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Home > California > CA - Quarry Links & Photographs > El Dorado County > List of Quarries > Auburn (Rattlesnake Bridge) Through Clipper Gap
“Alabaster Cave, W. T. Holmes Lime Company, 24 Sacramento street, San Francisco, owner, is about 7 miles east of Newcastle, on the east side of the American River, and about three-fourths of a mile above the suspension bridge. It occurs in a crystalline, granular, white, and clouded white and blue limestone, which lies in a stratum about 50 feet thick, inclosed by mica-schists. The limestone layers are standing vertical and have a north and south strike parallel with the cleavage of the schist. It forms a bold outcrop on each side of a small cañon that cuts through it. The Alabaster cave from which the place is named is on the roadside on the north side of the canon. A lime quarry was opened on the hill immediately above it, and a stone kiln in which the lime was burned is on the roadside, but they have not been used for several years.
“On the south side of the cañon and a few hundred feet from the cave is a large stack kiln, in which is burned the lime from the stone quarried just above it. This quarry has been worked to a depth of 50 feet, about 300 feet long, and to the full width of the limestone. The lime rock is brought on tram-cars to the top of the kiln, which stands on the hillside below the level of the quarry.
"The stone at the above quarry is a compact, heavy, medium-coarse, crystalline limestone, free from impurities, except a few parallel bands of schist which are inclosed in it. Some of these schist bands are disintegrated to the depth of the quarry opening, and the rotten schist is easily separated from the limestone; but some of the schist is not disintegrated and is not so easily separated from the limestone, and hence causes some waste in the quarrying.
“The stone is burned with wood in the kiln at the quarry and hauled in rawhide sacks by wagon 7 miles to Newcastle, on the Southern Pacific Railroad. It is mostly shipped to Sacramento and handled by the Sacramento Lime Company.”
“Alabaster Cave Lime Quarry. See our Bulletin 38, pp. 67-68. Situated 7 miles east of Newcastle, Placer County, on ridge southeast of the middle fork of the American River. The limestone lies in a stratum 50' thick enclosed by mica schist. The character is crystalline, granular, white, clouded white and blue limestone. Quarry 50' deep by 300' long, by 50' in width. Idle. W. T. Holmes Lime Company, Monadnock Bldg., San Francisco, owner.”
The following information is taken from "Table 1. Limestone deposits in the general area of the Cool-Cave Valley limestone," (circa 1954), pages 462 and 463:
(No. on map, Plate 3) 14; (Deposit) Rattlesnake Bridge (Alabaster Cave); (Owner) C. L. Vertin, P.O. box 781, Salinas; (Location) Sec. 15, T. 11 N., R 8 E., M.D.; (References) Aubury 06:65-68; Tucker 19:304; Logan 21:432; 24:8; 26:442-443; 38:273-274; 47:222, 223-224.
"Rattlesnake Bridge (Alabaster Cave, Rattlesnake Bar) Deposit. Location: sec. 15, T. 11 N., R. 8 E., M. D., 1 mile east of Rattlesnake Bridge and 5 miles south of Auburn. Ownership: Semon Lime Company, Auburn, H. S. Dahlman, manager.
"This limestone deposit, which also has been known as the Alabaster Cave deposit, has been worked intermittently since the 1860's by a number of concerns. There is an old stone lime kiln near the Rattlesnake Bridge road, which crosses the northern portion of the deposit. From 1930 to 1942, the Auburn Chemical Lime Company worked the deposit. Limestone from the south end of the deposit was treated at a crushing and sizing plant and sent through a lime plant. Much of the lime manufactured during the 1930's was sold to gold mines for use in cyanidation (Logan, 1947, p. 223).
