three colored
churches ; has one foundry, two planing mills and sash factories, two
carriage factories, one flouring-mill, one barrel factory and one cotton-
gin factory. It' has also excellent schools for males and females. It is
the center of a heavy trade and is really one of the best business points
in West Tennessee, excelling as a cotton market, buying and shipping
from 20,000 to 25,000 bales of cotton annually. Dancyville is twelve
miles south of Brownsville, and has about 200 inhabitants. Stanton is
twelve miles south-west of Brownsville and has about 400 inhabitants.
Woodville is sixteen miles north-west of Brownsville and has about
fifty inhabitants. There are other small villages in different parts of
the county, where people can buy dry -goods, groceries, etc., but the
principal trade of the entire county is done in Brownsville.

JVesf Tefinessee. 1103

Milh. There is no first-class water-power in the county, bnt there
are some good mills mostly run by steam. The average milling dis-
tance throughout the county is about five miles.

School Statistics. Heretofore but little interest has been manifijsted
in public schools in the county. This indifference is in a good degree
attributed to the fact that the negrg population in the rural districts is
largely in excess of the white. In fact, there are but few neighbor-
hoods in which the white population is large enough to sustain good
schools, consequently farmers have been compelled to send their chil-
dren from home to be educated. The present scholastic population ^
between the ages of six and eighteen years, is 6,401, of which nearly
two-thirds are black. There are no private institutions of learning in
the county outside of Brownsville, where there are two chartered fe-
male schools and one chartered male school, besides other institutions,
gene rally with small numbers of pupils.

Churches. Every neighborhood has good church advantages, and
the different denominations rank in numbers and wealth as follows:
1st, Baptist ; 2d, Methodist ; 3d, Old Presbyterian. The other de-
nominations are numerically and financially weak.

Newspapers. There are two newspapers published in the county, the
Brownsville Bee and Brownsville States, both of which are Democratic
weeklies.

Agricultural Associations. There is one fair association in the county
known as the Haywood County Fair Association, which is in its sec-
ond year, and promises to succeed.

Indebtedness. The bonded debt of Haywood, created for railroad
purposes, and originally $100,000, is now $88,000, the difference hav-
ing been retired. The bonds bear eight per cent, interest and are quo-
ted at 97c. The proceeds of the bonds were expended on the Holly
Springs, Brownsville and Ohio Railroad, of which only twenty-two
miles have been graded, the work being stopped because of exhaustion
of means.

1 1 04 Resources of Tennessee.

HENDERSON COUNTY.

County Seat — Lexington.

The act of the Legislature creating this county was passed Novem-
ber 7, 1821, and the organization took place shortly afterwards. Hen-
derson county embraces about 590 square miles, and contained a pop-
ulation in 1870 of 14,217, of which only 2,408 were colored. This
shows a great sparseness of population, there being only twenty-four
persons to each square mile in the county. The number of acres as-
sessed for taxation in 1873 was 374,287, valued at ^2,812,860, or about
$7.50 per acre. The census returns give as the whole number of acres
in the county 330,132, of which 92,250 were improved.

Health. The people of Henderson county enjoy a fair measure of
health, the principal diseases during the summer and spring months
being chills and fever and bilious fever, and during the fall and winter
months typhoid fever and pneumonia. The mortuary list of the county
is not unusually large, and indeed will compare very favorably with
that of the adjoining counties.

Physical Geography and Geology. There is a great variety of surface
in Henderson county, which renders it, in appearance, one of the most
interesting counties in the State. There is also a great variety of soils,
which enable farmers to raise many kinds of products. The country
immediately around Lexington, the county seat, is very rough and
hilly. For a distance of four or five miles east and west of Lexington
this hill conutry extends, and going north or south it reaches to the
extreme limits of the county. The Tennessee Ridge, of which fre-
quent mention has been made, extends through this section of the
county, and the high lands which constitute this ridge include proba-
bly the roughest and most picturesque country in West Tennessee.
This ridge, the reader will remember, divides the waters of tlie Mis-
sissippi from those flowing into the Tennesse River, and proceeding to
the east or west the surtuce of the country very perceptibly declines.
In either direction the boldness and height of the hills decrease until
the country becomes simply undulating before the county lines are
reached. On the east side of the ridge the country breaks away more
rapidly, and is much rougher than on the west. In fact, the west side
is tiic u])pcr part of the great Slope which gradually declines to the
bluffs facing the Mississippi bottoms. Doubtless the highest land in

Wes^ Tennessee. 1 105

West Tennessee is in Henderson and the northern part of McNairy
counties. Many different streams, flowing to all parts of the compass,
take their rise in the portion of the ridge in this section. Notwith-
standing the general roughness of the surface, Henderson has much
superior farming land. The highland ridges are generally poor, and
produce badly, but in all low places, and even upon the highlands
where the ground is level, the soil is good and produces well. From
the tops and sides of the spurs which run out from the ridge the soil
has been washed away to a great extent, and having lodged in the
lower and flat lands between them, have produced some of the best
farming lands in the State. There are several river and creek bottoms
in the county, but the valleys which are everywhere met with owe their
existence principally to the main water-shed and its minor branches or
spurs. These valleys generally are neither very long nor very wide,
but they are sufficiently extensive to admit of good farms, which are
more valued than any others in the county.

With the exception of the Orange Sand Drift, which spreads its
rolled sand and gravel beds over portions of the county, the formations
are nearly all Cretaceous. In the eastern part the belt of Green Sand
extending northward from McNairy and Hardin, is met with. At some
points wells are bored in this. Its outcrops are known by the large
fossil oyster shells which it contains. Overlapping the Green Sand on
the west, and running through the middle of the county, is the belt of
Ripley Sands, w^hich in turn is succeeded by the outcrop of the Flat-
wood clays and sands. The north-western part of the county appears
to show, resting upon the formations mentioned, a limited area of the
LaGrange Group.

Rivers, Creeks, etc. Henderson county is as well watered as most of
the adjoining counties. The principal stream is Beech River, which
rises about ten miles west of Lexington, runs east, passing nearly
through the center of the county, and also through Decatur county,
and empties into the Tennessee River. Big Sandy River rises about
ton miles north of Lexington, runs north, and passes out of the county
into Carroll county at a poiut about fourteen miles from the extreme
north-east corner of the county. North Forked Deer River also rises
in Henderson county, about twelve miles north-west of Lexington,
runs north-west, and passes into a corner of Carroll county at or very
near the j)oint where the extreme southern line of Carroll touches the
western line of Henderson. North Branch of the South Forked Deer
70

1 1 o6 Resources of Tennessee.

River also rises in the county about twelve miles sonth-west of Lexing-
ton, runs thence almost due west, and passes into Madison county at a
point about half way between the north-west and south-west corners of
the county. South Forked Deer River has also a beginning in Hen-
derson county, rising about seventeen miles south-west of Lexington,
ranging thence a little west of south until near the south line of the
county, when it turns, thence ranging north-west and passing into
Madison county at a point about five miles north of the south-west
corner of Henderson county. Almost every neighborhood has good
stock water, which lasts all the year. Unlike most of the streams of
West Tennessee, they generally have a good fall, and run rapidly.
They have sandy beds and clear, sweet water.

Land Statistics. From the census report of 1870 the following
figures are taken, which will show the number of farms in Henderson
county at that time, and the relative size of each :

Whole number of farms in the county 1,923

Farms having 3 to 10 acres 141

" " 10 to 20 " 335

" " 20 to 50 " 755

" " 50to 100 " 466

" " 100 to 500 " 223

" " 500 to 1000 " 3

Though these estimates were made for 1870, they will nevertheless
give a pretty correct idea on the subject at present. Included in those
1,923 farms are 92,250 acres of improved land, of which, in 1873,
about one-third were rented out, the remaining two-thirds having been
worked by the land-owners or under their immediate supervision. The
usual terms of rent are for one-third of the crops, the land-owner fur-
nishing only the land ; or two-thirds of the crop, he furnishing every-
thing but the labor. When money rent is required, the following
prices are usually paid :

Best land $4.00 per acre.

Medium land 3.00 "

Tlurd-class land 2.00

One-half of the land in the county can be purchased at reasonable
prices and on reasonable terms. The usual terms of sale are for one-
third or one-fourth cash, the balance in one and two or one, two and
three years, with lien reserved upon the land. The following will show
the prices asked and paid for land in the county :

Wesi Tennessee. 1 1 07

First-class improved lands, per acre S30.00

Second-class improved lands " " 20.00

Third-class " " " " •, 10-00

First-class'unimproved " " " 20.00

Second-class " " " " 10-00

Third-class " " " " 5-00

The following table wilFshow the productiveness ol the soils :

Average yield per acre in corn 30 bushels.

" " " " " i,vheat 10 "

" " << " "oats 1'^ "

" " " " " cotton, (in seed) 700 pounds.

" " " "tobacco 800

» " " "hay 3,000

In spite of the hills, Henderson county farms produce well, and the
land commands good prices, either from renters or buyers. With
careful culture, the same lands that now produce as much as thirty
bushels of corn per acre can be made to produce one-third as much
more, and so with other products. But the farmers pay little attention
to fertilizers. With millions of pounds of fertilizers (Green Sand)
almost at their very doors, they are allowing their land oftentimes to
fall below remunerative yields of the staple crops.

8toch and Stock-raising. Henderson is naturally a very good stock
county, but the advantages which nature has given to the farmer in
this respect, are not improved. Every farmer raises annually seme
stock, and many of them raise some to sell, but no attention is paid to
pure breeds. Indeed, there has been made, so far, but little effort
even to introduce blooded males, with the view of improving the
native breeds. The following from the census report of 1870, will
show what the people were doing then in the way of stock-raising,
and will give, also, a very fair idea of what they are now doing:

Value of all live stock in the county $732,519

" animals slausrhtered, or sold for slaughter 232,186

Horses Nun-.ber 2,816

Mules and asses '

ivr-, . ..." 3,649

fi'^t •- " 1308

^f"-^^"''- " 10,168

f^^P . " 32,559

Swine i^dn

Pounds of wool saved oqat

butter made 142,847

1 1 08 Resources of Tennessee.

These figures speak for themselves, and show that taking as the-
basis of the estimates, quantity or numbers and not quality, Henderson
ranks as one of the leading stock counties in West Tennessee.

Labor. The same complaint is heard in this county as in the other
counties of West Tennessee, of the scarcity of reliable laborers. A
majority of the laborers, at present, are white. They are preferred by
the farmers, and while they will be glad to welcome good laborers of
any color, they will prefer whites. The following prices are paid:
Farm hands, per year, from $150 to $200; per month, $15 to $20;
per day, $1 to $1.50; cooks, per month, $6 to 10; house servants, %h
to $8.

Markets. There being no railroads in Henderson, the people are
compelled, in a great measure, to depend upon river navigation. At
least those in the eastern districts depend upon the Tennessee River,
which is reached through Decatur county. Those persons living in
the northern and north-western districts are convenient to the Louis-
ville and Memphis Railroad, while those in the south-western and
southern districts are nearer to the Mobile and Ohio Railroad. The
markets of Henderson county are therefore Cincinnati, Evansville^
Paducah and St. Louis by water, and Louisville, Memphis and Nash-
ville by rail.

Tlie People. The people of Henderson county are honest, intelli-
gent, and social, but not very enterprising, thrifty, or educated. The
farming community especially is wanting in enterprise. Most of the
farmers are pursuing the same routine upon their farms followed by
their ancestors before them. They are satisfied with a comfortable
subsistence, and being away from the highways of commerce, they are
not stimulated to any extraordinary exertions. They have but little re-
gard for conveniences, and so far as labor-saving implements are con-
cerned, they are but little known, or at any rate, but seldom seen.

County Roads. The same facts are true of the roads here as of
those of the adjoining counties. Little or no attention is paid to keep-
ing them in good repair, and as a natural result, at certain seasons of
the year they are almost impassable, when a very reasonable amount of
labor and money properly expended would keep them in excellent
condition. There is no railroad running into or through the county,
and but little prospect of one.

Toions. Lexington, the county seat, is the principal town. It is
located very near the center of the county, in a hilly and })icturesque

Wes^ Tennessee. 1109

•country ; has about 250 inhabitants, and controls the principal business
-of the county. The country around it is very healthy, and is a fair
farming area. Booth's Point, Center Point, Crucifer, Jack's Creek
Juno, Mifflin, Scott's Hill, Shady Hill, and Wildersville are all small,
villages, with from three to ten business houses each. Mifflin, in the
western part of the county is the largest, having a population of 150.

Mills and Manufactories. Henderson is not a manufacturing county,
though a good deal of cloth is made in families. According to the
census report of 1870, the value of its home manufactures was $132,-
767. It is well supplied with mills, and the average milling distance
throughout the county will not exceed four miles. There are also
a few woolen factories.

School Interests. Schools are scarce. No tax has been levied for
the support of common schools. The county has been divided into
twenty school districts, they being co-extensive with the civil districts,
and the superintendent expects, before the close of the year 1874, to
succeed in completing the necessary arrangements for accommodating
all w^ho, under the law, are eligible, and desire to share in the benefits
of the common school system. The following facts will show what
has been done: Scholastic population between 6 and 18: white male,
12,218; female, 2,088; total white, 4,306; colored male, 412; female,
418; total colored, 830; total, 5,136. Number white schools organ-
ized, 8; colored, — ; total, 8. Number white pupils between 6 and
18 enrolled, 245; colored, — ; total, 245.

Churches. The people of Henderson county are a church-going
people, and almost, if not quite every neighborhood, has one or two,
or more churches convenient to it. The leading denominations repre-
sented in the county are the Methodist, Baptist, Cumberland Presby-
terian, and Christian. •

HENRY COUNTY.

County Seat— Paris.

Henry county embraces about 570 s(piare miles, and had a popula-
tion in 1870 of 20,380, of which 5,204 were colored. The number of
acres, exclusive of town lots, assessed for taxation in 1873 was 357,-
705, valued at |2,81 2,860, or $7.86 per acre. The county is the ex-

mo Resources of Tennessee.

treme north-eastern county of West Tennessee, and is bounded on the
north by Kentucky, on the east by Stewart, Houston and Benton, on
the south by Benton and Carroll, and the west l)y Weakley. The
Tennessee River forms the boundary between Henry on the west, and
Stewart and Houston on the east, and Big Sandy, on the east, separ-
ates this county from Benton. This county was organized in the
year 1822.

Geology. The eastern edge of Henry county rests on some of the
older rocks. Upper Silurian limestones and Carboniferous rocks showing
themselves. The variegated marble on Big Sandy has been mentioned
in the introduction to West Tennessee. Bluflfe of blue flaggy and fos-
siliferous limestones of the Lower Helderberg epoch (which together
with the marble, belong to the Upper Silurian) are also seen on Sandy.
The middle and western parts of the county rest on much more recent
formations, members of the Cretaceous and Tertiary divisions. The
latter formations are great strata of sands' and laminated clays. The
line of separation between the older and newer formations marks the
position of the old shore line, of which mention has been made in
another part of the Report. Over all the rocks patches of the gravel
and sand of the superficial formation, or drift, called the Orange Sand,
are often met with. A few fine specimens of pot and gravel iron ore
have been found in the hills on the dividing ridge, and some think
that there are rich beds of it, but if so, their location is unknown.
There are many rich beds of potter's clay of the finest quality. One of
these, near the mills of Palmer & Thomas, through which their race is
cut, was ])rofitably worked before the war, but the proprietor, losing
his property, has not been able to resume operations. A small capital
invested here would pay a very large dividend. It is in a mile or less
of Porter's Station on the Memphis and Louisville Railroad.

Topography, Soils and Lands. The Tennessee Ridge, which divides
the waters running into the Tennessee River and those running into
the Mississip})!, passes through the central part of the county, entering
near Macedonia, runs north, and passes out near Conyersville. Along
the course of tins ridge there is a narrow strip of land that is hilly, so
much so that the soil, which is thiu, when cleared ofl and subjected to
cultivation, soon washes away. By ])roper care, however, it will last a
good many years, and ])roduces fine crops of wheat, corn and cotton.
It is well adapted to the growing of apples, peaches, pears, etc., and
so far as the grape has been tried, it does finely. The native musca-

West Tennessee. 1 1 1 1

dine, from which a dinner wine is made, flourishes to perfection. The
lands along this line are well timbered, can be bought cheap, and if in
the hands of enterprising fruit-growers, could be made to yield highly
remunerative crops. East of "the ridge" the surface soon becomes
level, or gently undulating, the soil being a light sandy loam, under-
laid with a stratum of sandy or gravelly clay. The more level
uplands have good depths of soil, are underlaid with red clay, more or
less mixed with sand, and are capable of indefinite improvement.
West of the "divide " the surface, at first gently sloping, soon becomes
quite level, the soil more compact, often mixed with gravel, underlaid
with red, and in some spots, whitish clay, exceedingly fertile, and is as
pretty farming lands as can be found in Tennessee. Taking into con-
sideration all the advantages of soil, of climate, variety of productions
and facilities for transportation, the prices of lands in this county are
very low. Stimulated by the prospect of several new railroads being
built through the county at an early day, the price is advancing, and
will, some think, continue to advance until it reaches something near
its worth. Improved lauds are worth from $10 to §50 per acre, and
unimproved from $5 to $20. The average price for good improved
land is about $20 to $25. The usual land payments are one-third
cash, the balance in equal payments on a credit of one and two years.

Timber. But little over half of the lands being improved, there is
an abundance of very fine timber. All kinds of oaks abound — white
oak for sawed lumber for fences, floors, laths, felloes, spokes, etc.; the
post oak for posts and railroad ties, and the red oak for boards, rails,
tanbark, etc. There is an abundance of the finest of hickory, suitable
for axletrees, spokes, hubs, handles, hoops, etc., also poplar, walnut,
gum, beech, cherry, and chestnut for building and cabinet lumber.
There are also elm, ash, birch, maple, locust, mulberry, hornbeam,
dogwood, redbud, haw, sassafras, plum, pawpaw, persimmon, hazel,
huckleberry, etc. Some of the white oaks will measure six and eight
feet in diameter, three feet from the ground. There is an excellent
opening here for the location of a factory to manufacture this timber
into handles, axletrees, felloes, spokes, etc.

■ Crops. The soils are well adapted to the production of cotton, to-
bacco, corn, wheat, rye, oats, clover, the grasses, peas, beans, potatoes,
sorghum, etc. The great staples are cotton and tobacco, both of which
grow nearly or quite as well liere as in any portion of the State. Clo-
ver has been sown extensively since the war and does well. Even on
lands nearly exhausted by long cultivation, a " catch" is easily obtained

1 1 1 2 Resources of Tennessee.

by sowing seventy-five pounds of jilaster to the acre. The grasses do
well, especially red top, timothy, orchard and Hungarian. Many of
the farmers could profitably turn their attention exclusively to the pro-
duction of hay, and raising improved stock, and no doubt would have
done so, to a greater extent, but for the fact that in farming on shares,
cotton and tobacco at present prices pay well. As soon as the prices
of these great staples get too low to be remunerative, a great change
will take place in this particular. On lands that are well adapted to
raising hay, stock, fruits, vegetables, etc., the farmers should turn their
attention in this direction, and then a new era of prosperity will dawn
upon them and they will become a more wealthy and happy people.
All varieties of hardy fruits succeed well, and large quantities of trees
have been planted since the war. Many, however, have erred in buy-
ing from northern nurseries, and getting varieties that will not do well
in this climate. This (m ror is not likely to occur again, however, as
the West Tennessee Nurseries, located some seven miles southeast of
Paris, are now propagating everything in the nursery line, and take
especial pains to recommend nothing that has not been tried and found
to do well.

Rotation of Crops— Method oj Culiure. The farmers, like those in
other sections of the State, have not given sufficient attention to the
rotation of crops. The system practiced by most good farmers is corn,
wheat, clover ; tobacco, wheat, clover ; or cotton, wheat, clover; some-
times rye or oats taking the place of wheat. The land is usually bro-
ken up with two horses or mules, the after cultivation being done by
a single horse or mule. Usually the farmers do not plow deep enough,
but are beginning to realize the importance of doing so. Subsoiling is
practiced to a limited extent, but so far there is not an underdrain in
the county.

Streams and Mills. The Tennessee River on the east divides this
<-)unty from Stewart, but a wide difference obtains in the rocky for-
mation of the two counties. Stewart is characterized by hills of
white and blue limestone, flint and slate, and her waters are impreg-
nated with lime, constituting hard water. Henry has local sandstone,
in unstratificd masses, these masses being beds of sand consolidated by
siliceous and ferruginous cements. The waters are free from lime, and
is what is called freestone or soft water. From the dividing ridge
already mentioned as passing through the center of the county,
many fine streams issue which traverse the county in all directions,
affording water-power in abundance. Obion River proper is composed

West lennessee. 1113

of three "forks," known as the South, Middle and North Forks of
Obion. The Middle Fork rises and runs for some distance in this
county, and has on it several mills. The North Fork runs through the
north-western portion of the county and drives two flouring-mills and
one saw-mill. West Sandy runs through the eastern part of the county
and has several fine mill sites. Its tributaries, Hally and Bailey's
Fork, afford the finest water privileges in the county. On Hally Fork
there is a woolen factory, and at the same place is a large saw and flour-
ing-mill. There are three other good mills below, within five miles.
On Bailey's Fork are situated the finest mills in the county. There
are also several cotton factories and one woolen mill and gin. Big
Sandy River, which divides this county from Benton on the east, has
several fine mills, the most important of which are the " Sandy Mills."
Here a canal from the pond above has been carried around the mill
into the river below, a distance of three hundred yards. It is dug
through a stiff gravelly marl, which seems as little susceptible to the
action of water as rock itself. It affords a head of ten feet, and has
power to run, without interfering with the mill, a 44-inch turbine
wheel. Other streams with mills on them are Clark and Blood rivers,
Terrapin, Bear, Eagle, Gwin's, Bird's and S})ring creeks. There are
also numerous small streams and springs affording an abundance of
water for man and beast.

Mineral Water. About four miles from Springville, on the Louis-
ville and Memphis Railroad, is the great artesian well, familiarly
known as the Sulphur Well, or Mammoth Spring. In the early history
of this county, and even before any permanent settlements were, made
on this side of the Tennessee River, pioneers resorted to " licks" in
this vicinity for the purpose of making salt. This indispensable arti-
cle in household economy had, at that time, to be transported from
great distances on the backs of horses — hence the early settlers were
stimulated to dig wells in these "licks," from which they procured a
brackish water, and by evaporating this they obtained a crude article
of salt. During the late war these were re-opened for the purpose of
making salt. For the benefit of those who are not familiar with licks,
it will be well to mention that they are excavations in the ground
caused by immense herds of ruminants continually trampling over and
licking u]) the briny earth. Ere the advent of the white man, vast
numbers of buffalo, elk and deer, resorted daily to these licks, and the
result is excavations sometimes extending over an acre or more of
ground and several feet in depth. Here, at an early day, tlie hunter

1 1 1 4 Resources of Te7inessee.

erected scaffolds on the spreading branches of the surrounding trees,
and at the usual hour of the day, when the untamed denizens of the
forest were wont to congregate, the crafty woodsman, elevated on his
lofty eyrie above their visual range, would, from his unerring rifle,
send a leaden messenger of death through the heart of his unsuspect-
ing victim. Remnants of these ancient scaffolds may still be seen.
Those were the days of vension steak and bear meat — hominy and hoe-
cake. About the year 1821, Major John Randle, Wm. Randle, Geo.
D. Randle and James Miller conceived the idea that by deep boring
they possibly might reach the fountain head of the salt water. Some
of the parties having. strong faith in the divining rod, went to Kentucky
and employed a gentleman skilled in the mystery of finding hidden
streams. He came, and his unerring rod soon pointed to the place
where, at the depth of 100 feet or less, was to be found the fountain
head. The work was commenced and progressed rapidly until they
had dug some twenty-five feet, when they struck a brown marble men-
tioned below, which was found of very great thickness. Here was an
unlooked for difficulty, for which the diviner, with all his skill, had not
prepared them. But they were not to be discouraged by small difficul-
ties. Instruments for boring, of rude construction, were made, and the
work went on. One hundred feet was reached, but no water; 200 feet
gave the same result ; but on they went, discouraged, " cast down, but
not overwhelmed," until at the depth of some 400 feet they struck a
powerful stream of water, which, to their great disappointment, proved
to be sulphur instead of salt water. The well affords a very abundant
supply of water, sufficient to turn a good sized mill. The water has
obtained reputation as a healing agent, having proved beneficial in
many chronic affections, particularly of the skin, kidneys, bladder, etc.
This water is said to be superior to all others for making coffee. The
premises have been fitted up for the accommodation of invalids and
pleasure-seekers and is a popular summer resort. There are several
large springs of sulphur water within a few hundred yards of the
well, and the attractions of the place are enhanced by some fine chaly-
beate springs, one quite near the well. The gentlemen who bored this
well, sunk another with the same object at a lick about two miles south
of Big Sandy Switch on the Memphis and Louisville Railroad, on the
])remises of General J. S. Dawson, where they likewise fiiiled to obtain
salt water, but again struck a stream of sulphur water. This well af-
fords but a scanty supply of water, owing, it is said, to the fact that
the auger was ]>roken off and suffered to remain in the bore. Tlie

IVes^ Tennessee. n^ 1 5

water has quite a saline taste. About a mile west of this, on the same
property, is a spring known as the Copperas Spring, which is remark-
able for the large amount of gelatinous matter which is deposited in the
spring and along its course. The water has an exceedingly styptic and
ferruginous taste.

Railroads. The Memphis and Louisville Eailroad passes through
the county from the northeast to southwest. Before the completion of
this road the Tennessee River afforded the only flicilities for transpor-
tation, the Mouth of Sandy and Paris Landing being the rival ship-
])ing points. There is still some business done at these places, but
nothing to compare with former times. There are three other lines
projected to pass through Paris, but the chances are rather bad at pres-
ent for their construction.

Toums and Villages. Paris was laid off about 1825, and is built on
the "ridge/' near the center of the county, in a remarkably healthy
location, as an evidence of which, with a population of some 2,000, it
has only five physicians. There are sixteen lawyers, six ministers,^
nine dry-good stores, six family groceries, five whisky shops, two shoe
and hat stores, two milliner's stores, two cotton and tobacco factories,
two merchant tailors, three drug stores, two each of baker, silversmith,
gunsmith, barber, shoe, saddle and liarness, buggy and carriage, under-
takers, and furniture shops, three hotels, and the Paris Intelligencer,
one of the best country papers in the south. It is blest by having an
intelligent and industrious population, with but few loafers. The
Agricultural and Mechanical Association is located at this place. The
Odd Fellows' Male and Female College is an institution of sterling,,
worth, and is in a prosperous condition. Besides this, there are several
other schools that are doing well. The Methodist Episcopal Church
South has just completed a fine and commodious house of worship.
The Presbyterians, Baptists and Christians also have houses of worship,
and a large number of communicants. Cottage Grove, twelve miles
north-west of Paris, is situated in a fine section of country. It has
three dry-goods stores, two groceries, two blacksmith shops, one buggy
shop, one cabinet shop, one wool factory, two churches, and a large
school. Como, twelve miles west of Paris, has six or eight business
houses, and supports a fine school. Spring Hill, eight miles north-
west of Paris, has two dry-goods stores, one tanyard, shoe and saddler
shop, and a prosperous school. Mansfield, eleven miles south-west of
Paris, has two stores, grocery, etc., and is the location of a cotton fac-

1 1 1 6 Resources of Tennessee.

tory. There is also a good school at this point. Othei- towns of equal
importance are Manly ville, Henry Station, and Spriugville Station.
Those of less importance are Bell view, Buchanan, Mouth of Sandy, Paris
Landing, Conyersville, Mt. Olivet, and Live Oak, with one or more
stores, churches, etc.

3Ianufactories. Cotton and tobacco being the staple products, have
caused the erection of a number of factories for spinning the first and
stemming and prizing the second. These factories give employment to
a large number of hands. None of the cotton factories have any
looms. The largest factory in the county is known as the Embryo
Cotton Factory. It is located in Paris and runs 1,120 spindles, using
800,000 pounds of seed cotton annually, and turning out 400,000 dozen
first class cotton yarn. This factory employs thirty hands, and it has
capacity enough to double the machinery. It is said to pay a hand-
some dividend, but this could be largely increased by utilizing the un-
occupied space in the building, either with additional spindles or ^vith
looms. The property at present is worth 1 60,000. Oakley, White &
Co., are the owners. The next in importance are the Mansfield Cot-
ton Mills, at Mansfield, eleven miles south-east of Paris. They were
erected by Wm. H. Thompson in 1856, being the fifth cotton factory
erected in the county. The present owners, Messrs. A. C. Etheridge
& Co., purchased the property in 1863, since which time it has been
under the management of M. C. Cheek and A. C. Etheridge, both
practical machinists and cotton manufacturers, of whom it might be
said they are almost products of our cotton mills, as they went into the
cotton mills of this county when quite small, and grew up to men's
estate, being seldom out of hearing of the musical whirr of running
spindles, of which they are now running 640, consuming 350,000
pounds of seed cotton per annum, producing some 175,000 dozen of
cotton yarn. They have also, in connection with their factory, a grist
mill and dry-goods store. Besides these, there are the factories of N.
Currier near Paris, and Messrs. Dinwiddie & Co., near Henry Station,
of about the same capacity of the Mansfield mill. There is also near
Conyersville a mill for the manufacture of woolen goods, that is pay-
ing a handsome dividend. There are nine tobacco factories in the
county, which manufacture a large (piantity of tobacco. There are
also several tanneries.

Good iScIiooIh are common throughout the county. Twenty free
schools were in operation in 1873, for about three months, five of
which were for colored children.

Wes^ Termessee. 1 1 1 7

Labor. One of the principal drawbacks to tlie prosperity of the
county is a want of reliable labor. It being almost impossible to hire
farm hands at reasonable prices, the farming is generally done on shares,
the owners of the land furnishing stock, implements, etc., and receiv-
ing one-half the crop, which consists principally of cotton, tobacco,^
corn, wheat and oats, here named in the order of their profit and im-
portance. The people are kind, hospitable and industrious, and gladly
welcome immigrants from any cpiarter of the globe who desire to settle
permanently among them, make useful citizens and aid in developing
the natural resources. The principal immigration since the war has
been from East Tennessee and North Alabama. As an illustration of
what economy and industry can do in the county, a case is mentioned
of a gentleman who came to the county six years since. On his arri-
val he had nothing but a wagon and team and money enough to buy
his supplies for the year. The first year he farmed on shares, suppor-
ted his family and made, clear of expenses, some $600. He bought a
farm, making a small cash payment. He now owns 400 acres of the
l)est farming land in the county, all paid for, and planted last season
over 100 acres in cotton and a large crop of corn and tobacco. He is
very justly regarded as one of the most substantial citizens. There are
but few counties that offer more inducements to immigrants than Henry.
The great variety of crops grown will give them a wider field for se-
lection. With the growth of a proper manufacturing spirit, the county
is destined to take a high rank in the State. It has always exercised
a potent influence in the administration of the State government, and
has probably furnished more executive officers than any county in West
Tennessee.

Statistics. Value of taxable property in 1873, $3,656,340; quantity
of tobacco shipped by railroad in 1873, 1,028 hogsheads ; quantity
raised in 1869, 1,715,001 pounds; quantity of cotton shipped by rail-
road in 1873, 6,314 bales; quantity raised in 1869, 2,385 bales. No.
of white voters in the county, 3,090; colored, 694; total, 3,784.
Scholastic population, 6,530. Other statistics may be found by con-
sulting Part I, of this report.

The Secretary is indebted to Dr. John T. Irion, for the main portion
of this report of Henry county.

1 1 1 8 Resources of Tennessee,

LAKE COUNTY.

County Seat — Tiptonvii.le.

Lake county is the extreme north-western county of the State, and
is hemmed in by the Mississippi River on the west and Reelfoot Lake
on the east. In territorial extent it is by far the smallest county in
West Tennessee, and the smallest in the State, with the exception of
Trousdale. It comprises about 135 square miles. The number of
acres assessed for taxation is 84,360, valued at §755,883. The popu-
lation in 1870 was 2,428, of which 393 were colored.

