The Georgia Stone Industry

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The Georgia Stone Industry - 1894

From the

"Sixteenth Annual Report of the United States Geological Survey,
Part IV. - Mineral Resources of the United States, 1894, Nonmetallic Products."

Excerpts from the chapter on "Stone," by William C. Day.

(Click here if you wish to read the entire chapter on "Stone.")

The Georgia Granite Industry in the Mid-1890s

Georgia. - As will be seen from the report on "marble," this State has very materially advanced in its marble output. The same can be said of the granite product, which has increased from $476, 387 in 1893, to $511,804 in 1894. Of this amount $225,910 is the value of paving blocks. There is every reason to believe that with a revival in business there will be a still greater increase in the granite industry in this State. By far the most of the output comes from Dekalb County, in which are the important producing centers, Lithonia and Stone Mountain. Other productive counties are Hancock, Henry, Bibb, Elbert, Spalding, Rockdale, Jones, Oglethorpe, and Newton. The last seven of these counties produce very little as compared with the others.

The Georgia Marble Industry in the Mid-1890s

Georgia. - The advances made in marble quarrying in Georgia during the past year are very remarkable. The value of the output in 1893 was $261,666, and in 1894, $724,385. The entire output came from Pickens County.

According to Bulletin No. 1 of the Geological Survey of Georgia, under direction of Mr. W. S. Yeates, entitled "A Preliminary Report on the Marbles of Georgia," by S. W. McCallie, assistant geologist, the quarrying of marble in this State dates back to 1840, when operations on a very small scale were undertaken near Tate. Very little was accomplished, however, until the organization of the Georgia Marble Company in 1884, with a capital of $1,500,000. There are now four flourishing firms in Pickens County, while another, operating in Cherokee County, will begin in 1895.

The marbles of Georgia follow a general line running in a northerly direction from Fannin County on the north, through Gilmer and Pickens counties, to Cherokee County on the south. "The Marietta and North Georgia Railroad runs parallel to the marble belt throughout its entire length, and at no point is the outcropping located more than 2 or 3 miles from this road." All the quarries at present operating are near the town of Tate, Pickens County.

The product of the quarries operated by the Georgia Marble Company varies somewhat in color. The Kennesaw quarry yields a limited quantity of white marble, the crystals of which are large and glistening, but very compactly united; and in addition there is a white marble clouded with light spots and lines of blue. The Cherokee quarry produces white and bluish-gray stock, both clouded with dark-blue spots. From the Creole quarries a marble having a white ground and exceedingly dark-blue mottlings is taken. This is used for monumental work and exterior decorating. A great variety of different shades of marble is to be found in the Etowah quarry, the principal colors being pink, salmon, rose, and dark green. These, with their combinations, produce very rich effects and are suitable for work in which high color and richness are desired. It finds its chief application in wainscoting, mantels, table tops, counters, panels, etc.

The following analysis was made by Jr. John C. Jackson, of Chicago:

Analysis of Georgia marble.
		Per cent
Calcium carbonate		97.32
Magnesium carbonate		1.60
Silica		.62
Iron protoxide		.26
Alumina		.25
	Total	100.05

The following tests by compression of the strength of three cubes of Georgia marble, made in 1886 by Capt. Marcus W. Lyon, United States Army, with the testing machine at Watertown Arsenal, Mass., serve to indicate the great crushing strength of this marble:

Mechanical tests of Georgia marble.
		Dimensions			Ultimate strength
Test No.	Marks	Height	Compressed Surface	Sectional Areas	Total Pounds	Pounds per Square inch
				Sq. inch
4337	Cherokee	6".04	6".01 by 6".00	36.06	395,800	10.976
4338	Creole	6".03	6".00 - 5".99	36.94	434,100	12.078
4339	Etowah	6".03	6".03 - 6".01	36.12	384.400	10.642

The structure of the marbles from the various quarries is essentially the same, the difference being in color only. The nonabsorbent properties are indicated by the following experiments made by Prof. J. B. Johnson, of St. Louis, Mo.:

A 3-inch cube was soaked in water twenty-four hours and weighed. It was then dried over a steam coil at a temperature of about 215° F. for twenty-four hours and again weighed. The difference in the weight divided by the weight when dry showed that it had absorbed water to an amount expressed by six-hundredths of 1 per cent. The nonabsorbent qualities thus revealed enable the stone to withstand disintegration.

