


“Kansas City Quarries. - The stratum of limestone designated in the Missouri Geological Reports as ‘No. 87, general section, Upper Coal Measures’, has been quarried extensively at quarries in bluffs of Kansa City and for 2 miles further east; also in a quarry opposite the Union depot, Kansas City, now abandoned on account of expense of stripping. The rock is also occasionally quarried in bluffs at and above Rosedale. Its color is generally a light gray, becoming locally a bluish-gray, and, when exposed, a lighter and often ferruginous gray. The middle portion of about 9 feet is beautifully oolitic, and is most valuable for building; it works freely and is easily dressed.
“Below Kansas City the stripping at first is only a few feet, but of course increases as the operations extend into the bluffs.
“Limestone No. 90, Upper Coal Measures, lying a little above, is often quarried and used for ordinary foundation work, while the limestone under consideration is used for general building purposes. It may be seen in the basement walls of the Merchants’ exchange, the Journal office, and the building at Twelfth and Washington streets, Kansas City. It contains the characteristic coral Campophyllum torquium (O. and S.). It is generally evenly bedded in layers from 6 to 16 inches in thickness, and is much used in foundations. Its is apparently durable and of more than usual strength. Its texture is homogenous, and often has numerously-disseminated bright calc-spar specks. The color in the quarry is a grayish-drab, weathering to a brownish-drab, and shows a brownish discoloration along the joints.
“Limestone No. 96, of Upper Coal Measures, also found here, is a bright gray rock with numerous specks and short lines of calcite. It contains also many fossils whose shells are of pure calcite, or else the interior is nicely crystallized. The strata are generally from 6 to 9 inches thick and of very irregular bedding. The entire stratum is 30 feet thick. An examination of the various quarries in Kansas City indicates that about 50,000 cubic yards of rock have been removed and used in the city during the past twelve or fourteen years. This includes from 9,000 to 10,000 cubic yards from the bluff opposite the Union depot, 30,000 cubic yards from southwest (sic) Kansas, and the remainder from south Kansas. The various railroads have probably taken out and used 10,000 cubic yards not included in the above.
“There is quite a number of localities in Missouri where limestone has been quarried or may be quarried, beside those in which there are actually working quarries as represented in the tables. Three miles north of Canton, Saint Louis county, the Central Marble Stone Company has recently opened a quarry in the sub-Carboniferous formation. The beds vary in thickness from a few inches to 8 feet. Considerable quantities of this stone have been quarried for bridge abutments, foundations, and for flagging. The stone has a uniform texture and gray color, but becomes darker on exposure to the atmosphere; and this may prove a defect if the discoloration does not go on uniformly. The quarries are located less than half a mile from the Saint Louis and Keokuk railroad and one mile from the Mississippi river.
“Near Bowling Green, Pike county, the Niagara limestone has been quarried in a small way for the past forty years, and has been quite largely used for bridge abutments on the Chicago and Alton railroad, and occasionally for the construction of buildings. A dwelling in Bowling Green, built about forty years ago, is of this material, and the stone still looks well and shows no signs of disintegration. There are two quarries. A section at one quarry shows 4 feet of soil and gravel, 4 feet of shelly limestone, and 12 feet of building stone in three layers, the upper of which is 2 feet in thickness, and the two lower each 5 feet thick. This stratum of building stone is separated from a stratum of equal thickness below by 1 foot of shales. This last stratum of building stone consists also of three layers, 4, 6, and 2 feet in thickness. At the other quarry about 40 feet of rock are exposed in layers from 1 foot to 2 feet in thickness. The stone when first quarried has a bluish-gray color and weathers to a brownish-buff color.
“Near Glencoe, Saint Louis county, the Trenton limestone has in former years been quarried for building purposes. These are at present quite extensive quarries still in operation, but their product is all manufactured into lime. At Cape Girardeau, Cape Girardeau county, is quarried the Lower Silurian limestone, most of the material being burned, and that which is most suitable being reserved for purposes of construction. At present some of this stone is being shipped for repairing the state capitol of Louisiana, which was built of this stone, and was partly destroyed during the late war. The quarry is situated about three-quarters of a mile from the wharf, on the Mississippi river, and the stone was at one time quite largely shipped to the south. An analysis of this rock by Dr. A. Litton, for the Missouri Geological Report, gave carbonate of lime, 99.57; silica, a trace; alumina, a trace.
