WELLS OF SCHUYLER COUNTY, ILLINOIS. 711 



INDIVIDUAL WELLS. 



The public water supply at Beardstown is obtained from driven wells 

 about 80 feet in depth. The wells show a gradation downward from sand 

 through fine gravel to coarse gravel. Several artesian wells have been sunk 

 at this city which penetrate about 100 feet of drift and reach depths of 1,050 

 to 1,100 feet. A flow of water is obtained from strata supposed to be 

 Devonian at about 350 feet, and another flow with small amounts of gas 

 and oil at 500 to 600 feet, and a third flow from near the bottom. The 

 wells are estimated to have a capacity of about 175 gallons a minute. 



At Virginia wells are usually obtained at 25 to 50 feet from sand and 

 gravel below clay. The beds of sand and gravel are not certain to occur, 

 and only those wells which are so fortunate as to strike them obtain an 

 abundant supply of water. Dr. J. F. Snyder, of Virginia, reports that 

 during the drought of 1894 and 1895 about 70 per cent of the wells in the 

 vicinity of Virginia became dry. The coal shaft at this village, 220 feet in 

 depth, penetrated 187 feet of drift. It was mainly through till, but a black 

 soil was passed through at 67 to 70 feet. This coal shaft is stated by Dr. 

 Snyder to have afforded, during the drought referred to above, about 375 

 barrels of water a day. A boring at Virginia 730 feet in depth obtained a 

 water strongly impregnated with sulphur and iron, which is considered unfit 

 for general use. A remarkable thickness of peat was jienetrated by a well at 

 Mr. Oldridge's, in this village, of which an account appears on a previous 

 page (p. 127). The section at Ashland has also been discussed (p. 127). 



SCHUYLER COUNTY. 

 GENERAL STATEMENT. 



Schuyler County is situated on the west border of the Illinois River, 

 northwest from Cass County, and has an area of 430 square miles, with 

 Rushville as the county seat. Crooked Creek crosses its northwest corner 

 and forms a portion of the western border. No other prominent stream 

 occurs in the county, but it has a somewhat mature drainage system, and 

 portions of the county are very much broken by ravines. There is a loess 

 coating, as in the counties east of the Illinois River, which adds to the ready 

 disposition of the rainfall. The Illinois bottoms lay mainly east of the 



