Fort Worth gazette. [volume] (Fort Worth, Tex.) 1891-1898, 1891-10-01
POPULAR SCIENCE.
THE FINE BUILDING STONES or
TEXAS.
stones of East Teras-Like the French
Caen Stones-Caprina Limestone-RIch
Sandstones-The Finest OF Marbles.

In . preliminary report TO the geological
survey OF Texas Professor K. a F. Pen
rose, ,Ir., says: Though the beds under
lying tine whole Of East Texas are charac-
terized by their soft and more or less iuco-
herent nature, Yet there are very often
found spots il these strata that have be-
come hardened by local chemical action.
Such places though limited in area, are
very numerous. and supply most valuable
source of structural materials for local use
They are at present rarely used except for
| foundations, chimnsys and other purposes.
but many of them are capable of being ap-
| piled to much more extensive structures.
These rocks may be divided into two
classes: l. Sandstones and claystones;
and .. Limestones. = First Annual Re
port, page ri. -.
In his contribution 10 the same report
page 1927 Professor Robert r Hill says VI
the cretaceous rocks of the state that the
basal, or alternating beds abound in mate
| rials useful TO mankind, ana especially il
! valuable building materials, among which
may be mentioned building stones fer dc
nestle use and for expectation. Some IF
| these stones have rich magnetism buff-vc.-
| low colors, while the limestoncs often re
semble in every detail the famed stone Of
| Caen, France, which is imported into the
non chalky regions of the East for the pul-
pose of adding brightness TO the somber
colors. They are especially used in int
riors, while the ease with which they can
be carved renders them of great value.
| Again. on page l26, Professor Hill says
| the Caprina limestone Iof the cretaceous
| formationl is also productive Of many rare
building stones and other structural lEate-
rials. The Caprina limestone is
the material used in the manufacture of the
Austin lime, which has a wide celebrity for
! its purity" The regions of the limestone
may be readily distinguished by the dark
| red, sometimes nearly black. everything soil,
las seen in the country between Florence,
Williamson county, and Leander, in the
Jollyyille neighborhood of Travis county.
1t also occurs in Bel, Corven, Hamilton,
Bosoue and Hood counties.
-.
On page 127 OF the report already men
toned Professor Hill tells US of q tiag-stone
deposit near Austin Immediately vest.
that is Of special interest. The stone is in
thin layers, and is of almost pure white
chal6y limestone, the layers varying from
one to three inches in thickness. These
beds are from eight to ten feet in thickness,
and the stone Is quarried for paving anc
building purposes. As Yet no other deposit
of this character is known to exist in the
state.
Immediately above these fag-stones is
massive stratum of limestone often met
amorphosed into marble, which has been ex-
tensively quarried as building stone, and
may be seen in the foundation OF the post
office building at Austin. 1t furthermore
takes 4 fine polish, and hence has been
more or less used for ornamental purposes.
=.
In his paper furnished for the same geo.
logical report as referred to above Pro-
fessor w. T. Cumm,ns says of the coal
field region that there is an abundance Of
fine building stone in all the counties lying
along its southern border. sin nearly
every neighborhood good stone for building
purposes may be had within "a convenient
distance. Very few quarries have been
opened to any extent, and those only 20
supply a local demand; and besides every
builder has opened his own quarry, and its
location was determined more by the near
ness of the quarry to the editice to be con-
structed and the convenience for quarryins
than anything else"
Referring to Professor Hills Caprina
limestone Professor Cummins SAYS there
are two grades of it quite extensively quar-
RED near LampaSas; one is harder and
whittier than the other and therefore is the
most desirable. 1t is easily quarricd ;nd
very soft when taken out, but soon hardens
on exposure to the atmosphere. So COM
pact is this hardest stratum on exposure,
and so very durable, that it is extensively
used for bases of tombstones and monu-
ments, for which purpose it is shipped
long distances. II works well for and is
largely used in facings for buildings erected
of other materials. The stone is easily
dressed when fresh from the quarry, hay
ing no siliceous material in it whatever.
The same stone is found on the top Of
Santa III SOIclHtH
where 1t has been quarr;ed AID shipped to
various localities. 1t is also found in Nc
Culloch and Tom Green counties.
-
Professor Cummins states that there are
extremely fine building sandstones in Nc
Culloch county. The courthouse at Brady,
county seat Of McCulloch, is built of it.
The same excellent stone is found and
worked at San Saba. There is also the
very finest of blush limestone suitable for
building purposes to be found near Lam
pasas and San Saba. A similar stone is
very abundant at San Angelo.
~
The stone called Texas marble. SAYS
Professor Cummins, page l6J, is nothing
more than partly metamorphosed shay
limestone. There are. however,
several good quarries of marble that in
beauty VIII rival the best. The most nota-
BILE deposit is a few miles southeast of San
Saba, and only short distance from the
Fleming springs, where there is sufi-
Gent water to run machinery for working
the marble. The marble in this vicinity
has several colors, ranging from pure white
TO shades in red or flesh color. These beds