Quarries in Missouri & Quarry Links, Photographs, and Articles
De Soto thru Eureka

• De Soto, Missouri - the George Boyer 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)
• De Soto, Missouri - the Frech 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, which is owned and operated by A. L. Frech, is located near the west limits of the city. It is situated near the top of a hill and the aggregate length of the face is about 1,100 feet. It is now being worked near the south end. The stone is typical cotton rock and is used locally for foundations and rough masonry. The bedding planes are smooth and the stone is easily quarried. The following is a description of the beds from top to bottom:

  2 ft. - Soil and clay stripping.

  3 ft. - Yellowish gray limestone; splits into four beds.

  3 ft. to 3 ft. 6 in. - White and brown limestone. The white portion varies from one foot to three feet in thickness. A layer of flint two to six inches in thickness occurs at the top of the bed. Contains many dries.

  1 ft. 6 in. to 2 ft. 3 in. - White, fine grained limestone, containing small quartz geodes. Dries occur in this bed.

  0 to 1ft. - Light gray, fine grained, hard limestone.

  1 ft. 6 in. - Fine grained, light gray limestone. Splits into two layers seven inches from the top. In some places this bedding plane is absent.

  1 ft. 3 in. - Cotton rock, similar to the above. Contains a number of thin shaly seams. Splits into layers five inches in thickness. Used for ashler blocks, sills and caps.

  “The beds vary in thickness in different parts of the quarry and are separated from each other by thin seams of shale. The major joints strike N. 65° W. and are from two to twelve feet apart. They dip 10° S. In some places they are very close together, breaking the stone into blocks too small for constructional purposes. Minor joints strike at right angles to the major. They are few in number and frequently do not continue through more than two or three beds.

  “When first quarried, the stone has a very light color, but after long exposure takes on a yellowish gray tint due to oxidation of the iron sulphide. The stone works well, breaking with an even fracture. The smooth bedding planes obviate the necessity of dressing the stone on two sides. It spalls with a splintery conchoidal fracture.

  “Most of the stone is used locally for ashler masonry, foundations and cemetery work. A small quantity has been shipped to Ironton.

  Laboratory Examination.

  “Chemical Analysis. - The following is a chemical analysis of a sample of cotton rock from the quarry of A. L. Frech:

  Insoluble - 11.19.

  Fe₂ O₃, Al 2 O2 -.68

  CaCO₃ - 48.18

  MgCO₃ - 39.99

  Total - 100.04

  “Physical Tests. - Two-inch cubes of the cotton rock from this quarry were subjected to a series of physical tests with the following results:

  Specific Gravity - 2.766

  Porosity - 6.717%

  Ratio of Absorption - 2.603

  Weight per cubic foot - 161.2 lbs.

  Transverse strength - 2219.5 lbs. per sq. in.

  Tensile strength - 9831. lbs. per sq. in.

  Crushing strength -

  { 17,834. lbs. per sq. in. on bed.

  { 15,074 lbs. per sq. in. on edge.

  Crushing strength of sample subjected to freezing test - 16,880.

  “From the above it will be observed that the samples subjected to the freezing test lost an average of 954 pounds per square inch.”

• Defiance, Missouri - the Defiance Quarry - “The Petrology and Stratigraphy of Defiance Quarry in Defiance, Missouri,” by Robert C. Beste, P.G., 1994. [PDF]
• Dexter, Missouri - the Stoddard Monument Company (from Monumental News-Review Magazine, November 1947, Vol. 59, No. 11, pp. 59.)

  “New Monument Works in Dexter, Mo. The Stoddard Monument Company located on Highway 60 in Dexter, Mo., has recently been organized by Jack L. Miller and his son Jack B. Miller.”

• Doe Run (south of), Missouri - the Doe Run Area Sandstone Quarries (Sandstone) (from A Report on Mine La Motte Sheet, including Portions of Madison, St. Francois and Ste. Genevieve Counties, by Charles Rollin Keyes, State Geologist, Missouri Geological Survey, Reports on Areal Geology (Sheets 1-4) Volume IX, 1896)

  “About two and one-half miles almost due south of Doe Run there are two or three steep hills of sandstone. These are bare and disclose a good grade of sandstone which is hard enough for structural purposes. It may be obtained with almost no difficulty. It is however, quarried, pulverized and hauled to the furnace at Doe Run and thrown in with the lead just before it is drawn off, so as to ‘cinder’ the product. The sandstone has been found to contain 97 per cent of silica, being unusually pure. It could doubtless be used in the manufacture of glass.”

