WEST VIRGINIA GEOLOGICAL SURVEY. 



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Topography. 



The surface of the county is uneven and hilly. There is 

 a dilference of only about 200 feet in the height of the hills in 

 the eastern and western sections. Those in the west reach an 

 elevation of 1,000 to 1,300 feet and the elevation of those in the 

 east varies from 1,200 to 1,500 feet. The elevation of the 

 Guyandot valley where the river leaves the county in the north- 

 west is about 550 feet and that of the Coal river in the east is 

 about 600 feet. 



The county is well drained by Guyandot, Mud and Coal 

 rivers. The Guyandot flows northward through the western 

 part, the Mud river flows parallel with it through the center, 

 and the Coal river flows northward along the eastern border. 

 Each of these rivers has numerous small tributaries. 



The Original Forests. 



The leading timbers were yellow poplar, black walnut, 

 white ash, black cherry, and white oak, red oak and chestnut 

 oak. Other less valuable but plentiful timbers were beech, ma- 

 ples, hickories, birches, black gum, white elm, sycamore and 

 others. There was a fairly good growth of hemlock in favorable 

 localities throughout the county. 



The Lumber Industry. 



It may be stated that here, as in many of the other counties, 

 there was a large but necessary destruction of fine timber in the 

 clearings of the early settlers. The period of such destruction in 

 Lincoln began about 1820 and lasted, approximately, for 50 

 years. The first farmers who occupied the northern and north- 

 eastern sections of the county, principally along the water 

 courses of Guyandot, Mud and Coal rivers, destroyed much 

 valuable timber which could not be used for domestic purposes 

 and which had no commercial value at that time and place. 

 The poplars, walnuts and oaks grew to such a size that the 

 early settlers found it difficult to clear their lands of them. 

 The chief uses that could be made of timber in those days was 

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