Stone Types
Granite
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Bibliography from The Commercial
Granites of New England
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The Building Stones - Granite (July 1885) Quarrying Notes
- The Manufacturer and Builder, Vol. 17, Issue 7, July 1885,
pgs. 154-155. (Article in digital images viewed at American Memory,
Library of Congress.)
-
The Constructional, Monumental, Sculptural, and Rusty-Faced Granites
of New England Grouped by Dominant Colors and Shades - 1923 Geologic Factors in Granite Quarrying
from The Commercial Granites of New England.
-
Discussion of Granites from Commercial Granites
of Massachusetts, New Hampshire, and Rhode Island, written
by T. Nelson Dale, published 1908.
-
Granite, presented on Wikipedia.
-
Granite Rock (January 1880) The Manufacturer and Builder,
Vol. 12, Issue 1, January 1880, pg. 22. (Article in digital images
viewed at American Memory, Library of Congress.)
-
Granites and Sandstones (May 1891) The Manufacturer and
Builder, Vol. 23, Issue 5, May 1891, pg. 104. May 1891. (Article
in digital images viewed at American Memory, Library of Congress.)
-
The Granite Industry of Barre, Vermont, written by George
H. Gilman of Claremont, New Hampshire, from Mine and Quarry
Magazine, Sullivan Machinery Co., Publisher, Chicago, Illinois, Vol.
IV. No. 3 - January, 1910, pgs. 358 - 366. (The article discusses
the equipment at the Barclay Brothers facilities.)
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Quincy Granite - Quarrying and Mining (December 1893) The
Manufacturer and Builder, Vol. 25, Issue 12, December 1893, pg.
278. (Article in digital images viewed at American Memory, Library
of Congress.)
-
Rob's
Granite Page, presented by
Robert M. Reed, Structural Geology Ph.D., The University of Texas at Austin.
-
"The Rocks" (June 1885) (Includes the beginning
of the article on the Granites) Quarrying Notes - The Manufacturer
and Builder, Vol. 17, Issue 6, June 1885, pg. 130-131. Article
in digital images viewed at American Memory, Library of Congress)
-
"The Building Stones" - Granite (Concluded) (July 1885)
Quarrying Notes in The Manufacturer and Builder, Vol. 17, Issue
7, July 1885, pgs. 154-155. (Article in digital images viewed at American
Memory, Library of Congress.)
-
“Granite” (circa 1923), in The Mining Catalog 1923 - Metal - Quarry Edition: A Consolidation of Condensed Catalog Information Relating to the Metallic and Non-Metallic Mining Industries, Quarries and Cement Mills (Third Issue 1923), Keystone Consolidated Publishing Co., Inc., pp. 531.
“Granite paving blocks are manufactured in a great variety of sizes. Eleven varieties, sold under trade names, were reported to the United States Geological Survey in 1917, and many other varieties were sold by sizes only. The State of Maine reported 7 different sizes, New York 7, Massachusetts 10, and other states a varying number. Undoubtedly some latitude should be allowed in paving block dimensions, particularly in length, but too great a complexity is involved both in manufacturing and in street construction, where every state or city writes its specifications without regard to the requirement of other localities.”
- “Tools and Machinery of the Granite Industry,” by Paul Wood (Part I.: Vol. 59, No. 2, June 2006. Part II.: Vol. 59, No. 3, September 2006. Part III.: Vol. 59, No. 4, December 2006. Part IV: Vol. 60, No. 1, March 2007., in The Chronicle of the Early American Industries Association, Inc.)
Limestone
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"A New "Duplex" Channeler for Oölitic Limestone," by C.
J. Levey, from Mine and Quarry Magazine, Sullivan Machinery
Co., Publisher, Chicago, Illinois, Vol. VII. No. 2, January, 1913.
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Facts About Lime and Limestones (September 1891) The Manufacturer
and Builder, Vol. 23, Issue 9, September 1891, pg. 207. (Text
of article in digital images viewed at American Memory, Library of
Congress.)
-
Facts About Lime and Limestone (March 1892) The Manufacturer
and Builder, Vol. 24, Issue 3, March 1892, pg. 63. (Article in
digital images viewed at American Memory, Library of Congress.)