• Dumas (east of), Missouri - L. W. Lewis’ Stone Quarry and Stone Crusher (The following quotation is from “Selections From Meade’s Manual,” Missouri Division - J. M. Meade’s History of the Santa Fe), presented on the Santa Fe Railway Historical and Modeling Society) (The link from which the following information is no longer available, although you can still visit the main portion of the web site.)
  <http://www.atsfry.com/easternarchive/meades/meadp43.htm>

  “Just East of Dumas there is an old roadbed graded on the North side of the track leading to stone quarry put in by L. W. Lewis for a stone crusher in 1888. Pulled up in 1890. Relaid in 1892. The stone for the Media & Williamsfield Bridges came from this quarry. L. W. Lewis installed a crusher plant there again in 1894-’95. The tracks were taken up in 1896. It is about a mile from the Main Line to the quarry.”

• Eagle Rock, Missouri - the Eagle Rock Limestone Quarry (Limestone), active quarry (photographs & location) (from Waymarking.com)
• East Lynne (north of), Missouri - the Paul Schindorf 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.)

  “A quarry which is owned by Paul Schindorf is located three and one-half miles north of East Lynne. It was opened about thirty years ago, but has not been operated for a number of years.

  “It is situated on a hill and has been operated along the outcrop on the north, south and west sides. The stripping consists of about five feet of shale. Underneath this is a single bed of compact, crystalline, fossiliferous, dark gray limestone from eight to ten inches in thickness. The stone breaks with a straight fracture when worked with plugs and feathers and can be quarried in pieces from twelve to twenty feet long. It is very durable and makes excellent steps, sills, coursing, etc. The amount of stripping and the very limited demand has resulted in the quarry being abandoned.”

• Edina (southwest of), Missouri - the Vaughn 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, which is owned and operated by John W. Vaughn, is located in sex. 36, T. 62 N., R. 12 W., about two and one-half miles southwest of Edina. It is worked intermittently for use in foundations and wells. The quarry is situated along the bank of a small creek and consists of an irregular but somewhat rectangular opening about 100 feet square. It was first opened in the creek bed where the stripping was very light. Since then, the quarry has been worked toward the hill and the stripping has increased until at present it is from six to ten feet thick. Underneath the stripping, about six feet of stone is quarried. This occurs in beds from two to four inches in thickness. It is a soft, very coarsely crystalline, gray to buff limestone, belonging to the Burlington formation. Small suture joints occur in the stone. The lower beds which are said to be from six to eight inches thick, were covered with debris at the time the quarry was inspected.

  “Although most of the stone can be lifted with a crow-bar and broken into regular blocks with a sledge, some dynamite has been used in loosening the larger blocks.

  “Another quarry has been operated until recently on this place. The stone is a coarsely crystalline, buff limestone, similar to that now being quarried. The opening was abandoned on account of excessive stripping.”

• Eldon (east of), Missouri - the Shutt Improvement Company’s 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, which is located three miles east of the city, on the St. Louis, Kansas City and Colorado railroad, has been opened for the production of railroad ballast. The company has only recently started operations at this place and has not developed a very extensive working face. The quarry consists of an opening approximately fifty feet on a side. It is situated on a hill which contains an inexhaustible supply of stone.

  “The face is twenty feet high and the lower half consists of typical Jefferson City (Second Magnesian) limestone. It is a finely crystalline stone, containing small irregular cavities filled with granular quartz. The stone in the upper ten feet has a gray to buff color and is not mottled like that in the lower part.

  “The crushing plant, which is located at the quarry, is equipped with two Gates crushers, Nos. 4 and 7 ½, a two-foot bucket elevator, screens, boilers and engine. A large quantity of stone can be produced at this place.”

• Elephant Rocks State Park – “Missouri Red” Granite Quarries

  This park is located northwest of Graniteville. One of the trails in the park passes by a quarry pond. “A second spur brings visitors to a point overlooking an old quarry site. This red granite, first commercially quarried in the late 1800s, has been used as building material and as paving blocks for the St. Louis levee and downtown streets. Today, "Missouri Red" granite is cut and polished mainly for use as monuments.”

