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PREHISTORIC WORKINGS. Evidences of the early working of mines in this mountain region are so frequent and unmistakable as to leave no doubt that in several places mining was carried on at least three hundred years ago. But by whom is the problem.

The Andrews Sun of January 4, 1912, having stated that Tristan de Velazquez carried on mining in Cherokee county, the matter was submitted to the Librarian of Congress with the following result:

NOT TRISTAN DR VELASQUEZ. "We have been unable to find any mention of Tristan de Velazquez in the histories of early Spanish explorations in the southeastern states. It seems probable that the article quoted has confused the names of Don Luis de Velasco and Don Tristan de Luna y Arellano. Velasco, as viceroy of New Spain, sent out an expedition in 1559 under command of Luna y Arellano to establish a colony in Florida. One of the latter's lieutenants appears to have led an expedition into northeastern Alabama in 1560. According to Charles C. Jones, in his 'Hernando de Soto, 1880, Luna's expedition penetrated into the Valley river valley in Georgia and there mined for gold, but this statement is questioned by Woodbury Lowery in his 'Spanish settlements within the present limits of the United States,' New York, 1901, p. 367. There appears to be no authority for the statement that this expedition entered the present limits of North Carolina. A Spanish account of this expedition will be found in Garcilasco de la Vega's 'La Florida del Inca,' Lisbon, 1605."[1]

A brief history of early gold mining in the Southern states may be found in George F. Becker's "Gold fields of the Southern Appalachians," in 16th annual report of the United States Geological Survey, 1894-95. Some historical notes of interest are given in Nitze and Wilkins' "Gold Mining in North Carolina," Raleigh, 1897. (North Carolina Geological Survey Bullelin, No.10.)[2]

"THE SPECIMEN" STATE. There are a great many kinds of minerals in North Carolina, especially in the mountain region. But, with few exceptions, the veins or deposits are in small quantities-so small in fact as to have given the State the title of the "Specimen State." Iron, copper, mica, talc, kaolin, barytes, corundum, garnet, and lime, however, have been found in paying quantities.

ANCIENT DIGGINGS. In his "Speeches and Writings" (p.130) Gen. Clingman gives an account of his work at the Sink Hole mines in Mitchell county in 1867. He thought there was silver ore there and exhibited some of it to several western miners in New York City, who declared it would assay three hundred dollars to a ton; but it produced only about three dollars. Gen. Clingman, however, had caused a shaft to be sunk and two tunnels to be carried entirely below the old excavations, but found nothing but raica. In the same chapter he speaks of a tradition among the Indians that long ago white men came on mules from the South during the summer and carried off a white metal with them, and thinks the remains of old works in Cherokee give countenance to the report.

SINK HOLE MINES. These are about seven miles southwest from Bakersville and two miles from Galax. From present appearances it would seem that a large number of men had been at work there for years. The mines are on a ridge in front of D. Pinkney Chandler's home, and are from sixty to eighty feet in diameter at the top. They extend along ridge for one-third of a mile. They seem to have been a series of concentric holes, all of which have long since filled up from the debris which had been removed from them. But, standing with their roots on some of this waste originally taken from these holes are several large trees nearly three feet in diameter. "Timber," says Gen. Clingman, "which I examined, that had grown on the earth thrown out, had been growing as long as three hundred years." He speaks also of "a slab of stone near one of these workings that had evidently been marked by blows of a metalic tool." But Mr. Chandler, who has lived there and worked in the mines, thinks the miners carried the waste from these holes on their heads or shoulders, and dug downward only so long as the inclined, cone-like sides would bear a narrow, spiral track used to remove the earth. The walls are not perpendicular, but sloping making a hole in the shape of an inverted cone. The marks of tools are still visible on these sloping sides when the dirt that has fallen back is thrown out; for this earth that once had been removed is still loose, and one can tell the moment he gets outside the original excavation by the increased hardness of the ground. Stone tools five or six inches in length flattened, and two or three inches broad are still there, and some have been found at the bottom of these holes. Mr. Charles D. Stewart of Pinola dug out one of the highest of these sink holes in 1872 to a depth of 42 feet, removing therefrom a tree that had grown in the hole, with three hundred rings in its trunk. He also got stone tools out of this hole. While Gen. Clingman was at work there a tinner named Heap happened in, and taking a block of the mica, which had been thrown out as worthless, to Knoxville found that there was a market for it, and returned with a partner named Clapp and these worked the mine profitably several years. William Silver, about this time, ran a tunnel under this ridge seventeen hundred feet to drain the mine on his land, which was about halfway the length of the ridge. J. K. Irby and D. K. Young also worked there. Others are working there now, but getting only small returns. At the bottom of these mines the ground is too hard for stone tools. Gen. Clingman also mined for silver on Clinglnan's branch of Beech creek in 1871. (Watauga County Deed Book No.3, page 595.)

