Mineral Commodities

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Murphy Marble Belt

Elongate, lens-shaped masses of metamorphic marble occur within the Murphy marble belt in the Blue Ridge and Piedmont provinces of North Carolina and Georgia extending from Swain County, N.C., southwestward about 100 miles into central Cherokee County, Ga. (fig. 60).  The belt ranges from 1,000 feet to a half mile in width in North Carolina, but widens to as much as 3 miles in Georgia.  According to Watson and Laney (1906, p. 192) and McCallie (1907, p. 32), it lies within a zone of metamorphic rocks consisting of mica-quartz schist, schistose sandstone, quartzite, and gneiss.  Both dolomitic marble and calcitic marble are present.  The dolomitic variety predominates in most places but at Tate, Ga., the principal quarrying center, calcitic marble predominates.  Grain size ranges from fine to coarse, and the prevailing colors are light- to dark-gray and white.  In some areas the stone is light pink or flesh colored.  The age of the marble is not known, but Hurst (1955, p. 8) and King and others (1958, p. 965) have suggested that it is early Paleozoic.  Joints are abundant throughout the marble beds and where closely spaced, greatly reduce the amount of marble suitable for dimension stone (Watson and Laney, 1906, p. 193).

In the early 1900's, the high quality of this marble attracted attention, much of the belt was prospected, and many quarries were worked from time to time.  Only two areas, however, have been extensively and persistently quarried:  the deposits in the vicinity of Murphy and Marble, N.C. (loc. 13), and those in the vicinity of Tate and Marble Hill, Ga. (loc 14).  According to Broadhurst (1955, p. 72), the Murphy marble in Cherokee County, N.C., has a maximum thickness of about 500 feet and contains white, blue, red, pink, and dark-banded dolomitic marbles which are excellent for monumental, decorative, and building stone.  Conrad (1960, p. 13) stated that a quarry near Murphy produced a very attractive mottled blue and white marble that was widely known as Regal Blue Marble.

The most important producing deposits in the Murphy marble belt are those centering about Tate and Marble Hill, Ga.  Figure 61 shows the extensive workings at the White Cherokee Quarry of the Georgia Marble Co. at Tate.  Fairley (1965, p. 27), and W. S. Bayley (1928), recognized several distinct marble-bearing areas within a complexly folded series of schists and gneisses in this part of the belt.  Most of the marble is white, nearly pure calcite, but parts are dolomitic.  Furcron (1964-65, p. 27), in describing the deposits at Tate-Marble Hill stated that the marbles have been extensively quarried since 1840 for dimension stone, monumental stone, statuary, and other purposes.  The stone has been used in public buildings all over the Nation and for Federal buildings and monuments in Washington, D.C., including the statue in the Lincoln Memorial.

Figure 61.  Georgia Marble Co.'s White Cherokee quarry, Tate, Ga.

Marble in Brevard Fault Zone

The Brevard fault zone is a narrow belt of schist that extends southwestward from Surry County, N.C., to Tallapoosa County, Ala., where it disappears beneath the Coastal Plain sediments.  Bluish-white finely crystalline calcitic and dolomitic marble occurs within this zone, in Buncombe, Henderson, and Transylvania Counties, N.C., and is best developed near Mills River (fig. 60, loc. 16).  Whether the marble occurs as disconnected lenses or as a continuous horizon is not known.  Conrad (1960) and Reed and Bryant (1964, p. 1191) considered it to be part of an exotic tectonic slice. Although the marble beds have been utilized for well over 100 years, most, if not all, the stone has either been burned for lime or crushed for roadstone and concrete aggregate.  The commercial possibilities for use as dimension stone are not known, although descriptions of many quarries suggest that the beds are badly fractured.

Gaffney Marble Belt

In the Piedmont province, east of the Brevard zone, a narrow belt of steeply dipping metamorphosed sedimentary rocks extends northeastward from just south of Gaffney, S.C. (fig. 60, loc. 16) to beyond the eastern edge of Appalachia.  According to Conrad (1960, p. 39), the rocks in the belt consist of quartzite, schist, volcanics, crystalline limestone and dolomite, and calcareous metashale.  The so-called "Gaffney Marble" (Keith and Sterrett, 1931, p. 6) occurs as discontinuous beds or lenses that range in thickness from 50 to 800 feet.  The marble is, for the most part, very fine- to medium grained and varies in color from dark bluish gray to white.  Its composition varies considerably; some is calcitic but most is dolomitic.  Thin beds of mica schist are interbedded with the marble.  Many quarries have been developed along the belt, but most of the marble has been sold as crushed stone or burned for lime.

