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Home > Missouri > Quarry Links and Photographs > Carthage Bldg. Stone Companies - Named Companies
“The quarries and plant of the Carthage Marble Corporation are located in the NW ¼ Sec. 33, T. 29 N., R. 31 W., one-half mile northwest of the City of Carthage, Mo. Exposures in the north valley-wall of Spring River are quarried, and railroad transportation facilities are supplied by a spur and sidings of the Missouri Pacific Railroad.
Plate VI - A. Channeling in Carthage Marble Corp. Quarry, Jasper County (1941).
Plate VI - B. Derricks in Carthage Marble Corp. quarry, Jasper County (1941). “Regionally this quarry, like the marble quarry at Phenix, is located on the Springfield Structural Plain in the broad area of outcrop of limestones of the Mississippian system - an area in which the beds dip very gently to the northwest and west. In general, progressively older sedimentary rocks are encountered to the east in the direction of the region of the Ozark uplift. To the northwest of the Carthage quarries, Pennsylvanian clastic strata, limestone, and coal beds lie above the Mississippian, but these younger rocks are absent in most of the area around Carthage.
“Stratigraphically, the beds of the quarry are to be correlated with the Warsaw formation of the Mississippian. This determination was made by R. C. Moore* on the basis of his studies of a fossil fauna collected at the old Gill and Son Quarry, located at the south end of what is now the main quarry of the present operating company. The stratigraphic position of this quarry relative to the Phenix marble quarry described above may be seen at once when the two are referred to the Short Creek oolite, an apparently reliable horizon marker in the Mississippian section of this portion of southwestern Missouri. Whereas the top of the Phenix marble ledges is shown to lie about 38 feet below the Short Creek, the top of the marble beds at the Carthage Marble Corporation quarries lies 74 feet above the Short Creek. This latter determination is based on an examination of two diamond-drill-hole cores taken by the company. The beds in the quarry are essentially flat-lying. In an old quarry north of the blacksmith shop and machine-shop, a dip of less than 1° to the north and northeast was observed. Water-level in the south end of the present main quarry (old No. 7 quarry) indicated a very slight local dip (less than 1°) to the west or northwest.
(* Page 29, footnote 4: Moore, R. C., Early Mississippian Formations in Missouri: Mo. Bureau of Geol. and Mines, vol. 21, 2d. ser., 1928.)
“The stone in the Carthage quarries has a rather uniform gray and bluish-gray color, and the lithologic characteristics of the quarry beds appear to persist without appreciable lateral variation in the area in which the stone is now worked. Stylolites, known locally as ‘veins’, are prominent in the ledges and usually lie in the direction of the planes of bedding. They are spaced in vertical intervals which vary from 1 to 18 inches, and as many as 18 stylolite ‘veins’ were counted at one place in a 9-foot face of the uppermost of the three quarried ledges. The texture of the stone, which is described in the measured section given below, is essentially of uniform crystallinity, with only slight variations in grain sizes in the stone between the stylolite ‘veins’. The marble ledges are fossiliferous, and the polished cross-sections of fossils in the finished marble from the upper ledge stand out in contrast to the enclosing matrix because of the slightly darker gray color of these organic remains.
“The following section was measured in the company’s main quarry:
“Section at south end of west quarry of Carthage Marble Corporation, SW ¼, NW ¼, Sec. 33, T. 29 N., R. 31 W., Jasper County, Missouri. This is the main quarry north of the company office (and just north of the old Gill and Son quarry).
14. Surface residuum and red clay and residual chert - 10 plus (feet thick).
Mississippian System:
Warsaw formation:
13. Limestone, very dark gray; massive bed; crystalline, coarse-to medium-grained; stylolitic; fossiliferous; irregularly rounded and channeled upper surface, with red mud filling channels; maximum 5 or 6 (feet thick).
12. Shaly parting, with chert nodules at places; a prominent break between two massive limestone beds - ½ in. to 6 in. (thick).
11. Limestone, massive bed; very dark gray; stylolitic and fossiliferous; crystallinity alternating between medium- and coarse-grained; similar to No. 13 above - 4 to 4½ (feet thick).
