Quarries in Missouri & Quarry Links, Photographs, and
Articles
Cass County thru Cornwall
- Cass County, Missouri - the Limestone of Cass County, from “Notes
on The Clays and Building Stones of Certain Western Central Counties
Tributary to Kansas City,” by G. E. Ladd, Assistant Geologist,
in Bulletin No. 5, Geological Survey of Missouri, Jefferson
City, July 1891, pp. 46-86.
Cass County. - Coal Measure Rocks.
“Cass county contains geologically Quaternary deposits, and the Upper and Middle Coal Measures. Possibly the Lower Coal Measures may be found in the valleys of the south-eastern part of the county. The Upper Coal Measures occupy the greater part of the county, including most of the western and northern portions.
The Building stones and The Stone Industries (of Cass County, Missouri) - Limestones are available.
“The building stone of this county is practically confined to the limestones. Of these there are a number of valuable beds 2 in the Upper Coal Measures, which are represented in the general section made by Professor Broadhead, by Nos. 74, 78, 79, 83 and 84. Stone is obtainable from these beds suitable for ordinary purposes, and for dimension work. Some of the beds furnish a marble which is easily polished, and is of a handsome color.
(Page 57 footnote: For a description of these beds see Professor Broadhead’s report Geological Survey, Mo., 1872, Part 2, pp. 141-2. Professor Broadhead discusses, also, their economic value as a source of supply of building material.)
“The limestones have been quarried, on a small scale, at a number of localities in the county, notably in the vicinity of Pleasant Hill and Harrisonville.”
- Cassville, Barry County, Missouri - the Cassville Marble
and Lime Company Quarry (Marble/Limestone) (from Missouri
Marble, by Norman S. Hinchey, Report of Investigations No.
3, Missouri Geological Survey and Water Resources, Rolla, Missouri, 1946. Used with permission of the Missouri Department of Natural
Resources.)
“The marble quarry of this company is located in the SW 1/4 SE ¼ of Sec. 20, T. 23 N., R. 27 W., at Cassville, Barry County.
Marble has been taken from the beds reported* to belong to the Keokuk formation of Mississippian age. The quarry beds are estimated to lie approximately 50 feet below the Short Creek oolite. The following section was measured and described by Clark in 1939:
(* Page 40 footnote: Clark, E. L., personal communication. This quarry has been examined in detail by Clark in the course of geologic work in Barry County.)
Section at Quarry of Cassville Marble and Lime Co.
9. Residual red clay and tripolitic chert to top of quarry - 10 to 12 (feet thick).
8. Limestone, medium- to coarse-grained, crinoidal, exposed as pinnacles in the residual clay - 10 in. (thick)
7. Chert, granular, hard, with tripolitic borders; lower 6 inches weathers into sheets or slabs ¼ inch to ½ inch thick and perpendicular to the bedding. Upper 8 inches to 10 inches produces massive blocks - 1 ft. 4 in. (thick).
6. Limestone; interbedded fine-, medium-, and coarse-grained limestone with noticeable cross-bedding in the Lenticular character of the beddings of these three types of granularity. Lower 10 inches to 12 inches is fine-grained in most places, but was observed to change laterally into coarse-grained crinoidal limestone. Chert nodules at 10 inches, to 2 feet 9 inches, 5 feet 6 inches, 8 feet, and 11 feet above the base, but none sufficiently concentrated to be called a bed. On the north face of the quarry the lower 20 inches of this bed was channeled; on the east face of the quarry a 3 foot 3 inch channel was cut 2 feet 5 inches above the base of this bed No. 6 (this is the highest channeling in the quarry) - 14 ft. 8 in. (thick).
5. Limestone and chert; limestone fine-, to medium-grained with occasional Lenticular areas of crinoidal, coarse-grained limestone, discontinuous stylolites throughout; chert is white, dense to granular, minutely saccharoidal, exfoliating or breaking into thin curved plates ⅛ inch to ½ inch thick; borders tripolitic and soft. Bedding of that chert and limestone is decidedly lenticular and wavy, with the chert and limestone each appearing as nodules and lenses; thickest limestone bed is 10 inches, but average is less than 4 inches. Noted Orthotetes Keokuk in upper 6 inches - 5 ft. 3 in. (thick).
4. Limestone, medium- to coarse-grained, somewhat crinoidal, much like bed No. 2; grades into cherty beds above; upper limit difficult to select, Beds 2, 3, and 4 were channeled as a single marble ledge - 1 ft. 6 in. (thick).
3. Chert nodules; chert is dense, brittle, light blue to pale mouse-gray with milky-white borders surrounding the blue-gray; surface is soft and tripolitic; some gray-brown mottling on interior, weathering to a pitted surface. Nodules separated by a fine-grained, hard, dense limestone. Pronounced stylolite above and below chert nodules - 5 in. (thick).
2. Limestone, coarse-grained, crinoidal, with fine- and medium-grained portions; small discontinuous stylolites ⅜ inch apart; highly fossiliferous with many Triplophyllum dalei, Spirifer logani, Reticularia setigera, Echnoconchus vittatus (?), Orthotetes Keokuk, and large cylindrical-shaped bryozoans - 5 ft. 7 in. (thick).
1. Limestone, coarse- to medium-grained, with fine-grained portions merging into the coarse-grained phase; stylolites common, spaced at 10 inches to 12 inches, intervals, and discontinuous laterally, fossiliferous with large Echinoconchus alternatus, Spirifer logani, Reticularia setigera, bryozoans, and crinoid columnals. This bed forms the lower channeled ledge or marble bed, and cuts to a fine-grained, smooth surface; upper 11 inches broken unevenly - 2 ft. 9 in. (thick).
