


“Two quarries, known as the Shaw and the Turner, are operated in the vicinity of this city. The Turner quarry supplies the local demand for building stone. The Shaw quarry is being (1902) operated to supply crushed stone used for macadam on the county roads.”
“The surface operations of the Carefree Quarries (a golf course, a drive-in theater, TV transmission tower, retail stores, etc.) are said to be readily visible from adjacent roads. However, when I visited the area in mid-2004, I did not see, or did not notice, these. I did, however, find the underground storage openings...The openings may be easily viewed from the entrance.”
“The project was begun in the 1960s by Carefree Quarries, Inc., but is currently owned by an insurance company. As of 1994, there are 184 acres of mined-out space, 57 acres of which contain fully developed industrial facilities. The underground space is in the Bethany Falls Limestone, which is 24’-thick at this location (as compared to the average of 20’ elsewhere in the area). The site is a fossil algal reef - which was a few feet higher than the surrounding seabed.
“The mine is room-and-pillar. The pillars are 20’ x 20’ on 50’ centers, i.e., the rooms are 30’ wide by several hundred feet long, with 13’-18’ ceilings. Leaving 7’-12’ of the massive limestone above the rooms for a ceiling makes ceiling bolts unnecessary. The constant 63° F temperature minimizes cooling/heating costs.
“The mining operations are conducted by Rocca Processing which sells its crushed rock primarily to Geiger Ready Mix, East of SR 291, north of Kentucky Road, is an open pit limestone quarry, apparently also operated by RP.
“Winter Stone Golf Course was built above part of the mine. The course features reduced fees at 3:00 P.M. when blasting is conducted in the mines below.
“The Bethany Falls Limestone has been mined for more than 100-years in the area, mostly for aggregate. Some other underground industrial parks in the greater Kansas city area includes the Space Center Executive Park and the Commercial Distribution Center. In the area, some 2000 people work in 25 underground sites. The total mined-out area is about 5 square miles of which about 1.5 square miles has been developed for commercial use - mostly storage.”
“Mr. Geo. W. Shaw of 101 E. Pacific street, Independence, has opened a quarry two and one-half miles southwest of Independence on the Braytown road. This quarry, which is situated at the base of a hill, is 350 feet long and has a vertical face of eighteen feet.
“The lower four and one-half feet is compact, finely crystalline, fossiliferous limestone, which contains small irregular veins of calcite and dries. A nine-inch bed above these is very fossiliferous. With the exception of the upper three feet, the remainder of the face consists of two to ten-inch beds of dark gray, fine grained limestone. The upper three feet consists of eight to ten-inch beds of black, very fine grained limestone. These beds are underlain with a layer of flint nodules which are partially decomposed and soft. Three feet of rather hard calcareous shale, which overlies the limestone, is used for bonding the crushed limestone used for macadam. The beds, which vary in thickness in different parts of the quarry, are covered with four feet of clay stripping.
“The quarry is equipped with a crushing plant, consisting of a No. 4 Gates crusher, bucket elevator, 40-horse power boiler, and a 35-horse power engine. The product is entirely crushed stone, which is used for macadam. Thirty to thirty-five teams are required to haul the stone to and from the crusher.”
“This quarry, which is owned and operated by Mr. W. R. J. Turner, is located one and one-half miles east of Independence. It consists of three openings, only one of which is being worked at the present time. The rock in the largest opening is limestone belonging to the Bethany Falls formation and has the same general characteristics as that at Sheffield and Kansas City.
“The largest opening is situated just north of the road and has a vertical face of about twenty feet. The following is a description of the beds from top to bottom:
0-4 ft. - Clay stripping.
11 ft. - Dark gray mottled limestone. The upper four feet contains very thin seams of shale along which the stone splits very readily. The stone from these beds weathers into small nodules from the size of a pea to that of a walnut.
2 ft. 4 in. - Four beds which are a transition between the mottled limestone above and the light gray below. It is fine grained and compact.