10. Cherty limestone - ½ to 1 (foot thick).
9. Limestone; crystalline; gray to dark gray; streaked horizontally with bituminous material which also coats the walls of some vertical fractures; stylolitic - 3 to 4 (feet thick).
8. Chert; gray and bluish-gray; with asphaltic partings above and below the chert masses - 0 to 6 in. (thick).
7. Limestone, dark gray; crystalline; with black stylolites; horizontal streaks of bituminous material color the limestone irregularly; a massive bed - 5 ½ (feet thick).
6. Chert; gray and bluish-gray, with dark shale partings above and below - 2 to 6 in. (thick).
5. Limestone; dark gray; crystalline; stylolitic; vertical fractures stained with bituminous or ‘asphaltic’ material at places; a massive bed - 5 (feet thick).
4. Cherty limestone; a thin, irregular bed which marks the approximate top of the upper marble ledge of the quarry - ½ to 1 ½ (feet thick).
3. Limestone; gray; crystalline; fossiliferous; the upper ledge of the marble quarry; upper 4 inches to 6 inches is irregularly bedded limestone at places; stylolitic, with widely-spaced stylolites in the lower 3 feet 8 inches of the channeled ledge; stylolites somewhat more closely spaced in upper 8 feet; quarrymen term the upper 8 feet as ‘veined marble’ and the 2 feet 10 inches next below as ‘clear face’ marble - 11 ft. 8 in. (thick).
2. Limestone; gray; crystalline; fossiliferous; the middle ledge of the marble quarry; separated from the quarried ledge above by a prominent shaly, stylolitic parting; a pronounced horizontal stylolite 5 feet to 6 feet above base makes a distant parting; lowest one foot at this quarry ledge lay beneath water when quarry was examined; a 24-inch bed which lies about 20 inches below the top of the quarry ledge is described by quarrymen as the bed of ‘monumental stone’; the 11 ft. 4 in. (thick).
1. Limestone; the lowest of the three ledges of the quarry; here buried beneath quarry-fill debris. Some of these beds are exposed in the northwest part of the quarry, approximately 1500 feet to the north, where a sequence of approximately 10 feet of crystalline, fossiliferous and somewhat cherty limestone are exposed - 12 to 13 (feet thick).
“Note: An examination of subsurface drill-cores obtained by the Carthage Marble Corporation indicates that the top of the upper marble ledge (top of No. 3 in the accompanying measured section) lies approximately 74 feet above the top of the Short Creek oolite of the local Mississippian section.
“No definite, regular pattern of jointing was observed in the present quarry area, though there is some suggestions of a trend of joints in the beds above the marble ledges. This trend is in a direction near N. 30° W. to N. 50° W. A few narrow, vertical or high-angle, closed joints or fractures are seen at places. When filled with crystalline calcite, they are called ‘tiff seams’. ‘Tar seams’ are occasionally seen in the marble ledges. These narrow openings are stained with asphaltic material and the stone around them is rejected in quarrying. They are of rare occurrence in the quarry as are the ‘blues’ - narrow inclined joints filled with bluish-green argillaceous material.
“The quarry has been opened so as to permit the working of three principal ledges, each of which is between 10 and 12 feet thick. The top ledge is the chief source of marble blocks. Its upper 8 feet is marked by a number of stylolite ‘veins’, and this portion is the source of marble sawed across the bedding and marketed as the ‘Ozark Veined’. Below this ‘veined’ portion lies about 2 or 3 feet of stone, in which stylolites are less prominent. This is the ‘clear face’ of the quarrymen and from it are taken most of the ‘Ozark Tavernelle’ and ‘Ozark Fleuri’ marbles, which are sawed with the bedding.
“The middle stone ledge produces the ‘Monumental’ stock from a bed which is about 18 to 24 inches thick and which lies about 20 inches below the top of this middle ledge. This stone is somewhat lighter gray, is even-grained, and essentially free from stylolites. The remainder of the middle ledge below the ‘monumental’ stone is quarried to produce building stone. The lowest of the three quarry ledges was being taken from the northwest part of the quarry and was being fed to the crusher plant at the time the quarry was examined in the spring of 1946.
