The Atlanta constitution. [volume] (Atlanta, Ga.) 1885-19??, 1888-08-07
GEORGIA MARBLE.
The Largest Quarry in the
World.
Ihe wonderful Developments Made, and the
Machinery at Work-Three Large
Mills For Saving Marble.

Atlanta National, last Saturday, as he was
standing with Governor Mcdaniel, Colonel B.
r. Abbott and party of Atlanta gentlemen
on the banks of Long Swamp creek, inspecting
the quarries of the Georgia Marble company,
IN tlckens county, in this state. And it real
ly is.
-Four years ago Messrs. Clement & Balm,
two OF Chicago's most enterprising merchants,
backed by company with ample capital,
commenced to open up this quarry. No olie
at the time, except these gentlemen and
those associated with them, had any idea of
the magnitude of the work they were then
undertaking, and if they had told our people
| what they were going to do but few would
have been found who would believe it, and
then if any one had believed they would
build up this magnificent property as they
have, the natural inquiry would have followed
| what Will they do with the marble after they
are prepared to quarry it in such quantities?
| Both these questions have been answered by
what has been done by this company in the
| past four years
The bulk of tho good marble land in this
part of the county of Pickens was owned by
| the late brothers, sons of Mr.. Samuel Tate,
one OF the original settlers of old Cherokee
now Pickens. Nh. Samuel Tate settled this
land in 1885, and was well acquainted with
| not only the quantity of marble, but the quail
| lty on this land, and he always told his sons
| tiae tlio Tune WOulu como when 1t would be
very valuable. For number of years it looked
as If the prediction of Mr.. Tate would not
come true in the life time of his children.
But soon after the narrow gauge rail-
I road was built from Marietta to JAS
| per, it soon became apparent that
the marble beds under the rich soil in tho Long
| Swamp valley was more valuable than even old
Mr.. Tate had thought it was.
Parties were soon in negotiation to purchase
the property. The two brothers who had
charge OF the negotiation--Maior William Tate
and Mr.. Stephen Tate--the father had died
; some years before refused to sell the land,
and proposed to lease for a long term for o roy
| atty. They were good business men and the
| result has shown their wisdom; thor good
| Judgment has also greatly aided them. They
| discarded many who wanted to work the mar
! bic quarry, refused all offers to purchase, and
| finally determined to make a contract leasing
| their entire marble interest to Messrs Clement
| and Baln ard their associates for nnety-nine
| years On ROYALTY Of seven cents per cubic foot
for the marble quarried, preferring to deal
with one company than to cut it up into many
| small companies
| The valley where the marble lies is nearly
| two miles long and about a half mile wide It
| has been tested with diamond drill $50 feet,
ana alsplays four kinds of marble. Tho creole
| that IS dark with white streaks; the Cherokee,
thatis lighter colored, and the Etowah, that is
flesh-coiored, and the white marble. Soon
| after the details Of the lease had been ar
| ranged, the Georgia Marble company conl-
nlSHCcu W prepare 10 develop these QuafrieS,
| they have been four year getting ready, and
| WINE this has been going on they have had
| agents showing samples and building up de-
mand for the marble in the different markets
| of America.
They have constructed three large mills for
| saving the marble blocks, and now have run
| ming thirty-four gangs Of saws that run from 10
| O'Clock Monday morning until IL
O'Clock Saturday night. They run night
| and day between these hours without stoppinp
| They have eleven channelng machines til at cut
| the marble in the quarries two diamond drills
and five steel drills, all run by steam. They
have constructed four immense steam derricks
| that are capable of moving q block of marble
| weighing twenty-five tons, as easy as a man
| cam moye a brick the same distance. They
| have constructed immense traveller that
! carfles these blocks from the quarries to the
| saws wherever they want it placed. They
| have built six miles Of railroad They employ
| about two hundred hands and yet the bulk Of
| the work is done by machinery that works
automatic: 1t requires twenty stationary
steam engines to do the various work required
of Them, and one Of them is as large as any in
the state.
The marble is cut out in great blocks weigh
ing from ten to twenty tons, and placed on
cars to be shipped to Chicago, Nelson, Mari
eta, Indianapolis, st. Louis, Cincinnati, or
the many places where this marble is now
used or 1t IS carried to the saws where it is
made into thing, stock for monuments or furni-
ture or Tor the various uses for which 1t is re-
| CURED.
When it is known that one hundred feet
| square of this marble bed, one hundred feet
deep, viii make one million cubic feet of mar
bic, 1t will be understood how immense the
value OF this valley is. The present state cap
ltoi VIII not consume over one hundred and
fifty cubic feet OF stone. So it will be seen
that there is marble enough in this valley to
build every city in America in marble and then
have enough to pave the streets. The largest
mill was finished in june last and is now
working away night and day preparing the
marble for the markets Of the world. They
are shipping daily two carloads of marble to
Slne3s END ana TIE qnarrieS yield
A Nelson, three miles away Mr.. Duer has
constructed a splendid mill for finishing up
marble. lie makes q speciality of monumental
work and fine mantles, and marble for furni-
ture. lie obtains his supply OF marble from
the Georgia Marble company.
They have some OF the most skilled marble
cutters in America in these works, and are
now dong some very fine work-one mantle
piece that will cost twenty-five hundred dol
lars. The American Marble company, at
Marietta, is more extensive mill on the Same
line. Here they do elegant turning and scroll
Wofk-prepare wainscoting-and in fact, are
using marble very much like some of our plan
ing mills do plank. The work turned out by
these mills arc the finest ever done anywhere.
They have machinery covered with patents
that cannot be duplicated by other mills, and
hence do work that cannot be done anywhere
else All the marble they use comes from
the quarries Of the Georgia Marble company.
In one week with this equipment, all running,
the Georgia Marble company can lift out OF
their quarrles over one hundred thousand cubic
feet Of marble.
Naturally the inquiry win DO made--won't
they glut the market?
we asked the question Of Messrs. Clement
q Bain and they answered: "We have with
drawn our agents until the broad gauge road Is
finished from Marietta to Jasper, in October
next, simply because we cannot keep up with
our orders. We are behind now five hundred
car loads"
I'VE have never been able to keep mp with
the demand from Boston to California"
"Hes, IL was hard TO get it started. We
spent forty thousand dollars introducing this
marble, but now ii carries itself. We cannot
supply the demand, and will, as soon as posi-
bic, duplicate that large mill"
These gentlemen have built thirty-six houses
around their quarry-some very large and
handsome, and they run their business
apparently with more case than half Of the
small farmers in Picleens do their farms.
HOW have you been treated by the people
here, we asked?
Just as wen rs II we had lived among them
all our lives, they answered. III We have an
enemy here we do not know il. We could not
WISH Tor better treatment from the reoulp--