Dickson, Joseph Willson, Adam Miller, Edward M'Murray Jacob M'Cormick, John Ramsey, James Stewart, Humphrey Cunningham, Robert Kirkwood, James M'Coorey, William Thomson, Thomas Strain, Mathias Plank, Jacob Steiner, William Stoner, James Todd, John Young, James Dixon, Robert Bryson, William Bryson, Daniel Andrew, David Stevenson, William Cathcart, William Crosby, Benjamin Ainsworth, Patrick Bowen, Adam Harper, Lazarus Stewart. In noticing the remarkable incidents and leading events that transpired before the erection of Dauphin county in 1785, the writer does not confine himself to the present limits of the county, but embraces those that happened within the limits of Lancaster, north of the present southern boundary of Dauphin county. The same course will be pursued in the history of Cumberland and the other counties. CHAPTER XVI. DAUPHIN COUNTY ESTABLISHED, &c. Dauphin county erected and named-Boundary in 1785-Reduction of, in 1813-Present boundary-Variety of geological features-Geology of-Acres of land in-Productions-Live stock-Cereal grains, &c., * &c.-General statistics-Synopsis of the census of 1840-Description of streams-Public improvements, &c. DAUPHIN County, named in honor of the son of Louis xvi., King of France was separated as stated above, from Lancaster, by an act of March 4, 1785, and then bounded as follows: "Beginning on the west side of the Susquehanna river opposite the mouth of Conewago creek; thence up the middle of the said creek to Moor's mill; and from thence to the head of said creek; and from thence by a direct line to the southeast corner of Heidelberg township, where it strikes the Berks county line; thence northwest by the line of Berks county to Mahantayo creek; thence along the same by the line of Northumberland county, and crossing the river Susque hanna, to the line of Cumberland county, and that part of the line of York county to the place of beginning, on the west side of the river Susquehannah." Dauphin was afterwards reduced, by an act of Feb. 16, 1813, erecting Lebanon county out of parts of Dauphin and Lancaster. Dauphin is now bounded, north by Northumberland, northeast by Schuylkill, east by Lebanon, and south by Lebanon and Lancaster, and on the west by the Susquehanna, separating it from the counties of York, Cumberland and Perry; the whole stream, however, being within the county, the course of the river through it, which is fortyeight miles. The length of the county is thirty-three miles, and mean width sixteen miles; it contains an area of five hundred and twenty-eight miles; containing 341,120 acres. Population in 1810, 31,883; 1820, Lebanon having been separated, 21,663; 1830, 25,303; 1840, 30,118. Aggregate amount of property taxable in 1844, was $8,197,491,00. This county presents a great variety of geological features as well as a variety of soils, viz: limestone, yellow and red shale, gravel, sandy, &c. The limestone region, in the southern and southeastern part of the county, has a rich, loamy soil, highly productive, where well cultivated. The slate formation between this and the Blue mountain, is more hilly and less fertile; but by proper improvement and the free use of lime as a manure, may be made a fine agricultural region. Much of it has been reclaimed. Formerly, and not more than twenty years ago, Lower Paxton and the Hanovers could boast of as poor land, as carelessly cultivated, as any tract of the same extent on the face of the earth. 'The youth all emigrate, and the poor all starve,' was the remark commonly made use of, when describing this now smiling region." As said, the geological features of this connty are various; for in it, says Trego, we find nearly, if not quite all the rock formations, from the white sandstone which overlies the primary rocks, upwards to the coal. The Conestoga hills, in the southern part of the county, are composed of trap rock: north of these we find the middle secondary shale and sandstone, extending as far as Highspire, on the Susquehanna, six miles below Harrisburg, where it overlaps the great limestone formation of Cumberland Valley. The limestone formation is a broad belt of limestone, which may be traced from the Delaware river, at and above Easton, through Northampton, Lehigh, Berks, Lebanon, Dauphin, Cumberland and Franklin counties, and so passing southwestward through Maryland and Virginia. The limestone formation is seen in some other counties of this state. The limestone in this county ranges from Lebanon across Dauphin to the Susquehanna; its northern limit on the river being at the lower end of Harrisburg, and the line of junction between the limestone and slate passing thence eastward to the Swatara creek, north of Hummelstown, and so on to the Lebanon county line near Palmyra. Some belts of slate are contained within the range of this limestone, one of which may be observed passing from the Swatara west of Hummelstown, south of the poor house, and extending nearly to the Susquehanna. This North of the limestone is a broad slate formation, having a hilly and rolling surface, which occupies the region between the northern limit of the limestone, and the southern base of the Kittatinny or Blue mountain. Some thin strata of limestone are found in certain parts of this slate range. range extends all along the Blue mountain from the Delaware river through Northampton, Lehigh, Berks, Lebanon, Dauphin, Cumberland and Franklin counties, to the southern line of the state. The rocks of the Blue mountain consist chiefly of the hard, compact, white, gray and reddish sandstone, which lies next in order above the last mentioned slate, and which forms so many of the mountain ridges