“Quarry floor covered with debris. Base of section.
“Stone taken from this quarry was used in the construction of the Barry County Courthouse located in Cassville a short distance from the quarry. The stone is reported to take a good polish and is medium gray to rather dark gray.
“Samples of stone from the Cassville quarry were subjected to various tests by the U. S. Bureau of Standards, and the following results thereof are to be found in tabulations published by the Bureau in 1919*: -
(* Page 43, footnote 3: Kessler, D. W., Physical and Chemical Tests on the Commercial Marbles of the United States: U. S. Dept. of Commerce, Bureau of Standards Technologic Paper No. 123, 1919.)
Average compressive strength (dry)
{ on bed 12,576 lbs. per sq. in.
{ on edge 11,906 lbs. per sq. in.
Average compressive strength (wet)
{ on bed 10,852 lbs. per sq. in.
{ on edge 9,770 lbs. per sq. in.
Average compressive strength after freezing and thawing 30 times
{ on bed 13,866 lbs. per sq. in.
{ on edge 12,899 lbs. per sq. in.
Loss in weight after freezing and thawing
{ on bed 0.20 per cent
{ on edge 0.24 per cent
Transverse tests (modulus of rupture; average:
Perpendicular to bed - 1998 lbs. per sq. in.
Parallel to bed - 1513 lbs. per sq. in.
Tensile strength perpendicular to bed (average): 1323 lbs. per sq. in.
True specific gravity (average): 2.718
Apparent specific gravity (average): 2.661
Porosity 2.09
Weight per cubic foot 166.3 lbs.
Absorption tests:
Average by weight 0.357 per cent of absorption
Average by volume 0.949 per cent of absorption
Chemical Analysis
CaO - 54.29
MgO - 0.23
CO2 - 43.41
Loss on ignition 0- 45.25
Insoluble in HCl - 0.22
Al2 O3 - 0.08
Fe2 O3 - 0.02
“A crusher plant has been constructed at the quarry for the production of crushed limestone products. No dimension stone or marble has been taken out for several years prior to 1941.”
-
Cassville, Missouri – Cassville Stone – Excerpts from “Some American Marbles,” in Stone: An Illustrated Magazine, March 1916, Vol. XXXVII, No. 3, pp. 143-145. (This magazine is available in Google Book Search – Full View Books.)
“Recent conditions in Europe have caused a decrease in imports of marble into the United States. Building activity in this country is also dull, but with the general revival of business it is to be expected that building operations will increase again and accordingly that there may arise a demand for domestic marble to supplement the decreased supply from abroad. There are several domestic marbles and limestones, suitable some for interior decorative work and some for exterior work also, that are entitled to broader recognition than they have heretofore received, writes G. F. McLoughlin in the Bulletin of Mineral Research for 1914, just issued by the United States Geological Survey. Some of these marbles have been used for a considerable time and others have been quarried only during the last two or three years….”
“Among the Central States west of Mississippi River limestone and marble suitable for interior decorative work are quarried in Arkansas, Missouri, Minnesota and Texas….”
“The stone at Cassville, Mo., is of generally similar appearance, but has only been quarried to a small extent…”
- Cassville (near), Missouri - the Jenkins Quarry (Aggregates Quarry - Present-day quarry)
- Charleston, Missouri - the Morris & Pratt 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)
- Charlotte Township, Missouri - Engelhardt
Quarry (Limestone) (Visit this web
site for historical information on this quarry, presented on the
web site entitled, Early Stone Cutters in Western Missouri, A Research
Study From Jones-Seelinger-Johannes Foundation, 2005, Poplar
Heights Farm, 103 West Walnut Street, Butler, Missouri.
(Brian Phillips - Executive Director, Terrie Jessup - Program
Director, Patricia Jacobs - Research Assistant, Betty Newton -
Research Assistant, Photography - Brian Phillips, Terrie Jessup,
Melissa Phillips)
The Engelhardt quarry was “located south of Virginia, sec. 32, Charlotte Township
- Chillicothe, Missouri - the Fitzpatrick & Son 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)
- Chillicothe, Missouri - the Huff & Seiser 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)
- Christian County, Missouri - the Anderson Quarry, active quarry located off of Highway 65 along Busiek Road (photographs & location) (from Waymarking.com)
- Clarksville, Missouri - the Clarksville Area
Limestone Quarries (circa 1904) (The following information
is from The Quarrying Industry of Missouri, by E. R. Buckley,
Director and State Geologist, and H. A. Buehler, Missouri Bureau
of Geology and Mines Vol. II, 2nd Series, 1904.)
“Two quarries, known as the Clifford and the Roberts, are located directly north of Clarksville. The Burlington railroad skirts...close to the bluff upon which these quarries are located. A large part of the stone taken from them has been used by the government in the construction of retaining walls, break waters, etc., along the Mississippi Rover. It is also used for macadam and foundations. The quarries are worked intermittently.”
- Clarksville (north of), Missouri - the Clifford Limestone
Quarry (Limestone) (The following information is from The
Quarrying Industry of Missouri, by E. R. Buckley, Director
and State Geologist, and H. A. Buehler, Missouri Bureau of Geology
and Mines Vol. II, 2nd Series, 1904.)