Sylacauga Marble Belt

Beds of pure-white to cream-colored marble, in places streaked or clouded, crop out in a narrow northeast-trending belt called the Sylacauga marble belt, about 35 miles long and ranging from 1/2 to 1 1/2 miles wide in east-central Alabama (fig 60).  According to Prouty (1916, p. 46), the belt is bordered on the southeast by slate and phyllite of the Talladega Slate but is separated from these rocks by a thrust fault.  The belt is bounded by the Knox Group along most of its northeastern border.  Prouty (1916, p. 48) stated that the marble is the metamorphosed equivalent of limestone units ranging in age from Cambrian through Silurian, and include the Beekmantown and Chickamauga Limestones.

The thickest deposits of marble occur toward the central and southwestern parts of the belt.  Various quarries in the vicinity of Sylacauga (loc. 17), the area of chief development, show the marble to be at least 200 feet thick.  Jones (1926, p. 50) reported that some quarries have produced stone more or less continuously since the Civil War.  The marble is a fine-grained nearly pure calcite.  It takes a high brilliant polish, and is ideally suited for architectural and ornamental purposes; some is of statuary grade.

The deposits are deeply weathered, however, and laced with a large number of fractures, faults, and shear zones; the size of sound blocks that can be quarried is therefore limited.  According to Jones (1926, p. 50), less than half the volume of stone quarried can be used as dimension stone, but all the broken and crushed material is used for various purposes such as terrazzo, furnace flux, and agriculture lime.

Other Marble Belts

McDowell County, N.C.-Large disconnected masses of marble occur throughout a belt of limestone in the northern part of McDowell county near Clinchfield (fig 60, loc. 18).  Watson and Laney (1906, p. 202) reported that the color and texture of the marble makes it favorable for use as a general building stone, but that much of the marble now exposed is useless for building purposes because it is closely disjointed.  Early drilling records, however, indicate that some of the marble units are nearly 1,000 feet thick, and that some parts are fairly free from joints (Watson and Laney, 1906, p. 203).

Whitfield County, Ga.-A zone of dark-chocolate and gray, highly fossiliferous marble occurs within a narrow north-trending belt from Whitfield County, Ga., near Red Clay (fig. 50, loc. 19) and Bradley County, Tenn.  The thickness of the marble beds is estimated to range from 30 to 60 feet (McCallie, 1907, p. 75).  The marble probably belongs to the Holston Formation which is extensively worked in the vicinity of Knoxville, Tenn.  In Georgia, however, the stone has been quarried and used only locally for tombstones, chimneys, and other building purposes; according to Butts and Gildersleeve (1948, p. 28), the stone probably has little value as a dimension stone.

Bibb County, Ala.-A narrow belt of variegated marble is exposed in the southernmost part of Shelby County near Calera (fig. 60, loc. 21).  The marble is reported by Prouty (1916, p. 86) to be metamorphosed limestone of Cambrian age.  Butts (1910) described it as follows:

The marble is thick bedded, the layers being 3 to 4 feet thick.  They are cut by joints which divide them into blocks of considerable size, and it seems probable that under good cover even larger blocks exist * * * the rock is very fine grained and takes a high polish.  Part of the layers are gray and part are composed perhaps of one-half of each kind * * * the variegation gives to the rock a highly ornamental effect when polished, and it would appear to possess superior qualities for decorative purposes.

Calhoun County, Ala.-An imperfectly known northeast-trending belt of black marble of probable Chickamauga age is exposed intermittently in the northern half of Calhoun County near Jacksonville (fig. 60, loc. 22).  Prouty (1916, p. 93) described some of the exposures as thin-bedded marble, with few layers more than 2 feet thick; other exposures consist of much thicker layers.  White calcite veins and streaks occur in the marble, enhancing its value as decorative stone.

Franklin County, Ala.-A bed of very light gray to white, almost pure oolitic limestone of the Rockwood Member of Jones (1928) of the Bangor Limestone of the Mississippian age has been extensively quarried for use as dimension stone in the vicinity of Russellville, Ala.  (fig 60, loc. 23).  Although technically not a marble, it is, according to Jones (1926, p. 43), "* * * remarkably uniform in texture, is hard and very durable and is, in part, massively bedded * * * which enables the quarrymen to take out as large blocks as their equipment will handle.  Furthermore, these blocks will usually be without cracks or flaws, suitable for columns or any other use which requires absolute uniformity in grain, color, or texture."  This bed of limestone trends roughly eastward across the County for a distance of almost 20 miles and has a rather wide zone of outcrop in spite of the fact that the bed averages only about 25-30 feet in thickness; in places it is much thicker (Jones, 1928, p. 14).  The stone has been used for wall blocks, steps, door sills, window seats, and buttress caps.