“The total thickness of rock exposed at the quarry is about 30 feet, the upper portion being in thinner layers and a little darker in color than the lower. The lower portion is a beautiful white limestone, and blocks 6 feet in thickness can be obtained.
“Some of the limestones in southeast Missouri have been called marbles. The Cape Girardeau limestone has been termed a marble by some. In the Kansas City Review of Science and Industry the marbles of southeast Missouri are described; and it is given as the reason why these marbles have not been extensively developed, that they usually occur in beds not of sufficient thickness to furnish blocks of adequate size for the purposes for which marbles are usually employed. It states that near the head of Cedar creek there are several outcrops of variegated red and drab marbles. A section of rocks on a southeastern branch of cedar creek shows 10 feet of coarse magnesian limestone resting on 10 feet of light drab marble of fine grain traversed with brown veins. Near the mouth of Cedar creek, Madison county, some of the finest exposures of the most handsome varieties of marble occur. It is handsome when polished, and the outcrops show that it is very durable. At the head of Tom Suck creek, in Reynolds county, are thick beds of flesh-colored marble. Two miles north of Cape Girardeau, on the land of Dr. Thomas Holcombe, are outcrops of variegated purplish-red limestones, with occasional calcite specks in heavy layers. Marbles of fine texture passing through various shades of flesh-color, yellow and green, pink, purple, and chocolate, all handsomely blended, are said to occur in Sainte Genevieve county. These marbles occur in the Potsdam and Niagara formations. The Potsdam marbles are found on Stout’s creek and Marble creek, in Iron county; Cedar creek, Marble creek, and Leatherwood creak, in Madison county; and Tom Suck creek in Reynolds county. The Niagara marbles are found in Cape Girardeau and Saint Genevieve counties.
“Near Mooresville, Livingston county, limestone in the lower portion of the Upper Coal Measures has been quarried since 1866, but the quarries have not been regularly worked. A section there shows 1 foot of soil, 4 feet of shelly limestone, 2 feet of clay shale, 1 foot of bituminous shales, 6 inches of clay shales, from 2 to 3 feet of blue fire-clay, and 9 feet of oolitic limestone valuable for building purposes. The rock is rather hard, quite strong and durable, and is especially applicable for heavy masonry. This same formation has also been quarried in hills 5 miles south of Princeton, Mercer county, near the line of the Chicago, Rock Island, and Pacific railway; also on the Wabash, Saint Louis, and Pacific railway, Clay county, about 8 miles from Kansas City. It may also be found near the base of the bluffs at Kansas City, and at several places near Pleasant Hill, Cass county, where it is locally termed cotton rock, and is said to withstand a higher degree of heat than many other limestones.
“At Forest City, Holt county, there are several limestone beds exposed, and also a soft sandstone, but the stripping is generally so heavy that the best layers of the rock cannot be extracted with profit. Limestone also crops out 2 miles above Forest City, and beyond this for 20 miles no building stone occurs.
“Near Amazonia, Andrew county, 14 ½ feet of evenly-bedded, ferruginous gray, and somewhat oolitic limestone occurs. A quarry of this rock was formerly worked 2 ½ miles northeast of Savannah, and the stone was transported by wagons to Saint Joseph and used in the construction of buildings. Similar quarries might be opened near the line between Andrew and Buchanan counties, and the same formation also crops out near Atchison, Kansas.
“Near Greenwood, Jackson county, the Missouri Pacific Railroad Company has opened a quarry, but the material is used principally for ballast, and only a small amount has been used for the construction of culverts. Oolitic limestone of the Upper Coal Measures has also been found near Greenwood, and is used for purposes of construction on the Missouri Pacific railroad. The stone is well adapted for rough masonry.
“Near Pleasant Hill, Cass county, there are several quarries situated on different localities which have occasionally been worked. The stone has been used principally for the construction of railroad bridges and culverts, and for local purposes. The formation belongs to the Upper Coal Measures, and consists of a number of limestone beds, some of which are oolitic and some shelly. Blocks 2 feet in thickness and of any length and breadth desired may be obtained.