“This quarry is nearest to the city, being located near the western limits. It has a vertical face of 65 feet and extends along the bluff for a distance of 450 feet east and west. The following is a description of the beds from top to bottom of the quarry:
39 ft. - Very fine grained limestone, light yellow in color, in beds varying from six to eighteen inches in thickness. Beds are much broken up by jointing planes. These beds constitute what is known as the ‘Lithographic limestone.’
2 ft. 3 in. - Blue arenaceous shale.
3 ft. 6 in. - Carbonaceous shale, very thinly laminated and stained with iron oxide near the top.
10 ft. 8 in. - Buff colored limestone having a sugary texture. Stained with iron oxide and containing small irregular cavities.
3 ft. 4 in. - Limestone, containing two layers of chert nodules, near the middle of the bed. Can be capped into three layers 1 ½ ft., 6 inches, and 1 ½ ft. respectively, in thickness.
4 ft. 4 in. - Light buff colored limestone. The upper bed, one foot in thickness, contains two layers of chert nodules. Can be capped into three one foot layers.
4 ft. 3 in. - Light buff colored limestone, very similar to the bed above. Contains small cavities but no chert.
“The two principal joints strike N. 80° W and N. 70° E. They are far enough apart to permit the quarrying of dimensions of almost any ordinary size. The lowest layers are well adapted for heavy masonry work.
“The quarry is situated midway up the hillside, about sixty feet above the railroad and 160 feet below the summit. Above the perpendicular face of the quarry is a talus slope of 85 feet, which, in part, at least, consists of shale. This slope extends upward to the base of a cliff, which is about six feet high. This cliff consists of beds of limestone, some of which contain large quantities of chert.”
- Clarksville, Missouri - the Dundee Cement Plant (present-day
company), Holcim Inc., Highway 79 No. P.O. Box 67, Clarksville, MO
63336; (573) 242-3571 - Excerpt from Missouri Mining Heritage
Guide, by John R. Park, Stonerose
Publishing Co., Miami, Florida, March 2005. (The following
excerpted quotations are used with the permission of John R. Park,
author A photograph of the Dundee Cement Plant is included in John
Park’s book.)
“The Dundee Cement Plant can be clearly seen from SR79, as can the conveyor system which transports material over SR 79 to a storage facility. A barge loading facility may be seen in the distance.
“The cement plant began operation in 1967. When built, it had the largest rotary kiln in the world, at 760’ long.”
- Clarksville (north of), Missouri - the Roberts Limestone
Quarry (Limestone) (The following information is from The
Quarrying Industry of Missouri, by E. R. Buckley, Director
and State Geologist, and H. A. Buehler, Missouri Bureau of Geology
and Mines Vol. II, 2nd Series, 1904.)
“This quarry is located in the S.W. ¼ of the S.E. ¼ of sec. 8, T. 52, R. 1 E., at the west end of the bluff on which the Clifford quarry is located. It is owned and operated by J. O. Roberts of Clarksville. The stone obtained here comes from near the top of the bluff and is of Burlington age.
“The quarry has a vertical face of forty feet in limestone, containing very large lenses and layers of chert. There are from ten to twelve layers of chert nodules, which are from two to six feet apart. Most of the nodules are either round or Lenticular in shape. Part of the face, mainly the upper beds, consists of stone having a light gray color. The lower twenty feet has a yellowish brown color.
“The major joints strike east and west and north and south. The minor joints strike N. 55° W. and N. 80° E. The rock produced by this quarry has been used mostly by the government for breakwaters along the Mississippi river between Clarksville and Hamburg.
“The beds are badly broken with the layers of chert nodules and it is doubtful if the stone can ever be quarried to advantage for dimensional stone. For rip rap and rubble it can undoubtedly be used very economically.”
- Clarksville, Missouri - Samuel Williams’ 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)
- Clinton, Missouri - the Clinton Area Sandstone Quarries (The
following information is from The Quarrying Industry of Missouri, by
E. R. Buckley, Director and State Geologist, and H. A. Buehler, Missouri
Bureau of Geology and Mines Vol. II, 2nd Series, 1904.)
“The town of Clinton is underlain by rocks of Lower Coal Measure age. The principal stone quarried at this place is a soft sandstone which outcrops near the edge of the town. The limestone layers are not thick enough to be of value for building stone. A number of quarries have been operated in the past at various points west and northwest of the city, but have been abandoned on account of excessive stripping. The quarries now in operation are the Harness, the Gilleau, the Swadner, the Craig and the Ehler. All of these quarries, with thee exception of the Harness, are located near the northwest limits of the city.
“An inspection of foundations and monument bases, built out of this stone, shows a considerable variety in its quality. That which contains shale seams is least durable. An inspection of steps shows that the stone is quite easily abraded.”
- Clinton, Missouri - the Clinton Marble Works,
A. G. Sherman, Proprietor (Excerpt from Historical
and Descriptive Review of Missouri, Vol. 1. The Central and
Southwestern Sections, Kansas City: Jno. Lethem, 1891, pp. 119.)
“Clinton Marble Works, A. G. Sherman. - This business for the past ten years has met with increasing success under the able management of Mr. Sherman. The office and works are located at the Southeast corner of the square, next to the railroad track. The building is 12 x 26 feet, with a lot in the rear, and from two to four skilled workmen are employed. Mr. Sherman is a native of New York, but has been in Missouri for a quarter of a century, and has an admirable mixture of Eastern progressiveness and Western energy. During the war he was a member of the Vermont Militia, and is the finance keeper of Tent No. 5 of the Knights of Maccabee.”
