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Quarries in Missouri & Quarry Links, Photographs, and Articles
Memphis thru Newburg

Memphis, Missouri - Mount Bros. (Advertisement) (from Monumental News Magazine, September 1927, Vol. 39, No. 9, pp. 530.)

Mount Bros., Memphis, Mo. - Ready for Lettering in the Cemetery

With Mount Bros. ‘Air Take-Off Device’. Lettering in granite, stone and marble is made easier and at lower cost. Any Auto-engine quickly changed into an efficient air-compressor by simply removing one spark-plug and inserting ‘The Air Take-Off device’. No tank is required. Now being used extensively in 33 States and Canada by several hundred satisfied dealers. Write for names of users near you. Our circular ‘A’ and other information gladly furnished. Terms: C.O.D. and your privilege of returning for full refund price in ten days if not satisfied. Price $30. It is guaranteed 2 years against unusual wear or defective parts. Your car has compression, why not use it? State car make.
- Memphis, Missouri - the Mount Brothers Air Take-Off Device (Advertisement) (from American Stone Trade Magazine, October 1927, Vol. XXVIII, No. 3, Chicago, Illinois, pp. 57) (Similar advertisements such as the one above were placed in the following issues of American Stone Trade Magazine: January, 1927, Vol. III, No. 7, pp. 22; February, 1927, Vol. III, No. 8, pp. 31; March, 1927, Vol. III, No. 9, pp. 31; April, 1927, Vol. III, No. 10, pp. 29; July 1927, Vol. IV, No. 1, pp. 29; August 1927, Vol. IV, No. 2, pp. 32; April 1928, Vol. IV, No. 10, pp. 28; February 1929, Vol. 5, No. 8, pp. 29; March 1929, Vol. 5, No. 9, pp. 29; April 1929, Vol. 5, No. 10, pp. 27; and February 1930, Vol. 6, No. 8, pp. 30.)
  
  Air Take-Off Device changes your automobile engine into an air compressor by simply removing spark plug and substituting the device. Weight, two pounds.
  
  All Users Perfectly Satisfied - No Air Tank Required
  
  Your motor runs at slowest speed without heating the motor or the air hammer. The fresh compressed air from motor is always steady when slightly backed up in air hose. It has been successfully tested for three years before placing on the market and always gives satisfaction. Our guarantee to replace defective parts for two years goes with each sale. Designed to operate 1-in, ¾-in or 5/8-in. pneumatic hammers for light or heavy granite lettering. Threaded to fit standard hammers and hose nipples, and for any automobile.
  
  Terms: C.O.D. with refund privilege after 10 days’ trial from receipt of order if not satisfied.
  
  Price $30.00 - State Make of Car - Mount Brothers, Memphis, MO.
- Memphis, Missouri - the Mount Brothers Air Take-Off Device (Advertisement) (from Design Hints For Memorial Craftsmen Magazine, Vol. IV, No. 10, April, 1928, Published monthly at St. Cloud, Minnesota, Haslam & Nichols, Publishers, pp. 28.)
Don’t Forget

“This ‘Air-Take-Off Device’ is being used by hundreds of satisfied dealers. “It gives more pressure than any other so-called air-take-off-device for cemetery lettering. “Device fits spark-plug hole of any motor; no tank required. Guaranteed 2 years; 10 day trial.

Commendation!

“Mount Bros., Memphis, Mo. Gentlemen: We received your “Air-Take-Off Device’ some weeks ago, but did not try it out until the past week. It is a simple looking contraption but worth its weight in gold and one hundred dollars would not buy it if we could not get another. It was worth all it cost the first two days we used it. Very truly yours, Dees Monument Weeks., By J. E. Dees, Prop.

A Signed Guarantee With Every Order Filled. Device Pat. Sept. 22-25

Mount Brothers, Memphis, Mo.”
- The February 1929 issue of Design Hints For Memorial Craftsmen Magazine contains the same advertisement with the substitution of the letter of recommendation below:
  
  “Manchester, Ohio, June 22, 1928. Mount Brothers, Memphis, Mo., Gentlemen: We have given your Air Take-Off Device a thorough test and find it the most efficient means for lettering in the cemetery that has ever been devised. We would not hesitate to recommend it to anyone in need of it. Very truly yours. The Manchester Granite & Marble Co.”
- The March 1929 issue of Design Hints For Memorial Craftsmen Magazine contains the same advertisement with the substitution of the letter of recommendation below:
  
  “Rockville, Maryland, March 12, 1929. Mount Bros., Memphis, Mo., Gentlemen: Your ‘Air Take Off’ Device is the most wonderful little tool for cemetery lettering ever invented. It paid for itself more than four times just on one job. I take pleasure in recommending it to any one in need of such. Once you try it, you would not be without it. Yours, Montgomery Co. Marble & Granite Works, J. M. Henry, Jr., Prop.”
- The August 1929 issue of Design Hints For Memorial Craftsmen Magazine contains a similar advertisement with the substitution of the letter of recommendation below:
  
  “Poughkeepsie, New York, Feb. 19, 1929. Mount Bros.: My ‘Air Take-Off Device’ has surely done a world of work for me within the last two years. I make a specialty of cemetery lettering, and use the device nearly every day from spring until late fall and early winter. Yours truly, Wm. H. Secor.”
- The September 1929 issue of Design Hints For Memorial Craftsmen Magazine contains a similar advertisement with the substitution of the letter of recommendation below:
  
  “Sechler Memorial Co., 219 West Jefferson St., Butler, Pa., Sept. 12th, 1929. Mount Bros., Memphis, Mo. We have received and are operating the Air-Take-Off Device. I have been engaged in the monument business for 42 years and have never before invested so small amount as $30.00 for such a wonderful and efficient invention. I am wondering why everyone engaged in this line of business does not have one. Yours truly, P. H. Sechler.”
Memphis, Missouri - the Mount Brothers Air-Take-Off Device (Advertisement) (from Design Hints For Memorial Craftsmen Magazine, Vol. 6, No. 8, February, 1930, Published monthly at St. Cloud, Minnesota, Haslam & Nichols, Publishers, pp. 30.)

Move Your Shop to the Cemetery?

“No, but you can move it, or the necessary part of it, to the Cemetery through the medium of Mount Brothers ‘Air-Take-Off Device’, an attachment that fits in the compression chamber of your car and gives you the necessary air compression for lettering.

“No longer is it necessary for you to go to the bother of either trucking monuments around or hauling heavy machinery to the cemetery to letter work. Mount Brothers ‘Air-Take-Off Device’ fits the spark plug of any motor and no tank is required. It is guaranteed for two years and is sent on ten days trial. “We’ll be happy to give you complete information.

Be Sure to Specify Make of Car. - Mount Brothers, Memphis, MO.”
The May 1930 issue of Design Hints For Memorial Craftsmen Magazine contains a similar advertisement with the substitution of the list of satisfied customers below:

A Few Satisfied Users: Cedar Creek Monument Shop, Clear Creek, Ind.; William H. Secor, Poughkeepsie, New York; Manchester Gr. and Mble. Co., Manchester, Ohio; W. E. Dorman & Son, East Union, Maine; Liberty Memorial Art Stone, Liberty, Missouri; Yoder Monument Works, Goshen, Indiana; W. F. Shaffer’s Son, Somerset, Penna.; G. T. Reinhard Granite Works, Hanford, Calif.; A. G. Yawger, Lebanon, New Jersey; Jackson Monument Corporation, Elkhorn, Wisc.; Roof and Son, Marion, Indiana; Ralph P. Cochran, Derby, Vermont; Doran Monument Works, Anthony, Kansas; Dees Monument Works, Greenville, N.C.; John E. Dohner, Reading, Penna.; Birmingham Memorial Co., Birmingham, Ala.; Houlton Granite & Marble Works, Houlton, Maine; Klinefelter Bros., York, Penna.; Waterloo Granite Works, Waterloo, New York; E. J. Roggensack & Son, Waukon, Iowa; H. L. Minter, Pottstown, Penna.; M. Charnock, Hutchinson, Kansas; A. E. Snyder, Pittsburgh, Penna.; J. H. Collins, Letts, Iowa; A. D. Frets Monument Co., Bellingham, Wash.; Ironside Brothers, Hastings, Mich.; H. A. Burgan, Higginsville, Mo.; Montgomery Co. Mbl. & Gr. Works, Rockville, Md.; Henry G. Laird, Steelton, Penna.; Nagel Brothers, Fredricksburg, Texas; John H. McCarty Monument Co., St. Louis, Mo.; Warner Brothers, Raleigh, N. C.”
Memphis, Missouri - Mount Brothers (Advertisement) (from American Stone Trade, July, 1934, Vol. XXXIV, No. 12, front cover)

Mount Brothers, Memphis, Missouri - Cemetery Lettering - Easy and Profitable
Memphis, Missouri - Mount Bros. (Advertisement) (from Monumental News Magazine, September/October 1938, Vol. 50, No. 9, pp. 359.)