in middle Pennsylvania. This rock constitutes that long, narrow, nearly level and continuous ridge which stretches from near the Hudson river, not far from Kingston, across New York and New Jersey, and which entering Pennsylvania at the Delaware water gap, is known from that place to its termination in Franklin county, by the name of Kittatinny or Blue mountain. On the northern slope of this mountain, and in the valley between it and the second mountain, are the red variegated shales, resting on the sandstones just described, with the overlying limestone, of an argillaceous blue; the fossiliferous sandstone, of various thickness; the olive slate, occupying but a small space, because the strata are nearly perpendicular; and along the south side of the Second mountain, the red and • Kittatinny, originally called by the Indians, Kau-ta-tin-Chunk, i. e. the Main, or Principal Mountain. gray sandstones, and red shale next in position. The olive slate and red shale rocks appear in Armstrong's valley, around Halifax. In order to account for the small space occupied by so many formations, some of which in other parts of the state occupy of themselves a wide extent of country, it must be recollected that the strata here are vertical, or in truth thrown rather beyond a vertical position, so that their order of superposition is inverted, and the strata which really lie uppermost in place appear to dip steeply beneath those which are actually below them. Rock Strata which are vertical can only occupy an area equal to their thickness, while those which approach the horizontal position, usually spread over a wide region. The Second mountain is mainly composed of a coarse, hard, grayish sandstone, which is also found in Peters', Berry's and Mahantany's mountains; all these being in fact but the same ridge which winds round recrosses the several twins. The rock next in order is the bright red shale, which underlies the coarse pebbly conglomerate next below the coal bearing strata. This red shale is found encompassing all the anthracite coal fields, and from its softness and liability to decomposition, has been worn down so as usually to form valleys around the high, sharp ridges, which bound the coal basins. Accordingly it is found extending down Stoney creek valley, between the Second and Third mountains, and folding round on the Susquehanna above the town of Dauphin, again following up the valley of Clark's creek, thus enclosing the coal field of the Third and Fourth mountains. Passing round the junction of Peters' and Berry's mountains on the east, it enters Williams' valley and stretches down Wisconisco creek again to the Susquehanna at Millersburg. The whole of Lykens' valley, which lies between Berry's and Mahantany's mountains, is of this red shale, the northern division of which extends up the valley of Pine creek into Schuylkill county, enclosing between it and the Williams' valley division, the Bear valley coal basin. The Third and Fourth mountains are composed of the coarse conglomerates and sandstones, which immediately underlie the coal, and it is in the high narrow depression between those ridges that the coal of the Stoney creek coal region is found. Owing, however, to the displacement conse quent upon the highly upheaved position of the rocks below it, and to the crushing effect near the junction of the uniting ridges, the coal beds towards the western extremity of this basin, are confused and uncertain. Further eastward the prospect is better, and excellent coal has been obtained, soft of which is so soft and free burning as to approach the bituminous character. The Big Lick and Bear mountains, in the northeastern part of the county, are also cemented pebble or conglomerate rock, and in like manner enclose a coal basin, the western end of which extends into this county. It is commonly known by the name of Bear valley coal region, the western point of which is at the junction of the two last named mountains, about twelve miles east of the Susquehanna, Most of the coal obtained from this valley has been mined at Bear's gap, an opening in the Big Lick mountain through which Bear creek flows southward towards Wisconisco creek. The mountains which bound the coal basin on the north and south are here about seven hundred and fifty feet in height above the level of Bear creek, and contain numerous coal strata which descend towards the centre of the narrow valley at an angle of about forty-five degrees. The gap made by the passage of Bear creek through the mountain, has exposed the coal on both sides of the stream, and affords great facilities for mining it advantageously. One of the beds opened is eleven feet thick, two of seven feet, and others of less size. Several coal seams are known to exist here which have not yet been fully explored; one has been ascertained to be twenty-four feet thick. Shafts have been sunk on the slope of the mountain, north of the valley, and beds of 24, 12, 10, 8, and 7 feet of coal have been found there. The mining operations at Bear gap are carried on by a company, and a railroad sixteen miles in length, has been constructed from the mines to Millersburg on the Susquehanna. Here the coals are ferried across the river to the Pennsylvania canal on the west side, and the coal discharged into canal boats, being chiefly transported to Baltimore by way of the Pennsylvania and Tide water canals. The completion of the Wisconisco canal, (now in progress, 1844,) on the east side of the river, from Millersburg to the head of the Eastern division of the Pennsylvania canal, at Clark's ferry on Duncan's island, will greatly facilitate the coal trade from this |