THE GAERETT RAY MINES. These are near Bakersville, and when a boy Mr. Ray observed a line of stone posts about fifteen feet apart on a mountain slope of his father's farm, and years afterward found that they marked a valuable mica mine, whose limits did not extend beyond them. They had never been worked, though there were a series of round basinlike holes in the soil of the slope.

ANCIENT MINING IN CLAY COUNTY. On a ridge on the left bank of Toonah creek, in Clay county, are many evidences of early mining, the surface of the earth having been left in many small but distinct ridges. Gold in small quantities is found in the creek bed, and the character of the white rock and pebbles still tempts searchers after gold to pan and wash the sand and gravel from the nearby hills. It has never paid, however.

MICA MINES IN ASHE. Of the mica mines in Ashe county the Director of the United States Geological Survey says (1909):

"Hamilton Mine is on the west slope of a mountain two miles northwest of Beaver creek. It was reopened by the Johnson-Hardin Company in 1907. Two tunnels were run into the hillside along the vein." The character and quality of the mica are stated.

The North Hardin mine is on a ridge about one and a half miles west of Beaver creek and has been worked on a large scale. It was operated by two open cuts and other pits, etc., which have proved the continuity of the pigmatite for over 100 yards and shown the thickness to vary from three to eight feet. "The mica has a beautiful rum color and is of the best grade."

The South Hardin mine is near the top of a small mountain or hill about one and one-half miles southwest of Beaver creek. "The color of the mica obtained was a clear rum color and the quality the best." The quartz streaks along the foot wall of the pigmatite contained beryl crystals from less than an inch to six to eight inches in diameter.

OTHER NOTED MICA MINES. There are other noted mica mines in what was formerly Mitchell county, among them being Clarissa, the Seeb Miller mine near Flat Rock, where Ray and Anderson killed two men in a fight over the property in 1884, and the Deake mine, near Spruce Pine. There are several mica mines in Yancey and Macon, from one of the latter, the Jotla Bridge kaolin and mica mine, a block of mica was taken "in 1907, which measured about 29 by 36 inches across and was about four feet thick."[3] There are numerous other mica mines, in Jackson, Madison and Transylvania. In 1910 there were over 150 producers.

USES FOR MICA. Mica is used in sheet and ground form--sheet mica for stoves and lamps and for glazing, and it is also punched into disks and washers or cut by shears for use in stoves and electrical apparatus. Ground mica is used as an insulating material in electrical machinery, wall paper, etc. The value of the production of mica in North Carolina in 1910 was $230,460,[4] as compared with $148,424 in 1909. The average price of sheet mica in the United States in l910 was 11.5 cents per pound, as compared with 12.9 in 1909; but the average price of sheet mica in North Carolina per pound, by far the highest price paid.

"Among the many varieties of mica only two are considered of economic importance because of their physical properties; i. e., muscovite and phiogopite. Of these two varieties muscovite alone is found in quantities of commercial importance in North Carolina. Small quantities of biotite mica (black mica) have been used for commercial purposes within the last few years, however, and another variety, the lepidolite has been used as a source of lithium salts. Chemically, muscovite is a silicate of aluminum and potash with a small amount of water; phlogophite is a silicate of magnesium, aluminum and potassium; and poitite is a silicate of magnesium, iron, aluminum, and potassium. The three micas are very similar in physical properties except color."