Mount Bros. Air-Take-Off plus Your Automobile Brings Perfect Sandblasting

Shape cuts inscriptions letters with small shaping nozzle. 1 ½ inch letters cut deep in 3 to 5 minutes.

1. Sand Blast Tank - 2 Gallon Sand Capacity (enough for three average Inscription Letters).

2. Six ft. Sand Blast Hosewith sand nozzles and connections.

3. Twin-Model Air-Take-Off with connections.

4. Ventilated Screen Wire Helmet with Transparent Window.

5. 4 Sq. Ft. of Scotch Stencil Protective Dope.

6. One Jar Scotch Sand Blast Filler for Axed Surfaces.

7. One Pair Rubber Gloves.

8. One Stencil Knife.

9. Complete equipment is furnished in a strong, hinged box. Box size 23 inches by 13 inches by 13 inches. total weight of Sand Blast and Air-Take-Off Devices is 15 pounds.

Only $65 for full equipment above - less one Air-Take-Off you may own - $41

Useful for profitable sidelines - Cleaning, Painting, Waterproofing, Etc. Mount Bros. twin-Model Air-Take-Off (Patented) Fully Guaranteed - Testimonials Gladly Furnished. Your Shop Hose - New Sand and Auto make this complete and ready for use. Will last for years. Transferable to any make auto by simple connection. (Extra.)
Memphis, Missouri - Mount Bros. (Advertisement) (from Monumental News Magazine, March 1939, Vol. 51, No. 3, pp. 136. The advertisement below was also published in the following issues of Monumental News Magazine: April 1939, Vol. 51, No. 4, pp. 170; May 1939, Vol. 51, No. 5, pp. 221.)

Mount Bros., Memphis, Missouri

Sandblasting with your automobile - Perfect Results. Shape cuts inscription letters with small shaping nozzle. One and one-half inch letters cut deep in 3 to 5 minutes. Mount Bros. Twin-Model Air-Take-Off (Patented). Fully Guaranteed - “Your Car Has Compression - Why Not Use I?
Mexico, Missouri – A. K. Luckie, Marble and Granite (from Stone: An Illustrated Magazine, April 1897, Vol. XIV, No. 5, “Notes from Quarry and Shop” section, pp. 636)

“Mexico, Mo. – A. K. Luckie, marble and granite, reported to have given real estate deed of trust for $800.”
Mexico, Missouri - A. K. Luckle’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)
Miami, Missouri - the Miami Area Sandstone Quarries (Sandstone) (The following information is from The Quarrying Industry of Missouri, by E. R. Buckley, Director and State Geologist, and H. A. Buehler, Missouri Bureau of Geology and Mines Vol. II, 2nd Series, 1904.)

“One of the largest sandstone quarries operated in the State is operated one and one-half miles west of Miami, where a heavy bed of Pennsylvanian (Coal Measure) sandstone has been extensively developed.”
Miami Station (west of), Carroll County, Missouri - Sandstone Quarry (Sandstone) (from Report on The Building Stones of The United States, and Statistics of the Quarry Industry for 1880, by George W. Hawes, Curator of the Department of Mineralogy and Lithology at the National Museum, and by F. W. Sperr and Thomas C. Kelly, Joint production of the Census Office and the National Museum, 1883)

“...At a quarry located 1 ½ miles west of Miami station, Carroll county, there are two grades of material produced. The poorest quality contains many plant remains, and shows dark lines of fragments of plants, along which it is often fractured by frost. The best quality is free from these defects, and is a rather beautiful gray sandstone. There is a vertical face of about 70 feet exposed, the lower 45 feet being without any seam of bedding, but containing occasional concretionary masses of harder sandstone. At the top there is a depth of about 6 feet of soil and clay, and below this are 20 feet of rough and sometimes shelly sandstone layers. The quarry rock is a rather coarse, gritty, sandstone, making an excellent building stone, and being also valuable for the manufacture of grindstones. The concretionary masses are of no value whatever. They have some argillaceous layers interstratified, and also contain many nice fragments of plant remains. Although there seem to be no bedding planes in the lower 45 feet, still there are a few faint, banded, dark carbonaceous streaks occurring from 6 to 12 feet apart. The absolute percentage of waste material embraced in the concretionary masses amounts to about one-fiftieth of the entire mass. The concretionary portions disintegrate quite rapidly on exposure to the weather, but the other material is very durable. This quarry has been actively worked for about fifteen years, and the rock has been shipped to various markets in Missouri, Kansas, Iowa, and Nebraska. Eastwardly along the bluffs the rock has a more brown color, and is not so highly esteemed.”
Miami Station, Carroll County, Missouri - the White Rock Quarry Company Quarry (Sandstone) (from Report on The Building Stones of The United States, and Statistics of the Quarry Industry for 1880, by George W. Hawes, Curator of the Department of Mineralogy and Lithology at the National Museum, and by F. W. Sperr and Thomas C. Kelly, Joint production of the Census Office and the National Museum, 1883)

The following information was taken from the table entitled, “Table IV. Tables indicating the Amount and Kinds of Rock in the Different States”: The White Rock Quarry Company Quarry, Miami Station, Carroll County, Sandstone, color: light gray; quarry opened in 1839.
Miami, Missouri - the White Rock Sandstone Quarry (Sandstone) (The following information is from The Quarrying Industry of Missouri, by E. R. Buckley, Director and State Geologist, and H. A. Buehler, Missouri Bureau of Geology and Mines Vol. II, 2nd Series, 1904.)

“The Carroll County Sandstone Company, by which this quarry is owned, is a corporation consisting of A. T. Kendrick, B. D. Kendrick, O. A. Kendrick and Wm. Bushy. The quarry was opened in 1868 and has been operated almost continuously ever since. The company owns 160 acres of land underlain by stone similar to that in the quarry, constituting an almost inexhaustible supply.

“The face of the quarry is 1,200 feet long and 130 feet deep. The upper twenty feet is loess stripping, while the remaining one hundred and ten feet is a massive bed of sandstone. The upper thirty feet of this bed has a light buff color, due to disseminated particles of iron oxide and iron sulphide. The lower eighty feet has a white color, being essentially free from iron oxide and containing only an occasional nodule of irons sulphide.

“The upper portion is softer than the lower, and owing to its variegated color, is used entirely for bridge abutments and other purposes in which color is not an important factor. The stone from the lower part of the quarry, being uniform in color and texture, is used very extensively for caps, sills, monument bases, and dressed building stone.

