Litchfield enquirer., 1873-10-09

$ r f,ls.A oi asla l..es ssl. efss. ssf sssFfss .ssii
 dent to ali that manufactures can her1
 be developed. not only onia commanding
 scale and permanent basis, but also kepI
 within the bounds of strict economy,
 both inAconstxnetion and operation
 There are other minor clements of
 promise for the prospective local traffic of
 the road. chief of which are the mineral
 products and the remarkably fine develop
 ments of building material at various points
 along the line It is not perhaps known to all that some of the most extensive mines
 of Nickel in the country are located on
 Prospect Mountain within II miles of
 Bantam Station One hundred tons of
 this mineral. recently sent to England,
 demonstrated value of $20O to the ton
 of ore, and the advertisement of the To-
 cality furnished by this shipment brought
 back an order for an additional supply of
 300 tons to the same parties. How far
 this promising opening may lead towards
 business for She railroad cannot now be
 estimated; but while this mineral has now attained a value greater than silver for plating purposes, it is gratifying to the friends of the road to know that the anal ysis of this ore proves so rich, and that the quantity is absolutely inexhanstible.
 As regards the numerous deposits of fine building stone. it is well known that they crop out at Bantam, Romford and several other points along the line, in very promising shape and with evident value to their owners if properly developed; but all will concede superiority to the Quarries at ''Mine Hill," near Roxbury station, which produces genuine granite equal to any in the country, taking into consideration its adaptabiiity to supply the various demands for this kind of ma terial without waste, it's location as re gards economical working, it's inexhausti- ble supply, and it's convenience to the best markets, since the completion of this new outlet to tide water. have recently made personal examination of the lo- cality, and although familiar as suppos- ed myself from my youth up, with the name and great promise of "lfine H3H' whenever properly developed, Inow find that did not comprehend one fraction of the real value of these magnificent quarries which an intelligent enterprise is now fast opening to the inspection of any one who will take the trouble to visit that interesting locality. The granite from this region has had local reputation al- most from time immemorial, and every church OF prominent public edifce, as we'll as most of the dwelling houses with in twenty miles, have fine specimens of the material, not only in their underpin- ming and pretentious stepstones, but also in their fine hearths and chimney jams, affording in their present perfect condi- ton, after severe exposure. the best eyi-. dence of then fire proof nharS~ ---7ass+' dition 70 their numerous other recom- lsiA 4raaH H -aA .5i 70
 In the preliminary movements for the of the Housatonic Railroad, these quarries attracted the serious at tention of the sagacious contractor AL fred Bishop, who then publicly stated in one of his speeches that enough business could be created at that point from tnase quarries alone, to warrant the building of & railroad from there to tide water. There never has been, however. any organized made, or individual effort, to work :the quarries for commercial pur- poses, until about ten months since, when the c6mpletion of the Shepaug R. R. and the actual daily passage of the trains at a distance, suggested such ac- tion, and g company was formed. a pur- chase or lease effected, and the work of and opening the stone has since been completed. yisie-
 The quarries now under their handi- work are in an admirable condition for in- spection, and I must confess my great surprise at the rich manifestations so ap- parent on every hand of the capabilities of the stone for every imaginary purpose to which this material can possibly be ap- piled in great city like New York, and the facility with winch it can be furnish cd in the greatest quantities and at the shortest notice. The assurance that in three weeks time 1000 quarrymen could be employed to the best advantage, coup led with .the fact that the position of the numerous working faces requires no la- bor at pumping water. or removing waste material, tells the story of the probable rate of production. while the fact that nine-tenths, at least, of all the stone quar- Fied can be made available. shows the val ue which judicious management must bring about for the benefit of the owners. No better material than this can be found in the country for that extensive system of stone docks recommended by MacClel- Ian and already undertaken by the New York Board of Public Works-the adyan- tages for the purpose being the perfec- ton and uniformity of material both in color and quality, the inexhaustible quan- tity available, and the rapidity with which it can be quarried and delivered on the railroad and thence to tidewater.
 Large fagging stone, so generally used now in completing the sidwalks in front of all the best city business, blocks, can there be easily obtained, of any desired
 dimensions. with much less labor of dress
 ing than at any other quarries within my
 knowledge. Dimension stone for fronts
 of buildings or heavy ashler work can be
 supplied in: any quantity, of excellent
 quality, and in blocks suited to resist any
 amount of vertical pressure, also in forpa
 to comply with any architectural demands, Il u T. r k-- Il Al ~-AsT