-
Indiana Oölitic Limestone: Geology, Quarries, Methods, by
George D. Hunter of Bloomington, Indiana, Mine and Quarry Magazine,
Sullivan Machinery Co., Publisher, Chicago, Illinois, Vol. V. No.
4 - July, 1910, pgs. 410 - 421.
-
Limestone, presented on Wikipedia.
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“Limestone and Dolomite,” Information Circular 7738,” O. Bowles, U.S. Bureau of Mines, 29 pp., 1956b. (U.S. government publication)
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The Limestones as Building and Ornamental Stones (1890)
by Dr. Alexis A. Julien, The Manufacture and Builder, Vol.
22, Issue 9, September 1890 (Viewed at American Memory, Library of
Congress.)
- Limestone: Dependable and Adaptable, by Cory Sekine-Pettite, Building Stone Magazine, Spring 2007.
The following subjects are discussed on this web site: Quarries, Colors, Interesting Facts, including two photographs with the following photo captions: (1) “The University of Alabama, Birmingham, Shelby Interdisciplinary Biomedical Research Building was constructed using Vetter Stone’s Alabama Silver Shadow oolitic limestone. The architect was CUH2A, Princeton , N.J.” (2) “Egypt is a country rich in stone, particularly limestone, which occurs in many varieties there.”
- The Limestones of Wisconsin (January 1886) The Manufacturer
and Builder, Vol. 18, Issue 1, January 1886, pgs. 10-11. (Text
of article in digital images viewed at American Memory, Library of
Congress.)
-
Magnesian Limestone (October 1893) The Manufacturer and
Builder, Vol. 25, Issue 10, October 1893, pg. 231. (Article in
digital images viewed at American Memory, Library of Congress.)
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The Presence of Magnesia in Limestones (September 1882) The
Manufacturer and Builder, Vol. 14, Issue 9, September 1882, pg.
207. (Article in digital images viewed at American Memory, Library
of Congress.)
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Limestone - Structural Materials (circa 1923), in The Mining Catalog 1923 - Metal - Quarry Edition: A Consolidation of Condensed Catalog Information Relating to the Metallic and Non-Metallic Mining Industries, Quarries and Cement Mills (Third Issue 1923), Keystone Consolidated Publishing Co., Inc., pp. 531.
“During the war period production, greater and more intense production, was the key-note of commercial activity, and other manufacturing problems were submerged beneath this dominating impulse. Industry has suffered from the effects of such unbalanced development and an effort is now being made to rectify the errors of the past.
“The present business depression has permitted operators to direct their attention toward phases of industry other than volume of output, and one of the notable results is the tendency to analyze and seek a remedy for the present undesirable industrial condition. Many operators have concluded that a cure may be effected in large part by correcting defects in the producing industries themselves. Thus a period of commercial house-cleaning has set in, the chief object of which is to eliminate non-essentials both in products and equipment, and to reduce production cost through simplification of processes. This movement is quite pronounced in the mineral product industries....”
“Structural Materials
“Similar tendencies may be noted in the structural block, sand, gravel and crushed stone industries. Limestone quarrymen have found it advantageous to establish a standard size 8 x 4 x 4 feet, for mill blocks, and large piles of such blocks are stored for seasoning before shipment to stone-cutters. Concrete blocks, artificial stone, terra cotta, and similar types of molded building blocks are gradually being standardized in size and shape.”
Marble
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Algerian Marbles (November 1887) The Manufacturer and Builder,
Vol. 19, Issue 11, November 1887, pg. 253. (Article in digital images
viewed at American Memory, Library of Congress.) (This article includes
a sketch: "Salem (Ind.) Quarry Yards, Mills and Kilns, and Cars Loaded
with Monoliths for the Georgia State Capitol.")
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American Marbles (January 1857) "The Living Age...", Vol.
52, Issue 660, January 17, 1857, pgs. 148-149. (Article in digital
images viewed at American Memory, Library of Congress.)
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American Marbles (November 1888) The Manufacturer and Builder,
Vol. 20, Issue 11, November 1888, pgs. 250-251. (Article in digital
images viewed at American Memory, Library of Congress.)
- Antique Marbles, presented on the McMarmilloyd Ltd. web site.