“As a whole, the stone consists of fine rounded grains of translucent quartz, cemented together chiefly with calcium carbonate. Small flakes of mica, grains of iron oxide and nodules of pyrites are lesser constituents of the rock. Large oval areas in the stone have been changed practically to a quartzite. These masses are known locally as ‘nigger heads,’ and are scattered irregularly through the quarry. They are too hard to be channeled and are usually removed by blasting. Occasionally these masses are ten feet long by four feet thick. Some of the stone contains carbonaceous material, in the form of very thin black layers having the appearance of long narrow leaves. As a rule, they occur parallel to the bedding planes and only show as a dark line, when the stone is cut normal to the bedding. Occasionally, these layers occur in an inclined position, in which case they show as irregular dark spots on the face of the stone.

“When first quarried, the stone is rather soft, but as in the case of most sandstones, it hardens with seasoning. An old face of the quarry, which has been exposed for twenty or twenty-five years, shows little or no effect of weathering. The surface has been discolored by surface water carrying clay, but there is no evidence of alteration in the stone. Only one or two unimportant joints occur in the quarry. Just north of the middle portion of the quarry, there is a joint which strikes N. 45° E.

“The floor of the quarry consists of several feet of shale, underneath which occurs a twenty-eight inch seam of coal, which, in the spring of 1902, was being mined just north of the quarry. This coal seam is expected to provide all the fuel necessary to operate the machinery at the quarry.

“The massive, homogenous character of the stone permits of extensive quarrying operations with comparatively little waste. Mill blocks of any desired dimensions can be obtained, the size being limited only by the carrying capacity of the derricks. The quarry is equipped with modern machinery, including two steam channelers, gang-saws, engine, derricks, car tracks, etc. The quarry is operated eight months in the year and employs, on an average, twenty-five men. The stone can be worked into any desired shape and the company is prepared to furnish stone for the following purpose: Buildings (caps, sills, cornices, coursing and columns), hitching posts, stepping-blocks, monument bases, foundations, crosswalks, sidewalks, curbing, bridge abutments, and retaining walls. In both the sawed and rock-faced finish, the stone has a very pleasing appearance.

“This sandstone has been used in the construction of the Iowa State Capitol, the Methodist Church at Carrollton, the Public Library at Fulton and for bridge abutments along the Wabash railroad. It has also been shipped to the following cities for miscellaneous uses: St. Joseph, St. Louis, Kansas City and Marysville, Missouri; Lincoln, Nebraska; Ottumwa, Des Moines, Atlantic, and Bloomfield, Iowa.

Laboratory Examination.

“Microscopic. - The examination of a thin section of this stone shows that it consists chiefly of roundish to subangular grains of quartz, with subordinate amounts of calcite, iron oxide, feldspar and clay. The quartz grains are cemented in places rather firmly with calcite and to a lesser degree with iron oxide and bitumen.

“Physical Tests. - The following are the results of tests made upon two-inch cubs of this stone, to determine its strength and durability:

Crushing strength -

7477.6 lbs. per sq. in. on beds.

92.03 lbs. per sq. in. on edge.

Transverse strength - 1321.76 lbs. per sq. in.

Specific Gravity - 2.637

Porosity 14.31 per cent.

Ratio of absorption - 6.33

Weight per cubic foot - 141.3 lbs.

Crushing strength of sample subjected to freezing test - $8670.5 pounds per square inch.

“Reviewing the above tests, our attention is called to the fact that in spite of the moderately high porosity, this stone did not apparently lose strength as a result of the freezing test.”
Milan, Missouri - the Milan Granite Works (from Monumental News: Granite, Marble, Stone, Bronze Sculpture, January 1922, Vol. 34, No. 1, pp. 41)

“S. W. Summers has sold to Clayton Warren one-half interest in the Milan Granite works, Milan, Mo. ”
Milan, Missouri - J. A. Niblo’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)
Milan, Missouri - the Veatch Limestone Quarry (Limestone) (The following information is from The Quarrying Industry of Missouri, by E. R. Buckley, Director and State Geologist, and H. A. Buehler, Missouri Bureau of Geology and Mines Vol. II, 2nd Series, 1904.)

“The quarry owned and operated by A. N. Veatch is located in sec. 2, T. 62, R. 20 W., just west of the Omaha, Kansas City and Southern railway.

“The following is a section of this quarry from top to bottom:

4 ft. - Clay stripping.

1 ft. 10 in. - Gray limestone. The upper bed of eight inches is light gray and very hard.

4 in. - Blue shale.

3 ft. - Compact, fossiliferous, gray limestone. Consists of beds two to four inches in thickness, separated from each other by irregular bedding planes.

9 in. - Blue shale.

3 ft. 3 in. - Crystalline, dark gray substance. Consists of nine or ten beds four inches in thickness.

1 ft. 2 in. - Finely crystalline, bluish gray limestone. The upper surface has a buff color as a result of weathering. Splits into two seven-inch beds.

“The major joints, which are open and filled with clay, strike N. 55° W. and No. 30° E. They dip 20°, S. 35° W. and S. 60° E. The beds have an apparent dip of 5° S.

“The main body of the limestone is fine grained and compact, although the bedding planes are rough and irregular. The lower fourteen inches might be used to advantage for heavy footing stone. The thin shaly seams in the remainder of the quarry separates the stone into thin beds.

“This stone was used in the foundation of a building which has been burned to the ground twice. The edges and corners of the blocks have flaked off, but, as a whole, the wall is still solid, sustaining perfectly the new superstructure.”
Mill Spring (west of), Missouri - the Gottschalk Stone Co., (present-day company previously known as the Black River Stone Co.) The quarry is located on Hwy. 49, 4 miles west of Williamsville and 0.7 miles west of Black River and Markham Springs.) (The quotations below are used with permission.)

The 2-acre Gottschalk Stone Co. sandstone quarry has been family-owned and operated since 1967. The quarry produces both Ozark Red and Ozark White sandstone. Their quarry is located near the Black River in Southeast Missouri ; and they provide hand-cut, natural stone to their neighbors throughout Missouri, Arkansas and Illinois.

According to the web site, “Hand-cut stone from our quarry is displayed as a monument at the Missouri State Veterans Cemetery (in Bloomfield, Missouri), along the stone pathways at Big Spring, on Poplar Bluff's welcome sign, at Clearwater Lake, and on many churches, businesses, and homes throughout Missouri, Arkansas and Illinois.”

About Us (the Gottschalk Stone Co.)

Pictures
Miller County, Missouri - Gray Granite Deposit (from Stone: An Illustrated Magazine, December 1897, Vol. XVI., No. 1, pp. 102)

“Gray granite has been found in Miller county, Missouri, existing there without the slightest authority or warrant from the geological reports from the state.”
Minck, Missouri - Thorn and Hawkins Lime Works (Limestone) (from “The Clay, Stone, Lime and Sand Industries of St. Louis City and County,” by G. E. Ladd, Assistant Geologist, in Geological Survey of Missouri, Bulletin No. 3, Supplement, Missouri, December 1890.)

Location.

“Thorn and Hawkins (74): - This firm has its works located at Minck, on the ‘Frisco’ railroad, just across the Meramec river from St. Paul. One kiln is (sic) use, and stone is procured from two quarries, in the Trenton Limestone, which are situated at different elevations in an old bluff of the river. The formation is characteristically Trenton. The sample for analysis No. 68 was taken as an average of the beds here quarried which represent a total thickness of about thirty feet.”
Mine la Motte Area, Missouri - the Mine la Motte Sandstone Quarries (Sandstone) (from A Report on Mine La Motte Sheet, including Portions of Madison, St. Francois and Ste. Genevieve Counties, by Charles Rollin Keyes, State Geologist, Missouri Geological Survey, Reports on Areal Geology (Sheets 1-4) Volume IX, 1896)

“The sandstones as a rule are yellowish or buff in color, changing into brown. They are rather friable on the whole, but in places are indurated sufficiently to form a moderately good quarry rock.