1 ft. 2 in. - Light gray, fine grained, compact limestone.
6 in. - Shelly limestone.
1 ft.-1 ft. 4 in. - Fine grained, gray, fossiliferous limestone. The stone is stained yellow along short dry seams.
6 ft. - Thinly bedded limestone containing thin seams of shale. The rock is fine grained and fossiliferous and has a dark gray color.
“The second opening is situated on the hillside above the one just described. The face is 120 feet long and 12 feet high. The stripping consists of from two to five feet of clay. The upper eight feet of the quarry consists of four to six-inch beds of fine grained, bluish gray limestone, having irregular wavy bedding planes. The three feet immediately underneath these beds consist of four to five-inch beds of bluish gray limestone. Underneath this is a twelve-inch bed of the same kind of stone. Everywhere along the bedding planes the color of the stone has been altered to a buff and is known as ‘yellow rock.’
“The second is the only opening now being worked, and the stone is used almost exclusively for rubble work. Formerly the larger opening was operated extensively for macadam.”
“Carley and Mann. In township 33 north, range 3 east, section 1, near the center, are several small quarries in the magnesian limestone, which is here covered by about a foot of stripping. The color of the stone is blue in some strata, and yellow in others. The yellow variety dresses easily and makes a handsome building stone, but the blue is less easily worked and is less valuable. The strata vary in thickness from 6 inches to 2 feet. The output from these quarries has been small, and has been used mostly for foundations. They furnished stone for one small dwelling house, and for Dr. Goulding’s hospital, both at Ironton, the latter a handsome edifice.”
“Sarah P. Childers. In township 34 north, range 3 east, section 35, southwest quarter, are two or three very small openings in the out-cropping marble, which were made many years ago, and are not now worked (circa 1890). The marble occurs in a hill which occupies an area of many acres. The hill slope is covered mostly by a thick mantle of residuary products and detrital matter; but at several horizons marble beds crop out, and it is probable that they have a total thickness of many feet. Individual strata 18 inches thick were observed. The stone has a gray color and is mottled and streaked with green and yellow. Some of the mantel-pieces in the Capitol at Washington are said to have been taken from beds here exposed.”
“E. W. Graves. In township 30 north, range 4 east, section 16, northeast quarter, is an outcrop which has been worked in ‘motions.’ The stone is a dark, hard and brittle porphyry which splits easily. It is fit only for the production of paving blocks, and only a very few of these have been made.”
“Hastings. In township 33 north, range 4 east, section 5, southeast quarter, is a small quarry in the magnesian limestone. It is situated on the west slope of a hill, where the workable stone is covered with a bed of stripping many feet thick. The color of the stone when fresh is a dark green which fades to a gray as the stone dries. The stone is easily dressed. It occurs in strata about 2 feet thick, two or more of which are workable. The output is small, and has been used mostly for foundations.”
In 1995 this company was operating a granite quarry in Iron County. At that time the company headquarters was in Elberton, Georgia. (From United States Geological Survey, “Mineral Industries Surveys – Directory of Principal Dimension Stone Producers in the United States in 1995,” prepared in January 1997.)
“Russell. In township 33 north, range 4 east, section 5, northeast quarter, is a small quarry in the magnesian limestone. The bed-rock is covered with about 3 feet of stripping of light red loam. Joint planes seem too numerous to permit the quarrying of blocks of desirable sizes for dimension work. The colors of the stone are gray and yellow, and black in the case of one non-continuous stratum of marble, which has a maximum thickness of 6 inches. The stone is very tough, has numerous veins of calc-spar and, hence, is dressed with difficulty. The product has been used in Ironton and Arcadia for foundation purposes.”
See: “Shepherd Mountain, Iron County, Missouri - the Shepherd Mountain Porphyr Conglomerate Quarry.”
“Excelsior Granite Company, a small monument works at the junction of SR 21 and CR 96, looks as though it is historic, but I have no further information.