Grainger County, Tenn.-Black limestone of Middle Cambrian age has been quarried for use as interior marble at two localities in Grainger County, Tenn.  (R. A. Laurence, written commun., Nov. 19, 1965).  The Imperial Black quarry, near Thorn Hill (fig 60, loc. 24), in the Maryville Limestone, has been operated intermittently since 1935.  The Craig quarry, in the Rutledge (loc. 25), was operated chiefly in the late 1930's, and then abandoned.  The Maryville Limestone crops out extensively in this area, but black marble occurs only in limited amounts.

Production

From 1945 to 1964, Appalachia produced about two-thirds of the dimension marble quarried in the United States.  Quantities and values of annual production in the United States for the 20-year period are presented in table 68.  Annual Appalachian production is withheld in order not to disclose individual company data.  About 85 percent of Appalachian production in 1964 was sold as building stone and 15 percent as monumental stone.

Table 68.  Production of marble (dimension stone), 1945-64  (Source: U.S. Bur. Mines)

The principal producing States in Appalachia during the last two decades have been Tennessee and Georgia; lesser production has been reported from Alabama and North Carolina.

Limestone accounted for 5 percent of the value and 7 percent of the tonnage of Appalachian dimension stone production from 1945 to 1964, and represented 2.4 percent of the dimension limestone quarried in the United States during the period.  Quantities and values of annual production in the United States for the 20-year period are given in table 69.  Annual Appalachia production is withheld in order not to disclose individual company data.  All the 1964 Appalachia production was sold or used as building stone.

The principal producing States in Appalachia during the last two decades have been Alabama, Pennsylvania, and Georgia.  Minor production was reported from Kentucky, Maryland, West Virginia, and New York.

Table 69.  Production of limestone (dimension stone), 1945-64  (Source: U.S. Bur. Mines)

Sandstone

Sandstone, a sedimentary rock composed chiefly of quartz grains cemented by silica, iron oxide, calcium carbonate, or clay, has been a popular building material in Appalachia.  It is commonly used as ashlar blocks in walls, window sills, and fireplaces, as flagstones, and in massive blocks for piers, bridge abutments, and large foundations.

Sandstone Belts and Areas

Although many sandstone-bearing formations have been extensively quarried from time to time, probably more than half the volume of sandstone quarried for building purposes has been produced from relatively few sandstone units that are generally either persistently thick bedded or persistently thin bedded, and are even textured, attractively colored, and durable.  These units are listed in table 70.  They crop out, (fig. 62) in the Valley and Ridge, the Appalachian Plateaus and the Interior Low Plateaus provinces.  In the Valley and Ridge, sandstone beds of Cambrian to Mississippian age dip steeply and form narrow belts of outcrops.  The Appalachian Plateaus are characterized by flat-lying strata containing numerous sandstone beds of Pennsylvanian and Permian ages and, to the north, of Devonian age.  Flat-lying beds of Mississippian sandstone crop out in the interior low Plateaus.  A narrow belt of quartzite lies east of the Valley and Ridge province in the Talladega Belt.

The locations of some of the areas known to have produced dimension stone are shown in figure 62 and identified in table 71.  A selected group of quarry sites briefly described below are typical of the kinds of sandstone beds exploited for dimension stone.

Figure 62.  Belts and areas of sandstone in the Appalachian Region quarried for dimension stone. 

Shaded area contains many sandstone units suitable for dimension stone.  Open circle refers to principal quarry or district listed in table 71.  Solid circle refers to quarry site described in text.

Scioto County, Ohio.-Several sandstone-bearing formations crop out along the Ohio River in the vicinity of Buena Vista (fig 62, loc. 71); they are in ascending order the Bedford shale and Berea Sandstone of Devonian or Mississippian age and the Buena Vista Sandstone Member of the Cuyahoga Formation of Mississippian age.  Rocks exposed attracted attention of pioneers, and quarrying began in the early 1800's.  Although both the Berea Sandstone and Bedford Shale contain suitable sandstone units, almost all dimension stone has been quarried from beds of the Buena Vista Member.  Stone from a certain layer became so popular with architects and builders at Cincinnati that it was known as the City ledge (Bownacker 1915, p. 125).  The City ledge usually ranges from 3 to 4 feet in thickness, has a uniform bluish-drab color and a medium grain, is strong and durable, and carves well.  Blocks containing as much as 300 cubic feet were quarried and shipped, but the average has been about 45 cubic feet.  The blocks are sawed in pieces of various sizes to meet the market demand.  In addition to a large use for architectural purposes, this ledge has provided stone for bridges, culverts, flagging, and curbing.