Organization. On the 9th of June, 1870, a law was passed estab-
lishing the new county of Lake out of that portion of Obion which
lies west of low water mark of Reelfoot Lake,''^ the county to be
bounded as follows : Beginning at a stake at low water mark on the
west bank of Reelfoot Lake, at a point where the dividing line be-
tween Kentucky and Tennessee crosses said west bank; running thence
in a southern direction with the meanderings of said western bank at
at low water mark to the Dyer county line ; thence west with Dyer
county line to the State line (Mississippi River); thence with said line
up the Mississippi! River, in a northern direction, to an intersection
with the Kentucky line; thence east with the Kentucky and Tennessee
h'ne to the beginning. The organization was effected in September,
1870.

Topography, Geology and Soils. Lake is the most level county in
the State, there being nothing worthy of the name of hill in it. The
lands are rich, the prevailing character being alluvial, and the color
black. In a small section of the county, however, as in the western
part of Madrid Bend, on the river, some sandy land is found, and near
the center of the bend, in civil district No. 2, is land which is more
clayey. Madrid Bend includes the section of country which would be
north-west of a line extended directly from Tiptonville to Island No
10, rendered famous during the late war. All of Lake county is in

*ThiH lake, formed during the convulsions of 1811-12, is about eighteen miles long and
from three-quarters to tiiree wide. Its origin appears to be due to the disturbance in the
bed of lieelfoot C reek, which dammed up the water that before ilo wed without impediment
into the Mississippi River. Tiiis damming up produced an overflow, and formed the
lake a.s we now find it. Generally it is very shallow, especially at low water mark. It
is a noted place for fishing and hunting. During the fall months numerous parties are
seen encamped on its banks, spending whole weeks in their sports.

IVes^ Tennessee. 1 1 1 9

■what are called the Mississippi Bottoms, and belongs to the most re-
cent formation, technically called Alluvium. No regular strata of hard
rock, as limestone, slate or sandstone, occur. The whole country was
originally covered with heavy forests, and except along the banks of
the river there is little or no sand. The soil is impregnated with lime
and is very productive. The lands of Lake county are unusually
rich, and the agricultural resources of the county, when fully devel-
oped, will make it, in proportion to its area, the wealthiest county in
the State, agriculturally. Mr. R. S. Bradford, a very intelligent citi-
zen of the county, says in a communication : "You will probably not
be prepared to give your assent to the statement which I am about to
make. Lake county, though the least among all the counties in terri-
torial extent, is on the whole the richest. It is about thirty-five miles
long, and from ihree to twelve broad. We are in a measure cut oif
from the rest of the State by lakes and bayous. Were it not for the
great Mississippi, along which our county stretches for so many
miles, we might be said to be out of the world, but this brings us fairly
into communication with the rest of mankind, and more especially
with the mark^ets of the Mississippi Valley. No proper highlands, or
hills, are seen. Our soils are based on alluvial formations, and are
almost necessarily deep and fertile."

Timber. There is probably no county in the State which is better
timbered than Lake. The varieties usually found in Tennessee are
found in the county, and there are also large tracts of country covered
with the best cypress and cotton wood. The principal undergrowth is
cane, but in some sections of the county there is some pawpaw.

Land Statistics. The following facts in regard to the agricultural
wealth, etc., of Lake county are taken from the census report of 1870,
and though not precisely, are at least approximately correct:

Cash value of farms $882,411

" " farming implements, etc 14,698

Number of farms of all sizes 912

" " having 3 and under 10 acres 1

" " " 10 " 20 " 7

" " " 20 " 50 " 81

50 " 100 " 55

" " " 100 " 500 " 45

" " " 500 " 1,000 " 2

" " " l,000orover 1

Value of forest products $5,578

" home manufactures 1,235

" animals slaughtered or sold for slaughter 32,124

1 1 20 Resources of Tennessee.

Value of all live stock 125,802

Number of horses 511

" mules and asses 381

" milch cows 615

" -working oxen 256

" other cattle 1,048

" sheep 816

" swine 5,85.3

Bushels corn 414,570

" oats 1,892

" winter wheat 1,000

" Irish potatoes 7,435

" sweet " 4,382

Pounds of butter 23,548

It will be seen that the farms are small, being generally under 100
acres in size. In proportion to the size of the county, the value of
forest products is unusually large, which is owing to two facts, viz:
there is a bountiful supply of the very best timber, and the timber is
easily transported to good markets, immense rafts being made, and
floated down the Mississippi River to New Orleans. The value of an-
imals slaughtered or sold for slaughter is comparatively large, owing
to the fact that the ranges for cattle are superior, consisting of large
areas of -bottom lands covered with a dense growth of cane, which is
very nutritious and is greedily eaten by stock of all kinds. The citi-
zens are therefore able to raise large numbers of cattle at compara-
tively little expense or trouble. In proportion to the number of acres
of improved land reported, the number of bushels of corn exported is
large, while the same report shows that the yield of oats and wheat is
small. In the matter of forest products and of animals slaughtered or
sold for slaughter. Lake county takes a leading position, and it is cer-
tainly one of the best corn counties in the State. In the census re-
port of 1870, it appears that the yield of cotton was very insignifi-
cant. Since tlmt time the culture of that staple has greatly increased.
In 1873 a large proportion (at least one-fourth) of the improved lands
were planted in cotton, and the yield of 1872-3 justifies the belief that
Lake will soon rank high, not only as a corn, but also as a cotton
county. The snuilk-i gjaius, however, do not thrive very well,
and are sowed in limited quantities. Mr. Bradford, in a letter
dated Novemi)er, 1872, says: "We usually make from eight to twelve
barrels (40 to <i() bushels) of corn ])er acre. We arc now picking out
from 1,200 to 2,000 ])ounds of seed cotton per acre. The cotton is not
so good as it was last year. Then, on our best (iultivated farms we
made 2,500 pounds. As we liave no wheat mill in our county, we

Wesr Tennessee. 1 1 2 1

make but little wheat. As to Irish potatoes, the soil is admirably
adapted to their growth. I have one neighbor that made 400 bushels
to the acre without using any manure. He planted and cultivated
seven or eight acres without any help. The Early Rose is the favorite
here, and I think by far the best potato. Our fruits, with the excep-
tion of cherries, are all fine. Clover and the grasses grow with great
luxuriance. The land is too fertile for oats, causing them to grow so
high that they fall down before ripening and are destroyed. Since the
war we have usually shipped from 400,000 to 600,000 bushels of corn.
The price of corn has got so low that we have been compelled to quit
it and go to raising cotton, which is paying us finely. We are just
beginning to realize that our summers are almost equal to those of
Georgia and Carolina, and as the country is opened the sun has a
greater effect upon it and forces the cotton to an early maturity. AVe
are now satisfied that our section is fully a third better for the grow-
ing of cotton than any other in the State. Prior to the war no cotton
was raised in the county, but since that time the planting of it has
rapidly increased, and we have never raised less than 1,000 pounds to
the acre."

The following will show the average yields of different crops, and
may be relied on :

Cotton, in seed, per acre 1,100 pounds.

Corn " " 8 barrels,

Wheat " " 17 bushels.

About one-third of the open land in the county is annually rented,
terms generally being as follows : When rent is paid in money, the
price asked is $5 to $8 per acre ; when part of the crop is charged,
the land-owner gets of the cotton, in seed, 200 lbs.; corn, one-third.
Though there is little disposition manifested on the part of land-own-
ers to leave the county, about 30 per cent, of the open land can be
purchased at reasonable prices, a fair average being about $20 per acre.
What are known as the sandy lands, located in the north-western part
of Madrid Bend, on the Mississippi River, generally sell for about $10
per acre. The clay lands, principally in civil district No. 2, near the
center of the Bend, generally sell for about $30 per acre. The "prime"
or first-class lands, principally in civil district No. 1, near Island No.
10, generally sell for about $50 per acre. The lands in districts Nos.
3 and 4, which are subject to partial overflow, generally sell for
$25 per acre. The overflowed lands, some of which are in district

1 1 2 2 Resources of Tennessee.

No. 4, but lying principally in districts Nos. 5 and 6, generally sell for
about $5 per acre. The usual terms of sale are, one-third cash, the
balance in one and two years.

Grasses. But little attention is paid to grasses. The range for stock
is good throughout the year, and the people think the soils are so rich
as not to need clover or grasses or any kind of fertilizers. However,
there is some German millet grown, and there are a few fields of tim-
othy, the average yields, per acre, being, German millet, 2 J tons ;
timothy, 2 tons.

Labor. There is now, and has been since the war, a great scarcity
of laborers of all kinds. At present there are more white than col^
ored laborers. The people . are anxious to welcome good hands, and
will pay the following prices :

Farm hands per year $200.00

" " " month 18.00 to 25.00

" " " day 1.00

Cooks and house servants are in demand at the following prices:
Cooks, per month, $10; house servants, per month, $8 to $10.

Mr. Bradford, on the subject of labor, says : " We need more people.
AVe want more men who will work. Our laborers are of all kinds and
colors, but few are reliable. We have many men of energy and ca-
pacity, but they are looking after the dollar by the nearest way, and
pay but little attention to those public improvements that go to enrich
and build up the whole country. So they are individually making
money they are satisfied. The greatest need of the county is capital
to develop its agricultural wealth. We have the finest timber in the
greatest abundance, yet, would you believe it, we have to buy at least
two-thirds of the sawed lumber we use out of the county."

Fruits. Lake is not a first-rate fruit county, though the more com-
mon fruits, such as apples, peaches and pears, are grown to some ex-
tent. There are no market orchards, however, and the disposition
seems to be to raise only enough to supply the home demand. The
atmosphere is too damp for grapes, which do not thrive.

Stock and Stock-raising. But little attention is paid to the breeding
of fine stock and the raising of stock of any kind. Almost every
farmer has horses, mules, cattle, hogs, and even sheep, which he allows
to run at large upon the wild canes. They are only looked after in times
of overflow and when wanted for market. A few men are crossing
the common stock of hogs with Berkshires.

West Tennessee. 1^23

Game and Fit^h. In the river and in Reelfoot Lake there is the
greatest abundance of excellent fish, such as trout, perch, cat, buifalo
iind the other varieties usually found in western waters. In fact, the
fish trade between Lake county and St. Louis especially, is a very ex-
tensive one, and is yearly becoming larger. In the southern and
north-eastern sections of the county a few bears, deer and turkeys
are found, and on the river and lake there are immense numbers
of geese and ducks and a good many swan, all of which are hunted
by professional hunters, who annually send many tons of them to
market. Trappers, too, are very successful in trappmg beavers,
raccoons, otters and wild-cats, all of which are found in considerable
numbers, especially in the lake and along its banks.

Markets. St. Louis and New Orleans are the principal markets for
Lake county, though much cotton was sent in 1873 to Memphis.
Every thing that is shipped is by the Mississippi River, which is the
only outlet for the produce of the county.

Immigration and Emigration. Since 1870 the immigration to the
x'i'ounty has not been heavy, though families are frequently moving in,
principally from the counties of Middle and East Tennessee. Some
persons have left the county since the war and have gone to Texas, but
at present there seems to be but little disposition on the part especially
of land-owners to leave the county. Those who have left recently
have been principally laborers and young men without families and
property. The county having long been, comparatively speaking, cut
off from active communication with the outside world, the people have
had fewer advantages than those living in more fortunate sections,
hence they are not as progressive nor as well educated as those in some
other counties of Tennessee.

Roads. The roads throughout the county are generally in a miser-
able condition, and during the winter months they are almost impass-
able. IIowever,^the people do not travel a great deal, and do not feel
the Jieed of good roads as they might under other circumstances.
There are no improved roads and no railroads.

Streams, etc. The Mississip])i River laves the entire western boun-
dary of Lake county, and Reel Foot Lake the eastern boundary, but
there are no rivers or creeks passing into or through the county. For
domestic purposes cisterns and wells are depended on, as there are
very few springs. As to stock-water, pools are easily made and are

1 1 24 Resources of Tennessee,

much used. The work of making cisterns is generally regarded as a
light one, the cement being applied directly to the clay without the in-
tervention of rock or brick. The average depth of wells is about
thirty-five feet, and they are numerous throughout the county, but the
water is not good. Fully two-fifths of the county overflows during
high water. In the great freshets of 1858, 1862 and 1867, thousands
of acres were under water. About one-half of the two-fifths over-
flows so as to prevent settlements and cultivation. These overflows
come into the head of the lake by eight or nine sloughs which exist
below Hickman, Kentucky. Almost every year efforts are made to
build a levee from the high lands in Lake county to Hickman, Ken-
tucky, a distance of sixteen miles, but up to the present time these
efforts have been unsuccessful, though the people believe they will be
able to build this levee before long, in which event it is more than
probable a branch railroad will be run on top of the levee from Hick-
man to connect with the Nashville and Northwestern Railroad.

Towns and Villages. There ars but three villages in Lake county,
as follows : Tiptonville, the county seat, is located on the bank of the
Mississippi River, not far from the longitudinal center of the county,
and has about 100 inhabitants. Mooringsville is a very small place
six and a half miles south of Tiptonville, and has less than 40 inhab-
itants. Cronansville is very little larger than Mooringsville, is four
miles north of Tiptonville, and has less than 50 inhabitants. At each
of the above named places are stores, etc., but the principal trade of
the county is done at Tiptonville.

Mills. There are but few grist-mills, and the average milling dis-
tance is not less than five miles. There are several saw-mills, and an
unusually large number of cotton-gins, considering the size and popu-
lation of the county.

Schools. Schools are scarce. The scholastic j>opulation between the
ages of six and eighteen years is 899, of which 111 are colored. Dur-
ing the scholastic year of 1873-4 ten white schools were organized.
The county showed its appreciation of schools by levying an additional
tax of ten cents on the |100, one dollar on polls, and one per cent, on
privileges.

CJivrches. Th(> county is well supplied with churches, there being
one in every civil district, and district number four, in which is located
the town of Tiptonville, has four churches. The Methodist is the

JVesl Tennessee. 1 1 2 5

largest denomination represented in the county, in fact every church
in the county but two is the property of that denomination, the two
being, one at Cronansville, which is under the control of the Cumber-
land Presbyterians, the other in district number two, which belongs to
the Baptists.

LAUDERDALE COUNTY.

County Seat — Ripley.

This county has an area of about 430 square miles. The amount of
land assessed for taxation in 1873, exclusive of town lots, was 272,445
acres, valued at $2,442,623, or nearly $9 per acre. The total valuation
of taxable property is $2,829,185. The population in 1870 was 10,-
838, of which 3,484, or not quite one-third, were colored. We have
often had occasion in this report to mention the inaccuracy of the cen-
sus returns, and in no county is this inaccuracy more apparent than in
Lauderdale. The number of acres of land given for this county by
the ninth census was 158,217, which is not two-thirds of the amount
returned for taxation. The county was organized in May, 1836, the
act authorizing its establishment having been passed the previous
November.

Physical Geography. The eastern part of Lauderdale is on the
Plateau of West Tennessee ; the western part is low, and lies in the
Mississippi Bottom. The escarpment of the Plateau or high lands
runs in a general north-easterly and south-westerly direction nearly
through the middle of the county, and is a part of the line of bluffs
extending from Hickman, Kentucky, to Memphis, to which the gen-
eral name of the " Mississippi Bluff" has been given. The Plateau por-
tion of the country is considerably cut up by the streams and their
valleys, and in some parts is quite rough and hilly. Between the val-
leys, however, wide, comparatively level areas are met with. The
surface in the Bottom is flat and low. Along the creeks which are in
every part of the county there arc always level bottoms, some of which
are from one-half to one and a half miles in width, and are from three
to fifteen miles in length. As some of these creeks a}>proach the Bluff
their banks become steep and sometimes high, but the banks of the
streams after they pass the Bluff are generally very low. The soil in

1 1 2 6 Resources of Tennessee.

that part of Lauderdale included in the Mississippi Bottom is generally
dark, and is a rich, allnvial loam, remarkably productive. A large
proportion of this section of the county is covered still with forests of
immense timber, which will not be cleared off for many years. There
is a belt, however, bordering on the Mississippi River which is now in
a good state of cultivation. The depth of the soil in this Bottom is at
least as much as from ten to twenty feet. Below the soil is a good
clay, which, when mixed with the soil, produces well. The soil of the
uplands is of a mulatto color, and has a good clay foundation. It is,
however, much shallower than that of the bottoms, the average depth
being about nine or ten inches ; it is very mellow and fertile. The best
corn lands are in the bottoms, but corn and cotton grow well on the
highlands.

Geology, The geology of the county is quite simple. The surface
of the highlands is generally underlaid by the " Bluff Loam " or
Loess described in the first part of this report. On the steep slopes of
of the bluffs the gravel and sand of the Orange Sand formation crops
out from under the Loess, but they are not important with reference to
the agricultural features of the county. Several interesting beds of
lignite are met with. These also crop out on the sides of the bluffs,
and are sometimes four or more feet in thickness. The formation of the
bottoms is of the most recent age, and is known as Alluvium.

Rivers, Creeks, etc. Lauderdale is one of the best watered counties-
in»West Tennessee, as will be seen from the following statement in re-
gard to the streams which water it: The Mississippi River washes the
entire western border of the county, and receives the water from nu-
merous smaller streams which flow through the county. Forked Deer
River, the dividing line beween Lauderdale and Dyer counties, enters
from Haywood county, at the point where the lines of Haywood, Dyer^
and Lauderdale counties come together, ranges thence north, or rather
in a north-westerly direction, thence in a curve south-westward, and
empties into the Mississippi River. Hatchie River enters Lauderdale
from Ti})ton county, and is the dividing line between Lauderdale and
Tipton counties, ranges westward, and empties into the Mississippi
River. Cane Creek rises about six miles north-east of Ripley, runs
south-west, ])asses within one mile of Rijiley, and em])tiesinto Hatchie
]liver, about twelve or fifteen miles above its mouth. Knol) Creek
rises about nine miles north of Ripley, ranges westward about eight
miles, and then ])assing into the bottoms, makes its way into the Mis-

TVes^ Temiessee. 1 1 2 7

sissippi River. Cold Creek rises about seven miles from the county
seat, runs westward, and empties into the Mississippi River above Fort
Pillow. There are numerous smaller streams, some of which empty
into Forked Deer River, some into Hatchie, and still others into the
Mississippi River. Those emptying into Forked Deer range generally
northward, those emptying into Hatchie range south-west, and those
emptying into the Mississippi range generally westward.

Timber. That part of Lauderdale county included in the Missis-
sippi Bottoms, is particularly well timbered with the most superior
quality of lumber trees. Upon the highlands there is also a good sup-
ply of timber. The principal growths are poplar, white oak, hickory,
ash, and cypress. A large number of saw-logs are rafted and taken,
not only out of the overflowed lands, but from various points along
the Mississippi, Hatchie and Forked Deer rivers.

Land Statistics. According to the census of 1870 there were in the
county 1,113 farms, valued at $2,536,980, and divided as follows:

Number having 3 and under 10 12

" " 10 " 20 205

" " 20 " 50 ^^^ 552

" " 50 " 100 ? 206

" " 100 " 500 136

" " 500 " 1,000 1

The number of farms has been increased since that time. In 1873
about one-half of the farms were worked by the land-oWners them-
selves, or under their immediate supervision, while the remaining
half were rented out. The terms of rent are very varied, and it is
difficult to decide what is the general rule. Some demand money rent,
in which case the following prices are charged and obtained : Best
lands, per acre, |5; second-class, $4; third-class, $3. There are
others, however, who crop out their lands, furnishing everything ex-
cept labor, in which case the following are] the general rules : Cotton
lands, two-thirds of the crop; corn lands, three-fourths of the crop.
But when the land-owner furnishes only the lands, he generally gets
for cotton and corn lands, one-half of the crop. In some instances,
however, special arrangements are for a definite amount of the crop.
In such cases the usual rents are for cotton lands, per acre, fifty pounds
cotton ; for corn lands, per acre, seven bushels corn. But these prices
are only obtained for first-class lands. Of all the lands in the county,
improved and unimproved, it is supposed that at least one-half can be
purchased on reasonable terms and at the following prices :
\

1 1 28 Resources of Tennessee,

Best improved lands, per acre $40 00

Second class improved lands, per acre 25 00

Third " " « " .'.!Z"Z"*."Z 10 00

Inferior " " " 5 00

Best unimproved " " 15 00

Second class " " " 10 Oq

Third " " " " 5 OO

Inferior " " " 2 50

There are considerable bodies of land in the bottoms which are sub-
ject to overflow, and which can be purchased at from fifty cents to two
dollars and a half per acre. The usual terms of sale are one-third
cash, the balance in one and two years, with lien reserved. The next
table in order, is one showing how these lands produce, though it must
be remembered that very little of the land is cultivated as it should be.
The following are the average yields per acre :

Corn 25 bushels.

Cotton 750 pounds seed.

Tobacco 950 pounds.

Wheat 10 bushels.

Oats 20 "

Hay 2,000 pounds.

Irish potatoes. 75 bushels.

Sweet " 100 "

The cotton that is shipped from Lauderdale generally ranks in the
market from low middling to middling, while the tobacco ranks gen-
erally as medium leaf. Cotton is th6 peculiar staple of the county,
and every farmer is engrossed in his attention to it ; but the other
products named above are also raised, though principally for home
consumption, with the exception of tobacco, which is raised for market,
but in limited quantities.

Though Lauderdale county is naturally a first-rate county for grasses,
but little attention is being paid to the growing of them. Herds-grass
and timothy are the favorites with those farmers who raise grass at all,
though clover is grown also for grazing and mowing purposes, but it
is seldom or never used as a fertilizer.

Fruits. The more common varieties of fruits would probably thrive,
but little attention is being paid to the business of fruit-growing. The
Bluff country is the only part of the county really suited to fruits, and
it is said that the orchards there have not failed in forty years.

Since 1870 there has been, on the whole, a substantial imjirovement
in Lauderdale county. But even now the farming interests are not in

Wesi Tennessee. 1 1 29

as good condition as they were before the late war; the fencing is not
so good, the farm-houses are in a worse condition, and owing to the
demoralized condition of labor, it will still take years for the farmers
to get fully up to their ante-bellum standard. The disposition to im-
prove, however, is manifesting itself to a very limited extent, and it is
hoped that before the census report of 1880 is taken, Lauderdale
county will have fully recovered all the ground she lost by reason of
the war. The farmers, for the most part, still adhere to the old system
of farming, and as yet bat few labor-saving agricultural implements
have been introduced; a few reapers, threshers, etc., constitute the
sum total of the improvement in this direction. In regard to the mat-
ter of stock and stock-raising, there is a faintly perceptible improve-
ment, but as yet few of the formers in the county are devoting special
attention to this branch of business; there are few or no thorough-
breds in the county of horses, cattle, sheep or hogs, and there seems
to be but little disposition to invest in the purchase.

Labor. The question of labor is a very serious one in the county,
and there is a great demand for really good laborers. At present there
are more white than colored laborers, but neither class is regarded as
being reliable — of course there are some very notable exceptions to
this the general rule. The principal demand, at present, is for farm
hands, but house servants and cooks will have no difficulty in securing
homes and good wages. The following prices are oifered in the county
for laborers :

Farmhands per year, with board $150.00

" " permonth, 15.00

" " per day 1.00

Cooks per month 9.00

House servants " 7.00

Mechanics per day 2.50

These are the average prices ; of course sometimes much higher wages
are paid, and again they are much lower, but good hands may always
depend upon getting good wages for their work.

Game and Fish. In the river bottoms there are bears, deer and
turkeys, and upon the highlands there are such small game as rabbits,
squirrels, foxes, raccoons, opossums, patridges, etc. In the rivers and
creeks there are plenty of fish, and in cold weather there are large
quantities of geese and ducks upon the waters.

Markets. Memphis is the principal market for all the products

1 1 30 Resources of Tennessee,

shipped from Lauderdale couuty. There are three routes by which
such products are shipped — one by the way of Brownsville, in Haywood
county, which is twenty miles from Ripley, thence by the Memphis
and Louisville Railroad ; a second by the way of Covington, in Tipton
county, which is seventeen miles from Ripley, thence by the Memphis
and Paducah Railroad; the third by the way of the Mississippi River
from any of the landings in the county.

Immigration and Emigration. Every year some settlers move in,
principally, during the past few years, from North Carolina, South
Carolina, Georgia and Virginia, and but for the heavy work demanded
in opening the farms, the influx would be still greater. Occasionally
one is found leaving for some fabled laud of the West.

County Roads and Railroads. There are no improved county
roads. At present there is no railroad completed through the
county, but the Memphis and Paducah Railroad has been already
graded from Ripley to Covington, and will doubtless be completed in
a short time. There is not on the continent a more productive soil
tilled by a better agricultural population than that on the Memphis
and Paducah Railroad. Tables might be readily collated showing the
wealth, population and annual products of each of these counties, as
exhibited in the census report of 1870. But these tables, in the face
of progress such as has distinguished this portion of Tennessee, would
be as antedeluvian records used in illustration of the present number
of the world's people. Three years have almost doubled the wealth,
if not the population of some of these counties, and as the railway line
advances, property values are augmented, population grows dense, and
farms are multiplied. No population, in proportion to numbers, pos-
sessed greater wealth anterior to the war between the States, than those
dwelling in the low lands along the eastern shore of the Mississippi.
The country is unharmed by floods that overwhelm adjacent districts
of Arkansas, and every incident of exuberant soil, delightful climate,
variety of protlucts, a magnificent river, and now a perfectly constructed
railway, parallel with and near the river, make the extreme western
counties of West Tennessee supremely blest. The people along this
highway adopt no measures in promotion of immigration. The world
will soon traverse this delightful district, and such farms as those now
burdened with corn, wheat and cotton, and along the northern confines
of Tennessee, and within those of Kentucky, with tobacco, will soon
attract, when the railway line is finished, the most enterprising farmers
of the continent.

Wes^ Temtessee. 1 1 3 1

Toums and Villages. The following are the principal towns and
villages in the county : Ripley, the county seat, is located about
seven miles east of the center of the county, has about 559 inhabitants,
does a good country trade, has good school and church advantages,
and is altogether a very prosperous little town. Double Bridge is fif-
teen miles north of Ripley, has about 70 inhabitants, contains post-
office, stores, churches, Masonic hall and a mixed school. Durhamvilie
is six miles south-east of Ripley, has about 75 inhabitants, post-office,
stores, church, and a good school. Fulton is a shipping point on the
Mississippi River, twenty-five miles south-west of Ripley. It has a
large pianing-mill, post-office, stores, church, and does a good business.
Hale's Point is also a shipping point on the Mississippi River, about
eighteen miles north-west of Ripley, has very few inhabitants, and
does but little except a shipping business.

Mills and Manufactories. There is quite a number of steam saw
and grist-mills, but no regular manufactories. The average milling
distance throughout the county is about three or four miles.

School Statistics. The county levied for the support of schools in
1874 ten cents on the $100 worth of property, one dollar on polls and
one dollar on each marriage license. For 1873 the levy was fifteen
cents on the $100 and one dollar on polls. The scholastic population
between six and eighteen are, white, 3,219; colored, 1,082; total,,
4,301. Number white schools organized, 28 ; colored schools, 2; total,
30. Number of scholars enrolled — white, 1,372 ; colored, 172 ; total,
1,544. Number between eighteen and twenty-one enrolled, 48. Num-
ber of teachers employed — white male, 24 ; female, 11; colored male,
2 ; total, 37. Average per month paid teachers, $48.50. There is a
great want of school-houses in the county.

Churches. In every civil district of Lauderdale county there is one
or more churches. The Methodist is the strongest denomination, the
Baptist ranks next, and then the Presbyterians.

Newspapers. The only newspaper published in the county is the
Ripley News, which is published in Ripley. It is a Conservative paper,,
and has a good circulation.

1 1 3 2 Resources of Tennessee.

MADISON COUNTY.

County Seat — Jackson.

Madison county, in wealth, population, quantity of products and
political influence, will compare favorably with any of the counties in
the Western Division of the State, with the exception of Shelby, in
which Memphis is located. In the number of acres assessed for taxa-
tion it stands seventh, having on the tax list, exclusive of town lots,
.361,842 acres, valued at 13,863,124, or §10.67 per acre, while in the
value of taxable property it stands fourth — Shelby, Gibson and Fay-
ette ranking it. The whole value of taxable property for 1873 was
^6,248,727, It has an area of about 575 square miles, and a popula-
tion of nearly 23,000. In 1870 its population was 28,480, of which
10,152 were colored. Since that report was made, a fraction of the
county, about twenty-five square miles has been cut off and given to
the new county of Crockett. The act creating Madison county was
passed on the 7th of November, 1821, and on the 17th of the follow-
ing month, the organization of the county was effected by the follow-
ing commissioners, who also constituted the first County Court : Adam
R. Alexander, Bertholomew G. Stewart, David Jarvett, Wm. Atchison,
Robert H. Dyer, John Thomas, Duncan Mclvor, Joseph Lynn, James
Trousdale, Herndon Harelson, Wm. Braden, Samuel Taylor and Wm.
Woolfork. The first court was held on the 17th of December, and
Herndon Harelson was chosen chairman, and Roderick Mclvor clerk.
The original settlers were Virginians and North Carolinians, and the
high social virtues which distinguished them, have been preserved by
their descendants. In no county can there be found more prosperity,
a more generous appreciation of merit, a more cordial sympathy with
intelligence, or a more self sacrificing devotion to duty. Courteous by
nature, with an inherited love for the truthful, it is much more com-
mon for the citizens to give credit to the stranger for virtues that are
wanting than to withhold what is his due. There is no better society
to be found anywhere than in the county of Madison.

Physical Geography — Soils. The country immediately around Jack-
son, which is near the center of the county, is gently undulating, going
north or north-west to the county line, it is more level, although still
undulating. The same thing is the case toward the west, but the
southern and extreme eastern sections of the county are very rol-

T'Ves^ Tennessee. ii33

ling. The prevailing color of the soil is dark chocolate, with niix-
ture of clay and sand. In the northern and western districts the sul)-
soil is dark yellow, while in the southern and eastern it is red. Both
soil and subsoil are very porous, without being very thirsty, the sub-
soil generally commencing about eight inches below the surface, though
it produces well to a depth of at least eighteen inches. The clay w^hich
is below the surface, forming the beds upon which the subsoil rests is
from three to four feet deep ; then comes a formation of what is called
Orange Sand, which is in beds or strata and extends over the greater
portion of the county. Sometimes, instead of this sand are found cal-
careous formations or indurated clay, called locally "hard pan clay."
North of Jackson this clay, when found, is harder than it is in the
other counties. The whole of Madison county is on the Plateau or
Slope of West Tennessee, and no regular strata of the older and hard
rocks are to be looked for. In the southern part of the county local
masses of red ferruginous sandstone are occasionally met with. Iron
ore is sometimes associated with this, but to no considerable extent.
The sandstone is generally found near the surface, but is confined prin-
cipally to the hills and blufSs along the banks of the Forked Deer
River and of the creeks in the southern part of the county. The lands
of Madison produce freely and stand droughts well. The best cotton
lands rest upon the beds of Orange Sand. The general appearance of
the county is good. The scenery is subdued and pleasing rather than
wild and romantic.

Artifieial Mounds. Pinson's mounds, in the south-eastern portion of
the county, near Pinson's Station, on the Mobile and Ohio Railroad,
are curiosities worthy of mention. Several of them are from 50 to
60 feet long, from 45 to 50 feet in height and from 50 to 75 feet in
diameter, being nearly hemispherical in shape. Around these is a
semi-circular enclosure made by throwing up earth, as in building for-
tifications. This enclosure, if completed, would form a circle not less
than GOO feet in diameter. It is supposed that these mounds were
ancient burying grounds, but who were the builders we know not. A
little west of Jackson arc several mounds very similar in appearance,
but much smaller in size.