CORUNDUM AND EMERY. These minerals are found in Clay, Macon, Swain, Jackson, Transylvania, Buncombe, Madison, Yancey and Mitchell counties. The following facts are from Vol.1 of the N. C. Geological Survey, 1905, on Corundrum and the Periodites. It contains 464 pages and is devoted entirely to this subject. It can be had by paying the postage. It covers the ground fully.

Corundum was first discovered in Madison county in 1847, about three miles below Marshall, at the mouth of Little Pine creek. The late Dr. C. D. Smith of Franklin, discovered corundum on both sides of Buck creek in Clay County prior to 1875, and Major Bryson did some prospecting there in that year, followed two years later by Frank Meminger, who worked six months and removed about 30 tons. In 1887, a Mr. Ernst did some work at Buck creek, but from then till about 1891 the mine lay idle. About this time, however, Mr. Gregory Hart of Detroit, Mich., worked it on a larger scale for about eighteen months. About 1893 the Hamden Emery and Corundum Company purchased the mine and worked it to some extent, sending the mined product to the Corundum Hill works to be cleaned. It is now owned by the International Emery and Corundum Company of New York. There is every indication of an almost inexhaustible amount of corundum at this mine. It is said to be too far from the nearest-railroad point to justify its operation. The completion of a short logging road from Andrews to Chogah gap will considerably lessen this distance. Just across the mountain, on the head of Shooting creek is the Isbel mine and factory, where considerable work was done about 1897-1898. It is now idle.

CORUNDUM HILL. Corundum Hill mine, seven miles from Franklin on Cullasaja creek, was worked as early as 1871 by the late Col.C. W. Jenks. From 1878 to 1900 from 200 to 300 tons of corundum were cleaned up there every year, since which time only a small amount has been mined. It is owned by the International Emery and Qorundum Company of New York. The late Dr. H. S. Lucas was active in mining these minerals in Macon county for several years, and is credited with having made money in the business. The Buck creek and Corundum Hill mines are the most important as they have been the most productive mines in the State.

CRANBERRY ORE BANK. "The Cranberry Ore Bank in Mitchell [now Avery] is pronounced by Professor Kerr 'one of the most remarkable iron deposits in America.' Its location is on the western slope of Iron mountain, in the northwest part of county, about three miles from the Tennessee line. It takes the name Cranberry from the creek which flows near the outcrop at the foot of the mountain. The surrounding and; associated rocks are gneisses and gneissoids, hornblende, slate and syenite. The ore is a pure, massive and coarse granular magnetite. The steep slope of the mountain and ridges, which the bed occupies, are covered with blocks of ore, some weighing hundreds of pounds, and at places bare, vertical walls of massive ore, 10 to 15 feet thick, are exposed, and over several acres the solid ore is found everywhere near the surface. The length of the outcrop is 1,500 feet, and the width 200 to 800 feet" (State Geological Report). It was worked in 1820[5] by the Dugger family. (See Chapter XVI, "Notable Cases and Decisions," section headed "Carter v. Hoke.")