Beaver County, Pa.-The Homewood Sandstone Member of the Pottsville Formation of Pennsylvanian age has been extensively quarried in the vicinity of Koppel (fig. 62, loc. 29).  The sandstone bed, 20-60 feet thick, is massive, coarse grained, and tan to gray in color.  Widely spaced joints permit blocks of any desired size to be quarried.  Sound blocks 2 feet thick and as much as 3 feet wide and 6 feet long have been obtained for use in constructing piers and abutments, retaining walls, and extra large foundations (Stone, 1932, p. 46).  Curbstones have also been produced.

Rockcastle County, Ky.-Within the Borden Formation of Mississippian age, a northeast-trending lens of sandstone 16-20 miles long, has been quarried since 1896 in the vicinity of Wildie and Mount Vernon (fig 62, loc. 131, 132).  The sandstone of the Wildie Member of the Borden is argillaceous, bluish drab, fine grained, and even textured.  It splits freely in all directions and in the trade is known as the "Rockcastle freestone;" it is remarkably free from iron, weathers uniformly, and is worth of its interstate reputation as a building stone (Richardson, 1923, p. 96-97).

Cumberland County, Tenn.-Thin-bedded sandstone of the Pottsville Formation of Pennsylvania age, especially the Crossville Sandstone Member of Wanless (1946) is extensively quarried throughout an area near Crab Orchard (fig. 62, loc. 149).  According to Gildersleeve (1946f, p. 9), the stone is a medium to fine-grained dense silica-cemented quartzitelike sandstone.  It occurs in beds ranging from less than an inch to about 18 inches in thickness.  The beds are horizontal and of uniform thickness.  The stone separates readily along bedding planes and may be quarried in many sizes; much of it is stained by iron oxides to form intricate variegated patterns in gold, purple, mauve, blue, gray, and pink.  This highly colored stone is used in wall panels, as veneer for exterior walls, floors, copings, roofing, flagstones, and for similar decorative purposes.  Most of the light-colored unstained stone is produced in bricklike shapes for use in exterior walls and heavy construction.  Fabricating plants are located near the quarries.

Barbour County, W. Va.-Highly colored sandstone from beds totalling as much as 60 feet in thickness has been quarried for building stone in the vicinity of Junior and Laurel (fig. 62, loc. 116).  The beds are part of the Homewood Sandstone Member of the Pottsville formation of Pennsylvanian age (Grimsley, 1909, p. 510-511).  This fine- to coarse-grained sandstone shows a variety of colors, including blue, buff, yellow, pink, and red; some yellow sandstone has an irregular red banding and is called Calico stone.  Yellow or red spots give a mottled appearance to some beds.  The sandstone has been popular for trimming fronts of buildings; the variety of colors permits its use with any color of brick.

Ritchie County, W. Va.-Beds of buff to yellowish-brown sandstone of the Waynesburg Sandstone Member of the Washington Formation of Pennsylvanian age have been extensively quarried for building stone in the vicinity of Cornwallis (fig. 62, loc. 91).  Mica flakes occur sparingly, and the rock has abundant white kaolin particles that impart a speckled appearance.  The quarry, one of the largest in West Virginia, has provided some stone for buildings, but most of the stone has been used for bridge piers and "is regarded as one of the best bridge stones in the State" (Grimsley, 1909, p. 446).

Susquehanna County, Pa.-Greenish-gray hard thin-bedded, nearly flat-lying sandstone of the Catskill Formation of Devonian age has been extensively quarried for flagstones in the vicinity of Brandt (fig. 62, loc. 61).  Stone (1932, p. 269) reported that "in outcrop these sandstones look massive and crossbedded but when a quarry is opened it is common to find that the stone will lift in even layers 2 to 5 inches thick and make excellent flagstones."  Quarries have produced a wide range of sizes and shapes of stone for various uses, including 3-4 inch coping as much as 8 feet long, flagstones and curbstones of various sizes, and landscape flagstones in irregular shapes.  Some of the stone is dressed to rock-face random ashlar.

Marshall County, Ala.-Thin-bedded sandstone of the Pottsville Formation of Pennsylvanian age has been quarried at irregular intervals in the vicinity of Guntersville (fig. 62, loc. 158, 159).  The beds have an aggregate thickness of approximately 50 feet (Hunter, 1940, p. 7).  According to Gildersleeve (1946f, p. 10), the "* * * sandstone suitable for building purposes is characterized by thin, horizontal beds, clay parting seams, and grains of such nature that the stone is easily split and shaped."  The quartz grains of the stone are cemented by silica, and the stone has great strength.  The sandstone is generally gray, grading into or blended with gray and pink, light-tan or buff, reddish-pink, white to bluish-gray, and light-brown and mauve stone (Gildersleeve, 1946f, p. 10).  In some places the quality of the stone is impaired for building purposes by crossbedding, abundant closely spaced joints, and iron-stained spots (Hunter, 1940, p. 7).  Almost all stone produced from this area has been in the form of blocks and slabs for location construction.

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