“Although occupying a large area in the Mine la Motte sheet neither the sandstone nor the conglomerate at the base have receive (sic) much attention in the quarry industry. There are objectionable features to many of the beds; much of it is poor in color, others have a texture unsuited to successfully dressing, and still others are of shaly character. Unless a sandstone is of a high grade, limestone has preference in localities where both are present. There are really no important sandstone quarries in the district, although a large amount of sandstone has been used locally for foundations and chimney work. The more calcareous sandstones are to be preferred. Around Mine la Motte the heavy ledges of this kind have been quarried extensively and used as building stone.”
Mine la Motte (northeast of), Missouri - the Lime Kiln Along Rock Creek (Lime) (from A Report on Mine La Motte Sheet, including Portions of Madison, St. Francois and Ste. Genevieve Counties, by Charles Rollin Keyes, State Geologist, Missouri Geological Survey, Reports on Areal Geology (Sheets 1-4) Volume IX, 1896)

“Although the accessible limestones are almost entirely dolomitic they are some of such composition that a fair grade of quick lime may be produced. It does not ordinarily burn well into what would be called a strong lime, but one suitable for all kinds of mason work and for plaster. A small kiln is frequently burned in the various sections but the principal locality is along Rock creek about one mile northeast of Mine la Motte. Up to the present time (circa 1896) the industry has not developed farther than to partially supply local demands.”
Mine la Motte, Missouri - the Rock Creek Limestone Quarry (Limestone) (from A Report on Mine La Motte Sheet, including Portions of Madison, St. Francois and Ste. Genevieve Counties, by Charles Rollin Keyes, State Geologist, Missouri Geological Survey, Reports on Areal Geology (Sheets 1-4) Volume IX, 1896)

“In the vicinity of Mine la Motte a considerable amount of quarrying has been done in the limestone strata. The principal use has been as a flux in the furnace. Besides the ordinary demand for building stone has been satisfied. Some of the limestones have a composition well suited for a good flux. Along Rock creek nearly one mile east of the crossing of the north and south county road from Mine la Motte, limestone is now being taken out and hauled to furnaces.”
Missouri - Stone-Related Photographs, Missouri State Coordinator: Annual Reports (1875 through 1947, Record Group No. 114), presented on the ADAPT (A Digital Approach to Preservation Technology) web site.

Photo captions from Missouri State Coordinator: Annual Reports (1875 through 1947, Record Group No. 114):

“Group of men breaking up limestone”

“Men crushing and pulverizing limestone”

“Men pulverizing limestone on the Big Creek watershed”

“CCC boys quarrying rock for dams”

“CCC boys constructing ruble masonry rock dam”

“CCC boys completing ruble masonry rock dam”

“CCC boys quarrying lime rock. Missouri ”
Missouri - “The New Deal, the CCC, and Missouri State Parks,” by James Denny, in Ozark Watch, Vol. VII, No. 3, Spring 1994.

According to this article states that the CCC workers were involved in many types of work “ranging from quarrying to road, bridge and dam construction” on Missouri park lands beginning in June 1933.

Included in the article is a photograph with the caption: “Limestone quarry work, CCC construction for Missouri State Parks.”
Moberly, Missouri - the Achuff & Co. Marble Works (from Stone Magazine, December, 1895, Vol. XII, No. 1, pp. 88)

“Achuff & Co. have moved their marble works from Moberly to Paris, Mo. ”
Moberly, Missouri - Reed & Wisdom English’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)
Moberly, Missouri - Paul Stevenson, Monument Dealer (from Monumental News-Review Magazine, April 1949, Vol. 61, No. 4, pp. 61.)
“Oldest Industry in The World”

“Describing monument building as the oldest industry in the world, Paul Stevenson, Moberly, Mo., monument dealer, recently gave his local Rotary Club an insight into the history and traditions of the industry.

“Nearly two full columns were devoted to a report of Mr. Steven’s talk in the Monitor-Index and Democrat, Moberly’s daily paper.

“He told how it was the ancient stone cutters who produced the first implements used by mankind, the flint arrowhead, the spearhead and the stone ax.

“Telling the ‘epic stories of man’s progress,’ he said, ‘the stone cutter became an artist, creating works of art that live in nature’s own eternal substances - stone.

“‘From them developed the architectural styles whose influences are still with us. And much of our history has been deciphered from the characters cut into them.’

“Later in his talk, Mr. Stevenson displayed a small replica of the Kensington runestone and told how many scholars believe this stone tells of the existence of Europeans on this continent long before Columbus.

“The story was told of a monument smuggler, Capt. Johnathan Hardy, who secretly delivered nearly 600 stones to America when the Colonial government imposed high tariffs on imports from England.

“The scandal that resulted when Captain Hardy was finally caught, said Stevenson, was to a great extent responsible for the development by the Colonists of their own monument resources.

“‘The large immigration in the 1870’s really established the monument industry on these shores and put it on a plane with that of the Old World,’ he continued.

“Before foreign-born stone cutters and carvers came here, the granite from Vermont quarries, for example, was used mainly for steps, platforms, underpinning, curbing and so forth.

“‘Most important was the use of granite for millstones. Immigrant stone cutters in the 1870’s included Scots, Spaniards, Scandinavians, French-Canadians and, in large numbers, Italians and Swiss who formed communities which still flourish in the Eastern granite producing areas.

“‘From these Old World craftsmen and artists, from their descendants and from native-born Americans who learned the craft through apprenticeships, we are today producing some of the finest monuments in the world.’”
Mona (west of), Missouri - the Shutt Improvement Company’s Limestone Quarry (Limestone) (The following information is from The Quarrying Industry of Missouri, by E. R. Buckley, Director and State Geologist, and H. A. Buehler, Missouri Bureau of Geology and Mines Vol. II, 2nd Series, 1904.)

“This quarry is located just west of Mona and twenty-three miles northwest of St. Louis. It is situated on a bluff on the south side of the Missouri river. The work of stripping and quarrying has extended about 960 feet along the bluff which rises 180 feet above the level of the railroad. The floor of the quarry is 70 feet above the tracks and the face is 40 feet high. The following is a description of the beds from top to bottom:

1 to 5 ft. - Stripping.

12 ft. - Fine grained, Fossiliferous light gray to drab limestone to beds from two to ten inches in thickness. The surface stone has a buff color due to iron oxide. It is badly broken with joints.

3 ft. - Very ferruginous argillaceous limestone. Is very soft and has a yellowish buff color.

4 ft. 6 in. - Fine grained, fossiliferous limestone. Upper portion is gray and the lower buff color. Flint nodules occur throughout the bed, which separates into a number of thin layers.

1 ft., 10 in. - Buff colored, calcareous shale.

15 ft., 6 in. - Thick beds of light gray, medium to coarsely crystalline, fossiliferous limestone. Stratification planes separate the stone into a number of beds. Flint nodules occur near the top.

5 ft., 6 in. - Medium grained, crystalline, light gray limestone. Near the west end this bed has a buff color.

5 ft., 10 in. - Finely crystalline limestone, having a slightly drab color. Separated from the bed above by one inch of shale. Contains a number of dark stratification planes.

“The thickness of the beds is not constant throughout the quarry. In the west part the upper beds are very irregular and contain considerable flint.

“An opening has been made west of the present quarry in which the stone is exposed to the bottom of the bluff. The following is a description of the beds:

20 ft. - Very argillaceous, medium grained blue limestone.

14 ft. - Argillaceous, buff colored limestone. Contains geodes of dolomite and nodules of limonite. Very poor stone.

20 to 25 ft. - Coarse grained, bluish limestone, much harder than the two beds above.

“The stone in this quarry will disintegrate rapidly when exposed to the atmosphere and is not desirable as a railroad ballast.

“A large crushing plant has been erected just west of the quarry. The company is installing an overhead tram to carry the stone from the quarry to the crusher. The plant is equipped with two Gates crushers Nos. 5 and 8, a 150-horse power engine, two 80-horse power boilers, an air compressor, a two-foot bucket elevator and revolving screen. Compressed air drills are used in the quarry. The following sizes of stone are being made: 3 ¾ inch, 3 ½ inch, 2 ½ inch, 1 ½ inch, and dust.

