St. Paul daily globe., 1891-11-26
BUILDING STONE.
Minnesota's Wealth of the Choic-
est Rock and Earth.

est Rock and Earth.
A critical examination of the building
materials of Minnesota will demonstrate
fact that is, probably, too new to be
generally known. 1t is worthy of the
utmost publicity, however. that. with
out execution, no single state in
The Union is equal to the
North Star state in the divers
ity of building resources and in
the excellent quality Of, at least, some
or the materials of construction and
ornamentation. The casual visitors,
tourists and delegates to conventions in
the Twin Cities have been deeply i'm
pressed by the character of the fine
buildings, as well as greatly surprised
to know that they are built of home
materials. The pinerieS of the state
are we'll advertised, but the superiority
of the granite, dolOmitic limestone,
crystalline rocks, quartZite stone, the
various cOlorS of Syenite rocks: the red
brick, fire brick, cement; stone for
making lime, and sand for making
plaster, have not become so generally
familiar to the outside world.
The Sandstone
There is no better or more attractive
sandstone for architectural purposes
than the red sandstone quarried at
Fond du Lac. New Ulm, Sault Ste.
Marie, in PipestOHe county, and along
the shore of Lake Superior. 1t is of a
very durable quality, and is fine
grained-capable of being readily
carved into various forms of ornamental
ton. Several costly buildings in st.
Paul, Minneapolis aud Duluth have
fronts of this stone, and it is extensively
used III trimmings for buildings. 1t is
we'll known in Milwaukee, Chicago and
Detroit. In the latter-named city it is
called the Isle Royal brOwnStone. 1t is
used in the Milwaukee court house. This
stone is, in most places, reddiSh-broWn,
but some Off has a mottling of red,
gray or green. There is another excel
lent quality of sandstone that is gener-
ally sought for building purposes. 1t is
used i'll railroad bridges, as we'll as in
other architectural structures. 1t will
stand greater pressure than the sand
stone used i'll other states, and is very
durable A test shows that it will stand
a pressure of 1850 pounds per square
inch when set on edge, or of 1900
pounds when on bed. In color 1t varies,
being gray, yellow or pinkish. The
first quarry was opened at Fort Smelling
i'll 1869. and the bridge piers there were
built of it, ana drew much attention for
the attractiveneSS of the stone. 1t is
found along the Mississippi, st. CroiX,
Root and Black rivers. aud also in the
counties of WinOna. Houston, Fillmore,
Scott and Dakota. The ladies' hall of
Carlton college is built of this stone. 1t
completes with the Ohio stone in the
markets Of Chicago and the Southwest
ern states.
Building Limestone.
The limestone having large percent
age of carbonate of magneSia is an eX-
cellent building material, and is used
extensively in the state. The dOlOmitic
limestone ranks very high as a building
material. 1t is homogeneous, and will
stand a pressure of $4,000 pounds to the
square inch, which is more than that of
most GRANTEES. 1t is unsurpassed for
door holdings and caps for sillS and
water tables and trimmings for brick
structures. This stone is not in
feriOr to that seen in numer-
Gus remains of Roman architecture
in England, such as at York. CAMS
burgh castle, which is as old as the time
of the NormanS, and the houses of par
Lament at Westminster are constructed
of similar material. Theioldest quarry
of it in the state is at Saltwater, opened
in 1917. Among the buildings cree ted
from this stone are the st. Paul custom
house. the Saltwater state prison, the
state university, the cathedral, st. Paul,
and numerous churches ana substantial
buildings in the Twin Cities, Saltwater,
Red Wing, WinOna. LanesbOrO, and, in
fact, all over the state. There are quar-
ries of this stone at Minneapolis, st.
Paul, Saltwater, Blue Earth City. Man
arfI DeaA
ndc. Winona. Stockton, ShakOpee, Man.
kato. Caledonia, Lanesboro. Hastings,
Brownsville, OWatonna. KasOta, ST.
Peter, Albert Lea ana along the bluffs
of the Mississippi and st. CrOix rivers
and elsewhere.
Fine Quartzites.
The red quartzite is the hardest stone
in the state or, possibly, ID the United
States, that is used for building pur-
poses. 1t IS difficult to dress into
blocks, but is indeStructible when
placed in wall. 4 quarry of it was
opened at RedStone in 1859. 1t is red
dish or pinkish red i'm some localities;
in others massive portions are purpliSh,
rose red, or ''fawn c0lOred"-the latter
being known as the KasOta stone. The
county Jail and Touring mill at Sioux
Falls, and the Dakota territorial peni-
tentiary are built of this rock, and it is
used at Omaha for street paving. 1t will
take a perfect polish, and Will retain it
longer than granite. Small ornaments
have been made of some of the richly
colored strata and sold under the name
of casper" Monument bases are made
from it. The stone is coming into gen.
eral use in this and adjoining states.
The Kasota variety was used III erecting
L inn in n md in
a number of other buildings. The prin-
cipal quarries of the QuartZite rock are
in the counties of Nicollet, Cottonwood.
Rock, PipeStOne, and near Sioux Falls,
s. ID.
Splendid GRANTEES.
The crystalline rock or granite was
first quarried in the state at st. Cloud in
1868, and the first use made of it was for
steps in the government building at st.
Paul. This granite is rapidly growing
into favor, because of its durability,
beauty and susceptibility OF being
highly polished. In 1874 a ten-tOn block
of the red syenite was taken out at st.
Cloud, to be used as a monument base,
and delivered TO Chicago customer.
This granite is quarried under
favorable circumstances in several
parts of the state. In the
counties of Benton, Sherburne
and Stearns the varieties are red and
gray. The st. Cloud granite, now gen
orally used, is gray. Its texture is uni
form. The crystalline grains are rather
fine and close. 1t has occasional green
jsh spots that are occasionally as large
as six inches In diameter. In the red
syenite there is found teldspar of flesh