The Daily Ardmoreite. [volume] (Ardmore, Okla.) 1893-current, 1909-05-20
IN MINERAL ALL VARIETIES AND
IN UNLIMITED QUANTITIES
BUILDING MATERIAL.
BLACK GRANITE ABOUNDS
Proposed Mines and 0uarries are
Near Terminus Of Railroads and
Their output Can Easily Be Mar.
keted-Vast Wealth.

lau,on. Okla May lg.-Thc r.
yostigauon OF t1r mineral resources
OF Oklahoma i- mo-, yet beyond the
preliminary stage Enough has been
done however. TO prove that ther.
are iucNhaustiblp amounts of the basor
materials which go to make up the
every day necessities or civilized life
Much OF the states wealth Is In her
building stone. for she has an un.
limited amour; of granite. sandstone.
limestone and marble Of good quality.
Granite occurs in three widely
separate regions namely. I'm tha
Wichita mountains Arbuckle noun.
tdins. and alons Spavinaw creek. IN
the northeast par, of the state. The
latter locality is very small and nm.
Important at present. I'm both the
Wichita and Arhuckl- mountains
ranges there are a number Of other
igncous rocks associated with gran.
itc. the most abundant of which are
gabhro, porphyry. diabasc and prop.
ably diorite.
The greater part of the rocks n
the Wichita mountains are granite
I'm character. These mountains a"a
.iNt, ,,,it.g I,,.. ..,,..rlf,,., c,..., 49,. -.
Lawtou, the county seat OF Comanchc
county. to Granite. i'm Greer county.
Their average width is twenty miles.
\ number of peaks. such as Teepc.
Headquarters, longhorn and Devils
Canyon mountains. stand 500 to 900
feet high. All of these peaks besides
a great many scattering groups ana
ranges, consist of massive granite,
usually red or pink in color
In other places the true granite
gives way to the black granite. or
gabhro. which belongs to the basalt
family When dressed. it is one of
the most beautiful stones the writer
has ever seen. plonumcnt makers
declare is superior in many ways 20
'hs famous Quincy granite of Mas.
saChusetts
Near the surface 1t often has a
srecnish tint. which is probably due
to incipient disintegration. Sucn rocn
should, of course. be- rejected. unless
careful test proves its color inherent
and not due { o weathering. In some
localities the black granite is replac.
ed by gray. the change of color being
due TO the excess of quartz over bill
titc and horublendc. This is very
desirable stone when it can be had
in quantity
Near the eastern part of the nam
r' ge the peaks are composed of por.
r-yry, which is a hard. massive rock.
much like granite. but differing from
It i'm texture 1'hc porphyry of the
Nichitas is composed of fine gray
or brown ground mass. in which are
imbodcd reddish, or pink crystals.
thus g:v.u- beautiful red color
toned with gray, or deep brown.
toned with red, depending on the
color of the predominating mincra,,
The principal quarrics operating at
present iu the Wichita region are at
Granite and Cold Springs. There are
several 0utrries at ,nc town of Gran.
i'" from which very highgradc red
ana pink Stone is obtained. The out.
put from Granite is used chiefly for
building purposes. The black grants
is being Quarricd at Cold Springs. I'm
kiowa county on fresh fracture It 8
Sr1yjsh black but shows much darker
after he.u- polished
SO 'ar as known, the porphyry in
the Wichita mountains mas never been
3a"rrivd There are q number of very
desirable quarry sites but they an.
some m.les from the railroads. so
that TRANSPORTATION is lacking.
Two lines Of the Frisco railroad
and ono Dim. each of the Rock Island
and Ori.u. pass through the mouu.
iaiuS Good quarrles could be opened
near Lu-Irt. Roosevelt, Mountain
Park. SNYDER CacA and Fort Sm Va
existing lines No finer building or
ornamental stone exists anywhere IN
America. and it is only a question OF
taking adyantaSc ol opportunity n
order TO get choice quarry locations.