The times dispatch. [volume] (Richmond, Va.) 1903-1914, 1913-02-02
Immense Quarries of
Famous Blue-Black
Roofing Material.
VIRGINIA CAPITAL,
VIRGINIA ENERGY
Why Buckingham Slate Is SUI
perior to Others-Houses More
Than Century Old Rooted
With 1t Still Holding
Their Own-Geologists
Say 1t Beats All.

BIZ FRANK =. MOODsON.
Arvonia Buckingham County. Va.
February l.-Of course. | knew. and
have known for a long time. that the
hills OF some part of Buckingham
County Were choked up with very fine
slate. and 1 knew that a great deal
Of il was dug out Of the hills and
shipped 10 various parts of the coun-
try T. be used for roofing, but until
came here to see for myself | had
no idea OF the wealth. represented in
slate that is hidden away in the hills
aforesaid. I suppose the knowledge or
this source of Virginia wealth is as
limited with 90 per cent OF The Times
Dispatch readers as il was with me-
hence | can conceive Of no better SER
vice two columns Of space can do than
to allow me to tell all about g IckinS-
ham slate.
The Buckingham deposit is not so
tremendously large. being only about
two-t thirds of a mile in width ard less
than ten miles in length The crop
pings are noticeable for fully ten
miles. but the rich deposit extends
hardly eight miles II runs from near
James River in Buckingham County :
southwark. Arvonia being the centre
+ of the richest and most extensive de-
posits vet investigated. The slate is
found in paying quantities fifty feet
under the surface and no man knows
how deep il goes. Some quarries have
| been exhausted at a depth of 100 feet,
while there are others here that are
| already deeper than that. and the
! ringing slate is more and more plenti-
full as the digging proceeds. In fact.
| it is believed that some of the quar-
| ries are absolutely ineXhaustible.
An OId-Time Business.
These slate deposits in buckingham
| around and about Arvonia have been
| known Of and the product made use
| Of locally. for considerable more than
a century There are houses now
standing hereabouts that were covered
! with it in crude fashion much more
I than a hundred years ago and the
roofs are in perfect shape to-day
More than sixty years ago owners
! of the land commenced 10 make
/ business of quarrying the superior
/ roofing material for sale in the out
side world. One of the firms that is
now in the business mere estab-
/ lished fNy years ago. and the sons or
the original auarryman are still en-
( gagged in the business at the old
stand, hiving grown up i'm the work.
! engaged in il with their father and
! succeeded to the business after his
/ death.
| had heard that the Buckin CHAM
slate is superior for all purposes es-
J
| mined quarried anywhere else in
/ the world. | had an idea that per-
haps that was merely an off hand Vir~
ginia boast. for in my ignorance on
the subject 7 had supposed that slate
[ WAS simply slate and that all slate
was alike. An investigation convinces
me that was wrong. and that the
claim for the superiority of Bucking-
ham slate is well founded.
Only the FadeIess IL Perfect.
The biologists have made il plain
that there are various grades of slate
in the earth. Some OF il is worthless.
some will last as a roof for years and
! some longer. while some will last for
/ ever. There are states. many of them,
that arc merely Stag. hardened by ma
/ lures underground processes. When
this is exposed to the air and the
weather. and its changes. il discoI-
orS. making an unsightly roof and in
time disintegrates. breaks away and
has to be replaced. There are many =.
states on the market that arc gusran-
teed tc last only for so many years.
say from ten to fifteen. the honest
quarrymen and dealers claiming no
I more for it. There are others that
may last longer. Fading is the first
step in the process Of disintegration
and the biologists tell us that which
| will fade and lose its color by expo
sure to the elements will simply rot
like kooden shingle. possibly not al
/ together as soon as cheap single.
but will rot and crumble all the same.
| II all depends upon the formation
| down under the earth The only slate
that is absolutely uufading and there
fore forever durable j. the biue-biack
metallic slate and that Is exactly what
this Buckingham deposit IS. and il is
the largst deposit % fsdcleSs blue
bia,k slate in the world.
Expert Views and Actual Proof.
e of fl.f
deposits hav. been discovered in the
United Stat-s. and this Buckingham
deposit is the largest 81 the three The
others are. one ua The northern Dor
der 81 Maryland along the Pcnnsyi-
varia line. and The other up in Maine
Both arc much smaller than the orc
ann writing about
xIp~rt Views aud Actual Proof.
Professor Nelson Dale. cf the United
state Geological survey. - my au-
trorifv for tho statement that the
blue black metallic slate is the ONLY
Kind that uiu stand the weather and
hoid its color and ifs own when cx-
posed o. weather and climatic changes
IT, saws that in che blue-risck metallic
there can DO absolutely -uu nenctrs-
ton. cIfrr-,:- or othervise. 80 IN clay
wear out. 10 detericratiou ard no dis
Indignation. \ house once covered
. with the blue black metallic slate Ia
/ covered forever rrofessor Dale gives
tie constituents - The tiue-black me-
falic found In these Eur bingham Quer-
ries. and found nowhere else except
/ 49, noted above. Co. prove lis 1sser-
ton a. o. IT, suptrforift Efvrs them
I IN th. order 80 fhsir thurdalr~. but
7 professor Do uses alfoGether
I chemical and technical terms hat do
+ rot understand srd tut few % nv
readers can discipl~f. Actual illus
sratiou viii cxyialu better.
There are two oif mills rear here.
I one known 90 the Virginia Wills ara
The other - flc Trenton Viii They
were covered with Rurkirgham slake
taken from q quarry vitnin = stones
frro-r ~ vrhe-~ y nov 80 70 10 tn-en
ma ere Nirriris Nil ~1s bum ard
fc0ntinucd ~ - cd Pszcf