“The entire product is being used for ballast by the St. Louis, Kansas City and Colorado railroad. The quarry has been in operation about eight months.”
Monroe City, Missouri - J. Dirgo’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)
Monroe, Missouri - the Dirigo Limestone Quarry (Limestone) (The following information is from The Quarrying Industry of Missouri, by E. R. Buckley, Director and State Geologist, and H. A. Buehler, Missouri Bureau of Geology and Mines Vol. II, 2nd Series, 1904.)

“This quarry, which is located two and one-half miles south of the city, in the S. E. ¼ of the N. E. ¼ of sec. 36, T. 56 N., R. 8 W., is owned and operated by J. C. Dirigo of Monroe City. It was opened in 1895 and has been operated from May until November each year since. All of the stone is used locally. It belongs to the Burlington formation. The following is a description of the beds from top to bottom:

10 ft. - Broken chert and clay stripping.

5 ft. - Light gray, coarsely crystalline limestone, containing suture joints from six to twelve inches apart. These joints are tight and the stone does not split along them. The bed may be split into three layers 1’ 6”, 2’ 6” and 1’ in thickness.

1-6 in. - Layers of chert nodules.

6 ft. - Limestone, similar to that in the five foot bed. The suture joints are not so abundant as in the ledge above. The lower portion of this bed is very coarsely crystalline, and somewhat softer than the upper part.

“The stone is very free from iron oxide and evidently contains no pyrite. It has a pleasing uniform, light gray color and works well into ashler blocks, caps, sills, etc. The suture joints mar the appearance of the stone, and in order to obviate this defect, the blocks must be laid on edge.

“The heavy beds of limestone terminates abruptly at the north end of the quarry, being replaced by white shale and broken chert, which occurs at what is known as the ‘back seam,’ which strikes N. 30° E. and dips 45° S. E. North of the opening above described, are two others that were operated several years ago. These openings exhibit a number of thin beds of limestone, interstratified with layers of chert. Cavities in a thick, dark brown bed at the base of these openings contain pseudomorphs of calcite after marcasite.

“These two openings, which are now abandoned, were worked on account of the thin beds, which could be quarried with comparative ease.”
Monroe City, Missouri - J. B. Thomas’ Marble and Granite Works (from Stone: An Illustrated Magazine, December 1898, Vol. XVIII, No. 1, pp. 64)

“J. B. Thomas has embarked in the marble and granite business in Monroe City, Mo.”
Montgomery City, Missouri - the Montgomery City Area Limestone Quarries (circa 1904) (The following information is from The Quarrying Industry of Missouri, by E. R. Buckley, Director and State Geologist, and H. A. Buehler, Missouri Bureau of Geology and Mines Vol. II, 2nd Series, 1904.)

Montgomery City.

“Two small quarries, located west of the city, are owned and operated respectively, by J. P. Grennen and J. B. Grennen. The quarries are located in limestone of Burlington age. The market for this stone is entirely local.”
Montgomery City (west of), Missouri - the J. B. Grennen Limestone Quarry (Limestone) (The following information is from The Quarrying Industry of Missouri, by E. R. Buckley, Director and State Geologist, and H. A. Buehler, Missouri Bureau of Geology and Mines Vol. II, 2nd Series, 1904.)

“This quarry is located a quarter of a mile southwest of the J. P. Grennen quarry. The stone occurs in beds from four to twelve inches in thickness. That in the lower beds has a bluish color in the center with a buff color next to the bedding and jointing planes. The stone is very coarsely crystalline, especially in the upper beds.

“This quarry has not been worked very deep and consequently the beds are not as solid as they will be farther in the hill. The stone is well adapted for foundations and other parts of buildings.”
Montgomery City (west of), Missouri - the J. P. Grennen Limestone Quarry (Limestone) (The following information is from The Quarrying Industry of Missouri, by E. R. Buckley, Director and State Geologist, and H. A. Buehler, Missouri Bureau of Geology and Mines Vol. II, 2nd Series, 1904.)

“This quarry is located two and one-half miles west of the city. It has a face 125 feet long and twenty feet high. With the exception of two feet of soil stripping at the top, the face consists entirely of coarsely crystalline, gray and buff, fossiliferous limestone. Chert nodules are disseminated throughout the stone and suture joints are very common. The beds are very thick and the stone must be removed by blasting. It is difficult to obtain either rubble or common building stone.

“The quarry is equipped with a No. 3 Austin portable crusher, in which the rock is crushed into two sizes, used chiefly for macadam.”
Montgomery County, Missouri - the Montgomery (?) Marble & Manufacturing Co. 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)
Montrose, Missouri - the Morris Sandstone Quarry (Sandstone) (The following information is from The Quarrying Industry of Missouri, by E. R. Buckley, Director and State Geologist, and H. A. Buehler, Missouri Bureau of Geology and Mines Vol. II, 2nd Series, 1904.)

“This quarry, which is owned and operated by W. H. Morris, was opened about twenty-five years ago, but at present it is operated only intermittently.

“The quarry is located three and one-half miles north of town and is situated on the west side of a ravine, along which the sandstone outcrops. The stone has been quarried into the hill about twenty feet and about one-fourth of a mile along the ravine.

“The face consists of nine feet of sandstone, made up of the following beds form top to bottom:

3 ft. - Clay stripping.

3 ft. - Buff to gray sandstone, containing nodules of iron oxide.

1 ft. 6 in. - Fine grained, gray sandstone; the hardest in the quarry.

4 ft. - Fine grained, soft, gray sandstone, containing hard round nodules of ironstone. These nodules do not occur with any regularity, but are much more prevalent to some parts than in others.

“Large roundish boulders of quartzite, which are too difficult to cut and dress to be used for building purposes, occur in the soil stripping. Below the floor of the quarry there is a bed of decomposed sandstone, in layers from four to eight inches thick. It contains iron oxide along the bedding planes.

“The major jointing planes strike N. 60° E. The minor jointing planes strike east and west and N. 10-20° W. These joints are about twenty-five feet apart and are taken advantage of in working the quarry.

“On the opposite side of the ravine, the sandstone outcrops in beds from two to six inches in thickness. These beds have been quarried to some extent for flagging, curbing, sills and steps. This stone is in all respects similar to that on the west side of the ravine, although the stripping is somewhat less.

“The abutments for the bridge on the Missouri, Kansas and Texas railroad, at Bear Creek, were constructed out of stone from the opening on the west side of the ravine.

Laboratory Tests.

“The following are the results of tests made to determine the strength and durability of the stone from this quarry:

Crushing strength - 5370.7 lbs. per sq. in.

Tensile strength - 254.5 lbs. per sq. in.

Transverse strength - 112.3 lbs. per sq. in.

Specific Gravity - 2.699

Porosity - 11.37 per cent.

Weight per cubic foot - 128.7 lbs.

Crushing Strength of sample subjected to the freezing test, 2,858.5 pounds per square inch.

“In the case of this stone, it is evident that the crushing strength was materially lowered as a result of the freezing test. An average of two tests on this stone on edge gave a crushing strength of 4,408 pounds per square inch, which is higher than the crushing strength of the frozen samples.”
Montrose, Henry County, Missouri - the Morris Quarry (Visit this web site for historical information on this quarry, presented on the web site entitled, Early Stone Cutters in Western Missouri, A Research Study From Jones-Seelinger-Johannes Foundation, 2005, Poplar Heights Farm, 103 West Walnut Street, Butler, Missouri. (Brian Phillips - Executive Director, Terrie Jessup - Program Director, Patricia Jacobs - Research Assistant, Betty Newton - Research Assistant, Photography - Brian Phillips, Terrie Jessup, Melissa Phillips)
Montserrat (?), Missouri - the Otter Creek Granite Co. 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)
Mooresville (southwest of), Missouri - the Clark Limestone Quarry (Limestone) (The following information is from The Quarrying Industry of Missouri, by E. R. Buckley, Director and State Geologist, and H. A. Buehler, Missouri Bureau of Geology and Mines Vol. II, 2nd Series, 1904.)