  • Elephant State Park (Kisvarsanyi, E. B. and A. W. Herbank, 1987. Elephant Rocks: A granite tor in Precambrian Graniteville Granite, the St. Francois Mountains, Missouri, in D.L. Biggs, ed., Centennial Field Guide, Volume 3, Geological Society of America, 159-160.) (This publication is available in PDF format on the gsajournals.org web site.)
  • Elephant Rocks State Park - Includes a discussion of the granite quarries of the past in the area.
  • Elephant Rocks State Park Photo Gallery (photographs)
  • Elephant Rock Photographs in Article 6 & 7:  The St. Francois Mountains - Missouri's Hard Rock Core of Conor Watkins’ Ozark Mountain Experience web site.
  • New Trail at Elephant Rocks State Park, Leads To an Old Engine House, News Release Volume 34-269, issued by the Missouri Department of Natural Resources.
    (The link from which the news release and description below was obtained is no longer available.)
    <http://www.dnr.mo.gov/ewsreel/nr06_269.htm>

  This July 7, 2006, news release announced “A new trail leading to the ruins of an old engine house…open at Elephant Rocks State Park, near Graniteville…The Engine House Ruins Trail is level, 450 feet long and extends off the state park’s current Braille trail.” It was a joint effort between the Department of Natural Resources and Missouri Department of Conservation’s Youth Conservation Corps. The Lafarge Graniteville Quarry donated 100 tons of granite sand and gravel, and State park staff installed a granite slab bench in addition to signs. The news release went on to state: “The engine house was originally built to repair train engines and cars from the Iron Mountain and Southern Railroad in the 1890s and service Sheehan Quarry operations in what is now the state park. By 1902, 16 granite cars were being operated regularly, shipping Missouri red granite throughout the country.”

• Elephant Rocks (Quarry) Park Photographs, November 9, 2000

• Elephant Rocks State Park, Missouri - Elephant Rocks State Mark - Red Granite Quarry (Granite) 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 granite quarry at ElephantRocksState Park is included with John Park’s article.)

“...A gazebo near the parking lot in Elephant Rocks State Park contains displays on how granite forms geologically, on the history of regional granite quarrying, and on quarrying equipment and techniques. Apparently, the Schneider Granite Company and the Sheahan Brothers Quarries formerly operated within the present park boundaries.

“Along the trail are exhibits of quarrying techniques, and an old flooded quarry. At one point is a rock which has been diamond cored (two adjacent cores) to test the rock for suitability before quarrying began.

“Graniteville Granite, commercially called ‘Missouri Red’ has been quarried in the area since 1869. This, and other area quarries, once produced 50,000-60,000 paving blocks per month, many of which paved the streets of St. Louis. Some streets, e.g., in Laclede Landing, are still paved with granite paving blocks. Some of the rock quarried was used as building block. The nearby town of Graniteville was largely owned and built by the quarry company.

“From Schneider’s Granite Quarry, the 3.6 mile Bellevue Valley Railroad, connected to the...St. Louis & Iron Mountain Railroad.

“Other granite quarries in the area include the...Missouri Red Quarry, the Sheahan Quarry, and the Pilot Knob Granite Quarry.

“Anon; Field Trip No. 6; Rapakivi Granites and Related Rocks in the St. Francois Mountains, Southeast Missouri ; MO Geol Surv SP-10...* Sheahan Quarry N37° 40,102’ W90° 41,600’, * Pilot Knob Granite Quarry N37 38,146’’ W90° 41.580’.”

• Elm Point, Missouri - the Missouri Pacific Railroad Company’s 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, which was opened in 1894, is located in the N.E. ¼ of the S.E. ¼ of sec. 23, T. 47, R. 4 E., one mile north of the Missouri Pacific railway station. It is owned by the Missouri Pacific railroad and operated by John Ott. It is a sunken opening and has been worked 240 feet north and south and 50 feet east and west. The stone belongs to the St. Louis formation. The following is a description of the beds from the top to the bottom of the quarry.

  2 ft 7 in. - Dark gray finely crystalline limestone. Splits into two beds. At the north end of the quarry the stone contains nodules of soft iron oxide.

  2-6 in. Shaly limestone.

  3 ft. - Dark gray, fine grained limestone. Splits into two beds.

  2 ft. 4 in. - Dark gray, fine grained, compact limestone. Two six inch layers can be split from the top. The stone contains dries.

  1 ft. 4 in. - Two beds of fine grained, compact limestone. Breaks with an irregular fracture.

  3 ft. 10 in. - Thinly bedded gray limestone.

  2 ft. 10 in. - Two beds of very dark colored, fine grained limestone, containing geodes and nodules of calcite. Breaks with an irregular fracture.

  8 in. - Dark colored, fine grained limestone.