“Excelsior Granite Co. N37° 39,422 W90° 40,968’.”
“...Tours of Missouri Red Quarry are available by appointment. The quarry is visible from CR 96.
“The quarry operates intermittently, producing monument stone (i.e., grave markers) and other dimension stone on order. Some waste rock is crushed for decorative aggregate. The bright red granite, known as Missouri Red, has been quarried from the area since 1869.”
“This quarry is the major supplier of Missouri Red Granite dimension stone, used to great extent in St. Louis and elsewhere in the Midwest. The granite has been quarried at this location since 1869. It is operated by Missouri Red Granite Company. This is a distinctive dimension stone because of its color, high quality, and recognized durability. It has been used for curbs in St. Louis, as well as the stone for Union Station and many other buildings downtown. The red granite was also used in constructing the governor’s mansion in Jeff City, the sun dial pedestal in front of Norwood Hall, and the Millennium figures in front of Castleman Hall on the Missouri S&T campus. Figure 6 shows a typical quarry production block of this product as it might be prepared for finishing. At this stop, we will tour the quarry with the facility manager, Mr. Bill Francis. Observe the methods used to loosen the rock and why these methods are used. Notice the size of bocks produced and the various uses for these products. Ask tour guide about ‘burners’ and how these are used to cut the blocks.”
“The Granite Quarry is a solid bed of granite 60 or 70 feet high, covering from 100 to 200 acres...” (from A Directory of Towns, Villages, and Hamlets - Past and Present - of Iron County, Missouri, Compiled by Arthur Paul Moser. This site is presented by the Springfield Greene County Library, Springfield Missouri, to which Mr. Moser donated his material.)
Ironton, Missouri - Missouri Red Granite (photo of sample of rock), presented by the North Carolina Granite Corporation.
See: “Ironton, Missouri - the Missouri Red Granite Quarry” above.
Ironton (near), Missouri – the Red Granite
Quarries (The
link from which the following information was obtained is no longer
available.)
<http://www.umr.edu/~conted/millenniumarch.htm>
The Millennium Arch, which is located on the grounds of the University of Missouri, was constructed of five pieces of Missouri granite quarried from Missouri Red Quarries near Ironton, Missouri.
You can read more about the Millennium Arch in the “Missouri University of Science and Technology” section of Wikipedia.
Jackson.
“Several small quarries have been opened in the vicinity of this city to supply the local demand for building stone. The stone occurs in well stratified beds of moderate thickness. It is fine grained, compact, fossiliferous and brittle, and has a dark blue to black color. Weathering changes the color to a buff.
“Quarries have been opened in this vicinity by the following persons: John Kesterson, G. F. Green and T. McFarland, Edward Hendricks, Levi Hurst and W. H. Amnette.”
“Two small quarries owned and operated respectively by Levi S. Hurst and W. H. Amnette are located on the east branch of Hubble creek. The stone in each of these quarries is a fine grained, bluish, fossiliferous limestone. It is rather shelly and not suitable for heavy constructional work. It is difficult to quarry and breaks with a rough surface.
“Quarrying has not extended beyond the zone of weathering. Probably as the quarries are worked deeper, the quality of the stone will improve.”
“Two abandoned quarries are located along this creek between the Green & McFarland quarry and the city. They are owned respectively by Wm. Bird and Mrs. Ed. Hendricks, both of Cape Girardeau. The stone is similar to that in the Green & McFarland quarry.”
“This quarry is located a half a mile north of the city and is situated in the bed of the west fork of Hubble creek, along which the stone outcrops for about four miles.
“Four ledges of stone, 9 in., 8 in., 12 in., and 11 in., in thickness, are worked at this quarry. The stone is a solid dark blue to black fossiliferous, fine grained limestone which breaks with a splintery fracture. It is covered with three feet of gravel and soil stripping.
