THE QUARRYING INDUSTRY OF MISSOURI. – 1904
by E. R. Buckley and H. A. Buehler.
Jefferson City, Mo. : Tribune Printing Co., State Printers and Binders, 1904.
Page 110
...The Bainbridge limestone embraces all the Silurian limestones
beneath the preceding in the river bluffs for some miles above and below
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Bainbridge, Missouri. It also occurs above and below Thebes, Illinois;
nearly equivalent to Safford's Clifton limestone of Tennessee.
(14) The name Girardeau limestone is adopted in this amended
form for the limestone described by Shumard in 1873, as the Cape Girardeau limestone.
(15) The Thebes formation embraces three subdivisions, viz.: a
sandstone in the middle with a shale above and beneath. This is an
extension of the term as used by Worthen.
(16) The Kimmswick limestone is a new name referring to the
more or less crystalline limestone being quarried at Graysboro, Cape Girardeau, Glen Park, Kimmswick and other localities in southeastern Missouri. The thin bed generally found at the top, 2 to 5 feet, holding the
Fernville Richmond fauna, is not included.
(17) The Plattin limestone is a new name proposed for the fine
grained limestone formation between the Kimmswick and the "First
Magnesian" and which has generally been called either Trenton or lower
Trenton. It is the local but only partial equivalent for the rocks of the
Stones River group in central Kentucky and Tennessee. The formation
takes its name from Plattin Creek, Jefferson county, near the mouth of
which it is well exposed.
(18) The name Joachim limestone, proposed by Winslow, is adopted
for the "First Magnesian."
In the vicinity of the city of Cape Girardeau three of these formations
have been quarried. Just north of the city the Thebes sandstone, which caps
the hills, was in former years quarried quite extensively. Near the
northwest limits of the city the Kimmswick limestone has been quarried
extensively for building stone and the manufacture of quicklime. At
this locality the stone takes on much more the character of marble than
at Kimmswick or Glen Park and is known locally as the "Cape Girardeau
marble." It makes an excellent quicklime and is a durable and hand-
some building stone.
South of the city quarries have been opened in the Plattin or Lower
Trenton limestone, the stone being used for railroad ballast and buildings.
Two quarries have been opened in the Bainbridge limestone, the stone
being used chiefly for rip rap along the Mississippi river.
The quarries in the vicinity of Cape Girardeau are operated by
Burke Bros., Edward Hely, W. L. Killebrew, Edward F. Regenhardt,
J. C. Seiler, Wm. Regenhardt and the Cape Lime and Marble Co. The
last named company is manufacturing quick lime from the Kimmswick
limestone. This quarry will be described in a subsequent report on
"Quick Lime and Cement.'
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THE BURKE BROS. QUARRY.
This quarry is located about ten miles north of Cape Girardeau,
near the St. Louis and San Francisco railroad. It is situated on the
northeast side of one of the river bluffs and has a face about 350 feet
long and 60 feet high. The stone is a bluish gray, finely crystalline
limestone, occurring in beds from six inches to two feet in thickness.
Considerable flint occurs in nodules and layers throughout the quarry.
Steam drills and derricks are used in getting out the stone, which is used
chiefly for rip rap.
THE HELY QUARRY.
This quarry is located about two miles south of Cape Girardeau.
The stone is used chiefly for crushing. The face of the quarry is about
600 feet in length and approximately 45 feet in height. There is prac-
tically no stripping. The following is a description of the beds from the
top to the bottom:
15 ft. Dark colored, finely crystalline limestone, occurring in beds from
six inches to two feet in thickness.
3 ft. Yellowish gray, fine grained limestone, containing small crystals
of calcite. Separates into thin layers.
11 ft. Dark gray, compact limestone, containing small crystals of cal-
cite. The stone breaks with an irregular splintery fracture.
14 ft. Drab to black, compact limestone. Splits into layers from two
to twelve inches in thickness. Is very brittle and breaks with a
conchoidal, splintery fracture.
The quarry is equipped with a crushing plant, having a capacity of
1,000 cubic yards per day. It consists of No. 4 and No. 8 Gates crushers
with the usual accessories. Power is furnished by an engine and two
100-horse power boilers. Steam drills are used and the stone is hauled
to the crusher in steel cars, along the tracks which radiate to all parts
of the quarry. A side track connects the plant with the St. Louis, Iron
Mountain and Southern railroad.
This is one of the most complete and best equipped crushing plants
in Missouri. From April 1st to December 31st, 1903, 50,000 cubic yards
of crushed stone was produced.
THE KILLEBREW QUARRIES.
Mr. W. L. Killebrew owns and operates two quarries, one of which
is located just south of the Hely quarry, and the other along the river
bluffs, about nine and a half miles north of the city.