“Some marble has been taken from certain beds above the three principal stone ledges, at places in the west face of the quarry. In the few faces where this stone has been worked for marble stock, a very dark, brownish-gray to almost black crinoidal marble has been produced and marked as the ‘Nerobi’ marble. At present, the 15 to 25 feet of beds above the marble beds are quarried for crushed rock. This upper section (units No. 4 to No. 13 described above) is somewhat variable and the sequence in the opposite end of the quarry, some 1600 feet to the north, shows some differences in the thickness and composition of the units, though the main features persist.
“Physical tests which have been made on stone from the Carthage quarry area include the following tabulated results, published by this department (1, p. 131). They apply to samples submitted from the old Carthage Marble and White Lime Company:
Specific Gravity - 2.708
Porosity - 1.344 per cent
Ratio of absorption - 0.502
Weight per cubic foot - 167 lbs.
Transverse strength - 2285.5 lbs., per sq. in.
Crushing strength (in lbs. per sq. in.):
(a) 14,270.6 on bed; 11,879. on edge
(b) 16,337. on bed; 16,396 on edge
(c) 12,741.3 on bed; 12,684 on edge.
(d) 17,777. on bed.
Crushing strength of samples subjected to freezing test (in lbs. per sq. in.):
(a) 13,382.7 on bed
(b) 15,865.0 on bed
(c) 13,921.0 on bed
Key:
(a) samples free from suture joints (stylolites).
(b) samples contining (sic) suture joints ½ inch to ¾ inch in depth.
(c) samples containing fine suture joints. Coarsely crystalline.
(d) samples of free stone. Maximum crushing strength 20,261 lbs.
Chemical Analysis:
Calcium carbonate (CACO3 ) - 98.57
Magnesium carbonate (MgCO3 ) - 0.65
Oxides of iron and alumina - 0.21
Insoluble - 0.69
(total) - 100.12
“It is reported that stone had been quarried by hand for many years prior to the installation of quarrying machinery, which was introduced in about 1885 for the production of exterior building stone. The production of marble is said to have been started in about 1910, though earlier reports of the results of polishing of Carthage stone are known. In 1913, a quarry was opened by John Gill and Son at the site of the present marble quarry to supply exterior and interior stone for the Missouri State Capitol. With the growth of the local industry, a consolidation of quarry interests was effected in 1927 when the present organization, the Carthage Marble Corporation, was formed as a result of the consolidation of some six companies: F. W. Steadley & Co., Lautz-Missouri Marble Co., Carthage Marble and White Lime Co., consolidated Marble and Stone Co., Spring River Stone Co., and the Carthage Marble Building Stone Co. In 1904, ten quarries were being operated in the Carthage area, two of them located about 4 miles southwest of the City and the eight others situated on Spring River at the north edge of Carthage. Today (circa 1946) marble and building stone are taken from a single large quarry adjacent to the fabricating plant of the operators.
“Stripping operations include removal of clay and residual chert by power-shovel methods. The 10 to 25 feet of limestone beds above the marble ledges are quarried for crushed stone products, exposing the top of the upper of the three principal stone ledges. The upper and middle ledges have been described above. They average near 11 ½ to 12 feet in thickness and are taken out by means of channel-cuts in the vertical directions. In operations in the north end of the present quarry it was noted that cuts are made to a natural bedding-plane parting which permits removal of the blocks without drilling and wedging at the base. Channel cuts, up to 32 or 33 feet long, are made by electric-powered channeling machines. Operations are at present confined to a quarry with a west face which extends about 1600 feet to an approximate north-south direction. At and near the north end of this face, the quarry is being worked to the east for about 250 feet. A large area to the east of the present faces has been quarried out, and old quarry-faces and bays adjoin this quarried-out area on the east and north.
“The active quarry is served by one wooden and five steel derricks. Quarried blocks are transported by a small steam railway engine to the conveyor cranes at yards of the nearby mill. Stone-processing equipment at the plant is such that fabrication of marble and cut and dressed stone can be completed on the property. Storage yards; conveyors; gang-saws; rubbing-tables; lathes; and cutting, sawing, planing, and polishing machinery are included in the equipment of the two large mills which are located at the quarry. Here the local marble, as well as marble from other states and from foreign countries is sawed and finished. Electric power operates the quarrying and milling machinery.
