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The county of Walker was established in 1824. It is
attracting remarkable attention at this time by reason of its immense
resources of coal. From present indications, Walker is the richest of
all the counties of the State in its mineral deposits. It seems to be
almost an unbroken coalfield from limit to limit. The coal is of a hard,
bituminous character with but small percentage of ash. Various
geological reports point to the existence of five or six valuable seams,
which lie in successive layers one above another. There are various
outcroppings, indicating from the surface, seams of superior coal which
vary in thickness from two to eight feet. These coals are valuable for
domestic, cooking, and steam purposes. Remoteness of transportation has
forbidden the establishment of mines in the past, but the construction
of the Georgia Pacific is awakening new life, and the early completion
of the Sheffield and Birmingham, and the Memphis and Birmingham
railroads, running from Kansas City to the Atlantic, will greatly
enhance the value of Walker county lands. The surface of the country is broken, the hills in
some places being steep and high. Aside from its mineral possessions, the county has
other advantages, as the following data will at once
show. Walker county embraces an area of 880 square
miles. Population in 1870, 6,543; population in 1880,
9,479. White, 8,978; colored, 501. Tilled Land: 46,725 acres.—Area planted in cotton,
8,743 acres; in corn, 21,838 acres; in oats, 2,579 acres; in wheat,
5,420 acres; in rye, 81 acres; in tobacco, 69 acres; in sugar-cane, 11
acres; in sweet potatoes, 325 acres. Cotton Production: 2,754 bales. Like the adjoining county of Winston, the soils of
Walker are not remarkable for their fertility, it being in nowise an
agricultural county, but adapted almost solely to manufactures. Still,
it is not without fertile lands. Snug farms are found in many portions
of it, and many of its inhabitants have subsisted upon the productions
of their farms since, and even before,
the formation of the county. About one-third of the area of Walker is covered
with a sandy soil. This land is admirably suited to the production of
fruit, which grows here in great abundance, especially such as the hardy
fruits—pears, apples, peaches, plums, etc. Fruit trees have been
standing in many orchards for a great number of years, and have rarely
failed of an annual yield. In other sections of Walker, especially in
those lying adjacent to the main streams, there are many thrifty farms,
upon which grow, with great readiness, corn, cotton, and
wheat. This is also true of what are locally termed "the
bench lands"— the plateau regions of the county. Here are many
first-class farms, which are easily tilled, and whose cultivation is
most remunerative. Stock-raising is receiving some attention in the
county, and the experiments have resulted most
gratifyingly. The county is highly favored with streams, whose
rapid and perpetual flow mark them for future usefulness in the
manufactures. Chief among these are Mulberry Fork, which flows through
the southeast, and joins Locust Fork in the south; the Black Water,
Sipsey Fork, and Lost creeks. These are supplied by numerous
tributaries, which drain the county from every quarter. As fine timber
forests skirt these streams as are found in the northern portion of the
State. These embrace the different varieties of oak, post, red, and
Spanish, together with beech, poplar, holly, the gums, and short-leaf
pine. In the neighborhood of South Lowell, about six miles from Jasper,
the county-seat, there is a section of long-leaf pine forest, covering an area of about ten miles broad and twenty-five
miles long. This superb tract of timber is penetrated by the
Black Water river, the banks of which are lined by thriving
manufactories, such as corn, wheat, and lumber mills, and cotton gins.
Chief among these thriving enterprises is the mill of Messrs. Shields,
Craig & Carter, which combines all the facilities for the
manufacture of lumber, doors, blinds, sash, and shingles. This is the
only factory in the county, and furnishes, to the local trade alone,
half a million feet of lumber annually. The passage of the Georgia Pacific through the
county has awakened much interest, and when that shall have been
intersected by the Mobile and Birmingham railroad, which will run the
entire length of the State from Mobile to Florence, the advantages of
the county will be immense. Through these great channels of trade her
rich minerals of coal and iron will seek outlets to the world beyond.
These minerals are considered practically inexhaustible. In the interior
of the basin in Walker county is the Jagger's coalbed, which is said to be one of exceeding thickness. Throughout the county the educational advantages are
moderate, and church facilities abound. Both these improve as one
approaches the principal villages. Jasper, the county-seat, with a
population of three or four hundred, has good schools and two
comfortable church edifices. Holly Grove and South Lowell are also
points of interest and growing importance. Like other counties, the resources of which are
being rapidly developed, the people of Walker are anxious to have their
lands purchased and populated. Great inducements are just now being offered to
purchasers of lands, and sagacious investors are not losing the
opportunity of turning the occasion to one of profit. In some instances
corporations have invested in large districts of these valuable lands at
amazingly low prices. Taken in connection with the abundance of fuel and
good water, and the absence of any ca ses which breed disease, Walker offers a home of rare combinations. And, from a
commercialpoint
of view, no county offers greater inducements than does Walker. But
lands which are now held at reasonable rates will increase in
valuation'as the growing population will crystallize into centers of
interest and influence. There are embraced within the limits of Walker
county 128,840 acres of government land. Source: Alabama As It Is by Benjamin Franklin Riley,
D. D., 1887 , Transcribed by C.
Anthony
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