“The major joints strike N. 32° W. and N. 50° E. and are from six to fifteen feet apart. These joints assist very greatly in quarrying the stone, which is used chiefly for caps, sills, steps and foundations. A derrick and steam drill have been used at this quarry.”
“Two abandoned quarries are located along this creek between the Green & McFarland quarry and the city. They are owned respectively by Wm. Bird and Mrs. Ed. Hendricks, both of Cape Girardeau. The stone is similar to that in the Green & McFarland quarry.”
“Two small quarries owned and operated respectively by Levi S. Hurst and W. H. Amnette are located on the east branch of Hubble creek. The stone in each of these quarries is a fine grained, bluish, fossiliferous limestone. It is rather shelly and not suitable for heavy constructional work. It is difficult to quarry and breaks with a rough surface.”
“Quarrying has not extended beyond the zone of weathering. Probably as the quarries are worked deeper, the quality of the stone will improve.”
“This quarry is located in sec. 7, T. 31, R. 13 E., one mile east of Jackson. It was opened about ten years ago by Richard Niblet, and during the past two years has been operated by John Kesterson. It is at the bottom of a steep hill and has a face 150 feet long and 30 feet high. The stripping is very light, not exceeding two feet.
“The stone occurs in beds varying in thickness from two inches to two feet. It is a dark blue, fine grained, fossiliferous limestone, containing small geodes of calcite. A number of the beds contain thin shaly seams, along which the stone splits easily. Toward the bottom of the quarry, the stone has a somewhat darker color. It is not affected by frost and can be quarried in all seasons of the year.
“The major joints strike N. 45° E., N. 15-20° E. and N. 25° W. Many of them are open and filled with clay. Dries are not very abundant. The major joints assist very greatly in quarrying the stone. It weathers to a yellowish brown color along the jointing planes.
“The stone is used for sidewalks, curbing, sills, steps and foundations. It may be seen in the Cape County Savings Bank, in H. H. Muellers’ store and many other buildings in and about Jackson. It has also been shipped to Saxton, Oran and Charleston, Missouri.
Laboratory Examinations
Chemical Tests. - The following is a chemical analysis of the limestone from this quarry:
Insoluble - 4.66
Fe2 O3, Al2 O3 -.28
CaO - 52.29
MgO -.97
CO2 - 41.72
Total - 99.92
Physical Tests. - Two-inch cubes of this stone were tested in the laboratory with the following results:
Specific Gravity - 2.705
Porosity -.32 per cent.
Ratio of Absorption - 0.12
Weight per cubic foot - 168.5 lbs.
Transverse Strength - 3311.6 lbs. per sq.
Crushing strength -
{ 27,183. lbs. per sq. in. on bed.
{ 21,356. lbs. per sq. in. on edge.
Crushing strength of specimens subjected to freezing test - 26,117.5.”
Jackson County. - Formations represented.
“In Jackson county are represented the Quaternary deposits, of which the Loess is the most important, and the Upper and Middle Coal Measures. The Upper Coal Measures occupy nearly the whole area of the county.
The Building Stones and the Stone Industry (of Jackson County, Missouri). - Stone suitable for common purposes.
“The supply of building stone is confined to the layers of rocks included between Nos. 71 and 99 of Prof. Broadhead’s general section. These layers vary from one foot to thirty feet in thickness; they furnish a material suitable, only in most cases, for common purposes. Some of the layers, however, are occasionally thick bedded, and permit the quarrying of a good dimension stone, in large sized blocks.
Quarries similar in character.
Nearly all of the active quarries in the county are in Kansas City, were (sic) they are operated under the stimulus of the large local demand. These quarries are so similar in character as to need no individual mention, beyond the facts which appear in the statistical table at the end of this article. They are all, practically, openings in the sides of the bluffs and hills, and they are rarely worked to any considerable depth, owing to the rapidly increasing amount of stripping as the hill or bluff is penetrated.”
“Jameson.