“At Neosho, Newton county, a whitish-gray oolitic limestone is quarried for lime. This stone works freely, and would be well adapted for purposes of construction. A coarse, dark gray limestone is also quarried near Neosho, some of which contains many chert concretions.
“The sub-Carboniferous limestone has been quarried for local use at Springfield, Greene county. The quarry rock shows a face of 10 feet in depth of coarse, gray limestone. The upper beds resemble the Keokuk limestone, and the lower beds are more of the Burlington type. The geological divisions recognized in Iowa, Illinois, and eastern Missouri cannot strictly be sustained in southwest Missouri.
“The Second Magnesian limestone has been quarried near Marshfield, Webster county. The exposure shows one bed 33 inches in thickness of buff limestone. This appears to be durable stone, easy to quarry and to dress. It is covered with but little cap-rock, but the stripping would be slightly increased as the excavations would be extended into the hill. There are two good exposures a few hundred feet apart.”
“The hilly character of Kansas City and her environs gives rise to many outcrops of rock with a correspondingly large number of quarries. In 1902, when the quarries in this locality were examined, there were thirty-two in operation, all or part of the year.
“The stone in all the quarries belongs to the lower beds of the Upper Coal Measures. The formation at this horizon consists of beds of limestone and shale of variable thicknesses. The rock is everywhere overlain with from one to forty feet of till and loess belonging to the glacial period.
“The following columnar section, furnished by Mrs. S. J. Hare, of Kansas City, gives the average thickness of the beds which outcrop in this locality:
0-40 ft. - Loess and till. A fine grained, yellowish, sandy clay.
11 ft. - Gray limestone.
1 ft. - Calcareous sandstone.
5 ft. - Sandy shale.
2 ft. - Conglomerate.
14 ft. - Shaly sandstone.
21 ft. - Sandstone and shale.
1 ft. - Ferruginous conglomerate.
3 ft. - Shale.
4 ft. - Limestone.
6 ft. - Sandy shale. (The section to this point was not examined, owing to the fact that it was in a large measure covered by buildings, etc. None of the stone above this horizon has been quarried.)
30 ft. - Fine grained limestone. Contains numerous geodes and small irregular veins of calcite. It consists of irregular beds which increase in thickness from the top to the bottom. These beds are exposed along the west bluff, 7th street to 24th street, along the east bluff from Garfield avenue to the eastern limits of the city, at 24th and Locust streets, at 27th street and Grand avenue, and at 3030 Summit street.
21 ft. - Blue shale. These beds are exposed at 27th street and Woodland avenue, 27th street and Woodland avenue, 23rd street and Fairmont avenue, 7th street and Walnut, 10th street and Baltimore avenue, 12th street and West bluff, North bluff, Garfield avenue east and 27th street and Grand avenue.
6 ft. - Fine grained, compact limestone having a variegated color, known locally as the ‘calico’ ledge. Outcrops along West bluff, East bluff, and 27th street and Grand avenue.
13 ft. - Red and yellow shale. At the quarry of the Lyle Rock Co., these shales are only eight feet thick.
9 ft. 6 in. - Known as the ‘building ledge.’ Consists of seven feet of thinly bedded, fine grained, gray limestone, underlain with a solid bed of light blue, fine grained limestone two feet six inches in thickness. Above this heavy bed the stone is very thinly bedded and shelly, and in most of the quarries has a yellowish or buff color due to weathering. The limestone at this horizon outcrops at the following places: 25th and Vine, 24th and Locust, 45th and Charlotte, 49th and Main, 36th street and Roanoke Boulevard.
4 ft. - Bluish black shale.
4 ft. - Yellowish, calcareous shale. Has somewhat the appearance of yellow ochre.