Rivers and Creeks. There are other counties in West Tennessee
which^are better watered than Madison, but it has running through it
a goodly number of streams, which supply plenty of water for ordi-
nary purposes. The following are deserving of mention : Middle
Fork of Forked Deer River enters the county in the north-eastern cor-

1134 Resources of Tennessee.

ner, from Carroll county, runs south-west, passes almost entirely
through the northern part of the county and enters Gibson county
about sixteen miles north-west of Jackson. South Fork of Forked
Deer Riv^er enters the county from Henderson county, near the south-
east corner, runs nearly west, and passes into Haywood county, fifteen
miles north-west of Jackson and near the boundry line of Crockett.
Little Middle Fork of Forked Deer River rises in Henderson county,
passes into Madison a little south of the center of the line dividing
Henderson and Madison, runs west and empties into the South Fork of
Forked Deer, four miles east of Jackson. Greer's Creek rises about
eight miles north-east of Jackson, ranges south and empties into Little
Middle Fork of the Forked Deer, seven miles east of Jackson. Jones'
Creek rises about three and a half miles north-east of Jackson, runs
south and empties into the South Fork of Forked Deer, one and u
fourth miles south-east of Jackson. Johnson's Creek rises about one
and a half miles south of Jackson, runs north-west and empties into
the South Fork of Forked Deer, six miles west of Jackson. Cub
Creek rises about eight miles south-west of Jackson, runs north-west
and empties into the South Fork of Forked Deer, thirteen miles north-
west of Jackson. Big Black, Clover and Turkey creeks do not rise in
the county, but pass through portions of it, the two first emptying
into Hatchie River in Haywood county, the last named emptying into
the Forked Deer, twelve miles south-east of Jackson. Dyer Creek
rises two miles north of Jackson and is a tributary of Middle Fork
(locally North Fork) of Forked Deer River. The larger streams in
the county are lasting and afford milling facilities, though a majority
of them have sluggish currents with unstable banks. The water of
the county is freestone. On Turkey Creek in the south-east part of
the county chalybeate springs are met with.

Timber. Oaks are plentiful all over the county, and there was for-
merly much good poplar, but it is becoming scarce. There is also
plenty of good hickory, and on the river banks there is very fair
cypress. Ash, beech and the other varieties usually found in Ten-
nessee are met with to a limited extent, with the exception of pine,
which is not found in this or any of the northern counties of West
Tennessee.

Land and Crop Stafidics. An estimate for 18'73 has been nuide by
.several gentlemen, of the crops, which will be found to be aj^proxi-
raately correct. It will be seen that the amount of products is not so

West Tennessee, ii35

great as in 1870, but since that date a portion of the county has been
taken off. We give the estimate only as an approximation.

Value of farms $3,624,203

" " farming implements and machinery 163,510

" " orchard products 2,078

" " market garden products 3,312

•' " forest products 940

" " home manufactures 6,875

" " alllivestock 876,993

Number of horses 2,612

" mules and asses 2,927

" milch cows 3,044

•* othercattle 6,182

" sheep 3,262

" swine 28,246

Bushels of winter wheat 44,367

" corn 635,168

" oats 8,966

Bales of cotton 11,000

Pounds of wool 7,876

Bushels of Irish potatoes 2,715

" sweet " 8,914

Pounds of butter 23,673

No estimation is made of the quantities of spring wheat, rye and
barley, or of tobacco, for the reason that the production of these is so
limited as to make it almost impossible to be at all accurate. The fol-
lowing estimates are made by some of the leading men and best farm-
ers in the county and may be relied on :

Percent, of improved lands rented in 1873 10

" " " lands for sale at reasonable prices 25

Average rental of best lands per acre $5.00

" " "other " " " 3,00

" price of best lands " " 25.00

" " " medium lands per acre 12.00 to $20

" " " inferior " " " 5.00 to 12

The low prices of lands in the county is owing to the fact that there
are a great many large bodies which the owners are anxious to sell,
being unable to cultivate so much profitably. When the land is rented
on shares, the land-owner gets one-third of the crop if the laborer
supplies himself, otherwise he gets one-half. The usual terms of sale
are one-third cash, the balance in one and two years, with lien re-
served to secure the payment of the second and third installments ; in-
terest is generally charged on the deferred payments, especially the
last. The proportion of swamp land in the county is very small, and
this can be reclaimed by drainage.

1136 Resources of Tennessee.

Labor. There is a fair supply of labor, priDcipally colored, though
there are some white men who are willing to work for wages. The
colored labor is better than in many other counties, probably because
it is directed by more intelligence. The farmers of this county are un-
usually well informed, and act with justice and moderation toward
their ex-slaves. The following wages are paid for labor:

Farmhands, per year $150.00 to $200.00

" " month 15.00 to 20.00

" " " day 1.00 to 1.50

Cooks " month 12.00 to 15.00

House servants, jDer month 10.00 to 12.00

The demand for good cooks in town and country is great, and house
servants are much wanted in the towns.

Products. Cotton is the great staple in the county. It absorbs al-
most the entire attention of the farming community. Only a home
supply of corn is raised. Wheat (winter) and oats are raised to a lim-
ited extent, but the other small grains are not raised in any quantities.
There is little or no tobacco grown, though the soil is said to be well
adapted to its growth. The best cotton lands yield one-half bale of
500 pounds to the acre, while the medium lands yield from one-fourth
to one-third of a bale. The average yield is about 600 pounds in the
seed per acre, but it must be observed that only good laud is planted
in cotton. The average yield of corn is about thirty bushels per acre;
of wheat from six to twelve bushels. Vegetables of all kinds (espe-
cially roots) grow well in the county.

Grasses. Clover grows well upon soils in which there is consider-
able clay, and herds-grass and timothy (especially the former) grow
vigorously and yield abundantly. There is hardly lime enough in the
soil for blue-grass, and the experiments that have been made are not
very satisfactory. A few farmers have been trying orchard-grass, and
report favorably as to its growth. Timothy and clover yield on best
lands, per acre, 4,250 pounds; herds-grass, 3,750 pounds.

Fruits. Peaches and the standard pears are the most reliable fruits,
tfiough the others (cspe<;ially the small fruits) do well ; the peaches,
however, and the dwarf pears arc short lived, and the latter are sub-
ject to blight. Some persons have met with considerable success iu
the growing of grapes. The Isabella, which has proved a failiu-e in
Middle Tennessee, is said to do well in Madison county. The Scup-
pernong, however, is tlic most reliable, and gives general satisfaction.
The woods are filled with wiUl grapes, which grow in wanton profu-

nnoi JACKSON

«T.L.ArtLJ.i^Od:?. c :e.

COURT HOUSE.
STOODERT HOUSE.
MADISON BANK .
MASONIC HALL.
TEMPERANCE HALU.
M.E CHURCH.
EPISCOHAL CHURCH.
M.CF. INSTITUTE.
KINGS OPERA HO.
SHf^OPSHiRE HO.
R.C. CHURCH
PBESBY^." CHURCH.
C.PRESEy^~ CHURCH.
W.f COLLEGE.
EAST.J.M.e CHURCH.
ACADEMY E.M.
M «, 0 RR. DEPOT.

Mio.RR MACHINE Shops.

MC R ft 0 E PO T ^ M.S HOPS,
pr COLLEGE.
CAS WORKS.
rAIR GROUND S.

Tavel.EastmiUi &-Ilinve1

West Tennessee. ii37

sion, and thousands of bushels may be gathered any fall. Berries of
almost every variety are found in the fields and in the woods.

Forest Products. Lumber is not one of the staples, not a sufficiency
being made to supply the home demand; a large proportion of that
used is imported from the adjoining counties.

Stoch and Stock-raising. The people of Madison county pay very
little attention either to the breeding or fattening of stock, though a
few men are converting their farms into stock flirms with the view of
engaging in this branch of industry.

Markets. Nearly everything that is raised in the county is sold at
remunerative prices in Jackson, and a good deal of cotton and produce
is brought to Jackson from other counties. In cotton alone, Jackson
does a large business, buying annually from 15,000 to 20,000 bales,
which are shipped to New York and New Orleans, and some to Cin-
cinnati, and some is shipped every year direct to the factories in New
England. The city of Jackson has improved more in proportion than
any other portion of the county, but this is partially owing to the fact
that a great many persons from the country have rented out their
farms and have moved into the city to secure advantages which they
could not enjoy in the country. In no city in the State is there found
a better society than in Jackson.

Immigration. The principal immigration since 1870 has been from
the counties of East and Middle Tennessee, though a good many
families have moved into the county from the Southern States.

Roads. The roads are generally in bad condition and will admit of
very great improvement. Across the river and creek bottoms there
are improved roads, which are kept in only tolerable condition. The
new road law is in force in the county, and is giving general satis-
faction.

Railroads. There are but two railroads in operation in the county,
the Mobile and Ohio and the Mississippi Central, both of which run
through the suburbs of Jackson. Efforts are being made, with fair
prospects of success, to build roads from Jackson to Huntingdon, from
Jackson to Birmingham, Ala., and from Jackson to the Tennessee
River by the way of Lexington, Tennessee.

Tow)is and Villages. Jackson, the county seat, is one of the best
laid off towns in the State. It includes within the corporate limits four
square miles. The streets are wide and the residences neat and taste-

1 138 Resources of Tennessee,

fill. It is located near the center of the county ; has about 7,000 in-
habitants ; is at the junction of the Mobile and Ohio and the Missis-
sippi Railroads; has four female schools, or colleges, under the super-
vision of the following churches : Methodist, Presbyterian, Baptist and
Catholic. The Baptist University has been located here, which will
be richly endowed. There are ten churches, representing the follow-
ing denominations: 2 Methodist, 1 Old School Presbyterian, 1 Cum-
berland Presbyterian, 1 Baptist, 1 Christian, 1 Episcopalian, 1 Catho-
lic, 1 colored Methodist and 1 colored Baptist, the Methodist being the
strongest church numerically and financially; 3 planing-mills, 1 foun-
dry, 1 barrel factory, 1 brewery, 1 soda-water factory, 1 tannery, and
the two railroads centering here have located their workshops in the
town. The following is the estimated trade of Jackson : The dry-
goods, clothing, boots, shoes and hat business aggregated 3753,000; the
grocery business, ^668,000; manufactures, §210,000; hotels and res-
taurants, $145,000; the marketing business of licensed dealers, in-
cluding pork dealers, $301,000; the drug business, $73,000; hardware
business, $90,000; liquors, wholesale and retail, $175,000; confection-
eries, fancy and notion stores, $33,500 ; jewelers, $50,000 ; livery and
sale stables, $45,000; coal trade of the city, $25,000; sewing machine
business, $25,000; ice trade of the city, $13,000; lumber trade and
builders' material, by dealers in the city, $130,000 ; salt sold, $9,000;
millinery and dress-making, $45,000; cotton compress, $2,800; bar-
bers, $7,500 ; gun-shops, $5,000; bakers, $15,000; receipts for tele-
graphing, $3,500; printing business, $57,000; banking business, gross,
$5,000,000; income of colleges, $85,000, showing $7,966,300 as the
grand total of the business circulating medium of Jackson. Altogether,
Jackson has about eighty business houses, including two banks, and is a
thrifty city, with fair prospects for the future. The disproportion of
manufacturing establishments is the only unfavorable sign. Cotton
factories to work up the cotton grown in tlie county would add won-
derfully to its wealth and prosperity. Medon is twelve miles south of
Jackson, has about 300 inhabitants, and is a station on the Mississippi
Central Railroad. It has ten business houses and does a good deal of
country trade. Denmark is twelve miles south-west of Jackson, and
has about 300 inha})itants. It has four or five stores. Spring Creek is
thirteen miles north-east of Jackson, and has about 50 inhabitants.
Cotton Grove is nine miles east of Jackson, and has about 100 inhab-
itants. Pinson is twelve miles south-east of Jackson, and has about
275 inhabitants. It ships about 1,100 bales of cotton. Carroll is on

JVesi Tennessee. 1 1 3 9

the Mobile and Ohio Railroad, eight miles north of Jackson, and has
about 50 inhabitants. Henderson, on the Mobile and Ohio Railroad,
ten miles south of Jackson, has 300 inhabitants, and ships 2,500 bales
•of cotton. It has eight or ten business houses.

Public, Schools. The people of Madison county have never taken a
very great interest in public schools. Xo tax has been levied for that
purpose. The State school fund has kept up a number of public
schools for two or three months, but the number of private schools has
served to give excellent educational advantages to the people. The
scholastic population between six and eighteen is 7,566, of which 3,610
are colored. There are 804 between eighteen and twenty-one years of
age, of which 308 are colored.

Other Statistics. In 1873 the number of town lots in the county
was 1,059, valued at $1,692,495; value of mills, ^8,800; stock in bank
and insurance companies, §51,568; notes, due-bills, etc., $453,356;
bonds, stocks, etc., $4,875 ; value of horses mules and jacks, $80,458 ;
value of furniture, plate, jewelry, etc., $66,983 ; value of wheel ve-
hicles, $12,962; machinery, presses, etc., $29,269; all other property,
^181,837; white polls, 3,962. The exemptions of $1,000 worth of
property for the county amount to $197,000.

Churches. Every neighborhood is convenient to churches, the
Methodist being the leading denomination, the Baptists ranking second,
and the Presbyterians third.

JVewsjKipers. Jackson is a place of newspapers, the following being
published in the city : Whig and Tribune, the Jackson Courier, the
Jackson Herald, and the Jackson Dispatch, all of w^hich, except the
first named, have recently been established. They are all Democratic,
and conducted with marked ability, exercising a potent influence in
the politics of the State.

t'armers' Organizations. The West Tennessee Agricultural and
Mechanical Association, with fair grounds near Jackson, is in its fifth
year, and is in a very flourishing condition. It has handsome build-
ings, and is managed with skill and financial ability.

The County since the War. When the war closed jNIadison was in a
very demoralized condition, but since tliat time it has very greatly im-
proved. The town of Jackson then had only about 2,000 inhabitants,
while it now has about 7,000. The character of the buildings through-
out the county is better than formerly ; fences are in a good condition ;

1 1 40 Resottrces of Tennessee.

improved agricultural implements are more extensively used; fertilizers
are introduced; attention is paid to hill-side ditching, horizontilization,
etc; the people are becoming more sociable; the school interests have
improved, and, in fact, a spirit of enterprise is actively at Avork
throu^^hout the county.

McNAIRY COUNTY.

County Seat — Puedy.

McNairy county is bonnded on the north by the counties of Madison
and Henderson, on the south by the line dividing Tennessee and Mis-
sissippi, on the east by Hardin county, and on the west by Hardeman
county. This county in respect to area stands third among the counties
of West Tennessee. It comprises about 645 square miles, or 412,800
acres. Exclusive of town lots, the number of acres assessed for taxa-
tion is 402,076, valued at $1,753,550, or $4.33 per acre. The whole
value of taxable property for the year 1873 was $2,161,269. The
ninth census gives 316,140 as the number of acres in the county, or
less than three-fourths of the whole, divided as follows : improved
land, 64,596; unimproved woodland, 238,814; other unimproved,
2,730. Nothing, perhaps, shows more clearly the miserable guess work
which was practiced in the State by the census-takers — a horde of men
appointed for the most part because of their political proclivities, and
not because of their fitness for the work to be done. Not only in thi&
county, but in every one throughout the State, the same unpardonable
errors were committed — errors that have a most damaging effect upon
the position of the State, and sinks it beneath the level it should justly
hold among the sister States of the Union.

Organization. The records of the county were destroyed during
the late war, and i.t is impossible to find any record evidence in regard
to the early history of the county. The act of the General Assembly
of the State providing for the organization was passed on the 8th day
of October, 1823, and the first County Court was held early in the
year 1824. The oldest record now on file in the office of the County
Court Clerk does not ante-date 1858. The first settlers in the territory
now comprised in McNairy county were principally from North Caro-

IVesl Tennessee. 1141

lina, South Carolina, Virginia, ami the counties of Middle and East
Tennessee, and their descendants constitute in 1874 the most substan-
tial settlers of the county.

Pliyskal Geographi/ and Soik. Tlie country immediately around
Purdy, the county seat, is hilly and poor ; in a direction north from
Purdy it is hilly for several miles, the extreme northern district of the
county being comparatively level and the soil mellow and productive;
going south from the county seat to the county line, the lands are level
and rich, this section being a fine farming country ; in an easterly
course the country is hilly for several miles, but the extreme eastern
districts are level and tolerably productive ; to the west a hilly surface
is passed over for about three miles, when a level country is reached
which extends to the county line. This is one of the best farming sec-
tions in the county, the land being rich and mellow. The soil is moist,
and, with local exceptions, produces well. The subsoil is much lighter
than the soil, being often a grayish clay mixed frequently with sand.
The depth of the soil varies from three to twenty-four inches, with an
average of about seven inches. In the river and creek bottoms it is
often twenty-four inches in depth, but on the hills which usually fringe
these bottoms it is frequently less than three inches. The soil in the
southern districts is almost universally dark in color, while in the
northern and eastern districts it is often more mixed with sand, and of
a lighter hue. In the western district there is a considerable strip of
country in which the soil is also mixed with sand, and is of a brown
color. The sandy lands are regarded as being best for cotton, while
the dark lands are better for corn, though cotton and corn do Avell in
every section of the county where the lands are at all good. Through
the eastern section of the county, running north and south, is what is
known as the " water-shed " by the people, and by scientists as the
" Tennessee Ridge," which separates the waters flowing into the Ten-
nessee River from those flowing into the Mississippi River. It runs
parallel to the Tennessee River, and nearly through the center of
McNairy county, throwing the greater portion of the county in what
Dr. Salford calls the " Plateau or Slope of West Tennessee," the bal-
ance being included in the Western A^'alley of the Tennessee River.
On these streams are ]iroductive valleys, which range east and west.
The soils of the valleys are much stiffer than they are upon the
benches and the lands extending back from them, and are better
adapted to the growing of grasses than the higher sections of the
county. The higher soils are generally more sandy, and are, as stated,

1 1 42 Resources of Tennessee.

peculiarly adapted to the growth of corn and cotton. The valleys
have also their siliceous matter, but to a more limited extent.

Geology. So far as one formation is concerned — the Green Sand, or
Rotten Limestone, as they call it in Mississippi — McNairy county is
classic ground. The best outcrops and the greatest thickness of the
formation occur here. The bed has been described on page 43 of thi&
Report. It outcrops in the eastern part' of the county, and occupies a
large area. At a number of points the strata of the Rotten Limestone
come to the surface, there being no covering of soil. Where this is
the case, glady spots are formed, which are known as " bald hills," or
" bald places." These have long attracted attention on account of the
large number of oyster-like shells that are found strewed over their
surfaces. The method adopted for obtaining water in the Rotten
Limestone region is worthy of note. Wells which terminate in the
formation supply generally a water too impure to be used. By boring,
however, entirely through the bed, water of good quality is obtained.
In boring, a large augur, with a bit live or six inches in diameter, i&
driven down until finally perforating a hard, gritty layer at the base
of the mass, it strikes a bed of white or gray quicksand, belonging to
an underlying formation. As soon as this is done the water rises. The
perforation thus made, excepting a few feet at the top, needs no pro-
tection, the Green Sand being compact enough to furnish a permanent
wall. The formation under consideration supplies a fertilizer known
as green sand. The substance contains calcareous matter often in the
form of decaying shells, a green, soft mineral called glauconite, and
sometimes decomposed bones. These, usually in small proportion, are
mixed with sand. The mass is grayish, becoming greenish as the pro-
])ortion of glauconite increases. The best green sand, if near a rail-
road, will bear transportation, and might be applied to the lands of
AVest Tennessee with profit. Much of it, however, is not rich enough
to pay the cost of handling. Many farmers in McNairy who live in
the green sand region might use it to advantage.

Overlying the Rotten Limestone and outcrop|)ing in the middle
and western parts of the county, are the Ripley and Flatwoods forma-
tions. The Ripley and the Rotten Limestone belong to the Cretaceous
division. The Flatwoods is of later age. As in many of the other
counties, the strata ineiitioned are often covered by the sand and gravel
beds of the Orange Sand Drift.

Rivers, Creeks, Springs-, etc. There are numerous streams run-

IVesl Tennessee. ^ ^ 43

ning through and in the county, the following named being the most
important : Snake Creek rises about twelve miles south-east of Purdy,
the county seat, runs north-east, and empties into the Tennessee River.
Owl Creek rises about eight miles south of Purdy, runs south-east
and empties into the Tennessee River. Oxford Creek rises about nine
miles south of Purdy, runs south-west and empties into Cypress Creek.
Cypress Creek rises about four miles north-west of Purdy, ranges
south-west and empties into Hatchie River. Moses Creek rises about
eight miles south-west of Purdy, runs in a south-west direction, and
empties into Hatchie River. Hatchie Creek rises about ten miles
north-west of Purdy, and is also a tributary of Hatchie River.^ There
are still others which have importance in the several districts in which
they ramify, but it is not deemed necessary to mention them particu-
larly. Let it suffice to state that almost every farm in the county has
running through or near it, either a river, creek or branch which
affords a plentiful supply of stock-water for ordinary purposes. The
principal reliance for drinking water is upon wells, which when dug,
are from twenty to seventy feet deep, the average being about thirty-
five feet. In addition to these wells are the semi-artesian wells. In the
section of country occupied by green sand, good water for domestic
purposes cannot often be secured by digging. Unless the water is
reached at a depth below the Green Sand formation (which is seldom
done by digging) it is impure and very disagreeable to the taste. The
method of ^procuring water in the Green Sand region has been men-
tioned. The success attending the boring of these wells has, at
some points, nearly or quite doubled the price of land. Pools and
cisterns are easily made, but are not generally needed, hence are
but little in use. The water of the county is mostly freestone.

Timher. In the extreme western part of the county there is an abund-
ance of pine timber; in the other parts are found oak, hickory, ash,
chestnut and the other varieties found usually in West Tennessee for-
ests. There are but few saw-mills in the county, and little or no lum-
ber is shipped, the object of the mills being only to supply the home
demand.

Land Statistics. The usual terms of rent are as follows : When
money rent is required the price averages about $4 per acre, payable
on the 15th of Is^ovember, though the best lands often rent as high as
$7 per acre, while the third-class lands rent for about $2.50 per
acre. When a part of the crop is required in the way of rent, the

1 1 44 Resources of Tennessee.

land-owner gets one-third of the corn, and one-fourth of the cotton.
About one-foiirth of the hinds in the county is for sale at reasonable
prices and upon easy terms. The terms are generally on time to suit
the purchaser, a lien being reserved upon the lands until the purchase
money is paid. The following are the prices asked and given :

Best bottom lands, per acre $25 to $30

Medium" " " " 20" 25

Inferior" " " " 10" 15

Best uplands " " 15" 20

Medium " " " 8" 12

Inferior " " " 3" 6

The staple of McNairy county is essentially cotton, though a good
deal of corn is raised ; some wheat and tobacco are also grown, but
they cannot be regarded as staples. Irish and sweet potatoes are raised
for family use, but not for market. The following figures will show
the average yield per -avx^ of the leading crops:

Average yield of cotton per acre 500 lbs. seed.

" " corn " 20 bushels.

" " tobacco " 700 pounds.

wheat " 10 bushels.

" " hay " 2,500 pounds.

"^ A very small quantity of hay was made in the county prior to 1873.
There is a species of wild grass which grows well all over the county,
which has served an excellent purpose, superseding generally, in the
opinion of the farmers, the necessity of paying particular attention to
the growing of grasses. But in 1873 there was an improvement
in this respect. Some of the farmers are beginning to use clover as a
fertilizer, and some of the domestic varieties of grasses are being intro-
duced with satisfaction. The lowlands of the county are peculiarly
adapted for meadows, and in time will doubtless be sowed down in
grasses. The following farm statistics, carefully collected by a number
of gentleman, will be read with interest.

Total number of farms in tlie county in 1873 1,268

Number having under 3 acres 2

" " 3 and under 10 acres 54

" " 10 " " 20 " 140

20 " " 50 " 508

50 " " 100 " 381

100 " " 500 " 172

" " 500" " 1,000 " 1

The following are the products for 1873 as near as could be collected.
Though not strictly accurate, they are entitled to more regard in
that parti(!ular than the census r 'rns:

JVesl Tennessee. ^^45

.... $ 1,389
Value of orchard products ^ -^gg

" " forest products 67*489

" " home manufactures 35015

Bushels of wheat ' ^ 407,474

" " corn 22 034

" " «^ts ■■■".'.'"''" ^tW

Pounds of tobacco ^Qj^g

Bales cotton 24,230

Bushels of Sweet potatoes y^^gQ

" I"sli " "'Z.3"3^ 333

Tonsof hay 12,683

Gallons of Sorghum '*"'.".. 7,591

Pounds of honey

For the benefit of those who may feel especial interest in tlie stock
statistics of the countv, the following have been carefully calculated
foTmS, but for man\fest reasons, it is not claimed that they are more

than approximately correct :

8738,625

Value of all live stock "^ 'hlX

Number of horses ^'g-.^

" " mules and asses "^^g?

" " milch cows '" '„-g

" Avorkoxen ••••• ^^g^^

" sheep 571Q

« " other cattle os'gSl

« " swine 3~t946

Value of animals slaughtered, or sold for slaughter .......•••• <5^'^>-^^

Pounds of wool 133037

Pounds of butter

From the examination of the foregoing tables or figures the reacler
is IXd 0 examine the census report of 1870 of Me^a.ry conn^,
and he will discover that in most respects there has -^^ -^^ ^^^
provement in the matter of produce, excep n ^e,y fe^^ ci^P^^
imong others, there .-as a falling off in «« ^''f . P"f ^ ' ; J' '^^
are more farms in the county than there were m 18,0, but the nerea e
tntWs aspect has been small. The general dispos.t.on seems to be t«
:i;l::t:Tess Und, b„t emtivate it .better - *'« " f„e' 'If
neritv of the county proves the wisdom of the plan. Nearly one nail
Tl the farms in The county contain twenty and -^^^^^
while nearly three-fourths ot them contain as many as 20 but less than
Tto acres. Another com„>endable feature is, that the laboring men
are inanifesting a dis,»sition to buy homes for them.,elves and families,
Td it should riso be observed that .he few men who own large bodies
"land arc manifesting a disposition to eucoiuage them by selhng
them small tracts on convenient terms. The cotton shipped from Mc-

1 1 46 Resources of Tennessee.

Nairy county ranks in the market from low middling to middling.
The farmers in 1873 devoted much more time and attention than
usual to the improvement of their farms. Though cotton is still
essentially the staple of the county, many of the best farmers contend
that there is more money in raising corn and stock, and they are giv-
ing up cotton planting to some extent. It requires capital to furnish
a farm with good stock. The consequence is that the small farmers,
with limited means, will have to continue to devote their attention to
cotton planting. In fact, even the wealthiest farmers are yet dealing
but little in blooded stock. Some have blooded hogs, but a large ma-
jority of them are content with crossing blooded animals on the native
breeds. They purchase good male animals and breed them to scrub
females.

Labor. Labor is very scarce in McNairy county, and commands
good prices. There are many more white than colored laborers and
they are much more reliable and are greatly preferred. Farm hands are
most needed, but cooks, house servants and mechanics of all kinds can
find plenty of ^vork and get good wages. The following prices are
paid: Farm hands per year, with board, $150; per month, §15; per
day, %1 ; cooks per month, with board, $8 ; house servants, per month,
with board, $8 ; mechanics per day, |2.50.

Fruits. Apples, peaches, plums, cherries and grapes do well in all
parts of the county ; so, also do the berries usually raised in West Ten-
nessee. There are no regular market orchards, the object being only
to raise fruit enough for home purposes.

Markets. INIempliis is the cotton market for McNairy county, though
some of the products from the county go to Louisville and Mobile.
The merchants purchase their stocks of goods in Si. Louis, New York
and Philadelphia. Mobile is about 400 miles from the county seat and
Memphis is about 100 miles.

Population. The population in 1870 was, white, 11,226; colored,
1,500; total, 12,726. The increase since that time is thought to be
five per cent.

Iinmifjration and Eniifjration. Every year some families and indi-
viduals move into almost every district of the county, but they do not
come in any considerable numbers. The yearly increase in the popu-
lation is from one and a half to two per cent., the settlers since the war
coming principally from Mississippi and Middle Tennessee. Occas-
ionally persons leave the county and move to Texas and Arkansas, but

TVes^ Tennessee. ii47

those who move to the latter State generally return within tM-elve
months or two years.

The People. The people are generally hard-working, tolerable thrifty
and moderately well educated. They are not very progressive or en-
terprising ; are conservative in their religious and political views.
About one-half of them are readers of newspapers, and towards new
comers they are very kind and hospitable. They are simply a substan-
tial people, who are satisfied, as a general thing, to " live and let live."

County Roads and Bailroads. The roads are in pretty good con-
dition. There are no improved roads, such as pikes or plank roads.
Indeed there are no hard rocks with which to construct durable roads.
The sandstones that occur are not suitable for that purpose. The
Mobile and Ohio Kailroad passes through near the center of the county,
from north-west to south-east. The Memphis and Charleston passes
through the extreme south-western districts from west to east, and
a narrow gauge road is being built from Memphis, which Avill pass
through the town of Montezuma.

Towns and Villages. Purdy, the county seat of McNairy county, is
located a little east of the center of the county, and has about 500 in-
habitants. It was almost totally destroyed during the war and has
never been entirely rebuilt. It has nine general stores and six or
eight other business houses. Adamsville is eight miles east of Purdy,
and has about 125 inhabitants. This place has three general stores
and one drug store. McXairy Station, on the Mobile and Ohio Rail-
road, is six miles north-west of Purdy, and has about 100 inhabitants.
It ships about 800 bales of cotton annually, and has six or eight supply
stores. Montezuma is fifteen miles north-west of Purdy, and has about
200 inhabitants ; it is noted for the enterprise of its people, has a post
office, three stores, a good school and churches. Bethel Springs, a sta-
tion on the Mobile and Ohio Railroad, is four and a half miles west of
of Purdy, and has about 150 inhabitants. It has four dry-goods stores,
two family groceries, one saloon, post-office, telegraph office, two
churches and one school, and is noted for its healthy location and its
springs of pure freestone water. It ships about 800 bales of cotton
annually. Ramer's Station, on the Mobile and Ohio Railroad, is twelve
miles south of Purdy, has a post-office, stores and churches, and about
seventy-five inhabitants. Camden is ten miles west of Purdy, and has
about fifty inhabitants. Chewalla is fifteen miles south-west of Purdy,
has a post-office, three stores and churches, and about 125 inhabitants.

1 1 4S Resources of Teiinessee.

There are other very small villages in the county, bnt they hardly
deserve mention.

Milh and Maimjactories. The county is tolerably well supplied with
grist-mills, principally water-power. There are no regular manufac-
tories in the county, the nearest approximation being a few carding
machines. Cotton-gins are very numerous, being scattered about
every two or three miles, over the countv.

School Statistics. Number of persons in the county between the ages
of six and eighteen: white — male 2,224, female 2,193: colored —
male 306, female 284. Total 5,007. Number of persons in the county
between the ages of eighteen and twenty-one: Number of white, 516;
colored, 96; total 612. The tax levied by the county in support of
schools was ten cents on the $100, and one dollar on polls. There are
eighty-four school districts in the county and there were taught in 1873
sixty public schools. The school fund, however, is so small that they
were kept open but a few months. The mass of the people are
favorably disposed toward them, and will cheerfully co-operate in any
measure that will be put on foot looking to their permanent improve-
ment.

OBION COUNTY.

County Seat — Troy.

Obion county is justly regarded as one of the most fertile in the
State. It was created by an act of the Legislature passed October 24,
1823, and the organization was effected shortly after. The first court
was held on the 19th of the ensuing March, and levied the following
taxes for county purposes: on each 100 acres of land, 18f cents; on
each negro over twelve and under fifty years of age, 18f cents; on
each pack of cards sold, 25 cents. The first indictment in the county
was against the Attorney-General, and at the very term of his appoint-
ment, the charge being assault and battery, to Avhich he pleaded guilty,
and was fined six and a (]uarter cents. There were four other indict-
ments at the same term, all for affrays, and each defendant was found
guilty and fined six and a quarter cents, which was doubtless looked
upon as an enormous fine for the privilege of indulging in a free fight.
In 1825 the taxes were raised, the following being the levy : on each

PVes^ Tennessee. 1 1 49

100 acres of land, 18f cents; on each 100 acres of land, for jury tax,
18| cents; on each white poll, Vl\ cents; on each black poll, 12i
cents; on each 100 acres of land, for the improvement of navigation,
12i cents.

The entire superficial area of Obion county embraces oGO square
miles, but at least 36 miles of the surface is covered by Reelfoot Lake,
of which more hereafter. The number of acres assessed for taxation
is 296,278, valued at §3,631,149, or $12.26 per acre. The entire value
of taxable property is §4,529,800. The population of the county in
1870 was 15,584, of which 2,182 were colored.