  1 ft. 5 in. - Thick bed of dark gray, fine grained limestone.

  6 in. - Stone similar to the bed above.

  4 ft. - Dark colored, granular, impure limestone.

  “This quarry is equipped with a small crusher and accessories, a derrick, steam hoist, steam drills, and a steam pump.”

• Elsberry, Missouri - the Crystal Carbonate Lime Company’s 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.)

  The Crystal Carbonate Lime Co.’s Quarry.

  “This quarry is located on the west side of the Burlington track, about a half a mile south of the depot. It is leased by C. C. Pratt and G. M. Cash under the firm name of ‘The Crystal Carbonate Lime Co.’ The lease is for twenty years and includes a frontage of 4,000 feet, owned by Mrs. Wigginton.

  “The face of the quarry, at the time it was inspected, consisted of the following succession of beds from top to bottom:

  15 - 40 ft. - Loess - Clay - Stripping.

  20 ft. - Beds of limestone varying in thickness from six inches to two feet. These layers are discolored with clay and iron oxide which has washed into the seams from above.

  3 ft. - Limestone. Can be capped into beds from one to two feet in thickness.

  3 ft. 6 in. - Very solid bed of limestone, containing many fossils.

  4 ft. 3 in. - Thick bed of limestone. Very many fossils, especially near the top.

  3 ft. 7 in. - Coarsely crystalline bed of limestone. Occasional small cavities lined or filled with calcite crystals. Many fossils.

  5 ft. 2 in. - Coarsely crystalline limestone containing numerous fossils, mainly brachiopods. Most abundant near the middle of the bed.

  3 ft. 4 in. - Coarsely crystalline, grayish white limestone; somewhat fossiliferous.

  “There is no evidence of pyrite in the rock which is being quarried. The discoloration of the upper beds is due to the washing of clay and iron oxide into the seams and along the beds from the loess which covers the surface.

  “The bedding planes are very uneven below the middle of the face. Above this horizon they are comparatively smooth. the jointing is nearly vertical, breaking the beds into blocks of various dimensions. The largest blocks would probably measure 10 x 15 feet. There are two prominent sets of joints striking nearly N. 65° W. and N. 25° E.

  “The south end of the quarry shows very tight, close, north and south joints which break the rock into small shaly fragments. The east and west joints are the most regular, and instead of having an east face, the quarry should have a north face. This change in the direction of working the quarry will be made as soon as practicable.

  “The company is equipped with modern machinery, including steam drills, crusher, pulverizers, screens, elevators, etc.

  “At the present time the product is being crushed or pulverized for use in smelting furnaces, glass works, concrete, ballast and similar purposes.

  “The quarrying has been carried on with little regard to the jointing planes, and no attempt has been made to secure dimensional stone. Dynamite and sledges are used in breaking up the blocks. Undoubtedly the stone from the thicker beds, if properly quarried and selected, could be used for many constructional purposes. Channeling machines could be used on some of the ledges, and in this way much more building stone could be procured than by blasting.

  “The main objections to this stone for buildings are the fossil layers, the drusy cavities and the loose texture of some of the stone.

  “The stone is well adapted to the manufacture of quick lime and could probably be used successfully in the manufacture of Portland cement. This is true if the stone contains 99 per cent. calcium carbonate, as reported by the operators.”

• Ellsberry, Lincoln County, Missouri - Columbia Quarries Limestone Quarry (Limestone) (from Limestones and Dolomites in the St. Louis Area, Report of Investigations No. 5, by Norman S. Hinchey, R. B. Fisher, and W. A. Calhoun, State of Missouri Department of Business and Administration, Division of Geological Survey and Water Resources, Rolla, Missouri, 1947. Used with permission.) (For an explanation of the study of which this section is a part, see: St. Louis Area of Missouri - Limestones and Dolomites in the St. Louis Area (St. Louis County, Jefferson County, and Lincoln County)

  Locality U (Field Descriptions and Analytical Information)

  “Remarks. To obtain a rough comparison between the quality of the Kimmswick limestone in St. Louis and Jefferson Counties to the south and in Lincoln County to the north, the upper part of the Kimmswick formation was sampled at this location, approximately 50 miles northwest of the city of St. Louis. Samples were taken from a quarry face.

  “Location. In the NW ¼ sec. 34, T. 51 N., R. 2 E., approximately 1 mile southeast of Ellsberry, Lincoln County Missouri, at the south end of the surface quarry of Columbia Quarries. This quarry is on the west side of the right-of-way of the Chicago, Burlington, & Quincy Railway, in the bluff which makes the west wall of the valley of the Mississippi River.

