We have next to consider the material or wealth-producing resources which surround this city on every side.  These are the Minerals, the Marbles, the Timbers and the Products of the Soil.  The most extensive are the

Mineral Resources

The Great Valley of East Tennessee is literally paved and its walls deeply lined with valuable minerals.  Although now known to exist in inexhaustible quantities, their limit has never been fully determined.  Knoxville lies in the center of thirty-four counties, which comprise the political divisions of this part of the State.  Of these thirty-four counties,

In addition to these minerals, there are a host of others of more or less value, a complete list of which may be found in Dana's Mineralogy.

The Iron Deposits are found principally along the bases of the mountain walls, but many rich mines exist in the middle of the Valley as well.  The supply is practicably inexhaustible.  The chief varieties of ore are the red and brown hematites (Limonite and Hematite) and Magnetite, or magnetic iron ore.  They all yield from 30 to 70 per cent of metallic iron.  Immediately alongside of the iron ores are great deposits of limestone for "fluxing."  On the western side of the Valley where the iron ores exist in greater abundance, Iron, Coal and Limestone all lie side by side.  No argument is needed to prove the great advantages that arise from this close proximity of materials.  Little has been done yet in developing these iron mines so that the field is almost a new one for all prospectors.

The Coal Fields of this section are located in the Western wall of the Valley, thirty miles, by rail, from Knoxville. These deposits constitute the greatest coal fields of the South.  They cover an area of 5,100 square miles and contain a large number of seams, one above the other.  None of the seams are beneath the surface of the ground, but are upon the sides of the mountain, so that the shaft is inward and not downward.  All the coals here are bituminous, but of many varieties.  As gas-making and steam-producing coals they have no superior.  Recent experiments prove they make as fine coke as can be produced anywhere.  An excellent grade of cannel coal is shipped from these fields to many parts of the country for gas enriching.

Coal mining in these fields has so far reached a greater development than that of any other of the natural resources.  Fifteen companies, with headquarters in this city, are the chief miners and shippers.  These various companies have a combined capital stock of nearly five and one-half million dollars, a very large part of which is employed.  Their mines are the principal sources of supply for the whole Southern country.  The combined shipments now exceed a million of tons annually, bringing to this section circulating revenue of one and a half millions of dollars.  Of course the coal business is yet in the formative state, but, like all other species of development in this new country, is steadily growing in strength.  At present only three lines of railroad reach these coal fields from Knoxville, but it is confidently expected that other and important ones will be built in the near future.

Lead and Zinc.  As has already been stated, nine of the counties around Knoxville contain lead and five of them zinc.  A full investigation of the extent of these two important minerals has never been made.  Next to nothing has been done to develop the lead mines, but zinc has received more attention.  Both minerals await the hand of the prospector.  Smelting works for zinc are now in operation at Clinton, Tenn., and at Mossy Creek, Tenn., in counties adjoining Knox, in which capital from this city is largely interested.  Owing to the superior quality of this zinc, it commands as high a price as any on the American market.

Copper.  The copper deposits are confined entirely to the eastern wall of the Valley in what is known, as the "Ducktown Region."  They are the only known copper mines in the State.  Many thousand tons of copper have reached the market from the works that have existed there for several years past.  Extensive preparations are now under way to greatly increase the output of these mines, in which large foreign capital is interested.  Copper exists at other points in the same mountains, and richer deposits than those at Ducktown may yet be found.

Gold.  For many years past a considerable quantity of gold has found its way into the market, being taken from the sands along several streams flowing from the mountains of the eastern wall of the Great Valley of East Tennessee.  The discovery of gold in this section dates back to 1831, and the older records show that from this date to 1854, nearly $50,000 worth were deposited in the United States Mint.  No systematic effort at mining has ever been attempted, and the quantity procured during the above period and in subsequent years, has been by simple "panning."  It is estimated that not less than $100,000 worth has been obtained in this manner since the war, as between two and three thousand dollars reach this city, annually in exchange for other commodities.  The gold received here is, as a rule, nearly pure, as the different assays show.  It comes in grains of various sizes, the adhering impurities being hardly noticeable.  The largest nugget found, so far as is known, weighed twenty-one pennyweights.  The source from which these streams bring down the gold from the mountains has never been fully investigated, and doubtless, some day, very rich leads of it will be found.  The natives along these streams obtain, per man, from one to two dollars a day by panning, so that there is every reason to believe that in the hands of prospectors who thoroughly understand the work, and the introduction of improved machinery, the field would be found highly remunerative.

