U.S. Data Repository -- USGenNet Inc. -- Please read the U.S. Data Repository Copyright Statement on the following page: History and Progress of the County of Marion, West Virginia by George A. Dunnington, Publisher 1880 CHAPTER XX, THE RESOURCES OF THE COUNTY-- THE POLITICAL COMPLEXION-- CONCLUSION. MARION county is about forty-miles long, with a mean width of fifteen miles. It is watered by the upper Monongahela, the West Fork and Valley rivers and their branches. At the time of its organization, in 1842, it contained between six and seven thousand inhabitants, and at present the population will probably reach seventeen thousand. The surface pf the county is hilly and well timbered; much of the soil is fertile, producing wheat, corn, oats, rye, flax and potatoes and beans--and, in fact, almost all kinds of vegetables and grain, while its adaptation to grazing is unexcelled. No better grass growing land can be found anywhere. The finest grass for grazing purposes may be grown upon its highest hills--some of which rise over 1,000 feet above the meadow lands of the valleys. The soil is generally of a rich loamy clay and will produce all the staples common to the Middle States of the Union. There is but little land in the county too rough for cultivation. Such of it as cannot be used for the production of grass, wheat, corn, oats, etc., can be profitably turned into vineyards and orchards. The county is abundantly watered, thus affording an ample supply of pure water for all kinds of live stock. The earth is stored with iron ore, fine stone of various kinds, glass sand of a superior quality, and with coal of different kinds, and of the very best quality. Excellent potter's clay is also found in many sections of the county. Marion lies within the boundaries of the great Monongahela Valley coal fields. In some places in the county the veins of coal are from ten to twelve feet in thickness, below which, and separated chiefly by a heavy bed of sand stone, there lies a thinner stratum of a more highly bituminous character. Prof. Rogers, in speaking of these coal fields says: "We may form some idea of the vast extent of these coal seams from the fact that from some distance above Clarksburg [the southern borders of Marion county] they may be followed with scarcely any interruptions throughout the whole length of the Valley of the Monongahela down to Piggsburgh." In the fall of 1875, Captain T. P. Roberts was employed by the Government to survey the river from Morgantown to Fairmont. Upon his arrival at the latter place the citizens tendered to him and his men a reception at the Continental Hotel. Being called upon there for an expression of his views, he made some remarks, from which the following extracts are taken: "The improvement of our navigable rivers is a subject worthy of very careful consideration, and I am glad that I have the opportunity to express to you, gentlemen, the warm sympathy I have, as an American citizen, for this present proposed undertaking, namely, the improvement of the Upper Monongahela from Morgantown to Fairmont by means of locks and dams. "About thirty-five years ago my father, W. Milnor Roberts, superintended the improvement of the Monongahela from Pittsburgh to Brownsville, as the company's chief engineer. I recollect hearing him say that upon the occasion of the opening of the slack- water navigation, he prophesied that before thirty years would pass by, the demand for coal in the southern cities along the Ohio and Mississippi to the Gulf would be so great that at least fifteen million bushels of it would be shipped annually from the ports above Pittsburgh. His prophecy was ridiculed by some; but the facts showed that instead of fifteen million bushels being shipped from the Monongahela Valley, in 1870 the quantity was nearly ninety million bushels. "Gentlemen, I propose to follow in my father's footsteps, and attempt a prophecy also, and it is not so hard now in the light of experience, which is this: That in less than twenty years the shipment of coal from the Monongahela Vallev will exceed three hundred and fifty million bushels per annum. Already there are engaged in the trade one hundred and twenty-five staunch steam tow-boats, and three thousand barges and boats, forming an aggregate of one million three hundred thousand tonnage, owned in Pittsburgh; a tonnage greater than all the rest afloat in the Mississippi Valley from the Gulf to the lakes, greater than the combined tonnage of New York and Boston, our great maritime centers." After stating other important facts. he proceeds to say: "As you West Virginians mine coal for about one-half of what is paid in Pennsylvania, I am firmly persuaded that it would pay to extend the, slack-water up to the eleven-foot vein between Morgantown and Fairmont. At least I shall certainly, in my report to Colonel Merrill, of the United States Engineer Corps, urge the extension of the slack- water to Fairmont. It is only here, in my opinion, that it should