My GRANDEST FIND Ever!! Grand Tower IL History & Geology | Shawnee National Forest | Devils Backbone
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- เผยแพร่เมื่อ 26 ส.ค. 2024
- Grand Tower located in Southern Illinois on the outskirts of the Shawnee National Forest is home to some of the most interesting geology and history in the Midwest.
Devil's Backbone is surrounded by the Ste. Genevieve Fault Zone and is a former island of the Mississippi River near Tower Rock on the Missouri side of the River.
Rich in history, Grand Tower was the former site of over 100 coke ovens and remnants still remain of the active pig iron industry.
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Coke Ovens - mississippival...
Geology Information: isgs.illinois....
I was rock hounding when it was low, around the same times you were there. If you noticed the gravels in the bottom was completely different then the gravels eroding from the banks. The bottom gravel is all from the lake superior region. Unikite,, epidope,, banded iron jasper , red and white pudding stones, tons of carnelian and lake superior agates too. I even found a lite blue topaz. All from around where you were standing!
Very Cool! It's amazing the force of this river to drag rock here from all over the watershed.
My great aunt and uncle lived in grand tower for awhile. I have lots of memories down there.
I grew up in Grand Tower. We had a general store passed down for 3 generations, opened for around 100 years. It was called Keller's General Store. The building sets right next to the bank on Main street
Wow! If those walls could talk. It truly is a town packed full American History. I’ve passed by it several times and did not know its history.
@@MarksofCuriosity let me know if you need to learn more. Would be happy to meet! I still live in Southern Illinois
@@tylerk14 Will do Tyler! I know there is another video there 👍
@@MarksofCuriosity sounds good. Message me when ready!
Gramma came down to the bank to put her check away , Grampa and me would head over to Keller's for a cold soda you couldn't get anywhere else that cold. We lived down on the Chute , we were the Butlers , family from town was all Cavaness.
My father grew up in Grand Tower and he told me that Andrew Carnegie planned steel production there due to its accessibility by river. That fell through and Carnegie set his sights on Pittsburgh. My father also told me that Benjamin air rifles started in Grand Tower.
Hmmm..Very interesting information, thanks for posting 👍
@@MarksofCuriosityI'm from Campbell Hill (or was) and have heard the Carnegie story as well. In fact, I've read it somewhere, not just heard it by word of mouth.
I enjoyed your video! My family and I lived in GT until the flood of 93’. My Grandpa, Oliver “Chalk” Hiram Meade, wrote a book about Grand Tower/Gorham through the great depression called “the art of make-do”. The area is rich with history and the people are resilient.
Thank You! Wow, Awesome. Your Grandpa must have lived through a lot. This area truly is full of history and you would definitely need to be resilient to take on the Mighty Mississippi 👍
My family owned Keller's General Store!
there is mine up on top they always called it "manhole" but its a mine I believe
@@MarksofCuriosityDoug Meade is my cousin and Chalk is my granddad as well. He was born in 1915 and he taught all of his children about making do with what you had. He had a plethora of knowledge of the history of Grand Tower.
@@MarksofCuriositythere are a series of 3 books written by a Grand Tower native named Victoria Cripps and she talks about the history of Grand Tower. It's a real interesting read.
Come to Millcreek. South of Jonesboro. Mined to this day for chert. Our chert has been found as far north as Michigan in the form of Indian ceremonial hoes and spades I believe. Our area is so rich in native history. Still have undisturbed Mounds 30 miles south of me.
That does sound interesting. Stories from history just waiting to be told 👍
And another great video. Thank you very much.
Art from Ohio
My Pleasure!
Really enjoyed this! Was in Shawnee National Forest. Wish had seen this prior. Thank you!
Thank you! Gives you a good reason to come back 👍
@@MarksofCuriosity hope to be there this spring!
The glaze on the bricks is a form of slag glass, I believe. I grew up in Paducah and loved going to Dixon Springs SP to hike and camp and climb! The turquoise blue slag is abundant in Kentucky around the Lakes. Very interesting video! Thank you from Louisville, Ky
Thanks! I wasn’t for sure what it was, but the color was beautiful . Dixon Springs is a great place - Thanks for watching and commenting 😀
I've been to Devil's Backbone Park a dozen times and never knew the coke ovens were there. I have gone out of my way in Tn and WV just to see sites like that and here is a point of interest just hidden in the vines in IL.
lol - I hear you. It wasn't till the day before filming the area, that I became aware of the ovens. It made me wonder, what else is out there in Southern Illinois that may be hidden in plain site.
