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CONDITIONS BY COUNTIES. 



greatly modified remnants of a plateau which has been worn 

 away by the waters of the several rivers and the numerous 

 smaller streams which have flowed through it. 



The county now has portions of 5 rivers. Of these the Elk 

 and the Little Kanawha are the largest, the former flowing 

 through the county in a southwesterly direction and the latter 

 flowing northwest through the northern end. The principal 

 tributaries of the Elk are Big Birch river, Coon creek, Big and 

 Little Buffalo creeks, Buckeye creek. Wolf creek, Stony creek. 

 Mill creek and Laurel creek, emptying from the south, and 

 Duck creek, Tate creek, Little Otter creek, Granny creek and 

 Holly river, flowing in from the north. The chief tributaries of 

 the Little Kanawha are the Right and Left Forks of Steer creek, 

 and Cedar creek, flowing into Gilmer county on the northwest, 

 and Oil creek, Salt Lick Fork, Ejiawls creek and Fall run, 

 emptying into the river between Burnsville and Falls Mill. 



Original Timber Conditions. 



According to an early writer on the timber resources of the 

 State, ''AH the varieties (of timber) common to the altitude 

 and latitude of the county (Braxton) .are found. Poplar and 

 the various kinds of oak are the most plentiful, though there is 

 an abundance of hickory, ash, maple and some walnut. The 

 poplar of this county is remarkably fine, the rich soil having 

 produced a very large growth and the trees reach enormous 

 proportions. The oak timber is also very fine and in much de- 

 mand. ' ' 



Pitch pine grew in most sections on dry hills and hemlocks 

 were commonly found thinly scattered along streams. J. I. 

 Bender, of Burnsville, reports small areas of white pine near 

 chapel post office on Steer creek, and a scattered growth of red 

 cedar on Cedar creek and at the falls of Little Kanawha. 



The Lumber Industry. 



The Elk and the Little Kanawha rivers were the principal 

 outlets for the timber of Braxton county before the building of 

 the Baltimore and Ohio and the Coal and Coke railroads. As 



