CAHABA COAL FIELD: DAILEY CREEK BASIN. 105 
wagon road leads from the Aldrich mines near Montevallo 
to Blocton, going by Berea church and crossing the river at 
Lily Shoals. Another wagon road leads from Berea church 
to Potts’ Tan yard. Another wagon road leads from Peter’s 
mines to the James Rich ford on Cahaba river. 
Two railroads enter this basin at its north end, the two 
uniting near Gurnee or between Gurnee Station and Piney 
Woods Station; one of the railroads is the Birmingham 
Mineral Railroad, extending from the Louisville and Nash- 
ville Company’s main line at Helena, to its junction with 
the Brierfield, Blocton and Birmingham Railroad, near 
Gurnee. The other road is the Brierfield, Blocton and 
Birmingham Railroad which extends from Birmingham 
Junction Station near Montevallo, to Gurnee and Blocton. 
These two railroads have been recently constructed and are 
both now completed and in running order. 
The Birmingham Mineral Railroad Company have alease 
from the Brierfield, Blocton and Birmingham Railroad 
Company, enabling them to run their trains clear through 
from Helena to Blocton. 
The Brierfield, Blocton and Birmingham Railroad Com- 
pany are now building a railroad from Gurnee to Bessemer 
and Birmingham; the whole line being now constructed 
under contract: let to Aldrich, Worthington & Co., railroad 
contractors. 
Two years ago, and prior to the construction of these 
railroads, the Dailey Creek basin did not have a population 
of more than an average of one family to the square mile, 
but since that, the Excelsior Coal Company have opened - 
their two new slopes, and miners with their families have 
gone to live near the mines. The population has thus in- 
cceased to ten times what it was two years ago. 
The Dailey Creek Basin has a length of thirteen miles by 
an average width of three and two-tenths miles, and con- 
tains. a surface area of forty-one and a half square miles ; 
it contains of good workable coal in seams of over two feet 
in thickness, and within forty-five hundred feet in vertical 
depth seven hundred and seventy-one millions of tons, 
(771,000,000—of 2000 Ibs.) In computing this estimate of 
amount of coal in the basin i have made no allowance for 
loss in pillars, or waste in mining. 