terminate. Here, properly speaking, is the head of navigation of the Ohio river. Here there is an outlet to the seaboard over the grand-trunk line, the Baltimore and Ohio Railroad." An important branch of industry carried on in Marion county is the raising of live stock-horses, cattle, sheep and mules, and selling of the same. It has become quite a business as well as an extensive source of revenue. Taking into consideration the wonderful adaptation of the soil for grass, it would not be surprising that the future attention of the farmer is chiefly turned to raising horses cattle and sheep. Since corn is a more sure crop than wheat in nearly every part of West Virginia, it is thought that our farmers will speedily see the importance of using more of their lands for its production. Corn fed into hogs would yield a much larger profit than wheat. Fruit growing is rapidly becoming a source of profit. Apples and grapes are each year becoming more and more an object of consideration. Much of the upland, is unsuited to the production of grain is admirably adapted to the planting of orchards and vineyards. At the Centennial Exhibition at Philadelphia, in 1876, Marion county resources were well represented in the way of exhibits. The following report is from the catalogue of West Virginia exhibits MARION COUNTY. Bituminous coal, from the "Pittsburgh Seam," as worked by the Gaston Mine, at Fairmont. Seam is eight to nine feat thick. The coal is especially adapted to gas. Coke, . . . . . . . 67.5 Volatile matter . . . . . . 32.5 ----- 100.0 Ash in coal . . . . . . 2.1 Sulphur in coal . . . . . . 0.95 Sulphur in coke . . . . . . 0.69 Sulphur in volatile matter . . . . 0.27 Two thousand two hundred and forty pounds of coal has a maximum production of 11,043.2 cubic feet of sixteen candle power. Bituminous coal from the "Redstone" seam, which in Marion county lies fifty to eighty feet above the "Pittsburgh," on the land of R. S. Radcliffe. The thickness at the place whence the specimen was taken is six feet four inches. Water . . . . . . . 1.000 Volatile combustible material . . . 40,967 Fixed carbon . . . . . . 50.327 Ash . . . . . . . . 7.797 ------- 100.000 Sulphur in coal . . . . 4.263 per cent. Sulphur in coke . . . . 2.865 per cent. 346. Carbonate of iron, from 18-inch seam, l½ miles from Baltimore and Ohio Railroad; and 2½ miles from Nuzum's Mill, on the land of A. E. Garloe. 349. Limestone, from a heavy stratum on the land of R. S. Radcliffe. 351. Fire-clay, from Glade Fire Brick Cornpany. Nuzum's Mills. Seam 4½, great heat is required. Capacity of the works, 4,000 bricks per day. This clay is superior to that from Mount Savage, as it contains no trace of oxide of iron (the greatest enemy to a refractory nature in fire-clay), while Mount Savage has 1.5 per cent. (C. E. Dwight, chemist.) Hygroscophic water . . . . . 0.70 Combined water and organic matter . . . 8.35 Silica . . . . . . . 45.86 Alumina . . . . . . . 44.23 Lime . . . . . . . 0.24 Magnesia . . . . . . . 0.36 Oxide magnese . . . . . . trace. Oxide of iron . . . . . . none. Potash and soda . . . . . . trace. Loss . . . . . . . 0.26 ------ 100.00 352. Potters' clay, used at Palatine. From land of R. M. Hill. 353. Yellow corn. ) R. E. Fleming 354. Wheat. ) R. E. Fleming 355. Pupils' work. Fairmont - Normal School. 356. Pupils' work. Public School, Fairmont. Taking into consideration all the resources of Marion, and the advantage it holds out to new-comers it is safe to say that the future of the county is a bright one. There are few counties in the State of West Virginia, in whose hills are stored more wealth, and which possess greater advantages or offer better inducements to immigrants, than Marion. At present the political complexion of Marion county is Democratic by a shall majority--the voting population being slightly over three thousand. In some parts of the county the Greenback party polls a considerable vote. There is but little feeling of animosity existing between the different factions--the voters generally casting their votes for their favorites without respect to party. From the fact that the lines are not drawn closely, several Republicans hold office in the county, notwithstanding the Democratic majority. Among those who have represented the county in the Legislature, and who did good service while there, are David Cunningham, Richard Thomas, Benjamin Fleming, F. H. Pierpoint, Z. Kidwell, William T. Willey, U. N. Arnett, sr., Charles Wells, A. W. Knotts, Robert Lowe, A. B. Fleming, W. B. Ice, Alf. Prichard, John S. Barns, Jesse Flowers, John Righter, and many others. Much of the political history of the county will be found in the biographical sketches which follow this chapter. The tunes for holding courts in the county are as follows: Circuit Court, Judge Fleming, April 18th and October 28th; Clarence L. Smith, Clerk. County Court, Colonel Austin Merrill, President, second Tuesdays in January, March, May, July, September and November; John B. Crane, Clerk; H. Manley, Sheriff.