Evening star., 1915-11-14

for on every hand throughout the
county one can see new houses being
built.
The important manufacturing in
dustry of Alexandria is brick making
The soils of the central plain region
of Virginia, to which Alexandria coun-
clays. loans. silts. sand and sandy
loans. In bulletin No. 4 of the Vir-
gtnia geological survey, University of
Virginia. published in 1912, on the
"PhysiogEaphy and Geology of the
is written of the Alexandria area and
vicinity:
This area is the most important
brlck-ma king district in the Virginia
coastal plain region 1t cannot be said
that this marked local expansion of the
ciay-Working industry is due to the
mere abundant occurrence of clay at
this point, but rather to the fact of it's
nearness to an active and important
ton. Nearly all the brick yards of this
area are situated so close to the city
that the product is hauled across the
river by teams, and the daily continu-
Gus procession of wagons loaded with
brick indicates the demand folNthe Vir-
ginia product"
The clays used in the Alexandria dis
trict are the Columbia loans which un-
derlie the low hills around Alexandra.
Arlington, Addison, Riverside and
scores of other places. They are all
san ndy loans of variable color. yellow,
red, brown and blush gray and are fire.
quently of a mottled character. Most of
the clays burn to a red brick, but GER
tain ones show a tendency to fire
buff, and since these lighter burning
parts are oftentimes tougher, they do
not mix readily with the red burning
clay when the run of the bank is used
huff oh hriN
after burning. AT some of the yards the
several clays are carefully separated
and burned alone. thus giving several
different shades of product.
The Virginia geological survey mem
tions the following brick making
firms as in operation at the time of the
publication of the bulletin referred to:
Washington Hydraulic Pressed Brick
Company, Jackson-Phillips Company,
Potomac Brick Company, Virginia Brick
Company, Estate of Charles Ford, Wal
ter Brick Company, West Bros. AL
exandria Brick Company, Washington
Brick and Terra Gotta Company and the
American Hygienic Brick and Tile Com
pany, the last named having it's field of
operation outside of Alexandria county
at Riverside, on Little Hunting creek,
in Fairfax county.
The Virginia geological survey in de-
scribing the nature of the earth in the
easterly and southerly parts of AleXan-
dria county refers to it as the Colum-
bia formation. and explains it as fol-
lows:
The plestocene formations OF the Atlantic
coastal plain are united under the name OF Co
lumhia group. The name Columbia was first
employed formation name. when it was be-
lieved that the peistocene deposits OF the re
gon represented single stratigraphic unit
Later a two-fold classification of the pleisto-
Gene was recognized and the formations were
designated as the earlier and later Columbia.
Further Investigation revealed the fact that the
later Columbia deposits should be divided. The
forma tions have been given the names Of Sun
derland. which is equivalent to the earlier Co
iumbia. and WicomicO and Talbot, which consti-
tnte the later Columbia
The Columbia deposits consist in general Of
gravel. sand and loan. On purely 1lthologic
grounds 1t is impossible to separate the three
derived mainly from the older formations which
occur in the immediate vicinity. with which /. Is
by stream from the Piedmont plateau from
the Appalachian region beyond The deposits
OF each OF these formations are extremely va
underlying formations.
Statistics for the year 1909 show that
there were made in Alexandria county
75.S74,000 common brick. of~a value of
s462,137. and 24,265.0O0 front brick, of a
value of $327.oS3. The nearest Virginia
competitor to Alexandria county was
Henrico county, which turned out com
mon brick to the number of 31.72S,000
and the value of $201,600, and next
came Nansemond county, with a produc-
tion of 1862 900. having value of
$97,718. Brick statistics for 1910 show
that in that year three times more
brick were made in Alexandra county
than in the next largest brick making
county in the state, Henrico.
All Washingtonians are familiar, in
a general way. with the quarries of
the upper Potomac river, and those be-
low Chain bridge on the Virginia side
are in Alexandria county In bulletin
on the GRANTEES of the southeastern At
lantic states, issued by the United
States geological survey in 1910, 1t is
written that extending southwark
from the Potomac river and covering
much of Fairfax and Alexandria coun-
ties are two extensive belts of gneiss,
of which one is a metamorphosed gran
lite and the other is of doubtful origin.
The former, granite gneiss. is of fairly
is rather irregular in color texture and
composition. The granite gneiss has
been quarried from time to time for
local use from the lodges along and on
the south side of the Potomac. When
fresh, the rock is a dark bluish-gra
gneiss of rather fne-grained uniform
texture The principal minerals are
vite and bietite, with small amounts of
garnet, chlorite. hornblende, tourma-
line and pyrite. The gneiss of doubtful
origin designated by Keith, the Caro-
lima gneiss, is composed of alternating
layers of gneiss and schist of prevail
ing gray color, dark blush gray when
fresh. The bands vary in thickness.
Quartz and mica are the predominant