LEE COUNTY. 137 



ravines, and reduce the surface of the ground to a water level. These 

 forces, thus acting in antagonism, nearly balance each other in their 

 effects, and keep the general face of the country about the same. 



N't extensive gravel beds of the drift period were noticed in Lee 

 county. Occasional nuggets of copper and galena are picked up in the 

 suit ace days and ravines. Scattering boulders are also often noticed 

 in the ravines about Rock river and lying on the surface of the prairies 

 even in the region of the swauipy land. One remarkable flame-colored 

 boulder, of several tons weight, lies on the side of the road a few miles 

 south east of Dixon: another, of still deeper color, lies two or three 

 miles east of Dixou. Either of them would attract the attention of the 

 most casual observer, and he would find himself wondering as to their 

 history and origin. 



JE c o n o /n i c a 1 Geology. 



Building Stone. Plenty of good building stone is quarried in the out- 

 crops of Trenton and Galena limestone along Rock river. These supply 

 the country for some distance away from 1he river. The Galena quarry 

 at Big Springs is extensively worked ; so is the one directly south-east 

 of Lee Center. In the vicinity of Franklin the Trenton outcrop along 

 the creek of the same name has been extensively worked, and the ma- 

 terials thus obtained used over the surrounding country and in the vil- 

 lage for building and farm purposes. The sandstones of the St. Peter's 

 formation in some of the outcrops of Franklin creek are hard enough 

 to be handled and hewn into shape, and are used to some extent for or- 

 dinary mason work. An old culvert bridge one mile west of Franklin 

 is built out of this rock. In Ogle county, just across the line from Lee, 

 we noticed one or two houses built of this material. But the rock is 

 hardly hard enough to be handled well, and makes poor stone work. 



The Trenton limestone, for rough, ordinary mason work, furnishes a 

 good material. It is very lasting, but very difficult to make handsome 

 work out of. The large mills at Dixon are mostly built out of this 

 limestone ; so are the buildings for some large manufacturing establish- 

 ments located at Dixon. The stone is so easily quarried and so readily 

 obtained, that it has added much to the building facilities of the city of 

 Dixon. 



The Galena limestone, for heavy masonry, such as culverts, piers and 

 the like, is the best in the county. The city of Dixou is now engaged 

 >) in constructing a splendid iron bridge across Rock river to unite 

 its north and south divisions. Two heavy abutments arid a number of 

 high, solid, and heavy piers were necessary to support the great weight 

 of iron in the structure, and to resist the crushing weight of ice, which 



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