Physical Geography, Soils and Geology. The physical geography of
Obion county will be considered in relation to the Obion River, which
runs through a considerable portion of the county. There may be
said to be five distinct belts in the county. That portion lying for a
distance of two miles on either side of the Obion River constitutes the
first belt, and it is generally low and flat, with a comparatively thin
soil, black on top, and lying upon a bed of whitish clay. The soils in
this belt are all crawfishy, and subject to overflow, and are covered
with a thick undergrowth of cane, the large timber being principally
beech and cypress. The second belt comprises all that portion of the
county, on both sides of the Obion River, beginning at the outer edges
of the first belt and extending outward about three miles. The lands
in this tier are not subject to overflow, though generally very level,
and the soil is deep, rich, and remarkably productive. This soil has
little or no sand, and rests upon a bed of dark clay, which is itself very
fertile. In this belt there are really three kinds of soil, the mulatto,
the black, and the ashen. Of these the black and mulatto are about
equal in fertility — the mulatto being preferred for cotton and small
grain, and the black for corn and orchard-grass. While the black will
yield a larger number of pounds of tobacco per acre, the mulatto will
grow a silkier and finer article. Both are well suited for the growth of
timothy, clover and the grasses generally, though for the growth of
timothy and herds-grass the ashen-colored soil is specially adapted.
There is another difference in these varieties of soil worthy of men-
tion. The black is very porous, drains easily, and for that reason may
be worked earlier in the spring. It has also a greater depth. The
mulatto is quick, lively, generous, but not deep. It holds fertilizers
well, and is altogether very desirable. The ashen needs to be drained.
It cannot be worked early in the season on account of its tendency to

1 1 50 Resources of Tennessee.

hold water. The crops on it will withstand droughts longer than on
either of the other varieties, and it holds manure well. The under-
growth is principally cane and pawpaw, the larger growth being prin-
cipally of poplar, oak, gum, beech, sugar-tree and hickory. Some of
these trees are of enormous size and height, fairly rivaling the mam-
moth trees of California. At the exposition held in Nashville in 1872
was exhibited a cut twelve inches long taken from a sassafras tree
grown in this belt (near Union City) which measured inside the bark,
which was about two inches thick, four feet eight inches in diameter.
This cut was taken from the tree at a distance of twelve feet from the
butt, and was perfectly solid. There are growing also on this belt
mammoth poplars whose trunks, at a distance of three feet from the
ground, will measure not less than seven feet in diameter. Union
City, Kenton, Palestine and Crescent City are all situated upon this
division, which is universally conceded to be the richest belt of land in
the county, if not in the State. The third body, comprises all that
country extending for a distance of about four miles from the outer
edge of the third belt, though it should be observed that it lies in
Obion only on one side of the river, the corresponding portion to the
west and south of the river being in the counties of Weakley, Gibson
and Dyer. In this third division, the country is rather hilly, though
the lands are nearly all arable. The soil is generally dark, and with
careful handling, will last and produce well, though more subject to
washes than that in the second belt. The undergrowth is chiefly hazle
and the principal timber is beech, hickory, oak and poplar. The
fourth belt comprises all that country extending from the outer edge of
the third belt to the immediate neighborhood of Reelfoot Lake, and is
generally known as the "lake hills." Here there is a constant succes-
sion of hills, some of them high and steep, though there are also nar-
row valleys, some of which are from one to five or even ten miles in
length. These lands are not very good for farming purposes, because
it is difficult to get enough level or arable land in a body to make a
respectable farm. They are, however, ])r()ductivc and easily cultivated.
Persons of small means and those wlio desire small farms can here
invest most profitably. This is the best fruit and vine section of the
county, and the traveler passing through it will be astonished to see
the vast number of grape and other vines clinging to every tree. It
would also be a good sheep range, if it was not for the immense num-
ber of dogs in' the county, which are worthless to their owners, and of
incalculable injury to their .sheep-raising neiglibors. The western ter-

West Tennessee. 1 1 5 1

minus of this belt is made up of very high bhiffs Avhich are so steep
that it is almost impossible either to ascend or descend them. In fact,
it is only at a few points that it is possible to do so. The fifth and last belt
of Obion county comprises the narrow strip of country lying between
the bluff just mentioned and Reelfoot Lake, and locally known as the
lake bottom. The greater portion of these lands are subject to over-
flow, but in spite of this fact, the farmers raise on them heavy crops of
corn, and on the lands above overflow, they raise heavy crops of cot-
ton. The soil is rich alluvial, very dark and deep, and rests upon a
bed of dark-colored clay. The imdergrowth is principally cane and
the timber is cypress, ash, walnut and cottonwood, with a sprinkling of
the varieties more commonly found in the other belts. The principal
staples of the second and third belts are corn and cotton, nnd in the
second are some of the very best grass lands in the State.

By far the larger portion of Obion county is included in the Plateau
or Slope of West Tennessee ; the remainder, that west of the Mis-
sissippi Bluff, being in the Mississippi bottoms. This bluffj the divid-
ing line between these two divisions, is one of the most interesting
physical features of the county. The steep hills or bluffs spoken of
above are parts of this bluff, and its extraordinary steepness has already
been mentioned. The name Mississippi Bluff has been applied to the
entire line of steep escarpments extending from Hickman, Kentucky,
through Obion to Memphis. Dr. Safford, in his report says of this :
" The western escarpment of the West Tennessee Plateau or the line
of bluffs in which it terminates, deserves especial notice. The escarp-
ment, like the plateau, is cut by the river valley into sections, but the
sections run lengthwise nearly in the same line, and for present pur-
poses, may be regarded as continuous through the State. The whole
line may be called the Mississippi Bluff. From its base the bottom of
the Mississippi extend to the west, while from its summit, the flat up-
lands extend eastward. Its steep face is greatly in contrast Avith the
bottoms, one of the principal circumstances that give it interest. The
bluff rises at different points from 50 to ,180 feet above the bottoms.
The average elevation is perhaps about 130 feet. Some of the highest
points command extensive views of the wild, timbered plains below.
A view of this kind (the forests not concealing the Mississippi) is most
beautiful. From the southern part of Kentucky down at least half
way through Tennessee, tlie bluffs and the western margin of the
Plateau has been much cracked or fissured by the well-known earth-
quakes of 1811-12. At many points in Obion and Dyer counties the

1 1 5 2 Resources of Tennessee.

Bluif has been greatly rent .The traveler, in passing along its summit,
frequently meets with earth-cracks, or groups of these, often several
hundred yards long, and occasionally traceable for half a mile or even
a mile. The cracks or fissures vary in width from two or three to
twenty feet. Many of them originally were deep, but are more or less
filled up, and in some cases look like artificial canal beds, with a depth
varying from three to fifteen feet. This is especially the case where
the earth has sunk between two parallel fissures. Sunken belts of this
kind, 100 feet wide, are sometimes seen. The fissures often occur in
complicated groups, the individual members of each group extending
in the same general direction and in any given cross section, from two
or three to fifty feet apart, but w^hen followed out, separating in branches
and curiously interlocking with each other. The belts of earth be-
tween the fissures are often inclined at considerable and various angles
to the general surface. At many points within the region that has
been thus disturbed, sand, fine gravel and fragments of lignite (coal)
were blown up through the fissures, and are now found in little ridges
or hillocks. The fine white sand of these hillocks is now sought for
at some points for building purposes."

It should be mentioned that the bluff does not border the Missis-
sippi River. It in fact touches the river at three points only, one of
these being Memphis. In Obion county it borders on Reelfoot Lake.
At various points along the sides of these bluffs have been found frag-
ments, and even local strata or beds of lignite, which have been used
for fuel by those living upon the lake shore. Capping the bluff and
extending eastward over much of the county is the formation called
Bluff lioam, or Loess, and described on page -lo of this Report. Im-
mediately below this, and cropping out on the slopes of the bluff, is
the Orange Sand, or Drift. This is represented in this region by beds
of gravel, sand and clay. The gravel is conspicuous, and is seen in
many parts of Obion. Below the Orange Sand lies the strata of the
Lagrange Group. These outcrop at the base of the bluff, as well as
in the eastern })art of the county when not covered by the Orange
Sand.

Rivers, Creekn, Lakes, etc.. The following are tiic principal rivers
and creeks, which ramiiy throughout the county: North Fork of the
Obion River first touches Obion county from Weakley county, about
three miles south of the north-east corner of the county ; runs thence
south-west along the east boundary of the county, until it gets about
eighteen miles north-east of Troy, the county seat, thence into the

Wes^ Tennessee. ii53

county in a direction west of south twenty-one miles, and forms a
junction with the South Fork, about one-half mile south-west of Crockett
Station. South Fork of Obion River enters the county near its
south-east corner from Weakley county, runs thence west, and passes
across the line into Dyer county, twelve miles south-west of Troy,
having in the meantime formed a junction with the North Fork.
Rutherford Fork of Obion enters the county from Gibson county, near
Kenton Station, runs thence north-west, and forms a junction with the
South Fork about one and a half miles above the point where the
South Fork empties into the North Fork. Harris Fork of Obion
River rises twenty-five miles north-east of Troy, runs south-west,
and empties into North Fork of Obion probably sixteen miles north-
east of Troy. Big Davidson Creek rises about eight miles north-
east of Troy, runs south-east, and empties into the North Fork of
Obion River six and a half miles south-east of Troy. Little Da-
vidson Creek rises one and a half miles north of Troy, runs south-
east, and empties into Big Davidson Creek four miles south-east
of Troy. Mill Creek rises three and a half miles north-west of Troy,
runs south, and empties into Obion River six miles east of Troy.
Richland Creek rises ten miles west of Troy, near Wilsonville, runs
south, and empties into Obion River fifteen miles south-west of Troy.
Pawpaw Creek rises ten miles south-west of Troy, runs west, and empties
into Reelfoot Lake nearly twenty-five miles south-west of Troy. In-
dian Creek rises about six miles north-west of Troy, runs south-west,
and empties into Reelfoot Lake at Wheeling, twenty-five miles
due west of Troy. Reelfoot Creek rises nearly fifteen miles north-east
of Troy, ranges thence west and south-west, and empties into Reelfoot
Lake about twelve miles west of Troy. Brown's Creek rises fifteen
miles south-west of Troy, runs thence west, and empties into Reelfoot
Lake twenty-four miles south-west of Troy. Housen Creek rises ten
miles north of Troy, runs thence south-east, and empties into the North
Fork of Obion River eight miles east of Troy. Clover Lick Creek
rises twelve miles west of Troy, runs thence south, and empties into
Obion River about twelve miles south-west of Troy. These are the
only streams of much importance, and with the exception of the dif-
ferent forks of Obion River, none of them are perennials, but have
water in them most of the year. Even when the weather is dryest,
and the water is not running in these streams, there are always holes in
their beds in which water stands almost, if not quite, all the year.

The attention of the reader is now invited to the following brief de-
73

1 1 54 Resources of Tennessee.

scription of the- justly celebrated Reelfoot Lake, which now, with Reel-
foot Creek, forms the western boundary line of Obion County :

Its length is about eighteen miles, extending as it does from a point
just north of the Kentucky line, south to a point about seven miles
north of the Dyer county line, and varying in width from three-fourths
of a mile to three miles. Prior to the earthquakes of 1811-12 the lake
had no existence, and " its origin appears to be due to the filling up of
the old channel of Reelfoot Creek during the convulsions of that pe-
riod. This dammed up the water that before ran without obstruction
into the Mississippi, until it overflowed a large area and formed the
lake as we now find it." Geology of Tennessee, p. 122. At the same
time that the old channel of Reelfoot Creek was dammed up, it is sup-
posed that the area of country now covered by the lake sunk several
feet, and that this depression was gradually filled with the water which
was prevented from flowing into the Mississippi. To any one who will
visit this lake this theory will not seem unreasonable, for it is an in-
disputable fact that the bed of the lake is in some places not less than
twenty, or even thirty, feet below the level of the surrounding coun-
try. Indeed the trunks of dead trees, which even now stand thickly
over a greater portion of the lake, abundantly confirm this view, as
upon examination, their roots are often found to be from ten to thirty
feet below the surface of the water. The lake is a favorite resort of
wild fowls in the fall and winter, and they may often be seen in count-
less numbers. Every year a few swans are seen. The lake is also a
favorite resort for fish of all kinds. Tons of them are annually caught
by the hundreds of fishermen who make their homes upon the shores
of the lake, and shipped, with thousands of ducks and geese, which are
annually shot, to the St. Louis, Mobile, New Orleans, Nashville and
Memphis markets. In the course of a few years it is more than prob-
able that Reelfoot Lake will be as fashionable a resort for pleasure-
seekers during the winter and fall months as Long Branch and Sara-
toga are during the summer months. At present, however, the ac-
commodations for visitors are very poor, and are not of themselves at
all attractive. Nevertheless, crowds of sportsmen from Tennessee and
the adjoining States yearly assemble there to enjoy the sports of hunt-
ing and fishing.

Timber. There is, probably, no county in Tennessee which is so
densely timbered as Obion, and nowhere else in the State will there
be found such mammoth trees, either in point of height or size. Along
either side of Housen Creek, for a distance from the creek of not less

Wes^ Te7inessee. 1 1 5 5

than five miles, and in' what are known as the "Obion Bottoms," may
be found poplar and even oak trees which will reach the enormous
height of 150 feet, and will measure in diameter from five to eight
feet. But independent of these extraordinary trees, the timber of the
county is wonderfully large, and stands exceedingly thick upon the
ground. Indeed, to these circumstances is due the slow progress which
has been made in clearing the lands and getting them into cultivation.
The principal growths are poplar, the different varieties of oak and
gum, maple, ash, hickory, walnut and beech, and along the river,
creek and lake banks are found in large quantities cypress and cotton-
wood. The prevailing undergrowth is cane, but in certain sections
are found, also, hazle and pawpaw. There is a great number of
saw-mills scattered over the county, which are annually sawing up
thousands of logs into lumber, which is shipped to the St. Louis, Mem-
phis, Mobile, Charleston, New Orleans and Nashville markets, and
sometimes orders are received direct from Europe. Many staves are
shipped to France from this county.

Land Statistics. According to the best information on the subject,
there were in 1873 2,208 farms in Obion county, of all sizes, of which
there were :

Farms having under 3 acres 2

" " 3 and under 10 acres 172

" " 10 " " 20 " 713

" " 20 " " 50 " 854

" " 50 " " 100 " 289

" " 100 " " 500 " 174

" " 500 " " 1,000 " 2

" " 1,000 " over 1

These estimates show that, since 1870, supposing the estimates of
that year as given in the census report to have been correct, there has
been an increase of seventy-eight farms of all sizes within the past
three years. Included in these 2,208 farms are 78,641 acres of im-
proved land, of which not exceeding one-third was rented in 1873,
while the balance was worked by the land-owners themselves, or
under their immediate supervision. The usual terms of rent are, for
part of the crop, or "on shares," as it is termed, the land-owner fur-
nishing the lands and getting as rent one-third of the crop raised, or
furnishing everything but tlie lal)or, and getting two-thirds of the crop
raised. Sometimes money rent is asked, in which case the following
prices are asked and readily obtained :

1 1 56 Resources of Tennessee.

Krst-class land , $5.00 per acre.

Second-class land 4.00 "

Third-class land 3.00

Not less than one-half of the land in the county can be purchased at
reasonable prices, and on reasonable terms, the terms generally being
one-third cash, the balance in one and two years, with lien reserved on
the land to secure the unpaid purchase money. The prices asked and
obtained, are, on an average, as follows :

For the lands comprised in the first belt, per acre $ 2

" " " " second " " 25

" " " " third " " 20

" " " " fourth " " 5

" " " " fifth " " 6

There is such a variety of lands in the county that it is difficult to
give figures 'showing what crops can be raised, on an average, per
acre. The following estimate, however, have been made with much
care, with the aid of local reports from every section of the county:

Average yield per acre, of corn 35 bushels.

" " " cotton in seed 1,200 pounds.

" " " wheat 10 bushels.

" " " oats 17 "

" " " tobacco 1,000 pounds.

" " " hay 4,000 "

Stock and Stock-TCiising. Although Obion county offers superior
facilities for stock-raising, very few of the farmers are engaged in the
business. More attention has, of late years, been paid to the intro-
duction of blooded hogs (the Berkshire being the favorite) than of any
other blooded stock, and those farmers who have turned their atten-
tion in this direction have met with a fair measure of success. Just
after the war a few blooded rams were introduced into the county, and
for a while it seemed that there was likely to be a permanent improve-
ment of the sheep. But so destructive were the dogs to the flocks tha*
the farmers became discouraged, and preferring to raise cheap sheep
for the dogs, as they seemed determined to appropriate them, they have
almost entirely abandoned the raising of blooded breeds. The fevorites
were the Southdown and Cotswold varieties, though there were a few
persons who ])rcferred the Merino. Within the last three years a few
blooded Ixills liave been bought and brought into the county, but they
have not as yet l)cen in the county long enough to thoroughly prove their
value. The disposition, however, seems to be to ])atronize them, and
it is expected that there will be, in the course of a few years, a very

West Tennessee. 1 1 5 7

substantial improvement in the cattle of the county. There is but
one, or maybe two, thoroughbred stallions in Obion. In this respect the
county is very much behind, and there is at present no speedy pros-
pects of improvement. Many persons are engaged in fattening
stock, and every year a large number of sheep, hogs, cattle and
horses is shipped from Obion to various points in the south and west.
This business pays well, and is worth a great deal to the county. Pro-
visions are plentiful, and generally cheap, and the range is very supe-
rior, covered as it is in every direction with cane, the fattening quali-
ties of which are little inferior to corn and grass.

Labor. The people complain of the scarcity of reliable labor, and
express a desire to welcome any number of good hands. There are
probably at present more white than colored laborers. Crops are so
easily made that the tendency is to encourage laziness. At any rate
this " disease " seems to have been encouraged substantially in some
way, until it is almost all-prevailing. The great demand at present is
for farm hands. Good cooks, house servants and mechanics can com-
mand good wages. The following prices are paid :

For farm hands per year $200.00

" " " per month 20.00

" " " per day 1.50

" cooks per month 8.00

" house servants " 8.00

" mechanics per day , 3.00

Of course these figures will apply only in the hiring of good hands;
other than good hands will not be able to command more than two-
thirds as much.

Marketfi. The lumber trade of Obion is done principally with St.
Louis and Nashville, the cotton trade principally with Memphis, the
tobacco trade principally with New Orleans and Nashville, and the
corn trade with the various points along the line of the Mobile and
Ohio, and the Mississsppi Central Railroad. The merchants buy prin-
cipally in St. Louis, Louisville, Cincinnati and Nashville.

County and Railroads. The new road law has never been enforced,
and even the old law was not enforced as it should have been. The result
is the county roads are generally in a bad condition, and are but indif-
ferently worked. The general rule seems to be to call the road hands
together just before court convenes, and to work the roads just enough
to save the overseer from punishment. There is quite a number of

1 1 58 Resources of Tennessee.

bottoms in the county which, with comparatively small expense and
labor, could be made pleasantly passable at all seasons of the year, but
as it is, in wet weather, and generally during the winter months, they
almost blockade travel. It is earnestly hoped that there will be a
speedy and substantial improvement in this regard. The railroads
already in operation in the county are the Mobile and Ohio, which
passes through the eastern districts of the county from south to north,
running from Mobile, Alabama, to Columbus, Kentucky, where it con-
nects directly with the Iron Mountain Railroad of Missouri; the Xash-
ville and Northwestern, which passes through the north-eastern corner
of the county from south-east to northwest, running from Nashville, Ten-
nessee, to Hickman, Kentucky; the Memphis and Paducah, which
enters the county near the center of its southern boundary line, and
passes through its south-eastern districts and out of it into Kentucky
near its extreme north-eastern corner, running from Memphis, Ten-
nessee, to Paducah, Kentucky ; this road is not yet completed, though
the work on it is progressing. The Holly Springs, Brownsville and
Ohio Railroad Company has been organized; several surveys have
been made, and work has been done upon some parts of the line, but
at present the work has been suspended. This road is chartered as a
narrow guage, to run from Brownsville to Union City, thence north to
a point opposite Cairo, Illinois. At Brownsville it is proposed to con-
nect it with a narrow guage road to run between that point and Holly
Springs, Mississippi. There is another road projected to run from
Union City to Reelfoot Lake, but as yet no charter has been obtained.

Tovms and Villageii. Troy, the county seat, is located near the cen-
ter of the county, or rather a little west of the center, has a population
of about 500, and does a very good business. If the Holly Springs,
Brownsville and Ohio Railroad is ever completed, Troy will be a sta-
tion on its line. Kenton, a station on the Mobile and Ohio Railroad,
is about fourteen miles south-east of Troy, and has about 200 inhabi-
tants. Crockett, also a station on the same road, is about ten miles
south-oast of Troy, and has about twenty-five inhabitants. Troy Sta-
tion, the junction of the Mobile and Ohio and the Memphis and Padu-
cah railroads, is about six and a half miles east of Troy, and has about
one hundred inhabitants. Jordan Station, another station of the
Memphis and Ohio Railroad, is directly on the State line between Ten-
nessee and Kentucky, the major })art of it being in Kentucky; it is
about seventeen miles north-east of Troy, and has about seventy-five
inhabitants. Paducah Junction, at the crossing of the Memphis and

West Tennessee. 1 1 59

Paducah and the Nashville and Northwestern railroads, is abont thir-
teen and a half miles north-east of Troy, and has about twenty-five
inhabitants. Woodland Mills, a station on the Nashville and North-
western Hailroad, is fourteen miles north of Troy, has something near 100
inhabitants, and does a good business. Pierce's Station, on the Memphis
and Paducah Railroad, is twenty miles north-east of Troy, and
has probably fifty inhabitants. Harris Station, on the same road, is some
twenty-three miles north-east of Troy, and has about fifty inhabitants.
Polk Station, on the same road, is three and a half miles south-
east of Troy, and has about twenty-five inhabitants. Crescent City,*a
station on the same road, is seven miles south of Troy, and has
about 150 inhabitants. Trimble Station, on the same road, is about
eleven miles south of Troy, and has nearly 100 inhabitants. Wilson-
ville is ten miles west of Troy, has probably 100 inhabitants, and is
the seat of a good trade. Wheeling is on the bank of Peelfoot Lake,
about twenty-five miles west of Troy, and has about fifty inhabitants.
Palestine is about nine miles south-west of Troy, and has about seventy-
five inhabitants. Union City is at the junction of the Mobile and
Ohio and the Nashville and Northwestern railroads, is about ten miles
north of Troy, and has a population variously estimated at from 2,000
to 3,000. Union City is located in the center of the second belt of
lands described in the foregoing section headed " Physical Geology,"
and must always of necessity command a good trade. When the late
war ended there were not exceeding seventy-five people in the place,
but owing to its happy location, its growth since then has been unpre-
tjedented in the history of Tennessee towns. It has now many large
and handsome two and three story brick business houses, five hand-
gome church buildings belonging to the Methodist, Cumberland Presby-
terian, Baptist, Christian, and Presbyterian denominations. There are
several good schools, two large steam flouring-mills, several steam saw-
mills, two planing-mills and machine shops, one woolen factory, one
cotton gin, two shingle and lathe mills, one wagon and carriage fac-
tory, workshops of the Nashville and Northwestern Railroad Com-
pany, and numerous other shops, etc. At a recent session of the Dis-
trict Conference of the Methodist Episcopal Church, South, it was de-
cided to locate in Union City a college, to be under the patronage of
the Conference, and a sufticient amount of money was speedily sub-
. scribed by the people of the town to erect the necessary buildings, and
purchase furniture, scientific apparatus, etc. The Board of Trustees
has been organized, but work on the building has not yet been com-
menced.

1 1 60 Resources of Tennessee,

Mills and Manufactories. There are a few small manufacturing es-
tablishments now at work. The county is well supplied with steam
saw-mills, which do an immense business, and almost every neighbor-
hood has convenient to it a good grist-mill. The average milling dis-
tance throughout the county is about three and a half miles.

School Statistics. There are but few counties in the State that have
made more earnest efforts to establish a good system of public schools
than Obion. The county levied a tax of twenty cents on the $100
worth of property, fifty cents on polls and a privilege tax for the sup-
port of schools. During the scholastic year of 1873-4, forty-five
white schools and two colored schools have been in operation with over
2,000 scholars enrolled. The scholastic population amounts to 5,860,
between the ages of six and eighteen, of which 874 are colored. Most
of the private schools wore absorbed by the public schools.

Churches. A traveler passing through Obion county will be aston-
ished to see the great number of church buildings. Indeed there is
scarcely a neighborhood in the county which has not one or more
churches. The denominations, arranged in respect to numerical
strength, are Methodist, Baptist, Cumberland Presbyterian, Christians
and Presbyterians. There are several other denominations represented
but their membership is very small.

Newspapers. At present there are but two newspapers published in
the county, one the Signal, which is published in Troy, the other the
Union City Herald, published in Union City. Both are Democratic.

Farmers' Organization. The " Central Agricultural and Mechanical
Association of South West Kentucky and West Tennessee," with fair
grounds near Union City, is now in its ninth year, and is in a very
flourishing condition. It has very valuable real estate, upon which it
has located its fair grounds, and its annual fairs are largely attended.

SHELBY COUNTY.

County Seat — Memphis.

Shelby is the wealthiest county in the State, and is one of the
hirgest. It occupies the extreme south-western corner, and em-
braces an area of 720 square mile.?. The number of acres assessed for

IVes^ Tennessee, 1 1 6 1

taxation, exclusive of town lots, for 1873, Avas 442,534, valued at
$9,546,311, or S21.57 per acre. The number of town lots was 8,455,
valued at $24,057,937. The total valuation for 1873 was $38,553,951,
or over one-third of the value of taxable property in West Tennessee,
and over one-eighth of all the taxable property in the State. The
population in 1870 was 76,378, of which 36,640 were colored. In
1820 Shelby county had but 364 inhabitants, which were increased to
5,648 in 1830; 14,721 in 1840; 31,157 in 1850; 48,092 in 1860;
which shows an increase unparalleled in any other county in the State.
During the last decade the colored population has more than doubled,
while the white population has not increased quite thirty per cent.
This was due to the immense swarms of negroes that poured into Mem-
phis from Mississippi, Arkansas, and the adjoining counties during
the period of hostilities. The law authorizing the establishment of
the county was passed in 1819, and the county was organized early in
the following year.

Geology, Topography, Soils, etc. In its geology, Shelby is like
Obion, Dyer, and the other counties which border the Mississippi, and
what has been said of them is applicable to this county. At the lowest
points outside of the bottoms we have outcropping the Lagrange Sands,
(page 44) in which occur beds of lignite, as at Raleigh, on the banks
of the Wolf; then above this the gravel and sand of the Orange
Drift, which appear on the slopes of the Bluff and at the surface in
the eastern part of the county ; then above all the Bluff Loam or
Loess (page 45) upon which Memphis is built and much of the best
soil of Shelby rests. To these may be added the Alluvium of the
bottoms, the formation whose beds are the work of existing agencies,
and are of the most recent age. The general surface of the county
is that of a gently undulating plain, interspersed with some half
dozen creeks, two rivers, and a number of water-courses, great gullies,
dry half the year, miscalled bayous, which serve to rapidly drain off
the excess of rainfall. There is a reasonable amount of flat alluvial
soil along the creek bottoms and the rivers, especially that part facing
the Mississippi River in the north-western (juarter of the county. The
hills or rolling lands are usually of a clay loam, resting on a reddish-
yellow brick clay. When these were first cleared of the forest, they
produced large crops for half a lifetime, but having been mostly
butchered by the worst possible system of exhaustive slave labor, they
now show signs of material decay. For all this, Avhen treated ration-
ally with a systematic application of stable manures, or especially

1 1 62 Resources of Tennessee.

that of plowing under green crops of rye, clover or maize, the soil is
recuperated in a rapid and thorough manner. In fact, the subsoils
seem loaded with inert plant food, readily rendered digestible for any
of the staple crops. But little attention is paid to the restoration of fer-
tility by the farmers. These men, "svho own most all the general, or
staple farming lands, have been brought up under the old export and
slave system, have no longer the capital, credit or slave labor to clear
away timber lands, but they continue to overcrop themselves, impair
the remnants of their estates, and finally give, at the end of the year,
the w^hole proceeds to the laborer and the commission merchant.
Hence the farming community is not prosperous. The alluvial soils,
composed of vegetable mould and sand, are as rich as any other in
the world. Some of them have produced fifty consecutive crops of
corn and cotton, yet show but little signs of impoverishment. So
great is the amount of mineral plant food held in solution by the
waters of the Mississippi, it may be doubted if any lands overflowed
by this stream once in five years, ever can be exhausted.

Health and Climate. In the county there is very little swamp or
marsh land, hence the people are not much troubled with miasmatic
diseases. In a hygienic point of view, it may be said that Shelby
county is not unhealthy. But being on the turning point between the
steady cold of the northern winter and the geniality of that of the
South, it is subject to sudden changes of temperature during winter
time. A majority of the disorders is due to imprudence in cloth-
ing, but they are of a very temporary nature, and readily yield
to proper medical advice. The sudden changes in the weather call for
skill and care in the higher branches of agriculture; but on this ac-
count, are more remunerative to such treatment.

Crops. There is a moderate amount of warm, sandy soils, suitable
for any sort of crops which flourish on such. In and around the vil-
lage of Raleigh is a series of high, dry, sandy hills, most admirably
suited, when fertilized and properly tilled, to produce orchard pro-
ducts, berries, melons and garden stufis. Cotton, however, is the staple
crop, and will continue to be until the system of farming is changed.
The cabbage and cauliflower are excellent, and of course the warm
weather, continued so long, matures in fine style lima beans, melons,
cucumbers and other garden products native of the subtropical coun-
tries. Grains, including all food crops for man and beast, and also
the root crops, do finely.

Milh. Although watered by a number of streams, they lack the

Wesl Tennessee. ^ ^ °^

descent and rapidity of current necessary for '-« ^^ ^fof'thl city
hence there are no mills save those run by steanr^ ^"f ''t,^ ^^ 1^,
of Memphis, the county is not ^,ell supplied with mills. The general
disposition seems to be to send the raw products to Mempbis and pur-
chase at that place the manufactured results.

P,.;ce 0/ Zand,. Th.Ur. Around the city of Memphis the prices
of lands varv from $500 to $3,000 per acre. In the more remote or
properly the'staple farming portions of the county, the cost of im
proved places is from $10 to $50 per acre. Timber lands near he
city are very costly, but farther away and not near a railroad o, a
navigable stream, they may be purchased usua y for from$o to $10 per
acre Some of these soils are yet covered with walnu , ash cypres ,
boxwood, (dogwood) and maple, and of course the value of hem .s
Ited rather on account of the timber than the productive qualities of
Tsoil. The forests present quite a variety of valuable timber, and
the e not cut away, an immense amount of i'- Among the sorts -X
be more generally reckoned some half dozen kinds of oak, three of
maXt™ of poplar, two of hickory, two of elm, two of locust, wo
Z\:^, the coltonwood, and also others not so common. Originally
there wis a heavv growth of underbrush, especially that of the hazel-
nut, but the cattie have browsed on it so freely that the uplands no
longer present the dense thickets they once did. Likewise the once
enormous crops of the summer and the -l^t-,^-!'-.^"^'!"^"';:
dine have mainly disappeared. No wonder the Indians fought long
and hard to retain such a paradise for them as this section once was,
for the forests supplied them bountifully with blackberries, mulberries,
hazel-nuts, walnuts and hickory-nuts, chincapins, black and red haws,
acorus, roots, barks, grapes, and three or four sorts of palatable plums.
The bov of to-dav can scarce form an idea of the once fruitful condi-
tion of the forests, and just in the fact of this fruitf^alness lies the
reason why such countless numbers of wild animals and Indians could
be subsisted, and which .uabled the pioneers to live so far from he
centers of civilization. What wonder the red man scorned to till the
soil when nature supplied his simple wants.