“Quarry waste and stone which is stripping from above the main ledges are taken by other independent operators who have crushing-plants located on or adjacent to the Carthage Marble Corporation’s property. Crushing equipment has been installed in the quarry by the latter company, which thus adds crushed limestone, agricultural limestone, fluxing stone, and other by-products to its list of stone products.
“Stone products of the Carthage quarries include both rough and dressed exterior and interior marble, sawed and finished building stone, rough and finished monumental stone, floor-tiling, flux, and terrazzo chips.
“Sand-rubbed building stone is marketed as ‘Carthage Exterior Marble’. Interior marbles are marketed under the names ‘Ozark Veined’, ‘Ozark Tavernelle’, ‘Ozark Fleuri’, and ‘Nerobi’. the quarry beds from which these varieties are taken have been indicated above.
“The ‘Ozark Veined’ is an even, medium gray or bluish-gray marble sawed across the bed and characteristically veined with cross-sections through stylolites which follow the planes of bedding. “These ‘veins’ are a bluish-gray color and set off subtle differences in the color, crystallinity, and mottling of the stone between the veins. The slight, regular mottling is due to the presence of darker fossil-shell material or of a lighter ground-mass between the fossils in some of the crystalline beds. Large, uniform slabs are obtained.
“‘Ozark Tavernelle’ marble is sawed with the bed. The polished surface presents an even, light gray appearance with a faint mottling due chiefly to slight variations in grain-size. ‘Ozark Fleuri’, also sawed with the bed, has a light gray groundmass somewhat like the ‘Tavernelle’, but clouded or marbled with areas of darker color. The irregularly-shaped darker cloudings represent areas in which the polished surface intersects narrow, fine stylolitic veins in the stone. Samples of the ‘Nerobi’ marble are of a rich dark brown color, reflected with cream or gray fossil-fragments.
“Representative installations of marble from the Carthage plant may be seen in many buildings, among which the following brief list may be considered as giving a few examples in which some Carthage interior decorative marble has been used.
Ozark Tavernelle (interior)
Irving Trust Co., No. 1 Wall St., New York, N. Y. (lobbies, corridors, lavatories)
U. S. Post Office, Philadelphia, Penn.
Interstate Commerce Commission Bldg., Washington, D.C.
Rosenwald Museum, University of Chicago, Chicago, Ill. (floors)
Federal Courts Bldg., St. Louis, Mo. (lavatories)
U. S. Post Office, Kansas City, Mo. (lobby and corridors)
Municipal Auditorium, Kansas City, Mo. (lavatories)
U. S. Post Office, San Antonio, Tex.
Frisco R. R. Station, Tulsa, Okla. (lobby)
National Art Gallery, Washington, D. C. (fountains at each end)
Ozark Veined (interior)
Bank of Manhattan, No. 40 Wall St., New York, N. Y.
Professional Bldg., Boston, Mass.
U. S. Federal Courts Bldg., New York, N. Y.
State Hospital, Manteno, Ill.
Notre Dame University, South Bend, Ind.
Merchandise Mart, Chicago, Ill. (lavatories)
Federal Courts Bldg., St. Louis, Mo. (corridors)
U. S. Post Office, Kansas City, Mo. (lobby and corridors)
City Hall, Kansas City, Mo. (lavatories)
County Hospital, Houston, Texas
First National Bank, Oklahoma City, Okla. (corridors)
Frisco R. R. Station, Tulsa, Okla. (lobby)
Southwestern Bell Telephone Co., Dallas, Tex. (corridors and lavatories)
Ozark Fleuri (interior)
Administration Bldg., Triborough Bridge, New York, N. Y.
University of Michigan, Ann Arbor, Mich.
Senior High School, Rock Island, Ill.
Federal Hospital, Springfield, Mo.
Stanford University, Palo Alto, Calif.
Carthage Exterior
U. S. Post Office, St. Louis, Mo.
State Office Building, Jefferson City, Mo.
U. S. Post Office, Jefferson City, Mo.
U. S. Post Office, Springfield, Mo.
U. S. Post Office, Joplin, Mo.
Northeast High School, Tulsa, Okla.