- Clinton, Missouri - the Craig Sandstone Quarry
(Sandstone) (The following information is from The
Quarrying Industry of Missouri, by E. R. Buckley, Director
and State Geologist, and H. A. Buehler, Missouri Bureau of Geology
and Mines Vol. II, 2nd Series, 1904.)
See: Clinton, Missouri - the Gilleau, Swadner & Craig Sandstone Quarries (Sandstone) below.
- Clinton, Missouri - Ehler Sandstone Quarry (Sandstone) (The
following information is from The Quarrying Industry of Missouri, by
E. R. Buckley, Director and State Geologist, and H. A. Buehler, Missouri
Bureau of Geology and Mines Vol. II, 2nd Series, 1904.)
“This quarry is located near the northwest limits of the city. It is owned by Mrs. L. M. Roberts and leased and operated by F. X. Ehler. It has been operated about twelve years and is worked intermittently during the summer. It has a west face 225 feet long and 12 feet high, consisting of a fine grained gray to buff colored micaceous sandstone. The stone, which is soft and friable when quarried, hardens when seasoned.
The following is a section of the quarry from top to bottom:
3 ft. 6 in. - Clay stripping.
3 ft. - Splits into three layers.
7 ft. - Solid in middle of quarry. Can be split into blocks of any desired thickness. In the natural outcrop it consists of layers from two to six inches in thickness.
9 in. - Solid bed.
“This quarry is located on a twenty-acre tract of land, all of which is underlain by the same stone. A considerable quantity of fine sand, which has been washed into the quarry opening, is used locally for mixing mortar.
“The beds have ripple marked surfaces and dip slightly to the southwest. The shale seams are not as prominent here as on the south side of the hill.”
- Clinton, Henry County, Missouri - the Gebhardt
Quarry (Sandstone) (from Report on The Building Stones
of The United States, and Statistics of the Quarry Industry for
1880, by George W. Hawes, Curator of the Department of Mineralogy
and Lithology at the National Museum, and by F. W. Sperr and Thomas
C. Kelly, Joint production of the Census Office and the National
Museum, 1883)
The following information was taken from the table entitled, “Table IV. Tables indicating the Amount and Kinds of Rock in the Different States”: The Gebhardt Quarry, Clinton, Henry County, Sandstone, color: light brown; quarry opened in 1877.
- Clinton, Missouri - the Gilleau, Swadner & Craig Sandstone
Quarries (Sandstone) (The following information is from The
Quarrying Industry of Missouri, by E. R. Buckley, Director
and State Geologist, and H. A. Buehler, Missouri Bureau of Geology
and Mines Vol. II, 2nd Series, 1904.)
“South of the Ehler quarry, on the same hill, is a single opening which is worked as three quarries. The west quarry is operated by Peter Gilleau, the middle by John Swadner and the east by Mr. Craig. The Gilleau and Swadner quarries each have an east and west face of fifty feet, while the Craig quarry has an east and west face of 100 feet. Each of the quarries, with the exception of the Craig, from which the stone has been nearly exhausted, has 150 feet of ground north and south. The stone is a rather friable, fine grained, calcareous, micaceous sandstone. The color varies from a gray to a buff, weathering in time to a gray. The following section gives the succession of beds from top to bottom:
4 ft - Clay and shale stripping
3 ft. 6 in. - Shelly stone. Two six inch layers at top of the bed, used for flagging, curbing, well tops, etc.
1 ft. 3 in. - Bed having short, discontinuous shale seams parallel to base.
1 ft. - 1 in. - Stone similar to bed above. Splits along a shaly seam three inches from base.
17 in. - Similar to the beds above.
8 in. - Similar to the beds above.
3 ft. - Lower 2 feet does not exhibit shale seams. Upper 8 inches very shaly.
4 ft. - Contains a number of shale seams.
“The stone in these quarries contains an occasional nodule of iron sulphide. The upper ledges work best. The three-foot ledge breaks irregularly.
“The shale seams make it imperative that stone from these quarries should be selected very carefully and never laid on edge. At the Gilleau quarry the lower four foot bed is not worked. At the Swadner quarry this bed, at present, is very poor stone, owing to its proximity to one of the major jointing planes.
“The major joints strike N. 40° W. and N. 55° W. All of the stone from these quarries is used locally.”
- Clinton (southwest of), Missouri - Harness Sandstone Quarry
(Sandstone) (The following information is from The
Quarrying Industry of Missouri, by E. R. Buckley, Director
and State Geologist, and H. A. Buehler, Missouri Bureau of Geology
and Mines Vol. II, 2nd Series, 1904.)
“The Harness quarry, which is located one and one-half miles southwest of Clinton, just north of the Kansas City, Fort Scott and Memphis railroad, is owned by Joseph Harness. It has been idle for several years. Quarrying has been mainly along the hillside where the stripping was light. Three separate openings have been made, from all of which the stone is very similar.
“The stone is a fine grained, friable sandstone, having a gray to buff color, streaked and spotted in places with iron oxide. When first quarried it is quite soft and friable, but hardens considerably when seasoned.
“The east opening, which faces the east, has been worked north and south 150 feet and east and west 50 feet. The stone occurs at this place in a three-foot bed which splits easily into layers of any desired thickness. This ledge is covered with from three to four feet of shelly stone and soil stripping. At the south end of the opening, the shelly stone is solid, forming a bed of about the same thickness as the lower.
