STARK COUNTY. 175 



Bethlehem, Pike, and Sandy — Coal No. 6 is found in most of the higher 

 hills. It is, however, in this region thinner and less pure than in the 

 south-eastern portion of the county. Its best development seems to be 

 in Osnaburg and Paris. It here lies for the most part conveniently 

 above drainage, is from four to six feet in thickness, with a slate parting 

 from twelve to twenty inches above the bottom. The coal of the lower 

 bench is much purer than that of the upper, and is the portion so much 

 esteemed for blacksmiths' use. From the large area it occupies, its thick- 

 ness, and its adaptation to manufacturing purposes, this coal holds a 

 prominent place in the mineral resources of the county, and forms a capi- 

 tal which will doubtless be largely drawn upon in the development of 

 various industries. It is to be regretted that the territory where Coal 

 No. 6 appears best is not yet traversed by lines of transportation, and its 

 use has been much restricted by its inaccessibility. 



Coal No. 7. 



This seam is the highest of the lower coal group, and no workable coal 

 is found above it in this section of the State. In the counties lying south 

 and east of Stark, where the members of the upper coal series are repre- 

 sented, Coal No. 7 is overlain by a mass, some four hundred feet in thick- 

 ness, of shales and sandstones, the former frequently colored red, which 

 contain little coal, and hence are called the Barren Coal Measures. The 

 highest hills in Stark county are composed of the lower portion of this 

 series, generally a mass of gray shale, with more or less sandstone. The 

 hill-tops on both sides of the valley of the Sandy have this character, and 

 it is only here that Coal No. 7 is found. In this region it is a thin seam, 

 from one and a half to two and a half feet thick, and the coal ia of inferior 

 quality, so that in Stark county it has no considerable value. It becomes, 

 however, of much greater consequence in the counties which lie further 

 south. 



Blackband Iron Ore. 



The chief interest which attaches to Coal No. 7 in Stark county comes 

 from the fact of its association with the blackband ore which overlies it. 

 This is a bituminous shale, highly impregnated with iron. It often, 

 though not constantly, forms the roof of Coal No. 7, and where present 

 attains a thickness of from three to eight feet. The blackband ore is 

 generally, though not always, overlain by a ferruginous limestone, in 

 which the quantity of iron is sometimes sufficient to render it a calcare- 

 ous iron ore. From the fact that this is only found in the top? of the 

 hills, it is sometimes designated as the mountain ore; and the limestone, 

 from its ferruginous character, assumes, on weathering, a brownish color. 