“This quarry is about three-fourths of a mile southwest of Mooresville and about one-fourth of a mile west of Springtown. The quarry is owned by Mr. Walter W. Clark and operated by Mr. R. T. Smithers of Brookfield, Missouri. It is on the east side of a low hill, into which quarrying has extended for a distance of about 100 yards. The quarry face has an irregular oval shape and will measure altogether about 500 yards in length. The best stone for constructional purposes occurs along the west face. The thickness of the face at this place is about twenty feet and is made up of the following beds from the top to the bottom:

2 ft. - Broken limestone, covered with black soil.

3 ft. - Very much decomposed yellowish shale.

1 ft. - Dark, carbonaceous shale.

4 ft. 6 in. - Yellowish blue shale.

3 ft. - Very dark gray limestone. Used for rip rap.

3 ft. 6 in. - Dark gray limestone, showing suture joints. This bed can be split into two layers one and one-half and two feet in thickness. The two foot layer shows a less distinct bedding plane along which, in places, it may be capped. This stone contains occasional calcite geodes. It has been quarried for building purposes.

“The north face consists of eight or nine beds of white limestone varying from six to eight inches in thickness. These beds are used for steps, sills, flagging, etc. The quarry is equipped with a hand derrick, most of the work being done without modern machinery.

“It has been worked intermittently for thirty or forty years. During the last fifteen or twenty years an average of from five to thirty men have been employed during the quarrying season. Until recently the Burlington railroad had a spur to the quarry for the purpose of hauling out rip rap and ballast.”
Mt. Pleasant Township, Missouri - the Ayre’s Quarry (Limestone) (Visit this web site for historical information on this quarry, presented on the web site entitled, Early Stone Cutters in Western Missouri, A Research Study From Jones-Seelinger-Johannes Foundation, 2005, Poplar Heights Farm, 103 West Walnut Street, Butler, Missouri. (Brian Phillips - Executive Director, Terrie Jessup - Program Director, Patricia Jacobs - Research Assistant, Betty Newton - Research Assistant, Photography - Brian Phillips, Terrie Jessup, Melissa Phillips)

The Ayre’s quarry was “located southeast of Butler, sec. 25, Mt. Pleasant Township, on land 40 acres owned by Dan Ayre’s.”
Mt. Pleasant Township, Missouri - the McConnell Quarry (Visit this web site for historical information on this quarry, presented on the web site entitled, Early Stone Cutters in Western Missouri, A Research Study From Jones-Seelinger-Johannes Foundation, 2005, Poplar Heights Farm, 103 West Walnut Street, Butler, Missouri. (Brian Phillips - Executive Director, Terrie Jessup - Program Director, Patricia Jacobs - Research Assistant, Betty Newton - Research Assistant, Photography - Brian Phillips, Terrie Jessup, Melissa Phillips)

The McConnell quarry was “located south of Butler, sec 35, Mt. Pleasant Township on land owned by Dan McConnell.”
Mountaingrove, Missouri - J. A, Simpson’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)
Mt. Vernon, Missouri - the Mt. Vernon Area Limestone Quarries (circa 1904) (The following information is from The Quarrying Industry of Missouri, by E. R. Buckley, Director and State Geologist, and H. A. Buehler, Missouri Bureau of Geology and Mines Vol. II, 2nd Series, 1904.)

“Mt. Vernon.

“A number of small quarries have been opened in the vicinity of Mt. Vernon, but they are only operated intermittently to supply local demands. They are all located along a range of bluffs north of the city, and in limestone of Burlington age. The color, texture and hardness of the stone is practically the same in all the quarries. They all contain too much chert to warrant extensive development. The principal quarries are owned by R. O. Davis, H. Brumback and W. N. Gibbs. Besides these, there are a number of less importance....”

Miscellaneous Quarries (in the Mt. Vernon area).

“Two other quarries have been operated in this neighborhood. John Fenton owns one a half a mile west of the Davis quarry, in which the stone is essentially the same as that in the Davis quarry. Two and one-half miles east of the city, there is a small quarry owned and operated by Mr. Stewart. Two ledges of bluish gray limestone containing very little flint occur at this place.

“The great quantity of flint renders extensive development impracticable. Where free from flint, the stone has all the appearance of being strong and durable. A good, strong, white lime can be burned out of this stone.”
Mt. Vernon (north of), Missouri - the Brumback Limestone Quarry (Limestone) (The following information is from The Quarrying Industry of Missouri, by E. R. Buckley, Director and State Geologist, and H. A. Buehler, Missouri Bureau of Geology and Mines Vol. II, 2nd Series, 1904.)

“This quarry is located one-half mile north of the city. It is situated well up on the hillside and consists of two openings, one above the other. In the upper opening, there is exposed a 4 ½ foot bed of stone which contains dark colored suture joints. The second opening is about fifteen feet below the upper one and a little to the west. A two-foot ledge is being quarried in this opening, the stone being used mainly for curbing. This bed, which is split with plugs and feathers, does not break very evenly and consequently is expensive to work. The curbing, however, is of excellent quality. This quarry is not worked deeper on account of the flint contained in the underlying beds of limestone.”
Mt. Vernon, Missouri - A. E. Davis’ 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)
- Mt. Vernon (west of), Missouri - the Davis Limestone Quarry (Limestone) (The following information is from The Quarrying Industry of Missouri, by E. R. Buckley, Director and State Geologist, and H. A. Buehler, Missouri Bureau of Geology and Mines Vol. II, 2nd Series, 1904.)
  
  “This quarry, which is located one mile west of Mt. Vernon, is owned and operated by. R. O. Davis. It has a face 125 feet long and 25 feet in height. The following is a description of the beds from top to bottom:
  
  4-6 ft. - Chert and clay stripping.
  
  4 ft. - Coarsely crystalline, gray limestone. Suture joints occur one ft. from the bottom and near the top. Dries are quite prevalent in this bed.
  
  5 ft. 6 in. - Bluish gray, coarsely crystalline limestone. A layer of chert nodules occurs eighteen inches from the top and along this, the bed will split. Suture joints occur at the base of the chert layer and two feet from the bottom of the bed.
  
  5 ft. 4 in. - Consists of interstratified beds of coarsely and finely crystalline limestone. This stone contains large chert nodules, except in the upper eighteen inches, which is coarse grained.
  
  2 ft. - Very coarse grained, crystalline, fossiliferous, gray limestone, containing very little chert and free form suture joints.
  
  6 in. - Layer of chert nodules.
  
  3 ft. 6 in. - Coarse grained, crystalline, bluish gray limestone, having flint nodules along the bottom. The greater part of this bed is free from chert. Suture joints occur near the middle of the ledge.
  
  “This stone, which has the appearance of that from Phenix, has been used for caps, sills, monument bases, etc. The lowest bed is the best in the quarry and from it can be obtained large blocks free from chert. The stone used in the arches and columns of the court house, at this place, was obtained form this quarry. The remainder of the building is constructed of limestone from Phenix. So closely do these two stones resemble each other that it is almost impossible to distinguish them apart in the building.”
Mt. Vernon (west of), Missouri - the Fenton Limestone Quarry (Limestone) (The following information is from The Quarrying Industry of Missouri, by E. R. Buckley, Director and State Geologist, and H. A. Buehler, Missouri Bureau of Geology and Mines Vol. II, 2nd Series, 1904.)

“... John Fenton owns one a half a mile west of the Davis quarry, in which the stone is essentially the same as that in the Davis quarry....”

“The great quantity of flint renders extensive development impracticable. Where free from flint, the stone has all the appearance of being strong and durable. A good, strong, white lime can be burned out of this stone.”
Mt. Vernon (north of), Missouri - the Gibbs Limestone Quarry (Limestone) (The following information is from The Quarrying Industry of Missouri, by E. R. Buckley, Director and State Geologist, and H. A. Buehler, Missouri Bureau of Geology and Mines Vol. II, 2nd Series, 1904.)