The following antique marbles are listed in the “Antique Marbles” section of the McMarmilloyd Ltd. web site. (Some of these stones are described and/or include a colored image of the stone.) Grand Antique (Classic), Breccia Di Sciro (Sette Bassi), Frosterley, Petit Antique (Noir Pompéen), Verde Antico Chiaro Classico, Alabastro Egitto, Breccia Frutti Colosa (no further info. or image), Lapis Hecatontalithos (Uadi Hammámát) (no further info. or image), Ashburton, Castracane Dorato, Bréche D'Alet, Porta Santa, North African Skyros, Marmor Caristium (Euboea), Nero Grande Antico D'Italia, and Aligua Antica.
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Australian Marble (June 1894) The Manufacturer and Builder,
Vol. 26, Issue 6, June 1894, pg. 135. (Article in digital images viewed
at American Memory, Library of Congress.)
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California Marble (May 1894) The Manufacturer and Builder,
Vol. 26, Issue 5, May 1894, pgs. 108-109. (Text of article in digital
images viewed at American Memory, Library of Congress.)
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Families
of Marble, by Walter S. Arnold, Sculptor/Stone Carver, Chicago,
Illinois
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The Geology of the Marble Deposits (December 1884) The
Manufacturer and Builder, Vol. 16, Issue 12, December 1884, pg.
274. (Article in digital images viewed at American Memory, Library
of Congress.)
-
Georgia Marble (January 1889) The Manufacturer and Builder,
Vol. 21, Issue 1, January 1889, pgs. 14-15. (Article in digital images
viewed at American Memory, Library of Congress.)
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Georgia Marble (December 1891) The Manufacturer and Builder,
Vol. 23, Issue 12, December 1891, pg. 278. (Article in digital images
viewed at American Memory, Library of Congress.)
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Georgia
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Extensive Marble Belt in Georgia (October 1894) The Manufacturer
and Builder, Vol. 26, Issue 10, October 1894, pg. 230. (Article
in digital images viewed at American Memory, Library of Congress.)
-
Inyo Marble (California) (March 1889) The Manufacture and
Builder, Vol. 21, Issue 3, March 1889, pgs. 59-60. (Article in
digital images viewed at American Memory, Library of Congress.)
-
Marble, presented on Wikipedia.
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Marble and Dimensional Stones in the United States, by
Jeffrey Matthews (1995),
Trade International Inc.
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Marble in Oregon (October 1890) The Manufacture and Builder,
Vol. 22, Issue 10, October 1890, pgs. 225-226. (Article in digital
images viewed at American Memory, Library of Congress.)
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“Marble,” Information Circular 7829, O. Bowles, U.S. Bureau of Mines, 31 pp., 1958. (U.S. government publication)
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“Marble Quarrying in America, a Cautious Revolution,” Dimensional Stone, Vol. 5, No. 8, pp. 27-29, 1989.
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Marble
Samples from Utah on the Marble Sphere Corner Site.
Samples shown of marbles of various colors from many countries.
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The Marbles of Vermont (September 1888) The Manufacturer
and Builder, Vol. 20, Issue 9, September 1888, pg. 203. (The article
includes a sketch: "Interior View of Marble Quarry at West Rutland,
Vermont"; article in digital images viewed at American Memory, Library
of Congress.)
-
The Marbles of Vermont (December 1890) The Manufacture
and Builder, Vol. 22, Issue 12, December 1890, pgs. 272-273. (Article
in digital images viewed at American Memory, Library of Congress.)
-
Oregon Marble (January 1890) The Manufacture and Builder,
Vol. 22, Issue 1, January 1890, pgs. 8-9. (Article in digital images
viewed at American Memory, Library of Congress.)
-
Selecting and Purchasing Marble, by FlooringGuide.com (This site includes a full discussion of marble and travertine marble.)
- Southern Marble (June 1887) The Manufacturer and Builder,
Vol. 19, Issue 6, June 1887, pgs. 130-131. (Article in digital images
viewed at American Memory, Library of Congress.)
-
Statuary Marble in (Inyo) California (May 1886) The Manufacturer
and Builder, Vol. 18, Issue 5, May 1886, pgs. 107-108. (Article
in digital images viewed at American Memory, Library of Congress.)
-
Tennessee Marble (June 1886) The Manufacturer and Builder,
Vol. 18, Issue 6, June 1886, pgs. 130-131. (Article in digital images
viewed at American Memory, Library of Congress.)