“The middle opening has been worked 150 feet north and south and 100 feet east and west. The workable stone consists of two beds aggregating from three to five feet in thickness. The stone in the lower is somewhat harder than that in the remainder of the quarry.
“The west opening has a south face 100 feet long. It consists of a number of shelly layers, above which occur a three-foot bed of solid sandstone; two feet of sandstone in beds of varying thickness; and three feet of stripping The stone in this opening is softer than in either of the others.
“The joints are prominent, and strike north and south and east and west. They are from four to ten feet apart and greatly facilitate quarrying operations. No shaly seams were observed in this stone. It has been used for rip rap in the water reservoirs at Clinton and in the foundations of the Burrell Hotel, Washington Park Public School, and the White Swan elevator.”
- Clinton (4 miles south of), Henry County, Missouri -
the C. B. Jordan Quarry (Limestone) (from Report on
The Building Stones of The United States, and Statistics of the
Quarry Industry for 1880, by George W. Hawes, Curator of the
Department of Mineralogy and Lithology at the National Museum, and
by F. W. Sperr and Thomas C. Kelly, Joint production of the Census
Office and the National Museum, 1883)
The following information was taken from the table entitled, “Table IV. Tables indicating the Amount and Kinds of Rock in the Different States”: The C. B. Jordan Quarry, 4 miles south of Clinton, Henry County, Flag-stone/Argillaceous limestone, color: dark drab; quarry opened in 1878.
“Clinton Quarry is located about 4 miles south of Clinton, Henry county. It furnishes material to the town of Clinton, principally for sidewalk pavements. The stone is an argillaceous limestone, and occurs in a stratum about 15 feet in thickness, and in layers from 2 to 10 inches in thickness. The thinner layers are drab-colored throughout; the heavier layers have a lead-blue color in the interior, and those layers which have not been exposed to atmospheric action also have the lead-blue color. Below this quarry rock occurs a seam of bituminous coal 4 feet in thickness, which is one of the best coals of southwest Missouri. Below this again there are 9 feet of blue shales, with ironstone concretions to the level of the water in Grand river. Similar beds occur near Brownsville, Saline county, and may be referred to the same geological age.”
- Clinton, Missouri - E. S. McNichols’ 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)
- Clinton, Missouri - the Swadner Sandstone Quarry
(Sandstone) (The following information is from The
Quarrying Industry of Missouri, by E. R. Buckley, Director
and State Geologist, and H. A. Buehler, Missouri Bureau of Geology
and Mines Vol. II, 2nd Series, 1904.)
See: Clinton, Missouri - the Gilleau, Swadner & Craig Sandstone Quarries (Sandstone) below.
- Cole Camp (southeast of), Missouri - the Chmelir Sandstone
Quarry (Sandstone) (The following information is from The
Quarrying Industry of Missouri, by E. R. Buckley, Director
and State Geologist, and H. A. Buehler, Missouri Bureau of Geology
and Mines Vol. II, 2nd Series, 1904.)
“This quarry, which is one-fourth mile southeast of town, is owned and operated by John Chmelir. It consists of three openings, only one of which is operated at the present time. This opening consists of two beds of gray sandstone, outcropping in a creek bed. North of this is another opening, which has been worked extensively. It has a face 65 feet long, consisting of six feet of red sandstone in beds from two to eighteen inches in thickness.
“This sandstone is quite soft and friable and contains considerable iron oxide. The middle of the ledge shows cross-bedding and ripple marks are very abundant. The principal joints strike N. 40° E. and N. 65° W. The rock contains occasional dry seams. The stone is covered with from two to four feet of soil and toward the west end of the quarry the beds dip slightly to the southwest. The stone apparently improves as it is worked into the hill.”
- Cole Camp, Benton County, Missouri - the Chmlir Quarry (Visit this web site for historical information on this quarry, presented on the web site entitled, Early Stone Cutters in Western Missouri, A Research Study From Jones-Seelinger-Johannes Foundation, 2005, Poplar Heights Farm, 103 West Walnut Street, Butler, Missouri. (Brian Phillips - Executive Director, Terrie Jessup - Program Director, Patricia Jacobs - Research Assistant, Betty Newton - Research Assistant, Photography - Brian Phillips, Terrie Jessup, Melissa Phillips)
- Cole Camp (in the vicinity of), Missouri - the Neff Sandstone
Quarry (Sandstone) (The following information is from The
Quarrying Industry of Missouri, by E. R. Buckley, Director
and State Geologist, and H. A. Buehler, Missouri Bureau of Geology
and Mines Vol. II, 2nd Series, 1904.)
“The quarry, which is located in sec. 35, T. 40 N., R. 21 W., is owned by R. M. Neff and operated by R. M. and Charles Neff. It has been worked intermittently during the summer months since 1884.
“The face of the quarry is about 400 feet long and about 14 ½ feet high. Underneath a stripping of two feet of clay occur the following beds.
4 ft. - Grayish, buff colored sandstone. Can be split into layers of almost any desired thickness. Contains a number of dry seams.
1 ft., 6 in. - Decomposed stone.
8 ft. - Medium grained, white sandstone, containing some iron in the upper part. Can be split into layers four inches or more in thickness. The stone is rather soft when first quarried, but hardens upon seasoning.