The Marbles

The marbles of the Great Valley of East Tennessee, taken from the quarries around Knoxville, are among the most famous in the world.  They are of a class separate and distinct in themselves and, as such, command the admiration of all countries.  There is no limit to the quantity, and it has been said that Knoxville could well supply the world.  For several years past, visitors from every State and nation have been charmed with the beautiful balustrades and columns of the stairways which lead up to the House and Senate galleries in the National Capitol at Washington.  They are made of the reddish, variegated marble of this section.  The walls of the Marble Room and many other parts of the same building are finished in this same variety.  Specimens of it may also be seen in the Smithsonian Institute, and in the Washington Monument in the same city.  The specimens in the monument are marked the "Hawkins County Block" and the "State (Tennessee) Block."  When the erection of the National Capitol was begun, the Building Committee decided in favor of using the "Tennessee Variegated" over many other specimens from every part of the Union.  The Government has likewise ordered the building marbles from around Knoxville to be used in its public buildings wherever required.  Other beautiful specimens of the Tennessee variegated may be seen in the State Capital at Nashville, Tennessee, and the State Capital building at Albany, New York.

It has been, also, extensively used in the Central Trust Company's building, Washington, D. C.; the Rand-McNally building, Chicago; the great twenty-one story Masonic Temple of the same city, and the new Union Passenger Depot, Chicago, but recently finished.  Visitors to any one of these points should ask to be shown this marble, for it is unique and very beautiful.  There are hundreds of other places where it has been put to use with the most pleasing results, but only the above prominent places are mentioned here.  Within recent years it has come into extensive use for furniture and various other household ornamentations.

The chief variety of building marble is a light gray stone, susceptible of a high polish, and absolutely "weather-proof" in all climates.  A striking example of the use of this marble may be seen in the United States Post-office building in this city, which was built entirely of it at a cost of $425,000.

The marbles of this section present every imaginable variety of color and form.  They are red, white, blue, black, pink and yellow, and their countless combinations give the most beautiful kaleidoscopic effects.

In addition to the marbles and finer building stones, every grade of cheaper stone building material is to be had in unlimited quantities.  There are also great deposits of superior roofing slates, sandstones, flag stones and granites.  Lithographic stone is also found.  Common lime stone exists abundantly from one end of the Valley to the other, and cement rock in various places, which yields a product second to none.

There are now between seventy-five and a hundred marble quarries open in the Great Valley, thirty of them being in the immediate vicinity of Knoxville.  Large sums of money have been invested in these enterprises, and the shipments of marble reach from Maine to California, and from the Lakes to the Gulf.  Some idea of how these shipments are carried on is shown in an illustration.

Timber Resources

What has already been said of the abundance and variety of the mineral and marble resources of this city can also be said of the great forests of Hardwood Timbers.  Covering as they do several thousand square miles of territory, they are today the most extensive and at the same time the most valuable of any in the United States.  Nearly every variety of hardwood timbers known to other parts of the United States grow here in the greatest abundance.  The leading varieties are the oaks, the pines and the poplars, cherry, walnut, hickory, sycamore, ash, chestnut, maple, beech, persimmon, dogwood, gum, cucumber, buckeye, basswood, sourwood, hemlock, spruce and balsams.  Some of these trees grow to a great size, poplars reaching seven feet in diameter, and from fifty to seventy feet to the first branches, with clear, straight trunks.  Many other varieties grow nearly as large, and all kinds are remarkable for their hardy nature.  The Lumber business in and around the city is yet in its infancy, although several millions of dollars have have already been invested in timber lands and mills.  Many thousand feet of lumber are annually shipped out of Knoxville, both as hardwood logs and sawed lumber, destined for many parts of this country and Europe.

Knoxville affords unexcelled advantages for the manufacture of lumber for housebuilding and furniture and the making of "hardwood" articles of every description.

Products of the Soil

The principal productions of the soil in the Great Valley of East Tennessee are corn, wheat, oats, buckwheat, barley, potatoes and melons.

The one-crop theory, so much in vogue in the cotton belt of the South, has never been the practice here.  Each farmer, as a rule, has a large garden beside, in which all the vegetables for the table are produced, and is not uncommon to see additional "patches," where are raised a little cotton, flax and tobacco.  Tobacco, however, has, in recent years, been cultivated on an extensive scale in some sections, the product being noted for its mildness and rich color.  Upon every well-to-do farm an abundance of hay is produced, while grass of several different varieties is found everywhere.  The minor valleys and the creek and river bottom lands possess soil as rich as the best Western farms, and the uplands and hilltops are especially adapted to the raising of certain crops.

The soil of the Great Valley of East Tennessee is such that it can readily supply food for a very dense population.

The principal fruits are apples, pears, peaches, plums, damsons and grapes.  All the various berries flourish to perfection.

Market gardening around Knoxville is a remunerative business and is carried on successfully.  As a result, no better market for a city of its size can be found anywhere.  In fact, such is the productiveness of the soil, more is to be had for the table, and at a less cost, than can be obtained in cities tenfold the size.  Stock raising is a successful business, and such are the products of the dairy and the excellency of the beef produced that in many places in the South, these articles from East Tennessee are placarded specialties.  It may be added, however, that all is not genuine that is thus advertised.

In recent years much valuable stock has been brought into this section.  All the leading breeds of fine cattle and blooded horses are numerous.

The text and HTML code of this page is copyright ©2003 to Billie R. McNamara.  All rights reserved.  Please direct all questions and comments to Ms. McNamara.  Background graphic image was borrowed from Fred Smoot. Used by permission.

This page was last updated December 11, 2003.
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