The Georgia Stone and Building Industry in 1882
Excerpts from
Mineral Resources of the United States, 1882
J. S. Powell, Director, Department of the Interior, United States
Geological Survey,
Government Printing Office, Washington, D. C., 1883.
Excerpts from the chapters on 1) "Structural Materials," and 2) "The Useful Minerals of the United States":
"The division of the Tenth Census charged with the collection of statistics of building stone obtained returns from 1,525 quarries in the United States, having an invested capital of $25,414,497, and producing during the year ending May 31, 1880, 115,380,133 cubic feet of stone, valued at $18,365,055. In value of total product, the leading States rank as follows: Ohio, Pennsylvania, Vermont, Massachusetts, Illinois, New York, Maine, and Connecticut; each of these States producing upwards of $1,000,000 worth of stone. Vermont, Illinois, Ohio, Iowa, Indiana, New York, and Missouri, in the order named, produce the most marble and limestone; Ohio, New York, Connecticut, and Pennsylvania, the greater part of the sandstone; Massachusetts and Maine quarry the most granite and other siliceous crystalline rocks; while Pennsylvania leads in product of slate."
Marble:
White marble four miles west of Talladega, and also at several points southwest near Syllacogga in same county. This is the "Talladega marble." A black marble is obtained in the localities southwest of Talladega. White, crystalline marble at Chewacla lime works, Lee county; and northeast and southwest for several miles. A non-crystalline, compact grey and white marble is quarried at Marion. Many localities in Trenton and magnesian limestone formations in valley of Cahaba river in Bibb and Shelby counties. Variegated marbles (sub-Carboniferous) and widely distributed in the Tennessee valley; works at Dickson, Colbert county; many localities in Lauderdale, Limestone, Madison, and Jackson counties; other outcrops along sub-Carboniferous rocks in the valleys from Georgia line southwest to center of State. A Tertiary white and yellow crystalline limestone occurs at Gainestown, Clark county.
GEORGIA
Reported by John C. Smock.
Ores, minerals, and mineral substances of industrial importance, which are at present mined.
Buhrstone, Millstone: On Suwannee river, once worked for fuel.
Marble: Near Van Wert, Polk county, white; Fannin, Gilmer, Whitfield, Floyd, Richmond, Walker, Caloosa, and Chatooga counties, all in northwest part of State.
Slate (roofing): Gentry's quarry, near Van Wert, Polk county; Rockmart, Polk county; Gordon and Barton counties.
Ores, minerals, and mineral substances of industrial importance, and known occurrence, but which are not at present mined.
Granite: Stone mountain; Gwinnett, De Kalb, Heard, Oglethorpe, Clarke, Muscogee, Columbia, Richmond, and Wilkes counties.
Flexible Sandstone: Hall county.
Novaculite - Oilstone: McDuffie, Oglethorpe, and Lincoln counties.
Serpentine: Rabun, Towns, and Union counties.
The Georgia Stone and Building Industry in 1882Commercial 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.