11-12 ft. - Coarse grained, very fossiliferous, gray to brown, oölitic limestone. Shows cross-bedding in the outcrop at the S. W. corner of 6th street and West Bluff. This bed splits easily along the stratification planes and makes very good rubble. It is quarried at the Lyle Rock Co. and the Johnson quarries. It is considered one of the most durable stones in Kansas City, although, when laid on edge it is liable to split along the bed. It outcrops at the following localities: 6th street and Bluffs; 12 (sic) street and Bluffs; Elmwood and North Bluff; and 2nd and Lexington.
1 ft. 6 in. - Blue shale. Outcrops at the Johnson and the Lyle Rock Co. quarries. At the latter quarry, it is only one inch thick.
6 ft. 6 in. - Solid, fine grained fossiliferous limestone. Contains small geodes and veins of calcite. Known, locally, as the ‘Bull ledge’ because of the difficulty in working it. The stone has a gray color except along the bedding planes, where it is buff. These beds outcrop at the following places: 2nd and Lexington and along North Bluff.
15 ft. - Dark colored shale. Outcrops at the same place as the ledge above.
12 ft. - Dark shale interstratified with thin beds of limestone. Outcrops at same localities as shale immediately above.
4 in. - Coal. Outcrops when visited were concealed by talus.
16 ft. 5 in. - Fine grained, siliceous, bluish gray limestone. Contains irregular nodules of black chert, mainly near the top. These beds outcrop along the ‘West’ bluff and at the base of the bluff near the Lyle Rock Company’s quarry.
5 ft. - Thin interstratified beds of shale and limestone.
3 ft. 6 in. - Fine grained limestone.
6 in. - Shale.
2 ft. 6 in. - Fine grained limestone.
6 in. - Shale.
5 ft. 6 in. - Fine grained, bluish gray to drab limestone.
5 ft. - Shale. color varies from a yellow to a dark brown. Outcrops at 29th and Southwest Boulevard.
4 ft. - Nodular and shelly limestone above the Bethany Falls. Outcrops at 24th and Fairmont streets.
18 ft. - Heavily bedded Bethany Falls limestone. The upper six feet is mottled, while the remaining lower portion has a uniform grayish color and is finely crystalline. Outcrops at 29th street and Southwest Boulevard; at the waters edge near the Missouri river bridge; and in the Sheffield quarries. The upper portion decomposes quite readily upon exposure to the atmosphere.
5 ft. - Dark colored, thinly bedded shale. Outcrops just west of the railroad near Southwest Boulevard.
“The beds in the quarries are practically horizontal. The major joints strike N. 45° W. They are persistent throughout the entire district and occur from seven to twenty feet apart. Frequently they are open and filled with red clay. They facilitate very greatly the quarrying operations.
“Hand tools are used almost entirely in quarrying. Most of the crushing plants which have been erected are modern in all respects. Most of the quarries are operated intermittently, depending upon the demand for stone. The cost of quarrying in some places is increased very greatly by a heavy stripping of loess.
“The Bethany Falls limestone was at one time used quite extensively for macadam. At present, however, it is only being exploited at the Sheffield quarries where the product is rubble. The oölitic bed and the so-called ‘Bull ledge,’ occurring below, are the lowest in the section that are being used to any extent for building. These ledges are being worked mainly in the quarries in the north part of the city. Commercially, the nine foot six inch limestone ledge, known as the ‘building ledge,’ is the most important. This is quarried in nearly all sections of the city where building stone is produced. In the past the lower two and one-half feet of this ledge has been used for curbing. However, the stratification planes, which are scarcely noticeable in the freshly quarried stone, make it unfit for this purpose. An examination of the curbing which has been in use in comparatively short time, shows the undesirable nature of this stone. At present it is only used for repairing curbing already laid. Most of the stone used for foundations and rustic masonry comes from the thin Yellow layers above this bed. The reddish and yellowish gray colors recommend it for rustic masonry. Many houses in Kansas City are now being constructed entirely out of this stone. The so-called ‘calico’ ledge, owing to its hardness and limited occurrence, is not quarried very extensively. This is perhaps the best limestone for macadam pavements which can be obtained from the quarries in the vicinity of Kansas City. The thirty-foot ledge of limestone outcrops at many of the higher points throughout the city, especially along the West bluff, just east of the Union depot. Some good building stone and heavy footing can be obtained from the lower beds, although the stone is at present used mainly for crushing.