The first quarry is situated on a hillside and has a face about 400
feet long and 40 feet high. The stone is a very fine grained, bluish black
limestone, in beds from six inches to two feet in thickness. It splits
readily along the bedding planes, which dip about 4 deg. to the northwest.
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The stone breaks with a splintery fracture and is very good for railroad
ballast and macadam. The heavier beds might be used for building.
The major joints strike N. 35-40 deg. W. The minor joints strike N.
20 deg. E.
All of the stone is crushed for ballast, being separated into two sizes
1 1/2 inch and screenings. At present this quarry is not in operation.
The second quarry, which is located near Bainbridge landing, is
situated along the east side of the river bluffs. It consists of two open-
ings having a face aggregating 600 feet in length and 45 feet in height.
A small ravine breaks the continuity of the quarry face, on account of
which it is worked as two openings.
The stone is a finely crystalline, bluish gray limestone. Flint nodules
occur throughout the quarry. The beds are from six inches to two feet
in thickness. Steam drills are used in the quarry and the stone is hauled
in dump carts to the river where it is loaded on barges. It is used ex-
clusively for rip rap along the Mississippi river.
THE EDWARD F. REGENHARDT QUARRIES.
Mr. Regenhardt operates two quarries, one, the "Normal" quarry,
is located just east of the fair grounds, near the west limits of the city;
and the other is located two miles south of the city, just beyond the Killebrew quarry.
The Normal quarry consists of a single irregular opening, 70 feet
east and west and 100 feet north and south, having a maximum vertical
face of 35 feet. This quarry was opened in 1901 to obtain the stone to
be used in the Normal school building at Cape Girardeau.
This stone is a coarsely crystalline, heavily bedded limestone, having
much the appearance of marble. It is almost pure white in the bottom of
the quarry, but has a faint pinkish or bluish gray tint near the surface.
Fine suture joints occur from two inches to three feet apart. The stone
contains small cavities, known locally as "sand holes." These are not
sufficiently abundant to cause any considerable waste.
The quarry is covered with a very light stripping of clay. Large
irregular cavities and open joints, resulting from weathering, occur
throughout the quarry. These are usually filled with red clay, which
occasionally extends to the bottom of the quarry. These cavities and
open joints make it difficult to obtain large blocks, free from the effects
of weathering. It is the practice to quarry irregular blocks by hand and
saw them in the mill. The stone in the upper part of the quarry is said
to be harder than that deeper down. It can be sawed at an average rate
of two inches per hour. The stone works nicely under the hammer, and
has a pleasing appearance when used as in the Normal school buildings
at Cape Girardeau. An excellent grade of white lime is manufactured
out of this stone.
This quarry is equipped with a Wordwell channeling machine, a
crushing plant and two gang-saws.
The second quarry operated by Mr. Regenhardt is located about two
miles south of the city on a bluff just south of the Killebrew crusher, on
land leased from St. Vincent's College. It has a face 70 feet long and
about 15 feet high. The following are the thicknesses of each of the beds
from top to bottom: 4 ft., 1 ft. 5 in., 1 ft. 8 in., 1 ft. 9 in., 1 ft., 1 ft.
10 in., 1 ft. 2 in., 2 ft. 4 in., I ft. 2 in., 1 ft. 8 in. Some of the stratification planes have a black color. Near the crossing of these planes and the
joints the stone weathers more rapidly than in other parts of the quarry.
All the stone in this quarry has the same general texture and color.
It is a very fine grained, compact limestone, having a brownish black to
very dark blue color. It is very hard and breaks with a sub-conchoidal
fracture.
The major joints strike N 40-50 deg. W. A minor set strikes N. 55 deg. E.
These parting planes are taken advantage of in quarrying and are sufficiently far apart to permit the removal of blocks of practically any required dimensions.
The stone has been used in the basement of the new Normal school
buildings and in other structures in Cape Girardeau. The dark color of
the stone is in striking contrast with the nearly white "Cape marble."
THE WM. REGENHARDT QUARRY.
This quarry is located near the north limits of the city and is situated
on one of the Mississippi river bluffs. The stone, which is known as the
Thebes or Cape Girardeau sandstone, caps the hills along the river. The
first stone used in Cape Girardeau was obtained from this formation.
It is a yellow, fine grained sandstone which is soft when first quarried
but hardens upon exposure. The formation is about fifteen feet thick
and consists of beds from three feet to six feet in thickness. When used
above the ground, it appears to be very durable, as shown by a dwelling
house built out of it in I853. For half a century, this building has been
exposed to the weather without showing any very marked evidence of
deterioration. At one time, this stone was shipped quite extensively
through the extreme southeastern part of Missouri along the Mississippi
river. At present very little is being quarried.
The face of the quarry is about 600 feet long and 15 feet high. It
is covered with a stripping of twenty feet of loess, on account of which, it
is said to have been abandoned.