YiM of ProduclH. Under the present slipshod culture of the farm-
ers, the old uplands, fifty years under culture, average the vie d of
about 200 pounds of cotton passed through the gm and ready o bale
for export; about from ten to twelve bushels of wheat, and from
fifteen to thirty-five bushels of corn per acre. The yield of he
rich sandy loams along Big Creek, the Wolf, Hatchie and Mis-

1 1 64 Resources of Tennessee,

sissippi rivers is of a character satisfactory to the most parsimoni-
ous. Hatchie and Wolf rivers enter the Mississippi on the northern
confines of Memphis. Farms along these streams, and especially
those north of Wolf River and along its tributary, Big Creek, in the
northern and north-western districts of the county, are wonderfully
productive, often yielding a bale of cotton per acre. The richest plan-
tations on Big Creek are badly cultivated. In the poorest districts,
where negroes are unknown, the little fields are robed in fleecy white-
ness, and excellent corn and cotton crops are produced. The great
plantations of the South, as of this county, are no longer productive.
Slave no longer competes with free labor, and the poor whites of 1860
make the great bulk of the cotton crop. The negro is master on the
great plantations ; the white man on the little farms in narrow valleys,
that now glut the imperial treasury with gold and clothe the nations.

Drawhachs and Possibilities. Owing to lack of cash capital, the
want of an adaptability to present circumstances, of a knowledge of
real farming, an absence of diversified crops, a proper attention to re-
cuperating the soil, fast living, a desire to appear richer than the
reality, the ignorance and unthrifty character of the negroes, who
form nine-tenths of the laborers, and their positive refusal to make a
contract for more than one year at a time, or to raise anything else
than corn and cotton, and the absence of any law compelling them to
fulfill their contracts, the farmers are not generally prosperous. Granted
a goodly supply of intelligent and reliable labor, perhaps there is no
section in all of the vast continent more attractive to the agricultural
capitalist, or, as at present, to those who depend on their own strong
arms and brave hearts to work out their personal salvation. There
are multitudes of brave men lost in the wilds of the West, laboring
away their lives for a mere subsistence, who, with the same energy and
economy, would in this section soon acquire a fortune. Large farmers
in Europe do not make as much money in a given series of years, as an
intelligent laborer might accumulate here in one.

Weather and Fruits. All through the whole year, save on rainy
days, work of some sort may be done on the farm. As for frost in
the earth, it is rarely more than two or three inches deep, nor does it
ever last above a week. Perhaps the number does not average more
than three annually which penetrate deej)er than a half inch. In re-
gard to the snow, there are generally several falls of it, reaching the
depth of from one to four inches, and lasting, in some extreme cases.

TVesz Tennessee. 1 1 65

several davs at a time. Once iu five years or less comes a sleet, coating
everything with a thin encasement of ice, sufficiently destructive to
kill such fig trees as are exposed to the full fury of the blast and after-
wards to the light and warmth of the sun. In all such cases, however,
new shoots spring up again from the roots. Pomegranates have borne
fruit in this county, but are not profitable unless protected by laying
and covering with earth, or sheltered with stalks or boards. No sort
of grape vine is killed by cold. The native grapes are quite produc-
tive, but none have been tried on a large scale except the Hartford,
Concord and Scuppernong. There is no better country for peaches,
summer apples, blackberries and raspberries. Apricots generally
bloom out so early as to get the embryo fruit killed. Currants and
gooseberries do not do well.

Grasses. When partially shaded as in a woods lot, blue-grass forms
a lasting pasture, but does not succeed in the full glare of the sun.
Timothy, red-top, millet, oats and Hungarian grasses are productive of
large crops. Clover, when mowed twice a year after the first one,
dies out about the third or fourth summer. As for winter pastures,
nothing need be more luxuriant than the orchard-grass and the winter
rye, both of which stay green and grow every day in the season.
Orchard-grass does finely the whole year. Bermuda grass grows lux-
uriantly during the summer and furnishes in this way an inexhaustible
pasturage. It does not get high enough or sufficiently tender for profi-
table mowing, and it dies down to the roots in winter. These are
objections to it, but they are offset by certain inestimable virtues in-
cluding the fact that nothing short of repeated summer plowings can
kill it out, and that a few sprigs of it dropped here and there and cov-
ered by the foot will soon check washing in any lands.

Waste Lands. Perhaps about fifteen per cent, of the cleared lands
have been abandoned since the commencement of the late war. One-
half of the county is yet in forest.

The rolling clay loam soils which have been long abandoned, con-
tain a certain proportion of sand, and have been scarified by ugly gul-
lies, but these are readily checked and self-filled up by a cheaply adop-
ted plan of staking down poles or brush, and putting behind them strips
of Bermuda grass, or by sowing seeds of the plum, black locust and
osage orange, and also by the driving down willow stakes and insert-
ing the cuttings of locust roots.

Labor — Hoio JEhnployed. In regard to the contract usual between the

1 1 66 Resources of Tennessee.

land-owner and the laborer, it may be said in staple farming, but few
pay money wages, but where this is the case, the laborer gets about
fifteen dollars monthly and his board and lodging. The great majority
prefer the share system, in which the laborers get house-room free, but
cook for themselves and are charged up with all provisions, clothing
and cash furnished to them. At the end of the season they are credi-
ted with one-half of the product of their labor. The land owner in
all cases furnish animals, implements, seeds, and feed for the animals.
Country house servants are paid monthly fifteen dollars for men,
twelve for women and from five to eight for children.

Trxicli Fanning. Shelby county is admirably adapted to truck farm-
ing, or the culture of miscellaneous crojDS, and the Memphis market is
all that could be desired by any producer who believes in the principle
of " live and let live." There are several vineyards and fruit-farms,
(see Part I, pp 165 to 167) and quite a number of good gardens around
the city, but there is ample room for additions, especially in cases where
capital is connected with skill. The appearance of a disorder some-
what resembling cholera, and the panic caused by the natural fears of
the people, checked the sale of vegetables during the past season and
cost the gardeners and truckers the loss of the greater part of their
year's labor. In the main this class of agriculturists is doing very
Avell, perhaps better than anywhere else in the State. The labor em-
ployed in these higher branches of agriculture is much more expensive
than that procured by the common farmers. Gardeners get from thirty
to fifty dollars a month and are also lodged and boarded. Laborers
receive from twenty to thirty dollars and findings. Day laborers, who
find themselves, get from one to two dollars a day.

Rents. Improved lands in country districts rent for from three to
ten dollars an acre, perhaps averaging five dollars an acre annually.
The usual terms of lease are very simple, the principal points being the
keeping of fences in repair, the ditches open and responsibility for any
wilful destruction of property. Where land is so cheap and surplus
capital so scarce, there is of necessity an indisposition to make long
leases, annual renting being preferred. Such being the case, those
lands which are rented are cultivated in the most piratical style pos-
sible and soon sadly injured.

Cotton vs. Stock. Being cursed with an undue proportion of the
draff and offal of society which gather about Memphis, the rearing,
free of cost on the range, of sheep, hogs and cattle has declined since

West Tennessee. 1 1 67

the abolition of slavery. In fact there are but few of these animals
now. The county is especially adapted to their production and it has
been repeatedly demonstrated that they can be produced more cheaply
than they can in climates so cold as to necessitate their being housed.
But cotton rules. There is a fascination about cotton culture as pow-
erful to the farmer as cards are to the gambler, or the bottle to the
drunkard; once engaged in it he seldom, if ever, quits it. The rea-
sons appear to be the absence of capital to pay money wages, the pos-
sitive refusal of the negro to take a share in the products of general
farming, and above all, cotton is always in demand and every one
knows its daily value, and all are ready to purchase at a small discount,
and pay cash for it or to exchange anything else for it. Other things
must hunt a market and be sold, in part at least, at the discretion of
the purchaser, while cotton is synonymous with cash.

Mules and Oxen. There are not many oxen in the county, but the
number of mules, of the finest kinds too, is very great. This animal
is greatly preferred for draught to the horse. He eats less, is stronger
proportionally, is much hardier and longer lived. While the age and
condition of the horse are scrujaulously determined by the purchasers,
there seems to be a general indisposition to pay any regard to these
matters, when a mule is to be bought.

Dairies. There is a number of dairies about Memphis, but the
country people make for sale but very little butter and cheese. But-
ter and milk always sell high in Memphis, and the dairyman, who at-
tends to his business, always makes money at it. (See Part I, p 149.)

Fencing is becoming a serious matter. Timber is of value in a
money point of view and farmers object to the destruction of the finest
white oaks for this purpose. They have not yet resorted to hedging,
as they must in the future. About twenty years ago some farms yvere
enclosed with the Madura, or osage orange, but the work was done so
slovenly and the plants received so little attention they did not
succeed in the purpose of forming an impenetrable barrier, and hence
the opinion prevails that it does not suit the climate. But there
never was a greater mistake. With proper care and culture it flour-
ishes nowhere better, nor is there any perfect substitute for it.

Mineral Springs. There are two sets of mineral springs — one at
Raleigh and the other at Nashoba — none of which are supposed to
have any other properties than those given by sulphur and iron.
Those at Raleigh have attracted considerable local attention, and have
received a moderate share of summer patronage.

1 1 68 Resources of Tennessee.

Roads. There is one short turnpike of gravel leading out from the
city, but the county has no plank roads. The city of Memphis is
paved with thin blocks of cypress timber laid on plank in the style
called "Nicholson." With the exception of some gravel in the bed of
the Mississippi, there is no other material for paving. There is no
stone within the limits of Shelby, save a very little worthless sand-
stone ; nor are there any minerals worth mining, nor any coal. The
dirt roads are in a horrible condition, and stringent legislation is
needed to compel laborers to work on them.

Small Industries and Miscellaneous Observations. Private domestic
manufactures on the farms went out with slavery, and, sadly be it ad-
mitted, there is scarcely any attention paid to the marketing of fowls
pigs, lambs, feathers, honey, wax, etc. The country people, absorbed
in the cotton crop, are prone to regard with contempt all minor ob-
jects. Many of them purchase in the city even their meat and bread-
stuffs. Most of these people were rich in ante helium days, and con-
tracted habits of extravagant expenditure of money, which ihey find
difficult to shake off. The main thing wanting with them is that spirit
of thrift which causes the barnyard, poultry-house, apiary, orchard,
dairy, and everything else appertaining to good farming, to be produc-
tive of the greatest results. Of course these things are more easily pointed
out than performed, and the lack of reliable labor, especially that of
females, is some excuse for the present condition of affairs. The farms
are also too large for the times, yet there are none of those huge plan-
tations so common on the lowlands farther south. Most of the land-
owners would be glad to convert a portion of their estates into money,
but there are but few purchasers. Plowing is performed with the com-
mon turn plow and the shovel plow. The sweep is also used in cotton
culture. There is no great demand for improved implements, and but
little sale for such as are needed in profitable culture of grasses and
small grains, yet the demand for the latter is steadily improving. As
yet the county is sadly deficient in pastures and meadows, but there
seems a growing disposition to increase both. Hay and corn are
always in great demand in the Memphis market, and enormous quan-
tities of each are sold.

Railroads. The county is not deficient in railroads, there being the
Memphis and Charleston, the Mem])liis and Louisville, the Mississippi
and Tennessee, all old roads, and several others in process of construc-
tion, and others as yet existing only on paper. The " Great Father of
Waters," which bounds the county on the west, forms the main chan-

West Tennessee. 1 1 69

nel of commerce, and affords the year round connection with New
Orleans, St. Louis, and also through the Ohio River with Cincinnati.
The products and merchandise are shipped in all directions. Some of
the cotton is sent to New Orleans by river and rail, but the greater
portion is shipped to New York via the Ohio river and Norfolk. Islands
40, a group. President and Vice-President islands, all in the Missis-
sippi River, belong to this county. With the exception of Wolf
island. President is the largest one in the whole length of this mighty
stream. At this point the river is about three-quarters of a mile wide.
The Arkansas shore is low alluvial land, which extends to Missouri on
the north, to Helena on the south, and due west to the St. Francis
River, a width of forty miles. It is across this tremendous and mala-
rious swamp that the corporate authorities and citizens of Memphia
have for years been engaged at great expense of talent, energy, money
and health in constructing this end of the Memphis and Little Rock
Railroad ; trains now run through regularly. The depot is in Mem-
phis, and the passenger cars, with their living load, are safely and
swiftly wafted across the river on a steamer constructed for this pur-
pose. The whole road to Madison is an alternate series of embank-
ment and piling. The piles, in some instances, surmount an overflow
of as much as fifteen feet, and consist of great cypress trees driven
fifteen feet deep in the ground, and steadied by stringers and cross
capping ; the whole forming a wonderful series of bold engineering
and far-seeing courage on the part of those who furnished the capital.
There are about half a dozen medium sized nurseries in the county,
but there is need of one large and complete floricultural and another
one of a horticultural character, managed by masters of the profession,
armed with an abundant capital.

Schools. Shelby county, during the scholastic year beginning Sep-
tember 1, 1873, levied a tax of five cents on the ^100 worth of prop-
erty, and had in operation ninety white and thirty-three colored schools.
The scholastic population between the ages of six and eighteen was
23,810, of which 10,982 were colored.

Fair Grounds, etc. There is a county fair of an agricultural char-
acter near the city, and in the city an industrial exposition. The lat-
ter seems to be quite a success. There are saw-mills in various parts
of the county, but much the largest part of the lumber business is done
in the city of Memphis, where there are half dozen large and flourish-
ing mills, besides several planing mills, which manufacture and export
74

to the surrounding county, great quantities of doors, mantels, sash,
blinds, etc. Some of the logs used by the lumber men are procured in
the county, but most of them come down the river.

Memphis, its Trade and Prospects. Memphis is the metropolitan
city of the State, and is the liveliest, raciest, richest, most energetic,
noted and thrifty fourth rate city within the limits of the Union. It
has, at this time, over 60,000 inhabitants, and the amount of its busi-
ness is enormous, and the character of its enterprises astonishing. No
where else can so perfect a miniature of the great metropolis of New
York be found. It is situated on the fourth Chickasaw Bluff, so
called, from a tribe of Indians that were aborgines there. This bluff
presents a front on the river of about six miles, the upper four being
occupied by the city and its suburbs. Its elevation above the water
line is about forty feet, and above the surface of the Gulf of Mexico
about 240. A portion of this bluff has been graded for a wharf, and
approaches to it. The remainder of that part within the city limits
would doubtless have long since been disposed of in some manner, but
for a difference of opinion among the citizen as to whether or not it
should be graded at public expense, and pitched into the river, or at
private expense and made into brick, or at public cost walled up and
converted into a set of parks, and thus retain some semblance to the
title of the "Bluff City," as well as add to public happiness and
health. It is to be hoped that the latter opinion will soon prevail.
At the lower end of the city there yet remain the remnants of the
mounds of Chisca, where the great but unfortunate Spaniard, Her-
nando De Soto, discovered the mighty " Father of the Waters," and
in spite of time's effacing fingers, some of the surrounding ravines
which prevented him from concluding to battle with the inhabitants
on account of the ground being unsuited to his cavalry. As
all persons are supposed to know, these Spaniards where the first white
men who ever visited this State, and that they were supposed to have
done so in or about the year 1543. De Soto, it appears, traveled up
to Randolph, and there built boats and crossed the river. These emi-
nences are now called the Jackson Mounds, in honor of General An-
drew Jackson. Tillman Bettis, Sol. Rozell, and the Greenlaw family
were of the first permanent white inhabitants of Shelby county. They
invaded the forests that crowned the Chickasaw Bluffs in the first years
of the century. A very satisfactory and amusing account of the early
history of Memphis and Shelby county appears in a book written by

TVes^ Tennessee, wjy

James D. Davis, a Memphis octogenarian. Bettis and Eozell were
the first members of the first County Court, and neither could
read or write. They examined and employed a schoolmaster, who
never discovered their illiteracy, made highways and bridges, and were
honest men. Judge John Overton, the father of the owner and builder
of the Maxwell House at Nashville, Andrew Jackson and General
Winchester, of the war of 1812, were the original owners of Mem-
phis, having bought the grant of 5,000 acres on which Memphis
stands, from one John Rice, to whom the cession was made by North
Carolina.

Memphis began to grow with marvelous rapidity in 1850, when the
city's railway system was inaugurated. For.t^n years preceding the war,
Memphis, in proportion to population, grew much faster than Chicago.
Wolf River debouches into the Mississippi on the northern confines of
the city of Memphis, and the Nonconnah four miles below. On the lofty
plateau between these two streams Memphis stands, and along the
middle of this ridge the Memphis and Charleston Railroad bends its
way toM'^ards the Atlantic coast.

With lands so rich and a city so fortunately situated upon the high-
way of States, with a system of railways almost perfect, it is quite im-
possible to doubt the coming greatness of Memphis. The richest
body of land in the world lies just across the Mississippi west of
Memphis. It is an alluvial plain, 100 by 50 miles, and when
densely populated, as it was of old, when mound-builders flourished
in the lowlands and left evidences of their power and numbers every-
where, Memphis must be its commercial emporium. To have an
almost air line railway from St. Louis to Memphis, it is only necessary
to build a road ninety miles in length from Memphis to Jacksonport,
in Arkansas. If this be done, population will at once enter the low-
lands, to become the richest people, having the richest farms, in the
most delightful climate, on one of the greatest rivers, between two
most prosperous cities on the globe. The resources of Memphis lie in
Mississippi and Arkansas, rather than in Tennessee, and yet the day is
not distant when every town and county in Western Tennessee, made
accessible by cheap railways, will trade with Memphis. This county
of Shelby and the city of Memphis pay one-eighth of the State's rev-
enue, and if wise and liberal legislation be accorded, that capital may
be kept at home, foreign capital attracted, and railways and factories
built, Memphis will soon double the sum now annually given to sup-

1172 Resources of Tennessee.

port the State. "What is most needed in the State is the enactment of law»
making real estate convertible and transferable like personalty. A
Tennessee mortgage or trust deed avails nothing. Nobody under our
laws, and as chancery courts may intervene, will lend money upon realty.
Therefore capital leaves the Stat^ ; therefore taxes are unpaid ; there-
fore enterprise is shackled; and therefore Memphis fails to become a,
great manufacturing city. Our laws and courts make our property in-
convertible, and we have nothing but real property, and since it attracts-
no money, and our whole code repels money-lenders, real property
loses value,- and they who would save it, through the code and courts^
from usurers, absolutely make it valueless.

The following, giving the prospects and trade of Memphis, is from
John S. Toof, Secretary of the Chamber of Commerce :

Memphis, July 16, 1874.
J. B. KiLLEBEEW, SeGretary Bureau of Agriculture, Nashville, Tenn..-

Dear Sir — ^NTotwithstanding the severe epidemic visitation of 1873^
which, in extent and influence was sufficient of itself to hopelessly cripple
the trade and prospects of any city whose foundations were not of the
most substantial character, Memphis to-day occupies an enviable position
among all her southern sisters in the immense extent of her trade and in
her sound commercial prosperity. The result of the year's business now
closing shows a material increase in nearly all departments over any
previous year in her history. The severe financial revulsion of 1873^
which visited the entire Union, found our merchants in strong posi-
tion, and in the mercantile trade proper, not a single house of promi-
nence failed from its effects; but on the contrary, it has been the sub-
ject of frequent remark by New York capitalists and merchants, that
our business men met their engagements with more fidelity and prompt-
ness than those of any other city, north or south. During the panic
only two of our banks suspended temporarily, while the remainder all
continued to pay currency on demand. This result of the year's busi-
ness shows better the condition of the city trade than any words that
could be added. Our merchants, as a whole, are enjoying a high de-
gree of prosperity — are active, energetic and enterprising. Indeed,
their spirit of enterprise is measured only by their actual financial
ability to compass ; they are truly a working class, and it is to them,
and to them alone, that Memphis is to-day indebted for the sound and
substantial condition of her cotton and general wholesale trade, which,
by their unaided efforts, have not only been retained, but largely in-
creased ; and this, too, in the face of persistently hostile efforts on the

West Tennessee. "^^TZ

part of rivals on all sides. Yet, ^vhile much has been accomplished,
much remains to be done. Our trade, though large, is not what it
should be, or what it will be when freight difficulties and discrimina-
tions, now claiming the attention of our Chamber of Commerce, as
also of our Cotton Exchange, have been properly adjusted. A union
depot, sadly needed, is regarded among the certain events of the near
future. Unjust discriminations against our trade on the part of rival
railway lines, are, it is thought, in course of at least partial adjustment,
and, while there is yet room for improvement, our railroad interests
generally may be regarded as in far better condition than was the case
a year ago. Manufactures should claim more of our attention in the
future, for therein lies an element of certain prosperity, in increased
wealth and population.

In 1850 the population of Memphis was 6,427, and taxable values
■$4,600,000; in 1860, population 22,643, and taxable property ^21,-
500,000; in 1870, population 40,371 (not including from 8,000 to
10,000 absentees at the time of taking the census), and taxable wealth
$24,783,190, while to-day we have a population in the city and immedi-
ate environs of at least 65,000, and our taxable wealth, despite the many
disadvantages with which we have had to contend, is .$29,801,592.
The city government is in the main acceptable, while as to the execu-
tive department, it is doubtful if our city aifairs could be in more ca-
pable and trustworthy hands than those of his Honor, Mayor Loague.
This being the case, it is but a natural sequence that the affairs of
Memphis, as a city, are rapidly assuming a very satisfactory shape.
Taxation for all city purposes for the current year has been fixed at
$1.80, a lower rate than for several years past. The city debt is un-
dergoing gradual diminution, and we are given to understand that city
finances are quite manageable, if not altogether easy. County affairs are
likewise in a very satisfactory condition, the total unmatured bonded in-
debtedness, including $150,000 for the proposed court-house, being less
than $350,000. Taxation for the year has recently been fixed at
$1.10 for State and county purposes, making a total, State, county and
<;ity, of $2.90 on the $100 worth of eaxable values. The erection of
a United States custom-house, for which adequate appropriation has
been made, will soon be commenced.

Our Cotton Trade. The history of the cotto;i trade and the growth
and prosperity of Memphis are closely interwoven from its earliest ex-
istence to the present day. Situated, as she is, upon the great Chick-

II74

Resources of Tennessee.

asavv Bluffs and Mississippi River, equidistant between New OrleanS;,
St. Louis and Louisville, with high and fertile lands reaching out
north, east and south, with the Father of Waters affording perpetual
navigation, and within easy distance of the very fertile lands of the
Arkansas, White and St. Francis rivers, it must be seen at once that
her resources of production are immense. While the lands in this
area produce in abundance every staple of subsistence for man and
beast, lying as they do in the northern portion of the Cotton Belt, the
dividing line of which has been generally supposed to be the 32d par-
allel, practical experience has demonstrated that the soil and climate,
and exemption from disease, in this large area, to which the cotton
plant is heir, point to it as the great central cotton field of the South-
ern States. The continued increase in our annual receipts of cotton
evidences this, and while, in consequence of the epidemic of last Sep-
tember and October, we lost fully 50,000 bales, our cotton interests are
in a state of prosperity unparalleled in the history of this market. The
receipts of cotton at Memphis for the current year (ending September
1) point to 440,000 bales, against 415,000 bales last year, showing the
handsome increase of, say, 25,000 bales. The value of this cotton,
when first sold, will not fall short of |32,000,000, and taking into ac-
count sales and resales, the figures will closely approximate 135,000,000.

ANNUAL AMOUNT AND VALUE OF THE MEMPHIS COTTON TRADE.

YEAR.

1826

1830

1840

1845

1850

1850-51 .
1851-52.
1852-53.
1853-54.
1854-55.
1855-56.
1858-59.
1859-60.
1860-61.
1865-66.
1866-67.
1867-68.
1868-69.
1869-70.
1870-71.
1871-72.
1872-73.
1873-74.

BAI.ES.

VALUE.

300

1,000

$15,000
35,000

35,000
75,000

1,400,000
3,000,000

150,000
163,000

7,500,000
6,520,000

172,000
202,000

6,880,000
8,080,000

188,151
202,000
295,246

8,520,000

8,000,000

11,800,000

325,720

16,250,000

398,721
860,653
112,296
218,226
253,207

16,000,000
18,500,000
23,000,000
29,000,000
25,000,000

247,()98

31,000,000

290,737
511,432

29,258,500
39,552,35(5

380,934

36,550,617

415,255

37,500,000

440,000

35,000,000

The volume of receipts properly ranks Memphis third in importance
among all the cotton receiving points of the United States. Agreea-

IVesl Tennessee. ii75

ble to the census of 1860, within a radius of 125 miles of Memphis as
the geographic center, there was produced that year 879,0('0 bales cot-
ton, and by the law of locality, as the nearest metropolitan market to
the producer, Memphis is entitled to be the point of distribution to
Northern manufacturers, and to Liverpool and Manchester, of this im-
mense aggregate of cotton bales— swelled as it now is to fully 1,000,-
000 bales, and comprising one-fourth of the entire crop of the United
States.

3farmfacturmg and Other Interests. The manufacturing branch of
our industry is slowly but surely growing in importance. We have
six foundry and machine shops on a large scale, besides many smaller
ones ; three of the most extensive oil mills in the United States for
the manufacture of cotton seed oil, which last year consumed 2-1,000 tons
or 480,000 to 500,000 bags of seed, and produced 20,000 barrels of
oil, crude and refined, 10,000 tons of cake, and 1,200 bales of re-
ginned cotton, ^ye have establishments for the manufacture of wood,
to fill every want of the public in that department ; also carriages,
wagons, cotton presses, agricultural implements in general, tobacco,
etc. Books of subscription for the building of a cotton factory are being
opened with assured prospects of success. There are in the city nine
banks and bankers, with an aggregate capital of $2,250,000; ten in-
surance companies chartered by the State, besides agencies of very
many large Northern, German and British companies, for life, fire and
marine purposes. We have also a Cotton Exchange and a Chamber
of Commerce, both with large memberships, and in successful opera-
tion ; and the Holly system of waterworks, including some twenty
miles of street mains ; also a street railway company, with some fif-
teen miles of track, and doing a good business.

Volume of Business. An idea of the extent and volume of business
in Memphis may be gleaned from the following statement of annual
sales, which though partly estimated (from the fact that the annual
statement of the Chamber of Commerce will not be completed for some
weeks) are nevertheless under rather than over the mark :

ANNTTAX SALES EN MEMPHIS.

$32,000,000

Cotton ^^ "00 000

Groceries, liquors and western produce i^,ouu,uu

Dry goods, clothing, boots and shoes, and miscellaneous mer-
chandise -AAftlO

Home manufactured articles 3,o00,00Q

Total 863,000,000

1 1 76

Resources of Tennessee.

It is safe to assert that the annual business of Memphis, taking into
account her population and banking capital, exceed by far that of any
other city on the American continent.

Receipts and Shipments of Leading Articles for Six Months. The
following statement of receipts and shipments of leading articles from
January 1 to July 1, a period of six months, is taken from the books
of the Chamber of Commerce :

RECEIPTS AND SHIPMENTS FOR PAST SIX MONTHS.

AETICLES

Apples

Ale, Beer and Porter

Agricultural Implements

Bagging

Bran and Shorts

Bacon

Bacon _ .

Boots and Shoes

Cotton

Cotton Seed

Com ,

Corn Meal

Cheese ,

Coffee

Canned Fruits and Oysters

Cotton Seed Oil-cake

Dry-goods

Flour

Hay

Hides

Lard

Lard ,

Lard

Molasses and Sriup

Nails

Oats

Oil — Cotton Seed

Pork

Potatoes

Sugar

Salt

Tobacco

Ties

Whisky

RECEIPTS.

SHIPMENTS.

6,973 bbls.

4,048 bbls.

36,445 pkgs.

6,340 pkgs.

10,178 No.

25,178 No.

12,313 piecea.

9,885 pieces.

23,968 sks.

12,215 sacks.

9,854 casks.

6,176 casks.

948 tcs.

2,843 tcs.

2,078 boxes.

1,530 boxes.

9,992 cases.

8,122 cases.

189,039 bales.

250,245 bales.

130,559 sacks.

183,760 "

126,651 sacks.

80,328 bbls.

64,830 bbls.

4,076 boxes.

4,112 boxes.

8,438 sacks.

15,043 sack.s.

43,102 cases.

17,206 cases.

35,702 sacks.

16,260 pkge.
128,018 bbls.

19,666 pkgs;

101,758 bbls.

30,599 bales.

13,699 bales.

33,648 No.

13,189 No.

2,129 tcs.

1,905 tcs.

9,941 kgs&cs

21,138 kgs&cs

23,892 buck'te

12,047 buck'te

9,582 bbls.

11,122 bbls.

17,327 kegs.

16,716 kegs.

56,168 sacks.

30,681 sacks.

5,819 bbls.

2,984 casks.

9,149 casks.

3,997 bbls.

10,569 bbls.

671 boxes.

232,092 pieces.

80,773 pieces.

28,167 bbls.

26,755 bbls.

2,133 hhds.

966 hhds.

6,879 bbls.

10,997 bbls.

7 boxes.

1,978 boxes.

16,977 bbls.

24,162 bbls.

89 hhds.

12 hhds.

11,185 cad'ies.

17,474 cad'ies.

13,721 boxes.

12,853 boxes.

26,501 bdls.

8,860 bbls.

8,523 bbls.

Our Railroads are of paramount importance, being the great ad-
junct of our trade. We have i.ic Mississippi and Tennessee E-oad,

Distances by Rail from Memphis

To Norfolk 9"!

" New York 11^3

" Louisville ^"^

" Clucinnati f^J^

» Chicago '''^'^

" St. Louis 3W

" Kausas City ^^^

" Fort Smith ^^

" Shreveport ■^'■"•

" Now Orleans 395

" Mobile ^-'-^

" Savannah ''^'^

" Charleston "55

'•' San Francisco 2-1^"

" San Diego IC^iO

" Mazatlan MaO

Wes^ Tennessee, '^^ll

now under the management of the New Orleans, St. Louis and Chi-
cago Railway, connecting with that road at Grenada, 100 miles south,
The Memphis and Charleston Road, connecting with Norfolk, thence
north and east, and through Georgia and South Carolina with Charles-
ton, Savannah and Port Royal. The Louisville and Nashville Road,
connecting with Louisville and all Northern cities. The Memphis and
Little Rock Road, connecting with the Cairo and Fulton, which
reaches Fort Smith, and into and through the State of Texas. The
Memphis and Paducah Road, now building, intended to connect with
the northern railway system; and a narrow guage to Raleigh, our
ancient county seat. There is a project'to extend this'road to Bolivar,
and to terminate at Knoxville. The Selma, Memphis and Marion
Road, intended to furnish another line to the Atlantic, is at present in
a languishing condition, but its completion is only a question of time.
The Memphis and Kansas City Road, now being agitated, and- upon
the western end of which work has already been done, is of great im-
portance, as it will open up to us the great corn, wheat, and tobacco
crops, the hog and beef producing region, and the rich lead and iron
sections of Northern Arkansas, South-west Missouri and Kansas, pour-
ing the wealth of this great trade into the lap of Memphis.

I have endeavored to give you, in the forgoing, a brief summary of
of the leading features of Memphis, her trade and her resources. My
forthcoming " annual statement," as Secretary of the Chamber of Com-
merce, will cover the ground more completely, and to that I refer
your readers.

Very respectfully, John S. Toof,

8eQ^y Memphis Trade of Commerce.

The Public Schooh of Memphis. The Memphis city schools were
chartered by act of the Legislature in 1860. They are under the ex-
clusive control of a Board of Education, consisting of two members from
each ward of the city, elected by such voters as are entitled to a ballot
in choosing the Mayor and Aldermen. They hold their offices for a
term of two years ; one-half of them being elected on the first Thurs-
day in January, annually. The President of the Board of Education
is required to give ten day's notice in the daily papers of the city, pre-
vious to said election, and it is conducted by the Register as in the
case of other city officers. The officers of the Board for the past year
were Charles Kortrecht, President ; R. W. Mitchell, M.D., Vice-Pres-
ident ; J. G. Cairns, Secretary ; H. E. Garth, Treasurer ; H. C.
Slaughter, Superintendent.

1 1 78 Resouj^ces of Tennessee.

Scholastic population 9,715

Total enrolled 5,230

, Average number belonging 2,802

attending 2,522

Per cent, of enrollment on population 53

" " number belonging on enrolled 53

" " attendance on number belonging 81

" " tardiness on attendance 3.44

Total number of tardy 18,137

Cost per pupil belonging $ 27 70

" " attending 29 40

" for salaries 63,122 61

" " all expenses 73,997 39

Present Superintendent, Prof. A. Pickett.

