66 Report on Building Stone of New York. 



Medina, Orleans County. — Near the town of Medina there 

 are nine quarries, which are worked more or less all of the time dur- 

 ing the quarrying season. They are north and north-east of the 

 town and all are within a mile and a half of the railroad station. 

 The}' have been in operation for man)' years, and the aggregate area 

 worked over is large. The total number of men employed in these 

 quarries, in the height of the season, amounts to 450, and the working 

 period lasts from May to November. The stone at Medina differs 

 from that of the Albion quarries in the gray-white color of much of 

 it, and in the abundance of fossil shells and fucoid impressions in 

 some of the Layers. The stone generally is harder. The spotted, red 

 and white, or variegated stone, also is a feature of the Medina quar- 

 ries. Oblique lamination of the beds is more common than at Albion 

 or Hulberton. Pyrite-coated seams or joint faces also are to be noted, 

 as a mark of the formation which is seen in the older quarries 

 especially. Formerly the gray or white stone was in fashion, and 

 nearly all of the gray variety was sold for building. The present 

 demand for building is for the red and variegated varieties, and all 

 of the gray stone and much of the red stone are split into blocks 

 for paving. And a comparatively small fraction of the total output 

 is put into market for construction. 



Kearney & Barrett. — The quarry of Kearney <fc Barrett is on 

 the north side of the Erie canal, in the north-west part of the village of 

 Medina, and a half a mile from the New York Central railroad station. 

 It was opened in 1840. A large area has here been worked over, 

 close to the canal property, having a length, from east to west of 

 1,500 feet, and an estimated area of seven acres. The stripping 

 consists of a red, sandy earth, in places quick-sand, with some im- 

 bedded masses of sandstone. The sandstone in this top material 

 yields a sufficient amount of workable stone to pay for its removal. 

 The thickness of the stripping varies from two to three feet at the 

 west end and ten feet on the south side. The greatest thickness of 

 the quarry beds, as here worked, amounts to 30 feet. In the middle 

 of the quarry the shale, which is known as " red horse," rises up in 

 a north and south belt, running across the quarry, and very little 

 good stone is obtained from that part of the quarry. The dip is 

 very gentle southward. A main system of joints or seams runs east 

 and west. The second system runs north-west and south-east, but 

 not nearly so regular as the first. A third system courses north, but 

 dips about 60° east. There is a noticeable variation in the bedding 



