The Marietta journal. [volume] (Marietta, Ga.) 1866-1909, 1889-07-18
A MARBLE QUARRY.
THE EXTRAORDINARY DISCOVERY
INA SOUTHERN VALLEY.
What Followed From Reading a
Georgia Newspaper i'm Train.
A Marvellous Fortune
Unearthed.

6S yO"Ao oSV d passenger Oh d
train was reading the Atlanta Con-
stltutlon and was in the act of lay
ing that paper aside when the word
marble" in an article attracted his
eye. The passenger was H. C.
Clement, a clothier of Chicago. He
read the article carefully, and SO
deeply impressed was he that he
crossed over to Frank Siddall, the
Philadelphia soap man, who sat
near by, and called his attention to
the article. Siddall read it, and it
was about the Pickens County, Ga,
marble. Clements then related now
his uncle in the "Green Noun
tains" of Vermont, was forced to
take an old neglected tract of land
for debt, and how it turned out.
The famous Rutland marble quar-
ries was developed on it, and his
uncle became one of the wealthiest
men in Vermont.
With an eye to business, Siddall
suggested visit to Pickens county
at his expense. The offer was &C
cepted, and in company with Hon.
Evan ?. Howell, the author of the
article, they visited the North
Georgia marble quarry in Pickens
county, situated on the Marietta
and North Georgia railroad, in
Long Swamp Valley, about two
miles from the railroad and 40
miles north Of Marietta. The bed
of the creek disclosed the vein,
while surface indications and rough
hewn blocks taken out by the
mountaineers, were to be seen in
abundance. The Tate brothers
owned the land. Their father own
ed the land when the Cherokee
Indians roamed the country and
Andrew Jackson was president.
He discovered the marble while out
prospecting for gold. He foresaw
that in the great future that there
was millions in it," and advised
his sons to ''hold on to it, and never
let it 60. Some day it's sure to be
more valuable than the gold mines
at Dahlonega."
The boys were hardy mountain
GERS. What they lacked in educa-
ton they made up in horse sense.
The advent OF Clement did not sur
prise them. They seemed to take
little interest in his proceedings,
and calmly awaited the conclusion.
The Chicago man went to work with
the utmost caution. He was conf.
dent that there was a bed of genuine
marble below him and one of re-
markable purity. He first ascer-
tanned its width, length and depth.
This was the work of experts sent
to the Long Swamp valley on his
return to Chicago. They dug holes
and tested the marble at every
point. The vein was traced two
miles and half up the valley. It
proved to be over 1000 feet wide.
It's actual depth, however, has
never been ascertained. Nothing
but marble have been found after
boring 1876 feet. 1t has been up
heaved in solid block, and not in
layers. It has neither crack nor
Elimination. A chunk the size of
the Washington monument could
be taken from it. If the mass was
heaved above the earth church as
large as st. Peters in Rome could
be carved from it. Indeed, the
pyramids Of Egypt have been cut
from its solid triangles.
Upon the report of the experts a
company was formed, and an effort
to buy the property was made. BIT
the Tate brothers, mindful of their
fathers injunctions, refused to sell.
A long lease of their land was tax
en-, and the remainder of the vein
was purchased outright. The cap
italization Of the company was
s1,5OO,0OO. The company controls
the entire vein. Over 100000 has
been spent in developing the quar-
ries. A spur has Been built into
+ba valley from the North Georgia