"From 1942 to 1954 there was little output from the quarries, as most of the limestone used at the plant was purchased from the California Rock and Gravel Company at Cool. From 1946 to 1948, the plant was operated by the Auburn Lime Products Company; from 1949 to 1954 by the Hughes-Vertin Lime Company; and from 1954 to 1955 by the Vertin Lime Company. In July 1955, the Semon Lime Company purchased the holdings and has operated the property since (H. S. Dahlman, personal communication, 1955). A new 7- x 110-foot rotary kiln and increased storage facilities were installed in 1953. In 1954, a new quarry was opened in the north end of the deposit. At present several grades of lime, quicklime, and hydrated lime are manufactured and marketed under the trade name 'Versatile.' Sized limestone also is sold."
| Figure 28. Semon Lime Company plant near Rattlesnake Bridge. Camera facing south. |  |
"The deposit is a lens of coarse-grained crystalline limestone ranging from white to bluish-gray in color. It strikes north and dips steeply east. It is about 4,000 feet long and 80 to 100 feet wide. Parallel joints are prominent; the principal joint planes strike west and dip steeply south. Most of the limestone is high in calcium carbonate (97 to 99 per cent) (H. S. Dahlman, personal communication, 1955). At one point there were a number of natural caves, which since have been quarried out. Country rock is amphibolite with small amounts of serpentine. There are several bands of amphibolite and chlorite schist up to several feet thick in the limestone, and these are troublesome in quarrying operations.
"The deposit is developed by four quarries. Two are located south of the plant: one, 300 feet long, extends north from the south end of the deposit and the other 475 feet long extends south from the plant. They are up to 75 feet deep and 25 to 50 feet wide. These were the main source of limestone prior to World War II. An old quarry immediately north of the road was the source of the rock from the old stone limekiln.
"Limestone is mined from 20-foot benches in a quarry about 300 feet long and 25 to 50 feet wide in the north end of the deposit. Wagon drills with 40 percent gelatin dynamite are used; large boulders are broken with jackhammers. Primary crushing is done in the quarry and secondary crushing and screening at the plant. The plus ¼-inch stone is sent either to the new 7- by 110-foot oil-fired inclined rotary kiln or two older 4- by 60-foot kilns. Lime passes through a rotary cooler and into a storage bin for sacking, bulk loading, or hydration. Most of the lime produced is shipped to steel plants in the San Francisco Bay area or to the building-trades industry in the Stockton-Sacramento area. Minus ¼-inch rock is screened into several sizes and sold as roofing granules, chicken grits, limestone flour, and road metal. Fifteen men work at the plant and quarry."
This was a large limestone mine located one mile east of Rattlesnape Bridge, five miles south of Auburn. The site is now covered by Folsom Lake. The limestone was worked by various companies intermittently from the 1860s: Auburn Chemical Lime Co., Auburn Lime Products Co., Hughes-Vertin Lime Co., Vertin Lime Co., and Semon Lime Co. According to Mr. Noble's article, the "deposit, 4,000 feet long and 80 to 100 feet in width, is developed by four quarries, both north and south of the processing plant, up to 500 feet long, 25 to 50 feet wide and up to 75 feet deep."
"Cowell Deposit. Assessed to Henry Cowell Lime & Cement Company, 2 Market Street, San Francisco. This deposit is 2 ½ miles by good road northwest of Bowman, on the Southern Pacific Railroad. The deposit lies in a meadow traversed by a branch of Dry Creek, and has been eroded to the level of the surrounding land, and is in large part soil-covered. A shallow quarry with an area 90 by 90 feet and not over 6 feet deep was opened years ago and limestone was burned in an old kiln nearby. At a distance of 475 feet S. 20 W. from this pit, limestone is exposed in the creek-bed for 63 feet and there is another small exposure in the stream-bed 63 feet north. There are no other rock outcrops in this meadow which contains possibly 40 acres. It is probable that most of the deposit is concealed.
"The limestone is dark gray and rather soft on the surface and apparently of good grade. Sinking would be required to open the deposit any farther."
Analysis of limestone from Cowell deposit, by Abbot A. Hanks, Inc.
Insoluble, 0.60 percent
Ferric and aluminic oxides, 0.99 percent
Calcium carbonate, 97.30 percent
Magnesium carbonate, 1.09 percent
"Browns Bar claim was a deposit of bluish-gray limestone near Browns Bar by the Middle Fork of the American River. It was apparently never worked."