  “Transportation. The quarry is served by a siding of the Chicago, Burlington, & Quincy Railway, and by an all-weather road.

  “Elevation. The floor of the quarry (1946) sampled was approximately 450 feet above sea level. Elevations noted in the geologic section refer to this datum, which is about 4 feet above the level of the railroad track on the east side of the quarry.

  “Stratigraphic Position. The beds sampled are in the middle and upper parts of the Kimmswick formation of Ordovician age.

  “Samples. Thirteen samples, U-1 to U-13, inclusive, were taken at this locality from places representing relatively fresh exposures of the various beds of the quarry; and an attempt was made to avoid rock which had obviously been altered in composition by weathering.

  “Geologic Section. The sequence, from top to bottom, is as follows:

  14. Soil and red surficial clay. Thickness variable, from about 10 feet to 20 feet.

  13. Limestone, weathered and carious; beds 4 to 10 inches thick. Not sampled. About 12 feet.

  12. Limestone, light gray, medium-grained with isolated larger crystals of calcite. At places grades downward into No. 11. Thickness varies between 1 foot and 4 feet. Elevation, 487 to 488 feet. Sample U-13 was taken at an elevation of 488 feet - 1 foot.

  11. Limestone, similar to No. 12. Elevation, 485 to 487 feet. Sample U-12 was taken at an elevation of 486 feet. - 2 feet.

  10. Limestone, impure in part, gray, locally stained with brown-black bituminous material in upper part, medium- to coarse-grained. Highly fossiliferous. The upper 1 ½ feet contains wavy irregular partings of dark brown and black bituminous clay-shale at places in the quarry face. Elevation, 479 ½ to 485 feet. Sample U-11 was taken at an elevation of 487 feet - 5 ½ feet.

  9. Limestone, gray, medium-grained to finer-grained; lower 1 ½ feet covered and not examined. Elevation, 476 to 479 ½ feet. Sample U-10 was taken at an elevation of 479 feet - 3 ½ feet.

  8. Limestone, gray, medium- to fine-grained, hard and tough; at places a bedding plane was seen 1 foot from the base. Elevation, 473 ½ to 476 feet. Elevation, 476 feet is level of rock bench at dump to grizzly above railroad siding. Sample U-9 was taken at an elevation of 475 feet - 2 ½ feet.

  7. Limestone, gray, medium- to coarse-crystalline, fossiliferous. Elevation, 472 to 473 ½ feet. Sample U-8 was taken at an elevation of 473 feet - 1 ½ feet.

  6. Limestone, gray and creamy gray, medium- to coarse-crystalline, fossiliferous. A single massive bed 10 feet thick through most of the quarry. Elevation, 462 to 472 feet. Sample U-7 was taken at an elevation of 470 feet - 4 feet.

  5. Limestone, gray and pinkish-gray, crystalline and fossiliferous, locally included with No. 6 in a single massive 10-foot bed. Elevation, 462 to 468 feet. Sample U-6 was taken at an elevation of 468 feet; U-5 was taken at an elevation of 465 feet - 6 feet.

  4. Limestone, gray, medium- to coarse-crystalline, fossiliferous, stylolitic, weathered at places in the quarry. Elevation, 459 to 462 feet. Sample U-4 was taken at an elevation of 462 feet; U-3 was taken at 460 feet - 3 feet.

  3. Limestone, like No. 2 below. Elevation, 454 to 459 feet. Sample U-2 was taken at an elevation of 57 feet; U-1 was taken at an elevation of 455 feet - 5 feet.

  2. Limestone, gray, crystalline, fossiliferous, covered in part by quarry spalls. Elevation, 452 to 454 feet. Not sampled. - 2 feet.

  1. Covered interval to floor of quarry. Elevation, about 450 to 452 feet. About 2 feet.

  Base of section sampled.

  Analytical Information on Limestone Samples of Kimmswick Formation At Locality U. The chemical analyses of the 13 samples taken from the middle and upper parts of the Kimmswick formation at Locality U are as follows:”

  Analyses of Samples at Locality U.

• Elston, Missouri - the Hitch 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 N.W. ¼ of the N.E. ¼, sec. 28, T. 45, R. 13 W. It has a face thirty feet long and consists of two beds of magnesian limestone. These beds are covered with three feet of soil stripping. The stone contains irregular cavities filled with a white granular quartz which weathers out, leaving the surface rough and hackly. The beds are ten and fourteen inches in thickness and contain good stone for foundation purposes.”