“In the middle of the quarry the stone in the lower bed has been indurated until it is almost a quartzite. This is not quarried, owing to the difficulty experienced in cutting and dressing it. Near the outcrop, the stone splits into layers two inches in thickness. As the quarry is worked into the hill, the beds become thicker. Some of the bedding planes show ripple marks.
“This stone is used for caps, sills, foundations, ashler blocks, etc.”
- Cole Camp, Benton County, Missouri - the Neff Quarry (Visit this web site for historical information on this quarry, presented on the web site entitled, Early Stone Cutters in Western Missouri, A Research Study From Jones-Seelinger-Johannes Foundation, 2005, Poplar Heights Farm, 103 West Walnut Street, Butler, Missouri. (Brian Phillips - Executive Director, Terrie Jessup - Program Director, Patricia Jacobs - Research Assistant, Betty Newton - Research Assistant, Photography - Brian Phillips, Terrie Jessup, Melissa Phillips)
- Collins, Missouri - the Collins Area Sandstone
Quarries (Sandstone) (The following information is from The
Quarrying Industry of Missouri, by E. R. Buckley, Director
and State Geologist, and H. A. Buehler, Missouri Bureau of Geology
and Mines Vol. II, 2nd Series, 1904.)
“There are two quarries in the vicinity of Collins, in both of which the stone is sandstone of Upper Carboniferous age. These quarries are known as the Martin and the White.”
- Collins (south of), Missouri - the Martin Sandstone Quarry
(Sandstone) (The following information is from The
Quarrying Industry of Missouri, by E. R. Buckley, Director
and State Geologist, and H. A. Buehler, Missouri Bureau of Geology
and Mines Vol. II, 2nd Series, 1904.)
“This quarry, which is located one and three-quarters miles south of Collins, is owned by Ed. Martin. For some time prior to the summer of 1902 it had not been active. The quarry has a south face 150 feet long. It has been worked to the north about 60 feet. Of the working face only five feet was exposed when the quarry was examined.
“The stone is a medium grained, soft, friable sandstone, having a gray to dark red and sometimes variegated color. The exposed surface has a deep red color, resulting from the washing of iron oxide from the two feet of stripping. The upper one foot is cross bedded and very shelly.
“The hotel across from the depot is built of this stone and shows well its color and texture. Owing to inactivity the quarry was in very bad condition in 1902.”
- Collins (west of), Missouri - the White Sandstone
Quarry (Sandstone) (The following information is from The
Quarrying Industry of Missouri, by E. R. Buckley, Director
and State Geologist, and H. A. Buehler, Missouri Bureau of Geology
and Mines Vol. II, 2nd Series, 1904.)
“This quarry, which is located four and one-half miles west of Collins, is owned by Jesse Rorich and operated by Chas. A. White. It has been opened about 80 feet east and west and has been worked 50 feet north and south. It has a maximum face of about seven feet. The beds dip 8° a little west of south. The stripping consists of four feet of dirt and broken stone and two feet of cross bedded, shelly rock. There are from six to seven feet of workable stone, occurring in beds from two to six inches in thickness. These beds have ripple marked surfaces. The stone is a fine grained, micaceous sandstone, having a white to gray color, variegated in places with streaks with bands of yellow and red iron oxide. The stone breaks easily and with a straight fracture with plugs and feathers. It is used mainly for caps, sills, flagging and curbing. The ledges are mostly too thin for building stone. The two upper beds on the south side of the quarry are coalescing to form a single heavy ledge that will make good building stone. The sharp, fine grains of sand of which the stone is composed make it suitable for grindstones and whetstones, although its friability makes it wear rather fast. The flagging and curbing are gotten out in very good shape, and where traffic is light they wear for a long time.”
- Columbia Area, Boone County, Missouri - the
Boone Crushed Limestone Quarries (present day company)
According to the web site, the company operates three limestone quarries in the Columbia area: 1) Boone Quarries West, 2510 N. Stadium Blvd.; 2) Boone Quarries East, 3101 Creasy Springs Road; and 3) Boone Quarries North 6791 N. Hwy VV. They have been in business for over 50 years.
- Columbia, Missouri – Capen
Park - Parks Rock Quarry Park & Grindstone Park (off
Rock Quarry Road)
The Parks Rock Quarry Park and Grindstone Park were not quarries, but were named after the streets that they are located near. Capen Park was a quarry at one time. Reportedly, stone from this quarry was used in the construction of the some of the buildings on the University of Missouri campus.
- Columbia, Missouri - Columbia Area Limestone Quarries (circa
1904) (The following information is from The Quarrying
Industry of Missouri, by E. R. Buckley, Director and State
Geologist, and H. A. Buehler, Missouri Bureau of Geology and Mines
Vol. II, 2nd Series, 1904.)
Columbia.
“A number of quarries have been opened in the vicinity of Columbia which are operated almost exclusively to supply the local market with building stone. These are all located in Burlington limestone and the stone does not differ essentially in any of the quarries inspected. The main difference is in the thickness of the beds and the quantity of flint in the stone. The quarries now being operated are owned by Nichols Bros., George M. Richardson, J. H. Guitar and L. D. Gordon. Those operated by the first two are located north and northwest and those operated by the last two are south of the city.”
