The Indiana Stone Industry, 1908
Excerpts from Mineral Resources of the United States, Calendar Year 1908, Part II - Nonmetallic Products, Department of the Interior, United States Geological Survey, Government Printing Office, Washington, D. C., 1909. Excerpts from the book are from the chapter on: 1) Stone, by A. T. Coons, and 2) part of the chapter on Abrasive Materials, by W. C. Phalen.
Building Stone Distribution: Distribution of the various kinds of building stone and the localities where the different varieties of stone are now being quarried or may be quarried in the future for Indiana are: Limestone and dolomite, sandstone.
Limestone: The chief States producing limestone in 1908 were, in order of rank of value, Pennsylvania, Indiana, Ohio, Illinois, New York, and Missouri, each reporting over $2,000,000. In 1907 the rank of production for these States was Pennsylvania, Illinois, Indiana, Ohio, New York, and Missouri; Indiana and Ohio passed Illinois in 1908 and took second and third places, respectively, while Illinois fell to fourth place.. Of these 6 leading States Indiana showed a small increase of output for 1908, but in spite of this the decrease of $2,781,470 for the 6 combined States was over one-half of the total decrease in the limestone output.."
"Indiana, with a total output of building stone valued at $2,487,039, produced 54.46 per cent of the total building limestone in 1908; in 1907 the output was $2,378,008, or 51.92 per cent of the total, an increase in 1908 of $109.031. This building stone is quarried principally in Lawrence and Monroe counties, and is well known as "Bedford limestone" from the town of Bedford, Lawrence County, which with Bloomington, Monroe County, forms the shipping center for this stone. This "Bedford" stone is chiefly used for building stone, although some is sold for flagstone, curbstone, monumental stone, crushed stone, furnace flux, and some-not included in this report-is used for lime and for cement. Exclusive of 93,085 tons of stone, valued at $42,150, used for riprap, crushed stone furnace flux, etc., the total quantity and value of limestone produced in Lawrence County in 1908 was 5,199,996 cubic feet, valued at $1,498,822; Monroe County produced 8,620 tons, valued at $1,719, for flux, etc., and 3,147,097 cubic feet, valued at $880,218, of other stone. The total for the two counties, exclusive of the flux, etc., was therefore 8,347,093 cubic feet, valued at $2,379,040. In 1907, the total output of these two counties was 7,849,027 cubic feet, valued at $2,321,892, a gain in 1908 of 498,066 cubic feet, and of $57,148. In 1907 the quantity from these two counties, not included in the above figures, was 256,960 tons, valued at $110,525, a decrease in 1908 in this class of material of 155,255 tons in quantity and of $66,656 in value. The low price per ton, as represented by the production of Monroe County, was due to the low price obtained for waste stone sold for flux. In 1908 the total quantity for the two counties included 5,373,992 cubic feet of stone sold rough, of which 3,442,440 cubic feet, valued at $767,763, for Monroe County. In 1907 there were 4,930,055 cubic feet of rough stone sold. This gives an increase for 1908 for 443,937 cubic feet for rough stock. In 1908 the two counties reported $2,983,101 cubic feet of dressed stone, of which 1,757,556 cubic feet, valued at $731,059, were from Lawrence County, and $1,225,545 cubic feet, valued at $581,225, from Monroe County. In 1907 the quantity of dressed stone sold was 2,918,972 cubic feet, an increase of 64,129 cubic feet for 1908. In 1907 the total value for Lawrence County was 1,413,280, and for Monroe County $908,612-a gain in 1908 of $85,542 for Lawrence County and a decrease of $28,394 for Monroe County. Most of this stone was for building purposes, but there is included a small quantity for rubble, curbstone, and flagstone. The average price per cubic foot in 1907 was 30 cents; in 1908, 29 cents.
Curbing (limestone): There was a decrease of $141,274 in the Curbstone output in 1908, or from $378,853 in 1907 to $237,579 in 1908. Indiana furnishes most of this material.
Crushed limestone: Ohio ranked first in 1908 in the production of crushed limestone, followed by Illinois, New York, Pennsylvania, Missouri, Indiana, Wisconsin, Kentucky, and Tennessee, in the order named. In 1907 Illinois held first place, followed by Ohio, New York, Pennsylvania, Missouri, Indiana, Kentucky, Wisconsin, and Kansas, in the order named. In 1908 the values reported by these 9 States ranged from $2,032,925 to $328,685, and represented 82.60 per cent of the total crushed limestone output; in 1907 the values for the 9 states ranged from $2,576,155 to $489,709, and represented 83.46 per cent of the total crushed limestone. Ohio, New York, Illinois, Missouri, Pennsylvania, Indiana, Wisconsin, Kentucky, Tennessee, and Michigan, named according to value of output, produced the greater part of the stone for road making, a considerable increase being noted in Tennessee, due to a large quantity of stone crushed locally for new roads.."
Excerpt from Bibliography on Building Stones for Indiana:
Hopkins, T. C. The sandstones of western Indiana. In Seventeenth Ann. Rept., pt. 3. pp. 780-787. 1896.
Hopkins, T. C., and Siebenthal, C. E. The Bedford Oolitic limestone of Indiana. In Eighteenth Ann. Rept., pt. 5, pp. 1050-1057. 1897.
Abrasives produced in Indiana: Oilstones.
Oilstones and Scythestones. - Production: The production of oilstones and schythestones in the United States during 1908 amounted to $217,284, as compared with $264,188 in 1907, a decrease of $46,904, or nearly 18 per cent. The production of oilstones and whetstones is from Arkansas, Indiana, and Ohio, and the first State mentioned produces the largest part of the output.
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