List of Quarries in Alabama & Quarry
Links, Photographs and Articles

• Rendalia (southeast of), Alabama – the Bowie Marble Quarry (from Preliminary Report on The Crystalline and Other Marbles of Alabama, Bulletin 18,” by William F. Prouty, Geological Survey of Alabama, 1916)

  “In the Bowie quarries there is a bed of marble about 20 feet thick of very good color and grade with the exception that it is locally admixed with lenses and irregular occluded masses of dolomite.

  “The lower beds of the Bowie Quarry are dolomite with an occasional thin bed or lens of marble. Along the marble dolomite contact zone there is a considerable admixture of dolomite and the marble, showing clearly that this has been a fracture and slipping zone with accompanying drag and occlusions. In the southwest of the two Bowie quarries where the marble bed is best exposed a thin bed or lens of dolomite overlies it. The presence of the dolomite above the marble suggests the possibility of the marble bed being similar to one of the marble beds known to exist in the neighborhood of Pratt’s Ferry, some distance below the top of the Knox Dolomite formation; however, the valley immediately to the east of the Bowie Quarry suggests the presence of marble between the quarry and the Talladega phyllite.

  “Marble was successfully produced and marketed form the Bowie quarries for a number of years prior to the war, first by Herd Brothers and then by Bowie, Oden & Co. Much of the stone from the quarries was transported over the old plank road to Montgomery and Wetumpka. Since the war the Bowie quarries have not been successfully worked for marble. They are now the property of the Jenifer Iron Co., and at one time were extensively operated for fluxing material.

  (For more information on the Rendalia Marble Quarry District, see:

   Rendalia (southeast of), Alabama – the Rendalia Marble Division below)

• Rendalia (southeast of), Alabama - the Rendalia Marble Division (from Preliminary Report on The Crystalline and Other Marbles of Alabama, Bulletin 18,” by William F. Prouty, Geological Survey of Alabama, 1916)

  Rendalia Division - Extent and Exposures

  “This division includes that portion of the marble area lying between the offset southeast of Berney’s and the great offset of the marble measures at Sycamore, a distance of 6 miles. In this division there is one good exposure of the marble at the Bowie quarries and another very inconspicuous outcrop on the east side of Jack Mountain, just to the east of Ledbetter’s. No other exposures of marble are known to occur in this division and its presence is alone indicated by the topography and soil.

  East of Bowie Quarry

  “Just to the east of the Bowie Quarries there is an apparent offset of the measures. From here nearly to Rendalia the marble valley is not well defined, but between Rendalia and Berney’s the valley becomes more distinct and increases in width.

  “Along the main fault line from the Bowie Quarries to east of Rendalia occurs a considerable quantity of brown iron-ore which has been pitted in many places. The occurrence of the ore here is similar to the occurrence of the ore in the neighborhood of Ironaton, a few miles to the northeast, where mining of the ore is active at the present time....”

  Southwest of Bowie Quarry

  To the southwest of the Bowie quarries toward Sycamore there is not in general a well-defined valley between the deep red lands of the Knox Dolomite and the phyllite hills to the east and it is very probable that the marble beds in this portion are locally entirely absent.

  “The small exposure of marble on the east slope of Jack Mountain may represent a thin bed of marble in the dolomite. The crest of Jack Mountain, (topographically above the marble exposure but stratigraphically probably below it), is held up by a great mass of very cellular, drusy, Knox chert nodules, resembling the Potosi chert.

  Offsets

  “The Offsets in the Rendalia Division of the marble belt trend northwest. The most prominent offsets northeast of the Bowie Quarry offset are found near and at the northern terminus of this division in S. 5, T. 20, R. 5-E. and in the NE. portion of S. 32, T. 19, R. 5-E. These offsets give a greater width here to the low-lying and possibly marble-bearing strata than elsewhere in the Rendalia Division.”

  (For more information on the Bowie Marble Quarry, see:

  Rendalia (southeast of), Alabama - the Bowie Marble Quarry above)

• Rockwood, Alabama - T. L. Fossick Company, Producers and Wholesale Dealers (The following advertisement is from Stone: An Illustrated Magazine, Vol. XII, No. 1, December, 1895, Stone Publishing Co., New York, pp. iv.)

  T. L. Fossick Company,
  Producers and Wholesale Dealers in

  Darlington Oolitic Limestone.

  Quarries and Mills at Rockwood, Ala.

  Largest Plant and Best Facilities in the South.
  General Office, Sheffield, Alabama.
  

• Russelville (near), Alabama - Oolitic Limestone Quarry (Present-day Quarry of Tennessee Valley Marble) TVA's quarry near Russelville contains a very hard oolitic limestone known as Franklin Pearl.
• Russellville (southwest of), Franklin County, Alabama - Bangor Limestone, an Oolitic Limestone. In the brochure, Building Stones of Downtown Chattanooga, by Robert Lake Wilson, there is a detailed description of the Bangor limestone. This brochure also includes photographs of some of the buildings constructed using this stone. (From Building Stones of Downtown Chattanooga (Tennessee), by Robert Lake Wilson, 1979. The digital PDF version is available through the University of Tennessee at Chattanooga, Geology Program, Department of Physics, Geology and Astronomy.)

  The Bangor limestone is located southwest of Russellville and ranges from a 25- to 40-foot thick deposit. The oolitic limestone belt "extends for some 20 miles from Newburg to Belgreen, Alabama." These quarries have been worked since 1878. The stone is known for being soft and easily carved but hardens when exposed to the elements.