Other Towns. Bartlett, on the Memphis division of the Louisville,
Xashville and Great Southern Railroad, eleven miles from Memphis,
has a population of 350. It was incorporated in 1866, and has one
hotel, three manufactories of wagons, plows, etc. It shipped for the
year ending June 30, 1873, 1,854 bales of cotton, and also cotton seed,
fruit, etc. It has three churches, Methodist, Cumberland Presbyte-
rian, and Old School Presbyterian. Capleville, eleven miles from
Memphis on the Pigeon Roost Road, has a population of one hundred,
and five or six business houses. Colliersville, on the Memphis and
Charleston Railroad, has a population of 1,000, and is quite a pleasant
and prosperous village. It was incorporated in 1870, and has been
built up since the war. It is situated in a high healthy region, the
lands surrounding it being well adapted to the growth of fruit and
cx)tton, about 1,200 bales of the latter being shipped annually from
this point. It has about twenty-two business houses, mostly supply
stores. Fourteen miles east of Memphis, on the Memphis and Char-
leston Railroad, is the pretty little village of Germantown, with a pop-
ulation of 350. It has three general stores, cotton gin, and two gro-
ceries. Raleigh, nine miles from Memphis, was formerly the county
seat of Shelby county. It has a small population, and contains five or
six business houses. A narrow gauge road runs to Well's Station of
the Memi)his and Louisville Railroad. Shelby, on the last mentioned
road, eighteen miles from Memphis, has a population of 125, and ships
annually over 4,000 bales of cotton and 12,00 bushels of cotton seed.
It has two supi)ly stores, several groceries, a carriage manufactory,
and one church. White's Station, on the Memphis and Charles-
ton Railroad, nine miles from Memphis, is in the midst of a flour-
ishing agricultural region. It has a population of about 100, four

West Tennessee. 1 1 79

churches, one supply store, and one grocery. It ships about 800
bales of cotton.

In the preparation of this article on Shelby county and Memphis,
the Secretary acknowledges his obligations to Silas T. Gilbert, M.D.,
who furnished the main body of the article on the county, to John
S. Toof, Secretary of the Chamber of Commerce, for an account of
the trade of Memphis, and to Col. L. J. Dupree for various items.

TIPTON COUNTY.

County Seat — Covington.

Tipton belongs to that belt of counties bordering the Mississippi
River so remarkable for the exuberant fertility of soil and forests of
magnificent trees. It has an area of about 440 square miles, and lies
mostly upon the Bluff Loam, or Loess, described on page 45 of this
Report, only about 70 square miles being in the Mississippi Bottoms.
The number of acres, exclusive of town lots, assessed for taxation is
270,704, valued at $2,763,155, or about $10.20 per acre. The total
value of taxable property for 1873 was $3,354,682. The census re-
port of 1870 gives 67,370 acres of improved land, 92,907 woodland,
and 2,131 other unimproved, making for the whole county 162,408
acres, or a little more than one-half of the actual quantity. The total
valuation of farms is nearer correct, being placed at $2,236,745. The
act creating Tipton county was passed on the 27th of October, 1823,
and on the 1st of December ensuing, the county was organized. After
its organization settlers flowed in rapidly, coming mostly from Middle
Tennessee, North and South Carolina, and the courtliness of manners
which distinguish some of these old inhabitants is as pleasing as it is
rare. They have left their impress upon the county.

Physical Geography and Soils. Tipton county lies mainly on the Pla-
teau Slope of West Tennessee. The extreme western and much the
smaller portion is in the low alluvial plain or bottom of the Mississippi
River. The plateau portion is from 130 to 200 feet above the other, and
terminates in a bold escarpment, facing the bottom of the Mississippi.
This escarpment is but a portion of the Mississippi Bluff, the line of
which reaches from Hickman, Kentucky, to Memphis and beyond to-

1 1 8o Resources of Tennessee.

ward Vicksburg. The bluiF in Hickman is steep, and at some points
cannot be ascended or descended with safety. West of the bluff the
country is of course low and level ; east of it the surface is an undu-
lating table-land, the undulations becoming hills in some sections.
The country immediately around Covington, the county seat, is level,
and from this point in every direction, except west, the same generally
level country is found ; but westerly, after a few miles we begin to
meet with the breaks of the bluff, which make the surface hilly.

The prevailing color of the soil in Tipton county is dark, but not
black, and the prevailing color of the subsoil is yellowish. In the north-
eastern and western districts, however, there is found a different soil
and subsoil, the former being of a reddish or brown tinge, while the sub-
soil is a rich red clay. Along the water courses east of the bluff, the
dark soil predominates, and west of the bluff, in the bottoms, it is
almost black. The reddish or brown lands are regarded as the best
for cotton, while the darker lands are thought to be the best for corn.
It is difficult to estimate the average depth of the soil and subsoil,
from the fact that some of the soil (for instance, that in the bottoms)
is from three to twenty feet deep, while in other sections (as on or very
near the bluff) it is very shallow, being from one to four or five inches.
The soil east of the bluff, it is supposed, will average about nine and a
half inches in depth, and the subsoil will average at least eleven feet.
In all of the soil of Tipton county there is a siliceous element which
makes it valuable ; in the bottom, especially, this is in considerable
([uantity. In fact, these lands are composed of a remarkably rich allu-
vial loam, which produces well.

FormatioTVi. Beds of lignite occur in the bluff. In the " Geology
of Tennessee," pages 429-30, may be found a section, taken at " Old
River," in the southern part of the county, which exhibits the differ-
ent strata composing the bluff at that point. The geology of the
county is very much like that of Obion, Dyer, Lauderdale and Shelby.
At the lowest points outside of the bottoms, as at the foot of the bluff,
the strata of the Tertiary Lagrange Sands crop out. In these the
beds of lignite occur. Above the Lagrange Group, outcropping on
the face of the bluff and at the surface in the eastern part of the
county, are the gravel sands and clays of the Orange Sand Drift,
nesting upon the last and making the surface formation for a large
part of the county, is the Loam or Loess described on page 45 of this
Report.

Wesl Temiessee. 1181

Kivers, Creehs, etc. Tipton, though not so well watered as some of
the other counties of West Tennessee, has sufficient water for all prac-
tical puposes. The following are the most important streams : Missis-
sippi River washes the entire western border of the county from north
to south. Hatchie River forms the dividing line between Lauderdale
and Tipton counties, and enters the Mississippi four miles south of Ful-
ton, and eighteen miles west of Covington. Indian Creek rises three
miles south of Covington, runs westward with considerable variations,
and empties into Hatchie River, fifteen miles north-west of Coving-
ton. East Beaver Creek rises four miles north-east of Covington,
runs south and south-east, and empties into Middle Beaver Creek,
about fourteen miles south-east of Covington. It has two tributaries
on its south side, which are almost of equal size, and run almost par-
allel with it. Hurricane Creek rises about twenty miles west of Cov-
ington, runs north-east, and empties into Indian Creek twelve miles
north-west of Covington. Town Creek rises three miles south-east of
Covington, ranges north-west, and empties into Hatchie River about
eight miles north-west of Covington. There are various other smaller
streams in the county, which are hardly deserving of particular men-
tion, but they afltbrd a bountiful supply of stock water. In fact, the
main dependence in the county for stock water is. in the streams of
running water ; but for domestic purposes the people rely upon wells
and springs, which are numerous. Pools and cisterns are easily
made, but they are not much used. The wells throughout the county
will average thirty feet in depth, and the water is generally freestone.

Timber. Tipton county has plenty of good timber, the principal
kinds being poplar, oak and gum. The poplar is the best timber for
lumber, but very little lumber is shipped from the county. Along the
banks of the rivers rafts of saw-logs are made and floated down the
Mississippi River, but even this is not an extensive business. The un-
dergrowth consists principally of hickory, dogwood, ironwood, paw-
paw and hazle.

Land Statistics The estimates found in the census report of 1870
need considerable correction for 1873. The following figures will
show the estimate which has been made for 1873, with the aid of re-
liable local reports from the county :

Whole number of farms in the county 1,103

Farms having under 3 acres 1

" " 3 and under 10 acres 17

" " 10 " 20 " 168

1 1 82 Resources of Tennessee,

Farms having 20 and under 50 acres 437

" " 50 " 100 " 309

" " 100 " 500 " 167

" " 500 " 1000 " 3

" " 1,000 acres or over 1

In 1873 about one-third of all the improved land was worked by
the land-owners themselves, or under their immediate supervision,
while the remaining two-thirds were worked by renters. The terms
upon which land is rented are so varied that it is almost impossible to
give a general rule. Some land-owners rent their land for so much
money per acre, in which case the following prices are asked and given :

Best improved land, per acre $10

Medium " " " 7

Third-class improved land, per acre 4

But these are not average prices all over the county, bat rather the
prices asked for land in the most favorably located section of the
county. The following figures show the county averages :

Best or first-class land, per acre $5.00

Second-class " " 3.50

Third-class " " 2.00

Some land-owners rent out their land for part of the crop, in which
case the following are the general terms : Cotton lands, one-fourth of
the crop ; for corn lands, one-third of the crop. When the land-owner
furnishes all but the labor he gets, for cotton lands, two-thirds of the
crop ; corn lands, three-fourths of the crop. Sometimes special ar-
rangements are made, as for instance, the land-owner furnishes the
land and gets for cotton lands, 621^ pounds of cotton per acre ; corn
land, eight bushels of corn. Only the best lands rent for these latter
prices, however. Of all the lands in the county, it is supposed that at
least one-half can be purchased upon easy terms, and at the following
prices :

Best improved lands per acre $40.00

Second class improved lands per acre 30.00

Third-class " " " 15.00

Best unimproved " " 20.00

Second-class unimproved lands per acre 10.00

Third-class " " •• 5.00

The lands subject to overflow can be purchased at about fifty cents
per acre. The usual terms of sale are, one cash payment of one-
fourth, one-third or one-half, the balance in one, two, or even three
years, with lien reserved upon land. The following figures will give

West Tejinessee. 1183

a very correct idea as to the producing quality of these lands. It is
intended to show the average yield per acre in the leading crops :

Corn 25 bushels.

Cotton, seed 900 pounds.

Wheat 10 bushels.

Oats 30 "

Hay 2,500 pounds.

Potatoes, Irish 250 bushels.

Potatoes, sweet 300 "

Cotton is the principal staple. There is also raised a large quantity
of corn, wheat, oats, hay and potatoes are raised in limited quantities ;
no tobacco is raised for market, but only a patch is seen now and then
intended only as a home supply. Until within the last few years very
little attention was paid to the growing of grasses, but it is now evi-
dent that the farming community is improving in this respect. Or-
chard-grass and herds-grass are the favorite grasses now, but clover is
beginning to be used, not only for grazing and mowing purposes, but
also, as a fertilizer.

Fruit grows well. Almost every farm-house has an orchard. The
varieties of fruit most prized, are the peach, apple, plum and cherry.
The pear is not reliable. Berries grow in every section of the county.

The following estimates compiled from local reports for the crop of
1873, are approximately correct :

Bushels corn 492,617

" oats '. 17,238

" winter wheat 27,000

" Irish potatoes 12,114

" sweet " 22,844

Bales of cotton 11,332

Pounds of hay 413,300

No estimate has been made of the yield of spring wheat, because so
little of it is raised in the county that it is hardly proper to refer to it
as one of the products.

The following stock statistics are taken from the census returns :

Value of all live stock in the county $600,109

Horses Number 1,879

Mules and asses " 1,851

Milch cows " 2,784

AVorkingoxen " 184

Other cattle " 4,131

Sheep " 4,675

Swine " 20,240

Value of animals slaughtered, or sold for slaughter $139,450

Pounds of wool saved 5,195

" butter made 74,777

1 184 Resources of Tennessee.

Tipton is naturally a good stock county, but little attention is paid
to the breeding of fine stock. There are some Short-horn, Durham,
Alderney and Jersey cattle in the county, but very few of sheep. There
are a few Southdown and Leicester rams and ewes ; and of hogs there
are representatives of each of the following breeds : Berkshire, Po-
land and Essex. But the number of blooded animals is very small,
and there is scarcely a farmer in the county who is devoting enough of
time and attention to the breeding of fine stock to make it pay. But
it is due the farmers to say that they are making some advance in the
way of improved farming. Their farms, are as a general rule, in good
condition, and they are beginning to introduce into their fields labor
saving agricultural implements. There is still great room for im-
provement.

Labor. The great trouble with which the people of Tipton have to
contend is the want of reliable labor. So far as numbers are concerned
there is no very great scarcity, for there are a great many colored la-
borers, but as a class, they do not work as they should and have very
little idea of saving what they make. The following prices were paid
for labor in 1873 : Farm hands per year, best, $200; per month, §20;
per day, $1; cooks, per month, $12; house-servants, per month, $8;
mechanics, per day, §3.50. These prices, however, are not paid to all
hands, but only to the best. To get at the average prices paid from
the figures at least twenty-five per cent, should be deducted.

Markets. The principal market to which everything is shipped that
is sent from the county, is Memphis, which is thirty-seven miles from
Covington, and is connected with it by the Memphis and Paducah
Railroad.

Population. By the census of 1870, the population of Tipton was:
White, 7,993; colored, 6,891; total^ 14,884. It is thought the popu-
lation since that time has increased fifteen per cent. A good many
settlers are moving into the county, and but few are leaving.

County Roads and Railroads. There are no pikes and very few
plank roads, but the roads arc kept, even in winter, in fair order, in
summer they are excellent. The only railroad now in operation in the
county, is a section of the Memphis and Paducah Railroad, which is
completed from Memphis to Covington, a distance of thirty-seven
miles, and the Memphis and Louisville, which passes through the south-
eastern corner of the county.

Touins and Villages. Covington, the county seat, is located about

JVesf Tennessee, • 1185

four miles north-east of the center of the county, does a good country
trade, and has about 500 inhabitants. Randolph is on the Mississippi
River, sixteen miles south-west of the county seat, and has about 300
inhabitants, post-office, stores, schools, churches and is an important
point for receiving and shipping merchandise and produce. Mason's
Depot, on the Memphis and Louisville Railroad, is twelve miles south
of Covington, has about 500 inhabitants, post-office, several large and
handsome brick store-houses, schools, and a very fine Episcopal house
of worship, which cost about $15,000. Atoka Depot is on the Mem-
phis and Paduach Railroad, eleven miles south-west of Covington, has
post-office, stores, etc., and is in the midst of a very thickly settled
country. It has about fifty inhabitants. Brighton is also a depot on
the Memphis and Paducah Railroad, is seven miles south-west of Cov-
ington, and has about fifty inhabitants.

Mills and Manufactories. The only manufacturing establishments
are steam saw and grist-mills.

School Statistics. The scholastic population of this county below the
ages of six and eighteen is 3,827, of which 1,651 are colored. During
the scholastic year of 1873-4, sixteen white and fourteen colored
schools were in operation for two or three months. The county has
made no levy for the support of common schools.

Churches. The county is well supplied with houses of worship,
which are owned principally by the Methodist, Baptist and Presby-
terians.

Newspapers. The only paper published in the county is the Tipton
"Weekly Record, which is published in Covington. It is conservative
in politics, and has a good circulation.

Farmer's Organizations. There is a fair association in the county,
known as the " Tipton County Industrial and Mechanical Association,''
with its fair grounds about one-half mile east of Covington ; it is in
a flourishing condition. The farmers are generally organized into
granges.

WEAKLEY COUNTY.

County Seat — Dresden.

This is one of the northern counties of West Tennessee, and con-
tains about 550 square miles. The number of acres assessed for taxa-
75

1 1 86 Resources of Tennessee,

tion in 1873 was 337,387, valued at $3,653,464, or $10.80 per acre.
The whole value of taxable property for the sameyear was $4,100,065.
In 1859 the taxable property (including slaves, valued at $1,400,830)
was $4,502,454. In 1867 the value of taxable property was $2,931,-
758. The ninth census, which in respect to this county is more
nearly accurate than in almost any other, gives as the whole number
of acres 371,304, or 580 square miles. Of these 113,457 were im-
proved, 214,346 were woodland, and 43,500 otherwise unimproved.
Since the census was taken one district has been taken off and attached
to Obion, reducing the limits of the county about thirty square miles.
The act creating the county was passed November 7, 1821. The first
settlers were from North Carolina, Virginia, Kentucky, and Middle
Tennessee.

Geology and Topography. Weakley is a good representative or
type of the great sloping Plateau of West Tennessee. Its general
surface is level with a gentle inclination to the west. There are, how-
ever, some sections which are more or less rough and hilly. Imme-
diately around Dresden the country is considerably broken, and in the
north-eastern part of the county the surface is hilly. The regular
stratified formation of the county is the Lagrange Sands, the strata of
which outcrop occasionally on the slopes of the streams and elsewhere.
These are mainly beds of sand. Now and then a bed of clay is met
with. For the most part, however, the strata of the Lagrange Group
are concealed by the drifted beds of the Orange Sand. It may be
added that a number of high points in Weakley, as well as in adjoin-
ing counties, are curiously capped with isolated masses of ferruginous
sandstone : these, also, belong to the formation last mentioned.

Soils and Timber. The soils of this county vary greatly in produc-
tive capacity. The western portion of the county contains much more
good land than the eastern. West of Dresden the lands are generally
rich. In some parts the principal growth is black oak, interspersed with
witli white oak, post oak, hickory, black gum and dogwood, with but few
poplars ; in other parts there are large quantities of poplar, white oak,
and sweet gum, (well adapted for cutting into lumber) together with
hickory, post oak, black gum and dogwood. The lands presenting the
last growth are generally level, and well adapted to the raising of corn,
tobacco and wheat. As a tobacco county, Weakley is probably not
surpassed by any in West Tennessee. The portion of the county under
consideration is specially suited to the growth of that weed. In the
southern part of the county fine crops of cotton are also raised; some

TVes^ Tennessee. 1187

in the northern part also. The eastern part of the county is more
broken, and the land is generally not so rich, still large areas occur as
rich as any in the count}-. Some of the lands east of Dresden consti-
tute " the barrens," of which there are several kinds, namely : The
hickory barrens, abounding in hickories, interspersed with dogwoods
and black gums, and affording good lands; the blackjack barrens, the
land not good ; post oak and hickory barrens, with land of interme-
diate character. Altogether, there is an abundance of timber in the
county, consisting of oaks of several varieties, poplar, hickory, ash,
maple, gum, and occasionally along the streams cypress forests. The
barren lands are well adapted to the growing of corn, wheat, cotton,
and the very finest quality of tobacco. This, however, does not grow
so large as on the poplar lands in the western part of the county. It
is thought by many that the barren lands will not last as well as the
rich poplar lands. Near the rivers we have what are called the beech
lands, the principal growth being beech. This is excellent land if not
too low, nor too much inundated by the overflows in the rainy season.

Streams. The North Fork of Obion River runs through the entire
length of the county from east to west, its bed being generally five to
ten miles south of the Kentucky line. It affords good water-power.
Upon this stream are several fine grist and saw-mills. The Middle
Fork of Obion River runs through near the middle of the county
from east to west, and affords fine water-power. Upon this, also, are
several grist and saw-mills, and one cotton spinning factory, which
runs about 500 spindles. South Fork of the Obion River forms the
dividing line on the south between Weakley county and Gibson county.
Thompson Creek rises about twelve miles east of Dresden, runs south,
empties into Middle Obion, near Jean's mills, about ten miles east of
Dresden. Cane Creek rises in Henry county, enters Weakly about
sixteen miles north-east of Dresden, runs west, empties into North
Obion, about eleven miles north of Dresden. The springs in the county
are few in number and not very large, being found principally in the
rolling country, and along the water-courses. There is one sulphur
spring on the line between districts numbers seven and ten, but the
water of the county is almost entirely freestone. Wells are princi-
pally relied u))on for domestic purposes, the average depth being not
less than fifty feet, but there are a few good cisterns. As for stock-
water, the river and creeks furnish a jilentiful supply, except in very
dry weather, when recourse is had to ponds, which are easily made
and hold water well.

1 1 88 Resources of Tennessee.

Crops. In regard to the crops a well informed farmer of the county
says : " Our farmers raise fine crops of corn, tobacco and cotton.
The wheat crop, however, is generally light. I think good crops of
wheat could be raised if more pains were taken in preparing the
ground and in putting in the seed. Oats have failed in this county for
many years. Some hay is made, but not enough to supply our stock.
Peanuts are also raised to some extent. Not much ground is enclosed
for pasture exclusively. The common rail fence is almost the only one
met with. The average corn crop in this county is not more than five
or six barrels of corn to the acre. Some persons talk about raising
eight or ten barrels to the acre, and perhaps they do in some places,
but this is not common. Cotton and tobacco average not more than
600 or 700 pounds per acre ; wheat not more than six to ten bushels
per acre generally. Upon the whole, I would say that Weakley is a
good average farming county."

Farm Statistics. The following figures will give the reader a
pretty accurate idea of the farming facilities and interests of the
couiity. They are taken from the census report of 1870, and are
approximately correct :

Total value of farms in the county $3,453,713

" " farming implements, etc 119,700

" number of farms of all sizes 2,312

Number having 3 and under 10 76

" « 10 " 20 348

« " 20 " 50 1,052

« " 50 " 100 600

« " 100 " 500 236

« « 500 " 1,000 5

" "1,000 and over 1

" " under 3 acres 4

It will also be well under this head to give the farm productions of
the county, according to the report of 1870, which will, in all proba-
))ility, fall something below those of 1873, but the difference is not
supposed to be very material :

Value of orchard products $ 689

" " market garden products 108

" " forest products 1,690

" " liome maniifacturea 35,748

" " animals slaughtered or sold for slaughter 145,559

" " all live stock 1,024,853

Number of horses 3,914

" mules and asses 2,673

West Temtessee. 1189

Number of milch cows 4 062

" working oxen 1047

" other cattle 3 gQg

" sheep 13,032

" swine 38,935

Bushels of spring wheat 125

" winter " 136,173

" rye 211

" Indian corn 879,544

" oats 1^945

Pounds of wool 20 056

" tobacco 2,599,590

Bushelsof Irish potatoes 5 933

" sweet " 10,282

" peas and beans 577

Pounds of butter 285,295

Tons of hay 529

Gallons of sorghum 27,209

" honey 6,425

The report for 1870 shows that in that^year there was little or no
<;otton raised in the county, but in 1873 a considerable area of land
was planted, and produced well.

The lands in Weakley county are principally worked by the owners,
or under their immediate supervision, there being not exceeding
twelve and a half per cent, under the control of renters. The pro-
portion of land in the county which is for sale is quite large, and will
be found to be not less than thirty per cent, of the whole. The aver-
age rental for land is as follows: Corn and cotton land, per acre, $4.
The usual terms of renting are about one-half for money and one-half
on shares. The average prices (compiled from numerous reports) of
lands for sale are about as follows :

Best improved land per acre $25 to 30.

Medium land, " " 12 to 25.

Inferior land, " " 5 to 12.

The usual terms of sale are one-third cash, the balance in one and
two years, with lien reserved on land for unpaid purchase money. The
proj)ortion of land in the county which is not tillable is very small
indeed so small tluit it scarcely admits of being estimated. The un-
tillable land is confined to the river bottoms, which are subject to over-
flows. The proportion thus subject to overflow is estimated to be not
exceeding six per cent, of the whole.

Labor. As a general rule, the land-owners work their own farms,
but they are compelled, of course, to hire a good deal of labor, which

1 1 90 Resources of Tennessee.

is very scarce throughout the entire county. When white laborers
can be secured they generally prove to be reliable, but it is the univer-
sal complaint that negro labor cannot be relied upon, hence the anxiety
of the people to have introduced a goodly number of white men and
boys who are willing to hire.

Farm Products. The following averages of crops are given by in-
telligent and experienced farmers, and may be relied on :

Corn, per acre 30 bushels.

Tobacco " 800 lbs.

Cotton " 600 lbs., (seed.)

Wheat " 10 bushels.

Oats « 20 bushels.

Eye " 15 «

Peanuts " 40 "

Potatoes, Irish, per acre 65 "

Potatoes, sweet, " 100 "

Grasses. Herds-grass is regarded as the best grass in the county
though the German millet is rapidly gaining ground in the estimation
of the farmers. Clover also does well in places, and as a fertilizer is
very highly thought of. The Hon. Emerson Etheridge informed us
that he never failed to secure a good stand when sowing it alone upon
well prepared soils. The other grasses are very little grown, and are
not favorites. The estimated average yield of hay is as follows :
Herds-grass, per acre, 1,750 pounds ; clover, per acre, 2,000 pounds ;
German millet, per acre, 2,500 pounds.

Sorghum. This cane at one time was very extensively grown in the
county, but of late years it has been abandoned, owing principally to
the fact that it is deemed a great exhauster of the soil.

Fruits, Vines and Berries. "Weakley county is regarded as a fair fruit
county, though there are no market orchards of any consequence.
Cherries are the surest crop. A'pples are subject to speck, and often
fall off before they mature. As a general rule, peach trees give out
in a few years. Pears and grapes do well in certain localities, and it
is believed that the hilly lands in the north-eastern part of the county
would grow them to perfection. About seven years out of ten plenty
of fruit may be expected with reasonable certainty. The wild varieties
of grapes do well all over the county.

Forest Products. Until quite recently, very little attention was
paid to shipping lumber from the county, but of late the large and
constant demand for poplar, white oak and cypress lumber has eneour-

IVesi Ten^iessee. 1 1 9 1

aged saw-mill men, who are extending their sawing and shipping fa-
cilities with the view of engaging quite heavily in the business ; at
present, however, the amount of lumber which is being shipped is
quite limited.

Stock. Little or no attention is being paid to the introduction and
propagation of fine stock. Every farmer raises some of the common
varieties, enough to supply the home demand, but very little is raised
for foreign markets. Just after the war some attention was paid to
raising hogs, Berkshires being the favorites, but within the last year
or two the cholera has been so destructive that the farmers have become
discouraged and have almost abandoned the idea of raising them.

Markets. The principal markets of the county are Memphis and
Nashville, by the Memphis and Louisville and Nashville and North-
western railroads.

Population. The population of the county in 1870 was as follows :
white, 16,886; colored, 3,899; total, 20,755. As before mentioned,
a small portion of the county has been cut off since the census was
taken, but it is thought that the increase will bring it up fully to the
figures given.

The People. The masses of the people are quiet and civil, and well
disposed to new-comers and immigrants, particularly to those who
wish to become citizens and identify themselves with the country.

Immigration and Emigration. There has not been a heavy immigra-
tion to the county since 1870, but the people seem to be very anxious
to welcome settlers, regardless of religious and political proclivities.
The increase in the population since 1870 has been about 2^ per cent.,
the new-comers being principally from the counties of Middle Tennes-
see. Some few families have also left the county.

Roads. The county roads are in a miserable condition, and there is
no speedy probability that they will be much better. Tlie new road
law is a perfect failure, since the people seem to have no confidence in
its feasibility.

Railroads. The Nashville and North-western Railroad passes
through the county diagonally from south-east to north-west. The
Mississippi Central Railroad passes through it, running on a line a lit-
tle west of the center, crossing the Nashville and North-western Road
at Martin's depot, between Gardner's Station and Raulston's. The
Memphis and Louisville Road just touches the extreme south-east cor-

II 92 Resources of Tennessee,

ner of the county, crossing the Nashville and North-western at McKen-
zie. The Memphis and Paducah road runs just west of the county.

Towns and Villages. Dresden, the county seat, is situated near the
center of the county, on a small creek which runs just north of the
town. Its population is variously estimated, but will not exceed 500
persons. It has a very neat and substantial court-house, two churches
(one belonging to the Methodists, the other community property), and
a first-rate brick building built expressly and used for a school ; one Ma-
sonic lodge; one Odd Fellows' lodge; one newspaper (the West Tennessee
Democrat); one steam saw and grist-mill ; four dry-goods stores; four
groceries; two drugstores; six saloons; one hotel; a wagon-maker's
shop ; tinner's shop ; tan-yard ; boot and shoe establishment ; two sad-
dle and harness-makers' shops, and one barber shop. Dresden is sup-
plied with eight lawyers and six physicians. The Nashville and North-
western Railroad runs through the southern suburbs of the town.
Gleason is a depot on the Nashville and North-western Railroad, about
seven miles east of Dresden, has about 150 inabitants, and does a good
business. Raulston is a depot on the same road, is six miles west of
Dresden, and has about one hundred inhabitants. Martin's is the
crossing of the Nashville and North-western and Mississippi Central
railroads, is nine and a half miles west of Dresden, and is just being
laid out for a town. Gardner is on the Nashville and North-western
Railroad, twelve miles west of Dresden, has a good school, large brick
hotel building, steam grist-mill, steam saw-mill, about 250 inhabitants,
and has a good neighborhood trade. Mt. Pelia, or as it is sometimes
called, Middleburg, is fifteen miles west of Dresden, and has about
70 inhabitants. Dedham is twelve miles south of Dresden, and has a
very small number of inhabitants. Scatterville is eight miles south of
Dresden, and is also a very small place. Pillowville is eleven miles
s )uth-east of Dresden, and has a very small population. Boyds-
\ille is eighteen miles cast of Dresden. Dukedom is sixteen miles
north of Dresden. Palmersville is eleven miles north-east of Dres-
den, and has about 40 inhabitants. Latham's is eleven miles north
of Dresden, and has about 25 iniiabitants. At most or all of these
places there are post-offices, blacksmith shops and stores; hence are
great conveniences to the people.

3Ii(ls and Factories. The streams in the county are very sluggish,
the fall not exceeding seven feet per mile, but there are several good
mill sites in the county, and some very good mills.

/School Statistics. The scholastic ])opulation between the ages of six

JVes^ Tennessee, ii93

and eighteen is 6,129, of which 1,113 are colored. Twenty white pub-
lic schools and one colored have been in operation during the scholas-
tic year beginning first of September, 1873.

Churches. Every neighborhood has convenient to it churches repre-
senting some of the various denominations of Christians; there are
on an average about three to each civil district. The Methodists and
Cumberland Presbyterians are more numerous than the other denomi-
nations, but there are quite a respectable number of Baptists, and a
few representatives of several other denominations. Sabbath-schools
are kept up in but few of the churches.

Newspapers. The West Tennessee Democrat is the only paper pub-
lished in the county. It is independent in tone, liberal in principle,
and fearless in the advocacy of what it believes to be right. It has a
good circulation, and is capable of doing a vast amount of good to the
county and to the State.

I ISi D E X .

Abert. Col. S. T.,287.

Abandoned homes, 60, 794, 974.

JEtua Coal Mines, 193— product of, 194.

^tna Iron Mines, 755.

jEtna Coal Strata, section of, 194.

Agriculture, early, in Maury, 831— condition
of, a50, 6(57— progress of, in Maury 832— elieet
of manufactories on, 215, 757, 793 — statistics
of, 408, 411. 41S, 421— see county descriptions.

Alderney cattle, 679 — see Jersey.

Alfalfa — see Lucerne.

Alexandria, 707.

Alamo and other towns in Crockett county, 1044

Aliens, naturalization of, 403.

Alluvium, 46 — soil of, 68.

Alum, 274.

Alkalis on soils, 953.

Analysis of coal. 219, 203. 211, 212— of iron ore,
191. 22:5, 226— of milk, 150.

Anderson Coal Creek Company, 210.

Anderson county, general description of, 448.

Animals, live, average price, 411 — see county
descrijitions, also stock.

Annies Factory, 968,

Antiquities, of Coffee, 660— of Hardin, 1093— of
Lincoln. 806— of Madison, 113:3.

Appalachian Coal Field, 183.

Apples, on siliceous soils, 60 — on Cumberland
Table Land, 666- on clayey soils. a53, 965— in
Central Basin, 682— in Van Buren, 95.5— in
"Warren, 9(35.

Apricots, 1165.

Arlington. 7(55.

Artificial mounds, 1133.

Ash. 72, 62(5 — profits of growing, 72.

Ashland City, 641.

Athens 34, 580.

Ayrshire cattle, 128, 132, 679.

"Balds," fertility, timber, climate, etc., 57,

544. 615.
Balsam. 78.
Balsam Firs. 78.
Barbour, T. S., fruit culturist, 166— his farm,

167.
Banner counties, 109.
Bark Camp Fork, 658.
Barley (>5, 106.
Barter trade, 354.
Barren Group, 40 — sec also .Siliceous (xroup and

Coral Limestone.
"Barrens" 661. 792, 92(5— soils of, 61.
Barren Grass, 112, 792.
Barytes, 270, 617.
Barberry. 60.

Barbour. T. S., vineyard of, 1(56, 167.
Barnes, B. B., vineyard, 16(5.
Barrel Factory, 1011.
Bartlett and other towns in Shelby county,

1178.