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Columbia, Missouri – Edward Farley, Granite & Marble Dealer (Obituary) (from Stone: An Illustrated Magazine, March 1919, Vol. XL, No. 3, pp. 127)
Death of a Prominent Stone Man
“Edward Farley, a well-known granite and marble dealer of Columbia, Mo., died at his home in that city on February 25. Mr. Farley, who was one of sixteen children, was born in County Cavan, Ireland, on December 23, 1832. He came to America in 1849 and located at St. Louis, Mo., serving his apprenticeship there with Wilson & Co. He was married in 1860 and had a family of six boys, one of whom died in infancy. He is survived by his wife and five sons, Henry A., of Peoria, Ill.; Frank L. and Wm. E., of Columbia, Mo., Louis R., of Rock Island, Ill., and Robert E., of Detroit. During the Civil War he worked as a journeyman in Ottumwa and Mt. Pleasant, Iowa. He first engaged in business at Macon, Mo., in 1865, moving his business to Columbia, Mo., in 1867, and remained in the retail monument business up to the time of his death. During the past few years his son, Wm. E., was associated with him and managed the business. At his funeral his five sons and his last surviving brother acted as pallbearers. Mr. Farley was respected throughout the trade for his integrity and sterling character.”
- Columbia (south of), Missouri - the Gordon Limestone Quarry
(Limestone) (The following information is from The
Quarrying Industry of Missouri, by E. R. Buckley, Director
and State Geologist, and H. A. Buehler, Missouri Bureau of Geology
and Mines Vol. II, 2nd Series, 1904.)
“This quarry is located about one and one-half miles southeast of the city. The face is about one hundred feet long and twelve feet deep. The stone is coarse grained and crystalline, varying in color from gray to buff. There is some chert in the limestone, especially at the south end of the quarry. Inclusions of black carbonaceous shale occur near the middle of the quarry face. This quarry is not as active as the others in the vicinity of Columbia.”
- Columbia (south of), Missouri - the Guitar Limestone
Quarry (Limestone) (The following information is from The
Quarrying Industry of Missouri, by E. R. Buckley, Director
and State Geologist, and H. A. Buehler, Missouri Bureau of Geology
and Mines Vol. II, 2nd Series, 1904.)
“This quarry is located one and one-half miles south of the city. It consists of two openings, one on each side of a small north and south ravine. The face which is from 14 to 20 feet deep, consists of the following beds from top to bottom:
6 ft. - Broken chert and clay stripping.
8 ft. - Coarsely crystalline gray limestone containing many large lenticular nodules of flint.
6 in. - Layer of white flint.
6 ft. - Coarsely crystalline, dark gray, fossiliferous limestone. Near the west end of the quarry this bed contains small pockets of carbonaceous shale. One of the beds also contains large chert nodules. Near the bottom of the ledge the stone has a bluish color.
“The major joints strike N. 50° E. and north and south. These joints are, frequently, not well defined and the stone breaks with difficulty along the bedding planes.
“The stone contains some iron oxide which in places stains it brown. In the west opening, the stone has been worked six feet deeper than in the east. This bed is a coarsely crystalline, fossiliferous, blue limestone in which chert is very abundant.
“The stone is being used in the new building which is being erected at the University farm.”
- Columbia, Missouri - Hardin & Son (from Monumental
News: Granite, Marble, Stone, Bronze Sculpture, March 1923,
Vol. XXX, No. 3, pp. 162)
“The sixth annual convention of the Memorial Craftsmen of Missouri was held at Moberly, Missouri on February 1 st and 2nd....”
“On Thursday afternoon the following new members were elected: S. L. Eggert, Kirksville, Hardin & Son, Columbia; F. L. Stockton, Washburn.”
- Columbia (south of), Missouri - the Nichols Bros. Limestone
Quarry (Limestone) (The following information is from The
Quarrying Industry of Missouri, by E. R. Buckley, Director
and State Geologist, and H. A. Buehler, Missouri Bureau of Geology
and Mines Vol. II, 2nd Series, 1904.)
“This quarry is located in the S.W. ¼ of the N.E. ¼ of sec. 1, T. 48 N., R. 13 W., one and one-half miles north of the city. It consists of four openings along the south bank of Bear creek, west of the Blackfoot road.
“This quarry is owned by Mrs. Nancy W. Nichols and operated by C. H. and W. O. Nichols. It was opened in 1870, since which time it has been worked intermittently. Quick lime was at one time manufactured out of the stone, but not at present.
“Only one of the openings is now being worked. As the stone is worked into the hill, the beds become too thick to be conveniently quarried with hand tools. The stripping also increases in thickness; for these reasons the older openings have been abandoned, although they still contain stone of good quality. One of these openings shows the following succession of beds from top to bottom:
4 - 6 ft. - Broken limestone and clay stripping.
3 ft. - Gray, coarsely, crystalline, fossiliferous limestone. This bed splits in the middle of some parts of the quarry, while in others it splits into layers from four to eight inches in thickness.
2 ft. 6 in. - Gray and blue coarsely crystalline limestone; contains dries.
1 ft. 8 in. - Very coarsely, crystalline, blue limestone; contains dries.
4 - 6 in. - Layer of white chert.
3 ft. 3 in. - Blue, coarsely crystalline limestone. Suture joints occur six inches form the bottom and near the middle of the bed. The stone contains dries. On account of the heavy stripping and the thickness of the beds, this opening has not been worked for some time.
“The opening which is now being worked is about one-fourth of a mile west of the road. It has a face about fifty feet long and ten feet high. The following is the succession of beds from top to bottom of the quarry.
1 - 3 ft. - Red clay stripping.
5 ft. - Gray, medium grained crystalline limestone. Occurs in beds from six to twelve inches in thickness.
