Keowee courier. [volume] (Pickens Court House, S.C.) 1849-current, 1908-12-30
OUR FINE BUILDING MARBLE.
Poor Mountain Said to Hold UnIim-
tied Quantities OF 1t.

westminster, Dec. ZZ.-Spec1al:
From 3 December number Of
magazine devoted to marble and
granite, we clip the following inter-
esting item. 1t Is from the pen Of
Geo. Barnum, Of New York:
''In the extreme western county of
South Carolina a-Oconee--there is a
deposit Of marble awaiting develop
ment. l recently had the opportunity
of examining 1t, and | present here
. with photograph Of one of the out
groupings. The marble Is Of medium
chrystallatlon, the grains being lit
tie finer than those of the ordinary
Georgia marble, and yet considerably
larger than those of Vermont mar
BILE. The color is unusually white,
and the stone would seem to COM
mend itself admirably for structural
work. The deposit is located be-
tween Westminster and Walhalla.
The out-cropping extends for con-
siderable distance along the side Of
mountain. This Is SO thickly
wooded, as the photograph will show,
that prospecting work is difficult. The
formation seems to be very similar
to that of most Of the marble de-
posits of Georgia. The marble Is as
sociated with micaceous schist,
which forms the cap Of the noun
tain. Where the marble and cap
stone meet there seem to be q few
narrow bands of darker color, and
rather micaceous, running through
the marble, but these apparently dis
appear a very short distance below,
where the marble becomes most un-
usually white and clear. Owing to
its perfect crystalline formation Eme
fractured surfaces are very bright
and lively. On the wcathered sur
faces n few crystals of quartz can be
seen, but the body OF the marble Is
evidently singularly free from both
quartz and mica. The stone will
doubtless analyzc as almost pure car
Donate of lime. AS l,have intimated.
the heavy underground and tho
roughncsS Of the gS6und make 1t im-
possible TO determine exactly the
limits of the deposit. But it is easy
10 find in every place where it out
crops a depth Of several hundred
feet. ThisSmakes it certain, there
fore. that there is practically an un
limited 'apount OF the marble
enough 20 provide. for many wears OF
the most active aud expensive quar-
rying OperatiOnS.8 1t is extremely
probable that the marble underlicS
the ground at the foot of the noun
tain, but owing to the absence of out
crops and the heavy covering. it. was
impossible to determine this i'm the
time at my disposal. The most ia
forable places for examination were
several steep bluffs Of 80 1r 100 feet
in height. Here the marble was mas
sive and solid. The beds are of
great thickness, and there is an alb
sence OF seams and joints. The most
1l II, G1,n l,nt 4 II
he possible to quarry blocks Of prac-
tically any size, suitable for large
columns and pilasters. At one point
local monumental dealer has made
a small opening. From this he has
taken stones of a size up to the ca
"acity OF his appliances to handle.
lie of these was for q monumental
oase-stone weighing nearly two tons
1t was taken close from the surface,
tut was of excellent color and appear
ance. The marble is very strong and
sound but cuts readily and we'll
The samples that ] got are remarka-
bly, white and brilliant. They will
bear comparison, both for whiteness
and beauty, with any marble | have
ever seen. The deposit Is several
stone could be hauled over fairly
good and level roads. The contour
OF the ground, too, is such that
spur could be built at a reasonable
cost If quarry could be opened.
One admirable feature is the fact
that Inc waterpOwer Is on the
property. AS this lies in narrow
valley, small and inexpensive dam
would develop power sufficient for
quarrying operations Of any magni-
tude. This would also make 1t pos
sible to run an electric tram line to
connect with the trunk railway sys-
TEN few miles distant. In every
way the deposit seemed to me to
otfer the most unusual opportunities.
There has never been a time when
there was greater demand for
white building marble ar0 suitable
deposits are difficult to find"
Two beautiful photographs accom-
panied the foregoing article The
quarry Is located on r. n. Halls
farm, on Poor Mountain. A. L. G.