Basswood — see Linn.

Battle, W. H., Judge, 93.

Battle Creek— valley 193— mines. 193.

Bat manure, 958.

Bays Mountain 31, 37— soil of, 57— in Hamblen

county, 503.
Beans Station, 493— valley of. 494.
Bear Spring Furnace, 238, 903.
Beaver Creek ^'alley, 35, 554, 611.
Beaver Dam Springs, 756.
Beaver Kidge, 31.
Beech, 73.
Beech Grove, 656.
Beech Kiver. 10a5.
Beersheba Springs, 13, 748.
Bee culture, 175— climate suitable for bees, l/o

— food for, 179.
Bees, Italian, 175.

Bedford, general description of, 624.
Beef, mountain fed, 9(53.
Bell. Montgomery, 689.
Bell's Bend, 671.
Bentley, B.,13.

Benton, 595. .

Benton county, general description of, 1022.
Ben Lomond, 963. 969.
Bermuda Grass, 11(55.
Berkshire hogs, 139, 681.
Bethel College, 1037.
Big Bottom. 767.
Big Kidge, 32.
Big Valley, &5.
Big French, (575.
Big Hatchic Kiver. 1079.
Big Sandy, 1032.
Big Pigeon Valley. 4.S4.
Birch, 74.

Birdsong Creek, 1025.
Blackberries, 94.
Black Diamond Company, 210.
Black Gum.7S.
Black Fox Chief, 901.
Black Jack Oak, 86.
Black Locust, 81.
Black Oak, 8;5.
Black (»ak Kidgo, 32.
Black Muuntiiin, 7S.
Black Shale, (5S— extentof, 26, 39— oil from. 714,

725, 789— as fuel, 725, 789— not coal, 273, 8-50,

1005.
Black Walnut, 89.

IMedsoe county, general description of. 457.
Bledsdc's Lick, 946.
Blount's Lick. 904.

Blount county, general description of, 460.
Bloomington, 883.
Blountville. (509.
Blue Ash, 72.
Blue Grass. 6.5. 60. 117, 547. 628. 924.

Index.

Blue Grass Lands, 57, 628, 672, 818, 1006.

Blulf Loam, 45.

Blue Stone, 274.

Boiler iron, 238.

Bolivar and otber towns in Hardeman, 1084.

Bompass Cove, 615.

Bon Aqua Springs, 756.

Bosley stone, 675.

Bowen, J. W., letter from, 920.

Boughten wheat, 96.

Box elder, 91.

Bradley, F. H., Prof., 201, 206.

Bradley county, general description of, 464.

Bradley county — soil of, 58.

Bradley Furnace, 234.

Bristol, 6U9.

Broomsedge, 105.

Brown Hematite — see Limonite.

Brownsport Furnace, 2^38, 1062.

Brownsville and other towns in Haywood,

1102.
Brownsville Cotton Factory, 1101.
Brownsville and Ohio Railroad, 346,
Buckwheat, 107.
Buchanan, Prof. A. H., 13.
Buckle's, history of civilization, 55,
Buckeye, 74.
Buifalo Kiver, 876.
Buttalo Kidge, 876.
BuJ'alo Valley, 885.
Building stone, 264, 628, 675, 674.
Bull Kun Kidge, 31.
Burritt College, 957.
Bushong Furnace, 234.
Buttonwood, 89.^
Butter trade in KnoxviIle,565.
Butter price of, 149, 680.
Butternut, 90.

Calcareous soils, 64.

Caluwell Lead Mine, 266.

Calf Killer Kiver ana Valley, 215, 981, 987.
■Camjiuell County, general description of, 466 —
plaloau ill, 32.

Camden and other towns in Benton, 1029.

Cane, 919.

Cane Creek and Valley, 801, 954.

Caney Fork Kiver and Valley, 708, 888, 954, 986
— coal of, 215 — water-power of, 987.

Caney Fork Falls, 987.

Cairo and Tennessee Kailroad, 347.

Cannon county, general description of, 637 —
soil of, 60.

Cannon balls used at New Orleans manufac-
tured, 705.

Capital, lack of, 360.

Cajiitol of ot.ite described, 686.

Capitol liinostone, 674.

Carrots for dairy, 144.

Carter county, general description of, 470.

Carter's Creek limestone, 36.

Carteret, Lord, 93.

Carthage, 921.

Carroll county, general description of, 1031.

Cioreyville Coal Mines, 212.

Cattle, 125— native stock, 127 — improved breeds,
129— ocst breeds, 131.

Cayce's Siirings, 1003.

Caves and sink-h<dcs, 869, 884.

Caryville, 469.

Ca^tallaIl Sinings, 946.

Cedar— forests, 36, 74,627,818— lunilicr, ))rice of,
75, 632 — shipments of, 1009 — consumption of,
74— ware of, 74, 90.3— best cedar, 627— price
of cedar lumber, 75 — mils, 819.

Celiiia, 618.

Cemei.t, hydraulic, 261, 1088.

Central liasiii, 294, 621— description of, 3, 294—
temperature of, 12— j-'cology of, 35 — soil of, 64
65 — ^rai)us in, Itil— iMniiiiig in, 358— i)rice of
lands in, 622-beanty of, 621.

Centiiil l>.i>iii and lliv'lilaiid Kim, produi'tivo-
nc.'^s<M)inpareil, 6(), 8-l«.

Central Cotton Factory, 968.

Central limestone. 36.

Charles II., munificent gift of, 93.

Charlotte. 702.

Chattanooga, history of, 519— railroads of. 519
hotels, 519— as a distributing point, .'"21—
freight from. .522— as a manufaciuring point,
523— vineyards around, 164, 512— future of,
527.

Cheatham county, general description of. 641.

Cheese— factories, 142— nutritive qualities of,
143.

Chestnut, 73.

Chestnut oak, .85.

Chestnut rails, durability of, 705, 800.

Chestnut Ridge, 32,529.

Cherry, 853.

Cherry, wild. .57, 76.

Cherry Creek Valley, 982.

Chert — origin of, 32.

Chilhowee Mount.iin, 461.

Chilhowee Sandstone, 29, 30 — soil of, 57 — moun-
tain, 57 — in .Johnson, 545— lilue grass on, 57,
547.

Chinchapin, 91.

Chitwood,601.

Cincinnati, Cumberland Gap and Charleston
Railroad, 326.

Cincinnati Southern Railroad, 347.

Cincinnati Group — see Nashville Group.

Civil Rights Bill, effects of, 337.

Claiborne county, general description of, 473.

Clark Furnace, 238, 929.

Clark's vineyard, 155.

Clarksville — location, 8.54 — trade of, 854 — fe-
male academy, 8.55—southwestern university,
855 — society in, 8.54.

Clarksville tobacco, 98.

Clay county, general description of, 647.

Clay, blue, yellow, etc., 60, 792, 809, 974, 884.

Clay, potters, 264, 988, 1110.

Clay, fire, 265, 723, 765, 932.

Clay iron stone, 2:J5.

Clay, red, indicative of durability, 61, 792, 809,
884, 8a5.

Clear Creek, coal of, 196.

Cleveland. 31, 466.

Clifton Creek, coal of, 215.

Clifton, 977.

Climate, 6 — mountains, effect on the, 12 — effects
of, 2.5 — modified by elevation, 94, 725 — on old
age, 24 — on vegetation, 51^of East Tennes-
see, 4i0— of Middle Tennessee, 623— of West
Tennessee, 1016.

Climate, influence upon agricultural develop-
ment, 6.

Clinch mountain, 492— soil of, 57— geology of,
37.

Clinch Mountain Sandstone, 37 — soil of, 57.

Clinch Mountain Valley. 530.

Clinch River, ()13— How named, 488.

Clinton, 476.

Clover, white, 13— red, 116— see all county de-
scriptions.

Clover seed, yield of, 704.

Coal, chapter on, 183— origin of, 183— estimated
amount in Tennessee, '218 — product for 1873.
218— analysis of, 191, 219— first used in Nash-
ville, 299— consumpti<ni in Nashville, '299 —
shipments by Knoxville and Ohio Railroad,
327— over St. Louis and South-eastern Rail-
road, 331— over Nashville and Cliattanooga
Kailroad, 318— Coal comiiaiiics, 205, 210. 212.

Coal fields, geology of, 186— Apalaehian, 183—
Kentucky, 298— Tennessee, 183.

Coal measures, 41— defined, 187— lower, 189,
192— upper. 189, 193— .sections of, at Coal
Creek, 207— at Careyville, ".il:}- at .Ktna mines
194— .it Wilcox mines, 199— .it Sewanee, 188.

Coal in Anderson, 210— in Campbell— in Clai-
borne, 479— in Cuiiilu'rlaiul, 215, 670 — in
Fentress, 215, 7'20— in Franklin, 723— in Grun-
dy, 191, 7.50— in HamiUon, 514— in Marion,
.577— ill Morgan. 215, ,599— in Overton, '215,
873— in I'utiiam, 215,888— in Rhea, .596— in

Index.

Ill

Eoane, 197, 50S— in Sc'iuatohie, G08— in Seott,
215, 603— ill Van Bur.-ii. 958— in White, 215,
988.

Coal on Calf Killer River, 215, 988— on Caney
Fork, 215, 988— on Cumberland River, 299—
on Tennei^soe River, 286— on Clifty Creek.
215— on White's Creek, 196— Clear Creek, 196
— Riclibuiil Creek, 196— Soddy Creek, 195.

Coal of Ciiinherland Tabic Land, 185,670 — of
Waldens Ridse, 195, 196, 204, 206.

Coal Mines, lea.se of, 196.

Coal Mines, ^.tna, 193— Coal Creek, 205, 45.5—
Frost Bottom, 205— Hart's, 212— Hooper, 198
—Kennedy's 212— Kelly's, 193— Morgan, 196
— Uakdale, 204— Piney, 196— Poplar Creek,
or Winter's Gap, 204 — Roekwood, 197 — Sale
Creek, 196— Sewanee, 190, 750— Shoal, 195—
Soddy Creek, 195— Vulcan, 195, Wilcox, 199.

Coal and iron, juxtaposition of, 52, 216, 228.

Coal boats, 300.

Coal mining, cost of, 301.

"Coalings," 242.

Coaling lands, price of, 924.

Coal oil— seeOil.

Coca Creek, 265.

Cocke county, general description of, 483.

Cockrill, M. R., 137.

Cofl'ee county, general description of, 655 — soil
of, 60.

Coflee Sand, 42— soil of, 62, 1088.

Coke burning, 190.

Colbert Shoals, 278.

Cole, S. W., 177.

Colleges in Tennessee, 383, ,384.

Colonies, 389. 747, 786, 933, 934.

Colton, H. E., letter from, 599.

Columbia, 889— institutions of, 840 — manufac-
tories of, 842.

Comby Ridge, 529.

Cookville, 883.

Cook's Valley, 611.

Cooley corn, 9(3.

Copper ores and associated minerals, 244 —
price of. 249.

Copper mines, 243 — geology of, 29 — history of,
250— •onipanies, 244, 246 — force employed,
246, 249— product. 248, 249.

Copperas, 269, 659.

Copperas Cave, 659.

Copperas spring, 1115.

Copper Ridge, 32, 529.

Copper Valley. 244.

Coral Limestone, 40, S48, 868— soil of, 66, 983.

Cork Elm, 77.

Corn, 95.

Corn fodder for milch cows, 144.

Cornersville district, 821.

Cotton, loO — shipments from Memphis and
IVashvillc, 101, 652, 1173— cost of production,
103 — of West Tennessee, 101 — of Central Ba-
.siii, 101 — seed, analysis of, 102 — shipments
from way stations, see chapter on railroads,
page 305 value of crop and dairy compared,
152— yield of, see county descriptions of
Middle and WestTennessee— on small farms,
968— in White county, 985— in Lake county,
1120- cotton trade of Memphis, 1173— {'otton
vs. stock, 1166- cotton vs. small industries,
1168— cotton, drain of upon the soil, 103.

Cottonwood, 70.

Cove Creek valley, 186.

Covington and other towns of Tipton, 1184.

Cox k. Dunlap's vineyard, 162.

Country store 842.

Crab-ap))lo, 91.

Crab-grass, 113.

Crab Orchard, iron ore of, 224.

Crab Orchard Mountain, 662.

Cranberries, 94, 548.

Cream, per centage of in difi'ercnt breeds of
cattle, 150, 151.

Crockett county, general description of. 1039.

Crocket, David, 901.

Crockett, iron ore bank, 224.

"Croppers," 351 — see all county descriptions.

Crops, smaller, 109— rotation of, 1112.

Crops generally, see county descriptions.

Cross Mountain, 186.

Crow Creek Valley. 192.

Cucumljcr tree, 91.

Cumberland county, general description of.
662.

Cumberland City, 766.

Cumberland Furnace, 238, 303.

Cumberland and Ohio Railroad. 348_.

Cunii)iMianil (iap, ilcscriptiim of, 475.

Cumbeiian.l (iiip Furnace, 229, 2:34, 301.

Cumberland (ja|) iron ore, 227.

CumbciLuid Mountain or Table Land, 2— cli-
mate of, 13 -geology, 40-soil, 58, 663— grasses
of, 112 - description of, 185— grapes on. 163—
iron ore of, 222, 2*3.

Cumberland River. 286-length, 287 - fall, 287—
shoals, 290 to 295— improvement by slack
water, 297-cost of, 297 - trade of, 302— coal of,
303 government aid for, 304.

Cumberland University, 1011.

Cumberland River valley, 650.

Cypress, 76.

Cypress swamp. 76.

Dairy, profits of, 148 -about Memphis 149—

about Knoxville, 150— compared with cotton

crop, 152.
Dairy farming in Davidson county, 680.
Dandridge, 541,
Davidson county, general description of, 670 —

soil of, 65.
Danville, 756.

Deaths, per cent, of in United States, 25.
Devil's Nose, 37.

Decatur county, general description of, 1045.
DeKalb county, general description of. 707 —

soil of, 60.
Debt, per capita, .393.
Deeds of trust, laws relating to, 399.
Denton's Valley, 610.
Devon cattle, 13, 132, 134, 679, 558.
Diamond drill, 247.
Divisions, natural, of Tennessee. 2.
Divisions, civil, of Tennessee. 5.
Diagram of rainfall. 20.
Dickson county, general description of, 701 —

soil of. 60.
Dixon's Springs. 921. 951.
Doe Mountain, 543.
Dogs, losses from, 365.
Dogs vs. sheep, 364.

Dogs and sheep, sec county descriptions.
Dogwood, 77, 86.
Donnelly's Bank, iron ore, 225.
Dover, 9:>5.

Dover Furnace, 238, 931.
Drainage, 66.

Dresden and other towns in Weakley, 1192
Drift, see Orange Sand.
Droughts, soils .iticctcd by, 66, 848, 962.
Dry Creek, in Franklin, 728-in Stewart, 925.
Duck River and triliut.iries, 624, 816.
Duck River Valley Railro.ul, ,348.
Ducktown Copper Mines, 243, 59.3.
Ducktown iron ore, 225.
Ducktown Narrow Gauge Railroad, 349.
Dunbar's Cave, 848.
Dyer county, general description of, 1053— soil

of, 63.
Dyersburg and other towns in Dyer county,

1060.
Dyostono Group, 38.
Dyestone soil, 58.
Dyestone Iron Belt, 222. 225, 228.
Dyestone, or hematite ore, 226— analysis, 226.

Early settlements, 702.

Eartlniuakcs, eticcts of, 1118, 11,52. 11,54.

East Tennessee, valley of, 24 — elevation of, 2 —
general descriidion of 423— history, 423—
physical geography, 42 — mountains, 428 —

Index.

river system, 429 — climate, 430— health, min-
eral springs, agriculture, 431— orchards, 436 —
style of farming, 438— immigration, 439— min-
oral resources, 440— mining and manufacto-
tories, 443 — narrow gauge railroads adapted
to, 445— educational facilities, 44(5- social life,
447.

East Tennessee homes, 490.

East Tennessee farmer, .3-53— labor, 356.

East Tennessee roads, 356.

East Tennessee University, 569.

East Tennessee, Virginia and Georgia Rail-
road, .3"26 — effects of, 313 — shipments and
trade, 327 to 330.

Eastern Iron Belt, 222.

Eclipse Furnace 929.

Edgefield, 699.

Edgefield Junction, 699.

Elevation of Natural Divisions, 2, 3, 4.

Elevations in Franklin county, 726.

Elevations in Montgomery county, 846.

Elk Fork Valley, 186— iron ore of, 226.

Elk River and tributaries, 799— shoals of, 278.

Elk River Valley. 801.

Elk Ridge, 816, 859.

Elizabethton, 472.

Elm, 77.

Embreeville, 617.

Embryo Cotton Factory, 1116.

Emory River, 199, 600.

Emory River, Little, 202.

Epperson Springs, 814.

Epsom salts, 274.

Erin, 765.

Errors in relation to railroads, 367.

Espy's Cave, 638.

Estabrook, Professor, 204.

Estill Springs, 732.

Exemption laws, 401.

Exports— see chapter on rivers and railroads,
276, 305.

Factories, cotton, 462, 527, 576, 583, 610, 632, 696,
729, 756, 789, 805, 916, 968, 987, 1101, 1116, 1187.

Factories, woolen, 462, 537, 610, 713, 744, 769, 857,
992.

Farm, intelligence on, 362— products of, 93— av-
erage yield of products, 411— products of in
AVest Tennessee, 1118.

Farm, general products and yield of crops— see
all county descriptions.

Farm improvements in Davidson, 677 — in
Maury, 838.

Farm labor— see county description.

Farms, abandoned, 60, 794, 974— of East Ten-
nessee, .353— in Middle Tennessee, a58, 621—
in West Tennessee, a59— value of, 409— aver-
age size, 409-number of, 408— small, benefits
of, :i.'>l, 878— in Central Basin, 621.

Farmers— of East Tennessee, :i5:}— of Middle
Tennessee, :i57— of West Tennessee, 3.59.

Farmers, small, 351— losses for lack of railroads,
•307— from dogs, .3(» — from want of capital, 360
— from want of home markets, 365 — from
fencing, 303— from want of good labor, 301.

Farmer's organizations— see county descrip-
tions.

Farmers, small, wanted, 386— condition of, 3.51.

Farmers, of Lewis and Maury compared, 793.

Farming, drawbacks to, 360, 837, 1104— profits of,
Wc>, 1117— want of faith in, 361.

P'ayctte county, general descrii)tion of, 1062.

Fayetteville, 805.

Feathers, shipments from Bast Tennessee, 328
—from Knoxville, 564.

Fences, cedar, durability of, 818— chestnut, 705
— stone fences, cost of, 677.

Fentress county, soil of, 67, 215.

Fentress county, general descrii)tion of, 714.

Fire-clay, 26.5, 72.3, 765, 932.

Firs, 78.

Fisk University, 690.

Flagstones, 551.

Flat boats, 285.

Flatwoods Group, 44— soil 62.

Flinty soils, 60.

Flour, superiority of, 96, 433 — shipments from
Davidson, 694 — from Montgomery, 852 — from
Bedford — see transportation — railroads, 305-

Food, relation of to population, 54.

Ford, A. C, 11.

Forked Deer River, 276, 1032, 1126.

Forge Mountain, 544.

Formations, defined, 26 — table of, 28.

Fort Donelson, 935.

Food, cheap, effects on population, 54.

Franklin, a)l.

Franklin county, general description of, 722—
soil of, 60.

French Broad River, 552.

French Broad Valley, 484.

Frog Mountain, 243.

Frost Bottom, 205.

Frosts — period between killing, 16— occurrence
of, 17.

Frost line, 764.

Fruits, 94 — see county descriptions.

Fruits on sandy soils, 953 — in Warren, 965 — in
Davidson, 682.

Fruit, dried — see small industries.

Furnaces— Bear Spring, 238, 303, 931— Browns-
port, 238, 1052— Bradley, 234— Clark, 238, 930
— Bushong, 2.34— Cumberland, 238, 303— Cum-
berland Gap, 2:J4, 481— Dover, 238, 303, 931—
Knoxville Car Company, 234 — Lagrange, 238,
797 — New York and East Tennessee, 234 —
9.30-Mount Vernon. 303,238, 853-Napiers, 239
Oakdale, 234— Roekwood Nos. 1 and 2, 232 to
234 -Rough and Ready, 238, 303, 931 -Sewanee,
190-Wayne, 238, 977— AV^orley, 2:38— Uuaka,
234.

Furnaces, product of, 234, 238.

Furnaces on Cumberland River, 301 to 303.

Gaston, Judge Wm., 93.

Gainsboro, 778.

Gallatin, 945.

Gentry Hill, 625.

Geology, 26 — relation of the farm to, 47.

Geology of counties — see county descriptions.

(libson county, general description of, 1069.

Gibson Springs, 669.

Giles county, general description of, 73.5 — soil
of 65 — grapes in, 161.

Ginseng, 764, 955.

Glades, or glady places, 65, 875, 1045, 1142.

Glade Limestone, 36.

Glauconite, 43, 67, 1142.

(Henwood, 11.

Gneiss, definition of, 29.

Goats, 681.

Gold, 265.

Goose Creek, 950.

Gordon, Dr. W. n..47, 916.

Gordonsville, 921.

Gossan, 2t4, 245.

Gower's Island, 288.

(trainger county, general description of, 487.

Grainger, Mary, 487.

Gra|)cs, soils for, 6t) — vnrieties of, 157, 159, 162 —
lat(!, KiO— i)r<>ducts of, 164, 16(>— price of, 164,
167 — i>runing of, 159, 160 — training of, 158 — on
Highland Rim, 155 — on Cumberland Table
Land, 1()3 — in Central Basin, 161 — in East
Tennessee, 164 — in Carroll, 1035 — in Crockett,
1012— in Hamilton, 512— in iiincoln, 804— in
Knox, 165 — in Madison, 1136 — in Montgomery,
155— in Moore, 862 — in Morgan, 591— in Shel-
by, 11655

Grasses of Tennessee, 112— barren or prairie,
112-nimiilo will, 112 — white clover, 113— crab
grass, 113— mendow oat, 114 — herds-grass or
red to]), 114 — Hungarian grass, 115 — German
millet, 115 — Egyptian and Missouri millet, 115
—orchard, 115 — red clover, 116 — timothy, 117 —
blue, 117— lucerne or alfala, 118 — Italian rye.
119.

Grasses— SCO general descriptions of counties.

Index.

Grassy Cove, 665.

Grassy Viillev, 555.

Granville, Earl of, 93.

Granitic soils, 57.

Gray Knobs, 34.

Grazinsj lands, wild, 57, 748, 792.

Great Bald, 614.

Great Britain, consumption of iron in, 220.

Greasy Cove, 615.

Greene county, general descrirtion of, 497.

Greeneville, 500-

Green sand, 43, 1142— soil of, 67— analysis, 67 —
shells in, 1142— in Hardin, 1088.

Greenwood, 1012.

Growing season, length of, 18, 146.

Grundy county, general description of, 745 —
coal of, 191— soil of, see Cumberland Moun-
tain soil, 58.

Gum, 78.

Gypsum, 270.

Hackberry, 91.

Half Moon Island iron ore, 227.

Hambright Mine, (lead) 266.

Hamblen county, general description of, 500 —

geology of, 32.
Hamilton county, general description of, 504.
Hamlin, Dr. T. B., 175.

Hancock county, general description of, 528.
Hanging Rock, Ohio, cost of making iron at,

240.
Hardeman county, general description of, 1077.
Hardin county, general description of, 1085.
Harpeth Shoals, 228, 294, 295.
Harpeth Ridge, 671.

Harpeth River, 974, 671 — narrows of, 642, 705.
Harris Sulphur Spring, 647.
Hart^ville, 951.

Hatch ie River, 1097, 1126, 1181.
Hawkins county, general description of, 534 —

geology of, 35.
Hawkins county marble, 256, 257.
Haywood county, general description of, 1094.
Hay. 104.

Hayne, R. Y., 306.
Hazlo. 86.

Health of Tennesseee. 6, 25 — of East Tennes-
see, 431 ,457— in Middle Tennessee, 622 — in
West Tennessee, 1024, 1040, 1045, 1054, llg.
Heavy spar — see Barytes.
Heuryville, 783.

Henderson county, general description of, 1104.
Henry county, general description of,
Herds-grass, 114.
Hickman county, general description of, 751 —

soil. 60— society of, 758.
Hickory Valley, &5, 982.

Highland Rim, 622 — area, 3 — elevation, 3 — ge-
ology, 40— soils, 60— grasses on, 155.
Highland pasture, 60.
Hill's bank. 224.

Hillsboro, 657.

Hillham, 8(56.

Hind's Valley, 55.5.

Hiwassee River, 588.

Hogs in Tennessee, 129, 138.

Uolston Mountain, 544.

Holston River, 488.

Holston Valley, 611.

Hollow Rock, 264, 1038.

Holly, 91.

Homespun goods, see smaller industries and
manufactures, household.

Honey in Tennessee, 174— product, 174, 179. 182.

Honey-locust, 81.

Honey, nlaiits producing, 179.

Hood's x'iiicyard, 156.

Hooper's colli mine, 198.

Hornbeam, 91.

Horses, 123.

Horses, list of imported, 123.

Horses, blooded, breeders of, 679.

House Mountain, 37.

Houston county, general description of, 760.

Howard's Spring, 669,

Huckleberry, 60.

Hungarian grass, 115.

Humboldt, 1076— shipment of cotton from, 339

—vineyards around, 167.
Humphreys county, general description of, 766

-soil, 60.
Huntingdon and other towns, 1037,
Huntsville, 601.
Hurricane Springs, 732.
Hydraulic Rocks, 37, 261, 717, 975, 1088, 1092.

Ice-houses, 622— limit of, 16.

Immigrants, 385— German, 786— advice to, 385,
390— how received, 389— kind of wanted, 396—
laws affecting, 399.

Imported horses, 123.

Indian r'l.n, 95.

Indian summer, 7.

Insane, Tennessee Hospital for, 687.

Institutions of learning, 383.

Intelligence on the farm, 362.

Irish potatoes, 58, 842, 1121— on Cumberland
Table Land, 666.

Iron, statistics. 220— boiler, 238— consumption
of, 220— product in United States, 221— pro-
duet in Great Britain, 221— capacity of fur-
naces in United States, 221— product of Ten-
nessee, 225— belts the, 222— belt, eastern, 222
— furnaces in eastern belt, 225^ — Dyestone
belt, 221 — furnaces in Dyestone belt, 227— fur-
naces in East Tennessee, 234 — western belt,
the, 235 — furnaces in the western belt, 238 —
cost of making, 234, 2:39, 240,481, 797,1052—
advantages for making in Tennessee, — of
Tennessee and Pennsylvania compared, 241
— manufacture, 52 — furnace charge at Rock-
wood, 198- of Carter, 471— of Van Buren. 958
-ofWayne,978— of Decatur, 1052. 471— of Clai-
borne, 479--of Lawrence, 788— of Montgom-
ery, 853-of Stewart, 929— of Lewis, 796— of
Perry, 880— of Johnson, 545— of Blount, 461—
of Marion, 578— of Cofiee, 659— of Cumber-
land, 670— of Dickson, 705— of Hickman, 755.

Iron ore, belts of, 222— eastern belt, 222— Dye-
stone belt, 225 — western belt, 235— magnetic
(see magnetite) Dyestone, 38— Brown Hema-
tite (see Liwonite) Magnetite, 29, 229— Li-
monite, 223— Hematite, 225, 226— Claystone,
235— matrix of. 223— Hill's bank, 224— Crock-
ett & Sharpe's bank. 224— Tellieo, 225— Shot,
225— at Ducktown, 225— at Cumberland Gap,
227— of Half Moon Island, 227-of Cumber-
land Table Land. 2:35-cost of, 227. 234,239,
240, 241— in Middle Tennessee, 620— of Bom-
pass Cove, 615— of Henderson county, 455 — of
Hickman, 755— of Hamilton, 514.
Iron belts, timber in, 242.
Iron limestone, 35, 551.
Iron Mountain, 544.
Italian Bees, 175.
Italian rye-grass, 119.

Jacksboro, 469.

Jackson and other towns in Madison, H^I-

Jackson county, general description of, 774.

James county, general dcrcription of, 538 — ge-
ology of, 37 — soil, 58.

Jamestown, 714.

.Tasper, 577.

Jersey cattle, 132, 435, 558.

Jefferson county, general description of, 540 —
geology, 32.

.Johnson county, description of, 542.

Johnson county valley, 543.

Johnson City, 616.

Johnsonville, 767.

Jones, Gov. J. C, 309, 909.

Jonesboro, 615.

Kelly coal, 193.
Kerosene, see Oil.
Kingston, 600.
Kingston Springs, 647.

Index.

Kingsport. 610.

Knoljby Region, 551.

Knox county, general dercription of, 549.

Knox Group, see Knox Sandstone, Knox Shale
and Knox Dolomite.

Knox Dolomite, 26, 31— soil of, 32, 64— in .John-
sou, 545.

Kuox Sandstone, 30 — soil, 57.

Knox Shale, 31, o4o.

Knoxville, 562 -trade of, 563 — history, 560 —
geology, ;>4— dairies, 150— valley of, 556.

Knoxville Iron Company, 210.

Knoxville Car Company's Furnace, 234.

Knoxville and Charleston Railroad, 331.

Knoxville and Ohio Railroad, 326.

Labor, in East Tennessee, 356— considered, 361
— elFeets of home markets on, 367 — respecta-
bility of, 390— property affected by intelli-
gence of, 369 want of, remedied, 361.

Labor, price of, see county descriptions.

Lafayette. 808.

Lagrange Group, 44.

Lagrange Iron Works, 930.

Lake county, general description of, 1118.

Lakes in Haywood county, 1W18.

Lands, division of, effects of, 352.

Lands, price of (East Tennessee) in Anderson,
455— in Blount, 463 — in Bradley, 464 — in
Campbell, 468 — in Carter, 471 — in Claiborne.
476 — in Cocke, 485— in Greene, 500 — in Ham-
blen, 502 — in Hamilton, 515 — in Hancock, 533
in Hawkins, 537 — in Jefl'erson 542 — in Ma-
rion, 578 — in McMinn. 581 — in Meigs. 586 — in
Morgan. 590— in Polk, 594— in Rhea, 596— in
Roane, 599— in Scott, 602 — in Sevier, 605 — in
Sequatchie. 607 — in Sullivan, 611 — in Union,
613 — in Washington, 616.

Lands, price of (Middle Tennessee) in Bedford,
628 — in Cannon, 6.38— in Cheatham, 642 — in
Clay, 651— in Davidson, 677 — in Dickson, 704 —
in DeKalb. 710— in Fentress. 718— in Frank-
lin. 731— in (liles, 739— in Grundy, 746— in
Hickman. 753— in Houston, 763 — in Hum-
phreys. 768— in Jackson. 777 — in Lawrence, 786
in Lewis, 798 — in Lincoln. 801 — in Macon, 810
in Marshall, 821— in Maury. 834— in Mont-
gomery, 849— in Moore. 860— in Overton, 869
—in Perry, 879— in Putnam, 890- in Robert-
son, 894— in Rutherford. 908— in Smith. 916—
in Stewart, 924— in Sumner. 939. 942 — in Van
Buren, 958 — in Warren, 964 — in Wayne, 973—
in White. 984 -in Williamson, 997, 998, 999—
in Wilson, 1007.

Lands, price of (West Tennessee) in Benton,
1026-in Carroll, 1032— in Decatur, 1049— in
Dyer, 1*57- in Fayutte. 10t>5— in (iibson. 1073
—in Hardeman, lOSl— in ILirdin. 1090— in
Haywood, llOU— in Henderson, 1107— in Hen-
ry. llU-in Lake, 1121-in Lauderdale, 1128
— in Mailison. 1135 — in McXairy, 1144 — in
Obion. 11.j6— in Shelby, 117.3— in Tipton, 1182
—in Weakley, 1189.

Lands, rent of, see county descriptions.

Lands, price of, anomalous, 522, 640, 793, 949 —
afl'ected by railroads- 858.

Lands, affected by drou-ht. 66, 848, 962.

Lands for poor men, 916.

Lands, protected from fires, improved, 926.

Lands, improvement of, 9i):'.

Lands, cause of low price, oOS.

Lands, acres assessed. 409.

Landn, too much cultivated for the labor em-
ployed. :5<jl.