3 ft. - Dark blue, fossiliferous, coarsely crystalline limestone. Splits into four beds about eight inches in thickness. The stone has a buff color along the bedding planes.
“The stone is free along the bedding planes and consequently can be easily quarried. Should the quarry be extended into the hill, undoubtedly the bedding planes would become tight and would be more difficult to quarry.
“The stone dresses nicely into caps, sills, ashler blocks and steps. The following prices were obtained for the stone in 1901: Rubble stone $1.00 per yard; crushed stone $1.35 per cubic yard.
“A number of cistern and well covers have been cut out of this stone. For this purpose, the stone must be obtained in perfect pieces, five feet square. When dressed, these covers bring from $5.00 to $8.00 apiece.”
- Columbia (northwest of), Missouri - the Richardson Limestone
Quarry (Limestone) (The following information is from The
Quarrying Industry of Missouri, by E. R. Buckley, Director
and State Geologist, and H. A. Buehler, Missouri Bureau of Geology
and Mines Vol. II, 2nd Series, 1904.)
“This quarry is located in the S.E. ¼ of the N.W. ¼ of sec. 2, T. 48 N., R. 13 W., two and one-half miles northwest of the city. It is located on the east slope of a hill and has a face 200 feet long and about 11 feet high. The following is a section from top to bottom, measured at the south end of the quarry.
1 ft. 6 in. - White, coarsely crystalline, fossiliferous limestone. The weathered surface is rough.
1 ft. 4 in. - White, coarsely, crystalline limestone.
1 ft. 7 in. - Coarsely crystalline, light gray limestone with a suture joint near the middle of the bed, along which it may be split. Occasional short tight seams known as dries occur in this bed.
1 ft. 10 in. - Stone similar to that in the bed above. In some parts of the quarry this bed can be split into three layers.
2 ft. - Coarsely crystalline limestone, having a suture joint in the middle. Contain dries.
1 ft. 8 in. - Bluish gray, coarsely crystalline limestone, containing dries and ‘cutters.’
1 ft. 2 in. - Blue to gray limestone, containing considerable chert.
“The joints are not well defined. Two sets were noted, having a strike of N. 50° E. and north and south.
“Short dry seams, some of which are colored red with iron oxide occur, especially in the lower beds. When colored, these seams are known as dries, and when not, as ‘cutters.’ They are harmful, in as much as they frequently cause the stone to break in a direction which is not intended in quarrying.
“The stone is uniform, both in color and texture and occurs in beds which are of convenient thickness for quarrying without machinery. Stone varying from four inches to two feet in thickness can be obtained. The different beds vary somewhat in thickness in different parts of the quarry. One bed was observed which varied in thickness from eight to fifteen inches within a distance of thirty feet.
“The stone is apparently well adapted for ashler blocks, caps, sills and steps. Flagging and curbing are obtained from some parts of the quarry. This stone was used in Stevens College Chapel and the Benton public school. At present it is being quarried for use at the State University.
Laboratory Examination.
Physical Tests.-Two-inch cubes of stone from this quarry were tested in the laboratory with the following results:
Specific Gravity - 2.620
Porosity - 3.104 per cent.
Ratio of Absorption - 1.225
Weight per cubic foot - 158.7 lbs
Crushing Strength - 9828.5 lbs. per sq. in.
Crushing Strength of samples subjected to freezing test - 9738 lbs. per sq. in.
“These tests show that the stone is very little injured by freezing and thawing. The samples tested showed a difference of only 90.5 pounds per square inch.”
- Columbia - Missouri - University of Missouri - Columbia - Rock Quarry Warehouse
- Cornwall (northwest of), Missouri - the Milne & Gordon
Granite Quarry (The following information is from The
Quarrying Industry of Missouri, by E. R. Buckley, Director
and State Geologist, and H. A. Buehler, Missouri Bureau of Geology
and Mines Vol. II, 2nd Series, 1904.)
“This quarry is located one-fourth of a mile northwest of Cornwall and west of the St. Louis, Iron Mountain and Southern Railway. It is situated on the southeast side of a granite knob.
“It consists of an irregular opening 250 feet by 200 feet, having a maximum vertical face of about eighty feet. There is practically no stripping. Near the middle of the quarry occurs a diabase dike two feet in thickness, striking N. 55° W.
“The granite is coarser grained than in any of the other quarries inspected. It consists essentially of orthoclase and quartz with a lesser amount of biotite. Some of the feldspar individuals are very large, having a cross section of one inch. The quartz grains are occasionally three-eighths of an inch in diameter, while the biotite occurs chiefly in small flakes.
“The granite has a deep red color, very similar to that at Graniteville. It is a little darker than the Graniteville stone and is much deeper colored than that at Syenite.
“The major joints strike N. 40° -45° W. Minor sets strike N. 19° E., N. 25° W. and N. 70° W. These joints are so numerous that the stone can seldom be obtained in blocks large enough for buildings or monuments. Large pieces have been obtained, but, in general, the stone cannot be quarried profitably for these purposes. The stone also contains small dark veins which injure a part of it for monumental work.
“The company has a crushing plant located one-fourth of a mile southeast of the quarry, to which the stone is carried by a gravity tram. A short siding connects the crushing plant with the St. Louis, Iron Mountain and Southern railway. At present the chief product of the quarry is crushed granite.”
Commercial use of material within this site is strictly prohibited. It is not to be captured, reworked, and placed inside another web site ©. All rights reserved. Peggy B. and George (Pat) Perazzo.