Thank you for another great video of So. Illinois! And another place I hope to visit on my trip there in May. The coke ovens and the bubbling Mississippi are… amazing! It might not, however, be a good idea for me to wander off-trail in the Spring when snakes are out and about. Do you remember Ma Hale’s restaurant in Grand Tower? I first ate there in the early 70s.
My pleasure! There’s a reason a lot of my videos are during the winter lol. I don’t remember that restaurant. I started visiting the area in the mid-90’s
I do!
We're moving to area soon and have been watching your videos to get better acquainted with the area! Thanks so much for the info and you definitely made subscribers out of us for life! Keep up the good work and stay safe out there!
Your words are encouraging. It’s a beautiful and history rich area and I hope you explore and peel away the layers of history to discover some awesome things. Thanks for subscribing and watching 👍
....chain of rock in Mississippi Valley river (Saint Louis Missouri/Illinois) ..👍
We used to camp at Devils Back Bone park and I have seen all the stuff on your video because I like to explore!
Its a cool place and a great place to explore! Thanks for watching
You are allowed to go past the fence but if you don’t feel comfortable doing that there is a levee that leads to the same spot on the other side of town
Thanks for the good info, Luke! Definitely need to get back there to climb on the bake oven 😀
I spent a lot of time growing up in grand tower, I'll. My grandfather and other family lived their, and speaking from experience, do not step off in the sand
Homes on the south end of the backbone and Iron Works about middle and to the north, I have been up on the backbone and Devils bake oven, the road goes through where the houses use to sit, but due to ground eroding the road has been closed. I have relatives who have lived and still live in Grand Tower and the area, don't forget Red Town, named for all the homes being painted Red
Very cool information and Red Town sounds interesting. I have never heard of it.
Gary, its that platted street blocks at the north tip of Walker Hill and just east of the Foundry House Ruins and the Pipe Line
Very nice! Thanks for the info
This is one of my favorite videos of yours! I’ve yet to explore this bluff. This motivates me to check it out! Great stuff.
Thank You, Shawn and thanks for sharing! It's well worth a visit and it puts a smile on my face knowing it motivates you to check out this geological and history rich area. This is the only time filming that I have walked away with a headache and thought I had wasted the last 6 hours. It seemed liked the filming was being pulled in hundreds of different direction. After I set it aside and started editing, I thought this is the direction I want to go in my future editing. Thanks, again
@@MarksofCuriosity Maybe one day we can collaborate!
Yup, that needs to happen one day.
The Grand Tower Ferry was very cool. There is so much history there, long before Europeans got to this land.
My family reunion has been at the campground off the devils backbone, I can’t believe your video happened to be on my TH-cam timeline.
Nice! Beautiful place for a reunion 👍
@@MarksofCuriosity I shared it with the family I’m sure they’ll be as interested as I was in some of the historical significance of our little podunk family reunion town. Thanks for really getting into some of the more interesting things there.
Thank you for another great lesson.
There are a lot of fossils near the water level at the base of the bake oven hill.
Had the opportunity to view them in October. They were really interesting 👍
I found a bone handle knife in the cave up on top of the bluff there behind the power plant.
That’s super cool! That area is one I hope to get back to and film. Thanks for the comment 👍
Enjoyed the walk and narrative! Great video! Thanks!
My pleasure! Thanks for the watching 👍
12:15 looks like what you were seeing is quicksand in the making.
Indeed! Definitely a place to tread carefully. Thanks for the watching and commenting!
Really enjoy your video's. My family is from Grand Tower. We are probably distant Cousins.
Thank You! We are all related in some way - lol. Thanks for watching!
I drove on the levee and parked there then walked to Devil’s bake oven. I climbed through the area of the old house and around the north side to the west side facing the river. There’s a huge diagonal slab of limestone there. Don’t fall in!
Very Cool!
You might try the Alton Illinois area along the Illinois river if geology interests you. There are sandy areas where cactus grows. Sandstone bluffs with caves where the river used to be. I can’t remember the exact locations anymore.
Thanks for the suggestion. That is on my list. I’ve visited but never filmed. Hope to make it there soon.
You can get to that devils bake old foundry house ruins around the fences if you start in the park, goto the river edge and walk north up river about 2 miles and then you’ll see a small access road there. Foundry house ruins is on google maps.
Thanks for the info! Need to get out there during low water and check it out 👍
Beautiful little town! My girlfriend is from there and has told me so many stories!
Yes it Is - It's a history rich town and it is nice to have a connection to it.
Sup bro what are the odds I’d find you while watching documentaries lol
You were near the French Fort in Southwest Illinois. When I drove from st Louis to the French fort , I saw the same limestone hills as I was getting closer to the fort
Yes, that is also a very cool area to explore!