CRANBERRY'S ANTECEDENTS. Dayton Hunter, Esq., lawyer of Elizabethton, Tenn., owns the land on which stood the first iron works of Tennessee, a deed now in Jonesboro, Tenn., calling in 1778 for Landon Carter's Forge Race. This forge stood about 700 feet east of the present court Carter county. This Landon Carter was the father S. P. Carter, who was both an admiral in the navy and a lieutenant general in the army of the United States. Dayton Hunter married a daughter of Rev. W. B. Carter, a Presbyterian minister and a noted Greek and Latin scholar. Whether Charles Asher had anything to do with this forge is not known, but on the 18th of December, 1795, he and his wife Molly conveyed to Julius Dugger for seventy pounds, "current money of Virginia," (Deed Book A, p.178), 88 3/4 acres on the south side of Watauga river, being part of a grant from North Carolina to said Charles Asher; and in May, 1802, John Asher conveyed to the same Dugger 45 additional acres on the same side of the same river (Deed Book C, p.421). On the 20th of November, 1822, John Asher (a son of Charles and Molly) conveyed to William Dugger (Deed Book C, p.577) one-fourth of all the land on Watauga river, "including the Forge," beginning on a mulberry tree on the north side of the Forge dam, and containing three acres and 54 poles, "which bargained land and one-fourth of the same, including the iron works, with all appurtenances thereunto belonging, or in anywise appertaining, with free privilege of roads for the use of said iron works, together with the building or repairing timber for the use of said Forge, and free course for water to said Iron Works," is the first reference on the records of the old Dugger Forge, four miles above Butler, Tenn., on the north side of Watauga river. This would also indicate what tradition preserves, that Asher was the original iron master, and that he took the Duggers in with him. Joshua Perkins, who is said to have built the Cranberry forge for the Duggers, was a son of Jacob Perkins to whom on the 18th of September, 1811, Richard White, of Washington county, Va., conveyed, for $1,500, 250 acres on the north side of Watauga river opposite the mouth of Elk creek, reserving to himself a right of way over the land conveyed, "up the hollow," in order to avoid the jutting rock-cliff which formerly blocked the passage of the road on the right bank. This is the time that Richard White left for Missouri, according to the tradition of that locality. So it would seem that Landon Carter was the forefather of Cranberry Forge, that he was succeeded by Charles and John Asher, and the Duggers, while Joshua Perkins was the real builder of Cranberry Forge in 1820.

MAGNETIC CITY. Soon after the Civil War John L. Wilder and associates started a forge on Big Rock creek, and a town which received the name of Magnetic City. But it was too far at that time from a railroad, and the forge was abandoned. The white houses around Magnetic City and the little valley in which they are situated afford a pleasant surprise to the traveler when he first catches a glimpse of them.

THE DAVIDSON RIVER IRON WORKS. Charles Moore, grandfather of Judge Charles A. Moore of Asheville, James W. Patton and Thomas Miller of Henderson county, many years before the Civil War, made a contract with George Shuford, a millwright, father of Judge George A. Shuford, to build a forge or furnace and a mill on Davidson River, some of the iron ore being hauled from Boylston creek, although some was brought only three or four miles from a mine on the Boylston road. The hammer used in connection with this iron forge or furnace was operated by water. These owners afterwards became incorporated as the Davidson River Iron Works. It was in operation until after the commencement of the Civil War, when the Confederate Government took charge of it and operated it till its collapse. After the war it was reopened and Judge Shuford remembers seeing from fifty to sixty hands at work there as late as 1866.[6]

THE SUTTON FORGE. There was also another iron forge or furnace on Mills river, known as the Sutton forge, because it was owned by a man named Sutton. This, however, was not on so large a scale as that on Davidson river.

MEREDITH BALLOU, PIONEER MINER. From Mr. V. E. Ballou of Grassy creek we learn that there are valuable iron mines from eight to twelve miles from Jefferson and about fifteen miles from Troutdale, Va., the nearest railroad station.[7] They were first discovered by Meredith Ballou, the great-grandfather of V. E. Ballou who came to Ashe from Virginia among the first settlers. These iron properties are still owned principally by natives of Ashe county, among whom are J. U. Ballou, Dr. Thos. J. Jones, the Gentry heirs, B. Sturgill and J. U. Ballon. Napoleon B. Ballou was son of Meredith and the father of J. U. Ballou "who built the first bloomery forge and made the first iron in the State, which industry was carried on till about the year 1890 or 1891. Since that time there has been expended in Ashe county some $275,000 or $300,000 in the way of purchase money and development work. This work has proven that there are large, well defined veins of ore of a superior quality in this section of the State, but only one of these properties has been transferred to any large capitalist." (See J. H. Pratt's "Geological History of Western North Carolina in Chapter XXIV of this history.)