-
Texas Marble (July 1887) The Manufacturer and Builder,
Vol. 19, Issue 7, July 1887, pg. 156. (Article in digital images viewed
at American Memory, Library of Congress.) (The article states that
pure white marble was discovered when the Antonio and Arkansas Pass
Railway was being built toward Boerne near San Antonio, Texas. Arrangements
were being made (in 1887) to open quarries at that location.)
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Travertine, presented on Wikipedia.
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Vermont Marble (May 1891) The Manufacturer and Builder,
Vol. 23, Issue 5, May 1891, pgs. 105-106. May 1891. (Article in digital
images viewed at American Memory, Library of Congress.)
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Vermont - Marble Quarry (The Philadelphia Museums)
This photograph shows a corner of one of the great
quarries in what is the most important marble producing section of
the United States.
There are in
this country other deposits of limestones, some of which are now being
worked and others which will produce very largely in the future, but
the quarries lying in the neighborhood of Rutland and Proctor, Vermont,
produce annually more handsome marble many times over than is taken
out in all the rest of America. This is due to the fine quality of
stone in the quarries, the improved and efficient methods of working
and the convenient transportation facilities which enable the stone
to be easily put on the market. Old-fashioned and laborious methods of quarrying
and handling the stone have been entirely displaced by the most modern
machinery. The stone is too easily cracked and broken to allow of
blasting. It is therefore cut out of the beds, in which it lies, by
machines called "channelers". These consist of rows of long
chisels, set in a strong travelling framework. This gang of chisels
is arranged so that it is worked by machinery and vibrates up and
down cutting a channel or groove in any desired direction. When the
groove is sufficiently long and deep the channeler is set at work
in another place cutting a cross channel and the bottom is also perforated.
The block can then be easily split away by means of wedges. Blocks
of marble thus dislodged are lifted by cranes and derricks worked
by steam or electricity and carried rapidly and easily to the railroad
cars for transportation. The picture shows one large block of marble
being thus lifted to the surface of the ground. The clean-cut steps
in the sides of the quarry show plainly how the machines have cut
away the marble in great blocks. In the bottom of the quarry are some
portable engines which furnish power for the quarrying machinery.
A few laborers have been engaged in cleaning away the snow.
At Proctor, Vermont, there are very extensive works where large
amounts of this marble are dressed to size for building purposes before
being shipped away. Much of it is sawed into slabs and polished for
ornamental work. Vermont produces some pure white marble, a great deal of which is
somewhat bluish in color, some which is variegated and some which
is almost jet black.
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"Vermont Marble, Part I, Quarries of the Norcross-West Marble
Co., Dorset Vermont," by Ernest H. West, Mine and Quarry
Magazine, Sullivan Machinery Co., Publisher, Chicago, Illinois, March
1909, pgs. 271 - 275.
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"Vermont Marble, Part II, Quarries of the Vermont Marble
Company," Written for Mine and Quarry by H. J. Markolf
and D. J. O'Rourke, from the Mine and Quarry magazine, Sullivan
Machinery Co., Publisher, Chicago, Illinois, Vol. IV. No. 1 - June
1909, pgs. 286-297.
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"Vermont Marble (Part III), Recent Models of Channeling
Machines; Quarries of the Clarendon Marble Company, Clarendon, Vermont,"
by H. H. Mercer and H. J. Markolf, Mine and Quarry Magazine,
Sullivan Machinery Co., Publisher, Chicago, Illinois, Vol. VI. No.
4 - June 1912, pgs. 612 - 621.
-
White Marble, presented byEric Gyllenhaal on Neighborhood Rocks, a part of the Salt and Sandbox web site.
Millstones & Millstone Quarries
-
Millstones, An Introduction - Notes by Charles Howell
and presented by Theodore R. Hazen &
Pond Lily Mill Restorations (Mill Restorations) (The following
quote is used with the permission of Theodore R. Hazen.) "The granite from the well known quarries
at Westerly in Rhode Island and from quarries in New Hampshire provided
many of the stones used in New England mills. One of the largest collections
of millstones in New England, can be seen at Millstone Manor, a private
house in Shore Road, Ogunquit, Maine. Here, there are reputed to be
more than seventy stones as used for grain grinding and other industrial
processes. A type of stone similar to the French Burr was discovered
in Arkansas in about 1870 but does not appear to have been extensively
used. There were millstone quarries at Bowmanstown, Carbon County,
Lancaster County and Berkshire County, all in Pennsylvania. Near Marietta
in Ohio, a suitable kind of stone for milling purposes was quarried
for many years. Quarries were also worked to produce millstones in
Virginia and a quartz bearing granite was used for millstones from
quarries in Rowan County, North Carolina."