The following data are taken from the bulletin of the Georgia Geological Survey, already referred to:

Name	Quarry	Compressed surface in inches	Position	Actual crushing load in pounds	Compressive strength per square inch in pounds	Reduced to corres-pond to pressure per sq. in. on 2-in. cubes, in lbs. per. sq. inch *	Specific Gravity	Weight per cubic foot in pounds
Kennesesaw:
No. 1	Kennesaw	.99 x .99	Bed	c10,000	10,204	12,244	-----	-----
No. 2	....do....	1.00 x 1.00	....do....	d11,400	11,400	13,680	2.717	169.8
No. 3	....do....	1.00 x 1.00	....do....	e10,672	10,672	12,806	-----	-----
Creole:
No. 1	Georgia	1.00 x 1.00	....do....	e13,900	13,900	16,680	-----	-----
No. 2	....do....	10.00 x 1.00	....do....	e13,100	13,100	15,700	2,763	172.6
No. 3	....do....	1.00 x 1.00	....do....	13,200	13,200	15,840	-----	-----
Etowah:
No. 1	....do....	1.00 x 1.00	....do....	13,200	13,200	15,840	-----	-----
No. 2	....do....	.99 x .99	....do....	12,000	12,244	14,692	2,707	169.1
No. 3	....do....	.99 x .98	....do....	12,300	12,540	15,048	-----	-----
Southern:
No. 1	Southern	.99 x 1.00	....do....	11,300	11,414	13,595	-----	-----
No. 2	....do....	.99 x 1.00	....do....	10,900	11,010	13,212	2,734	171.8
No. 3	....do....	.98 x 1.00	....do....	10,800	11,020	13,224	-----	-----

* The survey is under obligations to Prof. Charles Ferris of the Engineering department of the University of Tennessee, for valuable aid rendered in making the crushing and absorption tests.

b Gen. Q. A. Gillmer, in his report on the compressive strength of building stones of the United States, Appendix II, Annual Report of the Chief of Engineers for 1875, determined a general formula for converting the crushing strength of different cubes into each other. In applying this formula of 1 and 2 inch cubes, it is found that the crushing weight of the smaller cube should be increased by approximately one-fifth of itself in order to compare correctly the strength of the two cubes.

c Cracked on edge before bursting.

d Burst suddenly.

e Burst with explosion.

The following artificial weathering tests were made on unpolished cubes of Nos. 1, 3, and 6 and a polished cube of No. 1. They were suspended for several days in an atmosphere of hydrochloric, sulphurous, and carbonic acids.

	Original weight	Final weight	Loss
	Grams.	Grams.	Grams.
No. 1, Polished	45,0868	44,9337	.1531
No. 1, Unpolished	45,9492	45.7793	.1699
No. 3 Unpolished	44,2569	44.1240	.1329
No. 6 Unpolished	42,1369	41,9943	.1426

It is noticeable that the unpolished cube of No. 1 was dissolved with considerable more readiness than the polished.

*Chemical analyses of Georgia marble.*
	*Per cent*	Per cent	*Per cent*	*Per cent*	*Per cent*	*Per cent*
No. 1	54.06	.90	.10	2.12	42.86	100.04
No. 2	32.73	19.37	.35	.73	46.58	90.76
No. 3	55.00	1.12	.15	.35	44.16	100.76
No. 4	31.53	21.30	.24	.10	47.26	100.43
No. 5	31.61	21.06	.78	1.01	46.49	100.95
No. 6	54.41	.75	.32	1.62	43.13	100.23
No. 7	54.67	1.01	.42	.76	43.49	100.35
No. 8	52.77	.82	3.28	1.43	41.85	100.58
No. 9	24.07	17.24	.43	21.76	37.08	100.58
No. 10	30.42	19.86	.91	4.23	(a)	(a)
No. 11	31.89	19.64	.74	1.73	(a)	(a)

a Undetermined.

No. 1	A coarsely crystalline white marble, from the Cherokee quarry (Georgia Marble Company), Pickens County.
No. 2	A white, fine-grained marble from J. P. Harrison.s quarry, 2 miles east of Jasper.
No. 3	A coarse-grained black and white mottled marble, "Creole," of the Georgia quarries.
No. 4	A fine-grained gray marble, from the Dickey property.
No. 5	A fine-grained bluish-gray marble, from the Holt property.
No. 6	A coarse-grained flesh-colored marble, "Etowah," of the Georgia quarries.
No. 7	A coarse-grained gray marble, from the Eslinger farm.
No. 8	A coarse-grained brown marble, from the Haskins farm.
No. 9	A fine-grained light-gray marble, from the White property.
No. 10.	A fine-grained black marble, from Six Mile Station.
No. 11	A fine-grained white marble, from Fannin County.

The Georgia Slate Industry in the Mid-1890s

Georgia. - The slate industry in Georgia undoubtedly has a future, although operations have not been very extensive in the past. Demand for slate as a roofing material in the South has not been a keen one, but it is difficult to understand why it should not become so in view of the extending use of slate for roofing in other portions of the country. Although slate is known to occur at a number of localities in the South, the quarries at Rock Mart are the only ones at present equipped to supply any considerable demand. The Georgia Sandstone Industry in the Mid-1890s

Georgia. - While a small quantity of sandstone was produced in 1894, this branch of the stone industry in Georgia has never amounted to a great deal. Much more enterprise has been shown in the development of its valuable resources in granite, marble and slate. The Georgia Limestone Industry in the Mid-1890s

Georgia. - Catoosa County yielded lime valued at $32,000. Ordinarily, quite a considerable amount is used for fluxing in blast furnaces, but much less was used for this purpose in 1894 than formerly.

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