“This quarry is located across the road west of the Brumback quarry. The stone is essentially the same as that obtained from the other quarries. It contains considerable disseminated chert, which is the chief drawback to its development.”
Mt. Vernon (east of), Missouri - the Stewart Limestone Quarry (Limestone) (The following information is from The Quarrying Industry of Missouri, by E. R. Buckley, Director and State Geologist, and H. A. Buehler, Missouri Bureau of Geology and Mines Vol. II, 2nd Series, 1904.)

“...Two and one-half miles east of the city, there is a small quarry owned and operated by Mr. Stewart. Two ledges of bluish gray limestone containing very little flint occur at this place.

“The great quantity of flint renders extensive development impracticable. Where free from flint, the stone has all the appearance of being strong and durable. A good, strong, white lime can be burned out of this stone.”
Musick, Missouri - J. B. Warren’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)
Napton, Missouri - the Napton Area Limestone Quarries (circa 1904) (The following information is from The Quarrying Industry of Missouri, by E. R. Buckley, Director and State Geologist, and H. A. Buehler, Missouri Bureau of Geology and Mines Vol. II, 2nd Series, 1904.)

“Napton.

“Three quarries, owned respectively by Mrs. L. E. Tichenor of Napton, H. W. Kolkmeyer of Jefferson City and A. Olson of Marshall, are operated at this place. The quarries are located in sec. 2, T. 49 N., R. 20 W., just northeast of the village of Napton. They are situated along the crest of adjacent hills, the stone being obtained from beds of limestone of Burlington age. The stone is coarsely crystalline and has a slightly bluish gray color. It contains chert nodules and suture joints, which are everywhere characteristic of the Burlington formation. The quarries are situated on gentle anticlines, the beds dipping at an angle of about 5° from the horizontal. Most of the stone is shipped to Marshall.”
Napton (northeast of), Missouri - the Kolkmeyer Limestone Quarry (Limestone) (The following information is from The Quarrying Industry of Missouri, by E. R. Buckley, Director and State Geologist, and H. A. Buehler, Missouri Bureau of Geology and Mines Vol. II, 2nd Series, 1904.)

“This quarry is east of the Tichenor quarry and has a west face 250 feet long. The beds have a gentle dip and vary in thickness from four to fourteen inches. Those at the top of the quarry are from four to eight inches thick and are interbedded with layers of chert nodules. The lower beds are from ten to fourteen inches thick. The stripping consists of from two to four feet of clay and chert.

“The stone has a grayish to bluish color and is coarsely crystalline. It is worked into caps, sills, ashler blocks and flagging. the quarry has been idle for some time.”
Napton (northeast of), Missouri - the Olson Limestone Quarry (Limestone) (The following information is from The Quarrying Industry of Missouri, by E. R. Buckley, Director and State Geologist, and H. A. Buehler, Missouri Bureau of Geology and Mines Vol. II, 2nd Series, 1904.)

“This quarry is located on the same hill as the Tichenor quarry and has a northeast face. The quality of the stone is practically the same as in the other two quarries, being coarsely crystalline, bluish gray limestone. The following is a description of the beds at the north end from top to bottom:

2 ft. - Clay stripping.

6-8 ft. - Bluish gray to buff color limestone, containing chert nodules. Splits into layers from six to eight inches in thickness.

4 ft. 6 in. - Dark blue, coarsely crystalline limestone, containing two large suture joints.

4 ft. - Blue, coarsely crystalline, fossiliferous limestone, containing buff colored streaks.

“At the place where the above section was taken the beds have a dip of 5° N. The joints are not prominent. Two sets are noted, striking respectively N. 80° E. and N. 10° W. Minor faulting was observed along one of these joints.

“The stone from this quarry is suitable for the same purposes as that from the other quarries. It is particularly well adapted to rock faced ashlery. The chert makes a considerable quantity of the stone unsuitable for anything but rubble.”
Napton (northeast of), Missouri - the Tichenor Limestone Quarry (Limestone) (The following information is from The Quarrying Industry of Missouri, by E. R. Buckley, Director and State Geologist, and H. A. Buehler, Missouri Bureau of Geology and Mines Vol. II, 2nd Series, 1904.)

“This quarry is leased by Mr. H. W. Kolkmeyer of Jefferson City. It has an east face 800 feet long, which is broken near the middle by a narrow ravine. The following is a description of the beds from top to bottom:

1-3 ft. - Red clay and chert stripping.

6-10 ft. - Gray and buff colored limestone in beds from six to eight inches in thickness. The stone is medium grained and coarsely crystalline and contains chert nodules.

8 ft. - Light bluish gray, medium grained, crystalline limestone. Contains suture joints and occasional chert nodules.

“The upper beds are used for caps, sills and light ashler blocks. The lower bed, which is too thick to be worked easily with hand tools, might furnish stone for heavy constructional work. At the north end of the upper beds have been worked more extensively than the lower heavy bed. Before the lower bed is quarried, the waste from the upper beds, which now covers it, must be removed.

“The joints strike N. 70° W. and N. 15° E.”
Neosho, Newton County, Missouri - Limestone Quarries (Limestone) (from Report on The Building Stones of The United States, and Statistics of the Quarry Industry for 1880, by George W. Hawes, Curator of the Department of Mineralogy and Lithology at the National Museum, and by F. W. Sperr and Thomas C. Kelly, Joint production of the Census Office and the National Museum, 1883)

“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.”
Neosho (near), Newton County, Missouri - the Russell Hunt Limestone Quarry (Limestone), presented by the Newton County Tourism Council. (The following information is from the History of Newton County portion of the web site, and the quotation is used with permission.)

“In various parts of the county, limestone is mined. One of the largest and most unusual quarries is located near Neosho. This quarry was opened by Russell Hunt, a mining engineer. When Mr. Hunt opened his mining operation, he created huge underground rooms, leaving large pillars of limestone in strategic places as roof supports. Once a large area is mined out, these underground rooms are ideal warehousing space. A cool and constant temperature makes these caverns perfect storage areas for perishable goods and for such things as explosives. This idea of creating underground warehousing, fathered by Russell Hunt, caught on, and now hundreds of limestone and other mines have a second life as underground storage.”
Neosho, Missouri - D. Markey’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)
Neosho, Missouri - the Southwest Lime Company. Excerpt from Missouri Mining Heritage Guide, by John R. Park, Stonerose Publishing Co., Miami, Florida, March 2005. (The following excerpted quotations are used with the permission of John R. Park, author.)

“...When I attempted to visit the Southwest Lime Company site in mid-2004, the entrance road was posted, ‘No trespassers, violators will be prosecuted’, so I did not attempt to enter.

“The Southwest Lime Company, in Neosho, was a major producer of lime from 1938 to 1962. Although lime production ceased in 1962, the SWL continued the production of crushed limestone (from the Keokuk formation) from its underground mines. Some 30 acres of underground space (formerly mines) north of Neosho has been converted to office and warehouse space.”
Nevada, Missouri - Gustave Anderson’s Sandstone Quarry & Plant (from “Notes on The Clays and Building Stones of Certain Western Central Counties Tributary to Kansas City,” by G. E. Ladd, Assistant Geologist, in Bulletin No. 5, Geological Survey of Missouri, Jefferson City, July 1891)

Quarry dimensions, material, and plant.