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Millstone Dressing Tools
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Millstone Dressing, by Theodore R. Hazen.
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The Art of the Millstones, How They Work
Pipestone (Catlinite)
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Pipestone (Catlinite), presented on Wikipedia.
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Pipestone
Quarry Site (photograph), presented by the National Park Service.
All tribes hold the pipestone in
considerable reverence and many legends concern its mythical origin.
A general belief American Indians hold, is that the stone was formed
from the flesh and blood of their ancestors. They did not camp near
the quarry sites as they held the area sacred.
Sandstone
-
The Berea and Amherst Sandstone (May 1887) The Manufacturer
and Builder, Vol. 19, Issue 5, May 1887, pg. 107. (The article
includes a sketch: "The Cleveland Co.'s Quarry No. 4.";
text of article in digital images viewed at American Memory, Library
of Congress)
-
Berea Sandstone (March 1893) The Manufacturer and Builder,
Vol. 25, Issue 3, March 1893, pg. 60. (The article includes a sketch
of: "Berea Sandstone Quarry No. 6, North Amherst, Ohio.";
article in digital images viewed at American Memory, Library of Congress)
-
Brownstone, presented on Wikipedia.
-
Brown-Stone (The end of an era) (November 1869) The Manufacturer
and Builder, Vol. 1, Issue 11, November 1869, pgs. 332-333. (Article
in digital images viewed at American Memory, Library of Congress.)
-
The Building Stones in the United States (October 1884) The
Manufacturer and Builder, Vol. 16, Issue 10, October 1884, pgs.
229-230. (Article in digital images viewed at American Memory, Library
of Congress.)
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"The Building Stones - The Sandstones" (September 1885)
Quarrying Notes - The Manufacturer and Builder, Vol. 17, Issue
9, September 1885, pgs. 202-203. (Article in digital images viewed
at American Memory, Library of Congress)
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Concerning Building Stones (June 1890) The Manufacture
and Builder, Vol. 22, Issue 6, June 1890, pgs. 129-130. (Article
in digital images viewed at American Memory, Library of Congress.)
(This article describes: rock face, pointed face, aze-hammered face,
patent hammered, bush hammered, square drove, tooth chiseled, sawed
face, fine sand finish, pumice finish, polished surface, and includes
a few diagrams of some of these.)
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Granites and Sandstones (May 1891) The Manufacturer and
Builder, Vol. 23, Issue 5, May 1891, pg. 104. May 1891. (Article
in digital images viewed at American Memory, Library of Congress)
-
The Great
Industries of the United States Being an Historical Summary of the
Origin, Growth, and Perfection of the Chief Industrial Arts of This
Country - Quarries (1872)
-
Ohio Sandstone (December 1892) The Manufacturer and Builder,
Vol. 24, Issue 12, December 1892, pg. 279. (The article includes a
sketch: "Cleveland Stone Co.'s Quarry No. 3, Columbia, Ohio.";
text of article in digital images viewed at American Memory, Library
of Congress)
-
The Portland Sandstone Quarries (February 1888) The Manufacturer
and Builder, Vol. 20, Issue 2, February 1888, pg. 35. (The article
includes a sketch: "Portland Sandstone Quarries - Splitting Out
the Stone With Wedges."; article in digital images viewed at
American Memory, Library of Congress)
-
Potsdam Red Sandstone as a Building Material (April 1890)
The Manufacture and Builder, Vol. 22, Issue 4, April 1890,
pgs. 80-81. (Article in digital images viewed at American Memory,
Library of Congress.)
-
Potsdam Sandstone - Potsdam Sandstone as a Building Material (1890),
by Dr. Alexis A. Julien, The Manufacture and Builder, Vol.
22, Issue 9, September 1890 (Viewed at American Memory, Library of
Congress) Click
here to view the end of the "Potsdam Sandstone as a Building Material"
article.