“The following are short descriptions of the individual quarries of Kansas City, and vicinity:”*
(* Each of the Kansas City quarries included in the above section are listed below according to quarry name.)
“A good many stone-cutters of this city are cutting curbing at present (1898). Four or five miles of it are needed just now, mostly stone. But cemet (sic - cement) is coming more and more in use, all imported Portland. The stone yards have very little to do.”
“The Acme Limestone Co., Kansas City, Mo. Incorporated for $300,000. Incorporators: W. G. Dilts, L. J. Morgan and W. W. Young.”
The following information was taken from the table entitled, “Table IV. Tables indicating the Amount and Kinds of Rock in the Different States”: The John Bauman Quarry, East of Kansas City, Jackson County, Limestone/Magnesian limestone, color: gray; quarry opened in 1869.
New Companies: “Bonded Granite Company, Kansas City, Mo., $10,000. Mrs. H. S. Kusel, Charles Bailey and E. J. Ryan.”
“E.C. Thym has bought out the old Bremer Cut Stone Company, at 31st and Genesee streets, Kansas City, and is continuing that business under the name of the Carthage Stone Yard. E.C. Thym, superintendent and manager. The former Carthage Stone Yard, at 16th street and Askew avenue, has been moved to the above more convenient quarters.”
“The Brenner Cut Stone Company of Kansas City, Mo., has been incorporated with a capital stock of $3,500. Incorporators: Charles Brenner, A. C. Brandon, Richard B. Skuse and others.”
“E.C. Thym has bought out the old Bremer Cut Stone Company, at 31st and Genesee streets, Kansas City, and is continuing that business under the name of the Carthage Stone Yard. E.C. Thym, superintendent and manager. The former Carthage Stone Yard, at 16th street and Askew avenue, has been moved to the above more convenient quarters.”
“This quarry is situated in a ravine east of 42nd street and Michigan avenue. It is owned and operated by Mr. A. M. Clark of 35th street and Prospect Avenue. The face of the quarry is 160 feet long and from eight to sixteen feet high. The following section shows the thickness of the beds and the character of the stone:
2-10 ft. - Clay and shale. Stripping.
2 ft. 6 in. - Heavy bed of rather soft fossiliferous, gray limestone. Has a semi-oölitic texture. The bed splits and works well.
3 ft. - Fine grained, compact, gray limestone. Contains short tight seams, known as dries. Nodules and thin veins of calcite occur throughout the bed. Very fossiliferous.
“The stone in the upper bed works well into sills, caps and coursing. The stone in the lower bed is not so satisfactory for these purposes. The major joints strike N. 40-50° E. Another set strikes N. 40° W. This quarry as not operated in 1903.”
“Colyer Bros. (Daniel and Kit) of Independence, Missouri, are operating three quarries near Kansas City. The product is almost exclusively crushed stone for concrete, macadam and railroad ballast. They move their crushing plants from one quarry to another in filling contracts for macadamizing county roads. The crushers located at 27th and Grand avenue and south of Sheffield are permanent.
“One of the quarries, which was being operated in 1902, was located at the junction of 59th and Main streets. It has a west face 500 feet long and eleven to seventeen feet high. The following is a section of this facing showing the thickness and character of the different beds:
4-10 ft. - Clay stripping.
1 ft. 6 in. - Fine grained, bluish gray limestone. A good stone for building.
4 in. - Grayish limestone.
3 ft. 8 in. - Compact, fine grained limestone. Dark gray patches give it a mottled appearance. The stone is brittle, breaking with a sharp fracture. Splits into two beds, 20 and 24 inches in thickness.
2 ft. - Fine grained, brittle bluish limestone. Undesirable as a building stone, but a good quality of limestone for macadam.
“This horizon is what is known as the ‘calico’ ledge in the generalized section.
“At the south end of the quarry, the beds dip slightly to the south.
“The quarry is equipped with a No. 4 Gates crusher, a bucket elevator and screens, all of which are operated by a 50-horse power engine. The stone is separated into two sizes, two inch and screenings. This plant employs forty-five men.