“Two quarries, known respectively as the George and the Prichard, are located near this village. The rock is limestone and belongs to the Pennsylvanian or Upper Carboniferous system.”
“This quarry, which is owned and operated by Mr. A. B. George, is located about three miles southeast of Jameson. It was opened December 1, 1901, and is worked continuously. The face is 1,850 feet long and averages about 30 feet in height. The following is a section from top to bottom taken from the north central portion of the quarry:
1-5 ft. - Broken stone and soil. Stripping.
6 ft. - Light gray limestone. Beds are from six to twelve inches in thickness, the heavier of which could be used for constructional purposes.
5 ft. - Limestone in beds from two to six inches in thickness.
2 ft. 4 in. - Yellow clay.
1 ft. 6 in. - Fine grained, compact, dark, fossiliferous limestone. Can be split into three beds.
2 ft. 5 in. - Dark colored shale.
2 ft. - Bluish gray, finely crystalline limestone. Can be split into three beds from six to eight inches in thickness. Between these beds occur seams of shale from one to two inches in thickness.
5 ft. - Fine grained, dark colored limestone. Splits into ten or twelve beds about six inches in thickness. Stone contains geodes of calcite.
2 ft. 4 in. - Dark colored, fine crystalline limestone. Slightly buff colored in places due to the occurrence of iron oxide.
“The two major sets of joints strike N. 70° W. and N. 20° E. Two minor sets strike N. 55° W. and N. 30° E. The major joints are open and usually occur from six to twenty feet apart. They are of considerable assistance in quarrying.
“The quarry is equipped with a Gates crusher No. 7, a Buckeye automatic engine, two portable boilers, a 50-foot bucket elevator, a 12-foot screen, and 40 dump cars. The crusher is situated near the middle of the quarry. The entire face is being worked and tracks have been laid in both directions from the crushing plant.
“The cars are drawn by horses. The stone from the quarry is dumped into a chute by which it is carried directly to the crusher. From the crusher it is elevated to the revolving screen, by which the product is separated into two sizes, known as screenings and 2-inch ballast. The stone is dropped from the screens into bins, from which it is drawn directly into cars.
“The method of operating this quarry is different from that employed at any other in this state. Each quarryman is allotted fifteen feet of quarry front, known as his ‘quarry,’ to which portion he is supposed to confine his work. Two or more men may combine and work in cooperation. Each man is paid 25 cents per dump car of rock loaded at his quarry. The operator furnishes the empty cars and removes the loaded ones. Each man does his own stripping. A plank, extending from the face and supported at one end on the top of the quarry and at the other by cross timbers, serves as a track over which to wheel the stripping and carry it some distance beyond the quarry face. By this method, the work of stripping does not interfere at any time with the quarrying. Checks, hung upon the cars, are used to keep a record of the number of loads and by whom they are delivered. The men are given credit for cars as they are delivered at the crusher. In this way each man is paid according to the amount of work which he does. They earn from $1.00 to $4.50 per day. The output amounts to from twenty to twenty-two cars of crushed rock per day. In 1902 the stone was being used by the Wabash railroad for ballast between Pattonsburg and Omaha, Nebraska.”
“This quarry is located one mile south of Jameson in the N.W. ¼ of the S.W. ¼, sec. 19, T. 60, R. 27 W., and is owned by Mrs. Ruth Prichard of Gallatin.
“It consists of from one to three feet of red clay stripping, two feet of dark blue shale containing a four-inch layer of broken limestone, an eight-inch bed of blue, fine grained, fossiliferous limestone and seven and ten-inch beds of finely crystalline, blue to dark colored limestone. Along the bedding planes, the stone has been weathered to a buff color.
“The quarry was operated in 1883 and has been worked intermittently since that time. The output has been used almost exclusively for foundations.”
Commercial use of material within this site is strictly prohibited. It is not to be captured, reworked, and placed inside another web site ©. All rights reserved. Peggy B. and George (Pat) Perazzo.