-
Potsdam Red Sandstone (April 1891) The Manufacturer and
Builder, Vol. 23, Issue 4, April 1891, pg. 90. (Article in digital
images viewed at American Memory, Library of Congress.)
-
Potsdam Red Sandstone as a Building Material (May 1891) The
Manufacturer and Builder, Vol. 23, Issue 5, May 1891, pg. 104.
May 1891. (Article in digital images viewed at American Memory, Library
of Congress.)
-
Potsdam Red Sandstone (The Potsdam Red Sandstone Co. of Potsdam, N.Y.)
(July 1892) The Manufacturer and Builder, Vol. 24, Issue
7, July 1892, pg. 158. (Article in digital images viewed at American
Memory, Library of Congress.)
-
The Potsdam Red Sandstone (January 1893) The Manufacturer
and Builder, Vol. 25, Issue 1, January 1893, pgs. 9-12. (The article
includes six sketches: (1) "Bird's-Eye View of the Potsdam Sandstone
Quarries"; (2) "Quarry No. 2."; (3) "Quarry No. 2 - Under Development.";
(4) "Quarry No. 3 (Dark Red) - Under Development."; (5) "Quarry No.
4."; and (6) "Selecting Large Blocks of Stone."; article in digital
images viewed at American Memory, Library of Congress)
-
Potsdam Sandstone (as a building material) (July 1893) The
Manufacturer and Builder, Vol. 25, Issue 7, July 1893, pg. 158.
(Article in digital images viewed at American Memory, Library of Congress.)
-
The Potsdam Sandstone
- Potsdam Supergroup, St. Croixan Series, Cambrian System
-
Quarry-Related Articles from the Manufacturer and Builder
Magazine
(Articles from the 1850s through the 1890s.
-
Sandstone, presented on Wikipedia.
-
Sandstone - Popularity of Sandstone in the Boston of To-Day (December
1884) The Manufacturer and Builder, Vol. 16, Issue 12,
December 1884, pg. 274. (Article in digital images viewed at American
Memory, Library of Congress.)
-
“Sandstone as Dimension Stone,” Information Circular 8182, O. Bowles, U.S. Bureau of Mines, 30 pp., 1963. (U.S. government publication)
-
Sandstones of New York from Building Stones of New York (July
1891) The Manufacturer and Builder, Vol. 23, Issue 7, July
1891, pgs. 158-159. (Article in digital images viewed at American
Memory, Library of Congress.)
-
The Wisconsin Sandstones (December 1885) The Manufacturer
and Builder, Vol. 17, Issue 12, December 1885, pg. 274. (Article
in digital images viewed at American Memory, Library of Congress.)
Bluestone (Sandstone)
-
About Bluestone - by Bob
Vila Bluestone, a type of sandstone, is quarried New York,
Pennsylvania, and Vermont. Bluestone is usually a gray-blue,
but it ranges from shades from brown to purple. (The link
from which this information was obtained, is no longer available.)
<http://homearts.com/bvah/a7patb6.htm>
-
Hudson River Bluestone (Industry History) (June 1889)
The Manufacture and Builder, Vol. 21, Issue 6, June
1889, pgs. 130-131. (Article in digital images viewed at American
Memory, Library of Congress.)
-
Our Bluestone Sidewalks (Bluestone Industry History -
Graywacke) (October 1879) The Manufacturer and Builder,
Vol. 11, Issue 10, October 1879, pg. 226. (Article in digital
images viewed at American Memory, Library of Congress.)
-
New York
- Bluestone Sidewalks (Hudson River Bluestone
Industry History) (April 1891) The Manufacturer and
Builder, Vol. 23, Issue 4, April 1891, pgs. 80-81. (Article
in digital images viewed at American Memory, Library of Congress.)
-
Ulster Blues - Bluestone Industry in Ulster County, New York,
by Professor Robert Titus, Hartwick College, The Catskill Geologist,
Summer 1995 (The following is abstracted from the above site,
which is no longer available. The following quote is used
with Professor Titus' permission.)
"The Catskill Front, at Overlook,
was the birthplace of the famous Catskill bluestone industry,
and for a long time the area was the center of that industry.