“The second quarry operated by this company is located on the east side of the Blue river valley, south of Sheffield. It is situated south of 27th street, just east of the Kansas City Southern railroad. The stone is crushed exclusively for railroad ballast.
“The quarry has a west face 425 feet long and seventeen feet high. The stone belongs to the Bethany Falls limestone formation. It is essentially the same as at Sheffield with exception that the upper beds contain considerable brown iron oxide, filling small cavities. When blasted, it breaks into rather thick blocks. Owing to its somewhat spongy nature, part of it does not break readily with sledges.
“The major joints strike N. 30° E. and N. 45° W. They are usually open from six to eight inches at the surface and filled with red clay.
“This plant is equipped with a No. 6 Gates crusher, bucket elevator, screen, engine and boiler. The daily output is about 400 cubic yards of one and one-half inch stone screenings. An average of fifty-five to sixty men are employed at this plant.
“The third quarry operated by this company is located at Grand avenue between 26th and 27th streets. Openings have been made on both sides of the avenue, but at the present time, quarrying is being carried on only at the east side. This quarry has been in operation three years. The east opening has a face 300 feet long and a maximum height of thirty feet. The bottom three feet are being left for rubble stone. This stone is fine grained and has a blue color, being very suitable for rubble work. Immediately above this ledge, the stone consists of heavy beds which are used for heavy footing and rubble, when there is a demand for such stone. The following section gives the thickness and uses of the five lowest beds:
2 ft. 2 in. - Footing.
10 in. - Rubble.
14 in. - Rubble.
18 in. - Rubble.
3 ft. - Footing.
“The beds which occur above these are used exclusively for the manufacture of crushed stone.
“The major joints strike N. 45° E. Another less prominent set strikes N. 40-50° W. This plant is equipped with a No. 4 Gates crusher, bucket elevator, screen, engine and boiler. The plant employs thirty-five men and has a capacity of 200 cubic yards of crushed rock per day. The output is used chiefly for concrete and macadam in Kansas City.”
“The Crushed Stone and Filler Company of Kansas City, Mo., has increased its capital from $2,000 to $125,000; assets, $2,000; no liabilities.”
The following information was taken from the table entitled, “Table IV. Tables indicating the Amount and Kinds of Rock in the Different States”: The James Dowling Quarry, Bluffs of Kansas City, Jackson County, Limestone/Limestone, color: drab; quarry opened in 1865.
Kansas City, Missouri - J. W. Drinkwater’s Quarry (listed in The Mine, Quarry and Metallurgical Record of the United States, Canada, and Mexico, The Mine and Quarry News Bureau, Chicago, Ill., 1897)
“Mr. Adam Armstrong of Kansas City, Kansas, owns and operates a quarry at 3030 Summit street, under the firm name of ‘The Eagle Contracting Co.’ The quarry is located on the west side of the street. It has a west face, which is from ten to twenty-five feet in height. The stone is very similar to that at other quarries producing crushed stone in this area.
“The major joints strike N. 50° E. The quarry is equipped with a crushing plant and the production is exclusively broken stone.”
“The two principal openings comprising this quarry are located near the junction of 44th and Kansas streets. They were not being worked in 1902, but were formerly operated by Matt and Henry Elmer, under the firm name of Elmer Bros. The ‘building stone’ ledge is worked here as at the Tanner quarry. The stone has a yellowish buff color and is very shelly.”
Notes From Quarry and Shop: “Kansas City, Mo. - Cassius M. Ensminger. He had been in the marble business here for several years past.”
“This quarry is located on 44th street between Tracy and Virginia streets. It is owned by Sutherland Bros. and is operated by John Feebeck. It has a south face about 50 feet long. The marketable stone is obtained mainly from the ‘building stone’ ledge. The stone splits along wavy bedding planes into beds from two to eight inches thick. The quarry is covered with from six to ten feet of loess. It is worked intermittently, when there is a demand for the stone. Two or three men are usually employed.”
“The long line of the Hunt Midwest Underground Storage entries, which are former limestone quarries, are readily viewable.”
“The underground openings of Interstate Underground Storage, on both sides of SR 78, which are former underground limestone quarries, are easily viewed.”
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.