• Elston, Missouri - the Wade 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, which is a short distance north of the Hitch quarry, has a face of thirty-five feet and consists of seven beds from four to fourteen inches in thickness. The thickest beds are at the bottom. The stone is a light gray, fine grained cotton rock containing small drusy cavities. Along the bedding and joint planes the stone is a buff color. It has been used exclusively for foundations.”

• English Hill, Missouri – “Excavating Old Quarry trench at English Hill,” (photos & maps) in “Missouri’s Earthquake Zones,” David Hoffman, Geologist, Missouri Department of Natural Resources, Geological Survey Program, Missouri Seismic Safety Commission - 1999 Annual Report.

• Eureka (east of) St. Louis County, Missouri - Rock City Cabin Camp - Abandoned Dolomite Quarry (Dolomite Limestone) (from Limestones and Dolomites in the St. Louis Area, Report of Investigations No. 5, by Norman S. Hinchey, R. B. Fisher, and W. A. Calhoun, State of Missouri Department of Business and Administration, Division of Geological Survey and Water Resources, Rolla, Missouri, 1947. Used with permission.) (For an explanation of the study of which this section is a part, see: St. Louis Area of Missouri - Limestones and Dolomites in the St. Louis Area (St. Louis County, Jefferson County, and Lincoln County)

  Locality B (Field Descriptions and Analytical Information)

  “Remarks. Samples were taken from the Joachim formation at Rock City cabin camp in an abandoned small quarry north of U. S. Highway No. 66, halfway between the tracks of the Missouri Pacific Lines and the St. Louis-San Francisco Railway. These rail lines are approximately 1,500 feet apart at this place.

  “Location. In the NW ¼ SE ¼ sec. 31, T. 44 N., R. 4 E., St. Louis County, Missouri. About one-half mile east of Eureka, Missouri, on the north side of U. S. Highway No. 66, halfway between the tracks of the Missouri Pacific Lines and the St. Louis-San Francisco Railway. These rail lines are approximately 1,500 feet apart at this place.

  “Transportation. The exposure is 200 feet north of U.S. Highway No. 55, about one-eighth mile east of the main line of the Missouri Pacific Lines and about one-eighth mile west of the main line of the St. Louis-San Francisco Railway.

  “Elevation. The base of the section (quarry floor in 1945) is at an elevation of approximately 470 feet above sea level.

  “Stratigraphic Position. The base of the section is approximately 60 to 70 feet above the contact of the Joachim formation and the subjacent St. Peter sandstone formation. Thus, all of the samples were from the Joachim formation (Ordovician).

  “Samples. Seven samples, B-1 to B-7, inclusive, were taken at this locality.

  “Geologic Section. The sequence, from top to bottom, is as follows:

  9. Dolomite, buff and tan, fine-grained, slightly pitted and porous on weathered surface, thin-bedded in lower 6 inches; a few ½ inch bands of dense dolomite make the uppermost part of the quarried ledges; no sample was taken - 2 feet.

  8. Dolomite, similar to 9; alternating dense and porous layers; a few casts and molds of ostracods; not sampled - 2 feet.

  7. Dolomite, impure, brown and buff, fine-grained; some brownish, irregular banding. Sample B-7 was taken from the middle of the bed - 1 foot.

  6. Dolomite, ‘cotton-rock,’ impure, gray, fine-grained. Sample B-6 was taken from near the middle of the bed. - 1 ½ feet.

  5. Dolomite, ‘cotton-rock,’ impure, light gray and marbled with dark brown and dark gray areas, fine-grained. Sample B-5 were taken from near the middle of the bed - 1 1/3 feet.

  4. Shale parting (approximately 1 inch)

  3. Dolomite, ‘cotton-rock,’ impure, light tan or buff-gray, fine-grained. Weathered surface shows a slightly marbled appearance, similar to No. 5. Sample B-4 was taken from near the middle of the bed - 1 foot.

  2. Dolomite, impure, light gray, fine-grained, weathered to a buff-gray color. Sample B-3 was taken from near the middle of this bed - 1 ½ feet.

  1. Dolomite, ‘cotton-rock,’ impure, gray, fine-grained. The lower 3 ½ feet is marbled irregularly with darker gray areas and is weathered to a bluish-gray. The upper 2 feet is weathered to a buff color ad is marbled with light brown areas. Sample B-2 was taken 4 feet above the base, and B-1 was taken 2 feet above the base of this bed - 5 ½ feet

  Base of section (quarry floor); elevation, about 470 feet.”

