COLUMBIA AND MONTOUR COUNTIES
Valley—Most of the rocks in this township are of the Chcmung-Catskill formations. The Clinton iron ore has been extensively mined along the sides of Montour ridge, being followed to great depths by means of drifts, the dip being about 30 degrees. Limestone quarries were numerous in the days of iron working, but now have passed into disuse. About 800 feet is the greatest elevation in this township. on Montour ridge.
West Hemlock—As is the case in the adjoining townships, the Chemung-Catskill formations here predominate. The Hamilton beds arc too deeply buried to make profitable working here. The greatest elevation in this township is almost 1,000 feet above the sea.
Derry—The Hamilton, Helderberg and Chemung rocks arc here to be seen. A large quarry was formerly operated near Washingtonville, the product being lime and building stone. The greatest elevation in this township is 900 feet above the sea.
Limestone—Limestone ridge, the southern boundary, is composed of the Oriskany sandstones and the Helderberg limestones. Many limestone quarries were operated in this section, getting their product from the Bossardville and Stormville beds.. The greatest elevation is 780 feet, on Limestone ridge.
Anthony—This township was once a vast valley filled with a mighty stream, remains of whose action are shown in the boulder heaps that strew the surface. The only rocks that here appear above the horizon are the Hamilton and Chemung. In the highlands of the north the greatest elevation is 1,200 feet.
Mayberry—The formations in this township arc of similar character to those in Franklin township. Columbia county, adjoining. No quarries have been opened here, although the rocks have been used for building purposes locally. Sharp ridge, running through the center of the township, is about 300 feet above sea level.
THE IRON INDUSTRY
The mineral productions of Columbia county are of considerable value and form one of the sources of wealth for the people, but the yearly output is only a fraction of that of the past. During the operation of the iron furnaces at Bloomsburg and other points the production of this metal was the mo.st important business in the county. All of the ore came from the sides of Montour ridge and was of a fossiliferous character. Near the surface the ore was like loose soil, but below the layers became harder and filled with limestone and many fossils. Below the fossiliferous horizon the ore is poor and the cost of working it prohibitive. For this reason the mines of the county were gradually abandoned as fast as the upper layers of ore became exhausted.
The discovery of iron ore in Columbia county was made in 1822 by Robert Green, a farm laborer employed by Henry Young of Hemlock township, while plowing a field near the end of Montour ridge, on the bank of Fishing creek. He opened a drift and demonstrated the value of the vein. For twenty years this ore was mined and transported to the Esther and Penn furnaces, across the Susquehanna.
Columbia County Furnaces
Before the discovery of ore in the northern part of the county the Catawissa furnace was milt in Main township on Furnace run, near Catawissa creek, by John Hauck, in 1815. He had the advantage of proximity to the road to Reading and abundant wood for charcoal. The ore was at first procured from the neighborhood of Bloomsburg, but after the discovery of the deposits in Hemlock township most of the raw material came from the latter source.
For several years this was the only furnace in the county. The product was sent to Reading to be forged and the finished iron returned for home consumption. This was changed by the construction in 1824 of a forge near the furnace by Harley & Evans and the double handling done away with. Both furnace and forge were operated until 1883, when the distance from the mines and the cost of fuel caused their abandonment. The introduction of the anthracite process of smelting also made the furnace obsolete, as it was of the old charcoal, hot-blast design. A crumbling wall, overgrown with bushes, now marks the site of this once famous iron works.
The grading of the stage road to Reading through Locust township m 1817 caused the construction of the Esther furnace by Michael and Samuel Bittler. It was located on land originally patented to Samuel Shakespeare in 1773. on Roaring creek, nineteen miles from Fort Augusta (now Sunbury). David Shakespeare inherited the land and his executors deeded it to Jacob Yocum, from whom it passed to the Bittler family.
There was neither iron nor limestone near, but an abundance of wood. Most of the ore came from the Fishing creek region after the opening of the mines there. After various enlargements the furnace was teased successively