IRON PRODUCTION.[8] The Cranberry Iron mine has produced almost all the iron that has been produced in North Carolina for years. It produces a pig iron of exceptional quality, commanding a high price. It is magnetic, and the crude ore is shipped to Knoxville for reduction. It has been a constant producer for twenty-five years. Nearly one hundred years ago iron was made there by the old Bloomery methods, and no better iron has since been made by any method.

AUTHENTIC INFORMATION. From "The Iron Manufacturer's Guide" (1859, by J. P. Lesley), quoted by Prof. Hyde Pratt in his "Geological History of Western North Carolina," in the chapter preceding this in this history, we get what is otherwise a matter of conjecture and doubt as to the date and names of the different "bloomeries" and iron works of this region. There is also a mass of valuable information concerning other mines and mining by Prof. Pratt in that article, to which reference is particularly invited.

ORE KNOB COPPER MINE OF ASHE COUNTY. (Information by Messrs. John Dent and H. D. Baker.) About nine miles east of Jefferson, is the Ore Knob Copper mine in Ashe county, which was first opened and worked for iron by Meredith Ballou, a Frenchman, many years ago. He mined the ore and hauled it to his forge at the mouth of Helton creek, and made wrought iron of it; but it was found to contain too much copper and sulphur, coating up the tools with copper and was not so good as that from the North fork of the New river. About four years before the Civil War a Virginia corporation, known as the Buckhannon Company, operated Ore Knob, for copper, and hauled the richest ore to Wytheville, Va., sixty miles away, by wagons, drawn by shod oxen. These men had bought it from Jesse Reeves, and after working the mine a year or more, sold it to George S. Miller and associates, who, after the Civil War, sold it to the Clayton Co., of Baltimore, Md. This company, under the management of John Dent now a resident of Jefferson, developed the mine scientifically, had the best of machinery installed, and established a smelter at the mine. They began work about 1873 and continued it till about 1877, when the price of copper declined. They shipped the manufactured sheet copper to Baltimore, via Marion, Va., and worked from 300 to 600 hands. Work seems to have continued in a smaller way till 1880, when it stopped altogether, Mr. Dent leaving there in December, 1883. This is the first place in North Carolina where copper was made from the ore and refined up to the Lake Superior grade. The ore was piled on burning wood heaps and burned from five to to seven weeks, by which time most of the sulphur would have been driven off, after which the roasted ore was smelted with charcoal in shaft furnaces and refined down to 99Ç per cent pure copper. The vein's general direction is northeast and southwest, with nearly a vertical dip. Among the principal stockholders of the company were James E. and S. S. Clayton and J. S. and Herman Williams.[9] The land in which the mine lay had belonged to John W. Martin, who conveyed his interest therein to the Clayton Company, the mineral rights therein having been sold under execution at the court house door and bought in by the same company. Work was commenced on the 17th day of March, 1873. Some suppose that this was a mere pocket; but its distance from a railroad was probably the true reason of its abandonment. There is an undeveloped copper mine on Gap creek, near the line between Ashe and Watauga.

ELK KNOB COPPER COMPANY.[10] In 1899 this company entered into a contract with J. A. Zinns and Joseph Bock of Minnesota for the operation of a copper mine on Elk Knob, and bought the engine of Vassas Brothers, who had failed at making pipes out of laurel roots in Boone, which business they had started in 1897 in a building in the rear of Blackburn's hotel.[11] The copper mine was abandoned in a few years, and litigation ensued between Zinns and Bock.

CULLOWHEE COPPER MINE. This is in Jackson county, where some copper was produced in 1909 and 1910; but it is almost too far from a railroad to pay. It has a shaft 177 feet deep and a tunnel 4,000 feet in length.

ADAMS-WESTFELDT COPPER MINE. This is on Hazel creek in Swain county; but the property has been in litigation since 1900. It is on the lead from Ducktown, and is said to be rich. (See this case in Chapter XVI.)

GRAPHITE. The Connally mine at Graphiteville, between Round Knob and the Swannanoa tunnel is in McDowell county. It was operated a few years prior to 1907, but, owing to the difficulty of extracting the ore economically, it was abandoned. There is said to be an inexhaustible quantity on the land.