“Anderson, Gustave: - Mr. Anderson has a sandstone quarry at Nevada, which is worked in a small way, as an open cut in a hill side. The formation seems to be the same as that at Warrensburg, but the quality of the stone is, perhaps, better, there being fewer flaws in it. The stone is fine-grained, rather loosely cemented, light gray and brown in color, and can be quarried in large sized blocks. The quarry has an open face eighteen feet high and fifty feet long. It is worked by hand drilling and blasting. In 1890 about five thousand feet of building stone were quarried.”
Nevada (between Nevada & Moundville), Vernon County, Missouri - the Gilfillan Stone Company Sandstone Quarry (Sandstone), located between Nevada & Moundville on the Nevada & Minden Branch Railroad (from “Notes on The Clays and Building Stones of Certain Western Central Counties Tributary to Kansas City,” by G. E. Ladd, Assistant Geologist, in Bulletin No. 5, Geological Survey of Missouri, Jefferson City, July 1891)

“Gilfillan Stone Co.: - This firm has a sandstone quarry in Deerfield township and is connected with the Minden branch of the Missouri Pacific railway, by a switch, one mile and a quarter long. It was opened in 1885. The product consists of dimension stone and flagging. The quarry is a sunken one, forty feet deep, two hundred feet long, and sixty-five feet wide. The stone resembles the Warrensburg stone and possibly belongs to the same formation. The lower layer varies from twelve to sixteen feet in thickness and furnishes the best quality of stone. The upper layers are not desirable. From the action of the weather large scales of stone fall from exposes surfaces.

Imperfections of the stone.

“The stone is frequently cross-bedded and, in places, there are large nodules of iron pyrites, pockets of decayed vegetable and earthy matter, and pockets of coal, which accompanied the sand at the time of the latter’s deposition.

“It is necessary to handle a large amount of waste material in order to quarry much dimension stone here. The largest block ever quarried was fourteen by four feet, in dimensions.

The plant.

“The plant consists of one ten horse power engine, one derrick, one ‘gang saw,’ one channeling machine, one steam drill, one steam pump, blacksmith shop and sheds.

“In 1890 about fifty cars of stone were shipped.”
Vernon County, Missouri - the Gilfillian Quarry (Visit this web site for historical information on this quarry, presented on the web site entitled, Early Stone Cutters in Western Missouri, A Research Study From Jones-Seelinger-Johannes Foundation, 2005, Poplar Heights Farm, 103 West Walnut Street, Butler, Missouri. (Brian Phillips - Executive Director, Terrie Jessup - Program Director, Patricia Jacobs - Research Assistant, Betty Newton - Research Assistant, Photography - Brian Phillips, Terrie Jessup, Melissa Phillips)
Nevada, Missouri - the Kling & Brophy 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)
Nevada (east of), Vernon County, Missouri - Mitchell Powell & Bowker Sandstone Quarry (Sandstone), located 13 miles east of Nevada (from “Notes on The Clays and Building Stones of Certain Western Central Counties Tributary to Kansas City,” by G. E. Ladd, Assistant Geologist, in Bulletin No. 5, Geological Survey of Missouri, Jefferson City, July 1891)

The product.

“Powell, Mitchell & Bowker: - This firm has a sandstone quarry situated thirteen miles east of Nevada. It was first worked in 1890. The layers of stone vary from two to twelve inches in thickness, and the blocks may be obtained of any desired size in the other dimensions. The stone is colored white and bluish and is very hard. The product consists of curbing, flagging and building stone. In 1890 twenty-five thousand square feet of material was produced.”
New Florence, Missouri - J. Janssen’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)
New London (east of), Missouri - the Megowen Limestone Quarry (Limestone) (The following information is from The Quarrying Industry of Missouri, by E. R. Buckley, Director and State Geologist, and H. A. Buehler, Missouri Bureau of Geology and Mines Vol. II, 2nd Series, 1904.)

“The only quarry of importance near this city is owned by Mrs. Mary E. Megowen. It is located in lots 34 and 36, Spanish Grant Survey 3076, about one mile east of the city. This quarry, which was opened about fifteen years ago, consists of three openings, two of which are located on the same hill. The opening farthest east is situated at the bottom of the hill, on the north side. The second opening is west of this, and above it on the hillside. Combined, the two openings include practically all the beds which outcrop at this place. The third opening is located on an adjacent hill about 150 yards west. This one is larger than either of the other two.

“The first named opening has a north face 250 feet long and 15 feet high. The following is a description of the beds from top to bottom:

2 ft. - Soft and broken limestone stripping.

6 ft. - Crystalline, fossiliferous limestone, in beds from two to six inches in thickness. The stone contains numerous short joints. The stone in the lower part has a deep blue color.

5 in. - Yellow shale.

1 ft. - Dark gray, finely crystalline limestone.

6 in. - Dark colored shale, having a two inch bed of dark limestone in the middle.

1 ft. - Dark gray, crystalline limestone, containing small calcite geodes.

2 ft. 6 in. - Dark gray, fine grained, fossiliferous limestone. Can be split into beds from four to six inches in thickness.

“The joints in this quarry strike north and south and east and west. They are not abundant and are of very little assistance in quarrying. The stone has been worked a very short distance into the hill, yet the beds are rapidly becoming thicker, owing to the tightening of some of the bedding planes.”

“The second opening referred to has a face seventy-five feet long. The stone is very much the same as that in the upper part of the first opening. The beds contain shaly parting planes, along which there are many fossils. This stone is apparently as desirable as that in the former opening, although it has not been quarried very extensively.

“The third opening has a face 125 feet long and 30 feet high. The lower beds in this opening are a few feet above those in the opening first described. The following is a description of the beds from top to bottom:

0-2 ft. - Soil stripping.

10 ft. - Coarsely crystalline limestone.

12 ft. - Dark brown, fine grained, fossiliferous limestone. The stone is separated by thin seams of dark shale into layers from two to four inches in thickness.

1 ft. 7 in. - Dark gray, crystalline limestone containing numerous fossils along the bedding planes. Splits seven inches from the top.

3 ft. 6 in. - Dark gray, fossiliferous limestone, containing shaly parting planes from two to six inches apart. The fresh stone splits easily a foot from the bottom.

3 in. - Hard blue shale.

2 ft. - Blue, crystalline limestone separated into two beds by a thin layer of shale.

“These beds increase in thickness as they are worked into the hill where the weather has not had an opportunity to open the bedding planes. The shaly planes make the stone susceptible to injury from weathering.

“The stone has been used locally for caps, sills, foundations, sidewalks, crosswalks, curbing and to some extent for coursing. The two lower ledges in the third opening are best adapted for the latter purpose. A number of the ledges contain stone suitable for curbing, sills, etc. The quarries are worked intermittently to supply the local demand.”
Newburg, Missouri - the Imperial Onyx Company Quarry today the Onyx Mountain Caverns - Excerpt from Missouri Mining Heritage Guide, by John R. Park, Stonerose Publishing Co., Miami, Florida, March 2005. (The following excerpted quotations are used with the permission of John R. Park, author. A photograph of the “Sealed shaft collar” at the caverns is included in John Park’s article.)

“... Onyx Mountain Caverns is a commercial tourist cavern which offers tours.

“The fenced top of the shaft which was used in mining onyx may be seen about 200’ in front of the building entrance, but there is little to see. The underground tour does not extend quite to the mined areas, but in several places, drill holes may be seen where the passageways were expanded for access. The history of onyx mining is briefly discussed during the tour, which mostly deals with the Native American habitation of the cave. Of particular interest is a small field of black bear ‘beds’ where bears formerly hibernated over the winter.

“The Imperial Onyx Company began mining in 1892 by sinking an 8’ x 13’ shaft 92’-deep into the cave. The onyx (‘cave marble’) was shipped to St. Louis to be used in Victorian-style homes of that period and in public buildings for decorative stone. Mining ceased after several railroad carloads had been shipped when it was discovered that the onyx was virtually unusable. The onyx broke apart when being cut and shaped at the finishing plant. Therefore, large architectural panels could not be made from the stone.”

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Quarries in Missouri & Quarry Links, Photographs, and Articles Memphis thru Newburg

Quarries in Missouri & Quarry Links, Photographs, and Articles
Memphis thru Newburg