Daily Republican., 1882-01-10

tyGGbe They Come From and Who
k46 Engaged in furnish1nR

HGte They Come From and Win,
k46 Engaged in furnish1ni
xhaps no city in the Union has bet
~ ~ handsomer curb-stob ~ than VIII
Y yEtnklon, and they are taken right from
~ Iccky hills which skirt the Brandy
V{n4creek and impart TO it that sub
lIx64y and romance that distinguishes
it l&oag. and story. But few people
dtoo&n that the great solid rocks rising
ti6e ppon tier above each other, anc
Gxndually sioping off from the Brandy
wine on either side, are bursted ant
split up like chestnut rails and manu-
f6ctured into the long, beautiful slab'
or cnrbing that edge the side walks o
the streets OF Wilmington.
What, Are those long slabs taker
from those ugly looking piles of bould
ers md rocks up the creek ? is asked By
th0t0ereduous
w gentls reader, it is even so, and
~ W0mington increases in population
&m6 Dfireads out her great giant.likt
&(1G In all directions grasplug after
4xd sucircliug the surrounding subur
IN fBrritory, the rocky, ribbed hills
ly}nk within reasonable scope Of the
Oily, will grow in Importance.
a REPUBLICAN man yesterday
i atx6lIed up the Braudywine in the vi
SO1nlf4 Of the stone quarries where all
our handsome curbing comes from. The
4UaSfiss are located in the hill between
Htd0les and Bancroit's Banks, the
prQperiy belonging to the Riddle estate,
hut leased to the quarrymen for term
Of years. So far as is known there are
only three regular quarrying firms up
the Brandy wine tnat are engaged in
Snannfacturing curb.stones, but from
an0rnipg until night, year in and year
out;the never ceasing click, click of the
dCll hammer resounds with musical
<tEcot amongst the ringing rocks. As
the xtsady dropping, drop by drop, of
watar will wear hole by and by in the
hardest rock, so will the steady pick
shQ click of the quarryman's hammer
4 ana chisel level down in time this great
.yUGky hill, noted for half century
1SAnt as the prettiest and most romantic
Ui6hic grounds on the classic Brandy
4 W&RA
Xlready many Of the high bluffs
knTe disappeared and become the curb
stones tha edge our streets and if this
work OF demolition continues these
rntnia.ure inoun'ains must become as
level as the plains aud upon their
hAsls will stand magnificent mansions
n Hike the Field and Bancroft homes that
\ MGFnce the hilly slopes. The first quarry
RXbAched by following the Riddles road
SGnd just beyond the yellow chro ne
(aShed cottages of the operators of
81 1ddle's great cotton mills is tnat
worked by Mr.. Mckendrick who en-
\ DA0ys some doZ II or so Of hands in the
I. Winter season in getting out curb, build
n fNg stone, post, steps and coping.
II icing an immense rock close at hand
,l16cn which two or three meu were
Il I4lsurely drilling holes the REfUBLl-
Ian man with the inquisitivsness
& which pei tains to the craft said he sup
p0aed IL would take at least two or
three weeks to smash that boulder
about as big as two story country
Gpring- house into smithereens. The
incredulous laugh which spread over
the couutenances of the quarrymen
made the knight of the pencil feel ver-
4 dant enough to seek other quarters,
but seeking relief in question she asked
4 how the thing was done.
"rhis way, you see,' said the quar-.
lyman. eve first find big rock, trace
4 = line across it, drill row of half inch
holes, two inches apart, all the way
ncross the rock, and then we drill a
similar row of holes right across til,
VI Hana nf tho rnply hnt Spypa 3 hraa nr fn,t
4 feet down from the top. Then we drive
! In these little steel wedges in all the
\ holes at the same time and the pressure
y ~ the wedges gradually forces open the
4 lArgest rock, and then il is no trouble
~ the same means to split them up
! into curbstones from five to fifteen and
y more feet long. Instead of a couple OF
& weeks it only takes day or so to split
0pen the biggest rock. A short distance
XdOwn the hill, skirting the creek are
1he quarries of p. p. Tyre, where the
" locks are'rent open in the same man.
sner. Mr.. Tyre was yesterday expert.
u Menting with a dill engine which was
introduced for ihe first time in the
Y SBrandywine quarlies.
s The steam Is conveyed distance of
zone or two hundred feet through
8a very small pipe and coil OF
Z hexible pipe to the machine. If it
works right Mr.. Tyre says it will do
\ the work of twenty hands. Mr.. Tyre
\ gets out sOme very handsome blocks of
4 granite which admits of polish as fine
SAs that of Tennessee marble. A sample
bf this polished granite can be seen
4 Around the Capelle burial lot in the
Wilmington and Brandywine cemetery.
Mr.. Tyre furnished the handsome Bel.
Wgian blocks used in paving Fourth
&treet
M Up on top ofthe hill at the entrance of
Che Riddles woods picnic grounds are
she qnaries of Hughes& Walker. These
naries were formerly worked by j. j.
flanagan. The cub stone got out by
yhese gentlemen are very tine-many of
the slabs being over fifteen feet long.
5 Though there are but three of these
quarries, they supply more than enough
'2eurb stone tor Wilmington, and they
Il Ind ready market for the overplu in
SSchester, West Chester, New Castle, and
NOME are sent to Philadelphia.
l9 Fhe prices obtained are about forty
\ cents foot delivered any place in the
city Of Wilmington and if taken to the
depot and loaded on cars the cost is from
Two to three cents additional. It hard
ly seems possible that these huge rocks
can be manufactured into curb stone at
forty cents foot but such is the
triumph of genius and art that the rocks
yield willingly.to the quarryman's ham.
mer and drill, and these granite artists
of tie Brandywine are enabled not only
TO make good living out of their oc,
cupation but accumulate little wealth
besides.