KAOLIN. Is obtained principally from Jackson, Mitchell and Swain counties. Over $100,000 of this mineral has been produced in this State in a year.

AMETHYST has been found in Macon, especially on Tessentee creek. The Connally mine on this creek has been worked by the American Gem and Pearl Company of New York and the Rhodes mine by the Passmore Gem Company of Boston.

TALC AND PYROPHYLITE DEPOSITS. There are talc deposits in Swain and Cherokee counties. A. A. Campbell of Cherokee was the pioneer in this mining, having shipped it by wagons before the days of railroads to Cleveland, Tennessee. It was then $80 per ton, however. It was used as early as 1859 to line the copper furnaces at Ducktown, Tenn. The principal talc mines are the North Carolina Talc and Mining Company at Hewitts, Swain county; the Alba Mineral Company near Kinsey, Cherokee county; the American Talc Company, and the Glendon Mining and Manufacturing Company, at Glendon, Moore county. Hewitts mine is the largest and best. Water interfered with the operation some years ago, but that has since been remedied. There is also a talc mine in Mitchell county, near Spruce Pine.

BARYTES. Crude barytes has been produced in the vicinity of Marshall, Stackhouse, Sandy Bottom and Hot Springs in Madison county. This substance has been produced in this county since 1884. The value of the product in 1910 was $145,315. Owing to its weight, it is called "heavy spar." There was a mill for crushing barytes at Warm Springs (now Hot Springs) in August, 1884. ("On Horseback," page 139).

THULITE was mined in North Carolina, in the Flat Rock mine, in 1908. It furnishes attractive gems when cut en cabochon with the enclosing feldspar.

ZIRCON was produced in 1909 from the Jones mine near Zirconia, Henderson county, when operated by M. C. and C. F. Toms. Two thousand pounds in 1909 was valued at $250.

PRECIOUS STONES. During 1908, 1909 and 1910 there was little systematic mining for gems in this region.

MARBLE AND LIMESTONE. The main marble outcropping begins on the Nantahala river below Hewitts and extends southward down to Valley river, a distance of over 25 miles. A shorter and parallel band extends from the head of Peachtree creek nearly ten miles southwestward and up Little Brasstown creek. The North Carolina Mining and Talc Company are developing their marble deposits at Hewitts. High freight rates prevent the development of this property.

THE CASPERIS MARBLE COMPANY. The Casperis Marble Company is now operating marble quarries at Regal, a few miles east of Murphy, and is supplying stone to several railroads. Mr. S. Casperis of Columbus, Ohio, is one of the largest stone operators in the United States. An extensive finishing plant employing about 50 men is operated in connection with the quarry. The quality of what this company calls the "Regal Blue," now being quarried, is said to be unexceled in the United States. The possibilities of marble production near Andrews and Brasstown appear to be almost limitless.

CHASING PETROLEUM RAINBOWs. Notwithstanding the opinion of scientists that "there is no petroleum to be found in the area west of the Blue Ridge in North Carolina, as the rocks were formed long before the period of time at which those carrying petroleum were formed," in the year of grace 1902, in the county of Buncombe, and within two miles of Asheville, W. A. Baird and wife and many others on Beaver-dam creek in Buncombe county, gave W. T. Sidell and E. E. Stewart of West Virginia, leases to mine oil and gas for one-eighth part of the oil and $200 a year for the use of all the gas that might be discovered or produced. (Deed Book, 124, p.73.)

