The Deep River Coal Fields
There’s plenty of coal, bul for more Ilian a
li u nil red years attempted mining oper¬
ations have heen confronted with various
setbacks.
Til
К
territory roughly embraced
in Moore, Lee and Chatham
counties, contains a larger vari¬
ety of minerals than any other similar
territory within our state. These min¬
erals, while of wide variety, do not
exist in such quantities, nor are they
generally of sufficient value, to make
their mining profitable; although
soapstone, or talc, has been mined in
Moore for many years; and ulthough
quite recent efforts hate been made
to exploit the graphite which at many
points underlies the coal.
The existence of coal deposits along
Ъеер
River has been known for many
years, the first comprehensive survey
of the region having been made by the
eminent geologist Professor Olmstend
of Vale University as far back as
1824.
In 1853, Thomas Andrews, a large
property owner within the territory,
employed Charles T. Jackson, an ex¬
pert geologist, to investigate the en¬
tire section. Jackson spent several
months in doing this work and filed
an elaborate report, attached to which
were various maps and charts of the
coal fields. 11 is findings showed the
existence of considerable coal, to¬
gether with large beds of excellent iron
ore. Although this iron ore exists in
large quantities, it cannot be worked,
as there is no available limestone to
use in fluxing it.
Legislative Aid
In 1S5S these fields received the
attention of Congress, and under its
authority a Commission was ap¬
pointed to explore the fields and sub¬
mit a report thereon, as the govern¬
ment then had under consideration
the construction of elaborate work¬
shops at some point along Deep River.
This Commission, which was headed
by Captain Charles Wilkes of the
United States Navy, filed an elaborate
and comprehensive report which Gov¬
ernor Ellis submitted to the Legis¬
lature of 1858, which then had under
consideration the question of further
improvement in navigation.
That coal was present in marketable
quantities could not be questioned,
but how could it he gotten to the
By II. C. LAWRENCE
market < That was the practical ques¬
tion, for while the Cape Fear was
navigable from Fayetteville to the
sea, navigation between Fayetteville
and the coal fields was impracticable
without the const lUCtion of an elnl*-
orate system of locks and dams.
Numerous and early efforts were made
to improve navigation on the river.
As early as 1796, the Cape Fear
Navigation Company was chartered,
and the state came to the aid of this
enterprise by subscribing to §65,000
of its capital stock. It was the pur¬
pose of this company to make the
river navigable as far as the con¬
fluence of the Deep and the Flaw.
Then in 1849 the Cape Fear and Deep
River Navigation Company was
chartered, to which the state sub¬
scribed $40,000 in stock, ami which
had for its purpose making the river
navigable to the coal fields.
Outlet by Rail
Efforts were also made to reach
the coal fields by rail. The railroad
from Fayetteville, later known as the
Cape Fear and Yadkin Valley, was
originally constructed to leach these
coal fields, and was later extended to
connect with the North Carolina Rail¬
road at Greensboro, and still later
extended northward toward Mount
Airy.
It was in 1853 that the state under¬
took the task of making the river
navigable from Fayetteville to the
coal fields, and a series of nineteen
locks and dams were constructed cov¬
ering a distance of ninety-eight miles,
and making the river navigable as
far up as Lockville. These nineteen
locks wore each one hundred and
fifteen feet long and eighteen feet in
width, making it possible for boats
carrying a burden of one hundred
and twenty tons ami drawing a depth
of six feet to navigate the stream.
The locks were poorly constructed of
wood, lasted but a short time, and the
state sank a large amount of money
in a worthless enterprise.
There have been a nninlier of shafts
sunk and mines opened within this
territory. The original mine seems to
have been opened by a company known
as Governor's Creek Coal and Iron
Company. Its shaft struck the coal
vein at a depth of four hundred and
sixty foot. The coal was of excellent
quality, hut the vein was thin, averag¬
ing only some four feet in thickness.
During the Civil War these mines
were worked by the Confederate Gov¬
ernment on a considerable scale, the
coal being carried on barges to Wil¬
mington where it was used to furnish
fuel for the Confederate gunboats. In
1864 these operations were suspended,
and the mine shaft completely filled
with dotrius to prevent its being of use
to the enemy in ease of capture.
State’s Worst Accident
The best known mine, and the latest
to be worked, lies on the very bluff of
Deep River, and its shaft is approxi¬
mately five hundred feet deep, from
the bottom of which laterals run in
several directions. Some years ago the
property was being actively worked by
John R. McQueen, when one of the
worst disasters occurred in the history
of the state. An explosion of after¬
damp or coal dust in this mine killed
over fifty of the miners. Notwith¬
standing this the mine was re-opened
and a number of state convicts leased
for the purpose of working it. This
continued until the administration of
Governor Gardner, who, in view of
the terrible explosion, and fearing
there might Ik- another, perempto¬
rily terminated the leas.* and with¬
drew the convicts.
Old Man River now took a hand
in the operations. A tremendous
freshet rode down Deep River; higher
and higher up the bluff crept the
rising waters; nearer and nearer they
came to the mouth of the shaft. Finally
the crest was reached, and down the
mouth of the shaft poured the flood,
completely filling the workings to
the very brim. Since then no effort
has been made to pump out the mine
and it seems that further efforts to
utilize the property have been
abandoned.
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