“U.S. 66, U.S. 71. - Marble for building and monumental stone is quarried at Carthage by the Carthage Marble Corp. The quarry and dressing plant are one mile north of Carthage. Permission to tour the quarry and plant may be granted by the plant manager.”
| (color postcard, Card publisher Ozark Post Card Publishers, Monett, MO. O.157; unmailed) |  |
Carthage Marble Quarry
“The best view of the underground entries of Carthage Marble Corporation is southwestward from Juniper Road, but parking is difficult, and the view is intentionally blocked by large blocks of limestone. North of SR 96 on Francis Street, quarry derricks and other quarrying equipment is visible.
“Local dimension limestone (Carthage marble) quarrying using quarrying machinery began in 1885. Stone had been quarried by hand earlier. Experiments on polishing and finishing Carthage marble for interior use began in 1910 - previously the stone had only been used in structural applications (i.e., as concrete blocks are often used at present). At that time there were 10 quarries in operation.
“In 1913, a quarry was opened by John Gill & Son. A finishing plant was added to produce marble for the Missouri State Capitol....”
“The Carthage Marble Corporation was formed in 1927 by the consolidation of six companies, and has continued since, consolidating operations into one large quarry. Openings extend underground from the bottom of the quarry, and underground operations were apparently extensive.
“The quarry is served by spurs from the Missouri Pacific Railroad (now Missouri & Northern Arkansas Railroad).
“In addition to the Missouri State Capitol..., the spectacular...Jasper County Courthouse was constructed of Carthage marble. In Washington, DC, much of the Smithsonian (...National Museum of Natural History), the White House, the Interstate Commerce Commission Building, and the fountains of the National Gallery of Art are of Carthage marble.
“Dimension stone (marble) is no longer produced. The underground room-and-pillar quarry has been developed into warehouse, office facilities, and even tennis courts.”
“The Carthage Quarry and Constructing Co., Carthage, Mo., resumed operations Nov. 10, after being shut down for many months. M. F. Viernow, the principal owner and superintendent of the plant was not seen, but it is presumed the plant starts up as a result of the revived business conditions.”
Carthage, Missouri - the Carthage Quarry & Construction Co. Quarry (listed in The Mine, Quarry and Metallurgical Record of the United States, Canada, and Mexico, The Mine and Quarry News Bureau, Chicago, Ill., 1897)
“Carthage, Mo. - The Viernow quarry in northwest Carthage has shut down pending the settlement of liabilities to the amount of $10,682.80 against its owners, the Carthage Quarry & Construction Co. A deed of trust was filed June 6, conveying the property, machinery and all, including 9,000 feet of sawed stone, to Robt. L. McLaron, the company’s legal adviser, of St. Louis. The trustee is authorized to sell the property to satisfy debts. The creditors are G. M. Viernow, German-American Bank of St. Louis, M. F. Viernow, of Carthage ; Carthage C. & C. Co., Keim & McMillan, O’Connor & Coughlin, of St. Louis ; H. W. Elliott, and St. L. & S. F. Railway Co. The local stockholders expect to pay all obligations and resume operations within a few weeks. The trouble they allege, is due to internal rubs of some sort in the management, which can soon be adjusted.”
“Carthage, Mo. - The plant, real estate, tools and cut stone belonging to the Carthage Quarry and Construction Company was sold at trustee’s sale. The creditors mentioned in the deed of trust are G. M. Viernow, German-American Bank, O’Connor & Coughlin, H. W. Elliott, and the St. Louis & San Francisco R. R., of St. Louis; M. F. Viernow, Keim & McMillan, and the Carthage Coal and Commission Co., of this city. The total liabilities amount to about $12,000. G. M. Viernow, of St. Louis, was the heaviest creditor, his claim being $6,216. There were but two bidders, Messrs. Viernow and Meyerberg. Mr. Viernow started the bidding at $6,600, and the property was knocked down to Mr. Meyerberg a few minutes later for $8,300. The property secured by Mr. Meyerberg is a valuable one. The plant is complete and there are now about 9,000 cubic feet of sawed stone on the ground.”