  Analytical Information on Dolomite Limestone Samples of Joachim Formation At Locality B. Chemical Analysis. The chemical analyses of the seven dolomite limestone samples of the Joachim formation at locality B are as follows:

  Analyses of Samples at Locality B

• Eureka (east of), St. Louis County, Missouri - Limestone Exposure at Road Cut North of U.S. Highway 66 (Limestone) (from Limestones and Dolomites in the St. Louis Area, Report of Investigations No. 5, by Norman S. Hinchey, R. B. Fisher, and W. A. Calhoun, State of Missouri Department of Business and Administration, Division of Geological Survey and Water Resources, Rolla, Missouri, 1947. Used with permission.) (For an explanation of the study of which this section is a part, see: St. Louis Area of Missouri - Limestones and Dolomites in the St. Louis Area (St. Louis County, Jefferson County, and Lincoln County)

  Locality C (Field Descriptions and Analytical Information)

  “Remarks. This section in the Plattin formation is exposed in a recently excavated road cut north of U.S. Highway No. 66.

  “Transportation. All-weather, concrete, and oil-matte roads serve the locality.

  “Elevation. The base of the section is 477 feet above sea level and is about 70 feet above the level of nearby Meramec River.

  “Stratigraphic Position. The section sampled at this place is the lower 50 feet of the Plattin formation (Ordovician).

  “Samples. Twenty-seven samples, C-1 to C-27, inclusive, were taken at this locality.

  “Geologic Section. The sequence, from top to bottom, is as follows:

  24. Limestone, gray, fine-grained; weathered to a carious, honeycomb appearance (see note which follows description of No. 1); poorly exposed beds which are partly covered and have slumped from their original position. Not sampled. Elevation, 525 to 530 feet. A long covered interval extends around the curve in the road above these weathered beds. The top of this No. 24 is approximately 350 feet north, along the road and up the hill, from the base of the section - 5 feet.

  23. Limestone, gray, fine-grained, banded in a manner which suggests slightly irregular bedding; some cross-bedding; contains silicified fossil fragments. Elevation, 524 to 525 feet. Not sampled. - 1 foot.

  22. Limestone, gray, fine-grained to dense; in thin beds ½ inch to 1 ½ inches thick; weathered; contains gray chert in nodules. Not sampled. Elevation, 522 to 524 feet - 2 feet.

  21. Limestone, gray, dense to fine-grained; a few irregularly spaced shaly partings; a little gray chert; weathered to honeycomb appearance. Not sampled. Elevation, 521 to 522 feet. - 1 foot.

  20. Limestone, gray, dense; with irregular buff-colored areas; fucoidal; in beds 1 to 2 inches thick; some chert in lenses and nodules. Elevation, 520 to 521 feet. This is the highest sample taken from this section. Sample C-27 was taken at an elevation of 520 feet. - 1 foot.

  19. Limestone, gray, dense, fucoidal; an occasional nodule of chert at the base of the bed. Elevation, 518 to 520 feet. Sample C-26 was taken at an elevation of 519 feet. - 2 feet.

  18. Limestone, gray with anastomosing areas of buff-gray fucoidal appearance, fine-grained to dense; the anastomosing fucoidal areas appear to be softer and more granular than the enclosing mass of the rock; massive beds; a horizon of chert nodules along an irregular plane about 1 foot above the base. Weathered to a carious mass. Elevation, 514 to 518 feet. Sample C-23 was taken at an elevation of 514 feet; sample C-24 was taken at an elevation of 517 feet; and sample C-25 was taken at an elevation of 518 feet.

  17. Limestone, like No. 18; a massive bed with occasional nodules of gray chert about 1 foot above the base; weathered to carious, honeycomb appearance, distinct partings at top and 1 foot above the base. Elevation, 510 to 514 feet. Sample C-22 was taken at an elevation of 512 feet. - 4 feet.

  16. Limestone, like No. 15 below, but with chert lenses and nodules in the lower 6 inches. Elevation, 509 to 510 feet. Sample C-21 was taken at an elevation of 509 feet. - 1 foot.

  15. Limestone, gray with some anastomosing areas of buff-gray, dense to fine-grained; weathered to carious, honeycomb appearance; a few fossil fragments. Elevation, 507 to 509 feet. Sample C-20 was taken at an elevation of 508 feet. - 2 feet.

