322 THE GEOLOGY OF MINNESOTA. 



[Building stone. 



rocks of the localities where they may be found. They pertain to the' drift 

 and have been transported hundreds ot miles along with the other foreign 

 substances in which they occur, from the northern part of the state. Such 

 discoveries have sometimes awakened an interest that has culminated in 

 stock companies formed for mining, and in the wasting of thousands of dol- 

 lars. Similar small quantities of gold can be got by a minute washing of 

 the drift at almost any place where the drift-sheet is attenuated, or where 

 the older glacial drift has been denuded, leaving the gold, which is inde- 

 structible either by lapse of time or by the chemistry of the elements, on 

 the rock surface underlying. Almost every geological report in the country 

 makes mention of them, extending at least through Ohio, Illinois, Indiana, 

 Wisconsin and Iowa. 



Building stone. With this necessary article Fillmore county is also 

 well supplied, and it has been put to an extensive use. There are hundreds 

 of openings made to supply a local demand, besides a great many more 

 extensive quarries which are known for a good many miles around. A 

 great deal of stone for building is shipped to counties west, which are drift- 

 covered and without accessible building stone. Probably three-fourths of 

 the building stone used in the county is derived from the Galena and Tren- 

 ton, the other fourth being made up from the Devonian and the St. Law- 

 rence. The Trenton is most frequently employed. This is largely owing 

 to the prominent manner of its outcrops, as shown under the head of 

 Drainage and of Surface Features. The Galena has been used in the con- 

 struction of several school-houses and private residences. At Spring Val- 

 ley the Devonian is principally used; at Lanesboro, Whalan, Peterson and 

 Rushford, the St. Lawrence. The Shakopee and Jordan are but rarely 

 resorted to. 



The beds of the Trenton are usually less than six inches in thickness, 

 and they are easily broken to any desired size. It is a hard stone, not 

 easily cut, but can be dressed if necessary. It is not injured by dissemina- 

 ted shale, as much of the Trenton at points farther north, and hence makes 

 a very durable material. The quarry ot Mr. Joseph Taylor, formerly well 

 known, situated near Fountain, has been closed for several years. At 

 Fountain are several buildings constructed of stone from this place. 



Besides the quarries in the Trenton that have been mentioned in giv- 