OIL EXCITEMENT ON COVE CREEK. Soon after the Big Freshet of May, 1901, indications of oil appeared near N. L. Mast's store on Cove creek, Watauga county; and A. J. McBride, a reputable citizen, collected the oily film on top of a pool of water by absorbing it with blotting paper. This burned brilliantly; and in July, 1902, W. R. Lovill, Esq., a lawyer of Boone, obtained options on the lands of J. T. Combs and members of his family, B. F. Bingham, T. B. Fletcher and others, for one year. Mr. Lovill interested Gen. J. S. Carr of Durham in the matter, and the latter sent Major Hamlet of Roanoke to investigate. The fiat formation of the rock strata indicates unmistakably the presence of oil, but the ancient character of the rocks contradicted these indications, they being gneiss of the oldest character. But, during the year 1907, the Carolina Valley Oil and Gas Company, composed of men from New York and Pennsylvania, put down a hole near N. L. Mast's store 800 feet deep, and then abandoned the work, claiming that the drill had begun to take a slanting course. This company had a map prepared which indicated that there is oil in many places in Watauga and Avery counties. It is certain that the formation of the rock strata along the lower part of Cove creek and below its entrance into Watauga river is as nearly fiat as it is possible to be. Oil leases were also taken on lands around Sutherland, Ashe county.

AGE OF OUR ROCK FORMATION. From Professor Pratt's Geological History of Western North Carolina, Chapter XXIV in this work, it is clear that "all the rocks of Western North Carolina are amongst the oldest geologic formations," from which we may conclude that we are occupying land that is more ancient than that of the Euphrates, the Nile, or the Jordan so long associated in our minds with the Garden of Eden, the Ptolemys and Old Testament stories.

HIGH HONOR FOR OUR NATIVE GEMS. In the "Carolina Mountains" we learn that the finest specimens of emerald green crystalized corundum in the world, measuring 4½ x 2 x 1½ inches, is now in the Morgan-Bemet collection in New York. It was taken from Corundum Hill, near Franklin, in 1871. From Cowee creek comes the new gem Rhodolite. "remarkable for its transparency and great brilliancy (p. 268)," large sea-blue aquamarines, and beryls, both sea-green and yellow, tourmalines, purple amethyst, discovered on Tessentee creek by a landslide, and "smoky and citron-green quartz crystals in the Black mountains,… from which have been cut many beautiful objects by the Tiffany lapidaries of New York" (p. 272). Salmon pink chalcedony, agates, green chrysoprase and red and yellow jasper, also are mentioned. North Carolina minerals "are treasured in the greatest collections in the world, in this country very fine ones being on exhibition in the Metropolitan Museum of Art and the American Museum of Natural History (N.Y.), in the U.S. National Museum at Washington, D.C., in the Field Columbian Museum, Chicago, as well as many smaller museums."

VALUE OF MINERAL PRODUCTION IN FOLLOWING COUNTIES[12]

County 1909 1910
Alleghany $ 400 $ 500
Ashe 155 500
Buncombe 82,844 64,505
Cherokee 31,283 22,325
Clay - -
Graham - -
Haywood 1,550 7,075
Henderson 99,480 60,882
Jackson 51,599 53,804
Macon 45,732 50,300
Madison 21,785 20,224
Mitchell 191,777 259,127
Swain 99,564 80,983
Transylvania 7,337 6,771
Watauga and Wayne 48,338 59,810
Yancey 32,860 59,284

NOTES:

  1. H. H. B. Meyer, Chief Bibliographer Congressional library, to J. P. A. January 16, 1912.
  2. Ibid.
  3. Economic Paper No. 23, N.C., Geo. and Econ. Survey, 1911.
  4. Ibid.
  5. From "The Iron Manufacturer's Guide," 1859, by J. P. Lesley.
  6. Not mentioned in "The Iron Manufacturer's Guide," 1859, by J. P. Lesley.
  7. Harbard's Bloomery Forge at the mouth of Holton creek was built in 1807, and washed away in 1817; "Iron Manufacturer's Guide," 1859.
  8. Economic Paper No. 23, N. C. G. and E. Survey, 1911, p. 30.
  9. The Ore Knob Mining Co. was incorporated by Ch. 29, Pr. Laws of N. C., 1881, John S. Williams, Washington Booth, James E. Tyson and others of Baltimore and James E. Clayton and others of Ashe incorporators.
  10. Deed Book V, Watauga, p. 238.
  11. Ibid, T, p. 472.
  12. From 25th Annual Report of the Department of Labor, 1911.