  14. Limestone, gray, crystalline to coarsely crystalline; upper part more fine-grained; slightly conglomeratic limestone at base; fossiliferous. Elevation, 504 to 507 feet; sample C-18 was taken at an elevation of 506 feet..- 3 feet.

  13. Limestone, light brown to pinkish, fine-grained and crystalline. Elevation, 502 to 504 feet. Sample C-17 was taken at an elevation of 504 feet. Thickness, about 15 inches to 2 feet.

  12. Limestone, impure, gray to buff, fine-grained to crystalline, with some dense texture; weathered to a carious, honeycomb appearance. A series of beds without distinct partings or bedding planes. Elevation, 495 feet to 502 feet. Samples were taken as follows; C-12 at elevation of 496 feet; C-13 at an elevation of 497 feet; C-14 at an elevation of 498 feet; C-15 at an elevation of 499 feet; C-16 at an elevation of 500 feet. - 7 feet.

  11. Limestone, like No. 12. Elevation, 494 to 495 feet. Sample C-11 was taken at an elevation of 494 ½ feet - 1 foot.

  10. Limestone, gray, dense to fine-grained; with irregular dark, argillaceous partings. Elevation, 491 to 494 feet. Sample C-10 was taken at an elevation of 493 feet. - 3 feet.

  9. Limestone, gray to buff, fine-grained or dense; some honeycomb weathering; thin, shaly partings are seen in a 1 ½-foot sequence near the middle; some fossils. Elevation, 487 to 491 feet. Samples were taken as follows: C-6 at an elevation of 488 feet; C-7 at an elevation of 489 feet; C-8 at an elevation of 490 feet; C-9 at an elevation of 491 feet. - 4 feet.

  8. Limestone, shaly; with interlaminations of 1-inch to 3-inch shale and shaly limestone layers. Elevation, 485 to 487 feet. No samples taken. - 2 feet.

  7. Limestone, slightly argillaceous, buff with some areas of brown marbling, fine-grained. Elevation, 484 to 485 feet. Sample C-5. - 1 foot.

  6. Limestone, shaly. No sample taken. Elevation, 483 ½ to 484 feet. - ½ foot.

  5. Limestone, gray, dense; splintery fracture; some ostraeods. Elevation, 482 to 483 ½ feet. Sample C-4 was taken at an elevation of 483 feet. - 1 ½ feet.

  4. Limestone, light gray, fine-grained with some free oölites and some conglomeratic limestone, finely laminated. Elevation, 481 to 482 feet. Sample C-3 was taken at an elevation of 482 feet. Thickness was approximately 1 ½ feet to 1 foot.

  3. Limestone, gray, oölitic and conglomeratic; splintery fracture. Elevation, 479 to 481 feet. Sample C-2 was taken at an elevation of 481 feet. Thickness was ½ feet to 2 feet.

  2. Limestone and calcareous shale, gray and tan. Elevation, 478 to 479 feet. No sample taken. - 1 foot.

  1. Limestone, gray, fine-grained to dense. Elevation, 476 to 478 feet. Sample C-1 was taken at an elevation of 478 feet. Thickness was from 2 ½ feet to 2 feet.

  “The base of the section is the base of the Plattin formation at an elevation of 476 feet. (Note: weathered exposures of the Plattin formation at this locality presently the distinctive appearance characteristic of much of the formation in eastern Missouri. The limestone, when weathered at the surface, is penetrated by ramifying, narrow, tubular openings which give the rock a worm-eaten appearance commonly called ‘honeycomb.’ This weathered stone is much in demand locally for use as a decorative stone in landscaping around dwellings and rock gardens for ornamental purposes. The fresh rock is penetrated by anastomosing bodies of rock material of a composition unlike that of the enclosing rock mass. These bodies taken the form of irregularly branching and interconnecting subcylindrical filled tubes. The rock which fills the tubes is commonly somewhat softer and less resistant than the enclosing rock, and is apparently readily removed by the solution work of weathering processes. The openings produced by removal of the tube fillings are about the size of an ordinary lead pencil, and their haphazard pattern of anastomosis justifies the descriptive term ‘worm-eaten’ - rather than the more commonly used but less apt term ‘honeycomb.’ Some geologists have described this type of weathered rock as carious.)”

  Analytical Information on Limestone Samples of Plattin Formation At Locality C. Chemical Analysis.

  Analytical Information on Limestone Samples of Plattin Formation At Locality C.

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