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. 
Conity INO, 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 totwo and a half feet thick, and the coal is 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 tops of the 
hills, it is sometimes designated as the mountain ore; and the limestone, 
from its ferruginous character, assumes, on weathering, a brownish color, 
