Rensselaer Republican, Volume 12, Number 18, Rensselaer, Jasper County, 16 January 1880 — Resources of Jasper County. [ARTICLE]

Resources of Jasper County.

BY. TUB COUNTY SURVEYOR. The iron ore district of Jasper county, according to geological reports, comprise an area of G,OOO acres, taking in a part of Union, Walker, Keener, and a large share of Wbeatfield townships. The ore is found a few inches below the surface in the marshes and is from a few inches to over two feet in thickness. Taking one foot as. the average thickness of ore we have au iron ore deposit of over thirty million tons. This is sufficient to keep a thousand workmen and a score of furnaces busy for many years. The country from the extreme northern part of the county to the extreme southern part (38 miles), is admirably adapted for the easy and cheap construction of a railroad, while Benton county affords equal facilities; hence a railroad could be constructed from the iron ore beds of Jasper county to the coal regions along the Wabash, as cheaply as any road of the same length in the State, and by crossing the Kankakee river a short distance would intersect one or more of the leading roads to Chicago. Such a railroad would develop a mining industry that would be profitable to the read .and of inestimable value to our co unty. .A boat 3 miles north of Rensselaer is a gravel bar.k which contains an inexhaustable supply of excellent gravel suitable for wagon roada ard streets. This bank of gravel extends northward for four or five miles and then in broken patches or small ridges for several miles fu»tber to the northeast.

A good gravel road could be cor>s'.racted from Rensselaer twelve or fifteen miles north with as little expense as any of the same length in the State. Such a road would be a great benefit to our county and especially our county seat and vicinity, and a few spells of impassable roads like last week a good gravel road would be a necessity. But drainage is the one thing noedful to our county and there is not a spot so low but what it can be drained. It is only a question of time and we’li see the last acre of swamp land transformed to excellent farm land. This is not only possible bnt with a large part of our wet lands is quite practicable. I have not run up-the Iroquois or Pinkamink with a level, but from some branch ditches which I have leveled there is from the head of the Pinkamink in the eastern part of Walker township to Rensselaer an average fall of one fooland three inches per mile. Now we should begin at Rensselaer by opening tha rapids two or three feet deep, remove the dam, straighten the channel a little and in a* dry time scrape out the shallow places and about one half of the work will be done. Some have agitated the question of cutting a new channel from where the railroad now crosses the river to Make-himselt non, which I think would not bo of any practical advantage. The question arises how can we obtain the benefit of the fall now used by Messrs. Hopkins* to run their mill. I wonld say pay them lor it ns we have to pay for all the real blessings of life. I understand that Mr. Hopkins will sell his water privileges quite reasonable now in order to avoid litigation, which i» an expensive and troublesome business even to the successful parties. I will make a more careful exan>ination in regard to the facilities for improvement of our county and 1 will give the public the benefit of my work through the columns of the Republican if you will be kind enough to give me the room.