The daily state chronicle. [volume] (Raleigh, N.C.) 188?-1891, 1891-04-04


Especial Cor. STATE CHaogras.
GREENSBORO, \. c., Anru3i ter
dow little the people general. .a.-
OF the great material resources Of -.
Carolina. fe.t this personally whan
! visited Mount Airy the other dav ana
sax the stupendous granite for,nat;,-
which is exposed near tnae lite city,
The hill. No one can conceive Of ife -N,t
magnitude aud its splendid oD,Ii,ia,
without looking al it.
The Cape Fear and Ya6kin Eara-
Railroad runs q branch from j-s aenE.
At MoGCt Airy around the town. eros.
irg the Ararat River under the princ,ra
street, which is bIidged, then I'M
3 small branch to the works df
The Mt, Airy Granite Company.
The car shops at tie foot Of a LARGO
hill, hose area is about 50 acrgs. arl
acres Of this Is a solid granite rlgk. ~.
Ing 130 feet from tie Railroad tract An
running back several hundred ya,1.
This is all exposed and as the s. l..
shower OF rain poured ever it ,4
quickened velocity to is base, GOVERN ],
the whole face Of the rock, it was most
beautiful and Interesting. Tee sun soon
popped through the CLOUDS and the sheen
Jf the rain water YVES ike coat of var
nish Cn the surface az tie coloTs Of the
rainbow were developed like prism oa
. magnificent scale We found difficulty
ascending the rock, which lies at an an.
gle OF 30 degrees but when we got no tfa
an
! effort. The ''hands' had resumed labor,
and the dynamite was so5a at its wars
Of upheaval ard fracture. pushing cut
! great blocks OF granite 10 be used for an
: the varied purposes of Building, r0a..
making and ornament ION. One aoor
! detected the brogu8 cf tie Scotch
10 me the most inter sting Of ali foreign
!. ars because it is the Iaagaa2a OF Burn.
!, anc cott who have brought it hone ].
: orr cares and oar hearts. The iaEguas
cf poetry and song is longest lived il
: cur memories ard dearest IN our hearts
But / haze wandered from ny erauit
! rock. The first layer Of this Formation
= is about four feet thick at the foo. Of til
: mountain running out 10 few iuchc
= at the summit.
l. OIuil nave SCJu GIAiACI6l
= would be cautious about saying that
= saw ore piece Ct granite split out wit
= feather wedges. IS they are cGlleg
- Small iron wedges which was 107 fe,
" = long and feet by At its base-nearl
- = as large as ne mOnolith Imported fro
- Egypt and known as C.ccpatTa's needl
- and [ do nor doubt but that this cel
brated needle" could be duplicated |
the mount Airy Granite Company"
It is most interesting 10 see the Scotc
men splitting cut paving stones with
hammer after the block IS reduced
e two feet square They do it as fast
lis G.an splitting with an axe, an eXpg
often earning six dollars per day. "
mington is using this granite to pave
stIects. Greensboro has already used
"a with perfect satisfaction, and large CO
"a. tracts are now being made with the cl
le OF Cincinnati. 1t is neither 100 soft 4
IA too hard, but exactly rigdt for payil
S stones, SO says tae city engineer OF u
ar ciGnati.
.he Huge blocks Of it are being shipped
at Washington City as foundations
n, heavy monuments. They are called
aOt | mensiOn stones and tWo Of them Tou
W, floor a good sized room il house. /
as- surface being about p feet by 10 I
ne aud foot thick. II IS no trouble to s
m these out. They arc pTizsi up at he
}or OF the mountain from the surface laTf
bic and split iuto any desired size. p
ey- sume one could be obtained thirty i
square Oh the surface. There Is gran
ON enough here for generations 70 come
10, the ciink Of the hammer and the esp
ent sion of the dynamite will be heard
Rst many years.
,ast Ar. Editor, I have not dollars
ney terest IN this quarry, ! only VI
the about it as great curiosity in the, Z
ion logical formation Of the STATE, aud
|aw which il value and usefulness can III
II be surpassed CT oyere5iimtted.
Thele are nc cleyereI and bsltef
ia the world than the officers oi
Cape Fear and Ia&kin Vail Y Ral.f,
in Company, aud it would do yoa, so2u
go up and see this wonder!u! gran
mountain.