(No. on map, Plate 3) 3; (Deposit) Buckeye Canyon; (Owner) Pacific Portland Cement Company, 417 Montgomery Street, San Francisco; (Location) Sec. 34, T. 13 N., R. 9 E., M.D.
"The Buck Mine was a slate mine adjacent to the present Chili Bar slate mine. It was active in the 1880's."
"The Losh Mine was a slate mine located one-half mile north of Chili Bar. During the years 1890, 1921-24 and 1937, dimension slate (blackboards, table tops, paving stones, etc.) was produced from an open pit 50 feet deep and 40 feet wide."
(Operator) Pacific Minerals Co., Ltd. (granules, filler); (Address) 337-10th St., Richmond; (Location) Chili Bar.
"San Francisco Slate Company quarry. - This quarry is located in T. 11 N. R., 10 E., within a quarter mile of that of the Chili Bar Slate Company, but on the north side of the river and west of the Placerville-Kelsey road. The principal opening was located about 600 feet north of the river, at an elevation of 150 feet above its bank. A tramway led down to the dressing yards, which were situated at the river bank.
"The cleavage of the slates in the large opening strikes about N. 30 W., and has an almost vertical dip. No slate has been quarried here since 1897. A large stock of trimmed slates is still piled in the dressing yard, and many of these have already discolored badly.
"Transportation and market. - The Eldorado County slates have practically no competition on or near the Pacific coast, while the Eureka quarry has recently placed large shipments in Hawaii and Guam. Until recently the principal problem has been the transportation of the slates from the quarry to the railroad. This was formerly done by wagon hauling over a 6-mile stretch of very hilly road. During the last season, however, the Eureka Slate Company has installed an aerial tramway system from its quarry to a point near Placerville. This tramway is an engineering feat of no mean order, the crossing of the South Fork of American River being the principal difficulty encountered."
"San Francisco Slate Co.'s quarry. - This quarry is located in T. 11 N., R. 10 E., within a quarter of a mile of that of the Chili Bar Slate Co., but on the north side of the river and west of the Placerville-Kelsey road. The principal opening was located about 600 feet north of the river, at an elevation of 150 feet above its bank. A tramway led down to the dressing yard, which was situated at the river bank.
"The cleavage of the slates in the large opening strikes about N. 30 W. and has an almost vertical dip. No slate has been quarried here since 1897. A large stock of trimmed slates is still piled in the dressing yard, and many of these have already discolored badly.
"Transportation and market. - The slates of Eldorado County have practically no competition on or near the Pacific coast, and the Eureka quarry has recently (circa 1906) placed large shipments in Hawaii and Guam. Until recently the principal problem has been the transportation of the slates from the quarry to the railroad.* This was formerly done by wagon hauling over a 6-mile stretch of very hilly road. In 1905, however, the Eureka Slate Co. installed an aerial tramway system from its quarry to a point near Placerville. This tramway is an engineering feat of no mean order, the crossing of the South Fork of American River being the principal difficulty encountered."
(* This 1914 report is essentially the same as the 1906 report in Slate Deposits and Slate Industry of the United States, Bulletin No. 275, "Slate Deposits and Industry of the United States - California, by Edwin C. Eckel, pp. 56-59, Department of the Interior, United States Geological Survey, Washington: Government Printing Office, 1906.," the shipments to Hawaii and Guam and the problem with the transportation by wagon occurred circa 1906 rather than nearer the published date of this report in 1914. The excerpt is repeated here to document the material published in 1914, although it is the same as published in the 1906 edition.)
This company operated the slate mines, and during the 1890s the slate was used as roofing slate quarried from several slate mines in this area. The slate mine/quarry area was located "on the north side of the South Fork of the American River, opposite Chili Bar."
"Marble Valley Limestone (Henry Cowell Lime & Cement Company, 2 Market Street, San Francisco). Formerly these deposits were called the Schwalin marble quarry (in S ½ sec. 8, T. 9 N., R. 9 E.,) and Marble Valley quarry (in N ½ sec. 17, T. 9 N., R. 9 E.). Over 2500 acres of land surrounding these workings is assessed to the company.