• Russellville, Alabama – the Rockwood Stone Company – Aday Quarry – “New cut being made into Aday Quarry, 25 feet deep and 500 feet long” (postcard photograph; early 1900s; unmailed)

  “New cut being made into Aday Quarry, 25 feet deep and 500 feet long,” Rockwood Stone Company, Russellville, Alabama (postcard photograph, early 1900s)

• Russellville, Alabama – Russellville Cut Stone, LLC, & photographs of a Russellville Quarry  (present-day company) 
  

In the “Pictures and Videos” section of the web site, you will find many photographs quarrying and cutting stone.

• Selma, Alabama – the J. F. Millhouse – Cement Rock Deposit (The following information is from the section "Limes and Cements" in Stone: An Illustrated Magazine Devoted to Stone, Marble, Granite, Slate, Cement, Contracting and Building, Vol. XXIV, No..1, January, 1902, Stone Publishing Co., New York, pp. 78.)

J. F. Millhouse has discovered an immense bed of cement rock near Selma, Ala., and it is probable that a company will be formed to erect a plant.

• Shelby County , Alabama – Map showing location and geological setting of the Shelby County variegated Marble (excerpt from Preliminary Report on The Crystalline and Other Marbles of Alabama , Bulletin 18,” by William F. Prouty, Geological Survey of Alabama, 1916, pp. 89)

  Figure 28. Showing location and geological setting of the Shelby county variegated marble. Geology from map by Chas. Butts, Bull. U.S.G.S., 470.

• Springvilla, Alabama - Dolomite Quarries (excerpts from Preliminary Report on The Crystalline and Other Marbles of Alabama, Bulletin 18,” by William F. Prouty, Geological Survey of Alabama, 1916)

  “About 5 miles southeast from Opelika, Lee county occurs a narrow strip of highly crystalline dolomite (see thin section Plate VI A). This dolomite is for the most part a beautiful pearly white stone. The belt in which the dolomite occurs is about a third of a mile wide and is known to extend for several miles in a northeast and southwest direction (see map of the area, Figure 30). This stone has been quarried extensively in the past for lime. The chief quarry is located near Chewacla in the NE of the SE. of S. 4, T. 18, R. 27-E. Quarries in this dolomite have been opened at several places in the past, including Echols’ Mills and Springvilla.

  “Chemical Analysis shows the stone to be nearly pure dolomite.

  “A light colored talc occurs in some of the layers in small streaks and spots and where present in considerable amount would interfere with the use of the stone for ornamental purposes. It is probable that there are portions of the deposits free from the talc impurity, and if prospecting proves this to be the case we would have here a first-class building stone.

  “The Chewacla dolomitic marble is almost identical in appearance with the Cockeysville dolomitic marble of Maryland, so much used in and about Baltimore.”

• St. Stephens, Alabama – St. Stephens Quarry (Limestone/Cement)

  • St. Stephens, Alabama – St. Stephens Quarry (Limestone/Cement) – St. Stephens Historical Commission, Functional Analysis & Records Disposition Authority, presented to the State Records Commission, April 26, 2001.
  • St. Stephens, Alabama – St. Stephens Quarry – A High-Resolution Palynological Analysis Of The St. Stephens Quarry, Alabama: Locating The Eocene-Oligocene Boundary And Characterizing The Environmental Changes Across The Margin, A Thesis Submitted to the Graduate Faculty of the Louisiana State University and Agricultural and Mechanical College In fulfillment of the Requirements for the degree of Master of Science in The Department of Geology and Geophysics, By Kevin Jensen B.S., Central Michigan University, 2009 May, 2012.
  • St. Stephens Quarry (Limestone) – Re-Mapping St. Stephens Quarry, Alabama: An Undergraduate Student Research Project With Geological And Archaeological Applications, Justin A. Hayles, Amanda D. Lemler, and Douglas W. Haywick, W., Earth Sciences, University of South Alabama, March 2010. (abstract), presented on the Geological Society of America (GSA) web site.
    

    (excerpt from the above document)  “St. Stephens Quarry is a well know archaeological and geological site in south western Alabama. Geologically, the site exposes a section of interbedded Eocene to Upper Oligocene bioclastic limestones, marls and siliciclastic units that comprise part of the early Cenozoic Coastal Plain Province in Alabama. Archaeologically, it contains important Native American artefacts and building remains that date back to the early 19th Century when the nearby town of St. Stephens served as the capital of the Alabama Territory. In the late 1980’s, the former cement quarry site was designated an historical park and opened to the public as a recreational area….”

  • St. Stephens, Alabama – St. Stephens Quarry (Limestone/Cement) Fossiliferous Limestone Deposit at St. Stephens (from Preliminary Report on The Crystalline and Other Marbles of Alabama, Bulletin 18,” by William F. Prouty, Geological Survey of Alabama, 1916, pp. 93)

    “Tertiary Marble

    “In the St. Stephens or Vicksburg limestone of the Tertiary formation, at Gainestown, St. Stephens and other localities, there are numerous occurrences of hard fossiliferous limestone which takes a good polish, and from its pleasing colors, red, yellow, gray, etc., should be good for decorative purposes. None of this marble has yet (circa 1916) been utilized, nor have any of the occurrences been investigated as their commercial possibilities.”

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