Lands, thin, first oecupied, 702.848.

Lands, waste, recl.-imation of, 1165.

Lauilerdale county, general description of,
1125.

Laurel, 91.

Laurel Hill, 707.

Laurel Creek Falls, 745.

Laurel Cove. 954.

Lawrence county, general description of. 779 —
soil, t)U.

Lawrenceburg, 781.

Lead ore, 266.

Lease of coal mines, 196.

Lebanon, 1012.

Lebanon Limestones or Group. 32, 33,35,36 —
soils of, 64, 1006— in AVilson, 1005.

Leslie. J. P., 216.

Lewis, Merriwether, monument, 791.

Lewis, G. T..238, 239.924.

Lewis county, general description of, 790— soil
of. 60.

Lewis and Maury counties compared, 793.

Liberty. 707.

•■Licks." 1113.

Lien law, 402.

Lignite, 272, 1162, 1180-Mistaken for coal. 273.

Lime manufiicture ■ 762.

Limestones .38 to 41 673.

Limestone hydraulic. 37, 261, 717 975, 1092.

Limonite 223 2:^8.

Lincoln county, general description of, 799—
soils of, same as in Giles — grapes of, 163.

Lincoln county whisky. 862.

Linden 875.

Linn 80.

Liquor trade of Nashville, 693— of Robertson
county 896.

Little Emory River 202.

Little Sequatchie Valley. 192.

Lithostrotion Canadense, 40.

Lithostrotion Limestone, see Coral Limestone,

Live stock, 122.

Living, price of. 482.

Livingston 866.

Locke -John 93.

Loess, see Bluff Loam.

Locust trees 81 801.

London Exhibition 137.

Lookout Mountain, 13, 586

Lookout Valley, 35.

Longevity in Southern States, 25.

Lone Mountain. 37 449 474— soil of. 57.

Lower Carboniferous, 66.

Lower Coal Measures, 192.

Lower Helderberg. 39. 1047, 1110— soil of, &5.

Loudon county, general description of, 575.

Loudon, 575.

Louisville. Nashville and Great Southern Rail-
road. Sil — shipments over, 336, 338.

Lucerne, 118.

Lumber, 75, 84, 88, 90, 677.

Lynchburg, 865,

Machinery, farming, 355.

Macon county, general description of, 808.

Madison county, general description of. 1132.

^Madisonville, 588 — geological location, 31.

Madrid Lend, 1118.

Magnesian Limestone — see Knox Dolomite.

Magnetite, 224.

Mammoth Siiring, 1113.

Manganese, black oxide of. 499, 268.

Manchester. 656

Manufactories — cfteets of on agriculture. 215 —
in Hamilton, 524— in Knox, 569— in Cheat-
ham. 643 — in Sullivan. 610— Humphreys, 769
—in Davidson, 700— in Marshall. 826— in Law-
rence, 789— in Moore, 862— in Overtm, 872— in
Warren, 968— in Wilson 1011— in ILmi y. 1116
— in Montgomery, 854— in Bedford, 632 — see
factories.

Maniit';icturing industries, 413.

Miinuf.ictures housciiold, ;i53, ^54. 653.669,712,
757, 812. 793, 827, 872, 944, 1109— influence of
culture of i)eanuts on, 877.

Map, character of, 27.

Map of Chattanooga and surroundings, 519.

Map of coal field, 181.

Map of Knoxville and surroundings, 560.

Map of Kingston and surroundings, 599.

Map of Jackson. 1136.

Mail of .Memphis, 1170.

Maple. 81.

Maple sugar, 812.

Index.

VII

Marion county, general description of, 577 —
coal of, 191. 193, 195.

Maryville, 460.

Marble, 3.5, 253, 2.59, .501— of Hawkins county,
53»)— in Franklin, 732— in Lawrence, 789— in
Lincoln, 800.

Markets home, importance of, 365.

^Marshall countv, g:enoral description of, 815.

Mary Sharp College, 733.

Mast, 793.

Maury county, general description of, 828 — soil
of, 65— progress of agriculture in, 831 — farm-
houses in, 839.

Maynardville, 613.

MeBridc's Springs, 959.

McEweii it Cii., coal mine, 210.

McEwen"s Si>rinL's, 1003.

McFarland, Major, 278, 280.

McMinnville. 969.

McMinnville and Manchester Railroad, 3:32.

McKenzie, 1037.

McMinn county, general description of, 479.

McNairy county, general description of, 1140.

Meadow lands in Bedford, 628.

Meadow oat grass, 114.

Mediterranean wheat. 97, 6.32.

Meigs county, general description of, 586.

Memphis. 1170— its growth, 1171— its trade, 1172
— manufactures, 1175.

Memphis, dairies around, 149.

Memphis and Charleston Railroad, 342,

Memphis and Paducali Railroad, 345.

Memphis and Knoxville Railroad. 346.

Memphis and Raleigh Railroad. 347.

Memphis and Little Rock Railroad. 1169.

Metamorphic rocks, 29 — gneiss of Johnson,
545 — of Polk and the copper region, 243, 59:i —
in Washington, 615— iron ore, (magnetite) in
this group, 224— millstones. 260.

Middle Tennessee, general description of, 619 —
area, population, 619 — iron ore in. 620 — as a
manufacturing region. 620 — productions, 620
— stock. 620— fences, 620 — farming and farm-
ers, 621 — ice houses, 622 — climate, 623 — min-
eral springs, 62:3— education, 623.

Middle Tennessee Farmer, 357.

Millstones, 260.

Millstone grit, 946.

Milk of dift'erent breeds of cattle, 1.50— value
of, 142 — dried. 143 — preparation for market,
145 — price of, 680.

Milk sickness, 724, 950.

Millet, 115, 998.

Millet seed, yield per iicre. 998.

Minerals — in Anderson, 4.55 — in Campbell, 469 —
in Claiborne. 479— in Cocke. 487— in Hamil-
ton, .514— in Hawkins. 5:>6— in Rhea, 596— in
Roane, 599— in Scott, 60o^in Sequatchie, 608
— in Union, 614— in Washington, 617— in
Clay, 654— in Cumberland, 669— in DeKalb,
713— in Fentress, 720— in Houston, 765— in
Humphreys, 769 — in Lawrence, 788— Macon,
813— in (Jvcrton, 873— in Perry, 880-in Put-
nam, 888— in Van Buren, 958— in White, 988—
in Decatur, 10.52— in Hardin, 1092— in West
Tennessee, 1022. See chapters on coal, iron,
copper and other minerals— part i., pp. 183
to 275.

Minerals— coal. 183— iron ores, 220— copperas,
243— golil. 2i>.5— lead ore, 266— zinc ores, 267—
black o.xidc of niangcnese, 268— iron pyrites,
268— copi)erns, 269— barytes, 270— gypsum, 270
— saltpetre, 271— petroleum, 271— epsom salts,
270— bluestone, 274— lignite, 272— alum, 274.

Mineral charcoal, 193.

Mineral Waters, 274. 455. 4.59, 462, 469. 471, 480,
494, .5:5t). .5.56, 590, .597. 603, 610. (il8. (i23, 647. (>il9,
675.714. 721. 731. 7-56. 814, a54. 874. 880, t889,
904, 9l('). 9Sil, 1003, 1002. 1113, 1167, 1187.

Mississippi and 'reiincsscc Railri)ad, .'^14.

Mississippi and New Orleans Railroad, 341—
connection and shipments over, 341, 342.

Mississippi Bluff, 11.51, 1125.

Mississippi Bottom. 471, 1016.

Missionary Ridge, .32, 507— grapes on, 164— ele-
vation of, 164.

Mobile and Ohio Railroad, .339.

Montgomery county, general description of,
84.5— elevation of, 846- soils of, 60— grapes in,
155.

Moore county, general description of, 859— soil,")
of, 60.

Montvale Springs, 462.

Monroe county, general description of, 588.

Monroe, 866.

Monument in Lawrence, 782 — in Lewis, 791.

Morgan county, general description, 590— coal
of, 215.

Morgan mines, 196.

Morris, R. C 314, 320.

Morristown, 501.

Mortgage laws, 399.

Mossy Creek, 541.

Mount Carmel, 10;50.

Mountain grass. 953.

Mountain limestone, 41— soil of, 67.

Mountain making formations, 30.

Mountain sides comparative fertility, 477, 448.

Mouse Creek, 580.

Mulberry, 82.

Mulbery Creek, in Lincoln, 801.

Mulberry Creek and Valley, in Hancock, 531.

Mules in Tennessee, 129.

Murfreesboro, 36, 902.

Muscle Shoals. 277— work on, 278 — cost of im-
provement, 280.

Napier's Furnace, 238, 797.

Narrows of Harpeth, 642, 705.

Nashville, 68.5— educational advantages, 687 —

trade, 691 — manufactures, 696 — newspapers,

699.
Nashville Limestone or Group, 32, 33, 35, 36 —

soil of, 65, 1006— section of at Nashville, 673

—in Wilson, 1005— hydraulic cement of 1068.
Nashville and Chattanooga Railroad, history

of, 306— trade of, 315— shipments, 317 to 319—

condition of, 320.
Nashville and Northwestern Railroad, history

of, 320, trade of 322— shipments, 323 to 325—

condition, 325.
Nashville, Chattanooga and St. Louis Rail-
road. 320.
Nashville, coal first used in, 299 — consumption

of coal in,_299.
Needmore^ 657.
Newberg, 798.
Newlee's Cave, 480.
Newman's Ridge, 37, 529.
New Market Valley, 32, 502, 541, 556.
NewMiddleton, 921.
New Providence, 856.

New York and East Tennessee Furnace, 234.
Newspapers, list of, 415.
Newport, 484.

Niagara Limestone, 38, 1047— soil of, 65.
Nicholson, Prof. H., on cattle, 137.
Nimble Will, 112.
Nitre— sec saltpetre.
Nolichucky River, 615.
North Forked Deer, 1095.
North Fork of Obion River, 1187.

Oak, 82. „ _,

Oakdale Coal Mines, 204— furnace, 229, 234.

Oats, 97.

Obey's River Valley, 648. 650.

Obion county, general description of, 1148—

soils. 63.
Ocoee (3 roup, 29— in Johnson, 545--roofing slate

in Sevier, 260— gold, 26.5— river, 243— valley,

.594.
Oil from cotton seed. 102, 1175— from black

shale, 714, 725— in Dickson, 271— springs in

Fentress, V21— well in Overton, 271, 874.
"Old fields," 784. 893.

\nn

Index.

Ooltawah. 538.

Orange Sand, 45.

Orchard grass; 115. ^_ , ..

Orchards ot Kast Tennessee; 436-on clay soils,
67— on siliceous soil, 60.

Osage orange, 1167. . , ... oca_

Overton county, general? description, Wo—
coal, 215 — soil, 67.

Overton, Dr. James, 307.

Owensboro and RussellviUe Railroad, 348.

Paradise Ridge, 671.

Paris and other towns in Henry, lHo.

Pasturage on Cumberland Table Land, bbD.

Payne, J. K, 11. ^^ . .. .

Peaches on siliceous soils ; 60— in Houston,
764.

Peach trees, longevity of on siliceous soils,
974.

Peanuts, first introduction of, 854.

Peanuts, 108.__754, 767, 877, 1050, 1091-V3. cloth
making, 757.

Penitentiary, 687.

People, occupation of, 407.

Peoples' College, 458. .

Perry county, general description of, 870.

Persimmon, 91.

Pennsylvanians in Dickson, <04.

Petroleum, 271— (see also oil).

Pierce Limestone, 36.

Pikeville, 475.

Pine ridge, 31.

Pines, 86.

Pinewood, 756.

Piney Mines, 196.

Piney Ridges. 57.

Pittsburgh, 229, 240.

Pittsburgh landing, 1088.

Plane Tree, 89.

Plants yielding honey, 179.

Plantation system, 350.

Plateau land of West Tennnessee, 1015.

Pocahontas, 657.

Point Burnside, 288. .

Polk county, general description of, 592.

Polls, 409.

Pomegranate!!. 1165.

Poor Valley. 556.

Poor Valley Ridge, 473.

Poplar, 87.

Poplar Creek Coal, 204.

Population, 405— by counties, 406.

Porter's Creek Group— see Flatwooda Forma-
tion.

Porter's vineyard, 157.

Port Royal, 847.

Post oak, 84.

Potatoes, Irish, 58, 107-8weet, 107.

Potash, 80, 86.

Potters' clay, 264.

Poultry trade in Knox, 563.

Powder mill, 643.

Powell's Mountain, 37— soil of, 57.

Powell's River, 32. 613.

Powell's Ridge, 529. .,,»..,

Powell's Valley, 35, 467, 474— soil of, 475— farm-
ing in, 478. , , .

Powell's Valley Mining and Manufacturing
Co., 214.

Prairie grass, 112.

Preservation of timber, 91.

President Island, 1169.

Prim's Spring, 756.

Professional men not wanted, 397.
Property, taxable, 409.

Profit of farming, 386, 1117.

Pulaski, 742.

Purdy and other towns in McNairy, 1147.

Putnam county, general description of. 883—
soil, lower carboniferous, 66.

Pyrites, 39, 192, 268-how to tell, 269.

Quinces, 620.

Kaccoon Mountain, 193, 507.

Raccoon Valley, 35.

Railroads as an agent of development, 305.

Railroads, Brownsville and Ohio, 346 — Cairo
and Tennessee, 347 — Cincinnati Southern,
347 — Cincinnati, Cumberland Gap and
Charleston, 326— Cumberland and Ohio, 348—
Duck River Valley, 348— Ducktown Narrow
Gauge, 349— East Tennessee, Virginia and
Georgia, 326— Knoxville and Charleston, 331
— Louisville, Nashville and Great Southern,
334— McMinnville and Manchester, 332— Mem-
phis and Charleston, 342— Memphis and Pa-
Qucah. 345 — Memphis and Knoxville, 346 —
Memphis and Raleigh. 347 — Mississippi and
Tennessee, 344 — Mississippi Central and New
Orleans, 341— Mobile and Ohio, .339— Nashville
and Chattanooga, 314 — Nashville and North-
western, 320 — Owensboro and Russelville, 348
— Rockwood Narrow Gauge, 349— Rogersville
and Jefferson, 326, 535— St. Louis and South-
eastern, 331— Tennessee Central. 347 — Tennes-
see and Pacific, 333— Tennessee Coal and Rail-
road Company, 331— Winchester and Ala-
bama, 333.

Railroads, effect of, 305— early history, 306, 312
—miles of in United States, 306— in Tennessee,
313— relation to population, 314— effects on
prices. 367 — value of, 396 — narrow gauge, 445
—in West Tennessee, 348.

Rails, chestnut, 705— cedar, 632, 818, 819.

Rain, 18— fall of in difiTerent zones, 18— fall of
in Tennessee, 18 — maximum and minimum,
18— periodic fall of, 20.

Ramie plant, 1067.

Ranches, 982.

Range for stock, mountain, 985.

Records, curious, 917.

Red Boiling Springs, 814.

Red clay soils easily reclaimed, 963 — see clay,
red.

Red clover, 116.

Red flowering maple, 82.

Red knobs. ;34, 551.

Red oak, 84.

Red River, 847.

Red Shale, 37.

Red top— see herds-grass.

Redemption laws, 400.

Reedy Creek Valley, 611.

Reelfoot Lake, 1118, 1154.

Renfroe, .Moses, 845.

Rents— see county descriptions.

Rhea county, general description of, 595.

Rhea Iron Company, 235.

Rhea Springs, 597.

Richland Creek, coal on, 196.

Ridge, the, 937.

Ridges, Piney, 57.

Ridley Limestone, 36.

Ripley and other towns in Lauderdale, 1131.

Ripley Formation, 44— soils of, 62— strata of,
1078.

Boads in East Tennessee, 356— in Middle Ten-
nessee, 357.

Roane county, general description of, 597.

Roaring River, 872.

Robert Donnell Institute, 733.

Robertson county, general description of, 880 —
whiskey business of, 895, 898— soil of, Lower
Carboniferous, 66.

Rocks of economical use, marble, 253 — roofing
slates, 260— millstones, 260— hydraulic, 261 —
limestones, 262— sandstones, 228, 264— clays,
2(54-5.
Rocks, use of, 52. . ^^^„ ,

Rockwood, 23.1, ,598, 668— coal mines, 1973— fur-
nace, 229— charge of furnace, 198— narrow
gauge railroad. 349.
Rocky River Valley, 9,54.
Rogersville, .31, 35. .5:56. .

Rogorsvillo and .lefforson Railroad, 326, 535.

Roofing slates, 29. 260.

Roper's Knob, 1003.

Kosebury's Ridge, 31.

Index.

Ross' towhead, 283.

Rotation of crops, 1112. ,

Rotten limestone, 42, 43— soil of, 67— seo also

green sand.
Rough and Ready Furnace, 238, 931.
Rutherford county, general description of, 900

— soil, Lebanon and Nashville, 64,165.

Sale Creek Coal Mines, 196.
Salem, 733.
Saline Creek, 925.
Salt Common, 271.
Saltpetre, 271.

Salt Wells, 204, 271, 455, 989.
Sandstone, Soils of, 57.
Sandy Soils, 61.
Sassafras, 88, in Obion 1160.
Savannah, 1093.
■ Savannah Valley, 35.
Scarlet Oak. a5.
Schools, public system, 370— synopsis of school

laws, 371— fund. 374— tax levied by counties.

378— effects of civil rights bill, 377— common,

See general description of counties.
Schools, Public of Kashville, 687— of Memphis,

1177.
Scholastic population. .380.
Scenery in Grainger, 490— Carter, 472 — Johnson,

543— Bedford, 62.5— Cannon, 639.
Scott cnunty, general description of 601 — coal

of. 215.
Seuppernong Grape, 166 — wine, 166.
Sequatchie College. 460.

Sequatchie county, general descriptiou'of 606.
Sequatchie River, 578. 608, 669.
Sequatchie Valley, 35, 187, 459. 678, 633— iron of

226.
Severin — essay on management of grapes, 168.
Sevier county, general description, 603.
Sevierville. 604.
Sewanee, 7oO.

Sewanee Blast Furnace, 190.
Sewanee Mines. 190— force employed at, 191 —

product of, 191.
Sewanee section of Coal Measures, 188.
Shady, 544, 54S — cranberries in, 548.
Shale, red, .37.
Shale, black, 68.
Shalysoil.68.
Sharp's bank, 224.
Sheep, destruction of by dogs, 364— dogs remedy

for, 836 — value of, 496, 135. See also, county

descriptions.
Shelby county, general description of 1160.
Shelbyville. 6:i4.
Shingles. 87.
Shoal Creek, 780.
Sho.al Creek Coal Mines, 195.
Shoals of Cumberland River. 289 to 295— of

Tennessee River, 280— Colbert. 278— ElkRiver,

278— Ross towhead. 283— Tumbling, 283— Suck

Pot and Skillet. 283— Harpeth. 288. 294,29.5—

other shoals, 290 to 297— Little Jump, 300—

Smith's. 300.
Shore line, old, 1087. 1046.
Short-horn cattle. 130, 132, 134, 435, 680, 630.
Short Mountain. 970.
Siliceous group. 40 — soils, 60.
Siliceous soils. 60 — abandoned farms on 60.
Silver Maple, 82.

Sink-holes. 41, 66. 848. 869,884. 952.
Skinfodt. 492.

Slate, talc'ose and mica, 29— roofing, 29.
Slippery Elm, 77.
Smaller industries, .353, 4.^3, 564. 6.^3. 64.5, 6.53,

712.719. 7.57. 812, 872. 880. 887, 893. 9.50. 9.55, 1009.
Smith county, general description of, 915.
Smith's Fork Valley, 708.
Soil of Centrnl Basin and Highlands.
Smith villo, 707.
Sneedville, 530— valley of 530.
Snow, 18 — quantity of 22.
Society, state of, 391.
Boddy Creek Coal Mines, 195.

Soil of vineyards, 156, 158, 161, 164.

Soils, influence on nations, 54 — classification of,
56 — granite and semi-granite, 57 — sandstone,
57 — siliceous, 60^flinty, 60 — sandy, 61 — cal-
careo-siliceous, 63 — calcareous, 64— products,
63 — exhaustion of by improper tillage, 834 —
thin first settled, 702 — modification of 69.

Soils— of Colfee land, 62— of Ripley group. 62 —
of Flat woods, 62 — of Lagrange group, 62 — of
Orange sand, 62 — of Green sand. 67 — of Allu-
vium, 68, 69 — of Bluif Loam or loess, 63.

Soils— of Cumberland Mountain, 58. .59, 663—
of AVest Tennessee, 62, 63. 1017— of East Ten-
nessee. 56, 64. 57, 58— of the " Barrens," 60,
61— of Western Valley, 6.5-7of Highland Rim,
66, 67-— of the Central Basin, 66.

Soils — for more details as to yield, etc., seo all
countv descriptions.

South Fork of Cumberland, 292.

Somerville and other towns in Fayette county,
1063.

South Fork of Obion, 1187.

South Harpeth. 996.

South Western University, 855.

Sparta. 980.

Springfield, 898.

Stanley k Richards vineyard, 164.

States, comparison of, 392. 393, 394.

Statistics, agricultural, 408, 411, 418 to 421. See
general description of counties.

Staves. 83 — shipment of, 933.

Steamboats, 285.

St. Cecilia Academy. 690.

St. Francis bottom, 1169.

St. Louis and Soutli Eastern Railroad, 331.—
shipments over 331.

Stevenson, V. K., 308.

Stewart county, general description of 922 —
soils of, 60.

Stewart. Wm. M., 11. 14. 20.

Stiner Belt (zinc ore), 267.

Stock, of West Tennessee, 1018— of East Ten-
nessee V.alley, 128, 1.31, 435— of Middle Ten-
nessee, 124. 126. 132, 135, 620— in Davidson,
137, 678— in DeKalb, 711— Maury. 836. See all
county descriptions for stock items.

Stock versus cotton, 6.36.

Stone Fort in Coffee courrty, 660.

Stone Mountain, .37.

Stone Mountain Range, .544.

Stones River and tributaties, 677.

Stones River Utility Works, 903.

Stone-ware, 988.

Stoney Creek Valley. ,544.

Strawberries, yield of, 167.

Strawberry Plains, 34.

Strips. 98.

Sugar Maple, 81.

Sullivan county, general description of, 608.

Sulphate of Cojiper. See bluestone.

Sulphur Fork, 847, 891.

Sulphur Sprinss. See Mineral waters. Sul-
phur well, 1113.

Sumac. 705.

Sumraitville, 6.57.

Sumner county, general description of 937 —
soils of Lebanon, Nashville and lower car-
boniferous, 64 and 66.

Swcedish and Tennessee iron compared, 238.

Sweetwater, 5S9.

Sweet Gum, 78.

Sweetwater Valley. 575.

Swine, 138. Sec county descriptions.

Swiss Colony, 747.

Swiss, culture of grapes, 164.

Scyamore. 89.

Sycamore Creek. 642.

Sycamore Manufacturing Company, 643.

Sycamore Valley, 531.

Tanbark, 85, 723.

Tax, effects of an unsufiBcient, 979.

Taxable property, 409.

Taxation, 393— exemptions from, 394.

Index.

Tanneries, 770, 968, 977, 1093.

Tannin, 85.

Taylorsville, 549— valley of 543.

Tazwell. 481— valley of 531.

Tellico Mountain, 214— section of, 214.

Tellico River, 589.

Tellico iron ore, 225.

Temperature, 7 — compared with European, 8—
comparative of, in different divisions, 11 — ex-
tremes of, 14.

Temple, Judge, 444— vineyard of, 165.

Tennessee, area of. 1— latitude, boundaries —
natural divisions of, 2— elevation of, 2—
— civil divisions of, 5 — counties of, 5 —
climate of. 6— formations of. 26 — soils of,
54 — timber, 71 — farm products 93— grasses
of, 112— live stock of. 122-dairy in. 140
— grape growing in, 154 — honey, resources
of, 174— coal of, 183— iron ore of, 220 — copper
of, 243 — economical rocks and minerals. 253 —
transportation by rivers in, 276— transporta-
tion by railroads in. 305 — condition of agri-
culture in, 350— public school system of, 370 —
advantages it offers to immigrants, 386 — sta-
tistics of, 405 — railroads, value of, 396 — tax-
able property in. 409 — true value of property
in. 395— occupation of people in, 407 — manu-
facturing industries of. 413 — financial condi-
tion of, 396, 414 — new.'^papers and periodicals
iui 415 — county statistics. 418, ci saqvenn.

Tennessee and Vermont compared, 148 — ^rank
of, 414 — greatest want of, 398 — homes of work-
ing men. 398.

Tennessee coal product, 218— iron product, 221
— copper product, 249.

Tennessee Agricultural College, 569.

Tennessee Central Railroad, 847.

Tennessee county, old, 846.

Tennessee and Pacific Railroad, 333 — .ship-
ments over, 334.

Tennessee Coal and Railroad Company's rail-
road, 331, 749.

Tennessee and Swedish iron, 238.

Tennessee Ridge of Middle Tennessee, 761, 923
— orchards on, 764— of West Tennessee, 62,
1015. 1110, 1141.

Tennessee River, 277, 552 — shonls of, 280 — im-
provement. 286 — appropriations for, 284 —
trade of, 285.

Terraces in topography of the Mountain Lime-
stone, 8(i7. 980.

Timber, 71— of Unaka!<, 58 — on siliceous soil, 60
— on Lower Carboniferous, 67 — extent of, 71
preservation of. 91 — of AV'cst Tennessee, 1018
— timber of Dyer, 1056— of Obion, 1154 — in
Middle Tennessee, 620, 626 — see county de-
scriptions.

Timber in United States, 71.

Timotliy, 117.

'i'ilUon county, general description of, 1179.

Tipton viile and otlier towns. 1124.

Tobacco, 98, 850— counties, 98— lands, 66. a51,
926— tax, 99, 100, 874— trade, 692— manufac-
ture, 641— factories, 1030— shipments of, .8.55,
916 — see railroad shipments— in Anderson
county, 452 — in Clay, 852 — in Coffee, (ill] — in
Cheatham, 98 — in Delvalb, 711— in Jack.^on,
777— in Macon, 811— in Montgomery, 8,50, 855
in Overton, 870 — in rutniuu, 7S — in Rolioit-
8on, 893— in >Smith, 716— in Sti^wart. 926— in
Sumner, 940 — in Trousdale, 949— in Van Lu-
re n, 9.5(>— in Wilson, l(H)S— ill Obion, 98— in
Dyer, 98— in TIcnry, llll— in Rcnton, 98, 1027
— Tfuality of, in KastTennessco, 99— in Clarks-
ville ])istrict, 98, 8.50 — on ui)per Cumberland,
98— in West Tennessee, 98.

Toof, John ,^., letter from. 1172.

Topography of State, 2— of counties, see gen-
eral dc'-i-riptions.

Town Creek Mills, 729.

Tracy City. 748.

Traders not wanted, .397.

Transportation— SCO rivers and railroad.s, 276,
305.

Transportation in AVest Tennessee, 1020 to 1022.

Travisville, 715.

Trenton and other towns in Gibson, 1077.

Trenton Limestone — see Lebanon Limstone.

Trilobites, 31.

Trousdale county, general description of, 94&

— soil, Lebanon and Nashville, 64.
Troy and other towns in Obion, 1158.
Truck farming, 1166.
Tullnhoma, 656.
Tupelo, 89.

Unaka Furnace, 234.

Unaka Mountains, 2, 4— temperature of, 14—

geology of, 29, 30— elevation of, 71— "Bald,s"

of, 57, 615— Balsam firs of, 78.
Union, 609.
Union City, 1159.

Union county, general description of, 612.
United States, production and consumption of

iron in, 220.
University, Cumberland, 1011.
University, East Tennessee, 569.
University, Fisk, 690.
University of Na.>^hville, 689.
University of the South, 729— elevation of, 726.
University, South-western, 855.
University, the Baptist, 1138.
University, Vanderbilt, 690.

Van Buren county, general description of, 951.

Vance, C. F., vineyard, 165.

Vanderbilt University, 690.

Vines, training of, 165.

Vineyards, 155, 161, 167, 748— products, 156, 157,
163— soils of, 156, 158, 161. 164— management
of, 168 — insects injurious. to, 171 — cost of, 172 —
profits of, 173.

Vermont and Tennessee compared, 148.

Voters, number of, 409, 410.

Vulcan coal mines, 195.

Wages, 398 — see county descriptions.

AVahoo, 77.

AValden's Ridge, 186, 202, 206, 474, 507— coal of,
194, 204, 205, 206— iron ore of, 52, 227— grapes
on, 165 — elevation of, 165, 186.

Wallin's Ridge, 32, 474, 529.

AValker wheat, 632.

AValnut, 73, 89.

AVarren county, general description of, 960 — soil
of, 67.

AA^artlmrg, 592.

AVanl's seminary, 690.

AVasliiiif;ton,597.

AVashin,t;t(in county, general description of, 614.

AVataura River, 546— first settlements on, 424.

AVatcr a>ii. 73.

AVatcMiiicloiis, 65, 678.

AVatt'i-powcr — see all county descriptions, es-
pecially Coffee, AVarren. DeKalb, Polk, Cheat-
ham, Cumberland. AVhite, Lawrence. Can-
non, Betlfonl, Montgomery, Robertson, Car-
ter, Knox, Cocke. .lohnson. AVashin.iiton, Se-
vier, Henry, Franklin, Perry, Hickman,
Dickson.

AVaters. mineral — sec mineral waters.

AVaverly 7(57.

AVayland'.- Springs. 783.

AV'ayne county, general descri])tion of, 971 — soil
of, 60.

AVayiie Furnace. 238, 976.

AVaynesboro. 977.

A\'eakUy county, general description of, 1185.

AVear's (!ove, (i04

AVclib's l;i(lge,31.

AV(H(ling's Creek. 206.

Wells' Creek Basin, 33 to 36, 761.

AVclIs in green sand . 1142.

AVestern Iron Bell, 222 to 3.35.

AVc.st<.rn Valley, 3. 1015— soil of, 65.

West 'rennessec, boundaries of, 5— climate of,
12— general description of, 1014— area, popu-
Jatitn, Ull4-Mi^.'•ii^^il;]d bottom, 1016— Ten-

Index.

nessee Ridge, 1015— plateau land, 1015— soils
of, 1017 — climate of, 1016— timber, farm pro-
duets and live ;tock of, 1018 — grasses of, 1019
— vineyards in, 165 — farmers of, 359 — war, ef-
fects on farming in, 1019 — minerals, 1022 —
transportation in, 1020 to 1022.

West Tennessee, slope of— area, 4 — elevation,
4.

West, the Great, delusions of, 863.

Wheat, 96.

Wheeler's Station, 212.

Whiskey, Lincoln, 862— Robertson, 895 to 898.

White ash, 72.

White county, general description of, 979 — soil
of, 67 — coal of, 215.

White Cliff Springs, 590.

White clover, 113,

White elm. 77.

White maple, 82.

White oak, 82.

White Oak, Mountain, 39, 507— soil of, 58.

White Oak Mountain sandstone, 37— soil of, 55

White pine, 87.

White Top, 105.

White Top Mountain, 544.

White's Creek, coal of, 196.

White walnut,

Wilcox Coal Mines, 199— section of. 199.

Wilder, J. T., letter of, on coal and iron, 230.

Wild goose plum, 683.

Williamson county, general description of, 990.

AVillis corn, 95.

Will's Valley, 509.

Willow, 91.

Wilson county, general description of, 1004.

Winchester, 733.

Winchester Sulphur Springs, 731.

Winchester and Alabama Railroad, 333.

Winds, 33.

Wine, grape, 156, 157— price of, 166— wine m

Giles, 161, 741. See grapes.
Wine, blackberry, 765.
Winter's Gap, 204.
Witch elm, 77.

Wolf River, 1064— forks of. 716.
Woodbury, 639.

Woods, burning of, 91,242, 709j_792.
Wool at London exhibition, 137.
Working men. home of, 398.
Worley Furnace, 238.
Wormley, Professor T. G., 203.

Yellow Creek, 848.
Yellow locust, 81.
Yellow pine, 86.
Yellow wood, 91.

Zinc ores, 267, 541.

' (^

> 1' .''•■,'■.

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Full text of "First and second reports of the Bureau of agriculture for the state of Tennessee. Introduction to the resources of Tennessee"

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