This was back during the last third of the 19th Century. Since
then, cement has eclipsed bluestone, and what's left of
the industry is centered off to the west. Go to Hancock and
its environs if you want to see bluestone being quarried today.
The days of commercial exploitation of the Catskill Front
are over and the Overlook Mountain Road is now part of the
forest preserve of the Catskill Park.Back then, most of the
quarry stone actually was blue, or, at least, it was colored
something you could convince yourself was blue.Whatever its
color, the stone is always made of well-laminated, horizontally
bedded sandstone and that is its key trait..You won't
have to go to a quarry to see bluestone. In fact, you don't
even have to come to the Catskills to see the stone. You will
find bluestone sidewalks throughout the eastern United States..Today
the word bluestone is mostly a misnomer. Not much of the quarry
stone currently marketed from the Catskills is actually blue.
The word is now applied to a number of different types of
sandstone, and they are found in various colors besides blue:
green, brown, yellow, purple and red are known."
Soapstone
Slate
-
The Building-Stone and Slate of Virginia (February 1869)
The Manufacturer and Builder, Vol. 1, Issue 2, February 1869,
pgs. 46-47. (Article in digital images viewed at American Memory,
Library of Congress.)
-
The Building Stones - Serpentine & Slate (November 1885)
The Manufacturer and Builder, Vol. 17, Issue 11, November 1885,
pg. 250. (Article in digital images viewed at American Memory, Library
of Congress.)
-
Echeguren Slate, Inc.
- Beautiful slate samples.
-
Glossary
of Slate Quarry Terms
-
"Peach-Bottom" Slate (York County, Pennsylvania)
(October 1890) The Manufacture and Builder, Vol.
22, Issue 10, October 1890, pg. 225. (Article in digital images viewed
at American Memory, Library of Congress.)
-
Red Slate (August 1885) The Manufacturer and Builder,
Vol. 17, Issue 8, August 1885, pgs. 181-182. (Article in digital images
viewed at American Memory, Library of Congress.)
-
Red Slate (November 1893) The Manufacturer and Builder,
Vol. 25, Issue 11, November 1893, pg. 253. (Article in digital images
viewed at American Memory, Library of Congress.)
-
The
Repair, Replacement & Maintenance of Historic Slate Roofs,
by Jeffrey S. Levine, presented by the National Park Service (Preservation
Briefs).
-
Slate (July 1878) The Manufacturer
and Builder, Vol. 10, Issue 7, July 1878, pg. 166. (Article in
digital images viewed at American Memory, Library of Congress.)
-
Slate, presented on Wikipedia.
-
Slate and its Uses (December 1852) Harper's
New Monthly Magazine, Vol. 6, Issue 31, December 1852, pgs. 79-81
(Article in digital images viewed at American Memory, Library of Congress.)
-
Slate and Its Uses (May 1885) The Manufacturer and Builder,
Vol. 17, Issue 5, May 1885, pg. 109. (Article in digital images viewed
at American Memory, Library of Congress.)
-
Slate Channeling by Machinery (November 1891) The Manufacturer
and Builder, Vol. 23, Issue 11, November 1891, pgs. 254-255. (Article
in digital images viewed at American Memory, Library of Congress.)
-
Slate - History of Slate Use
-
Slate in Vermont (July 1892) The Manufacturer and Builder,
Vol. 24, Issue 7, July 1892, pg. 158. (Article in digital images viewed
at American Memory, Library of Congress)
-
Slate Production of the United States (March 1894) The
Manufacturer and Builder, Vol. 26, Issue 3, March 1894, pgs. 62-63
according to the American Slate Trade Journal, 1893. (Text
of article in digital images viewed at American Memory, Library of
Congress.)
-
“Slate,” in The Mining Catalog 1923 - Metal - Quarry Edition: A Consolidation of Condensed Catalog Information Relating to the Metallic and Non-Metallic Mining Industries, Quarries and Cement Mills (Third Issue 1923), Keystone Consolidated Publishing Co., Inc., pp. 530-531.