Also see: Carthage, Missouri - the Viernow & Meysenburg Quarry
“The Carthage (Mo.) Quarry & Stone Company was obliged to shut down temporarily, owing to a lack of water. The company has started a pipe water to the quarry so that it will at all times have an adequate supply.”
Quarrying: “Col. W. H. Phelps has taken an interest in the Carthage (Mo.) Quarry Company.”
Carthage, Missouri – the Carthage Quarry Company (from Stone: An Illustrated Magazine, July 1899, Vol. XIX, No. 2, pp. 154)
“(A) new quarry in process of development is that of the Carthage Quarry Company, of which E. O’Keefe is president; F. A. Steadley, vice-president; F. W. Steadley, secretary and treasurer, and Martin McNerney, general manager. The other stockholders of the company are P. J. McNerney and W. H. Phelps.
“The quarry boss is Bob O’Brien. The work on this quarry plant was started about March 1, and has been rapidly pushed towards completion.
“General Manager Martin McNerney, of this company, says he was the first man to discover the limestone ledges of this vicinity. This was in 1881 when, as a contractor, he built the Missouri Pacific bridges in this locality. He got the stone from the ledge where the Carthage Marble & White Lime Company now operate. I. F. Garner then followed Mr. McNerney’s discovery by starting a regular quarry, and the Carthage Marble & White Lime Company are his successors.
“In addition to the above, it is well to mention that the Carthage Stone Company, the one farthest out on the Missouri Pacific switch, the Viernow quarry on the Frisco and the Center Creek quarry, which are all old companies are all running steadily and crowded with orders.”
“This quarry is located about one-half mile west of the east quarry of the Carthage Marble and White Lime Co. E. O’Keefe is president of the company, F. W. Steadly is secretary and treasurer and Martin A. McNerney is general manager. The company owns nine acres of land on which the quarry is situated.
“The quarry consists of an irregular opening, having a north and south face of 175 feet and an east and west face of 225 feet. The stone is essentially the same as that obtained at the other quarries, being a coarsely crystalline, bluish gray to white limestone. The following is a description of the stone by channel cuts from the top to the bottom of the quarry:
2-8 ft. - Bouldery limestone covered with clay and broken stone
2 ft. - Limestone, containing suture joints.
2 ft 6 in. - Limestone, containing a bed of chert nodules near the middle.
7 ft. - Limestone, containing a six inch bed of chert nodules at the top.
6 ft. 2 in. - Limestone, containing a coarse suture joint two feet from the base. Above this is a twenty inch bed of No. 1 stone containing a small suture joint.
4 ft. - Limestone having a coarse suture joint at the bottom and two of medium size near the middle of the bed. Above this is an eighteen inch bed of No. 1 stone, used for monumental purposes. Some very good stone is also taken from the lower part of the ledge.
3 ft. - Limestone having a very coarse suture joint twelve inches from the bottom. Above this is a sixteen inch bed of No. 1 stone containing one fine suture joint near the middle.
4 ft. 6 in. - Lowest ledge of limestone. The upper three feet two inches is very good stone from which blocks of No. 1 stone from twelve to fourteen inches in thickness can be obtained.
“The floor of the quarry at this place consists of a layer of flint from sixteen to eighteen inches in thickness, underneath which occurs a good bed of limestone six feet thick. The character of the stone below this is not known.
“The surface of the quarry is rough, due to solution of the limestone. One or two clay pockets were noted in the upper portion.
“Occasional fine sutures and fine veins of calcite occur perpendicular to the bedding of the stone. Sutures were noted in the north portion of the quarry, which strike east and west. The calcite veins strike north and south. Occasional tar seams occur in the quarry, especially near the northeast corner.
“Quarrying is now being carried on in the southwestern portion, where exceptionally good stone is being taken out.
“The quarry and mill are both equipped with modern machinery, including a Sullivan Y and Wordwell channelers, derricks, steam pumps, gang-saws, rip-saws, hoists, boilers and engine. The quarry has a capacity of 1,000 cubic feet per day. It is operated all the year and employs on an average of twenty-five men.”
The Carthage Quarry Co. quarry “is located about one-half mile west of the east quarry of the Carthage Marble and White Lime Co.”
