Encyclopedia Dubuque
"Encyclopedia Dubuque is the online authority for all things Dubuque, written by the people who know the city best.”
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Affiliated with the Local History Network of the State Historical Society of Iowa, and the Iowa Museum Association.
SULFHUR
SULPHUR. MINERS' EXPRESS (THE) reported in 1841 the discovery of sulphur in its pure state at the "timber diggings" about twelve miles from Dubuque. In sinking a shaft, miners struck a large cave about seventy or eighty feet below the surface in which they discovered a large quantity of "Flour of Sulphur" similar to the material sold in shops.
The sulphur found in the cave was said to burn with a brilliant flame. The slight explosion that occurred when lit was said to be proof of the presence of "nitre."
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Source:
"Native Sulphur," The Madisonian (Washington, D.C. 1837-1845), September 21, 1841, p. 1. Online: http://chroniclingamerica.loc.gov/lccn/sn82015015/1841-09-21/ed-1/seq-1/#date1=1836&index=8&rows=20&words=Dubuque+miners&searchType=basic&sequence=0&state=&date2=1922&proxtext=dubuque+miner&y=0&x=0&dateFilterType=yearRange&page=6
Research: Jeff Gruber