@@MarksofCuriosity I just remembered the name of the Fort, Fort de Chartres
Really good videos. There is a cave in Harrisburg I explored years ago with my dad.
Thank you and very interesting. That sounds like Cave Hill.
I believe it's considered a dead river there is one on the illinois state beach by zion il. Along the beach of Lake Michigan you'll have to research it for your selfs peace and much respect to you all Jason
Thank You, Jason for the info. I looked it up and that is very interesting. Thanks for the comment :)
@@MarksofCuriosity no problem peace
The super-saturated sand turns “quick” and you have quick sand, as does Illinois Beach SP.
Interesting to know that it happens at Illinois Beach - Need to put it on the list. Thanks for watching and commenting 👍
@@MarksofCuriosity yes no problem I've been there as a little kid I can't believe that the aera is that dangerous I no we played right there as kids because the water was a different temperature than the lake so I researched it and found that I've been there and I've seen a deal river and was glad to share my knowledge 😀 and yes it's in illinois at Lake Michigan
From an article I read years ago, there was a riverboat captain, or some other person who had amassed some money who built a huge house on top of the backbone. There was some nonsense or true ghost story stuff about his daughter and the usual ghost stuff with a tragedy and when he died, left or what not, the house went into disrepair and was abandoned, and the local people helped themselves to the wood and brick which was incorporated into some of the surrounding houses. The article did have a picture of the house on top. I wish could find it again. When I was up there saw what looked to be a Cistern(?) and some water pipe and a faint sign of a trail along it. I actually came down the South end on the Gazebo side and found it was a lot steeper than I thought, don't think I'd do that again. Unrelated, but the white gas line suspension bridge over the river is no longer used and due to be demolished sometime. Pretty much a landmark.
Hmm...Very Interesting! Lots of cool history in that area.
Gary, have you ever walked out to Tower Rock when the water was low? Thanks for your vids and information!
Yes, it’s been awhile ago, but it was very cool. Thank you and my pleasure!
Gary, I don't know if this story is true......but was said that Grand Tower won an award for it's iron ore at the 1893 Columbian Exposition. Have no sources to back it up.
Very Interesting! I would like to know more about this area. I know someone’s got to have photos of the area during this time.
@@MarksofCuriosity
Devil's Backbone Park in Grand Tower, Illinois. The site was operated by the Grand Tower Mining, Manufacturing and Transportation Company, a mining and industrial company which operated in Illinois in the 1860s and 1870s. The furnaces at the site were used to produce coke, a fuel produced from the coal used in iron smelting. The coke produced at the site was likely shipped to an iron furnace 1 mile (1.6 km) south of the site.
The site also includes the remains of the superintendent's house; a local legend claims that the house is haunted by the superintendent's daughter.
very very cool! i agree why isnt any of this protected all that history! its needs to be fully protected! come on Illinois get your act together!
It certainly is! I believe the town of Grand Tower owns it. Thanks for watching!
I like it
Me too! It's a beautiful area. Thanks for watching!
Looks like old Indian burial mounds and ground...my Brother has a mound burial ground on his land.
Charles Burdick is the local historian of Grand Tower. Lived there.....collected info, written tons of poetry about Grand Tower. Not sure I spelled last name correctly Burddick or Burdick?
Just looked him up. Interesting, it looks like most of his information is with the Southern Illinoisian. Not able to access, because it behind a paid wall, but may have to splurge when I get ready to do another video on the area. Thanks for the Info.!
@@MarksofCuriosity Bypass the SI and go straight to him. I took my kids on a field trip to Grand Tower several years ago. He has so much information. This little river town has so much history from Indian conflict, ore, river, shootings......the old mansion up on the rock which is now gone I believe.....and Charlie has lots of his info in poetry form.
Very True! Haven’t quite got in to the in person interviews… Yet 👍
Very informative and interesting. Well done. 👍
Thank You!
That was part of the steel works that went with the furnaces down the hill
Nice! Thanks for the info 👍
I guess he didn't find the abandoned mine thats on top the backbone
Is that where the iron ore came from?
Will flow again there
It indeed will, but the time frame is hopefully way out. Thanks for the comments and watching
Sabine Vlamy TH-cam
not positive, but I think the yellow and white residue in the ovens is sulfur; this area has bituminous coal which is soft and has a high sulfur content
Interesting! Thanks for the comment!
Pretty sure the suspended gas pipeline across the river close to Grand Tower is one of the longest in the world.
Interesting! Last time I was there they were doing major work on it. Thanks for watching!
Pole shift every 3600 years
Gorham
Gill Brousarde Planet7X youtube