Notes From Quarry and Shop: “The sawed stone for the new public library at Kansas City, Mo., will be furnished by Carthage Stone Co., Carthage, Mo. Will take nearly 100 carloads. The stone for new courthouse, Paris, Tex., 140 cars, is also being gotten out at Carthage. Also for depots at Parsons, Kan., and Sedalia, Mo. ”
“The quarry of the Carthage Stone company is located west of the west quarry of the Carthage Marble and White Lime Co., in the S. E. ¼ of the N. E. ¼ of sec. 32, T. 28, R. 31 W. It was opened in 1892 and has operated continuously since that time. The company owns twelve acres of land. Curtis Wright is president of the company, J. W. ground, vice-president, W. R. Logan, secretary and treasurer.
Plate XXV - Fig. 1. Carthage Limestone (Burlington). Quarry of the Carthage Quarry Company, Carthage, Mo.
Plate XXV - Fig. 2. Carthage Limestone (Burlington). Quarry of the Carthage Quarry Company, Carthage, Mo. “The quarry has a south face about 500 feet long. The stone is being quarried chiefly from the west end. Suture joints occur in the same manner as in the other quarries, and approximately the same thickness of No. 1 stone can be obtained. The presence of tar seams has occasioned the quarrying of a large quantity of stone which cannot be used for the better class of buildings. A large number of these imperfect blocks are at present piled up in the quarry.
“The stone is a white, somewhat coarsely crystalline, limestone and is similar in all respects to that found in other parts of this area.
“The quarry has a clay and chert stripping of from two to five feet. There are very few joints and they seldom extend to the bottom of the quarry. Those which were observed had a strike of N. 60°-65° E. They are most abundant near the east end.
“This quarry is equipped with a modern mill. The stone is quarried, dressed and cut with modern machinery, including channelers, hoists, derrick, gang-saw, engine and boilers. The company owns an electric plant and during the past nine years the quarry has operated day and night. A portion of the stone is shipped in the rough to St. Louis where the company ha a yard, at Gratiot and Theresa avenues, for Cutting and dressing.”
The Carthage Stone Company was “...located west of the west quarry of the Carthage Marble and White Lime Co.”
| (colorized postcard photograph; GK, New York; postmark April 4, 1910) |  |
| (colorized postcard photograph; GK, New York; early 1900s; unmailed) |  |
Carthage, Missouri – the Center Creek Marble Company Quarry (Marble) (from Stone: An Illustrated Magazine, July 1899, Vol. XIX, No. 2, pp. 154)
“Another new quarry in process of development is that of the Carthage Quarry Company, of which E. O’Keefe is president; F. A. Steadley, vice-president; F. W. Steadley, secretary and treasurer, and Martin McNerney, general manager. The other stockholders of the company are P. J. McNerney and W. H. Phelps….”
“In addition to the above, it is well to mention that the Carthage Stone Company, the one farthest out on the Missouri Pacific switch, the Viernow quarry on the Frisco and the Center Creek quarry, which are all old companies are all running steadily and crowded with orders.”
“B. L. Van Hoose has filed suit for dissolution of the Center Creek Marble Co., Carthage, Mo., in which he is co-partner with W. J. Jones. He seeks in another suit to be repaid for, private money expended to conduct the business and amounts due him from the partnership. At the time of the petition the accounts of the business have been closed and the partnership is no longer doing business as such.”
“Carthage, Mo. - In reference to the announcement that the Center Creek Stone Company would establish a new quarry, W. B. Myers, local representative for that company said: ‘There is no intention to abandon the Center Creek quarry. Geo. Pickel who was here last week told me that this is the best quarry property he owns, and he has interests at Warrensburg, as well as other places in the state. I think that story of abandonment was started by some of our rivals in the stone business.’ Messrs. Pickel and Stanam (?) have contracted for the stripping of 5,000 yards of earth at Center Creek and expect to use four hundred cars of stone in their building through-out the state this year.”
| (postcard photograph; early 1900s; unmailed) |  |
The Consolidated Marble and Stone Company, Carthage, Mo., is listed in the “List of Quarries and Marble Manufacturers represented in the membership of the National Association of Marble Dealers.” Millard Bryan is listed as the company representative.
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