"Blue-gray to white limestone (marble) outcrops at intervals for over 2700 feet from the Schwalin pit southward to the south end of the Marble Valley quarry. At the north end the deposit is in and alongside of Marble Creek and the outcrop has been eroded down to the level of the surrounding land. The old pit from which stone was taken is 145 feet wide and not over 10 feet deep, as there was no provision for drainage. Though called a marble quarry, there is no evidence of any blocks of stone having been removed, and superficially it does not look as if such blocks could be had. The limestone was evidently burned in an old-style kiln nearby.
"At the south end (sec. 17) there is an open quarry 180 feet wide by 300 feet long which has been worked to a depth of 20 to 25 feet. This is about the limit for which natural drainage is available. The north face is 120 feet wide, and shows good limestone; the west wall is not yet exposed.
"The following is the analysis of a sample obtained by mixing samples cut across the width of deposit in both quarries mentioned above. Analysis was made by Abbot A. Hanks, Inc.
Insoluble, 0.43 percent
Ferric oxide and aluminic oxide, 0.42 percent
Calcium carbonate, 98.80 percent
Magnesium carbonate, 0.30 percent
Total, 99.95 percent
"Marble Valley (Schwalin) Deposit. Location: secs. 8 and 17, T. 9 N., R. 9 E., M. D., 2 miles southeast of Clarksville in Marble Valley. Ownership: Henry Cowell Lime and Cement Company, 2 Market Street, San Francisco, California.
"Years ago, limestone was quarried at this deposit and burned in a vertical kiln a quarter of a mile to the west. The last period of operation was about 1918 (Henry Cowell Lime and Cement Company, personal communication, 1955).
"Limestone crops out at intervals for a distance of nearly 4,000 feet, but the total extent of the deposit is unknown. The deposit ranges from less than 100 to 200 feet in width. It apparently is lensoid and has a north-northwest strike. The limestone is medium grained and ranges from white to light bluish-gray in color...."
"The deposit is developed by two open quarries. The north quarry is about 150 feet wide and several hundred feet long with quarry faces up to 40 feet high. The south quarry is 180 feet wide, 300 feet long, and 20 to 25 feet deep."
The Marble Valley (Schwalin) Deposit (limestone) was located two miles southeast of Clarksville. A nearby vertical kiln burned the limestone for the cement industry. El Dorado Limestone Company, and later the Gallo Glass Company, ran the mine. According to Mr. Noble's article, "The total extent of the deposit is unknown but the limestone outcrops for a distance of nearly 4000 feet, with a width from less than 100 feet to 200 feet. It was developed by two open quarries, one of which has filled with water. The mine is closed and the land is being converted to subdivision with custom home lots."
See: Clarksville (southeast of), El Dorado County, California – Marble Valley Limestone (Henry Cowell Lime & Cement Company) above.
"De Witt Limestone. Assessed to Mrs. Eleanor De Witt, 1931 C Street, Sacramento, this small deposit in sec. 30, T. 13 N., R. 9 E., M.D., is about 1 ½ miles south of Clipper Gap, a station on the Southern Pacific Railroad. Possibly a quarter of a mile of new road would be needed for hauling.
"Limestone outcrops for a length of 250 feet and has a width varying from 50 to 100 feet. It is a dark gray, compact stone possibly similar in chemical analysis to that at the nearby 'Lime Rock' deposit of Pacific Portland Cement Company. A small tonnage of limestone was quarried and burned here in an old stone kiln now in ruins. There are sufficient backs to permit mining a small tonnage in an open quarry as the limestone is on a slope."
Analysis of limestone from DeWitt deposit, by Abbot A. Hanks, Inc.
Insoluble, 2.79 percent
Ferric and aluminic oxides, 0.60 percent
Calcium carbonate, 94.80 percent
Magnesium carbonate, 1.69 percent
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