Slate (circa 1923)
“...It is customary for manufacturers of structural slate to prepare it in sizes specified by builders and architects. Thus the material cannot be manufactured in advance. This results in irregular activity of mills, delays in filling orders, and may force manufacturers to use raw materials that might be better adapted for products than those called for in the orders. To improve this condition the Structural Slate Company of Penn Argyle, Pa., through the Structural Service Bureau of Philadelphia, has issued a series of pamphlets giving complete specifications of structural slate for various purposes. Architects find it so much easier to order slate from these sheets that, in preparing plans for new structures, standard sizes are specified. There is evidence, therefore, of a definite movement toward elimination of odd sizes. The new specifications have been in effect so short a time that results cannot yet be measured, but it would appear that slate producers will shortly be enabled to build up a reserve stock of standard sizes. Such a reserve will be advantageous both in marketing and in manufacturing.
“Slate switchboards are likewise usually manufactured after the order has been received. The most serious objection to the filling of orders directly from the quarry is that, according to tests recently made on Pennsylvania slate, freshly quarried slabs have only about half the resistance in ohms of the same slabs after drying out for three months. One Chicago manufacturer claims that 80 per cent. of all switchboards are of standard sizes, and he keeps such sizes in stock. The facility with which orders may be filled from stock, and the improved quality of seasoned switchboards, will undoubtedly influence electrical companies toward a more uniform standardization in size. Simplicity could be further attained by the elimination of minor irregularities in style, as for example in the beveled edges. Some companies now demand a bevel one-half inch wide, and others one-fourth inch wide. It would seem that uniformity in this detail could be easily adjusted.”
- Slate Quarry
Terms, by C. F. Derven, Poultney, Vermont, November 22,
1938.
- Slate - The
Repair, Replacement & Maintenance of Historic Slate Roofs by Jeffrey S. Levine presented by the National Park Service (Preservation
Briefs). (A couple of the topics are below.)
-
Slated for Preservation - Marshall, Philip Cryan and Collins,
Allison Brooks. "Slated for Preservation," presented at The Roofing
Conference and Exposition for Historic Buildings, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania,
March 17-19, 1999.
-
The Story on Slate - A Brief History of American Rooftops
-
A History of Slate Roofing in America (Summary &
Detailed Accounts)
-
American Traditions (Slate Industry)
-
Slate Sources
-
Slate Quarries, Suppliers, and Service-Providers
-
Annotated Bibliography
-
Slate Museums
-
Additional Slate Deposits (U. S.)
-
Glossary
-
The Stone Roofing
Association - Sandstone & Limestone Roofing, by Terry
Hughes.
-
"Stone
Roofing in England," English Heritage Research Transactions,
Volume 9, 2003 (covers the following subjects: Region, Geology,
Stone Slates, Slate Making, Roof Details, Figure Pages, Gazeteer)
-
Bibliography
of Slate and Stone Roofing
-
Historical
Aspects of the Welsh Industry, by D. Dylan Pritchard,
MA FSS.
-
Penrhyn
Quarry - 150 Years of Progress
-
The Slate Industry -
Historical Records
-
UK Public Records
Search For Slate Quarry
-
A Study in Slate: Welsh Immigration: Its Effects on the Slate
Valley (1840-1870), The Slate Industry from 1901-1930, and Environmental
Impacts of Slate Quarries, A Project by Scott Carpenter, in partial
fulfillment of a BS - Environmental Studies, December 9, 2002. (The
"Abstract" below is used with permission of the author.
You can view the entire document at the following PDF link.)
[PDF]
-
"The Slate Valley of Vermont and New York is an area that
covers approximately 300 square miles and is home to about 10
towns. Slate from this area is highly valued for its many different
colors. Many Welsh people immigrated to Vermont in the 1850's
from quarrying villages in North Wales. They changed the face
of quarrying in the Slate Valley because of mining techniques
and tools brought with them from Wales. They also changed the
towns due to social and economic impact. This study focused on
the correlation between the increase in Welsh immigration between
1840 and 1870, the increase in the slate business over the same
time span, the slate industry from 1901 to 1930, and the environmental
impact that quarries have on the surrounding landscape. The research
has been historical, from libraries (University of Vermont, Green
Mountain College), the Slate Valley Museum, and from the State
of Vermont Census and business materials from the Building and
General Services Department in Montpelier Vermont."
-
The
Vermont Slate Industry (March 1869) The Manufacturer and
Builder, Vol. 1, Issue 3, March 1869, pgs. 83-86. (Article in
digital images viewed at American Memory, Library of Congress.)
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